CFBA Presents Bonnie Calhoun and Cooking the Books

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingCooking the BooksBarbour Books (April 2012)byBonnie Calhoun
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

As the Owner/Director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Bonnie has helped use the 220+ blogs of the Alliance to promote many titles on the Christian bestseller list. She also owns and publishes the Christian Fiction Online magazine which is devoted to readers and writers of Christian fiction. She is the Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). At ACFW she was named the ‘Mentor of the Year,’ for 2011, and she is the current President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network. Bonnie is also the Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference.

In her spare time she is an avid social media junkie, and teaches Facebook, Twitter, Blogging and HTML as recreational occupations. She also has a novel coming out in the Abingdon Quilts of Love series. Her novel Pieces of the Heart will release in August of 2013.

Bonnie and her husband Bob live in a log cabin on 15 acres in upstate area of Binghamton, New York with a dog and cat who consider the humans as wait-staff.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After her mother dies from a heart attack, Sloane Templeton goes from Cyber Crimes Unit to bookstore owner before she can blink. She also "inherits" a half-batty store manager; a strange bunch of little old people from the neighborhood who meet at the store once a week, but never read books, called the Granny Oakleys Book Club; and Aunt Verline, who fancies herself an Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. And with a group like this you should never ask, “What else can go wrong?”

A lot! Sloane begins to receive cyber threats. While Sloane uses her computer forensic skills to uncover the source of the threats, it is discovered someone is out to kill her. Can her life get more crazy?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Cooking The Books, go HERE

Watch the book video:

If you'd like to read interviews with Bonnie, try these:
Everbody Needs A Little Romance
A Christian Writers World
Novel Rocket
ACFW - Fiction Finder

MY REVIEW

All right, so I know the author of this book quite well. We go back a number of years, and we've been up into the wee hours of the late night some nights emailing back and forth or chatting on the phone. That being said, I knew I was in for a real treat with this book. Bonnie has a flair for the dramatic, but her real-life quick wit and wicked sense of humor found their way into the main character (Sloane Templeton) in spades! Sloane's poor taste in men and desire to do everything herself without asking for help seemed rather familiar to me (except Bonnie married herself a real gem), but there came a point when I was ready to slap the woman and tell her to call the cops!

Nevertheless, this novel is chock full of likable characters, memorable lines, and a good old-fashioned mystery. I don't normally read mysteries, but this one I had no choice. The author would likely whip me with a wet noodle and string me up if I passed on her book, but no worries. I wasn't coerced in any way. The humor, supporting cast, and great story meld together to produce a fantastic literary delight. For a debut novel, this one is a keeper! You won't be disappointed.



*** I received a free copy from the publisher through the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance in exchange for this review. No compensation was given or received, and I was not required to give this book a favorable review. Thank you to CFBA, Hamby Media, and Abingdon Press for providing this book.