Sheila's Guests and Reviews

What a wonderful Christmas present! Glenda Bixler has created an extra-special Christmas post, with excerpts from Bethlehem's Baby, so beautifully presented, with wonderful music, artwork and more. Meet Bethlehem's Baby, Mary's father, the angel Gabriel, and an excited little shepherd boy... Enjoy! http://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2013/12/bethlehems-baby-visits-spend-christmas.html

Happy Christmas everyone. And heartfelt apologies to anyone still awaiting long-promised book reviews.  I will endeavor to get back on schedule soon, but today's timetable is filled with turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, and all those wonderful trimmings; followed by board games around the table with two sons and much delight; plus Enya playing in the background; followed by gluten-free mince pies, turkey butties, and possibly, if one of those sons smiles really sweetly, trifle. The tree will smell of pine. The wrapping paper will crackle and tear. Phone calls to England will elicit many smiles. And hugs, both real and virtual, will be shared. I think that covers all five senses, for me anyway. May your Christmas Day be filled with delights for all your senses too. And I really will post those book reviews soon--honestly--just not today (and not on Boxing Day either).

Today I'm hosting one of the final posts in The Kingdom of Vosh blog tour with a book review for Christmas...  the only problem being, it's Christmas; the sons have arrived home; I've just learned to make edible gluten-free mince pies; my book, Nazareth Neighbors , just came out on kindle; someone needs a ride to the dentist; someone else wants me to help set up their laptop on our wireless network; and someone wants to steal my laptop to play games.... HELP!!!! I have started reading though, and I am quite hooked, sufficiently so that my kindle is glued to my hand, picking up a layer of gluten-free flour as I bake, nestling next to the scissors as I wrap parcels, and... well, etc... Why do I like it? Because that first scene is delightfully reminiscent of Dastardly and Muttley and their flying machines (a childhood favorite), well-crossed with Star Wars pod-racing. Then there's the Vork, which feels like an intriguing cross between a dragon and a Saint Bernard at...

Christmas is fast approaching. My Mum brought it on the plane with her luggage from England. Then we unpacked. And now we've unpacked our ornaments for the Christmas tree as well. It's definitely coming. Meanwhile there's shopping, writing, reading, editing, and shopping some more to be done. We didn't just find Christmas puddings on today's expedition; we found brandy butter to put on them too, so our son will enjoy his just desert. And we found beef and potato pasties, frozen, ready to heat and serve for dinner (well, ready for dinner for the gluten-eaters among us, which is everyone except me--never mind; I found a wonderful gluten-free french country loaf yesterday and I'm very very happy!). We found Mr. Kipling bakewell tarts, and viennese swirls. Sons, are you reading this? And we found Vimto! Vimto is a wonderful English drink! But coffee's the drink to go with books, and here are some book reviews to go with that coffee... I'll start with t...

My blog guest today is Lisa C. Temple, author of Illuminating Gracie, where an angel offers an elderly woman one last chance to change the life she lived. Think Twilight, Hunger Games, the age-old battle between good and evil, and the spiritual journeys that make us truly human... Learn more about the book and author below, and don't forget there's a great rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post.But first, here's an excerpt to give you a flavor of the book: EXCERPT #1        Because he was an angel, Lochedus carried the power of life and death in his touch. With the wave of his hand, he could calm an angry sea or rain down terrible destruction on the heads of the guilty. He could grant peace to the troubled and visit devastating disease on the deserving. But no matter how hard he tried he could not, that night, pull himself from the depression that threatened to tear him apart. It had taken the touch of a small boy to do what ...