Bookish Question #21 | Do you skip to the end?

21 August 2017

This question came up in one of the Facebook groups I’m a member of.

Do you ever skip to the end of a book and read the final pages?

Some readers in the Facebook discussion were happy to admit they did. Others consider even the thought to be anathema.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle.

Many genres are designed for dipping and skipping. Non-fiction is one–many non-fiction books are designed to be dipped in to, depending on what topic you’re interested in. We often read poetry one poem at a time, and not necessarily in the order they appear in the book—even though that was (presumably) the in which order the poet intended us to read them.

And the Bible—even if we are using a sequential Bible reading plan, we probably dip in and out of other books as we look for guidance on specific subjects, or as we listen to Sunday’s preacher.

But novels are written to be read from beginning to end. It can feel like cheating to jump ahead.

But I have done it on occasion. Have you?

Sometimes I’ll skip to the end when I’m worried the story won’t end like I want it to. For instance, the hero and heroine have to end up together in a romance novel. We know that when we begin. We’re not reading for the ending, but for the journey. But there have been times when the author has got me worried and I want to be reassured the characters will get their happy ever after.

Other times I’ll check the ending when I’m not enjoying the novel. Then I’m skipping because I want to know the end, to decide if I’m going to make the effort to finish the book.

I do skip less often since getting my Kindle—perhaps because it makes a conscious effort to tell the machine to go to the last page. It’s not a simple flick the way it is with a paperback.

Do you ever skip to the end of a novel? Why? Or why not?

First Line Friday | Week 4 | Since You’ve Been Gone

by Iola Goulton

18 August 2017

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from Since You’ve Been Gone by Christa Allan.

My Granny Ruth says we always have choices about falling in love. So maybe you and I should have just fallen in like.

This was one of my favourite novels from 2016—I liked it so much that I bought the paperback so I could share it with friends. And now I’ve opened it to share the first line, I want to keep reading …

About the Book

One moment, Olivia Kavanaugh is preparing to walk down the aisle and embrace her own happily ever after. The next, she learns that her fiancé, Wyatt Hammond, has been in a fatal car accident. Then comes a startling discovery: Wyatt’s car wasn’t heading toward the church. He was fifty miles away…with a baby gift in the backseat.

Her faith shaken, Olivia pores over the clues left behind, desperate to know where Wyatt was going that day and why. As she begins uncovering secrets, she also navigates a tense relationship with her judgmental mother and tries to ignore the attentions of a former boyfriend who’s moved back home. But when she starts receiving letters written by Wyatt before his death, she must confront a disturbing question: Can we ever know anyone fully, even someone we love?

When an unexpected path forward—though nothing like the life she once envisioned—offers the promise of a new beginning, will she be strong enough to let go of the past and move toward it?

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Goodreads

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

All the Book Blog Names are Taken | Robin’s Nest

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

Reviews by Van Daniker | Reading Is My SuperPower

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower. Or check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Book Recommendation | Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry

by Iola Goulton

17 August 2017

Amazon Description

A brilliant transplant surgeon. A rogue organ broker. A ghost child.
And the legend that could destroy them all.

A brutal murder convinces surgeon Mia Kendall there’s more than she imagined to the mysterious spike in heart transplant rejections. Determined to find answers before she loses another patient, Mia gets sucked into a dangerous international medical web. With time running out for her youngest transplant recipient, Mia is forced to partner with a disillusioned ex-military pilot who flies brokered organs across East Africa. But searching for the truth will prove costly for the unlikely duo racing to stop a madman before he annihilates a rare and cursed bloodline.

From best-selling author Lisa Harris and award-winning author Lynne Gentry comes a chilling, hypnotic medical thriller that will take you from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the jungles of Africa.

My Review

Ghost Heart is medical thriller. I have a love-hate relationship with medical thrillers. I love it because I love the suspense aspects. I hate it because it highlights the inequalities in medical profession both within countries like America, and globally. A million dollars for a heart transplant? The mind boggles.Yes, there is some blood and gore (gore = anything that can’t be fixed with an Elastoplast. There are some good reasons why I didn’t go into a medical profession). The worst of it is actually in the Prologue, so if you read the sample and are afraid it’s going to get worse, don’t worry. It doesn’t.

Kelsey Taylor is five years old, and needs a heart transplant stop urgently. Her mother, Catherine, is prepared to do anything to save her daughter. Even going to Africa to for a heart transplant. The only way she save her daughter is to ask her father for help—which could destroy her relationship with her husband.

Mia Kendall is a heart surgeon in the public hospital in Tanzania. She finds her heart transplant patients are dying. But the transplant patients from the nearby private hospital not. She’s suspicious. What is happening? Is there a problem with her surgical methods? Her post-operative care? Or is there a problem with the transplant organs?

Jeme is a Tanzanian wife and mother. Her husband has recently had a heart transplant, but he’s sick again. And she’s trying to protect her daughter—an albino, at risk of being kidnapped and murdered by hunters for her white skin and blue eyes. Unfortunately, this part of the story is based on fact. Albinos are considered cursed, yet at that same time, their body parts are considered good luck charms.

Ghost Heart focuses on the people who are trying to save lives. Catherine and Jeme, trying to save the lives of their daughters from two very different threats. Mia, trying to save her patients, and to make up for one mistake long ago. Organ transplant pilot Race Daniels, trying to save lives to make up for the two he couldn’t save.

It also highlights the tragedy of our modern medical system, and the way it favours the haves over the have-nots. Those who have insurance or money or who live in a country with a good public health system vs. those who don’t. The tragedy of transplants—the fact one person has to die in order for another to receive a new heart. The tragedy of greed—that where money is involved, someone will find a way to get rich at the expense of others.

The novel is suspense from start to finish, with several unexpected twists. Don’t do what I did and start it when you should be going to bed! Recommended for all medical suspense lovers.

Thanks to the authors for providing a free ebook for review.

This review originally appeared at Suspense Sisters Reviews.

Author Interview | Cara Luecht and Soul’s Cry

by Iola Goulton

16 August 2017

Today I’d like to welcome author Cara Luecht, to share about her new release, Soul’s Cry.

Today I’d like to welcome award-winning author Cara Luecht to the blog. Cara lives in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin with her husband, David, and their children. In addition to freelance writing and marketing, Cara works as an English Instructor for a local college. Cara graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Currently, Cara is studying for a Masters of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Welcome, Cara! We’ll start off with some quick questions so we get to know you a little better.

Book Recommendation | Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh

by Iola Goulton

15 August 2017

I requested a review copy of Just Look Up because I’d heard so many good things about it. Surely it couldn’t possibly measure up?

It did.

Lane is an interior designer up for a big promotion at work when her mother calls to say her brother is on life support following a motorcycle accident. She returns home, but is immediately thrown into conflict with everyone in her family (except perhaps her father, who only gets about two lines in the whole novel). The reasons behind this conflict are gradually revealed as the novel progresses

Ryan was also in the motorcycle accident, but escaped with minor injuries. He’s from a bad background, but he’s made something of himself—with the help of the Kelley family, who were surrogate parents for him and his sister throughout his teenage years. He’s always had feelings for Lane, but never felt good enough for her. Now he meets the adult Lane, he realises she has issues, and he might be able to help.

Just Look Up was a great title that worked on many levels.

There was the obvious, that we have to look up to see the world around us, to live. Lane spent much of time looking down at her phone that she missed what was going on around her. And the more subtle, the way Lane consciously or subconsciously looked down on herself.

It seemed to me that looking down was a habit formed early in her teenage years, where she looked down because of her low self-esteem. I could relate to this—and I suspect many grown women can, especially those of us who were bookish teenagers who were never part of the ‘cool’ crowd.

To me, Just Look Up showed the lie that many of us believe in our teenage years.

The lie that we don’t fit in because aren’t good enough. Lane was different to the others in her family—lactose intolerant in a family that made and sold cheese for a living, unattractive and unpopular (or so she thought) in a family that were attractive and popular.

What especially hurt for Lane was that her family perpetuated the lie through their ‘harmless’ name calling (‘Pudge’ is not term of endearment. Ever). The result, I think, was a teenager and adult who never understood how precious she was to God, because she never felt she was precious to her family.

Overall, Just Look Up is a story about how achieving our dreams might not be everything we thought it might be, but the answer might have been in front of us all along.

Recommended.

Thanks to Tyndale Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About the Book

After tirelessly climbing the ranks of her Chicago-based interior design firm, Lane Kelley is about to land her dream promotion when devastating news about her brother draws her back home—a quaint tourist town full of memories she’d just as soon forget. With her cell phone and laptop always within reach, Lane aims to check on her brother while staying focused on work—something her eclectic family doesn’t understand.

Ryan Brooks never expected to settle down in Harbor Pointe, Michigan, but after his final tour of duty, it was the only place that felt like home. Now knee-deep in a renovation project that could boost tourism for the struggling town, he is thrilled to see Lane, the girl he secretly once loved, even if the circumstances of her homecoming aren’t ideal.

Their reunion gets off to a rocky start, however, when Ryan can’t find a trace of the girl he once knew in the woman she is today. As he slowly chips away at the walls Lane has built, secrets from his past collide with a terrible truth even he is reluctant to believe. Facing a crossroads that could define his future with Lane and jeopardize his relationship with the surrogate family he’s found in the Kelleys, Ryan hopes Lane can see that maybe what really matters has been right in front of her all along—if only she’d just look up.

About the Author

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director, and playwright. Change of Heart is her fifth novel and is set in the same town as Paper Hearts. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts studio. They have three children.

Find Courtney Walsh online at …

Click below to buy Just Look Up:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Kobo

You can read the introduction to Just Look Up below:

Bookish Question #20 | Do you have a favourite novel?

by Iola Goulton

14 August 2017

Last week we talked about the novel we’ve read and reread. This week I’m taking a slightly different spin:

What’s your favourite novel?

This is a hard question. I have a free download available from this website—my fifty favourite authors. Yes, that’s favourite authors, not favourite novels. And I need to update it, to add in new authors I’ve discovered since I originally compiled it.

It will have to be an expansion. There is no way I can cut any of those authors off my list of favourites.

If you’d like a copy, sign up for my email list in the box on the right of this page.

I also had a Friday Fifteen feature on my previous blog, Iola’s Christian Reads, where authors share their fifteen favourite books or authors. Most offer to contribute thinking it will be easy … but find it more difficult than they’d anticipated.

And narrowing that list down to one favourite novel? Hard. Very hard. (A favourite book would be easier for most Christians. We’d say the Bible. But that’s kind of cheating.)

Can you do it? Do you have a favourite novel? What is it?

First Line Friday | Week 3 | Ghost Heart

by Iola Goulton

11 August 2017

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry.

According to legend, their kind could never die.

It’s an intriguing first line, and let me assure you: the rest of Ghost Heart is both intriguing and nail-biting. It’s a must-read for medical suspense fans. My full review will post next week.

About the Book

A brilliant transplant surgeon. A rogue organ broker. A ghost child.
And the legend that could destroy them all.

A brutal murder convinces surgeon Mia Kendall there’s more than she imagined to the mysterious spike in heart transplant rejections. Determined to find answers before she loses another patient, Mia gets sucked into a dangerous international medical web. With time running out for her youngest transplant recipient, Mia is forced to partner with a disillusioned ex-military pilot who flies brokered organs across East Africa. But searching for the truth will prove costly for the unlikely duo racing to stop a madman before he annihilates a rare and cursed bloodline.

From best-selling author Lisa Harris and award-winning author Lynne Gentry comes a chilling, hypnotic medical thriller that will take you from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the jungles of Africa.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Goodreads

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

All the Book Blog Names are Taken | Robin’s Nest

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

Reviews by Van Daniker | Reading Is My SuperPower

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower. Or check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Book Recommendation | The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L Rubart

by Iola Goulton

10 August 2017

It’s Throwback Thursday, which means it’s time to repost one of my older reviews.

This week it’s The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L Rubart, which is a finalist in the 2017 ACFW Carol Awards in the Speculative category.

This review was first published at Iola’s Christian Reads on 25 August 2016.

Amazon Description

What if there was a place where everything wrong in your life could be fixed?

Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.

When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.

Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.

But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads

My Review

Jake Palmer is a management trainer who makes a living encouraging others to read what’s on their label rather than believing lies about themselves. But following a horrific incident, he finds himself on a journey to read his own label—to believe the truth about himself instead of the lies he’s been fed by the people he loved most, to the point he’s forgotten who he was.

The Long Journey to Jake Palmer is excellent.

Excellent writing, excellent characters, excellent plot, and an excellent message about learning and believing the truth about ourselves, not the lie. It’s a novel of spiritual and emotional healing, subtly making the excellent point that the physical healing so many people search for is secondary to spiritual healing.

The metaphor (and I truly can’t believe I’m writing that in a book review!) of forgetting who we are is apt: I read an article yesterday which said most five-year-olds have creativity at near-genius levels. But we lose that as we get older until we become merely average. It’s the same message as Rubart shares with Jake Palmer’s story: we forget who we are, and we need to rediscover ourselves.

This is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Recommended—although at over $10 for the ebook, you might want to treat yourself to the paperback.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About the Author

James Rubart James L. Rubart is a professional marketer, speaker, and writer. He serves on the board of the Northwest Christian Writers Association and lives with his wife and sons in the Pacific Northwest.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Read the Introduction

Author Spotlight: Jeanette O’Hagan

by Iola Goulton

9 August 2017

7 – 11 July 2017

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

Is Introducing

Lakwi’s Lament

(By the Light Books 20 January 2017)

Jeanette O’Hagan

Book Description:
A middle-grade to Young Adult short story set in the fantasy world of Nardva:

Lakwi would love to read the books in the Royal library, but girls aren’t allowed inside. Her passion for books attracts the attention of her dashing older brother, Prince Rokkan, and her suave cousin, Lord Haka. Will her drive for knowledge lead her into more trouble than she can handle?

Lakwi’s Lament originally appeared in Like a Girl Anthology and is related to The Herbalist’s Daughter and the Akrad’s Legacy series.

About the Author:

JEANETTE O’HAGAN first started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of nine. She enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing.

She is writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. Her short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl. She has recently published her short novella, Heart of the Mountain and, in Mixed Blessings: Genrellly Speaking anthology, also a flash fiction ‘Space Junk’.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and, more recently, a Master of Arts (writing). She is a member of several writers’ groups. She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends and pondering the meaning of life. Jeanette lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

Sign up to Jeanette O’Hagan’s Newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bbLJKT
Website: jeanetteohagan.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker
Twitter: @JeanetteOHagan
Instagram: @bythelightof2moons

Author Interview | Introducing Connie Ann Michael

by Iola Goulton

9 August 2017

Today I’d like to welcome author Connie Ann Michael, to share about her new release, Forsaken.

A new resident of Montana, Connie Ann Michael grew up in a close family on the outskirts of Seattle. Drawn to the Lord she’s followed her calling of service and has taught for twenty-six years, currently the fifth grade teacher at Crow Agency Public School, on the Crow Reservation.

Connie loves her family and is lucky enough to have two grown boys. Living with her husband and two dogs in Big Sky country, Connie enjoys any activity that takes her outside and is working hard to overcome her fear of being eaten by a bear to enjoy more hiking trips in the mountains.

Welcome, Connie! We’ll start off with some quick questions so we get to know you a little better.

What is your favourite fruit?

Well, when I look at fruit I always think yum! But I actually don’t care for it when it’s sitting in front of me. If I had to choose I guess it would be a pineapple.

I love pineapple!

Which is your favourite season?

I love fall. I love the colour of the leaves and the cool crisp air and mostly I love football season.

Funny!

Where is your favourite place?

My favourite place is Monument Valley, Utah. I love how incredibly quiet it is there and it has a way of refreshing my soul.

I’ve visited several of Utah’s National Parks, and they were all amazing. There is nothing like the grandeur of nature to refresh the soul!

What is your favourite Bible verse?

Psalms 91:4 He will cover you in with his feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge, His truth shall be your shield

What’s something funny or quirky that not many people know about you?

I asked my family to help with this and they also drew a blank. So although this isn’t really quirky … I speak Spanish and I am trying to learn Crow at the reservation I teach at. I also have a need to take classes and learn new things all the time so I am constantly enrolled in college classes.

This wasn’t supposed to be a hard question! But I love that you are learning Crow.

Now, let’s talk about your book, Forsaken. Here’s the description off the back cover:

Eighteen-year-old Oli cannot remember life outside the barrier, a life before the oil spill that poisoned human kind, killing half the population and infecting the other half until they deteriorated from the inside out, forced to walk the earth as Screamers. It’s a dangerous new world in which barely anyone makes it past the age of twenty, and Oli’s time is running out.

Studying the Bible, Oli searches for words to help restore faith in a lost world, and when she receives a message from God telling her to leave the barrier, she knows what she must do. There’s only one problem: Her best friend, Coi, doesn’t believe her, and he’s showing the first signs of infection. But before she can convince him to leave with her, the Governor quarantines Coi and orders his execution.

Oli risks it all to rescue Coi, and they set out to find sanctuary away from the safety of the compound, not knowing who or what will get to them first: the Governor, the illness, or the Screamers. When they stumble upon a group of uninfected humans hidden among the rubble of an apartment building, they think they’ve found their salvation. But not everything is as it seems, and their enemies are closer than they thought.

I love your cover! How much input did you have into the cover design?

My publisher did an awesome job on this cover so I pretty much was sent the first draft and I said LOVE IT! I am given a worksheet to fill out, giving them my vision and they usually do a pretty good job of creating something great.

Forsaken is obviously Christian dystopian. Why did you decide to write a dystopian novel?

The idea of what the world will be like as the end of times comes near is very interesting to me. My old church did a Bible study on the book of Revelation and really got me thinking. There are so many early examples through the Bible which lead us to this ending of a society who blames God for leaving them behind and then refuses to have faith as if to punish God.

I like to think of the Screamers as the people who can’t find satisfaction because they lost their faith. I guess I’m attempting to use the walking infected as a metaphor for people who are lost and can’t be satisfied by the ways of the world and need to find God.

I love that metaphor! What a fascinating idea.

What inspired the plot?

The plot was inspired when the oil spill began in the Gulf of Mexico some years ago. My son was doing a research paper on the effects of the oil on otters in Alaska about the same time. We started reading what happens to the people exposed to the dispersant used to clean the area as well as the wildlife. Soon the towns on the edge of the Gulf began having health issues and the story took off from there.

So Forsaken is what could happen? Scary!

Forsaken is written in first person, which I personally enjoy but I know a lot of readers don’t. Why did you choose to tell the Oli’s story in first person?

I have written in both first and third and I usually don’t really think about it before I start writing it’s just how it came out. Oli wanted to tell the story, what can I say. 🙂

Who is your favourite character in this book, and why?

I love Oli for her faith and courage but Matty, who will be introduced in the story with his brother, is a personal favourite. They have much more impact in the next book.

Is there a particular theme or message in Forsaken?

I think the theme I am trying to get out there is I see so many people looking into themselves for spiritual fulfilment and making new belief systems that fit the sinful lives they may choose to live. I think we forget that we have a history book in the Bible that makes it very clear what the future holds and we need to hold onto that knowledge and not let outer influences take it away.

In the book I have all the Bibles burned. It’s my way of showing how I feel we are being encouraged to turn our backs on the word of God. Environmentally, I believe we are destroying our world with materialism, turning a blind eye to our environment when a profit can be made.

Great point. We have too much stuff, yet we always seem to want more. And we will pay a price that’s not just monetary.

Forsaken is the first novel in the Screamers series. What can you tell us about the next novel?

The next novel really brings Matty and his brother Brig into the mix. I think since I was able to explain the condition of the world in Forsaken I was able to delve more into the spiritual impact of the world and the direction it is going in the second book, which is with my editor as we speak.

What do you find is the easiest part of the writing and publishing process? What’s the hardest?

The easiest part is coming up with ideas. The hardest part is getting those ideas into a semblance of order on the page.

What impact does your faith have on your writing?

My faith has a huge impact on my writing and the topics I choose to write about. I believe my place isn’t so much to preach at people but to serve them to show them my faith. I hope my books allow me that opportunity.

Most of my books follow the idea that no matter how far away from God you are or how decayed your soul is, it isn’t too late. God has already forgiven you and now you need to forgive yourself.

That’s a great message, and one I think we all need to hear sometimes.

I see you’ve published other books in different genres. What’s your favourite fiction genre, and why?

Yes, I have a Christian Romance series, A Thousand Moments out currently. I love romance but have really been hooked by some of the YA books recently out that delve into the struggles and angst of youth today.

I’ve observed before that historical and futuristic novels can often explore contemporary issues in a way contemporary novels can’t. The same can be said for movies and TV shows—Star Trek comes to mind.

What book (or books) are you currently reading?

I have been reading a ton! this summer. I tend to stick to authors and gobble up everything they write before moving to another. My summer authors have been; Jessica Park, I’ve read about six of her books. She writes college age fiction and I just love her male characters.

Jenn Faulk is a great Christian author! And my all time favourite Christian Author L.N. Cronk released a new book this summer. She wrote the Chop, Chop series which made me have to lock myself in the bathroom and sob for an hour. Currently I am reading Rebecca Donovan, What If.

I’ll have to check out Jessica Park! I love great male characters.

What, in your opinion, are five must-read books for fans of dystopian fiction? (Not including Forsaken. We’ll take that as a given.)

I’m not going to be very original because I think the Hunger Games and Divergent are some givens. However, since I kind of lean to the world of worldwide illness, some of my favourites are The Apocalypse Z series by Manel Loureiro, and The Dead Empty World by Carrie Ryan. She also writes a series starting with The Forest of Hands and Feet that is great! And finally I love Charles Higson’s series The Fallen.

Some great suggestions – thank you!

Finally …

Where can we find Forsaken online?

Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Anaiah Press | Goodreads

Where can we find you online?

Thank you, Connie! It’s been great to meet you, and learn more about Forsaken.

About Anaiah Press

Anaiah Press is a Christian publishing house dedicated to presenting quality, faith-based fiction and nonfiction books to the public. Sign up for our Anaiah Press Reader Newsletter and/or Blogger Blog Tour Signup Newsletter to be entered into our summer giveaway.

Click here for the Summer Giveaway!

Readers, what question would you like to ask Connie Ann Michael? Let us know in the comments! Meanwhile, you can read the introduction to Forsaken below: