THE GIRL EVERYONE WANTS - Dena Netherton - One Free Book

Welcome, Dena. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. I suppose there is always part of myself in each one of my characters. Since I’m a trained musician, I usually put some kind of music ability in at least one of my characters. The Girl Everyone Wants is an exception. Zara, my main character, is a writer and poet (well, I guess that’s part of me, too!) and has only minimal ability in music.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? While in graduate school, I paid to ride a very cheap bus from Berkeley, California, to Chicago. It was really a way for near penniless hippies to travel. As soon as the bus got out of the city limits, they passed a peace-pipe around. Soon, men, women, and children were mellow and happy. Then, as we got out into the country, the bus made a couple of side trips to ponds along I-80 where the happy riders could all skinny dip. I took my Bible and hiked into a nearby corn field until they were dressed again. Arriving in Chicago at midnight, the bus driver dropped me off in front of the Field Museum and paid for a taxi to take me two blocks and around the corner to the regular bus station.

When did you first discover that you were a writer? I didn’t believe I was a writer until a professional novelist critiqued one of my stories and told me I was a good writer. Me, a writer? I thought that was only for those special people who have their names on a book cover.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I started out reading poetry in elementary school. Then graduated to Fantasy novels. In high school I couldn’t get enough of war stories, especially those about World War Two. In my twenties I moved into the 19th century classics. Now, I read both non-fiction and novels: anything with well drawn characters and some thrilling adventure.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? I keep a calendar and regularly black out hours or days for myself. If I don’t do this, I have a hard time saying no. the result is I get overbooked and start to feel stressed and irritable.

How do you choose your characters’ names? Some of my characters simply tell me, “I must be called Jesse, or Finn, or Zara.” If I’m stumped for a good name, I’ll consult a baby-names book for ideas.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? Besides raising three spectacular children, I’m most proud of the fact that I’m not a quitter. I started writing later in life and realized that I would face challenges and disappointment. But if God wants me to write, who am I to give up when I face negative judge comments, or don’t final in a competition? My job is to keep on studying and writing.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? Call me silly, but I think I would be a donkey. Donkeys are smart and stubborn. But they’re also affectionate and loyal. They may be small, but they’re strong. I like that!

What is your favorite food? I love German cuisine. Give me some spaetzl and some pickled beets and wiener schnitzel, and I’m in heaven.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? Starting a book has always been my nemesis. My first novel has at least ten beginnings stored on my computer. I think I’m getting the hang of it though. My last novel only took two beginnings.

Tell us about the featured book. Zara, is the daughter of Iowa farmers. Her greatest desire is to be a college professor. But unfortunately, God has gifted her with the ability to heal. If the world finds out she can heal, she’ll never have a moment’s peace. After she heals a little boy, the media splashes her story all over the news. Now she’s the young woman everyone wants, including members of a drug cartel. What follows is a cross-country cat and mouse chase as Zara attempts to get back to Iowa to find and rescue her hostage-held parents.

Interesting. Please give us the first page of the book.

The first time I wished I’d been born normal, I was five years old. It was August, and Janey and Jenna, my twin friends who lived on the farm next to ours, told me how they couldn’t wait to go to kindergarten because it would be so much fun. I had picked out my favorite dress, my favorite hair clip, and my favorite pink-and-lavender shoes for my first day of kindergarten. I cried when Mom told me I couldn’t go because then the teachers and the other kids would know I was different. Almost twelve years later, being normal is still the first thing I ask Abba for each morning and each night before I go to sleep.

“Please, Abba, make me normal. Please, Abba.”

Like today, for example. Dad and mom and I are driving to the hospital to see my sister, Abby, and her new baby, Cora. Mom’s all worried about how I’ll behave when we get inside. She looks in the rearview window to check that there are no gaps between my sleeves and my flesh-toned gloves.

“Zara, you gotta not touch anybody when we go inside the hospital.”

I want to roll my eyes, but instead, I say, “Yes, Mom.” It’s not like I don’t know the drill. After all, I’m almost seventeen, almost an adult. And I’ve had lots of practice not touching people. Without my gloves, my bare fingers sometimes zap people, that is, if there’s anything wrong with them.

But Mom is worried I’ll slip up and something will happen and my secret will get out. “Remember Aunt Evelyn,” Mom always says. She was my mom’s older sister. But she died way before I could form concrete memories. I only remember bits and pieces of Aunt Evelyn and how she seemed sad and nervous.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on Facebook, Twitter (@DenaNetherton1), Goodreads, MeWe (just joined). Find me on my website at https://DenaNetherton.me

Thank you, Dena, for sharing this new novel with my blog readers and me. My copy has arrived, and it’s at the top of my to-be-read pile. The concept of the story intrigues me.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

The Girl Everyone Wants 

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

ELINOR - Shannon McNear - One Free Book

Welcome, Shannon. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon? Thank you—it’s been amazing to watch His hand and to see the doors He’s opened! I have books 2 and 3 of Daughters of the Lost Colony to complete (#2 will release Oct 2022 and we’re working on details for #3), and then I’m hoping to see a follow-through on previous interest in my Revolutionary War novel, Loyalty’s Cadence.

Tell us a little about your family. My husband and I are the parents of eight—four boys and four girls, plus one boy in heaven. The three oldest are married, with another getting married in April, and we have four grandbabies so far between them all. My youngest daughter is 17 and in her last year of high school (anyone remember the toddler wandering around during ACFW 2005, in Nashville? She’s now taller than me!). Two of her older sisters are in college, with one of those graduated as of December. The youngest daughter and son still live at home, with the son working full time. Oh, and we also have two German Shepherds, a bunny, two cats, and chickens and guinea fowl.

My husband is a 31-year veteran of the military and just a few years away from retirement—at which point we hope to travel more.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how? Oh yes! My reading now is more intentional, less because I’m bored or have time on my hands. Which is great if I’m reading for the sheer love of story (because authors need that, to help fill their own creative tanks) but not so much if it’s research or for contest judging (which I continue to do as a way to give back to the writing community—and also to discover authors I might not otherwise get to read).

It’s also had the effect of making me more critical of what I read, but we won’t talk about that …

What are you working on right now? Book 2 of Daughters of the Lost Colony, titled Mary. It’s both a parallel story and sequel to Elinor.

What outside interests do you have? Cooking, sewing, herbal and alternative medicine, music. I play guitar and sometimes lead worship, but mostly Music Is Life.

How do you choose your settings for each book? I don’t choose them; they choose me. Seriously, though, it usually starts with a character or event, and then the setting just naturally follows.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why? I think I’d have to pick Corrie Ten Boom. It would be amazing just to hear her stories from her own lips.

I love Corrie Ten Boom, too. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels? That it’s more about the journey than any perceived destination (i.e., getting published).

That is so true. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now? I can’t think of anything particularly new, just more layers and facets of old lessons. Redemption itself just becomes dearer to me the older I get, and grace and mercy, even more incredible.

I know what you mean by that. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful? Read a ton! Write a ton. And attend writer’s conferences and be humble about learning the craft. Realize that nobody is a guaranteed success right out of the gate, but it takes hard work, time, and patience.

Tell us about the featured book. Elinor is a “what-if” historical centering on the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island—the first English attempt at settlement in the New World, 20 years before Jamestown: The daughter of a renowned English artist and explorer, Elinor White Dare journeys to the New World seeking a fresh start and a place to put down roots. What she finds will shake the very foundations of her faith and yet rebuild what she knows of God’s goodness and mercy, even in loss.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue

August 1590

Three years.

Three long years. But soon, please God, he would hold his daughter and granddaughter again.

This close, it seemed impossible to contain either longing or hope. Yet he must. He knew, with every shred of his being, how unlikely it was that the colonists had stayed on Roanoac Island beyond that first autumn. But the anticipation of stepping upon this shore once more—of gaining at least a hint of what had become of them—

He could hardly breathe.

Green and grey and blue were the waters around and behind him, but he had no eye for the dancing splendor of the waves. Only for the blinding brightness of the strand before him, the dunes clothed with grasses bending in the unrelenting sea winds, and the smudgy dark green of the forest rising beyond.

God had, despite much peril and many months of privateering, brought them safe through the storm. Would that He’d now hold back the tides long enough for him to find them.

Days of longing. Days of hope. He was near to exhausted with it. In their slow sail past the islands to the south, he’d expected some sign of life, of habitation, but—nothing. Not even a signal fire.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

shannonmcnear.com

Facebook 

Pinterest

Goodreads

BookBub

Thank you, Shannon, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Elinor&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

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.

Some people don't read the instructions of how to enter. Unfortunately, they don't have a chance to win. so next time you come and leave a comment, be sure to read all the instructions if you want a chance to win.

Maryann (NY) is the winner of The Lowborn Lady by Peggy Trotter.

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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.

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Christmas Is My Favorite Holiday Season

I have a special Christmas story I want to share with you:

The Christmas Child of 1864

By Lena Nelson Dooley

Each hesitant footstep sounded a hollow drumbeat in the nearly empty house. Marion wandered from room to room mourning more than the loss of her parents. Yes, this Christmas would be lonely without Mother and Father, but she’d had almost a year to get used to them being gone. Last winter, when the influenza raged through the countryside robbing numerous families of members, Marion questioned why God allowed her to live while He took her lovely mother. Marion couldn’t be sorry that her father had also succumbed to the dreaded disease. Since he came home from the fighting without either of his legs, he had been only a shell of the man who marched valiantly to the war confident that the South would quickly win.

How long could a war really last? It had been three long agonizing years. Years that had stolen more than the young manhood of the South. Years that slowly leached the wealth as well. That was what Marion was mourning this clear, sunny, cold December day. The loss of so many of the family possessions.

As she entered the music room, her gaze flew to the corner where the ebony piano had reigned as the monarch. How she missed sitting on the stool and running her fingers up and down the ivory keys releasing the notes held captive there–music that lilted through the air and comforted her whatever her distress. But the piano had been the first piece of furniture to go, and for such a small sum. Mother had been so distressed, but the meager funds carried them through almost a month while Father fought the demons of pain and the other agonies he brought home with him.

Then other treasured family heirlooms had followed the piano–the rosewood desk her grandfather built for her grandmother as a wedding present, the elegant sideboard with the stained glass doors, the china her great grandparents brought as newlyweds from England. As a third son of a nobleman, her great grandfather had left his ancestral home to make a life in America. And he had done well. This plantation was a tribute to his determination to be his own man. It had sustained a growing family–and a growing family of slaves.

What a pity Father had gone to war.  He didn’t believe in slavery, but he did believe in something he called “state’s rights.” Soon after he and Mother had married, they freed all the slaves—and even educated them. Because of this, most of the Negroes had stayed on, and the plantation continued to prosper.  

Then Father had gone off to war. That’s when everything changed. Many of the freed Negroes moved to the North, leaving Mother with fewer and fewer people to help run the plantation. Every year had become harder and harder.  

When Father returned in such bad shape, Mother lost heart. She spent all her time trying to make him comfortable, trying to restore his self-confidence.

Marion had to run the plantation without them. With the help of Daisy and Joshua, the two remaining Negroes, Marion had done what she could. Still Mother had to start selling off the treasures. And then Marion’s two dearest treasures had died within a week of each other.  

“Miss Marion,” Daisy’s warm molasses voice called from the parlor.  “Where are you, Miss Marion?”

Marion retraced her steps to the warmest room in the house, the only one where they burned a fire in the daytime.

“What is it, Daisy?”  Marion looked across the large space toward the fireplace.  

Daisy sat before the blazing fire, peeling wrinkled sweet potatoes. Even the parlor had been stripped of all but a few pieces of furniture. Three chairs sat in front of the fireplace, with a small round table beside one of them. So little in such a large room which had once been crowded.  

“I think someone’s comin’ up from the road.”

Marion looked out one of the front windows, peeking from behind the drapes, kept closed against the cold. She didn’t see anything, but she detected the faint sound of hoofbeats on the packed dirt of the drive.

“Who could it be? I hope it’s not any Union soldiers.”

“Lawsy, Miss Marion, surely not.” Fear caused Daisy to revert to her old way of speaking. She quickly gathered up all she was working on and went to the cookhouse looking for Joshua.

Marion watched as a ramshackle wagon drawn by two scrawny mules came into view. It was one of the squatters who had settled on a burned-out and abandoned plantation a few miles away. He was driving slowly and looking at a lump in the back of the wagon as much as he looked at the drive ahead. Marion wondered what the pile of quilts covered. She watched as the man carefully stopped the wagon. He sat and stared at the house before he climbed down.

Marion was wary as he climbed the steps and knocked on the door. Thankfully, Joshua was there to answer the almost timid summons. It gave her a chance to scan the surroundings for signs of enemy soldiers.

“Miss Marion.” Joshua stood at the door to the parlor. “This man and his wife need help.”

“Are you sure it’s not a trap?”

“I don’t think so. His wife is about to have a baby, and he doesn’t know what to do.”

Marion trembled. She had been sixteen and protected when her father went off to war. In the three years since, she’d had to take control of the plantation–what was left of it. She had learned responsibility the hard way, but she didn’t know anything about childbirth.

“How can we help her?” 

“Daisy was a right good midwife in her day. She could help if it’s all right with you, Miss Marion.”

How could Marion turn them away? She knew there wasn’t anyone else close by who could help them. Besides, this was Christmas Eve. Maybe having a baby born here would make it seem more like Christmas.

“You help the man bring her in. I’ll go get Daisy.”

Marion wasn’t sure how the men got the poor woman inside the house, but she and Daisy found her on a pallet in front of the fireplace in the parlor. The woman’s husband was crouching beside her holding her hand as she moaned and writhed. When the two women entered, he looked relieved and stood, turning toward them.  

“I’ll help your black man put the horse and wagon away.” He seemed eager to leave the room.

While Daisy examined the woman and made her pallet more comfortable, Marion heard the men reenter the house. Then she heard muffled voices in the hall.

Daisy sent Marion to the cookhouse to set water on to boil. She also asked Marion to get some of the older linens and tear them in various sizes to prepare for the birth.

Agitated, the man paced the large entrance hall. Joshua was trying to sooth him when Marion first walked by them. Then when she returned to the linen closet, she could hear every word of their conversation.

“You don’t seem like an excited new father to me.” Joshua sounded almost condemning, which wasn’t typical of the gentle man.

“How can I be excited? It’s not my baby.” The man spat out the words as if he couldn’t stand their tasted the bitterness.

“You did say she’s your wife.” Joshua’s statement sounded like a question.

“That she is.”

“Was she carrying another man’s child when you married?” Joshua’s tone had softened.

“No.” The man paused, then continued. “Some soldiers came by right after we built our shanty. I couldn’t tell which side they were on. Maybe they were renegades. They took everything they could, and then they.  .  . ”

“I understand. But why do you think the child is from that?”

“My.  .  . wife.  .  . hasn’t been the same since it happened. She hasn’t wanted to be touched.  .  . even by me. I tried to understand. I wanted to be gentle with her, and so I didn’t push her before she was ready. Then she was with child.”

Marion’s heart broke for the man—and for the woman who labored in the parlor. She peeked around the door in time to see Joshua gently place his large hand on the man’s shoulder.

“But you were together as man and wife before it happened. It could be your child.”

“No. She had her.  .  . womanly time before they came, and we.  .  . never.  .  .”

Joshua bowed his grizzled head and murmured too low for Marion to hear, but she knew he was praying with the man. They stayed that way for a long time, and she didn’t want to interrupt. She glanced at her sewing basket sitting on the shelf of the linen closet. With her scissors, she began cutting a sheet, all the time murmuring a prayer for the couple.

“Are you a God-fearing man?” Joshua’s question startled Marion.

“Yes, sir, I am.”

“Well, I’m sure Joseph must have felt the way you do, at first, when Mary told him about carrying the Christ Child, but he was the father the Boy needed. And this child needs you for a father.”

Just then a tiny cry was heard from the parlor followed by Daisy’s exclamation, “It’s a boy!”

This truly is a special Christmas, Marion thought as she rushed to take the cloths to the mother and Christmas boy.

©1997 Lena Nelson Dooley 

I hope you live where you can experience Christmas celebrations with your local church. If not, here's another Christmas gift.

https://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/candlelight-services 

FROM MISS TO MRS.: CHRISTMAS BRIDES - Kathleen Y'Barbo - One Free book

Welcome back, Kathleen. It’s always a pleasure to have you here. Where do you write? Wherever I can! I’ve got a laptop that can go where I go, although most of the time it’s at my desk at home.

When deciding on how to publish, what directed you to the route you took? Not what but Who…God did. Ages ago, I had plans to write funny spicy romance and become the next Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Nora Roberts. I bought books, studied my craft, and joined a local writing group. I learned about writing from some of the best in that group. Then one day my pastor asked the congregation if there was anything we were holding back from God. Immediately, He put one word on my heart: writing.

The next meeting, DiAnn Mills visited the group. The short version is she and I hit it off and it wasn’t long before she asked me to join her in a novella collection that became my first published book. Twenty years later, I still write for that publisher as well as for a few others plus I’m releasing indie books.

What kinds of things do you like to do outside of writing?

Reading, of course! I also love traveling and spending time with my hubby.

What kinds of advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing?

Write. It’s absolutely as simple as that. Be true to your voice, always be teachable and open to critique, but do talk yourself out of putting words on the page. The enemy’s going to be doing that already. Do not cooperate.

What is your favorite book? Favorite author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to write? Bible. God. God. Having said that, I have lots of favorites. I have eclectic tastes in books. I love a good story or a nonfiction that informs or challenges me.

Where did you get the idea for the featured book? I had a number of options, but FROM MISS TO MRS.: CHRISTMAS BRIDES resonated with me. The book is a compilation of two unrelated Christmas stories, one historical and one contemporary, so titling was tricky. I think this one worked well.

I do, too. And I just love the cover. From idea to final revision, how long did it take to write? Since this was a reprint of two previously published stories, the time was in the edits and cover art.

Are you working on anything now? I am finishing a contemporary novella that will become the next book in the Pies, Books and Jesus Book Club series. I’ll be able to say more about that in the spring. Once that story goes to the editors, I’ll be turning my attention to a dog-themed cozy mystery in a series I’m doing with Janice Thompson called Gone to the Dogs. It’s set in Brenham, Texas, and even has some Aggies in it—two legged and four-legged!

I’ll want to feature your new books, too. Please tell us about the featured book. Two different stories, two different centuries with one result: love at Christmastime. From historical San Antonio, Texas, to modern day Santa Monica, California, the gift of love is the best present of all!

Please give us a peek at the first page of the book.

Christmas Day, 1851

San Antonio, Texas

Texas Ranger Captain Ebenezer “Eb” Wilson swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand and knelt at Carolina’s bedside. On the other side of the closed door, his firstborn, Rafael Ebenezer Wilson wailed in the capable arms of his grandmother. His wife had given him a strong, fine son, a lad with his mama’s dark hair and his papa’s talent for howling at full volume.

If only he’d been there when . . .

“Eb, promise me. . .”

Jerking his attention back to the tiny form beneath the blankets, Eb felt the tears threaten again. His beautiful fiery wife, the delicate counterpoint to his big clumsy self, lay so still and pale that he barely recognized her. The very life seemed to flow from her as the clock on the bedside ticked.

She reached for his hand but her fingers fell limp on the quilt just shy of their mark. Eb grasped her tiny hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “Anything, Lina. Anything.”

For moment, fire flashed in Carolina’s eyes, a reminder of the saucy senorita he’d met and married in a whirlwind courtship barely one year ago. “Don’t let my mama take our Rafael to raise. Get him another mama, someone young and strong who’ll love him like me.”

“No.” The sharpness of his tone startled him but it seemed to have no effect on Carolina. “I’ll never marry again. I . . . I couldn’t.”

Her fingers slid from his grasp to wipe a tear off his cheek. “Then I will only pray you will consider it.”

Where can my readers find you on the Internet? I’m active on Facebook and Instagram and I also have a Twitter account I check occasionally. Check out my website at www.kathleenybarbo.com for the links to those sites.

Thank you, Kathleen, for sharing these novellas with my blog readers and me. I loved the stories when I first read them, and I’m reading them right now. Enjoying them again.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=From+Miss+to+Mrs.+Kathleen+Y%27Barbo&i=stripbooks&crid=25PRSD5343K5H&sprefix=from+miss+to+mrs.+kathleen+y%27barbo%2Cstripbooks%2C3433&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

IT'S A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS - Lynne Gentry and 4 other authors - One Free Book

Welcome back, dear friend. How did your story for the collection come about? During the pandemic shut-down, a group of my author friends started meeting regularly on zoom. Someone said, “Wouldn’t it cheer everyone up if we wrote a Christmas story?” The rest was history.

My story, MIRACLE ON MAIN STREET, is the fifth in one of my favorite southern small-town series (Mt. Hope Southern Adventures). I’ve always loved the classic Christmas movie, Miracle on 34th Street, and used that movie for my inspiration to create the Christmas parades I remembered from growing up in a small town.

Are these stories connected in some way? If so, how? The stories in this collection are connected in that they all were inspired by a favorite classic Christmas movie.

What are you reading right now? I’m listening to Patti Callahan’s new book ONCE UPON A WARDROBE. It’s a delightful story about C.S. Lewis. And the English narrator is the delicious icing on the cake.

How many other books have you had published? I’ve lost count. Somewhere between 15 and 20.

What is the hardest thing about writing a part of a collection? Our author team of Julie Cantrell, Janyre Tromp, Kelli Stuart, and Allison Pittman worked well together. It’s true that many hands make light work. It was great to have different people using their different strengths. I guess picking the cover was probably the hardest, but once we settled on the midnight blue of an old theater screen, it was easy to settle on the design.

How did collaborating with this team impact you? Writing is such a solitary sport. I’m an extrovert, so having this group of friends who were all interested in the same project was invigorating. We’ll be friends for the rest of our careers now.

What did you want the reader to take away from your story? MIRACLE ON MAIN STREET takes a look at two things. First, I explore the dynamics of a small town and how people in tight knit communities learn to live and work with people who are a little prickly. I think the world would be a better place if all of us learned to love people who are hard to love. But loving difficult people often requires forgiveness. And the second thing this light, funny story explores is really rather heavy. And that’s the idea of forgiveness. Forgiving someone who’s hurt you deeply is easier said than done…and that’s the miracle of Christmas, isn’t it?

Yes, it is. Please give us a peek into your story. Mt. Hope is a dusty west Texas town on the verge of shutting its doors. The few businesses that remain on Main Street are in danger of closing, including Ruthie Crouch’s diner. When the town council decides to make one more stab at revitalizing the economy, the annual Christmas parade is resurrected. But when the Santa they choose is the man who deserted Ruthie and her diner years ago, skillets fly and the whole plan nearly falls apart.

What is the best piece of advice you received as an author? Read. Read. Read. Then write. Write. Write.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

Website: https://www.lynnegentry.com/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lynne-gentry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Lynne-Gentry-215337565176144/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnegentry.author/?hl=en

Thank you, Lynne, for sharing this new collection with my blog readers and me.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=It%27s+a+Wonderful+Christmas&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

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.

Some people don't read the instructions of how to enter. Unfortunately, they don't have a chance to win. so next time you come and leave a comment, be sure to read all the instructions if you want a chance to win.

Laul K (MT) is the winner of Proposing Mischief by Regina Jennings.

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.  

DEADLY TARGET - Elizabeth Goddard - One Free Book

Welcome back, Elizabeth. Let’s do some fun questions first. What song most closely resembles your life? I can’t say that I’ve thought about that much, but I can tell you my favorite song this week—“In the House” by Crowder. Actually, I can say the song is a good reflection of my life in that I’ve lived in a parsonage next to a church—several different ones—over the last fifteen plus years. Recently we moved across state and found ourselves across the street from our same denomination and my husband is on staff there too. Ha ha!

Do you have a favorite Bible verse? And why is it a favorite? A scripture I repeatedly go back to is Psalm 121: 1-2—I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from. . . The scripture is especially beautiful to me now since we’ve moved to an area where I can often look at Mt. Rainier and so I think of this verse!

What is the one thing you wish you could go back and change in your life? Only one thing? There are too many things I wish I could change. I wish I had follows the Lord’s call to write much sooner, but then again I have to trust that my writing career has unfolded according to his timing.

What is the most important characteristic for a good friend to have? To be a good listener, of course! I’m blessed to be surrounded with good listeners, and I my friends also consider me a good listener.

I so agree. What extracurricular activities did you participate in when you were in school? As many as possible. Tennis, French club. Science club. Junior Engineering Society. College newspaper, to name a few.

What is your favorite movie of all times? I’m a huge movie buff and it’s hard to choose, but love I, Robot with Will Smith.

Tell us about why you wrote this book. Deadly Target is the second book in the Rocky Mountain Courage series, and of course, Dr. Erin Larson had to get her story too.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Puget Sound

For a few hours every Saturday morning, Erin Larson could forget that evil existed.

And usually, only on the water.

She dipped the double-bladed paddle into the sea, then again on the other side—left, right, left, right, left, right— alternating strokes in a fluid motion to propel her kayak across the blue depths. Her friend Carissa Edwards paddled close behind.

Left, right. Left, right. Left, right.

On the water she was close to nature and far from the chaos and noise of the city even though she and Carissa paddled along the shoreline and could see the cityscape in the distance. The quiet calmed her mind and heart. The rhythmic paddling mesmerized her. The exertion exhilarated her. Cleansed her of the stress and anxiety acquired after a week of forced labor.

Okay, that wasn’t fair. Her suffering certainly wasn’t physical in nature.

Water. Mountains. Sky. She took in the sights and once again . . . forgot.

How can readers find you on the Internet? My website http://www.ElizabethGoddard.com

Please subscribe to my newsletter that’s easy to find on the website. Also found on the website are the small icons to all my social media venues

My Facebook author page: http://facebook.com/elizabethgoddardauthor

Twitter: @bethgoddard

Facebook Reader’s Group (private): https://www.facebook.com/groups/371401767951

Instagram: http://instagram.com/elizabethgoddardauthor

Thank you for sharing this book with us today, Elizabeth. I’m reading book 1 in the series, Present Danger, and loving it. I’ll be eager to read Deadly Target as well.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Deadly+Target+Goddard&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

THE LOWBORN LADY - Peggy Trotter - One Free Book

Welcome back, Peggy. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about? My favorite theme is taking rejected, abandoned, or forgotten characters on a journey to find their worth in Christ. I feel that a lot of people, myself included, get wrapped up in their own emotions of failure, faults, or past mistakes and can’t see, can’t comprehend how God could love them as they are. Just the other day I found a long-forgotten note in an old Bible which reminded me how finding worth in Christ is a lifelong battle.

On it were some interesting verses. Psalms 94:18 said, “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.” (NIV) I could picture myself climbing a mountain, my hands outstretched, my foot sliding from the tiniest crevice, and feeling that stomach-dropping fear that I would fall into the yawning valley below. Clearly, that verse I’d saved from long ago still fits me. Only now, I invent characters whose feet have slipped from beneath them, and they must strain toward God’s promises, believe his word, live his word.

What other books of yours are coming out soon? The Lowborn Lady is the second of a series, the Society of Outcasts. The Misfit Bride was the first and the third will come out on June 1st, called The Spellbound Schoolmarm. And, here’s a little exclusive secret. The next series is Up from the Miry Clay about former trollops who find their new identities in Christ.

I’ll want to feature each of those books, too. If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why? I would love to spend a night with my old Pastor’s wife, Donna Miller who passed away some years ago. She will live on in my memory as the kindest most supportive woman I have ever met. Having a night in her living room, laughing over the shenanigans of my children (once, my daughter, as a toddler, sprayed the pastor with a water hose!) It would be wonderful to ask her advice and bathe in her gentle, loving presence. I’m positive she would be my biggest fan.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why? King David. I am most interested in the stories that show how he had incredible wisdom. (Perhaps not with Bathsheba, but we’re all human.) But the story of how his best fighting men broke through battle lines and brought him fresh water from his favorite spring near the gate of Bethlehem. Then, because of the valor and bravery of the men risking their lives, David poured the water out on the ground to God.

When I read this I remember thinking, man, I would have guzzled down that water! Hot, thirsty, bound in battle and his men thought that much of him? To risk their very lives? But he didn’t. He valued God above his needs, his tremendous thirst and desire. Or the many times he refused to eliminate King Saul, even though he’d tried to kill David over and over. That’s a nobleness that not many have.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? My favorite saying is: A successful author is one who did not quit. Are rejections hard? Yes, horribly so. Is writing difficult? Yes, among the most difficult professions there are. But there are also varying definitions of “success.” And sometimes along the way, we discover a talent we didn’t even know we had. I’ve seen writers become successful bloggers, reviewers, devotion writers, journal creators and more. The thing is to keep learning, keep seeking, keep trusting in God’s guidance. Firmly believe and implement Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct Thy paths.” (KJV) Rejected, budding authors, take a breath (and maybe a few days of clarity), look for the good advice, reject the bad, and repeat to yourself, God’s got this! Even if success doesn’t look like what we thought.

Tell us about the featured book. It takes a former character, a very irredeemable character and mixes in deep dark secrets and a very dangerous mission! Here’s the blurb: Rhapsody Hastings finds herself in the arms of a ruffian, Cavanaugh Blackledge, when her carriage breaks down on a dark country road. Wedding him stills the scandal of their late-night tryst while soothing the guilt she holds of her first husband’s untimely death. So, she accepts the arrangement as her own personal penance. Yet, an unexpected mission wakens her dead heart despite the fact that a high society lady shouldn’t be involved with such…dangerous illegal conspiracies.

Using his new marriage to shield his clandestine operations proves to be an unanticipated godsend for Cav. And how could he not appreciate the fetching Rhapsody’s presence, creating the perfect buffer when he must face his former true love, now his smug brother’s wife.

But their artificial life turns ugly when information surfaces, putting both Rhapsody’s and Cav’s covert efforts in jeopardy. Secrets reveal even more scandalous secrets, and the skeleton discovered in Rhapsody’s closet may not only undo her, it may make them both very dead.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Remember ladies. Grace…at all costs.

Miss Bickle’s finishing school mantra berated Rhapsody Hasting’s brain while the hand of her dead husband weighed on her shoulder. Rhapsody tightened her grip on the armchair to repress the instinctual recoil. Surely the woman who’d dispensed such wisdom had never—never sat for a mourning portrait.

“Mrs. Hastings, please move your head a bit to the right. And here,” the brown tweed-coated man appeared from beneath a black sheet shielding the back of the camera, “if you could reach up with your right hand and lay it over his.”

Rhapsody shifted her chin slightly, bringing her husband’s pale rigor mortis fingers into her peripheral vision. Nothing gleaned from Miss Bickle’s Ladies’ Etiquette and Finishing School had prepared her for this. Mindful of the twitch that tended to pulsate below her left eye, Rhapsody tensed her jaw. Miss Bickle intruded into her thoughts again.

A true lady never reveals any distress or disappointment. Your countenance remains unimpassioned, imprisoning all the uncouth, lowly desires of the commoner. Miss Lennox, still that tic near your eye. Miss Bickle would snap her waspish figure to attention in front of Rhapsody, making sure the terrible malady had been controlled. Always remember, Ladies. You are to be graceful, elegant, and refined. Sacrificing everything for dignity.

Yes, Miss Bickle. All girls had promptly replied in low, controlled tones. Too loud and one earned a wooden spoon to the head.

Reality pressed the fog of childhood away. The brown tweed coat approached her. The best photographer in the city, she’d been told. His downtown, spacious office perched near the Ohio River amongst the thriving businesses of New Albany, Indiana, catered to the elite of the city, both here and in Louisville. The man had the latest and best equipment money could buy in 1853. But that did not stop him from grasping Rhapsody’s wrist most unwelcomely.

“If you could just clasp this area of your husband’s hand, it would make such a…fine picture.”

In other words, make the dead appear alive.

Wow. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Oh, lands. So. Many. Places.

peggytrotter.com

peggytrotter.blogspot.com

diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Peggy_Trotter

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

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13778873.Peggy_Trotter

Amazon Author’s Profile Page:  amazon.com/author/peggytrotter.com

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/peggy_trotter_author/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/PeggyTrotterAuthor/

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-trotter-44a29b95/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13778873.Peggy_Trotter

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-trotter

MeWe:  mewe.com/i/peggytrotter

Parler:  https://parler.com/profile/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Usa.life: https://usa.life/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Gab:  https://gab.com/PeggyTrotterAuthor

Thank you, Peggy, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Lowborn+Lady&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

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.

Some people don't read the instructions of how to enter. Unfortunately, they don't have a chance to win. so next time you come and leave a comment, be sure to read all the instructions if you want a chance to win.

Elva (SC) is the winner of Honor in the Mountain Refuge by Misty M Beller.

Tdstevens (TX) is the winner of Harmony on the Horizon by Kathleen Denley.

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. 

PROPOSING MISCHIEF - Regina Jennings - One Free Book

Welcome back, Regina. 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? First, I’d like to thank Elly Mae Clampett for being the inspiration for Maisie, and my grandparents for introducing me to The Beverly Hillbillies. I’ve enjoyed learning Joplin history from Paula Callihan and Mary Anne Phillips. Also, Brad Belk provided me with information on Joplin’s Crystal Cave.

On the industry side, my editors Dave Long and Jessica Sharpe are sure to work my book over, but only after my critique partners Stephanie Landsem, Kristi Hunter, and Tarisa Holman have their say.

If you teach or speak. What’s coming up on your calendar? Today, I’m in Joplin, Missouri, the setting of Proposing Mischief, for a presentation on my research and a book signing. Saturday, I’ll be back in Mustang, Oklahoma, for my book launch party. After that, I’ll have a nice break for the holidays before starting back to work.

If you had to completely start over in another place, where would you move, and why? Great question! I’m very family-oriented and a lot of my family live nearby, so if I had to leave my first thought would be to go to Missouri where the rest of my family lives. If I was picking a place unrelated to the relations, I’d like to live in a quaint village in England. I’m sure it’d be nothing like I expect, but it seems so enticing.

If you could only tell aspiring novelists one thing, what would it be? Enjoy where God has you today—learn from it, be a blessing to others, and exalt our Lord. Take advantage of opportunities. When the time comes, you’ll be ready, but don’t forget to appreciate where you are today.

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]) If I was organizing entertainment for a cruise, I would include salon-type discussions with interesting people from different disciplines. Some people I’d love to make available to guests would be Jordan Peterson, Amy Coney Barrett, Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Fry, Lin Manuel Miranda, Ree Drummond, and Chris Pratt.

For musical entertainment I’d have Adele, Harry Connick, Jr, and Mumford and Sons. When Harry isn’t performing, he’s welcomed to come visit in the salon.

Tell us about the featured book. Olive Kentworth has spent her life hiding her interest in architecture, even as she pores over architectural books and sketches buildings. When she accepts a job on a home expansion, it’s only because her cousin Amos agrees to pose as the builder. To further hide her involvement, Olive takes a position as a nanny—not knowing that she’ll be working for her idol—Joplin’s leading architect, widower Maxfield Scott.

Maxfield Scott is intrigued by his new nanny—she makes his home and his life bearable again. His work, on the other hand, is a disaster. Some untrained builder is remodeling a completed project of his. What’s worse, Maxfield’s current client wants changes to his plans because of Amos’s work.

As the competition between the men heats up, Olive’s involvement becomes harder to hide. Will the relationship between her and Maxfield survive, or will they both miss out on building something for their future?

Please give us the first page of the book.

“When I told Pa I wanted to go to town, I didn’t mean the feed store.” Maisie Kentworth reached over the side of the wagon bed and let the elm leaves swish against her hand as they passed. “That feed store doesn’t sell any phosphate drinks, and I aim to have me one of those today.”

Her brother Amos pulled one rein tight, swerving to make the sharp turn into the feed store’s lot. “Welp, we gotta get feed, that’s a fact, and ever since that Silas Marsh business, they want to keep you on a short leash. So if you want to step foot off the ranch, it’s church or the feed store, or else you’ll be tied to Granny’s apron strings. Them’s the only options.”

Maisie grabbed the supple end of a branch and held it tight so all the leaves were stripped away as it ran through her hand. Silas Marsh. She wished she’d never lit eyes on the man. She’d been staying in town with her cousin Calista when Silas had entered her world. Charming, attentive, and romantic, the young miner seemed just what Maisie had wanted in a man, but evidently she wasn’t the only lady to feel that way.

Turning around in her seat and throwing her leg over the back, she planted her sturdy boot in the middle of her cousin’s back and jostled him until Hank groaned and rolled over.

“Wake up. We’re here.” Maisie tidied her chestnut hair behind her ears, and wiggled her freckled nose at the sweet scent of the feed that should’ve told Hank it was time to wake up and work.

Hank lifted his straw hat from his face and squinted at the sun. “What do you need me for? I thought we brought you to do the toting.”

With a boot to his shoulder, Maisie shoved harder. “Get on your feet, Hank. It’s time to work.”

“Hank ain’t afraid of hard work,” Amos cheerfully added. “He’ll curl up right against it and sleep like a baby.”

“What’s your hurry?” he groaned. “I was out hunting all night. Give me a minute.”

“If we have time to spare, we might could drive on into town to the soda fountain,” Maisie said.

Hank bolted upright. “I do admire myself a phosphate cherry root drink.” The flat, immovable planes of Hank’s face gave his every pronouncement the weight of the granite tablets from Mount Sinai.

“There ain’t no way.” Amos set the brake and wrapped the reins around the handle. “I have strict orders not to let Maisie anywhere near town.” And even when Amos was serious, the sparks of merriment in his eyes didn’t allow one to believe him.

Where can we find you on the Internet? My website is www.reginajennings.com. I’m also on Facebook, Twitter and very rarely Instagram. I look forward to visiting with you all there.

Thank you, Regina, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. My copy is on my table at the top of my to-be-read pile. I’m eager to dive into it.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Proposing+Mischief&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss

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: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com