The Sword Review: CSFF Blog Tour

The Sword Review is one of several projects published by the non-profit Double-Edged Publishing. An ezine that features sci-fi and fantasy stories, essays, poetry and more, TSR's content strikes a balance between quality fiction and content that is respectful of traditional values and Christianity.

I've been a fan of TSR since my first perusal of the site about a year ago. The fiction is well-crafted, entertaining and thought-provoking. I described a few of favourites from the current issue at the Lost Genre Guild Blog, so here I am going to concentrate on some other "behind the scenes" aspects of TSR.

A couple of times per week, new work is added to the site, whether poetry or essay or review or story, so it is worthwhile to check back often. An extra feature that I enjoy is the forum attached to each selection. Besides the usual kudos for each piece there may be discussion about background to the story or links to pertinet information or additional information from the author.

The columns make for great reading and topics range from Bill Snodgrass's lovefest with his Mac (something I could definitely relate to) to the Give it Meaning column by Scott Sandridge (read "The Meaning of Christmas and Why It's Also Secular" a refreshing change from the usual Christian reaction to the secular world's love of this holiday), to Johne Cook's Wi-Phy, in particular I enjoyed "'Introdump': How Not to Introduce Characters."

The discussion forums are well-used and interesting. Besides the forum for each feature of TSR, there are forums for news about the world of sci-fi and fantasy, announcements, discussions about literature as well as other media and a general chat for artists and contributors.

The Sword Review is often available in print/ hardcopy as well. I encourage anyone who prefers holding a physical copy of fiction in their hands to squinting at a (streaked, in my case—no matter how often I clean it!) computer screen to go to lulu.com, type in The Sword Review in the search for box and purchase one. I guarantee you will come back for more! I recently purchased several issues and am anxious for my little package to arrive so I can read and share with others.

I also encourage you to make a donation to TSR; because Double-Edged Publishing is a non-profit company, they depend on the generosity of the people who enjoy the ezine and want to keep it coming. It's easy to do, you can find a link on the first page (elsewhere as well) and shazaam—you are transported to PayPal. Easy peasy.

You can find The Sword Review at: http://theswordreview.com/contents.php and while you are in the reading mood, check out the blogs below and see what other members of the CSFF Blog Tour have to say.

Jim Black Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton Frank Creed CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Chris Deanne April Erwin Kameron M. Franklin Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Andrea Graham Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Heather R. Hunt Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Lost Genre Guild Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium Terri Main Rachel Marks Rebecca LuElla Miller Eve Nielsen John W. Otte John Ottinger Cheryl Russel Hanna Sandvig Chawna Schroeder Mirtika Schultz Steve Trower Speculative Faith Daniel I. Weaver Russell Griffith
Jason Waguespac Holly Brandon Barr

Petticoat Ranch on CFRBlog Tour

written by Cynthia MacKinnon

A Review of
Mary Connealy's Petticoat Ranch

Saucy and scintillating, Petticoat Ranch is the most delightful and refreshing work of fiction I've read in a long long time. I might add here, that I am neither a fan of romance nor western, but it took me exactly two pages to become interested and two chapters to become entranced with this novel by Mary Connealy.

Petticoat Ranch is the story of a widow and her four charming daughters who’ve been forced by tragic and threatening circumstances to rough it—alone, in hiding—in the bleak wilderness of a frontier Texas.

Sophie Edwards is a headstrong, resourceful, and very brave woman, much to the consternation of a stranger who rides into the family’s life. Clay McClellan, a bachelor, is insistent on providing protection to the Edwards and in a comedy of misunderstandings, Sophie finds herself in smack dab in the midst of a wedding ceremony! Alas, it is the old west and Clay has his own ideas about Christian duty and, it is time that Sophie and her girls were able to safely come out of hiding.

There are many facets to Petticoat Ranch. There is romance: while some of the actions of the characters may likely bring shudders to today's women, Connealy has done a marvelous job of building the romance true to its historical setting. And, the romance extends beyond the traditional man/ woman to new father/ new family: four very different and loveable daughters.

Of course, we have the old wild wild west drill. Enter the villain—Judd Mason is a downright mean, unscrupulous and murderous man whom Connealy brings to life with his every action, word, and gesture. His ragtag band of minions seem equally as loathesome, ready to do the bidding of their master—but are they really as thoroughly evil as Mason would like them to be?

The intrigue in the novel is riveting. As strong and determined as the members of this new family are, odds are stacked against them. After all this is the lawless frontier where good folk are at the mercy of marauding villains and there is no Wyatt Earp to save the day. Connealy provides bits and pieces of the unspoken backgrounds of Sophie and Clay through the characters of Luther, Buff and Adam. These men have "heard" the calls for help and the reader hopes and prays they will make the trek in time.

Throughout Petticoat Ranch weaves this delightful thread of comedy. Sophie is decidedly unsophisticated but she is no one's fool. Her ingenuity stems from the independence she's had to cultivate through her first marriage and then after the murder of the girls' father. And, she isn't about to sit back and let her new husband learn the ropes the hard way. Of course, Clay has his own preconceived notions of what a woman, mother and wife ought to do and to what she ought not be subjected. Their clashes are frequent but Clay eventually learns that Sophie is a force to be reckoned with!

From sassy cover to sassy heroine, Mary Connealy’s Petticoat Ranch will delight and intrigue any reader (as I said earlier), even Ms “I don’t read romance and certainly will not read western.”

Petticoat Ranch
Mary Connealy
Barbour Books, February 2007
ISBN: 978-1-597896-47-4
320 pgs. $12.95US

Check out what David Brollier at the CFRBlog has to say about Petticoat Ranch. And, while you're at it, read what these folks are saying:
Lost Genre Guild Blog
Virtual Book Tour de 'Net
Caprice Hokstad on Shoutlife
Grace Bridges
Edgy Inspirational Author