Winter Austin hits it out of the park with these two covers. Read them in order with Atonement first and Born to Die second.
Two big 5s for these.
Lord, please keep directing Winter to write the stories you have for her to tell. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Well, what did you expect? It's Valentine's Day after all. This is one terrific romance cover and I'm willing to bet Anne Patrick wrote a great story to go with that cover. Love the colors, the muscles, and the young boy sitting on the fence. Just might have to read this one.
I'm giving it a 4 + for the genre. Well done.
God, you are Love. Only you define it. We try to emulate real love, but our stained souls can't quite come close. Help us, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
I loved this cover so much I actually read the book! You know I don't do historicals, but I read this one and it was a good story. K. M. Weiland has one of the best covers ever on this novel. Not only did I read the book, I ordered a poster of the cover and it hangs in our entryway.
Rate it. 5 stars means it's as highly favored as it can be.
4 stars means you think it's a great cover.
3 stars means you think it's an okay cover.
2 stars means you think it's passable.
1 star means you don't like it.
My rating: 5 stars
Father, thanks for beauty in all its many forms. Thanks for inspiring creativity and supplying great imaginations. Apart from you, we can do nothing. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1:7-8 (NIV)
Man's definition of evil is as vast as the dark of night. It's inconsistent, unreliable, skewed, variable, and often wrong.
God's definition of evil is the only one that counts. It doesn't waver.
You choose. What you think, what you do, what you understand, what you know. There is an innate sense of good and evil built into you.
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Romans 2:8 NIV)
Evil is exploding in the world today. Visible in the highest positions and in the lowest circumstances. You can find it anywhere. Sometimes it's invisible but no less present. The unseen forces of good and evil war in the heavens and on earth.
What will you choose to do? Who will you follow? The eternal questions asked of every generation demand answers before their last breath is taken.
"The abuse of free will" ushers in evil conduct.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32 NIV)
You choose.
Father, we're desperate for you. All the time. Help us, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
What a fabulous old song. For long time lovers.
Lord, only you know real love. We pursue it, but you grant it in its limited capacity in this sin-stained world. Thank you for what you give. Thank you for loving us for real. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
I'm looking forward to it. Aarrgghh! What say you?
Father, you see the hearts of us all. We're all desperate for you even when we fail to realize it. You know my prayers. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Yes, it's fiction. A short story. A novel. A drama. A comedy. Science-fiction. Fantasy. Make-believe.
But it's not only make-believe. The reality is it takes inspiration and imagination to write it. And in order for it to be readable, it takes a basic knowledge of the – in our case – English language and its grammar plus some of the parameters for storytelling.
I certainly cannot speak for any authors other than myself. Although I have things, quirky and otherwise, in common with many authors, I have my own perspective on the writing life, what it requires, and what are its optimum and minimum goals.
I can tell you this much: it takes discipline. That is if you're serious about writing. Now the exercise of said discipline varies from those who set aside an amount of time every day to write to those who demand a specified word count from themselves every day to those who play it by ear and rely on inspiration, prayer, and hope (that would be me). We all have our own disciplines established by what works – or doesn't – for us and our lifestyles.
I confess I let my discipline(s) lapse. A lot of life's happenings contributed to that, but, honestly, I have no excuses – just reasons. I am slothing and slogging my way back to the discipline I need to finish the trio of novels I began some time ago and need and want to finish. At present, they are all in different phases of the process. So I have returned to the first of the three I started and am making tiny steps to renew the writing discipline. (And I welcome your prayers. Those of you who've been so faithful to pray for me: finally some affirmative results. Please don't stop now.)
So. There is a lot of heart-wrenching thought, discipline, experience, inspiration, imagination, frustration, and in my case prayer that goes into all this make-believe in order to accomplish the "reality" of a story that will invite the investment, indulgence, and produce the rings of some noble truth(s).
Father, again I thank you for every word, every explosion of inspiration, and every good moment in writing my stories. Apart from you, I can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:4-5 (NIV)
Most of you know I am generally not a non-fiction reader. I read and write novels. Many of my reading choices are thrillers. My favorite character is Mitch Rapp who, in several of the Vince Flynn/now Kyle Mills novels, in expedient circumstances exercised his own version of "enhanced interrogation". Contrary to the fictional Mitch Rapp's or 24's Jack Bauer's choices for extracting information from evil targets, James E. Mitchell, PhD, and his fellow friend and psychologist Bruce Jessen were the original developers of the CIA's Enhanced Interrogation program after the terror attacks of 9/11. Surprisingly quite tame and humane in comparison to the actions perpetrated by the terrorists, the truth is clearly revealed in Mitchell's book.
Recruited by the CIA to effectively extract meaningful information from high-value targets who engineered terror attacks against the USA, Mitchell and Jessen designed specific approaches, techniques, and productive unpleasant ways to make it clear to captured terrorists that if they cooperated and supplied worthy information to thwart future attacks against the US, they would be spared from further "unpleasantness". They had to take into account most of these captives had undergone resistance training like those of our Special Forces. The Islamic religion which the terrorists adhered to gave them an "out card" for revealing useful information if they had endured all that they could individually handle.
It's important to note here that in December of 2014 Senator Diane Feinstein and her Democratic colleagues on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SCCI) released a report on the CIA's Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program which was packed full of false claims and/or outright lies about both Mitchell and Jessen and the techniques which were incorporated to encourage terrorists to reveal meaningful, helpful information which would protect the US from further attacks. Some of what was published was detestable, unauthorized, and failed to mention that every method developed and used by Mitchell and Jessen and those they instructed had been submitted to the CIA, the DOJ, and the president for approval before any of it was used. Also, seldom if ever did the enhanced interrogations last up to 72 hours before the men began cooperating. They were monitored by doctors, they were given breaks, fed, clothed, and looked after everyday of their captivity and during and after interrogations even though they'd committed heinous crimes against many Americans and were proud of their deeds.
Mitchell admitted there were a few rogue interrogators who failed to comply with the approved methods of interrogation, but they were reported and removed. The psychology of the religious terrorists was important in devising the plans for interrogation. There were follow-up debriefers and many others who assessed the information and along with Mitchell and Jessen determined if the men were holding back critical information or if they needed to be asked more specific questions to draw out the information.
Enhanced Interrogation is a fascinating account of the methods developed and used by the CIA to help keep America safe after the devastating tragedy and terror of 9/11. Very well written with Bill Harlow's experience, informative, with frustrating accounts and battles with politicians who failed to admit the carefully compiled information gleaned from the prisoners during their brief experiences with enhanced interrogations.
I highly recommend this book for those readers who want to set aside the lies and infamy associated with enhanced interrogations conducted by the CIA post 9/11. Filled with valuable, thoughtful, and incredible accounts of the development and process of protecting America, Enhanced Interrogations provides amazing and frightening insights into the minds and motives of Islamic terrorists.
Father, you love mankind. The only hope for all of us is Jesus. You're the only One who can reach those who fail to see who you are. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
