Winners!!!!!!

Molly Noble Bull (TX) is the winner of Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long.Angela C (OH) is the winner of People of the Book by Kathi Macias.
Ann Lee Miller (AZ) is the winner of Tea for Two by Trish Perry.
Judy B (IN) is the winner of Murder in Granite Falls by Roxanne Rustand.
Katy (FL) is the winner of Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island, Canada, by Susan Page Davis.
Pam K (KS) is the winner of The Damascus Way by Davis Bunn.

If you won a book, please give the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, or other Internet sites. Also, tell your friends about the book. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. Send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
Remember, 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.
If you are reading this on Amazon, Feedblitz, or Facebook, please come to the blog to contact me:
http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

BEST FORGOTTEN - Paula Vince - Free Book

This is a new author to me. Welcome, Paula. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I think I write in the parts of me that I prefer to keep hidden from the world – the occasionally cynical, frustrated and grouchy parts that would make eyebrows raise if I were to speak them straight out. When they come from some of my occasionally cynical, frustrated and grouchy characters instead of me, I get smiles instead. It feels far safer.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I have a quirky habit of pretending to be right there with the characters when I’m reading fiction, seeing the whole story pass before me like a movie I’m watching. Then when I’ve finished the book I still daydream about the characters, inventing more scenes which the author never added. I was always embarrassed by my pointless habit but it is lots of fun.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was very small and my Primary School teacher would tell us to write a story my heart would leap with joy. Later, when I was 15 years old, an English teacher told me that I have a fascinating way with words. That was when I decided that I wanted to be a fiction writer more than anything else. Making people smile, laugh and cry has to be the best career choice in the world, I thought.

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

They must have an element of romance in them without being from the pure romance genre. I love books in which depth of character development and a fast-moving plot are evenly balanced. I have come across stories in which one of these elements is emphasized at the expense of the other and that makes me disappointed.

Although contemporary fiction is my chosen genre, I enjoy reading historical as well. Something with a dash of mystery or suspense makes me really happy.

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

I homeschool my three children which makes our lifestyle more relaxed and takes away that hectic school-schedule rush. We live in a beautiful, restful part of the world and I love walking, country drives and soaks in the bathtub.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I love to use names which I wanted to call my children but couldn’t get my husband to agree on. Now that my family is complete, whenever I come across a beautiful name, I think, I’ll use it in one of my novels. Friends sometimes jump to wrong conclusions when they see books of baby names out on my table.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m proud of writing seven novels with very little encouragement, in a genre my country never even published until recently. Christian fiction is still at a pioneering stage in Australia.

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

My daughter adores panda bears. All of South Australia is mad about them at the moment, as a pair was recently shipped from China to our Adelaide Zoo. They are exotic and cute at the same time; never hurry and look as if they are thinking about some droll joke. Yes, I’ll choose the panda.

What is your favorite food?

Crispy, honey chicken and rice followed a slice of light, melt-in-the-mouth cheesecake. I’m mixing up my countries of origin but never mind.

It sounds yummy to me right now. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

It was actually getting past the first few pages without crossing out sentences, getting discouraged and quitting. It was a great moment when I learned that the creative and judgmental sides of our brains were never meant to work simultaneously. It is quite right to let our creative sides be messy and profuse before the editor in us takes over.

Actually, I have to edit as I go. Tell us about the featured book.

Best Forgotten is my brand new fiction title. I’ve tried to weave together elements of mystery, suspense and redemption in a way I’ve never done before.

A young accident victim wakes up in hospital and can’t remember who he is. He finds that not only does he have nothing in common with his family but he develops an aversion to the person he used to be. He just can’t understand or relate to the way he used to behave or the choices he made. The more he learns about himself, the more puzzled and upset he feels.

He finds out that his best friend has disappeared without a trace on the night of his own accident. The more he tries to investigate, the more likely it appears that he was involved in something really shady. And he’s afraid that something bad is after him. So he’s torn between wanting to find out and being terrified that he’ll have to face horrible consequences when he does.

I’ve been fascinated by the relationship between our thinking patterns and what we make of our lives. How much is a person’s personality shaped by their sum of experiences? To what extent do the thoughts we choose make us into the people we are? Do the small, apparently random choices we make during our daily lives have the impact to come back when least expected and influence the rest of our lives?

When readers find out the mystery, hopefully they’ll say, “Oh wow, I never saw that one coming!”

Please give us the first page of the book.

His eyes blurred with tears, Reverend Barney Wills drove along the steep winding road. The rugged cliff loomed dark ahead and a tatter of cloud obscured the pale moon. His bedside vigil had gone on much longer than expected. It was after midnight.

He was thinking of Maud’s last words and planning how he would break the news of her death to his parishioners when a figure shot out of the scrub and barreled onto the road in front of him. Barney had a transient image of a wraith-like form in dark clothes with wild dark hair flying everywhere. The apparition wheeled around to face the headlights. Its pallid face was petrified. As he slammed his foot on the brake, the thought flashed through Barney’s mind that this might be the Grim Reaper.

When he thought it over later, he was ashamed of his jumble of impressions born of superstition and horror stories. Barney thought he’d left those hang-ups behind in his youth. Perhaps in this case they were wishful thinking. Bowling down a vampire or zombie was preferable to the unthinkable concept of seriously hurting a human being. But his front bumper-bar hurtled the figure off its feet, lifted it high onto his bonnet and pitched it onto the road. Tyres screeching, Barney jerked his steering-wheel as the car careered into the roadside scrub.

His hands shook violently; he took three attempts to open his door. His quivering knees were almost too weak to take him to the prostrate figure. He sank to the ground, staring at the white, unconscious face. A trail of blood gleamed on the pale chin. The teeth had bitten deep into the flesh of the lower lip.

Oh God, what have I done?

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

My website is http://www.appleleafbooks.com/
My blog is http://www.appleleafblog.blogspot.com/
My books are also available from Amazon.com and I have a Face Book fan page.

Thank you, Paula, for spending this time with us.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

THE DAUGHTER'S WALK - Jane Kirkpatrick - Free Book

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

It’s a little scary in a blessing sort of way. I have a new nomination for the Oregon Book Awards, and a wonderful review of my latest on the Pioneer Woman blog, a Publisher’s Weekly short feature and a contemporary book coming out this fall in addition to a novella and my latest, A Daughter’s Walk. Some years ago a woman suggested that as my career moved forward I’d need a prayer team. So I have five special women who pray for me and my work, that it will reach the hands (or ears!) of those who would find healing and hope inside the stories. So that’s what I see on the horizon: good support, hopefully great stories to tell, and gratitude for what has already transpired.

Tell us a little about your family.

I’ve been married to Jerry for almost 35 years. He’s 16 years older than I am and often as...persevering as I am. We have great fun together and he is the love of my life. He had three children from a previous marriage so I have two living step children, Katy in Florida and Matt who lives near our ranch in Oregon. Between them we have five grandchildren and one great. My only brother lives in Red Wing, Minnesota, with his family and we talk every week. He and his wife have kept us connected and I feel like his two sons are my grandkids in a way, too. My sister passed away 12 years ago and her two sons also have kids though one lives in Florida and the other in Oregon and we’ve been privileged to be a part of their lives. And of course we have two dogs who are part of the family…Caesar a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bodacious Bo who is a wire-haired pointing griffon. Bo has his own blog http://www.bodaciousbothedog.blogspot.com/  and he has more followers than I do!

Has your writing changed your reading habits?

If so, how? I read more eclectically and not just historical novels that I write. I love mysteries and I read a lot of nonfiction, biographies especially. I tend to read fiction just before I go to bed so it takes me along time to finish a book I think! Daytime reading is devoted to research reading. I also read more books about “how to write” even now feeling like there is always more to learn. I’m also more likely to ask as I’ve finished a book that has moved me “How did the author do that?” Whereas before I began writing I’d read just for the joy and not ask that question.

What are you working on right now?

I have a couple of projects. My next novel with a working title of The Lilac Lady is about a woman who taught herself horticulture and managed to hybridize nearly 250 new varities of lilacs but that’s only part of her story. You’ll have to wait for the rest of it. I’m finishing final edits for my contemporary book about a writer who mistakes fame for fulfillment and I have a novella as part of A Log Cabin Christmas coming out this fall that is in edits. And then I’m also working on a Midwife novella along with three other authors. That’s a new challenge for me and so far it’s been fun! It’ll be out in 2012.

What outside interests do you have?

I love music and theater though we’ve lived far away from access to both for 26 years. We recently moved from our remote ranch to a more suburban area and I’m looking forward to attending concerts and stage performances. It’s another art form, another story-telling. I also have a passion for Native American issues after working on a reservation in mental health for 17 years. I hope to re-involve myself with those tribes now that I’m living more closely.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

The characters choose most of the settings since most of my novels are based on the lives of actual people. But my contemporary is set in the Midwest where I grew up and the novella is set in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I’ve never lived there but the history is wonderful and the landscape and sense of place is one of the four elements that I think are woven into the fabric of story the other three being spirituality, relationships and a character’s work.

The book I'm writing right now is set in and around Oregon City in Oregon in 1885. I've been doing a lot of research on that area. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Jane Adams. She developed the concept of social work, reaching out to those in need and helping them discover their true potential. I think that’s important work and I’d love to hear what she thinks about how her work brought about a profession and what she thinks is still important work to be done.

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

I wish I’d known the three questions I now ask myself before I start writing: what’s my intention; what’s my attitude; and what’s my purpose in writing this story. And then I wish I’d understood that God is in control of what happens after the story is finished.

It took me a while to understand about God's control over every book I write as well. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

The importance of provision, that God provides every aspect of our lives whether it’s story ideas or that missing word or the impact the story might have on a reader. I also believe he is teaching me to trust more, to relax better and to play harder.

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

Take time each day before writing to have a time of prayer and identify areas of gratitude; answer those three questions I mentioned above and get them down to one sentence each to attach to their computers while they write; and make a commitment to write and then keep that commitment.

Tell us about the featured book?

The Daughter’s Walk is set in 1896 and is the story of an actual walk made by a mother and daughter who walked from Spokane, WA to NYC within 7 months hoping to win $10,000 from the fashion industry. The money would save the family farm. When I read about the actual walk, I was struck by a side note that said when they returned, the 18-year-old daughter, Clara, changed her last name and separated herself from the family for more than 20 years. I wanted to know how that walk touched their lives, what happened that caused the schism and what kind of reconciliation did they have. So it’s a story of family hopes and disappointments and how we often walk the same path as our parents even when we set out to do something very different.

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

Prologue

Mica Creek, Washington State, March 1901

Go back! Just go back!” The woman glared at the dog, who stopped, his tail down, ears tipped forward in confusion.

“You can’t come with me,” she said. “I’m not part of this family anymore.” Her voice cracked at the truth that now defined her life. Heavy, wet snow fell on the solemn pair. The dog failed to obey. Even in this she was powerless. She looked at the window, hoping her mother or sister might wave. No one. She returned to the dog.

“Go back. Please.” She pointed, her voice breaking. “Go, Sailor. Go home.” The dog curled his bushy tail between his legs and then turned, walking toward the farmhouse now shrouded in snow. He looked back once, but she pointed and he continued back to the family as she’d ordered.

The woman bit her lip to avoid crying, then stuffed the packet close to her chest to keep the papers dry. She pulled her fur coat around her. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn it; maybe her success offended them and that’s why they’d refused.

The wind shifted, drove pelting snow into her face. She’d forgotten her umbrella at the house. It mattered little; she’d left so much more behind. She trudged toward the railroad tracks, taking her first steps into exile.

Decision

My name is Clara Estby, and for my own good, my mother whisked me away. Well, for the good of our family too, she insisted. Trying to stop her proved useless, because when an idea formed in her Norwegian head, she was like a rock crib anchoring a fence: strong and sturdy and unmovable once it’s set. I tried to tell her, I did. We all did. But in the end, we succumbed to her will and I suppose to her hopefulness, never dreaming it would lead where it did. I certainly never imagined I’d walk a path so distant from the place where I began.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, telling stories out of sequence, something a steady and careful woman like me should never do.

It began on an April morning in 1896, inside our Mica Creek farmhouse at the edge of the rolling Palouse Hills of eastern Washington State, when my mother informed me that we would be walking from Spokane to New York City. Walking, mind you, when there were perfectly good trains a person could take. Walking—nearly four thousand miles to earn ten thousand dollars that would save our farm from foreclosure. Also to prove that a woman had stamina. Also to wear the new reform dress and show the freedom such garments offered busy, active, sturdy women.

Freedom. The only merit I saw in the shorter skirts and absence of corsets was that we could run faster from people chasing us for being foolish enough to embark on such a trek across the country, two women, alone.

We were also making this journey to keep me “from making a terrible mistake,” Mama told me. I was eighteen years old and able to make my own decisions, or so I thought. But not this one.

Mama stood stiff as a wagon tongue, her back to my father and me, drinking a cup of coffee that steamed the window. I could see my brother Olaf outside, moving the sheep to another field with the help of Sailor, our dog, dots of white like swirling cotton fluffs bounding over an ocean of green. Such a bucolic scene about to reveal hidden rocks beneath it.

“We are going to walk to New York City, Clara, you and I.”

“What?” I’d entered the kitchen, home for a weekend from my work as a domestic in Spokane. My mother had walked four hundred miles a few years earlier to visit her parents in a time of trial. We’d all missed her, and no one liked taking over her many duties that kept the family going. But walk to New York City?

“Why would we walk, and why are we going at all?” I had plans for the year ahead, and I figured it would take us a year to make such a trek.

My father grunted. “She listens to no one, your mother, when ideas she gets into her head.”

“Mama, you haven’t thought this through,” I said.

My mother turned to face us, her blue eyes intense. “It’s not possible to work out every detail in life, but one has to be bold. Did we know you’d find work in Spokane when we left Minnesota? No. Did we think we’d ever own our own farm? No. These are good things that happened because we took a chance and God allowed it.”

Since I'm part Norwegian and I love the premise and opening, I must read this book. How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m on facebook www.facebook.com/theauthorjanekirkpatrick.
My website is http://www.jkbooks.com/ where you’ll also find links to my blog http://www.janeswordsofencouragment.blogspot.com/;

People can also sign up for my Story Sparks newsletter there that comes out once a month and features books I’ve read and loved as well as news about my writing life. I’m on Twitter and have a connection to Randomhouse.com and WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers and of course my dog Bodacious Bo has that blog!
 
Thank you, Jane, for sharing this interesting information with us. I'm sure the readers will want to get ahold of your book right away.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

THE UNEXPECTED BRIDE - Debra Ullrick - 2 Free Books

So glad to welcome Debra back. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

Overcoming rejection. Never measuring up. Unforgiveness toward others and ourselves. Unanswered prayer frustration. Feeling abandoned by God. (We know He doesn’t abandon us, but sometimes when adverse circumstances or major problems arise in our lives it sure seems like He does. So I like to write about how He really was always there during those times. Sometimes we just don’t see it at the time.)

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

In September 2011, Christmas Belles of Georgia and A Log Cabin Christmas will be available. Plus, The Unlikely Bride, the sequel to, The Unexpected Bride, is coming out in January 2012.

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

Wow just one, huh? hehe Seriously, a television producer. I would tell them about my professionally written screenplay for, The Bride Wore Coveralls. Why? Because mud-bog racing is becoming more popular, therefore, I think the fast paced, action-packed racing, the Ford/Chevy rivalry between male and female, the southern culture, and the monster trucks would make a great movie.

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

Jane Austen. I love that era and her stories. They’re Cinderella stories at their best. Plus, I find it intriguing and amazing how when it came to marriage and friendships, connections, power, and money were everything to them. Even more important than love.

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

I would tell them to ask God to send them an experienced author/critique partner who understands their style and voice. One who won’t try to change that, but will work with it. One who can help them grow in their craft so that they can keep submitting. Randy Ingermanson told me one time that if you do find someone like that, to hold onto them because they are worth their weight in gold. He is right. I have that someone in my life. Plus, one must keep in mind just because one publisher rejected their story, doesn’t mean everyone will. That was just one person’s opinion. Another may love it. Mostly though…Don’t Give Up!

Tell us about the featured book?

Because I have always been fascinated with the south and Jane Austen’s stories, I thought it would be fun to create a heroine whose background was both worlds. Rainelle Victoria Devonwood’s father was British and her mother was a southern belle. Rainee has the joint mannerism’s of both of those lifestyles. This story was originally titled: You Ordered What? Because unbeknownst to my hero, Haydon, his brother orders a wife for him by answering and advertisement in Haydon’s name, knowing Haydon has vowed to never marry again.

Here is the back cover blurb: After the disaster of his first marriage, Haydon Bowen has no intention of marrying again. Unfortunately, his brother has some intentions of his own, and plans to see to it that Haydon finds happiness once more. So he answers a "groom wanted" advertisement—in Haydon's name—and sends Haydon to meet his new bride at the stagecoach stop!

For beautiful, cultured Rainelle Devonwood, any dangers she may face in the Idaho Territories are preferable to staying with her abusive brother. So even when Rainee learns she's a mistakenly ordered bride, she won't let Haydon drive her away. She's up to the challenge of life on the difficult, demanding frontier...and the great challenge of opening Haydon's heart again.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Paradise Haven, Idaho Territory 1874
Chapter One

If Rainelle Devonwood’s mother knew what she was about to do, she would roll over in her grave. Grave. That one word ripped at Rainee’s heart, but she refused to cry in the presence of the strangers surrounding her. She lowered her head and pressed her fingers over her eyelids in hopes of holding back the flood of tears. Oh, Mother, you would be astonished to know what I have done. But even you would understand why I did it. If only you and Father were still alive. Then I would still be at home, living without pain and suffering. But, Mother, I had to leave. I just had to.

In the small confines of the dusty stagecoach, only one thing gave Rainee a measure of peace about her drastic decision—her betrothed had assured her he loved the Lord. Otherwise she would have never gone through with her plans to marry a complete stranger.

As you know from my book Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico, I love mail-order bride stories. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Readers can find me on Facebook, Shoutlife, Amazon.com,
my website http://www.debraullrick.com/
or my blog http://www.christianromancewriter.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Debra, for stopping by the blog today.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.

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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

DELIVERED WITH LOVE - Sherry Kyle - Free Book

I'm happy to have an author we haven't featured here before. Welcome, Sherry. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I don’t intend to write myself into my characters but the people who know me best (my mom and sister, for example) have found gestures or dialogue that remind them of me.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Quirky? Hmm. I don’t typically think of myself as quirky. If you ask my friends, however, you may get a different response. LOL! Oh, I thought of something. I love to play Dance Central on Kinect. Hey, don’t laugh. I can still beat my girls!

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I’ve always been creative—whether it be writing or making crafts out of things around my house. (I once made a doll for a social studies project.) In the fourth grade I won a fine arts award for a story I wrote titled “Friends Can Be So Mean.” And when I was in Junior High, a friend and I cut out characters from a JC Penney catalog and took turns writing stories. But it wasn’t until I took a course through the Institute for Children’s Literature that I discovered I was a writer. I ventured into women’s fiction in September 2007 when I prepared a synopsis and three chapters for a mentoring class with James Scott Bell. Delivered with Love is that novel.

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

I like to read books with happy endings—or at least hopeful endings! You can find me reading contemporary romance, historical, or suspense. I’ve also been known to read heart-wrenching books like Scared by Tom Davis.

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

I keep my sanity by making my life as simple as possible. I’m a mom of four children, three of them teenagers, so life can get hectic. I don’t believe in overloading my life nor am I the kind of person who signs up for everything. Balance is key. The highlight of my day is when my family is seated around the dinner table.

That is so important in this contemporary disconnected society, and so many families miss out. How do you choose your characters’ names?

I go to a popular baby name website and search for names depending on the age of my character and what strikes me. I’ve been known to change a name after the book is written. By the way, never name a character Rose. It will mess up your entire manuscript if you decide to change it. I’m speaking from experience!

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is my children. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom since the birth of my first child eighteen years ago. I love it!

I stayed home with my children during most of my childeren's lives. When they were older, I worked parttime, but I was always off to pick them up from school until they could drive. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I’d be a dog. We have two dogs, Sophie and Bandit. Sophie is a black lab and Bandit is a mutt—part Chihuahua, part Terrier. They live the good life. They sleep, eat, take walks, and get a lot of love. Sounds good to me.

What is your favorite food?

Anything Italian. And chocolate, of course.

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

I don’t want to bring up the subject of money, but lets be real. Writers don’t make a whole lot unless you’re a best selling author. I’ve had to consciously make the decision to keep writing knowing I might not get paid very much. It’s a hard thing to swallow when you want to help support the family—but writing is my passion. I’m glad I have a supportive husband who inspires me to keep going. And now my dream of a published novel has come true.

Tell us about the featured book?

Delivered with Love is the story of a young woman who finds an old love letter in the glove compartment of her inherited ’72 VW Beetle. After losing her job as a waitress and kicked out of her sister’s home, Claire James leaves her life in Los Angeles and drives up the coast to the small town of Capitola, California, to find the writer of the letter and make it on her own.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Chapter 1

The hum of well-wishers’ voices swirled around Claire James as she stood numbly in front of the brick fireplace in her mother’s cramped Los Angeles apartment. Her black dress, size six and at least two years old, squeezed the oxygen out of her lungs. Claire attempted to take a deep breath and willed herself not to cry. One minute at a time. That’s how she would survive.

She looked down at her feet to avoid eye contact with the so-called friends and family who came to pay their last respects. Where were these people when Mom was sick? Claire pushed the cynical thought to the back of her mind.

The scuffs on her black sandals were a sad reminder of her life the past few years since her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. They had spent all her college money on chemo, radiation, and natural remedies to keep her mother alive. But in the end it hadn’t mattered.

She walked across the room and stood next to the small circular table in the corner that held the punch and dessert. Haley, her older sister, had insisted on a reception, saying that their mother deserved a party. Party? Yes, Mom loved parties, but today was not a day to celebrate. Claire bought the punch, while Haley baked a homemade chocolate cake with vanilla icing. The sweet smell turned her stomach. Her sister topped each of the two tiers with daisies, their mother’s favorite flower. Claire picked one off the top and held it to her chest.

“I’m sorry about your loss.” Geraldine, the elderly lady from down the hall, startled her back to the present. She patted Claire’s hand. “She suffered a long time.”

Claire nodded and blinked back tears. She hadn’t seen her neighbor in quite some time.

“Well, it’s probably time for me to go.” Geraldine straightened the pillbox hat perched on her head. “I need to feed my cats.”

Claire forced what she hoped resembled a smile. Geraldine’s cats were fed better than some humans—including her. What she would do for freshly baked salmon instead of frozen dinners. The smell permeated the hallway every Thursday evening.

“Bye, Geraldine.”

Claire glanced at the clock. Only half an hour more and she’d have the place to herself again.

Each minute was an exercise in patience. The condolences, hugs, and empty words wore on her. She rubbed her moist forehead and swallowed. Suddenly, the room spun and her hands trembled. She needed to get out of there.

I know I want to read that. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Readers can find me here:
Website: http://www.sherrykyle.com/
Blog: http://web.mac.com/dkyle/Site/Blog/Blog.html
Tween Girl’s Blog: http://www.funfaith4girls.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1484449185
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/sherrykyle

Thank you, Sherry, for the special time with you.

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



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

TENNESSES BRIDES - Aaron McCarver and Diane Ashley - Free Book

Welcome, Aaron and Diane, I was so happy when y'all sold this series. I know that this is a collaboration. How did this story come about?

Tennessee Brides is a 3-in-1 collection of our three historical Heartsong Presents novels set in Tennessee. These stories came as a result of hearing that Barbour was looking for a series of this type set in Tennessee and my (Aaron) love of Tennessee history, as I grew up in the state. I asked Diane if she wanted to collaborate on the series and she agreed. We then picked three historical events from the nineteenth century—the War of 1812 and the rise of Andrew Jackson, the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and the Civil War—and crafted three stories around these events using three generations of one family.

I know I'm going to enjoy reading them. Did you find it easy to work together on it?

The only way to answer that is with a resounding YES!!! In fact, we loved it so much that we proposed a series for Heartsong Presents set in Mississippi. We got that contract and those books are releasing now. We continue to love working together still. We have signed with the same agent and have signed with Barbour to write a series of full-length novels.

I want to feature the 3-in-1 on Mississippi as well as the full-length novels. Be sure to contact me when you have the pub dates on each. How did collaborating with this team impact you?

It has changed our writing careers. We have had success as a team and thank God daily for putting us together. We both cannot imagine doing it another way now.

What is the hardest thing about writing as a team?

Honestly, we have not found anything to be hard. We gel so well, pardon the rhyme, the collaboration makes everything easier.

What are you reading right now?

I (Aaron) also work as an editor for Barbour, so I am reading a book that will release in September. I (Diane) just finished Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin, a wonderful book.

How did you choose your characters’ names?

For our main characters, we try to choose names that would have been used in the times our books are set so we use a lot of names found in the Bible or names that have been around a long time. One main character, Iris, got her name based on the state flower of Tennessee. As for secondary characters, we each name some based on people we know and love.

Would you want to work on another book together?

Most definitely!

What do you want to tell us about the book?

We loved telling these stories, and we hope our readers enjoy them, too. We work really hard at our writing, but the things we care about the most are our messages. We want, most of all, to touch people for our Lord, as anything not for Him has no real meaning. Also, we work hard to get the history right. So, we hope our readers can learn a little about this country’s great spiritual and historical heritage, and in this case specifically for the state of Tennessee.

Where can our readers find you on the Internet?

The best place to begin for both of us would be at our agent’s site, stevelaube.com. (Steve is a superb agent, by the way.) Or find us at fictionfinder.com. Diane has a site at dianeashleybooks.com.

What a delight to have both of you on my blog. We'll do this again, for sure.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

QUEST FOR THE NAIL PRINTS - Don Furr - Free Book

I'm introducing a new author to you readers today. Welcome, Don. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

A great deal. There are 3 main characters in my book and all of them are me at different times in my life. This was pointed out to me by one of my closest friends. The cantankerous, agnostic professor, the young doctor who is a relatively new to the faith and the pastor who is a “seasoned” believer.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I have been pretty quirky all of my life…I live outside the box.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

Well, I began writing in 1996 after reading Left Behind and somewhere over the course of the next 13 years it just sort-of happened, though really I don’t consider myself equal with authors who put books out monthly or even yearly. My book is a culmination of teaching myself how to write and gleaning from the styles of other authors that appealed to me.

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

I like a non-fiction book that addresses a situation that appeals to me, i.e. the book First Impressions, what you don’t know about how others see you. I have read this book over and over because it is fascinating to learn about what makes us tick. And I like fiction if the writer draws me into their world and fascinates me. I know I’m there when I stop, hug the book to my chest and marvel at how the words touch my heart. Ted Dekker does this occasionally and Phillip Shelby.

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

I don’t.

Good answer. How do you choose your characters’ names?

Many times I use names of people I already know, but I typically spell them differently, though I always tell the person and they always like the idea, not to mention it gives them bragging rights when the book comes out and they will even promote it too!

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Being married for 25 years. (And I attribute that success to my wife.)

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

An eagle. They can fly and they have no natural enemies…at least none that can do anything about it.

What is your favorite food?

Home made creamed spinach.

That is the first time I've received that answer. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

I am a business owner and still involved in the day-to-day, so being able to stay focused on writing and blocking out business problems is very tough. I mainly overcome these deterrents by writing more in the summer and winter months because my business slows down during those times.

Tell us about the featured book.

If you’ve ever imagined spending time with the Lord Jesus in His time, this energetic and ultimately gut-wrenching thriller may very well be just what the Great Physician ordered. Set in the final days of the life of Christ, three 21st century travelers find themselves coming face to face with the rugged, radical prophet known throughout the land as Jesus of Nazareth, and they find much more than they ever dreamed possible. And although there literally is a hole punched through the entire book from beginning to end, you’ll find it fills some very important “holes” in your quest for knowledge and understanding of our Savior’s last days.

I told Joan I loved the design of your book. Please give us the first page of the book.

Ellen Barnes yanked the page from the fax machine and raced down the narrow corridor that led to the doctors’ quarters. For courtesy’s sake, she rapped once on the door, then burst into the dark room.

“Elizabeth,” a voice barked. “Pile-up on I-40 at the 25-mile marker. RCC says they have a thirteen-year-old male, critical--”

Stretched across the bed, the young resident stirred. It took a moment for her to identify the voice.

“Doctor Stewart!” Ellen snapped, flipping on the light to illuminate the dark room.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart sat up. “A thirteen-year-old?”

The flight nurse focused on the report. “Well, so far we’ve got a DOA, two non-critical, and the boy’s being extricated right now. They say they’ll have him out by the time we get there.”

The clock said 1:55 a.m. Elizabeth had been asleep a mere forty minutes. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and struggled to focus.

The only sound was the rain assaulting the single window of the cramped, unadorned room. This was her second twenty-four-hour shift this week at Memphis Hospital Wing, an air medivac unit serving the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Unit, the only level-one trauma unit for two hundred miles in any direction.

Sounds like a good read. How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.questforthenailprints.com/

Thank you, Don, for spending this time with us.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

Six Winners This Week

Last week, only one of the winners contacted me. An easy way to see if you've been a winner is to click on the winners label at the bottom of the post. That will open other winners posts.

The Herd (TX) is the winner of Finally a Bride by Vickie McDonough.
Lourdes (NY) is the winner of Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer.
Pam K (KS) is the winner of The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh.
Mona (OH) is the winner of A Cowboy's Touch by Denise Hunter.
Splashesofjoy (VA) is the winner of The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir.
Kym (RI) is the winner of Yukon Wedding by Allie Pleiter.

If you won a book, please give the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, or other Internet sites. Also, tell your friends about the book. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. Send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.
Remember, 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.
If you are reading this on Amazon, Feedblitz, or Facebook, please come to the blog to contact me:
http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

THE DAMASCUS WAY - Davis Bunn - Free Book

Photo courtesy of Chris Kidler, Florida Today

Book Synopsis:

The Damascus Way, by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke
Book 3 in the Acts of Faith series
BethanyHouse Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0866-9
ISBN-10: 0-7642-0866-7

Young Julia has everything money can buy—except for acceptance by either Gentiles or Judeans in Tiberias. When she discovers the secret her beloved Greek father has kept all these years, she is devastated. Julia and her Hebrew mother are indeed less than second-class citizens. Her future is dark with clouds of uncertainty.


Jacob, Abigail's brother, is now a young man attempting to find his own place among the community of believers. Does it mean trading away the exhilaration and adventure of his current profession as a caravan guard?

Hired by Julia's father to protect a wealthy merchant's caravans on the secretive "Frankincense Trail," Jacob also reluctantly takes on the perilous responsibility of passing letters and messages between communities of believers now dispersed across the land. He is alarmed to discover that Julia, hardly more than a girl, is also a courier. Can their initial mistrust be put aside to accomplish their mission?

The Damascus Way is the finale to the best-selling Acts of Faith trilogy co-authored by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.

Book 1 is The Centurion's Wife
Book 2 is The Hidden Flame

Bio:

“Wise teacher.”
“Gentleman Adventurer.”
"Consummate writer.”
“Renaissance Man.”

Reviewers, readers and friends use those phrases to describe Davis Bunn. An internationally-acclaimed author who has sold more than six million books in sixteen languages, Davis is equal parts writer, scholar, teacher, and sportsman.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Davis left for Europe at age twenty. There he first completed graduate studies in economics and finance, then began a business career that took him to over forty countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Davis came to faith at age 28, while living in Germany and running an international business advisory group. He started writing two weeks later. Since that moment, writing has remained both a passion and a calling.

Davis wrote for nine years and completed seven books before his first was accepted for publication. During that time, he continued to work full-time in his business career, travelling to two and sometimes three countries every week. His first published book, The Presence, was released in 1990 and became a national bestseller.

Honored with three Christy Awards for excellence in historical and suspense fiction, his bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Warning, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt.

A sought-after speaker in the art of writing, Davis serves as Writer In Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University.

Christy Awards

• The Meeting Place (co-authored with Janette Oke)

Best North American Historical fiction, 2000

• The Great Divide – Best Suspense Novel, 2001
• Drummer in the Dark – Best Suspense Novel, 2002

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

The emotions are certainly mine. But the characters are themselves. Some of the things they experience, in the sense of growing through something, are very essential to me and my co-author, Janette Oke. But the characters are who they are, and the further along we go in the story, the further and further they grow away from us.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Quirky is a word that I have trouble with. I am just not certain what falls in this category, because my days are just so unusual to begin with. I feel so blessed to be a writer, and I try to live my days with the sense of redefining boundaries, accepting that I have been given an immense opportunity and I must live to return this gift, to deserve this opportunity.

Quirky. Hmmm. I would say it probably has to do with my sports. And with sports like mine, every day has an opportunity for quirkiness.

Today is very cold for Florida, temps in the upper thirties (in mid-March, we will set a new record for this day). But the waves are superb and building. This afternoon the storm that has ravaged the north is expected to throw up ten foot swells. I am finishing work and then going to meet friends, all of whom are strong believers. On a day like this, we will suit up (dress in wetsuits), and then gather in a circle on the beach. The waves howl on such a day, a feral growl that we can feel through the sand and up through our bones. We pray. We thank God for the health and the time and the strength to go out and dance to this, the music of His creation. We are so amped our voices shake when we pray, part fear and part eagerness. It is a sensational moment to pray.

Quirky.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I came to faith at age twenty-eight. At the time, I was living in Germany and working as a consultant. Life for me was good, at least in earthly terms. We often hear stories of adults coming to faith as a result of failure. In my case, the issue was success. I had everything, and I had nothing. Arriving at a point where my earthly dreams were coming true acted like a wrecking ball. I had two choices. I could turn away from this newfound awareness and go through life blind to what I had glimpsed, or I could look for a new direction. I looked. And Jesus found me.

I loved to read, but writing anything longer than a business report had never entered my mind. Two weeks after coming to faith, I started writing. I had never written anything other than a business report before that day. And in this first moment, I knew it came from beyond me. This was my calling. My future.

I can still remember the moment, the place, the setting, even how the room smelled. I remember that feeling of being flooded with something so immense and incredibly powerful I knew that it came from beyond myself. God called. For the second time in my life, I knew that for a fact.

I wrote for nine years and completed seven novels before my first was accepted for publication. Anyone expecting a gift of ease to arrive with a calling needs to remember what a diamond looks like when it emerges from the earth.

Throughout that time, I continued to work as a consultant. It was very hard. I travelled to two and sometimes three countries every week. But this struggle taught me discipline, and something else. Something vital.

I learned what it meant to focus intently upon our Lord and His calling. I came to understand the meaning of sacrifice. And now, when I talk with other new authors and hear their difficulties in finding time and energy and space, I am able to share with them the stress and pain and struggle. And speak to them from this core of experience. Because the truth is, every artist I have ever met goes through this same struggle. The difference is, we have God’s strength and wisdom to help us achieve the goal.

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

My passion is for those books which marry quality of writing with a great story. If there is some positive moral, some element of faith, even better. My reading is along these lines. I read all the time. I finish as many as three books a week. Currently I am reading ‘Three Cups Of Tea’, ‘Two Years On The Yang-Tze’, and Mark Mynheir’s latest (Mark is a very gifted Christian author of mysteries).

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

Sports. Quiet time with our Lord. My wife. Friends who are believers. My passion for writing. Even now, at the busiest point of my entire life, I must respect the creative demand for isolation.

How did you choose your characters’ names for the Acts of Faith series?

This is a huge question, and one Janette Oke and I go through a lot with. In this series, we started with THREE lists of names – Judean, Roman, and Greek. In The Damascus Way, we added a fourth list, for early Christian names. We go back and forth and back and forth. It is like naming baby. Everybody gets involved. My wife, the editors, sometimes even the marketing people.

I understand that. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

That is redefined by each new project. Truly. Right now, I am living testimony that God is the creator of time. I have just completed a feature-film screenplay in five weeks and three days. No one thought it was possible. What is even more amazing, it was a smooth and joyful process. The only time I felt any pressure at all was in the final week, when I came down with pneumonia. But my writing partner took over what I could not myself complete, and the work was done on time. It is wrong to apply the word, pride, to this, because I genuinely feel that God was the leader, the guide, the Maker of this deed.

What is your favorite food?

My wife would say, dark chocolate. And she may be right. But I just love good food. Love, love, love. I treat a trip to a good restaurant like a visit to an art museum, or a concert. It is a gastronomic performance. Last night we brought home burritos and rice and beans and Mexican slaw from this tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the finest I have ever put in my mouth. They make everything from scratch every day, including the sauce they use on the burritos.

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

There are a lot of these, but the first one that comes to mind is dialogue. When I submitted my third story, the first one that I showed to the publishing world, the response was pretty vicious. My characters were one-dimensional, and my dialogue was cardboard.

I stopped writing on my fourth novel, because I knew they were right, though it hurt like fire to accept this as true. Why keep going in the same old direction that had already failed?

Instead, I started carrying around a mini-recorder, and taped every conversation I had. Conferences, dates, coffee with friends. All of it. Some I just overheard. And then I went back and wrote it all out. This process defined boring for me. But at the end of that month, I was able to look back and see a multitude of powerful lessons I had learned. I could create structures that revealed the internal states of those who spoke. I saw how good dialogue had to be two-directional, as in, showing the person who spoke as much as what was being said. I saw how dialogue had to be self-centered, and characters needed to have motives different from the story itself.

I then wrote nine short stories. All of them were dialogue driven. The last was only four pages long, and contains some of the finest work I have ever done. It was two people talking, and in four pages I reveal not one, but three different stories. I knew the lesson was learned. I was ready to move on.

When The Great Divide was published, the New York Post said, ‘Bunn’s dialogue is spot on and racehorse fast. He reveals a strong good-versus-evil concept. That’s some feat.’

Tell us about the featured book.

Without question, The Damascus Way – the third and final book in the Acts of Faith series – is my favorite. The Damascus Way centers upon one of the most crucial components of the Book of Acts – the persecution of the early church and the miraculous confrontation between Jesus and Saul of Tarsus.

There is the beginning of signs and wonders within the growing church. The church expands at a rate that is astonishing and miraculous to everyone involved. The Judean Temple hierarchy and the Roman government grow hostile to the church. Stephen has become the first martyr.

It was a true growing experience to spend these days and weeks and months so deeply involved with the Followers of the Way.

For me, The Damascus Way is by far the richest book in the series. Other readers, especially women, have come in strong for book one or two, but Damascus for me holds the most powerful elements. Not just for this series, but for everything Janette and I have done together.

I heard a really nice thing yesterday. I happened to bump into a friend at the supermarket, and he told me how someone had stood up in the middle of the formal church service on Sunday – at a church on the other side of the county – and lifted Damascus over his head and said everyone in the church had to go out and read this book, that it was life-changing. What a huge gift.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website, blog, and interactive discussion group are at http://www.davisbunn.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davis-Bunn-author/134762129885578
Twitter: @davisbunn - http://twitter.com/davisbunn

Thank you, Davis, for the very interesting interview.

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



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

LOVE FINDS YOU IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA - Susan Page Davis - Free Book

I'm really excited about this book, Susan. Do you have a favorite genre to write? If so, what is it?

I like writing historical, suspense, and mystery, and I sometimes combine them.

If you didn’t live in the part of the country where you do, where would you live?

Probably back in Maine, where I grew up. We moved to Kentucky last year in May.

What foreign country would you like to visit and why?

I’d love to go to Peru and visit the ruins there, and I’d also love to go back to England. My daughter Megan lives there now, and I’d love to see her, as well as visiting some of the historic sites I’ve never been to.

Describe what you think would be the most romantic vacation you could take.

I’d like to go back to Prince Edward Island and take my husband this time. He couldn’t go when I visited to do research on this book, so I took our two teenagers. We had fun, but it’s not the same.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

I’d love to set one in medieval England.

What is the main theme of this novel?

Forgiveness.

God has had me writing books about forgiveness, too. Tell us about the story.

Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island is set in 1860, when the Prince of Wales visited Canada and the United States. Here’s the gist of the story:

Prince Edward Island pulls out all the stops to prepare for the visit of Prince Albert Edward (Queen Victoria’s son, later King Edward VII) in 1860. Molly Orland, a farmer’s daughter, is hired as a housemaid at the governor’s mansion, where the prince and his entourage will stay. Peter Stark is sent ahead of the royal party to ensure the arrangements are in order. Though Peter and Molly are attracted to each other, there seems to be no future for them, since Peter must soon leave with his master, the Earl of Washburn, and Molly will lose her job if discovered to be engaging in a flirtation with one of the visitors. However, Molly’s family harbors a secret that connects her family to Washburn’s. Can she and Peter overcome the past and set right a 60-year-old wrong?

Oh, interesting!! Please give us the first page of the book.

The back door to the kitchen burst open. Molly Orland nearly dropped the wooden spoon she held.

“Mum!” Her brother Nathan loomed in the doorway, panting.

“What is it?” Their mother turned from her work table and stepped toward him, fear leaping into her eyes.

“Papa’s hurt.”

“No! What happened?”

“He fell off the wagon. Thinks his leg is broken.”

Mum snatched a clean towel off the rack and glanced at Molly. “Get a jug of water—quick.”

Her chest aching, Molly filled a small pottery jug her father sometimes took when he went to work in the fields.

“Where is he?” her mother asked Nathan.

“Grandpa and Joe are bringing him in the wagon.”

Molly’s younger sister, Kate, scurried down the stairs into the room. “What’s going on? Nathan, what is it?”

Molly’s hand shook as she reached to touch Kate’s shoulder. “Papa is hurt.”

Kate’s face crumpled.

Their mother grabbed the jug in one hand and held up her skirt with the towel in the other and whisked out the door. Nathan followed her and the room went still.

“How bad is it?” Kate’s lips trembled as she looked up into Molly’s face, and her eyes filled with tears.

Molly felt tears flooding her own eyes. She hauled in a painful breath. “We don’t know yet. Let’s get his bed ready.”

She strode into their parents’ bedchamber with Kate on her heels. The bed was made neatly, as always during the day.

Molly seized the edge of the coverlet. “Get on the other side, Kate. Help me lay this back, so Nathan can get Papa into bed easily.”

“Will he need the doctor? I could go for Dr. Trann.”

“I think he might. Let’s go meet them and see if we should run to the Tranns’.”

As soon as they’d turned down the covers, Molly hurried to the front door and looked across the barnyard and down the field. Kate pushed in between her and the doorjamb. The hay wagon, pulled by Papa’s team of big chestnut geldings, rolled slowly toward them. A lithe figure ran from the wagon toward the road of packed red earth.

“Look! There goes Joe.” Molly pointed. The youngest of the four Orland siblings at ten, Joe streaked across the hayfield then hopped over rows of potato plants until he reached the road and tore for town. “Mum must have told him to fetch the doctor.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My Website is at: http://www.susanpagedavis.com/ . On my site, you can see all my books, view a couple of book trailers, read a short story, and enter my monthly drawing.

Thank you, Susan, for sharing this story with us.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

MURDER AT GRANITE FALLS - Roxanne Rustand - Free Book

I just love hosting this author on my blog. Welcome, Roxanne. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Murder at Granite Falls is the fourth book in my Big Sky Secrets series for Love Inspired Suspense. The books are connected through a childhood experience--the murder of a close childhood friend. I initially wondered how such a tragedy would affect three young girls into their adulthood, but this fourth book branches away from that concept and involves the missing sister of one of those initial characters. Kris (Fatal Burn) and her sister Emma were orphaned and in the foster care system when Emma disappeared.

Though this is a series, each book definitely stands alone.

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

What a great question! I love a lively discussion about writing. I would probably chose a disparate group of writers from various walks of Christian fiction. It's hard to choose from the many writers I admire, but I think Lyn Cote, Brandilyn Collins, Lenora Worth, James Rubart, James Scott Bell, and Debra Clopton would make a lively and fun evening!

Yes, they would. I'd love to be there to watch and listen. Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Good question, again. Hmmmm.....Deeanne Gist, Lynn Austin, Lyn Cote (again! She writes both contemporary and historical, and is such fun to talk to), Delia Parr, Nancy Moser, and newcomer Pamela Nissen might be a fun mix!

Yes, they would. 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've written thirty books, now. I left my day job last fall and write fulltime, but still wish I had forty-eight hour days! No matter what happens in one's personal life, with family or a day job, deadlines still need to be met. And it isn’t just the book deadlines themselves--there's so much one can do with one's visibility on the Internet these days, if one has the time. It's a whole new world out there, and my resolution for 2011 is to expand my horizons in that regard!

Just don't let it take over your time. You have to learn to control it. Tell us about the featured book.

Here is the backcover blurb:

Everyone in Granite Falls tells Carrie Randall the same thing. Is it a threat, or a warning?

Yet even if it endangers her fresh start, Carrie needs to know what secret the town’s hiding. There’s her troubled student and his disturbing drawings. His fiercely protective father, and the mysterious death of his mother. And Carrie definitely has to find out more about the bad reputation of her standoffish new landlord, Logan Bradley. She wants to trust him, but she’s been fooled by charm before. Is the town wrong about him—or is she?

Big Sky Secrets: In Montana’s wide-open spaces, danger and love are waiting.

I just love your suspense novels. Please give us the first page of the book.

CHAPTER 1

Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, Carrie Randall glanced again in her rear view mirror. The vehicle was still behind her. Billy? It couldn't be. She'd been so very, very careful.

She'd caught a better glimpse of the car while negotiating a set of hairpin turns at a higher elevation. Not close enough to identify the make and model, but close enough to be fairly certain it was the same one that had tailed her for the last two hours.

It had dropped back when she'd stopped for gas before starting over the mountain pass.

Crept closer after that.

She palmed her cell phone, checking the number of reception bars on the screen. Zero. No surprise, in this isolated part of the Montana Rockies, where bears probably outnumbered the two-footed residents, three-to-one.

She glanced again at the odometer. Ten miles to the town of Granite Falls. The lane leading to her new home should be coming up in less than a mile. But if her ex-husband was following her, the last thing she wanted was to lead him right to her door.

An ear-splitting yowl erupted from the cage on the seat behind her, followed by the frantic scrabbling of paws. "It's okay, Harley. Just hang on."

She stepped on the gas. Rocketed past the little gravel lane that wound into the pines off to the left that led to her rented cabin.

And then she headed straight for town.

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

Website: http://www.roxannerustand.com/
Blog: http://roxannerustand.blogspot.com/
Newsletter sign-up: http://roxannerustand.com/newsletter-signup

Thank you, Roxanne. It's always a pleasure to have you here.
 
Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/

TEA FOR TWO - Trish Perry - Free Book

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

I usually wait for the spiritual theme to emerge while the story unfolds, because the character’s spiritual growth happens as a result of what happens to her along the way. Sometimes the theme is far different from what I thought it was going to be when I first started the story. But my books seem to have an overriding theme, which is how important it is for us to constantly turn to God for guidance in all things, big and small.

I so agree with that. What other books of yours are coming out soon?

My first novel with Summerside Press (Unforgettable) released in March, and in September Summerside will also release the two-novella Christmas collection Debby Mayne and I wrote, Love Finds You on Christmas Morning. Debby’s novella is Deck the Hall, and mine is ’Tis the Season. The two stories are related romances—one is historical, and the other is contemporary. Also released in March is Summerside’s Delight Yourself in the Lord . . . Even on Bad Hair Days, the devotional I wrote with Sandra Bricker, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Debby Mayne.

Yes, we introduced readers to Unforgettable and Delight Yourself in the Lord . . . Even on Bad Hair Days here on the blog. I'd really like to feature the Christmas book, too. If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

This answer changes daily for me, depending on my mood. Today I’d say Craig Ferguson might be fun company for an evening. He’s a Scottish-American late-night comedian with a rather oddball sense of humor. I love to laugh!

I love to laugh, too. You and I have often laughed together. What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

Today I’d say an evening with P.G. Wodehouse would be great. He was clever, smart, and always poked fun at people who took themselves too seriously. His mark was usually the British upper crust, and his characters were hilarious.

James and I are fans of some of the British comedies on TV, but not all of them. How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

We all get rejections, even after we start publishing. It’s definitely easier to take once you’ve published, but rejection is always a disappointment and a part of any artistic endeavor. Here’s how I counsel about that: take time at the start of each day to tell the Lord you’re writing for Him. Ask Him for guidance in what you do and write (see, there’s that overriding guidance theme again). Then do the best you can with your writing efforts that day and rest in the knowledge that His hand is on those efforts. If you’re getting rejections but continue to feel that desire to write, He’s guiding you that way. If He wants you going elsewhere, He’s going to change your desire. Some other way of serving Him will attract you more.

Tell us about the featured book.

Tea for Two (Harvest House Publishers) is the second book in my Tea with Millicent series.

Zack Cooper tries his best to raise his children, but he's losing his grip on them in their teen years. They've both had scrapes with the local law.

Tea Shop owner Milly Jewel has the perfect woman in mind to help Zack. Counselor Tina Milano meets weekly at the tea shop with her women's group. Milly encourages Zack and Tina to work together to draw the teens back before they get in even hotter water. Milly never thought things might heat up between Zack and Tina. Or did she?

Tina's connections with the Middleburg police department prove a mixed blessing for Zack and his kids. Both her best friend and old boyfriend are officers on the force.

And when Tina's women's group gets wind of her personal pursuits and clashes, they want to help. The group's meetings at the tea shop take on a slightly different flavor. Tina wonders who, exactly, is counseling whom.

Sounds like a fun read. Please give us the first page of the book.

Zack Cooper wasn’t your typical male, and he knew it. He couldn’t simplify life by innately compartmentalizing its various issues. If something was wrong at home, that something tried to go with him when he left for work. And this rainy June morning, as he made a delivery to Millicent’s Tea Shop in downtown Middleburg, that something felt like a passenger sitting beside him in the front seat of his truck. Or maybe like two passengers, because his teenagers, Dylan and Sherry, were what was wrong at home.

He stopped in front of the tea shop and hurried to remove two boxes of produce from underneath his truck bed’s tarp. A chatty group of women walked toward the front door and blocked his path toward the shop’s back door, so he waited for them to file into Milly’s. He would have tipped his baseball cap were his hands free, but they didn’t seem to notice him anyway.

Most of the ladies shared umbrellas, squeezing together to avoid the rain. The lone woman at the end of the group, while the last to enter, somehow seemed in charge. As she neared Zack, she tilted her umbrella back to look at him.

“I’m sorry. Please excuse us.”

Zack experienced a momentary ability to compartmentalize. The kids were nowhere in his mind just for that instant. Neither was work.

This was one great-looking woman. Exotic, with dark hair and warm brown eyes. Even though he hadn’t said a word, her lips tugged into a subtle smile, and she looked at him as if he had the driest wit imaginable.

On the contrary, he stood in the rain, holding fruit, and struggled to string words together. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I mean, yes. Or, no. No problem.”

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

My site is http://www.trishperry.com/, and my blog is right there on the front page. I usually interview other inspirational authors about their latest releases, and we do a couple signed-book giveaways each week. And I have a Books page there, which describes the basic plots of all of my published books.

I’m also on Facebook (Trish Hawley Perry) and Twitter (TrishPerryWtr).

So good to have you drop by again, Trish.

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



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 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 if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/