Happy New Year--Almost!

We still have a couple more days before New Year's Eve, but I thought I'd post a few thoughts about the coming year while they are on my mind.

This morning I spent time reading some Amy Carmichael for my devotion time. Amy lived in the late 19th Century and into the 20th. As a young woman, she committed to being a missionary in India and, at some point after arriving there, she fell and messed up her leg. These days, the injury would have been easily repaired, but back in the day she ended up unable to walk. Did she come home? Not a chance. She spent her days bedridden, but God wasn't finished with her yet.

The woman journaled daily about the insights from the Bible God had brought to her mind, and from her writings I gather she had many a visitor whom she counseled, encouraged, and prayed over. What a blessing to have her writings now, over a century later.

I also journal, but I doubt anyone will ever have a notion to publish my writings after I'm gone. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd want them published. Some are way too personal.

This morning as I looked toward the coming of 2013, I read Amy's words about trusting God. She said that according to Young's Concordance, the word trust can be read as meaning 'to lean on.' I immediately had a vision of leaning against God through every day of my life in the coming year, much like the disciple John leaned against Jesus at the last supper. Many a time I've set out on my own without pausing to pray for God's guidance and surrendering it all to Him, and many a time things haven't worked out.

As we enter 2013 with talks of the 'fiscal cliff' looming, a new healthcare plan taking place, and an economy that is still wobbling, I can't think of any better place to be than leaning on God. I can lean on Him for the big stuff going on in Washington D.C. and I can lean on Him for my writing and possible future contracts. I can lean on him for help in losing those five or six pounds I gained over the past month or so (I've already started working on that!) And I can lean on Him for my health and for whatever lies ahead that I may or may not be prepared to face.

And that gives me peace.

Happy New Year!

Words in the Wind by Yvonne Anderson -- A Great Read!

I've always said if an author got me to sit and read a Science Fiction story from start to finish, there was one great author. Well, last year my friend, Yvonne Anderson, proved to be one great author because her debut novel The Story in the Stars kept my interest from start to finish. When I finished the book, I begged her for more. And more I got just a few weeks ago when her sequel Words in the Wind arrived in my mailbox.

And, just like the first book in the series, I became quickly engrossed in Words in the Wind, happy to see that Dassa, the heroine of the first book has returned and immediately finds herself  in trouble when her landing craft crashes in a remote area of her home planet Ghanna, cutting her off from family and colleagues. Yes, I said family...it seems in the few years between the first book and this book, Dassa and Pik have married and started a family. Smile.

You'll want to get a copy of Words in the Wind as soon as possible to find out what she's been up to these past few years. But if you missed the first book, never fear, you can jump right into the fun and start reading Book 2, although I highly recommend reading them in order.

Anderson is a master storyteller with an imagination to be admired. I truly appreciate her ability to create a whole alternate universe full of strange, but somehow likable people. From the expressionless Karkar natives who show all their emotion through their ears, to the Ghannians who can communicate with each other through their minds. Far better than any iPhone or Android.

I would give this book five stars if I had a star system, and definitely give it two thumbs up. Don't miss this one!

You can purchase the book at Amazon or at your local bookstore. If they don't have it, I'm sure they'd be happy to order you a copy.


I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. All opinions of the book are my own.

Wish I'd See Something Like This at My Mall!

A friend sent this today and I just had to share. It's done at the South Bay Galleria in the greater Los Angeles area.

You'll Fall in Love with Madily in Love

Author Lynda Lee Schab and I both published our debut novels from OakTara Publishing the same week of November 2011. I was so caught up getting my own book marketed, having my launch party and celebrating in general, I have to admit I never got around to reading Lynda's book, Mind over Madi.

So when the sequel to the first book Madily in Love came out, I jumped at the chance to read and review it, and now I'm sorry I missed the first book. I loved this story. I loved Lynda's voice (writing style), her humor, and all the crazy predicaments her main character Madison McCall gets into navigating through two teenagers and a tweener, her husband and live-in mother-in-law. And in the midst of a chaotic household she's determined to put more romance back into her relationship with her husband.

I found myself laughing out loud more than once, and at other times tear up when a scene touched my heart. I gave it five stars at Amazon.

Lynda Schab is an author to watch. I don't think we're going to see the last of her for a long, long time. You can learn more about her at her website

You can get your copy at Amazon in print (now on discount) or in the Kindle version. Whatever your preferred mode of reading, you won't be disappointed with this one!