Closer Than Your Skin by Susan D. Hill

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Author Susan Hill traces her discovery of a vibrant companionship with God and shows how it can become an everyday reality for anyone. Through stirring stories from her life, she assures readers that knowing God is more than spiritual rhetoric; it's reality for those who learn to recognize His voice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susan D. Hill is an award-winning feature writer and a leader of interdenominational women's groups, where she has sought answers to the common longing for a more authentic spiritual experience. She also serves on the board of the Uganda Orphans Fund, a non-profit Christian relief organization building orphan homes for victims of AIDS and war. Susan and her husband, Duncan, have three children and live in Montana.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:

This is what we should be reading in the days of "reality" television and feel-good...well, you know. Susan takes us on a walk through her life and her growth in her relationship with Christ. There is nothing candy-coated or overly warm and fuzzy about the valleys that she has experienced in her life. She does bring to life how God meets us in the ordinary moments of life - and just how real He can be to each and every person in that every day life, both in the victories and the pain. This book hooked me from the start (usually only fiction does that!) and it challenged me to go farther and deeper in my personal walk with Jesus - and any book that does that is well worth reading!

Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Stuck in the Middle
Revell (February 1, 2008)
by
Virginia Smith

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Virginia Smith left her job as a corporate director to become a full time writer and speaker with the release of her first novel Just As I Am.

Since then she has contracted eight novels and published numerous articles and short stories. She writes contemporary humorous novels for the Christian market, including Murder by Mushroom (Steeple Hill, August 2007) and her newest release, Stuck in the Middle(Revell, February 2008), book 1 in the Sister-to-Sister Series.

Her short fiction has been anthologized, and her articles have been published in a variety of Christian magazines. An energetic speaker, she loves to exemplify God’s truth by comparing real-life situations to well-known works of fiction, such as her popular talk, “Biblical Truths in Star Trek.”

Virginia is a speaker, and an avid Scuba diver. She and her husband Ted, divide their times between Kentucky and Utah, and escape as often as they can for diving trips to the Caribbean!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Joan Sanderson's life is stuck. Her older sister, Allie, is starting a family and her younger sister, Tori, has a budding career. Meanwhile, Joan is living at home with Mom and looking after her aging grandmother. Not exactly a recipe for excitement-or romance.

That is, until a hunky young doctor moves in next door. Suddenly Joan has a goal--to catch his eye and get a date. But it won't be easy. Pretty Tori flirts relentlessly with him and Joan is sure that she can't compete. But with a little help from God, Allie, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, maybe Joan can find her way out of this rut and into the life she's been hiding from.

Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister series, Stuck in the Middle combines budding romance, spiritual searching, and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry that is sure to make you smile.

"A gentle story of one young woman's season of growth, deftly blending the tangle of family relationships with gifts of whimsey and revelation. A joy to read."
~SHARON HINCK, author of Renovating Becky Miller and Symphony of Secrets~

"Virginia Smith has created a charming and humerous novel that celebrates small-town life, generations of women caring for each other, and the value of finding a deeper, more active faith."
~SHARON DUNN, author of the Bargain Hunters mysteries~

Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sharon Dunn is the author of Death of a Garage Sale Newbie, book one in the Bargain Hunters Mysteries, and the Ruby Taylor mystery novels including Sassy Cinderella, which was voted Book of the Year by American Christian Fiction Writers. She earned a BA in television production and a master’s in history Sharon lives in Bozeman, Montana, with her husband of twenty years, three children, two cats, and lots of dust bunnies.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When a man turns up dead in a teddy bear costume, Ginger and the other ladies of the Bargain Hunters Network learn a lesson about trusting in God rather than in wealth as they try to solve the crime and clear one of their own.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:

This light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek mystery novel is highly entertaining! It's not set in Vegas, but the hotel description reminds me of a place that I stayed at there (yes, I've been to Lost Wages, twice, and no need to go there again) :). BTW - The title was what got me to read this book in the first place! You can get a copy of this book for your very own at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1590526902 - happy reading!

Adam by Ted Dekker

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
ADAM

(Thomas Nelson April 1, 2008)


by
Ted Dekker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), and Obsessed, with two more...Renegade, and Chaos to be released later this year.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

He died once to stop the killer...now he's dying again to save his wife.

FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark has become famous for his well-articulated arguments that religion is one of society’s greatest antagonists. What Daniel doesn’t know is that his obsessive pursuit of a serial killer known only as “Eve” is about to end abruptly with an unexpected death-his own.

Twenty minutes later Daniel is resuscitated, only to be haunted by the loss of memory of the events immediately preceding his death.

Daniel becomes convinced that the only way to stop Eve is to recover those missing minutes during which he alone saw the killer’s face. And the only way to access them is to trigger his brain’s memory dump that occurs at the time of death by simulating his death again…and again. So begins a carefully researched psychological thriller which delves deep into the haunting realities of near-death experiences, demon possession, and the human psche.

"As always with a Ted Dekker thriller, the details of ADAM are stunning, pointing to meticulous research in a raft of areas: police and FBI methods, forensic medicine, psychological profiling-in short, all that accompanies a Federal hunt for a serial killer. But Dekker fully reveals his magic in the latter part of the book, when he subtly introduces his darker and more frightening theme. It's all too creepily convincing. We have to keep telling ourselves that this is fiction. At the same time, we can't help thinking that not only could it happen, but that it will happen if we're not careful."

New York Times best-selling author Ted Dekker unleashes his most riveting novel yet...an elusive serial killer whose victims die of unknown causes and the psychologist obsessed with catching him.

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK:

"Dive Deep"

Once again, Ted Dekker "dives deep" into the human psyche to bring us face to face with the human condition - sin, hidden in all of us, until it is forced to the surface - and the only thing that can save us - the Savior's passionate love.

Ted continues to be our favorite author (my husband and I and every friend that we introduce him to). He brings out a new dimension of life in every book. This one was no different - he did it with such reality that at times I was forced to put my head between my knees because I felt sick (granted, this is the first book that has had that strong of an impact on me). Now, to address those who apparently are taking issue with what they feel is too graphic - does this happen in real life? Yes. Is good an evil a reality? Yes. Is it more graphic than CSI or NCIS? No. Is it more graphic than any other action film or thriller being produced these days? No. Granted, there is something about reading and the images that we form in our own mind that, for me, has even more impact, but his books do nothing but make me want to experience God in an even more real way.

I definitely would recommend this book to all lovers of fiction, Ted's current fans included. This is another must-read from this genius-author. Oh, and I can't wait to read Renegade and Chaos...the wait has already been painful!

In the Circle,

~ Gretchen

My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
My Name is Russell Fink
Zondervan (March 1, 2008)
by
Michael Snyder


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Snyder has spent the bulk of his professional career in sales, has fallen in love, and continues to struggle with the balance between art and vocation. He's never investigated a murder, much less that of an allegedly clairvoyant dog.






ABOUT THE BOOK:

Russell Fink is twenty-six years old and determined to salvage a job he hates so he can finally move out of his parents house for good. He's convinced he gave his twin sister cancer when they were nine years old. And his crazy fiancée refuses to accept the fact that their engagement really is over.

Then Sonny, his allegedly clairvoyant basset hound, is found murdered.

The ensuing amateur investigation forces Russell to confront several things at once-the enormity of his family's dysfunction, the guy stalking his family, and his long-buried feelings for a most peculiar love interest.

At its heart, My Name is Russell Fink is a comedy, with sharp dialogue, characters steeped in authenticity, romance, suspense, and fresh humor. With a postmodern style similar to Nick Hornby and Douglas Coupland, the author explores reconciliation, forgiveness, and faith in the midst of tragedy. No amount of neurosis or dysfunction can derail God's redemptive purposes.

Healing Stones by Stephen Arterburn & Nancy Rue

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Healing Stones
(Thomas Nelson January 1, 2008)
by
Stephen Arterburn & Nancy Rue


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:





Stephen Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministries—the nation’s largest faith-based broadcast, counseling and treatment ministry—and is the host of the nationally syndicated “New Life Live!” daily radio...






By 1996 Nancy was a full-time writer. The Christian Heritage Series made that possible. She was writing those books from the early 1990's until 2000.

And then a new opportunity came along--the Lily series. If she ever doubted that she was going to make it as a writer, man, that little red-head put those fears to rest! And, of course, Sophie followed Lily, with some teen and grown-up books in between -- plus the non-fiction books designed just for you.

Nancy and her husband live in Tennessee now, overlooking a beautiful lake, lots of sycamore trees, and the rocky Tennessee hills. They have a bright yellow power boat named BANANA SPLIT which they can be found on no matter what the weather. Marijean and her husband live nearby with their three grand-dogs and three grand-cats (and two grand-snakes . . .)






ABOUT THE BOOK

With one flash of a camera, Demi's private life becomes public news. She doesn't know it yet, but her healing has just begun.

Christian college professor Demitria Costanas had vowed to end her affair with a colleague. But she gives into temptation one last time...and a lurking photographer captures her weakness for all to see. Quite literally, she's the woman caught in adultery. And almost everyone--herself included--has a stone to throw.

Enter Sullivan Crisp, a decidedly unorthodox psychologist with his own baggage. He's well-known for his quirky sense of humor and incorporation of "game show" theology into his counseling sessions. And yet there's something more he offers...hope for a fresh start.

Reluctantly the two of them begin an uplifting, uneven journey filled with healing and grace. By turns funny and touching, this story explores the ways humans hurt each other and deceive themselves. And it shows the endlessly creative means God uses to turn stones of accusation and shame into works of beauty that lead us onto the path of healing.

An auspicious debut for a candid yet tender series about pain, healing, and God's invitation for second chances.

Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Sister's, Ink
Broadman & Holman Books (February 1, 2008)
by
Rebeca Seitz

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebeca Seitz is Founder and President of Glass Road Public Relations. An author for several years, PRINTS CHARMING was her first novel.

Rebeca cut her publicity teeth as the first dedicated publicist for the fiction division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. In 2005, Rebeca resigned from WestBow and opened the doors of GRPR, the only publicity firm of its kind in the country dedicated solely to representing novelists writing from a Christian worldview.

Rebeca makes her home in Kentucky with her husband, Charles, and their son, Anderson.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sisters, Ink marks the first in a series of novels written by, for, and about scrapbookers. At the center of the creativity and humor are four unlikely young adult sisters, each separately adopted during early childhood into the loving home of Marilyn and Jack Sinclair.

Ten years after their mother Marilyn has died, the multi-racial Sinclair sisters (Meg, Kendra, Tandy, and Joy) still return to her converted attic scrapping studio in the small town of Stars Hill, Tennessee, to encourage each other through life’s highs and lows.

Book one spotlights headstrong Tandy, a successful yet haunted attorney now living back in Orlando where she spent the first eight years of her life on the streets as a junkie’s kid. When a suddenly enforced leave of absence at work leads her to an extended visit with her sisters in Stars Hill, a business oppor­tunity, rekindled romance, and fresh understanding of God’s will soon follow.


Endorsements:

"What more can any woman want? Sisters, Ink weaves the love of sisters, the fun of scrapbooking, and a romance as sugary and tingling as Sweet Home Alabama. A must read for those who love southern fiction."--DiAnn Mills, author of Leather and Lace and When the Nile Runs Red

"Fun . . . funny . . . fantastic! Rebeca Seitz has brought together scrapbooking and sisterhood in a lively romp, with a love for going home again."--Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of The Potluck Club series.