Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep

About the Book

Book: The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane

Author: Michelle Griep

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: April, 2024

Wife. Mother. Homemaker. Detective. Kit Forge wears many hats, and if that’s not enough, she’s partnered with her father to open a new detective agency. It’s hard to be all things to all people, but Kit never shies away from the impossible. Despite her hard work and good intentions, some things fall through the cracks.

Namely, her husband.

But Jackson barely notices. He’s too busy putting out his own fires. As the new chief inspector of a busy London station, he must salvage the disaster left behind by the former police chief—an obstacle made all the harder when the superintendent breathes an ultimatum down his neck.

Against her father’s advice, Kit takes on a case involving a missing child, one in which she and Jackson become a little too emotionally involved. . .and end up endangering their own little girl in the process.

Can Kit and Jackson learn that just because they can say yes doesn’t mean they should?

Click here to get your copy!

This is the third book featuring Kit and all the characters. I have enjoyed each book.In this book Something happens that makes Kit ponder if she should quit being a detective and become a stay at home mom to her daughter.This book has a side love story between two of the friends of Kit and Jackson. Of course there is plenty of action for Kit while she tries to solve a case that keeps turning up new red herrings that kept me turning the pages. Jackson learns a lesson I not judging people at first glance.

I think readers who likes a little suspense and a clean read would like these books. But I suggest reading them in order.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these are my opinions.

About the Author

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is the Christy Award-winning author of historical romances: A Tale of Two Hearts, The Captured Bride, The Innkeeper’s Daughter, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, The Captive Heart, Brentwood’s Ward, A Heart Deceived, and Gallimore, but also leaped the historical fence into the realm of contemporary with the zany romantic mystery Out of the Frying Pan.

More from Michelle

Oh Inspiration…Wherefore Art Thou?

There are several questions I am asked frequently as an author.

“Hey, how much money do you make?”

“Can you help me get my book published?”

“How come it takes you so long to finish a story?”

But probably the most common query is this: what sorts of things inspire you? Now that is a question I can go on and on about! Don’t panic, though. I’ll be brief.

Story ideas come from every place imaginable. I’ve had plot thoughts from watching kids’ movies or even from eavesdropping at a coffee shop (note: beware what you say in public). TV series are also a favorite of mine, so much so that my latest release, The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane, is loosely based on one of my all-time favorite PBS series.

Have you seen this show? If not, do yourself a favor and ride that pony. If you have, then you know what I’m talking about. Either way, you should know that, the main character, is a detective in Victorian London—a very sassy yet classy lady. And that’s what struck me light a lightning bolt.

This woman is Kit, the heroine in my Blackfriars series, like right there on the big screen.

So, for book III, I decided I’d let ol’ Kit open her own private investigation agency with the help of her father, a recently retired police sergeant. Of course much intrigue and chaos ensues, just like in my all-time favorite PBS series, bringing the Blackfriars series to a satisfying end.

Inspiration honestly comes from anywhere, so next time you’re rubbing elbows with an author, beware. You just might end up as a character in their next book.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 26

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 26

Book Looks by Lisa, April 26

Live. Love. Read., April 27

Vicky Sluiter, April 27

She Lives To Read, April 27

Texas Book-aholic, April 28

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 28

All-of-a-kind Mom, April 29

Where Faith and Books Meet, April 29

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 30

Sylvan Reads, April 30

Pause for Tales, April 30

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 1

Blogging With Carol, May 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 2

For Him and My Family, May 2

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 2

Betti Mace, May 3

Wishful Endings, May 3

Bizwings Book Blog, May 4

Daysong Reflections, May 4

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, May 5 (Author Interview)

Kristina Hall, May 5

Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 6

The Lofty Pages, May 6

Cover Lover Book Review, May 7

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, May 7

Blossoms and Blessings, May 7

Holly’s Book Corner, May 8

Back Porch Reads, May 8

Lily’s Corner, May 9

Life of Literature, May 9

Jeanette’s Thoughts, May 9

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Michelle is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-gift card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b146/the-sleuth-of-blackfriars-lane-celebration-tour-giveaway

Monday, April 29, 2024

What Color is God’s Love by Xochitl Dixon

About the Book

Book: What Color is God’s Love?

Author: Xochitl Dixon

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Release date: March 19, 2024

All the colors displayed in this world that God made—
every glorious, fabulous, beautiful shade—
show how good God is and will always be.
But what is the color of love? Come and see!
In What Color is God’s Love?, a little girl and her service dog join their diverse friends through a
whirlwind of adventures. As they celebrate the spectacular spectrum of colors God designed,
each color invites readers to explore their God-given emotions and becomes a reminder of God’s
unchanging character. While encouraging children to acknowledge God’s constant presence with every turn of the page,
What Color is God’s Love? also empowers children, with and without disabilities, to play, work,
and serve God together, by simply letting the colors of His love shine through them.
With each turn of the page, the focus shifts to a specific color—orange, yellow, blue, green, pink,
black, white, gray, brown, red, purple. Each lyrical rhyme invites readers to engage with God
through empowering and faith-building truth-statements that incite worship and encourage a
lifestyle of loving God and neighbors.

Click here to get your copy!

“What color is God‘sLove by Xochitl Dixonis a really cute picture storybook for kids. It describes different colors and how it relates to what God has made and what God does for us. I really think this book should be in every home and church library. Here is a new thought, it talks about the color Black as making you courageous. I am going to just share the whole 4 sentences that pertains to the color black.

“ Is love like the night sky, where God hung the moon, or like shiny -winged blackbirds that sing a sweet tune? BLACk makes me courageous, so I stand up to fear. I’m brave. I don’t quit because God‘s always near.”

As you can see the words are simple and the pictures are so colorful. At the at the end of the book, there is an activities that you can do with your child and has questions that you can ask them about the different colors.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate lit, and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Xochitl (So-Cheel) Dixon, contributing writer for Our Daily Bread and God Hears Her, is the author of
Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace. She loves Jesus and people, as she crosses
cultural, generational, and international lines with encouraging and sound biblical teaching. Celebrating
diversity and inclusion, she advocates for disability awareness with her beautifully diverse family and her
service dog, Callie. Her first children’s picture book, Different Like Me, now available in Spanish, is a
2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Children’s Book Finalist. In March 2024, Xochitl’s second picture book, What Color is God’s Love?, is releasing with WaterBrook.

More from Xochitl

The Heart Behind My Story

By Xochitl Dixon

Like most of my writing, What Color is God’s Love? began as an overflow of worship while I prayed and praised God. In 2018, my husband and I had followed God from California to Wisconsin. I’m disabled and can’t drive, so his long hours at work left me feeling isolated while I searched for a new church and new doctors. As the weather became more extreme, I grew more discouraged, frustrated, and resentful. I struggled as I wrote my first 31-day devotional for Our Daily Bread, Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace. I was praying for people, studying and teaching the Bible every day. So, I couldn’t figure out why I felt so out of touch with God.

When my new puppy, Callie, licked my tears away, I looked out the window and noticed the rain had finally stopped. Rays of sunlight pierced through the dark gray clouds, shining on a white heron that had landed in the greed foliage on the creek’s bank next to our front yard. I wept tears of grateful praise. I wrote the first draft of a free verse poem celebrating God’s loving care for the details in Creation and in the lives of His people.

As I prayed, I realized I had been spending time talking to people about God. However, as the physical, emotional, and mental effects of our transition overwhelmed me, I had stopped spending quality time with God. As I watched the white heron take flight, God led me to Psalm 33:6-9, which became the first What Color is God’s Love? Bookend Bible verse.

I released Waiting for God in 2019 and my first picture book, Different Like Me, in 2020. But God had me tuck that free verse poem away as He dramatically transformed me and the original manuscript over the next few years. I wanted to give young image-bearers what I never had growing up: a safe place to process emotions . . . in God’s presence. I also wanted God’s beautifully diverse image-bearers, people with and without disabilities, to see each color as a reminder of His unchanging character, unlimited power, and unwavering grace, as they experienced His unconditional love flowing for them, in them, and through them.

After I signed the contract in November 2021, God began leading me to the right Bible verses to build the messages for each color I shared. Over time, I created the Breath Prayer Cards as a free download on my website, the YouVersion reading plan, and the devotional for the rest of the colors not shared in the reading plan.

I wanted each color to be a reminder of God’s unchanging character, unlimited power, and unwavering grace as we experience His unconditional love flowing for, in, and through us. More importantly, I began praying that everyone who read What Color is God’s Love? would be inspired to open their Bibles and spend more time with God, including me.

Blog Stops

Lots of Helpers, April 24

Texas Book-aholic, April 25

Vicky Sluiter, April 26 (Author Interview)

BookZone Reviews , April 27

By The Book, April 28 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 29

Splashes of Joy, April 30 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 1

Beauty in the Binding, May 2 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 3

Sylvan Musings, May 4 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, May 4

Artistic Nobody, May 5

Blossoms and Blessings, May 6 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 7

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Xochitl is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card, a copy of Different Like Me, and What Color is God’s Love?!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b144/what-color-is-god-s-love-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Lion Warrior by James R. Hannibal

About the Book

Book: Lion Warrior

Author: James R. Hannibal

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: April 23, 2024

The dragon war has breached the barrier.

The forces of the Liberated Land are near to breaking. Without a heavy and rapid shift in the Assembly’s strategy, a dragon invasion will be unstoppable.

Connor and Kara have kept the full knowledge of the Red Dagger’s location secret for almost a year. A chance to destroy Heleyor and end the war is within the Lightraider Order’s grasp. They must now reveal what they know and call for action.

With time running out, Connor, Teegan, and Aaron attempt to recover the dagger, and Kara helps the Airguard train a new corps of soldiers— windfighters—in their own bid to change the war’s tide. Meanwhile, Lee and Zel search for Heleyor’s army of tortured Aladoth. This force, thousands strong, has vanished. They’re heading for a hidden portal, and may emerge at the heart of Keledev at any moment.

Every path that lies before the cadets seems a great risk. The slightest misstep may cost them their lives, their loved ones, and their homeland. But to do nothing means certain failure. To succeed, they must charge ahead into dark uncertainty and trust the Rescuer.

Click here to get your copy!

Two truths about this book right at the start. I haven’t finish reading it ( 53%) and I really didn’t like it. This is the third book in the series and I liked the first one the best of all of all three. This series is about fighting different creatures and ending a war.This book allows us to start up where the second book ended. I strongly recommend reading the other two books first and in order. There are sections in this book that is written in language that I couldn’t understand but right after it is explains and it usually is a form of a Scriptural passage. I cannot give a star valve yet since I haven’t finished the book but of the 243 pages it has all been about this war with dragons and orcs and such. If you are a fan of fantasy then I say this is definitely say this should be your next read. Other readers have enjoyed this book. I listen to this on an audiobook.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

Update: I am reading on and am liking this book a little better. This book does explain Christian beliefs like having a Savior and asking Him for forgiveness and changing our habits to do right. Yes, I believe even unbelievers would like this book because it isn’t preachy even though it has Christian principles.

About the Author

As a former fighter pilot, stealth pilot, and tactical deception officer, James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He is the award-winning author of thrillers, mysteries, and fantasies for adults and children, and he is the developer of Lightraider Academy games. As a pastor’s kid in Colorado Springs, he guinea-pigged every youth discipleship program of the 1980s, but the one that engaged him and shaped him most as a Christ-follower and Kingdom warrior was DragonRaid, by Dick Wulf—the genesis of the Lightraider world.

More from James

There and Back Again: A Game?

The transition from book to game and back again is no easy thing. I’ve been on a steep learning curve since the day I started writing Wolf Soldier, the first book in the Lightraider Academy trilogy. Lion Warrior is the third.

I should walk back a step. Lightraiders is a game. Did you know that? It began as DragonRaid, a 1980s fantasy adventure game designed for teaching Biblical learning and discipleship. DragonRaid had a huge influence on my Christian walk in my teens. I now have the honor of carrying the concepts designed by the game’s original creator, Dick Wulf, to a new generation through games and stories. Before he went on to be with the Lord, Dick was kind enough to write a foreword for Wolf Soldier.

The task, when it came to me, was monumental: take a highly allegorical game with isolated location details and expand it into a full-realm book series while also building a new version of the game designed for today’s teens and families. By His grace, God placed men and women in my path who came alongside me to help—fellow believers who are creators from the realms of Tolkien, Star Wars, DC Comics, and Disney. Without them, it could not have been done.

We’ve been building the game in the background for three years. At the same time, the books have served as a transition from the old to the new. Lion Warrior completes that transition, and the book and the new Lightraiders Adventure Bible System game for teens will release almost simultaneously.

If you read through the series starting with Wolf Soldier, you may get a feel for this transition. The first book is more allegorical and tightly focused, much like the original DragonRaid game. Fantasy terms used in that story draw from the original game, with only a few new terms introduced. Bear Knight begins to broaden that perspective. It stretches past allegory and introduces several new ideas that you’ll find in the new Lightraiders game. In Lion Warrior, my hope is that you’ll finally have a picture of the fully developed realm from the Liberated Land in the south to the frozen islands in the far north of the Dragon Lands. And that story is fully steeped in the new game with terms and game mechanics slipped in for astute readers to find.

So, we’ve come full circle. DragonRaid became the story world in Wolf Solder. Then, as I and the team God sent to me rebuilt the game for a new generation, new elements found their way into Bear Knight. And now we have Lion Warrior, fully based on the new Lightraiders discipleship game. If you read the full trilogy and check out the game, I hope you’ll see it all growing together.

I do love the idea of game to story or vice versa. Are there other game/story combinations you love?

Blog Stops

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, April 25

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 26

Artistic Nobody, April 27 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, April 27 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 28

Texas Book-aholic, April 29

Fiction Book Lover, April 30 (Author Interview)

Where Faith and Books Meet, May 1

Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 2

By the Book, May 3

For the Love of Literature, May 4 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, May 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 5

Blogging With Carol, May 6

By The Book, May 7 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, May 8

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, James is giving away the grand prize package of a signed hardcover copy of the book, three Starlots acrylic gem dice (diamond, sunfire, and ruby), a postcard with character art on the front and a map of Talania on the back, and Amazon $100 gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b145/lion-warrior-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Courting an Amish Bishop by Mindy Steele

About the Book

Book: Courting an Amish Bishop

Author: Mindy Steele

Genre: Amish/Christian Fiction

Release Date: April, 2024

No One Is Ever Too Old to Love Again

Full of faith, hope, and romance, this new series takes you into the Heart of Amish country.

Simon Graber became a widower and a bishop early in life. His focus is solely on his very close-knit Old Order Amish community—not entertaining the idea of marriage, despite what many of the elders think. When sickness comes to Cherry Grove, Kentucky, Simon reaches out into the next community for help. But help is beginning to look a lot like a second chance when Stella Schmucker agrees to offer her vast herbal knowledge to the sick. Can it be that these two, who have been too busy serving others to entertain the idea of love, have met at just the perfect time for an unlikely courtship?



Click here to get your copy!

I really liked this book.It is a tale of a second chance at love. Can a doctor and an Amish bishop fall-in love? Both these characters are different in their profession. And to make matters worse, the doctor has a dog that the bishop does not like at all.If a reader likes the Amish gender and where the male and the female characters are at odds with each other at the start of the book, then I said look no farther then “Courting an Amish Bishop” by Mindy Steele. This book covers grief and abuse to a child by other children, which isn’t the basic of the book. The basic plot is love. There are a few quotes in this book that would be good for us all to remember.

I received a complementary copy from the Author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Mindy Steele is the award-winning author and bestselling author of over a dozen novels and novellas in Christian fiction. Raised in Kentucky timber country, Steele has been writing since she could hold a crayon on the wall and lives in northeastern Kentucky—where many of her stories are set.

More from Mindy

The Story Behind the Story with Mindy Steele

Courting an Amish Bishop

Sometimes the smallest detail can spark the greatest story. It can be a laugh, a flower petal, or even a cup of tea. I have always been drawn to little details and there are times when I felt God tapping on my shoulder, saying pay attention to this. So from a brief chat or set of bones found on a wooded path, stories have taken root.

For this story, it was a cup of elderberry tea late one evening that sent my thoughts to wander. I grew up on the edge of Appalachia and had learned a few herbal remedies to quickly ward off the flu or stop poison ivy before the first itch. As an Amish fiction writer, I wondered if the Amish resorted to the same such natural ways. I knew my neighbors used charcoal internally at times, as well as stockpiling burdock leaves to dry in their attic for burns and wounds, but I wanted to know more.

There is a strong belief among many that the Amish refuse modern medicine. This is simply not true. Most prefer modern medicine as a last resort. Though I once had an Amish neighbor who’d run to the doctor quite often for the least little thing.

Coincidentally, I had gone on to a summer book tour in southern Kentucky, and crossed paths with an Amish healer. She was a remarkable woman, full of wisdom and information. I have also been blessed to have Doc Sam, an Amish man, living just down the road, as well as a few Amish women willing to share their thoughts with me.

Healers have a vast knowledge that is not limited to just one thing. An Amish midwife is often sought after for more than when a child is ready to be welcomed into the world. A chiropractor, or muscle stretcher as they are called since no degree has been obtained, can tell you the best remedy for burns, womanly issues, or how to detox your liver.

Stella Schmucker was my most interesting character to write. As a woman who needed healing in her own life, it was by God’s grace she became one. As I got to know her, I knew a Bishop had to play a major part in her journey. We often think of men in such positions as stern, authoritarian, and well…old. But a man may draw the lot at as young as 30 if he has already held a position of a deacon or minister. I have seldom read a story where the bishop isn’t stern and always reminding us to follow the rules, but what we don’t see is the man under the hat! Simon reveals an outer and inner man, one struggling with loss, yet faithful in helping others. I have been waiting to write a Bishop’s story for some time, and once Stella’s life was laid out in front in me, the match was made.

I hope you enjoy this story and getting to know Ellie, my silver lab Stella borrows to entertain you. Who knows, you might even learn a few herbal remedies too.

Many blessings and good health,

Mindy