EYES OF ELISHA: A Book Review and Giveaway

Author Jeanette Levellie and I made a deal. She had committed to reviewing EYES OF ELISHA for Brandilyn Collins but then discovered it wasn’t her “cup of Starbucks”. What to do? It was a dilemma solved by finding someone else who met the same criteria that had initially won her the book, and I ended up being that person:

1. I had never read a Brandilyn Collins novel before;
2. I agreed to review it on my blog; and
3. I will pass it on to someone else who fits A above.

If you’ve never read a Brandilyn Collins novel before and, after reading my review, think you’d like to read EYES OF ELISHA, please leave a comment with your name before 9:00 a.m. PST this Friday, February 12th. I’ll make the draw and post the winner’s name at noon Friday.

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I’ve explained before that I don’t read a lot of Christian fiction. I’m just not into the syrup and slop that characterized my first experiences. Granted, that was decades ago and more recently I’ve found a few Christian authors whose novels I do enjoy. Brandilyn Collins has just become one of them.

From the back cover of EYES OF ALISHA I read, “The murder was ugly. The killer was sure no one saw him. Someone did.“ This didn’t sound like a typical Christian novel to me… and it isn’t.

Like many of us, Chelsea Adams is a Christian living in a secular society where violence happens and visions handed down from God are viewed with skepticism. When she experiences a victim’s last moments in a terrifying vision, Chelsea is compelled to report the murder to the police, but they have neither a body nor evidence of a crime. Using her vision as a guide, she locates the body and an investigation begins that puts more lives in jeopardy, including hers.

Brandilyn Collins manages to combine high suspense with Christian values, treating both with convincing honesty. There is no simplistic moralizing or Bible-thumping fundamentalism here, just faith, everyday realism, and a nerve-jangling mystery.

I’d rate this a strong four out of five and recommend it to anyone who loves an exciting story. And if you haven’t read any of Brandilyn’s novels and think you’d like to read this one, just let me know. I’ve already provided the review so if your name is drawn you get to sit back and just enjoy the read.

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EYES OF ELISHA

Zondervan (2001)

ISBN 10: 0-310-27532-6

ISBN 13: 978-0-310-27532-9

The Canine Crowd

Tynan

Ebony

I was asked about the various pet members in our extended family. I don’t seem to have a picture of our son’s cat, but here are all the others:

• three Labrador Retrievers
• a Brittany Spaniel
• an Australian Shepherd puppy

Cooper

Java

Mac

There’s always a little canine chaos when any of them get together — running, cavorting, playing with each other’s toys (yes, they all have lots of toys; some of them even know how to put their toys away when asked), and eventually collapsing into various corners of the room when their energy runs out. (Check out the picture of one of their ‘collapsed’ moments in this earlier post.)

Right now “Ebby” is the distinguished one in the crowd — a venerable twelve years old and holder of both an obedience trial C.D. degree and a ‘Canine Good Citizen’ title. “Java” is the only chocolate among the Labs and is the only one who coexists with a feline friend. “Mac” gets to go jogging most days with his mistress, often along the ocean shore. You don’t want to know about his fascination with starfish! “Cooper” is the newest member of the clan… barely five months old and already intimidating the other dogs with his penetrating crystal blue eyes. And our “Tynan”, well, I’ve mentioned him before… alternately a gazelle and a couch potato, always a helpful companion, and an avid swimmer just like “Mac”.

That’s all of them… for now. I keep telling my DH that I miss the Shelties we had for 35 years, but he keeps saying that “one is enough” at this point in our lives. We’ll see.

Portraying Pets With Personality

Have you ever considered that animals have personalities?

We’re on the move this week, visiting some of our family in BC’s Okanagan and Kootenays. All our families include dogs (although there is one cat among the canine crowd), and all of them get along well with each other. They may not tolerate the intrusion of a neighbour’s dog but a family member’s is welcomed with enthusiasm, and remembered by name between visits. It’s as though they understand they’re part of an extended family.

Each one has its distinct characteristics and that started me thinking about how we depict pets in our novels. Unless the story focuses on an animal, such as in Marley and Me, it seems like they are a presence without personality. They exist for the children to play with, as company for the protagonist, or as a threat to the antagonist. They’re just there. They are little more than “set dec”.

What a missed opportunity! Different breeds have different characteristics and the canny writer will research these and choose one that fits the character’s lifestyle, or create tension with one that is totally unsuitable. Just as a healthy plant enhances the hominess of a living room, so the right pet can complement a scene, offer comic relief or perhaps help reveal character flaws.

Have you included pets in your stories? What purpose have they served? Consider doing a short writing exercise that features an in-depth look at your favourite animal.

The iPad Is Coming

I think I’m in love! Well, yes, I have been all along with my hubby, but we’re talking about electronic toys now, and they do more than help with the dishes and clean the garage! While its name has been controversial, the Apple iPad’s introduction last Wednesday substantiated the claims of those who said it would be out of the ordinary.

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The new iPad is described as a cross between the iPhone and a MacBook laptop. It weighs just 1.5 lbs. and is a half-inch thick. Navigation is done with the flick of a finger on a 9.7” (measured diagonally) multi-touch LED-backlit screen that rotates between landscape and portrait positions. Thanks to IPS technology it has a wide 178-degree viewing angle.

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It does just about everything, functioning with a powerful but efficient A4 chip custom-designed for Apple. It apparently has up to ten hours of battery life. With a starting price of $499 for the basic 16GB of storage it will be more affordable than many expected.

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That’s still $499 more than I have to splurge on another toy, of course, so, love it or not, when it appears in March I’ll just be ogling it from a distance. But it sure is cool!

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UPDATE:

Prior to writing the above I’d been out of touch for a few days. I’ve subsequently discovered lots of conversations about the iPad and its e-book/iBookstore implications. Two excellent articles can be found on recent blogs of Rachelle Gardner and Kristen Nelson.

The Prolific Blogger Award: Acknowledging Our Community

Last fall Hazra, an engineering student studying in India who reviews and writes on the Advance Booking blog, created the Prolific Blogger Award as a belated celebration of having made his 100th blog entry.

Hazra said, “This award is to all those prolific bloggers, who read voraciously, blog tirelessly and have made the blogging community such a vibrant place. This award is in recognition of their achievements and their enthusiasm. They are the people who keep [us] going!”

When I look around my online writing community I realize there are more worthy blogging recipients than I could ever begin to mention. From each of the places I visit I gain so much – smiles, information, inspiration, encouragement, stimulation and challenges. While I hope I provide some of the same to those who visit this blog, my motivation for blogging is purely selfish and that makes me feel guilty about the kindness of Joylene Butler, Katherine Neff Perry and Dave Ebright who all bestowed the Prolific Blogger Award on me.

The admonition accompanying the Award is “to spread some love” around, and there are rules attached to it. As a recipient I will post the rules here but with apologies I’m going to satisfy the segment of the population who advocate rules are meant to be broken; I am breaking the very first one. I appreciate the Award but I can’t begin to single out seven individual bloggers and I’m not even going to try. I’ll simply say a sincere thank you for the honour of receiving the Award and another thank you to all those whose blogs continue to provide excellent reading material for me. You’re all truly awesome!

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Prolific Blogger Award Rules:

1. Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award is expected to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers

2. Each Prolific Blogger is asked to link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

3. Every Prolific Blogger is asked to link back to this post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.

4. Every Prolific Blogger is asked to visit the above post and add his/her name in the Mr. Linky, so that we all can get to know the other winners.

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Just Do It!

As I read various blogs I come across so many comments from people wondering how to do it all – make time in days and nights filled with so much living in order to eek out precious hours for their writing. There are dreams unfulfilled because stories have never made it past the idea stage, or have been started but not finished, or finished but not marketed.

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In last Friday’s interview on the NovelJourney blog, author Kristin Bair O’Keeffe was asked what advice she would give aspiring writers.

Her answer:

“The way I look at it, there are two parts to being a writer:

1) the mystery of discovering and writing stories

2) the business of finding homes for and marketing those stories

Keep the two parts separate. Trust the mystery of your story as you’re writing it. Listen to it. Breathe it in. Breathe it out. See it in your dreams. Carry it on your daily walk to the river. Once you’ve finished a story, believe in it. Then do everything you can to find a home for it.”

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I like how succinct Kristin’s response is. “Keep the two parts separate.” It doesn’t address the challenges we may face, the doubts or lack of time. It assumes serious writers will overcome these and move on to achieve. It has the ring of Nike’s motto, “Just do it”.  It reminds us that excuses don’t produce books, action does, and the choice to write or not write is ours to make.

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No, of course Kristen didn’t actually say any of these things, but that’s what I discovered between the lines. I sensed a no nonsense “just do it” attitude.

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Do you think maybe this is the attitude that separates dreamers from achievers?

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Buried Alive

Amid the chaos and devastation in Haiti there are little miracles and moments of celebration. Six days after the earthquake a baby girl is pulled from the rubble. The seventh day two women are rescued.  Then, even after the Haitian government declares the search and rescue operations are over, yesterday, on the eleventh day, two young men are found alive. The brother of one said he “is disappointed at the government’s decision to disband rescue operations, as more people are likely to be trapped alive.”

I cannot grasp that horror.

May God’s merciful presence bring comfort to those who remain trapped under the debris and will die while waiting in vain for rescue.

Carpe Diem for Writers

On her blog today Carol Benedict includes a music video of “Seize the Day” sung by Carolyn Arends.  Only one of the verses makes reference to writing a novel but the theme is one that reminds me of how important carpe diem is if I’m serious about my goals.

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“Life slips away like hourglass sand,” begins each chorus, and life really does. This moment, this day, will never be ours to do over again. Each one wasted puts our goals one step farther into the distance until with enough procrastination they can end up beyond reach. Does this mean every moment of every day must be spent productively — writing, revising, marketing? Would doing something other than such things always be a waste of our time?

If I could sit on two different sides of the table I could argue about this with myself. But I don’t think I will. I’ll ask your opinion.

What constitutes productivity for you? How do you achieve it?

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Owling and Howling Voices

Twilight is encroaching on the afternoon and I can hear an owl in the trees. He can’t be seen as he perches among the cedar branches but from his hooty “Who cooks for you?” call I know he’s a Barred Owl. His voice is distinctive.

Some moonlit nights I hear coyotes on the hill beyond our marsh. I don’t need to see their long legs, prominent ears and bushy tails to identify them. Their yip-yip-yapping leaves no doubt they are coyotes and not dogs.

This has me thinking. What gives our voices distinction as writers? Do our written voices resonate with our familiar everyday speech patterns or is there a different inflection and tone? When someone reads a passage aloud do the words reflect and identify the author?

Don’t look at me for answers. I’m just asking.

BAD LATITUDE by author Dave Ebright – a Review

I came into possession of another Young Adult novel recently. I don’t read a lot of YA and write even less, but I’m recognizing that a fair amount of it is written for girls and not much for boys, at least not much that has good values and wholesome attitudes combined with the kind of action that appeals to today’s mid-grade readers. BAD LATITUDE: A Jack Rackham Adventure has it all.

Pirates, ghosts, buried treasure and rattlesnakes create a summer adventure for teenager Jack Rackham and his friend Kai in the haunted town of St. Augustrine, Florida. Nobody could write the story any better than St. Augustine resident Dave Ebright, seasoned storyteller and self-proclaimed lover of beaches, boating, and the old seaside town’s history.

Inspired by stories told to his grandchildren, Dave began writing his books for boys. BAD LATITUDE: A Jack Rackham Adventure is his debut novel. It blends fact and fiction seamlessly into fast moving entertainment with a cast of realistic characters including a few that sound suspiciously like the author and his own family.

BAD LATITUDE is available online as an ebook or in paperback from BookLocker. It can also be ordered in paperback from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Barnes and Noble. A second book, RECKLESS ENDEAVOR, will follow early in 2010.

Visit Dave Ebright’s blog, JaxPop: Haunted City Writer. Just tell him Carol sent you. He’ll probably have words with me later.