If you like fantasy (dystopian or medieval or both), action and adventure, clean romance, and deep themes, The Nightingale Trilogy by J. J. Fischer belongs on your bookshelf. After Calor and Lumen, the trilogy finishes with Memoria, a novel with a beautiful cover and a powerful story. From the back cover: In the deeply divided … Continue reading Book Review: Memoria by J. J. Fischer (The Nightingale Trilogy #3)
Book Review: Mortis by Hannah Cobb
I haven't read much this month, so here's a review from the archives. Makes me want to read this book again! Mortis offers only two choices to its students: life or death. About to graduate this school of assassins, Jane wants life. But not the life of Mortis. When the time comes for her to … Continue reading Book Review: Mortis by Hannah Cobb
Stories That Linger: A Brand Promise
Dear fellow creative, What do The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight trilogy, and Rogue One have in common? Maybe it will help if I add another favorite movie, Gladiator. And if I had to reach into the superhero Marvel-verse, Thor. If we include TV shows, BBC’s Sherlock. If musicals can be on the … Continue reading Stories That Linger: A Brand Promise
Book Review: The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright
And I thought The Souls of Lost Lake was good. Jaime Jo Wright’s The House on Foster Hill—her debut novel, actually—was just as good, if not a little better. I loved it for some of the same reasons, and for some reasons unique to this story. Beethoven piano music in the middle of the night. … Continue reading Book Review: The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright
Book Review: The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright
As much as I love reading fiction to escape, I want to escape into fiction that feels real. Few fiction authors offer a more realistic escape than award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright. The first book of hers I read, I actually listened to: The Souls of Lost Lake, early last year. A close friend had … Continue reading Book Review: The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright
Book Review: Regency and Regicide by J. J. Fischer
Every writer dreams of visiting her story. But what do you do when the hero is more like a villain, the villain is more like a hero, and your side characters come to life with stories of their own? Oh, and you don’t know the world, and the person you have a crush on is … Continue reading Book Review: Regency and Regicide by J. J. Fischer
Book Review: The Gift of Pain by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Originally published in 1993 and republished in 1997, The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey was on my to-read list for a few years before something last year (I think it was a blog post I read) highlighted it on my … Continue reading Book Review: The Gift of Pain by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Book Review: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
The question I asked when I first finished Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was, Where has this book been all my life? I can’t believe it took me until my late twenties to read this famous literary classic by Lew Wallace. My earliest exposure to the story was in elementary school when my homeschooling … Continue reading Book Review: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
A Christian Writer’s Mission Statement
Dear fellow creative, Not long after last year's ACFW VA Royal Writers Conference, I read Ezekiel 13 in my morning devotions. This passage held the verse that has since formed my mission statement as a Christian writer. Context: Ezekiel was a prophet to God's people, the Israelites (Jews), during their exile in the land of … Continue reading A Christian Writer’s Mission Statement
Book Review: The Rested Soul by Tessa Afshar
I first learned of Tessa Afshar and her award-winning biblical fiction novels when I heard her speak at a writer’s meeting a few years ago. I appreciated her workshop, and her books sounded intriguing (plus one of my writer friends is a big fan), so I started following Tessa on social media and receiving her … Continue reading Book Review: The Rested Soul by Tessa Afshar
Melissa J. Troutman 