Meet Faith Blum and her book”The Solid Rock”

I have had the great pleasure the last few weeks to get to know a spectacular young woman who is a prolific writer of Christ centered Westerns. I want to take the time to tell you a little about her and the awesome series of books she is writing. Let me introduce you to my friend and fellow writer Faith Blum, that Blum which sounds like plum with a B not Bloom.

She amazes me in that at only 25 she has five novels and three Novella’s already published the newest book is the last in her “Hymns of Faith” series and I’ll review it here in a minute.

I encourage you to go to Faiths website and read the about section she has quite the sense of humor.  She lives in Wisconsin on what she describes as a hobby farm with her family. I’ve read all but two of her published works and have added her to my “favorite authors”

I want to get straight to her newest book and give you it’s description. The book is book five of the series and while you don’t need to read them all to enjoy and get drawn in to “The Solid Rock” but you should at least read the first book as it gives a lot of the background information.

Description:

Pinkerton detective, Joshua Brookings, is sent on a job that seems simple on the surface. His fellow detective has been kidnapped and his boss, William Pinkerton senses foul play. Joshua is sent to investigate Edward’s case in hopes of finding the kidnapped detective and helping solve the case that has taken over ten years to investigate.

Arriving in Cheyenne, Joshua finds much more than a simple kidnapping. Yet again, he must go undercover, something he made his boss promise never to make him do again. The only Christian in the outlaw group, Joshua falters and almost loses faith in God’s providence. Will he stand on the solid Rock or drown in the sinking sand?

My Review:

This is a good solid ending to the series. If you haven’t read the others you can start right here but you’ll want to go back and read the rest of them.

The characters in this book are believable and the story is full of action, adventure, and even romance. The book starts with a huge attention grabbing kidnapping. A Pinkerton detective has been kidnapped to keep him from finishing a case and fellow Pinkerton, Joshua Brookings is sent to find the detective and finish the case.  This leads to Joshua being undercover with some of the worst criminals in the west. As a Christian the lies alone  begin to wear on him, and listening to the men boast about past crimes and wicked lifestyles drag his faith down.

I loved the hero and the amount of action in this book. I loved the women and the fact that they weren’t just damsel’s in distress waiting for a man to save them. Every character in the book was true to what people in the west would have been like. The hero’s weren’t perfect and the villains weren’t all bad either.  Just when you think the book should end Miss. Blum adds another twist and draws you right back in. It wraps up the series very well and ties up almost all of the lose ends. The only thing not tied up nice and neat is what happens to five minor characters who the author assures me are getting their own tales soon. Grab this book and enjoy being drawn into the wild wild west once again.

You can grab this and all of Faith’s books at her amazon page: here.

Connect with her at her website here, and on facebook here. Also you might want to check out her blog here.

Until next time, keep yer six-guns loose and yer powder dry.- PG

 

 

Review Or Die! (Not you, the Reader — the Author)

This is a great article on why to review by my friend Mary.

FINDLEY FAMILY VIDEO

It’s a pain to write reviews. If I liked a book, I liked it. I don’t need to review it. Maybe I’ll tell some friends. Maybe I’ll lend the book to someone else. And it sounds stupid to say, “This book was great! I loved it!” What good does that do anyone? Other readers don’t care about reviews. They pick a book because they get pulled in by the cover, they’re a fan of the genre, or a friend or some bigshot blogger they follow recommended it. Who cares about my little dumb reviews?

Honestly, I can sympathize with those reasons for not writing a review. But I’m still going to shoot them down and give you some help to understand why every time you read a book but don’t review it, you are sucking just a little bit of life out of that author. If people keep taking these…

View original post 582 more words

 

Redeeming Character is Out on Amazon.

So Book Five of the Redemption Tales just hit Amazon. After two years and three strokes and a stomach bleed as health setbacks I’ve finally gotten “Redeeming Character” published. Below is a short taste of this book. If it peaks your interest then go grab your copy today at http://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Character-Redemption-Tales-book-ebook/dp/B01BU6F7VO

If you haven’t read the first four books in the series you might want to start with Redeeming Reputation and then Redeeming Trail, Redeeming Grace and Redeeming Love. All are available on my Amazon Author Page Here.

Now a peek at Redeeming Character.

The look on Bart’s face told David he was surprised Nathaniel’s father would ask such a question. “Reverend, I don’t understand your take on your son. You raised him to be a Man of God, and that’s what he is. He is the most forgiving person I know.”

David scoffed, “We both know he isn’t forgiving. Just the number of people he has killed since he came West proves otherwise.” The only thing that gave away Bart’s emotional response to David’s statement was a quick tightening of his hands on his reins and the flinty hardness of the gunslinger he used to be in his eyes.

“Reverend, I’m not a Bible scholar but I was in church Sunday and heard your sermon. I got to say that I disagreed with you. You say your son is a killer, and yet since the day I met him, he has tried his hardest not to take any man’s life.”

David shook his head, “I find that hard to believe. In the year we’ve been here I personally know of at least two dozen men he has killed.”

“Yes, but do you know in almost every single one of those cases, and the others I’ve seen in the two years I’ve known him, he has tried to spare every life he can. Take myself and Timothy as an example.”

David’s face puckered in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Reverend, didn’t you know both of us set out to kill him? Instead, he led us both to Christ and offered us not only forgiveness, but his friendship and a new chance at a better life. The same with Sheriff Stevens. Dakota was one of Diamond Dale’s men and had taken over the Dueling N Ranch. David forgave him, and even convinced the town to pardon him and allow him to become the Sheriff to repay the debt he felt he owed. My own personal story with Nathan is, I challenged him to a duel. As a matter of fact, I threatened to kill him and anyone I found him with if he didn’t meet me in the street for a showdown. Do you know what his response to that was?”

“Well, since you are both alive, I assume he didn’t meet you in the street.”

“Actually, he agreed to meet me for the showdown but invited me to breakfast first. Then he shared Jesus’ message of salvation to me. I laughed in his face and as much as told him I’d kill him at noon. He spent the rest of the morning finding out something about me no one before him had realized.

When noon rolled around, he stepped onto the street and made me admit that by being there he had kept his word. Once I did, he dropped his guns in the dirt and refused to draw against me. Instead, he informed me I was not wanted back east by the law, and handed me a telegraph from my wife telling me she was coming to be with me. Then he offered me a job working for him. He did the same thing for Timothy, too.

They actually had a shootout, and Timothy surrendered to Nathan as acting sheriff. The next day Nathan apologized to Timothy for almost killing him. Several days later, he led Timothy to the Lord and gave him a job as well. So when I say he is the godliest man I know, I mean it.”

David pondered on what Bart had told him as they rode the land. Bart pointed out several good places to build small sharecropper homes and natural dividing lines to each sharecropper’s property. He showed David the right land to keep for himself to raise a small amount of livestock. Some cows and enough horses and oxen to keep the sharecroppers, himself, and any workers he hired in milk, meat, mounts and work animals. As they were riding back to the homestead, Bart informed David of one more fact.

“Reverend, earlier you asked me why Nathan sent us to help you. Truth is, I’m the only person on the ranch that knows the two of you had a fight and why. He made me promise to help you because you’re his parents, and he said this to me just before he and Grace left. ‘He may be wrong in how he treated Grace and me, but he’s still my Father and I will honor him by forgiving him even though I don’t want to. Make sure they are both taken care of ‘til I get back.’ So while you may not be welcome on the Dueling Ns right now, one or more of our hands will be here to check on y’all every day ‘til he returns.”

David was about to respond when the two men heard someone shouting their names. Riding hell bent for leather one of the young hands came tearing up to them. “Reverend, Bart; Sandy Bob said to get back to the house quick; there was some trouble on Mrs. Ryder’s way home from town.”

All three men kicked their mounts into a full-out run. David’s heart was in his throat as he asked. “Is Rebecca okay?” The words of the young hand wrapped the icy hand of fear around his heart and troubled lungs.

“Sandy Bob has done sent for the Doc; he should be there by the time we get there.”

Bart asked one question “What happened?”

The one-word answer made that hand clamp even harder on David’s insides. “Outlaws!”

****
That’s all you get for free. If you want to know more then head on over to Amazon and grab yer copy of “Redeeming Character.”

Till next time Pardners. -PG

 

 

 

Two Awesome Westerns

As most of my friends know, I love me some good westerns. I love western tv shows, movies and I really love western novels. It’s one reason why I’ve written five so far and plan to write at least five more.  But I also love reading them. So I like to share when I find some good ones. That’s what I’m doing today sharing two Westerns I just read that were phenomenal. Both were written by fellow Christian Western Writer, Crystal Barnes.

According to her website crystal-barnes.com, “Crystal is an award-winning author, who also happens to be a born-n-raised Texan and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She has a degree in Computing Science because she loves putting things into their proper place, and she enjoys writing because she gets to share her love of old-fashioned things and the Lord. When she’s not writing or reading, Crystal enjoys knitting, sewing, or crocheting while watching old movies/sitcoms. I Love Lucy is one of her favorites.”

She has two books out in her series of “Marriage and Mayhem” so far. I read them both this past week and loved them. Bellow you’ll see my review for each. I really want to encourage my fans and readers to give her books a try. I know if you love My “Redemption Tales” your gonna absolutely adore  Crystal’s “Win, Love or Draw” and “Love, stock and Barrel”  So here’s my review of both.

Win, Love or Draw

Catherine McGarrett is a strong woman. Life in Texas demands such. For five years, she has built a growing horse ranch while praying for the return of the one man who stole her heart and shattered it in a million pieces when he left.
Now he’s back.
Samuel McGarrett rides into Cater Springs, Texas toting two six-shooters and too many scars. The trouble and pain from the past erupts around the couple. And not just in their marriage.
Can Sam win Catherine’s trust? Will their love survive? Or will his final draw be his last?

My Review:

As a Pastor and an avid Western fan I often have to overlook things in the books I read. This time I didn’t need to overlook anything. This is a well written, exciting Western Romance with plenty of action, adventure and romance. The fact that it is written from a Christian perspective for me was all the better. Unlike some “Christian” fiction books that come across as either preachy or with the Christianity tacked on as an afterthought; Win Love or Draw was just a western romance that happened between to characters that could have been real life Christians. They struggled and feel short at times but they kept striving to live as Christians. The action was fast, the adventures were thrilling and the romance was at times sweet and at times rocky and at times passonate. I loved this book and really loved the plot device of marriage as a waltz the author used. This is a five star read for certain and really should have more than five stars. An excellent addition to the Christian Western Genre.

Love, Stock and Barrel

Hiding from a rat of a fiancé, Dinah Lexington makes tracks for Texas and who she hopes is her late mother’s relative. She’s seeking answers but finds more than she bargains for when she gets caught in a shotgun wedding—with the rifle pointed at her.
Russell Cahill can’t believe his father is demanding he marry the feisty redhead. The sharpshooting female would only add to his troubles, but how does one argue with a gun and an attraction he’s fought to ignore?
Sparks fly. Secrets surface. Loss threatens.
Will a dream for love shatter forever, or will the pair find a marriage worth lock, stock, and barrel?

My Review:

This is the second in the Marriage and Mayhem series. I loved this one as well. There were twists and turns. The biggest of which was Ms. Barnes’ play on the shotgun wedding. I laughed and cried as I read this novel. Again just like the fist in the series I loved the action, the adventure and the romance. This one was very different than the first one and even though part of a series having read the first one isn’t necessary but you should read that book too. Another five star effort from a great new Christian Western author.

 

Seriously ,if you love Westerns or good clean Romance novels with Christian themes that aren’t preachy or phony, then these two books are for you. Go get them right now. Why are you still here? If you got them go read them. -PG