There is a new Christy Barritt book scheduled to be released soon. It’s always a happy day for me when I get to see another one coming out.
Unsteady Ground (Lantern Beach Exposure Book 3)
Trouble from Ty Chambers’s past has arrived in Lantern Beach. A top secret mission the former Navy SEAL was involved with nearly ten years ago has shown up at his door–and brought danger to the island.
If he and his wife, Cassidy, don’t track down the culprit in time, it could mean peril . . . not just for them, but for the entire town.
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I did explore a little for more choices but this is it for now. It was pleasant to find this one because I had accepted there would be none for today. A good finish to the day.
To finish the day I’m watching a interview with two authors. It’s about several fictional books they’ve written centering around Macedonian immigrants to Australia. One of the authors is someone I follow here, and I’ll share her link. You may enjoy it too. The interview is shown on You Tube
The beauty of reading collections? The discovery of new-to-me authors. I’m currently reading a 10 book collection and Liz Bradford did an awesome job of writing the story I’ve just finished. I need to check her out and maybe find more of her books. I see she was listed in another collection in my library but that’s all the exposure I’ve had, that I remember anyway. There could have been other collections with her stories but, sadly, they don’t always show up in my searches. I’ve explored some of the books she’s written and found one that is a bargain, it sounds interesting and it’s 465 pages, what could be better than that for a solid introduction.
Small Town Danger: 10 Full-Length Romantic Suspense & Mystery Novels is my current read. It’s still a bargain and definitely worth the reading time. Liz’s book in the collection? #2 Swept Away
The book I’m about to download?
NOT ALONE: The Detectives of Hazel Hill – Book One
When single moms are turning up dead, Police Detective Rebecca Palmer will stop at nothing to bring the killer to justice.
Detective Rebecca Palmer is hunting a serial killer bent on inflicting a warped sense of Biblical judgment. But, with so few clues, she struggles to catch his trail. The killer’s obsession with murdering single moms grips Rebecca’s heart with profound intensity, since she herself is a single mom. Will she be able to stop him before he takes another mother away from her child?
Jared Johnson fought crime as a detective on the streets of Chicago but has decided to trade the inner city for the simpler life of the south. His brother said Hazel Hill, North Carolina is a great place to live, and Jared is willing to test his brother’s claims. But is the move just another stop as Jared runs from his past, or will Hazel Hill be the place his restless soul can finally settle down?
I’m told a group of authors have decided to take turns offering a free book for a few days each week. This is one of them. I’ve not read this author so I’m happy for the chance, a new favorite could be coming out of this experience.
Springtime in Magnolia Bloom : A Magnolia Bloom Novel Book 3
The MacInnes sisters, different in every way…except for how much they need each other.
Alyssa’s country music career was a dream come true. But lately, something’s off. The words, the notes, the passion…they’ve abandoned her. Now, it’ll take some serious soul searching—and maybe a little help from her family to rediscover her muse and figure out what to do next…
Bailey won’t be denied what she wants. Not ever again. And she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure her daughter reaches her full potential, too. But with all her careful planning comes sacrifice—for both of them. Is the cost of security more than Bailey’s willing to pay?
Cammie is at rock bottom. She lost her husband, her law practice, and her fancy lifestyle practically overnight. It’s time for this former wild child to make some hard decisions and figure out what she truly wants from life—and from love…
Alyssa, Bailey, and Cammie aren’t asking for happily ever after endings, but with sisterly love and the magic of Magnolia Bloom, anything is possible…
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Another bargain book showed up along with the above. I don’t think I’ve read this author either, but I could be wrong. Maybe in paperback, way back when.
Tomorrow’s First Light: (Texas Promise Book 1)
Marrying a stranger to keep the woman’s siblings out of an orphanage is one thing, but when more children than expected pour out of the stagecoach, what’s a man to do?
Nervous about meeting her fiancé for the first time, Ellie Spritzer’s lifelong hope of finding love is about to end—or rather, begin. She never imagined her quest for love would take her to the other side of the country with all eight of her siblings in tow, but after her mother dies unexpectedly, what choice does she have? At least the man she’s been writing for the past year is still willing to marry her and take in her siblings… or so she thinks until she arrives in the dusty town of Twin Rivers, Texas.
Growing up an orphan, Sam Owens never had a place to call home or a family to love. So if his wife-to-be needs to bring three of her siblings with her, he has no complaints about having a ready-made family. But his mail-order-bride doesn’t arrive with three. She arrives with eight.
Sam can’t make himself turn away children in need. But as a beginning rancher, he doesn’t have the resources to care for so many people. When sinister forces threaten the things Sam and Ellie both hold dear, can they figure out how to keep their fledgling family together, or will they lose the very things they cherish most?
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Another author I’ve read maybe once.
Secret Mountain Hideout (Love Inspired Suspense)
From the RITA and Carol Award finalist: Staying hidden in a remote Colorado town has kept her safe—until now . . .
A remote Colorado mountain town and a fake identity have been Ashley Willis’s safe haven since she fled after witnessing a murder—but now the killer has found her trail. Desperate and terrified, she’s prepared to run again . . .
But Deputy Sheriff Chase Fredrick won’t let her. With the lawman by her side, can she face danger head-on . . . and live long enough to bring a murderer to justice?
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I was going to quit after this last one (above), but I couldn’t resist this next one. This is from an author I have read, many times over the years.
Blind Trust (Second Chances, Book 3)
Two weeks before he was to marry Sherry Grayson, Clint Jessup disappeared without a trace. Now, suddenly, eight months later, he’s back with no word of explanation. Only an impossible request: trust him. Trust him despite the devastating past. . .and an inexplicable and increasingly frightening present. Whatever secret Clint is hiding, it’s changed him. And it’s about to change Sherry, sweeping her and Clint into a terrifying whirlpool of pursuit and intrigue–one where death and deliverance teeter on a razor edge of circumstance that can either restore or forever destroy Sherry’s faith not only in Clint, but in others, and perhaps in God himself.
Blind Trust is part of the Second Chances series by award-winning suspense novelist Terri Blackstock. Combining fast-paced reading with realistic characters and situations, Second Chances takes readers to where the conflict between good and evil becomes the proving grounds of faith.
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This is probably a time where I should have been more selective to keep the numbers down. Oh well, I’ll do my best to hurry through them.
I’m leaving in a hurry with my eyes closed, just in case.
Browsing paid off with a FREE book from an newly acquired friend. This will be the third book we’ve read from this author.
Lakehouse Promises (Laurel Cove Series Book 1)
Carolina Johnson had the life everyone wanted. A solid marriage of twenty years. A gorgeous house in the most desirable neighborhood. Friends at the country club. Yet, somehow, she always felt the other shoe would drop.
And drop it did! When she discovered her husband’s affair with a girl half his age. Even more devastating, she’s pregnant.
Now divorced, she has to start over in a lake house with too many issues to list, a neighbor who doesn’t like her and zero friends. To make matters worse, her outrageously rude former mother-in-law shows up and expects to spend a few days.
At forty years of age, Carolina has to start her life over from scratch and draw on the last vestiges of strength she has to make a life for herself.
A new life, new problems, and new relationships…can Carolina find out what matters the most in life and discover what true love really looks like? Or will she refuse to let go of the past and the bitterness that threatens to steal her happiness?
This women’s divorce fiction book will have you rooting for the heroine and everything she has to overcome.
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I think I might toss aside my current new read in favor of this one. Afterall, there’s no law saying I can’t do it. I will promise to finish the abandoned book next. Unless something else catches my attention. Hmmm. Maybe I will promise to finish the rejected book soon, that should be doable.
It’s clear-out time once again. I’m looking at the titles trying to remember enough to offer an opinion and it’s not working for me. I do know that I didn’t keep anything not enjoyed. There were three or four that were barely finished and instantly removed from my device. Hopefully for the rest of them things will be a little clearer as we work our way through them.
Collections were prolific for some reason this season and I was happy about it. The first three containing 9 books each were well worth the read in my estimation. Probably even #1 on my favorites list this time.
Next up, three Romantic Suspense novels enjoyed.
A mixture to finish off. 10 more books
My current read has been passed over, and over, and over, in my search for a new read. Probably the title/cover/genre didn’t inspire me in the moment. It may turn out to be a surprise, an overlooked treasure. Hopefully. Haven’t read enough to give me any clues about that yet.
Plans overheard, a bargain to devise…but is it playing with fire?
In 1849 Mercer County, Kentucky, beautiful Clara Stanton loses her sight, freedom, and fiance after a horse-riding accident. In the throes of her desperation, her family leaves her to recover in the capable hands of an elderly widow while they travel to England without her.
New minister, Daniel Merrick, weary from scandal, is unwittingly led by blind Clara into the most important mission of his life. But will she dare to soar beyond the limits those around her deem safe?
It’s a good day. We have a FREE six book collection of full length stories from some of our favorite authors. It will be available for a limited time only, they tell me.
A Hopeful Heart
This collection from six of your favorite Christian and women’s fiction authors includes 1200+ pages of stories that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you turning pages. This anthology is perfect for a weekend of binge reading.
MEMORIES AT FRIENDSHIP INN by Jessie Newton
AJ, Robin, Alice, Eloise, and Kelli are leaving for college after seven years of close friendship, sharing secrets, and surviving high school. Each has their own reason for wanting to leave or stay in Five Island Cove, and each has a future that’s wide open…
LACY by Sharon Srock
Lacy Fields had everything: a loving husband, a daughter she adored, and a granddaughter on the way. When a tragic accident wipes it all away, will she drown in her grief or can God heal her heart?
TOUCH OF INNOCENCE by Robin Patchen
Grace avoids emotional ties and lives like a hermit, but when her young neighbor needs help, Grace has no choice but to get involved, even if it means risking her own safety…
BEYOND THE SHADOWS by Robin Lee Hatcher
Loneliness and grief stalk Deborah Haskin after her husband’s death, but hope eases her pain when she marries Gideon. After their marriage, Deborah discovers a devastating secret…
SHATTERING SECRETS by Chautona Havig
Emily wants to give one little boy his Christmas wish: find his father. But going on this search might just rip apart a family forever…
SECRETS AND SACRIFICE by Juliette Duncan
Grace O’Connor arrives in the Scottish Highlands hiding a secret. She finds a community of caring Christians and a handsome ex-military Paratrooper with baggage of his own. When the walls she built to protect her heart come tumbling down, she must discover who the real Grace is…
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There is a free Book 1 of another series, it looks interesting and I’m going to check out.
Welcome Aboard (Sail Away Series Book 1)
Set sail to new adventures and escapes with eight best-selling authors in the exciting new Sail Away series!
Pack your bags and get ready to set sail on a variety of cruise ships…all without leaving home! Experience the waves, the wind, and the call of the birds in the Sail Away series with a sneak peek of the Sail Away Series in this prologue novella. Each bestselling author will take you on a sea adventure filled with friendship, healing, some romance, and all the heartfelt storytelling you crave.
This was an interview on a podcast I watched recently. I think it needs to be re-watched to get the most out of it, maybe even more than once or twice, and I’m planning on it.
I’ve also downloaded the doctor’s book.It looks like it will be a helpful tool in learning how to have a healthy brain.
First the book.
Change Your Brain Every Day: Simple Daily Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Memory, Moods, Focus, Energy, Habits, and Relationships
366 Days to a Better Brain, Mind, and Life!
In Change Your Brain Every Day psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist Daniel Amen, MD, draws on over 40 years’ clinical practice with tens of thousands of patients to give you the most effective daily habits he has seen that can help you improve your brain, master your mind, boost your memory, and make you feel happier, healthier, and more connected to those you love.
Incorporating Dr. Amen’s tiny habits and practices over the course of a year will help you:
Manage your mind to support your happiness, inner peace, and success
Develop lifelong strategies for dealing with whatever stresses come your way
Create an ongoing sense of purpose in a way that informs your daily actions
Learn major life lessons Dr. Amen has gleaned from studying hundreds of thousands of brain scans
Imagine what you could learn by spending every day for a year on a psychiatrist’s couch. In the pages of Change Your Brain Every Day, you’ll get a year’s worth of life-changing daily wisdom from Dr. Amen, one of the world’s most prominent psychiatrists.
Today is the day to start changing the trajectory of your life, one tiny step at a time.
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I’m going to start a journal, taking notes and keeping track of my thoughts as I work my way through the steps listed for us.
And now the video
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Who knew:
An unexpected side effect of reading this book and doing the steps is the emergence of a progress report on how far I/ we’ve already come in relation to our brain and thought life. It’s encouraging actually, to think we aren’t just spinning our wheels here.
Maybe our focus wasn’t on the brain but somewhere else and yet it was still affected by whatever we were doing. I find that encouraging too. Good or bad, our body and mind is a package deal. In this day and age of compartmentalization we tend to forget that important point.
First up is one from one of my top ten favorite authors. I loved this book, the way this man thinks and writes, and have to mention his books whenever I see them.
Water from My Heart: A Novel
New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin’s breathtaking novel of love and redemption.
Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age sixteen. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami.
Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter. Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible — and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?
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On to new books. There is only one so far.
Web of Deceit (Agents Under Fire)
When FBI Agent Kaitlyn Knight discovers her brother-in-law is Vyper—the notorious cyber-criminal and murderer wanted by the FBI—Kait doesn’t question her duty to arrest him. But when he murders her sister in front of her, leaving her infant niece motherless, Kait vows to hunt him down and bring him to justice while raising the baby.
Three years later, and not even a whisper of a lead in her search, Kait is about to give up hope of ever finding Vyper. All of that changes when he goes on a murderous spree taunting Kait with clues that she and homicide detective Sam Murdock must solve before her devious brother-in-law takes another life.
As the body count rises, Sam discovers the killing spree is really about striking back at Kait. He must put everything on the line—including the relationship he’s developed with Kait—to ensure her safety. The killer is waiting, watching her every move—and he won’t stop until he’s exacted his revenge and reclaims his rights to raise his daughter.
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I’ll be back later if anything else interesting shows up.
Simon Sinek: Opens Up About His Struggle With Loneliness, Love & Dating!
You Tube Podcast on: The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett
This has been an amazing, timely, and moving experience. One that will impact me for years to come, I think. The conversation was deeply emotional, and insightful. I know it seems like I’ve gone overboard with the adjectives but even these feel inadequate to describe the experience. Maybe the reverberating impact is because I was so ready to hear it.
On Sunday, with family, there was what looked to me like a spontaneous time of deep consideration of where I am at in my healing journey and what kind of help I should be looking for to go deeper. (It may have been planned but I can’t be sure about that.) Anyway, I know they love me and have my best interests at heart. I love them for it, and I will admit the time with them has been helpful in pushing me in a new direction. They set me up to be ready to hear.
Therapy is not something that has ever worked out for me, for a multitude of reasons. I think part of the reason may be that my mind’s processing method is more like that of a slow cooker rather than that of a micro wave, or even a regular stove. Books and conversations like this interview seem to speak into my life in way nothing else can. Probably because they are a good fit with meditation.
With the discovery of this podcaster, the week has been intensely packed with new insights. It’s amazing how it has come hard on the heels of the most unusual family conversation.
Here is the podcast interview. Maybe it will be life changing for you too.
They speak at length on how to be a better partner, in all our relationships not just the romantic ones. Lots of meat on the bones, lots to chew on. I like that.
Sadly, no specific books were featured this time. A few were mentioned along the way but I forgot to take note of them.
I’m always on the lookout for useful help on my journey toward emotional wellness, no small thing given my traumatic childhood.
Awareness is one of the best tools in this quest and my ears are always open and tuned in to anything that will answer the many questions rising to the surface of my mind.
Today I watched an in-depth interview with a successful doctor with his own lived experience. What he has to say speaks to where I am at this moment. I will be watching again, this time taking notes to help this become part of who I am. Dr Gabor Maté has also written a new book, the reason for the interview, and I’m planning to read it too. For years I’ve been walking the awareness path he lays out and at this point in the road I expect this book will take me even further in the right direction.
I’m sharing both the book and the podcast. I want to be able to find this material again but I also hope that sharing it will be helpful to my readers on their own journey. Our physical struggles are rooted in the emotional. By experience I know this to be true. The question forever before me is: what is behind this new set of ailments? Usually it is some new piece of old brokenness that has shaken loose and risen to the surface.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture
Gabor Maté’s internationally bestselling books have changed the way we look at addiction and have been integral in shifting the conversations around ADHD, stress, disease, embodied trauma, and parenting. Now, in this revolutionary book, he eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their health care systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health? For all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. In The Myth of Normal, co-written with his son Daniel, Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society, and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. The result is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.
For the Love of Books 