Into the Fire

CFBA BLOG TOURS

Each week the CFBA has book tours. These are the current reviewers. As you know, a member can review any books they select to read or they can show the reviews, interviews, author info, or whatever they elect to do for the tour. Since I only review and participate with the books I select and read, I'm giving you the sites for other participants.

Alexis at Ramblings From Life

Alison at A Little Creative License

Amber at Amber Miller

Amy at Peek a boo ICU

Amy at My Life

Amy at Simple Folk Schoolhouse

Amy at sprightly

Andie at frommipov

Andrea at Ask Andrea

Angela at God Uses Broken Vessels

Angela at One Baby, Seven Dogs, and a Mommy

Angie at The Road I'm Traveling

April at Living In A State Of Constant Kansas

April at Projecting A

Ashley at Ashley-A Daughter of the King

Barbara at Finding Contentment

Beth at The Write Message

Betsy Ann at Betsy Ann "Writer at Large!"

Bonnie at Bonnie Writes

Becky at Becky's Christian Reviews

Becky at Joyful Mother

Brandi at Brand Muffin Reviews

Brandi at Lone Star Latte-n-Libre

Brandilyn at Forensics and Faith

Brandy at Brandy Bruce

Brittanie at A Book Lover

Caleb at Reviews Plus+

Camy at Camy Tang

Cara at the law, books, and life

Carla at Carla's Writing Café

Carol at Blogging With Carol

Carolyn at Serenity

Carrie at The Random Thoughts Of Carrie

CeeCee at Book Splurge

Chad at Trail Of Fiction

Cheri at Kudzu and Koolaid

Cheryl at Unseen Worlds

Cheryl at Writing Remnants

Chris at Chris Well: Learning Curve

Chris at So Much Stuff I Can't Recall

Christy at Christy's Book Blog

Christy at At Split Ends

Christy at My Life in Words…Books…

C.J. at C.J. Darlington.com

Daniel at Daniel I. Weaver

Dave at Novel Spotlight

Dave at Stupid Human Tricks

David at Christian Mystery Writers

Dave at Dave Rhoades

Dawn at Book Junkie Confessions

Dea at Been Farmin' Long?

Debbie at The Wide World

Debra at Soul Reflections

Deborah at book, movies, and chinese food

Deborah at Country At Heart

Dee at Christian Fiction

Dee at Divine Perspective

Deena at A Peek At My Bookshelf

Diane at Spunk On A Stick

Dineen at Kittens Come From Eggs

Donielle at Sweet On Words

Edyth at Great Reads by Jasmine

Elaina at Restore

Erica at On The Write Path

Ernie at Writing: My Adventures In Words

Frank at A Frank Review

Georgiana at Georgiana D

Gina at Portrait Of A Writer

Gina at Refreshment In Refuge

Gretchen at Inspire Me

Heather at Books and Bairns

Heidi at Reviews by Heidi

Hisart777 at Sword and Pen

Jackie at Journey Into Grace

Jaime at Just a Little Something To Read Before Bills

Janna at Cornhusker Academy

Jamie at a life with love

Janis at Dandelion Momma

Jasmine at Great Reads From Jasmine

Jason at Spoiled For The Ordinary

Jeff at Scriptorius Rex

Jenn at Blessed Is She...

Jennifer at Jennifer's Writing Blog

Jennifer at Musings On This, That & The Other Thing

Jennifer at My Buckling Bookshelf

Jennifer at So Many Books...so Little Time

Jenny at Come Meet AusJenny

Jenny at Up The Hill Gang

Jerome at Christian Political Fiction

Jessica at The Christian Literary Haunt

Jill N. at Artistic Blogger

Jill H. at Christian Work At Home Moms

Jim B. at The Bedford Review

Jim T. at One Small Stone--CFBA Book Reviews

Jocelyn at The Hungry Hearts Book Review

Joe at Words on a Page

Joleen at faithfiction

Karen at disturbing the universe:reviews and rants

Karen at Mommy of Three

Karla at Ramblin' Roads To Everywhere

Karri at Fiction Fanatics Only

Kathleen at Reading, Writing and What Else is There?

Katie at Christian Novels

Kaye at I Love Christian Fiction

Kelly at A Disciple's Steps

Kelly at Scrambled Dregs

Kevin L. at My Hyper-Caffeinated Mind

Kim at Window To My World

Kimberly at QuiddamChickee To Save The Day

Kris at Kris St. James: CFBA Reviews

Krista at Welcome To Married Life

Kristy at I Need To Read

LaShaunda at See Ya On The Net

Laura at Laura William's Musings

Lauren at Wren Reviews

Leah at Ponderings From My Heart

Linda at Musings From The Windowsill

Lisa at Author Intrusion

Lyn at Bloggin' Outloud

Lynnae at Lynnae's Bookshelf

Marcella at Daily Paintings by Marcella Paliekara

Marcia at Writer-lee

Margaret at Creative Madness

Marilynn at Rhythms of Grace

Melissa at Bibliophile's Retreat

Melissa at Yesterday's Hope: The Blog

Melly at A Cup Of Tea With Me

Melly at Faith Filled Wives

Marjorie at The Writer's Tool

Mimi at Mimi's Pixie Corner

Michael at gritty and bright

Michael at Michael Patrick Leahy

Michelle at Edgy Inspirational Author

Michelle at Just A Minute

Michelle at Michelle's Great Blogs

Michelle at Raising Little Women

Mike at wide-eyed fiction

Myra at Writer at Random

Nessie at Illuminating Fiction

Nicole at Into The Fire

Pam at A Writer's Journey

Pam at Daysong Reflections

Pam at Mom's Mutterings

Patricia at Author of Inspirational Mystery Novels

Paula at Reviews by Two

Peg at Sips 'n Cups Cafeteria

Pepper at Desperate Christian Housewives

Pepper at Great Christian Fiction

Rachel at Rachel Hauck

Rachelle at Stifled Squeal

Rebecca at A Christian Worldview of Fiction

Rel at Relz Reviewz

Robin at Between Sundays

Robin Lee at Write Thinking

Ron at Writes in His Sleep

Ruth at Booktalk & more...

Ryan at loves to read

Sabrina at Hijinks From The Heartland

Sally at Welcome To Sally Bradley.com

Sarah at PrsGodAlways

Sean at Bookmark Cafe

Shaley at For Immediate Release Reviews

Shanna at Intertextual Me

Shannon at My Secret Place

Shelley at Ink Scrawls

Sherry at Everything Moms

Sonya at My Thousand Loves

Stacy at Vader's Mom

Susan at New Every Morning

Susan at Scribbles by Susan May Warren

Susan at Book Therapy

Tabitha at 123pizza's Weblog

Takiela at Beauty 4 Ashes

Tamera at Tamera Alexander's Blog

Tami at Tree Swing Reading

Tara at Tara's View Of The World

Tavares at God and Good News

Terry at Home of Terry W. Burns

Todd at A Place Called Fiction

Tony at TLHines

Tracy at Pix-N-Pens

Trish at Books and Book Reviews

Tricia at It's Real Life

Ty at Faithwebbin.net

Valerie at In My Little World

Vanessa at My Life

Vicki at Grace Lessons

Vicki at The Savvy Christian Writer

Virginia at CeCe Lane

Virginia at Book Reviews - Virginia Smith

Winter at Rodeo with A Twist Of Suspense

*Please pray for Kristy Dykes.*

. . . Whew . . .

In spite of high winds last night, fitful sleep on my part, and the power going out early this (Thursday) morning for a couple of hours, I am well. Wind is not my favorite thing when it is roaring and whistling, howling, rushing, and growling. We’ve had more wind here in the last two years than I can ever remember. Usually in the past there would be one windstorm in January and not always too severe, steady, manageable winds for a part of March, but the last two years have served up volatile winds in odd months. The wind is still blowing.

I am thankful for the Lord’s protection, His grace as I lay in bed praying for His mercy, reminding myself that He is my strong tower and the refuge in times of trouble/storms. The trees are still standing in the pasture, the outbuildings still have their roofs, and our horses and home are intact. Thank you, Jesus.

Not so, I know, for many in the tornado paths. And for those Floridians and victims of Katrina and others who have suffered at the hands of hurricanes . . . well, this wind we’ve had here is strong enough for me.

Winter has made a powerful statement in Washington. The mountain passes have been shutting down nearly everyday because they can’t keep up with the enormous and unrelenting snowfall. In some of the eastern parts of the state they are fearing floods if a thaw happens too quickly because of the packed snow and ice shrinking their intersections and roadways, piled high with no place left to go. My husband has been hampered by the weather, having to take long alternate routes when the pass has been closed, and in places he has been unable to make his deliveries, having to unload product at smaller transfer trucking outfits. In the southwestern part of the state, several miles of the interstate were shut down for days as a result of severe flooding from a tremendous outpouring of rain, and other area roadways were ravaged by high and fast flowing waters.

My light and momentary struggles with the weather or whatever are nothing compared to those of others. Kristy Dykes battles brain cancer in its final stages, suffering heavily in these last few days, yet she praises the Lord for His goodness. Relatives of the dead in the Midwest where the tornadoes slung cars, homes, and belongings leaving paths of devastation suffer their losses of loved ones and property and battle hopelessness. There are always victims of something tragic. Such is a world corrupted with sin.

But for us who believe in the sovereignty of God, we endure, we hope, we praise, we rejoice because we can’t imagine living any other way. As for me, I’ve tried it without Jesus. It’s hopeless, helpless, hapless. Dreary. Think about it. How would you like to depend on yourself or someone else for everything? With all our personal failures, not to mention those of others—even those we honor and respect—would you really like to place your hope and reliance there? I have. And I always came up empty.

Whatever God elects to do, knowing the days He’s allotted for us, He promises to get us through it all. And He also promises that the rewards on the other side, the eternal side, far outweigh the hardships and sufferings here. Hard to believe in some situations, but I choose to believe Him. I have yet to meet another human being who is not fallible or completely trustworthy, even though they can be wonderful examples of our kind. Not one of them can supply what I truly need.

I hope the weather is acceptable where you are. I hope your spirits are hopeful where you are. I hope your faith is great and growing where you are this Friday. If you’re in Jesus, you’ve got it made.

Father, thank you for your divine protection, your mercy, and the eternal factors of the hope you provide, the faith you increase, the help you pour out, the never ending love you supply. “You’re all I’m livin’ for . . .” In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*Please remember to pray for Kristy Dykes.*

Look for the CFBA Tours on others' blogs for their current reviews, info. (http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping )

Wednesday we'll be featuring My Name Is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder on the CFBA Blog Tour.

Voices

Some voices are easy to recognize because of their distinctive sound, but not all that are recognizable are pleasant or elicit a favorable reaction from us. We could take it a step farther to say that the tone of a voice can give us a quick heartbeat in a positive or negative way. For those we know or love, tone can mean everything.

Today I’m just referring to familiar voices of those I don’t know. First I’ll list the voices I immediately identify and enjoy, and the second list will be the names of those whose voices I recognize but don’t particularly enjoy when I hear them—either because of who they are and what they’ve done or because the voice itself is unpleasant to me.

The third list will be those voices I tend to recognize but have no particular feelings one way or the other about the person behind them.

Voices I love (at least the ones you might recognize):

Tom Selleck

Johnny Depp

President Bush

Russell Crowe

Voices I recognize but am not fond of . . .

Bill Clinton

Voices I recognize:

Jack Nicholson

Clint Eastwood

Katherine Hepburn

Tommy Lee Jones

Michael Medved

Ann Coulter

To sum it up, the voice I most want to hear above all others is the voice of the Lord. I don’t want to be too busy, too noisy, too fretful, too angry, too frustrated, or too anything else to miss that perfect voice speaking to me alone. Thank you, God.

Clear my head, Lord God, and open my ears to hear. Holy Spirit, speak to me as only you can, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

*Please continue to pray for Kristy Dykes.*

Reviews/Previews

I’ve got three book reviews—if you want to call them that—written and waiting, two for blog tours, one for a “buzz” preceding release. All favorable reviews for readers who like to gather opinions before they buy the book. All potentially for different audiences.

Funny thing—me writing “reviews”. In a long ago post I stated that I didn’t write “reviews” because they were too much like writing book reports, and anything that reminds me of school is like a bad recurring dream to me, one I continue to have once in a great while. However, if I’m not strapped to a formula and can simply express my opinion about a novel, I’ve come to enjoy them. I try only to read the books that appeal to me in the blog tour selections because I do refuse to give an unfavorable review—at least so far. It’s okay to point out things I might not prefer as a reader, but just because it’s not my kind of book is not sufficient reason to annihilate an author for writing it.

Kind of ironic, too, because I rarely read a review until after I’ve read a book. I prefer to read the minimum about the story, rarely even reading all of the back cover copy because I don’t want any of the plot ruined. Some novels give it away on the back cover, and if the blurb interests me, I don’t want to know much more. I try very hard in my reviews not to give away any significant plot points that aren’t revealed in the beginning chapters of the book. Hopefully just enough to entice the reader and establish the basic story line.

I might comment on the author’s writing style, and I might not. Obviously if I’m reviewing their work, the chances are good that I enjoy their writing. I generally like a variety of styles and formats as I’ve discussed here before, and I don’t value one over another. There are readers for all of them.

So . . . you can be expecting a few upcoming reviews in the months to come, and I hope they prove useful to you.

Father, thank you for the fun and privilege of reading what others have written to honor you. It’s encouraging and inspiring to see the individual giftings. Please continue to use your people for your glory. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*Please pray for Kristy Dykes.*

Favorite Soundtracks/Movie Themes

A Summer Place

Picnic

Chariots of Fire

Rocky

Braveheart

Gladiator

POTC, Curse of the Black Pearl

Father, thank you for beautiful music that stirs our souls and moves our hearts. Thank you for those who create and play it from your inspiration. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

**Please remember to pray for Kristy Dykes. Latest Update from Kristy:

MY TOES ARE FROZEN PEGS

My toes are frozen pegs in an outdoor laundry.
Hard shakes jerk my body.
The fever is back.

Scalp--itching--rivals…?
I order my hands: do not touch.
Sleep? Little. Ambien fights the steroids.

The birds sing—a cacophony of sound greeting the day.

But even that doesn't lull me to sleep.

Pressure mounts in my brain.

***

Itching, itching, itching.
Will I scratch?
Torment.
Scratch.
Jerk hand away.
For good.

***

Turn on light.
Coconut flakes on red sheets.
Agast.

***

How can a giant fried marble hurt so much?

***

I choose to sing.
I choose to sing.
I choose to sing.

***

A song from childhood comes…

***

"There's within my heart a melody,
Jesus whispers sweet and low.
'Fear not, I am with you, Peace! Be still!
In all of life's ebb and flow.'

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know.
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

"Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way.
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest name I know.
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go."

***

At the top, "fever" reads "fabak. Then I slide my chair to the left, come in close, sweep over the words, and I can read. Not speed reading like before. But still, reading.

Father, we cannot ignore the threat of death. Kristy has asked to live but has trusted you through all of these horrible symptoms of incurable brain cancer. We know you hear our prayers for her, and so we must rest in you. Still . . . we ask for your mercy and healing for Kristy Dykes. In the Mighty, Powerful Name above all names, in the Authority, Blood, and Name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sacrificing . . . The Pawn

Steven James begins his series of Patrick Bowers’ thrillers with a story that will have you searching the parking lot as you walk out to your car, checking out strange or unfamiliar vehicles, people, situations, and every time you’re missing something you think you should have when really you’ve just set it down somewhere else, you’ll momentarily freeze. No kidding. So if you’re prone to being overly fearful, you might not want to read this novel about more than one extremely intelligent, methodical, narcissists who have been unique styles of killers for a long time.

The protagonist, brilliant Patrick Bowers, PhD, is a recovering widower (yes, another loss of spouse) with an alienated teenage step-daughter who stays with his parents while he travels the country for the FBI doing geospatial profiling of serial killers. Her conduct toward Patrick appears to be just this side of hatred.

Patrick’s grief has morphed into anger bordering on rage at times, especially as he and his close friend, Special Agent Ralph Hawkins, and the attractive Special Agent Lien Hua head up the search for the identity of a killer who leaves a chess pawn at crime scenes, ties a yellow ribbon in the victims’ hair, and is meticulous about leaving no evidence while instead placing nearly hidden clues with present victims alluding to future victims. He has dubbed himself “The Illusionist”.

But that’s only a portion of this complex plot which includes a politician, once a clandestine CIA operative, a survivor of the Jim Jones’ cult and how that survivor’s past becomes linked with the aforementioned killer and the prominent politician.

While primarily written from Patrick Bowers’ first person POV, the POV slides in and out of the smugness of the killer’s thoughts, shifts to the politician’s plans, darts to the superfluous, merciless plottings of the cult survivor, and occasionally includes those biting, hurtful, or terrified expressions of his step-daughter Tessa’s needs.

Personally speaking, I love a plethora of characters, including their back-story and all things which allude to what makes them tick. I like the back and forth of present to past or past to present. In that respect The Pawn worked for me.

I’ll tell you what didn’t quite work as well for me, and that is the ambition of the plot. I’m not sure that the tying in of the Jones’ cult member and the CIA politics along with the serial killer wasn’t too much. The story of “The Illusionist” was both enticing in that horrible, thriller way and mesmerizing without the other tie-ins. I remember feeling a bit disappointed as the story began to veer away from the solving of the killings to incorporate these other villains and their relationship to the murderer. Somehow in the mix, I never felt like I quite learned in a definitive way why “The Illusionist” seemed to have his sights set on singling out and outsmarting Patrick Bowers just because he’d read two of his books for research and considered him a “worthy opponent”. As the dots were being connected between all these plot pieces, and the chess board manipulations and sacrifices of the pawns were made, I did experience some confusion as to where my focus should be—that is, as to who specifically did the author intend for the story to be about besides Patrick Bowers and his attempt to assemble all the clues before too many more people were murdered.

As a writer, I can understand the desire for the author of a thriller to keep a reader guessing and to make a complex plot that darts and dashes from one suspect to another while hiding some in “plain view”. The intrigue is high-level in this novel, but it seemed as though Mr. James might’ve pulled in a few too many villains to keep the story moving seamlessly. I thought he did a nice job of throwing the reader off and building the suspense, but the focus just seemed to change at the mid-point and become a bit of a different story.

The ending was positive, inconclusive, and suggestive, paving the way for another mystery/thriller due out later this year entitled The Rook. I enjoyed this novel—the man can definitely write—and will continue on with the series in hopes that maybe the second leg of this adventure will be more tightly focused. Patrick Bowers succumbs to a foxhole spiritual awakening of sorts in the final dramatic events after harboring a resentment toward God the entire story due to his wife’s dying, even though she died a believer. So for me it will be interesting to see how Mr. James handles the spirituality of his protagonist in the next book. Granted the so-called “lesson” suggested by the novel points to the thin line between good and evil in all of us, but the real fabric of the novel for me reveals the debilitating emptiness of an individual who suffers a terrible loss with no one but himself to provide comfort.

Father, thank you for the wonderful talent of Steven James. You gift so many people with outstanding abilities. Please help Steven to continue to seek after you and what you have for him to do. Give him your direction and leading in all he does. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Sunday's Offerings

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after He had risen.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believed will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it.

Mark 16:14-20 (NIV)

*Please remember to pray for Kristy Dykes.*