Into the Fire

I'm a summer girl. Give me summer sun over winter snow any day of the week. I know there are those of you who think 70 degrees is about as hot as you like it. It's barely warm to me.

Give me Hawaii not Alaska.

Give me the ocean over lakes. A private swimming pool would be ideal.

Yup. Summer sun. Mmmm.

God, I love the beauty of all seasons, and I'm especially fond of fall. In these waning years I've decided I love hot summers with lots of sun. Thank you for it all. Every day. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

With recent associations from way back in the past, it's been a time of fond remembrances for me.

After graduating from high school, I attended the University of Washington for my freshman year and took mostly literature and writing classes. The typical Psychology 101, a basic math, and English class were thrown in, but the highlight of the school year was securing an A in my Playwriting class.

However, the true pleasure of that university experience occurred when two of my friends and I met four guys who were musicians – and students. We became good friends for a season of life when the Viet Nam war shadowed and raged in the background until the school year and the following summer concluded and two of those friends enlisted. Thankfully, they returned after their individual stints in the service, but of course by then life was different for all of us. We reunited briefly and all went on our separate life journeys.

After that school year, I went to work full time to save for a trip to Europe inspired to meet a British movie star. Crazy, I know. 

I met a young man sometime before I left for that nearly three month trip and wrote him a few postcards from London, Brussels, and Sion. To discover those postcards were still in his possession this many years later? Priceless.

To find one of our old friends from that summer of '67 on Facebook? Aahh, nostalgia.

Mortality looms. Memories can be invigorating or devastating. I own some of both. These, though, are sweet.

Lord, you've been gracious to me my entire life. So many gifts. So many amazing people. So much love. No way I can ever thank you enough. Thank you for saving my life in so many ways. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

If ever there's a test for evaluating your writing, it comes in the re-reads. I can't tell you how many times I've had to reread my novels. Especially the ones I've self-published. If you can still stand the story after all the rereading, at least you've written something that manages to be meaningful to you. And if it truly still provides a modicum of entertainment or touches your soul after knowing every nuance of the story, well, just maybe it will do the same for someone else.

I don't often reread novels. I can only think of three. I have genuinely loved a whole lot more than three novels, but rereading them hasn't been an option. As all of you writers and readers know, there are so many in the TBR (To-Be-Read) stacks, there's just no time to revisit past loves. It's not that I haven't considered some for rereading, it's that the growing list of must-reads outweighs the time commitments required to go back to them.

Are you a novel re-reader? How do your stories strike you after multiple re-readings?

God, you constantly create and share inspiration with us. Apart from you, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The Lord reigns forever;

he has established his throne in judgment.

He will judge the world in righteousness;

he will govern the peoples with justice.

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name will trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:7-10 (NIV)

Really. Tell me. How do you want to hear about a good book to read? Are you a review reader? Are you a store browser? Do you scan your favorite authors' blogs for their recommendations?

Are Facebook,Twitter, Amazon, or Goodreads your sources for books? How do you want them presented to you? This is the gist of marketing, and no one seems to have a universal answer that works to sell or promote books – at least not novels. The tendency is to cram them down our throats, to force authors to sell, sell, sell, promote, promote, promote, until the saturation point of seeing the book again is aggravating. The only newsletters arrive conveniently when there's a new book release.

What sells you on a book? 

Father, we need to know how you want us to do these kinds of things. Your way is all that matters. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Can you define what it is about your favorite authors that makes them special to you? Is it their imaginative stories? Is it their creative language – metaphors, similes, descriptions? Is it their unique and quality characterizations? Is it their different approaches or styles? Do you have comparable desires for each genre writer you read? Have you diagnosed your reasons? Do you know what makes them your favorites?

Father, thank you for our differences. Please use all of them for your purpose and pleasure. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

                                   (Free for review from the CFBA Tour)

Robert Liparulo is a master at writing thrillers. He's also my friend. We haven't seen each other in years, and he's so busy we rarely email anymore, but one thing never changes: he's a treasured friend. So it's always a pleasure – and a privilege – to read and review his work. The Judgment Stone is his latest release, Book Two in The Immortal Files, published by Thomas Nelson.

As I've said before, this fantastical supernatural adventure series is not normally in my reading repertoire, but if Robert writes it, I'm reading it. This series began with The Thirteenth Tribe, introducing us to a gang of immortals cursed with life on earth through the centuries since they celebrated around the golden calf in Moses' absence while receiving the stone tablets from God. In the first book Jagger Baird, his wife Beth, and his young son Tyler agree to travel to Egypt for a job so Jagger can recover from losing his left arm, where a tough metal prosthetic arm with a hook now resides, and the death of a family who'd been close friends, in a fatal car crash back in the states. Jagger was to provide security for an archaelogical dig close to an ancient monastery where interesting monks do more than maintain the buildings. It's a paradise for Tyler who explores the monastery's many tunnels and monk cells and learns amazing history from certain monks.

I don't want to ruin that story for newcomers to the series, so suffice it to say The Tribe we meet in the first book is back with their leader Neveah who once again wishes to capture Beth but for a different reason. Before The Tribe's venture is in full swing, the monastery is attacked by a grisly ghoulish bunch, perhaps more dangerous than The Tribe. After the onslaught of evil perpetrated by this group leaves several dead monks and a severely injured Oliver who's in charge of the dig, Jagger is informed as to the identities of these marauders. Like The Tribe, these more sinister individuals are known as The Clan because they too celebrated the calf but instead of regret for their ancient actions, they're on a hate-filled mission to destroy all they can, especially those who worship God. But they need something to do it well, and they arrive at the monastery to retrieve it. The immortal who goes by Owen is summoned for assistance and direction as to how to retrieve the special stone which was stolen during the attack.

When the powers belonging to the stone are known, Jagger partially understands why he must join Owen in getting it back, but he's torn about leaving his family again. Knowing he must go, he bids his tearful family goodbye and he and Owen fly away without a concrete plan. Total and brutal mayhem await them from the time they land in one place to the time they land in another, aided by a salvaged broken piece of what The Clan stole.

Jagger Baird has missing centuries from his memory ever since the car accident. New revelations begin to return to him in spurts in this second installment, and one of them is also revealed to Tyler unexpectedly. Beth proves heroic and resourceful in her endeavors to protect her son from The Tribe while far far away Jagger and Owen attempt to take down The Clan and retrieve the stone.

Anyone who's read Robert's novels knows to expect plenty of threats, trouble, and trauma. The Judgment Stone fills the pages with them but not without moments of extraordinary emotional content. I admit, sap that I am, parts of Chapters 94, 95, and 96 had me crying.

The Thirteenth Tribe and The Judgment Stone are Robert Liparulo's unique-to-him versions of what Frank Peretti began in This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. Spiritual warfare at the highest and lowest levels race through the pages of The Judgment Stone while Jagger worries, rants, and wonders why God does what He does – or perhaps why He doesn't do what Jagger thinks He should. It's the age old conundrum of questioning why God allows such evil to seemingly reign on earth, and it keeps this protagonist at arm's length even when He sees the evidence of God's miraculous interference. If there is a "weakness" in this story for me – and I use that term more as a personal preference rather than a commentary on the writing – it's Jagger's constant refusal to acknowledge God's presence and intervention even after experiencing it.  

Readers will travel with Jagger and Owen who must figure out a way to protect unsuspecting potential victims while back at the monastery, and unbeknownst to Jagger, Beth and Tyler and the amazing Father Leo battle for their lives against indestructible forces. 

The final chapters of The Judgment Stone ratchet up the excitement factor and come to a satisfying and meaningful conclusion with plenty of conflict awaiting the next book in The Immortal Files. For maximum enjoyment I highly recommend readers start with The Thirteenth Tribe and proceed to The Judgment Stone. Fascinating novels with high-tech action while presenting thoughtful spiritual questions. 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595541721

Father, bless my friend Robert in every way with your abundance. Please lead him on the path you designed just for him and pour out your Spirit upon him as he travels it with gusto. Keep him and his family safe from all harm and please surround them with your ministering spirits. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.       

becalmed: "take the wind out of one's sails"; in a dead calm; "not wind enough to twirl the one red leaf" – Coleridge

Every occupation, every adventure, every hobby, sport, and profession uses a language or terms all their own. While the language and terms might vary according to regional dialects, the slight variations don't amount to misunderstandings among those who are knowledgeable. Sailing is no exception to the rule. There are right ways to do it and proper words to use in the process. Normandie Fischer leaves no question as to the authenticity of her sailing know-how in her entertaining first release Becalmed. Just as talented author Tom Morrisey has made rock climbing and diving terms real to those of us who've never done either, Normandie takes us right onto the boats in her story without talking down to us or forfeiting the true language and operation of those who love the wind in their sails.

Sometimes genres mesh together and don't fit comfortably into their assigned niches, but Becalmed is Women's Fiction from stem to stern and tackles the aching heart of a mid-thirties Southern belle who feels like she's over the hill in the romance department, not to mention her constant awareness of the closing window toward motherhood. A designer of jewelry using stones her delicate mother left behind when she passed away, Sara "Tadie" Longworth and her neighbor and best friend Hannah live a short distance from the little shop they own and operate in the coastal tourist region of small-town Beaufort, North Carolina. They employ Isa, an older free spirit, and also sell paintings from a new impressive and soft-spoken artist Stefan.

When a widower (Will Merritt) and his young daughter Jilly limp into town after their beautiful boat breaks down, Tadie is there to assist them with information and hands-on care. Jilly charms her new friends, but her obvious need for womanly companionship worries her paranoid daddy since he can't quite leave the memory of his wife behind, his fear of forgetting her or being unfaithful part of his working around his grief.

A hurricane brings Isa, Will, and Jilly to stay in Tadie's beautiful empty home after securing the boats and hoping for the best. Tadie's lovely sailing craft "Luna" seems secure enough in her barn, but Will's 50 footer at the marina must ride out the storm with less security.

Shadowing the budding relationship between Will and Jilly and Tadie, Tadie's long ago high school boyfriend (and Hannah's brother-in-law) Alex is in the middle of a divorce and trying to reclaim Tadie as his own. She wants nothing to do with him, but his persistence irritates and raises a hint of fear in her.

James, Elvie, and their daughter Rita complete the prominent, cozy, and mostly wonderful cast of characters, lifelong friends and employees of Tadie's deceased parents and dearly loved by Tadie who depends on them for things far beyond James' maintenance duties. She considers them her true family.

The conflict created when Will's conduct leaves Tadie "becalmed" proves the emotional storms outweigh the hurricane's damage, and repairs make for slow-going.

A polished wordsmith, Normandie Fischer captures the essence of Southern charm and infuses it with the love of the sailing life, the needs and desires of a still-young woman who feels old and unattractive, and the necessity for honest relationships. Becalmed fills the reader with vivid emotional and physical imagery ingesting Southern humor and expressions moving toward reaching a touching and satisfying conclusion. Faith elements reside solidly in the background of this entertaining story.

And isn't that just the best cover for this novel? Published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.

http://www.amazon.com/Becalmed-Normandie-Fischer/dp/1938499611/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369671680&sr=1-1&keywords=Becalmed+by+Normandie+Fischer

Also coming soon in August, 2013, Normandie's second release Sailing out of Darkness. Published by WhiteFire Publishing.

http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-out-Darkness-Normandie-Fischer/dp/1939023068/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

Father, please continue to inspire Normandie as she writes for your glory. Give her more stories to tell, the opportunities to keep sailing on Sea Venture, and, as she welcomes her first grandchild, help her to be the shining light in that little child's life. Bless Normandie in all areas of her life as she seeks to serve you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

For those who gave it all, we honor you. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your service. Thank you for fighting for freedom. The United States of America cannot thank you enough. 

Father, I pray for all of those who are actively serving this country today. I pray you would reach them with the Truth, protect them with your divine right hand, supply them with courage and strength, and somehow let them know how truly grateful we are for their service to our country. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Praise be to the Lord, my Rock.

 who trains my hands for war,

 my fingers for battle.

. . .

Deliver me and rescue me

 from the hands of foreigners

whose mouths are full of lies,

 whose right hands are deceitful.

Psalm 144:1; 11 (NIV)