Book Review: Cherished; A Novel of Unconditional Love

Kim Cash Tate has written a powerful Christian fiction book about forgiveness, redemption and restoration.  The women in "Cherished" learn that God loves them and He will forgive them if they turn to Him in repentance.

About The Author
Kim Cash Tate is a Women of Faith speaker and the author of "Faithful", "Heavenly Places", and the memoir "More Christian Than African American". A former practicing attorney, she is also the founder of Colored in Christ Ministries. She and her husband have two children.


Unconditional Love
This is a story about a group of friends and family members who were active in a large church in St. Louis. Kelli has recently returned home to St. Louis after living in Texas for several years. She dreamed of being a Christian singer and songwriter when she was in high school. However, she became romantically involved with her boyfriend and got pregnant. Brian, her boyfriend, refused to accept any responsibility for the situation and Kelli was left to fend for herself. She decided that having an abortion was her only option, but she kept this a secret from her family and friends. She has not seen Brian for many years and she does not think she will ever be able to forgive him.

Heather's  life was shattered when she had an affair with a married man and was forced to leave her beloved church. She then had a one-night stand with a singer in a popular Christian band and was devastated when she found out that he had a girlfriend and he had no desire to have a relationship with her.

These women were confused, lonely and broken. Kelli and Heather became friends and learned that they had value and were worthy of love and redemption. They found that anything was possible when they put their faith in God. They received valuable mentoring and friendship from their Christian sisters at church.  The women learned and accepted the fact that they were cherished as beautiful daughters of Christ. The theme of this book is forgiveness....we learn to accept God's forgiveness, to forgive others and to forgive ourselves.

My Thoughts
I do not read very much fiction, but I found this story very inspiring and comforting. I could feel real empathy for the characters in the book. I was laughing, crying, loving and hating right along with Kelli and Heather.
"Cherished" reminds us that we can always go to Christ and receive forgiveness. We are cherished for who we are, not for what we do or don't do. We have hope for a bright future...no matter what we did in the past. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian fiction and is seeking a book that is uplifting and inspiring.

If you would like to learn more about this book, please click HERE to view the "Cherished" video book trailer.

I would like to thank Audra Jennings from B & B Media Group for sending me a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: Beyond The Myth

Would you like to have a more joyful, fulfilled and prosperous life? Beyond the Myth; How To Live The Life You Desire, by Maria Holmes, takes you beyond the myth and shows you how to live the life you desire by using the power of the Law of Attraction.
This book features beautiful imagery, inspiring quotations and insightful words of wisdom. Ms. Holmes delivers a powerful and life-changing message in this 60-page publication.

About The Author

A passionate advocate for the Law of Attraction, Maria Holmes began her journey twenty years ago with the works of Deepak Chopra and the Celestine Prophesy. After graduating from Indiana University with a Bachelor's Degree in Science, she studied with Anthony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Bob Proctor.

The Law of Attraction states that your thoughts directly shape the events which occur in your life. If you want something to happen and are able to focus enough intellectual and emotional energy on it, you can make it come to pass. Whatever it is that you need, you will attract it. This is possible because the energy you give out is able to interact with the energy in the Universe to help you achieve whatever you desire.

Principles of the Law of Attraction

Ms. Holmes states that desire is the starting point of all achievement. Desire is the thought you have when you picture the outcome you want to accomplish. If you focus all your energy and resources on this desire, you will begin to attract everything you want into your life. The author acknowledges that this is a process and you should do something everyday that moves you closer to the disired results.

Once you have a desire firmly in your mind, you can begin applying the principle of visualization to it. This is a powerful tool that forces you to create a clear image of the end result that you are trying to achieve. You do this by forming a clear picture in your mind of exactly what you want to come into your life. As you picture your desire in your mind, you should strongly believe that you deserve it and that you will receive it.

Gratitude is an important component of the Law of Attraction. You must be able to see all the blessings that you have already been given and feel thankful for them.

Belief in yourself is vital in achieving your desire. You must also believe in your abilities and believe that the Law of Attraction will work for you. Your goal will come to pass only at the level that you believe.

Faith gives you the courage to believe when everyone else tells you it can't be done. You must be able to fall back on your faith to keep you going when things become difficult or challenging.

My Thoughts

I would like to share some history of the Law of Attraction and the New Thought Movement. The New Thought Movement should not be confused with New Age thought.  There were many authors and speakers in the early 1900s who taught and promoted the principles of the Law of Attraction. Some of these were William Walker Atkinson, Wallace D. Wattles,  Elizabeth Towne and Ernest Holmes.

The Law of Attraction regained popularity in 2006 with the production of The Secret movie and book by Rhonda Byrne.

Ms. Holmes has written a consice, succinct summary of the Law of Attraction. She shares some personal experiences that demonstrate how the Law of Attraction has worked in her own life.  The book includes many beautiful color photographs of nature that enhance and complement the text. The author has included quotations from well-known authors, philosophers, spiritual leaders, a physicist and the Bible.

This book is meant to inspire and motivate you to be the best that you can be. The principles are widely accepted and can be truly life changing.

This would be a good selection to keep on your bedside table or give as a gift. Good things will come into your life...if you believe!

Ms. Holmes is offering a $5.00 discount off the retail price of her book if you place your order through her web site and use PayPal as your payment method.

*Beyond The Myth ~ Video Book Trailer*

Disclosure: Maria Holmes sent me a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

  

Clutter Cut Inc ~ Animated Prologue ~ Book Trailer

I recently read "Clutter Cut Inc." and wrote a review for this blog. I just received notification from SilverHouse Books that a new animated prologue has been created for the book.

The book begins with a view of a mountain of toys piled high in Cloot's room. At the bottom of the pile is Big Bear, who lost an ear and has fleas. Cloot's dad finds Big Bear's ear under the bed, but we never find out how Big Bear lost his ear in the first place....or how it ended up under the bed.

This delightful video prologue reveals how Big Bear lost his ear! Could Cloot's dog Twiggy have anything to do with it? This is a delightful video that will have children begging to read the entire book.



Please share your thoughts in the Comments Sections below.

Make A Video Book Trailer With Animoto

The newest way to promote your book is with video. A book trailer is a film or video advertisement for a book which employs techniques similar to those of movie trailers. The main difference is that a movie trailer already has visual images to work with - clips from the film. With a book trailer, the maker has to convert the written words into visual images.

My First Book Trailer Video

I just created my first book trailer. I still have many things to learn about making book trailers, but here are a few tips to keep in mind for your own project.

• Open with a picture of the book cover. I believe the viewer should see the book at the beginning of the video. You want to convey the idea of your book, and get people excited about it - excited enough to want to buy it!
• Choose still images and/or video clips to illustrate the theme of the book. I used stock photos and videos from the Animoto library. I use Animoto to create video slide shows from still photos. I highly recommend this service.
• Choose a musical background to add interest and emotion. Animoto has hundreds of copyright-free songs that can be used for personal or commercial video productions.
• Use special effects and transitions to add excitement to your book trailer. I love Animoto because it automatically adds special effects that are coordinated with the music. You just push the "Create" button and the software does the rest.
• Add quotes, testimonials or your personal comments about the book. This is a great way to add more information about the book. You should provide just enough information to make the viewer want to read the book.
• Most book trailers run from one to three minutes. The video should offer a short preview of your book.
• Always add purchase information. Be sure to let the viewer know where they can buy the book. This should be at the very end of the book trailer.
• Post your book trailer on video sharing sites. I always post my videos on YouTube but there are many others to choose from. Be sure to share the book trailer on your social media sites.

Please view my first book trailer project and share your thoughts in the Comments Sections below. I truly appreciate your feedback. Thank You!