Mary Ellis's Blog, page 9

Finding inspiration from another writer’s journal

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a weekend��retreat with eight other fiction writers. Although the cabin could have been warmer and the weather��less rainy, I loved sharing��stories, good food, and��laughter with like-minded women.��One of the participant’s keeps a journal. Sandra��Merville Hart read us her entry that morning. I was impressed with her graceful, evocative��prose.��Come share the joys of a��vacation��cabin in early spring in Hocking Hills, Ohio.

Early Morning Thoughts at a Writers Retreat by Sandra Merville Hart ��

I’m at a writers retreat this morning. It’s 7:10 am and I’m showered and dressed. It’s been raining since before Becky and I arrived yesterday afternoon.

Mary isn’t feeling well. The damp chill is having a harsh effect on her RA. I think she slept some but not nearly enough. I believe she’s upstairs resting in the recliner now.

It felt like a refrigerator in this cabin basement last night. I’m glad I brought an extra blanket.

Carole just popped her head in. She was freezing last night, too — so chilled, in fact, that she now has a headache because of it. This rustic and homey cabin is beating us up a little. I have a headache and the start of a cold. Mine might be from taking a not-too-warm shower. I rushed for fear that the water would get completely cold.

I hear voices now — Carole and Tamera, I think. Michelle just turned on the light in the futon room.

The authors are waking up. Beware, world. Who knows what will happen in our morning’s writing session?

Killers revealed? Innocent people murdered in a crime of greed?

A man and woman in a promising dating relationship quarrel over some insignificant event and it spirals out of control. Or maybe they fight over something vitally important and seemingly part ways forever. Seemingly. We authors excel at painting a picture of how bad it gets when people don’t communicate.

Perhaps a couple will receive news of a pregnancy. She’s thrilled; he pushes for an abortion.

How about a story of a little girl who befriends the lonely old woman next door — the one who doesn’t want any children walking through her yard so the child stays on her side of the bushes and talks louder?

Knowing Michelle, some sci-fi adventure will take place in a scope and dimension that my brain can only marvel at.

Or perhaps we will step back in time to Victorian America with settings in a small town, a prairie, or a progressive college.

Just look out world. The authors will be hard at work today. And we hope you are the better for it. We will be.

I’ve had the pleasure of reading Sandy’s debut novel, A Stranger on My��Land, and found it delightful.

Here’s her bio: Sandra Merville Hart loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories. She and her husband enjoy traveling to many of the sites in her books to explore the history. She serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com and contributes articles about history and holidays. She has written for several publications and websites including The Secret Place, Harpstring, Splickety Magazine, Pockets Magazine, Common Ground, Afictionado, and ChristianDevotions.us. Her inspirational Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, released on August 21, 2014.

Amazon:�� http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-My-Land-Sandra-Hart/dp/1941103278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405606746&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Stranger+on+my+land.

Have a good week readers. Stay warm…stay dry…spring is almost here!�� ~ Mary

Blockade running during the American Civil War

 

In��my latest historical novel, one of my characters stakes his entire financial future on two blockade runners to travel��between North Carolina and England.��Blockade runners during the Civil War were the��fastest ships available and came armed��and armored, enabling them to��outrun Union ships on blockade patrol.��Their operations were��risky since the Union Navy��wouldn’t��hesitate to fire on them. However, the potential profits (economically or militarily) from a successful��crossing��were tremendous.��The Union government sought to��cut off all trade with the Confederacy and patrolled��12 major��ports and��3,500 miles of southern coastline. Great Britain played a major role on the blockade running business, since��they had huge investments in the South, and were the recipients of their cash crops,��especially tobacco and cotton. Great Britain also controlled the��neutral ports of��the Caribbean, such as the Bahamas and Bermuda.��Among the more notable of these premier vessels was the CSS Advance which��completed more than 20 successful runs through the Union Naval blockade��before being captured.��By the end of the Civil War the Union Navy had captured more than 1,100 blockade runners��and had destroyed or run aground another 355 vessels.

The Last Heiress is a stand-alone historical romance, also set during the American Civil War. My heroine, Amanda Dunn is heir to the largest textile mill in Manchester, England. When the blockade of southern ports curtails the supply of cotton, her father sends her to Wilmington to restore trade. Her estranged twin sister, Abigail, eloped at 17 with an American cotton factor, and also lives in Wilmington. When Amanda falls for a local shopkeeper, class distinction, political loyalties, and family obligations guarantee a turbulent romance. The risky business of outmaneuvering the Union Navy became one of my favorite research assignments in The Last Heiress, available now in bookstores and online.

A Look at Wilmington, NC, of the 1860’s

Traveling to the location where my book takes place is an important part of research. And it’s also the most enjoyable. After all who doesn’t love to be on vacation while learning wonderful tidbits of history? To write my latest historical romance, The Last Heiress, I visited Wilmington on four different occasions. Sometimes for a few days, sometimes for a week, but each time I took plenty of photographs. However time does not stand still, not even in nationally registered, historically protected��sections of a city. The Wilmington of today still contains the flavor of the mid-nineteenth century, including many buildings intact. But my visit to��the Cape Fear Historical Society at 814 Market Street��showed me the neighborhood has changed during the last 150 years.

Janet Davidson, Museum Historian, was kind enough to furnish me with images taken during the 1850’s and 1860’s. I hope you’ll enjoy this walk down memory lane in a town whose beauty has withstood��the ravages of time. This museum is a must-see during your visit to New Hanover County. I don’t think you’ll have much trouble telling my photographs from those sent to me by Janet. Enjoy, readers….Mary

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Visit the Latimer House ~ my setting for The Last Heiress

I’m often asked where I get the settings for my stories. From real life is my usual answer. Today I’ll take you to��visit��the Latimer House on 126��S. 3rd St. in Wilmington, NC, home of my fictional Jackson and Abigail Henthorne of The Last Heiress. Having a real life mansion as a model makes setting the stage easier and far more accurate. The gardens,��both side and back,��the entrance to the subterranean level, the slave quarters, the interior rooms, and the porches all feature into my story. Of course, I embellished or changed a few details, because that’s what fiction writers do. But if you��visit to the real life Latimer House, now home to the Wilmington Historical Society, I think you’ll agree I got the grand��opulence��of the mansion right-on-the-money!

The Latimer House,��built in 1852 by local merchant Zebulon Latimer,��is��open to the public as an historic house exemplary of upper-class life in Wilmington during the Victorian period. With 14 furnished rooms��the Latimer House lets you step back in time to a more elegant era. The house, built in the popular Italianate style, was designed��with a central hallway on each floor with��identical layouts on either side. The first floor contains��the formal sitting and dining areas on the north side, used for entertaining and special occasions, and��the less formal sitting rooms to the south.

If you are looking for a charming��place for your meeting, luncheon, or party, then search no further than the Latimer House! The Victorian inspired garden is��perfect��for your special photography session, while the tearoom can accommodate��guests in a historic atmosphere.��Available seven days a week, but reservations are required.��Call 910-762-0492 for more information or e-mail us at info@latimerhouse.org.

Unfortunately, the house is not handicapped accessible. Next week, readers, we’ll be visiting downtown Wilmington, NC, where my handsome hero, Nathaniel Cooper had his delightful��store. Stay tuned, and stay warm….. Mary

Happy President’s Day ~ We have our winners!

Happy President’s Day, readers,

Hopefully plenty of you will have the day off, either for the holiday or due to the frigid temps in the North and East. Without further ado, I have plenty of winners to announce:

Lori Barnard, you’re the lucky winner of Deadly Echoes by Nancy Mehl. I have contacted you separately for your mailing addresses. I just know you’ll love this book. Congratulations.

And here are the 10 winners of The Last Heiress from my newsletter contest. If you’re a newsletter subscriber, whether recently or from the past, you were entered. I have contacted all 10 email addresses but if they don’t respond within a few days, I will pick alternate names.

1) Jinny Baldridge������������ ������������

2) Vykki Bedell

3) Carol Bromley

4) Rebecca Klugiewicz

5) LeAnn Abernathy

6) C.E. Hart

7) Kate & Edgar

8) L. Grier

9) “cat nippin”

10) Angela Chestnut

Congratulations. I truly hope you enjoy my book.�� Please “like” my facebook page for more chances to win free books. Stay warm, readers.�� ~ Mary�� http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mary-Ellis/126995058236

Welcome Nancy Mehl~Win a copy of Deadly Echoes

Happy Tuesday, Readers….today Home Thoughts welcomes Nancy Mehl who has a new romantic suspense out that sounds wonderful!��Tell us a little about Deadly Echoes:

After a youth filled with tragedy and upheaval, Sarah Miller’s life is finally settled with all echoes of the past silent at last. She happily calls Sanctuary her home and spends her days teaching at the local school. Sarah’s joy at her recent reunion with her sister, Hannah, and meeting the niece she didn’t know she had is too soon interrupted when Deputy Sheriff Paul Gleason informs Sarah her sister has been killed.��As she learns more about Hannah’s death, the circumstances are eerily similar to their parents’ murder. Sarah enlists Paul’s help in digging deeper into the murders the police are dismissing as burglaries gone wrong. Paul’s concern encourages Sarah’s growing feelings for him, but as their investigation peels back the layers of lies almost twenty years old, they get close to uncovering the truth one person will do anything to hide–even if that means coming after the last remaining members of the Miller family.

��Here’s a little about the author: Nancy Mehl lives in Festus, Missouri, with her husband, Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She���s authored twenty books and just finished a new series for Bethany House Publishing. The first book in her Finding Sanctuary series, ���Gathering Shadows��� was released in May of 2014. The second book, ���Deadly Echoes��� became available in February. The third book, ���Rising Darkness will release late in 2015. All of Nancy���s novels have an added touch ��� something for your spirit as well as your soul. ���I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,��� Nancy says. ���God is number one in my life. I wouldn���t be writing at all if I didn���t believe that this is what He���s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan for your life, and there is nothing you can���t overcome with His help.��� Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-Mehl-Fan-Page/124075957622557

What are you working on now: I���ve finished writing the third book in my Finding Sanctuary series and am awaiting editing notes from my publisher. Rising Darkness will be released in late 2015. I particularly love this book because it brings back a special character from a previous series. Sophie Wittenbauer, a teenager in my Road to Kingdom series, was a troubled girl searching for her identity. After the series ended, I couldn���t shake the feeling that I���d left Sophie���s story untold. I approached my wonderful editors at Bethany House, and they allowed me to move her from Kingdom, Kansas, to Sanctuary, Missouri. I hope my readers will enjoy finding out what happened to Sophie.��I���ve also been writing cozy mysteries for Guideposts and am beginning my third book for them. Along with some other incredible authors, I���m working on a delightful Amish cozy mystery series that I am certain readers will love.

Where can readers buy Deadly Echoes? http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Echoes-Finding-Sanctuary-Nancy/dp/0764211587/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422309503&sr=8-1&keywords=nancy+mehl+deadly+echoes&pebp=1422309503984&peasin=764211587

This sure sounds like my kind of book. Please leave Nancy a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Deadly Echoes. Drawing in one week. Stay warm, readers. ~ Mary

 

We have a winner!

Thanks to all my lovely readers who left a comment for my guest last week, Kimberly Rose Johnson.

Leila Mae, you are our lucky winner of A Match for Meghan. That will be sent out to you.

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already done so. I will be drawing 10 names of newsletter subscribers on February 15th for a signed copy of The Last Heiress, my historical romance set in North Carolina. You can sign up for my newsletter in the right-hand sidebar at my website. http://www.maryellis.net

Next week, I will be featuring another guest author with another drawing. Stay tuned…and stay warm. It’s only ten degrees in Ohio and we all know that’s not enough!

~ Mary

Win a free copy of Kimberly Rose Johnson’s book

Today we welcome Kimberly Rose Johnson to Home Thoughts. Kimberly has a new book out called:�� A Match for Meghan. Here’s the blurb from the back cover: Meghan Black has finally met her match.��The veterinary assistant never backs down from a dare���and what greater challenge than finding die-hard bachelor Ben Young his ideal mate? But what’s an incurable cupid to do when the handsome vet turns the tables and asks her out?

Ben is perfectly content with his single life. And he figures there’s only one way to get the petite dynamo to quit her matchmaking���date her himself! But his plan backfires when he realizes that Meghan could be The One. Can he convince a woman who believes in happy endings for everyone but herself that he’s her Mr. Right?

Here’s a little information about this author: Kimberly Rose Johnson holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, teenage son, and their yellow lab. She writes sweet Christian romance for Love Inspired Heartsong Presents and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys taking long walks with her husband and dog, reading, dark chocolate and time with friends. You may contact Kimberly via her website at http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/

Her��next book, A Valentine for Kayla, will release March 1, 2015 and is available for pre-order now.

Kayla Russell doesn’t like Valentine’s Day.��What should be Kayla’s favorite holiday is just another reminder that she hasn’t met someone special. The beautiful florist���and hopeless romantic���has nearly given up on love, when the man of her dreams walks into her shop���to buy flowers for another woman!

Former music superstar Derek Wood poses as a local deliveryman while he cares for his ailing mother. Derek is drawn to Kayla’s genuine spirit and natural beauty, but he can’t hide his identity forever. The man Kayla’s falling for doesn’t really exist, but the feelings they share are real. Will Derek finally give Kayla a reason to love Valentine’s Day?

Here is the link for her books on Amazon. http://amzn.to/1oQ7iWV��and her social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyRoseJohnson

https://twitter.com/kimberlyrosejoh

Please leave a comment for Kimberly for a chance to win a print copy of A Match for Meghan. US residents only.

Drawing will be in one week. Thanks for dropping by to Home Thoughts. Stay warm, readers! ~ Mary

Release day of The Last Heiress is almost here!

Happy Tuesday, readers. I do hope you’re keeping warm wherever you are. It’s all of 11 degrees here in Ohio, but at least it has stopped snowing.

I’m thrilled to announce my new book is about to release, The Last Heiress, which��I��researched both��in��England and Wilmington, North Carolina. My British pal, Carolyne Way, inspired��my story during my last visit to the U.K. Carolyne told me about her great grandfather who owned a coal mine near Manchester. This mine supplied the lucrative garment industry along the western coastline. She also relayed the true story about a��mine collapse which killed both miners and textile workers alike which figures into my story. My��book is about��twins who become estranged when one sister, Abigail,��elopes with an Southern��cotton broker from��North Carolina. My heiress twin, Amanda,��sets off for America to restore shipments to her textile mills curtailed��by our Civil War.

When Amanda meets Nathaniel Cooper, a Wilmington shopkeeper, her desire to conduct business and return home changes. Amanda���s family deems the hardworking merchant unsuitable for an��accomplished heiress. And when Nate loyalties regarding the war begin to shift,��Amanda has her own battle on her hands.��As the Union noose around Southern ports tightens, Nate contemplates joining the Glorious Cause���not in support of slavery but to watch his brother���s back. Class distinctions, political loyalties, and family obligations guarantee a turbulent romance for Amanda and Nate.

The Last Heiress is available��for��pre-book from��CBD and will ship the same day��books arrive in their warehouse. It will be available in electronic formats on February 1st. Here’s the link for��a��hot-off-the-presses��print copy at 25% off retail:

http://www.christianbook.com/the-last-heiress-mary-ellis/9780736950527/pd/950527?product_redirect=1&Ntt=950527&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

I hope you’ll look for The Last Heiress at your favorite library or bookstore. Happy reading! ~ Mary

Take a trip to Schoenbrunn Village for Christmas

Good morning, readers, here’s a post from my friend, Tamera Lynn Kraft, Christmas at Schoenbrunn in 1773

In the wilderness of Ohio in 1773, there were a band of missionaries and Lenape Indians celebrating Christmas at Schoenbrunn Village, the first settlement in Ohio. They’d come to this wilderness and started the village a year earlier to preach the Gospel to the Lenape, also known as the Deleware.

The missionaries, both white and native families moved from a town in Pennsylvania called Bethlehem. Moravians had come to Bethlehem years earlier when a preacher named John Wesley had donated the land to them. But the Lenape had been forced west as more white men had moved into the area, so the Moravians decided to move west with them.

Life was hard in Schoenbrunn. Cabins were quickly made and community gardens were planted that included beans, corn, and squash. Most villages also planted potatoes and turnips next to their cabins. The rest of their food came from hunting. But the real danger came from the many Indian tribes surrounding the village, some of them hostile.

They didn’t have time to build a fence to keep out varments and the first Ohio church until Spring, 1773, but they did manage to build a school, the first built in Ohio. The school taught both boys and girls, a first for the colonies, how to read the Scripture in their native language and in English. The Moravians printed a Bible in the Lenape language.

The village council was led by David Zeisberger and including white Moravians and Lenape converts. The rules for the village were established by the Lenape Christians. These missionaries did not consider the native converts to be beneath them but instead brothers in Christ.

After a year and a half in Schoenbrunn, the villagers were excited to celebrate their first Christmas. They had many traditions that we still use today. They would have a candlelight Christmas Eve service called a Lovefeast. During this service, they sang Christmas hymns, shared sweet rolls and coffee together, and prayed for each other. The service concluded when they gave each child a bleached beeswax candle and a scripture to hang on their trees at home. The white candle symbolized the purity of Christ and the flame showed that Jesus is the light of the world. A red ribbon would be wrapped around the candle to symbolize how Jesus shed His blood for a lost world.

In every home in Schoenbrunn, families decorated artificial Christmas trees with candles and papers with scriptures written on them. The trees were made by putting together a wood frame and decorating it with real pine branches. The family would also make a putz, a nativity village that included the nativity scene, the wise men, and other Biblical scenes and place it under the tree. Most Moravians gave small gifts at Christmas, but resources were so limited that the children in Schoenbrunn were happy with their candles they received at the church. After a Christmas feast, the family would read the verses hung on the tree and talk about God’s blessings at Christmas.

Schoenbrunn Village has been restored and is open to tourists. Find out more at this link (http://www.ohiosfirstvillage.com) .

A Christmas Promise B y Tamera Lynn Kraft A Moravian Holiday Story, Circa 1773

During colonial times, John and Anna settle in an Ohio village to become Moravian missionaries to the Lenape. When John is called away to help at another settlement two days before Christmas, he promises he’ll be back by Christmas Day.

When he doesn’t show up, Anna works hard to not fear the worst while she provides her children with a traditional Moravian Christmas.

Through it all, she discovers a Christmas promise that will give her the peace she craves.

“Revel in the spirit of a Colonial Christmas with this achingly tender love story that will warm both your heart and your faith. With rich historical detail and characters who live and breathe on the page, Tamera Lynn Kraft has penned a haunting tale of Moravian missionaries who selflessly bring the promise of Christ to the Lenape Indians. A beautiful way to set your season aglow, A Christmas Promise is truly a promise kept for a heartwarming holiday tale.” – Julie Lessman

Available at these online stores:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GM59GN4/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

Pelican Book Group

http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_47&products_id=512

Christian Books.com http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=48711EB&item_code=WW&netp_id=1206746&event=ESRCG&view=details

Bio:

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in America because there are so many adventures in American history. She is married to the love of her life, has two grown children, and lives in Akron, Ohio. Soldier’s Heart and A Christmas Promise are two of her historical novellas that have been published.

Tamera is the leader of a ministry called Revival Fire For Kids where she mentors other children’s leaders, teaches workshops, and is a children’s ministry consultant and children’s evangelist. She has curriculum published and is a recipient of the 2007 National Children’s Leaders Association Shepherd’s Cup for lifetime achievement in children’s ministry.

You can contact Tamera online at these sites.

Word Sharpeners Blog: http://tameralynnkraft.com

Revival Fire For Kids Blog: http://revivalfire4kids.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TameraLynnKraft

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamerakraft