Carol Moncado

Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late?

This is the first contemporary novel I’ve read by Putman. Set on Mackinac Island, the setting becomes a character in itself.

I’ve never been and didn’t know much about the island [other than it exists], but Putman did a wonderful job of making it come alive.

Alanna Stone left Mackinac after a cloud of suspicion follows her brother – and by extension, her – following the drowning death of a classmate. She’s moved on and vowed never to return, but she has to and the first person she runs into, literally, is Jonathan – her high school sweetheart. The “one who got away”.

But he has a new woman and a small child in his life.

The secrets of the past won’t stay buried long. New mysteries arise before the old ones are solved. Alanna and Jonathan are forced to work together to figure it all out and protect herself, her family and her heart. Jonathan finds himself torn between the past, the future he’d imagined for himself as a teen and the future he saw before Alanna reappeared.

Putman kept me guessing whodunit until nearly the last minute. I did suspect, but the motive escaped me until she revealed it. Looking back, I can see the hints strewn throughout but I wasn’t quite smart enough or with it enough to put them all together.

If you like your romance with a dollop of mystery and suspense, this is the book for you.

Overall rating: 8.5 out of 10

Thanks to Cara and Barbour for a free influencer copy of this book.

The only man pragmatic Lilly Hart needs in her life is a six year old. Widowed two years ago, Lilly leaves the shelter of her intrusive in-laws’ home to stand on her own and provide for her young son by working for the summer as a cook at Lake Manawa. However, her in-laws find that life utterly unsuitable for their grandson, and when a row ensues, a handsome stranger–who designs roller coasters, of all things–intercedes on her behalf. Still, Lilly is not about to get involved with any man, especially this cocky (though charismatic) gentleman. Little does she know she is about to begin the ride of her life.

Filled with delightful characters and the romance of summer, The Ride of Her Life is another supremely entertaining story from the witty Lorna Seilstad. Readers will laugh out loud and sigh contentedly as they spend the summer of 1906 in Lake Manawa.

This is the third in Lorna’s Lake Manawa Summers series. I won the first one off Casey Herringshaw’s blog [it’s how I first met the lovely Casey :)]. The second I won somewhere else though I forget where. This one, I volunteered to influence for. [At least in part because then I’d have to make time to read the second one which kept getting pushed further down the to read list by other review/influence books ;)].

Lilly Hart is a widow with a six-year-old boy. And rich former in-laws who think it’s their responsibility to raise the boy “right”. Their right and Lilly’s right are very different.

She takes Levi and strikes out on her own – as a cook at a diner serving the crew building the new roller coaster.

And the head of that crew is Nick Perrin. Too handsome for her own good and taking an interest in both her and Levi. The interest is mutual. At least on Levi’s part. Lilly tries harder to deny the attraction, feeling it’s disloyal to her late husband’s memory.

The characters from the first two books are back and as full of life as ever. It’s wonderful to see the happily ever afters being played out by the couples from Making Waves and A Great Catch. The new characters are priceless – especially Eugenia.

A lesson in learning to trust – and love – again is one that bears repeating and Seilstad does so in a wonderfully entertaining style.

Though this brings the Lake Manawa Summers series to a close, I’ll be looking forward to more books by this lady.

Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

Beautiful, three-year-old twins Kara and Lizzie Holbrooke live a charmed life with their widowed but doting father, Jack. When Jack finds love and marries again, it seems all their lives will finally be “happy ever after.” That new life shatters when Jack and his wealthy parents are killed in a plane crash. Jack’s new wife, Amanda, inherits the family’s estate but fails to gain custody of the twins.

Devastated but bound by her covenant to care for the girls, Amanda manages the estate, hopeful she’ll be able to return it to Kara and Lizzie one day. Meanwhile, the twins grow up in an abysmal home environment with distant family members and become hard-drinking, shoplifting, promiscuous teenagers.

After years of trying to reach them, Amanda is finally able to offer them love, comfort, wealth–the life they have always wanted. But when all you’ve known is deprivation, how can you believe a gift of grace? When you’ve been lied to for so long, how can you ever know the truth?

Intensely involving, emotionally charged, and infused with hope, Covenant Child is an inspiring story that challenges us to embrace the life God holds out to us.

I’m not sure if this is my first book by Blackstock or not, but it won’t be my last.

Lizzy and Kara are twins – heirs to a fortune of near Bill Gates-like proportions. But their young lives are marred by tragedy from the beginning. Their mother died when they were but a few weeks old. Their father eventually remarried a lovely woman named Amanda but before she could officially adopt the girls, he was killed, along with their paternal grandparents, in a plane crash. Their father’s will stipulates that Amanda is to raise the girls but…

She has a fight on her hands.

Enter the maternal grandparents. After only the inheritance, they fight Amanda for the girls.

And win.

Though the maternal grandparents are given the means to provide for the girls from the estate of their deceased paternal grandparents, the girls are raised in a home that most of us would do well to survive, much less thrive, in. Finding their worth in meaningless relationships and cheap thrills, the girls believe that once they turn eighteen, they’ll regain what’s rightfully theirs.

Then they learn the truth.

And like many of us, when it comes to accepting what is rightfully ours as joint heirs with Christ, they have a hard time believing the truth. Especially when it runs so counter to everything they’ve been told since they went to live with their maternal grandparents.

Blackstock does a wonderful job of making us care about Kara [the book is told in first person, present tense, from Kara’s POV], Lizzy, Amanda, some of the boys/men they encounter and even the maternal grandparents. At least somewhat.

It’s not a light, fluffy read but I did smile at times. And cried at others.

The lesson is invaluable and one that I, along with many others, need to learn.

I’ll be looking for the next Blackstock book when it becomes available.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Thanks to BookSneeze for a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Always the Designer, Never the Bride

It ‘s taken Audrey Regan years to establish herself as a wedding dress designer, and to date she ‘s been roped into creating dresses for nine of her girlfriends. Request #10 follows her vow to Just say no and comes from her very best friend. She can hardly turn Carly down Audrey arrives in Atlanta early to perform all of her maid-of-honor duties along with final fittings for a one-of-a-kind dress. But Carly ‘s wedding is nothing short of an event, complete with Prince Charming, and the festivities make Audrey question whether there ‘s a prince of her own anywhere in her future. Enter the groom ‘s brother and best man. Shaggy-haired, tattooed bad boy J.R. Hunt couldn t be any more different from Prince Charming if he rode in on a Harley Davidson. Oh, wait. He actually did ride in on a Harley.

The third installment in Sandra Bricker’s Emma Rae Creations series doesn’t disappoint! She brings back the characters from the first two books and adds some wonderful new ones to the mix.

Audrey is a bridal gown designer – something she’s wanted since she was little. Trying to make it in NYC is tough though, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. She heads to Atlanta for her best friend’s wedding on her last dime and in the middle of trying to land an account that would put her on the map.

JR was introduced in book 2 as a friend of Russell, the Australian movie star. He’s a Harley riding, semi-bad boy full of wanderlust. He returns to Atlanta to spend time with his brother and sister-in-law before his brother ships out.

I loved Audrey and JR and seeing all of the characters from the first two books come back to flesh out their happily-ever-afters. I particularly loved Russell’s story of redemption from his first introduction in the second book through the end of this one. His story isn’t finished, and I would love it if Bricker would continue his story in another series, but there’s enough closure that I’m happy :).

The ending did seem a bit abrupt. The HEA resolution, that is. It’s not something I could quite put my finger on, but the last chapter seemed like it might have been better served as two or something. As a writer, I know the author doesn’t always have a ton of control over how much space they have and sometimes it’s beyond his/her control, so I can give the benefit of the doubt and go with ‘the happy ending was there’ even if I would have liked to see it a bit more fleshed out.

This is my third book of Sandra E. Bricker’s. It won’t be my last.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Abingdon for a review ecopy of this book. The opinion expressed is my own.

HeThis week, COTT is featuring a Clash of Leading Ladies. But just how are interesting characters born? Here’s one author’s experience. Welcome Carol Moncado.

Do you ever wonder how authors come up with their characters? I’ve heard of authors who fashion their main characters after a barista at their favorite coffee shop or some guy on the bus who looked interesting. The further I get into my writing journey, the more I find my characters often come from real life. For instance:

The weekend before Easter, I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy – where half your face just stops working. Fun.

Not really, but it’s great story fodder. That’s me. The story is one I started recently.

She was wearing an eye patch.

At church.

On Easter.

A pink eye patch.

It might have been what drew my attention to her, but it wasn’t what kept it. She stood there, singing along with the praise and worship band, her hands raised. Worshiping her Maker with abandon. But only half of her face worked. The whole thing lit up but only half of it moved. The half with the eye patch seemed to be paralyzed, but it didn’t bother her.

Now, to be fair, the heroine is younger, skinnier, with darker, straighter hair than me, but that’s where the idea for her came from.

In February, Travis [one of the shift managers at my favorite Panera] informed me I needed to name a character after him. Travis-with-the-faux-hawk became the hero in a manuscript.

I flopped into the recliner and ran my hands over my face until my fingers furrowed rows in my faux-hawk. The one that made the kids think I was way cooler than I really was.

But Travis won’t see his name in print. A week ago, he was in a car accident. At age 22, he left this life – leaving behind the love of his life and two children.

I’m deeply saddened by news of Travis’ passing. To me he was more than ‘just’ a shift manager at the Panera I frequent. He was a nice guy I loved to chat with. Another manuscript I planned to work on is about a widow. That’s all I knew until last week. Now, she’s a widow with young children a few years after a senseless tragedy.

Twenty-two is too young to be a widow.

Bethany Sheer knew this with absolute certainty.

And even though twenty-two had passed her three years earlier – along with her husband, the love of her life and the father of her two children – she remembered all too clearly what the pain tearing through the heart of the young woman on the news felt like.

Someday, I hope to be able to share Travis-with-the-faux-hawk with his family. To let them know that he touched my life. That he inspired a character in a novel – and so did they.

Because the best inspiration is what we find all around us.

When she’s not writing about her imaginary friends,Carol Moncado is hanging out with her husband and four kids in the big yard of her southwest Missouri home, teaching American Government at a community college, reading, or watching NCIS. You can follow her ramblings on her blog .

**Be sure to head over to Clash of the Titles and cast your vote today!**

A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built a life far removed from her trailer park teen years. Until an interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. Determined to pay her respects while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. So when Bethany is left the land, he must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away. 

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace she’s not even sure exists?

Bethany Quinn [which is also the name of the daughter of one of my dear friends from high school – I found it slightly distracting though it’s unlikely many others would] returns home after twin tragedies force her hand. One hit after another comes in the form of job problems, relationship issues, death and disease, and any number of other things. Feeling beaten down, she wants to run, but is forced to stay and deal with it all.

Including Evan.

Her grandfather’s right hand man on his farm and the brother-in-law of Bethany’s best friend. Will Bethany be able to put the past behind her? Will Evan be able to break down her walls? Particularly those related to Christianity?

This is Ganshert’s debut novel. It’s well written and well plotted. I’d heard wonderful things about it, which is why I requested it to review. As much as I wanted to love it as much as the others I’d heard talking about it, I just didn’t.

Ganshert did a good job with her settings. I felt like I was in rural Iowa, small town USA. I could see the farm and the town, including the cafe. I loved the cafe. She also did a great job of making me feel like I was in Chicago for the brief time Bethany was there. Not that I’ve ever been [I live in slightly bigger than small town USA so that helps], but I could still see it in my mind’s eye.

For some reason – nothing I could put my finger on, mind you – I had a hard time connecting with the main characters, particularly the heroine. I liked Evan better, but still didn’t connect with him very well.

There were a couple of things left either unresolved or unexplained that sort of bugged me – like exactly what happened with the pastor – Ganshert hinted at it and I could make some assumptions, but if she came right out and said, I missed it.

I liked the book, but, as much as I wanted to, I didn’t love it. I will be picking up Ganshert’s next release. It’s the story of the heroine’s best friend and the character I most connected with.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Thanks to Waterbook/Multnomah and Blogging for Books for a free review copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Last Saturday was the birthday of my now seven-year-old! Such a beautiful little girl! Her Easter pic:

It was also our monthly MozArks ACFW meeting with special guest Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner.

Look at that smile on Tracey’s face! I love that gal!

And there’s the spot where the doc lasered the scar on my nose :p. Probably scared poor Rachel and Laura [first time visitors]!

Here’s me and Kathleen:

Then someone took pity on me and fixed my nose [her name is also Kathleen – I don’t know her – I think she’s friends with one of the other gals I tagged in the pics on Facebook]. This is what I’d look like when my face still only partly works, but my nose looks more normal ;).

So many of my friends said such lovely things about how they hardly noticed because they were just happy to see me and not my nose ;).

So… goals…

I haven’t been very good about posting how I’m doing on my goals for the year, but today I went through and made a plan for my writing goals between now and ACFW Conference in September.

They’re ambitious to say the least.

There will likely be lots of grace involved [if I get all of this done, I’ll be amazed, but it’s doable if I really treat this writing thing as a job – in fact, on the writing days, it’s less than 1K most days the kids are home, none most weekends, and 3-5K the days the kids are all at school].

Anyway, here they are:

1. Finish three WIPS [the new Bell’s Palsy one, Rolemodel Romeo and Baby Burbs – the 2nd/3rd books in the Craigslist series]
2. Start and/or finish polishing 3-4 manuscripts [the one still in Genesis, the Speedbo 9/11 one, the Bell’s Palsy one, and maybe the one from #3].
3. Start a new manuscript during NovelSista weekend with Jess and Kristy – my goal for that weekend is 15K/day + 2K on my travel home day [since I’ll be taking the train partway home]. Finish it in July.
4. Create and/or update synposes, one sheets, sell sheets, etc. before conference

See? Ambitious ;). For the rest of this month, my goal is to write the missing scenes from the Genesis manuscript and start hard copy edits for the Speedbo 9/11 thing. No specific word count, just finish the extra scenes for the one WIP. Would like it to be in the 6-10K range when all is said and done. It’s currently at about 77K and needs to be 83-90K when it’s all said and done so…

Anyway, there you have it. Doable? Yep. Gonna happen? We’ll see ;).

Coming this week:
Book reviews! I’ve been busy reading and will be posting several reviews this week!

Okay – so I’m into alliteration these days ;). Go with it :D.

First, good news! No – great news! Yesterday, the semi-finalists were announced for ACFW’s Genesis contest! To my great surprise and delight, one of my entries made it to the next round!!!!

• The Contemporary Romance category had over 80 entries.
• Twenty made it through to the semi-finals.
• Three will be chosen as finalists near the end of next month.
• The winner is announced during the gala at the ACFW Conference in Dallas next September.

I don’t know what my chances are of finaling. There are some insanely talented authors in my category. And some insanely talented authors who DIDN’T semi-final. To even be included in that group is an honor and so humbling.

But for now, I’m smiling. Sort of ;).

Because look. I almost have a smile again!

And I felt sunshine-y ;).

As for surprises… Went into the doc who did the first surgery [Mohs] in February. He decided to laser my scar so that it’ll be even less noticeable. That’s great and all. But it hurt and by the time I got to the car, I was literally shaking. Had to sit there for a while until I calmed down. And I’m glad it’ll be better. But right now it just HURTS! [No pic of that forthcoming…] And it’s bleeding a bit. And my glasses bother it so I’m wearing my contacts for the first time since January. My right eye especially is bothering me [that’s the Bell’s Palsy eye].

I feel whiny.

I’ve had a great week. Got great feedback from an editor last week and already got the Genesis score sheets from that same manuscript [it didn’t semi-final] and there were some really lovely comments on those. A different manuscript semi-finaled which means I have TWO that are making progress in contests. That’s GREAT! And hubby is gonna bring me a new Smokehouse BBQ Chicken sub for dinner [even though he won’t get home until late].

But I still feel like I just can’t catch a break.

Cuz it just hurts :(.

Sidelined by injuries from a vicious assault, chaplain Riley Hale is determined to return to her former duties as an ER nurse. But how can she show she’s competent when the hospital won’t let her attempt even simple tasks? Determined to prove herself, Riley volunteers at a controversial urban free clinic despite her fears about the maverick doctor in charge.

Dr. Jack Travis defends his clinic like he’s commander of the Alamo. He’ll fight the community’s efforts to shut its doors, even if he must use Riley Hale’s influential family name to make it happen.

As Riley strives to regain her skills, Jack finds that she shares his compassion—and stirs his lonely heart. Riley senses that beneath Jack’s rough exterior is a man she can believe in. But when clinic protests escalate and questions surface about his past, Jack goes into battle mode and Riley wonders if it’s dangerous to trust him with her heart.

It’s no secret that Candace is a friend of mine, but I’ve been looking forward to this book since waaaaaay before then! I forget exactly how I first heard of Candy [through a post on Megan DiMaria’s blog maybe?], but I’d already read the first two in Calvert’s Mercy Hospital series and met her about the time the third on came out. In that third book, Code Triage, we were introduced to Riley Hale and I couldn’t wait to read the next one. In the eighteen months since then, Candace has become a very dear friend and one I am so so so so glad to know!

I literally squealed when this book hit my mailbox and was so disappointed I couldn’t read it right away. Within a couple weeks, though, I was immersed and finished it in record time.

Riley’s been hurt, both physically and emotionally. Jack isn’t far behind. He’s running a medical clinic no one seems to want and his past is determined to catch up with his present and continue to torment him far beyond what it should. Riley works at his clinic and becomes immersed in the conflict surrounding it.

The story kept my interest from page 1 until “The End” [which is, by the way, my least favorite part of most books – you know, where there’s no more words to read] but what truly brought it alive was the characters. From Riley’s next door neighbor, Wilma, the staff in the hospital ER and other wards, Bandy Biggs who works at the clinic with his paraplegic dog Hobo to Vesta, whose tormented past hold her hostage in the present and who must overcome it for everyone’s future. They are rich, wonderful characters who have stuck with me long after those dreaded words “The End” passed.

This is the first book in Candace’s new Grace medical series and I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on the other two!

Overall Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars

Accused of murdering a child under her care, Irish healer Rachel Dunne flees the ensuing scandal while vowing to never sit at another sickbed. She no longer trusts in her abilities-or God’s mercy–though when a cholera epidemic sweeps through London, she feels compelled to nurse the dying daughter of the enigmatic physician she has come to love. James Edmunds, wearied by the deaths of too many patients, has his own doubts about God’s grace. Together, they will have to face their darkest fears . . . and learn what it means to have real faith.

It’s not unusual for me to read a book quickly – in fact, most books I read, I read quickly. Nancy’s The Irish Healer was no exception.

Rachel left Ireland in disgrace – both from the outside and the inside. From the moment I stepped foot on the boat beside her, I could feel her pain as well as the salty air. Herriman’s debut novel brings alive the journey from Ireland to England and then London itself in a way I could only wish to copy.

James is also running from his past. And his new assistant is Irish which certainly doesn’t endear her to his staff. But she stirs something in him, long forgotten. They fight the mutual attraction, but we all know that can’t go on forever.

Herriman pulled me in and didn’t let go. My heart broke with Rachel. It bled for James as I finally figured out what he was hiding from. And when the cholera epidemic hits, I wondered what more tragedy they would have to face – and would they be able to face it together? Or would it tear them apart?

As with all romances, there is the requisite happy ending, but knowing the destination didn’t make the journey any less pleasurable. I look forward to more from Ms. Harriman – hopefully in the near future!

Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars