Darlene Franklin's Blog, page 192

WRITING NEWS AND TIPS FROM CYNTHIA HICKEY

Today’s special guest is Cynthia Hickey. She’s not only a personal friend and a collaborator, she is also my boss, the editor of Forget Me Not Romances. This multi-published and Amazon Best-Selling author has sold half a million copies of her works. She has taught a Continuing Education class at the 2015 American Christian Fiction Writers conference. She is active on FB, twitter, and Goodreads, and is a contributor to Cozy Mystery Magazine blog and Suspense Sisters blog. Her and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s well-known authors. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com

Before then, I have news to share:

Infusion of Love, part of the Teacup Courtship series, is available for purchase! When Mahala Kent’s tea party honoring her brother’s marriage turns into a brawl over tea, she’s forced out of her wealthy neutrality. A public debate on the subject pushes her even closer to her childhood friend and hoped-for suitor, Jothan Stout. Will the arrival of a tea shipment in Greenwich push Jothan and Mahala further apart—or give them a common taste for herbal infusions?

Infusion of Love Purchase Link

 

Tobogganing for Two won the Bibliotherapy Book of the Year award from the Overcoming With God blog. Bibliotherapy is the use of media to bring about a therapeutic result. Counselors, psychologists, and other helping professionals might want to recommend a certain book because it address a specific mental health issue. Or the book may deal with major life events or developmental life issues. In Tobogganing for Two, my hero struggles with his experience as a surgeon during the Civil War and the heroine’s sister is paralyzed.

Tobogganing for Two purchase link

 

Upcoming Events:

Today: guest post on http://trishperry.blogspot.com/

February 6: guest post on  http://www.jodiewolfe.com

February 7: A Reader’s Journey through Matthew, designed to be used during Lent, is available for free one day only. Available at: Available at:

*************************************************************************************************Now let’s hear from Cindy:

I CAN’T WRITE!

My days have passed, my plans are shattered. Yet the desires of my heart   turn night into day;

in the face of the darkness light is near. Job 17: 11-12

 Writing is a tough business. Someone once told me you can learn the craft of writing, but to be a storyteller is a gift from God.

So, you believe God has called you to write, yet that elusive contract has yet to appear. You’ve studied, attended conferences, sent out proposals, and received rejection after rejection. So many that you are contemplating papering your house with them and calling it quits to writing.

Let’s look at Job. He lost everything: family, wealth, home, friends. Yet, he still believes there is light to come out of the darkness. Most of us have never lost anything close to what Job lost.

I’ve come close to quitting many times, yet the desire to write would never leave me. All I could do was focus on the next word, the next line, the next story. I’ve asked God to remove the desire if it was not His plan for me. The desire never left. The Light continued to shine.

If God truly called you to write, then write. Let Him take care of who reads the words he’s given you. If God has called you to write, then write for Him. He may lead you to traditional publication, He may lead you to independently publishing your work, (which has been a huge success for me), He may lead you to a small press, or He may want you to write only for His eyes. But write! Let the light shine from the darkness.

The post WRITING NEWS AND TIPS FROM CYNTHIA HICKEY appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

A NEW BEGINNING

I’ve been studying and memorizing my way through the book of Isaiah—not all of the book, but verses here and there. I’m almost done, memorizing from Isaiah 58. The words jumped out at me:

I will always show you where to go.

I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—

firm muscles, strong bones.

You’ll be like a well-watered garden,

a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,

restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,

make the community livable again.

Isaiah 58:11-12

I can’t think of a much emptier place than a nursing homes, and I have plenty of rubble from my past to use for building something new.

This isn’t meant to be a devotional. . .but that’s my big news for this month. This year. God is doing something magnificent in my life. I’m excited about prayer, spending more and more time in prayer—something I’ve always wanted but never experienced before except as drudgery.

The verses above blew me away – what does God want to do with my fix-me-upper life?

As I mentioned on January 4, I feel called to write devotions from Genesis to Revelation, from all sixty-six books. For five days, I made the first book, Beginnings: 30 Days in Genesis – Exodus, free, hoping people hoping to read through the Bible this year would pick it up. I prayed for a tremendous blessing.

137 people took advantage of the offer. And not a one has paid for it yet.

So, a small beginning. As I’m editing the devotionals I wrote on Leviticus, I’m thinking to myself, these are dry and hard compared to Genesis. I find them exciting, but will anyone else? Who’ll buy a devotional that begins with Leviticus, anyhow? I suspect it stands high on the list of people’s least favorite book of the Bible.

And yet—wanting to ask God for a blessing. Will it be like the talents, where the master gave the tenant five more talents in addition to the five they already had? In that case, I’d be asking for 274.

Or should I ask God for the seed sown in good soil—30 times (4110)? 60 times (8220)? 100 times (13,700)?

Or should I ask God for the hundredfold blessing for those who forsake mother and father—that 13,700?

And as I write this, I am listening to Joel Olsteen talking about a “second touch,” the best part of my life still in my future. . .

None of my planning or promoting or praying (or writing) can make any of that happen. I’ll have to trust God to bring it to the right readers.

On a happier note, I just finished listening to the audio recording of my first mystery, Gunfight at Grace Gulch, and I loved it! Two of my books—Gifts of Christmas and Jacob’s Dream—are already available in audio.

The post A NEW BEGINNING appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

WRITING NEWS AND TIPS: JAMES CALLAN

Today’s guest is James R. Callan. He’s had a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA. He left the technology field to pursue his real love, writing. He has had four non-fiction books published, but his passion is mystery and suspense novels. His eleventh book is scheduled to be published in spring, 2016. James, I’ve downloaded your book and can’t wait to read it. I love mysteries.

Before we get to James’s word of wisdom, a little of my writing news. We enjoyed a grand party encouraging everyone to read through their Bible this year (or maybe longer) and celebrating the release of Beginnings: 30 Days in Genesis – Exodus. Thanks to everyone who attended.

My Great Escapes Mystery Book Tour starts today. I have a few other blog visits along the way. You can check out the list below or head to (link) which lists them all in one place.

1/11 StoreyBook Reviews

1/12 Babs Book Bistro

1/12 Sarah Ruut

1/13 Laura’s Interests, Giveaway

1/14 Island Confidential, Giveaway working

1/15 MHDeanCollectibles Book Blog

1/16 The Girl with Book Lungs

1/17 Cozy Up With Kathy

1/18 Christa Reads and Writes

1/19 Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

1/20 deal sharing aunt

1/21 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too !

1/22 Book Babble

1/23 LibriAmoriMiei

1/24 dru’s book musings

Now let’s hear from James:

Learn to Use Dialog Signatures

James R. Callan

Consider making a dialog signature for your major characters. What is a dialog signature? Your signature is a unique representation of you. Put it on a document and people know that document is from you. Similarly, a dialog signature identifies the speaker. It is the unique pattern that makes it clear who is speaking.

So, what makes up a dialog signature? It is what makes a character’s speech unique, what sets her apart from others, at least in terms of dialog.

What does your character sound like? What is distinctive about his or her voice?

When you make up a bio, or character sketch, consider including the character’s dialog signature. What is her

* Cadence

* Vocabulary or word choice

* Diction

* Inflection

* Accent

* Regional dialect

* Sentence structure, or lack of

* Flow

* Volume

* Eye contact

* Mannerisms

* Ease

* Body language

* Favorite words

* Marker words

Each character should have a different set of these aspects of speech. You do not want all characters to sound alike. Ideally, the reader should know who is speaking by the way she speaks.

Does this character answer in as few words as possible ,or does she ramble on and on?

Does she have a regional dialect, certain words or patterns that are different from others in the book? Is her manner easy and smooth, or stilted? Is her body language significant? Does he have certain words he often uses? Does he always speak in complete sentences, or complex sentences? Or maybe he often speaks in fragments.

Write out a dialog signature for your major characters, pin it on the bulletin board behind your computer. Keep it in mind for that person’s dialog. Your readers will appreciate it.

A large corporation is taking land by eminent domain. Syd Cranzler stands in its way, threatening a court battle. After a heated meeting with the corporation representative, Syd is found dead from an overdose of heart medication. The police call it suicide. Case closed.

But Father Frank, Syd’s pastor, and Georgia Peitz, another member of the church, don’t believe Syd committed suicide and begin to look for clues of what really happened. And this has an ill affect on Georgia’s budding romance with the lead detective.

When the priest is almost poisoned, they convince the police to investigate further. Immediately, Father Frank becomes the target of rumors and speculation he might have had something to do with Syd’s death.

The more clues Father Frank and Georgia uncover, the more danger they find themselves in. Can they find the real killer before they become victims?

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1eeykvG

Over My Dead Body, is available at: http://amzn.to/1BmYQ0Q

Website: www.jamesrcallan.com/

Blog: www.jamesrcallan.com/blog

The post WRITING NEWS AND TIPS: JAMES CALLAN appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

BEGINNINGS and MYSTERIES

P.S. Remember to leave comments all month for chances to win these books, along with mentioning whether or not you’re signed up for my newsletter, twitter, and like my Facebook page.

I released another devotional this month, Beginnings: 30 Days in Genesis – Exodus. For those of you planning to read through the Bible this year, it’s an excellent aid to get started. And if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read through the Bible, check out my suggestions at More to Life Magazine.

This book gives me the goosebumps. I love reading the Bible. Even at my age, I keep finding things I never noticed before, that sense of “how did I miss that before?” Although Beginnings is presented in a devotional style, it shows how my mind works when I’m reading through my Bible. See how my mind works on subjects such as:

Timeline. Was Adam still alive when Noah was born? Maybe not, but check out Day Two, The One and Only.
What the Bible doesn’t say. Check out Day Three, Where Did All the Bodes Go?
Contradictions: Nimrod the “great hunter before the Lord” but also the man who built Babylon. “Righteous Lot” who lived in Sodom. Check out Day Four, The Great Hunter Before the Lord.
Does it really say that? Checking different translations of the Bible to arrive at the truth. Check out Day Eighteen, Pharaoh’s Final Solution
Why did God act that way? We may not understand God’s timing—look at poor Moses on Day Nineteen, Higher Standard
Ouch, God, that touched a nerve. When God shows us something wrong in our own lives—for me, it was Day Twenty-three, Customer Complaints.
I never noticed that before. How did I miss seeing something that neat in all the times I read it before? Day twenty-seven, God’s Tattoo.

I hope you join me as I begin this journey through the Bible. Next up, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—hopefully in March.

Beginnings purchase link

Since I’ve offered three devotionals in a row, my featured book is the 3-in-1 volume of my mystery series, Dressed for Death. The first book, Gunfight at Grace Gulch, will be featured in a two-week long blog tour, with daily giveaways. Check it out at Escape With Dolly.

 

So it made sense for me to offer the 3-in-1 volume of the Dressed for Death series. It combines my state of residence – Oklahoma – with my love for history – of course, with a vintage clothing store owner for the heroine – and wacky characters galore.

In addition to the devotional series I am working on this year, I am writing a new mystery series, Murder by the Case. I wrote the first book, Case Closed, during November’s NANO and now I’m editing it. Read any of my Dressed for Death mysteries to discover Darlene the mystery writer!

Dressed for Death Purchase Link

The post BEGINNINGS and MYSTERIES appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

WRITING NEWS AND TIPS

Here’s praying you all had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a blessed New Year! Today I’m introducing the first of my guests with writing tips, Jeanette Levellie. But first I’ll catch up with my writing news.

Wednesday is your last chance to leave a comment for a chance to win An Advent Journey through Matthew and 365 Fun Bible Facts. Please sign up and encourage others to do so! You can also go to past posts from December and leave messages.

Since last we spoke, I finished the rough draft of Infusion of Love, my Revolutionary War entry in the Teacup Courtship Novella series. I also sent Beginnings: 30 Days in Genesis-Exodus to the editor, and hope to have that published by mid-January. I’m working on edits to my new mystery, Case Closed, and the teacup novella.

No more blog appearances until my Great Escapes Book Tour highlighting my first mystery, Gunfight at Grace Gulch, starts on January 11.

 

Now let’s meet Jeanette Levellie. Her newest book is Shock the Clock: Time Management Strategies for Writers and Other Creatives. She is also the author of Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top, The Heart of Humor, and hundreds of articles. She is the mother of two adults, grandmother of three children and servant of four (cats). Visit her at http://www.jeanettelevellie.com.

*Jeanette is giving away a copy of her book, Shock the Clock, with this post. Leave your email like belovedfranklin (at) msn (dot) com to be in the drawing.*

Top 10 Time Management Tips for Writers

Ask the Lord to lead you on the unique writing/publishing path He wants for you, where you’ll be fulfilled and successful. Follow His leading, not others. He is the Shepherd; they are fellow-sheep.
Take a book with you everywhere—you can read while you wait in line at the post office, at a restaurant, and rides at Disneyworld.
Break chores down into baby steps. Satan wants us to believe we must finish tasks in one sitting, so we’ll get discouraged and never start. Every book and article began with the first sentence.
Limit TV watching to a few shows. Don’t simply watch—analyze to become a better writer. What plot lines, characterization, and dialogue works, and what doesn’t? Apply those elements to your writing.
Keep pen and notebook or dictation machine with you, to write down ideas as they come. This includes your bedside table—some of the richest ideas come at night, when your mind is relaxed.
Keep your goals visible—if you see them often, they’ll get done. Use day planners, online tools, or whiteboards—whatever motivates you best.
Reward yourself when you finish a less-than-enjoyable task.
Set the timer for 15 minutes, half an hour, or an hour. Don’t stop writing ‘til it dings.
Make your goals realistic and measurable. Put dates on them, so you can check them off or erase them when you reach them. Share them with others who will hold you accountable.
Know your distracters, so you can avoid or manage them. Mute your phone and email notification; put a Do Not Disturb sign on your door; go to the library, café or park—whatever it takes to get the muse flowing.Adapted from Shock the Clock: Time Management for Writers and Other Creatives by Jeanette Levellie

The post WRITING NEWS AND TIPS appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For this blog, I tried to think of a wonderful Christmas message that doesn’t start with a Bible verse and become a devotional.

But the truth is, Christmas is a ho-hum day for me. The last special Christmas memory I have wasn’t all that happy. The Christmas after my daughter’s death, my mother treated us to a special weekend at a swanky hotel with all the trimmings. She was right. We needed a quiet, but memorable, place to survive that first empty feeling. Of course, it was also my granddaughter Jordan’s first Christmas.

I didn’t and couldn’t know that would be my last Christmas with my mother, either. A year later, she was in a nursing home and I was homebound by a blizzard. A year later, she was gone. Now I have no family left that celebrates Christmas. Jaran and his family enjoy Hanukkah—and I got to take part this year.

The nursing homes hold great Christmas parties, wonderful food, lots of presents—a week or even two before Christmas. We’ll be lucky to get ham or turkey on Christmas day. And the abundance of presents goes down when they’re things like a family-sized tube of toothpaste for someone with dentures! It did include a few lovely items, such as a round-the-neck cream scarf and a Monet calendar and sweet-smelling body lotion.

So I don’t expect much on Christmas day itself but to hold onto the feeling of Christmas. As I continue my study/devotional/memorization of Isaiah, I keep finding reference after reference to the coming Messiah. This week I reached the holy of holies, chapter 53: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

It’s powerful whatever version you read it in, but the first verse from The Message hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have ever expected God’s saving power would look like this?”

I felt like I was looking at the manger, seeing that tiny, helpless, adorable baby—under the shadow of the cross.

Once again, Christmas is in my heart. God is now here, where He can be seen and heard and touched.

365 days a year.

The post MERRY CHRISTMAS! appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

WRITING TIPS AND NEWS

Note to my readers: Starting with my next writing tips post (on December 28th), guest bloggers will offer you writing tips.  I will continue to keep you up to date with my writing life.

         Since this is my last writing tip for awhile, I’ll offer you a Christmas gift of where I find ideas for a yearly stream of novellas. Because when I started, I wondered how anyone came up with new ideas year after year. Now I can’t imagine not writing them.

So let’s start with the obvious source for ideas: the original Christmas story. There are many directions to take. So far I’ve looked at a very young Mary looking forward to marrying her best friend’s older brother. Another time, a single mother is ashamed of giving birth out of wedlock. More recently, three wise women from the east arrived bearing gifts for Christmas.

Other years, Bible stories that have no bearing on the Christmas story inspired my novellas. Want snow? How about the woman who dressed in red long johns during a blizzard like the virtuous women. Even Eliezer’s visit to Ur to find a bride ended up in a Christmas story.

Of course, they can’t all be that spiritual . . .

A few times, the story ends on Christmas day, but isn’t central to the story.

Towns named after Christmas, let me count the ways: I chose Christmas, Florida, and later, Bethlehem, Texas. I even have a series of books set in towns fitting in with the holiday: My Candy Valentine in Loveland, OK; Love’s Glory in Old Glory, TX; Tobogganing for Two in Plymouth, NE.

Christmas traditions find their way into the stories—angels and gifts, music and Christmas cards.

Do you have any family stories that center around Christmas? I would love to hear about them.

WRITING NEWS

I completed NANO and the book! Case Closed weighed in at 54,800 words. My next projects are a devotional based on Genesis and Exodus to be published in January and a novella about one of the “tea events” in 1774. (The Boston Tea Party wasn’t the only one. Mine is in Greenwich, NJ).

I have been published twice in the webzine, Pastor Resources. A place I never expected to be, but they keep looking for articles that reflect on something I’ve been studying in the Bible. For the latest article, a reflection on the recent shootings in California, check out http://www.pastorresources.com/where-is-god/

I “read” my 1st-grade granddaughter’s book of stories in the cat journal I had given her—the next generation of writers!

Upcoming Guest Blog Posts and Holidays

December 14-20: Jacob’s Christmas Dream and An Advent Journey through Matthew are featured at http://www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com/ all week long, complete with a giveaway of both books.

December 16: My devotional, “Take It Out of the Drawer,” will appear on http://www.gingersolomon.com/blog/. Jacob’s Christmas Dream is being given away

December 18: Interview and giveaway concerning Jacob’s Christmas Dream will appear at www.liztolsma.com .

December 23: An inspirational piece will appear on Jennifer Slattery’s blog  Jennifer Slattery Lives Out Loud

December 24: National Chocolate Day – enjoy my novella about a chocolatier, My Candy Valentine. http://www.amazon.com/Candy-Valentine-Holidays-Heart-Book-ebook/dp/B00SI2214K/

December 25: Merry Christmas!

The post WRITING TIPS AND NEWS appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

ADVENT DEVOTIONS AND FUN FACTS

This month I’ve featuring two devotional books I’ve had part in.

I was saved about the same time I started playing piano—years before I wrote anything seriously. Over the years, I’ve had devotions published in about twenty books and in yearly magazines. I even went to Bible college, and then to Seminary. I’ve studied the Bible all the way through at least once, and read it so many times I can’t count.

That’s not to brag. . .it’s just the background to say: I have a compulsion to write a series of devotions about the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. An Advent Journey through Matthew is the first. I hope to publish a 30-day book covering Genesis and Exodus during January.

I chose 365 Day Fun Bible Fact Book as my featured book, because of the nature of the devotions. It’s didn’t start out as a “fun Bible fact book.” It started out as an unusual or even weird things in scripture. For instance, I wrote one asking about the Baker’s Dozen of the 12 tribes of Israel. It varies from place to place—check it and see.

And that’s how I approach my Bible study/devotionals. I look for those facts, for those things that make me say “How did I never notice that before?” And that becomes the focus of my story. I was excited to read and write the laws of Leviticus – in ways I’ve never felt before. That will be coming after the book on Genesis and Exodus.

Jump and enjoy!

The post ADVENT DEVOTIONS AND FUN FACTS appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

FIFTH MONDAY SPECIAL: CHRISTMAS MAIL ORDER ANGELS

AEvery month that has five months I’ll do something different with my blog, interact with other authors–you can chat with some of my writing buddies.

This month we’re talking with several authors who worked with me on the Christmas Mail Order Angels series. First up: I asked my fellow authors what they learned in writing their books, or what they enjoyed or found hard about working with this series. Here are our answers:

Darlene: Watching my idea blossom is so many imaginative way has been amazing. Thanks, everyone, for jumping aboard!

Susan Page Davis: Although I had it a lot easier than Isabella did when it came to communication, travel, and other concerns, there was still an element of uncertainty about the new life I would lead in Oregon, and of course, a sense of adventure. Writing this novella seemed like a natural extension of what I knew.

Cynthia Hickey: Love can come from even the most dire seeming circumstances.

Tanya Stowe: Yes. I loved getting to know these ladies and brainstorming ideas. Made the creative process come alive.

Patty Smith Hall: What I loved about writing this story is working with these amazing ladies–the encouragement and willingness to help each other is enough to keep me in the Christmas spirit all year round!

Martha Lou Rogers: Writing with 10 other authors was really an enjoyable experience. What I enjoyed most was reading the other stories and then gleaning from them things I could use in my own. Using characters from the others to interact with mine gave me more feeling of family and unity. Everyone was most cooperative and when I found my characters showing up in other manuscripts, I was happy. Also interesting was reading the different voices and styles of the writers in the collection.

Appearing here in the order their books were released:

Susan Page Davis – The Reliable Cowboy

Isabella Johnston lost her husband to the sea, and she wants to get as far from the coast as she can. When she leaves Maine to marry a cowboy in Wyoming Territory, she reasons that Edwin Gray will be safe on the ranch. But every time he is late for an engagement, she finds herself worrying. What could be horrible enough to make him late for their wedding? http://www.amazon.com/Reliable-Cowboy-Mail-Order-Christmas-Angels-ebook/dp/B012YLM1TK/

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. She’s always interested in the unusual happenings of the past. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and also a winner of the Carol Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and a finalist in the WILLA Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com

 

Cynthia Hickey Christmas Gold

When Phoebe Ross’s employer dies, leaving her with a wedding gown, Phoebe feels she has no choice but to answer the call for mail order brides to Angel Vale, Wyoming. When she arrives her groom-to-be is nowhere in sight. With the other brides claimed, she sets off to find her groom. He is nothing what she expected. http://www.amazon.com/Evergreen-Wreat...

Cynthia Hickey and her husband run the small press, Forget Me Not Romances, which includes some of the CBA’s well-known authors. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and one cat. She has seven grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com

 

Tanya Stowe The Evergreen Wreath

Twenty-year-old Levi Harper needs help. Life is difficult after his father and brother die in a mine cave-in but when pneumonia takes his mother, Levi can’t manage the mine and his four younger siblings alone. He signs up for a mail-order-bride. Virginia Pepper is determined to escape her father’s unrelenting anger and all-too-ready fists. She’ll do anything to get on that train…even agree to marry a stranger. But she has no intention of trading one abusive man for another. Paper marriage or not, she’ll be on her way first chance she gets, no matter how sweet and kind Levi seems. As Christmas approaches, Levi counts down the days with a waiting, hopeful spirit. Can the Christmas season create a path for Levi into Virginia’s heart? http://www.amazon.com/Evergreen-Wreath-Christmas-Mail-Order-Angels-ebook/dp/B015BVUKFW

Patty Smith Hall A Home For Christmas

Is she cursed? All of her life, Margaret Cobb has felt cursed, the port wine stain on her cheek a punishment for her mother’s death. But she dreams of a home and family. When the opportunity arises to be a mail order bride for a man in Angel Vale, Wyoming, Margaret risks everything familiar for her chance at happiness, only to be rejected once again. That is until assayer Avery Waldwin offers to marry her. Or the answer to Averyprayers? Avery Waldwin needs a mother for his young daughter, even if it means marrying a woman he’s never met. A marriage of convenience was all he’d hoped for, but there’s something about the kind, Godly woman that draws him to her.  As the Christmas season approaches, both Avery and Margaret discover there’s only one present they each want—the gift of love! http://www.amazon.com/Home-Christmas-...

Patty Smith Hall is an award-winning, multi-published author with Love Inspired Historical and Heartsong/Harlequin. She currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter and calls North Georgia her home which she shares with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Visit her website at www.pattysmithhall.com.

 

Martha Lou Rogers Christmas Blessing

 Annelle Pugh is the daughter caretaker of her retired sea captain father who is in poor health. As she approaches age thirty, he smothers any of her attempts at a social life, and Nelle becomes discouraged and fearful she’ll never have a home of her own. While her aunt is visiting and taking of the Captain, Nelle grabs the chance to go west and become one of the Mail Order Angels requested by a group of men in Wyoming. Riley Thornton is a rancher mourning the death of his wife and desperately needs someone to care for his three children. After several nanny attempts fail, Riley signs up for one of the Angel Brides who consented to come to Wyoming. Riley almost backs out when he sees how petite Nelle is and doubts she’ll be able to handle two growing daughters and a barely walking son as well as take care of the cooking and cleaning. Despite her doubts, Nelle begins to love Riley, but at every turn her fear of being sent back East keeps her from letting her feelings be known. As they work together, Riley comes to realize Nelle is special and truly his blessing from God at Christmas. http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Blessing-Christian-Historical-Romantic-ebook/dp/B016P05GSY/

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren. A former English and Home Economics teacher, Martha loves to cook and experimenting with recipes and loves scrapbooking when she has time. She has written three series, Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart and The Homeward Journey. Her new contemporary series, Love in the Bayou City of Houston and novella, Christmas Blessing are now available on Amazon.

Find Martha at: www.marthawrogers.com

Lynette Sowell Mistletoe Mistake

Matthew Thomas cooked up the whole idea of the Mail Order Angels, but when his own angel appears in the form of Sophia Webster, at first his feet get colder than a Wyoming blizzard. Sophia tries to make a new start in Wyoming by staying true to her word and helping Matthew establish the newspaper, but come spring, it’s back East for her–unless Matthew’s change of heart can convince her otherwise.

Lynette Sowell is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than 20 titles for Barbour Publishing, Heartsong Presents, and Abingdon Press. When Lynette’s not writing, she works as a newspaper editor and columnist for the Copperas Cove Leader-Press. Lynette was born in Massachusetts, raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but makes her home on the doorstep of the Texas hill country with her husband, their dog, and a duo of cats who have them well-trained. She loves reading, trying new recipes, catching a good movie, and is always up for a Texas road trip.

The post FIFTH MONDAY SPECIAL: CHRISTMAS MAIL ORDER ANGELS appeared first on Darlene Franklin.

WRITING NEWS & TIPS: FINDING IDEAS: HISTORICAL EVENTS

I know this will primarily apply to writers of historical fiction, but I bet your creative minds can find a way to apply it to contemporary as well.

I love finding historical tidbits that suggest a story. Oh, the big events—wars, the Great Depression, the Oregon Trails, etc.—provide the backdrop for many a story. Others—such as the Battle of the Alamo—are too sacred to be the actual setting. I found that out when I tried to have my hero’s father died at the Alamo in Lone Star Trail. I took the wise course and have him die sometime during Texas’s war for independence from Mexico. Even some smaller events, such as the Mason County, Hoo Doo War, are probably too big for a story except from a real expert–my subject in A Ranger’s Trail.

My favorite place to look is historical timelines. In developing the Texas Trails series with Susan Page Davis and Vickie McDonnell, we used facts as diverse a cowboy strike in the 1880s, a train blown up for a movie in the 1890s, and children raised as Indian captives in the 1850s. I would have written about the start of kindergartens in Dallas if the story had continued. Maybe I still should.

This is especially good is you know the place and/or the time your story must take place. In looking for Vermont’s involvement with the Civil War (for the third book of the Maple Notch Days series), I learned that the northernmost battle in the Civil War took place in Vermont! Confederates came south from Canada, robbed three banks, and declared the town of St. Albans a victory for the Conferacy. Voila, the nearby town of Maple Notch had imitation bank robberies.

Other times, a fact finds you. In looking at steamships (a nice romantic setting, don’t you think?), I learned there were female steamboat captains. Oh, I had to write that story: A Bride’s Rogue in Roma, Texas, where Blanche becomes captain.

Just looking through books about the history of quilts gave me dozens of ideas.

So if you like history—look around you and find those treasures in the most unexpected places.

NEWS

(report about Nano progress)

Christmas Mail Order Angels, Volume 2 (Books 7-11) was released on November 6th.

Christmas Mail Order Angels: The Complete Anthology will be published on December 1st.

Pray for me as I attempt to finish Beginnings: 12 Weeks in Genesis – Deuteronomy for publication in January.

CALENDAR

7 DAYS LEFT to leave a comment to win a copy of Tobogganing for Two or Home Front Dreams.

November 23rd: Book excerpt from Tobogganing for Two with a recipe for a chance to win a copy of the book. http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog

November 27th: My romantic interview with a recipe for turkey leftovers for a chance to win An Advent Journey through Matthew. http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog

I know this will primarily apply to writers of historical fiction, but I bet your creative minds can find a way to apply it to contemporary as well.

I love finding historical tidbits that suggest a story. Oh, the big events—wars, the Great Depression, the Oregon Trails, etc.—provide the backdrop for many a story. Others—such as the Battle of the Alamo—are too sacred to be the actual setting. I found that out when I tried to have my hero’s father died at the Alamo in Lone Star Trail. I took the wise course and have him die sometime during Texas’s war for independence from Mexico. Even some smaller events, such as the Mason County, Hoo Doo War, are probably too big for a story except from a real expert–my subject in A Ranger’s Trail.

My favorite place to look is historical timelines. In developing the Texas Trails series with Susan Page Davis and Vickie McDonnell, we used facts as diverse a cowboy strike in the 1880s, a train blown up for a movie in the 1890s, and children raised as Indian captives in the 1850s. I would have written about the start of kindergartens in Dallas if the story had continued. Maybe I still should.

This is especially good is you know the place and/or the time your story must take place. In looking for Vermont’s involvement with the Civil War (for the third book of the Maple Notch Days series), I learned that the northernmost battle in the Civil War took place in Vermont! Confederates came south from Canada, robbed three banks, and declared the town of St. Albans a victory for the Conferacy. Voila, the nearby town of Maple Notch had imitation bank robberies.

Other times, a fact finds you. In looking at steamships (a nice romantic setting, don’t you think?), I learned there were female steamboat captains. Oh, I had to write that story: A Bride’s Rogue in Roma, Texas, where Blanche becomes captain.

Just looking through books about the history of quilts gave me dozens of ideas.

So if you like history—look around you and find those treasures in the most unexpected places.

NEWS

(report about Nano progress)

Christmas Mail Order Angels, Volume 2 (Books 7-11) was released on November 6th.

Christmas Mail Order Angels: The Complete Anthology will be published on December 1st.

Pray for me as I attempt to finish Beginnings: 12 Weeks in Genesis – Deuteronomy for publication in January.

CALENDAR

7 DAYS LEFT to leave a comment to win a copy of Tobogganing for Two or Home Front Dreams.

November 23rd: Book excerpt from Tobogganing for Two with a recipe for a chance to win a copy of the book. http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog

November 27th: My romantic interview with a recipe for turkey leftovers for a chance to win An Advent Journey through Matthew. http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog

November 29th: Advent Sunday: An Advent Journey through Matthew available for 99 cents from now through Christmas. http://www.amazon.com/ADVENT-JOURNEY-THROUGH-MATTHEW-2015-ebook/dp/B016NIEJLI/

 

The post WRITING NEWS & TIPS: FINDING IDEAS: HISTORICAL EVENTS appeared first on Darlene Franklin.