Book review: Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble
Tyndale House Publishers (May 1, 2009)
by
Susan May Warren


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susan grew up in Wayzata, a suburb of Minneapolis, and became an avid camper from an early age. Her favorite fir-lined spot is the north shore of Minnesota is where she met her husband, honeymooned and dreamed of living.

The north woods easily became the foundation for her first series, The Deep Haven series, based on a little tourist town along the shores of Lake Superior. Her first full-length book, Happily Ever After, became a Christy Award Finalist published in 2004 with Tyndale/Heartquest.

As an award winning author, Susan returned home in 2004, to her native Minnesota after serving for eight years with her husband and four children as missionaries with SEND International in Far East Russia. She now writes full time from Minnesota's north woods and the beautiful town that she always dreamed of living in.

You can sample a chapter of each and every one of Susan's novels, on her website, HERE.



ABOUT THE BOOK

PJ Sugar knows three things for sure:

1) After traveling the country for ten years hoping to shake free from the trail of disaster that's become her life, she needs a fresh start.

2) The last person she wants to see when she heads home for her sister's wedding is Boone-her former flame and the reason she left town.

3) Her best friend's husband absolutely did not commit the first murder Kellogg, Minnesota, has seen in more than a decade.

What PJ doesn't know is that when she starts digging for evidence, she'll uncover much more than she bargained for-a deadly conspiracy, a knack for investigation, and maybe, just maybe, that fresh start she's been longing for.

It's not fair to say that trouble happens every time PJ Sugar is around, but it feels that way when she returns to her home town, looking for a fresh start. Within a week, her former teacher is murdered and her best friend's husband is arrested as the number-one suspect. Although the police detective investigating the murder—who also happens to be PJ's former flame—is convinced it's an open-and-shut case, PJ's not so sure. She begins digging for clues in an effort to clear her friend’s husband and ends up reigniting old passions, uncovering an international conspiracy, and solving a murder along the way. She also discovers that maybe God can use a woman who never seems to get it right

If you would like to read the first chapter of Nothing But Trouble, go HERE

Book review: A Vote of Confidence

A Vote Of Confidence
Zondervan (April 2009)
by
Robin Lee Hatcher


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.


ABOUT THE BOOK

In A Vote of Confidence, the stage is set for some intriguing insight into what it was like during 1915 to be a woman in a “mans’ world.”

Guinevere Arlington is a beautiful young woman determined to remain in charge of her own life, For seven years, Gwen has carved out a full life in the bustling town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, where she teaches piano and writes for the local newspaper. Her passion for the town, its people, and the surrounding land prompt Gwen to run for mayor. After all, who says a woman can’t do a man’s job?

But stepping outside the boundaries of convention can get messy. A shady lawyer backs Gwen, believing he can control her once she’s in office. A wealthy newcomer throws his hat into the ring in an effort to overcome opposition to the health resort he’s building north of town. When the opponents fall in love, everything changes, forcing Gwen to face what she may have to lose in order to win.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Vote Of Confidence, go HERE

Introduction to the great, big world

A couple of days ago we decided to take one of the bantam chicks outside and let it walk around for a couple of minutes. We took this one, which we affectionately refer to as "mohawk." He (or she) is probably a Polish variety.

He didn't seem to know what to do. He just stood there the whole time. The chicks are outgrowing their brooder, and I know they will be happy when they can go in the coop full time. We are just waiting for them to get all their grown-up feathers in. It looks like they are fully feathered, but if you pull their wings out, you can see that their backs are bald. It won't be long, though!

Overeager Beavers

Last fall I planted garlic for the first time. It overwintered well and is growing beautifully. Hubby and I got way too overeager and decided to see how the garlic and carrots are coming along. Obviously, they aren't anywhere near ready to be harvested. Of course, if I had gone online and researched it, I would have known that without having to pull them up.

I placed them next to one of the hen's eggs so you could judge the size of the carrot. I feel stupid for wasting these plants, especially the garlic... but we've been waiting since last September and it's so hard!

Southern azaleas

If you live in the south, or at least my part of the south (NC), you know that this time of year is beautiful with all the azaleas, dogwoods, Bradford pears and cherry trees that are blooming. They only bloom for a short period of time, but they are beautiful!

Above is a blossom from our azalea bush in the backyard. And these two azalea bushes below are in the front yard. I never wanted azalea bushes, but my husband got these (about three years ago?) and I have to admit the colors are very pretty!

Store Wars

I realize I've been posting a few videos lately, but I had to post this one for my Hubby. He loves Star Wars and organic vegetables, so I know he'll love this. Plus, it's just hilarious but has a great message!

Herb Festival!

Our local Piedmont Farmers' Market has an annual Spring Herb & Plant Festival that kicks off the opening of the market. It is one of my favorite spring events. Nearly 100 vendors sell anything and everything related to herbs and gardening.

Flowers, herbal soaps, salves and other products, teas, birdhouses, handmade garden ornaments and outdoor furniture, and of course, fresh herb plants - there was so much to see!

I'm not sure how many people attended this year, but last year 8,700 came out to see the herbs. The other great thing about this festival is that all the vendors are always willing to educate you. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of great information from herb growers who want to share their knowledge.

The vendors are all local people who have family farms or small businesses, and I love supporting them. I can easily spend way too much money at the Herb Festival, even though I generally only buy plants. Last year I got carried away and spent over $100. This year, I set a budget of $50. I only went $5 over, which isn't bad, I guess.

These are the herb seedlings I bought that are waiting to be planted. Do you see any you recognize?

Country kids, city kids

We live in the city, but every year our homesteading efforts lead us to think and feel more like country people. That fact was driven home to me today.

As a treat, I took the kids to Sonic for ice cream today and let them play on the outdoor playground there.

There were many children happily playing on the equipment while their parent talked and ate. While the other kids ran up and down the slides, my son Justin, 13, was searching the mulch and edges of the playground for treasures from nature. He managed to find several caterpillars. The next thing I knew, he was rounding wriggly things up and had all the boys on the playground gathered around discussing things the caterpillars might eat, where they might live, and what they might become.

I was enjoying watching them, until all the boys thought it would be cool to show their parents and sisters, who were sitting on the benches chatting, their new finds. Some of the boys had two or three caterpillars crawling up their arms when they went to proudly show their treasures to their moms.

All of the sudden you could hear screams from teenage girls (not my teenage girl, though) and mothers shouting at the boys to "put those disgusting things down" and "don't you bring those anyway near me."

And I, as the mother of the boy who put them up to it, was getting dirty looks from the other mothers with their French manicures and designer sunglasses. Sigh.

I was feeling guilty for ruining those ladies' day, so we left shortly thereafter. Despite our faux pas, I am more than happy with my children the way they are. My boys hate organized sports and couldn't tell you what the latest celebrity scandals are, but they sure can tell the differences between standard chickens and bantams!

Seedlings

This year we decided to try and start as many seeds as possible in the cellar, right in front of the window. We also put in a plant light. We planted these a while back ago, and many are now starting to sprout. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago when there wasn't any sprouting going on.

Also in front of the cellar window is the only potted herb that came back on its own this year - my lemon balm. In the herb garden, the lavender, bronze fennel, rosemary, sage, St. John's wort, echinacea and something else that I can't identify at the moment have all come back on their own.

Book review: The Secret

The Secret
(Bethany House May 1, 2009)
by
Beverly Lewis


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Not until her own children were well into middle school did Bev seek to publish her work, first in magazines such as Highlights for Children, Dolphin Log, and Guideposts for Kids. Her first book followed in 1993—Mountain Bikes and Garbanzo Beans—presently retitled Big Bad Beans (book #22 in the popular CUL-DE-SAC KIDS series of chapter books—see list of Bev's children's books).

Beverly's first venture into adult fiction is the best-selling trilogy, THE HERITAGE OF LANCASTER COUNTY, including The Shunning, a suspenseful saga of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman drawn to the modern world by secrets from her past. The book is loosely based on the author's maternal grandmother, Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left her Old Order Mennonite upbringing to marry a Bible College student. One Amish-country newspaper claimed Beverly's work to be "a primer on Lancaster County folklore" and offers "an insider's view of Amish life."

Booksellers across the country, and around the world, have spread the word of Bev's tender tales of Plain country life. A clerk in a Virginia bookstore wrote, "Beverly's books have a compelling freshness and spark. You just don't run across writing like that every day. I hope she'll keep writing stories about the Plain people for a long, long time."

A member of the National League of American Pen Women, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus of Evangel University, Lewis has written over 80 books for children, youth, and adults, many of them award-winning. She and her husband, David, make their home in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, and playing with their three grandchildren. They are also avid musicians and fiction "book worms."






ABOUT THE BOOK

In the seemingly ordinary Amish home of Grace Byler, secrets abound. Why does her mother weep in the night? Why does her father refuse to admit something is dreadfully wrong? Then, in one startling moment, everything Grace assumed she knew is shattered.

Her mother's disappearance leaves Grace reeling and unable to keep her betrothal promise to her long-time beau. Left to pick up the pieces of her life, Grace questions all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment.

Heather Nelson is an English grad student, stunned by a doctor's diagnosis. Surely fate would not allow her father to lose his only daughter after the death of his wife a few years before. In denial and telling no one she is terminally ill, Heather travels to Lancaster County-- the last place she and her mother had visited together.

Will Heather find healing for body and spirit? As the lives of four wounded souls begin to weave together like an Amish patchwork quilt, they each discover missing pieces of their life puzzles--and glimpse the merciful and loving hand of God.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Secret, go HERE

The real deal

The kids were looking for plastic Easter eggs hidden in their mawmaw's yard Sunday. They found plenty of plastic eggs hidden in trees, but they also found these real ones!

Step outside your comfort zone

The teenage stage - in chickens

The bantam chicks are at that very awkward stage. They are part down feathers, put grown-up feathers. Many of them have bald spots where they have lost their down, but the other feathers haven't grown in yet. I love this stage - they look so funny!

These are some of our three white-crested black Polish.

Since these chicks were sold as "assorted bantams," we have done as much research as possible in order to make educated guesses as to each chick's breed. I am guessing the one below may be a white Japanese.

I have no idea what the one below is going to turn out to be. Some kind of splash or barred?

I think this one is be a silver-laced Polish.

These are Silver Seabrights.

We're not sure what this is, but he has a really weird comb, doesn't he? A rosecomb?

We have a couple of these... maybe partridge cochins? They have feathered feet.

A golden Seabright in the front, an Old English game in the back.

That same Old English game - we named him Chipmunk.

Aren't they just too cute?

Easter eggs from the homestead

Last night we dyed Easter eggs. Every year I say I am going to use natural dyes, and every year I totally forget about dying the eggs until the last minute. This year we finished at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night... past bedtime for the kids. Oh, well. Dying eggs doesn't really have anything to do with the true meaning of Easter, but it is a tradition and the kids really enjoy it.

Adam had to stand on the bench the entire time. He said if he sat down he couldn't see into the cups very well.

We only have three hens (our Polish hens) that lay white eggs, and only two of those three are currently laying. So we saved all their eggs for a couple of weeks so we would have plenty of white ones for dying. You can probably dye brown eggs, also, but I have never tried and didn't know if the colors would be true.

This is our egg gathering basket, but this morning it is the centerpiece on the table.... and the eggs look a little different than the plain brown and white ones that are normally in there!

HAPPY EASTER!

April showers bring May flowers...

Last year we had an awful drought in my area. Nobody was allowed to water lawns or wash cars at all and we were only allowed to water gardens only one day a week. We had many plants, including our tomatoes, that couldn't take the drought and really suffered.

Our city is still under mandatory water restrictions, but they have lessened them due to all the rain we have had the past couple of months. I'm very glad to have the life-giving water, but it sure is hard to plant when the ground stays wet and muddy. I'm not complaining though - the drought of last planting season is still fresh in my mind!

I ran out and took these pictures yesterday in between thunderstorms.

Book review: Chasing Charity

Chasing Charity
Barbour Publishing (April 2009)
by
Marcia Gruver


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marcia Gruver is a full time writer who hails from Southeast Texas. Inordinately enamored by the past, Marcia delights in writing historical fiction. Her deep south-central roots lend a Southern-comfortable style and a touch of humor to her writing.

Awarded a three book contract by Barbour Publishing for full-length historical fiction, Marcia is busy these days pounding on the keyboard and watching the deadline clock. Diamond Duo, the first installment in the trilogy entitled Texas Fortunes, is scheduled for release in October 2008.

Marcia won third place in the 2007 ACFW Genesis contest and third in the 2004 ACFW Noble Theme contest. Another entry in 2004 finished in the top ten. She placed second in the 2002 Colorado Christian Writer’s contest for new authors, securing a spot in an upcoming compilation book. “I Will Never Leave Thee,” in For Better, For Worse—Devotional Thoughts for Married Couples, was released by Christian Publications in January 2004.

She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Fellowship of Christian Writers, and The Writers View—and a longstanding member of ACFW Crit3 and Seared Hearts, her brilliant and insightful critique groups.

Lifelong Texans, Marcia and her husband, Lee, have one daughter and four sons. Collectively, this motley crew has graced them with ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter—so far.


ABOUT THE BOOK


When, in full view of family and friends, Charity Bloom's fiance leaves her stranded at the altar and takes off with her best friend, Charity is humiliated. How will this raven-haired beauty ever recover from losing both her betrothed and best friend on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life?

When tall, handsome roughneck Buddy Pierce finds oil on Charity's mama's land, he hopes to free the Blooms from their poverty-stricken state. But will Buddy find the real treasure lies above ground-in Charity herself?

Ruing the day he left his fiancee for Emily Dane, Daniel Clark is determined to recapture Charity's affection. But can he remove the three things that stand in his way-a manipulative mama, a spurned lover, and the stranger at his ex-fiancee's side?

When Daniel re-stakes his claim on Charity's heart, tongues wag and minds speculate amid schemes and scandals in Humble, Texas. Whom will she choose-the handsome roughneck or the deceitful rouge?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Chasing Charity, go HERE