NEWS | New Website Design & Other Updates

Thank you, readers, for all the kind words and for inviting me into your lives.

At long last, we've revamped my author website and the designers did such a terrific job! We improved the user experience and—drum roll—actually made it mobile friendly. Check it out for yourself at johnherrick.net!

While you're there, feel free to send me a message. I love hearing from readers.

I'm sitting at Starbucks, working on what should be the final revision for a novel, the one with the Marilyn Monroe clue. This will put two more completed novels in the pipeline. Right now, it looks like a new novel in 2017, followed by a another one probably 12-18 months later. Both are romantic comedy-dramas.
If all goes well, I hope to start planning the next one this autumn. It's a suspense concept with a character I hope to turn into a series. We'll see how that goes, but I'm intrigued by this protagonist. The first planned project blends pop culture, American history, and a spiritual angle—but we'll see how it goes after the concept marinates. So excited! In the research phase right now.

There's a reason you're alive today. Hang in there. Know you're loved.

Thanks again for reading.

Never give up!

John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com
facebook.com/johnherrickbooks
@johnherrick 

Today's Playlist:
City City by City City (I just discovered this band last night. Love them!)

BOOK REVIEW | Always Watching by Lynette Eason

Always Watching by Lynette Eason
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Always Watching is the first novel I've read by Lynette Eason. I tend not to read a lot of Christian fiction, mainly because, in the few novels I've read in that genre, I found the dialogue unrealistic or the plot underdeveloped or ridiculous. So I'm thrilled to have discovered Lynette Eason.

I'm a sucker for female leads who kick butt in a non-cliche way. Always Watching represents the first in a new series, Elite Guardians, which is a bodyguard agency staffed entirely by females. Wade, the protagonist, is a psychologist who hosts a weekly radio call-in program. When he receives death threats from a stalker who is determined to develop a romantic relationship with him, a team of bodyguards is hired. The obsession turns deadly for those around Wade and his head bodyguard, Olivia. Think the 1992 film The Bodyguard, with the roles reversed. However, the story moves along in a quite different manner. When Olivia suggested they go away so she can better protect him, Eason had me worried her story would become a retread! But Wade declined the suggestion and things got on track.

Eason planted several red herrings along the way, which were effective as I read. She kept me guessing. Though it might be classified as romance, this is a suspense novel with romantic suggestions woven in here and there--which makes this a read a guy can enjoy.

Looking forward to the next book in the series! Great job, Lynette Eason!

View all my reviews

Never give up!

John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com
facebook.com/johnherrickbooks
@johnherrick

Today's Playlist:  Cece Winans by Cece Winans

REVIEW | In Sheep's Clothing by Michelle Sutton

Michelle Sutton's In Sheep's Clothing was a delight to read. I loved it. The novel begins with a nice balance of humor, which made me want to sit back and join the characters. Sutton layers her characters well. By the novel's halfway point, through a blend of romance and suspense, she had drawn me into such a well-crafted web that I found myself racing through the pages. I tend to read slowly to absorb everything, but I flew through this book in about five hours.

The novel centers around Stephanie and Jacob in the early stages of their relationship, and a deceptive friend, Brittny, who seeks to gain the upper hand. It's a story of deception and trust. As the story progresses, Stephanie must sort through each. Too often, I find such novels predictable. The author must have had a reader like me in mind as she crafted the book. Perhaps the strongest quality of In Sheep's Clothing is in how the author plants seeds of deception. Sutton does an excellent job of planting coincidental seeds early in the book to keep the reader guessing between truth and misinterpretation. In so doing, she draws the reader into the same confusion and search for facts in which Stephanie finds herself. If I had to find a weakness, I would have desired a little more perspective on Brittny's psyche, but the author even covered that base to some extent with the featured presentation on the "movie night." The book's earlier half seems stronger than its latter half, but Sutton provides a roller-coaster finish.

Just like Stephanie and Jacob's relationship, the book begins with innocent effervescence and morphs into a web of suspicion. Sutton also weaves in another interesting parallel: The circumstances in which Stephanie "meets" Jacob are similar to how Stephanie's nemesis "meets" Stephanie, yet their motives are completely opposite.

And, in true Sutton style, she doesn't shy away from the passion of romance.

Bold, fresh and addictive. Although classified as Christian fiction, it's a heated love story and creepy thriller. Michelle Sutton has crafted a winner with In Sheep's Clothing.