Month: April 2013

Two ‘fer Tuesday: Take A Chance On Me

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Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren is a gem. Her characters are so real, I expected to look up and see Darek swaggering into my living room, dusty and sooty and asking for Tiger. Instead I got a limping cat who begged for more food, took one sniff, and stalked away.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Take a Chance on Me. 

Darek Christiansen has his hands full taking care of his five-year old son and running the family resort on Lake Evergreen, outside of Deep Haven, Minnesota. He has no time for dating and especially no inclination for romance since his wife was killed in an accident three years ago.

Ivy Madison is new to Deep Haven and she’s already in love with the small community and planning to live there forever. She’s blessed to get a job as an assistant county attorney and is looking forward to making new friends. Her first night in town she stumbles into a bachelor auction / fundraiser. And ends up with a surly and uncommunicative date for the evening. Ivy’s new boss reminds her that Deep Haven is a small town and she might not love it quite so much when she has to bring charges against an acquaintance. Or even a friend. It’s a warning she comes to appreciate as she grows closer to Darek and his son, Tiger, when Tiger’s grandparents charge Darek with child endangerment. Ivy knows the truth but if she intercedes, she ‘ll lose Darek. But if she doesn’t, she could lose her job and her new community. 

There’s a richness of character and story that Susie layers into her novels and Take a Chance on Me is especially deep. She explores themes of forgiveness and mistakes and regrets.

I love that this book drew me in from the very first page. I love the Christiansen family and I can see why Ivy fell in love with Darek’s family before she even knew them all.

I’m honored to be a part of Susan May Warren’s 2013 Kick Off Team. That means I get her newest books early! I’m a big fan and was looking forward to her latest Deep Haven novel, Take a Chance on Me. Unlike the other stand alone Deep Haven books, this one is the first in a series about the Christiansen family. Characters from other Deep Haven novels make cameo appearances and it’s fun to feel like I’m keeping in touch with them all.

I posted a picture last week of the actors Susie had in mind while creating each character, so scroll back or click here for a look at Darek and his family.

A fellow reviewer is giving away a free copy here:  The Koala Bear Writer: Book Review: Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren

Book Talk Tuesday: Embrace Me by Lisa Samson

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I believe Lisa Samson is one of the most relevant and provocative writers of Christian fiction today.

embrace me

 

Her books continually challenge and inspire me and Embrace Me  is no different.

I’d had it on my Kindle for quite a while and delayed reading it for several reasons.

  • I knew I’d be hooked from the beginning.
  • The cover didn’t entice me – it reminded me a bit of Water for Elephants (which I liked) and I was afraid it would be derivative of that novel.
  • The subject matter sounded too dark: a circus freak show.

I was right about one of those. I was hooked right away. And, by the way, Embrace Me is nothing like Water for Elephants. Some of the characters do make their living by exhibiting their differences in a freak show, but they are all so much more than the sum of their oddities and differences.

It’s hard to write a review of this one without giving away too many spoilers.

Drew Parrish is a pastor with big ambitions. His church is large and growing.

Daisy is one of Drew’s parishioners and he believes the two of them can rock the world. For Jesus. Mostly.

Valentine’s face was burned by acid and she’s retreated from the world to hide behind scarves when she’s not at work as the Lizard Woman.

Gus is a street preacher trying to get to know the Valentine behind the scarves.

Their paths cross with Charmaine Hopewell from Samson’s novel Songbird in a lovely and uncontrived way.

I highly recommend this book, but only if you’re willing to have your perception of what it means to be a “good” Christian challenged and maybe even upset.

Woe! It’s Wednesday

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We’ve been home about two weeks now from our trip of a lifetime.

We loved it all. We got two weeks with our daughters and granddaughters, just missed our son-in-law. We spent a week with various other family and friends. We swam, snorkeled, sailed, ate, worshiped, hiked, watched cliff divers, saw waterfalls, ate poi and coconut milk ice-cream. I could go on and on.

Some highlights:

arrival copy  Our arrival with a lei greeting at the airport.

swimming copySwimming at the house.

beach copy A beautiful beach on Kauai

whale copy Whale watching

dessert copy Yummy food, including this gorgeous “pearl” dessert at Mama’s Fish House on Maui.

A true highlight for me was the Easter Sunday service we attended at Kihei Hope Chapel. We attended church there 4 of our 5 Sundays on the island. We also visited Waipuna Chapel upcountry and enjoyed it very much too. Hope Chapel was near our house so we became vacation regulars there. On Easter Sunday the offertory was a worship hula that was amazing. I’ve never been a fan of worship dance. It seemed more like a performance than a worship to me, but the hula was pure worship. I could listen/watch/worship with them every week.

hula

I also had the opportunity to chat with Robin Jones Gunn. She’s my daughters’s favorite author from their teen years. I’ve met her at writer’s conferences and arranged to “bump into” her with my girls. Then she invited me to join her at a book club discussion about one of her books, Sister Chicks on the Loose. I had a great time and really enjoyed the discussion that touched on some of what I talked about last week. Fear. Adventures. Girl friends. It was a really fun time and I felt blessed to be included.

All in all, it was a good trip. I didn’t feel homesick for either my dog or my pillow. We were so busy that I didn’t have time to miss anyone.

It was everything we hoped and prayed for.

Thank you, God.

P.S.: Today is my birthday. I have a free book for the first person to comment below. And another free book for a random number that I’ll ask my husband for tomorrow. Please comment!

 

Author Spotlight: Susan May Warren

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It’s no secret I’m a big Susan May Warren fan.

I got my hands on an early copy of her newest release, Take A Chance On Me.  

Susie’s Deep Haven series has been more of a bunch of loosely related books. Loosely related because they all took place in the fictional town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. Characters from one book would occasionally pop up in another story but she never gave away too much of the other book mentioned. 

Take A Chance on Me is the first of a series about a Deep Haven clan, the Christiansons. 

Warren put together these pictures of who she sees as her characters. Or who they look like. I’ve read Take A Chance On Me and I’m okay with these pictures. Stay tuned for a real review and a chance to win a Susan May Warren book!

Image

 

Woe! It’s Wednesday

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Adventure: In the eye of the beholder?

 

When we were on vacation in Maui last month, I had the opportunity to go zip-lining. Several friends had been and talked about how fun it was, so I agreed to go.

I was terrified the whole time.

But I did it. I didn’t cry, scream, or beg for my mommy although all of those crossed my mind while I was flying through the air attached to a singing cable.

I might do it again. zip But I’d like to do one a little less ambitious to get my confidence back.

A couple weeks later my husband and I and friends were discussing what adventure we wanted to book next. We all wanted to kayak down a Kauai river and were searching for the best excursion. Stud Muffin pointed at me and said, “You’re the adventurer so choose the one you want to go on.” kayak

EEEERRRRTTTT!!! Stop the zip line and back it up.

I’m the adventurous one??

I don’t think so.

On the other hand, I also don’t like to sit on the sidelines and hear about others’ adventures. That’s why I’ve done some scary things, like riding a bike down a volcano, taking BART into San Francisco when I didn’t know where I was going, and baking bread from scratch.

One of my daughters once told me that she likes that I’m up for anything, I’ll give it my best shot. That’s true. But it’s because I’m afraid of being left out! Not because I’m bold.

I’m not brave or daring or a thrill seeker. I have no desire to parachute from a plane or bungee jump. Knitting with four double tip needles is as daring as I’m comfortable being.

But isn’t that the point of an adventure? To get out of your comfort zone. To challenge yourself. To be able to point back and say, “Yeah, I did that.”

So if anyone wants to think of me as adventurous, that’s okay with me.

Look at the picture above of the person hanging by a thread over the trees. Yeah. I did that.

I guess I am a little bit adventurous after all.