Happy September!

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
- John Updike, September

Hello - this will be my last live post for this week. I am off to the ANG (American Needlepoint Guild) Seminar in Milwaukee until Friday night. Then Saturday morning I am taking a day trip with my husband SOOO if I am lucky I will be able to catch up with emails on Sunday and start posting again next week! The rest of the posts for this week are set up and ready to go - there will be a few giveaways starting too so watch out for those!

But let's get caught up on some winners!

The Lost Dog Winners:

1. jrs0020
2. pam (already won) so then I tried Sue (already won) so the next draw was DarcyO (already won) I was feeling very sorry for this lost dog but it finally found a home with Debbie!
3. Beth (already won) so this one went to Sunnyview
4. BelindaM
5. catss99

The Husband Project:

1. Bingo

The Hope of Refuge:

1. wheresmyrain

The Blue Star:

1. Katrina
2. Marjorie (already won) so then fredamans
3. ChristyJan
4. Cindy
5. bermudaonion

I have also had 2 audiobooks end but will not be drawing the winners of those until next week - along with the other 3 giveaways that will end before I am home! Have a great week everyone!

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall (Book Review)

Title: The Hope of Refuge
Author: Cindy Woodsmall
Publisher: Waterbrook Press

First sentence: Sunlight streamed through the bar's dirty windows as the lunch crowd filled the place.

My synopsis: Cara felt like she had been on the run with her daughter forever. But now that Mike had found her again, and this time knew her daughter's name and school - she needed to really get lost. Unfortunately Cara had been "lost" her whole life. Her mother died when she was 8 and her father left her at a bus stop and told her to wait for someone named Emma Riehl who was going to come and get her. Emma never showed up and Cara ended up in foster care. It was while she was here that she met Mike. As a teenager she had tried to go to the police about him, but they did not believe her. She married when she was 17 to get protection from him. When her husband died a few years later, she was left to raise their daughter Lori alone. Mike soon found out and began to stalk her again.

Discovering an address in a journal that her mother Malinda had kept, Cara sets out with Lori with little money and just the clothes on their backs. They are headed to Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, an Amish community. Cara has not been able to trust anyone for so long, that when she shows up in Dry Lake she hides out in a barn with her daughter. She feels as if she knows this place though, but doesn't know how or why. They attend a local auction with the hopes of finding some food when Cara hears the name Emma Riehl again. She knows she must get some answers, but doesn't know what she is going to do for food and shelter in the meantime.

Her stay in the barn does not last long as a local has called the police. They claim they have seen a drunken thief in the area and that she appears to be living in this barn. Before the police can take her away, Ephraim steps in and tells them that she and her daughter can stay with him. He is not quite sure why he has done this, as it will cause problems in the community. Especially if she is who he thinks she is - the daughter of Malinda Riehl, who was banished from the community many years before and left much hurt in her wake. He remembers playing with her for a week when he was a child and has never forgotten her.

Cara's presence in Ephraim's household does indeed cause problems. He is shunned, more severely than normal. This means he is not allowed to speak to any other Amish person, nor sit with them at a table, nor take something from their hands or hand them something. He has also been banished from working at his cabinetry business. In spite of all this, he hears "Be Me to her" when he is having his greatest doubts and feels deep inside that he is doing the right thing. He has no clue how all this will end though.

My thoughts: This was really my first "Amish" book - and I know there are a lot out there right now! I really enjoyed it though, and it gave me a look into a world that I did not know anything about. On one hand, I don't know how people live without electricity, cars, TV, etc - but on the other hand life would be so simple! I am not sure that I would be happy like that forever though. I believe in the same God that they believe in, but I am not sure that if you are not born Amish that his would be a society that you would ever truly belong to. This says it is an Ada House novel, so I am hoping that there are more to come. There were a lot of background characters - Deborah (Ephraim's sister), Mahlon (Deborah's fiance), Ada (Mahlon's mom) and Anna Mary (Ephraim's girlfriend) that I would like to learn more about. I have a feeling that there will be some good stories there!

Oh - there is a cute puppy in the book which Ephraim names Better Days which makes for some good one liners!

The Hope of Refuge
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, Aug 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7396-2
336 pages

Catch Cindy Woodsmall on Tour Near You!

New York Times bestselling author Cindy Woodsmall is on tour, and she may be coming to a city near you! Don’t miss your opportunity to meet Cindy and have her sign her newest title The Hope of Refuge at one of the following events.

Tuesday, August 11 7 – 8:30pm

Barnes & Noble

5141 Peachtree Parkway, The Forum
Norcross, Georgia 30092
(770) 209-4244

Wednesday, August 12 7 – 8pm

Barnes & Noble Opry Mills

515 Opry Mills Drive
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
(615) 514-5000

Thursday, August 13 6 – 8pm

Barnes & Noble

2540 Futura Pkwy. #135
Plainfield, Indiana 46168
(317) 838-7941

Friday, August 14 6 – 8pm

Barnes & Noble

1550 West 75th
Downers Grove, Illinois 60516
(630) 663-0181

Saturday, August 15 1 – 3pm

Baker Books

2768 East Paris Ave SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546-6139
(616) 957-3110

Sunday, August 16 2 – 4pm

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

3700 Rivertown Parkway Ste. 2058
Grandville, Michigan 49418
(616) 531-1825

Monday, August 17 7 – 8:00pm

Barnes & Noble Booksellers

1739 Olentangy River Road
Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 298-9516

Tuesday, August 18 7– 8:30pm

Joseph Beth Booksellers

2705 E. Carson Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15203
(412) 381-3600

Wednesday, August 19 6 – 8pm

Hackman’s Bible Book Store

1341 Mickley Road
Whitehall, Pennsylvania 18052-4610
(610) 264-8600

Thursday, August 20 1 – 3pm

Rachel’s Country Store (Amish dry goods store)

6352 McClays Mill Road
Newburg, Pennsylvania 17240
(717) 530-9452

Can’t make the tour? You can still follow Cindy’s adventures on Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. See you there!

Book Tour: The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall (and giveaway!)

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall - on tour Aug 3-11! Find out more about the book here and enter to win a copy!

I am only about 20 pages into this book and am hooked already! Right away you meet Cara and find she is running with her daughter from an abusive man. She has fleeting memories of a place she went once with her mother, but hasn't been able to pull the entire memory back. I am already pulling for her!

About the book: Raised in foster care and now the widowed mother of a little girl, Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and Lori out of New York City toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers and a fresh start. She discovers that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, and it’s no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God–“Be me to her”– despite how it threatens his way of life.



Completely opposite of the hard, untrusting Cara, Ephraim’s sister Deborah also finds her dreams crumbling when the man she has pledged to build a life with begins withdrawing from Deborah and his community, including his mother, Ada Stoltzfus. Can the run-down house that Ada envisions transforming unite them toward a common purpose–or push Mahlon away forever? While Ephraim is trying to do what he believes is right, will he be shunned and lose everything–including the guarded single mother who simply longs for a better life? (publicity info)

About the author: Cindy Woodsmall is the author of When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and The New York Times Best-Seller When the Soul Mends. Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families. A mother of three sons and two daughters-in-law, Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband of thirty-one years.

The Hope of Refuge
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, Aug 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-1400073962
352 pages

For the giveaway - Has anyone ever visited an Amish community? Just let me know yes or no and what your experience was. Please leave an Email Address! Giveaway open to US only and will end Aug 24!

ARC Arrival: The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this book for a blog tour in August - I have a second copy that will be given away at that time!

About the book: Can an Amish man help Cara find safety in a strange community with complex, unspoken ties to her family history?

Raised in foster care and now a widowed single parent, New Yorker Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and her daughter, Lori, away from the city toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers to mysteries from her past and a fresh start. She quickly discovers that Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, is no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God - "Be me to her" - even though doing so threatens his way of life.

Fearful of the strange Englischer woman causing turmoil for her family, Ephraim's sister Deborah tries to focus on the marriage and home she longs to begin with Mahlon Stoltzfus. Her dreams are threatened when her fiance begins behaving oddly, withdrawing, causing concern for both Deborah and Mahlon's mother Ada. Will Ada's vision for transforming a run-down house unite them all in a common purpose - or push Mahlon away forever?

Torn between the requirements of his community and trying to do what he believes is right, Ephraim risks losing everything, including a developing friendship with the guarded single mother. And only he knows that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake - secrets with the power to tear apart the home Cara is desperately trying to create.

From the author of The New York Times bestseller When the Soul Mends, this powerful story of colliding worlds illuminates the assurance that only comes when truth is revealed. (from the back cover)

About the author: Cindy Woodsmall is the author of When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends. Her ability to authentically capture the heart of her characters comes from her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Orchard Amish families. A mother of three sons and two daughters-in-law, Cindy lives in Georgia with her husband of more than 30 years. (from the back cover)

The Hope of Refuge
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, August 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4000-7396-2
352 pages