An Open Book – April

I’m joining Carolyn Astfalk and CatholicMom.com for An Open Book. Here’s what I’ve been reading and/or working on in the past month:

Someday by
Corinna Turner

Amazon Synopsis: A retelling of the 2014 kidnapping of the 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria.

“IF YOU WANT TO DIE, SIT DOWN HERE.
WE WILL KILL YOU.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DIE, YOU WILL ENTER THE TRUCK.”

Ruth and Gemma have a Physics exam in the morning.
Becky and Alleluia are revising for their college entrance tests.
So it’s an absolute nightmare to be woken by the fire alarm in the dead of the night.
But for them, and for 272 other girls from Chisbrook Hall girls boarding school, the real nightmare is just beginning.
Because ‘al-Qabda’ are taking them all away.
Whether they want to go or not.

My review: This is a compelling read, but one that I had to take a break from because of the difficult content. I remember praying for the release of the Chibok girls, and the author brilliantly puts us right into the minds and hearts of the girls taken hostage, some of whom were massacred, others abused and forced into marriage. Highly recommend.

The Shape of Me by Dr. Suess

Amazon Synopsis: “The shape of you, the shape of me, the shape of everything I see..” In this board book featuring bright new colors and the original whimsical text, Dr. Seuss introduces the concept of shapes to babies and toddlers.  

My review: I’ve been reading this one to our 2.5-year-old grandson and it’s a delightful read with great rhyming. Highly recommend.

The Low We Vow by Victoria Everleigh

Amazon Synopsis:

TV news reporter Violet Rosati thought she’d be married with kids and living in the suburbs by now. Instead, she’s single, thirty-one, and starting a new job at a TV station in Portland. Her move to Maine brings her closer to her boyfriend, Jude, who she hopes will propose soon. He knows and accepts everything about her—even her darkest secret.

However, her new church brings an unexpected surprise. While in confession, she realizes the priest is her ex-boyfriend, Tristan. She hasn’t seen him in seven years and never told him about her pregnancy. He treated her terribly and broke her heart. Now he’s a priest?

As she faces old wounds, she finds Father Tristan to be kind, empathetic, and apologetic. Old feelings reemerge. But he’s a priest, and she loves Jude. How can she be drawn to a priest when she has such a wonderful boyfriend? Confused and torn, she struggles to forgive, love, and find redemption. Turning to her faith for direction, she learns that forgiving herself may be the hardest part of all.

Can she move on and find the life she wants with Jude? Or does she confront her feelings for Father Tristan and risk the lives they’ve both chosen?

My review: This was an enjoyable book to read, a great story, and well-defined characters. Seems like an excellent start to a new series. However, it needs another proofread, so I gave it a 4/5.

Stay With Me by Carolyn Astfalk

Amazon Synopsis:

Finalist in the 2016 IAN Book Awards (Romance)
With her sister Abby’s encouragement, Rebecca has moved out of their overbearing father’s home. When a chance encounter with Chris ends with an invitation, Rebecca says yes. The authentic way Chris lives his life attracts Rebecca and garners her affection.

Chris loves Rebecca and her innocence, but he’s confounded by the emotional scars she bears from her parents and an attempted assault. Her father’s disdain for Chris’s faith and career only make matters worse.

With the counsel of their friend Father John, can Rebecca and Chris overcome every obstacle and bridge the deepening gulf between them and her dad? Or will a crucial lapse in judgment and its repercussion end their relationship?

My review: This is an FQP book and one of my favorites that FQP has published. So much so that I usually read it once a year. Highly recommend!

Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry

Amazon Synopsis:

A Carol-award-winning finalist!

A brutal murder convinces Dr. Mia Kendall there’s more than she imagined to the mysterious spike in heart transplant rejections. Determined to find answers before she loses another patient, Mia gets sucked into a dangerous international medical web. With time running out for her youngest transplant recipient, Mia is forced to partner with a disillusioned ex-military pilot who flies brokered organs across East Africa. But searching for the truth will prove costly because there are some lines that should never be crossed.

A haunting story that will take you from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the jungles of Africa.

My review: This was a heart-pounding, compelling read. Highly recommend!

Homestead by A.K. Frailey

Synopsis: The world ended on a Thursday. World technology crashed, an alien race invaded, and my husband and my children were in different locations. To survive, my heart dug deep into the homestead. Hardship tested my ingenuity while loss challenged everything I believed in, but despite every kind of sin and suffering, my homestead remained true. There’s no place I’d rather be.

My review: A.K. Frailey’s newest book, Homestead, is a compelling read and particularly relevant for current day events. Highly recommend!

Theology of the Body Fiction – #NFPAwarenessWeek

Since this is “NFP Awareness Week,” I’d like to share some of my favorite Theology of the Body fiction!

(Pardon the shameless self-promotion of my own books in this list!)

Emily’s Hope (Ellen Gable, 2005, FQ Publishing)

Passport (Christopher Blunt, 2008, Pelican Crossing Press)

Midnight Dancers (Regina Doman, 2008, Chesterton Press)

In Name Only (Ellen Gable, 2009, FQ Publishing, 2010 IPPY Gold Medal Winner)

Stealing Jenny (Ellen Gable, 2011, FQ Publishing)

Finding Grace (Laura Pearl, 2012, Bezalel Books)

Angela’s Song (AnnMarie Creedon, 2012, FQ Publishing)

Rapunzel Let Down (Regina Doman, 2013, Chesterton Press)

Vingede (Friar Tobe #2) (Krisi Keley, 2013, S & H Publishing)

Don’t You Forget About Me (Erin McCole Cupp, 2013, FQ Publishing)

A Subtle Grace (Ellen Gable, 2014, FQ Publishing)

The Lion’s Heart (Dena Hunt, 2014, FQ Publishing, 2016 CALA Award Winner)

A World Such as Heaven Intended (Amanda Lauer, 2014, FQ Publishing)

Working Mother (Erin McCole Cupp, 2014, FQ Publishing)

Stay With Me (Carolyn Astfalk, 2015, FQ Publishing)

Dying for Revenge (Barbara Golder, 2016, FQ Publishing, Finalist Next Generation Indie Book Awards)

Dying for Compassion (Barbara Golder, 2017, FQ Publishing)

Discovery (Karina Fabian, 2016, FQ Publishing)

Image and Likeness: Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body (Cupp and Gable, editors, 2016, FQ Publishing)

Rightfully Ours (Carolyn Astfalk, 2017, FQ Publishing)

To check out many of these books, go to the Full Quiver Publishing website!

Interview with Carolyn Astfalk, Author of Stay With Me

As part of the Virtual Book Tour for Stay With Me (by Carolyn Astfalk), I interviewed Carolyn a few weeks ago about her book.

1. Stay With Me is your first published novel. But is this the first novel you have written? If not, tell us about your other works in progress.

I have three other complete novels that are in various states of polish. My first, Rightfully Ours is a coming of age story about the value of friendship, first love, and integrity. All In Good Time is a contemporary romance (with a touch of suspense) about a widow and mother of young children who falls in love with a never-married man. Ornamental Graces is a Christmas contemporary romance about lost innocence, overcoming guilt, healing, and an ex-girlfriend who won’t stay in the past.

2. Rebecca’s sister, Abby, is hilarious, but also a very believable (and blunt) character. Is she based on anyone you know? Or perhaps an amalgamation of people you know?

Writing Abby was sheer delight. Her snarky, brutally-honest remarks are the kinds of things that would never slip past my internal filter. So, while she’s not based on any one person or persons, I suppose she says and does the things I imagine I might if I had a radical personality change.

3. Some authors know at the beginning of the writing process how the story will end. Did you know as you were writing the book that there would be a — for want of a better phrase — fall from grace for some of the characters?

I envisioned a happy ending from the beginning, but the final twists in Chris and Rebecca’s relationship were unplanned, mainly because they defy convention for this genre. They were the result of simply wondering What if? and then realizing how such a fall from grace, as you put it, was exactly what needed to happen not only to test their love but as the final impetus to solidify Rebecca’s internal transformation.

4. You’re the mother of four children. How did you find time to write a full length novel?

It’s tough. I began the first novel when I had only two children and my husband was gone on extended travel for work. I’ve discovered I cannot out-wake my children, so I write when I can in small increments during naps, late at night, and when I can around activities, meals, diaper changes and daily chaos. Some days no writing gets done, and some days too much. It’s difficult to strike the right balance.

5. What are the best three books you’ve read recently?

I loved Tammy L. Gray’s Sell Out, a modern Christian romance with an anti-bullying theme and messages about courage, kindness, hope, and forgiveness. I also enjoyed Susan Peek’s Saint Magnus, The Last Viking, which is about as far as you can get from a dry, stodgy, lives-of-the-saints tale. It’s full of action, strength, and courage. And finally, Corinna Turner’s The Three Most Wanted, the second in her I Am Margaret dystopian series is a great read. It’s fast-paced and action-packed.

6. As I said in a previous question, I found the characters in Stay With Me so believable and endearing. Do you happen to have a sequel planned for Stay With Me? Did you have a sequel planned when you starting writing this novel?

I wrote Stay With Me as a standalone novel. However, between other projects, I began writing about Chris’s brother Alan and sister-in-law Jamie just for the sake of increasing my daily word count. I’m not sure if it’s a novel or a novella, but although those chapters have been lying dormant for months, I think there’s more there. In Stay With Me, you get the sense that while Alan and Jamie love one another, their fledgling marriage has a weak foundation, and I’m interested in exploring why and how they can recommit themselves to a more fruitful marriage.

7. Tell us more about your writing journey. Have you always felt called to write fiction (and more particularly, Theology of the Body fiction?) Or did it gradually develop over time?

I always enjoyed writing, but through high school, college, and in the jobs I held after college, I wrote nonfiction. Until I tried National Novel Writing Month in 2010, I’d never written any fiction longer than a short story. Until that time, I hadn’t grasped that my elaborate day dreams were stories my subconscious wanted to tell, and I didn’t nurture my creativity. When I began writing Rightfully Ours, though I had a vague idea about the plot, the Theology of the Body themes that emerged surprised me. Early in our marriage, my husband and I had a deep interest in the Theology of the Body and participated in many Engaged Encounter weekends. The wisdom and beauty of the Church’s teaching about human sexuality is close to my heart, and I believe it’s critical to our health as individuals, couples, and even as a society. Time and again, it simply resurfaces in my writing.

8. What is your favorite part of the writing process? Least favorite?
My favorite part is when all the puzzle pieces fit together – the plot is resolved, the themes emerge, and all of the threads are neatly tied up. Sometimes I marvel at how it happens almost as if the story has a life of its own. My least favorite part is extensive editing. I like the problem-solving aspect of editing, but by the tenth go-round, it’s lost its appeal.

To buy Carolyn’s book, Stay With Me, on Kindle, click here.

To buy the print book on Create Space, click here. To receive $2 off, use this code: B3E4E622

To buy the print book on Amazon, click here.

To check out the novel’s website, click here.