Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Big Picture (NavPress Publishing Group April 15, 2008) by Jenny B. Jones ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jenny B. Jones is the author of A Katie Parker Production series. The other books in the series are In Between and On The Loose . Though now an adult, she still relates to the trauma and drama of teen life. She is thrilled to see her writing dreams come true, as her previous claim to fame was singing the Star Spangled Banner at a mule-jumping championship. (The mules were greatly inspired.) Jenny resides in Arkansas, where, as a teacher, she hangs out with teens on a regular basis. ABOUT THE BOOK Sometimes there’s a fine line between comedy and tragedy—and Katie Parker is walking it. School is winding down for the summer but Katie Parker is having a bad day. After leaving the drive-in, where her imploding love life was the main attraction, Katie arrives home to a big surprise on the Scott's front porch. Her mother, Bobbie Ann ...

I 'm giving away a bran d new copy of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winner on Tuesday, May 6 . International readers are welcome. Good luck! In th e mid 1950’s small town, Sugar Hill , Alabama was quiet and sleepy in every way imaginable. Fannie Lea Rockwell has few pressing concerns, save for her dreadful nickname, Flea. Few concerns that is until she crosses paths with Mr. Boyd, Sugar Hill’s resident hermit and mysterious citizen. Mr. Boyd lives across the railroad tracks deep in the woods and his anti-social tendencies only fuel the gossip fire; its rumored that he keeps his daughter, Mavis, locked in the attic all day and that he brews moonshine in the woods behind his house. One day when Flea and her brother, Rand, trespass on Mr. Boyd’s property to get a better view of Mavis, they encounter more than they bargained for. A grip around her waist, a knife to her throat and a th...

A special opening message from Allison Bottke: The interview that follows has been personalized for every blog I’ll be visiting during the month of April. I want to thank our Blog Host for taking the time to read my newest non-fiction book and for sharing it here today on the Setting Boundaries April Blog Tour . You are helping to spread the word about a topic that desperately needs to be addressed—with a message already striking a chord in hearts around the nation. Our country is in a crisis of epidemic proportion concerning adult children whose lives are spinning out of control—leaving parents and grandparents broken-hearted and confused. This painful issue is destroying individuals, families, marriages, churches, and communities. I believe in my heart that you are reading this message today for a very specific reason. Do you know someone who has a n adult child who is always in crisis? An adult child who brings chaos to virtually every situation? Could this painful issue be t...

What better way to tell Mom how much you appreciate her on Mother's Day than with this lovely reminder of thoughts about the loving, selfless attitudes that fill a mother's heart? The text and original four-color illustrations will be a beautiful and touching reminder to Mom that her love is never forgotten. The text is a reminder of those things that only a mother's heart knows, with some special emphasis on a Christian mother. Appropriate Scripture verses will be incorporated into the design element. All royalty proceeds from this book go to WINGS (Women In Need Growing Stronge r) and a student missionary scholarship fund. WINGS is a non-profit organization that provides a domestic violence shelter for women and their children in addition to transitional housing and programs. About the contest: The "My Favorite Mom" spa basket contest. In honor of Mother's Day, Margaret would love to hear and share your favorite story about your mother (or some...

I 'm giving away a bran d new copy of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winner on Thursday , May 1. International readers may enter. Good luck! After growing up in an orphanage, Emily Ralston loves being around children and thoroughly enjoys her job at the Children’s Building at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. As the receptionist she helps check in the children and ensures they are safe and well cared for while their parents view the fair. She could not have known what God had in store for her… When Columbian Guard, Stephen Bridger, drops off a three-year-old named Adam as a lost child, her life irrevocably changed. While the sparks of attraction are undeniable, Emily tries her best to ignore them as she and her best friend, Lucy, scheme to keep Adam safe and happy, far away from the orphanages they both know too well. Soon Stephen learns about Adam’s mother while both the mystery an...

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Winter Haven (Bethany House April 1, 2008) by Athol Dickson ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Athol Dickson's university-level training in painting, sculpture, and architecture was followed by a long career as an architect then his decision several years ago to devote full time to writing. Athol Dickson’s writing has been favorably compared to the work of Octavia Butler (Publisher’s Weekly), Daphne du Maurier (Cindy Crosby, FaithfulReader.com) and FlanneryO’Connor (The New York Times). His They Shall See God was a Christy Award finalist and his River Rising was a Christy Award winner, selected as one of the Booklist Top Ten Christian Novels of 2006 and a finalist for Christianity Today's Best Novel of 2006. He and his wife, Sue, live in Southern California. Visit AtholDickson.com for more information. ABOUT THE BOOK Boys who never age, giants lost in time, mist that never rises, questions never asked...on the most remote of island...

I 'm giving away a bran d new copy of A Mending at the Edge ! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winner on Tuesday, April 29 . Good luck! Open to US addresses only. “Of all the things I left in Willapa, hope is what I missed the most.” So begins this story of one woman’s restoration from personal grief to the meaning of community. Based on the life of German-American Emma Wagner Giesy, the only woman sent to the Oregon Territory in the 1850s to help found a communal society, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick shows how landscape, relationships, spirituality and artistry poignantly reflect a woman’s desire to weave a unique and meaningf ul legacy from the threads of an ordinary life. While set in the historical past, it’s a story for our own time answering the question: Can threads of an isolated life weave a legacy of purpose in community? This richly textured novel, the third in the acclaimed Chan...

It's April 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his/her latest Teen fiction book's FIRST chapter! Ted Dekker and his book: Chosen (The Lost Books, Book 1) (The Books of History Chronicles) Thomas Nelson (January 1, 2008) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing. After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in Cal...

I don't like bees. If one gets into our sunroom, I'm sorry but I'm going to kill it. Windex works best if you don't have bug spray on you. (Sorry to all insect lovers). I've been stung by a bee before on the lip and it is not fun. I also am not a fan of honey except for Honey Nut Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats. So bees and me are not pals. But I'm a Seinfeld fan (one of the best TV shows ever) and the trailers for this movie were actually funny so I gave this one a try. This movie was really quite enjoyable actually. While Antz made me feel icky because the bugs looked rather scary, the bees in this movie were positively cute. The movie is gorgeous to look at. There's lots of vivid colors that will grab the kids' attentions. In fact there's so much to look at that I felt like I was missing out on all the details. The only problem I have with animated movies is that I never can figure out who the speaking voices belong too. Apparently Mich...

Bogeys and birdies and sand traps, oh my! As the owner of a golfing center, Chris Hack specializes in treating his customers right. This includes personalize training time and also Happy Hour where one can release frustration by whacking a golf cart driven by Chris's assistant who hurls insults at you. One day a girl name Molly stops by and sees potential in Chris's golfing range in the political world involving elections. Soon business is booming as the publicity from the politicians make Chris's place a household name. However someone isn't too happy with all the holes in one Chris is getting. Will Chris be able to save his business and get the girl? I am going to admit this. I am NOT a golf fan. I don't know anything about golf other than the goal is to get a ball into a hole. Is it a real sport? I mean, it's not in the Olympics. I suck at miniature golf too. I never can get it through the windmill course. Therefore I learned quite a bit more about what T...

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing My Soul To Keep (Multnomah Books - February 5, 2008) by Melanie Wells ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A native of the Texas panhandle and the child of musicians, Melanie Wells attended Southern Methodist University on a music scholarship (she's a fiddle player), and later completed graduate degrees in counseling psychology and Biblical studies at Our Lady of the Lake University and Dallas Theological Seminary. She has taught at the graduate level at both OLLU and DTS, and has been in private practice as a counselor since 1992. She is the founder and director of LifeWorks counseling associates in Dallas, Texas, a collaborative community of creative therapists. When the Day of Evil Comes is her first published work of fiction, and the first of a three-book series. The second work, The Soul Hunter was released in May, 2006. Melanie lives and writes in Dallas. ABOUT THE BOOK: As nasty as I knew Peter Terry to be, I never expected him to...

It's April 15th, but this has nothing to do with taxes! It is time for the Non~FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance! Click the button!) Every 15th, we will featuring an author and his/her latest non~fiction book's FIRST chapter! The feature author is: Gordon S. Jackson and his book: A Handbook for Discovering God's Will NavPress Publishing Group (March 26, 2008) ABOUT THE AUTHOR: GORDON JACKSON is a professor of communication studies at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. He has worked at Whitworth as a journalism professor and college administrator since 1983. Originally from South Africa, where he worked as a journalist, he is a frequent speaker for churches and other groups. Dr. Jackson has spoken to scores of church, Sunday school, educational, and civic groups on a wide range of topics. In the past few years, he has also served as a consultant for church groups and Christian educational institutions in Uganda, Lebanon and Egypt. He is also the author of: Desti...

I 'm giving away 2 bran d new copies of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winners on Monday, April 21 . Good luck! Wi th over 10 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God. Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins’ revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential. Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-...

I love Disney movies. I love how almost all the Disney movies feature girls as their lead character. The more recent ones feature stronger female leads than past movies. I like Belle and Mulan way better than Snow White or Cinderella. I mean your whole life doesn't have to depend on finding one guy. And that's precisely what Enchanted dares to mock and does stupendously well. I actually enjoyed the songs in this movie. My favorite was "That's How You Know". After watching, I had the song stuck in my head for about two weeks. It's a very catchy song and honestly it's the only one I really remember from the movie. I love how Patrick Dempsey finds himself getting into the song and then catches himself to look all serious again. I think the best part of this movie is how Disney is able to make fun of themselves. "How can you fall in love with someone after knowing them for one day?" Also the dresses which look so wonderful as a cartoo...

I'm giving away a brand new copy of today's book! Leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a name and announce the winner on Thursday , April 17. Good luck! The Past Will Come Back to Haunt You Claire's sister has gone missing. With barely any clues to go by, she and her brother in law go in search of Becca trying find the reason why she disappeared. Family secrets become revealed in their search, causing many closed wounds to open again. Among their travels, Claire is taken back to memories of her childhood trying to remember what could have caused Becca to leave so suddenly. These secrets cause her to rethink about her past and makes her wonder if the truth would be better off buried forever. Never judge a book by it's title. When I originally heard of this book, I had no idea what to make of what the story was going to be like by it's name alone. To me it sounded like a science fiction novel which I nor...