Bon Appetit

Have you ever had one of those days where God seems to affirm what you are doing with your life? It's like a holy pat on the back. I got a couple of those today, and I have to share them with you. Amazon.com has completely revamped their reviewer's program. They are now weighing the total amount of reviews a bit more, along with some other calculations I can't begin to understand. It had a huge impact on my reviewer score. If you remember, a few months back, I was thrilled to finally break the Top 1000 Reviewer mark, and I've been slowly moving up. Yesterday I was number 848. This morning I was astonished to discover that I am now reviewer number 288 and a Top 500 reviewer. They changed the format as well so that there is only one of each number instead of 10-100 of each reviewer rating. So I really am reviewer #288 on Amazon! I was so excited, I had to call Jesse and my mom at work.

On the way to work at the school book fair, I stopped at the library and to chat with the librarian, Joan. She let me know that the Readers' Advisory Panel for the libraries in the area have asked me to come to their February meeting and discuss the changing face of Christian fiction. I am so excited to have this opportunity to be an ambassador for something I care about so much! I'm going to introduce them to the new speculative fiction movement in Christian fiction, and show them how the genre has grown and split and truly exploded over the last few years. This is a real chance to encourage these libraries to expand their collections. Hurray!

Bon Appetit by Sandra Byrd is the second book in the French Twist series featuring new baker Lexi Stuart. Warning! Do not read this book on an empty stomach! Lexi has left behind a confusing relationship with Dan and her suffocating parents in Seattle to attend a French baking school and work at a family bakery there. On her own for the first time, Lexi fights loneliness and a feeling of separation from her family and God, but she soon makes friends, finds a church, and stands on her own feet. This is a fun, frothy chick-lit novel, and Lexi is charming. The book also has several recipes for Lexi's creations. Byrd describes the many different pastries and meals without dragging the story through too much detail. Lexi's love for Paris and France fill every page, but it's her faith and trust in God that really carries the book. The next, and last, book in the series should tie readers up in knots as Lexi has to choose between Dan and Philippe.

The winners of copies of Bon Appetit were Linda Ca and Joy Schmidt. Congratulations you two! I'm starting another contest on Monday, so you'll have to stop back then.