Sunday, March 18, 2012

BW12: Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund
I've been following Jody Hedlund almost since she started her blog and before she published her first novel.   She is a home school mom of 5 kids (including twins) ranging from 5 to 14 and married 20 years to her college sweetheart who is also very supportive of her writing career.  Jody is very wise when it comes to writing and her posts are thought provoking, educational and encouraging.  So when her debut novel "The Preacher's Bride" came out I couldn't wait to read it.

The Preacher's Bride
The Preacher's Bride is a historical fiction novel based on the life of John Bunyan (writer of Pilgrim's Progress) and his wife, Elizabeth.  Hedlund took creative license and wrote an story that is so touching and emotional, it catches and pulls you in and won't let you go until the very end.  I wasn't the only one captured by her writing. She won first prize in  Romance Writer's of America Faith Hope and Love's division Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest.  Check out an excerpt  from the first chapter.  

Since then she's written "The Doctor's Lady" which is sitting at the top of my TBR pile calling my name. 

The Doctor's Lady

 "Priscilla White knows she'll never be a wife or mother and feels God's call to the mission field in India. Dr. Eli Ernest is back from Oregon Country only long enough to raise awareness of missions to the natives before heading out West once more. But then Priscilla and Eli both receive news from the mission board: No longer will they send unmarried men and women into the field.

Left scrambling for options, the two realize the other might be the answer to their needs. Priscilla and Eli agree to a partnership, a marriage in name only that will allow them to follow God's leading into the mission field. But as they journey west, this decision will be tested by the hardships of the trip and by the unexpected turnings of their hearts."  
 Check out this excerpt from Jody's website.

She has a new novel coming out in September 2012 "Unending Devotion" which is available for Pre-order on Amazon. 
Unending Devotion
"In 1883 Michigan, Lily Young is on a mission to save her lost sister, or die trying. Heedless of the danger, her searches of logging camps lead her to Harrison and into the sights of Connell McCormick, a man doing his best to add to the hard-earned fortunes of his lumber-baron father.

Posing during the day as a photographer’s assistant, Lily can’t understand why any God-fearing citizen would allow evil to persist and why men like Connell McCormick turn a blind eye to the crime rampant in the town. But Connell is boss-man of three of his father’s lumber camps in the area, and like most of the other men, he’s interested in clearing the pine and earning a profit. He figures as long as he’s living an upright life, that’s what matters.

Lily challenges everything he thought he knew, and together they work not only to save her sister but to put an end to the corruption that’s dominated Harrison for so long."

Whether you are an aspiring writer (like me) or not, be sure to check out Jody's blog where she posts every Tuesday and Thursday with writing tips, inspiration and encouragement.  

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Get ready: April is read a Russian author month. Since I've already read Tolstoy will be diving into The Brother's Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Amazon Listmania - incredible Russian Authors
Zeroland's Famous Russian Writer's and Poets
Talk Literature book Club chronological list of Russian writers



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Link to your most current read. Please link to your specific book review post and not your general blog link. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field leave a link to your specific post. If you have multiple reviews, then type in (multi) after your name and link to your general blog url.

If you don't have a blog, tell us about the books you are reading in the comment section of this post.



12 comments:

  1. Finished three this week. Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis and Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas are both part of a series so now I have to wait for the next books.

    I enjoyed The Unlikely Wife by Debra Ullrick very much...wondering if there are more out there about the others in the family....

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  2. Thanks for the post - Looks like I might be adding Judy Hedlund to my TBR pile.

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  3. sigh, I finished the previous three LAST week. For THIS week, there are two....
    Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis - book one to go with last week's book two
    Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman - cozy mystery, first in a series, may review later

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  4. Finished bok #16 this week - "Arabella" by Georgette Heyer - like Jane Austen on the light side.

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  5. I read the book I linked to this week back in early February. I have been reading, but I haven't posted anything new and am stuck in the middle of a few books. The was a fun book - great to see where your favorites stack up against some of the greats!

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  6. Thanks for this post. The Doctor's Lady looks fascinating.

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  7. I finished book 10 yesterday.... a bit on the slow side, so now I'm behind. Sigh. How do I get linked up on the left hand side of the page of your blog? I've tried to do this several times, but alas, can't seem to figure it out.

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    1. I added you to the sidebar. Thanks for the reminder.



      If anyone else needs to be added to the sidebar, just let me know.

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  8. I missed the first few weeks of the challenge - posting wise. I'm happy to finally join the party.

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    1. Glad to have you join in. Happy Reading and will be dropping by soon.

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  9. I read a very strange peek into history - The Battle of the Frogs and Fairford's Flies. Apparently readers in seventeenth century England would believe, or at least pay to read, almost anything.

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Thank you for your kind comments.