Rae's Writing Cafe

The mind of a reader can never be stretched too far. With each book picked from the shelf a whole new world is unlocked as the front cover is lifted, opened by hands eager to explore its contents.   There are many exotic places to embrace, elements of time to capture, and new people for me to meet-all sitting on my book case and waiting for me to arrive. I'm always sorry I cannot spend more time in novels, but I know they will be there when the time comes.   ...and the time has come for me to introduce you to another novel by another wonderful author:            Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer's sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her but instead must identify her body. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan. Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When ...

I'm continuing my January book reviews with Sarah Sundin's third novel release, Blue Skies Tomorrow, her final installment of the Wings of Glory series.     Lt. Raymond Novak prefers the pulpit to the cockpit, but at least his stateside job training B-17 pilots allows him the luxury of a personal life. As he courts Helen Carlisle, a young war widow and mother who conceals her pain under a frenzy of volunteer work, the sparks of their romance set a fire that flings them both into peril. After Ray leaves to fly a combat mission at the peak of the air war over Europe, Helen takes a job in a dangerous munitions yard and confronts an even graver menace in her own home. Will they find the courage to face their challenges? And can their young love survive until blue skies return? Filled with tender romance, witty dialogue, and suspense this book has it all! It's a great read for the weekend and its characters will warm your heart despite the plummeting temp...

Have you ever been completely and totally sucked into a book from the very first page? That's what happened to me when I read my  first Sarah Sundin book. Today, it is my great privilege to post a one on one interview with this wonderful World War II writer from My Front Porch! We'll be covering topics from the beginning of her writing career to what's coming in the 2013 year! I hope you will recieve a blessing from today's post.  Rachel: Sarah, you are a fairly new author with your first novel debuting in 2010. You are also an on-call hospital pharmacist—what prompted you to begin writing novels? Sarah: A dream. Of the sleeping kind. One morning in 2000, I woke from a dream with such vivid characters that I had to write their story. I argued with God for a few days… “Pharmacist,” I said. “ Not a writer. Tested out of college English, and was glad to do so.” God just smiled. So I wrote that book, and very badly. But I was hooked. I wrote another b...

1 Corinthians 13:4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." Sarah Sundin's debut novel, A Distant Melody, is a must read!! I cannot stress it enough. Both men and women will be drawn into this beautifully written story page after page. Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval--even marry a man she doesn't love. Lt. Walter Novak--fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women--takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt's muddy bomber base in England and Allie's mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart? ...

“Book Review Friday”   It’s November. It’s cold. It’s time to curl up on the sofa with another good book. Today’s book recommendation is another beautifully written story set during World War II time period. When I began this book I could not put it down. I fell in love with the characters and the sweet story that protruded from its pages. Author, Cara Putman tells the beautiful tale of two individuals on two life journeys whose paths cross in her first book in the Cornhusker Dreams series, Canteen Dreams…     In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Audrey Stone wants to help in the war effort. But what's a young schoolteacher from Nebraska to do? When her community starts a canteen at the train station, Audrey finds her place. She spends nearly every spare moment there, offering food and kindness to the soldiers passing through. Despite her busyness, Audrey does allow some time to get to know a handsome rancher. Willard Johnson worries about his brothe...

"Book Review Friday"   1 Corinthians 13:4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."       Sarah Sundin's debut novel, A Distant Melody, is a must read!! I cannot stress it enough. Both men and women will be drawn into this beautifully written story page after page. Here is the blurb from the back cover: Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval--even marry a man she doesn't love. Lt. Walter Novak--fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women--takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt's muddy bomber base in England and Allie's mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can th...

“ Book Review Friday” Psalm 123:1 “Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”   The weekend has come upon us once more and I have another great book for you to curl up on the sofa with… A good read for both men and women alike, “Dawn of a Thousand Nights” by Tricia Goyer, is the most historically correct World War II novel I’ve ever read! I chose this book for today’s review because of its compelling story of tragedy, love, honor and faith. It is the 2 nd book in Tricia Goyer’s World War II Liberator’s Series. The story follows two pilots from the December 7 th attack on Pearl Harbor, through the brutal Bataan Death March, and concludes with the end of the war in 1945. If you like World War II fighter planes, gripping tales of Prisoners of War, edge-of-your-seat combat, and a classic love story, this book is for you!   Check out Tricia Goyer’s new book, “The Memory Ja...