Review of Novel: "Chasing the Sun" by Tracie Peterson

Tracie Peterson has been a favorite author of mine for some time. So when I learned of another series coming out, to say I was excited is an understatement. The Civil War era, including the time before as well as after, has been an interesting period to revisit. While this is purely a work of fiction, it also gives us a look into possibly how some people may have been affected.

Two people following in obedience to their fathers find themselves in Texas or on the front lines in a battle that occurred at Vicksburg. Never could Hannah or William see any reason to establish a working relationship on the ranch let alone, entertaining thoughts of their future. However, Hannah Dandridge is in Texas after her father recently lost his second wife in the South. Her father moved for many reasons one of which was the hope of a better future for his three remaining children.

William is a Texan through and through; yet, he too in obedience found himself fighting for the North. By nature a peaceful man, loving his ranch and the state of Texas, he comes home with a wound that keeps him in constant pain only to find out his family's ranch has been given away. What happened to it and by whose authority was this done? He comes home to find a different family living in his home and an older gentleman seeking to grasp a firm hold, not just on the ranch, but on Hannah as well. Mr. Lockhart was in business as a lawyer with Hannah's father, but was there more to this partnership? Was the final requests of the father, Mr. Dandridge, really true or only the scheming of his partner Mr. Lockhart?

So many questions remained unanswered for the Dandridge children. Their future is very uncertain. Where will they live if the ranch is given back to William? How can a confession have changed more lives than anyone could have imagined? In a story of forgiveness, love, struggle, and intrigue set toward the end of the Civil War, we see these storylines and more presented in this fictional novel that will grip a reader from the first page to the last. There is a sequel to this story already published, Touching the Sky (June 2012) and Taming the Wind (September 2012). This novel, Chasing the Sun, is one of Tracie Peterson's masterpieces. Pick up a copy for yourself and go back in time via your imagination. You will be so glad you took the trip!

Other reviews can be located on my personal blog at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/. You can follow me on twitter @lcjohnson1988. Other social media websites that you can find Lisa Johnson's reviews and contests are at Book Blogs, LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Shelfari. Simply go to these websites type in Lisa Johnson and it will take you to my profile and personal page. Thanks for reading and watch for more articles here in the future.

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Book Review: Awaken

Fiction
Awaken
Timothy George
2012
MVP Publishing Group
257 pages

Awaken is a powerful story about heritage and restoration. Author Timothy George takes an innovative approach in this African-focused tale by combining mysticism and adventure while openly challenging what readers think they know about the continent's history.

After his father's death, Thomas Jet, an investment banker, meets Dr. Oble, an African psychic seer, when he attends his family reunion in South Carolina. Dr. Oble addresses Thomas as Jesse, the name of his late uncle. After his encounter with Dr. Oble, Thomas begins to have disturbing dreams, which leads him to reach out to the psychic. While in Virginia on business with his old Army buddy, Jack Regis, Thomas connects with Dr. Oble again to learn more about his family history. He tells Thomas about the oral history of many African tribes that was passed down through the generations. Thomas learns that he is a part of that tradition.

As a favor to Thomas, Jack, a former CIA agent, uses his connections to collect information about Dr. Oble. This act sets off a series of events that brings both Thomas and Jack to the attention of the CIA. The men later learn that a security firm called the International Bureau of Commerce (IBC), which is staffed by mercenaries, has also taken an interest in them.

When Dr. Oble summons Thomas for the final time, Thomas finds himself with other men Oble has recruited from across the country. During their awakening, the men learn that they are descendants of the leaders of seven African tribes. They are charged with regaining Africa's greatness after centuries of colonialism and corporate pillaging. An elusive artifact and lost treasure are the keys to "The Brotherhood" achieving its goal of restoring Africa to its former greatness.

This book offers action and suspense; it is also intellectually stimulating. George exposes the reader to obscure historical references like the remote viewing programs the United States government funded from the 1970s to the mid-1990s, and the trans-Atlantic expeditions of African King Abubakari Bakr II. The idea of descendants of African tribes accepting the call to rebuild the continent, which has been ravished for so many years, makes for an exciting storyline. I found myself not only cheering for the main characters, but also enlightened by George's descriptions of African culture. The ending leaves the reader wanting to know more about the exploits of Thomas and "The Brotherhood." I suspect (and hope) a sequel will be forthcoming.

Awakenis provocative and insightful. I highly recommend it.
Melissa Brown Levine
for
Independent Professional Book Reviewers

Melissa Brown Levine is a writer, book reviewer and manuscript consultant. She is the author of "I Need to
Make Promises: A Novella and Stories." Read an excerpt at http://www.melissabrownlevine.com.

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Review of Winds of Wyoming

Title: Winds of Wyoming
Author: Becky Lyles
Pages: 416
Publisher: Stonehouse Ink
Year: 2012

Note: I received a complimentary book from the author for an honest review.
Since I was a little girl, I have loved westerns. The western genre has captured the imagination and makes the heart yearn for the outdoors. A story set in the state of Wyoming with all kinds of twists and turns is especially enjoyable for a western fan like me. Here in this particular work of fiction we find a woman who wants to run from her past, start a new life and is afraid to be transparent.

Kate Neilson earned a marketing degree while incarcerated in a Pennsylvania prison. Shortly after her release, she moved west to fulfill her internship requirements at a Wyoming guest ranch. Kate has lost all she has known and what she believes to be unattainable in the future. Her parents and brother die in an accident. She then is shuttled through the system, enduring heartaches and ending up being followed by a man who only wants to hurt her more. As we progress through the novel, we meet many characters with each one having various past experiences that some allow to affect their present in a negative way.

At Whispering Pines Ranch, Kate has an opportunity to turn from her former life of crime when she encounters a neat elderly lady who befriends her from the first moment they meet. Dymple takes her faith in God to a place Kate has never seen or known. Laura, the ranch co-owner, is a lady who is struggling with being a widow, but loves her son and all that she and her husband have built. Then there are the Hughes, a father and daughter team who are very twisted in their thinking, making those at Whispering Ranch wish they would just go away.

In her novel, author Becky Lyles weaves a western fiction that keeps getting richer with every page turned. While some of the plot may seem obvious, don't be fooled because you might be surprised when you read the last page. Winds of Wyoming is an awesome novel with characters that any reader could identify with in one way or another. The novel reflects that God loves and forgives, and shows the dependence on Him that is needed for everyday living by the characters. That, in turn, reminds us all of our true need of Him for everyday life. Get your copy today, relax, and enjoy this great book. You won't believe how much time passes as you find yourself engrossed in the story!

Rating: Five stars

The Sequel to Winds of Wyoming...

Winds of Freedom: Winter storms blast across the Whispering Pines Guest Ranch, and a cold wind blows through Kate Neilson's soul. In the midst of her own anguish, she struggles to care for her elderly aunt and help her best friend, who finds herself trapped in a desperate situation, and encourage her husband, whose ranch and livelihood are threatened.

Go to http://heisforus.blogspot.com/2012/06/winds-of-wyoming.html to enter to win an autographed copy before it ends June 30, 2012!

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Convergence: A Novel of a Catastrophic Future

Well thought out, systematically executed science fiction (or fact), this novel is humanity's frantic response to the effects of its own ignorance. Of the catastrophe, climate change is only one of the effects. What becomes clear is that when an "effect" arises, it then can and does "affect" other systems. It is kind of an anti-symbiosis wherein the damage caused by ever increasingly interdepending disasters fuels the fire for their own destruction.

This is not a spoiler. The narrative of Convergence ends with a note from an anthrohistorian in 2721, 700 years after the collapse. "A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero." In addition to the controversial partisanship stalemating problems such as climate change, economic inequality and unceasing warfare, overpopulation has become equally destructive. By the narrative's end, the author states the uncomfortable question bluntly. As much as we've done (or propose to do) about those economic, social and climate issues, should we also consider regulating human breeding? And if so, how can we prevent a Big Brother scenario if such considerations are made and implemented?
Paul Boerger's novel "Convergence" addresses this very issue by presenting a stark, dystopic future resulting from multiple problems all converging at a certain time: 2020. The novel makes the case that we are able to prevent our own destruction, genetically determined or not, but this requires keen awareness of ecology, evolution, conscience, economic equality and the relative morality in terms of the social and the individual good. Perhaps the most shocking or thought-provoking elements of the book is the warning about overpopulation. Although not outright liberal, this novel differs from works such as 1984, Brave New World, and Anthem in that it proposes that a lack of government reform on social and industrial practices (rather than an overabundance of state interference) are to blame for the impending catastrophe.

"Convergence" shifts back and forth between three essential time periods: pre-convergence (2020), post-convergence (2220) and the convergence itself (2021). The perhaps intentional irony is that pre-sight (not hindsight) is 2020, the very year global problems are beginning to converge. As each scientist reiterates, at any point in time during the novel, these problems were preventable. A virus breaks out, many small wars are being fought around the world (so many, that the total far exceeds the fighting in either of the World Wars), and the gap between the rich and poor has never been greater. Each problem leads to others and exacerbates them all. Thus, the convergence is not just a coalescence of world changing events, but an exponential chain reaction making each event more catastrophic.

The omniscient narrative shifts back and forth between the three years (2020, 2021 and 2220) with a series of updates or news reports, making the novel read like a non-linear (yet cogent) series of articles, damage control documents and journal entries. As the novel jumps from year to year, it also follows separate lives, some of whom also converge on each other, reinforcing one of the novel's central themes which is that "everything affects everything." And despite the constant shifting in perspective and time, the narrative flows quite smoothly, the complex convergence of catastrophic events coalesces like the analogous, yet paradoxical, perfect storm.

The novel ends with a short note from Boerger and an inclusion of the essay "Tragedy of the Commons," by Garret Hardin, which proposes regulation on human breeding. The article makes a very methodical argument on the ecological and evolutionary impacts of legislating such regulation. Without legislative regulations on breeding, only those who are selfless and intelligent enough to restrain from breeding will do so voluntarily. Ergo, by the rules of evolution, in time, those thoughtful restrainers will be weeded out, leaving only those who do not consider the social good. In other words, conscience will be weeded out evolutionarily. This is an even more stark outcome of the typical post-apocalyptic scenario because we not only would have lost a sense of humanity; we would also have lost the awareness of its value.

Reviewed by: Nicole Sorkin, Pacific Book Review

http://www.pacificbookreview.com

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Lucy Come Home - A Novel

Title: Lucy Come Home
Author: Dave & Neta Jackson
Year: 2012
Pages: 424
Publisher: Castle Rock Creative, Inc.

Wow! The threads of storytelling are expertly woven in this work of fiction by the Jacksons. Dave and Neta Jackson keep the readers spellbound throughout the book by using flashbacks with their main character named Lucy. Lucy was raised in a family who eked out a living working at migrant farms and living in migrant camps.

Lucy becomes very mature at a young age as she learns to care for her younger siblings, almost becoming like a second mother to them. As Lucy begins to enter her teenage years and her body changes, the adventure begins to take a dangerous turn. Bo is a young man who has a similar background though he has mainly worked in carnivals traveling all over. Starting as a friendship, they begin a journey through their growing up years with them sometimes being together and other times apart.

Within the pages of this fictional work, we see friendship, faith, God, and other themes running from beginning to end of the Lucy Come Home. There are times when we see what life was like for Lucy as she was growing up as well as when she falls in love. The time frame of the story begins with the Dust Bowl, and then on to the Depression as well as World War II and beyond.

While you read this book, you see the depth of love and friendship people have for each other. You might be reminded of all that could happen in a lifetime, and be thankful for the times you have with family. This is also a story of looking for one lost lamb in a sense, one who has a hard time understanding the love of God as well as the love of family.

Times were sure hard then, trying to put food on the table was a daily struggle for life for all families. Yet Lucy's family was blessed with another whose faith she remembered in her later years. A story like this tugs at your heart and reminds us what is most important in life, especially when one encounters life-changing events. Grab the book, a tall cool drink, a quiet place to curl up and get lost in a wonderful tale. Why not share the book with others when you're through?

My rating for this book is five stars.

Other reviews can be located or requested at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/
Or follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988

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Mary Magdalene - A Wonderful Work of Fiction

Title: Mary Magdalene

Author: Diana Wallis Taylor

Year: 2012

Pages: 304

Publisher: Revell

Mary Magdalene is somewhat of an enigma in the stories that are in New Testament. Sometimes when we use word stories we think the people, places, and events are figments of the imagination. However, as far as the Bible is concerned, these aren't; they were real people living in real time through life here on earth. Mary Magdalene lived during the life of Christ and ministered to Him. He delivered her from demons possessing her. We know that she was the first to see that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, mistaking Him for the gardener.

In this work of fiction, Mary Magdalene is presented in a way that captures what life might have been like for this woman. Diana Wallis Taylor does a brilliant job of keeping Mary's character in the reality of the time when the real Mary lived. Diana weaves the customs of the times and the Jewish observances into her characters and setting. There are also Jewish customs depicted during that era, which include the teaching of the Torah, as well as pieces of the life of Christ.

While this is truly a work of fiction, it is easy for the reader to grasp the imagination of the author as to what life was like in the Middle East. We are given a possible way that Mary meets the Lord, what the disciples may have been like, and times the Word of God was recited. Some of the other characters in the story are real at one time, but how they may have interacted with others and the Lord is the result of the imagination of the writer. It is a captivating story of love of parents, children, husband, and the community. Nathan, who is Mary's husband in the story, is seeking an answer to help Mary as she is persecuted by the nightmares of the past. With each passing year, she gets worse until Nathan hears of a man from Nazareth.

Once you begin the story, you won't be able to put the book down as the writer takes the reader on an adventure into the past during the time of Christ. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is seen and how she may have interacted with her other children, how they may have thought as well as acted towards Jesus. I highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as the writer worked hard not to "Americanize" the time or life of Christ or use our language today, but the language of Jews in that era.

My rating of this work is five stars.

Other reviews can be read on the blog located at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/. You can follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988.

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