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Books by Friends
In my writing ministry and working with WinePress Publishing, I have the chance to meet some great Christian writers. On this blog spot I will review books and products that you will enjoy reading, many of them by friends.
To order any of these products and discover other great resources, check out The Salt Shaker Bookstore. My son Joshua runs this charming Christian bookstore in Enumclaw, WA. He grew up tagging along with me to writers' conferences and has a wonderful understanding of the Christian market. He has given me my own Mom's Friends Page on his website to post announcements about my friends' books. | When a Man You Loved Was Abused | | Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 10:31pm |  Cecil Murphey courageously wrote When a Man You Loved Was Abused: A Woman's Guide to Helping Him Overcome Childhood Sexual Molestation (Kegel Publications). Cec has written some wonderful books, but this has to be one of his most honest and transparent and powerful ones. One in every six males has experienced unwanted or abusive sexual experienced before the age of sixteen. He shares from the heart and empathy that only someone who has been abused can convey. He doesn’t try to sugar coat the problem, or even excuse his own behavior or reactions. He simply tells the truth.
First this book is informative. Cec explains the emotional, physical, and spiritual struggle abused men face. While written for women, abused men would find healing in reading and recognizing some of the same thoughts and experiences. In the first section Cec tells his personal story and how he faced, accepted, and overcame his past abuse. He shares stories of other men who have experienced similar effects of sexual abuse.
Secondly, this book is practical. Cec outlines ways that women can help the man they love. Like abused women, men struggle with terrifying memories, issues of self worth and image, the need to feel in control, a loss of sexual identity, and more. He encourages and instructs women how to love, respect, help, accept, and walk with their husband in very specific practical ways. Cec also empathizes with the wives of abused men, and understands how it affects them as well.
Even if you have never been abused or love someone who was, this book will enlighten you to how to pray and help those who have. Cec has a blog to help men who have been sexually abused: www.menshatteringsilence.blogspot.com.
Watch this video to hear Cec explain why he wrote this book. Find out more about Cec and order the book at The Salt Shaker.
| | | | | | ROOMS by James Rubart | | Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at 10:41am |  If you like mystery, a bit of suspense, a brush with the supernatural, and a touch of romance, then you will love Rooms by Jim Rubart. This very unique storyline will keep you intrigued and coming back for more. Software tycoon Micah Taylor inherits a beautiful, but strange, nine-thousand-square-foot house on the Oregon coast. Micah’s great uncle, whom he had never met, built this house for his nephew and wrote cryptic letters twenty-five-years prior in anticipation that his nephew would need to make some drastic life changes. Micah arrives at Cannon Beach and soon finds the home intriguing and mysterious. Bizarre rooms emerge throughout the house, causing Micah to search his soul and examine his life. He meets Sarah Sabin at a nearby ice-cream shop and has two reasons to visit the beach every weekend.
Micah also meets Rick, the town mechanic, who becomes a friend and confidant. Rick obviously knows the source of the mysteries and encourages Micah to surrender to the spiritual aspects of the house. A spiritual battle rages inside Micah, whose faith slipped away with the tide years ago, and he wants to forget the pain of his past. Day by day, room by room, Micah discovers that the house is a physical manifestation of his soul, and he must make choices that will change his past, present, and future. In each room Micah faces spiritual battles from within and from without and finds healing for his deepest wounds. While not at all frightening, Rooms may cause you to examine the secrets hidden in your own heart and life.
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James L. Rubart is a professional marketer whose Jr2 Marketing company clientele has included ABC, AT&T/Cingular, and Clear Channel Radio. He is also a professional speaker, writes recurring columns for Christian Fiction Online magazine and Christian Women Online. I've had the pleasure of serving with on the Northwest Christian Writers' Association board and on his prayer loop for several years. Jim and his wife and their two teenage sons live just outside Seattle, Washington.
| | | | | | Sweet Waters by Julie Carobini | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 4:32pm |  This book is part of the Pure Enjoyment series by Broadman & Holman and certainly fits that category. I picked this book up at Mt. Hermon after spending time with my friend Julie Carobini. Little did I know that it would become such a “place of rest” for me in the upcoming week. If you have followed my blogs or Facebook page, you know that we had a very sick grandbaby. Julie’s book took me on a walk along the beach during a very stressful time. Julie calls herself a “beach read” novelist, and she captures the setting of the beach—the cool breeze, warm sand on your feet, sun shining on your face—beautifully.
In a workshop, Julie shared how she started writing with a “beach” theme. Her first memory of the beach was at the age of six. She recalls driving through a long dark California tunnel on 10 Freeway West and suddenly coming out with the beautiful ocean beach before them. Julie wants her books to feel that way. We all travel through dark tunnels, but at the end God has a beautiful, peaceful view waiting for us. I certainly felt that way last week as we prayed for our grandbaby and I rested reading Sweet Waters.
Sweet Waters is a contemporary fiction story about Tara, a young woman, the eldest of her siblings, who carries the weight of the family on her shoulders. (Boy, did I relate to that character.) When her mother runs off with her new, much younger husband, to Europe, Tara decides it’s time for a change. Now is the best time to honor her father’s dying wish and take her sisters back to their fairy-tale life in Otter Bay, California—yes, you guessed it, a sweet tourist town right on the ocean front. Tara leaves Missouri (having been born and raised in MO, of course I related again) and heads West.
Of course, Tara discovers that life wasn’t as grand as childhood memories led her to believe. She struggles with finding out the truth about her family as she faces rumors, secrets, and a past an entire church and town want to ignore. In the midst of this, she meets a young firefighter, Josh Adams, who also battles his own family secrets. Together they discover that revealing the lies and accepting the truth helps them find faith and the real Truth that sets them free.
What I liked the most about this book was the way the past sins of her family were handled. Tara learns that everyone has sins they need to face and deal with in their lives, even those peoole we feel are above such things. Yet, she also learns that when we make amends, God redeems our lives. If you want a fun, fast-paced read, and a little escape to the beach, I recommend this book.
Julie Carobini writes women’s fiction for the young at heart. Her previous books include Chocolate Beach and Truffles by the Sea. She is an award winning writer and lives with her husband and three children in California. | | | | | | Thin Places: A Spiritual Memoir by Mary DeMuth | | Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 6:10pm | .jpg) In Mary DeMuth’s memoir, Thin Places, she walks readers through her past from incredible childhood sufferings to a place of healing and rest. Mary explains in the first chapter how Celtic Christians defined a “thin place," as that spot “where heaven and the physical world collide, one of those serendipitous territories where eternity and the mundane meet. Thin describes the membrane between the two worlds…where we see a holy glimpse of the eternal—not in digital clarity, but clear enough to discern what lies beyond.”
Mary invites us to discover those “thin places” in our own lives. I encourage you to read one chapter at a time, meditating on Mary’s words and recalling those times when God reach through that “membrane” to touch your heart. Mary shares some pretty gutsy things that happened in her life and she is a brave soul for sharing so openly and honestly. Although she suffered a lot of abuse and neglect growing up, Mary never whines or shifts blame for her circumstances, but points out how God used her family experiences of sexual abuse and drugs, to reach her and make her the woman, wife, mother, and friend she is today.
Mary is a friend who I met in my writing world. She is as genuine in person as she is in her writing. I’m honored to be part of her prayer team, and feel prayers were answered after reading Thin Places. This was a tough book to write, and it encourages me to stay vulnerable in my own writing, and not fear revealing those “thin places.”
If you ever wanted to make some sense out of some rough things in your life, then read this book. Order it from The Salt Shaker Christian Bookstore.
About Mary DeMuth
Author and speaker Mary DeMuth helps people turn their trials to triumph. She is open and honest in all her writings, Her books include Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God; Building the Christian Family You Never Had; Watching the Tree Limbs; Wishing on Dandelions; Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture and the first two books in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy: Daisy Chain and A Slow Burn. National media regularly seek Mary’s candid ability to connect with their listeners. Her radio appearances include FamilyLife Today, Moody Midday Connection, Point of View and U.S.A. Radio Network and she is frequently featured on Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint. Mary lives with her husband Patrick and their three children in Texas.
| | | | | | Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie Montana | | Posted on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 8:44pm |  Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana is a sweet, simple story of faith and love. Two dear friends Tricia Goyer & Ocieanna Fleiss teamed up to write this historical fiction of a young woman who leaves New York to travel to Lonesome Prairie Montana. Julie Cavanaugh planned to head right back East, never expecting to fall in love with the settlers, children, country, and a circuit pastor. To be quite honest, the story was predictable with very few surprises, but I think that is what captivated me the most. It's a simple, fresh relaxing read. Tricia and Ocieanna drew me into the setting and made me feel part of the story. The characters were wonderfully vulnerable as they work out their honest struggles and faith. The biblical virtues shouted loud and clear as each character wrestled with their relationship with God. This book is part of Summerside Press’s Love Finds You series. Each book takes place in a different state. If you’re looking for a good read on a cold night, I recommend Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana. Order it from the Salt Shaker Bookstore.
Ocieanna is a dear friend and colleague, who I met almost ten years ago through the Northwest Christian Writer’s Association. She is a very talented and promising writer, who has patiently worked at her craft for many years. Ocieanna is fiction columnist for the Northwest Christian Author, of which I am the managing editor. She also edits for me at WinePress Publishing Group.
More important than becoming an accomplished novelist, Ocieanna is first and foremost a spiritual mom. Many times she has asked for a sabbatical from editing in order to put her family first. She is devoted to raising her four children to love the Lord with all their hearts. I believe God will bless her for that commitment. Look for Ocieanna on Facebook.
.jpg) Ocieanna has worked closely with her friend and co-author Tricia Goyer for many years. Watch for future blogs with reviews of their upcoming books and Tricia's books.
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