Let freedom ring on Independence Day. Never surrender it. One Nation Under God.
Father, thank you for the privilege of living in the United States of America. Please watch over us amidst all the chaos and ugliness. This nation was founded on your principles. We yield it to you and pray for your mercy. Thank you for the liberty you've given and allowed and may we continue to pursue all that you have for us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
The fantastically beautiful and rugged Palouse Falls in the multi-landscaped eastern Washington.
Father, you've left us with such beauty. Thank you for it all. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Two of the most precious people in my life: my oldest son Donovan and my longtime BFF Debbie:
May the Lord keep you safe from all harm and bless you in His abundance. I love you two so much, born years apart on the same date. Happy Birthday!
Father, you know them, you love them, you keep them. Please continue to bless their lives to the fullest while keeping them close to your heart. Apart from you, we can do nothing. Thank you for the ultimate blessing of having them in my life. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Cover Fire by Dustin Stevens is Book 2 in the Hawk Tate Series.
Hawk Tate has restructured his life after enduring tragedy. He's got a small cabin he built in Montana and runs a licensed guide business in Yellowstone National Park. Having been former Navy and DEA, he knew his way around survival, and that's pretty much what he'd been doing since his major loss. When a DEA friend (Mia Diaz) calls for special assistance with an unusual – for him – request, he decides she warrants his help.
Enter photographer and reluctant young witness Lake Pawlak with strands of pink hair and lots of tattoos who's not happy about having a bodyguard, and Hawk isn't one for chitchat. However, once it sinks in that what she photographed one night as she waited for sunrise on a cliff in the desert has earned her the protection Hawk provides, she realizes he's truly committed to saving her life as she finds out quickly how fragile it's become.
The story is told intermittently beginning with Hawk's brief first person prologue. It expands to Lake's story and moves on back and forth between the villains and Hawk's first person account of their dangerous adventures. It moves steadily and endears the readers to Hawk's endeavors and Lake's emotional growth and attachment to Hawk. Dustin communicates the grind and perseverance required to endure this game of cat and mouse while figuring out a way to put an end to the pursuit with enough legal evidence to nail the perpetrators of this ugly business.
I do recommend this fairly quick read. And right now Kindle copies of this series are only $.99.
Hawk carries the story, but the peripheral characters filled in well. There is some profanity.
Father, again I thank you for good stories and the authors responsible for them. May they know the One who gave them their abilities. I pray you would continue to provide stories just for Dustin to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath – prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, who he prepared in advance for glory – even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
Romans 9:22-24 (NIV)
Readers have preferences from genres to how they read, where they read, and even when they read.
My opinion is that it's not really a competition between a print copy of a book and reading a Kindle or another e-reader. Rather it's a simple matter of what you enjoy reading most.
I love a book. I like to use a bookmarker to set my place. I like to flip back the pages to a passage I want to read again. Though I mostly buy soft covers, I will indulge in hard covers for those special novels. But I love my Paper White Kindle too. I love it because it comes in handy, it has a lit screen, the font can be set to the size wanted, it stores a lot of books right at your fingertips, and the prices for those books are often just right.
But here's a question for you readers. (I always make this qualification or disclaimer: I'm talking about novels here although this question is valid for non-fiction as well.) Are some books more conducive to be read on a Kindle than others? Here's my thinking. Cozy Mysteries and other novellas or shorter novels work well on an e-reader. Long(er) novels – for me – not so much. Longer novels can require more concentration in keeping track of multiple characters, locations, etc., and to do that it helps to be able to flip back the page(s) if need be. I realize all kinds of clever things can be done electronically on the newer e-readers, but it's much more desirable to flip pages than to manipulate an electronic device with a smaller screen.
Kindles, etc., are wonderful traveling companions as far as convenience. They fit into almost any purse for travel or for long waits at appointments or wherever. Books travel well but can sometimes be cumbersome to tote.
Either book in hand or Kindle in purse, it's not a competition but rather two wonderful assets for readers.
Father, thank you for all your gifted artists, for those who invent in multiple ways, for all the encouragers, and for every person who acknowledges you as the ultimate Creator. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Okay. For a basically serious person which I truly am, I can be incredibly silly. When I'm alone. Does anyone else take advantage of an empty house to do stupid and/or silly things? No? Don't you dance around like a fool, make faces in the mirror, sing along with your favorite oldies on YouTube?
All of this to avoid writing or doing anything of value . . .
Father, forgive me for wasted time but thank you for the freedom to have fun and be silly when I need to and when I definitely don't. Thank you for your sense of humor. I'm always desperate for you. And so thankful I can't even express it adequately. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Wow. Didn't see that coming! It's been a long time since anyone reviewed The Famous One on Amazon (since 2017). I could've gone a lot longer without any more of them rather than reading my first 1 star review. I'm not going to lie: I was shocked.
The words that echoed in my mind were these: "lacked substance". Really? To show any of you who might be curious, here's the complete review under the "Not worth the read" title.
"Storyline started well enough and I was hopeful, however, 45 percent into the book I felt like every chapter was the same thing over and over. I finally just gave up at halfway through. Disappointing and lacked substance."
So, being the over-sensitive writer that I am, I looked up the reviewer's page to see how she felt about other novels she's read. Apparently, she likes the "quick, enjoyable" reads. One thing The Famous One is not is a "quick read". And, okay, she was disappointed in it. I get that. But "lacked substance"? That I don't accept. But as the cliché goes: to each his own. And clearly The Famous One was not her type of book.
Many authors can laugh off bad reviews. Some can garner insights from them. Others can mull them over and move on without much lasting effect. Not this author. I confess it bothered me (obviously), but I will trudge forward and continue to keep writing the best novels I can – and hopefully not one of them has or will "lack substance".
Father, you know me. I'm desperate for you. Thank you for your grace. You know how much I need it. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
A great message from a greater time. Lots of hits from this group.
Father, we're here because of you. You defined us and gave us each our roles in this life. Thank you for every person who honors you in what they do and for those who will find you in the future. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
I love the protagonists in my novels. And shouldn't we love those who we create? Joey Parr (Joseph Calhoun Parr Jr.) struggles through the dysfunction in his family at an early age and as he grows up, he endures an intense loneliness partially from being the youngest of his siblings but also because of his unique personality which makes him feel like he's an outsider in his circumstance. School is not his forte, and his two best friends adapt quickly to it which estranges him to the life he lives even more. I love him because he's a unique individual who struggles in life while inadvertently pursuing the deeper meaning to his existence. He wants to experience real love but has no idea if it even exists. His journey morphs into a spiritual search and ultimately meets his true need. The Famous One is Joey's story told more like a fictional biography of his life.
Protagonists must touch us, reach us, hold our attention, and keep us reaching for the resolution of his/her story. Most of us who read large numbers of fiction can testify there are some protagonists we'd just as soon lock in a closet as read another word about them, their actions, dialogue, or conduct. Others we fall deeply in love with like, for me, Mitch Rapp, Roman Velasco (aka Bobby Ray Dean, aka The Bird), Cole "Tox" Russell, and Lance Michelli. It's not the same ones for all readers, but we all have our favorites.
Would love to hear who yours are . . .
(P.S. I know we've talked about this before, but why do you like your favorites?)
Father, apart from you, I can do nothing. You provide it all. Nothing matters without you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
