Most Christians know the Psalm “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” But—how can we be happy when we are living in a broken, fallen world. Sometimes we have so much bad news (not necessarily all in the media) that we just want to stick our heads in the sand and hide.

In LITTLE MERCIES, Ms. Coulter answers that we can be glad in Jesus. Even if we’re sitting in the radiology department in the hospital and learn that there’s a suspicious tumor and you need a biopsy. Even if your son feels like arguing and makes you want to scream, you can choose to look for the little mercies that God has given you.

Ms. Coulter is an acclaimed essayist, and she has written sixteen thoroughly engaging essays with titles like “Fly Fishing”, “Singing Behind the Plow”, and “Making Biscuits.”
She uses humor and talent to remind us about the grace of God who is in the details. The one who appears when we ignore some of the clamor around us.

I read through most of LITTLE MERCIES when I was sitting at the hospital today, waiting for blood work and other tests. I finished the rest of the book after I got home. Normally, I drag my way through nonfiction, taking several days—sometimes weeks—to work my way through it. But I can say that I read and was engaged by LITTLE MERCIES enough to want to keep reading it.

If you are looking for a pick-me-up, a reminder that God is good, that He is in the details, and that He knows the plans He has for you, then pick up a copy of LITTLE MERCIES today. You will be glad you did. 192 pages. $14.99.

“Be still and know that I am God”

MORNINGS WITH JESUS 2012 is a daily devotional with 366 days of scripture and devotions for each day of this leap year.

Each devotional starts with scripture, followed by the devotional, and then the application. They are only a page or less in length, so don’t take much time to read. Just a few minutes of time to get your focus on God, and start the day off right.

This is not a detailed Bible study for the serious scholar, or for the fifteen minutes of Bible study that the maturing Christian should have. However, it is an excellent way to begin each day by focusing on God.

The devotions are written by some of our favorite fiction authors such as Judy Baer, Tricia Goyer, Camy Tang, and some that are known for their other devotions, like Keri Wyatt Kent.

I enjoyed reading through this devotional and using it with my family each day. I highly recommend this devotional as an excellent start to the day. 377 pages. Available in kindle, hardcover, and paperback.

When the questions are hard and the answers unpopular, will you stay devoted to Christ?
Are you ready to speak the truth even when your friends roll their eyes, take offense, or walk away?

The core beliefs of the Christian faith have become today’s four letter words. Annoyed by the Christ-follower’s “narrow-mindedness,” our politically correct culture enforces a highly selective tolerance: fist-bumping any philosophical fad and moral deviation as long as it’s not in harmony with Grandma’s leather Bible.

The four letter words addressed include (but are not limited to):

 True: Its unreasonable to believe the Bible has the monopoly on truth
 Know: Science contradicts the Bible
 Pain: If God is real, He’d stop the pain
 Evil: Good and evil don’t really exist—Christians are judgmental
 Damn: Hell isn’t real
 Wait: Sex isn’t a sin

FOUR LETTER WORDS is a great resource for small groups and Bible studies, college groups, personal study, anyone wanting to know Jesus, youth groups and retreats. Discussion guide is included at the end of every book.

FOUR LETTER WORDS is one of the first fully interactive, QR enabled books on the market. You can use your smartphone to scan the codes throughout this book for more resources.

We live in a world that hates Christians. Everything is tolerated except Christianity. And when we ask for our views to be respected, people scream intolerance. This is a much needed book. Uncompromised. $13.99. 207 pages.

Amalie Wiese is traveling from New York to Iowa to join the new Amana communities as a head cook. She’s also engaged to marry Friedrich, another man in the Amana community. It takes five weeks of brutal travel by wagon train to reach Iowa, and Amalie’s train is almost stopped by Rebel soldiers burning Yankee cities and towns and running the wagon train travelers off in to the forest where who knows what evil waits.

When Amalie arrives in Amana, she is anxious to see Friedrich. But he is no where to be found. Then she learns that he went off, against the wishes of the community, to fight in the War Between the States. Friedrich’s best friend, Matthias is still there, but he’s distant and cold.

When Matthias also leaves for the battlefront, war rages in Amalie’s heart. Who will claim the victory?

LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is set thirty years earlier than Ms. Dobson’s Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa which is also set in the Amana communities. I loved the book in Homestead, Iowa, and was looking forward to reading this one. A friend of mine actually received this book for review but she hated it, and passed it on to me to review instead.

LOVE FINDS YOU IN AMANA, IOWA is a slower paced story, dragging at times, and Amalie at times seems a cold and uncaring heroine, but that is only because she cares so deeply she’s afraid to let herself feel—she might violate the rules of the community. Friedrich is also a caring man. Deeply in love with Amalie, but also hating the war that is raving between the states, and what it is doing to the oppressed people. Matthias himself is torn by the war, but he is above all, obedient to his leaders and if they say no, the answer is no. I cared for all these people, and had to keep reading to find out what happens, but the story is very slow, enabling people to put it down and not forcing them to keep reading. I’m giving it 4.5 stars. $12.99. 315 pages.

I received this book in return for review from Christian Bookworm Reviews

In August of 1944 Paris is on the cusp of liberation. The soldiers of the Third Reich are fleeing the Allied advance, but enroute they steal countless pieces of irreplaceable art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable piece of all, the Mona Lisa.

Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler are on a mission to rescue the valuable French pieces of art – but can they save them not only from the ravages of war, but also from German hands?

CHASING MONA LISA is a book that I hoped I would love. I loved all of Ms. Goyer’s historical fiction set during World War II and before, but this book left me cold.

Loosely based on a true story, about how people tried to protect the famed Mona Lisa, this book had potential. But it is written in a style that left me skimming, with lots of art information and historical facts tossed in, as well as overly descriptive accounts of the landscape and other sights.

Unfortunately, CHASING MONA LISA read like it tried to be authentic with the many facts, but there was no real story line which left me hopelessly confused and bored. However, I see many reviews across the board equally balanced between 3 and 5 stars so don’t take my word for it—this is only my opinion. You might totally love this book. I don’t. $14.99. 322 pages.

Georgie Gail is a rural switchboard operator, and proud of her independence. She may live in a man’s world, but she does a man’s job…or at least she did, until the telephone company sends out Luke Palmer to look over her shoulder.

Luke Palmer is more than just an employee of the telephone company. He is a Texas Ranger, sent there to apprehend a notorious gang of train robbers. Repairing telephones and tangling with the tempestuous telephone operator is the last thing he wants to do.

But when his stake-out puts Georgie in peril, he realizes more than his job is one the line.

LOVE ON THE LINE is the latest high-powered romance by bestselling author, Deeanne Gist. I have read almost all her books and have loved almost all of them, including this one. I absolutely love the tension between the hero and heroine.

Georgie and Luke don’t exactly make good impressions on each other on their first meeting…nor the second or the third. Readers will root for this unlikely hero and heroine. Be prepared for some unexpected surprises. The author’s note at the end of the book is interesting as well. $14.99. 368 pages.

Title: REMEMBERING YOU
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Guideposts
November 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8249-4812-2
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary/general

Ava Ellington has just broken up with her boyfriend, Jay, and her job is quickly going south. Fearing she’ll be fired, Ava promises to come up with a news story that people will want to see, not turn the channel. But she doesn’t know what it is—at least until her mother falls and breaks her leg, and Ava is asked to accompany her elderly grandfather to Europe to visit all the World War II battle sites and concentration camps. She plans to video tape the men talking about their memories and the battle fields.

When Ava and her grandfather get to Paris, plans go awry. First, Ava is shocked that her grandfather’s best friend, Paul, is accompanied by his grandson, Dennis—Ava’s first love. Secondly, their tour guide cancelled and they were going to skip all the battlefields but go straight to the concentration camp. Ava’s and her grandfather decide to break off from the tour and go on their own, but then Ava learns that Dennis and his grandfather are breaking off too. They decide to travel together.

But traveling with two elderly men and an old flame isn’t easy—still, Ava hopes that she’ll be able to reconnect with her grandfather, keep her job—and possibly stir up the embers that once connected her and Dennis.

REMEMBERING YOU is another “World War II” book from Ms. Goyer. Not exactly like the ones I loved (From Dust to Ashes, etc) but instead this one is contemporary with a modern day hero and heroine, and the war heroes of the day telling their stories. As a result, the book is more telling, as the men looked at the fields and talked, but it is still quite interesting. I think I would have liked to have seen pictures.

If you like contemporary romances with a large helping of history, then Tricia Goyer’s REMEMBERING YOU will be perfect. It might also be perfect for the WWII veteran on your Christmas gift list. Fascinating notes from the author are included at the end of the book, as well as discussion questions. $14.99. 311 pages.

Title: BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE
Author: Susan May Warren
Publisher: Summerside Press
September 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60936-215-7
Genre: Inspirational/historical/romance

Dottie Morgan made a mistake. The blessing was that she had a son. But now her son, a high-school football champion, is dead, killed in WWII, and Dottie is in mourning. She wonders if she’ll ever survive the loss.

Violet Hart went to serve in factories, installing wheels on the vehicles that were used in the war. She came home with everyone seemingly blaming her for putting the boys in the line of danger, blaming her for the deaths of the boys that didn’t come home, because she did a man’s job. She fell in love with another soldier, Alex, but now the Christmas card she sent him was marked “return to sender.”

Dottie has few food supplies in her house when a storm blows in. Violet goes out to her farm to try and borrow a star from Dottie and rescues Dottie from certain death. But she’s involved in an accident on the way out of Dottie’s yard. And two more join them as the evening progresses, all stranded by the storm. Will this holiday be more than a parade of memories? Could it bring hope?

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE is set in the aftermaths of WWII, after the boys who were returning had returned. When those who loss someone were still mourning. And when all were trying to find the strength to go on.

Dottie was bitter, hurt and upset for things that happened to her. So much so that she couldn’t see what was right in front of her eyes. Violet wants to open the town of Frost, Minnesota up to living again—restarting the Christmas story hour, hanging the star, and reviving other old traditions—ones that Dottie holds captive in her bitterness. But each of these women have someone in the background—someone they never realized was there. This is a really good Christmas story and includes a recipe at the end of the book. $12.99. 314 pages.

What inspired you to write Remembering You?

In 2000 I was on vacation with friends when I heard an heart-breaking story. For those familiar with World War II history, concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen are well discussed. But there are also many lesser-known concentration camps. One of them is Mauthausen, named after the nearby village.

As early as 1940, prisoners started arriving at the small train station at Mauthausen. A full two years before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this once peaceful community was already experiencing the horrors of war. And by January 1941, the Mauthausen-Gusen camps became the only ‘Category I’ camps in Third Reich history, meaning “camp of no return.” The first American US GIs at the camp were the 41st Recon Squadron, 11th Armored Division, Patton’s 3rd Army. The men opened the gates and brought the prisoners what they never expected—freedom—followed by food, clothes and the care of medics.

When the camp’s historian, Martha, told me about these men, I knew I wanted to meet them and to hear their stories.You see, my grandfather was also a WWII veteran, but I’d never taken time to sit down with him and hear his stories. I was afraid the stories would upset him. I didn’t want him to have to think about those times any more. It was hard for me to connect my sweet grandfather with someone who fought in war so long ago. What I forgot was that he was young once, and his fight helped secure my freedom.

Meeting the men of the 11th Armored Division, I was given a second chance. I saw their tears and quivering chins as they told me the stories of battles in Bastogne and the Siegfried Line. I saw their drooped shoulders and heavy hearts as they explained what they lived through when they liberated Mauthausen and its subcamps. I’d lost my grandfather, but God gave me 100 more grandpas. What a gift. And because of my relationship with them I knew I wanted to share that in a book. Ava’s story in Remembering You came out of that. Her growing relationship with her grandfather is similar to my relationship with the men I interviewed.

Give us a brief overview of the plot-line and main characters in Remembering You. Did you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

35-year-old Ava Andrews’ dream job is interrupted by an unusual request–fulfill her 84-year-old grandfather’s last wish by joining him on a battle site tour of Europe . Ava is sure her boss will refuse her request. But, instead, he gives her a directive of his own–to videotape the tour and send it back as mini-segments for the show she produces.

As if juggling these two things isn’t hard enough, Ava is soon surprised again … twice. First, Ava and Grandpa Jack arrive in Europe , only to discover the tour is cancelled. Unwilling to let down her grandfather or her boss, Ava and Grandpa Jack head out on their own. Then, while they’re on their way, the pair soon meet up with Paul, her grandpa’s best friend, and his grandson Dennis. The same Dennis who just happens to be Ava’s first love.

Before she knows it, Ava and Dennis are swept down memory lane as they visit the sites that are discussed in the history books. And even though Ava’s videotaping old soldiers, she can see their youth, their hopes and fears, and their pride in their eyes. Soon Ava learns the trip isn’t just for them … it’s for her too–especially for her heart.

As for a special character, I especially loved Grandpa Jack. In so many ways he reminds me of my grandpa who passed away in 1999.

 In what ways do you think this book speaks to those with loved ones serving in the military or who have served?

So many times we don’t know how to relate to those who served. We care but we’re afraid to ask too many questions. We are worried we’re going to stir up bad memories. The truth is that those memories are there. I hope it will encourage family members to sit down and ask questions. I hope it helps family members relate to each other. I think it’ll speak to their hearts because they can relate.

You mention you’ve interviewed hundreds of World War II Veterans about their experiences in preparation for writing this novel. What were some of your most memorable interviews?

The very first interview I did was with Arthur and Charlie. They wanted to be interviewed together. As they talked they finished each other’s sentences. They only saw each other ones a year–at their reunion–but their friendship was still strong because of what they experienced together 60 years prior. I also enjoyed meeting Robert Winter. I was traveling the country doing interviews of men from the 11th Armored Division and one of my husband’s co-workers said, “I think that was my Grandpa’s division. He lives here in town.” Sure enough, it was his division. He lived only 5 miles from me. When I went to his house I said, “I had no idea someone from the 11th Armored lived so close. Robert had read about my interviews in his divisions newsletter. He just nodded, smiled and said, “I knew you’d figure it out sometime.” I thought that was great!

Did you discover anything about World War II when you were researching the book that surprised you?

I was surprised by how much I misunderstood German citizens. I met a man who grew up as a child outside of Gusen concentration camp. He talked about how his family tried to help the prisoners but a Nazi officer put a gun to his head and said if they didn’t stop he’d kill their whole family. They stopped feeding the people but they didn’t stop caring or praying. It made me realize that many German citizens were victims too. This is something I didn’t understand until I started interviewing many who lived through the horror.

At the beginning of the novel, Ava wrestles with her own desire to get a good story for her network versus her Grandpa Jack’s more private quest to reconcile some of his memories. Did you feel this tension yourself between wanting to research a good story while respecting the privacy of some of the veterans you interviewed?

Great question! I absolutely feel this way. In my mind I know what type of information I want to hear and sometimes the veterans want to talk about other things. What I’ve discovered is that I just need to be patient and listen. These veterans aren’t there for me to get gritty stuff or fact for my novels, rather I am there for them. God wants me just to listen and care. Sometimes the veterans share things I can use. Sometimes they won’t share the really hard stuff because there is too much pain. I listen and I use what I can in my novels, but mostly I just become a friend to them.

In your “Author’s Note” at the end of the novel, you include a wonderful narrative about a girl named Hana. Would you share it with us? How is this an example of some of the themes that thread through “Remembering You?”

After I wrote From Dust and Ashes I got an email from a woman named Hana who was looking for a US medic who saved her during the war. I only had the contact information for one medic, but I passed his name and phone number on, hoping LeRoy would be able to connect her with the right man. Well, it turned out LeRoy WAS the medic who saved her life! How amazing is that?! This reunion inspired one of the threads in Remembering You. The theme of “remembering” ties into all the character’s journey. There are fellow soldiers we remember, and past loves, but there are also those we impact and wonder, “What ever happened to her …”

What message do you hope your readers will take away from “Remembering You?

I hope first they’ve be entertained and be swept away in its pages. I also hope that readers will be encouraged to listen to those God places in their lives. We don’t truly understand until we listen, and we can’t love completely until we understand.

Talk about “thin places” and how that concept works itself out in The Baker’s Wife.

Thin places is a Celtic Christian idea that there are actual locations in the world where the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds is so thin that you can see through it. So far in my novels, thin places are metaphors rather than locations. (But in my next novel, House of Mercy, I explore a fictional place that might be described as “thin.”) In The Baker’s Wife, the thin place is Audrey’s capacity to help another person through suffering by sharing that suffering. In Christian circles we talk about these kinds of things almost glibly, as though we’re waxing poetic about helping each other out. For Audrey, however, she actually physically experiences the suffering of another person. It’s hyper-empathy, and it’s pretty frightening. But it’s a powerful gift that ultimately saves lives.

How do we see evidence of the supernatural in daily life?

In his wonderful book Rumors of Another World, Philip Yancey writes: “For the Christian, the greatest disorder of the planet is that it disguises the true nature of things. The natural world, so evident to our senses, draws a curtain across spiritual reality. Those who believe in another world keep pointing … and still skeptics cannot see past the surface.” And later: “It does not surprise me … that some disbelieve the reality of an unseen world, especially in an age that excels at mastering the visible world, an age dominated by images. For many, God cannot possibly exist unless he makes himself visible–and God does not perform on our terms.” I see evidence of the supernatural world in my daily life because I believe it exists. I believe this because the Bible is saturated with awareness of God’s active role in the world, and I believe the Bible is not merely a piece of ancient literature. I also believe the spiritual world exists because trying to understand my own humanity, my own human experience, without a spiritual component is impossible for me. It makes no sense. I believe God is still active in our world today, and in my life, and so I look for Him in it. I interpret events in light of the possibility that there might be a supernatural component to them. “Seek and you will find,” Jesus said. My sightings of the supernatural might not measure up as “evidence” in the legal forensic sense that we use today. And it might look different from someone else’s experience with the spiritual world, but for me, none of these things negate its reality.

How do the principles in this plot ring true for you? What lessons can we take away from The Baker’s Wife?

My amazing editor, Ami McConnell, stated the takeaway value of this novel best: “Empathy is a gift; we ignore it at our own peril. We follow it at a cost to ourselves.” I hope readers will find The Baker’s Wife to be a memorable exploration of what it means to love your enemies by sharing in their suffering and experiencing it as your own. In this story, the protagonists avert tragedy and save lives because they are motivated by compassion rather than by the need to be justified. This is a terrific challenge to me. Sometimes I am guilty of “compassion exhaustion” and fail to actively lift the burdens of friends and strangers–they don’t even have to be enemies for me to fail them! So I was writing about compassion that I have often received but have been stingy in giving. I hope my capacity for compassion will only expand.

How do your novels differ from others in this genre?

Many of the supernatural suspense novels today are authored by men, and I hope I bring a feminine intuition to my works that these might not have. I’m interested in layering the exciting elements of adventure, mystery, and paranormal with themes that soften the hard edges: compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and so on.

Your novels tend to have strong female protagonists. Why is that important to you?

I suppose I am working out through my protagonists some aspirations about the person I would like to become: flawed but strong, wounded but resilient, capable of maturing. I think male and female readers alike admire strong women who are transparent about their flaws. Somehow this makes them more godly, more inspirational.

What’s been some of your favorite feedback from readers?

This week I got a phone call from a long-distance acquaintance who was reading The Baker’s Wife. We are friends, but the distance prevents us from frequent contact. She said, “I could really use an Audrey to talk to right now.” (Audrey is The Baker’s Wife’s protagonist, an unusually compassionate woman.) My friend had just lost a beloved pet rabbit to a brain tumor and didn’t know I’d also lost a pet rabbit years ago, as well as other dear animals. I was in a unique position to comfort her and couldn’t help but feel like this was a divine appointment. Since writing The Baker’s Wife I’ve become more aware of opportunities to comfort people, opportunities I might have missed before. It was meaningful to have a reader want the kind of connection a character like Audrey has to offer.

 What advice can you give to aspiring authors?

Succeeding as a novelist isn’t only about writing a great story. These days you must also have business savvy–an understanding of the industry, of the marketplace, of your responsibility to the successful marketing of the book. The publisher’s role is changing as traditional methods of distribution and retail models shift. Audiences are fragmenting and target readers are harder to find. Authors carry a heavier and heavier workload in this Facebook age where they are expected to be accessible and transparent. So while you master the craft of storytelling, master the business too.