Julie Arduini's Blog, page 59

Linda Hoover: Lighter Than Air

Happy New Year! Ok, I know we’re already more than two
weeks into January, but I’m still asking, “Can you believe it’s 2018? Where did
2017 go?” I do love a new year, though. If you need a fresh start, another
chance, or a do-over, now’s the time. My goal for 2017 was to have my new book,
Lighter Than Air, available by December.
Life doesn’t always cooperate with our plans, but instead of giving up, I set a
new goal. Perseverance in the face of obstacles, and prayer and belief that God
will help me, make this goal and anything else possible. Isaiah 41:13 says,
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Do not fear; I will help you.” I’m claiming that verse. 

 In Lighter Than Air, my protagonist is faced with a life changing decision. Elena’s father has gambled away the estate that’s been in her family for generations. In three months they will be penniless, homeless and separated from the staff they consider family. Elena takes it to God and believes He has given her the idea to have a family camp on their estate, thereby bringing in the money they’ll need to pay the debt. Her father feels any effort is useless and refuses to help. The man holding the debt sends a saboteur to vandalize and interfere, and Elena’s neighbor and long- time friend, Justin, keeps trying to talk her out of it. Neither knows what the other will face if they’re unsuccessful. This is a time for perseverance. With the deadline for the debt looming, will their insistence on doing things their way give them both a happy ending, or destroy everything they’ve hoped for?

My new goal is to publish Lighter Than Air by the middle of February. If you’re interested in seeing how things work out for Elena and Justin, and reading their journey to the end of the book, stop by my website or follow me on my Facebook author page. I’ll be keeping readers up to date.

Thank you, Julie, for allowing me space on your blog.

Odyssey New Testament Friendship Bundle

Learn His story, share His story! With this special two-book bundle, get two bibles for the price of one. Keep a copy for your child and get a second copy to give to your child’s friend, classmate or neighbor. It’s buy one, give one! Ignite a passion for God’s Word as children journey through the colorful, easy-to-read NIrV® text. Scripture will come alive through special bonus features like comic-book style illustrations, youth devotionals, insightful Bible trivia and interactive memory verses – all presented by beloved characters from the Adventures in Odyssey® audio dramas. The new NIrV® Adventures in Odyssey New Testament also includes Psalms and Proverbs. Help your child grow in his or her faith and share it with others. The greatest adventure of all time is ready for your child to discover – and give away!

Learn more about the Odyssey New Testament Friendship Bundle HERE.

Learn more about the Odyssey Adventure Club HERE.

I am part of the Odyssey Adventure Club Street Team. I blog about OAC opportunities in exchange for membership.

January: Thyroid Awareness Month

It’s a butterfly-shaped gland that is small but is so sensitive.

I feel at times I should have MD after my name thanks to this little thing, yet I’m always learning.

Our daughter has congenital hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s, and although I believe this falls in the rare disease category, it talks about the
Pseudohypoparathyroidism with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy.

Her diagnosis started with hypothyroidism and sadly, it was a late diagnosis thanks to office error. When we finally learned she did indeed have it, she was immediately put in early intervention and we were told to prepare for mental retardation. Having the thyroid working to maximum efficiency is that vital. We thank God that this was not the outcome for her.

After other health issues, we had a divine connection with the state rep for endocrinology and he explained that the thyroid is like a thermometer for a furnace. When it runs well, it kicks on as it should and all systems work as they should. Someone with hyperthyroidism would run hot and fast. Their thermometer would need to be regulated because it would be turning on too often. Hypothyroidism, what we deal with, means the furnace doesn’t kick on. She needs daily medicine to get the furnace to regulate. And in our case, even then, her furnace seems to run like it needs a filter change. Her systems have always been much slower than others. Whether that’s how God made her, or effects from the doctor error when she was a newborn, we don’t know. But all the things you see in this image are pretty accurate for us.

http://www.lifecarefhdc.org/news-upda...

When her endocrinologist confirmed Hashimoto’s, she said it goes hand-in-hand with hypothyroidism and no additional treatment is necessary beyond the meds we take for her thyroid. I know people with this, and it robs them of energy. Stress definitely seems to accelerate symptoms.

So for us, there is extensive lab work at least three times a year. She takes a medicine to “kick the furnace on,” and we also have her on a probiotic, and Vitamin B complex to help combat some of the systems. For us, weight and extreme fatigue are the biggest issues to deal with.

If you’d like to learn more about the thyroid, this post does a good job explaining the different aspects and resources. Next month is rare disease month, so I will share the little we understand about Albrights Hereditary Osteodystrophy, AHO.

I Believe, Don’t I?

I read years ago that actor Jim Carrey, before he was known for his work on The Grinch or Dumb and Dumber of even before The Mask wrote himself a check for a million dollars.

It was his visual to keep pushing through the rejection and believe he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Well, I believe those words are transforming. Everything about me is that I’d encourage “audiences/women/readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and—maybe one day—the chocolate.” The problem? Like Jim Carrey before those memorable movies, few are finding my work.

The author’s life is not as glamorous as one thinks. When You’re Beautiful came out, our daughter and co-author talked about it with friends and they were convinced in their sweet imaginations that she should take her royalties and go to Vegas. At the time she was in 7th grade, so that was funny, but it was also comical because those funds took us to Chick-Fil-A a couple times.

I saw this image and hope sparked within me. That one day, someone I’ve never met would be asked who their favorite author was and it would be my name that blurts from their lips. Like Susan May Warren, Kristin Billerbeck, Janice Thompson, and Lysa TerKeurst effortlessly flow from my mouth. Not because I’m the perfect writer, but because through the power of God, the words He gives me would be life-changing.

Marketing is every bit a part of being an author as it is sitting down and writing. There’s also editing, revising, and if you are an indie, there’s cover design, formatting, and marketing truly is a category and beast of its own. Launch teams, guest blog posts, ads if you can afford them, press releases, social media, and doing the same with your other releases.

It’s easy to look at that image and get that hope followed by the crushing blow that it’s all a pipe dream. I am intentional about not looking at reviews beyond marketing purposes, or stats about where my books rank (unless I need to market during a promo,) or the income that is coming in beyond being a good steward about it all.

The reality is I’m doing this—the writing, the marketing, the ups, the downs, the lonely call I’ve surrendered to—is to advance the Kingdom of God. I want to see lives changed for Him. That whatever their surrender issue is, they will read one of my books and identity to what is shared and believe they are worth trusting God with that issue.

My goal this year is to find new readers who track with me through the journey. I have to market because God wouldn’t give me this purpose only for me to write and not ever talk about it. People have to find the books to be transformed. My heart is to give, and although that amount has been small, especially compared to the Jim Carrey scale, I’ve been able to do that. I’m not in it to count dollars. I am in it for God to count souls who moved forward in their relationship with Christ because I was obedient.

Truth is, I am someone’s favorite author. Sure, there is family and dear friends. But because I’m being obedient and I’m pressing on, God’s pleased. That’s worth everything to me.

If you’re discouraged by your passion, I hope today encourages you. Be that vessel God uses to advance His Kingdom. You can never go wrong with that. And that’s a check you can take to the bank.

***

Jazmin West has always been a natural with dance, and now that she’s in junior high, she’s been promoted to an advanced group with older girls. For the first time, her favorite activity isn’t easy, and she feels left out. 

Lena Calloway enjoyed going out with friends, but after getting married and having children, she doesn’t get invited out much anymore, and she finds motherhood exhausting. Can these two members of Linked let go of their frustration and realize how cherished they are?
PRE-ORDER HERE

Fri-Yay: The Scandalous Gospel by Al I. ADY

The Scandalous Gospel

“Can I follow Jesus and be a Muslim?”
This was the question my friend threw at me just minutes before he trusted in
Christ. Initially, I wanted to say no and show him Matthew 6:24 (“No one
can serve two masters…”) and tell him he needs to set everything behind
him to follow Jesus, but something stopped me. Just before I gave him this
blunt answer I recalled a Bible passage I pondered just a few days before.

In 2 Kings 5, Naaman goes to Elisha to be healed
from his leprosy. After being healed, he declares that Yahweh is the true God
and asks Elisha to forgive him when he goes with his master to bow down before
other idols. Elisha’s response is “go in peace.”

When I read this, I was perplexed. How could Elisha
say it is okay for Naaman to bow down to another altar when God clearly says in
the ten commandments to have no other gods before him? So I looked up an online
commentary. The cool thing about this verse is that Elisha never says it was
okay for Naaman to bow down to the idol. Instead, Elisha lets him go, knowing
that God would convict him in this area when the time was right.

All this came flooding back to me seconds after my friend asked me if he could follow Jesus and still be a Muslim. It pained me to answer, but there was no way I could ignore what the Holy Spirit had just shown me. As I began answering his question, it slowly started making sense. It felt as if the Holy Spirit continued to reveal the logic of this truth as the words flowed out. I’ve had a few opportunities to lead people into a relationship with Christ; none of them ever went like this.

I told him I wasn’t saying he could follow Jesus
and still believe as a Muslim, but I could say believing in Jesus’ claims about
himself and following him was the first step. I told him it didn’t matter where
he started. He just had to say yes to Jesus’ call. As I said this, I suddenly
remembered that this was exactly what Jesus himself did. When Jesus called the
twelve disciples, they might have followed him, but they were full of doubt.
Jesus spent the next three years with them slowly proving himself to them.

I’ve never said these words before. They irked me
in a strange way that I quickly identified as the Spirit convicting me. The
Holy Spirit was breaking down the rules I created to dictate how someone could
trust in Christ and have their sins forgiven.

But isn’t this what we all do? It’s hard to see
it because we don’t often think about all the nitty-gritty details. So
often we view God’s grace and plan through our own perspective and rules. Then,
when we experience conflict as I did, our first instinct is to think the new
view is false.

Even now I feel like I have to explain myself so no
one will accuse me of heresy for not telling my friend he had to stop being a
Muslim. It took a lot of faith and courage to tell him to trust in Jesus and
then pray in my head that God would convict my friend of the truth and lead him
away from Islam in his own timing.

Now, I’m not saying this is the way everyone should go about leading people to Christ. I mean to say that the Gospel is alive and moves in different ways. Just as every individual is different, so is the means that God will use to lead people to himself. In the end, we can’t be afraid to follow God when he calls us to trust him and leads us in new and unique ways. Even if this way may be new to you or seem to go against what you have been taught. You need to rely on God’s word.

So often we—as the church—will add our own rules
which may contradict the Bible in unrecognized ways. Such problems are
inescapable as we use our limited understanding to comprehend our magnificent
God.

When our ways conflict with God’s ways, the gospel can appear quite scandalous.

Please bookmark my website and follow me on Facebook!

Al I. ADY has had a passion for writing fiction novels since the age of seven. At the age of thirteen he held his first ministry position with Child Evangelism Fellowship. Since then he’s been sharing his faith with neighbors, co-workers, classmates, people on the bus, and strangers he meets anywhere. He has been doing full-time ministry for four years now, starting with two years of Muslim ministry in the Middle East. Now he works with the Great Commission Alliance in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he trains others in evangelism and discipleship and writes fiction books to challenge believers to take hard steps of faith and show non-believers what true Christianity should look like.

Throwback Thursday: Vancouver by Gail Sattler

Vancouver, which is a series of 4 novellas is probably my favorite project. This started with one of the first books I wrote, before I was published. It was actually great sending it in, becuase when it was requested, it was already written. The first book in the series, Gone Camping, features my first ever tent-trailer. I had never been camping in my life, but my husband had been camping many times as a kid. So when our kids were small we got the brilliant idea (or maybe not so brilliant, it seems brilliant at the time), since we didn’t want to sleep on the cold hard ground in a tent, we bought an old very-used tent trailer. And that was our first family camping trip. It has its challenges, but we loved it so much that the next year we sold it and bought a newer tent-trailer that had a small fridge and furnace, with the option of propane or real electricity, and you could actually hook up running water.

We had some fun times with our boys when they were growing up in that tent trailer, so it seems fitting that our first foray with a tent-trailer would be used as research in one of my favorite books. Gone Camping was voted by the Heartsong readership as the #1 favorite novel of the series that year, and I was awarded the title of Favorite Heartsong Author that year, quite an honor. I enjoyed writing Gone Camping so much it became the first book in the series with all the other main characters in the story, including a surprise hero in the last story, which was a request from a reader. That one won an award, too.

After all four books were successful, Barbour Publishing combined the four of them into a single cover novel. Of course I love the cover. It’s where I live. I wish I could take photos like that.

Purchase Vancouver by Gail Sattler HERE.

Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver BC Canada, where you don’t have to shovel rain. When she’s not madly writing (Gail Sattler has over 40 published novels and novellas, plus a few works of non-fiction) she plays bass for an Elton John tribute band as well as a community jazz band, plus she plays piano for a smaller private jazz band. When she’s not writing or making music (or at her day job) Gail likes to sit back and read a book written by someone else, along with a good cup of hot coffee. Visit Gail Sattler’s website at www.gailsattler.com

Gail Sattler’s blog -What Goes On In The Mind Of A Writer – http://www.gailsattler.com/category/new/

Facebook  – https://www.facebook.com/gail.sattler.3

Gail Sattler’s Facebook author page at
https://www.facebook.com/Gail-Sattler-author-568988573496833/?modal=admin_todo_tour

H.L. Wegley: Behind the Story of Virtuality

Guest Blogger H.L. Wegley: Behind the Story of Virtuality

Before retiring, I spent my last two
decades working in computer technology, developing large-scale computing
systems for Boeing. Consequently, I subscribed to several IT publications and
ezines which I’ve continued to receive. These publications provide good fodder
for stories that deal with issues we face both as a society and as individuals—virtual
reality, artificial intelligence and robotics.

 

Virtuality deals with technology that exists today and which can be used for a variety of nefarious purposes. The story digs deeply into what it means to be made in the image of God. It illustrates that, at our essence, we are not material, but spiritual. Our identity, i.e. our self-awareness, and our will, does not depend on a physical brain. Our real self doesn’t even depend on a human body. If it did, how could we be, as the Apostle Paul said, “absent from the body and present with the Lord?”

We only have a finite, incomplete
understanding of what God actually did when He designed and formed us. But I
view the brain as the interface to the real us, an interface necessary for us
to interact in a human way with our physical body and thus with the world. And
that implies strongly that we should, as Solomon admonished, guard our hearts
because, through the brain, the physical can reach through to the spiritual and
impact it for good or for evil.

One thing I’ve observed is that, If
there’s a way to profit from man’s proclivities, people will take advantage of
it. As Thoreau said about man’s inventions, “They are but improved means to an
unimproved end …” Virtuality
illustrates this truth by spotlighting a dangerous direction that adult
entertainment technology is headed. In so doing, it illustrates how next-generation
virtual reality can deceive the human brain by using other parts of our nervous
system to create virtual worlds so life-like and addictive that people will
prefer them to the real world. Statistics already show this trend in current
video-game technology which is far less realistic and less insidious than
what’s coming.

Rather than spoil the story, I’ll stop
at this point. To get the details, you’ll have to read this action-packed
story. Here’s an excerpt from chapter 1:

Excerpt
from Chapter 1:

Though the water was only three-feet deep, the current’s
relentless pull on Vince’s body overpowered him. It ripped at his legs and
hips.

Vince’s feet slid along the river bottom as the torrent shoved him
downstream. He pushed his shoes deeper into the rocks and gravel. If he lifted
a foot to try stepping toward shore, in an instant, the current would sweep him
away.

He buried his fingers more deeply into the fabric of Jess’s tank
top and burrowed his feet more deeply into the river bottom.

Jess’s body in the water was the biggest problem, the greatest
drag pulling him downstream. But his freezing, spent arms couldn’t lift her out
of the water.

Vince slid several more inches downstream.

The dim light from the lodge across the river revealed their
location. Ten feet in front of him, the entire Snoqualmie River plunged into a
black void that roared its fury at them.

And the ferocious current continued to push him inexorably toward
the blackness.

Vince squeezed on Jess’s tank top with all the strength he had
left and pulled. But what he had left was like Vince van Gordon, the man …  simply not enough.

He had failed Jess. He had failed to fulfill his promise to his brother,
Paul, to protect Virtuality and its dangerous technology. Vince’s only
consolation … it would be his last unhappy ending, either written in his
second-rate novels or lived out in Vince’s second-rate life.

I’m so sorry, Paul … I love you, Jess.

Bio:

H. L. (Harry) Wegley served in the USAF as an Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. In civilian life, he served as a Research Scientist in Atmospheric Physics. After earning an MS in Computer Science, he jumped ship to build computer systems for Boeing for 20 years before retiring near Seattle, where he and his wife enjoy small-group ministry, their grandchildren, and hiking on Olympic National Park beaches. He’s an award winning author of 12 inspirational thrillers and romantic-suspense novels and has more on the way.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2JJ75V/

My
Web Links:

Website: https://www.hlwegley.com    

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/H.-L.-Wegley/e/B00B1XMR56
  

Twitter https://twitter.com/hlwegley    

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4460203.H_L_Wegley
 

Facebook author’s page: https://www.facebook.com/HLWegley
  

Many of my readers have friended me and
use my FB profile page:

Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/harry.wegley.1

Book Blurb:

What would you
do with innovative technology that could make you the next Bill Gates but could
unravel the fabric of civilized society?

“Don’t sell Virtuality. Jess
can help you.” His brother Paul’s dying words to Vince van Gordon, a
struggling author who can’t write happy endings, inherits controlling interest
in Virtuality, a growing high-tech company with a mysterious product the US
Army classified Top Secret. Paul’s last words force Vince to return home to
Seattle to run Virtuality and face the girl he walked away from seven years
ago. Can Vince, once again, endure being eclipsed by Paul’s larger-than-life
shadow, a shadow that cost him the woman he loves?

Jessica (Jess) Jamison is a genius,
a beautiful, highly introverted, young woman who can count her friends on her
thumbs. Seven years ago, Vince left, shattering her heart. Now Jess has a
Computer Science degree and still prays her childhood soulmate will come home.
If he’s willing to reconcile their relationship, Jess can help Vince take the
reins of Virtuality. But why is someone trying to kill Vince and her? And could
Professor Scoggins be right–that, in the wrong hands, Virtuality’s technology
could shred the fabric of civilization, and that stopping it may literally take
an act of Congress?

Virtuality is a character-driven thriller with romance
about dangerous technology lurking on the near horizon–a story of love and
sacrifice, illustrating that there are no shadowed, worthless people in God’s
economy.

New Year, New Ideas

Those not in the writing world are often surprised to learn writing is only a part of the author’s life. A big part of our time is spent marketing our work. One way to spread awareness about our name and books is through blogging.

Not only do I blog here, with Christians Read and Inspy Romance, but I also serve as a guest blogger for other author websites. We tend to use the same online sign-up sheet, Sign Up Genius.

For 2019, I thought it would be fun for you to get to know guest bloggers on a new level. I created themes for their guest posts, and I thought I would share them today. By the way, guest bloggers don’t have to be welcome. If you meet the guidelines, you can sign up here. I’d love to have you!

TRUMPET TUESDAYS—This is a day where authors promote their new releases. I love featuring this because I know firsthand that books are our babies. They take so much time. So. much. time. I love helping readers find new books and authors. I think this is a perfect way to do that.

THROW BACK THURSDAYS-–This gives authors an opportunity to share an older release. Any free marketing an author can create, we’re all for it. Very few authors have the income to throw money at whatever publicity exists. We have to be choosy, and while we’re writing our next project, we don’t want anyone to miss or forget our other works. This is a great way to help you discover great authors and their books.

FRI-YAY FRIDAYS—This is where guest bloggers can share a praise, a devotional thought, any good news that would inspire and encourage.

Like I said, if you aren’t an author but you want to share a post here, please do! If your thoughts don’t line up with the above themes, that’s okay, there are other days of the week I didn’t list. Contact me at juliearduini@juliearduini.com and let me know your idea. Again, read the guidelines to make sure we’re on the same page. Bottom line, don’t try to write a spam post.

I’m excited. I hope you are, too.

What are Your Plans for 2019?

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I jotted on Facebook some of my goals/prayers/hopes for 2019. I thought I’d share it here in case you were looking for encouragement or inspiration for your year.

What Are My Plans for 2019?

Little changes like switching from reading my Bible plans in NLT to ESV. I’ve done this before with NIV and MSG, and also look up KJV, NASB and TPB, so don’t panic if ESV isn’t your thing.

 

Big adjustments like surrendering fear. I thought I had that conquered a few years ago, but watching the kids go through stuff I never saw coming, I retreated. I went into my shell and hid because I was scared. I was still obedient, I think, when God called me to do something, but there are parts of me that need to be bolder and unashamed.

 

Like the parts of me turning 49 in March. I went into “the change” via surgery in 2008, but the last couple years have been aggressive and mean. I’ve walked away once again feeling less than. I need to embrace the fact that I am a valued treasure at any age, and if this is your struggle, you are a treasure, too!

Be more vocal in my support and believing in people. Ask how I can encourage those closest to me to meet their God given destinies this year.

 

Walk away from the negativity and not look back.

 

Enjoy the journey. I’m so task oriented I forget to BREATHE.

 

Write Anchored and You’re Brilliant without losing my sanity.

 

Start looking for opportunities to speak. I know it’s the call on my life, but I’ve been intentional about building my writing life.

Oh, and release two books. Look for YOU’RE AMAZING to come out in February, and RESTORING CHRISTMAS in November!

How about you? What goals do you have for this year? I’d love to hear them. Let’s connect on social media. You can find me from Facebook to Snapchat at @JulieArduini, or email me at juliearduini@juliearduini.com.

Fiction Finder: January 2019 Releases

January 2019 New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Amish Romance:

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Seasons of an Amish Garden by Amy Clipston — Enjoy a year of beautiful seasons in this new story collection, as young Amish couples manage a community garden and harvest friendships and love along the way. (Amish Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

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Courting Her Prodigal Heart by Mary Davis — Pregnant and alone, Dori Bontrager is sure her Amish kin won’t welcome her—or the child she’s carrying—into the community. And she’s determined that her return won’t be permanent. As soon as she finds work, she’ll leave again. But with her childhood friend Eli Hochstetler insisting she and her baby belong here, will Dori’s path lead back to the Englisher world…or into Eli’s arms? (Amish Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

Contemporary Romance:

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Her Hope Discovered by Cynthia Herron — Charla Winthrop, a savvy business woman seeking a permanent lifestyle change in small-town Ruby, Missouri, learns that things aren’t always what they appear when she takes up residence in a house steeped in charm and a hint of mystery. Rumor has it that Sam Packard the town carpenter is her go-to guy for home remodeling, but can Charla convince him to help her—with no strings attached, of course? Alone far too long, Sam’s prayed that God would send him a wife and a mother for his daughters. However, the new Ruby resident is hardly what he imagined. A new place to call “home,” the possibility of what might be, and the answer to someone’s prayers unite this unlikely pair with the help of the town’s residents. (Contemporary Romance from Mountain Brook Ink)

Cozy Mystery:

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Murderous Heart by Lynne Waite Chapman — Freelance writer, Lauren Halloren pens popular magazine articles extoling the comfort and security of small town America. And Evelynton, Indiana treasures its wholesome small town values. Ask anyone. Streets are safe to walk. People look out for one another. Marriage vows are treasured. Murders are solved. In this third volume of the Evelynton Murder series, Lauren, along with friends, Clair and Anita stumble over another body. The partially mummified remains turn out to be an Evelynton resident. But how, in this close knit community, could a woman be deceased for over six months without being missed? (Cozy Mystery from Winged Publications)

Historical Romance:

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My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel’s Dream by Pepper Basham — Journey into the Blue Ridge Mountains of 1918 where Laurel McAdams endures the challenges of a hard life while dreaming things can eventually improve. But trouble arrives in the form of an outsider. Having failed his British father again, Jonathan Taylor joins is uncle’s missionary endeavors as a teacher in a two-room schoolhouse. Laurel feels compelled to protect the tenderhearted teacher from the harsh realities of Appalachian life, even while his stories of life outside the mountains pull at Laurel’s imagination. Faced with angry parents over teaching methods, Laurel’s father’s drunken rages, and bad news from England, will Jonathan leave and never return, or will he stay and let love bloom? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

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The Homeward Journey by Misty M. Beller — Finally free from her dead husband’s addicted lifestyle, Rachel Gray and her young son set out for a new life in the wilderness of the Canadian territories. She is reluctant to accept help from another man, but after a bear threatens her son’s life, she agrees to accompany two God-fearing brothers who are traveling to the same area. Slowly, she begins to trust the one named Seth. Despite Rachel’s best efforts, she can’t seem to fight her attraction to Seth—until a secret from his past proves he had more in common with her husband than she thought. When a new peril threatens her son’s life, she must choose between trusting in what she can control, or the man who her heart says is trustworthy, no matter his previous sins. The path she chooses just may determine whether she can step into the new life God has in store for them all. (Historical Romance, Independently Published)

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Stepping into the Light by Candee Fick — With war looming and a madwoman in their midst, the only hope for a peaceful future may lie in a marriage alliance between a disfigured recluse of the Gunn clan and the overlooked second son of Clan Sinclair. (Historical Romance, Independently Published)

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Under the Midnight Sun by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse — Tayler Hale is ahead of her time as one of the first women naturalists. She has always loved adventure and the great outdoors, and her remote job location also helps keep her away from the clutches of the man to whom she once made a foolish promise. It seems she must keep running, however, and in secret, her boss from Yellowstone arranges for a new job . . . in Alaska. The popular Curry Hotel continues to thrive in 1929 as more visitors come to Alaska and venture into the massive national park surrounding Denali. Recent graduate Thomas Smith has returned to the hotel and the people he considers family. But when a woman naturalist comes to fill the open position and he must work with her, everything becomes complicated. The summer brings unexpected guests and trouble to Curry. With his reputation at stake, will Thomas be able to protect Tayler from the danger that follows? (Historical Romance from Bethany House [Baker])

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Devotion by Olivia Rae — Injured and unable to make his living by the sword, Sir Theo de Born needs to secure his keep by becoming an educated man. As he finds himself falling for his reluctant teacher, he learns of her plan to leave England before the winter sets in. How can he convince her to stay and fulfill her promise while protecting his heart? Denied her true love and sent away to a convent, Lady Rose de Payne has no choice but to accept to become Sir Theo’s teacher. However, she has a plan to escape the confines of her new prison and start fresh in a different country. As the chilly winds blow, her resolve begins to waver. Will she abandon Sir Theo to a miserable fate or will she give up her dreams to make his come true? (Historical Romance from HopeKnight Press)