By The Book

Happy Friday! I am pleased to feature Christy Award winning author T. I. Lowe today. Her novel, Indigo Isle won the Christy for Contemporary Romance and Book of The Year! T. I. Lowe will be joining Turning A New Page Book Festival in Perry, Georgia on January 25, 2025! If you are anywhere around the middle Georgia area then, you need to make plans to attend.

Here’s the first line:

So this is how it feels to be near death and utterly alone.

“Storms show up and there ain’t a thing we can do to stop them.”

Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.

Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth.

Once a successful New York attorney, Hudson Renfrow’s grief has exiled him to his island for several years. He spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye―and he has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. But when a hurricane makes landfall on the Carolina coast, stranding them together, an unlikely friendship forms between the two damaged souls. Soon the gruff exterior Hudson has long hidden behind crumbles―exposing the tender part of him that’s desperate for forgiveness and a second chance.

A story of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation, and of a love that heals the deepest wounds, from the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias.

T. I. Lowe is an ordinary country girl who loves to tell extraordinary stories. She is the author of nearly twenty published novels, including her recent bestselling and critically acclaimed novel, Under the Magnolias, and her debut breakout, Lulu’s Café. She lives with her husband and family in coastal South Carolina. Find her at tilowe.com or on Facebook (T.I.Lowe), Instagram (tilowe), and Twitter (@TiLowe).

Happy Tuesday! Today is Freebie day at TTT. I am featuring books by the Speculative Fiction authors attending the Turning A New Page Book Festival in January in Perry, Georgia. Speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, etc.) is very popular, especially among YA readers. I hope you find one that piques your interest. And if you are in the middle Georgia area, make sure to come meet the authors at the book festival!

For more Freebie Fun, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Speculative Fiction Featured at The Turning A New Page Book Festival

Bark of The Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers

Courage and a heart for adventure drive twelve-year-old shepherd boy Aidan Errolson. When the bark of the bog owl echoes from the forest across his father’s well-tended pastures, Aidan dreams of wild places still untamed and quests not yet pursued. Aidan’s life changes forever on the day Bayard the Truthspeaker arrives at Longleaf with an astonishing pronouncement: it is Aidan’s destiny to be the Wilderking, who will ascend to the throne from Corenwald’s wildest places. Only the Wilderking can balance his people’s civilizing impulses with the wildness that gives Corenwald its vitality. But not just yet. Many trials and adventures will shape the shaggy-headed shepherd boy into the man who can bring the kingdom back to its former glory.

The Living Stone by MB Mooney

Humanity enslaved. REVOLUTION BEGINS.

Game of Thrones meets Narnia.

Caleb returns to the land of humanity, the land of his birth, to begin a revolution against the elven Kingdom of Kryus that rules and oppresses his people. In order to bring freedom back, he needs to reach the supernatural and powerful Living Stone.

Eshlyn abandons her home and escapes with her young son, fleeing an ancient evil that threatens to throw the world into greater darkness. In her grief, she warns others of the approaching horde while seeking safety for her son.

Caleb is consumed by his journey to the Living Stone, but with the malevolent host out to destroy the world, will there be a humanity left to save?

Steal Fire from The Gods by Clint Hall

The Human Alliance knew the war was over when the machines started using magic to cast fire, shake the ground, conjure storms, and part the seas. 

We fought back anyway.

22-year-old soldier Gunnar Graves lost his faith and his family when a platoon of AI-driven war machines—led by an android fire mage—destroyed his unit. Forced to live in a machine-controlled village and hiding a dark secret, he spends his days trying to learn elemental power so he can take his revenge. After years of failure, his ability ignites when he least expects it.

On the run and hunted by the war machines, Gunnar discovers that an ancient, life-based strength has awakened to help humanity fight back. Joined by the other life mages, Gunnar is thrust into a mad world of android overlords, cyborg clans, and evil forces bent on his destruction.

To protect his newfound family, Gunnar must discover the truth behind a power he doesn’t understand and wage a war he doesn’t believe they can win.

Storylore by Mae McKoy

Princess Cerys of the Northern Isles is the highest target in the world. Being the last living heir to the throne, she takes off and almost instantly finds herself cursed by one of the renowned Persephone’s flowers. However, she’s not the only one who falls victim. Now she must travel across the world with a pestering thief to break the curse, encountering many unlikely friends along the way. But soon they find themselves wrapped in the middle of an even more threatening situation—one that threatens the collapse of the very world they live in.

Between trying to break the curse and attempting to prevent a world-wide war, Cerys finds that not all people are who they appear to be.

And what you’re running from can catch up with you in the end.

Familiar fairy tales and Greek myths mix with modern-world elements in this light fantasy adventure. Filled with fast-paced dialogue, comedic scenarios, and whimsical magic, Storylore is guaranteed to take you on the road trip of a lifetime.

Stillwater by Heather Thompson

When a strange group called Divinity You gains traction in the quaint little town of Stillwater, Harriet Gordon and Pastor Cole Warren are simultaneously dragged into a demonic plot set to rip apart the community. To prevent mayhem from taking over, the Christians of Stillwater will learn there is only one way to overcome the gathering tide of evil hellbent on destroying the town: pray and have faith.

Stillwater, a suspenseful supernatural faith-based thriller, will keep you turning pages for hours. Stillwater follows Harriet Gorden through a tumultuous season where she grapples with her very existence while angel and demons battle for the soul of the town.

The Text by Julane Fisher

Divergent meets the resistance of Legend in this chilling conspiracy and nail-biting quest for the truth. Never be afraid…

In 2048, 25 years after a pandemic killed one-third of the world’s population, America is flourishing under the department of Safety Threats and Reinforcement (STaR). STaR keeps citizens safe and healthy and STaR’s social media app, Allicio, boasts two billion users worldwide. Then a power outage shuts down STaR’s health monitors and disables millions of mobile phones.

Sixteen-year-old Rami Carlton earned a starting spot on the varsity volleyball team. For fun, she races tech-genius Finley Drake to decipher the online identities of their techie friends. The game is harmless. So they thought.

Rami receives a chilling text message. That night, her mother disappears. Despite thousands of city-wide monitors, STaR’s Reinforcement Division cannot locate Rami’s mom and Rami’s stalker threatens to kill her brother if she talks to Reinforcement Officers.

Then Finley hacks the nation’s cellular provider and discovers STaR has a secret. STaR isn’t just watching. They’re manipulating Allicio. And Rami is their next target.

Water’s Break by Sophia L. Hansen

What if fear itself is the deadliest undercurrent of all?

Nica would do anything to avoid the hassles of her sister’s bonding ceremony—the wrap fittings, hairstyles, and braided fire coral—but she never imagined that the waters covering her planet would be broken. As the heavens rained fire and stone, mountains erupted from the sea and dry ground was birthed on the Deep, dividing the water—and the Olomi people—for the first time in their history.

In the wake of her world’s violent re-formation, Nica’s family is shattered. When the rookie Guardian leaves the safety of the Deep to find her sister, she is abducted by strange landwalkers who possess strength and technology beyond her imagination. Nica realizes that the disaster from above was by their design—a calculated plan to terraform the water planet and conquer her people. All Nica wants to do is find her sister and swim home to safety, but with the landwalkers closing in, escape may not be possible. And if Nica can’t save herself, how can she hope to save her sister—or her people?

The Whispers of The Wind by Abigail Thompson

She was told never to ask questions, but what about when murder is involved?

Emma Ambrose has lived a life of privilege and safety inside her father’s arms ever since her mother mysteriously disappeared when she was a girl, leaving Emma bereft and lonely.

That is before he is dragged away on accounts for murder and treason. Out of loyalty, Emma tries to follow her father’s final instructions: never leave home and never ask questions. Until she receives a letter from the powerful and intimidating – she might add – Clan Leader Summer Eyes, who forcibly demands Emma must come at once to pay back her father’s debts. Torn but left without a choice, Emma agrees to the terms. Frightened but determined, Emma makes her way to Cupala, the Capital. She is confronted with threats much more extensive than she has imagined: from political games to starvation tactics. Emma scrambles to understand the world around her with only help from a stuck-up guard.

Even amongst the turmoil, she feels the bliss of freedom for the first time in her life, and she begins to question who is the real enemy, the influential dignitaries playing their dangerous games – or her father?

My book club pick for this month is from the Queen of Christmas Books, Melody Carlson! The Christmas Tree Farm promises to be all the things we are looking for this season. Won’t you join us in reading it?

When Madison McDowell returns from several years teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family’s Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and the neglect due to her sister Addie’s unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, her former high school flame, the now-widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to break Madison’s heart again by turning his neighboring property into a dusty, noisy dirt bike track for his daughter.

With the odds stacked against her, Madison decides there’s only one thing to do: double down on her dreams. It will take a ton of hard work–and some help from an unlikely ally–to save the farm she so dearly loves. But it may take a miracle to restore her relationship with her sister.

Bestselling and award-winning author Melody Carlson charms and delights with this uplifting Christmas story full of old memories and new beginnings.

Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her novels range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She’s won a number of awards (including Romantic Time’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita and the Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog. To find out more about Melody Carlson, visit her website at http://www.melodycarlson.com/

Happy Friday! Are you surviving Black Friday?! Need a good book to block out all the frenzy? Then consider The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold. My book club really enjoyed it.

Here’s the first line:

The message left little reason to believe Nikki Werner still held significance in her dad’s life.

Shaken by her parents’ divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle’s farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She’ll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother’s belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town’s history, her ancestors–and her estranged father. 

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured–with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.

Sara Brunsvold creates stories that speak hope, truth, and life. Influenced by humble women of God who find his fingerprints in the everyday, she does the same in her life and her storytelling. Sara’s recognitions include the 2020 ACFW Genesis Award for Contemporary Fiction. She lives with her family near Kansas City, Missouri, where she can often be spotted writing at a park or library. Learn more at http://www.sarabrunsvold.com.

My book club read The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold in November. This general fiction novel explores family — relationships good and bad and the legacy of those who went before. If you liked it too, here are a few reading recommendations.

Roots of Wood And Stone by Amanda Wen

This historic home holds the keys to their destiny . . . and their hearts

Abandoned at birth, her family roots a mystery, historical museum curator Sloane Kelley has dedicated her life to making sure others know theirs. When a donor drops off a dusty old satchel, she doesn’t expect much from the common artifact . . .until she finds real treasure inside: a nineteenth-century diary.Now she’s on the hunt to find out more.

Garrett Anderson just wanted to clean out his grandmother’s historic but tumbledown farmhouse before selling it to fund her medical care. With her advancing Alzheimer’s, he can’t afford to be sentimental about the family home. But his carefully ordered plan runs up against two formidable obstacles: Sloane, who’s fallen in love with both the diaries and the house, and his own heart, which is irresistibly drawn to Sloane.

A century and a half earlier, motherless Annabelle Collins embarks with her aunt and uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: settling the prairies of Sedgwick County, Kansas. The diaries she left behind paint a portrait of life, loss, and love–and a God who faithfully carries her through it all. Paging through the diaries together takes Sloane and Garrett on a journey they never could have planned, which will change them in ways they never imagined.

This warm, beautifully written split-time novel will resonate with readers looking for stories that reveal the beauty of God’s plan for our lives, and how our actions ripple for generations.

The Stories That Bind Us by Susie Finkbeiner

Betty Sweet never expected to be a widow at 40. With so much life still in front of her, she tries to figure out what’s next. She couldn’t have imagined what God had in mind. When her estranged sister is committed to a sanitarium, Betty finds herself taking on the care of a 5-year-old nephew she never knew she had.

In 1960s LaFontaine, Michigan, they make an odd pair. Betty with her pink button nose and bouffant hair. Hugo with his light brown skin and large brown eyes. But more powerful than what makes them different is what they share: the heartache of an empty space in their lives. Slowly, they will learn to trust one another as they discover common ground and healing through the magic of storytelling.

Award-winning author Susie Finkbeiner offers fans a novel that invites us to rediscover the power of story to open the doors of our hearts.

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner

For the first time in his life, Pete has everything to lose.

After years of drifting, fifty-year-old Pete Ryman has settled down with his potbellied pig, Pearl, in the small Montana town of Sleeping Grass–a place he never expected to see again. It’s not the life he dreamed of, but there aren’t many prospects for a high-school dropout like him.

Elderly widow Wilma Jacobsen carries a burden of guilt over her part in events that led to Pete leaving Sleeping Grass decades ago. Now that he’s back, she’s been praying for the chance to make things right, but she never expected God’s answer to leave her flat on her face–literally–and up to her ears in meddling.

When the younger sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up in Sleeping Grass with her eleven-year-old son, Pete is forced to face a past he buried long ago, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher cost than she’s willing to pay.