Precious Memories (Lyrics in Navajo)

CFBA: Vigilante

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Vigilante  Bethany House (July 1, 2011)  by  Robin Parrish  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Parrish wants to take you on a ride.


A wild ride -- which is exactly what you're in for when you pick up one of his books. And he's adamant that it will never be the same kind of experience twice.

Robin's stories mix, mingle, and meld various genres together to create thoroughly original suspense/thrillers. His Dominion Trilogy, for example, mashed up superhero action, secret societies, ancient myths, and an apocalyptic setting to create an entirely new take on the classic "hero's journey." Offworld mixed science fiction and an end-of-the-world scenario with high-octane action. Nightmare, his 2010 novel, is a spine-tingling examination of the world of the paranormal, paired with can't-put-it-down mystery. His 2011 novel, Vigilante, is an action-packed story about a soldier who sets out to change the world. Later this year, he's releasing his first ever Young Adult novel, titled Corridor.

Always pushing the envelope, ever on the edge of where modern storytelling is going, Robin Parrish will gladly and unapologetically tell you that he's an entertainer, a weaver of stories that ignite the mind and delight the heart. Defying labels and refusing pigeonholes, his imagination is fueled by the possibilities of asking "What if…?", and as anyone who's read his work knows, he has a very big imagination.

His influences as a novelist range from television and film storytellers like Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams, to masters of the modern myth like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Akin to Philip K. Dick's search for the meaning of identity, most of what Robin writes about boils down to his own ponderings and examinations of just what this thing we call "existence" is.

Robin is a full time writer. He and his wife Karen and two children live in High Point, NC.

"Robin Parrish is a keen-eyed, passionate pop cultural savant,
whose writing is as incisive and insightful as it is entertaining."
- Allan Heinberg, Executive Producer, Grey's Anatomy



ABOUT THE BOOK

Nolan Gray is an elite soldier, skilled in all forms of combat. After years fighting on foreign battlefields, witnessing unspeakable evils and atrocities firsthand, a world-weary Nolan returns home to find it just as corrupt as the war zones. Everywhere he looks, there's pain and cruelty. Society is being destroyed by wicked men who don't care who they make suffer or destroy.


Nolan decides to do what no one else can, what no one has ever attempted. He will defend the helpless. He will tear down the wicked. He will wage a one-man war on the heart of man, and he won't stop until the world is the way it should be.

The wicked have had their day. Morality's time has come. In a culture starving for a hero, can one extraordinary man make things right?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Vigilante, go HERE.

Politics: According to the Bible

Politics: According to the Bible

A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture

Dr. Wayne Grudem,
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary

Product Details

• Author: Dr. Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona.
• Publisher: Zondervan
• ISBN: 0310330297
• ISBN-13: 9780310330295
• UPC: 025986330293
• Format: Hardcover
• Page Count: 624
• Size: 7.8″ x 9.4″ x 1.9″
• Weight: 2.645 lbs.

Dr. Wayne Grudem holds degrees from Harvard (BA), Westminster Seminary (MDiv), and Cambridge (PhD). He is the author of over fifteen books including the bestselling Systematic Theology.

Synopsis

Politics: According to the Bible is a readable, comprehensive political philosophy, arguing for Christian involvement based on biblical teachings and a Christian worldview. Covering over 50 specific issues relating to protection of life, marriage, family, economics, environment, national defense, internationalism, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and special interest groups … this sweeping resource is a must-read for today’s Christians.

A variety of perspectives exist within the Christian community when it comes to political issues and political involvement. This comprehensive and readable book presents a political philosophy from the perspective that the Gospel pertains to all of life so Christians should be involved in political issues. In brief, this is an analysis of conservative and liberal plans to do good for the nation, evaluated in light of the Bible and common sense. In this ground-breaking book, recognized evangelical Bible professor Wayne Grudem rejects five mistaken views about Christian influence on politics: (1) “compel religion,” (2) “exclude religion,” (3) “all government is demonic,” (4) “do evangel-ism, not politics,” and (5) “do politics, not evangelism.”

He proposes a better alternative: (6) “significant Christian influence on government.”

Then he explains the Bible’s teachings about the purpose of civil government and the characteristics of good or bad government. Does the Bible support some form of democracy? Should judges and the courts hold the ultimate power in a nation? With respect to specific political issues, Grudem argues that most people’s political views depend on deep-seated assumptions about several basic moral and even theological questions, such as whether God exists, whether absolute moral standards can be known, whether there is good and evil in each person’s heart, whether people should be accountable for their good and bad choices, whether property should belong to individuals or to society, and whether the purpose of the earth’s resources is to bring benefit to mankind. After addressing these foundational questions, Grudem provides a thoughtful, carefully-reasoned analysis of over fifty specific issues dealing with the protection of life, marriage, the family and children, economic issues and taxation, the environment, national defense, relationships to other nations, freedom of speech and religion, quotas, and special interests. He makes frequent application to the current policies of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, but the principles discussed here are relevant for any nation.

CFBA: Canary Island Song

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Canary Island Song  Howard Books; Original edition (July 5, 2011)  by  Robin Jones Gunn  



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Jones Gunn was born in Wisconsin and lived on a dairy farm until her family moved to southern California when she was five years old. She grew up in Orange County and spent her summers at Newport Beach with friends from her church youth group. After attending Biola University and Capernwray Bible School in Austria, Robin and Ross were married and spent the next two decades working together in youth ministry.


It was the young teens at Robin’s church who challenged her to write stories for them. She hadn’t thought much about being a writer, but took their request to heart and set her alarm for 3am, three days a week. With two small children it was the only time she could find to write the first story about Christy Miller. After two years and ten rejections the novel Summer Promise was accepted for publication in 1988. Robin hasn’t stopped writing since. Over 4 million copies of her 75 books have sold and can be found in a dozen translations all over the world.

Robin and her husband now live in Hawai’i where Ross is a counselor and Robin continues to write to the sound of tropical birds chattering in the palm trees outside her window. Their children are grown but manage to come to the islands with their families every chance they get. Robin's awards include: three Christy awards for excellence in fiction, a Gold Medallion finalist, Mt. Hermon Pacesetter and the Mt. Hermon Writer of the Year award. Robin travels extensively and is a frequent key-note speaker at various events around the world.  She serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writer’s Guild.


ABOUT THE BOOK

When Carolyn’s grown daughter tells her she needs to “get a life,” Carolyn decides it’s time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother’s home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn’s mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn’s visit makes for a perfect surprise.

    The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It’s been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan’s intense blue-gray eyes.
    Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night?
    Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Canary Island Song, go HERE.

CFBA: Falls like lightning

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Falls Like Lightning  Bethany House (July 1, 2011)  by  Shawn Grady  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008.  He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire, Tomorrow We Die & Falls Like Lightning.


Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

After graduating from James Logan High School in Union City, California, Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego as a Theology undergrad. There he found clarity of direction and proceeded on to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.  

ABOUT THE BOOK

When hotshot smoke jumper Silas Kent gets his own fire crew, he thinks he's achieved what he's always wanted. But a lightning-sparked fire in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas has his team in a plane before they can even train together.


Pilot Elle Westmore has been called up to drop the crew into the heart of the forest infernos. A single mother of a mysteriously ill six-year-old, she can't imagine her life getting any more complicated.

It doesn't take long for things to go very wrong, very quickly. A suspicious engine explosion forces Elle to make an emergency landing. Silas is able to parachute to safety but soon discovers his crew can't be trusted. They're hiding something, and now Silas is on a race to save himself and Elle from the flames--and from a more dangerous threat: his own team.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Falls Like Lightning, go HERE

CFBA: Shadows on the Sand

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Shadows on the Sand  Multnomah Books (July 19, 2011)  by  Gayle Roper  



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Gayle is the award winning author of more than forty books. She has been a Christy finalist three times for her novels Spring Rain, Summer Shadows, and Winter Winds. Her novel Autumn Dreams won the prestigious Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Summer Shadows was voted the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Book of the Year (tied with fellow author Brandilyn Collins).


Gayle has won the Holt Medallion three times for The Decision, Caught in a Bind, and Autumn Dreams. The Decision won the Reviewers Choice Award, and Gayle has also won the Award of Excellence for Spring Rain and the Golden Quill for Summer Shadows and Winter Winds. Romantic Times Book Report gave Gayle the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her Amhearst mystery series, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, and Caught in a Bind, originally published by Zondervan, was reprinted in 2007 by Love Inspired Suspense with a fourth original title added, Caught Redhanded. Another original single title, See No Evil, was also released. Caught in the Middle has been optioned for film.

For her work in training Christian writers Gayle has won special recognition from Mount Hermon CWC, St. Davids CWC, Florida CWC, and Greater Philadelphia CWC. She directed St. Davids for five years and Sandy Cove CWC for six. She has taught with Christian Leaders, Authors and Speakers Services (CLASS), serving for several years as their writer in residence. She enjoys speaking at women's events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality.

Gayle is married to to Chuck Roper and has been "for more years than seems possible!".  Gayle and Chuck live in southeastern Pennsylvania where they enjoy their family of two great sons, two lovely daughters-in-law, and the world's five most wonderful grandchildren. When she's not writing, or teaching at conferences, Gayle enjoys reading, gardening, and eating out every time she can talk Chuck into it.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.


When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But Carrie has a painful past, too, and when the reason she once ran away shows up in town, the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg threatens to implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry. Two wounded hearts struggle to find a way to make one romance work. Failure seems guaranteed when Carrie locates her waitress but is taken hostage...

If you would like to read the first chapter of Shadows on the Sand, go HERE.

CFBA: Pattern of Wounds

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Pattern of Wounds  Bethany House (July 1, 2011)  by  J. Mark Bertrand  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. Mark Bertrand lived in Houston, where the series is set, for fifteen years, earning an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. But after one hurricane too many he relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota. Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of one hung jury and served on another that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead.



ABOUT THE BOOK

It's Christmas in Houston, and homicide detective Roland March is on the hunt for a killer. A young woman's brutal stabbing in an affluent neighborhood bears all the hallmarks of a serial murder. The only problem is that March sent the murderer to prison ten years ago. Is it a copycat -- or did March convict the wrong man?

Alienated from his colleagues and with a growing rift in his marriage, March receives messages from the killer. The bodies pile up, the pressure builds, and the violence reaches too close to home. Up against an unfathomable evil, March struggles against the clock to understand the hidden message in the pattern of wounds.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pattern of Wounds, go HERE.

Master of Disguises

Master of Disguises Blog Tour with James Benjamin July 11, 18, 25 &  August 1, 8, 2011

About the Book

James Benjamin is a living miracle. He was on a path towards destruction, and through his faith in God, was saved. In his first, self-published book titled “Master of Disguises,” James guides readers through his compelling story of struggling in the street life, and finding sanctuary through The Lord. Most importantly, he unveils the enemy, and the many disguises the enemy has. He provides inspiration where many feel hopeless, and educates individuals who are lost as he once was. James lives to tell his story to help keep young men and women off the streets and away from the grips of the enemy.   Benjamin’s story is one that attracts the groups that are hard to communicate to: teens and their parents, prisoners, people living the street life and their families, and the African American street community. Those that are experiencing hardships can easily listen to James as he used to be in their shoes. His prospective is inviting, as he leaves no secrets and lays out his life for the readers. James exposes the many faces of the enemy that he experienced to help the next individual detect and defeat them. As he learned through his own struggles, James finds it essential that Christians be aware of the enemy’s disguises. In his case, it almost cost him his life.

About the Author

James Benjamin was born and raised as a Christian in Winston-Salem, NC. While growing up, James succumbed to the street life and was lured by the many faces of the enemy. Through his trials and tribulations, his faith in God ended up saving his life and provided an impactful testimony to share with others in his shoes. James has dedicated his life to spreading God’s word through his unique prospective and hopes to help change others lives as He did for him. He is also enrolled at the University of Phoenix, acquiring his associate’s degree. James Benjamin is also a student at Apostle Fredrick Price Ministry Training School class of 2013.   Visit the author at http://www.masterofdisguises.com ORhttp://masterofdisguises.wordpress.com   Visit the blog tour schedule at http://bit.ly/MasterofDisguises

Money Can't Buy Love

Money Can't Buy Love Blog Tour with Connie Briscoe July 11-15, 2011

CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP FOR THIS TOUR

About the Book

At age thirty-eight, instead of socializing with Baltimore’s A-list, Lenora Stone photographs them for Baltimore Scene, a glossy magazine filled with beautiful people who, unlike Lenora, never have to worry about car trouble and overdue bills. Lately even things with her boyfriend Gerald haven’t been right. They’ve been together for three years but he can’t seem to ask the one question she’s been waiting to hear. Then just when she thinks things can’t get worse, Lenora wins the jackpot in the Maryland lottery. In a heartbeat, all her dreams become possible. She quits her job and indulges her every desire—starting with a shiny, silver BMW and a million-dollar mansion. Gerald is finally ready to put a ring on her finger, and the city’s most exclusive women’s group is dying for her to join. Yet as her life starts to come together, the things Lenora holds dear begin to fall apart. Has her world really changed for the better, or does fortune come with a heavy price?

About the Author

Connie Briscoe has been a full-time published author for more than 17 years. Her work has hit the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Visit her online at http://conniebriscoe.com.

A Good Excuse to Be Bad

A Good Excuse to Be Bad Blog Tour with Miranda Parker July 4-8, 2011

CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP FOR THIS TOUR About the Book Smart gorgeous, and too tough for her own good, bail recovery agent and single mom Evangeline Crawford moved to the burbs for a quiet life. Fortunately,it’s not turning out that way… Angel has to admit she’s feeling restless. The only excitement in her life is her schoolgirl crush on the town’s new pastor, Justus-too-Hot-to-be-Holy Morgan. But a fateful encounter and a job gone wrong at Club Night Candy in Underground Atlanta is about to change all that…Soon, Angel’s trying to save her divazilla twin sister from her big mouth and a scandalous murder charge, and probing a church cover-up–with none other than Justus by her side. But Angel has one more pressing concern; will Bella be ready for kindergarten? Only time will tell for this bad girl gone good whose days are once again far from boring–and hopefully far from numbered… About the Author Miranda Parker is the author of the Evangeline Crawford Bounty Hunter Series. After graduating from college, she began working as a features editor for various magazines and spent many years as a publicist for national recording artists, actors, ministers, and authors. However, writing fun, fiesty, redemptive bad girl gone good stories is her passion. She resides with her family in Georgia near a horse ranch and her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. On a perfect day she can be found curled up with a good book or in a movie theater with a bucket of popcorn.   Visit the author online at http://www.mirandaparker.com/