Progress Report for A #WintersRespite Read-A-Thon hosted by Michelle @ Seasons of Reading

01/16 Monday
Book: THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 112
01/17 Tuesday
Book: THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 22 (Didn’t have much reading time today 🙁
01/18 Wednesday
Book: Finished THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 52
01/19 Thursday
Pages read: 0 🙁
01/20 Friday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 5%
01/21 Saturday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 15%
01/22 Sunday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 25%
01/23 Monday
Book(s): STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Total pages read: 36%
01/24 Tuesday
Book: Finished STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 24%
01/25 Wednesday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 130
01/26 Thursday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 72
01/27 Friday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 0 🙁
01/28 Saturday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 49
01/29 Sunday
Book: Finished KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 154
01/30 Monday
Wrap up/Link up
Books Read:
THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Total pages read: 955

The Battle for Christmas by Jeremy Hinshaw

After training and practicing for the auditions, Andy’s friends excelled. Andy, however, failed miserably. When the positions were posted, his worst fears came true – he was the only angel not given a job for the birth of Lord Jesus.

Would Andy be the only angel not to have an assignment for this climactic event?

How did Heaven defend Bethlehem from the onslaught of Lucifer and his horde of demons?

Praise for the Book

This was a great book to bring alive the story of Jesus birth, especially for those who have heard it many times before. Although fiction, it challenges us to remember that we are not doing this on our own. There is a whole army of angels at our disposal.

Thank you Jeremy for captivating my thoughts and painting such a glorious picture, not often considered when thinking of that blessed day. From the very beginning as you described the landscapes I was hooked. The details breaking out the characters and each one’s place in the story are masterfully woven. The story is packed with enough intrigue, adventure, and truth to be enticing to readers of all ages, and especially the youth of today. Compared to other books I have read on the subject, this one takes the cake with its creative story-line that is jam packed with adventure, humor, and close-calls. I recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of adventure. A fresh take on the matter that is certain to wow its readers. Especially those interested in a view behind the veil that we all know exists!

I loved The Battle for Christmas. Not only is it a book I’ll read again, but it’s also a book I can’t wait to share with my children and nieces and nephews. In The Battle for Christmas we get a great fantasy paired with reminders of our hope and our faith. Plus, what an adventure! I really liked Andy. He’s the type of character young readers will want to emulate, and one we’ll want our children to emulate. I think his gift is one we all struggle with and one of the most important.

Excerpt

“Who’s Andy?” one of the little ones asked.
“This is outrageous! I’m going to tell you the story of the birth of Lord
Jesus …” The nursery erupted with groans again. “But …” Stephen raised
his hands to quiet them. “I’m going to tell you about Andy the Angel and
how Lord Jesus’s birth really happened.”
David floated back to the ground and looked at Stephen with distrust.
The small angels murmured and mumbled questions.
“Whaddya mean, ‘How it really happened?’” one small angel asked.
“It’s written in the Bible, and we all have heard it, read it, and recited it
countless times—and who is Andy?”
“Yes, yes. You’ve read it in the Bible.” Stephen raised his hands again
to quiet the dissention. “And what the Bible says is true, but it’s written
for men and how they saw the events of that day. It’s not the only account
of that blessed day.
“You see, many of us in Heaven worked tirelessly behind the scenes
to make it happen. There were some moments when we weren’t sure if
we were going to be able to pull it off. We fought off demons, helped
humankind bring about fulfillment of Scripture, and did many other
things to make sure Lord Jesus’s birthday was going to happen.
“Of course, if you don’t want to know how it happened here in
Heaven, or what happened to Andy, that’s fine …”

Author Jeremy Hinshaw

Jeremy Hinshaw grew up in central Indiana. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University, and now resides in Muncie, Indiana.

Website * Facebook

Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 1/3/17

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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After all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and the bitter cold and snow, what better activity to do than a Read-A-Thon. Since I haven’t participated in quite awhile due to my LOA, I thought this would be fun. And maybe, just maybe, I will make a small dent in my 2017 Challenges! Care to join me?

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Instructions:
1. Post on your site, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook account and declare your intentions to join us. It’s EASY. We ask you share info to help spread the word. Please link back to us so others can find us here.
2. Add the direct link to your sign up post to the linky in this post. You have until Tuesday, January 3rd at 11:59pm CST to sign up. (If the linky is closed, you’re too late.)
3. On January 2nd, READ!

I will be keeping track of my progress on my Current Challenge page HERE.

Have You Heard?

I have some very exciting news to share!!!!!!!!! I know, like me, there are a lot of book blogging buddies that are big fans of Steven Manchester!

ASHES will be hitting the shelves on February 21, 2017. But you can read it a lot sooner!! Steve, via The Story Plant, will be touring with Providence Book Promotions. ARCs will be available the end of October/beginning of November.

Don’t miss out

Head on over to PBP, and either subscribe to the newsletter and/or join as one of our fabulous hosts, so you will know the minute the tour is announced.

$2 Today Only!!

Detective Lessons

by Bill Larkin

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Fiction
Published by: Spyglass Press
Publication Date: 9/16/14
Number of Pages: 237
ISBN: 978-0-9894002-2-0
Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

When a wealthy real estate developer convinces Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Schmidt to search for his missing son, Schmitty senses trouble. It’s not the fact that it’s a prohibited side job, it’s the fact that he has to team up with Megan McCann, an attractive private investigator with her own set of rules.

Finding a body in the trunk of a BMW sends Schmitty and Megan on an adrenalized trail through Southern California unraveling a sophisticated real estate scam. A run-in with the LAPD and some hardcore gang members opens new perspectives on the case, and they begin to glimpse a shocking web of greed and corruption.

The situation suddenly becomes more complex – and personal – when the billionaire takes matters into his own hands and Schmitty’s own department gets involved. When Schmitty and Megan go to Catalina Island to track down the one man who may know everything, they uncover a secret that could make or break the billionaire. And when Schmitty miscalculates the man, it could get them killed. Before all this, Schmitty had been unfairly outcast in his department. Now he’s here to protect and serve. To make justice prevail and figure out who to bring down.

Read an excerpt:

Author Bio:

Bill Larkin is the author of Detective Lessons, and several crime thriller short stories, including The Highlands, OC Confidential, The Deep End, and Shadow Truth. In addition to working in commercial real estate, Bill previously served as a Reserve Deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, then the Los Angeles Police Department where he last worked in a detective assignment. Bill is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives in Orange County, California.

Catch Up:

Tour Participants:

Win Your Copy of Detective Lessons:

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