Win Some Sandy Dreams in PAPERBACK

Now that my beach read is in paperback, I've decided to give away FIVE autographed copies on Goodreads. Just click on the widget at the top of my blog to enter. Good luck & hope you enjoy this fun-loving, touching story!

Another Cinematic Gem!

Movie night found us watching another Christian film, this one starring Kevin Sorbo, John Ratzenberger, and the lovely Kristy Swanson. Incidentally, I don't know if these films are new to you, but they are in this household. Just in case you've never seen it, do make time for 2010's What If, another well done and exceptional inspirational movie. In a nutshell, Kevin Sorbo plays a young man who leaves his college sweetheart (played by Kristy Swanson) behind at the bus depot on his way to success as an investment banker. He is all about the money: flashy cars, expensive jewelry, and an attractive fiancee who's as materialistic as he is. John Ratzenberger gives a brilliant performance as a tough-guy angel sent by "The Boss" (and, no, by that he does NOT mean Bruce Springsteen--LOL!) to show him what God had originally planned for him, a life so much different than the one he leads, as a minister, husband, and father to two beautiful girls. The angel tells him that he "broke two hearts when you left--Wendy's and God's."

By turns funny and touching, What If is unexpectedly and pleasantly romantic, and as reviewers have noted on on Amazon, it will bring tears to your eyes. What if you make watch this one with the love of your life? And what if all movies could have this much heart?

Thinking of buying this one and watching it again. It's THAT much of a keeper. 

Movie Review: THE ENCOUNTER

What a pleasure it was to discover an uplifting AND entertaining Christian movie!

Okay, let's be honest here. Christian movies have come a long way from the offerings of the 1970s and early 1980s. I'm not talking about the unforgettable Passion of the Christ with Jim Caviezel. What I'm referring to is the low-low budget films with the disciples who speak with a Southern twang. Yes, I remember a couple of movies like that, usually shown at church on Youth Night! They were nothing like Fireproof and Courageous, movies of today that are both wonderful and very well written, besides being a blessing with powerful messages.

But, hey, considering Hollywood has lost nearly all its imagination and mostly now just rehashes old TV shows and movies, many of the "regular", or more accurately, the secular movies are sadly not what they used to be, either. You're just paying more at the box office for something that's not nearly as good as the original.

So it was great to find both The Encounter and The Encounter: Paradise Lost on Netflix this weekend. I don't suppose either movie will win any Academy Awards (and a lot of wonderful movies never do), but as far as Christian entertainment goes, both were well worth their weight in popcorn and Junior Mints.

The first movie, The Encounter, has something of a Twilight Zone feel to it, so yes, we enjoyed that. Because of a road that's been closed (by a shady deputy named DeVille--not hard to figure out!), a group of travelers along a mountain highway are diverted to a lonely diner out in the middle of nowhere, aptly named the Last Chance Diner. The potpourri of people include a couple on the verge of divorce; a confused young girl with a troubled past; a former football player who now owns a burger restaurant chain; and a young woman on her way to her fiance.

Imagine their surprise when their host, the diner's amiable owner, claims to be the Son of the Living God Himself. He even wears a nametag that reads JESUS. (That was precious! :D) In one of the film's most amusing scenes, one of the customers reads his name tag and says, "Hello, Jesus!" pronouncing it like the Spanish hay-zoos. The Lord gently corrects him, saying, "Actually, it's pronounced jee-suhs." The movie has sweet touches; for example, Jesus knows exactly what each of his "customers" would love to eat that night, and He serves everything with more than a dash of humility and a heaping of love.

Christian recording artist, Jaci Velazquez, is cast in the role of Melissa, the engaged traveler, and she does a good job, her moments with the Lord believable and tender. Her story made me smile, because the character reminded me of myself when I accepted the Lord as a 20-year-old college student.

Bruce Marchiano gives a unique, warm and intriguing performance as Jesus, in both films. He gives the Lord an "average Joe" sort of persona, while at the same time reminding the viewer that He is God the Son. He conveyed Jesus as having a sense of humor...as being compassionate..."as not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) There's real delight in this actor's face and true concern, both when are appropriate to the scene at hand. The movie, incidentally, is scripturally sound.

My husband and I loved The Encounter so much that we didn't waste time in watching The Encounter: Paradise Lost. That one moved much slower at first and seemed convoluted in the beginning. We stuck it out and were rewarded for our patience. The storylines include a drug dealer, a DEA agent out to avenge the death of his sister who died of a heroine overdose, a couple who own a resort hotel whose marriage is also in trouble after their son dies in the 2004 Thailand tsunami, and a former Thai prostitute who is rescued by the drug dealer, played by Robert Miano. As I said, this second film has something of a clunky start, but it was Robert Miano's multi-faceted performance as Bruno Mingarelli that kept us watching. Bruno, a brutal drug dealer, was no one-dimensional character, but rather he had these interesting layers to him, including the fact that he truly loved Mimi. Paradise Lost had its high points and is still more worthwhile than watching a film where swear words are tossed around mindlessly like confetti, and considering the subject matter, the violence level is much less than what you'd see in non-Christian films.

All things considered, both movies made our Movie Night a blessing. If you haven't caught these films, go on and give them a chance. Don't forget the popcorn and Junior Mints!

New! Q&A for THE CHRISTMAS WALTZ

Head over to Free EBooks Daily for a Q & A on my free book, THE CHRISTMAS WALTZ. A little background on this short story that is also Book 2 of THE LARKSPUR VALLEY SERIES.

Enjoy!

Time for a BEACH READ!

Welcome to summer!

Here in North Carolina--at least the western part, where my husband and I live--it took a long time for the spring weather to come breezing in. With the Fourth of July right around the corner, summer is definitely upon us. Time for barbecues, vacays, backyard pools, swimsuits, sandals, summer dresses (hello to my good friend Linda, who has a collection of those!) and last but not least, the beach.

It's also time for a beach read...and mine is finally out! GREETINGS FROM MY SANDY DREAMS is now available at Amazon and Smashwords. More distributors, including Barnes & Noble for your Nook lovers, to come.

Please note that GREETINGS FROM MY SANDY DREAMS is a women's fiction/contemporary romance that, although still generally a sweet romance, does contain a higher level of sexual tension, as well as adult situations. All in all, it's a fun, easygoing read to pop into your ereader or phone.

More news, though, to follow!

So have fun this summer & don't forget your sunscreen!

June in Pictures

An idea inspired by my good friend, author Phyllis Bourne! Besides working on my next book, GREETINGS FROM MY SANDY DREAMS, this month included our grandson Matthew's 3rd birthday, a wedding in Georgia, hiking with the kids and grandkids in North Carolina's South Mountain, granddaughter Aubrey playing tee ball, making my homemade granola, and the newest addition to the family, our brand-new Chihuahua named Lassie!

Where Stories Take Place

Location, location, location! I don't know who first said that quote, but WHERE a story takes place plays a big role in telling that story. After all, you wouldn't write about a famous surfer and then make his address somewhere in, oh, let's say Iowa, and you wouldn't plop an 1880s cowboy in the middle of St. Croix. (Actually...that last one could be interesting.)

I got to thinking about the settings for my stories while writing Greetings From My Sandy Dreams, due out this month. Besides being my first "beach read," this book bears the distinction of being my first book set in the sunny state of Florida.

You might be rolling your eyes at that one, thinking, "That's not so remarkable." It is, when you consider the role the Sunshine State has played in my life, and after over 20 books, this is the first time it shows up as an address for my characters. After escaping Communism in Cuba in 1959, my parents settled in Miami. My mom returned to Cuba--briefly--in 1960 for my birth, and that was the last time she would ever see her parents. A month later, she returned with me to Florida, where we lived until my parents' divorce. Though my mom and I moved to New Jersey after that, I visited my dad and sister often in Miami.

Oddly enough, I've never used Florida as a setting before now. The people in Greetings From My Sandy Dreams call Sandpiper Beach their home, a fictional town based loosely on the real New Smyrna Beach, but located closer to Homestead.

Now, New Jersey, which was home to me for most of my life, has been  the setting for various books and short stories. Not only is Little Bay, the setting for my first published YA, The Ghost of Little Bay, a fictional town (based on a real town called Ocean Grove), but I even made it a fictional exit on the Garden State Parkway!

New Jersey figures, too, in Salsa Kiss, written under my pen name of Consuelo Vazquez. Daniel and Odalys and the rest of the characters lived in the real-life town of North Bergen, with much of the action taking place around Hudson County. Florida is mentioned, if not specifically showing up in scenes!

Glimmers of Heaven? Also Hudson County, New Jersey, though I'm not real specific as to what town is home to Hayley and Zach.

Then we head across the river to New York...that is, Long Island. Never specific here, either. All you know is the mischievous Suburban Vampires, Dylan, Jesse, and their friends all live somewhere in Nassau County.


In Sea Siren, you have to travel further to Suffolk County in Long Island. Then there's Leading Lady, which is mostly taking place in the burroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Then there's my Christian series. More Than Sparrows, The Christmas Waltz, and Forever in My Heart all take place in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Larkspur Valley, loosely based upon the actual town of Aliquippa, from where much of my husband's family hails. I love stories about small towns!

Then there are locations that are stars in their own right. I really enjoyed Montana as a setting for And Then Came You. Rumor Has It was the only time I used Vermont, but if figured quite a bit in the story. Maine was also very prominent in The Cop and the Mermaid. After visiting Gatlinburg and the Smokey Mountains, I chose Tennessee--though I don't name a particular town, but the action takes place around that same area--as the location for 'Twas the Spy Before Christmas.

My husband and I love Greenville, South Carolina; we make sure to visit it as much as we can. It was also natural that it would be the town where Kara Childers, the heroine of Champagne Taste and her hero, Gil Parsons, have an address.

Our son, Joey, on a hike in NC

And despite having lived here for over six years now, I have yet to use North Carolina as a setting. A friend of mine was lamenting about that when I told her I'd used Tennessee. A pride North Carolinian, Leigh Ann asked me, "Well, what about North Carolina?"

I agree! North Carolina, with its beautiful and mysterious Blue Ridge Mountains, plus its rich history, easily lends itself as a romantic setting. So, okay, I'm in. At least we know where the next book takes place!