Author: Iola Goulton

Are you doing a reading challenge in 2019?

Bookish Question #90 | Are you Doing a Reading Challenge in 2019?

Are you doing a reading challenge in 2019?

If so, which challenge are you doing? What are you challenging yourself to read?

I’ve participated in—and completed—the Goodreads Reading Challenge every year since 2011, although my self-selected target has been higher some years than others.

For 2018, I’m aiming for a lower target than 2018: 150 books read. However, this will only include books I actually finish—last year’s total included a bunch of books I started and didn’t finish for various reasons (mostly bad writing, bad editing, or characters I didn’t connect with). I included them on my Goodreads Read list because I didn’t know any other way to get them off my Currently Reading list … but now I do*, so I’ll be deleting DNF books from my Goodreads shelf rather instead.

*To delete a book: go to your My Books table, find the book, and select the cross at the end of the line. That will delete the book from all your shelves, and will also delete your review.

I also have some other self-imposed reading challenges:

Trim the Currently Reading List

Goodreads tells me I have around 50 books on my Currently Reading list. I’d like to get that down to below five (which more accurately represents the number of books I’m reading at once—a novel, a book on writing or marketing, the Bible, and maybe another non-fiction book).

Climb Mt TBR (To Be Read)

I have an enormous pile of unread books (ebook and paperback), so I’ve joined the Mt TBR challenge on Goodreads, and am hoping to clear 48 or more books from my To Read pile. The rules of this challenge are that I have to have owned the book before 1 January 2019 (so no review copies), and have to have read less than 25% of it before the start of the year. I don’t have to finish the books for them to count—deciding I don’t like the book and don’t want to finish it still means it’s off that To Read mountain.

Read Indie

I’d like to read more indie books this year. Reviewing means I tend to prioritise review copies, which are often from the major publishers. I saw one of the admins of the Avid Readers of Christian Fiction Facebook group said she’s going to try to ensure 25% of the books she reads in 2019 are from indie authors. I’m going to aim for 40, which is a little over that 25% mark.

Read New-to-me and Debut Authors

I’d also like to read more new-to-me authors (which includes debut authors). It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of reading all the same authors all the time. Again, I’m going to aim for 40 books from new-to-me authors.

Read Writing Craft

I also want to continue to upskill myself in writing, editing, publishing, and marketing, so I’d like to read more books in those areas. My sensible side says one a month, I have dozens in my To Read pile (and even more I’d like to buy).

Note that some books will count for more than one challenge, and it’s even possible for a book to count towards all four!

Are you doing a reading challenge in 2019? If so, which challenge are you doing? What are you challenging yourself to read? #BookishQuestion #BookWorm Share on X

Are you committing to a reading challenge for 2019? If so, what?

Quote from Mind Games by Nancy Mehl: Those who know God should be the ones to confront the darkness, to chase evil. We have the weapons. Those who don't know Him have only themselves.

Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler #1) by Nancy Mehl

Jessica Oliphant is the daughter of a convicted serial killer. Now thirty-four, she’s FBI profiler Kaely Quinn, dedicated to solving murder cases, especially serial killer cases. Her unorthodox methods have earned her supporters, opponents, and the attention of the wrong kind of people—like a persistent journalist. And a serial killer.

Kaely becomes part of the next investigation when the journalist receives an anonymous poem signalling a series of murders, and ending in Kaely’s apparent suicide. The first body is discovered soon after the note is delivered. Now the race is on to identify the killer before Kaely—or anyone close to her—dies.

Mind Games is an apt title for a great thriller.

We know from the get-go that the killer is playing games with Kaely. The challenge is to work out who … I identified several possible suspects (one of whom was later murdered, so I was 100% wrong on that one!).

Kaely is an intriguing heroine. She’s intelligent and likeable, and with a strong Christian faith. But she’s also a damaged woman who suffers nightmares and finds it impossible to allow anyone to get close to her. She’s estranged from her family, both respected and reviled at work as an object of curious fascination.

The other characters are also strong—they have to be, because Kaley is such a strong character. Noah and Kaley had some interesting conversations about faith. Yes, Mind Games is definitely Christian fiction, as there is a strong faith thread and some insightful lines about the nature of faith, and the nature of evil.

This is the first of the Kaely Quinn Profiler series.

I’ve read several of Nancy Mehl’s earlier novels, but this is her best yet. I’ll be looking forward to reading more about Kaely, Noah, and their colleagues. Recommended for fans of Christian thrillers from authors like Terri Blackstock and Carrie Stuart Parks.

Mind Games by @NancyMehl is an excellent Christian thriller. Recommended! #ChristianFiction #MustRead Share on X

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nancy Mehl

Author photo: Nancy MehlNancy Mehl lives in Missouri, with her husband Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored thirty books and is currently at work on a new FBI suspense series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

You can find Nancy Mehl online at:

Website | Suspense Sisters | Facebook

About Mind Games

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis.

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

You can find Mind Games online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to Mind Games below:

And don’t forget to click here and check out Mind Games and other great Christian fiction in my Amazon store!

Quote from Justice by Emily Conrad: Whatever kind of dream or vision you saw, it didn't result from some accounting error in the miracle department of heaven.

Book Review | Justice by Emily Conrad

I almost didn’t choose to read Justice. I loved the evocative mid-twentieth century feeling portrayed by the cover—the retro streetlight, the 1950s hairdo and plain black dress, but I didn’t want to have to deal with how 1950s small-town America would deal with an unplanned pregnancy as the result of a rape.

Imagine my surprise when I realised the story is set in the present day, complete with wifi and mobile phones. That’s not bad. I prefer contemporary romance, and I figured that would put a more understanding spin on Brooklyn as she “wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means”.

But we didn’t see Brooklyn wrestle about the hard things: how to recover from rape, what her pregnancy means, or how to keep following the God who allowed all this. The challenges of her personal journey were glossed over to the point of almost being ignored. Sure, they would have been hard scenes to read and even harder to write, but I think Justice missed an opportunity to speak to Christian survivors of sexual assault (including #ChurchToo).

I guess the old saying is true: don’t judge a book by the cover.

This isn’t a novel set in 1950’s small-town America, and the female on the cover isn’t the main character. Sure, her background and actions provide the motivation, but this is not Brooklyn’s story (although she is a great example of forgiveness, and the power of God to heal).

Instead, we focus on Jake and his search for justice.

But he’s not looking for justice for Brooklyn. He owns a coffee shop and has inadvertently started a war with the bookshop owner across the road. Now Jake wants justice for what the bookshop owner has done. Priorities, please?

This really annoyed me until Brooklyn called him out on it and I realised the novel wasn’t about her at all. It was about Jake. I’m not sure if I’d have read Justice if I’d had realised it was a contemporary romance about a man whose inappropriate quest for justice (aka revenge) leads him away from all he holds dear.

I wasn’t sure what to think about Justice.

It was definitely Jake’s story, and that made it hard. I found myself liking Jake less and less as the novel progressed. The Jake of the early chapters was a strong Christian, encouraging those around him with lines like:

Quote from Justice by Emily Conrad: You've got to believe redemption is possible for you, too. You've been redeemed. Even from this.

 

But Jake’s need for revenge for Brooklyn and for the unknown troublemakers attacking his business gave me the impression of a small god, a god who needed Jake’s help to make things go right. Of course, Jake learns God is God, a big God who doesn’t need Jake’s help. But the business subplot detracted from the novel I was expecting—a novel about God’s everlasting love, His healing hand in times of personal difficulty.

Justice fails as a romance novel.

Why? Because Jake and Brooklyn’s relationship wasn’t the central focus. Nor is it a great example of women’s fiction, because it glosses over Brooklyn’s issues to focus on Jake and his #FirstWorldProblems. Some readers will be thankful Brooklyn’s rape and recovery are glossed over, while others will be frustrated by the lost opportunity to minister to women who have been through similar troubles.

Justice also didn’t work as a suspense novel, at least not for me. I felt Jake jumped to conclusions regarding the identity of the evildoer, and it seemed a little too convenient when he ended up being right. My issue was that the evildoer’s motives seemed weak. They were later explained, but I wasn’t convinced.

Having said that, Justice did work on many levels.

The characterisation was convincing, as evidenced by my dislike of Jake. The Christian elements were particularly strong—Justice is definitely Christian fiction, a strong examination of some of the big dichotomies of faith: justice vs. mercy, and faith vs. works.

It’s a novel about Christians who mess up, but who are forgiven and redeemed. It’s also a novel of miracles—one of the few I’ve read where the miracles were believable (I’ve blogged about the use of miracles in Christian fiction: click here to check out that post and let me know what you think!)

Overall, Justice was a solid first novel which may appeal to readers looking for something a little outside the Christian romance/women’s fiction norm. Just don’t expect a romance.

Thanks to White Rose Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Emily Conrad

Author Photo - Emily Conrad

Emily Conrad writes Christian fiction. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two 60+ pound rescue dogs. Some of her favorite things (other than Jesus and writing, of course) are coffee, walks, and road trips to the mountains.

Find Emily Conrad online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About Justice

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she’s pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. As Brooklyn wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake, she can’t bring herself to tell him the truth.

To make matters worse, if the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake’s coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both.

Can Jake and Brooklyn overcome the obstacles thrown in their path, and finally find the truth in God’s love and in each other?

You can find Justice online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads

You can read the introduction to Justice below:

Book Review | The Unblemished Series by Sara Ella

I’m not a big fantasy reader, and this trilogy reminded me why. I requested a review copy of Unbreakable, the final book in the trilogy, on the strength of the fabulous cover and the intriguing book description. The publisher sent me all three books, because this is one series you definitely need to read in order.

Unblemished

Unblemished was definitely my favourite book of the series. It had issues: too much interior monologue, some weird writing (more than compensated for by some brilliant writing), an annoying habit of having three consecutive one-word sentences. So. Very. Annoying.

Again. Again. Again.

But I liked the main character.

I liked her voice—I knew I was reading YA and I haven’t been YA for many years, so I was able to move past some of her annoying teenager-isms. I liked the concept of the orphan who discovers everything she knew about life was wrong, that people weren’t who they seemed, and even the world she lived in (modern New York) was one of seven dimensions.

Yes, the world building was a little confusing at times. Yes, the writing was occasionally annoying. Yes, the author has skewered in every possible YA fantasy trope, every possible pop culture reference.

But underneath, it was the age-old battle between good and evil (accompanied by the age-old love triangle), and it worked.

Enough that I read the next book …

Unraveling

I’ve read reviews of Unblemished where the reader loved loved loved it. I’ve no doubt those readers will also love Unraveling. Unfortunately, I thought Unraveling unraveled what had been a solid premise.

While Unblemished was clearly El’s story (or Em’s story, depending on whether you’re #TeamJoshua or #TeamKy), Unraveling has three point of view characters: El, Joshua, and Ky. I found this confusing, as all three stories were told in the first person, and their voices weren’t sufficiently different. I continually had to backtrack to the beginning of the chapter to work out which character’s head I was in. And that disrupts the flow of the story.

Don’t get me wrong: I love stories told in first person (it was one of the strengths of Unblemished). And I love stories told from multiple points of view (although I’m less keen on love triangles). But the three first person points of view in Unraveling weren’t sufficiently different for it to work for me.

Unraveling also had all the same issues as Unblemished: endless cliches, endless plot tropes and endless pop culture references. They started feeling tired, as though more effort was being put into being Hip and Relevant than delivering a great story.

Overall, Unraveling wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t my idea of a good read. But it’s the second book in a trilogy, and my experience is the second book is often the weakest. By the end I was still interested in reading the final book, if only to discover whether#TeamJoshua or #TeamKy prevails.

Unbreakable

So I thought Unblemished was solid and Unraveling was average. But I often find the second book in a trilogy is the weakest, so I wasn’t going to not read Unbreakable, the final book in the series, simply because I didn’t enjoy Unraveling.

My mistake. This is the series that proves the rule: the one where I thought the final book was the weakest.

There were two reasons for this.

First, where Unblemished had one point of view character and Unraveling had three, Unbreakable had five. Five. Unblemished engaged me with a single story, and every additional viewpoint diluted that main story. It didn’t help that I couldn’t tell most of the viewpoint characters apart. They all sounded too much the same to me.

My other issue with Unbreakable was the plot. It was too convoluted. Not complex: I can deal with a complex plot. But convoluted, in that the plot seemed to go in circles rather than moving forward. The result was I lost interest. The romance thread had been present since Unblemished, so it was pretty obvious this wasn’t going to have a Divergent-type ending, and it didn’t.

I thought the ending was a let-down, and that’s even with El/Em ending up with the “right guy” (there is always the 50:50 chance in a love triangle that the heroine will pick the “wrong” guy, like in Twilight or the Bailey Flannigan series).

Overall

I saw weaknesses in Unblemished, but the unique plot and voice kept me engaged, and had me keen to read the sequels. Unbreakable was the opposite. The weaknesses from Unblemished were still there, but I found it impossible to stay engaged. I finished the book, but I think I skimmed most of the second half as I’d simply lost the plot, and lost the desire to care about what happened to any of the characters.

Overall, this series reminded me why I rarely read fantasy. Now, please excuse me while I head back to my genre comfort zones of romance, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing the full series of ebooks for review.

Have you read any of the books in this series? What did you think?

Quote from Burden of Proof: No relationship lasts when it begins with danger and supercharged emotions.

Book Review | Burden of Proof by DiAnn Mills

About Burden of Proof

Reeling from a negotiation gone wrong, FBI Special Agent April Ramos is caught off guard when a frazzled young woman shoves a crying baby into her arms, then disappears. Worry for the child’s safety quickly turns to fear when a man claiming to be the girl’s father abducts them at gunpoint. April puts her hostage negotiation skills to use to learn more about who she’s dealing with: Jason Snyder, a fugitive accused of murder.

As Jason spins a tall tale about being framed for the killing of his business partner, April must sort through his claims to find the truth. A truth that becomes all the more evident after April overhears a conversation between Jason and the local sheriff and realizes something more sinister may be happening in their small town of Sweet Briar, Texas. But aligning herself with a known fugitive to uncover the burden of proof could cost April her job . . . or worse, her life and the lives of other innocent people.

Find Burden of Proof online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Underwhelmed

I’ve read and enjoyed many of Diann Mills’s romantic suspense novels, but Burden of Proof is not my favourite. The writing wasn’t as smooth as I expected, but that wasn’t my main issue.

My biggest problem was I had trouble relating to the main characters.

I think this was because we were first introduced to Jason Snyder as he kidnapped FBI negotiator April Ramos. This leaves reader-me with a problem: is Jason a good guy or an evildoer? He’s trying to persuade us he’s a good guy, but good guys don’t evade arrest. Good guys don’t kidnap and threaten FBI agents. And good guys are also known for lying, so his protests didn’t convince me.

It also seemed odd that April seemed to trust Jason almost right away. I didn’t buy it. Then there are hints she’s attracted to him—not unusual given this is romantic suspense, but it still left me wondering if Agent April was thinking with her FBI agent brain, or was she suffering from a touch of Stockholm Syndrome?

The result is I spent too much of the first half of the novel second-guessing was-he-or-wasn’t-he to actually get into the story and enjoy it. The character dynamics were clearer in the second half, but it was too late for me. I already hadn’t connected with Jason, and had my doubts about April.

As for the actual evildoer … it was all a bit obvious. There was no mystery, not enough suspense, and one of the minor characters nicely summed up my problems with the romance plot in one line:

No relationship lasts when it begins with danger and supercharged emotions.

All in all, I was underwhelmed by Burden of Proof.

Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About DiAnn Mills

Author Photo: DiAnn MIllsDiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne du Maurier, Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and Carol Award contests. Firewall, the first book in her Houston: FBI series, was listed by Library Journal as one of the best Christian fiction books of 2014.

DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe.

Find DiAnn Mills online at:

Website

Click here to find other great Christian fiction in my Amazon shop!

Quote from Bodyguard for Christmas: But would God really hear him, one man among millions? What if God was busy elsewhere, doing important things like preventing massive natural disasters?

Bodyguard for Christmas by Carol J Post

Despite the title, Bodyguard for Christmas isn’t really a Christmas story. I see Christmas stories as focusing around family and faith, not escaping from evildoers.

Bodyguard for Christmas is definitely the escaping from evildoers plot.

Assistant district attorney Colton Gale has a quiet life in comparison to his twin brother Cade, an antiques dealer and Indiana Jones wannabe. But Colton’s life turns all-too-exciting when he returns home to find someone attempting to kidnap his three-year-old son. Liam hasn’t spoken since his mother died, six months ago, and this new trauma won’t help. Colton decides he needs to hire a bodyguard to protect his son, and the bodyguard turns out to be his attractive neighbour, Jasmine NcNeal. They travel to Murphy, North Carolina, the location of two of Carol Post’s earlier novels (which means we get a few fun cameos from their now-married couples). Despite their move, trouble is never far away, which makes for a page-turning suspense novel.

Bodyguard for Christmas has plenty of twists and turns, and a slow-building romance.

Jasmine is clever and competent, which I think are two necessary qualities in any heroine and especially in a romantic suspense heroine. Colton is caring and protective, and quickly gets over his macho problem with a diminutive female bodyguard—a perfect hero. Bodyguard for Christmas is an enjoyable quick read, just right for the busy Christmas season. And no matter what happens to your Christmas dinner, I guarantee it will be better than Colton’s. Recommended for romantic suspense fans. Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About Bodyguard for Christmas

Someone’s after his little boy. She has one chance to save them both.

When his young son is nearly kidnapped, assistant district attorney Colton Gale needs a Christmas refuge – and a live-in bodyguard. Though former military police officer Jasmine McNeal fights to shield them 24/7, she refuses to get attached. But growing close to the little boy and his father might be her only shot at keeping them alive – and becoming a family beyond the holidays.

Find Bodyguard for Christmas online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads

About Carol J Post

Carol J PostFrom medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

You can find Carol J Post online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Read the introduction to Bodyguard for Christmas below:

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 73 | Mind Games by Nancy Mehl

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Mind Games by Nancy Mehl:

First line from Mind Games by Nancy Mehl: He stood in the middle of his secret room, staring at walls covered with newspaper clippings.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Mind Games

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis.

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

You can find Mind Games online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to Mind Games below:

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

And don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Quote from Gone Too Soon: It's disturbing to realize that I'm not as smart as I thought I was. I wonder what else I don't understand.

Book Review | Gone Too Soon by Melody Carlson

Kiera is fourteen, the independent and sassy middle child of three girls. But her older sister, perfect Hannah, died six months ago and it was Kiera’s fault. But Kiera reconsiders when she finds Hannah’s diary, and realizes Hannah wasn’t the paragon of perfection. Hannah had secrets …

On the outside, Kiera’s family look like the typical middle-class family, even if they are still grieving for a dead daughter and sister. But we see inside Kiera’s family, and it’s a long way from perfect.

Dysfunctional doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The story is told in first person from Kiera’s point of view, and in third person from her mother’s point of view. Kiera is a sympathetic character. She’s a somewhat rebellious and sassy teen (somewhat = the kind who gets herself a summer job and doesn’t secretly drink or do drugs). Like many teens, she feels isolated, as though no one understands her. Especially not her mother.

It’s hard to like Moira.

I’m the mother of teens, but still found myself siding with Kiera and wanting to give Moira a good talking to. Yes, she was grieving. But she was still the parent, and that means she has responsibilities. Like acting like a parent, not a stroppy teen.

The writing is occasionally shaky—I found the first person passages easier to read and more compelling than the third person passages. I’m not sure if that’s because the writing was stronger, or because I didn’t like Moira. I did wonder what Moira’s story was. Did we need to see her point of view, or was Kiera’s enough? Will teen readers care about Moira’s point of view, or will they find her even more annoying than I did?

In some ways, it doesn’t matter. Gone Too Soon is a strong YA story of blame and grief and recovery, and about how our bad decisions can make life so much worse … but also a story about how allowing God into our lives can bring us peace. No matter what.

Recommended for YA readers.

Thanks to Whitefire Publishing for providing a free ebook for review.

About Melody Carlson

Author Photo: Melody CarlsonMelody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her novels range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year.

She’s won a number of awards (including Romantic Time’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita and the Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.

Find Melody Carlson online at:

Website

About Gone Too Soon

An icy road. A car crash.
A family changed forever.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read. Apparently Hannah’s final year wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought.

Caught in a pattern of blaming each other, the Josephson family is falling apart. Their father has left, their mother is mixing opiates and alcohol, little sister Maddie has been shipped off to spend the whole summer with their grandmother, and Kiera feels utterly alone with her grief and anger. A summer job helping at a park in a poor section of town provides a friend and a purpose.

But it’s Hannah’s diary that fills her thoughts. For the first time in years, she feels close to the sister she’s lost. But can the knowledge she gleans about her possibly help her patch back together the family that seems determined to implode?

Find Gone Too Soon online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Goodreads

Click here to find Gone Too Soon and other great Christian fiction at my Amazon shop!

We serve a God of Miracles

A Thought for Today | We Serve a God of Miracles

A while back, I read a Facebook comment where the writer said she didn’t believe in miracles.

This stopped me scrolling through Facebook.

How could she not believe in miracles? The New Testament is full of them. She did have a reason. It wasn’t one I’d heard before, but that wasn’t what got me thinking.

What got me thinking was: do I believe miracles?

Yes, I do. Lots of miracles.

I believe in everyday miracles.

There is the miracle of birth, of a baby coming into the world. The miracle of germination, of putting a seed in the ground, and it turning into something I can eat. (I will clarify that. My husband put the seed in the ground, and I eat what comes up. I have a black thumb. In case you’re wondering, that’s the polar opposite of a green thumb).

There is the miracle of pollination. Of bees buzzing around collecting pollen from flowers to make their honey, and in that way allowing the flowers and vegetables to produce fruit. Which produces food. Without bees and pollination, humanity would be in big trouble. Isn’t it a miracle that our survival depends on something we often consider a pest?

And there is the miracle of salvation. Gods plan makes no sense to many people. We need a miracle to accept His word is true. Every person who accepts Jesus as saviour is the outward demonstration of an inward miracle.

I believe in small miracles.

There are small miracles, miracles of healing, of finance, of health. These might not always seem like much to the outside observer. Many people will try and explain them away through logic. But they are miracles to the recipients.

I’ll give you an example.

I used to work with an evangelist who had a healing ministry. Attending his meetings was eye-opening. He’d pray for hours in preparation, asking God to show him the people who would be at the meeting, and their health problems.

During one of the last meetings he held before Jesus called him home, he prayed for a woman who had a problem sitting without pain. She couldn’t. She was only in her forties, but she couldn’t sit down without it hurting. After he prayed, he asked her to sit on the hard stage.

She did. I could see her apprehension in her face … then the surprise when she sat and it didn’t hurt. She sat down several times, each time harder and harder, until she was practically bouncing up and down on the hard wooden stage. Look on her face was unforgettable. She emailed the following week, saying that was the first time she’d sat without pain in years.

That is, to me, was a miracle, and it was a miracle for that lady as well.

After the evangelist died, a thick book was compiled, of all the testimonies the evangelist had received over the years of the miracles God performed through him. It’s called Miracles in Aotearoa (New Zealand, for those of you who don’t speak Maori).

I believe in big miracles.

These might not be big miracles like Jesus performed. He didn’t turn water into wine. He didn’t raise anyone from the dead. But they were miracles all the same.

But I’ve heard stories of big miracles from people I trust, people who have no reason to lie to me. Their stories encourage me to believe in a God of miracles. As Christians, we believe in things seen and unseen. A God of miracles.

It struck me that if I didn’t believe in miracles, I would be placing limits on God. I would be saying God isn’t omnipotent. And I believe God is omnipotent. To believe anything else is believing in a lesser God.

Do I want to serve a God who can’t perform miracles? No. I want to serve a God who can. A God of miracles.

Do I demand that I see those miracles? No. I accept by faith the words of those who have seen them. And I give thanks for the everyday miracles, the small miracles, the big miracles. And for the God of miracles.

After all, we’re about to celebrate Christmas, the time when we remember the birth of Jesus our Saviour. If that’s not a miracle, what is?