Into the Free by Julie Cantrell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Millie Reynolds is nine when we first meet her watching her troubled world from the boughs of Sweetie, the gum tree that gives her comfort and escape. The place is Iti Taloa Mississippi, the year 1936. Author Julie Cantrell takes us through Millie’s… Continue reading Into the Free by Julie Cantrell (review)
Secrets by Kristen Heitzmann My rating: 4 of 5 stars Twenty-seven-year-old Lance Michelli and his Nonna have a deep connection in Secrets, Book one of Kristen Heitzmann's Michelli Family Series. That's why when Nonna has a stroke and can no longer talk, Lance is still able to understand something of what she wants. It has… Continue reading Secrets by Kristen Heitzmann (review)
What's the saying for March--"In like a lamb, out like a lion," or "In like a lion, out like a lamb"? The implication is that March is a windy month. Wind is no stranger to the Bible. It is mentioned for the first time in Genesis 8:1 when God sent a wind to help dry… Continue reading March prompt: wind
Journey by Angela Elwell Hunt My rating: 5 of 5 stars Suspicion and jealousy cause a rift between Yosef's sons Efrayim and Menashe when grandfather Yakov speaks a firstborn blessing over second-born Efrayim in Angela Hunt's biblical fiction Journey. This schism is magnified by their dissimilar personalities. Menashe is serious, brooding, and intense while Efrayim… Continue reading Journey by Angela Hunt (review)
'Valentine's Day' in my novel Destiny's Hands comes on the day the Israelites celebrate their final defeat of the Egyptians after they cross the Red Sea. In the story Moses leads in a celebration dance and main character Bezalel joins in. Then he looks on as Miriam leads the women in their part of the… Continue reading Love at first sight?
Do you read biblical fiction, that is fiction based on the stories in the Bible? Maybe you write it. The most common way of writing such a story is to fictionalize the Bible characters, perhaps create a few new ones, and tell the story in all its imagined detail but still set in the time… Continue reading Biblical fiction—adaptations
It's February and time for another writing prompt. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching let's explore love! The Bible is full of love stories. Isaac found his love, Rebekah, through a marriage arranged by his dad (Genesis 24:1-67). Jacob knew whom he loved, but found his cagey father-in-law knew better, at least in the how to… Continue reading February prompt: love is in the air
Michael: A Novel (Wives of King David) by Jill Eileen Smith is a fictional retelling of the story of King David’s first wife Michal—the daughter of Saul. Smith follows Michal from the time she is a teenager cowering under the rages of her demonically possessed father, to middle age when her scorn at David’s exuberant… Continue reading Michal: A Novel by Jill Eileen Smith (review)
Biblical fiction is a genre that helps the Bible come alive for many readers. A nice thing about books in this genre is that they're virtually timeless. Over the years I've read and reviewed quite a few stories based on the lives of Bible characters. In the days ahead I'll be reprinting some of those… Continue reading Gods and Kings by Lynn Austin (review)
In The Breath of Dawn Kristen Heitzmann has written romantic suspense with captivating characters and a plot that will keep readers in its clutches until the last page. Female lead Quinn Reilly takes her business of estate buying and eBay trading seriously. But why is this diminutive but determined, independent, conscientious, and caring 27-year-old living… Continue reading The Breath of Dawn (review)
Violet Nesdoly 