Celebrating Books and Friends

Today I want to celebrate the good news of one of my critique partners, and two of my Inkwell Inspirations blog-sisters. These are all ladies I consider dear friends. 

My critique partner, Narelle Atkins, has just signed a six-book contract with Heartsong. I'm so excited for her, and know each book will be great. 

Congratulations, Narelle! 

Narelle's Website

Narelle's 30-Minute Bible Studies Website

Lisa Karon Richardson's book, The Magistrate's Folly, is available now from Heartsong. It's a historical novel set in one of my favorite places: Colonial Williamsburg. Check out the Inkwell Inspirations's posts celebrating this book.

I loved everything about this book: the characters, the setting, the plot, but mostly I loved Lisa's voice and I look forward to many more of her books.

An Interview with Lisa
Experience the Setting of The Magistrate's Folly

CJ Chase's newest Love Inspired Historical novel, The Reluctant Earl, is the sequel to Redeeming the Rogue. While I haven't had the chance to read The Reluctant Earl, it is most definitely on my TBR list. Especially since I loved Redeeming the Rogue.

An Interview with CJ
History Behind The Reluctant Earl
Review of The Reluctant Earl

Some of my other Inkwell Inspirations blog-sisters will have books coming soon:
Gina Marie Welborn
Jennifer AlLee
Lisa Karon Richardson (she has an upcoming historical novel co-written with Jen AlLee)
Barbara Early
DeAnna Julie Dodson

And...
Susan Diane Johnson - yes, I know that's me!
I sold another novel to Pelican Book Group's White Rose line!

Suzie's Short and Sweet Top Ten Books 2012

Many of the books on my list have been reviewed here, either by me or one of the other Inkies. So instead of recapping reviews, I’m simply giving the skinny on my top favorites reads of the year.

There are only a few rules for inclusion on my list, but they’re important rules if a book is to live long and prosper on my keeper shelf.

• If a book is contemporary, I have to fall so deeply in love with the characters that I’m totally pulled into their lives. I tend to get bored easily, so this is vital to hold my attention. I have to be invested in the characters in order to keep reading.
• If a book is historical, it must be so vivid that it sweeps me into the timeframe. I have to fall in love with the setting as well as the characters.
• If the book is not women’s fiction or a romance, it needs to bring me to tears, split my sides with laughter, or keep me on the edge of my seat.

Each book on this list is a book I loved. They all had wonderful characterization, heart-tugging emotion, and an engaging style. I hope you'll find at least one book here that you'd like to read. This list likely would have ended up being longer, but my reading time was limited this past year and my 2012 TBR is still quite large.

Now that we have that out of the way, here is my list in order of category (for those who only read Christian fiction, please note that those marked with an asterisk* are not Christian fiction):

Historical Novels

Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman

Set in Virginia in 1817, a young woman with a heart for dancing sets out to use her talent to save her mother and sisters from poverty. A job teaching dance to two young women brings her face-to-face with her former beau. Getting to know each other again opens their eyes to new discoveries.

At Every Turn by Anne Mateer

It’s 1916 and Alyce Benson is the only woman in town with a car. With her sense of adventure and heart of gold, she ends up driving on a race track to try and win money she for children in Africa.

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergren

After Cora Kensington’s parents die, she learns she’s really the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man. When he sends her on a trip to Europe with her newfound siblings, they shun her and Cora finds herself turning to their handsome tour guide.

Contemporary Novels

The Mother Road by Jennifer AlLee

Infertility, a cheating husband, and a parent with Alzheimer’s, send Natalie on a road trip she really doesn’t want to take – especially with her pregnant sister. Their journey down Route 66 is of sibling rivalry, deep emotions and the perfect balance of love and humor.

Navy Rules* by Geri Krotow

It was really a joy to discover this romance novel set on Whidbey Island. A wounded Navy pilot and a widowed mother of two have much more in common than her therapy dog. When Max learns he’s the father of Winnie’s youngest daughter, he has to put aside his feelings of betrayal so he and Winnie can find their way back together.

Angels at the Table* by Debbie Macomber

This Christmas novel features mischievous angels, Shirley, Goodness and Mercy as they train a new angel while trying to keep out of trouble. The last thing they want to do is stir up trouble in the budding romance between a struggling restaurant owner and a food critic.

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

In need of a break from her job as a social worker, Kate decides to spend the summer helping her grandmother restore an old house. With the help of her grandmother and some quirky senior citizens, Kate tries to get to know a man who’s hiding from life and love.

Suspense Novels

Double-Blind by Brandilyn Collins

After Lisa agrees to enter a clinical trial for depression, she wakes up from surgery feeling great until she starts having visions of a murder – visions she sees through the murder’s eyes.

A Heartbeat Away by Harry Kraus

When she has an emergency heart transplant, Dr. Tori Taylor gets more than just a new heart. She starts having dreams and memories that send her on the trail of a murderer.

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

Bailey returns to her hometown to bury her aunt with plans to leave as soon as possible. She left town in shame, never intending to return. Now, she’s swept into a mystery along with her former boyfriend. Underwater secrets, murder, and Russian artifacts propel this novel set in Alaska.

Suzie Johnson’s debut novel, No Substitute, a contemporary inspirational novel, is out now from White Rose Press of The Pelican Book Group. She is a regular contributor to the Inkwell Inspirations blog, a member of ACFW, RWA, and is the cancer registrar at her local hospital. Suzie and her husband are the parents of a wonderful grown son who makes them proud every day – even though he lives way too far away. Suzie and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest with their naughty little cat on an island that is definitely not tropical. You can visit her at the following places:

http://www.susandianejohnson.com

http://inkwellinspirations.com

http://www.facebook.com/suziejohnsonauthor

http://www.pinterest.com/suziejohnson1

Review of One Christmas Eve by Robin Patchen

Update:
The winner of a downloaded book of their choice from The Pelican Book Group is: Mary Ann Diorio! Mary Ann left her comment on Inkwell Inspirations.
Thank you, Mary Ann!

Today on Inkwell Inspirations, I'm featuring some of the Christmas novellas from The Pelican Book Group. On this post, I'm featuring a review of Robin Patchen's novella, One Christmas Eve. I'm also featuring Robin Bayne's novella, Christmas Forever, on another post on this same blog. This weekend, I'll be drawing for a downloaded copy of a novella of the winner's choice. If you'd like to be in the drawing, please leave a comment here, on Robin Bayne's excerpt post, or on the Inkwell post where I feature the novellas before Friday, December 14, 2012, at midnight. 

For the month of December, all of the Christmas novellas are at a great price of $1.00. You can't beat that for a satisfying Christmas read. Below is my review of one of the novellas, by a delightful inspirational writer, Robin Patchen.

One Christmas Eve

By Robin Patchen

Blake Carmichael has made mistakes in his life, but he’s a new person now and his number one priority is to reconcile with his son. For Blake, starting anew with Eli would mean his Christmas wish coming true. But the going is rough and late one night, just before their first Christmas together, Eli sneaks out of the house.

Desperate to find his son, Blake discovers Eli’s girlfriend is also missing. He enlists the help of Kelsey’s pretty aunt Tallia Waters. Tallia and Blake attend the same church, and though he’s wanted to ask her out, Blake has determined not to pursue a relationship until he’s fixed the one with his son.

Drawn together by their desperation, Tallia and Blake travel the dark streets late at night praying to find the teens before they find trouble – or worse.

Despite the fact that he’s a Hollywood A-Lister, Blake is a man who’s trying to reach out to a rebellious teenage son. Tallia is a woman struggling to make ends meet while following her heart as an artist.

Robin Patchen uses her words to paint these true to life characters in a way that will touch the heart of most readers. Tension and sweet moments intermingle to make this a captivating read, and the hope of a Christmas miracle is the perfect backdrop for this story of redemption.

I enjoyed every page of this book, and I’m eager to see what will come next from this talented author.

To learn more about Robin Patchen, visit her website by clicking here.

One Christmas Eve and other Christmas novellas can be downloaded from The Pelican Book Group, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you'll decide to check out this wonderful Christmas collection. To be entered in a drawing for a downloaded copy of one of these novellas please leave a comment below, on the post with the excerpt of Robin Bayne's novella, Christmas Forever, or on the Christmas Extravaganza post on Inkwell Inspirations.

Excerpt of Christmas Forever by Robin Bayne

Update:
The winner of a downloaded book of their choice from The Pelican Book Group is: Mary Ann Diorio, who commented on Inkwell Inspirations.
Thank you, Mary Ann!

Today on Inkwell Inspirations, I'm featuring some of the Christmas novellas from The Pelican Book Group. On this post, I'm featuring an excerpt from Robin Bayne's novella, Christmas Forever. I'm also reviewing Robin Patchen's novella, One Christmas Eve, on another post on this same blog. This weekend, I'll be drawing for a downloaded copy of a novella of the winner's choice. If you'd like to be in the drawing, please leave a comment here, on the review post, or on the Inkwell post where I feature the novellas before Friday, December 14, 2012, at midnight. 

For the month of December, all of the Christmas novellas are at a great price of $1.00. You can't beat that for a satisfying Christmas read. Below is a description and an excerpt from one of the novellas, by a wonderful writer of inspirational contemporary romance, Robin Bayne.

About Christmas Forever:

Jason hasn’t seen Cami in three years. Now she’s back, with the son he’d wanted to claim as his own. Can he believe her newly found faith or will she desert him, and God, again?

Cami Jones is nervous about spending Thanksgiving with the Becker family, because she knows her old and dear friend Jason will be there. The friend, and employer, she’d deserted three years ago to run away and start a new life. Ashamed of things she’d done before finding faith, Cami reluctantly agrees to start a temporary job for Jason once again.

Still hurt that Cami had taken the son he’d helped deliver and fled, Jason finds it hard to believe she’s now a Bible-believing Christian. But the old spark is still there and he finds himself weaving into Cami and Robbie’s life again. When his new accountant turns out to be Cami’s ex, they panic they may lose custody of Robbie. Admitting he wants Cami and Robbie forever is the best Christmas present he could ever imagine.

Excerpt:  Christmas Forever by Robin Bayne

“When did you start going to church?” He asked the question in a quiet voice, but Cami also heard the unasked part of the query-when you would never go with me?

“In Philly. A woman I worked with asked me to go with her. She didn’t have anyone else, and neither did I. She gave me a few web sites to look at, ones that answered a lot of my concerns about Christ, and I got hooked. Katherine, that’s her name, went with us to all the social events, too.”

“Guess you’ll miss her.”

“Yeah. But she’s getting married in a few months, so she has someone.” They walked together in silence, traipsing into the snow bank as the street dead-ended near the woods. “How come you still aren’t married, Jason? You’ve always wanted a family.”

He touched her arm, and she felt his heat even through her coat. “Let’s turn around and head back now. It looks like it’s going to start snowing again.”

She understood he wanted to change direction of not only their path, but of their discussion. And she couldn’t blame him-it drove her nuts when people asked why she’d never married, too. Well-meaning, most folks had no idea why she couldn’t enjoy the blessing of marriage, of a loving, committed partner. She had too much to make up for.

Halfway home, Jason turned to her again. “Would you like to go to church with us Sunday? Then I could go with you to pick up Robbie.” He scuffed his boot against a curb. “There’s plenty of room in our pew, especially since Dad’s gone on. Mom still takes the family right up to the front row. She’s amazing.”

They stopped two houses from the Becker property. Cami felt a fist in her gut, twisting with the genuine affection she still felt for this man. “I don’t think so.”

That seemed to surprise him, and she watched the myriad of emotions cross his face. Finally a look of smug disbelief settled in his eyes, and the set of his mouth. “Why not? Are you really going to church now, Cami? I know we’ve had this discussion before, and it’s really none of my business. But you can tell me.”

“Of course I am. I’d never lie about that. It’s just that when I attend, I sit in the back row. And I keep my head down.”

Praise for Robin Bayne:

Tender, sweet, heartwarming and utterly charming are just a few words I'd use to describe From Now On. Ms. Bayne vividly brings to life Cami and Jason's struggles to follow Christ, accept, love and forgive as He did, yet never gets preachy or holier-nthan-thou. Cami and Jason are ordinary people, living their lives, dealing with their moments of doubt and hardship as they come along. I highly recommend this enchanting novella." ~~In The Library Reviews

"A good read from a talented author." ~~Carolyn Scheidies, author & reviewer

"A must read." ~~Romance Reviews Today

"An interesting tale that includes real problems and real solutions." ~~The Road to Romance

"A quick and satisfying read" ~~DancingWord.net

To learn more about Robin Bayne, you can visit her website at: http://www.nbayne.com/

Christmas Forever and other Christmas novellas can be downloaded from The Pelican Book Group, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you'll decide to check out this wonderful Christmas collection. To be entered in a drawing for a downloaded copy of one of these novellas please leave a comment below, on the post where I review Robin Patchen's novella, One Christmas Eve, or on the Christmas Extravaganza post on Inkwell Inspirations.

It's Finally Here!

Book giveaway 

The two people who received a copy of No Substitute are Robin Bayne and Anne Mateer.

Please join me in celebrating the release of 
No Substitute

my debut novel from White Rose Press and The Pelican Book Group. 

I am so thrilled that my lifelong dream is finally being realized. No Substitute is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Pelican Books, and other online retailers (I will add a complete list as soon as I can gather all of the links), and it can also be ordered from your local bookstore.

I'll be giving away a book to two readers who leave a comment here any time before midnight on December 31st, 2012. No purchase necessary. Please be sure and leave your encrypted email address to protect from web crawling spiders. Example: myname (at) yahoo (dot) com. Info will only be used to contact the two readers whose names will be drawn at random.

There are two other opportunities to win a copy of No Substitute this coming week. Sunday, December 2nd, I'll be guest blogging at Winning Secrets of 7 Scribes, and starting December 3rd, we'll be celebrating at Inkwell Inspirations all next week. Stop by and leave a comment at either place - or even both places, and I'll be drawing names for those two blogs on December 8th.

A Hundred Thousand Miles: Women Explorers in History

This post originally appeared June 19, 2012, on Inkwell Inspirations, where I am a regular contributor.

In 1872, in Stockton, California, a baby girl was born into a life of adventure. At the age of eight years old Harriet Chalmers explored the entire state of California on horseback with her father, including the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Quite an accomplishment for such a young girl, especially in the 1880s, and perhaps this was where her love of adventure began.

As her father was an adventurer from Scotland by way of Canada, and her mother the daughter of early California settlers, Harriet likely came by this love naturally. Her childhood was spent swimming, hiking, hunting, fishing and horseback riding. When she was fourteen she spent a year on horseback with her father, traveling through what was then known as the Mexican border-lands.

Young Harriet was quoted as saying she wanted to go to the ends of the earth, so it’s no small wonder her adventures did not end as she grew into a woman. In 1899 she married a man with her same same energy and zest for life. With her new husband, Franklin Pierce Adams, Harriet took an extended road trip through Mexico and California in their motor car¹.

Harriet Chalmers Adams courtesy of Library of Congress

The people of Mexico stole Harriet’s heart and after her honeymoon trip ended, she was already making plans to go back and immediately immersed herself in learning their customs. In 1904², Harriet and Franklin made a two-year journey through South America. Franklin was a mine inspector for the Inca Mining and Rubber Company but the couple funded most of the trip themselves. While in the mining camps they had hot baths and comfortable beds. In port cities they were able to enjoy fine dining, but they also spent a great deal of time poring over maps and planning out their next adventure.

During this two-year adventure, Harriet and Franklin climbed the Andes, walked the jungles, canoed through the Amazon, and spent time with the natives. They encountered rough weather, uncomfortable conditions, moments of fear, but their joy for the journey rose far above any discomfort brought about by vampire bats, harsh weather and hunger. Not only did they go back, but Harriet went by herself when her husband was unable to accompany her.

Harriet Chalmers Adams
courtesy of Library of Congress

The couple documented their explorations with photography, journals, and later with magazine and newspaper articles including The New York Times, National Geographic, and The Ladies Home Journal.

Later, Harriet would travel through Haiti, Siberia, Sumatra, the Philippines and every country in the world that was in some way connected with people of Latin ancestry. She included Asian countries in her travels to prove her theory that the Asian peoples were the first settlers in the Americas and that the natives were of Asian descent.

Harriet is quoted as having said to her editor at National Geographic, “What I would like most on earth to do is accomplish work which would reflect glory on the National Geographic Society, which has so befriended me.”

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday
wikipedia.com

And what would a woman who loves life, adventure and her fellow man do when war breaks out? Become a war correspondent, of course. Harriet was one of the first women war correspondents in the First World War, representing Harper’s Magazine on the French front. She was the first woman allowed in the trenches.

After the war, Harriet and Franklin continued their travels. On a trip through the Mediterranean, Harriet fell off a sea wall and broke her back. Told she’d never walk again, she of course did. Once recovered, she traveled in Africa.

Harriet and Franklin spent their retired years living in different European cities. In 1937 after having lived a life of amazing adventure, Harriet died peacefully in Nice, France.

Click here to read a fascinating article in the August 18, 1912 NewYork Times about Harriet Chalmers Adams’s journey through South America

1One source states Harriet and Franklin decided not to take a honeymoon trip until they saved enough for a trip somewhere “exciting”. One source refers to their trip in the motor car as their honeymoon trip, and another refers to it as occurring soon after they were married. (I chose to go with the two sources that were written based on accounts in Harriet’s journals.)

²One source states this trip began in 1903 and two others state it began in 1904. Harriet began her diary in January of 1904 and ended it in May of 1906.

Every female explorer I’ve read about to date has written down her adventures. 

• What do they have in common with writers? 
• Or, should we ask what do we writers have in common with the women who sought adventure? 
• Are we creating the adventures we wish we were following?

Resources used:

Ahead of Their Time: A Biographical Dictionary of Risk-Taking Women by Joyce D. Duncan; Greenwood Publishing Group, Copyright 2001

Presenting America’s World: Strategies of Innocence in National Geographic, 1888-1945 by Tamar Y. Rothenberg; Ashgate Publishing LTD, Copyright 2007

Harriet Chalmers Adams Got Around by Penny White

http://voices.yahoo.com/harriet-chalmers-adams-got-around-5278587.html

New York Times, August 18, 1912; Woman Explorer’s Hazardous Trip in South America

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50615FB395F13738DDDA10994D0405B828DF1D3

Top Ten Female Adventurers http://listverse.com/2011/10/05/top-10-female-adventurers/

Women Making an Impact in the Lives of Others

This post original appeared June 25, 2012, on Inkwell Inspirations where I am a regular contributor.

Strong women:

Leaders, dreamers, achievers, caregivers, helpers, encouragers, teachers, doers, prayers….

I love reading about strong women; women who have an impact throughout history, in current events, and in fiction. Listed above are just a few of the words we can use to describe strong women. One thing they each have above all else is heart, and one thing they all need to achieve their goals is faith.

One such woman made headlines just about a month ago for being a woman of strength, a dreamer and an achiever. Now she wants to be a teacher and encourager.

Mount Everest
courtesy of wikipedia

On May 19^th, 2012, Tamae Watanabe broke her own record as the oldest woman to ever climb Mount Everest. She originally set the record ten years prior – ten years where some other woman could have broken her record, and yet none did. Tamae Watanabe is seventy-three years old!

Tamae, who lives near the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, is a retired office worker who has spent years climbing mountains. Perhaps living so close to the largest mountain in Japan is part of what inspired her to climb. From Alaska, to Switzerland to Nepal, Tamae has climbed mountains all over the world.

Mount Fuji
courtesy of wikipedia

Seven years ago, at the age of sixty-six, three years after she initially set the record on Mount Everest, Tamae fell and broke her back. She was afraid she’d never climb again. Driven, she pushed forward and realized her dream.

For now, Tamae has no further plans to climb Everest. She does, however, intend to spread her enthusiasm and knowledge by teaching and encouraging young women of Japan who wish to also achieve their dream of climbing mountains.

While Tamae may be the oldest woman to climb Mount Everest, she is not the first. The first woman to successfully climb Mount Everest was Junko Tabei, in 1975, also of Japan. Junko was also only the thirty-ninth person to complete the climb.

Another woman making recent headlines is thirty-three-year-old Liu Yang of China. When Liu Yang was a young girl, she loved riding the bus so much that she wanted to be a bus conductor so she could ride every day. Later she decided to become a lawyer. But when members of her country’s army visited her school, Liu decided she wanted to become a pilot.

On June 16, 2012, Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman to be launched into space headed toward the Tiangong space lab where she and two male colleagues were to spend a week doing space experiments. She is only one of two women, and one of six people to have been considered for this space mission and China is only the third country to send a woman into space.

Learning about these two women, and other women like them – women who dare to follow their dreams, women who want to experience all life has to offer and to perhaps be an influence on other women, women who put their lives in danger for their beliefs – is inspirational to say the least.

But there are other women out there doing things right now, today, who aren’t in the headlines; women who are changing lives because of their faith and their calling – women who are giving of themselves to help others.

My friend, Amy Hauser, whom I wrote about here in early 2011, is leaving today for Haiti. She’s made several trips there since I first told you about her. Not because she wants attention or headlines, but because she wants to help those in need. Amy is a physical therapist and the first time she went to Haiti she lost her heart to the people who were hurt, devastated, hungry and grieving. Because her life’s mission is to help bring comfort and aid to those in need, and because she’s been blessed with the gift of healing hands, Amy has become involved with missions such as Hands of Light in Action and To Love A Child, Inc.

Then we have Christi Sleiman, daughter of our own Inky Dina Sleiman, who also has a heart for helping others. Christi says it best on her blog sitewhen she says, “I love helping people and making them smile.” Christi is getting ready for a mission-trip to the Philippines. Is Christi doing this for glory and accolades? No. She was called to this through faith, and she’s going with the heart and attitude to help minister to the poverty-stricken children of the Philippines.

God bless Amy, Christi, Dina who instilled her love for all of humanity into her daughter, and other women out there who have the courage to put themselves out there and make a difference in peoples’ lives.

You have to be physically strong to climb mountains and go into space. But you don't have to be physically strong to be a woman of strength and courage. Those who make the greatest impact are those who do so with spiritual strength, relying on their faith to help them make a lasting difference in people’s lives.

To read my 2011 post about Amy and her first Haiti trip, read here.

To read about Christi and her mission trip to the Philippines, read here.

Suzie Johnson’s debut novel, No Substitute, a contemporary inspirational novel, will be released by White Rose Press later this year. She is a member of ACFW, RWA, and is the cancer registrar at her local hospital. The mother of a wonderful young man, who makes her proud every day, Suzie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and naughty little cat.  You can visit her at the following places: http://www.susandianejohnson.com

http://suzieswritingplace.blogspot.com 

www.facebook.com/suziejohnsonauthor

www.pinterest.com/suziejohnson1