K. Dawn Byrd's Blog, page 3

Interview with Kathy McKinsey & spotlight of All My Tears...

We're happy to have Kathy McKinsey with us today talking about her new release All My Tears.
Back cover blurbMeet five women who struggle with life’s deep sorrows. Beth fights to recover from alcoholism and to mend her relationships with her family. Ann doesn’t believe God will forgive her. Kathleen wrestles with a years-old fear and with saving her marriage. Cassie needs to learn to deal with chronic depression. Martie finds herself the single parent of the eight-year-old niece she barely knows when the child’s parents die in a car wreck. See how god gives them the gifts of hope, healing, and love.
Kathy, please tell us five random things we might not know about you.I have three brothers; please pray for me.My favorite TV shows are MASH and West WingI graduated from high school in a class of seventy-twoMy mother’s homemade white bread is my favorite recipe to bake.I love when my dog kisses me on the lips.
Why did you choose to write this book?I wanted to write stories about women, in different stages of life, with a variety of struggles.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?I wish non-writers understood what a hard job writing is.
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?The toughest part for me is convincing myself to start a story. When I start, I thoroughly enjoy it.
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel?I want my readers to know that God is a loving Father, who waits for us and runs to greet us the moment we turn to him.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not?I am so blessed to have five adult children who are fascinating, competent individuals.
The first page from All My Tears When I opened my eyes, my brother Jeff sat beside me, his head in his hands, asleep.Where was I? I didn’t know this room. What . . . “Jeff?” My voice croaked.He jerked awake, then looked straight at me. “Cassie. Hey.”“Why are you here?” My eyes were heavy and my mouth dry. Turning my head, I saw the IV attached to my arm. “Is this a hospital? Why, what, why are you here?”Jeff leaned over and put his face right beside mine. “Because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”“What—what happened?” I lay in a bed, and my head was confused and groggy. “Jeff?”“You’re hurt.” He laid his hand on my shoulder. “But yes, this is a hospital, and you’re going to be okay. Just sleep now. I promise I’ll stay with you.”Relaxing, I closed my eyes. He wasn’t going anywhere.- What do you do for fun when not writing?Besides reading, I love to knit and crochet and play with the cat and dogs.
What are you working on now?My current story is about a lady who, after tragedy, returns to the farm home and family she’s kept herself from for twelve years.
Bio:Kathy McKinsey grew up on a pig farm in Missouri, and although she’s lived in cities for nearly 40 years, she still considers herself a farm girl.
She’s been married to Murray for 31 years, and they have five adult children.
She’s had two careers before writing—being a stay-at-home-Mom and working as a rehabilitation teacher for the blind.
Now she lives in Lakewood, Ohio, with her husband and two of her children. Besides writing, she enjoys activities with her church, editing for other writers, braille transcribing, crocheting, knitting, and playing with the cat and dogs.
Where else can readers find you online? http://kathymckinseyauthor.blogspot.com/https://www.facebook.com/kathy.brinkmann.mckinsey https://twitter.com/kathymckinsey
Contact Kathy at: Kathy.mckinsey@gmail.com

Interview with Sara Foust & Spotlight of Rarity Mountain...

We're happy to have Sara Foust with us today talking about her book Rarity Mountain. To learn more about Sara and her book, read on!
Cover blurb: On the surface, SIMON FINCUFF and FERN STRONGBOW have nothing in common. Simon has served his sentence, but his past conviction still haunts him. Fern is a veterinarian and grew up on an off-the-grid homestead. The one thing they share? Each has a dark secret they would do almost anything to protect.When their current careers are yanked away, they are left scrambling to pick up the pieces. A reality television show falls into their paths, offering a life-changing opportunity that tests their resolve and their faith. These two unlikely partners must battle to survive for thirty days in the untouched wilderness of Rarity Mountain with only a handful of survival items and a director who is out for drama, no matter the cost. With their lives and their carefully guarded skeletons on the line, they will discover how far they are willing to go to win the million-dollar prize for Survival Tennessee.
Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.  I was born in California, but I grew up in Tennessee. I tried to save a chipmunk once and ended up with it latched onto my thumb. I want to learn to SCUBA dive. My favorite bird is a blue heron, but I also really love owls. I had recurring nightmares about Bigfoot as a child.
Why did you choose to write this book? This story began forming as a prayer for God to give me another book idea. Once the idea for a book about a survival show came to me, Simon’s and Fern’s past mistakes just had to be written. Their story is one of pasts that contain some very bad decisions and a present filled with God’s forgiveness.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?  I have to write. It’s part of me, and if I don’t write I cannot be complete or even completely happy.
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?Getting started was hard. I kept getting critiques from other writers that made me cry and made me wonder if I was really any good as a writer. I am so thankful for my cousin Becky. Without her encouragement, I probably would’ve given up before I’d gotten a good start.
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel? I hope readers realize that no matter what they’ve done, having faith in God and in mankind is always worth it. God can forgive any indiscretion and wants a relationship with you.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? I am so proud that I have followed my dream and now have 4 books published, all while homeschooling 5 kids, working part-time from home, keeping up with housekeeping, and all the other daily tasks of life.
What do you do for fun when not writing? I read, watch television, and get outside with my kids. I also love to camp and hike.
What are you working on now?  I am writing the first book, called The Jade Owl, in a new Inspirational Romantic Suspense series about an archaeologist looking for relics in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Please give us the first page of the book.
Chapter 1
Dr. Fern Strongbow settled into a folding chair across the desk from Dr. Sylvia Greenlee. Fern popped a flower into her mouth and smiled as her friend and mentor grimaced. “Dandelion?”Sylvia shook her head. “You eat some strange things, Fern.”“They’re delicious.” Fern ate another yellow top and smiled. “What’s on the agenda for our weekly session?”A dog whined in the next room, drawing Fern’s gaze to the office door. No doubt Max was having trouble awakening from his dental surgery. Pentothal did some strange things to their patients in recovery. “I’m sure Kaylee can handle that.”She was probably right. But what if Kaylee was otherwise occupied? Fern leaned back into the cold metal and sighed. “I miss the old chairs.”“Well, they were worth $50 at the farmer’s market. Paid the water bill last month.”Max whined again. Fern’s gaze once again darted to the closed door. “You sure Kaylee isn’t busy with something else?”“Max will be fine. We need to talk.”

Linda Shenton Matchett interview & spotlight of Love's Rescue, inspired by Rahab...

We're happy to have Linda Shenton Matchett with us today talking about her book Love's Rescue, which was inspired by the Biblical story of Rahab. To learn more about Linda and her book, read on!
Back cover blurb: Love’s RescueA prostitute, a spy, and the liberation of Paris.Sold by her parents to settle a debt, Rolande Bisset is forced into prostitution. Years later, shunned by her family and most of society, it’s the only way she knows how to subsist. When the Germans overrun Paris, she decides she’s had enough of evil men controlling her life and uses her wiles to obtain information for the Allied forces. Branded a collaborator, her life hangs in the balance. Then an American spy stumbles onto her doorstep. Is redemption within her grasp?
Simon Harlow is one of an elite corps of American soldiers. Regularly chosen for dangerous covert missions, he is tasked with infiltrating Paris to ascertain the Axis’s defenses. Nearly caught by German forces moments after arriving, he owes his life to the beautiful prostitute who claims she’s been waiting for the Allies to arrive. Her lifestyle goes against everything he believes in, but will she steal his heart during his quest to liberate her city?
Inspired by the biblical story of Rahab, Love’s Rescue is a tale of faith and hope during one of history’s darkest periods.
Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.·       I married my high school sweetheart.·       Our family moved multiple times while I was growing up, and I attended three high schools.·       My husband and I ran a bed and breakfast for twelve years, and it’s nothing like the Bob Newhart Show.·       I graduated from Carson-Newman College with a BA in Psychology, and my first job was in an abused women’s shelter.·       I’d rather eat dessert than dinner.
Why did you choose to write this book? Love’s Rescue is book two in a series I hadn’t intended to write. I published the first book, Love’s Harvest, in 2016 as a standalone novella. The story is a modern retelling of the book of Ruth set between WWI and WWII. Over the years, I’ve received numerous comments that Love’s Harvest helped readers relate to the Bible in ways they hadn’t been able to do, so I decided to create a series of retellings that focuses on women of the Bible who are often overlooked. Love’s Rescue is Rahab’s story set during the last weeks of the German occupation of Paris.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?  The amount of time and work it takes for a writer to produce a book. Being an author is not as glamorous as one would think!
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer? I recently received a message from a reader through Facebook saying hateful things about me personally in addition to criticizing my book. It can be difficult as a writer to receive negative comments about our work, but this note attacked me. It set me back on my heels, and made me seriously consider not writing any longer. After encouragement from other writers and a lot of prayer, I realized I am writing for an audience of One, and as difficult as it is, I need to pray for this person and move on.
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel? That God can, and does, use anyone to further His kingdom; often those most unexpected. He can use you!
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? That I have been married for nearly thirty-six years!
Please give us the first page of the book.Paris, August 1944Rolande Bisset ducked her head and pulled the brim of her starched cotton sunhat lower over her face, not so much to block the sun’s glare, but to avoid the merchants’ ogling and shoppers’ sneers. She hurried past the darkened shops, most no longer operating since the Germans arrived four years ago. Would she ever smell freshly-baked croissants or peruse a succulent collection of vegetables again? A scorching breeze sent her hat’s veil dancing. Perspiration trickled between her shoulder blades and threatened to ruin her cobalt-blue silk suit. Her pumps had seen better days, but thanks to leather rationing, a new pair was not in the offing. The Occupiers needed the material for their boots.Intent upon reaching her destination, Rolande failed to see a rotund woman approaching. They collided, and the woman’s elaborate chapeauslid from her upswept hair and poked Rolande in the face before landing on the pavement. “I beg your pardon, madam.” Rolande bent to retrieve the confection of flowers, birds, and ribbons. The woman narrowed her eyes. “Watch where you’re going, collaborateur.” She snatched the millinery masterpiece from Rolande’s grasp and drew her skirts close. Looking down her nose, she plunked the hat on her head and marched down the sidewalk.No longer hungry, she continued down the avenue past Aux Cerises Café where the outdoor tables were filled with German soldiers. One of the men whistled and smirked, his Aryan features marred by a long scar that ran from his eye to his jaw. Her stomach clenched, and nausea threatened. Pigs. Men were all pigs.She continued along the avenue until she came to the tiny market her older brother owned. He never acknowledged her presence in the shop, but neither did he forbid her to enter. His wife typically looked at her with a mixture of pity and contempt.
What do you do for fun when not writing? I love the outdoors. In the summer I do a lot of kayaking and in the winter I snowshoe.
What are you working on now?  I’m just finishing up Love’s Belief, Book 3 in the series. The story is inspired by Shiprah and Puah, the two midwives who saved Jewish babies in opposition to Pharoah’s decree to kill them. The book is set in Germany during 1943. I’m also outlining book 4 which is yet untitled.
Where else can readers find you online?    Website/Blog: http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.comFa... http://www.facebook.com/LindaShentonM... http://www.twitter.com/lindasmatchett... http://www.pinterest.com/lindasmatche... Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Shenton-... Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linda...
Purchase Links:Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SuT9hlKobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love... & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love... Books: https://itunes.apple.com/book/id14515... Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, speaker, and history geek. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry and has lived in historic places all her life. Linda is a member of ACFW, RWA, and Sisters in Crime. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a trustee for her local public library. Linda and her husband live in central New Hampshire.

Zoe M. McCarthy & spotlight of Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days

We're excited to have Zoe M. McCarthy with us today talking about her new book Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days.  I actually purchased this one and have been reading it and am gleaning some great treasures from this book.


You’re an author of Christian contemporary romances. Why did you choose to write the nonfiction Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days?I was an actuary in my first career, but I always held a passion to create stories. Determined to learn the route to publication, I attended writers’ conferences, picking up and studying presenters’ books on writing, and joined a critique group. When my first contemporary romance contracted, my research on publishing and marketing convinced me I needed to start a blog and post regularly. Because my analytical side gives me a keen interest in the mechanics and methodologies of good writing, a how-to blog on writing appealed to me. In 2012, I began my blog. After I had published over one hundred fifty blog posts, an agent and a publishing house editor suggested I write a book based on my blog. The idea interested me, and I attended a workshop on the dos and don’ts for turning blog posts into a book. I wanted to share more than the information I’d accumulated. I desired to help writers who had manuscripts but didn’t know how to get them ready for publication, writers whose manuscripts received rejections, writers whose self-published novels received poor reviews, and writers who wanted to write the stories on their hearts but needed help to put them to paper. Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days was born.
Which is more difficult for you to write, fiction or nonfiction, and why?I’m more comfortable writing fiction, but it took years for me to feel at home in writing novels. I signed with an agent early in my career. Then I had four rejected manuscripts. I didn’t give up. Before my fifth novel contracted, I joined critique groups, read many books on writing, entered contests for feedback, and attended writing workshops at conferences. I loved learning how to improve my novel writing. When I attended a pre-conference class on the Hero’s journey, my fiction writing became easier and more enjoyable. For non-fiction writing, I enjoyed two parts, 1) producing a methodology to help writers get their manuscripts in shape and 2) sharing in a purposeful, unified manner good writing principles I’d learned and posted in my blog. My analytical side enjoyed organizing all that material. I was less enthralled with creating a detailed table of contents and an index.
In the interview for The Putting Green Whisper earlier this month, you told us five random things about yourself. Please tell five other things we might not know about you.In my freshman year in college, I spent almost the entire night in the hall outside my dorm room working on a logic problem the professor had assigned us with a twinkle in his eye. My roommates gave up after about thirty minutes. It dawned on me that the solution involved several cases. The next day when the professor asked if any of the fifty class members had solved the problem, only two of us raised our hands. The professor saw that I’d burst if he didn’t choose me come to the black board. My solution was correct.I attended Bible Study Fellowship for nine years and was a children’s leader for five of those years.In fifth grade, I entered the talent show dressed like an old miner with a pipe, and recited Robert Service’s poem, “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” I didn’t win, but the teaching staff asked me to perform it for the PTA one evening. I did.I’ve seen the Taj Mahal in India, Michelangelo’s David in Italy, The Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska, the site of the bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand, and the Christ the Redeemer statue of Jesus Christ in Brazil.At ten living in Haiti, my family had five parrots, a donkey, and two dogs. One parrot came with us to the U.S. and, when I was in my early twenties, Jaco ended up in Busch Gardens in Florida.
Tell us more about Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days.The revising method in Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days works for any fiction genre. The goal is to shape a not-yet-submitted, rejected, or self-published fiction manuscript with low ratings into a book that shines. The method can also be a guiding resource for writers starting a manuscript.I think the comments from some of the endorsers of the book describe it well.
Zoe McCarthy’s book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their not-ready-for-publication and/or rejected manuscripts to a spit-polish finish. Writing is hard work, yes, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.—Eva Marie Everson, best-selling and multiple award-winning author, conference director, president of Word Weavers International, Inc.If you want to increase your chance of hearing yes instead of sorry or not a fit for our list at this time, this book is for you. If you want to develop stronger story plots with characters that are hard to put down, this book is for you. Through McCarthy’s checklists and helpful exercises and corresponding examples, you will learn how to raise the tension, hone your voice, and polish your manuscript. I need this book for my clients and the many conferees I meet at writer’s conferences around the country. Thank you, Zoe. A huge, #thumbsup, for Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days.  —Diana L. Flegal, literary agent, and freelance editorTailor Your Fiction Manuscript is a self-editing encyclopedia! Each chapter sets up the targeted technique, examples show what to look for in your manuscript, then proven actions are provided to take your writing to the next level. Whether you are a seasoned writer or a newbie, you need this book! —Sally Shupe, freelance editor, aspiring author
Zoe has developed a guiding resource for beginning writers. Her method is designed for brainstorming, shaping, and revising the early draft of a manuscript. General and specific tips are offered for applying rules of writing to enhance one’s story for a workable second draft. By exploring the plot line of Love Comes Softly, writers may examine their own work for stronger plot and characterization. Valuable tools are offered that enable the writer to develop a workable draft in only 30 days!—Yvonne Lehman, award-winning, best-selling author of 48 novelsWhere else can readers find you online?https://zoemmccarthy.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Tailor-Your-Fiction-Manuscript-Days/dp/0989106497
Bio:Zoe writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. She’s the author of Good Breaks, The Putting Green Whisperer, The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk. In respect to her nonfiction writing, Zoe still attends writing workshops at popular Christian writers’ conferences, and explores online writing articles to improve her writing and her blog posts. Her weekly blog posts share what she’s learned and often include examples of how she incorporated skills and techniques into her own writing. In addition to her instructional blog, Zoe has taught workshops at libraries, writer groups, and the Virginia chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conferences. She belongs to Word Weavers and ACFW, is the treasurer for the ACFW Virginia chapter, and taught a month-long ACFW course on writing.Her husband, John, partners with Zoe on the nonwriting tasks in her publishing career. They live on a hill in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. Zoe and John enjoy exploring mountains and valleys, canoeing the New River, or spending time at their cabin on a lake. She also teaches a community Bible study and hosts a prayer shawl ministry. Zoe and John have two sons, two daughters-in-love, and six grandchildren.

Interview with Carol McClain and Giveaway of Yesterday's Poison...

We're happy to have Carol McClain with us talking about her book Yesterday's Poison. To learn more about Carol and her book, read on!

Back Cover:
After her boyfriend betrays her, Torie Sullivan careens her car into a ditch in a drunken fury. Paramedic Adam Benedict rescues the unconscious woman, then realizes she's one of the middle school bullies who tormented him twelve years ago. The encounter rips open scars he thought had healed.While kayaking one morning, Adam discovers Torie bathing in the frigid waters of Hookskill Preserve. He then learns she’s living in a lean-to in the wilderness. Despite his hatred for her, Adam’s innate compassion won't allow him to leave Torie in the wilds of Albany County. He offers her a secure, private room in his minuscule cabin.When tragedy strikes Adam’s family, his girlfriend Maya Vitale gives Torie a room in her apartment. Torie envies Maya’s idyllic life, unaware she, too, hides a dark and shameful past.Each character drinks yesterday’s poison. Their friendships intertwine their lives and expose their toxic pasts. They must learn to forgive the unpardonable.
My favorite authorWe have so many great authors to choose from. For years, I loved Annie Dillard. Her way with words and her thought process and sass always keep me thinking. I’ve reread Pilgrim at Tinker Creek too many times to count. With each reading, I uncover more wonder.Dillard’s always my first thought when it comes to authors. Recently, though, in the realm of fiction, I’ve fallen in love with Lisa Wingate and Susan Meissner. Both authors think differently than most CBA authors. They don’t seem to lean to the obvious. Never am I afraid to pick up one of their books—so much so, that I don’t put a lot of thought into it. If I find a secondhand book or on a bookstore shelf, I nab it.
If I could write about anyone or anything it would be what I want at this moment.Currently, I’m obsessed with goats. I love their personalities. We live on two acres in the country, and if my husband was willing to help me, (or willing to own them), I’d have goats. I, at one time, owned a Nubian named Heidi. Such a sweet animal.Since goats are not on my horizon, my new protagonist owns eight of them. She creates soap and yogurt from their milk. I’m learning soap making (I already know how to milk) and having a ball living through Meredith’s world. Her mother shears Meredith’s angora goats (she owns angora and Nubian), and creates fabric from it.
If I could spend time with anyone, it would be Adam Benedict from my latest novel, Yesterday’s Poison.Although Adam allowed the past to poison his true nature, I love Adam’s vocation. He’s a paramedic. When researching his occupation, I got to attend training sessions with the local EMTs. My critique partner, Randy Cook, was a paramedic at one time. I love the idea of saving people’s lives. I’m obsessed with medical shows (and weirdly—I love the autopsy scenes the most). Adam has a heart for the hurting, when he discovers his nemesis needs help, despite his disdain, he finds a solution to her problem. His love, his skill and his compassion make me want to be like him.
I will give away a kindle or nook copy of Yesterday’s Poison. Let me know your favorite author or if you could spend time with anyone, who and why?

Interview with June Foster and Spotlight of The Long Way Home

We are happy to have June Foster with us today talking about her book, The Long Way Home. We'll start with a short blurb and then we'll learn more about June and the book.

Short blurb: A kidnapping and vicious murder leave David Maguire and Jada Atwood with few options—remain in the clutches of their abductors or attempt an escape. But the attraction they discover for each other could change their lives. Will they find their way home or die in a Pennsylvania forest?


Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.My great grandfather was a Catholic Priest. In fact, my next book is inspired by him.I didn't start writing until I was 65.My granddaughter is a wrestler. My other granddaughter is studying to be a doctor.I lived full time in our RV on and off for 15 years.
Why did you choose to write this book?My editor asked for volunteers to write a story where the hero and heroine meet then go on an adventure. But when I began writing, I had no idea the direction the plot would take. This is the first time I've ever written a murder into the story.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?  Authors ponder every word they pen on the page. It is tough work.What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?I have to admit, it was getting rejections from editors and agents. I had to stop taking it personally and keep persevering.
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel?The heroine in The Long Way Home asks God to save her at the point of a dire catastrophe. I'd like readers to embrace the hope that we don't have to wait until we've exhausted all resources, but we can receive God's grace even when our lives aren't in crisis mode.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? I am proud that I had the opportunity to raise two daughters who received the Lord in their lives.
Back cover blurb:David Maguire's tour of duty in Germany is over, and he's returning home to Oak Mountain, Alabama in search of a job. After a long flight from Frankfort, he shares an Uber with Dallas resident Jada Atwood. Jada Atwood, a registered nurse midwife, is on her way to a medical conference in Queens. If only she could live up to her father's legacy at the hospital where she works, she could prove worthy of his reputation. Marriage awaits yet her fiancé has yet to offer a ring.When the Uber driver must make a stop to pick up a passenger at a Queens shopping center, two men who robbed a nearby bank commandeer the Ford as a getaway car. But when they discover two passengers, they have to get rid of the extra baggage.After the kidnappers murder the Uber driver, David and Jada fear for their lives. Will they find their way home or die in a Pennsylvania forest?   

Chapter One

If David Maguire wouldn't look like an idiot, he'd kneel down and kiss the hot, well-traveled sidewalk outside the airport. Finally, he stood on U.S. soil. A new beginning awaited, and God willing, a new job after his interview next week. The thought thrilled him more than Christmas morning as a kid.The silver Ford sedan described on the Uber app inched up behind a line of cars at passenger pickup. He stood on tiptoes and waved at the driver who neared the curb. Then David moved his thumbs over his cell's screen. Mom. Just landed. Can't wait to see you guys.. Got a flight from JFK to Birmingham tomorrow. The driver stopped and jumped out. "Lieutenant Maguire?" His accent hinted of Middle Eastern origins. "I'm Hadjira Khan, your driver." He whipped off his ball cap, wiped his brow, and plopped his hat on again. "Let me get this." The driver grabbed David's duffle bag and set it in the trunk next to a light pink suitcase. "Appreciate it. I'm going to the Rockford Hotel in Queens." "Yes, sir. I have two more passengers besides you.""No problem." The cheaper fare suited David just fine. He couldn't be too extravagant since his army pay would end soon. He sure didn't want to sponge off of Mom and her new husband. "However I can get there is fine. I'm just glad to be home." He opened the door, tossed his backpack in, and sat.A woman with long, dark hair and dressed in white jeans and a tight filmy blue blouse sat on the other side. She looked up, nodded, and then continued tapping her cell's screen. David smiled then focused on his text when his phone dinged. I can't wait to see you. Let me know what time to pick you up from the airport. MomTomorrow at 3:13. See you then. Love you. No matter how hard he tried to disguise his smile, the wide grin stretched his lips. He'd be in Oak Mountain soon. The Uber driver pulled from the curb. "You two comfortable back there?""Yeah, sure." David took a deep breath and glanced toward the woman again. He tried to identify the aroma emanating from her. It wasn't likely Hadjira that smelled like roses. "Yes, thanks." She peered at the driver then cast a quizzical look to David.He gave her a weak smile and turned to face the front of the car, mentally kicking himself for staring too long.Hadjira pulled off on a main thoroughfare and lifted his chin to glance into his rearview mirror. "We stop at a strip mall off 135th for one passenger. Then I take you to Rockford Hotel, sir, and you to Regal Gardens, ma'am." "No problem," David mumbled, trying not to draw out the words into multiple syllables as his southern drawl tended to do, worse when he got nervous. So the woman was staying at a hotel in Queens as well. He cleared away the hesitation that impeded his question. "Where you coming from?" Ugh. The most uninspired conversation starter he could've thought of. And to make things worse, this lady was probably a big city woman and resented his intrusion into her space.
 What do you do for fun when not writing?I love to go shopping and to lunch with my daughters. I work out at the gym, and I love to watch Hallmark movies.
What are you working on now?  I am just about to begin my next novel which has no name at the present time. It will be a contemporary romance inspired by my great grandfather's romance. A Catholic priest and a young parishioner fall in love.
Where else can readers find you online?    junefoster.comhttps://www.amazon.com/author/junefos...https://www.facebook.com/authorjunefoster

Bio:June Foster is an award-winning author who began her writing career in an RV roaming around the USA with her husband, Joe. She brags about visiting a location before it becomes the setting in her next contemporary romance or romantic suspense. June's characters find themselves in precarious circumstances where only God can offer redemption and ultimately freedom. Find June at junefoster.com.

Interview with Zoe M. McCarthy & spotlight of The Putting Green Whisperer...

We are so happy to have Zoe M. McCarthy with us today talking about her novel, The Putting Green Whisperer. Zoe is a gifted and prolific author of wonderful, sweet romances! To learn more about Zoe and The Putting Green Whisperer, read on!

Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.* At ages seven through ten, I lived in Haiti during the rise of Papa Doc.* At ages sixteen through seventeen, I lived on the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Naval Base and was evacuated for three months during the Cuban Missile Crisis.* At age twenty, I lived five months in Bangkok, Thailand during the Vietnam War.* I graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in Mathematics.                                  *Before my writing career, I was an actuary and married an actuary.
Why did you choose to write this book?John and I joined my sister and my brother-in-law at a PGA seniors golf tournament at Rock Barn Country Club and Spa in Conover, NC. My sister and I sat on the fifteenth green and watched the over-age-fifty golfers putt and move on to the next tee. In one group, a male and a female caddy stood side by side on the edge of the green with their backs to us. The two young caddies talked quietly while their players prepared to putt. He was tall, and she was petite with her blond ponytail protruding from her pink ball cap. My heart experienced a sappy moment, and romantic what-ifs cluttered my mind. I turned to my sister, pointed at the caddies, and said, “My next book will be about those two caddies.”
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?  Writing now includes a lot of hard work publishers used to do. Marketing and platform building are part of the writer’s job. Monetary benefit for most authors is small. Authors bear criticism from acquisition professionals, critique partners, editors, readers, and reviewers.
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?Preparing many events and announcements for a book’s release date, then an online bookstore fails to add the book in time. This has happened to me twice.
What do you hope readers take away from your novel?Without God in our suffering, we often become self-centered, abandon our spiritual gifts, and hinder our relationships with others. In The Putting-Green Whisperer, a young woman who has suffered losses has abandoned her dreams and gifts. She rediscovers a better version of herself through the friendship of a godly young man and his Lord. But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? To perform our forecasts, the actuarial department needed information from the hospital negotiators. The hospital negotiators didn’t trust us to keep information confidential. Actuaries are known to have the best scrubbed data so they can make good projections. I decided my team would humble ourselves and provided to the negotiators data on each hospital in information rich summaries. Soon after they got a taste of what we could do for them, they trusted us. They shared with us the non-data information we actuaries needed, came to us for help in analyzing situations, and asked me to return as a consultant when I retired. I graciously turned them down.
What do you do for fun when not writing?Husband John and I like to canoe the New River. We look forward to spring to explore the twenty-six-mile lake at our lake cabin. Day drives through the mountains and valleys in the Blue Ridge Mountains is another favorite pastime. I enjoy knitting and crocheting shawls for a prayer shawl ministry. Entertaining my six grandchildren is fun.
What are you working on now?  Two of my books recently released. So, I’m working on promoting, the Kindle version of Good Breaks in the collection, Love, Sweet Love, its print version as a stand-alone book, and my nonfiction, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days. Writing-wise I’m working on edits for the second book in the Twisty Creek Series, The Identical Woman in a Black Dress, which follows The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress.
Back cover blurbSuddenly unemployed, Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina where she caddies for her father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters a man who possesses an alluring gift of reading the contours of the green. Fascinated with his uncanny ability, Allie is excited to meet the Green Whisperer—until she discovers that the easygoing caddy is actually Shoo Leonard, the boy who teased her relentlessly when they were kids. Despite Allie’s reservations, when Shoo is faced with having to overcome a hand injury, she agrees to use her sport science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him. Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn’t ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he’s content to be her fist-bumping buddy…but then he falls for her.What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she’s become a distraction to Shoo’s career. Is it time for her to step away or can The Putting Green Whisperer find the right words to make her stay?
Please give us the first page of the book.Allie turned the volume down on the radio and rested her forehead on the steering wheel. How would she unglue her behind from the seat and go inside?
After several moments, she sat up, bounced her knee against the locked steering wheel, and tapped down the sun visor, blocking the glare from October’s late afternoon sun. The rearview mirror reflected all her earthly stuff mounded in the back of the SUV. Would her old bedroom be available to dump her things, or was it now a storage or sewing room? Maybe Dad and Karen would direct her to the basement bedroom, which had once been used for guest overflow.

The front door was still painted Carolina blue to honor UNC. The dogwood in the middle of the yard had filled out from the spindly tree Mom planted a few months before she died. Except for the bushier tree, everything else looked the same as it had before she’d left North Carolina to live with Aunt Mae in Atlanta.

Now, seven years and a new stepmother later, she was back in Cary. Maybe that was a good thing. Since Aunt Mae had moved to California, nothing was left for her in Atlanta.
Allie drummed her thumbs against the steering wheel. Maybe she should’ve driven to California. Aunt Mae would’ve welcomed her. Allie had saved enough money from her spring and summer jobs to make the trip from Atlanta to the now defunct Florida position. Would her savings have taken her to California?

Sure. If she’d starved herself and had run on fumes the last hundred miles.
Allie grabbed her tan canvas bag from the passenger seat and got out of the car.
Mom, I need you. Ask your God to help Dad and I reconnect. Please.


BioZoe M. McCarthy is a full-time speaker, author, and blogger on writing. She writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. On suggestions from an agent and a publishing house editor, Zoe developed a detailed resource, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, for writers who have manuscripts that need tailoring for publication and writers who want to write the stories on their hearts but need help to put them to paper. Zoe and her husband live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She teaches a community Bible study and leads writing workshops.

Where else can readers find you online?    https://zoemmccarthy.com https://www.amazon.com/Zoe-M.-McCarth...

Interview with Beth Wiseman & spotlight of The Surf's Up collection

We're excited to meet best-selling author Beth Wiseman, who is with us today talking about her book collection, The Surf's Up.  Beth is a very prolific author, who has sold over two million books. To learn more about Beth and her books, read on!


Please tell us five random things we might not know about you. I can play the clarinet. I whistle the theme song from The Flintstones when I’m alone. I’ve sold over two million books. If I wasn’t an author, I’d want to be a chef. I’m adopted and found my birth mother when I was twenty-five.      
Why did you choose to write this book? As an author of over thirty-five Amish novels and novellas, I wanted to create something non-Amish. I still love writing about the Plain people, but when I take a break from buggies and bonnets to do something else, I think the alternating between the two genres keeps my writing fresh.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand? Just because I work at home, I make my living as an author. I have to put in the time just like everyone traveling to an eight-to-five job. While I try to balance my work with family and friends, I’ve been paid to do a job, and there are consequences if I fail to produce a promised book or round of revisions in a timely manner. 
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer? When I wrote the book The Promise, the subject matter was close to my heart. I’d helped someone dear to me escape from an abusive situation in Pakistan. I had to work with the Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulate in Peshawar to help get this person back to the United States. While the story was fictional, some of the events in the book did take place. It was an emotional novel to write, and timely with regard to the events going on in the world. But I had to do many rewrites, and it was painful on several levels.  
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel? I hope readers are able to escape to the peacefulness of the beach in each of the Surf’s Up novellas. And, as with all of my books, I hope something within the pages resonates with the reader and brings them to a better place, and possibly even move them toward a deeper relationship with God.  
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not?
That I survived raising two boys during their teenage years, lol.   

Please give us the first page of the book.
A Tide Worth TurningChapter OneAddison paced across her mother’s living room as sweat dampened her temples and the base of her neck. May was already punishing them with Texas temperatures that were usually reserved for July and August. But Lee Ann Burke had a steadfast rule not to run the air conditioning until July. If there was any saving grace at all, it was the ocean pushing a breeze ashore, which wafted through the screened windows of the house Addison had grown up in. She breathed in the briny aroma, a smell she’d haul to her grave someday, with enough good and bad memories to keep her balanced on the plank she’d been walking since her father died.             She glanced at her smartphone, wondering if she was going to make it to her next appointment on time. The continuous drip of the kitchen faucet around the corner felt like water torture against her left temple. She rubbed the source of the irritation. “Mom, are you sure the agency said three o’clock? It’s almost three thirty.”            “That’s what they said.” Her mother didn’t glance up, but kept focused on the
jigsaw puzzle she was hunched over.

What do you do for fun when not writing? If I’m not writing, I’m usually thinking about writing. Everything I see and hear is fair game for a story. But, when I am able to disconnect from my writer brain, I love fine dining, cooking, reading (of course), and spending time with family and friends.
What are you working on now? I am wrapping up revisions on book #2 in a new series, An Amish Journey. Book #1—Hearts in Harmony—releases in March of this year, and the second book—Listening to Love—releases in September. I’m also working on revisions for a story that will be included in An Amish Christmas Bakery, a collection with three other authors that is slated to release in October. My story is titled Loaves of Love.       Back cover blurb:Each Surf’s Up novella takes the reader to a beach locale, weaving romance and adventure into a soul-soothing journey of hope.
A Tide Worth Turning
Addison and Logan aren’t in the market for love. She’s recovering from a breakup, and he is hiding out on Galveston Island, trying to save enough money to get back to his country of origin before his world crashes down around him. But when Addison awakens feelings in him that he thought died long ago, Logan begins to question whether or not fleeing from the past is worth leaving Addison forever. Can love triumph where currents are rough?


Message In A Bottle
Kyle loses the love of his life when girlfriend, Morgan, is whisked away by the CIA in the middle of the night. Almost six years later, two men show up at Kyle's door with news that he has a daughter who is ill. Her only chance of survival lies with Kyle, if he'll fly to an undisclosed island location in the Pacific. But reuniting with his first love and saving his daughter places his engagement to his fiancée, Lexie, at risk. Can love bridge the troubled waters of Kyle's past and present? 

The Shell Collector’s Daughter
Carianna isn’t like other twenty-six-year-old women. She’s never been on a date, never experienced the euphoria of a first kiss, and certainly never been in love. Can a man’s heart speak to hers in a way that she can understand? And if so, will any man believe that Carianna sings with the angels and has tea with God? Will he see the star dust twinkling in her eyes or hear the secret whispers of the ocean in a seashell? When the right man comes along, will Carianna’s father lift his protective wings and allow Carianna to soar into the life that God meant for her? And will Carianna hear this man’s heart speaking to hers in a way that she understands?

Christmas by the Sea
Parker McIntyre is late evacuating Galveston Island prior to a hurricane. When he becomes trapped in rising floodwaters, he is going to drown if help doesn't arrive soon. Alexandria Hanson is on her way off the island to escape the immediate storm threat, but she spots a person trapped in the water. Helping the man is going to require great personal risk, but she can't leave him to die. If Parker and Alex leave the island alive, will they have a chance to explore their feelings during the holiday season? Or will the opportunity be lost forever?
Bio:Beth Wiseman is the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. Having sold over two million books, her novels have held spots on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller List, the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) Bestseller List and the CBA (Christian Book Association) Bestseller List. She was the recipient of the prestigious Carol Award in 2011 and 2013. She is a three-time winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and an INSPY Award winner. In 2013 she took home the coveted Holt Medallion. Her first book in the Land of Canaan series—Seek Me With All Your Heart—was selected as the 2011 Women of Faith Book of the Year. Beth and her husband are empty nesters enjoying country life in Texas.

Where else can readers find you online? You can learn more about me and my books at www.BethWiseman.com. And, while you are there, please sign up for my newsletter. I offer contests exclusive to subscribers, cover reveals, and divulge the inside scoop about what I’m writing. I also recommend books when I’m allowing myself that luxury. I can be found hanging out at Fans of Beth Wiseman on Facebook, Instragram (BethWisemanAuthor), and on Twitter (@BethWiseman).    

Interview with Johnnie Alexander & spotlight of Where Treasure Hides!

We're excited to have Johnnie Alexander with us today talking about her WWII novel  Where Treasure Hides . I absolutely love the cover. Gorgeous! To learn more about Johnnie and her novel, read on!


Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.1.     I have the same Christmas stocking I had when I was a baby. Each year I get fuzzy socks, Twizzlers, and other surprises.2.     When I was a teen, I raised three puppies who became guide dogs.3.     I’ve lived in three different states in the past three years.4.     My favorite soda is Pepsi with lemon and lots of ice.5.     My Pontiac Vibe, which I bought new ten years ago, has over 180,000 miles on the odometer. I’ve driven it in more than 20 states and in Washington, DC. My grandsons call it the Alpaca Squadmobile. I love that car.
Why did you choose to write this book?World War II history fascinates me—so many stories, so much tragedy and drama and courage. After watching a DVD about Hitler’s looting of Europe’s treasures and another about the horrific plight of children during the war, I knew I wanted to join these two themes together in one story. Brave people hid art and brave people hid children. The heroine of Where Treasure Hides does both but the art she hides is very personal to her.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?  The non-writing members of my family often comment on how real these people I make up in my head become to me. They find that both fascinating and amusing!
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?On a couple of occasions, I thought my writing career was over. That discouragement is hard to overcome. But new opportunities appeared each time. It’s not an easy journey, and it tests one’s patience and persistence. I’ve learned not to give up and to be open to God’s plan for me.
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel?Legacy is so important—what we are given from our parents and grandparents and what we choose to give to our children. But material things aren’t nearly as important as a spiritual heritage. Proverbs 31:25 encourages us to clothe ourselves in strength and dignity and to “smile at the future.” This can be hard when faced with difficulties and heartache. But it’s a promise that our future, our eternal future, is bright and holy and joyous.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? I’m blessed that my three children are amazing adults who love God. It’s a joy to see them passing along the values that are meaningful to me, such as the importance of creating memories for each other, to their own children.
What do you do for fun when not writing?Like most writers, I love to read. I also enjoy traveling with my sister. In the last three years, we’ve traveled to Prince Edward Island, to Europe (where we traveled by train from one major city to another before spending a few days in Lisbon), and most recently on a cruise up the New England coast and into Canada. It’s become an annual tradition I hope we continue.
What are you working on now?  I’m doing the final edits for a novella called “Match You Like Crazy,” which is the tenth story in the Resort to Romance Series. And I’m just getting started on my fourth novel with Annie’s Fiction which will be part of their new Inn at Magnolia Harbor series.
Where else can readers find you online?    My monthly newsletter provides fun updates and giveaways. Please sign up at http://johnnie-alexander.com. Connect with me on other social media sites via LinkTree.
Back cover blurbArtist Alison Schuyler spends her time working in her family’s renowned art gallery, determined to avoid the curse that has followed the Schuyler clan from the Netherlands to America and back again. She’s certain that true love will only lead to tragedy—that is, until a chance meeting at Waterloo station brings Ian Devlin into her life.
Drawn to the bold and compassionate British Army captain, Alison begins to question her fear of love as World War II breaks out, separating the two and drawing each into their own battles. While Ian fights for freedom on the battlefield, Alison works with the Dutch Underground to find a safe haven for Jewish children and priceless pieces of art alike. But safety is a luxury war does not allow.
As time, war, and human will struggle to keep them apart, will Alison and Ian have the faith to fight for their love, or is it their fate to be separated forever?
Please give us the first page of the book. Where Treasure Hides
Johnnie AlexanderChapter One
August 1939
The stringed notes of “Rule, Britannia!” grew louder as the crowd quieted, eyes and ears straining in their search for the violin soloist. The patriotic anthem echoed through Waterloo Station’s concourse, and as the second chorus began, sporadic voices sang the lyrics. Travel- weary Brits stood a little straighter, chins lifted, as the violinist completed the impromptu performance, the last note sounding long after the strings were silenced.
Alison Schuyler gripped her leather bag and threaded her way through the crowd toward the source of the music. As the final note faded inside the hushed terminal, she squeezed between a sailor and his girl, murmuring an apology at forc­ing them to part, and stepped onto a bench to see over the crowd. A dark-haired boy, no more than seven or eight, held the violin close to his anemic frame. His jacket, made of a finely woven cloth, hung loosely on his thin shoulders. The matching trousers would have slipped down his hips if not for his hand-tooled leather belt.
Either the boy had lost weight or his parents had purposely provided him clothes to grow into. Alison hoped for the latter, though from the rumors she’d heard, her first assumption was all too likely. She stared at the cardboard square, secured by a thick length of twine, that the boy wore as a cheap necklace. The penciled writing on the square numbered the boy as 127.
Other children crowded near the young musician, each one dressed in their fine traveling clothes, each one labeled with cardboard and twine. Germany’s castaways, transported to England for their own safety while their desperate parents paced the floors at home and vainly wished for an end to these troublesome days.
“Now will you allow him to keep his violin?” A man’s voice, pleasant but firm, broke the spell cast over the station. The children fidgeted and a low murmur rumbled through the crowd. The speaker, dressed in the khaki uniform of a British Army officer, ignored them, his gaze intent on the railroad official overseeing the children.
“He better,” said a woman standing near Alison. “Never heard anything so lovely. And the lad not even one of the king’s subjects. I’d take him home myself—yes, I would—if I’d a bed to spare.”
Alison mentally sketched the tableau before her, pinning the details into her memory. The officer’s hand resting on the boy’s shoulder; the official, a whistle around his neck, restlessly tapping his clipboard with his pencil; the dread and hope in the boy’s eyes as he clutched his prized instrument. The jagged square that tagged his identity.
BioJohnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won't forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, is a CBA bestseller. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.comand other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr.
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Interview with Ann Marie Stewart & Stars in the Grass...

We're so happy to have Ann Marie Stewart will us today talking about her book Stars in the Grass. To learn more about Ann Marie and her book, read on!

Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.
I won a Grammy, midwife to lambs in our flock, maiden name was 13 letters long, National Anthem soloist for Seattle Mariners, did a mini triathlon, won a Christy.
Why did you choose to write this book?I first wrote a short story about what I most feared:  losing a child, even though I wasn't married and didn't have any children. By writing my fears, it was as if I could keep it from happening.
What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand?
Don't correct periods and commas when first you read my drafts. See the big picture.
What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?Writing in unfamiliar time periods and places I've never been or cannot go to because of security issues. 
What do you hope readers to take away from your novel? Hope and humor. That no matter what they go through in life, there is hope and one day they will laugh again.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not? I love my kids. I can't take credit for them but I'm so absolutely PROUD of what they are studying:  Middle East and Peace and Conflict Management, Nursing.
What do you do for fun when not writing? Cheering on UVA Basketball, watching This is Us and Madame Secretary, waterskiing.
What are you working on now?  Three books:  a 30K word romantic holiday novella about a Capitol Christmas and a holiday bet gone awry.Out of the Water:  A 90K word time slip novel about a young woman's search for her birth mother and how she unravels 5 generations of secretsMama's Liebling:  A Memoir about my grandparents' escape from Russia and why they had to leave a child behind.
Back cover blurbNine-year-old Abby McAndrews has just experienced her greatest loss, and in its wake, her family is unraveling with guilt, grief, and anger. Her father, Reverend McAndrews, cannot return to the pulpit because he has more questions than answers. Her older brother Matt’s actions speak louder than the words he needs to confess, as he acts out in dangerous ways. Her mother tries to hold her grieving family together, but when Abby’s dad refuses to move on, the family is at a crossroads.

Stars in the Grass, set in a small Midwestern town in 1970, is an uplifting novel that explores a family’s relationships and resiliency. Abby’s heartbreaking remembrances are balanced by humor and nostalgia as her family struggles with—and ultimately celebrates—life after loss.

Please give us the first page of the book. Prologue
I spent the better part of my childhood sitting on a pew in the balcony of Bethel Springs First Presbyterian Church, listening to my dad’s long vowels as he preached on predestination. Sandwiched between my older brother, Matt, and my little brother, Joel, I counted bald heads, doodled on church bulletins, and studied the stained-glass Jesus.Reverend McAndrews was godlike and mysterious. Definitely not the same man who read to us from Dr. Seuss, ran through the sprinkler on steamy Ohio summer afternoons, or smiled as we played hide-and-go-seek in his Father’s House.Though I can’t remember many of his three-point sermons, I have other good memories. One Sunday during a hymn, Matt and I sang loudly, changing the words to our liking, “Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear,” and crossing our eyes for added effect. When we sat back down, I rested the hymnal on the railing and fanned myself by riffling through the pages. Then it happened. Ontoone of the fifty-one shining bald heads below, I dropped the hymnal.It clapped to the floor, and then in the congregational hush, Mr. Ludema winced in surprised pain. I only looked down long enough to see necks craning up toward the balcony and then turning toward my father and then back to the balcony. Dad squinted to see Mrs. Ludema as she nursed her husband’s head and then looked up at the cause of the disruption. Me.Dad stared at me for fifteen seconds. I know because I counted every one of them. I did not look away; instead I memorized his sandy thick hair fringed with gray streaks. I couldn’t see his eyes because the sun was reflecting on the lenses of his glasses. His mouth was closed, his thick jaw tense. The congregation waited for the Reverend McAndrews, and so did I. At last he said, with a nod to the balcony and a sigh, “And the Word has come down from on high.”During responsive reading, his voice rose and fell so predictably, I was nearly lulled to sleep unless I pulled out a pencil to sketch the hills and valleys. “‘O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gooood,’” Reverend McAndrews read from Psalm 136. His voice grew louder and the pitch higher until the word Lord, where he paused and let it fall off to a low, soft, long, concluding gooood.We echoed, “‘For his steadfast love endures for ever.’” After repeating it twenty-six times, what I thought everlasting was the psalm itself.I did not question the psalmist’s message until I was nine and Matt was fifteen and we crossed a crevasse of pain. It took struggling through that jagged blackness of doubt and fear for the girl in the balcony to finally consider the words, and to really connect with the man in the pulpit and the woman at the organ.My mother looked just like Jackie Kennedy. I don’t know if our former First Lady could play the organ, but my mother could  not , despite the expectations of the elders of 
Brief Bio:Ann Stewart, Christy Award Winner for Debut Novel 2017, and her husband Will raise two daughters and a flock of sheep on their Virginia farm where fireflies light up the sky on warm summer nights. Ann originated three of AMG’s Preparing My Heart books and writes a column “Ann’s Lovin’ Ewe” for the Country Register, contributes to Mentoring Moments and has written for Proverbs 31. Her background in drama and film bring her characters to life. When she’s not directing music or writing, she loves Madame Secretary, This is Us, and UVA Basketball.
Where else can readers find you online?     Any social media links:Website: www.annmariestewart.com  see book trailer!Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AnnMariStewart/ Linked in:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-stewart-37ba16171/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/annmaristewart/ Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AnnMariStewart