A Valley of Betrayal by Tricia Goyer

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

A Valley Of Betrayal

(Moody Publishers - February 1, 2007)

by Tricia Goyer (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and homeschooling mom!)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tricia is a members of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. She also has a blog, It's Real Life and a parenting blog Generation NeXt.

TRICIA GOYER is the author of five novels, two nonfiction books and one children's book. She also was named Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference Writer of the Year in 2003. In 2005, her novel Night Song, the second title in Tricia’s World War II series, won ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance. In 2006, her novel Dawn of A Thousand Nights also won book of the Year for Long Historical Romance. Tricia and her husband, John, live with their family in northwestern Montana.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

We are pleased to be able to review her exciting Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War, A Valley Of Betrayal

For reasons beyond her control, Sophie finds herself alone in the war-torn Spanish countryside, searching for her beloved Michael. His work as a news photographer has taken him deep into the country wracked by civil war. What was once a thriving paradise has become a battleground for Nazi-backed Franco fascist soldiers and Spanish patriots. She is caught up in the escalating events when the route to safety is blocked and fighting surrounds her.

Secrets abound in the ruined Spain. Michael is loving but elusive, especially about beautiful maria. The American who helped Sophie sneak into Spain turns up in odd places. Michael's friend Jose knows more than he tells. When reports of Michael's dissappearance reach her, Sophie is devastaed. What are her feelings for Philip, an American soldier who comes to her rescue?

Sophie must sift truth from lies as she becomes more embroiled in the war that threatens her life and breaks her heart. On her darkest night, Sophie takes refuge with a brigade of international compatriots. Among these volunteers, she pledges to make the plight of the Spanish people known around the world through the power of art.

Acclaimed author Tricia Goyer creates a riviting cast of characters against the backdrop of pre-WWII spain. Love, loss, pain, and beauty abound in A Valley Of Betrayal, the first book in her new series, Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War.

Happy Birthday to Me

So, I'm 40 today. Yep. I feel old. But hey, there are those who are older than I am...like my sister, Margie. She is my OLDEST sister. I have three. I'm picking on her because she just called me to wish me a 'happy birthday' and wanted an update on the Pixie Corner. While thinking about what to write, all I could see was images of my sisters and birthdays past by. So, I want to share a little about my beautiful OLDER sisters.

This is my favorite picture of Margie and me. It was taken in 1986 when I was leaving for college. We both had been crying. (I'm the younger one on the right. Heh heh heh...gotta get my jibs in while I can ya know.) Gosh, we were young!

Since she is SO much older than me...hee hee...I didn't spend a lot of my childhood with her. But God wonderfully allowed me to really get to know her when I spent a year in Sacramento right after getting married. We lived so close and she was such a great resource of love and wisdom. I miss her terribly. We live so far apart now. She's in California while I'm in North Carolina. But we do have something similar happening in our lives as I type. We are both dealing with moving boxes. Granted, mine are mostly unpacked while hers have only just been moved. I know how hard it is Margie!


Next in line is Kim. Kim lives only an hour away from me now, but I've only seen her this past weekend for the first time since April (I think!) We had a lot of laughs. I met her new baby...yes, she is older than me (44!) and just had another baby! (Her 4th!)

I love this picture of us...look how skinny we were! Well, she still is a bean pole but I'm...er...full figured. LOL. This was our month at Lake Almanor. Our last vacation together. Margie and Karen were already married. Kim and I were soon to be. My special memory of Kim is that she was the sister who always took me to ice cream and the movies. Even though she stole the knob from the TV and made me watch Marcus Welby M.D. every weekday, she really cared about her baby sister and made me feel special.

The sister closest in age...but still older! Ha ha! is Karen. She still lives in California also. We spoke about a week ago. Oops! She just emailed me! Probably trying to call and I'm busy on the internet!

This picture was taken when she came to visit me in LA when I was going to BIOLA.

Being closest in age, Karen and I played the most together. We would move the furniture around in the living room like the inside of a jeanie bottle and play 'I Dream of Jeannie'. The pink jeanie and the blue jeanie...we'd take turns being the 'evil' twin sister. We also did a lot of lip sinc to the Partridge Family records we had. And oh yes, she was my infamous 'Ho-ho' consort.

One of the funniest memories I can think of was on my 16th birthday. Karen decided to 'surprise' me with an intimate party. She invited one of my best friends, the guy we both had a crush on, and his best friend over to our house. This guy was the most popular guy in high school...my friend and I were just part of the multitude that had crushes on him...and he hardly knew us. (I was NOT part of the popular crowd.) LOL. Needless to say it was one of my most embarassing moments, but I love her all the more for it. Imagine! I had the hottest guy in school over for my sweet 16! LOL. I still laugh about that.

Well, these are my sisters. They helped shape me into who I am today. I hope someday soon we can all get together again...and get an updated picture!

Wedgewood Grey by John Aubrey Anderson

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing
Wedgewood Grey
(Faith Words, February 2007) by John Aubrey Anderson.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


John Aubrey Anderson

John was born five miles north of the setting for Abiding Darkness, a cotton country town within a rifle shot of two rivers, a bayou, a double handful of lakes, and endless acres of woods.

After graduating from Mississippi State, he flew six years in the Air Force then twenty-nine years for a major airline. And now he gets to write.

He and his wife have been married for forty some-odd years and live in Texas—about twenty miles south of the Red River. He spends the biggest part of his time writing; she’s immersed in leading a comprehensive, women’s Bible study.

They like greasy hamburgers and Dr. Peppers, most species of warm-blooded creatures (the kind that don’t normally bite), and spending July in the mountains.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Wedgewood Grey is the second book in the Black and White Chronicles. The first was Abiding Darkness (August, 2006).

Mississippi cotton country . . . in the spring of 1960.

The War At Cat Lake is fifteen years in the fading past . . . but the demonic beings who launched that first battle, are alive and well at Cat Lake. Waiting.

Late on a Friday night, on a muddy little road a mile east of Cat Lake, a ten-year-old black child is forced to watch while a gang of white men beat his mother to death. Aided by Mose Washington, an old black man, the boy exacts a measure of his own revenge. When the sun comes up on Saturday morning, Mose and the boy are fugitives.

Missy Parker Patterson, who as a child stood at the epicenter of the first war, is married and living in Texas. In the aftermath that follows Mose Washington’s disappearance, she goes back to Cat Lake to discover that the demonic beings have been anticipating her return . . . and so begins the second battle of The War At Cat Lake.

In 1962, an old black man and his grandson move into the country near Pilot Hill, Texas. The people in the local area are told that the old gentleman’s name is Mose Mann—his grandson introduces himself as Bill.

However, the lives of the new arrivals are not as peaceful as they seem. The unassuming old black man and his grandson are being pursued by a triad of formidable and unrelenting adversaries . . . a ruthless political leader, an enduring lie, and an invisible army allied beneath the banner of a hatred for God.

Wedgewood Grey is a story about the impact of choices that real people—people like you and me—are sometimes forced to make.

The Author's Website: http://www.johnaubreyanderson.com/

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446579505

Christian Writer's Market Guide by Sally Stuart

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Christian Writer's Market Guide
bySally Stuart.
WaterBrook Press; Pap/Cdr edition (January 16, 2007)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sally E. Stuart is the author of thirty-four books and has sold more than one thousand articles and columns. Her long-term involvement with the Christian Writers' Market Guide as well as her marketing columns for the Christian Communicator, Oregon Christian Writers, and The Advanced Christian Writer, make her a sought-after speaker and a leading authority on Christian markets and the business of writing. Stuart is the mother of three and grandmother of eight.

ABOUT THE BOOK

For more than twenty years, the Christian Writers’ Market Guide has offered indispensable help to Christian writers. This year, for the first time, this valuable resource comes with a CD-ROM of the full text, so you can search with ease for topics, publishers, and other specific names.

The 2007 edition also includes up-to-date listings of more than 1,200 markets for books, articles, stories, poetry, and greeting cards, including information on forty new book publishers, eighty-three new periodicals, and thirty-four new literary agents. Perfect for writers in every phase, this is the resource to get noticed–and get published.

It contains listings for: 695 periodicals, 228 poetry markets, 355 book publishers, 133 online publications, 29 print-on-demand publishers, 1185 markets for the written word, 321 photography markets, 31 e-book publishers, 122 foriegn markets, 112 literary agents,and 59 newspapers.

It also gives you comprehensive lists of contests, writers groups and conferences, search engines, pay rates and submission guidelines, editorial services and websites.

Christian Writers’ Market Guide is a "must have' for any serious Christian writer that is looking to get published!


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400071259

Sally's website is: http://www.stuartmarket.com/

The Longing Season by Christine Schaub

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting The Longing Season (Bethany House July, 2006) by Christine Schaub.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Christine Schaub is the author of the MUSIC OF THE HEART series, including Finding Anna, the “rest of the story” behind the writing of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” (October 2005) and The Longing Season, the story behind “Amazing Grace” (July 2006) with Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Books.

In 2003, Christine won the “On the Page” screenwriting contest at Screenwriting Expo 2 in Los Angeles. Her one-page story, written on-site in 24 hours for Jacqueline Bisset, was selected by the actress as the best Oscar Wilde-type comedy for her persona.

While working in freelance corporate communications, Christine completed three feature-length screenplays, including a drama/comedy, romantic comedy, and sci-fi action/drama; developed four biopic teleplays for the stories behind the hymns; and published an online column for the MethodX website (Upper Room Ministries).

Christine honed her writing skills after more than 15 years in corporate communications for healthcare, pharmaceutical, and entertainment companies. She has also been a featured conference speaker on working with at-risk youth and changed lives in the classrooms with her creative presentation style.

Christine's love for the arts and creativity have taken her from church platforms to civic and professional stages, performing classics and dramas from her own pen.

Christine graduated from Anderson University with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications. She has served on numerous boards and committees, usually as Communications Chair, and has received both regional and national awards in writing and design.

ABOUT THE BOOK

All of the books in the MUSIC OF THE HEART series are based on a hymns and their histories. The Longing Season is about one of the greatest redemption stories of all time: John Newton and his song, Amazing Grace.

Nature conspires against him, tossing the ship like a toy. Directionless--just like his life.

It seems his odyssey will end here, in the cold Atlantic.

Grief and terror grip his heart, but he will not surrender...not yet.

She reads the sentence again and again.

The first day I saw you I began to love you.

He'd written the words, sealed and posted them, then vanished.

She has a choice--turn toward the future, or wait, wating and hoping.

And so begins her season of longing.

Christine's website link is: http://www.christineschaub.typepad.com/

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764200607

Germ by Robert Liparulo

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducting GERM(WestBow Nov 1, 2006) by Robert Liparulo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert's novel paints a scenario so frighteningly real that six Hollywood producers were bidding on movie rights before the novel was completed. His acclaimed debut novel, Comes A Horseman, is being made into a major motion picture by producer Mace Neufeld and his short story "Kill Zone" was featured in the anthology Thriller, edited by James Patterson.

Robert is an award-winning author of over a thousand published articles and short stories. He is currently a contributing editor for New Man magazine. His work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Travel & Leisure, Modern Bride, Consumers Digest, Chief Executive, and The Arizona Daily Star, among other publications. In addition, he previously worked as a celebrity journalist, interviewing Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Charlton Heston, and others for magazines such as Rocky Road, Preview, and L.A. Weekly. He has sold or optioned three screenplays.

Robert is an avid scuba diver, swimmer, reader, traveler, and a law enforcement and military enthusiast. He lives in Colorado with his wife and four children.

He is currently working on his third novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

If you breathe, it will find you...

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. On it are business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None know what is about to happen...but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The GERM...a more advanced form of the Ebola virus...has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. If your DNA is not a match, you simply catch a cold. But if your DNA is a match, within days your internal organs liquefy and you die a most painful death. There is no cure.

The release of the virus would usher in a new era of power...one in which countries are left without any form of defense, where one person or millions could be killed with 100% accuracy yet result in no collateral damage to property or those not targeted.

That time isn't coming...It is now!

GERM is coming. Pray the assassins get you first.

Bob's website link is: http://www.robertliparulo.com

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785261788