Monday, April 28, 2014

CFBA Presents Paige Turned by Erynn Mangum

My review is at the end...enjoy!
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Paige Turned
TH1NK (April 1, 2014)
by
Erynn Mangum

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



A few things about her:

So, if we were having this conversation in person, we would probably be hanging out at Starbucks or one of the cute coffeehouses in town. I’m nuts about all things coffee, I’m crazy about all things pink and girly, and I love, love, love the Food Network! I’m married to my best friend and the most amazing guy ever, Jon. He is amiable toward coffee, does not like anything pink or girly and tolerates the Food Network. So, we make a good match! In July 2010, we became parents to one of the funniest, cutest, sweetest little guys in the whole world (and nope, we aren’t biased at all!), our Nater-Tot, who is legally known as Nathan. Most days, I’m cleaning up messes, making goofy faces, trying to fit some writing in, and just LOVING the life that God has given me!

Read more about Erynn at her website.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Despite her valiant efforts, Paige Alder seems stuck in chaos. Her new job as youth intern keeps her hopping from coffee shop to coffee shop all summer long, but at least she’s loving the one-on-one time she gets to spend with the girls. The unfortunate side-effect is that now, four weeks of laundry fills her apartment. Plus, she barely has time to help her sister and best friend with their weddings! And even worse? Something is definitely wrong between her and Tyler. She apologized for what he thought he saw happen with Luke. Can’t they move past it? Or could there be something he’s not telling her—something that could change everything?

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Paige Turned, go HERE.


Pattie's Review:

I read the second Paige book, Paige Rewritten, and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to book 3. I was not disappointed. Paige is a likeable and relatable heroine.  I can totally relate with her feelings of being overwhelmed, and overscheduled, and wondering if anything she's doing has eternal significance.

Erynn Mangum's style is just as readable as I found it with the Lauren Holbrook series.

I will not break the reviewer's code (by giving what Doctor Who's River Song calls "Spoilers!"), but suffice it to say the end of the book was satisfying. :)

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Three-Word Wednesday: Keep Moving Forward

 I got to know Beth in an (in)courager group for military wives, and it's been a joy to see her journey as a writer take off.

In my own quest as a writer (instead of just teaching it one night a week), I am participating in Beth’s Three-Word Wednesday link-up.



I am borrowing today’s phrase from the movie Meet the Robinsons, which I just watched in German last week while subbing for the high school German teacher (and yes, it was in German—the animators had changed all the signs and writing in the movie to the German language. Pretty neat.).

KEEP MOVING FORWARD

When I am under a lot of stress and situations are tenuous, I am not at my best. I get snappish with my husband and crabby toward my girls. I try to remember to stay focused on God and His Word and stay positive, but more often than not I allow my circumstances to dictate my mood and my demeanor.

I am not proud of this.

The past five-plus months have been increasingly stressful as we have waited and waited (and waited some more) to hear news that would determine not only the course of our next year, but our next several years. 

It’s often said that the unofficial military motto is “Hurry up and wait!” My military spouse motto has been “Semper Gumby: Always Flexible.” But to be honest, I didn’t want to be flexible. I hate waiting this long for something that someone somewhere knew the answer, but no one would tell us.

In three other words, I hate waiting.

I was a very crabby Pattie indeed.

Enter Meet the Robinsons, the idea that mistakes are okay because we learn from them, and the phrase that continues to stick with me:

Keep moving forward.

The closing line of the film shows that it’s a part of something Walt Disney said about creativity:

Photo credit: www.livingstoncoc.wordpress.com

Of course, like many things, it’s about life too. We have to keep moving forward (or as Uma Thurman quipped, we’ll move backward and smack into something hard). Priscilla Shirer said once that she told her sons that she had to look out the front window to drive safely, not the rearview mirror at whatever they were doing. We have to look forward to move forward. Not that looking back is a bad thing—on the contrary, sometimes personal reflection is needed for growth. Much like studying history, we can give credence to our past experiences and how far we’ve come, learn from our mistakes, and strive to do better next time.

This week we were inundated with a lot of happy, happy news. We know the course of our next year, and we have at least as much job security as anyone in the military is allowed to have at any given time. Also, my daughters were both honored at school for several different things, and that makes my mama heart very happy.

So while today crabby Pattie is a not-so-distant memory, I will continue to be conscious of my reactions to things, work on keeping my outlook positive, be on the lookout for opportunities to serve, and always, always keep moving forward.