Robin E. Mason's Blog: Robin's Book Shelf, page 163
August 18, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Saturday 19 August 2017 – SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY THREE
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SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY THREE
[image error] Cover reveal Monday 21 August.
The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers. Downton Abbey meets Gone With the Wind.
It’s 1912, in a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, and four young women who once shared a bond—and experienced a tragedy—question their own truths.
Mercedes has always been an avid reader and devours each new Sherlock Holmes mystery as soon as she gets her hands on them. When one of her friends comes to her, Mercedes vows to keep Simone’s secrets and uncover the truth.
But as Mercedes plays detective to her friends’ questions, she discovers something far more shocking—she herself is not who she thought she was.
#Blogwords, Special Edition, The Long Shadows of Summer, Seasons, Cover Reveal Day Three
BLOGWORDS – Thursday 18 August 2017 – SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY TWO
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SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY TWO
Cover reveal Thursday 24 August.
The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers. Downton Abbey meets Gone With the Wind.
It’s 1912, in a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, and four young women who once shared a bond—and experienced a tragedy—question their own truths.
Mercedes has always been an avid reader and devours each new Sherlock Holmes mystery as soon as she gets her hands on them. When one of her friends comes to her, Mercedes vows to keep Simone’s secrets and uncover the truth.
But as Mercedes plays detective to her friends’ questions, she discovers something far more shocking—she herself is not who she thought she was.
#Blogwords, Special Edition, The Long Shadows of Summer, Seasons, Cover Reveal Day Two
BLOGWORDS – Friday 18 August 2017 – FIRST LINE FRIDAY – MANY SPARROWS by LORI BENTON
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FIRST LINE FRIDAY – MANY SPARROWS by LORI BENTON
Reading is My SuperPower
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A Baker’s Perspective | With a Joyful Noise | Romances of the Cross
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If you’d like to join us on your blog for First Line Fridays, shoot Carrie @ Reading is My Superpower an email and let her know!
THE BLURB:
Either she and her children would emerge from that wilderness together, or none of them would…
In 1774, the Ohio-Kentucky frontier pulses with rising tension and brutal conflicts as Colonists push westward and encroach upon Native American territories. The young Inglesby family is making the perilous journey west when an accident sends Philip back to Redstone Fort for help, forcing him to leave his pregnant wife Clare and their four-year old son Jacob on a remote mountain trail.
When Philip does not return and Jacob disappears from the wagon under the cover of darkness, Clare awakens the next morning to find herself utterly alone, in labor and wondering how she can to recover her son…especially when her second child is moments away from being born.
Clare will face the greatest fight of her life, as she struggles to reclaim her son from the Shawnee Indians now holding him captive. But with the battle lines sharply drawn, Jacob’s life might not be the only one at stake. When frontiersman Jeremiah Ring comes to her aid, can the stranger convince Clare that recovering her son will require the very thing her anguished heart is unwilling to do—be still, wait and let God fight this battle for them?
THE FIRST LINE:
Jeremiah Ring had witnessed death as often as the next man on the Allegheny frontier, but in all his thirty years he had encountered no deaths more dismaying than those confronting him now.
MY THOUGHTS:
Ms. Benton does not disappoint with Many Sparrows, and this may be her finest work yet. Exquisite writing, compelling story, and an embracing message of faith and hope.
GENRE:
Historical Fiction
STARS:
ALL.THE.STARS
#Blogwords, First Line Friday, #FLF, Many Sparrows, Lori Benton
August 16, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Thursday 17 August 2017 – SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY ONE
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SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE – COVER REVEAL DAY ONE
Cover reveal Thursday 24 August.
The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers. Downton Abbey meets Gone With the Wind.
It’s 1912, in a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, and four young women who once shared a bond—and experienced a tragedy—question their own truths.
Mercedes has always been an avid reader and devours each new Sherlock Holmes mystery as soon as she gets her hands on them. When one of her friends comes to her, Mercedes vows to keep Simone’s secrets and uncover the truth.
But as Mercedes plays detective to her friends’ questions, she discovers something far more shocking—she herself is not who she thought she was.
#Blogwords, Special Edition, The Long Shadows of Summer, Seasons, Cover Reveal Day One
August 15, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 16 August 2017 – SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE
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SPECIAL EDITION – THE LONG SHADOWS OF SUMMER RELEASE
[image error] Cover reveal 24 August!
Bastille House was a pretentious bastion of wealth that no longer was there. It was no secret that Monsieur Adrièn spent money lavishly and foolishly, gambling away what he had once had. He had enlarged the house to ridiculous proportions, adding rooms and wings that would never be used.
For all his spending, he did not improve the operation of his father’s legacy; Bastille House had produced some of the finest black Spanish grapes in the southeast. I knew it was a lucrative industry even as prohibition swirled around us. I knew, too, that Monsieur Adrièn exported much of his inventory to Nimes in France. And I realized with startling clarity that was where the letter from Madame Adélaide had come from.
I now approached the house with no small degree of trepidation. I had had little to do with Monsieur Fontaine, dealing with house staff only on the rare occasion I was even there.
Under pretense of delivering cane syrup for a recipe, I knocked on the servant’s door. I hoped both that someone would hear me, so soft was my tapping, and that no one would hear; I feared Monsieur Fontaine’s reaction should he see me.
The chance of seeing the man in the servant’s level of the house was practically zero but that did nothing to ease the anxiety coursing through me. Anxiety that was very much like the icy chills I had come to recognize.
It did not, however, outweigh my concern for Scarlett. An agitation had stirred in me since her visit. After three days, with the feeling growing and not ebbing, I had to speak to her. I had to know she was well.
Tierney wiped flour from her hands as she opened the door.
“Bonjour, Madame Renaldi.” She waved her hand indicating I should enter, and closed and locked the door. “What can I do for you?”
The poor woman was so rigid and tense I feared she might snap like a twig. Her face, though young, no more than thirty, was etched with wrinkles, her skin sallow. Already she wore gray streamers in her dark hair.
“I brought you some syrup.” Her face lit up at the gesture. Our cane syrup was a favorite, and a treat belowstairs at Bastille House.
“But this is not why you have come, it is Madame?” Tierney was as perceptive as her accent was thick.
“No, I’m afraid it is not.” I glanced about and she indicated a chair at the table.
“You are looking for your friend, n’est-ce pas?”
I set the small crockery on the table and she laid her hand over mine, bony and raw as an old woman. Her eyes watered but produced no tears.
“She is… how you say, récupérer.”
Recovering. Scarlett was recovering.
“How bad?” I was not shocked at Tierney’s report; it was nothing new.
Her silence was answer enough.
“Take me to her.” I rose but Tierney shook her head.
“She is in bedchamber of Monsieur.”
This news caused me great concern. Either she was so badly injured she required the care and attention of Docteur Petit, or Monsieur Fontaine was using her for his pleasure again. Probably both.
“She is… no conscious.”
It was worse than I feared. I knew I had to leave. I could not be seen. Monsieur Fontaine would not hesitate to beat me as well, for trespassing.
“S’il vous plaît, let her know I came to speak to her.” Now I laid my hand on hers, and squeezed, conveying my grasp of the risk I was asking Tierney to take on my behalf.
“Oui, Madame.” Her dark eyes darted around the dank space, fear searching for the face of evil. He did not present himself. “Merci pour le sirop.”
“De rien.” I ducked as I exited the doorway, and Tierney closed it with a quiet click.
The southern town of Saisons lies at the crossroads between North and South, progressive and genteel antebellum life. Between East and West, between history and heritage, and new frontiers. Downton Abbey meets Gone With the Wind.
It’s 1912, in a world where slavery is dying and women’s rights are rising, and four young women who once shared a bond—and experienced a tragedy—question their own truths.
Mercedes has always been an avid reader and devours each new Sherlock Holmes mystery as soon as she gets her hands on them. When one of her friends comes to her, Mercedes vows to keep Simone’s secrets and uncover the truth.
But as Mercedes plays detective to her friends’ questions, she discovers something far more shocking—she herself is not who she thought she was.
#Blogwords, Special Edition, The Long Shadows of Summer, Excerpt, Release Feature
Caution: The Solar Eclipse
This was found on Facebook (posted by our friend, Menagerie) and seems like good information to share.
As an Optometrist , I want to express concern that I have about the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug 21. There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even with the use of solar filter glasses. Everyone should keep in mind if they or their children are considering this.
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August 14, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Tuesday 15 August 2017 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – AN INFORMAL AFFAIR by HEATHER GRAY
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TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY – BOOK REVIEW – AN INFORMAL AFFAIR by HEATHER GRAY
Who better to share your dating woes with than your best friend? Who better to compare online dating profiles with? And the dates as a result of online dating?
Lia Promise’s love life has been stagnant as yesterday’s IV. With no prospects in sight, Lia takes to online sites. And ropes her bestie in for the ride.
But Maverick Hoyt doesn’t feel the need-for-speed, and goes along to make Lia happy. That’s what best friends do, right?
As they compare notes, and with one bad date after another, will they realize true love has been right in front of them all along? Will they step aside from their own methods and take a look at the hand of God—and what He just might have been up to all along?
What a fun and adorable story! Watching the friendship between Lia and Maverick, I felt like I was at the next table at the diner, overhearing (not eavesdropping, never eavesdropping) their conversations. Each week as they commiserated, I could feel the frustration mounting. I wanted to punch more than one mouthy date in the nose, and I wanted to offer my shoulder to cry on. I sensed hearts turning and love blooming—and the resistance to it. I laughed as they laughed and watched, from my table in the corner, as love settled—over one of them.
I received a free copy of this book, but was under no obligation to read the book or to post a review. I offer my review of my own free will. The opinions expressed in my review are my honest thoughts and reaction to this book.
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. Her books almost always include someone who’s infatuated with coffee, too. Some things just can’t be helped. Heather delights in creating characters who, like her, have their share of faults and foibles, characters who are flawed…but loved anyway.
http://www.heathergraywriting.com/
https://www.facebook.com/heathergraywriting/
https://twitter.com/laughdreamwrite
https://plus.google.com/+Heathergraywritingnow
https://www.instagram.com/laughdreamwrite/
#Blogwords, Tuesday Reviews-Day, #TRD, Book Review, An Informal Affair, Heather Gray, Love at First Laugh
August 13, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Monday 14 August 2017 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – JENNIFER HALLMARK
NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – JENNIFER HALLMARK
“The most important thing to me is my faith in God the father, His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Second is my family and friends.”
“Jennifer and Ellen seek to bring hope and encouragement through Small Acts of Kindness on the blog and through everyday life. We hope to inspire others to be kind and thoughtful.”
Are You a Servant or a Child that Serves?
Many years ago, I was driving to the dentist with my daughter Mandy. I’d been studying the concept of being a child of God so I mentioned my thoughts to her along with a title, Are You a Servant or a Child that Serves?
She said, “Mom, it’s the same thing.”
I shook my head. “I thought so too. Now I know differently.”
Understanding the difference is probably the most important concept which led me to a closer walk with the Father. For almost 20 years, not understanding this has kept me from experiencing the closer relationship I desired with Father God.
We find the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, a familiar story to Christians. It’s the story of a son who leaves home after demanding his inheritance from his father, spends it on riotous living and in his subsequent poverty, remembers his home and father.
“I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’” Luke 15:18-19 NKJV
The son returns home and when his father sees him from afar, runs to his son for a tender reunion. The son starts to make the above speech but is cut short because the father has forgiven him and started making preparations to bless and restore him to his proper place in the family. This is an important concept; one too many of us have missed somewhere along the way.
The story of the prodigal, whether told in sermon, drama or song, began to have a greater impact on me than ever before and I couldn’t understand why. The story, though familiar, would reduce me to tears every time I heard it. I had given my heart to God when I was nine years old and made a stronger commitment to give Him my life when I was fourteen. Since that time, I’d tried to serve Him to the best of my ability. God spoke gently to my heart, at that time, saying I’d been a servant instead of a child that serves.
We read in verses 18 and 19 of Luke 15 that the prodigal son realized his sinful state. He knew he is not worthy to be a son but had hopes that he would be accepted as a servant. The father is merciful and forgiving, however, and more than eager to have his son back at the family table. God used this story to show me that even though I’d given God my heart and accepted His salvation, that He’d prepared a “table” for my blessings and restoration and I’d not accepted them. He had a place designed for me since before time began; a special place as a daughter by her father. Unlike the prodigal son, I’d not accepted my seat at the table.
The prodigal son, upon his return, accepted the blessings and restoration that the father offered. He didn’t go put on servant’s clothes, sleep in servant’s quarters, and work with servants all day nor did he go back to poverty and the pig pen.
Years ago, God spoke to me and today He wants to speak to His Church. He desires children who will take their place as beloved of the King as did those of the kings of ages long past. Children of kings in the past were still children except they were in training to someday be like their father the king. They played and had fun like other children. However, throughout their childhood, they were learning the ways of the father. They weren’t born with all the characteristics of the king; it came through a process of learning, day by day.
When a married couple discusses adding to their household, they usually mean children. They don’t sit down and say, “Honey, do we want children or should we just hire a maid or butler?” This might sound ridiculous, nevertheless, we tend to think this way about Father God. Before we know God, we realize at some point in our lives that we are prodigal children, living in sin and upon this realization run home to God. The Father sees us coming and runs to us, already with preparations to restore us to our place as His child. How many of us have said, “Thanks, but no thanks, I have to serve you and live in the servant’s quarters and work until I can repay you for all the grief I have caused.”
The debt has been paid. Jesus paid the price on Calvary and no amount of serving will bring us any closer to God. If anything, serving can get in the way of the intimate relationship God desires to have with His children.
We need to learn to be accepted as children before we can seek to please God through serving. Now I’m not saying you can’t help people and the church while you are learning, if your focus is on being restored as a child. God stopped me dead in my tracks one day and told me I could go no further until I accepted my place as His child. I could no longer try and please God or others through works, instead I had to learn to receive from God first His restoration and then His blessings.
For example, let’s look at one thing that happened after the Civil War. Some slaves who were freed would not leave their former masters and live as free men. They were so accustomed to slavery that they stayed at the same place doing the same job with little pay. They were freer than they were before the Civil War but were not living in the freedom that had been provided for them by others who laid down their lives.
Can you see this parallel with us today? We’ve been saved through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. However, we’re not much freer than before because we have a slave’s mentality.
How can we change? First, we must accept our position of sonship with the Father, acknowledging that we are saved by what Jesus did for us on the cross. It’s not according to our own worthiness or unworthiness. It is Jesus’ righteousness. We receive our adoption whether we feel it or not and then God will start our restoration and training on how to become more like Him.
It is a day-to-day process, ever dying to self and our fleshly way and learning to walk in the Spirit. We learn through relationship; spending time with God, just seeking His face, worship, listening to the Word and prayer.
God wants children who serve. Not out of duty. More out of love and relationship. We will serve and obey God in all areas of our lives and look at God as Father instead of a slave owner. This changes everything.
Are you a servant or a child who serves?
[image error]Jennifer Hallmark is a writer of Southern fiction and also fantasy; a combination that keeps the creative juices flowing.
She’s published over 200 articles and interviews on the internet, short stories in several magazines, and been part of three book compilations: The Heart Seekers Series, Sweet Freedom A La Mode, and Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with Infertility and Miscarriage.
Jennifer’s website, Alabama-Inspired Fiction, and the group blog she co-founded, focus on her books, love of the South, and helping writers. She sends out a monthly newsletter, which you can subscribe to at her author page. You can visit her onFacebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Jennifer and her husband, Danny, have spent their married life in Alabama and have a basset hound, Max. Their daughter Mandy is married to Tim and they have two beautiful daughters, Ava, and Sadie, and a handsome son, Zeke. Their son, Jonathan, is married to Kristie and they have two beautiful daughters, Phoebe Jill and Rozlyn Claire, and a handsome son, Cohen .
Jennifer loves to read detective fiction from the Golden Age, watch movies like LOTR, and play with all her grandchildren. At times, she writes.
https://www.facebook.com/authorjenniferhallmark
https://twitter.com/JenHwrites
https://www.pinterest.com/jenlhallmark989/
https://writingpromptsthoughtsideas.wordpress.com
“Acts of kindness. One reason I like sharing what others are doing to make the world a better place is to inspire others. Everyone can do something . From helping a neighbor to donating time and/or money to community projects, you have value inside of you to share with others.”
#Blogwords, New Week New Fact, #NWNF, Guest Post, Jennifer Hallmark, A Child That Serves
August 12, 2017
BLOGWORDS – Sunday 13 August 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – A GOOD WORK (reblog)
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FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – A GOOD WORK
Woke up to a lovely text from my friend this morning.
Before I was awake even.
What a powerful thing, to know that my friend is not only thinking of me but is praying for me even as I’m sleeping. And in this season, when things have been languishing so badly, I know Father will see me through to complete it. All of it. Because He set me to it.
My writing? Yes, but not just. He began a work in me to make me who He designed and created me to be.
I am not an incomplete leftover or reject. I am a work in progress. And Father places his brush strokes with great care, He selects only the finest clay and spins the wheel just so, He chooses the word or phrase that conveys the essence simply and eloquently.
And with every brush stroke or spin or word, He is drawing me closer to Him, to His image.
And when stuff of the day threatened to overtake me, it did not because I know Holy Spirit is faithful to complete what He has begun. And the world isn’t my standard, He is. His character, His nature, His heart. And I am transformed, I am renewed.
I am His, and I rest in Him.
#Blogwords, Front Porch Fellowship, #FPF, Sunday Devotion, A Good Work, Philippians 1:3, Ephesians 2:10, Genesis 1:27, Romans 12:2, Transformed, Renewed
BLOGWORDS – Sunday 13 August 2017 – FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – A GOOD WORK
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FRONT PORCH FELLOWSHIP – A GOOD WORK
Woke up to a lovely text from my friend this morning.
Before I was awake even.
What a powerful thing, to know that my friend is not only thinking of me but is praying for me even as I’m sleeping. And in this season, when things have been languishing so badly, I know Father will see me through to complete it. All of it. Because He set me to it.
My writing? Yes, but not just. He began a work in me to make me who He designed and created me to be.
I am not an incomplete leftover or reject. I am a work in progress. And Father places his brush strokes with great care, He selects only the finest clay and spins the wheel just so, He chooses the word or phrase that conveys the essence simply and eloquently.
And with every brush stroke or spin or word, He is drawing me closer to Him, to His image.
And when stuff of the day threatened to overtake me, it did not because I know Holy Spirit is faithful to complete what He has begun. And the world isn’t my standard, He is. His character, His nature, His heart. And I am transformed, I am renewed.
I am His, and I rest in Him.
#Blogwords, Front Porch Fellowship, #FPF, Sunday Devotion, A Good Work, Philippians 1:3, Ephesians 2:10, Genesis 1:27, Romans 12:2, Transformed, Renewed
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