12 Pearls of Christmas Giveaway

Too Precious to Wear
by Sarah Sundin

One Christmas when my mother was a girl, she received a string of pearls from her father. Since her parents were divorced-an unusual situation in the 1950s-she treasured the pearls as a sign of her father's love. When he passed away her senior year in high school, the pearls took on even greater significance.

When I was growing up, my mother talked often about the pearls, but my sister and I never saw them. Mom kept them safe in their silk-lined velvet box tucked in her jewelry box. For dressy occasions, she wore other nice jewelry, but never the pearls.

The pearls were too precious to wear.

What if the strand broke and even a single pearl was lost? What if the clasp broke and she lost them forever? She couldn't risk it. Better to keep them cocooned in silky security.

When my mother offered to let me wear her pearls on my wedding day, I was deeply touched. This was more than "something old" or "something borrowed," but a sign that she trusted me and loved me.

A few days before the wedding, my mother pulled the box from seclusion. My sister and I watched with curiosity and awe.

The pearls had turned a deep grayish-yellow, they were flaking, and some had fallen apart.

They were fake.

For over thirty years, my mother nurtured a piece of costume jewelry. All that time she could have worn them and enjoyed them without worry. Her father gave them to her for a purpose-to wear them and feel lovely and ladylike and special. He didn't mean for her to hide them away.

On our wedding day, my husband gave me a strand of real pearls. They symbolize my husband's sacrificial love for me-they were expensive for a graduate student with half-Scottish blood.

I vowed never to tuck them away but to wear them often. Yes, I'm careful. I inspect the cord and knots and clasp, and I plan to have them restrung when necessary. But I wear them and enjoy them. That's why my husband gave them to me.

Our heavenly Father gives us gifts too-brilliant and costly. We should cherish them, but we should use them. Whether our individual gifts involve serving, teaching, encouragement, evangelism, or even money-they have a purpose. The Lord wants us to use our gifts to bless others and to spread the message of His love.

While pearls make women look lovely, using our God-given gifts for His kingdom makes us even lovelier. And just as pearls grow more lustrous with frequent wear, our gifts from God grow in beauty and strength the more we use them.

This Christmas I plan to wear my string of pearls, a sign of my husband's love-and to display my pearls from heaven, a sign of my Father's love.

Have a lustrous Christmas!

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Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. She works on-call as a hospital pharmacist. Her first novel, A Distant Melody, historical fiction set during World War II, will be published by Revell in March 2010. Please visit her at http://www.sarahsundin.com or her blog or find her on Facebook.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

Giveaway thanks to Litfuse
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Giveaway of The Magician's Book by Laura Miller

I am giving away 3 copies of the Magician's Book by Laura Miller
To enter all you need to do is tell me the first book you fell in love with. Feel free to leave it as a comment or send me an email to mybookthoughts@yahoo.com. Please include your name and email address.

Contest begins December 11, 2009 and ends December 23, 2009.
3 winners will be chosen at random.

Giveaway provided by Valerie Russo at HBG Books


Here's what the publisher's have to say about The Magician's Book

THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is the story of one reader's long, tumultuous relationship with C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. As a child, Laura Miller read and re-read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and its sequels countless times, and wanted nothing more that to find her own way to Narnia. In her skeptical teens, a casual reference to the Chronicles's Christian themes left her feeling betrayed and alienated from the stories she had come to know and trust. Years later, convinced that "the first book we fall in love with shapes us every bit as much as the first person we fall in love with," Miller returns to Lewis's classic fantasies to see what mysteries Narnia still holds for adult eyes--and is captured in an entirely new way.

In her search to uncover the source of these small books' mysterious power, Miller looks to their creator, Clive Staples Lewis. What she discovers is not the familiar, idealized image of the author, but a man who stands in stark contrast to his whimsical creation-scarred by a tragic and troubled childhood, Oxford educated, a staunch Christian, and a social conservative, armed with deep prejudices.

THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is an intellectual adventure story, in which Miller travels to Lewis's childhood home in Ireland, the possible inspiration for Narnia's landscape; unfolds his intense friendship with J.R.R.Tolkien, a bond that led the two of them to create the greatest myth-worlds of modern times; and explores Lewis's influence on writers like Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Franzen, and Philip Pullman. Finally reclaiming Narnia "for the rest of us," Miller casts the Chronicles as a profoundly literary creation, and the portal to a life-long adventure in books, art, and the imagination. Erudite, wide-ranging, and playful, THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is for all who live in thrall to the magic of books.


My Thoughts

As a fan of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series as well as the author J.R.R Tolkien I found myself to be thoroughly into read this book. The author has traced the steps of these legendary authors and have shed a new light onto the mythical world of Narnia. She has transformed this book into a readers portal to Narnia. I cannot give it high enough praise. A book that all book lovers should she read and cherish.


Please feel free to use the Reader's Group Guide for your Book Clubs

Reader's Group Guide

1. Laura Miller was introduced to the Chronicles of Narnia by her teacher and was immediately swept into their magical world. Describe your own discovery and reaction to them.

2. When Miller writes about her most powerful reading experiences while growing up, she cites Island of the Blue Dolphins, Five Children and It, and the Little House on the Prairie series. Name some of the formative books of your childhood and discuss why they were important to you. What about them has stayed with you into adulthood?

3. In the excerpt that opens The Magician’s Book, Lucy encounters the best story she has ever read. Afterward, she is unable to remember what happened in the story or to reread it. Have you ever lost yourself in a story as Lucy did? What were you reading? How old were you? Discuss why you think you were able to forget yourself so completely. How do our daily lives affect the way we read? What does this say about the role readers play in the creation of a story’s meaning?

4. Neil Gaiman and Jonathan Franzen note the importance of C. S. Lewis’s books in their own lives and work. Discuss the similarities and differences between their books and the Chronicles of Narnia. Have you noticed Lewis’s influence on other writers? If so, which writers? And why does their work remind you of the Pevensie children’s adventures?

5. Does Miller’s description of C. S. Lewis’s life and personality alter your view of his novels? In what ways? Have your opinions of other books changed after discovering personal details about the author? Why does biographical information affect our interpretation?

6. Laura Miller writes that she will not address the religious symbolism in the Chronicles, focusing instead on the stories and their creator. Do you agree with her decision? Are there other aspects of the books you would have liked Miller to address?

7. When Miller discovered Narnia’s Christian messages, her feeling of betrayal drove her away. Eventually, she returned and reexamined the books as an adult. Why was she upset by her new understanding? Discuss the role that the passage from innocence to understanding played in her reaction. Is one experience more valid than another?

8. Part memoir, part biography, and part literary criticism, The Magician’s Book touches on the many factors that shaped the author’s relationship with the novels. Discuss the extent to which each reader’s knowledge informs and shapes his or her interpretations of stories.

9. At its core, The Magician’s Book is the story of Laura Miller’s attempt to regain her childhood enchantment with the Chronicles. Have you reread the Chronicles of Narnia as an adult? If so, how has your enjoyment or understanding of them changed? Do you think it is possible to regain the childhood experience of reading? Why?

About the Author

Laura Miller is a co-founder of Salon.com, where she is currently a staff writer, and a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, Time magazine and other publications. She is the editor of The Salon.com Reader's Guide to Contemporary Authors (Penguin, 2000). She lives in New York.

About The Book
In 1890, Julia Cavanaugh travels west from New York City to unite orphans in her care with new families.

Imagine her horror when she discovers that she's to be "delivered," too--as bride to an uncouth miner! But with no return fare, Julia's options are bleak.

What does God have planned for her on the lonesome prairies of Montana?


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MEET THE AUTHORS

Tricia Goyer is the author of several books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Montana. To find out more visit her website: www.triciagoyer.com

Ocieanna Fleiss is a published writer and has edited six of Tricia Goyer's historical novels. She lives with her husband and their four children in the Seattle area. Connect with Ocieanna on Facebook!


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My REVIEW

Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss delights readers once again with their touching addition to the Loved Finds You series, Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana.

In 1889, nineteen year old Julia Cavanaugh, leaves New York to travel on the orphan train to unite the young girls in her charge with their new families. Once arriving in Lonesome Prairie, Julia soon realizes that twelve year old Shelby has been overlooked and will be separated from her young sister Bea. Not wanting the two sisters to be separated and already caring for them like a mother, Julia decides to take on both girls as her own. After assigning Bea to his sister Elizabeth, Parson Isaac cannot bear to witness another child be taken from his sister, he immediately argues with Julia. Soon Elizabeth and her husband step up to take in both girls. Julia then prepares to leave knowing that her girls will be well taken care off. Trying to reach her train before it leaves the station and her stranded in the middle of nowhere Julia is held up by the Parson wanting to apologize. Horace shows up further hindering her from catching her train, declaring that he was bought her as a mail order bride from Mrs. Hamlin. Julia’s train departs with out her. Not knowing what to do, and trying to avoid Horace, Julia shows up at the home of the Parson’s sisters. Not wanting to disrupt Shelby and Bea while they settle into their new family Julia is ask to stay in the mud house belonging to Parson Isaac. Alone for the first time in her life Julia is determined to find her way back to New York and her the woman who has been like a mother to her. Although Julia has one plan fate seems to have another. She soon finds herself becoming a part of Isaac's family as well as falling for the Parson himself. Julia soon feels rejected by Isaac when she learns of the vow he has made to God stating that he will never marry. After learning that his first wife died, Julia finally works up the courage to ask only once again feeling rejected. Soon Isaac realizes that Julia is the love of his life will he be able to reach her before she boards her train?


Love Finds in Lonesome Prairie, Montana is a pure delight filled with the God’s grace. Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss has provided a wonderful message that will enlighten reader. I enjoyed reading as Julia’s character grew in her faith as she learns the difference between believing in God and trusting in God. A true gem that sparkles on every page with carefully crafted characters and believable situations. Miriam’s quite calm provided a soothing calm to rough surrounding landscape. Truly a book that all should read.

Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana is a cross between Janette Oke and Catherine Marshall. I have to say that this has been my favorite book of the year, one that I would love to see be made into a movie.


This book was provided by Lit Fuse thanks Amy and Stephanie

In the midst of a country with divided loyalties there emerges an epic love story that will take hold of your senses. In Enemy of the King author Beth Trissel takes you into the heart of the Revolutionary War and welcomes you into the lives of Meriwether Steele and her guardian Jeremiah Jordan.

When Meriwether’s father Captain Steele dies, and Meriwether herself falls victim to illness, she is placed within the care of the strappingly handsome widow, Jeremiah Jordan. Meriwether soon finds herself falling deeply in love with the man who has cared for her. She soon realizes that Jeremiah’s loyalties do not lie with the Crown. Uncovering that he is a Patriot spy she soon discovers that this secret may very well be their undoing. Meriwether struggles with the her own strong Loyalist beliefs fearing, knowing that one day she will have to choose between the man she loves and the land she once called home, the land for which her twin brother fights. She soon must choose a side when a group of soldiers in the King’s service come calling to arrest Jeremiah. Shooting the British officer, Captain Vaughan to save her beloved Jeremiah, they are forced to flee deep into the backcountry of South Carolina. On the run like Robin Hood and Maid Marianne, soon the two meet up with the band of men that support the cause of freedom. Jeremiah must keep Meriwether safely out of the hands of the British and out of the arms of his men. Desperate to declare his love her Meriwether, yet still paying a penance to his late wife Rachel, who haunts more than just their memories. Will Jeremiah be released from the crushing grip of Rachel, and give Meriwether the happy ending they both long for? Or will all be lost?

Enemy of the King, is an alluring story of romance, passion, desire, and danger. With characters so perfectly created, like intricate works of art, you feel each and every emotion that they possess. Beth Trissel has created a vast cast of characters that compliment and complete each other as well as the story. Highly descriptive, I could almost smell the jasmine and rosemary as it floats through the air, hear the horse hooves as they pound into the earth, touch the moss as it hang delicately off the trees, and feel the breeze from the bullets as they fly past. Beth Trissel not only places her story in South Caroline, she uses the place it self as another character that springs to life and adds depth. A true work of art that embodies the spirit of historical fiction.

The perfect novel of historical romance, offering the reader an artistic blend of adventure, history, and of course romance. You could feel the heat and passion emanating from Jeremiah and Meriwether. Desire, passion, love, lust, danger, and a haunting sense of foreboding, all contained within the first few chapters making Enemy of the King an enthralling read. Defiantly a book to be read again and again.


Enemy of the King provided for review by the author Beth Trissel

Thanks for the book Beth

Review by Angela Simmons



Take a stroll through the Pleasant Grove Gardens with Meriwether, Jeremiah, and author Beth Trissel


Buy Enemy of the King


Visit Beth Trissel's website