Lena Nelson Dooley's Blog, page 149
July 11, 2016
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE - Beth Wiseman - One Free Book
Bio: Beth Wiseman is best known for her Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan Amish series. Having sold over 1.5 million books, her novels have held spots on multiple bestseller lists, and she has been the recipient of many prestigious literary awards. Beth is contracted with HarperCollins Christian Publishing into the year 2019, and she has published fourteen novels and sixteen novellas to date.
Beth has a deep affection for the Amish and their simpler way of life, and while she plans to continue writing Amish love stories, she is also branching out into other areas including Christian contemporary romance novels and novellas. Need You Now, The House that Love Built, The Promise and A Tide Worth Turning are some of these recent releases.
Beth and her husband are empty nesters enjoying the country life in Texaswith three dogs and a rooster. When she’s not writing, Beth loves to travel, paint, and enjoy time with friends and family.
Welcome back, Beth. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it? I’m fortunate to be able to alternate between Amish fiction and women’s fiction. I enjoy both of those genres, but with each book—Amish or otherwise—I see my stories growing a little bit edgier and filled with more twists and turns. It makes for more complex revisions and edits, but it’s fun to up the ante for the reader.
If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live? Ha! My husband and I have been having this conversation on a regular basis, and the honest answer is … I don’t know! We’ve talked about visiting places we haven’t been so we could possibly try living somewhere new. But at the end of the day, we are born and raised Texans, and I don’t see that changing. J
What foreign country would you like to visit and why? Singapore. My oldest son has been working there for three years, and he is begging me to come for a visit, even though he comes home for five weeks every year. But, oh my … that is a very long plane flight. I’m not as worldly a traveler as my son, lol. However, it is on my travel list for next year, if all goes well. So many things to consider when traveling that far from home.
Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.Does my romance with food count? ;) If so, I’d combine a romantic vacation with my husband and a trip to Positano, Italy, to attend cooking school!
Sounds yummy in more ways than one. Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?See the answer to the last question above. I think that would be a perfect setting for one of my Surf’s Up novellas.
What is the main theme of this novella? Kyle is faced with a seemingly impossible situation. I’ve tried to convey that even in the worst of times, God has a plan, often better than anything we could have dreamed up on our own.
Tell us about the story. Here is the back cover copy:
One man. Two women. A child desperate for medical treatment.
How can Kyle choose between the woman he once loved and his current fiancée? Is there a solution that suits all involved, or will someone end up out of the triangle forever?
Morgan Calhoun and her parents are whisked away in the middle of the night, something Morgan always knew was a possibility because of her father's CIA job. But she'd always thought if such a scenario played out that she would have time to say goodbye to those she loved—particularly her boyfriend, Kyle. Adding to her unbearable situation, several weeks after the move, Morgan finds out that she's pregnant.
Kyle Brossmann doesn't even get a break-up letter from Morgan. She's just gone, along with her parents. His heart broken, Kyle continues with his plans. He graduates from high school and attends college, where he meets his fiancée, Lexie. But two men visit Kyle and encourage him to travel to an undisclosed location, where he will meet his five-year-old daughter. Rocked by the news that he has a child, Kyle learns he is the only person who might be able to save his daughter's life.
Will Kyle choose his first love and his daughter? Or will he stay with Lexie and live the life they’ve been planning?
Each Surf’s Up novella takes the reader to a beach locale, weaving romance and adventure into a soul-soothing journey of hope.
Please give us the first page of the book.PrologueKyle stretched tape across another box, then lifted it from the floor and piled it on top of the others that he had ready to go.
“I can’t believe all this stuff was stashed in this small room.” Lexie lowered a stack of file folders into a box. “I don’t think I had nearly this much in my dorm room.” She grinned as she slung long brown hair over her shoulders. “And I’m a girl. We keep everything.”
Kyle eyed the organized mess in the place he’d called home over the past four years. “Some of it probably needs to be trashed, but I’ll take a closer look at everything once I get settled in my apartment.” He handed Lexie the tape. “Just think, you’ll be right downstairs from me. No curfews or rules. We can eat pizza at three in the morning, and we won’t have to deal with crazy roommates.”
Lexie closed the distance between them and pressed her soft lips gently against his. Kyle eased his arms around her and basked in the scent of her flowery perfume. The feel of her mouth on his was a welcome distraction. They’d briefly considered moving in together, but Kyle’s Catholic upbringing kept him from choosing that option. They’d done the next best thing: rented apartments close to each other.
“Maybe we should take a break from packing,” Kyle whispered in her ear, trailing kisses down her neck.
She wiggled out of his arms. “Behave. We’ve got to get this done. You’ve got to be out of here by the end of the day.” She walked to the built-in drawers in Kyle’s room and tugged the bottom one until it inched open. “Good grief. What is all this?”
Yes, what is in that drawer? I can’t wait to find out. How can readers find you on the Internet? On my website BethWiseman.comFans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook where I interacts with readersOn Twitter at https://twitter.com/bethwiseman
Thank you, Beth, for sharing this book with us. I'm eager to read it.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Message In A Bottle: A Surf's Up Novella[image error] - paperback
Message In A Bottle: A Surf's Up Novella - Kindle
This novella is also available in a volume with book one of her Surf's Up novellas.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if not in the US. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
Beth has a deep affection for the Amish and their simpler way of life, and while she plans to continue writing Amish love stories, she is also branching out into other areas including Christian contemporary romance novels and novellas. Need You Now, The House that Love Built, The Promise and A Tide Worth Turning are some of these recent releases.
Beth and her husband are empty nesters enjoying the country life in Texaswith three dogs and a rooster. When she’s not writing, Beth loves to travel, paint, and enjoy time with friends and family.
Welcome back, Beth. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it? I’m fortunate to be able to alternate between Amish fiction and women’s fiction. I enjoy both of those genres, but with each book—Amish or otherwise—I see my stories growing a little bit edgier and filled with more twists and turns. It makes for more complex revisions and edits, but it’s fun to up the ante for the reader. If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live? Ha! My husband and I have been having this conversation on a regular basis, and the honest answer is … I don’t know! We’ve talked about visiting places we haven’t been so we could possibly try living somewhere new. But at the end of the day, we are born and raised Texans, and I don’t see that changing. J
What foreign country would you like to visit and why? Singapore. My oldest son has been working there for three years, and he is begging me to come for a visit, even though he comes home for five weeks every year. But, oh my … that is a very long plane flight. I’m not as worldly a traveler as my son, lol. However, it is on my travel list for next year, if all goes well. So many things to consider when traveling that far from home.
Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.Does my romance with food count? ;) If so, I’d combine a romantic vacation with my husband and a trip to Positano, Italy, to attend cooking school!
Sounds yummy in more ways than one. Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?See the answer to the last question above. I think that would be a perfect setting for one of my Surf’s Up novellas.
What is the main theme of this novella? Kyle is faced with a seemingly impossible situation. I’ve tried to convey that even in the worst of times, God has a plan, often better than anything we could have dreamed up on our own.
Tell us about the story. Here is the back cover copy:
One man. Two women. A child desperate for medical treatment.
How can Kyle choose between the woman he once loved and his current fiancée? Is there a solution that suits all involved, or will someone end up out of the triangle forever? Morgan Calhoun and her parents are whisked away in the middle of the night, something Morgan always knew was a possibility because of her father's CIA job. But she'd always thought if such a scenario played out that she would have time to say goodbye to those she loved—particularly her boyfriend, Kyle. Adding to her unbearable situation, several weeks after the move, Morgan finds out that she's pregnant.
Kyle Brossmann doesn't even get a break-up letter from Morgan. She's just gone, along with her parents. His heart broken, Kyle continues with his plans. He graduates from high school and attends college, where he meets his fiancée, Lexie. But two men visit Kyle and encourage him to travel to an undisclosed location, where he will meet his five-year-old daughter. Rocked by the news that he has a child, Kyle learns he is the only person who might be able to save his daughter's life.
Will Kyle choose his first love and his daughter? Or will he stay with Lexie and live the life they’ve been planning?
Each Surf’s Up novella takes the reader to a beach locale, weaving romance and adventure into a soul-soothing journey of hope.
Please give us the first page of the book.PrologueKyle stretched tape across another box, then lifted it from the floor and piled it on top of the others that he had ready to go.
“I can’t believe all this stuff was stashed in this small room.” Lexie lowered a stack of file folders into a box. “I don’t think I had nearly this much in my dorm room.” She grinned as she slung long brown hair over her shoulders. “And I’m a girl. We keep everything.”
Kyle eyed the organized mess in the place he’d called home over the past four years. “Some of it probably needs to be trashed, but I’ll take a closer look at everything once I get settled in my apartment.” He handed Lexie the tape. “Just think, you’ll be right downstairs from me. No curfews or rules. We can eat pizza at three in the morning, and we won’t have to deal with crazy roommates.”
Lexie closed the distance between them and pressed her soft lips gently against his. Kyle eased his arms around her and basked in the scent of her flowery perfume. The feel of her mouth on his was a welcome distraction. They’d briefly considered moving in together, but Kyle’s Catholic upbringing kept him from choosing that option. They’d done the next best thing: rented apartments close to each other.
“Maybe we should take a break from packing,” Kyle whispered in her ear, trailing kisses down her neck.
She wiggled out of his arms. “Behave. We’ve got to get this done. You’ve got to be out of here by the end of the day.” She walked to the built-in drawers in Kyle’s room and tugged the bottom one until it inched open. “Good grief. What is all this?”
Yes, what is in that drawer? I can’t wait to find out. How can readers find you on the Internet? On my website BethWiseman.comFans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook where I interacts with readersOn Twitter at https://twitter.com/bethwiseman
Thank you, Beth, for sharing this book with us. I'm eager to read it.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Message In A Bottle: A Surf's Up Novella[image error] - paperback
Message In A Bottle: A Surf's Up Novella - Kindle
This novella is also available in a volume with book one of her Surf's Up novellas.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if not in the US. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
July 10, 2016
WINNERS!!!!!
Bonnie (AZ) is the winner of
In Time Like These
by Gail Kittleson.
Loudes (NY) is the winner of the ebook Whispers of Love by Valerie Comer.
Karen H (OK) is the winner of A Daughter's Dream by Shelley Shepard Gray.
Jackie (NC) is the winner of the ebook A Love to Treasure by Kimberly Rose Johnson.
Carol (KY) is the winner of Eden Hill by Bill Higgs.
If you won a book and you like it, please consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites.
Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.
Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.
When you contact me, please give the title and author of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
Loudes (NY) is the winner of the ebook Whispers of Love by Valerie Comer.
Karen H (OK) is the winner of A Daughter's Dream by Shelley Shepard Gray.
Jackie (NC) is the winner of the ebook A Love to Treasure by Kimberly Rose Johnson.
Carol (KY) is the winner of Eden Hill by Bill Higgs.
If you won a book and you like it, please consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites.
Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.
Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.
When you contact me, please give the title and author of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
July 8, 2016
MISSING - Lisa Harris - One Free Book
Dear Readers, it’s always a special day when I feature Lisa Harris on my blog. I first met Lisa when she came to the critique group I host in my home, many years ago. When she first read, I recognized her gift of storytelling. However, there were a number of ways we could help her hone her craft. She was an eager learner, and I’ve watched her writing grow and mature. As is often the case, the student has far surpassed the teacher. Her Christian romantic suspense novels are some of the best on the market. Now she and her husband are missionaries in Mozambique, Africa.
Welcome back, Lisa. What kind of files takes up the most space on your computer?I’d have to say photos. Family photos, ministry photos, animal photos. . .can you tell I love photos?
And you take some very good ones. I love seeing them. Do you have plans to ever retire from writing? Why or why not?From publishing books? Maybe, but I’m not sure I ever will completely retire from storytelling. The stories always seem to be there, waiting to be put down on paper.
Several years ago, I read a report that they’re finding a larger percentage of alzheimer patients among writers who stop writing than in the general population. I decided then and there to never stop writing. Are you a stay at home kind of person, or do you like to be on the road a lot?We travel a lot for our ministry, but I’m really a stay at home kind of person. I love days when I don’t have to go anywhere.
Please share a Bible verse or passage that has had the most impact on your life.This verse sticks out for me as a reminder to not give up, but to persevere. “. . .let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
Do you have a favorite Bible character? Who is it and why?I’ve always loved Esther who was called for such a time as this. I want to be used by God in whatever way He has planned for my life.
I have always been interested in Esther. I even wrote a dramatic monologue of Esther. What has been your favorite time in your life? And why?Whenever I have all my kids home at the same time. Right now they’re spread out in three different countries which is tough for a mama. So having them all together—whenever we can—is the best time.
Do you have an ereader? If so, what kind do you use? Yes, I just got a Kindle Fire after we had one stolen and I like it. Living overseas without any bookstores nearby it’s wonderful to be able to instantly get books I want to read!
James gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I didn’t even think he’d know how to go about doing something like that, and he really didn’t. But he asked our grandson-in-law and one of our daughters to help him. Do you read mostly print books or ebooks?I still enjoy print books, but mostly read ebooks.
They’re surely easier to carry with you when you travel. Do you like to read books in the genres you write, or do you read only other genres … and why?I love romantic suspense, but always find myself critiquing them way too much. When I read a historical, though, for example, I can just sit back and enjoy the story. Strange, maybe, but definitely true. So a romantic suspense book that makes me forget to critique is a keeper!
Please tell us about the book we’re featuring today.
I’m so excited about
Missing
. It’s book two in my Nikki Boyd Files series. Most of the comments I’ve been reading say that you can read it as a stand alone without any problems, but there are some overarching themes that you’d miss without reading Vendetta, book one.
Nikki Boyd isn’t usually called in on homicides; her forte is missing persons. But when a case with two murdered and two missing pops up on a quiet suburban street, she’s ready to start the investigation and find missing homeowners Mac and Lucy Hudson. When the first clues lead her to the boat of her friend Tyler Grant—and another dead body—Nikki must untangle what ties Tylerto the Hudsons. The clues pull her into a deadly maze of counterfeit drugs and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence anyone who threatens his business—including Nikki.
I know I’ll love this one. Please give us a peek at the first page of the book.8:25 a.m., Thursday Nashville suburbNikki Boyd slid out of her white Mini Cooper as two bagged bodies were being wheeled from the one-story house nestled in one of Nashville’s nicer suburbs. Her stomach clenched. Even after eight years on the force, the emotional challenges of the job had yet to make her completely calloused. It was impossible not to personalize some of what she saw. The cases she couldn’t solve. The brokenness she couldn’t fix. But neither could she let her cases become personal. She started down the walk where half a dozen police cars and the local medical examiner had parked in front of the taped-off crime scene, allowing both uniformed and plain-clothed officers to take over the sleepy, tree-lined street. One of her teammates, Jack Spencer, stood waiting for her on the curb dressed in one of his suit jackets and white dress shirt paired with a typical blue-and-orange paisley tie.
“Morning,” she said, holding up a takeaway box from her parents’ barbeque restaurant. “I was having breakfast with my mom and Jamie when the call came in. Thought you might like a couple of my mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls to celebrate your first day back to work.”Five weeks ago, he’d gotten shot in the middle of a hostage situation that had almost gotten both of them killed.
“You can’t imagine how happy I am to be back on the job,” Jack said. “Though next time, I’d appreciate it if you’d remind me to duck when someone starts shooting at me.”
Where can my readers find you on the Internet?Drop by my website at www.lisaharriswrites.comto find out more about my books and life in Africa!
Thanks so much for having me, Lena!!
My pleasure and great blessing, Lisa.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
- Amazon, paperback
Missing (The Nikki Boyd Files Book 2)[image error] - Kindle
Missing - audiobook
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if not in US. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
Welcome back, Lisa. What kind of files takes up the most space on your computer?I’d have to say photos. Family photos, ministry photos, animal photos. . .can you tell I love photos?And you take some very good ones. I love seeing them. Do you have plans to ever retire from writing? Why or why not?From publishing books? Maybe, but I’m not sure I ever will completely retire from storytelling. The stories always seem to be there, waiting to be put down on paper.
Several years ago, I read a report that they’re finding a larger percentage of alzheimer patients among writers who stop writing than in the general population. I decided then and there to never stop writing. Are you a stay at home kind of person, or do you like to be on the road a lot?We travel a lot for our ministry, but I’m really a stay at home kind of person. I love days when I don’t have to go anywhere.
Please share a Bible verse or passage that has had the most impact on your life.This verse sticks out for me as a reminder to not give up, but to persevere. “. . .let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
Do you have a favorite Bible character? Who is it and why?I’ve always loved Esther who was called for such a time as this. I want to be used by God in whatever way He has planned for my life.
I have always been interested in Esther. I even wrote a dramatic monologue of Esther. What has been your favorite time in your life? And why?Whenever I have all my kids home at the same time. Right now they’re spread out in three different countries which is tough for a mama. So having them all together—whenever we can—is the best time.
Do you have an ereader? If so, what kind do you use? Yes, I just got a Kindle Fire after we had one stolen and I like it. Living overseas without any bookstores nearby it’s wonderful to be able to instantly get books I want to read!
James gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. I didn’t even think he’d know how to go about doing something like that, and he really didn’t. But he asked our grandson-in-law and one of our daughters to help him. Do you read mostly print books or ebooks?I still enjoy print books, but mostly read ebooks.
They’re surely easier to carry with you when you travel. Do you like to read books in the genres you write, or do you read only other genres … and why?I love romantic suspense, but always find myself critiquing them way too much. When I read a historical, though, for example, I can just sit back and enjoy the story. Strange, maybe, but definitely true. So a romantic suspense book that makes me forget to critique is a keeper!
Please tell us about the book we’re featuring today.
I’m so excited about
Missing
. It’s book two in my Nikki Boyd Files series. Most of the comments I’ve been reading say that you can read it as a stand alone without any problems, but there are some overarching themes that you’d miss without reading Vendetta, book one. Nikki Boyd isn’t usually called in on homicides; her forte is missing persons. But when a case with two murdered and two missing pops up on a quiet suburban street, she’s ready to start the investigation and find missing homeowners Mac and Lucy Hudson. When the first clues lead her to the boat of her friend Tyler Grant—and another dead body—Nikki must untangle what ties Tylerto the Hudsons. The clues pull her into a deadly maze of counterfeit drugs and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence anyone who threatens his business—including Nikki.
I know I’ll love this one. Please give us a peek at the first page of the book.8:25 a.m., Thursday Nashville suburbNikki Boyd slid out of her white Mini Cooper as two bagged bodies were being wheeled from the one-story house nestled in one of Nashville’s nicer suburbs. Her stomach clenched. Even after eight years on the force, the emotional challenges of the job had yet to make her completely calloused. It was impossible not to personalize some of what she saw. The cases she couldn’t solve. The brokenness she couldn’t fix. But neither could she let her cases become personal. She started down the walk where half a dozen police cars and the local medical examiner had parked in front of the taped-off crime scene, allowing both uniformed and plain-clothed officers to take over the sleepy, tree-lined street. One of her teammates, Jack Spencer, stood waiting for her on the curb dressed in one of his suit jackets and white dress shirt paired with a typical blue-and-orange paisley tie.
“Morning,” she said, holding up a takeaway box from her parents’ barbeque restaurant. “I was having breakfast with my mom and Jamie when the call came in. Thought you might like a couple of my mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls to celebrate your first day back to work.”Five weeks ago, he’d gotten shot in the middle of a hostage situation that had almost gotten both of them killed.
“You can’t imagine how happy I am to be back on the job,” Jack said. “Though next time, I’d appreciate it if you’d remind me to duck when someone starts shooting at me.”
Where can my readers find you on the Internet?Drop by my website at www.lisaharriswrites.comto find out more about my books and life in Africa!
Thanks so much for having me, Lena!!
My pleasure and great blessing, Lisa.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
- Amazon, paperback
Missing (The Nikki Boyd Files Book 2)[image error] - Kindle
Missing - audiobook
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if not in US. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
July 7, 2016
HEARTS TIGHTLY KNIT - Jodie Wolfe - One Free Book
Dear Readers, Jodie’s book is about twins. I love reading books about any multiples, so I read this as soon as I received it. I loved the storyline, the cowboy, and the twins’ interactions, as well as the romance. I think you will, too.
Bio: Jodie Wolfe writes a bi-monthly column with Home School Enrichment magazine. Some of her articles are available on crosswalk.com. She’s had a devotion published online with Christian Devotions. Linda S. Glaz is her agent.
In 2013, she semi-finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis contest. In 2015, she finaled in a Novel Beginnings contest through St. Davids Writer’s Conference. She’s a graduate of Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Apprentice and Craftsman courses. She also is co-founder and contributor to the Stitches Thru Time, a group blog of writers. She’s a contributor to Putting on the New blog as well as Quid Pro Quills. She’s a member of ACFW and 19th Century Writers.
Welcome, Jodie. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.There is a little bit of me in each character I write. It might be a simple as a thought I had, an expression of mine, or one of my characteristics, although I’ll never tell what they are. J
What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?LOL. It took me a while to come up with something, which should tell you a little bit about me. J Quirkiest thing - I like to drink dill pickle juice.
So does my husband, but he doesn’t do it very often, because of all the sodium. When did you first discover that you were a writer?I was in early grade school when I started writing little stories, stapling them together, and illustrating them. By the time I was thirteen, I started writing my first full-length novel.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.Since I write historical romance, it’s typically what I read, however I will pick up a suspense or contemporary romance from time to time. I recently have enjoyed Vannetta Chapman’s new dystopian book, Deep Shadows.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?I spend the first hour of my day reading my Bible, doing devotions, walking, and praying. It gives me a fresh outlook for my day. I try and do these six days a week. Then on Sundays, my hubby and I work at practicing a day of rest where we relax and recharge our batteries for a new week.
Taking that Sabbath day of rest is important. I’ve learned that the hard way. How do you choose your characters’ names?Most times the names just come to me, although I've been having a little difficulty coming up with the name of my hero and his daughter for book two in the Twins and Needles series. I enlisted help on my FB page, and I think I know their names now.
Don’t forget to schedule that book on my blog, too. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?Raising my two sons and homeschooling them all the way through kindergarten to high school graduation.
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?I guess it would either be a dog or a guinea pig since those are my two favorite pets.
What is your favorite food?A good steak.
I don’t know where you live, but I’m in Texas, so a good steak is also one of my favorite foods. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?Usually writing comes really easy for me. This is the first project I wrote that was a struggle. I think it might have been because I was under a tight writing deadline. Praise God, it still came together on time. J
Tell us about the featured book.
Here’s the back cover blurb:
Orphaned at age ten, Ellie Stafford and her twin sister Mae made a vow—to stick together and never marry. Now in their mid twenties, they are bucking convention in Calder Springs, Texas, as women with respectable occupations who can take care of themselves. Ellie works at the Good Fixin’s Diner and spends her evenings knitting garments for The Children’s Aid Society. When a handsome local rancher shows up searching for a cook, she’s hardly tempted, despite his good looks.
Luke Rogers owns a spread just outside of Calder Springs. It was running as smooth as cattle going through a chute until his cook up and marries and high-tails it back east. With no cook and a bunkhouse full of ranch hands ready to revolt, he persuades Ellie to temporarily fill in until he can hire someone else. He should have known better than to get tangled up with another woman.
Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.Calder Springs, Texas 1875“EllieMae, some fella’s here to court you.” Mrs. Wright’s words meandered up the steps, along with the scent of fried chicken, to the small bedroom.
Ellie Stafford flicked the lace curtain aside and caught sight of a dusty cowboy tying his horse to the hitching post out front. “Do you think our landlady will ever be able to tell us apart?” She turned toward her sister. “We've been living in her boarding house for seven years, and she still can’t.” She shook her head. “What's this make now? The tenth man who has come calling?”
“Twelfth, I think. At least, here in Texas.” Mae, her identical twin, stood and eased the kinks from her back. “That’s not counting all the proposals on the Orphan Train from New York.” Ellie sank into the straight-back chair in front of a worn dressing table. She took one last look at her reflection and tucked a brown wisp behind her ear.“Heavens no. There were too many to keep a tally of them while we traveled. Besides, that was seven years ago.” Mae smoothed the wrinkles from her pink chiffon gown. “I may have lost count after the banker knelt on one knee in the middle of the street and almost got ran over by a runaway wagon.”
Ellie snorted. “I almost forgot about that one. He didn’t care which of us said yes as long as one of us—”
“Accepted.” Mae nodded. “Men. They should know by now we aren’t interested.”
“EllieMae!” Mrs. Wright’s voice raised another octave.
Ellie sighed and clasped her sister’s hand. “Well, I guess we better get to it then.” They padded down the steps.
“Don't forget our promise,” Mae whispered before they entered the sitting room.As if she’d ever forget.
How can readers find you on the Internet?PURCHASE LINK:http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Tightly-Knit-Jodie-Wolfe/dp/0997502606?ie=UTF8&keywords=hearts%20tightly%20knit&qid=1464649958&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
SOCIAL MEDIA:Website: http://www.jodiewolfe.comFacebook https://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913/; https://www.facebook.com/jodie.wolfe.1Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodieAWolfePinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfeAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jodie-Wolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116840153259583634192/posts
Blogs I contribute to: Stitches Thru Time, Putting on the New and of course, Quid Pro Quills.
Thank you, Jodie, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me.
Comment question: Do you have any multiples in your family?
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
Bio: Jodie Wolfe writes a bi-monthly column with Home School Enrichment magazine. Some of her articles are available on crosswalk.com. She’s had a devotion published online with Christian Devotions. Linda S. Glaz is her agent.
In 2013, she semi-finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis contest. In 2015, she finaled in a Novel Beginnings contest through St. Davids Writer’s Conference. She’s a graduate of Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Apprentice and Craftsman courses. She also is co-founder and contributor to the Stitches Thru Time, a group blog of writers. She’s a contributor to Putting on the New blog as well as Quid Pro Quills. She’s a member of ACFW and 19th Century Writers.
Welcome, Jodie. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.There is a little bit of me in each character I write. It might be a simple as a thought I had, an expression of mine, or one of my characteristics, although I’ll never tell what they are. JWhat is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?LOL. It took me a while to come up with something, which should tell you a little bit about me. J Quirkiest thing - I like to drink dill pickle juice.
So does my husband, but he doesn’t do it very often, because of all the sodium. When did you first discover that you were a writer?I was in early grade school when I started writing little stories, stapling them together, and illustrating them. By the time I was thirteen, I started writing my first full-length novel.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.Since I write historical romance, it’s typically what I read, however I will pick up a suspense or contemporary romance from time to time. I recently have enjoyed Vannetta Chapman’s new dystopian book, Deep Shadows.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?I spend the first hour of my day reading my Bible, doing devotions, walking, and praying. It gives me a fresh outlook for my day. I try and do these six days a week. Then on Sundays, my hubby and I work at practicing a day of rest where we relax and recharge our batteries for a new week.
Taking that Sabbath day of rest is important. I’ve learned that the hard way. How do you choose your characters’ names?Most times the names just come to me, although I've been having a little difficulty coming up with the name of my hero and his daughter for book two in the Twins and Needles series. I enlisted help on my FB page, and I think I know their names now.
Don’t forget to schedule that book on my blog, too. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?Raising my two sons and homeschooling them all the way through kindergarten to high school graduation.
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?I guess it would either be a dog or a guinea pig since those are my two favorite pets.
What is your favorite food?A good steak.
I don’t know where you live, but I’m in Texas, so a good steak is also one of my favorite foods. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?Usually writing comes really easy for me. This is the first project I wrote that was a struggle. I think it might have been because I was under a tight writing deadline. Praise God, it still came together on time. J
Tell us about the featured book.
Here’s the back cover blurb:Orphaned at age ten, Ellie Stafford and her twin sister Mae made a vow—to stick together and never marry. Now in their mid twenties, they are bucking convention in Calder Springs, Texas, as women with respectable occupations who can take care of themselves. Ellie works at the Good Fixin’s Diner and spends her evenings knitting garments for The Children’s Aid Society. When a handsome local rancher shows up searching for a cook, she’s hardly tempted, despite his good looks.
Luke Rogers owns a spread just outside of Calder Springs. It was running as smooth as cattle going through a chute until his cook up and marries and high-tails it back east. With no cook and a bunkhouse full of ranch hands ready to revolt, he persuades Ellie to temporarily fill in until he can hire someone else. He should have known better than to get tangled up with another woman.
Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.Calder Springs, Texas 1875“EllieMae, some fella’s here to court you.” Mrs. Wright’s words meandered up the steps, along with the scent of fried chicken, to the small bedroom.
Ellie Stafford flicked the lace curtain aside and caught sight of a dusty cowboy tying his horse to the hitching post out front. “Do you think our landlady will ever be able to tell us apart?” She turned toward her sister. “We've been living in her boarding house for seven years, and she still can’t.” She shook her head. “What's this make now? The tenth man who has come calling?”
“Twelfth, I think. At least, here in Texas.” Mae, her identical twin, stood and eased the kinks from her back. “That’s not counting all the proposals on the Orphan Train from New York.” Ellie sank into the straight-back chair in front of a worn dressing table. She took one last look at her reflection and tucked a brown wisp behind her ear.“Heavens no. There were too many to keep a tally of them while we traveled. Besides, that was seven years ago.” Mae smoothed the wrinkles from her pink chiffon gown. “I may have lost count after the banker knelt on one knee in the middle of the street and almost got ran over by a runaway wagon.”
Ellie snorted. “I almost forgot about that one. He didn’t care which of us said yes as long as one of us—”
“Accepted.” Mae nodded. “Men. They should know by now we aren’t interested.”
“EllieMae!” Mrs. Wright’s voice raised another octave.
Ellie sighed and clasped her sister’s hand. “Well, I guess we better get to it then.” They padded down the steps.
“Don't forget our promise,” Mae whispered before they entered the sitting room.As if she’d ever forget.
How can readers find you on the Internet?PURCHASE LINK:http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Tightly-Knit-Jodie-Wolfe/dp/0997502606?ie=UTF8&keywords=hearts%20tightly%20knit&qid=1464649958&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
SOCIAL MEDIA:Website: http://www.jodiewolfe.comFacebook https://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913/; https://www.facebook.com/jodie.wolfe.1Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodieAWolfePinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfeAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jodie-Wolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116840153259583634192/posts
Blogs I contribute to: Stitches Thru Time, Putting on the New and of course, Quid Pro Quills.
Thank you, Jodie, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me.
Comment question: Do you have any multiples in your family?
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
July 6, 2016
THE SADDLEMAKER'S SON - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book
Bio: Kelly Irvin is the author of the critically acclaimed Amish of Bee County series. Kelly is also the author of several Amish series including the Bliss Creek Amish series, the New Hope Amish series, and the Amish of Bee County series. She has been married for twenty-seven years, and they have two young adult children, two cats, and a tank full of fish. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.
Welcome back, Kelly. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?The themes vary depending on what’s happening in my life. What is resonating with me right now is understanding and accepting God’s plan for my life. The Amish believe, as most Christians do, that God has a plan for each one of us. We don’t know how it will unfold, only that He is in charge. In my most recent work-in-progress, I’m exploring the scripture that says we will have trouble in this world, but not to worry because Jesus has overcome the world. As frail humans, it’s almost impossible for us not to worry or to believe that we can be self-reliant. When bad things happen or we find ourselves suffering, we don’t understand. Relying on God for all our needs, even in the darkest of times when we can’t see our way, is often the biggest test of our faith.
What other books of yours are coming out soon?Next spring the first book in my new four-book series will debut from Zondervan. It is entitled On a Spring Breeze.
If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person, who would it be and why?Recently I was captivated by the Invictus Games created by Prince Harry to honor, support, and encourage wounded warriors from across the globe. I’ve never been a fan of royalty but I was so impressed with how warm and genuine Prince Harry was. I’d like to visit with him about the challenges of living life and giving back despite being born into a situation I really can’t imagine. I’d like to see what he puts into making those games happen and how he has been changed by them. I’d like to say thank you for being who he is despite what surely must be the temptation to simply let life be handed to him on the proverbial silver platter.
What historical person would you like to meet and why?My Sunday School class just completed a study called Joseph: How God Builds Character. I’m so amazed by what he overcame and how he stepped up each time to do God’s bidding. He was thrown in the well, sold into slavery by his own brothers, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, thrown in prison, and yet, he never lost his integrity or his faith. I’d love to be in the room when he revealed himself to his brothers. I’d love to know what he was really thinking through all those experiences!
I’d love to be there, too. How can you enIt took me eight years for my first contract. Tell us about the featured book.
Rebekah Lantz feels imprisoned by circumstances she didn’t create. Tobias Byler is haunted by regret. Can two young runaways from half a world away teach them the healing power of true family?Rebekah isn’t like her sister, but the watchful gaze of her family and small, close knit Amish community makes her feel as if she’s been judged and found lacking. The men avoid her and the women whisper behind her back. She simply longs for the same chance to be a wife and mother that her friends have.
Tobias Byler only wants to escape feelings for a woman he knows he should never have allowed to get close to him. Moving with his family to isolated Bee County, Texas, seemed the best way to leave his mistakes behind. But even a move across the country can’t erase the past that accompanies his every thought.
A surprise encounter with two half-starved runaway children forces both Rebekah and Tobias to turn to each other to help a sister and brother who have traveled thousands of miles in search of lives of unfettered peace and joy.
In doing so, Rebekah and Tobias discover the key to forgetting the past is the one that will open the door to love and the future they both seek.
Please give us the first page of the book:
The Saddle Maker’s Son
Alone at last. Rebekah Lantz tugged the creaking shed door shut and leaned against it. The folded piece of paper from her sister Leila weighed heavy as a stone in her hand. When had she managed to tuck it into the two-seater Rebekah drove with Susan to and from the school five days a week? Did she slip in while Rebekah was helping Susan by listening to the younger scholars read aloud? Surely not. Leila had a baby daughter to think about now and a husband. She couldn’t be roaming the countryside delivering notes. The fact that she had made Rebekah’s stomach rock. Guilt swirled there, mixing with a swelling ache to see her sister and a baby niece who would see her aenti as a complete and utter stranger. A Plain woman such as herself should forgive. No matter how much Leila’s flight hurt. No matter how it left Rebekah with little chance of finding love herself among the young men who looked at her and knew exactly what Leila had done.
Just because Leila had given up everything to follow Jesse into the Englisch world didn’t mean Rebekah would leave too. She longed to scream out those words at the next singing. Put them to music. Write her own song. Still, it wouldn’t change the look on the faces of those boys she’d known her entire life. Deer caught in the headlights of an Englisch truck barreling toward them on the highway.
Still, she had to open the note, read it. Its weight seemed to increase as each second ticked by. The cracks in the weathered boards of the shed allowed afternoon sun to filter through in stripes like bars. The April sun was warm, as if reminding Rebekah Texasdidn’t wait around for summer like the northern states did. Her eyes adjusted to the dusky interior after a few seconds. The smell of mold, decaying wood, and dirt floated in the air. Old egg crates, a broken desk, a stack of chairs, a wooden door with white, peeling paint filled the small room. She wasn’t a coward. Swallowing against the knot of apprehension that always choked her when she did something of which her mudder would not approve, Rebekah unfolded the single sheet of notebook paper and peered at Leila’s neat, block writing.
Dear schweschder,Hope you are well. We must meet. I need to talk to you face to face. Come to where the school path meets the road Friday at lunch. I’ll be driving the green VW bug. Can you believe I drive? Give Hazel a kiss for me. Love Leila
I really want to know what happens next. How can readers find you on the Internet?http://www.kellyirvin.com
Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin
Facebook: Kelly.Irvin.Author
Thank you, Kelly for sharing this new book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
- Amazon
The Saddle Maker's Son (The Amish of Bee County) - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
July 5, 2016
GENERATIONS - Dennis Jernigan - One Free Book
Welcome back, Dennis. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?After I complete book one of the series The Bairn of Bren, I will begin working on a new recording of worship music as a ministry tool for the body of Christ. In addition, I am currently writing songs for the journey for book three of The Chronicles of Bren series called
Generations
. I have already written and released my autobiography, Sing Over Me, but plan to release another volume of my personal story. This time, rather than detailing the pain and sorrow and deliverance from the bondage of sin, I will recount the many good memories of growing up on a farm in Oklahoma and the joy I experienced with my family even in the midst of the pain I experienced along the way.I’m eager to read that one, too. Tell us a little about your family.My wife, Melinda, and I have been married for 32+ years and have nine children. No, we are not Mormon or Catholic, they’re not adopted…and, yes, we know what causes that! Our children are all grown now and are blessing us with grandchildren. We currently have 6 grandchildren and are expecting 2 more by September!
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?I think writing has made me much more observant of the techniques and intricacies of story-telling. Writing has caused me to delve into the personal lives of my favorite writers in order to see how their lives informed their writing. I love to read about the lives of others, especially if their stories are inspiring!
What are you working on right now?I am currently working on a new recording of worship music and am in the process of writing songs for the journey of book three of The Chronicles of Bren. The music for books one and two can be found at www.thechroniclesofbren.com. In addition, I am working on a new series - an offshoot of the Bren saga - called The Bairn of Bren. These stories are written for my grandchildren, my grandchildren being the main characters.
What outside interests do you have?I love to go to movies that involve adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, or true stories…as long as they are not rated R. Other interests include writing music, fishing, driving around the countryside with no end goal in mind…other than the sheer joy of adventure! I thoroughly enjoy being with my wife, my children, and especially my grandchildren!
We’re just coming off the July 4th holiday. James and I spent a lot of time with our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. What a joy! How do you choose your settings for each book?Where I live has a lot to do with it. In addition, I decided where I want to go in my adventure/fantasy writing and allow the final destination in the journey to dictate the setting.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?I would love to spend an evening with C.S. Lewis and delve into how he came to faith and all the inspiration behind The Chronicles of Narnia. On the music side of my life, I would love to spend an evening with Keith Green!
Keith Green’s music greatly influenced my life, just as yours has. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?I wish I had not waited so long to begin! As with anything one wants to become adept at, practice is required. Just as I used to spend hour upon hour, day after day, year after year at the piano, I learned to do the same with my writing! The more you write, the better writer you become.
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?I do not call myself or define myself by my past or by my temptations or by my failures. I am defined by my Maker. That is a truth I have been living by for years. Now the Lord is taking me deeper in that concept in this manner: 1 Corinthians 5:16 encourages us to recognize no one according to the flesh. What does that mean for me personally? When I see another person, I am learning to not judge them by their demeanor or appearance or attitude, but according to how God sees them. If they are lost, I see them as a potential born-again believer/follower of Jesus Christ. If they are angry, I see them as a potential person of peace, etc.
A big turning point in my life was when I asked God to help me see other people the way He does. It’s amazing what you see. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?Keep writing. Write from a kingdom point of view - trying to see every situation and circumstance from the King’s perspective. Write for the joy of writing and trust the Lord to get your books/writing to the right people. For a book to have an impact it need only affect one other life!
That is so true! Tell us about the featured book.
Books one and two chronicle the formative years of Lee/Leonolis. Book three, The Chronicles of Bren,
Generations
is the collective stories of the children of High King Leonolis Queen Abila! Each of the nine children have their own unique adventures spelled out within the pages of this book. Each name has the same meaning of the names of my real children and each story involves my view of and vision for the life of each of my children. Allegorical, the stories each involve certain aspects of good character and the wisdom of making right choices and the consequences of not. As always, each drill is endowed with a specific magical gift or power from the realm and each adventure takes many twists and turns and is filled with encounters with fantastical beasts and creatures. I thoroughly enjoyed writing these sagas and found it difficult to rein them in so as to allow time for each child’s adventure! My goal is to ultimately bless my children and the reader with the blessings of purpose, identity, and destiny.Please give us the first page of the book.CHAPTER ONEThe Last TimeIt had been three years since Lee had last been to Bren. He was 17 now and, try as he might, could still not bring himself to the full understanding of why he had the recurring dreams of a place he could not even name. Yet, whenever those thoughts came - and they came daily – he felt somehow more confident and more joyful than any other time of the day. This, of course, only made him long to understand his daydreams of battle and horses and fair maidens and dragons and elves and wizards and creatures beyond imagination! And beyond these fantastical dreams, he saw through to the Voice of something greater than himself - some One - who seemed to be telling him, “Son, this is your destiny…Walk in it….” As usual, the lack of understanding sent his mind careening into even more daydreams of that far away land and, as usual, simultaneously left him feeling more of who he was meant to be! Yet, he still did not know quite what that meant! Most if Lee’s days were spent like that now. Regardless of whether he was working with his father’s cattle or working in the hay field or playing basketball or doing his chores around the house, such thoughts were always near the surface of his thought and it did not take much to cause them to leap to the surface and into Lee’s conscious life. During such episodes, he found it best to get away from people and simply work with his hands while sorting through his thoughts. Couple that with the little tell-tale mysteries that kept cropping up in his mind and you have the making of one confused boy-man who was determined to discover what it all meant. The little tell-tale mysteries were actually more like signs from…somewhere…or from someone. At first, Lee had thought they were simply coincidental to his thoughts, but the more they kept occurring the more credence he began to give them. Half-wondering if he was losing his mind and half-wondering where these signs would take him, he began to see them everywhere! Today was especially like that. The first time he had wondered such thoughts was the day he went fishing at the big pond in the back pasture. As was his custom, Lee was in the practice of noticing the signs of life around him. From the sounds and sights of the various bird species to the numbers and kinds of snakes he encountered from time to time in the pasture, he was able to discern their movements and anticipate their reaction to his intrusion. Without being able to put two and two together, Lee was quite adept at drawing animals to himself and was excellent at recognizing tracks and habits of most animals he had come in contact with on the farm…like he could understand them! Sound familiar?! And he didn’t even know why. He simply accepted it as a gift and was careful to tell no one for fear they might think him a bit mental! That day, in the cow path leading up the north side of the pond bank, he noticed a track he had not seen before. Although he recognized it as a reptilian forepaw print, it was the unusual size of the print that left Lee wondering. He was used to seeing the colorful Mountain Boomer lizards scurrying around on hot summer days, but their tracks were no more than a fraction of an inch in scope. These tracks were enormous - like dinosaur size footprints! At first, Lee thought someone was playing a trick on him - that the print was fabricated by someone else. Looking around, Lee could find no other human footprints, but did find three more giant reptile prints. And then he noticed that a spot in the green grass blanketing the pond bank seemed to be burned. Singed to bare ground! Like a dragon had been there. Still, he thought to himself what a good trick someone is playing on me - but he could never shake the possibility that what he had seen just might be reality!
How can readers find you on the Internet?www.dennisjernigan.comwww.thechroniclesofbren.comhttps://m.facebook.com/official.dennisjernigan/
Other Books by Dennis Jernigan:A Mystery of Majesty(Angel Award Winner)This Is My DestinyHelp Me To RememberWhat Every Boy Should Know...What Every Man Wishes His Dad Had Told HimGiant KillersA Worshiper’s Guide to Creativity, Song Writing, and MinistryVictim to VictorA Worshiper’s Guide to the Holy LandDaily Devotions For Kingdom Seekers - Vol. ISing Over Me - AutobiographyThe Chronicles of Bren: Book One: CapturedThe Chronicles of Bren: Book Two: SacrificeThe Chronicles of Bren: Book Three: Generations The Christmas DreamDaddy’s SongA Thread of HopeHow To Write A BookThe Bairn of Bren - under construction
Thank you, Dennis, for sharing the last book in this series with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.Generations (Book 3 of the Chronicles of Bren Trilogy)[image error] - paperback
The Chronicles of Bren: Generations: Book Three - Kindle[image error]
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
July 4, 2016
MURDER MEZZO FORTE - Donn Taylor - One Free Book
BIO: Donn Taylor led an Infantry rifle platoon in the Korean War, served with Army aviation in Vietnam, and worked with air reconnaissance in Europe and Asia. Afterwards, he earned a PhD in English literature (Renaissance) and for eighteen years taught literature at two liberal arts colleges. His poetry is collected in his book Dust and Diamond: Poems of Earth and Beyond. His fiction includes a light-hearted mystery, Rhapsody in Red, and its sequel,
Murder Mezzo Forte
. He has also published a historical novel, Lightning on a Quiet Night (a Selah Awards finalist), and two suspense novels, Deadly Additive and The Lazarus File. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ groups and conferences. He lives near Houston, Texas, where he continues to write fiction and poetry, as well as essays on writing, ethical issues, and U.S. foreign policy.
Welcome back, Donn. Tell us about your salvation experience.It happened at an ordinary Sunday evening church service when I was 14. I don't remember what the visiting minister said in his sermon, but during the service I began to feel that I was lacking something essential and that I needed to make a commitment. So I answered the invitation and, later, was baptized. I didn't understand very much at the time, and there was a lot of back and forth in the years following because I confused the deficient conduct of Christian leaders with the genuine truth of the Gospel. But everything that has happened since then in the way of belief traces from that particular moment.
You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why? Deborah Raney because she writes women's fiction, she is an excellent teacher of fictional techniques, and because her outgoing personality and interest in people draw conferees to her.Terry Burns because he is well versed in genres of fiction as well as marketing, and because his personality and approach also attract conferees.Karen Whiting because of her expertise in article writing and in marketing, and because of her interest in helping other writers.Janice Thompson because of her expertise in the romance genre and in all aspects of marketing, including self-publication, together with her great energy and interest in other writers.All four, of course, are dedicated Christians.
Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that. I don't have a speaking ministry as such, though I teach at writers' conferences (primarily poetry) and integrate appropriate Christian subjects. My examples include heavy doses of the best Christian poetry.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?As a 17-year-old freshman seated in my father's literature class, I had a delayed anaphylactic reaction to a dental anesthetic (Novocain). The symptom was simply passing out for a few seconds. There wasn't much I could do to "handle it." Two football players helped me out to Dad's car, and he came quickly after. The rigors began after we got home, and a shot of counter-irritant turned me every way but loose. The embarrassing part came about two weeks later when I returned to college, and I had to explain dozens of times what had happened. (Drug reactions were not widely understood then, even by some dentists.) I hated admitting the weakness some people perceived, but just brazened it out regardless of how they reacted. Some questioned my not running in the first track meet of the season, but the talk died down after I became established in the two mile run. The only bad thing after that was having my dental work done without anesthetic for about ten years until lidocaine came on the market.
People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?When that happens, I usually begin by asking what kind of book the person has in mind. If nonfiction, I ask what qualifies him to write it, then ask how he will research it. For fiction, I ask the genre. (That may take some time to identify.) For both fiction and nonfiction, I ask what the prospective author has studied on structure for that kind of book. At that point, I usually compare learning to write for publication to the time and practice required for learning to play a musical instrument or play basketball. I end by recommending that the prospective author join a writing group for guidance as he writes his book. In all of that, I try to strike a balance between encouraging and making sure the prospect has some appreciation of the time and effort required.
Tell us about the featured book. Murder Mezzo Forte is a sequel to Rhapsody in Red with the same protagonists. Preston Barclay ("Press") is a reclusive history professor who suffers from musical hallucinations. Mara Thorn (the name she chose when she re-invented herself) is a headstrong professor of comparative religion, a former Wiccan recently converted to Christianity. Earlier, they solved a campus murder.
Book’s blurb:
He is a reclusive history professor with musical hallucinations, she a headstrong professor of religion and a converted Wiccan. Earlier, Preston Barclay and Mara Thorn solved a campus murder, but now police say they formed two-thirds of an illicit love triangle with a newly murdered female colleague—and they're probably guilty of her murder.
A leak of the alleged scandal to the college administration threatens their jobs. Their desperate attempt to prove themselves innocent of the triangle and the murder plunges them into a tangle of unsavory corporate relationships among college trustees. And it puts their lives in danger from a mysterious criminal organization that seems to have tentacles everywhere.
Can this ill-matched pair's stumbling efforts succeed against the entrenched forces of the police, the college's incompetent administration, and that powerful but unseen criminal organization? If not, they may end up unemployed, in prison, or suffering a fate much worse ...
Please give us the first page of the book.In that first week of February we didn't know that Overton University was about to exceed its annual quota of murders. We had no inkling of it that Thursday evening when the college administration held a reception for trustees and faculty. I didn't know then that Professor Mitra Fortier would make trouble or that I would have to defend myself against scandal and worse. We would learn all of that later. The administration called it a reception, but it had no receiving line. Everyone just showed up at the gymnasium, now called "The Fitness Center" because the new president who joined us after The Crisis renamed everything either a Center or a Service. Faculty straggled in half frozen by the Midwestern winter and joined whatever groups they could find. The event had been billed as a mixer, but it didn't mix. Trustees talked to trustees, the president and dean talked to trustees, and faculty cliques talked to themselves. Yet everyone seemed to share an unspoken purpose: to forget that last semester our philosophy professor had murdered a faculty member on campus. Someone had thrown a tarp over half of the gym floor so our street shoes wouldn't scar the finish. The gym's bright overhead lights cast an air of unreality over everything. Perhaps because of them I started wondering what was real and what wasn't.
I stood alone at one side, battling the music in my head and grieving for receptions past when my wife, Faith, was alive. We talked to everyone then. But now, as the campus recluse, I don't talk much at all. As always, I dreaded returning to my empty house and Faith's Steinway grand piano that has stood silent these past three years.
With any luck, I thought, I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. So I simply listened while the orchestra in my head played the overture to Die Meistersinger.
How can readers find you on the Internet?My website is www.donntaylor.com. I post something every day—humor on most days—on my Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/donntaylor and www.facebook.com/authordonntaylor. I'm also at www.twitter.com/donntaylor3. I join others in blogging at http://authorculture.blogspot.com. Typing my name into Amazon will bring up my page in Amazon's Author Central.
Thank you, Donn, for sharing this new book with us. I loved all your other books and am eager to read this one.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Murder Mezzo Forte - A Preston Barclay Mystery[image error] - paperback
Murder Mezzo Forte - a Cozy Murder Mystery (A Preston Barclay Mystery)[image error] - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
Welcome back, Donn. Tell us about your salvation experience.It happened at an ordinary Sunday evening church service when I was 14. I don't remember what the visiting minister said in his sermon, but during the service I began to feel that I was lacking something essential and that I needed to make a commitment. So I answered the invitation and, later, was baptized. I didn't understand very much at the time, and there was a lot of back and forth in the years following because I confused the deficient conduct of Christian leaders with the genuine truth of the Gospel. But everything that has happened since then in the way of belief traces from that particular moment.You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why? Deborah Raney because she writes women's fiction, she is an excellent teacher of fictional techniques, and because her outgoing personality and interest in people draw conferees to her.Terry Burns because he is well versed in genres of fiction as well as marketing, and because his personality and approach also attract conferees.Karen Whiting because of her expertise in article writing and in marketing, and because of her interest in helping other writers.Janice Thompson because of her expertise in the romance genre and in all aspects of marketing, including self-publication, together with her great energy and interest in other writers.All four, of course, are dedicated Christians.
Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that. I don't have a speaking ministry as such, though I teach at writers' conferences (primarily poetry) and integrate appropriate Christian subjects. My examples include heavy doses of the best Christian poetry.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?As a 17-year-old freshman seated in my father's literature class, I had a delayed anaphylactic reaction to a dental anesthetic (Novocain). The symptom was simply passing out for a few seconds. There wasn't much I could do to "handle it." Two football players helped me out to Dad's car, and he came quickly after. The rigors began after we got home, and a shot of counter-irritant turned me every way but loose. The embarrassing part came about two weeks later when I returned to college, and I had to explain dozens of times what had happened. (Drug reactions were not widely understood then, even by some dentists.) I hated admitting the weakness some people perceived, but just brazened it out regardless of how they reacted. Some questioned my not running in the first track meet of the season, but the talk died down after I became established in the two mile run. The only bad thing after that was having my dental work done without anesthetic for about ten years until lidocaine came on the market.
People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?When that happens, I usually begin by asking what kind of book the person has in mind. If nonfiction, I ask what qualifies him to write it, then ask how he will research it. For fiction, I ask the genre. (That may take some time to identify.) For both fiction and nonfiction, I ask what the prospective author has studied on structure for that kind of book. At that point, I usually compare learning to write for publication to the time and practice required for learning to play a musical instrument or play basketball. I end by recommending that the prospective author join a writing group for guidance as he writes his book. In all of that, I try to strike a balance between encouraging and making sure the prospect has some appreciation of the time and effort required.
Tell us about the featured book. Murder Mezzo Forte is a sequel to Rhapsody in Red with the same protagonists. Preston Barclay ("Press") is a reclusive history professor who suffers from musical hallucinations. Mara Thorn (the name she chose when she re-invented herself) is a headstrong professor of comparative religion, a former Wiccan recently converted to Christianity. Earlier, they solved a campus murder.
Book’s blurb:
He is a reclusive history professor with musical hallucinations, she a headstrong professor of religion and a converted Wiccan. Earlier, Preston Barclay and Mara Thorn solved a campus murder, but now police say they formed two-thirds of an illicit love triangle with a newly murdered female colleague—and they're probably guilty of her murder.A leak of the alleged scandal to the college administration threatens their jobs. Their desperate attempt to prove themselves innocent of the triangle and the murder plunges them into a tangle of unsavory corporate relationships among college trustees. And it puts their lives in danger from a mysterious criminal organization that seems to have tentacles everywhere.
Can this ill-matched pair's stumbling efforts succeed against the entrenched forces of the police, the college's incompetent administration, and that powerful but unseen criminal organization? If not, they may end up unemployed, in prison, or suffering a fate much worse ...
Please give us the first page of the book.In that first week of February we didn't know that Overton University was about to exceed its annual quota of murders. We had no inkling of it that Thursday evening when the college administration held a reception for trustees and faculty. I didn't know then that Professor Mitra Fortier would make trouble or that I would have to defend myself against scandal and worse. We would learn all of that later. The administration called it a reception, but it had no receiving line. Everyone just showed up at the gymnasium, now called "The Fitness Center" because the new president who joined us after The Crisis renamed everything either a Center or a Service. Faculty straggled in half frozen by the Midwestern winter and joined whatever groups they could find. The event had been billed as a mixer, but it didn't mix. Trustees talked to trustees, the president and dean talked to trustees, and faculty cliques talked to themselves. Yet everyone seemed to share an unspoken purpose: to forget that last semester our philosophy professor had murdered a faculty member on campus. Someone had thrown a tarp over half of the gym floor so our street shoes wouldn't scar the finish. The gym's bright overhead lights cast an air of unreality over everything. Perhaps because of them I started wondering what was real and what wasn't.
I stood alone at one side, battling the music in my head and grieving for receptions past when my wife, Faith, was alive. We talked to everyone then. But now, as the campus recluse, I don't talk much at all. As always, I dreaded returning to my empty house and Faith's Steinway grand piano that has stood silent these past three years.
With any luck, I thought, I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. So I simply listened while the orchestra in my head played the overture to Die Meistersinger.
How can readers find you on the Internet?My website is www.donntaylor.com. I post something every day—humor on most days—on my Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/donntaylor and www.facebook.com/authordonntaylor. I'm also at www.twitter.com/donntaylor3. I join others in blogging at http://authorculture.blogspot.com. Typing my name into Amazon will bring up my page in Amazon's Author Central.
Thank you, Donn, for sharing this new book with us. I loved all your other books and am eager to read this one.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Murder Mezzo Forte - A Preston Barclay Mystery[image error] - paperback
Murder Mezzo Forte - a Cozy Murder Mystery (A Preston Barclay Mystery)[image error] - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
July 3, 2016
WINNERS!!!!!!
Emma (PA is the winner of To Heal a Cowboys Heart by Janet Lee Barton.
Melanee (FL) is the winner of Sacrifice by Dennis Jernigan.
Caryl K (TX) is the winner of Jilted by Varina Denman.
Mary P (Aus) is the winner of the ebook Once Upon a Cowboy by Lacy Williams.
Kristen (OK) is the winner of Like a River From Its Course by Kelli Stuart.
Beth (IA) is the winner of Monkey In the Mailbox by Jamie Bryant.
If you won a book and you like it, please consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites.
Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.
Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.
When you contact me, please give the title and author of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
Melanee (FL) is the winner of Sacrifice by Dennis Jernigan.
Caryl K (TX) is the winner of Jilted by Varina Denman.
Mary P (Aus) is the winner of the ebook Once Upon a Cowboy by Lacy Williams.
Kristen (OK) is the winner of Like a River From Its Course by Kelli Stuart.
Beth (IA) is the winner of Monkey In the Mailbox by Jamie Bryant.
If you won a book and you like it, please consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites.
Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.
Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.
When you contact me, please give the title and author of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
July 1, 2016
EDEN HILL - Bill Higgs - One Free Book
Welcome, Bill. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.I suspect that some of me goes into all my characters, as would be true with most storytellers. I had originally intended to write
Eden Hill
from 10-year-old Vee Junior’s point of view; not coincidentally, I was also 10 years old at the time the story is set. More to the point, though, I wrote some of my characters as I would like to be. I definitely want to be Welby when I grow up.What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?Back in 1971 (yes, I’m old) I took a summer job at Mammoth Cave National Park. Even though I was a secretary/typist (!) I was able to take a few trips with some of the rangers and guides into areas of the cave closed to the public. One of these was into Crystal Cave, where Floyd Collins (Google him—fascinating!), its discoverer, was buried in a glass-covered casket. Seems the man in the coffin was a tourist attraction at one time before the National Park service purchased the cave. After agreeing among ourselves, we opened the lid. Considering he’d died in 1925, the man looked pretty good. He’s since been removed and reburied in the more usual way. Creepy.
That’s interesting to me. When I was in college, I worked a couple of summers at Longhorn Cavern here in Texas. I worked at the snack bar that is halfway through the open part of the cavern, so I missed the heat of the day. And we went spelunking with some of the guides. To get to the best part of the cavern, we had to crawl quite a ways totally surrounded by all the rock. That’s when I first discovered I didn’t like tight spaces. When did you first discover that you were a writer?I’m not so sure that I’m a writer as much as I am a storyteller. At some point, though, stories find their way into to complete sentences, either on paper or in bits and bytes on a computer. I did not as a child sit in corners on rainy days, writing in notebooks or journals. But I was imaginative, and eventually the characters in my head began to interact with each other. I simply began to write things down.
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.Almost anything. I just finished The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, by Jonathan Gotschall, and Walter Isaacson’s biography Steve Jobssits on my nightstand. My Kindle opens to the classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (yeah, I’m a geek, too). My “to be read” stack includes Anne Lamott and Wendell Berry.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?I walk, walk, walk. Seriously. I can often be found trekking through nearby parks and woods when the weather is good, and sometimes even if it isn’t. Hiking relaxes me, and keeps me fit (yeah, right). Stories and ideas often come to me in the quiet of the forest. But then again, sometimes I just clear my mind and enjoy the birds, deer, and squirrels.
How do you choose your characters’ names?In most cases, they are mash-ups of common names from the area of central Kentucky where I grew up, and where my stories are set. First name from one guy I knew, surname from another. There are a few exceptions: “Madeline Crutcher” seemed like an appropriate name for a troublemaker, and “Eugene Caudill” simply sounded like a preacher. “Mavine” was totally made up, but it seemed to fit.
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?Isn’t pride one of the seven deadly sins? That being said, my greatest accomplishment is to be the father of an amazing son and incredible daughter, who are out to bring beauty and goodness into the world. Actually, I had very little to do with it; it’s just a blessing. Still, I bust a button now and then thinking about them.
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?Probably a mule. I’m stubborn and obstinate, and take direction poorly. Ask my wife.
What is your favorite food?Those who know me also know that I can find the best General Tso’s Chicken in any given town. Tied with that is a sausage and mushroom pizza with breadsticks from Joe Bologna’s in Lexington, Kentucky. Best in the world, period.
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?Writing takes time, and that has been in short supply. While I can think about story during a walk in the woods, I can’t put it into definite words (apologies to those who talk into to their iPhone). Eden Hill was an effort of over 25 years from start to finish, but my agent says I can’t wait that long to write another novel! I’m learning (slowly) to carve out time when needed.
Tell us about the featured book?
Content synopsis:Nothing seems to change in Eden Hill, Kentucky, and that’s just fine with Virgil T. Osgood. He’s been content to raise his family and run the only service station in town. But when a new station is set to open right across the road from Virgil’s pumps, he suddenly faces obstacles in his career, his marriage, and his self-worth that he’s never even dreamed of.Cornelius Alexander wants his new Zipco station to succeed and help establish a strong foundation for his growing family. As long as he follows the Zipco guide, he’s sure to be a success—and prove his father wrong.
Reverend Caudill wants to be a conduit for grace in his town, but that grace is challenged by the changes sweeping through in the early 1960s. For the sake of this small town, Virgil and Cornelius must learn to get along, but how do you love your neighbor when his very presence threatens to upend everything you hold dear?
Please give us the first page of the book.Eden Hill, Kentucky, November 1962Something was wrong. Definitely wrong. Even he knew it.
Virgil T. Osgood had just poured his coffee from the familiar speckled enamel percolator and said good morning to his wife, Mavine. Rather than a broad smile and her usual “Good morning, Virgil,” he got nothing. Instead, she sat quietly at their little Formica dinette wrapped in her blue chenille housecoat, her reading glasses perched on her nose, perusing a small magazine. Very odd. Mavine was usually hovering over the stove, banging pots and pans around, and was generally eager to engage in some lively conversation.
And even beyond Mavine’s silence, the kitchen was far too quiet. The radio on the counter was usually tuned in to WNTC for the 4H report, which came on just after “The StarSpangled Banner” and the early morning farm news. This morning, the old Philco sat dark and silent, sandwiched between the flour and the cornflakes.
The only sounds were the ticking of the red apple clock over the stove, along with an occasional noise from Vee Junior’s room upstairs.
I love it. Such memories. I was in my second year of college that year. How can readers find you on the Internet?www.billhiggs.com
Thank you, Bill, for sharing this new book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. Eden Hill[image error] - Amazon
Eden Hill - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com[image error]
June 30, 2016
A LOVE TO TREASURE - Kimberly Rose Johnson - One Free Ebook
Bio: Kimberly writes sweet inspirational romance. She married her college sweetheart 25 years ago. Her hobbies include reading, watching chick flicks, playing the piano, long walks with her hubby and their yellow lab, drinking coffee, and eating dark chocolate. Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science and is a member of ACFW.
Welcome back, Kimberly. How did you come up with the idea for this story? This story started out as a novella idea that I pitched along with several other authors to another publisher years ago. At that time, I was yet unpublished and had the time to tinker with it when we were not offered a contract. This story has changed more times than I can remember and has grown over the years into what it is today. I honestly don’t recall the inspiration, but that’s a little of the history of how it came to be.
If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why? Margaret Daley because she is one of my critique partners, and we’ve never met in person. The others five would be JoAnn Durgin because we have only met online, and I would love to get to know her in person, Lynette Eason because I love her books, Susan May Warren because she seems like she’d be a lot of fun, and finally Christina Berry AKA Christina Tarbochia because she is such a fun person to be around. Christina is one of the first people I met in the publishing world, and she was also one of the authors who was originally involved with the novella collection A Love To Treasure was pitched in.
Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why? I’m not a huge historical fiction reader, but I would for sure include my other two critique partners, Miralee Ferrell and Vickie McDonough. Then I would invite Jen Turano because I like her books and have never met her, Karen Barnett because she is nice, Leslie Gould for the same reason, and finally Davalynn Spencer because she seems like she’d be a fun person.
Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career? Keeping up the momentum. There is a lot of self-imposed pressure to have a book release every four to six months. My publisher is all for that, but I am tired and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything.
Tell us about the featured book.
A Love to Treasure
is a little different from my other published books. It has a little mystery and suspense mixed into the sweet romance story. Here is the back cover blurb.
School teacher Nicole Davis is on summer break, but this vacation is unlike any other. Her beloved Grandmother’s final wish has landed Nicole smack in the middle of her favorite destination—Sunriver, Oregon, following Grams’s clues on a mysterious scavenger hunt. Unexpectedly, Nicole finds more than just a fellow sleuth in a handsome police officer, Mark Stone. But Mark must return to his job in Portlandat summer’s end, and Nicole must guard her heart.
Mark is hoping for a quiet summer in Sunriver as he contemplates his future in law enforcement, but a string of burglaries draws him from his self-imposed break from detective work and thrusts him into the middle of the investigation. To complicate matters, Nicole is in jeopardy, and he knows his growing feelings for her could cloud his judgment. Will their differing career goals be the end of their summer romance—or just the beginning of forever after?
Please give us the first page of the book.Nicole Davis drove past a huge welcome sign to Sunriver, Oregon, and grinned. She was finally here. She loved this resort community and still couldn’t believe it would be her home for the next few months.
She bore to the right around the traffic circle. Suddenly a black car came out of nowhere. Nicole swerved and slammed on the brake, her front bumper barely missing the side of the black car. Her heart pounded as she weaved her Mini Cooper S onto the miniscule dirt shoulder a few feet from a large pine tree. She put the car in park, her breath coming in quick puffs. She looked around to make sure she hadn’t hit anything. Whew. Everything looked okay.
The crazy driver who ran her off the road drove around the circle again and pulled off the road in front of her. This couldn’t be good. She gulped as a dark-haired man wearing jeans and a dark gray T-shirt stalked toward her.
Her gut clenched. She checked her reflection in the rearview mirror and noted her wide green eyes filled with fear. Not good. She needed to appear unaffected by the incident or he’d see her vulnerability. She took a deep breath then let it out in a whoosh. After making sure no cars were coming, she stepped out of her Mini Cooper and onto the shoulder, refusing to be intimidated by the man. His height caught her by surprise. Most men were only a few inches taller than she was, but not this guy. He towered above her five-foot-nine-inch frame. And those biceps—maybe she should’ve stayed in the car. But he didn’t look dangerous, only irritated.
She offered him a tentative smile. “That was a close call.” “No kidding. You didn’t yield.” He pointed to a yellow sign. “Oops. Sorry.” Her face heated. Grams always said she barreled through life.However, she generally obeyed traffic signs. “I didn’t see the sign.”
I’m eager to read the rest of the story. How can readers find you on the Internet? My website is http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/Readers can subscribe to my newsletter there which is the best way to know when I have an upcoming release. I also love connecting with people on Facebook. I recently started a fan page. Here is the link to join the group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1566138407009549/If you are a Twitter person, you can follow me @kimberlyrosejoh. My author page on Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Rose-Johnson/e/B00K10CR6E/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1463415687&sr=8-2-ent
Thanks for hosting me! These questions were fun and made me think. J
I'm always happy to have you on the blog, Kimberly. I write under the name Lena Nelson Dooley, in case someone knew me as Lena Nelson, but my actual middle name is also Rose.
Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1)[image error]
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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Welcome back, Kimberly. How did you come up with the idea for this story? This story started out as a novella idea that I pitched along with several other authors to another publisher years ago. At that time, I was yet unpublished and had the time to tinker with it when we were not offered a contract. This story has changed more times than I can remember and has grown over the years into what it is today. I honestly don’t recall the inspiration, but that’s a little of the history of how it came to be.If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why? Margaret Daley because she is one of my critique partners, and we’ve never met in person. The others five would be JoAnn Durgin because we have only met online, and I would love to get to know her in person, Lynette Eason because I love her books, Susan May Warren because she seems like she’d be a lot of fun, and finally Christina Berry AKA Christina Tarbochia because she is such a fun person to be around. Christina is one of the first people I met in the publishing world, and she was also one of the authors who was originally involved with the novella collection A Love To Treasure was pitched in.
Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why? I’m not a huge historical fiction reader, but I would for sure include my other two critique partners, Miralee Ferrell and Vickie McDonough. Then I would invite Jen Turano because I like her books and have never met her, Karen Barnett because she is nice, Leslie Gould for the same reason, and finally Davalynn Spencer because she seems like she’d be a fun person.
Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career? Keeping up the momentum. There is a lot of self-imposed pressure to have a book release every four to six months. My publisher is all for that, but I am tired and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything.
Tell us about the featured book.
A Love to Treasure
is a little different from my other published books. It has a little mystery and suspense mixed into the sweet romance story. Here is the back cover blurb.School teacher Nicole Davis is on summer break, but this vacation is unlike any other. Her beloved Grandmother’s final wish has landed Nicole smack in the middle of her favorite destination—Sunriver, Oregon, following Grams’s clues on a mysterious scavenger hunt. Unexpectedly, Nicole finds more than just a fellow sleuth in a handsome police officer, Mark Stone. But Mark must return to his job in Portlandat summer’s end, and Nicole must guard her heart.
Mark is hoping for a quiet summer in Sunriver as he contemplates his future in law enforcement, but a string of burglaries draws him from his self-imposed break from detective work and thrusts him into the middle of the investigation. To complicate matters, Nicole is in jeopardy, and he knows his growing feelings for her could cloud his judgment. Will their differing career goals be the end of their summer romance—or just the beginning of forever after?
Please give us the first page of the book.Nicole Davis drove past a huge welcome sign to Sunriver, Oregon, and grinned. She was finally here. She loved this resort community and still couldn’t believe it would be her home for the next few months.
She bore to the right around the traffic circle. Suddenly a black car came out of nowhere. Nicole swerved and slammed on the brake, her front bumper barely missing the side of the black car. Her heart pounded as she weaved her Mini Cooper S onto the miniscule dirt shoulder a few feet from a large pine tree. She put the car in park, her breath coming in quick puffs. She looked around to make sure she hadn’t hit anything. Whew. Everything looked okay.
The crazy driver who ran her off the road drove around the circle again and pulled off the road in front of her. This couldn’t be good. She gulped as a dark-haired man wearing jeans and a dark gray T-shirt stalked toward her.
Her gut clenched. She checked her reflection in the rearview mirror and noted her wide green eyes filled with fear. Not good. She needed to appear unaffected by the incident or he’d see her vulnerability. She took a deep breath then let it out in a whoosh. After making sure no cars were coming, she stepped out of her Mini Cooper and onto the shoulder, refusing to be intimidated by the man. His height caught her by surprise. Most men were only a few inches taller than she was, but not this guy. He towered above her five-foot-nine-inch frame. And those biceps—maybe she should’ve stayed in the car. But he didn’t look dangerous, only irritated.
She offered him a tentative smile. “That was a close call.” “No kidding. You didn’t yield.” He pointed to a yellow sign. “Oops. Sorry.” Her face heated. Grams always said she barreled through life.However, she generally obeyed traffic signs. “I didn’t see the sign.”
I’m eager to read the rest of the story. How can readers find you on the Internet? My website is http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/Readers can subscribe to my newsletter there which is the best way to know when I have an upcoming release. I also love connecting with people on Facebook. I recently started a fan page. Here is the link to join the group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1566138407009549/If you are a Twitter person, you can follow me @kimberlyrosejoh. My author page on Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Rose-Johnson/e/B00K10CR6E/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1463415687&sr=8-2-ent
Thanks for hosting me! These questions were fun and made me think. J
I'm always happy to have you on the blog, Kimberly. I write under the name Lena Nelson Dooley, in case someone knew me as Lena Nelson, but my actual middle name is also Rose.
Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1)[image error]
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
