Letting Go of Your 'Try Hard' Life

Do you feel rushed, tired, and under pressure? Are you so used to feeling like that that you barely notice? Do you feel that no matter what you do, it’s not enough?

Last week I took a break. I went away to Norfolk and stayed in a cottage right out in the country. It was quiet. The skies were big and uninterrupted with buildings, masts and wires. I enjoyed being out in the wind and the sun. I had time to read. I sat and watched the world go by. I took lots of photographs. My soul was soothed. I could just ‘be’.

Many Christian women live their lives behind a mask of ‘being ok’. Already battling society's false expectations of how a woman should look, dress and live, for many, faith simply produces another set of false expectations.

Emily Freeman was a classic Christian ‘good girl’. Cheerful, self-reliant and strong on the outside, she was irrationally angry on the inside when other people believed her facade and didn’t realise the struggles she was going through beneath her bubbly veneer. In Grace for the Good Girl Emily writes: “as day fades to dusk, you begin to feel the familiar fog of anxiety, the weight and pressure of holding it all together, of longing left unmet, of unexplained emptiness even in the midst of great blessing and perceived success.

Sometimes in quiet stillness, I felt an aching that wouldn’t go away, a longing to taste and see, to live authentically free.”

Is there something you are hiding from? If you answer this question honestly, it will reveal what it is you fear. Maybe you are hiding from remembering your past, from facing regret, from what may happen in your future. Maybe you don’t want to be known because you fear people might find out you are stupid or wrong or that you don’t know so much after all. Maybe you are hiding from your dreams because to face them would mean admitting they are there. And to admit that they are there would mean you aren’t living them after all.

Is there something you are hiding behind? When I answer this question, I discover those places where I put my trust. A hiding place is a place where we feel safe, emphasis on feel. I think it is a safe place to hide from the things I fear, so that is why I stay there. Maybe you hide behind your sweet personality, because to be anything other than nice would be offensive or bad or wrong. Maybe you hide behind your list of rules because you think following them is the way to be accepted by God. I hid behind all of these masks and other ones, too.

It is important to know the answers to these questions because only in identifying the lies that trigger certain reactions will we be able to receive the truth we need to replace them. For a long time, I believed I was searching for God and thought I had found him, this God who is order and control, distant and passive. I knew he so loved the world, but I didn’t know his love for me. As I gazed off into the foggy distance, hoping for a glimpse of the outline of his presence, I missed the One who stood beside me, casting his shadow over me as he showered me with his love. While I thought I was searching for him, he graciously, miraculously, and intentionally found me.

There is someone you want to be, and she isn’t a hiding, mask-wearing, fear-filled woman."

Grace for the Good Girl Sample chapter
Price: £8.99
ISBN: 9780800719845
Published by: Revell (Distributed by Lion Hudson)
Available through any good bookshop or online

Becoming a Servant in a Serve-Me World

Today I’m writing about another ‘backlist’ title. (That’s publisher speak for a book which is no longer ‘new’.) It’s great to talk about the new books coming along, but there are lots of real gems which are easy to forget with all the hoopla surrounding the new ones.

Today’s choice is The Outward Focused Life, and it’s about expressing a ‘doing faith’, not simply a ‘believing, static faith’. Let me share a bit of it with you.

“For years I’ve held on to a letter that reminds me of what’s really important. A woman wrote to me:

We live on a busy street. There are lots of kids who ride by our house on their bikes. I am probably overly protective of my children because I don’t want them to get in with the wrong crowd. Perhaps not a very Christlike move on my part, but I feel I need to protect them. There is a little girl who rides around here named Annie. I have had to talk to her before, because she turns our water spigot on until she has made a mudhole of our yard. She is always dirty, and I, ashamedly so, hate to see her coming. [My six-year-old daughter] Becky was outside playing today, and her older sister came inside to tell on her. Becky was playing with Annie. I told my older daughter to ask Becky to come inside for a minute. I asked Becky why she was playing with Annie.

She said, “Mom, I am playing with her because she has no friends. She rides by here every day by herself and never has anybody with her. I thought that I would not like to have to ride my bike alone all day, so I asked her if I could be her friend. She is sitting out on our porch right now waiting for me. Can I go back out and play with her?”

I was dumbfounded. I get so wrapped up in what I am doing and in trying to raise good kids that I forget what God wants us to be doing. I took a Popsicle out to Annie, and she thanked me and smiled the prettiest little smile through that dirty face. Then I thought of that verse about “whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”

This letter makes me think about what’s really important in my life. And maybe I should stop asking, “What’s important?” and start asking “Who’s important?” “Who” is always more important than “What.” The question all of us have to ask is, “How important to us are people who don’t yet know Jesus?” There are adults who ride their bikes past the doors of our churches each day and don’t know that Jesus – the friend of sinners – is their friend. They have dirty lives and play in dirty mudholes, and we, the church, have all the Popsicles.

We just need to step off the porch and ask them if they’ll be our friend.

Harvest Thankfulness

“Having received the gift of daily bread from your gentle hand, O Lord and heavenly Father, and been satisfied with it – this gift which you give to us in such abundance, just as you do all your other gifts – we ask you through Christ, your Son, to make the power of the Holy Spirit complete in us. We desire to love you with our whole hearts and bless you with our mouths so that we who receive your gifts do not become proud and arrogant, nor forget your love and sacred commandments. We desire to love you with our whole hearts, not just with our mouths and lips but with our works and deeds and all that is in us. We thank you; we honour, praise, and bless you as our Creator and Sustainer, not just in this life but also in the life everlasting. Amen.”

Last weekend I visited my Dad’s church, where they were celebrating Harvest Festival. Successful harvests have been celebrated for hundreds of years by decorating churches with gifts of food which are then given to people in need. I once attended a wedding which took place during the Harvest Festival weekend. The church windowsills were decorated with onions and potatoes and there were stooks of wheat at the doorway. Unusual decorations for a wedding, but striking and memorable!

On Sunday the church held a lunch after the Festival service, to raise money for the charities Compassion and Operation Agri. Perhaps the way we bring our food offerings to church for Harvest Festival has changed over the years: we see more packets and cans and less bread and home made goods, but it is right that we are still reminded to provide for those in need, and that this is still a fundamental part of our harvest thanksgivings. The Amish have been praying for many years: “We desire to love you … with our works and deeds and all that is in us.” A reminder of the importance of living an active faith.

Journeying Through Loss

“People around us don’t understand grief unless they’ve been through it themselves.”
H. Norman Wright

Kirk Neely’s son Erik died suddenly. On a Tuesday evening he spoke to his son on the phone. Early the following morning his daughter in law called to tell them Erik was on the way to hospital, and asking Kirk and his wife to get there as quickly as they could. Halfway there, they received the call every parent dreads. In his book When Grief Comes Kirk wrote “I had been through valleys of grief before, but this one was deeper, longer, and darker than any other.”

Grief is often referred to as a season, and it seems as though this season has come around again, sliding in alongside autumn and being somehow emphasised by the golden colours of the dying leaves, and the promise of austere weather and short cold days ahead.

Perhaps, since I walked my own valley a few years ago, I am more aware of the grief of others than I would have been before. I think H Norman Wright’s comment is true. When we’ve grieved deeply, we understand better the pain that others are going through.

This time, the grieving is not mine personally, but the loss and pain affecting close friends. One recently lost her father, less than a year after losing her closest friend. Another has lost, only last week, her dearest friend of many years. Maybe it’s my friends’ loss which makes me feel so sad for Emma Egging, the brave and proud wife of Flt Lt Jon Egging who died just last month when his Red Arrow Hawk aircraft crashed. Seeing her speak of her husband on TV on Sunday at the Great North Run, and watching the Red Arrows fly their own tribute overhead brought a lump to my throat.

Grief is a strange thing. It is not linear, and doesn’t follow a prescribed pattern. The ‘big things’ can be faced and got through. The small things trip you up, sometimes months or years later. We know these things, but we don’t really understand them until we’ve been there. And when we find our friends there, the challenge is how to support and care for them while they walk through their own dark valleys.

I chat to my bereaved friends, but I also like to send them things. Perhaps something small which I know they will like, and often a book. Kirk Neely’s book is not the latest book out, but it is a very personal walk through the grieving process. It’s written in a way which makes reading it easy. Like grief itself this is not a linear book. You don’t have to start at the beginning and work to the end. You can dip in and out. Kirk says he tried to write it “remembering how difficult it is to read when your heart is broken and your eyes are blurred with tears”. It is a book of comfort, of encouragement, and of hope. In short, highly recommended.

Bill Coleman and a Quilt

Pray for a good harvest but continue to hoe.
Amish Proverb

Bill Coleman ran his own photography studio for thirty years, before a friend took him to visit a remote Amish village.

That journey changed his life.

At the age of fifty, he closed his studio and began photographing the Amish. Now eighty-five, he continues to photograph the same village as often as he can. His work is acclaimed and exhibited around the world. Yet his interaction with the Amish people and their values and ways has altered his own values in ways he believes are for the better.

You can read his story in Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life. And yes, an Amish quilt does get a mention!

In this engaging book you can learn from the Amish about prioritising what is truly important, simplifying decision making, safeguarding time together, letting go and slowing down.

You can read a sample chapter here.

By the way, if you enjoy Christmas novellas, as I do, you are likely to spot a link between this story and the forthcoming A Lancaster County Christmas, due for UK release in October.

A review of this is coming soon, but if you would like a sneaky peek, click on the link for a sample chapter. The sample chapter doesn't give away the connection, so you'll have to read the whole book to find out what it is!


If you'd like to see some of Bill Coleman's photos (they're well worth a look), you can find them here.

Amish Values for Your Family
Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9780800719968
Published by: Revell (Distributed by Lion Hudson)
Available through any good bookshop or online

Coming Soon from Baker Books!

What if preaching isn't just one part of worship? What if preaching is worship?

Michael Quicke explores the role of preaching in the church in his new book Preaching as Worship.

At the start of the book Michael says "in recent years, I have been propelled into a fresh understanding of how worship includes everything. Whenever definitions of worship limit and shrink it down to small scale stuff, great damage is done to God's cosmic purposes. We need to see not only how preaching belongs within worship but also how the whole of church life and mission is part of worship too. My convictions about worship have grown in dimension so much that they have radically deepened my life and ministry and reordered its goal. That's why I hope you will take the time to read this book."

Even though this book was written in the US much of it came out of Michael’s UK background and experience. Michael says “I really do see it as the outcome of my own journey with preaching and worship which all began in England, and some of my illustrations come straight out of the UK.”

Sample chapter.

Preaching as Worship is out in the UK in October.


Bringing the Bible to Life.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook is colourful, informative and easy to read and use. It is a big book - over 1100 pages long, and is full of photos, illustrations, maps and charts as well as articles by leading scholars. Split into three sections, it covers:

God's Story (and Your Story), which includes sections on how the Bible is organized, and the history between the Old and New Testaments.

The Spirit and the Scribes (How the Bible Came to Be), which includes sections on the production and shaping of the Old Testament Canon, the Dead Sea scrolls, and Bible translations.

Digging Deeper into the Bible, which considers elements usch as how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible; Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and responding to contemporary challenges to the Gospels.

There is a vast amount more than just those sections outlined above!







The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook is published in the UK in October.

Then the Lord shut him in. Genesis 7:16

Consider these three lessons. First, when the Lord shut Noah and his family up in the ark, they were totally secure and thereby become an illustration for us of the believer’s perfect security in Jesus Christ. The rains would come. The floods would rage. But nothing would touch these who had been sealed in the ark by Jehovah. The Lord does not place the safety of his people in others’ hands. He himself throws the lock. It is said of him, “What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Rev. 3:7). The shutting in of Noah was the equivalent of our being sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph.4:30). Like him, we are not only saved; we are secure as well.

Second, there is a lesson of God’s great grace. The last thing we are told in this story before the waters actually begin to come is that “the Lord shut him in.” Presumably this was done at the last possible moment. Noah had been preaching God’s righteousness, man’s sin, and the coming of the great flood for 120 years, but no one had believed him. They were refusing to believe now. But still the door to the ark remained open, and any who wanted to could have gone inside. What great grace! What magnificent forbearance on the part of God! Since Noah had believed and had gone in, no one who stood without could say that the possibility of belief was closed to him. “Whoever willed” could come.

So also today. All who will may come. Many do not, but none of these can say that the possibility of repentance from sin and turning to Christ are beyond them.

Finally, there is a lesson in that there is an end to grace. Grace is great but it is not unending. If it is spurned, the day of reckoning eventually comes. For one final week the door stood open. But the week ended, the door was closed, and the flood came. The same God who opens doors is himself the door (John 10:7, 9). He also closes doors and refuses to open them — when the time for grace is gone.

For you it is not yet past, whoever you may be. This is still the day of grace,and although it will end, it has not ended yet. Won’t you come while there is still time? God said to Noah, “Come . . . into the ark” (Gen. 7:1 KJV). At the end of the Bible we read, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Rev. 22:17).

Taken from: Come to the Waters, publishing in the UK in October.

Sample chapter.

August Bank Holiday = Greenbelt!

Over 20,000 people attend the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham every year. A huge programme offers music, talks, debate, performing arts, and worship. Are you you going this year? If so, are you going feeling exhausted with all the negative news you hear? Negatives which are often even worse within the church than outside it. If this is you, then Upside may be just the book for you. Full of surprising good news about the state of our world, it's a refreshing antidote to some of the negatives we so often hear.

If the whole 'religion thing' is just making you tired, and part of the reason you're going to Greenbelt is to refresh your spiritual energies, then God Without Religion might be the one to read.

You will be able to find both books in the festival bookshop, together with The Great Emergence by Phillis Tickle who will be speaking during the festival.

A Preview of A Place at the Table

Be honest. How much of your day do you spend thinking about what you are going to eat?

A Place at the Table challenges the reader to spend 40 days eating like the poor of the world and by so doing connect and empathise with the millions of people in the world whose food choices are limited at best. Furthermore it encourages tangible, practical help.

One way of following the 'A Place at the Table' challenge is to eat a similar diet to that eaten by a sponsored child in the developing world. The author himself chose to eat a diet like that of the children his family sponsors in Uganda and Ecuador. He learned that these children ate rice, beans, chicken, tortillas and vegetables and felt that by embracing their meals he was also embracing the children he sponsors. In his own words he felt that by doing this he was 'making a place for them at his table and in his heart', rather than forgetting about them for extended periods.

If that is too scary though, there are lots of other ways you can get involved. You could simply halve your food budget, eating more basic and less varied foods and cutting out treats and 'extras'. Or you could try living below the official poverty line as some have to do in our own country, never mind those in far poorer parts of the world.

During the 40 days the Sundays are treated as 'feast days'. They give the chance to eat your more usual foods, and perhaps appreciate them more than usual.

The practical support mentioned earlier comes from donating the money saved from your usual grocery bill to a charity working in tangible ways with poor people, such as Compassion, one of the charities being supported by the book. Part of Compassion's work is in the sponsoring of children around the world, enabling those children to have a basic but healthy diet as well as supporting their other needs.

We're planning lots of social media activity when this book is released so watch out for information, tips, other peoples' ideas and progress and lots more via this blog and our Twitter and Facebook posts.

Lots of books claim to change your life. This one has the potential - perhaps more importantly - to change the lives of others, as well as your own.


A DVD is also being released to help small groups and churches which are inspired by the challenge to take part as a group. Containing six sessions it has been shot on location in the Holy Land, Haiti, and Ecuador.

Interested in taking up the challenge early?
We're looking for individuals, groups and churches who would be willing to work through the process ahead of the book's publication, and share their experiences with us. If this is something you would like to know more about, please contact us on bpg@lionhudson.com


Price: £8.99 (DVD: £12.99 incl. VAT)
ISBN: 9780801014512 (DVD: 9780801014529)
Publication date: January 2012
Published by: Baker Books (part of Baker Publishing Group)
Available through any good bookshop, online, or via Marston Book Services
Marketing & PR enquiries: Anne Rogers at anner@lionhudson.com

Lion of Babylon by Davis Bunn

Set in modern day Baghdad, Lion of Babylon is a complex and compelling thriller.

When a CIA operative goes missing in Iraq, together with a humanitarian aid worker and a high ranking Iraqi civilian, Marc Royce is sent on an undercover mission to find them.

Marc is not the obvious first choice. Sacked from the intelligence service by the same man who now needs him to head to Iraq, he is not inclined to do any favours. But then the bombshell is dropped - the missing operative is Marc's close friend Alex.

I get to see a LOT of books, but when I come across a book which is not only in a genre I regularly read for pleasure, but which has some stunning early reviews I can't help but sit up and take notice.

Here are a couple of those comments:

"Bunn's work emphasizes the genuine relevance of real faith in the contemporary world. Read carefully and reflect on its message of hope and reconciliation."
Revd Nicholas Wood, Director of the Centre for Christianity and Culture, Regent's Park College, Oxford

"A phenomenal read - far more than simply a great thriller."
Keith Hazard, Deputy Director (ret), CIA

"I couldn't put this one down. A fast-paced, gripping thriller, Lion of Babylon is rich not only with adventure but also with visual details and dramatic, snapshot insights into the Middle East, its traditions, history, and people."
Phyllis Tickle, Senior Consulting Editor, Publishers Weekly

Now you may be sceptical of reviews, no matter who they're written by. If you like thrillers though, I can personally thoroughly recommend that you give this one a try so that you can make up your own mind!

Beauty in Brokenness

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” (Author unknown)

Like most people I know, I don’t like to keep broken stuff around. But I had never given it too much thought until our accident. Some people were goofed out by our brokenness. I think they didn’t know what to say. Or seeing wheelchairs and stuff just made them feel so bad, they didn’t know how to process it. Some of our friends didn’t call as much, or seemed in a hurry to get away, or were just bored since we weren’t really cool or fun or spontaneous anymore, especially not now. We had so little to offer, yet needed so much attention, and we always felt like a big, hairy spectacle.

One of my favourite passages is Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”

These verse are a nice reminder to reach out to the broken, I’d thought as I highlighted them the summer before our life went nuts. And I liked that heart-stopping moment when Jesus read these verses to the Jews in the synagogue. And like an artist who pulls the veil off his work, a priceless sculpture, Jesus went on to say, “I’m the one.”

But now what caught my attention was later in the passage, when the Lord called a motley crew of prisoners and the depressed and broken-down people “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour” (verse 3).

God gave the lowly ones the task of rebuilding His flattened Kingdom. Not the people I would have picked for my task force, but if pressed, I would have to admit that those I consider the heart and soul of our church are those who have waded through dark, dark times… I was getting the idea that God Himself found great value in those the world deemed ruined.

The above is an extract from a book called My Life and Lesser Catastrophes by Christina Schofield.

On her 30th wedding anniversary Christina and her husband Allen set out for a ride on their motorbike. After skidding on loose gravel they ended their day in hospital. Christina had concussion. Allen had broken his neck.

This is not one of those ‘we prayed and Allen was immediately healed’ kind of books. Christina talks honestly of the enormous difficulties of coming to terms emotionally, spiritually and practically with the accident. Yet this is not a depressing book either, but rather an uplifting one which truly does challenge the reader despite being written in very conversational language and therefore being easy to read. Christina’s faith is severely tested. She cries out to God, and often finds only silence in response. Yet she holds on, and her faith comes through in her book as something real, important, and living.

Thoughts on Winning a Christy Award...

...and growing up in England.

"You can't cry while wearing a pink dress, or you'll never be taken seriously again as long as you live."

So writes Anne Elisabeth Stengl on her reaction to winning the 2011 Christy Award for Best First Novel. Her thoughts on her Christy Award experience can be read in full in her very entertaining blog post.

It takes a long time for a book to come to publication, and there are often many influencing factors along the way. It turns out that the Goldstone Woods of Anne Elisabeth's books were strongly influenced by the English common on which she used to play as a child when her father was stationed at Lakenheath in Suffolk with the USAF. Her family went exploring on this local common almost every day and it seems her parents and brothers encouraged her sense of imagination:

There was a dragon on the Common. We saw it a few times, though it was disguised as a mean tabby cat at the time. "Just because a dragon is disguised doesn't mean it's any less a dragon," Papa said.
So dragons clearly had an early influence on Anne Elisabeth!

As well as dragons, there were elves, which the 8-year-old Anne Elisabeth was certain were living in the ancient hollow oak trees. The trees themselves became sailing ships and castles as the Stengl children played in them.

So it was that a small-ish, wild-ish, open English space became to a young child an enchanted forest, and perhaps it was from one of the acorns from an ancient English oak tree in that 'real' yet magical place that Goldstone Wood grew...

For more on Anne Elisabeth's English childhood, and much more on Goldstone Wood, see her blog post W is for Wood.

Read a sample chapter of Heartless here.

Anne Elisabeth's next book Veiled Rose is out in the UK in August.

Finding God in Ordinary Things

There will always be a tree that isn't mine. But I'd be a fool to miss the forest that is, longing for it.

Do you ever think about the 'Holy' when looking at the 'everyday' things of life? If you do, you'll love The Sacred Ordinary . If you've never thought about such things before, this book may change your way of thinking.

Within its pages are 112 meditations covering all sorts of things - from old chandeliers to hymns and junk drawers. Wonderful, eclectic, and thought-provoking.

Here's the piece on other peoples' trees:

I have a wish list, even though it isn't written down anywhere. I'll bet you do too. I don't know what's on your list, but I can quickly cite some of the bigger, recurring items on mine: A buttercream, VW Beetle with a black rag top. A good, godly husband and a family of my own. A horse... and a place to put it that doesn't violate municipal deed restrictions. And anything hanging in my closet with a size 8 tag that I could comfortably wear. (NOTE FROM THE BLOG POSTER: Size 8 US is size 10 UK - don't panic, ladies!)

I saw the car on my list this week. I even parked next to it so that I could peek inside. And I've imagined that I glimpsed my husband more than once - although not recently. I finger the size 8's (10s!) in stores from time to time, but even at my leanest - given the bone structure I inherited on my father's side of the family - it's not likely to happen. Each time I see something on my wish list, I feel my heart go out. There's an insistent little voice that says, "I still want that. Why hasn't God allowed me to have it?"

It's far, far too easy to consider the account of man's fall in the book of Genesis and imagine (go ahead and laugh) that if I’d been Eve, things might have happened differently. But let’s face it: we all want the tree that isn't ours. Any tree that isn't ours.

There's no doubt in my mind that Eden was lush... beautiful... fragrant. I'm sure it was a treat for the senses and a deeply satisfying place to call home. But confronted with the one thing that was off-limits to her, Eve's satisfaction with Paradise wilted. Told that there was one tree that wasn't hers, she could think of little else. She wanted little else. All the goodness of the garden lost its shine when she remembered that single tree.

And most days, I'm no different.

But what if I saw those other 'trees' as cues to offer thanks for all that is mine? What if every “Beetle sighting” was my cue to thank God for safe, reliable transportation – or that my car actually started up this morning when I got in and turned the key. What if dinner with married friends or a trip to Baby Gap for a shower gift reminded me to thank him that I’m not unhappily married and that there are children all around me who need extra love? What if a drive to the country in April didn’t make me sigh deeply for the horse I don’t have but made me grateful for the cute, apartment-sized dog draped over the back of my city-girl sofa? And what if a glance at a well-clad, gaunt mannequin remind me that I’m clothed in righteousness and made me glad? Wouldn’t that be a healthier approach?

There will always be a tree that isn’t mine. But I’d be a fool to miss the forest that is, longing for it.

Four Christy Awards for Baker Publishing Group

Winner: Suspense. The Bishop by Steven James.

"In the fourth Patrick Bowers thriller—after The Pawn (2007), The Rook (2008), and The Knight (2009)—the FBI criminologist is called to the scene of a gruesome murder. At a primate research facility, a woman was attacked by two chimpanzees, but this was no accident: someone had tied the victim, a congressman’s daughter, to a tree and set the animals on her. Patrick, who’s faced his share of twisted killers, might be encountering his most clever foe. This is a fine thriller, featuring a strong, compassionate protagonist and a couple of pretty scary villains (imagine if Bonnie and Clyde were serial killers, and if they were completely mad). James, an accomplished writer who seems equally at home writing hard-edged thrillers and books about spirituality for adults and younger readers, clearly knows how to spin a yarn; and—despite its thematic similarities to the television series Criminal Minds—this novel is fresh and exciting."David Pitt, Booklist Reviewer.

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: Historical Romance. The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen.

Mariah Aubrey lives in hiding in the gatehouse of a distant relative's estate. Supporting herself and her servant by writing novels in secret, her life becomes even more complicated when Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate...

"Christy and RITA nominee Klassen creates a wonderful cast of engaging characters while neatly stirring in a generous dash of mystery and danger into the plot of her latest, charmingly romantic inspirational romance." John Charles, Booklist

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: First Novel. Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

"Heartless is a great Christian fantasy tale, which is suitable for children and adults. It is very easy to read but hard to put down, I read it myself and now my younger nephews are fighting over it so I have had to purchase another! A great gift that will have you waiting for the next instalment! I am very impressed by Anne Elisabeth Stengl." Alex Pickering Eden.co.uk

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Winner: Historical. While We're Far Apart

"For anyone who can remember the Second World War, this stirs up memories of how it used to be. Although set in America, the heartache felt by the children in this story was repeated in many countries, not least in the UK. Esther and her young brother had lost their mother and now it seemed they were going to lose their father too. Eddie has announced one Sunday afternoon that he has enlisted in the army. No argument, he has already signed up. Will their grandmother look after the children? No! What then? Penny, a young woman who has long loved Eddie from afar – next door actually, but it could have been a million miles – offers to help. Penny moves into the children’s home – which they resent - and over time the three of them get to know their elderly Jewish widower neighbour who is blaming God for taking his wife and always seeking news of his son and family in Hungary amidst all the news of what the Nazis are doing to the Jews in Europe. There are many other threads to this novel, and some surprising twists and turns that make for an excellent read that I can highly recommend." Mary Bartholomew, The Good Book Stall.

For more information and a sample chapter click here.

Review: "The Dog Next Door"

This book is perfect for any dog lover. I would not put myself in that category (liking dogs but not being a 'dog person') but I still really enjoyed it. Suzanne Woods Fisher, author and guide dog puppy walker says "These powerful stories will resonate with anyone who has loved a dog." She's right.

Full of short stories of people and their pets, it makes for an easy read as you can read just a short section, or a whole series of stories one after another.

In the story 'A New Calling' Jim and Sherri have bought a German Shepherd puppy. Sherri travels a lot with her job "which sounds glamorous but actually ranked slightly above getting hit by a truck on the fun meter" and on one of her trips she bought a book about search and rescue dogs. That book turned out to be life changing as Sherri - and her whole family - became involved in canine search and rescue.

That's just one story. Others include the story of the dog who saved a little girl from being attacked by a sexual predator, the dog with a particular bond to children with special needs, the dog who saved her owner from a devastating fire and many dogs who simply taught their owners things about life. My favourite is 'The Dog of My Heart', but you'll have to buy the book to read it!

Price: £7.99
ISBN: 9780800734190
Published by: Revell (An imprint of Baker Publishing Group)
Available through any good bookshop or online

To further whet your appetite, you can read a sample chapter here.

Sneak Previews from Revell!

You've seen a couple of 'on the horizon' titles from Bethany. Now it's Revell's turn! Biblical fiction has been gaining momentum, and we have two new stories coming from Revell early next year.

Jill Eileen Smith is the author of the Wives of King David series, the latest of which is Bathsheba. Now she turns her attention to some more strong women - the wives of the patriarchs, beginning with Sarai, Abram's wife.

Sarai, the last child of her aged father, is beautiful, spoiled, and used to getting her own way. When she marries Abram she promises to give him a son and heir. But as the years go by without the promised and longed for child, Sarai becomes desperate...

Jill Eileen Smith once again brings to life a key biblical character, with great commitment to the accuracy of the historical data.

"I thought I might find you here."
Abram's voice and his touch on her shoulder made her turn into his comforting embrace. "What's wrong, dear one?"
Sarai released a troubled sigh and leaned back to better see his face. "Milcah."
He nodded, but at his quizzical look, she knew he did not understand.
"She is flaunting her swollen belly, and I have no patience for her criticisms."
"Ahh," he said, pulling her close again. "Milcah is jealous of your beauty, dear wife. She has nothing else to flaunt." He patted her back, but the action did not soothe.
"I would rather have a child than beauty." The words were a mere breath against his chest, but when his hands stilled, she knew he'd heard.
"And I would rather have you just as you are." He held her at arm's length, his gaze searching. "Do not trouble yourself or deny joy to others. You have nothing to fear."
She looked into his handsome face and cupped his bearded cheek with her hand. He still carried the vigor of one much younger, and she rested in his strength as he held her. "But I do fear, dear husband. I fear I have failed to give you what you most deserve."
"I deserve nothing. What I possess is only a gift. Adonai will give what he will." He tipped her chin to look into his face. "Trust me in this, Sarai."

Mesu Andrews is the author of Love Amid the Ashes, a novel about the life of Job. Now she turns her attention to one of the Old Testament's best-loved kings: Solomon. In Love's Sacred Song, Mesu expertly weaves the words of the Song of Solomon into a touching story of the power of love.

Standing in the massive shadow of his famous father, young King Solomon wavers between fear and bravado, wisdom and folly. In the uncertain world of alliances and treachery, Solomon longs for peace and a love that is true and pure.
A shepherdess in the northern city of Shunem, Arielah remembers the first time she laid eyes on Solomon in Jerusalem when she was just seven years old. Her destiny is to be a 'treaty bride' to help unite the kingdom.
But can a shepherdess live as part of Solomon's harem? Can Solomon set aside his distractions to give himself fully to one woman? Or will duty, deception and daily routine divide his heart?

The Faith of Leap

"Whether we like it or not, we are all on a journey, a Quest if you will, every day of our lives, and the path we must take is full of perils, and our destiny can never be predicted in advance... the book of Acts must continue to be written by Christians in every age and context. We are the people of the ultimate Quest - we are on a wild, and sometime dangerous, adventure to save the world. This is our story and our song."

So say Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch in their forthcoming book The Faith of Leap, which challenges the reader to embrace a theology of risk, adventure, and courage. In the introduction they point out: "It is clear that simply opting for more of the same is not going to resolve our problems. We must be willing to dream again, to innovate, and to risk the rejection of peers who think that the status quo is sufficient to the task. The church should be one of the most adventurous places on earth... but let's be honest - this is not the case with the church-as-we-know-it. It's time to move, to cast off from safe shores, and take a journey again!"

Are we ready to take up this challenge? This book may well challenge the reader to change the way they live out their faith. Yet despite the 'big challenge' so dynamically described, there is also acknowledgement of smaller elements. The authors quote Ralph Wood, who says,

"To get out of bed, to answer the phone, to respond to a knock at the door, to open a letter - such everyday deeds are freighted, willy-nilly, with eternal consequence."

A very thought-provoking book, this is an engaging read, with lots of illustrations taken from popular culture such as films. It is a book which is likely to have far-reaching effects.

To whet your appetite, you can read the introduction, and see the contents pages here.

Sneak Previews from Bethany House!

Moonblood and Dallas and the Spitfire are just two of the great new titles coming from Bethany House next spring.

For all you fantasy lovers, do you love the sound of a book whose characters include 'a lyrical yet lethal tiger, a fallen unicorn, and a goblin horde'? I know I do! Well, at least I like the sound of the tiger and the unicorn - not so sure about the goblin horde...

You can find them all in the third novel from Anne Elisabeth Stengl Moonblood which is the latest in her 'Tales of Goldstone Wood' series. This is one of those great 'epic quest' books, with danger, courage, and sacrifice. Oh, and a healthy dash of romance too. I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Moonblood
9780764207815
UK Release: May 2012
pb, £8.99 (tbc)

And for something totally different, the next of my sneak peeks is Dallas and the Spitfire. Ted is an educated thirty-something father of two who has gone to church his whole life. Dallas is only twenty-one, but has already been in prison twice, attempted suicide three times, and fought his way out of drug addiction. A very new Christian, he is trying to turn his life around.

Ted and Dallas agree to meet regularly, but neither of them fancy sitting around drinking coffee. Instead, they decide to restore an aging Triumph Spitfire...

Dallas and the Spitfire: An Old Car, an Ex-Con, and an Unlikely Friendship
9780764209611
UK Release: May 2012
pb, £9.99 (tbc)

I guess it says something about my extremely varied range of reading that I am really looking forward to reading both of these books. It is also a great example of the wide variety of titles which Bethany House produce. More will undoubtedly come on these two books, and please watch this space for snippets & sneaky peeks on other books too.

O! That Dragon!

"I love a truly frightening dragon. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with tame dragons, or friendly dragons, or wise and helpful dragons. I’ve read books I’ve enjoyed featuring each of these. But tell me, dear reader, what dragon compares to Tolkien’s Smaug? Or to classic Disney’s Maleficent? And, especially, to Ms. Hyman’s terrifying portrayal of Spenser’s Dragon of Error?"

I came across this wonderful little paragraph while browsing Anne Elisabeth Stengl's blog. Anne is the author of Heartless which includes some pretty impressive dragons! (By the way, Veiled Rose is the next in the series, and it is out in the UK in August.)

I have to agree that truly terrifying dragons are wonderful! But I also like 'Green Smoke', a dragon from my childhood and I'm rather fond of Eustace-the-dragon from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (both the book dragon and the film dragon!).

But I think my very favourite dragon of all is Saphira from Christopher Paolini's wonderful Inheritance Cycle. (Hurrah, book four is now confirmed!) I love her multi-faceted character, and the way we the reader were able to grow with her. She is a simply superb dragon!

(You can read Anne's whole post on dragons here: D is For Dragon)

One Size Doesn't Fit All: Parenting Adult Children

Contrary to what we may think, parenting doesn’t stop once our children grow up, says Nancy Williams, author of Secrets of Parenting Your Adult Child. She continues: "Our role changes but our love and sense of responsibility continue. We want our children to be independent, fulfilled adults and we want a loving, mature relationship with them. I wanted to share some secrets to help parents understand the changes and challenges taking place for themselves and their children." Read on for some questions and answers with Nancy on this very important topic.

QUESTION: Why do you think it is difficult for some parents to shift their roles and responsibilities as their children become adults?
NANCY: It’s a challenging and often confusing time for both parents and young adults, and we aren’t always clear about how to manage all the changes taking place. Some parents may not fully understand what is really going on in the minds and hearts of their children, so they operate from assumptions. Then there are parents who have preconceived ideas about their role and their children’s at this life stage—ideas that might not be reasonable for them or for their children. Some are tired and want to let go of the responsibility all at once, whether or not their children are ready. Others want to hold on out of fear that their children might struggle or even fail. Then there are some who are sad that a chapter in their lives has come to a close. Their activities and even their identity have been so wrapped around their children’s that they don’t know what to do once they are gone.

QUESTION: What do you think our adult children are looking for from us as parents?
NANCY: They want to define their own measure of success and they want us to respect and acknowledge that they are ultimately in charge of their lives—we’re not. They want our love and our support when they ask for it. Sometimes they want our opinions and at times they want our help. They also want us to step aside and not try to control their lives and dictate their choices. They want us to be on the sidelines to love and encourage them and then to step in if they ask.

QUESTION: In your book, you use the phrase “one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to parenting adult children.” Talk about that.
NANCY: As parents, we need to remember that our children are different—not only in terms of their appearance, personalities, and preferences, but also when it comes to maturing and taking on the responsibilities that come with adulthood. I’ve found in my own parenting journey and as I counsel clients that while some children step quickly, eagerly, and successfully into the role of adult, others need more time and assistance to transition.

QUESTION: It’s easy for parents to support their children when they are making choices the parents agree with, but what about when children make decisions that concern or disappoint their parents? What can parents do then?
NANCY: One of the things we must realize is that we’ve encouraged our children to think for themselves and take charge of their lives so it is inevitable they will make some choices that are different from what we’d like. For example: choices about career, a spouse, finances, or their lifestyle. There are times when we need to keep our opinions to ourselves and accept their right to live life as they choose. There are other times, however, when we may need to talk with them about our concerns. And we need to do so openly, honestly, and respectfully. In the book, I discuss how to carefully guide that discussion in a way that reflects our roles and responsibilities.

QUESTION: Your book is titled Secrets to Parenting Your Adult Child. If you could share one secret with parents, what would that be?
NANCY: Effective communication is key because it impacts so many aspects of our relationships with our children. Our conversations with them must be honest, respectful, intended to lift up and not tear down, heal and not harm, connect and not divide. And they must be grounded in love. The book shares tips on how to listen to what your children express and don’t express with a goal of understanding, how to acknowledge and consider what they share, and how to respond with a goal of being understood.

To read more of Nancy's advice on being a parent to an adult child, see a sample chapter.
Media contact: Anne Rogers (anner@lionhudson.com)

Which Personality Type Are You?

Personality Plus at Work will help you succeed at work – no matter who you have to work with! Do you know which personality type you are?

The Four Personalities according to Hippocrates (ca. 400 BC):

The Popular Personality: Sanguine Fun, outgoing, optimistic… but disorganized and too chatty.

The Powerful Personality: Choleric Goal-orientated, born leader, confident … but bossy and insensitive

The Perfect Personality: Melancholy Deep, thoughtful, organized … but negative and often depressed

The Peaceful Personality: Phlegmatic Pleasant, easy-going, adaptable … but indecisive and unmotivated.

To find out which personality type you are, try our abridged version of the test from Personality Plus. Place an X in front of the word (or words) on each line that most often applies to you.

Strengths: 1. ___Adventurous ___Adaptable ___Animated ___Analytical 2. ___Persistent ___Playful ___Persuasive ___Peaceful 3. ___Submissive ___Self-sacrificing ___Sociable ___Strong-willed 4. ___Considerate ___Controlled ___Competitive ___Convincing 5. ___Refreshing ___Respectful ___Reserved ___Resourceful

Weaknesses: 6. ___Blank ___Bashful ___Brassy ___ Bossy 7. ___Undisciplined ___Unsympathetic ___Unenthusiastic ___Unforgiving 8. ___ Reticent ___Resentful ___Resistant ___Repetitious 9. ___Fussy ___Fearful ___Forgetful ___Frank 10. ___Impatient ___Insecure ___Indecisive ___Interrupts

Now score your answers on this scoring sheet: 1. (PC) Adventurous (PP) Adaptable (PS) Animated (PM) Analytical 2. (PM) Persistent (PS) Playful (PC) Persuasive (PP) Peaceful 3. (PP) Submissive (PM) Self-sacrificing (PS) Sociable (PC) Strong-willed 4. (PM) Considerate (PP) Controlled (PC) Competitive (PS) Convincing 5. (PS) Refreshing (PM) Respectful (PP) Reserved (PC) Resourceful 6. (PP) Blank (PM) Bashful (PS) Brassy (PC) Bossy 7. (PS) Undisciplined (PC) Unsympathetic (PP) Unenthusiastic (PM) Unforgiving 8. (PP) Reticent (PM) Resentful (PC) Resistant (PS) Repetitious 9. (PM) Fussy (PP) Fearful (PS) Forgetful (PC) Frank 10. (PC) Impatient (PM) Insecure (PP) Indecisive (PS) Interrupts

Work out which personality type you have most matches with: PS Popular Sanguine PC Powerful Choleric PM Perfect Melancholy PP Peaceful Phlegmatic

To find out more about Personality Plus at work please visit our website.

The Bishop

Suspense Magazine has just named The Bishop one of its Books of the Year for 2010.

Take a look at this excerpt from The Bishop to find out why!

For your chance to win a free copy of The Bishop, scroll down to the bottom of the excerpt.

* * * *

Craig opened the screen door and rapped on the wooden one. “Mr Styles.” He made sure he called loud enough so that anyone in the house would be able to hear. “Sir, open the door. It’s the police.”
“Is that him?” the man inside the house shouted. “That the guy you’ve been –“
“Stop it!” Her voice was shrill, frantic, filled with fear. “Get away from me!”
Craig shouted, louder this time. “Mr. Styles, open the door!”
The man: “Put that down, you-“
Craig Walker unsnapped the leather holster holding his weapon and gave one final warning. “Open the door or we’re coming in!”
The man: “Gimme that thing.”
“Stop!”
And then.
A shotgun blast.
Splitting open the night.
Craig yelled for Trevor to cover the back of the house, cover it now! But then the words were mist and memory and he was only aware of the doorknob in one hand and the familiar feel of his Glock in the other as he threw open the door and swung his gun in front of him.
Stepped inside.
No overhead light, one lamp in the corner. A smouldering fireplace. A plaid couch, a green recliner.
And a woman on the other side of the room, trembling, shaking. A Stoeger 12-guage over-under shotgun in her hands.
Craig levelled his weapon at her. “Put down the gun!”
A man was lying on the floor six feet from her, his chest soaked with blood, his feet twitching sporadically. He coughed and then tried to speak, but the words were garbled and moist and Craig knew what that meant.
“Ma’am! Put down the shotgun!” Craig had never drawn on a woman before and felt his hands shake slightly.
She wore a pink housecoat. Her face was smeared with tears. She did not lower the gun.
“He was gonna kill me.” They were frantic, breathless words. “I know he was this time – he said he was gonna kill me.”
The man on the floor sputtered something unintelligible and then stopped making sounds altogether.
Where’s Trevor!
“Put it on the floor, Mrs. Styles. Slowly. Do it now.”
At last, staring at the man she’d shot, she began to lower the shotgun. He hit me. He was gonna kill me.”
“Okay,” Craig said, “now set down the gun.”
She bent over , a shiver running through her. “This wasn’t the first time.” She let the gun slip from her hands. It dropped with an uneven thud onto the brown, threadbare carpet. “He liked to hit me. He said he was gonna kill me this time. I know…” Her words seemed to come from someplace far away. Shock. Already washing through her.
“Ma’am, you need to step away from the gun.”
“The gun went off.” She stood slowly. “ I didn’t want to hurt him, but it just went off.” She took two unsteady steps backward.
“Is there anyone else in the house?”
She shook her head.
As she backed up, Craig, weapon still drawn, carefully approached the gunshot victim to see if the man still had a pulse.
But as he bent down, the woman shrieked and he glanced at her for a fraction of a second, only that much – a tiny instant- but that was all it took.
By the time he’d looked back at the body, the man had rolled toward the shotgun, snatched it from the floor, and aimed it at his chest.
And fired.
The impact of the bird shot sent Craig reeling, tumbling against the couch. He tried to raise his hand to fire his own weapon, but his arm wouldn’t obey. The room dimmed, and for one thin moment he was aware of all of his dreams and memories, running together, merging, collecting, descending into one final regret for all the things that he would leave forever undone.
And then, all of his thoughts folded in on themselves, dropping into a deep and final oblivion, and Officer Craig Walker crumpled motionless and dead onto the tattered carpet beside the plaid sofa in Philip and Jeanne Styles’s living room.

****

To celebrate the success of the The Bishop, we have three free copies to giveaway. The first three people who send us the titles of two other books in the Bowers Files series with their postal address to bpg@lionhudson.com will receive a copy of The Bishop. If you need a clue, click here