Thursday, January 28, 2010

iPad Playing

Check out the demo about how the iPad works! The way you use your hands is so sci-fi! I think this is a great innovation in multimedia internet tool integration. I especially like the e-Book Reader.



I hear it will also have a speech-to-read function. A lot of people are discussing all the different sized packages that you will be able to buy, but I'll probably go with the basic one for $499 (at present)...and then again I may wait to see if the prices come down in the summer.


by Bonnie Calhoun

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Becca By The Book

Zondervan (January 1, 2010)

by

Laura Jensen Walker


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Jensen Walker is an award-winning writer, popular speaker, and breast-cancer survivor who loves to touch readers and audiences with the healing power of laughter.

Born in Racine, Wisconsin (home of Western Printing and Johnson’s Wax—maker of your favorite floor care products) Laura moved to Phoenix, Arizona when she was in high school. But not being a fan of blazing heat and knowing that Uncle Sam was looking for a few good women, she enlisted in the United States Air Force shortly after graduation and spent the next five years flying a typewriter through Europe.

Her lifelong dream of writing fiction came true in Spring 2005 with the release of her first chick lit novel, Dreaming in Black & White which won the Contemporary Fiction Book of the Year from American Christian Fiction Writers. Her sophomore novel, Dreaming in Technicolor was published in Fall 2005.

Laura’s third novel, Reconstructing Natalie, chosen as the Women of Faith Novel of the Year for 2006, is the funny and poignant story of a young, single woman who gets breast cancer and how her life is reconstructed as a result. This book was born out of Laura’s cancer speaking engagements where she started meeting younger and younger women stricken with this disease—some whose husbands had left them, and others who wondered what breast cancer would do to their dating life. She wanted to write a novel that would give voice to those women. Something real. And honest. And funny.

Because although cancer isn’t funny, humor is healing.

To learn more about Laura’s latest novels, please check out her Books page.

A popular speaker and teacher at writing conferences, Laura has also been a guest on hundreds of radio and TV shows around the country including the ABC Weekend News, The 700 Club, and The Jay Thomas Morning Show.

She lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband Michael, and Gracie, their piano playing dog.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sales clerk, barista, telemarketer, sign waver...

At twenty-five, free-spirited Becca Daniels is still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. What Becca doesn’t want to be is bored. She craves the rush of a new experience, whether it’s an extreme sport, a shocking hair color, or a new guy. That’s why she quit her bookstore job, used her last bit of credit to go skydiving, and broke her leg.

And that’s why, grounded and grumpy, Becca bristles when teased by friends for being commitment-phobic. In response, Becca issues an outrageous wager—that she can sustain a three-month or twenty-five date relationship with the next guy who asks her out. When the guy turns out to be “churchy” Ben—definitely not Becca’s type—she gamely embarks on a hilarious series of dates that plunge her purple-haired, free-speaking, commitment-phobic self into the alien world of church potlucks and prayer meetings.

This irrepressible Getaway Girl will have you cheering her on as she “suffers” through her dates, gains perspective on her life’s purpose, and ultimately begins her greatest adventure of all.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Becca By The Book, go HERE

by Bonnie Calhoun

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Drawing Heaven

Isaiah 11:6 says that, "And a little child shall lead them."

This is almost unbelievable. I will tell you the basics. She is now 12 years old. She started painting at age 4. Her Mother is an atheist so God was never discussed in their home and she really had never been taught anything about Him or the Bible. She has visions and has told her Mom she has visited heaven numerous times. She gives God the glory for her talent. She has never had an art lesson.

P.S. Her family now believes in God! Enjoy.




by Bonnie Calhoun

Monday, January 25, 2010

Lessons From The Storm

LOL...rain, rain go away, come again another day...or go to Florida where they need it!

Talking about the flooding today reminded me of some of the things I've learned in my 60 years...





(The woodpeckers might have to go!)

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark!


One: Don't miss the boat.

Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big!

Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six: Build your future on high ground.

Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.

Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting....


by Bonnie Calhoun

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Kelly’s Chance
Barbour Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 2010)

by

Wanda E. Brunstetter


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Note From Wanda:

Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a writer. When I was in the second grade, I wrote my first poem about a moth. Luckily, I received encouragement from my teacher. During my teen years, I wrote skits that my church teen group performed during special holidays.

It wasn’t until 1980, that I took a course on writing for children and teenagers. I became serious about a career as an author. Soon after that, I began to write stories, articles, poems, and devotionals, which appeared in a variety of Christian publications. Later, I had 5 books of puppet/ventriloquist scripts published. *These books are currently available by contacting me. (wanda@wandabrunstetter.com)

My first novel was released by Barbour Publishing’s book club, Heartsong Presents, in Dec. 1997. I have now written nearly fifty books, with over 4 million books in print. Many of the novels I've written are Amish-themed.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Life for Kelly McGregor is a daily drudge of driving her overbearing father’s mules along Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Canal. She dreams of one day owning an art gallery where her own drawings and paintings are on display. But these dreams don’t include marriage. . .not after seeing what her father has done to her mother. How then can Mike Cooper, a general store owner, make her realize he is different than her father and wants to support her artistic talent? Will Kelly learn that dreams can walk hand in hand with a love created by God?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Kelly’s Chance , go HERE.



by Bonnie Calhoun

Sunday, January 24, 2010


Today , Sunday January 24, 2010 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

What's a life worth?

In the United States, a person can be fined $100,000 and/or sentenced to a year in jail for harming the egg of a bald or golden eagle...and yet...

Abortion is legal (in one form or the other) through all nine months of pregnancy.

God values all life from beginning to end...

Before I formed you in the womb
I KNEW YOU.
Jeremiah 1:5

I have been email challenged by several pro-choice people on my "right-wing" propaganda as to the validity of the fetus being a non-person. People should know better than to challenge me, but where fools rush in....

You can go HERE and read this whole thing compiled by an abortion doctor as an instructional paper. Most of these PBA's are performed in the 20-26th week...some later.





Guided by ultrasound the baby's legs are grabbed with forceps.

The legs are pulled into the birth canal.
The baby is delivered, except for the head.

Scissors are jammed into the skull, and opened to enlarge the hole.

A suction tube is inserted. The brains are suctioned out causing the skull to collapse.
The dead baby is then removed.


And this is the procedure that there is no ban on yet. It is called D and E (dilation and Evacuation). It is actually performed more often than the PBA. You can study the procedure HERE they rip the baby's limbs off, and break up the body into chunks that they can evacuate. You can click on it for a larger picture!



You only get to be one of two things...Pro-life... Pro-death...there is no magic place in between!
If God has a ironic sense of humor, we may, when we pass on, find out who these victims would have been. Wouldn't it be poetic justice to find out that the person who could have cured cancer, was aborted!


by Bonnie Calhoun

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Best Duct Tape Story Ever

During a private "fly-in" fishing excursion in the Alaskan wilderness, the chartered pilot and fishermen left a cooler and bait in the plane. And a bear smelled it. This is what he did to the plane.









The pilot used his radio and had another pilot bring him 2 new tires, 3 cases of duct tape, and a supply of sheet plastic. He patched the plane together, and FLEW IT HOME!








by Bonnie Calhoun

Wednesday, January 20, 2010


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing

A Lady Like Sarah
Thomas Nelson; Original edition (December 22, 2009)
by
Margaret Brownley


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this, except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction."

It turns out God was and Margaret did. She now has more than 20 novels to her credit. In addition, she's written many Christian articles and a non-fiction book. Still, it took a lot of prodding from God before Margaret tried her hand at writing inspirational fiction which led to her Rocky Creek series. "I love writing about characters at different stages of faith," she says of the new direction her writing career has taken, "and I'm here to stay."

Happily married to her real-life hero, Margaret and her husband live in Southern California.


ABOUT THE BOOK


Sarah Prescott has never known a respectable life; just a hardscrabble childhood and brothers who taught her to shoot straight.

Justin Wells left Boston in disgrace, heading out alone on the dusty trail to Texas. But when the once-respected clergyman encounters a feisty redhead in handcuffs with a dying US Marshall at her side, their journey takes a dramatic turn.

His high society expectations and Sarah's outlaw habits clash from the start. With a price on her head and a sweet orphan in tow, Justin and Sarah make the difficult journey toward Rocky Creek. There justice will be meted out hopefully with a portion of grace.


If you would like to read the first chapter of A Lady Like Sarah, go HERE

Watch the Book Trailer:




by Bonnie Calhoun

Monday, January 18, 2010



This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


The Judas Ride


Tate Publishing (December 8, 2009)


by


Peggy Sue Yarber



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Peggy Sue Yarber, PhD in psychology, lives in central California with her husband, two daughters, six turtles and two dogs. She works in the field of education.

The Judas Ride was inspired by her current and previous students. She has seen and experienced and seen similarities between the students and Jesus’ traitor, Judas Iscariot. She has always been fascinated with Judas. Yarber went to a catholic school when she was young and Judas was always portrayed like a mysterious rebel.

She ventures to say, “I guess he was my James Dean of the Bible. But in a good way! In the way that…he did something so wrong so that the entire world could be saved. He had to betray Jesus in order for the rest of the story. I have always wondered what it would be like to not do that one bad thing that would lead to that one great thing. So I had the Vader character sort of run through the paces of Judas.”

Redemption and reality are the two distinguishing features about Yarber’s writing. Not all teens find redemption in The Judas Ride. Yarber considered trying to show the negative outcomes as much as the positive. She wasn’t thinking in terms of positive and negative but she did try to balance the two sides. Yarber says she often sees people daily that , “…have even more screwed up lives than these characters.” Yarber admits sometimes there is not an ending to the madness unless someone dies and then even after the death the ripples still linger. She has written another novel TARE and a children’s book Rocketships to Heaven and the SOS Fuel Station. She loves to run, read, shoot guns and watch her daughters play soccer.



ABOUT THE BOOK

An unwed (and unwanted) teen pregnancy with two possible fathers. Abusive relationships. Drug and alcohol addiction. Rape and molestation. The struggle to understand grace, forgiveness, and free will versus predestination. The Judas Ride hits the road running in the opening pages, where Sonia and Xavier argue explosively about whether Sonia should have their unborn child and about who the father is: Xavier, a struggling Christian, or Vader, an abusive and abused drug dealer. As the pages turn, readers continue to meet a hodgepodge of troubled teens and eclectic characters, including Pastor Manny, a quirky immigrant pastor infatuated with John Wayne. Pastor Manny desires to help the tortured souls in his community but finds that it takes more than unconditional love to reach them. Secrets literally kill in The Judas Ride, an edgy, in-your-your face Christian novel that boldly explores the struggles of modern-day young people.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Judas Ride, go HERE

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Low Carb Chicken Wings & Sauce


This is what's for dinner tonight!

My favorite recipe for Buffalo Chicken wings is really easy and totally low carb!

Take two dozen chicken wings,  spread them out on a cookie sheet or baking pan (that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) with the skin sides up. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until crispy (if they're honkin' huge wings it may take about 15 more minutes or so, and if they are smaller it may take a little less.)

Now...we don't toss our crispy wings in sauce that makes them soggy. There's nothing I like worse than biting into a rubbery wing that snaps back when I try to pull of the meat! Ack!

We serve our sauces for dipping the wings, that way my husband can have his fire engine hot, and I can have mine medium. Hubby also like to dip his in Blue Cheese...but that is not low carb!

Recipe for my sauce:

1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce (or Red Hot, or whatever kind you use)
4 Tbsp Butter (real butter...no using I Can't Believe stuff)
1 tsp garlic powder
1tsp onion powder

Now you can alter those amounts of each ingredient to taste. I also sometimes change-up and add a 1/2 cup of low carb Bar-B-Que sauce to give it a different tangy taste.

Without the BBQ sauce added to the mixture, the wings w/sauce is ZERO carbs. But even Lo-Carb BBQ sauce will have a small amount in it, so be vigilant of how much you use and consume

by Bonnie Calhoun

Friday, January 15, 2010

The Last Day by James Landis


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Last Day

Steerforth; 1 edition (September 1, 2009)

by

James Landis



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Landis lives in New Hampshire.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Warren Harlan Pease, the young narrator of this spellbinding novel, returns to his native New Hampshire from the Iraq War and spends an entire day with Jesus visiting and contemplating hi own life with fresh eyes, and a willing heart. He examines his relationships to those he loves─his girlfriend, his best friend, his father, his dead mother, his daughter ─ and grapples with the pain he has been carrying since the death of his mother when he was still a boy.

While in Iraq, armed with his sniper’s ‘s rifle and his deeply held faith, Specialist Pease traveled across ideological borders and earned an appreciation for his enemy’s culture and for what connect us all as human beings. He also learned how to kill and taught others to do the same. “War doesn’t test your faith in Jesus,” Warren comes to realize. “It tests your faith in yourself.” The Last Day answers some questions and asks many more. It’s a powerful meditation on religion and war, love and loss.

This work of compassion and healing grace will resonate with skeptics and believers, be shared and discussed between friends and among families. It is a book for our time, and forever.


If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter one of , go HERE


by Bonnie Calhoun


by Bonnie Calhoun

Monday, January 11, 2010

Do You Speak Christianese?



by Bonnie Calhoun

Saturday, January 09, 2010












by Bonnie Calhoun

Friday, January 08, 2010

BREAKING NEWS!!!

BREAKING FOX NEWS!!!

To save the economy in 2009,
the Obama government will start
Deporting all of the weird old people
in order to lower Social Security and Medicare costs.

I started crying - when I thought of you.

RUN, YOU OLD FART, RUN!!!!!


Well....what can I

say....someone sent it to me,

and I'm not going alone!!!!


by Bonnie Calhoun

Wednesday, January 06, 2010


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida

Summerside Press (November 1, 2009)

by

Sandra D. Bricker



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For more than a decade, Author Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While writing in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant
and publicist to some of daytime television's hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.

One of Sandie's passions revolves around the rights of animals. She's been involved in fundraising for Lost Angels Animal Rescue for several years now; in fact, a portion of the proceeds of Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida will go to help the non-profit group with their expenses. And Lost Angels paid her back in a big way: They brought a free-spirited Collie named Sophie into her life after the loss of her 15-year companion Caleb.

It was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer.

In Sandie's words: "I guess most people would see my career as a publicist as a sort of dream job. But giving it up turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me!" she declares. "Not only was I given the gift of getting to know my mother as an adult woman before she passed away, but I was also afforded the blessing of being able to focus completely on my dream of a writing career. I'm a Christian woman, first and foremost, so it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch their new Love Finds You line."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Lawyer Cassie Constantine has no plans to stay in Florida. She's here just long enough to sell her late husbands vacation house, a tacky bungalow she's always despised then she'll hightail it back to her gracious Boston brownstone.

But the place needs more work than Cassie bargained for. What's more, her widow status is like a target on her back and the elderly matchmakers around town manage to sidetrack her mission at every turn.

Holiday is a landmine of golf tournaments, ballroom dancing competitions, shuffleboard and day trips. But the biggest obstacle of all? Richard Dillon, the stuffed shirt she's paired with on the dance floor.

Cassie had always considered herself uptight but Richard won't take a walk on the beach without his socks and shoes! There's one little problem he makes her heart beat faster than the rhythm of the quickstep. Can Cassie and Richard let loose long enough to have a little fun?

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of Love Finds You in Holiday, Florida, go HERE.


Watch the trailer:




by Bonnie Calhoun

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

How To Hug A Baby

LOL...this is totally cute. The size of this "puppy" reminds me of Shadrach, Ane Mulligan's dog, and the fact that Ane became a grammy yesterday just completes the picture...and today is Ane's birthday! So Happy Birthday Ane-y girl!


The Proper 'Hugging' Of A Baby

instructions for properly hugging a baby:

1. First, uh, find a baby

2. Second, be sure that the object you found was indeed a baby by employing classic sniffing techniques.



3. Next you will need to flatten the baby before actually beginning the hugging process.



4. The 'paw slide'...Simply slide paws around baby and prepare for possible close-up.



5. Finally, if a camera is present, you will need to execute the difficult and patented 'hug, smile, and lean' so as to achieve the best photo quality.



by Bonnie Calhoun

Monday, January 04, 2010


This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Silent Governess

Bethany House; Original edition (January 1, 2010)

by

Julie Klassen



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Julie says: My background is in advertising and marketing, but I am blessed with a dream job—working as an editor of Christian fiction. I have been writing since childhood, but Lady of Milkweed Manor was my first novel. It was a finalist for a Christy Award and won second place in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards. My second novel, The Apothecary's Daughter, was a finalist in the ACFW Book of the Year awards. I am currently writing one novel a year.

I graduated from the University of Illinois and enjoy travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short naps, and coffee with friends.

My husband and I have two sons and live near St. Paul, Minnesota.


ABOUT THE BOOK


Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret. She never intended to overhear his.

But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything--his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.

He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggles against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.

Moving, mysterious, and romantic, The Silent Governess takes readers inside the intriguing life of a nineteenth-century governess in an English manor house where all is not as it appears.

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of The Silent Governess, go HERE. You can also sign up as a Follower when you get to that page, and get announcements of the first chapters for all the great books we tour!



by Bonnie Calhoun

Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year

by Bonnie Calhoun

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!




We have made it to another year!

There were many occurances and events in the last year that changed us personally and as a nation. I pray that in this New Year we will allow God's glory and perfect will to overcome our preferences and lead us into His grace!


by Bonnie Calhoun