Audiobook Review of A Changed Agent by Tracey J. Lyons

Audiobook Review of A Changed Agent  (Brilliance Audio, 2016)
by Tracey J. Lyons

An Entertaining Listen!
Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

I listened to this novel via an audible.com download. This September I had the privilege of meeting Tracey J. Lyons in Nashville at a Christian writers' conference and readers' event. We're also both members of Romance Writers of America's Professional Authors Network.  It's been my experience that an author's personality is often reflected in their writing voice. And I found that to be true in this listen. Ms. Lyons is a delightful woman as was her heroine, Elsie Mitchell, a schoolteacher.  I really enjoyed this story!

A Changed Agent had a nice flow to it and the narration was also good. There were some surprises -- such as with Elsie's former fiancé.

The hero, William Benton, an undercover Pinkerton agent, has some emotional baggage he needs to deal with. He also now has the responsibility of taking care of his niece and nephew. William works a deal with Elsie to help him out with their care in return for enough compensation that she can go on her next big trip. Elsie loves to travel! But will this faux lumberjack foreman cause her to want to stay put?

Bibliotherapy: Abandonment, orphans, parenting, deception, and second chances.

This book is available in ebook (Waterfall Press), paperback, and audio formats. Since Christian historical romances are difficult to find, and because the narration was good for this lovely story, I'd recommend the audio version.

Melissa Jagears on Parenting: Introverted Mom Coping with Extroverted Children

Author Melissa Jagears

I always wanted a lot of children, the idea of molding people to be the best they can be was quite the lovely dream. Except I forgot to take into account how much of an extreme introvert I am....do you know how much alone time babies give their introverted mommas? Zippo.

And of course, God gave me what seems to be three extroverts to raise. (I’m still hoping the one year old will suddenly turn shy...but I’m thinking he’s acting too much like the other ones for that to come true.)

So the kids often cause me to struggle with feeling like a bad mom because I’m not meeting all of their extroverted needs for constant entertainment and play dates with PEOPLE! All I have to do is say, “Get dressed” and they say in chorus: “Yay! Where are we going!!!???” (Literally. Every day. They think getting dressed means we’re going to a party.)

So how to cope? First, I don’t let myself be swayed by the people who think parents should be their child’s best friend. To be my children’s best friend, I’d have to be someone I most definitely am not, and when you cause introverts to pretend to be extroverts...they generally turn into not-so-nice people.

I also don’t let my childrens’ disappointments push me to gratify their every need. My daughter has been forced to find something to do alone because Mommy just can’t be engaged all the time. So she’s discovered the love of reading. If I’d kept her busy with play dates and board games, she’d never have had to spend an hour alone and realize that a book was a good way to fill that time.

I’m not the best mommy, as my daughter says, “You’re the best mommy because you’re my only mommy.” Which is true, she’s stuck with me and that’s about as good as she’ll get. Though I will strive to become the best mommy I can be, I will never win the best mommy in the world award. And that’s okay—God made me their mother for a reason, and He wouldn’t want me to ignore who He made me to be to fulfill that role.

A Bride in Store by Melissa Jagears

BIO:

Melissa Jagears is a homeschooling mom who writes Christian Historical Romance after everyone is asleep. She’s the author of the Unexpected Brides Series with Bethany House. The prequel ebook novella, Love by the Letter is free to try. A Bride for Keeps and A Bride in Store should be available wherever books are sold. You can learn more about her, her books, and where she hangs out online at www.melissajagears.com 

Link to her new release, A Bride in Store, on Amazon.

Giveaway: We're giving away a copy of either of Melissa's novels this week, choice of format (international winners, ebook only unless available through the Book Depository.)  Answer the question - Are any of your kids extroverted and you're an introvert, or vice versa?

Raising a Son and Transitioning to College - by Jen Turano

Author Jen Turano

From a very early age, I knew that the one thing I wanted to be in this life was a mom.  While my friends were dreaming about becoming doctors, lawyers, and other high-powered career ladies, I really only dreamed about taking care of a little one, a girl if I’m being honest, and a girl who’d love to have her hair done, nails painted, and would enjoy shopping with her mom and then going out to lunch.

Funny how things don’t always go as planned, but funny how God gives you exactly what you never dreamed of, but something that turns out to be one of the best things in your life.

Dominic, my one and only child, came into the world eighteen years ago, and from that moment, I was given my very own version of a Denise the Menace.  Trouble should have been his middle name, and there wasn’t a child-proof devise that could hold him back.  Toilets turned into his own private little ponds, stuffed with star wars characters and whatever else he seemed to have on hand, which meant the plumber soon became one of my best friends.

Some called my son strong-willed, but quite frankly, I thought of him, and not always fondly, as a complete terror.  He was incredibly independent, had his own ideas about everything, and I do believe, when he got his tongue stuck to a frozen pole, that I looked up at the sky (as I was trying to figure out how to get him unstuck since we were out in the middle of nowhere) and said, “Really, God….a frozen pole?”  God, I’ve come to believe, obviously has a great sense of humor, and had to have been grinning down at me on that particular day.

Dom Turano

Dom wasn’t exactly keen to get his hair done, or have his nails painted, so I spent the years of his childhood trekking through streams, looking for frogs, building traps to catch that pesky Easter bunny, and far too often, sinking up past my knees in mud when he’d get it into his head to investigate places like swamps and beaver dams – I don’t recommend investigating beaver dams – turns out that the mud surrounding the dams is somewhat like quicksand, and the white shorts I had on the day Dom sunk in that sand will never be the same.

But, all the mischief, trouble, and scary experiences aside, I was given the opportunity to be a mom to a boy who has now grown into an extraordinary young man.  That sense of independence he embraced from such an early age has allowed him to experience the world as I was never brave enough to do.  He loves pulling all types of different people together to experience new adventures, and even though those adventures give me heart palpitation, he’s living his life on his terms and enjoying every minute of it.

I sent him off this week for his first year of college, and I have to say, this new adventure he’s undertaking has been incredibly difficult for me.  He knows not a soul at this college, which worries my mother’s heart to no end, and I cried the entire way home after telling him goodbye.  But, God gave me this wonderful, strong, hard-headed boy to raise, and in doing so, He allowed me an opportunity to grow as well and experience life as I would have never experienced it without Dom , (although…I’m not sure I needed the experience of being thrown out of the raft into raging waters because we had to try out a stretch of “super cool” rapids.)

Dominic Turano, Senior picture

I’m now traveling on a new adventure of my own, along with my husband of twenty-five years.  We don’t know where that adventure will lead us, but when Dom sent me a text this morning, telling me he’d organized a group of guys to go long-boarding last night, and then asked if I thought he should shave before a meeting he has today, I realized that everything will be okay.  I’m still Dom’s mom, he still needs me just a little, if only to give him that great shaving advice, and God will watch over my son for me.  I  have to believe He knew exactly what He was doing when He sent me Dominic – a rough and tumble little boy who will always be the love of my life, and who is now a young man I’m incredibly proud to call my son. 


Giveaway: We have a paperback copy of Jen's novel "A Talent for Trouble" (which I consider a perfect "10"!) as an extra giveaway this week (USA only.)