Search Results for: blog this just in kerry blair

Just Doing the Best We Can

As much as we hate to admit it, we’re just mortals. We have limitations, we have aching backs, sometimes our feet are killing us at the end of the day. We get headaches. We run out of steam. There are days when we leap out of bed, read our scriptures, prepare a wonderful breakfast for the whole clan, get all the laundry done, our visiting teaching calls made, knit a sweater, and make bread all before noon. Then there are days when it’s all we can do to roll over and glare at the alarm clock. We feel as though … Continue reading →

Counting Blessings – Kerry Blair

Best-selling LDS fiction author Kerry Blair tries her hand at nonfiction in “Counting Blessings,” a newly released collection of thoughts and musings from Kerry’s creative brain. I had the opportunity to pick up a few copies at my local bookstore before they were even on the shelf – they had to go get them out of the box for me, they were so new. We start the collection with “It’s About Time,” as Kerry thinks about her upcoming birthday and the significance we tend to put on time. “My Mother’s Days Are All Wet” tells us of the experiences she’s … Continue reading →

Ghost of a Chance – Kerry Blair

In “Ghost of a Chance” by Kerry Blair, we see the second installment of the Nightshade Mysteries series, the first being “Mummy’s the Word.” As we begin the sequel, Samantha Shade is on a stakeout at the old San Rafael mission, watching for the ghost of a dear departed monk. There also happens to be a serial killer on the loose who leaves a marigold between the lips of his victims. But Sam has nothing to fear, even though it’s late at night – her faithful dog, Clueless, is on hand to protect her. Also nearby is Thom Casey, police. … Continue reading →

Mummy’s the Word — Kerry Blair

In this new-ish addition to the LDS fiction lineup by Kerry Blair, we meet Samantha Shade, the hysterically bumbling but yet good-hearted wannabe private detective. Hired to run Nightshade, her uncle’s PI firm while he’s out of town, Sam is determined to make a success of it for herself and prove that she has what it takes to be a real gumshoe, but she only has one obstacle: herself. While staking out a disreputable part of town to catch a political figure committing a no-no of the adulterous variety, she spies what she thinks is a man soliciting a young … Continue reading →

Caught in the Headlights – Barry K. Phillips

Life is designed to teach us things we need to know. Sometimes we “get” those lessons the first time around, and sometimes we have to learn them over and over and over again before they really sink in and we realize how we’ve been sabotaging ourselves. In the new nonfiction book “Caught in the Headlights,” author Barry K. Phillips takes ten of the lessons he learned the hard way and shares them with us, in the hopes that we’ll learn from his mistakes and not have to smack our heads against the same walls. With a conservative Christian approach, he … Continue reading →

You’ll Always Need Your Mom

In addition to my daughter, I have three sons. The youngest two, ages six and three, still need me quite a bit. The six-year-old is feeling a little insecure about his place in the family and needs reassurance, and the three-year-old is still just enough of a baby that he comes to me for cuddles and kisses, and needs help with almost everything. My nine-year-old son, though, is pretty independent and often goes the whole day without needing my help for anything. On the one hand, it’s pretty nice. On the other, it makes me sad. I remember when he … Continue reading →

Almost Sisters – Anderson, Littke, and Morris

A while back I had the privilege of interviewing LDS authors Nancy Anderson, Lael Littke, and Carroll Morris, but it was not until this last week that I read the first book in their series, “The Company of Good Women.” This premiere installment is called “Almost Sisters,” and I enjoyed it so much, I can’t figure out for the life of me what took me so long to get my hands on a copy. Our story is centered around three women who come to Education Week at Brigham Young University and end up rooming together in the home of a … Continue reading →

Until Proven Guilty – Betsy Brannon Green

“Until Proven Guilty” by LDS author Betsy Brannon Green is the story of Beth Middleton, a young woman whose fiancé was killed in a car accident on the morning of their wedding. After going through a long period of depression, she finally rouses herself enough to get an apartment and a job at the library, but she believes that she will never get married. After all, she promised to love her fiancé forever, and she doesn’t want to break that promise. Her old boss calls her one day with an interesting proposition. Divorced criminal defense attorney Jack Gamble needs a … Continue reading →

Silent Witness – Amy Maida Wadsworth

Annette Rodriguez has just learned that her husband, Tony, is dead. A victim of reckless drunk-driving teenagers, he died on the operating table while doctors tried to put him back together. With two children to care for, Annette is suddenly alone, not knowing what she should do. She has lived in San Antonio her entire married life, and it’s now her home, but she feels she should move back to Choice, Utah, where she grew up. Her mother, Pat, is a bitter woman. Years before, Annette’s father was found embezzling tithing money from the Church, using his position in the … Continue reading →

The Icing on the Cake – Elodia Strain

This new LDS chick-lit release from first-time author Elodia Strain tells us the story of Annabelle Pleasanton, copy editor at a local magazine. She’s been given the opportunity of a life-time – to write an article about the fanciest restaurant in town. She’s also been given an assignment – bring a Portuguese cake to the office party. It would appear that getting the cake would be, well, a piece of cake, but the bakery is located an hour and a half away, plus it has moved to a new location since she was there last. While looking for directions, she … Continue reading →