blog recommendation: Deanne Gist

I have a confession to make: I was not a fan of A Bride Most Begrudging: no matter how popular it became. I found it flimsy and implausible and ...well...another post may see my rant at some of its loopholes. I did, however, think Gist had some potential and I sought out The Measure of a Lady which I enjoyed. I remember sitting on vacation, reading it in one sitting, fairly happy at the ending and the strength of its moralistic woman. The lady-on-a-mission motif smacked of Christy ( against Dr. Neil MacNeil in Catherine Marshall's story ) or even Sarah Brown ( in Guys and Dolls).

Courting Trouble and Deep in the Heart of Trouble took some risks that made this thinking girl very happy. Even though Gist reined in when she could have taken a bold step, she was moving in the right direction: for this courage I applaud her.


I have a review copy of A Bride in the Bargain sitting near me and I mean to crack it open soon.


On a slightly unrelated note,I am balancing my Christian fiction dosage with a re-reading of the Aubrey-Maturin canon by Patrick O'Brian and am just starting HMS Surprise ( my favourite in the 20 volume series). Whilst I sail away with Jack and Stephen --- I leave you with Deanne Gist's blog.


Gist is a far superior writer to her most similar contemporary, Cathy Marie Hake, and I urge you to check out The Measure of A Lady at the very least.


To find out more about Deanne Gist and order some books see here.


To read Deanne's blog (which, to my delight, sported a recent entry with a lovely picture of Hugh Jackman when I clicked on it this evening) see here.

blog recommendation: Tamera Alexander

I am currently reading Beyond This Moment by Tamera Alexander. I read the first in the series From a Distance and really enjoyed a taste of the frontier life in the years following the Civil War.


Beyond This Moment features some of the characters from the previous novel but can be read as a standalone. I enjoy the fact that the heroine has a doctorate in romantic languages and linguistics: no easy feat for a woman of her time period. Like all of Alexander's heroes, Sheriff James McPherson ( at least so far ) is blue-eyed, wide-smiled and winsome.

While I keep reading through the twists and sparks of their romantic plot, I will send you over to Tamera Alexander's blog where she promotes the best Christian books and authors she is reading and tells us about what's going on in her world.

I avidly follow My Friend Amy's blog and here she describes itching to get her hands on Beyond This Moment

Passover

Passover started last night and I was fortunate enough to be invited to celebrate with my landlady and her family for some delicious food and tradition.

I had never celebrated Passover before and, like most Christians, knew the story well but did not recognize the various ingredients that go into making this meal a holy one of solemn remembrance.


I figured that the best place to consult in preparation is the awesome blog of Bodie and Brock Thoene: proudly Jewish and Christian, these two often offer insight into celebrations and traditions whilst keeping them firmly rooted in Christian trajectory and scripture.

After all, they know this period intimately due to their work on the A.D. Chronicles and various turning points in modern Jewish history.


I subscribe to their mailing list and received this affirming message yesterday:

Tonight is the first night of Passover!
This is the night when we rememberhow the Strong Arm of the Lord delivered the Hebrew slavesf rom bondage! This is the night we rememberhow Yeshua, Messiah and Savior,delivered us from the bondage of sin and death! Jesus is indeed the Passover Lamb! Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sinof the World! Read Exodus 12-13 tonight! Then read Matthew 26-27!Everything means Jesus!The moment of our EXODUS is near! Shalom and blessings!Happy Passover!

I knew I could count on them to give a bit of insight into this popular festivity.

They are not only my blog recommendation for the day, they are two of my favourite Christian novelists. I strongly encourage voracious readers of historical fiction to dive into their exceptionally researched novels (esp. Vienna Prelude--- one of my favourite novels of all time)


DISCLAIMER: As long as an opinion is well-written, I will venture into writing whose beliefs differ from my own--- to keep a healthy open mind and a pulse on current perspectives. I find that the Thoenes express a, for lack of a better term, rather “right wing” viewpoint which I do not always share. This being said, they are always able to couple their opinions with research, scripture and fact and, more often than not, lace them with interesting anecdotes from their writing. It is their inspiring devotionals and stories of bringing history to the page that I most enjoy.