New from Sibella Giorello, a favorite author

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Back in 2007, an advance copy of a novel hit my doorstep. For my work with TitleTrakk.com I receive a lot of books. Many I will send on to our wonderful team of writers for review. Others I'll hang onto and review myself. In order for me to do that, a book really has to capture my attention. The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello was one of those books. From the first line it captured my interest. But not only did it pull me in, the story delivered to the last page. I had found a new favorite author.

Since that time I've eagerly awaited each one of Sibella's new books. The Rivers Run Dry is a favorite, and she followed that up with The Clouds Roll Away.

Now Sibella's back with another novel, today's featured book, called The Mountains Bow Down. I gotta tell you, folks. When I opened the package from Thomas Nelson and saw that my long wait was over to read another Giorello novel, you should've seen the smile on my face. I think I even muttered something like, "Yes!!". Trust me. I don't normally do that.

Did Mountains live up to my expectations? You bet. Giorello delved deeper into Raleigh Harmon's character than she has in prior books---her struggles, challenges, and vulnerabilities. She was real before, but this novel has added a depth to her, which makes for a fantastic story. The plot was a page-turner too. Bravo, Ms. Giorello.

Here's the official summary:

Everything's going to work out. Time away always makes things better...

That's what FBI Special Agent Raleigh Harmon believes as she boards a cruise to Alaska. A land of mountains and gems and minerals, The Last Frontier is a dream destination for this forensic geologist who's hoping to leave behind a hectic work schedule and an engagement drained of romance.

But when a passenger goes missing and winds up dead, Raleigh's vacation suddenly gets lost at sea. The ship's security chief tries to rule the death a suicide, but Raleigh's forensics background points to a much darker conclusion: Somewhere onboard, a ruthless murderer walks free.

Engulfed by one of her toughest cases yet, Raleigh requests assistance from the FBI and receives her nemesis-perpetual ladies man Special Agent Jack Stephanson. As the cruise ship sails through the Inside Passage, Raleigh has five days to solve a high-profile murder, provide consultation for a movie filming onboard, and figure out her increasingly complicated feelings for Jack-who might not be such a jerk after all.

And that's only her work life. Family offers even more challenges. Joined on the cruise by her mother and aunt, Raleigh watches helplessly as disturbing rifts splinter her family.

Like the scenery that surrounds the cruise ship, Raleigh discovers a situation so steep and so complex that even the mountains might bow down.

More fun news:

The aforementioned The Stones Cry Out unfortunately went out of print recently (even after winning a Christy award!). But it's now back and even better than ever with previously cut scenes and a complete rewrite by Sibella. Purchase it today for your Kindle for only $2.99.


Sibella’s celebrating the release of The Mountains Bow Down with a blog tour, a Cruise prize pack worth over $500 and a Facebook Party! Don't miss a minute of the fun.

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

• A $500 gift certificate toward the cruise of their choice from Vacations To Go.
• The entire set of the Raleigh Harmon series.

To enter click one of the icons below. Then tell your friends. And enter soon - the giveaway ends on 4/1! The winner will be announced at Sibella’s Raleigh Harmon Book Club Party on FB April 5th, 2011! Don’t miss the fun – prizes, books and gab!

About the Facebook Party: Join Sibella and fans of the Raleigh Harmon series on April 5th at 5:00 pm PST (6 MST, 7 CST & 8 EST) for a Facebook Book Club Party. Sibella will be giving away some fun prizes, testing your trivia skills and hosting a book chat about the Raleigh Harmon books. Have questions you'd like to chat about - leave them on the Event page.

Introducing Renee Riva

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I've discovered a wonderful new author in Renee Riva, and I'd love to share her books with you. Her first novel, Saving Sailor, features main character A.J., a ten-year-old, quirky girl who's kinda like Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird. She's an animal lover to a fault (her parents won't let her visit the pound ever again), has an animal cemetery where she gives proper burial to the various creatures she finds on her Idaho island home.

Her Italian family is also really quirky, but that's what makes us like them. They're eccentric yet love each other deeply.

In my official book review of Taking Tuscany, the sequel to Saving Sailor, I say:

"Proficiently mixing deeper themes and spiritual truths alongside the humor, Riva has crafted a lovely tale of longing and belonging readers of all ages will savor." Read my full review here.

In an interview I did with Renee for TitleTrakk.com, I asked her about Saving Sailor and its sequel:

Me: I hear both Saving Sailor and Taking Tuscany are based loosely on some of your own experiences growing up. How much is fiction and how much is real life?

Renee: I would say that the majority of SAVING SAILOR was based on real life—either from my own experience, or those around me. TAKING TUSCANY included similar emotional experiences I’d encountered in my teens, but I changed the setting and scenarios to fit the story. In other words, I went through the majority of what A.J. went through emotionally in moving, changing schools, and the social pressures of school—just not in Italy. In the back of TAKING TUSCANY in the “After Words” I share some of those experiences.

Me: Was it always your intent to write a sequel to Saving Sailor or did you find yourself struggling to come up with another book?

Renee: I always hoped to write a sequel, but my idea was to have A.J. return to Indian Island at age 18, when Danny is 21. I thought it would be neat to build on the great friendship they’d had as children and add a little amore`. My publisher liked that idea too, but they also wanted to know what happened in Italy during those years apart. That was a bit of a challenge, so I immediately booked a trip to Mexico and pretended to be on the Italian Riviera to help inspire some ideas. That’s where I wrote about The Grand Old Sea Palace; the parasailing scene and the pirate ship in the pool. We really did have a pirate ship in our pool. I had already been to Tuscany eight years earlier so I hung my photos of Tuscany all over my walls while writing and was able to put myself back in that setting.

Me: An interesting part about these novels is that you chose to age your character A.J.. How did you approach writing her slightly older voice in Taking Tuscany? Was that difficult in any way?

Renee: I was a little bit leery of turning A.J. into a typical teenager because I wasn’t the most pleasant teen myself at age fourteen. But I knew she had to get older to be able to write that third book where she returns as an 18 year old, so I decided that if I was going to spend my winter with a teenager in my head, it was going to have to be someone I could enjoy being around that long. I had to pull up a lot of attitude from my past, but also made A.J. the fun quirky girl she was before, only older. I tried to project what that same kid would be like 4 years older. I wanted to keep some of her charm and humor too so I could bear writing about her and my readers could enjoy reading about her.

Luckily for us, there's a third novel coming. Heading Home (April 2010, David C. Cook) finds A.J. eighteen-years-old and returning to her beloved Idaho home ... and of course, Sailor.

Check out the rest of my interview with Renee over at TitleTrakk.com!

Thanks again to Renee Riva for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the Renee Riva blog tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

Welcome Home Woodhouse Family!

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I'm a recent watcher of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I'd heard so many great things about the show but hadn't checked it out for myself. Well, I have now, and I must say that show is doing some beautiful things. The Woodhouse Family no doubt agrees! They have been the recipients of one of those amazing houses, and after reading their story in mom Kim's new book, you'll understand why.

When Welcome Home first appeared in my mailbox I picked it up that day expecting to read just a page or two. I didn't expect to be pulled into the story so quickly. Kim has a wonderful way with words, and this book reads like a novel.

But in this case, truth is definitely stranger than fiction. If Kim were to have written a novel featuring the twists and turns her family has experienced in real life, no one would've believed her.

This family has been through a lot, but the amazing thing is, this book isn't a downer. Yes, you grieve with the Woodhouse family as they learn their daughter Kayla has a rare disorder that doesn't allow her to feel pain and doesn't allow her body to cool properly. Yet even through the trials, one thing the Woodhouse family doesn't lose is their joy. Sure, it's tested. Yes, they have their days of doubt and incredible discouragement. But through it all God never lets them forget that He is there with them. He is holding them. He is.

Welcome Home is a story about joy and hope. In fact, hope permeates its pages. Thank you, Kim, for so honestly telling the world your story while somehow managing to weave the thread of hope through it all.

Publisher's summary:

Thanks to being featured on the hit TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the Woodhouse family of Colorado Springs is known across the country. Their poignant, heart-touching story of having a child with a rare medical disorder, which led to a mountain of hospital bills and the loss of their home—and their need for a home that would be safe for daughter Kayla—has put them in the public spotlight and kept them there. The theme that carries through Welcome Home is James 1:2-4. We’re all a work in progress, and it can be “Pure Joy” to be a parent. But, how does joy evolve out of a potentially devastating reality? Kimberley’s candid stories of both failures and successes, and the ultimate resource—the Bible, will point readers in the right direction for establishing JOY in their homes.