Lena Nelson Dooley's Blog, page 182
July 13, 2015
THE RECKONING - MaryLu Tyndall - One Free Book
Dear Readers, I’ve known MaryLu for a long time. We both started being published by the same publisher, but at different times. She writes wonderful sea-faring adventures that keep the readers attention until the last word of the last page. And her stories stay with you for a long time. I love featuring her on my blog.
BIO: Award winning author MaryLu Tyndall dreamt of pirates and sea-faring adventures during her childhood days on Florida's Coast. With more than fourteen books published, she makes no excuses for the spiritual themes embedded within her romantic adventures. Her hope is that readers will not only be entertained but will be brought closer to the Creator who loves them beyond measure. In a culture that accepts the occult, wizards, zombies, and vampires without batting an eye, MaryLu hopes to show the awesome present and powerful acts of God in a dying world. A Christy award nominee, MaryLu makes her home with her husband, six children, and several stray cats on the Californiacoast.
Welcome back, MaryLu. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions? You are so right! Neither this book or any other book of mine would have seen the light of day if not for a host of people helping me along. Many many thanks go to Ravven, my cover designer. Isn’t she fabulous? To Rel Mollet, my editor. She did a wonderful job “fixing” all the whoopsies in the manuscript. To Debbie Mitchell, who volunteered to read the book in its “raw” state, and who always offers me great encouragement! And last, but never least, to Michelle Griep, author extraordinaire and friend, who critiqued the manuscript. (We often swap our manuscripts) I also want to thank my readers and influencers who’ve encouraged me along by their excitement and kind words, and to all my friends like you, Lena, who help me spread the word. Thank you!
It’s my great pleasure to do so. If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar? I’m co-teaching a writer’s retreat in August set in a gorgeous cabin on beautiful Lake Tahoe. It’s a four day intensive one-on-one writer’s workshop for intermediate to advanced writers. Susanne Lakin, my good friend and excellent author, is the other teacher. Should be fun!
Sounds like it. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why? Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands or anywhere tropical that is part of the US! I’m sure there must have been mermaids in my family line because I love to swim, snorkel, surf, and sail in the warm turquoise sea! (Hey, those all start with s!)
Yes, they do. If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?Write the story God puts on your heart, not what the market says will sell, then study the craft of writing, read great books, and work harder than you ever thought possible.
You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])I’m one of those strange people who really don’t care much for celebrities, at least most of them. I think the real heroes of this world are the men and women on the front lines in the wars going on in the Middle East, and missionaries spreading the Gospel in dangerous foreign lands. So, I would invite both military people and missionaries to my cruise. Heck, they could probably use the rest and relaxation more than anyone!
You are so right. I have a grandson who just got out of the military this last week after at least ten years service. And the first time James and I went on a cruise, we took a missionary couple with us. Tell us about the featured book.
The Reckoning
is a time travel romance that transports a young American 21st century girl back 300 years onto a pirate ship! It’s full of romance, excitement, danger, and humor. The overall theme is trusting God when life is out of control!
Here’s what the back cover says:When Morgan Shaw crept into the hold of an old pirate ship replica at San Diego’s Annual Tall Ship Festival, her only intention was to avoid the guy who had just dumped her and who was now boarding the ship with two women on his arm. What she didn’t expect was to wake up aboard a real pirate ship three-hundred years in the past. But of course, it wasn’t real. Her wealthy father had obviously staged it all in an effort to get her mind off her upcoming chemo. Or had he?
Pirate Rowan Dutton seeks enough treasure to repay a debt to his sister and reinstate the Dutton name among British Jamaican Society. He is but one major haul away from accomplishing his goal when a strange woman appears on his ship and causes him to lose his prey. Despite his anger, he is enthralled with the little minx, her strange clothing, odd speech, and her insistence that they are all actors playing a charade paid for by her father.
Yet when the brazen little lady divulges Rowan’s secret to a longtime nemesis, events are triggered that could cost them both their lives and change the course of history forever.
Sounds intriguing. I’m actually reading your mermaid book right now, so please give us the first page of The Reckoning.San Diego, California, August 2015"Did you hear me? I have cancer." Morgan Shaw repeated the dreaded words to her boyfriend Jason, who sat beside her on the sticky metal bench. From the look on his face, she supposed the middle of San Diego's crowded annual Tall Ship Festival was not the best place to convey the horrid news. She'd been trying to tell him for two weeks, but he'd always been too busy with his job tending bar, too distracted with memorizing lines for one of his many auditions ... or just too plain drunk.
No doubt the condition he'd soon be in if he didn't stop gulping down the Mojito he held so fondly in his hands. He took another swig and stared at her again, his baby-blues pools of shock and ... dismay? Not sorrow, not horror ... not even concern.
He squeezed the plastic cup holding his precious alcohol. It made a crackling sound even above the chatter and buzz of people passing by, the lap of waves, and the bells ringing from boats in San Diego Bay.
"Are you going to die?" he finally asked, pressing fingers to his perfectly-moussed dark hair while nodding at an attractive woman who smiled at him as she passed by.
A sharp pain stabbed Morgan at his callous tone. Even the doctor had been more tactful. Hepatocellular carcinoma, he had said. Liver cancer, stage 3C. With chemo and radiation, she had a good chance of surviving. But she'd spotted the pity in his eyes, and when she arrived home, the Internet provided the true survival rate—less than thirty percent.
"Everyone's going to die," she returned, shifting out of the hot sun.
"Are you gonna have to go through chemo and lose your hair?" He studied her as if assessing how ugly she would be.
"Maybe." She dabbed the perspiration on her neck. "Yes, I guess. I go for my first session on Tuesday."
Why, oh why, had she allowed him to talk her into coming to this stupid festival? She hated these old boats anyway. And she didn't much care for the sea either. Last year when she'd gone whale watching, she'd spent the entire four hours puking her guts over the side of the boat. But Jason loved historical sailing boats and had bought tickets to this weekend event two months in advance. So, they'd grabbed Morgan's roommate, Tiffany, and her boyfriend Brad, and made a day of it.
Speaking of ... where was Tiffany anyway? She and Brad had gone off to the nearest bar for take-out drinks forty minutes ago. Though her roommate's cheerleader-type exuberance normally grated on Morgan, she sure could use her help now with Jason. If only to untie the knot of tension forming between them.
By the way he was chewing his lip and glancing around, Morgan thought he might bolt. She'd expected shock. She'd expected it would take time for the news to sink in. But she'd also expected a speck of care, of concern, and perhaps even a willingness to help. After all, they'd been "dating" for nearly six months now. She still had to pinch herself to believe that the coolest, best-looking guy in San Diego had chosen her—plain, nerdy, control-freak Morgan. He'd said he'd grown tired of the model-types and wanted a woman with intellect, someone like her, the lead software engineer at Qualcomm Holographic Industries. Morgan couldn't have been more thrilled. Jason was good-looking, smart, and going places. He had a way about him that made her feel special, cherished, something she'd never felt before. Yes, being his girlfriend definitely hiked her confidence up a notch and made it worth dealing with some not-so-pleasant aspects of their relationship. As in not seeing him the past two weeks due to his job at the FLUXX, and his insistence that flirting with patrons was just part of his job. "How could she expect other women not to notice his good looks?" he had said. Those good looks, along with his talent, were going to make him a fortune when Hollywood discovered him. And she'd be right by his side when that happened. Or so he said.
Yet as he gulped down the rest of his Mojito and avoided her eyes, Morgan feared his promises were as fleeting as the hot wind blasting over her.
A man dressed like a pirate walked by and winked at her. Across the popcorn-strewn path, a vendor selling cotton candy handed a sticky pink glob to a small boy, who immediately dove in with his entire face, much to his mother's dismay. Behind Morgan, the creak of an old boat, the Star of India, if she remembered, mimicked the ache in her heart.
She suddenly felt so terribly alone.
I can’t wait to finish the book I’m reading so I can start this one. Where can we find you on the Internet?Website: http://www.marylutyndall.comFacebook https://www.facebook.com/marylu.tyndall.authorTwitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLuTyndallPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mltyndall/Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104594006329583771780/posts
Thank you, MaryLu for sharing this new book with us. I know my blog readers will love it, too.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5)
- Paperback
The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates Book 5) - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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: Award winning author MaryLu Tyndall dreamt of pirates and sea-faring adventures during her childhood days on Florida's Coast. With more than fourteen books published, she makes no excuses for the spiritual themes embedded within her romantic adventures. Her hope is that readers will not only be entertained but will be brought closer to the Creator who loves them beyond measure. In a culture that accepts the occult, wizards, zombies, and vampires without batting an eye, MaryLu hopes to show the awesome present and powerful acts of God in a dying world. A Christy award nominee, MaryLu makes her home with her husband, six children, and several stray cats on the Californiacoast.
Welcome back, MaryLu. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions? You are so right! Neither this book or any other book of mine would have seen the light of day if not for a host of people helping me along. Many many thanks go to Ravven, my cover designer. Isn’t she fabulous? To Rel Mollet, my editor. She did a wonderful job “fixing” all the whoopsies in the manuscript. To Debbie Mitchell, who volunteered to read the book in its “raw” state, and who always offers me great encouragement! And last, but never least, to Michelle Griep, author extraordinaire and friend, who critiqued the manuscript. (We often swap our manuscripts) I also want to thank my readers and influencers who’ve encouraged me along by their excitement and kind words, and to all my friends like you, Lena, who help me spread the word. Thank you!It’s my great pleasure to do so. If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar? I’m co-teaching a writer’s retreat in August set in a gorgeous cabin on beautiful Lake Tahoe. It’s a four day intensive one-on-one writer’s workshop for intermediate to advanced writers. Susanne Lakin, my good friend and excellent author, is the other teacher. Should be fun!
Sounds like it. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why? Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands or anywhere tropical that is part of the US! I’m sure there must have been mermaids in my family line because I love to swim, snorkel, surf, and sail in the warm turquoise sea! (Hey, those all start with s!)
Yes, they do. If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?Write the story God puts on your heart, not what the market says will sell, then study the craft of writing, read great books, and work harder than you ever thought possible.
You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])I’m one of those strange people who really don’t care much for celebrities, at least most of them. I think the real heroes of this world are the men and women on the front lines in the wars going on in the Middle East, and missionaries spreading the Gospel in dangerous foreign lands. So, I would invite both military people and missionaries to my cruise. Heck, they could probably use the rest and relaxation more than anyone!
You are so right. I have a grandson who just got out of the military this last week after at least ten years service. And the first time James and I went on a cruise, we took a missionary couple with us. Tell us about the featured book.
The Reckoning
is a time travel romance that transports a young American 21st century girl back 300 years onto a pirate ship! It’s full of romance, excitement, danger, and humor. The overall theme is trusting God when life is out of control!Here’s what the back cover says:When Morgan Shaw crept into the hold of an old pirate ship replica at San Diego’s Annual Tall Ship Festival, her only intention was to avoid the guy who had just dumped her and who was now boarding the ship with two women on his arm. What she didn’t expect was to wake up aboard a real pirate ship three-hundred years in the past. But of course, it wasn’t real. Her wealthy father had obviously staged it all in an effort to get her mind off her upcoming chemo. Or had he?
Pirate Rowan Dutton seeks enough treasure to repay a debt to his sister and reinstate the Dutton name among British Jamaican Society. He is but one major haul away from accomplishing his goal when a strange woman appears on his ship and causes him to lose his prey. Despite his anger, he is enthralled with the little minx, her strange clothing, odd speech, and her insistence that they are all actors playing a charade paid for by her father.
Yet when the brazen little lady divulges Rowan’s secret to a longtime nemesis, events are triggered that could cost them both their lives and change the course of history forever.
Sounds intriguing. I’m actually reading your mermaid book right now, so please give us the first page of The Reckoning.San Diego, California, August 2015"Did you hear me? I have cancer." Morgan Shaw repeated the dreaded words to her boyfriend Jason, who sat beside her on the sticky metal bench. From the look on his face, she supposed the middle of San Diego's crowded annual Tall Ship Festival was not the best place to convey the horrid news. She'd been trying to tell him for two weeks, but he'd always been too busy with his job tending bar, too distracted with memorizing lines for one of his many auditions ... or just too plain drunk.
No doubt the condition he'd soon be in if he didn't stop gulping down the Mojito he held so fondly in his hands. He took another swig and stared at her again, his baby-blues pools of shock and ... dismay? Not sorrow, not horror ... not even concern.
He squeezed the plastic cup holding his precious alcohol. It made a crackling sound even above the chatter and buzz of people passing by, the lap of waves, and the bells ringing from boats in San Diego Bay.
"Are you going to die?" he finally asked, pressing fingers to his perfectly-moussed dark hair while nodding at an attractive woman who smiled at him as she passed by.
A sharp pain stabbed Morgan at his callous tone. Even the doctor had been more tactful. Hepatocellular carcinoma, he had said. Liver cancer, stage 3C. With chemo and radiation, she had a good chance of surviving. But she'd spotted the pity in his eyes, and when she arrived home, the Internet provided the true survival rate—less than thirty percent.
"Everyone's going to die," she returned, shifting out of the hot sun.
"Are you gonna have to go through chemo and lose your hair?" He studied her as if assessing how ugly she would be.
"Maybe." She dabbed the perspiration on her neck. "Yes, I guess. I go for my first session on Tuesday."
Why, oh why, had she allowed him to talk her into coming to this stupid festival? She hated these old boats anyway. And she didn't much care for the sea either. Last year when she'd gone whale watching, she'd spent the entire four hours puking her guts over the side of the boat. But Jason loved historical sailing boats and had bought tickets to this weekend event two months in advance. So, they'd grabbed Morgan's roommate, Tiffany, and her boyfriend Brad, and made a day of it.
Speaking of ... where was Tiffany anyway? She and Brad had gone off to the nearest bar for take-out drinks forty minutes ago. Though her roommate's cheerleader-type exuberance normally grated on Morgan, she sure could use her help now with Jason. If only to untie the knot of tension forming between them.
By the way he was chewing his lip and glancing around, Morgan thought he might bolt. She'd expected shock. She'd expected it would take time for the news to sink in. But she'd also expected a speck of care, of concern, and perhaps even a willingness to help. After all, they'd been "dating" for nearly six months now. She still had to pinch herself to believe that the coolest, best-looking guy in San Diego had chosen her—plain, nerdy, control-freak Morgan. He'd said he'd grown tired of the model-types and wanted a woman with intellect, someone like her, the lead software engineer at Qualcomm Holographic Industries. Morgan couldn't have been more thrilled. Jason was good-looking, smart, and going places. He had a way about him that made her feel special, cherished, something she'd never felt before. Yes, being his girlfriend definitely hiked her confidence up a notch and made it worth dealing with some not-so-pleasant aspects of their relationship. As in not seeing him the past two weeks due to his job at the FLUXX, and his insistence that flirting with patrons was just part of his job. "How could she expect other women not to notice his good looks?" he had said. Those good looks, along with his talent, were going to make him a fortune when Hollywood discovered him. And she'd be right by his side when that happened. Or so he said.
Yet as he gulped down the rest of his Mojito and avoided her eyes, Morgan feared his promises were as fleeting as the hot wind blasting over her.
A man dressed like a pirate walked by and winked at her. Across the popcorn-strewn path, a vendor selling cotton candy handed a sticky pink glob to a small boy, who immediately dove in with his entire face, much to his mother's dismay. Behind Morgan, the creak of an old boat, the Star of India, if she remembered, mimicked the ache in her heart.
She suddenly felt so terribly alone.
I can’t wait to finish the book I’m reading so I can start this one. Where can we find you on the Internet?Website: http://www.marylutyndall.comFacebook https://www.facebook.com/marylu.tyndall.authorTwitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLuTyndallPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mltyndall/Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104594006329583771780/posts
Thank you, MaryLu for sharing this new book with us. I know my blog readers will love it, too.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates) (Volume 5)
- PaperbackThe Reckoning (Legacy of the King's Pirates Book 5) - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 12, 2015
WINNERS!!!!!
Trixi (OR) is the winner of the ebook
My Candy Valentine
by Darlene Franklin.
Vicki G (OH) is the winner of Summer's List by Anita Higman.
Amber (ID) is the winner of Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall.
Janet (FL) is the winner of Angel With Steel Wings by Anne Greene.
Cathy (BC Can) is the winner of the ebook Star of Wonder by Tracey Higley.
If you won a book and you like it, 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 of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
Vicki G (OH) is the winner of Summer's List by Anita Higman.
Amber (ID) is the winner of Tears of the Sea by MaryLu Tyndall.
Janet (FL) is the winner of Angel With Steel Wings by Anne Greene.
Cathy (BC Can) is the winner of the ebook Star of Wonder by Tracey Higley.
If you won a book and you like it, 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 of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
July 10, 2015
FOCUSED - Julie B Cosgrove - One Free Book
Welcome back, Julie. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon? Only a haze. God made me near-sighted for a reason. If He shows me what His plans are too far out, I have a tendency to either get antsy or try to find a quicker route. I will keep writing fiction as long as God deems and publishers contract with me. I will also continue to offer devotionals for the eight websites and publications for which I regularly write, until God shuts those doors. Hopefully neither will end anytime soon.Tell us a little about your family.I am a widow and lives with two spoiled house cats whim I dub my “beastie boys,” since they are both males. I have a grown son who is still single. I am the fifth and youngest in my original family, but two of my siblings passed away before I was born. My brother lives in Austin and my sister in our hometown of San Antonio. They each have a daughter. My sister’s daughter lives about an hour away in Dallas, and she had three girls.
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?Has it ever, in two ways. First I am reading five times as much as I ever did, but then again widowhood may play a factor in that. But mostly it is due to the fact I have come to know so many wonderful Christian writers, and I read to endorse or review their works. Which segues into the second reason … I confess with a sigh. I have succumbed to the digital age. These works are all downloaded on my e-reader. I love it because my library now travels with me wherever I go and when I am on the road lecturing and leading retreats, it is handy to have.
What are you working on right now?I am working on a cozy mystery trilogy and also have had requests to combine my blog entries into a book format. I have completed the second book about Christina, Jeff, and their son, Josh, the main characters in Focused . It’s called Grounded and I plan to write a third entitled Rooted, but am still seeking a publisher to pick them up.
My third novel in the anti-human trafficking series, Freed to Forgive, releases in October, and I have two novellas in the editing process. Navy Blues and Greener Grasses.
What outside interests do you have?Hi, my name is Julie and I am a word-a-holic. I play Scrabble with the computer, have at least sixteen Words with Friends games going at any one time and love word searches and find-the words puzzles. I also dabble in graphic design, am a very amateur birdwatcher, and a weather bug. Most of all I enjoy lecturing and leading faith-based women’s weekends. These are fun, teary, enlightening, tender, and I always eat way too much and sleep way too little.
How do you choose your settings for each book? I am a Texan so my books are set in Texas. Fortunately I have lived all over the state, so there is lots of fodder as far as scene settings. Focused is set in the Texas Hill Country where I am blessed to co-own about five acres along the Guadalupe River with my extended family on my mother’s side. The second in the anti-human trafficking series, Legitimate Lies, is partially set in Southern Englandwhere I spent two weeks with a church sponsored group embedded in a small village called Tefont.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?That is a tough one. Of course the historical Jesus tops the list. I’d have loved to have heard the Sermon on the Mount first hand and then watch the sun set over the plains beyond Capernaum. Katherine Hepburn was such an elegant lady and marvelous actress. High tea with her would be memorable, don’t you agree?
Oh, yes. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?Auto Crit. The world’s best editing aid. It is worth the money to me, and even though editing by it is tedious, you can learn so much about wordsmithing, what your pet and overused phrases tend to be, and how to truly enhance your style. Your manuscripts end up so polished they sparkle. What publisher would not want that?
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?Patience truly is a virtue. I am in such a better place relying on His perfect timing. He is also teaching me to listen more in my prayer time.
What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?1. Write a hook at the end of each chapter that makes your readers want to keep reading.2. There is always room for humor and a short “catch your breath” moment here and there in the plot, even in thrillers and suspense.3. Do your best, and help others to do the same. Leave the rest to God.
Tell us about the featured book.
Focused
came about because there didn’t seem to be a lot of middle-age, empty-nest stories out there in the fiction world. I read a statistic which said 80% of marriages that end after the seven year itch do so because of the inability of one or both spouses to adjust to empty nest syndrome or the death of a parent. So I decided to write about a couple who go through both scenarios, and with the help of a few well-meaning church friends, begin to realize why they married in the first place. It is a heart-felt, but also humorous in places, romance. I have had several husbands read it and thank me because they now “get” their wives.Please give us the first page of the book.Prologue - The Litmus Test Prelude, 1985Oh, why did I insist on coming here?
Christina’s hands dripped with anxiety. The heirloom serving dish slipped out of her grasp and clunked onto the cedar log table. The take-out fried chicken wobbled as the sound ricocheted against the wooden walls of the summer cabin where her ancestors once ate, slept, and loved. She raised her shoulders to her ears and grimaced.Her mother scowled. “Must you be so clumsy? I don’t want your grandmother’s china platter chipped.”
Must you always criticize me? She clamped her lips into a taut line and swallowed her true response, just as she did every time. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Christina watched her mother scoop the carton of coleslaw into a lead crystal bowl. It seemed appropriate. She felt as if she’d been born for a plastic tub life but shoved into crystal from the get-go. She never did quite fit into her mother’s idea of what a daughter should be. As a child, she’d often wondered if she’d been adopted.
Ticks from the old mantle clock perched on the rock fireplace vibrated into the kitchen and pounded in her ears. Finally, her mother’s voice broke the stifled hush that hung between them.
“So, Christina, how long have you known this Jeff of yours?” One eyebrow arched as she clumsily dried a dinner plate. A two-carat diamond ring bulged under her yellow Playtex glove. She always insisted on the dishes from the cabin’s kitchen being washed before using them. Pity her latest maid-cook didn’t accompany them this trip. Christina sighed and dunked her bare, ring-less hands into the hot suds. They were used to it. Her apartment had no dishwasher.
How can readers find you on the Internet?My website is www.juliebcsogrove.com. My blog is http://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com. My fiction and nonfiction books can be found on Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble.
I am also on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and dabbling with Pintrest. Just search for Julie B Cosgrove.
Thank you, Julie, for sharing this book with us.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.Focused
- paperbackFocused - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 9, 2015
BEYOND THE ASHES - Karen Barnett - One Free Book
BIO: Karen Barnett is the author of
Beyond the Ashes
, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband, two teenagers, and three adorable dachshunds. When she’s not writing, she enjoys playing guitar, cake decorating, and binge-watching all sorts of television series on Netflix.
Dear Readers, no wonder she was named a Writer of Promise in 2013. I love her books. I know you will, too. This book is one of my favorite books of 2015.
Welcome back, Karen. Why do you write the kind of books you do?Writing historical fiction is my own special way of time traveling. The thing that fascinates me most about history is not so much the big events, but day-to-day life. How did they dress, speak, and interact? I am especially enjoying writing about the early 20th century because people were facing an influx of new technologies like telephones and automobiles. In
Beyond the Ashes
, I look at how certain medical advancements changed the way doctors treated disease, but also had unforeseen consequences.
Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?The day I became a mom. I never imagined I could love someone so completely. It’s crazy to think that both of my babies are now teenagers.
How has being published changed your life?It’s definitely become crazier! Doing creative work under the pressure of a deadline is a lot tougher than I anticipated, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
What are you reading right now?Lori Benton’s newest, The Wood’s Edge. She is such an eloquent, gifted writer.
What is your current work in progress?I just recently finished the macro edits for the third book in the Golden Gate Chronicles, Through the Shadows, which releases in 2016. I’ve always wanted to write a story that digs in to the depths of what grace means in our lives. In an attempt to make up for her own failings, Elizabeth King throws herself into a life of service, walking the dark alleys of Chinatownto rescue slave girls. Will a young attorney with political aspirations be able to show her that everything about San Francisco isn’t as dark as she believes?
Sounds good. I want to feature it on this blog when it releases. What would be your dream vacation?I’ve always wanted to tour crumbling European castles, so England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germanyare high on my list.
How do you choose your settings for each book?For this series, I chose the San Francisco earthquake as a focal point of the first book. I was inspired to write about the disaster after watching a PBS documentary that interviewed some of the last surviving witnesses to the event. In Beyond the Ashes , the city is beginning to rebuild. It fascinates me how quickly San Franciscowas able to put itself back together after the destruction. Did you know they hosted a world’s fair (the Panama–Pacific International Exposition) in 1915, just nine years later?
Interesting. If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?My shy, introverted self wants to answer “my own family,” but that seems like cheating. I guess one person I’ve always wanted to meet is Julie Andrews. Her portrayal of Maria in The Sound of Music was very powerful to me as I was growing up. But I also know that if I met her, I’d have absolutely no clue what to say!
What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?I love to play my guitar, decorate crazy birthday cakes for my kids, and I’m a hopeless television addict. Streaming Netflix has been very bad for my productivity. I love to binge-watch television series—it’s so easy to say, “Oh, just one more episode!”
What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?Fear has always been my biggest obstacle, and it seems to travel hand-in-hand with procrastination. I’m always sure my writing won’t be as good as I wish it to be, so that makes me want to do anything but sit down and get to work. The best thing I’ve found to dispel the negative voices is to use a playlist of songs that remind me of God’s faithfulness. Here are a few of the titles I keep handy: “Voice of Truth” (Casting Crowns), “Lord I Need You” (Matt Maher), “Only You” (David Crowder), “Word of God Speak” (MercyMe), and “Oceans” (Hillsongs).
“Voice of Truth” is one of my favorite songs. too. What advice would you give to a beginning author?Join a critique group! Years ago, when I was first starting out, I attended one hosted by our public library. We were from various walks of life and were writing all sorts of bizarre stuff. Submitting and critiquing within that setting helped me hone my craft and focus in on what type of writing I wished to do. Later I was able to join a much more professional group where we were all writing Christian fiction. Critique groups not only help you develop your writing skills, but it gives you the opportunity to learn to take criticism gracefully.
Tell us about the featured book.
Beyond the Ashes
is set in San Francisco just after the devastating 1906 earthquake. Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in a city rising from the ashes? Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love. Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed. Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease he’s striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.“I refuse to attend another wedding. I’m through.” Ruby King Marshall juggled two glasses of punch in her gloved hand as she shepherded her blind cousin through the overcrowded ballroom. Each doting couple waltzing around the polished floor reminded Ruby of her loss, like a needle thrust into her heart. Widows and weddings—shouldn’t it be bad luck?
Miriam gripped Ruby’s elbow, leaning forward to be heard over the dozens of nearby conversations. “Then I’m relieved mine was last December. I’d have been sad if you’d missed it. And don’t forget Anne Marie’s next month.” A tiny smile flirted at the corner of her lips.
Ruby glanced out the ornate windows, the quiet evening beckoning. Only her cousin—and best friend—would have the audacity to make light of the situation. Newspaper stories of San Francisco’s earthquake refugees weighed on Ruby’s heart. “With everything that’s happened this year, it seems inappropriate to turn a simple wedding into a grand social occasion.”
Miriam adjusted her smoky-hued spectacles. “We’re not suffering here in Sacramento, Ruby. Besides, love is always worth celebrating. Our hurts remind us to delight in life’s joys.”
Ruby focused on the sparkling ring on Miriam’s finger to prevent her gaze from wandering to her cousin’s thickening waistline. She must be at least four months along. Ruby drew up her shoulders, pulling her elbows close to her body. What have I become?
How can readers find you on the Internet?I enjoy connecting with other book-lovers! You can find my website at http://www.KarenBarnettBooks.com. I also hang out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KarenBarnettAuthor), Twitter (@KarenMBarnett), Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/karenbarnett/), and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/KarenBarnett).
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Lena! It’s always fun to chat about books.
It’s my pleasure to host you, Karen. When I read a book I love, I immediately want to share about it with my blog readers.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. - Amazon
Beyond the Ashes: The Golden Gate Chronicles - Book 2 - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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
Dear Readers, no wonder she was named a Writer of Promise in 2013. I love her books. I know you will, too. This book is one of my favorite books of 2015.
Welcome back, Karen. Why do you write the kind of books you do?Writing historical fiction is my own special way of time traveling. The thing that fascinates me most about history is not so much the big events, but day-to-day life. How did they dress, speak, and interact? I am especially enjoying writing about the early 20th century because people were facing an influx of new technologies like telephones and automobiles. In
Beyond the Ashes
, I look at how certain medical advancements changed the way doctors treated disease, but also had unforeseen consequences.Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?The day I became a mom. I never imagined I could love someone so completely. It’s crazy to think that both of my babies are now teenagers.
How has being published changed your life?It’s definitely become crazier! Doing creative work under the pressure of a deadline is a lot tougher than I anticipated, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
What are you reading right now?Lori Benton’s newest, The Wood’s Edge. She is such an eloquent, gifted writer.
What is your current work in progress?I just recently finished the macro edits for the third book in the Golden Gate Chronicles, Through the Shadows, which releases in 2016. I’ve always wanted to write a story that digs in to the depths of what grace means in our lives. In an attempt to make up for her own failings, Elizabeth King throws herself into a life of service, walking the dark alleys of Chinatownto rescue slave girls. Will a young attorney with political aspirations be able to show her that everything about San Francisco isn’t as dark as she believes?
Sounds good. I want to feature it on this blog when it releases. What would be your dream vacation?I’ve always wanted to tour crumbling European castles, so England, Ireland, Scotland, and Germanyare high on my list.
How do you choose your settings for each book?For this series, I chose the San Francisco earthquake as a focal point of the first book. I was inspired to write about the disaster after watching a PBS documentary that interviewed some of the last surviving witnesses to the event. In Beyond the Ashes , the city is beginning to rebuild. It fascinates me how quickly San Franciscowas able to put itself back together after the destruction. Did you know they hosted a world’s fair (the Panama–Pacific International Exposition) in 1915, just nine years later?
Interesting. If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?My shy, introverted self wants to answer “my own family,” but that seems like cheating. I guess one person I’ve always wanted to meet is Julie Andrews. Her portrayal of Maria in The Sound of Music was very powerful to me as I was growing up. But I also know that if I met her, I’d have absolutely no clue what to say!
What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?I love to play my guitar, decorate crazy birthday cakes for my kids, and I’m a hopeless television addict. Streaming Netflix has been very bad for my productivity. I love to binge-watch television series—it’s so easy to say, “Oh, just one more episode!”
What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?Fear has always been my biggest obstacle, and it seems to travel hand-in-hand with procrastination. I’m always sure my writing won’t be as good as I wish it to be, so that makes me want to do anything but sit down and get to work. The best thing I’ve found to dispel the negative voices is to use a playlist of songs that remind me of God’s faithfulness. Here are a few of the titles I keep handy: “Voice of Truth” (Casting Crowns), “Lord I Need You” (Matt Maher), “Only You” (David Crowder), “Word of God Speak” (MercyMe), and “Oceans” (Hillsongs).
“Voice of Truth” is one of my favorite songs. too. What advice would you give to a beginning author?Join a critique group! Years ago, when I was first starting out, I attended one hosted by our public library. We were from various walks of life and were writing all sorts of bizarre stuff. Submitting and critiquing within that setting helped me hone my craft and focus in on what type of writing I wished to do. Later I was able to join a much more professional group where we were all writing Christian fiction. Critique groups not only help you develop your writing skills, but it gives you the opportunity to learn to take criticism gracefully.
Tell us about the featured book.
Beyond the Ashes
is set in San Francisco just after the devastating 1906 earthquake. Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in a city rising from the ashes? Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love. Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed. Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease he’s striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.“I refuse to attend another wedding. I’m through.” Ruby King Marshall juggled two glasses of punch in her gloved hand as she shepherded her blind cousin through the overcrowded ballroom. Each doting couple waltzing around the polished floor reminded Ruby of her loss, like a needle thrust into her heart. Widows and weddings—shouldn’t it be bad luck?
Miriam gripped Ruby’s elbow, leaning forward to be heard over the dozens of nearby conversations. “Then I’m relieved mine was last December. I’d have been sad if you’d missed it. And don’t forget Anne Marie’s next month.” A tiny smile flirted at the corner of her lips.
Ruby glanced out the ornate windows, the quiet evening beckoning. Only her cousin—and best friend—would have the audacity to make light of the situation. Newspaper stories of San Francisco’s earthquake refugees weighed on Ruby’s heart. “With everything that’s happened this year, it seems inappropriate to turn a simple wedding into a grand social occasion.”
Miriam adjusted her smoky-hued spectacles. “We’re not suffering here in Sacramento, Ruby. Besides, love is always worth celebrating. Our hurts remind us to delight in life’s joys.”
Ruby focused on the sparkling ring on Miriam’s finger to prevent her gaze from wandering to her cousin’s thickening waistline. She must be at least four months along. Ruby drew up her shoulders, pulling her elbows close to her body. What have I become?
How can readers find you on the Internet?I enjoy connecting with other book-lovers! You can find my website at http://www.KarenBarnettBooks.com. I also hang out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KarenBarnettAuthor), Twitter (@KarenMBarnett), Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/karenbarnett/), and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/KarenBarnett).
Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Lena! It’s always fun to chat about books.
It’s my pleasure to host you, Karen. When I read a book I love, I immediately want to share about it with my blog readers.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. - Amazon
Beyond the Ashes: The Golden Gate Chronicles - Book 2 - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 8, 2015
A PROMISE OF GRACE - Lynette Sowell - One Free Book
Dear Readers, here’s another book from one of my Texasauthor friends.
Welcome back, Lynette. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?This third book sprang from the inspiration of the Amish-Mennonite community of Pinecraft in Sarasota, Florida. Characters are a combination and melting pot of those I encountered in the village, and from my imagination.
If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?I would move to the coast, whether that be the New England coast near my family, or the Texas Gulf Coast, or to the Maryland-Virginia coast near where I grew up. I have always loved the ocean and find it's a special place, no matter what the weather.
If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?Finish that first book, and then think about writing another. I hear from quite a few people, “Oh, I'd love to write a book” or “I've started a book” but most of those people never finish.
You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])Wow, that's a tough question, because I really am not one to follow many celebrities, and I've never been on a cruise, either. :) I would, however, have a chef or two that would be fun to cook with and learn from, and who would cook for us. Alton Brown would be one of those chefs. He'd be funny and interesting. For entertainment, the top billing would be for the a cappela vocal group Pentatonix, because I love a cappela music done well. Programs would be favorite book discussions, along with a costume party dressing as your favorite character. At ports of call, we would stop at some fun historical sites for day trips—Europe or the Mediterranean would be fun.
Tell us about the featured book.
A Promise of Grace
is the third book in my series, Seasons In Pinecraft. It's set in the Amish-Mennonite community in the city of Sarasota, Florida. My heroine, Rochelle Keim, has been a minor character in the first two books and this time, she gets her chance to tell her story. She owns a housecleaning business and guards her ordered life. Then her first love, Silas Fry, moves to Pinecraft one year after the death of his wife. Silas has spent most of his adult years working as a missionary pilot in Mozambiqueand traveling throughout South Africa and he feels a bit de-railed, as do his almost-grown son and young adult daughter. This third book has a few of the Amish characters from the first two books and rounds out the series.
I’ve been waiting for this book. I loved the first two. Please give us the first page of the book.The minivan’s air conditioner gave one last puff of cold air not long after Silas Fry drove across the Florida state line. Silas merely lowered the front windows without saying anything to the children.
How many more hours to Sarasota? Two? Three?
“I wish we were back in Mozambique.” Lenasighed and fanned herself where she sat in the front passenger seat. She leaned toward the open window. Her sigh sounded as if her world had suddenly crumbled. At nearly nineteen, she tended to see life in extremes. And Belinda had been the one adept at handling her moodiness.
“Me, too.” Matthew’s echo was born of always wanting to follow in Lena’s trail.
“I know you do, I know.” Silas forced his voice to come out around the lump in his throat. Africa, his home. Their home. It would never be the same without Belinda. None of them would be.
Despite what Belinda had done long, long ago, he’d loved his wife to the end. The day a semi had plowed into the van in which she and some other ladies had been riding home from a quilt auction. None of those who died had suffered, the families were told.
Suffering was left for the rest of the families left behind, spouseless husbands, motherless children.
Silas filled his lungs with the fresh, humid air blowing into the van. “Your great-uncle said we’ll have plenty of time to go to the beach after supper tonight.”
The seashore. The ocean had been the one constant where they’d lived in Africa, not far from the coast in Mozambique. And, one big reason he’d chosen to move them all to Florida. In landlocked Ohio, the children had balked, and he even found himself feeling a bit constricted, his only refuge in the air, flying a Cessna.
Life with Belinda as their hub had fallen apart. Somehow, with God’s help, they’d find a way to put it back together again.
Someone had told him children were resilient.
Children?
He often needed to remind himself Lenawasn’t a child anymore, her studies had ended long ago, and she was planning to continue her education, not to become a teacher like her mother, but a medical assistant. She’d already completed her high school equivalency certificate and planned to enroll in college in Sarasota.
Matthew, not a child, either, all of fourteen and idolizing his older sister with her take-charge view of the world. They’d already discussed him finishing school in Pinecraft at the Mennonite school, after seeing where he compared to other students his age. He had a good eye for building and construction, as well as taking motors apart and putting them back together. Silas wasn’t sure where he’d come by his skill.
But Silas couldn’t help thinking of both of them as children. He’d been there from the beginning, when their first cries rang out. He’d seen them grow and thrive, through first words and first stumbles, through the first days of “I can do it myself.” Especially with Lena, who seemed to have come from her mother’s womb sure of herself and the world.
I like the daughter’s name. J Where can we find you on the Internet?I'm on Facebook at: facebook.com/lynettesowellauthor. My regular blog is at lynettesowell.blogspot.com. I'm on Twitter @LynetteSowell, and if you want to follow my favorite recipes and sometimes crafts, I'm on Pinterest as LynetteSowell.
Thanks for having me, Lena!
Thank you, Lynette, for sharing this new book with us. I know I’m going to love it. So will my blog readers.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
- Amazon
A Promise of Grace: Seasons in Pinecraft - Book 3 (Seasons in Pinecraft | Book 3)
- Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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, Lynette. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?This third book sprang from the inspiration of the Amish-Mennonite community of Pinecraft in Sarasota, Florida. Characters are a combination and melting pot of those I encountered in the village, and from my imagination. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?I would move to the coast, whether that be the New England coast near my family, or the Texas Gulf Coast, or to the Maryland-Virginia coast near where I grew up. I have always loved the ocean and find it's a special place, no matter what the weather.
If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?Finish that first book, and then think about writing another. I hear from quite a few people, “Oh, I'd love to write a book” or “I've started a book” but most of those people never finish.
You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (AS in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])Wow, that's a tough question, because I really am not one to follow many celebrities, and I've never been on a cruise, either. :) I would, however, have a chef or two that would be fun to cook with and learn from, and who would cook for us. Alton Brown would be one of those chefs. He'd be funny and interesting. For entertainment, the top billing would be for the a cappela vocal group Pentatonix, because I love a cappela music done well. Programs would be favorite book discussions, along with a costume party dressing as your favorite character. At ports of call, we would stop at some fun historical sites for day trips—Europe or the Mediterranean would be fun.
Tell us about the featured book.
A Promise of Grace
is the third book in my series, Seasons In Pinecraft. It's set in the Amish-Mennonite community in the city of Sarasota, Florida. My heroine, Rochelle Keim, has been a minor character in the first two books and this time, she gets her chance to tell her story. She owns a housecleaning business and guards her ordered life. Then her first love, Silas Fry, moves to Pinecraft one year after the death of his wife. Silas has spent most of his adult years working as a missionary pilot in Mozambiqueand traveling throughout South Africa and he feels a bit de-railed, as do his almost-grown son and young adult daughter. This third book has a few of the Amish characters from the first two books and rounds out the series.I’ve been waiting for this book. I loved the first two. Please give us the first page of the book.The minivan’s air conditioner gave one last puff of cold air not long after Silas Fry drove across the Florida state line. Silas merely lowered the front windows without saying anything to the children.
How many more hours to Sarasota? Two? Three?
“I wish we were back in Mozambique.” Lenasighed and fanned herself where she sat in the front passenger seat. She leaned toward the open window. Her sigh sounded as if her world had suddenly crumbled. At nearly nineteen, she tended to see life in extremes. And Belinda had been the one adept at handling her moodiness.
“Me, too.” Matthew’s echo was born of always wanting to follow in Lena’s trail.
“I know you do, I know.” Silas forced his voice to come out around the lump in his throat. Africa, his home. Their home. It would never be the same without Belinda. None of them would be.
Despite what Belinda had done long, long ago, he’d loved his wife to the end. The day a semi had plowed into the van in which she and some other ladies had been riding home from a quilt auction. None of those who died had suffered, the families were told.
Suffering was left for the rest of the families left behind, spouseless husbands, motherless children.
Silas filled his lungs with the fresh, humid air blowing into the van. “Your great-uncle said we’ll have plenty of time to go to the beach after supper tonight.”
The seashore. The ocean had been the one constant where they’d lived in Africa, not far from the coast in Mozambique. And, one big reason he’d chosen to move them all to Florida. In landlocked Ohio, the children had balked, and he even found himself feeling a bit constricted, his only refuge in the air, flying a Cessna.
Life with Belinda as their hub had fallen apart. Somehow, with God’s help, they’d find a way to put it back together again.
Someone had told him children were resilient.
Children?
He often needed to remind himself Lenawasn’t a child anymore, her studies had ended long ago, and she was planning to continue her education, not to become a teacher like her mother, but a medical assistant. She’d already completed her high school equivalency certificate and planned to enroll in college in Sarasota.
Matthew, not a child, either, all of fourteen and idolizing his older sister with her take-charge view of the world. They’d already discussed him finishing school in Pinecraft at the Mennonite school, after seeing where he compared to other students his age. He had a good eye for building and construction, as well as taking motors apart and putting them back together. Silas wasn’t sure where he’d come by his skill.
But Silas couldn’t help thinking of both of them as children. He’d been there from the beginning, when their first cries rang out. He’d seen them grow and thrive, through first words and first stumbles, through the first days of “I can do it myself.” Especially with Lena, who seemed to have come from her mother’s womb sure of herself and the world.
I like the daughter’s name. J Where can we find you on the Internet?I'm on Facebook at: facebook.com/lynettesowellauthor. My regular blog is at lynettesowell.blogspot.com. I'm on Twitter @LynetteSowell, and if you want to follow my favorite recipes and sometimes crafts, I'm on Pinterest as LynetteSowell.
Thanks for having me, Lena!
Thank you, Lynette, for sharing this new book with us. I know I’m going to love it. So will my blog readers.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
- Amazon
A Promise of Grace: Seasons in Pinecraft - Book 3 (Seasons in Pinecraft | Book 3)
- KindleLeave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 7, 2015
RED IS FOR ROOKIE - Anne Greene - One Free Book
Dear Readers, my special friend, Anne Greene, is back with a contemporary suspense novel I think you’ll love.
Welcome back, Anne. Tell us about your salvation experience.My father was an agnostic, so we children were never taken or sent to Sunday School. I missed that wonderful experience. When I was in High School, I attended a church I could walk to. Unfortunately, they did not explain the way of salvation. However I sang in the choir, and some of those old songs helped me work through tough periods in my life. When I was twenty-one, my husband and I visited a small church in San Diego. The handsome pastor preached on the second coming of Christ. I barely knew of His first coming, but that day both my husband and I received the Lord as our savior. Both my husband and I had a dramatic change in our lives. We have never looked back to the old life without Christ. Living with Him has been such a joy and time of growing and learning. I am so thankful to Pastor Tim LaHaye who so faithfully through the years has obeyed God’s call to teach and preach.
You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?I’ve never attended a writing retreat so I’m not sure how they work, but I would have a difficult time narrowing the invites down to four. I would invite Lena Dooley because she is my friend and mentor. I would invite a publicist so I could learn more about the art and science of selling books. I would invite Ace Collins because he writes great suspense, and finally I would invite Julie Lessman because she’s a friend and writes great historical novels.
Now that would be a fun group. I know some really good publicists you could invite and I love Julie and Ace. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.I do speak at libraries, book clubs, retirement homes, and anywhere someone asks me. I speak about whatever topic they are interested in. Most of the time, they ask me to speak about writing and how it works and how I got into it. Also they ask me to speak about my books. I enjoy talking with both large groups and small groups. I also am available to teach writing courses about novel writing.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?I try really hard to avoid embarrassment, and usually succeed. But one time I didn’t. I attended a small school because I grew up in a small town. Our high school and junior high school buildings were located on the same grounds. One day when I was in eighth grade, I left school late. Almost everyone had gone for the day. Being somewhat a rebel at heart, I broke a school rule, thinking the rule didn’t matter because no one was in school. We junior highers were not permitted to go inside the senior high school building. But I had to go to the restroom. So I went inside the high school building, since the junior high school building was further away. After I left the restroom and was in the corridor on my way out, the entire varsity football team trooped past…either going to or from the showers. I’m not sure if my face turned more scarlet or theirs. A few of the boys had towels, but most of them didn’t. Nor did they have clothes. Some of the boys brazenly stalked by my wide eyes. Others covered what they could however they could. And, of course, being from a small town, I knew each boy, and they knew me. So, I stood and gazed. And they either hurried by or strolled by, a confident smile on their faces. None of us ever mentioned what happened. And that lesson taught me to be even more of a rebel. Who knew what unforeseen adventures lay in that direction?
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?I tell them if they are really interested, I can help them with our American Christian Fiction Writers organization and with critique groups. I have read over manuscripts and given input to would-be writers. And I do mentor several writers. I tell them about the pitfalls and the rewards of full-time writing. And I encourage them that today there are more open doors to writers than ever before.
Tell us about the featured book, HOLLY GARDENS, PI, RED IS FOR ROOKIE.RED IS FOR RACETracking a kidnapper is an unusual assignment for a private investigator. But Matt is Holly’s lifelong friend. During the race to save him, Holly discovers a lot more than she bargained for. Matt’s in love with her.
RED IS FOR RISKHolly’s world has never been more dangerous. Her mother’s convinced Holly will end up dead, so she hires a PI to protect Holly. She needs Stryker’s savvy and expertise and is eager for his help, though she risks her heart working with the danger-loving man.
RED IS FOR REVENGEStryker’s past returns to haunt him. The kidnapper wants revenge. Stryker risks his life Holly. The dangerous race transforms Holly from a Rookie into a seasoned PI. But with the two men turning her life upside down, can Holly take the heat?
Sounds good! Please give us the first page of the book.As I turned away to retrace my surveillance route, my gaze swept across a man I hadn’t noticed before. He stood near the ballroom door with his back to me. I did a double-take. An off-duty cop. I could spot one a mile away. The way he walked, stood, and observed his surroundings. A cop couldn’t disguise his identity. Calm, professional, strong, he looked as though he controlled the world. With legs braced wide, right foot behind, he kept his piece away from the crowd. Even from the rear the guy looked cocky.
Someone touched my shoulder. I jumped. While I’d been eyeing the cop, Matt, my detective friend, had crossed to my side of the room.
“Who invited the police?” Matt jabbed a thumb toward the ballroom door.
“My question exactly. Maybe one of the rich types demanding extra protection. Or maybe the cop’s moonlighting as a bodyguard.”
Matt rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “Maybe. Don’t know.” “Whatever. I’ll find out.”
“You do that.” Matt sauntered back to patrol his side of the ballroom.
I planned to check the cop out, but didn’t want to meet him this way. I had an image to project. I was an investigator. A professional. Strong. Independent. Cool. Granted, I had a lot to learn, but I sure didn’t want to be seen on Valentine’s night appearing to shop for a man at a meet-a-thon. In a town as closely-connected as Dallas, if we met in the line of fire–and I had no doubt we would—he’d never take me seriously. Some time tonight I’d inform him I was actually working.
I policed my half of the room then headed back toward the Champion Wrestler table.
Big, warm fingers grasped my arm with just enough pressure to make me brake and take notice. The dark-haired, fine-looking man extended his other hand. A sense of recognition nagged me. But I didn’t know him. He sat with his back to the wall at the Attorney table catty-cornered to the wrestlers’ enclave. I shook his waiting hand, feeling warmth and solid strength I hadn’t expected to find in a lawyer’s grip. He wore his dark suit like other men wore uniforms. Daring. Proud. Indomitable. Candlelight reflected mystery in his brown eyes. With the kind of smile you see on a man given an unexpected dish of ice cream, he stood and offered me the empty chair his polished wingtips had guarded. With the chair now free, a bevy of females flew over from different tables and circled him.
“Sit a while.”
His compelling expression excluded everyone in the room but me. It was an invitation I didn’t want, but my feet, aching from the unaccustomed spike heels, did. So I slid into the seat. I turned to the attorney, a real James Bond type. Unwanted sparks ignited my insides. Too intense to be handsome and too electric to be ignored, he was big, tense, and concentrated. I’d never met a man who looked so ready for adventure.
Here was trouble masquerading as charm.
I love the different voice in this book, Anne. How can readers find you on the Internet?My books can be purchased on any on-line bookstore and at http://www.Amazon.com. type in Anne Greene. My links are http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. http://www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com., http://www.facebook.com/AnneWGreeneAuthor.Twitter@TheAnneGreene, Pinterest The Anne Greene, http://www.bookfun.org./profileAnneGreene. I love to hear from my readers.
Thank you for sharing this new book with us, Anne. I can hardly wait to read it.
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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, Anne. Tell us about your salvation experience.My father was an agnostic, so we children were never taken or sent to Sunday School. I missed that wonderful experience. When I was in High School, I attended a church I could walk to. Unfortunately, they did not explain the way of salvation. However I sang in the choir, and some of those old songs helped me work through tough periods in my life. When I was twenty-one, my husband and I visited a small church in San Diego. The handsome pastor preached on the second coming of Christ. I barely knew of His first coming, but that day both my husband and I received the Lord as our savior. Both my husband and I had a dramatic change in our lives. We have never looked back to the old life without Christ. Living with Him has been such a joy and time of growing and learning. I am so thankful to Pastor Tim LaHaye who so faithfully through the years has obeyed God’s call to teach and preach.You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?I’ve never attended a writing retreat so I’m not sure how they work, but I would have a difficult time narrowing the invites down to four. I would invite Lena Dooley because she is my friend and mentor. I would invite a publicist so I could learn more about the art and science of selling books. I would invite Ace Collins because he writes great suspense, and finally I would invite Julie Lessman because she’s a friend and writes great historical novels.
Now that would be a fun group. I know some really good publicists you could invite and I love Julie and Ace. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.I do speak at libraries, book clubs, retirement homes, and anywhere someone asks me. I speak about whatever topic they are interested in. Most of the time, they ask me to speak about writing and how it works and how I got into it. Also they ask me to speak about my books. I enjoy talking with both large groups and small groups. I also am available to teach writing courses about novel writing.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?I try really hard to avoid embarrassment, and usually succeed. But one time I didn’t. I attended a small school because I grew up in a small town. Our high school and junior high school buildings were located on the same grounds. One day when I was in eighth grade, I left school late. Almost everyone had gone for the day. Being somewhat a rebel at heart, I broke a school rule, thinking the rule didn’t matter because no one was in school. We junior highers were not permitted to go inside the senior high school building. But I had to go to the restroom. So I went inside the high school building, since the junior high school building was further away. After I left the restroom and was in the corridor on my way out, the entire varsity football team trooped past…either going to or from the showers. I’m not sure if my face turned more scarlet or theirs. A few of the boys had towels, but most of them didn’t. Nor did they have clothes. Some of the boys brazenly stalked by my wide eyes. Others covered what they could however they could. And, of course, being from a small town, I knew each boy, and they knew me. So, I stood and gazed. And they either hurried by or strolled by, a confident smile on their faces. None of us ever mentioned what happened. And that lesson taught me to be even more of a rebel. Who knew what unforeseen adventures lay in that direction?
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?I tell them if they are really interested, I can help them with our American Christian Fiction Writers organization and with critique groups. I have read over manuscripts and given input to would-be writers. And I do mentor several writers. I tell them about the pitfalls and the rewards of full-time writing. And I encourage them that today there are more open doors to writers than ever before.
Tell us about the featured book, HOLLY GARDENS, PI, RED IS FOR ROOKIE.RED IS FOR RACETracking a kidnapper is an unusual assignment for a private investigator. But Matt is Holly’s lifelong friend. During the race to save him, Holly discovers a lot more than she bargained for. Matt’s in love with her.
RED IS FOR RISKHolly’s world has never been more dangerous. Her mother’s convinced Holly will end up dead, so she hires a PI to protect Holly. She needs Stryker’s savvy and expertise and is eager for his help, though she risks her heart working with the danger-loving man.
RED IS FOR REVENGEStryker’s past returns to haunt him. The kidnapper wants revenge. Stryker risks his life Holly. The dangerous race transforms Holly from a Rookie into a seasoned PI. But with the two men turning her life upside down, can Holly take the heat?
Sounds good! Please give us the first page of the book.As I turned away to retrace my surveillance route, my gaze swept across a man I hadn’t noticed before. He stood near the ballroom door with his back to me. I did a double-take. An off-duty cop. I could spot one a mile away. The way he walked, stood, and observed his surroundings. A cop couldn’t disguise his identity. Calm, professional, strong, he looked as though he controlled the world. With legs braced wide, right foot behind, he kept his piece away from the crowd. Even from the rear the guy looked cocky.Someone touched my shoulder. I jumped. While I’d been eyeing the cop, Matt, my detective friend, had crossed to my side of the room.
“Who invited the police?” Matt jabbed a thumb toward the ballroom door.
“My question exactly. Maybe one of the rich types demanding extra protection. Or maybe the cop’s moonlighting as a bodyguard.”
Matt rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “Maybe. Don’t know.” “Whatever. I’ll find out.”
“You do that.” Matt sauntered back to patrol his side of the ballroom.
I planned to check the cop out, but didn’t want to meet him this way. I had an image to project. I was an investigator. A professional. Strong. Independent. Cool. Granted, I had a lot to learn, but I sure didn’t want to be seen on Valentine’s night appearing to shop for a man at a meet-a-thon. In a town as closely-connected as Dallas, if we met in the line of fire–and I had no doubt we would—he’d never take me seriously. Some time tonight I’d inform him I was actually working.
I policed my half of the room then headed back toward the Champion Wrestler table.
Big, warm fingers grasped my arm with just enough pressure to make me brake and take notice. The dark-haired, fine-looking man extended his other hand. A sense of recognition nagged me. But I didn’t know him. He sat with his back to the wall at the Attorney table catty-cornered to the wrestlers’ enclave. I shook his waiting hand, feeling warmth and solid strength I hadn’t expected to find in a lawyer’s grip. He wore his dark suit like other men wore uniforms. Daring. Proud. Indomitable. Candlelight reflected mystery in his brown eyes. With the kind of smile you see on a man given an unexpected dish of ice cream, he stood and offered me the empty chair his polished wingtips had guarded. With the chair now free, a bevy of females flew over from different tables and circled him.
“Sit a while.”
His compelling expression excluded everyone in the room but me. It was an invitation I didn’t want, but my feet, aching from the unaccustomed spike heels, did. So I slid into the seat. I turned to the attorney, a real James Bond type. Unwanted sparks ignited my insides. Too intense to be handsome and too electric to be ignored, he was big, tense, and concentrated. I’d never met a man who looked so ready for adventure.
Here was trouble masquerading as charm.
I love the different voice in this book, Anne. How can readers find you on the Internet?My books can be purchased on any on-line bookstore and at http://www.Amazon.com. type in Anne Greene. My links are http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. http://www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com., http://www.facebook.com/AnneWGreeneAuthor.Twitter@TheAnneGreene, Pinterest The Anne Greene, http://www.bookfun.org./profileAnneGreene. I love to hear from my readers.
Thank you for sharing this new book with us, Anne. I can hardly wait to read it.
Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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, 2015
LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES - Betsy St Amant - One Free Book
Bio: Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana with her young daughter and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God's grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.
Welcome, Betsy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. It varies, but there is always a piece of me that ends up in my main heroine, whether I mean to do it or not! Be it a favorite color, a hairstyle, a hobby, or an emotional scar, something is always incorporated. I think that helps me write more openly and honestly.
What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? I’m really OCD about pictures being straight. I’ve walked into professional businesses or people’s houses I don’t know well and straightened their art on the walls. I also have a quirky habit of ripping straw wrappers at fast food restaurants or Starbucks up into teeny tiny pieces and making confetti while sitting and visiting. I usually don’t even realize I’m doing it until later in the conversation when I realize I’m being looked at funny! haha.
When did you first discover that you were a writer? When I was in elementary school, my short stories were always finagling in different school-wide projects. I just loved to read, more than anything else, but later, when I became a teenager, I decided to get serious about pursing writing as more than a play-around-thing on our home computer. I began attending courses and conferences on writing and speaking and learning all I could!
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I read contemporary romance, of course, since that’s what I write. But I also love YA novels and historical of all time periods.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? Oh, I do????? Thanks Lena! ::wink:: Honestly, some days I don’t feel sane at all. I feel overwhelmed and pressured and struggling to chase myself in a circle. I’m a single mom who works full time outside of writing, and has a side job freelancing for a local newspaper. I’ve never understood the word “bored” but somehow, in the midst of the chaos, God sews it all together. Some days those stitches are dripping with my tears, other days are covered in my laughter, but every day somehow manages to accomplish what it needs to. He is so sufficient!
How do you choose your characters’ names?I usually have an idea of the “vibe” I want the name to carry, and comb through baby-name-meaning website until I see it and it shouts at me. Or, I might think of a definition I want the name to mean, and search that way.
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? I’m really proud of where I’ve come since my divorce. I’ve gone from a weak, distraught, hopeless, defeated woman sobbing on her kitchen floor, to a strong woman who knows her value and worth in Christ, a woman of hope and courage, a woman who encourages others who knows how it feels to bleed out from the heart. I’m proud of where I’ve come, all while knowing it’s all because of the Lord and His strength in me. His grace, His mercy, His love, and His rescuing me. He is so good!
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? I think I’d be a horse. I love open space and beautiful scenery and roaming around outside. I love the feeling of wind and freedom. Horses remind me of all those things. They were always my favorite animal growing up.
What is your favorite food? Chips and salsa! I could eat it (and sometimes do) by the gallon. Sometimes every day. (We might need an intervention!)
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? Time. It still is my greatest roadblock at times, but like I said earlier, the overcoming is nothing but the grace of God! I have to take writing one day at a time.
Tell us about the featured book.LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES is the book of my heart. It features a divorced heroine who is hiding from her past and afraid to shine, afraid of all the things she was once proud of because she believes they contributed to the destruction of her marriage. So she hides her desires, her beauty, and talents in an effort to keep her heart safe. But when she’s forced to work beside a former flame on the renovation of the town’s beloved old theater, she realizes he still has the uncanny knack for drawing her out of herself—piece by piece. And she begins to see that sometimes, God can take even the tiniest of fragments and form beautiful masterpieces.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
I’m at www.betsystamant.com and www.writergetsreal.blogspot.comand my FB author page is https://www.facebook.com/BetsySt.Amant
Thank you, Betsy, for sharing this new book with us. I'm anxious to read it, and I know my blog readers will be, too.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. - Amazon
Love Arrives in Pieces - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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, Betsy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. It varies, but there is always a piece of me that ends up in my main heroine, whether I mean to do it or not! Be it a favorite color, a hairstyle, a hobby, or an emotional scar, something is always incorporated. I think that helps me write more openly and honestly.What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? I’m really OCD about pictures being straight. I’ve walked into professional businesses or people’s houses I don’t know well and straightened their art on the walls. I also have a quirky habit of ripping straw wrappers at fast food restaurants or Starbucks up into teeny tiny pieces and making confetti while sitting and visiting. I usually don’t even realize I’m doing it until later in the conversation when I realize I’m being looked at funny! haha.
When did you first discover that you were a writer? When I was in elementary school, my short stories were always finagling in different school-wide projects. I just loved to read, more than anything else, but later, when I became a teenager, I decided to get serious about pursing writing as more than a play-around-thing on our home computer. I began attending courses and conferences on writing and speaking and learning all I could!
Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I read contemporary romance, of course, since that’s what I write. But I also love YA novels and historical of all time periods.
How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? Oh, I do????? Thanks Lena! ::wink:: Honestly, some days I don’t feel sane at all. I feel overwhelmed and pressured and struggling to chase myself in a circle. I’m a single mom who works full time outside of writing, and has a side job freelancing for a local newspaper. I’ve never understood the word “bored” but somehow, in the midst of the chaos, God sews it all together. Some days those stitches are dripping with my tears, other days are covered in my laughter, but every day somehow manages to accomplish what it needs to. He is so sufficient!
How do you choose your characters’ names?I usually have an idea of the “vibe” I want the name to carry, and comb through baby-name-meaning website until I see it and it shouts at me. Or, I might think of a definition I want the name to mean, and search that way.
What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? I’m really proud of where I’ve come since my divorce. I’ve gone from a weak, distraught, hopeless, defeated woman sobbing on her kitchen floor, to a strong woman who knows her value and worth in Christ, a woman of hope and courage, a woman who encourages others who knows how it feels to bleed out from the heart. I’m proud of where I’ve come, all while knowing it’s all because of the Lord and His strength in me. His grace, His mercy, His love, and His rescuing me. He is so good!
If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? I think I’d be a horse. I love open space and beautiful scenery and roaming around outside. I love the feeling of wind and freedom. Horses remind me of all those things. They were always my favorite animal growing up.
What is your favorite food? Chips and salsa! I could eat it (and sometimes do) by the gallon. Sometimes every day. (We might need an intervention!)
What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? Time. It still is my greatest roadblock at times, but like I said earlier, the overcoming is nothing but the grace of God! I have to take writing one day at a time.
Tell us about the featured book.LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES is the book of my heart. It features a divorced heroine who is hiding from her past and afraid to shine, afraid of all the things she was once proud of because she believes they contributed to the destruction of her marriage. So she hides her desires, her beauty, and talents in an effort to keep her heart safe. But when she’s forced to work beside a former flame on the renovation of the town’s beloved old theater, she realizes he still has the uncanny knack for drawing her out of herself—piece by piece. And she begins to see that sometimes, God can take even the tiniest of fragments and form beautiful masterpieces. How can readers find you on the Internet?
I’m at www.betsystamant.com and www.writergetsreal.blogspot.comand my FB author page is https://www.facebook.com/BetsySt.Amant
Thank you, Betsy, for sharing this new book with us. I'm anxious to read it, and I know my blog readers will be, too.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. - Amazon
Love Arrives in Pieces - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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 5, 2015
WINNERS!!!!!!
Edward (VA) is the winner of
Hutterite Diaries
by Linda Maendel.
Sm (CA) is the winner of Unlikely Merger by Marji Laine.
Mary P (Aus) is the winner of 4 ebooks, including The Atlantis Deception by Nick Thacker.
Sm (CA) is the winner of two audio books by Nick Thacker.
Lourdes (NY) is the winner of Torrents of Dception by Robin Caroll.
Donna (TX) is the winner of A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer.
If you won a book and you like it, 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 of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
Sm (CA) is the winner of Unlikely Merger by Marji Laine.
Mary P (Aus) is the winner of 4 ebooks, including The Atlantis Deception by Nick Thacker.
Sm (CA) is the winner of two audio books by Nick Thacker.
Lourdes (NY) is the winner of Torrents of Dception by Robin Caroll.
Donna (TX) is the winner of A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer.
If you won a book and you like it, 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 of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.
July 3, 2015
STAR OF WONDER - Tracy Higley - One Free Ebook
Welcome back, Tracy. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?I have a couple of different projects in the works right now, and not all fiction! I’m working on something that would be geared toward Christian business women, helping them to find passion and balance within their productivity. I’m also working with a cowriter on an exciting new curriculum designed to help small groups in churches go deeper. And in between, I’m starting a new series of novels, which will take my main character to ancient Egypt. Tell us a little about your family.We are spread out through lots of phases of life right now! I have an older daughter who is 22 and out on her own who lives a thousand miles from me, a 20-year-old daughter who just got engaged, a fifteen-year-old son, and a twelve-year-old son. So we span from middle school to high school to college and beyond! Besides my writing, my husband and I run an internet retail business.
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?It’s probably the other way around, at least at first. My voracious reading from a very young age created my writing habit (my kids still make fun of the fact that I would sit on the playground and read during recess). But these days, my reading is always to learn how to live and write better, or to inspire me with great stories that take me to another place.
What are you working on right now?Of the three projects I mentioned above, my fiction project is the most fuzzy right now, just at the beginning stages. But I’m thinking… time travel!
What outside interests do you have?My biggest interest is probably world travel. I’ve been privileged to travel to many amazing places in researching my books, seeing places like Athens, Rome, Ephesus, Cairo, and Jerusalem. Besides travel, I love reading, especially in my hammock, getting outdoors, and watching movies.
How do you choose your settings for each book?That’s hard to answer. There’s an intrinsic fascination I have for all of these ancient places, and I feel like they just call out to me, to have stories placed into them!
If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?Yikes, so many people to choose from! I can’t really pick a favorite, but I’ll say that one person I’d like to talk with is Caesar Augustus. He was an amazing ruler, and I’m fascinated by first century Rome.
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?I wish I’d known that it’s better to follow your creativity and passion with your stories than to write what you think other people want to read.
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?An ongoing but not-yet-learned lesson is to keep grounding my identity in Christ, not in who I am or what I achieve. When I do that, it gives me the freedom to love and serve others without concern for pleasing or impressing them to get what I need.
What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?Write consistently, every day if at all possibleRead excessively, expanding your thought horizonLaugh frequently, enjoying the process and not taking yourself too seriously
Tell us about the featured book.
Star of Wonder
is the first of a trilogy of novellas, and part of
The Incense Road
. It’s an epic quest across the sands of Arabia, with a group of magi searching for a lost artifact of great power, at the same time they’re following a mysterious star that heralds the birth of a new world ruler. Please give us the first page of the book.From that first night nine months ago, a sickness had been growing in me, like some hideous creature wanting to be birthed. I knew its cause. That damnable, beautiful star.
Tonight on the palace roof I tried to look away, to stop my ears to the endless musings and sharp-tongued arguments of my fellow scholars. They bickered over the portent of that silver-white specter wandering the charred field of Sin, god of the night. But it was the night before my final examinations, and I could not afford distraction.
Only a few hours remained until dawn, and I must retrieve the one thing that would assure my place among them, that would give me an edge over Navid and all his advantages.
One chance. I had one chance to redeem last month’s disaster.
I glanced at Navid, his dark head bent to the shorter Zahir, who served as mentor to us both. Zahir’s finger traced a star chart, weighted with amulets and spread upon the roof’s ledge, as he explained some hidden knowledge to Navid. A stab of jealousy delayed me. Navid was born into the Kasdim, as I was, and would also face examinations tomorrow. But that was where the likeness ended.
Navid flicked a condescending glance at me, and in that glance was all the superiority he wielded like a club in his privileged hand.
“Shouldn’t you be practicing your presentation, Misha?” His nasal voice arched over the rooftop, loud enough to draw the attention of every studious mage. “Perhaps a good meal to strengthen you, eh?” He glanced left and right, ensuring he had an audience. “Ah, but I forgot, you are likely to present your last meal to the Kasdim along with your lessons.” He snorted. “Perhaps you should arrive hungry.”
The snickering response proved that no one had forgotten last month. My lifelong fear of speaking before a crowd had gotten the best of me, in front of every first- through fourth-level palace mage.
I shrugged one shoulder and smiled. “I have no worries, Navid. Even the contents of my stomach are more impressive than the contents of your mind.”
Interesting. How can readers find you on the Internet?I’d love to have your readers visit me at www.tracyhigley.com, to see some of my travel journals and photographs, get a behind-the-scenes look at locations, and read excerpts. I can also be found on Facebook at /tracyhigley and Twitter @TLHigley. Come visit!
Thank you, Tracy, for sharing this book with us.
Readers, here’s a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Star of Wonder: A Novella (The Incense Road Book 1)
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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
ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS - Anne Greene - One Free Book
Dear Readers, Anne has been a good friends
for a number of years. She lives not too far from me, and for a while, she was in the critique group that meets in my home. We’ve gone to writing conferences together and been roommates more than once. I know you’ll like her new book.
Welcome back, Anne. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?My spiritual themes arrive from the conflicts within the book. As a seat of the pants writer, I don’t know what spiritual theme will be foremost in my book.
What other books of yours are coming out soon?I have had two books release simultaneously in May 2015: And HOLLY GARDEN, PI, RED IS FOR ROOKIE is the first book in my new Holly Garden Private Investigator series. A rookie private investigator tracks a kidnapper poised to kill her best male friend. Will she find her friend in time to save his life? A seasoned PI from a competing firm dogs her footsteps. So why is she falling for the guy? Will she trust her heart to the life-long friend or the danger-addicted PI?
In October of this year I also have two novellas releasing:A MISTLETOE KISS is a historical set on the Oregon Trail. In Californiathe trail splits one way to the paradise of free land in Oregon or to the California Gold Rush. Felicity Daniels dreams of the free land and her first permanent home, but Ben Bonneville has his sights set on the gold rush to pay off his mother’s medical debts. When Felicity’s father dies and Ben’s money and equipment are stolen, Felicity takes Ben as her groom and pays his way to California. Both need each other to make their dreams come true. But which one will surrender their dream?
A CHRISTMAS BELLE is a historical set in Angel Vale, Wyoming. Amanda Geoffrey is a southern belle transplanted to Maine. Desiring a new life after being rejected by a Southern Gentlemen at the altar, she agrees to become a mail-order bride in Wyoming. She hates Southern men with their charm, their sense of duty, and their spineless backbones. She wants a fresh start with a Wyomingcowboy/miner in a new town. Frank Calloway is a miner with a paying gold mine and is a newly elected sheriff. He’s a recent believer who needs a bride. His past caught up with Frank when one of the women he’s known leaves a baby on his doorstep and names him the father. Frank’s sure he’s not the father, but his sense of duty and immediate bonding to the child makes him accept the responsibility. So he orders a bride. Felicity’s immediate attraction to Frank ends abruptly when Frank opens his mouth. Big problem. Frank’s also from the Deep South. Frank also has an over-developed sense of duty. Can this unlikely couple find happiness?
If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?I would like to talk with Tim LaHaye. He doesn’t know it, but he led me to the Lord. When I was twenty-one I went to his Scott Memorial church in San Diego. The first sermon I heard him preach was about the second coming of Christ. I barely knew of Christ’s first coming. He gave an invitation, and I received the Lord into my life. That day changed me forever. Not only did I receive eternal life, I also received a new love, a new mission in my life. Nothing remained the same. I truly was a new creation in Christ. My life took an entirely new direction. Tim knew me then as Anne Swonger. I was married to my late husband, Don Swonger.
What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?I’d love to meet my great-great-great-grandmother who lived in a thatch-roof home in Ulster County, Ireland. I’d love to have her tell me of her life and of her children and of her dreams. I’d also love to the see the country there when she was living, and experience how she felt when some of her children immigrated to the new world, the golden land, America. I’d love to see if I resemble any of my ancestors, and how many of them were Christians. I’d love to find some other relatives that did not immigrate. Lovely dream. Perhaps in heaven, I’ll see these people and talk with them.
I have Irish ancestry, too. And just yesterday, my youngest granddaughter left the US to go to Ireland on a 10-day mission trip to work in a children’s camp. How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?I strongly believe in joining a critique group and larger writing groups like ACFW. I also believe that if you keep growing your craft and writing, that one day you will be published. Contests are good feedback as well.
Tell us about the featured book.
ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS is a World War II romance. While doing her part test flying planes, Mandy McCabe escapes her dead-end life in Hangman’s Hollow, Tennessee, as a Woman Air Service Pilot, WASP. Major Harvey Applegate lost his wife to the WASP program, and he’s convinced Yankee Doodle Gals have no place flying in the war effort. Both Mandy and Harveyexperience immediate attraction. But can a man burdened with memories of death undertake added danger? Will their new love survive the test? This is the first book in my Women of Courage series.
Please give us the first page of the book.“She’s late! Where is she?” Insides churning like pistons, Major Harvey Applegate stared hard at the tiny blonde standing in front of him, her hands clenched behind her back. Her chin trembled. She looked so young he wanted to pat her on the back and send her to the hangar for a hot chocolate, but majors didn’t do that. So he gritted his teeth.
He was supposed to show respect for the WASPs invading his air base. That was asking a lot. They were young and unpredictable. Men fought wars to protect American women. Men died in wars. Not women. He restrained his impulse to pound the metal side of the wet hangar and slapped his thigh with his cap instead. “I can’t lose another WASP on my watch. Not two in as many days.” He plowed his hand through his short, dripping hair, frowned, and reminded himself not to get his underwear wrapped around an axle.
“She’s only half an hour late, sir.” Doreen’s lower lip quivered. “Didn’t that pilot get the word this morning?” Harvey wrung his cap. He wouldn’t take his temper out on this innocent blonde. “No, sir. Corporal Jones ran up to tell me we were grounded twenty minutes after she was in the air.”
Above the wail of the wind, Harvey picked up the faint lilting song of a Merlin engine running slightly rough. He gazed toward the windsock blowing straight out and pivoted toward the landing strip. A P-51 came in fast and low, circled the field, made a perfect three-point landing, and taxied to a halt.
He snapped his cap onto his head. He didn’t have many men who could land in a crosswind that well. Even he would have had trouble. Boots splashing water, he dashed across the tarmac and reached the craft before the propeller stopped spinning. The canopy of the single-seater flew open. A slight figure, clad in a man’s too-large flight suit, climbed out onto the rain-slick wing. He stretched up his arms and grabbed her waist to lower her to the ground. Even with the weight of her boots, flight jacket, and gear, this one felt light in his arms.
The pilot glanced at his insignia. If she’d actually been military, she’d have had to salute. But she wasn’t, and she didn’t. The minute her feet touched ground, the slender woman pulled off her goggles and gazed up at him. Wide blue eyes circled with goggle marks.
Another starry-eyed angel. Harvey swallowed hard. His chest hurt. She looked so vulnerable. He scowled, picturing that slender nose smashed and those winsome lips closed forever. He couldn’t face seeing another woman killed. He wanted these women off his air base. Wanted no more sleep lost over these young ladies. Wanted no more sending them into danger. Wanted no more funerals that tore him apart. He slapped the cowl of the plane so hard she jumped. No more charred women in downed planes. Trista took on a man’s job, and look how that turned out. Agony pierced his chest. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the memory.
“I’ll see you grounded!” Harvey thundered. “You were due back half an hour ago. Can’t you women obey rules?” Ruby lips rounded into an O of surprise. Her sapphire eyes widened. Her dark brows arched. “What?”
“Women pilots!” He slammed his fist into his palm. “I’ll shut down this program.”
Her brows furrowed. Her chin poked out. Her hands flew to her hips. She looked ready to jump all over him. As long as she was alive and safe, he didn’t care. He could handle her. “You head-in-the-clouds dreamers think you’re on your own private missions. This base is no place for a woman!”
“You men have such a high opinion of yourselves. Women could fly in combat, but you keep us home.” Flames tinted her wet cheeks. “You won’t admit our country desperately needs us to fly these planes.” She stressed each word passionately.
Harveycould tell she wanted to say more, but she clamped her lips. He glared. She glowered back.
Though if she thought he had an inflated opinion of himself. Better that than for her to guess he had a soft spot for these female pilots. “I don’t want any more dead women.”
She cringed. Her face crumpled.
Why hadn’t he kept his trap shut? Even on a base this big, she probably knew the missing WASP pilot. But he’d wanted to scare her into obeying the rules. Obedience gave the women pilots some semblance of safety.
She recovered from her first reaction and blazed. “Connie’s alive. I know it. And rumor patrol says it’s just a couple of you big shots who want to shut us down. Most fellas like us testing repaired planes and towing targets. They want to be free to fly combat.”
He shrugged. She was right. And he couldn’t dredge up a comeback.
She stomped stiff-legged toward the open hangar door, parachute bumping her backside, rain blurring his view.
“Feisty pilot, you’re the kind gets yourself killed,” he yelled just as she reached the hangar door.
I can’t wait to read this one. How can readers find you on the Internet?I love to talk with my readers. Visit me at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. I also write a novel teaching class on my blog www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com. You can tweet with me @TheAnneGreene. You can buy my books at http://www.Amazon.com. Just type in Anne Greene Books.
Thank you, Anne, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers will love it.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. Angel With Steel Wings: Women of Courage Series
- Paperback
Angel With Steel Wings: Women of Courage Series - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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
for a number of years. She lives not too far from me, and for a while, she was in the critique group that meets in my home. We’ve gone to writing conferences together and been roommates more than once. I know you’ll like her new book.Welcome back, Anne. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?My spiritual themes arrive from the conflicts within the book. As a seat of the pants writer, I don’t know what spiritual theme will be foremost in my book.
What other books of yours are coming out soon?I have had two books release simultaneously in May 2015: And HOLLY GARDEN, PI, RED IS FOR ROOKIE is the first book in my new Holly Garden Private Investigator series. A rookie private investigator tracks a kidnapper poised to kill her best male friend. Will she find her friend in time to save his life? A seasoned PI from a competing firm dogs her footsteps. So why is she falling for the guy? Will she trust her heart to the life-long friend or the danger-addicted PI?
In October of this year I also have two novellas releasing:A MISTLETOE KISS is a historical set on the Oregon Trail. In Californiathe trail splits one way to the paradise of free land in Oregon or to the California Gold Rush. Felicity Daniels dreams of the free land and her first permanent home, but Ben Bonneville has his sights set on the gold rush to pay off his mother’s medical debts. When Felicity’s father dies and Ben’s money and equipment are stolen, Felicity takes Ben as her groom and pays his way to California. Both need each other to make their dreams come true. But which one will surrender their dream?
A CHRISTMAS BELLE is a historical set in Angel Vale, Wyoming. Amanda Geoffrey is a southern belle transplanted to Maine. Desiring a new life after being rejected by a Southern Gentlemen at the altar, she agrees to become a mail-order bride in Wyoming. She hates Southern men with their charm, their sense of duty, and their spineless backbones. She wants a fresh start with a Wyomingcowboy/miner in a new town. Frank Calloway is a miner with a paying gold mine and is a newly elected sheriff. He’s a recent believer who needs a bride. His past caught up with Frank when one of the women he’s known leaves a baby on his doorstep and names him the father. Frank’s sure he’s not the father, but his sense of duty and immediate bonding to the child makes him accept the responsibility. So he orders a bride. Felicity’s immediate attraction to Frank ends abruptly when Frank opens his mouth. Big problem. Frank’s also from the Deep South. Frank also has an over-developed sense of duty. Can this unlikely couple find happiness?
If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?I would like to talk with Tim LaHaye. He doesn’t know it, but he led me to the Lord. When I was twenty-one I went to his Scott Memorial church in San Diego. The first sermon I heard him preach was about the second coming of Christ. I barely knew of Christ’s first coming. He gave an invitation, and I received the Lord into my life. That day changed me forever. Not only did I receive eternal life, I also received a new love, a new mission in my life. Nothing remained the same. I truly was a new creation in Christ. My life took an entirely new direction. Tim knew me then as Anne Swonger. I was married to my late husband, Don Swonger.
What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?I’d love to meet my great-great-great-grandmother who lived in a thatch-roof home in Ulster County, Ireland. I’d love to have her tell me of her life and of her children and of her dreams. I’d also love to the see the country there when she was living, and experience how she felt when some of her children immigrated to the new world, the golden land, America. I’d love to see if I resemble any of my ancestors, and how many of them were Christians. I’d love to find some other relatives that did not immigrate. Lovely dream. Perhaps in heaven, I’ll see these people and talk with them.
I have Irish ancestry, too. And just yesterday, my youngest granddaughter left the US to go to Ireland on a 10-day mission trip to work in a children’s camp. How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?I strongly believe in joining a critique group and larger writing groups like ACFW. I also believe that if you keep growing your craft and writing, that one day you will be published. Contests are good feedback as well.
Tell us about the featured book.
ANGEL WITH STEEL WINGS is a World War II romance. While doing her part test flying planes, Mandy McCabe escapes her dead-end life in Hangman’s Hollow, Tennessee, as a Woman Air Service Pilot, WASP. Major Harvey Applegate lost his wife to the WASP program, and he’s convinced Yankee Doodle Gals have no place flying in the war effort. Both Mandy and Harveyexperience immediate attraction. But can a man burdened with memories of death undertake added danger? Will their new love survive the test? This is the first book in my Women of Courage series.Please give us the first page of the book.“She’s late! Where is she?” Insides churning like pistons, Major Harvey Applegate stared hard at the tiny blonde standing in front of him, her hands clenched behind her back. Her chin trembled. She looked so young he wanted to pat her on the back and send her to the hangar for a hot chocolate, but majors didn’t do that. So he gritted his teeth.
He was supposed to show respect for the WASPs invading his air base. That was asking a lot. They were young and unpredictable. Men fought wars to protect American women. Men died in wars. Not women. He restrained his impulse to pound the metal side of the wet hangar and slapped his thigh with his cap instead. “I can’t lose another WASP on my watch. Not two in as many days.” He plowed his hand through his short, dripping hair, frowned, and reminded himself not to get his underwear wrapped around an axle.
“She’s only half an hour late, sir.” Doreen’s lower lip quivered. “Didn’t that pilot get the word this morning?” Harvey wrung his cap. He wouldn’t take his temper out on this innocent blonde. “No, sir. Corporal Jones ran up to tell me we were grounded twenty minutes after she was in the air.”
Above the wail of the wind, Harvey picked up the faint lilting song of a Merlin engine running slightly rough. He gazed toward the windsock blowing straight out and pivoted toward the landing strip. A P-51 came in fast and low, circled the field, made a perfect three-point landing, and taxied to a halt.
He snapped his cap onto his head. He didn’t have many men who could land in a crosswind that well. Even he would have had trouble. Boots splashing water, he dashed across the tarmac and reached the craft before the propeller stopped spinning. The canopy of the single-seater flew open. A slight figure, clad in a man’s too-large flight suit, climbed out onto the rain-slick wing. He stretched up his arms and grabbed her waist to lower her to the ground. Even with the weight of her boots, flight jacket, and gear, this one felt light in his arms.
The pilot glanced at his insignia. If she’d actually been military, she’d have had to salute. But she wasn’t, and she didn’t. The minute her feet touched ground, the slender woman pulled off her goggles and gazed up at him. Wide blue eyes circled with goggle marks.
Another starry-eyed angel. Harvey swallowed hard. His chest hurt. She looked so vulnerable. He scowled, picturing that slender nose smashed and those winsome lips closed forever. He couldn’t face seeing another woman killed. He wanted these women off his air base. Wanted no more sleep lost over these young ladies. Wanted no more sending them into danger. Wanted no more funerals that tore him apart. He slapped the cowl of the plane so hard she jumped. No more charred women in downed planes. Trista took on a man’s job, and look how that turned out. Agony pierced his chest. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the memory.
“I’ll see you grounded!” Harvey thundered. “You were due back half an hour ago. Can’t you women obey rules?” Ruby lips rounded into an O of surprise. Her sapphire eyes widened. Her dark brows arched. “What?”
“Women pilots!” He slammed his fist into his palm. “I’ll shut down this program.”
Her brows furrowed. Her chin poked out. Her hands flew to her hips. She looked ready to jump all over him. As long as she was alive and safe, he didn’t care. He could handle her. “You head-in-the-clouds dreamers think you’re on your own private missions. This base is no place for a woman!”
“You men have such a high opinion of yourselves. Women could fly in combat, but you keep us home.” Flames tinted her wet cheeks. “You won’t admit our country desperately needs us to fly these planes.” She stressed each word passionately.
Harveycould tell she wanted to say more, but she clamped her lips. He glared. She glowered back.
Though if she thought he had an inflated opinion of himself. Better that than for her to guess he had a soft spot for these female pilots. “I don’t want any more dead women.”
She cringed. Her face crumpled.
Why hadn’t he kept his trap shut? Even on a base this big, she probably knew the missing WASP pilot. But he’d wanted to scare her into obeying the rules. Obedience gave the women pilots some semblance of safety.
She recovered from her first reaction and blazed. “Connie’s alive. I know it. And rumor patrol says it’s just a couple of you big shots who want to shut us down. Most fellas like us testing repaired planes and towing targets. They want to be free to fly combat.”
He shrugged. She was right. And he couldn’t dredge up a comeback.
She stomped stiff-legged toward the open hangar door, parachute bumping her backside, rain blurring his view.
“Feisty pilot, you’re the kind gets yourself killed,” he yelled just as she reached the hangar door.
I can’t wait to read this one. How can readers find you on the Internet?I love to talk with my readers. Visit me at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com. I also write a novel teaching class on my blog www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com. You can tweet with me @TheAnneGreene. You can buy my books at http://www.Amazon.com. Just type in Anne Greene Books.
Thank you, Anne, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers will love it.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog. Angel With Steel Wings: Women of Courage Series
- PaperbackAngel With Steel Wings: Women of Courage Series - Kindle
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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
