The View is Amazing...

My review of the WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI...

When I first heard of the "Women of Valley View," I wondered what could be so interesting there. Was it a neighborhood? Was it a home for women? Was there something mysterious going on? Well, sort of. You see, Valley View is a church, and the women are a circle of friends who attend there.

Each book spotlights one of the women, and Terri's story gives us an excellent look at what is most special about this series. It's the way all these women react to each other. They hold each other up during hard times, do fun things together, and they are best friends. The stick-by kind. The kind you wish you had more of. 

Terri is a single woman looking for "Mr. Right," and has been looking for him so long that she begins to go ahead with her plans in spite of not having found him, yet. There's someone on her mind, of course, but he has older children and a granddaughter, already, while Terri wants very much to have babies. So, she becomes a foster parent. In hopes that this will fulfill some of the desires of her heart whether she finds a husband, or not. 

That's the premise. A lot of things happen to both thwart and encourage her, and one finds themselves reading to the last page just to see how everything turns out for everybody. It's a good read based on that alone. Very well-written, too. Ms. Srock brings people and place alive so vividly that you will actually recognize people you know there. Or at least wish you knew. But that isn't what makes it special.

What sets this book apart from most is the perspective. I might even go so far as to call it "the view." Like a movie running across the window of your mind, it gives you a front row seat to not only observe how Terri works out her problems, but how we can possibly apply those same methods to work on ours. Because that part of the story is real. Something you can take home with you.

Would I recommend the WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI? You bet. Because in my opinion, anytime you can walk away with something that valuable from an enjoyable piece of entertainment makes it priceless. Which is why I think everyone should meet the "Women of Valley View." By the way, you can get a delightful little introduction to them by visiting http://bitly.com/SmQmUs

Meet Sharon Srock...

Click here to find out about Sharon, read 
excerpts of  her books, and much more!

After I read the WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI, there were a few questions I just had to ask Sharon, myself. The first was: How did you come to choose foster care as a background for this book?

Well, Lilly, Terri is a baby person. I wanted her to have a child. As an unmarried woman, foster care seemed the fastest way to get that done for the sake of the story.

It worked because foster care will definitely take a person right to the heart of the matter, ready or not. Speaking of which, you seemed to know a lot about youth and family services and the entire foster care system. Have you ever had any personal experience with it, yourself?

Not personal. But I have good friends who fostered 3 sisters just about the time I started on Terri's story. I picked her brain about the parenting side and I contacted a social worker to get some input about the administrative side. By the way, my friends adopted those three little girls to go with their 3 natural sons. It's nice when there's a happy ending to what is often a sad situation. 

I think that's what makes it so rewarding for those who are willing to share their homes in that way. Having good friends around can really be a help, too. Your "women of valley view" seemed to be the kind of friends we would all like to have, is this group based on special relationships you have enjoyed in real life?

I've worshiped at the same Pentecostal church since I was 14. These people are my "forever" family. I have been on the giving and receiving end of the very relationships Terri and her friends portray.

A "forever family" is a wonderful way to look at it. I like that. And you did a great job of showing us just how that works. Besides being an example of Christian community, what do you hope readers will take away from Terri's story?

I think it would have to be that God keeps his promises. Terri feels like God made a promise to her. That if she gave her life to Him and folowed His direction, He would give her the desires of her heart. Sometimes it might look like God is taking us in the opposite direction, but if we'll trust, we'll end up where He wants us. I hope that's the message in Terri's story. Turst.

Watching her find her way was a strong thread in the story, and it was fascinating. Now, I'm wondering if, after spending so much time with your characters during the writing process, do you ever miss them when it's time to go on to another story? Will you be writing other books about these same women?

The WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: TERRI is the second in the series. The WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: CALLIE was released last October. The WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: PAM is under contract and I'm expecting an early 2014 release date. I'm about half done with The WOMEN OF VALLEY VIEW: SAMANTHA, and  Kate and Karla will also have stories.  So you see, I haven't had a chance to "miss" them.  (SMILE)

Well, they're easy ladies to get attached to, that's for sure. Thanks so much for visiting with me here, today, Sharon. I'll definitely be looking forward to meeting more Women of Valley View! 

Thank you for having me, Lilly.

Could I interest you in staying for some seaweed tea and mermaid cakes?

Sure... what are they made out of?

"Different is Beautiful"

Gina Holmes is the founder of Novel Rocket and a PR professional. Her bestselling novels Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain were both Christy finalists and won various literary awards. Her latest novel, Wings of Glass, released February 2013 and has earned a starred review from Library Journal, a Romantic Times Top Pick and a Southern Indie Bookseller's Okra Pick. She holds degrees in science and nursing and currently resides with her family in southern Virginia. She works too hard, laughs too loud, and longs to see others heal from their past and discover their God-given purpose. To learn more about her, visit www.ginaholmes.com.

This week, I'm thrilled to be visiting with Gina Holmes (someone I have known a lot longer than she has known me, because of how much I have enjoyed her wonderful website NovelRocket.com over the years). She has all kinds of great things to share -- whether you are a reader, or a writer -- so I'm going to let her get right to it, and try not to interrupt as much as I usually do (no guarantees, though). So, welcome, Gina, and congratulations on the release of WINGS OF GLASS, this month.

Thank you, Lilly, it's good to be here.

There's been a lot of anticipation over this third novel of yours, and for good reason. Can you start off by telling us a little about it?

Sure. You know, I think this is my favorite book so far. WINGS OF GLASS tells the story of Penny Taylor, a young wife who feels trapped and alone in a physically and emotionally abusive marriage. Besides her low self-esteem, she feels her Christian faith doesn’t allow for divorce. It’s not until she meets two women—one a southern socialite and the other a Sudanese cleaning woman—that her eyes are opened to the truth of her situation and she begins her journey to healing and redemption.

Wow, what made you take on the tough subject of domestic abuse?

As a little girl, I watched my mother being physically abused by her husband and then later, two of my sisters enter abusive relationship after abusive relationship and I thought that would never be me. . . until the day my boyfriend hit me for the first time and I began to make excuses for him. I know the mindset of someone who gets into and stays in an abusive relationship, because I’ve been there myself. It’s taken me years, and a lot of reading, praying, and talking to get to the heart of what brought me, and kept me, in toxic relationships. Now, I want to pass on some of what I learned that helped me find boundaries and recovery from a codependent mindset, and most of all healing.

It's true that people who understand best seem to be the ones who have also gone through it. What do you hope readers take away from this book?

It’s my hope and prayer that those who are in abusive relationships will begin to see that the problem lies with them as much as with the abuser. That’s something I railed against when friends suggested it. I wasn’t the one with the problem! I was no doormat who enabled abuse or addiction… or was I?

I also hope that those who have never understood the mindset of victims would better comprehend the intricacies of codependency and be better able to minister to these women and men. And of course I’d love it if young women would read this before they ever enter their first romantic relationship to have their eyes open to how abuse almost always progresses and be able to see the red flags early.

Well, I'm going to praying that it does all those things. And, of course, I have to ask which of the characters in the novel is most like you and why?

Everybody likes to know that, don't they? Actually, each of the characters has a little of me in them or vice versa. I think years ago I was more like Penny, though tougher in many regards, at least I thought so. I’d like to think now I’m a little more Callie Mae. Because I’ve lived through what I have and have found healing, I can see in others the path that will lead to healing and the one that will lead to destruction. The difficult part once you’ve found healing is remembering that you can’t do it for others. You can offer advice, but you can’t make anyone take it. Each person has to learn in their own time, in their own way.

Who is your favorite character?

I absolutely love Fatimah. She had such a great sense of humor and didn’t care what anyone thought except those who really mattered. She was really quite self-actualized. She was so much fun to write and I actually find myself missing her presence.

Which just goes to show what a great job you've done on bringing these characters to life. They do have a sort of life all their own. I like to call them "gentle missionaries" because very few people in "real life" get as much time and concentrated attention that readers will give the characters in a book they have chosen to read. What a bonus if it actually has something important to say! Not an easy thing to do from the writer's standpoint, though. Many hours of hard work  and determination involved there. 

So true, Lilly. But like everything else, being a writer has its good times and hard times.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part about being a writer?

Favorite? Making my own schedule. I love when I’m feeling bad one day knowing that I don’t have to punch a clock. I can just take the day off and then work harder the next. Of course, there’s a lot of other things I love about writing, like allowing others to consider another point of view that may be far different from their own.

Least favorite? Hmm... There’s a joke that when you work for yourself you at least get to pick which eighteen hours of the day you want. That’s true. Working from home means I’m always at work. I work from about 7:30 am until about eight at night most days. Under deadline, it’s worse. Truly understanding how much the success of a book rides on the shoulders of the author is a blessing and a curse. Because I get that no one is more invested in the success of my books than me, I put in a LOT of time on the publicity/marketing end of things. It’s tiring but an investment that I think pays off in the long run.

Not to mention that success is something that usually doesn't come overnight. I remember you said you had written four novels before your debut, Crossing Oceans was published. Do you think those books will ever get dusted off and reworked?

Never say never, but I doubt it. I had considered reworking some but having gone back and re-read them, I realized they weren’t published for good reason. They just didn’t work. Now, there is one story I’m resurrecting characters from for a story I should be writing next, but the plotline is completely different. I started out writing suspensel but as my reading tastes changed, so did my writing tastes. I don’t see myself doing suspense again any time soon.

Well, I definitely agree you've found your niche. And I think all those readers that have contributed to making you a bestselling novelist would agree with me. I love all those quirky characters. Something else you're known for. What inspires you to write these types into each book?

Honestly, Lilly, I’m a pretty quirky person, myself. The older I get, the more I embrace those quirks. I think everyone is quirky really. As a student of human nature, I pick up on those and like to exaggerate them in my fiction. I also like to surround myself with quirky people. My husband is quirky, my kids are quirky and so are my friends. Often in life, especially when we’re young, we hate about ourselves what makes us different, when really those are the things we should be embracing. Different is interesting. Different is beautiful.

I couldn't agree more. Now, if you could write anything you wanted-- and genre, marketing and reader expectations didn’t matter-- what would you write?

Going back to quirky… I read a book a few years back that was so different that it made me want to try something like that. The book was a big-time bestseller, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. What turned me on about that book were the characters. They were quirky to an extreme. In contemporary women’s fiction, I can get away with a certain amount of quirk. but I’m always having to play it down because it’s so over the top. In a fantasy, you can be as over the top as you dare. I’d love to play around with something like that one day and just let my freak flag fly! Will I? Probably not unless I use a pen-name. I realize readers have certain expectations and I wouldn’t want anyone to feel mislead. We’ll see. There’s lots in life I want to do but since I only get a hundred or so years (if I’m lucky), time won’t allow for every rabbit hole.

Which is a good reason to have a map of some sort to go along with the territory, right? I'm going to look for that "someday" book of yours, though, even if it does have a pen-name on it. Might take a while since you spend so much of your time not only with your own projects, but with helping others along that same road, as well. That said, what advice would you have for writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?

My advice would be not to follow too closely in anyone’s footsteps. Yes, there is a certain path all writers find themselves on. There are certain things that we must all do like learning to write well, figuring out platform, going to writers conferences to meet the gatekeepers and figure out the way things have to be formatted and submitted and all that sort of thing. But it’s okay to veer off the path too and forge your own. There are those who have self-published who have found great success.

There are those who have written about subjects that they were told no one wanted to read about and found success. It’s smart to figure out what others have done before you to make them successful, but alter the formula to suit your needs and passions. It’s okay to be different, in fact, I think great success and maybe even happiness depends upon it. And by all means, read Novel Rocket.com and leave comments. It helps not only encourage those authors who have taken the time out of their day to teach us, but it also connects you to the writing community. Community is important. 

It certainly is. Thank you so much for visiting with me, today, Gina, it's been a pleasure. Could I interest you in a cup of "Seaweed Tea" and a piece of "Mermaid Cake" before you go? My cooking has changed a bit since I moved onto a boat.

Well, I'm pretty careful about what I eat these days, Lilly... what exactly are they made of?

          

From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

A Wild Ride...

Hold onto you hats, Clare Revell fans, because WEDNESDAY'S CHILD is a wild ride. One that takes us out of Headley Cross, and halfway around the world to Africa. But not just for fun because there are mysteries to solve and sinister forces afoot. All of which will keep you turning pages right up to the end.

That's not all, however, because Ms. Revell is up to her usual abilities to give heroine, Jacqui Dorne, a delightfully interesting job all by itself. Oh, yes, and if you are wondering how she comes up with so many of these diverse occupations, see the interview following this review ( I just had to ask).   Anyway, Jacqui is a landscape artist who is as good at what she does as what she believes.

Which brings me to what I like best about any Clare Revell novel, and that's the little bits of spiritual wisdom woven throughout. I say wisdom because it's always something that one can readily apply to our own “ordinary” lives. Something that makes WEDNESDAY'S CHILD (in my opinion) one of the best forms of pure entertainment there is. Along the romance variety. Just right for a quick getaway, and one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Here's what it's all about...

Wednesday's Child grieves for his soul...

Liam Page, school teacher and ex-missionary, is a man with a secret agenda. Revenge. But when he says it with flowers, and accidentally drenches a woman who just happens to be the school's landscape architect, he may have found a light in his darkness.

After an abusive relationship, Jacqui Dorne prefers work to men. It's safer. But Liam Page with his boyish charm and wounded soul, manages to change her preferences. Has God led her to Liam to help him heal?

When their growing relationship is marred by the reappearance of Jacqui's ex-boyfriend, they find themselves suddenly embroiled in a series of dangerous events which leads them to Africa and has them fighting for both love and life.

Now, for a chat with Clare...

Clare Revell

Hello, and welcome back, Clare! OK... where in the world do you come up with so many interesting and diverse vocations for your main characters to have? 

Good question, Lilly. Short answer is, I have no idea. 

You're kidding.

Well, sort of. The truth is, sometimes from TV programmes I watch. Or, maybe while I'm writing something else, and one of the secondary characters will interrupt long enough to demand a book of their own.

Ah-ha. But I think you must have your antenna tuned for the especially quirky ones because they're all so unusual. For instance, did you have any personal interest in landscape artists before you wrote WEDNESDAY'S CHILD? Was there a particular moment that gave you that idea? 

Home of the
"great escape"

Actually, that one had its first draft a while ago, when PBG (has a great discount book club) ran a competition in which the hero was a teacher and the heroine a landscape architect. I'd never heard of them--always assumed they were just gardeners. But once I did a little research, Jacqui (who changed names several times), took on a life of her own.

I'll say she did, look how far she went from Headley Cross. Not to mention what she discovered about herself along the way. Something that reminds me how much these jobs are always a great fit for the actual plot of your stories. What usually comes to you first... the personality, the vocation, or the plot? 

In this instance the vocations came first. But normally, the plot happens first. Then the lead characters pick their names, and the jobs just seem to follow on.

Thank heaven, because with you being such a prolific writer, things could get confusing. Do you have some system for organizing ideas and plotting out future novels? Or do you simply carry it all around in your head? 

It's how I organize my head, actually, because if I don't write I go insane. But here's a sort of system I've come up with. I write a basic blurb for each idea, then out comes my stack of notecards. On them go the book title, hero, heroine (with a brief description of the job), and family history. Now, I may never include that the hero has a great aunt called Edith, but then you never know... 

Next in the series

Which is exactly what I enjoy about picking up one of your novels, Clare. I never know what I'm going to find in there! It's been great having a peek behind the scenes, today, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you how much I'll be looking forward to THURSDAY'S CHILD when it comes out.

Thank you, Lilly.

My pleasure. Have time for a bit of Seaweed Tea before you  go?

Hmm... I don't know, I've never tried any.

Well, personally, I've had to make a lot of changes since moving onto a boat. How about I file your opinion of it away for our next chat? Along with if you decide to opt in on the Mermaid Cakes I baked, this morning, to go along with it. 

I would have to be honest, of course.

One of the things I like best about you, Ms. Revell... the very best!

Could This Be True?

SEVENTH DIMENSION: THE DOOR is a young adult fantasy like no other. It starts off ordinary enough as we follow the troubled young Shale Snyder through a few difficulties at school and at home, but takes an amazing turn into Biblical times. Amazing because there's a twist.

A few others have gotten there the same way. And while there are plenty of adventures and mysteries to solve, this story is filled with many wonderful explanations of life and history that are enlightening to readers of all ages.

I particularly enjoyed the way Ms. Roberts did such a marvelous job of revealing the story through the eyes of Shale, and how she captured the sense of discovery of one's true spiritual journey. In fact, I could almost believe that there was a possibility that the experience could even happen in real life.

At any rate, I found the book not only an entertaining read, but one of such unique spiritual insights that I will eagerly look forward to reading book two. Because THE SEVENTH DIMENSION is a place of hidden treasures for all ages... whether it is real, or not.

Lorilyn Roberts writes children's picture books, adult nonfiction, memoirs, and the young adult Christian fantasy series, Seventh Dimension. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Alabama, which included international study in Israel and England. She received her Masters in Creative Writing from Perelandra College and is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature.

Lorilyn is also the founder of the John 316 Marketing Network, a network of Christian authors who are passionate about promoting books with a Christian worldview.

To learn more about Lorilyn, please visit her website at lorilynroberts.com

Promise Me This...

PROMISE ME THIS, by Cathy Gohlke, took me somewhere. Having loved historical fiction ever since I can remember, I thought I knew pretty much where we were going with this. Especially since the entire world (generations, in fact) already knows the outcome of one of the main incidents the book is written around. That incredibly disturbing sinking of the Titanic. But there was something I wasn't expecting in it.

I didn't expect to meet Owen Allen.

I loved this character. He was the brother we all wish we had, the confidant, the one true friend who draws the very best out of you even when you're afraid you might not be able to give it. A true “apostle of love” who has the capacity to jump right off the pages and into your heart. At the end, I wanted to be like Owen. To touch people in the same meaningful way that he did in his life. To me, Owen Allen was very real.

PROMISE ME THIS, was a wonderful book. Well-researched, beautifully crafted, with a plot that did not disappoint. Having finished this book, I feel as if I have, somehow, lived through these times, myself, and learned something.

Which, in my opinion, is historical fiction at its best.

Read an Excerpt 

Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of William Henry is a Fine Name and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires, which also won the American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Award and was listed by Library Journal as one of the Best Books of 2008.

Cathy has worked as a school librarian, drama director, and director of children's and education ministries. When not traipsing the hills and dales of historic sites, she, her husband, and their dog, Reilly, make their home on the banks of the Laurel Run in Maryland. Visit her website at: www.cathygohlke.com.

Tuesday's Child is...

I look forward to reading books by Clare Revell. She never fails to entertain with diverse characters, and amazingly unique storylines that draw you quickly into the life and loves of each one. 

TUESDAY'S CHILD would have been a delightful scenario all by itself, with heroine Adeline Munroe running a doll hospital that had the same protocols as a people one. Except there was a disturbing serial killer on the loose that kept me turning pages longer than I planned on more than one occasion. I didn't want to see that beautiful little world Adeline had created get shattered.

I also liked how she jumped into life a hundred percent, even to the point of taking a self-defense class in her church. Led by one of the members (a very attractive Detective Sergeant) who  happened to be working on the case. Between his niece needing the services of the doll hospital, and Adeline having detailed visions about the murders before they happened, the Lord seemed to have had a hand in bringing these two together. Even though there were a lot of things working against them from the very beginning.

  

Which is all I'm going to say about the story. It's a good one, and anyone who likes one of those will not be disappointed. However, Clare Revell accomplished something with this book that effected a change in me in a very quiet but impressive way. After having met Adeline Munroe, I will never look at deaf people in the same way, again. Ever.

So thank you for that, Clare.

Well done!

You can find out more about Clare, and the other books in this series by visiting her website. There are seven of them, one for every day of the week. How great is that? Meanwhile, here's a bit of a peek into all of them...

Queen of the Waves: a review...

Janice Thompson is one of my new favorite authors. This because her stories always make me feel like I've spent some time with extended family for awhile and been refreshed by the visit. Her books are “feel good books.”

The very reason there has been so much anticipation to see whether, or not, she could do the same thing with a deeper, more serious book. Like QUEEN OF THE WAVES. Well, one cannot get any deeper or more serious than the sinking of the Titanic! So, how did she do it?

I'll tell you. She did it by taking her perspectives with her. It wasn't the catchy plot (even though she had one of those), or even the vivid look into that fateful voyage she gave. It wasn't a surprise ending, either, considering we all know what happened there. No. For me, it was the family thing, again.

Those familiar characters that could have been my own sister, brother, or friend, who grappled with the same personal issues we all face at one time, or another. More importantly, how they survived them. 

And even though I found it very interesting to “catch a glimpse” of the clothes, and the food, and the luxuriousness of that floating palace, I came away with the wonderfully familiar encouragement in the “art of coping” one always bumps up against in a Janice Thompson novel. Which I take very seriously, no matter what the venue is.

A thing that (in my opinion) makes Janice something of a “queen of the waves,” herself.

You can find out more about Janice and her books by visiting her web site: JaniceThompson.com.