Wreader Fun

Murder by Mushroom by Virginia Smith - Love Inspired Suspense #63 - Aug 07 When it comes to what to bring for potlucks, I can relate to the heroine of this book. Jackie Hoffner usually brings chips and store-bought stuff to potlucks. When this is pointed out to her, she decides to cook up a delectable casserole for the next function. She's feeling great after all the rave reviews. But a few days later when a senior from the church dies, it comes out that Jackie's casserole containing poisoned mushrooms did the old lady in. Trooper Dennis Walsh doesn't think Jackie is a murderer but his personal agenda is to learn everything he can from his esteemed partner. And if his partner thinks Jackie did it, then Dennis is willing to treat her as a murder suspect until proven otherwise. This was a well-written book with an interesting plot. However, I found it somewhat boring. Why? Because I read Love Inspired for the romance and this book was only 20% romance - maybe. And even though...

MIA: Missing in Atlanta by Debby Giusti Love Inspired Suspense #94 – Mar 08 Debby Giusti doesn’t shirk in detail when she’s describing the seamier side of life. She takes you right down into the heart of the story, the city and the hearts of the two main characters. She hooked me right in and kept the pace up while effectively balancing the action with the romance. Returning war hero, Jude Walker is finally back on US soil and he only has one thing on his mind – to reconnect with a girl he met and fell in love with six months ago on his last US leave. The only problem was she’d sent him a Dear John email and won’t answer his calls. Sarah Montgomery knows the dark side of the city. As the temporary director of a shelter, she’s seen people affected by drugs, prostitution and other crimes. She’s tried to guard her heart from it all but when Jude Walker comes knocking on the shelter’s door, her heart stirs. If it weren’t for the fact that he was looking for his lost girlfriend, she might t...

Book Review: The Perfect Blend by Allie Pleiter Love Inspired #405 (Steeple Hill Café) Jul 07 I cried at the end of this book. Of course you know that as a Harlequin, there's a happy ending so I'm not telling you anything you didn't know...but this book is a faith story and those aren't always the easiest to read. You know how some people have a higher calling to be a pastor, priest, missionary, etc? Well, Maggie Black feels that God has called her to open a coffeehouse in Seattle - as if the city needs another one. But ‘Higher Grounds' will be a Christian coffeehouse...a place where people can fellowship and relax over their favourite java. Just one little problem holding her back...financing. Loans Officer, William Gray III is the stuffy Brit who denied Maggie's loan application. He's a tea drinker - can't stand coffee - and thinks Maggie needs to take a small-business course before his bank will reconsider loaning her any money. Especially to a busine...

Yeah, yeah...I know I said I wouldn’t do any writing or anything while the kids were around but they’re hiding in their room supposedly cleaning it. So I figured I’d sneak in some of what Harlequin Romance author Donna Alward calls ‘housekeeping’ of my own. Things like replying to emails, updating blog posts – you know – office work. This is how I usually spend Monday morning anyway but with the kids home due to the Victoria Day holiday, I was going to do my ‘housekeeping’ tomorrow. So, they disappeared in their room and here I am. When I fired up my laptop, I was pleasantly surprised to receive email from a couple authors. Now you might not think that’s anything special, but for an unpubbed writer like me to receive a personal email from a published author is a big thing. Especially when it’s someone who really liked something I wrote. What am I talking about? Leaving comments on blog posts! I am starting to have a list of writer/agent/editor blogs that I check every morning. These bl...

All Our Tomorrows by Irene Hannon Love Inspired #357 - Jul 06 I love reading books where one person loves another from afar but they put their feelings aside for the good of the other. This was the case in All Our Tomorrows. Two years ago, reporter Caroline James and her fiancé were on assignment in the Middle East when a suicide bomber attacked and Caroline had to go on with her life...alone. Devastated, she returned home to St. Louis, to recuperate in her mother's arms. Caroline thinks she's moved on until one day, her mother happens to mention the name of David Sloan, brother of her slain fiancé. Caroline goes into shock. The last 2 years are swept away in a tidal wave of grief. And guilt. David's had feelings for Caroline since the first time he saw her walk into his mother's house on his brother's arm but he hid his emotions under a cloak of guilt even after his brother died. Was it God's plan that brought Caroline into his life once again? I loved watching...

My youngest son had the misfortune to catch the chicken pox so he's been at home all week. We weren't sure what it was at first because we only saw a couple red spots on his face. He has a milk allergy and we've been testing his limits this week so an allergic reaction was one possibility. The other possibility was a reaction to the tick bite he received the day previous. He'd been sitting in class and yanked the sucker off his neck. He said he'd got it all, but the spot seemed tender when I touched it. By Sat night, he had a bunch of small blisters on his scalp and under his arms. We were concerned enough to call the HealthLine nbr we keep on the fridge. An RN told us to keep an eye on it and call back if anything changed. More blistered spots were showing up on Sunday (Mother's Day) so I stayed home with him because it was our teen daughter's turn to lead worship music at church and her dad accompanies her on his guitar. So I stayed home with the little gu...

Her Christmas Protector by Terri Reed Love Inspired Suspense #79 – Dec 07 I didn't want to put this book down because I was caught up in the story of a beautiful woman fleeing her abusive, possessive ex-husband. Terri Reed didn't let the suspense lag even when I thought Faith had found sanctuary. Elegant heiress Faith Delange, is running for her life. In a diner in Oregon, she meets a rancher, Luke Campbell, who needs a companion/caregiver for his mother who is recovering from a heart attack. Faith thinks she'll be ‘out of sight' on a ranch, so she takes the job and quickly finds a friend in Luke's mother. Luke, a captain on leave from the military, wants to get his mother back on the road to recovery before he heads back to his troops. But his attraction to Faith has him hesitating, especially when he realizes she's in danger and his protective instincts kick in. Add to this a woman scorned and you have a first class tale of intrigue. Heat level: Affectionate ...

Are there any readers out there? People who love reading books? I've been a reader since I learned that letters strung together made words, but I never wrote any book reviews until January. Today, I just posted my 54th book review over on the eharlequin website. We have a challenge going on over there: we read books and Harlequin Enterprises will donate books for literacy. So, I've decided to post my book reviews here as well because I've read some fantastic books that you might want to read, too. But we also need more readers to join the challenge and post reviews over on the eharlequin site. You don't have to write a review as long as mine because I tend to 'talk' a lot, but if you're a reader, why not join us and help literacy? Here's the official press release: National Center for Family Literacy to receive up to 100,000 books with estimated valued of $700,000 Toronto, (February 11, 2008)—eHarlequin.com (www.eHarlequin.com), the online site for Har...

I've been remiss in posting here. Why? I spent half of April doing my taxes because I’d procrastinated. Then I had to catch up. Once the tax returns were sent out, I was busy chauffeuring my daughter to the Regina Music Festival. We live one hour from the city and she was entered in 5 classes. That was 4 separate trips because they scheduled one class per day except for the last one. While chauffeuring, I found that reading author, editor and agent blogs and adding comments are great time fillers. It’s not that I had a lot of extra time, it’s just that I had smaller portions of it between activities. I belong to an ACFW critique group with 3 other ladies and we’re busy emailing chapters back and forth. But I won’t read a chapter if I haven’t got at least an hour to devote to critiquing it. So I’m about 5 chapters behind with those. Some writers have a goal of 1 page a day. Or 150 words per day. I can’t write like that. I need a couple hours at a time – big chunks of time so that I ...