BATTLEFIELDS & BLESSINGS - Jocelyn Green - Free Book

When Jocelyn contacted me about being on my blog, I was glad to feature her, since my grandson is serving in Afghanistan right now. Welcome, Jocelyn. You are writing nonfiction. Do you also write fiction?

No, I don’t. I would love to be able to do that someday, but I have serious doubts about my ability in that genre. I have the utmost respect and admiration for fiction writers!

What would you like for our readers to know about you personally?
All the books I have worked on are related to the military in some way—the reason for which can be traced back to July 5, 2003. That was the day I married a Coast Guard officer and was swept from Washington, D.C. to Alaska. I wasn’t a military wife for long, but it was long enough to give me an understanding and compassion for military families and to want to encourage them and share their stories.

Also, I’m an ordinary mom. I used to do all my writing during my child’s nap times and after she went to bed at night. Now that we have two small children, my husband uses flex time with his job to allow me to write two mornings a week. The rest of the time, I’m wiping runny noses, changing diapers, doing laundry, washing dishes, and occasionally, cooking. (Cooking is always the first thing I let go when I’m under a deadline.)
I’m a firm believer that most days can be made a little brighter with good music (I love Keith and Kristin Getty), good chocolate (aka Toblerone), coffee (I’ll settle for Folgers when the budget is tight) and finding new ways to make my children laugh.

Tell us about your family.

My husband Rob is no longer active duty but is still connected to the service through the business he started, which provides graphic design to Coast Guard ships, units, air stations, etc. Our children are Elsa, age 4, and Ethan, who will be 2 in October. Elsa is beginning to make up her own stories now, much to her mother’s delight, and Ethan is content to make truck and train noises all day long. Ethan was born with hypothyroidism, so he is on lifelong medication for that. So far, it appears that the condition was caught in time so that he has no signs of mental or physical retardation.

I'm really glad to hear that. Have you written other nonfiction books?

Yes, my first book was Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008). But I couldn’t have completed that without the contributions from 14 other Christian military wives from every branch of service.
I was also the contributing editor for the award-winning Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War 2 by Larkin Spivey.

Do you have any other books in the works right now?

Yes. I’ve teamed up with Larkin once again for the Battlefields & Blessings book for Viet Nam, plus I’ve got proposals in the works for more devotions for military wives, as well as a book of devotions for parents of special needs children.

What kinds of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy?

Reading tops the list, then scrapbooking, gardening, and baking. I recently discovered The Cake Mix Doctor book, has been so much fun that baking now ranks pretty high on my favorite hobby list, but practically-speaking, it’s just not healthy to spend too much time on cake.

Why did you write the featured book?

My two co-authors (Jane Hampton Cook and John Croushorn) and I wrote the book to tell the stories that otherwise are not being told. We interviewed about 70 people connected to the current war, including soldiers, chaplains, military family members, widows, medics, humanitarian workers, government contractors and more. Our goal was to honor today’s generation of heroes (including the heroes at home) but also to show through their stories that God is big enough even for the pain and heartache war brings. God is faithful even in the most uncertain times. He offers peace when the battles literally rage. That’s what this book is all about.

What do you want the reader to take away from the book?

This is a 365-day devotional book, so each story also has a Scripture and a brief prayer. Naturally, we want readers to come away from the book with a closer relationship with God, and with a broader understanding of who He is. We also hope readers will have a better, more multi-dimensional picture of America’s soldiers, their families, and the sacrifices they make (largely unnoticed) every day. We also want readers to be inspired by their courage and faith in the midst of trials and grief. There are heartbreaking stories in this book, but there are also wonderful pictures of redemption and hope.

Where on the Internet can the readers find you?

My Web site is http://www.faithdeployed.com/ . You can also find me at www.facebook.com/FaithDeployed .

Thank you, Jocelyn, for sharing this wonderful book with us.

Readers, by using this link, you help support this blog.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

HER ABUNDANT JOY - Lyn Cote - Free Book

Author's Bio:

When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Long years of rejection followed. Finally in 1997, Lyn got "the call." Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen by Steeple Hill for the new Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over thirty novels published. In 2006 Lyn's book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, one of the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail, and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/  Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and "friend or follow" her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.


Her latest release is Her Abundant Joy, the final book in her Texas Star of Destiny series, to purchase drop by her website or blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/ .

Welcome, Lyn. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

Evidently I am fired by a crusading spirit. My brand is Strong Women, Brave Stories. Each story is always a unique romance of a strong woman finding the man she can love and respect above all others, the man who will treasure her for her strengths, not in spite of them.

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

It's hard to choose between my wedding day and the birth days of my two children.
How has being published changed your life?

I'm busier.
What are you reading right now?

I just finished and ARC of An Inconvenient Friend by African-American author Rhonda McKnight http://www.rhondamcknight.net/, a very edgy Christian novel where the protagonist is the "other woman," Samaria. She decides that getting close to the wife will help her seduce her lover to leave said wife. But in the end Samaria finds herself with An Inconvenient Friend. I couldn't put it down! It'll be released on August 1st.
What is your current work in progress?

I'm writing the 3rd in my "New Friends Street" series for Love Inspired, three stories of families receiving Habitat for Humanity homes in WI. The first in the series is Shelter of Hope, out this Sept.--at a Wal-Mart near you!
What would be your dream vacation?

I think I just had it in St Louis at a writers retreat and the International Christian Retail Show where I signed my latest release, Her Abundant Joy.
How do you choose your settings for each book?

I always start with setting and a time period. I like to watch my characters “brave the storms of history.” In my own life, I survived the assassination of JFK, Watergate, the Cold War, Vietnam War, two Gulf Wars, recessions, 9/11, and what we’re experiencing now. History impacts every life. And often pushes us and my characters to our limit of bravery, endurance and phileo or brotherly love. I also focus on women who were what I call “passionate participants of their times.” Women who took the Great Commission and the Golden Rule to heart and then tried to take them into the world.
If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I'd like to have my husband, my son, his wife, and our daughter together playing Scrabble. This only happens once a year usually. Not what you expected, right? :-)
These are your answers, so I don't have expectations. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I knit, crochet, watch old movies and do lunch as often as I can!

I knit and crochet, too. What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Life keeps intruding.
What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Be fearless.

Tell us about the featured book.

Her Abundant Joy, 3rd in my Texas Star of Destiny series, features a German widow Mariel Wolffe. She is a heroine who will tug at a reader's heart (I hope!) And her hero, Carson Quinn, the son of the hero and heroine in the first book, is a man that should melt hearts. He's not just a handsome face. He has faced frontier life and learned to survive with honor, no small accomplishment.

They find themselves--just as we do today in the face of terrorism--in the middle of a war. Their personal desires and plans must give way to the winds of war. But God is still there with them. I gave my editor a choice of two titles taken from Psalm 37 (all 3 titles are). She chose Her Abundant Joy. The other was Her Man of Peace. I think that this reflects the theme of the book. Carson longs for peace but is forced into war.

The humble shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.... Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Psalm 37: 11, 37

Please give us the first page of the book.
Chapter One


Texas, April 1846

Gazing ahead through the pouring rain, Carson Quinn tried to take a deep breath and couldn’t. Searing tightness in his chest reminded him--he hadn’t been able to blot out the images. Images the past week with Blanche had blistered into his mind, knotted around his lungs. Late on his second day in the saddle, all he was looking forward to was a hot bath and a warm bed at one of Galveston’s inns, comfort for his body if not his spirit.

Draped within the dismal mist, he nudged his horse to churn quicker through mud and murky puddles over the last half-mile into the seaport. Amid the jumble of buildings, strange people clogged the streets. He pulled up on his reins. Something had happened here. Something out of the ordinary. Something that might force him out of his own misery into the misery of others.

People huddled under dripping trees, under canvas, and standing under the overhanging roofs of stores, everyone drenched. Rainwater funneled down his leather hat as he steered his horse through the throng. Those who peered up at him looked pale, forlorn and sickly. They weren’t dressed like Texans, or even Americans—

He inhaled a shallow breath. He still thought of Americans as separate from Texas, from him. But Texas was part of the US now. Had been for over two months. Who were these people?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com/
For the latest Christian Fiction Market Update http://www.booksbylyncote.com/publishers.html
Also look me up on facebook, GoodReads, Shoutlife, eharlequin.com and MySpace!

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

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.


http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

Winners - Winners - Winners - Winners - Winners

Maureen is the winner of Angel in the Shadows by Lisa Grace.

Wmmahaney is the winner of Back on Murder by J Mark Bertrand.


Holdenj is the winner of Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken.


Rbooth34 is the winner of Creative Cooking for Colitis by Angela Breidenbach.


Kathy Taylor is the winner of A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer.
 
Congratulations, everyone. Send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
You have 6 weeks to claim your book.
If you didn't win and you plan to order the book, please use the link provided on the individual interview. By using that link when you order, you will help support this blog.

RUBY RED - Robin Jansen Shope - Free Book

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

My salvation anchored itself in my parents who were total opposites in many ways. During prohibition, my dad ran bootleg whiskey for his Chicago nightclub, The Ivanhoe. Years later he met a very young Christian woman, twenty odd years his junior, and wooed her by taking her to church each week. Once the vows were spoken and that four karat diamond was on her ring finger, he never attended church again, although he never complained when she went. With light and dark forces all around me, I still was much loved and valued by both my parents. Dad was the complex businessman and my mother the Christian who told me God had something special for me to do.

One day I was feeling quite lonely without a friend to play with me. My mother said Jesus was my friend. I knew all about Him from Sunday school and from my goodnight prayers, so I asked Jesus to play with me. He spoke to me. Each day I told Mother what He said. She listened intently and said she wished He would talk to her like that. I told her to talk to Him and He would.

However, it wasn’t until I was in high school that I walked the aisle –and in a Methodist church too. My sister and I were having another one of our terrible verbal arguments and my dad, now frail from cancer and bedridden, were more than my mother could handle at the moment. There was a revival at our church so I decided to go even though it was smack dab in the middle of the week—a Wednesday—not a normal church going day like Sunday.

During the second song, I felt a change inside of me. Something dead now came alive. The feeling kept growing and along about the second song, I began to cry. I couldn’t hold onto the hymnal anymore. I set it down on the pew behind me and cried like a baby into my hands. The evangelist, Rev. O. Dean Martin, looked out over the congregation and said, “I see many of you are feeling God for the first time.” And then he called us forward to pray to receive Christ as our Savior.

What a wonderful touch from the Lord. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I am a teacher and what better speaking ministry is there? Classroom teachers have a daily platform and literally can change lives. It’s such an awesome responsibility. I also am a former missionary and spoke to crowds ranging from dozens of people to thousands.

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

My first year teaching middle school I had a very embarrassing moment. I ran to the bathroom in between periods. The kids were still coming into the room when I got back. I began writing the day’s lesson on the board. And then I became aware of soft snickers. Then more snickers only louder now. And outright laughter. Some Snorts. A hum of conversation began. A horrible thought crossed my mind. I whipped around and faced the class red-faced, as I reached my hand behind me and felt the back of my skirt was tucked into my panties. I just pulled the hem out and began teaching, trying to act as though it was no big deal. But I never wore that dress again.

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 would tell them to start on that someday book TODAY.

Tell us about the featured book.

Homeless children roamed the streets of New York City from the late 1800s through the 1930s. Death and disease were the natural results of poverty and overcrowding, causing thousands of children to be abandoned, parentless and left to fend for themselves. Adding to the malaise, boatloads of European immigrants flooded our shores and soon succumbed to the same adversities leaving thousands more parentless.

Accounts have been written of the Orphan Train that carried white-skinned children out into the heartland of America to find new families, but history is totally silent of what became of the dark-skinned children.

Ruby Red is a fictionalized tale of a true event.

Eleven-year-old Ruby is taken in as a maid. Believing life holds more for her than washing someone’s clothes, she makes a risky move by faking insanity. After being expelled from the household, Ruby sneaks onto the Orphan Train meant for only white children. With her best friend, a cockroach named Red, housed in a canning jar, Ruby searches for a place to call home and runs into adventure and heartbreak. Both an enigma and a young teen, she is the perfect reflection of how life once was in America. Ruby embodies goodness, and simplicity of truth; a rare gem which bespeaks her name. Softened a bit through suffering she refuses to be hardened and keeps believing that the world holds a special place for her. Written for young teens and adults, the indomitable spirit of Ruby Red triumphs and will live in your heart far beyond the pages of the book.

Robin Shope continues to write captivating books. She is at her best with her multi-layered characterization of Ruby Red. In the 1920s saga, Shope reels us into heartbreak and healing. - Kyle Saylors, TV PRODUCER AND PRODUCER OF FILM KIMJONGILIA,THEATRICALLY RELEASED INTERNATIONALLY AND NOMINATED FOR GRAND JURY PRIZE AT SUNDANCE, SCREENED AT US CAPITOL.

Ruby Red is a poignant story of an abandoned child with an indomitable spirit. The delightful imagery and poetry of written words will propel the reader to the era gone by bringing a story of hope and survival that will warm even the most jaded hearts. Bonnie Calhoun, PUBLISHER OF CHRISTIAN FICTION ONLINE MAGAZINE

Please give us the first page of the book.

CHAPTER 1

Ruby didn’t know she sparkled with beauty like the gem whose name she carried. Her skin was the color of lush earth darkened by the heat of summer’s noonday sun. But it wasn’t the green of summer it was the white of winter and Ruby had no place to call home.
Ruby was medium boned with impish brown eyes. Always dressed in brown, she felt she belonged here among the potato filled pots and spice scented kitchen. Ruby held her plain skirt pinched between her fingers as if it were a party dress and danced toward the kitchen where a sink load of pots and pans waited to be washed.

Chilled by early morning winter, Ruby happily obliged to clean the breakfast dishes and plunged her arms clear up to her elbows into the heated sudsy water. A thin smile of satisfaction spread across her face. Ruby looked out the window at the sun’s halo looking down on her with its lemony color seeping down from the bright cerulean sky. She considered this the best part of the day.

Frozen clusters of frost hung from the trees on the other side of the glass where sparrows nervously pecked at the edges of stale bread; left-overs from last night’s dinner. The blowing snow reminded Ruby of flour chilled in the ice box for days and later tossed about on the counter surface whenever Mama made her pies—like at this moment.

From the corner of her eye she watched Mama Burke in her feed sack apron using singed potholders to move the hot pies from the wood cook stove onto the cooling racks where she covered them over with starched tea towels.

The warm smell of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet cream caused Ruby’s mouth to water. Right about now she’d be willing to give anything she owned, the sock doll or her only pair of shoes, just for one piece of pumpkin pie sharing a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting down around it on all sides. But before the day was over she was pretty sure she’d get stuck with a slice of mincemeat pie instead.

“Don’t think I can’t see you looking at these pumpkin pies.” Mama stood by the gray speckled stove clucking her tongue. “We are lucky to be fed from the Grand Missus’ table. Be thankful for what is left at the end of each day. Hear me, child?”

“Yes’um, I hear you, but my stomach seems not to be paying very close attention.” Ruby rinsed a plate and set it into the dry sink. “Among other things—you should know I have a lowly opinion of mincemeat pie.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

FB is a great place to start and also here at The Serial Writings of Robin Shope.
http://write2robinshope.blogspot.com/

Robin, thank you for sharing Ruby Red with us.

Readers, by using this link when you order the book, you help support this blog.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

The Big 5-OH! - Sandra D Bricker - Free Book

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


The future’s so bright, I had to buy a new supply of shades! I don’t really know why the Lord chose this time and place after so many years of spinning my wheels. I’ve just finally come to know that His thoughts aren’t my thoughts, His ways not mine, and now I’m just happily riding the wave. I’ve sold several more books over the last couple of months that will keep me writing for the next two years. In addition, there are some talks about Always the Baker, Never the Bride being adapted for film. I’m really excited about that because that’s where my writing roots originated. I went to film school to learn screenwriting while I lived in Los Angeles, and I’m a movie NUT. That would be the best turn ever.
Tell us a little about your family.

I don’t really have “family” in the usual sense. My parents are both gone, and I’m now single with no children. I have a couple of awesome cousins that I keep in touch with via Facebook, but I’m a walking depiction of that scripture about how God sets the solitary into families. I’ve sort of made my own family out of longtime friends.

You're certainly a member of the ACFW author family. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

The primary change in my reading habits is that I just don’t have the time to read like I used to. My stack of books I’m eager to read has spilled over into three enormous ones. And my writing habits are still very regimented because I also work a day job, so 40+ hours each week belong to someone else. My weekends have sort of become like an All Writing All The Time channel.

What are you working on right now?

I’m writing The Big 4-OH!, the sequel to The Big 5-OH!. And I’m collaborating with four other authors for a devotional we’re doing for Summerside Press.
What outside interests do you have?

I’m a dog lover in Biblical proportions, so I’m very involved in fundraising and volunteer work for various rescues. There’s also the care and feeding of my film addiction. And I’ve just purchased my very first home, so that’s an ongoing project.
How do you choose your settings for each book?

In the case of my Summerside books, of course they make the choice. But with the others, I like to use settings I know well. My father was a lifer Marine Corps officer, so we moved around a lot. I like to think of those years as early research.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Just one? Hmm. I think I’d like to hang with Mary, Jesus’ mother, for a while. She’s a case study in faith that I’d like to really dig into deeper.
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

Not to waste so much of my time writing what **I** thought I should write, but to follow that still small voice instead and head right into the journey.
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

To trust Him and His plan for my life. Some days, it’s just important to stand very still and quiet in order to hear what He’s saying.

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

• Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all of this other stuff will be added after that.
• Delight yourself in Him, and He’s got your back on the other stuff.
• And finally … finish, finish, finish. DO NOT get caught in the maze of proposals before you learn how to finish a project from Fade In to Fade Out.
Tell us about the featured book?

Olivia Wallace has a birthday curse . . . or so she thinks. It was a broken heart on her 16th, a car accident on her 21st, pneumonia on her 30th, and a fall down a flight of stairs on her 35th. There were Ohio blizzards on her 38th, 39th, and 40th; and six days before her 45th, she lost the love of her life to a heart attack. Numbing grief stole that birthday and a couple more to follow and, on the morning of her 48th birthday, she received the call she’d dreaded ever since losing her mom so many years ago…she was diagnosed with stage-3 ovarian cancer. The doctors didn’t hold out a lot of hope, but Liv survived and maintained her faith. Now she’s in search of a safe haven and a time to regroup in the Florida sunshine. But what she actually finds is the biggest birthday surprise ever!
Please give us the first page of the book.

Prudence leaned over the edge of the pond and gazed sadly at her own reflection.


“What’s happened to me?” she exclaimed. “I looked like a perfectly normal young donkey when I left home this morning.”


“The journey has taken its toll,” Horatio HootOwl replied. “But just one dip in the Enchanted Pond, and you’ll surely be revived.”


Prudence lifted her head and closed her eyes.“Braaaaaaaay,” she whimpered. “Oh, me, oh, my. Braaaaaay.”

“No, no,” Horatio said, rubbing his feathered wing over the fold of Prudence’s smooth ear. “One dunk in the water, and then a nap in the sun, and you’ll be good as new. You’ll be a new Prudence.”


She chuckled at that. “Do you promise?”


“I promise,” said her friend. “You’ll be a brand new Pru.

1

Liv dug the shovel into three inches of snow and pushed as hard as she could, then tossed it to the side of the driveway. Three more reps followed before the muscle down the back of her arm throbbed in response. It used to take much longer for her old body to react to physical labor in this way.

Time marches on, she thought. Whether we like it or not.

“Hey, neighbor!”

Liv looked across the white meadow between them and waved at her friend Hallie, who stood at the edge of her garage next door.

Three kids filed past Hallie, all of them bundled up in coats and boots, hats, scarves, and gloves. At thirteen, Jason was the oldest. He had reached the bottom of the driveway by the time Scotty, the ten year old, hurried past his mother. Katie, age six, scampered behind her brothers, then she turned and waved at Hallie.

“Later, Mommy.”

“Later, sweetie.”

“Hey, wait up, you guys,” the little girl called.

“Boys, wait for your sister and walk with her all the way to the bus stop, please.”

Jason didn’t so much as slow down, but Scotty came to a full stop until Katie reached him. The two of them skated along the patches of ice on the sidewalk.

Liv’s heart pinched a little as she watched them. She’d had more than her share of obstacles over the years that had kept her and Robert from having children of their own. Hallie was blessed to have a houseful, and Liv envied her that.

“Coffee?” Hallie called out to Liv.

“Half an hour?”

“I’ll bring cake.”

The thought of cake cheered Liv right up, and she returned to the chore of shoveling a channel up the driveway so that Hallie could bring it safely to her.
How can readers find you on the Internet?

My Web site: http://www.sandradbricker.com/
My blog: http://sandradbricker.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Sandie, for dropping by today.

Readers, by using this link when you order the book, you help support this blog.














Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

SO OVER MY HEAD - Jenny B Jones

We're featuring another wonderful novel. Welcome, Jenny. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?


Right now I’m in a much-needed phase of “I’m getting out of your way, Lord. Do your thing.” I’m really guilty of giving God these multiple choice scenarios for my life and praying he’ll bless me with the one I want. I’m (re)learning that God’s plan for me is SO much bigger than anything I could come up with. So I’m excited to see what he has in store. And aside from that, I see more writing. Which means more sitting. Which means more M&Ms. Which means new pants are what’s on my expanding horizon.

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

Oh, for sure. And my movie and TV show watching habits. The main thing I notice is that I can rarely turn off my internal editor. I think all writers experience that. I go to a movie and come home thinking, “But if they’d just have done this. Or taken out that.” And I tend to read more for the purpose of learning craft. I’m great at buying books on craft…and then not reading them. But give me a novel, and I learn so much. My favorite author is a whiz at third person, so when I tackled that POV for my next book, Save the Date, I reread all of her stuff for the millionth time.

What are you working on right now?

I’m finishing up some editing on Save the Date, my second romantic comedy for women from Thomas Nelson, which will hit the shelves this winter. It’s about a couple who fakes a very public engagement because they both have something to gain. Of course, they are total opposites and think they are safe from love’s big snare. But. . .it’s a romance, so, nothing turns out like they expect.

What outside interests do you have?

Outside interests? I’m supposed to be doing something besides writing? Like…have a life?

Just kidding. When I do get a few moments of free time, I love to read (shock). I love to travel. So far my favorite trip was a summer vacation to Ireland. I’m a fool for musical theater. (Wicked is my absolute favorite.) I go to the movies a lot (there’s just something about being in the theater, versus on your couch). And I think we’ve established that I like to eat.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

So far I have tried to keep it Southern. It’s what I know, but most importantly, it’s what I love. For this series, A Charmed Life, Bella splits her time between the posh side of Manhattan and a small town in Oklahoma. So it was fun to mix in a little NYC with my rural town. It’s also a good representation of the two sides to Bella Kirkwood—she’s a former young socialite who is now adjusting to life on the farm. Sometimes my setting choices are about a place I’ve been or want to go. For Save the Date, I wanted to go see Charleston, SC, so that’s where the book is set.

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

Wow. I think my answer right now would be Alice Roosevelt. That girl was a firecracker, and I’d love to have dinner with her and hear all about her feisty spirit and antics as the daughter of a president. Alice apparently bored easily, and this often led to trouble. It would be fun to hear all about it.

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

That I will spend a ridiculous amount of time in a seat. And my butt will morph into a shape that can only be described as Early 21st Century Office Depot Chair.

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

A. Buy ad time during the Super Bowl.
B. Be related to someone in the PR department at People magazine.
C. And write the book that feels natural to you. If your spirit is resistant to what you’re writing, then there’s a problem. If you’re writing against your gift, voice, or style, it’s going to show, and you’re going to be unhappy during the process. Sometimes it’s just one element that’s off. While writing Save the Date, I felt things were really off, but couldn’t figure out why. When I got my edits back, my editors pointed out that my protagonist’s job didn’t work, and I had clearly been disconnected to it. So I went back and gave her a new job as director of a girls’ home for young women who have aged out of foster care, something I had witnessed first hand in this past year. It was something I cared about, and it made all the difference. The rest of the book just shaped up around it. All because of one wrong piece.

Tell us about the featured book?

When the Fritz Family Carnival makes its annual appearance in Truman, Bella's keen reporter instincts tell her the bright lights hide more than they reveal. Her suspicions are confirmed when one of the stars is murdered, leaving Bella no choice but to go undercover. Though the police make an immediate arrest, Bella doubts this case is quite that simple. (Don’t let the five hundred dollar shoes fool you. Bella is one smart girl.) She needs her crime-solving boyfriend, Luke, more than ever. Problem is, his ex-girlfriend has moved back to town, giving Bella some murderous thoughts of her own. Then again, there's no time for a relationship crisis when Bella's doing her best to derail her father's wedding and stay one step ahead of a killer.
Clearly God is sending her a message in all of this madness. With a murderer on the loose and her boyfriend's ex on the prowl, this undercover clown has never had more to juggle--or more to risk.
Please give us the first page of So Over My Head.

Readers can see the entire first chapter at www.jennybjones.com/books/
How can readers find you on the Internet?

We have a great time on my website, where I post regularly on my blog at http://www.jennybjones.com/ . We talk about the important things—Fruity Pebbles, Lindsey Lohan, books, movies, and our mutual love for the irreverent.

Thanks for the fun interview, Jenny.
 
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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 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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THE GUNSMITH'S GALLANTRY - Susan Page Davis - Free Book

Welcome back, Susan. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?
This is one area that keeps me from being focused. I love writing historicals. I love writing suspense. I love writing romance. I love writing mystery. So I keep writing different things. My favorites are ones that combine romance, history, and either mystery or suspense. The Ladies’ Shooting Club series has all of that.
If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live?

I just moved to Kentucky, so if I weren’t here, I’d probably be back in Maine, where I was born.
What foreign country would you like to visit and why?
I’d like to visit my daughter in England, especially if I could take the rest of the family along. I was there once, many years ago, and I loved it. The sense of history and heritage is overpowering.

Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.
For me it would involve water and not having to put up tents or cook over a fire. A cruise, maybe?
James and I have been on two cruises, and I love them, too. Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?
I’m thinking of setting one here in Kentucky.
What is the main theme of this novel?
The Gunsmith’s Gallantry is about forgiveness and trust. Hiram not only has issues with the women in his life, he has trouble communicating. But he’s learning. It’s a huge step for him to take his best friend, Ethan, to task, but their friendship is stronger afterward. This and other events give him courage to trust Libby with his love. Isabel can’t trust her father, and Cyrus has a major lack of trust, not only with someone from his past, but he can’t trust his friends to help him.
Tell us about the story.

Hiram Dooley’s sister Gert is about to leave him to get married—if Sheriff Ethan Chapman would ever propose; his sister-in-law, Rose, thinks Hiram should marry her, since they’re both widowed; and the woman he truly loves, Libby Adams, is blind to his regard.

Schoolmarm Isabel Fennel has a different problem—a man claiming to be her uncle came to town…and then disappeared. She’s afraid her father may have killed him and buried him behind the barn. Hiram helps the sheriff end a brawl at Bitsy Shepard’s saloon, and a mysterious stranger claims to be heir to a mining claim. The mayhem continues when Cyrus Fennel shows up with a black eye and tries to sell his land.

Hiram and the sheriff, along with Libby and the other members of the Ladies’ Shooting Club, have their hands full trying to discover what’s behind the mysterious events in Fergus.

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

“Wait, Hiram!”

The gunsmith paused on the board sidewalk and turned around.

Maitland Dostie left the doorway of his tiny office and shouted at him, waving a piece of paper. “Got a message for ya.”

Hiram arched his eyebrows and touched a hand to his chest in question.

The gray-haired telegraph operator smiled and clomped along the walk toward him, shaking his head. “Yes, you, Mr. Dooley. Just because you haven’t had a telegram in the last five years and more doesn’t mean you’ll never get one.”

Hiram swallowed down a lump of apprehension and reached a cautious hand for the paper. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. It was paid for on the other end.”

It still seemed he ought to give him something, but maybe that was only if a messenger boy brought the telegram around to the house. Hiram nodded. “Thanks. Where’s it from?”

“Whyn’t you look and see?”

Hiram wanted to say, “Because if it’s from Maine, it’s probably bad news.” His parents were getting along in years, and he couldn’t think of a reason anyone would part with enough hard cash to send him a telegram unless somebody’d up and died.

But Hiram rarely spent more words than he had to, and Dostie had already gotten more out of him than usual. Besides, if someone in the family had died, the telegraph operator would know it, and wouldn’t he look a little sadder if that were so? Hiram nodded and tucked the paper inside his vest, so it wouldn’t fly away in the cool May wind that whistled up off the Idaho prairie. He walked home, stepping a little faster than previously, certain that Dostie watched him.

At the path to his snug little house, between the jail and a vacant store building, he turned in and hurried to the back. Maybe he’d ought to look. If it was bad news, he’d have to tell his sister, Trudy. Undecided, he mounted the steps and opened the kitchen door. A spicy smell of baking welcomed him, along with Trudy’s smile.

“Just in time. I’m taking out the molasses cookies and putting in the dried apple pies.” She bent before the open oven.

The woodstove had warmed the kitchen to an almost uncomfortable level. Hiram hung his hat on its peg and headed for the water bucket and wash basin. No use trying to get cookies from Trudy unless he’d washed his hands.

“Did Zachary Harper pay you?”

“No, he says he’ll come by next week.”

“Hmpf.”

Hiram shrugged. Trudy got a little mama-bearish on his behalf when folks didn’t come forth with cash for his work on their firearms, but he knew Zach would pay him eventually. It wasn’t worth fussing over. As she peeled hot cookies off the baking sheet with a long, flat spatula, the soap shot out of his hand and skated across the clean floor. Thankful it hadn’t slid under the hot stove, he walked to the corner and bent to retrieve it. The paper in his vest crackled.

“Oh, I ’most forgot.” He corralled the soap and returned it to its dish. After a good rinsing, he dried his hands, fished out the folded yellow sheet of paper, and laid it on the table.

“What’s that?” She stopped with the narrow spatula in midair, a hot, floppy cookie drooping over its edges.

“Telegram.”

“What’s it say?”

He rescued the crumbling cookie and juggled it from one hand to the other. “Don’t know.”

I can't wait to read it. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Come visit me at http://www.susanpagedavis.com/

Susan, I really enjoyed this visit with you.
 
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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 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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Winners

Trinity Rose is the winner of Bride in Training by Gail Gaymer Martin.

Carole is the winner of Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon.


Jan Cline is the winner of Deceit by Brandilyn Collins.


Maureen is the winner of Think Differently, Live Differently by Bob Hamp.


Congratulations, everyone. Send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
You have 6 weeks to claim your book.
If you didn't win and you plan to order the book, please use the link provided on the individual interview. By using that link when you order, you will help support this blog.

A HOPEFUL HEART - Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book

Welcome back, Kim. I've been hearing lots of good things about the new book. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

In August of 2008, my parents, husband, and I went on an Alaska cruise to celebrate my folks' 50th anniversary. While on the cruise ship, we met a woman who, upon learning we were from Kansas, said she'd spent a summer in Kansas at a herdsman school. She'd married a rancher, but he didn't have time to teach her ranching skills, so he sent her to herdsman school. I'd never heard of such a thing as a herdsman school, so the brief exchange stayed with me. Weeks later, I shared this tidbit with a group of writers, and one of them laughingly said it would be fun to use that premise in a mail-order brides type story--bring inept women from the east to learn ranching skills and then match them with western men. I love the idea!

You know I love mail-order bride stories. If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Hm, I mostly read historical, but there are a handful of contemporary writers I admire for various reasons. I would invite Deborah Raney, Deborah Vogts, Brandilyn Collins, and Amy Wallace because they're women I enjoy spending time with but don't get the privilege often enough; and I would invite Angela Hunt and Jamie Langston Turner because their writing blows me away and I'd love to learn from them.

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Oh, wow, limiting the guest list to 6 would be really tough... But I suppose I'd say Tracie Peterson so I could pick her brain--she's amazing brainstorming partner; Judy Miller--not only is she a great idea-generator; but she's downright funny, Miralee Ferrell--I love her giving heart and always enjoy time in her presence; Tamera Alexander--she's one of the sweetest ladies I know and she makes me smile; Lynn Austin--I'd like some of her amazing writing ability to rub off on me; and Lauraine Snelling, because I don't know her nearly as well as I'd like to.

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

I am so blessed right now to be writing for two different markets--adult historical and young adult contemporary Mennonite-themed fiction. I love both, and I hope to be able to continue with both, but it is a real challenge to bounce from a modern day high school to an Athabascan Indian village in 1898 without getting whiplash!

Tell us about the featured book.

A Hopeful Heart tells the story of a young woman convinced she can have only a second-best life. But overcoming the challenges of a new faith and the hardships of life on the frontier may just prove that, for her, the very best is yet to come. The publisher's description follows:
Can she turn her second-best chance into a golden opportunity?

Dowryless and desperate, Tressa Neill applies to the inaugural class of Wyatt Herdsman School in Barnett, Kansas. The school's one-of-a-kind program teaches young women from the East the skills needed to become a rancher--or the wife of one. But will Tressa have what it takes to survive Hattie Wyatt's hands-on instruction in skills such as milking a cow, branding a calf, and cooking up a mess of grub for hungry ranch hands?

Abel Samms wants nothing to do with the passel of potential brides his neighbor brought to town. He was smitten with an eastern girl once--and he got his heart broken. But there's something about quiet Tressa and her bumbling ways that makes him take notice. When trouble strikes, will Abel risk his life--and his heart--to help this eastern girl?

Please give us the first page of the book.

The computer where I had the final edited draft saved crashed, and I don't have this. *sigh*

The story sounds intriguing anyway. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Please visit either (or both!) of my websites: www.KimVogelSawyer.com and http://www.katylambrightseries.com/ . I'd also love to see you at the blog I share with five other amazing Christian historical writers, http://www.writespassage.blogspot.com/ .

Thanks for letting me visit with you, Lena!

You are always welcome on my blog, Kim.

Readers, by using the following link when you order the book, you help support this blog.














Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

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CREATIVE COOKING FOR COLITIS - Angela Breidenbach - Free Book

I've been looking forward to this interview. Angie is a very good friend of mine, and at one time, I suffered from colitis. Welcome, Angie. You write non-fiction, do you also write fiction?


Yes, I do. In fact I’m working on a fun young adult fiction right now. I just tend to sell my non-fiction first because I’m a speaker on wisdom, courage, and confidence.

What would you like for our readers to know about you personally?

I love to get to know people on a personal level because it’s so easy to look at a person on the surface and make assumptions. I like people to get to know me below the surface too. It’s in that place that we really have the opportunity to make a difference in each other’s lives. Something that might surprise people is that I’m a very quiet person at home. It’s my cocoon and place to recharge. BUT you should see the vibrant colors in my office, lol. Color inspires me!
Tell us about your family.

All of my children are grown now. My husband and I have 6 together. 3 boys and 3 girls. But we are joyous over our grandson and the potential for more. My husband owns a heating company here in Montana. I used to work with him, but writing and speaking has become a full time job for me. Our family loves to have big, formal teas. I use a lot of the recipes in Creative Cooking for Colitis to create my tea tables. Say the word “tea” and they come a runnin’ :-)
Have you written other nonfiction books?

Yes, besides Creative Cooking for Colitis, I have another non-fiction book with a publisher waiting for the final touches on the contract and the release date. It’s tentatively titled, Gems of Wisdom. I actually do a lot of speaking on this particular book.

Do you have any other books in the works right now?

I also have another in the works called, Courageous Beauty, but there’s the YA fiction book in front of it now. Courageous Beauty is about confidence and courage while the YA fiction is a longer book geared toward teen girls.
What kind of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy?

I’m really eclectic. I love synchronized swimming, hiking, and playing with my miniature horse, Spanky. I’m planning to train him to cart, but right now we just do a lot of playing. I also sing, love to read, and enjoy comedy. I look for reasons to laugh because it lessens stress and just makes life more fun!

Why did you write the featured book?

Last year I was diagnosed with microscopic colitis. It caused me malnutrition for 6 months. The embarrassment, pain, frustration, and difficulty eating was so debilitating that it interfered in my life. I wanted to help other people overcome the struggle rather than be stuck in it for months to years. One of the hardest things for me was not being able to eat with my family and friends. By learning these tips and building my diet back up from the beginning, I’ve been able to reenter the social world I’d been missing. I want to give that back to other people.

What do you want the reader to take away from the book?

I so want to give hope and joy back to the reader! I want to give back the social environment of meals and feeling confident that their body is going to be reliable again. But I also wanted to create the joy of families being able to eat the same foods—together.

Where on the Internet can readers find you?

Find Angela Breidenbach at these sites:
http://www.mygemofwisdom.com/
http://www.angelabreidenbach.com/
http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/
http://colitiscooking.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/AngBreidenbach
http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBreidenbach
http://writingbyfaith.blogspot.com/ on Wednesdays each week.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/angiebreidenbach
http://www.christianwomenaffiliate.com/

Wow! Angie, you're all over the Internet. Even more than I am.

Readers, you can contact Angie at her web site or at the Colitis Cooking blog to find out how to get your own copy of the book. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

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LUCKY BABY - Meredith Efken - Free Book

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


I think almost all of my characters have a little something of me in them. It would be really hard for me to really understand their emotions and make them realistic if we had no common ground at all. But I try to be careful to not make my stories too autobiographic because I want to protect the other people in my life from feeling exposed.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Right now, I’m trying to learn to speak Welsh. It’s a lovely language and quite fun, but I suppose it might qualify as a bit quirky. I’d be making more progress if I had a study partner or a class, but there’s nothing like that in my area of the country.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I was attempting to write before I could even read, and I actually can’t remember a time when I was not making up stories. So it’s something that’s always been a part of who I am. I just didn’t realize that a career as a novelist was something I could realistically try for until about eleven years ago. Once I started learning how the publishing world works, then it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for me to work toward.

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

I am a bit eclectic. I love Jane Austen and the Regency time period, and I really enjoy well-written Regency romances by authors like Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. But I also enjoy women’s fiction and magical realism. I also really love character-driven fantasy, and some historical novels. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, and I have also been enjoying some memoir and essayists, such as Annie Dillard and Anne Lamott.

What other books have you written, whether published or not?

I have three previous published books—loosely known as the SAHM series: SAHM I Am, @Home For The Holidays, and Play It Again SAHM. They are comedies about stay-at-home mothers who are friends through an email discussion group. The story is told through their emails, and later their text messages, online chat and IMs to each other.

They were a lot of fun, but I’m looking forward to moving in a different direction with my writing now. Lucky Baby is my first step toward a more Alice Hoffman feel of women’s fiction with magical realism. I’m developing some more stories along that line as well as working on a more traditional fantasy series.

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

I refuse to run, run, run unless it’s something I am passionate about doing. Of course, there’s always the daily life sort of things—meals to fix, children to taxi about—but I’ve learned to say no to a lot of things and not worry so much about the expectations of other people who say “but it’s always been done this way.” I’m all about finding a different way of doing it if it works out better for me.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Sometimes, I pick a name according to the meaning, but sometimes the name seems to attach itself to the character. For example, my Lucky Baby protagonist, Meg Lindsay, was originally a different “M” name that was a nickname. The problem was that somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of her as that name and started thinking of her as “Meg” instead. So I gave up and renamed her.

Other times, I choose a name according to the person’s ethnic heritage. Deciding on Chinese names for my characters was a bit tricky because the Chinese have a very culturally-based naming system that takes into account not just the meaning but also the sounds and the homonyms of the names and other connotations that a person outside that culture (like me) would have no way of knowing. So I had to be careful.

I’m working on a story right now that is set in Wales, so I’m having fun choosing Welsh names. Fortunately, for this story I have some Welsh friends who are helping me.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I am currently shepherding my two daughters through all the girl-trials of tweenhood and adolescence. They’re doing wonderfully, and if they end up as amazing as they are now, that will be the accomplishment that brings me the most satisfaction.

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

I’d probably choose a fantasy creature—maybe a Chinese dragon. They aren’t feared and hunted as European dragons are. They’re respected as wise and benevolent, and they’re quite beautiful. If I had to relinquish opposable thumbs and walking upright, I think iridescent scales and the Pearl of Heaven might just be an acceptable trade-off.

What is your favorite food?

Chocolate—no question about it. Especially dark chocolate. But I love fruit as well—cherries, mangos, pineapples, raspberries—it’s the sweet-tooth thing.

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

My biggest hurdle is my own expectations. Like most artists, I’m a perfectionist, and when I feel that I’m going to fail to live up to my impossible standards, I freeze up. The last time it happened was with Lucky Baby because the story is so intensely personal to me (my oldest daughter is adopted from China) and I felt that I could not do justice to the experience.

I am still learning how to work with my creative process in this area. I have to try to take out all the emotions and negative self-talk and sort out that from legitimate weaknesses in the plot or character development. But the best thing I did this last time was to work with a creativity coach who helped me get past that mental block and find my passion again for the story.

What advice would you give to an author just starting out?

Love writing, and be teachable. Too many writers want the finished result (a published book) but they don’t really want to commit themselves to the art of words. Other writers aren’t willing to learn and study and at least honestly consider feedback from others. At some point, you have to have enough confidence in your own creative vision to pursue it even if others are saying it won’t work, but too many beginners want to start from that point. Creative confidence develops as you gain experience and as you learn.

Tell us about the featured book?

Lucky Baby is the story of a Chicago couple that makes the improbable choice to adopt a child from China. It’s also the story of two Chinese orphans and the life journeys that take them in completely different directions.

I wanted the story to be a look at what happens after the “happy ever after ending” of the orphan finding a family. That’s never the end of the story. In our American culture of family dysfunction, I wanted to explore the different ways that people can be abandoned by their families of origin and the journey that they take to form a new family and learn to love each other.

I found it very hard to put into words the adoption experience and the experience of becoming a mother. To help with that, I turned to magical realism, which is a way of writing that brings the fantastic into the realm of the every day and makes the every-day a miraculous world. This let me add in Chinese mythology and symbolism as well as some of our contemporary Chinese adoption “mythology”—like ladybugs being a harbinger of adoption news, or the idea of a red thread connecting parents to their little ones. Adoption really is a miraculous journey, and it was fun to render that “magic” in literary form.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Wen Ming, April 2001

The woman of my earliest memory has no body. Just a round face with skin like a plum. Smooth and tight. Firm. A smiling plum with dimples. She is not my mama. I don’t remember my mama.
Many years later, now that I am nearly grown, there are other things I remember. They are only pieces, like torn bits of a blurred photo. Sometimes I don’t know what is real memory and what my mind has filled in for me, but I think most of our lives happen in our minds, so it doesn’t bother me.
I remember a misty rain that smelled like the ocean and dead earthworms; massive concrete steps and the ache in my legs as I climbed them; the fuzzy nubs of my blanket, and its unchanging odor of old sundried sheets, steamed rice, and sour water. The blanket corner caught a step and I tripped. The woman grabbed my hand tighter and told me, “You should be more careful. Now hurry.”
We did.
Not the hurry of going to the park for tai chi. Not the hurry of getting to the market before all the best fish were taken. Not the hurry of peeling off my many layers of clothing to squat over the toilet. Those normal sorts of hurry never turned my fingers into clammy, day-old rice noodles, never set an eel to swimming in my stomach. This hurry was the nightmare that chased me down dark alleys in my mind and swallowed me with its nothingness.
I was too small to fight it, but I did drag my feet. She tugged my arm. I shuffled after her. I had no choice.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
My website is http://www.meredithefken.com/ . I’m also on Facebook and Twitter: “Meredith Efken.” Readers might also enjoy my profile on Amazon.com and the Author Portal at Simon & Schuster. (http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Meredith-Efken/35083379 )
I would love readers to register on my website because I am building a community of readers who will have access to exclusive extras and special content, as well as have a chance to get better acquainted with me and each other. We’re still building this part of the site, so I’d love people to register and get in at the very beginning of this exciting new phase.

Thank you, Meredith, for this fascinating peek into your life and your new book.

Readers, by using this link when you order the book, you help suppor this blog.















Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. (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 6 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. Here’s a link.

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BACK ON MURDER - J Mark Bertrand - Free Book

Readers, I know how much you enjoyed the interview with Mark and Deeanne Gist. Now we have Mark with his own murder mystery.

Bio

J. Mark Bertrand is the author of Back on Murder, the first in a series of crime novels featuring Houston homicide detective Roland March, about which detective/author Mark Mynheir says: “Bertrand has captured the surreal world of homicide detectives with a realism and power rarely seen in fiction.” He co-authored the bestselling romantic suspense novel Beguiled with Deeanne Gist, and is the author of the nonfiction title Rethinking Worldview. Mark has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston and lives with his wife Laurie in South Dakota.

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

When Flaubert said he was Madame Bovary, he was speaking for me, too. Whatever else they draw on, my characters share my DNA. Even the walk-on parts, even the villains (perhaps especially the villains). In other words, I put a lot of myself into the characters. None of them are stand-ins or mouthpieces, though. They’re not me. At most, they’re what I could have been under different circumstances in different times.

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

I once traveled the London underground with an antique cavalry saber under my arm. Though wrapped in brown paper, there couldn’t have been much doubt what it was. No one said anything. They’re probably used to that sort of thing.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

My fifth grade teacher assigned book reports due every Friday based on novels we chose from the Weekly Reader. I made all of mine up, inventing imaginary books and using the names of Weekly Reader authors so the teacher would assume they were legit. My reports were profusely illustrated, and while the teacher must have wondered at the sudden uptick of horrific violence in the Weekly Reader (one illustration featured a space man riddled with throwing stars, with dozens of other dead space men floating in the background) she gave me an A+ each time. I figured if I could make stuff up for a grade, I could probably do it for money, too.

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

When I’m immersed in a nonfiction phase, I mainly gravitate toward history and theology. In the past few years, I’ve developed an interest in historical true crime tales, the kind of book that uses a villain’s exploits to gain insight into the social order of the times, for example: The London Monster: A Sanguinary Tale, The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder; and The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot, about famous crimes in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries respectively. As a novelist, I read all sorts of fiction as well. Thanks to my literary influences and the fact that I’m writing crime fiction, I’m especially drawn to mystery/suspense titles with an elevated writing style.

What other books have you written, whether published or not?

The first book I published was Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007). David Naugle called the book “a rich gift to serious citizens of the kingdom of God.” Earlier this year, a romantic suspense novel I co-authored with Deeanne Gist was released: Beguiled (Bethany House, 2010). Back on Murder, the first of my crime novels featuring Houston homicide detective Roland March, came out in July 2010. The next book in the series is written and will be released in the summer of 2011.

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

When I’m not carrying swords on the subway, inventing violent children’s books, or reading about slashers from the 1700s, I write a blog called BibleDesignBlog.com, dedicated to “the physical form of the Good Book.” I’m a design and typography buff, and the Bible is perhaps the most challenging design problem ever, so I’ve combined these interests into a rather unique niche covering the design and production of modern Bibles. It keeps me sane and drives a lot of obsessed readers in the opposite direction.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I don’t go in for allegory in the way Henry James sometimes did, dubbing his fictional representation of the period’s “new man” Newman, but I’m drawn to names that possess at least a private significance. The hero of my crime series is called Roland March, and it’s probably not an accident that I have so many books by Roland Barthes on my shelf, or that if you pronounced the ‘-ch’ hard Roland’s last name would sound exactly like Mark.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

For me, pride isn’t link to accomplishment, which might explain why I’ve achieved so little over the years. I’m endowed with a sufficiently unrealistic view of myself that I don’t need accomplishments to buoy my pride. Indeed, nothing I’ve ever done has measured up to my inflated idea of myself. As a kid, I used to pretend I was a future scholar being interviewed about the significance of J. Mark Bertrand (it was vast). At my own suggestion, my school friends called me Mark the Great. Perhaps the accomplishment I should be proudest of is that no one has (yet) beaten me senseless with a stick.

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

I’d be a monkey for sure. They’re cute and they can wear a fez without anybody mistaking them for Shriners.

What is your favorite food?

In light of my last answer, I should probably say bananas, but the real answer is fried chicken. Michael Pollan says fried chicken is for feasting and he’s right about that. The thing I miss most after leaving the South is the chicken. (The heat I can live without, unlike my hero Roland March.) Nobody above the Mason/Dixon line seems to get it.

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

My greatest roadblock was talent. That sounds arrogant, especially in light of Question #8, but the fact is I was always pretty good at writing, which meant I didn’t have to work all that hard for a good first draft. When good enough comes easy, it’s so much harder to reach great. The thing that changed me as a writer was learning that no matter what the first draft looks like, the magic happens during revision. Raw talent can’t hold a candle to the power of rewriting.

That statement is so true. What advice would you give to an author just starting out?

Do a lot of reading and re-reading. Do a lot of writing and re-writing. Avoid workshops, seminars, and how-to books for the time being, and don’t get too caught up in the so-called rules. If you need instruction, enroll in a local creative writing course, but take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Give yourself time to develop. Don’t worry about what’s selling at the moment. Just focus on telling an interesting story in an interesting way. Once you’ve done that, you can worry about all the rest.

Tell us about the featured book?

Back on Murder introduces Houston homicide detective Roland March at the low point in his career. Thanks to some earlier misdemeanors, his superiors keep loaning him out on various special assignments—essentially punishment details. He wants to get back on murder, and his chance comes when he spots something at a crime scene that everyone else has missed. Now he must work a baffling investigation where the victim’s body is missing from the scene. And against a lot of internal pressure, he insists the case is linked to the high profile disappearance of the teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist (who himself went missing years before). Along the way, March makes some intuitive leaps and some terrible mistakes that put himself and the people close to him in jeopardy. Will he find the missing girl and put his career back on track? Read the book to find out.

I'm intrigued. Please give us the first page of the book.

Here goes …

I’m on the way out. They can all tell, which is why the crime scene technicians hardly acknowledge my presence, and my own colleagues do a double take whenever I speak. Like they’re surprised to find me still here.

But I am here, staring down into the waxy face of a man who, with a change of wardrobe, could pass for a martyred saint.

It’s all in the eyes. Rolling heavenward in agony, brows arched in acute pain. A pencil mustache clinging to the vaulted upper lip, blood seeping through the cracks between the teeth. The ink on his biceps. Blessed Virgins and barb-wired hearts and a haloed man with a cleft beard.

But instead of a volley of arrows or a vat of boiling oil, this one took a shotgun blast point blank just under the rib cage, flaying his wife-beater and the chest cavity beneath. He fell backward onto the bed, arms out, bleeding out onto the dingy sheets.

Lorenz stands next to me, holding the victim’s wallet. He slips the license out and whistles. “Our boy here is Octavio Morales.”

He’s speaking to the room, not me personally, but I answer anyway. “The money guy?”

“La Tercera Crips,” he says, shuffling away.

That’s the first page. Hooked yet?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

For more information about Back on Murder and the Roland March series, the best place to visit is BackOnMurder.com. If you want to know more about my other books and side projects like Bible Design Blog, the details are at JMarkBertrand.com. Thanks for having me!

And thank you, Mark, for this peek into your life.

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