An Open Book

An Open Book

Welcome to the January 2024 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

I didn’t hit my Goodreads reading goal for 2023, despite finishing strong. I may have to downgrade my goal for 2024, but these are the books that ended our year in reading.

Like a Winter Snow

I’ll read Christmassy books well into January. Sticking with the liturgical season and all. 😉 Like a Winter Snow by Lindsay Harrel is a sweet romance Christmas novella with a heroine who is so invested in helping to care for her mother that she’s assumed way more responsibility for her welfare than is reasonable. A Christmas getaway to England for her friend’s wedding gives her (eventually) the perspective she needs when she meets a handsome Englishman.

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Catholic Novelist Jim Sano: An Interview

Your debut novel, The Father’s Son, is what I might call apologetic fiction. Do you think there is a difference in how readers are receptive to apologetics, or a defense of the faith, in fiction as opposed to traditional nonfiction?

The Father's Son

The writing of and reception to The Father’s Son have certainly been a gift from the Holy Spirit, and, at one level, the story does weave in a case for the faith Christ left us as essential to living life as fully as God intends. At its heart, The Father’s Son is a very human journey for the main character, David Kelly, confronting the effects of his childhood trauma. From the world’s standpoint, David has everything, but the emotion-filled journey he has been avoiding begins with an unexpected friendship and unlocking the mystery and truth of his past. Beyond apologetics, the core of this is a story is of friendship, redemption, forgiveness, love, faith, and many twists and turns. 

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Catholic Teen Books Back-to-School Giveaways

Catholic Teen Books is sponsoring two HUGE giveaways for Catholic school libraries. Schools may enter to win either a Junior High or High School bundle of books – or, if a K-12 school, BOTH.

Then faculty, staff, families, and students can vote for their school, earning more chances to win!

Find all the details at Catholic Teen Books.

Contest is for brick-and-mortar Catholic schools in the continental United States only. Contest ends September, 30, 2023.


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Summer Book Club: In Pieces by Rhonda Ortiz

On Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. EDT, I’ll be facilitating a Catholics Read book club meeting. We’ll be chatting about Rhonda Ortiz’s debut novel, first in the Molly Chase series, In Pieces (Chrism Press).

This historical novel set in colonial Boston, while a romance, has wide appeal. There are rogues, spies, gossipy hens, and crusty sailors. More than that, there’s a lot to contemplate on duty, marriage, family, faith, dignity, conscience, and the pursuit of truth. Those are the kinds of things I hope we’ll talk about. And whatever YOU want to discuss!

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Miracle at the Mission Blog Tour

About the Book:

After recovering from their daring exploits in the exciting first book, The Ghosts of Westthorpe Academy, high school best friends Joe Pryce and Pete Figueroa return for another thrilling, action-adventure in Miracle at the Mission.

When one of them wins a St. Junipero Serra essay writing contest and is rewarded with a summer trip to California, they both embark on an adventure they will never forget. While visiting one of the historic Spanish missions founded by Father Serra, the boys meet a holy but mysterious old Franciscan monk who warns them of the dangers they would soon encounter.

It isn’t long before the boys are drawn into a series of events filled with suspense, intrigue, a high-speed car chase along the precipitous Pacific Coast Highway, and the schemes of foreign operatives seeking to bring harm to the President of the United States.

Caught up in the pursuit of the bad guys, the boys discover they have become suspects in the investigation by the FBI. Desperate to prove their innocence, they must rely on the guidance and wisdom of the old padre, who just happens to bear a strange resemblance to St. Junipero Serra himself.

With the world teetering on the brink of an international crisis, the story reaches its climax at another mission––Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel––where the boys and a large gathering of people witness an incredible miracle that changes their lives forever. 

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The Armor of God Series: An Interview with Author Theresa Linden

For those who are unfamiliar, what inspired the Armor of God, your fantasy-adventure chapter book series for children?

Belt of Truth

This series was inspired by the scriptural amor of God as described in Ephesians 6:13-17. 

The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of peace . . . I just love the connection in that Bible passage between individual pieces of armor and specific virtues. They paint a picture in my mind and a story in my heart. I just had to write the stories that brought those elements to life!

Children recognize the spiritual battle at a very young age . . . when they are tempted to lie or to take something that isn’t theirs, or when they can’t get their way or they’re feeling selfish. So I wanted these stories to have characters that shared those struggles, those spiritual battles, and then armed themselves to fight. 

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