CHRISTIANS READ MEGA CONTEST AT THE BOOK CLUB NETWORK

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Christians Read has teamed up with The Book Club Network for a special contest.  Details follow!
June 19-21

Enter the contest atThe Book Club Network HERE.

Contest runs for the month of June.  Be sure to enter–otherwise, you can’t win!

And please join us on FACEBOOK  and Twitter!

Blessings,

All the Christians Read Authors

The (Slightly Odd)Traits of a Book Collector by Camy Tang

Camy here. I was reading a book on my Nook the other day, Blue Like Jazz, which we’re going through in the college Bible study my husband and I are leading. After I finished the two chapters I needed to read before this coming week’s Bible study, I went to my Nook library.

I must have spent a good 10 minutes just browsing through my Nook library, looking at all my lovely books, most of which I haven’t read yet, feeling such joy just to have them ready to read anytime I want (assuming I actually have time to read them all–at this point, I might have more books than I can physically read in my lifetime).

I kept seeing a cover and thinking, Oh, I forgot I had that book! How wonderful I have it!

Then I took a step back and looked at what I was doing. I see nothing wrong with it, but Captain Caffeine would probably roll his eyes at me, mostly because he’s not a book collector. (Actually, he’s not really a collector of anything, unless it’s empty boxes that he can’t get himself to throw away.

Does anybody else relate to my love of having all these books????

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #21 by Yvonne Lehman

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! From 5/31 at noon MST, until 6/4 midnight EST, you can make the loop through 23 different Christian fiction writers’ blogs and read new, exclusive material about all our new or about-to-be-released books. The best part? If you gather all the scavenger hunt clues, you’ll know what the secret quote is, and if you’ve registered for the Grand Prize, you could win all 23 books! And there are some additional prizes along the way… (To begin at the beginning, head over to www.LisaBergren.com, for stop #1.)

KIM VOGEL SAWYER

It is my good pleasure to be hosting Kim Vogel Sawyer on the scavenger hunt. She’s the author of many “gentle stories of hope,” and has made it a mission to write books that encourage and edify believers.

Here’s what her new book, SONG OF MY HEART, is about: To naïve and determined Sadie Wagner, Goldtree, Kansas, and its opera house offer fascinating experiences and colorful characters—the likes of which she never saw in the Indiana mining town where she was raised. Can she manage to keep herself out of trouble as she pursues her dreams?

And here’s an EXCLUSIVE from Kim:

SONG OF MY HEART was birthed in the basement of an antique store in Paxico, Kansas. I’ve shared about the stage beneath the store, which was originally a mercantile in the late 1800s/early 1900s, and how wondering what kind of performances took place down there led to creating the underground opera house and its illegal dealings. While browsing the store, I came across a lovely little teacup from England. The blue bands captured my attention–such a delicate blue! The color of a robin’s egg or of the Kansas sky on a clear, sunny afternoon. I brought it home, and as the story emerged, the blue worked its way into the story…in a little gift from Sid to Sadie, in the way Thad described the color of Sadie’s eyes, in the wildflowers growing outside of town. 

The teacup has given me pleasure, but it served its purpose, so now its ready to bless someone else with its graceful presence. If you’d like to win it, just comment on this post and Yvonne will pick a winner out of a hat. Good luck, and I trust you’ll enjoy this beautiful little cup as much as I have!  –Kim Vogel Sawyer

That’s sweet of her, isn’t it? A teacup given between friends is the best kind of gift. You can find more about Kim at her site, and you can purchase SONG OF HER HEART at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or your local bookstore.

Thanks for joining me for this stop!

STOP #21 SCAVENGER HUNT CLUE: me.”

Next up? Stop #22, Winnie Griggs!

The Fifty Shades of Gray Comments Over The Fifty Shades of Grey by Julie Arduini

I know, the blog title is a bit complex by design. I don’t have time to do this often, but when there is a blog post in cyberspace that garners a lot of comments, I’m as intrigued by the comments as I am the post. I thought I’d share a recent comment reading experience.

The blog post is by Dannah Gresh at Pure Freedom. She’s an author and speaker passionate about encouraging moms to help daughters pursue purity (especially if mom did not) and to open lines of communication when it comes to Christians and s*x. Her post is about the mainstream book that is capturing a lot of attention for its content, Fifty Shades of Grey.

There are over 250 comments on Dannah’s post on why she won’t be reading this book, and I find the remarks fascinating.

Dannah admitted she had not read the book and her post was why she would not be.

And the comments started coming.

The comments vary between those chastising her for judging Fifty Shades readers without reading the book. Those who feel the book is harmless reading. Wives taking issue with other commenters because their marriage is a struggle because of men involved in por*ography, and they agree with Dannah that the book is the same for women.

Do you know what I found the most curious? Christians who defended the book and their personal marital tastes. They felt the book was harmless, even when other commenters used Scripture to apply why the book should not be read. The Christian defenders of Fifty Shades of Grey went as far to say some of the acts in the book are ones they implement in their own marriage. That brought such a firestorm that Dannah’s husband Bob addressed it in a comment, and Dannah wrote a subsequent post explaining why the two–being a Christian and that act–can’t co exist.

My takeaway from the comments was that we are in the last days. The true defeated one is working overtime practicing the one weapon in his arsenal that continues to work: deception. From deception seems to come the by-product of Christian division. The comments in that post was obvious there is a lot of deception and division going on. To say the comments were spirited would be an understatement. As of this writing, there are 255 comments on that post.

There’s a lot to comment on with this post–the book, Dannah’s post, and the comments. I’ll ask this: have you ever been mesmerized by the comments on a post as much as the actual post?

*Disclaimer–the links provided are to a Christian author and her site, but the linked post content contains mature and graphic themes.

Writer and Speaker

Surrendering the good, the bad, and—maybe one day—the chocolate

Will Reading as a Pastime Survive? by Kathi Macias

From the time I was old enough to recognize even the simplest of words, I fell in love with reading. I read books, magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes, billboards–anything with words on them that ended up in front of my face. By the time I was seven or eight, I was so much a regular at the local library that the librarians knew me by name. It was a book-lover’s Disneyland for me, and I couldn’t imagine anything better than spending all day Saturday there, reading and reading–and taking home more books to read until my next visit.

Not so with my children. I introduced them to books early on, and they loved sitting next to me as I read to them, demanding that I read their favorite stories again and again. But as they got older, all that changed. Sports and TV and video games stole more and more of their time until I found myself begging, cajoling, and bargaining with them in attempts to get them to read beyond their required schoolwork.

“Why? What did I do?” my youngest protested one day when I nearly ordered him to read a book. I was shocked. It was as if he thought I were punishing him by telling him to read a book.

To this day none of my children are avid readers. They occasionally read a book or magazine, but in addition to their childhood distractions of TV and sports, they now spend much of their time on the Internet. (Okay, so do I, but not to the exclusion of reading for pleasure.) Where did I go wrong? Or did I? Obviously someone is still buying books or we authors wouldn’t continue getting contracts to write them. But will that continue if the younger generations view reading as a less than desirable pastime?

I know there are certainly exceptions to this rule, and that’s wonderful. But as a rule, younger people spend less leisure time choosing to read than many of us “older folks.” Does that matter? If so, why, and what can be done about it? Maybe some of you are teachers and have some suggestions. If so, I’d love to hear them. I personally make a point to buy books for my grandchildren, including the complete set of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (my own personal all-time favorite). But sadly, only one of the seven grandchildren I’ve given them to has actually taken the time to read them.

This is a real concern for me, and something tells me I’m not alone. Ideas/comments/suggestions? I’d love to hear them.

Words We Throw Around by Lynette Sowell

We’re so quick to throw “Christian” words around in the confines of our church doors. Mercy, forgiveness, love, grace. We smile and nod that there should be more of those qualities in the world. We also know that we should help spread them around. When you’re on the receiving end of mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace, it’s a precious thing.

I’ve been thinking of mercy because of the blatant lack of it in the world. We are quick to pity and have compassion for those who deserve it, but what about those people who don’t, or the ones who inconvenience us?

I went out to eat one time with some professing Christians. On a Sunday, of course, which brings out all sorts of bad behavior from “Jesus people.” I wanted to “crawl under a tile,” as my husband likes to put it, at our friends’ behavior. Nothing seemed to please them. They complained about everything and I’m sure the poor waitress was either angry or hurt by the time she was finished serving us. I’m not saying we should sit there and eat what we didn’t order, or not say anything if an order is messed up. Lots of times–no, most of the time–a lot of how people react depends on our attitude (remember mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace above?).

Think about the waitress. Say she messes up your order. Y’all, she’s probably not intentionally trying to ruin your day. Did you think for one moment that maybe her feet are killing her, or maybe her babysitter quit. Maybe she wishes she went to college, or maybe she’s trying to finish college, and this is just a job until she finishes? Maybe she thinks you look self-righteous in your Sunday best. Christians are characteristically among the worst tippers to servers.

We ought to honor servants. But while we trip over ourselves and make sure that we have a copy of our Sunday bulletin to get our 15% discount at the restaurant, we also leave our salvation in the car, along with those words we like to toss around–mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace. We leave that grace and mercy so freely given to us, and snub our server and express our impatience with someone’s who’s just doing her job. Maybe our waitress did a lousy job. But does that excuse our lack of grace? Mercy says, “I know you’re having a tough day. Here’s a good tip. Be blessed.”

Love is all about inconvenience. It is so, so easy to inconvenience ourselves for those we have warm fuzzies toward. What about someone who passes through your life and after an hour or so, you won’t see them again? Are we showing Jesus, even for an hour? Maybe if enough Christians tipped better and acted more merciful when the service is less than stellar, someone’s life could be changed. Big changes happen in small steps. And those words aren’t just mere words.

- – - – -

Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip.

The Best Job in the World by Elizabeth Goddard

In my writing career I’ve always juggled several deadlines at the same time. Sometimes writing more than one book at a time has been overwhelming. There are days when I wish I had a week without a deadline niggling at the back of my mind. Other days, like today, I remind myself I have the best job in the world.

I get to dream all day long.

So, today I’m praising God that He’s blessed me with this dream to write books in the first place, and He’s made that dream come true. In a way, you could say I get to live my life vicariously through my characters. Whatever I have an interest in knowing more about, or perhaps even doing but I’m unable to do, I can create characters to do these things for me.

My husband often tells me I live in another world. That’s a huge exaggeration, of course. Maybe I have one foot in each world—my story world and my real world. But that’s not so different than anyone who has a job.

Regardless, creating characters and conflict and the setting of my choice allows me to use my imagination and travel to new places without leaving my home.  This is the best job in the world.

What would your favorite job be?

What are other interesting jobs you would love to read about in a novel?

Elizabeth Goddard is the award-winning author of Oregon Outback, a four-in-one novella collection releasing from Barbour in July.  Beth has a lot of fun in this one, living life through her characters.

Storytelling by Maureen Lang

Until the other day, I had no idea storytellers had national conventions. A friend of mine, a librarian, attended one and described to me what sounded similar to a writer’s conference. Workshops, speakers, opportunities to practice and improve their craft. The more outgoing among them did what the more outgoing among writers do, too. Stayed up until 4 a.m. talking to those of like mind.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? A community of people with a passion getting together to learn, improve, share and deepen their enjoyment of what brought them together to begin with.

I wished I could attend such a thing, or at least read survey results about the various ways they came to love books and storytelling.

Like many of us who love books, the art of storytelling became a reality to me when I was very young. My mother would read books to my sister and I, but some of my favorite stories were the ones she made up. She would sit between the two of us and weave a story between her imagination and ours. We’d sit there, enthralled. Stories of a little girl who was looking forward to Christmas, but met someone whose family didn’t have enough money to welcome the holiday. How could she help them? Or about two little girls who planted peach trees in their yard and had to wait, wait, wait until it grew. Or a fish whose mommy fish told him never to eat a worm attached to a string. All stories that taught us values: generosity, patience, obedience to rules that protected us.

It think that’s why stories having deeper meaning are among my favorites today!

I’m also reminded of the Bible . . . of how Jesus told stories for the same reason my mother did, to teach in a way that would be easy for us to understand and remember. The Bible is full of examples about real people, too, so we can turn to it for guidance in our lives today.

I’m not sure there’s anything more powerful than storytelling. I’m feeling especially blessed that I get to spend most of my days doing this very thing.

The Appeal of Amish Books by Vicki Hinze

The Appeal of Amish Books

@2012, Vicki Hinze

 

I’m a suspense writer who loves faith-affirming thrillers with a light romantic element.  But I’m also an eclectic reader.   I like something in most genres of books, though I’d not read Amish novels.  That was soon to change.

 

My agent got a call from an editor who expressed interest in me writing some Amish novels.  Since I hadn’t read any, I let the possibility slide.  Then came a second editor, and then a third—all wanting Amish novels.  By this time, I figured out I was getting nudged.  There was something I was supposed to do, learn, or know regarding these books.

 

Aware that I like variety and writing new-to-me books or blending genres that haven’t yet been blended to create new sub-genres, my agent asked if I was interested.  On this third approach, I still hadn’t read any Amish novels, so I answered him with a question.  “Who are the best writers of this type of book?”  He recommended several, gave me a list of names, and so I read them.

 

Then I did some research to determine what about this type of book readers loved.  At first, I thought it was the unfamiliarity.  Readers love to be armchair adventurers, and delving into a world that is so different from the one most walk in everyday holds a great deal of appeal.  Some would say charm.  I would say it elevates curiosity and holds intrigue, kind of like going around the next bend when canoeing on the river.  You never know what you’re going to run into there.

 

But as I read more and more of the books, I deduced that unfamiliarity is only some of the appeal of Amish novels.  I think there are two other things that make these books just as appealing, though to different types of readers.  Those two things are:

 

1.  Simpler times.

2.  A structured society.

 

The Amish are “plain” people.  They aren’t into adornment and the pace of life is slower.  Some settlements are no electricity, no computers or TV or phones (cell or landlines), and no complicated lifestyles.  They’re busy, industrious people who ban together to do what needs doing in their communities, but the harried pace of most of our lives is absent in theirs.   This slower pace, more family and community focused lifestyle appeals to many.  It seems the more harried the life, the more appealing we find this simple lifestyle.

 

It’s a common thing to imagine the grass being greener on the other side, isn’t it?  Often we wish for less complex, less hectic lives.  With so many single parent households—more than married couple households for the first time in our nation’s history—and the fact that many of us don’t interact much with others physically (apparent from the Internet and its conversations), we feel that separation and isolation.  Some enjoy it.  But for many of us, the absence of a sense of belonging and those family-and-community connections create a yearning in us that these books nurture and feed.

 

These are strong emotions inbred in us, and our reactions to them are also strong.  Historically, being a part of a community wasn’t just a yearning, it was critical to survival.  To grow food, to protect and defend against those intending harm.  The reasons for this community necessity are many, and they encompass not only physical needs that alone we are not able to fulfill but also emotional needs.  These community-and-family-centric novels do that.

 

Amish novels also offer readers a structured society.  For many of us, daily life is awash in confusion.  We’re nudged on what to think, told who and what we are, directed in our thoughts and actions by others who have “skin in the game.”  Be politically correct, be strong or weak, be silent or speak up.  This goes for the big questions on the direction of our country down to the little things.  Does a man open a door for a woman or not?  He doesn’t want to be rude, or to imply she’s incapable of opening the door for herself.

 

Simply put, the everyday ordinary is complex and confusing, and that makes a simple lifestyle with structured rules appealing.  Everyone knows the rules.  Everyone is expected to abide by them, and if they don’t, they know the consequences and that they will pay them, whether those consequences are to admit the flaw or crime publicly before the community or, if the offense is deemed worthy, being shunned.  Excommunicated, so to speak, not so much as looked at by the rest of those in the community.

 

To some, this sounds harsh.  To others, it appeals.  They know the rules, what’s expected of them.  This is a welcome respite from the confusion of readers’ normal, daily lives.

 

So those are the three main reasons I think Amish books hold such appeal to readers:  they venture into an unfamiliar world without risk, the simple lifestyle is a sharp contrast to their complex lives, and there is an absence of confusion, the structured community makes the rules clear.

 

Of the books I read, I most enjoyed Beverly Lewis’s The Shunning, which was book 1 in her Heritage of Lancaster County series.  I read many novels that were good, some that were excellent, but this book stood out for me personally.

 

What about Amish books do you like?  Have you read many of them?  What’s your favorite?

 

 

Blessings,

 

Vicki

 

VICKI HINZE

Fated to Thrill. Destined to Heal.

Latest Release:  Not This Time

Next Release:  Survive the Night

P.S.  On me writing Amish books?  I don’t know.  My fondness for nail-biting suspense might be at odds with my findings.  But I’m open to being convinced that suspense would layer in nicely.  I still haven’t decided.

 

 

Preorder A Dangerous Stage, the second book in the Protection for Hire series!

Camy here! I didn’t notice until a few days ago that book 2 in my Protection for Hire series, A Dangerous Stage, is now available for preorder!

Isn’t that cover awesome? Zondervan’s art team ROCKS!

Back cover blurb:

Tessa Lancaster worked for her uncle in the Japanese mafia until she was sent to prison for a murder she didn’t commit. Now, after finding God behind bars, she takes odd jobs as a bodyguard to keep her distance from the family business.

In A Dangerous Stage, the second book in Camy Tang’s Protection for Hire series, Tessa gets caught up in the web of lies surrounding a shady singing competition. Hired by one of the contestants, she works with Charles Britton—the lawyer who sent her to prison—to discover the dark figures manipulating the contest from behind the scenes.

Tessa’s abilities will be tested like never before as she’s forced to balance the safety of her client’s family and her deepening relationship with Charles. In the midst of the chaos, she holds on to her faith to keep her safe and bring down the shadowy organization.

Order print book:
Barnes and Noble
Amazon.com
Christianbook.com
Booksamillion.com

Buy Ebook:
Nookbook
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Christianbook.com
Kobobooks.com link coming soon

Click here for info on book 1 in the series, Protection for Hire.

Protection for Hire series trailer