A wonderful group of writers (they call themselves *The Indelibles* and write young adult fiction–check them out on FB) have put together a fun book of short stories based on either male characters in their already published books or new ones they’ve dreamed up just for your enjoyment. They told me they just want to give back to all the fabulous readers out there!!

I’ve read THE VEIL by Cory Putman Oakes and loved it and just recently also posted about author S.R. Johannes, who wrote Untraceable and On the Bright Side. Both of their short stories are fabulous as well as many of the others. If you’ve read their books, you’ll love some of the new perspective from favorite male characters. If you haven’t read their books, as with many of these for me, you’ll definitely want to go grab their books soon too because they’ll leave you wanting more, either from the characters you’ve met or from liking their writing style. This is a great collection for any lover of YA fiction.

The anthology is a FREE e-book from Smashwords.com!!! No strings attached (Note: .99 cents on Amazon and Barnes and Noble).

Promotional Blurb

*The Indelibles*bring you a one-of-a-kind young adult anthology! Sixteen original short stories, all from the point of view of our favorite male characters – some are old flames from our novels and some were dreamed up especially for this anthology.  Let these imminently crushable, swoon-worthy guys show you what romance looks like – IN HIS EYES.

Contributing Authors

The contributors to IN HIS EYES include award winners, frequent “Top 100” placers, and hot 2011 debut authors:

Surprise, Surprise by Stacey Wallace Benefiel, author of Glimpse: Half the women in Melody’s family can see the future, which makes it nearly impossible for Raleigh to surprise her. What’s a guy to do for Valentine’s Day when his girlfriend is always one step ahead of him?

First Kiss or First Kill? by C.K. Bryant, author of Bound: Love isn’t always rainbows and kittens, sometimes it can be downright deadly. (A deleted chapter from Bound.)

Shattered by Ali Cross, author of Become: James and Desi use each other in an effort to cling to the darkness in each of them, but in the end they discover that love changes you. (A chapter of Become from James’ POV.)

Before by Jessie Harrell, author of Destined: When a younger Eros is exiled to a land that doesn’t believe in the Greek gods, he finds the first love of his immortal life. Read Eros’ first person account of his romance, and heartbreak, in the time before he met Psyche.

The Qualm Before the Storm by Karen Amanda Hooper, author of Tangled Tides. Yara Jones doesn’t want to be a mermaid. Treygan doesn’t want to be the monster who turns her. You can’t always get what you want. (A short prequel to Tangled Tides.)

Unspeakable by S.R. Johannes, author of Untraceable: When Mo sees a strange girl in the woods, he follows her. He soon realizes they are both in a dangerous position and might not get out alive.

In the Beginning by Katie Klein, author of Cross My Heart: Seth is falling hard for Genesis Green, but the guardian angel is determined not to interfere, until an accident changes the course of their lives forever. (A short prequel to The Guardian.)

A Chance Encounter by Cheri Lasota, author of Artemis Rising: Finnian’s eyes hide a terrible secret. But a girl on the train home, the girl in tears with a secret of her own…She sees right through him. A scene from the upcoming novel, Echoes in the Glass.

Family Bonds by Heather McCorkle, author of The Secret of Spruce Knoll: A Halloween party filled with teens who can channel energy and use it to kill, what could go wrong? For Spruce Knoll fans who are dying to read more about Fane.

Getting Closer by Lisa Nowak, author of Running Wide Open: Megan is smart, hot, and an upperclassman—in other words, way out of Cody’s league. So why did she choose him? (An excerpt of Getting Sideways.)

Precalculus by Cory Putman Oakes, author of The Veil: a re-telling of the fateful class period that changed Addison Russell’s life, from Luc’s point of view (a.k.a. Chapter 2 of The Veil from Luc’s perspective)

The Almost Assassin by Laura Pauling, author of A Spy Like Me, releasing Spring 2012: Malcolm tries his hand at the family business but his conscience and a beautiful “spy” may be his downfall.

Mind Games by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds: Raf wants to take Kira—the only girl in school who doesn’t read minds—to the mindware Games, but his friends have other plans. (A short prequel to Open Minds.)

By The Firelight by Elle Strauss, author of Clockwise: When Nate McKenzie asks an unpopular girl to dance on a dare, he’s in for the time of his life.

A Very Alien Valentine’s Day by Magan Vernon, author of How To Date An Alien: After surviving confinement and an intergalactic war for his human half, Alex, now he has to live through the biggest challenge of them all: Valentine’s Day.

Aligned by RaShelle Workman, author of Exiled: A half-Eternal boy and an Eternal girl must free millions of tortured souls from a creature whose been feasting on their pain and suffering.

Interview

We nabbed an exclusive interview with author Cory P. Oakes of THE VEIL. She is a contributor to the short story collection and we asked her a few simple questions about the IN HIS EYES Anthology. Check it out!

Q:  Where did this anthology come from?

A:  IN HIS EYES is a group effort of sixteen members of *The Indelibles*. We are a group of indie and small-press published authors. We host a blog (LINK: http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/) where we discuss a variety of fun, fierce and fabulous topics, all relating to Middle Grade and Young Adult writing. We thought it would be really fun to come out with a Valentines Day offering for our readers – something really cool and just a little bit different (kind of like us!).

Q:  What was the idea behind the anthology?

A:  We wanted to introduce people to us and to our books – and we thought a unique way to do that would be to display our writing-worlds (and our writing styles) from the point of view of our male characters. What’s more romantic than getting the guy’s side of the story?

All of the short stories from IN HIS EYES are told from a male point of view. Some of them are original shorts we made up just for this book, others are reworkings of previous writings from a new point of view (for example, my short story is called Precalculus and it’s a re-telling of Chapter 2 of THE VEIL, from the point of view of the love interest). And since it’s Valentines Day, all of the stories have a romantic angle to them.

Q:  How challenging was it to write from the male perspective?

A:  I think the members of the Indelibles who were more used to writing from a male point of view found it pretty straight-forward . . . but I for one found it very challenging! I tend to write almost exclusively from the female point of view – I had only done male characters in third-person, so jumping right into a male character’s head and writing in first-person was totally new to me.

I actually wrote a blog post about my struggles to “write like a dude” (LINK: http://www.corypoakes.com/news-and-events/writing-dude-grunt-grunt-scratch-scratch/): the gist of it was that my first attempt was absolutely horrendous! It wasn’t until I was able to remember that my character had qualities other than just being “a dude” that I was able to get inside his head. I am ultimately very proud of “Precalculus” and how much the voice in it really does sound like the “Lucas Stratton” I have had floating around inside my head for years. It took a long while to get there, but it was worth it. It actually really helped motivate me to get cracking on the sequel to THE VEIL – getting some new insight into Luc really helped to give me some fresh perspective on the series in general.

 Q:  What do *The Indelibles* hope to accomplish with this anthology?

 A:  Well, we’ve put it up for free on Smashwords and for just .99 cents on Amazon and Barnes and Noble – so we’re not trying to make a killing here, moneywise. Really, this is our Valentines Day gift to our readers. And of course we hope that if people really enjoy our short stories, they will be motivated to check out our books as well. (It worked for me! I now have a whole list of books I want to read, just from the various shorts I got to proof-read during the course of doing this anthology!)

 Q:  Where can one get a copy of the anthology?

A:  IN HIS EYES was released as an ebook for free on Smashwords at:
(LINK: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/129467)

and for just .99 cents on Amazon:
(LINK: http://www.amazon.com/In-His-Eyes-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00760G5CE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329243075&sr=1-1)

and Barnes&Noble.com:
(LINK: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-his-eyes-anthology-sr-johannes/1108613162).

You can also add it to your shelves on Goodreads by going to:
(LINK: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13331838-in-his-eyes-anthology)

Thanks Cory, the book is a fabulous idea! Happy Valentine’s Day!!

About the book, On the Bright Side, by S.R. Johannes (book promo via the author)

On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.

As if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby’s should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!)

Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future. 

Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death. 

“S.R. Johannes delivers a cute paranormal thrill ride for middle graders! Even in death there is a BRIGHT SIDE!” - Addison Moore, author of the bestselling Celestra series and soon to be TV show

Book Trailer:  http://faeriality.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-bright-side-trailer.html

Interview with S.R. Johannes

Hi Shelli (or otherwise known as S.R. Johannes), I am happy to do an interview to hear about your new teen paranormal novel, On the Bright Side! I’m sure my readers and I would love to also hear more about you in the process.

Q:  Could you tell us more about what readers can expect from On the Bright Side?

A: OTBS is about a disgruntled angel BRIGHT. Not only is she cursed wearing her white fat pants for eternity but she is also forced to protect her school nemesis. Instead she pranks her and is put on probation. To right her wrongs, she steals an ancient artifact to return to Earth one time. However, she unknowingly unleashes a dark side.

Q: What feelings and emotions do you hope this book emits for teens (and adults) alike?

A: We always seem to want what someone else wants. But we never truly see what someone else has.

Q: What prompted your story idea?

A: Xmas 2008, I had just finished Lisa Schroeder’s I Love You,You Haunt Me. I thought it would be nice to see the other side of the coin. What the dead person was going through. But I didn’t want to do another Lovely Bones type book. I started with YA but when angel books started selling (Hush Hush, Fallen) – I decided to change the book’s direction and audience. So in the spring, I started writing a funny story about death and a disgruntled angel in her own Afterlife world. But instead of utopia, I created a NYC in the sky.

Q: Who was your favorite character to create, and why?

A: They are all fun for different reason. Lawrence was fun. He is Gabby’s SKYagent and is cursed to taking anger management classes. Jessica was fun because she is one of those people who are always happy and positive, which is so not me.  I love the banter between Jessica and Gabby. They are hilarious.

Q: Who is your favorite character in ANY book of all time, and why?

A: Oh gosh. I have no clue. Maybe Pippy in Pippy Longstocking. I like how strong and rebellious she was. She was creative and didn’t care what anyone thought.

(Erin note: Yea, one of mine too. I dressed up like her one year for Halloween.)

Q:   I found this statement in your bio quite familiar to me personally: “She started out writing for her local school paper, winning a state Nutrition essay contest for “Be a Smart Cookie”, and singing in a local Jazz band. Somewhere along the way, she earned an MBA in Marketing and embarked on an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America working as a marketing and communications consultant.”

This sounds almost like me! From an essay win young to a marketing and public relations career to working from home while juggling being a mom and writer.

What do you find is most rewarding?

A: Being with my kids. Corny but true. I have the best of both worlds.

What do you find are your struggles?

A: I have ADHD. So focusing on one project is hard for me. It can be good in multi-tasking but hard in writing.

What advice do you give to others who are trying to manage life with a dream of writing?

A: Never give up. It’s easy to do when you are getting rejection. They say everyone has a book inside of them but if you are truly in your heart a writer – you could not give up writing if you tried.

Q:  As a writer, what is the best moment of your life?

A: I love reading all reviews. The good ones make me smile and the bad ones make me better.

Q: What is your favorite television show at the moment?

A: Walking Dead

Q: Tell me something most people might not know about you.

A: I used to sing in a band.

Q: Where is your new book, On the Bright Side, available at or from?

A: At first it is e-book(Amazon, B&N etc). Paperback comes out in February.

Q: What is the best way for readers to connect with you? (website, FB, Twitter…list any and all you want)

A: I always answer email. I have a blog too.

Email: shelli@srjohannes.com

Blog: http://faeriality.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/srjohannes

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SRJohannes/249888602550

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5235537.S_R_Johannes

Thank you so much your time with us, Shelli. Hope you’ll visit again and I wish you much success with your book.

Author Biography: S.R. Johannes

S.R. Johannes is the author of Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and On The Bright Side ( a tween paranormal). She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. After earning an MBA and working in corporate america, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.

Mikalatos certainly DIDN’T disappoint me in either comedic reading nor deep thinking. It’s so good, it will make you think without you even realizing your thinking. Intertwining  his hilarious sense of humor into this fictional story about zombies, vampires, a crazy scientist, werewolves, a hunter, a priest, and their neighbor…somehow they find their way to being relevant to Jesus, unconditional love, and transformation in the most amazing way. You’ll not look at your life the same way again. You may even realize that you are one of these monsters, but don’t be alarmed because the author, and the book, will give you the means to realizing how you can be made perfect in God’s eyes and actually become the human you were always meant to be.

This book by Mikalatos had me laughing hysterically and crying in the end tears of joy from knowing God’s love and desire for my heart. I hope this book will make you laugh, but I hope it also touches your heart as it did mine.

Thanks to Tyndale publishers, I’m GIVING AWAY A FREE COPY!!!!

Finish reading about the book below, if you aren’t sure yet what it’s all about, then leave in the comment section of my blog whether you vote for 1) Zombie or 2) LOVE. You can also leave this on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/almehairierin) under any post about this blog or @ me on Twitter at @ErinAlMehairi.

Winner will be drawn by random by Dec. 22 and will be mailed a certificate for a FREE copy of the book (redeemed by taking to any local Christian bookstore, or mail certificate to address on certificate–if that is still too much work, I’ll mail it for you!)!!

The book’s jacket blurb:

In his follow-up to the critically acclaimed Imaginary Jesus, Matt Mikalatos tackles this question in an entertaining and thought-provoking way: with monsters! As Christians, we claim to experience Christ’s resurrection power, but we sometimes act like werewolves who can’t control our base desires. Or zombies—90 percent shambling death and 10 percent life. Or vampires, satiating ourselves at the expense of others. Yet through it all, we are longing to become fully human, the way Christ intended . . . we just can’t seem to figure out how.

Night of the Living Dead Christian is the story of Luther, a werewolf on the run, whose inner beast has driven him dangerously close to losing everything that matters.  Desperate to conquer his dark side, Luther joins forces with Matt to find someone who can help. Yet, their time is running out.  A powerful and mysterious man is on their trail, determined to kill the wolf at all costs….

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this spiritual allegory boldly explores the monstrous underpinnings of our nature and our quest for Christlikeness.

Watch the Video!!
Link will take you to Tyndale.com website: http://www.tyndale.com/video/296

Read the FIRST CHAPTER and see for yourself by clicking on link below:
http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-1-4143-3880-4.pdf

Bio of Matt Mikalatos

Matt Mikalatos received his BA in writing from the University of California Riverside. Like many future world leaders, he began his career as a clerk at a comic book store. Having discovered that such work caused women to shun him, Matt took control of a high school classroom and taught American literature and drama (although he was best known for his riotous “study halls”). Then Matt, in an unexpected move, joined Campus Crusade for Christ. In a moment of weakness, his best friend, Krista, agreed to marry him. He and Krista were briefly expatriated by Crusade to East Asia, where they ministered for three years. Now back in the States, Matt provides leadership to the international ministries of Crusade’s northwest region. Matt has published articles in Discipleship Journal, The Wittenburg Door, Relief, and Coach’s Midnight Diner. Matt and his wife live near Portland, Oregon. They have three beautiful daughters.

For more information, or to order,  go online to: http://mattmikalatos.com and/or www.tyndale.com or http://www.tyndale.com/Night-of-the-Living-Dead-Christian/9781414338804.

Don’t forget about the giveaway, details above!!!

Carny, a strong independent woman and mother with a tempered impulsive streak, comes from a less than desirable “carnival” background (hence, the name) and knows something about con-artists.  Fleeing her parents and their lying lifestyle, she settles in a small town full of caring, God-fearing people and she finally feels at home.

 When a good-looking, smooth talking drifter, Logan, wanders into town promising something so amazing no one  wants to be left out, she is speculative of his motives. Yet, she feels a strange attraction to him also.  Will she be able to show everyone else that his motives aren’t pure? Is her instinct right?

Terri Blackstock is an author of Christian suspense novels (usually packaged in a series) that have rougher life and death themes,while Shadow of Serenity is a lighter and brighter book, as well as inspiring.  It’s wonderfully airy in its drama and can be read in a day or two.  The story is told so well that it flows smoothly through your mind and you’ll be done in no time, yet the characters will be etched on your heart. 

Though it carries an important warning for readers as to the influx of cons floating around these days, and how Christian people with big hearts can fall prey, it also shows how some people who delve into this criminal activity can be restored in the Lord.

It’s a romance without the steamy scenes. I actually prefer romances that give you more subtle hints as to the characters possibly opening their heart to one another.  Being able as a reader to watch the characters slowly fall in love creates more suspense and this book certainly unfolds a relationship that is charming and captivating. I don’t need all the explicit sex scenes for me to find the romance endearing.  Terri does a wonderful job of juxtaposing suspense, drama, and romance.

The suspense in her book and the emotions emitted from both Carny and Logan’s characters was at a pace just slow enough, or quick enough, to make you want to keep reading to find out if redemption was possible for Logan. You’ll want to know if love is enough to win out over the power of temptation.  The book has a Christian message of how the least of us can be redeemed through the love of Christ, which sometimes can come from the love of another Christian, or a group of Christians.  However, the book was not preachy or scripture focused. It was about how other Christians, with pure hearts, can help to quietly lead a person without faith into the light of God’s goodness with their consistent faith and love.

To learn more about the book, please keep reading below for an interview with Terri. I think you’ll be enlightened!

Read an Excerpt of the Book

You can read an excerpt here: http://www.terriblackstock.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/ShadowinSerenitySC.pdf

Q & A with Terri Blackstock

Q: Your latest book, Shadow in Serenity, is a slight departure from your thrillers. It has more romance than usual, and is a bit lighter. What made you write it?

A: I actually wrote this book about seventeen years ago for the secular market. HarperCollins published the original version (under a different title), and it was the last book I wrote in that market before switching to Christian suspense. It’s always been one of my favorites because I
loved the colorful characters in the book, and I thought the story so illustrated redemption. When I got the rights back, Zondervan agreed to publish it again. I did an extensive rewrite on it, because I’ve grown so much as a writer and a Christian since that first version.

My latest series, the Intervention Series, is about some heavy topics that are very personal to me. I felt a passion to write the books in that series, but it was like opening a vein, since I was dealing with issues straight out of my own family. Before I wrote the last book in that series (Downfall, which will be out in March of 2012), I needed a break from that. It was fun to work on this book, because it’s full of humor and is more uplifting. It was a good way to clean my palate before going back to a more serious topic. Shadow in Serenity has more romance than most of my books, and the suspense element isn’t quite as life-or-death as my other books.

Q: You’ve said that Shadow in Serenity is about a “loveable con artist.” Are you glorifying crime in this book?

A: Absolutely not, but when you’re telling a story about redemption, you have to show the “before” picture, otherwise there’s no real story. In Shadow in Serenity, Logan Brisco comes to the town of Serenity, Texas to con the people out of their life savings. But one of the citizens, a motorcycle-riding widowed mom, stands in his way. Carny Sullivan knows a con artist when she sees one, because she was raised to be one. She grew up in the carnival and was taught to pick
pockets and create diversions for her parents’ scams. But when she found Christ in this small town, and learned of His love through the people who loved her, everything in her life changed.

There’s no way she’s going to let Brisco hurt the people she loves.  But Brisco is not just a criminal. His background was sad and lonely, and the only one in his life who ever invested time in him was a con artist. He learned everything he knows from his mentor who’s now dead. Though he’s served time in prison for his crimes and made an effort to clean up his life, he couldn’t do it on his own. Finally defaulting back to his life as a fraud, he concocts this elaborate scheme to get rich. But he never expected to find such love and acceptance in this town, and he never expected to fall in love with a spitfire who sees right through him.

Q: Did you model your con artist, Logan Brisco, after anyone?

A: Years ago I read the book Catch Me If You Can, by Frank Abagnale, and that was what inspired me to write about a con artist. Frank was a con artist for years, and the things he did were creative and amazing. But eventually he got caught and served several years in prison.  When he got out, he went to work for the FBI, helping them learn how to crack fraud cases. The  book was later turned into a movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and it’s now a Broadway play. I didn’t model the character exactly after Abagnale, but his life story was a good launching point for what I wanted to do.

Q: What about Carny Sullivan? She grew up in traveling carnivals, and was bred to be a
con artist, herself. How did you learn so much about the carnival life-style?

A: Amazingly, there are several good books out there written by carnies about that lifestyle.  I used those books for research, I learned the language of the carnival lifestyle, and the inner workings of state fairs and the people who work them. It gave me a good back story for Carny Sullivan. I just pictured this little lonely girl who grew up with the smell of cotton candy and the thrill of roller coasters, but all she ever really wanted was a real home and a normal family.

Q:  Shadow in Serenity had echoes of the old musical, Music Man, except Carny is nothing like Marian the Librarian. Did you mean to make that connection?

A: Yes, that connection was deliberate, though Shadow in Serenity is a contemporary story.  When I was a junior in high school, I was in the musical Music Man. As I was working on these characters, I began to notice the similarities, so I embraced that, then tried to put my own twist on the story. Carny is a thrill-seeker, nothing like the librarian in the musical. But she loves the home she’s made with her son, and the stability that she’s wanted all her life. That contradiction–being a thrill-seeker yet loving stability, makes her a much more complex character than Marian the Librarian.

Q: Logan Brisco kind of traps himself into a corner in this book. On one hand he’s succeeding at what he came to do (to rob the town blind), but on the other hand, he’s found something in the town of Serenity that he’s longed for all his life.

A: I love characters who long for something, but don’t realize it. The reader, when they discover Brisco’s background, will realize what the void in Brisco is, and how desperately he needs to fill it. But Brisco doesn’t realize that until he comes to Serenity. Always before, he’s swept into a town, set up his scam, collected as much money as he could squeeze out of his victims, then disappeared. But this time he falls in love with the town. But once he realizes that living here can fulfill the dreams he didn’t even know he had, it’s too late. He’s already started his scam, and he’s in way too deep.

Q: Carny’s background in the carnival has made her something of a thrill-seeker, yet Christianity has settled her down. Was it hard to find that balance in the character that allowed her to be a Christian, yet still fulfill her craving for excitement?

A: It wasn’t really, because I saw her so vividly in my mind. I thought that someone who grew up moving every couple of weeks and riding roller coasters every single day, might actually be addicted to those adrenaline rushes. What if she found the stability she longed for? Would she stop craving that excitement? No, she’d simply find ways to satisfy that without losing that important stability. So Carny becomes a pilot and rides a motorcycle and bungee jumps, but she has that secure home base where she’s built a wonderful life for her little boy.

Q: Jason, Carny’s eight-year-old son, believes in Brisco no matter what his mother says. How does that trust influence Brisco?

A: Brisco’s always cultivated trust in his victims, but there’s something about little Jason’s trust that makes him want to be a better person. He begins to realize that, after his scam is done and he skips town with the money, Jason won’t be so innocent anymore. He’ll be crushed. He likes the idea that this little boy looks up to him and wants to be like him. And as Brisco falls for Carny, Jason’s mom, he doesn’t want Carny to hurt, either.

Q: Do you think there’s a prevalence of these kinds of white-collar crimes in the world today?

A: It’s worse today than ever before. Technology has made it so easy to be a criminal these days. Identity theft is huge, but so are hoaxes and scams across the internet. How many times have you gotten that email, supposedly from someone you know, that says they’re in some foreign country and their wallet was stolen, and they need you to wire them money immediately? If I didn’t know that was a hoax, I’d probably have fallen for that one at least once. Lots of people do.

There are people in this world who don’t care who they hurt in order to make a buck, and I think it helps for readers to see how con artists think, so they can protect themselves from these scams. But it’s also important to remember that those people can be redeemed, too. Christ died for the ungodly, for those who need a savior.

Q: What are some signs that readers can familiarize themselves with, to keep them from being conned? Are there other common tricks that scam artists use to trick their victims into giving them money?

A: Well, we’ve all been lured with the Nigerian scam, where someone emails you and says that they’ve inherited millions of dollars if they can just get it out of the country, and if you help them move that money, they’ll give you a couple hundred thousand as a commission. Believe it or not, tons of people fall for that scam. Social networking has also provided lots of new venues for criminals. There’s so much opportunity for identity theft in social networking, because people are way too trusting and too free with their information. I wrote about that in more depth in my book Predator.

Q: Your books often have valuable lessons woven into the plots. Predator warned of the dangers of social networking, Intervention dealt with the problems facing families of drug addicts. Shadow in Serenity highlights these scams that trap naive victims. Do you set out to teach a lesson when you write a book?

A: I really don’t. I start with the plot, and usually the Christian theme emerges when God deals with me in some way during that time. I usually think that God wants me to pass that lesson along to my readers, so that message becomes intertwined with the plot. The Intervention Series was a little different, because in that series I really wanted to show the impact that drug addiction has on families, and I knew that from the beginning. But I was extremely passionate about that subject because of how addiction had hurt my family. And that became a therapeutic way for me to work through what we’d been through, and give hope to other families.

Q: What do you hope will linger with readers after they’ve finished Shadow in Serenity?

A: That no matter what they’ve done, no matter how dark their past is, they can be redeemed. Some of the greatest people in the Bible committed heinous crimes. David and Paul were both murderers. Even worse, Paul murdered Christians. And David murdered the husband of his mistress, because she was pregnant with his child. In 1 Corinthians 6, we’re told who will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, but then it says, “Such were some of you. But you were washed clean …” I love that. He’s talking to the redeemed, people who were once criminals and sinners, but they didn’t have to stay that way.

Q: What books can we look forward to after this one?

A: In March, the third book in the Intervention Series will release. It’s called Downfall, and it’s the last book in that series. Both of the previous books, Intervention and Vicious Cycle, were New York Times best-sellers, so hopefully readers will be looking for this book. Right now, I’m working on a new series, but I don’t have a title yet. I’m also collaborating on a novel with my long-time editor David Lambert, which I hope will be out in the fall of 2012.

Book Trailer

If you want to check out the book trailer promo for Shadow of Serenity on YouTube:  http://youtu.be/1ulTDVZrcLE

*****************
I was happy to be asked by the author of this book to write a review in exchange for a copy of the book. However, all the opinions expressed are my own.

My little one really likes the spooky children’s stories (of course, they aren’t too spooky really), and lots of fun Scooby-Doo, and I have fun laughing at author’s imaginations and speaking in scary Phantom voices.

Hope your All Hallow’s Eve and Harvest season was as memorable and fun as ours. We’re a Christian family, but we still enjoy the creative mind of those writing spooky stories, hilarious witches and we love to learn about traditions and why people do them. 

Here is our Top Ten list for the Harvest/Halloween Season (the book cover is first, then its title):

1.)   Pumpkin Day by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace~
This one has some fun recipes and her 3-D art creation that was used for the illustrations is unique and creative. The cute bunnies were a hit with my four-year-old.

2.) The Perfect Pumpkin Pie, by Denys Cazet~
Hilarious story about a grumpy ghost who likes his pie perfect. Uses poetry and repetition and I loved reading this one out loud and using various voices.

3.) Scaredy-Cat, Splat, by Rob Scotton~
Of the Splat the Cat series, this is another fun adventure by this rotund black cat that will make your little ones laugh.

4.) Leaves, by David Ezra Stein~
Beautifully illustrated book about a bear who discovers the seasons by the falling of the leaves and his own hibernation.

5.) The Story of the Jack O’Lantern~by Katherine Tegen
Exciting story relating to the legend of how Jack O’Lanterns came to be tradition. The imagery is vibrant.

6.) Halloween by Harry Behn~
Gorgeously illustrated in moonlight aura, this book tells the story through whimsical art and poetic prose. An artfully crafted picture book about the adventures in Trick-or-Treating and how things can look different at dusk.

7.) Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills~
The cutest board book, this holiday pumpkin hunting book is part of the Duck and Goose series. Perfect for little hands. My four-year-old loves it because she is OBSESSED with ducks and geese.

8.) Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judy Schachner~
What’s not to love about Skippyjon Jones and talking in a mexican cat voice while you are reading?

9.) Trixie and the Halloween Fairy by Daisy Meadows~
A favorite of my eight-year-old, who loves this fairy series of books, but especially says she loves Halloween due to the color orange being involved.

10.) Halloween with Morris and Boris by Bernard Wiseman~
I had this book as a kid, and so did Tim. My brought a box of all my old children’s books in a few years back and this one was included. Tim and I both were so nostalgic about reading it as a kid. Our four-year-old latched on to it and we have to read it all year-long!

Happy Halloween, from Our House to Yours!
**And thanks to my wonderful Tim, who plugged in the photos for me while I made our spooky dinner with the kids!

Just a note to let you know if you’re stopping by, and new to checking out the blog, I did a read-a-thon last weekend and there are lots of posts stemming from all the fun activities we did. Right underneath those are the rest of my recent reviews!

I’ve had a busy week, getting public relations ready for a local fund-raiser I am chairwoman of here in my local area. It’s called Taste of Ashland it supports the Ashland County Cancer Association, which assists local cancer patients. Not only that, but it’s been Halloween time this week, with pumpkin carving, school parties and making costumes. My kids had Trick-or-Treat tonight, in the rain, and all is over and candy consumed. I’ve loved reading all the fun holiday-themed books to the girls.

I’ll be putting some more reviews up soon, and a few interviews. Plus a list of our favorite children’s books with the October harvest and holiday in mind.  Stay tuned!

Many of us spent more time at the Twitter party (#WWReadathon) talking to one another about what books we were reading or had intended to read, as well as lots of other things. Getting to know each other was certainly a great time. We are all looking forward to staying in touch on Twitter (#WWReaders). I learned of a lot more new books I wanted to read and learned a lot from other book bloggers by perusing their blogs. Amazing people and some of them so young!! I am impressed by the level of work and maturity and so thankful to know so many other people who love to read and promote reading. It was my first read-a-thon so I didn’t have any prior knowledge about them or about other book bloggers even!

What I read~

So for our wrap-up, by the end of tonight I will have finished one book, The House of Vampires by Samantha Rendle, which is almost 300 pages.  I am done with 50% of Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes, which is about 200 pages in. I spent the rest of my time reading to my four-year old and sometimes my 8-year-old (she can read but sometimes it’s still fun to have mommy read to you). Tim got half of The Bone House by Stephen Lawhead done. I forgive him, he had to work his freelance job writing all weekend.

I also did all 7 challenges, many times with my kids and Tim helping. It was fun doing it all together.

Nassem, my 12-year-old was happy to bring me a pile of books to include in the wrap-up and I am proud of him! He’s a great reader of adult books, but it seems most of us have been on a YA streak lately. For me, it’s just how my reviews came in and for him, after my urging to pick up some new YA fiction and give it a try, he embraced it and tried some out.

Emma spent some time reading and kept herself a list in her room. She read Addie some, and read her others. Here is how it wound up by list below! Please give my kids a big standing “O” for their love of reading.

Nassem’s List of Completed Books (age 12):

1.) Jefferson’s Sons, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, 360 pages
2.) Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Yelchin, 150 pages
3.) Cleopatra: The Life of an Egyptian Queen, Graphic Nonfiction, by Gary Jeffrey and Anita Ganeri, 45 pages
4.) The Challenger Explosion, by Heather Adamson, 29 pages
5.) Roanoke The Lost Colony: An Unsolved Mystery from History, by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple (this was a picture book with many words)

Emma’s List (Age 8)~She brought her post-it-note down for me so no authors included:

1.) Emily Windsnap and the Siren’s Secret, by Liz Kessler~Emma read a quarter of this YA.

~Shorter Ones:
2.) Trust Me, Mom!
3.) Kids Like Us
4.) The Gingerbread Man
5.) Polar Bears
6.) Astronomy and Space
7.) Dougal, the Garbage Dump Bear
8.) Madeline and the Bad Hat
9.) Introducing Limelight Larry

Addie’s List (age 4), I read to her and some from Emma’s list I read again to her (or read twice!)

1.) Madeline and the Bad Hat
2.) Introducing Limelight Larry
3.) Yum, Yum! What Fun!
4.) Scaredy-Cat, Splat!
5.) Pick a Perfect Pumpkin

We tried our best, through me having a cough and cold, a trip to the Pumpkin Patch, church, visit to grandparent’s house, feeding cats, and doing homework to get ready for Monday. I think the kids did great!! I had an excellent time reading, visiting blogs, doing challenges, and talking to fellow readers on Twitter.

Until the next challenge!! Please comment, I love conversation!!

The Scenario:

In the event of a Zombie Apocalypse you are forced to take shelter with family and/or friends for a period of no less than 5 years. You have time to pack some supplies and some extra things to keep yourself entertained. However, since there will be many people sharing the same space, space will be limited and you are told you are only allowed to bring up to 5 books.

What books would you pack to sustain you? If you want to go a step further you can give a reason why you would choose the books you chose.

Please answer the challenge in the comments – even if you answer them on your blog too, please leave the 5 books you would choose in the comment section and feel free to ALSO link your blog post.

We couldn’t decide as a family 5 books total. A big argument ensued and everyone wanted to just die and let the zombies take them instead of choosing together. NO, really. It was a big deal. So we are doing five each.

Here goes with our list:

Tim~
The Bible
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse, by Nick and Michael Thomas
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Chronicles of Narnia: The Collector’s Edition, by C.S. Lewis

Erin~
Collection of Edgar Allen Poe
Devotionals for Women (any)
Rose Madder, by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
A Wrinkle in Time (the series in one collection preferred), by Madeline L’Engle

Addie (4 yr old)~
Princess Pig
Red Hat, Green Hat: Read Between the Lions
Thomas the Train (any)
Splat the Cat
Any Scooby-Doo, but likes the Werewolf Graphic Novel Scooby-Doo best

Emma (age 8)~
Pia the Penguin Fairy, by Daisy Meadows
Trixie the Halloween Fairy, by Daisy Meadows
Madeline and the Cats of Rome, by Ludwig Bemelmans
Illustrated Guide to Fairy Tales
Introducing Limelight Larry, by Leigh Hodgkinson (new favorite)

Nassem (age 12)~
Malabar Farm, by Louis Bromfield
Magnificient Desolation, by Buzz Aldrin
How to Start a Fire, and Other Things Your Grandfather Knew by Erin Bried
Abraham Lincoln: An Extrodinary Era
Any encyclopedia of the Solar System

So what do you think of our choices? If you aren’t part of the Read-a-Thon, leave in a comment below what you’d take? Would love to hear! If you are in the Read-a-Thon, please feel free to leave your link below to your choices.

Goodbye, World.

Here’s how it works:  The  mini-challenge from The Book Monsters Blog is called Read in Pictures. Basically you create a post showing pictures that describe different things in the books you are reading or have read during the read-a-thon. So if it’s set in Paris, they can have a picture of the Eiffel Tower, etc. Please include the title of your book and what the pictures describe. Use the linky below to share your post!  For more information, go to their blog: http://www.thebookmonsters.com/2011/10/wickedly-wonderful-readathon-mini.html.

I’ve read most of House of Vampires by Samantha Rendle, so in the sake of time I’ll do that one. We’ve read lots more sections of books and many children’s books but I have so little time with the kid’s homework, dinner, etc. and I really want to do the challenge.

~House of Vampires by Samantha Rendle as told by photos~

**It takes place in Bristol, England, where the mansion is, and  surrounding areas**

**They drink and spill lots of blood (as usual)**

**At one point they drive an Audi Q7 (of course all Vamps have cool cars)**

**There is a secret key the 14-year-old vampire is protecting**

**His trusted friend and advisor, who also loves to eat spiders, is a rare Leopard Gecko**

This book comes out in November and has been an entertaining read. I’ll have more up about it on my blog next week. I think putting some of the story into pictures was a blast!! I’ll be doing Read-a-Thon co-host April’s challenge too which you can find here: http://www.myshelfconfessions.com/posts/wwrat-challenge-zombie-apocalypse/.

As I stated in previous posts, we’ve been doing it as a family affair. I’m 100 pages into House of Vampires by Samantha Rendle, a new teenage author found by Silverwoods Press and I have a blog review, interview, and give-a-way on my site coming up next week for the book.  I am also 150 pages into Shauna and Shelby Kitt and the Dimensional Holes by P.H.C. Marchesi, which is a sci-fi adventure full of lots of fun with parallel existence and other races. This will be featured on my site soon too. I’m also a few chapters in to Vanished by Sheela Chari, another magical and mystery oriented YA book I picked up at the library. It’s newly published. All are good in different ways and for different reasons.

My son has read Jefferson’s Sons, an over 300 page YA book of historical fiction about Thomas Jefferson (a founding father of the US) who had many sons and daughters with one of his slaves after the death of his wife. He thought it was very good, for a boy of 12 who says he “only reads adult non-fiction.” I’ve gotten him motivated to finally read some of the great YAs out there, but of course it has to still be historical in nature.

My better half, Tim (www.timbusbey.wordpress.com) is most of the way through The Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead. He loves this books with the coding and ciphers. It’s the second in the series. I’m sure he’ll review at some point on his blog. The other book he is reading is End-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon by Richard Abanes. I’m sure he is reading this non-fiction for research, as Tim is halfway through writing the first draft of his own thriller novel.

Now about the girls, Emma (my 8-year-old)  has a post-it-note up on her wall and she is updating her reading. She’s got a list of picture book type books of all genres that she’s read, or read to her little 4-year-old sister Addie. We have more to read today together too. Emma has also made progress on some chapter and YA books. I’ll save those for the wrap-up because I’m running out of time typing this blog.

I’ll hopefully post the challenge about photos describing the books you’ve read during the RAT later today. Sounds like fun! If you want more information, go here: http://www.thebookmonsters.com/2011/10/wickedly-wonderful-readathon-mini.html and thanks to The Book Monsters for having the mini-challenge.

We are all having fun reading as we usually do, but I think I am having the most fun visiting the other blogs and meeting all these fabulous new book friends from around the world! Amazing how books can bring so many together. I’ve had lots of fun Tweeting (#WWReadathon) and getting to know everyone.