SAFE REFUGE - Pam S Meyers - One Free Print or Kindle Book

Welcome back, Pam. I love your head shot. Tell us about your salvation experience.

I was raised in a nominal Christian home and drifted away from church involvement when I left home. In my early thirties, while living in Los Angeles, I got involved in a small claims court case with a roommate and a coworker started talking to me about the Lord. I took her words to heart, but didn’t react on them until I returned to the Midwest to live several months later. My mom became very ill, and I promised God I’d return to church if she got well. She did get somewhat well and I started attending a church that wasn’t right for me. Regardless, during a Good Friday service as I heard the biblical account of the crucifixion read from the Bible the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my heart and I realized that Jesus did that totally for me and I was humbled. I didn’t know about praying for the Lord to come into my life, but Christian friends came alongside me and discipled me. I eventually moved to the church I still attend today which is a Gospel-preaching evangelical church and I’ve been growing in Him ever since.

I love life stories like yours. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Ane Mulligan because she’s a dear friend and one of the best brainstormers around. Deb Raney because she is a wonderful writer and an awesome encourager to writers. Cynthia Ruchti because she brings biblical insight of the Lord to those who write and I want to write like her when I grow up. Elizabeth Camden, who writes awesome historicals in a way that I want to write them.

Do you have a speaking ministry?

If so, tell us about that. I have spoken at my book launches and readings about my books and when my Love Finds You in Lake Geneva book (now published as Surprised by Love in Lake Geneva) I spoke on the historical research I did for the book at the public library in Lake Geneva. I would love to develop more of a speaking ministry, but so far I haven’t pursued it enough.

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

When going to a presentation related to Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, I arrived at the retirement home where the event was to take place and realized that I forgot my computer which was on Keynote (the Mac version of PowerPoint). Fortunately, I did have the presentation on a flash drive and a worker at the home had a Mac. With the help of a techie we were able to work around things and I was able to make my presentation.

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I do get asked this once in a while. I always encourage them that if they are really serious about writing to start writing. Read writing craft books, attend a local writers conference and take the beginners workshops in writing, and if they aspire to write fiction to join American Fiction Christian Writers (ACFW) and their local chapter if they live near one. They need to soak up all they can and start writing.

Tell us about the featured book.

Safe Refuge is the first story in a three-book series called The Newport of the West. My home area of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has a very rich history that all but began in the fall of 1871 when the Great Chicago Fire occurred. The fire destroyed the businesses and homes of Chicago’s most wealthy movers and shakers. Many of those men grabbed up land on the shores of Geneva Lake, which was a two-hour train ride away. There they built beautiful mansions and their families stayed there while the city was being rebuilt. Thus the area was nicknamed Newport of the West as it reminded people of Newport, Rhode Island, where similar families from New York City and Boston built grand homes on the shoreline. For decades excursion boats have taken passengers around the lake to point out the estates of people like the Wrigleys, Schwinns, and others with not so recognizable names. Over the years many of the homes have burned down or fallen to the wrecking ball. It’s my desire to preserve some of the lake’s legacy through these three novels that focus on a fictional family who moves there after the fire.

Please give us the first page of the book.

October 7, 1871

Chicago, Illinois

“GLAD I CAUGHT ya before you be leavin’.”

At Rory Quinn’s comment, heat filled Anna Hartwell’s cheeks, and it wasn’t because of the unusual fall heat wave Chicago was experiencing. She turned from the family carriage and shielded her eyes with her hand. The Illinois Street Mission janitor and general handyman, leaned against the mission school’s doorframe, shirtsleeves rolled up, his muscular arms folded across his chest. A dimpled grin filled his face.

She pressed her hand against her flip-flopping stomach. Why did seeing him always produce that reaction? Maybe because despite the only thing he ever wore was a well-worn shirt and denim pants held up by black suspenders, Rory was more handsome than any man who frequented her usual social circles.

She should look away, but she needed to make sure the memory of his face was forever etched in her mind. “I was about to search for you. I only came out to give Patrick my bag.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat that felt the size of a small boulder and forced out her next words. “I need to return to the classroom before I leave.” Guilt replaced regret. To tell him the truth would only result in questions with answers she’d rather not share.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m most frequently on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers. My new website address is www.pamelasmeyers.com

Thank you, Pam, for sharing this new book with us. I always love your books, and I’m eager to read this one.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Safe Refuge (Newport of the West) (Volume 1) - Paperback
Safe Refuge (Newport of the West 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, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

SECOND CHANCE LOVE - Pamela S Meyers - One Book Giveaway

Bio: A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love and her historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Her novella. What Lies Ahead, is part of a novella collection, The Bucket List Dare, which is now available at Amazon in both print and Kindle formats. Second Chance Love from Bling!, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, releases in January 2017. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.

Welcome back, Pamela. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

My characters often struggle with the lie that they are not good enough—not good enough for God or people they care about. Their spiritual arc involves them coming to that moment when they realize that God loves them unconditionally and because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross they are seen as righteous if they surrender to Him. Another theme I sometimes write about is trust and being able to entrust everything to the Lord. That is the issue my heroine, Sydney, in Second Chance Love grapples with. She has been a believer for a long time, but after suffering several abandonments she begins to think she can’t trust God to keep her from getting hurt again.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

A Indie novella collection I am in came out last October. The Bucket List Dare involves four women who wrote bucket lists their senior year at Texas A and M. Now when they are all about to turn 30, one of them challenges the others to pick the most daring item on their list and do it by their 30th birthday. I’m in another Indie novella collection set to come out this coming spring. It’s theme is tiny houses, but I don’t have the details on that as yet. And, last but not least, I’m working on a sequel to Second Chance Love.

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

I think spending an evening with President-Elect Donald Trump would be very interesting. We all think we know him (maybe), but do we? What is he really like when he’s behind closed doors with his family. There have been conflicting reports about his spiritual beliefs, and I’d like to find out for myself exactly where he is with that.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

My pastor often quotes for spiritual giants of the past like Charles Spurgeon, and I would love to meet him and pick his brain about all there is about the Bible.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers? Remember that the publishing industry today looks nothing like it looks five years ago or ten years ago. The down side is that traditional publishers have cut back on their Christian fiction lines or stopped them altogether, leaving less available slots for new writers. With so few slots, publishers tend to contract multi-published authors more than going with an unknown. But, at the same time, opportunities are out there at the smaller presses, and if a writer has the ability to write good solid fiction and break in that way, they can gain the attention of the larger houses. Just be sure to research the small houses thoroughly. Most are on the up and up, but there are some that are not.

Another way to break in is to self-publish (Indie publishing). It costs you up front as you have to pay for a good edit, cover design, formatting and the like. However, there is no other middle man involved and the royalties can be quite good if you are successful. Just don’t try to trim corners. You want to put out a quality product that equals that of the traditional publishers.

Tell us about the featured book.

Chicago lawyer Sydney Knight and Texas bull rider Jace McGowan have nothing in common but everything to lose when they are thrust together during a weekend rodeo in rural Illinois. Neither one of them would have imagined two years ago that the deep attraction they sensed during a day-long outing would resurface when Sydney’s boss assigns her to Jace’s legal case.

Sydney has been through a world of hurt since losing her dad when she was sixteen, then being dumped the morning of her wedding. She’s sworn off romance and instead devotes her time toward a partnership in her father’s law office.

Jace has found faith in God and wants out of his sponsor contract with a risqué restaurant chain that requires him to pose with scantily-clad women. He’s about to bail on the contract and pay steep penalties—something he can ill afford, given that his deceased father left the family with unpaid taxes.

Sydney is determined she’ll get Jace out of his contract and return to Chicago with her heart intact, but Jace is just as determined to help her see they are meant to be together. Can a city girl with roots deep in Chicago and a bull-riding rancher with roots deep in Texas give themselves a second-chance love?

I am eager to read this one. Please give us the first page of the book.

“I need you to knock some sense into my nephew’s head.”

Sydney Knight stared across the wide oak desk at Harry Brownlee’s intense gaze. The same gaze he used quite effectively in the courtroom. As far as she knew, Harry had but one nephew. One charismatic, deep-dimpled cowboy who’d sent her heart racing two years ago. She’d finally gotten Jace McGowan out of her system, and she intended to keep him there. Maybe Harry only meant it figuratively. She swallowed and smoothed her clammy palms over her pencil skirt. “I don’t understand.”

Harry leaned back in his leather chair and stroked his impeccably trimmed beard. “You met Jace, the bull rider, a couple years ago when you did me a favor by showing him the town when I needed to be in court.” He shook his head. “The guy has a college degree and does a great job riding rank bulls, but he lacks common sense.”

How had Jace become the main topic of their Monday morning meeting? What about the discovery she’d been working on for the Landers case? She focused through the large window wall behind Harry. Lake Michigan, blue and serene, sparkled in the late summer sun.

Okay … okay. Give me more. How can readers find you on the Internet? 

Second Chance Love is Available on Amazon in both print and Kindle editions at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1946016047

My other links are:

Website: www.pammeyerswrites.com

Blog: www.pamelasuemeyers.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers

             www.facebook.com/PamelaSMeyersAuthor/

Twitter: pamelameyers

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing this book with us. I know my blog readers will be as eager as I am to read it. By the way, I love your cover.

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, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

THYME FOR LOVE - Pamela S Meyers

Bio:  A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love, and Love Will Find a Way, contemporary romantic mysteries, and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other mid-western spots for new story ideas.

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

I recently received my rights back on my first two published books and have been busy updating the first one, Thyme for Love (TFL), which I just published independently through Amazon. It’s exciting to do the entire process of publishing myself. Now that TFL is published, I’ll begin work on editing Love Will Find a Way. Then after that, I hope to write the third in the series, which I am calling The Cooking Up Trouble series. Although I haven’t published anything traditionally since Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I still hope to publish that route in addition to the Indies.

Tell us a little about your family.

Since I am an only child and never married, my family connections are not exactly the same as a lot of people. My parents are both deceased, but I have first cousins whom I see periodically. I have a number of very close friends from church who are my sisters in the Lord and they count as much as family to me as any siblings would have.

I love friends like that. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Yes. First, I don’t have as much time as I used to for casual reading. But I do try to read current releases in my genre to keep up with what is out there and also to better my craft by reading other writers. Sometimes it’s hard to turn off the “editor” hat and just read for enjoyment.

What are you working on right now?

Having just published Thyme for Love, I’m working a lot on getting the word out to people about the book through promotion on social media and in blog interviews like this one J. The ACFW conference is coming up next month, and I need to focus on the novel I’d like to pitch to editors there and prepare for the appointments

What outside interests do you have?

I enjoy knitting and crocheting, both great stress reducers after a busy day of writing and editing. I attend Bible Study Fellowship each year from September to May and I really enjoy digging deep into the Bible and learning how to apply God’s Word to my life. This coming fall we’ll begin studying Revelation and I’m very excited about that.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

All three of my published books are set in southeastern Wisconsin where I grew up. Love Finds You in Lake Geneva is actually set in my hometown. I was very blessed to have the opportunity to set a novel there. The two mystery/romance novels are set in the small town of Canoga Lake, a fictitious community about ten minutes east of Lake Geneva. I chose to not have the story in Lake Geneva because in the first book, Thyme for Love, the police chief is a bungler, and I didn’t want to paint the police chief of my hometown that way J. I love setting my stories in Wisconsin, or the Midwest in general, because there are so many wonderful settings throughout the area. You have the Apostle Islands at the very northern most point in Wisconsin, the rolling glacier-formed hills of the Kettle Moraine in southeastern Wisconsin, the large and beautiful city of Chicago…I could go on, but I’ll stop.

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

I think I would love to go back in time to how my hometown of Lake Geneva was in the thirties when my Love Finds You book is set. I learned so much about the town in doing my research and I’d love to just hang with the townspeople and enjoy getting to know them. Then after that it would be great fun to go back even farther to the very late 19th Century in the same area. Many of Chicago’s wealthy built large mansions on the lakeshore and they lived a very different lifestyle than the townspeople. I’d love to go back and hang out in some of their homes, attending their tea parties and ride on their steam yachts.

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

That can take a very long while to become established and just because someone tells you that your writing is ready to be published, it may not be that ready. I had quite a letdown in the early days of my writing because someone told me I was ready to be published and I really was not. That didn’t stop me, but it wasn’t realistic to tell me that.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Just today He showed me from Hebrews 13: 5-6 that I have been obsessing too much about how many books I’ve sold so far since I went Indie. It’s nice to be able to check on your sales right up to the minute, but it’s easy to become too caught up in it and almost make it an idol. I want all my writing to be to His glory, and it doesn’t matter if I sell a small number of books or thousands.

I don’t look at the numbers of my Indies until it’s royalty time. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Work hard, never stop learning the craft, and be flexible.

Tell us about the featured book.

New chef, April Love, has landed her dream job, but she never anticipated her former fiancé and a murdered boss would be on the menu.

When April Love applies for a job as an in-house chef at a century-old lakeshore mansion in Canoga Lake, Wisconsin, she never expected to find her old flame, Marc Thorne, working there and looking more gorgeous than ever. He’d left her high and dry weeks before their planned wedding, and last she heard, he was living on the West Coast. Soon, the old attraction heats up. But, April senses Marc isn’t spilling all the beans about his past eight years, and no amount of questioning has him talking. Despite being unable to trust Marc for her future, she’s determined to not let him stand in the way of living out her dream.

Their boss is murdered, and Marc is falsely accused of the crime. He’s about to be indicted, and April has no choice but to turn detective and find Ramón Galvez’s real killer. It isn’t long before she realizes she may be the murderer's next victim if she doesn’t stop her sleuthing. If she stops now, hopes for a future with Marc will end in a cellblock.

Sounds interesting. Please give us the first page of the book.

The kitchen door opened, and I came face to face with a ghost. Not a Scrooge’s Christmas Past kind of ghost. More like the Ghost of Long-Lost Love. Bronze complexion, espresso-dark eyes, hair as black as licorice, and the new addition of a short beard that grazed his jawline—Marc Thorne looked as gorgeous as he had when he walked out of my life the day before college graduation.

Limp as overcooked pasta, I gripped the island’s granite counter, its rock-solid support my only hope of not toppling off my four-inch-too-tight heels. Why now? I opened my mouth to speak, but a vise-like grip on my chest had squeezed out every ounce of air.

Marc stepped closer, and a whiff of his citrusy aftershave tickled my nose. Thankfully he wasn’t wearing the spicy fragrance I’d always liked. One sniff of that stuff and I’d have been transported back to a time I preferred to keep dead and buried.

“April? What are you doing here?”

What was I doing here?

I forced a ragged breath into my lungs. “I’m waiting to interview with . . . Mr . . . Gomez for the chef position.”

I can’t wait until my copy arrives, so I can see what happens. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website:  www.pamelasmeyers.com

Blog: www.pammeyerswrites.blogspot.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers

Twitter: www.twitter.com/pamelameyers

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PamelaMeyers/post

Thank you, Pamela, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers will be interested in the story, too.


Readers, here is a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Thyme for Love (Cooking Up Trouble Book 1)

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

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

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

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

LOVE FINDS YOU IN LAKE GENEVA, WISCONSIN - Pamela S Meyers - One Free Book

Bio: A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago. She served on the ACFW Operating Board for five years and has also served her local ACFW chapter in leadership roles.

Her debut novel Thyme for Love released November 2011, and its sequel Love Will Find a Way is set to release in March 2013. Her historical romance that is set in her hometown, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, releases in April 2013. She has published many magazine articles and is a contributor in a non-fiction compilation book.

You can often find her nosing around Midwestern small towns, looking for story ideas or coordinating the ACFW Genesis writing contest. She leads a woman’s life group in her church and enjoys reading and cooking.

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I began by writing contemporary fiction because that’s what I was familiar with more than history. It was a good genre in which to hone my writing skills and not have to rely on making sure my historical facts were correct. When I began discussing the possibility of writing Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, my editor suggested I write a historical. I chose the 1930s because I could still have my characters use a telephone and ride in cars. But it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with writing a story from the past, especially as I read accounts of what life was like back in 1933 in Lake Geneva. I came to know my hometown in a way I never did before. Now I’m working on more historical romance proposals set even farther back in time. Even so, two threads remain constant in my stories—a spiritual arc for my main characters and a romance.

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

In recent memory I’d have to say two days. First the day my agent called to tell me my romantic mystery Thyme for Love had contracted. I’d been seeking publication for a very long time and when the call came I was in shock J. Then two months later he called again to say that Summerside Press wanted to contract Love Finds You in Lake Geneva. That was like the cherry on top of a very tasty sundae. I’d dreamed of writing a story set in my hometown for a very long time and God had surely blessed me in 2011 with my first contracted book and then a short time later with a contract for my dream story.

How has being published changed your life?

I’m sure busy now J. Marketing newly-releasing books, writing book proposals and overseeing the Genesis writing contest for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), sometimes all at the same time, forces me to be able to multitask. But I’m not complaining! It’s a fun kind of busy.

What are you reading right now?

The past couple weeks I’ve been too busy to read much, but I most recently finished Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes. Loved it, just like I’ve loved her other two books.

What is your current work in progress?

While doing the research for Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, I realized that my home area is very blessed with a unique history that goes back to the 19^th Century when after the Civil War and later, the Great Chicago Fire, wealthy families from Chicago began building beautiful mansions on the lakeshore for their summer retreats. Over the years, many of these opulent mansions have either burned down or came down with a wrecking ball. Quite a few still remain, but for how long? That thought inspired me to write about a fictitious 19^th Century family who moved to the lake after the fire and take up residence in a beautiful lakeshore home, rubbing elbows with some of the actual people who lived there in that time. I’m in the middle of the first draft right now. I also have ideas for two more stories set in Lake Geneva a little bit later in time.

What would be your dream vacation?

It’s hard to describe one such vacation. I love going to the mountains, and I also love the West coast and traveling the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I love the Smokie Mountains and the Gulf Coast too. To me, just getting away and seeing new places and enjoying favorite spots from past travels is enough.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I seem to always set my stories in small towns, and all three of my published novels are set in my home area in southeastern Wisconsin. I do have other ideas for settings in Illinois, where I currently live, and out West. Right now, I’m loving the history of my hometown and state and that is pulling me toward concentrating my work there as much as possible.

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

That’s a hard one. I can think of plenty of people from the past—I’ve thought about authors and there are many I’d enjoy spending time with, but I have to say the one person that came to my mind is Beth Moore. I’ve done many of her Bible Studies over the years. The one on the Fruit of the Spirit impacted me the most. I attended one of her events when she came to my state, but I’d love to be able to meet her personally and just sit and discuss the Lord and have fellowship and prayer with her.

She is a very dynamic believer in Jesus, for sure. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Since writing became my full-time work it’s been hard to find time for much else. I’ve always enjoyed crocheting and knitting, and do have an incomplete afghan sitting here that I started crocheting almost two years ago! I enjoy watching movies and doing Bible Study. I lead a women’s life group through my church and also attend Bible Study Fellowship on Thursday mornings.

I love to knit and crochet, but I had to give up crocheting a few years ago when it started bothering my arthritic joints. And this last year, I’ve almost completely stopped knitting. The repetitive movement uses the same muscles and joints that using a computer mouse does, and I’m having to limit that to just using the computer. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Not being so easily distracted. When under deadline I literally have to turn off my email because if I see an email has come in, I instantly go see who it is. It’s very hard for me to leaving it alone. Sometimes I do need to leave it on because I’m waiting for an important reply to something, and it takes great restraint to stay with what I’m doing J.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

I always say to develop two things: Perseverance and patience. I think they kind of overlap, but both are so important. When I began pursuing fiction publication Bill Clinton was in the White House and gas cost $1.15 a gallon. Lena, I think I first heard this phrase from you, “God is never too early or too late. He’s always on time.” That is so true. Looking back I see the reasons for the wait. My break came at just the right time for me.

It always does, and His timing often doesn’t match our timetable, but we look back and see where He was right all the time. Tell us about the featured book.

As I said, my story is set in my hometown during the Great Depression. Along with the developing romance between my heroine and hero, I focus on the building of the town’s new recreational building, The Riviera, that sits on the lakeshore next to the beach. Construction on the building began in 1932 and its grand opening celebration took place in May 1933. It is in the months leading up to the grand opening that my story takes place.

Will she lose her heart to the man who stole her job?

A young woman wants to work in a man’s world. It’s 1933, the height of the Big-Band era, and beautiful Lake Geneva is already well established as a summertime playground for Chicago’s elite. Local girl Meg Alden works at the town newspaper, but she aspires to be a reporter—a job given only to men. When a position opens up, Meg spies an opportunity to break into the business. That is, until Jack Wallace, the son of a big-city newspaper magnate, is hired instead. Jack is drawn to Meg and suggests they combine forces to uncover a local scandal. But how will Meg be able to work with the man who stole her job … and makes her pulse race?

Please give us the first page of the book.

March 1933

Meg Alden closed the notepad and stuffed it into her handbag. A whole hour spent on what would amount to a single paragraph on the society page. Maybe by the next Garden Club meeting, her beat would be hard news about the new building and not about which flowers should grace its grounds.

She stood from the dining room chair the hostess had provided and picked up the brown envelope that hadn’t left her sight all morning. She grabbed her coat and gave a tiny wave to her mother before she slipped out the front door. She had less than an hour to give what she considered her best work to Mr. Zimmer.

This afternoon might be too late.

With quick strides, she arrived at the town’s main intersection and peered down the street toward the lake. Thanks to the meeting, she’d missed her daily check on the new building’s progress.

Even though the outside work was completed, she still loved her regular walks past the brown brick structure, as she imagined tourists and bathers enjoying its new bathhouses and food counters during the day and energetic dancers kicking up their heels in its beautiful ballroom at night.

Meg shifted her attention to the traffic light suspended over where Main and Broad intersected. In the stiff March wind, the thing bobbed precariously. Pressing the envelope to her chest, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. A gust smacked her in the face, and she grabbed for her hat as the envelope slipped from her grasp and spiraled upward.

It twisted and tumbled, lifted and dropped to the pavement inches from a muddy puddle.

Meg darted into the intersection. A horn blared.She froze. Fred Newman glared at her through the windscreen of his Model A pickup truck, his lips pursed as if he’d just sucked on a lemon.


She snatched up the envelope.

He leaned out the window, his leathery face looking as though it would crack if he smiled.

“You’d better watch where you’re going.”


Meg tossed him a wave and puddle-hopped to the curb. The old busybody would have it all over town by lunchtime that Meg Alden had nearly caused him to run her over in the middle of the street. Well, let him. She had other things on her mind.

I love it already. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My blog/website is at http://www.pamelasmeyers.com and I’m also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers . My Twitter account is https://twitter.com/pamelameyers

Thank you, Pam, for sharing your heart with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - paperback
Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - Kindle

(I noticed when I retrieved the link that the paperback is less expensive that the ebook today.)

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

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

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

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Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

THYME FOR LOVE - Pamela S Meyers - Free Book

Welcome, Pam. I've really been looking forward to our time together.

Q: Give us a little preview of Thyme for Love.

A:  April Love has always dreamed of being a chef. When her Aunt Kitty hears of a in-house chef position for a non-profit organization housed in a lakeshore mansion next door, April returns to Canoga Lake, Wisconsin, where she’d spent many summers growing up, to apply for the job. When she discovers her former fiancé Marc Thorne working there, she wonders if this position was really God’s intention for her. After all, Marc all but left her standing at the altar to chase his own dreams in California. It doesn’t take long to realize Marc is hiding secrets and despite returning feelings for the man, April determines she will not make the same mistake as she did eight years earlier. But when their boss is found dead and Marc is framed for his murder, April has no choice but to turn sleuth to keep Marc from being accused of a murder he didn’t commit.

Q: What made you want to write this book?

A:  I’ve always loved romance and mysteries, and decided to write a story that married the two elements together. I grew up in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and have always been fascinated by the many 20^th Century mansions that dot the lake’s shoreline. I toyed with the idea of setting the story in one of those homes, but decided to create a smaller lake and village just to the east of Lake Geneva to gain more freedom with some of the details of the story and its characters. I loved having the area located close enough to Lake Geneva that April and Marc could go there for a meal at one of the actual restaurants there. I also gave them backgrounds that involve working on Geneva Lake as many college students do during the summer months.

Q:  Have you always wanted to be a writer?

A:  In one way or another I’ve always written almost since I could hold a pencil. When I was eight years old I asked for a diary for Christmas and I wrote in it at different times of my childhood. I still have that little book and it contains bits and pieces of my life from age eight until sometime in high school. Even into my adult years I’d journal from time to time, but never thought of turning that “need” to put words to paper into a career until years later. While completing my bachelor’s through an accelerated adult program, one of my professors suggested I could make a living writing. I published several magazine articles, but as the hankering to write stories grew stronger, I began taking fiction writing classes. At a local writer’s conference a multipublished author suggested I could turn one of my short stories into a novel. That was all I needed to hear. I soon joined American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) while the organization was in its infancy and through their writing courses and conferences I continued to grow in the craft.

Q: Have you written other novels besides Thyme for Love?

Oh yes. My first novel which I would classify as a women’s fiction languishes in my computer at the moment. Authors very seldom publish their first written work as that often turns out to be a practice project. The storyline still resonates with me and I’d love to one day pull it out and rework it. There are a couple other stories that will probably never see the light of day. I’m very excited to have a novel set in my hometown of Lake Geneva, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, coming out in June 2012 from Summerside Press. It’s a 1933 historical romance, and I had a blast researching for the story.

Q. Do you have any plans for a sequel to Thyme for Love?

A. I’m so glad you asked. Thyme for Love is part of a three-book series called “On the Road to Love.” Books 2 and 3 involved April and Marc, and both are set in Canoga Lake. In Book 2, Love Will Find a Way, April moves into an old Victorian home with plans to turn it into a restaurant and catering business. It isn’t long before a discovery made while they are renovating the home threatens to hijack plans for the grand opening. In Book three, Love’s Reward, April and Marc’s wedding plans are in full swing, until it becomes apparent there is someone who doesn’t want them to marry.

Q. How do you get your story ideas?

A. There’s an old adage to write what you know. I might add to that, to always keep your eyes and ears open for a possible story line. That first novel I wrote was sparked by something someone said to me when she showed me a picture of my great-grandfather’s grave. My Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, story grew out of wanting to know the history behind the beautiful lakeshore recreational building that has become an icon of the area. Just today a newspaper article sparked an idea I’d like to develop into a proposal.

Q. What is your daily writing routine?

A. My best writing time is morning, but I’ve had to make myself work outside the box at times when that kind of schedule doesn’t work. Since I am a morning person, I find it best to set my alarm as if I’m going to work. I get up at 5:30 and spend at least an hour in my Quiet Time with God. Then I try to walk daily for exercise before settling down in my home office to write. I recently converted unused space in my dining are into an office and that has helped tremendously with getting the sense of “going to work.” This helps me stay on task. Too many years actually working Monday through Friday probably contributes to that. On days I have an obligation away from home in the morning, I have had to force myself to be creative in the afternoon and early evening. I think as I start working on deadlines more and more that’s going to be essential.

Q. What advice do you have for new authors?

A. Persevere, persevere, and persevere. I started out aspiring to be published in novel writing more than ten years ago. I had the raw ability and desire to write, but that skill had to be trained and honed, much like a young colt has to be trained. I have learned that writers need to develop what we jokingly refer to as rhino skin and also we need a positive teachable attitude. Join critique groups, take writing courses, attend writing conferences where great teaching occurs and you’ll have opportunities to meet with industry professionals and pitch to editors and agents. ACFW has a great yearly conference ever September that is for fiction writers only. I cannot tout ACFW enough. It is a must organization to join for anyone who writes fiction from a Christian point of view.

Q. When you aren’t writing, what fills your days?

A. I volunteer at my church in the multicultural ministry, helping Japanese women learn to speak English and lead a women’s small group Bible study. I’m also chapter president of my local ACFW chapter which meets monthly. Also, I enjoy reading (surprise, surprise) and movies. Love to cook and find new ways of making things. You’ll find an adaptation of a recipe someone gave me called Chicken George at the back of Thyme for Love. I loved having April prepare it in the novel, and look forward to experimenting with more recipes for the sequels.

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


Readers, you can find out more about Pamela at this site: http://www.pamelasmeyers.com/


Here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog. 

Thyme for Love


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

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

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

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, 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