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Description: When Desirae Richey agrees to go home with some college friends for Christmas, she expects a small family gathering. Instead she is taken to the Christmas Lodge in the snowy mountains of Canada to a noisy, fun loving, adventurous group of family and friends who welcome her as one of their own. Everything seems to be going as planned until an unexpected snowfall occurs.

My sister, Mikayla, read this book first and told me about it. I agree with her that it is one of the sweetest and best Christmas stories I have ever read.

They style and the feel of the story made me think of Louisa May Alcott or Grace Livingston Hill. The story didn’t try to be anything other than a sweet Christmas story. So many stories today try to be super romantic, or very deep, or add an unexpected plot twist. It was nice to read a nostalgic story that was just sweet.

Desirae was a sweet character who never really had a homey Christmas and now is given the gift of being part of a large group of family and friends for the holidays. Seeing everything through her eyes gave me a new appreciation for what I have.

There is a hint of a future romance and some sweet gestures from the boy, but nothing that even the youngest family member would mind hearing about.

I highly recommend this book for those who love nostalgic books, looking for a family book to read aloud, or want a sweet Christmas story.

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Description: Fifteen-year-old Jen can't remember her imagination. She knows she had one once, though, and honestly, she'd like it back. It's been eight years. One day she finds a young boy who claims to be one of her imaginary friends and that her imaginary world is being eaten by a hydra-like monster called the Polystoikhedron. He helps her find the Ankulen, a special bracelet that had given the ability to bring her imagination to life and together they embark on a quest to find friendship, healing, and perhaps even some family.

I wasn’t feeling good one day and looked on my Kindle. I can always count on Ardnek to give me something easy to read and full of imagination. However, this is my favorite book of hers yet. Very light, very fun, and very different.

The whole setting of this book is just plain cool: a girl inside her imagination, which has lots of different aspects to it. It reminded me a lot of my childhood imagination, except I was never as organized as Jen. The world, so carefully crafted, was just plain fun.

Jen was such a believable character, and her struggle to reclaim her imagination felt real. I liked how different she was from some of the other Ardnek leading ladies. She wasn’t as annoying as I found the main girl in the Quest books.

All the other characters just sparkled and were full of color (wink). The old woman was one of my favorites, even though she wasn’t really in the story much.

Other than nearly being lulled to sleep while the story was in the dream castle, the story kept me turning pages. It was so much fun. However, I was taken completely surprised by the powerful message toward the end. I was blinking rapidly at the skill, because the message had been there all the time, yet it surprised me. It was very well done.

I highly recommend this to those who like mild fantasies, imaginary worlds, and just want a lighthearted read.

As Tim will be taking the majority of Rose’s things to Michigan during the month of June, Rose has already packed up many of her things. This left a lot of holes in the room. Honestly, it was one of the hardest things to watch as the room that had been carefully crafted over the years to reflect the two of us change drastically.

To save what little is left of my sanity I decided that – while Rose was visiting Tim for his birthday – I would make the room my own. Rose and I have always shared a room. We have always had to consult each other about colors, where things are placed and the like. It was an odd feeling to go out and pick a paint color without consulting anything except my own wishes. After getting over the odd feeling, I got excited. For the first time in my life, I am going to have my own room. Want to see what I did?






Yes, it is pretty much a book and writing haven. While I am sad to be losing a roommate, I’m choosing now to look at the bright side of things.

All my books are now on the shelves. None remain in boxes under the bed.

I have a whole area for my tea things.
I’ll get to choose when the lights go off.
I can leave my projects up.
Yes, I’ll miss Rose, but at least I am gaining my own room.

Rose wanted to have a photoshoot with her wedding dress. This proves how different the two of us are. My sister Mikayla had to twist my arm to get me to take new author photos last year, and I found the one-hour session only bearable because my family was there with me, and we always manage to have fun together. Rose on the other hand I think would be happy to pose all day long; she finds it fun. To each her own, right?

Our older sister agreed to do the photo shoot, and so we drove the five hours to the Tyler Rose Garden (I kept thinking of Kate’s Capitol) to do Rose’s photo shoot. She looked amazing.

Of course, I can’t share any of the amazing photos here until after the wedding, but it was a special time. We hung out with our older sister and two nieces, laughed, and watched Rose get all dolled up and excited about the photos.

This is all part of the wedding journey. Stay tuned to see how my room has undergone a drastic change.

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Description: Four years have passed since tragedy broke Grace’s family apart, tarnished the family name, and sent her into hiding at finishing school. Now with a new last name and a few years between her and the accident; Grace wonders if she will be able to escape the heavy shadow of the past that smothers her with guilt and a desire to escape life. 
Grace carefully guards her heart from others to prevent them from discovering her past. However, when Mitch, a deputy, comes into her life, he seems bent on destroying Grace’s armor. Can Grace really trust someone with the secrets that haunt her, or will they destroy her once again?

While I have loved both Annabeth’s War and The Captive of Raven Castle, I have to admit that this is by far my favorite Greyson book so far.

Moving away from the realm of fantasy, Greyson takes us to the old west. Her story drops us in the middle of the action of girls that have been kidnapped from a stagecoach, and the story just is amazing from there.

My heart immediately felt connected with Grace’s. So many of the emotions that she experienced are ones that I have felt myself. She was so wounded, yet also strong. She was someone you wanted to hug and respected at the same time. Throughout so much of the story, you wonder why Grace is choosing to do some of the things she is doing, yet also not confused, if that makes sense.

Mitch was an amazing character, too. He reminded me of Ransom in Annabeth’s war, yet he was different. Mitch’s unconditional love and how he truly cares for Grace was so sweet. So much of the story focuses on their friendship. Yes, there is a hint of romance, but more on friendship.

You can always count on Greyson for solid faith messages, and this was no exception. This book held the themes of telling the truth, redemption, and allowing others to be there for you. Yet, more than any other story she has written, I feel the message within this book will minister to the heart of those who read it.

I never wanted to but the book down. That is probably the reason I didn’t and read it all in one day. It kept me flipping pages wanting to find out what happened next. When it was finished, I wished that it wasn’t over.

I highly recommend this to those who love western stories, light romance, and a whole lot of action.

Well, between my writing and wedding preparations, I haven’t been blogging much. If feels good to sit down and write something. Today, I want to share with you the special story of Rose’s dress. However, except for the picture above with some detail work, you will have to wait until after the wedding to see the full dress.

Rose was in her late teens and she knew just what she wanted for her wedding dress. She had a pattern picked out that was actually for a medieval costume and she wanted to embellish the dress with embroidery. She, however, did not want to spend the days leading up to her wedding frantically trying to finish it. God provided some satin material that someone didn’t want any more and for several months, Rose worked on stitching on her wedding dress.

I clearly remember her trying it on and then carefully packing it away and putting the box in a back corner. It was a happy day that it was done, full of hopes for the future. Neither of us thought that six years would pass before she used it. Thankfully, Rose hasn’t changed in dimensions at all since then (which is sickening for those like me who gain all too easily).

Recently, Rose unpacked the dress to make some final adjustments. When she tried it on, I nearly cried. This is all happening so fast and my heart is so full. Was it really only a year ago that Rose was sobbing about being single? My heart is bursting with happiness for her.

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Description: Writing isn't all heart and art. It's structure and syntax, too.
Write Well will help you understand the structure of writing so you can get back to the art.
Hi there, I'm Rachelle Rea Cobb. and I have history with words. I've ever been known as a grammar geek with a knack for storytelling. Friends and family have come to me for years to polish their pages. For five years now, one of my favorite things to do is help others polish their pages until their words shine--and then they can sign their own publishing contracts. I have worked with traditional, self-published, and best-selling authors, as well as students, bloggers, and ESL writers. Entrusting your words to others can be excruciating, but I promise to treat them with the utmost care, never squashing your voice. Instead, my job is to unleash it from typos, fluff, and repetitiveness, etc.
And now I'd like to share my expertise with you.

As some of you are probably painfully aware, grammar is not my thing. It isn’t that I don’t care, but it seems that every time someone tries to explain the rules, I only become more confused. Seriously? How am I supposed to understand where those silly little commas go? The answer is to buy this little book.

This book was so, so, so helpful! I still have a long way to go before I really have a firm grasp on all the principles. However, I finally feel like I have a chance. This book is not huge and intimidating. It is not peppered with crude references that some grammar books have. It is a short guide to grammar from someone who loves it to those of us who need the help.

After reading the section on commas, I felt like I had a better understanding on how to use them than any of the grammar books I read for school. Like I said, I know I still have a long way to go in applying them. However, I plan to start having this book on hand as I edit.

The rest of the book was also helpful. No section is very large; in fact you can read the whole book in about an hour. Yet, those short pages are packed with helpful information.

If you want to learn more about grammar and improve your writing, this book is a must have. It isn’t expensive, so grab yourself a copy.

I highly recommend this book for writers, homeschool students, and anyone wanting to improve their grammar skills.

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Description: The stalwart saint and the redeemed rebel. One is fighting for faith, the other for honor…
After Dirk rescues Gwyneth from the Iconoclastic Fury, she discovers that faith is sometimes fragile—and hope is not as easy as it may seem. Gwyneth continues her quest to learn more about the love of God preached by Protestants she once distrusted.
Meanwhile, Dirk’s quest is to prevent his sullied name from staining hers. Will his choice to protect her prove the undoing of her first faltering steps toward a Father God? Once separated, will Dirk and Gwyneth’s searching hearts ever sing the same song?

I was so excited to finally read the second book in this series. I actually sat down one Sunday and read straight through them. It was a great way to see the story woven together, but it also makes the details of the books blend together. I am sorry for any blending in my brain that has taken place.

Dirk still seeks to clear his name, but he faces a lot of obstacles. I love how he is drawn to Gwyn, yet wants to save her from his reputation. So many heroes don’t hesitate to bring the girl they love into danger with them, so it was nice to see Dirk trying to protect Gwyn.

Speaking of protecting Gwyn, she didn’t make it easy. As in the last book, sometimes she did her own thing, which put her in danger. Sometimes I wanted to shake her for being stupid, but most of the time I just adored how much she cared about the people around her.

This story was so good that I couldn’t wait to start the next book… and so I didn’t. I dove right into it.

I highly recommend this book to those who love historical fiction, mild romance, and lots of exciting twists.