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  Shadow in the Dark ,  Harwood Mysteries Book 1 , by Antony Kolenc, promises to be an exciting new series of books about 12 th  century life in England. This inaugural mystery begins at Hardonbury Manor, ruined by bandits; thus, forcing those still alive to traverse to the nearest manor to seek work and shelter. Amid the destruction of Hardonbury Manor, we meet a young man, fleeing from one of the bandits. Yet, he was not lucky enough to escape. As a result, the bludgeoned young man wakes up from a long slumber with a massive head injury. Upon awakening, he cannot remember his name, his parents, or where he was from, let alone where he is now. He looks around and sees men in long robes caring for him, only to find out that they are Benedictine Monks! He is at the neighboring Harwood Abbey. Brother Andrew, the young man’s caretaker, decides to give the young man a name, at least until his memory returns. He needs to be called something, so Brother Andrew chooses the name,...

In  eXtreme Blindside , (the second in a series of mystery novels), by Leslea Wahl, we meet up with teen sleuths Jake Taylor and Sophie Metcalf. Jake, fresh off his Silver Olympic Medal win heads to the Madness Games, in Colorado. Sophie, Jake’s girlfriend, longing to one day be a journalist, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work for a noted magazine covering the Madness Games. While at the Games, Jake and Sophie, wind up investigating some strange happenings, such as numerous athlete injuries and equipment tampering. It’s all too coincidental for Jake and Sophie. So, they start snooping around. Lo and behold, they get themselves into some trouble with some unsavory characters. eXtreme Blindside Who gets extremely blindsided in this adventure? Will Jake, one of the top athletes get injured, or will he be spared?  Will Sophie’s journalistic skills uncover the cause of these strange happenings, or will she be blindsided by the bad guys? Ah, to learn the answers to...

Hold onto your knickers, because you are about to be taken on one heck of a ride with Hijacked , by Leslie Lynch. Ben Martin, undercover DEA agent, finds himself between a rock and a hard place after a drug bust goes bad, leaving him with a bullet wound in his shoulder and a need to escape – quickly! He sees no other outlet than a small plane going through pre-flight checks at a small airfield. The lone pilot should be easy to overtake, thought Ben – and away we go! As Ben hijacks the plane, he learns the pilot is a woman, one Lannis Parker. As Lannis is forced to fly Ben out of harm’s way (by the barrel of Ben’s gun), the adventure begins; so too, a relationship, of sorts, between captive and captor. You see, the actual hijacking is only one-half of the story. Once the plane lands, Ben must keep Lannis captive for several days, so that she will be safe from the people after Ben. What follows is an examination of the human soul in relationship, one to another. This story is fill...

The Grace-filled Tuesdays Book Club met today over at my flagship blog, String of Pearls. We talked about my second YA Catholic novel, Erin's Ring , recipient of two book awards from the Catholic Press Association. If you haven't read Erin's Ring yet and would like to do so, you might be interested to know that I'm hosting a giveaway. I'm giving away five free promo copies of Erin's Ring , with the winners to be announced on Nov. 1.   If you'd like to find out how to enter, head on over to String of Pearls for more information.

This summer the best vacation you take might well be with Fr. Driscoll's time-traveling priest!   Fr. Mike Driscoll is best known for his non-fiction work Demons, Deliverance and Discernment (published by Catholic Answers) but whose passion for the supernatural is found in his fiction book The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange and Supernatural .   Called by Catholic Library World as "well-written and compelling," The Father Capranica Mysteries  is excellent summer reading with each short story an entry into the strange and supernatural!        

Wow! Oh, wow! Dying for Revenge , the debut novel by Barbara Golder is fantastic! Talk about page-turners! Barbara Golder had me hooked from page one. The characters are deep and riveting, to the point where you won’t truly understand the depth of each character until you read the last page of the book. And don’t skip a word! Everything within the storyline is important – very well laid out. The lead character, Dr. Jane Wallace, is the Forensic Pathologist for western Colorado, unable to forgive, let alone have any mercy for the murderer of her own husband. To handle the pain, she steels herself from human interaction by engrossing herself with autopsies on the dead in the little resort town of Telluride, Colorado. To Jane’s surprise, murder follows her to Telluride, and she finds herself in... Read more (and enter to win your copy) 

Dr. Helen Scieszka's desire to heal the emotional wounds of people is a calling; it is definitely her mission. To accomplish this, she has turned her talents to Catholic fiction and uses the mighty pen as part of the healing process.   She writes from her experience as a therapist and her love of the Catholic faith in the Catholic fiction series Little Girl Lost, Little Girl Found . With each entry in the trilogy, Dr. Scieszka takes the reader on a slow, gentle, loving healing journey. She use her fiction series to address the pain of long-held emotional or physical trauma in a way that allows and encourages the reader to experience healing as well.   To read more about Dr. Scieszka's Little Girl Lost, Little Girl Found series, read the current article on her work in The Compass .        

Awesome, simply awesome! That is it in a nutshell regarding the fantastic book, Stay with Me , by Carolyn Astfalk. This Christian fiction novel centers around two young people in their 20’s, named Chris Reynolds and Rebecca Rhodes. Chris is Catholic and Rebecca is not. This fact comes out early in the story. From that point on, we see two people of different backgrounds with different beliefs and baggage, who fall in love with each other. We see how they face the challenges of maintaining chastity in their relationship. We see how they grow in purity and love for one another. This book is packed with virtue, displayed, oh so brilliantly, by Carolyn Astfalk in the most positive manner. For me, this book was a page turner.  I couldn’t put it down! I had to know... Read more...

  We received a wonderful email from Catholic World Library last week!   Here's what they said:   The December 2015 edition of Catholic Library World will highlight noteworthy works of Catholic fiction.   Bezalel Books is one of seven (7) publishers that will be recognized.   Laura Pearl’s latest book, ERIN’S RING is recommended for young and old adults, along with complimentary comments on her writing style. The new Father Capranica series of short stories is reviewed as well-written and compelling.   Read more here    

Check out Laura Pearl's latest post .   She's giving away a free, signed copy of Erin's Ring, winner of two 2015 Catholic Press Awards!   You won't want to miss this one!    

The 2015 winners for the Catholic Press Awards were announced last week in Buffalo, NY. Congratulations to Bezalel Books author Laura Pearl for two wins for her charming YA novel  Erin's Ring! Erin's Ring  won 2nd place in Books for Teens and Young Adults  Erin's Ring  also won 3rd place in Catholic Novels Laura is also the author of  Finding Grace  and blogs at  String of Pearls .

I was thrilled and honored to learn that my YA Catholic novel, Erin's Ring (Bezalel Books, 2014), was a recipient of two 2015 book awards from the Catholic Press Association. If you'd like to read more about it, the full post is over at String of Pearls .

Who better to write about a time-travelling priest than a priest? And who better to write about the strange and supernatural than a priest whose doctoral dissertation was entitled   How Catholic exorcists distinguish between demon possession and mental disorders ? The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange andSupernatural  by Father Mike Driscoll is the newest title at Bezalel Books—and one we are quite excited to offer! Always looking for a great fiction book that can also educate, Driscoll’s book hits the mark on all fronts. It engages, entertains and educates. Even if you aren’t drawn to the strange and supernatural—but especially is you are—Driscoll deftly weaves these elements into 10 short stories that will draw you in to learn more, all the while resolving the strange and supernatural in a faith-based and satisfying way. The Father Capranica Mysteries is a great read and we’re honored to offer it in  paperback  and  e-book ...

Fr. Mike Driscoll's new fiction book  The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange and Supernatural  is now available. Delving into his dissertation on Catholic exorcism, Driscoll's  Father Capranica Mysteries  is sure to please fans and those curious about the "strange and supernatural."  Fr. Mike Driscoll is a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, IL.  He was ordained in 1992; has been pastor of several parishes; and is currently serving as chaplain of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Ottawa, IL.  He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Moral Theology from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University.   His doctoral dissertation is entitled “How Catholic exorcists distinguish between demon possession and mental disorders.”  His non-fiction book on the subject of spirit possession, Demons, Deliverance, and Discernment, is p...

Posted two days ago at String of Pearls: It's still National Library Week , and I'm still running a giveaway here at the blog.  Leave me a comment anytime before midnight on April 18, and you could win one of two prizes: a signed copy of my first novel, Finding Grace , or a signed copy of my second novel,  Erin's Ring . This is a good day to talk about these two books, because today has actually been dubbed "Celebrate Teen Literature Day," and both of my novels fall into the teen/young adult (YA) category.  (Although don't let the YA tag deter you from reading them if you're a full-blown adult; I tried to write these stories in such a way that they could be enjoyed by readers from middle school to middle age.) When I set out to write Finding Grace , I wasn't even sure it would ever be officially published as a book, with a glossy cover and professionally printed pages.  I thought that when I finished, I ...

Some of our most popular books for the man in your life are now just $2.99 on Kindle! For the young man (10-15),  All Things Guy: A Guide to Becoming a Man that Matters , a non-fiction book that covers such topics as: Dignity; Virtues; Media; Vocations; Family and Friends; Body; Know Your History; Boys in the Kitchen; Strong Catholic Men Today; Basic Combat Training (prayer). read more here

Just before Christmas, I was blessed with the opportunity to chat with Deacon Tom Fox, for a segent of his "Catholic Vitamins" show.  We discussed my second YA Catholic novel, Erin's Ring, published in late 2014 by Bezalel Books.  If you'd like to read my recent String of Pearls post about it (including a link to the podcast , if you're interested in listening), click here .

My Catholic YA novel Erin's Ring , published by Bezalel Books, is out!  And I'm hosting a contest at my blog (I'm giving away a signed copy to one lucky reader).  For more details, head on over to String of Pearls to read the full post .

There’s growing evidence to support the idea that fiction books can be good or bad for you. It’s a drum I’ve been beating on for a very long time. I begin supporting my own belief about this by going directly to Scripture: Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8). Books, after all, cause us to think of things. Whatever fills the pages ultimately fills our mind. read more here

The Biblical story of Tobit's marriage to Sarah, whose previous seven husbands had been slain by demons, has been cleverly reimagined in a new novel (released April 2014 by Ignatius Press) called  Tobit's Dog , by Michael N. Richard. The novel is set in the backwoods of Depression-era North Carolina. The plight of blacks in the Jim Crow South parallels the plight of the 7th- and 8th-century Jews during the time of wars, deportations, and exile that formed the backdrop for the Biblical tale of Tobit. Tobit's Dog  combines elements of a young man's journey into adulthood, a love story, and a murder mystery. Tobias must collect a debt due to his blind and poverty-stricken father, lift the cloud of scandal from his bride-to-be Sarah, and discover who killed Sarah's former fiancés.The novel's plot closely follows the Bible story, with the character Ace Redbone (i.e., the Archangel Raphael) safely delivering Tobias, the son of Tobit, to meet his wife-to-be, his d...