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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for August 9, 2011

A ‘Guilt’ trip worth taking

August 9, 2011

Nearly two years ago, C.J. Darlington spoke at a meeting of the writers’ group I attend.

She and her sister, homeschool graduates, were running a successful Web site writing book and music reviews and author interviews, among other things. Her first novel, Thicker Than Blood, a contest winner, was about to be released.

Anytime I connect with a published author, I take an interest in their work. I finally took the opportunity recently to read Thicker Than Blood and its stand-alone sequel, Bound By Guilt. The latter is among the titles eligible for Tyndale’s Summer Reading Program, which ends this month. I’ll confess that this was my motivation for reading both books.

My only regret is waiting so long to pick them up.

Compelling characters, realistic storylines, suspense, redemption, and transformation set in the world of rare and antique booksellers and ranching in Colorado — both novels make for a great read.

I enjoyed Bound by Guilt a tad more, but I can recommend both books enthusiastically. Darlington is working on another novel, which I’ll be interested in reading. Not only does she write a good story, she’s an inspiration to fellow writers. She started writing Thicker Than Blood when she was 15!

I hope you’ll check them out. They have a unique perspective I haven’t seen in Christian fiction.

Filed Under: Fiction, The Weekly Read Tagged With: book reviews, first-time novelists, good reads, rare and antique books, summer reading, writers group

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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Lisa Bartelt is a participant in the Bluehost Affiliate Program.

Occasionally, I review books in exchange for a free copy. Opinions are my own and are not guaranteed positive simply due to the receipt of a free copy.

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