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Saturday, September 24, 2016

Wakulla Book Review - Seventh Dimension - The King, Book 2: A Young Adult Fantasy by Lorilyn Roberts

Summary: The King continues the adventure from The Door. However, the twist in this book is that it's through the eyes of Daniel. All the things that happened with Shale had another side of the story to be told: Daniel's. 
The King, however, opens up more twists and plots to weave through in search of some destination for these two.

Author purpose: Clearly two purposes are available.
1: Entertainment
2: To provide readers a view of what the search for the Messiah is like.

Author Theme: Seek and ye shall find. Know that your treasures are in heaven, not on earth.

Thesis: One has to believe in the Messiah in order to receive all the blessings that He has in store for us.

Author Stance: A couple of good points come up that Daniel struggled with in the book.

1: Honor over love.
2: No sexual relations before marriage.
These topics were covered very well.

Enjoy: An absolute must if you read The Door. And if you read The King you'll have to read The Castle as Roberts leaves you hanging again. Thank you, Lorilyn.


Reviewed by J. Clark.


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I want to personally thank all the men who are reviewing the books written by JOHN 3:16 AUTHORS. I am thankful that we are able to bless them and appreciate the encouragement given to us by their reviews. 



Each WEEK (usually on Tuesday), we are posting reviews from 
Wakulla Correctional inmates of John 3:16 books. 





Inmates are loving the new books from John 3:16 authors. 
Chaplain Steve Fox is adding the new books to the prison library in this initiative to "change lives to ensure a safer Florida."

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The Power of Story - John 3:16 Book Review of "Someone Has to Die" by Jim Baton

"Someone Has to Die" shows the real struggle between the major religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, and to a lesser degree Judaism, in a story that touches the heart. 

"Someone Has to Die"  demonstrates in a powerful way that reconciliation is possible if people are willing to change. "Someone Has to Die" would be an excellent book for Christians and homeschooling families to read, as the author has interwoven much of the fabrics of each faith. 

"Someone Has to Die" can help Christians to understand Islam. I appreciated that the author did not whitewash the complexities of the two faiths, and the clashes at times had tragic outcomes. The characters were well-developed, and the storyline realistic. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.



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Biography

JIM BATON has spent the last 20 years in the world’s largest Muslim nation, building bridges between Muslims and Christians who both desire peace. His speaking and writing call people out of fear and into authentic friendships that can change the world.


Friday, September 16, 2016

Traditionally Published Author Goes Indy - And the Indy World Gains An Award-Winning Author


When U.S. DEA Special Agent Lelisa Desmond refuses to follow an order to bury evidence in a high profile case, her superior inexplicably hires a hit man to kill her. Lelisa barely survives the first attempt on her life, but someone close to her is mistakenly murdered in her place. 

Lelisa sets off on a daring mission to bring down the man who ordered her execution. A man in a high position, with powerful friends. A man who will stop at nothing to protect his son.

Can she take him down, before he sends someone else to silence her forever?


Dianna's book is all new and updated, available on the web in all formats. The Hidden Son should be available in print copy in a couple of days. Click here to see on Amazon.
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Dianna Torscher Benson is a 2014 Selah Award Winner, a 2011 Genesis Winner, a 2011 Genesis double Semi-Finalist, a 2010 Daphne de Maurier Finalist, and a 2007 Golden Palm Finalist. In 2012, she signed a nine-book contract with Ellechor Publishing House. She’s the author of The Hidden Son, her debut novel. Final Trimester is her second release.

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need.

Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children.


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More and more authors who used to be strictly traditionally published are taking the plunge into indy publishing. If you desire to do the same, be sure to talk to someone who has experience indy publishing first. 

As with any business venture, get several quotes if you need help making the switch, and do some research on what works best for you. I think more authors are finding the empowerment indy publishing offers and the greater share in profits far outweighs the initial steep learning curve and set-up. Don't be afraid to step out in faith, knowing God is in control. ~Lorilyn Roberts

Friday, September 9, 2016

Innocents Pray by Lisa J Lickel - Five Star Review and Excerpt



Innocents Pray  - New Release
Lisa J. Lickel

Print ISBN 13: 978-0-9904281-0-7
ISBN 10: 0-9904281-0-9
$14.95
340 pp

Ebook 
ISBN-10: 0-9904281-1-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-9904281-1-4
$4.99

Release: September 1, 2016




Justice, mercy, and humbleness collide when four people pray for different answers to the same situation. How will God answer all of them?


What is wrong with trying to cure cancer? Brother Able, hospice chaplain, asks himself that question every day. His boss, Dr. Rich Bernard, performs closet genetic experiments at Paradise House. He blackmails Able into keeping his secret. When a grieving husband asks Able to pray for his dying wife, Able finally breaks his silence.
Libby Davis might be prepared to accept death, to sacrifice herself for Rich’s greater cause but fails to comprehend the love of a husband who cannot let her go and the son who’s a whisper from the edge of reason. Brother Able wades into battle for those innocents in her life. If he wins, it won’t be only Libby’s family he saves.


FIVE STAR REVIEW OF INNOCENTS PRAY 

The question is: They’re praying, but how should God answer? And whose prayer?

Innocents Pray carries a varied cast of characters, but each is important, and each has their own spot to play in this novel from:

Brother Able the hospice chaplain, who has his own troubled past
Dr. Rich Bernard, a researcher, and a caring, yet determined person
Victor and Libby Davis: one sympathetic and sacrificial to Dr. Rich Bernard’s mission and the other so in love and hurt.
Jordan, troubled, hurt, and only a snap away from serious trouble
And then, there’s the website posts.

Lickel does a powerful job of creating the subtle tension throughout the story, increasing it chapter by chapter until all the events, all the emotions collide--not in some tornado-like storm, but in an even deeper, emotional collision that is shocking and extremely mind-blowing in its depth.

Choices have consequences, and each of these characters will either learn from those choices or suffer the consequences.

One of those books that doesn’t leave you easily and keeps you thinking long after you’ve read it. Highly recommended. 

--Carole Brown, author of the Award-winning The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman, and several mystery/suspense series


EXCERPT OF INNOCENTS PRAY


When I think back on my death and life, I recall Jordan’s eyes in perfect detail. I realized that, as his mother, I should have known, should have understood him. But if I had, I wouldn’t have lived.
Events were changing too fast for me to control that morning, I realized, as I lay trapped in the nether moments between sleep and wakefulness. Jordan’s eyes were black holes threatening to pull me in. I knew that if I let that happen, I’d be lost forever.
He wanted me gone. I’ve known that for the last three years. This time he might get his wish.
Shaking, I came fully awake. When I saw the clock, I knew I would have to pull myself together in a hurry so I could say good-bye before Nona took my son to school. At fourteen, it was easier for him to be seen with anyone but his mother. The tingle in my left thigh that bothered me on and off for the past six weeks turned into a throb as I made my way down the stairs. In the kitchen, I heard Nona quiz him about homework and the contents of his backpack. Good, she would cut him no slack.
She thrust a cup of coffee into my hands as I shuffled in. I greeted her and Jordan, who looked at me with a smile that went no further than his father’s dimples. Could he see my fear? Smell it or feel it?
“Morning, Libby,” Nona said. “I took a message off the machine earlier. Mrs. Rodgers asked you to make matching napkin rings for the coasters she ordered last year.” Nona shrugged into her jacket and jingled the car keys. “I left the note at your table.
“Thank you. Have a great day, Jordan. I love you,” I said to my son’s back. I’d been lobbing “I love you” at him for eighteen months. So far, he hadn’t cracked and sent one back.


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Author Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives in a hundred and sixty-year-old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain. A multi-published, best-selling and award-winning novelist, she also writes short stories and radio theater, is an avid book reviewer, blogger, a freelance editor, and sometimes magazine editor. Visit http://www.LisaLickel.com.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Knight in Shining Apron by Carole Brown



About the Book
Starli Cameron gave up her career plans to be a concert pianist to marry the man of her dreams. He turned out to be a nightmare. When he dies in a car accident, Starli takes the insurance money and builds a successful and upscale restaurant: Apple Blossoms in rural West Virginia.  Threats from someone determined to ruin her life and the suspicious romantic advances from her new chef force Starli to search her heart and finally turn to God for real healing.

Sir Joel Peterman-Blair, top notch chef from England, is roped by his uncle, into filling in as head Chef at Apple Blossoms. Joel, with his sanguine-personality, has always laughed and flirted his way through life. But now, confronted with and attracted to the most beautiful woman he’s ever met, Joel has to prove his sincerity and depth of character to his icy-cold employer. Can his love for God and for this woman reach out far enough to rescue her from her own mistrust and bitterness? Will he learn that life is not all play?

And can they both work together to find the source of threats that seem to be coming from Starli’s past?

Print:11.99
Ebook: 2.99
Buy on Amazon

Lisa's review

Hints of an abusive relationship between restauranteur Starli and her late husband are the focus of this romantic intrigue. When first introduced, it seemed Starli had a huge chip on her shoulder and was at odds with many in the town, including her former brother-in-law, a policeman, who constantly threatens to avenge his sibling’s death. Starli has more on her plate to deal with as her former head chef abruptly leaves, with an ominous note “accidentally” left for Starli to find, vandalism and sabotage taking place in her business, a youngster in the kitchen who thinks she’s management material, an over-confident, over-the-top knighted British chef stepping in at the request of her maître d, and a boring confidant banker who wants to be more. What’s a widow to do?

Book Two of the Appleton, West Virginia Romantic Mysteries (after Sabotaged Christmas) is a charming follow up. Told in alternating points of view, Sir Joel tasks himself with uncovering his new boss’s skittish untrusting persona as he repays his uncle for past kindness in rescuing this damsel in distress. Starli deals with scary parts of threats and well-meaning friends and employees who think it’s time she get out and live again after the death of her terrifying husband. Clues, plenty of red herrings, several twists all make the reader keep turning pages…and that’s only in the first quarter of the book. A proposal gone awry, a dreadful accident, and a surprise confession all bring this sweet and savory story to a satisfactory conclusion.

A huge cast will keep you entertained as well as guessing and salivating during the courses of Knight in Shining Apron.


Carole shares about Trust Issues
Trust Issues by Carole Brown

We’ve done a lot of marriage and spiritual ministry through the years, and one of the biggest issues is trust. In this world of immoral lifestyles, it’s easy for one or the other marital companion to mistrust the other. It takes two people committed and determined to stay together.

In Knight in Shining Apron, Starli Cameron has serious issues with trust because of her past abusive and unfaithful husband. Although Joel keeps assuring her that she can trust him, she needs to see that faithfulness and sincerity from him in action. The least little thing from him shoots her doubts skyward again.

Though Joel is happy-go-lucky and has always been confident in himself, his God and others, he slowly learns that it takes more than enthusiastic assurances to convince her that he is for real.

Only with Joel’s persistence and striving to be what he says he is--and God’s help--does Starli finally learn to let go of her bitterness and fear, to live and love again.  

About Carole
Besides being an active participant of many writing groups, Carole enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense, tough topics, romance and whimsy into her books, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Connect with Carole:
Barn Door Book Loft: http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Living A Secure Life In Christ: Meet Lorilyn Roberts, Author of Children of Dreams...

Living A Secure Life In Christ: Meet Lorilyn Roberts, Author of Children of Dreams...: Title: Children of Dreams By: Lorilyn Roberts ISBN: 978-1602643864 Review Date: August 29, 2012 Reviewed by: CBM Christian Book Marketing ...





Children of Dreams won bronze in the 2016 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for Best Memoir. You can download a free version by signing up for my email list at:  https://payhip.com/b/Xhl2