Barely escaping the flames!

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Over and over in the Bible, it tells us that we will be judged, both Christians and non-Christians. Non Christians will be judged for their sin. Christians will be judged for their works. But, you say, aren't we all saved by God's grace, not works? Absolutely. But it's what we do with that grace that determines how we spend eternity. I challenge you to type in the word "reward" in an online Bible software and search the New Testament. I think you'll be surprised. I know, I was.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does. Ephesians 6:7

So, how can we build with gold and silver and costly stones like it speaks of in 1 Corinthians, the material that won't be burned up when God tests it with His fire? I believe it is anything we do that we do all for God's glory, out of complete Faith, and without a shred of selfish ambition. Just think about the last time you did something you thought was good. (Perhaps you gave someone a gift, or volunteered at a soup kitchen, or did the dishes) Now, if you're honest, if you go deep inside yourself, did you do it completely for God's glory? or were you hoping for some praise, a pat on the back, some recognition from someone, or to avoid punishment, perhaps you just want people to think you're a kind person. I believe if we are all honest, there's rarely a time when we do something without a single inch of selfish interest. Now consider this, suppose the next time the opportunity comes up to do the same "good" thing, but this time, after you do all the work, someone else will get all the recognition. Ouch. Hurts, doesn't it?

How can there be any hope for us selfish, fallen creatures then? Can we ever hope to aspire to such purely unselfish giving? such unconditional love? Fortunately for us, God is in the business of heart transplants and He has promised to give us a new heart, to make us like Him. (Romans 8:29) This is a process and it takes time, but we can be assured that if we recognize our filthy hearts and truly submit to Him, He will complete the good work He has begun in us. (Phil 1:6) Then you'll begin to live that "abundant life" he promised for his true disciples.

Unfortunately for some, they will only build their Christian homes with hay, straw and wood, and in the end, all of it will burn. All the good acts they commited for selfish reasons, all the "things" they accumulated their whole lives for their own pleasure, and the really sad thing is they will not have lived the full life God had for them. As my pastor says, some will barely make it into heaven, but with their rear ends on fire!

Chapter a week!

MY HEART REMEMBERS
By Kim Vogel Sawyer
Published by Bethany House Publishers, March 2008

Orphaned in a tenement fire, three Irish-immigrant children are sent to Missouri to be adopted. Despite eight-year-old Maelle's desperate attempts to keep her siblings together, each child is taken by a different family. Yet Maelle vows that she will never stop searching for her brother and sister...and that they will be together one day in the future.
Seventeen years later, Maelle is still searching. But the years have washed away her hope... and her memories. What are Mattie and Molly doing now? Where has life taken them? Will she ever see her brother and sister again?

Hideaway Home
A Hideaway Novel by Hannah Alexander

Has their love survived the ravages of war?

Throughout World War II, Second Lieutenant Red Meyer anticipated the day he could return to Hideaway, Missouri, and to his sweetheart, Bertie Moennig. His dreams are shattered, however, when he is wounded in the last stages of the war in Europe. Bertie is beautiful inside and out—she deserves a whole man. Red is determined to keep his distance until a tragedy on the home front brings the couple face to face for the first time in a year. Now a dangerous mystery threatens Bertie's life. As they fight for survival in their tiny Ozark town, Red has to summon the faith and courage to protect the woman he has never stopped loving.

To read an excerpt of these new titles go to Chapter-a-Week

Spring is here!

Spring and summer are my favorite times of the year. Here in Northern California, our "rainy" season ends in April. In fact, it's rare to see any rain again until October. When I first moved here from Florida, I thought that was extremely weird, but I've grown used to it. I thought I'd share a few pictures from around my house of Spring in California. Here's a field of wild flowers just outside my house! Gorgeous.

I'm so blessed to be able to live right next to a state park. There's a trail that winds around a group of hills that I walk on every day. I usually use this time to pray or sometimes, I plot my novels while I'm walking.

Here's a picture of a nearby field of mustard.

And here's a shot of some of the hills. Right at spot where the lowest tree sits is where God spoke to my husband and opened his eyes to the Kingdom! (But that's another story) By the way, these hills will be completely brown by June.

And here's our famous California Poppy. (This is directly across from my house)

I love nature and I love the beauty of God's creation. If this is the earth in a fallen state, I can't wait to see what God has in store when he renews our world and creates the New Earth!

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21

I need a hero

Do you remember that song from long ago "Holding out for a hero" by Bonnie Tyler? It impacted me as a young girl growing up and somehow it seems even more relevant today. Here's a few of the lyrics:

Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the street-wise HerculesTo fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and turn and dreamof what I need

I need a hero,I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strongAnd he's gotta be fast And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light

He's gotta be sureAnd it's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life

Since I'm a historical writer, I do a lot of research on the habits, culture and customs of the time period in which I'm writing. And lately there seems to be a huge gap between the young men of our present culture and the young men of long ago. Now, I'm not talking about the low-lifes, ruffians, and miscreants. We have those in every culture. I'm talking about the average young man between 20-40 years old. Not too long ago, less than even 100 years, young men were expected to be achievers, successful, educated, cultured and mannered. If they weren't, they were unlikely to find a decent wife. They treated women with respect, wanted to be the leaders of the household, community and country. They fought bravely, they protected their families, they dealt with everyone with honor, integrity and honesty. I know I'm speaking in generalities here, and there have always been your "bad apples", but come on, how many young men do you see like that in our present time? There are exceptions, of couse, but most of the young men I meet are lazy, disrespectful, unambitious, spoiled, and generally dishonest in their dealings with others. I'm talking about the generation that spends hours in front of the TV, playing video games, drinking beer and getting fat on pizza. I even know more than one man who longs to be a house-husband.

What has happened? Is it women's lib? Have parents spoiled their children too much? Have we catered to their every whim and rushed to help them whenever they have called? Have we over-medicated them? I believe it may be a combination of all of the above, but I also think it has something to do with taking God out of our culture. There are no whimps in the Bible, and to me there is nothing more heroic than a strong man of God. All the qualities of a hero are embedded in the Sprit and principles of God: courage, strength, perserverence, honor, loyalty, dignity, truth, integrity, discipline, love.

What we need in today's world are more Men of God. What say you?

My obsession with the sea!

As many of you know, I have a heathly obsession with the ocean. I really don't know why. Maybe because I grew up a mile from the warm beaches of South Florida and learned to swim like a fish before I was three. Maybe it has something to do with the adventure, the mystery, the romance of the sea. Whatever the reason, I intend to incorporate at least some part of the sea in all my novels. When I was a kid, one of my hobbies was Aquariums. I used to have three or four good sized tanks in my bedroom. I just loved setting them up, caring for the fish, decorating them, and most of all just watching the fish swim around. It can be quite soothing. As a young adult, I migrated to Salt-water tanks. They are much harder to maintain and more expensive but at one point I had such a beautiful aquarium, it looked like a gorgeous reef off of Austrialia! The Earthquake of 1989 destroyed my salt water paradise and then I got busy with kids and job and life and never really set one up again. Until just recently, my eldest son, who has also taken an interest in Aquariums, set one up in his house, and encouraged me to do so as well. So, I'm posting a picture of my new Aquarium. It's not a salt-water, and it's kind of small, but it's a good start for me to get back into the hobby. Mainly, I wanted you to see that I purchased a sunken pirate ship to decorate it with. Isn't it cool?

The Grand Finale!

He is risen! Many of us celebrate Easter by going to church, having a dinner with family and friends, maybe an easter egg hunt or easter baskets for the kids. But how many of us really stop to think what Easter really means? I mean even beyond the fact that Jesus rose from the dead? Listen to what the Apostle Paul has to say about the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15

"And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."

Wow, did you hear what he said? Without the resurrection, not only is our faith futile, but we as Christians are to be most pitiable. No wonder the world makes fun of Christians. They don't believe in the Resurrection, therefore they think we are crazy and should be pitied.

The Resurrection is everything. It is the Grand Finale of Jesus' trip to Earth. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then He wouldn't have been the messiah, the savior, and his death would have been in vain. Because He lives, so will His followers. Paul goes on to say further down in 1 Cor. 15 something I find amusing. He says "If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." In other words, Party down! You've got nothing to lose. Nothing matters but self, but your own pleasure if there is no ressurection because either way, you're lost, without hope in a dying body and a dying world. (sounds like the way most people in the world live?)

Let me end on a happy note (since it's Easter) What will our Ressurection bodies be like? Do you think that when you get to heaven, you'll be like a spirit floating around on a cloud playing a harp? Sounds boring to me. Let's look at Jesus' Resurrection body as our example because the Bible says we will be like Him.

Jesus had a real, touchable, physical body

Jesus was recognizable

Jesus could eat ( cool, huh?)

Jesus could communicate and relate to others

Jesus could appear and disappear at will

Jesus could ascend into heaven

Let's add what Paul says about our new bodies (Also in 1 Corinthians 15)

Our bodies will be powerful, spiritual, glorious and immortal

I don't know about you but the older I get, the more wonderful this new body sounds to me!

Have a blessed Easter, everyone!

Chapter a week!

In honor of their 1000th member (actually they're past 1030!) Chapter-a-Week is having a celebration. The 1000th person to sign on has been notified that she will recieve a box of Chapter-a-Week' s favorite new releases, including books by Traci DePree, Angie Hunt, Robin Lee Hatcher, Kim Sawyer, DeAnna Dodson, MaryLu Tyndall, Tamera Alexander, Hannah Alexander, Louise M. Gouge, DiAnn Mills, Camy Tang, Tricia Goyer and Judith Miller! You just never know what surprises will come your way with Chapter-a-Week. So keep spreading the word so others can discover new, great reads at Chapter-a-Week.

This week's selections:
Leaving November
(Howard Books/Simon & Schuster March 2008)
by Deborah Raney

Daughter of the town drunk, Vienne Kenney has escaped Clayburn for law school in California. But after failing the bar exam—twice––she's back home with her tail between her legs, managing Latte-dah, the Clayburn café-turned-upscale- coffee-shop. Jackson Linder runs the art gallery across the street and Vienne has had her eye on him since she was a skinny seventh grader and he was the hunky high school lifeguard who didn't know she existed. Now it's his turn to fall for her and suddenly Clayburn seems like a pretty nice place to be...until Vienne discovers that Jack is fresh out of rehab and still struggling with the same addiction that ultimately killed her father.

Only Uni
By Camy Tang

Will Trish Sakai be able to follow her three simple rules and hold out against two gorgeous guys?

Trish Sakai is ready for a change from her wild, flirtatious behavior. And her three cousins are anxious for her to change, too. Trish is always knocking something over, knocking herself out, and taking hard knocks in her perpetual confusion about men.

When Trish's ex-boyfriend, Kazuo the artist, keeps popping up at all the wrong moments, Trish decides to be firm with herself. She creates three simple rules from First and Second Corinthians and plans to follow them to the letter. No more looking at men! No more dating non-Christians! She will persevere in hardship by relying on God.

Except now Kazuo is claiming Trish is his muse, and he can't complete his major work of art without her. And a gorgeous coworker is reassigned, bringing him in daily contact with Trish. But her cousins are determined to hold her accountable to her plan. She thought three rules would be a cinch, but suddenly Trish's simple rules don't seem so simple after all.

To read an excerpt of these new titles go to Chapter-a-Week .

The winner of Better than Gold by Laurie Alice Eakes is..

Blissful!!!! Please contact me at marylu_tyndall@yahoo.com with your mailing address, and I'll have Laurie put a book in mail to you asap. And thanks to all of you for entering the contest! I had fun reading all your comments. And once again, I highly recommend any book writen by Laurie. She is a fabulous author.

Thanks and may the Lord bless you as you celebrate Good Friday!

14 Superfoods

In just another week, my yearly organic co-op begins again and I'm very excited. I joined this farming group last year. They have a farm just a few miles outside of my city and everything they grow is organic. Each week, they pick an assortment of vegetables and fruit fresh off the vine, package it up, and ship it to various pickup locations within the city. For just $30 a week, I drive only a block from my house and pick up a box full of delicious and healthy veggies and fruits. I never know what I'm going to get and it's been so cool to try new things. I cannot tell you how much better these fresh veggies taste than the ones you'll find in the store. The tomatoes are sweeter, the strawberries melt in your mouth, even the beets were divine.

But it's not only the taste that is so good, it's that they are grown without any chemicals or pestisides (most of which cause cancer and other diseases) and the closer you eat something from the time it was picked, the more nutrients it has in it. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a great farm co-op. I encourage you to see if you may have one in your area to join, and eat your veggies and fruits the way God intended!

Along those lines, here's a list of 14 superfoods that you should be eating every week!

Beans -- reduce obesity
Blueberries -- lower risk for cardiovascular disease
Broccoli -- lowers the incidence of cataracts and fights birth defects
Oats -- reduce the risk of type II diabetes
Oranges -- prevent strokes
Pumpkin -- lowers the risk of various cancers
Wild salmon -- lowers the risk of heart disease
Soy -- lowers cholesterol
Spinach -- decreases the chance of cardiovascular disease and age-related macular degeneration
Tea -- helps prevent osteoporosis
Tomatoes -- raise the skin's sun protection factor
Turkey -- helps build a strong immune system
Walnuts -- reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer

Yogurt-promotes strong bones and a healthy heart

Well, I don't eat all of these every week, but I do eat 6 of them regularly. How about you?

Beware of a hard heart!

Just FYI, the drawing for Laurie Alice Eakes' book will be all week. (See below for details)

Anyway, I've been reading Exodus lately, and I came across something I thought was rather scary. When Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to demand that he let the people of Israel go, Pharaoh would not agree. We all know the story of the 10 plagues God sent to Egypt as a result, but what I thought was interesting was that Pharaoh refused or "hardened" his heart 7 times before God finally gave up on him and hardened Pharaoh's heart for him. If you read the text, starting in Chapter 5, you'll see phrases like "Pharoah's heart grew hard" or "Pharaoh hardened his heart" 7 times, then finally in Chapter 9, verse 12, after the 6th plague, it says "But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh" And from then on, you'll see that it's the Lord who forbids Pharaoh to comply with Moses.

What is frightening about that is that I believe God gives everyone chance after chance after chance throughout the course of their lives to accept Him, to seek Him, but I do believe there may come a time that God will remove His hand from a person who continually rejects Him and leave him to his own devices.

In 2 Thess 2: 10-12

"They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."

This may not seem fair to you, and we may not understand this completely, but it is apparent from scripture, that God can and will remove His hand from someone and cause their heart to harden. But only after He has repeatedly tried to get their attention. Don't be hard-hearted toward God. It only takes one glance in His direction, and He'll open His arms wide to receive you.

Guest Author and book giveaway!

I'm so excited to introduce you today to a good friend of mine and without a doubt one of the best authors I've had the privilege of reading in many years. Her name is Laurie Alice Eakes, and her latest release is called Better than Gold. Laurie's specialty is historical romance, but her stories tend to be more like my books, not just romance, but great adventures. She is an incredible historian (She's the one I go to with any history questions I have) and an awesome writer. Remember her name because you're going to see many of her books hit the market in the coming years.

I had the privilege of asking Laurie the following questions:

1. What made you decide to become an author? Did you feel a call on your life from the Lord or was it just something that you happened into as a result of pursuing your interests?

Definitely the latter. I've wanted to be—I have been—a writer since I was a child. Mostly, I wrote poetry, but I got short stories and articles published in the school paper from about fifth grade on. If simply feeling like being a writer was part of me, then I was called

2. I know you are a great lover of history. Is there a particular era that you really have a passion for? And how do you go about your research?
The "Long Eighteenth Century", as many historians call it, has been my passion for a long time. That is called such because it pretty much goes from 1660 to 1820, encompassing the Restoration, Georgian, and Regency eras in England. Simultaneously, I love the colonial America period along with the American Revolution, the Age of Louise XIV through the French Revolution. And a little Russian history thrown in there, too, doesn't go amiss. After all, John Paul Jones, one of our naval heroes, went to work for Catherine the Great of Russia after the Revolution here. But I'm getting a hankering to go further back in English history.

Research is crucial to me. WE can't get all the details right, and language changes, so we have to fudge on a few words so the reader isn't lost, and researching history for a novel goes beyond learning the events on dates and the style of clothes. It's much more about social mores, culture, and customs. For that, nothing works as well as original sources like journals, diaries, and memoirs. These can be hard to find, but with sources like Google Books, the Gutenberg Project, and library databases, access is much easier. Reading fiction and poetry of the time helps, as well as newspapers. That will make earlier history more difficult, as few diaries exist if any, and no newspapers. But monasteries kept detailed records, so the data is there, just more obscure, taking more creativity to find

3. What is your biggest challenge as a blind author?

Reading the research materials and proofreading for practical reasons. People's perceptions for another. Some people simply think I can't do the work. I'm trying to be tactful here, which is not a strong point of mine, and too many people equate blindness with inability and won't go beyond that in believing I can write quality stories despite my awards and published books.

4. How much does your Christian faith impact what you write? Do you have a specific message you want to get out into the world?

Being a Christian means I have a barrier I simply will not cross. Though my characters are human and make mistakes, sometimes sinful, serious mistakes, I make sure the reader knows that these characters have consciences and know what they are doing is wrong, and they suffer the consequences, just like in real life.

If I have a general theme, it's that we can make mistakes and wrong moral choices, and it doesn't mean we can't find forgiveness and happiness beyond them. In my specifically Christian work, forgiveness is specifically from the Lord. In the secular works, the forgiveness theme is more human-based, and that's a fine message in my book, as we are all to forgive as we have been forgiven.

5. How would you classify your style? What sets you apart from other historical romance authors?

I break a lot of rules. One day, I decided my writing was stilted, so tossed my English teacher degree aside and wrote for impact—long sweeping sentences for slower, more sensuous passages, and short, choppy sentences or fragments for tension. Since I write using a screen reader--not to be confused with dictation software—I'd say my work is meant to be read aloud.

That's a style thing, a voice in writing that sets me apart. As for content, I am less enthralled with titles and gowns and who was at the theater in 1814 than how much trouble my characters could get themselves into and stay within historical bounds. I consider it romantic suspense in an historical setting.

6. Tell us a bit about your new release.

Better than Gold is the third book in the Iowa historical series for Heartsong Presents by Barbour Publishing. I had this crazy idea to put forth a series where people are hunting for the same lost stash of stolen gold, but no one finds it until the end of the series. Along the way, though, these people hunting the gold learn what is really important to them—love, family, community, and a relationship right with the Lord. Lena Dooley and Lisa Harris wrote the first two, and I took the third. A Daughter's Quest and Tara's Gold respectively. In Better than Gold, they get to find it, but not until their reasons for wanting it change, not until their hearts change.

7. What are your pet peeves about some of the books you’re seeing on the market today?

For the answer to this question, plus another chance to win a copy of Better than Gold, see
http://www.rachelwilder.net/.

If you leave a comment, I will enter your name in the hat to win a free copy of Better than Gold. I guarantee you won't be disappointed with this book! Or anything else written by Laurie.

Thanks so much, Laurie, for being here today.

My cover for The Falcon and Sparrow!

Here's the cover for my next book, The Falcon and the Sparrow, to be released this coming August. There's always something so cool when you get your first glimpse of the cover of your book. It's like seeing your characters come to life. It can be a scary thing too because most writers don't get much say on their covers, but I have been really pleased with the covers that my publisher, Barbour, has designed for me so far. I don't know about other publishers, but with Barbour I fill out a form for the cover designer that describes what the book is about, what the characters look like, their personalities, anything I'd like to see in the background, and any pictures that I think would help. It always amazes me that from that, these talented and creative artists can create such awesome covers.

I am also in the process of creating a Book Trailer for The Falcon and the Sparrow, and I'll post that when I finish it, probably sometime next month.

Anyway, I pray you have a wonderful weekend! On Monday, I have another guest blogger, author Laurie Alice Eakes and a book giveaway for her latest release.

The two winners of ONLY UNI by Camy Tang are...

Holly and Kathy Davis!!!! My husband picked your names out of his baseball hat last night. So, please send me your snail mail addys and Camy and I will put a book in the mail to each of you. I know you're going to love this book! And thanks to everyone else who entered. You may want to put this book on your to-read list anyway. You won't regret it. Many thanks to my friend, Camy, for her interview and her time appearing on my blog.

Meet author, Camy Tang, and win a free book!

I'm so thrilled to have my friend, Camy Tang, on my blog today. For those of you who don't know her, she's the exciting new author of a series of Asian Chic Lit novels. Now, I'll tell you up front, I'm not a fan of Chic Lit. My tastes run more toward historicals and suspense, but let me tell you in all honestly, I LOVED the first 2 books in Camy's series. Today, she is going to answer some questions about why she writes about the Asian American culture. Then, I'll share a bit about her new book, Only Uni, and I'm also having a drawing for 2 free copies.

Welcome, Camy. Please tell us why you write about the Asian American culture:

1) I’m Japanese American—fourth generation in America, to be exact. While I’m a bit removed from my ethnic heritage—I don’t speak Japanese, for example—there are still things I grew up with that influence my thinking, my actions, my relationship with my family.

2) I grew up in Hawaii, which is mostly Asian. I didn’t realize until I went to California for college how unusual this was. I had massive culture shock, although not in a bad way. The best part was being exposed to so many different types of foods, like Norwegian, German, Indian, Southern (VERY eye-opening and VERY yummy), Mexican (you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find a good Mexican restaurant in Hawaii)—you name it!

3) They always say for writers to “write what you know.” Well, I know Asian Americans. I don’t think I could credibly write an Irish American or Italian American.

4) It’s fun to reveal aspects of Asian American culture to people who haven’t been exposed to it. Not everything is weird, like eating raw fish or making mochi before New Year’s—there are lots of other aspects that are fun and interesting.

5) One thing I’ve learned is that no matter what your ethnicity, families are essentially the same. Lots of my friends who are not Asian relate to my stories about my Asian family, and I can relate to their stories about their own relatives. You don’t have to be Asian to have nosy, nagging relatives who think a woman’s only purpose in life is to get married and have children before her parents die of old age.

6) I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, and there weren’t any other Asian American fiction writers in the Christian publishing industry. Why not be the first?

7) Much as I like Amy Tan, I wanted to read books that were both about Asian Americans and were funny. So I wrote them.

8) I felt obligated to write about Grandma Sakai as a tribute to all my Christian female friends, currently single or previously single, Asian and non-Asian, who had ever had problems with a family member who wouldn’t stop graciously pointing out the fact that they hadn’t yet landed a decent man.

9) I love chick lit but hadn’t seen many heroines who were jocks, and since so many of my Asian friends are incredible athletes, I had to write about one.

10) I wanted to point out that Asian Americans are not just one amorphous ethnicity, but that there are Japanese Americans, Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, etc.

11) Volleyball is a very popular recreational sport among Asian Americans in California. There are numerous leagues in both northern and southern California, and it’s become part of the Asian American culture. I and my husband played in the Nikkei Volleyball League, and so I wrote about it in Sushi for One.

12) Being Silicon Valley, there are a lot of biotech companies here. There are also a lot of Asian Americans in the biological sciences, who flock to this area for jobs. Naturally I had to write about my work as a biologist in Only Uni.

13) Asian food is GREAT! People ought to try it! Maybe my books will inspire them to scope out a Japanese or Chinese restaurant and be daring.

14) Readers need to know that not all Asian people speak another language.

15) Asians come in all personalities—jocks (Lex), doormats (Jenn), executives (Venus), ditzes (Trish), flirts (Mimi), creeps (Kazuo).

16) Asian people read tabloids (Venus), historical romances (Trish), thrillers (Jenn) and the sports pages (Lex).

17) There really are some rather nasty things pregnant women are supposed to eat, according to various Chinese mothers. (The pig’s brain soup in Only Uni is real.)

18) If I didn’t write contemporary fiction with Asian American characters, I’d be writing Regency romances, and who would read a Regency written by some Asian chick? I guess I’d write under a pseudonym. Camy Tangy.

19) It’s actually quite fun doing research on K-dramas and Hong Kong action movies.

20) My writing about Asiana makes my mother very proud, because while I was growing up, she despaired that I was too Americanized.

21) And the final reason I write Asian American contemporary fiction: because God told me to.

Thanks so much, Camy!

Here's a bit about Camy. She is the loud Asian chick who writes loud Asian chick lit. She used to be a biologist, but now she is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads a worship team for Sunday service. She also runs the Story Sensei fiction critique service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels every Monday and Thursday, and she ponders frivolous things like dumb dogs (namely, hers), coffee-geek husbands (no resemblance to her own...), the writing journey, Asiana, and anything else that comes to mind. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com/ for a huge website contest going on right now, giving away five boxes of books and 25 copies of her latest release, ONLY UNI.

The first book in Camy's series. Sushi for One was fabulous, but I enjoyed Only Uni even more! This is a funny, suspenseful book that I guarantee you will not be able to put down. The things that happened to the main character, Trish, are beyond hysterical as she attempts to follow a set of rules to make herself holy after living a sinful life. Camy has a couple of dramatic twists in the story that really surprised me. and of course there's lots of hunks and a some romance too. You do not want to miss this story. To win a free copy, please leave a comment on this blog. I'll draw two names for 2 free copies on Friday, March 14th.

Winner of The Roque's Redemption is......

WindyCindy! Please send me your snail mail address to marylu_tyndall@yahoo.com
And thanks to all of you for entering! By the way, this Wednesday, I have a guest blogger, author Camy Tang, who'll be giving away a copy of her newest book, Only Uni. I just finished it, and this is a story you don't want to miss! More about that on Wednesday!

Politically incorrectly and probably offensive...

Here in California, there is a petition going around that, if enough people sign it, will put on the ballot come Novenber an amendment that if passed, would ensure that marriage in California is defined as only being between a man and a woman. This is not an anti-gay measure, nor will it cost taxpayers any additional money. It is simply asking voters to vote on whether we should keep marriage defined in this way. At our church a few weeks ago, we held a Marriage Rally for all the churches in the bay area to introduce this amendment and pass out petitions. Sadly, hardly any of the local churches participated. A friend of mine who belongs to a different church grabbed a handful of petitions to take to their church, but when they asked if they could solicit signatures in front of the church, they were flatly denied by the elders of the church. Their excuse? They don't want to offend homosexual members of the congregation. Excuse me?
This is the kind of thing in the church that drives me NUTS. They used scriptures that spoke about reconciliation and that we are all sinners. My friend asked my opinion and here is a copy of the note I sent to them.

First of all their use of 1 Cor 6:9-11 is interesting. Yes, we were all sinners, still are, but what does God's Word say about how we come to be saved in Christ? Isn't it by coming to the realization that we are sinners in need of a Savior? In 2 Cor 7:9-11 Paul declares that Godly sorrow leads to Repentence which leads to Salvation. But how can you have Godly sorrow leading to repentence if you don't know that you're living a sinful lifestyle? Also they used 2 Cor 5:18-19 about our ministry of reconciliation. I couldn't agree more! But how do we reconcile people to Christ? By making them aware that they are sinners! Otherwise if all they hear is how much God loves them (all well and good) and they even go forward and say a prayer to "receive Jesus", but they haven't realized their own depravity and repented, they still aren't saved.

I realize they want to get the unsaved to come to church. But my question to your pastor would be where does he draw the line in not offending someone? If a gay person comes in for the service but he never hears that homosexuality is an abomination to God, what good does it do? Or for that matter, if there are several couples living with one another in the congregation and they never hear a sermon on the sin of fornification, how does that help them? We are told to preach the entire Gospel, not a softened watered-down version that only speaks of God's love and His salvation. Yes, those things are extremely important and are at the center of our faith, but you cannnot mention what Jesus did on the cross without mentioning what put Him there.

Even Paul told one congregation (I think it was also in Corinthians) to toss out of the church one man who was being sexually immoral. If you look at both Jesus and Paul's ministries, they never minced words about sin for fear of "offending" someone. Never. In fact, quite the opposite.
In Galatians 5:11, Paul says, "If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended." In Romans 9:33, He says As it is written: “ Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Jesus is supposed to be an offense! And he certainly didn't worry about offending anyone. The gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing. Why don't we just preach the entire gospel and then trust the Holy Spirit to do His work in people's hearts. Do we arrogantly think that the Holy Spirit needs our help to get people in the door of our churches or does He need our help to save them? No. We are only told to preach the gospel in love.

In my opinion, if the church as a corporate body won't take a stand against the encroaching culture, then who will? God will hold us accountable for what we do not only individually, but also as His bride.

End of note: Let me just say in closing that God loves all sinners: homosexuals, fornicators, liars, murderers, gossipers, etc. . . He died for every one of us. There is not a day goes by that I don't commit some sin. I'm no better than anyone else, but the best way to share the love of Christ is to tell people the truth. You might just offend them right into heaven.

The Roque's Redemption - Book giveaway

Hey there, fellow historical readers, I've recently finished reading a regency entitled, The Rogue's Redemption by Ruth Axtell Morren, and I'm willing to give away my copy to one of you lucky commenters on this blog. Here's a bit about the story:

He was tall and dark with eyes as blue as cobalt. In a glittering London ballroom Miss Hester Leighton saw a man who interested her more than anyone she'd met since coming to town. A woman of deep faith, Hester knew she should not keep company with Major Gerrit Hawkes, a jaded penniless soldier haunted by nightmares of war. But their connection would not be denied. Hester was the only woman who'd ever made Gerrit feel truly worthy of love and he would not lose her. Separated from her by her father, and an ocean, Gerrit must decide whether he will risk his life and his soul to earn a home in Hester's arms forever.

The Rogue's Redemption grabbed my heart from the very first page and didn't let go until the last. I found myself swooning right along with Hester whenever Gerrit glanced her way as well as crying over the heavy burden of pain and guilt he bore daily. Gerrit's road to redemption, paved by Hester's steadfast devotion, led him to the ultimate truth, that only God's love could heal his wounds and set him free to receive love in return.

If you want to read a chapter before entering go to : Ruth's website

If you'd like to enter to win, just leave a comment on this blog and I'll draw a name on Monday, March 10th.

Have a great weekend!

Are we supposed to live 120 years?

According to Genesis 6:3, we are. "Then the Lord said, My Spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal, his days will be a hundred and twenty years." The context of this scripture is right before Noah's flood and God is describing mankind, how "every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time" And God was sorry he made man. In this context, it would appear that God limited our lifespans due to our wicked nature, because before the flood, people were living nearly 1000 years! I can't imagine living that long! Yet how many people do you know make it to 120? The average lifespan of a human male in 2004 was only 75.2 years, a female only a few years longer. My question to you is why aren't we living out our intended life spans? I'm not going to presume to know the complete answer to that. I'm sure it has something to do with our environment, pollution, stress, and disease, but I also firmly believe that what we are eating is killing us at a far younger age than we would normally live. All our food today is "Processed, refined, frozen" and filled with dozens of additives that we can't even pronounce. The more processed something is, the further away that food is from its natural state and the less nutritious it is.

Take white enriched flour for example, found in breads, crackers, cookies, etc.. Enriched flour is flour in which most of the natural vitamins and minerals have been extracted. This is done in order to give bread a finer texture, increase shelf life and prevent bugs from eating it. When the bran and the germ (the parts of the wheat that contain vitamins and minerals) are removed, your body absorbs wheat differently. Instead of being a slow, steady process through which you get steady bursts of energy, your body breaks down enriched flour too quickly, flooding the blood stream with too much sugar at once. Your body then has to work hard to absorb the excess and stores it as fat. This causes quick highs and lows in your blood-sugar level which can lead to type-two diabetes and obesity. All this and you’re not even getting close to the amount of nutrients that whole grains contain.

That's just one example of a food we eat everyday that is not only not giving us the nutrients we need, but poisoning us along the way. By the way, 100% whole wheat flour is a much better choice, but make sure you read the labels.

I have to admit I'm a bit of a health nut. At least I really do try to eat all natural foods as often as I can. But living in the big city and being as busy as I am, it's not always possible to eat well. Let me tell you about a product that I use that I highly recommend. It's called Juice Plus and it consists of 4 simple pills you take every day. These pills contain 17 different fruits and vegetables that are picked fresh, whole, and organic and then freeze dried into these small pills. So, even when I can't eat right, at least I know I'm getting the right nutrients. I've been taking Juice plus for over a year and I feel great! And I rarely get sick. Here's the website of my Juice Plus representative if you're interested: Juice Plus

I am not affliated with Juice plus, nor do I get any discounts by mentioning the product. I just believe in it and wanted to share it with you.

Writing tip of the week

What is a scene? A scene in a book is the same as a scene in a play. It is the action that takes place in a single physical location. But what makes a scene a good scene? Think back to some great scenes you've read in a book, tear them apart, analyze why they work for you. For me, a scene is a good scene if:

1. Something occurs that is unexpected or
2. Dialogue between characters is fresh, snappy, interesting and filled with conflict or
3. The tension or conflict in the story is increased dramatically or
4. the end of the scene leaves me in suspense (on the edge of my seat) or
5. a new character or plot is introduced that enhances or complicates the plot or
6. I learn something new about one of the characters that increases my concern, love, hatred for him or her.

Or a combination of more than one of the above. When you are done writing your scene, ask yourself, so what? What difference did this scene make to the story. Think of your favorite TV show, you know the one that you look forward to each week, the one that keeps you begging for more. Then analyze each scene. For me, that show is LOST. The writers of that show never fail to surprise me and as each scene builds on top of the prior one, my heart starts to beat faster and faster. That's what you want from a scene.

Happy writing!

Everything is going against me!

Have you ever met someone who is just plain negative about everything? It's hard to be around someone like that for long. What about someone who's positive and encouraging. They are like a breath of fresh air. Two men in Genesis stand out to me as great examples of these types of attitudes. One is Jacob, the swindler, the liar, yet a man who sought after the things of God with all his heart. The other is his son, Joseph, the favored, spoiled son who proudly teased his brothers when he was young. If you read the account of Jacob's life, although he wrestled with God, although he valued God, he didn't believe God would come through for him, and consequently, he was a very negative person. Every time something bad happened to him he dove into a deep depression and wailed and moaned and wanted to die. Have you known people like that? I have. After believing that his son Joseph was dead and now being asked by his remaining sons to give up his youngest son, Benjamin, so they could take him to Egypt to buy grain during the famine, Jacob says in Genesis 42: 36 "Everything is going against me!"

Contrast that with Joseph. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, then thrown into prison for at least 10 years for a crime he did not commmit, betrayed by Pharaoh's butler, did Joseph complain? Did Joseph whine? Did he blame God? There is no indication that he did so at all. In fact, all we see if Joseph giving praise and glory to God over and over again. Even deep within the prison, even when he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream, Joseph gave all the glory to God. I don't know about you, but I might have a hard time keeping my faith in God all that time.

So what was the difference between the two men? I'll tell you in one word. Belief. Joseph believed in the dreams God had given him as a child. He believed God had a purpose and a reason for what was happening to him. This is evidenced by what Joseph tells his brothers later after he reveals himself to them in Genesis 50:19-20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." How was Joseph rewarded for his faith? He became prince of all of Egypt. Jacob, on the other hand, had no faith at all that God had a plan, that God loved him and would work everything out.

So, here's the thing. When life doesn't go your way, when bad things happen, you have two choices. Believe God or whine and complain. And if you are unsure that God has got your back, remember one of my favorite scriptures found in Romans 8:28.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Chapter a Week!

Sweet Caroline
By Rachel Hauck

When a Southern waitress inherits the Lowcountry cafe where she works, she suddenly has to balance more than just her next food order.
Caroline Sweeney has always done the right thing--the responsible, dependable thing--unlike her mother who abandoned her family. But when her best friend challenges her to accept an exciting job adventure in Barcelona, Spain, Caroline says "yes" to destiny.
Then, without warning, ownership of the run-down cafe where she's been waitressing falls right into Caroline's lap. While she's trying to determine the cafe's future, handsome Deputy Sherriff J.D. Rand captures Caroline's heart.
But when her first love, Mitch O'Neal, comes back to town, fresh from the heat of his newly-found fame as a country music singer in Nashville, Caroline must make some hard choices about love and the pursuit of the sweet life.
"Hauck's adorable novel contains the multi-layered characters readers have come to expect from her books. The enjoyable story and unpredictable ending
Read a chapter here at Chapter a week

Have a great weekend, everyone!