Bethany House; 348 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour

Now available from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is the historical romance The Captain's Daughter, book one in the London Beginnings series, by Jennifer Delamere.

The novel begins at Dartmoor Coast, England in 1873, where a seventeen-year-old Rosalyn Bernay finds herself leaving the orphanage that she has called home for many years. She's also leaving behind her two sisters, Julia and Cara. Now considered an adult, she must venture into the world to find her place, which for her it happens to be working as a maid for Mrs. Huffman in London.

Six year later, Rosalyn finds herself penniless on the streets of London. Luckily, she stumbles upon a job working backstage at a theater as a dresser. She has always had a passion for music, so she fits right in at the there.

Nate Moran arrives in London to help out his brother, who had broken his leg working backstage at the theater. Nate is going to fill in as a stagehand, so his brother won't lose his job. He had previously served in the army regiment in India before injuring his hand, so working temporarily at theater should be an easy task. Of course, his plans on returning to the army as soon as hand is healed, but plans for the future changes after he meets the beautiful Rosalyn.

After finishing Alien Covenant: The Official Novelization by Alan Dean Foster last week (look for my review on here sometime this week), I had to squeeze in several reads for upcoming book tours, which includes The Captain's Daughter, Freedom's Price, and Under a Summer Sky. I also had time to finish reading the novella collection An Amish Summer.

Next, I'm finally going to start reading Royally Roma by Teri Wilson!

NOT RATED; 284 minutes; $19.98; Amazon

Landing on DVD on June 27th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Saban's Power Rangers Dino Super Charge: The Complete Season, featuring 20 action-packed episodes from the franchise's 23rd season. There are no special features or bonus extras on the 4-disc set.

Power Rangers Dino Super Charge aired throughout 2016 on Nickelodeon, picking up shortly after the events of the first season (Power Rangers Dino Charge). Believing that Sledge, an intergalactic bounty hunter, has been killed, the Rangers (Tyler, Chase, Shelby, Koda, Riley, Sir Ivan of Zandar, Kendall, and Prince Philip III) have begun to move on with their lives, but sadly they won't have much time to relax, as a new threat has emerged from the ashes - Heckyl and his armored half Snide.

With Heckyl/Snide teaming up with what's left of Sledge's henchman, the Rangers must join forces with two new Rangers -  the Aqua Ranger (Tyler's missing father, James) and the Silver Ranger (an alien named Zenowing), so they'll be strong enough to save Earth.

The episodes on the 4-disc set are:

Disc 1 "When Evil Stirs"  "Forge and Forget" "Nightmare in Amber Beach" "A Date with Danger" "Roar of the Red Ranger"

Disc 2 "Forged Under Fire" "Home Run Koda" "Riches and Rags" "Besties 4Eva!" "Gone Fishin"

Disc 1 "Love at First Fight" "Catching Some Rays" "Recipe for Disaster" "Silver Secret" "Wings of Danger"

Disc 2 "Freaky Frightday" "Worgworld" "The Rangers Rock" "Edge of Extinction" "End of Extinction"

Mill Creek Entertainment; 174 minutes; $9.98

Now available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment is the Murder 101 Collection, featuring the made-for-television movies Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses and Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery. There are no special features or extras on the single-disc.

The Murder 101 was a series of made-for-television movies that aired on the Hallmark Channel between 2006 - 2008. The movies starred Dick Van Dyke and his son Barry Van Dyke, who both also played together in the long-running mystery series Diagnosis Murder. Instead of playing father and son again, Dick Van Dyke stars as Dr. Jonathan Maxwell, a criminology professor, who teams up with an old friend's private detective son, Mike Bryant (played by Barry Van Dyke), to solve murder cases. A total of four films were made - Murder 101, College Can Be Murder, If Wishes Were Horses, and The Locked Room Mystery.

Directed by David S. Cass Sr., Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses centers on the Barwley family's prize racehorse being kidnapped. Being a friend of the family, Professor Maxwell takes up it upon himself to investigate the kidnapping. Unfortunately, what starts out as a simple ransom, quickly turns to murder. Maxwell teams up with Mike Bryant to solve the mystery.

Once again directed by David S. Cass Sr., Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery (also known as Murder 101: New Age) centers on a spiritual "healer" named Samuel (played by Charles Shauchnessy) being murdered in a locked room with four students. The twists is that all the students were will in a deep trance while Samuel was murdered. Professor Maxwell, Mike Brant, and Mike's nephew Ben (played by Barry Van Dyke's son, Shane Van Dyke) team up to solve the mystery.

Zondervan; 112 pages; $15.99; Amazon

Now available from Zondervan is the adult coloring book called The Beautiful World: Creative Coloring & Hand Lettering, featuring illustrations & lettering by Megan Wells and interior designs by Mallory Collins.

The idea that there were coloring books for adults seemed a bit silly to me at first. However, after I looked through several titles at local Walmart a year or so ago, I can easily see the appeal. Actually, coloring is no different than any other craft hobby.

Zondervan has jumped into the adult coloring book world by releasing a series of titles under the "Coloring Faith" line, which typical contains Bible Verses along with beautiful illustrations for you to color.

At a whopping 112 pages, The Beautiful Word: Creative Coloring & Hand Lettering features a variety of different illustrations, from abstracts to landscapes, which are all paired with a Bible Verse page. Some of the lettering can be colored in, and normally these pages have an illustrated border.

Now available from Fiery Seas Publishing is the romantic novel Where On Earth? An Alaska Adventure by David H. Minton.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

My mother was a librarian and she always brought home interesting books from the library. So as far back as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in stories, both fiction and non-fiction. My father liked Robert W. Service and Rudyard Kipling, and through those writers, I became interested in poetry—especially descriptive poetry.

What was your first book/story published?

My first book was a non-fiction book about the history of the Boeing 737. It was published by McGraw Hill in the Aero series. I’ve always been interested in planes and writing about an airliner seemed natural to me.

What inspired you to write Where on Earth? An Adventure in Alaska ?

For some years I’ve had an idea of a novel with a male and a female protagonist on opposite sides of the environmental/climate debate. I plan for more of these books with the same characters, including the French-speaking dog, in other locations in the world. Over the last several years I’ve worked on outlines of these various stories. I don’t know why Alaska floated to the top first.

What character in Where on Earth? An Adventure in Alaska is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Dan Richardson, the male protagonist and I share have a lot of common experiences, war veterans, helicopters, survey work, and environmental impact statements. I think he is most like me in that he is very solution oriented, much more interested in solving problems than being stymied or frustrated by them. I think it is pretty common among writers in that you write best about which you know best, like yourself.

What is your favorite part in Where on Earth? An Adventure in Alaska ?