Stephanie Landsem's Blog, page 3

Five Quick Ways to Show Love to Your Favorite Author

If you love a particular author, here are some easy ways to let her/him know!

While all of these kindness are appreciated, writing reviews can help an author more than you know. Not only do they show potential new readers what you love about the book, they bring more readers to the author’s page — whether it be Amazon, Goodreads, or Bookbub. The more reviews, the more the magic of the internet sends new readers to the book! And there’s more. Publishers look at Amazon and Goodreads reviews whe...

How to Get my Books (and other great books) at Your Library

Do you you know you can suggest titles for your public library’s permanent collection? You can!

I’m partnering with with several Catholic fiction organizations and dozens of authors who want to flood our local libraries with fiction by Catholic and Orthodox Christian writers, bringing our unique sacramental perspective to a wider audience.

The beautiful part is that libraries have budgets, and they are either going to use them to buy yet another copy of the latest blockbuster . . . or...

What is coming next from me: Code Name Edelweiss

Wondering what is coming next from me and when? This post answers all those questions:

What: My next novel is based on a fascinating true story I know my readers of historical fiction will love:

No cover yet! But stay tuned.

Code Name Edelweiss

Adolf Hitler is but a distant rumble on the horizon, but in Los Angeles a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own back yard.

In the summer of 1933, Adolf Hitler is the Chancellor of Germany and...

Fear not! I have your next great read.

As an author, I get asked for book recommendations a lot. And sometimes I’m stumped. Not becuase I don’t have favorite fiction to recommend, but because I have SO MANY favorites. In so many time periods and genres. And by so many good authors.

My website is chock full of posts in which I recommend books, or just read on for a look at upcoming releases I’m excited about and a round-up of some of my past recommendations.

First a quick reminder. I write Christian historical fiction (you...

Interview with the Narrator of In A Far-Off Land Audiobook

One of my favorite author-moments was opening up an email one morning from the narrator of the In A Far-Off Land audiobook. I didn’t even know it was available as an audiobook! Brittany had written to tell me how much she loved the story, and went on to say that she had to stop recording several times toward the end because she was tearing up. I’m always thrilled when I make someone cry and I was so excited to hear from the ‘voice’ of Mina.

Brittany did a fantastic job narrating In A Far-Off ...

I’d like to thank the Academy . . . a surprising look at the history behind the Academy Awards.

Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with 270 attendants

I admit it . . . I haven’t watched ANY of the movies nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year. In fact, I haven’t tuned into the star-studded gala for years. For me, the history of this icon of American movie-making is far more interesting than the 3-hour long telecast has ever been. Here’s some interesting tidbits:

The Awards didn’t start out as a big event:

in 1929 Dougla...

Why Christian Historical Fiction?

“You’re a writer, that’s so cool! What do you write?”

It’s a question I get a lot.

My response–Christian historical fiction– gets varied reactions, but often I get the follow-up question: “Why Christian historical fiction? Why not just historical fiction?

I’ve got an answer, but first . . . what do we mean by Christian fiction?

The definition of Christian fiction is: a story based on a Christian world view and has a plot, characters, or themes that are Christian in nature. Some pe...

Epiphany: What Do We Really Know About the Wise Men?

Writing the story of Adrina, the Magi’s wife, for Gaze Upon Jesus, (get the story of Adrina in your inbox by clicking here) I discovered that what we DON’T know of the Magi who visited Jesus is far more than what we DO know. 

What we know from Matthew’s Gospel

The Magi came from the EastThey saw a star heralding the “newborn King of the Jews”They asked at Herod’s palace in JerusalemThey found Jesus and Mary in a house in BethlehemThey brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrrh...

Enter into the Nativity: My Gift to you this Christmas

This nativity set was a wedding gift from my brother and sisters. I cherish it more every year.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be present when Jesus was born?

We can’t travel through time, but I hope to give you a small glimpse of what it might have felt like to be in that poor stable on the night the Incarnation was brought into the world. The story of Lila, the Innkeeper’s Servant, is one of the writing pieces I am most proud of. It’s a witness to the birth of Jesus from...

Five Fun historical facts about The Twelve Days of Christmas song

If you’ve been listening to Christmas music since the day after Halloween, you no doubt have heard the song . . . On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . right? And we’ve all seen the marketing blitzes along the lines of “12 day count-down to Christmas savings” starting–you guessed it–12 days before Christmas.

But the thing is, Christmas day marks the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas, not the end. Instead of kicking our Christmas tree to the curb on December...