Book Review: Quills & Promises by Amber Miller

A tender mix of inspirational romance, historical figures and memorable fictional characters come together for an enjoyable read in Quills & Promises by Amber Miller. This is the second book in Miller's Delaware Brides series.

Set during the French and Indian War, young Elanna Hanssen unexpectedly meets up with Major Madison Scott, a visiting cousin of her best friend. Both Madison and Elanna are taken with each other, but he is soon called away to war. They must depend upon their correspondence to carry on their relationship and to learn more about each other, ever careful not to reveal too much, lest their letters fall into the wrong hands.

An unusual interest in the war puts Elanna in contact with Mr. Witherspoon, a young journalist for the Wilmington Journal. When he shares war reports that question Major Scott's integrity, Elanna must depend upon her initial meetings with Madison and her faith in God to help her decide if she should follow her heart.

As I read through Quills & Promises, I thought Elanna could have been Anne Shirley from Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic Anne of Green Gables. Elanna, like Anne, is constantly trying to reconcile what she would like to do with what is proper in society and for her age. This makes her a sympathetic character from the start. That sympathy increases when she is separated from Madison so quickly and later discovers he may not be the man she thought him to be. The reader is as eager to uncover the truth as Elanna is.

The strength of this book is definitely its characters. Madison is torn between his duty, his hatred of war, and his desire to see Elanna again. The camaraderie between Madison and the men in his regiment is something I very much enjoyed. Edric, Elanna's twin brother, is both protector and supporter of his twin, and ends up being crucial in Elanna getting information about the war. Mama understands Elanna's battle between her desires and what society allows, as well as, provides great insight into what Elanna must do in order to decide if she should follow her head or her heart. And Mr. Witherspoon, whose motives Elanna is not quite sure of, makes the perfect antagonist.

While the history buff in me would have enjoyed a few more historical details, since the writer is limited to a certain word count with Heartsong, that may not have been possible. The focus in these novels is always more on the romance--which this book certainly has from beginning to end as the reader watches the love between Elanna and Madison bloom across the miles.

Fans of inspirational romance and historical fiction will certainly want to read Quills and Promises by Amber Miller.


Title: Quills and Promises
Author: Amber Miller
Publisher: Heartsong Presents
ISBN: 978-1-60260-049-2
SRP: $4.95

Book Review: With Endless Spirit by Allison Pittman

The story of a young girl's determination to stay true to God's plan despite the tragedies and loss she endures is what you'll find in the highly anticipated conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series by Allison Pittman.

With Endless Spirit introduces the reader to Belinda, a young girl born into privilege. Led to believe her family is going on this great adventure, reality soon strikes while on the journey West. Wounded and suddenly alone, Belinda clings to her faith to help her in this harsh new world.

Forced to spend the winter with the man who stole the life she once knew, Belinda struggles to find the power of forgiveness. Her journey takes her to a mining camp in Wyoming, also home to a red-roofed brothel, where she finds friendship and perhaps love. But is her faith strong enough to let her forgive?

What a satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series! Belinda, who fans of the first two books will learn receives a new name once she ends up at Jewell's place at Silver Peak, is an inspiring character whose story was begging to be told. The author pits Belinda against tragedy and loss while the reader is allowed to witness her evolution from a secure but shy girl to a young woman determined to survive and believe in God's hand in her life.

Just as with Pittman's other books in this series, Ten Thousand Charms and Speak through the Wind--which we reviewed here and here--the author's attention to historical detail adds realism and depth to this novel. Just like Speak through the Wind, fans of the series are treated to discovering the story of a secondary character from the first book. And while in Ten Thousand Charms, most of the story unfolds at Jewell's place, a good portion of Belinda's story is told before she even finds herself at the red-roofed brothel.

Christian fiction fans won't want to miss the powerful conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series. And they'll want to read all three books again as soon as they finish. Allison Pittman is an author whose work touches the heart and lifts you up. I eagerly await Pittman's next project.


Title: With Endless Spirit
Author: Allison Pittman
Publisher: Multnomah Books
ISBN: 978-1-60142-012-1
SRP: $13.99

Book Review: Speak through the Wind by Allison Pittman

A moving and compelling story of the power of God's love and forgiveness is what you'll discover in Allison Pittman's Speak through the Wind, Book 2 in the Crossroads of Grace series.

When a young orphan living in the impoverished Five Points District of Manhattan is gravely injured by a horse and driver, Reverend Joseph nurses her back to health. He also tends to Kassandra's soul, helping her to learn Bible verses and sending her off to school. Now a teenager, Kassandra decides to flee the only real home she's ever known for the promise of a young man's love.

Living a life so far from the one she knew with Reverend Joseph, she fears neither God, nor the Reverend, will ever forgive her. Kassandra heads off to California and is transformed into a woman known as Sadie. Will she ever find her way back home?

Allison Pittman has done it again. She's delivered a powerful, gripping novel that is sure to win the hearts of Christian fiction fans everywhere. Just as with Ten Thousand Charms, Pittman's attention to detail, complex characters, and inspiring message blend together to create an amazing reading experience.

Beginning in 1841, we are introduced to Kassandra, who we know as Sadie from Ten Thousand Charms. Sadie is such an interesting character in Ten Thousand Charms, that the reader is granted a wonderful opportunity to discover her full story in Speak through the Wind. It makes her actions in Ten Thousand Charms crystal clear once you know who she was before the mining camp in Wyoming.

But you needn't read Book 1 to enjoy this novel, as it truly stands on its own. Pittman provides just the right amount of material from Book 1 in Speak through the Wind; and those who have read both books will not feel they are reliving information already known. But instead, they will feel as if they are in familiar territory, but reading it all again for the first time as it revolves around Sadie, and not Gloria--the main character from Book 1.

I said at the end of my review for Ten Thousand Charms that I wasn't sure how Pittman would top such a strong introductory novel, but she has raised the bar with Speak through the Wind, and now I am eager to dive into With Endless Sight, the third and final book of the Crossroads of Grace series.


Title: Speak through the Wind
Author: Allison Pittman
Publisher: Multnomah Books
ISBN: 1-59052-625-2
SRP: $12.99

Interview: Stacy Gooch-Anderson, Author of The Santa Letters

Joining us today is Stacy Gooch-Anderson. Stacy is a wife and mother and the author of The Santa Letters, a book I am sure will quickly become a Christmas classic. We’re going to talk to Stacy about the inspiration behind this heartwarming story, the choices she made, and what the future holds in store for her fans.

Welcome to my blog, Stacy. I am thrilled to have you with us.

Thank you, Cheryl. It is truly my pleasure!

Why don’t we get started by having you tell our readers a little bit more about yourself.

I’m pretty simple really. I’m a wife (we just celebrated our 22nd anniversary on August 26) and a mother who also happens to serve as a taxi and cleaning service for four rambunctious boys. In my spare time (what little there is), I find sanity by writing inspirational and humor based stories. I would say I’ve become pretty balanced since I learned that imperfection truly is my new best friend…;-)

What are some of your favorite ways to spend time with your family?

I love watching my son’s hockey games (I do have something in common with Sarah Palin although I couldn’t run or kill caribou if my life depended on it) and soccer games and curling in on cold yucky days to watch funny movies. We also love trying new things and traveling when our schedules mesh.

Do any of these pastimes or family traditions pop up in your work?

The sports and humor pop up quite a bit. A lot of what is in The Santa Letters came from actual family experiences and traditions and my next book, “Life is Tough – I Doubt I’ll Make it Out Alive” is based all on family experiences.



Let’s talk about The Santa Letters. First of all, I can’t tell you how much I loved the book. My family will be reading it together as we get closer to Christmas. Was The Santa Letters inspired by real life events? Were you active in the LDS church at that time?

I found out that two of my sons had been placed in sexually abusive situations which made me question everything I'd ever been taught and I wondered if there truly was justice in the world. I was active in the church and it was the lessons I’d learned at church throughout my life that thankfully had sunk in which helped me to get past it and aid my sons in getting past it too. I think a stable basis grounded in faith – no matter what religion one is – can help anyone get through the toughest of times.

Has your faith in God grown as a result of everything that happened? Did your family grow closer together too?

Yes, because I watched His hand in all aspects of my life at that time and came to really understand that He loves us and wants the best for us – no matter how insignificant we think we are. I know many of us feel that way at times but we are significant and vital, not only to this world, but to His plan.

As for my family, I will never forget the night my son - who’d been struggling through this terrible situation so much - cried and told us that for the first time he felt loved and protected and surrounded by a family who loved him unconditionally. He thanked God for having given him a good family to be a part of. No mother could have ever had a better Christmas present. We learned that there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish or survive if we stuck together.

As a wife and mother I was very touched by the sudden loss of William and how it impacted his wife and children. Was it difficult writing Emma (William’s wife) Jensen’s story prior to the arrival of the first Santa letter?

It was because much of it came from watching my mother as she grieved after the loss of my father to cancer. Although he was older (61), the joy in life for her left the night he died. Almost four years to the date (four years, 1 month and 1 day to be exact), she passed away from cancer at age 63. I know that they are now happy together watching over their family from beyond.

As each Santa letter and package arrives the excitement for the Jensen family grows and each letter and package also continues the family’s—especially Emma’s—road to healing. In these letters, you managed to share the true message of Christ’s birth without coming across as preaching. Was that a challenge?

The whole goal was to write it for a mainstream audience in a non-offensive, non- threatening way since people, including myself, are turned off by ‘preachy-ness’ and I certainly didn’t to do that! But I also believe that understanding comes through education and perspective. So that became my focus, to teach and help understand through simple lessons and a different perspective. What was hard was studying His life and putting it into simple terms that mainstream (including myself) America could easily understand and relate to.

McKenna is the youngest member of the Jensen family. She embraces the Santa letters and their origin from the first arrival. How important is this for the story? Does McKenna’s easy acceptance draw on any Biblical principles?

Actually it does. You always hear about the faith of children. In correlation to that we are told to become as little children and I think that if we could harbor the faith, innocence and purity of a little child, many things in life would just take care of themselves.

After reading The Santa Letters, I thought this would be a great book for church members to read together and discuss. Does your publisher offer discounts on group sales?

I’m sure they would. You could contact them directly through their website at http://www.cedarfort.com/ or email me directly at stacyanders@gmail.com and I will hook them up with the representative that can best help them down there. You can also call them at 801-489-4084.

Where can readers purchase a copy of The Santa Letters?

It’s available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and deseretbook.com. It’s currently on shelves at Desert Book and Seagull Book and will be on shelves at Borders, Barnes and Noble, Walden bookstores, Sam’s Club and Wal-Marts and I think in Star Books, Costco and in airports.

Do you have a website where readers can find out more about the book?

They can go to http://www.thesantaletters.org/ to find free-downloaable templates to the Santa Letters and also read the first chapter to its companion book The Inmate Letters which goes more in depth into Guillermo’s story and picks up with his association with the Jensens.

What’s up next for you? Any exciting news you would like to share with our readers?

Look for Life is Tough coming out Mother’s Day 2009 and The Legend of the Star, another Christmas book coming out Christmas 2009. I’m not sure when The Inmate Letters will be released yet. Probably when I get done writing it..;-)

Is there anything you would like to add?

Just remember that no wound is so deep that with a little TLC (a tender Lord’s care), it can’t be healed better and stronger than it was before.

Thank you for sharing so much of your time with us today, Stacy. I wish you all the success in the world. You’ve written a wonderful book!

Thank you for thinking so but in all honesty, I don’t look at it as my book. Just a story that I was blessed enough to be a part of. The success belongs to Him…

Book Review: The Life and Times of The Lord Jesus Christ: A Harmony of the Gospels by Peter E J Smith

If you are looking for an easy way to review or study the life of Jesus Christ then The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Harmony of the Gospels by Peter E J Smith may be just what you're looking for.

In this 155-page book, Smith has taken the events written about in the four Gospels and put them in chronological order so that the reader gets a full understanding of the events of Christ's life as they occurred. Hailed by the author as "...something of a fifth gospel" this book begins with John 1: 1-18, which says, "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then moves quickly through the ancestry of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, the announcement to Zacharias of the upcoming birth of his son--who he is instructed to name, John [the Baptist], the annunciation to Mary, Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, and John's birth--which are all found in the first chapter of Luke. We briefly hear of the announcement to Joseph and him taking Mary as his wife from the Gospel of Matthew, then return back to the the Gospel of Luke for the birth of Christ and other events that occurred within his infancy. The reader travels along through the various gospels from Christ's infancy up to his Resurrection and Ascension.

Meant to be a companion volume to Ellen Gould White's Christian classic, The Desire of Ages, The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ can be helpful to new Christians who want to explore Christ's life easily. It would also work well for Bible study groups who are interested in studying the four Gospels as a unit rather than exploring them separately. It could be a helpful resource to writers whose fiction or non-fiction stories revolve around the life of Christ or the times in which He lived.

I did, however, have a couple of concerns regarding this book. Smith states that he has spent over 20 years as an avid student of the life of Jesus Christ, but provides few sources. I found the Comparison a bit confusing because it contains so many numbers, and perhaps the reader would have been better served if Smith only discussed the reasons for the size of his book as he did in the last few paragraphs of this section.

I know I will find The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ helpful in my research and I believe others will find this chronological telling of the life of Jesus Christ easy to understand.


Title: The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ: A Harmony of the Gospels
Author: Peter E J Smith
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-4327-0939-6
SRP: $13.95

Book Review: Ten Thousand Charms by Allison Pittman

Ten Thousand Charms by Allison Pittman is an outstanding and powerful novel of love and redemption.

A mining camp certainly isn't the place for someone as young and pretty as Gloria. But when you're a pregnant prostitute trying to decide how to get out of your predicament, a mining camp where you know someone isn't such a bad thing. Taken in by Jewell, the closest thing to a friend she knows, and the owner of the local brothel, Gloria pays her way by taking care of things around the place...that is, until her time comes and then she'll be expected to work like the rest of the girls.

John William McGregan is desperate. His wife died in childbirth and he is forced to seek Gloria's help to nurse his newborn daughter. They enter into an agreement where Gloria will tend to his daughter if he raises her son. No marriage, just taking care of the kids together until Gloria feels it's time to leave--she's not the motherly type.

After moving to the new Oregon Territory things begin to change. John William's faith and the doting of a neighborly widow leave Gloria longing for the love she's never known. But she's not worthy of a man of great faith like John William McGregan and certainly God couldn't want anything to do with her. When tragedy strikes, Gloria turns to the God she's never trusted. Can He save her new found family?

Kudos go out to Pittman for delivering such a powerful and inspiring story right out of the gate. Ten Thousand Charms is Pittman's debut novel and now I am eager to read the next two books in her Crossroads of Grace series.

A story of unanticipated love and redemption, Christian fiction and inspirational romance fans are certain to be moved by Ten Thousand Charms. Pittman has thrust two characters from distinctly different points of views together out of necessity and brings them to where they discover God's plan for their lives.

Gloria is at times crass, but her childlike eagerness to learn from John William and Maureen (the neighborly widow) about God endears the reader to her. It is easy to relate to the helplessness that Gloria feels as she wanders through life believing she has no future and doubting that she could ever be worthy in John's or God's eyes. The unfolding love story between John and Gloria is heartwarming and beautifully done, especially when it comes so unexpectedly for both of them.

Pittman's research and attention to detail make this story come to life as much as her realistic and all too human characters do. This story is set in the 1860's--a favorite time period of mine--which is why I wanted to read the book in the first place. And the discussion questions at the end make this the perfect book club selection.

I can't imagine how Pittman will top such a strong introductory novel, but since she sent me books 2 and 3 in this series to review, I eagerly anticipate sitting down with a cup of tea and finding out.


Title: Ten Thousand Charms (Crossroads of Grace series)
Author: Allison Pittman
Publisher: Multnomah Books
ISN: 1-59052-575-2
SRP: $12.99

Interview: Michelle Sutton, Author of It's Not About Me

Joining us today is author Michelle Sutton. Her debut novel, It’s Not about Me is scheduled for release in September 2008 from Sheaf House.

Welcome to my blog, Michelle. It’s wonderful to have you with us. Let’s get started by finding out a bit about you. How long have you been writing and what genres do you write?

I started writing in August 2003 hoping to sell a novel to Steeple Hill. The first story I wrote was a romance.

It’s Not about Me is your debut novel. How does that feel?

It feels incredible and so far it has been well-received, so the reviews have been encouraging.

Can you tell us a little about your book?

It’s about a young woman with a safe and fairly perfect life who is trying to please her boyfriend who has become increasingly pushy in regards to physical intimacy. When she is alone and attacked by a vicious person (she is NOT raped) her life is totally blown apart. Her boyfriend can’t handle the guilt and goes on a drinking rampage and his older brother who had been in love with her for years (from a distance) steps in and befriends her. Then the war between the brothers begins…with her stuck in the middle.

Where did you find the inspiration for this story?

In regards to what happened to her that blew apart her life…the same thing happened to a friend of mine, only the details were changed, of course.

Tell us about your main characters. Why will readers relate to them? What will they like about them? Is there anything they will dislike about them?

So far the feedback has been that they were anxious for Annie and cared about her from the beginning because they understood her dilemma. The older brother is the one the readers swoon over because he’s a great guy even with some character flaws. Most people want to slap her boyfriend around numerous times throughout the book, but in the end most people feel for him, too. He is pretty much a jerk through the first 2/3 of the story.

How long did it take you to bring this book from the first draft to the final published product?

I wrote the story fast and completed it in about four months. However, I have reread it to death and tweaked things here and there, but it’s essentially the exact same story as my rough draft. It’s just more polished now.

Were there any obstacles or challenges you faced during the publishing process?

Editors said the story was too intense for YA and too YA for women’s fiction or romance. I do have a “caution” on the top left hand corner of the back cover that says “Due to mature content, recommended for mature teens and young adults.” However, I’ve had people as young as 12 and as old as 70 read it and they enjoyed the story.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com – these are online. However, you can walk into a Barnes and Noble store and order it as well. As far as other stores goes, readers will just need to ask them to order it. There shouldn’t be a problem. Some stores will stock the book. I don’t know where they are all located but I know some are in Arizona, New York, Minnesota, and Tennessee.

Do you have a website where readers can find out more?

Sure. http://www.michellesutton.net/

What’s up next for you?

I’ve sold the sequel to It’s Not About Me and I’m fine tuning that one for final edits. It’s called It’s Not About Him.

Thanks for joining us today Michelle. Best of luck with your book!