Sheila's Guests and Reviews

I made it! I finally finished my short story in time to enter Second Wind Publishing's competition. The theme was spring or renewal and there are lots of really great entries. Click here-- http://secondwindcontests.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/ark-by-sheila-deeth/ --if you want to read mine, and here-- http://secondwindcontests.wordpress.com/contest-entries/ --for links to all the entries. Enjoy! (And please wish me luck!)

Somehow setting my kindle down among the Christmas cooking just didn't feel safe. Leaving it lying around while unwrapping presents seemed a little risky too. And remembering to charge it in the midst of all those Christmas activities? Instead I've been reading real physical books, one in the kitchen, one in the living-room, and one downstairs by the TV (while the guys watched soccer). And now I've got three new reviews to post. Enjoy some fine Christmas coffee with these books--gingerbread spiced, delicious (so now you know what I've been drinking over Christmas too). First is an excellent mystery with great characters and fascinating relationships, as well as an absorbing puzzle, set in a very real world. Jaden Terrell's Racing the Devil starts with a divorced man helping a battered woman in a bar, then quickly swings to said man accused of murder. But Jared McKean is a former detective, and he finds himself surrounded by more friends than he'd imagined pos...

Shepherds, kings, angels, mice and men came to worship Him. I've just posted 31 Christmas drips, telling the Christmas story in 25-word segments. Click here to find out more. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Happy Reading in 2012

I'm wrapping presents of books, books and more books as youngest son hopes to own the ones he used to read of ours. Meanwhile my kindle's thoroughly loaded, the fridge is filling, the turkey's thawing, and plans for Christmas celebrations are growing to fruition. Oh, and I'm reading, of course. But I've been playing some other games on my kindle this week, and there's a neat set of Christmas puzzles I just might open on my computer's pseudo-kindle for everyone to look at after Christmas dinner... As usual, these reviews should link to longer reviews on Gather, and the coffee recommendations are exactly what they say--coffee is good! I've read / puzzled / played with three kindle puzzle books from Garabchuck recently and can definitely recommend them to anyone looking for puzzles to play with or share over Christmas. There's a short sweet set of twelve bright-colored mysteries for Christmas--how many toys will fit in the box... which star isn...

Twin Bred is a fascinating science fiction tale where the science really does support the story and the story supports the science. (See my review of Twin Bred here . Or look at yesterday's blog for more information.) With lots of ethical questions, fascinatingly real characters, and a truly original premise, this was a story I was bound to enjoy. And today I'm delighted to welcome the author, Karen A. Wyle, to my blog for an interview: Q. What is your background? What are your interests outside of writing? A.   I was born a Connecticut Yankee, but moved to California at age 8. I then bounced back and forth between the coasts until I met my now-husband and moved with him to the Midwest. I now consider myself a Hoosier. I'm Jewish, the first generation of my family to be born in this country: my parents and their immediate families barely escaped Hitler's Europe. My other interests include politics, history, photography, and whatever my daughters are up to. ...

Tomorrow you'll be able to read an interview with Karen Wyle, author of Twin Bred, on my blog. Just to get you in the mood, Karen's letting me post an excerpt today, so read on and enjoy... Twin-Bred By Karen A. Wyle Can interspecies diplomacy begin in the womb? After seventy years on Tofarn, the human colonists and the native Tofa still know very little about each other.  Misunderstanding breed conflict, and the conflicts are escalating. Scientist Mara Cadell’s radical proposal: that host mothers of either species carry fraternal twins, human and Tofa, in the hope that the bond between twins can bridge the gap between species. Mara lost her own twin, Levi, in utero, but she has secretly kept him alive in her mind as companion and collaborator. Mara succeeds in obtaining governmental backing for her project – but both the human and Tofa establishments have their own agendas. Mara must shepherd the Twin-Bred through dangers she anticipated and others that even th...

I reviewed The Jinx by D.F. Lamont recently (read my review of the Jinx here). It's a really fun young readers' adventure that mentions in passing, among other things, Manichean and Augustinian philosophies! So, of course, I had to ask... Today I'm delighted to interview the author, Dougald Lamont, on my blog: The Jinx tells of the amazing trials and tribulations of an eighth-grader called Stephen whose life seems suddenly "jinxed" after a bike accident. Is Stephen based on a real person? He sounds so real, and his bike accident, plus he reaction, seem so very true-to-life. Stephen Grayson, (the 13-year-old hero of my book The Jinx) and I do have a few events in common in our lives.  We both caught our shoe (with foot inside) in the front wheel of our ten-speed on the first day of Grade 8; we both have a brother who did karate, who would jump out and say “defend yourself” and force us to fight; we both spent a gym class getting playing dodgeball wher...

It's kind of fun to be part of a book release. I'm eagerly looking forward to Divide by Zero's release next July, but in the meantime it's nice to learn the ropes a little as I watch new books released through the WoMen's Literary Cafe . And today there are two from WLC... plus part two of a serial novel, plus two delightful books of animal tales... So grab that coffee and I'll tell what fun books I've been reading while Mum revisited Erin Hunter's Warrior cats (we both love those Warrior cats!). First is Nickels by Karen Baney , a Christian romance set in a world of software engineers against a background of post-9-11. Office politics intrude on computer code and schedules, while out of office romance slowly heals the wounds of the past. There are some interesting questions raised and discussed in the tale, and the Arizona sunshine is warm and wonderful. Enjoy a 2-star easy-drinking coffee as you read. Next in the 99-cent 3-get-1-free deal from Wo...

I'm honored today to welcome John Wijngaards to my blog today. He's the author of Amrutha: What the Pope's Man found out about the Law of Nature. (Click here for my review of Amrutha ) Founder of the website http://www.thebodyissacred.org/ , Dr John Wijngaards draws on his background as a spiritual writer, professional journalist and international college lecturer in this novel, a beautiful tale of spirituality, sensuality and ethics, spanning multiple cultures. I found the whole concept of Natural Law truly fascinating as I read Amrutha and asked the author if he'd be willing to tell us more. So, over to you Dr Wijngaards, with my thanks. Misapplying ‘Natural Law’ . . . John Wijngaards             Natural Law? Why bother about it you may think. And why make it the principal target of my novel AMRUTHA: What the Pope’s man found out about the Law of Nature , as people keep asking me.   Is ‘Natural Law’ not ju...