Suzanne Woods Fisher's Blog, page 10
March 22, 2019
Here’s What’s New…
My little 11-month-old granddaughter Annie received a beautiful one-of-a-kind baby blanket from a very talented family friend. She had no pattern, other than her talent and imagination. Wow, wow, wow. It’s made up of a combo of knitting and crochet, using unique yarns. There’s something about this blanket that just speaks to me. I call it the Psalm 23 baby blanket.
Inspired, I decided to re-create it (or at least try). Here’s the thing…I don’t know how to knit. Or crochet. But…what I don’t know, I don’t know.
So I bought knitting needles, yarn (not quite as appealing as the original but as close as I could get), and watched a lot of YouTube videos. A lot. (Wow…YouTube tutorials are a great resource! Here’s what I’ve learned–the shorter ones are usually the better ones.)
It’s been fun to just plow ahead, mistakes and all. (I’ve had lots.)
Last week, I finished the basic blanket. Had to watch another YouTube video to “cast off.” (Remember, this is all new for me.)
Now, the challenging design parts begin. Yesterday, I bought some crochet hooks, yarn, borrowed a book from a friend, and last night I watched new you tube videos on crocheting. It’s harder than knitting, I think. Plus, I’m starting crochet with the oh-so-complicated bobble stitch. Yup. Crazy.
But I’m determined to keep going, and to enjoy the process of learning something new. I’ll add updates now and then! My four-year-old granddaughter, Reagan, came over for lunch today and immediately asked to see the progress on my knitting project. That gave me a smile.
And I am constantly drawn back to the skill and artistic sense of the maker of the original baby blanket. She’s a wonder!
What about you? First, do you knit or crochet? Quilt and sew? Any work-in-progress right now?
Even better, what new skill would you like to learn?
March 20, 2019
And the Winners are…
These five names were chosen from Rafflecopter to win a signed copy of Mending Fences! Winners, please send me your mailing address and I’ll pop a book in the mail to you. Congrats to you! And thanks, everyone, for making the Spring Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt such a success!
Jade Young
Karen Morgan
Rebekah Morris
Karen Klepsteen
Lynn Cherry
March 18, 2019
Author Spotlight with Melody Carlson
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Melody Carlson’s new book, Courting Mr. Emerson.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Jill Oosterhof for winning Valerie Fraser Luesse’s Almost Home.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
Melody Carlson has a way of winning readers over with her heartwarming stories. Courting Mr. Emerson features an endearing duo, hopeful love, and Carlson’s signature touches of humor.
When quirky and spontaneous artist Willow West meets buttoned-up, retired English teacher George Emerson, their wildly different personalities clash. Despite the odds, Willow finds George intriguing, and George cannot deny his attraction to her. What follows is her mission to get him to embrace change and find his love of life again.
As Willow welcomes George into her whimsical life, she begins to fall for him, but he struggles to accept her fun-loving ways. He’s not interested in expanding his horizons or making new friends; it just hurts too much when you lose them. However, as the summer progresses, George feels his defenses crumbling. The question is, will his change of heart be too late for Willow?
Fan favorite Melody Carlson pens a story of two delightfully eccentric characters who get a second chance at life and love.
Q&A with Melody Carlson
I know an idea is good when…I can’t stop thinking about it. I find myself telling the story in my head—in the middle of the night. Or I text myself key words to remind myself of what it is that’s nagging me to write. When an idea won’t leave me alone, I feel there’s a reason for it, and I hope that it’s a good one.
I stay in touch with the world through…The TV in my office. Now some writers think I’m nuts to have a TV in my office, but I’ll admit that I do. I keep it tuned to a congenial news show while I’m doing my ‘business’ work in the morning. It helps me to remain connected to what’s going on out there, but also, since writing is such a quiet and solitary process, it’s nice to hear friendly voices (besides the ones in my head). I’ll tune it to HGTV or TCM in the afternoon, with the sound turned down low. As weird as this sounds, it helps me with the 20-20-20 rule (to help preserve eyesight). Every twenty minutes, you’re supposed to look up from your computer screen, for about twenty feet, for twenty seconds.
I wish I could travel to…I’d like to take my husband to Ireland for about a month. I was there before—and loved it—but he’s never been and he has Irish roots. During that visit, I’d like us to go to Norway and Sweden (also part of his heritage). But equally compelling is my hope to drive our RV to visit all (or most since there are a lot) of National Parks in our own country. That would be amazing!
Three guests at my dream dinner party would be…Jesus and my two sons . . . so they could know him up close and personal.
Purchase a copy of Courting Mr. Emerson
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | CBD
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books with sales of more than seven million, including many bestselling Christmas novellas, young adult titles, and contemporary romances. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including Finding Alice. She and her husband live in central Oregon.
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March 13, 2019
Spring Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt: STOP 22
THIS HUNT IS NOT LIVE. PLEASE RETURN ON MARCH 14 AFTER NOON MOUNTAIN TIME (2 p.m. EST) TO BEGIN. WE’RE STILL PROOFING/WORKING OUT ISSUES ON THE LOOP. THANK YOU!
Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 27 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!
The hunt BEGINS on 3/14 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 3/17 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #27. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!
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It’s a treat for me to introduce Ann Gabhart. She’s an outstanding author of multiple genres, PLUS a truly wonderful person. Ann and I both write for Revell Books. Whenever a Baker (Revell, Bethany) author has a release, we’re given a special Book Perk…the chance to order some of the new books. I always choose Ann’s new book. I read them, and pass them around to all my friends, too.
Here is Ann’s just-for-the-hunt blog post:
Hands to Work, Hearts to God
by Ann H. Gabhart
The Refuge (releasing April 30th) is my eighth Harmony Hill Shaker novel, all stand-alone stories. While researching the Shakers, who were industrious, inventive and generous, I came across many Shaker precepts to salt into my stories to add flavor. The most familiar one is “Hands to work; hearts to God.” All Shaker believers worked with their hands.
Here’s another I used often and did again in The Refuge. “Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as if you were to die tomorrow.” The Centre House at the Kentucky Pleasant Hill Shaker Village proves this work ethic.
Here are some other sayings the Shakers used to guide their converts.
Man is more precious than anything he makes, and the best product of industry is character.
Our thoughts are character molds. They shape language and actions.
Engaged in thy duty, fear no danger.
An idle brain is the devil’s workshop. The devil tempts others, but an idle soul tempts the devil.
Take all sorrow out of life, you take away all richness, depth, and tenderness. Sorrow is the furnace that melts selfish hearts together in love.
Happiness does not so much depend on circumstances as we think. Within our souls, the foundations must abide.
None preaches better than the ant, and it says nothing.
My characters might agree with these ideas, but they chafe against the Shaker rule of no individual families and how the Shakers believed all should live as brothers and sisters. No romance allowed, but love finds a way in my Shaker books. It does again in The Refuge.
Which Shaker precept do you like best? Chime in with a comment for Ann.
About The Refuge: Darcie and Walter Goodwin join the Shakers to escape a cholera epidemic with the plan their stay will be temporary. But when Walter dies in an accident, Darcie, destitute and expecting a child, has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. In this celibate community, Darcie is in a unique—and lonely—position.
Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling and award winning author of over thirty novels, including her popular Shaker series and stories about family life, love and mystery (as A.H. Gabhart). She has been a finalist for the ECPA Book of the Year and the Carol Awards, has won two Selah Awards for Love Comes Home and won RWA’s Faith, Hope, and Love Award for These Healing Hills. She enjoys country life on her Kentucky farm. To find out more, visit www.annhgabhart.com or join the fun on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart or Twitter @AnnHGabhart.
Here’s the Stop #22 Skinny:
You can order Ann’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD or at your local bookstore!
My clue for Stop #22 is: and added
Link to Stop #23, the Next Stop on the Loop: Ann Gabhart’s own site!
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Hold on! Before you go, I’m offering five copies of my new book Mending Fences to five entrants. All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter! Sign-up in the Rafflecopter below…and good luck on the hunt!
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March 11, 2019
Author Spotlight with Valerie Fraser Luesse
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Valerie Fraser Luesse’s new book, Almost Home.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Cheryl H. for winning Jocelyn Green’s Between Two Shores.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
In 2018, award-winning magazine writer and bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse captivated readers with her debut novel Missing Isaac. Now she breathes life into a new cast of unforgettable characters in Almost Home, a complex and compassionate story of hurt and healing.
With America’s entrance into the Second World War, the South has become a melting pot of families looking for work in Uncle Sam’s shipyards and munitions plants. Virtually overnight, the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, is filled with displaced and disenfranchised boarders.
An estranged young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widower from Mississippi, a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war—they’re all hoping
Dolly Chandler’s grand but fading family home turned boardinghouse will help them find their way back to the lives they left behind. But the house has a past of its own.
When tragedy strikes, Dolly’s only hope will be the circle of women under her roof and their ability to uncover her home’s ancient secret and discover the truth about what happened to a young bride who lived there a century before.
Almost Home is a compelling story of community—a story that celebrates sisterhood and women’s ability to connect and cheer each other on, no matter how difficult their circumstances may be.
Q&A with Valerie Fraser Luesse
I know an idea is good when… I can’t stop thinking about it and can’t wait to write about it.
The best day in my life (so far!) was when…Like a lot of women, I guess I’d say my wedding day, when all the planning and stressing was finally over, and my husband and I could just enjoy a really special time with our family and friends.
To de-stress, I like to…play the piano or garden. I’ve always loved music, but I had absolutely no interest in gardening until I was in my thirties and bought my first house. You can’t be a Southerner with a yard unless you know how to grow azaleas and hydrangeas. My mother, who’s a wonderful gardener, was so proud when I could finally tell a geranium from a begonia.
I stay in touch with the world through… mostly the internet, though I still like to get my hands on a real live newspaper. Tip: There is no better source for character names than the obituaries in a small-town Southern newspaper. I always split up first and last names so I’m not invading anyone’s privacy. I keep a little book of names on a shelf above my desk (because I once read an interview with Eudora Welty, who said she kept a book of names, and I have always been in awe of her).
I want to see…retirement! It’s very challenging to write books and work for a magazine full time, but I love what I do, and I’d miss the staff at Southern Living if I left tomorrow. The magazine has been my home away from home for more years than I’ll admit.
I keep organized by…Oh dear. I’ve tried so many “systems.” Years ago, the publisher I work for had all of the managers take a personality test, after which they tallied our scores and fixed us with descriptive labels. My label was “disorganized innovator.” There you go.
I wish I could travel to…the Gulf Coast and stay there. My husband and I absolutely love it—from Louisiana bayous to the flat water of Mississippi Sound to some of the prettiest surf and sand you’ll ever see in Alabama and Florida. We’ve never been to the Texas coast, but we’ve traveled the rest of the Gulf and never can get enough of it.
Three guests at my dream dinner party would be…Rosanne Cash, Fannie Flagg, and Dolly Parton—all writers, all strong creative women with a sense of humor.
Purchase a copy of Almost Home
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | CBD
Valerie Fraser Luesse is the bestselling author of Missing Isaac and an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently the senior travel editor. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse has published major pieces on the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana’s Acadian Prairie, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana won the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.
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March 6, 2019
March 4, 2019
Author Spotlight with Jocelyn Green
Enter below for a chance to win a copy of Jocelyn Green’s new book, Between Two Shores.
Winner will be announced in the next Author Spotlight feature. Congratulations to Vanessa Kroeger for winning Amanda Cabot’s book, A Tender Hope.
Please email my assistant Christen to claim your prize. Note: This post contains affiliate links meaning I will get a small commission if you click and buy from that link.
“Richly historic, even haunting, Green pens a remarkable tale of the clash of cultures and the quest for enduring love. Between Two Shores is extraordinary storytelling, showcasing an unforgettable heroine who is both fierce and a force for good in an ever-changing frontier landscape. A novel not soon forgotten.”
Laura Frantz, author of A Bound Heart
“Jocelyn Green captures the tensions of war in Between Two Shores, on the field with musket and tomahawk and in the tender battlefield of the heart. With gorgeous prose that sings across the pages, vibrant characters, and a plot as unpredictable as a river voyage, Green has penned another winner for historical fiction lovers.”
Lori Benton, author of Many Sparrows and Burning Sky
“Jocelyn Green has done it again with this masterful tale, Between Two Shores. She had me mesmerized from the beginning as I lived and breathed Catherine’s story of family heartbreak and resounding joy. The backdrop of the Seven Years’ War brought history and culture to life in this must-read story.”
Kimberley Woodhouse, bestselling author of Out of the Ashes and In the Shadow of Denali
She Has Always Moved between Worlds,
But Now She Must Choose a Side
The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval would rather remain neutral in a world tearing itself apart. Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the Seven Years’ War against her wishes when her British ex-fiancé, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father. Samuel claims he has information that could help end the war, and he asks Catherine to help him escape.
Peace appeals to Catherine, even if helping the man who broke her heart does not. But New France is starving, and she and her loved ones may not survive another winter of conflict-induced famine. When the dangers of war arrive on her doorstep, Catherine and Samuel flee by river toward the epicenter of the battle between England and France. She and Samuel may impact history, but she fears the ultimate cost will be higher than she can bear.
Q&A with Jocelyn Green
I know an idea is good when… it makes me run to write it down (usually with some kind of squeal or eureka-style shout) and wonder why I didn’t think of it before.
The best day in my life (so far!) was when…my babies were born–so that’s two different dates, and it’s a tie. Those days are a close second after the day I married my husband.
To de-stress, I like to…watch The Great British Baking Show! If I’m out of episodes, I’ll watch The Kids Baking Championship with my 10-year-old son. Sometimes exercise helps me destress, but the question was what do I like to do, so there you have it.
I keep organized by…using Google docs, three-ring binders for research, and a good old-fashioned paper planner called the Panda Planner, which prompts me to identify short-term and long-term goals, potential distractions, and small victories.
I wish I could travel to…Scotland OR hop on a European river cruise. My husband and I have been to Ireland and have toured Europe by train, but traveling via river would be fabulous! As long as I’m dreaming, let’s add Rick Steves as the tour guide.
Purchase a copy of Between Two Shores
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | CBD
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning and bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including The Mark of the King; A Refuge Assured; and The 5 Love Languages Military Edition, which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. Her books have garnered starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and have been honored with the Christy Award, the gold medal from the Military Writers Society of America, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. She loves Mexican food, Broadway musicals, strawberry rhubarb pie, the color red, and reading with a cup of tea. Jocelyn lives with her husband Rob and two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Visit her at www.jocelyngreen.com and on Facebook (facebook.com/jocelyngreenauthor).
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March 1, 2019
Caption this!
Loved your choices for Bible verses from last week’s picture of Yosemite’s incredible firefall! All were poignant. The one that jumped out at me was Rachel Ballew’s choice from the book of Ecclesiastes:
“Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun” (Ecclesiastes 11:7, nkjv).
My friend Karen sent me this pix. It was taken this very week during another torrential rainstorm in northern California. This is the Russian River, which overflowed its banks by five feet. My sister lives in the area (her home is OK, but her friend’s vineyard was completely flooded). Karen thought it fit nicely into our dinosaur photo caption contests. So…caption away!
GUERNEVILLE, CALIFORNIA. – FEB. 27: Rich Willson paddles through the miniature golf course in Guerneville, California, after the Russian River flooded Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
photo source: Mercury News
Rachel…email me and I’ll pop a signed book in the mail to you!
February 27, 2019
Scarcity Says…Abundance Answers: “Where are you?”
When my children were little, they would run to the door to greet my husband when he arrived home from work—all but my youngest daughter, Meredith. She would hide underneath the dining room table, waiting for her dad to find her. Same place, every night. Meredith wanted to be found.
In her childlikeness, Meredith was displaying something that rings true for everyone. We all want to be found.
After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, they went into hiding. Rather than seek God, their shame made them want to avoid Him.
“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you” (Isaiah 59:2, niv).
Alienation from God was exactly what the serpent aimed for! Of all the brokenness that resulted from the Fall, this is the most tragic result of all.
Yet it also reveals a characteristic of God that is unlike any other deity throughout all of human history: God searches after man. While Adam and Eve were hiding behind their flimsy fig leaves, the Lord God missed them, sought them, and called out to find them. The restoration process had already begun.
Scarcity says…You blew it. You had your chance. God wants nothing more to do with you.
Abundance answers…“When they heard the sound of GOD strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from GOD.
GOD called to the Man: ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8-9, msg).
