Book trailer for Mary DeMuth's The Muir House

Mary DeMuth is known for her raw and authentic novels so I am looking forward to the release of her latest, The Muir House, releasing from Zondervan in May, 2011.

Enjoy the trailer:~

Coming in mid 2011 from Zondervan

I'm really looking forward to a number of these titles from Zondervan as I think they offer something a little outside the box from the standard Christian fiction fare.

Mary always offers a meaningful and in-depth story of the travails and triumphs of the human heart, I love Noel Hynd's Alex LaDuca and am thrilled she is the subject of a new series, Michael Snyder writes with a completely unique voice and Don's books are always engaging.

And then there is Ace Collins - he is an excellent writer so I'm fascinated to see how he pulls off this Indiana Jones flavoured story.

How about you?


The Muir House by Mary DeMuth

“You’ll find home one day. Sure as sweet tea on a hot afternoon.”

Words from Willa Muir’s sketchy childhood haunt her dreams and color her days with longing, regret, and fear. What do the words mean? Willa is far from sure. When Hale Landon places a ring on her finger, Willa panics, feeling she can’t possibly say yes when so much in her past is a mystery.

Bent on sorting out her history, Willa returns to Rockwall, Texas, to the Muir House Bed & Breakfast, a former funeral home. But the old place holds her empty memory close to itself. Willa’s mother utters unintelligible clues from her deathbed, and the caretaker of the house keeps coveted answers carefully protected. Throw in an old flame, and Willa careens farther away from ever knowing the truth.

Set in a growing suburb of Texas, The Muir House explores trauma, healing, love new and old, and the life-changing choices people make to keep their reputations intact.

April, 2011




Hostage in Havana by Noel Hynd

From bestselling author Noel Hynd comes this new series, The Cuban Trilogy, bursting with intrigue and set against the backdrop of Havana, an explosive capital city of faded charm, locked in the past and torn by political intrigue.

U.S. Treasury Agent Alexandra LaDuca leaves her Manhattan home on an illegal mission to Cuba that could cost her everything. At stake? Her life … and the solution to a decades-old mystery, the recovery of a large amount of cash, and the return of an expatriate American fugitive to the United States. After slipping into the country on a small boat, Alex makes her way to Havana. Accompanying her is the attractive but dangerous Paul Guarneri, a Cuban-born exile who lives in the gray areas of the law. Together, they plunge into intrigue and danger in a climate of political repression and organized crime.

Without the support of the United States, Alex must navigate Cuban police, saboteurs, pro-Castro security forces, and a formidable network of those loyal to the American underworld. Bullets fly as allies become traitors and enemies become unexpected friends. Alex, recovering from the tragic loss of her fiancé a year before, reexamines faith and new love while taking readers on a fast-paced adventure.

If you enjoy thrillers such as those by John le Carré, David Baldacci, and Joel Rosenberg, you’ll love this series.

April, 2011





Jefferson Burke and the Secret of the Lost Scroll by Ace Collins

Jefferson Burke and the Secret of the Lost Scroll is a mystery as old as the Christian church wrapped in a modern-day thriller.

Though an unwilling hero, professor Jefferson Burke's intellectual curiosity pits him against the powerful Bruno Krueger in a race to find a 2000-year-old scroll that calls into question the divinity of Christ and could shake the foundation of Christian faith, upsetting the balance of power in the modern world. Their deadly quest spans the globe, involving officials from the Vatican, CIA and FBI agents, British royalty, a Hollywood actress, and modern terrorists.

This classic battle of good vs. evil will hook believers and doubters alike. The uncertainties raised by the very existence of the elusive scroll will have every reader questioning the basis of their faith and wondering what would happen if certain fundamental truths suddenly were proven untrue.

Artfully and thoughtfully told, this is the kind of action-packed adventure story that will keep loyal Ace Collins readers—and increasing legions of new fans—coming back for more.

April, 2011




The Ambition by Lee Strobel

A corrupt judge in a mob murder case. A disillusioned pastor, hungry for power. A cynical reporter, sniffing for a scandal. A gambling addict whose secret tape threatens the lives of everyone who hears it.

New York Times bestselling author, Lee Strobel, weaves these edgy characters into an intricate thriller set in a gleaming, suburban megachurch, a big-city newspaper struggling for survival, and the shadowy corridors of political intrigue. The unexpected climax is as gripping as the contract killing that punctuates the opening scene.

May, 2011







Thunder of Heaven by Tim LaHaye & Craig Parshall

From Tim LaHaye, creator and coauthor of the world-renowned Left Behind series—the most successful adult fiction series ever written—and Craig Parshall comes this epic story ripped from the headlines of world events and filtered through Scriptural prophecy. Set in the very near future, Thunder of Heaven chronicles the earth shattering events which eventually lead up to the Apocalypse foretold in Revelation.

Thunder of Heaven appeals to the tens of millions of readers who have already made Tim LaHaye a household name and one of the best selling authors of all time. This book is a return to form for Tim LaHaye whose previous prophetic fiction series, Left Behind, has sold roughly 70 million copies. Those who have read Left Behind and are eager for more highly charged fiction based on biblical prophesies will embrace Thunder of Heaven for the same reasons that turned Left Behind into the world’s most celebrated publishing phenomenons of the last two decades.

May, 2011





A Stand-Up Guy by Michael Snyder

It is often said that every good joke contains some basic truth. In A Stand-Up Guy, aspiring comedian Oliver Miles puts that axiom to the test when he revamps his comedy act by filling it with darkly personal truths about friends and family. But, as the edgy humor begins to attract more attention, the young comic's personal life gets more complicated. When he realizes he has managed to turn the two women he cares about most into props for his act, he wonders if his honesty on-stage is making him dishonest in life. Despite the sobering reality of his world off stage, the laughter and the success is intoxicating, even for a stand-up guy.

A Stand-Up Guy is a real story about real people struggling with life's rights and wrongs. It will appeal to anyone who enjoys a uniquely-woven relational drama threaded with a little mystery and delivered with a lot of humor and insight.

June, 2011





Learning by Karen Kingsbury

Bailey Flanigan is growing closer to her dream to be an actress and dancer in New York while Cody coaches a small high school football team … on and off the field. But neither feels complete without the chance to share their dreams with one other. Can distance truly make the heart grow fonder? Or will Cody learn to turn to others to share in his happiness? And when tragedy strikes? Who will be there to provide comfort in the face of loss?

As Cody’s past catches up with him, he must learn to reach out for help or risk withdrawing permanently inside himself. Both Bailey and Cody find themselves learning significant life lessons in this poignant love story, featuring members from Karen Kingsbury’s popular Baxter family.

June, 2011




Thunder in the Morning Calm by Don Brown

Young naval intelligence officer Bob Molster never knew his grandfather who disappeared in Korea in 1950. Haunted for years by the uncertainty of his grandfather's fate, Molster is determined to find out the truth behind rumors that the North Koreas may still be holding some American POWs. He enlists the help of two retired special forces commandos, and finances an elaborate and dangerous plan that takes the trio deep into North Korea. The only thing they know for sure is that they'll probably return heroes, or not at all.

Author Don Brown is building a loyal fan base by writing what he knows best: thrillers with heart. A former Navy JAG officer and action officer in the Pentagon, Brown pens action-packed plots and finely-drawn characters that are credible and compelling.

Thunder in the Morning Calm is a novel of bravery, duty, and family love that will keep readers of all ages reading straight through to the last page.

July, 2011

Life in Defiance by Mary DeMuth ~ Tracy's Take

Publisher’s Synopsis:

In a town she personifies, Ouisie Pepper wrestles with her own defiance. Desperate to become the wife and mother her husband Hap demands, Ouisie pours over a simple book about womanhood, constantly falling short, but determined to improve. Through all that self-improvement, Ouisie carries a terrible secret: she knows who killed Daisy Chance. As her children inch closer to uncovering the killer's identity and Hap's rages roar louder and become increasingly violent, Ouisie has to make a decision. Will she protect her children by telling her secret? Or will Hap's violence silence them all? Set on the backdrop of Defiance, Texas, Ouisie's journey typifies the choices we all face---whether to tell the truth about secrets and fight for the truth or bury them forever and live with the violent consequences.

What I thought:

Mary E DeMuth brilliantly concludes her Defiance Texas Trilogy with ‘Life in Defiance’. Poignant, heartbreaking yet written with exquisite style and stunningly beautiful prose, Mary sensitively brings out Ousie’s journey and settles all those burning questions from earlier ‘Daisy Chain’ and ‘A Slow Burn’.

Mary takes you on a journey into the heart and mind of Ousie Pepper as she struggles to discern where her own defiance has been the cause of her marital problems and where it has been her husband’s defiance. I was moved to tears for Ousie as she defends her husband’s tyrannical behaviour while blaming herself. Mary shows the mind of a battered wife without condemnation, with events so shocking that they are entirely realistic.

I was thoroughly satisfied with the revelation of Daisy’s murderer. Mary leaves her characters without having tied up all the problems up with a neat little bow to live happily ever after. To do so would have been completely unrealistic, out of keeping with the story. Rather, Mary leaves her characters with good things to look forward in amongst the issues that each of them have still to deal with in their lives.

‘Life in Defiance’ is not an easy read. I found the content challenging, disturbing and heart-rending. And yet, the way Mary deals with such weighty and tough topics is deeply insightful, carefully cradled in the beautiful expression she uses to bring out the fullness of her message.

With thanks to Zondervan for Tracy's review copy

Guest reviewer:~ My friend Tracy from Beyond My Picket Fence

Relz Reviewz Extras

View the book trailer

Tracy's reviews of Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn

Visit Mary's website and blog

Buy Mary's books at Amazon or Koorong

Book trailer for Mary DeMuth's Life in Defiance

The brilliant Mary DeMuth concludes her Defiance Texas Trilogy series with Life in Defiance, releasing this May. This is a heartrending and confronting series that you don't want to miss!

12 Pearls of Christmas: He is Always Enough

Christmas in a Barn
by Mary DeMuth

The Christmas of 2006 we were homeless. We didn't have keys. Not to a car, not to a home. We'd flown halfway around the world, leaving behind a ministry we toiled over. Much, particularly in our hearts, lay in ruins.

Some friends had a camp, and on that camp stood a barn. In the corner of the barn was a tiny apartment, flanked by this caboose and hundreds of acres of Texas pasture. We'd never been there before, so we followed directions at night, making plenty of wrong turns.

When we found the place, we drove a borrowed car over the cattle guard toward what would be our home for a month. String lights illuminated a small porch, a window and a door in the corner of an aluminum-sided barn. We hefted large pieces of luggage to the apartment.

And when we opened the door, Love welcomed us.

The place, usually completely unfurnished in the winter, was decked out with just the right amount of beds, couches and tables. The pantry was full. We had dishes and garbage cans, and cups and forks and food. But even more, we had a Christmas tree. Friends had hijacked the place, decorating it for Christmas. Cookies preened on the table.

I will never, ever forget that Christmas. We had so little. We felt the painful burden of failure. But we were loved, so terribly and wonderfully loved.

Christmas felt right there, in a barn. We heard the nickering of horses, the meowing of kittens, the clop of hooves against the barn floor. Chickens and goats and cows served as a holy object lesson of the incarnation. Although we were warm and clothed, we understood more keenly the Savior's homelessness, how He left the splendor of heaven for the sodden earth. We experienced barnyard life alongside him, without much to call our own except our Heavenly Father and our sweet family.

He was enough, that Christmas. And He will always will be.

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Mary DeMuth writes fiction and nonfiction. Her latest book, A Slow Burn released in October and she has a memoir entitled Thin Places coming out in February of 2010. You can meet her: http://www.marydemuth.com, http://www.thewritingspa.com, on Facebook and Twitter!

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

A Slow Burn by Mary DeMuth ~ Tracy's Take

Publisher’s Synopsis:

She touched Daisy’s shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy.

Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.

Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?

What I thought:

Mary DeMuth’s second book in the Defiance Texas Trilogy continues to prove her an author of grit and substance with a literary style that intuitively provides beauty right when it is most needed. ‘A Slow Burn’ is as profound, haunting and poignant as ‘Daisy Chain’ and yet amplifies those qualities with artistry and finesse.

‘A Slow Burn’ changes focus from Daisy’s friend, Jed Pepper, to Daisy’s mother, Emory Chance. Emory, who seems caught in the spiral of her own poor choices, pierced my heart with a deep ache for the grief she seems unable to bear. Emory’s loss, her drug addicted ways and a lifetime of poor choices makes her already wounded soul all the more tortured. While it would be easy to be frustrated with her repetition of the same mistakes, I felt more inclined to join Hixon and Ousie in loving her into a better place.

While Emory seems to sink into despair, Mary DeMuth weaves beauty into the darkness of this woman’s life through the unconditional love of the people around her. People who have every reason to walk away and yet persist with what can only be an example of the way God pursues, forgives and loves each one of us. All around her Emory sees glimpses of the tiniest rays of hope and yet cannot dare to believe she is worthy of anything good.

‘A Slow Burn’ is a heartbreaking story that made me cry anguished tears for Emory’s pain. It is not a story that is neatly tied up with the bow of happy endings, and yet there is the promise that healing and restoration might just be possible. I am eagerly awaiting the final installment of this trilogy to have all my burning questions about Daisy’s killer and Emory’s future answered!


Guest reviewer: My friend Tracy from Beyond My Picket Fence

Relz Reviewz Extras

Review of Daisy Chain
Visit Mary's website and blog
Buy Mary's books at Amazon or Koorong

Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth ~ Tracy's Take

What is it about?

Thirteen year old Daisy Chance and fourteen year old Jed Pepper are the best of friends. They have explored the length and breadth of Defiance, Texas. The run down old Crooked Creek Church building is their favourite place to spend time whiling away summer days and after school hours.

Daisy’s sudden disappearance sets Jed’s world spiralling into desperation and despair over what has happened to his best friend. His guilt over not walking Daisy home that night drives his desire to find Daisy.

Meanwhile Jed’s own family is slowly imploding. Jed’s mother Ouisie carries a load of guilt for her husband, Hap’s raging temper and abuse. Jed and his little sister Sissy try their best not to enrage their preacher father. It is only through his friends Hixon and Bald Muriel that Jed is able to begin to be at peace, despite the tragedy and dysfunction of his young life.

What I thought:

‘Daisy Chain’ is the powerful, haunting tale of a young boy’s coming of age. Jed’s desire to be strong enough to stand up to his father is heartbreakingly bittersweet. His love for his mother and sister and their wellbeing sparks the rage growing in his heart against his father. It is through quirky characters like Hixon and Bald Muriel that Jed learns to forgive. Each, in their own way, encourage him to see that his heart is full of goodness, rather than the unpredictable rage that fills his father. They show him that God is a powerful, prayer-answering God and not like Hap at all.

Mary DeMuth shows her literary craftsmanship in ‘Daisy Chain’. She pulls the reader on through the story with her strong character-driven plot. As the novel progresses it becomes more and more difficult to put the book down, such is the strength of the mystery woven in with the development of each character. While ‘Daisy Chain’ seems filled with despair, hope is artfully woven between the pages, showing that even in the darkest times of our lives God offers us hope and strong arms to carry us through.

My one disappointment was that the mystery of Daisy’s disappearance is only partially resolved. Perhaps this is because a fourteen year old boy would not be privy to the full extent of such details. Despite this, ‘Daisy Chain’ is a gritty, powerful and thought provoking read that deserves a place on every discerning reader’s bookshelf.

Guest reviewer:~ my friend Tracy from Beyond My Picket Fence

*Possible spoiler alert if you haven't read Daisy Chain*

Tracy ~ the sequel might solve your disappointment!

Here's the synopsis for A Slow Burn, releasing September, 2009 from Zondervan

Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. Not even the kindness of her persistent suitor Hixon can soften her heart towards the community of friends that long for her healing. And as the questions surrounding Daisy continue to mount, and Emory’s safety is shattered by the tattooed man’s dark pursuit, she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?

A gripping suspense novel, A Slow Burn is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and the bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and pain of telling the truth and letting God take over. Most of all, it is about the strength of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer has power. Mary DeMuth’s distinctive new voice in Christian fiction will keep readers enthralled as they ask soul-searching questions in this second book of the Defiance, Texas Trilogy.

Relz Reviewz Extras

Visit Mary's website and blog

Buy Mary's books at Amazon or Koorong