Category: Women’s Fiction

Book Review | “Time and Again” (Book 1: History #Mystery series) by Deborah Heal #RRSciFiMonth

Posted Saturday, 24 January, 2015 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

Ruminations & Impressions Book Review Banner created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sergey Zolkin.

Time and Again by Deborah Heal

{ Book One in the History Mystery Trilogy }

{ Unclaimed Legacy (Book 2) + Every Hill & Mountain (Book 3) round out the trilogy }

Published By: Write Brain Activity
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook

Converse via: #HistoryMysterySeries & #TimeAndAgain

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By:

My path originally crossed with Ms. Heal during her blog tour last year (2013), when her third novel in the History Mystery series was making it’s way through the book blogosphere whilst stopping on Inspirational fiction blogs I frequently visit. It was on one of these tour stops I had the happy joy in winning a copy of “Every Hill & Mountain” and ever since then, I had had it in mind to blog about this beautiful time travel series for Sci Fi November! I contacted the author about this particular idea and she offered to send me the first two novels in the series with matching cover-art to the third novel, as I have the original cover-art designs for the History Mystery series – where the house is featured but is not prominent as there is a girl featured as well on “Time and Again”.

Therefore, I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Deborah Heal, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read the Series:

What originally drew me into the folds of this particular time travel series is the overall premise, of how an old house can become a portal of a window into time travel! The idea of having the thread of a time travel narrative worked through the Inspirational side of literature was also an appeal, as I was quite curious how the science behind travelling in time might be explored and explained inasmuch as how the story would alter or change from traditional science fiction roots which are published through mainstream markets. As a hybrid reader whose mind is always open and seeking out new inventive ways of telling stories, I was most curious on how an INSPY writer would treat the scope of the story as much as the science behind it.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Book Review | “Time and Again” (Book 1: History #Mystery series) by Deborah Heal #RRSciFiMonthTime and Again
by Deborah Heal
Source: Direct from Author

An old house + A new computer program =

The travel opportunity of a lifetime…

…to another century.

Abby Thomas is spending the summer in a run-down old house with a bratty pre-teen named Merrideth she is supposed to tutor. Not a dream job. But it does come with perks.

There’s John Roberts, a devastatingly attractive neighbor who is almost too wonderful to be real.

And there’s the new computer program Beautiful Houses—also too amazing to be real. No one knows how it works, but with it she can rewind and fast-forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house, including Charlotte Miles.

In 1858, the house is a train stop on the Alton & Chicago Line. And Charlotte is stuck there serving meals to the passengers, wondering if she’ll ever get to have any fun. And then she meets two travelers who change her life forever.

There’s James McGuire with whom she falls in love. And there’s his boss, a young Springfield lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. His debate with political opponent Stephen Douglas catapults him onto the national stage. And it inspires Charlotte to take up the cause of abolition.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Time Travel Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781613466698

Series: History Mystery, No.1


Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters


Published by Write Brain Activity

on 25th February, 2013

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 252

Time and Again Book Trailer via Deborah Heal

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

About Deborah Heal

Deborah Heal

Deborah Heal, the author of the Time and Again "history mystery" trilogy, which has been described as "Back to the Future meets virtual reality with a dash of Seventh Heaven thrown in," was born not far from the setting of her novel Every Hill and Mountain and grew up just down the road from the settings of Time and Again and Unclaimed Legacy.

Today she lives with her husband in Monroe County, Illinois, not far from the setting of Once Again: an inspirational novel of history, mystery & romance. She enjoys reading, gardening, and learning about regional history. She has three grown children, five grandchildren, and two canine buddies Digger and Scout, a.k.a. Dr. Bob in Unclaimed Legacy.

She loves to interact with her readers, who may learn more about the history behind the books at her website and her Facebook author page.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Time travelling within the walls of an older home:

Heal has a good way of giving small details out about the condition of the old house, where you become delighted in finding out about how the wood and/or the fixtures are represented now verse how they would have been viewed when the house was originally built. There are certain passages that elude to the craftsmanship of the care put into it’s structure, as much as a curiosity about certain staircases and what could be found outside in the barn. It has this rambling appeal to it, as if you think you know everything there is to be known about the house itself, yet it is within that moment of certainty that another mystery presents itself that is not as easily explained!

I liked the pace of how Abby encouraged Merrideth to seek out the charm of her new dwelling as much as to find how educational lessons of life and study can become if you ‘think outside the routine’ and ‘structure’ of traditional learning! Abby starts to seek a way to have the ‘house’ transform learning in a way that Merrideth can find tangible connections between what she’s learning and what she can see through experience. Read More

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Posted Saturday, 24 January, 2015 by jorielov in 19th Century, Abraham Lincoln, African-American History, African-American Literature, Astral Projection, Author Blog Tour, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Films, Bullies and the Bullied, Civil Rights, Coming-Of Age, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Divorce & Martial Strife, Drugs & Alcohol, Fathers and Daughters, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, History, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Lessons from Scripture, Parapsychological Gifts, Sci-Fi November, Single Mothers, Small Towne USA, Sweet Romance, Teacher & Student Relationships, The Deep South, The Sci-Fi Experience, Time Travel, Time Travel Adventure, Underground Railroad

Blog Book Tour | “Pierced by Love” by debut novelist Laura L. Walker an INSPY Contemporary Romance honestly portraying how a heart can heal through the power and conviction of love entwined with faith!

Posted Sunday, 21 December, 2014 by jorielov , , , 5 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Pierced by Love by Laura L. Walker

Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #PiercedByLove

Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Pierced by Love” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read & a Conversation with the author:

Being a book reviewer for Cedar Fort Publishing & Media is a true joy of mine, as I know what to expect when I select the stories I am reading from them as I haven’t been shocked, startled, or curiously surprised by what I have found in each of the books I have read by them; there were only two I can think of which I wouldn’t necessarily consider my absolute favourite of reads, but nonetheless I have not yet been properly disappointed either! Considering how many books I have started to read per year as a book blogger compared to as a regular reader without a blog, even I am a bit surprised which publishers I find more appealing to read on a regular basis and which ones irk my ire a bit.

On the Indie side of the ledger, my top three favourite publishers are: Seventh Star Press, ChocLitUK, and Cedar Fort Publishing & Media (and their imprints therein). I appreciate each of them equally for different reasons but the consistency of what they publish is at the top of my list of appreciation on their behalf. The interesting part of this blog tour started before the tour knitted together on the schedule, as I had the opportunity to converse with the author, Ms. Walker prior to setting a date for my review. This goes back to August, long before December was even a wink of a breath in sight!

We started to have an open exchange on the differences of our walk in faith (as she is LDS – Morman; I am Protestant; yet we each share a root of faith on similar grounds), what inspired me the most is how she wanted to help me understand the LDS side of the novel, yet in return I wanted to assure her I have read a considerable amount of stories by Cedar Fort since Spring 2014; of them, at least one or two have had LDS story-lines inside them but what I appreciated by the passages of those novels is how they lead the inspirational bits of the story through sharing the walk of faith of the characters by (internal) thoughts or through the actions they took inside their lifepaths therein. I always appreciated inspirational stories which are rooted in faith-driven story-lines to be soft spoken and light when it comes to including religious undertones; even though I do occasional find myself drawn into traditional INSPY which gives a firmer rooting of the origin, background, and faith life of the characters.

I find Cedar Fort to publish stories which uplift the spirit, enliven the mind, and are gentle enough to incur a wanting of reading their stories without fear of strong language or any images of graphic violence that might prove a bit too unsettling to take in all at once. If your a regular visitor or reader to my blog, you know where I stand on language and violence; therefore, each time I pick up a Cedar Fort novel, I instantly know I’m either in for a thrilling adventure, a mind-numbing suspense, or a sweet romance or romantic drama which is going to engage my heart as much as my mind!

The main reason I wanted to share this today, is because although my religious background is not LDS, I have felt nothing but a peacefulness to reading the stories published through Cedar Fort. They are as inspiring to me as Heartsong Presents (novellas in print editions – from Contemporary to Historical) or any other published INSPY Romance or Historical fiction novel. The reason I applaud the fact they offer suspense, science fiction and fantasy — is because they are an open-minded publisher in regards to the breath of choices they encourage of their authors — the stories themselves are not strictly centered around LDS backgrounds (as I have read Icelandic, Native American, Japanese, Protestant, etc faith-driven story-lines) but in each of the novels, there is a central thread of core: honest and real characters facing life situations and circumstances any person of any walk of life can relate too, with a realistic premise and at times an emotional connection that does not soon leave your memory. Read More

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Go Indie
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Posted Sunday, 21 December, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Contemporary Romance, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Deception Before Matrimony, Divorce & Martial Strife, Family Drama, Family Life, Father-Daughter Relationships, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Mormonism, Mother-Son Relationships, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Siblings, Singletons & Commitment, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Sociological Behavior, Sweet Romance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Wisdom of Life Threaded in Devotions