Lila The Sign of the Elven Queen ~ Review, First Chapter Reveal and Giveaway

Lila: the Sign of the Elven Queen 

By Mark J. Grant

Lila wants a dog, but knows she can't have one where she lives.  What better solution could Lila come up with then to get an invisible dog!  After getting her parents permission Lila gets Fluffy.  In addition to being invisible Fluffy can also speak English.

But the greatest surprise comes when Fluffy manages to introduce Lila to the invisible people living in New York City.  Lila's life will never be the same again (nor will her parents!)

Fluffy introduces Lila to the invisible people because he has discovered something about Lila that is of great importance.  Lila carries the sign of the Elven queen.  But this discovery puts the current Queen and her daughter in a quandary, a quandary that must be solved by the Council of Elders in New York and Iceland!

Lila: the Sign of the Elven Queen is a delightful book that is sure to be appreciated by middle grade/chapter book readers who love princess stories.  And even better is Fluffy an invisible talking dog who is something more.  This is a cute story that you'll enjoy sharing with your little princess. 

I was provided a copy of Lila: the Sign of the Elven Queen in conjunction with this Pump-Up Your Book blog tour in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author:

Mark J. Grant, a graduate of Occidental College, has been on Wall Street for thirty-seven years in various senior management positions. He has run capital markets for four investment banks and been on the boards of directors of four investment banks. Grant also writes "Out of the Box," a commentary on the financial markets that is distributed daily to approximately 5,000 large money management institutions in forty-eight countries. He is the author of Out of the Box and onto Wall Street: Unorthodox Insights on Investments and the Economy(Wiley, 2011). LILA: THE SIGN OF THE ELVEN QUEEN is his first novel.

Visit his website at www.princesslila.com.

Connect and Socialize with Mark!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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About the Book:

Lila is a polite six-year-old girl who lives with her mama and papa in New York City. She has two cats, and would now like to have a dog–except dogs are not allowed in her apartment building. After thinking about it for awhile, Lila asks her parents if she can have an invisible dog. Her parents agree, and together they decide to name the dog Fluffy. On their way to the pet store to buy invisible supplies for the invisible dog, a black and white Aussie appears from around the corner and introduces himself to Lila, saying, “My name is Fluffy.”

In a series of fun adventures that follow, Fluffy introduces Lila and her family to the invisible people of Iceland, who live inside the boulders of Central Park and the cornerstones of New York City buildings. One day, the invisible people discover that the birthmark on Lila’s left forearm is the sign of their Elven Queen, and just as she turns seven, Lila is made a princess. Can anything be better than that?

Purchase your copy at AMAZON

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Title: Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen
Genre: Children's Fiction
Author: Mark J. Grant
Publisher: Mascot Books
Pages: 230
Language: English
ISBN-10: 162086357X
ISBN-13: 978-1620863572

Purchase at AMAZON

First Chapter:

Lila had learned to be polite at a very early age. She was six years old now and she recalled that her mother had given her instructions about being polite more than once, but she could not remember exactly when her instructions started. She seemed to think that it began at about three, but she was not quite certain. Three was a half a life ago and it was similar to being sixty and trying to remember something that took place when you were thirty, but she wasn’t exactly sure about that either, being nowhere close to sixty.

To be more precise Lila had only learned about sixty recently, and it seemed such a large number that there must not be many numbers past sixty and if there were they couldn’t be that important. She knew that adults frequently mentioned numbers bigger than sixty but she could not imagine what they were for or why anyone would care. Sixty was quite large enough, thank you, and it hurt her head to try to imagine any numbers that might exceed that one.

Five dolls was something she could understand, and perhaps ten or fifteen might be useful as you wanted to have different conversations with your special friends, but it would take many days to converse with sixty dolls so that she dismissed that amount of dolls out of hand. Lila had met a girl once at school that claimed to have zillions of dolls bought by her father who worked in some street with really high walls or something, but she saw no value in any of it and anyway, she didn’t believe her because so many dolls would not allow for any space for people or cats or dogs and everyone knew that parents and children and pets must have someplace to eat and sleep. Dolls were important, of course, but people and animals more so, of that much she was certain.

Lila had asked her mother about this once. “Mama, why can dolls sleep anywhere, but people all sleep in beds and our animals all seem to have places that they have chosen for sleeping?” Her mother had explained that people prefer comfy places, and floors and the like are not comfy, while the cats and dogs chose sleeping places for reasons that people could not understand. She got the first part of this as she had personally tried to sleep on the floor just to see what it was like, and it was not nearly as comfy as her bed. Floors were useful for walking or perhaps crawling when you were much younger but she was in agreement with her mother that floors were not so much for sleeping.

Now some of her dolls did sleep with her on her bed. This was one of the decisions she made at night right before she went to sleep: which dolls would accompany her to bed. Every night was different, she was one day older after all, and so different choices had to be made, but this just seemed to be the way of growing older. Of course, it also partially depended upon which dolls behaved during the day and which ones had provided some sort of amusing conversation. Dolls, just like her mother and father, could be quite cranky at times, and so on those days they were not allowed to sleep with her. Lila had decided that she had to put up with cranky parents because, what could be done, but that her dolls were a different matter. It seemed quite unfair really. Her parents tried to control her all of the time but she had no control over them, and the difference between being a child and being a parent seemed quite distinct, but if that was the way it was, at least she could control her dolls.

Now Lila was neither a big six nor a little six but she was certainly a very big-eyed six. She had the largest eyes of any six-year-old in the city in which she lived, which was New York City. There are many people that lived there of course, and you could wander from Manhattan to Brooklyn and look around, but she could claim the biggest eyes. It was uncertain how this took place as both her father and mother had normal sized eyes, but not Miss Lila. It may have been that God decided she should see better than most, or that she should be set aside as a very particular little girl. We will never really know the reason of course, but the largest eyes on this side of the Hudson River are what she had and of that there is no question.

They were not the bug-kind of eyes nor were they the protruding type, but just eyes like saucers that she used for the tea parties that she had with her dolls. Her mother favored fancy blue tea cups and saucers and Lila liked the white ones with all of the interesting scrolls that she thought might mean something, kind of like the writing that her mother kept trying to get her to understand. It was just that the books with writing but without pictures seemed so dull and commonplace, that it was hard to pay attention to them, especially when the dolls wanted to have a conversation.

Each doll had a distinct personality. This was because each one reminded her of some person that either she knew or wanted to know, such as some of the people in TV shows or some of the singers that seemed quite beautiful to her. She had no idea how one became a singer actually or even how one got to be on a TV show, but they both seemed so glamorous that she supposed some of her dolls must be relatives of these people. This did bring about a sort of problem for Lila. She had asked her mother many times about this, but just who was a relative and who was not was quite unclear. There was Mama’s mother and Papa’s mother and she understood that they were her parent’s mothers like Mama was her mother.

How one became a mother though was a great uncertainty, though Mama had said she would explain when she was a few years older. Lila was actually quite glad of this because even though she was a very inquisitive child, she had this feeling in her tummy that the explanation would be long and complicated and make her head hurt just like when she considered numbers larger than sixty. Lila knew it had something to do with men and women and the difference between them, but as far as she was concerned, Mama was her parent and Papa was her parent and that was quite enough to know, thank you.

Now Lila’s family had two cats. One was a normal enough looking furball, but the other was very strange and particular. His face was odd, his smile was lopsided, and when he smiled, which was rarely, his fur stuck out in a very peculiar manner. This cat did not look at all like the cats in the cat books that Mama read to her, so it was a question of either having a strange cat, or that Mama was showing her strange books. It took Lila almost three days to decide this issue and it was somewhat painful because Mama had told her that the cat book cats were perfectly normal. She finally concluded that Mama would not mislead her so that it must be her cat who was not quite like other cats. Lila did not love this cat any less however, as one might imagine, but accepted him for who he was and as a member of the family. This decision was also useful at school.

Some of the girls at her school, never mind the boys because they didn’t really count, were also a little strange and they reminded her of her cat. She at first thought to stay away from the strange girls, but then after the cat decision, she realized that they might be her friends after all, even though they were not quite like her. She was a well-liked child, and Lila was often invited for sleepovers and here was where she learned why some of her new acquaintances were similar to her cat. It was because the parents were similar to the cat.

Lila then concluded that odd parents make odd children but that being strange was not so bad in itself—they were just different, which could be either good or bad. The trouble of course, was figuring out which was which, but as long as they were nice and fed her and she was not scared, then she felt that they were fine. This was a big revelation for Lila—strange could be fine and the people that were strange could be fine, just in a different way from Mama and Papa and her. She was relieved, finally, that she got this settled in her mind because she was afraid it was going to be another some number over sixty kind of problem.

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Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen Tour Page

Giveaway

One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one Kindle Fire HD.

            This giveaway begins September 2 and ends November 29.

            Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, December 2, 2013.

            Winner has 48 hours to reply.

            Only U.S. citizens can win the Kindle Fire.

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Ark's Cargo ~ Virtual Tour and Giveaway

ABOUT THE ARK’S CARGO

This memoir describes the challenges a young man faces in achieving his dream of becoming a veterinarian. Even a period of homelessness and limited resources do not interfere with his commitment to achieve success. And this is only the beginning! Soon he is faced with the challenges of working in the jungles of Panama, facing the ravages of a roaming black jaguar and the defenses of a native village against the entrance of man or beast. Then, how about Haiti, where the Tonton Macoute militias believe in instant justice, rarely valuing life, or Columbia, where the drug lords have absolute rule. As if that isn’t enough, consider working in the African continent, along the tales surrounding the first shipment of Charolais cattle to the United States or the many facets of working with the wild mustangs in Colorado. Each exciting adventure is told with suspense, drama, and humor! Enjoy!

Purchase your copy:

ABOUT WILLIAM W. BUISCH, DVM

Inspired by biblical passages and teachings, the author cherished his work as an international veterinarian. His passion for improving the health and welfare of domesticated and wild animals is most noteworthy. Working within diverse cultures, he observed vast health improvements in animals and, as a result, in people living nearby.

Singularity ~ Review

Singularity
A Jevin Banks Novel
By Steven James

Having read Placebo I was looking forward to reading Singularity.  The invitation to join this blog tour came with a warning Not for the timid or faint of heart reader, and believe me this was no idle warning.  The book opens with a man being paralyzed so that a neuro-tech experiment can go to the next level - the merging of man and machine (creepy - really, really creepy)..

Totally creep-out and I started reading this on October 31 as my nice quiet evening at home read.  Not the best thing to read before bed, unless you plan to stay up the whole night because you can't put it down.

While this isn't my normal reading choice, Singularity does rank up there with works by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker they can definitely have a bit of a creep-out quality to their works as well.  Now don't take this wrong because yes the book had a creep-out factor, but it was suspenseful and definitely held my attention until the end.  

In Placebo we are introduced to Akinsanya and his is back as evil and diabolical as ever and Jevin has to outsmart him if he is going to save the lives of those closest to him.  And when evidence is discovered that suggests a link between RixoTray and the DOD, Jev's investigation into the murder of his friend Emilio becomes a lot more complicated.

I can say with all honesty that I am looking forward to what happens next in the illusion that is Jevin Banks's world.  And I'd like to know if he can discover who is the power behind RixoTray and Akinsanya.  My dad would have loved these books as he was the one who introduced me to Frank Peretti.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Available November 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Jevin Banks is searching for a killer--and answers to terrifying questions he never even thought to ask.

         
When his friend is murdered, illusionist Jevin Banks is determined to find out what really happened. Drawn deep into a web of conspiracy and top-secret research on human consciousness, Jevin won't stop digging until the truth is revealed. Soon he uncovers a dark secret that could change the very fabric--and future--of human life on the planet.

Based on frightening scientific realities and bristling with mystery, suspense, and intrigue,Singularity is the riveting sequel to Placebo.

Winter of Wishes ~ Review and Excerpt

Winter of Wishes

Seasons of the Heart #3

By Charlotte Hubbard

Rhoda Lantz is feeling useless, what with her mother's upcoming marriage and her sister Rachel's recent marriage.  But how she can feel needed has eluded her until she finds an ad for a caregiver.

Working for Andy Leitner is more than she imagined, she feels useful and needed. Not only do Andy's children and mother connect with Rhoda instantly, but they manage to find a place in her heart as well.  But they aren't the only ones to have captured Rhoda's heart.  For some reason that neither can fully understand Rhoda and Andy are drawn to one another.  

But Englisch and Amish matches are not possible, especially since Rhoda has joined the church.  But when her heart tells her one thing and her head another - what's a girl to do?  But when an unfortunate series of events results in Andy bringing Rhoda home one night, the community of Willow Ridge is soon talking about Rhoda and her Englischer.

Will she face the bann because her heart has chosen outside the Ordgung?  Or will she instead declare herself a maidel and confess her sins before the church?  But to her surprise Andy comes up with a solution to their problem - a solution that will change their lives forever.  

Winter of Wishes is a delightful read for those upcoming winter evenings.  Perfect for curling up on the couch with a nice cup of tea and maybe one of the treats which the Sweet Seasons Bakery Cafe is known for and can be found in the back of the book.

I was provided a copy of this book in conjunction with this Pump-Up Your Book blog tour in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author:

I’ve called Missouri home for most of my life, and most folks don’t realize that several Old Older Amish and Mennonite communities make their home here, as well. The rolling pastureland, woods, and small towns along county highways make a wonderful setting for Plain populations—and for stories about them, too! While Jamesport, Missouri is the largest Old Order Amish settlement west of the Mississippi River, other communities have also found the affordable farm land ideal for raising crops, livestock, and running the small family-owned businesses that support their families.

Like my heroine, Miriam Lantz, of my Seasons of the Heart series, I love to feed people—to share my hearth and home. I bake bread and goodies and I love to try new recipes. I put up jars and jars of green beans, tomatoes, beets and other veggies every summer. All my adult life, I’ve been a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and we hosted a potluck group in our home for more than twenty years.

Like Abby Lambright, heroine of my Home at Cedar Creek series, I consider it a personal mission to be a listener and a peacemaker—to heal broken hearts and wounded souls. Faith and family, farming and frugality matter to me: like Abby, I sew and enjoy fabric arts—I made my wedding dress and the one Mom wore, too, when I married into an Iowa farm family more than thirty-five years ago! When I’m not writing, I crochet and sew, and I love to travel.

I recently moved to Minnesota when my husband got a wonderful new job, so now he and I and our border collie, Ramona, are exploring our new state and making new friends.

Her latest book is Winter of Wishes.

Visit her website at www.CharlotteHubbard.com.  

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About the Book:

Snow is falling, cookies are baking, and Christmas is just around the corner in Willow Ridge, Missouri, where a new season marks fresh beginnings for the residents of this tranquil Amish town . . .

As another year draws to a close in Willow Ridge, life seems to be changing for everyone but Rhoda Lantz. Her widowed mother is about to remarry, her twin sister is a busy newlywed, and soon Rhoda will be alone in her cozy apartment above the blacksmith’s shop. An ad posted by an Englischer looking for someone to help with his mother and children may offer just the companionship she’s looking for, but if she falls for the caring single father, she may risk being shunned by her community. Certain she can only wish for things she cannot have, Rhoda must remember that all things are possible with God, and nothing is stronger than the power of love.

Purchase your copy at AMAZON or BARNES & NOBLE

  

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 Title: Winter of Wishes
Genre: Amish/Inspirational Fiction
Author: Charlotte Hubbard
Publisher: Zebra (September 3, 2013)
Pages: 368
Language: EnglishISBN-10: 1420121715

ISBN-13: 978-1420121711

First Chapter Excerpt

Seasons of the Heart -Book 3

Winter of Wishes By Charlotte Hubbard

Chapter 1

As Rhoda Lantz stood gazing out the window of the Sweet Seasons Bakery Café, her mood matched the ominous gray clouds that shrouded the dark, pre-dawn sky. Here it was the day after Thanksgiving and she felt anything but thankful. Oh, she’d eaten Mamma’s wonderful dinner yesterday and smiled at all the right times during the gathering of family and friends around their extended kitchen table, but she’d been going through the motions. Feeling distanced . . . not liking it, but not knowing what to do about it, either.

 “You all right, honey-bug? Ya seem a million miles away.”

 Rhoda jumped. Mamma had slipped up behind her while she’d been lost in her thoughts. “Jah, jah. Fine and dandy,” she fibbed. “Just thinkin’ how it looks like we’re in for a winter storm, which most likely means we won’t have as many folks come to eat today and tomorrow. It’s just . . . well, things got really slow last year at this time.”

 Her mother’s concerned gaze told Rhoda her little white lie hadn’t sounded very convincing. Mamma glanced toward the kitchen, where her partner, Naomi Brenneman, and Naomi’s daughter, Hannah, were frying sausage and bacon for the day’s breakfast buffet. “Tell ya what,” she said gently. “Lydia Zook left a phone message about a couple of fresh turkeys still bein’ in their meat case. Why not go to the market and fetch those, along with a case of eggs—and I’m thinkin’ it’s a perfect day for that wonderful-gut cream soup we make with the potatoes and carrots and cheese in the sauce. I’ll call in the order, and by the time ya get over there they’ll have everything all gathered up.”

 “Jah, Mamma, I can do that,” Rhoda murmured. It meant walking down the long lane with the wind whipping at her coat, and then hitching up a carriage, but it was something useful to do.

 Useful. Why is it such a struggle lately to feel useful? I wish I knew what to do with my life.

 Rhoda slipped her coat from the peg at the door, tied on her heavy black bonnet, and stepped outside with a gasp. The temperature had dropped several degrees since she’d come to the café an hour ago. The chill bit through her woolen stockings as she walked briskly along the gravel lane with her head lowered against the wind.

 “Hey there, Rhoda! Gut mornin’ to ya!” a voice sang out as she passed the smithy behind the Sweet Seasons.

Rhoda waved to Ben Hooley but didn’t stop to chat. Why did the farrier’s cheerfulness irritate her lately? She had gotten over her schoolgirl crush on him and was happy for Ben and Mamma both, but as their New Year’s Day wedding approached they seemed more public about their affections—their joy—and well, that irritated her, too! Across the road from the Sweet Seasons a new home was going up in record time, as Ben’s gift to her mother . . . yet another reminder of how Rhoda’s life would change when Mamma moved out of the apartment above the blacksmith shop, and she would be living there alone.

As she reached the white house she’d grown up in, Rhoda sighed. No lights glowed in the kitchen window and no one ate breakfast at the table: this holiday weekend, her twin sister Rachel and her new groom, Micah Brenneman, were on an extended trip around central Missouri to collect wedding presents as they visited aunts, uncles, and cousins of their two families. Rhoda missed working alongside Rachel at the café more than she could bear to admit, yet here again, she was happy for her sister. The newlyweds radiated a love and sense of satisfaction she could only dream of.

Rhoda hitched up the enclosed carriage and clapped the reins across Sadie’s broad back. If Thanksgiving had been so difficult yesterday, with so many signposts of the radical changes in all their lives, what would the upcoming Christmas season be like? Ordinarily she loved baking cookies, setting out the Nativity scene, and arranging evergreen branches and candles on the mantle and at the windowsills. Yet as thick, feathery flakes of snow blew across the yard, her heart thudded dully. It wasn’t her way to feel so blue, or to feel life was passing her by. But at twenty-one, she heard her clock ticking ever so loudly.

God, have Ya stopped listenin’ to my prayers for a husband and a family? Are Ya tellin’ me I’m fated to remain a maidel?

Rhoda winced at the thought. She gave the mare its head once they were on the county blacktop, and as they rolled across the single-lane bridge that spanned this narrow spot in the Missouri River, she glanced over toward the new gristmill. The huge wooden wheel was in place now, churning slowly as the current of the water propelled it. The first light of dawn revealed two male figures on the roof. Luke and Ira Hooley, Ben’s younger brothers, scrambled like monkeys as they checked their new machinery. The Mill at Willow Ridge would soon be open to tourists. In addition to regular wheat flour and cornmeal, the Hooley brothers would offer specialty grains that would sell to whole foods stores in Warrensburg and other nearby cities. Mamma was already gathering recipes to bake artisan breads at the Sweet Seasons, as an additional lure for healthy-conscious tourists.

But Rhoda’s one brief date with Ira had proven he was more interested in running the roads with Annie Mae Knepp than in settling down or joining the church any time soon. Ira and Luke were nearly thirty, seemingly happy to live in a state of eternal rumspringa. Rhoda considered herself as fun-loving as any young woman, but she’d long ago committed herself to the Amish faith. Was it too much to ask the same sort of maturity of the men she dated?

She pulled up alongside Zook’s Market. This grocery and dry goods store wouldn’t open for a couple of hours yet, but already Henry and Lydia Zook were preparing for their day. Rhoda put a determined smile on her face as the bell above the door jangled. “Happy day after Thanksgivin’ to ya!” she called out. “Mamm says you’ve got a couple turkeys for us today.”

“Jah, Rhoda, we’re packin’ your boxes right this minute, too!” Lydia called out from behind the back counter. “Levi! Cyrus! You can be carryin’ those big bags of potatoes and carrots out to Rhoda’s rig, please and thank ya.”

From an aisle of the store, still shadowy in the low glow of the gas ceiling lights, two of the younger Zook boys stepped away from the shelves they had been restocking.  “Hey there, Rhoda,” ten-year-old Levi mumbled.

“Tell your mamm we could use more of those fine blackberry pies,” his younger brother Cyrus remarked as he hefted a fifty-pound bag of potatoes over his shoulder. “That’s my favorite, and they always sell out. Mamm won’t let us buy a pie unless they’re a day old—and most of ‘em don’t stay on the shelf that long.”

Rhoda smiled wryly. Cyrus Zook wasn’t the only fellow around Willow Ridge with a keen interest in her mother’s pies. “I’ll pass that along. Denki to you boys for loadin’ the carriage.”

“Levi’s fetchin’ your turkeys from the fridge,” theirdat Henry said from behind his meat counter. “Won’t be but a minute. Say—it sounds like ya had half of Willow Ridge over to your place for dinner yesterday.”

Again Rhoda smiled to herself: word got around fast in a small town. “Jah, what with Ben and his two brothers and two aunts—and the fact that those aunts invited Tom Hostetler and Hiram and his whole tribe to join us—we had quite a houseful.”

“Awful nice of ya to look after Preacher Tom and the bishop’s bunch,” Lydia said with an approving nod. “Fellows without wives don’t always get to celebrate with a real Thanksgiving dinner when their married kids live at a distance.”

“Well, there was no telling Jerusalem and Nazareth Hooley they couldn’t invite Tom and the Knepps,” Rhoda replied with a chuckle. “So there ya have it. They brought half the meal, though, so that wasn’t so bad.”

“Tell your mamm we said hullo.” Henry turned back toward the big grinder on the back table, where he was making fresh hamburger.

“Jah, I’ll do that. And denki for havin’ things all set to go.”

Jonah Zook stood behind his dat’s counter trimming roasts. Rhoda met his eye and nodded, but didn’t try to make small talk. Jonah was a couple years younger than she, and had driven her home from a few Sunday night singings, but he had about as much sparkle as a crushed cardboard box. And goodness, but she could use somesparkle about now . . .

Rhoda glanced out the store’s front window. Levi and Cyrus were taking their sweet time about loading her groceries, so she wandered over to the bulletin board where folks posted notices of upcoming auctions and other announcements. No sense in standing out in that wind while the boys joshed around.

The old corkboard was pitted from years of use, and except for the sale bills for upcoming household auctions in New Haven and Morning Star, the yellowed notices for herbal remedies, fresh eggs, and local fellows’ businesses had hung there for months. Rhoda sighed—and then caught sight of a note half-hidden by an auction flyer.

Need a compassionate, patient caretaker for my elderly mother, plus after-school supervision for two kids. New Haven, just a block off the county highway. Call Andy Leitner.

          Rhoda snatched the little notice from the board, her heart thumping. She knew nothing about this fellow except his phone number and that he had an ailing mother and two young children—and that he was surely English if he was advertising for help with family members. Yet something about his decisive block printing told her Mr. Leitner was a man who didn’t waffle over decisions or accept a half-hearted effort from anyone who would work for him. He apparently had no wife—

          Maybe she works away from home. Happens a lot amongst English families.

          —and if he had posted this advertisement in Zook’s Market, he surely realized a Plain woman would be most likely to respond. It was common for Amish and Mennonite gals to hire on for housework and caretaking in English homes, so if she gave him a call she could start working there, why—as soon as tomorrow!

          How many of these notices has he posted? Plenty of Plain bulk stores to advertise in around Morning Star, plus the big discount stores out past New Haven. And if he had run ads in the local papers, maybe he’d already had dozens of gals apply for this job. But what could it hurt to find out?

          Pulse pounding, Rhoda stepped outside. “You fellas got all my stuff loaded, jah?” she demanded. Levi and Cyrus were playing a rousing game of catch with a huge hard-packed snowball, paying no heed to the snow that was falling on their green shirt sleeves.

          Levi, the ornerier of the two, poked his head around the back of the buggy. “Got a train to catch, do ya? Busy day chasin’ after that Ira Hooley fella?” he teased. “Jonah, he says ya been tryin’ to catch yourself some of that Lancaster County money—”

          “And what if I have?” Rhoda shot back. “Your mammwon’t like it when I tell her you two have been lolligaggin’ out here instead of stockin’ your shelves, ain’t so?”

          Levi waited until she was stepping into the carriage before firing the snowball at her backside. But what would she accomplish by stepping out to confront him? Rhoda glanced at the two huge turkeys, the mesh sacks of potatoes, carrots, and onions, and the sturdy boxes loaded with other staples Mamma had ordered, and decided she was ready to go. “Back, Sadie,” she said in a low voice.

The mare whickered and obeyed immediately. Rhoda chuckled at the two boys’ outcry as she playfully backed the buggy toward them. Then she urged Sadie into a trot. All sorts of questions buzzed in her mind as she headed for the Sweet Seasons. What would Mamma say if she called Andy Leitner? What if a mild winter meant the breakfast and lunch shifts would remain busy, especially with Rachel off collecting wedding presents for a few more weekends? Hannah Brenneman had only been helping them since her sixteenth birthday last week—

          Jah, but she got her wish, to work in the café. And Rachel got her wish when she married Micah. And Mamma got more than she dared to wish for when Ben Hooley asked to marry her! So it’s about time for me to have a wish come true!

          Was that prideful, self-centered thinking? As Rhoda pulled up at the café, she didn’t much worry about the complications of religion or the Old Ways. She stepped into the dining room, spotted her cousins, Nate and Bram Kanagy, and caught them before they went back to the buffet for another round of biscuits and gravy. “Could I get you boys to carry in a couple of turkeys and some big bags of produce?” she asked sweetly. Then she nodded toward the kitchen, where Hannah was drizzling white icing on a fresh pan of Mamma’s sticky buns. “Ya might talk our new cook out of a mighty gut cinnamon roll, if ya smile at her real nice.”

          Nate rolled his eyes, but Bram’s handsome face lit up. “Jah, I noticed how the scenery in the kitchen had improved, cuz—not that it isn’t a treat to watch you and Rachel workin’,” he added quickly.

          “Jah, sure, ya say that after you’ve already stepped in it.” Rhoda widened her eyes at him playfully. “Here’s your chance to earn your breakfast—not to mention make a few points with Hannah.”

          Rhoda went back outside to grab one of the lighter boxes. Then, once Nate had followed her in with bags of onions and carrots, and he was chatting with Hannah and Mamma, she slipped out to the phone shanty before she lost her nerve. Common sense told her she should think out some answers to whatever questions Andy Leitner might ask, yet excitement overruled her usual practicality. Chances were good that she’d have to leave him a voice mail, anyway, so as her fingers danced over the phone number, her thoughts raced. Never in her life had she considered working in another family’s home, yet this seemed like the opportunity she’d been hoping for—praying for—of late. Surely Mamma would understand if—

          “Hello?” a male voice came over the phone. He sounded a little groggy.

          Rhoda gripped the receiver. It hadn’t occurred to her that while she’d already worked a couple of hours at the café, most of the world wasn’t out of bed yet. “I—sorry I called so early, but—”

          “Not a problem. Glad for the wake-up call, because it seems I fell back asleep,” he replied with a soft groan. “How can I help you?”

          Rhoda’s imagination ran wild. If this was Andy Leitner, he had a deep, mellow voice. Even though she’d awakened him and he was running late, he spoke pleasantly. “I, um, found the notice from an Andy Leitner on the board in Zook’s Market just now, and—” She closed her eyes, wondering where the words had disappeared to. She had to sound businesslike, or at least competent, or this man wouldn’t want to talk to her.

          “You’re interested in the position?” he asked with a hopeful upturn in his voice. “I was wondering if the store owners had taken my note down.”

          Rhoda’s heart raced. “Jah, I’d like to talk to you about it, for sure and for certain,” she gushed. “But ya should understand right out that I don’t have a car, on account of how we Amish don’t believe in ownin’—I mean, I’m not preachin’ at ya, or—”

She winced. “This is comin’ out all wrong. Sorry,” she rasped. “My name’s Rhoda Lantz, and I’m in Willow Ridge. I sure hope you don’t think I’m too ferhoodled to even be considered for the job.”

          “Ferhoodled?” The word rolled melodiously from the receiver and teased at her.

          “Crazy mixed-up,” she explained. “Confused, and—well, I’m keepin’ ya from whatever ya need to be doin’, so—”

           “Ah, but you’re a solution to my problem. The answer to a prayer,” he added quietly. “For that, I have time to listen, Rhoda. I need to make my shift at the hospital, but could I come by and chat with you when I get off? Say, around two this afternoon?”

          Rhoda grinned. “That would be wonderful-gut, Mr. Leitner! We’ll be closin’ up at two—my mamm runs the Sweet Seasons Bakery Café on the county blacktop. We can talk at a back table.”

          “Perfect. I’ll see you then—and thanks so much for calling, Rhoda.”

          “Jah, for sure and for certain!”

          As she placed the receiver back in its cradle, Rhoda held her breath. What would she tell Mamma? She felt scared and excited and yes, ferhoodled, because she now had an interview for a job! She had no idea about caring for that elderly mother . . . or what if the kids ran her so ragged she got nothing done except keeping them out of trouble? What if Andy Leitner’s family didn’t like her because she wore Plain clothing and kapps?

          What have ya gone and done, Rhoda Lantz?

          She inhaled to settle herself, and headed back to the café’s kitchen. There was no going back, no unsaying what she’d said over the phone. No matter what anyone else thought, she could only move forward.

And wasn’t that exactly what she’d been hoping to do for weeks now?

An Amish Family Christmas ~ Review

An Amish Family Christmas
By Murray Pura

Naomi Bachman's life has just been turned upside down.  Her parents and sister were killed when their buggy was involved in a crash with a drunk driver.  Her brother Luke is in a coma and the doctors don't expect him to recover.  Her husband Micah Bachman has been gone for a year, having broken the  and Ordnung is under bann.

When Micah returns home he is given days to confess his disobedience.  Micah was a medic in Afghanistan and by helping soldiers he was viewed as aiding the war under the Ordnung.  But when Micah refuses to confess his disobedience because he was answering his calling and the bann is reinstated.

When an accident occurs and Micah's skills as a medic are needed to save the life of an Amish boy. Will this be enough to convince the Amish leadership that his skills were indeed a result of God's call or will it drive an even rift between him and his people?

Will Naomi get the perfect Christmas gift this year?  Her husband and her brother?  If she has anything to say about it she will and she is determined to convince the rest of the community that Micah's calling was indeed of God.

I was provided a digital loan of this title in exchange for my review.

About the Book:

After tragedy strikes the family of young Naomi Bachman, her sister-in-law Rebecca Bachman does all she can to help. But things get complicated when Micah—Rebecca’s brother and Naomi’s husband—returns from a combat tour in Afghanistan. He is under the Meidung—the shunning—because of his enlistment, and none of the Amish are permitted to speak to him or eat with him, even his wife Naomi. How then can this young couple, still in love, ever find happiness? How can the healing process even begin when Micah refuses to repent of what he has done? Still, God has a way of working on the hearts of His people—especially at Christmastime. At just the right time, events conspire to birth a miracle that may set things right for Naomi and Micah—and for the Amish community itself. Here is a warm and tender story of faithfulness, love, and reconciliation at the most wonderful time of the year.

For Every Season ~ Review

For Every Season
Amish Vines and Orchards, Book 3
By Cindy Woodsmall

Having moved to Unity, Maine, the King and Byler families hopes are high for the new Amish community that they are starting.  But something no one expected or anticipated could destroy them before they see the first fruits of their efforts.

At the end of The Winnowing Season Jacob seemed to be getting his past problems in order, Rhoda was still trying to fight her gift, and Samuel was fighting his feelings for Rhoda.  But then everything seems to come to a crisis right at the end and For Every Season picks up where we were left.

But sometimes our heart betrays us and Rhoda is left with a choice.  Does she stay with Jacob or does she listen to the voice that keeps coming to her.  Not wanting to be the means of destroying Kings' Orchard, she moves in with their Englisch neighbors Bob and Camilla Cranford.  But instead of the peace she was hoping for her gift is trying to reveal something to her about Camilla.

But the distance she is putting between her and Samuel has also put a distance between her and the rest of the fledgling community.  And worse Samuel's kiss has driven a rift between the King brothers and this friction is threatening the new community's growth.

As the Rhoda, Samuel, and Jacob struggle with the situation they find themselves in Leah decides to take matters into her own hands and offer a job opportunity to a young Amish woman from Indiana. But Iva is bringing her own problems with her, problems that the community will have to work through.

Rhoda, surprisingly, receives the best help with her dilemma with Jacob and Samuel from her longtime friend Landon.  His insights help her, but she still has a choice to make.  And one way or another someone will be hurt by her choice, and that someone may just be her.

I have to say I really enjoyed For Every Season, but Jacob still annoys me.  At times he seems almost condescending to Rhoda and her needs, while he keeps his own secrets and even his relationship with Sandra and Casey is something he needs to examine.  At the same time I feel sorry for him as he sees his dreams slipping away.

I really like Landon, he seems to be a steadying influence for Leah, Rhoda, and even Samuel.  I wouldn't mind having a friend like Landon, someone who doesn't pressure you to his way of thinking and is ready to give you a ear to listen to your problems and concerns.

I am looking forward to book 4 and what comes next.  Does Jacob find what he is looking for?  Does Kings' Orchard have a good first harvest?  Does the community grow?

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

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About This Book

Working hard to develop a new Amish community outside of Unity, Maine, Rhoda Byler is fully committed to rehabilitating an orchard with business partner Samuel King. But an impulsive decision has created an unexpected strain in her relationship with her beau, Samuel’s brother, Jacob, threatening plans for the orchard. Amidst mounting tension in matters of the heart and business, Rhoda finds that this fledging settlement feels like the home she has always longed for, and she begins to embrace the God-given, heightened intuition that has always felt like a burden to her. She longs for Jacob to fully be free of his past, so they can work towards the future together.

But as Rhoda uses her gift to unpack an old secret with her Englisch neighbors, it is not her beau but an unlikely ally that cheers her on. With the orchard on shaky ground and Jacob’s plans in question, Rhoda is determined to see things through to harvest. But can she trust her insight to direct her path in matters of the heart?

Bible and Prayers for Teddy and Me ~ Review

Bible and Prayers for Teddy and Me
By Christina Goodings
Illustrated by Janet Samuel

Bible and Prayers for Teddy and Me is a book that is sure to delight your little ones (children or grandchildren).  This is the perfect gift with illustrations that will capture the attention and stories that are simply told in an understandable dialog.  

This is a first story Bible that will introduce young ones to some of the best known Bible stories.  There are 14 stories taken from the Old and New Testaments beginning with Creation and ending with the Resurrection.  The Old Testaments stories include Noah's Ark, Baby Moses, David and Goliath, Jonah and the BIG Fish, and Daniel in the Lion's Den.  The New Testament stories include Jesus's birth, Zacchaeus, and Jesus's parables about the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, and the Good Samaritan.

Each Bible story is followed by a poem/prayer that is illustrated with children and their teddy bears and is altogether thoroughly delightfully.  With the Christmas season approaching this would be the perfect gift for the youngest members of the family!  I know without a doubt that this is what my Grandmother would have given us as a gift if it had been available when we were all younger.

I was provided a copy of this book by Kregel in exchange for my honest review.

About: 

This Bible storybook contains favorite episodes from the Old and New Testaments, chosen to emphasize the message of God’s love and care. Each story concludes with a blessing, prayer, or reflection, which is illustrated with the child and the teddy bear together. Children will love the endearing teddy bear illustrations which will help them to relate easily to the stories and prayers.