Author Archives: Christy Brunke
Christian Fiction Releases: December 2016
Looking for new Christian fiction? The list of Christian fiction releases this month includes everything from suspense and mystery novels to romance and historical fiction! See a book you’d like to read? Just click on the cover to order! (This post contains affiliate links. As a result, if you buy something through one, I may earn a commission to help support this site—at no cost to you.)
Contemporary Romance
Bella Natale! A Florentine Christmas Romance by Marianne Evans
An aspiring American artist and the widowed, Italian owner of a premier art gallery meet and fall in love in Florence when he champions her work, but there are her American family’s expectations and his five-year-old son to consider.
With this Kiss by Marianne Evans
A kiss stolen in a midnight snow. A jealous colleague at Jonathan’s firm is bent on revenge…revenge that puts Isabella’s store into legal peril. Will love be enough to see them through?
Mistletoe Daddy by Deb Kastner
Bubbly Vivian Grainger bids on gruff Nick McKenna at Serendipity Texas’s annual Bachelors and Baskets for one reason–to help her build her hair salon; but once Nick finds out she’s pregnant, he does his best to build a path to Vivian’s heart.
A Hero for Heather by Marion Ueckermann
When a “homeless” man she’s been helping rescues social worker Heather Blume from a vicious attack, she’s so grateful she violates one of the most important rules in her profession–she takes him home to tend his wounds.
But the mysterious Paxton Rathbone is no homeless man…he’s a gentleman. When feelings grow, and Paxton’s past beckons, both he and Heather discover there’s a fine line between gratitude and love.
A Husband for Holly by Marion Ueckermann
Holly Blume loves decorating people’s homes, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to play house. Believing a house is not a home without a woman’s touch, Reverend Christopher Stewart is in the market for a wife.
What woman would consider him marriage material, though, with an aging widowed father to look after, especially one who suffers from Alzheimer’s? Despite their differences, Holly resolves to finish her job of redesigning the Stewart home, while Christopher determines to re-form Holly’s heart.
Rocky Mountain Cowboy by Tina Radcliffe
Twelve years after she married another man, Rebecca Anshaw Simpson is back at Joe Gallagher’s ranch as his physical therapist. But healing his body is nothing compared to guarding his heart from the woman he never forgot.
Becca won’t let regret and a surly rancher get in the way of her job and the chance to start over with her little girl. But Becca never expected she’d fall all over again for her first love.
Historical
Michel: The Fourth Wise Man by Katheryn Maddox Haddad
This descendant of Daniel, also a wise man, sacrifices everything – his wife, his father, his home – to do what he is convinced God needs him to do, then finds out he was wrong.
Five Nights with Pharaoh by Kristen Reed
Shortly after entering Egypt with her husband, Sarai is taken into Pharaoh’s harem as his newest, most favored concubine.
The breathtaking, ageless beauty is forced to cling to her faith in God as she prays for the strength to accept her new position and endures a series of mysterious plagues that can only be indicative of a wrathful deity’s divine judgment.
Discover a remarkable reimagining of Sarai’s plight in Egypt, where she humbly set aside her own honor to protect the man through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Historical Romance
Seven Brides for Seven Texans Romance Collection
Meet the seven Hart brothers of the 7-Heart ranch in central Texas. Each man is content in his independent life, without the responsibilities of a wife and children–until their father decides 1874 will be the year his grown sons finally marry, or they will be cut from his will.
How will each man who values his freedom respond to the ultimatum? Can love develop on a timeline, or will it be sacrificed for the sake of an inheritance?
A Pony Express Romance by Misty M. Beller
Pony Express rider Josiah English and the station master’s sister, Mara Reid, fall in love, but when the Express shuts down and Mara’s family home is in peril, the danger looming over Mara’s life may not be half as destructive as that threatening her heart.
Suspense
Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig
A former Green Beret is confronted by past mistakes as he and his team battle a centuries-old plague and the terrorists bent on rewriting history.
Hazardous Holiday by Liz Johnson
Just in time for the holidays, navy SEAL Zach McCloud returns home from deployment–and discovers someone wants his family dead.
When he married his cousin’s struggling widow, he vowed to help her and her seriously ill son, and now he’ll risk everything to protect them. Even if their arrangement is only temporary. Kristi’s certain an unhappy client from the law firm where she works is determined to hunt her down.
But when a sniper bullet wildly misses its target, they begin to question whether it’s really her someone wants dead. Working together, can they figure out why they’ve been attacked…and keep little Cody from the nefarious forces dead set on making this Christmas their last?
Christmas Conspiracy by Susan Sleeman
When Commander Jake Marsh loses control of a hostage situation and Tessa Long is injured, guilt eats at him. He blurs the line between the professional and personal, and visits Tessa at the hospital.
But when a man tries to kill her in her hospital room, Jake disregards all the rules and regulations that have allowed him to control his world and vows to keep her safe no matter what.
Trouble is, the situation brings back memories from his childhood of the loss of his entire family, and for the first time in twenty years, he fears he’s no longer in charge of his life, and knows when he’s out of control bad things happen. Very bad things.
Cozy Mystery
Christmas Cookie Mystery by Naomi Miller
With Christmas right around the corner, Katie Chupp and The Sweet Shop get involved in a mystery when a certain dear family finds an unexpected package at their door.
Want more Christian fiction? Check out my bestselling Christian fiction novel, Snow Out of Season! Just click here!
Unborn Americans: Six Reasons to Be Thankful
From politics to the silver screen, unborn Americans have many reasons to be grateful this Thanksgiving.
Photo courtesy of ezekieldiet.com.
1
In July, Mighty Motion Pictures released the Hush documentary. This film explains why having an abortion increases your risk for breast cancer, psychological problems, and pre-term birth in later pregnancies.
Though the director is pro-choice, Hush may cause women to reconsider terminating their pregnancies. Those who don’t will at least know to get extra medical help in advance. This will also benefit future Americans, since being born prematurely often causes health problems.
2
Photo courtesy of theglobaldispatch.com
Last month, Voiceless, an award-winning pro-life movie opened in select theaters nationwide. Starting in January, churches can use it to inspire their congregations to embrace life.
The story centers around Jesse Dean, an outreach leader at a church in Philadelphia. When an abortion clinic moves in across the street, he stands in the gap for unborn babies and their mothers . . . come what may.
3
In our recent election, Republicans won the U.S. House of Representatives. As their party platform states, “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”
Republicans also, “support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.” Finally, they “oppose using public revenues to . . . perform abortion.”
The House has passed pro-life bills but need a Senate who won’t block them and a president who won’t veto them. That leads me to our next reason unborn babies can be thankful this year.
4
For the first time in eight years, a pro-life team won the presidency.
Photo courtesy of reclaimourrepublic.wordpress.com.
Regardless of how you feel about Trump, if you have a heart for the unborn, you have at least one reason to celebrate. Our president-elect has promised to . . .
- Sign into law the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which would ban late-term abortions.
- Make the Hyde Amendment permanent, so taxpayers won’t ever have to pay for abortions.
- Defund Planned Parenthood, so long as they perform abortions.
- Appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court.
Of course, the Senate can confirm or reject those judges. That leads me to our next reason unborn children can be grateful.
5
Republicans won the U.S. Senate. With a pro-life majority, they can confirm our next president’s Supreme Court nominees.
6
Our next administration will likely appoint four Supreme Court justices, changing the face of the highest court in our land.
Photo by Kjetil Ree, courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.
Currently, it consists of four liberal judges, three conservative, and one swing voter. Because of Antonin Scalia’s passing, our president-elect already needs to fill one seat. Plus, the swing voter and two liberal justices are in their late seventies and early eighties.
Unborn Americans may soon reclaim their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [tweet that!].
What are you thankful for this year? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
How Pence Could Have Answered Kaine’s Question
In the vice-presidential debate last month, Mike Pence answered Tim Kaine’s question about abortion.
Pence’s Heartfelt Defense of Unborn Children
Photo courtesy of www.aztecanoticias.com
I appreciated Pence’s heartfelt defense of unborn children.
He said, “It all for me begins with cherishing the dignity, the worth, the value of every human life.”
He quoted Jeremiah 1:5 where God says, “Before you were formed in the womb, I knew you.”
He expressed grief over Hillary’s support of partial-birth abortion. “The very idea that a child that is almost born into this world could still have their life taken from them is just anathema to me.” And he spoke out against Hillary’s plan to use taxpayers’ money to fund abortions.
Pence also emphasized the importance of being pro-adoption. “I think if you’re going to be pro-life, you should be pro-adoption.” As the governor of Indiana, he’s “very pleased . . . that we’re well on our way . . . to becoming the most pro-adoption state in America.”
“There are so many families around the country who can’t have children,” Pence said. “We could improve their options, so that families who can’t have children can adopt more readily those children in crisis pregnancies.”
Photo courtesy of sheknows.com
And he pointed out that, “More and more young people are embracing life, because we know we’re better for it.”
But then Kaine lobbed a question he seemed mighty proud of. He asked Pence, “Why don’t you trust women to make this choice for themselves?”
Pence had limited–and interrupted–time to respond, but here’s another way Pence could have answered Kaine’s question.
An Alternate Answer
“Senator, do you believe in laws against domestic abuse? Child abuse? Burglary? If so, don’t you trust men? Parents? The American people?”
We create laws to protect the innocent, and no one’s more innocent than an unborn baby [tweet that!]. And though the unborn baby grows inside its mother, he or she is a unique individual. From the moment of conception, each person has his or her own set of DNA.
Eighteen days after conception, the child’s heart starts beating. By six weeks gestation, their brainwaves can be detected. By seven weeks, they can suck their thumbs. By eight weeks, they respond to touch.
By 14 weeks, they have fingerprints. Between 13 and 15 weeks, they begin to taste. By between 16 and 20 weeks, and possibly as early as nine weeks, they can feel pain. By 23 weeks, their rapid eye movements (REM) show they’re dreaming.
A 24-week-old fetus during an in-utero surgery. Photo by Max Aguilera-Hellweg for LIFE.
Since Roe v. Wade, around a million people have been aborted every year in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” It’s estimated that tens of thousands of them were killed just because they were girls.
I believe many pro-choice people mean well. But the pro-choice movement has robbed 60 million Americans of almost all their choices [tweet that!]. What they’ll become. Where they’ll live. Who they’ll marry.
Pregnancy can disrupt a woman’s life for nine months, but abortion deprives little women of life itself. There is no greater infringement on a person’s rights.
Read the story of one of my friends who regrets her abortion in “Dying to Be with Her Baby: The Jewels Green Story.”
Does It Matter If Our Next President Is Pro-life?
According to a CNN poll, “58 Percent of Americans Oppose Abortion in All or Most Cases.” So, surely, we’ll elect a pro-life president, right? Actually, our country may elect the most pro-abortion president we’ve ever had. Why?
Photo courtesy of townhall.com
Some don’t believe our next commander-in-chief will significantly influence abortion in America. But the fact is, our next president will impact unborn lives here and around the world for the next 25-50 years (tweet that!). Here’s why:
U.S. Presidents Sign and Veto Legislation
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed some great pro-life bills. They include the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act. Unfortunately, the Senate can block them, and the president can veto them.
U.S. Presidents Appoint Supreme Court Justices
With Justice Scalia’s death, there’s already one vacancy on the Supreme Court. Since three other justices are around 80, our next president could nominate four justices. With only nine judges on the Supreme Court, even one new one could make a deciding difference.
“I think there’s no denying the next president is likely to have a very significant impact on the court,” said Stephen Wermiel, a professor of constitutional law at American University.
“Every election, people say, ‘This is about the future of the Supreme Court and the Constitution,'” said David Cole, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University. “This time it’s true.”
What’s at Stake in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 with Roe v. Wade which has led to the deaths of almost 60 million unborn children. I want you to pause a moment and take in that staggering number.
Photo courtesy of kevinbsnyder.com
The number of Americans we’ve lost to abortion is greater than all the Americans we’ve lost in all our wars. That includes the world wars, the Civil War, and the Persian Gulf War, not to mention all the others.
Abortion is the leading cause of death for Americans. More than heart attacks. More than strokes. Even more than cancer, accidents, and homicide.
The Supreme Court could end the killings of millions of precious children or it could do away with every restriction on abortion.
“The court could sweep away . . . all of the restrictions on abortion that pro-life advocates have worked for tirelessly over the last 43 years, including ultrasound requirements, waiting periods, parental consent requirements, and prohibitions on non-doctors performing abortions,” said theologian Dr. Wayne Grudem.
How Does Each Candidate View the Unborn?
Hillary said, “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.” She’s the first candidate to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood, who gets 51% of their income from performing 40% of our country’s abortions.
Photo courtesy of strasserphotography.com
She wants to force taxpayers to fund abortions here and abroad by repealing the Hyde and Helm amendments. She voted to keep partial-birth abortion legal, and she supports abortion on demand for all nine months.
Trump plans to ban abortions after 20 weeks gestation and defund Planned Parenthood. He’s committed to making the Hyde Amendment permanent, so taxpayers won’t ever have to pay for abortions.
Perhaps most importantly, he promises to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court. He’s submitted a list of 11 potential judges that pro-life leaders have praised. Roe v. Wade could be overthrown altogether.
Vote for a Pro-life President to Help End Abortion
The best way you can speak up for the unborn in this election is to vote for a pro-life president, pro-life congressman, and (in some states) pro-life governors. Then our youngest Americans will have a fighting chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.