I'm Reviewing Grounded Hearts by Jeanne M Dickson at ICFW

Today I'm visiting International Christian Fiction Writers, to review Grounded Hearts by debut author Jeanne M Dickson. Click here to read my review.

You can find out more about Jeanne M Dickson at her website, and you can read the introduction to Grounded Hearts below:

ACRBA Tour and Review: Looking Glass Lies by Varina Denman

1 - 5 May 2017

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is Introducing 

Looking Glass Lies 

(Waterfall Press, 2 May 2017)

By Varina Denman

About the Book:

A poignant and relatable novel, Looking Glass Lies captures the war women wage against themselves, and the struggle to see beauty reflected in a mirror not distorted by society’s unrelenting expectations.

For most of her adult life, Cecily Ross has compared herself to other women—and come up short. After a painful divorce from her emotionally abusive husband, Cecily returns to her hometown of Canyon, Texas, looking to heal.

But coming home isn’t what she expects. In a town as small as Canyon, her pain is difficult to escape—especially with her model-perfect ex–sister-in-law working at the town’s popular coffee-shop hangout. With help from her father, a support group, and an old friend who guides her to see her own strengths, Cecily may have a shot at overcoming her insecurities and learning to love again.

The true test comes when tragedy strikes, opening Cecily’s eyes to the harmfulness of her distorted views on beauty—and giving her the perfect opportunity to find peace at last.

About the Author:

Varina Denman enjoys writing fiction about women and the unique struggles they face. Her novels include the Mended Hearts trilogy: Jaded, Justified, and Jilted, as well as her latest release, Looking Glass Lies. She seems to have a knack for describing small town life, and her debut novel, Jaded, won the ACFW Genesis Contest, the BRMCWC Selah Award, and the INSPYs Bloggers’ Award for Excellence in Faith-Driven Literature.

Varina attended three universities over a span of five years, majoring in four subjects and earning zero degrees. However, she can now boast sixteen years as a home educator, volunteering in her local cooperative where she has taught numerous subjects including creative writing and literature. Varina lives in North Texas where she volunteers in local marriage and family ministry. She is represented by Jessica Kirkland of Kirkland Media Management.

More information:
https://varinadenman.com/

Interview Questions

In Looking Glass Lies as well as the Mended Hearts series, you touch on subjects that are not often talked-about. How do you choose your topics, and what is your motivation? In all my books, my goal is to help women deal with issues in their lives, and generally the issues we women need the most help with are the ones we keep hidden, the secret ones that nobody likes to talk about. Those are the subjects I want to crack open, so that my readers and I can poke them with a stick, see what’s really happening in our lives … and heal a little.

All your books deal with female leads who are struggling with unique issues, but they seem to portrayed from the heart. How much of the plots come from your own life experience? Each book is different, but generally my books begin with a nugget of my own life story, or maybe just a feeling or an impression, and then I completely blow it up into an elaborate, exaggerated story. So I guess you could say, each plot line comes from my own life … but just barely.

Could your writing best be described as women’s fiction or romance? Why? It’s taken me a while to learn about myself as an author. At first, I thought I was a romance writer, but now I’m confident my books fit neatly into women’s fiction. All those issues I pile into the plots just don’t lend themselves to the romance genre, but I always add a touch of romance just for fun.

So far, all of your books are set in Texas. Do you have plans to pursue other settings in the future? Not yet, but I’m not limiting  myself either. As for now, my next book will be set in Texas, but after that, I’m not sure where my stories will take me.

What is your background, and how did you end up writing novels? When I was young, I never dreamed I’d be a writer when I grew up. In school, writing assignments were drudgery, but then again, most of my papers were research not creative writing. My lifelong goal was to marry an awesome guy, settle down, and have a bunch of kiddos. Once I did all that, I surprised myself by developing an increased interest in books which led to an interest in writing. Now I’m having the time of my life.

My Review

The book opens with Cecily married and sleeping in the walk-in closet, and by the end of the first chapter I was frustrated with her for staying married to such a life-sucking object lesson in how not to be a man or a husband. (In case you think I’m being unfair, I disliked him even more by the end.)

Fortunately, Chapter Two started with Cecily newly divorced and returning to her home town where she meets up with the new town hero, football star Michael Devins (who owns a coffee shop), and an old friend Graham Harper (who is now a therapist). It’s a book full of broken characters, and there are no easy answers in the journey to healing.

Looking Glass Lies isn’t Christian fiction, and there were a few times where I just wanted to shout at the characters and tell them to get to a church, or to start praying (especially given Varina Denman’s earlier books, which were based around a church community).

But I can see why it’s been written from a general market point of view, because the book touches on several issues that affect many people: pornography (although this was understated in comparison to, say, One Last Thing by Nancy Rue), and a range of mental health issues including self-harm. And these are issues that touch many women, Christian and non-Christian.

The main issue was around body image and body shaming—especially the way we judge others based on their looks at the same time as feeling bad about the way we look. It’s an intensely personal book, both in the way it was written and in the way different people will read it.

This makes it a difficult book to read, and to review. I didn’t connect with any of the characters (in this case, that’s probably a good thing), and there were some writing glitches which caught my attention once too often. It’s definitely worth reading, but it’s a long way from light and entertaining.

Thanks to ARCBA and Waterfall Press for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Christa Allan

When I grow up, I want to write like Christa Allan.

Amazon Description

One moment, Olivia Kavanaugh is preparing to walk down the aisle and embrace her own happily ever after. The next, she learns that her fiancé, Wyatt Hammond, has been in a fatal car accident. Then comes a startling discovery: Wyatt’s car wasn’t heading toward the church. He was fifty miles away…with a baby gift in the backseat.

Her faith shaken, Olivia pores over the clues left behind, desperate to know where Wyatt was going that day and why. As she begins uncovering secrets, she also navigates a tense relationship with her judgmental mother and tries to ignore the attentions of a former boyfriend who’s moved back home. But when she starts receiving letters written by Wyatt before his death, she must confront a disturbing question: Can we ever know anyone fully, even someone we love?

When an unexpected path forward—though nothing like the life she once envisioned—offers the promise of a new beginning, will she be strong enough to let go of the past and move toward it?

My Review

It’s every bride’s worst nightmare: jilted at the altar. And then things get worse. No, Olivia wasn’t jilted—her husband-to-be died in a car accident just hours before the wedding. While driving away from the church. With a gift for a small boy in the car—except neither Olivia nor Wyatt know any small boys. And then Olivia finds out she’s pregnant. Which wouldn’t have mattered if she were married, but she’s not and now her mother is barely speaking to her because what will Scarlett’s church friends think when they find out?

This is Christian fiction, and is fascinating for the two views of Christianity it presents: faith vs works. Doing the right thing vs being seen to do the right thing. Displaying God’s love in action vs … not. Scarlett, Olivia's mother, is like too many people in church: not prepared to do what most people would think was right because of how it might reflect on her. Ruthie, Scarlett’s mother and Olivia’s grandmother, doesn’t care what people think.

Behind the awkward relationship between Olivia and her mother is the even more awkward situation regarding Wyatt … which her parents initially hid from her, a decision which provokes even more fractures in an already-fragile relationship. Why was he heading away from town? Where was he going? Who was the gift for? And does Olivia really want to know?

Okay, so the plot is obviously full of questions which hooked me immediately as a reader. The characters were fascinating, especially the contrast between Ruthie and Scarlett (and with Olivia’s poor father pulled between the twin loves of his wife and his daughter).

And the writing was outstanding. There were so many good lines, so many truths, Christian truths and life truths. Olivia has a lot to learn in both areas, and she does.

Yes, when I grow up, I want to write like Christa Allan.

Recommended.

Thanks to Waterfall Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

I'm reviewing The Thirteenth Chance at IolaGoulton.com!

The Thirteenth Chance by Amy Matayo

I'm Reviewing My Hope Next Door at IolaGoulton.com!

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L Gray

Review: A Changed Agent by Tracey J Lyons

Solid Plot but Writing Needs Work

William Benton is a Pinkerton agent charged with finding missing railroad bonds--but who also has recently taken responsibility for his orphaned niece and nephew, seven-year-old twins Minnie and Harry. He has no idea how he can do both, especially when his job often requires late nights and overnight trips. His boss suggests he hire help in the form of Elsie Mitchell, the violet-eyed schoolteacher in their small update New York town.

Elsie turns out to be perfect for the job except for the fact she keeps wanting him to go to church and objects to him hanging around the saloon. He can't explain it's for work--that would defeat the whole 'undercover' part of his job.

It's an interesting premise, and I would have liked to have seen more of Will's role as a Pinkerton agent. As it was, the focus of A Changed Agent was very much on the developing relationship between Elsie and Will, and Elsie's strange relationship with her ex-fiance. I liked the scenes with the children, and I especially liked the way the mute Minnie was able to learn to trust as the story progressed.

The ongoing issue with A Changed Agent wasn't the story or the characters, but the writing. The author has a habit of starting sentences with -ing words, which gives the writing a lyrical feel. Unfortunately, that isn't a good thing because while I'm flowing with the lyrical writing I'm not actually reading the words. I think that's because a lot of the writing is passive, which again takes me away from the characters and the action.

I try not to put my freelance editor hat on while reading, but ongoing glitches like this make it difficult because my subconscious says, 'hey! That sentence didn't make sense!'. When I read it for the second or third time, I realise why it didn't make sense, and that it's something the editor should have noticed and pointed out. Having said that, every 'self-editing for authors' book I've ever read points out the dangers of starting sentences with -ing words, and it wasn't the editor who wrote the novel.

Overall, A Changed Agent was somewhat predictable as a historical romance. It had good characters and a solid plot, but could have done with improved revision and editing.

Thanks to Waterfall Press (Amazon's Christian fiction imprint) and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Tracey J Lyons at her website.