Sunday, December 16, 2012

November's Newest! Last Clash of 2012


Clash of the Titles makes things easy for book lovers everywhere--including Christmas shopping! This week, they present five of Christian fiction's hottest new titles. Surely, one of them will be the perfect gift for Grandma or Auntie Martha. Or maybe even... for yourself!

Introducing, November's New Releases clashing novels...

Don't forget to vote for the one that most catches your interest!


Former army communications specialist Maddie Jerrard may not remember the details of the deadly mission on the Texas-Mexico border, but she knows she's not the one responsible for betraying her unit to the massive ambush that left only her and investigative journalist Chris Mason alive. Logic says the culprit must be the only other survivor—Chris—but with a killer targeting them both, taking a chance on trusting each other may be the only way to make it through alive.

The Colorado Rockies have always been home to journalist Kelly Shepherd, but after the death of her father, and facing her first Christmas alone, she accepts an assignment that leads her deep into Louisiana’s Cajun country.

Since his wife’s death, Denny Labouve has focused his attention on his ten-year-old daughter and the family business, but Kelly sparks the dying embers of his heart even as a Christmas cold front moves through his beloved Cajun country.

Every year Amber Weathersby loans the Bloomfield Garden Club her garden gnome to display their prized trophy in the contest winner's garden. When Gnorman is gnomenapped, Amber chases the gnome around town trying to win the trophy, while Stan chases Amber, trying to win her heart.
The world plunges into chaos when an ancient manuscript is discovered that reveals the Gospels were an orchestrated fiction. When a retired Dead Sea Scrolls expert gets in over his head investigating the scroll, his agnostic son continues the quest for the truth and uncovers evidence of a grand plot that will tip the balance of world power.
As Harvey Girl Meghan Thorson waits on doughboys at the El Garces Hotel in Needles, California, she meets Caleb McBride, a local horse breeder whom the townsfolk have branded a coward and profiteer. Will threads of love unite this couple, or will pride keep them forever apart?
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Saturday, December 1, 2012

CFBA: Greenwood and Archer by Marlene Banks

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Greenwood and Archer
Lift Every Voice; New Edition edition (September 20, 2012)
by
Marlene Banks


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:







 Marlene Banks has worked 30+ years combined in nursing and the business arena. Her goal as a writer is to create inspiring, gripping and realistic stories with an emphasis on African American literature. She believes her gift and desire to write is from God and desires to use it to fulfill His purposes. Marlene lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she is a member of Bethel Deliverance International Church.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Greenwood and Archer: After the Riot continues the stories of Billy Ray Matthias and Benny Freeman and the residents of the Greenwood District after the historical Tulsa Race Riots of 1921. Though a sequel to Son of a Preacherman, Greenwood and Archer can be read as a stand alone book.

The White Glove Society has all but destroyed the Greenwood District, home to the affluent blacks in Tulsa. Now those who have survived are trying to recover what is left including Billy Ray Matthias and Benny Freeman. Billy Ray and Benny are engaged but Benny is hesitant to set a date.  Jordan Franks, Benny's ex-fiancee shows up in Tulsa and Benny is confronted with the memories and emotions of the crippling break up she experienced with Jordan. She must decide whether she will stand and face her past or allow it to drive her back into the dark place she'd grown used to before meeting Billy Ray.  Billy Ray's attempts to keep Benny from running away are challenged by his own struggles as he wrestles with God's call on his life to preach.

DP Dooley, plagued by a past that prompted him to turn from God and become a government agent, is in a turmoil as he wars against enemies seen and unseen. Internally, he fights against the darkness of his soul as the anger and resentment he has harbored against God for most of his life wears him down.  Externally, he continues to fight against the threats of the bigoted White Gloves Society, which is growing and trying to increase its racist activities. 

The once hard-edged racial views of Chief Tobias Parnell have noticeably dulled and he no longer enjoys the favor of the White Glove Society.  Teaming up with Dooley, Chief Parnell fights against illegal racketeering, bootlegging and racial crimes. A new brotherhood forms in Tulsa, the interdenominational Christian clergyman (ICCA). Braving the social struggles of Tulsa, five clergymen attempt to and bring together God's people, regardless of race, economic status, gender, ethnicity and even doctrine. Their goal, along with the people of Greenwood is to see a new Tulsa rise from the ashes.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Greenwood and Archer, go HERE.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

CFBA: A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AlLee

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Wild Goose Chase Christmas
Abingdon Press (November 2012)
by
Jennifer AlLee


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from Jennifer:

As I look back on my life, it's interesting to see where God's taken me, and where I took myself that God pulled me out of. I finally got back to writing, the dream of my heart. Since 1996, I've published numerous short stories, devotions and plays. I've also been active in church drama ministries, another passion of mine. My first novel, The Love of His Brother (November 2007, Five Star Publishers), was followed by The Pastor's Wife (February 2010, Abingdon Press) and The Mother Road (April 2012). A Wild Goose Chase Christmas is book two in the new Quilts of Love series.

Besides being a writer, I am a wife and mom. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, my family has learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets here without severely impacting our waistlines. God is good!



ABOUT THE BOOK

Upon her grandmother's death, Izzy Fontaine finds herself in possession of a Wild Goose Chase pattern quilt that supposedly leads to a great treasure.

Of course, once the rest of the family finds out about the "treasure map," they're determined to have a go at the treasure themselves. And, if that weren't enough, Max Logan, a local museum curator, contacts Izzy and says that Grandma Isabella promised him the quilt.

What is it about this quilt that makes everyone want it? Is Izzy on a wild goose chase of her own, or a journey that will lead her to the treasure her grandmother intended?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Wild Goose Chase Christmas, go HERE.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

CFBA: Shattered Silence by Margaret Daley

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Shattered Silence
Abingdon Press (September 2012)
by
Margaret Daley


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold eighty-three books to date.

Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2300 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.

Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community as well as serving on her church’s vestry.

On a more personal note, she has been married for over forty years to Mike and has one son and four granddaughters. She treasures her time with her family and friends.



ABOUT THE BOOK

A serial killer is targeting illegal aliens in southern Texas. Texas Ranger Cody Jackson is paired with a local police officer, Liliana Rodriguez, to investigate the murders.

While the case brings Cody and Liliana ever closer, the tension between Americans and Mexican Americans heightens. As Cody and Liliana race to discover who is behind the murders and bring peace to the area, what they uncover isn't what they expected. Will Cody and Liliana's faith and love be strong enough to survive the storm of violence?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Shattered Silence, go HERE.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

CFBA: Free From Guilt by Pat Simmons

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Free From Guilt
Lift Every Voice; New Edition edition (September 20, 2012)
by
Pat Simmons


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pat Simmons is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. She is passionate about digging up the dirt on her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She has been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother died at the young age of ninety-seven years old.

She has won numerous awards for her previous novels and was voted the Best Inspirational Romance for 2010. She was also a nominee for the African American Literary Award’s best Christian fiction award. Pat is best known for her Guilty series. The Jamieson Family Legacy trilogy: Guilty by Association, Guilt Trip and Free From Guilt is a continuation of first three Guilty Series books and the of the story of the much-loved Grandma B.B character and her new sidekick, Mrs. Valentine.

Pat and her husband live in Missouri and have two children.



ABOUT THE BOOK

The Jamieson Family Legacy series follows the lives of the two Jamieson brothers in Boston, Kidd and Ace and their cousin Cameron from St. Louis.  Kidd, the older brother, is struggling with anger and resentment issues toward his absentee father who never married his mother, but had the audacity to demand his illegitimate sons carry his last name Jamieson. Ace, on the other hand, is on a collision course with disaster as he shows how much a "chip off the old block" he is when it comes to women. Their highly educated MIT graduate cousin, Cameron Jamieson, is all about saving his family from self-destruction. Through genealogy research, Cameron's mission is to show his cousins their worth as eleventh generation descendants of a royal African tribe and give them a choice: to be angry black men or accept the challenge to become strong successful black men.

In Free From Guilt the third book in the Jamieson Legacy, Cameron, cousin to Kidd and Ace, has it all: the looks, money and tbrains. An MIT double degree graduate and lecturer, he is a genius. No amount of knowledge or wisdom however can convince him of the simplicity of God's love and the gift of salvation.  He believes it's much more complicated than those men preaching from an outdated book lead others to believe. It's simply going to take more to make a believer out of him. And, he's not alone in this thinking.

Beatrice "Tilley" Beacon, aka Grandma BB is a seventy-something, childless widow who is young at heart and full of life. Her antics are legendary among her surrogate family, the Jamiesons, her five hundred facebook fans and the local law enforcement, to whom she is known as the neighborhood one-woman militia crime task force. The Jamieson's always thought they were a unified front to draw Grandma BB to Christ. But when Cameron, her surrogate grandson and the youngest of their clan, returns to spend time with the family in St. Louis, he immediately takes Grandma BB's position that life is to be enjoyed to the fullest. There's always time to repent ...later.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Free From Guilt, go HERE.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

CFBA: Judge by R.J. Larson

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Judge
Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012)
by
R.J. Larson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





R. J. Larson is the author of numerous devotionals featured in publications such as Women's Devotional Bible and Seasons of a Woman's Heart. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband and their two sons. Prophet marks her debut in the fantasy genre.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Kien Lantec, you will bear witness to my followers in ToronSea.

The last thing Kien Lantec expects on his first day of military leave is to receive marching orders from his Creator, the Infinite. Orders that don't involve destroyer-racing or courting the love of his life, Ela. Adding to Kien's frustration, his Infinite-ordained duties have little to do with his skills as a military judge-in-training. His mission? To warn the people of ToronSea against turning their backs on the Infinite to worship a new goddess.

Tell them I see they are beguiled. Tell them I seek their hearts. The wise will hear Me.

But why Kien? Isn't this the role of a true prophet, such as Ela of Parne? Seeking answers, Kien visits Ela and finds her stricken by a devastating vision of her own. Her birthplace, Parne, has forsaken their Creator and will soon suffer judgment. Pulled in separate ways, each must seek to follow the Infinite's leading...and hope He will reunite them again soon.

Child of dust, will you be My servant?

If you would like to read the first chapter of , go HERE.

CFBA: Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Starflower
Bethany House Publishers (November 1, 2012)
by
Anne Elisabeth Stengl


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she enjoys her profession as an art teacher, giving private lessons from her personal studio, and teaching group classes at the Apex Learning Center. She is married to the handsome man she met at fencing class and lives with him and a gaggle of cats. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. Heartless is her debut novel.

Anne Elisabeth is also the author of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, a series of fantasy adventure novels told in the classic Fairy Tale style.



ABOUT THE BOOK

The Black Dogs Are on the Hunt, But Who Is Their Prey?

When a cursed dragon-witch kidnaps fairest Lady Gleamdren, the Bard Eanrin sets boldly forth on a rescue mission...and a race against his rival for Gleamdren's favor. Intent upon his quest, the last thing the immortal Faerie needs is to become mixed up with the troubles of an insignificant mortal.

But when he stumbles upon a maiden trapped in an enchanted sleep, he cannot leave her alone in the dangerous Wood Between. One waking kiss later, Eanrin suddenly finds his story entangled with that of young Starflower. A strange link exists between this mortal girl and the dragon-witch. Will Starflower prove the key to Lady Gleamdren's rescue? Or will the dark power from which she flees destroy both her and her rescuer?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Starflower, go HERE.