Brenda S. Anderson's Blog, page 48

And the Winner Is …

Sarah!

Congratulations, Sarah! Hope you enjoy your prize package!

Blessings,

Brenda

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easter Music

I’m blogging just down the road today at Inkspirational Messages. We’ve been talking about celebrating Easter, and I give my take on Easter music.

http://inkspirationalmessages.com/the-music-of-easter/

Do you have a favorite Easter song?

Thank You!

Thank You hardly seems adequate for the overflowing amount of well-wishes and encouragement and congratulations I’ve received during this past week. I’m abundantly blessed! And humbled. To think God can use a simple farm-girl-turned mom…

And that’s a reason to celebrate! So, we’re still celebrating here. Music is playing, I’m serving up healthy doses of chocolate, and the Giveaway is still running (until midnight Saturday, April 26, 2014!)

I’ve also had the privilege of visiting a number of blogs, many of which are also having giveaways.

Into the Fire blog (Nicole Petrino-Salter) – 3-part interview!
Sandra Orchard’s Blog – My hero, Richard Brooks, is interviewed! Plus a book giveaway!
Heidi McCahan‘s Blog – Interview - I get to talk baseball and roller coasters! Plus a book giveaway!
Shannon Taylor Vannatter‘s (my friend and awesome critique partner!) Inkslinger blog  - Special Preview of Chain of Mercy! Plus a book giveaway!

If you’d like to enter in my drawing to win an autographed copy of Chain of Mercy plus a bag of Lindor Truffles PLUS the Matthew West Into the Light CD, just fill in the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Again, I say Thank You!

All Glory to God!

Brenda

Chain of Mercy Officially Releases!!!

Can you believe it?

We’re Snoopy Dancing in our home today as my debut novel Chain of Mercy officially releases!

There’s music in the background … check out my playlist here.

I’ve got refreshments: chocolate (Lindt Lindor Truffles) and Fig Newtons (yes, I said Fig Newtons! My heroine Sheila Peterson loves them.)

I have streamers, party hats, noise makers

And books, of course!

And a Giveaway!

I’m giving away one prize package that includes one autographed copy of Chain of Mercy, a container of Lindt Lindor truffles, and the Matthew West CD, Into the Light, a CD that includes the playlist song, Forgiveness.

So how do you enter? Just complete the Rafflecopter form below.  You earn entries for commenting, subscribing to my blog, Liking my Facebook page, Following me on Twitter, signing up for my e-newsletter, and a host of other ways to earn entries! The Giveaway ends on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at midnight.

In addition, I’d love it if you’d

add Chain of Mercy to your Goodreads’ shelf <here>
and/or to your Shelfari shelf <here>

and, of course, purchase Chain of Mercy

Amazon <here>
Barnes and Noble <here>
Books A Million <here>

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You’re Invited!

One More Day…

To the official release of Chain of Mercy!

I’m having a party tomorrow, and you’re all invited! Well, actually the party is going to last through Friday. I promise to supply music, food (chocolate!), and good books!

And what’s a party without a giveaway?! A drawing with music, food (chocolate), and good books! See the theme going here? You’ll have to stop by tomorrow to get more details.

I also plan to do some blog hopping this week–some will include a giveaway. I’d love it if you’d check out these blogs:

Into the Fire (Author Nicole Petrino-Salter) – Nicole posted a three-part interview.

April 16 – Part One <here>
April 17 – Part Two <here>
April 21 – Part Three <here>

Author Sandra Orchard blog

April 21 – Interview with Chain of Mercy hero, Richard Brooks <here>

Heidi McCahan blog (fellow Winslet author!)

April 22 – Interview

Special Thank You to the above bloggers for hosting me this week!

________________________________

Important Links

Book Buying Links: (ebook links coming soon)

Amazon Paperback – click <here>

Barnes & Noble Paperback – click <here>

Books A Million Paperback – click <here>

Book Club Links:

Goodreads – click <here>

Shelfari – click <here>

Amazing Grace – Playlist Song #6

MERCY …

Merriam-Webster defines mercy as “kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly.” In other words, mercy is an unearned pardon.

In Chain of Mercy, my hero Richard Brooks is granted mercy, but rather than grasp its freedom, he rejects it. By refusing to accept it, he lets mercy shackle him.

This weekend Christians will celebrate God’s Marvelous Mercy–we deserved the punishment for our sin–Jesus didn’t. Yet, Jesus took on all of our sins, from every one of us! God removes our chains and sets us free!

And we celebrate God’s Amazing Grace – the undeserved gift of eternal life. All we have to do is say “Yes!”

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin

Chain of Mercy Character Intro

Only ONE MORE WEEK until the official release of Chain of Mercy! Woo hoo!

The paperback is currently for sale on Amazon as a pre-order. (Go here to order.)

I recently realized that you haven’t been introduced to my main characters yet. Well, I have to remedy that! But rather than me telling you about them, I thought I’d give that job to Karla, the company gossip at Wharton Sports (where my hero and heroine meet). This is an article she would likely put in the company newsletter.

Who’s Who at Wharton Sports!
by Karla the Gossip Girl
     If you’ve felt the temperatures rise in our old building these past few weeks, it could be because Wharton has a new janitor who actually knows how to fix things. Or it could be because that janitor is, well, that janitor is hot. RICHARD BROOKS looks more like he just stepped from the pages of GQ than from the custodial closet. Seriously! How a man can look that sizzling in metal grey, I’ll never know, but he pulls it off. Haven’t seen the guy around? Well, check out the pic of Eddie Cibrian (click here), and you’ll know who to look for.
     Apparently he’s a family man, too. Inside his locker he keeps pictures of a bunch of kids. Are they his? I don’t know, the man didn’t have time to talk to me, but he did gave a very polite refusal. The important thing is, ladies, he’s not wearing a wedding ring!
     Since he didn’t have time for me, I did a little checking up on him. He’s a former Minnesota farm boy–guess that’s where he learned to fix everything. But where he was in between the farm and now is a mystery. Ethan, our HR director, is very hush-hush about that, but you know me, I intend to keep hunting.
     Another mystery is the man’s love life. I’ve caught him sharing “looks” with our Senior Sales Executive, SHEILA PETERSON, (who we all know is rebounding from her break up with the Minnesota Twins’ outfielder), but the only non-work conversation I’ve heard them have is about baseball. Boring!
     Speaking of Sheila Peterson (think Bridget Moynahan with Jennifer Garner’s dimples. See pic here), she refused to speak to me, and was outright snarky about it! Her history isn’t a mystery (ooh, I rhymed!). She grew up in south Minneapolis, an only child, and she has a thing for Fig Newtons (really? Who craves Fig Newtons?!). She’s a U of Wisconsin grad who’s climbed the ranks here at Wharton. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s got her eyes set on the CEO spot.
     Makes me wonder why she’s casting those lingering stares at our new hire in the basement…

Inksper Blog Plus Book Giveaway!

Good morning!

Today you’ll find me just down the web-road at Inkspirational Messages. It’s my first post on the revamped blog (Don’t you love the new look?!) I’m talking about being a bit overwhelmed. But, that’s life!

http://inkspirationalmessages.com/overwhelmed/

You’re going to want to stop by today because we’re giving away a bunch of books, including mine, and the contest ends tonight at midnight CST.

When God Ran – Chain of Mercy Playlist – Song #5

” …we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” Luke 15:32

Most of us are familiar with the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The son of a wealthy man takes his inheritance and squanders it on wild living. Once he’d wasted it all, he decided to return home to be his father’s servant. But as he was approaching his father’s home, his father ran to him, threw his arms around him, kissed him, and threw a huge party.

I love this story–we’re all prodigals in some way, and to think that when we return, God throws a massive party! How cool is that?!

In Chain of Mercy, Richard Brooks’ story doesn’t completely parallel the Biblical prodigal son’s, but CoM is Richard’s story of returning home. I love the image of God running to Richard as he walks that long, dusty road home.

When God Ran by Phillips, Craig and Dean

Chain of Mercy Updates!

April 22, 2014 - Two weeks from today is Chain of Mercy‘s official release date! Eek! It’s still rather surreal–maybe it will become real once I actually hold a book in my hands and page through it, smell the paper, run my fingers over the cover. I can’t wait!

In the meantime, the process has been picking up speed. In this past week alone …

I revealed the front cover to the public. Isn’t it beautiful?!

I saw the full cover! Love it! The back cover just needs one important tweak before I can share it with everyone. The graphic at the top of this post gives you a peek at the back cover.
Chain of Mercy was listed on Amazon! Right now if you pre-order the paperback, it’s a great price! Click <here> to go to Amazon.

I created an Amazon Author Page. I’d love it if you’d *like* the page for me. Click <here> to go to my author page.

And …

I learned that Pieces of Granite, the prequel to Chain of Mercy in the Coming Home Series, has a scheduled pub date of September 16, 2014! Oh my!

Looks like my journey is just beginning. Thank you for joining me!