Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Today I get to welcome Lydia Crichton , author of GRAINS OF TRUTH (Barringer Publishing/May 2013), to my blog. A native Texan, Lydia has traveled all over the world in her twenty-plus year career as a marketing and fundraising expert for nonprofit organizations. A trip to Egypt in 2002 turned into a life-changing odyssey, which led her to discover a passion for telling stories that entertain as they explore complex and controversial social and political issues. She currently lives in California's Napa Valley--the inspiration for a second book in the Julia Grant Series, woven around the shambles of illegal immigration in the U.S. For more information, visit:  www.lydiacrichton.com . And for a truly amazing video about GRAINS OF TRUTH, scroll down this page... and watch out for that co-star who's so very eager to steal the scene.   GRAINS OF TRUTH is an action adventure starring a a devout pacific, Julia Grant, manipulated vy US Intelligence into joining...

I'm writing children's stories about a pre-schooler who plays with his friends in the street, helps his mom sweep the floor, keeps asking if the bread has finished rising yet, stomps grapes when the harvest comes in, and generally has fun. This story's going to be about being kind to strangers. I write the first line: "One day, Jesus was playing with his friends..." And I mentally bow my head at the name of Jesus because I grew up Catholic and that's what we do. Then I wonder if children listening to the story will bow their heads too. I'm glad the preacher reminded us on Sunday that Jesus was wholly human as well as wholly God, and human relationships were important to him. It helps me remember why I'm writing about this little boy--I want children to know he was once a child, just like them, and they can grow up to be more like him. Of course, I'm also writing book reviews: One book's about a world where children are almost invisible; anoth...

 Today I'm delighted to interview J.D. Winston on my blog, author of God Must Be Weeping , released by BoulevarDream in January of this year. So please read on and learn more about a second world war novel where bonds of friendship are tested, faith is challenged, and fears are exposed. Not just a war novel, it's a story of misfits from different social and spiritual backgrounds and how friendship binds them together. It sounds just my sort of thing and I really hope I'll get to read it sometime. So, my first question for J. D. Why did you choose to write about the Second World War as opposed to any other time of struggle or change? I set the story in the context of WWII because it is widely acknowledged to be a ‘just war,’ and provided a backdrop for a compelling story, where I could delve into the themes of my novel, GOD MUST BE WEEPING: friendship, passion, faith, heroism, and love. How did you research the environment for your novel.  Did yo...

The speaker at our local writers' group last Sunday said all authors have to be entrepreneurs, and the author/entrepreneur's life goes in three-month cycles. For weeks you'll be over the moon because your book's been released and it's selling and good reviews are coming in. Then comes that one week when you sell nothing and the world comes crashing down... She's obviously a much more established author/entrepreneur than I am. If I sell a single book in a week I'm more than overjoyed. And if I sell more... Is that even possible? Yesterday I found I'd been paid by Smashwords. I sold, on average, a book a month in six months of 2013. Which is one a month more than I sold in 2012 with them. But does a book a month make me an author, or just an aspiring writer with dreams too far above her station? Still, whether writer or author or dreamer or something in between, I got paid real money and now I can afford three cups of coffee! So grab your coffee cup ...

I'm catching up. Honestly I am. And this week I've enjoyed that rare pleasure of reading genuine paperbacks, leaving them lying around the house, one in the bedroom, one on the sofa, one on the chair, then carrying them, then wondering where I left them and where's my pencil so I can take notes about what I'm reading there. Of even greater pleasure is the fact that all five paperback books were so thoroughly enjoyable, so grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and see which ones would catch your fancy: First is Past the Last Island, by Kathleen Flanagan Rollins , is a beautifully evocative novel of prehistory, set in the Pacific Islands. Second in her Misfits and Heroes series, it continues to tell the story of those unlikely strangers who rise above their world instead of fitting in, and so help the world they know to grow bigger. It's a rich, elegant, complex novel; enjoy it with some 4-star, rich, elegant, complex flavored coffee. Moving forward in time (and even ti...

The Five-Minute Bible Story TM Series is moving into the New Testament, and Bethlehem Baby is listed as "Coming Soon" on the publisher's website. Just go to http://www.capearagopress.com/ and enjoy the celebration fireworks. Then look for today's #OneADayGenesis prescription on Twitter for a free read from book 1 to soothe the kids at bedtime. Real World... Real People... Real God... and real five-minute stories (on kindle) to kindle inspiration.

Don't forget the Virtual Ebook Fair's still active on Facebook. Just click on the image to get there. If you didn't find mine among those excellent snippets and samples, you could click here http://sheiladeethstudies.blogspot.com/2013/07/3-minutes-4-minutes-5-minutes-more.html for three stories from the Five-Minute Bible Stories Series (TM). And then, if you've still got a spare hour or two, why not try these short books, reviewed below: Jessica, by Laura DeLuca , is a delightfully haunting Halloween tale about the shy boy at the dance. Enjoy with a small cup of 5-star dark intense coffee. In the same vein, Cross Words by Steve Foreman, is another short story with a sting, or a tusk, in its tail, best read with another 5-star dark intense cup of coffee. In contrast, An Unexpected Adventure by D. X. Dunn introduces the Distania Chronicles with an appealing short story for children who like dragons and computers. Enjoy this bright lively tale with a bri...

Want summer reads? Don't forget #OneADayGenesis on twitter will give you a daily dose of Genesis stories to ease your children's bedtime blues till the end of summer. And  the Virtual Ebook Fair's offering lots of real books by real authors on Facebook--just click on the image: Then read on for book reviews... If you've followed my reviews you'll know I deliberately avoid giving stars on my blog. I do give coffee ratings, but they're for content, not quality. And I really don't feel qualified to judge the quality of someone else's book. After all, grammar's fairly important to me, but not to everyone. Historical accuracy matters to me, but other readers would rather enjoy a flavor of the past spread over a contemporary tale. Science is important, but some readers happily go with the flow while I might ask far too many questions. And, since I love poetry and song, rhythm and form matter far more to me than they might to somebody else. That sa...

I'm delighted to welcome a guest to my blog today, Linda Crill, author of a fascinating real-life  book called Blind Curves--One Woman's Unusual Journey to Reinvent Herself and Answer What Now? It's got the Pacific Northwest, motorbikes, wine country, tattoos and piercings, amongst other things. And the reader might get to share the author's journey from misery to health along the way. But at what price? Over to you Linda, and thank you for visiting my blog.   The Price of Authentic Voice—                 An Acrophobia’s Trapeze Nightmare The Roots of the Nightmare When I decided to focus on becoming a successful author, I didn’t expect that route would include learning to fly on a trapeze. I’m afraid of heights, and this scary experience was close to the top of my never-do list. But I found myself contemplating just that, after attending a 5-day writers’ retreat studying with New Y...

Author Glenell Randolph's novel, Finding My Lost Soul, was released last month, and I'm happy to be part of her Lightning Book Promotions tour. The novel can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Lost-Soul-Glenell-Randolph/dp/1483956539 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-My-Lost-Soul-ebook/dp/B00DFCC3N2   B arnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-my-lost-soul-glenell-randolph/1115709582   Website: www.lgentertainment3k.com It certainly sounds intriguing from the links, and it's nice to be reminded that it's never too late to "let go and let God." Book Blurb Lula is no different than a lot of us that have lost their inner spirit, and hope when a devastating event has occurred. We tend to take on our battles alone, instead of trusting in our relationship in God to lead us, and carry us through our times of troubles and disappointments. We have to let go and let God just a Lula realized in the end. However, it’s...