Introducing: GERM

Hi Folks,

I hope you've been enjoying the eclectic selection of Christian Fiction we've been bringing your way. That being said, here's the latest book on tour by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance:

Title: GERM
Author: Robert Liparulo
Publisher: WestBow Press
Release Date: October 31, 2006
ISBN-10: 0785261788
ISBN-13: 978-0785261780
Hardcover: 496 pages
List Price: $22.99

Description:

If you breathe, it will find you...

The list of 10,000 names was created for maximum devastation. On it are business leaders, housewives, politicians, celebrities, janitors, children. None know what is about to happen...but all will be part of the most frightening brand of warfare the world has ever known.

The GERM...a more advanced form of the Ebola virus...has been genetically engineered to infect only those people whose DNA matches the codes embedded within it. If your DNA is not a match, you simply catch a cold. But if your DNA is a match, within days your internal organs liquefy and you die a most painful death. There is no cure.

The release of the virus would usher in a new era of power...one in which countries are left without any form of defense, where one person or millions could be killed with 100% accuracy yet result in no collateral damage to property or those not targeted.

That time isn't coming...It is now!

GERM is coming. Pray the assassins get you first.

About the Author:

Robert's novel paints a scenario so frighteningly real that six Hollywood producers were bidding on movie rights before the novel was completed. His acclaimed debut novel, Comes A Horseman, is being made into a major motion picture by producer Mace Neufeld and his short story "Kill Zone" was featured in the anthology Thriller, edited by James Patterson.

Robert is an award-winning author of over a thousand published articles and short stories. He is currently a contributing editor for New Man magazine. His work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Travel & Leisure, Modern Bride, Consumers Digest, Chief Executive, and The Arizona Daily Star, among other publications. In addition, he previously worked as a celebrity journalist, interviewing Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Charlton Heston, and others for magazines such as Rocky Road, Preview, and L.A. Weekly. He has sold or optioned three screenplays.

Robert is an avid scuba diver, swimmer, reader, traveler, and a law enforcement and military enthusiast. He lives in Colorado with his wife and four children.

He is currently working on his third novel.

Introducing: If the Shoe Fits

This month we are reviewing not one, but two books by Marilynn Griffith! This prolific writer has Two books coming out this month! This week, Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is touring If the Shoe Fits by Marilynn Griffith (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and mother of seven):

Title: If the Shoe Fits
Author: Marilyn Griffith
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Release Date: JANUARY 1, 2007
ISBN-10: 0373785763
ISBN-13: 978-0373785766
Paperback: 288 pages
List Price: $13.95

Description:

Have Glass Slipper, Need Prince...

If the Shoe Fits is the second book in the Sassy Sistahood Novels. The first in the series was Made of Honor (Steeple Hill, Jan. 2006).

In all my thirty-five years, I, shoe designer Rochelle Gardner, have never had so many men interested in me! My teen son's dad is back in my life after suffering from amnesia (yes, really). The church deacon has had his eye on me for years (and never said a word). And the young waiter (from the restaurant I've visited for singles' events) is trying to steal my heart. I've been struggling with my faith, trying to figure out which man God has chosen for me and wondering if I have the courage to step forward, on my not-so-pretty feet, to accept love. It's almost too much for the Sassy Sistahood to handle, but my girlfriends always have my back!

About the Author:

Marilyn Griffith is a freelance writer and conference speaker whose online columns and blogs reach thousands of women each year. She is the author of Pink and Jade, and has contributed to Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul, Proverbs for the People, and For Better or for Worse. Marilynn lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband and seven children. To book speaking engagements or just say hello, email: marilynngriffith@gmail.com.

Introducing: Arms of Deliverance

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is touring Arms of Deliverance by Tricia Goyer (fellow CFBA member, blogger, writer, and homeschooling mom!)



Title: Arms of Deliverance
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Release Date: 2006
ISBN-10: 0785261788
ISBN-13: 978-0785261780
Hardcover: 496 pages
List Price: $22.99

Description:

The fourth and final novel in this exhilarating series capturing the tales of men and women swept into World War II.

EUROPE, 1944

Katrine, a Czech Jew, is so successful in her attempt to pass as an Aryan that she finds herself dating a Nazi officer. Having convinced him of her genetic purity, the officer sends her to stay at a Lebensborn home--a Nazi breeding program in which children are raised and indoctrinated by the state.

Meanwhile, two friends, Mary and Lee, one a socialite, the other a working class girl, land similar reporting jobs at the New York Tribune on the eve of the war’s outbreak. Now rivals with assignments on the frontlines of war-torn Europe, Lee joins troops sailing for Normandy, while Mary's destiny lies in the cramped quarters of a B-17 bearing down on Berlin. Before the presses roll, their lives will be indelibly marked by a caring American navigator, brave French resistors, and a maniacal Nazi officer. Arms of Deliverance is a story of unexpected redemption.

Read Chapter One on Tricia's Blog.

About the Author:

Tricia Goyer is one the members of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance (Tricia's Blog, "It's Real Life" Tricia's Parenting Blog, "Generation NeXt") and we are pleased to be able to review her exciting historical fiction book, Arms of Deliverance. She was named Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference "Writer of the Year" in 2003. Tricia was also a finalist for the Gold Medallion Book Award and won ACFW's "Book of the Year" for Long Historial Romance in 2005 AND in 2006. She has written hundreds of articles, Bible Study notes, and both fiction (three other WWII novels, From Dust to Ashes, Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights. Night Song, the second title in Tricia’s World War II series, won ACFW's Book of the Year for Best Long Historical Romance.) She's and non-fiction books. married to John, and they have three great kids whom she homeschools: Cory (17), Leslie (14), and Nathan (12). They make their home in Northwest Montana with their dog, Lilly.

Weekly Devotion: Be Still and Know That I AM God

“…Be still and know that I AM God” (Psalm 46:10).

Those were the words God whispered to my heart this morning. I know them well; we all do. It’s one of the most quoted and memorized phrases in the Bible. Sadly, it is also probably one of the least understood or practiced. A word study of that brief phrase of scripture might help us understand why.

First, the command to “be still” is one of the toughest things we ever attempt to do. I used to teach pre-school, and also taught Sunday school and VBS to little ones for years. I remember my frustration one time when I just couldn’t get them to sit still and listen. An older and much wiser teacher said to me, “It’s like trying to organize a herd of earthworms, isn’t it?” I laughed, but I also realized that must be exactly the view God has of us, as we scurry and squirm in all directions, frantically trying to do and accomplish and achieve, but failing miserable at our self-imposed tasks.

Introducing: A Pagan's Nightmare

Hi Folks,

I hope you've been enjoying the weekly devotions on Thursdays. There's another great one lined up for tomorrow. In addition, I'm about to introduce another book on tour by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance:

Title: A Pagan's Nightmare
Author: Ray Blackston
Publisher: FaithWords
Release Date: October 25, 2006
ISBN-10: 0446579599
ISBN-13: 978-0446579599
Hardcover: 256 pages
List Price: $22.99

Description:

A Pagan's Nightmare

Christians can buy gas for twelve cents a gallon, while everyone else (the pagans, that is) have to pay $6.66. The radio stations alter all song lyrics to conform to "Christian" standard--the Beatles belt out "I Wanna Hold Your Tithe"; ABBA's "Dancing Queen" becomes "Dancing's Wrong". Even French fries, newly labeled "McScriptures", are tools for evangelism.

Larry's novel is a big hit with his agent, Ned. But Ned's wife ... a committed Southern Baptist ... is less than amused. And Larry has yet to show the manuscript to his new girlfriend, even though he's made her the unsuspecting heroine. It will take deft handling from both men to keep their lives and their relationships intact when the world witnesses A Pagan's Nightmare.

About the Author:

Ray Blackston of Greenville, South Carolina, worked as a buyer and a broker for eleven years before cashing in his modest 401k and leaving his corporate cubicle in 2000 to write full time. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, with a degree in Finance and Economics.

He serves on the drama team at his church, participates in a weekly men's accountability group, serves on the missions committee of his church, has traveled to rural Ecuador on a summer missions program, and coaches his seven-year-old nephew, Action Jackson, in T-Ball.

When he is not crafting a new novel, he is exploring South Carolina beaches with friends and family. He competes in golf tournaments, leads a writers' critique group, and relives his youth through a large collection of eighties music!

His first novel Flabbergasted was one of three finalists for the Christy Award for best first novel, and was chosen as Inspirational Novel of the Year by the Dallas Morning News.

Weekly Devotion: To Serve...With Love

“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).

Have you ever spent time diligently seeking God for direction, only to receive an answer you really didn’t want to hear? Sure you have. We all have. And I will confess that, on occasion, I have tried to ignore that answer—or, at the very least, tell myself that God didn’t quite mean it the way it sounded.

And yet, if I’ve learned anything in the 32 years that I’ve known Jesus as my Savior, it’s that God says what He means, and He means what He says. So it was more than a little tough to swallow the message He gave me some months ago when I asked Him for clear direction for my work/ministry for 2006. He said—loud and clear, I’m afraid—“Somebody has to set up the chairs.”

Huh? That sounded suspiciously like a call to work behind the scenes! But I’m a writer and speaker—a pastor, for Pete’s sake! How am I supposed to fulfill my calling if no one knows who I am or hears what I have to say?

Introducing: Tangerine

Welcome to my first blog post as a part of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. I'll be posting a new title every week so without further ado, I present the particulars about this week's title:


Title: TANGERINE
Author: Marilyn Griffith
Publisher: REVELL
Release Date: JANUARY 1, 2007
ISBN-10: 0800730429
ISBN-13: 978-0800730420
Paperback: 304 pages
List Price: $12.99

Description:

Fans of Pink and Jade will eat up Tangerine, the third book in the cutting-edge Shades of Style series. Jean Guerra, a designer at Garments of Praise design firm, doesn't like surprises. These days though, the unexpected meets her everywhere. Since Jean's return to the church a year ago, her God-encounters occur with increasing frequency, along with thoughts of her husband-the one she vowed to divorce and gave up on long ago. The one nobody at work knows about, not even her best friend, Lily, or her boss, Chenille. But when the designer assigned to work with Jean on a line of men's suits shows up, her heart flips. It's her husband, Nigel Salvador. Jean is finally rendered speechless. Can her bruised heart become whole enough to love again? Or will she remain in the trenches of loneliness forever?

About the Author:

Marilynn Griffith is a freelance writer and conference speaker whose online columns and blogs reach thousands of women each year. She is the author of Pink and Jade, and has contributed to Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul, Proverbs for the People, and For Better or for Worse. Marilynn lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband and seven children. To book speaking engagements or just say hello, email: marilynngriffith@gmail.com.