WINNERS!!!!!!

Rebecca (OR) is the winner of The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron. 
Kec200 (NC) and sm (CA) are the winners the ebook The Last Lie by Leann Harris.
Patricia (TX) is the winner of Ruth's Dulemma by June Belfir.
Patsy (MS) is the winner of A Stranger on My Land by Sandra Merville Hart.
Linda (PA) is the winner of A Plain Love Song by Kelly Irvin.

If you won a book and you like it, consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites. 

Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.

If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.

When you contact me, please give the title of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.

Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

THE STORY KEEPER - Lisa Wingate - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I’m thrilled to be sharing Lisa Wingate’s new book with you.

Welcome back, Lisa. As an author, I know it takes a lot of people to birth each book. Who were the people involved in the birthing of this book, and what were their contributions?

It really does take a village to raise a book. My mother and my Aunt Sandy edit for me. My husband and sons help with travel and shuffling book boxes around. Author-friend, Julie Cantrell, gave the book an early read, and we talked about potential tweaks.

The greatest contributor to The Story Keeper, by far, was my Carolina friend, Ed. I’ll talk more about him when in a later question about The Story Keeper. Without Ed and his memories of growing up in Clemson, South Carolina, The Story Keeper, in its present form, would never have come to be.

If you teach or speak, what’s coming up on your calendar?

A book tour! Beginning the first of September, I’ll be heading out on The Untold Story Tour 2. Last year’s tour was busy and fun and exciting. I met so many wonderful people. I’m looking forward to again traveling several states, beginning with a big Journeys event in Memphis with author-friends, Lynne Gentry, Kellie Coates Gilbert, Julie Cantrell, and Elizabeth Ludwig. After that, I’ll travel to North Carolina and several surrounding states. Readers can find out more about the tour here: http://www.lisawingate.com/appearances.htm

Oh, my goodness. I know three of those women very well and love them. Wish I could tag along with y’all. If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why?

Someplace where there’s wilderness and mountains. I’ve always loved the mountains. I feel at home there. While I love the Texas Hill Country, there’s just something about life in the mountains that is earthy and real. The seasons change in splendor, the sights are awe-inspiring, and the fingertip of God is so clearly visible.

Then again, I feel the same way about the ocean. Maybe I’d settle in by the coast somewhere, in a little cottage by the sea ;)

If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be?

Enjoy the time of writing “just for you.” There’s something magical about the purity of writing just because you have a story inside you and you want to put it on paper. The story and the characters are the only things in your head as you work. After you sell your first book, that state of being alone with your story doesn’t exist anymore. Along with the story in your head, there are editors, deadlines, book reviewers, readers, financial considerations, agents, contracts, and so forth. All of those are wonderful things. They’re part of our end goal of being published and sharing our stories with the world, but it’s so worthwhile to be cognizant of the gifts of each part of the journey and the purity of its beginning.

You’ve been asked to be in charge of a celebrity cruise. Who would you ask to take part, and why? (As in what program, singers, etc. [it doesn’t have to be writing related])

I think my cruise would be a “storytellers” cruise. I am a lover of stories told the old-fashioned way, between a listener and a teller. I love them so much, in fact, that I’ve been quietly hatching a new gathering site at TheUntoldStory.Guru to catch and preserve fascinating stories that might otherwise fade from our culture.

My storytelling cruise wouldn’t necessarily be filled with national celebrities, but the sort of tellers who gather crowds in their hometowns or at family gatherings. Hollywood celebrities could come along if they were good storytellers, but my cruisers would be the waitresses from small-town cafes, the men who sit on pickup tailgates outside local Dairy Queens, the older folks who can tell you about driving on three-and-a-half bald tires during the rationing years of World War II. The ship would be so filled with stories, you’d see them floating on the air like a fog as we passed by. We’d breathe in their sweet scents, and remember every tale, and when we all went our separate ways at the end of the cruise, we’d tell those stories in new places.

Lisa, I’d have to hang with you on that one, too. Now tell us about the featured book.

After turning in the first draft of The Prayer Box, I literally dreamed a story about a young New York editor who finds a forgotten manuscript partial on an old slush pile. She’s captivated by the tale of Sarra, a young Melungeon girl, trapped by dangerous men in turn-of-the-century Appalachia. Sarra’s circumstances in some ways mirror the editor’s painful childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In my dream, the search for the manuscript’s author took her back home after many years away, leading her to a place called Mirror Lake, deep in the mountains.

When I woke, I poured the story concept onto paper, all at once, complete. Over the course of twenty-three novels, I’ve never done that before, and I knew that this story was something special. I was scheduled to meet with my editor the next week, so I took the synopsis along and told her about the dream and the story concept. We agreed to substitute it for the book that was to follow The Prayer Box.

When I contacted my friend and long-time mentor, Ed, to tell him I was writing another Carolina-based book, and so I had another project for the two of us. He was elated.  I described the location as I’d dreamed it, and gave him the name of the place in the dream – Mirror Lake. Imagine my surprise when Ed wrote back, “The name Mirror Lake really brings back wonderful memories that span time from the sixties to the present. When I was at Clemson, sometimes during the winter, when one of my friends could get a car, we would go to Highlands to ice skate on Mirror Lake. If we could get some dates to go with us, that was all the better. While I didn't own ice skates nor could I skate, I loved to watch others skate. Mirror Lake and the Highlands area were beautiful places. Those were some great times.”

When that email arrived, I became fully convicted that this story was meant to be. During last year’s book tour, Ed and I took time to drive through the Blue Ridge together, visit Pisgah, Mirror Lake, Stumphouse Tunnel, and many of the old places Ed remembered. We hiked, talked, photographed, and finished up our trip by passing through Clemson, where the editor character in the story was given a life-changing scholarship that frees her from a family pattern limited by poverty, geographic isolation, and the control of the Church Of the Brethren Saints.

Please give us the first page of the book.

This is the glory hour. This is the place the magic happens.

The thought fell quietly into place, like a photographer’s backdrop unfurling behind the subject of a portrait. Its shimmering folds caught my attention, bringing to mind a bit of advice from Wilda Culp, the person without whom I would’ve ended up somewhere completely different. Someplace tragic.

It’s strange how one person and a handful of stories can alter a life.

The trick, Jennia Beth Gibbs, is to turn your face to the glory hours as they come. I heard it again, her deep-raspy Carolina drawl playing the unexpected music of a bygone day. The saddest thing in life is to see them only as they flit away.

They’re always a passing thing. . . .

My first afternoon in the war room at Vida House Publishing was a glory hour. I felt it, had an inexplicable knowing of it, even before George Vida shuffled in the door and took his place at the head of the table to begin the weekly pub board meeting—my first at Vida House. This meeting would be different from all other such gatherings I’d attended over the past ten years at a half-dozen companies, in a half-dozen skyscrapers, in and about Manhattan.

There was magic in the air here.

George Vida braced his hands on the table before taking his seat, his gaze strafing the room with the discernment of a leathery old goat sniffing for something to nibble on. His survey paused momentarily on the pile of aging envelopes, manuscript boxes, and rubber-band-wrapped papers at the far end of the conference room. The odd conglomeration, among so many other things, was Vida House’s claim to fame—a curiosity I’d only heard about until today. One of the few remaining actual slush piles in all of New York City, perhaps in all of publishing. In the age of e-mail communication, paper-and-print slush piles had quietly gone the way of the dinosaurs. Digital slush is smaller, 

Wow. This book just went to the top of my to-be-read pile. Now let’s tell my readers where we can find you on the Internet, Lisa?

My website: www.Lisawingate.com

Twitter:   http://twitter.com/#!/lisawingate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaWingateAuthorPage

Pinterest:  https://pinterest.com/lisawingatebook/

Youtube: http://us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com/http://www.youtube.com/lisawingate

Blogging Mondays at: www.SouthernBelleViewDaily.com

The Untold Story Guru: http://theuntoldstory.guru

The Story Keeper Pinterest Page: http://www.pinterest.com/lisawingatebook/the-story-keeper-a-novel-by-lisa-wingate/

The Sisterhood Of the Traveling Books: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SisterhoodOfTheTravelingBooks/

Thank you so much, Lisa, for sharing this new book with us. I'm excited about it.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Story Keeper - Christianbook.com
The Story Keeper - Amazon
The Story Keeper - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

HOME TO CHICORY LANE - Deborah Raney - One Free Book

Bio: Deborah Raney accomplished something very few authors are able to do with their first book. Her debut novel, A Vow to Cherish (originally published in 1996), inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched her writing career after 20 happy years as a stay-at-home mom. Since then, her books have won numerous awards including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists.

Raney’s newest novel, Home to Chicory Lane, released this month as the first book in the Chicory Inn Novels series for Abingdon Press Fiction.

Welcome, Deb. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?

Women’s fiction has always been my favorite genre. It not only allows me to explore social issues, or even add a bit of suspense, but a story is made all the better (I think!) if there’s also a thread of romance. Women’s fiction is a wonderful blend of all those, and more.

If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live?

I’d live in Missouri where both our daughter and three of our five grandkids live. I love my native Kansas, and my parents and siblings and dear friends are, but it’s hard to be so far from all four of our kids.

What foreign country would you like to visit and why?

Germany! Our oldest son lives in Berlin, and we haven’t yet been able to go visit him. But when we do, we’re hoping he’ll also take a side trip with us to England where my great-great-great grandparents were born before they made the long journey by ship and ended up in Kansas.

Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.

I think a New England bed-and-breakfast tour in the fall—both my husband and my favorite season—would be just lovely!

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

In Italy! After reading Susan Meissner’s The Girl in the Glass, I fell in love with the setting and thought it would a treat to travel to Venice and while there, write a novel about an American woman in Venice.

What is the main theme of Home to Chicory Lane?

All five of the Chicory Inn Novels series will have themes of home ... how home defines who we are, how home launches us into the world, how home calls us back, how home makes us who we are.

Tell us about the story.

In Home to Chicory Lane, Landyn, the youngest daughter of the Whitman family, has married and moved to New York with her new husband to seek their dreams. When those dreams divide the young couple, Landyn comes running home. But her home seems to be no longer there, as her parents have turned the house into a bed and breakfast—her mother’s dream—and Landyn’s bedroom is now a fancy guest room. She must learn that home is not made of bricks and stone, but home truly is where your heart is. 

Please give us the first page of the book.

“So, Mrs. Whitman, is everything ready?” Grant stood under the archway dividing the formal dining room from the parlor, smiling that cat-that-swallowed-the-canary grin Audrey adored. And had for nearly thirty-five years.

She went to lean on the column opposite him. She loved this view of the house––no, the inn. She must remember to refer to it as such. This wonderful house where they’d raised their five kids and where she’d played as a little girl had finally become The Chicory Inn. The stately home just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri, had been built by her maternal grandparents on a wooded fifty acres with a clearwater creek running through it. Now it was her fifty-five hundred square-foot dream fulfilled. Or at least that was the plan.

Audrey gave her husband a tight smile. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I just know I’m forgetting something.”

“Come here.” He opened his arms to her.

She stepped into his embrace, desperately needing the strength of him.

“Everything looks wonderful, and anything you forgot can’t be too important. Just look at the weather God supplied––sunshine, cool October breeze, and the trees are at their autumn peak. Even the chicory is still in bloom in the ditches. Made to order, I’d say.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://www.deborahraney.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.raney

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authordebraney

Blog: http://novelgarden.blogspot.com

The first book in Deborah Raney's new Chicory Inn series, Home to Chicory Lane, introduces us to Audrey Whitman, a mother who has launched all her children into life and now looks forward to fulfilling some of her own dreams during her empty-nest years. However, not all of her children are ready to stay out of the nest quite yet.

Deborah is celebrating the release of her new series with a $200 B and B Weekend Getaway and a Facebook author chat party.

 
  One winner will receive:

• A B and B Weekend Getaway (via a $200 Visa cash card)
• Home to Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on September 9th. Winner will be announced at the Home to Chicory Lane Author Chat Party on 9/9. Deborah will be hosting a heartfelt book chat, giving away prizes, and answering questions from readers. She will also share an exclusive sneak peek at the next book in the Chicory Inn series!

So grab your copy of Home to Chicory Lane and join Deborah on the evening of September 9th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 9th!

Thank you, Deb, for sharing this new book with us. It's always a pleasure to host you.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Home to Chicory Lane - Christianbook.com
Home to Chicory Lane: A Chicory Inn Novel | Book 1 - Amazon
Home to Chicory Lane: A Chicory Inn Novel | Book 1 - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

EMANATE - Jackie Castle - Free Ebooks or Print

Dear Readers, Jackie Castle has been in my critique group for several years. She’s a very good friend of mine. And her Young Adult fantasy books are powerful.

Be sure to read all the instructions at the bottom to find out about the giveaway.

Welcome, Jackie. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Probably more than I care to admit, but you'll never get me to admit that.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I dressed up as a pirate and called myself Rambunctious Rita when I was teaching a writing class about characters. The kids thought that was hilarious.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was in the 6th grade. I wrote a mystery story because I was a big Hardy Boys fan. I let my grade school teacher read it. She liked it so much, she wanted to read it to the class during our reading periods. The other kids enjoyed hearing it, too. I loved hearing my story and seeing others enjoying it as well. At the end of the week, when she finished the story, she told everyone that she expected to see my books published one day. From that moment on, I just knew what I wanted to be more than anything else in this world.

And no matter what twist and turns life has led me on, there's always been a notebook and story idea around each corner, again and again. The desire to write and the flow of stories have never left me. I always seem to come back to story, time and again, until I've finally decided: This is what I'm meant to do. And I am.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I get a lot of jibes for this, but I really do love reading kid's and teen/YA books. I love how wild and varied the novels are for this age group. Such fun, crazy, and limitless adventures. The children's and most teen novels are clean. (A biggie for me) Also, the characters are always brave and authors feel more at liberty to leave little nuggets in the stories. I love to read stories that have take-away value.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I take long, slow walks and talk things out with God. He's a great listener. And if I listen real hard, most of the things that make life crazy have a way of working themselves out.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I look for names that have some kind of meaning. Alyra's name was first Ariel which meant something like a light that hovers over the waters. Because Ariel has already been taken by a red-headed mermaid, I found the name Lyra which also means light, I think from a star. I added the A in front of Lyra because her name needed to start with an A … for some reason.

Here's another one: Riyah, Alyra's Elderad instructor, came from the Hebrew word, Raya which means friendship love. Riyah ends up being one of Alyra's most enduring, protective, and teaching friends during the course of the series.

I can go on and on about names, but I can't say I spend long periods of time coming up with them. They have a way of coming to me while I'm working out the story. It's amazing, really.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Well, this is a hard one. I guess it would be making the choice to follow my dreams and make a real go at being an author.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

When I was a kid and saw Bambi, I wanted to be a deer because they were so majestic and graceful. Then I watched Jungle Book and wanted to be a bear so I could look for the bare necessities. Now days, I think it'd be nice to be a dog because mine just lays around under my desk warming my feet and is always ready to snuggle when it's nap time.

The great thing is, through story, I've been a chameleon, a sheep, a kitten, a squirrel, a cricket, a centaur, (not truly animal, but wild all the same), a frog under an enchantment, and an ink pen … but that's not an animal either.

Honestly, I kind of like being me, because I can be whatever I want, when I really want.

What is your favorite food?

Oh … how long is this interview supposed to be? I'm going to keep it simple and say if anyone is hungry for Chinese, feel free to leave me an invite.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Getting through that first manuscript. I would read it to the writers group I belonged to at the time. They'd critique it. I'd change it, then read it again. They'd critique it again and the circle went on and on until I finally… actually… reached THE END, and threw it into a drawer. Then I moved on to the next one and trusted I learned enough to get over my delusional need for perfection.

Lesson learned? Don't sweat the small stuff, you can only get better with each word you write.

Tell us about the featured book.

Emanate is the third book of The White Road Chronicle series which starts off with Illuminated, then follows up with Luminosity. There are five books total planned for the series, along with a prequel novella series that's also in progress.

If you find the Narnia stories enchanting, and if Wizard of Oz swept you off your feet, then I bet you'll enjoy visiting Alburnium, as well.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The Road Beckons 

Jerin of Yarholm pushed through the group of onlookers circling a man dressed in the Racan uniform. The half-moon and stars on the man's cloak branded him a servant of King Darnel along with the matching symbol tattooed on his upper arm. Jerin grasped the golden medallion hanging around his neck. The emblem of the white tree indicated he belonged to Alburnium and served King Shaydon who dwelt in Aloblase. The difference between the two marks was Jerin could always make the choice to take his off, whereas those with the Racan mark were given no choice in the matter.

Two scouts held the bound prisoner before the general. "We caught him leaving Kinti, Sir." The guardsmen shoved the beaten man forward. "We believe he bears a message to his master. Possibly seeking reinforcements?"

Marcel studied the ragged man as he tugged at his goatee in contemplation.

Glancing through the dense trees, Jerin barely made out the gray stone fortress of Kinti, presently held captive by Racah's forces. His palms itched with the urge to grab up his weapons and kick the foul thieves out of King Shaydon's city.

One of the guardsmen, who went by the name of Rat, handed General Marcel a folded piece of parchment. "He carried this, Sir. But none of us can read the script."

Marcel's steel gray eyes scanned the letter. He was a quiet man, never rash in his decisions, or demanding with his orders. He'd led them to Kinti with the intent to acquire fresh horses and new recruits. Instead of a warm welcome, their unit was driven away by a shower of fiery arrows.

 

"Well, your assumption is probably correct, Rat." Marcel addressed the guardsman while he handed a satchel to Jerin who now stood at his side. "See if there's anything important in there while I ask our guest a few questions."

Before Jerin could open the flap, the bag was snatched from his hand by Captain Dirk, his officer in command.

"I'll do that, private." Dirk said with his usual sneer. "I'm sure Marcel mistook you for me. Now return to your duties, boy. Aren't you supposed to be helping stew potatoes?"

With a scowl at his superior, Jerin moved a short distance away, fist clenched.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Find my author page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackieCastleAuthor

Or my author blog here: www.jackiecastle.com

Find out more about The White Road Chronicle books here: www.jackiecastlebooks.blogspot.com

I'm also on twitter: @Jackie_castle

And Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jackie_castle/

Thank you, Lena for interviewing me.

Thank you, Jackie, for sharing a bit of your life and your new book with us.

Readers, here is a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

Emanate: Book Three (The White Road Chronicles 3)

Leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of a free signed copy of the book or all three in the series as ebooks. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

HUSH IN THE STORM - Julie B Cosgrove - One Free Ebook

Dear Readers, Julie B Cosgrove is in the same local ACFW chapter as I am. I’m so glad to introduce you to her and her debut novel.

Please note: Some people who leave comments aren't in the drawing, because they don't follow all the instructions. Please read all of them at the bottom, so you won't be left out.

Welcome, Julie. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I write a bit of myself in my characters, because we all draw from our experiences. But mostly I develop strong, yet vulnerable women characters with real obstacles to overcome who discover, in the process, a deeper relationship with our forgiving and merciful Lord.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

That’s a hard question because my father was a political figure, so I was raised to believe we lived in a glass house. Probably the quirkiest was cramming eight girls in my 1963 VW bug to go to the mall. I was a day student at a private girls’ school so I had my own wheels. The boarding students weren’t allowed cars, so getting off campus for a couple of hours was a rarity. Out of empathy, I tried to squeeze as many as I could into mine on Friday afternoon. As a thank you, one girl featured my car pool in her movie for film class. Big mistake. It won first place and was featured in a school program. My parents shut down my taxi service as a result.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I wrote a poem to the deer my brother had just shot, and then dragged home to be gutted in our garage. I think I was six.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

Romantic suspense and cozy mysteries are my favorites. Even the shows I have on my Netflix list lean in that direction. I began, as a girl, reading Nancy Drew (who didn’t?) and moved on to Mary Stewart. If any of you are old enough to remember Hayley Mills in the movie, The Moon Spinners that was one of her books. From there I dove into a few more British authors, and then became hooked on Lillian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who books and Mary Daheim, especially her bed and breakfast mysteries. I like Brandilyn Collins and Teri Blackstock, and more recently Kim McMahill, a fellow Prism Book Group author. I do read other Christian works, though. I am just not really into sweet romances unless they also have a suspenseful or historic plot.

I will not read a book with sex scenes or foul language, nor do I watch any entertainment with that in it—which greatly narrows my choices in this day and age, but you have to stand firm in some things.

I so agree with your last statement. I’m the same way. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

I trod, trod, trod with my lists in hand or in my head. I am a planner, thus I try to stay in control of my world. God, in His marvelous sense of humor, is teaching me more and more to drop the list and hold onto His hand instead. There are more serendipities that way.

I say I’m a recovering perfectionist and list maker. Now the only list I make is the grocery list, so I don’t miss anything or buy too much at the store. How do you choose your characters’ names?

The same way people choose their children’s names. I consider the ethnicity, and then research the meaning of the ones I like when it rolls off my tongue, or I think matches the personality of my character. A rough and tough, burly man should probably not be named anything ending in a y or ie. I did learn the hard way not to have two main characters of the same sex have a name that starts sounds similar like Joe and John. It muddles the reader.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Finally landing a contract with an ACFW approved, traditional publisher. It really does make a difference, even in this age of indy-pubs. It is similar to someone else liking your painting so much they want to buy it and hang it in their gallery for sale. Prism Book Group has staked their reputation on two of my novels, and I am forever grateful. God has blessed me with this dream coming true.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A cat. Often times when I have to dash to work and mine are taking their third nap of the morning on my bed, a touch of green sears through my veins. I also admire their agility and sense of wonderment. However, fur balls? That may be a deterrent.

What is your favorite food?

Born and raised in San Antonio, that would be Tex-Mex. What else? Slap an avocado, cilantro, melting cheese or refried beans on it and you have me under your spell.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

The only time I got writer’s block was with my upcoming novel, Legitimate Lies, which launches in January, 2015. I knew I wanted to continue where Hush in the Storm left off, yet have the two novels stand alone. However, I couldn’t get past the second chapter. So I backed off and prayed about it. Within a month, God showed me the answer. It had no underlying redemption theme. All my other works, fiction and nonfiction alike, are about a human struggle/social issue, and how prayer and forgiveness can overcome it. God led me to the issue He wanted me to cover, and once I got that message, my fingers zipped over the keyboard for the next eighty-nine thousand or so words.

I’d love to feature the next book on the blog, too, Julie. Tell us about the featured book.

Hush in the Storm started off as an exercise in futility. While recovering from major surgery, I thought to myself, “What if I started out a story with ‘It was a dark and stormy night’?” I wanted it to be a suspense, and have the main character a young, grieving widow, who though lost and despondent, retains a streak of Irish spunk and temper. Don’t ask me why. Maybe something I ate or residual anesthesia side effects. (Just kidding.)

Anyway, as the story developed, God kept connecting me with missionaries who combat human trafficking. After that occurring three times in several months, I got the message. Thus, imbedded in the romantic suspense is how a typical, middle class American woman can become an advocate for two Hispanic illegal teenagers caught up in this awful snare. But I didn’t want this theme to scream over the plot. So in a mimic of their snare, Jen, my main character, becomes caught up in one of her own, which intertwines their lives. I hope I have accomplished that effort. Those who have read and reviewed it so far believe I did.

The main plot is that Jen, a thirty-one-year-old widow, is kidnapped from her job by a coworker named Tom who claims it is at the request of her late husband, his Navy buddy, to protect her from the group who caused his accident. They soon are swirling in a tempest of deceit, trying to keep their heads above water while dodging the Feds, traffickers, and the press. The list of who Jen can trust keeps diminishing as she begins to suspect that her husband may not be dead after all.

Please give us the first page of the book.

An eerie thought pressed a clammy hand upon my shoulder. What if all you thought was true never actually was?

Widowed unexpectedly at thirty-one, I naturally longed for what could never be again. Regrets and what-if mantras swirled daily through my mind. I’d learned to push them aside. But this sudden, unsolicited notion surged an icy-hot chill through my body.

My logical side chided me. Don’t be silly, Jen. Of course it was true. The diamond band on my left hand glimmered with proof. Robert had cherished me, married me, spent five loving years with me … that one night didn’t mean a thing.

I shuddered off the question and leaned in to review the balance sheets my boss had emailed.

But the bizarre suggestion whispered once more in the back of my thoughts just loud enough to keep me from concentrating. The numbers on the page became muddled gibberish. I closed my eyes, sucked in a breath, and tried to focus.

People passed my desk and said the same things they always did—

“Hi, Jen. Doing okay?”

“Sure, I’m fine.”

“Hey, Jen. Keeping busy? Best thing, ya know.”

“Yeah.” Always with a forced grin. “Thanks.”

I fiddled with the little gold cross I always wore around my neck, more out of habit than any indication of piety. I hadn’t perched in a pew in years, except for our wedding day and at Robert’s funeral. But after the latest in the series of sympathizers walked away, I seethed a semi-prayer under my breath. “Dear Lord. Please. Why can’t everyone just leave me alone?”

I had a job to do. The report was due first thing in the morning. I had to concentrate on the now. Besides, I never wanted to hear the eggshells crack as well-meaning colleagues tiptoed around my mourning. I was stronger than that, at least in public.

One by one, the other workspaces emptied. The buzz of office machines and human chatter diminished until the only sound was the soft hum from the fluorescent lights and the tick of the office clock, like a steady heartbeat.

At last, a welcomed solitude settled around me in a thick hush. In fact, it was too quiet. I tapped my pencil, then my foot, to dispel it.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Through my website http://www.juliebcosgrove.com, or my blog http://wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com

My books, including my devotionals and Bible studies as well as my novels, are listed on Amazon and Goodreads.

I also write regularly for Faith-filled Family Magazine, a quarterly online publication, and Truth Media’s Power to Change, a daily devotional you can receive free in your email box without ads or spamming.

Thank you, Julie, for sharing a bit of your life and your new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Hush in the Storm - paperback
Hush in the Storm - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

WINNERS!!!!

Anne Payne (NC) is the winner of Herb of Grace by Adina Senft.
Dee (NE) is the winner of Spirit Bridge by James L Rubart.
Apple Blossom (ND) is the winner of Song of the Prairie by Vickie McDonough.
Mary P (Aus) is the winner of The Doctor's Return by Narelle Atkins.

If you won a book and you like it, consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites. 

Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.

If you won an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.

When you contact me, please give the title of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.

Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

A PLAIN LOVE SONG - Kelly Irvin - One Free Book

Welcome back, Kelly. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I’m now working on a new series for HarperCollins. The Amish of Bee County series is set in Bee County, Texas, where the only Amish district is located in the state of Texas. It’s tiny and conservative and you won’t see any lush landscapes and neatly kept flower gardens there. I’m enjoying the change of scenery, and it’s close enough that I can make a day trip for research as needed. I feel blessed each and every day for the opportunity to write fiction, my lifelong dream. A writer never knows when the next contract will come or even if it will come, so I try to stop and smell the roses and appreciate the road I’ve traveled to get here.

Tell us a little about your family.

My favorite topic! I’ve been married twenty-six-plus years to Tim Irvin, a former TV news photographer who now works for the biggest school district in the state of Texas. Tim is my webmaster, he does my business cards, orders my promotional materials, and takes my photo for book covers. He’s also a fabulous cook who does all the cooking on the weekends, giving me more time to write. We have two adult children. My daughter is married to a U.S. Navy sailor, and they have a baby daughter who is the light of her grandma’s life. I don’t get to see them as often as I like since my son-in-law is currently stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. We have the pleasure of still having our son at home. He works as a computer support technician for a large pharmaceutical company. As much as I know children are meant to grow up, spread their wings, and fly, it’s still hard to let them go!

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

It’s harder for me to read a book without mentally editing it. A novel has to really hook me into the fictional world or I find myself critiquing the craft or admiring the choice of metaphors and similes. That can be a good thing in terms of improving my own writing, but sometimes I simply want to sit back and be transported to another world. It takes a really well-written book to do that for me now.

What are you working on right now?

I’m nearing the end of the first draft of The Bishop’s Son, the second book in The Amish of Bee County series. It needs lots and lots of work so I imagine I’ll be working on it right up until the deadline in September.

What outside interests do you have?

I have a full-time job in public relations so I don’t have much time to do more than work and write. I love to read fiction, and I write poems and short stories when I have time. Entertaining my granddaughter is at the top of my list these days, but unfortunately we don’t get to see each other as often as I would like.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I set my first series, The Bliss Creek Amish, in a fictional town in Kansas because I wanted to be able to build the town the way I wanted it. With a fictional Amish district, I could decide on their ordnung or set of written and unwritten rules as I saw fit. Plus my sister and her husband have a farm in Kansas so they were able to help me with crops and growing seasons and other farming-related details in that region. The spin-off series set in Missouri, The New Hope Amish, allowed some of my families to move to a new location and start a new district with all the challenges that involves. The setting helps me add conflict to the stories. With The New Hope Amish, we have the fictional town of New Hope where the newcomers aren’t feeling welcome, and also Stockton Lake and Branson, Missouri. I had a lot of fun with setting in this series.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

That’s a hard choice, but at the moment, I think I’d choose Abraham Lincoln. So much has been written about what he thought, said, and did, I’d love to get the scoop straight from the horse’s mouth. He led this country at a time when change was bloody and heartbreaking and scary, but also inevitable. What was he thinking as he gave the Emancipation Proclamation speech? How did he feel about the toll his service to his country took on his family?

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

I wish I had known that I should wait longer to start submitting my work to editors and publishing houses. I needed to hone my craft to a much greater degree. I wrote a novel and immediately jumped into pitching it to editors at conferences. They loved my pitches, but didn’t buy my work because it wasn’t good enough. Writing fiction well takes practice and work and the willingness to accept criticism and rejection.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

There are so many. I’ve been in my day job for more than 20 years and suddenly I have a new supervisor with a completely different management style and set of expectations. I’m close to retirement and a new season in my life. Navigating these changes on a daily basis has been a trial at a time when I thought I should be experiencing smooth sailing. Add to that my daughter leaving the nest and moving across the country and I admit to floundering a bit. Did I mention that change is hard? But God is good and He’s teaching me to find joy in new, unexpected places.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Wait to submit your novel until you know it’s the very best work you can do.

Attend conferences and hone your craft by learning from others.

Take writing seriously. Make it your job. Write everyday as much as humanly possible.

Tell us about the featured book.

I have to say I had more fun writing this book than any other I’ve written so far. It’s about a young Amish woman named Adah who dreams of being a country music song writer, an aspiration her family and her district frown upon. While cleaning houses, she meets a young English man who is a country music singer with big dreams of his own. He teaches her to play the guitar and in the process, falls in love with her. The story takes us to Branson, Missouri, where Adah has the opportunity to live out her dreams—but only if she’s willing to give up her Amish faith and family.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Not having a pencil and paper handy made writing a song a challenge for Adah Knepp.

But then she liked a challenge.

Adah belted out the lyrics, the bob-bob of the horse’s head along with the clip-clop of his hooves kept time on the asphalt highway. The squeaking of the buggy wheels joined in. Her voice carried on the warm June wind across the wheat fields of Missouri. Sparrows preening on the power lines that ran along the road served as her only audience. They probably thought she’d gone crazy, talking to herself.

She closed her eyes for a second, listening to her own words. They weren’t quite right. They didn’t sound like the songs she heard on the radio while she cleaned the Harts’ house. Not like Miranda Lambert or Taylor Swift. She sounded flat. Of course, she didn’t have the benefit of steel guitars, fiddles, keyboards, and drums. She stomped one black sneaker, and then the other, against the floorboard, picking up the beat. “Love like sun-kissed apples ...” She shook her head. Nee, nee. “Love like a baby’s sweet kisses ...”

No, that wasn’t it either. Still mulling the words, she turned into the open gate adorned with a huge wrought iron H and onto the sunflower-lined dirt road that led to the Hart farm. She would clean the house lickety-split and use the rest of the afternoon to work on her song before she went home. That way she wouldn’t be late and Mudder wouldn’t have cause to complain. Stop mooning around, Adah, and get to work. Those dishes won’t wash themselves.

Which, of course, they wouldn’t. Having six brothers and sisters, Adah surely wished they would. How about that for a fanciful notion?

She could write her song, cook, clean, and still be ready to take a ride after dark if Matthew Troyer should happen to shine his flashlight in her window. Gott was good.

A horse whinnied, an uncertain, unhappy sound that carried on a breeze that kept the day from being stifling hot. A man answered in a soft, coaxing sing-song. The voice reminded Adah of the announcer on the radio the Harts kept tuned to a country music station. It was husky like sandpaper, yet smooth and warm like kaffi made with an extra dollop of milk and three pinches of sugar.

“Come on, sweetie, come on, it won’t hurt you, I promise. It’s fine, it’s okay, it’s fine.” The voice sang in a steady patter of sweet nothings. “Let me just do this one thing and you’re gonna like it, I promise.”

Drawn by the velvety words, she hopped from the buggy and approached the fence. The voice belonged to a tall, lean man with a shock of black hair, ruffled and sweat soaked under the rim of a dirty straw cowboy hat. He held a blanket in one hand while he used his other hand to hold the lead rope attached to a tawny Palomino with a long dark mane and tail. The man wore a T-shirt and tattered jeans faded to a blue-white. The sun glinted on a huge silver buckle on a belt that hugged his narrow hips.

“Sweetie, come on, come on, baby,” he crooned as he crept closer to the horse. “It won’t hurt you, I promise. Remember this blanket. We played with it yesterday. You remember.”

At that moment he looked across the corral and their gazes met. “Hey there, Amish girl.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.kellyirvin.com

Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KellyIrvinAuthor

Thank you, Kelly, for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
A Plain Love Song - Christianbook.com
A Plain Love Song (The New Hope Amish) - Amazon
A Plain Love Song (The New Hope Amish) - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

A STRANGER ON MY LAND - Sandra Merville Hart - One free book

Bio: Sandra Merville Hart loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories. She and her husband enjoy traveling to many of the sites in her books to explore the history. She serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com where she contributes articles about history and holidays. She has written for several publications and websites including The Secret Place, Harpstring, Splickety Magazine, Pockets Magazine, Common Ground, Afictionado, and ChristianDevotions.us.

Welcome, Sandra. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I don't think of my characters as being me. They have different personality traits, and they don't look like me. The characters in my stories often react in ways I don't expect. Allowing the characters in my imagination to show me what happens next brings unexpected twists.

Before reading my debut novella, my husband asked me if he was the main character's love interest. I told him, "He's not you. She's not me. If it was you, I'd definitely want her to be me." 

Good answer. What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I don't drink coffee. I get my morning caffeine from chocolate milk. I know—most adults grow out of this stage. I never did!       

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I wanted to be a writer in elementary school but received no encouragement. I set the dream aside until about ten years ago. I've been told, "No one thinks like you. No one talks like you." Obviously some one does think like me—me. Those comments left me feeling like an outsider.

I attended my first writers' conference about eight years ago and found a whole room full of people with lively imaginations. For the first time it struck me that God made me this way on purpose. He equipped me to think like a writer. In this literary group of about four hundred people, I belonged.

That’s a wonderful discovery, isn’t it? Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

The type of book I most often gravitate to is inspirational historical romance. I enjoy contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. I also read a lot of non-fiction books as part of my research.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

As much as I try to protect myself from over commitment in busy seasons, it happens anyway. To keep myself organized in stressful times, I write out to-do lists. These contain all business-related items that are on my plate. Then I begin tackling the hottest fires or the things that can be quickly completed. Checking things off brings a sense of accomplishment.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Choosing character names can be difficult. As I begin a story, I create a document with names, descriptions, jobs, etc., about each character I already know about. New characters pop up in the story all the time. Then I have to stop and figure out the name. If an idea doesn't come, I look in a phone book for last names. These books provide plenty of possibilities.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

My family. I'm proud of whatever part I played in the wonderful people they've become. 

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

Dolphins seem to enjoy life. They jump in and out of the water with wild abandon. They travel with family and friends. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?

Yes, it does. I love watching them. What is your favorite food?

Chocolate. I tend to crave it most during stressful times. Thankfully bite-sized candies are usually enough to satisfy me. The new chocolate rice cakes are pretty tasty—chocolaty without containing a lot of calories. Have you tried them yet?

I haven’t seen those yet. I do love dark chocolate. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

There are so many things to learn about writing. In the beginning, it was writing a query and then a proposal. I find myself putting off new writing tasks that I've not done before, perhaps due to a fear of failure. After I force myself to work through it, the second time isn't as difficult.

Tell us about the featured book.

My inspirational Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, released today. Carrie and her little brother, Jay, find Adam, a wounded Union soldier, on their land after a battle near their Lookout Mountain home. Carrie takes Adam to the cave where her family has been hiding from the soldiers. Before long, she falls in love with him, but she can't save his life. He requires a surgeon. Carrie weighs the potential danger of revealing her family's hideaway with saving Adam's life.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Lookout Mountain, Outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee,

Wednesday, November 25, 1863

As the sound of a hundred firing muskets echoed across the valley, Carrie Bishop stepped out of the darkness of the cave that had sheltered her family for over two months. Peering left and right before replacing the branches that obscured the mouth of the small cave, she felt grateful for the wispy fog. It should help to mask her movements from any watchful eyes in the valley. Leaving the safety of the shrubs and one tall oak tree that further hid the entrance, she exhaled with relief to find no sign of the soldiers on Lookout Mountain. A noisy battle had taken place here yesterday.

Leaves rustled behind her. “Can I come out there with you, Carrie?”

Turning swiftly at her little brother’s loud whisper, she motioned him back inside. “No, Jay. I told you to wait for me.”

 “Aw, come on, Carrie. I don’t want to stay with Aunt Lavinia.” Her nine-year-old brother raised his eyebrows imploringly.

Carrie sighed. They’d both been stuck inside too much lately, and their bedridden aunt’s bitter complaining didn’t make returning to the cave such a pleasant prospect. “Let me look around first. I’ll be right back.” 

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://devokids.com/category/stories/adventures-in-history/

http://www.barndoorbookloft.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.m.hart.7

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sandramhart7/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com

Thank you, Sandra, for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

A Stranger On My Land (Civil War Romance Series) (Volume 1) - Amazon
Stranger On My Land: The Battle of Lookout Mountain, TN, November 24, 1863, (Civil War Romance Series) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com