Inspirational

WEDNESDAY’S CHILD by Clare Revell ~ My Review

/ Dora Hiers

About the book: Liam Page, school teacher and ex-missionary, is a man with a secret agenda. Revenge. But when he says it with flowers, and accidentally drenches a woman who just happens to be the school’s landscape architect, he may have found a light in his darkness.

After an abusive relationship, Jacqui Dorne prefers work to men. It’s safer. But Liam Page with his boyish charm and wounded soul, manages to change her preferences. Has God led her to Liam to help him heal?

When their growing relationship is marred by the reappearance of Jacqui’s ex-boyfriend, they find themselves suddenly embroiled in a series of dangerous events which leads them to Africa and has them fighting for both love and life.

My review:
Liam wrestles with God over his wife’s murder, and the theme “Why do bad things happen to good people?” permeates the book. He’s bitter and wants revenge, and the heroine reminds him of the Truth he walked away from after his wife’s death.

After reading both Monday’s Child & Tuesday’s Child by Clare Revell, I couldn’t wait to dig into Wednesday’s Child and wasn’t disappointed. Wednesday’s Child started with an emotionally intense scene like the other two books based on the popular nursery rhyme, but unlike the others, I feel this story veered mostly towards romance until midway through the book before the suspense really kicked in. That’s OK with me because I enjoy both inspirational romance and romantic suspense. 

I enjoy this author’s no nonsense writing style combined with a wry sense of humor and strong heroes/heroines. You don’t have to read this book in order, although once you read Wednesday’s Child, you’ll want to go back and pick up the first two.

Purchase Link

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

Build it right!

/ Dora Hiers

Layer the finishing details: Sensory Details.

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” 
(Psalm 119:103 NIV)


The mason lathers mortar on the last brick and slaps it in place. 

Your eyes widen. Your heart beats a frantic rhythm. A smile lights up your face. “Wow! Hello house!” 

You’re excited because you know the end is near. But the house isn’t done yet. Other things need to happen on the inside before you can move in. Final tasks like painting, installing cabinets and appliances.

The same goes for our writing. We’ve cemented our foundation and joined cohesive elements, but for our story to light up our readers, we must add some finishing touches.

Layer sensory details.
Think back to the last time you received new prescription lenses. How much clearer, more sharp or vivid, was your vision after putting on the new lenses? Sprinkling sensory details makes our writing crisp, brings it into focus, and makes the story literally dance off the page. 
Let’s have some fun. 

How many sensory details can you find in this excerpt from Journey’s Edge?

Her face plowed into an expansive, muscular chest. Strong hands grabbed McKinley’s upper arms. A vague, familiar smell permeated the man’s torso, a citrus and woodsy scent mingled with masculine deodorant. She heard the door close behind her and felt legs wimp out on her. Good thing this guy held her up or she would have sank straight to the floor like a pile of spaghetti. She angled a hand to eject chest hair from her tongue, trying not to make a face.
“Honey, if you’re looking for that kind of action, you’ve got the wrong room.”

Now you try it. In one or two paragraphs, write the following scene with as many sensory details as you can fit in.

After crying herself to sleep, the next morning Delaney follows the scent of coffee and stumbles into her tiny kitchen, frightened to find a man making chocolate chip pancakes. She didn’t know that Sage, a friend she’s secretly been in love with forever, spent the night on the couch. 

Give it a shot. You know you want to try…

Have you added finishing details to make your story shine? 


Join us next week as we celebrate success, hold a Housewarming Party, and consider our next project.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS from Pelican Book Group

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

Permission to forward granted

Passport to Romance™

Let’s take a trip and fall in love! Passport to Romance™ titles are contemporary romances that are set in specific locales and feature a special set of objects. ( Check out the Location/Object table for specifics). 

Passport to Romance™ feature chic heroines who are sparkling, confident, open for adventure—and who are a perfect match for a contemporary alpha male who has a zest for life, a thirst for God, and who likes an intelligent woman who can hold her own.

Set in exotic locations around the world, these stories offer the contemporary Christian reader adventure, vivacity, romance and faith.

Passport to Romance™ key elements:

· Heroines must be between the ages of 22 and 35.

· Heroes must be between the ages of 22 and 39.

· Settings and objects must be chosen from within the Passport to Romance™ guidelines.

· Hero or Heroine (or both) must’ve traveled to the location of the story (He/She must’ve needed a passport to arrive at the story setting)

· Regular guidelines for White Rose Publishing also apply

· Word length: 30,000-35,000 words

· Please submit only completed stories

An Important Tip:

We created the Passport to Romance™ series to for a two-fold reason: to give readers a taste of overseas and to stir the creative juices of authors. We encourage authors to research the chosen location so that the cultural flavor of the location can be infused into the story. Also, we want to encourage authors to think outside the box when considering ways to incorporate the object prompts. If the location is the Arctic Circle and one of the objects is Hibiscus in Winter, don’t be discouraged! Rather, consider alternatives to the conventional bush blooming in the garden. Hibiscus in Winter might be the name of the heroine’s favourite musical band or book—or poem. A hibiscus could arrive in winter when a plane carrying hibiscus bushes crashes or dumps its cargo for some reason, or because the hero knows a the hibiscus is the heroine’s favourite flower and so carries one with him as he arrives from Hawaii.

When ready to submit, please use the regular submission form found on the www.pelicanbookgroup.com website.