Amish Clash

*guest post by Delia Latham
It's been an edge-of-the-seat, flashing-swords kind of Clash between Vannetta Chapman and Beth Wiseman. These gals elicited some genuine response! It is beyond clear that both authors are well loved, and that their writing touches hearts. This was an Amish clash, and if you missed it, you'll definitely want to check out the excerpts, as both were excellent examples of GOOD Amish fiction. Beth Wiseman's The Wonder of Your Love elicits a whole tangle of emotions, with a dreaded meeting between an Amish woman and her deceased husband's Englitscher mistress.


If you missed our interview with Beth, be sure to stop by and check it out. Vannetta Chapman's Falling to Pieces, on the other hand, paints a poignant picture of loss and confusion after the death of a loved one, all wrapped up in a stack of gorgeous Amish quilts.

And here's our interview with Vannetta. I'd love to post every reader response, because I didn't see a single negative one in the overwhelming number we received…but in the interest of space, I had to choose just a few:


Please don't stop writing...because your gift transports me to another place, away from all the stresses of life and encourages me!

I love Amish Fiction. Both of these excerpts make me want to dive into these ladies' lives.


Hearing an Amish story takes me back to my childhood in the mountains of Kentucky. We read by lamp, the Bible mostly. Everything we ate we grew in the garden and canned on a wood stove for winter. The outhouse was about fifty yards from the backdoor. Thanks to both of you for taking me back. God Bless. 


I love the Amish Clash as I love to read Amish stories. Having been in the homes of Amish people and corresponding so many years, my home has a room with all Amish figurines and dolls. Keep writing Amish fiction. 


Keep writing! We all need encouragement to live more simply like the Amish! 


I was drawn into the stories immediately, and now those characters are going to be following me around all day! 


We are so grateful for this feedback from our readers! It's your involvement that gives Clash of the Titles its purpose. So, which sword-wielding author came out on top? As much as I'd love to name both of them (since they're so obviously both WINNERS!), we can only have one victor per clash. That victor, this time around, was:

BETH WISEMAN

The Wonder of Your Love

CONGRATULATIONS, BETH!

A brand new clash is now underway, and it's the kind that will curl your toes. Head over to Clash of the Titles and vote for the best Almost Kiss!

Dateline: Nashville ...

News From Nashville & Beyond

(Transcribed from a television interview with "The Music Plays... World Tour" featuring opening solo artist Kalin Lane and headliner Ashton Raines, both accompanied by their wives, Beth Raines and Danae Lane.) 
N&B: First of all, welcome to you all. Thanks for sitting down with us.
Ashton: Thank you for having us.
N&B: Let's start with what it's like to be on a world tour. What cities? What are the crowds like?
Kalin: Well, for me it's been an absolute dream come true. I mean, getting invited to be here with Ashton who, let's face it is the King of Country music right now. Standing on that stage every night, hearing the fans singing my songs, cheering, in all these different countries.... it's truly amazing.
Ashton: I have to agree. I stand down there as Kalin's playing, and

The Bridesmaid Wore Green, With Red Polka Dots!

Oh, the styles date me; I'm not 22 anymore!

I noticed recently that all of the stories I've written include a wedding of some sort. I have one ceremony that gets rained on, and another washed-out from a sprinkler system. One of my novels has the retelling of an actual wedding that I sang at. Funniest thing I ever saw!

I think every wedding needs some sort of kink in order to distinguish the event.

This Carol Award Winner was Totally Twisted!

Mazes were one of my favorite puzzles when I was growing up. I wasn't the type to attempt one direction and then switch to another if the first didn't work. That was failure to me, so I always worked out a plan to try to win the path the first time.

Maybe that's why I never missed the introduction to the TV show in the late 70's "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries." While the creepy music played in the background, they would all dash into a maze of hedges. Talk about creative ignition!

Sharing the Latest Prize

An isolated castle . . .

An intricate riddle . . .

A man of her dreams . . .

Sound like something Disney might put out? (I was thinking along the lines of Beauty and the Beast.)

But The Shadow of Reality by Donna Fletcher Crow is no fairy tale. This perfect cozy mystery is actually a puzzle within a puzzle.

Woohoo! FREE!

You can get the four new e-reader books from Tyndale House at Amazon for FREE!

Reinventing Leona 
Cash Burn 
Delivery
Stealing Jake

Download Kindle for your PC for free!

Book review - My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren

I don't read romance very often. See I have this terrible problem with Christian romances - they make me cry. I know, I know! A tenderhearted story is one of the draws to Christian romance, but I could do without it! Seriously!

I wrote a song several years ago that starts out "I long for heaven and no more tears." This crying thing isn't just a little issue with me.  I'm not joking when I tell people that a good McDonald's commercial can leave me teary-eyed. I never saw Titanic, or the Notebook, and don't plan to.

What are YOU Reading? Try a SNOWBALL!

I've been enjoying some blog tours for the past couple of weeks. Starting with the authors that I was currently reading, I added some others, represented by interesting agents. That list continued to build as I found some local, recently published authors, and the whole thing grew enormously as I peeked through Twitter links. 

I wandered onto Sandra Bricker's blog during all of this, and found her sense of humor to be delightful. (Actually, I think I called her a "hoot!") Intrigued by her novel titles, I chose to download Finding Love in Snowball, Arkansas to my e-reader.

I laughed hysterically at the antics of the heroine that, frankly, hit way too close to home!  Moments later, I had to dry my eyes from empathizing with her humiliation.  This book certainly ran the gamut!

However, I enjoyed this book more when I finished it than while I read it. I know, that sounds pretty strange, but the most fun I had with this book happened while I listened to my sweet red-head's reactions as she read it! 

My sweet red-head!

Completely uninhibited in her expressiveness, she would sit across from me and burst into giggles.  Seconds later, I'd hear her say, "Oh, no." I loved hearing her laugh or seeing her tear up.  I would ask her, "Where are you now?" and we would talk through the event she had just passed. What a great sharing time. 

It's so wonderful to have such an amazing variety of Christian fiction that she and I both can enjoy and share together!  Huge thumbs up to Sandra Bricker.  If you like to laugh and enjoy a fun romance, this book is for you. 

Updated 9-18-11 My review on this stands. The humor was delightful, and the story didn't feel the least bit contrived. I didn't include it in my top four, but only barely. I would definitely make it number 5 of my summer favorites.

What was the last novel you read that made you both laugh and cry? How about just laugh out loud?


What are YOU reading??? The Mailbox Holds Charm!

THE MAILBOX, the debut novel of Marybeth Whalen, was probably the first purely romance book I've read in quite some time.  Well, I'm just going to have to change that bad habit!

This book was delightful.  The characters were so deep and their reactions to the situations around them showed realistic flaws.  I could see myself reacting the very same way, with hurt and resentment, and resistent to resolve those feelings.

I love the way Ms. Whalen dealt with some pretty difficult topics.  Grace and forgiveness is woven through the book to take the edge off of some of the painful situations, and even the antagonists, which rise and fall throughout the story, have their moments, showing some semblance of honesty and honor.

All in all, I love books that portray characters that are so real, not totally good, nor totally bad - just flawed - and struggling to do right.  I can't wait to read her new novel, She Makes It Look Easy.  I noticed that it is available at Amazon, but I'm waiting until June 1 when I can download it from Barnes and Noble to my Pandigital E-reader.  (What a WONDERFUL invention!)

The Mailbox is at Barnes & Noble at this link, and available at Amazon at this link.

Update 9-18-11 The fact that I can still remember this story from 3 months ago speaks of Ms. Whalen's good writing. It was a sweet story. Not near my favorite list, and not benign enough to share with my precious redhead.

So what are you reading (well, besides this blog)?  Seriously, what is the last book you picked up?  And while you're at it, tell what book you look forward to picking up!

What are YOU reading???

I just finished an amazing suspense book, Deliver Us From Evil, by Robin Caroll.  To say this book is well-written is a gross understatement!

Ms. Caroll weaves her plot through the viewpoints of many of the characters, drawing them together to interact and then separating them to explain different facets of the action.  The characters were complete with hangups and flaws as well as expertise, and the chemistry between them, romantic and otherwise, was downright pliable. 

This is no comfortable little whodunit.  There is no "tada" at the end when the culprit is discovered.  Instead, the reader learns of the identity a little at a time and grows to intensely dislike the person by the time the story reaches the climax.  Furthermore, the subject matter made me squirm.  I found more than once that I had to stop reading and give my eyes a thorough drying! 

But then, this type of book isn't supposed to make the reader comfortable.  It's supposed to keep the reader on the edge of the seat and Deliver Us From Evil did that for me from the very first page!  I also enjoyed learning about some of the research topics that Ms. Caroll shared in the book.  She even added Bible Study or Book Study discussion questions to the back of the book and a website research guide for all of her topics! 

Updated 9-18-11 This story really did make me squirm, so I can't really say it was enjoyable. I did like the scripture banter between the protagonist and her friend. I found myself trying to remember the verses before I read them!

However, the romance between the two main characters was contrived and very lustful. I found their encounters (kisses, embraces) to be a little cliche, but what led up to the encounters displayed a purely physical relationship. I guess it matched the intensity of the plot, but I was disappointed that there seemed to be nothing between them besides their attraction and heat. It seemed a little out of character for them both.

So what books are you reading right now and what do you think of them?