OCTOBER BABY, by Eric Wilson

 

 

I'm sure October Baby the movie is wonderful, but, having read Mr. Wilson's novelization, I feel no overriding need to see it. Experience has shown time and time again that the written page can attain a multidimensional property, depth of insight and characterization, richness of viewer/reader involvement, that the silver screen struggles--often in vain--to achieve. Don't get me wrong, I can immerse myself into a great movie as much as the next guy. But the film version would require a near-magical quality to approach what the author delivers in October Baby the book.

For those not yet acquainted with the story, Hannah, a high school student with aspirations for the stage, falters during a prime performance. In fact, she passes out in the middle of one of her lines. Attempts to discover the source of this and other niggling maladies that plague the otherwise seemingly healthy girl lead to a stark revelation. Not only is she adopted, but she's the survivor of a botched abortion. This knowledge sends her on a quest to find her birth mother, despite the protestations of her adoptive parents and the cautions of her best friend, Josh. Still, Hannah, ultimately with Josh's help, embarks on her journey under the guise of taking a spring break trip to New Orleans with a group of friends; a trip that just happens to take her past the city in which she was born.

A cast of unique supporting characters colors the storyline with grit, hilarity, and poignancy brought to their fullest brilliance under the skilled pen of best-selling author, Eric Wilson. It's quite apparent from the characterization and dialog that Mr. Wilson is very much at home with this genre. He pulls you from the softness of your sofa onto the bumpy back seat of a dilapidated van trundling down the interstate toward the Big Easy, sharing the sights, smells, and sensibilities of teenagers on a lark. Transports you from the comfort of your own existence into the troubled world of a young girl whose life has suddenly been turned upside down and now has no idea what part truth plays in it. It just grabs you and doesn't let go at the turn of the last page. If it doesn't grab you, you might want to check yourself for a pulse.

This tale relates one of the realities of abortion smothered by politcal correctness. Those on the pro-abortion side will dismiss it as lopsided propaganda (as has already happened in reaction to the movie). Those on the pro-life side will laud it for its honesty and fearlessness in addressing such a heart-wrenching issue. Those in the middle, those who don't want to care...well, they'll continue not to care. Maybe.
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Sound heavy? No, not really. The journey is often painful, but the destination is emotionally satisfying, like most great novels. Highly recommended, especially for those in the middle.

Oh, and yeah, I'll see the movie. I mean, you know...

And another 'oh'. October Baby is due for release on September 1st. Get in line.  -- Bruce Judisch 

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books; Mti edition (September 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433678470
• ISBN-13: 978-1433678479

AT TABLE WITH THE LORD - FREE eBOOK PROMOTION

We are pleased to share with you that, for the first time ever, E. G. Lewis' eBook At Table with the Lord — Foods of the First Century will be free in the Amazon Kindle store beginning 08/06/2012 through 08/10/2012.

Starting Monday, 12:01 a.m. PST until midnight Friday

Click HERE to download your free copy of "At Table with the Lord." 

Derived from research for The Seeds of Christianity Series™, this easy to read book examines all major food groups as well as what they didn’t have. It also includes special chapters on ancient aviculture, apiculture, olives and olive oil, plus a new look at manna, and at a gladiator’s diet.

Includes numerous recipes to try at home. Fun and thoughtful, At Table with the Lord is an excellent resource for home-schoolers or Sunday School teachers.

This is a world-wide promotion. For those outside the USA, free copies  are available through all Amazon sites.

Download yours  and help us spread the word.  

E.G. Lewis is the author of the popular four-book series of novels "Seeds of Christianity." His research for them led to this book and several other fascinating non-fiction accounts of life in the first century.

Until next time, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

THE COMPANY by CHUCK GRAHAM

Like a number of others, when I got The Company by Chuck Graham, I thought I was getting a thriller. In spite of its apocalyptic beginning — a meteor crashes to earth obliterating life as we know it — the book is not a thriller in any conventional sense. That said, it turned out ot be a well-written and enjoyable book.

By some stroke of luck or divine planning, the folks in Brigos Glen survive a disaster that no one else has. Knowing that the book is also an allegory set my imagination running as read on. Things go pretty good for Brigos Glen until their fuel runs out and they’re plunged into the darkness that has enveloped the rest of the world. Then out of the darkness comes a voice, an opportunity to reclaim the life these folks lost. For some unfathomable reason this voice, this stranger, offers them what they need most in the world…power. Power that will light the darkness, run their appliances, and operate their businesses. It’s the proverbial offer you can’t refuse.

When the stranger gave them access to the power he also gave them an operating manual…a Plan to follow. Now fast forward seventy years. Internal squabbles and petty bickering have split the original Power Company into three co-existent parts, each with their own distinct understanding of how the Plan should be interpreted. Is it a rigid set of rules, nothing more than a group of suggestions, or an irrelevant document that’s outlived its usefulness?

Now we begin to see the allegorical pieces falling into place. The catastrophic opening scene reduces the world to a microcosm. No need for a reader to worry about what folks in Cleveland or Chicago are doing, they aren’t there anymore. So what about the pervasive darkness? Could it be a symbol of man’s fall from grace into sin? And that the Plan is starting to look more and more like…maybe a Bible?

Things come to a head when a small group of citizens of Brigos Glen receive an invitation to a meeting where they find out who’s been supplying their power and meet the Company’s leader. But like all things human, the managers of the regional power distributors each have their own vision for the future. Responsibility for pulling order out of this chaos falls to a lower- level engineer, Sam Mitchell. It’s a life-changing adventure that changes Sam’s life forever.

Pieces of the allegorical puzzle gradually come together in an interesting and satisfying way. If you’re still having problems getting things to gel, Chuck Graham graciously includes a helpful key at the back of the book. No fair peeking; you don’t want to spoil the fun.

We thank WinePress Publishing and Litfuse Publicity Group for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. -- E.G. Lewis

 

PRODUCT DETAILS:

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: WinePress Publishing (February 18, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414120907
• ISBN-13: 978-1414120904

Your Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic

If you haven't read Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic, then Your Life Without Limits is a very condensed version. It is encouraging, but lacks the stories and humor of the longer version of his first book. This one is perfect for people on the go, or with short attention spans, who don't like to read full-length books.

If you are an avid reader, then I recommend Life Without Limits over Your Life Without Limits. However, this one is a quick, easy read for people looking for an abbreviated version. It's full of supportive inspiration, but devoid of most of the personal accounts given in his first book.

Here is a link to our earlier review of Life Without Limits:

"Life Without Limits" Review

I was given a free copy for Kindle compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.

—Gail Lewis

Product Details:

Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307731049
ISBN-13: 978-0307731043

HOSTILE WITNESS by Rebecca Forster

This intriguing novel was offered free from Amazon.com for Kindle. It sounded interesting and was free, so I downloaded it. It will definitely lead me to purchase others by this author.

Hostile Witness is the first in a series of novels by Ms. Forster and is excellent. The author's other books in her Witness series feature several of the same characters.

Josie Baylor-Bates is an attorney who gave up defending those accused of murder when a woman she successfully defended later kills again. She was guilty after all. Josie leaves her highly successful practice to join a small law firm defending lower-income people. When a former college roommate arrives at her home in hysterics, Josie agrees to visit the woman's teenage daughter, Hannah, in jail. She was arrested for the murder of her step-grandfather. Josie feels compelled to help the teen and agrees to defend her.

Did the teenager murder him because he was abusive, or was it someone else? Josie, with the help of her sweetheart, Archer, discovers the truth. Her lovable dog, Max, is a hero too.

The murder investigations and courtroom manipulations portrayed in this novel are fascinating. Ms. Forster does a wonderful job of it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hostile Witness and didn't want to put it down. I am under no obligation to do a review, I simply want to.

—Gail Lewis

Product Details:

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Signet (February 3, 2004)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451211634

ISBN-13: 978-0451211637

HIDE AND SEEK by Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky

Hide and Seek is a military thriller and an emotional roller coaster that keeps the pages turning. Several plot lines intersect, and to leave one exciting event and go onto another makes you look forward to returning to previous characters to see what happened to them. The excitement keeps ratcheting up.

I particularly liked rough and tough U.S. Foreign Affairs Officer Amelia Lennon who thwarts a kidnap attempt on the daughter of the president of Kyrgyzstan. That young woman, Jildiz Oskonbaeva, is plagued by asthma which makes their escape all the more difficult. Amelia might easily get herself to safety, but the woman she rescued suffers from the smoke of surrounding riots and the exhaustion of running.

Meanwhile, as all of this goes on, a special ops team is sent in to search for and rescue them. The insights into how they work together and the equipment they use is very informative.

There are emotional moments for the military men's families as they are mistakenly presumed to have been killed. There are tense moments, injury and death, but all ends well. The Christian aspect of the novel is handled tastefully and isn't heavy handed.

I'd recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys an exciting, thrilling read.

Disclaimer: Summit Book Reviews received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

—Gail Lewis

Product Details:

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: B&H Books (July 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1433671425
ISBN-13: 978-1433671425

FREE eBOOK, WITNESS, via Amazon.com

For the first time ever the Kindle edition of the best-selling novel, WITNESS, will be available for free download at Amazon.com beginning all day Friday, July 6, (PST) through  Tuesday, July 10, 2012 (PST). For European visitors, WITNESS will also be available in the United Kingdom – Germany – France – and Italy. 

The book has been well-received by readers and reviewers throughout the world and has earned a Five-Star ranking on Amazon. The publisher, Cape Arago Press, is taking this opportunity to introduce Rivkah and The Seeds of Christianity Series™ to many more readers.  

About this great novel:

Reviewers say: “Fast paced and gripping…the author did a wonderful job of weaving history into fiction”...“This is a love story, and a good one”…“There’s a beautiful innocence to Rivkah and her thoughts, and the author has a gentle way with words”… “The writing is incredible”… “You will rejoice and cry…this is a novel that transports you to a different time and place”… “E.G. Lewis did a marvelous job…worthy of so much more than a 5-star rating.”  

WITNESS — An old tale told in a new way!

The events Rivkah witnessed changed history. As a young shepherd girl, she accompanied her father to a Bethlehem stable where she held the baby Jesus. She watched Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt, met the strange visitors from the East who’d followed a star to Bethlehem, and saw Herod’s soldiers kill the children of her village.

You can experience life in Roman Judea as the Jewish people struggle under the burden of Caesar's armies and Herod's cruelty. Watch false Messiahs rise and fall and see the fatal retribution that followed. Feel the pain of the innocent bystanders left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Meet Shemu’el, the young man Rivkah believed God destined for her. But Rome tore them apart. Divided by fate, united by love, these two young people grow to separate adulthood, each with their dreams and desires unfulfilled, while the world of Rome and conquest moves inexorably on.

Then, many years later, Rivkah finds herself in Jerusalem during the Passover. Trapped in a crowd, she is forced to watch three men being led to their execution. Her stomach drops when she realizes one of the men is Yeshua, the babe she held so many years before.

Witness it all through the eyes of one who lived it. 

Go HERE to download your free copy of WITNESS starting tomorrow. 

Peace and Blessings.