Still Life in the Shadow

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Still Life in Shadows River North; New Edition edition (August 1, 2012) by Alice Wisler



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alice was born in Osaka, Japan in the sixties.  Her parents were Presbyterian career missionaries. As a young child, Alice loved to walk down to the local stationer's store to buy notebooks, pencils and scented erasers.  In her room, she created stories.  The desire to be a published famous author has never left her.  Well, two out of three isn't bad. She's the author of Rain Song, How Sweet It Is, Hatteras Girl and A Wedding Invitation (all published by Bethany House).



Alice went to Eastern Mennonite University after graduating from Canadian Academy, an international high school in Kobe, Japan. She majored in social work and has worked across the U.S. in that field.  She taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in Japan and at a refugee camp in the Philippines.  She also studied Spanish at a language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica.



She has four children--Rachel, Daniel, Benjamin and Elizabeth.  Daniel died on 2/2/97 from cancer treatments at the age of four. Since then, Alice founded Daniel's House Publications in her son's memory.  This organization reaches out to others who have also lost a child to death. In 2000 and 2003, Alice compiled recipes and memories of children across the world to publish two memorial cookbooks, Slices of Sunlight and Down the Cereal Aisle. 



ABOUT THE BOOK

It's been fifteen years since Gideon Miller ran away from his Amish community in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a boy of fifteen.  Gideon arrives in the Smoky Mountains town of Twin Branches and settles in at the local auto mechanic's garage. He meets a host of interesting characters -the most recent acquaintances are Kiki, an autistic teen, and her sister Mari. Known as the "Getaway Savior" he helps other Amish boys and girls relocate to life in modern America.



One day the phone rings. On the other end is his brother Moriah calling from Florida. Of course Gideon welcomes his brother to stay with him and offers him a job. But Moriah is caught in a web which ends in his death and forces Gideon to return to the town of his youth, with his brother's body in the back of a hearse and Mari and Kiki at his side. He must face not only the community he ran away from years ago but also his own web of bitterness. Will he be able to give his anger over to God and forgive his father?



If you would like to read the first chapter excerpt of Still Life in Shadows, go HERE.

A Plain and Simple Heart

A Plain and Simple Heart
by 
Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

My Thoughts:
This is a fun, frolicking book that is so different from any traditional Amish book I've ever read. the characters are well crafted and the writing is so smooth that it is easy to forget you are reading. I love the Old West aspects of this book. The things this heroine gets into are just so fun!

Many times I laughed aloud and cheered for the characters. I just loved this book just as much as the first in the series and can't wait for the sequel. However, you don't have to read the first book before you pick this one up -- but you'll want to because it was fabulous, too!

About the Book:
Sixteen-year-old Rebecca Switzer leaves the Amish community of Apple Grove, Kansas, to follow her heart. In 1884, the grand old days of the great cattle drives are rapidly drawing to a close, and the cowboy she fell in love with years before has fallen into obscurity. Her desire is plain and simple – she wants to find Jesse and convince him to return with her to Apple Grove. Rebecca announces to her horrified family that she will spend her rumspringa searching for Jesse. When she falls in with the outspoken members of the Kansas women’s temperance movement, her journey plunges her straight into the arms of Collin Hancock, the handsome deputy sheriff who arrests her. Suddenly, her heart’s desire isn’t plain anymore. Could she really be falling for a lawman instead of a cowboy?



About the Authors

Lori Copeland pens stories that make you laugh and cry. Doses of real life written in fictional form have kept her on the bestseller lists for 28 years.  
 
Virginia Smith is the author of more than a dozen inspirational novels, and over fifty articles and short stories. An avid reader with ecclectic tastes in fiction, Ginny writes in a variety of styles, from lighthearted relationship stories to breath-snatching suspense.

Lori and Ginny have been writing together since 2010. Their weekend plotting and planning sessions are highlights for both of them, even though they know they’ll have to suck on throat lozenges for days afterward from all the talking and laughing. 

You can buy the book http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Simple-Heart-Amish-Apple/dp/0736947558

Everything the Bible Says About Prayer

Everything the Bible Says About Prayer
compiled by
Keith Wall


My Thoughts:
I was really looking forward to reading this book. I'm always interested in learning more about prayer and was excited to see that this book included all the scriptural prayers and references to prayer.

The book is divided into logical categories so you can quickly find prayers that pertain to a particular situation. There are also a chapter with a lot of great insights on praying by Christian leaders.

I was disappointed that there isn't an index in this book. I was hoping to be able to quickly find specific prayers by different Biblical characters or authors, such as Paul's prayers or those by Hannah or Nehemiah, without trying to guess which categories they were in.

It was also disappointing to realize that my favorite prayer, from Ephesians 3:16-21 was not included. It makes me wonder what else was left out.

However, this is a great little resource book to expand your knowledge of God's intentions about prayer.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Countless books have been written about prayer, how to pray, and when to pray. This book includes exactly what God says about prayer, straight from his Word. It is organized by subject, such as prayer in the Old Testament, types of prayer, prayers of the psalmists, and prayers of Jesus. All the scriptural prayers and primary references to prayer are collected in this clear, concise book, with enough explanation to help even those new to the Bible. Its length and focus make it perfect for readers who love the Word of God.

You can buy the book here.





Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing a book for this review.