Melanie D. Snitker's Blog, page 19

The 2016 Abilene Author Showcase - My First Author Event

I attended my first author event last week at our local library. They hosted the Abilene Author Showcase and, as a local author, invited me to attend. It was an honor to be one of the twenty authors included. 

Now, I'm not normally a very outgoing person. In fact, I'd consider myself an introvert. So getting out there and speaking in front of a room full of people was way outside my comfort zone. I joked with my husband and told him that it was too bad I didn't write science fiction. I could dress up in a costume that went with my books and no one would have to see my face. LOL But I survived and I have a feeling this first public appearance will probably make the next one that much easier. 

It was fun getting to visit with other local authors. I even had a wonderful fan come by, which was a highlight of the evening. It was a great experience and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it! 

Free Book: Finding Peace

Finding Peace , the first book in my Love's Compass series, is available for FREE today and tomorrow (September 12th and 13th, 2016) Police Officer Tuck Chandler is good at his job. He’s also good at holding women at arm’s length. Jilted by his fiancée for his dedication to his job, he’s not about to open himself up to hurt like that again. 

Laurie Blake is a struggling photographer. After growing up in a wealthy family, she’s determined to make it on her own, even if it means doing it the hard way. 

When Tuck is assigned to a puzzling burglary involving Laurie’s fledgling photography business, he goes into it with his usual perseverance. He wants to help her – if she’ll let him. As the case unfolds and the mystery deepens, another question arises. 

Will the past get in the way of their future? Get Your Free Book If you enjoy Finding Peace , please check out the other books in the series: 
Finding Hope
Finding Courage
Finding Faith
Finding Joy
(Coming this winter)

Life's Seasons: Adjusting to the Changes

Our lives are filled with seasons.
 
Some are joyful, others are touched with sorrow. Sometimes a season in our life indicates a time where everything comes together just right, while another might feel like everything is falling apart. 

For our family, we have entered a season that brings challenges and, along with that, a lot of adjustments. At this point, I think it will be a short season, but it's here none the less. 

I've mentioned before that our son has autism. He was officially diagnosed at the age of three, although we'd been told to expect the diagnosis at two. Autism has always brought a wide range of blessings and challenges to our lives in the form of a boy who never fails to make us smile. A highly intelligent boy who can quote a number of movies, finds joy in music, has the most contagious laugh, and can give some of the best hugs and cuddles. 

This summer, new challenges have risen on the autism front and our family has been struggling to help our son and everyone else adjust to the changes. We're working closely with an ABA therapist and allowing time and love to help in that adjustment period. 

But for now, it's one of those seasons in my life where I need to focus most of my energy on my family. 

What does that mean for my writing? It means that I need to move it down on my priority list. By doing so, the release of Finding Joy is going to be pushed back. I have every intention of releasing it this winter, but it's definitely later than I'd wanted. 

I hope all of you wonderful readers will understand. Meanwhile, prayers and good thoughts for our family as we navigate through these new, and sometimes murky, waters would be very much appreciated. 

​Thank you and God bless! 

Cover Reveal: Finding Joy

I thought I'd share the cover for the next title in the Love's Compass series:

Finding Joy

This book will be released
November 7, 2016

More information and the pre-order coming soon!

New Book: Rescue Me by Sandy Nadeau

Everyone needs a little rescuing from time to time. Sandy Nadeau's second novel released June 1, 2016 and is a Christian romance that deals with overcoming fear and unfounded guilt. Steve has to come to terms with feelings of guilt; while Ronnie has to deal with her fear of losing someone which won't allow her to love again. Get ready for some exciting adventures in the Colorado foothills and ride along with the firefighters and rescue workers. You'll experience a taste of mountain life and fall in love with the characters. Risking her life to save him is easy. Risking her heart to give him a second chance is impossible. After all, life is an adventure!
​
Sandy's first novel is an adventurous mystery. The title Red Gold continues to gain in popularity. It won the Clash of the Titles competition in April of 2014. Set at a guest ranch in the Colorado mountains, Mandy risks her life to save the life of a young guest at the ranch and solve the mystery of the Red Gold. First Responder Ronnie Spencer has a no-dating firefighters rule. She lost her father to a fire, and won't risk the heartbreak of losing someone else. But when Steve McNeal returns, Ronnie's heart is tested. How can she swear-off dating a firefighter when she has to work with the one man she used to love?

When the unthinkable happens, Ronnie has doubts. How can a loving God allow tragedy to stalk her life again? As her faith wavers, Ronnie must decide. Will their blossoming relationship be quickly extinguished by the very thing she feared, or will Ronnie trust God and allow her heart to be rescued—even if that means giving it to a firefighter? You can find Rescue Me on:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Pelican Book Group Sandy Nadeau loves to go on adventures, photograph them and equally loves to write about them. She and her husband did a lot of four-wheeling in the back country of Colorado and shared those experiences with others by taking them up in the mountains. Her writing experience includes a community news column in a small newspaper for twelve years, magazine articles and two novels with adventure, mystery, romance, but most importantly sharing God’s love. She is currently a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. Married for 39 years, she and her husband are loving life as grandparents to their two grandchildren (and another due at the end of August) after the big move to Texas. Travel is their favorite thing to do and they don’t get to do it as often as they’d like. Adventure awaits around every corner, over every hill and mountain. Connect with Sandy:
Website  | Blog  | Facebook | Twitter 

Calming the Storm: 2nd Anniversary

It's been just over two years since Calming the Storm was first released. I remember the nerves building as I watched it go live on Amazon, wondering if anyone would even want to read it. While it may not be a best seller, it's still one of my favorite stories and I'm thrilled to have been able to share it with so many other people. 

In order to celebrate the second anniversary, I'm giving away copies of Calming the Storm . If you haven't read the book yet, I invite you to grab your free copy August 16th or 17th.

As always, I'm thankful to each of you for your support. I couldn't do this without you!  A marriage of convenience isn't exactly what she had in mind.

After a rocky start, Rachel Peters finally has her life on track. Then a tragic accident takes away her sister and leaves her to raise her niece, Kendra, alone. About to lose custody of her last blood relative, Rachel is desperate to prove she can adequately care for her niece. On the verge of running away to keep Kendra, a new friend offers Rachel an opportunity she can't refuse.

Brandon Barlow has long admired Rachel. When her world begins to fall apart, he feels led to help. A marriage of convenience would enable him to provide Rachel and Kendra with a stable place to live, proper health insurance, and a viable shot at staying together. Once Rachel gained full custody of her niece, the marriage could be annulled.

His plan provides the perfect solution, until Brandon realizes he's fallen in love with Rachel. Through love and patience, can he help Rachel realize that, even when she experiences storms in her life, she's never alone? FREE Book

Recipe: Blueberry Scones

Scones are one of my favorite pastries, and something I rarely have the opportunity to eat. I found a recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook a couple of years ago and got up the courage to give it a try. To my surprise, the scones turned out amazing and I'm pretty sure we finished that first batch in one day. 

We bought some blueberries the other day and I knew I had to put them in a batch of scones. I hadn't made them in over a year. The recipe uses half-and-half, something I buy specifically for this recipe, and I rarely think of it ahead of time. This time, I put it on the grocery list and got a package of the individual packets you find down the coffee aisle so I could have some in the cabinet instead of watching it expire in the fridge. lol 

Okay, enough about that. Here's the recipe so you can make some scones for yourself: 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I leave this out)
1/3 cup firm butter or stick margarine
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup raisins, blueberries, strawberries, etc. 
4 to 6 tablespoons half-and-half
Additional half-and-half
Coarse sugar crystals (I use raw sugar)

~ Heat oven to 400'

~ Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter. You can use a pastry blender, crisscrossing 2 knives, or I just use my hands. Stir in the egg, fruit, and just enough of the 4-6 tablespoons half-and-half so dough leaves the side of the bowl. For me, that means 6 tablespoons, usually. 

~ Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and gently roll it in flour to coat. Knead it lightly 10 times. At this point, I put a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Put the dough on the parchment paper and pat it into an 8-inch circle. 

~ Use a knife dipped in flour to cut the circle into 8 wedges. I also use a pizza slicer and that works nicely. 

~ Brush the top with additional half-and-half then sprinkle the coarse sugar crystals over the top. 

~ Bake 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the cookie sheet and carefully separate the wedges. Serve warm or keep in a covered container. 

​If you want to try cinnamon, I used 3/4 teaspoons of it and that seemed to be about right.  What other kinds of scones would you try? I've eaten orange cranberry, but I haven't made it myself. Cinnamon raisin sounds good, too.  If you try something different, come back and share. I'd love to hear about it and get new ideas! 

God's Beauty at the Lake

My family went camping this weekend at a state park not far from our house. We went with the intention of staying for two nights. However, after all of the rain we'd gotten in the last few weeks, the number of bugs (including mosquitoes, flies, ants, and spiders) drove us home after camping for only one night. 

We had a wonderful time, though! We went to the lake and stayed there for several hours. The kids enjoyed swimming, my husband went fishing and used his kayak. Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun watching all of them and taking a rare opportunity to play with my camera and take some photos. 

I shoot with a Canon SL1. I usually rely on my 24mm 2.8 lens. But for this trip, I pulled out my 55-250mm lens for some close-up shots. With the kids in the water, I walked up and down the shore quietly in hopes of catching some photos of the wildlife that might otherwise go unnoticed. It was so much fun! 

And, as you can see from the gallery below, there were a lot of frogs. They look large in the pictures, but the largest was approximately two inches long, and most were about an inch. We did see one snake (non-venomous) and I was too busy telling the kids to stay away from that area to take a photo of it. lol 

This morning, before leaving the campground, I noticed the drops of dew on a field of grass. With the sun shining through them, it was too beautiful to not go back and take a few pictures. 

I hope you enjoy going through the photos. I'm always amazed at God's creativity and beauty in our world! 

Finding Courage - On Sale for $0.99

Good morning and happy Wednesday! 

I wanted to let you all know that Finding Courage is on sale for $0.99 today through Saturday, the 11th. If you haven't read Duke and Avalon's story yet, now's a great time to pick it up!   It takes courage to ask for a second chance…even more to extend one. 

For Duke and Avalon McNeil, it was love at first sight. Married within months of meeting, their feet hardly touched the ground until the reality of their haste hit home with startling clarity. 

Duke's heart shattered when Avalon vanished for nearly three weeks, fleeing their arguments and misunderstandings. Now she's back. He's happy she's home and safe, but he isn't ready to risk everything again when their bond was so easily broken. 

Avalon's relieved to be home. She's desperate to make peace between them, but returns with a secret. She can't reveal anything to Duke until she proves to him she came back to restore their relationship. 

As outside pressure continues to threaten Duke and Avalon's fragile foundation, they must find the strength to prove to each other their marriage is worth fighting for. Available on Amazon

Calming the Storm - A Cover Makeover!

​My debut novel, Calming the Storm, has a new cover. I'm thrilled with the result and I think it fits the story perfectly! 

I want to extend a big thank you to Blue Valley Author Services for this gorgeous cover. 

The Kindle version has been updated already, and the paperback will follow in a week or two.  A marriage of convenience isn't exactly what she had in mind. 

After a rocky start, Rachel Peters finally has her life on track. Then a tragic accident takes away her sister and leaves her to raise her niece, Kendra, alone. About to lose custody of her last blood relative, Rachel is desperate to prove she can adequately care for her niece. On the verge of running away to keep Kendra, a new friend offers Rachel an opportunity she can't refuse. 

Brandon Barlow has long admired Rachel. When her world begins to fall apart, he feels led to help. A marriage of convenience would enable him to provide Rachel and Kendra with a stable place to live, proper health insurance, and a viable shot at staying together. Once Rachel gained full custody of her niece, the marriage could be annulled. 

His plan provides the perfect solution, until Brandon realizes he's fallen in love with Rachel. Through love and patience, can he help Rachel realize that, even when she experiences storms in her life, she's never alone? Available on Amazon