Author: Gwen M. Plano

Over the expanse of many years, I taught and served as an administrator in colleges in Japan, New York, Connecticut, and California. Between travels with my husband and visits with family and friends, I write poetry and novels. I'm currently working on my fifth book. Though writing is an accomplishment of no small measure for me, my greatest treasure and most profound source of joy has been and is my four adult children. It is they who have guided me through life’s mysteries.

Over the Waters by Deborah Raney

Over the Waters by Deborah RaneySeries: StandalonePublisher: Raney Day Press (February 13, 2019)Review by Gwen M. Plano Writer Deborah Raney’s book, Over the Waters, is a layered journey through wealth and poverty, hope and despair, faith and its absence. The setting is the small Caribbean nation of Haiti, and specifically, one of its orphanages. In this... Continue Reading →

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The REUNION by Dan Walsh

The Reunion by Dan WalshSeries: StandalonePublisher: Bainbridge Press; 2nd edition (August 28, 2019)Review by Gwen M. Plano The Reunion by Dan Walsh is a story of interwoven journeys. The one constant is Aaron Miller, a maintenance man for a trailer park. When he returned from the Vietnam War, he was accompanied by PTSD and an addiction to... Continue Reading →

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Celebrity Pastor by Creston Mapes

Celebrity Pastor by Creston MapesPublisher: Rooftop Press (June 6, 2024)Review by Gwen M. Plano Creston Mapes is one of my favorite writers. His stories are fast-paced and thought-provoking—just what I enjoy. Though a suspense and thriller writer, he sidesteps gruesome details, as well as explicit sexual encounters, and creates stories that stand on their own. This book... Continue Reading →

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Labor of Love by Marguerite Martin Gray

Labor of Love by Marguerite Martin GraySeries: Gardens in Time, Book 1 of 3Publisher: Celebrate Lit Publishing on February 15, 2022 REVIEW BY GWEN PLANO The setting is 16th century Florence, Italy, and the focus is the royal Medici family. The opulent palace lifestyle comes alive through Marguerite Gray’s able pen. We walk through the lush... Continue Reading →

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The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh

The Unfinished Gift by Dan WalshSeries: Book 1 of 2 in The Homefront SeriesPublisher: Revell (June 1, 2010) REVIEW BY GWEN M. PLANO The Unfinished Gift is a Christian Historical Fiction novel set at Christmas in 1943. A seven-year-old boy, Patrick Collins, has lost his mother, and his father is missing in action somewhere in Germany.... Continue Reading →

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Guarding Her Christmas Secret by Jill Weatherholt

Guarding Her Christmas Secret by Jill WeatherholtSeries: Book 25 of 30: K-9Publisher: Love Inspired (November 26, 2024) Review by Gwen Plano Jill Weatherholt’s new release, Guarding Her Christmas Secret, is a story about second chances. A schoolteacher who has lost her loved ones meets a single man who is the guardian of his brother’s twins. These two eventually... Continue Reading →

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Angels Walking: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury

Angels Walking: A Novel by Karen KingsburySeries: Book 1 of 3Publisher: Howard Books, September 2, 2014 Review by Gwen M. Plano Karen Kingsbury is a hugely popular Christian author. Because of her strong readership, I selected Angels Walking: a Novel, to read for review. The story focuses on a national baseball star, Tyler Ames, and... Continue Reading →

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Let My Daughter Go by Creston Mapes

Let My Daughter Go by Creston MapesSeries: Book 2 of 6 in the Signs of Life SeriesPublisher: Rooftop Press (June 1, 2020) REVIEW BY GWEN M. PLANO This contemporary religious fiction novel focuses on a kidnapping that echoes a prior string of abductions that eventually led to a massacre. The common culprit is a young woman... Continue Reading →

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