Lyn Cote's Blog, page 75

Author Sandra Orchard & How Might You Be a Hero to a Loved One Today?

My guest today is Author Sandra Orchard. She tells us about how she came to write her latest Love Inspired Suspense, Critical Condition.

“The back story behind my current Love Inspired Suspense, Critical Condition, was inspired by several people dear to my heart. On the surface, the story is a romantic suspense/medical mystery in which an undercover cop must figure out who is behind a rash of inexplicable deaths on the cancer ward, before the nurse who brought them to the police’s attention is silenced permanently.

But ultimately, the story is a tribute to all who have walked alongside a loved one through the valley of the shadow of death, with a prayer that they embrace the joy of truly living again.

You see, the hero of the story lost his wife to cancer, and having enjoyed a love so sweet and endured its loss, he can’t imagine being twice blessed. There are also secondary characters who walk that journey through the story.

I lost my mom to cancer many years ago, and a dear writing friend to the same disease during the writing of this story. My friend had tried numerous experimental treatments over the course of her twenty-year battle, and it was that very real drive to find a cure that prompted the creation of Critical Condition’s suspense plot.

My father’s and my friend’s husband’s unwavering support and sacrifice, and my mom and friend’s own determination to not give in to despair for their husbands’ sake were a true inspiration to me of heroes and heroines who never bail.

I believe the constant reminder of how precious little time they might have together made them more open with their feelings and more forgiving of the little annoyances that can eat away at a marriage. But really, if we truly love our spouse, do we need the specter of death hanging over us to be a better spouse?

 Bio: Award-winning author Sandra Orchard hails from Niagara, Canada. She writes for Love Inspired Suspense and is currently working on a three-book series called Port Aster Secrets, for Revell Publishing. Sandra enjoys offering her readers “extras” to enhance their experience of her books. You can check out these, along with other resources for readers and writers, at her website:

Author M. C. Walker & Writing the Tough Stuff

My guest today is M.C. Walker, daughter to Conrad N. Walker,who was my guest last week with his book Leapin’ Deacon. Today she tells us about her edgy inspirational title, Blood Son. Here’s Miriam or M.C.”

“Why I Wrote an Edgy Inspirational Thriller

Thank you, Lyn, for this opportunity to share with you why I wrote such an edgy inspirational thriller in Blood Son.

Several years ago  when I submitted my suspense thriller Blood Son to a major publisher of Christian fiction, I was told the story was too violent for their audience.  I was encouraged to make some changes, but I decided to stay true to my vision and not “sugarcoat” the experience of being a Christian in today’s increasingly dangerous and violent world.

We all know that bad things happen to good people.  We also know the war of good against evil is fought by Christians every day.  I have waged that battle in my own life and have experienced firsthand those “black moments” when the war seemed almost lost.  Thankfully, I have called upon the Lord and He has always heard me, sustained me, and strengthened me.  Every Christian faces those moments and so does Clare Carson, the heroine in Blood Son:

To purchase on Amazon, click here.

Tragic real-life stories of mistaken identity have filled the news in recent years, a premise that fuels this chilling tale of an everyday woman forced to fight back against near insurmountable odds.

Unspeakable tragedy and cold-blooded murder conspire against Clare Carson in an ultimate test of faith when her six-year-old son is kidnapped after a heart transplant and his abductors want her dead. A dying cop’s last words lead her to Jake Wyatt, who helps her discover the horrific truth behind her son’s abduction and offers to help her get Tyler back. With nowhere else to turn, Clare entrusts her life to Jake not knowing he has a deadly agenda of his own that could destroy them.

I have long aspired to use my God-given ability as a writer for His message and His purpose. I believe that in Blood Son I have conveyed God’s truth that He is always with us no matter any fears or troubles we bring to the foot of the Cross. It is my sincere hope that this heart-pounding story of an ordinary woman thrust into extraordinary, life-threatening circumstances will touch readers and inspire them even in their darkest moments to trust God with all their hearts.

If you would like to share your own victories of faith with me, please write to info@walker-publishing.com.  God bless and keep you.”–M. C.

The Leapin’ Deacon by Authors Conrad N. Walker and J. Walker Winslow

 

To purchase, click here. The Leapin’ Deacon: The Soldier’s Chaplain

My guest today is a daughter Author MC Walker speaking for her father, Chaplain Conrad N Walker. Here’s the scoop:

“Thank you, Lyn, for the opportunity to share with all of you about my father’s book, The Leapin’ Deacon.  I’m proud of my dad for so many reasons, but I’m particularly proud that he took to heart the encouragement from so many people to write a book with the help of his friend and co-author J. Walker Winslow, about his remarkable life’s journey.  He is a humble man–and has described himself for as long as I can remember as a simple country pastor–so on his behalf  I wanted to let you know that The Leapin’ Deacon is now available as an ebook from Amazon (and in print from Langmarc Publishing at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble).

 I believe the following description of The Leapin’ Deacon sums up the book best: 

This biography about Chaplain Conrad “Connie” Walker tells of his extraordinary life based on values and dictums garnered during his early years.  He was a champion athlete, a military hero, a spiritual giant, and a dedicated family man. Readers will be uplifted as Connie displays his joy and humor by sharing anecdotes of the growing of a legend.  As a young pastor, Connie felt called to active duty and became a chaplain with the 101st and 173rd Airborne.  He ministered to Sky Soldiers in Vietnam and at home and served as a Command Chaplain in the U.S. and abroad.   Connie Walker is a legend to those who have had the good fortune to know this remarkable man of God.

At Lyn’s suggestion, I asked my father the question, “Was there a time in your life when God challenged you to become stronger?” 

‘First, I know that I was called and I know that I was sent to be a pastor to our troops of all ages and ranks in the U.S. military.  I spent over half of my thirty years on active duty as a “Leapin’ Deacon” or paratrooper chaplain.  Out of many hundreds of jumps with the troops, from 1,000 feet going 150 knots per hour in all kinds of terrain, each time when I landed reasonably safely, there was a surge of strength given by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit’s mission is very great, to call us, gather us, enlighten us, and to preserve and sanctify us.  Jumping in combat in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Sky Soldiers, and ministering to the precious troops, gave powerful strength and a wondrous sense that our mission is vital and important–the mission to bring solders to the Lord and the Lord to the soldiers.  

During a very intense firefight, I went crawling out after the combat wounded.  The Lord blessed me in seeing the faces of my precious wife and five children each time I crawled out.  I thought each crawl would be my last one before I arrived in Heaven.  But the Lord put the very Word of God in Colossians 3:3 on my heart and the assurance that, “Your life is hid with Christ in God,” and I would crawl out after another soldier.  When that dangerous mission was complete, I had a blessed surge of strength, energy, and victory that only the Lord can give.  Incidentally, I had also prayed, “Lord, you can take better care of my family than I can, but I’d sure like to be around to carry out that mission.”  It has been grace upon jubilant grace from that day forward in my daily walk with our Lord Jesus. ‘

I hope you find hope, humor, and inspiration in the pages of The Leapin’ Deacon, and God’s blessing in your own daily walk with our Lord Jesus.”

This is one reason that I am glad to have a blog so that I can highlight books like this one. I’m so glad that now with self-publishing so possible that stories like these can be available to many.

And this is just the first book I am featuring from this family. On Monday, MC Walker, the daughter, will tell us about her inspirational suspense thriller, Blood Son. Thanks for sharing your father’s book with us, M. C. And I look forward to hearing what you have to say about Blood Son.

Do any of you have a family member who has made you proud?–Lyn

 

Author Cathy Gohlke & Does Slavery Exist Today?

My guest today is Author Cathy Gohlke and she shares her knowledge of human trafficking or modern slavery. And she’s offering to give away a copy of her latest book that deals with this in its historical perspective. There has never been a dearth of people willing to use others. Here’s Cathy:

“I was born in a house that my great aunt believed was used as a hiding place for slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad before the Civil War.  I grew up in the South, during turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement.  I remember the day Martin Luther King, Jr. marched on Washington, and the day he was assassinated.  Through all of that I thought that “slavery” was history, a thing of the past—until I learned that today there are far more people enslaved than there were at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Men, women and children trapped behind closed doors, held in slave labor camps, houses, warehouses, brothels, cages—the mind can barely comprehend the conditions or the horrors of forced prostitution, pornography, the selling of human flesh for sex, slave labor, the selling of body parts, organs, and fetuses.

Women and children—even very young children—are prime targets. I read recently that the average span of monetary value to their “owner”—before disease or death sets in—is just over three years.  What happens to the child or woman after that does not concern predators. Human beings are considered cheap, and expendable.  Human trafficking is heart wrenching, heart breaking in the extreme.

It ranks second only to drug trafficking as the world’s most lucrative crime.  And it is everywhere—across the world and across the street in our United States.

Numerous organizations have joined forces to fight this travesty.  We—mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, the church—can join with them, partner with them, learn from them, and raise a clamor that must be heard—a symphony demanding change.

Please visit

Author Terri Reed & Her Trip to Downton Abby

My guest today is Author Terri Reed who just returned from an amazing trip. She wants to give a book away PLUS tell us all about Downton Abby. Here’s Terri:

Sometimes fact is even more extraordinary than fiction…

Hi, Terri Reed here. I recently returned from a trip to England. Such a beautiful and fascinating place. While there, my husband and I visited Highclere Castle, which provides the stunning setting and backdrop of the iTV(UK) PBS Masterpiece (US) drama titled Downton Abbey.

The premise of the show was inspired by the extraordinary story of Lady Almina, wife to the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who convinced her husband to convert Highclere Castle into a hospital in September 1914.

Almina’s humanitarianism and love for her country make her an admirable woman.

The current Countess of Carnarvon has written a book about Almina and the remarkable people who lived both upstairs and downstairs that spans the years of Alimina’s marriage, her introduction into the aristocratic society of her husband, through the Edwardian period to the years before and after The Great War. If you’re a fan of the show this is a must read.

To purchase, click here.Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle

As the illegitimate daughter of banking tycoon Alfred de Rothschild, at nineteen Almina was married to the Earl of Carnarvon bringing with her an enormous fortune. She had to navigate her way through her new life at Highclere and gradually won over society and her husband with her wit, brave spirit and sense of style. She sounds very much like a person I would have liked. A person very much like the heroine of my October release.

Doctor Brenda Storm grew up with money but never felt comfortable in her world. Only as a doctor did she found a way to belong. She would have approved of Almina’s actions in making the castle into a hospital. Though Brenda didn’t turn her own home into a medical facility, she did start a clinic in downtown Chicago to help those who couldn’t afford healthcare.

Walking the halls of Highclere Castle was both odd and exciting. Odd because my surroundings seemed so familiar from watching the tv show. And exciting to know that so much history and life had been lived within the walls of the castle. The grounds were expansive and beautifully maintained. As I meandered through the garden I wondered if Almina had perhaps walked these same paths and if she’d found the same sense of peace that I was feeling.

In my book, The Doctor’s Defender, Brenda takes a moment to walk through a garden outside of a hospital seeking solace. But her moment of peace is shattered when the man stalking her attacks. Thankfully, her handsome bodyguard, Kyle Martin, fends off the assault, with a little help from Brenda! Unfortunately the man escapes more determined to hurt Brenda. Kyle is just as determined to protect the lovely doctor…with his life if need be.

To purchase, click here. The Doctor’s Defender (Love Inspired Suspense)

Wow, what a great trip, Terri! I went to England too long ago to mention, but what fun. I remember most the trip to the Tower of London with my longtime English penpal, Pat, and spending a weekend with her. To enter the drawing for a copy of The Doctor’s Defender, here’s the questions:

Did you watch Downton Abby? What did you think?
If you could go to England, what would you want to see first?–Lyn

Author Virginia Smith & A Fascinating Woman!

My guest today is Author Virginia Smith, who writes both romantic suspense and historical romance. Today she will share what she discovered about an amazing American woman, one of the joys of historical research!

BTW, today on GoodReads the Love Inspired Historical Group is holding a fairy tale costume party to celebrate the new season of ONCE UPON A TIME. Click the LIH Logo to the left and join us at the PARTY! If you love fairy tales, don’t miss this!) Now Here’s Virginia.

“I’ve heard writers of historical fiction say they love research so much sometimes they have to force themselves to stop and write the book. Since historical fiction is a new genre for me, I didn’t know what they meant. But while researching the Amish of Apple Grove series, which I wrote with the incredible Lori Copeland, I got bit by the research bug. It’s so much fun learning about the past, and especially when the past is populated by fascinating people!

Our most recent book introduced me to one of those amazing people – Annie LePort Diggs. I’d vaguely heard her name, but didn’t really know anything about her. I found her when I began researching the history of Lawrence, Kansas, the setting for A Plain and Simple Heart.

To purchase, click here. A Plain and Simple Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove)

Annie moved to Lawrence in 1873 and married Alvin not long after. The couple published a newspaper called the ‘Kansas Liberal,’ and Annie was recognized as a powerful writer and a moving speaker. She was a force to be reckoned with, and when she took up a cause she threw herself into it with gusto.

She was a forerunner of another well-known Kansas spokeswoman, Carrie Nation. In 1881 Kansas became the first state to outlaw the sale of alcohol, though the law was largely ignored and saloons continued to flourish, even in Kansas. (Nation gained notoriety when she embarked upon a series of protests in which she entered saloons armed with a hatchet and smashed the liquor bottles.)

A few years before Carrie, Annie took a different approach, preferring to use her skills as a writer and speaker. A member of the Kansas Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Annie used the platform of her newspaper to take her stand against those who profited from the sale of liquor, even against wealthy and popular politicians.

She was also passionate about women’s rights, and an active woman’s suffrage proponent. In the 1890’s she toured the nation to promote women’s voting rights, and her contributions are recognized as key in the eventual success of the movement.

As I researched that book, I came to admire Annie LePort Diggs. The 1880’s were not an easy time for women, especially outspoken women like Annie. She refused to remain quietly on the sidelines when she was passionate about a subject, but put herself on the front lines regardless of criticism. Surely as a woman she wanted the good opinions of others, just as I do. But to her, some things were more important than having people like her. She inspires me to do the same.

I’ve never written a real historical figure into a book before A Plain and Simple Heart, but Annie is a big part of the book. I took some liberties with her personality, but I like to think I captured her passion. I hope you enjoy meeting her as much as I did!”–Virginia

Virginia is offering a copy of A Plain and Simple Heart, by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith, so please leave a comment.

Question: Why do you think it took so long for women to get the vote?–Lyn

For more about Virginia (Ginny) Smith

Ginny’s Website: www.virginiasmith.org

Ginny’s Journal (blog): www.virginiasmith.blogspot.com

Find Ginny on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ginny.p.smith

PS: Liz Riggs is the winner of Cheryl Bolen’s A Marriage of Inconvenience! Congrats, Liz!

A Unlikely Mother

My sister sent me the link to this and I couldn’t resist sharing it.

Have you ever seen something like this in real life?–Lyn

Author Cheryl Bolen & The Dilemma of Stepmothers

My guest today is Author Cheryl Bolen. She is offering a BOOK GIVEAWAY so don’t forget to leave a comment. Cheryl brings up a very important part of many of our lives, step-parents. Here’s Cheryl:

“Stepmothers Need Thanks, Too

We’ve all heard about those wicked stepmothers. We’ve probably even known a few. I’ve always had the deepest admiration for women who are good stepmothers. I don’t classify a woman as a good stepmother because she sees that a child’s physical needs are met. A good stepmother is one who becomes the child’s champion because she truly loves the child.

The best stepmothers are those rare creatures who love their stepchildren the same as they love the children from their own womb.

When a woman marries a man who’s already a father, she doesn’t just marry the man; she instantly becomes stepmother to his children. In my new release for Love Inspired Historical, MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE, a spinster named Rebecca Peabody (introduced in some of my earlier secular historical romances) marries a widower, Lord Aynsley, and becomes stepmother to seven children.

And they live happily ever after.

Wrong. Like many stepmothers, Rebecca faces obstacles. The elder children naturally remember their birth mother with fondness. It is difficult for these children to accept another woman as their “mother.”

The daughter resents relinquishing her duties running the household to a stepmother she’s never met. A great favorite with her father, she feels the new, younger wife will supplant her in her father’s affections.

 

Rebecca feels the Lord has called her to mother these children. When the youngest—who has no memory of his birth mother—calls Rebecca Mother, it melts her heart and fills her with love.

When the daughter tries to poison her siblings and her father against Rebecca, instead of exposing her, Rebecca prays that the Lord help her love the daughter as much as she loves the young lad who calls her “Mother.”

To Purchase Click here Marriage of Inconvenience (Love Inspired Historical)

Because this is fiction, all ends well. In real life, there are sometimes regrets. My grandfather married a widow with four children primarily to have a mother for his three motherless children, including my father, whose mother died when he was two. Even though he had no memory of his birth mother, my father always called his stepmother by her name.

Long after their stepmother had died, at the end of her own life my aunt, who outlived my father by a couple of decades, said she had come to realize how grateful she was to the woman who raised her, and she regretted that she had never thanked her stepmother.

Now is the time to thank those who’ve made a difference in our lives.”–Cheryl

Blog: CherylsRegencyRamblings.wordpress.com/

Website: www.CherylBolen.com

Lyn Reviews Author Lorena McCourtney’s Cozy-DYING TO READ

Author Vella Munn & Her Grandfather Lost!

 

My guest today is Vella Munn, a secular romance author, who has a just published a non-fiction book that’s very dear to her heart. She’s offering am Ebook copy to a commenter. Here’s Vella:

Grandfather Lost–A writer’s gift of love

 As a multi-published writer, I’ve filled out my share of questionnaires and been interviewed a number of times. One question that frequently comes up is, “If you could meet anyone who has ever lived, who would it be?”

I never have to think before answering. It’s always my grandfather, pioneer speculative fiction writer Homer Eon Flint. (To clarify, the family name is Flindt, but Grandpa wrote after World War I when anti-Germanic sentiment ran high, thus he dropped the ‘d’.)

Why a man who died violently and mysteriously at 36 when my mother was six? How many explanations are there? One obvious one is I’m convinced he’s responsible for the gene that makes me crazy unless I’m making up worlds and people. He had the same compulsion, the same need. Ah, the shop talk we could indulge in!

Playing shrink on myself, I grew up without a father. My childhood was love-filled, but there was no father figure in it. Unlike me who dismissed the man who didn’t want me, my mother loved and missed her parent that spilled over to me. She had such wonderful memories of her Daddy. I needed the same. Perhaps in my mind my grandfather became the warm male arms I lacked.

Another reason why this man I never met (at least not in person) means so much is that I’ve become caretaker/safe-guarder of everything that remains of him. Until her death when I was 14, my Nana cherished her husband’s letters to her and hers to him, his manuscripts, and published stories. There were also two newspaper clippings about the investigation into Grandpa’s death. The collection then became my mother’s precious responsibility. (Some letters were in my uncle’s possession). Fast forward to the day my mother broke her pelvis and her independent life ended. I took the collection home with me.

And there it sat. By then my mother, sister, and I had added to the newspaper clippings about the police investigation into his death, and I’d become obsessed with seeking answers. To my delight, the letters between husband and wife were finally all under one roof. Every time I looked at the boxes, unease overtook me. I didn’t want Grandpa’s voice and legacy to die. The mystery of his last day still stalks me. The 90 year old pulp magazines containing his stories were disintegrating. Thanks to some questions and connections, last year I found a safe home for the original publications at the University of Kansas.

To purchase, click Grandfather Lost

As a mostly fiction writer, I was in uncharted territory when it came to writing a biography, but I had no choice. I had so much rich material. So much passion for my legacy. Such a deep need for resolution and an end to the cloud of suspicion about who her husband really was that Nana lived under all her life. I became a detective to the best of my ability and wanted to share what I’d learned. I needed (I still do) help answering lingering questions.

Before electronic publishing became the force it is, I sent query letter after query to nonfiction book publishers. More times than not the editor responded with personal enthusiasm for the biography. Unfortunately, they didn’t believe there’d be wide enough interest among readers. Yes, I was discouraged. Yes, I felt I’d failed Grandpa somehow, but what could I do?

Then thanks to Musa Publisher’s Celina Summers, the stars aligned. She not only had read Grandpa’s stories, she was passionate with them. And about Homer Eon Flint himself. The woman is a force. When she believes in something, she gets behind it with everything in her.

On Sept. 23, 2011 I wrote her, “And how is this for out of left field. My grandfather Homer Eon Flindt (Flint) wrote mostly sci/fi for the early pulp magazines before his mysterious death in 1924 at 36. I have his published stories plus a number of unpublished manuscripts. I’d love to find a readership for those admittedly dated stories along with a segment I’d write about his violent death. I have the newspaper articles about the ‘accident’ investigation as well as hundreds of letters he and Grandma wrote each other when financial necessity separated them during the last year of his life.”

On Sept. 26 she responded, “I have to tell you, too, how excited I and my staff were by your out of left field mention of your grandfather and his stories.  One of the things I’m trying to do at Musa is to bring back the serial story–the way writers used to make good livings writing short fiction or just old-fashioned serials.  We really have been batting around ideas since I got your email.  I would love the opportunity to bring your grandfather’s stories back to the light of day.”

Throwing away much of what I’d written in the original biography, I retooled Grandfather Lost and submitted it. Thanks to the speed of electronic publishing, it is already for sale. (Please see below) In addition Musa is bringing out the bulk of Grandpa’s work both published and unpublished. (Please see