Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 8

Review: The Camera Never Lies, by David Rawlings

The Camera Never Lies, by David Rawlings (Thomas Nelson, 2019)

A successful marriage counselor whose own relationships are in turmoil���and who can���t write the sequel to his bestselling self-help book. His wife, trapped in a job selling questionable pharmaceuticals to help pay their hefty mortgage. Their 14-year-old daughter, withdrawing and exhibiting warning signs.

And an old camera that takes pictures of what���s unseen.

Inheriting his grandfather���s prized camera leads Danie...

Review: The Scent of Water, by Elizabeth Goudge

The Scent of Water, by Elizabeth Goudge (ebook version: Hendrickson Publishing Marketing, 2011; original print edition copyright 1963)

Why would practical, sensible Mary Lindsay leave a satisfying job in London and move to a country village to live in a house she inherited from a relative she���d met only once as a child? She doesn���t know, but it feels like the right decision.

The inheritance brings back memories: of that one meeting with her father���s cousin, also named Mary Lindsa...

Review: Crafting Deception, by Barbara Emodi

Crafting Deception, by Barbara Emodi (C&T Publishing, 2023)

���Help me.��� The words, spoken to Valerie Rankin as a man she trusts is arrested for murder, leave her wanting to help without knowing how. Circumstantial evidence and a criminal past make Rankin���s General Store employee Duck MacDonald the prime suspect in a murder.

In the small fictional town of Gasper���s Cove, on Nova Scotia���s Atlantic Coast, everybody knows everybody���s secrets��� or so they think. Yet past generat...

Creating White Space (Guest Post)

Image by Sophie Janotta from PixabayCreating White Spaceby Steph Beth Nickel

How do you feel when you open a book and see a solid page of text with virtually no white space?

More importantly���

How do you feel when you open your schedule and see virtually no white space?

Do you feel overwhelmed just thinking about it?

What can you do to overcome the overwhelm and avoid burnout?

Here are eight suggestions:

As a Christian, prayer is always the best place to begin....

Review: A Tiding of Magpies, by Steve Burrows

A Tiding of Magpies, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn Press, 2018)

This time, DCI Dominic Jejeune (a Canadian working in England) and his team work to solve a local murder while he���s involved in an investigative review of the high profile case that launched his career. Jejeune is not the only one with regrets about that case��� or with a suspicion all might not have been as it seemed.

I���m really enjoying the Birder Murder Mystery series. Each book has a strong sense of place, engaging ch...

Review: Renaissance, by Susan Fish

Renaissance, by Susan Fish (Raven, 2023)

First things first: this cover, on the paperback held in my hand, is absolutely gorgeous. The golden light (especially on the grass), the huge tree, the stone wall and clouds. It speaks rest to me, and warmth.

The story also brings rest. Evocative prose draws us into Liz���s struggles and into the beautiful Italian setting. If you haven���t (yet) experienced any mid-life reshapings of your identity, you���ve likely felt the hurt of being left ou...

Book Review: Renaissance, by Susan Fish

Renaissance, by Susan Fish (Raven, 2023)

First things first: this cover, on the paperback held in my hand, is absolutely gorgeous. The golden light (especially on the grass), the huge tree, the stone wall and clouds. It speaks rest to me, and warmth.

The story also brings rest. Evocative prose draws us into Liz���s struggles and into the beautiful Italian setting. If you haven���t (yet) experienced any mid-life reshapings of your identity, you���ve likely felt the hurt of being left ou...

New Releases in Christian Fiction (April 2024)

April 2024 New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website

Contemporary Romance:

Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer — She���s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He���s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn���t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that. (Contemporary Romance from Tyndale House)

Playing For Keeps by Deborah Raney — Th...

Stepping Back (Guest Post)

Photo credit: Steph Beth NickelStepping Backby Steph Beth Nickel

Good Friday ��� the perfect day to step back from the everyday.

Not simply a day off work, but a day to focus once again on what the Lord did for us approximately 2,000 years ago.

As Christians, this reality is the basis for all we believe. For all we do. At least it should be.

While attending a Good Friday service and fellowshipping at a church potluck may be on our agenda, more importantly, this is the perfect...

Review: The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival, by David Kitz and Dr. Ed Hird

The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival, by David Kitz and Dr. Ed Hird (Word Alive Press, 2023)

If John the Baptist fulfilled the role of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, was there a corresponding prophet Elisha to follow him with a double blessing of power? The authors of The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival point to Jesus as a type of second Elisha���not in the sense of denying His deity, but as continuing and building on John���s call to repentance and allegiance to a new Kingdom.

...