CFBA: Falls Like Lightning by Shawn Grady

Song Stuck on the Brain: I Wish I Were An Oscar Meyer Weiner.

I woke up around 3 am singing this song in my head. And it had nothing to do with my dreams, because I was dreaming about a house in the country that had a huge pond in the front yard full of giant bass fish. Before I woke up, a giant bass was leaping up to the bridge and grabbing my sleeve to pull me into the pond. It was like Jonah and the big fish big. My dreams just got weirder the rest of the night. You'd think I had been reading fantasy novels for days on end, but I haven't. Go figure.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:


Falls Like Lightning
Bethany House (July 1, 2011)


by


Shawn Grady

MY TAKE:

I could practically smell the smoke rolling off the page and I may have even singed a finger turning pages. You can tell that Shawn Grady lived this life. Great romantic elements and the action is off the charts in my opinion. The opening fire scene had me holding my breath. Another fantastic job by Mr. Grady.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When hotshot smoke jumper Silas Kent gets his own fire crew, he thinks he's achieved what he's always wanted. But a lightning-sparked fire in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas has his team in a plane before they can even train together.

Pilot Elle Westmore has been called up to drop the crew into the heart of the forest infernos. A single mother of a mysteriously ill six-year-old, she can't imagine her life getting any more complicated.

It doesn't take long for things to go very wrong, very quickly. A suspicious engine explosion forces Elle to make an emergency landing. Silas is able to parachute to safety but soon discovers his crew can't be trusted. They're hiding something, and now Silas is on a race to save himself and Elle from the flames--and from a more dangerous threat: his own team.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Falls Like Lightning, go HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire, Tomorrow We Die & Falls Like Lightning.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

After graduating from James Logan High School in Union City, California, Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego as a Theology undergrad. There he found clarity of direction and proceeded on to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.

CFBA: Tomorrow We Die by Shawn Grady

Song Stuck on the Brain: Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:



Tomorrow We DieBethany House (July 1, 2010)



by Shawn Grady


MY TAKE:

Loved it! I thought Shawn's first book Through the Fire was impressive, but he knocked this one right out of the park. The story is fast paced, exciting and keeps you guessing clear to the end.

Jonathan Trestle is so real, I feel like I could fly to Reno today and meet him at the coffee shop. I know as writers we all do the research and put as much reality in our characters as possible. We want them to live and breathe in the readers minds. Shawn made that happen. His experience in the field of emergency services is obvious, but it takes talent to turn that experience into a character that surpasses paper and lives in our minds. He did that, not only with Trestle, but his field partner Bones and every other character you meet. In fact, Bones cracked me up. I want to meet him in real life too.

True to life characters wouldn't stand much of a chance though, if the setting didn't seem just as real. Shawn's descriptions of the city and nearby mountains were crystal clear, and I love his use of music and lyrics to show you emotion and mind set.

This is one of those books that I read with two halves of my brain arguing with the other. Every page was devoured by the book addict in me, with hardly the strength to set it down when necessary. When the book did get set down (briefly) the writer half couldn't stop analyzing everything written.

If it isn't obvious yet, I highly recommend this book. Shawn Grady deserves the title of Most Promising New Writer.

If you want to read an interview with Shawn, visit Mark Young's blog Hook'em and Book'em.




ABOUT THE BOOK:

Chase the Angel of Death and You Might Catch Him

Jonathan Trestle is a paramedic who's spent the week a few steps behind the angel of death. When he responds to a call about a man sprawled on a downtown sidewalk, Trestle isn't about to lose another victim. CPR revives the man long enough for him to hand Trestle a crumpled piece of paper and say, "Give this to Martin," before being taken to the hospital.

The note is a series of dashes and haphazard scribbles. Trestle tries to follow up with the patient later, but at the ICU he learns the man awoke, pulled out his IVs, and vanished, leaving only a single key behind. With the simple decision to honor a dying man's last wish, Jonathan tracks the key to a nearby motel where he finds the man again--this time not just dead but murdered. Unwilling to just let it drop, Jonathan is plunged into a mystery that soon threatens not only his dreams for the future but maybe even his life. He must race for the truth before the Angel of Death comes calling for him.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Tomorrow We Die, go to HERE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. He is the author of the novels Through the Fire & Tomorrow We Die.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.

Enter to Win

January holds a new begining for a great year and two new books you have to read.

Enter to Win:

Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

or

The Fence My Father Built by Linda S. Clare

To enter, click on the book cover in the sidebar and email me your completed entry. The contest is open to US residents only and ends at midnight, January 31, 2010.

Good Luck!

A.

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to our TWO winners this month:

Delia W. is the winner of Montana Rose by Mary Connealy

and

Mark B. is the winner of Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

Thanks so much for visting and be sure to watch for the next contest.

A.

Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

Song Stuck on the Brain: Just the Way You Are


Today I'm Featuring Through the Fire by Shawn Grady.

I know I featured this book last month, but I'm giving away a copy this month and I wanted to tell you all how much I loved the book.

Shawn Grady is a firefighter through and through. He's been in the trenches and lived to tell about it. I did a lot of research on the fire community for a book I wrote a few years back, but there is no way you could research long enough to give the reader the same feel that Shawn gives. It's intense and so real you can taste the smoke.

As if that isn't enough to grab your attention, his writing almost has a poetic feel to it. A hybrid of literary prose, high octane action and true to life story telling. As a reader I was hooked, as a writer I'm truly inspired.

Find out more about the book HERE. Visit Shawn's website HERE.

If you want to enter to win a copy of Through the Fire, click on the book cover in the top of the sidebar to email me your entry. The contest ends at midnight August 31st, though, so enter right away!

A.

Win Montana Rose or Through the Fire

Win a free copy of:

Montana Rose by Mary Connealy

or

Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

That's right, this month there are TWO FREE books to give away. Just click the book cover in the sidebar to email your entry.

The contest is open to US and Canadian residents only and ends on August 31, 2009.

Good Luck!


A.

CFBA: Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

Song Stuck on the Brain: Baby Take Your Bow by Chris Rice

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:
Through The Fire
by
Shawn GradyBethany House (July 1, 2009)



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Firefighting burns in Aidan O'Neill's blood. The son of a fireman, O'Neill has a sixth sense about fire and often takes dangerous risks. When one act of disobedience nearly gets a rookie killed, O'Neill is suspended. His weeks off are supposed to be a time to reflect but instead he escapes to Mexico, where another rash act of bravery actually kills him. But only for a few minutes.

Called back to Reno, he's now haunted by visions of hell and paralyzed in the face of fire. And at the worst time, because an arsonist is targeting Reno. With a growing love interest with one of the investigators complicating everything, Aidan must discover where his trust rests as the fires creep ever closer.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Through The Fire, go HERE


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. Through the Fire is his debut novel.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.