The Captain Takes a Wife by Doris Durbin

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I received a free copy of The Captain Takes a Wife by Doris Durbin for my honest review for BookLook Blogger.

The war is over and Captain Harry Richardson is looking forward to starting a new life in a small town as a pastor. He also hopes to find a wife sometime soon. His journey to the little mountain town turns quite interesting when he meets Sarah Franklin and realizes she’s in some kind of trouble.

She begs him for his help, and he cannot refuse. After all, she’s quite an attractive woman. So, as he tries to help her during the journey, they seem to meet trouble around every corner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was suspenseful and romantic. There were unexpected twists, and just when I thought I knew who the head bad guy was, I found out I didn’t.

The plot, character development and dialogue all worked well to move the story forward without slowing down to much or leaving me too breathless for too long. There were some sweet, tender moments to balance out the threats and suspense, yet the pace  didn’t waiver.

Descriptions were vivid and painted pictures in my mind. There was even some humor at places. The  only thing I question is the setting. The place was well described and explained, but the story is to be taking place in 1875, and yet, I felt like I was in present day more often than 1875. That didn’t hinder my interest or the fact that I liked the book, but it did cross my mind a few times.

I’ve been reading books published by West Bow Press for quite a while and often find them lacking in many areas, so it was refreshing and delightful to read a book published by West Bow Press that I felt was quality fiction. So kudos to Doris Durbin for writing a book of good quality that I can honestly say I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a romantic suspense story.

Flash Fiction Friday: For the Love of Dogs

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I took my two dogs and walked on the rail trail. I had my phone and was texting a friend when my arm wrenched as the dogs strained at their leashes.

I raised my eyes to find a beautiful blonde with emerald eyes and a quiet yellow labrador retriever by her side. She was eyeing my dogs as she and her dog were trying to pass us.

She met my eyes. I smiled. “Hello.”

“It appears your dogs need some training.”

“I’m sorry. Yeah, they won’t hurt you or your dog. They’d like to greet the two of you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.” She frowned at my dogs.

She hadn’t stopped moving and I was now facing the opposite direction than I’d been traveling, looking at her back.

“Wait. Can I at least get your name? Are you married?” Other people were now looking in our direction.

She glanced over her shoulder and I began moving toward her.

“No, I’m not married and my name is Amanda.” The corners of her lips twitched.

I jogged a few steps to get closer to her. “Can I take you to dinner?”

“I don’t think so.” She grimaced at my dogs.

“Seriously? You’re turning me down because of my dogs?”

“You can actually tell a lot about a person by their pets. But also, I’m not a fan of Boston Terriers and I don’t think your dogs and my dog would get along.”

“If it’s that important to you, I’ll get rid of my dogs.”

“Now you’re being ridiculous. You don’t even know me.” She turned and began walking again.

“Look, Amanda, okay, I know I may sound crazy, desperate even, but you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met and I just can’t let you get away.” I knew I was groveling, but I was tired of being alone.

Her lips twitched again, and then broke into a wide smile. “That’s definitely the most original pickup line I have ever heard. What is your name?”

“My name, oh right, my name. I’m Jason. Jason Walters.”

“Well, Jason Walters, why don’t you get your phone out of your pocket and I’ll give you my number.”

“Really?” I began digging for my phone.

“My name is Amanda Reynolds.”

I typed furiously.

“My number is 555-4202.” She waited as I typed. “Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. I’ll call you soon.”

She smiled, turned around and walked away.

It was then that a terrible thought niggled its way into my brain. That’s probably not her real last name or her real phone number. Do you really think she’d give you her real information as foolishly as you acted.

I hated it, but that thought was probably more accurate than I cared to admit. I guessed I’d find out soon enough.

 

Poem: Chocolate

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Chocolate
by Kelly F. Barr

Silky smooth
Melts in your mouth
Dark or milk
What’s your preference?

Chocolate fudge,
Chocolate chips,
Chocolate truffles,
Chocolate pie, cake, cookies.

I dream of chocolate.
I crave chocolate.
Chocolate relieves my stress.
Chocolate helps me write.

Top Ten Tuesday

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toptentuesday

The week’s theme for the Top Ten Tuesday meme by The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten Underrated/Hidden Gems That I Have Read Recently. Therefore, the following picks are books I read in 2016 that I really enjoyed but didn’t hear/read anyone else really talking about. So, if you haven’t read any of these, I suggest you may want to check them out.

A great story about the complicated relationships within families, as well as a really sweet romance between two unlikely people.

2. 

This is probably my favorite book of 2016 and I can’t believe that more of you fantasy lovers haven’t been talking this one up. If you like fantasy, you’ve got to check this book out!

3. 

This is a book about one man’s struggles with life, love and relationships. I had never heard of Charles Martin before reading this book, but I enjoyed this book enough that I will be checking out more books by Charles Martin, who has written quite a few.

4. 

If you like good YA fiction with strong female characters, you’ll enjoy Dauntless, but don’t stop with that one. Read the other two books in the serious as well: Chivalrous and Courageous.

5. 

I don’t see a lot of hype ever talked up about these formulaic romance stories, and I am not a big fan of them either. However, Kissed by a Cowboy by Debra Clopton is a great romance story with lots of good characters.

6. 

This is the first steampunk book I have ever read and I really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to read the rest of the series. Do any of the rest of you read any steampunk? I haven’t seen any on any of the blogs I’ve visited.

7. 

Not my usual genre, and I’m not a big fan of books with violence and profanity, but this book was written in such a personable way about the life of a Marine in Vietnam, that I really did enjoy it. I had difficulty putting down until I reached the end.

I know we’re supposed to do ten, but I cannot honestly think of any more books that I read in 2016 that haven’t received a lot of attention and hype.

A Productive Writing Activity and a Great Writing Resource

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If you are a writer, do you have a tribe? I do. I actually have a few and each of them is important to me. So, what do I mean by a tribe? Well, there are the two writing groups that I am a member of – one national and that tribe is almost all online and is useful for contests, helpful advice and tips, and some good critiquing; the other group is local and it’s great for connecting with other writers and learning new aspects of the writing craft on a monthly basis. Then there’s the critique group that meets every other Tuesday and that’s where I get lots of good feedback on my writing. But the tribe closest to my heart is a small group that I kind of grew on my own. I just shared with a couple of friends that I was writing and they asked questions and were very interested in writing as well. As we talked, we decided it would be a great idea to form our own group similar to C.S. Lewis’s Inklings group, and so we did. We meet once a week to just write, although we often share ideas, brainstorm together or ask each other’s opinions of something we’ve written.

The most fun thing that we do, though, is, we pull an all-nighter once or twice a year. That means we get together on a Friday evening and spend the entire night writing or doing writing related things. This past Friday night we did that and I prepared and scheduled four blog posts and revised and edited four chapters of my WIP, pretty much starting one of those chapters all over. I wrote over 1,000 new words on my WIP.

Now, for a great writing resource: if you do not subscribe to Writer’s Digest Magazine, I highly recommend it. I recently received my February 2017 issue and there are some great articles on ways to “Get Organized, Be Productive”. There are a couple of fascinating articles about some really good authors and so much more.

I have written the following quotes on index cards to post in my writing area to encourage and inspire me, and they came from the February 2017 Writer’s Digest Magazine’s articles:

“The job of the writer is to ignite a fictional daydream in the brain of the reader and then step away and become invisible so the story becomes the reader’s own. You don’t want them to even know you are in the room.” — Archer Mayor

“I have multiple goals to achieve in each paragraph. Sometimes it’s clarity, sometimes humor, content or giving the reader nuts-and-bolts information to take away.” (You can add or change any of these to fit your genre.) “I am trying to write the best-written __________ book the reader has read all year long.” (Fill in the blank with your genre.)                                                                                        — Archer Mayor

“There is no bad writing. There’s only writing that needs more revision. When staring at the incoherent shambles of an early draft, wanting to pour gasoline on my laptop and set it afire, I tell myself this and get back to revising.”    — Eric Scott Fischl

Good stuff, right? Every issue is packed with stuff like this!

Flash Fiction Friday: Battles of the Heart (Part 2)

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“What is your name, lass?” The soldier’s eyes searched her face.

“Alita Washington.”

The soldier stopped and stared at her. “Not the daughter of Sir Washington? Sister of Gabriel and Jaxson Washington?”

“The very one! You knew them?”

“Aye. Gabriel was my best friend.”

“Yet you still serve his murderer?” Her green eyes sparked and flashed.

“Murderer? Miss, your father and brother, Gabriel were killed in a battle just like this one.”

“And Jaxson returned home maimed. But it was Sir Wallace who pierced my father through and left Gabriel to die on the battlefield.” She raised her voice.

“Anyone engaged in a battle can lose their life or sustain a permanent injury. Surely you can’t hold Sir Wallace accountable for actions in battle.”

“I can, I do, and I will. Now I think it best if we stopped talking and you simply lead on.”

“I’ve just one more question.” His steady gaze met hers. “How many have you killed or left on the battlefield for dead in your quest to find and kill Sir Wallace?”

She stood, her mouth hanging open, but uttered no sound.

He watched as her face crumbled, tears began to pour from her eyes and sobs racked her body. She began to sway and he caught her in his arms before she landed in a heap on the ground.

He held her and stroked her hair. “Ah, you poor lass, revenge can destroy the avenger. I know you’ve been hurt. You’ve lost loved ones and you’ve been grieving, but killing Sir Wallace won’t bring your loved ones back.”

Her sobbing subsided but he didn’t release her. He simply put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. He wiped her tears with the thumb of his other hand. “Where is Jaxson and your Mum? Do they know where you are?”

She shook her head violently. “My mother died giving birth to me. Jaxson is all I have left, but he’s broken. He limps around and does what he can with his remaining hand, but he hasn’t found a way to earn any money. I don’t know what’s to become of us.”

As she looked into his eyes, he lowered his head toward hers and once again claimed her lips in a kiss. This time the kiss was long and passionate. She felt her knees go weak and put her arms around his neck and clung to him, returning his kiss.

When the kiss ended, they both stood trying to catch their breath. Then he looked into her eyes. “Marry me, Alita. I will take care of you and Jaxson.”

She gasped and stepped back. “But I’ve only just met you, and you say you were Gabriel’s best friend. How is it then that you left him on the battlefield to die? You were there, weren’t you?”

His eyes grew watery. “Aye, I was there. I tried to get to Gabriel when I saw the large soldier he was fighting gaining the upper hand, but I couldn’t reach him in time. When I did get to him, it was too late. I held him in my arms as he took his last breath. I didn’t leave him on the battlefield to die. I left him on the battlefield already dead.” Tears spilled from his eyes and he hung his head.

Alita stepped forward, put her hands on either side of his face and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him tenderly. Then she offered him a small smile. “You have asked me to marry you and I do not even know your name.”

“My name is Bertram Weinhold.”

“Well, Bertram Weinhold, I will marry you.”

A Poem: Time

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Time
by Kelly F. Bar

Time:
I never seem to have enough
To accomplish all my stuff;
Teaching, parenting, housekeeping, writing;
To create a schedule – I keep trying.
Sometimes feeling overwhelmed, I want to weep.
I’d get more done if I didn’t need sleep.
A precious commodity is Time –
To waste it is a heinous crime.

Top Ten Tuesday

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Today’s meme by The Broke and the Bookish is Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant to Read but Didn’t Get To (But Totally Plan To).

toptentuesday

I fell in love with this cover the first time I saw it and I wanted to read the book. Then I saw it turn up on lots of TTT lists in 2016 and I learned more about it, and it is still on my TBR.

2. 

I have always been fascinated by the legend of Jack the Ripper and the fact that the case remains unsolved, so any book, fiction or not that has anything to do with Jack the Ripper is of interest to me.

3. 

Libraries and adventures in another world! Anything to do with books and libraries, count me in! The next book in this series is due out in February 2017 — I’ve got to get a hold of this book before then!

4. 

Mystery and suspense — sign me up!

5. 

An orphaned child, a circus and a pride of lions.

6. 

Another story that involved a circus. Yes, I love the circus and I love animals.

7. 

I even own this book and still haven’t gotten to it yet. As a matter of fact, I own the first and second books of this series too, and have only read the first one, so book two is also still on my TBR.

8. 

A woman trying to rise to a better career makes a bet about a client and then unexpectedly gets personally involved with him. What will happen when he finds out about the wager?

9. 

I own this one too, and the second book in the series is due out in March.

10. 

In all honesty, I was one book short, so I went looking at lists of books published in 2016 and found this book about two people who connect over their common love of the Narnia book series by C.S. Lewis, so, of course, since I am a HUGE fan of the Narnia series myself, this had to be added to the list.

Here is one nonfiction book that came out in 2016 that I just recently found out about, but really want to read:

I still really want her first book, Wired for Story, as well.