A few months ago several of my writer friends mentioned that Laura Frantz writes great historical fiction. So when the fine folks at Revell gave me the opportunity to review her latest, Love’s Reckoning, I decided to see for myself. Oh. My. Goodness. Love’s Reckoning drew me in, transported me to post-Revolutionary Pennsylvania and reminded me of how much… [ read more ]

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Steven James . His Patrick Bowers thrillers are so beautifully written that even though they walk the very edge of what my wimpy self can handle in the blood and gore department, I cannot resist them. Steven James knows how to tell a story. So I was excited to see how he… [ read more ]

I broke one of my personal reading rules for this book. I never (well, I guess now that would be almost never) read the books from a series out of order. I worry that I might be missing something important that came up in a previous book. I’m re-thinking my rule. Because Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon was fantastic,… [ read more ]

I know I said I’d be reviewing books and such every other week, but I had the opportunity to review two great books from Revell—one fiction, one nonfiction—but both reviews needed to be posted during the same week. I decided to go for it. Today, we’ll hit the nonfiction and tomorrow, you’ll get an Extra Edition.… [ read more ]

I keep expecting Edie to tell me she’s had enough of me, but she keeps letting me invade her corner of the internet on the first Thursday of the month! Today, I’m sharing my thoughts on a great e-book by Jeff Goins – You Are A Writer . I’d love for you to swing on over to The Write Conversation and chime in! And don’t forget,… [ read more ]

We spent last week talking about what it means to me to be Out of the Boat. (If you missed it, you can read about it here ). Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to someone who got out of the boat, or in her case, out of the country, and followed the call of God to a remote… [ read more ]

Can you believe it’s July? How did that happen?! I hope you are in the midst of a fun and fabulous summer. Here at Out of the Boat, I’m scaling back a little for July. I’ll be posting once a week this month so I can spend some time focusing on my fiction writing (yeah, I’m… [ read more ]

I have a few pet peeves. Well, probably more than a few. And if I tried to list them, there is one that would make the top five. Maybe the top three. Man bashing. I’m not talking about good natured teasing. I’m talking about the tendency for women to gather for lunch or an evening out… [ read more ]

Every now and then, the title of a book speaks to me. Give them Grace – Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus is just such a book. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do this, right? The back cover copy is equally compelling. “All of us want to raise good kids. And we want to be good parents. But what exactly do we mean by… [ read more ]

I’m a fan of a lot of things. Chocolate Watermelon A medium-rare filet mignon BLTs (Has anyone else noticed that I’m a fan of food?) Clemson Duke (yes, it is possible to like Clemson & Duke) Anyone playing for Team U.S.A. in the Olympics NCIS The Big Bang Theory (the show, not the actual theory)… [ read more ]