Today we get write to the point with Valerie Comer. I interviewed Valerie a while ago. you can read her interview here.
Valerie will be visiting us a few times this year, she is one busy writer. I had the privilege of reviewing one of her books, Raspberries and Vinegar. You can see my thoughts at the end of the post.
Valerie Comer’s fiction debuted as part of Rainbow’s End, a novella collection from Barbour, in May, 2012. She has been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers since 2007, finaled 3 times in the Genesis contest for unpublished writers before securing her first contract, and attended 4 ACFW conferences. Her first solo novel, Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance (contemporary romance/ farm lit) released from Choose NOW Publishing in August, 2013.
She blogs weekly at valeriecomer.com/blog, where food meets faith and farm lit. She’s active on Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Twitter.
Valerie owns To Write a Story where she offers a free writing course via email and blogs once a week. The website and blog at Inspy Romance is her brainchild as a place for a group of Christian contemporary romance authors to create a community of readers. She’s a founding member of International Christian Fiction Writers, blogging there regularly. Valerie writes a monthly column “On Being Green” for NicoleOdell.com and another on simple living at Not Quite Amish Living. She’s an occasional nonfiction contributor to the ezine Vision: A Resource for Writers, as well as a member at Forward Motion, an online writing community of over 4000 active members, where she taught numerous workshops and classes during her years as a moderator.
Valerie and her husband of over 30 years live on a small farm in Canada with assorted cows, chickens, pigs, and bees. They grow much of their own food and preserve vast quantities by canning, freezing, and dehydrating. Valerie is also webmaster for her local food action coalition.
When not writing novels of contemporary inspirational romance and farm lit grounded in the local foods movement or volunteering at local food initiatives, Valerie enjoys Toastmasters and is active in her creation-care-centric church. She cherishes time spent enjoying the outdoors with her husband, their adult children, and adorable granddaughters.
Breaking ground with the Farm Fresh Romance series, RASPBERRIES AND VINEGAR finds Josephine Shaw and her friends renovating a dilapidated farm 
with their sights set on more than just their own property. Transforming the town with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods is met with more resistance than they expected, especially by temporary neighbor, Zachary Nemesek. Jo needs to learn that a little sweet makes the tart more tasty.
Read the first chapter:
Josephine Shaw gritted her teeth as she jerked the harvest gold range forward on worn linoleum. There it was again. That incessant scratching could only be from one source. Mice. Of course the old trailer would have the despicable creatures. It had been vacant for how long? The beam of her flashlight found half a dozen naked newborns sheltered in a nest of insulation and wood chips. A full-grown rodent shot through the gap she’d created and scuttled right over her foot. Jo gasped, nearly dropping the light as she jerked back.
Her roommate, Sierra Riehl, shrieked and danced some kind of fierce jig designed, Jo presumed, to fend off an attacking two-inch-high army.
“Whoa! You’re going to go right through.” A distinct possibility, given the spongy feel to the old trailer’s floor.
Sierra’s gaze tried to capture every inch of space at once, but at least her feet slowed their tempo. “Th-the mouse…”
Jo tried to get her own heart rate under control. “Long gone.” At least, Jo would be if she were in his shoes. If mice wore shoes. Which they didn’t.
“Are you sure?”
What was she, some kind of fortuneteller? Oh, wait. There was still the nest, and somebody would have to deal with it. Didn’t look like Sierra was up for the job. Never mind, Jo could do this herself. “Um. You might not want to look.”
Sierra dug purple manicured fingernails into Jo’s arm, her blue eyes wide. “Why? What’s back there?”
“You don’t want to know.” Jo steered her friend into the empty living room, clad in musty shag carpet. “Just look out the window for a minute. Admire the view. Dream about all the things we’re going to do here at Green Acres. Think about the new house.” She pointed across the snow-flattened yellow grass to the building site. “Right over there.” Pouring the foundation couldn’t come fast enough. Even spending one night in this disgusting, moldy trailer would be more than ample. Bad enough without the mice, but with them? (Read More. . .)
My review:
First of all, I have always thought this cover was cute, even before I read the book. But now, after reading the book and getting to know Jo and Zachary, the cover is absolutely perfect.
Valerie is an excellent writer. She puts us right into the characters minds and feelings. She has created a great cast in this book that will leave you wanting to get to know the other characters better.
Jo is one spunky girl. She is passionate about health and I totally respect that. I think there is a misconception that you have to be a hippie or something if you embrace the health food way of life. That’s just not true. Many Christians are choosing to live green so I think Valerie’s book is right on point.
Zachary is strong hero but totally doesn’t get this healthy way of life. He also just wants to get out of small town life and live in the big city.
So what happens when these two fall for each other? By the way, Valerie did a great job with the first kiss. Completely unexpected, loved it!
Well, you’ll just have to read the book to see how these two find their way to each other and love.
Grab your copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christianbook.com or Books-A-Million.
A copy of this book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The other day someone approached me and said that all of our worship songs are about “I, me, we, us” and that they like hymns better because they aren’t that way.
Genesis 5020 