Thursday, April 23, 2009

Spring Creek Bride

Janice Thompson
Inspirational Historical Romance
Steeple Hill Books - April, 2009

One of the skills shared by Steeple Hill novelists is the ability to seamlessly weave Christian issues into arresting narratives. This suggests an across-the-board editorial policy at Steeple Hill. If it is their policy, it’s sharp because it yields true to life, easy-to-read stories. I don’t want to tell you how many Christian novels I began and never finished because of their off-putting, heavy-handed, often legalistic treatment of Christianity: “Wait everybody! Hold on there. Before we put out the schoolhouse fire that threatens to burn our beloved offspring to a crispy death, let’s consider God’s will for everyone here in this spur-of-the-moment bucket brigade and pray for God’s generous wisdom in this obviously challenging time. May Romans 8:28-39 prevail. Dear gracious heavenly Father. . .”

In Spring Creek Bride, Janice Thompson, clearly doesn’t go that far, but she fails to craft a seamless novel in which the Christian life flows easily.

That not withstanding, Thompson offers her readers interesting characters in a challenging situation. Janice Thompson has published more than thirty full-length novels and non-fiction books. She is a Christian free-lance author and a native Texan.

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