Marie E. Bast's Blog, page 2
June 26, 2018
Book Review: Love by the Number by Laura V. HiltonLove by...
Book Review: Love by the Number by Laura V. Hilton
Love by the Numbers (Buy Now)
Laura V. Hilton
Feb. 6, 2018
Kindle, paperback
Whitaker House Publishing
After her fiancé dies in a buggy accident, Lydia Hershberger is invited to Jamesport to manage her Mennonite aunt’s gift shop while her aunt and uncle are on a mission trip. While there, Lydia gets acquainted with her aentie’s best friend, Bethel Bontrager, and her grown son, Caleb. Lydiais surprised to find herself drawn to handsome clockmaker, Caleb Bontrager. But in spite of an instant flame of attraction between them, he doesn’t seem interested. In fact, pesky Caleb treats her like he doesn’t even like her.
Bright and sparkly. That’s Caleb’s first impression of Lydia. He’s always been attracted to sparkly things. In fact, his affinity for those things, and the trouble they can cause, are exactly why he’s determined to change his ways and settle down. With Lydia’s aentie gone, he is handling the books for the gift shop and forced to spend time in Lydia's presence.
When God offers Lydia a second chance at love and family, will she take it? Or will the secret Caleb harbors cause her even more heartbreak?
Love by the Number by Laura V. Hilton, won this reviewer's heart from the very first page, and from there, the story turned into a terrific read. Ms. Hilton is a wizard at matchmaking her hero and heroine and making their courtship a spectacular read. The characters are well developed and their problems to overcome are relatable.
For more information about Larua V. Hilton and her books, visit her at:
Laura's blogs:
Twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook:
Pinterest:
Purchase Laura's books at:
Amazon
CBD:
Barnesand Noble:
Deeper Shopping
Love by the Numbers (Buy Now)Laura V. Hilton
Feb. 6, 2018
Kindle, paperback
Whitaker House Publishing
After her fiancé dies in a buggy accident, Lydia Hershberger is invited to Jamesport to manage her Mennonite aunt’s gift shop while her aunt and uncle are on a mission trip. While there, Lydia gets acquainted with her aentie’s best friend, Bethel Bontrager, and her grown son, Caleb. Lydiais surprised to find herself drawn to handsome clockmaker, Caleb Bontrager. But in spite of an instant flame of attraction between them, he doesn’t seem interested. In fact, pesky Caleb treats her like he doesn’t even like her.
Bright and sparkly. That’s Caleb’s first impression of Lydia. He’s always been attracted to sparkly things. In fact, his affinity for those things, and the trouble they can cause, are exactly why he’s determined to change his ways and settle down. With Lydia’s aentie gone, he is handling the books for the gift shop and forced to spend time in Lydia's presence. When God offers Lydia a second chance at love and family, will she take it? Or will the secret Caleb harbors cause her even more heartbreak?
Love by the Number by Laura V. Hilton, won this reviewer's heart from the very first page, and from there, the story turned into a terrific read. Ms. Hilton is a wizard at matchmaking her hero and heroine and making their courtship a spectacular read. The characters are well developed and their problems to overcome are relatable.
For more information about Larua V. Hilton and her books, visit her at:
Laura's blogs:
Twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook:
Pinterest:
Purchase Laura's books at:
Amazon
CBD:
Barnesand Noble:
Deeper Shopping
May 14, 2018
Book Review: Sweet Charity by B.J. Bassett Sweet C...
Book Review: Sweet Charity by B.J. Bassett
Sweet Charity (Buy now)by B.J. Bassett
Kindle
May 10, 2018
Desert Breeze Publishing
Sweet Charity by B.J. Bassett is a delightful Christian fiction read about forgiveness, hope, and love.
Hope Warner waltzed into Dr. Nancy St. John’s medical office one day and announced that she was the daughter whom Nancy gave up for adoption twenty years earlier. As a teenager, Nancy became pregnant at a time when young girls found themselves whisked away in shame to have their babies. Nancy was sent to live with an aunt in Chicago, but before she gave her baby away, bought two matching gold-heart necklaces, and had the baby’s gold heart engraved with “God has a plan for your life.” Now twenty years later, Nancy recognized the necklace that Hope wore and recognized the facial features staring back at her.
Hope understood why her teenage mother had to let her go, but she wanted to know about her father and if he wanted her. Nancy explained that Skip, the girl’s father, had entered the military academy, shipped overseas, and never learned of his unborn child.
Hope, now with advanced leukemia, needs a bone morrow transplant, but Nancy is not a match. The only solution: find Skip.
This reviewer found herself in tears by the end of the second chapter. Ms. Bassett is an emotional and lovely writer. Her eye for detail enhances the experience of the story. I think you’ll enjoy the story as much as I did. (Disclosure: I was given a copy for my honest opinion. All comments are my own.)
For more information about B.J. Bassett and her books, visit:
www.bjbassett.com
http://bjbassett.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/bunnybassett
March 19, 2018
Book Review: Return to Walhalla by Laura Hodges Po...
Book Review: Return to Walhalla by Laura Hodges Poole
Return To Walhallaby Laura Hodges PooleKindle, paperbackMarch 28, 2018
Lighthouse of the Carolinas
When financier Penny Ruskin returns to Walhalla, South Carolina, she has one purpose—to settle her grandmother’s estate and sell the Victorian house she grew up in. Not an easy task with the downturned economy. What she doesn't count on are all the roadblocks thrown in her path. Walhalla is Tommy McAllister’s life. Between his family’s feed-and-seed store and the bank he’s vice president of, he’s stretched thin trying to survive the recession. But when a girl he hasn’t seen since high school breezes back into town, he’s ready to push himself even further to help her feel at home—and convince her to stay. He reaches out to Penny, but the last thing she wants is to be trapped in a small town that holds painful memories—one dark secret in particular.
The town matchmaker and bank manager, Miss Betty, a motherless teen Emma who lives down the lane from Penny, and the church ladies of Walhalla’s First Baptist Church add both heartwarming and challenging moments to Penny’s life. With the past dogging Penny’s steps, dredging up painful memories she’s tried to outrun, relatives threaten the future she has begun to hope for…But somewhere deep inside her, a spark of hope remains. Tommy isn’t the only one praying for a miracle.
My thoughts: Return to Walhalla is a well-written, delightful story about a young woman who has run from the past only to return to Walhalla and must face the demons she once tried to escape. Miss Betty extends a greeting and invitation to Penny, something Penny couldn’t refuse. And sometimes, that’s all it takes for a life-changing experience.
Author BioLaura Hodges Poole is a freelance writer with dozens of articles, devotions, and short stories in publication. She is the author of five published books and has contributed to two others, all available on Amazon. Laura is the 2016 ACWC Badge of Honor winner, a 2014 ACFW Genesis semi-finalist, and a 2012 RWA Emily finalist. As an editor and member of The Christian PEN, she enjoys mentoring and helping other writers polish their work. Laura is also a non-fiction ghostwriter/collaborator. Her passion is encouraging others in their Christian walk through her blog, "A Word of Encouragement." When she’s not writing, you might find her hiking, playing the piano, or being crafty. A mother of two, Laura lives in South Carolina with her husband and son.
Website: http://laurahodgespoole.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Laura_Poole
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/LauraHodgesPoole
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+LauraPoole#
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lhpoole/
December 21, 2017
Book Review: The Stranger by Linda Maran&nb...
Book Review: The Stranger by Linda Maran
The Stranger
by Linda Maran
Kindle, paperback
330 Pages
White Rose Publishing
After Kristen Esh’s mother dies in an accident, seventeen-year-old Kristen, on direction of her mother’s arrangements, must leave her home on the Jersey shore and go live with her mother’s Amish family. A family that her mother left years earlier and whom Kristen didn’t know existed until now. Kristen arrives in Stone Arabia in upper New York, a remote place where she soon finds the Amish there have no electricity, no indoor toilets, no cell phone privileges, and she must wear Amish clothing.
Kristen plans to stay until her boyfriend, Derick, can come and snatch her away from all this. That is, until she finds out that Derick back in Jersey is dating her best friend. Kristen feels rejected and all alone in a strange new world. Now, she must live with her Aunt Elizabeth and her husband and his son, John, from his first marriage. John reads Kristen’s plight on her sad face and helps her adjust. John is courting Sadie but shows Kristen around to get her acquainted with the area. As time goes on, John finds himself thinking less about Sadie and more about Kristen and he begins to wonder if he's courting the right girl.
Kristen finds a certain attraction to John, but she still plans to return to the Jersey Shore when she turns eighteen and her mother’s estate is settled. Until then, she must adjust and settle in. But a car keeps driving by the farm and someone keeps leaving notes in the mailbox that say the outsider needs to return to where she has come from. But why? Again, Kristen feels rejected. She never knew her father, only his rejection. All this weighs heavy on Kristen.
MY THOUGHTS: The Stranger is a lovely, heartwarming story about a girl who must live in a strange place with people she has never met before, but Kristen soon discovers that she is on a journey to find out about the mystery with her parents and to uncover the stranger within her.
For more information on Linda Maran, visit https://www.facebook.com/The-Stranger...
November 14, 2017
Book Review: The Christmas Admirer by Laura V. Hilton &n...
Book Review: The Christmas Admirer by Laura V. Hilton
The Christmas Admirer
By Laura V. Hilton
Kindle, paperback
256 pages
Whitaker House Publishing
Susanna King has a secret admirer who leaves her gifts with an anonymous note. The boy she was courting, Benaiah Troayer, broke up with her when his parents died, and he took on the responsibility of taking care of his three siblings and his grandparents. Benaiah didn’t feel it would be right to bring a new bride into a house with so much work and decided not to marry her and make her take on those obligations. Of course, she would have, but Benaiah was stubborn and wouldn’t ask. Susanna loved Benaiah and hoped he would change his mind. Benaiah worked for her daed in his glass-blowing shop, which meant she saw Ben every day and hoped they could court again. But, he was determined in his resolve and treated her with cool reserve and gave her no indication that he would change his mind.Her daed, a widower, started a long-distance courtship with an Amish woman in Iowa and decided to marry her and sell his farm and business and move his family to Iowa. That meant Susanna would have to go along since a young, single girl could not respectfully live on her own. Susanna was heartbroken that she had to leave their farm and Benaiah. She was hoping her secret admirer would hear she was leaving and ask her to marry him, and she hoped he was Benaiah. The Christmas Admirer is an adorable Amish romance that showed when love is involved anything is possible. The story is a page-turner, so grab your hot cocoa, a comfy chair by the fireplace and enjoy.For more information on Laura Hilton and her books, visit http://booksbylaura.blogspot.com/
October 27, 2017
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Writing with Feeling
If you’re a golfer, you know that if your stance feels right, your hands are placed properly on the club, your swing has a good arc and carry through, and your contact with the ball hits in the sweet spot, you’re ball will launch beautifully into the air. It’s the same with bowling. When you’re ball hits in the pocket at the proper speed, it’s a strike.What does all this mean to a writer?
For your writing to hit the pocket, or the heart of a reader, it must show feeling. Your writing is that ball sailing across the page toward the pocket. That doesn’t mean just thinking of a good chapter-opening hook or a chapter-closing hook. It means the whole chapter needs to grab the reader and not let them go.What does that look like, or better yet, feel like?
It means your chapters need constructing with the right emotion (swing) that can dance the words across the page in such a way that it holds the reader’s attention until the very end of the story. Those words must create interest, they must promise excitement through tension and passion, and they must call the reader to action, which is namely, to keep on reading. Sound easy?
It is if you keep your reader in mind as you write. Here are ten steps to help you construct that perfect story. Make sure your story flows logically. Simply put, follow the cause and effect method. Don’t have her jump off a building if she hasn’t climbed to the top yet. In golfing, before the golfer hits the ball, he has to be able to imagine the line and aim toward the flag at the hole. Likewise, the writer has to plan what each chapter needs to contain in order to build a successful story that will carry the reader’s interest to the end. For a story to have depth, the hero needs a backstory that adds complications to their life, affects their decisions, and interferes with the choices they make. What’s your hero and heroine’s backstory? Sprinkle it throughout the story. As the story develops, the reader needs to understand why the hero acts the way he does. Reveal character mood through scenery and action, through clothing and habits. Paint the story with powerful verbs and descriptive nouns. Don’t just say he got in his car. Show it. He wiped a smudge from his pristine Jaguar before he lowered himself onto the buttery-soft seat. His hand didn’t touch hers; it caressed hers. His love didn’t just warm her, it wrapped around her heart. Punch up your story with hooks and a compelling emotional journey for your hero/heroine that will draw in the reader and mesmerize them until the end of the story. Conflict should follow your hero/heroine like a puppy. A problem, new twist, unknown information should cling to each chapter and plague the character. Love, happiness, the solution to solving the mystery or catching the killer in a thriller, should always flea ahead of the hero/heroine just out of arm's reach. Make them suffer. Don’t give them what they want. Make it a journey to chase that dream. Storytelling thrives on tension, emotion, and passion and that translates to a hunger for the reader to stick with the story until it ends. Keep the readers guessing. Make the story unique and fresh. Paint the story with coloring that will interest, excite, and draw the reader’s core curiosity. It’s human nature for a human to be curious. It’s how electricity, the automobile, and the airplane were invented and why the caveman ventured out of his cave. They were curious. The reader, too, wants to see if the heroine and her love interest get together, if they extinguish the fire in time, if the plane lands safely, and if the hero gets what he wants after struggling all the way through the story. Tip: The best story-building tool that I found is the book Story Engineering: Mastering The 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks.
If you’re a golfer, you know that if your stance feels right, your hands are placed properly on the club, your swing has a good arc and carry through, and your contact with the ball hits in the sweet spot, you’re ball will launch beautifully into the air. It’s the same with bowling. When you’re ball hits in the pocket at the proper speed, it’s a strike.What does all this mean to a writer?
For your writing to hit the pocket, or the heart of a reader, it must show feeling. Your writing is that ball sailing across the page toward the pocket. That doesn’t mean just thinking of a good chapter-opening hook or a chapter-closing hook. It means the whole chapter needs to grab the reader and not let them go.What does that look like, or better yet, feel like?
It means your chapters need constructing with the right emotion (swing) that can dance the words across the page in such a way that it holds the reader’s attention until the very end of the story. Those words must create interest, they must promise excitement through tension and passion, and they must call the reader to action, which is namely, to keep on reading. Sound easy?
It is if you keep your reader in mind as you write. Here are ten steps to help you construct that perfect story. Make sure your story flows logically. Simply put, follow the cause and effect method. Don’t have her jump off a building if she hasn’t climbed to the top yet. In golfing, before the golfer hits the ball, he has to be able to imagine the line and aim toward the flag at the hole. Likewise, the writer has to plan what each chapter needs to contain in order to build a successful story that will carry the reader’s interest to the end. For a story to have depth, the hero needs a backstory that adds complications to their life, affects their decisions, and interferes with the choices they make. What’s your hero and heroine’s backstory? Sprinkle it throughout the story. As the story develops, the reader needs to understand why the hero acts the way he does. Reveal character mood through scenery and action, through clothing and habits. Paint the story with powerful verbs and descriptive nouns. Don’t just say he got in his car. Show it. He wiped a smudge from his pristine Jaguar before he lowered himself onto the buttery-soft seat. His hand didn’t touch hers; it caressed hers. His love didn’t just warm her, it wrapped around her heart. Punch up your story with hooks and a compelling emotional journey for your hero/heroine that will draw in the reader and mesmerize them until the end of the story. Conflict should follow your hero/heroine like a puppy. A problem, new twist, unknown information should cling to each chapter and plague the character. Love, happiness, the solution to solving the mystery or catching the killer in a thriller, should always flea ahead of the hero/heroine just out of arm's reach. Make them suffer. Don’t give them what they want. Make it a journey to chase that dream. Storytelling thrives on tension, emotion, and passion and that translates to a hunger for the reader to stick with the story until it ends. Keep the readers guessing. Make the story unique and fresh. Paint the story with coloring that will interest, excite, and draw the reader’s core curiosity. It’s human nature for a human to be curious. It’s how electricity, the automobile, and the airplane were invented and why the caveman ventured out of his cave. They were curious. The reader, too, wants to see if the heroine and her love interest get together, if they extinguish the fire in time, if the plane lands safely, and if the hero gets what he wants after struggling all the way through the story. Tip: The best story-building tool that I found is the book Story Engineering: Mastering The 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks.
June 5, 2017
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Kalona, Iowa Right in the middle of Iowa's Amish Community This is the setting for my next novel.
Kalona sets right in the middle of the Amish community of Iowa. Saturday, my husband and I visited there and had a great time. Which means, we brought back bread and pies from the Amish bakery, Golden Delight Bakery & Gifts. If you visit there, don't miss it. It sets about a mile out of town.
Kalona sets right in the middle of the Amish community of Iowa. Saturday, my husband and I visited there and had a great time. Which means, we brought back bread and pies from the Amish bakery, Golden Delight Bakery & Gifts. If you visit there, don't miss it. It sets about a mile out of town.
