Friday, February 28, 2020

YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE A PREACHER'S WIFE - Lorena Keck - One Free Book


Welcome, Lorena. What would you like for our readers to know about you personally?
I am an ordinary woman who God chose to marry a minister. The experience was wonderful, at times frightful, rewarding and exciting. We have lived in nine states, and God enabled me to accept different cultures and climates—from mountain ranges to flat prairie lands. 

Tell us about your family.
I have been married to my preacher husband for 58 years (2019) and have two daughters, eight grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren. Ted and I are retired and live in Texas with our daughter, son-in-law, and a nine-year-old granddaughter.

Have you written other nonfiction books? 
Yes: His Story is the entire Old Testament written in chronological story form. There are no direct quotes, and the prophets are included within the stories of the kings. Portions of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon are included within the stories of King David and King Solomon.

Do you have any other books in the works right now?
No

What kinds of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy?
I enjoy writing, reading, picnics, visiting family, and friends.

Why did you write the featured book?
I was very uncomfortable being placed on such a high pedestal as a pastor’s wife. I wanted people to realize I was a woman like other women who had problems, liked to have fun, and I giggled and cried. I was not perfect but felt I was expected to be with a perfectly orderly, spotless home at all times. Today’s pastors’ wives are allowed to fit into the congregation—thankfully.

I am just me, the way God has made me, and I need to accept myself as such and not compare myself to others.

What do you want the reader to take away from the book?
God has made each person special with talents and gifts He gives them. We all need to accept ourselves and not to compare ourselves with others.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell my readers about you or your book?
I was a bashful, shy girl of nineteen when I married Ted. For years I hid behind him during any social activity. God showed me my bashfulness was pride. I was worried about what others thought of me. Throughout the years, God has grown me into a woman who loves others more than myself, so I think of their needs. I Corinthians 12:9-10 has become my testimony. I know when I am brave enough to talk to people, it is God’s love within me—it is not myself.

Where on the Internet can the readers find you?
I do not have a blog nor a website. I am on Facebook.
I sell my book for $10; Amazon is much higher. HIS STORY I sell for $20. Amazon is much higher. Here is the link to contact me: keckleeted@gmail.com

Thank you, Lorena for sharing this book with us today. I’m enjoying reading it.

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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:

Thursday, February 27, 2020

SPIDER GAP - Kristen Joy Wilks - One Free Ebook

Welcome back, Kristen. Why do you write the kind of books you do?
I find funny books to be a breath of fresh air in an incredibly difficult world. Also, I tried and cannot seem to write serious books, ha! I suppose each of us has our gifts and mine do not include creating literary epics to boggle the mind. But the Lord did make me capable of causing you to spray coffee out your nose and that is nothing to sniff at … unless of course you actually did spray coffee out your nose in which case sniffing is both acceptable and expected. Why don’t you grab a tissue while you’re at it. But as far as Spider Gap goes, I wrote this book because of a phone call and an answered prayer. My editor-in-chief, Nicola Martinez, called me up hoping that I would write something for the Pure Amore imprint. It sounded really difficult and I had no story ideas. So, I told her that I would pray about it. I hung up the phone and prayed. “Dear Lord, if You want me to write a book for this line, You’ve got to give me a story idea because I have nothing.” That same day, I had this fabulous story idea out of nowhere! The Lord is so amazing. He is there for life-shattering events and simple worries like coming up with a story idea. That was a life-shifting moment for me, as I realized the depth of His concern for the in and outs of my day.

I had that happen with my book, The 12 Gifts of Christmas. A call from my agent, my prayer, within two days, God dropped the book idea into my head. Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I don’t know if I can pick … but there was this amazing moment last Christmas. The house was a crazy mess, deep in torn wrapping paper with partially-eaten scones and half-full coffee cups on every flat surface. Our thirteen-year-old was playing his new Skillet CD on the radio. The turkey was in the oven, filling the room with savory goodness and our three sons had just settled down to put together their new Legos. The rock music quieted for a moment as the band sang a love song. I grabbed my husband’s hand and we stood in the piles of wrapping paper and danced together and cried and laughed because that single slice of life was just so crazy and so achingly perfect all at once.

How has being published changed your life?
Hmmm … it has given me more things to do, like fill out blog interviews, ha! But as a mom, my life is pretty much wrangling kids and keeping life going. I write early in the morning so that I can do both more easily. But most of my time is spent with my family and taking photos for the Bible camp where we live and work. I am so grateful to have the chance for a creative outlet in the midst of all the craziness. There is something about creating that brings us close to God, I think, and writing provides that for me.

What are you reading right now?
I just finished up The Dating Charade by Melissa Ferguson and The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner which were both hilarious Christian RomComs! I also enjoyed The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson and am beginning The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah which was given to me by my sister-in-law. My sons have a stack of books that they want me to read, from fanciful middle grade adventures to terrifying Sci-fi war books set on Mars that I intend to get to soon as well.

I really loved and The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, too.  What is your current work in progress?
I am working on the 15th revision of a middle grade novel about prehistoric creatures rampaging through summer camp and am starting the 2nd revision of a RomCom about a young woman who is asked to drive a trailer full of beloved pet chickens over a mountain pass to their new home. Of course, she swerves to miss a bear, crashes, and chickens go everywhere. She must locate each special hen in the wilds of the forest before their young owner realizes her terrible mistake. I was told that I need to write a story as a giveaway on my website and so I am hoping to get this crazy tale whipped into shape to give something fun to my readers for signing up for my newsletter!

What would be your dream vacation?
Well, one of them was camping at Yellowstone National Park, which our family did in 2016 and while there I of course got a book idea and that story just released this year! The second dream vacation would be to actually take my family on the hiking trip that I described in Spider Gap! It is such an amazing journey and I long to share the toil and victory of traversing the glacier and seeing the fabulous scenery with my husband, three boys, and our dog. I especially want them to get to ride on The Lady of The Lake on Lake Chelan … but our dog needs to lose 10 pounds to do this … so we will see if we can make it work, ha! I know that the vet casually mentioned she could be a bit lighter, but resisting the puppy eyes is easier said than done. I will include a photo so that you understand our dilemma!

How do you choose your settings for each book?
In the case of Spider Gap, I knew that I wanted my heroine to be mercilessly teased by Jr. High students and so I needed to trap her with a bunch of Jr. High students. What better way to stretch a person to the breaking point, form lasting relationships, and build her beleaguered confidence than a 21-mile backpacking trip! I went on this very hike when I was about fifteen and it was a remarkable experience. I took a few incidents from various backpacking trips for inspiration and then threw every possible thing that could go wrong at poor Lily!

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
Well, I already got to meet Francine Rivers at a writer’s conference, which was a dream come true! Since I can’t use that … my sons got me hooked on ginormous books by secular author Brandon Sanderson. Seriously, they are 1,000 pages long and my youngest blazed through one in about three days. I would love to sit down and chat with him about how he develops characters.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
There are hobbies besides writing and reading??? Well, I do chase campers around all summer, taking photos for the camp page so that parents can get a glimpse of what their kids are up to during their week of camp. I love capturing smiles and action and fun. Our dog features in many of these photos as she is always visiting the kids and getting pats. I also volunteer at local schools and a nursing home with our 110lb Newfoundland, Princess Leia Freyja. She does reading therapy and general therapy dog work and brings a lot of joy into people’s lives.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
Besides rushing from scene to scene at too fast a pace, which I talked about with you earlier, I would say that digging down to get to the heart of a character has been difficult. I have to make myself pause the action so that my characters can think and struggle internally and learn. Once I force that character to take a good long look at themselves, the growth comes, but it is not my natural tendency to write these quiet moments. I keep wanting to have them chased by bears instead!

What advice would you give to a beginning author?
Write every single day! Don’t just dream about writing, talk about writing, learn about writing, or argue about writing … actually write! You will get better the more time you spend doing the job! It can be terrifying to face that blank page, but do the work, the skill will come with time!

Tell us about the featured book.
I promised my sons that I would include a kiss, a concussion, and a crazed animal in every book. Now, they do not care about the kiss, but they make certain that I include the other two. For Spider Gap, I needed a crazed animal. I modeled my heroine’s pup, Strudel, after my mother’s spunky little Havanese named Maggie. She weighed all of six pounds but was a force to be reckoned with in every way! I also included a game our pastor always brought on hiking trips. Pass the Pigs! You roll a pair of rubber pigs instead of dice. It’s hilarious! Add a 21-mile hike, a blushing first-year school teacher who thought backpacking was a walk around the park with her dog, a handsome ski instructor/river raft guide/smoke jumper and I was ready for some fun!

Lilly, a first-year school teacher is roped into chaperoning a backpacking trip over the Spider Gap glacier. Unfortunately, she cannot find a sitter for her purse-dog and must smuggle him along on the trip. All her friskiest 6th grade students are participating as well as a handsome ski instructor who resists her efforts to organize their trip in a mathematically pleasing manner. Can Lilly evoke a thirst for learning within her skeptical students, when she herself can barely survive the rigors of the trail?

Please give us the first page of the book.
Chapter 1
Sixth Grade Psychosis
Lilly completed another head count. Twenty-five, still one shy. Had she directed anyone to the bathroom? She checked the yellow basket on the corner of her desk. Five hall passes on bright yellow lariats stared back at her, their laminated edges crisp and perfect. If only the rest of life were just as faultless.

Miss Park, I’m finished!”

Lilly glanced up and started. She smoothed her expression and addressed a girl in a purple hoodie who had draped herself across her desk so that she hung upside down with her long blonde hair pooled across the carpet.

“Thank you, Emily. Would you please place your page in my turn-in basket and use the remaining time to read, while upright?”

Emily rolled her eyes and unhooked her toes from the back of her chair. Without something to brace against, the girl slithered to a heap on the floor.

Lilly waited.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Emily righted herself and proceeded to the turn-in basket. How the twenty-six students of class C could all universally despise mathematics after only a single week of instruction, Lilly couldn’t fathom. But despise they did, and this often took the form of agonizingly slow obedience whenever she was blessed enough to get student compliance in the first place.

How can readers find you on the Internet?
Instagram: kristenjoywilksauthor

Thank you, Kristen, for sharing this book with us. I look forward to reading it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.
Spider Gap

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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:

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

FROM SKY TO SKY - Amanda G Stevens - One Free Book

Welcome, Amanda. Why do you write the kind of books you do?
For whatever reason, my story brain is wired for the unusual but not the epic. My stories all take place in a contemporary story world yet involve some kind of twist on reality. (In the case of the No Less Days series, that would be the twist of characters who stopped aging a century ago and aren’t killed by injuries.) Also I love the mystery and Western genres, and flavors of each of those show up in this series as well as the fantasy flavor.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I don’t hold on to one single pinnacle of happiness that shines brighter than any other day. There are so many varieties of happiness. Happiness to me is all these things and more: hearing the first robin’s song when winter is vanquished by spring; experiencing beauty in art at a museum or a concert or live theatre; holding the children of my creativity in my hands for the first time when a book’s author copies arrive on my porch; visiting a dear friend who lives far away, spotting them in the airport and knowing we have days to chat face-to-face; getting away “Up North” and trekking over dunes, wandering little lake towns, poking my head into indie art galleries.

How has being published changed your life?
I’ve known since I was in first grade that writing is my greatest earthly love, so for me being published is a great gift from God. I love working with savvy people who make my stories the best they can be, who believe God has a plan for each one of my books, and who help those books get into the hands of readers.

What are you reading right now?
I am about to finish Alexander Hamilton, a biography by Ron Chernow; I’m making my leisurely way through Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L’Engle; and I’m devouring (nearly through!) the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries by Dorothy L. Sayers.

What is your current work in progress?
The third book in the No Less Days series.

What would be your dream vacation?
A cabin in a warm sunny forest. The cabin would be full of skylights, have a library and a writer’s nook, and GrubHub would be delivered every day, and I could just write and write and write! Alternately somewhere warm (near a beach to walk in the evenings, maybe) where I could check out art museums and used-book stores with my best friends. I’d love to round them all up for a vacation someday!

How do you choose your settings for each book?
The setting for the No Less Days series is a fictional tourist town based on Glen Arbor, Michigan. I chose it out of utility; I’m not a strong visualizer of places, so I write about somewhere I’ve been whenever possible. By this point the setting has become intrinsic to the story, and some of the characters to whom it was only a “place to visit” are sticking around longer than they expected to.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?
I’m tempted to say “friends who live far away,” but if you’re asking about prominent personalities, that would probably be Jim Butcher, the author of my favorite currently-running series, the Dresden Files.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
I love the Golden Era of Hollywood. I love music, especially folk, and I play piano. I’m always up for a good concert or a day wandering art museums, antique stores, or used-book stores.

I like to visit used-book stores when we’re out of town. I’ve found some of my best research materials for settings that way. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
My full-time day job is definitely the biggest obstacle to my writing, but it’s a necessary obstacle that pays my bills! I overcome it mostly with evening/night writing to the point of chronic sleep deprivation.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?
Read as many different authors as you can. Read outside your genre. Read current books and classic books. Study how they do what they do. The more you study a variety of fiction, the sharper your eye will become toward the construction of stories. There’s really no better way to learn to write well.

Tell us about the featured book.
From Sky to Sky is a contemporary fantasy, the second book in the No Less Days series.
Here’s the back cover blurb:
Zac Wilson can’t die.

Daredevil Zac Wilson isn’t the first celebrity to keep a secret from the world, but his might be the most marvelous in history: Zac doesn’t age and injuries can’t kill him. What’s more, he’s part of a close-knit group of others just like him.

Holed up in Harbor Vale, Michigan, Zac meets two more of his kind who claim others in their circle have died. Are their lifetimes finally ending naturally, or is someone targeting them—a predator who knows what they are?

The answers Zac unearths present impossible dilemmas: who to protect, how to seek justice, how to bring peace to turmoil. His next action could fracture forever the family he longs to unite. Now might be the time to ask for help. . .from God Himself. But Zac’s greatest fear is facing the God he has run from for more than a century.

Sounds very interesting. Please give us the first page of the book.
Nobody knew, as he strode through the propped-open doors of Harbor Vale Bible Church, that Zac had not entered a sanctuary like this one in more than a hundred years. Nobody knew his legs were trying to turn him around and bolt. After all, he was Zac Wilson, and nobody knew a thing about him he didn’t want them to know.
           
He lagged behind a few others who dispersed with clear direction. The foyer was open, the west wall composed of windows from the floor up that faced a side parking lot and a row of elderly pine trees. Nothing about the space justified Zac’s reluctance to step into it. Behind a desk stacked with programs and papers stood a blond guy maybe twenty years old. He looked bored, but his smile was real enough as he saw Zac hesitate.
            
“Hey, dude, are you here for the pack-a-backpack thing?”
            
“Yep,” Zac said.
            
“Okay, see the hallway to the right? All the way at the end, they’re in room 38.”
            
Thanks.”
           
His legs quit fighting him as he fast-walked that direction. He hadn’t expected a lightning strike, but the wrongness of his presence here was permeating. God saw he wasn’t here to worship or repent, knew the lost cause Zac saw in the mirror.
            
“Zac?”
            
He pivoted toward the voice. Tiana Burton stood, hands on hips, at the mouth of the hallway he’d just entered. Her smile was one of the kindest Zac had known in all his years. He stepped toward her to absorb more of its warmth. They stood eye to eye, she was tall for a woman and wearing heeled boots, he five-eight-and-a-half in his shoes.
            
“Well, fancy meeting you— Wait a minute.” He cocked an eyebrow. “This is your church, isn’t it? Yours and David’s.”
           
“It is. Welcome.”
            
“What are you doing here on a Friday night?”
            
“Service event. Somebody brought in a ministry for foster kids and matched donations, so we’re. . . Oh my word. Was it you?”
            
He spread his hands in a gesture of cluelessness.
            
Tiana laughed. “Does your fan base know about this?”
            
“I started it online. I wanted to do something local, and then the foster organization told me the backpack event was being hosted here.”
           
She sobered. “You wouldn’t have chosen a church for the venue.”
            
“Feels hypocritical.” The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, as if bridled electricity did indeed hover over him.
            
“I respect that. But I’m glad you came.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Thank you, Amanda, for sharing this book on my blog. I’m so glad a copy is sitting on my table. I must read it soon.

Readers, here are links to the book.
From Sky to Sky - Christianbook.com
From Sky to Sky (No Less Days) - Amazon Paperback
From Sky to Sky (No Less Days) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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:

Sunday, February 23, 2020

WINNERS!!!

IMPORTANT: Instructions for winners  - When you send me the email, make sure your subject line says this: Winner - (book title) - (author's name) If you don't do this, your email could get lost in my hundreds of emails per day. I WILL SEARCH FOR POST TITLES STARTING THAT WAY.

Jackie  (GA) is the winner of The Solid Grounds Coffee Company by Carle Laureano.

Linda (CA) is the winner of All My Tears by Kathy McKinsey.

Pam (OH) is the winner of the ebook Yellowstone Yonderings by Kristen Joy Wilks.

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

Also, tell your friends about the book you won ... 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 or audio book, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.
Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

ISHMAEL COVENANT - Terry Brennan - One Free Book

Bio: Terry Brennan is the award-winning author of The Sacred Cipher, The Brotherhood Conspiracy, and The Alepp Code, the three books in The Jerusalem Prophecies series. His latest release, Ishmael Covenant is the first in his new series, Empires of Armageddon.

A Pulitzer Prize is one of the many awards Brennan accumulated during his 22-year newspaper career. The Pottstown (PA) Mercury won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for a two-year series published while he led the team as the newspaper’s Editor.

Starting out as a sportswriter in Philadelphia, Brennan became an editor and publisher for newspapers in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York and later moved to the corporate staff of Ingersoll Publications (400 newspapers in the U.S., Ireland and England) as Executive Editor of all U.S. newspaper titles.

In 1996, Brennan transitioned into the nonprofit sector, spending 12 years as VP Operations for The Bowery Mission and six years as Chief Administrative Officer for Care for the Homeless, New York City nonprofits that serve the homeless.

Terry and his wife, Andrea, now live in Danbury, CT.

Welcome back, Terry. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
When I first started writing, it was a lot. The protagonist in my first book, Tom Bohannon in The Sacred Cipher, was nearly a clone. He was a reporter at The Bulletin in Philadelphia and executive at The Bowery Mission on the Lower East Side of New York. He even looked like me—at one time that is—in my younger years. His wife, Annie, was a very close replica of my wife, Andrea. So, a great deal of his backstory was a carbon copy of my life.

Ideally, you can/should only model a character after yourself once.

However, I would say there is some part of me in many of the compatible characters I write: my worldview; my faith; the pillars of character upon which I’ve built my life.

I’ve also found that I often take episodes, vignettes from my life and apply them to the lives of my characters, particularly if I’m trying to “flesh out” a character’s motivation for why they would do some of the things I’m asking them to do.

All those things—my character traits and life experiences—often emerge from my characters, whether the characters are male or female.

Author Patricia Hickman teaches that you should take personal experiences and layer your plot or characters over those personal experiences to bring a depth of realism to the emotions being presented. It works.

My villains are pretty ruthless, so I hope there is no part of me lurking in their shadows. And the villain in the Empires of Armageddon series, The Turk, is an other-worldly agent of evil incarnate. Yikes!

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
Going sledding at 2:00 a.m. in the morning (after we had gotten that day’s edition of the local newspaper on the press and running) with one of the news editors, my good buddy, Vince. We went to a golf course he knew had a great hill with incredible launching ramps that summered as sand traps. We climbed the chain link fence and lifted ourselves over the barbed wire on top. It was still. Quiet. Ice crystals in the air. Blackness against the white snow.

The first run was a blur of fear and fun and flash…screaming and laughing and trying to hang on. Since we had only one sled, we were riding as a double-decker…Vince on top. My eyes were stinging from the flying snow that peppered my face as we hurtled down the hill. So, I didn’t see the dark slash across the ground until after Vince had launched himself away at the very last moment. But I do remember hitting the water as the sled and I plunged into an icy stream…truly, a water hazard.

I do remember Vince, running around in this huge circle, laughing like a crazed hyena, particularly when he looked at me. I remember, soaked to the skin, there was smoke rising from my clothes in the frozen night. I remember it got harder to move the farther up the hill I got toward the fence–and the promised warmth of my car.

And I remember getting to the fence and recognizing that my clothes were frozen solid. Nothing bent anymore.

Amazingly, somehow, I got to the top of the fence (no credit to Vince), with no way to navigate the barbed wire. So I threw myself–launched myself as an icy missile–over the top of the barbed wire and slammed into the snow on the ground on the other side. I was lying in the snow with Vince running in circles again, howling at the human popsicle. 

When did you first discover that you were a writer?
I think I was born a writer…it was the way God wired me. But I didn’t become aware of it until I was a freshman in high school.

My freshman English teacher (ironically, my future wife’s cousin) was quite a unique and eccentric character. In his class, you could only use a fountain pen–never a ball point pen; all of us (young men in a Catholic boy’s school) were required to use our full names at all times, including a middle initial; and we were constantly instructed that gentlemen, when standing, never clasp their hands in front of themselves (only monkeys and apes do that), but always clasp their hands behind their backs.

See…the guy made an impact.

But, for me, the best part was that he would give us unique writing assignments. One assignment was, Why My Meatball Doesn’t Bounce. Another was, Blue and Bluer. For Blue and Bluer, I wrote a science fiction story about two twins on Mars, one a little bluer than the other. My teacher demanded to know where I stole the story idea–which I hadn’t. That was the start. And, for the most part, I’ve written ever since.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
That’s an interesting question. A couple of my oldest friends and I started a book club several years ago, FTOB (Fellowship of the Book—not very original). Our stated intention was to read a book of fiction one month and then read a book of nonfiction the following month—hopefully a book that would stretch or inform our faith. We’ve stuck pretty close to the formula.

This list from last year will give you an idea of our range.

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Dorothy Sayer
Elephant Company by Vicki Croke
Rescuing the Hidden Hearts of Men (an un-published manuscript I have been writing)
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
A Harvest of Thorns by Corban Addison
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
Three Men in a Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

While reading all these books with the club, I’ve read dozens on my own—primarily suspense and action/adventure are what I enjoy the most. The trouble is trying to find good books that aren’t polluted by filth. That is the hardest task. But I recently found a series I really enjoyed, the Charles Lenox mystery series by Charles Finch. They are well written, good plots, rich story world, and clean.

I so understand the search for good books that are clean. That’s one of the reasons for this blog. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
Pasta Wednesdays. That’s one way. Almost every Wednesday evening our daughter brings her two children (7 and 2) over to our home for Andrea’s pasta and meatballs. It’s a bit of a rush as we only have a few hours before the 2-year-old needs to go to bed. But every week it’s a gift.

Another way is that we have only one car and Andrea “nannies” our grandchildren four days a week while our daughter works. When Andrea is working, running after the grandkids, I can’t run-run at all.

But my peace comes from the covenant time I spend with God…reading Scripture, reading my regular devotionals, and journaling, where I share my thoughts with God and write down his responses. I’ve been writing in journals for nearly 30 years. It’s been a source of peace and truth for three decades.

How do you choose your characters’ names?
Boy…a number of different ways. I used to watch the screen credits of movies to see what names jumped out at me as interesting, or that sounded right. I’ve taken names from business signs. I’ve used the names of people I know (such as my sisters) who gave me their permission.

A few years ago, I was speaking at a luncheon for the Friends of the Bonita Springs Library in Florida and held a raffle. The “winner” could have me use their name in my next novel. Well, the winner asked me to use her mother’s name instead. So, I wrote a character in the current series named Ruth Hughes. She’s a former VP and board member of ARAMCO, the Saudi/US oil company, now chief political officer at the US embassy in Israel. A respected, professional businesswoman. Turns out the real Ruth Hughes, which I didn’t know until after the first book was written, was also a highly respected businesswoman in Detroit who was active in both industry and social justice organizations. She was honored as one of Detroit’s Top Ten Working Women.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
When I was editor of The Mercury in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, I led a team of people to winning the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. That was satisfying.

In 1989, I helped launch what may have been the last major metropolitan daily newspaper startup, The St. Louis Sun, when I led a national recruiting tour to enlist the best journalists in the country to join its staff. That was exciting.

But I’m most proud of the work I did in New York City for The Christian Herald, the parent organization that operated The Bowery Mission and other ministries serving homeless people in NYC. Under my direction and guidance, we completed the first major renovation of the Mission’s entire four-building complex in nearly 100 years. And early this century, I was instrumental in securing The Christian Herald’s largest philanthropic gift … a five-story, double-wide brownstone building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan—a building that became The Bowery Mission Women’s Center. That changed lives.

Sounds exciting and wonderful. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
I used to say a mountain goat. Today, more like a grandpa mountain goat. Not as frisky, not as much energy, but still determined and diligent.

What is your favorite food?
Chicken pot pie–but only the way my wife makes it, with an absolutely awesome pastry crust.

I love homemade Chicken pot pie. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
I had no formal training in journalism. I went to college to become a teacher. Everything I learned about being a journalist I learned on the fly, in the doing of it.

The same thing is true of my writing career. I’ve had no formal training in novel writing, except that which I was fortunate enough to gain from the now-famous “Nangie” seminars that authors Angela Hunt and Nancy Rue presented at Christian writer’s conferences.

Everything else, I’ve learned from the seat of my pants or, more accurately, from sitting in front of a computer screen and allowing my fingers to run along at the same speed as my imagination. Now that’s good for writing a story, but it doesn’t always work for writing a good novel.  I’ve found that I often write myself into dead ends that I can’t escape. Or I write a lot about stuff that has no real place in that particular book and has to be discarded (sometimes to be resurrected elsewhere, but not always).

I waste a lot of time running down rabbit trails that have no lasting value or writing scenes or chapters that need to be discarded altogether. And I also lose a lot of time engaged in research that proves to be much more than I need.

The ultimate “problem” with my unschooled approach is that the burden often falls on the shoulders of my editors to bring me back to earth—guiding me to write “complete story arcs” or to fully develop “character motivation” or to write plot elements that don’t spill over the limits of plausibility.

Because I write thrillers—action/adventure stories that are often global in scope, with many characters—one way I’ve developed to keep my thoughts, my plots, more organized is developing detailed, exhaustive timeline/outlines on Excel spreadsheets that list the key elements of each chapter along with a time/date stamp for each chapter and sub-section within a chapter. These spreadsheets are critical to keeping things straight—who, what, when, where, how.

My writing style is generally that of a gardener (plant a seed, put it in the light, give it some water and see what grows) rather than an architect. So, the timeline/outlines have become vital tools to keep me more organized. And help me deliver more coherent manuscripts to my editors.

Tell us about the featured book.
It started with one idea. That three ancient empires of the East—Persian, Ottoman and Islamic—appeared to be on the cusp of rising again.

Taking that idea, I wondered how this potential clash of empires might impact current history, future events, and the viability of the Jewish state. One conclusion was that an emergent Persian Empire—an alliance between the majority Shia governments of Iran and Iraq—would drive their ancient enemies, the Sunni Arabs of Saudi Arabia, into a treaty and mutual defense pact with, of all people, Israel…hence, the Ishmael Covenant, the sons of Ishmael and Isaac joined together once again.

The idea caught fire when I was introduced to the Vilna Gaon. The Genius of Vilnius, or Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, was the most revered Talmudic scholar of his time, the late 18th century. In 2014, his great-great-grandson revealed a prophecy the Vilna Gaon wrote two hundred and twenty years before: “When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the Times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard.” Only months before, in the spring of 2014, Russian troops had invaded the Ukraine and swept through the Crimean Peninsula.

I took the idea of the rising empires, the premise of an unexpected treaty between Israel and all its Arab neighbors, wrapped it up in the Vilna Gaon’s Messianic prophecy, speculated that the Gaon wrote a second prophecy that was yet to be revealed, and started writing.

Of course, I had to populate the story with characters: Brian Mullaney, Regional Security Officer for the Diplomatic Security Service, responsible for the security of US Ambassador to Israel, Joseph Atticus Cleveland; and their adversary, the Turk, an otherworldly agent of evil who pursued, and wished to destroy, the prophecies of the Vilna Gaon since they were first written in 1794. The Turk and his demonic master, the One, are driven by a singular purpose—if they can prevent the fulfillment of one Biblical prophecy about the Messiah, they will invalidate every other prophecy, and thus rewrite the end of Scriptures. Reverse the result of the battle of Armageddon.

Sounds intriguing. Please give us the first page of the book.
Prologue
Konigsberg, Prussia
1794
This time evil came riding on shafts of lightning, thunder its rapacious roar—torrents of pounding, cold rain hurtled out of the blackened sky for hours on end.

Yehuda pulled his fox-lined cape more tightly around his body, his left hand gripping it securely against his neck, his right hand throbbing in pain as his mule jerked against the reins with every bolt and bellow from the skies. “Papa . . . please. We should seek shelter from this storm.”

The dark shape ahead of him, nearly obscured by the downpour, wrestled his mule to a stop on the narrow, muddy path through the tall pine forest. As Yehuda came alongside in the enveloping blackness of the storm, he didn’t like the look of his aged father—fiery determination in his eyes, yes, but a sallow, sunken exhaustion in his face.

“We push on, Yehuda. We cannot, we must not, turn back again. Tonight, we cross the Prieglius.”

A chest-rattling cough was muted by his expansive white beard as he turned away from his son and kicked his mule forward.

His father was as stubborn as this mule. Yehuda knew his father feared this would be his last opportunity, his last chance to make his desperate pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But the hounds of hell were surely unleashed against them. Evil had stalked their days and threatened their nights ever since they left Vilna, only eight days past. Hooded bandits on black stallions hunted for them in the dense Lithuanian forest and thieving Gypsies swept down on their camp in the blackness before dawn. Only the sharp eyes and ears of Itzak, his father’s servant, allowed them to escape unharmed. But this rain . . . this rain would not relent.

And neither would this Talmudic scholar.

Yehuda’s aged father was no ordinary pilgrim. Renowned as the Vilna Gaon, or genius of Vilna, Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman was a Torah prodigy from the age of seven. As a result of his great wisdom and his extraordinary comprehension of both Torah and secular knowledge, the often reclusive Gaon spent forty years writing voluminous corrective notes to the ancient texts of his people, particularly the Talmud. Now approaching seventy-four years, Yehuda’s father was regarded as the most influential Jewish writer of his time. There was almost no ancient Torah text that did not bear his notes.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Thank you, Terry, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. Your description of the book and the first page have pulled me right into the story.

Readers, here are links to the book.
Ishmael Covenant - Christianbook.com
Ishmael Covenant (Empires of Armageddon) - Amazon Paperback
Ishmael Covenant (Empires of Armageddon Book 1) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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:

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

ARTEMISIAN SUMMER - Rachael Acree - One Free Book

Dear Readers, it gives me great joy to introduce you to this up-and-coming author.

Welcome, Rachael. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
I think all of them have a little part of me in them. Some characters have more than others, and the main characters have the most. It’s hard to put it into words since I really don’t make a conscious choice about how much of me goes into them.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
Embarassingly enough, I once drew a sword to scare off what I thought was an intruder in my apartment. I’d had a long and rough day at work so all I wanted was a hot shower and my bed, but when I got home, our downstairs neighbors were blaring a genre of music that I personally can’t stand. They had been doing it consistently for some time and this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. So I found the most obnoxious Broadway musical I could find in my phone, cranked it to full volume and put it on the floor. I got done and noticed that they had turned the music down or off so I went to my room to get ready for bed. That’s when I thought I heard something in the living room and I realized I had forgotten to lock the front door, and in those apartments a strong wind could open the door if the deadbolt wasn’t locked. And then, of course, what any normal person would do would be to get dressed THEN find out where the noise came from. Is that what I did? No, I immediately grabbed my sword and went to investigate, all the while hoping I wouldn’t have to actually use it because I can’t wield it one handed. I went to the living room and looked everywhere with nothing to show for it. That’s when I heard the noise again coming from the kitchen. It was our ice maker. At least my over active imagination gets put to good use.

That sounds like something you would do, Rachal. When did you first discover that you were a writer?
It was in 2008, I believe. I’d had to drop out of college due to finances, so I came home and had no clue what I was doing with my life. Up ’til then I’d dabbled in writing fan fiction (because I’m an epic nerd). I remember finding a fanfic I wrote for Narnia and thinking it didn’t have much to do with the series beyond characters and location. So I struck out on my own to turn it into an original work. It was terrible and won’t see the light of day without extensive re-writes, but that was when I realized I could actually do this.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I love fantasy, though I have to be careful of the spiritual content. I read a lot of YA, and of course romance is my go-to genre.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
I make sure I carve out time for myself. Usually it looks like binge reading a great author or watching Netflix.

How do you choose your characters’ names?
It’s hard to say. Sometimes it’s as simple as a name that I just like, like Geneva. Sometimes I choose them specifically for their meanings. And then sometimes I’ll just go through a baby name book looking for something that stands out.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
I was the first person in my family to graduate from college.

That’s wonderful. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
A penguin, because they’re adorable.

What is your favorite food?
Mmm depends on the mood? Though a general I’m always in the mood for is seafood.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Honestly, inexperience. I had no idea what I was doing and it showed. But God, in His infinite wisdom, orchestrated things so that I ended up in Lena’s critique group and that has made such a difference.

And I’m glad He brought you to us. You’re a real asset to the group. Tell us about the featured book.
Artemisian Summer was written for a summer novella collection in 2017. It was the first time I’d ever written anything on a deadline and it was so daunting. The gist of it is Abby, who’s had her heart broken, shows up at a summer camp for some time away from her problems. She needs to heal, and in doing so God brings her someone who loves her in spite of everything.

Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.
Abby exited the backseat of an Uber, her insides scrambled like eggs. Did I make the right decision? The car sped off spraying gravel behind it, a few of the rocks pinged her legs. She shed her hoodie, now too warm in the mid-May sun, and gathered it into her arms. The whole camp spread out before the front gate where she stood. The lake glistened in the sun that shone down from a cloudless sky. Just beyond that stood the zip-line platform and high ropes course. Abby shook her head thankful that, as the archery instructor, she could keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. Off to the left two long buildings took up most of the space along the road. She guessed that one housed the chapel since there was a cross bolted to the wall.
           
Here goes nothing. Abby tied her hoodie around her waist and extended the telescopic handle of her suitcase. There had to be an office sign somewhere. Or any directional sign for that matter. Dead ahead, the cabins were arranged in a semi-circle around a central green and what looked like a fire pit. As she walked, the cool air off the mountains teased a stray wisp of hair into her eyes. Clusters of trees dotted the verdant hilltop.
           
She had to admit, the layout of the camp was nice. There were enough modern conveniences so as not to send campers, or staff, into shock. Yet the whole thing had enough of a rustic feel that a person could easily escape the harsh realities of life, even if it was only for a few months.
           
After walking around and lugging her wheeled suitcase through gravel, Abby finally spotted a sign scrawled with “office” and an arrow to her right. She followed the sign to a lone building next to a beautiful garden, complete with Koi pond. When she turned the knob on the door, it stuck in the frame.

How can readers find you on the Internet?
By checking out my website, http://.www.rachaelacreeauthor.com  
From there you can connect with me through Facebook and Instagram. There’s also a link to my Amazon author page.

Thank you, Rachael, for letting me introduce your work to my blog readers. I absolutely love the story. By the way, I love your headshot.

Readers, here are links to the book.
Artemisian Summer - Paperback
Artemisian Summer - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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:

Monday, February 17, 2020

CONVERGENCE - Clare Revell - One Free Ebook


Bio: CLARE REVELL is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

She currently looks like the photo below, although her hair style changes daily depending on how the hair dryer actually dries it. This photo was taken on a good hair day.

Welcome, Clare. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
There is probably more of me in them than I realize. Hubby says they use the same phrases I do, afty instead of afternoon for example. But it’s hard not to. They also all sound British…funny that since I am British. But none of them like peas, they are all terrified of spiders, and all the heroines crochet in their spare time. Even if that’s not in the book it’s in the character notes I have on every single person I’ve included in a book.

Dad would say a lot. I sneak little bits from real life in to everything I write and Dad always finds them. Sometimes really little things, like the couple who hold hands in church on a Sunday, to big things like events from holidays when I was growing up.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
I’ll think about that one and come back to it. OK, thought and came back to it. Still don’t know. Let me go and stir the slow cooker – yes it’s only 11.46am but dinner’s been in there since about 9.30 and it needs a stir.

OK, it must have been eighteen months ago when I dyed my hair. Instead of blonde it went orange. Bright orange. So I redyed it and it went a revolting dark orange. So I gave in and went to the hairdresser. She said she could fix it but it’d cost £60. I asked how much to have it all chopped off. She said £15. No contest. I had a grade two. It’s finally long enough to tie back again now. Needless to say, the hairdresser now dyes it for me. Well, highlights it blonde to hide the grey. Kids say I’m not old enough to be grey yet…

When did you first discover that you were a writer?
When I was five, I always wrote detailed stories in school. I got a commendation for creative writing when I was ten and never looked back. I started in fanfiction – sci fi actually – Blake’s Seven, Dr. Who, Stargate – and then turned to my own stories.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
It’d probably be easier to say what I don’t like reading. I love romance, thrillers, sci-fi. Action books as well as long as police procedural novels. So Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwall, Elizabeth George, Marianne Evans, and Mary Manners are a few that spring to mind.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
I bury myself in a new book. I crochet, play games in the evening with my daughter. I’ve also started to read the Bible in a year. The version I have is a chronological one for my kindle and it’s fascinating. Really hard not to just keep going, and it’s much easier to read this way than in columns for some reason.

How do you choose your characters’ names?
I have a notebook with all the names I’ve used so far. I’m trying not to use the same letter quite so much. The letter J features rather a lot. So if I have an unused letter, I’ll go to a baby name site online and pick one that way. Or if there’s a name on the TV I like, then I’ll use that.
I also cast the characters which usually comes before their names. So they have to look like an Yvetta or a John or a Toby or whatever. It’s no good having a character called Juan Hernandez and making him white and Scottish for example.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
Trying not to be proud of anything, but that would be my three children and being married for 27 years.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?
An owl, because they, like me, are up all night long or at least awake for a great part of it. Does make good writing time though as the house is quiet.

What is your favorite food?
Chocolate! Other than that it’s roast beef, Yorkshire puds, roast spuds, roast parsnips, swede, cauliflower, cheese, carrots, cabbage, and leeks. Covered in beef gravy made with the juices of the meat.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Getting distracted. Best avoided by not doing laundry, hoovering, ironing, cooking, or working on the computer. Although that leads to people complaining there is no uniform and no dinner. And missing deadlines as nothing is typed up.

Tell us about the featured book.
Convergence is a time travel romance with a fantasy edge. It started life about three years ago, under the title Dancing Man, then a dozen other titles before we settled on Convergence. Draft one was written during nanowrimo as an add-on to the already completed 50k of something else.  In my head, Yvetta was played by Claire Bowen and Blaize/John by David Bowie. So this picture  is what I had in front of me as I wrote.

And I’m totally in love with the cover. It was designed by Nicola Martinez and she did an amazing job as always.

Blurb:
Even as a teenager Yvetta Graham had vivid dreams. Ones she couldn't tell from reality. Only now she's almost thirty and beyond such things.
Only the new store manager is a dead ringer for the man from those dreams. Who is John Smyth? What is his reason for coming to Headley Cross? Is he really a time traveler?
As dreams and reality converge, Yvetta is in a fight for both her sanity and soul.

Buy links:

Please give us the first page of the book.
Prologue
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ~Ruth 1:16
Yvetta ran down the stone hallway of the huge castle and stopped breathless as a tall boy with spiky yellow hair moved from behind the pillar to stand in front of her. His funny clothing looked weird, but somehow suited him—even if he was wearing tights with a long shirt over the top of them, and an even longer blue coat over that.

The boy hunkered down to her height, balancing easily on the balls of his feet. His strange eyes glinted in the torch light. One was green and the other one was brown. “Hello. I’m Blaize. What’s your name?”

“Yvetta May Graham. I’m eight.”

The young man smiled. “In that case, Yvetta May Graham, my name is John Blaize Smyth Kilpatrick.”

She squeaked out a nervous giggle. “That must take ages to write in school when they want your full name.”

“Which is why everyone calls me Blaize. At school they call me Smyth Kilpatrick, but that is just as much of a mouthful, and I really don’t care for it much.” He tilted his head. “It seems to me the last time we met you said your name was Etta.”

She nodded, twirling a long strand of hair around her fingers.

“So, how about I call you Etta and you call me Blaize, and we forget the long names and formalities?”

She thought for a moment. He wasn’t a stranger because she knew his name. Plus, she’d met him before, so it must be all right to talk to him. “OK.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?
You can find me at:

Thank you, Clare, for sharing this book with us. Time Travel fascinates me.

Readers,  leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (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, 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: