HER ABUNDANT JOY - Lyn Cote - Free Book

Author's Bio:

When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Long years of rejection followed. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen by Steeple Hill for the new Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over thirty novels published. In 2006 Lyn's book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, one of the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail, and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/  Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and "friend or follow" her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.


Her latest release is Her Abundant Joy, the final book in her Texas Star of Destiny series, to purchase drop by her website or blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/ .

Welcome, Lyn. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

Evidently I am fired by a crusading spirit. My brand is Strong Women, Brave Stories. Each story is always a unique romance of a strong woman finding the man she can love and respect above all others, the man who will treasure her for her strengths, not in spite of them.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

It's hard to choose between my wedding day and the birth days of my two children.
How has being published changed your life?

I'm busier.
What are you reading right now?

I just finished and ARC of An Inconvenient Friend by African-American author Rhonda McKnight http://www.rhondamcknight.net/, a very edgy Christian novel where the protagonist is the "other woman," Samaria. She decides that getting close to the wife will help her seduce her lover to leave said wife. But in the end Samaria finds herself with An Inconvenient Friend. I couldn't put it down! It'll be released on August 1st.
What is your current work in progress?

I'm writing the 3rd in my "New Friends Street" series for Love Inspired, three stories of families receiving Habitat for Humanity homes in WI. The first in the series is Shelter of Hope, out this Sept.--at a Wal-Mart near you!
What would be your dream vacation?

I think I just had it in St Louis at a writers retreat and the International Christian Retail Show where I signed my latest release, Her Abundant Joy.
How do you choose your settings for each book?

I always start with setting and a time period. I like to watch my characters “brave the storms of history.” In my own life, I survived the assassination of JFK, Watergate, the Cold War, Vietnam War, two Gulf Wars, recessions, 9/11, and what we’re experiencing now. History impacts every life. And often pushes us and my characters to our limit of bravery, endurance and phileo or brotherly love. I also focus on women who were what I call “passionate participants of their times.” Women who took the Great Commission and the Golden Rule to heart and then tried to take them into the world.
If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I'd like to have my husband, my son, his wife, and our daughter together playing Scrabble. This only happens once a year usually. Not what you expected, right? :-)
These are your answers, so I don't have expectations. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I knit, crochet, watch old movies and do lunch as often as I can!

I knit and crochet, too. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Life keeps intruding.
What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Be fearless.

Tell us about the featured book.

Her Abundant Joy, 3rd in my Texas Star of Destiny series, features a German widow Mariel Wolffe. She is a heroine who will tug at a reader's heart (I hope!) And her hero, Carson Quinn, the son of the hero and heroine in the first book, is a man that should melt hearts. He's not just a handsome face. He has faced frontier life and learned to survive with honor, no small accomplishment.

They find themselves--just as we do today in the face of terrorism--in the middle of a war. Their personal desires and plans must give way to the winds of war. But God is still there with them. I gave my editor a choice of two titles taken from Psalm 37 (all 3 titles are). She chose Her Abundant Joy. The other was Her Man of Peace. I think that this reflects the theme of the book. Carson longs for peace but is forced into war.

The humble shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.... Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Psalm 37: 11, 37

Please give us the first page of the book.
Chapter One


Texas, April 1846

Gazing ahead through the pouring rain, Carson Quinn tried to take a deep breath and couldn’t. Searing tightness in his chest reminded him--he hadn’t been able to blot out the images. Images the past week with Blanche had blistered into his mind, knotted around his lungs. Late on his second day in the saddle, all he was looking forward to was a hot bath and a warm bed at one of Galveston’s inns, comfort for his body if not his spirit.

Draped within the dismal mist, he nudged his horse to churn quicker through mud and murky puddles over the last half-mile into the seaport. Amid the jumble of buildings, strange people clogged the streets. He pulled up on his reins. Something had happened here. Something out of the ordinary. Something that might force him out of his own misery into the misery of others.

People huddled under dripping trees, under canvas, and standing under the overhanging roofs of stores, everyone drenched. Rainwater funneled down his leather hat as he steered his horse through the throng. Those who peered up at him looked pale, forlorn and sickly. They weren’t dressed like Texans, or even Americans—

He inhaled a shallow breath. He still thought of Americans as separate from Texas, from him. But Texas was part of the US now. Had been for over two months. Who were these people?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/
For the latest Christian Fiction Market Update http://www.booksbylyncote.com/publishers.html
Also look me up on facebook, GoodReads, Shoutlife, eharlequin.com and MySpace!

Thank you, Lyn, for spending this time with us.

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