This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
River North; New Edition edition (May 1, 2014)
by
Sandra D. BrickerABOUT THE AUTHOR:
For more than a decade, Sandra D. Bricker lived in Los Angeles. While honing her chosen craft of screenwriting in every spare moment, she worked as a personal assistant and publicist to some of daytime television’s hottest stars. When her mother became ill in Florida, she walked away from that segment of her life and moved across the country to take on a new role: Caregiver.
The author says that it was her 8th novel that opened the door to finding her way as a writer. “I’m a Christian woman, first and foremost,” she says. “So it was a bit of a dream-come-true when Summerside Press chose me as one of two authors to launch the Love Finds You line.”
Sandie’s real-life role as cancer survivor has parlayed into her steadfast commitment to raising awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research. Spearheading a series of devotionals for Summerside Press (such as the popular His Grace is Sufficient…Decaf is Not), the author has stipulated that a portion of each contributor’s proceeds will go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
“Being allowed to combine my faith and my humor with raising funds for my pet projects … and still pursue my writing dream,” says Bricker, “well, that’s the best of all worlds, as far as I’m concerned!”
And one of the author’s pet projects is animal rescue, evidenced by the special bond she has created with one particular formerly-abandoned puppy — a red-haired collie with “killer brown eyes and the heart of the class clown.”
ABOUT THE BOOK
Shannon Malone thought she’d found her happy ending when she married Edmund Ridgeway, but a diving accident on their honeymoon left her in a coma. Waking
up to the news that she’s thirty years old would have been daunting enough . . . but she also learns that Edmund has lost his interim battle with cancer and the
world has marched on without her. Her gorgeous doctor, Daniel Petros, seems to know everything about her and becomes Shannon’s tour guide into a whole new world of
madness where reality television has taken over the planet and everyone’s life appears to revolve around a tiny screen on their cell phones!
As Shannon struggles to navigate through the changes-both in the world and in her-she also must discern real memories from imagined ones. Did she really ever wear capris pants and entertain in her living room, or was that Laura Petrie from her favorite classic TV show? And where is her beloved dog, Freeway? Oh, wait! That was Jonathan and Jennifer Hart’s dog, not hers. Shannon’s three elderly aunts flit through her life in true Sleeping Beauty style with her well-being always a priority.
And Edmund’s sister Millicent descends like the Evil Queen she is, trying to extract Shannon from any claim on the Ridgeway family fortune. When a tornado moves through town and Shannon is knocked unconscious, will Daniel’s kiss awaken her once and for all?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Rise and Shine, go HERE.
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
I think this is the first book I have read that the main character slept from her honeymoon on through years of her life. And she awakes to find out that life has gone on despite her being awake to witness it all. It would be kind of weird to wake up thinking you were on your honeymoon to find that your husband has fought and lost his battle with cancer, all while you were sleeping. And there are so many other changes that took place that Shannon struggles to handle everything at once. But with the help of a handsome Doctor that knew too much about her, and a few aunts, can Shannon find peace and calmness in this new world? You will be delighted to find the answer to this and oh so much more as you read Sandra Bricker’s Rise and Shine. I know this will be a book that will have you laughing and crying at the same time.
I rec’d a copy of this book from CFBA and the publisher to read and review. The opinions here are mine only. I was not expected or required to write a positive review.
splashesofjoy 