CFBA: A Heartbeat Away by S. Dionne Moore

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:

  A Heartbeat Away Abingdon Press (May 1, 2013) by   S. Dionne Moore
MY TAKE:

Civil War stories were some of my favorite as a kid, I read everything I could find. The fight for freedom - to abolish slavery and make things right; how every day people risked everything for people they didn't know because it was the right thing to do - that was so inspiring! It still is. I don't like to think that I've become cynical or 'used' to the injustices in our world as I've gotten older, but I do find that I tend to tune them out sometimes because I'm sick of hearing of all the evil we do to one another.

Reading books like A Heartbeat Away nudge me back into the frame of mind again to remember that we still have a God given responsibility AND and ability to make a difference, no matter how small it seems. Beth and Joe have a very sweet story and I loved the whole book. I was especially appreciative of the gentle reminder they gave by example.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

When a band of runaway slaves brings Union-loyal Beth Bumgartner a wounded Confederate soldier named Joe, it is the catalyst that pushes her to defy her pacifist parents and become a nurse during the Battle of Antietam.

Her mother's mysterious goodbye gift is filled with quilt blocks that bring comfort to Beth during the hard days and lonely nights, but as she sews each block, she realizes there is a hidden message of faith within the pattern that encourages and sustains her. Reunited with Joe, Beth learns his secret and puts the quilt's message to its greatest test—but can betrayal be forgiven?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Heartbeat Away, go HERE.


Watch the video:



AHeartbeatAway - Medium from S. Dionne Moore on Vimeo.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

S. Dionne Moore started writing in 2006. Her first book, Murder on the Ol’ Bunions, was contracted for publication by Barbour Publishing in 2008. In 2009 she moved on to writing historical romances as an outlet for her passion for history. In 2010 her second cozy mystery, Polly Dent Loses Grip, was a 2010 Carol Award finalist and she was also named a Barbour Publishing 2010 Favorite New Author. In 2011 her first historical romance, Promise of Tomorrow, was nominated a 2011 Carol Award finalist.

Born and raised in Manassas, Virginia, Moore moved to Greencastle, PA in 1993, then to Mercersburg in 2009. Moore enjoys life in the historically rich Cumberland Valley where traffic jams are a thing of the past and there are only two stoplights in the whole town.

For more information, visit her Website at www.sdionnemoore.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @sdionnemoore
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sdionnemoore
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/sdionnemoore

CFBA: A Heartbeat Away by Harry Kraus

Song Stuck on the Brain: I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:   A Heartbeat Away David C. Cook (September 1, 2012)   by   Harry Kraus

MY TAKE:
I love medical mysteries. I've always been drawn to the science behind the mystery of the human body, so to combine the two makes for twice the fun. Harry Kraus took a really unique occurence in transplant medicine called cellular memory, and built a fantastic mystery around it. Captivating images and emotions pull you into the book as strongly as the intrigue. Loved it.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When a brilliant surgeon undergoes a heart transplant, her life transforms as she begins experiencing memories of a murder she never witnessed.

The residents worship her. Nurses step out of her way. Her colleagues respect and sometimes even fear her. But surgeon Tori Taylor never expected to end up on this side of the operating table.

Now she has a new heart. This life that was formerly controlled and predictable is now chaotic. Dr. Taylor had famously protected herself from love or commitment, but her walls are beginning to crumble.

And strangest of all, memories surface that will take her on a journey out of the operating room and into a murder investigation.

Where there once was a heart of stone, there is a heart of flesh. And there is no going back.


If you'd like to read the first chapter excerpt of A Heartbeat Away, go HERE.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Word from Harry:

I started writing my first novel during my last year of surgery training at UK. I was a chief resident, and started writing Stainless Steal Hearts in a call room at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Lexington. It was a crazy time to write! I had a very demanding schedule, often spending days and nights in the hospital. I had two sons at that time, and I recognized the wisdom in my wife's urging: "Now doesn't seem the right time for this dream."

My experience as a writer is far from typical. Having received my formal training in biology and chemistry and medicine, my only preparation for a writing career was a love for reading. The longest thing I'd written before my first novel was a term paper in undergraduate school. My first novel was accepted by Crossway Books and published in 1994, and it wasn't until after I had FOUR published novels that I even opened a book of instruction about the craft of writing fiction. This is not what I recommend to others! Yes, I was successful, but I was bending the "rules" without knowing it. I had a natural talent for plotting, but I realize my initial success may have stunted my growth as a writer. I'd have made faster progress if I'd have gone to the fiction teachers sooner.

I have three sons: Joel, Evan, and Samuel. Look closely in all of my books and you'll see them there. My lovely wife, Kris, provides the basic composition for all those beautiful, athletic, dedicated women in my novels.