The Faith of Ashish (Blessings in India series)

What does it take to break your heart? Would a brutal beating of a small Indian child, an untouchable boy, move you to discover more about a society that places such little value on life? Why would a lowly tanner, someone who handles dead animals for their skins, name his son “Blessing” in a world where nothing blesses and everything worthwhile is in the hands of the rich and powerful. What faith can possible overcome the heat and hopelessness of the poverty and filth in India? 

Kay Marshall Strom’s newest fiction release The Faith of Ashish is a tender, poignant story told with a heart of love for the least-loved people on our planet. The reader enters the lives of Virat, Latha, and their son, Ashish, as they struggle to survive the cruel realities of their outcaste existence. The presence of one true Christian believer, a young nurse in a medical mission compound, shines the light of Christ into their darkness, proving the naming of their boy was not a mistake. Not a foolish rebellion against their dharma—their personal moral law. Hope does exist. 

The story unfolds on many levels—revealing not only the plight of the Untouchables in India, but also the inadequacy of Christian mission in the early twentieth-century, and the confusion of true “religion” with those who claim roots in the faith, but do not practice it. Readers also meet the wealthy landowner, Mammen Samuel, who pretends to help poor people, but then makes them his slaves for life. What kind of a world tolerates such deceit in the name of God? 

Our world. The one we in the prosperous West ignore in deference to our soft beds, our electronic toys, our stocked-to-the-brim pantries. Kay Strom is on a mission of her own: to bring the suffering people of the world into our homes by any means—to rouse us to action to make a difference. Several of her non-fiction works have highlighted the lives of persecuted believers. Her previous fiction series, Grace inAfrica, shines a beacon on the evils of slavery—past and present. Now, she shows usIndia. The realIndia. 

My heart was broken. I took the risk to read, to feel, to care. How about you? 

The Faith of Ashish releases in August 2011. You can preorder now on Amazon.com or christianbooks.com  I was provided an Advance Reader Copy by the author.

by Max Lucado

Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011

A Pastor in Your Pocket…

More than once in my sixty-one years, my favorite pastor deserted me. That’s how I felt, anyway. Of course, there were always reasons: he retired; the denomination moved him to another city; he changed his career focus; the church couldn’t afford to keep him on. Others I know have lost beloved pastors to indiscretion, death, or disability. Whatever the reason, the loss of a shepherd, and the wait for a new one, is a tough time for most Christians. 

So hurrah for Pastor Max! His latest book Max on Life offers a seasoned pastor’s wisdom and care that you can lift from your bookshelf or bedside table any time you have a question about the thorny “stuff” of life that scratches and pricks your soul. Whether you are between pastors or not, this book can serve as a ready reference when you need answers, and can’t wait.

 Worried about aging? Finances? Relationships? Don’t know how to talk to your kids about sex? Is your son or daughter a prodigal? Have doubts about the existence of heaven and hell? So do the real people who have written to Max Lucado over his lifetime as a pastor. In this book, you can get answers that make sense along with Max’s signature tenderness of heart and well-crafted prose. 

For me, an added bonus was the addendum on writing. When someone with his level of success in publishing wants to share his “secrets,” I am listening, taking notes, and applying his (or her) advice. Max Lucado consistently delivers—to the glory of God. I want to be that kind of writer.

 Max on Life would also be an excellent gift for those who are homebound, for seekers of truth, for skeptics who mistrust the church, and for new believers who often are overwhelmed with adjusting their lives to their faith.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Map Across Time

#2 in The Gates of Heaven series

by C.S. Lakin 

Fairy tales can come true…it can happen to you…if you’re young at heart . . . 

Oh, so fun to be young at heart again and plunge into a saga from “once upon a time,” where characters can follow magical maps, put their feet into glowing impressions, travel back and forth in time, and take advice from talking pigs. Equally enjoyable is relating to the plot as the characters learn, grow, and make personal sacrifices so others can become what they were created to be—sort of like us, right? Lakin weaves a well-plotted, stand-alone tale of royal intrigue and peasant wisdom. Allusions to biblical stories and paraphrased proverbs add depth and richness to her stated theme:  that those who feel they are insignificant and unworthy have merit and serve heaven’s purpose, even if that purpose is hidden. 

Even if you don’t consider yourself a fan or reader of fantasy (I am in that group), you will not regret reading this captivating, heart-gripping story. If you are a home-school family, this book is a must for your pre-teen-and-up students. Lakin includes a theme-centered discussion guide that refers readers to relevant biblical stories and Scripture references. I can’t imagine a better introduction to learning how to engage a Christian worldview into the reading of literature. 

The Map Across Time will be released in March of  2011 by Living Ink Publishers. Pre-ordering is available now on Amazon.com

Grace in Africa Series – #2

By Kay Marshall Strom

History matters. Not just the dates and the what-happened facts. Not just the famous names who made their marks on important documents. Ordinary people also contributed to our history—people who saw the need for change, who stood for justice when it wasn’t popular to do so, who never gave up the cause for freedom. Kay Marshall Strom draws wonderful word pictures of people like these in her Grace in Africa series. Yes, of course her characters are fictional—but they are born out of painstaking research, out of passion, and out of a desire to communicate present-day conditions through stories of past struggles. 

The second book in the Grace in Africa series, Voyage of Promise, gives the reader an almost too-close experience on board a slave ship bound for England in the late 1700s. Being in the mind and heart of a man living this horror will change you. Our story’s heroine, Grace Winslow—the estranged daughter of an African princess and a British slave ship owner—believes she will be reunited with Cabeto, her African husband, in London and live a life of happiness together, in spite of the murder of their son and being ripped away from all they knew and loved in Africa. Little does she know her husband is bound for the Americas—and no one in London, not even her own father, is interested in helping her. She unknowingly becomes embroiled in an unpopular anti-slavery movement, which turns sour and puts her in harms way—a place she has become rather used to. Grace is determined, resourceful—and, yes, sometimes impulsive and foolhardy. But she represents what is best in those who truly care about making a difference in our world. And she believes that she, like the biblical Queen Esther, was born “for such a time as this.”

 If you love historical fiction, you will love this series. Be prepared to care again—to learn something—and to lose yourself in another place and time, at least for a few hours. Kay Marshall Strom never disappoints.

Published by Thomas Nelson  

The list of minds and talents behind this new rendition of the New Testament is impressive, as is the intent of their approach:  to present the Bible in a user-friendly format, unencumbered by extraneous dialog tags and vocabulary specific to religion and theology. The hope was to make the scriptures “sing” to the reader and communicate the thread of “Jesus, the Liberating King” throughout.  

I tried three or four times to become involved with this “retelling” of the biblical story. But I was unsuccessful. For me, a lifelong student of the Bible (in many translations), the replacement of familiar, and to me, important, words such as:  Messiah, Savior, baptism, repentance, salvation, was just too distracting. Nevertheless, I think a new Christian or a seeker would find this book helpful. Each book is prefaced with some historical background information, and each chapter contains at least one commentary. Nothing I read was “new” to me, so the inclusion of the commentaries was intrusive rather than informative. In addition, the text itself is complicated by lots of italics where text is added for clarity, making any individual page just too busy for middle-aged eyes! 

Thomas Nelson Publishers provided my copy of The Voice New Testament for review as part of their Booksneeze program.

Thomas Nelson Publishers 2010 

The subtitle of Max Lucado’s newest book Outlive Your Life says it all:  “You were made to make a difference.” This has been my personal mission message for the past ten years after God unexpectedly sent me to Russia to teach the Bible. But, what better venue for proclaiming this message than the book of Acts—the story of the movement of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the launch of the early Christian church. Max weaves the reader into the fabric of the lives of the people in Acts and of people today whose lives go beyond their own daily routines. He shows us the excitement behind making a difference and woos us into action. Max also reminds us of the Who behind the excitement—calling us to humility instead of the attention-getting behavior so common in a culture that thrives on “me, me, me.” On page 117 he writes: “We think we’re shaking up the world when actually we’re just along for the ride.” Yes, and what a ride it is!  When the Creator of the universe is including us in his plans, what else can there be but thrills. 

My favorite chapter was chapter 13, “Don’t Write Off Anyone.” In the story of Saul and Ananais, Max exposes the fears that threatens to weaken our resolve to “go” to those who seem the most unlikely to receive the gospel. What if Ananais had let his fear of Saul overcome him? We wouldn’t have blamed him, would we? How many of us have approached a known Christian-killer (hater, scoffer, resister)? Max ends the chapter with his personal testimony, when he was the Saul and his college roommate the Ananias. That really touched me. Imagine the outcome if the roommate had given up . . . 

The book includes an excellent discussion and action guide to assist individuals or small groups in jumpstarting a life that makes a difference. Personally, I would love to lead a small group toward this end and use Outlive Your Life and the book of Acts as the study material. It’s clear, purposeful, and relevant. Max Lucado is a treasure who has long ago made a huge difference with his life, his writings, and his uncanny ability to communicate the truth of the gospel into the hearts of humanity.

Zondervan – October 2010

(Advance reading copy)

Small towns have big problems—or so it seems—when a shifty-eyed drifter moves into Breakers, California about the same time as the Moore family, what’s left of them anyway. Matt, Irene, and Casey need a new beginning, but moving to Breakers comes with its own brand of pain and mystery. Thefts, fires, vandalism—who is to blame? The fill-in sheriff can’t seem to get a handle on it. The town’s new pastor doesn’t have any answers. The locals start pointing fingers. The Moores aren’t finding the peace they were looking for—not at all.

I had been waiting—impatiently—to read Susanne Lakin’s contest winner, Someone to Blame, since Zondervan announced her name at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference in 2009. What a joy to be chosen as a pre-release reader—and what a thrill to read this fabulous, suspenseful novel. Definitely a page turner. Never boring. Believable characters in a plot that never seemed contrived.

 The theme of our human nature needing to look outside ourselves for the causes of “bad things” happening is well-developed and appropriately presented in the setting of a small coastal town among people who only think they know each other well, and know their own motivations even less. The Christian elements in the storyline weave through seamlessly and realistically. Bad things do happen to “good” people, to believers, and even to pastors’ families. None of us is exempt from calamity. The grace we both give and receive is what helps us survive it. The question Lakin raises is: can we accept the grace?

 Someone to Blame is scheduled for release in early September. I suggest you order a copy now before they sell out! I’m looking forward to Lakin’s next, next, and next!

The Wolf of Tebron – #1 in The Gates of Heaven series

By C.S. Lakin

AMG/Living Ink Publishers 

(An Advanced Reader Copy Review) 

The invitation used as the frontispiece in C.S. Lakin’s allegorical fantasy, The Wolf of Tebron, was surely included just for my benefit. She quotes C.S. Lewis: “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Having abandoned reading that genre some 30 years ago, I admit I hesitated to reenter that world, even for my friend and fellow editor, Susanne Lakin, and her first published novel, which just happened to be a fantasy.  

But how could I resist? The cover art alone promises adventure as a barefooted young hero attempts to scale a castle with walls of sand, a weird-looking moon laughs from high above him, and a huge wolf lurks nearby. 

Lakin takes her readers on an intriguing “hero’s journey” to the four corners of the Earth with Joran, an angry, misguided blacksmith and his unlikely companion, a silver wolf. The quest is allegedly to find Joran’s young wife, whom he sends away one day in a fit of jealousy, but who keeps haunting his dreams in her struggles as a captive in a castle near the sea—a place neither of them had ever seen. The journey’s true purpose is for Joran to discover his real identity and redeem the love he needlessly threw away. 

I found Lakin’s narrative in keeping with the story-telling style of a classic fairy tale. Some have compared her book to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series. In any case, you won’t find the snappy dialog or page-turning action one finds in a modern legal thriller, for instance. Rather, you will be drawn in as you might have been drawn in to a tale by Anderson or Grimm—as a child listening to an adventure of “once upon a time.” You always wonder, what happens next? And something always does, to Lakin’s credit. In addition, her use of allegory and allusions to classical and biblical sources enriches the storyline and makes the book appealing to more discerning readers of fantasy. 

A word about the prologue. I really liked it. I wanted the story that began to unfold there to continue—well, (without giving anything away)—more obviously. I was more intrigued by wizards, dark forces, and brown bears called Anya than I was by a sulking blacksmith in a rural village. Eventually, though, Joran won me over, and I cared about what happened to him. 

I’m not yet convinced that I’m ready to plunge back into reading fantasy on a regular basis. But I’m glad I took the time to read C.S. Lakin’s The Wolf of Tebron, and I applaud her efforts to reclaim this genre for “grown ups” like me.

Try James Scott Bell

Try Dying, Try Darkness, Try Fear 

Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles’ sprawling freeways, nightclubs, back alleys and quirky coffee houses, Jim Scott Bell’s newest series published by Hatchett Book Group, Inc. is another successful page-turner that is packed with action, tension, sometimes implausible but always possible entanglements, and surprise-twist resolutions. 

Criminal attorney Ty Buchanan swears he never saw a single episode of Dragnet. Nevertheless, his first-person film-noir-type observations and nose for trouble belie his ignorance of the popular 1950’s detective series. Ty could be Sgt. Joe Friday’s grandson. 

Of the three (Try Dying, Try Darkness, and Try Fear), my personal favorite was Try Darkness because of the development of the strong female character, Sister Mary Veritas. A nun? Yes, a nun. Not your usual idea of a strong female, right? Would it help to know that Sister Mary is a whiz at Internet research, makes one heck of a private-eye, and isn’t shy about throwing an elbow now and then in a not-so-friendly hoop match of one-on-one? I like this woman. And Ty likes her too. He’s mourning the death of his fiancée, and Sister Mary is safe (or is she?)   

The plots in this series never drag because the snappy and better-than-real-life dialog pulls you right into the first scenes of murder and mayhem and keeps you there until the last. Bell’s gift for this aspect of the writing craft is unmatched (in my opinion). I also enjoy the authenticity that permeates all of Bell’s novels. Formerly a Los Angeles trial attorney, he knows the ropes, knows the way crimes come down there, and brings his personal knowledge of the setting into these novels. I know this because I grew up in the midst of many of his scene locations. Fun for me to “be there” again. 

Previously, Jim Bell wrote and published legal thrillers for the inspirational market. In this departure from genre and publisher, he skillfully includes spiritual elements (in addition to the psychological and emotional) which mimic life without preaching or proselytizing. Christian authors—take notice. 

Notwithstanding all the respect due him for his success, I say:  move over John Grisham. Your writing has become flabby, passive, and predictable. Legal thrillers should be thrilling! James Scott Bell delivers!

By Mary DeMuth 

In my review of the first book of Mary DeMuth’s Defiance Texas Trilogy, I asked the question: why are people in Defiance so defiant? Now I know the answer—secrets. So many secrets…so much pain and grief because of them. And isn’t that just like us? 

There lies the beauty of Mary DeMuth’s Life in Defiance. She writes relevant fiction—stories that mean something. In the case of this book, her impeccable writing sucked me right into the inner world of Ouisie Pepper and held me there until all the secrets holding Defiance, Texas, captive could come up for air and dissipate into the breezes of another sweet-smelling Texas spring. I identified with Ouisie and the despair caused by all the secrets she tried to stuff behind the church pew and in her secret stash of booze in the flower vase (although I never drank vanilla extract!). I also cheered for Emory Chance (previously not one of my favorite characters) as she rose out of the proverbial ashes, found redemption and forgiveness, and then was able to offer it sacrificially.

And yes, we find out who killed Daisy Chance. But I’m not going to spoil that one for you. I will say that we get to know him before we know his identity . . . and that was, for me, an unexpected treat as I stayed up later and later pursuing the ending, but wishing the story wouldn’t end.

 Too bad Amazon’s highest rating is only a “5.”  This book deserves a 6! From the first chapter, which in my estimation qualifies for one of the top 10 best first chapters EVER, to the last, somewhat mysterious sentence, I found not a single flaw. Mary delivered far beyond my high expectations. This trilogy is not to be missed, and I believe that any discerning reader will be changed in some (good) way because of reading these stunning stories.