Saturday, August 26, 2006

Inspirational Fiction

For my reading friends, here's a little bit about some inspirational fiction I've recently read.

There's a fairly new author on the market - Deeanne Gist. She has written two books so far. A Bride Most Begrudging was published last year. This is what Deeanne's website says about the book:

Do You Believe in Love at First Fight?

Any ship arriving from England means good news for Virginia colony farmers. The "tobacco brides" will be on board—eligible women seeking a better life in America, bartered for with barrels of tobacco from the fields.

Drew O’Connor isn’t stirred by news of a ship full of brides. Still broken-hearted from the loss of his beloved, he only wants a maid to tend his house and care for his young sister.

What he ends up with is a wife--a feisty red head who claims she is of noble birth, brought to America against her will. She constantly demands to be treated like an equal. She fails at even the simplest housekeeping.

Headstrong and intelligent, tempestuous but captivating, deeply moral but incredibly enticing, Constance turns what was supposed to be a marriage of convenience into something most inconvenient, indeed.

This book was a great first novel. It had a strong Christian theme, but it wasn't overpowering or preachy. The characters had real faults and struggles, with their lives, with each other and even with their faith.

Her more recent release is The Measure of a Lady. Here's the book blurb:

Rachel Van Buren arrives in Gold Rush San Francisco with two wishes: to protect her younger siblings and to return east as soon as possible.
Both goals prove more difficult than she could imagine as her brother and sister are lured by the city's dangerous freedom and a missionary-turned-gambler stakes a claim on her heart. Rachel won't give up without a fight though, and soon all will learn an eloquent but humorous lesson about what truly makes a lady.

Speak Politely. Even when you’re the only respectable woman around, protesting the decadence of a city lost to gold fever.

Dress Modestly. Wear your sunbonnet at all times. Ensure nobody sees your work boots muddied by the San Francisco streets.

Remain Devoted to Family. Protect your siblings from the lures of the city, even against their wishes.

Stand Above Reproach. Most difficult when a wonderful man turns out to be a saloon owner.

Rise Above Temptation. No, not even just a little kiss….

When these rules become increasingly difficult to uphold,
can Rachel Van Buren remain a beacon of virtue in a city of vice?

Again, Ms. Gist writes wonderful characters. Her stories are inspirational, yet they're gritty and realistic. Her sophmore project was ever bit as good as her first one. And one of the things I loved about this book was that sometimes the heroine was not the good one. She had as much to learn about God's grace as everybody else had to learn about God's love.

Not only that, but I LOVE her book covers and I can't wait to see what next year's release will look like.

She has a blog as well. Her link is on my sidebar, if you're interested.
Mused by Jenster :: 12:24 PM :: 3 People musing:

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