Naomi Dawn Musch's Blog: NEW Discussion Guide, page 5

Rafflecopter Giveaway! THE BLACK ROSE, and more!

Been a while since I posted, so what better thing to post about than a giveaway? I'm doing a 3-day rafflecopter drawing for a copy of The Black Rose. It's in conjunction with the Colonial Quills New Releases Tea Party on Friday night.

Head on over there to enter. 

Also, if you're so inclined to listen to a podcast now and then, I'd love it if you'd check out the interview I did on Alison Treat's Historical Fiction Unpacked podcast. Alison is a terrific interviewer.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER

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Last but surely not lease, JOIN US on Friday, September 18th, for the Colonial Quills New Releases Tea Party. There'll be MORE chances to win great books! I'll be doing a second book drawing during the party. 

Find the Colonial Quills Tea Party HERE

Waiting on a Grand-baby with these 9 Books, only 99¢ each

Hello, Sunday! I have really become a lackadaisical blogger, but you know, it's summer. Ah, the lazy days! Not really sure what that means. Summer is always so busy. I can hardly keep up with the demands of garden, lawn, farming, and hanging out with my grandchildren.
Speaking of which, #16 is on the way momentarily. My daughter is 4 days overdue. Isn't she gorgeous? She and her hubby did a maternity photo shoot up at the Lake Superior shoreline a few weeks ago. Now we're just waiting for Baby Girl to show up. This is her 4th baby (and, they say, the last). 
Jessamyn Winter Photographyand on Facebook @ Jessamyn Winter Photography
While I wait for the blessed arrival, I'm catching up on some books on my Kindle, and pre-reading a couple of upcoming releases I grabbed off Netgalley. I've also really enjoyed a few audiobooks lately. My faves have been Elizabeth Ludwig's Irish immigrant stories "No Safe Harbor" and "Dark Road Home". 
I'm also downloading some of these. 9 authors (me included) are offering a 99¢ deal on these titles for the 9 weeks of summer. There really is something for every romantic taste, from suspense to historical saga to women's fiction. Check out the Summer Book Bash 2020.

Um...let's make that TEN Books, because The Deepest Sigh , the first in my Echoes of the Heart, series is also on sale for 99¢. (And here's The Green Veil link too.)

I hope there's baby news to report soon. How are you enjoying your summer?
Enjoying the long days,Naomihttps://naomimusch.com/

Summer Seeds & Summer Romance (30 Reads)

Summer Seeds Garden Seeds: How does your garden grow? Mine has been quite contrary this year, with parts coming along but some seeds that just refused to sprout. That always makes me anxious, because of all the time and energy I've invested. Plus, I do a lot of canning, and our family depends on mounds of jars of veggies on the basement shelves over winter. I pray over every row I plant, asking God to bless each seed, but sometimes things just don't work out quite the way I have it in mind. Nevertheless, God always provides and blesses us in other ways.

Story Seeds: In fact, it's the same with stories. Right now, I have 5 unpublished manuscripts in various stages, from polished to work-in-progress, here on my laptop, awaiting their chance to "sprout".  They range from well-cultivated to not-yet-emerging. But they haven't found a publishing home yet. Would you pray with me for these story seeds, that they would find a publishing home at which to germinate well?

Precious Seeds: July is right around the corner. Between now and somewhere in the middle, we expect the arrival of two precious grand-babies, and we'll have one in the early fall too. Of all the seeds around me, these and the little ones growing tall are my most treasured. They are the seeds I most pray for, especially in this fallen Garden-of-Eden world we live in today.  Prayer for my little loves is the water and sunshine that will protect them and help them flourish. How have you been praying for your little seeds? 30 Kindle Unlimited Reads
 Summer Christian Romance
(Otherwise very reasonably priced ebooks if you're not a KU subscriber)
If you're enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, here's an ideal chance to "seed" your Kindle for some summer reading, and per-chance investigate some new-to-you authors. Check out these 30 KU sweet and clean titles in a variety of Christian fiction genres. 
  CLICK HERE TO BROWSE 30 TITLES

Thinking of getting a new Kindle? I like this Kindle Paperwhite .  All of the books. None of the clutter. Now they have a waterproof version. Nice!Here's to great growth for all your summer seeds and reads!Naomi

Colonial Wilderness Fiction at It's Best and Most Romantic -- Book Review: Beneath a Blackberry Moon (Boxed Set) by April Gardner

I’ve had the good fortune of hooking into some stellar reads so far this year, but I have to say that of them all, April Gardner’s Beneath a Blackberry Moon trilogy ranks as the most romantic yet. Gripping, while at times gritty and harsh, yet beautiful, tender, and utterly moving, I was utterly invested in this twisting, epic story. Gardner enriched the three-part tale with enough danger, uncertainty, and occasionally heartbreak, to keep me holding my breath from the very beginning and right on through.
[image error] BENEATH A BLACKBERRY MOON: The Red Feather The Sacred Writings The Ebony Cloak The Untold Stories

What engages me about the author’s writing is her ability not only to provide a powerful emotional experience to her readers, but to create really layered heroes, heroines, and villains. Totka Lawe is 100% male, with all his beauty and brawn, his flaws and foibles. The antagonists—of which there were plenty—all came with depth of character as well. Even the minor characters were fleshed out to create a vivid casting of this Colonial wilderness world Gardner paints.
I could not wait to get back into this tale each time I was forced to stop reading. I would literally fall asleep at night with burning eyelids, sleep for ten minutes, and wake up to read a little more. 
I read the first three books in the series, a few of the extra scenes (Untold Stories), and now I’m looking forward to reading the next books. I’m anxious to find out about the Bitter Eyes. April Gardner has written her way onto my list of favorite authors.

Quarantine Facebook Party for Book Lovers - Faith and Romance on the Frontier

Have you heard about the Smitten Historical Romance Facebook party tomorrow, Friday, April 10 (3-8 p.m. EDT, 2-10 CDT)? Join nine authors, win prizes, and for you writers out there, there'll even be a half-hour "Ask the Editor" session. Join us, won't you? Here's where you'll find us.



I'll be on from 6:30-7:00 Eastern (5:30-6:00 Central). The Grand Prize winner will receive a title from EVERY author, including my novel Mist O'er the Voyageur, and also a $50 Amazon gift card. PLUS, I'll be doing TWO more drawings for an e-book of choice and some swag. 


Hope to see you there!

Book Review: "Body Beats To Build On" by April Gardner

If you love the Emotion Thesaurus, you’ve got to add Body Beats To Build On alongside it in your writers’ tool chest. I just finished another round of rewrites on my work-in-progress. This time, I kept Body Beats beside me, and what a difference it made, as I was sweeping through the work looking for ways to tighten and heighten the emotional impact of the story.

Where the Emotion Thesaurus gives boat loads of ideas on ways our bodies react inwardly and outwardly to different emotions, Body Beats To Build On takes those actions and turns them into short, vivid descriptors, based upon different body parts and systems. Here are a few examples just based upon a few negative responses with the eyes:

*his sight was peppery
*the thrust of his gaze
*muscle twitched beneath his eye
*wielded her most cutting glare
*poison-tipped glare…

and these are only the beginning. (I really appreciated the section on the internal body systems, such as heart and veins.)

Body Beats addresses movement, frame and posture, skin, breathing, appendages, nose, ears, throat, non-facial expressions, and more. There’s even bonus material on Dialogue Tags.

I used the Kindle version of the book, which was very easy to jump around in. Sometimes using e-books as reference tools is difficult, but not Body Beats. It’s a little, straight-forward book, and I highly recommend it for every striving or established author.

Book Review: An Uncommon Woman by Laura Frantz

What praise can I give Laura Frantz’s An Uncommon Woman that hasn’t been given? She has written with beauty and precision the kind of story that absolutely grips me in this frontier tale. I was thoroughly swept away into a world of danger, humanity, and romance. 
Frantz’s characters, especially that of Tessa, the story’s heroine, shine through with the sort of vivid personality all writers want to capture, but not all do. When I met Tessa, it wasn’t long before I realized that the cover artist had rendered her perfectly. See that expression on her face? Know that when you read this book, you'll envision her just like that.
You'll clearly imagine other characters like Tessa’s aunt, “a fearsome wrinkle of a woman”, her brave and sometimes impetuous brothers, her long-lost and unusual childhood friend, and of course the hero Clay, called “Ghost Eyes” by the natives, because “his blue eye, it sees heaven. His brown eye, earth.”
I was also pleased with the creative yet accurate way that Ms. Frantz rendered some actual historical characters in the story, especially the volatile Simon Girty, someone with whom most modern readers are probably not very familiar. His presence immediately set me on edge. (If you know much of Simon Girty, it'll do the same to you.)
The peril of the times and the situations settlers faced in that over-mountain wilderness enthralls me. I can’t imagine their level of endurance. Ms. Frantz portrays such with beauty and truth, and she doesn’t shy away from harsh realities. An Uncommon Woman was an uncommon book, provoking in turns happiness, sadness, and content. This may have become my favorite of Laura's books, hearkening back to the likes of The Frontiersman’s Daughter and A Moonbow Night.

One Fine Book Deal ~ Echoes of the Heart Series FREE, 99¢, $2.99!

I have been popping around on other blogs more than here lately, but on the chance someone might stumble by, I sure wouldn't want anyone to miss this chance to get the entire Echoes of the Heart series for $3.99, and the first book is FREE! (WWI-1920s)

If you love historical romance like I do, I hope you'll check out my series special through Valentines Day. Check out the terrific reviews. And to you I send a BIG VALENTINES HUG!

Get it FREE, 99¢, $2.99


While you're on Amazon, take a look at my friend Tammy Doherty's Celtic Cross Collection. Her complete western series, set in the 1800s is available half price for $3.99.
Get it for $3.99

Wishing you a warm and happy Valentines Day with plenty of book love!

Hero Interview! Meet Lachlan McRea from Naomi Musch's "A Tender Siege" (The Highlanders Collection)

Welcome to the final installment of Hero Interviews from the four novellas in Smitten's new romance collection THE HIGHLANDERS which released November 15th. Today I'm quizzing my own courageous hero from A Tender Siege. Meet Lachlan McRea of His Majesty's 42nd Highlanders.


A Tender Siege
Pontiac’s War, August 1763: “I beg Ye to take me.” Wounded in battle in the American wilderness, Lachlan McRea of His Majesty’s 42nd Highlanders pleads with God, yearning to be reunited with his lost wife and child. As death hovers near, he is discovered by Wenonah, a native widow doing all she can to survive alone while avoiding the attentions of a dangerous Shawnee warrior. In aiding one another, their perils increase. If Lachlan can let go of the woman he once loved, he might find healing for both body and soul.
Meet Highlander Hero Deven McLendon
Purchase LinkMRW - May I say what an honor it is to speak with you again, Lachlan. Since revealing your story to me, I suspected I might not see you again.

Lachlan (rubbing his chin) - 'Tis a strange thing, this business of writing you partake in.

MRW - (Chuckling) Some say so. So for my friends who haven't read your story, tell them a little about yourself, where you come from, and how you found yourself in America.

Lachlan - (Stretches his legs and folds his arms) I lived my life in Scotland, all until a few years past. I married my childhood love, Moira, but...ya ken, I lost her givin' birth to our wee bairn. A bonny boy he was, but I laid him to rest wi' his maither. I was broken. I didn't ken what to do after that, until I found meself enlisting with His Majesty's Royal Highlanders. I was assigned to the 42nd and sent to many places. Lately we'd come up from the south seas and found ourselves in New York. 'Twasn't long before we were sent on this march with Colonel Bouquet's forces to relieve the Indians' siege of Fort Pitt.

MRW - And so we find you there at the beginning of this story.

Lachlan - Lost me, don't ye mean? Aye, I was lost. Wounded badly. I thought sure and certain I would meet my Moira again before long. 

MRW - But God saw fit to spare you.

Lachlan - (nodding) Aye...though I begged Him to take me.

MRW - He sent help.

Lachlan - I wouldna believed it. Such a rescuer. Surrounded by on danger on every side I was, and no less so by this woman who found me. 

MRW - You must have been relieved.

Lachlan - Ha! Relieved? She had a sharp knife and wasn't feared o' usin' it. I welcomed her to spill my blood, as ye ken. Instead...

MRW - Wasn't she in her own kind of danger?

Lachlan - So I come to ken. There are many kinds of danger in the wilderness. Many kinds o' danger just livin'.

MRW - Didn't she need your help as badly as you needed hers?

Lachlan - Wenonah was more than capable.

MRW - Aren't you being modest?

Lachlan - (clears his throat, seeming uncomfortable) 

MRW - I notice you seem a bit tense. Is there more you'd like to share about that? Some Shawnee warrior you'd like to tell us about? Or about Wenonah's--"

Lachlan - Nae. (Visibly loosening his posture) I've already spilled my guts to ye. Let those who read the tale learn of it, for I'll not speak of those things again.

MRW - All right. If you've a mind to hold your peace, I'll not ask about that. Tell me, did Wenonah ever say what brought her to have compassion on ye?

Lachlan - Wenonah had been through enough of her own hardships. The kinds that make some turn hard...bitter. She did not. Things might have been very different.

WRW - When you met her, Lachlan, were you at the place of becoming hard and bitter yourself?

Lachlan - (shaking his head slowly) Nae. I'd not call it bitterness, nor hardness either. Sorrow had near swallowed me whole, that's all. My friend Nab saw it so. He saw also what I needed in my life to overcome those raw feelings. More so than I saw myself--or was willing to admit. Ye ken my friend Nab?

WRW - Yes, we've met.

Lachlan - Oh, aye, I'm supposin' ye have. 

MRW - Any chance ye'll be returning soon with the 42nd?

Lachlan - (grinning) I'm hear now, ain't I? I reckon I'll leave that answer for yer readers to discover.

MRW - Yes, a good idea. Thank you for coming to visit me again, Lachlan. I've enjoyed it very much.

Lachlan - The same to ye. Now if ye don't mind, I've much needs tendin' too.

MRW - Farewell.

Lachlan - Aye. fare thee well. 

Now Meet the AuthorHey, that's me!

I'm an award-winning author who crafts my stories from the pristine Lake Superior north woods, where I and my husband Jeff live as epically as God allows near the families of our five adult children. I'm a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the Lake Superior Writers. Though I have written in a variety of venues on topics ranging from homeschooling to homesteading, my great love is historical fiction. I enjoy roaming around on the farm, snacking out of the garden, relaxing in my vintage camper, and loving on my growing passel of grandchildren. I would love to meet with and speak to your group. Let's connect around the web!
Naomi on Social Media
Website: NaomiMusch.com  FB: Naomi Musch - AuthorTwitter: @NMuschInstagram: NaomiMuschGoodreads: Naomi Dawn MuschBookbub: Naomi MuschPinterest: Naomi Musch
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Hero Interview! Meet Callan MacTavish from Jennifer Lamont Leo's "The Violinist" (The Highlanders Collection)

Welcome to the third installment in a series of interviews I'm hosting with heroes from the four novellas in Smitten's new romance collection THE HIGHLANDERS which just released on November 15th. Today I welcome Callan MacTavish from Jennifer Lamont Leo's The Violinist, a hero with secrets.
The Violinist
In 1915 Idaho, homesick lumberjack Callan MacTavish despairs of ever seeing his Scottish homeland again. With kindness and patience, music teacher Rose Marchmont reaches a part of Callan’s heart he’d long ago locked away. She sees beyond his rough exterior to the artistic heart beneath. He longs for more than he can offer her, but she doesn’t know about the secret trauma that keeps him from crossing the sea.
Meet Highlander Hero Callan MacTavish

MRW - Hello, Callan, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you for your willingness to talk to me today. Were you as willing to share your story with Ms Leo so she could get it written down?

Callum - Nay. She had to draw it out o’ me. I’m not one to talk about myself.
MRW - I read your story, and I have to say, I found it amazing. I’d like to ask you a few questions about it, but don’t feel like you have to give anything away that you want to keep secret to readers. First off tell us about yourself and your background. Where are you from?

Callum - I grew up in Scotland, near the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond, as the song goes. That happens to be the ancestral home of Ms. Leo’s relatives. Her birth name, Lamont, is a variation of Lomond and is as common as “Smith” in those parts. My da still lives there.
MRW - In the beginning of the story, you landed yourself in a hospital. How did that happen? In fact, how did a Highlander like yourself end up working as a logger in Idaho, USA?
Callum - I guess ye could say I took a trip to the United States and ended up stayin. I had to support myself somehow, and loggin seemed as good a job as any fer a footloose, single Scotsman. ‘Twas a misfortune between a ponderosa pine and my noggin what landed me in the hospital.

MRW - I see you have a previous injury. Anything you want to tell us about that?

Callum - Nay. Just to say it’s not out o’ the ordinary fer loggers to be short a finger or two.
MRW - When you were in the hospital, you were a little worried that Lars had discovered something secret when he was bringing you a few things. Want to tell us what that was and why you were nervous he’d found you out?

Callum - My journal. My chums in the loggin camp find it strange enough that I read poetry. I don’t need them knowin that I write it, too.

MRW - You’re different than most of the loggers in town who don’t mind living it up when they get paid and carrying on with women. So how do you like to spend your time?

Callum - I daunder aboot the town. I read Robert Burns. I write. I listen to music. I’m not a particularly excitin person to be around, but I enjoy my own company.
MRW - The first time you spied a certain Miss Marchmont, you felt embarrassed. Want to tell us about that incident?

Callum - I was with my chum Lars and he had no qualms about makin a scene, tryin to get her attention. Ye don’t go shoutin out to bonny lasses on the street that way. Plus my face was pretty banged up from the accident with the tree. I didna need her thinkin I was a lout.
MRW - You have an amazing talent, one you’ve been keeping hidden from most of the people you know in Idaho, especially Miss Marchmont. Can you tell us here what that talent is? If not, can you tell us why you don’t want Miss Marchmont—or anyone—to know you have a secret?

Callum - I didna want a lot o’ questions. I just wanted to listen to the lass play her violin and get to know her without a lot o’ fuss and feathers.
MRW - How about you tell us about a few of the other people in town? Anyone you find annoying or especially pleasant to be around?

Callum - Miss Marchmont’s sister is a wee bit high-strung. Her husband’s all right, though. There’s a dobber called Godfrey who swans about in his fancy motorcar. Could do without the likes of him.
MRW - I loved your story, Callan. I was blown away by a big surprise I never saw coming. It was a jaw-dropping moment. I’m sure readers will love it as well.

Callum - Much obliged to ye.
Now Meet the Author 
Jennifer Lamont Leo captures readers’ hearts through stories set in times gone by. Her first novel, You’re the Cream in My Coffee, won a Carol Award from American Christian Fiction Writers.  An Illinois native, she now writes from the mountains of northern Idaho.

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