Litfuse Blog Tour for THROUGH WATERS DEEP by Sarah Sundin

August 18, 2015September 7, 2015 / drbethnolan / 3 Comments

I’m thrilled today to be part of the Litfuse blog tour for THROUGH WATERS DEEP by Sarah Sundin! This Christian historical fiction tells the story of Mary and Jim as they deal with sabotage at the shipyard in Boston as the US is about to enter WWII.

Here’s what the tour has to say:

Book info

About the book:
Through Waters Deep (Revell, August 2015)It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war.Outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. Back on shore, Boston Navy Yard secretary Mary Stirling does her work quietly and efficiently, happy to be out of the limelight. Yet, despite her reserved nature, she never could back down from a challenge. When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is found, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges—and dangers—await them.

Sarah Sundin takes readers to the tense months before the US entered WWII. Readers will encounter German U-boats and torpedoes, along with the explosive power of true love, in this hopeful and romantic story.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1DkJmlO

About the author:

Sarah Sundin is the author of With Every Letter, On Distant Shores, In Perfect Time, and the Wings of Glory series. In 2014,On Distant Shores was a finalist for the Golden Scroll Awards from both AWSA and the Christian Authors Network. In 2011, Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. A graduate of UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy, she works on call as a hospital pharmacist. During WWII, her grandfather served as a pharmacist’s mate (medic) in the Navy and her great-uncle flew with the US Eighth Air Force in England. Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children.

Find Sarah online: website, Facebook, Twitter

I enjoyed Mary and Jim’s story – my parents were in their twenties during WWII and I always find stories of that era fascinating. Mary is an interesting character — in one regard she is shy and anxious almost to the point of being dysfunctional, and yet she is a capable and efficient admin, working far from family and living on her own. Early on in the story I wanted to give her a bit of a wake up call and tell her to stop being so worried about what others think about her. I’d like to think that she was a bit exaggerated, but I know someone exactly like her — so worried about what people will think and that she will be seen as “prideful” that she is almost paralyzed by social anxiety. Truly — not a fun way to live your life.

Anyhow, I liked their love story (though I found poor Jim rather pushed around by the women) and I liked the ending.

It looks like this is the start of a series – I look forward to the next one.

Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

I also found this fun video on You Tube that shows the making of the cover —

You, too, can follow the tour for giveaways, reviews, and more:

Landing page:

http://litfusegroup.com/author/ssundin

Blog Tour Schedule:

My thoughts on GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee

July 19, 2015April 19, 2019 / drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Well, I managed to avoid all the hype surrounding the publication of Harper Lee’s GO SET A WATCHMAN. I didn’t want to know about it in advance. All I knew was that this manuscript had been kept by Alice (Lee’s sister) in a safety deposit box and was an early draft of writing that pre-dated TKAM. It had the same characters. Considering that I have read TKAM 20 times (seriously) and it is one of my favorite books ever, I pre-ordered it months ago and waited to read it.

(As I write about my reading experience, I will note where there are SPOILERS).

WATCHMAN starts with Jean Louise heading home to Maycomb to visit her family. She lives in NYC now and is in her early twenties. I have to say, that once I started reading, I just felt enveloped by Harper Lee’s writing. It was like a warm bath. Her voice and style is so distinctive (yes, I never believed Truman Capote wrote TKAM. Sacrilege!). I nestled in to the book with the thought, “Nelle Harper, you’ve come home to your readers.” The first 100 pages not too much happened beyond Jean Louise returning home. Familiar characters became familiar once again. (SPOILER ALERT) Most notably, though, Atticus is aging and infirm from arthritis; and dear Jem is dead (passed away before the start of the book from a congenital heart issue). I have to say I was a bit startled by these changes. A new character (or at least one I don’t remember from my many reads of TKAM) is Hank, a neighbor and friend of Jean Louise. He wants to marry her and the two of them seem set for each other. Hank is taking over Atticus’ law practice.

Then a pivotal event occurs (SPOILER!!!!). Jean Louise visits the courthouse to see what the Citizens’ Council is up to and finds a speaker there who is working hard to keep segregation in the South. He spews forth some evil, racist remarks. Jean Louise is shocked but most shocking of all is that her father sits on one side of him and her intended on the other. Atticus Finch is a racist?? Well, I was as shocked as Jean Louise. I was disgusted. I felt tricked. What happened to that pillar of righteous justice from TKAM?? Jean Louise felt that same way.

The next part of the book is her trying to come to grips with this. There are flashbacks. There is a passing mention to the Tom Robinson trial – which is different from the Tom Robinson trial of TKAM but definitely based on the same trial. Jean Louise struggles and fights and rails. Her uncle plays a big role in this part of the book – but to be honest, I found him confusing. His words to her were almost all allegory and “riddles”. I was confused – but maybe that was just me. All the time Jean Louise is seeing racism and prejudice everywhere she looks.

At the end (SPOILER!!) I thought there might be a different wrap-up. I don’t know what I expected – maybe Atticus to slap her on the back and say, “I’m only fooling with you, Scout! And with your readers!” However, I think the ending is important in that Atticus doesn’t change. Scout has seen him for what he is. She accepts him though she doesn’t agree with him. And this is the point where the story becomes a true coming of age story — Atticus is proud of her because she thinks differently from him and stands by her convictions. In her mind, she “welcomes him to the human race”. Atticus has been a demigod for Jean Louise (and for many of us readers). He’s not. He’s human – and imperfect.

So let’s think about the title here. Jean Louise hears them say it in church so I googled it and it’s a Biblical reference from Isaiah. Go set a watchman. Go set a person who will watch over us all. I am guessing Nelle Harper considered Atticus the watchman, as this was a book that pre-dated and was reworked into TKAM. To read this one, you could consider Jean Louise to be the watchman, as she has entered the fight against racism and injustice.

However, shouldn’t and couldn’t we all be the watchmen?

You can see this book at your local indie or on Amazon It’s where I preordered mine ages ago. It is less than 300 pages.

Just a note. I did find the blatant racist language and diatribes in this book hard to read. You might, too.

Litfuse Blog Tour for BEYOND THE ASHES by Karen Barnett and Giveaway!

July 11, 2015July 7, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to take part in the blog tour for Karen Barnett’s second story in her Golden Gate Chronicles series: BEYOND THE ASHES.

Here’s the synopsis from Litfuse:

About the book:
Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1IGu1bg

About the author:

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

Find Karen online: website, Twitter, Facebook

If you read me, you know I love historical fiction. Plus I grew up in the Bay Area, so stories taking place in San Francisco are always a draw for me! This story had a lot of background in it about conditions after the big quake and medical issues at the time. I found the whole subplot about cancer and cancer treatment – just a hundred years ago – quite fascinating, too.

There were a lot of characters in this book, with the main ones being Ruby, her brother Robert, and his friend and fellow doctor Gerald. I did find the first half of the book a tad slow. There was a lot of build up to Ruby and Gerald’s feelings for each other. Then it seemed like the second half of the book flew! There were a few other subplots (such as one about the abuse of young Asian girls), along with Ruby and Gerald’s relationship, the upcoming wedding of Robert, Gerald’s illness, and an ill-timed diphtheria outbreak! The Christian element in this book is what I call a “light touch”. Ruby and Gerald – and another key character who was a minster – are people of faith and they let that faith guide them.

Recommended to those who enjoy historical fiction!

Here’s a chance to win a copy of your own: Giveaway!

Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

You, too, can follow the tour:

Blog Tour Schedule:

Audiobook Review: SOMEWHERE SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD by Jan Karon

July 6, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I love the Mitford books.

I’ve read the whole series and I find them so comforting. I love the characters, but I also really appreciate how time passes in these books – people die, babies are born, people move away. It is truly like a slice of life. And of course I just love the characters of Father Tim and Cynthia.

This time I picked up this novel as an audiobook via my local library. It was read by John McDonough, who has read some of the other Mitford books for audio. My family and I enjoyed his “grandfatherly” tone and expressiveness.

In this installment, Father Tim and Cynthia have returned to Mitford after being away in Ireland. Several of the characters are struggling with issues. Dooley and Lace are deciding whether they should get engaged. Dooley’s brother is struggling with some of his own inner demons. The woman who owns the Happy Endings bookstore is worried about her unborn baby’s development. And the local newspaper poses the question that has the whole town talking: “Does Mitford still take care of its own?”

There are lots of other little subplots and stories throughout, with Father Tim at the hub of it all. As I said before, I love these stories, and it looks like a brand new one will be coming in the fall!

These 14 CD’s made my car travels go quickly!

Review: ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES by Rachel Stuhler

July 1, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

The fine folks at Touchstone (Simon and Schuster) kindly sent me a review copy of ABSOLUTELY TRUE LIES several weeks ago. I love, love, love stories about Hollywood and celebrities (I find them fun). This one centers on a young woman who is hired (rather haphazardly) to be the ghostwriter of a famous teen star’s autobiography.

Holly Gracin is out of luck and out of a job when she gets a phone call from a friend of her uncle about a writing project. The next thing she knows, she is the ghost writer for a famous teen pop star and part of the inner circle of the entertainer’s daily life. But nothing is easy for poor Holly, and she finds herself chasing after Daisy and her entourage and often in the spotlight herself (not in a flattering way either!). Holly has to figure out a few things about her own life’s direction, too.

I just loved this book, which was laugh-out-loud funny. Holly’s “voice” and her humor come through strongly, yet you can tell that she is a good person at heart – and not incredibly mature herself either. Poor Daisy is a bit of a puppet, held by those who make money off of her. Stuhler used her own experiences as a Hollywood ghost writer as inspiration for the novel. I found it to be a quick read – I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to put it down. This is Stuhler’s first novel, and I’m sure there will be more.

It looks like this may be just the first of number of Holly Gracin stories. I look forward to the next!

Review: FOLLOW YOU HOME by Mark Edwards

June 27, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Through Net Galley, I received a review e-copy of FOLLOW YOU HOME. I like a good thriller and this one looked engaging.

Daniel and Laura are a young British couple having a fun trip around Europe. They have planned and saved for this, and figure when they return they will settle down to work, get married, and start a family. They are carefree and happy until one night when things go awry. Boarding a train in Romania, they sneak off to sleep in an empty sleeper compartment. When they awake, their belongings are stolen and they are being thrown off the train. A young woman they had met earlier is thrown off, too, when she tries to help them. Daniel and Laura trudge along through the creepy woods with their new friend, but when she steps away to go to the bathroom, things go horribly wrong (No! Don’t go in to that house in the woods! Run away!!).

Through flashback we find out what exactly happened that night – events that completely changed Daniel and Laura’s relationship and their personalities. But then strange things start occurring at their homes in England. Could the evil they witnessed in the woods have followed them back to England?

This was a great read — a heart-stopping thriller at some points, with totally believable characters dealing with every day “stuff” like their jobs and relationships. I have never read Edwards before, but he writes psychological thrillers, and he is quite skilled at eeking out the details so that you have to keep reading!

Great plot wrap-up and ending — I’ll be looking for more from him.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for my review copy! This book publishes on this Tuesday, 6/30.

Review: THE SNIPER AND THE WOLF by Scott McEwen with Thomas Koloniar

June 20, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

My contacts at Touchstone (Simon and Schuster) sent me a copy of THE SNIPER AND THE WOLF to read several weeks ago. Scott Mc Ewen also co-authored AMERICAN SNIPER. It’s been a while since I’ve read an action-packed military adventure, so I looked forward to reading this one – even though it is number three in the series, it can stand alone.

This was 400 pages of non-stop action and excitement! In this installment, SEAL Team sniper Gil Shannon is outed by a higher up, and he must try to protect his identity and survive a whole host of events throughout Europe as various people try to take him out. He joins up, in part, with some sketchy Chechens, and they discover a terrorist network whose sights are set on the US government. Will Gil be able to take them down or will this be his last assignment?

Well – you get the idea! As I was reading I could totally see this book as a movie – and my publicity letter said that this is in the works – a movie based on all three of the books (I hope it’s three movies because I got tired just reading this one as it’s non-stop action!).

Here’s an interesting You Tube video of Scott McEwen speaking about his books:

If you like military adventure, don’t miss this one! Look for all three books and eventually the movie, too. Thank you for my review copy!

Review: GIRL AT WAR by Sara Nović

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’d been seeing a lot in the blogosphere about GIRL AT WAR, the debut novel by Sara Nović, so I was thrilled to find it on the “new release” shelf at the library!

Young Ana is only ten when war breaks out in her home country of Yugoslavia. Ana lives with her parents and younger sister in Zagreb, and soon their days are an endless parade of air raids, food rations, and disrupted harmony. But it is during one day, on a trip home from a doctor’s office, that the war touches them irreparably and Ana’s life is forever changed.

Ten years later Ana is living in NYC when she realizes that in order to come to terms with her past, she must return to Zagreb. Spontaneously, she boards a plane and returns to her homeland, looking for past friends and relatives and trying to reconcile her survival and her identity.

I found this book fascinating. Nović lived in Croatia and her story rings true. I tried to find out online how much of this novel was fiction and what could be memoir, but wasn’t successful — not that it matters, it is classed as fiction. I just could hardly believe that Ana’s tragic experiences could be the experience of many children – I don’t want it to be true. It is hauntingly real and unforgettable. I loved the writing and the voice of the protagonist.

Don’t miss GIRL AT WAR. You can find this book at an indie near you. I am an Indie Bound affiliate.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Litfuse Blog Tour for A FRIEND IN ME by Pamela Havey Au

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Today I’m part of the Litfuse Blog tour for the nonfiction book: A FRIEND IN ME by Pamela Havey Au. This is a Christian title, focusing on how older, experienced women can reach out and be valuable friends to the young women in their lives.

Here’s what the tour has to say:

Book info

About the book: A Friend in Me (David C. Cook, June 2015)
Young women long for relational connection with women further ahead of them on the journey. Yet, without realizing it, many of us tend to distance ourselves from those in younger generations.

Can we really have close relationships with women who have different thoughts on church, different experiences with family, and different ways of talking about God? Where do we start?

In A Friend in Me, Pam Lau shows you how to be a safe place for the younger women in your life. She offers five patterns women need to internalize and practice for initiating relationships and talking about issues such as faith, forgiveness, sexuality, and vocation. Most significantly, she reminds you that there doesn’t need to be a divide between generations of women. Together, we can have a global impact—and experience a deeper faith than we’ve ever known.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1RXNAmd

About the author:

Pam Lau is the author of Soul Strength and numerous articles for such publications as Christian Scholar’s Review and Christianity Today. She has taught writing at George Fox University and speaks around the country at conferences and retreats. A graduate of Liberty University and Colorado State University, Lau lives near Portland, Oregon, with her husband and three daughters.

Find Pamela online: website, Twitter

I enjoyed this book, which was a thoughtful and positive look at how women bond and how we “older” women (I’m in my 40’s but the book is directed at “older” as in “experienced”) can mentor and support young women today as they face the various trials of life. Ms. Au does a great job in providing anecdotes and then Biblical stories to show us how we can be helpers and how we can provide a safe haven for women who are struggling. I particularly liked the chapter on sexuality and felt it provided a lot of good info on how not to be judgmental or closed to those who might have issues and/or experiences that aren’t in our own experience.

Thank you, Litfuse, for my review copy!

You can find this book online or in a bookstore or library near you.

You can see more on the Litfuse landing page, and/or follow the tour!

Landing page:

http://litfusegroup.com/author/plau

Blog Tour Schedule:

Review: EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng

June 4, 2015June 4, 2015 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

At BEA I had the chance to meet Celeste Ng and get a signed copy of her novel: EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU. I had heard the chatter about this book, comparing it to GONE GIRL. I was excited to read it.

First, no offense, but GONE GIRL has nothing on this book. Yes they are both about girls who are gone, and you need to learn why, but this novel is SO much more. When the story opens, Lydia’s family doesn’t realize that she’s not just late to breakfast, she is actually dead – drowned at the nearby lake. Lydia was a quiet, studious girl, but did her parents really know her? Did anyone? Lydia’s family is a study in relationships: her intense, Caucasian mother who is determined that Lydia will be the outstanding scholar that she never had the chance to be; her Chinese-American professor father, whose wish is for his children to just “blend in”; her older brother, Nathan, whom she relies on and adores; and her younger, forgotten sister, Hannah, who is the intuitive observer in the family. Told through flashbacks interspersed with current day, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU is beautifully written and is an unforgettable novel about identity, family, and relationships. I could not put it down.

Run, don’t walk, to get this one!

You can find it at a local indie near you. I am an Indie Bound affiliate:

Find it at an Indie near you! I am an Indie Bound Affiliate.