Naomi Dawn Musch's Blog: NEW Discussion Guide, page 18
July 22, 2013
GRACE AWARDS LAUNCH - Featuring WIND OVER MARSHDALE by Tracy Krauss
On this first week of the Grace Awards Summer Launch, I'm featuring Tracy Krauss and her novel Wind Over Marshdale,
one of the best books I've read this summer. I hope you'll enjoy the
interview and excerpt that follows, and give her novel a try.
About the book:
Marshdale.
Just a small farming community where nothing special happens. A perfect place to start over… or get lost.
There is definitely more to this prairie town than meets the eye. Once the
meeting place of aboriginal tribes for miles around, some say the land itself
was cursed because of the people’s sin. But its history goes farther back than
even indigenous oral history can trace and there is still a direct descendant
who has been handed the truth, like it or not. Exactly what ties does the land
have to the medicine of the ancients? Is it cursed, or is it all superstition?
Wind Over
Marshdale is
the story of the struggles within a small prairie town when hidden evil and
ancient medicine resurface. Caught in the crossfire, new teacher Rachel
Bosworth finds herself in love with two men at once. First, there is Thomas
Lone Wolf, a Cree man whose blood lines run back to the days of ancient
medicine but who has chosen to live as a Christian and faces prejudice from
every side as he tries to expose the truth. Then there is Con McKinley, local
farmer who has to face some demons of his own. Add to the mix a wayward
minister seeking anonymity in the obscurity of the town; eccentric twin sisters
– one heavily involved in the occult and the other a fundamentalist zealot; and
a host of other ‘characters’ whose lives weave together unexpectedly for the
final climax. This suspenseful story is one of human frailty - prejudice,
cowardice, jealousy, and greed – magnified by powerful spiritual forces that have
remained hidden for centuries, only to be broken in triumph by grace.
What others are saying:
The
characters were realistic and the conflict was palpable
-
The
Wordsmith Journal
Krauss
weaves a story that satisfies the romantic soul and caresses the puzzle solver
in each of us at the same time…
-
Barbara
Ann Derksen, author
Krauss
typifies all that is good in modern Christian authorship. She is consistently
there for her readers and elevates her every effort
-
Joyce
Godwin Grubbs, Author
Tracy’s
characters are raw and real; her plots edgy and electric.
-
Lisa Lickel, award winning author
There is plenty of intrigue and
mystery to keep any reader's attention, but for lovers of romance, this one
will make your heart pound.
-
Michelle Sutton,
author of more than 25 inspirational novels
Krauss writes about real stuff that
real people, including Christians, struggle with. Her fiction is at times
earthy, but that drew me into the very real characters, their failures as well
as their hopes and triumphs.
– Ken Winters, author
Author bio:
Tracy Krauss is a high school teacher by profession, and a
prolific author, artist, playwright and director by choice. She received her
Bachelor’s degree from the University
of Saskatchewan and has
gone on to teach Art, Drama and English – all the things she is passionate
about. After raising four children, she and her husband now reside in beautiful
Tumbler Ridge, BC where she continues to pursue all of her
creative interests.
Interview
Q:
Tracy,
when I read the book, I was immediately immersed in the eerie feeling
imbued in the story. What inspired you to craft this tale of simple
small town life suddenly
threatened by the emergence of hidden evil?
A: It started out with some interesting
characters that I had been thinking about. I am from a small town and have
lived in many small towns and I’ve noticed that every place has its own ‘colorful’ people. I also have an interest in
spiritual warfare and native history and I saw a way to weave all of these
elements together.
Q:
I
think the title of the book really portrays sense of spiritual warfare.
What other types of significance do you ascribe to the book's title?
A:
It works on many levels. For anyone who
has visited the prairies, they know that the wind plays an important role in
the psyche of the people. Also, I saw this as symbolic of the spiritual forces
at play within the book.
Q:
I
felt as torn as Rachel did between the two new men in her life, and I
really didn't know who she would ultimately choose or if it would work
out for either of them. Why is it so difficult for Rachel to choose
between her love for both Thomas
and Con?
A:
She is rebounding from a previous
relationship and her feelings of inadequacy have made her confused about her
own feelings. Basically, she is subconsciously trying to boost her own self
worth.
Q:
She's definitely a "real" character, flaws and all. Sometimes I caught myself thinking, No Rachel, don't do that! Why do you think it's often so easy for us to give way to sin, whether major or
minor in scope?
A:
I suppose it’s what the Bible calls ‘the
flesh’. It’s part of human nature to want our own way, and let’s face it, most
sin is also fun – at least for a season.
Excerpt
Thomas shot up in
bed, panting. The T-shirt he wore clung to his body with sweat. It was not the
first time the dream had come to wake him.
He took a deep
breath, disentangled himself from the sheets, and rose to get a drink of
water. No point going back to bed now. He wouldn’t sleep anyway. He padded down
the narrow hallway,
passing the half closed
doorways that sheltered his sleeping children. Ducking to avoid hitting his head
as he entered the tiny kitchen, he paused for a moment to look at the expanse of
landscape beyond the window. Mostly flat, with a rise of gently rolling hills in
the distance, it was clothed with a carpet of rippling grass except for the odd
patch of dry fallow. Just like in the dream.
The early morning sunrise
was just beginning to filter in, reaching to shed some light in the shadowed corners
of the room. Thomas had managed to rent a house near the outskirts of town. Correction. It wasn’t exactly a house.
The realtor called it a “double wide.” Okay, it was a trailer, but it was the only
property for rent in Marshdale at the moment. At least, that was what the realtor had said. It wasn’t the nicest place—rather
dingy if truth be told—and it was farther from school than Thomas would have liked,
but it was still within walking distance. Better than the overcrowded and dilapidated homes he’d been
used to as a child.
But that was another time.
Another life.
He was here now, for better
or for worse, and the people of Marshdale would just have to accept it. He was Thomas
Lone Wolf, proud of his Cree ancestry, and determined to do something about it.
As a community liaison, he’d worked with dozens of indigenous groups all over the western provinces trying to set up business
propositions. This time was different, though. It was personal.
With practiced fingers
he undid his nighttime braid and shook out his hair, which fell well past his shoulders.
Even at forty, there was no sign of graying or hair loss. It was straight, coarse
and
black, just like his
ancestors’ - the perfect picture of a Cree warrior.
Now that he was awake,
he allowed himself to replay the dream in his mind - at least the parts that he
could remember. Like most dreams, the initial clarity soon faded after just a few
waking moments. There were buffalo - always buffalo. And they seemed bent on suicide,
careening to their deaths before he could stop them somehow.
He was going to start
writing it down. The theme was too familiar; the mixture of fear and power too real.
Some people said you dreamt in black and white. Thomas wasn’t sure about that. He
knew there was blood in his dream - and lots of it. The redness of it stood out
in stark contrast to the muted prairie landscape. And the stench. That unmistakable
metallic scent filled his nostrils to such a degree that he could almost swear he
still smelled it. Almost. But that was ridiculous and he pushed the memory of the
coagulating stains out of his mind.
With a sigh he turned
back to the cupboards and started readying the coffee. It would soon be time to
wake the children and get ready for work himself. Another grueling day of lobbying
for something that should be rightfully his to begin with. Reality didn’t stop for
dreams.
Purchase links:
Astraea
press (publisher)- http://astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=12328252
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wind-over-marshdale-tracy-krauss/1111512160?ean=2940014767682
More at Tracy’s Online Store - http://tracykrauss.yolasite.com/online-store.php
Author links:
Website: http://www.tracykrauss.com
Blog: http://www.tracykraussexpressionexpress.com
FB: http://tinyurl.com/Tracy-Krauss-Author-Fanpage
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TracyKrausswrtr
July 18, 2013
When Is a Story Ready To Write?
Most of us novelists have new ideas churning around in our heads well
before we write "The End" on our current projects. We chomp at the bit
to begin the new work, for there's nothing quite so exciting and frightening as starting a new novel. It's like the first time you drive a stick shift -- in traffic!
Sometimes
those story ideas have churned around for months or even years. They
are ready to write. By the time we're able to put those first words
down, the idea is fully fleshed and flowing like a fresh cut from our
veins. At other times, however, the idea isn't quite so well articulated
in our thoughts, and if we sit down to start writing, it becomes more
like lying in a hospital bed while a nurse pokes us four times over just
to find a vein. The idea is in there, but it doesn't want to come out.
So should we try to force it? Not really. Not that way.
Nothing beats writers block like just writing. Writing anything. Writing something.
The same could be said for starting on that new idea. It might not be
time, yet, to write an opening chapter. However, it might be the perfect
time to brainstorm using processes that will expand those lurking
scenes and ideas.
Start an outline. I would suggest
using the 15 point Meet in the Middle method to brainstorm. Write the
first point - how you basically see the story beginning (no worries,
you're not committed yet). Then write the last point - what you think
the flash bang happy ending might be. Now keep going back and forth,
from beginning to end, working toward the middle. You'll be surprised at
how the ideas will start flowing.
But if that isn't
enough, it's definitely time to ask the Big Story Question. What is the
big story question your character must resolve? What are her dreams and
her fears? What themes have you noticed in your own life lately or in
the lives of those around you that might find their way into your
current story idea? What questions are you asking in your life that your
character might ask in theirs? What do you know that your character
doesn't and needs to learn? These are all good story-builders that will
prime the pump to the place where you're actually ready to begin
writing.
It's not time to begin the actual story until
you have some if not all of these answers. You might not know the entire
journey your character will take. Seat of the pants writers would make a
point of telling me that. But you should have a truly good overall feel
for the story you have to tell, or else you're just talking. That's my
opinion. Jumping the gun on starting a story can burn you out. You're
more likely to give up and quit part way through if you take off running
without a goal or without knowing something of the route.
So let the story marinade. Part of the writing process isn't really the physical writing. It's the daydreaming.
Write on!
Coming August 11th from Desert Breeze Publishing
PAINT ME ALTHENA
a novel of contemporary women's fiction.
When still life artist Ethan Day discovers a fantasy
painting by Althena Bell in a consignment shop, he's sure he's found Ava, his
wife who abandoned him and their two little girls three years ago. Finding her
is one thing, but forgiveness and second chances are impeded by outsiders, and
conflict between Ava's search for identity and Ethan's new faith might break
the safety net he offers.
July 11, 2013
Trusting God with Her Daughter's Life -- or Death -- Plus an Excerpt from Lynette Endicott's New Novel FINDING HER VOICE
Today I'm celebrating with author Lynette Endicott the release of her brand new novel, Finding Her Voice.
She has information about that and an excerpt to follow, but first, she
has a life and death testimony of faith to share. Welcome, Lynette!
I saw her grasping at the edge of the health office counter;
her eyes rolled back in her head as she fell straight back. Her head hit the
floor hard and when I knelt down
beside her, Mandee’s gaze was fixed and staring. Then she began to have a
seizure, grand mal, which lasted a little over a minute. I called out, “We have
a seizure here,” and a couple of the county nurses came toward us, but no one
came all the way over to help. When she came out of the seizure she was
confused and combative and I knew we needed to get her to the hospital. What
had started out as an immunization for the upcoming Mission trip for my
13-year-old daughter rapidly became a nightmare.
I work in the field of disabilities, so I have seen a lot of
things, and I knew my daughter wasn’t right. I had to fight to get her a CT;
the doctors continued to insist she was scanning normally with their “follow my
finger” tests and that I should bring her back if I couldn’t wake her up.
I was so glad I pushed. As soon as the bleed on her brain
showed up in the scan they scrambled and called for the air ambulance to take
us from our smaller hospital to Wichita where the neurosurgeon was located. It
was almost too late. She stopped breathing en route and had to be intubated.
After the surgery they took her down for another CT because she was still non-responsive.
They found and evacuated a second bleed. The surgeon’s post-op conversation
with me was not encouraging.
I was by myself – there was only room for one parent on the
plane so my husband was driving down later. I had lots of time to think, pray,
process what was happening.
I came to the conclusion that God would answer my prayers –
that he would take care of my daughter – no matter what the outcome. If she
came through the surgery fully intact then I would praise Him for his complete
protection. If she came out of the surgery with disability – from memory to
speak to walking – He would still care for her. If she didn’t survive, then she
was fully healed and in His arms. I had no doubt that He would answer my
prayers. I didn’t know, however, what the answer would be.
I thought about other people who were close to me who had
lost children. My brother and his wife lost their daughter before her first
birthday. I had friends who’d lost their son at 17 and others their daughter at
30. Who was I to think my daughter’s life was more important than their
children’s?
In fact, I will never be able to explain why God spared my
daughter and took the 30 year old mother of two.
Somewhere in the midst of conversations about praying for my
daughter and being grateful she survived with little long term impact, I
realized that my understanding of answered prayer changed when I acknowledged
that any answer could be God’s will, and that even death could be his will.
We are all going to die, but sometimes we pretend that isn’t
so, that we will live forever without
dying. Most of us experience some kind of pain and distress as life here on
earth comes to an end. We should not be surprised.
I am truly grateful that my daughter is still in my life (and
even made that mission trip). God taught me, through her brain injury, that we
are still in His care, and our prayers are being answered, no matter what is
going on in our lives.
Finding Her Voice is Book Three of the Starting
Over Series. In Book One, More Than a Job, Paige starts over after she loses
the job she loved. In Book Two, The Return of Joy, Joy Huffman and her young
daughter find a way to go on after her husband’s death. In Book Three, Jennifer
is forced to find a way to keep moving forward after an even more devastating
loss.
Each of these books can be read independent from
the others. While some of the characters cross over these are not sequential
books and each story is uniquely its own.
Finding Her Voice
Jennifer had the perfect life. A loving husband,
a beautiful daughter, a flexible job in the family business. When it was all
taken from her, Jen struggled to move through her days with the help of friends
and family — but they couldn’t understand, and somehow expected her to get over
her grief. Even her twin brother, Joshua, was unable to help her heal.
Ollie, her daughter’s rescued dog, was the only
one who seemed to share her grief and understand her pain in losing her
daughter. When the divorce ended in the sale of their home, she and Ollie set
out on a road trip of discovery. She needed time and the care of an old friend,
and along the way met others who had lost a child or a marriage or both. None
of them expected her to get over it, but they did help her go on living.
Her old friend listened, and with love guided her
to an outlet for her feeling through music — and she found comfort through
on-line contact with other bereaved parents, including Michael.
Life would never be the same, but maybe she could
find the music, find her voice, find her own path to living after her loss. And
if she was lucky, find love along the way.
Excerpt
Time to get this show on the road. She
typed out a text and sent it in a blast to her whole family.
I’m packed and headed out. Thanks for understanding.
I’ll update you from time to time.
Then she gave a little whistle and commanded
Ollie to get up. He clambered into the seat where she belted him in.
“Well, boy, here we go. Off on an adventure.”
They called every ride an adventure. He had no
idea how long a trip he was in for. Or that he would never come back to the
place they’d called home. But then, she wasn’t certain how long it would be
either.
Jen went around to the driver’s side, climbed in,
and dropped her phone into the sound system so she could take or make phone
calls if she wanted.
She started the van and, out of habit, started
the tunes saved to her phone.
The song that came up was one she and Trudy sang
together, a fun, silly song. She couldn’t bear it. She shut down the music. It
was too hard. She couldn’t sing. Not anymore. She took one last look at the
house that had been home to her now-destroyed family, then threw the van into
reverse and turned so she could steer out of the driveway and onto the road.
She didn’t look back. Her goal today was to drive as fast as the law allowed,
and as far as her energy would support. She needed distance between her wrecked
life and whatever was ahead.
Available July 11 from my publisher,
and along with the paperback and epub versions of Books One and Two, on my Amazon
Author Page.
Lynette
is also writing a series of speculative romance with Tami Dee that follow the
journey of a time-traveling enemy as she attempts to thwart love in the lives
of the women in a family line who carry the Heartmark, a heart shaped
birthmark. The fourth book in the Time After Time Saga, Pioneer Instinct, will
be released in the fall. Like the series at www.facebook.com/timeaftertimesaga
Website:
www.lynetteendicott.com
Like
the author on Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlynetteendicott
July 3, 2013
Gotta Love an Anti-Hero Struggling to Change - Book Review of Tangled Ashes by Michele Phoenix
I stumbled upon Tangled Ashes by Michele Pheonix a couple
weeks ago and devoured it. It's one of those stories you happen upon only once
or twice a year -- the kind that should have a cover blurb reading, "I was
written with your specific taste in mind." For me, that's women's fiction
set in a superbly written historical backdrop and characters combined of both imperfect
and compelling qualities.
I mean, talk about an anti-hero! I adore a well crafted
anti-hero, and it was hard for me to even think I would ever like Becker, the
anti-hero in this one. Gosh, but he tries so hard I couldn't help it, even
though every one of his failures angered me. And Jade, who started off as so
easy going, had quite a few flaws in her own character to bring her to life.
But the story that really sung was that of Marie, the young French woman
working in the chateau who is trying to protect her friend and rescue her
friend's baby.
The story of the Lebensborn (Nazi baby factories) in Nazi
Germany -- or in this case, Nazi occupied France -- is ripe with intrigue and
danger, and the author did a superb job of tangling up my emotions over the
women and babies caught in such a plight.
There's some mystery to the story which is a main thread,
but that didn't compel me as much as the characters themselves. I would call
this an extremely good character driven story, built around a strong plot,
rather than the other way around.
I learned, after completing the reading, that the author
spent a good deal of her growing up years around the castle in the story as
well as experiencing some other things that were included in the story (no
spoilers!) and the authenticity of writing "what she knows" comes
through. It's a 5-star novel, and I'm a new fan of Michele Phoenix.
Write on!
Coming in August 2013:
PAINT ME ALTHENA
Women's Contemporary Fiction by Naomi Musch and Desert Breeze Publishing
July 1, 2013
Characters that Reveal the Good vs. Bad Battle in Everyone - Winds Over Marshdale, by Tracy Krauss
An eerie sensation stole over me in the opening pages of
Winds Over Marshdale, which I'm sure was the intent of author Tracy Krauss in this
tale of fresh starts and the unseen spiritual forces at work in the lives of a
small town community on the Canadian plains. Reading this story from the
perspective of one having a Christian world view, it felt all too real, downright
creepy even.
And I couldn't wait to read more.
While not a true suspense, elements of the story are very
suspenseful, while being at turns romantic and enlightening. This is one of the
first inspirational novels I've read that dealt so genuinely with issues of
occult practices found in certain aspects of native cultural traditions here in
North America. While exposing the underlying forces at work within them, the
author in no way belittled those cultures. In fact, one of the main characters,
a Native American man settling in Marshdale with the task of preserving his
cultural heritage for future generations, was an especially appealing and
sympathetic character with a strong love for the traditions of that heritage.
Tracy told her story with a strong sense of what the occult in any form can do from someone who's dabbled in it.
(You can read the author's testimony here.)
That's one of the strongest achievements of Tracy's novel. She
creates a cast of characters that stands out. These are really, really
well-developed characters. They are flesh and blood real, whether for good or
for evil, and usually a sharp dichotomy of both -- like us -- and her effort to
create them with such depth is one of the main things any writer can try to emulate after a careful reading of the book.
Good and bad live in everyone. (I don't want to give any
spoilers, but let's just say, watch out for the church lady in this book!) Even
a delightful main protagonist like Rachel Bosworth, a kind and generous kindergarten
teacher who wants a fresh start, makes some really ugly, unlikeable choices. In
fact, every one of Tracy's characters is a two-sided coin. Readers are given a
chance to see them on the outside, and then discover what makes them tick on
the inside, sort of like we can see and know ourselves -- or really, how God
can see and know the real us. The battles we rage against our inner natures can
be a nasty mess, if we'll admit it.
I highly recommend Wind Over Marshdale, and I can clearly
see why it won a 2013 Grace Award.
Write on!
Online everywhere!
June 21, 2013
When God Protected Through the Storm - a Testimony by Author DeEtte Anderton
I have
been asked why I write Christian stories. The answer is easy: because I am a Christian, and my life
experiences come through in my writing. I can't help it, it just comes out!
I
cannot remember a time in my life when I didn't love the Lord. I was told that
even at two years old, I was excited about Jesus. My parents were Christians,
as was my maternal grandmother. I was raised loving Him.
I had
some experiences as a young teenager that let me know I was precious to the
Lord, and kept my faith strong. But it was when I was in college that I
realized I had to decide if I was really going to commit my life to God or not.
I attended a home Bible study group with college kids at my pastor's house when
I prayed to make that commitment. I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders
and a fresh wave of peace come into my heart. I didn't love Jesus any more than
I had before, but I had the peace that I truly was forgiven and had the
confidence that I had been made new in Him.
The
next year, 1973, my good friend and I were going to drive about 150 miles from
Salt Lake City to a small town in eastern Utah to witness to a friend. This was
before the freeway went through the canyon. Now it takes about two and a half
hours to get there.
Lesley
called our friend Mickey the night before and told her we would be there about
9:30 the next morning. We planned on leaving my house at 7, with a driving time
of two and a half hours. I was very familiar with the road, and I thought that
was a bit of a push, but Lesley had hung up the phone before I could tell her.
That
night it snowed, nothing unusual for late April. There was only about an inch
or two in Salt Lake, and my dad asked me if we were sure we wanted to go that
day. Both Lesley and I looked at the sky and decided we would still go, it
would be okay. We hopped in the car and started driving at little behind
schedule at 7:30 am. It was fewer than five miles till we were in a blizzard in
the canyon. Both of us were nervous, and we started praying. The road was slick
and there was little traffic on what was normally a busy road. At the summit we
had to make a hard right turn down a steep hill into a small mountain town. As
I started to turn, the car started to slide sideways down the hill. All I could
say was, “Father, our lives are in Your hands!”
Immediately the car went into perfect control. I did not have to steer,
it was being steered straight down the hill, and at a perfect, safe speed. As
the sky cleared, we continued a few more miles to another town and stopped to
relax and grab some breakfast. We stayed there 30 minutes.
As we
were getting back in my car, some people who had just arrived commented that my
car looked like we had gone through what they had just gone through. They had
come from the direction we were heading, but it wasn't snowing where we were,
so we decided the storm had probably passed and we continued on.
A few
minutes later, a few snowflakes danced on the windshield, then more, and in
moments, we were again in a white out and the road had a couple inches of ice
covering it. If you have ever driven in the mountains, you know how dangerous
the roads can be in storms. There are often drop-offs or the road is cut from
the mountainside and there can be a solid rock wall. There was nowhere to turn
around, so we decided to continue on in the white out. I told Lesley to watch
for oncoming traffic while I watched for the snowplow posts on the right side
of the road. We were near a reservoir, and were climbing the hill on the far
side of it. The drop off to the water was at least three or four hundred feet.
We crept on, praying all the time. I did notice a blue car a few yards behind
us that kept up with us all the way. We were only travelling 5 to 10 miles per
hour because any faster and we would slide. We drove on and on, praying so hard
we were immersed in His presence, unaware of our surroundings. There was no
fear, just peace.
Finally
the storm just stopped; it was like driving out of a room of snow into the blue
sky and sunshine. I noted the little gas station right where it cleared. It was
the only one on that stretch of road. We breathed a prayer of Thanksgiving and
drove on. It was beautiful on that side of the storm! Another thing I noticed
was that the blue car behind us was no longer there. It had not passed us, and
had been right behind us to the end of the storm. It was just gone!
We
continued our drive to Roosevelt in awed quiet, wondering at what had just
happened to us, and knowing how God had protected us in that terrible storm. We
arrived at Mickey's house at 10:30 am. Now, Lesley had told her we were leaving
at 7 and would arrive at 9:30, two and a half hours driving time. We left at
7:30, half an hour late, and spent another half hour in the restaurant. That
made the total driving time two and a half hours! We found out later that the
Highway Patrol had closed the road just after we had passed through (or did we
go through unseen?).
The
next day on our way home, we measuring the distance from the little gas station
to where we knew the storm had started the day before. There were 23 miles of storm in that canyon.
That was just the second part of the storm! If we were going 10 miles an hour,
that 23 miles would have taken us two and a half hours to go just that far. And
if we had been going 20 through that 23
miles, that still would have been one and a quarter hours! That entire trip
today from Salt Lake to Roosevelt, with the freeways, still takes two and a
half hours! You explain to me what happened!
I knew
beyond a doubt that God had our lives in His hands, and He protected us. Did He
transport us? I don't know. Did He stop time for us? I don't know that, either.
What I do know is that the experience of the blizzard solidified my faith that
He would always be there for me, through every kind of storm. Since then, there
have been numerous “storms” in my life, and every time He has been there for
me. I have felt His arms around me when my heart was broken. I have heard His
voice call my Name. I have heard Him tell me I am His princess, no matter what
anyone else or even I think about myself.
So why
do I write Christian stories? Because that's what I am. I am a Christian.
More About the Author:
Author
and blogger, DeEtte Beckstead started writing in 2007 when her son challenged
her to get involved in the National Novel Writing Month, known by the acronym,
NaNoWriMo. The manuscript sat untouched with several others until January of
2012 when a good friend encouraged her to seek publication. The Christmas
Visitors is her first published short story, and her current novel, Victory is
also her first.
DeEtte
spent much of her childhood playing the piano, clarinet, and guitar, reading,
and making up stories. She was active in Girl Scouts, which gave her a variety of experiences. While in college, she
was on the University of Utah Synchronized Swim team, and taught winter camping
and survival skills for Girl Scouts. She has spent many years working with
people with disabilities.
Originally
from the state of Utah, currently DeEtte lives in New England where she writes
full time and works on the editing team of Master Koda Select Publishing. Her
other interests include swimming, crocheting, reading, traveling, history, and
her grandchildren. In addition, this devoted mother of six and grandmother of
twelve has been a concerned participant in dog rescue services for many years.
Blog: http://deetteanderton.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DeEtteBecksteadAuthor
Amazon author
page: http://www.amazon.com/DeEtte-Beckstead/e/B00ADDW94Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
AuthorsdB page: http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/66-deette-beckstead
Victory on Amazon
Victory
is the story of a little girl, and the town where she lives. The town of
Victory has a history of patriotism, faith, and friendliness. The little girl,
Brown Eyes, orphaned when her missionary parents were killed in a fire, lives
with her only known relative who does not want the girl. When The Guest comes
to town, the people open their hearts and town to him, without knowing who he
is or what his motive is. Shortly after his arrival, The Stranger appears, much
to the discomfort of The Guest. Slowly, the town loses its freedoms as one of
the men takes over little by little. When there is a face to face showdown on
the mountain, the life of the child and the future of the town are at stake.
Who will have the Victory?
The
Christmas Visitors on Amazon
It's Christmas
Eve, and Sam and Ellen are driving home for Christmas. A blizzard and a paranormal
sighting cause an accident on a lonely country road. The couple and their small
children seek refuge at a nearby farmhouse. What they experience there with the
elderly couple that live there will change their lives forever.
June 14, 2013
God Can Use Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime - a Testimony by Author Tracy Krauss
I find
that the title of this post is a strong theme in my writing as well. Probably
because it rings true for me on a personal level. I was the fifth of five
children, and without going into details, our family had some problems.
Specifically, my folks had problems, and eventually they divorced. As a
coping mechanism, my mother began a spiritual quest which led her to explore
many religions, cults, and a variety of churches. Somewhere
in my mid-teens she came to a saving knowledge of Christ. It then became her
mission to get me to come to church, too.
I didn’t mind too much since I had a crush on a really cute guy from the
youth group.
Now, going to church was one thing, but all that other 'born again'
mumbo-jumbo was too weird for me. Christianity looked boring and I didn’t want
to be labeled a ‘goody-goody’. By my senior year, I'd pretty much given up on
it. I'd started dating a ‘bad boy’ with a bad rep, (who turned out to be my
future husband) and once I went off to university, I embraced the party life
with gusto... you fill in the blanks.
Near the end of my second year of university, my life totally changed. I
worked part time at a little coffee shop, and I often had to close. It was late
one night – after eleven – and it was just me and the guy who came in to do the
janitorial work. He was a rough looking guy; a biker with long hair, leather
jacket, and he chain-smoked like crazy. We got talking while doing our
clean up and the conversation turned to religion. I tried to skitter away from
the topic, but suddenly he stopped mopping and whipped a little, blue, leather
bound book out of his pocket. It was a ‘Moody New Testament’. He proceeded to
tell me how Jesus had changed his life and how he’d gotten saved and was
reading the Bible.
I was shocked to say the least! I don’t remember if I said much, but I
was definitely impacted by his words. I’d heard it all before, and of course,
my mom never failed to let me know she was ‘praying for me’. But this was
different. He was ‘cool’. Rough. A ‘bad boy’. Yet here he was telling me how
Jesus had changed his life.
After work I was meeting up with a girl from my hometown who was
visiting for the weekend. She was the Pastor’s daughter from my mom’s church
and was traveling with her school choir. We weren’t best friends or
anything, but for some reason, she’d called me and asked if she could stay at
my place. (Not sure if her dad knew…;) We went for a late night coffee and I
told her about the janitor's strange revelation. I couldn't get his words out
of my mind. Then we went back to my place and talked about it some more. My
friend finally just laid it out there. Jesus was real and I needed to accept
Him. I knew it was true and I wanted to, but something inside still resisted.
Finally we went to bed, and while I was alone in my room, I prayed. It was
something like this. “Jesus, I know what Shannon and Cam said tonight is true,
but I still don’t feel like accepting it. I pray that you’ll make me want
to accept it.”
Almost instantly I felt the change. If you're a believer, you know the
feeling I’m talking about. The unexplainable peace that comes over your whole
being. I knew Jesus had already done the work, but I prayed anyway to accept
Him into my life, just to be sure. I’d said prayers before as a child and even
read my Bible sometimes in an effort to ‘drum up’ the desire to be good. But
this wasn’t something I had to drum up or even fake for my mother’s sake.
I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had truly changed.
Was everything easy after that? Of course not. I was still dating a
non-Christian guy and I ‘slipped up’ pretty badly on the 'party front' in the
early months. Accepting
Jesus doesn’t mean you’ll never make mistakes. But God was patient and very,
very gracious.
To make a long story short, my boyfriend ended up
accepting Jesus several months later and we got married. I realize it doesn't
turn out that way for everyone. God might ask you to give up a certain person,
but I'm glad it worked out for us.
Sometimes I am amazed at the way God works. He uses unlikely people
(like the chain smoking biker) to accomplish His purposes. It’s why we
shouldn’t question God or His methods. He can use anyone, anywhere,
anytime.
Wind Over Marshdale
– 2012
Grace Award winner
Marshdale.
Just a small farming community where nothing special happens. A perfect place to start over… or get lost.
There is definitely more to this prairie town than meets the eye. Once the
meeting place of aboriginal tribes for miles around, some say the land itself is
cursed because of the people’s sin. But its history goes farther back than even
indigenous oral history can trace and there is still a direct descendant who
has been handed the truth, like it or not. Exactly what ties does the land have
to the medicine of the ancients? Is it cursed, or is it all superstition?
Wind
Over Marshdale
is the story of the struggles within a small prairie town when hidden evil and
ancient medicine resurface. Caught in the crossfire, new teacher Rachel
Bosworth finds herself in love with two men at once. First, there is Thomas
Lone Wolf, a Cree man whose blood lines run back to the days of ancient
medicine but who has chosen to live as a Christian and faces prejudice from
every side as he tries to expose the truth. Then there is Con McKinley, local
farmer who has to face some demons of his own. Add to the mix a wayward
minister seeking anonymity in the obscurity of the town; eccentric twin sisters
– one heavily involved in the occult and the other
a fundamentalist zealot; and a host of
other ‘characters’ whose lives weave together unexpectedly for the final
climax. This suspenseful story is one of human frailty - prejudice, cowardice,
jealousy, and greed – magnified by powerful spiritual forces that have remained
hidden for centuries, only to be broken in triumph by grace.
[image error]
Website: http://www.tracykrauss.com
Blog: http://www.tracykraussexpressionexpress.com
Buy: http://www.tracykrauss.yolasite.com/online-store.php
May 31, 2013
STORY BEHIND THE COVERS - Testimonial By Christine Lindsay
Nothing could
have amazed me more than the way the Lord arranged the front cover of Shadowed
in Silk. It is one of the sweet love gifts the Heavenly Father has
given me.
I have to go
back 32 years—two years before I met my wonderful husband—to when I gave birth
to a little girl. Not married at the time, I felt God urge me to relinquish her
to a Christian couple unable to have children. I named my baby, Sarah, in the
hope that one day I would see her again.
That crushed
me, but it was best for my baby at the time, as I wanted her to have a loving
dad as well as a loving mom. I had grown up with a neglectful, alcoholic dad,
so I didn’t really know what a father’s love felt like, but I sure wanted my
child to experience that kind of love.
I also believed
that God would answer my prayers that one day when Sarah was grown, He would
bring us together again, and knit our hearts in a special birth-mom and
birth-daughter relationship.
God was so
good to me in the years following the relinquishment of Sarah. A year after
giving up Sarah, the Lord sent me my sweet husband David and gave us our three
children.
David and I in
November 1980
[image error]
Me and Lana--the
daughter God gave me to keep in 1981.
Kyle when he was
little. My Sonshine.
Our youngest, Rob, a
number of years later, on holidays. Rob the apple of my eye.
Now skip
ahead . . . twenty years later my birth-daughter, Sarah, and I were reunited.
That was wonderful and yet terrible at the same time.
[image error]
The day of the
reunion for Sarah and I. Wonderful and difficult. This is Mark (Sarah's
fiance), Sarah, me, Lana, and Rob in front. Kyle was too shy.
Adoption
reunions are not easy for anyone in the adoption triad. After the reunion I
began to relive my original loss of Sarah. It just hurt so much. She was my
child and yet she was not my child. To my heart-break, it didn't appear
that the long desired special relationship would develop.
I was so
hurt, so angry with God for disappointing me. I had prayed so long and hard,
trusting that He would give me that special relationship with Sarah.
A few months
after meeting Sarah, my husband caught me crying on our living room couch one
day. He slipped out and returned a while later with a brand new pen and
journal. He placed these items into my hands and said, “Here honey, write it.”
That was the
start. My journaling turned into books as the years passed. But always beneath
anything that I write, is the understanding of loss and loneliness, heartbreak,
and the healing and joy that only God can bring.
One day as I
was reading my Bible, a verse jumped out at me. I understood a mother’s love,
but still could not fathom a father’s love. It skewed my understanding of the
Heavenly Father’s love. But the verse in Isaiah 49:15, 16 showed me.
“Can a woman forget the baby at her
breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne. Though she may
forget, I will not forget you. See…I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands.”
I began to
realize that none of my children, including Sarah, could fill that emptiness in
my heart. As much as I desired a close relationship with all my children, I was
designed for a close relationship with my Heavenly Father.
A few years
later I felt the Lord encourage me to put the emotional and spiritual healing
that He had given me into fictional stories to help others. The day came that
my debut novel about the British Raj in India was about to be released—a story
that has nothing to do with adoption.
My
publisher, WhiteFire, and I were excited as we discussed the design of the
cover.
Me with a group of Christian students in India, 2010
Then I
noticed the model they suggested resembled my birthdaughter. On a whim I
suggested Sarah for the model, and the publisher agreed. Sarah was shy at
first, but she pitched in on this step of faith with me, and I was grateful at
the time for this budding in our friendship.
[image error]
Sarah
in the sari material I bought in India.
It wasn’t
until later that I realized—that without my ever planning or imagining it—God had
not only inspired me to write because of my sadness over losing my first child
to adoption, but He then placed the face of my beautiful muse on the front
cover of my book.
Only our
Heavenly Father can do something so intricately tender. But the Lord wasn't
finished blessing me yet.
Sarah teaching
hygiene in Africa
A few months
after Shadowed in Silk was released, my birthdaughter Sarah and her
husband Mark came to visit. They want to tell us that they felt called to
go into fulltime missionary work with Global Aid Network. They would be working with several
organizations all around the world that specifically helps widows and
orphans.
Sarah and Mark as Medical Missionaries
One of the
missions in their sphere of interest would be the Ramabai Mukti
Mission in India.
When I heard
this I nearly fell off my chair in amazement.
I had never
told Sarah, but the true-life Ramabai
who started the Mukti mission in India was the inspiration behind my novel.
Many years
ago, I had prayed for the Lord to give Sarah and I a special relationship. It
took a while, but He knit our hearts together in the respective work He gave
each of us to do.
We have to
remember that we serve a God who delights in working with little people and
small things—a shepherd boy, a few smooth stones. A babe in a womb that rocks
the world.
[image error]
Sarah with the
children she loves
When it came
time to release Captured
by Moonlight Book 2 of the Twilight of the British Raj I had to have my
daughter Lana—the daughter God gave me to keep—as the model on the front
cover.
Here are a
few photos of that wonderful, happy day. And my joy at seeing my two daughters
as bookends of joy in my life. Thanks to our Awesome tender-hearted Heavenly
Father.
Both
my beautiful daughters on the books God inspired.
About "Captured by Moonlight"
Prisoners to
their own broken dreams…
After a daring rescue goes awry, the parched north of
India grows too hot for nurse Laine Harkness and her friend Eshana. The women
flee to the tropical south…and run headlong into their respective pasts.
Laine takes a new nursing position at a plantation in
the jungle, only to discover that her former fiancé is the owner…and that Adam
has no more to say to her now than he did when he crushed her years ago. Why,
then, is she still drawn to him and to the tiger cub he is raising?
Eshana, captured by her traditional uncle and forced
once more into the harsh Hindu customs of mourning, doubts whether freedom will
ever again be in her future, much less the forbidden love that had begun to
whisper to her. Is faith enough to live on? Or is her Savior calling her home?
Amid cyclones and epidemics, clashing faiths and
consequences of the war, will the love of the True Master give hope to these
searching hearts?
The link to read the
first 1 Chapter of Shadowed in Silk
(Book 1)
The link to
read the first 2 Chapters of Captured by
Moonlight (Book 2)
Amazon
purchase link for Shadowed in Silk
Amazon
purchase link for Captured by Moonlight
Barnes
& Noble link for Shadowed in Silk
Barnes
& Noble link for Captured by
Moonlight
Kobo
link for Captured by Moonlight
[image error]
About the Author: Irish-born Christine Lindsay writes award-winning historical novels. In Shadowed
in Silk and Captured by Moonlight, Christine
delights in weaving the endless theme of the Heavenly Father’s redemptive love
throughout stories of danger, suspense, adventure, and romance. The Pacific
coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home.
Links to your website and where
you blog, FB, Twitter, any others you'd like to include
Christine Lindsay would love to
connect with you on her website www.christinelindsay.com
Christine posts inspirational
articles 3 times each week on her blog www.christinelindsay.org
Christine would love for you to
like her Facebook page,
Follow her on Twitter,
and Pinterest
STORY BEHIND THE COVERS ? Testimonial By Christine Lindsay
Nothing could
have amazed me more than the way the Lord arranged the front cover of Shadowed
in Silk. It is one of the sweet love gifts the Heavenly Father has
given me.
I have to go
back 32 years—two years before I met my wonderful husband—to when I gave birth
to a little girl. Not married at the time, I felt God urge me to relinquish her
to a Christian couple unable to have children. I named my baby, Sarah, in the
hope that one day I would see her again.
That crushed
me, but it was best for my baby at the time, as I wanted her to have a loving
dad as well as a loving mom. I had grown up with a neglectful, alcoholic dad,
so I didn’t really know what a father’s love felt like, but I sure wanted my
child to experience that kind of love.
I also believed
that God would answer my prayers that one day when Sarah was grown, He would
bring us together again, and knit our hearts in a special birth-mom and
birth-daughter relationship.
God was so
good to me in the years following the relinquishment of Sarah. A year after
giving up Sarah, the Lord sent me my sweet husband David and gave us our three
children.
David and I in
November 1980
[image error]
Me and Lana--the
daughter God gave me to keep in 1981.
Kyle when he was
little. My Sonshine.
Our youngest, Rob, a
number of years later, on holidays. Rob the apple of my eye.
Now skip
ahead . . . twenty years later my birth-daughter, Sarah, and I were reunited.
That was wonderful and yet terrible at the same time.
[image error]
The day of the
reunion for Sarah and I. Wonderful and difficult. This is Mark (Sarah's
fiance), Sarah, me, Lana, and Rob in front. Kyle was too shy.
Adoption
reunions are not easy for anyone in the adoption triad. After the reunion I
began to relive my original loss of Sarah. It just hurt so much. She was my
child and yet she was not my child. To my heart-break, it didn't appear
that the long desired special relationship would develop.
I was so
hurt, so angry with God for disappointing me. I had prayed so long and hard,
trusting that He would give me that special relationship with Sarah.
A few months
after meeting Sarah, my husband caught me crying on our living room couch one
day. He slipped out and returned a while later with a brand new pen and
journal. He placed these items into my hands and said, “Here honey, write it.”
That was the
start. My journaling turned into books as the years passed. But always beneath
anything that I write, is the understanding of loss and loneliness, heartbreak,
and the healing and joy that only God can bring.
One day as I
was reading my Bible, a verse jumped out at me. I understood a mother’s love,
but still could not fathom a father’s love. It skewed my understanding of the
Heavenly Father’s love. But the verse in Isaiah 49:15, 16 showed me.
“Can a woman forget the baby at her
breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne. Though she may
forget, I will not forget you. See…I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands.”
I began to
realize that none of my children, including Sarah, could fill that emptiness in
my heart. As much as I desired a close relationship with all my children, I was
designed for a close relationship with my Heavenly Father.
A few years
later I felt the Lord encourage me to put the emotional and spiritual healing
that He had given me into fictional stories to help others. The day came that
my debut novel about the British Raj in India was about to be released—a story
that has nothing to do with adoption.
My
publisher, WhiteFire, and I were excited as we discussed the design of the
cover.
Me with a group of Christian students in India, 2010
Then I
noticed the model they suggested resembled my birthdaughter. On a whim I
suggested Sarah for the model, and the publisher agreed. Sarah was shy at
first, but she pitched in on this step of faith with me, and I was grateful at
the time for this budding in our friendship.
[image error]
Sarah
in the sari material I bought in India.
It wasn’t
until later that I realized—that without my ever planning or imagining it—God had
not only inspired me to write because of my sadness over losing my first child
to adoption, but He then placed the face of my beautiful muse on the front
cover of my book.
Only our
Heavenly Father can do something so intricately tender. But the Lord wasn't
finished blessing me yet.
Sarah teaching
hygiene in Africa
A few months
after Shadowed in Silk was released, my birthdaughter Sarah and her
husband Mark came to visit. They want to tell us that they felt called to
go into fulltime missionary work with Global Aid Network. They would be working with several
organizations all around the world that specifically helps widows and
orphans.
Sarah and Mark as Medical Missionaries
One of the
missions in their sphere of interest would be the Ramabai Mukti
Mission in India.
When I heard
this I nearly fell off my chair in amazement.
I had never
told Sarah, but the true-life Ramabai
who started the Mukti mission in India was the inspiration behind my novel.
Many years
ago, I had prayed for the Lord to give Sarah and I a special relationship. It
took a while, but He knit our hearts together in the respective work He gave
each of us to do.
We have to
remember that we serve a God who delights in working with little people and
small things—a shepherd boy, a few smooth stones. A babe in a womb that rocks
the world.
[image error]
Sarah with the
children she loves
When it came
time to release Captured
by Moonlight Book 2 of the Twilight of the British Raj I had to have my
daughter Lana—the daughter God gave me to keep—as the model on the front
cover.
Here are a
few photos of that wonderful, happy day. And my joy at seeing my two daughters
as bookends of joy in my life. Thanks to our Awesome tender-hearted Heavenly
Father.
Both
my beautiful daughters on the books God inspired.
About "Captured by Moonlight"
Prisoners to
their own broken dreams…
After a daring rescue goes awry, the parched north of
India grows too hot for nurse Laine Harkness and her friend Eshana. The women
flee to the tropical south…and run headlong into their respective pasts.
Laine takes a new nursing position at a plantation in
the jungle, only to discover that her former fiancé is the owner…and that Adam
has no more to say to her now than he did when he crushed her years ago. Why,
then, is she still drawn to him and to the tiger cub he is raising?
Eshana, captured by her traditional uncle and forced
once more into the harsh Hindu customs of mourning, doubts whether freedom will
ever again be in her future, much less the forbidden love that had begun to
whisper to her. Is faith enough to live on? Or is her Savior calling her home?
Amid cyclones and epidemics, clashing faiths and
consequences of the war, will the love of the True Master give hope to these
searching hearts?
The link to read the
first 1 Chapter of Shadowed in Silk
(Book 1)
The link to
read the first 2 Chapters of Captured by
Moonlight (Book 2)
Amazon
purchase link for Shadowed in Silk
Amazon
purchase link for Captured by Moonlight
Barnes
& Noble link for Shadowed in Silk
Barnes
& Noble link for Captured by
Moonlight
Kobo
link for Captured by Moonlight
[image error]
About the Author: Irish-born Christine Lindsay writes award-winning historical novels. In Shadowed
in Silk and Captured by Moonlight, Christine
delights in weaving the endless theme of the Heavenly Father’s redemptive love
throughout stories of danger, suspense, adventure, and romance. The Pacific
coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home.
Links to your website and where
you blog, FB, Twitter, any others you'd like to include
Christine Lindsay would love to
connect with you on her website www.christinelindsay.com
Christine posts inspirational
articles 3 times each week on her blog www.christinelindsay.org
Christine would love for you to
like her Facebook page,
Follow her on Twitter,
and Pinterest
May 30, 2013
christine
Nothing could
have amazed me more than the way the Lord arranged the front cover of Shadowed
in Silk. It is one of the sweet love gifts the Heavenly Father has
given me.
I have to go
back 32 years—two years before I met my wonderful husband—to when I gave birth
to a little girl. Not married at the time, I felt God urge me to relinquish her
to a Christian couple unable to have children. I named my baby, Sarah, in the
hope that one day I would see her again.
That crushed
me, but it was best for my baby at the time, as I wanted her to have a loving
dad as well as a loving mom. I had grown up with a neglectful, alcoholic dad,
so I didn’t really know what a father’s love felt like, but I sure wanted my
child to experience that kind of love.
I also believed
that God would answer my prayers that one day when Sarah was grown, He would
bring us together again, and knit our hearts in a special birth-mom and
birth-daughter relationship.
God was so
good to me in the years following the relinquishment of Sarah. A year after
giving up Sarah, the Lord sent me my sweet husband David and gave us our three
children.
David and I in
November 1980
Me and Lana--the
daughter God gave me to keep in 1981.
Kyle when he was
little. My Sonshine.
Our youngest, Rob, a
number of years later, on holidays. Rob the apple of my eye.
Now skip
ahead . . . twenty years later my birth-daughter, Sarah, and I were reunited.
That was wonderful and yet terrible at the same time.
The day of the
reunion for Sarah and I. Wonderful and difficult. This is Mark (Sarah's
fiance), Sarah, me, Lana, and Rob in front. Kyle was too shy.
Adoption
reunions are not easy for anyone in the adoption triad. After the reunion I
began to relive my original loss of Sarah. It just hurt so much. She was my
child and yet she was not my child. To my heart-break, it didn't appear
that the long desired special relationship would develop.
I was so
hurt, so angry with God for disappointing me. I had prayed so long and hard,
trusting that He would give me that special relationship with Sarah.
A few months
after meeting Sarah, my husband caught me crying on our living room couch one
day. He slipped out and returned a while later with a brand new pen and
journal. He placed these items into my hands and said, “Here honey, write it.”
That was the
start. My journaling turned into books as the years passed. But always beneath
anything that I write, is the understanding of loss and loneliness, heartbreak,
and the healing and joy that only God can bring.
One day as I
was reading my Bible, a verse jumped out at me. I understood a mother’s love,
but still could not fathom a father’s love. It skewed my understanding of the
Heavenly Father’s love. But the verse in Isaiah 49:15, 16 showed me.
“Can a woman forget the baby at her
breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne. Though she may
forget, I will not forget you. See…I have engraved you on the palms of my
hands.”
I began to
realize that none of my children, including Sarah, could fill that emptiness in
my heart. As much as I desired a close relationship with all my children, I was
designed for a close relationship with my Heavenly Father.
A few years
later I felt the Lord encourage me to put the emotional and spiritual healing
that He had given me into fictional stories to help others. The day came that
my debut novel about the British Raj in India was about to be released—a story
that has nothing to do with adoption.
My
publisher, WhiteFire, and I were excited as we discussed the design of the
cover.
Me with a group of Christian
students in India, 2010.
Then I
noticed the model they suggested resembled my birthdaughter. On a whim I
suggested Sarah for the model, and the publisher agreed. Sarah was shy at
first, but she pitched in on this step of faith with me, and I was grateful at
the time for this budding in our friendship.
Sarah
in the sari material I bought in India.
It wasn’t
until later that I realized—that without my ever planning or imagining it—God had
not only inspired me to write because of my sadness over losing my first child
to adoption, but He then placed the face of my beautiful muse on the front
cover of my book.
Only our
Heavenly Father can do something so intricately tender. But the Lord wasn't
finished blessing me yet.
Sarah teaching
hygiene in Africa
A few months
after Shadowed in Silk was released, my birthdaughter Sarah and her
husband Mark came to visit. They want to tell us that they felt called to
go into fulltime missionary work with Global Aid Network. They would be working with several
organizations all around the world that specifically helps widows and
orphans.
Sarah and Mark as
medical missionaries
One of the
missions in their sphere of interest would be the Ramabai Mukti
Mission in India.
When I heard
this I nearly fell off my chair in amazement.
I had never
told Sarah, but the true-life Ramabai
who started the Mukti mission in India was the inspiration behind my novel.
Many years
ago, I had prayed for the Lord to give Sarah and I a special relationship. It
took a while, but He knit our hearts together in the respective work He gave
each of us to do.
We have to
remember that we serve a God who delights in working with little people and
small things—a shepherd boy, a few smooth stones. A babe in a womb that rocks
the world.
Sarah with the
children she loves
When it came
time to release Captured
by Moonlight Book 2 of the Twilight of the British Raj I had to have my
daughter Lana—the daughter God gave me to keep—as the model on the front
cover.
Here are a
few photos of that wonderful, happy day. And my joy at seeing my two daughters
as bookends of joy in my life. Thanks to our Awesome tender-hearted Heavenly
Father.
Both
my beautiful daughters on the books God inspired.
Author Bio: Irish-born Christine Lindsay writes award-winning historical novels. In Shadowed
in Silk and Captured by Moonlight, Christine
delights in weaving the endless theme of the Heavenly Father’s redemptive love
throughout stories of danger, suspense, adventure, and romance. The Pacific
coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home.
Book Blurb: Captured by Moonlight
Prisoners to
their own broken dreams…
After a daring rescue goes awry, the parched north of
India grows too hot for nurse Laine Harkness and her friend Eshana. The women
flee to the tropical south…and run headlong into their respective pasts.
Laine takes a new nursing position at a plantation in
the jungle, only to discover that her former fiancé is the owner…and that Adam
has no more to say to her now than he did when he crushed her years ago. Why,
then, is she still drawn to him and to the tiger cub he is raising?
Eshana, captured by her traditional uncle and forced
once more into the harsh Hindu customs of mourning, doubts whether freedom will
ever again be in her future, much less the forbidden love that had begun to
whisper to her. Is faith enough to live on? Or is her Savior calling her home?
Amid cyclones and epidemics, clashing faiths and
consequences of the war, will the love of the True Master give hope to these
searching hearts?
The link to read the
first 1 Chapter of Shadowed in Silk
(Book 1)
The link to
read the first 2 Chapters of Captured by
Moonlight (Book 2)
Amazon
purchase link for Shadowed in Silk
Amazon
purchase link for Captured by Moonlight
Barnes
& Noble link for Shadowed in Silk
Barnes
& Noble link for Captured by
Moonlight
Kobo
link for Captured by Moonlight
Links to your website and where
you blog, FB, Twitter, any others you'd like to include
Christine Lindsay would love to
connect with you on her website www.christinelindsay.com
Christine posts inspirational
articles 3 times each week on her blog www.christinelindsay.org
Christine would love for you to
like her Facebook page,
Follow her on Twitter,
and Pinterest
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