Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Señora Scorpion
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Olive U
An aging Baptist preacher in small-town Kansas. The
members of a band who play contemporary Christian music in Los Angeles. Beyond
their love for the Lord Jesus and His people, they have only their struggles
with failure and success in common—until tragedy brings them together on
Christmas Eve. When Paul Knight joins the members of Olive U, the group
instantly jumps from local cover band to sought-after opener at concerts across
the nation. The problem is Paul may not know the Lord as well as he claims.
After a tornado of historic proportions rips through Kansas, an elderly Baptist
preacher, Ron Best, faces challenges to his doctrinal beliefs and failure after
failure in his ministry. But the Holy Spirit keeps pushing him forward. Olive U
is the story of how God brings these men together for Christmas Eve on the
wind-swept Kansas Plains.
Olive U (Christian
Literature)
By David L. Johnston
Prayer And Promises
Publication
BOONOEGWFA
Price $2.99 Kindle
175 Pages
Rating 5-Stars
“A Witness For Christians And
Non-Believers Alike.”
On a spring day in Ruth
Junction, Kansas, an F-5 tornado devastates the nearby community, killing many along
its path of terror and destruction. A father is ripped from his tractor, the
child pulled from its mother’s arms, and then both whirled into the maelstrom.
The baby survives, but dies in the hospital. Pastor Ron Best of the Ruth
Junction Baptist Church was the one who found the baby while assisting in the
search of the rubble, and feels connected to the baby and community. His home
and church was spared, and he wonders why.
In California, Eli Garcia,
lead singer for the Olive U Christian Rock Band feels his group is struggling.
They play weddings and parties, but are not achieving much as musicians. Yet
they pray and worship God, and keep his commandments as best they can. At a
wedding one night, while taking a break, a heavyset man steps up to the mick to
sing a special for the wedding couple, and his heavenly voice pulls the Olive U
members back to listen. The singer has been in church all his life, and studied
theology and music in college. Eli hires him as lead singer, only to learn
later that he has doubts the man is saved.
This well written novel is a
strong witness for both Christians and non-believers, as Christians have doubts
at times about the true meaning of the Word, and non-believers who may not be
looking for Christ. It shows that we all struggle with our faith at times, but
if we turn our doubts over to the Lord, He will show us the way, and put a
burden on the non-believer’s heart. The reader experiences a real tornado, not
some imaginative fantasy event. Told in tragedy and sermon, the story gives
insight into the Word, and leads us all on a clear path to salvation. This is a
Christian book that we can read without shame. Highly recommended for everyone.
Tom Johnson
Author of The Soul Stealers
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Protection For Hire by Camy Tang
Tessa Lancaster's skills first earned her a position as an
enforcer in her Uncle Teruo's Japanese Mafia gang. Then they landed her in
prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now, three months after her release,
Tessa's abilities have gained her a job as bodyguard for wealthy socialite
Elizabeth St. Amant and her three-year-old son. But there's a problem or two
... or three .... There's Elizabeth's abusive husband whose relentless pursuit
goes deeper than mere vengeance. There's Uncle Teruo, who doesn't understand
why Tessa's new faith as a Christian prevents her from returning to the yakuza.
And then there's Elizabeth's lawyer, Charles Britton, who Tessa doesn't know is
the one who ensured that she did maximum time behind bars. Now Tessa and
Charles must work together in order to protect their client, while new truths
emerge and circumstances spiral to a deadly fever pitch. Factor in both Tessa's
and Charles's families and you've got some wild dynamics---and an
action-packed, romantic read as Tessa and Charles discover the reality of being
made new in Christ.
Protection For Hire (Mystery/Action/Suspense)
By Camy Tang
Zondervan Publishing
ISBN #978-0310320333
336 Pages
Price $11.65
Rating 5-Stars
“An Action Hero With A Christian Attitude.”
After finding the Lord, Tessa is trying to build a new
life after serving seven years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Once an
enforcer for her yakuza mob boss uncle, as a Christian she knows she must turn
away from that life. But finding a job, as an ex-con isn’t happening, and the
police still want to harass her for her past. While volunteering at Wings
Shelter for abused women, she meets Elizabeth St. Amant who is running from her
abusive husband. Elizabeth hires Tessa as her bodyguard, and things get rough
when it appears that her husband now wants her dead, and Tessa will defend
Elizabeth with all her martial arts skills. But why does he want her dead? The
answer may be bigger than Tessa can imagine, and reach into the very past she’s
trying so hard to forget.
This was an action-packed suspense, written by a
Christian author about a Christian character with a criminal past, and I loved
it. It shows that novels can be written without sex and profanity, and
Christian writers are as good with action as the next author. There is a touch
of romance, but not overly done, and Tessa worries that she is not capable of
forgiveness in her new life as a Christian, yet the author is not preachy. The story is well written, and the characters
come to life. Not only recommended for Christians, but highly recommended for
all action and suspense lovers.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Reservation Ravaged
Professionalism is one thing, confidence another. A local Indian
tribe, the Kanache, asks California P.I. Hermione Daggert to find the man who
camped out on their reservation over a year before. Filled with confidence, her
qualifying exam behind her, she sees only a find-the-man assignment. How hard
can it be? However, over the past year, that section of the reservation has gone
from withered and uninhabitable to aggressively hostile. When the land claims
the life of a beautiful San Tobino socialite in a fiery car crash, Hermione
gets a new client. Her job? Find out why.
Reservation Ravaged (Cozy
Mystery)
By JoAnna Senger
ISBN #978-1937769338
Price $11.66
183 Pages
Rating 5-Stars
“Entertaining And Easy
Reading.”
The mythical town of San Tobino, California, and
characters from “Betrothal, Betrayal, And Blood,“ return in this new mystery. Denning
& Daggert Investigations is hired by the Kanache Indian tribe to
investigate a possible curse on their land. The land of the reservation appears
ravaged, and nothing will grow there except thorny weeds, scorpions, and
rattlesnakes. A young boy falls into a ravine, losing a leg in the accident,
and the land seems cursed. Newly licensed private investigator, and partner in
the investigative company, Hermione Daggert is assigned the case. Following leads, she discovers that the chief
– Broken Drum – had ran a Gypsy family off the land the previous year, and
since then their land has been dying, and the accident of the young boy
happened. Hermione finds the family, and learns that they did, indeed, place a
curse on the reservation. The Kanache accepts her findings and sell the land.
The new owner sets up an Institute of Holistic Health school, but more
accidents happen. The police think there may be murder involved. Again,
Hermione is hired to investigate the new accidents on the land, this time by
the new owner.
Hermione was a waitress at Milady’s, the setting of
JoAnna’s previous novel, but now works with P.I. Emma Denning, and assisted by
police detectives Karl Kelly and Vito Kostowski. The story was easy reading, and
the characters interesting, but the mystery unraveled a bit too easy. To be
honest there was a lack of suspense, and I’m not sure if the case was actually
solved by anyone, or just by dumb luck. However, it was a good mystery, and the
writing is superb. Cozy mystery lovers will find it a lot of fun. Highly
recommended.
Tom Johnson
Detective Mystery Stories
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