by Jason Joyner | May 28, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews
Okay, I missed my review post when I said – holiday weekends with family can kind of clobber the best blogging plans. But don’t take my tardiness for disinterest, for if you like a laugh at all, you don’t want to miss Snitch.
This is the second of the Occupational Hazards series, following the kids from a homeschooled family who leave the family clown business when their parents died in a tragic hot-tubbing accident. This book focuses on Mackenzie “Mack” Hazard, a police officer from Las Vegas who had an appearance in the first book, Scoop.
She is chosen for a special undercover task force involving stolen vehicles, though this decision is questioned by the aging head of the task force, Ron Yeager.
His task is to train this rag-tag bunch of officers into a unit able to bring down this crime ring. He may have lots of experience, but nothing prepared him for Jesse, his hotshot maverick; Dozer, the loveable narcoleptic; Wiz, who likes to visit the bathroom; Mack, who wears her faith like “an ever-present badge”; and the mysterious Kyle. The stakes get higher as the team must learn to trust one another to even survive.
This sounds like your typical crime/suspense novel. It is, but then again it is anything but. Gutteridge is perhaps the funniest author currently writing Christian novels. The story moves along and draws you in, but it is the zany cast of characters and the zig-zag journey the author takes you on that makes this book sparkle. I have an hour bus commute to work one-way, and I had to stifle many laughs so I wouldn’t draw the stares of my fellow passengers. The book was a great read – my only complaint is that I was drawn in so much that I am already finished! I’m not ready for it to be over. Gutteridge has an original voice and talent with keeping you guessing that you don’t feel like you’re reading – you feel like you’re along for the ride of a real-life sitcom.
Basically, Rene is one of my favorite authors now, and her books are worthwhile for great humor and stellar writing. Be sure to check out both books from the series!
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
This week’s CFBA featured tour is Snitch, book two of the Occupational Hazards series, by Rene Gutteridge. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors with her humorous, intelligent writing. There are lines from this book and the first in the series, Scoop, that still crack me up when I think of them! Scoop was my top book for 2006, so I was anticipating a great read with Snitch. I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ll post my review tomorrow. Rene was gracious enough to answer a few more questions for me (she also did an interview for the Scoop book tour). Without further ado, here’s the author!
1. This has been a busy 12 months for you considering the release of Scoop, The Ultimate Gift and Snitch. How has it been keeping up with things?
This was definitely one of my busiest writing seasons. Three books in one year is challenging, but I’m proud of all the projects and I’m glad I was able to do them. However, after all that, it does take some time to decompress.
2. The police details in Snitch have authenticity to them, telling me you did your homework. How do you go about researching for a novel? What type of people do you interview?
I’ve done a tone of research for each of the Occupational Hazards books, more than any other books I’ve ever written. For Snitch, I flew out to Las Vegas and met with an undercover officer who was willing to take the time to give me a complete picture of what the life is like. I wanted insight into everything, and I wanted to depict it more like real life rather than television. Then of course I add my quirkiness to it, but that’s a whole other story! I also flew to Atlanta to research Skid. I have several technical advisors for each of these projects. For Snitch, I interviewed undercover officers and patrol officers.
3. Can you describe your writing process (daily routine, revision, plotting, etc)?
I write about three hours a day, then do e-mails, interviews, etc. for the rest of the work day, so I spend about five hours a day total. If I’m plotting and forming a story from scratch, I rarely work out of my home office. I’ll go to Starbucks or drive around the city or something. But if I’m writing, I usually always do it from my home office. I don’t like typing on a laptop keyboard. I’m trying to get away from working on the weekends. Sometimes I just don’t know how to stop working.
4. What is next for the Occupational Hazards series? How many books do you plan for this series?
Skid is the next one. So there are for sure going to be three. Beyond that I don’t know. There is a potential for seven.
5. I’m reading a series of books (not yours!) that are getting a little stale (I’m on book 3 of 4). You’ve written both series and stand alone. In your opinion, which kind is harder to write? Any advice for avoiding that staleness?
Series are definitely harder for me. That’s why I created The Occupational Hazards books the way I did, so each one stands alone and has its own cast. I really like writing stand alones more, but everyone loved the Boo characters so much, so we decided to stretch that into a series, and I’m glad we did. It really worked out well. Boo Humbug will be coming out this Fall.
6. What is your opinion on the state of Christian publishing currently?
I think we’re in a really good season. A lot of exciting things are happening. I believe that we’re going to have to make some hard choices, but I think the right people are in place to make those. The Christian novelists that are working today are very in tune with the critical issues, as are the publishing houses and the bookstores. So together, I believe we’ll continue to go down a healthy, exciting and productive path.
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
This week’s CFBA featured tour is Snitch, book two of the Occupational Hazards series, by Rene Gutteridge. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors with her humorous, intelligent writing. There are lines from this book and the first in the series, Scoop, that still crack me up when I think of them! Scoop was my top book for 2006, so I was anticipating a great read with Snitch. I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ll post my review tomorrow. Rene was gracious enough to answer a few more questions for me (she also did an interview for the Scoop book tour). Without further ado, here’s the author!
1. This has been a busy 12 months for you considering the release of Scoop, The Ultimate Gift and Snitch. How has it been keeping up with things?
This was definitely one of my busiest writing seasons. Three books in one year is challenging, but I’m proud of all the projects and I’m glad I was able to do them. However, after all that, it does take some time to decompress.
2. The police details in Snitch have authenticity to them, telling me you did your homework. How do you go about researching for a novel? What type of people do you interview?
I’ve done a tone of research for each of the Occupational Hazards books, more than any other books I’ve ever written. For Snitch, I flew out to Las Vegas and met with an undercover officer who was willing to take the time to give me a complete picture of what the life is like. I wanted insight into everything, and I wanted to depict it more like real life rather than television. Then of course I add my quirkiness to it, but that’s a whole other story! I also flew to Atlanta to research Skid. I have several technical advisors for each of these projects. For Snitch, I interviewed undercover officers and patrol officers.
3. Can you describe your writing process (daily routine, revision, plotting, etc)?
I write about three hours a day, then do e-mails, interviews, etc. for the rest of the work day, so I spend about five hours a day total. If I’m plotting and forming a story from scratch, I rarely work out of my home office. I’ll go to Starbucks or drive around the city or something. But if I’m writing, I usually always do it from my home office. I don’t like typing on a laptop keyboard. I’m trying to get away from working on the weekends. Sometimes I just don’t know how to stop working.
4. What is next for the Occupational Hazards series? How many books do you plan for this series?
Skid is the next one. So there are for sure going to be three. Beyond that I don’t know. There is a potential for seven.
5. I’m reading a series of books (not yours!) that are getting a little stale (I’m on book 3 of 4). You’ve written both series and stand alone. In your opinion, which kind is harder to write? Any advice for avoiding that staleness?
Series are definitely harder for me. That’s why I created The Occupational Hazards books the way I did, so each one stands alone and has its own cast. I really like writing stand alones more, but everyone loved the Boo characters so much, so we decided to stretch that into a series, and I’m glad we did. It really worked out well. Boo Humbug will be coming out this Fall.
6. What is your opinion on the state of Christian publishing currently?
I think we’re in a really good season. A lot of exciting things are happening. I believe that we’re going to have to make some hard choices, but I think the right people are in place to make those. The Christian novelists that are working today are very in tune with the critical issues, as are the publishing houses and the bookstores. So together, I believe we’ll continue to go down a healthy, exciting and productive path.
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fiction
This month’s Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog tour is highlighting the site The Sword Review. It is a site devoted to quality ficiton, poetry, and exposition. It means to respect traditional values and Christian principles, according to the information page.
As part of the CSFF tour group, I am for anything that promotes quality fiction in these genres particularly. I see The Sword Review as a venue for helping develop writers, as well as providing enjoyable works.
There are a lot of features at this site. The main draw are the original stories and poetry, with occasional exposition and reviews of other materials of interest. The Sword Review does both online and print publishing for their works. The print version can be ordered from the main site.
Another great feature is the forums. I think it is always a good thing to foster community and build up the site through people who have an ownership in it. The forums promote discussion of the submissions as well as other topics of interest. Members can also produce their own blogs through the site. My pal Mir has her presence there.
One more item that I was impressed with was their interest in being a forum for student writers to showcase their works. Authors do get paid (not a lot, but hey, it’s MONEY). They do state on their submissions guideline page that as of March 2007 they had a lot of fiction, but I’m sure if you have a stellar story they would take a hard look at it.
Overall, I am thrilled to find out about another resource for people who enjoy quality sci-fi and fiction. The Sword Review caters to this with a Christian perspective. Hey, what are you still doing here? Go check it out! And while you’re at it, see what my tour mates below are saying.
Jim Black
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Heather R. Hunt
Becca Johnson
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 – The Compendium
Terri Main
Rachel Marks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Russell Griffith
Jason Waguespac
Holly
Brandon Barr
by Jason Joyner | May 23, 2007 | Blog, CSFF, fiction
This month’s Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog tour is highlighting the site The Sword Review. It is a site devoted to quality ficiton, poetry, and exposition. It means to respect traditional values and Christian principles, according to the information page.
As part of the CSFF tour group, I am for anything that promotes quality fiction in these genres particularly. I see The Sword Review as a venue for helping develop writers, as well as providing enjoyable works.
There are a lot of features at this site. The main draw are the original stories and poetry, with occasional exposition and reviews of other materials of interest. The Sword Review does both online and print publishing for their works. The print version can be ordered from the main site.
Another great feature is the forums. I think it is always a good thing to foster community and build up the site through people who have an ownership in it. The forums promote discussion of the submissions as well as other topics of interest. Members can also produce their own blogs through the site. My pal Mir has her presence there.
One more item that I was impressed with was their interest in being a forum for student writers to showcase their works. Authors do get paid (not a lot, but hey, it’s MONEY). They do state on their submissions guideline page that as of March 2007 they had a lot of fiction, but I’m sure if you have a stellar story they would take a hard look at it.
Overall, I am thrilled to find out about another resource for people who enjoy quality sci-fi and fiction. The Sword Review caters to this with a Christian perspective. Hey, what are you still doing here? Go check it out! And while you’re at it, see what my tour mates below are saying.
Jim Black
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
April Erwin
Kameron M. Franklin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Andrea Graham
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Heather R. Hunt
Becca Johnson
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 – The Compendium
Terri Main
Rachel Marks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Russell Griffith
Jason Waguespac
Holly
Brandon Barr
by Jason Joyner | May 16, 2007 | Blog, CFBA, fiction
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ann H. Gabhart has published a number of adult and young adult novels with several different publishers. The author of
The Scent of Lilacs, Ann and her husband live a mile from where she was born in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. She is active in her country church, and her husband sings bass in a southern gospel quartet.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Nothing will be the same after the summer of 1964.Drought has gripped the quiet Kentucky town of Hollyhill, and the town seems as if it is holding its breath–waiting. Jocie Brooke is nervous about starting high school. Her sister Tabitha is experiencing the weariness of waiting for a new baby. Her father David is feeling the timidity of those first steps toward true love. All of these pivotal steps in life are awaiting the Brooke family.
Into this cloud of tense anticipation, a black family from Chicago, the Hearndons move here to plant an orchard outside of town. Fresh off the Freedom Train, Myra Hearndon is sensitive to what the color of her skin may mean in a Southern town. Her family will have to contend with more than the dry ground and blazing sun as they try to create their
ORCHARD OF HOPE.
Jocie finds herself befrending a boy that some townspeople shun. Due to unspoken racial lines in this southern town, the presence of these newcomers sparks a smoldering fire of unrest that will change Hollyhill..and Jocie…forever.
In this close-knit community, everything is about to change.
Let this riveting novel take you along to experience unexpected love, new life, and renewed faith amid life’s trials.
