The Twilight Series from a Biblical Perspective, Part 1

by Mark Farnham

Girl meets boy. Boy becomes obsessed with girl. Girl returns the favor. Boy turns out to be a vampire. Girl doesn’t mind as long as she can be with boy every moment of her life. This is a stereotypical, adolescent relationship (with the exception of the Dracula factor)! In Stephanie Meyer’s fast-paced Twilight series, obsessive love is the name of the game. The main character, Isabella “Bella” Swan, has never dated before she encounters the perfect-in-every-way Edward Cullen. What ensues is a highly charged romance that is sure to suck in every female heart longing for a little excitement and (apparently) clean fantasy. This review primarily considers the novels since they tell the story in far greater detail than the movie. Read more.

The Books Arrive

See the Final Cover

http://www.adamblumerbooks.com/2009/03/09/see-photos-of-the-final-cover/

Wind a Free Copy of Fatal Illusions

Friday, March 6, through March 10, Adam’s first online interview is featured at the blog of Christian author Tiffany Stockton. Check it out. Be sure to read the interview and comment on it. You will be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of Fatal Illusions. This is the first official giveaway of the novel and the first promotional event. Have fun.

Advance Praise for Fatal Illusions

“Fatal Illusions is an engaging, fast-paced read with a captivating storyline that grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go. Adam Blumer has skillfully weaved the threads of grace, mercy, and forgiveness into this compelling suspense novel. Highly recommended!”

—Mark Mynheir, homicide detective and author of The Night Watchman

“Adam Blumer tells a fast-paced story that weaves together a serial killer, a physically wounded pastor, and his spiritually wounded wife. The twists and turns will keep readers guessing, and the idyllic setting will have non-Yoopers wondering when they’ll be able to pay a visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”

—Rick Acker, author of Blood Brothers

“In Fatal Illusions, Adam Blumer has crafted a page turner with characters that capture the imagination and a gripping plot from the first paragraph to the final sentence. An awesome ride!”

—Rosey Dow, Christy Award-winning author of Reaping the Whirlwind

“Magic in the hands of a diabolical madman proves deadly as he terrorizes a pastor’s family. Will their faith vanish when they need it most? Set against the backdrop of Lake Superior’s magnificent shores, Fatal Illusions is chilling, action-packed suspense that will keep readers moored right up until the very last page!”

—Andrea Boeshaar, author and speaker

“Adam Blumer’s debut novel is compelling and riveting, with a cast of well-defined characters and a plot as tight and action-packed as any best-selling thriller on bookstore shelves today. Fatal Illusions contains enough twists to keep even Harry Houdini impossibly bound! I can’t wait to see what else this author has up his sleeve!”

—Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy

“Every now and then I find an author whose voice I immediately fall in love with. Adam Blumer is one of those authors. In Fatal Illusions he weaves a tale so spellbinding and gripping, I couldn’t wait to turn the next page. With characters I could identify with, a killer who had me looking over my shoulder, and an ending full of twists and surprises . . . just like that, I’m an Adam Blumer fan!”

—Mike Dellosso, author of The Hunted and Scream

“Fatal Illusions is a heart-thumping novel that not only kept me flipping pages, but impressed me with the Christian values it portrayed. Mystery reading at its best!”

—Bea Carlton, author of fifteen books

Double Minds by Terri Blackstock

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Double Minds Zondervan (February 1, 2009) by Terri Blackstock.
About the Author

Terri Blackstock hasn’t always written for the Lord. Just over a decade ago she was an award-winning secular novelist writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Silhouette. With thirty-two titles published and 3.5 million books in print, she found that she was miserable. The compromises she had made in her career had taken their toll on her spiritual life, and she yearned to renew her relationship with Christ.

After much soul-searching and wrestling with God, she finally told the Lord that she would never write another thing that didn’t glorify Him. Thinking she might never be published again, she began planning ways to supplement her income, while she worked on her first idea for a Christian novel.

Because she enjoyed reading suspense novels, she tried weaving a faith message into a fast-paced page-turner with ordinary people in jeopardy. When Christian publishers expressed great interest, she realized that a secondary job would not be necessary. God was paving the way for her to enter the Christian publishing world.

Since that time, she’s sold 2 million Christian novels. She has over thirty Christian titles, many of which have been number one best-sellers. Her latest book, Dawn's Light is part of her popular Restoration Series. True Light, reached number one on the Top 50 of all Christian books the first full month it was in stores. Night Light was the winner of the 2007 Retailer’s Choice Award for General Fiction. Other reader favorites include her Cape Refuge Series, her Newpointe 911 Series, her SunCoast Chronicles Series and her “Seasons” books written with co-author Beverly LaHaye.

Terri is literally a native of nowhere since she was raised in the Air Force, She makes her home in Mississippi. Terri and her husband are the parents of three adult children--a blended family which she considers one more of God's provisions.

Terri has appeared on national television programs such as “The 700 Club” and “Home Life,” and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country.

About the Book

Struggling to succeed in the Nashville music scene, talented singer/songwriter Parker James finds the competition fierce – even deadly. A young woman’s murder, industry corruption, and a menacing stalker draw Parker into danger and intrigue. Nothing is as it appears, and unraveling the truth challenges everything Parker believes about her talent, her future, and her faith.

The young girl with the Bohemian style was on the floor where she’d fallen, between Parker's computer case and her file cabinet. She wore a long, flowing skirt—lavender, the color of calm—and camel-colored Uggs. She lay on her back, her long, wavy blonde hair matted with blood.

For struggling singer/songwriter Parker James, the music business has just turned deadly. Her desk in the reception area of a busy recording studio has become a crime scene, and Parker finds herself drawn into a mystery where nothing is as it seems.

Unraveling the truth puts her own life at risk when she uncovers high-level industry corruption and is terrorized by a menacing stalker. As the danger escalates, Parker begins to question her dreams, her future, and even her faith.

Double Minds is a double treat—combining a compelling suspense novel with an inside look at the world of the Christian music industry in Nashville. Terri Blackstock grabs readers at page one and keeps them riveted until the final plot twist is untangled.

You can preview a Book Trailer on her site HERE

If you would like to read the first chapter of Double Minds, go HERE.

My Review

This book just arrived in my mailbox only last week, and I simply haven't had time to read it yet. But I will. I promise. Come back later for a full review, but please give me a few weeks. I love Blackstock, so you know I'll be reading and reviewing it.

Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Daisy Chain (Zondervan, March 1, 2009) by Mary DeMuth.

About the Author

Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.

Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).

Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels Watching the Tree Limbs (nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing on Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).

Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France and planting a church.

About the Book

The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance from a small Texas town in 1973 spins three lives out of control—Jed, whose guilt over not protecting his friend Daisy strangles him; Emory Chance, who blames her own choices for her daughter’s demise; and Ouisie Pepper, who is plagued by headaches while pierced by the shattered pieces of a family in crisis.

In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom.

Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Daisy Chain, go HERE.

My Review

Oh my! Mary DeMuth knows how to write. This is the first novel I've read by her, and I'm enthralled by her way with words. I'm only half way through the novel, though, so I'll have to finish this later with a full review. In a nutshell: Daisy has mysteriously vanished, and Jed wants to find her. Wonderful writing style. Interesting characters. Good presentation of setting and time period.

A few things about the novel make me uneasy. Sometimes DeMuth uses words normally reserved for profanity, and I'm left debating whether someone just swore. That's rather distracting for a reader who isn't used to seeing words used like that in a Christian novel. My other uneasiness comes from what seems to be a rather stereotypical treatment of Hap, Jed's dad. He's the preacher who is righteous in the pulpit but beats his kids when nobody's looking. A rather unsympathetic, dictator-type character who has no redeeming qualities. I'm having flashbacks to The Poisonwood Bible. I certainly hope that Hap gets a chance to change and show his good side by the end. I also hope that Jed finds a personal relationship with Christ because so far he isn't showing much depth of faith. And his bitterness toward his dad, while understandable, is disturbing. I'm assuming that he'll change by the end of the story. Other than these nitpicks, I'm enjoying this one. This is no easy, light-hearted read. DeMuth is clearly going after some serious, heavy issues. I'll write more later.

Fatal Illusions Available for Pre-Order at Alma Mater Bookstore

The campus bookstore book buyer of my alma mater, Bob Jones University (where I graduated in 1991 with a BA in print journalism), recently contacted me with exciting news. He is interested in the release of Fatal Illusions and plans to sell the novel at the campus bookstore. Here’s a link to the novel at the campus bookstore Web site, where customers can pre-order it at a special rate of $10.50 (not including shipping and handling).

http://www.bjucampusstore.com/ePOS?store=468&item_number=2800825420988&form=shared3%2fgm%2fdetail.html&design=468#

A Cry in the Night by Colleen Coble

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Cry in the Night (Thomas Nelson) by Colleen Coble.

About the Author

Author Colleen Coble's thirty novels and novellas have won or been finalists in awards ranging from the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier, the National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best awards. She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail and love begin with a happy ending.

About the Book

The highly anticipated novel that delivers what romantic suspense fans have long awaited-the return to Rock Harbor. Bree Nichols gets the shock of her life when her husband-presumed dead-reappears.

Bree Nichols and her search and rescue dog Samson discover a crying infant in the densely forested woods outside of Rock Harbor, Michigan. Against objections from her husband, Kade, who knows she'll become attached, Bree takes the baby in. Quickly she begins a search for the mother-presumably the woman reported missing just days earlier.

While teams scour the forests, Bree ferrets out clues about the missing woman. But she soon discovers something more shocking: Bree's former husband-long presumed dead in a plane crash-resurfaces. Is he really who he says he is? And should she trust him again after all these years?

An engaging, romantic suspense novel from critically acclaimed author Colleen Coble.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

My Review

This was a fun, basic read. I had read several in this series and was happy to see a new one coming out. This is a conventional mystery that thankfully was rather subdued in the romance area. There are several mysterious deaths, and someone is stealing babies. I love Coble's writing style, and she does a great job at weaving her plot and revealing secrets at just the right time. Her setting is also easy to picture. Since I live in Michigan's U.P., you can bet that I could see her setting well. Yes, we do get THAT much snow. I guess I live too far away from the Keewenaw Peninsula though because I've never seen any town in the U.P. like the one (filled with ethnic foods and culture) she describes.

I must confess that I'm somewhat bewildered by the marketing of this book. The fact that Bree's first husband comes back, in my opinion, should have been a carefully guarded secret. Yet I read several promos revealing this info long before I read the book, so I was in for a letdown because I already knew the punchline. I'm not sure why some promos revealed her husband coming back and others didn't. Even the promo text above gives too much away, I think. I'm puzzled as to why any promo text would give away something so important to the plot. Maybe it's just me.

All in all, this was a fun, easy read. There's nothing groundbreaking, though, and the premise seemed to be something I've read numerous times before. Those nitpicks aside, this is an enjoyable read for any mystery fan. Coble doesn't disappoint, and this installment in the Rock Harbor series is a treat.

Fatal Illusions Appears in CBD Catalog

Check out page 24.

See the whole catalog: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/catalog_viewer?issue_id=1104162&event=OLC&page=1