CBFA Blog Tour - Any Minute by Joyce Meyer & Deborah Bradford

Sarah Harper is driven to achieve success no matter what the cost. She wants to do good and not hurt the people she loves--especially children and her husband, Joe--but her desire to succeed in her career too often leaves little time for family.

One cold, autumn afternoon, all of that changes when Sarah's car plunges off a bridge and into a river. She is presumed dead by those on the "outside," but Sarah's spirit is still very much alive. What she discovers on the other side transforms everything about Sarah's view of life--past, present, and future.

When Sarah is revived, she is a changed woman. And the unsuspecting world around her will never be the same again.

Because of this story description, I received the book with great anticipation. I've been inspired in my Christian walk by Joyce Meyer's teaching and entertained by Deborah Bradford's stories. What could be better than an intriguing plot and these two women coming together?

Although the premise is still intriguing, I have to say that the book did not deliver its promise to me.

As a writer who is always working to improve on the craft, it is difficult to take off the editor hat unless the story pulls me in so much that I literally do not notice POV (point of view) and setting issues.

The authors tend to gravitate back and forth from a third-person POV to an omniscient POV, which always caused me to hit a mental speed bump. At times, the story head hopped, especially during intense scenes where one minute I was in one character's head and with the next, suddenly thrust into the other character's thoughts. I find this to be very jarring.

Although the authors' scenes set in the Chicago financial area and Wrigley Field were spot on, they took poetic license with the locale of Buffalo Grove, IL, a Chicago suburb. The town was placed directly next to a tollway instead of approximately five miles to the west. For those like me who live in the Buffalo Grove area, this can be bothersome.

Because of these issues, I am unable to give it the rave review I was hoping for. Having said that, I do think if you know these issues won't bother you, I say read it for the entertainment value it is. The storyline is intriguing. I just wish the writing had been at the same level.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than seventy inspirational books, including The Confident Woman, I Dare You, the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, her first venture into fiction with The Penny, and many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings as well as a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life® radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.


Deborah Bedford is a career fiction writer who began her professional life as a journalist in a Colorado mountain town.

A Rose By The Door, Deborah's first with Warner Book (name changed to FaithWords in 2006), hit bookstores in November 2001. A Morning Like This was released by Warner Books in 2002. Deborah's short story, “Connor Sapp's Baseball Summer,” is included in Multnomah Publisher's The Storytellers' Collection, Tales From Home, alongside stories by Chuck Colson, Terri Blackstock, Randy Alcorn and Karen Kingsbury.

Deborah and Jack have two children, Jeff and Avery. When she isn't writing, Deborah spends her time fly-fishing, cheering at American Legion baseball games, shopping with her daughter, singing praise songs while she walks along the banks of Flat Creek, and taking her dachshund Annie for hikes in the Tetons where they live.

Buy it at Amazon.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Any Minute, go here!