Finding Hollywood Nobody is a wild ride through the eyes of Scotty, a very unusual sixteen year old girl. Not every sixteen year old girl grows up around Hollywood stars. And not every one discovers that the woman she thought was her mother is actually…her grandmother? Charley is one of those people who makes food look pretty for the media. Her job is pretty flexible, which is good, because she’s busy dragging Scotty across the country to escape the clutches of Biker Guy. He’s been following them for years and the two women are afraid that he’s part of the mob sent to finish them off. All the while, Scotty keeps a tell-tale Hollywood blog updating celebrity watchers of the going-ons of her friends.
The book is an entertaining read and Lisa Samson keeps an energetic pace throughout the novel. Readers are brought through the Jungle Room in Graceland and down to a tiny town in Texas that is bursting with new life as a high-budget horror flick comes to town. Scotty also discovers something foreign to her: friends her own age. She also finds Jesus within the pages of the book—it’s a natural event and doesn’t sound forced or preachy.
If you are looking for a great series for a teenage girl you know, introduce her to Scotty. She’ll be begging you for more.
Review by Caitlin Muir
Posted by jill, in Chick-lit, Lisa Samson
The Big Picture, by Jenny B. Jones, revolves around teenager Katie Parker. When Katie’s mom arrives at her foster home out of the blue on the same night that Katie’s sort-of boyfriend, Charlie, tells her he’s hanging out with his ex again, Katie’s once perfectly ordered life goes down the drain. To make matters worse, the mayor is determined to close the town’s beloved drive-in theatre to put in a strip mall. As the day to move back in with her mom looms nearer, Katie is caught up in getting Charlie back, but when she finally does move, her problems only get worse.
In this third installment of the Katie Parker series, Jenny B. Jones incorporates a wide variety of trials for Katie. Toward the beginning of the novel, Katie’s obsession with some of her problems drags on; however, as the book progresses and Katie is put to the test in ever more serious or humorous ways, the story becomes vastly more interesting. Although it starts slow, The Big Picture makes a great comeback, leaving the reader delighted with the novel.
Review by Jane Muir
Posted by jill, in Chick-lit, Chick-lit Authors, Jenny B. Jones
Interview with Leah Starr Baker:
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Listen in as Jill and Takiela chat with author Leah Starr Baker. Baker is the author of the hilarious book, The Bunko Babes.
About The Bunko Babes: Becca Thornton loves her thirteen year old twins, her husband Thomas, and her lovely homebut she is frazzled, exhausted, and longing for some time with her girl friends. With the help of her three childhood friends, she starts a weekly Bunko group involving an eclectic group of women. Their original plan was for an evening of fun - indulging in their favorite foods while laughing and talking over a game of Bunko. Little did they know that they were embarking on a faith journey that would change their lives and perspectives forever. Throughout the course of the year, these eight unique women come to depend upon one another in ways that will surprise them all. Beneath the surface of their everyday lives each woman is dealing with her own personal issues. In the midst of ordinary routines, a weekly game night, laughter and tears, The Bunko Babes find strength and faith as they turn to each other in crisis with the bonds of friendship. A book that goes way beyond spa trips and beauty tips to deal with the real issues women face like infertility, loss, the heartache of infidelity, and temptation. Whether it is something as common as aging or as devastating as addiction, these “Bunko Babes” find new strength through faith and friendship as they turn to each other in times of crisis. In a society and time where role models are lacking, this is a book that teaches the value of women, mentoring women.
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Posted by jill, in Interviews
The Larimore’s are the perfect pair to have written this unique book, His Brain, Her Brain. Walt Larimore is an medical doctor and best-selling author; while Barb Larimore is a former teacher, wife and mother. Together they make a great team - for counseling, research and, of course, writing.
In His Brain, Her Brain, the Larimore’s combine the latest in brain research with their years of experience. Their experience comes not only from counseling others, but from their own marriage. The product is a book that truly aids men and women in understanding one another.
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Posted by jill, in Non-Fiction
Jump on over to my blog at PreciousMoms.com to win a set of Jane Kirkpatrick books! Click Here!
Change and Cherish Historical Series:
1. A Clearing in the Wild
2. A Tendering in the Storm
3. A Mending at the Edge
Posted by jill, in Misc
The announcements for the Christy Awards are right around the corner. On July 12th we’ll find out who the industry feels are the years best. Here at RadiantLit, though, we know they are all winners! (Not just to be cheesy, either - we love you all for the hard work you put in to writing and sharing your work with us readers!)
Here’s a list of the nominees:
CHRISTY AWARD NOMINEES 2008
CONTEMPORARY (Stand Alone)
Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson)
In High Places by Tom Morrisey (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
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Posted by jill, in Book News
RL Interview with Susan May Warren [24:45m]:
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Susan May Warren is a multi-published, award-winning author with Tyndale House and Steeple Hill. Her latest release is titled Wiser Than Serpents.
About two years ago, God laid on her heart the horror of the human trafficking problem, and after reading a magazine article by Sara Groves, she began to research IJM (International Justice Mission) with a desire to help. Coincidentally, she was also writing a book at that time, a suspense/ romance novel set in Taiwan about a woman whose sister is trafficked. The heroine goes undercover to try and free her.
The book, Wiser than Serpents, comes out with Steeple Hill this month, and in the front, the author’s note section, she wrote about IJM, with information about how to get involved.
She will also be donating 15% of the proceeds of this book to IJM.
Read the first chapter here!
Posted by jill, in Interviews
Pretty cool, huh? A great way to get kids reading this summer! Here’s How It Works: (from the B&N website)
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Posted by jill, in Misc
Make sure you have a few, uninterrupted hours available when you read Melanie Wells’s My Soul To Keep, because you certainly will not want to put it down.
At 35, Dylan Foster is in the prime of academia but she lives alone, and has very few friends. She’s is a Psych Professor at a Methodist University and her specialty will come in handy as you explore her tale. You will immediately be taken in by her story and the nightmares that surround her. The few close friends she does have are not spared from her perpetual bad luck. She is incredibly real and so is her life. You will relate, even in ways you wish you didn’t. She’s the best friend you just want to wrap your arms around and support. You will meet her deepest enemy, Peter Terry and will find yourself hating him even more than she does.
This book and I were very close companions. Melanie Wells has a way of creating characters who are so real, you grow to care about. She has you in circles sharing Dylan’s despair and elation. The attention she gives spiritual matters and happenings is like that of Frank Peretti. To say I loved it wouldn’t even touch the tip. I absolutely loved this book, beyond normal book-love standards. I want to send a copy to every single woman I am close to.
Reviewed by: Mandy Hutchinson
Posted by admin, in Reviews, Women's Fiction
Curl up on a comfy couch, with a refreshing drink in hand, and be ready to share a few laughs with Erynn Mangum’s MissMatch.
MissMatch is the first of Mangum’s Lauren Holbrook novel series. At 23, loving her job as a photographer and living with her widowed father, Lauren is perfectly content being single. Emboldened with the success of introducing her sister to the man who would become her new husband, Lauren puts her energies into matchmaking her friends. She recruits Hannah, the new receptionist at work to be her accomplice. Lauren’s best friend Brandon and even her single pastor Nick are not safe from Lauren’s schemes. As Lauren manipulates the situations to make her friends fall in love with each other, unexpected complications results. Lauren learns lessons about the sovereignty of God and is challenged to rethink about her own life as a single.
The wit and charm of the characters in MissMatch are endearing and you’ll be drawn you to them. With strong family and spiritual values portrayed appropriately, I would not hesitate recommending it to teenagers. The book is light-hearted and wholesome. With the story moving along quickly, you will be kept glued to its pages. I am looking forward to reading another in the Lauren Holbrook series.
Reviewed by: Katy Lee visit her website Adventures in Parenting.
Posted by admin, in Reviews, Women's Fiction
