Counted Worthy: Cover Reveal

I have been eagerly anticipating this day ever since I made the decision to self-publish Counted Worthy. So, readers, I’m pleased to introduce you to the official cover of Counted Worthy. And to make things better, it’s now available for pre-order!

Thanks so much to all of you who have encouraged me along the way, supported this project through Kickstarter, and joined the team of beta readers and editors. I appreciate every single person who is reading this post.

For those of you who enjoy building up Story Shop points, sharing this post is worth three points instead of the normal one point for post shares. Please share this post on your social media accounts and send me the links so I can award you points.

Please check out all the details below! And let me know if I missed any details. My baby is finally making it’s debut. 😀

Synopsis

Heather Stone lives in fear of repeating the past, yet she continues doing the one thing that could trigger another disaster. When the police trace an illegal Bible to her house, Heather’s world begins to crumble.

Her father’s life hangs in the balance. No one with the power to help knows or cares. If she tries to save him, she could lead her friends to their deaths. If she does nothing, her father’s fate is certain. Can she evade a hostile police force and win public sympathy before it’s too late?

Pre-Order

Get the paperback or Kindle e-book.

Check out the special Counted Worthy page for more details!

Sneak Peek

Want to get a look at the first chapter of Counted Worthy? Wait no longer.

Read Chapter One

September 11, 2014November 28, 2017

Book Review: In His Image

I looked at his face, for the first time feeling a sense of common humanity with him. Before I had subconsciously been thinking of the inhabitants as different from us, somehow not truly human, whatever their biological makeup might be. But that was wrong. This young man had a life just as real as mine; a heart, a mind, and emotions, as genuine as my own.

It’s so fun to see authors’ works improving as they continue to write. Several people told me that In His Image was way better than Radialloy and they were so right. I liked Radialloy, but it took me a while to get into it and I found it a little difficult to follow at times. No such problem here.

Andi and her adoptive father work the sickbay on board a space craft that searches for extra-terrestrial life. As Christians, neither Andi, her dad, or her cousin Crash believe in such a thing. After all, people are uniquely created in the image of God. Right? When the team experiences a rocky landing on an exploratory trip to a new planet, all of them are shocked to find themselves pulled into a colony of people. How did the civilization get there? Are they aliens or humans? And what should the crew of the Surveyor do about them?

The characterization in this books was fantastic. I could sense Andi being stretched and growing as a person. Elasson came to life even though he had limited dialogue due to speaking a different language. There were some tantalizing hints dropped about Crash’s past. Plus some pretty neat developments with August.

For those of you who might raise your eyebrows at the fictional discovery of extra-terrestrial life, it’s handled well. Promise. A totally Biblical worldview and explanation spiced with the age-old author game of, “What if?”

P.S. I read this on my kindle, therefore I can lend it to someone. Who wants to borrow the Kindle copy of this book? If you’d like to be considered, leave a comment saying so!

August 8, 2014

Book Giveaway: Cooper Kids Adventure Series (part 2)

Last week I posted a giveaway for the first four books in The Cooper Kids Adventure Series. The winner of that giveaway is…

Lindsay!

Lindsay was a newcomer to Leah’s Bookshelf during this giveaway, but hopefully it won’t be the last time she joins us! 🙂 For those of you who didn’t win, don’t despair. You get a second change this week, because I’m giving away books 5-8 of the same series. Let me emphasize that you DO NOT need to read these books in order. They’re all stand alone adventures that work well together or apart. What’s more, this set includes two of my favorite books of the series, Flying Blind (titled Mayday at Two Thousand Five Hundred Feet in newer editions) and The Legend of Annie Murphy.

The Legend of Annie Murphy: The weird front cover of this book was enough to make me wonder if I would like it. None of the other Cooper Kids books had disappointed in the past, though, so I opened it up and started reading. For those of you looking at the cover still, yes, there are some “ghostly” elements, but Annie isn’t actually a ghost. She’s a woman who got stuck in a time warp and is unable to escape. This book has less of a faith-based message than the others, but I loved it because of how funny it is when Jay and Lila get stuck between the past and present. I think any of you wibbley-wobbly, timey-wimey fans would love this book.

Flying Blind: The lesson of faith in this book is quite strong. Young Jay Cooper gets a terrifying lesson in faith when a flying accident leaves him blind and in charge of flying his uncles Cessna. Fighting to stay conscious, running out of fuel, and flying straight towards a mountain range, Jay’s life balances on a razor edge.

I didn’t read this book till long after I finished the other books (we didn’t own it until later). I cried through the entire thing. Jay’s vulnerability, his conversations with his Dad, and his determination to trust God with his fate really touched my heart. Some people don’t like this one as much because it’s not the same thriller-style story as the other books, but I loved the change of pace.

The rules for this week’s giveaway remain the same. The books can only be mailed within the continental United States. To enter, leave a comment listing five of your favorite books. The giveaway will run for one week. Thanks for joining us!

August 1, 2014

Book Review and Giveaway: The Cooper Kids Adventure Series

This is our third week of celebrating 200 followers on Leah’s Bookshelf. Last week I reviewed Radialloy, by J. Grace Pennington and gave away a two week kindle loan of the book. Before I launch into this week’s fun, I’d like to announce last week’s winner. (Cue drumroll.)

OnionTea!

Congratulations, OnionTea! I hope you enjoy the book. I’ll be sending you an email asking for the email address associated with your kindle. After I have that I can send you the loan invitation. You’ll have to accept the invitation within 7 days. After you accept it, you’ll have 14 days to read Radialloy.

This week I’m giving away not one but four books! The winner of this week’s giveaway will receive the first four paperbacks in The Cooper Kids Adventure Series. These books are great fun. The back covers of the books say they’re for 10-14 year old readers, and I think that pegs it perfectly. They’re interesting enough to be really fun quick reads for older teens as well.

~*~

Gozan, this is no task for children! It will take an army, not just for men and two … children!” Al-Dallam only shook his perplexed head. “They will all be killed the first day. The Dragon’s Throat has no mercy!” —The Door in the Dragon’s Throat

“At any rate, we still encounter these forces from time to time, and one such manifestation is a terrible madness, an inescapable curse that sometimes besets people here. The native word is Moro-Kunda; it means the Madness Before Death. It has no known cause, no known cure, and is always fatal. The curse fell upon Tommy. He went mad, and though we tried to stop him, he fabricated that crude raft and fled from the island.” The man paused dramatically and then added,” But he couldn’t escape Moro-Kunda.” —Escape from the Island of Aquarius

Doctor Cooper shook his head with disgust. “Jay, it’s a perfect example of man’s sinful nature without God. That’s why the Lord commanded Joshua to drive out all the ungodly inhabitants of the land. He didn’t want his people coming into contact with this kind of moral and spiritual pollution.” —The Tombs of Anak

Lila floated in the pd for a while, weeping, resting her head against the cold metal wall. How long would her oxygen bottle last? Did anyone even know where she was? —Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea

~*~

Adventure, archaeological mysteries, and spiritual warfare intermingle in these edge-of-your-seat stories. These books are great for kids who like the weird and unusual, and they’re equally interesting for readers who enjoy non-stop action. I enjoy them as one-sitting reads that pull me into the story and don’t let me go until I turn the last page.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment explaining how you first found Leah’s Bookshelf. Due to the cost of shipping, the books can only be mailed to addresses in the continental United States. The giveaway will remain open for entries through August 7th.

Announcements

Don’t forget that a new prize is available in the Story Shop. You can also find a new list of ways to earn Story Shop points. Check it out!
In preparation for the release of Counted Worthy, I just started a professional Facebook page. Liking the page would be a very nice thing to do, and it will also earn you a point to spend in the Story Shop if you submit your Facebook name using the contact form. Be sure to let me know that you’re looking for Story Shop points in exchange for liking me on Facebook. The same goes for my Twitter account.
Wild Thing, book one in the Winnie the Horse Gentler series, is currently free for kindle on Amazon. I don’t know if the deal is for today only or for the week.

July 25, 2014November 28, 2017

Book Review and Giveaway: Radialloy

This week I’ll be reviewing Radialloy and doing a slightly unorthodox givewaway. But before we get to that, let’s find out who won last week’s giveaway. (Cue drum-roll.) The winner is…

Morgan Huneke

Congratulations, Morgan! I hope you enjoy the book. I’ll be sending you an email asking for your mailing address so I can get that to you. Now for this week’s review.

The scream woke me up. He wasn’t fighting them to win. He was fighting them to give me a chance to get away.

Andi Lloyd enjoys her life aboard the surveyor, a class-A vessel that travels through outer space. She works alongside the Doctor, her adopted father. When her swashbuckling cousin, Eagle Crash, comes aboard with warnings of imminent danger, Andi doesn’t know what to make of it. Most of the trouble seems to be coming from Crash’s arrogance. Unfortunately, the problems don’t leave with him.

It took me a while to get really engrossed in this story, but that’s probably because I’m not used to sci-fi. It took J. Grace Pennington a while to set up the conflict that drives the second half of the book. Once I reached the tipping point and everything started coming together and making sense, I couldn’t stop reading. It was pretty intense. I’d tell you more, but a lot of the suspense comes from not knowing what’s going on, so I won’t ruin that for you..

Radialloy is a unique story about loyalty, trust, and family.

Giveaway

This week the giveaway is NOT limited to residents of the continental United States. You folks living in different countries are welcome to enter. The only limitation this time is that you need to either have a kindle or the free kindle reader for PC. The giveaway is unconventional because I’m not actually giving away a copy of the book. Because I own a kindle copy of Radialloy, I can lend that copy to someone for a two week period. So, the winner of the giveaway will get to borrow Radialloy for two weeks.

Last week it was so much fun to read your reasons for following Leah’s Bookshelf. This week I’d like to know what other websites you use to find good books (Goodreads, other book blogs, etc.). As usual, simply leave a comment answering this question and you’ll be entered in the giveaway.

What sites (besides Leah’s Bookshelf) do you use to find good book recommendations (Goodreads, other book blogs, book review sites)?

July 11, 2014June 26, 2014

Guest Book Review: Pilgrim’s Progress

A few weeks ago when I mentioned my mom’s upcoming surgery and suggested that some guest book reviews would be nice, Spencer R. kindly submitted several for use here on Leah’s Bookshelf. Because this review has been posted previously on his blog, I’m just going to post a teaser here and give you the link to his posts. (The reason for this is that Google assumes identical content on two websites indicates plagiarism, and both sites are less likely to get a good rank in a Goggle search.) Enjoy Spencer’s review and be sure to leave a comment for him here or on his site.

I recently read John Bunyan’s classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress as part of my ‘Great Books’ curriculum for school. Bunyan wrote it while he was imprisoned for not conforming to the state church’s practices in the early 1670’s. It was one of the first times I had read a book that was from that time period so the old English was somewhat of a stretch for me, but I was still able to appreciate his message in the book. One of my favorite parts of the book was the way Bunyan represents death.

How many of you have read Pilgrim’s Progress? What was your favorite part of the story? Have you read any of Bunyan’s other works?

June 27, 2014August 5, 2014

Book Review: Prophet

“It’s snowing ashes,” Ela repeated. “I’m going up to the wall to look for the fire.”

What happens when the responsibilities and struggles of a prophet of the Lord are transplanted into fantasy? This book is built around that very premise. Seventeen year old Ela knows that a silver-haired prophet has failed. The Infinite even told her she would die young if she agreed to be His prophet. Yet once she heard His voice, she knew she could never live without it, and so she agreed. Her “yes” launches her into a life of knowing the future. She spends her days pleading with hardened people to change their ways and trust the Infinite before it’s too late. For all her foresight, Ela doesn’t know if they will heed her warnings in time.

I couldn’t tell from the synopsis of this book if I would like it or not. Two of my friends gave it good reviews on Goodreads, so when I saw it at a homeschool conference for a good price I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did! I regret not buying book two while I had the chance. There is a (very) light love element, but it’s not at all offensive. I found Ela to be a relatable main character. Kien was roguishly loveable. And Tsana, Ela’s little sister, was adorable. Best of all, it made me appreciate Old Testament prophets and the Spirit of God on a deeper level.

P.S. I was a little concerned that a female prophet would come off as feminist, but she doesn’t at all. The author does a great job of focusing on “The Infinite” rather than fussing over a girl prophet.

May 16, 2014

Book Review: The Door in the Dragon’s Throat

Join Jay and Lyla, twins with an archaeologist father who brings them with him on all his adventures. In The Door in the Dragon’s Throat, book one of the Cooper Kid Adventures, the Coopers land in Napur, a country with an ancient legend. Natives give a cavern in the desert a wide berth. According to ancient legend, anyone who tries to open the door in “The Dragon’s Throat” will die. The Coopers are curious, and they know their God is stronger than anything in the cavern. What truth lies behind the legend?

I have a soft spot for middle grade books that remain interesting as I get older. The Cooper Kid Adventures hold a secure position in that soft spot. They no longer infuse me with the same heart palpitating suspense as they did when I first read them, but they still offer exciting adventures that doesn’t take to long to read. Because they are written for a younger audience, the spiritual warfare aspect in The Door in the Dragon’s Throat is not as central or intense as it is in Peretti’s adult books.