Look Over My Shoulder

When people want you to get to know their lives and family, they open their scrapbook or photo album, place it on the coffee table, and walk you through the pages of memories. (See picture at left from a getaway weekend my husband and I shared a couple of years ago.)

Today I’m opening the “photo album” of some of the books I’ve read within the last few weeks. The authors deserve our applause. They have that from me along with my prayers for their ongoing success and faithfulness as writers with a heart for God.

A Seahorse in the Thames

Susan Meissner

Harvest House Publishers

The beauty of Susan’s writing shines like moon-sequins on a quiet ocean. She tempts me to read fiction with a highlighter in hand to note and preserve the exquisite phrases. Finding hope and joy in unexpected and unimaginable places is a subject Susan perfects in A Seahorse in the Thames.

Coldwater Revival

Nancy Jo Jenkins

RiverOak Publishing

Sometimes I pick up a book with high hopes and feel the reservoir drain away as I turn the pages. Nancy Jo’s Coldwater Revival FED my reservoir the deeper I plunged. What a beautifully written, emotion-rich story! I can’t shake its impact on my heart.

In All Deep Places

Susan Meissner

Harvest House Publishers

Cookie cutter happy endings must disturb the author as much as they do me and any other reader who knows that survival is a hope sweeter than any canned ending. The lyricism of Susan’s writing sings baritone in this story told exclusively from the male character’s point of view. The author took me deeper than I may have thought I wanted to venture, but at the end of the song, the echo resonated long into the night.

Several more books will be highlighted on this blog in a day or two. Thought for the day: Books are one of life’s sweetest blessings.