SURRENDER THE DAWN - MaryLu Tyndall - Free Book

So good to have you back, MaryLu. Since you’re being published regularly, what new avenues will your future books take?

Most of my books take place either on the sea or very near it. I love the Age of Sail when tall ships ruled the seas. No matter what era I am researching or writing about, I always am drawn to the 17th and 18th centuries. So, I hope to write more books set during that time period, during the age of exploration and the colonial age in America. I also am very excited about including more spirituality in my books.  The secular world is doing so with vampires and wizards and ghosts, why can’t I bring the power of God, signs, wonders, visions, dreams, and the like into my stories?           

I so agree with you on that. What conferences will you be attending this year? Will you be a speaker at any of them?

The only conference I hope to attend this year is ACFW in September. I’ve decided to spend more time at home due to family obligations and lots of deadlines!  No, I’m not speaking at ACFW. Although I’m anxious to connect with author friends and make new ones while I’m there. I also hope to be an encouragement to unpublished writers.

           

If you were in charge of planning the panel discussion at a writing conference, what topic would the panel cover, and who would you ask to be on the panel, and why?

The panel would be entitled: Don’t be afraid to be different. Follow your heart. Authors invited to be on the panel include: Julie Lessman, Ginger Garrett, Ronie Kendig, Michelle Griep, Camy Tang, and Tosca Lee.  Oh, that sounds like a fun group! If only I was in charge of panels. J

I would love to hear that group. I love their books. How important is it to you to be active in writing organizations? 

Connecting with other writers is a vital part of being an author, published or not. Writing is a lonely, difficult job and you need support and comfort from people who understand what you’re going through, while also making yourself available to give out that support as well. This is a tough business filled with disappointments and rejections and anxieties. You won’t want to go it alone. In all honestly, I probably would have quit a long ago if not for the encouragement I received from fellow authors. That’s what I love about being a part of the Christian writing community. For the most part, everyone sets aside their personal competition and readily encourages one another. If I didn’t have my online and local writer friends, I’d be pretty lonely.

Where in the community or your church do you volunteer? 

I don’t volunteer. With six kids, a husband, house, and a full time writing job, who has time? I consider my books to be my ministry and whenever I have the opportunity I give them away for free. I’ve given boxes of books to homeless shelters, prisons, women’s ministries, churches, libraries and schools. I’m also in weekly correspondence with a missionary in South Africa who uses my books to teach English in college classes.

Who are the five people who have made the most impact on your life, and how?

Aside from Jesus, and if I could only choose people I’ve actually met, I’d say first, my kids, because they give meaning to my life and set my priorities where they should be.

My mother because she taught me the meaning of unconditional love. My husband because he’s shown me the meaning of lifelong commitment. Derek Prince for teaching me the depths of the Scriptures, and my friend Kim for being the only person in the world I could tell anything to who wouldn’t condemn me for it.

If you could write the inscription on your tombstone, what would it be?

Oh death where is your victory? Oh death where is your sting?

I’ll see you again in heaven when the angelic trumpets ring.    

Tell us about the featured book.        

Surrender the Dawn is the final book in my War of 1812 Surrender to Destiny series. If you know anything about the War of 1812, then you’ll recall that our National Anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner,” was written by Francis Scott Key as he watched the British fire thousands of rockets at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. This book concludes with that incredible scene as my hero and heroine get caught up in the events of the war. However, it is really a tale about love, and privateers, and how we all so often feel like failures in this life. Here’s the back of the book blurb:

An upper crust lady desperate to save her family. . .

A nefarious town rogue blackmailed into selling out his country. . .

And the destiny that awaits them both amid the War of 1812.

When the war of 1812 robs Cassandra Channing of her father and brothers, she must find a way to support her mother and younger siblings without being forced to marry a man she does not love. Determined to remain independent, she hires a privateer, captained by the town rogue.

Tortured by guilt for his parents’ death, Luke Heaton spends his time drinking and gambling. When Cassandra offers him enough money to fix up his ship, he sees an opportunity to redeem his reputation and help the lady he has loved from afar. Things go well until the British blackmail him into selling supplies to their ships. Still Luke cannot allow Cassandra’s family to be tossed on the streets.

 

Cassandra has fallen in love with Luke. When she begins to suspect his nefarious activities, she is heartbroken. Hoping to prove her suspicions wrong, she sets out to catch him in the act. But what she doesn’t expect is to get caught up in a massive British invasion.

When the entire British fleet heads toward Baltimore and begins to bombard Fort McHenry, lives, liberty, and the future of a nation are at stake. What destiny awaits the couple in one of the most decisive battles of the war?

Sounds like a wonderful story. Please share the first page with us.  

Chapter 1

March 26, 1814

Merchants Coffee House, Baltimore, Maryland

“Miss Channing, no privateer in his right mind would accept money from a woman investor. It is simply bad luck.”

Raucous laughter—all male—shot through the tiny coffee shop that smelled more like ale and sweat than coffee.

Wrinkling her nose beneath the odor and bracing her heart against the mounting impediment to her well-laid plans, Cassandra rose from her seat. “That is merely a foolish superstition, Mr. McCulloch. I assure you, my money is as good as any man’s.”

Snickers and grins interspersed with the occasional salacious glance continued to fire her way. But Cassandra brushed them off. After an hour of sitting in the muggy, male-dominated room, listening to various merchants selling shares for the equipping of their vessels into privateers, she had grown numb to the attention.

When the customs agent had finally announced eight shares offered at two-hundred dollars each to be invested in the Contradiction—a one-hundred-and-three ton schooner out of Dorchester, housing one long nine gun ten men, and captained by Peter Pascal—Cassandra had raised her hand. With her one thousand dollars, she could purchase over half the shares rather than be one of many investors in a larger, better equipped ship. Owning more of a privateer meant higher returns. And she definitely was in dire need of higher returns.

Mr. McCulloch shoved his thumbs into the pockets of his trousers and shot Cassandra the same patronizing look her mother often gave her younger sisters when they failed to comprehend what she was saying. “Aye, your money is good, Miss Channing. It’s the mind behind the coin that begs concern.”

“How dare you, sir! Why you are no more. . .” Cassandra clutched her reticule close to her chest and spat out, “My money and my mind are equal to any man’s here.”

Again laughter pulsated through the room.

“It’s the comely exterior of that mind that I’m partial to,” one man yelled from the back, prompting yet another chorus of chuckles.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes and scanned the mob. Did these men honestly believe they were amusing? Most of them—with the exception of a few unsavory types loitering around the fringes of the assembly—were hard working merchants, bankers, shop owners, mill workers, and farmers. Men who often tipped their hat at her on the street. Her gaze locked with the wife of the coffee house proprietor, scrubbing a counter in the right corner. Sympathy poured from her eyes.

Mr. McCulloch scratched his head and gave a sigh of frustration. “A share in any privateer gives you a voice in its affairs. A business voice, miss. A voice that needs to be schooled in matters of financial investments and risk assessment.”

The men nodded and grunted in approval like a band of mindless lackeys.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.marylutyndall.com/

http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/MaryLu-Tyndall-Swashbuckling-Romance/175344859169475

Thank you so much for sharing your book, and life, with us, MaryLu.

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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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NO CHILD OF MINE - Kelly Irvin - Free Book

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

When I first started out, I wrote books like I was reading at the time. Romantic suspense and mysteries. As time went on, I started to realize that it was really about the stories that bang around in my head. I like to tell a good story, regardless of genre. A character gets in my head and I want to tell his or her story. Strong characters and daunting challenges to be overcome—those are my favorite stories. Oftentimes as the story is revealed to me, the inspirational “take away value” is also revealed. As a seat-of-the-pants writer, I quite often don’t know what is coming. I love it when the moment arrives and God lets me in on that critical piece of information that makes the story more than just a story. I write the kind of books I do because they entertain while at the same time giving readers the opportunity to know the comfort of being close to a living God.

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

I’ve been married for 23 years and have a daughter, 21, and a son, 19. Every day since I married and then gave birth to Erin and Nicholas has been the happiest day of my life. We have our ups and downs like any other family, but I never lose sight of how blessed I am to have an “average, regular, normal” family. Not everyone gets that. My own childhood was not like that. So I love the barbecues and movie nights and Costco runs and arguing over who will change the litter box. This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it is a verse I keep close to my heart.

How has being published changed your life?

It’s given me confidence. Even though I wrote nonfiction as a journalist for years, I never wanted to tell people I was a writer. I didn’t use that term. Or author. It seems that publication gave me the affirmation I needed to stand up and say this is who I am. I still get embarrassed when people ask me about it, but I’m getting better.

What is your current work in progress?

I just finished the second manuscript in a two-book contract with Harvest House for Amish romances. I haven’t landed on a title yet, but it’s a story about the power of faith to give us hope even in the face of tragedy. The first book won’t come out until September 2012 so now I’m contemplating where to go from here. I have a concept I’m kicking around with my editor. We’ll see where it goes . . .

What would be your dream vacation?

That’s a tough one. I’ve never been to Europe. I’d love to travel through Spain, Italy, France, and England in a leisurely visit, but my daughter is a history major and she wants to tour Washington, D.C. I’ve never been and it would be great to see all those wonderful historic places that relate to our country’s roots in democracy together with her for the first time. I guess the bottom line is any time spent with my family away from work would be a blessing.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

So far, they’ve all been places with which I’m familiar. It helps not to have to grapple with those details and be able to focus on plot and character instead. In A Deadly Wilderness, parks played an important role in the story—a murder occurred in San Antonio’s only wilderness park and then the murderer is caught and killed in another well known park that is recognizable to most of my San Antonio readers. I know South Texas. I know Kansas. In No Child of Mine I use both. I don’t have a lot of time for research or travel, so, for now, I’m sticking to what I can easily create from my own experiences and memories.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?  I’d like to buy Christian author Dee Henderson dinner and thank her for writing the O’Malley series. I checked out The Healer from the public library eight years ago. It was my first experience with inspirational fiction and I realized I wanted to not only read more Christian fiction, but I wanted to write that kind of book. The experience made me realize this was how God intended for me to use my spiritual gift. I’d love to pick Dee’s brain about writing and the ups and downs of the publishing business. Mostly I’d just like to thank her for giving me hours of reading pleasure and characters I still consider friends after all these years.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Honestly, I don’t have time for any other hobbies. The other thing that I do everyday is exercise. I wouldn’t call it a hobby, because it’s pretty much a necessity. Running on the treadmill while watching DVDs of old TV shows is the best stress reliever I’ve found and sometimes it helps me clear my head so I can solve a writing problem. When I’ve gotten a rejection or bad news, it helps me to run it off.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Finding enough time to write. I work full-time as a public relations professional, proofread trial transcripts for two court reporters, and I have a family that includes two young adult children, three cats and a bunch of fish, so writing time is constantly a challenge. I go to work two hours early each day in order to write before work starts and then I eat lunch at my desk so I can get in another 45 minutes or so. When a story is going well, I’ll squeeze in a little time in the evenings as well, if I can. It requires a lot of juggling but it’s worth it. Having a supportive family helps.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Number one, don’t give up. It took me seven years to publish my first novel. Join a critique group, go to writing conferences, hone your craft, and write everyday. Every craft worth learning requires practice and dedication. You don’t just pick up a violin and become a virtuoso from one day to the next. Be willing to take criticism and rejection—it comes with the territory. That’s not to say you’re not allowed to cry about it. I’ve cried buckets of tears over the years, but when you’re done, wipe those tears, plant your behind in the chair, and get back to the keyboard. Publication is the best medicine.

Tell us about the featured book.

I’m proud of this story. It’s the most complicated one I’ve ever attempted in terms of combining two plot lines (two crimes involving children are committed and my police investigators must figure out how they are related), using two distinct settings, and finessing two romantic entanglements. No Child of Mine is a reflection of the huge challenges faced by society today in protecting our children from people who should love them and take of them. Child Protective Services in Texas is overwhelmed as I imagine is every similar agency in states all across the country. Good foster parents and “forever” families are desperately needed. I hope No Child of Mine encourages readers to perhaps consider that option. Having said that, here’s the flap copy:

On a blazing South Texas day dozens of law enforcement officers, family, and friends gather to celebrate a wedding. Detective Deborah Smith is happy for the couple, but she’s fighting a loneliness that makes her long for her best friend—whiskey. Then the unthinkable happens. Colleague  Daniel Martinez’s foster son, Benny, disappears during the reception. Deborah is assigned to team up with Detective Alex Luna to search for the missing boy. Instead of finding Benny, they make a horrifying discovery on the groom’s property: the skeletal remains of a small girl. 

Torn between salvaging his marriage and trying to save a child he’s grown to love, Daniel fears both are slipping beyond his grasp; and Deborah struggles to hang on to her newfound sobriety in the face of the pressure of her job and her past, while Alex chips away at her resolve not to trust him—or any man. 

The team of investigators travels from the seamy underside of San Antonio’s drug-dealing gang territory to the back roads of rural America where secrets fester in peaceful country homes. Their investigation rips off the Band-Aid that covers the cracks in an overburdened foster care system and reveals the painful reality that children are all too often are battered, terrified victims of the people who should love them the most. 

As the two investigations become more and more entwined, Deborah, Alex, and Daniel must risk everything—even their lives—to bring a little boy home safely and unmask a child’s murderer.

This fast-paced follow-up to Irvin’s debut romantic suspense novel, A Deadly Wilderness, will keep readers turning the pages long after it’s time to turn out the lights.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Benny Garza tore down the gravel road like a bunch of gangbangers were chasing him.

He was used to that.

If Mom could see him now, she’d laugh. Always forgetting stuff. Stupid.

As he ran, he bit into the rolled-up tortilla and fajita in his hand, chewed, and tried not to choke. A hawk soaring over the trees caught his gaze. In San Antonio, he never saw stuff like that. He’d like to soar, too. High and far away.

His shoe hit something hard. Benny stumbled, arms flapping like a chicken trying to fly, and fell smack in the middle of the dirt. The taco flew. His nose scraped gravel, and he bit his lip. “Oh, man!”

He rolled into a sitting position, gasping from the sting. He clapped his hands to his face and rocked back and forth, working through the pain. He was used to that, too.

Dirt smeared the white church shirt and black pants Mr. Daniel had bought him special for the wedding. He tried to brush it off. The stain darkened and spread. “Oh, no, no!”

That’s what he got for rushing to get his jeans and tennies from the Jeep. That’s what he got for being in a hurry to have fun at the party. Like Mom always said, everything came with a price.

Mr. Daniel might get mad. Sure, he never got real mad like Mom. He didn’t yell or hit. He just looked sad, and his voice got soft. Benny’s stomach would feel funny then, like he might puke. He didn’t want Mr. Daniel to be mad at him. Ever.

Maybe he could ask Marco to show him how to use the washing machine. Maybe he could wash the clothes before Mr. Daniel saw them. Benny struggled to his feet, fighting tears. Eight-year-olds were too old to cry. That’s what Mom said. He trudged to Mr. Daniel’s Jeep and grabbed his clothes from the back seat.

He turned to shove the door shut. A giant man loomed over him, blocking the sun. He had a big smile plastered across his face. “Hey, buddy.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.kellyirvin.com


Thank you for dropping by, Kelly.


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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.)

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BELONGING - Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book

What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

I suppose the one theme that is woven through all of my books is God’s grace. I have been such a recipient of it just flows out of me naturally, no matter what else the story is about. Themes that are more specific to individual books are usually direct results of what God has recently taught me or is currently teaching me as I write. I am often not aware of a book’s theme until I’m done writing it.

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

I’m delighted to announce that a number of my older titles that have been out of print for some time are now or will soon be available in digital editions (Kindle, Nook, iBook, etc.).

Firstborn, Greenbrier Publishing (originally from Tyndale)

Beyond the Shadows, Greenbrier Publishing (originally from Tyndale)

The Forgiving Hour, Zondervan (originally from WaterBrook)

Whispers from Yesterday, Zondervan (originally from WaterBrook)

The Shepherd’s Voice, Zondervan (originally from WaterBrook)

In addition, I have a new historical romance coming out from Women of Faith Fiction in February 2012 called Heart of Gold. The setting is in an Idaho gold camp during the Civil War.

A really good lineup of things to read. If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

Beth Moore. I love her teaching style, and I think it would be great fun to sit with her and just talk about the Lord and all He has done in our lives.

I've been in the studio audience when she and her husband were on the James Robison show. What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

Abraham Lincoln. The more biographies and histories I’ve read about him, the more I’ve come to admire him.

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

Publishing is a business of rejection, so first of all I would say, get used to it. Second, if you feel that God has called you to write, then write. There may be other reasons than being published for that call. Obedience is more important than anything else. Write and leave the results in His hands.

I so agree with you on that, Robin. Tell us about the featured book.

Belonging is the first book in the Where The Heart Lives series. The series will follow the adult lives of three orphans who were sent west on an orphan train as they seek to reunite with their siblings.

Here’s the blurb for Belonging:

Can two bitter pasts make one sweet future?

In the high desert town of Frenchman’s Bluff, Idaho, Felicia Kristoffersen has set out to create a future for herself that is better than her painful past. Alone in the world with only her faith to sustain her, she must prove herself as this tiny community’s new school teacher. She cannot, must not, fail. But there are those who never wanted her there to begin with.

Five years after the death of his wife, local merchant Colin Murphy cares about just one thing: raising his daughter, Charity. Colin wants to give her the educational advantages he never had. The new schoolmarm’s inexperience doesn’t sit well with him, and if this teacher up and marries like the last one did, Charity’s heart will be broken once again.

A woman who hasn’t known love. A man who lost the love he had.

In the midst of the wide, sage-covered plains, each is about to discover that life’s bitterest circumstances truly can work together for good.

Sounds like a book I could really get into. Please give us the first page of the book.

Since I don’t have a copy of the book as I answer this, I don’t know how much is the first page. This may be more like two pages:

PROLOGUE

Chicago, Illinois, January 1881

Icy tentacles reached through the thin walls of the tenement building where Elethea Brennan lay dying, her three children standing at her bedside. There was Hugh, thirteen and the only boy, as handsome as his father ever was, with his dark hair and eyes. Next to him was ten-year-old Felicia, the quiet bookish Brennan, her blue eyes seeming to understand far too much. And next to her was Diana, at six, the youngest, and the only one to inherit her mother’s red hair and green eyes.

Oh, how she loved them, these three. Loved them more than she’d ever thought possible when she married Sweeney Brennan and came with him to Chicago to build a new life. How she hated to leave them. She was ready for heaven, but it broke her heart all the same to say goodbye to the ones who’d made life worth living.

It took enormous effort, but somehow she managed to lift her left arm and take hold of her son’s hand. “Promise … me.”

Hugh, still a boy but with the suggestion of manhood on his beloved face, leaned close. “Promise what, Mum?”

“See … Dr. Cray … Leave … Chicago.”

“Where should we go?”

“Away.”

“What about Dad?”

She closed her eyes but didn’t release his hand. How did a mother tell a boy of thirteen that his father would never return to them, that his father loved his whiskey more than his wife or his son and daughters? But she didn’t have to tell him. Hugh was a bright boy. He knew the truth, even if he didn’t want to accept it.

Elethea wanted a better life for her children. Perhaps her death could give them one. Dr. Cray had explained to her how poor and orphaned children of Chicago were being placed with families in the West, families who promised to care for them and love them and even to see that they were educated. There was little hope for the likes of Sweeney Brennan’s offspring in Chicago. Here, they were just three more street urchins who would soon be completely alone in the world.

“Promise … me … Hugh,” she whispered.

“I promise, Mum. I promise I’ll go to Dr. Cray.”

Drawing a deep breath, she forced her eyes open one last time and drank in the beauty of her children. It mattered not that they were dressed in tattered, worn clothes or that their faces could use a good washing. They were beautiful and perfect to their mother.

The darkness that had lingered around the edges of the room began to close in.

“Don’t ever … be forgettin’ … that I … love you … me dear ones.”

I know I’ll love it. Can’t wait to hold it in my hands and dive in. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My web site is: http://www.robinleehatcher.com

My blog is: http://blog.robinleehatcher.com

My Facebook Page is: http://www.facebook.com/robinleehatcher

My Twitter Profile is: http://twitter.com/#!/robinleehatcher


It's always a pleasure to have you stop by my blog, Robin. Thank 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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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

THE HEALING - Wanda E Brunstetter - Free Book

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

That’s hard to say. I try to focus on the “now” and try to shape and make the most of it. That will help determine what will happen in the future.

Tell us a little about your family.

My husband and I have two grown children who are both married and each have three children of their own. All of our six grandchildren are teenagers, and we enjoy spending time with our family whenever we can.

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

I don’t read quite as many novels by other authors as I used to, because I’m kept busy writing my own, but I do still enjoy reading a good novel whenever I can.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on an Amish-themed children’s book, as well as Book 3 in my Amish-themed Kentucky Brothers series.

What outside interests do you have?

I’m a professional ventriloquist, and enjoy using one of my puppets whenever I’m asked to speak at Amish or English schools. I also like to spend time in the garden, and I love to bird-watch and take lots of pictures of anything that strikes my interest.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Whenever I visit a new area, a feeling will often come over me that this is a place where I should set a new book or series. Sometimes it’s because of something I see or hear, but often it’s just a “feeling” or “need.”

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

It would probably be an Amish person who lived during the time that the Amish first came to America in the 1700s. I think it would be interesting to hear what they went through in making the journey by boat to seek a new life in a new country.

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

Although I love what I’m doing, I wish I’d been better prepared for how much it would dominate my life, and known in advance what some of the expectations would be. I spend a good deal of my time either writing or researching, and must remind make myself to take breaks so I can spend time with friends and family. I have come to realize that in order to enjoy my career, I must know how to balance work with pleasure.

 What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

 To take one day at a time and seek guidance from Him.

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

Write what you know, and know it well.

Study your craft and learn all you can about all aspects of writing.

Be patient and never give up. If the Lord called you to write, then it will happen in His time.

Tell us about the featured book.

The Healing is book 2 in my Kentucky Brothers series. Single father Samuel Fisher of Lancaster County is still grieving over his wife's untimely death when his brother Titus talks him into making a fresh start. Samuel packs up his four kids and heads for the Bluegrass Country. Esther Beiler, who helps watch Samuel's offspring, develops a crush on the widower and a true affection for his children. Can she ever replace his wife, or will that role go to Bonnie Taylor, an English Innkeeper who provides work and witty conversation for the stressed widower? Can an Amish man burdened by yesterday's memories find hope in Kentucky, the land of tomorrow?

Please give us the first page of the book.

The Healing

Chapter 1

 Paradise, Pennsylvania

“Alles is fix un faddich.” Bishop Jacob Weaver clasped Samuel Fisher’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

            Samuel, who stood on his front porch with a few others from his community, gripped the railing so tightly his fingers ached. The last few days, and even now, he’d felt as if he was walking through a thick fog, barely able to hear what anyone said to him. Yet, right now, the truth of the bishop’s words, that all was completely done, slammed into Samuel with the force of a tornado. So overcome with emotion, he could barely manage a brief nod. They had just returned from the cemetery, where they’d buried Elsie, his wife of ten years. He wasn’t even sure how he’d made it through the last couple of days, much less the funeral and graveside service, but frankly, he was too tired and too numb to care. Somehow, he was now expected to carry on without her, and that thought was overwhelming.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is: www.wandabrunstetter.com

Thank you, Wanda, for the interesting conversation.



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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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

Winners!!! Yea!!!

Some of the people who leave comments aren't in the drawing because they don't follow the instructions at the bottom of each interview post.

Alison (TX) is the winner of Lie For Me by Karen Young.
Diana Flowers (SC) is the winner of Ransome's Quest by Kaye Dacus.
Cheryl (IL) is the winner of River's Song by Melody Carlson.
Jo (AZ) is the winner of Chosen Ones by Eileen Hinkle Rife.
Kelly Y (VA) is the winner of Marrying Miss Marshal, by Lacy Williams.
Judy B (IN) is the winner of Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride by Sandra D Bricker.

If you won a book, please give the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes & Noble, or other Internet sites. 


Also, tell your friends about the book and this blog. 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 4 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 RIVER TO CROSS - Yvonne Harris - Free Book

Welcome, Yvonne. I'm reading The Vigilante's Bride right now and loving it. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I am a long-time fan of western movies, action, guns, horses, military, and romance. I write what I like to read. And I like helicopters, as well as horses. 

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

It would be a toss-up between my wedding day and the day my daughter was born.

How has being published changed your life?

It hasn't, not in any major personal way. I still write pretty much what I like, but I don't like the deadlines. 

What are you reading right now?

Tim LaHaye's Thunder of Heaven, not my usual genre.

What is your current work in progress?

It's still up in the air, but I think it will be the next book in this Texas Ranger series–Gus's story.

A River to Cross just came out this month and readers are asking for him. I go back and read about him, wondering what it is he has that is so appealing to readers, besides looks, brains, and shooting from the hip.

What would be your dream vacation?

A week or two at a dude ranch with my granddaughter, who rides like the wind. I haven't done much riding recently, and I probably couldn't keep up with her now. She jumps and is better than I ever was.

How do you choose your settings for each book? 

Since I'm writing western historical romance, time and place are both important. For Westerns, I research the timelines to see what happened where and how I can use it.

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

Rachel Maddow because she's funny, politically savvy, and wicked smart. J. K. Rowling, also.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Cooking, politics, pottery. I used to have a ceramic studio, and still like to get my hands in clay. 

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Time. I'm a slow writer. I love the way words draw pictures and fit together. I hate having to write and watch the calendar.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Give yourself a couple of years to learn the craft and get your "writing legs."

Join a writers' chapter group that meets once a month and attend meetings.

Join a national writing group in your genre, i.e., Children's Writers of America

Romance Writers of America, Mystery/Paranormal/Western, Whatever.Also join on-line writing groups and critique groups; take workshops.

Don't lock yourself away. Writers need other writers as much as they need air.

As soon as you have something done--even just a chapter--submit it to a couple of contests on line. You're not entering to win; you're entering for the feedback. If it's wonderful, you need to know. If it isn't, you need to fix it. But first you need to know what to fix.

Contests can cut months/years off your way to publication.

And enjoy it.

You're not writing for the Pulitzer. Yet.

Tell us about the featured book.

A River to Cross takes place in El Paso, Texas, and is loosely based on fact. In real life, Mexicans did assassinate a local newspaper editor five years before this story started. In an attempt to draw the U.S. into another war, Mexican soldiers storm the courthouse and go after the heroine's brother, the editor of an El Paso newspaper. When things go wrong, they grab the heroine and take her with them.

Texas Rangers are secretly sent across the border to bring her back.

The Texas Rangers still exist today, a highly respected organization that collaborates with the CIA and the FBI.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Here it is. Elizabeth Evans has just moved to Texas to live with her widowed brother Lloyd. She has accompanied him to the courthouse that morning, where he is going to speak to the townspeople. 

Chapter 1

County Courthouse

El Paso, Texas

August 9, 1886

Elizabeth Evans lifted her skirts and sprinted up the back stairs of the courthouse.

At the third floor landing, she hauled open the heavy door and propped it with her hip. Grinning, she called down to her brother, puffing up the steps. "I don't believe it. You can't keep up with me, Lloyd."

"It's ninety-eight degrees outside, and I'm ten years older than you." Flushed and out of breath, Lloyd Madison frowned at the small woman in ruffled green silk and trudged up the last few steps to the landing. He took her elbow and steered her into a long corridor with a pair of tall brass doors at the end.

Lloyd pointed to the silent elevator. The clock above it said 11:10.

"A few more minutes and that elevator would've been fixed, and we could've ridden up like normal people," he said.

Elizabeth let out a little hoot of laughter. "Ha! Not with Mexico right across the river. In this part of the world, a few minutes means tomorrow or next week. Besides, only an idiot would ride up in that rickety birdcage you call an elevator."

Lloyd laughed and threw an arm around her. "Hush, Brat. It's modern and it's perfectly safe. The town spent a lot of money on that elevator, and it's only Nervous Nellies like you who won't ride in it." He hugged her. "You little skeptic. My readers are going to love you. You're on their side already."

A guilty grin burst across her face. "You picked that up fast," she said, laughing.

"I run a newspaper, remember? That's my job."

I know I'm going to love reading this one, too. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My web site is www.ylharris.com

Thank you, Yvonne, for spending this time with us 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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

FORSAKEN - Leanna Ellis - Free Book

Welcome, Leanna. Tell us about your salvation experience.

Hi, Lena! Thanks for having me here today! I was twelve when I was saved. We had a guest speaker at our church, James Robison. Heard of him? A powerful and dynamic preacher, he spoke on Romans. I couldn’t get things he’d said out of my head, so one night I called my mom into my bedroom and told her I’d prayed the prayer to ask Jesus into my heart. Pretty simple, nothing radical, but changed my life. Then my mom began pressuring me to be baptized. But I know this is hard for some of you who know me to believe, but I was very shy and we went to a very large church, the largest in the U.S. at that time. So I resisted. I dreaded every Sunday because my mom would give me ‘the look’ during the invitation. But when I was sixteen, I went to church camp. Guess who was the camp pastor? Josh McDowell. It was a time of questioning for me, but it was when I truly turned my life over to the Lord. I didn’t tell my mom anything had happened at camp but she knew. She and my sister hardly recognized me because I had so radically changed in my attitude and demeanor. Then nothing could have stopped me from getting baptized. At the first opportunity, I raced down to the front of the church, eager to be baptized. Now please don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe baptism saves anyone. It’s simply an outward gesture of the changes that have taken place in the heart, where I was once dead in sin I was alive, resurrected in Him.

Of course, I know who James Robison is. He goes to our church and I respect him a lot. I’ve been in the studio audience for his TV show many times. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

First and foremost would be my best writing buddy, Dorothy Love. We’ve been friends for twenty years and met in a writing class when we were first starting out. We’ve been dear friends ever since. Just to get away and be quiet and think about writing sounds heavenly. But honestly, I’d want to bring my husband and two kids along. I don’t like to be away from them. So often when I do research trips, they are right there with me.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I do speak to groups, but I don’t pursue it. I take opportunities that the Lord brings my way.

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

The list is too long to name, which is probably why I rarely get embarrassed anymore. I’m more likely now to embarrass my kids. Oh how times change!

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?

You just have to write it. Put the ol’ backside in the chair, hands on keyboard, ready, get set, write. So many people talk about it but fewer actually do it. And even fewer study the market and study writing in order to do it well. So if it’s something you feel you are supposed to do, then don’t waste time talking about it—do it! And while you’re doing it, read, read, read, and study, study, study. Then remember when you get that first draft of the book done, that’s only the beginning. Then there’s much revision and editing to get a book ready for publication. 

Tell us about the featured book.

This is a very different but very special book to me. It’s my most spiritual book to date. It is a battle of good versus evil. Evil isn’t always blatant and scary looking with horns and a pitchfork. Evil is often alluring and attractive. I explore that side of evil in this book. It is also an Amish/vampire story. Yep, you read that right. Before I jumped into this story, I prayed and prayed and prayed about it, because I didn’t not want to go forward if the Lord was not leading. But he clearly was. So I wrote the book. This is the first book in a series called PLAIN FEAR. Forsaken: Hannah Schmidt, a young Amish woman mourning the mysterious death of her beloved Jacob, must decide between two brothers, between good and evil. When she learns her first love is now the vampire Akiva, she must forsake him and cling to a new love, a lasting love, one that will save her soul.

Please give us the first page of the book.

PLAIN FEAR: FORSAKEN

PROLOGUE

Jacob Fisher shoved the metal door, which banged against the warehouse, and the empty, hollow sound reverberated in the awaiting stillness. Don’t look back. Not one glance.

He bolted into the sticky heat, darkness devouring him, and ran straight into it, grateful for his only cover. The damp pavement made his tennis shoes skid, and his arms flailed wide as he regained his balance and pushed himself faster, harder, further. A shaft of light injected hope into him. How far?

Lungs burning, he risked one glance over his shoulder. Just one.

The warehouse door remained open, the alley empty. He was alone. For now. But how much longer? Whispers encircled him. Was it the wind? Or was it them?

“Angels and ministers of grace defend us,” Jacob whispered the Shakespearean words like a prayer.

Or, had he gone crazy?

Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd,

Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,

Be thy intents wicked or charitable…

No, they weren’t a fabrication of his imagination or a half-baked fantasy or even a made-up story. They were real, far too real. The blood, the bodies, the evil permeating every crevice was authentic. Trolls of the night. Visitors from the bowels of hell. Their purpose was heinous, reflected in those black eyes, which were void of feeling. And they chased after him now.

I can hardly wait to read this one. How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.leannaellis.com I’m also on FB and Twitter.

Thanks for having me here today, Lena! Blessings, Leanna

My pleasure, Leanna. I've known about your call to write this book almost since its inception. So glad to be a part of promoting it.



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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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

BLUE SKIES TOMORROW - Sarah Sundin - Free Book

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

God is truly amazing. I’m still marveling at His perfect timing. I went through five years of rejection letters, convinced I was ready. I wasn’t. He knew that all along. As for the horizon, I’ve signed a contract for another three-book series, but only God Himself knows what He’ll do with that or after that!

Tell us a little about your family.

My husband and I just celebrated twenty-two years of marriage. Our oldest son is a sophomore at UCLA majoring in mechanical engineering, our daughter is a junior in high school, and our youngest son is in eighth grade. We have a skittish but adorable cat, and a yellow lab named Daisy, whose antics drive me crazy but keep my Facebook friends amused.

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

Absolutely. First of all, I read nonfiction books for research that I never would have glanced at a decade ago. Military history? The B-17 technical manual? Luftwaffe uniforms? My former self shakes her head at current self. Secondly, I’m reading more widely now. I’ve strayed past my old favorites of classics and women’s fiction to discover some fabulous voices in historical fiction and romance.

What are you working on right now?

I’m currently doing the final polish on the first book in my next series, which is due to my publisher September 1 and will come out Fall 2012. I’m also plotting the second book. This new series follows three World War II 

flight nurses in the Mediterranean Theater.

What outside interests do you have?

Can you hear me laughing? With my kids’ outside interests, I live in my car. Thank goodness I find writing so relaxing and enjoyable. I used to do lots of sewing for myself, the home, and for my daughter when she was little and let me choose her clothes. Oddly, when I started writing, I lost my interest in sewing, as if the minuscule creative section of my brain could only handle one outlet at a time.

When my kids were in junior high, I had a t-shirt that said If woman's place is in the home, why am I always in my car? How do you choose your settings for each book?

For this series, I picked Home Front settings in towns I was familiar with, including my hometown, which made research convenient. I chose the English setting for two reasons—because the US Eighth Air Force was chockfull of fascinating stories (including my great-uncle’s—a B-17 pilot in the 94^th Bombardment Group), and because I love England and thought it would appeal to readers as well. My husband’s frequent flyer miles allowed us to visit England. I was able to stroll the streets of Bury St. Edmunds and imagine my characters doing likewise.

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

I don’t know how I could pick. In my research I’ve read so many stories of men and women, both famous and not, who modeled integrity and courage. My heart is drawn to spending an evening with my grandfather, Fred Stewart, who served as a pharmacist’s mate (medic) in the US Navy during World War II. He loved to tell stories, but he passed away before I started writing. I’d love to be able to hear those stories all over again and ask him more questions.

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

Actually, I don’t wish I knew too much more than I did. If I knew how long it took the average writer to get published, I might have given up. If I knew how much research I’d have to do, I might not have written a historical novel. If I knew how much non-writing work I’d have to do as a writer, I might have stopped. I think the Lord let me have only as much information as I could handle at the time.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

He’s teaching me the importance of abiding in Him. This is a lifelong lesson for all of us, but He’s impressed it on me lately. John 15:5 is my theme verse right now: “’I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing’” (NASB). Everywhere I look, this concept and this verse keep popping up, a firm indication that the Lord wants to get my attention.

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

Oh, wait…you’re talking to me? I still feel like a bumbling novice. I think what’s helped me best navigate the strange world of publishing are being teachable, cooperative, and genuine.

Being teachable is vital. I want each book to be better than the last, so I keep learning and listening and pushing myself.

Cooperation has helped me deal with my publisher. I trust them as experienced and knowledgeable professionals. I’ve stood my ground when necessary, but they know way more about the industry than I do, so I let them do their thing.

Being genuine helps me relate to readers. Pedestals are very dangerous places, but every time I share something stupid I did or something inedible my dog ate, I blow up that pedestal.

Tell us about the featured book.

Blue Skies Tomorrow is the third book in the Wings of Glory series, which follows the three Novak brothers, B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force stationed in England during World War II. Each book stands alone.

Lt. Raymond Novak prefers the pulpit to the cockpit, but at least his stateside job training B-17 pilots allows him the luxury of a personal life. As he courts Helen Carlisle, a young war widow and mother who conceals her pain under a frenzy of volunteer work, the sparks of their romance set a fire that flings them both into peril. After Ray leaves to fly a combat mission at the peak of the air war over Europe, Helen takes a job in a dangerous munitions yard and confronts an even graver menace in her own home. Will they find the courage to face their challenges? And can their young love survive until blue skies return?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Helen Carlisle strolled up G Street, careful to keep a pained expression. Some days the performance of grief was easier than others, but it was always necessary for her son’s sake.

She shifted two-year-old Jay-Jay higher on her hip and inhaled the Delta breeze, flowing fresh from the San Francisco Bay into the Sacramento River Delta, rain-scrubbed and scented by new grass on the hills.

With a bump of her hip, Helen opened the door of Della’s Dress Shop and set her notebooks on the table by the door.

From a picture frame on the table, Jim Carlisle smiled up at her—long, lean, and handsome in his Navy blues. The hometown hero. Was he wearing that uniform when a Japanese torpedo slammed into his destroyer off Guadalcanal?

She pressed her fingers to her lips and then to the cold glass over Jim’s cold face. But a scan of the shop revealed no sign of her in-laws. Footsteps came from the back room and the curtain swished open, so Helen repeated the performance, laid another kiss on the portrait, and lifted it for her son. “Give Daddy a kiss.”

Jay-Jay mashed his palm over his mouth, making a crunching sound, and passed the kiss to the father he couldn’t remember.

A crunching sound? Jay-Jay’s cheeks stretched rounder than usual. “Sweetie, what do you have in your mouth?”

He shook his blond curls, his mouth clamped shut.

“Let Mama see.” Helen dropped to her knees, pinned the boy on her lap, and pried open his mouth. He howled and flapped his arms at her.

“Please, sweetie?” Nausea billowed through her. Chunks of slimy gray shell lay in her son’s mouth. She’d set him down for a minute, only a minute while she hung the thermometer poster in the window of the Red Cross Branch Office to monitor the War Fund Campaign.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://www.sarahsundin.com

Blog: http://www.sarahsundin.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahSundinAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sarahsundin

Thank you, Sarah, for dropping by.



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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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