June McCrary Jacobs's Blog: ~ Author June McCrary Jacobs ~, page 35

~ BATTLE PRAYERS BLOG BLITZ ~

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

~ BLOG BLITZ ~ --  'BATTLE PRAYERS'  -- AUTHORS MICHAEL KLASSEN& THOMAS FREILING~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight,Excerpt & Giveaway~
 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

 

Welcome to the Blog Blitz for Battle Prayers by Michael Klassen and Thomas Freiling, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

ABOUT THE BOOK  Title:  Battle Prayers  Author:  Michael Klassen and Thomas Freiling Publisher:  Thomas Nelson Release Date:  Feb 15, 2022 Genre:  Christian, Spiritual Growth, Prayer 
Do the unending obstacles you face make you feel like you’re in a constant spiritual battle? Arm yourself with 100 prayers that will uplift and encourage you during the difficult moments of life. 
It can be difficult to find the right words when you’re praying through hard times. In Battle Prayers, find a classic model to lift your prayers to God, not only for yourself, but others. 
Each prayer is woven together with Scripture, reminding you that the answers to your struggles can be found in God’s Word and by listening to Him. Battle Prayers: 
1. Shows how the power of prayer can lead you to find lasting encouragement 
2. Provides inspiration and theological accuracy 
3. Offers prayers ideal for helping move the mountains that can sometimes stand in between us and God 
Whether a gift or for yourself, this volume of 100 prayers features: 
1. Specific Scriptures and cross-references to other prayers in the book for additional encouragement 
2. First-person prayers addressed directly to God, ideal for reading aloud during morning, evening, or devotional prayer time 
3. A helpful and encouraging Appendix: "The 10 Essential Qualities of an Effective Battle Prayer" 
Prayer doesn’t stop with the “Amen,” and is merely the beginning of deeper, daily, more meaningful communication with our Creator. Find peace in stress, healing for broken relationships, and protection for your loved ones in this essential volume of prayers. EXCERPT:

YEARNING FOR MORE OF JESUS

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

(Ps. 84:2 NIV)

Dearest Jesus, I bring before You what is both a request and a gift.

A request, because it benefits me. A gift, because it pleases You.

My heart’s desire is for more of You. I readily confess that my ceaseless wanderings have proven that, apart from Your presence, I am spiritually bankrupt. Only in You have I found eternal life and truth (John 14:6). Only in You have I found the way to the Father’s heart (John 14:6), and apart from You I have no good thing (Ps. 16:2).

You were the one whom the psalmist longed for:

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my

portion forever.

(Ps. 73:25–26 NIV)

Jesus, I desire only You because you are the strength of my heart and everything I will ever need— forever. My soul cries out for more of You, because only in You do I find true purpose and meaning. You alone fit perfectly the God- shaped hole I so often try to fill with worldly and selfish pursuits.

So, I echo John the Baptist’s words: May You increase, and I decrease (John 3:30). May You grow in me as I become less. And as I become less, live Your life through me. Only in that kind of life am I truly pleasing in Your sight.

Taken from “Battle Prayers” by Michael Klassen and Thomas Freiling. © 2022 Michael Klassen and Thomas Freiling. Derived from material previously published in Prayers to Move Your Mountains 

(ISBN 9780785286523, © 2000). Used with permission from Thomas Nelson. Thomasnelson.com.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound | ChristianBook | BookBub

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Battle Prayers!

Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 23, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 30, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

 

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

 

~ NEW EASTER BASKET BUDDIES SEWING PATTERN RELEASE ~

 

🪡🪡🧵🧵🐤🐣🐥🪡🪡🧵🧵🐤🐣🐥🪡🪡

~ NEW SEWING PATTERN RELEASE! ~

🐣 Stitch up these colorful, fun Easter Basket Buddies stuffed toys for children! The samples in the book were made with cotton flannel fabric scraps to make these softies cuddly and soft.

 

🐣 To make these patterns user-friendly for seamstresses around the world, all of the patterns include the measurements in Imperial and Metric. Tips on various sewing techniques used in making the projects are provided along with detailed cutting and sewing instructions and downloadable patterns.

🐣 This book includes four different sewing projects:

--Lacy Easter Bonnet Duckling 🠋

--Baseball Cap Duckling  🠋

 

--Rose Petal Flower Easter Bonnet Chick  🠋

--Rickrack Polka Dot Chick  🠋

🐣 LINK TO PURCHASE OR DOWNLOAD USING KINDLE UNLIMITED:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09W1QQXF4/

 

🪡🪡🧵🧵🐤🐣🐥🪡🪡🧵🧵🐤🐣🐥🪡🪡

Thank you!  😀

~ MMGM SHOW ME A STORY LITERACY FEATURE ~

  ✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝 ~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADEMONDAY LITERACY FEATURE ~ --  'Show Me a Story:  40 Craft Projects and Activities  to Spark Children's Storytelling'  -- AUTHOR EMILY K. NEUBERGER~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight,Links to Activities Courtesy of thePublisher, Author Bio & My Review~
✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝  
✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝

ABOUT THE BOOK {from the publisher's website}:  

Encouraging children to let their imagination run wild, Emily K. Neuburger offers 40 inventive projects and activities that will inspire kids ages 5 to 12 to express themselves through storytelling. Younger children will love making story stones and a storytelling jar, while older kids will open up and thrive as they embark on guided story walks and inspiring journaling exercises. Sparking creativity while developing a child’s love of language, Show Me a Story will kindle a lifelong passion for both writing and telling original stories. 

LINK TO ACTIVITIES FROM OTHER STOREY PUBLISHING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN:

https://www.storey.com/article/fun-things-for-kids-to-do-at-home/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Amazon.com}:

Emily Neuburger is an artist, writer, and teacher with a particular interest in imperfection and artistic experimentation. She is the author of the award winning book Show Me a Story (Storey 2012) and Journal Sparks (Storey 2017). Emily has been teaching for over eighteen years. After receiving her M.A.T. from Smith College, she taught at two Massachusetts high schools. It was there that she found her passion for encouraging people to get pumped about creativity. Throughout her career, she's been especially interested in how art intersects with stories, and how both nurture people's capacity to imagine. She has contributed to FamilyFun Magazine and authored their Everyday Fun blog on Parents.com and teaches workshops nationwide at museums, schools, and libraries. She lives in beautiful Western Massachusetts with her husband and three children. Find her at emilyneuburger.com and on Instagram: @emilyneuburger.

MY REVIEW:

Oh, how I wish this book had been published when I was a literacy mentor and classroom educator for primary grades!

This book is an excellent resource for classroom teachers, reading specialists, parents, and anyone else who works with children in a formal or informal setting.

The book is divided into chapters entitled:

--  Preface

--  Introduction

--  Story Starters

--  Story Evolution

--  Story Activities

--  Story Play

From page 1 of the book the knowledgeable author gives the reader logical explanations and concise instructions for the how and the why for each of her ideas and projects.

The author believes that children should tell more stories because 'they're good for you'. (page 12)  The rest of the book is designed to get children actively engaged in storytelling using a plethora of handmade items which are reusable and which are made using as many recycled materials as possible.

The publisher has generously provided access to a PDF file of several of the activities from the book which you can download at the link shown below:

LINK TO ACTIVITIES FROM THE BOOK COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER:

https://www.storey.com/files/download/showmeastory-activities.pdf

The majority of the materials in the book can be made by children with or without assistance from a teen or an adult. I liked the simple, consistent format for each project's instructions:  Time to make, Ages to make, Ages to use, Players, Materials, How to Make, How to Use, Other Neat Ideas.

The photography throughout the book includes children making and using the various materials. The models in the photos represent a diverse population of children in various ages.

The photography is colorful and appealing. The stepped-out instructions and diagrams are user-friendly and helpful. Back Matter includes templates, color puppets for children to cut out and use, and some puppet theater backgrounds which can be removed from the book to be used by the children.

Highly-recommended! I borrowed this book from the non-fiction shelves in the children's section of the local public library.

 ✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝

 Find the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog. 

✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝 ✀🖍🖌🎨🎭✐📝

 

 

 

 

 

~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE WHERE WILD ROSES BLOOM ~

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵
 ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~ --  'WHERE WILD ROSES BLOOM'  -- AUTHOR ANGELA K. COUCH~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight + Excerpt,Author Bio & Giveaway~   🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Where Wild Roses Bloom by Angela K. Couch, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

ABOUT THE BOOK  Title:  Where Wild Roses Bloo  Series:  Heart of a Mountie #1  Author:  Angela K. Couch  Publisher:  Smitten Historical Romance  Release Date:  March 15, 2022  Genre:  Historical Romance, Christian  
When Lenora Perry’s dream of becoming an acclaimed singer dies a painful death, she attempts to escape her mistakes by fleeing north—directly into the path of an all-too-dashing Mountie. Though the man in scarlet appears eager to be rid of her, his home provides security, and his sister offers friendship—two things Lenora is desperate for after discovering her pregnancy. With the past dogging her footsteps and her future uncertain, dare she consider new dreams? 
Upholding the law makes up the fabric of Constable Edmond Bryce’s existence. As his five years of service draw to an end, he must decide whether or not to continue in his father’s footsteps—an increasingly difficult decision now that Miss Perry has infiltrated his life. Though she’s the daughter of a parson and a close friend to his sister, Edmond can’t push aside the feeling that Lenora hides more than she tells. But duty calls, leaving little time for matters of the heart.  EXCERPT:         Lenora lowered her eyes from the penetrating gaze of the uniformed man and his silent interrogation. “Who’s that?”          Lyman McRae kept the wagon moving, following the herd as they had for the past weeks. “That is the sheriff, you might say. The mounted police sent out to keep peace in the west.”

So very different from any lawman she’d ever seen. His scarlet coat fit to the breadth of his shoulders, adorned with brass buttons down the front. Even his dark pants wore a thin gold line on the sides. Where a US marshal or sheriff sported nothing more than a silver star to set him apart, this man’s whole apparel would be visible for at least a mile.

But from that distance, one wouldn’t be able to see the strong lines of his face or the depth of those brown eyes. And that would be a shame.

As they approached, she straightened and again attempted to maintain his gaze.

“Miss Wells.” Greer brought his horse alongside the wagon. “Constable Bryce will escort you to the nearest settlement.”

Constable. So proper a word. Stalwart and unforgiving. She could very well picture the same to describe this man in his immaculate uniform and lack of expression.

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound | ChristianbookALSO AVAILABLE

[image error]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

To keep from freezing in the Great White North, Angela K. Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and warm) by chasing after five munchkins.

 🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

CONNECT WITH ANGELA: Website | Facebook | Twitter TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 14, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 21, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

  🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

 

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵🏵

~ REVELL READS MALICIOUS INTENT ~

  🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮 ~ REVELL READSBLOG TOUR STOP ~ --  'MALICIOUS INTENT'  -- AUTHOR LYNN H. BLACKBURN~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight + Linkto Excerpt Courtesy of the Publisher,Author Bio & My Review~   🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

 

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

 

 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Her years of research and sleepless nights are about to pay off . . . if she can stay alive.

Dr. Ivy Collins, founder and CEO of Hedera, Inc., is ready to begin clinical trials of her company's cutting-edge prosthetic. Her work has been praised by government, medical, and advocacy groups, and everyone hopes the device will be a success. Well, almost everyone. Someone is trying to sabotage Hedera and the launch, but to what purpose--and how far will they go to get what they want? 

Meanwhile, US Secret Service Agent Gil Dixon can't believe he's finally been reunited with Ivy, his childhood best friend. Now that he's found her again, Gil intends to mend their broken relationship. But it will take all his skill to uncover the truth in time to save Ivy's life, her life's work, and the innocent lives caught in the crossfire.

LINK TO READ EXCERPT COURTESY OF THE PUBLISHER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

Lynn H. Blackburn is the award-winning author of Unknown Threat and the Dive Team Investigations series. She believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. Blackburn is passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don't make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children. Learn more at LynnHBlackburn.com.

 

MY REVIEW:

  An intense, fast-moving romantic suspense story . . .  I have enjoyed several of this author's previous romantic suspense novels, and this new release did not disappoint me! This story has a large cast of characters, but the author guides her readers through the introduction of the characters to aid us in understanding each person's role in the plot.  This close team of professionals who have worked together on cases in the past get very personal with each other's personal business, i.e. romances. It seemed like a little too much information sharing at times in my opinion, but the team members were close friends and genuinely cared about the health and happiness of the others in their circle. In fact, they all put their own life on the line to protect the people who were being pursued.
 The plot is complex and intricate with many 'red herrings' and surprises in the form of quirky characters and heart-pounding danger. There were a lot of twists and turns as the team unraveled the plot, and I was surprised by the author's clever ending to the mystery. The inclusion of a lot of medical and scientific information about prosthetics was fascinating and added greatly to the power of the plot.
 Perhaps my favorite element of the plot was the way that Gil and Ivy shared their faith journeys with each other. Gil was an especially sensitive and kind man who genuinely cared about Ivy and his other friends. This book is completely clean in language and content.
 Recommended for fans of Christian/clean romantic suspense and Christian/clean romance.  🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮

I received a paperback copy of this book from the publisher through the Revell Reads Blogger Program. All of my thoughts and opinions shared here are solely my own. 🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮🕮
  

~ TAKEOVER TOUR LOVE'S FORTRESS ~

💙🧡💚💛💜🤎 💙🧡💚   ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~TAKEOVER TOUR STOP FOR --  'LOVE'S FORTRESS'  -- AUTHOR JENNIFER UHLARIK~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author Bio & Giveaway~    💙🧡💚💛💜🤎 💙🧡💚

 

 

Welcome to the Takeover Tour for Love's Fortress by Jennifer Uhlarik, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

💙🧡💚💛💜🤎 💙🧡💚   ABOUT THE BOOK 
Title:  Love's Fortress Series:  Doors to the Past Author:  Jennifer Uhlarik Publisher:  Barbour Fiction Release Date:  March 1, 2022 Genre:  Fiction / Christian / Romance 
An Epic Love Story From the Past Brings Closure to Dani’s Fractured Family Roots 
Upon receiving word that her long-estranged father has passed away, Dani Sango inherits the former art forger’s entire estate. Among his many pieces of artwork are a series of obviously Native American drawings and paintings, which lead her to research St. Augustine of 1875. White Elk is transported to Florida to join other Cheyenne braves already being held in Fort Marion. Sally Jo Harris is at the fort teaching the Indians. When a friendship develops between them and false accusations fly, it could cost them their lives. Can Dani discover how their story ends and how it shaped her own father’s life?
Walk through Doors to the Past via a series of historical stories of romance and adventure. 
PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Christianbook | BookBub MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a preteen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a BA in writing, she has won five writing competitions and was a finalist in two others. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and is a lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenage son, and four fur children.

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Love's Fortress and a $15 Amazon egift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 9, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 16, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

💙🧡💚💛💜🤎 💙🧡💚  

~ GREAT ESCAPES BODY AND SOUL FOOD ~

 ~ GREAT ESCAPES BLOGTOUR STOP ~ --  'BODY AND SOUL FOOD'  -- AUTHOR ABBY COLLETTE~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight,Author Bio & Giveaway~ 
[image error] Body and Soul Food (A Books & Biscuits Mystery)by Abby Collette About Body and Soul Food

 

Body and Soul Food (A Books & Biscuits Mystery)  Cozy Mystery1st in Series Setting - Timber Lake, Washington (Near Seattle) Berkley (November 9, 2021) Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593336178ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593336175 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08YWW1DCH 

 

In this page-turning new mystery series, fraternal twins Keaton and Koby will pull double duty when they take down a killer while preparing to open their new bookstore and soul-food café, Books & Biscuits.

When Koby Hill and Keaton Rutledge were orphaned at age two, they were separated, but their unbreakable connection lingered. Years later, they reunite and decide to make up for lost time and capitalize on their shared interests by opening up a well-stocked bookstore and cozy soul-food café in the quaint Pacific Northwest town of Timber Lake. But this new chapter of their lives could end on a cliffhanger after Koby's foster brother is found murdered.

The murder, which occurred in public between light-rail stops, seems impossible for the police to solve. But as Keaton and Koby know, two heads are always better than one, especially when it comes to mysteries. With just a week to go before the grand opening of their new café, the twins will use their revitalized connection with each other to make sure this is the killer's final page.

About Abby Collette

 

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland, and it's a mystery even to her why she hasn't yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette, she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the Books& Biscuits mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian, as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing workshops at local libraries and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her favorite.

Author Links – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram– Website –

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Google Play - IndieBound - Alibris - Penguin Random House -

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:March 1 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW March 1 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW  March 2 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  March 2 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW*, CHARACTER INTERVIEW  March 3 – Author Elena Taylor's Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW  March 3 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT  March 3 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW  March 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW*, AUTHOR INTERVIEW  March 4 – Miss W Book Reviews – REVIEW*  March 4 – Baroness' Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT  March 5 – Just Another Teen Reading Books – REVIEW*, AUTHOR INTERVIEW  March 5 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT  March 6 – The Book Diva's Reads – SPOTLIGHT  March 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  March 7 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT  March 7 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT  March 8 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW  March 8 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT  March 9 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHTMarch 9 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT  March 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEWMarch 10 – Diane Reviews Books - REVIEW March 11 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW  March 11 – Books Blog – SPOTLIGHT  March 12 – Tea Book Blanket – REVIEW*  March 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW  March 13 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT  March 13 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog - SPOTLIGHT  March 14 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  March 14 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW*   a Rafflecopter giveaway   Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today! 

📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

 

~ MMGM EXPLORING NATURE ACTIVITY BOOK ~

  🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞 ~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADEMONDAY S.T.E.A.M. FEATURE ~  --  'EXPLORING NATURE:  ACTIVITY BOOK FOR KIDS'
AUTHOR KIM ANDREWS~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight,Author Bio & My Review~ 🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞
 
🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞 ABOUT THE BOOK {from Amazon}:

A guide to exploring the great outdoors for kids ages 6 to 12

Encourage young nature lovers to get outside and track, explore, discover, and create. This book is filled with hands-on, educational outdoor activities that kids will love to learn from, like crafting bird feeders out of fruit, pressing flowers, or creating sundials. They’ll get their hands dirty and their imaginations revving while staying active outside.

This standout among nature books for kids includes:

50 Fun outdoor projects―Inspire a lifetime of curiosity with tons of guided, interactive ideas that let kids observe animals, plants, and even outer space in action.

Activities for everyone, everywhere―The fun and games inside cover a range of seasons and regions so all kids can start exploring, no matter where they are.

Important skill-building—By stopping to notice and record what’s going on around them, kids will practice important skills like observation, memory, writing, drawing, wildlife safety, and more.

This hands-on approach to nature books for kids will show kids what makes the great outdoors great.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Amazon}:

KIM ANDREWS is a North Carolina-based writer and blogger. She enjoys adventures by the river with her husband and their three children. She also loves full moons and thinks you can never have too many pet chickens. Kim is devoted to environmental education, homeschooling and teaching nature classes on her family's small farm. She blogs about her passion for exploring, crafting, and outdoor learning at www.LearningBarefoot.com.

MY REVIEW:

This book begins with a Letter to Parents and Teachers followed by a Letter to Kids. The author's warm and welcoming tone will appeal to children and adults. The author presents a 'Skills Key:  Naturalist' sidebar which includes the things that a naturalist does, such as:  Noticing (look, listen, smell, and feel) and Arts & Crafts (draw, paint, create).  (page IX)

Other highlights include a section entitled 'Safety First' which includes hazards the readers may find in nature including:  poison oak and poison ivy, snakes, fire ant mounds, ticks, and deep, fast-moving water. (page X, XI) A section entitled, 'The Naturalists' Toolkit' includes introductory activities that will help a reader prepare to become a naturalist.

The other chapters cover:

--  Seasons, Weather, Night and Day

--  Water, Soil, and Stone

--  Birds, Bugs, Mammals, and More

--  Trees, Plants, and Flowers

Back Matter includes a Skills Checklist, Glossary, Resources, and Index.

The format of the book is very user-friendly with many quality botanical drawings, diagrams, and side bars filled with valuable tidbits of information and simple activities to reinforce the lesson.

Highly-recommended!

I borrowed this book from the local public library system.

🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞

 
  Find the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog. 

🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞🌳🌿🍄🌷🐞🐛⛅⛆🌞

 

 

 

 

~ TAKEOVER TOUR SUGARCREEK SURPRISE ~

 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 
 ~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~TAKEOVER TOUR ~ --  'SUGARCREEK SURPRISE'  -- AUTHOR WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, Author Bio & Giveaway~ 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 

 

Welcome to the Takeover Tour for The Sugarcreek Surprise by Wanda E. Brunstetter, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

 

 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

ABOUT THE BOOK  Title:  The Sugarcreek Surprise Series:  Creektown Discoveries #2 Author:  Wanda E. Brunstetter Publisher:  Barbour Fiction 
Release Date: March 1, 2022 Genre: Fiction / Christian / Romance 
Antique Store Owners Offer Romance Advice to a Smitten Carpenter 
Welcome to Sugarcreek, Ohio, where the Amish schoolteacher has a determined admirer. Tragically losing her parents as a child, Lisa Miller has grown up being afraid of loving and losing. She dedicates herself to teaching at an Amish schoolhouse and helping the grandparents who raised her, all the while avoiding the advances of newcomer Paul Herchberger. Paul enjoys antiques and meets Orley Troyer while looking for unique old milk bottles at yard sales. Orley and his wife offer prayers and advice as Paul tries to reach Lisa’s closed heart. But when secrets are revealed, will Lisa use them as an excuse to close herself off again? 
PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Christianbook | BookBub  MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

[image error]

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. She has written more than 100 books translated in four languages. With over 11 million copies sold, Wanda's stories consistently earn spots on the nation's most prestigious bestseller lists and have received numerous awards.

Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are well-read and trusted by many Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs. 
When Wanda visits her Amish friends, she finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties. Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, bird-watching, beachcombing, and spending time with her family. She and her husband, Richard, have been blessed with two grown children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. 
To learn more about Wanda, visit her website at www.wandabrunstetter.com.
CONNECT WITH WANDA: Website Facebook | Twitter | Instagram  🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of The Sugarcreek Surprise and a $15 Amazon egift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 2, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 9, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

 

~ GREAT ESCAPES MURDER FAUX PAWS ~

 ~ GREAT ESCAPES BLOG TOUR STOP ~ --  'MURDER FAUX PAWS'  -- AUTHOR T.C. LoTEMPIO~Post Includes:  Book Spotlight, UniqueAuthor Guest Post, Author Bio,and Giveaway~ 
 
Murder Faux Paws: A Nick and Nora Mysteryby T. C. LoTempio About Murder Faux Paws

 

Murder Faux Paws: A Nick and Nora Mystery  Cozy Mystery5th in Series Setting - California Beyond the Page (February 22, 2022) Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pagesDigital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09Q6HDGF9   

 

Dead men tell no tales, but in the riveting new Nick and Nora Mystery, they sure leave a lot of clues . . .

When a local PI’s untimely death is ruled a suicide by the police, budding sleuth Nora Charles has no intention of letting sleeping dogs lie—or sleeping cats, for that matter. Certain it was a case of foul play, Nora rouses her trusty sidekick Nick and launches an investigation of her own. Then a second PI is murdered, and Nora knows the two men were on to something—and that she’s on to something too.

Following the enigmatic clues left by her late predecessors, Nora soon uncovers a plot that involves a local politician, missing campaign funds, and what could be a bogus real estate deal. But when hints of treason surface, what started as small-time thievery soon balloons into a matter of national security. With the uncanny Nick sniffing out—and spelling out—leads, Nora follows a trail that will take her to the heart of a shadowy conspiracy, and into a trap set by a conniving culprit that will have her wishing she had Nick’s nine lives . . .

 

~ What do Editors look for? ~

by T. C. Lotempio

It’s been a long time – eight years to be exact, since my first cozy mystery,  MEOW IF IT’S MURDER, was published by Penguin.  Since that happy day, however, the world of publishing has changed big time.  The cozy market took a hit when the newly merged Penguin with Random House cut back on their cozy list.  Publishers in general are being undercut by e-books, self-published authors, and hundreds of newly minted small presses. Understandably, that’s meant a considerable amount of belt-tightening. Today’s editors no longer edit, but are tasked with finding new authors with new material. Which means what, exactly to a new author struggling to make his or her first big break?

The answer is they’re on the hunt for the next big thing. That usually means a great story with memorable, dynamic characters, breakout books that are cutting edge and different. So what can an author do to increase their chances of getting their “baby” accepted for publication?  Here are some tips:

#1:  Look at the categories:

Thriller and romance have always been strong.  Paranormal seems to be doing a resurgence.  Whereas a few years ago a vampire or zombie book might have been a hard sell, the market is more open today. Another popular category is the “domestic thriller”.  And a new sub-category – the mature sleuth – aimed at people over fifty, seems to be doing well. And of course, editors are always on the lookout for good Young Adult books and Children’s picture books.

#2: Good Representation:

Finding an agent – and a reputable one – has oft been compared to finding a needle in a haystack, but it isn’t impossible! The best thing to do is home in on three or four reputable agents that represent work in your category. Then you’ve got to submit a whiz-bang query letter that immediately nips at their interest.  You can find good samples online.

#3: Submit a Finished Product

The days of winning a book contract on just a few chapters or an outline are gonzo, unless you’re a well established author. Today’s tougher, leaner market means authors must write and submit a Finished Manuscript.  Also, you should look at how your story relates to what’s already out there in the marketplace. For example, if there are already forty-nine knitting mystery series and you're pitching the fiftieth, it could be a tough sell. You also need to make sure your novel’s plot, pacing, turning points, character development, dialogue, and suspense is spot-on.

#4: Hook your Reader! 

In today’s on-demand climate, it’s critical to establish an opening story hook immediately. Agents and editors don’t want pages and pages of build-up, they want you to toss your reader directly into the action.

Of course, there is no tried and true formula and all of the above should be sprinkled with a dash of good luck!

About T.C. LoTempio T.C. Lotempio is the national bestselling author of the Nick and Nora mystery series, as well as the Pet Shop Mystery Series and the Cat Rescue mysteries. She lives in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, along with her two cats, Maxx and ROCCO, who is a talented blogger himself. Cat-ch up with them at her website, tclotempio.net, or ROCCO's blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.comBlog:www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com Website:http://www.tclotempio.net Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/toni.lotempio.5 Twitter:@RoccoBlogger  Purchase Link - Amazon- B&N - Google Play - Apple iBooks - Kobo - Smashwords   TOUR PARTICIPANTS:  February 22 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT February 22 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT February 23 – Nellie's Book Nook – REVIEW February 23 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW February 24 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW February 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT February 25 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE February 25 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT February 26 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW February 26 – FUONLYKNEW - SPOTLIGHT February 27 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST February 28 – Literary Gold - SPOTLIGHT February 28 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – SPOTLIGHT March 1 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEWMarch 2 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE March 2 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – GUEST POST March 3 – Tea Book Blanket – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT March 3 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW March 3 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW March 4 – Here's How It Happened – REVIEW  March 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST March 6 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW March 6 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE March 7 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT 
~ GIVEAWAY ~ a Rafflecopter giveaway  Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?    Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!   🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈