Radio Interview

I had the privilege of being interviewed regardin Katia on The Christian Author's Show, which is being aired today and tomorrow at http://www.thechristianauthorsshow.com/. They did a great job editing. Please stop by and listen in. Thanks!

Update

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After too long of a silence, wanted you all to know that the sequel to Katia (working title For Maria) is in it's fourth edit. This one has been as difficult to write as Katia was easy, for reasons I hope you'll understand when you read it.

So, stay tuned for Madeline and Brendon's life together, as well as the story of Lilli-Anna and Kammbrie, the lost twins. Those of you who read Katia will get this right away. If you haven't read Katia, well just shame on you! :-)
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Nick of Time, by Tim Downs (Thomas Nelson)

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This is without a doubt one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Storyline, writing style, characterization, message--it's got it all. I knew after two chapters that even if I hated the rest of the book, it was still well worth the cover price; a safe assertion, as I was certain that worst-case scenario would not materialize. And of course it didn't.

Dr. Nick Polchak is a quirky, single-track-minded forensic entomologist with a sardonic wit as dry as the months-old puparia littering his college professor's desk, his car, and his life. Uh huh, forensic entomologist--solving crimes one bug at a time. He and Raleigh Harmon would get along famously, probably be engaged by the end of their second week if they didn't kill each other by the end of the first.
 
Oops. Strike that last sentence. Nick's already engaged. You're safe, Raleigh.

Meet Nick's fiancée, Alena Savard. Just-as-quirky Alena lives alone on the top of a hill. Well, almost alone. She has 41 dogs, at last count. And she trains them. No, not like rolling over and playing dead, but rather like pinpointing where someone else has rolled over and really died. Fun stuff like that. Oh, and she's r-e-a-l-l-y good at it. One snap of the fingers and a subtle hand motion, and one of her dogs could probably finish typing this review faster and better than I can. (Okay, no wisecracks necessary...)

Nick's proposal of marriage to Alena shocked them both. And he's pretty sure that he really wants to be married. It's the 'pretty' part that gets him into trouble. The week of his wedding, when it appears that one of his friends and colleagues is murdered, Nick figures he has enough time to do some sleuthing out of respect to his friend and still be back in plenty of time for the ceremony. Alena is less confident both that he really wants to be married and that he will make it back in time.

So the stage is set for a rollercoaster ride of a tale that has you laughing out loud on one page (multiple times) and sobering under a subtle revelation of human nature on the next. A huge twist toward the end brings you to a screeching halt, gives you a moment to scratch your head in disbelief, and then plunges off at bumblebee velocity in a completely different direction with you in hot pursuit.

If you enjoy a great crime thriller laced seamlessly with insightful human interest, and one that is pristinely written for the genre and voice, there is simply no other option than to get this book. You just can't not read it. Go ahead. Try me. See if I'm wrong.

Note: despite what I said about being worth the cover price, I'm obligated to mention that Thomas Nelson sent me this copy free of charge to review. It was a good move on their part, because they've garnered at least one more Tim Downs fan who will be purchasing more of his books quite promptly.
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Apostle, by Ed Lewis (Cape Arago)

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The first two installments to the “The Seeds of Christianity” series, Witness and Disciple, set the expectations bar high. Apostle clears it with room to spare.

It was like a long-awaited reunion with dear friends when Rivka’s and Shem’uel’s names first appeared in this, Mr. Lewis’ most recent historical novel based upon the first-century founding of the Church. Having fled persecution in Jerusalem, the family travels to Antioch, where Shem’uel becomes the fledgling congregation’s senior elder, their episkipos. A supporting cast of memorable characters emerges one by one as the Gospel takes root and grows in the unlikeliest of spiritual and societal soil. Historical figures like Simon Peter, Paul and Barnabas blend effortlessly in with the fictional characters as they transit Antioch on their missions to plant and nurture the Way throughout the known world.

A true delight of “The Seeds of Christianity” is not just the great storyline, but the historical setting the author so brilliantly depicts. Mr. Lewis has one foot planted firmly in an ancient history class and the other in a creative writing class. And he’s acing both courses. You feel the heat of the potter’s kiln on your face and the and cool of the wine grapes on your bare feet as everyday life in the ancient Middle East comes alive on each page. We help Paul construct his tentmaker’s loom and Hadassah knead her barley bread, all the while learning a stark lesson in what daily survival demanded of the first Christenoi. The joy of the lesson, though, lies in the tale and the prose, both of which Mr. Lewis crafts as skillfully as Paul did his tents and Hadassah her loaves.

If you like a good story enhanced by a good education, the “The Seeds of Christianity” series is a sure bet for your money.

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Peace, by Jeff Nesbit (Summerside)

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Imagine a Joel Rosenberg and Tom Clancy collaboration, add intensity, and you have Jeff Nesbit's Peace.

A page-turner that blends a geo-political-techno thriller with human interest and spiritual introspection, Peace offers a realistic look at the fragility of the Middle Eastern balance of power, if it can be considered a balance. Sound dry? Oh my, no!

What carries Mr. Nesbit's work beyond a scholarly treatise in Foreign Affairs is a gripping storyline that spans the gamut from the pristine Oval Office to a squalid covert prison camp in North Korea, the ornate halls of the Kremlin to a dusty tribal village in Malawi. What's surprising in that lopsided contrast is just who exerts more influence over the outcome of the story.

If you like international thrillers that take you through scenarios seemingly impossible to resolve--but plausible to conceive--drenched in suspense and intrigue, you've got a treat in store for you in the pages of Peace.
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Singing in Babylon, by Ann Galia O’Barr (OakTara)

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Kate McCormack is a college graduate seeking a meaningful profession and relief from beneath suffocating debt. She travels unwarily far beyond her cultural and spiritual comfort zones to satisfy both goals.

Philip Tangvald is a journalist on assignment for a foreign affairs magazine seeking professional recognition and relief from a failed personal and spiritual past. He immerses himself in his work to satisfy both goals.

Kate’s and Philip’s respective quests bring them together in the unlikeliest of places: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Neither of them are prepared for the other. Each of them needs the other.

Thus Ms. O’Barr begins a story of maturation and self-discovery steeped in cultural and spiritual nuance. Arriving fresh to teach English to Middle Eastern female students, sheltered Kate nearly goes into shock confronted by the stifling environment of a single woman in an Islamic state. Philip rescues the hapless Kate from more than one social misstep, in the process becoming drawn to the young woman, the last thing he wants to happen. Kate finds his rescues annoying, but discovers herself warming to him, also the last thing on her agenda.

Together, they live what it means to be an expatriated Christian in a Muslim culture. His assignment on immigration trends—both legal and illegal—exposes their hearts to a world they previously only knew in their heads. Ms. O’Barr’s personal knowledge of the issues involved from her experience as a foreign service officer in the Middle East lend authenticity to the story. Her ability to portray this so well as a writer brings the issues home in an engaging way.

A thought-provoking, even-handed look at faith, culture and love, Singing In Babylon provides solid fodder for personal reflection and group discussion. Beware, though, that some of that reflection and discussion will be uncomfortable—as it should be.
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Mine Is the Night, by Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook)

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I buy Liz Curtis Higgs' books just for the sheer joy of reading Liz Curtis Higgs. It really doesn't matter what she writes--well, it least it hasn't thus far (now don't go silly on me, Liz...)--it just matters that she writes. There, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the book.



First a disclaimer: I acknowledge that the cover--as nice as it is--puts my guy card in mortal danger. But if I can read this book on a Lifecycle at a military gym every afternoon and escape unscathed, y'all can cut me some slack, too.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes.



Of all Ms. Higgs' Scotland-series books, Mine is the Night was my favorite. The prequel, Here Burns My Candle, runs a close second, but Night is the clear winner. Picking up where Candle left off, Marjory Kerr, newly stripped of her nobility due to her support of the ill-fated Jacobite cause, flees Edinburgh to her hometown of Selkirk. With her is daughter-in-law Elizabeth Kerr, still in mourning from the loss of her husband in the battle at Fallkirk. With nowhere to go and nothing to her dishonored name, Marjorie finds a hostess in her cousin Anne, who begrudgingly takes them into her extremely modest dwelling.



Marjorie adapts her self-centered lifestyle to menial service in the home while Elizabeth supplements their meager income plying her needle and thread. Enter the Admiral Lord Jack Buchanan, Selkirk's newest resident, retired from a distinguished and highly profitable career in the service of King George's navy. Lord Buchanan needs a dressmaker to outfit his domestic staff, and Elizabeth needs work. What blossoms in the ensuing months of Elizabeth's employ to the Lord Admiral, though, is more than heather on the surrounding hills.



Lord Jack is immediately smitten by the lovely and graceful Elizabeth, and her interest in the dashing admiral grows equally as intense. Hindered by social propriety, the Kerrs' outlaw status as former supporters of Prince Charlie's rebellion, Elizabeth's prescribed year-long period of mourning, and their unwavering devotion to God and His expectations of them, the two must subdue their mutual attraction. But for how long? Ask Marjory, for she holds the key to their happiness. Suffice it to say that, in the end, God is honored. And those who honor Him, He blesses.



Those to whom Ms. Higgs has already endeared herself as a writer have no need of this review. They probably finished the book before I did. Those who enjoy a thoroughly satisfying story told by a master storyteller of the genre, but who've not yet had the joy of reading Liz Curtis Higgs--or even just this Liz Curtis Higgs work--are in for a treat. Really, really recommended; don't miss it.

WaterBrook was kind enough to send me a courtesy copy of Mine is the Night to review. Very thoughtful and greatly appreciated, but, honestly, I'd have purchased the book and reviewed it anyway.
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