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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware This post has been updated. On Wednesday, December 28, All Romance eBooks--a romance-specific ebook distributor and publisher that also distributes general fiction and nonfiction through its OmniLit imprint--dropped a bombshell. In  mass emails to customers and authors , ARe's owner, Lori James, revealed that her company was closing, and that in lieu of full payment, authors and publishers would be offered a fraction of what they were owed. The exact  why  of the ARe closing remains a mystery (the emails make generic references to losses and poor financial forecasts, but provide no specifics). As to the what,  here's what we know so far. - The ARe website is going dark at midnight on December 31, 2016.  Customers were given  just four days  to use their credits, download their purchases, and backup their libraries. Authors were given  just four days  to decide whether to accept ARe's offers of "s...

ISBN13: 9781496411686 Tyndale House Publishers TyndaleKids About the book:  In Where Does Love Hide? children are reminded that they not only receive love but have the opportunity to share love. Looking under the fun, lift-a-flap feature, children will see examples of everyday love opportunities. Each page includes a memory verse and an example of a way to share God's love. In life, children hear the words "I love you" repeatedly, often beginning before birth. However, because love is an abstract concept and young children are concrete thinkers, they must gradually learn to understand love by what they experience. In Where Does Love Hide? children are given the opportunity to see love in action and learn what love looks like. My thoughts: One of the first and most precious verses I taught my five children when they were wee ones was, "We love Him, because He first loved us." I John 4:19. This truth of God's love and the root of all Earthly love is so importa...

A greeting shared from Tyndale House Publishers. May the Christ of the manger who is Lord of all be with you this Christmas season.

About the book:  Sarah Worthington never expected to become the US attorney general--at least not this early in her career. Plunged into the vicious vetting process, with all sides digging for secrets in her family closet, she steels herself for the path forward. Nothing will deter her from making her mark on the world in the biggest way possible--even if that means prosecuting the current president of the United States. Yet powerful forces conspire behind the scenes to take the Worthington family down, and the president orders her to close the investigation. Will she comply? Or turn the tables to pursue her ultimate dream--the US presidency? My thoughts: This is obviously the third book in The Worthington Destiny series and to me it was also quite clear that reading the first two would have made getting into the story a bit better and easier. It took at least the first 50 pages for the direction of the story to become clear to me as allusions to previous events and personal issues...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware This post has been updated. Over at  The Writers Workshop , Harry Bingham  is taking a look  at UK-based vanity publisher  Austin Macauley . Are they legit? Or are they scammers? I don’t know. I honestly have no idea. But I’ve heard some concerns raised about the firm and I think the fairest thing to do is ask the question. If it turns out that the firm is an honourable one, seeking to do the very best for its authors, then fair play to them. I will take this post down and offer the WW as a platform for the firm to market itself. I will make it absolutely clear that we have no bad word to say about them, in public or in private. And if they’re scammers – well, then, I hope they perish. I hope they perish soon. And I hope that those responsible for the company are deeply injured, financially and reputationally, by that collapse. To try and solve this conundrum, Harry has formulated a list of questions that he has in...

About the audiobook & music CD:  Being in first grade means having to get used to a whole new classroom. And a whole new teacher. And a whole new bunch of strange children. But here's the worst thing of all: When Junie B. tries to read words on the chalkboard…she can’t! Is it possible that Junie B. needs glasses? This special audiobook edition of Junie B. Jones, First Grader (at last!) contains all the songs from Junie B. Jones The Musical. The musical is adapted from the books Junie B. Jones, First Grader (at Last!); Junie B. Jones, Boss of Lunch; Junie B. Jones, One-Man Band; and Top Secret Personal Beeswax, A Journal by Junie B. (and Me), by Barbara Park. © 2001, 2001, 2002, 2002, 2003 by Barbara Park. My thoughts: When I saw this product I was immediately captivated by this cute little girl peeking from behind her composition book (actually, it's her First Grade Journal). I could hardly wait to see just what capers Junie B. Jones would manage to navigate in first grade....

My thoughts: Bible story books are such a wonderful tool to have on hand to introduce the young child to the Bible and the bare-bones of the Word of God. You can choose to have one or you can choose to have a variety so that your child can experience the many "tellings" and "illustrative styles" of authors and artists as they bring to life what God reveals to mankind in his word. Now a Bible story book  is not nor should be considered to be the actual Word of God. It is an introduction to and base of study for beginners. Hence the writers, illustrators, and publishers have labored diligently to bring to your home a book worthy of it's title - The Beginner's Bible  from ZonderKidz an imprint of Zondervan. This new edition of the originally published in 1989 Beginner's Bible  just exudes life and brilliance in the attention-grabbing, child centric illustrations rendered in a virtual 3-D effect in stong, bright colors. This will become a well-loved book by ...

Things I remember about Christmas past...... The tinkling of a child's music box as the tiny ballerina twirls in pink splendor. The joy of seeing my children in new pajamas I had made for them. The thrill on their face as they sing at the top of their voice during the church Christmas program. The bedraggled child-shepherd walking down the aisle toward the babe in the manger as only a little one can do when robbed in a too big, plaid bathrobe with a towel wrapped around his head. The high school student performing in "Who Stole Baby Jesus" and being so proud. The cold of caroling at the grandparents after a three hour drive to get to their house. The joy of small children opening mysterious packages wrapped with love and tenderness. The weariness of  being a parent and still wrapping, in the middle of the night, those secretive treasures for her beloved children to receive on Christmas morning. The twinkle in a grandfather's eyes as he watches his grandchildren unwrap...

Lovely glass teaset coming soon here at Chat With Vera. Click & retweet if you're excited about this. If you're as excited about this review & GIVEAWAY  as Vera is, ~ Re-Tweet to share the excitement !!!\ LOOK WHAT'S COMING SOON AS A #GIVEAWAY ON CHAT WITH VERA.... @GG_Survey @EnjoyingTea pic.twitter.com/IkJ8QlGAIh — Vera Godley (@GG_Survey) December 16, 2016

About the book:  Alexis Blake has one chance to land her own show on the Home Project Network and nothing, not an uncooperative client, a job site without indoor plumbing, or a challenging videographer, is going to stand in her way. Elsie, at seventy-plus, is far from the ideal client, but she knows exactly what she wants her fieldstone house to look like, and no designer can tell her otherwise. Gabe Langley, the man with the camera, is caught in the middle and it is his wisdom and warmth that just may be the bridge that will bring these two women together. Can they restore more than just a house and bring about special, almost lost forever Christmas memories? My thoughts: This is a lovely story about two young professionals who embark on a life-changing endeavor destined to change each of their professional lives for either good or bad. She so badly wants to become a television celebrity designer and he to become known as a quality professional videographer. Together they  re...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware This post has been updated. Troubled publisher Torquere Press is closing. Owners Kristi Boulware and Joanna Talbot announced their decision yesterday in an email that will doubtless infuriate many authors, but probably won't surprise them: We have thought long and hard about where things are with Torquere and made the very hard decision that we need to begin the process of closing this chapter of our lives....We have done everything we could to turn things around but with the saturation in the industry, the financial hardships we are in, my health in constant decline along with the negativity we have had hurdled our way. We feel like we are currently fighting an uphill battle. Trouble at Torquere (which had been in business since 2003 with no problems) surfaced in early 2016, a little more than a year after Boulware and Talbot took it over.  Reports of royalty payment problems began to proliferate , even as Torquere participated in...

9781782641889 | $14.99 Paperback | Lion Fiction About the book: King Charles of France has announced that he is confiscating Aquitaine, and Prince Edward has sent for knights and men-at-arms from England to assist him in opposing the French king. Lord Gilbert Talbot is required to provide five knights, twelve squires, and twenty archers and men-at-arms, and he wishes his surgeon--Hugh de Singleton--to travel with the party, leaving Hugh's wife Kate to oversee the castle in their absence. It won't be an easy journey. Among the party will be Sir Simon Trillowe, Kate's former suitor, who had once set fire to Hugh's house. After a brawl on the streets of Oxford, Sir Simon had nearly lost an ear; Hugh had sewn it back on, but when it healed crooked, Simon blamed Hugh for the disfigurement. Finding himself in the company of his old nemesis, Hugh resolves not to turn his back on the knight--but it is Sir Simon who should not have turned his back. My thoughts: I have read sever...

With inspiring exercises and prompts, this unique interactive guide introduces readers to a creative connection between Bible study, artistic expression, and worship. About the books:  More than a coloring book,  ScriptureDoodle  is a combination of Bible study, creative expression, and artistic community with artwork shared online at #scripturedoodle. Exploring topics such as being generous, finding rest, and facing grief,  ScriptureDoodle  gives the heart the creative space it needs. This book stimulates the reader's imagination and helps integrate God's Word into everyday life.   ScriptureDoodle God's Promises  refreshes believers who are feeling burned out or stuck in a rut in their relationship with God. Each of the creative worship prompts in this interactive guide includes biblical encouragement and ideas for worship through art. Artist April Knight includes creative lettering tips, color ideas, and completed examples to inspire readers to respo...

My review:   Historical fiction has always been my "go to" genre and especially those books published by Christian publishing houses. The theme of Pursing Gold would, at first glance, center around the desire to use gold coin rather than paper money during the Civil War. While that is the initial theme, it evolves into that true pursuit of gold where the individual pursues the gold of a true relationship with Christ. Set in Tennessee during the war, the Union army is approaching and ultimately attacking the city of Chattanooga. The citizens of this Confederate city are justifiably afraid of the encroaching Union army. The bank owners - Peter Chandler a young man who inherits half portion from his deceased father, and Mr. Roper who lies on his death bed and whose daughter Mary Beth stands to inherit - become aware of counterfeit paper dollars in their town which were seemingly drafts on their bank. They need to find the source of this counterfeit operation and stop it, fast. T...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware NEWS FLASH: on May 4, 2017, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed eight felony charges and one misdemeanor charge against Ryan and Richard Tate for alleged fraudulent business practices. A summary of this extremely long post: so-called Christian vanity publisher stiffs authors, staff, and creditors; gets sued for millions of dollars and fails to show up in court; goes bust with no notice; and rises from the dead to seek new victims, only for the founder and CEO to get arrested a couple of days later. The tale unfolds in my initial post and the dozens of updates that follow. Most recent news is at the bottom. Since putting this post online, I've received dozens of questions about whether there's a class action lawsuit against Tate. To my knowledge, the answer currently is no. I don't think that's the best option, anyway, because given all the complaints by authors and staff of non-payment, not to mention the two multi-...