CFBA: The Sword

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The SwordCrossway Books (April 30, 2010)by

Bryan M. Litfin





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bryan Litfin was born in Dallas, but lived in Memphis, Tennessee and Oxford, England, where he discovered that the house of his favorite author, J.R.R. Tolkien, was only five doors down from his own. Bryan still enjoys epic adventure stories, as well as historical fiction. However, most of his reading these days is taken up by academia.



After marrying his high school sweetheart, Carolyn (a true Southern belle), he went on to study for a master’s degree in historical theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. From there he went to the University of Virginia, taking a PhD in the field of ancient church history. He is the author of Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (Brazos, 2007), as well as several scholarly articles and essays.



In 2002, Bryan took a position on the faculty at Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago, where he is a professor in the Theology Department. He teaches courses in theology, church history, and Western civilization from the ancient and medieval periods.



On the morning of January 6, 2007, Bryan woke up with an epiphany. Having finished writing his primer on the ancient church, he had the idea of trying his hand at fiction. The thought occurred to him that the writer of speculative fiction typically has two options. He can create an imaginary land like Middle Earth (which offers great creative freedom but is unrealistic), or he can delve into genuine history (which is realistic, yet limted to what ‘actually occurred.’) However, if a writer were to create a future world as in the Chiveis trilogy, it could be both realistic and creatively unlimited.



This little dream stayed in Bryan’s mind while he researched how to write fiction, and also researched the European landscape where the novel would be set. He planned a trip to the story locations, then went there in the summer with a buddy from grad school. Bryan and Jeff rented a Beemer and drove all over Europe from the Alps to the Black Forest with a video camera in hand. With that epic setting fresh in his mind, Bryan returned home and began to write.



Today Bryan lives in downtown Wheaton in a Victorian house built in 1887. He is blessed by God to be married to Carolyn, and to be the father of two amazing children, William, 11, and Anna, 9. For recreation Bryan enjoys basketball, traveling, and hiking anywhere there are mountains (which means getting far away from the Midwest – preferably to his beloved Smokies).



ABOUT THE BOOK

This novel of page-turning action and adventure poses the question, "If a society had no knowledge of Christianity, and then a Bible were discovered, what would happen?"



Four hundred years after a deadly virus and nuclear war destroyed the modern world, a new and noble civilization emerges. In this kingdom, called Chiveis, snowcapped mountains provide protection, and fields and livestock provide food. The people live medieval-style lives, with almost no knowledge of the "ancient" world. Safe in their natural stronghold, the Chiveisi have everything they need, even their own religion. Christianity has been forgotten—until a young army scout comes across a strange book.



With that discovery, this work of speculative fiction takes readers on a journey that encompasses adventure, romance, and the revelation of the one true God. Through compelling narrative and powerful character development, The Sword speaks to God's goodness, his refusal to tolerate sin, man's need to bow before him, and the eternality and power of his Word. Fantasy and adventure readers will be hooked by this first book in a forthcoming trilogy.



Visit the book website at The Sword to see amazing videos and a wealth of information about the trilogy!



If you would like to read the first chapter of The Sword, go to HERE

Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us

Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us

Donna M. Watford

About the Book

Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us is the author’s memoir. It’s a spiritual journey of a mother and daughter; the conclusion is peace, be still. A journey anointed with the potential to revolutionize the thoughts of mankind. This inspirational book focuses on social challenges including senseless killings and substance abuse. It has a subtle political twist that considers the sacrifices of Martin Luther King; unforgettable change. Their time together echoes the sentiments of President Barack Obama by depicting the effects from helping; circumstances change. A story offering the only love capable to change lives:  John 3:16.

About the Author

Donna Michele Watford, RN was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She has degrees in Sociology and Health Studies; and currently attends Drexel University Graduate School.  She’s married and resides in the Metro Atlanta area. 

Donna realized a void in her life after the loss of her mother; it was then she asked God’s permission to share her experiences to offer others encouragement. Embarking on a new journey involving a closer walk with Jesus the Christ, she now shares her journey with Him through writing poems, songs and books. Donna’s goal is to first and foremost give God glory, provide hope in the face of despair, and be encouraging.

I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life

I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life  Gregg A. Ten Elshof (Eerdmans)

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Publishing Co.; First Printing edition (June 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802864112
• ISBN-13: 978-0802864116
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x

Here's the blurb:

Think you’ve ever deceived yourself? Then this book is for you. / Think you’ve never deceived yourself? Then this book is really for you. / “Socrates famously asserted that the unexamined life is not worth living. But Gregg Ten Elshof shows us that we make all sorts of little deals with ourselves every day in order to stave off examination and remain happily self-deceived. Most provocatively, he suggests this is not all bad! While naming its temptations, Ten Elshof also offers a ‘strange celebration’ of self-deception as a gracious gift. In the tradition of Dallas Willard, I Told Me So is a wonderful example of philosophy serving spiritual discipline. A marvelous, accessible and, above all, wise book.”— James K. A. Smith / Calvin College / author of The Devil Reads Derrida / “In this wise, well-crafted work Ten Elshof helps us to identify, evaluate, and respond to our own self-deceptive strategies, as he probes — with occasional self-deprecation and unavoidable humor — the bottomless mysteries of the human heart. His reflections on interpersonal self-deception and ‘groupthink’ are especially helpful. To tell me the truth, I’m glad I read this book. You will be too — I promise.”— David Naugle / Dallas Baptist University / author of Reordered Love, Reordered Lives / “Ten Elshof’s discussions are erudite, biblical, searching, and laced with soul-restoring wisdom. All of this together means that this book is solidly pastoral. What it brings to us is appropriate to individuals, but it especially belongs in the context of small groups and local congregations.”— Dallas Willard (from the foreword)

About the Author

Gregg A. Ten Elshof is associate professor and department chair of philosophy at Biola University. He is also the author of Introspection Vindicated.

Here is a review: http://inchristus.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/i-told-me-so-self-deception-and-the-christian-life-a-review/

Selling My Soul

Selling My Soul 

by Sherri L. Lewis

• 288 pages
• Publisher: Urban Trade Paper; 1 edition (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160162848X
• ISBN-13: 978-1601628480

Selling My Soul is 

the anticipated sequel to Sherri’s debut novel, My Soul Cries Out.

About the Book

When Trina Michaels steps off the plane after her two-year missions trip in Africa, she realizes that other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere she’s… ever lived. And to the man who’s stolen her heart.

Her dream of a quick return to Mozambique fades within hours when Trina discovers that her mother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Trina is forced to go back to her job as a publicist to cover her mother’s health costs.

She’s assigned a damage control client, Bishop Walker, a megachurch pastor accused of covering up a church sex scandal within his church involving the molestation of young boys. Representing him could cost Trina her most valued friendship, the love of her life, and her soul.

About the Author

Sherri Lewis’ writing was put on hold while she attended Howard University as an undergraduate, then medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After working almost fifteen years in the medical field, Sherri left her position as a staff physician at a Georgia Department of Corrections’ Women’s prison to pursue writing and ministry full time.

Sherri is co-founder of the Faith-Based Black Fiction Writers of Atlanta with Essence Best-Selling author Tia McCollors. Selling My Soul is the anticipated sequel to Sherri’s debut novel,My Soul Cries Out. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.  Visit Sherri online at www.sherrilewis.com

Heritage Mass Choir - My Desire is to Worship God (Afro-American Style of Korean Music)

African-American Movie: Blessed and Cursed

Here's the blurb
Check out this NEVER BEFORE SEEN TRAILER of BLESSED & CURSED, the Brand new movie starring Gospel star, Deitrick Haddon.
A modern twist on the biblical story of David and Saul, BLESSED & CURSED depicts Dwight Hawkins' (played by Deitrick Haddon) struggle to realize his God-given purpose. Compelled to help his father after his dreams are derailed, Dwight must choose between family obligations or pursing his own dreams of gospel music stardom. One day he receives an incredible opportunity to become a Psalmist at the city's largest church but this new position is too good to be true as Dwight gets caught in a diabolical scheme of jealously, orchestrated by the church's Bishop. Also starring Karen Clark Sheard, Kierra Kiki Sheard, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Drew Sidora, and many other of your FAVORITE gospel stars. COMING SUMMER 2010

CFBA: Wildflowers of Terezin

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Wildflowers of TerezinAbingdon Press (April 2010)by

Robert Elmer





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert Elmer is a former pastor, reporter and as copywriter who now writes from he home he shares with his wife Ronda in northern Idaho. He is the author of over fifty books, including eight contemporary novels for the adult Christian audience and several series for younger readers. Combined, his books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Like his popular "Young Underground" youth series, Wildflowers of Terezin was inspired by stories Robert heard from his Denmark-born parents and family. When he's not sailing or enjoying the outdoors, Robert often travels the country speaking to school and writers groups.







ABOUT THE BOOK

When nurse Hanne Abrahamsen impulsively shields Steffen Petersen from a nosy Gestapo agent, she’s convinced the Lutheran pastor is involved in the Danish Underground. Nothing could be further from the truth.



But truth is hard to come by in the fall of 1943, when Copenhagen is placed under Martial Law and Denmark’s Jews—including Hanne—suddenly face deportation to the Nazi prison camp at Terezin, Czechoslovakia. Days darken and danger mounts. Steffen’s faith deepens as he takes greater risks to protect Hanne. But are either of them willing to pay the ultimate price for their love?



To read the first chapter of Wildflowers of Terezin, go HERE.

Three Days Before the Shooting

Three Days Before the Shooting

Ralph Ellison

New York : Modern Library, 2010.

xxix, 1101 p. ; 25 cm.

• ISBN-10: 0375759530
• ISBN-13: 978-0375759536

Set in the frame of a deathbed vigil, this story is a multigenerational saga centered on the assassination of the controversial, race-baiting U.S. senator Adam Sunraider, who's being tended to by "Daddy" Hickman, the elderly black jazz musician turned preacher who raised the orphan Sunraider as a light-skinned black in rural Georgia.

"The unfinished second novel"--Dust jacket.

Christianity in China

Heritage Mass Choir -- High and Lifted Up

CFBA: She Walks in Beauty

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

She Walks in BeautyBethany House (April 2010)by

Siri Mitchell





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.



But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.



Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.







ABOUT THE BOOK

For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor.



Debuting means plenty of work--there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling.



Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries.



When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her marriage at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.



If you would like to read the first chapter of She Walks in Beauty, go HERE.

CFBA: As Young As We Feel

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

As Young As We Feel

David C. Cook; New edition (March 1, 2010)

by

Melody Carlson





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eight years, she has published over ninety books for children, teens, and adults--with sales totaling more than two million and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards. And her "Diary of a Teenage Girl" series has received great reviews and a large box of fan mail.



She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.







ABOUT THE BOOK

Is there room in one little hometown for four very different Lindas to reinvent their lives … together?



Once upon a time in a little town on the Oregon coast lived four Lindas—all in the same first-grade classroom. So they decided to go by their middle names. And form a club. And be friends forever. But that was forty-seven years and four very different lives ago. Now a class reunion has brought them all together in their old hometown—at a crossroads in their lives.



Janie is a high-powered lawyer with a load of grief. Abby is a lonely housewife in a beautiful oceanfront empty nest. Marley is trying to recapture the artistic free spirit she lost in an unhappy marriage. And the beautiful Caroline is scrambling to cope with her mother’s dementia and a Hollywood career that never really happened. Together, they’re about to explore the invigorating reality that even the most eventful life has second acts … and friendship doesn’t come with a statue of limitations.



If you would like to read the first chapter of As Young As We Feel, go HERE.



Watch the Video:

My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey

My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey
LaShawnda Jones

• Publisher: Jazzy Media LLC; First edition (August 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977617971
• ISBN-13: 978-0977617975

Here's the blurb:

Relationships change with the tide of life. When your relationships ebb more than flow, do you find yourself asking, “Were my dying relationships ever real relationships? Are the people who maintain contact, but with whom there is no connection, worth holding on to? Should I expect a person’s presence in my life to equal dependency in my time of need? Does the quality of interaction determine the level of importance?”  

These questions and many more flow through the interactions shared in My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey.

About the Author

LaShawnda Jones is the publisher and author of Jazzy Media LLC. Her latest publication, My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey is full of inspiration and testimony of personal growth.

Jazzy Media’s early publications brought local recognition to LaShawnda Jones’ work and requests for speaking engagements poured in. In 2004, she began facilitating body image and self-esteem workshops. Over the years, she has facilitated workshop discussions on the effects of family, friend, media and societal influences on our body image, self-esteem. She combines all that and more in My God and Me as she addresses, explores and strengthens her and her readers’ identity in Christ.

These questions and many more flow through the interactions shared in My God and Me: Listening, Learning and Growing on My Journey.

About the Author

Born and raised in the Midwest, LaShawnda Jones lived all over the country before settling in New York City. She is the publisher and author ofFantasies: A Metamorphosis of Sexual Attraction and Cliches: A Life in Verse. She is also one of the contributors to Go, Tell Michelle!, a collection of letters honoring First Lady Michelle Obama.

Jesus Christ is Risen Today

God Ain't Blind

God Ain't Blind

Mary Monroe

Waterville, Me. : Thorndike Press, 2010.

513 p. (large print) ; 23 cm.

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Dafina (September 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0758212216

ISBN-13: 978-0758212214

In this gripping, unforgettable new novel by New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe, forever friends Annette Goode Davis and Rhoda O'Toole are about to learn that even the rockiest relationships can survive just about anything-as long as you're there for each other when it matters most. . .Annette Goode Davis is a survivor, and while life's obstacles have often knocked her down, she's never let them keep her there for long. To Annette, life is all about family and old friends like Rhoda O'Toole. And right now, Annette needs all the friends she can get. . .because her marriage is in big trouble, and she has no idea why. . .
Lately, her husband Pee Wee barely has the time of day for Annette and she suspects he may have fallen for another woman. Desperate to regain his affections, Annette goes on a crash diet, gets a total makeover, and looks hotter than she has for a long, long time. Everyone notices-everyone except Pee Wee.
Annette is ripe for the picking when she meets Louis Baines, a handsome young caterer who showers her with attention. Soon, Annette is embroiled in a full blown affair and spending money on Louis like there's no tomorrow. But when Annette learns a terrible secret about her new lover, she realizes she's in way over her head. Her life crumbling down around her, Annette turns to the only person she knows she can trust: Rhoda.
With Rhoda by her side, Annette's determined to find a way out of this mess. But when the truth finally comes out, Annette must face the fact that she may have destroyed the life she loved-and this time, not even Rhoda can help her make things right...

"New York Times"-bestselling author and beloved storyteller Monroe revisits the cast of characters her readers have been waiting for, in this highly anticipated new addition to the acclaimed GOD series.