Sarah Holman's Blog, page 32

A Very Bookish Christmas

*This post contains affiliate links*
After working on this collection for a while, I'm so excited that it's here!!

You can get it in either Kindle or Paperback, but only for a limited time. This collection goes away at the end of the year.

Gingerbread Treasures was inspired by Sherlock Holmes.

My story, Molly and Anna, is based on Pollyanna.

Sylvie of Amber Apartments is based on Anne of Green Gables.

Sincerely, Jem is based on Daddy-Long-Legs
Still not sure about grabbing a copy? Check it out on Goodreads first! Check it out HERE.
Have Kindle Unlimited? Read it for free HERE.

The Biggest Sale of the Year!!!

Oh yes! Over 270 books to choose from that are free and 99c!!! Let me just give you a hint: This might be a wonderful time to get those Taelis books you were looking for and A Different Kind of Courage, and Emmeline, and... Well, you get the idea.




Need another reason to hope over there? It's not just me, some of my favorite authors, J. Grace Pennington, Nicole Sager, Rebekah Morris  Perry Kirkpatrick, Kate Willis, Rebekah Jones, and more are taking part!


Still here? Want to jump in and see just what to see the books of mine are on sale? Wish granted! Click HERE



You're still reading this post? Let's see, What can I do to make you go right to the sale..... Oh, I'll tell you that I've already snagged some of the deals myself, they are so good!

Another reason needed???? Okay....Oh, Christmas Books!!!!

Still here? Okay, this sale makes great gifts for the book lovers on your list, and also helps authors pay for future work. How awesome is that?

Thank you

Thank you. Thank you for reading my blog, for supporting my writing, for the comments telling me how you are feeling. I am so grateful for each and every one of you.
I've been thinking a lot the last couple of days about thankfulness. I have so much to be greatful for.

My familyAmazing foodA wonderful churchGodly friends who love and support meSo many positive results from my storiesAccess to hundreds and thousands of good booksHope for the futureStrength for the dayThe privilege of being able to work with so many amazing people on a groupPurpose in everythingA phone that is helping me to do things with my left hand (like this post)God's amazing grace.I have so much I am grateful, my heart is overflowing.


Oh, for my introverted friends who need a book escape during Thanksgiving gatherings....A Very Bookish Christmas released!!!

The Sermon

Hey I just wanted to pop over real quick and share the sermon that meant so much to me.



If you would rather just have the audio you can go HERE

I Cried in Church Today

I cried in church today.

That might not sound like a big deal, but it is for me. You see, I almost never cry in public. The last time I cried in church was in my teens, and even then, I went running out to our family van.

It hasn't been the easiest week for me. I've been frustrated, a lot of emotional lows, and broke down when Mom told me, in very loving way, I needed to stop denying how hard and discouraging it was for me not to be able to write. I broke down crying in her arms. I finally let myself deal with the things I had been shoving down, trying to be brave and see God's best.

I feel useless.

I feel angry.

I feel weak.

I'm so tired.

The ugliest truth? While I shoved it away anytime it popped in my mind, I couldn't escape the fact that I felt like God was being kind of mean. Why would He take away my ability to write - which I feel is my purpose - without giving me something else? I mean have I done something wrong? Is there some great sin in my life that the things nearest to my heart are sliding through my fingers? Why does that person have published books, a husband and kids, and I'm stripped of my ability to write and am still single?

I know, pretty ugly thinking, right? Which is why I had tried to focus on what good might come out of it. But I finally broke down and had to deal with those thoughts head-on. I had to admit I wasn't handling all this time well. I cried on my Mom's shoulder on Thursday and did the same thing on Friday to a friend. Saturday, I was tired of feeling and sorting things out and kept busy in my room most of the day.

I got up Sunday with a minor headache. Part of me almost hoped that it would get worse so I could stay home. However, the medicine kicked in and I sat down in church.

I groaned inside as Pastor Jon opened to 1 Samual 14 and started talking about Jonathan's bold move to take on the Philistines. I was too weak, to empty to hear how I needed to be bold and face my enemy. Instead, the pastor went in a totally different direction, he started painting a picture of the place the Israelite army found themselves. Let me give you a brief summary.

They were literally between two cliffs, with the enemy uphill (Johnathan had to climb on his hands and knees to come op to the enemy).They were outnumbered - 600 of them, 6,000 of the enemySome of their fellow Israelites had joined the enemyMany of the Israelites had fled to hide in the hillsSaul obviously had no clue what was going on (he had no idea his son was missing)The priest with them was from a family God had cut offAll of us want to be Jonathan in the story, but the pastor pointed out that most of us would be in the camp, waiting on our leader, or hiding in our caves, or even with the enemy (I mean, who wants to be part of the losing side).
There was literally nothing the Israelites could do to win on their own.They were weakUnable to winBetween a rock and a hard placeWithout a lot of hope of things changing.Then God stepped in with His unlimited strength. He let the Israelites take part, but He was the one with the power to scatter the enemy, not them. 
Then, Pastor Jon said that there were some here today that were injured and broken, unable to do things they used to and it was the hardest place to be.
That's when I teared up.
When I went up to thank him for the sermon, because it had been a hard week, my voice cracked. When he asked me what had happened, I broke down crying. I cried as I told him, and as he prayed for both healing and for God to be my strength. 


I'm still not sure why God allowed this to happen. I still am struggling with accepting and finding what I'm supposed to do with my time. I'm struggling to remember that I shouldn't write a whole blog post in one sitting. (I need to go put ice on my arm). But I do know that:

I have been broken, and God will piece me togetherI'm so very, very weak, but God has unlimited strengthGod has not, and will not abandon meI'm blessed with family, friends, and pastors that will remind of the truth.I really do need to stop typing and get that ice pack

The Detour

*post contains affiliate links*
On this blog, I use the tag Where Destiny Takes You for posts. Mostly, I use them for when God is redirecting my life. This last month, I've become aware that God's plans - His destiny for my life - is once again is different than my plans.

As many of you know, I had to take a lot of time off this summer due to a tendon injury. Six weeks with very little writing was hard. I was very excited when it healed and I could get back to writing. This fall has been jammed back getting Kate's Christmas and A Very Bookish Christmas ready for publication. In October, my arm started hurting again. I ignored it until I knew that I couldn't unless I wanted the horrible pain to come back. I canceled my plans to do NaNo and started looking hard at next year.

Writing is something that isn't a chore for me. I love it. It spills out of me and is my therapy, my happy place, and my tears all in one. But, it seems that I'm going to have to take a step back for a while and give my arm a few months to heal.

While this is hard for me on one hand, I'm also excited to see what God is going to do through this time. The next few months, I'm going to study, pick up some old hobbies, hang out with friends, and work on marketing the books I already have.

I would ask for your prayers because this isn't an easy journey for me. However, I hope to bring you with me on this journey. I mean, we all encounter times when all our plans get thrown out the window. but God has better plans for us. Even if we know that fact, it doesn't make it easy, so let's journey together.

Cover Reveal for Follow the Dawn

I'm so excited about today! Rachelle is a long-time friend and I've read her books, even some of her early unpublished works. I was so excited to read and review her Steadfast Love trilogy a few years ago. You can read my reviews of The Sound of Diamonds, The Sound of Silver, and The Sound of Emeralds, Letters Home, and Write Well. 
Today, the cover for her next book is being revealed! 


ABOUT Follow the Dawn
Anna Emory grew up the invisible younger sister, shy and quiet, and she prefers it that way. But her father’s attempts to arrange an unsavory marriage teach her that courage is sometimes found in adversity.
Then she meets a boy and his father who tip her quiet world upside down.
Captain Mathieu Tudder has run from responsibility, entrusting his young son’s care to another and devoting his Sea Beggar ship to the cause of the Dutch Revolution. After the cause fails, Tudder returns to England for the son he left behind, all he has left of the wife he lost. But Titus prefers a mysteriously quiet nursemaid to his estranged father.
Tudder wants his son back, yet Anna stands in his way. Will these two hearts—the battle-scarred and the broken—ever find true freedom?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachelle Rea Cobb has history with words. She penned her first short story in middle school, her first novel right out of high school, and signed a three-book publishing contract right after college. Her Steadfast Love series (from WhiteFire Publishing) and 2020 release, Follow the Dawn (Illuminate Publishing) are set during the Dutch Revolution. She is also the author of Write Well, a short writing guide designed to teach the structure of good writing. Rachelle is a freelance editor, an author of six books, and voracious reader. If you're looking for her, check the bookstore. In 2016, she married a man with the same name as her fictional hero and they live happily ever after in a fixer-upper by the sea. She's a fan of chai and lemonade (though definitely not together)!
Website: https://RachelleReaCobb.com/Facebook: http://facebook.com/RachelleReaCobbPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/RachelleReaCobb/Instagram: @RachelleReaCobbAmazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rachelle-Rea/e/B00RZHIL1QGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8144149.Rachelle_Rea_Cobb
Praise for Follow the Dawn
"Follow the Dawn rides the waves of a tumultuous period of history amidst the churning brokenness of two people held captive by past failures. A beautiful story of redemptive and affirming love." —Anne Mateer, author of Wings of a Dream
"Through a finesse of description and with a cast of sometimes flawed but loveable characters, Cobb brings us a story of love amidst heartbreak and tragedy. Placed in an unusual but refreshing time period and setting, Follow the Dawnexplores the true meaning of family, friendship, loss, and restoration. It's refreshing to see a romance that knows its stakes, but still leaves readers feeling satisfied from beginning to end." - Hope Bolinger, author of the Blaze trilogy

My Dad is Retiring!

Since before I was born, my Dad has faithfully provided for our family through the work God has given him. Even when we went through unemployment for two years, my Dad did hard, backbreaking odd jobs to help provide. Today is his last day at the job he has worked since 2003. There have been a lot of ups and downs, good days and bad days. Days my dad missed things because he was at work and days Dad took off just so he could experience things with us.
The thing that stands out to me is that my dad never complained about his job. Oh, I knew there were days and people that weren't fun, but he never complained. It makes me ashamed of all the times I've griped about my jobs, which have all been less stressful, less demanding, and fewer hours then his.  I mean, he has worked ten hours in a day (not including the hour drive in and an hour drive back) so that he could work a compressed week and have Fridays with us. 
Today, he says goodbye to his job, the friends he has made there, and his desk job. He is retiring and coming home! We're all so excited! 
Now, we begin the adventure of having Dad at home all the time. We all know it's going to be an adjustment, albeit a fun one. 
I'll keep you updated about how it goes and the adventures we have.

Book Review: Hidden Pearls by Hayden Wand

Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback Age Appropriate For: 13 and up for mild romanceBest for Ages: 13 -20
Imagine a Jane Austen book and an Errol Flynn pirate film got mashed together and you’ll have a good idea of what Hidden Pearls has in store for you. It has adventure, romance, a bunch of characters, lessons learned, and fun settings.
I’ve been wanting to read this book since it came out. I was excited to finally buy myself a copy and dive in. The cover is so pretty, even if it is just on my Kindle screen.
The beginning was a little hard, as there were an awful lot of characters introduced. I loved all the cousins, living together in a loving home. I have to say that my first sigh of satisfaction was the loving family aspect. I’m a little weary of bad families.
This story was full of adventure, plot twists, and cool characters. The mixture of regency England and sailing in the Caribbean was perfect. And did I mention the characters? They were a lot of fun.The romance as sweet and not overdone. I mean, at the end of the book it feels like everyone is with someone, but at the same time, it wasn’t overly mushy. Handing this to a young person would not be a problem.
I highly recommend this story for those who like YA books, stories of adventure, and casts of fun characters.

Cleftlocke, A Love to Come Home to, and Finding Faith

Recently Finished Goodreads | AmazonI didn't love this book as much as the others in the series, but it was good.Read my review HERE
Goodreads | AmazonThis series was so good. Read my review of this book HERE
Goodreads | AmazonThis was my favorite book of the series.Read my review HERE
Currently Reading Goodreads | AmazonThis book is good so far.
Goodreads | AmazonThis book is really good so far. I'm enjoying it.
Goodreads | AmazonWhile I think this book would be better for younger readers, I love the message.
Up Next Goodreads | AmazonThis has been on my reading list for a while. I'm looking forward to it.
Goodreads | AmazonIsn't this a cool cover? I read a sample of this book and have wanted to read it ever since.