I’ve been hearing about this book for a while now. Heard it wasn’t like anything else out there. Heard it wasn’t going to be “for everybody.” 


Once I finally got my hands on it, I understood.


It is NOT like any thing I’ve ever read. It’s part Christian living, but not like what you think of when you hear “Christian living.” It’s part devotional, but not like what you think of when you hear “devotional.”


It is other.


Which is appropriate, because overcoming giants? Living a fruitful life? That requires something OTHER.


You don’t need me to tell me you that. You already know. You already know that the usual stuff isn’t going to cut it. And that’s why you need to read this book. 


Lori is not interested in patting you on the back and telling you a fluffy story. This is a grown up story for grown ups fighting grown up giants in grown up battles.


If you’re looking for a book full of platitudes that will make you feel better, this book isn’t for you. If you’re happy remaining childish in your faith, then you should pass.


But it you want to take your childLIKE faith and put some muscle on it? 
If you want to explore what virtue looks like in this day and age?
If you want to learn how to use Biblical knowledge in battle?
If you have issues with self-control (um, ouch), know you aren’t always as steadfast as you should be, get a little nervous about “godliness,” struggle with how to juggle affection and confrontation, and suspect that there is something missing in the way you love…then Jesus and the Beanstalk could be the very thing you didn’t even realize you were looking for.


I know. Some of you are getting a little antsy. This sounds a lot like to-dos and those of us who consider ourselves to be recovering legalists tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to anyone telling us we NEED to do ANYTHING other than trust in Jesus.


Relax.


This book is not about condemnation. 
This book is not about doing more or pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.


It IS about putting on the whole armor of God. 
It IS about growing in our understanding of Scripture.
It IS about seeking holiness and righteousness.
It IS about Biblical sanctification. 


It is OTHER.


And it can help you live a life that will point others to Jesus and the extraordinary, better-than-any-fairytale life He offers.

About the book: 

Lori Stanley Roeleveld is the author of Running from a Crazy Man (and other adventures traveling with Jesus) and Red Pen Redemption. Her blog, LoriRoeleveld.com, was voted Top 100 Christian Blogs by RedeemingGod.com and has enjoyed over 1.5 million views. Lori lives in Hope Valley, RI.

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Every time I see a book on “structure” or “story” I find myself bracing for the inevitable battle. If you’ve hung around with writers for long you know why, don’t you? 

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Lori Roeleveld

One of my favorite writers anywhere ever is Lori Roeleveld. I’ve had a writer crush on her since 2010, when I heard her share her story in a workshop at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference…and then listened as her name was called several times during the awards ceremony a few days later. 

Running from a Crazy Man

Here’s what I had to say about it on Facebook: Lori is one of my favorite writers and Running from a Crazy Man is the kind of book that will encourage you as you walk with the Lord. Of course, by encourage, I mean the way jumper cables “encourage” a car to start! Running from a Crazy Man isn’t the kind of book you read and then close the pages and think, “well, that was nice.” Running from a Crazy Man is the kind of book you read and then get out of your comfy chair and live the adventure Jesus is calling you to.

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Hi Everyone!! I’ve missed you!

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All of these great opportunities are in celebration of the release of Silenced, the fourth book in Dani Pettrey‘s Alaskan Courage series.

As a rule, I only read a series in order, and while I realize not everyone feels like that is the only way to do it (even though it totally is) I should say that if you read these books out of order, I think you’ll be missing too much to be able to fully appreciate the character and romantic development. By the time you get to Silenced, you’ve already seen Jake and Kayden interacting for three books, and been in their heads quite a bit in the last book, so these characters are already familiar. And I know for me, I was rooting for Jake to finally break through Kayden’s tough shell.

All you have to do is visit http://www.danipettrey.com/rugged-romance-sweepstakes/ to enter!

Wow! Such a packed post! Be sure to enter both for the free copy of Silenced and the great prizes in the Rugged Romance Sweepstakes!

Super fine print for the free book…

No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning are based on number of entries.Giveaway begins May 19 and ends at midnight May 26. Up to 4 entries per person. Entries can be made by commenting on this blog post or by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Giveaway open to US residents, 18 and older. I will contact the winner via email and winners will have three days to respond before I will award the book to the next winner.

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I know things have been a little, okay, a LOT, quiet around here lately, but there’s a great reason.

But I am taking a little break from novel writing to share with you three books for your summer reading list.

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There are only a handful of authors whose books shoot to the top of my to-be-read pile as soon as they become available.

Lynette Eason is one of those authors.

No One To Trust is the first novel in her new Hidden Identity series. I was a little sad to say goodbye to the characters in the Deadly Reunions Series, and I wondered how she would top the twisty plotline that wound through those books.

But she did.

No One To Trust opens with a murder. It’s followed by a blood pumping chase that ends in …well…I won’t say, but by this time, I want to know who David Hackett is, and why Kyle Abernathy is being chased by a hit man.

If you think you’ll be able to catch your breath, you’re wrong, because the next scene comes straight from most women’s nightmares. Summer Abernathy wakes up to find a man pointing a gun at her. He’s not there to kill her, but what he tells her sends her world into a tailspin, and takes the reader along for the ride.

For the next 300 pages, the story unfolds, one tantalizing detail at a time. We meet siblings, clients, former military unit members, U.S. Marshalls, and let’s not forget the mob boss with a snake fetish and his seriously dysfunctional family.

Lynette does a masterful job of introducing new characters and keeping the entire cast distinct. I never struggled to follow along, even toward the end when plot lines and characters were converging and then taking off in unexpected directions.

No One To Trust also gives us a nice spin on the typical romance, because the main characters are already married. The question is, will their marriage survive? Can Summer forgive Kyle for lying to her? Can Kyle keep them alive long enough to convince Summer that the one thing he hadn’t lied about was his love for her?

Underpinning the entire novel are beautiful themes of redemption, forgiveness, and, ultimately trust, making No One To Trust both a thrilling and uplifting experience.

No One To Trust is available from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in January 2014 from your favorite bookseller.

The super fine print: I received this book in exchange for my opinion. I was not required to provide a favorable review. All opinions are my own.

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Anyone else feel like the holiday hustle began right after Halloween this year?

It’s been CRAZY at my house. 

But, you know me. I’ve always got time to read a good book. Or two! And I want to share them with you.

I met Lisa Carter in 2010 at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, before she had an agent, or a book deal (or four!). 

I’m so excited to share her first two books with you today. You know you’ve got a someone or two on your shopping list who would love for you to introduce them to a new author. Consider your list a little bit shorter!

Aloha Rose

This is Lisa’s second book. It just came out this month and it is such a sweet story. I generally prefer my books to have a little bit more mayhem and murder, but I couldn’t put this one down!

The only thing Laney Carrigan has to tie her to her birth family is the Hawaiian quilt she was wrapped in as a baby. But that quilt holds the key to everything she’s searching for—the answers to her questions and a reason to put down roots. Of course, Kai Barnes complicates her plans from the first time they meet. He knows there’s more to the mysterious Laney Carrigan than she’s chosen to share with the family. She can’t be trusted. Not with the plantation—and certainly not with his heart.

Aloha Rose is a beautiful story that doesn’t shy away from the painful consequences of sin, the damage unforgiveness can do to our hearts, and the desperate need we all have for grace.

Carolina Reckoning

This is Lisa’s first book and it came out this summer. Lisa uses the tag line “Sweet Tea with a Slice of Murder” (isn’t that the BEST!!!) and Carolina Reckoning met every expectation a tag line like that has.

It’s so very Southern! Set in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, the conflict centers around a historic estate complete with a main house, gardens, and wealthy board members. The characters are as varied as the dishes at a church dinner. There are exotic outsiders, quirky cousins, scary strangers, and let’s not forget the downright creepy psychopaths.

The opening pages of Carolina Reckoning will twist your heart as Alison Monaghan discovers proof that her husband has been cheating on her. She’s going to confront him, but instead finds herself staring into the face of homicide detective Mike Barefoot. Her husband will never come home, but are the people responsible for his death willing to leave his family alone?
Or is Alison next on their list?

Carolina Reckoning will keep you guessing until the climax when … oh, wait a minute. I’m not going to tell you!

Buy the book. Buy both of them. Buy one for your friends. Put one in your daughter’s stocking. Send one to your grandma. Hmm…that’s actually a really good idea. My Granny loves to read…(yes, it’s hereditary). Grab it for your Kindle and read it while everyone is watching football tomorrow.

You can’t go wrong with Aloha Rose or Carolina Reckoning!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

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We all make art in A Million Little Ways.

Yes, you do, too.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as artistic or creative, after reading Emily P. Freeman’s latest offering, you’ll view everything you do in a new light. Because “art is what happens when you dare to be who you really are.” (p. 21)

While I have no trouble saying that I’m a writer, I’ve never considered myself to be an artist. Art is painting, drawing, sculpture, design. Art it musicals, opera, plays, and concerts.

Or is it?

What if art is so much more and what if all of us make art in a million little ways?

Making beds, writing books, cooking meals, designing clothes, playing with Legos, decorating interiors, and hosting dinner parties, all can be ways you express yourself, ways you create, ways you make art.

The most beautiful thing? God uses us as “we make art with our lives” to reveal different aspects of Himself to a world that desperately needs Him.

A Million Little Ways is divided into three parts:

In Part 1, we see a beautiful picture of God as the Artist and us, as His image-bearers, placed in the world to live art.
In Part 2, we uncover the art we were born to make by looking within, back, up, around, and beneath.
In Part 3, we release the art we were made to live when we show up, wait, offer, wonder, and create.

Emily P. Freeman writes with a transparency and honesty that always leaves me surprised to discover that someone else struggles with the same things I do. Each chapter feels like a conversation with a friend who sees beauty in you. Beauty you may be unable to see in yourself, not because of anything you can do in your own strength, but because you are an image-bearer of The Artist.

There was so much in these pages to digest, to ponder, to consider, to breathe in and live out, that I don’t feel one read-through was sufficient so I’m starting over and reading it again.

Lucky for you, when I attended Allume a few weeks ago, I got to hear Emily speak and the fine folks at Revell gave all the attendees a copy of A Million Little Ways. But I already had my review copy from Revell, so I’m going to share the art with you. Subscribe to the blog through email or leave me a comment here on the blog, on Facebook, or Twitter. I’ll put the names in the random number generator and whoever it picks will win their own copy. Contest ends Sunday, November 24th.

A Million Little Ways is available November 2013 at your local bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing.

The super fine print: I received a copy of A Million Little Ways in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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