Books I'm Grateful I Read Giveaway Hop 2015

Books have been an important part of my life so it is difficult to pick a few and say these are the books I'm grateful I read. Instead, let me list some of my favorite authors along with links to their Amazon page.

James Michener

Jan Karon

Dee Henderson

If your name is selected, my gift to you will be your choice of one book (paperback or Kindle edition) written by one of these three authors.

Three winners will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter. You may enter the drawing more than once. See the following for details.

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BOOK REVIEW: Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

My Review:

Ann Silver, a small-town sheriff, investigates the death of a man who dies in a suspicious one-car accident. Being the homicide consultant for Midwest police departments and curious by nature, she digs into the victim's background and recent activity. She breaks the code he used in his day planners to determine that he was a middleman for a hired killer. In addition, she finds information about two of the people the killer had been hired to eliminate. She digs deeper until she learns enough to know the case should be turned over to the FBI.

But not just anyone in the FBI. She goes to see special agent Paul Falcon and gives him everything she has on the case, including the body.

Paul determines the man had brokered killings for the person the FBI calls the Lady Shooter. She had killed thirty people over the years, but had been inactive for a few years. Searching for the killer and the people who hired her would be an exciting story by itself, but it doesn't take long for Paul to fall in love with Ann for an exciting subplot. But wait, there's more. Paul's pursuit of Ann leads to another story, this one as big and as exciting as the hired-killer story. There are more subplots as well. One about Paul Falcon's family businesses and another about Ann Silver's writing career.

In typical Dee Henderson style, the plots and subplots come together at just the right time while giving the reader an enjoyable trip. That's how it was for me. I found the stories to be exciting. Including the way God was an important part of the lives of the two main characters was a plus.

Dee states her goal in writing Full Disclosure;

"That life walking with God can lead in unexpected directions, but God has a good plan in mind, and knows who we are. Fiction and characters are a place to sketch out what is true about real life, to make it easier to see. Paul had a choice about where his life was heading, so did Ann. It’s good to enjoy where you are at. It’s also good to consider new opportunities when they present themselves. And most of life – it’s not our plan. God’s the one in control. It’s what God brings into our lives and how we respond that is the interesting part of life. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and his plans are often much richer than we can imagine for ourselves. "

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

What Is Christian Fiction?

While analyzing Christian Fiction to get a handle on what it is, I remembered this review of Dee Henderson's The Witness I wrote for Amazon.com in July 2006. I thought it would be useful to include here because I want to talk more about this thing called Christian Fiction. I titled the review, The Middle Drags:

I must admit this is the first Dee Henderson book I've read so I didn't know what to expect. I bought it because it was said to be a Christian romance thriller. It begins with a bang and I couldn't put the book down for the first quarter or so. Then, it seems to go into slow motion for the next fifty percent or so. Then it kicks in again for the close. I was okay with the resolution of the story, unlike other reviewers. I didn't spot the lack of editing as some have reported, but I was distracted by the use of "couple" without "of" after it. I had never seen that before and it appeared a number of times.

I watched for the Christian view, and felt it was subtle. Not preachy at all. Just a few personal prayers, some discussion of one's belief in God. I noticed that there was no swearing or the use of alcohol or drugs. This I appreciated.

I plan to read more of her books.

I'm looking at other Christian Fiction to see how it is different from mainstream fiction because I want Where Love Once Lived to qualify for sale by members of the Christian Booksellers Association. However, I don't intend to make changes to it at this point in time, but I have made it fit the guidelines to the best of my understanding. I'll tell you more about this is a future article.

Have you read novels labeled Christian? If so, which ones? What did you think of them?

Where Love Once Lived Kindle TOP RATED on Amazon.com

June 21, 2011--The Kindle Edition of  Where Love Once Lived is in the top ten as rated by Amazon customers. Here's the announcement which is posted with the print edition and the Kindle edition:

#7 Top Rated in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Religious Fiction > Romance

This line only pops up for books rated in the top 100. If you click on the word Romance (not here, but on the Amazon page (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1451511817) you'll see the complete list of Top Ranked books in this category. When I first spotted this achievement last week, Where Love Once Lived was in the #8 position.

Is It a Romance Novel?

I know what you're thinking. I've said many times in this blog that the book is not REALLY a romance. The title makes it sound like one and the manuscript won first place in the romance category of a major writing contest. It has male and female protagonists with alternating points of view. It looks and feels like a romance. But romance novel publishers don't like the subplots I've included and I didn't want to delete them. My writing mentor, Bonnie Hearn Hill, has read the book and she calls it a "coming of age" inspirational novel. I like that description even though the main characters are a little older than those of most coming-of-age stories.

The reason I selected the romance category for Amazon was because it is the closest of the choices in under Religious Fiction. See if you agree. Here are the others: Biblical, Historical, Mystery, and Science Fiction & Fantasy. So, where would you put it if not romance?

What Amazon Top Rated Means

Amazon  describes it as "Top Rated by Customers", and the following is taken from Amazon:

Amazon Top Rated products are identified based on factors that have been carefully chosen to help give customers the best shopping experience. Factors considered include Amazon customer review star ratings, the number of customer reviews a product has received, and the timing of those reviews. Reviews that don't meet our Community Guidelines may be excluded from consideration or subject to other corrective action.

So, it has to do with reviews and whether or not customers find the reviews useful. Of course the more stars a reviewer gives, the higher the ranking. There is also something about the timing of the reviews. I suspect this means the reviews aren't all done at once, but have grown naturally over time. I suspect, the ranking for my book just popped up now, because some minimum time period has passed.

How Many Reviews Does It Take to be Ranked?

The #1 ranked book in this category is Redeeming Love: A Novel by Francine Rivers. It has 871 reviews and 5 customer discussions. However, #5 on the list, I Called Him Dancer by my friend G. Edward Snipes, has only 14 reviews. Between Snipes and me is The Negotiator by Dee Henderson with 129 reviews.

Where Love Once Lived has only 11 reviews, with 10 being 5 star. Most of the 93 books that follow have more reviews than my book, some many more. However, my average star rating is higher than most.

Was This Review Helpful to You?

Checking the Yes button where you see Was this review helpful to you? at the end of a review seems to help move a book up in rank.

I've done pretty good at this, and I notice Eddie has also. So perhaps this helps the ranking more than we thought.

Getting Ranked

If you are interested in getting your book ranked in the top 100, the first step is to pick the right category. You are automatically assigned a category. It is posted near the bottom of Amazon's book page. Click on the category to go to a page showing the top 100 books in that category. At the top you will see the categories and your subcategory. Click on the category, in my case Religious Fiction, to see the other subcategories. On the left side of that page you'll find a list of categories and subcategories, and how many books are each. At this time there are only 15 books in the Mystery subcategory of Religious Fiction Kindles. My next book, The Vengeance Squad, will be in the mystery category, and as such, should pretty much stay on the ranked list all the time. That's mainly because some of the top writers do okay in the broader categories and don't bother with subcategories.

Changing Your Book's Category

How do you change your book's category? You have to call Amazon. I know, we're writers not talkers, but just do it. It part of the marketing process. Go to Author Central, select Contact, select My Books, select Phone and click the submit button. Changing categories is more complicated than I think it should be and it sometimes takes multiple calls. But hang in there, be nice, but persistent.

Reviews

Next, if needed, get more positive reviews. Ask your friends and writing buddies. Trade reviews with each other. Send review copies of your book to bloggers. After the review is published, ask people to read it and, if they agree, click the Yes button.

Be aware of Amazon's rules regarding reviews. For details, see: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14279631&qid=1306352593&sr=1-1#reviewguidelines.

One way to get reviews is by joining author groups. I belong to ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), John 3:16 Marketing Network and a few others. These groups provide authors helpful information as well as support from other writers. Some members are not writers, but people who love to read and review books.

Good luck. Contact me if you have questions about the process, and let me know how this works for you.

BOOK REVIEW: God's Gift by Dee Henderson

Here is another Christian fiction I think you will like. God's Gift by Dee Henderson. When I bought it, I thought it was her latest book. I think because Amazon sent me an email saying it was new. Now, I'm wondering if the ad said it was now available on the Kindle. Doesn't matter. I still enjoyed it. At the end of the book, I learned it was her second book and came out in 1998.

Due to an unknown illnes, thirty-five year old James Graham is sent home from Zaire after six years working in missionary construction. His plan is to get well and go back to work a few more years before returning to Chicago and work with his partner Kevin building and remodeling homes.

James' mother introduces him to Rae Ashcroft who is grieving the loss of Leo, the man she may have married if he had lived. Leo, who had been her partner in an investment company, died in an automobile accident eighteen months ago.

She introduces James to her lawyer friends Dave and Lace who end up dating each other eventually. The foursome has some nice times together.

Rae works many hours a week and is also researching and writing a book so she doesn't have much time to socialize. Also, she has a fear of getting too close to another man after what happened with Leo. James wants to get back to Africa as soon as he can and is not interested in a serious relationship.

However, God has other plans for these two. Perhaps that is the meaning of the title, God's Gift. It is difficult to tell more without giving away the story. It is a romance rather than a thriller Dee Henderson is known for, but still, the story takes some interesting turns and twists that fooled me.

I have read other Dee Henderson books and enjoyed them all. This one is no exception.

More on Christian Fiction

I'm still analyzing so-called Christian Fiction and remembered this review of Dee Henderson's The Witness which I wrote for Amazon.com in July 2006. I thought it would be useful to include it here because I want to talk more about this thing called Christian Fiction. I titled the review, The Middle Drags:

I must admit this is the first Dee Henderson book I've read so I didn't know what to expect. I bought it because it was said to be a Christian romance thriller. It begins with a bang and I couldn't put the book down for the first quarter or so. Then, it seems to go into slow motion for the next fifty percent or so. Then it kicks in again for the close. I was okay with the resolution of the story, unlike other reviewers. I didn't spot the lack of editing as some have reported, but I was distracted by the use of "couple" without "of" after it. I had never seen that before and it appeared a number of times.

I watched for the Christian view, and felt it was subtle. Not preachy at all. Just a few personal prayers, some discussion of one's belief in God. I noticed that there was no swearing or the use of alcohol or drugs. This I appreciated.

I plan to read more of her books.

I'm looking at other Christian Fiction to see how it is different from mainstream fiction because I want Where Love Once Lived to qualify for sale by members of the Christian Booksellers Association. However, I don't intend to make changes to it at this point in time, but I have made it fit the guidelines to the best of my understanding. I'll tell you more about this is a future article.

Have you read novels labeled Christian? If so, which ones? What did you think of them?