LOVE IN THE AIR - Elizabeth Goddard - One Free Book

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

I don’t have a moment in time where I suddenly met Jesus or officially asked him into my heart. I experienced a personal relationship with him from a very young age—and isn’t that what is meant by “salvation?” So I’ve known the Lord—in a personal way—for as long as I can remember. I’ve experienced his presence, again, for as long as I can remember. He has been with me in an awesome way, answered so many prayers. I tell my children that it can takes a lifetime of experiencing Him to understand how much He loves us.

That is so true, Beth. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Oh, now that’s a tough one. How about I pick those authors whom I count on for brainstorming now? Lisa Harris, Lynne Gentry, Lynette Sowell, Shannon McNear, and there are some more to add. Can I have more than four please?

I wish you had added four more to the list before you sent the answered questions back to me. Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

No speaking ministry yet. It’s all I can do to keep up with home schooling my children and writing on deadline. I don’t understand how some others get it all done.

For me, it helps that my children are grown and married. What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

I’m very low key and behind the scenes so embarrassing moments don’t often happen to me. But last summer I had a book signing for Oregon Outback and the bookstore failed to order copies of my book. I only had three with me, so once those sold out, I was done.

That must have been a disappointment. 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’re right, they say that all the time. It’s interesting to note that in recent years, not only do they say they want to, but they do it now that they can self-publish. So I meet more people who HAVE written a book than those who simply say they want to write one someday. I think self-publishing has removed a lot of the roadblocks and perhaps taken off the years of training and learning the craft required to get a book written and out there. But to those who want to write a quality book and catch an editor’s attention, I encourage them to attend writing conferences.

I agree. There are too many who just write a book and self-publish without learning the craft, but many more are learning the craft and getting professional help, then indie-publishing. I’m enjoying those books. Tell us about Love in the Air.

I’m very excited about this story! I’ve wanted to write a story set at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta for years and this was my opportunity. Here is the blurb:

KYLE MORGAN HAS RETURNED…. 

He was Nikki Alexander’s first crush—until his stunts in a hot-air-balloon race led to a family tragedy. Then he disappeared, leaving her brokenhearted. Now he's back and stirring up all her emotions. 

Blaming himself for her brother’s death, Kyle stayed away. But now Nikki’s in trouble. And he knows he must step in to make it right. He’ll help save her balloon business … and prove this time he’s here to stay. But first he must win her forgiveness before he can win her heart.

Please give us the first page of the book. Here’s the first page, but you can also read a longer excerpt on Amazon here.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Heartsong-Presents-Elizabeth-Goddard/dp/037348674X/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1376321182&sr=1-1

The propane burner flared, torching the quiet dawn in the empty field.

Nikki Alexander never grew tired of the familiar sound she’d heard since childhood. After the fan blew enough cold morning air inside the rainbow-colored envelope to give it shape, she aimed the flames inside the balloon, which still rested on its side. Once the air began to heat, it would become lighter than the surrounding cooler air.

After a few minutes of hot-air bursts, the envelope lifted upright. “Lenny, stay with the basket and hold it down with me,” she said.

The new kid on the crew, a local high school student, worked in exchange for learning everything he could about balloons so he could eventually pilot his own. “Okay, boss!”

Nikki smiled and nodded at the freckle-faced kid. She figured anyone willing to get up before dawn to crew a balloon ride deserved the chance. Balloons were typically launched during the early-morning hours or late evening because the winds were lighter,

I can’t wait until my copy comes. I always love your books. How can readers find you on the Internet?

I have a website and several group blogs where I participate. You can also sign up for my newsletter on my website:

http://elizabethgoddard.com

http://facebook.com/elizabethgoddardauthor

http://twitter.com/bethgoddard

http://suspensesisters.blogspot.com

http://christiansread.wordpress.com

Thank you, Beth, for sharing this new book with us. I love your cover.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Love in the Air - Christianbook.com
Love in the Air (Heartsong Presents) - Amazon.com
Love in the Air (Heartsong Presents) - Kindle

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

WINTER IN FULL BLOOM - Anita Higman - One Free Book, Plus Much More

Bio:

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has over thirty books published (several coauthored) for adults and children. She's been a Barnes & Noble "Author of the Month" for Houston and has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends.

Tell us about your salvation experience.I became a Christian when I was a little girl. I attended church all my years growing up, and then attended a Christian college. My life’s goal is to serve Christ in my writing and in all that I do. It’s not always easy to do that in this fallen world, but it’s the only way to live.

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

I’d love to invite authors B.J. Hoff, Tosca Lee, Lynn Austin and Allison Pittman. I’d really enjoy chatting with them about their wonderful writing.

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

I speak occasionally when I’m asked, but I don’t really have an ongoing speaking ministry.

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

Honestly, I have so many humiliating incidents in my life I don’t really know where to begin! I even thought of writing a book entitled, The Stupid Stuff I’ve Done. Perhaps there are enough stories for several volumes. Okay, I’ll give you one example. Some months ago I was waving to a neighborhood girl across the street, tripped, and fell. And then I just sort of flopped around in pain on the driveway, looking, I’m sure, like a beached whale. Later my face swelled up monster-huge (I had my husband take a photo, which I will not include here) and my skin turned a rather unflattering assortment of purplish hues. How did I handle it? I bawled like a baby when I entered the ER, but now I’ve been telling the story as a humorous tale of woe.

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?

In the past, I used to tell people how incredibly hard it is to write a book and get it published, but that was so discouraging that I gave up on that brutally honest angle. Since then, I’ve tried to find a balance between encouraging them to follow their dreams and facing the realities of the business.

Tell us about the featured book.

Winter in Full Bloom is about a woman who travels to Australia to find her sister, but in the end finds much more than she ever imagined or hoped for. 

But here’s the formal blurb:

Lily Winter’s wings are folded so tightly around her daughter that when empty nest arrives, she feels she can no longer fly. But Lily’s lonely, widowed life changes in a heartbeat when she goes to visit a woman who is almost a stranger to her—a woman who also happens to be her mother. During their fiery reunion, her mother reveals a dark family secret that she’d been hiding for decades—Lily has an identical twin sister who was put up for adoption when they were babies. Without looking back, Lily embarks on a quest to find her sister, which takes her all the way to Melbourne, Australia. But her journey becomes a circle that leads her back home to reconciliation and to the one dream she no longer imagined possible—the chance to fall in love again.

I’ve read the book, and it’s a wonderful read. Please give us the first page of the book for my readers.

I sat on a 747, trying to talk myself out of a panic attack.

The jet still sat on the tarmac, but already I could imagine—in electrifying detail—the fiery crash and then the watery pull into the briny depths of the Pacific Ocean. Lord, have mercy. What had I been thinking?

Fool that I was, I’d left the sanctuary of my own home, which was safe, and hygienically clean, I might add, to board this death trap. Too late now. I’d taken a leave of absence from work, stopped the mail, given all my indoor plants to my neighbor, and said a dozen goodbyes to my daughter, Julie. The trip was set in stone—the igneous kind that the geologists liked to talk about at work.

While I sat there sweating, my mind got out its magnifying glass to examine my inner motives. All in all, the journey had a grab bag full of miseries attached to it. For me, getting on the plane proved that the empty nest had driven me over the edge like the biblical herd of pigs. Since my Julie had left the house, was I trying to find a person to fill that void ... that vacant place at the table ... the perpetual silence of the house and the clocks, ticking away the rest of my tedious life? Probably. And yet finding my sister in Australia would be no less than wonderful, whether Julie was at home or not.

I looked out the small plane window at the heavens with my anxious puppy dog eyes and could almost hear the Almighty chuckling. Yes, I know, God. I must keep You entertained.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

https://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorAnitaHigman

www.anitahigman.com

https://twitter.com/anitahigman

Please drop by for a visit on my Facebook Reader Page. I’d be happy to hear from you!

Anita Higman's latest novel, Winter in Full Bloom, has just released. She's teamed up with her publisher, River North Fiction, for a fun giveaway and a Facebook Author Chat Party on August 29th.

 
  One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HD
• Winter in Full Bloom by Anita Higman

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 28th.Winner will be announced August 29th at the Winter in Full Bloom Author Chat Party on Facebook. During the party Anita will be hosting a book chat, talking about family, announcing the winner of the Kindle Fire, and giving away a ton of books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she'll also be giving party goers an exclusive look at her next book.

So grab your copy of Winter in Full Bloom and join Anita on the evening of August 29th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE FUN; RSVP TODAY. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 29th!

Thank you, Anita, for sharing this new book with us as well as the giveaway.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Winter in Full Bloom - Christianbook.com
Winter in Full Bloom - Amazon.com
Winter in Full Bloom - Kindle

Christian Book Store

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

TATTLER'S CREEK - Jan Watson - One Free Book

Bio:

Former registered nurse and peri-natal loss counselor, Jan Watson won the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild First Novel Contest in 2004 with Troublesome Creek. Written with a dollop of romance and a smidgen of suspense, Jan’s award winning historical novels, are uniquely set in the Appalachian Mountains.

Jan was voted 2012 Best Kentucky Author by the readers of Kentucky Living Magazine.

A voracious reader since childhood Jan recalls “when all those squiggles on the page made me want to learn what Dick and Jane did next.” Although she has always loved books, she had no intent to write one of her own. . .until one day she recalled a story told to her by her grandmother.

As a child, Jan often visited her grandparents in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. One summer day, as she and her grandmother sat in the porch swing breaking beans, her granny told her the true story of the terrible flash flooding of Frozen Creek, and of the tiny baby who was swept away never to be seen again. Jan carried the story in her heart for fifty years before she decided to save that baby, if only fictionally. This became the basis for a series of books: Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls and of a spin off, Sweetwater Run.

In all her books, Watson artfully draws on the folklore and culture of times long past to create colorful characters living their faith in a world that offers comfort and peril in equal measure.

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

I never purposely write myself into my characters, and I can not say which character would be the most like me. Rather, I let the character develop organically, telling their story as it happened. For instance, in Sweetwater Run, Henry Thomas hits Ace Shelton in the back of the head with a hatchet. Now, I will admit, I have at times wanted to hit a man upside the head but never with a hatchet—maybe just a glancing blow with a harmless one-egg skillet. I’m kidding ...  really. 

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I have an inability to discern direction—it runs in my family, and so I am often lost. Truly lost. One time I needed to change planes in Atlanta under time constraints. I didn’t have time to wander around asking questions which often are of no help to me anyway. I heard one man tell another man where he was going and what his connecting flight was. I stalked him. Where he went I followed albeit at a respectful distance. Stalking is much easier when you are a woman of a certain age. Nobody pays an older woman much mind—which is how I like it. I do believe I’d make a pretty good private detective—if I could find the folks needing detecting that is. 

  

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

Several years ago, after working as a registered nurse for twenty-five years, I began to put on paper a story my grandmother told me when I was a young girl. Granny spoke of a terrible flash flood up there in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and of a baby girl who was swept away, never to be seen again. I decided to rewrite the story as if the baby had lived. When the words to Troublesome Creek wouldn’t stop coming, I knew I was a writer.

  

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

I am the proverbial cereal box reader. I can not be without something to read. I always have the book I’m currently reading, the one I want to read next, and a follow-up to that one. Lately I’ve been on a true-adventure kick, and have read: Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley, AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller, and am looking forward to In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryant. I suppose I am living a life of adventure through books. Who knows where a person with no sense of direction would wind up if she tried to walk the Appalachian Trail or fish a river bank in Alaska or tour Australia? Books open the world for me, and I never even need a GPS. 

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

I stay grounded in God’s Word. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. Nothing is more calming than the Bible. I begin each day with ten minutes or so of contemplation. I like one short devotional that I can skim and a few pages from something deep like The Quotable Lewis by Martindale and Root published by Tyndale House. You can’t get much deeper than C.S. Lewis.   

  

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I love names. I collect them: Turnip Tippen, Lump Lumpkins, Shade Harmon, Tern Still, Lilly Corbett, Betsy Lane, and Demaree Whitt, are some favorites, not to mention Mazy and Molly, the twins named after favorite cows. Names should reflect a character’s personality. For instance, Shade Harmon (from Tattler’s Branch) has both a good side and a bad side. Shade foreshadows his bad side and Harmon (shortened harmony) reflects the good.

  

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

In the world of writing, I’m most proud of winning the 2004 Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest. Outside of that, I’m most proud of my children. I’m not a prideful person. I feel everyone is just one banana peel away from disaster, and if one person is down-on-his-luck then I should do my best to lift him up and share his burden. My granny always said, “Laugh today and cry tomorrow.” I felt this saying was Granny’s way of teaching me that I would have good times and hard times alike, and that I should never gloat.

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

This one is easy. I adore animals from frogs to elephants. If I were an animal I’d be my Jack Russell terrier, Maggie. Maggie orders my day and sleeps on my pillows at night. She is an old lady now and thus needs tender care. Maggie has her own seeing-eye person, me. We go to the park almost daily. She walks half the way, and I carry her for the rest. That’s a new form of dog walking, and its really good exercise for me. We also play fetch. I throw the ball, and if she can’t find it with her keen sense of smell, I go fetch it. Every animal should be as well tended as my little Maggie Mae. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40.

  

What is your favorite food?

Here’s a favorite meal and how to obtain it. On a real hot July day, take a sleeve of saltine crackers, a knife, and a jar of creamy peanut butter out into the field and find a vine-ripened tomato. Twist the tomato from the stalk, spread some peanut butter on a cracker and eat right where you are. This will be especially good if you’ve remembered to bring along a fruit jar filled with cold spring water. Notice, I said field and not garden, although a garden tomato will suffice if you don’t happen to have tomatoes growing in the field. I can only surmise that field tomatoes are the best because they have not been coddled as garden tomatoes often are.   

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

Keeping up with technological changes is the most difficult part of publishing for me. I don’t see this as a writing problem but rather a marketing problem. Writing is basic and stays the same. To quote William Faulkner: “The Primary job that any writer faces is to tell you the story.” I’m pretty good at storytelling but struggle to keep up with the all the rest. Thankfully, I have a lot of help.

Tell us about the featured book.

Oh, this is just the best story. Tattler’s Branch features Lilly Still as the small town doctor of Skip Rock, a small coal community in the Kentucky Mountains. Though her husband, Tern, is away for a few months at a mining job, Lilly has her hands full with her patients and her younger sister visiting for the summer.

Lilly turns to her good friend and neighbor, Armina, to help keep things in order—until a mysterious chain of events leaves Armina bedridden and an orphaned baby on her doorstep. Lilly works to uncover the truth, unaware of what a mess she’s found herself in until a break-in at her office puts her on high alert. Struggling between what is right and what is safe, Lilly must discover the strength of her resilient country neighbors, her God, and herself.

Please give us the first page of the book.

1911

Armina Tippen’s muscles twitched like frog legs in a hot skillet. She leaned against the deeply furrowed trunk of a tulip poplar to wait out an unexpected change in the weather and to gather her strength. The spreading branches of the tree made the perfect umbrella. Gray clouds tumbled across the sky as quarter-size raindrops churned up the thick red dust of the road she’d just left.

The rain didn’t amount to much—it was hardly worth the wait. Armina kicked off her shoes, careful to not disturb the kerosene-daubed rags she’d tied around her ankles to discourage chiggers. She didn’t have to fool with stockings because she wasn’t wearing any.

Back on the road, she ran her toes through the damp dirt. It was silky and cool against her skin. The only thing better would have been a barefoot splash in a mud puddle. There should be a law against wearing shoes between the last frost of spring and the first one of fall. Folks were getting soft, wearing shoes year-round. Whoever would have thought she’d be one of them? Knotting the leather strings, she hung the shoes around her neck and walked on.

Clouds blown away, the full force of the summer sun bore down, soothing her. She poked around with the walking stick she carried in case she got the wobbles and to warn blacksnakes and blue racers from the path. Snakes did love to sun their cold-blooded selves.

She hadn’t been up Tattler’s Branch Road for the longest time. For some reason she’d woken up thinking of the berries she used to pick here when she was a girl and living with her aunt Orie. Probably somebody else had already stripped the blackberry bushes of their fruit, but it didn’t hurt to look. There weren’t any blackberries like the ones that grew up here.

After she crossed the narrow footbridge that spanned this branch of the creek, she spied one bramble and then another mingling together thick as a hedge. Her mouth watered at the sight. Mayhaps she should have brought a larger tin than the gallon-size can hanging from her wrist. Or maybe two buckets. . . but then she couldn’t have managed her walking stick. Life was just one puzzle piece after another.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Please visit at www.janwatson.net

Thank you, Jan, for sharing your life and this new book with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Tattler's Branch - Christianbook.com
Tattler's Branch - Amazon.com
Tattler's Branch - Kindle

Christian Book Store

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

WHISPERS ON THE DOCK - Evangeline Kelley - One Free Book on This Blog, Plus More

This is book three of the Misty Harbor Inn series. Haven't read the first two? You can purchase the ebook on Guideposts.org for only $6.50 (or at your local bookstore)! 

Escape back to Nantucket and the Misty Harbor Inn with the Marris sisters. When the youngest sister, Sam, decides to enter in the Summerfest baking contest, will she be able to hang on to her new found faith when a past winner stoops to dirty tactics? And when a elderly guest arrives at the inn the sisters are surprised the history she knows!

Three sisters. A charming inn. Hints of mystery and romance. And a gorgeous seaside setting. Escape to Misty Harbor Inn.

As Nantucket reaches the pinnacle of its summer glory, and the Marris sisters welcome guests at Misty Harbor Inn, youngest sister Sam Carter enters her mother's cobbler recipe in the Summerfest baking contest. But she faces a formidable opponent, a past winner who is determined to keep her title even if it means stooping to dirty tactics. Can Sam's newfound faith help her rise above the fray and reach out to this lonely woman? Meanwhile, an elderly guest arrives who knows the inn's history, and the sisters are stunned to learn that their late mother lived there as a child. But she told them she'd never been to Nantucket until her honeymoon! Through the woman's reminiscences and photos, the sisters make an intriguing discovery --- not only about the mysterious Hannah Montague, the young woman who disappeared from the house in 1880, but also about their own family history.

Readers will delight in the inviting Nantucket setting and be enthralled by the adventures of these sisters who reunite to bring their mother's Misty Harbor dreams to life. 

Book three in the Postcards from Misty Harbor Inn series, Whispers on the Dock(Guideposts Books) is now available. Come back to Nantucket and be enthralled by the final installment of the cozy intrigue of Misty Harbor Inn.

About the Authors:

Patti Berg is a USA Today best-selling author who began penning stories while in elementary school, when she wrote the script for a puppet show she and her friends put on at a local hospital. Thirty years later, one of her dreams came true when the first of her many warm and lighthearted novels appeared in bookstores. Scared of dogs until the age of fifty, Patti now goes out of her way to pet every dog she gets close to and would happily bring home all the puppies in the pound if her less-impulsive husband would only let her. He's had less success keeping her from saying yes when family, friends and others ask her to volunteer. Patti has been very active and held several offices with the Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of Romance Writers of America as well as Published Authors Special Interest Chapter. She is currently volunteering with the Ada County Sheriff's Department. Patti lives in southwestern Idaho with her husband and a huggable Bernese mountain dog named Barkley. To learn more about Patti, go to pattiberg.com. 

Pam Hanson and Barbara Andrews are a daughter-mother writing team. They have had nearly thirty books published together, including several for Guideposts in the series Tales from Grace Chapel Inn. Pam's background is in journalism, and she previously taught at the university level for fifteen years. Reading is her favorite pastime, and she enjoys being a volunteer youth leader at her church. She and her college professor husband have two sons. Pam writes about faith and family at pamshanson.blogspot.com. Previous to their partnership, Barbara had twenty-one novels published under her own name. She began her career by writing Sunday school stories and contributing to antiques publications. Currently, she writes a column and articles about collectible postcards. Barbara is the mother of four and the grandmother of eight. She makes her home with Pam and her family in Nebraska. 

Camy Tang grew up in Hawaii and now lives in San Jose, California, with her engineer husband and rambunctious dog, Snickers. She graduated from Stanford University and worked as a biologist researcher for nine years, but now she writes fulltime. Camy is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders knitting, spinning wool, dogs, running, the never-ending diet and other frivolous things. She loves hearing from readers and encourages them to write her. Keep up with Camy at camytang.com.  

Enter to win the entire set of Postcards from Misty Harbor Inn.

Three winners will receive:

• Seaside Summer, Sunflower Summer and Whispers on the Dock by Evangeline Kelley

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 31st. All winners will be announced September 2nd at the Litfuse blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit the Litfuse blog on the 2nd to see if you won one set! (Or better yet, subscribe to our blog (via the box in the top right sidebar) and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book on this blog. 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 Google +, Feedblitz, Facebook, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

WINNERS!!!!

I have added a different buy widget on the blog, some in posts, and some in the right sidebar with my books. It's for Deeper Shopping, a Christian online store. Usually, their prices are lower than Amazon. Just giving you another option when you buy.

And some of you who left comments weren't included in the drawing, because you didn't follow the instructions correctly by telling us where you live, at least the state or area.

Britney (TX) is the winner of A Time to Say Goodbye by J M Downey.
Emma (PA) is the winner of Millie's Treasure by Kathleen Y'Barbo.
Wendy (MN) is the winner of Pattern for Romance by Carla Olson Gade
Diana (SC) is the winner of Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden.

If you won a book and you like it, consider giving the author the courtesy of writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon.com, Christianbooks.com, Barnes and Noble, or other Internet sites. 

Also, tell your friends about the book ... and this blog. Thank you.

Congratulations, everyone. If you won a print book, send me your mailing address:
Click the Contact Me link at the top of the blog, and send me an Email.

If you won the ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.

When you contact me, please give the title of the book you won, so I won't have to look it up.

Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

RASPBERRIES AND VINEGAR - Valerie Comer - One Free E-Book

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

There’s always a bit of the author in the characters, I think. I take some of my traits or interests and dole them out to a few different characters in each story. Then I give them some traits that are opposite to how I’d react, and see what they do with the conundrum!

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Quirky? Whoa, I didn’t think I was quirky! I guess I am a bit unconventional in my foodie interests, though. We strive to eat organic food grown as close to home as possible. This means living on a small farm where we keep bees and raise a few cows, pigs, and chickens. It also means a large garden from which I can and freeze a lot of food for winter. It means sourcing grain from local farmers and fruit from nearby orchards.

This lifestyle provides the basis for my debut novel, Raspberries and Vinegar, so it’s had some uses besides providing healthy food for my family!

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

There were clues in my high school and college years, but somehow I never figured out books were authored by normal everyday people. I toyed around with writing for a number of years but didn’t pursue it until I landed a job at a small-town flooring shop where I had many empty hours in my day. I began my first novel there in 2002 and continued on to write ten more while working for that company.

Of course, I've since discovered that authors only seem normal from the outside. Inside they are just as strange as I once thought they must be.

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

I read a lot of Christian fiction, mostly contemporary and historical romance, with occasional forays into speculative fiction. For a number of years I reviewed books on my blog weekly, but that became unmanageable even though I still read a novel most weeks.

In nonfiction, I read a lot of marketing books!

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

I live on a 40-acre farm with a large garden. In some ways, taking care of the garden and processing the produce adds busyness to my days, but it also gives me a break from the computer. Nature grounds me and helps keep me connected to God through the beauty He created for me to enjoy.

Also, I have three young granddaughters, one of whom lives on our farm with her parents. When I need a change of scenery, I jump on the trampoline with a one-year-old! That takes my mind off things.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

They choose themselves once the characters become fleshed out in my mind. I can’t proceed without the right names, and changing them after the fact alters their personalities and is not a project to be taken lightly.

I Google baby name (gender) (decade of birth) (ethnicity) and see what shows up. For instance, I might Google “baby name girl 1980s Russian” to learn what names were common for Russian females who are currently somewhere in their 20s. Usually I’ll find a name that clicks.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

It’s hard to separate out one, as my family is my greatest pride and joy, next to my relationship with Jesus. I’ve been married to an awesome man for over 30 years. Our two kids have grown into wonderful adults, have married great spouses, and are parents to little girls I adore. Being a grandmother to a 3.5-year-old, a 1.5-year-old, and a 1-year-old makes me smile every single day.

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

This month I’m a hummingbird, dipping a little into this interview and a little into that guest post, buzzing around from one website to the next! Soon I’ll step back into tortoise mode, with the slow-and-steady attitude that will get me my next novel’s first draft completed.

What is your favorite food?

I have so many favorites, and which takes precedence is often dictated by season. Right now my garden is in full swing and I can’t get enough garlic-sautéed green beans. We’re having them probably five nights a week. It’s also the season for any meat on the grill: burgers, steak, sausage, chicken, lamb chops… (It must be time to go make dinner now.)

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

My biggest issue has been learning how much of a novel I can plot ahead of time. I’d like to outline the whole thing, frankly, as I’m that sort of person in Real Life, but I simply can’t see the scope in advance. There has been a lot of trial and error (about eleven novels’ worth) to determine how much, or how little, plotting works for me. These days I’m focused on solid character GMCs, knowing their goals, motivations, and conflicts. If I can get an idea of what the major conflicts are and which will likely become the black moment, I have enough to start, even though it still scares me silly.

Tell us about the featured book.

Breaking ground with the Farm Fresh Romance series, RASPBERRIES AND VINEGAR finds Josephine Shaw and her friends renovating a dilapidated farm with their sights set on more than just their own property. Transforming the town with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods is met with more resistance than they expected, especially by temporary neighbor, Zachary Nemesek. Jo needs to learn that a little sweet makes the tart more tasty.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Josephine Shaw gritted her teeth as she jerked the harvest-gold range forward on worn linoleum. There it was again. That incessant scratching could only be from one source. Mice. Of course the old trailer would have the despicable creatures. It’d been vacant for how long? The beam of her flashlight found half a dozen naked newborns sheltered in a nest of insulation and wood chips. A full-grown rodent shot through the gap she’d created and scuttled right over her foot. Jo gasped, nearly dropping the light as she jerked back.

Her roommate, Sierra Riehl, shrieked and danced a fierce jig designed, Jo presumed, to fend off an attacking two-inch-high army.

“Whoa! You’re going to go right through.” A distinct possibility, given the spongy feel to the old trailer’s floor.

Sierra’s gaze tried to capture every inch of space at once, but at least her feet slowed their tempo. “Th-the mouse…”

Jo tried to get her own heart rate under control. “Long gone.” At least, Jo would be if she were in his shoes. If mice wore shoes. Which they didn’t.

“Are you sure?”

What was she, some kind of fortuneteller? Oh, wait. There was still the nest, and somebody would have to deal with it. Didn’t look like Sierra was up for the job. Never mind, Jo could do this herself. “Um. You might not want to look.”

Sierra dug purple manicured fingernails into Jo’s arm, her blue eyes wide. “Why? What’s back there?”

“You don’t want to know.”

What a fun first page! How can readers find you on the Internet?

Connect at:

Website: http://valeriecomer.com and http://farmlit.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/valeriecomer.author

Twitter: http://twitter.com/valeriecomer and http://twitter.com/towritestory

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/valeriecomer

Blog: http://valeriecomer.com/blog

Writing Blog & Free eCourse: http://towriteastory.com

Thank you, Valerie, for sharing your life and your new book with us today.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance) - Amazon.com
Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance) - Kindle

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

THE PATH TO PINEY MEADOWS - Gail Sattler - One Free Book

Welcome back, Gail. I loved book one in this series. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

This is something different than I’ve done before. Often I’ve taken a minor character from a previous book and built a story around them, but this time, I took the last scene from The Narrow Path – the first book in my Mennonite series – and rewrote it from the new character’s perspective, and then built the story around why he was there in the first place.

I did something like that in my McKenna’s Daughters series. I rewrote the prologue from book one from the perspective of a different character who was impacted by the event. 

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

I’d invite those in my critique group who write contemporary. We’ve shared so much over the last few years it would just be natural because we’ve walked the road together.

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

I’d invite those in my critique group who write historical, of course. There isn’t six, so I’d invite those from my Bloomfield group who also write historical.

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?

Time. I have a full time day job. Income from the books for the average mid-list author doesn’t come close to being able to pay the mortgage, car payments, and all other living expenses. It’s a challenge to live a busy life and still have the brainpower to write when the day is done and other responsibilities are met.

Tell us about the featured book.

This is the 2nd book in my contemporary Mennonite series. Unlike the Amish, the Old Order Mennonite group I’ve focused on lives a more contemporary life and doesn’t separate themselves as much from the outside world. They do, however, still keep themselves relatively separate to keep out the evils of the world around them. In continuing with the theme of the first book, in this one my hero comes into the Old Order Mennonite community from the outside world and makes his home there, facing challenges of the present, and his past as he tries to fit in. Coming from the other side of the fence, the heroine in this book wants to leave the Old Order Mennonite community, and needs the hero’s help to prepare herself. So she helps him prepare to stay, he helps her to prepare to leave; as they fall in love can there be a middle ground?

Please give us the first page of the book.

The Path to Piney Meadows

By Gail Sattler

Chapter 1

Chad Jones stared into the bottom of his empty mug. Above him, peals of drunken laughter echoed down from the office Christmas party of the business on the floor above him, in progress since noon.

While Chad sat alone, on Christmas Eve, working. Without coffee. But he could smell the dregs from what was left in the bottom of the pot, empty for hours, since everyone else had gone home.

Chad glanced around his private office, not much bigger than a closet. He had barely enough square footage for his desk and chair, one filing cabinet, and a chair for one guest.

Not that he had many guests. It was too embarrassing. The building looked passable from the outside, but there was a reason the rent was cheaper than other buildings in the same area.

Gary, however, had spared no expense at renovating his own office, which was nearly the size of Chad’s living room.

Upstairs, someone turned up the volume of Jingle Bell Rock.

Chad gritted his teeth, then tilted his head up. “I hate Jingle Bell Rock!” he called up, even though they couldn’t hear him. “Can’t you pick something else?”

With every thump of the bass, the tape dispenser on Chad’s desk vibrated.

He stared at the pile of paper Gary had plunked on his desk before he’d walked out. Gary had left early to be with his family. Chad didn’t have anywhere to go, and Gary knew it, but that wasn’t the point.

After all this time, he could finally admit that his boss had no intention of making him a partner. Everything had been a ploy to get more work out of him. The only thing that would shake greedy Gary into really making him partner was if Gary actually had to do all his own work.

           

Chad peeled off a sticky note and started writing.

I quit!

Chad

I can’t wait until my copy comes. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website at www.gailsattler.com

Thank you for sharing this new book with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
The Path to Piney Meadows - Christianbook.com
The Path to Piney Meadows - Amazon.com
The Path to Piney Meadows - Kindle

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

ENTRUSTED - Sherry Rummler - One Free Book

Bio:

Sherry Rummler is a graduate of Carroll University in Wisconsin.

She is the proud mother of two fine young men. Blissfully married to her best friend, she resides in Wisconsin with her husband, where one son has left the nest to pursue a college degree and the other is on the cusp of spreading his wings to take flight. She is currently working on her next novel.

Readers, today I'm interviewing another debut author. Welcome, Sherry.Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

The characters are very individual and reveal themselves and their personalities as they are written. I have the ability to feel what others feel without having the experience. It’s both a gift and a curse.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Sometimes my son and I talk in character voices to each other like we are from another country. (And I wonder why he’s pursuing a music theater/acting degree??) Humph!?

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When my second son was born, I wrote my first short story. It was a gift for my Aunt and Uncle. It will never be published but was very important for me to share my heart with them. He’s since passed away I’m so glad he had a chance to read it.

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

I am a fiction junkie. I love mystery but I also love a good love story. The ones that have characters stay with you and you wonder more about them … I love that!

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

SIMPLIFY!  I don’t have interest in things. Or fashion for that matter. Everything I buy I ask myself, “Is this a need or a want?” Nine times out of ten I don’t buy. I also have a deep faith in God and love spending time in His creation.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Honestly they come to me along with their personalities. Very rare do I change a character name once they’ve hit the page.

I only did that once in all my 30+ books, but the character wouldn’t let me keep calling him the one name. What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Raising two fine young men, I’m very proud of them. They are kind and loving. What more could a mother want? Of course I’m also proud that Entrusted is now out. It really is like having another baby!

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

I’m a Leo, so I guess I have to say Lion. I’m obsessed with my hair! Ha!

What is your favorite food?

The better question would be, what food don’t you like? If only you could see my growing waistline!

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

Getting Entrusted to from published to READ. It’s great being a debut author; however what good is it to be a writer that’s never been read?  I haven’t overcome this yet. … I’d love to hear your tips! Lol!

Join American Christian Fiction Writers national organization if you haven’t.

Network with other writers.

Be sure your book is well-edited.

Follow God’s guidance in every endeavor.

Tell us about the featured book.

The book is a work of fiction. It is a novel based on a on a young single mother who is tested through various relationships and worldly challenges. Through these challenges her experiences test her faith but ultimately give her the fortitude to carry through and find love. Yes there is also romance in this novel. I think readers will be drawn to Entrusted because the novel takes the characters through tough times which make it applicable and relatable. Many readers who are parents say it is a must read … the book was written for women, a bit of a chick-lit. The biggest surprise is that men are enjoying the novel as well.

Anna Bertram was not prepared for this. Not after all she had been through. A mothers love, so deep; wasn’t it her job to protect? Anna had poured her heart and soul into raising Justin. When he unexpectedly dropped out of her life, she was left devastated. 

Was it fate?

A chance meeting with a young soldier on a beach in Maine, who had left a pocket-sized book in the sand, a photograph tucked neatly inside. The photograph portrayed two soldiers in Army fatigues, one being the soldier, the other her son Justin. With this clue, Anna is desperate to find the soldier who could possibly lead to her estranged son. Is it too late to reclaim the close relationship they once shared?

Mistakenly Anna believed she was responsible for her sons future. In her zealous search to reunite, she finds the unexpected, love and forgiveness. Journey with Anna, as she learns to let go and surrender to divine destiny. And give thanks for the gift that she was entrusted.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Prologue

It could be Justin. “He’d be Justin’s age,” Anna contemplated while perched on a jagged rock on the coast of Maine, her face turned to avoid the sun. Her eyes followed a young man in a baseball cap playing with his dog. She watched as he tossed the stick out to sea and knelt down in anticipation for the black Labrador to come and drop it at his feet. She shook her head to ignore the thought.

Anna breathed the salty air and let it fully fill her lungs. The gentle misty breeze tickled her cheeks and wrapped her golden curls about her face. Since Anna had been a child, this was her escape place, the place that would summon peace and surround like a warm hug. It was the only place she could live in the exact minute; take everything around her in, the closest thing to heaven on earth. Anna was glad she had made the trip to experience this moment. She could almost hear her own childlike giggle as pictures formed in her mind. She remembered her older sister, Holly, jumping the rocks, her wind whipping her dark mass of curls, being careful not to fall in the tide pools that lingered between the sharp rocks. Holly’s tender olive eyes had twinkled as she reached out her hand for Anna’s grasp.

Anna smiled as she reflected on the moment. She could almost feel Holly with her again. The memory quickly faded as the tide receded from shore and pulled the stones along with it.

Anna watched as a large wave pounced and sprayed the children playing in the rocks below and heard their squeals of delight. She saw him again. “It really could be Justin.” Every young man who looked like a recent high school graduate could be her son.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://www.sherryrummler.tateauthor.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherry-Rummler/116624355160391?ref=hl

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SherryRummler

Library thing: http://www.librarything.com/work/13469716

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Entrusted-Sherry-Rummler/dp/1620246716/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375915893&sr=8-1&keywords=sherry+rummler+entrusted

Schedule: http://bit.ly/19zGfpN

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book on this blog. 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 Google +, Feedblitz, Facebook, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com