The wait if finally over! Mary Connealy’s first book, Petticoat Ranch, came out over a year ago and I was almost rolling on my floor laughing through that book. Ever since, I’ve been waiting for another gut buster from my friend Mary. I met Mary at a CAN retreat about the time her first book came out and she is a hoot! I love hoots! I also think Mary is my hero as I’ve heard through the grapevine that she completed 15 manuscripts before she sold her first book. Now she’s been discovered and I believe she has NINE new books contracted! Hello!!! She’s a walking grace lesson in my book…one who doesn’t dread the consequences resulting from absolute obedience to God’s command or calling.

I know, you want to hear about Calico County. Did it live up to my expectations? Was I ROFL? (Rolling on the floor laughing) Did I get caught up in a delightful story that implanted truth? Yes, yes, and yes!! At one point I laughed so loud my husband looked up from the newspaper and raised his brow. He’s not one to laugh at books. (I think he needs to find better books to read, huh?!) Anyway, all I said was, “This is Mary Connealy’s new book” and he nodded and went back to his paper as though I’d said it all. I have two of Mary’s books on my shelf now and I expect to see a whole line-up before I’m done. Calico County was a delight! The best news is that the third book, Calico Mountain, will release in February 2009! Read the rest of this entry »

The last two weeks have been incredibly busy writing weeks for me. I was trying to get two proposals ready for my agent as well as finishing up my current WIP (work in progress). Doing that with kids under foot is no easy trick. However, last week my sweet Kadi (12) left to visit family for a few weeks. Trust me, she’s not the noisy one. She IS the one I have to taxi the most often though. The boys are the ones who I’m most often having to run herd on. This past weekend, however, my parents came to help us on some home repair projects and on Sunday they pulled out with two planned stowaways. I suppose a “planned” stowaway doesn’t make much sense, but I think those boys felt like they were jumping ship or making a grand escape of some sort. So … I’ve been writing like crazy for the last two days and I have two more to go! Hallelujah!

My boys have been at odds a bit these days. I think the endless rain we had there for a while, resulting in strictly indoor play, contributed to this issue. I gave my parents lots of suggestions for management of my ruffians before I kissed the boys good-bye.  Last night my mom sent me the following email:

Hi,
Grandpa made swords and guns for the boys today. All is well on the “Western Front”!! That translates to “no problems” except for pink cheeks and noses and very tired boys. They were outside ALL day. They ate a huge meatloaf supper and had showers and went to bed about nine and still haven’t moved. Grandma had a long bath and now I’m ready for bed.

Love you and hope the writing is going well!

Mom

Well, you can’t beat that, can you? The best part is the precious picture of my boys. Caleb (6 in one month) is in the yellow, Ben (8 in 2 weeks) is in the red, and their much loved cousin on the farm is Lance (7) in the blue. You just have to love it! And how ’bout that talented grandpa who made all the cool weapons?! Wow!

So, while all is quiet on the Western Front, out east here the keys are clicking away and the brain is in overdrive. Ah, God is good all the time!

I had the privilege of meeting Chuck Black at the Minnesota Association of Christian Home Education conference this year. My husband and I purchased part of his first series of books and took a sneak peek at information about Sir Kendrick. We also enjoyed listening to the spectacular music that his daughter rote to compliment both series. When this book came in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled!

Sir Kendrick and the Battle of Bel Lioneis an allegory of the battle between good and evil. Take a deep breath before you start this book; the pace is fast and the writing is exceptional. The target audience is teen/young adult, but adults will be captivated by Black’s writing. My husband recently finished reading Raising a Modern Day Night by Robert Lewis and was looking for a book he could read with our boys either now or in a couple of years (they are quite young). This book fits the bill perfectly! We will be telling all our friends who have completed the Raising a Modern Day Night course to purchase this book for their children, as well. I highly recommend this book! Read the rest of this entry »

Friends, you’ve probably figured out by now that I absolutely loved the Sword of Lyric series. These books consumed me. My husband and I usually weigh the merit of a good movie by how long after it we are pondering themes, dialogue and messages in the storyline. For me, the same is true of a great novel. Sharon’s series has left me thinking. I marked passages that helf special significance in my life and I’ve shared themes with friends and family.

If you recall at the beginning of my Sharon Hinck postings, I confessed that I’d never read much in the fantasy genre. If this is what it’s all about then I need more and so does the Christian community. It was outstanding!  Here’s the backcover copy on book three, The Restorer’s Journey. Read the rest of this entry »

I apologize for not getting this out last week as I had intended. We were up to our eyeballs this past weekend in theater. Kadi (12) was in the musical Tom Sawyer. It was an amazing weekend with 4 sold out shows! Next weekend’s performances are also shold out except for one. Too fun!  Anyway, I wanted to tell you about Sharon Hinck’s 2nd book in The Sword of the Lyric series.

The Restorer’s Son picked up right where The Restorer left off. If you recall, I nearly had a panic attack when book one ended and I didn’t yet own book 2! I appreciated the fact that Hinck gives backstory in such a way that you don’t feel like you have to read several chapters retelling book 1 before book 2 takes off. I was sucked into this book as quickly as I was in The Restorer. Read the rest of this entry »