Double the Giveaways for Double the Trouble!

TWO DIFFERENT CONTESTS!!!   :)

First, thank you to LitFuse for providing a copy of this book for me to give away to one of my readers!  To win your own copy, please just leave a comment on this post.  I will draw a random name on February 19 and get the book in the mail.

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And second, Susan May Warren herself is having a super sleuth package giveaway!

Be sure to enter the Double Trouble Prize Package Giveaway by clicking on the ‘Double the Sass” button! Susan’s giving away an iPod prize package that is anything but troubling! Check it out!

Prize Details

Double Trouble, the brand new PJ Sugar novel by Susan May Warren, is in stores now! To celebrate the release, we’re running a HUMDINGER of a contest!!

* One Grand Prize winner will receive a $150 SUPER SLEUTH prize package that includes: * A brand new iPod Shuffle (perfect for those all-night stakeouts)
* A $10 iTunes gift card (we recommend the ALIAS soundtrack)
* A $10 Amazon gift card (why yes, they do sell spy pens)
* A $10 Starbucks gift card (for fuel, obviously)
* A pair of designer sunglasses (be stealthy AND super chic)
* A gorgeous scarf from World Market (can also be used as a blindfold, and/or for tying up bad guys)
* AND signed copies of both Nothing But Trouble & Double Trouble. (romance! danger! intrigue! sooo much better than Surveillance for Dummies!)

We’ll announce our super sleuth winner on March 1st.

Double Trouble by Susan May Warren

About Double Trouble:
With one solved case under her belt, PJ Sugar is ready to dive into her career as a private investigator. Or at least a PI's assistant until she can prove herself to Jeremy Kane, her new boss. Suddenly PJ's seeing crime everywhere. But is it just in her head, or can she trust her instincts? When she takes on her first official case-house-sitting for a witness in protective custody-Jeremy assures her there's no danger involved. But it soon becomes clear that there is someone after the witness . . . and now they're after PJ, too.
About Susan:
Susan May Warren is the RITA award-winning author of twenty-four novels with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill. A four-time Christy award finalist, a two-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Book of the Year. Her larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice. Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota, where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!) A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com

My Review:
PJ Sugar is a girl so many of us can identify.  She desperately wants to find something she’s good at and to chart the course of her life.  She sees trouble where there might not be any, but sometimes those instincts can pay off – which is a good thing for a private investigator.

Her love life is in a bit of a pickle right now as well.  She’s torn between comfortable, familiar Boone, who has asked her to marry him, and Jeremy, her sultry, mysterious boss.  On the surface it can be easy not to feel sorry for somebody with this problem, but since both of the men are “good people” it would be hard to make a decision.

Along the way we meet a great assortment of supporting case, including the aging actress, the Russian family and the softball team that rallies around their friends.  And PJ has a couple of heartfelt “God” talks with some characters that were impactful to my walk as well.

Great, fun series by one of my absolute favorite Christian authors!  Be sure to pick up the first book, Nothing But Trouble, if you haven’t read it.

***Special thanks to LitFuse for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.

Friday’s Fave Five!

Another week, another fave five!  Head to Susanne’s blog to see more.   :)

1. Goofy prayers – again!  I'm so glad to know that Our Father has a sense of humor.  Last night as I was praying at the dinner table I heard the most goofy thing ever come out of my mouth.  I was asking Him for favor for my family as we are all on the roads today (which was tomorrow last night) and it came out as wanting grace “on the morrow.”  Now as this silly sentence was coming out of my mouth I started talking slower and had a furrowed brow as I tried to figure out why in the world I would use a statement like that!  Ah well, I know that He knows what I meant.

2. Reading and reading!  Really there is not much better than cuddling in during the cold winter months and reading a good book.  I’ve posted two reviews already this week and one more tomorrow and they all have been such great books.  I love having Christian authors that write suspense novels and also those that love writing the Christian version of Chick Lit.  The stories are great and we are safe in knowing that all the “yucky stuff” won’t be inside the pages.  Praise Be!

3. Dinner!  Yes, I do love food.  And I love that we are taking the eating at home still so seriously.  We honestly prefer it and are having fun trying out new recipes.  Last Saturday I got a new issue of Taste of Home magazine in the mail (if you’ve not tried it – do!) and put 3 new recipes on our menu for this week.  Two were really great and will now go in our rotation and one was ok, just not really to our taste.  It’s fun to eat together, pray together beforehand and believe it or not, fun to clean up together afterwards.

In fact, in the last two weeks the only meal we’ve eaten out is after church each Sunday!  That might not be impressive to most people, but for us it’s a huge change.

4. Knitting and TV – Again with the cold weather, we’ve spent more time than usual watching tv/movies this week.  This also gives me the chance to knit as I’m not one that’s able to just sit and watch tv.  I’ve gotten more things done than usual and it’s very satisfying.

5. My mother-in-law – Today is her 75th birthday and I almost refuse to believe that!  She is so much fun and such an inspiration to me in many ways.  I am so very, very blessed that she is in my life.

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Never Say Never Bethany House (February 1, 2010) by Lisa Wingate

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She's never put down roots in any one place--and she doesn't plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence.

And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily--until she discovers he may be promised to someone else. Daily has always been a place of refuge for those the winds blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store--especially when Aunt Donetta has cooked up a scheme.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Never Say Never, go HERE

MY REVIEW:
Lisa Wingate is one of my favorite Christian authors, partly because of her stories and partly because of the writing itself. She's able to draw you into her books right from the beginning and keep your interest throughout.

This book is told from two points of view in alternating chapters. We begin with Donetta, who decides when she's in her mid-70's to pack up with two girlfriends and go on a cruise for the first time. What they don't realize is that they are heading straight towards a very large hurricane in the Gulf Coast!

There's also Kai, who has never quite been able to settle down and put down roots. She's working for a cruise ship and as she goes out that fateful morning to board and work she discovers that the ship has left port during the night because of the hurricane!

As Kai heads north amidst the massive evacuation you can really feel the worry and fright. And when the other vanload of ladies also turns around you are carried right along with them. This book almost reads as an eye witness account of hurricane evacuation at the beginning and it was pretty much an edge of your seat account. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. Isaiah 43:2

It's wonderful to have a book that is exciting and that the resolutions come from God. I highly recommend this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa lives in central Texas were she is a popular inspirational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books. Her novel, Tending Roses, received dozens of five-star reviews, sold out thirteen printings for New York publisher, Penguin Putnam, and went on to become a national bestselling book. Tending Roses was a selection of the Readers Club of America, and is currently in its fourteenth printing.

** Thank you to CFBA and  Bethany House for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

Corkscrew Tassel Hat for Brooklyn

I’m almost afraid to type the words “it’s cold”  - because I live in Texas and that’s not REAL cold to a large part of the world.  But we’ve actually had some winter temperatures this year and I guess I’m just really not used to it.  This is the first year I’ve had a winter coat in ages – and only because I recently bought it.  And for a girl who loves flip flops, this having to wear socks or house slippers all the time is for the birds!

So while the weather is cold and while I’m busy knitting all these hats for charity lately it hit me that maybe I should whip up a little hat for Brooklyn.  I found a darling pattern, happened to have some yarn on hand and got to knitting.

All while I was knitting it I did think that maybe I should have done a child size for her rather than a toddler size.  But knit on I did.

And it’s too small.  Might not look bad in the photo, but it doesn’t cover her ears and without ear cover what good is a hat?  The bright side is that this hat will go in my charity pile and I’m sure that a little somewhere will enjoy it.

The hat is made from the Corkscrew Tassel Hat pattern and was easy to do.  One thing to note is that it says to use Peaches n Cream yarn, which I did, and knitting the tassels using non-stretchy cotton yarn about killed my hands.  I pressed on though because really, anything for Brooklyn.   :)

CFBA Book Review – Beguiled

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing Beguiled (Bethany House March 1, 2007) by Deeanne Gist and  J. Mark Bertrand 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called "I Did It!® Productions" and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.

J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her... Rylee Monroe, a dog walker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dog walker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

If you'd like to read the first chapter of , go HERE

MY REVIEW:

What could be better than a suspenseful novel with a great romantic twist?  I encourage you to click the link to read the first chapter and I promise you’ll be looking for this book.  From the very beginning the authors were able to make me feel the suspense – and then the love interest – and I was hooked.  This is definitely the kind of book that once you start reading you won’t want to put it down.

There were many twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end as to “whodunit”.  And the subplots along the way just added to the story.

I’ll definitely be looking for more books from both of these authors.  And hoping they collaborate again for future books!

**Disclaimer – Thank to Bethany House and CFBA for providing me with a copy of this book to review.