Robyn Echols's Blog, page 15

Wednesday Wonders: FIREWEED

Today’s Wednesday Wonders features Terry Montague and her World War II novel, Fireweed .
About the Book :
Lisel Spann has dreamed only of wonderful things in her future. Living with  her father, sister, and brother in a cramped apartment in Berlin, the small family shares what seems to be an unbreakable spirit of love and security. However, with the rise of the Nazi party and approaching dark clouds of war, any kind of future grows increasingly uncertain. Knowing little of hate and destruction, Lisel is ill prepared as the storms of battle erupt in full fury and loved ones are taken from her as her beautiful city is reduced to rubble.
With fear and despair rising within, it is through her quiet, compassionate father that Lisel discovers faith and hope. Now, in a desperate journey to find her sister, Lisel and her neighbor flee Berlin and the advancing Russians for Frankfurt, a city under the protection of the Allies. But their flight to safety is filled with pain, hunger, and terror. However, with spiritual lessons and blessings from her father, the support of departed loved ones, and her tried but undying faith in a loving Heavenly Father, perhaps Lisel can emerge like the fireweed—rising strong and beautiful from scorched ground—transforming bitterness and despair into a charity that never faileth.

Book Excerpt :
Overhead, the clouds parted and sent a shaft of bluish moonlight across Wittenau. A few stars shone like glittering eyes. Lisel heard the engine roar of the early morning train and blinked with surprise to see it standing at the station. She was later than she thought.
Lisel quickened her feet into a fast walk and then a half-run. Breathless, she dashed into the station just as the train moved away. She pulled up short and stared at the last car as it disappeared in the morning darkness. The car had the customary “V” painted on it with the slogan, “Wheels turn for victory.” She breathed a tired, resigned sigh.
There would not be another rain for at least a half hour and, if she sat down, her ankles and feet would begin to swell. So Lisel paced the train station, dark and lonely at this hour.
Only a few minutes had passed when the wail of air raid sirens ripped open the sky. Lisel’s eyes went up to the station ceiling in astonishment. The sirens had sounded their warning during the night but no bombers had come over Belin, probably not so much because the Luftwaffe had turned them back as the clouds had kept them away.
But a raid now? It would be daylight in an hour. Surely, even the RAF was not so foolish. Nevertheless, Lisel headed for a building down the street where the basement had been converted to an air raid shelter. The basement was darker than the one at the Munitions Works and more dank and musty-smelling than Frau Heidemann’s apartment.
Lisel sat in the blackness with a half dozen other workers, either leaving their workplace late or going early. All of them expressed surprise the bombers would come over at such an hour. Several said someone set off the sirens by mistake, that they would not have to wait long for the all clear. Someone else, an older, faded-looking woman who had come in after Lisel, sighed heavily. “How much longer can this war go on? I am so tired of the whole thing.”
A tall, paunchy man from the corner answered her. “It will not be long now. Those British have about had it. In a few weeks, they will be begging us for peace. A few more weeks and it will be all over. You will see.”
From overhead came the thundering sounds of the antiaircraft guns. Then cannon from the chasers. Lisel clapped her hands over her ears.
A nearby explosion shook the earth around and beneath the shelter. Lisel was thrown from her seat. She heard the crack of wood and masonry as the walls twisted with the force. Someone screamed. Someone called out in prayer. Dust swirled in the clouds that choked. Underscoring the commotion came the hiss of severed pipes. Lisel smelled the sharp, piercing odor of gas. A rumble near the stairway spewed more dust. Lisel gagged on the contaminated air. It was truly the end. The building above her was collapsing. She would die, crushed to death, in the dark, buried beneath this building with people she did not know. For the first time in weeks, she cried out in prayer. Not for rescue, not for mercy, but in bitter questioning, “Why?”

To join the Facebook event for a chance to learn more about the book and the author by viewing other blogs on the tour, and to win prizes, please click HERE .


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About the Author :
When I was about three, my mom said, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I think she was expecting me to say, “A mommy, like you.”  Instead, I popped off with, “I want to be a writer.” I can still remember her face.  She said, “Well, don’t you think you need to learn to read first?” 
I didn’t think so.
Terry Bohle Montague is a BYU graduate and a free-lance writer, having written for television, radio, newspaper, and magazines including The Ensign and Meridian Magazine.  She has also been published as the author of book length historical non-fiction and fiction.
Her non-fiction work includes the book, Mine Angels Round About, the story of the LDS West German Mission evacuation of 1939 which occurred only days before the Nazi invasion of Poland. 
Her LDS fiction, Fireweed, is loosely based on her interviews with the evacuated West German missionaries and their families. Terry studied with Dwight Swain and Jack Bickham, as well as David Farland. 
Her writing awards include those from LDS Storymakers, Idaho Writers’ League, and Romance Writers of America.
 Author Links:
Website  |   Facebook Event  |  Goodreads  
Purchase Links:
Amazon  |   Deseret Books  |  Barnes & Noble

I Survived

2015 Gateway Quilt Guild Opportunity Quilt made by Patricia HiseGood news!

I survived the Gateway Quilt Guild quilt show. A lot of work, but beautiful and inspiring.


My friend, the inspiration for "Celia" in The Fourteenth Quilt , won the Opportunity Quilt.


I sold several copies of my new novel at the guild's Quilters' Treasures shop.

SUMMER HEARTS: End of Summer Special

If you don't have your copy yet, now is your chance to pick up SUMMER HEARTS for only $.99!

This is for FRIDAY ONLY, October 2nd.
Click HERE for the Amazon link.


My romantic comedy story,"The Best Place to Meet a Man," is one of the six stories in the compilation. 
Here is the novel description :

Jeff Pearson runs along the beach with the intent to clear his head and figure out the direction he wants his life to take next.

Meredith Hanson is determined to spend the day relaxing at the beach under the shade of her umbrella within the sound of the ocean waves so she can read her romantic suspense novel – even if it means she must take her two young nephews along and wait until they fall asleep for their afternoon naps before she cracks open her book.
In this contemporary romantic comedy, two seekers of solitude collide at the beach when two little boys create new plans.
...and an excerpt :

Which explains why I got into a snit and decided to go to the beach anyway. I mean, why should I have to give up doing what I want to do on my Saturday—again? Why should I be stuck in the house—again? Nope, I’d head for the beach. I’d just take the boys to the beach with me. I had it all planned out. I would take my biggest blanket, find a spot where there weren’t as many people, in sight of the water but not too close, and get the boys settled under the shade of the umbrella. I’d slather them with sunscreen and let them play until lunchtime. Then I’d feed them, and allow them to fall asleep for their afternoon naps while listening to the soothing sounds of water lapping against the shore.    After all, if I played with Xander in the morning before I left, took plenty of snacks and toys for Xander and enough bottles and some applesauce for Calend, plus plenty of diapers and pull-ups for the two, they should be fine, right? Once they zonked out under the shade of the umbrella with a lightweight blanket over them if the breeze off the water should kick up, they should sleep for hours, right? I’d have lots of time full of peace and quiet to read. I should be able to get well into my story before they woke up and it was time to go home.What could go wrong?

 Pinterest Board for SUMMER HEARTS

Robyn Echols Links:

Website    |  REB Blog    |  Facebook    |  Pinterest   |  Goodreads    |  Twitter   |   Amazon Author Page  

Wednesday Wonders: CHALLENGING MISS VALENTINE

Today’s Wednesday Wonders features Cindy K. Green’s romance novel, Challenging Miss Valentine .


Buy Challenging Miss Valentine on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Visit Cindy K. Green's Amazon page by clicking HERE.
About Cindy K. Green:


Author of Andrea & the 5-Day Challenge (Book 1 in the Aubrey Christian Academy Series), Cindy K. Green has worked as a middle school history & English teacher, a frozen yogurt server and a golf magazine employee. Today she's a multi-published, award-winning author, a mother, a wife, and a homeschooler too. This native Californian now resides in North Carolina with her husband, two boys, and two cats named Chloe & Kassey. 
Visit her website www.cindykgreen.com  
& her blog cindykgreen.blogspot.com . 
She's on Facebook ( Cindy K. Green ) and 
Twitter ( @cindykgreen ) too. 
Email her at cindy@cindykgreen.com  

THE FOURTEENTH QUILT Now in Paperback

The Fourteenth Quilt is now available in PAPERBACK. Both the bound book and the Kindle version are available on Amazon.com. You can find the order page by clicking HERE. 

























My Links:


Website    |  REB Blog    |  Facebook    |  Pinterest   |   
Goodreads    |  Twitter  |   Amazon Author Page

Wednesday Wonders: THE SECRET KEEPER

Today’s Wednesday Wonders welcomes Angela Carling featuring her Young Adult book, The Secret Keeper .
Book Description: There is a street or house in every town that holds secrets that the outside world would never understand. However in Heber, Arizona, a cursed being holds all those secrets closely. After the disappearance of her brother, Winter’s family was never the same, and now she’d done something terrible that would bring her to the door where such secrets were locked, and the deal she would make with the mysterious Secret Keeper would forever alter her life and threaten to destroy Liam, the only boy she ever loved.

Book Excerpt:


     Over and over in my head I repeated, “She can make my secret go away.” I’m not sure if I was trying to convince myself or trying to keep myself from going nuts, but the phrase calmed me as I drove.      I found Lejo Street and began the steep climb to the top. The houses in this neighborhood were small. Most were weathered if not completely forgotten. Pines grew too close together. Piles of rusted tools and long-forgotten bathroom fixtures littered the landscape, hidden only by overgrown grasses and neglected Quakies. No wonder everyone thought it was creepy.     My heart rate quickened with the ascent, and my palms left sticky sweat on my steering wheel. I wiped on my jeans only to have the moisture build up again immediately. Soon there was nothing but dense forest; a blur of green, broken only by the ashen skies above. The rain came down in unyielding sheets and I turned up the windshield wipers. Back and forth they went like a giant metronome, keeping in step with my nervous heartbeat.     I strained to see out the windows until there was nothing in front of me but a large rusted metal gate and a cracked wood sign, painted long ago, that declared, “No trespassing.” Beyond the gate, through the trees and the rain, I saw the pale blue house that the girl in the park had described.     One more time I said out loud, “She can make my secret disappear.” I’d almost convinced myself now. I had to be convinced, what with the dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere and the stormy weather.     Everything screamed “Don’t go in!” but I was driven to try something, anything, not to lose my best friend and boyfriend.
     I climbed from the car and ran until I reached the porch, slipping and having to catch myself as I tried to take the stair too fast. Light spilled out through a crack in the curtains, letting me know someone was there. I lifted my hand to knock on the old splintered door and froze. I didn’t know The Secret Keeper’s name. How would I address her? Before I could decide what to do, the old scratched up door handle turned and the door opened a crack. My mouth fell open. The eyes that peered through the opening were surprisingly young.     My throat tight as I swallowed and it sounded loud to me. I could turn and run. Everything in my gut told me to go but I stood like a marble statue frozen by my anguish.     “Who are you looking for?” she asked.     Her melodic voice made me think of dozens of wind chimes all tinkling at once. Still, I felt uneasy.     I made myself spit out the words. “The Secret Keeper.”     An excruciatingly long minute passed and I thought she might tell me that I had the wrong house or that I should get off her property. Finally, in a voice no louder than a whisper she said, “Come in. I’m The Secret Keeper.”
Click HERE to see the trailer.
About Angela Carling:

Angela Carling was raised in Palm Springs California, but lives Arizona with her husband, three kids and five felines. After years of denial she finally admitted that she is a hopeless romantic which led her to write her first Young Adult book Unbreakable Love. Since then she's published three more books, Shackled, Becoming Bryn and The Secret Keeper. Shackled won the silver IPGA award in 2012 and has been optioned as a screenplay. She always eats the frosting off her cake and leaves the rest, and can be caught singing in public bathrooms just for the acoustics. When she's not writing YA novels, she's mentoring teen writers, making pizza with her family or dreaming of taking a nap, not necessarily in that order.

Author Links:
Website  |  Blog  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |   Goodreads  |  Instagram
Purchase Links:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes  |  Smashwords

Wednesday Wonders: PIC JUMP

Today's Wednesday Wonders welcomes Michelle Erickson and her novel, Pic Jump.

 About the Novel:
 

My name, believe it or not, is Pictarine Nebbie Jump. Call me Pic.  
My happily ever after started with Mason’s first words: “Want me to kiss it better?” I never looked back.
 
Yes, things were going great and I expected them to get even better.

Then I was accidentally eye-napped.
Yeah, you read that right. It’s complicated.

What happened is so bizarre, that because of me, a four-year-old is being hunted by a terrorist cell, and all she’s armed with is a child’s hope, her Barbie doll, and my brains.

We are alone, because no one believes her and no one can see me.
If I don’t do something, she’s going to disappear –permanently.  



Excerpt: 
My happily-ever-after started with a coma.
Not exactly the way I envisioned spending my honeymoon, but the coma was just the beginning of trouble.  My life, before I was in a coma, was a series of firsts and all important firsts started with Mason Richard Jump.  If it had not been for him coming into my life, I never would have had the miracles that came later.  To explain those miracles, I have to rewind my life to December 14th – the right season for unequalled joy and sacred miracles.  The day I met my future husband, I was leaving my office for lunch.  I was a dedicated career woman, but only after resigning myself to the fact I would never meet anyone worth spending more than a few hours with that I wasn’t already related to.Yes, I had stopped looking for Mr. Right, dusted off my Bachelorette degree, and with more guts than sense, started my own business – a temp service that spanned two states.  Sounds impressive, but the reality is Evanston, Wyoming doesn’t have that many office-related jobs so I opened a satellite office in Salt Lake City, Utah.I was eager to get a few more items on my Christmas shopping list – including the newest whodunit by one of my favorite authors.  It would be a gift I would give myself in preparation for the lull that would hit the business in January when everyone scrambled back to work, annoyed they had spent too much money for the holidays.I was in a hurry and that meant the usual rushed routine – car keys in mouth, juggling files, slipping my cell phone into my purse, and buzzing for the elevator.When the elevator door opened and I saw Mason, my car keys fell out of my mouth – or tried to; they couldn’t actually fall to the ground because my lips were sticky-dry and my three keys hung there swinging like Christmas bells.In my attempt to rectify his perception that I showered in stupid and lathered with duh, I grabbed the keys and felt some of the skin pull away. I bit back the gasp of pain, but couldn’t prevent the wince.“Want me to kiss it better?”Those were his first words to me.  His eyes were smiling and his mouth was beginning to bow.If you saw him, you wouldn’t blame me for just staring at him and, well, seriously considering it.  However, what do you say to that?  Yes, a dozen kisses to go please, wrapped in a size thirty-eight tall…or was it long?  It didn’t matter – he was the perfect size, shape, and gender.His smile was producing a spin cycle in my heart and his eyes came in my favorite shade of chocolate – all plus’s.  Mason was an Idaho farm boy – lots of physical exercise and all the discipline the word ‘farm’ implies.  He was ruggedly good-looking, wearing a white shirt with open collar and black sports jacket.  He was also holding the most beautiful poinsettia arrangement I’d ever seen.  I knew this for fact, because my parents are florists.His smile deepened and I realized he had a dimple – just one and in the exact same place as mine.  We just stared at each other, not saying a word.  In the background, Christmas music began blaring Joy to the World.  When the elevator doors began to close, we both reached out to stop them and our hands met.Evidently, I had scuffed my shoes across the carpet because there was an electrical charge – or was it just him?  I never knew for sure.He stepped out of the elevator and into my heart.  “My name’s Mason.  I’m here to make a delivery.”My eyes finally left his face and caught up to reality – the delivery of poinsettias were the reason he had come up to the floor, not to sweep me off my feet, or kiss me into oblivion.  Drat!“I need to ask you a question.”His voice was serious and I looked back into his eyes.  For some reason, I became very conscious that he had a small scar just beneath his bottom lip.  “Yes?”  My first word to him became one of the most frequently used words in our relationship.“Where is the nearest mistletoe?”


About the Author: 

In the past, I've suffered from post-apocalyptic stress syndrome while writing 5 Blanks, powered an ancient artifact using a pair of star-crossed lovers in Chest of Souls, recovered Christmas by unearthing the forgotten love story of the Klauses, and, in Pic Jump, saved a little girl from a terrorist organization armed with nothing but a Barbie head and a woman in a coma. Oh, and helped a woman get lost and find true love - with a ghost - in Hallows Gate.

People ask how I do what I do. Simply put: I LOVE what I do. I thrive on the written word! By the time you read this, I'll be working with awesome new characters to turn upside down (or inside out), spinning more plots to weave into their lives and planting subplots to harvest when they aren't looking.

I'm currently at work on House of Cards (Book 1 has been released), a children's urban fantasy I'm co-authoring with my oldest daughter. Other projects?   I'm being haunted by characters that demand sequels, and those who simply want to get their fifteen minutes in the spotlight. Masters of Lightning, never-say-die ghosts, and Elves with attitude are among these.

It has been a long and miraculous (always mental), journey. I bid you good reads wherever you go and in case I don't survive my next adventure, I left my will at the bottom of a volcano under a rock. 

  Tell us about Pic Jump and Hallows GatePic Jump was actually an idea that germinated while I wrote my post-apocalyptic novel,  5 Blanks.  I had to come up with ideas about how people could communicate without bodies.  I have to confess writing Pic made me so nervous after chapter 7, I had to take frequent breaks. I’m a mom of four and the book puts kids in danger.  Because of the mama bear instinct,  I kept trying to kill the bad guy to protect them and it wasn’t the right time.  To hold off was excruciatingly suspenseful.      Hallows Gate was sort of a gift to myself.  I had just finished my 12th book after eleven months of writing 8-22 hours six days a week.  I wanted something lighter – a clean paranormal romance struck me as a perfect way to get my life back.  Hallows did that for me.  I also made a promise to myself to get a balance back into my life.  Now I only release 3 or 4 a year.  Yeah, I’m still working on that balance.  Hallows Gate will be getting at least two sequels because I love the elves and hate to say goodbye.  


Author Links:
Blog  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  YouTube
 Google+  |  Wikia Page  |  Amazon Author Page
Purchase Links:   Amazon

THE FOURTEENTH QUILT: A Book & Blog Interactive Experience

What do I mean about The Fourteenth Quilt being a book & blog interactive experience? I'm trying something that, although may not be new, is new to me.

The Fourteenth Quilt is more than a novel about how one quilt touched the lives of a young couple in love, three Mormon quilters and several others. It offers recipes and directions for Celia's Cat Mats. I also features general directions for making a lap quilt out of scrappy blocks sewn from left-over fabric strips --  or strips cut from fabric scraps a quilter would like to use up and get out of her/his stash. (I include "his," because there are several well-known male quilters out there and we now have two men who are members of just our local quilt guild.)
Lynn's Cross-cut Scrappy Strip Lap Quilt, "Gung Ho!"
I don't know about you, but even though I am a writer and I can read and follow instructions better than the average person, there are just some instances where I do better "reading the pictures."

In the publishing world, adding graphics or pictures can be expensive. I decided one way I could provide some images to go with the tutorials for both the Celia's Cat Mats and Lynn's Cross-cut Scrappy Strip Lap Quilt was by taking the written instructions in the book, putting them on a blog post and adding my images to create a blog tutorial. I will give the blog URL (web address) at the end of each tutorial in the book for my readers.

With that thought, I took the idea even further. Since this book is based on actual events that took place in 2012, I do have a few photographs that go with the story. Not a lot. After all, I didn't realize we were living a novel in the making until it was all over. But, one way I can share a few of these pictures is through blog posts.

I chose to use my quilting blog, QUILT GATEWAY , for these posts. There are six total scheduled. Two are already active:

1.  Annie's SWEET SUMMER and CHEERFUL Quilts

2.  Lynn's Cross-cut Scrappy Strip Lap Quilt

Enjoy!

THE FOURTEENTH QUILT: New Book, New Look & Blog Tour

I hope to have The Fourteenth Quilt published and available for sale by September 17th. My original plan was to publish this mid-October, but things changed.

Yes, I'm one of those who complains about Christmas decorations being out before Halloween. However, in the romance novel world, if you don't get your Christmas book published before Thanksgiving--preferably by October or early November--you just might miss the season. 

However, my big motivator for a September publication date is my local quilt show sponsored by the Gateway Quilt Guild in Merced to be held the first weekend in October. They are sponsoring a booth for guild members to offer quilting and sewing related items for sale. What can be more quilting related than a novel about quilters and their struggles and successes?

 Look for a change to my right sidebar as I organize my blog tour and Facebook event to be held October 19th through the 24th. I have put out a few queries and you can see the blogs that are already lined up for the blog tour. 

If you would like to be part of my blog tour, please leave a comment in the comments section.  

While putting together my new blog banner to show my new book, The Fourteenth Quilt , I decided my blog needed a new look. While perusing the wallpaper options, I came across this nature scene of the mountains. Besides it containing some of my favorite colors, I thought it set off my blog banner background shot in Yosemite National Park. What do you think?

Wednesday Wonders: BEARSKIN

Today’s Wednesday Wonders features the Young Adult novel, Bearskin, by Jamie Robyn Wood.

About the Book:

When Conrad, Moiria, and Heppson's evil enchantress mother tries to convince them to follow her dark ways, they must each decide where the line lies between good and evil, magic and mythology. Based on a lesser-known fairy tale, this young adult book features an impossible romance, an intricate plot, and twists you won't see coming.

The Queen seeks only for power.
 The brothers stumble in their rivalry for the throne.
 And so the sister, normally hidden in the shadows, finds herself driven to take control.
Moiria never meant to use the knife her mother offered, but now her life depends on her continued and defensive ruthlessness. Is it possible to reclaim the motivation that initially set her on this path of destruction? Can Moiria recapture the heart and soul she’s lost to her mother’s evil? Only forest journeys, desert passages, and an encounter with a magical Bear – and his Bearskin – can possibly bring it right again.

Excerpt:

It happened when the summer days drifted haltingly away – time passing, as it always does. The coolness of autumn arrived. He first saw her bundled form where she curled to sleep near the shuttered and fading light of a heap of night-curtained logs. Heppson found he could not help but stay to watch her, this human girl he’d discovered within his forest. The hours of his time as human silently slipped past him while his gaze took in her, hungry for the kind of life she lived.
A human. A girl. And one quite near his age, it would seem. Sleeping right there, in his empty, mindless forest. As though such an act were normal and of everyday occurrence. As though young girls with long manes of flame often traveled alone and slept beside half-collapsed fires.
Captured by the simple, inescapable fact of her existence; captured by her humanity; Heppson paused his aimless night-time wanderings and – almost hypnotized – watched her breathe. He watched her sleep. He watched the embers of her fire as they glowed against her pressed-closed eyes and wrapped-tight self. When morning came – and with it Bear – he managed to make himself slink away, if only because he promised himself he would find her again when night returned, and she slept once more beneath the open air. 
 To learn more about Jamie's contest and special offer to introduce Bearskin , click HER E .


 Rafflecopter:a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author:
  Jamie Robyn Wood is a full-time wife and mother, and a part-time fantasy writer and essayist. Over the years she has handed out money at banks, taught ballet, and managed to make dinner for her family semi-regularly. Jamie never imagined the wind could blow so hard and so cold until she moved to the Midwest. Now she prefers to hunker inside the house with a story to write. Bearskin is her first novel. She, her husband, their five children, and their “pet” squirrels currently reside in Coralville, Iowa.
 Author Links: Website  |  Goodreads  |  Tumblr  |  Amazon Author Page
Purchase Links:Amazon  |   Barnes & Noble  |  Indie Bound