Sunday Scriptures

Colossians 3:1-4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Saturday Book Review: Lonestar Sanctuary

In honor of Colleen Coble's new granddaughter, I'm reviewing her latest suspense novel, Lonestar Sanctuary. I actually read it a couple of week ago, but that was around the same time that Blogger recreated their system and...well, you know the rest.

Synopsis: Though tragedy has wrecked her life, Allie Siders holds on to the hope that her five-year-old daughter, Betsy, will speak again. But with a stalker out for revenge, all Allie can think about now is their safety. She must sever all ties and abandon life as she knows it. She heads to the peaceful Bluebird Ranch, nestled deep in Texas hill country, and to the only person who can help them.

The ranch is a sanctuary for abused horses, and also for troubled youths: the perfect place for Betsy to grow and recover. Ranch owner Elijah DeAngelo eagerly welcomes the duo. But Rick Bailey -- the ranch foreman and DeAngelo's right hand man -- hasn't decided to let his guard down...yet.

Promises made long ago soon force Rick and Allie to work together to escape danger. Will they discover love along the way?

My reivew: I love a well-crafted, Christian suspense, and this one scored high. Colleen's writing is smooth, very close third person that makes you feel that you're in the characters' heads. I also liked that the killer's point-of-view isn't written: for me, it ups the level of suspense, and besides, I don't like knowing what the bad guy is going to do.

The characters are well-rounded. I immediately sympathized with Allie: her predicament, the struggles she endured were realistically portrayed, as were her reactions. Rick...he took me longer to understand. I grew frustrated with him in the beginning, but as his character grew I appreciated him more. Even though both characters are Christians, they have flaws and problems that make them more real.

Colleen wove plenty of twists into this plot, but they aren't too confusing, and she ties up loose ends while leaving enough for the reader to figure out. I was scrambling to discover the killer before the end -- especially since I had to go to bed before I finished it! And the romance side sounds realistic; I've read books before with the same romantic plot thread that just fell flat. Colleen gives her characters plenty of obstacles, including themselves.

I enjoyed this work and definitely recommend it as a "tell-everyone-including-your-dentist" book.

ACFW Book of the Year

Okay, I just signed out and went to check out Sharon Hinck's blog -- and found that her book, The Restorer's Son, won Book of the Year award in Speculative Fiction catagory at the American Fiction Writer's conference!

I was disappointed not being able to attend the conference this year, but I especially felt down about missing this event. Though I'm a devoted fan of all Sharon's novels, The Restorer's Son was definitely my favorite. I would have loved to see her receive the award. This book deserved it!

Next best thing to seeing it, though, is watching the pictures. Sharon posted the details at her blog, www.sharonswriting.blogspot.com. Enjoy! And congratulations, Sharon! (And to the other BOTY award winners!)

Now I'd better get back to my work-in-progress, before my posts for tonight multiply. And who knows? God willing, maybe next year I'll be posting my personal pics of the ACFW conference.

Till then, blessings, and keep on writing.

AWOB -- Absent Without Blogging

Apologies again, bloggees, for abandoning you out there in cyberspace yesterday. The changes Blogger made to their system is really killing me; last night I tried to sign in to create a new post, and it kept running me through a bunch of procedures. I finally gave up.

Tonight I had a much better time of it. I remembered what my Dad had shown me, and I finally logged in. And, um, if you notice that my Sunday Scripture post was not actually posted on Sunday...blame it on Blogger's new "easier to use" updates.

On the brighter side, author Colleen Coble is a new grandmother! I could ramble for paragraphs about how sweet little Alexa looks, but I'd rather show you. Check out the pictures posted on the Girls Write Out blog: www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com. Congratulations, Colleen!

Sunday Scriptures

Psalm 18:1-3

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength,
in Whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.