Book Review: The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

by Carolyn Miller @CarolynMAuthor

Whenever I see a lot of buzz about a particular book I haven't yet read I get curious. When I hear it's a book by Francine Rivers, author of such thought-provoking best-selling novels like Redeeming Love, and one of my favourite series 'Mark of the Lion' then I'm tempted to find out more. And when it's staring me at the face in Koorong, okay, I'll bite. And I'm so glad I did!

Here's the blurb:
A successful LA artist, Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want—money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion and out across his breathtaking Topanga Canyon view. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist—an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.

Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together . . . until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship— and both their lives— forever.

Why I like it:
* It reads 'real.' The characters of Roman and Grace certainly don't fit the squeaky-clean images one can read in many Christian fiction books (but probably do fit Francine Rivers's usual type of characters). Both have made mistakes, both are trying to overcome their pasts (and occasionally slipping back into old habits), both experience God's redemptive power at work. Their emotions, backgrounds, language, struggles, reactions all feel authentic. Love it!
* It's a fast-paced read. It's a nice balance of action, description and reflection. I wanted to keep reading because I care about the characters.
* I like the element of the supernatural. It seems rare to read such direct references to visitations from angels, demons, etc in such a mainstream book. But it reminds us how true this is, and how we shouldn't dismiss what we cannot see.
* I like the supporting characters. They seem like the sort of people I would like to hang with their mix of honesty, faith and fun. Oh, and did I mention they feel real, too?
* I like the elements to do with art. My new novel is based on an artist, so it's fun to read about a very different type of creator of artwork.
* I like the cover - so beautiful! (And the artwork was created by a real Californian graffiti artist!)
* It shows how easy it is to misjudge others, based simply on what we see rather than taking the time (and effort) to truly get to know others. This novel shows how true that can be for church people, too.
* Lastly, I love it due to the emphasis on grace - God's grace, big enough and available for anyone. One can never read too many books that encourage us to reflect on God's grace and to extend that to others.

Well worth reading.

Available at Koorong, Amazon, etc

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked part-time as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher. 

A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating Lady Charlotte, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, Winning Miss Winthrop and Miss Serena's Secret, all available from Amazon, Book Depository, Koorong, etc

Connect with her:        website | facebook | pinterest | twitter| instagram

Book Recommendation The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

By Keona J Tann

The Masterpiece

by 

Francine Rivers

New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers returns to her romance roots with this unexpected and redemptive love story, a probing tale that reminds us that mercy can shape even the most broken among us into an imperfect yet stunning masterpiece.

A successful LA artist, Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want―money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion and out across his breathtaking Topanga Canyon view. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist―an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.

Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together . . . until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship―and both their lives―forever.

Review

‘The Masterpiece’ - Francine Rivers
I simply love Francine’s books, so I was terribly excited when I saw her new book on the shelf when I was recently in Koorong. Of course I had to purchase it. I am so pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed. I found ‘The Masterpiece’ to be a truly captivating read. From the first chapter I simply couldn’t put it down and found myself lost within the pages for 5 days, unfortunately life kept interrupting my ability to read it non-stop.

I love the fullness and complexity of the 2 main characters and how their stories gently unfold. Roman and Grace are adults who are still wrestling with and feeling the effects of their dysfunctional childhood.Their lives are ‘thrown’ together and their interactions bring to the surface the deepest hurts that they have been trying to hide for so long.

As Grace wrestles with finding the best future for her child she faces some really tough decisions. Her brave and bold choices are made easier by the wonderful support of her close friends.
I did however find myself cringing at a very confronting scene when Roman experiences hell. It reminded me of the fire and brimstone messages I heard in my younger years. These messages would leave me too scared to breathe in case I offended God and He decided to zap me with fire from heaven. As I wrestled with why Francine would put such a graphic scene in the book I was reminded that it’s a reality. It’s very common and accepted to talk about God being full of love, compassion and grace. Yes, He is all these things and so much more, but we cannot forget that there are consequences to the fall. The way that Francine uses Roman’s experience is wonderful. He doesn’t shy away from talking about his experience even though he knows it will alienate him and cause people to think he’s weird. Roman’s experience completely transforms his life and he makes some radical changes.

As I read I found myself crying alongside the characters. I rejoiced as they found redemption and healing. I felt myself burrowing deeper into Jesus and being surrounded by God’s presence. Through this beautifully written book I’ve encountered God in such a powerful way. Thank you so much Francine for writing such a truly captivating book!
I highly recommend this book.
Many blessings, Keona

About Keona:
I’ve lived most of my life in Tasmania, which is one of the beautiful Australian states. Deliriously happily married to my college sweetheart for over 20 years, we consider ourselves extremely blessed to be raising 2 wonderful teenagers. Hubby and I have also been long time child sponsors with Compassion so we have overseas kids!
I struggled with illness and disease for most of my life. The biggest battles were: endometriosis for 28 years and adrenal/chronic fatigue which was severe for 28 months. In September 2016 healing was declared over my life, praise God, this set me on a path of deep inner healing, restoration and transformation. My passion to write was reignited and I wrote out a mission statement:
“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:3 (NLT)
I desire to impact the world through the words I share. I long to enrich, empower and encourage others whilst delivering my stories with empathy and understanding.
In my new-found boldness I’ve started a weekly blog which you can find at: https://keonajtann.wordpress.com/

I Want to Hug Francine Rivers

Fact: Most of the time I struggle to write.

I started writing fairly late in life by most people’s standards (it was the year I turned 50) and because of that I always felt I had a lot of catching up to do. Because I had loads of ideas in my head - characters, conversations and conflict galore - I thought this writing thing would be a snack.

At first it was. Writing the first draft for A Simple Mistake was fantastic, the gift that kept on giving! It just flowed and flowed. The second one? Let’s not go there. And this third one isn't exactly racing along either although it’s getting a little easier as I get into it. 

I went to the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference back in August where I heard from two highly successful authors. One writes a 100,000 word novel every six months. The other writes FOUR that size a year and has three series on the go. Apparently, that’s the key to success. Writing fabulous novels very fast. I think my jaw is still on the floor of Waipuna Lodge where the conference was held.

So why haven’t the floodgates opened if I've got so many ideas? Some of the answers are obvious:

1.      I dream too much.

2.      I plot too much.

3.      I go off on tangents while researching.

4.      I get distracted by social media.

Those are easy to deal with in comparison to my bigger problem, one I’m sure many writers suffer from. 

Fear.

Fear that my ideas won’t look as good on the page as they appear in my head; that I’ll be the only one who loves my characters; that my sense of humour won’t translate well. Fear my dialogue won’t be as good this time around. Fear of writers’ block. Fear I’ll never finish the next book because of … well, fear!

I’ve been a Christian a looooong time. I know which scriptures to confess. I know how to pray. I know I can refer back to emails and Facebook messages and phone a friend when I need reassurance.

I got it in truck loads one morning when I read a link posted by Charis Joy Jackson on Facebook. (Consider yourself hugged too, Charis J)

If you would like to read the whole thing, here it is:
http://francinerivers.com/blog/creative-minds-are-seldom-tidy

These two quotes from Francine were a balm to my soul.

·          ‘The past two projects are showing me that writing does not get easier.  Not that I ever had any illusions that it would.  I just didn’t expect it to become more and more difficult.’ 

·          ‘During limbo times, the niggling fears come whispering.  Whatever gave you the idea you could be a writer?’ 

What? Francine Rivers has self-doubt?

Once my initial shock had morphed into a perverse delight (I mean that in the nicest possible way) I took a deep breath and made some decisions.

1.       I will do whatever it takes to become as good a writer as I can be. Hopefully that includes becoming faster.

2.      I will continue to write what I believe God is nudging me to write. (Oh, how I love those nudges!)

3.      I will not let fear cripple me.

4.      I will stop punishing myself and make it a habit to give my writing worries to God. (I John 4:18a – ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.’)

So there it is; a confession straight from the heart.  I know I’m not alone - God knows when I need encouragement, like in Francine's blog post. And not only is He with me, but so are you, my fellow readers and writers. I take great comfort in that. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to my manuscript …

About Andrea Grigg

Andrea writes contemporary romance. Her second novel Too Pretty was released on August 1 by Rhiza Press. Her first book A Simple Mistake was a finalist in the CALEB Awards 2012

Andrea would love to hear from you via her website or Facebook page:
http://www.andreagrigg.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg

Book table observations

Over the past six years or so, I have spent quite a few hours in Christian bookstores promoting my books. Last year alone, I made eight author visits to Koorong stores, most of which lasted for at least five hours. Also, on several occasions I have been allocated a book table at conferences and each year, at one of these, I share a space with staff from a Christian bookstore who have a whole range of books on offer. In all these settings, I have had ample time to listen to and observe potential customers as they make their selections.

In an actual bookstore context, I often see customers for whom the whole experience is obviously an enjoyable outing. They are not in a hurry and are happy to come and chat to this unknown author giving out bookmarks and find out about her books. And they can always graciously remove themselves without choosing any when I comment how many other books there are in the store. You see, I like to give people an ‘out’. Perhaps I’m not at heart a good salesperson, but I don’t want people to be embarrassed or pressured into buying. Often these encounters lead to some precious ‘God conversation’—something I always ask God for before I enter a bookstore to promote my books. The whole enterprise is worth it just for those moments.

Then there are those customers who are in a hurry and don’t want to be diverted. They know what they want in that bookstore—and it definitely isn’t any of my books! I’m sure I myself have fitted into this harassed customer role at times. Some might not be in a hurry but are still on a mission. They enter the store in a focussed manner, clutching their list of desired books. They might even be a little suspicious when I explain what sort of books I write, while they hold my bookmark rather gingerly as if debating whether to take it or not. Some might even look askance at my novels.\

‘But are they true stories? I don’t read fiction.’

At which point, I hasten to show them my non-fiction book Soul Friend. It comes in handy.

Then there are those who do read fiction but have made up their minds long ago which authors are worthwhile reading. In a conference setting recently, I watched as a customer stood gazing down at the novels on display at the official bookstore opposite my table. She proceeded to proclaim loudly how disappointed she was because there were no novels by Francine Rivers or certain other famous authors left and how she loves their books and wouldn’t read anything else. Now everyone is of course entitled to have favourite authors. After all, I don’t want to be told who I should like and not like. Besides, I suspect this person did not realise there was any author within earshot—albeit a humble Aussie one. But ... well, let’s just say I find such experiences somewhat character-building!

Despite this, I aim to persevere with my promotional adventures. For me, it is such a privilege to be able to offer something to others that I believe in with all my heart and that I trust God can use. But how about you? Have you too made some interesting observations as you promote your books? Or as a reader, how do you respond to those lovely, hopeful authors at book tables?

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.