SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW

"When Anna LeBonte's estranged husband is found murdered, she becomes the main suspect.  Only one person is willing to help her, her mysterious neighbor, Brent Stirling.  Brent knows the only reason he's helping Anna is to ease the festering guilt inside of him.  But when the events turn personal, and he finds himself falling for Anna, Brent knows he can't walk away.  But he may be risking their lives."

When I first asked Barbara Phinney to be a guest author on my blog, I had not read any of her books.  Since then, I've read two and enjoyed them both.

Souvenirs is about two emotionally scarred people who have "souvenirs" from past hurts--hurts that they can help each other overcome.  Anna is the victim of a husband who controls by intimidation and Brent feels guilty about the death of men under his command--and has scars to remind him daily of his mistakes.

I like Anna because she is at the point in life where she is ready to stand up for herself and leave her husband...but before she can file for divorce, he is found murdered.  Whoops, not good.  When everything looks grim for her future--when the police focus in on her as the suspect and stop looking elsewhere, she has one man willing to believe her and help.

Brent, although he sports some physical scars, is an Alpha hero who makes you forget his scars as he does what an Alpha hero does best--he does whatever is necessary to save his lady.

Barbara has given the characters in her book real-to-life issues and is true to them by writing a story of how love can heal wounds and build bridges of trust. Like any well-written suspense, Barbara Phinney has included interesting twists that keep the reader guessing until the end and I was not disappointed when her husband's killer was exposed.

Souvenirs   (Amazon)  For a list of all her books... (Amazon)   Barnes & Noble

If you'd like to read more about Barbara Phinney or follow her, click on her name and check out her personal website.

My guest today is the fabulous BARBARA PHINNEY !

 Barbara Phinney authors Love Inspired Suspense novels for Harlequin and I'm thrilled that she is my guest today.

"She really knows how to grab readers and keep their attention."  ROMANTIC TIMES

Bio:  Barbara worked for the Canadian Armed Forces and has  lived in three provinces and two countries.  She married a man in the military, but they are now retired and live in his small hometown.

She's a full-time writer, mother and volunteer at her church.  She also loves to travel and has done a mission trip with her daughter to Bolivia.

Please help me welcome, Barbara Pinney!

I thought about writing something with a Christmas theme that could have you smelling chocolate and candy canes as you read this.

Well, it's not working out that way. And like many writers with an uncooperative muse, I have to sit down and drag the words from me. That's what being a writer can be like. I'm not Barbara Cartland with her nebulous hairdo, her bling and a Pekinese, lying on her couch dictating to a secretary.

No. Writing can be tough. And as I spend the end of 2011 independently publishing some of my older titles, such as Souvenirs, (which was once serialized in a local paper and had people coming up to me on the streets demanding to know who the killer was) I can honestly tell you that I have learned plenty during my time writing, and I continue to learn.

Take for instance, Christmas. I learn each Christmas. It's about gifts. God's greatest gift to us was His Son, but He gave us other gifts as well. I like to think I received the gift of fiction writing. And while there are moments of pure inspiration, and a turn of phrase that just sparkles, it's not all like that.

When I wrote Souvenirs, I pulled from me some delightful phrases that just stuck.

Too soon, Brent lifted his head.  "If I'd known kissing you like that would make me forget everything, I'd have kissed you much sooner."

Those were Brent's words to Anna after they'd kissed. To me, that speaks volumes about him, the needs within him and his personal torment. But those words only came out after hard work, and exploring two very unique characters. A heroine in desperate need to find herself, and a hero who didn't think he was a hero, but who proved to be far more attractive, and sexy than I first realized.

But hard work like this writing also teaches us. Easy work does not teach. And there is the enjoyment, the pleasure of finished work that somehow transcends the final product to add a subtlety like the taste of hot chocolate stirred with a candy cane. Then my gift of writing feels so real to me.

What gifts do you think you have that you can share this holiday season?  The gift of giving to the Food Bank?  The gift of driving and delivering the toys to the women's center? The gift of singing at the nursing home?

Pull them out, dust them off and share them.

And to add to the fun of giving, some indie writers, myself included, are offering a whole big batch of holiday treats, e-books that are only 99 cents each! Drop by and check them out. The fun started December 1st.

http://bookloversbuffet.com/

Souvenirs - Amazon

Souvenirs-Barnes & Noble 

Barbara, thank you so much for visiting with us today.  You can learn more about Barbara and her books at  http://www.barbaraphinney.com/index.php

December Is Here!

At our house, December started with a whirlwind of activity--parties--and now it has settled down until the kids arrive in a couple weeks.  Can you believe Christmas is only 2 1/2 weeks away?  Where did the year go?

First, I'd like to congratulate Mary Marvella since she won the cute little Santa hugging the throw blanket.  Mary, thank you for your faithfulness in supporting my new blog.



Barbara Phinney is dropping by this coming Wednesday to be my guest and I'm really looking forward to her visit.  I'm in the middle of her e-book, Souvenirs, a suspense about....well, I won't tell you about it now since I plan to do a book review this next Saturday, but I'm having to force myself to write since I'd rather find out what's going to happen next.  Drop back by and get a sneak peek!  (yes, I'm being sneaky)

For now, I'm going to stop chatting with you and get to work.  I'm editing the book I wrote about my mother and father (Cora Jean).  Cross your fingers with me that the agent who is currently looking at it will like it enough to want to represent it.  

Take care and have a great Christmas season.    MERRY CHRISTMAS!!