Lyn Reviews Author Irene Hannon’s Fatal Judgment

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

Fatal JudgmentFatal Judgment by Irene Hannon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This isn’t the first Irene Hannon novel I’ve read. I fondly remember reading one of her very first Love Inspired romances, A FAMILY OF HER OWN, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19…

Irene has broadened her books to include excellent and very successful romantic suspense. I enjoyed her Heroes of Quantico series, book 1 AGAINST ALL ODDS http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47…

Now for the latest book of hers, FATAL JUDGMENT. I loved her heroine right away, federal judge Liz Michaels. I initially wanted to sit Irene’s hero U S Marshall Jake Taylor down and have a good long talk with the guy. He made a lot of assumptions based on little facts when he meets Liz again, the former wife of a late friend.

This is a fast-paced, very accurate-feeling story of federal protection for a federal official in trouble. But that description merely skims the surface of a touching story of a man and woman in a dangerous situation, trying to keep her alive while their connection and feelings grow.

The villain is a man with his own troubles and agenda targeting Liz. Heartbreaking and suspenseful, this story does not stop till its full speed ending.

I have a slightly read copy to give away. To be entered into the drawing, here’s some questions: Have you ever read any book by Irene Hannon? Do you rememer which Love Inspired was the first you read (title or author or both?). Or do you enjoy romantic suspense–why or why not?–Lyn

PS- My husband read this and after conceding he had to go to bed before midnight, got up the next morning EARLY to finish it! I think he gave it 5 stars!!!

View all my reviews

Share

Amish Author Katheen Fuller & The Way to Hope

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by


My guest today is Author Kathleen Fuller. She tackles the topic of what leads to hope. She is also offering a book giveaway of her latest, Faithful to Laura. Here’s Kathleen:

“Living Through Adversity

In my latest release, Faithful to Laura, the main character, Laura Stutzman, must find a way to deal with the adversity in her life. Not only is she betrayed by the man she thought she loved, that same man scars her both physically and emotionally. Just as we do in our own lives, Laura must make choices about how she will deal with these negative events. Her decisions have an everlasting impact on her future, depending on what path she will take—God’s, or her own.

The Bible has many, many passages about suffering. One that speaks to me the most is Romans 5:2-4.  “…through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

To purchase, click here. Faithful to Laura (A Middlefield Family Novel)

Frankly, there are days where I think I have enough character. As a thyroid cancer survivor still undergoing treatment, I’m familiar with adversity. What I need is more hope. Yet if I take the time to look around me, hope is everywhere. It’s in the child whose cancer is now in remission, the widow who helps another woman grieve the loss of her husband, the man who, because of a youthful mistake, makes a new life for himself after serving his time. Hope comes in all shapes, sizes, and forms. Even in our darkest hours, there is a sliver of hope, because our hope is not in this world, but in Christ.

Living through adversity isn’t easy, or fun, or desired. We all want our lives to be as smooth as possible. Yet what Paul wrote to the Romans is absolutely true. What we suffer, how we handle the suffering, and Who we seek out to help us through it is how we find our hope. And hope is what helps us carry on.”–Kathleen

Website: www.kathleenfuller.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathleen-Fuller/81836200502

I have often felt like Kathleen that I already had all the character I wanted. 🙂

Here’s the question to answer for the giveaway.

Why do you think adversity comes before hope? They seem to be opposites. What can suffering do?–Lyn


Share

Last Week’s Winners & a Free E-Book!

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

Last week’s winners are

Janet Dowell and Annette Davidson each won a copy of Patricia Davids’ A Home for Hannah!

Sylvia won a copy of Lorena McCourtney’s Dying to Read.

And here’s a Free E-Book–I am one of the 25 romance authors. So if you want to read how I met my husband, download a copy!



Or on Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/How-I-Met-My-Husband?keyword=How+I+Met+My+Husband&store=ebook

Or on Smashwords, for other ereaders:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/143016

Share

Author Lorena McCourtney & Hanging On in Tough Times

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

I’m so happy to have Author Lorena McCourtney as my guest today! She is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors both because her books are fun but also because she’s fun and a person who sticks with it. BTW, she will be giving away a copy of her latest, DYING TO READ. Here’s Lorena:

“This is a time of economic hardship. Job losses for so many people. Inability to find a new job. Desperation!

This is the situation in which Cate Kinkaid, the woman in my new mystery, “Dying to Read,” finds herself. This is the situation I also found myself in several years ago.

Cate is 29. It never really occurred to her that she might find herself out of a job and unable to find another one. After all, she has a college degree, and she’s never actually been fired from a job. But after the dismaying realization that she’s totally unsuited for the career for which her college education prepared her, and the hard economic realities of the bankruptcy, merger, or downsizing of several companies she’s worked for, this is where she finds herself – unemployed and desperate.

My situation was a little different. As a writer, I didn’t have a regular go-to-work job, but I’d had some 40 books published, and now had a contract to do five books for a publisher. But there were some big upheavals within the company, changes were made, contracts were cancelled – and mine was one of them. So there I was, like Cate – unemployed.



To purchase, click here. Dying to Read: A Novel (The Cate Kinkaid Files)

Cate isn’t a quitter. She moves to a different state, puts out job applications and résumés in person and online, and accepts whatever she can find to fill in. She’s a Christmas elf with Santa at the mall, puts advertising flyers on windshields, wears a bunny costume and waves a big sign directing people to a tax service. She hasn’t much more confidence in the job her uncle offers her as an assistant private investigator with his PI agency, Belmont Investigations, but she’s willing to give it a try.

Where she learns something about being open to God’s plans, because he knows what he’s doing.

I’m not a quitter either. I wrote books. I submitted them. I got rejections, or sometimes simply silence.

So finally I had to step back and ask God (as I no doubt should have earlier), Hey, I thought you wanted me to write for you. What’s going on here?

And the realization, which didn’t come in an e-mail from God, or big words booming out of the heavens (which would have made it easier for someone who can be as thick-headed as I am!), was that my identity in life was not Writer, but Child of God.

So I kept on trying, but with the willingness that I would quit if that’s what God wanted. I could trust that God knows what he’s doing, and our true strength lies in trusting him even when things look bleak.

And, like Cate, he’s brought me through the bad times. Sometimes strength means letting go and letting God take over.”–Lorena

Her website is http://www.lorenamccourtney.com.

On Facebook,  https://www.facebook.com/lorenamccourtney

Lorena, thanks for being so candid with us. Every career has its ups and downs. Sometimes the hard knocks are a bit too hard.

Have any of you read Lorena’s cozy Invisible? I loved her Ivy Malone series. I recommend all of Lorena’s books highly!”

Question to comment on to enter drawing: How many different jobs have you had and/or what was the strangest job you ever had?–Lyn

–Lyn

Share

Last Week’s Winners & What’s Coming!

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

Mary Jackson won Author Virignia Smith’s book THE HEART’S FRONTIER.

And Nancee won my slightly read copy of Author Pat Simmons’ GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION.

This week Authors Lorena McCourtney & Patricia Davids will guest! One writes cozy mysteries and one writes Amish stories. Do you know which is which?–Lyn

Share

Lyn Reviews Author Pat Simmons’ Guilty by Association

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

Guilty By AssociationGuilty By Association by Pat Simmons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Guilty by Association was the first time I’d read a Pat Simmons’ book. Won’t be the last! I enjoyed this story so much because of the characters, so rich and real. The hero Kidd Jamieson, a young black man with a major chip on his shoulder, is not one to go looking into his roots. His family comes looking for him.

Since Kidd has rejected his father who abandoned him and his brother Ace and did his mother wrong, Kidd wants nothing to do with the Jamieson clan or their claim of descending from an African king.

Still, he leaves Boston to spend time with them in St Louis and soon it’s apparent that God planned this move in time to save Kidd’s life. Does this get his attention? No, of course not. Kidd’s a stubborn Angry Young Black Man (the author’s words).

His last chance brings him to of all places a rehabilitation facility for seniors and there he meets his match, Eva.

The path of true love never runs smooth especailly when anger still rules a heart. Sometimes I got irritated with the heroine but she is also a work in progress. I admired her commitment to purity, so rare these days.

So if you’ve never read a Pat Simmons’ novel, don’t miss the Jamiesons!

I have a slightly read copy to GIVEAWAY. Leave a comment about any other African-American novel or author you have read.

Or you can leave a comment about any of my lovely strong women of color characters. Which one do you remember?–Lyn

View all my reviews

Share

Author Virginia Smith & Is Patience Strength or Being Wishy-Washy?

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

My guest today is Author Virginia Smith and after reading her post, all I can say is her aunt must be real because nobody would craft a character this amazing! BTW, Virginia will be giving away one copy of her book to a commenter. Here’s Virginia:

“Being faithful in the smallest things is the way to gain, maintain, and demonstrate the strength needed to accomplish something great.” – Alex Harris

I was browsing through some material the other day (okay, I was surfing the internet) when I came across this quote. It struck me as deeply profound, and at the same time it filled me with hope. I’m not one who aspires to greatness, but I am faithful. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am surrounded by examples of strong women who have accomplished great things through faithfulness in the small things.

One of my favorite people in the entire world is my Aunt Patti. She was ten when I was born, and I thought she was the coolest, most awesome grown-up ever. As a teenager she listened to “deep” music, and talked to me about the meaning as though she cared about my thoughts. (Bob McLeans’s American Pie comes to mind.) She loved to learn, and communicated her thirst for knowledge by telling me what she learned in high school, and then college.

After college she worked at a series of incredibly interesting jobs, like prison guard, and police officer. She never lost her desire to learn, and worked her way through graduate school, earning a Master’s in Social Work. Then she joined the army where she served for years, including a tour in Korea. I’ll never forget my pride when I flew to Washington D.C. to see her promotion to the rank of Colonel at the Pentagon.

You’d think she would stop there, wouldn’t you? Nope. She was selected to attend an exclusive War College and graduated with a second Master’s degree. Then she retired from the military and returned to school, and last year earned her Doctorate in Psychology. Now she fulfills one of her heart’s desires and counsels victims – juveniles, rape victims, and veterans with PTSD. But she hasn’t stopped learning.

Next year she plans to enter Law school! She is doing great things with her life, but not one of them happened because of a single act of greatness. Instead, she has been faithful to her dreams and her goals one small step at a time.

The heroine in my recent book, The Heart’s Frontier, doesn’t have the opportunity to go to college. The Amish don’t place an emphasis on education. The setting is the American West, where there weren’t many opportunities for women, Amish or not. But Emma is strong like my aunt in one very important way – she is faithful, even in the face of difficult situations that stand in the way of her and her desires. And in the end she accomplishes…well, you’ll have to read the book to find out, won’t you?”–Virginia

To purchase The Heart’s Frontier, by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith, click here. The Heart’s Frontier (The Amish of Apple Grove)

Well, what a story!
Question to answer in order to enter drawing:
Do you have anybody in your family who amazes you? Please share!–Lyn

Virginia Smith’s Website: www.virginiasmith.org

Share

Lyn Interviews Author Melanie Dobson & Why She Loves Cemeteries

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by
?

Today I have the pleasure of sharing my interview of Author Melanie Dobson. I think you’ll find her replies interesting and her bio impressive. And you might want to look into her latest release, Love Finds You on Mackinac Island. (BTW, that’s pronounced Mak-i-naw.)

**BTW, Melanie isn’t offering just a book giveaway. She’s offering a Kindle Fire! Read the scoop at the end!**

LYN:   Tell us a little about your writing and your real life.

MELANIE: Ever since I was a child, I’ve been passionate about reading and writing stories. After I got out of college, I shelved my dream to write fiction for almost a decade. Not long before my thirtieth birthday, God rekindled the fire in me to pursue this desire, but it took almost seven years to publish a novel. In hindsight, the timing of this was perfect for our family. We adopted two children the year before I received my first novel contract, and I’ve been so grateful to be able to stay home with our girls during the day while I write in the evenings and often on Saturdays when Dad is home to play. God grows and stretches me a little more with every book I write, and I’m grateful to Him for the opportunity to be able to share the stories He’s placed in my heart.

LYN: Was there a time in your life when you think God challenged you to become stronger? Please share.

MELANIE: I feel challenged almost every day as a mother and a writer in that I know I am not able to do anything without God’s provision. I’m grateful for His forgiveness, guidance, and grace!

Last year I also went to Haiti with a group of ladies to help lead a retreat to encourage pastor’s wives. I was terrified to go on this trip, not only because of the physical challenges but also because I didn’t think I had anything to offer these ladies who had lost so much in the last two years. I quickly discovered that I didn’t have anything to offer except a lot of hugs, but God did so very much that week. Our entire team came home marveling at all His miracles. He strengthened us when we felt incredibly weak and gave us such joy after our time with our Haitian sisters.

LYN: In what ways does your heroine show strength? And where does she draw this strength?

MELANIE: Elena is a young woman who chooses to fight her own feelings in order to do what she believes is right for her family. She is a strong woman who loves art and beauty. She draws strength from a place—an abandoned lighthouse where she escapes to enjoy the beauty of God’s stars in the night sky. Through the story, she learns that she can find God in other places, but she continues to draw strength from the beauty in His creation.

LYN: Share one fun fact about your life or books.

MELANIE: I love old buildings, ghost towns, and crumbling cemeteries. My husband says I need an “I brake for cemeteries” bumper sticker on my car. ? I enjoy going to these old places and wonder what life was once like in the walls of the abandoned buildings as well as wonder at the stories of people who came before us. In the absence of facts, my mind starts to fill in the blanks.

LYN: I know what you mean! Thanks for a great interview!

Bio:  Melanie Dobson has written eleven contemporary and historical novels including five releases in Summerside’s Love Finds You series. In 2011, two of her releases won Carol Awards:  Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa (for historical romance) and The Silent Order (for romantic suspense). Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Book of Indiana (fiction) in 2010.  Prior to her writing career, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and a publicist for The Family Channel. She met her husband, Jon, in Colorado Springs, but since they’ve been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. Along with their two daughters, Karly and Kiki, they now enjoy their home in the Pacific Northwest. The entire Dobson family loves to travel and hike in both the mountains and along the cliffs above the Pacific.
For more about Melanie Dobson and her books, visit www.melaniedobson.com.

To purchase, click here. Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan

As the Gilded Age comes to a close, Elena Bissette’s once-wealthy family has nearly lost its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, where they will spend one last summer in the hope of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. But Elena is repulsed by the idea of marrying for money. Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls, she spends most evenings escaping back into Mackinac’s rugged forest. There she meets Chase, a handsome laborer who shares her love for the night sky. The two begin to meet in secret at an abandoned lighthouse, where they work together to solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary.

As Elena falls in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly contrives to introduce her to Chester Darrington, the island’s most eligible bachelor. Marriage to the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes’ financial woes, and Elena is torn between duty and love.

Here’s the link for the current Kindle Fire giveaway for the Mackinac Island release.
If you haven’t left a comment on Monday’s blog to enter the book drawing for Sharon Dunn’s ZERO VISIBILITY, why not do that now? I’m on my way to enter Melanie’s drawing!
BUT FIRST leave Melanie a comment, thanking her for the interview and the chance to win a KINDLE FIRE!!–Lyn


Share

Suspense Author Sharon Dunn & Is a Strong Woman Moneywise?

booksbylyncote.com Posted on by

My guest today is author Sharon Dunn whose books I love! Today she shares about her daughter and her heroine and MONEY! (She’s also offering a book giveaway so leave a comment!) Here’s Sharon:

“As I look at the cost of sending my own daughter to college in the fall and watch the protestors on television who are faced with huge debt and no job prospects, I start to wonder if advising a young person to go to college is wise. The answer is yes, college is still a good idea. For me, it was a good place to mature emotionally as well as intellectually because independence happens gradually especially if you live the first few years in the dorms. However, the mindset of the student has to be in the right place. College is not the place where you live large. It is the place where you begin the habit of sound financial management and frugality.

I worked at a college for years and got to witness students who used their loan money to buy new pick-up trucks and dinners out at expensive eateries and extravagant spring break vacations. One woman even confessed to me that the amount of debt she incurred would have allowed her to purchase a home. Whether it is in the form of loans, grant, scholarships or help from relatives, the money is intended to be used on education.

When I went to college, my parents were not able to provide much financial support. I lived without a car, had multiple roommates to offset the cost of rent and eating out happened maybe once a month at the local fast food place. It was one of the happiest times of my life.

Just like dating is not the place where you “practice for divorce” by running from relationships when a crisis happens and it’s not fun anymore, college is not the place where you practice for a lifetime of debt by living like there was no tomorrow.


One of the biographical details of the heroine in my July release Zero Visibility is that she paid for college by working one year and going to school the next. As Merci Carson puts it, she is the world’s oldest undergraduate.  She decided to pay for college herself because if her wealthy father had picked up the bill, he would have assumed he could still control Merci’s life. Merci chose to truly live independently and was willing to make the sacrifices to do that. Being a strong woman isn’t just about making good choices about relationships, but also about finances.

My website address is www.sharondunnbooks.net

Thanks, Sharon, you show a lot of common sense in your advice. Unfortunately common sense ISN’T common. 🙂

Questions for BOOK DRAWING: Did you go to college or trade school? If so, how did you pay for it?  Or share your opinion about how college or a trade should be paid for.

Personally, I paid my way through college debt free by getting my beautician’s license. Best decision I ever made! Now you share.”–Lyn

Share