Wednesday, December 9, 2015

The Growing Season Fight, Flee, or be Funny by Jiffy Day


The Growing Season is a story set in the '60s and '70s in Southwest Virginia. Interested in a time gone by? You'll love this book! Jiffy Day takes you back to the drugs, drama, and first love in a season of growing and changing. Zach, a white boy, has fallen in love with Piper, a black girl in a time and place before this was accepted. Their love story intertwines throughout this story of the growing season: growing love, growing marijuana, and growing relationships.

Zach invites Tim, his Vietnam buddy, to spend the summer with him and Zach introduces him to his life in Southwest Virginia. If you lived here during this time, you'll recognize places where events took place. If you haven't seen the area, you'll wish to come visit. From the mountains to the fishing holes to the sights and sounds of Zach's hometown, you'll feel a part of the story and won't be able to put the book down.

This book will pull you from one page to the next. From Zach and Tim's time in Vietnam to Tim spending the summer with Zach to their antics hiding marijuana from the police, Jiffy weaves real places in beautiful Southwest Virginia, the people who lived during this turbulent time in history, and events that may or may not have happened, making it hard to put this book down until you finish. Will Zach and Piper get together? Will Bobby find his way down the path his grandmother has pointed out toward Christianity? You'll have to pick up this book to find out.

This book is different from most of the books I read and review. There is adult content, language, and a sweet romance. Bobby's path to Christianity, Zach and Piper's romance, and Tim's time learning about Zach's way of life will have you turning the pages until late at night to see what will happen next. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Look for his next book to continue this great story.

http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Season-Jiffy-Day/dp/0692543465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453065832&sr=8-1&keywords=jiffy+day+the+growing+season

Sunday, December 6, 2015

After 2 by Joy Ohagwu


Another great inspirational book by Joy! Blossom struggles with leaving everything in God's hands. But what happens when everything is out of her control and she has to trust God?

Circumstances put Josh in the right place at the right time to save Blossom's life. Both move out of their comfort zones to accomplish what God has set for them. This story is full of trust, hope, love, and showing God your gratitude, especially during the rough times. Then, God will show you His faithfulness to perform His promises. Check out this great book!

This book is second in the series. Reading the first one will be helpful, but is not required to enjoy this one.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing by C S Lakin


Every author needs this book on their shelf. From nothing happening to too much backstory to body parts behaving badly, this book has it all and tells you how to fix it with examples you can follow. Don't have the money to hire an editor for your novel? Use this book, one of several in the Writer's Toolbox Series, to mark your own book up in red. The fun part of this book is being able to read each entry and then determining what is wrong with it before you read the answer. Not quite sure what is wrong? That is okay, because the fatal flaw is fixed right before your eyes.

Each of the editors tackles a part of each flaw in each section. It's like having a personal conversation about your writing flaws with C S Lakin, Christy Distler, Linda Clare, Rachel Starr Thomson, and Robin Patchen. At the end of each flaw section, is a checklist, so you can go through your own manuscript and eradicate those flaws before an editor ever sees them. And as part of the checklist, a passage for you to apply what you learned. The 12 fatal flaws are presented in a conversational tone to make learning fun and engaging. This book is a great tool to bring your writing to a higher level.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.