Monday, June 25, 2018

A Trip Into Yesteryear - a reading challenge

One of my favorite genres of books is historical fiction. While I'm becoming quite partial to WWII fiction, there are many other sub-genres under the "historical fiction" heading that I enjoy. There's something pleasantly nostalgic about slipping away with a book that carries me into the past for a while. Another thing I like about these novels is that they help me learn about pieces of history that I might not have learned in school or my own research. The history of the world is extremely vast, and I love getting snippets of true information through fictional stories about different events and figures that played key parts in shaping societies and cultures around the globe. Those books inspire me to learn more about the truth behind the fiction.

Do you have a favorite flavor of historical fiction books? What is it about historical stories that pull you in for hours of enjoyment?

The reading challenge for July is...




Monday, June 18, 2018

Last to Call - a short story

This is the first of the short stories inspired by YOU, my dedicated readers. I appreciate all of you so much, and the contest I held a while back was only the beginning of showing you how deeply I appreciate your following my blog. This short story is a little longer than I intended, but once I began discovering the characters and situation, I simply couldn't stop until they'd had at least a piece of their say. In fact, I'm thinking of expanding this one into a full-length novel at some point. After you read it, please tell me: What would you think about this one becoming a full-blown novel?

*Copyright 2018 by Andrea Cox.

Last to Call
inspired by Angela R. Watts

An owl screeched as Tristan tromped through the dusk-shadowed Garden of the Gods park. It was his favorite place to think after a long day’s work at the shop. Being a mechanic was tough, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
He checked his phone. No texts or voice mails. Why was it that the one person you wanted to ring you was always the last to call?

Monday, June 11, 2018

Complex Grace

Hello, everyone. Today (Sunday) is one of those days where I'm not exactly sure what I want to write about. Nothing is really jumping to mind other than a One Word update. Now, I'm still contemplating what I'm learning, so I am unable to fully express everything. Please bear with me as I share with you as much as I can.

It's been a fascinating journey so far. I just hope my failing words shine at least a little light on the beauty of God's work in my life. Perhaps His Light will shine through this article to someone.

If it's one thing I've learned about grace this year it's that it's complex. Grace is complex in and of itself, but there are even more complexities about how many things it is connected with.

So far, I've found out it's connected to trust in God, faithfulness (of God to us and us to God), and it's forgiving others (especially when they don't deserve it, which reflects what Jesus did for us on the cross) and ourselves. That last one--the forgiving of oneself--is sometimes the trickiest one to learn, but I'm certainly trying hard. I figure it will be greatly freeing once I get the hang of it, thanks be solely to God.

Monday, June 4, 2018

No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer

Last month, I enjoyed a fun story written by Karen Witemeyer that features a women's colony. Here's my review, as posted on Goodreads and NetGalley:

FTC DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. A positive review was not required. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Boy, oh boy! Or should I say, Gal, oh gal!

This adventure featuring a women’s colony was a delightful tale that kept me in stitches from page one through the finale. I can hardly wait to get to the next installment or two. I really liked how it featured an explosives expert as well as the suffragette movement. Though the latter is not my favorite topic ever, and a couple of moments in the story were a tad abrasive in pushing women’s rights, I thought it was handled in a funny way in most instances, which took the sting right out of the women-only stance that irks me. Ms. Witemeyer’s trademark humor was laced into every aspect of this book, sometimes delicately while other times were in-your-face hysterical.