Take a peek in the diary of the Angel of Light

Diary letters from the Angel of Light; the mother of the Valtrez brothers:

Forbidden Marriage:

I knew the moment I looked into Zion’s mesmerizing, dark eyes that our love was forbidden.
That he was a demon who possessed the power of great evil. That if he ever lost himself to the pull of the darkness within him, that he might kill me.
Still I plunged headfirst into his arms and became his lover.
His touch was electric. His voice sultry and enticing. His hunger for me so intense that I couldn’t deny him.
He told me he craved me constantly. He wanted to make me happy. To share a life free of evil.
The day we married, he vowed to love me forever. To fight the bad blood in his veins and protect me from the demons.
And when our first son Vincent was born, and then the twins Quinton and Dante, he cried and held each of them in his arms, refuting his destiny and defying his own evil father.
Then he held me and promised that he was strong enough to overcome the darkness, that nothing would ever tear us apart.
That his sons would never walk with Satan much less become his soldiers.
Still, fear creeps in constantly, and I pray desperately that our love can save him from his destiny.

****

The Demon Attacks:

The demon attacks have heightened. Helzebar, the leader of the underworld, has sent his minions to punish Zion for his defection. To force him to bring his sons into the underworld with him.

He’s been fighting them bravely.
But last night they captured him, tortured him, fed on his flesh so viciously his blood is now infected. He claims he can overcome the sting of the poison.
But I fear that I will lose him to the evil.

****

Zion’s downfall:

My husband is no longer the man I married. The poison has consumed him. I see the difference in his eyes, the dark cravings, the violence, the hunger for blood and destruction. He welcomes pain, enjoys inflicting it upon others.
He hungers for the battle.
Though I still pray that my love can save him, he has grown dangerous to me. And to the boys.
He’s disappeared with Vincent several times lately. I do not know what he does, but Vincent is quiet and withdrawn, angry, now, and I see his own temper emerging.
Last night I tried to talk to Zion, but he threw me against the wall and declared that he will one day become the leader of the underworld. That his sons will rule the underworld with him.
I have to do something to stop him...

****

Saving My Sons:

All I can think about now is that I have to save my sons.
Tonight I found Vincent marked by the demons.
He tried to hide the teethmarks from me, but I saw that his body was bruised and beaten. The bite and claw marks on his back held poison that had already invaded his young body. And whatever torture and punishment Zion had inflicted upon him has begun to eat at his soul.
I cannot let it continue.
Quinton and Dante are too young to understand, to remember, to know what is happening. I must get them away from their father. They will survive without me.
But Vincent – he would know if I abandoned him.
But how can I leave one of my sons, letting him believe that I do not want him, and save the other two?

****

The Monks:

I spoke with the Monks today and they agreed to take the twins and separate them. It is too dangerous for the boys to be together.
Zion will be furious when he discovers my subterfuge. But he is long past saving.
And I will not allow my sons to succumb to Satan and be his soldiers.
I gathered the amulets for the boys’ protection and drove them to the secret meeting place deep in the woods near the Monastery. There I kissed each one of them goodbye, and left their protective amulet with them.
Leaving Quinton and Dante was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My heart literally felt as if it was being ripped in two, as if it was bleeding. My tears flowed freely and will continue until the day we are reunited.
How can a mother abandon her sons, you wonder?
How could I not? A mother’s love means protecting her children at all costs, even if it means protecting them from their own father and heritage.
It means letting them go even if it kills me...

****

Death:

Last night I found Vincent bloody and bruised again. I must send him away to save him.
But I fear nothing can save me. Zion has threatened my life more than once, has tried to beat the truth out of me, to force me to lead him to Quinton and Dante.
My body is weak, my spirit is low, but my faith is strong. I will take their whereabouts to my grave with me.
I only pray that my sons survive, that Zion never finds them.
And that one day they will find a woman’s love to save their souls so they do not become monsters like their father...

Quinton Valtrez is featured in Dark Hunger - currently on tour! This is book 2 in the Demonborn series. Book 1, Insatiable Desire, featured Vincent Valtrez. I currently have a giveaway running for Dark Hunger - be sure to get in on it today! Forbidden Passion, Book 3 in the Demonborn series is due out in April of 2010.

ARC Arrival: Stray Affections

Stray Affections by Charlene Ann Baumbich

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

I received this from Ashley at Random House for a book tour in September. Thanks Ashley!

About the book: Cassandra Higgins, daycare provider and mother to four little boys, is at a Collectors' Convention when she's utterly charmed by a one-of-a-kind snowglobe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own.

She can't resist buying the beautiful globe, and it begins to spark long-dormant memories for Cassandra, of her beloved grandpa, the stray she rescued as a child, and the painful roots strangling her relationship with her mother, "Bad Betty" Kamrowski. When a strange--flurrious, as Cassandra deems it--moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassandra and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous yet grace-filled journey.

With the quirky, close-knit Midwestern small-town feel that made Charlene Ann Baumbich's Dearest Dorothy series so popular, Stray Affections invites you to experience the laughter and the healing of second chances. (book cover)

About the author: Charlene Ann Baumbich is a popular author, speaker, and an award-winning journalist. In addition to her Dearest Dorothy series of novels, she has written six nonfiction books of humor and inspiration. A bungee-jumping, once motorcycle-owning grandma, and unabashed dog lover, Charlene lives with her husband and rescued dog, Kornflake, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. (book cover)

Stray Affections
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, Sept 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-307-44471-4
320 pages

Talk About! My next giveaway -So Into You!

Courtesy of Anna and Hachette Books - I have 5 copies of So Into You by Sandra Hill to give to 5 of you!

About the book: Angel Sabato has been in love with best friend Grace O'Brien for 10 years--but he's only just realized it. Too bad she doesn't take him seriously when he tells her about his feelings. Now Grace is left to wonder if her problems from the past are keeping her from opening herself to love. But she brushes these "useless" musings aside, concentrating instead on the work she's doing as an apprentice to folk healer Tante Lulu and keeping up with the old woman's good deeds. Unbeknownst to Grace, Tante Lulu has decided to try her hand at matchmaking again. And Tante Lulu has never failed before! (Hachette)

You can also read the story prequel - SAVING SAVANNAH.

Rules for the giveaway:

1. Five copies to giveaway.
   
2. Open only to U.S. and Canada.
   
3. No PO Boxes
4. All entries can be in one comment.
5. +1 Must leave email address in comment.
6. +2 if you are a new or old follower - but please let me know.
7. +3 if you post this on any social network - (limit of 6 entries for this one - so you can post it as many places as you would like, but only 2 will count). If you post on Twitter - please use @kherbrand.
   
8. +3 for referrals of NEW followers - if you already follow, you will not get entries for saying someone referred you - you can however get entries for referring new people...
9. Giveaway ends on Sept 2nd.

Order book if you just can't wait for the giveaway!~

ARC Arrival: Lori's Song by Lori Foroozandeh

Lori's Song by Lori Foroozandeh

I received this book through Bostick Communications.

About the book: Lori Foroozandeh is a survivor. Her childhood was a horror of neglect, abuse, and molestation, but she was able to escape it at the age of 15. When she was 27, she married an Iranian man and moved to his native country. And then the unthinkable happened. On the day after the World Trad Center bombings, Lori was taken captive and placed in a paramilitary camp, where she was beaten, starved, raped repeatedly, and threatened with death. Even worse--after her rescue, Lori found that her story was considered too politically charged to make public, and she was forced to sign a nondisclosure order before the American Embassy would allow her to enter the United States, Lori's Song, published by Outskirts Press, is her story.

Lori was removed from her family at the age of six months. She was covered with cigarette burns and had been living in a dark closet all her short life. At the age of ten, her adoptive brother began to sexually molest her, and Lori was forced to emancipate herself at the age of 15. The years that followed were difficult; she fell into a pattern of self-destruction that included drug abuse. She had a son, Douglas, but eventually had to leave his father to escape his physical abuse--and because he had slept with her sister. By the time she met her future husband, Lori felt she was on her way to healing and a more sane way of life.

Lori was attending Northern Michigan University in Marquette when she met Mohammad Foroozandeh. As a single mother trying to pursue an education, she thought that Mohammad would be the ideal husband, someone who would love and respect her, and she chose to overlook his drug use. After two years of marriage, he convinced her to move to Iran, assuring her that she could pursue her career there. Lori had left her son with his natural father, thinking that she'd be able to return to the States and visit him soon, but the 14-year-old was filled with bitterness and confusion, and rebelled by committing armed robbery at the age of 17. He will be released in 2010.

Being in Iran was a difficult adjustment for the American woman, especially knowing that her son needed her. The Iranian customs were oppressive, and Lori's new husband became more and more demanding and more and more violent.

The events of 9/11 prompted Mohammad to purchase two bus tickets out of the country. He felt Iran was too dangerous and that they should return to the United States. But before they could escape, armed guards attacked, and captured Lori, taking her to a POW camp in the hills of Iran. There she was tortured and beaten; starved and raped. She watched in horror as a fellow prisoner was killed and her body set on fire. For six weeks, the nightmare continued.

Finally, the family of one of Lori's fellow captives was able to bribe their way out of the camp, and after two days Lori found herself in Ostandary, a place that helps out foreigners in emergency situations. But her freedom was still out of reach. An Iranian woman is not allowed to leave the country without her husband's written permission--and Lori's husband was nowhere to be found.

The American Embassy in Dubai stepped in and paid Lori's way back to the States, but only after she agreed to take a lie detector test and sign a nondisclosure agreement. When she eventually found her way back home, Lori found that "freedom of speech" was not so free. She tried to speak to a reporter from CNN, and was told that her story was too volatile for a country still reeling from 9/11, and that the U.S. couldn't afford a war with Iran at the time. Lori reluctantly complied and, frustrated, maintained her silence for many years. She required a great deal of physical and emotional therapy to deal with the injuries and trauma she suffered, and due in large part to the love and support of her fiance, John, Lori was able to overcome her long-term substance abuse. She realized that telling her story would be the final piece of the puzzle of her recovery, and thus, Lori's Song was born. At 244 pages, it is a testament of the strength and determination of one woman in the face of adversity. (Outskirts Press)

About the author: Lori Foroozandeh lives in Jackson, Michigan with her fiance, John. She is a member of the Iran Politics Club out of San Diego, founded by Ahreeman X, with a following of approximately one million Iranian exiles. Lori has made a major impression n Iranian exiles and those desiring the repression of the "old Iran." Her story is also mentioned in the book, Victimization of the Farsi, Arab, Turanian and Central and Western Asian Peoples by Peter Khan Zendran. (Outskirts Press)

Lori's Song
Publisher/Publication Date: Outskirts Press, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4327-3829-7
244 pages

ARC Arrival: 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton

31 Hours by Masha Hamilton

Publisher: Unbridled Books

I received this book from Caitlin at Unbridled Books - Thanks Caitlin!

About the book: When Carol Meitzner jolts awake in the middle of a long night, she knows--as surely as a mother can know--that her son, Jonas, is in danger.

His girlfriend doesn't understand why, but she knows she has somehow lost him. Jonas won't answer his phone. And no matter how carefully she shapes them, he won't return her messages.

His father says it can't be as bad as they fear.

But it is.

Jonas is in a safe-house beneath The Brooklyn Bridge. There, in the belief that he can change the world, he ponders his new found faith--and his specialized training. Over the next 31 hours, he will cleanse himself, mind and body, in preparation for the violent action he means to take when the subways are most crowded.

Jonas's isolation brings on an inevitable cascade of events. And as this stunning novel moves through the streets and subways of New York we see how lives can accidentally intersect--and how they might tragically fail to.

Carried by Masha Hamilton's elegant and powerful prose, 31 Hours is a compelling story about the helplessness and frantic hope of the people who can save Jonas -- and countless other -- if only they can reach him in time. (book jacket)

About the author: Masha Hamilton is the author of three previous novels: Staircase of a Thousand Steps (2001), a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection; The Distance Between Us (2004), named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal; and The Camel Bookmobile (2007), of which the New York Times said: "Hamilton makes us see how much is really at stake in a poverty-stricken place where every possession carries the weight of significance."

Hamilton worked as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press for five years in the Middle East, where she covered the intefadeh, the peace process and the partial Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. She then spent five years in Moscow, where she was a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and NBC/Mutual Radio. She reported from Afghanistan in 2004 and returned in 2008. (Unbridled Books)

31 Hours
Publisher/Publication Date: Unbridled Books, Sept 2009
ISBN: 978-1-932961-83-6
229 pages

Waiting on Wednesday: Once in a Blue Moon

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Once in a Blue Moon by Eileen Goudge

Publisher/Publication Date: Vanguard Press, Oct 6, 2009

About the book: Lindsay and Kerrie Ann are sisters who have known hardship from an early age. Without guidance from their neglectful mother, their only aid came from an unlikely source, a retired exotic dancer by the name of Miss Honi Love. When the girls’ mother was sent to prison, Miss Honi tried unsuccessfully to save them from being separated and sent into foster care.

Thirty years later, Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her sister. The owner of a bookstore in the sleepy California seaside town of Blue Moon Bay, she was lucky enough to have been adopted by a loving couple. Unbeknownst to her, Kerrie Ann has suffered a very different life. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she ran away as a teenager before becoming a drug-addicted single mother. Now, newly sober, Kerrie Ann is fighting to regain custody of the little girl who was taken from her.

Neither sister’s expectations are met when they’re finally reunited. But as the two sisters engage in the fiercest battles of their lives, they are at last drawn together despite their differences, restoring belief in the unshakable bond of family. (Amazon)

About the author: Eileen Goudge is the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Diary, Domestic Affairs, Woman in Red, One Last Dance, Garden of Lies, and Thorns of Truth. There are more than five million copies of her books in print worldwide. She lives with her husband, entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon, in New York City. (Amazon)

Once in a Blue Moon
Publisher/Publication Date: Vanguard Press, Oct 6, 2009
ISBN: 978-1593155346
336 pages

What are you waiting for? Waiting on Wednesdays is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Dog Days of Summer are almost over - Back to School here we come!

A few of you enjoyed my first back to school post last week - and whether we like it or not (or are kids like it or not) - it's comin'! I know that I could have benefited from this series of books when I was in school (and probably still could!)

Reverently, Discreetly, Advisedly, Soberly . . . (or, Adverbs)
by Caroline Taggart and J.A. Wines,
Authors of My Grammar and I . . . Or Should That Be Me?: How to Speak and Write It Right

"When it absolutely, positively has to
be there overnight."
-- Federal Express slogan (1978–1983)

An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or adverb. Adverbs answer questions such as how, where, when, how much, how often?

Many, but by no means all, adverbs in English end in -ly (almost, once, twice, never, well, hard, fast, soon, and there are all adverbs), and many but by no means all the words that end in -ly are adverbs (manly, beastly, and holy are adjectives and family, butterfly, and barfly are nouns). But it seems that in everyday speech adverbs are steadily disappearing and the adjectival form is being used instead.

The following are all commonly heard but grammatically incorrect:

He did the task clever and I was real impressed.

He always drives careful so he won't get any points on his license.

It rained so heavy the roof started to leak.

She divided them fair but the children still weren't happy.

They should be:

He did the task cleverly and I was really impressed.

He always drives carefully.

It rained so heavily.

She divided them fairly.

Note that in the first example, cleverly is an adverb describing the verb he did (How did he do the task? Cleverly), and really is an adverb describing the adjective impressed (How impressed was I? Really impressed).

Ones That Got Away

He doesn't play fair.

I've got it bad.

They're going steady.

Go slow!!

All of these are acceptable colloquialisms, but you might think twice about using them in formal writing.

And here's an oddity: She worked extremely hard. Hard is an adverb qualifying the verb worked (How did she work? Hard). And extremely is an adverb qualifying the adverb worked (How hard did she work? Extremely hard). Despite the fact that hard looks like an adjective, we know that it is an adverb because it qualifies the verb. If you invented an adverbial form for it, you would get she worked hardly, which just sounds odd, or she hardly worked, which means something altogether different. Go figure.

The above is an excerpt from the book My Grammar and I . . . Or Should That Be Me?: How to Speak and Write It Right by Caroline Taggart and J.A. Wines. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2009 Caroline Taggart and J.A. Wines, authors of My Grammar and I . . . Or Should That Be Me?: How to Speak and Write It Right

Author Bios
Caroline Taggart, has been an editor of non-fiction books for nearly 30 years and has covered nearly every subject from natural history and business to gardening and astronomy. She has written several books and was the editor of Writer's Market UK 2009.

J. A. Wines is a graduate of Oxford University and the author of several books on grammar and trivia.

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

Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz Belinda Acosta?

Please help me welcome Belinda Acosta to Books and Needlepoint today - She is my guest blogger! She is currently on a virtual tour with her debut novel - Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz.

Another interviewer asked me where I appear In Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz. After we talked, she suggested that I am present in Carmen and her cousin Bianca. Carmen is the angry quinceañera in the book—the one who assumes that her mother is to blame for her father’s departure. As it turns out, the interviewer was on to something. I always assumed it was my mother’s doing when my own parents split when I was young. After writing this book, I wonder why my mother didn’t suffocate me in my sleep. I was a moody teenager, and yes, a daddy’s girl. No doubt about it. Still am. Bianca is the lively one, always ready to try something new, always ready to give it her best shot. I felt like it was the Bianca in me that decided to write Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz. Bianca has her own drama with her mother, a secondary story line that rings true for me as well. Overall, the thing that made me get to the center of the teenagers in the book is that sick, sad moment when you discover that your parents are just human, with their own foibles and faults. But the things I’ve come to appreciate about parents, mine and others, is the extraordinary level of patience they must muster, how it’s tested again and again, and how you sometimes have to watch your kid fail in order to allow them to grow.

I don’t have children but I think I’m a pretty cool aunt. I mentor children in the public schools here in Austin, and I am a Godmother to one child. I might make a good mother now that I have the benefit of hindsight, but all in all, I think it’s good that my contact with children has been at a distance. When it comes right down to it, that’s the perfect place from which to observe and write about this most primary of relationships, between mother and child.

Thanks Belinda! You can find Belinda on her blog, follow her on twitter or become a Facebook Fan!

First Wild Card Tour: June Bug

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Really enjoyed reading this book. Read my review of June Bug.

Today's Wild Card author is:

Chris Fabry

and the book:

June Bug

Tyndale House Publishers (July 9, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chris Fabry is a native of West Virginia who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of nine children. Chris is the author of Dogwood, his first novel for adults, and co-author of Jim Tressel’s New York Times best-selling The Winners Manual. Chris has also published more than sixty other books, including many novels for children and young adults.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (July 9, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414319568
ISBN-13: 978-1414319568

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Some people know every little thing about themselves, like how much they weighed when they were born and how long they were from head to toe and which hospital their mama gave birth to them in and stuff like that. I’ve heard that some people even have a black footprint on a pink sheet of paper they keep in a baby box. The only box I have is a small suitcase that snaps shut where I keep my underwear in so only I can see it.

My dad says there’s a lot of things people don’t need and that their houses get cluttered with it and they store it in basements that flood and get ruined, so it’s better to live simple and do what you want rather than get tied down to a mortgage—whatever that is. I guess that’s why we live in an RV. Some people say “live out of,” but I don’t see how you can live out of something when you’re living inside it and that’s what we do. Daddy sleeps on the bed by the big window in the back, and I sleep in the one over the driver’s seat. You have to remember not to sit up real quick in the morning or you’ll have a headache all day, but it’s nice having your own room.

I believed everything my daddy told me until I walked into Walmart and saw my picture on a poster over by the place where the guy with the blue vest stands. He had clear tubes going into his nose, and a hiss of air came out every time he said, “Welcome to Walmart.”

My eyes were glued to that picture. I didn’t hear much of anything except the lady arguing with the woman at the first register over a return of some blanket the lady swore she bought there. The Walmart lady’s voice was getting all trembly. She said there was nothing she could do about it, which made the customer woman so mad she started cussing and calling the woman behind the counter names that probably made people blush.

The old saying is that the customer is always right, but I think it’s more like the customer is as mean as a snake sometimes. I’ve seen them come through the line and stuff a bunch of things under their carts where the cashier won’t see it and leave without paying. Big old juice boxes and those frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Those look good but Daddy says if you have to freeze your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then something has gone wrong with the world, and I think he’s right. He says it’s a sin to be mean to workers at Walmart because they let us use their parking lot. He also says that when they start putting vitamins and minerals in Diet Coke the Apocalypse is not far behind. I don’t know what the Apocalypse is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was right about that too.

You can’t know the feeling of seeing your picture on a wall inside a store unless it has happened to you, and I have to believe I am in a small group of people on the planet. It was all I could do to just suck in a little air and keep my heart beating because I swear I could feel it slow down to almost nothing. Daddy says a hummingbird’s heart beats something like a million times a minute. I was the opposite of a hummingbird, standing there with my eyes glued to that picture. Some people going outside had to walk around me to the Exit doors, but I couldn’t move. I probably looked strange—just a girl staring at the Picture Them Home shots with an ache or emptiness down deep that I can’t tell anybody about. It’s like trying to tell people what it feels like to have your finger smashed in a grocery cart outside when it’s cold. It doesn’t do any good to tell things like that. Nobody would listen anyway because they’re in a hurry to get back to their houses with all the stuff in them and the mortgage to pay, I guess.

The photo wasn’t exactly me. It was “like” me, almost like I was looking in a mirror. On the left was a real picture of me from when I was little. I’d never seen a picture like that because my dad says he doesn’t have any of them. I’ve gone through his stuff, and unless he’s got a really good hiding place, he’s telling the truth. On the right side was the picture of what I would look like now, which was pretty close to the real me. The computer makes your face fuzzy around the nose and the eyes, but there was no mistake in my mind that I was looking at the same face I see every morning in the rearview.

The girl’s name was Natalie Anne Edwards, and I rolled it around in my head as the people wheeled their carts past me to get to the Raisin Bran that was two for four dollars in the first aisle by the pharmacy. I’d seen it for less, so I couldn’t see the big deal.

Natalie Anne Edwards

DOB: June 20, 2000 Age Now: 9

Missing Date: June 16, 2002 Sex: Female

Estimated Height: 4'3" (130 cm) Estimated Weight: 80 lbs (36 kg)

Eyes: Blue Hair: Red

Race: White

Missing From: Dogwood, WV

United States

Natalie’s photo is shown age progressed to 9 years. She is missing from Dogwood, West Virginia. She has a dark birthmark on her left cheek. She was taken on June 16, 2002, by an unknown abductor.

I felt my left cheek and the birthmark there. Daddy says it looks a little like some guy named Nixon who was president before he was born, but I try not to look at it except when I’m in the bathroom or when I have my mirror out in bed and I’m using my flashlight. I’ve always wondered if the mark was the one thing my mother gave me or if there was anything she cared to give me at all. Daddy doesn’t talk much about her unless I get to nagging him, and then he’ll say something like, “She was a good woman,” and leave it at that. I’ll poke around a little more until he tells me to stop it. He says not to pick at things or they’ll never get better, but some scabs call out to you every day.

I kept staring at the picture and my name, the door opening and closing behind me and a train whistle sounding in the distance, which I think is one of the loneliest sounds in the world, especially at night with the crickets chirping. My dad says he loves to go to sleep to the sound of a train whistle because it reminds him of his childhood.

The guy with the tubes in his nose came up behind me. “You all right, little girl?”

It kind of scared me—not as much as having to go over a bridge but pretty close. I don’t know what it is about bridges. Maybe it’s that I’m afraid the thing is going to collapse. I’m not really scared of the water because my dad taught me to swim early on. There’s just something about bridges that makes me quiver inside, and that’s why Daddy told me to always crawl up in my bed and sing “I’ll Fly Away,” which is probably my favorite song. He tries to warn me in advance of big rivers like the Mississippi when we’re about to cross them or he’ll get an earful of screams.

I nodded to the man with the tubes and left, but I couldn’t help glancing back at myself. I walked into the bathroom and sat in the stall awhile and listened to the speakers and the tinny music. Then I thought, The paper says my birthday is June 20, but Daddy says it’s April 9. Maybe it’s not really me.

When I went back out and looked again, there was no doubt in my mind. That was me up there behind the glass. And I couldn’t figure out a good way to ask Daddy why he had lied to me or why he called me June Bug instead of Natalie Anne. In the books I read and the movies I’ve seen on DVD—back when we had a player that worked—there’s always somebody at the end who comes out and says, “I love you” and makes everything all right. I wonder if that’ll ever happen to me. I guess there’s a lot of people who want somebody to tell them, “I love you.”

I wandered to electronics and the last aisle where they have stereos and headsets and stuff. I wasn’t searching for anything in particular, just piddling around, trying to get that picture out of my head.

Three girls ran back to the same aisle and pawed through the flip-flops.

“This is going to be so much fun!” a girl with two gold rings on her fingers said. “I think Mom will let me sleep over at your house tonight.”

“Can’t,” the one with long brown hair said. “I’ve got swim practice early in the morning.”

“You can sleep over at my house,” the third one said almost in a whine, like she was pleading for something she knew she wouldn’t get. She wore glasses and weighed about as much as a postage stamp. “I don’t have to do anything tomorrow.”

Gold Rings ignored her and pulled out a pair of pink shoes with green and yellow circles. The price said $13.96. “These will be perfect—don’t you think?”

“Mom said to find ones that are cheap and plain so we can decorate them,” Brown Hair said.

“What about tomorrow night?” Gold Rings said. “We could rent a movie and sleep over at my house. You don’t have swim practice Thursday, do you?”

They talked and giggled and moved on down the aisle, and I wondered what it would be like to have a friend ask you to sleep over. Or just to have a friend. Living on the road in a rolling bedroom has its advantages, but it also has its drawbacks, like never knowing where you’re going to be from one day to the next. Except when your RV breaks down and you can’t find the right part for it, which is why we’ve been at this same Walmart a long time.

“You still here, girl?” someone said behind me.

I turned to see the lady with the blue vest and a badge that said Assistant Manager. The three girls must have picked up their flip-flops and ran because when I looked back around they were gone. The lady’s hair was blonde, a little too blonde, but she had a pretty face that made me think she might have won some beauty contest in high school. Her khaki pants were a little tight, and she wore white shoes that didn’t make any noise at all when she walked across the waxed floor, which was perfect when she wanted to sneak up on three girls messing with the flip-flops.

“Did your dad get that part he was looking for?” she said, bending down.

“No, ma’am, not yet.” There was almost something kind in her eyes, like I could trust her with some deep, dark secret if I had one. Then I remembered I did have one, but I wasn’t about to tell the first person I talked to about my picture.

“It must be hard being away from your family. Where’s your mama?”

“I don’t have one.”

She turned her head a little. “You mean she passed?”

I shrugged. “I just don’t have one.”

“Everyone has a mama. It’s a fact of life.” She sat on a stool used when you try on the shoes and I saw myself in the mirror at the bottom. I couldn’t help thinking about the picture at the front of the store and that the face belonged to someone named Natalie Anne.

“Are you two on a trip? Must be exciting traveling in that RV. I’ve always wanted to take off and leave my troubles behind.”

When I didn’t say anything, she looked at the floor and I could see the dark roots. She smelled pretty, like a field of flowers in spring. And her fingernails were long and the tips white.

She touched a finger to an eye and tried to get at something that seemed to be bothering her. “My manager is a good man, but he can get cranky about things. He mentioned your RV and said it would need to be moved soon.”

“But Daddy said you’d let us park as long as we needed.”

She nodded. “Now don’t worry. This is all going to work out. Just tell your dad to come in and talk with me, okay? The corporate policy is to let people . . .”

I didn’t know what a corporate policy was, and I was already torn up about finding out my new name, so I didn’t pay much attention to the rest of what she had to say. Then she looked at me with big brown eyes that I thought would be nice to say good night to, and I noticed she didn’t wear a wedding ring. I didn’t used to notice things like that, but life can change you.

“Maybe you could come out and talk to him,” I said.

She smiled and then looked away. “What did you have for supper tonight?”

“We didn’t really have anything. He gave me a few dollars to get Subway, but I’m tired of those.”

She touched my arm. “It’ll be all right. Don’t you worry. My name’s Sheila. What’s yours?”

“June Bug,” I said. For the first time in my life I knew I was lying about my name.

***

Johnson stared at the sun through the rear window. Pollen from the pine trees and dirt from a morning rain streaked it yellow and brown in a haphazard design. Three Mexicans climbed out of a Ford. Tools piled in the back of the truck and compost and some black tarp. One slapped another on the back and dust flew up. Another knocked the guy’s hat off and they laughed.

The sun was at the trees on the top of the nearby mountain, then in them, and going down fast. An orange glow settled in and Johnson’s stomach growled. He glanced across the parking lot at the neon liquor store sign next to the Checker Auto Parts, and his throat parched.

A newer RV, a Monaco Camelot, had parked at the end of the lot, and the owner pulled a shade at the front windshield for privacy. He wondered what driving one of those would be like. How much mileage it would get per gallon. The smooth ride on the road. Almost looked like a rolling hotel.

He sat up and looked out the front of the RV. The way they were parked gave him a good view of the store’s entrance. An old guy with an oxygen tank pushed two carts inside. The man smiled and greeted a mom and her children.

Johnson hit the down arrow on his laptop. One green light on the wireless network from the coffee shop. He wished he had parked closer to the end of the lot, but he hadn’t planned on getting stuck here.

A loud knock at the door, like he’d just run over someone’s dog and it was under the back tire yelping. Johnson moved slowly, but he was agile in his bare feet. He caught a glimpse of the guy in the right mirror. Blue vest. Portly. Maybe thirty but not much older. Probably got the job through someone he knew. Johnson opened the door and nodded at the man.

“Just wondering how long you’re thinking of staying,” the man said. There was an edge to his voice, like he was nervous about something.

Johnson stepped down onto the asphalt that was still warm from the sun but not unbearable. “Like I said, I’m waiting on a part. If I could get out of here, believe me I’d be long gone.”

The man looked at the ground. “Well, you’ll have to move on. It’s been—”

“Three weeks.”

“—three weeks and it could be three more before whatever part you’re looking for comes, so I think it’s best you move on.”

“And how do you want me to move it? Push it to the interstate?”

“I can call a tow truck.”

Johnson looked away. Boy Scouts at the Entrance sign were selling lightbulbs. Pink and orange clouds had turned blue, like something was roiling on the other side of the mountain. A black-and-white police car pulled into the parking lot and passed them. The man in the vest waved and the officer returned it.

“I’ll give you one more night,” the manager said. “If you’re not out of here by morning, I’m calling the towing company.”

Johnson wanted to say something more, but he just pursed his lips and nodded and watched the man waddle, pigeon-toed, back to the store.

The girl came out and passed the manager, smiling and swinging a blue bag. She had a new spiral notebook inside. She’d filled more of those things than he could count, and it didn’t look like she was slowing down.

“Did you get your work done?” she said as she bounded in and tossed the bag on her bed.

Johnson opened the fridge and took out a warm can of Dr Pepper. “Enough.”

“What did the manager guy want?”

“He said we’d won a shopping spree.”

“He did not.”

Johnson took a long pull from the can and belched. “He was just wondering how long we’d be here.”

“I met a friend,” the girl said, her face shining. “She’s really nice. And pretty. And I don’t think she’s married. And she has the most beautiful eyes.”

“June Bug, the last thing we need is somebody with her eyes on this treasure.” He spread his arms out in the RV. “What woman could resist this castle?”

“She’s not after your treasure. She just cares about us. She said the manager guy was getting upset that we’ve been here so long. Is that what he told you?”

“Nah, this is a big parking lot. We’re gonna be fine. Did you get something to eat?”

June Bug shook her head and climbed up to her bed. “Almost finished with my last journal. I want to start a new one tonight.”

“What do you put in those things? What kind of stuff do you write down?”

“I don’t know. Just things that seem important. Places we’ve been. It’s sort of like talking to a friend who won’t tell your secrets.”

“What kind of secrets?”

She slipped off her plastic shoes and let them fall to the floor, then opened the bag and took out a dark green notebook. “When you tell me what you’re writing about on that computer, I’ll tell you what’s in my notebooks.”

Johnson smiled and took another drink from the can, then tossed it in the trash.

At the storefront, the police car had stopped and the manager leaned over the open window.


Excerpted from June Bug by Chris Fabry. Copyright © 2009 by Chris Fabry. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

June Bug by Chris Fabry (Book Review)

Title: June Bug
Author: Chris Fabry
Publisher: Tyndale

First sentence: Some people know every little thing about themselves, like how much they weighed when they were born and how long they were from head to toe and which hospital their mama gave birth to them and stuff like that.

My synopsis: June Bug had been all over the U.S. and she wasn't even 10 years old. She had been living and traveling in an RV with her father for as long as she can remember. She hadn't really questioned this life until she went into a Walmart and saw her face on a missing children's wall. Ok - so it wasn't her face exactly, but it was really close. It said her name was Natalie and that she had been missing since she was 2.

The story jumps back and forth between June Bug and her father traveling through Colorado back East to West Virginia, where the mystery of her disappearance has resurfaced when the car she was in the night she disappeared is found at the bottom of a reservoir. As these two stories unwind, they draw all the characters closer together, until they all converge in Dogwood, West Virginia.

My thoughts: I don't know how to categorize books like this. It is not a romance, not historical fiction, not a thriller, etc. It is just a fiction book - and a good one at that. I was immediately involved in the story and wanted June Bug and her father to persevere. It was evident in the story how much he loved her and what a good dad he was.

Also underlying the story is a thread involving faith. June Bug shares how she became a Christian at a Vacation Bible School close to one of their campsites. There are also other people along the way who help them out who share her faith - including her grandmother who has been praying for seven years for some sort of closure.

This was a very good book and I would recommend it highly. It does not have a lot of action or a grand romance, but it is just a heartwarming story!

About the author: Chris Fabry is a native of West Virginia who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of nine children. Chris is the author of Dogwood and more than 50 novels for children and young adults.

June Bug
Publisher/Publication Date: Tyndale House Publisher, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4143-1956-8
336 pages

It's Getting Closer: Sept 14-18!

Announcing the Second Annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week September 14-18, 2009

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!

WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recogonizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.

WHEN September 14-18, 2009

WHERE Here at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)

WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. I, Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week love this community of bloggers and want to shower my appreciation on you!

If you would like to be a part of this week - please visit the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog for all the info!

I didn't participate last year - as I have only been blogging 1 year and 9 days as of today (I know - I missed my anniversary!) There is currently a meme going on for past participants and newbies - so here are my newbie questions!

1) What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?
Meeting a ton of people who share my love of books and discovering new books and authors.

2) What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?
J.Kaye of J.Kaye's book blog - Her's was the first blog I remember following and she was a wealth of information. I think she gave me my first "award" also!

3) What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer? I have no idea - I will probably have more questions after I have been through one!

A New Week - A New Giveaway! The Friends We Keep!

I have one copy of The Friends We Keep and 2 of the 40-Minute Bible Study books to giveaway to one winner!

The Friends We Keep: A Woman's Quest for the Soul of Friendship by Sarah Zacharias Davis

40-Minute Bible Studies by Kay Arthur

Easy to enter! Just leave a comment with your email address! For an extra entry, visit my earlier post today on the book tour for these books and leave a comment there! This giveaway open to U.S. only and ends on Aug 31st!

That's it!

Blog Tour: Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz (8/10-8/18)

Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz by Belinda Acosta - Currently on a virtual tour!

About the book: All Ana Ruiz wanted was to have a traditional quinceañera for her daughter, Carmen. She wanted a nice way to mark this milestone year in her daughter's life. But Carmen was not interested in celebrating. Hurt and bitter over her father Esteban's departure, she blamed Ana for destroying their happy family, as did everyone else. A good man is hard to find, especially at your age Ana was told. Why not forgive his one indiscretion? Despite everything, Ana didn't want to tarnish Carmen's childlike devotion to her beloved father. But Ana knows that growing up sometimes means facing hard truths. In the end, Ana discovers that if she's going to teach Carmen anything about what it means to be a woman, it will take more than simply a fancy party to do it...(Hachette)

"Belinda Acosta's Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz delivers all its title promises and more: it's a book about damas of all ages, from teenage girls to the struggling mothers of those teenage girls; it's packed with drama so you don't want to stop reading; it's a novel that deeply and honestly tells the story of Ana Ruiz, her own coming of age as a woman and as a mother. Belinda Acosta is up to all of the challenges of such a rich panorama of characters and events. She's sassy, she's smart, she makes it look easy! But it takes a lot of hard work and a pile of talent to write such an engaging, touching book. A wonderful quinceañera of a novel!"
--- Julia Alvarez, author of Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA and Return to Sender
"Lively and perceptive... Acosta empathically captures the innermost feelings of her characters."
--- Booklist (Hachette)

About the author: Belinda Acosta has written and published plays, short stories, and essays. As a journalist, her work has appeared in the Austin American-Statesman, The Austin Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, The San Antonio Current, and AlterNet. Her short story Tortilla Dough appeared in Saguaro, a publication of the University of Arizona in 1992. In 1993, she produced, directed and performed in a multi-media dance-theater performance of La Llorona. National exposure came in 1995 when she read her personal essay Gran Baile, on Latino USA - the Radio Journal of News and Culture, carried on National Public Radio.

Acosta received a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from The University of Texas in 1997. She lives in Austin, Texas and is the TV and media columnist for The Austin Chronicle. (Hachette)

Follow Belinda's Blog!

Join Facebooks Fanpage for La quinceañera club books.

Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz
Publisher/Publication Date: Grand Central Publishing, Aug 11, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-54051-3
336 pages

Participating Blogs:

August 10
Starting Fresh
Foreign Circus Library
Latinitas
Bronzeword Lation Authors

August 11
You Gotta Read Reviews
Peeking Between the Pages
Books and Needlepoint
Bookin With Bingo
My Own Little Corner of the World
Readaholic

August 12
Review From Here
Falling off the Shelf
Brimful Curiosities
I Heart Monster
Half Deserted Streets

August 13
One Person's Journey Through a World of Books
Booksie's Blog
Cheryl's Book Nook
Books, Movies and Chinese Food
books! reviews and giveaways

August 14
Radiant Light
The Brain Lair
Drey's Library
A Journey of Books
Writing to Insanity

August 15
Jenn's Bookshelf
This Book For Free
A Book Blogger's Diary
Beth's Book Review Blog
Park Avenue Princess
Book Magic

Blog Tour - The Friends We Keep (8/10-8/14)

The Friends We Keep: A Woman's Quest for the Soul of Friendship by Sarah Zacharias Davis

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

AND

40-Minute Bible Studies by Kay Arthur

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

About The Friends We Keep: During a particularly painful time in her life, Sarah Zacharias Davis learned how delightful–and wounding–women can be in friendship. She saw how some friendships end badly, others die slow deaths, and how a chance acquaintance can become that enduring friend you need.

The Friends We Keep is Sarah’s thoughtful account of her own story and the stories of other women about navigating friendship. Her revealing discoveries tackle the questions every woman asks:

• Why do we long so for women friends?
• Do we need friends like we need air or food or water?
• What causes cattiness, competition, and co-dependency in too many friendships?
• Why do some friendships last forever and others only a season?
• How do I foster friendship?
• When is it time to let a friend go, and how do I do so?

With heartfelt, intelligent writing, Sarah explores these questions and more with personal stories, cultural references and history, faith, and grace. In the process, she delivers wisdom for navigating the challenges, mysteries, and delights of friendship: why we need friendships with other women, what it means to be safe in relationship, and how to embrace what a friend has to offer, whether meager or generous.

About The 40-Minute Bible Studies:

The 40 Minute Bible Study series from beloved Bible teacher Kay Arthur and the teaching staff of Precept Ministries tackles important issues in brief, easy-to-grasp lessons you can use personally or for small-group discussion. Each book in the series includes six 40-minute studies designed to draw you into God’s Word through basic inductive Bible study. There are 16 titles in the series, with topics ranging from fasting and forgiveness to prayer and worship. With no homework required, everyone in the group can work through the lesson together at the same time. Let these respected Bible teachers lead you in a study that will transform your thinking—and your life.

Check out a 4 minute video of Kay Arthur as she talks about these 40-Minute Bible Studies.

Titles Include:

•The Essentials of Effective Prayer

•Being a Disciple: Counting the Cost

•Building a Marriage That Really Works

•Discovering What the Future Holds

•Forgiveness: Breaking the Power of the Past

•Having a Real Relationship with God

•How Do You Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk?

•Living a Life of Real Worship

•How to Make Choices You Won’t Regret

•Living Victoriously in Difficult Times

•Money & Possessions: The Quest for Contentment

•Rising to the Call of Leadership

•How Do You Know God’s Your Father?

•Key Principles of Biblical Fasting

•A Man’s Strategy for Conquering Temptation

•What Does the Bible Say About Sex?

About the authors:

Sarah Zacharias Davis is a senior advancement officer at Pepperdine University, having joined the university after working as vice president of marketing and development for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and in strategic marketing for CNN. The daughter of best-selling writer Ravi Zacharias, Davis is the author of the critically-acclaimed Confessions from an Honest Wife and Transparent: Getting Honest About Who We are and Who We Want to Be. She graduated from Covenant College with a degree in education and lives in Los Angeles, California.

Kay Arthur, executive vice president and cofounder of Precept Ministries International has worked with her teaching staff to create the powerful 40-Minute Bible Studies series. Kay is known around the world as a Bible teacher, author, conference speaker, and host of national radio and television programs.

The Friends We Keep
Publisher/Publication Date: Waterbrook Press, July 2009
ISBN: 978-1400074396
224 pages



40-Minute Bible Studies
Publisher: Waterbrook Press