“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of MADD.  A donation was made to MADD in my name to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

As a high school teacher for over twenty years, I wanted to participate in this blog campaign because I’ve taught students who died because of their own drinking or because of being in a car with someone who’s drunk or being hit by someone drinking. Kids at every grade level, freshmen just entering high school, seniors on the verge of graduation…robbed of opportunity by disability or death.

What’s enraged me even more than kids drinking are the parents who provide the alcohol for them. Their rationale? “Well, they’re going to drink anyway. I’d rather them drink here where I can watch them.” Really? Where you can watch them get drunk, then attend prom in a limo where there’s more alcohol? If they’re going to engage in sex “anyway,” will you let them do that at your house as well?

I live close to New Orleans, and some students think that getting smashed on Bourbon Street is a rite of passage. For far too many, it’s followed by the last rites.

Check out these sites, don’t be afraid to be honest with your kids. Take a stand to shape a generation, not bury one.

• MADD Blog: http://maddparents.blogspot.com/
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/maddparents
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MADDs-Power-of-Parents-Its-your-influence/131838435851
• Safety Quiz: http://www.madd.org/parents/highschool-drinking2.html
• Support 21 Survey: http://support.madd.org/support21

Roughly 6,000 people will die this year in direct correlation with underage drinking—a statistic that can be greatly reduced with parental intervention.

Underage drinking has emerged as the number one youth drug problem. By being an informed, caring parent you can strongly impact your teens decisions regarding alcohol. In fact, 74% of kids will turn to their parents for guidance on drinking. And research shows that as moms we are the number one influencers in dealing with this issue. For teens, alcohol is an illegal drug—and a zero tolerance policy is the best policy to have as a parent.

On October 27^th, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) will be launching The Power of Parents: It’s Your Influence (www.thepowerofparents.org). This program has been designed to help provide us as parents with key tips, information, and tools to help us at home reach our teens and communicate the real life danger of underage alcohol use.

Fear Tactics: Creating Terror and Suspense

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!

-Old Scottish saying.

Walking through a graveyard on Halloween night is more frightening because of what we imagine we might see rising from under the next gravestone or lurking behind the next tree than because of anything we’re actually likely to run into. What we imagine is always more frightening than reality. This is true in real life and it’s even truer in fiction.

Perhaps Alfred Hitchcock said it best, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

Watching a character we care about unwittingly approach an evil lurking at the top of the stairs will keep us turning the pages of a book far more effectively than actually seeing a murder take place. It’s a principle any wannabe writer of thrillers or suspense novels would do well to understand if they want their work to succeed.

Creating a sense of foreboding and carrying it throughout the book was one of my major objectives when I sat down to write my first suspense novel, The Cutting. It’s one of the things that makes the book work. And it’s a key reason so many readers say they couldn’t put the book down, they had to keep reading until they found out what happened to a young woman named Lucinda Cassidy.

We first meet Lucinda in chapter one of The Cutting. In the opening pages, she and her dog Fritz set off on an early morning jog through fog-shrouded streets of Portland Maine’s upscale west end. Lucinda doesn’t know it but a psychopathic killer is waiting for her in that fog. He could have killed her right there and then but if he had the story would have been over on page ten. So instead of that, for the next three hundred or so pages, he holds Lucinda captive in a small dark room. She has no idea what terrible fate he has in mind for her. But the reader does. And so does the hero of The Cutting, Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe.

We also know that the clock is ticking and time is running out on Lucinda’s life. McCabe has exactly one week to find her and catch the bad guy before he does her in.

Anticipation of impending doom is a classic technique in suspense fiction. But it works. As one reader/reviewer said of The Cutting on Amazon: “ I couldn’t put it down till I had devoured every page…Towards the end, I was so spooked.. I had to sit in the park and finish reading the book, because my boyfriend wasn’t home and I was too scared to come home to an empty house.” Happy Halloween.

Like McCabe, I’m a native New Yorker. He was born in the Bronx. I was born in Brooklyn. We both grew up in the city. He dropped out of NYU Film School and joined the NYPD, rising through the ranks to become the top homicide cop at the Midtown North Precinct. I graduated from Brown and joined a major New York ad agency, rising through the ranks to become creative director on accounts like the US Army, Procter & Gamble, and Lincoln/Mercury.

We both married beautiful brunettes. McCabe’s wife, Sandy dumped him to marry a rich investment banker who had “no interest in raising other people’s children.” My wife, Jeanne, though often given good reason to leave me in the lurch, has stuck it out through thick and thin and is still my wife. She is also my best friend, my most attentive reader and a perceptive critic.

Both McCabe and I eventually left New York for Portland, Maine. I arrived in August 2001, shortly before the 9/11 attacks, in search of the right place to begin a new career as a fiction writer. He came to town a year later, to escape a dark secret in his past and to find a safe place to raise his teenage daughter, Casey.

There are other similarities between us. We both love good Scotch whiskey, old movie trivia and the New York Giants. And we both live with and love women who are talented artists.

There are also quite a few differences. McCabe’s a lot braver than me. He’s a better shot. He likes boxing. He doesn’t throw up at autopsies. And he’s far more likely to take risks. McCabe’s favorite Portland bar, Tallulah’s, is, sadly, a figment of my imagination. My favorite Portland bars are all very real.

You can visit our website at www.jameshaymanthrillers.com.

Note from Christa: I’d heard about Athol Dickson before having an opportunity to review his novel. And a few weeks ago, he was a guest blogger on my agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog. His discussion of  literature and the arts learning from architecture was not only intriguing, but cause for me to print the post and mine the nuggets of information there. He closed with, “I believe genuine creativity is directly proportional to openness to new ideas and inspiration, wherever they are found.” Read Lost Mission and you’ll discover that Dickson is a man of his word. This novel braids together the lives of seemingly disparate characters, which is a tribute to Dickson the architect. It also avoids any “neat” resolutions, so don’t read this if you’re looking for simple solutions!

Lost Mission

What haunting legacy awaits deep beneath the barrios and wealthy enclaves of Southern California?

A billionaire driven mad by grief.

A pastor in love with the wrong woman.

An illegal immigrant desperate to feed his family.

Only Lupe de la Garza can save them from the ancient evil lurking in a lost mission’s ruins, but it will take an act of faith beyond all human power.

An idyllic Spanish mission collapses in the eighteenth century atop the supernatural evidence of a shocking crime. Twelve generations later the ground is opened up, the forgotten ruins are disturbed, and rich and poor alike confront the onslaught of resurging hell on earth. Caught up in the catastrophe are…
· A humble shopkeeper compelled to leave her tiny village deep in Mexico to preach in America
· A minister wracked with guilt for loving the wrong woman
· An unimaginably wealthy man, blinded to the consequences of his grand plans
· A devoted father and husband driven to a horrible discovery that changes everything

Will the evil that destroyed the Misión de Santa Dolores rise to overwhelm them? Or will they beat back the terrible desires that led to the mission’s good Franciscan founder’s standing in the midst of flames ignited by his enemies and friends alike more than two centuries ago?

From the high Sierra Madre mountains to the harsh Sonoran desert, from the privileged world of millionaire moguls to the impoverished immigrants who serve them, Athol Dickson once again weaves a gripping story of suspense that spans centuries and cultures to explore the abiding possibility of miracles.

About the author:
Athol Dickson is an award-winning author of several novels. His Christy Award-winning novel River Rising was name one of the “Top Ten Christian Novel of 2006″ by Booklist magazine. He lives in California with his wife. Find out more about Athol and his books by visiting his website.

BUY THE BOOK! https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416583475?tag=sprightly-20

Thank you, LitFuse, for providing a copy of Lost Mission for me to review.

THE SOUND OF SLEIGH BELLS

Beth Hertzler works alongside her beloved Aunt Lizzy in their dry goods store, and serving as contact of sorts between Amish craftsmen and Englischers who want to sell the Plain people’s wares. But remorse and loneliness still echo in her heart everyday as she still wears the dark garb, indicating mourning of her fiancé. When she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow, something deep inside Beth’s soul responds and she wants to help the unknown artist find homes for his work–including Lizzy’s dry goods store. But she doesn’t know if her bishop will approve of the gorgeous carving or deem it idolatry.

Lizzy sees the changes in her niece when Beth shows her the woodworking, and after Lizzy hunts down Jonah, the artist, she is all the more determined that Beth meets this man with the hands that create healing art. But it’s not that simple–will Lizzy’s elaborate plan to reintroduce her niece to love work? Will Jonah be able to offer Beth the sleigh ride she’s always dreamed of and a second chance at real love–or just more heartbreak?http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307446534

Cindy Woodsmall

Cindy Woodsmall is a veteran homeschool mom. As her children progressed in age, her desire to write grew stronger. After working through reservations whether this desire was something she should pursue, she began her writing journey. Her husband was her staunchest supporter as she aimed for what seemed impossible.

Her first novel released in 2006 to much acclaim and became a Christian Book Association best seller. Cindy was a 2007 ECPA Christian Book Award finalist, along with Karen Kingsbury, Angela Hunt, and Charles Martin.

Her second book, When the Morning Comes, hit the New York Times best-sellers extended list and the Christian Book Association best-sellers list.

Her third book, When the Soul Mends, hit the New York Times best-sellers list, coming in at number thirteen. It also made the ECPA and the CBA best-sellers list, coming in at number six and eight respectively.

Cindy’s real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity.

Though she didn’t realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the Prayer Kapp and caped dresses. Her parents didn’t allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy’s house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them-afraid that if they didn’t, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann’s because her family didn’t own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults’ disapproval and the obstacles in each other’s lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy’s family moved to another region of the U.S.

As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two forty-something women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children.

Cindy, her husband, their three sons and two daughters-in-law reside in Georgia.

The Great Christmas Bowl

Marianne Wallace is focused on two things this holiday season: planning the greatest family Christmas ever and cheering on her youngest son’s team in their bid for the state championship.

Disaster strikes when the team loses their mascot-the Trout. Is it going too far to ask her to don the costume? So what if her husband has also volunteered her to organize the church Christmas tea.

When football playoffs start ramping up, the Christmas tea starts falling apart. Then, one by one her children tell her they can’t come home for Christmas.

As life starts to unravel, will Marianne remember the true meaning of the holidays?

Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of twenty-four novels with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Book of the Year. Her larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice. Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!) A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com

Link to Buy the Book:
http://www.christianbook.com/great-christmas-bowl-susan-warren/9781414326788/pd/326788?event=AFFp=&

The Great Christmas Bowl website: http://thegreatchristmasbowl.blogspot.com/
The website features a note from the author, fun updates from Big Lake Gazette, info on how to host your own Great Christmas Bowl Tea to benefit a local ministry or charity and a fun Recipe Exchange contest!

CONTEST: Be a part of the Great Christmas Bowl recipe exchange!
Susan loves getting recipes from friends, and sharing the delicious cookies, soups, breads and other fun fixings that go with celebrating the Christmas season. More than that, she loves the crazy stories about favorite Christmases – serious, touching, funny…whatever. Find the recipe contest here: http://thegreatchristmasbowl.blogspot.com/2009/07/recipe-exchange.html

Will you share your story and recipe with Susan and the readers of the Great Christmas Bowl? She will post your story and recipe on the FRONT PAGE of the Great Christmas Bowl website, and send you a link when it goes up so you can tell all your friends. Then, at the Great Christmas Bowl party (December 5th, 10am, online! Details TBA) she’ll make the entire cookbook available for download!

For every recipe/story you submit (up to 3), you will be entered in a drawing to receive one of SMW’s collections (Noble Legacy, Team Hope, Heirs of Anton, Deep Haven Series, Josey series, or THE ADVANCED COPY of Sons of Thunder – Susie’s brand new epic World War 2 novel, due out in January 2010!)

Go – run, get your recipe, then come back here and click on the link below to share your Christmas memories!

Blog Tour Schedule!

http://www.litfusegroup.com/latest/current-blog-tours/91-the-great-christmas-bowl-blog-tour

What to Do When the Lights Go Out

by Cec Murphey

If you sincerely desire to follow Jesus Christ, life won’t always be easy. Many times the Bible promises victory, and you may need to remind yourself that there can be no victory without struggling and overcoming obstacles.

In my book, I used the image of God turning out the lights because that was how I perceived the situation. I felt as if I walked in darkness for 18 months. We all interact differently with God, and my experience won’t be the same as yours. Even so, most serious Christians have times when God seems to turn away or stops listening. And we feel alone.

Perhaps it’s like the time the Israelites cried out to God for many years because of the Egyptian oppression.  ”God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise…and knew it was time to act” (Exodus 2:24 NLT). God hadn’t forgotten, of course, but from their perspective, that’s how it must have seemed. It may seem like that to you if you’re going through your own form of darkness.

Here are a few suggestions to help you:

1.   Ask God this simple question: “Have I knocked out the lights by my failures? Have I sinned against you? After you ask the question, listen. Give God the opportunity to speak to you.

2.   Don’t see this as divine punishment (unless God shows you it is), but consider the silence an act of divine love to move you forward. This is God’s method to teach you and stretch you.

3.   Avoid asking why. You don’t need reasons and explanations–and you probably won’t get them anyway. Instead, remind yourself that this temporary darkness is to prepare you for greater light.

4.   Say as little as possible to your friends. Most friends will  want to “fix” you or heal you and they can’t. They may offer advice (often not helpful) or make you feel worse (“Are you sure everything is right between you and God?”).

5.   Stay with the “means of grace.” That is, don’t neglect worship with other believers even if you feel empty. Read your Bible even if you can’t find anything meaningful.

I chose to read Lamentations and Psalms (several times, especially Lamentations) because they expressed some of the pain and despair I felt.

6.   If you don’t have a daily prayer time, start one. Perhaps something as short as three minutes–and do it daily. Talk honestly to God. It’s all right to get angry. (Read the Psalms if you’re hesitant.)

7.   Remind yourself, “I am in God’s hands. This is where I belong and I’ll stay in the blackout until I’m ready to move forward.”

8.   Pray these words daily: “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12 TNIV). Some versions say “secret sins.” These are failures and sins of which you may not yet be aware. One of the purposes of your darkness may be to bring those hidden problems to light.

9.   Ask God, “What do you want me to learn from this experience?” You may not get an answer, but it’s still a good question. Continue to ask–even after the lights go back on again. If you’re open, you will learn more about yourself and also about God.

10.  As you receive “light” about yourself while walking in darkness, remind yourself, God has always known and still loves me.

EXTRAORDINARY: THE LIFE YOU’RE MEANT TO LIVE

There’s a question that troubles many believers: “Why am I not experiencing more joy, more hope, more satisfaction, more intimacy, more power, more everything in my Christian life–didn’t Jesus promise that?”

He did promise an abundant life, but too many people are trapped by the curse of “the ordinary.” They have accepted the wrong idea that following God means losing individuality, creativity, and a passion for achieving lofty goals.

Nothing could be further from the truth!  John Bevere builds a convincing case, straight from Scripture, for a way of living marked by extraordinary experiences and accomplishments—the life God always intended for his children.

Here is a guide to understanding God’s incredible plans, and how to enjoy a life where he adds the “extra” to “ordinary.”

Author Bio:

John Bevere is an internationally popular conference speaker, teacher, and author of bestsellers, including The Bait of Satan, Drawing Near, and Driven by Eternity. His award-winning curriculum and books have been translated in over sixty languages and his weekly television program, The Messenger, is broadcast around the world. John and his wife, Lisa—also a bestselling author and speaker—reside with their family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit his ministry website at www.messengerinternational.org.

WaterBrook Multnomah Blogging for Books site page at http://www.randomhouse.com/waterbrook/bloggingforbooks/.

O2: Breathing New Life into Faith

For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by focusing on early childhood education, literacy and physical activity and nutrition programs.

Save the Children created the CHANGE program (Creating Healthy, Active, and Nurturing Growing-up Environments) to promote healthier lifestyles for children living in poverty by providing nutritious snacks and regular opportunities for children to be physically active.

Now, you can help. Raise your hand today to reveal your pledge to make time for a child, and Frigidaire will donate $1¹ to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs. Also as part of that commitment, for every new Frigidaire Professional double wall oven purchased, Frigidaire will donate $100² to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs.

Frigidaire and Garner are asking Moms to think ahead to November 1st – the day all of us change the clocks and get an extra hour – and pledge to use that time to help make a difference in the lives of children. Starting today, everyone who goes to Frigidaire.com and raises her hand with a pledge to make time for a child, Frigidaire will commit to donate $1 to support the CHANGE. As an added bonus, everyone who pledges her time will be entered for a chance to win a new Frigidaire Professional double wall oven.

A Frigidaire Professional double wall oven will be given away to our Mom Central Community!*  To enter to win, simply leave a comment HERE by October 8, 2009 telling us about your pledge and how you would give back your time to children in need. Mom Central will pick one lucky winner in a random drawing from all entries received!

PLEDGE YOUR TIME FOR A CHANCE TO WIN

New Frigidaire is the first collection of appliances designed with time-saving features for busy Moms. Pledge your time, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a new Frigidaire Professional double wall oven.

VIEW THE
PLEDGE GALLERY

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

The Insider’s Video

Read an excerpt

DR. MICHELE HERNANDEZ is known as America’s premier college consultant through her work with high school students and her bestselling books: A is for Admission (Warner), The Middle School Years (Warner), and Acing the College Application (Ballantine).

Hernández has been featured in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, radio and television programs including Newsweek, Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Atlantic Monthly, The Today Show, CNN, and MNSNBC and NPR.

As an Assistant Director of Admissions at Dartmouth College for four years and the academic dean of a private high school in South Florida, Hernández has crafted a unique angle for assisting students gain admissions to the most selective colleges, incorporating her “inside perspective” on the admissions adventure. She is one of a small handful of college consultants with years of hands on admissions experience and a ten year history of helping students through her work.

Dr. Hernández graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1989 and went on to earn a Master’s degree in English and comparative literature from Columbia University and a doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern. She is married to Bruce Bayliss, former headmaster of the International School in Portland, Oregon. They have two children, ages 11 and 5, two golden retrievers and a Gordon setter. In her non-existent spare time, Hernández enjoys stargazing with her 16 ½ inch Dobsonian telescope, working out and reading obsessively. The family lives in Weybridge, Vermont.

InI