JUST KIN - Caryl McAdoo - One Free Book

Bio: Caryl McAdoo is all about loving God! She currently writes four series: the historical Christian - Texas Romance; a contemporary - Red River Romance; The Generations, her Biblical fiction, and the newest Days of Dread Trilogy for mid-grade readers. Known as the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and prays her story gives God glory! In 2008, she and her high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings believing all good things come from God. Besides glorifying Him, she hopes each title will also minister His love, mercy, and grace to its readers. Caryl and Ron live in Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

Welcome back, Caryl. Tell us about your salvation experience.

At nine years old, I got to go to summer camp with our church. Mt. Lebanon seemed so far away, but really just outside Dallas County to the south. They had a tabernacle service each night. One of those times, Holy Spirit tugged my heart with the conviction that I needed Jesus and His gift of salvation. I was sitting there in my chair crying. I hadn’t realized the service had ended. An unknown lady came up to me and led me through the sinner’s prayer and went with me to the front.

    

I knew that I knew I was saved! I felt so CLEAN inside, and I was SO excited. I got a dime and ran all the way to the snack bar area where there was a payphone and called Mama. I just had to share with her what God had done! He SAVED me! I was baptized the following week or two on Sunday. And stayed in that little Southern Baptist Church until we moved to Irving in 1962.

    

The devil has never been able to get me to doubt my salvation. I know Jesus saved me that hot summer night in 1959 and came to live in my heart.

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Any four I want to spend the retreat with? Oh wow. Would you come, Lena? I’d love to have you there because you know so much about writing and marketing and blogging and I love you!

    

Certainly, I’d invite Bodie Thoene, just to get to pick her brain about Israel. I love her books and would try to discover her techniques in stirring her readers to laugh aloud and cry to where you can’t even see the words to read.

    

I have so many writer friends these days. It’s hard to choose. I’d invite Cass Wessel. She has been such a blessing to me, and I’d love being able to help her get her debut novel ready. We could have some intense work time to get in on it during the retreat!

    

Who, who who for my fourth? I know! I’d invite my daughter-in-love Janis McAdoo because she has a book she needs to get together and she needs a retreat with time to do nothing but that! Helping her get her book organized and put together would help thousands of authors and be so valuable to so many!

Yes, I’d love to have a retreat with you and your other writers. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

Well, I guess my favorite speaking engagements are my visits to elementary schools. I love young readers so much. They’re so excited and attentive and fun. I incorporate the new songs God gives me that go with my stories, and they love those. They’re fun songs, plus I’m more comfortable singing than talking, except I do love talking about God and giving Him glory.

   

I often speak to writers’ groups, but usually with my husband. I like teaching with him because he is the one who paces me. And he’s so wise. He’s like that E.F. Hutton … when he talks, everyone wants to listen.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

 No doubt, I have had my share of them, but I’m not one of those folks who has a most-embarrassing-moment story. I suppose because I put them out of my mind the minute I possibly can.

    

However, in searching my recent history, I have come up with an incident. At a district school gym we’d traveled to, we made our way up the bleachers; O’Pa likes to sit high—I like sitting by him.  Ready to watch our twelve-year-old #12 grandson play basketball, I snuggled up to my dear husband.

    

A coach sat below on the floor, and it dawned on me I needed to give him a note so we could take Benjamen home from the game, instead of him riding the school bus all the way back to Clarksville and us having to pick him up there. So I headed back down. I don’t know how, but about halfway, I tripped and tumbled all the way down to the floor.

     

By the time I stopped bouncing, O’Pa stood over me. He and a lady coach helped up, and I sat on the bottom bench. Another coach appeared with a Ziplock bag full of ice. Both knees were scraped, but one hurt so bad I thought it might be broken. Benjamen came, hugged my neck, and reassured me, “You didn’t embarrass me, Grami.”
    

“Oh good.” said I. “Just myself then.” I’m sure everyone watched me roll down the stairs. This one thing I can tell you for certain. No more sitting on the top bench for this basketball grandmother!

    

Miraculously, the next morning I wasn’t even bruised! My body was sore all over, but nothing missing, nothing broken! Hallelujah. I’m so thankful God answers prayer!

I’m with you. I don’t sit on the top bleachers either. People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I tell them, “DO IT! It’s never been easier with the computer and its awesome Word program and the internet with the answer to any question at your fingertips. If you want to write for public consumption, then you should study the craft before you begin because if you don’t, you’ll end up rewriting the whole thing.

“Creative fiction is different from any other writing you’ve ever done. You’ll need to show, not tell, your story in an active voice, not a passive one. And if you want your readers to get right down into the story to go with your hero and heroine on their journey, you’ll need to understand point of view.

“And get yourself into a good critique group—not one where everyone slaps you on the back and always says, ‘Good read!’ You want criticism to sharpen your skills and improve your writing. But start today. I have a great little book called Story aqnd Style The Craft of Writing Creative Fiction that I really think would help you!”

Tell us about the featured book.

Whoo! I really love this story, probably because I love the hero so much. Just Kin is book six in my historical Texas Romance series which is a family saga. In book two, Hearts Stolen, I introduced a four-year-old youngster named Charley. Born in a Comanche camp, growing up as the son of Bold Eagle, he was one tough little cookie all my readers fell in love with ... and so did I.

    

That was in 1844. Now Charley Nightingale is grown and heading off to the Civil War to protect Texas. The theme of Just Kin is that Love covers a multitude of sin. We all fall short of God’s glory. We all make our bad decisions when faced with temptation. Often, one poor choice leads to another until we find ourselves mired in the muck of a pit.

    

In Just Kin, the characters aren’t goody-goody. They’re good folks, well-reared young people who make wrong judgments. Charley opens the doors to sin that will cause him trouble his entire life, never meaning to be the man he becomes. Parents aren’t always happy with their children’s ways.

     

A stolen kiss ignites a fire that burns all the way from Texas to New York City. Torn apart by war, rejection, and a letter with news she never wanted, Lacey Rose takes her shredded heart and runs. Charley figures something isn’t right, but is duty-bound to the Confederacy until a deathbed order sets into motion a series of events that test his love, honor, and commitment to the breaking point. 

Please give us the first page of the book.

May 18, 1861

“Just one more.”

A chorus of disappointed “AWWs” followed. The deeper throated ones outnumbered the rest, but did nothing to deter her.

“Oh, it doesn’t hurt! Now come on. Please. This time with the whole family.”

Lacey Rose slipped away to the porch and sat on a step. Aunt May hurried about putting everyone exactly where she wanted them. The photographer hovered, offering his advice, but no one else paid much attention.

“Lacey, come stand here by your mama.”

Nothing in her wanted to. She really wasn’t a part of the family, but it wouldn’t do to argue, not with the mistress of the house. The only one who could persuade that woman on anything was Uncle Henry.

But still, she didn’t look like the rest and had no blood relation. Her mother could pass for a family member, but Lacey favored her father, Bear Fang.

The few minutes seemed more like an hour. Then finally, it was over.

Except really, just beginning.

How could some tall buffoon from Illinois get himself elected president of the United States and start such a terrible war? She didn’t want them to leave. Things would never be the same once they did.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website           -  http://www.CarylMcAdoo.com    

All Books        -  http://tinyurl.com/CarylsAmazonPage                                  

Facebook        -  http://www.facebook.com/CarylMcAdoo.author

Blog                -  http://www.CarylMcAdoo.blogspot.com

GoodReads     -  http://tinyurl.com/GoodReadsCary l

Google+          -  http://tinyurl.com/CarylsGooglePlus

Twitter            -  http://www.twitter.com/CarylMcAdoo

Pinterest          -  http://www.pinterest.com/CarylMcAdoo

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

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

Just Kin - Paperback
Just Kin (Texas Romance Book 6) - Kindle

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