It's here. Actually its been here for 12 Days, but I am just now getting around to sharing. This year I am going to win the NaNoWriMo challenge. I have been attempting to write a Novel each November for the last four years. Each year I get a little bit closer than the prior year, but I have never really gotten close. Today I am just a day's worth of writing behind (1,667 words), which I will hopefully catch up this weekend.
My story is about a group of friends, who decide to give their way through the Gospel for Asia Christmas Catalog. I think GFA is a great missions organization and I am happy to support them each year. I always get excited to look through the catalog. Last year, Matt and I were able to give someone a cow! I like to be able to give people things that make a difference in their life, not just things that will end up in a closet.
For those of you who have not heard about NaNo, its a non-profit that encourages people to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. The goal is attainable, but still challenging. I love to participate, because sometimes in life you have to do something hard to make yourself grow. There is a word count widget here on my blog, so you can see how far I am. If you are also participating in Nano you can view my profile here.
Leaving Carolina
by Tamara Leigh
I really liked this book and shared it with my mom. It was about a girl, who left the town she grew up in ready to shake the dust from her feet. When circumstances compel her to return to Pickwick, she plans to stay for just a day or two, which turns into much longer. However, Pickwick isn't the same town she left and not only does she learn that people change, she learns she can change, too.
Limelight
by Melody Carlson
I thought this book was a lot of fun. Claudette was a lady who was "past her prime" and she just wanted to give up. She even tried to end it all, but God was at work. Claudette learns a big life lesson that there is more to life than what she sees.
Diary of a Teenage Girl: What Matters Most
by Melody Carlson
What Matters Most is Book 3 is the Diary of a Teenage Girl series about Maya. She is a girl who has a less than idea life, she can live the dream or she can deal with her mother who has spent time in prison. It's an important decision and she has to figure out what is right. The series is good. I find this book, but I know my 14 year old sister has read the whole series.
I'm currently reading Knit for Love, by Beth Pattillo. It's part of The Sweetgum Ladies Series. It features 6 women in all stages of life that do not have very much in common (kind of like the Yada-Yada books), except for a desire to read and knit. They are a Knit-Lit Club. This round they are focusing on Love stories, everything from Romeo and Julie to The Song of Solomon. For each book they read, they complete a knitting project that somehow relates to the story. I makes me feel like finding that scarf I started last winter and finishing it. My only concern is that I have not yet found a way to read and knit at the same time.
The next book in the Blog Tour is The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper written by Kathleen Y'Barbo. I like this girl. She is part of New York's Society, but she has this thirst of adventure. She just once wants to shrug of the demands of proper society to do the things she only reads about. She has an opportunity to go west into Colorado Territory, which she seizes, but what happens there is something she did not expect. I also want to mention how I love this cover. You can just see the mischief in her eyes.
The last book in the tour is called Rose House by Tina Ann Forkner. It’s a story of great loss and the search for hope. Lillian lost her family and she is grieving when she visits the Rose House and finds a painting of her in a moment when she thought she was alone in her misery. It is through this painting that she is forced to confront what happened and works through her pain to find beauty.
I've been so excited for this day. First, because its my 2 year Wedding Anniversary! The other exciting thing about today is the arrival of Andrew Peterson's new book. North! or be Eaten. Its the second book in the Wingfeather Saga. I even have a guest blogger for you today. My little sister Danielle, has been waiting forever for it to come out. Since she really wanted to read the book as soon as apossible, and I received a review copy early, we struck a deal. She could read the book first, but she had to write a review.
So here is what Danielle a 13 year-old girl from the midwest thinks about N!OBE.
North! or Be Eaten is definitely one of the most thrilling books I have ever read! Its is fun to read with its unpredictable plot and original characters. They seem so real, despite the uncommon problems they face. I like Janner and Peet the Sock Man the most, because Janner is easy to relate to and Peet the Sock Man, is well, by far the most intriguing.
Andrew Peterson is a brillian writer with a unique imagination. He grabs my attention and keeps it; not many other authors are able to do that so well. I absolutely love all the dangerous and facinating creatures. now, when I eat fruit, I think fo Ridge Runners. Perhaps the Gargan Rockroachs are the most deadly, though nearly all the animals in Aerwiar pose at least some threat to humans.
North! or Be Eaten seems to have no climax; the entire book is full of awesome adventure. The characters have very interesting stories. Podo's for example, you would never guess.
One thing North! or Be Eaten is not lacking in is humor. Just one of the many amusing occurances is when Oskar decides to quote someone. The quotes are often so mediocre they're funny. In the words of Moriah the Mud Pup discoverer (1), "North! or Be Eaten is exceedingly squishy, and that is a Squishly awesome thing."
(1) Moriah the Mud Pup discoverer is the younger sibling of Danielle and uses the word "squishy" at every opportunity.
Colorado Springs, CO— Fiction lovers don’t need to budget to travel this summer with Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group’s eight full-length, historical novels by beloved Christian authors (WaterBrook, June 2, 2009). At the low cost of only $5.99, these well-read “get-aways” provide quality entertainment at a price that any reader can afford.
Full-length historical novels offered include:The Silver Sword(ISBN-13: 978-0-307-45809-4)by Angela Elwell Hunt, book one in The Heirs of Cahira O’ Connor series. The auburn-haired O’Conner women push against social limits. Their tale is one of peril, courage, vengeance, love and sacrifice.
Under the Distant Sky (ISBN-13: 978-1-60142-245-3) by Al and Joanna Lacy, book one in Hannah of Fort Bridger. Join Hannah and Solomon Cooper as they journey by wagon train to a new life on the frontier. Will they overcome tragedy and great opposition as they strive to live their dream?
A Promise for Breanna (ISBN-13: 978-1-60142-244-6) by Al & Joanna Lacy, book one in Angel of Mercy series. Suspense, danger, romance and spiritual truth each play a part in this heroine’s life as she faces the man who once broke her heart and led her to mistrust men.
Maire (ISBN-13: 978-1-60142-256-0) by Linda Windsor, book one in Fires of Gleannmara. Maire, Warrior Queen of Gleannmara, finds her fierce heart gentled by a reformed mercenary, a Christian, who’s taken hostage during a raid.
Waterbrook summer release of value line books will also include a 99 Ways (July 2009) and Non-fiction series (September 2009).
I had the opportunity to read a couple of these books. I just finished The Silver Sword and have started A Gathering of Finches. Once I opened The Silver Sword, I couldn't put it down. This book came to work with me, I read it while cooking dinner, in the evening while my husband was watching TV. It tells the story of a woman, Anika, who becomes a Knight and works to help a Reformer, Jan Hus in the 1400s. It wove bits of history into the story. Fortunately the rest of the series is also out and you can follow this family's interesting linage.
