Well, looks like my brief reprieve is over. Since I turned in my content edits for Bittersweet Memories I’ve been able to lounge around, read some great books and work on my work in progress.
Now it’s back to work. I’ve got copy edits due on December 27. I guess I know how I’ll be spending the rest of my holiday!
Also, if you live in/near Baltimore, I’ll be signing books tomorrow at Security Square Mall! Come on out and say hello!
I had several giveaways going on in November. So, here is a listing of the winners:
John’s Quest by Cecelia Dowdy: Lynnet Hardwick Van Buren, AR
Milk Money by Cecelia Dowdy: Annette Taylor of Albion, IL
A Time To Dance by Karen Kingsbury: Doreen Hayes of Baltimore, MD
Diamond Duo: Mrs. Carole Jarvis of Jonesboro, GA
Diamond Duo: Mary Zander of Rochester, NY
The sweet romance set: Lauren Sorgaard of Goodhue, MN
Sharon K. Souza novel: Janna Ryan of North Platte, NE
Heartsong Presents Cozy Mysteries set: Kristi Coday of Oklahoma City, OK
Dance Into Destiny by Sherri Lewis: Cindi Hoppes Edwardsville, IL
Children’s books by Karen Kingsbury and Dandi Mackall: Carrie Turansky of Lawrenceville, NJ
I still need to choose a winner for The Shack giveaway, so if you haven’t entered, you still have time. I’ll probably be drawing a winner for that book soon.
I’ll also be posting the books for my December Book Giveaway within the next day or so!
I contacted my publisher recently and discovered that although my book Milk Money won’t be released to the Heartsong Presents bookclub until January, people can still order Milk Money now and receive it shortly (way before the book club gets their copies)! So, I blogged about purchasing John’s Quest as a stocking stuffer here. However, if you already have John’s Quest or want another Heartsong to enjoy for Christmas or Kwanzaa, then consider purchasing Milk Money. For only $2.97, it’s a bargain that I think you’ll enjoy!
Call (800) 847- 8270 to place your order. If the line is busy, you can also fax the order form to Barbour at (740)922-5948.
I still have winners to announce for several book giveaways. I should be mailing out the majority of those books tomorrow. Also, I haven’t drawn a name yet for The Shack giveaway, so if you’re interested in winning that title, don’t forget to leave your comment!
The Shack by William P. Young
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Windblown Media; 1st edition (July 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0964729237
ISBN-13: 978-0964729230
From Amazon.com:
Product Description
Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant “The Shack” wrestles with the timeless question, “Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?” The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
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WARNING: SPOILER
It’s hard for me to talk about this book without giving a spoiler. I had mixed feelings about this novel for several reasons. First off, it just seemed weird for the author to make God, the Father, an African American woman. William P. Young (the author) also portrayed the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman and Jesus as a Middle Eastern man. A few people commented on this blog post that they either didn’t want to read the book because of what they’d heard about it, or didn’t want to finish reading the book.
I felt strangest when reading the scenes with Mack and Papa (the African-American woman). I guess because when I think of God personified, I automatically think of Jesus. I just can’t imagine being in the kitchen with God, The Father, as an African-American woman, asking questions about suffering while she bakes a pie!
Reading about the Asian Holy Spirit felt a little bit “off” too. It’s hard to explain why, but it just felt a little strange. My being in the garden with the female Asian Holy Spirit, while helping to plant flowers while I ask her questions about mankind and suffering is just a little bit hard to imagine.
I believe that’s where some of the controversy arises with this novel. By having the African-American woman and the female Asian Holy Spirit, the author MAY be trying to explain the trinity in an understandable way to Mack and to the reader as well?
The scenes that felt more “normal” were the ones where Mack was interacting with Jesus. I guess it’s because we have somewhat of a mental image of Jesus since we know He was here on earth, personified. I’m not sure why the scenes felt more normal when reading about Jesus, but I’m assuming this is why. Also, Jesus was a carpenter on earth, and the author shows Jesus working with tools, making a coffin for Mack’s deceased daughter.
When Mackenzie’s (Mack’s) daughter is abducted and killed, he can’t seem to shake the Great Sadness that has descended upon him. He receives a letter from Papa, asking for a meeting at the shack (where his daughter was taken before she was killed). The letter and the visit from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together, are God’s way of reaching out to Mack, helping him to heal from the grief and bitterness he’s been harboring for the last four years.
He has thought-provoking conversations with all three of his “hosts” for the weekend, demanding answers as to why his innocent daughter was brutally murdered. Papa answers Mack’s question, and in the end, Mack is able to bury his pain, both emotionally and physically. He knows his daughter still lives and is now happy. Jesus allows Mack to get a glimpse of his deceased child, now happily enjoying her afterlife.
Although this book was strange, I do think it MAY help to minister to those who have lost a child. I have a 3 year old, and if something similar were to happen to him, I know I’d suffer from Great Sadness. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit explain why evil things happen to innocent people on this earth.
I also wanted to point out that if I were to write this book, or if I were an acquiring editor, I’d suggest that the author redo the story without the African-American woman Papa and the Asian Holy Spirit in the story. I’d just have Jesus to visit Mack, and have the two of them chat about what had happened with Missy (Mack’s murdered daughter). Of course, several scenes would have to be redone in a different way, but if the book were written the way I’ve suggested, I think it may have been more effective and less controversial.
The concept used in The Shack of Jesus, coming to us directly as a person today, reminded me of a book I read a long time ago called Eli. In Eli, Davis Conrad has an accident, and when he wakes up, it appears he’s in another time and he rushes to escape from the police who are trying to catch him. A man named Eli is born, and Davis is confused because Eli claims to be the Son of God. Also, when Davis looks at the Bible, the New Testament doesn’t exist. But then he flashes back to an alternate time and sees himself hooked up to machines in a hospital (resulting from his accident). This book has science fiction qualities as it tells of a parallel universe. However, it reminded me of The Shack since it uses this scenario: what would happen if Jesus were to come today instead of two thousand years ago?
This same concept was used in Dinner With A Perfect Stranger. In Dinner With A Perfect Stranger, the main character receives an invitation from Jesus, kind of like Mack did in The Shack. This workaholic character with a troubled marriage accepts the invite and dines with Jesus at an Italian restaurant. During this dinner, he asks God about why there is so much pain and suffering in the world, demanding answers, kind of like how Mack confronted God, The Father, and Jesus, and The Holy Spirit in The Shack. However, I felt the way it was done in Dinner With A Perfect Stranger was more realistic than The Shack.
These are the ONLY THINGS in The Shack that reminded me of these two other novels! I’m in no way saying that Eli and Dinner With A Perfect Stranger are as controversial and “strange” as The Shack.
I’d be interested in hearing readers’ thoughts about this book. Leave a comment along with your EMAIL ADDRESS in this post if you’d be interested in winning this novel! If you comment and you are NOT interested in winning, then just say that you DON’T want to be entered into the drawing. I’ve heard so many positive and negative things about this novel for a long time, so I had to read it myself to see what all the fuss was about!
The Flower Of Grass by James Robinson
FICTION / Christian / General
ISBN: 978-0-8254-6286-3
$13.99 paperback
256 pages
JULY 2008 (Available)
I mentioned this book on my blog last August. When the publisher sent me an email with a description of this title, I knew I wanted to read it!
From Kregel:
“John Allen had come back to say goodbye. But he was too late; there would be no atonement.”
John Allen returns to his hometown after the death of his alcoholic, abusive father. He has been gone 16 years and has become a successful writer, but with major addiction problems of his own. Now he struggles to make amends with his careworn sister and dropout younger brother-and, perhaps, to pick up the pieces of his teenage love affair with Jessie.
But Jessie has grown tired of waiting for letters that ceased to come, and has married. At what cost might their love be rekindled.
An exquisitely written, passionate and thoughtful novel, this is a classic love story framing deeper themes of morality and passing time, the true nature of faith, and the delicate balance of human relationships.
I spent my Thanksgiving Day reading this novel. If you want a poetic read, then this book is for you. The author creates wonderful pictures with his words and as you read the scenes, you’ll find that James R. uses his creative imagination to make images that you’ll remember for a long time.
John Allen returns home for his father’s funeral. However, he’s arrived too late, and his dad has already been buried. John, his maimed brother Joey, and his older sister Maggie still suffer from the emotional scars caused by their father’s abuse. John moves into his father’s cabin, hoping the peace and solitude will help him to pen another novel. Instead, he battles with his alcoholism as he struggles with his actions concerning Jessie, his former sweetheart.
Jessie has grown tired of waiting for John over the years, and has since married. When John comes back to town, she struggles with his unexpected meeting invitation. John’s reappearance wreaks havoc in Jessie’s life as her husband, Tuck, feels threatened by John’s homecoming.
This was a beautifully written emotional read. I especially loved the conflicts in this novel.
I just signed up to participate in a Holiday event next week! Come on out to the center court of Security Square Mall
6901 Security Boulevard in Baltimore Maryland on Saturday, December 13, 2008 between 1pm – 5pm! There will be several Christian authors signing books and I’ll be signing both of my novels, MILK MONEY and JOHN’S QUEST. My books are only $3.00 each, so they’d make great stocking stuffers! There’s also a gospel choir competition going on at the same time! Come on out and enjoy some holiday music and buy some books!
It’s funny that somebody on one of my writers loops forwarded this link, considering what I blogged about for my last book giveaway.
Watch it! It’s funny! It’s okay if you’re not Black and you want to buy books from the African-American section!
Enjoy!
I was going to review The Flower Of Grass today, but, I’m too tired. Hopefully, I’ll get to it within the next day or so.
Need a cheap way to stuff your friends’ and family’s stockings? Well, I’m taking this opportunity to do a little shameless self promotion!
You can purchase John’s Quest for only $2.97 plus postage. And, get this, you can order up to 12 copies and still pay the same amount of postage.
If you’d like to purchase my novel for $2.97, but don’t want to purchase multiple copies, then you can choose other Heartsong novels for the same price! Again, it’s only $2.97 per Heartsong Presents novel, and you pay the same amount of postage if you order between one to twelve copies! What a deal! What a cheap and memorable way to fill the stockings of your loved ones!
If interested, just fill out this order form!
Or, call (800) 847- 8270 to place your order. If the line is busy, you can also fax the order form to Barbour at (740)922-5948.
I have several drawings that I need to draw names for, and I also will be posting my December Book Giveaway soon!
We Believe In Christmas by Karen Kingsbury
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Zonderkidz (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310712122
ISBN-13: 978-0310712121
From the inside cover:
On Christmas we give and get presents, we sing songs, and we decorate our homes. But what is Christmas really about? Is our happy holiday a Holy Day?
Find out why we place the star on the Christmas tree. Imagine Christmas guests as travelers of long ago. And let the beautiful song “Silent Night” fill your mind with pictures of the night Jesus was born. Because Chrstmas is God’s gift to us – and we look around and remember, we’ll learn to see the real Christmas.
This endearing story by bestselling novelist Karen Kingsbury will capture the hearts of children, and parents and grandparents will appreciate the applications they can share.
This was a nice story which showed different aspects of the commercialism of Christmas, and then contrasted those aspects to the religious meaning of Christmas. It’s a nice, fun read to enjoy with your children over the holidays, especially as you discuss different Christmas traditions like placing the star on top of the Christmas tree.
The Gift Of The Christmas Cookie by Dandi Daley Mackall
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Zonderkidz (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310713285
ISBN-13: 978-0310713289
From Amazon.com:
Review
It’s the Depression, and Jack and his mother struggle to get by in their small town. When Jack’s mother begins to bake cookies to give away to others, she explains the history behind the family’s wooden cookie molds and draws Jack into her baking. As they work together, she tells him the story of European woodcarvers and their families in the Middle Ages making cookies in shapes that could be used to tell the story of Christ’s birth. Jack’s only Christmas gift that year is a large angel cookie, which he then gives away to a stranger who arrives on Christmas morning. Jack offers the angel cookie to the man with a few concluding sentences that convey his beliefs, neatly echoing the Biblical concept that any stranger might be an angel and must be given hospitality. The tale is told in an understated way, complemented by Chabrian’s sensitive watercolor illustrations, which convey Jack’s range of emotions.
This was a good story which teaches kids not to be selfish during the holiday season, or any season for that matter. It’s the Depression, and Jack is ecstatic to return home to find his mother baking Christmas cookies. He’s saddened to find out that the cookies are for needy families. His mother then explains how the tradition of giving Christmas cookies started, using the example of Jack’s woodcarving ancestors.
Jack is delighted to awaken and find the large angel cookie as a Christmas present from his mother. However, when a hungry stranger comes to their door, Jack learns the meaning of giving what he cherishes to others.
I enjoyed reading this story, and I’d recommend it as a nice read for youngsters.
I’m giving both of these books away. If you’d like these children’s books, please leave a comment, along with your email address. I will be drawing the names later this week. Also, I will mail out these books quickly so that the winner can enjoy these heartwarming stories with their child(ren) over the holiday season!
If you don’t win, then you can always find these titles at your local bookstore! I’m sure they’d make great early Christmas presents for your little ones!
