Once Beyond a Time

Once Beyond a Time
by
Ann Tatlock


MY THOUGHTS:
 Ann Tatlock's books always have a fascinating twist, and Once Beyond a Time is no exception. Ann has created a wide variety of characters with depth and compassion. I don't want to go into too much detail because half the fun on this book is discovering the basic premise.

I didn't want to put this book down. The story races along, and the end of each chapter is so compelling that I just HAD to read the next one to find out what happened. This book links historical and contemporary fiction genres in a masterful way!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either genre. It is a wonderful story of love, forgiveness, and self discovery.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
After settling into an old house nearly hidden on the side of a mountain, a broken family discovers that their new home is no ordinary place. The family can see and speak with people who have lived there in the past, and with those who will live there in the future. Are these people apparitions or real? Could the house itself be the stuff of mountain lore, a place where all of time is happening at once?

It's 1968, and Sheldon and Meg Crane have just moved their family from suburban Philadelphia to the town of Black Mountain, NC. Sheldon has resigned in disgrace from the ministry after an affair. He will now sell used cars for his brother-in-law's auto dealership. Sheldon is burdened by his wife's unwillingness to forgive and his daughter's anger over the move. The oldest son is in Vietnam. The only happy member of the family is his eight-year-old son, Digger. But then, Digger suddenly disappears. Has he been kidnapped or has he wandered off into the mountains? How does the "house beyond time" show one family the healing power of forgiveness and the loving sovereignty of God?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Tatlock writes historical and contemporary Christian fiction. You can find more of her books and a great interview here: http://anntatlock.com/

GIVEAWAY - An Amish Second Christmas

An Amish Second Christmas
by
Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, Ruth Reid, and Tricia Goyer

MY THOUGHTS:
With all the Amish novels I've read, I never remember reading about the tradition of Second Christmas. I've learned that this is a traditional day of friendship -- after the worshipful Christmas day, on December 26 the Amish get together with family and friends just for the purpose of having fun and rekindling friendships. What a wonderful concept!

This book is four novellas that related to Second Christmas in some way. The stories aren't connected, and therefore stand alone. Each has a very different plot, and all involve Christian growth and romance. I loved the various stories -- they were unlike any Amish novel I've read to date!

It would be hard for me to pick a favorite, but I especially enjoyed the twist on family history in When Christmas Comes Again, and I was most fond of the characters in The Christmas Aprons.

This is a great holiday read for anyone who loves Amish fiction and wants a great insight into Amish life around the holidays.

Oh, and I forgot to mention there are some fabulous recipes included in the back!

If you would like a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment (and your email address) and tell us about your favorite Christmas cookie or dessert!

You can get a copy of the book HERE.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Celebrate Second Christmas, a treasured, lighthearted time of community, with four Amish romances. 
“When Christmas Comes Again” by Beth Wiseman
Katherine knows the first Christmas without Elias will be hard for her and the children. But when a mysterious Englischer appears with photographs of her late husband, Katherine  begins to wonder what other blessings Christmas could have in store.
“Her Christmas Pen Pal” by Ruth Reid
Joy was expecting a wedding proposal from Henry; what she got instead was news of another woman. But when her heartfelt letter to a cousin ends up in the hands of a young cabinetmaker, an unexpected correspondence between two strangers gets interesting fast.
“A Gift for Anne Marie” by Kathleen Fuller
Anne Marie and Nathaniel have been best friends since they were kids. Now things are evolving . . . in ways everyone else predicted long ago. But when her mother suddenly decides to remarry in another state, Anne Marie’s new chapter with Nathaniel looks doomed to end before it begins.
“The Christmas Aprons” by Tricia Goyer
Vanilla crumb pie has been Esther’s mem’s calling card for decades. But when Esther finally gets her hands on the secret recipe, she discovers that vanilla crumb pie is more than just dessert . . . it’s bachelor bait.

About the Authors

Award-winning, bestselling author Beth Wiseman is best known for her Amish novels, but she has also written several successful contemporary novels, set primarily in her beloved Texas, including Need You Now and The House that Love Built. Both have received glowing reviews. Beth's The Promise is inspired by a true story. Website: www.bethwiseman.com Twitter: @bethwiseman Facebook: Fans-of-Beth-Wiseman

Kathleen Fuller is the author of several bestselling novels, including A Man of His Word and Treasuring Emma, as well as a middle-grade Amish series, The Mysteries of Middlefield. Website: www.kathleenfuller.com Twitter: @TheKatJam Facebook: Author Kathleen Fuller

Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a full-time pharmacist who resides in Florida with her husband and three children. Facebook: Author-Ruth-Reid Twitter: @authorruthreid

USA Today best-selling author Tricia Goyer is the author of 35 books, including the three-book Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series. She has written over 500 articles for national publications and blogs for high traffic sites like TheBetterMom.com and MomLifeToday.com. Tricia and her husband John live in Little Rock, Arkansas where John works for FamilyLife. They have six children. Twitter: @triciagoyer Facebook: authortriciagoyer

Where Treetops Glisten -- a GIVEAWAY!

Where Treetops Glisten
by
Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, and Sarah Sundin


MY THOUGHTS:
I'm not sure why I like WWII books -- life wasn't really simpler then (although the focus may have been more clear), but for some reason I'm drawn to this time. And I love Christmas books. More than anything else, a great Christmas book will get me into the spirit! Where Treetops Glisten is the best of both worlds! It is a compilation of three stories about one family, the Turners, who are dealing with all that wartime brings.

It also helps that the book is written by three of my favorite WWII authors!

Throughout the three stories the true meaning of Christmas is shared through candy, children, and caring. The home front comes alive in White Christmas, by Cara Putman, as Abigail is mourning the death of her boyfriend who was killed in the war. In the busyness of her life as a college student and employee at a candy store she is still able to find a way to help others. Sarah Sundin wrote my favorite of all three, I'll Be Home For Christmas, about an extremely active little girl who finds a way to bring love to all she meets. And the final story, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, takes you to the front lines of a military hospital in Holland. It was written by my all time favorite author Tricia Goyer and is based on a true story.

The three authors did a marvelous job of weaving the stories together to create a portrait of a loving family who leans on each other in troubled times. Pick it up for a bit of holiday cheer! And a bonus -- there are cookie recipes in the back. The White Velvet Cutouts are AMAZING.

If you would like a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment sharing your favorite Christmas treat!

You can get a copy of the book HERE

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime
 
Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories,
filled with the wonder of Christmas

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In Cara Putman’s White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and His plan for a future?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

 

Cara Putman is the author of twenty books including Shadowed by Grace, She is the winner of the 2008 Carol Award for historical fiction. Sarah Sundin is the critically-acclaimed author of the Wings of the Nightingale series, the  Wings of Glory series, and the forthcoming Waves of Freedom novels. Tricia Goyer is a prolific author of nearly forty books, including Chasing Mona Lisa, and a speaker and blogger.