Heidi McCahan's Blog, page 27

Five Minute Friday: {Joy}

Four year old + sunshine + first Popsicle of the season out on the porch = JOY.

He doesn’t care about budgets or book releases, the fact that we have to go to the store again … he isn’t jaded or cynical or riddled with anxiety. Tomorrow isn’t even on his radar. Instead he takes great delight in the little things. Helping, telling jokes (that lack a definitive punch line but make you laugh anyway), verbalizing his favorite memories from recent outings.

Of course he has his moments when the tears fall freely and his world is rocked by some trivial transgression. But for the most part, he is a happy child and wants others to share in that. This week I’ve had a quote from Beth Moore playing on an endless loop in my head: “Perfection is a dream killer and a joy stealer”. It’s from her Esther study and I’m obviously taking it out of context, but it’s so true, isn’t it?

When did we learn to become so caught up in making everything just so? Why do I get so caught up in expectations and silly details that I’m wrung out, robbed of my joy?

I don’t know about you, but I could certainly take a page from this guy’s playbook and get back to finding joy in the little things.

I’m linking up with Lisa Jo Baker and the fabulous flash mob writing community known as Five Minute Friday. We write, unscripted and unedited (mostly) for five minutes, then link up and share. The only requirement is that you spread the love by leaving an encouraging comment on the post linked up before yours. So come on over and join the fun. Click here for all the details.

 

The Ten on Tuesdays: My Spring TBR Pile

I’m linking up with the Broke and Bookish ladies today and sharing my spring To Be Read (TBR) pile. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a member of two street teams this spring. Such fun to have a tiny little role in supporting these authors, so their books are definitely at the top of my pile.

1. Somebody Like You by Beth K. Vogt: her third novel is already creating a buzz among fans of inspirational women’s fiction. Here’s the blurb from Amazon …

“Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed?

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation­ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.”

2. Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg: this is book #2 in Melissa’s Where Love Begins Series and I’m eager to get my hands on this one. Melissa has a great sense of humor and it really shines in her writing. Blake played an intriguing role as a minor character in book #1, but now he’s back as the star of the show. Fans of heartwarming contemporary romance will take great delight in reading this story of a nomad trying to build a life in his hometown and win the heart of a girl who wants nothing more than to pursue her dream of living abroad.

3.  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This has been on my TBR pile forever but it’s rising ever closer to the top. People just keep talking about the sarcastic, teenage protagonist and her battle with cancer. I have to read it before it becomes a movie.

4. Second Star to the Right by Mary Alice Monroe. My father-in-law introduced me to Mary Alice Monroe’s work a while back and I’m always thrilled when she releases a new novel. This one is described as a modern twist on the age-old Peter Pan fairy tale.

5. Love Gone Wild (Reality Show) by Amy Matayo. This new release by Amy Matayo strikes my fancy because the characters are filming a reality show in Alaska. Any contemporary novel set in my home state intrigues me. I loved Amy’s debut release, The Wedding Game. Fans of reality show television will love her sense of humor and find themselves rooting for the characters’ happily ever after.

6. A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert. This third novel is going to blow us away, I can already tell. One of my favorite things about Katie’s books is that she takes us straight into the conflict and turmoil of her characters’ lives. The subtle weaving of the characters’ journey with a heartwarming romance makes for an enjoyable read. Very excited about this one.

7. Surprised By Motherhood by Lisa Jo Baker. I’ve enjoyed Lisa Jo’s blog posts and participating in her Five Minute Friday flash mob of writing prompts for a couple of years. I’m thrilled that her honest, poignant and humorous perspective on motherhood is going to be published and available to the masses.

8. Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. Another new release that I’ve been talking about forever and now it’s finally available. Everything Sarah writes is magical and delightful.

9. Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen. A brilliant writer, this one needs no introduction. Her work is like the best cup of coffee with a side of decadent Swiss chocolate. I’m always sad when I turn the last page.

10. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Heavy stuff here. Bullying. First love. Abuse in the home. Although the characters are teenagers and it’s probably a YA novel, I’m thinking this appeals to a broader audience. I adored Attachments and I’m thrilled that she continues to generate new novels. Good on ‘ya, Rainbow Rowell.

 

Small Victories: Baby Steps

Spring is so close. We can almost taste it. The trees have gone from barren to blossoms seemingly overnight. I’m sure we have nothing to whine about in comparison to the rest of the country, but the South is officially done with named snow storms and that unfortunate series of events known as the polar vortex. We’re ready for hot and humid. The daffodils are already out, clusters of butter yellow happiness saluting from my neighbor’s yards. These tulip trees are my favorite. I love them so much, I blog about them every year. I just can’t get over the color and the small victory it represents: when they start to bloom, I know spring is just ahead. We always have one last cold blast right after their color pops, then it’s officially spring. We’re marching, sometimes baby steps, ever closer to a new season. Can’t wait.

Since our kids have started playing organized sports, I’ve learned a thing or six about parenting. While we secretly long for our kids to be the star of the show, sometimes that isn’t part of the bigger picture. Ours aren’t showing tremendous talent in any particular sport yet, but they play willingly and have been blessed with wonderful coaches. Yesterday, our first grader took the opportunity to score a basket in the last game of the season. He started playing last year and didn’t even know how to dribble.  This year he came back to play with his same team and same coach and he really flourished. I was struggling to take a good picture with my camera (and never did succeed) but I decided to put my camera down and just watch. I’m so glad I did, because he scored a wonderful basket and the expression on his face was just priceless. He rejoiced all the way back down the court, a huge smile, arms thrust high. It was my favorite moment of the whole season. His coach was delighted, too. Sometimes it’s better to cast aside the need to document every single moment of our lives and just enjoy it as it comes.

Lastly, this is anything but small … quite humongous, actually … but my publisher sent me a sneak peek of my novel’s cover on Friday. Whoot! It was a surreal experience. One very significant baby step toward publication. I’ve only dreamed about it since forever and suddenly, there it was. I still can’t believe it. I have to admit my husband has caught me staring at the image on my computer screen a number of times this weekend. I don’t have the final approval to go public with it just yet, but I can’t wait to share Unraveled with the world very soon.

How about you?  Any small victories you’d like to share? I’m linking up with my friend Rachel today as she and Tanya co-host Small Victories Sunday. If you’d like to share your post, click here for details.

 

It Had To Be You: A Review

Book blurb: Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits—and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.

Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior—on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he’s getting from Eden Christiansen isn’t making things any easier. But when Owen’s carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

My Review: I was fully invested in the Christiansen Family after reading the first novel,Take a Chance On Me, and eagerly anticipated the release of It Had To Be You. This is the story of Eden, who says she wants to build her career as a reporter but can’t seem to step away from her self-appointed role as her brother’s unofficial personal assistant. She can’t stand to watch him ruin his professional hockey career when it’s just getting started. At times, I wanted to shake some sense into her. On the other hand, I think many readers can relate to circumstances that keep us locked in the crazy cycle while we long to make a positive change. The juxtaposition of a girl ‘stuck on the sidelines’ with a hot, bad-boy hockey player who wanted to escape the spotlight made for some great reading. I’m always looking for novels that incorporate sports and romance but also have an underlying theme that makes me think or challenges me to re-examine my own attitude. I haven’t encountered too many contemporary romance novels that portray a realistic picture of professional hockey and I think Warren did a fantastic job with this aspect of the novel. Her writing style is such that you are drawn into the story immediately. While Eden’s actions annoyed me, she was very relatable. Her brother sustains a career-threatening injury and his hospital stay leads Eden to a comatose, unnamed patient.  Without Owen’s career to obsess over, she tries to find this young man’s family. She’s also hoping this could be just the human interest story that could give her journalism career a leg up. Of course this allows plenty of opportunity for Eden and Jace to spend time together, because who else escorts you to the rough side of town to pursue leads but a big, handsome hockey player? The progression of their relationship through the story was believable and kept me engrossed in the story. Underneath that rough exterior and reputation, Jace is a hero worth rooting for.

For readers who have not had the pleasure of reading Susan May Warren’s work before, please not that this novel is not all hockey games and sweet romance. As she often has done in previous works, Warren expertly weaves in themes of loss, the struggle to overcome devastating life events and ultimately the hope and redemption that comes from bringing our burdens to the Lord and not relying solely on our own efforts. This novel is most appropriate for women, probably age 16 and up, given some of the tougher themes incorporated in the sub-plots.

A big thank you to Litfuse Publicity Group and the publisher, Tyndale house, for providing a complimentary copy of It Had To Be You in exchange for my honest review. I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and share my enthusiasm for Susan May Warren’s latest release.

About the Author: Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award-winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women’s events about God’s amazing grace in our lives. She also runs a writing community for authors. Visit MyBookTherapy.com to learn more.

Learn more about Susan at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com

Giveaway: In celebration of this release, Susan May Warren is giving away a $100 Visa gift card, a copy of Take a Chance on Me and It Had To Be You, as well as a free book club kit.  For details on how you can enter, click here