when blogs collide

Tuesday happened to be my 30th birthday (funny how when I turned 29 I was not okay with turning 30, but now that 30 is here I am completely fine with it...just wanted to share that random observation). :) This birthday was made extra special since I was able to spend time with some very dear friends - author Kaye Dacus, author and publisher Joan Hochstetler, and author Lori Benton. I "met" Lori several months ago (has it been a year already?) through the wonderful book blogosphere, and since then we've also connected on Facebook and I consider her a dear friend. I was THRILLED to have the opportunity to meet Lori since she was in town on her way back home from the latest ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference. Here are a couple of pics we snapped to commemorate the occasion - very appropriately in a bookstore - after enjoying a delicious lunch at Panera.

Lori, me, and Kaye



Lori, me, Joan, and Kaye

After this visit I have to say I really hope I get to meet more of my blogging friends live and in person someday soon! :)

New Deathly Hallows trailer!

Well, this has absolutely blown my mind! How am I supposed to patiently wait till November 19th after THIS trailer?!?!

Downton Abbey trailer

Thanks to Enchanted Serenity of Period Films for posting the new trailer to the upcoming drama, Downton Abbey. Fans of British drama in the States will get to see Downton Abbey when Masterpiece Classic returns in January.

Jane book trailer

I love, love, love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. So when I heard about this upcoming novel I knew I'd have to check it out. Jane by April Lindner releases in October.

Human Target

I am so, so happy about the return of fall TV shows. Next week we get the season premieres for Chuck, Castle, Bones, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff I've forgotten about. *wink* One of my surprise favorites from last year was the show Human Target on Fox. It just got better and better as the season progressed, plus the show was just a heck of a lot of FUN. :) The triple threat of Mark Valley, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Hayley made the show one of my favorites of the year, and I am so happy the team will be returning for a new season of wildly improbable adventures. Season two starts Friday, October 1st. In case you missed out on this show last year, the DVDs of season one come out September 21st...or if you're not willing to commit to that (*g*) you can just settle for this nifty recap:



And here's a preview for the new season, introduced by Booth and Sweets from Bones:

Next on Masterpiece...

Inspector Lewis continues this Sunday with a brand-new episode entitled Your Sudden Death Question. Here's a bit about the story:

The competition is fierce — and deadly — in an all-new episode of Inspector Lewis airing Sunday, September 19, 2010 on MASTERPIECE MYSTERY. In Your Sudden Death Question, Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Hathaway (Laurence Fox) investigate the murder of a quiz competition contestant during a quiet summer holiday at an empty Oxford campus. (One episode; 90 minutes; TV-PG).

Fun fact: I did a brief, and mostly not very good, stint on the quiz team in high school. Oh the memories, LOL! Looking forward to this story!

New Sherlock trailers!

A while back I posted a BBC trailer for the new Sherlock series that's coming to Masterpiece Mystery in October. PBS just released a new trailer...and after watching it, I found both of their previews online with some new scenes not featured in the BBC trailer. Enjoy...goodness I can not WAIT for this show to air!







As expected, it looks like showrunner Steven Moffat has done a fantastic job with this production. As a refresher, Sherlock is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, Watson is played by Martin Freeman, and Lestrade is played by Rupert Graves.

Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Immanuel's VeinsThomas Nelson (September 7, 2010)

byTed Dekker 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.

Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.
Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.

After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.

In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.

He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.

Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This story is for everyone--but not everyone is for this story.

It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.

Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.

With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.

Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.
Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.

But remember, not everyone is for this story.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Immanuel's Veins, go HERE.

Watch the book trailer:




I have not had the opportunity to start this book yet, but I'm looking forward to it. As part of the blog tour for this release, participants were asked to reflect on the question, What is sacrificial love? I have to freely admit that with my crazy life, especially this week, I haven't had the chance to give a question like this the reflection it deserves...so I'll go with my initial gut response.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13