RIVERBEND REUNION - Henry McLaughlin - One Free Book

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

In the writing world, I see myself exploring new genres, like contemporary, fantasy and SciFi. The story ideas God has given me don’t always fit comfortably in the historical genre. I also see my writing finding a place in the general market, not just the Christian market. And I will continue to explore both Indie and traditional publishing. God is opening doors for more teaching opportunities as well as coaching and editing with individuals.

                       

In the non-writing part of my life, God has opened wonderful opportunities to serve in our church, especially in the stewardship ministry.

That’s wonderful. Tell us a little about your family.

My wife and I grew up in Rhode Island and moved to Texas nineteen years ago after our kids were grown and out of the home. We have five children. The oldest is in heaven and the others are scattered from Missouri to New Jersey to Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Our grandson also lives in New Jersey. So we see ourselves doing a lot of traveling, especially as more grandchildren come along. Fortunately, we are blessed with a love of traveling.

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

I read from two different perspectives. When I read in the genre I write, I’m studying and learning how other authors approach telling their stories. I’m analyzing techniques for ways to improve my own writing.

                       

But I also need to read for fun. So I read genres and subgenres I don’t write in. My fun reading leans towards thrillers and mysteries. I enjoy authors like Michael Connelly and Jacqueline Winspear. Elizabeth George, P.D. James and J.A. Jance are other authors I read for fun. I particularly enjoy Terry Pratchett and his comic fantasies. But even in these fun reads, the writer part of my brain is functioning. It’s learning from these fun reads on a subconscious level.

What are you working on right now?

At this moment, I’m working on a SciFi story. The hero is a hybrid—part human and part android. An explosion on the ship results in him suffering total amnesia, something that has never happened with a hybrid. As he attempts to regain his memory, he learns the explosion was no accident. It was a deliberate attempt to kill him. With the amnesia he has no idea who he can trust as he seeks to prevent another attempt on his life.

What outside interests do you have?

As I mentioned earlier, my wife and I enjoy traveling and we enjoy serving in our church. Reading, movies, concerts, and exploring new restaurants are also on our list of things to do.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

For me, a lot of this is determined by the core idea for the story. In my first novel, Journey to Riverbend, I knew I needed the element of time passing for the story idea to work. It was either going to be SciFi or historical. I chose historical because I was more comfortable with the genre at the time.

The idea behind another of my novels deals with grief and loss. As the idea formed, I knew it would work best in a contemporary setting because of the issues the main characters would face.    

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Jesus is the most obvious person for the most obvious reasons.

After Him, I would choose Paul. His life is so rich. I want to hear him speak of how he suffered and survived so much persecution and how he continued to teach, preach, and write letters full of love for Christ and for the church. And for his enemies. To me, he exemplifies the Christian walk in the middle of attack and turmoil and in living out Christ in everyday life.

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

How hard it was going to be. Not just the physical act of writing or the efforts necessary to get published. But learning and practicing all aspects of the craft as well. It takes hard work to become the best writer we can possibly be. But, maybe if I knew this, I wouldn't have tried. And that would have been one of my biggest regrets.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

He’s teaching me to trust and rely on him more, to develop a more personal, more intimate relationship.

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

First, pray and meditate. Make sure God is calling you to write. Pray every day over your writing to use this gift to encourage and support your readers, and to convey his truth through your characters and settings and plots.

Second, write. Every day if possible but as often as you can. Make it a habit, like eating. Schedule time to write. I’ve often said, you will never find the time to write, you have to make it. To paraphrase Jack London, you can’t wait for the time to write. You have to go after it with a club. Part of this is learning the craft. Read books on writing, attend conferences, find a critique group that will help you grow, pray for a mentor to come alongside you.

Third, develop a thick skin as Jerry B. Jenkins calls it. We grow as writers when we are able to accept and process criticism so we can improve our craft.

Tell us about the featured book.

Riverbend Reunion is the third book in my Riverbend Sagas series. In this one, Michael Archer learns the past has a way of catching up with you even when you think it’s dead and buried.

Michael and Rachel are settling into their life as newlyweds, and Michael is in a new job resolving problems caused by shady land deals done by Sam Carstairs before he died. Michael is uncovering layers of corruption when he receives a mysterious and cryptic summons from the sister he hasn’t seen in years to return to their home, but she can’t tell him why.

After some deep soul searching, he and Rachel decide to return to the farm where he spent his first thirteen years, the farm where he stabbed his father with a pitchfork and fled. What he discovers there forces him to make choices to confront his past, choices that may cost him his future with Rachel.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Here you go:

Friday, September 1, 1865

Smack.

Ellie Archer’s hands tightened on the trowel as she cringed at the sound of her father’s open hand striking her mother’s face. She knelt in the small flower garden under the open kitchen window.

           

“This cornbread is stale.” Her father’s slurred words spilled out the window.

           

Smack.

           

Ellie dropped the trowel, squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands formed tight fists over her ears, but the sounds still came.

           

“I told you I want fresh cornbread with my breakfast.”

           

Breakfast? It’s almost noon.

           

A plate shattered against the wall, a shard spun out the window, landing in front of Ellie’s knees.

           

“You useless—”

           

“Levi. No.” Her mother’s wail stabbed Ellie’s heart.

           

A different sound now. A hard thud. A fist this time. Something fell to the floor. Her mother’s body, a sound she’d heard all too often.   

“Get up.” Another deep thud, more muffled. The sound of her father’s boot hitting her mother’s soft flesh brought tears to Ellie’s eyes.

           

“Never mind. I’ll get Ellie. She takes better care of me than you ever could.”

           

Ellie ran.

           

The barn. Hide in the barn until he passes out. Again.

How can readers find you on the Internet?          

My website is http://www.henrymclaughlin.org/

I’m also on Facebook at Henry on Facebook

Thank you, Henry, for sharing this new book with us. I know my readers are eager to read it.

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

Riverbend Reunion: Book 3 in the Riverbend Sagas Series - paperback
Riverbend Reunion (Riverbend Sagas Book 3) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

ECHO CANYON - Susan Page Davis - One Free Book or Ebook

Bio: Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published historical romance, mystery, and romantic suspense novels. She’s a winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, the Carol Award, and the Will Rogers Medallions, and a finalist in the WILLA Awards. A Maine native, she has lived in Oregon and now resides in Kentucky.

Welcome back, Susan. Why did you become an author?

I love reading and telling stories. One day I realized I had a convoluted story in my head that I wanted to tell, so I wrote it down. Of course, writing a book and selling it are two different things. Five years elapsed before I held my first published book in my hands.

My first novel took eight years to be published. If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?

Since this is a dream, exercising horses.

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?

I’d love to vacation in the Middle Ages, but then I want to come back here. I’ve always been fascinated by the way of life back then, but I’m sure it was much harder than we imagine.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to?

I live in Kentucky now, and I’ve never been to Fort Knox. I think that would be interesting, since Fort Knox in Maine is one of my favorite spots, and they are named for the same man.

How about a foreign country you hope to visit?

Switzerland.

What lesson has the Lord taught you recently?

I have been through some difficult things, and I keep coming back to Psalm 48:14: For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even until death. This is what Iris had to learn in Echo Canyon, that God is there, He will not change, and He will guide us if we let Him.

Tell us about the featured book.

In Echo Canyon, Iris Perkins is told she will be married soon to a man she despises. A chance visit by two brothers and a beautiful woman from the other side of Echo Canyon gives her hope. For Edward Sherman, venturing into Utah with his brother to buy horses is risky. He only wants to find the livestock they need and get back to Fort Bridger, until he meets a frightened young woman in need. He’ll do anything he can to save Iris, even race against the man determined to marry her.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Iris was nervous the day Elder Whipple came home. He avoided looking directly at her when he greeted his family, then spent half an hour in the parlor with his wife, Louise, with the door closed. Iris could hear their low voices as she mixed the biscuit dough for supper, but she couldn’t make out the words. The council had met for three days, and she wondered what decisions they had made for the community.

The Whipples’ daughter-in-law, Annie, kept the churn going steadily on the other side of the kitchen. She and Iris worked in silence. No one spoke much at the Whipples’ house. They just did their work.

Iris wished Annie were more talkative and friendly, but she always looked frightened and tired. When Iris spoke to her, she would answer with as few words as possible. Her husband, young John Whipple, was just as quiet. No one seemed happy here, and Iris thought it was the dry, bleak land that had drained them of life and joy.

Annie stopped churning, and in the brief silence, Iris heard the hum of Louise’s flax wheel begin in the next room. The door to the parlor opened, and Elder Whipple stepped into the kitchen. Iris glanced at him, then turned her attention back to her work.

He walked over to her and stood for a moment, watching her knead more flour into the dough. “You’ll be going to Brother Zale’s place tomorrow,” he said.

Iris found it suddenly hard to breathe. She looked up at his bearded face. His keen hazel eyes focused on her, not unkindly.

“I don’t understand.” Hadn’t she pleased them here? She’d worked hard. She didn’t want to be shuffled off to another family that might not treat her as well. She didn’t know the Zales, and they might be farther from the mainstream of communication within the sprawling community of Saints, making it harder for Iris to seek out news of her own family.

The elder hesitated. “The men who went looking for your father’s outfit returned yesterday. They didn’t find any trace of them. It’s been three months since your father’s party set out, and nothing has been heard from them, Miss Perkins. The council is assuming the party is lost.”

“Lost?” She let that sink in.

“Yes. That’s the conclusion they’ve reached. It could be hostile Indians, or lack of water … It could be anything. The search party traced them about sixty miles southwest, but after that the ground was rocky. They didn’t find any more evidence of a camp or anything like that.”

She gulped and met his level gaze. “Or a struggle?”

“No. Nothing.”

Iris nodded. It was so stark, so unsatisfying. This was her father they were talking about! Her brother, too. They had left with three other men at the end of May, to seek out ore deposits for the good of the community. Lead was needed, and iron, and of course anything more precious. They were to have reported back in a month, with a map of the places they had been, showing the location of any minerals or other features of interest to the Saints.

“The elders discussed the situation. We feel it’s best if we send you to the Zale ranch.”

Alarm ran through Iris afresh. “What for?”

“You need to be incorporated into a family, Miss Perkins.”

“But I—” She hesitated, looking up at him cautiously. “Couldn’t I stay here as part of this family, sir?”

He sighed. “The council feels it’s time you were wed.”

You know I love your books, and I’m eager to read this one. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Find Susan at:

Website: www.susanpagedavis.com

Twitter: @SusanPageDavis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor

Newsletter: https://madmimi.com/signups/118177/join

Link to Echo Canyon on Amazon:  http://amzn.to/2ieuqQ4

On Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/echo-canyon-susan-page-davis/1125434608?ean=9780997230840

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

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

WINNERS!!!!

Patty (SC) is the winner of Keara's Escape by Anna Greene.

Connie (KY) is the winner of Abbey's Tale by Katherine McDermott.

Beverly (TX) is the winner of Avalanche by Gayle K Hiss.

Vera (NC) is the winner of Christmas Bells Are Ringing by Tanya Stowe.

If you won a book and you like it, please 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 an ebook, just let me know what email address it should be sent to.

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

Remember, you have 4 weeks to claim your book.

RUMORS AND PROMISES - Kathleen Rouser - One Free Book or Ebook

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

Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog, Lena.

This is a great question. In my first novella, The Pocket Watch, my heroine, Isabel Jones, lacks confidence and is hard on herself. I can relate to those struggles. I guess that there is some little—or big—part of me in each hero and heroine, whether it is a character trait or an understanding of what they’re going through on deeper level. I certainly haven’t based any of my characters on myself as a whole—just bits and pieces.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Lately? Last fall I was having a day during which I was feeling especially down and I was going to the mall for a computer class at the Apple store. While I was there, I guess wanted to do something fun and childlike too. I went to the Build-A-Bear Workshop and actually had a bunny stuffed animal made for me. I picked out a name and outfit for it also. On the way home, I buckled it into the passenger seat. Just for fun. Really.

When did you first discover you were a writer?

When I was around four or five, I learned how much I loved playing make-believe and the stories which I made up to go with the imaginary play. I also learned to love books and enjoyed when my mom read to me. I had it in my head from then on that I wanted to make up stories and someday write a real book.

I had a third-grade teacher, Mrs. Williams, who told me I was a good writer, and it seemed I would occasionally have people tell me that through the years since then. My brother, John, was also a great encouragement to me and took me to my first writers’ conference when I was around 20. I was lost in a sea of professionals and filled with dreams I was never sure would come true. Yet, I’d been bitten by the writing bug and through the years the desire wouldn’t let go of me.

And all your readers are glad that it didn’t. Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I enjoy many different kinds of books. I love old classics, historical and contemporary women’s fiction and romance, cozy mysteries, suspense, speculative, and science fiction.

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

Like most writers, I’m an introvert, though I am usually a friendly introvert. But sometimes I need a day at home to recharge. It’s great to read or watch a favorite movie, and nice when my cat cooperates and sits on my lap, which is a comfort to me. I also like to go out for a relaxing lunch with a good friend to chat about the important things in life.

That being said, Jesus is the One I must cling to through the tough times. Even when I feel like I’m walking through the wilderness, and I have to focus on my head knowledge of God’s word. I might not feel it in my heart, but I must cling to His truth, knowing He will get me through it.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Sometimes they pop into my head. I look up the meaning and if it works, I keep it. Other times I pray and look up names and their meanings to find one I feel fits the character I’m creating. Then there are times I just really like a name for the way it sounds and I keep it.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I would say that by the grace of God my husband, Jack, and I are still married for more than 35 years. We only knew each other for five months when we got married and then realized we were polar opposites. After quite a few rocky years, God brought a healing to our marriage. He had a plan, knowing that Jack and I would become better people having to work together through our differences and trials. We are both committed to working hard and staying together. Our love and closeness has grown so much over the years. We are blessed to be happily married today!

In the long run, I think the best marriages are the ones where the two people are polar opposites. James and I are polar opposites and we’ll celebrate 53 years in November. If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

Definitely a cat. They are smart and adorable. I’m a little partial to my rescue cat Lilybits. I’ve sometimes thought if I wasn’t a human, I wouldn’t mind being a much-loved, spoiled cat like she is. After all, she gets to sleep much of the day, play when she wants to, snuggle with the people she loves, eat kibble on demand, and someone else cleans up after her. What a life!

What is your favorite food?

There are so many delicious foods in the world, it’s hard to choose. I’d probably say chocolate is my favorite sweet food and homemade spaghetti and meat sauce would be my favorite savory food.

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

Fear of failure and perfectionism go hand in hand. They both kept me from writing an entire manuscript for a long time. I’d have all kinds of ideas, but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to write perfectly enough. I still face those issues as I write, but I have to overcome them one day at a time, sometimes one sentence at a time. While I do turn to God for help in this I’ve also had to tell myself the truth. My writing will never be perfect, but if I never put anything down on paper, I won’t have anything to improve on. It’s a learning process. 

Very wise words. Tell us about the featured book.

Here is a blurb of Rumors and Promises:

Sophie Biddle, an heiress on the run with a child in tow, considers herself abandoned by her family and God. Wary, self-reliant Sophie is caught off guard when meeting a kind, but meddling and handsome minister at the local mercantile.

In 1900, Reverend Ian McCormick is determined to start anew in Stone Creek, Michigan, believing he has failed God and his former flock. He works harder than ever to forget his mistake, hoping to prove himself a most pleasing servant to his new congregation and once again to God.

While Sophie seeks acceptance for the child and a measure of respect for herself, the rumors swirl about her sordid past. Should Ian show concern for Sophie plight, he could risk everything, including his position as pastor of Stone Creek.

Now the pair must choose to trust God and forgive those who slander and gossip, or run. Will the scandals of their pasts bind them together forever, or drive both deeper into despair?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Stone Creek, Michigan 1900

Sophia Bidershem jerked awake as the train whistle blew. Her heart pounded a beat almost in cadence with the wheels upon the track. Prickles traveled up her arm so she wriggled her elbow into a different position around her two-year-old daughter, Caira, who had fallen asleep against her. Outside her passenger window, the pewter sky hung, cold and austere. Snowflakes glided downward, covering any dirt or tracks on the ground and blanketing the leafless trees with a pristine beauty. Could her new identity make her appear as clean?

A figure in a dark coat brushed against Sophia’s seat, the scent of sweet tobacco smoke from a pipe causing her breath to catch. Her eyes swept up toward the tall, masculine figure. His gray derby sat low while the brim hid his eyes. The glove he attempted to put in his pocket fell to the floor. As he bent to pick it up, the train wound around a curve, and he bumped Sophia.

She gasped, covering her mouth and stilling the shivering which threatened to overtake her.

“So sorry, miss.” The stranger tipped his hat, looking apologetic.

Sophia exhaled, leaning as far away as possible from the aisle. No scar slanted across his right cheek. She gave the stranger a slight nod and averted her gaze. Other passengers read, stared out the windows, or spoke to one another in low tones. Her daughter slept, oblivious to her mother’s fear. Sophia sat against the high-backed seat and closed her eyes, trying to reclaim the blissful peace of a catnap.

But the passing figure had reopened a scab on Sophia’s soul. Darkness surrounded her again in her mind’s eye. He appeared, and there was no place to run. She blinked; daylight flooded in.

Sophia held Caira tighter and focused outside the window.

Feeling a sheet of paper crinkle in the reticule on her lap, Sophia freed her other hand to fish it out. Unfolding the paper, she searched the information in the body of the letter sent to her by Mrs. Fairgrave.

And we all want to know what’s in that letter. How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: kathleenrouser.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerouser

Facebook Author Page:https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/

Twitter: @KathleenRouser

Pinterest: https:/ /www.pinterest.com/kerouser/

Thank you, Kathleen, for sharing this book with us. I'm eager to read it.

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

Rumors and Promises - paperback
Rumors and Promises - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

HIDING - Katherine McDermott - One Free Book

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

It depends on the book. In Hiding, the main character Teresa, is an artist. I also paint. She paints murals, and I painted a beach scene in the room my grandchildren spend the night in when they come over.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Dressed up like an elf to deliver small gifts to kids in a hospital when I was in high school. A good friend was Santa.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

In the sixth grade when I published poetry.

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

I was an English teacher. I love children’s picture books and have written and illustrated one. I also like humor, mystery, nonfiction, romance, historical fiction. I love a good play and musicals. I wrote Song of Susanna, a play about the mother of John Wesley that was performed at two Methodist churches.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I try to have a devotional time every day and take walks.

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

A dolphin because I love to swim and love the beach.

What is your favorite food?

fried chicken

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

Finding the time to write. Writing in the waiting rooms of doctor offices, when waiting in general, and always carrying a notebook.

Tell us about the featured book.

It is inspirational suspense and, as an unpublished manuscript, won a Daphne du Maurier Award for Suspense from Romance Writers of America.

Please give us the first page of the book.

“Do you see how this shadow falls beneath her chin?” Teresa showed John the shaded area on the model’s neck.

“Yes,” John answered, blending a touch of burnt sienna into the fleshy mixture on his palette before applying it to his canvas.

“You’re doing an excellent job,” Teresa said. Standing behind him, she critically assessed his progress. Beyond the canvas, she saw Alex waiting in the doorway. His eyes dark and glowering. His jaw set. She glanced at her wrist watch.

“I guess our time is up,” she said. “You have real talent.”

“You inspire me in ways I never thought possible,” John said. “I actually see that I’m making progress. I’m sorry the course is ending.”  He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a friendly squeeze. 

Her other students, Tim, Janine, Marian, and a sixty-five year old retiree, Stella, took their brushes to the stainless steel sink to wash out the paint.  Colors swirled together as they washed down the drain.  The airy room on the second floor of the warehouse that had been converted to a community arts center smelled of paint and turpentine from the oils class across the corridor.

           

“Nicole, thank you,” Teresa said to the auburn haired model who had sat perfectly still in the glare of a spotlight while they sketched and painted.

           

“Sure.  Call me again sometime when you need me,” she replied flipping a strand of her long hair over her shoulder.

           

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.kmcdermottauthor.wordpress.com or

www.Facebook.com/Katherinemcdermott.Author

Thank you, Katherine, for sharing this book with us.

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

Hiding - paperback
Hiding - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

BABY BUNCO - Julie B Cosgrove - One Free Book

Dear Readers, Julie Cosgrove is my friend and a fellow Texas author. And her books are wonderful.

Welcome back, Julie. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Baby Bunco is the second novel in the Bunco Biddies Mysteries series. Each book has a “Buncos theme,” which is a dice game twelve of the senior citizens in their retirement community gather to play every Thursday. A baby Bunco is when a player rolls three of the same number, but not the number in the round. In other words, if you are in the round where everyone is trying to roll as many fours as they can, and you roll three twos, that is a baby bunco, worth five points. If you rolled three fours that round, that would be a regular bunco worth twenty-one points.

So I used that point system to develop a plot involving someone leaving a newborn infant in a bathtub of an abandoned garden home. The unique thing is the home is in Sunset Acres, the retirement community where the Bunco Biddies live. Not exactly an everyday occurrence.

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

Probably Marji Lane, Cynthia Hickey, Lisa Lickel, Sharon McGregor, Vicki Caine, and Nancy Mehl because they all write mysteries and we could brainstorm plot twists.

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

(Julie’s cheeks turn crimson.) I know you write that Lena, and I have read a few of your westerns, so you are invited anytime. Maybe Anne Greene as well, since she is in our American Christian Fiction Writers Dallas area group. She writes Regency and Victorian novels. Penelope Marquez writes stories set in Revolutionary times, and Rachel James, who lives in England, writes about very early Medieval Anglo-Saxon times. Charlene Havel and Sharon Faucheux teamed up to write Biblical fiction. That would be an interesting group because their writing spans almost all of our human history, don’t you think?

Yes. That would be a good group. 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?

Marketing them! Often times, I feel as if I am yelling into the wind. There are so many wonderful Christian authors publishing novels out there, I can hardly keep up. No wonder our readers can’t. I hope I can appeal to the group who like cozies. Plus, my cozy mysteries, though faith-based, can cross over to secular reading audiences. One renowned Christian reviewer applauded this series because she said I didn’t awkwardly stick in a sermon in the midst of a car chase. Of course she was exaggerating, but her point was my characters live out their faith. It is a natural part of their personalities so Christianity flows through the plot like a deep underground current in a river.

Tell us about the featured book.

In Baby Bunco, the Biddies have just helped to solve a murder case that happened in their retirement community of Sunset Acres (as featured in Book One - Dumpster Dicing.) Janie, their ring leader, suffers from what her paperback mystery aficionado friend, Ethel, describes as mystery-itis. She has become addicted to sleuthing. So when a baby is found abandoned in a vacant home’s bathtub, and a young girl is found dead behind the convenience store across the highway on the same day, Janie immediately suspects it is the birth of a new crime wave in Alamoville. Now if only she can convince her son-in-law, who is the chief detective who is the case—no pun intended.

Please give us the first page of the book.

“Did you say she found a baby?” Janie stopped mid-roll, the pink and white dice warming in her clutched fist. “Here in Sunset Acres, a retirement community?”

Babs, seated to her left at the Bunco table, nodded. “That’s what Mildred told me as we were walking up to your front stoop tonight. Right, Mildred?”

“I went to collect a few more of my things since I’m staying with Ethel, and no more than three minutes later the leasing agent pounded on my door. ‘Come see,’ she motioned to me. Her eyes grew as wide as those mega donuts at the Crusty Baker.” She thumped her pencil against her score pad and groaned. “It took every ounce of gumption to follow her into that—ugh!—place next door.” She quivered her shoulders.

Janie shifted her gaze to the woman sitting across from her. “Ethel, you knew about this?”

“I did.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Her voice elevated to echo-off –the-ceiling volume. She humphed and pivoted to face the storyteller. “Mildred. What happened?”

The other eight ladies halted their Bunco round. Each swiveled to listen in, their eyes fixated on the first card table.

Mildred leaned. “I paused at the steps, determined to not go inside. Only peek in from the front door. Then high-pitched, frantic cries came from the direction of the bathroom. Well, I had to rush to its aid. Every motherly fiber in my being dictated it.”

Murmurs and head bobs filtered through Janie’s living room.

Mildred sniffled. “Poor little thing. Alone, scared and red as a beet from wailing so hard. That house is cursed, I tell you.”

Janie patted her hand. “Now, dear. Just because someone murdered Edwin soon after he moved in there doesn’t mean...”

Mildred shot from her seat and paced, her arms flaying in circles, resembling the duck windmill on top of the antiques barn down the road. “Ever since I relocated into Sunset Acres, it’s been one thing after another. Edwin murdered, then my nephew Bobby arrested, and now an abandoned newborn in a bathtub? This is supposed to be a quiet retirement community.”

“Maybe because you live on Solar Boulevard.” Annie huffed. “Nothing weird ever happens on my street, Sunrise Court, except for an occasional stray golf ball. Then again, if you kept your nose out of everyone’s business...” Her voice trailed off with a smug cock of her head.

“My nose?”

The other ladies mumbled to each other.

Ethel blew a whistle through her teeth. “Okay, everyone calm down. We all lived through the ruckus of one of our neighbor’s brutal murder last month. It’s not Mildred’s fault. Nor mine or Janie’s that this happened...”

Betsy Ann raised her hand, as if her legs once again dangled from under her desk in Ms. Everett’s kindergarten classroom.

Janie rolled her eyes. “What?”

“Well, it is sort of our fault.” She pointed to Janie, Ethel and herself. “We helped solve the case and Bobby did wind up in the middle of all of the commotion. That’s why he threatened you and tried to break into your house.” She folded her hands and gazed down at them. “I’m just saying...”

“Duly noted.” Janie felt the healing, pinkish wound on her neck where his knife grazed her skin. “I must add, my dear son-in-law, Chief Detective Blake Johnson, appreciated all of our...” her hands encircled the room “…research, sleuthing and cunningness. He told me so.” A smile curled along the edges of her mouth. “Besides, it did beat back the doldrums a while, right?”

A few silvery head bounced in agreement as the condo sprinkled with giggles. Annie crossed her arms and harumphed.

Janie eased over to Mildred and led her back to her designated chair. She patted her on the shoulders and scanned the room, making certain every slightly glaucoma-pressed or cataract-corrected eye fixated on her. “Now we must figure out who placed a newborn baby in a vacant garden home bathtub and why?”

Babs cocked an eyebrow. “We do?”

“Absolutely. Let’s face facts. Someone put the little thing in a home in our community so she would be discovered. Therefore it is our responsibility...”

A fun read so far. How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.juliebcosgrove.com It will link you also to my blog, Where Did You Find God Today.

I have an Amazon author page, as well as a Goodreads author page. I’m also on Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Most of my fiction and nonfiction is featured on the Texas Association of Author’s webpage. Just search Julie B Cosgrove and you’ll track me down.

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

Baby Bunco (Bunco Biddies) (Volume 2) - paperback
Baby Bunco (Bunco Biddies Mystery Book 2) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

THE DOG WHO WAS THERE - Ron Marasco - One Free Book

Bio: Ron Marasco is a professor in the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. His first book, Notes to an Actor, was named by the American Library Association an Outstanding Book of 2008. His second book, About Grief, has been translated into multiple languages, and he is currently completing a book on Shakespeare’s sonnets. He has acted extensively on TV—from Lost to West Wing to Entourage to originating the role of Mr. Casper on Freaks and Geeks—and appeared opposite screen legend Kirk Douglas in the movie Illusion, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Most recently, he has played the recurring role of Judge Grove on Major Crimes. He has a BA from Fordham at Lincoln Center and an MA and Ph. D. from UCLA.

Find out more about Ron at http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-dog-who-was-there .

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

I do not consciously put myself into my characters. As someone who is also a professional actor I have learned that the less you think about yourself, the more you have two good things happen. First, when you step aside, you make room for a creative force beyond yourself to come through you. Second, even when you don’t overtly think of using yourself, un-conscious parts of yourself come through and, as most creative people know, the stuff that comes from the un-conscious is the good stuff. I think it’s the God stuff!

What is the quirkiest thing you’ve ever done?

To be honest, I think this book, The Dog Who Was There, may be the quirkiest thing I have ever done. If quirky can also be considered somewhat serious. The idea of writing a book about a small dog living in Biblical times whose path crosses with Jesus and who eventually witnesses his crucifixion seemed crazy at first. Until I began writing it. As I worked on it, I could feel myself getting swept up in the story in a way that was different from anything I had experienced. I’ve known the gospels my whole life and had even studied the history of the time period for a long time; but when I began looking at Christ’s suffering through the eyes of a small, scruffy, mangy, hungry, opened-hearted dog, I found myself dissolving into very strong emotion as I worked. I knew—and I know—that the idea of the book is fairly “quirky,” but I felt somewhat “guided” the whole time. I kept hearing a voice—and not a voice that seemed my own—telling me to keep going. It was only after I finished and began to share the book with few friends that I realized the reason for the whole project. It was that people who would never have read the Bible or who would have dismissed the Passion of Jesus as something that “only those Christians would care about,” could be brought to the story of Jesus—because a small dog could lead them to it.  I realized that was what the voice was all about. It was telling me to use the story I was writing as a vehicle to bring people to “the greatest story ever told.”

When did you first discover you were a writer?

In a way, that’s a little like asking: When did I realize I was speaking English? Writing didn’t start for me, it’s just always was. It’s a way of being in the world. Writing is very holistic—it involves how you imagine, how you formulate words, how you feel, and how acutely you notice. It’s a process that is going on all the time and happening long before one sits down to write a book. I think it’s like singing in a way. People who sing seem to have always sung. They don’t wake up one day as a grown up and start singing. That’s, at least, how it has been for me. Probably, as an infant, I was in the crib looking around thinking, Hmmmm…interesting…I gotta remember this…someday l write the scene about all these annoying relatives looking down at me making funny faces….

That said, I imagine there are people who suddenly discover they are writers. In those cases, I would think they were writing inside all along; they just didn’t know they were. That must be a very exciting thing for someone to discover. I recently read the book When Breath Was Mortal. I recommend it. In the book, you watch a man who is a surgeon literally become a real writer in the throes of writing his first and, sadly, his last book. There is a quote in the book from John Bunyan that I think describe well what a writer becomes a writer. “He’ll not fear what men say/He’ll labor night and day/To be a pilgrim”

Born or made, to be a writer is to labor night and day. Writers are Pilgrims.

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

I read very eclectically, very eclectically. At the moment, I am working on a project that involves a particular period of history, so much of my reading these days is non-fiction/historical. But for fun I read a great variety. I get three newspapers every day and about a dozen different journals and magazines. As to books, I love good biographies the best (I’m reading one now about Jane Jacobs). But my interests are so all-over-the-place that the last three books I’ve read have been: 1) a children book, 2) a book from the Christian fiction genre, 3) a novel written in 1945, and 4) history of the town I recently moved to Stamford, Connecticut. There’s always a wide variety on my nightstand. Maybe it’s because I am also an actor, so I like to jump into different and disparate and worlds and characters and genres and time periods.

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

First of all, I love that phrase of yours: “our run, run, run world.” Well, here’s what I do: I take a nap every day of my life and I take a bath every night.  Anyone who knows me knows that those two things are sacrosanct.  Whatever measure of peace and sanity I’ve been able to maintain in this roiling and unforgivingly-demanding world it is because of those two simple, daily rituals. Neither one of those things—the nap or the bath—can be done while multitasking! (Although I do sometimes do the crossword puzzle in the tub.)

How do you chose your characters names?

A name is like a song, to me. It has to have a tone, a key, a melody that makes you feel how you want the character to make readers feel.  In The Dog Who Was There, for example, there’s the sweet older couple who had raised Barley. The woman’s name is Adah. I wanted a name that was soft, comforting, homey. Adah has a quality of “ahh” in it: the sound we make when we relax and feel comfortable or safe. But there is another character in the book, one of the supporting characters, who is crass, selfish, unpleasant to be around, and a little bit comic. His name is Hog. Now, of course, there is the obvious, visual imagery of that word which conjures a pig. But, more important, to me is the song of the name, that “ugh” sound: the sound we make when we find something repugnant or roll our eyes at the ridiculous.

What is the accomplishment are you most proud of?

I did a movie in which I played a wonderful role opposite the Hollywood screen legend Kirk Douglas. He is a great human being and a great actor. And also a man of immense personal spirituality. Playing those scenes with him in that movie was an experience I will treasure forever. On a somewhat less personal level, I am very proud of the book I co-wrote on the subject of grief (About Grief: Insights, Setbacks Grace Notes, Taboos Rowman and Littlefield, 2010, co-written with Brian Shuff). I hear all the time from readers what a helpful companion that book has been to them on their long walk through the rocky desert of grief. The great writer James Baldwin once said, “Suffering has everybody’s number.” And it does. If a book can know that, and be there for somebody when they are alone and in pain—well, that’s a thing to be a little proud of. And I guess I am, now that you’ve asked.)

If you could be an animal what would you be and why?

I would want to be a dog owned by me! Because I give my dog steak or organic chicken—every night of her life. And she is totally spoiled and overly adored. And now that she is older and can’t quite jump up on furniture like she used to, I have little ottomans all around the house so she can hop up easily on her favorite comfy chairs and couches—ottomans that I regularly crack my shins on as I maneuver through the house! So, if I had to be an animal, I’d want to belong to someone who cooked me organic chicken and sacrificed his shins for my comfort.

What is your favorite food?

I tend to like what food-writer MFK Fisher called “honest food,” meaning simply prepared meals but with ingredients that are as good as each ingredient can be. When ingredients are themselves good, all you have to do is prepare them honestly and the meal is splendid. Just think how sublime a perfect piece of fruit tastes, or fine cuts of meat, or just-right and just-ripe salad vegetables. It’s hard to improve upon nature, and sauces can only compensate so much for lousy core ingredients. Which, in a metaphoric sense, is true for a lot of things in life.  In fact, it may not be a bad motto: “Less sauce, better ingredients.”

Tonight, for example, I am having a thin pork chop broiled in sea salt and butter, Yukon potatoes, a salad of tomatoes and yellow peppers, and bread from Arthur Avenue—the street in the Italian neighborhood of the Bronx—a bread well worth the effort it takes to get it. A good ingredient.

What is your greatest writing roadblock and how do do overcome it?

This may sound odd, but I think the best thing to do with roadblocks is to ignore them. Or just turn around and, maybe, take another route. Or kind of tip-toe over them, perhaps. Thinking about them too much is not good at all. Obsessing is the work of the mind, not the soul. So I try not to bring up so-called roadblocks. It’s like saying to the pilot of an airliner before he enters the cockpit: “Hey Captain, I hope are thinking about how horrible a crash would be!”

Pros don’t think about crashing, they are too swept up in focusing on the interesting details of flying the plane. That’s what they think about. Further, the feeling that you are at a roadblock can be a sign that you should take a slightly different path. Oddly, as is true of most spirituality, if you are on the correct path, it feels good and flows easier than it does when you are on the wrong path. Of course, even the right path requires our stamina and effort and many Fitbit’s worth of steps on the journey. But it doesn’t require our frustration. The term “roadblock” to me bespeaks frustration. Frustration is not a spiritual force. The proper path is usually not bumpy—just very specific.

In Matthew 7:14 it says, “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it.” It doesn’t say the road has roadblocks. And I think this is true for writing. The key is to find the right road, however narrow it may be. That sort of discernment is often more fruitful that trying to power your way through a block. Forcefulness is not talent. In fact, maybe its opposite.  Talent is always about grace. And grace to me is the ability to flow freely and smoothly around and over obstacles. When you are writing well it feels graceful as opposed to pushy, if that makes sense.

Tell us about the featured book.

The Dog Who Was There is rooted in my belief that—sometimes, truth be told—dogs are more virtuous creatures than we human beings are. Thus they have a good deal to teach people about how to love as unconditionally as the Christian message asks us to. A dog doesn’t care if we are good-looking or have money or got a high score on your SATs or are unemployed or physically challenged, or ill, or even just a huge screw-up in a zillion different ways in life.  All they know is if we are kind enough for them to approach us. All dogs ask is for a few basic things:  some food each day and a person or “pack” of people they can belong and who will accept them into their family or home. To me, that right there is the essence of The Lord’s Prayer. “I need food and I need understanding,” and then life is good. In exchange for that, dogs give to us their loving presence.  All people with dogs know how healing that presence is. Anyone who has ever taken a dog to a nursing home or a hospital—as I used to do with my dog—know how transformative a dog’s presence can be for someone who’s sad or broken or needy. Just their presence is all it takes to feel better, to be notionally healed. That’s why the book it’s called The Dog Who Was There. The only gift Barley can give to Jesus, as he stands far off and watches this Kind Man (as he calls him) suffering, is just his presence.  All he can do is just be there, and stay nearby someone who he likes. As I am writing this, across the room my fifteen year-old dog is snoozing on the couch. She’s had her dinner. She’s happy. She belongs—she to me and I to her, here, in this room as she lay sleeping while her nutty master types. At times like this, those of us blessed with dogs, share end-of-day moments with them that have a quiet solemnity and peace that can be a kind of meditation for us, almost a prayer. Dogs can lead us into a place where we are more open to the prompting of the spirit.

Book Blurb:

No one expected Barley to have an encounter with the Messiah.

He was homeless, hungry, and struggling to survive in first century Jerusalem. Most surprisingly, he was a dog. But through Barley’s eyes, the story of a teacher from Galilee comes alive in a way we’ve never experienced before.

Barley’s story begins in the home of a compassionate woodcarver and his wife who find Barley as an abandoned, nearly-drowned pup. Tales of a special teacher from Galilee are reaching their tiny village, but when life suddenly changes again for Barley, he carries the lessons of forgiveness and love out of the woodcarver’s home and through the dangerous roads of Roman-occupied Judea.

On the outskirts of Jerusalem, Barley meets a homeless man and petty criminal named Samid. Together, Barley and his unlikely new master experience fresh struggles and new revelations. Soon Barley is swept up into the current of history, culminating in an unforgettable encounter with the truest master of all as he bears witness to the greatest story ever told.

Please give us the first page of book.

Epigraph

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” —Mark 10:29–30

Barley was lying with his snout resting on the hearth, looking up with his alert brown eyes, watching Adah cook dinner. She was sitting, as she always did at this time of night, on her small stool and stirring a pot of something that, to Barley, smelled delicious. It was nightfall in the small home that Duv had built, all by himself, when he and Adah first became husband and wife, many years before Barley had come into their lives. The walls of the homey, one-room house were thick, made out of light-colored stone and coarse mud, from the region of Judea they lived in…

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I hate to say it, but I’m not too much of a social media person. So I am not on Facebook and rather than Tweeting, I prefer to express my opinions, face to face, over coffee.  So, if you want to have coffee with me you can e-mail me. My e-mail is: rmarasco154@gmail.com . Everyone asks what the 154 is. My favorite poetry on earth are the Sonnets of William Shakespeare. And he wrote 154 of them, the rmarasco154. I guess the reasoning behind that makes me a nerd, a wonk, an eccentric, lol. (But also a writer.)

Thank you, Ron, for sharing this book with us.

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

The Dog Who Was There - Christianbook.com
The Dog Who Was There - Amazon
The Dog Who Was There - Kindle
The Dog Who Was There - Audio

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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

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

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