by Jason Joyner | Dec 8, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I haven’t had the opportunity to personally read this week’s featured book, but I must say, it sounds interesting. If this piques your curiosity, then check it out.
Today’s blog tour is a member of the CFBA, Sue Dent! Sue Dent was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi and currently resides in Ridgeland. When not writing, Sue designs websites and works with digital photograpy. Sue loves to hear from her fans through her website; in fact, the push from eager readers has already set the ball rolling, and she’s hard at work on Forever Richard, the sequel. In Never Ceese, Sue sets out to prove that faith and fun can live happily in the same story, and that vampire/werewolf fantasy can have a spiritual message too.
Never Ceese takes religious fantasy to a new level, bringing an entirely new Light to a very dark side of fiction, doing a very admirable job to prove that vampire/werewolf fantasy does not have to be evil to be enjoyed.
The story starts with the classic tale of an English manor owned by Richard, the vampire who righteously is the bain of his neighbor’s existence, what with the missing goats and all!
Then enters Cecelia, better known as Ceese, the young werewolf maiden who’s arrived via invitation by Richard’s aging companion, Penelope.
Ceese and Richard would prefer to tear each other apart, literally, but they are drawn together by their mutual love for Penelope. She is dying and has one request…that the two of them love one another.
This is the overall theme throughout Dent’s interesting tale of two who were wronged but learn to work together. Meanwhile they are threatened by an evil stem cell researcher who wants the immortality and power that he thinks their blood will bring him!
Dent’s characters do differ from the stock one’s we’re all accustomed to in a very important way. They are not mindless, brutal killers. Bloodthirsty, yes, but they are constantly resisting the urge to kill, and, thus, curse another human. Feeding on rodents, goats, virtually any warm-blooded animal helps to satiate the never ending thirst for blood, but how long will they be able to resist that most delicious morsel, man?
There is a chance that their curses can actually be lifted if they can find the strength within to resist their selfish natures and act selflessly toward another. Will they succeed? That same basic choice lies before us all every day…
A vampire and a werewolf, one determined to, once again, be able to acknowledge what will get her to heaven, the other no so sure he can. A spiritual fantasy designed to spark the imagination, to speak to the heart as well as entertain.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 7, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
My mother was a young girl during World War II. She remembers learning silhouettes of Japanese planes in school, in case there was an inland attack. She always stressed the importance of December 7, 1941.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it a “day of infamy”. The attack was planned carefully on a Sunday morning, to catch America at its lowest point of attention.
Over two hours, chaos reigned. Airfields and shipyards were attacked. A bomb managed to detonate the magazine of the USS Arizona, blowing her out of the water and cracking her in half. 1,177 men go to a watery grave in this one instance alone.
We will never know all the stories of fear, courage, life, and death of this day until we all cross over. The death toll of this day reaches 2,390.
Please don’t forget the sacrifice of the brave men and women who stood as our vanguard in the Pacific. They took the best shot our enemy could give, and within months the U.S. was taking the battle across the ocean.
I was privileged to visit the USS Arizona Memorial on our honeymoon in 1998. It was a honor to reflect on what Pearl Harbor represents for our country.
Here’s an article on MSNBC discussing the living Pearl Harbor survivors reflecting on the 65th anniversary of the attacks. You can find a timeline of the day here. Breakpoint has a poignant commentary, with more links at the bottom of the page.
I, for one, will never forget.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 7, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
My mother was a young girl during World War II. She remembers learning silhouettes of Japanese planes in school, in case there was an inland attack. She always stressed the importance of December 7, 1941.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared it a “day of infamy”. The attack was planned carefully on a Sunday morning, to catch America at its lowest point of attention.
Over two hours, chaos reigned. Airfields and shipyards were attacked. A bomb managed to detonate the magazine of the USS Arizona, blowing her out of the water and cracking her in half. 1,177 men go to a watery grave in this one instance alone.
We will never know all the stories of fear, courage, life, and death of this day until we all cross over. The death toll of this day reaches 2,390.
Please don’t forget the sacrifice of the brave men and women who stood as our vanguard in the Pacific. They took the best shot our enemy could give, and within months the U.S. was taking the battle across the ocean.
I was privileged to visit the USS Arizona Memorial on our honeymoon in 1998. It was a honor to reflect on what Pearl Harbor represents for our country.
Here’s an article on MSNBC discussing the living Pearl Harbor survivors reflecting on the 65th anniversary of the attacks. You can find a timeline of the day here. Breakpoint has a poignant commentary, with more links at the bottom of the page.
I, for one, will never forget.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 6, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I haven’t read any of John C. Wright’s books yet, although I intend on rectifying that soon. But I have become a fan of his blog on Live Journal. He is a lawyer, philosopher, as well as an author. He used to be a devoted atheist, intent on exposing the deception of theists – and Christians in particular.
Funny thing happened though: He had an encounter with God.
Not just “god” as in some divine being, but the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit. While his mind was slowly being convinced of the reason behind Christianity, his spirit was confronted with the reality of who Love is.
Now he posts regularly on religion, rationality, and whatever else piques him (much like any good blogger!). Check out this post specifically, and keep an eye on his blog in general. You will find much to challenge your neurons. And admit it, we all need a little synaptic work-out at times, right?
by Jason Joyner | Dec 6, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I haven’t read any of John C. Wright’s books yet, although I intend on rectifying that soon. But I have become a fan of his blog on Live Journal. He is a lawyer, philosopher, as well as an author. He used to be a devoted atheist, intent on exposing the deception of theists – and Christians in particular.
Funny thing happened though: He had an encounter with God.
Not just “god” as in some divine being, but the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit. While his mind was slowly being convinced of the reason behind Christianity, his spirit was confronted with the reality of who Love is.
Now he posts regularly on religion, rationality, and whatever else piques him (much like any good blogger!). Check out this post specifically, and keep an eye on his blog in general. You will find much to challenge your neurons. And admit it, we all need a little synaptic work-out at times, right?
by Jason Joyner | Dec 4, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
Yep, it’s that time again. Make sure you check out today’s post: Scenes & Beans: The Skiing Spirit. Pastor Hank of Kanner Lake gets all spiritual about skiing. Would you let me know what you think? Thanks.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 4, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
Yep, it’s that time again. Make sure you check out today’s post: Scenes & Beans: The Skiing Spirit. Pastor Hank of Kanner Lake gets all spiritual about skiing. Would you let me know what you think? Thanks.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 1, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This week’s blog tour for the CFBA is Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum. This book is the third in the Landon Snow series by R.K. Mortenson. It is a series that is ideal for kids from 8-14, but is also something any age can enjoy. Kinda like Harry Potter: it’s considered a kids book, but it has greater appeal than that.
Landon finds adventures in the library across from his grandparents’ house in Button Up, Minnesota. This time he has his two younger sisters tagging along, as a stone boat monument becomes the real deal. The siblings sail to the Island of Arcanum in order to return the kidnapped animals back to Wonderwood.
The author himself has an interesting tale. R.K.Mortenson is an ordained minister with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. He has been writing devotional and inspirational articles since 1995. He served as a navy chaplain in Florida, but recently accepted a pastorate in a similar place – North Dakota! Oh, and one other change. He and his wife, who already have two adoptive children, are expecting a baby boy in January. You can read more about Randy and his family in a great interview at Mom 2 Mom Connection. (Thanks to Becky Miller for the last link).
Randy got the idea for this series one late night, when flute music woke him from a sound sleep. As he stood at his window, trying to locate the source of the sound, he spied a library across the lawn. Suddenly, he envisioned an eleven-year-old sneaking out of his bed and stealing to the library in the dead of night…And thus Landon Snow was born.
This page at Barbour’s site provides a few good links, two as recent as last week. The second link goes to an exclusive Landon Snow short at Clubhouse magazine.
Also, Valerie has a giveaway related to Landon Snow at her blog.
by Jason Joyner | Dec 1, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This week’s blog tour for the CFBA is Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum. This book is the third in the Landon Snow series by R.K. Mortenson. It is a series that is ideal for kids from 8-14, but is also something any age can enjoy. Kinda like Harry Potter: it’s considered a kids book, but it has greater appeal than that.
Landon finds adventures in the library across from his grandparents’ house in Button Up, Minnesota. This time he has his two younger sisters tagging along, as a stone boat monument becomes the real deal. The siblings sail to the Island of Arcanum in order to return the kidnapped animals back to Wonderwood.
The author himself has an interesting tale. R.K.Mortenson is an ordained minister with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. He has been writing devotional and inspirational articles since 1995. He served as a navy chaplain in Florida, but recently accepted a pastorate in a similar place – North Dakota! Oh, and one other change. He and his wife, who already have two adoptive children, are expecting a baby boy in January. You can read more about Randy and his family in a great interview at Mom 2 Mom Connection. (Thanks to Becky Miller for the last link).
Randy got the idea for this series one late night, when flute music woke him from a sound sleep. As he stood at his window, trying to locate the source of the sound, he spied a library across the lawn. Suddenly, he envisioned an eleven-year-old sneaking out of his bed and stealing to the library in the dead of night…And thus Landon Snow was born.
This page at Barbour’s site provides a few good links, two as recent as last week. The second link goes to an exclusive Landon Snow short at Clubhouse magazine.
Also, Valerie has a giveaway related to Landon Snow at her blog.
by Jason Joyner | Nov 30, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
What would any sane person be doing when it is 14 degrees F outside on a late November evening? Why, marching through a snowy field looking for a Christmas tree!
I had thought about cutting a fresh tree down this year, as we had a nasty dry tree last year. Needles everywhere. After getting home today I heard that my friends were going to a place called “Chop N Shop”. No joke. They were wondering if we wanted them to pick us up a tree, as we don’t have a truck (almost a sin here in Idaho) and they often help us out with pick-up related duties.
Well, it’s hard to have someone else pick out a Christmas tree for you, so we bundled up the crew and followed them out to the country. A retired gentleman was raising trees on his property. He was a little surprised to see us at night. He figured it was kinda hard to see out there, but gave us sharp instruments, told us to watch for stumps, and to have fun.
We tromped around a little bit, checking out contenders. No one fell and got impaled, which I take as a successful night. Finally we settled on a 6′ spruce, and I did my best Monty Python imitation. The boys and Beccy skipped back to the van to be warm, while I laid on a blanket in this field in order to bring our Yuletide timber home.
It was a prosperous expedition, and I am ensconed at home all warmed up (though a mug of hot chocolate sounds nice.) The tree is in our front yard, as I’m too frazzled to set it up tonight. But I am confident we will have a nice fresh Christmas tree this year. Maybe I’ll post a pic when it is up and decorated.
…and I’m okay.
