Book Review: Some Like It Scot

I thoroughly enjoyed Pepper Basham's contemporary rom-coms with a nod to Great Britain (Authentically, Izzy and Positively, Penelope). In Some Like It Scot, we follow an American on adventures in Scotland. I'd love to visit the Appalachian Mountains here and compare them to the Scottish landscape. Basham's book identifies similarities between these two, but my eye has yet to verify. This would make an excellent book club activity. I can just imagine joining a group of women reading this book, then travelling cross-country and internationally following the steps in this book. Hey, I'd even enjoy an Edwardian Experience (that's got to be better than the Victorian Slum House experience I watched once in a PBS documentary).

Katie Campbell has made a name and a following through her "misadventures" in travel. This provides great fodder for the comedy portions of the novel. The romance blossoms in her attraction to a brusque and burly Scot. Don't let the rom-com genre fool you. As lighthearted as this book is, it also carries great depth, tackling subjects like grief, abandonment, faith, family, and home. We all long for a sense of belonging. Every family faces its own baggage.

I always enjoy a peek into the process. In the author's note, Pepper Basham explains that one month into the writing, her own brother died. Although I've yet to experience sibling loss, I have watched my husband bear the burden of his brother's suicide. Everyone grieves differently. And sometimes grief complicates relationships. I felt great empathy for Katie's insecurities and her plight. The dialogue was delightful, and the descriptions made me want to jump on a plane. If you're looking for an uplifting read, pick up Some Like it Scot. Come for the colorful characters, bask in the witty banter, and stay for the satisfying resolution. Now, I anxiously await a chance to read Sense and Suitability and the future release of A Brewed Awakening. Clever titles, sure to fulfill any itch for clean rom-coms.

Gratitude Article

Photo by Ranurte on Unsplash

After struggling for well over a year in a liminal space, unable to work on specific writing projects, I am happily back to writing. Today, my gratitude article, "When the Journey Becomes the Gift," airs in the Just Between Us Magazine on Substack. You can find it here.

Click here to learn about ways to subscribe to Just Between Us. This magazine, founded by Jill Briscoe, provides encouragement for Christian women. It reaches women in more than 150 countries. Here's a blurb from the Encourager's Corner in October:

"It still takes my breath away--how he weaves His voice through each week's collection of stories. Different writers, different seasons, different struggles--and yet, always the same thread of grace running through it all. I think of the woman who told us she read a story about forgiveness and finally picked up the phone to call her sister after years of silence. Or the mom who said she opened a devotion in the middle of her burnout and felt like the words were written just for her. Or the reader across the world who said JBU had become "her church home" when she felt completely alone."

What difficult journey did God gift to you?  

Book Review: Christmas by Accident

Christmas by Accident, by Camron Wright, is a sweet holiday tale full of typical tropes. Enter a girl who loves Christmas and a guy who hates Christmas. They meet and fall in love. An obstacle develops. Yes, an accident happens (two actually). By virtue of these accidents, their lives are transformed.

I've been contemplating what kind of articles I could write about Christmas from a new angle. It is an incredibly difficult task. So much has already been expressed about the holiday. Indeed, it feels like there is "nothing new under the sun." This book even pokes fun at itself while it contemplates the overabundance of Christmas books.  Thankfully, the easy access on Hoopla made my treadmill time go by more quickly. (Despite my fall and the narrowness of the walking pad, I continue to carefully seek out daily exercise with audio book accompaniment).

I was unfamiliar with this author. However, after writing up this book review, I came across his name again. He has written a book getting great buzz, called The Rent Collector. He is a Mormon author from Salt Lake City, Utah. I'm glad I stumbled upon this Christmas book because researching the author led me to a podcast interview that I highly recommend. Camron remarks on the process of "Finding God's Plan for Your Life," on the All In podcast. Click here to find this half-hour interview with author Camron Wright.

Book Review: A Very Merry Matchup

Becca Kinzer's A Very Merry Matchup is a delightful and wholesome Christmas novella. What a task to come up with a new idea for a seasonal story. Kinzer's novella boasts a delicious blend of romance and humor. Indeed, it's like a Shakespearean comedy of errors. Misunderstandings lead to colorful confusion. Yet, when those misconceptions resolve, the reader gains a touching resolution.

Ivy West has a plan. She knows what kind of life she wants (nothing like what she grew up with), and she's working hard to get there. Beau Wall may be handsome, but his unstable career in baseball would never mesh with Ivy's perfect plan. Thinking someone should snatch him up, she plays matchmaker and pushes him to pursue her friend, Lucy. Alas, she's not the only one intent on making matches.

Through a hilarious myriad of mix-ups, Ivy lands at Beau's house for the holidays, convinced she's there to help celebrate Lucy's engagement. Beau and Ivy each arrive with a rambunctious dog in tow. They make an adorable couple, if only Beau (and his family) could convince Ivy to give him a chance. Thankfully, Beau can see through to her heart. He recognizes her wounds and her deepest longings. Her plan may not allow it, but everyone knows plans often go awry (and with Becca Kinzer, going awry means loads of laughs).

What a perfect pairing of humor and humanity. There is a depth of pain leading to Ivy's walls. Yet, the power of love softens and redeems it. I recognized Ivy's desire to avoid the mistakes of her parents. My teen struggles felt similar. I rooted for Beau and his loving family. Who doesn't want a family like that? Plus, having once had a rambunctious Goldendoodle, I loved the humorous comic relief the dogs provided. This is a holiday tale I recommend and will happily read again.

Mid-month Mention: So Grateful

This month, I am deeply grateful for one special thing! I am fully writing again! My son's near death by overdose in June 2023 derailed my mojo. For 14 months, I could not work on writing projects. I was able to read and maintain my blog. My daily morning pages still came without effort. But, I couldn't rouse myself to approach a project. 

On the first day of September, I decided if I couldn't write, then I could devote a half hour each day to seeking markets for what I've already written. Marketing my novels seemed too ambitious, so I focused on magazine markets. I stumbled upon Just Between Us, a Christian digital magazine founded by author Jill Briscoe. The magazine had a call for articles with a 9/1 deadline. I felt I had just the piece, so I pulled it out and re-wrote it to the specifications they gave. I really didn't expect much after so many months of discouragement. Two days later, I received an acceptance letter. My article, "When the Journey Becomes the Gift," will air on 11/25/25 in the Just Between Us digital magazine. You can subscribe to the magazine here.

This was just the encouragement my heart needed. A few days later, I wrote a flash fiction piece under 500 words and entered it into a competition (judging does not occur until January). I scoured the internet for contests and calls for submissions. In mid-October, I started working on a book project. It is something I had considered doing prior to my liminal period. Since I have already been charting my purging progress, I added this component to my daily tallies (sadly, the purging has almost evaporated with this new pursuit). 

September started tentatively, only working 43% of the days in that month. I wrote and submitted 2 pieces and worked on market research (easier than writing). My September total was 12 hours devoted to these writing endeavors. In October, I spent 100 minutes in research and worked on two different pieces. I wrote on 15 of the 31 days in October for a total of 11.5 hours. My word tally came to 8786 words (nothing near what I used to complete when I did Nanowrimo). I tried to enter into this slowly.

In November, I set a new goal. I wanted to write at least 1000 words a day. While I haven't managed that every day, for the first 16 days in November, I wrote an average of 1267 words per day. I spent 18.5 hours writing with a total of 20,274 words in the first half of the month. This is worth a mid-month mention! This is huge for me! I'm so very grateful! Stay tuned for a post on 11/25/25 with direct links to my article.

Book Review: Stories from the River of Mercy

I should admit at the outset, I'm not familiar with Sheila Walsh's music. She strikes me as a vocalist who is vulnerable and real with her audiences. In 2018, I read her book, In the Middle of the Mess. Since I struggle with depression, it's refreshing to find a Christian who openly shares her wounds and battles. In Stories from the River of Mercy, we find an authentic telling of the conflict and resolution between Sheila and her mother-in-law.

From the outset, the two women saw things differently. Sheila's husband, Barry, was Eleanor's only child. As such, she had a hard time with the "leave-and-cleave" process. Not to mention, Eleanor had very firm opinions on how things should be done. I would have bristled, too, if my mother-in-law came in and reorganized my kitchen.

But, the heart of the story is the current of mercy that carries these two different women into reconciliation and deeper relationship because of Eleanor's battle with cancer. I don't believe I have the level of surrender or the heart for others that Sheila develops during this journey. If only I could access that simply by reading. Still, absorbing the story made my heart long to be a better person, to love through another person's prickliness, and to show grace when I want to demand my own perspective. This was a book I was ready to purge from my shelves. I'm glad I took the time to read this slim volume before sending it along to someone else.

Book Review: Lenten Lands

I knew I owned this book, Lenten Lands, by Douglas H. Gresham. I simply couldn't find it on my shelves. Finally, I discovered it tucked away with another category of books on my downstairs shelves. I've mentioned before, I met Douglas while he was researching and I was working at Wheaton College's Wade Center. We hit it off immediately. When he learned of my goal to write a book someday, we made a pact to exchange autographed copies one day. I have his book, albeit unsigned (as he always lived on another continent), but I was unable to find an address to send him my book. Besides, I learned from Patti Callahan Henry that Douglas is struggling with dementia. He certainly would not remember the pact I held onto for years. Still, I'd love to fulfill my end of that agreement.

You cannot help but put yourself in the author's shoes when you read. What a tragic beginning! Douglas left his father (already a tenuous relationship, given his father's addiction) when he sailed with his mother and brother to live in England. He was eight. My heart aches for this upheaval. Then he endured life in English boarding schools. Along the way, his mother (whose story I recently explored both in fiction and non-fiction forms), established a relationship with C. S. "Jack" Lewis. From each book I've read (Patti Callahan Henry's Becoming Mrs. Lewis, Lyle Dorsett's And God Came In, and Doug Gresham's Lenten Lands), you get a strong sense of the intellectual sparring that went on between Jack and Joy. Although some called it a "marriage of convenience," they clearly exhibited a depth of affection for one another. 

Although the book discusses Lewis in the decade Doug knew him, this is not solely a book about C. S. Lewis. Gresham articulates, as the subtitle promises, "My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis." Doug's life is interesting on its own. He carries with him the impact of an intelligent mother who died when he was young and a theological great who died when Doug was in his late teens. These factors forced him to make his own path. I'm thrilled that he found his way in the world. I'm equally thrilled that his way wended my direction for the space of a fortnight.

Book Review: The Things We Cherished

My last Pam Jenoff book, The Lost Girls of Paris, left me ambivalent. Still, I needed an audiobook for longer car trips, and the back cover of The Things We Cherished promised "true love under the worst of circumstances." I had a slight problem at the beginning, following the trail of a few different timelines. There is talk of a clockmaker, then talk of the clock being taken by some boys out of a home, then a modern-day lawyer, then a German accused of war crimes. I caught on and settled in after the first CD, but the initial confusion was frustrating. Perhaps I would have fared better with a book in hand instead of listening.

Charlotte Gold is a lawyer defending juvenile criminals. Her ex-boyfriend, Brian Harrington, asks her to drop her cases and work on an important case that may establish him in his legal firm. When she arrives in Germany to research, Brian's no-show status forces her to work with his brother, Jack. Honestly, the passion between them is so tentative that I cannot understand how they would end up in bed, yet they did. Yes, content caution for those who prefer clean books.

The court case weaves across several countries as they follow the trail of the anniversary clock (a key piece in the solution, supposedly). I was seriously let down by the ending. It felt like a firework that was merely snuffed out before it ever achieved any power. The plot and the relationship fizzled to nothing. It simply wasn't my favorite book. I don't want the time back, per se, but I wish I had invested in one with a better conclusion and more redemption and resolution. 

Content caution: 📒 

Book Review: The Harmony Within

Rolland Hein, author of The Harmony Within: The Spiritual Vision of George MacDonald, was my professor at Wheaton College years ago. George MacDonald's book, Phantastes, had a vast impact on C. S. Lewis. Although I've never read Phantastes, I selected Hein's book for my post-devotional reading in the morning. Since I've only read one MacDonald book, At the Back of the North Wind, it may have been better to dive into the author's writings before reading literary criticism about them.

George MacDonald wrote over 50 volumes of poetry, essays, short stories, sermons, fantasies, and novels. Hein provides extensive lists of his primary and secondary sources in his bibliography. Honestly, I had no business reading this book, based on my miniscule exposure to MacDonald's works. However, I did gain a sense of this author's spiritual perspectives. Even without extensive knowledge of the fantasies (the primary focus of study), I was able to follow the book's structure and learn of MacDonald's views and goals. I'm not a big fan of fantasy. Indeed, I think I'm more interested in reading his sermons than his fantasies. Hein's book examines MacDonald's oeuvre to show how his spiritual perspectives/understanding helped to determine the shape of his novels/fantasies.

For more on MacDonald and an overview of his prolific works, visit The Works of George MacDonald.

* I'm glad I already owned a copy of this book as the Amazon price ranges from $26-$47. I would be interested in reading Hein's The Heart of George MacDonald: A One-Volume Collection of His Most Important Fiction and then tackling his book, George MacDonald: Victorian Mythmaker. It saddened me to learn this beloved professor died two years ago. I have fond memories of his classes and of the students with whom I shared those moments.