Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Christmas Book Fair – #Poetry Lynda McKinney Lambert, #Memoir Marian Longenecker Beaman, #Thriller J.P. Mclean, #Romance Shehanne Moore

Welcome to this year’s Christmas book fair where I will be sharing the books of all the authors on the shelves of the Cafe and Bookstore with their most recent review in the last six months. I will be selecting authors at random so that there is something for everyone in the post.

The first author today who writes beautiful poetry is Lynda McKinney Lambert with her recently released collection of poems: Star Signs.

About the collection

Lynda Lambert covers a wide terrain of subjects and topics in this new book, from lights to legends to seasons, treating us to images and metaphors about plants, people and weather.

She opens this large collection with the title poem, Star Signs, which walks us through the alphabet as it digs through thoughts, emotions and observations, “Using star signs to map out new terrain.”Throughout this book of poems, these gems of poetic creation shimmer like beads on her fabric art, like bold brush strokes of color on her paintings, and reflect light like the gemstones on her prize–winning piece of mixed–media fiber artwork. It seems this entire collection is like a multifaceted mural.Her attentiveness to nature and strong reflections from memory have woven from a collage of remnants a beautiful tapestry for us.

It offers a wonderful feast for the eyes and the mind.—Wesley D. Sims, author of Taste of Change Painting in Mid–October Autumn’s morning light revealed changes Undermined the scarlet–red palette taking center stage on the painting Undulating rain cast gray–violet hues Misty diffusion brought a new perspective Not anticipated yesterday Aroused the softened brush strokes Layered over the primed canvas.Dying is a careful arrangement A graceful staged performance Yellow leaves are faithful dancers Spectacular choreography!

One of the early reviews for the book

Brenda Snyder Love it

I read half of the book as soon as I received it..love it

Also by Lynda McKinney Lambert

Discover more about Lynda’s books: Amazon US

And : Amazon UK

Connect to Lynda via her website: Lynda Lambert

Something for lovers of real life stories in the form of a memoir – Marian Longenecker Beaman and Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl released in September.

About the book

What if the Mennonite life young Marian Longenecker chafed against offered the chance for a new beginning? What if her two Lancaster County homes with three generations of family were the perfect launch pad for a brighter future? Readers who long for a simpler life can smell the aroma of saffron-infused potpie in Grandma’s kitchen, hear the strains of four-part a capella music at church, and see the miracle of a divine healing.

Follow the author in pigtails as a child and later with a prayer cap, bucking a heavy-handed father and challenging church rules. Feel the terror of being locked behind a cellar door. Observe the horror of feeling defenseless before a conclave of bishops, an event propelling her into a different world.

Fans of coming-of-age stories will delight in one woman’s surprising path toward self-discovery, a self that lets her revel in shiny red shoes.

One of the recent reviews for the memoir

April Yamasaki Lots to love in this memoir

I received an advance reader copy from the author for this review, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her memoir. I was immediately drawn in by the prologue that tells how Marian as a young school teacher was called before the bishops, and of course I just had to skip forward to read the rest of that story near the end of the book. Only then was I ready to go back and start at the beginning. For those of us plain or fancy, Mennonite or not, there’s lots to love in this memoir–how one woman looks back on her life with compassion and even forgiveness for those who have wronged her, how she grows to accept her past and move into a new future, with drawings by her husband plus family photos, a glossary of her parents’ made-up sayings (like “hickamoriah”–isn’t that a great word for whatever

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US

And : Amazon UK

Read more reviews and follow Marian on Goodreads: Goodreads

Connect to Marian via her blog: Marian Beaman.

Now a thriller that is book 6 of The Gift Legacy series. J.P. McLean with Wings of Prey.

About the book

A dead man’s warning. A lost plane wreck. A buried truth.

A dire warning from beyond the grave leaves Emelynn Taylor questioning her loyalties. Did someone she loves commit an unforgivable act of treachery? In her quest for answers, Emelynn opens a painful cold case knowing its resolution could destroy two families.

What she finds tests Emelynn’s integrity as the leadership changes hands within the Tribunal Novem, the powerful body that rules her kind. When confronted with betrayal and lies, Emelynn must follow her moral compass, even if it means losing the man she loves and alienating her Flier friends.

And when the terrible truth is unearthed, Emelynn is set on a collision course with two titans and a battle she can’t possibly win.

The sixth book in The Gift Legacy series, Wings of Prey is a thriller that skirts the edges of reality in a world within our own. Hold on tight and escape the ordinary: take flight with Emelynn Taylor.

A recent review for the book

Suzanne Hare A great book.

Emelynn discovers something from the past that has her doubting everything she knows about her family. As she delves into the past, the buried secrets could pit her against the ruling body of the flyers and her own boyfriend. But she has always had her own moral compass and feels she needs to act accordingly. Knowing she could lose everything makes her every decision critical even though she knows the chances of her success are slim.

This book six in the series. Although it can be read as a stand alone but I recommend that you begin at the start of the series. It is a great paranormal book and a great series. The characters are interesting and well known to the those of us who have read the series. They are interesting, full of strengths, weaknesses, talents and flaws, all of which draw you into the story. The storyline is well written full of suspense, emotional drama, dangerous situation, action, romance and heat. The great writing keeps you interested in the story until the end. It is a great series worth reading if you love paranormal action and romance.

Also by J.P. McLean

Read the reviews and buy the books: Amazon US

And Amazon UK: Amazon UK

And find more reviews and follow J. P. Mclean on : Goodreads

Connect to J.P Mclean via her website: J.P. Mclean Author

Time to catch up with the historical romance by Shehanne Moore and her latest release O’Roarke’s Destiny (Cornish Rogues Book 1).

About the book

Once he’d have died to possess her, now he just might…

Beautiful, headstrong young widow Destiny Rhodes was every Cornish man’s dream. Until Divers O’Roarke cursed her with ruin and walked out of Cornwall without a backwards glance. Now he’s not only back, he’s just won the only thing that hasn’t fallen down about her head—her ancestral home. The home, pride demands she throw herself in with, safe in the knowledge of one thing. Everything she touches withers to dust.

He’d cursed her with ruin.

Now she’d have him live with the spoils of her misfortune.

Though well versed in his dealings with smugglers and dead men, handsome rogue Divers O’Roarke is far from sure of his standing with Destiny Rhodes. He had no desire to win her, doesn’t want her in his house, but while he’s bent on the future, is there one when a passionate and deadly game of bluff ensues with the woman he once cursed? A game where no-one and nothing are what they seem. Him most of all.

And when everything she touches turns to dust, what will be his fate as passion erupts? Will laying past ghosts come at the highest price of all?

One of the recent reviews for the book

Raindancer 54 A wonderful Cornish romp to lose yourself in

Destiny Rhodes is everything a woman of her time isn’t supposed to be. She’s independent, no man’s fool, no man’s silly plaything and is certainly a match for anyone who attempts to stand in her way. She may have fallen on hard times, she may be in quite a pickle actually, but no way will she ever take the easy way out. And no way will anyone dictate to her – especially not Divers O’Roarke, however attractive he might be. She’s got the measure of him – but does he have the measure of her?

O’Roarke’s Destiny is a well written romp of a historical romance that breaks all the rules. In typical Shehanne Moore style, the heroine lands herself in life threatening, dangerous, awkward and, at times, hilarious situations – largely of her own making. How will she make it out of this one? You have to keep reading to find out.

Set against the backdrop of a rugged Cornish landscape, with a cast of characters and plot to keep you entertained for hours, this is a novel to dive into, wrap yourself up in and not emerge until you’ve finished.

‘Also by Shehanne Moore