Carol Moncado

Current Facebook Status: Such a perfect day to curl up under the covers and sleep in. Guess what I’m not doing? 😉

Currently playing in the background: Random radio at the painting/pottery place where my sister is painting a picture frame.

This is my review of the recently released book Deeply Devoted by Maggie Brendan.

From the back cover:

She is staking her future on a man she’s never met. Can she learn to love him?

When Catharine Olsen leaves Holland for Wyoming as a mail-order bride, she brings some extra baggage with her: two sisters, her mother’s set of Blue Willow china, and a tragic past. As she steps off the train, Peter Andersen is glad to see that she is everything her letters showed her to be. But he is a bit perturbed by her unexpected companions. How will he support them all? And what other secrets might Catharine be keeping from him?

Filled with sweet romance and vivid characters, Deeply Devoted highlights a clash of cultures as a highborn European and a simple wheat farmer learn to love one another and trust God with the past–and the future.

“Maggie Brendan has done it again. As gentle as a prairie breeze and as delicate as the Blue Willow china for which the series is named, Deeply Devoted is a tender and haunting tale that stirs heart and soul deeply–well beyond the last page.”–Julie Lessman, author of the Daughters of Boston series and the Winds of Change series

First – we know I adore Julie so her endorsement is a bonus :D. Look for more Julie reviews coming soon, btw.

I love the mail-order bride premise. I won’t buy any mail-order bride book, but I’ll definitely take a closer look at them. I loved Catharine and her devotion to her sisters and later to Peter. The impatient side of me wanted more answers sooner. The writer in me admired the way she kept me turning pages ;).

I don’t want to give spoilers but I loved the redemptive aspects of the book. Not just the characters I most wanted to have redeemed but others as well.

There were a few places where the dialogue bugged me, but not enough to put it down.

Overall: 8 out of 10 stars

This was supposed to post last week. Dunno why it didn’t :(.

Christine and her publisher provided me with an influencer e-copy of Shadowed in Silk. It came out as an e-book a few months ago and as a paper copy last week.

From the back cover:

She was invisible to those who should have loved her.

After the Great War, Abby Fraser returns to India with her small son, where her husband is stationed with the British army. She has longed to go home to the land of glittering palaces and veiled women . . . but Nick has become a cruel stranger. It will take more than her American pluck to survive.

Major Geoff Richards, broken over the loss of so many of his men in the trenches of France, returns to his cavalry post in Amritsar. But his faith does little to help him understand the ruthlessness of his British peers toward the Indian people he loves. Nor does it explain how he is to protect Abby Fraser and her child from the husband who mistreats them.

Amid political unrest, inhospitable deserts, and Russian spies, tensions rise in India as the people cry for the freedom espoused by Gandhi. Caught between their own ideals and duty, Geoff and Abby stumble into sinister secrets . . . secrets that will thrust them out of the shadows and straight into the fire of revolution.

My review:

Christine has woven a wonderful story about an American and a British soldier thrust into Indian unrest [like in India, not Native American].

From the beginning, I wondered how Christine would handle the obvious attraction between Abby and Geoff given Abby’s married status. I needn’t have worried.

There’s a war.

An orphanage.

A traitor.

A marriage that may or may not be salvageable.

I’d say she kept me turning pages long after I should have been asleep, but it was an e-copy :). Instead, Christine kept me hitting the arrow when I should have been doing other things.

It’s a book I’ll reread.

Shadowed in Silk gets 8.5 out of 10 stars.

And you can have a Kindle copy of Shadowed in Silk for just $3.03!!! Well worth it!

Current Facebook Status: 95 yesterday. 75 today! Gotta ♥ MO weather! But feels great today!

Currently playing in the background: As I type? St. Louis Cardinals v. Cincinatti Reds – though if I’m honest, I meant to jot a couple notes down during service [I often do this as if I don’t the thought I don’t want to forget takes over my mind until I barely pay attention to pastor – but if I jot down the note [like: What if Book 3 is about the teen working with Casey in t he nursery? – that later turned into the plotline for Baby Burbs] then I don’t dwell on it].

Today, though, jotting down a couple notes turned into a full-fledged blog post. But relevant and related to what Pastor Gary was talking about [and I have three pages of notes from the sermon that prove that I really was listening!]

So…

The Adorable Jenny B. Jones

First, I have to apologize to Jenny B. Jones and Thomas Nelson. I was sent an influencer copy of Save the Date when it first came out.  I was supposed to post this MONTHS ago after I first read it. I even emailed Jenny to tell her I’d enjoyed it and just a bit of the stuff below.

But then I lost the book.

For months.

Friday, though, I was cleaning my room [because my BFF is coming over to dress me for ACFW].

And guess what I found?!?!

I reread Save the Date this weekend. And once again, what Lucy needed to hear was just what I needed to hear. Again.

I don’t think talking about some of the spiritual stuff counts as spoilers especially if I’m not specific with regards to Lucy and Alex, but instead point out the overall truths Jenny brings out.

Julie Lessman - Passion with Purpose

Lucy and Alex are everyman in many ways, struggling with things like forgiveness. Mercy. Grace. Believing the lies of the enemy. Feelings of inadequacy. Worthlessness. Self-doubt.

Yeah. None of those apply to me.

And if you buy that, I’ve got a bridge you might be interested in.

So… quick tangent. But I promise to get back on point.

For months, ever since I first read her books, I’ve said I want to be Mary Connealy when I grow up [it’s why Pepper Basham loves me ;)]. Of course, if I can’t be Mary, I’ll “settle” for Janice Thompson [not that it’s “settling”, mind you, I just found Mary first].  Toss in a big dollop of Julie Lessman [the other reason Pepper loves me ;)], some Ruth Logan Herne, a big dash of Deeanne Gistand I’ll be a happy girl. Oh. And some Jenny B. Jones, too, of course.

If I could be that combo when I grow up, that would be amazing!

Aaaaaaaand… it would look something like this:

Mary, Julie, Deeanne, Ruthy, Janice, Jenny

Friend and ACFW Roomie Casey Herringshaw

I was talking to friend and ACFW Roomie Casey Herringshaw the other day and told her about the author I dreamt of being [that combo up there]. And you know what she said? “You mean be you?”

Amazing Rom Com Author and Critique Partner Debbie Archer

But wowzers! To say I write like some combination of those amazing women?

Who do I think I am?

What makes me think that I, of all people, belong anywhere near that list?

My amazing critique partner, Debbie Archer, told me to put Jenny’s Just Between You and Me on my comp list for Suburban Straightjacket. Really?

Janice Hanna Thompson

And toss Janice Thompson and Kaye Dacus‘ contemps in there too? [Yeah, Kaye should be on that list up there, too, by the way.]

As comparables? Really? *I* compare to *them*?

So back to my point. Jenny points out in Save the Date, that Lucy and Alex shouldn’t believe the lies about them.

And I shouldn’t believe the lies about me.

Pastor Gary and his wife

Today, Pastor Gary said three things that resonated with me [more than that, but three that are relevant]. Funny how God works like that, isn’t it?

“Decisions have descendants.” [Think on that one. It’ll come to you.]

“What God says about you isn’t a prophecy. It’s a destiny.”

And prophecies come out of the mouths of two or three witnesses.

[See? I was paying attention!]

So… What makes me think this writing thing is my destiny? That using those amazing women as comps really is comparable?

Friend and ACFW Roomie Pepper Basham

Well, just today, a friend returned a copy of Suburban Straightjacket. Said she was up until 2am reading it. Another friend who’d already read it and told me how much she liked it heard us talking and reiterated that her enjoyment. And a 3rd friend was ecstatic to take the copy home with her.

Two or three witnesses?

Add in my CP who loved it. Others who haven’t read my work but who have said they love my blog [back when I was blogging regularly :p], love my personality, etc. and can see it taking me to publication.

Ruth Logan Herne - Ruthy

That’s more than two or three.

So I’m making the decision to believe this. That this is my destiny. Not the self-doubt. The insecurities. The feelings of inadequacy.

The descendants of that decision could take years to see.

Deeanne Gist

Suburban Straightjacket and the rest of the Couples of Craigslist series may never get published. Or they may not be my first published works.

But this is something I’m supposed to do. I know this in my heart. It’s been confirmed by more than two or three witnesses.

It is my destiny. It’s God’s destiny for me.

So thank you, Pastor Gary and Jenny, for speaking God’s words into my life through your sermon and through a favorite romantic comedy.

Kaye Dacus - Humor, Hope and Happily Ever Afters

Is this the book God told me to write? Yes.

Is it the one God will tell someone to publish? Maybe.

Regardless, I’ll write what God tells me to write and pursue excellence. Keep doing it until the descendants of that decision pay off.

In whatever form that takes.

Because I don’t need to be any of those other amazing women.

I just need to be me.

And I look just a bit more like that picture ;).

Oh. Right.

A review of the book.

Here it is :D.

From the back cover:

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the year with the most unlikely bride and groom. Save the date…and say your prayers.

When funding for Lucy’s non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair Enterprises–the primary donor to Lucy’s non-profit organization.

Both Lucy and Alex have something the other desperately wants.

Alex has it all…except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancee in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn’t quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart–and her future–on the line.

Save the Date is a spunky romance that will have readers laughing out loud as this dubious pair try to save their careers, their dreams…and maybe even a date.

I grinned my way through this amazing story by Jenny B. Jones.  Lucy runs a home for girls who are aging out of the foster care system. This is an issue I do know a bit about as my hubby is a therapist at a group home for boys – boys like the girls Lucy cares for. I’m well aware of the need for a home like Saving Grace. [Lucy’s home is based on this real one.]

Lucy especially struggles with the lying required with their deal. I understand her dilemma. I loved the cast of supporting characters: former state first lady and new Christian, Clara. Her assistant, Julian. Lucy’s quirky bunch of sci-fi-nerd friends. Alex’s family. The girls living at Saving Grace, including Marinell, the newest resident and her family.

Overall, I give Save the Date 9 out of 10 stars for the book and an additional star for helping me realize truths about myself.

Thanks to Jenny B. Jones and Thomas Nelson for an influencer copy of the book. The opinions expressed here are my own :).

[And I should point out there are a zillion other amazing authors who I know and love who probably could be on that list – but I stuck with those who write what I want to…]

Current Facebook status: Two hour nap this morning while C was at preschool [slept horribly last night]. Now bed at 1030? Starting to feel old ;).

Currently Playing in the Background: Big Bang Theory and DH playing with DS4

*Guest post by Michelle Massaro

Congratulations, Lisa T. Bergren, author of Waterfall! Lisa’s winning excerpt was discovered by COTT’s new Talent Scout, Katie McCurdy. You can read Katie’s review here. This YA title is being highly-praised by adults and is only the second YA title to win at Clash Of The Titles. Visit Lisa’s site to learn more about her.

About the book:
Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.
Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…
and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?
Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? No wonder it won! If you’re ready to read it, head to Amazon now. You can read Lisa’s COTT interview here or check out her excerpt here.
Lisa, welcome to the COTT Hall of Fame. We’re very happy to have you join us!
Readers, do you hunger for a well-written convo–one dripping with sarcasm or perhaps laced with unspoken meaning? Maybe you like a quick wit or a character whose comments make you LOL. Wish you could influence the dialogue of the fictional characters you read? This week COTT is hosting a showdown for the Snappiest Dialogue. Hurry on over and let our authors know what you like, and what you long to see, in the spoken interaction between characters. See you there!

* Michelle Massaro is the Assistant Editor for COTT and has a passion for evangelizing through fiction. She writes contemporary inspirational novels with heart-rending themes intended to frame the message of God’s healing love. Michelle has written for Romantic Times, Circle Of Friends, and Pentalk Community, among others. Find her on twitter @MLMassaro, Facebook, or her blog, Adventures in Writing, and join the fun.

Current Facebook Status: Matt’s back at work. Girls are at school. C is at preschool. Two and a half hours of a quiet house. Whatever will I do with myself?!?!?!

Currently playing in the background: I Love Lucy and whiny kids.

As I mentioned last week, I’m an affiliate blog for Clash of the Titles. As part of that agreement, I’ll post the winner announcements every other week and blogs like this sometimes on the other weeks. Here we go!

Guest post by: Jennifer Slattery

Do you remember those dances held during junior high and high school? How you and your friends would spend hours pre-dance talking about what you’d wear, how you’d do your hair, and…giggle, blush, giggle…who might ask you to dance? Only those dances never quite ended up how we envisioned, at least not in my school. Inevitably, the guys huddled near the far, heavily-shadowed wall while the girls spent their time crying in the bathroom or trying to comfort their near hysterical friend hiding in the stall.

At least in Junior High. High School got a little better and people actually danced, and the bathrooms were far less crowded with splotchy-faced, sniffling girls.

But reading this week’s excerpts actually brought me back even further…to sixth grade.

We didn’t have dances–instead, our school hosted skating parties. Do you remember those? “Elvirah” blaring from those gigantic speakers while a disco ball lit up the room, making that feather pinned in your hair really stand out. (Those have come back, btw. Seriously.) We’d do the hokey-pokey, skate on one foot, then backward…but what the girls waited for, holding their breath and scanning the glittering room for their short, waif-thin and equally shy hero, was when the DJ announced, “Find a parnter!”

Now here’s where it gets really fun, and extremely embarrassing, but remember I was a stupid kid with absolutely no life….

Who knew come skating party time, a boy–maybe even the boy–might hold my hand. Oh, the very thought made my stomach twirl.

In preparation, I slathered lotion on my hands the week leading up the event–and I mean slathered. Then, I’d rub it in and hold my hand out to my mom. “Are my hands soft? Feel them.”

She’d laugh and feel my hand. Then I’d slather on more. “Feel them now.”

She remained patient for about three or four applications.

What about you? Any stupid, cheek-burning stories to share?

Be sure to come meet our competing authors this week on COTT

Current Facebook Status: I have just realized that my kids may never know what it’s like to watch ‘live TV’. Almost always get to ffwd through the commercials. Gotta love TiVo ;).

Currently Playing in the Background: Whatever DH has on. Because he has the week off. And as of today, all the kids are in school! OH MY!

From the back cover: As the oldest child in an impoverished Amish family, Lydia Lee knows little more of life beyond hard work, sacrifice and extreme hunger. Yet, even as a young girl she strives to be content with all God has provided. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Lydia’s childhood unfolds as her family struggles to survive, finding strength from their Amish faith. But, when tragedy strikes, that very faith is tested beyond what any child should have to endure. When all hope seems lost, Lydia is reminded that all things have seasons. The spring of her life has been spent planting prayers in the soil of sadness and heartache. Will she see a summer of true love? Will there be a harvest of happiness?

First – thanks to Elizabeth for a free influencer copy of Seasons.

I’m not a HUGE fan of Amish fiction. It’s not my first choice, but I’ll read it from time to time. Seasons was different though. I knew going in that it was the story of Elizabeth’s grandmother.

This was a quick, easy read. There was no real conflict. Not like we expect in ‘regular’ fiction books. No bad guy. No seemingly insurmountable secret the hero is holding, keeping him and the heroine apart. It’s the sweet story of an Amish girl growing up during the Depression and WWII.

I fell in love with Liddy and her family.

The only problem?

It ended too soon.

So it was a logical stopping point. And there’s no real threads still hanging. But still. Elizabeth isn’t Amish. Or at least that’s my guess, given the nternet access and all. So how did still-Amish Liddy come to have non-Amish grandkids? What about kids? How was her life as a wife and a mother different from that of her own mother during the Depression?

And so on.

But it’s a good read. And featured over on Pentalk today is an interview with Elizabeth.

Overall: 8 out of 10 stars

I’m now an affiliate blog with Clash of the Titles! I’ll be posting articles like this a couple times a month. These gals do good work! Be sure to check them out!

*guest post by Jennifer Slattery

The next Clash of the Titles literary champion is Anne Patrick! Her her novel A Familiar Evil won the vote for Author’s Choice.

Here’s a blip of her COTT winning excerpt (excerpt B):

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Chief Russell.”

Jordan’s stomach did a nosedive at the familiar voice of her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

“You found her,” Frank answered.

Jordan looked up just as Sam smiled. “Indeed I have.” He started toward her desk.

Colleen barged through the opened door. “Chief, there’s an Agent Russell here to see…oh, I guess you found her.”

“Agent Russell,” Frank repeated. He turned back to Jordan, “Isn’t Russell your married name?” He then shifted his gaze back to Sam, “That must mean you’re her husband.”

“Not for much longer.” Jordan hurried around her desk and ushered Frank out the door.

“You’ll be hearing from me.” She closed the door and looked at Sam. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here at your request.”

Read the full excerpt here.

A few reader comments: 

• I’m hooked! Loved the tension between Jordan and Sam.
• Both were really good! I Liked Excerpt B because of the rather humorous exchange between husband and wife. 🙂 Definitely a book I’d want to get and read!
• Love tension in Excerpt B. And there’s promise of lots more!!

After reading Anne’s tension-filled excerpt, we wanted to know how she came up with such great stories. Her answer? She writes on the fly.

“I’m a Pantser,” Anne said. “I never plan anything. As a matter of fact I didn’t know who the killer was in A Familiar Evil until toward the end of the book when he sprang out at me and said, ‘I’m your man.’ Of course I had suspected he was the one but I wasn’t for sure. There are several possibilities.”

Her plot ideas come to her just as unexpectedly. “Often times when I’m researching one book, ideas for another start to sprout,” Anne said. “Reading the paper is another good source for me. Life is truly stranger than fiction.

Read the full interview here.

What Anne had to say about her time on Clash:

“Thanks for having me here at COTT. You ladies are awesome!”

Want to join the fun? Hop on over to Clash of the Titles now to vote for our next literary champion and be entered into our drawing for a free book! And don’t forget to stop by Clash of the Titles Book Club to join our cyber-chat. We’re devouring Delia Latham’s Destiny’s Dream.

*Jennifer Slattery is the marketing manager for Clash of the Titles. She writes for Christ to the World Ministries, the Christian Pulse, and Samie Sisters. She’s also written for numerous other publications and websites including the Breakthrough Intercessor, Bloom!, Afictionado, the Christian Fiction Online Magazine, and Granola Bar Devotions. She has a short piece in Bethany House’s Love is a Flame (under a pen name) forwarded by Gary Chapman, another piece in Cathy Messecar’s A Still and Quiet Soul, and a third piece scheduled to appear in Majesty House’s Popcorn Miracles. You can find out more about her and her writing at Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud and you can catch some great writing tips at her writing blog, Words That Keep.

Current Facebook status: And the rockets red glare… The bombs bursting in air… Or just night firing from the Wilson’s Creek Reenactment 😉

Currently playing in the background: fighting kids and Phineas and Ferb

I’M BACK!

I hope.

I’ve been woefully remiss in posting the last couple months. I have an excuse. Really. My laptop died and the netbook just isn’t a workhorse. I need a workhorse. The netbook is perfect for what I bought it for – writing on the go. But not for everyday stuff.

In the meantime, I did manage to finish the rough draft of Suburban Straightjacket and have made it through a round or two of edits. I even got it [mostly] to my fabulous critique partner on time! And Debbie’s is fabulous! Her book… I loved it!!!

But I now have a new laptop. I’m working on the sequel to Suburban Straightjacket and synopses for it and about 5 other books. But I have a plan for them now. Back to work…

I’m over on Pentalk today – so pop on by and say hi!