I Love Words - Giveaway!

UPDATE 5/1/12 4:30 pm WINNERS!!

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Timestamp: 2012-05-01 21:28:17 UTC
Congrats to pwnmom and Marti! Please email me your addresses ladies, and the book will be mailed to you! Thanks so much to all of you for your comments and entries.

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UPDATE 12:00 noon 4/24: Ginny Yttrup is adding another book to this giveaway, so two commenters will win a copy! Thanks, Ginny!

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I am way overdue with sharing this review and telling you about this phenomenal author, but what better time than the week after a Christy nomination? I was delighted to personally meet Ginny Yttrup at last year's ICRS show in Atlanta. While I didn't have the opportunity to interview her, I was able to attend a local book club meeting where she was the guest speaker. She is authentic and genuine and a joy to be around!

Words
Ginny Yttrup
(B&H Books)
ISBN: 978-1433671708
February 2011/352 pages/$14.99

"I collect words. I keep them in a box in my mind. I'd like to keep them in a real box, something pretty, maybe a shoe box covered with flowered wrapping paper. Whenever I wanted, I'd open the box and pick up the papers, reading and feeling the words all at once. Then I could hide the box. But the words are safer in my mind. There, he can't take them."

Ten-year old Kaylee Wren doesn't speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods-in the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only memento her mother left behind: a dictionary.

Sierra Dawn is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her past to silence her present hopes and chooses to bury her pain by trying to control her circumstances. But on the twelfth anniversary of her daughter's death, Sierra's control begins to crumble as the God of her childhood woos her back to Himself.

Brought together by Divine design, Kaylee and Sierra will discover together the healing mercy of the Word--Jesus Christ.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The opportunity to write is the fulfillment of a life-long dream. Words were my salvation as a child, until I met my true Savior, the Word. - Ginny Yttrup

Ginny Yttrup is an author, freelance writer, and writing coach who also ministers to women wounded by sexual trauma. She has two grown sons and lives near Sacramento, California. Words is her debut novel. Her second novel, Lost and Found is available now. Visit her website or Facebook page.

MY THOUGHTS:
As a word lover, I was instantly drawn to this book by the cover and the title, but to be honest, I was a bit fearful to read it because I knew it covered a painful subject. In fact, when I had the opportunity to visit a book club last summer in Atlanta where Ginny Yttrup was the guest, not only did every reader express the same reluctance, but Ginny Yttrup said it was the book she didn't want to write! However, without fail, every person was also so glad they did read it, as they were touched by the beauty of the writing and the Truth found within its pages. This would be an outstanding novel by any measure but for a debut offering, it is particularly impressive. Yttrup writes with sensitivity and hope, weaving together the lives and stories of Kaylee and Sierra, and pointing to the Word. Few books have touched me as this one has, and I am excited that it is a finalist for a Christy Award in two categories, First Novel and Contemporary Standalone.

GIVEAWAY!
I have an additional copy of this book to give to one of you! To enter, leave a comment on this post by 12:00 noon CDT next Tuesday, 5/1/12, and I will draw a winner. US Residents only, please and you must include an email address if you do not have a blog so I can contact you if you win. Winner will have 24 hours to claim the book by emailing his/her address.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from B&H Books as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”