Tag Archives: Lisa Wingate

If You Liked The Hideaway . . .

31 Jul

By The Book was unanimous in our approval of The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton. This well-written novel focused on relationships that shape our lives. If you liked it too, here are a few suggestions for more great reading.

 

Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton

Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have long since buried their desire for children of their own. While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farm’s day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for “just two weeks,” Betsy’s carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.

As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world—and revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.

Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she’s made back home as a single mom.

When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her family’s future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. Hurricane Season is the story of one family’s unconventional journey to healing — and the relationships that must be mended along the way.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper – the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

The Secret to Hummingbird Cake by Celeste Fletcher McHale

In the South you always say “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” You know everybody’s business. Football is a lifestyle not a pastime. Food — especially dessert — is almost a religious experience. And you protect your friends as fiercely as you protect your family —  even if the threat is something you cannot see.

In this spot-on Southern novel brimming with wit and authenticity, you’ll laugh alongside lifelong friends, navigate the sometimes rocky path of marriage, and roll through the outrageous curveballs that life sometimes throws . . . from devastating pain to absolute joy. And if you’re lucky, you just may discover the secret to hummingbird cake along the way.

Test of Faith by Christa Allan

Elle Butler has managed to hold on to her politically-driven husband and her secrets until the unexpected happens. When one phone call rips her world apart, Elle will have to decide if the truth is worth the consequences. Especially when it threatens to destroy the world she’s so carefully built around her life and her marriage.

Top 10 Tuesday — Beachy Beach Reads

24 Jul

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday is all about sensory reads — the books that engage the senses as you read. Since it is mid-July, I decided to feature books that made me taste the salt in the air, hear the waves crashing, feel the sand between my toes — beachy beach reads! My choices span genres — mystery/suspense, romance, historical — but have the beach (or coastal areas) in common. Hope you enjoy a trip to the beach from your chair!

To find out what other books made readers feel, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

 

 

Top Beachy Beach Reads!

Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson

Freefall by Kristen Heitzmann

Hope Harbor by Irene Hannon

The Inn at Ocean’s Edge by Colleen Coble

Lighthouse by Eugenia Price

Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate

To Love And Cherish by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble

A Vast And Gracious Tide by Lisa Carter

 

What’s your favorite beachy beach read?

Book Review: The Sea Keeper’s Daughters

16 Oct

Unknown-5From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny.

Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?

 

wingatepubshot2015julybLMRSelected among Booklist’s Top 10 for two consecutive years, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable settings with elements of traditional Southern storytelling, history, and mystery to create novels that Publisher’s Weekly calls “Masterful” and Library Journal refers to as “A good option for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Mary Alice Monroe.” Lisa is a journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the author of twenty-five novels. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol Award nominee, a multiple Christy Award nominee, a two- time Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RT Booklovers Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award Winner for mystery/suspense. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Booklist summed up her work by saying, “Lisa Wingate is, quite simply, a master storyteller.” More information about her novels can be found at http://www.lisawingate.com.

 

My Impressions:

When choosing a book for my book clubs, I look for a strong story line that encourages discussion, well-developed and complex characters that are easy to relate to, and a writing style that enhances the reading experience. Lisa Wingate has long been a favorite of By The Book, so it wasn’t a tough decision to pick her latest novel, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters. When we got the chance to host a visit with Lisa, that sealed the deal! Both of my book clubs are discussing it this month. Have you had a chance to read it yet? Let us know your thoughts.

Restaurant owner Whitney Benoit is in the struggle of her career trying to hold on to her dreams and provide for her partner and employees. The last thing she needs is to travel to the Outer Banks to check on her estranged step-father Clyde. But the chance of finally settling family concerns and shoring up her finances prompts the trip. What she finds is a personal history shrouded in legends and secrets, and a chance to stop running away and face her challenges.

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is a complex novel with two story lines — one set in the Appalachian mountains during the Depression and the other set on modern day Roanoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Both settings come to life through Lisa’s vivid descriptions. A dedication to thorough research is also evident as she explores the work of the Federal Writer’s Program, the culture of the mountains during the 1930s and the truth and legends surrounding the Melungeon people group. I found all the characters interesting, but Whitney is by far my favorite. Lisa takes her through emotional highs and lows and brings her out stronger emotionally and spiritually. Most of the story is told through Whitney’s first person perspective, however, the historical aspects are recounted through newly discovered letters from Alice, a great-aunt Whitney knew nothing about. The use of this device allowed the characters and the readers to place themselves into Alice’s story — I loved that! The twists and turns of Alice and Whitney’s lives, and the intersection of both stories kept me turning the pages. There is much to discuss in The Sea Keeper’s Daughters — relationships, security-issues, God’s plans versus ours — and I anticipate some great conversations with both my book clubs.

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is part of Lisa’s Carolina Heirlooms series, but can be read as a standalone novel. However, I found the characters and story lines from the previous books that are subtly woven throughout added greatly to my reading experience. Just go ahead and get the other books. You know want to!

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults

Great for Book Clubs.

To purchase this book, click HERE

(I purchased this book for my Kindle. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

 

October Book Club Picks

1 Oct

Both of my book clubs (By The Book and Page Turners) are reading Lisa Wingate‘s latest novel, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters, in October. We got a bit of a sneak peek in September when she joined us for an evening of books and story telling. Have you read this one yet? We would love to know your thoughts.

Unknown-5From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny.

Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?

Lisa Wingate Meet And Greet

25 Sep

12011223_964801410244915_6811184352491426371_nMy book clubs, By The Book and Page Turners, had the great pleasure to host best-selling and award-winning author, Lisa Wingate for our September meeting. What a treat! We had a great crowd with several people traveling from other towns in middle Georgia and even one coming from south Alabama to hear Lisa speak.

Lisa shared about the importance of preserving the stories that make up our family narrative. She shared stories from her childhood and those passed on by family members. She also talked about the WPA Federal Writer’s Program which inspired her latest book, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters. After she read from a passage in that book, I am eagerly anticipating reading it and discussing it in October. Thanks so much, Lisa, for sharing not only your talent, but your heart.

Make sure to check out these links from Lisa’s website:

Storytelling for Families

The Sea Keeper’s Daughters Exerpt

Federal Writer’s Program

Lisa and her mom, Sharon

Lisa and her mom, Sharon

Attendees snapping up Lisa's books.

Attendees snapping up Lisa’s books.

Thanks to Judy Hall for being our official event photographer!

Thanks to Judy Hall for being our official event photographer!

 

Top Ten Tuesday — Auto-Buy Authors

18 Aug

Thanks to The Broke And The Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesday. This week bloggers are talking authors that are must buys. To find out more, click HERE.

toptentuesday

Wow! What a great topic for this week’s TTT. Here are the authors that I automatically buy whenever they have a new book published. These authors rarely let me down.

Top 10 Auto-Buy Authors

(In alphabetical order and with their newest or upcoming release. For those with upcoming releases — I cannot wait!)

Terri Blackstock — Twisted Innocence

Melody Carlson –– Home, Hearth and Holidays

Ace Collins — The Fruitcake Murders

51eUos1HviL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_Unknown61boxOQhMhL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_

Suzanne Woods Fisher — The Imposter

Elizabeth Musser — Love Beyond Limits

Francine Rivers — Bridge to Haven

Dan Walsh — Keeping Christmas

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Robert Whitlow — A House Divided

Lis Wiehl — Lethal Beauty

Lisa Wingate — The Sea Keeper’s Daughter

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Who are your auto-buy authors?

Free Book From Kindle

4 Aug

 

Have you read Lisa Wingate’s book, The Prayer Box? Now free on Kindle is a follow-up novella, The Tidewater Sisters! Check it out.

 

41MPfZ6DJuL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_Tandi Reese and her sister, Gina, have always been bound by complicated ties. Amid the rubble of a difficult childhood lie memories of huddling beneath beds and behind sofas while parental wars raged. Sisterhood was safety . . . once. But now? Faced with legal papers for a fraud she didn’t commit, Tandi suspects that her sister has done something unthinkable. With Tandi’s wedding just around the corner, a trip to the North Carolina Tidewater for a reckoning with Gina was not part of the plan. But unraveling lies from truth will require confronting strained sibling bonds and uncovering a dark family secret that could free Tandi from her past or stain her future forever.

Book Review: The Story Keeper

25 Jul

386898Successful New York editor, Jen Gibbs, is at the top of her game with her new position at Vida House Publishing — until a mysterious manuscript from an old slush pile appears on her desk. Turning the pages, Jen finds herself drawn into the life of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in the turn of the century Appalachia. A risky hunch may lead to The Story Keeper’s hidden origins and its unknown author, but when the trail turns toward the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place Jen thought she’d left behind forever, the price of a blockbuster next book deal may be higher than she’s willing to pay.

 

lisawingatepubpicLisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of 16 books. Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its fifteenth printing from Penguin Putnam. Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.

Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen (2010). In 2011, Lisa’s Novel, Never Say Never, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.

Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, in mainstream fiction. Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational southern fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.

When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

 

My Impressions:

What a great experience I had being a part of Lisa Wingate’s Sisterhood of The Traveling Book. I was chosen to be a part of a group that read Lisa’s newest book The Story Keeper, due out in September.  Sharing insights and stories of our own, we passed the book around. My group is still in the process of reading and reflecting before the book heads back to Lisa in Texas. And while the Sisterhood is certainly special, The Story Keeper is a novel that you will not want to miss.

Jenn Gibbs left her Appalachian roots behind when she moved to New York to pursue a career in publishing. When she takes a new job with Vida House, a mysterious manuscript from the infamous slush pile appears on her desk and she is swept into an intriguing story and again forced to revisit the haunts of her childhood. An elusive author and her demanding family keep Jenn in North Carolina longer than she would like, but she soon discovers that you cannot really escape your past.

Two stories in one kept me turning the pages of The Story Keeper. I was impressed with the many voices that Lisa employed in telling the stories. Lisa masterfully brings to life the places and peoples of Appalachia. Her characters are real and relatable, even Jenn’s sisters who live a life dedicated to a conservative Christian cult. I loved the theme of lives being a compilation of many stories.

The Story Keeper releases on September 1, so be sure to keep a watch out for it. You can pre-order it from Amazon too.

Highly Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

(Thanks to Lisa Wingate for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

To pre-order The Story Keeper, click on the image below.

Free for Kindle! The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

14 Jul

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate is an excellent contemporary fiction novel that is FREE on Kindle today! Click HERE to get your copy. Read my review HERE.

prayerbox-standingcoverWhen Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Chapter 1

 

 

Book Review: The Prayer Box

23 Jul

prayerbox-standingcoverWhen Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Chapter 1

LisaWingatepubpicLisa Wingate is an award-winning journalist, magazine columnist, popular inspirational speaker and a national bestselling author of 16 books.  Her first mainstream novel, Tending Roses, is in its fifteenth printing from Penguin Putnam.  Tending Roses is a staple on the shelves of national bookstore chains as well as in many independent bookstores.

Recently, Lisa’s Blue Sky Hill Series, set in Dallas, received national attention with back-to-back nominations for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award for A Month of Summer (2009) and The Summer Kitchen(2010). In 2011, Lisa’s Novel, Never Say Never, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award.  Pithy, emotional, and inspirational, her stories bring to life characters so real that readers often write to ask what is happening to them after the book ends.

Lisa is one of a select group of authors to find success in both the Christian and mainstream markets, writing for both Bethany House, a Christian publisher, and NAL Penguin Putnam, in mainstream fiction.  Her bestselling books have become a hallmark of inspirational southern fiction. Her works have been featured by the National Reader’s Club of America, AOL Book Picks, Doubleday Book Club, the Literary Guild, American Profiles and have been chosen for numerous awards.

When not busy dreaming up stories, Lisa spends time on the road as a motivational speaker. Via internet, she shares with readers as far away as India, where her book, Tending Roses, has been used to promote women’s literacy, and as close to home as Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the county library system has used Tending Roses to help volunteer mentors teach adults to read.  Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.

My Impressions:

I got a sneak peak at The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate, due out in September, through a unique and quite innovative way. I was chosen to be part of Lisa’s Sisterhood of The Traveling Book in which 13 books were sent out to groups of 4 women or sisterhoods to read, comment on and chronicle the book’s travel. I am #2 in my Sisterhood group. The reading experience took on a deeper dimension because of the comments and highlights by big sister Brenda.  And because I did the same, I felt a deeper connection to the characters, the author and the other sisters in my group. Thanks so much Lisa for this great opportunity.

The Prayer Box is written from the first person perspective of Tandi Jo Reece, a young mother on the run with her two children. She ends up in the Outer Banks where she spent happy days while visiting her grandparents. Those memories have helped her to withstand an unstable childhood, foster homes, two unplanned pregnancies, a prescription drug dependency and now her flight from an abusive husband. Tandi is a mess. But her desperate wish to change her life and the future for her children intersects with the prayer letters of her reclusive and now deceased landlady. Through Iola’s letters, Tandi learns about a loving and faithful Father who listens and responds in ways more wonderful than she could imagine.

I loved the characters in The Prayer Box. Tandi undergoes a transformation that is miraculous. Iola’s real life, thoughts and character are revealed through her prayer letters giving the reader and Tandi a sense of really knowing her. And Paul, with his crazy Hawaiian shirts, is the best friend and love interest perfect for Tandi. The ending of the book will have you crying — the promise of James 5:16 illustrated in a wonderful way.

I very highly recommend The Prayer Box. This is a must read that will will stay with you for a long time.

Very Highly Recommended.

Great For Book Clubs.

(Thanks to Lisa Wingate for the chance to read this book. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

picmRKFtqA Taste of — The Prayer Box

Iola makes banana beignets for the UPS driver. Tandi in turn continues this tradition. Enjoy the recipe for Banana Beignets courtesy of Food.com.

To pre-order your copy of The Prayer Box, click the image below.