Mimi, Lisa, Jennifer, and Felicia all live in the fishbowl of Red River, Ohio. Everyone expects something from them. Gourmet casseroles. Perfect husbands. Well-behaved children. They expect even more of themselves.

The constant demands and always-ringing phones are enough to drive any sane woman crazy. Add to all that the condescending Katherine Fleming Katt, self-promoting pastor's wife of the town's largest church, who loves to flaunt her superior position. In the midst of such chaos, will each woman find the one thing she longs for?

When the unflappable Kitty Katt starts showing up at odd places, the four friends get suspicious. Is Kitty hiding something? What secrets lie behind her "perfect" exterior? But even more significant than unraveling Kitty Katt's secrets is finding answers for themselves.

Desperate Pastors' Wives is the story of four women struggling with their roles as pastor's wives (PW's). I thought the concept of this book was a great one: a book marketed as a chick-lit story that looks into the lives of PW's. But I cringed as soon as I saw the title. As Christians we should set ourselves apart from the world and not adapt ourselves to the world by mimicking a trashy television series as a title for Christian fiction. And although the cover and title scream it, this book simply did not have the elements of chick-lit. Instead, this book would fit much better into the Contemporary Fiction category.

The spiritual lessons in this work of fiction were wonderful. The lessons were something to which all women can relate. Lisa is struggling with her relationship with her husband, learning to honor her biblical marriage and husband regardless of what he is doing. Felicia is trying to balance a career and being a PW, finding her place in the church and becoming a helpmeet to her husband. Mimi likes to volunteer for everything, spreading herself so thin she feels she has lost control. Mimi must realize God loves her just as she is and has a special purpose for her life. Finally, Jennifer is struggling with infertility and losing faith and trust in God while closing herself off from those around her. Jennifer must restore her faith and trust God with His plan for her life.

Aside from the title, this book has great potential, stepping into the lives of PW's and their daily struggles. Character development could have been much better; after reading the book I still felt that these women were mere acquaintances instead of intimate friends. It was as if the same guard that PW's put up in the church was also put up to the reader, and while we were allowed glimpses into their struggles, I felt there was so much more to learn. These women have so much to offer and so much more development to go that this could easily become a series. – Brandi Webster, Christian Book Previews.com

"Move over, ladies of Wisteria Lane; the desperate pastors' wives of Lulu's Cafe have arrived! This sassy tale of women with real-life secrets will make you laugh as you share their anguish and connect with their hearts." -- Eva Marie Everson, coauthor of The Potluck Club series

"What a find! From the moment you meet the fabulous foursome in this tale of love, faith, hope, and forgiveness, you are hooked! These witty, vulnerable women wrestle with issues that are common to every woman -- though their unique position as pastors' wives puts them in a fishbowl of unnerving demand." -- Eric and Jennifer Garcia, cofounders, Association of Marriage and Family Ministries

http://www.christianbook.com/desperate-pastors-wives-secrets-lulus-cafe/ginger-kolbaba/9781582296326/pd/296324

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Author: Christy Scannell
Located in: Southern California
Submitted: March 24, 2007

    Tell us a little about yourself.  Ginger is the editor of Marriage Partnership and has written four non-fiction books, including the highly-acclaimed Refined by Fire (with Brian and Mel Birdwell) and the recently released The Five Sex Needs of Men and Women (with Gary and Barbara Rosberg). I am associate editor of the San Diego Metropolitan magazine and North Park News newspaper, as well as a freelance editor and writer. For 10 years, I was the editorial director at a publisher of Christian children's books. Ginger and I grew up in the same city and in the same small church denomination, and we went to the same small college one year apart, yet we only really got to know each other in the last few years when we were on staff at writers conferences. Now, we are best friends in addition to being co-authors!

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  Ginger's and my primary goal was to bring honor and understanding to pastors' wives. We hope when people read the book they will come to appreciate their pastors' wives more, and we hope pastors' wives will be comforted to know they are not alone. Beyond that, we wanted to share the stories of four women with different longings that could belong to anyone — pastor's wife or not. And we wanted to accomplish all of this with a tale that is inspiring, yet humorous.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  Desperate Pastor's Wives is the first in our three-book series, Secrets from Lulu's Cafe. The second book, A Matter of Wife and Death, will be out next year, followed by a third installment after that. We will delve more deeply into the lives of our four pastors' wives with each progressing volume. To learn more about us and our work, please visit us at our Web sites: www.gingerkolbaba.com www.christyscannell.com

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