Happy Friday! This week I am excited to share the first line of Susie Finkbeiner’s latest novel, All Manner of Things. It officially releases next Tuesday, but I will oblige with this sneak peek! 🙂 I am currently reading this book, and have to say that it is excellent. Just what I expected from this talented storyteller. You can pre-order a copy now, and have it on release day — just saying’ 😉 .
Please leave the first sentence of your current book, then head over to Hoarding Books for more fabulous first lines!
Now for the first line.
When Annie Jacobson’s brother Mike enlists as a medic in the Army in 1967, he hands her a piece of paper with the address of their long-estranged father. If anything should happen to him in Vietnam, Mike says, Annie must let their father know.
In Mike’s absence, their father returns to face tragedy at home, adding an extra measure of complication to an already tense time. As they work toward healing and pray fervently for Mike’s safety overseas, letter by letter the Jacobsons must find a way to pull together as a family, regardless of past hurts. In the tumult of this time, Annie and her family grapple with the tension of holding both hope and grief in the same hand, even as they learn to turn to the One who binds the wounds of the brokenhearted.
Author Susie Finkbeiner invites you into the Jacobson family’s home and hearts during a time in which the chaos of the outside world touched their small community in ways they never imagined.
Susie Finkbeiner is a story junkie. Always has been and always will be. It seems it’s a congenital condition, one she’s quite fond of.
After decades of reading everything she could get her hands on (except for See the Eel, a book assigned to her while in first grade, a book she declared was unfit for her book-snob eyes), Susie realized that she wanted to write stories of her own. She began with epics about horses and kittens (but never, ever eels).
It takes years to grow a writer and after decades of work, Susie realized (with much gnashing of teeth and tears) that she was a novelist. In order to learn how to write novels, she read eclectically and adventurously (she may never swim with sharks, but the lady will jump into nearly any story). After reading the work of Lisa Samson, Patti Hill, and Bonnie Grove she realized that there was room for a writer like her in Christian fiction.
Her first novels Paint Chips (2013) and My Mother’s Chamomile (2014) have contemporary settings. While she loved those stories and especially the characters, Susie felt the pull toward historical fiction.
When she read Into the Free by Julie Cantrell she knew she wanted to write historical stories with a side of spunk, grit, and vulnerability. Susie is also greatly inspired by the work of Jocelyn Green, Rachel McMillan, and Tracy Groot.
A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl (2015), Finkbeiner’s bestselling historical set in 1930s Oklahoma, has been compared to the work of John Steinbeck and Harper Lee (which flatters Susie’s socks off). Pearl’s story continues with A Trail of Crumbs: A Novel of the Great Depression (2017) and A Song of Home: A Novel of the Swing Era (2018).
What does she have planned after that? More stories, of course. She’s a junkie. She couldn’t quit if she wanted to.
I’m really looking forward to reading this book!! I was so sad that I couldn’t be at her book release at Baker Bookhouse last evening, but alas I had a Graduation to attend. I’m thankful that the good people at Baker did record it and I was able to watch it online!
Over on my blog, I’m sharing the first line from A Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund. Here I’ll share with you the first line from chapter 4 of the same book.
“Mercy stood in the long line of tenants waiting for a turn at the water spigot at the back of the building.”
Jody’s new book looks great as well. And how exciting to live close to Baker Book House!
I’m not really close… it’s about a 2 hour drive (one way). But had I not needed to attend a Graduation, I’d have made the trip! 🙂
2 hours sounds close to me. 😉
Ooo, this looks like a good book! Thank you for the sneak peek!
🙂
Happy Friday!
Today on my blog I am sharing the first line from Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter: https://christianfictiongirl.blog/2019/05/30/first-line-friday-89/. I am currently on chapter 4, so I will share a line from there.
“The sun was almost overhead by the time Connor has a moment to breathe.”
Hope you have a great weekend. Happy reading! 🤗💚📚
Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!
Love, love, love The Dust Bowl Novels and All Manner Of Things. I haven’t read the contemporary books yet but I plan to read them. I got to watch some of the book release last night.
I heard it was a great time. I need to read her contemporaries too.
There are so many good books coming out this summer! Happy reading Beckie!
I know! The TBR and wishlist overflows.
Happy Friday! I’m featuring a novel by Crystal L. Barnes on my blog called Husband Hunting. My current read is Prudie’s Mountain Man by Elaine Manders. I’m about to start chapter 5, so I will share the first line from that chapter. “Prudie sneaked a sidelong glance at her intended.” I hope you will enjoy a fantastic weekend!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend too!
I really need to read one of Suzie’s books! I’m currently reading The Reluctant Guardian by Susanne Dietze… “With a furtive pat, Gemma Lyfeld blotted her nerve-damp palms on her white muslin gown.”
Yes you do! LOL! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your first line.
Happy Friday!
Today on my blog I featured A Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund which I just finished last night. My next read is going to be Where Hope Begins by Catherine West so I’ll share that first line here: “My husband is leaving me.” I think I’m in for an intense read! Hope you have a wonderful weekend with some quality reading time 🙂
That is a really good read! I think you will love it!
Happy Friday! My copy can’t arrive quickly enough! This is one of my most anticipated books for this year. 😀 I’m sharing from Kelly Irvin’s Through the Autumn Air on my blog today. Here is the second sentence:
“Mary Katherine Ropp stood motionless in the middle of her kitchen, a platter holding a two-layer German chocolate cake covered in whipped cream cheese frosting nestled in her hands.”
Yum! Have a great weekend!
Happy Weekend! My first line is from “When Love Blossoms: Book 2 of the Kindred Lake Series” by Elaine Stock:
“Kierra Madden grasped the phone tighter in both disbelief and gratitude.”
Happy Friday! Today I’m sharing the first lines from Wooing Cadie McCaffrey by Bethany Turner: “Four years ago, on my thirtieth birthday, I had two very important realizations.”
https://moments-of-beauty.blogspot.com/2019/05/first-line-fridays-wooing-cadie.html