AGNES HOPPER BETS ON MURDER - Carol Guthrie Heilman - One Free Book

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

I have always loved older people, and that’s a good thing because now I am one. In my Agnes Hopper books I work toward giving seniors a voice, as well as dreams and hopes. Too often, it seems in our hurry-up world, we don’t slow down long enough to listen to our elders.

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

Two days. When the Lord opened the doors for my husband and I to adopt our daughter, after we had been married for ten years and were told we could never have children. And then four years later I gave birth to our son! Two miracles!

I love miracle stories. How has being published changed your life?

Being published has opened up a new world of fellow authors, readers, publishers and editors. Each one has enriched my life.

What are you reading right now?

Hush Now, Baby by Angela W. Williams, a SC author. Excellent read. A quote by Kirkus reviews: “An adoring view of a childhood nanny . . . that does not disguise the ugly specter of 1950s segregation.”

What is your current work in progress?

Book three of the Agnes Hopper series. Working title: Agnes Hopper and the Arsonists. It’s a cozy mystery.

What would be your dream vacation?

I would love to visit Scotland, Ireland, and Wales and explore some of the small villages, castles, and countryside.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Agnes, inspired by my mother, had to be from a small, southern town. Sweetbriar is a fictional town somewhere in the southeast.

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

Steve Revis, missionary to the Haitian people for over twenty-five years. Because he has the most amazing stories of God at work.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I love hiking mountain and costal trails, cooking up new or favorite recipes for family and friends, and playing cards.

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

Fear. Lots of prayer before taking the plunge. It takes a lot of courage to begin or to continue writing. I cannot do it under my own power.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Keep a writing journal of ideas, thoughts, and observations. Your many jewels will be there when you need them and God will open your eyes to his hand upon your writings.

Tell us about the featured book.

This is from the back cover.

When Agnes Hopper travels to Beulah Cemetery to inform her late husband, Charlie, of the dire financial pickle she’s in, she discovers the shoeless and quite dead body of Charlie’s best friend laid out on a concrete bench.

Despite the indifference of the local sheriff, Agnes’ nose for trouble smells something foul and she vows she won’t rest her aching knees until Josiah Goforth can rest in peace.

But as she and her sometimes-love-interest, Smiley Abenda, uncover a growing list of suspects and illegal activities in their small town, they must also rally the fellow residents of Sweetbriar Manor to help prevent the sale of their home to a halfway house for female inmates. The antics these senior citizens pull would surely make Charlie roll over in his grave!

Can Agnes curtail her spending and stop the sale while looking for a murderer?

Or will the murderer stop her first?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Agnes Hopper Bets on Murder

Always do right. It will gratify some people

and astonish the rest.

~ Mark Twain

Resolved to calm my jitters, I plunked myself onto Sweetbriar Manor’s porch swing to untangle my thoughts. It didn’t help one iota. Something was amiss. In all my seventy-something years, my intuition had never steered me wrong, like my big toe warned me when bad weather was coming.

No matter what was brewing, my life could stand a little excitement. After I witnessed our former administrator, Miss Johnson, get carted off to the clink—thanks to me—things had been as bland around this retirement home as tapioca pudding.

 Mama always said there’s no use fretting about trials or tragedies lurking around the corner. I took her advice, closed my eyes, and lifted my face to the October sun. A shimmering vision appeared—my dear friend, Smiley, and me waltzing across a shiny wood floor. My red hair, freshly permed and dyed, bounced as we swirled in a cloud of Old Spice. My matching blouse and skirt glimmered like an indigo bunting—a real garage sale find. A flash of red flats completed my outfit as we danced the night away, despite my gimpy knee.

 

The red shoes, modeled on a QVC channel, had not only caught my eye on the sitting room’s television, they had the power to melt my resolve to curtail all my frivolous spending. But what if they’ve been marked down? Surely then I could—

 My daydream vanished like steam from a teapot when the front door slammed. Its beveled glass rattled in protest, and the now-familiar tune of “Dixie” filled the air.

 

Mr. Lively, the new administrator of the Manor, planted himself in front of me, casting a dark shadow with his ample form. As always, he smelled like he had emerged from an old, musty basement. “Learn to carry your cell, Agnes. And turn it on. I don’t have time for these interruptions.”

           

I peered up at his pinched face. “But no one ever—”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Email: carolgheilman@gmail.com

Website: www.carolheilman.com

Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/carolheilman

Facebook www.facebook.com/carolgheilman

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarolHeilman

Thank you, Carol, for sharing this book with us. Many of my blog readers love cozy mysteries and humorous books.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Agnes Hopper Bets on Murder (The Adventures of Agnes Series) (Book 2) - Paperback
Agnes Hopper Bets on Murder (The Adventures of Agnes Series 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

WINNERS!!!

New instructions for winners in 2018 - When you send me the email, make sure your subject line says this: Winner - (book title) - (author's name) 


Elly (IN) is the winner of The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y'Barbo.

Bonnie (AZ)  is the winner of The Rejected Princess by Katie Clark.

Sandy Q (TX) is the winner of Light Up My Life in Texas by Connie Lewis Leonard.

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.

SACRED JOURNEY - Ward Tanneberg - One Free Book

Welcome, Ward. What would you like for our readers to know about you personally?

I have been in active ministry for 58 years, beginning as a young evangelist, serving as a denominational youth director, college public relations director, pastor in three churches, lecturer, adjunct professor, writer, novelist, and nonprofit organization executive director. Obviously the man can’t hold a job!

Tell us about your family.

I am a widower. Dixie and I were married for amazing 59 years. We have 2 married children, 3 grandchildren, 4 step-grandchildren and 2 great grandsons. All of whom I love dearly.

Have you written other nonfiction books?

The first book I wrote was a history of the Pentecostal movement in the Pacific Northwest, called  Let Light Shine Out. I picked the topic for a Master’s thesis while in grad school. It turned out to be a book instead.

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

I write the “almost” weekly blog, Perspective. Its target audience is “people living, learning, and leading in life’s second half.” I try to speak into their spiritual journey with stories, humor, church, life experience, and other issues relevant to the season they are in. I also invite guest bloggers to share their stories from time to time. How about it? Want to share some perspective with people who hear regularly from me?

I also have some too-new-to-talk-about fiction, non-fiction, and allegory projects that will soon be looking for a home. They don’t have names yet, although I’m thinking of a few good ones. They are like unborn babies. Not sure if they are boys or girls. It’s a surprise.

What kinds of hobbies and leisure activities do you enjoy?

I enjoy quiet evenings, being with family, long walks with GAGE, the wonder dog, people, good books and movies, sports, swimming, golf, and travel.

Why did you write the featured book?

On Valentine’s Day 2014, Dixie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Short of a miracle she had only a few months to live. We both had thought I’d be first to go. This was truly unexpected news.

In discussing the idea of my telling her story, at first she said, no. Eventually, however, she realized, her story written by her husband, might well bring encouragement, hope, and healing to others facing similar circumstances. She had taught us how life could be a “sacred journey.” And at the end she taught us how to die.

Dixie’s life has been filled with teaching moments and I was nowhere near ready for these moments to end. We used to laugh when she’d look at me or our children and ask her most familiar question, a question seeming to sum up who she was. As her final line in the book, she offers up this question for one last time to each and every reader on their own sacred journey. “So tell me, what do you think we’ve learned from all of this.”

Sacred Journey contains discussion questions designed for couples, book clubs, small groups, grief recovery or bereavement settings, to encourage seeking the reader’s answers to Dixie’s question, “So tell me, what do you think we’ve learned from all of this.” Each set of questions are directed to a specific chapter, making it easy for a group leader to access.

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

It is a true love story, framed in the final eighteen months of a woman’s life, written by the man who loves her still. It is not a how-to book, but you will better understand the emotional, physical, and spiritual crises you, other family members, or friends could be facing one day, or perhaps are dealing with right now.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell my readers about you or your book?

This is a book for family and for caregivers. One pastor provided all the hospital chaplains in his city with a copy. It’s not a sad book, but you will cry. It’s not a carefree read, but you will be uplifted in spirit. It is a book for pastors and pastors’ wives to read. It’s about one of their own. She was who they are now. Dixie’s journey will help them help others.

Please give us the first page or two from the book.

Calm before Storm

The year was 1935. The stock market had crashed six years before, causing a domino effect of bank failures, unemployment, disintegrated fortunes, and homes lost to foreclosures, leaving people feeling helpless and fearful. Many lived in despair, while others reached for strong inner resources and fought their despair with hope. And some just gave up on life, choosing death by their own devices. Still others existed in a living death of fear and anger, my parents included. My family were farmers in Oklahoma, and probably not greatly affected by bank failures and stock market demise. They lost their land! The lack of rain and fury of winds and irreparable farming practices collided in mid-America, creating the perfect storm for soil erosion as farms literally blew away ~ DLT diary, 2015.

✧

There is no doubt. Loss brings with it its own demons. And when crises subside, the demons are not gone with the winds. They settle in with no intention of going away. ~ WT

Early in January, after two long travel days driving south from our home in Bellevue  Washington, we arrive in Indio, California, exhausted and wondering why we left the comforts and conveniences of home to accept the inconveniences and less comfortable circumstances of a hotel situated in the middle of a desert. This is a different kind of desert however, an oasis made beautiful by money and water. Oh yes, and sun. Well, there is that! When rain is normal and seeing the sun in January a rare event, this might be enough. But there is more. 

A different place helps me gather up life’s fringes and draw them into my center. To focus and think. To plan and pray. It can happen almost anywhere, but there is something for me that is truly restorative about the desert. The warmth and sun, the barren hills and jagged mountains. I grew up in the high desert of eastern Washington state. This could be part of it. Or maybe it’s because so much of what happens in the Bible, what Jesus did, how God reveals himself to us, takes place in the desert.

It’s about roots. The desert has a way of speaking to us. The trees, the barrenness, sudden rain-flooded streams, and dry river beds. When you plant something here and water and nurture it, it grows quickly, leafs out, bears fruit, becomes a beautiful thing. I like that. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. A stick turns into an orange or lemon or grapefruit tree almost overnight it seems. A little water and the desert blooms. It’s extraordinary!

Life, I think, is like this. Even in January.

Dixie and I spend the entire month of days here in this desert where once we lived for four years. In the early morning sunshine, we stretch our legs by walking a 2.8-mile route before preparing a breakfast we enjoy outdoors on the deck. Later I go for a swim, then sit by the pool and read. I am preparing to go to Russia in a few weeks to teach in a seminary extension program. Dixie prefers the quiet of our room to do some catch up reading and meditation.

We do not tell acquaintances in the area we are here. We want to be together, but alone. Just the two of us. Something we need, especially since I will be leaving soon. Each day is a pleasant repeat of the one before. Evenings are warm and quiet and meals are simple. We enjoy desert sunsets, more beautiful, we agree, than anywhere else in the world. At least we feel that way right now.

The final day comes at last as we knew it would. Reluctantly we leave this desert hideaway to resume our real life. As we drive north on I-5, we are unaware we have just completed our last major trip together.

That passage really grabbed my heart. Where on the Internet can the readers find you?

For more author information and to subscribe to Ward’s free website, Perspective, go to www.wardtanneberg.com.

Thank you, Ward for sharing Dixie’s final days with us. I know my blog readers will be as eager as I am to read the book.

Readers, here is a link to the book.

Sacred Journey

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

CHRISTINE'S PROMISE - Kay Moser - One Free Book

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

A great deal sometimes. For example, in the Aspiring Hearts Series, I created Sarah, a poverty-stricken Czech immigrant girl who is determined to get an education and become a teacher. Almost everyone opposes her efforts because she is female. I wasn’t poverty-stricken, but I was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from Baylor University, and I had to fight my way into the doctoral program and all the way through it because the English Department opposed the idea of women earning doctoral degrees.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? 

Rollerblade to my British Literature class to teach Hamlet on my 50th birthday. I think Shakespeare would have approved, but my Dean did not!

When did you first discover that you were a writer? 

My Freshman English professor assigned a short story. I had no idea how to write one, so I procrastinated until three hours before it was due. In desperation I sat down and just typed something up. Several days later the professor summoned me to his office. I figured I was in big trouble, but he just shook my story at me and demanded, “Who are these people?” I shrugged and answered, “I just made them up.” He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, then quietly asked, “You do know you’re a creative writer, don’t you, Kay?” That was the moment I understood that I was not crazy, that all the stories running like a film in my head were there for a purpose. It took another fourteen years of life experience to teach me that they were there for God’s purpose.

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

I am most drawn to literary fiction about human relationships, but it has to be beautifully written. I also enjoy biography and history.

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

I refuse to run. Many, if not most of the “demands” of life are really choices, and I learned to say “No” decades ago. I keep my environment quiet. I don’t text and severely limit other technology that might disrupt my peace. Most important, I keep a constant conversation going with God. When I do slip into feeling frantic or stressed, God reminds me that He is in charge of everything (I’m not!). He also reminds me that He made me worthy, and consequently, I don’t have to earn my worth by rushing around or pleasing other people.

How do you choose your characters’ names? 

The psychology of the character suggests a particular kind of name to me. Of course, one has to consider the ethnicity and socio-economic position of the character, as well as the timeframe of the story. Minor characters I name according to their dominant traits. For example, in Skirting Tradition, the reader will meet Fanny Sharp and Louise Proper.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Earning a Ph.D in English

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

A lark because it shoots straight up from the ground when it takes off, because it flies higher than most birds, and because it sings its most beautiful song when it is soaring at its greatest height.

Interesting. I didn’t know that. What is your favorite food?

Hot tea with milk and sugar. Yes, I do consider that a food! An essential food, in fact.

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

I hate writing first drafts. If my mind is immersed in a scene, I want to write it beautifully, not hurry through it. I don’t have an answer to this problem other than to apply discipline to myself. I just make myself write the first draft, so I can have the pleasure of rewrites.

Tell us about the featured book.

Christine Boyd is the envy of all the ladies in Riverford, Texas, in 1885. She is, after all, the daughter of a revered Confederate general and the wife of wealthy banker, Richard Boyd.

Beautiful, accomplished and elegant, she exhibits the exquisite manners she was taught in antebellum Charleston. She is the perfect southern lady.

Or is she?

Christine’s genteel demeanor hides a revolutionary spirit. When she was ten years old and fleeing the Union soldiers in Charleston, Christine promised God that she would help the downtrodden and bring needed changes to her world.

She is an adult now and determined to keep that promise.

Riverford, Texas, will never be the same!

Please give us the first page of the book.

“There has to be a better way!” Mrs. Christine Boyd insisted as she crossed the railroad tracks that divided Riverford, Texas, into two vastly different worlds. When she did so, she left behind the dusty, unpaved roads of the slums and the hodgepodge shacks that were considered homes by the poor. “Delivering a few loaves of bread and some ham is simply not enough. And that poor child in the Jones family! His leg….” She straightened her spine and pursed her lips. “It’s 1885, for heaven’s sake. Things have to change.”

Billows of red dust floated around her as she stopped and stamped her feet on the beginning of the sidewalk of the “quality” side of town. Straight ahead of her stretched an orderly, tree-lined, brick-paved street filled with neat cottages, their flower gardens proudly displaying the tired blooms of late September. To her left, however, she saw dark clouds of smoke and knew that one of the landowners nearby was burning his fields. She cringed at the thought of the choking smoke further adulterating the hot air that refused to give up its hold on East Texas. “Those poor sharecroppers,” she murmured. “They will be standing all day in the glaring sun tending a blazing fire!”

 

Hollyhocks, their leaves yellowed and their flowers nearly spent, and sweet-scented honeysuckle greeted her over the white picket fences as she resolutely started down the first block. She was eager to reach an oak tree that offered her a brief respite from the broiling sun. When she reached the shade of the tree, she gratefully stopped and lowered her basket to the ground. She untied the netting which she had used to cup her wide-brimmed straw hat around her face and shook it thoroughly.

“Sakes alive!” A chocolate-brown face, surrounded by white hair and beard, popped up from the flowerbed next to the fence. “Miz Boyd, what you doin’ down here so early in the morning?”

“Just running errands, Cal, but I’m glad I ran into you.”

“But ma’am, you ain’t been ’cross them tracks, has you? That ain’t no place for a lady like you. What Mr. Boyd gonna say when he hear ’bout it?”

Christine smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Time will tell, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about.”

“Miz Boyd, you look powerful hot. I better get you some cool well water.”

“No, thank you, Cal, but I haven’t time. I want to talk to you about that boy they call Nobo. Who is he related to?”

“Ain’t related to nobody far as I knows. Old Nessy take care of him. I ’spect she think he be her son, but she ain’t never been right in the head since the War.”

“He has a badly infected leg that needs attention.”

“Yes’m. He done had that a long time. Ain’t likely to heal, I figure.”

“I am going to send Moses down with some ointment, and I want you to put it on his leg twice a day.”

“You wants me to do it?”

“Yes, I do. As you said, Nessy is not reliable. Will you help the boy?”

“Yes’m, I be glad to.” He leaned closer. “I already borrowed some of Miz Johnson’s yams for the boy—“ Christine heard the screen door slam, and Cal suddenly fell on his knees and started pulling weeds.

“Cal! Who you talking to? I ain’t paying you to stand around and—“ Mrs. Johnson limped down the steps, shaking a broom at Cal. “Oh gracious me!” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Christine Boyd. “Why, Mrs. Boyd, I had no idea….” The gray-haired, severe-looking woman dropped the broom, brushed off her apron and hurried forward.

“Good morning, Mrs. Johnson,” Christine smiled as she retied the netting around her hat. “It is already a hot morning, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and it don’t help that Mr. Pritchard just gotta burn his fields today.”

“Yes, I was just thinking about the poor sharecroppers—“

“Oh, they’re used to it, I figure.” Mrs. Johnson waved her hand contemptuously. “If they ain’t, they can just go back to where they came from.”

“To Czechoslovakia and Germany? That’s quite a distance.”

“No one asked them to come here in the first place. I ain’t gonna worry about the likes of them, but you, Mrs. Hodges, you shouldn’t be out in this heat. I’ll send Cal to fetch a bucket of cold water from the well for you. Cal!”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Join me on my FB personal Timeline and enjoy the photos I post daily of my garden, teatime, and all things beautiful. My website is www.kaymoser.com. I also post on Instagram and Goodreads. My Twitter handle is @KayMoserBooks

Thank you, Kay, for sharing this book with us. I know I’m going to enjoy reading it. So will my blog readers.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Christine's Promise - Paperback
Christine’s Promise - 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

WINNERS!!

New instructions for winners in 2018 - When you send me the email, make sure your subject line says this: Winner - (book title) - (author's name) 

Connie (KY)  is the winner of Atlantis by Carol Roberts.

Diana (TN) is the winner of Red Sky Over America by Tamera Lynn Kraft.

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.

LIGHT UP MY LIFE IN TEXAS - Connie Lewis Leonard - One Free Book

Dear Readers, I’m thrilled to share the second book in Connie’s contemporary In Texas romance series. I’ve read both of the books, and if you missed the first one, you’ll want to go back and read the first one too. I loved both of them. The books are so authentic to the western community in Texas and the Cowboy Churches. I love the characters. They pulled me right into the story with them. And the Texas tornado was realistic. You’ll want to read this one.

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

The past four years, God has opened the doors for my writing, which is a dream come true. I have written 78 articles for 15 different regional magazines with three different publishers. I love writing good news stories about amazing people who make a positive difference in the world.

I believe writing articles with a strict word count and deadline has helped develop my fiction writing. I have published three novels and one interactive devotional Bible study during that time. I just started the third novel in my In Texas contemporary inspirational romance series. I’m excited about it and whatever God has planned after this book. 

Tell us a little about your family.

My husband and I have been married for forty-eight years. We were just babies when we married! God called Gary into the ministry after we had two children. We have enjoyed a great life with all the blessings and burdens of ministry. He is now semi-retired, serving as associate pastor and minister to senior adults at Triple Cross Cowboy Church.

We praise God for our two adult children and three wonderful grandchildren. Our daughter is a licensed professional counselor in private practice, and our son is a football coach and teacher.

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

Being an English teacher for 25 years, I already noticed grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Now that I write, I notice plot problems, shifts in POV, and character inconsistencies. I also notice beautifully written descriptions, emotionally evocative passages, profound prose, and characters that come alive.

What are you working on right now?

I just started the next novel in the trilogy. This one is Play Me Back Home in Texas.

What outside interests do you have?

I love spending time with my family. I enjoy cooking and baking. I love our Cowboy Church, I love our seniors’ group and small group Bible studies, and I love working in Children’s Church. Those things are in addition to reading and writing.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

My first novel doesn’t specifically name the setting. Although it is fiction, parts of it are autobiographical about my breast cancer diagnosis, so I set it in Wichita Falls, Texas, where we lived at the time.

The idea of Somebody Somewhere in Texas popped into my head one Sunday morning during worship. The Cowboy Church plays a significant role in the book. I chose the West Texas setting because I am familiar with the area, and it fit the storyline. The second and third books have the same setting.

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

Since he has passed on to glory, could I say Billy Graham? I had the opportunity to attend two of his crusades, but I wish I could have met him in person. I would love to hear him talk and share how God used him to reach so many people.

I really loved him from afar. He made such an impact on so many people worldwide. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

God gave me the dream to write when I was in the eighth grade. It was a secret dream that I shared with very few people. I knew I would write someday—someday when the kids were grown, someday when I retired. I thought when the time was right, I would write and be published—after all, I was an English teacher, with a master’s degree, who studied and taught great literature and writing. I wish I had known how difficult it would be, how much I had to learn. I have attended local, regional, and national writers’ conferences. I went through the Jerry Jenkins Christian Writers’ Guild Craftsman Class. All that I have learned has shown me how much more I need to learn. I want to continue learning and developing my craft, so I can bring honor and glory to God.

We all need to understand just how much we need to learn of our craft. I’ve read author’s books that I loved the early ones, but the longer they were published, the quality went down. I want to always continue learning our craft too. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

I stand amazed at how the Lord continues to pour out His great grace and mercy on me even though I am so unworthy. He is still trying to teach me to be still, to wait on Him, to trust Him completely, but sometimes I’m a slow learner.

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

Keep learning. Keep praying and listening to the Lord. If He gives you a story, it is worth telling. Don’t hide your talent under a bushel. Let His light shine in and through you. I don’t measure success by the number of books sold or the amount of money earned. Each time someone tells me how my books have touched them, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be used by Him.

I feel the same way. Tell us about the featured book.

Here is the back cover copy:

    

She had a history that kept her from trusting.

He had a history that included a little girl.

           

Andrea Travis wants to establish her veterinary clinic and be independent. She doesn’t want or need a man. Who can trust them anyway? But then the winds of a tornado blow Winn Timberman into her life. Is this ordinary guy an unsung hero, the chivalrous knight of her dreams?

Winn Timberman is trying to put the pieces of his heart and life back together again. As a lineman, he lights up the lives of county electric co-op customers. But his main responsibility is to protect his little girl. He’s all she has. She’s all he wants—until he meets the beautiful, blue-eyed vet.

Can they overcome their haunted pasts to build a future? Will their swirling emotions blow them into a whirlwind romance, or will their hopes and dreams be washed away by a hurricane of historic proportions?

Hang on to your hats for a wild ride in this contemporary Christian romance filled with faith, forgiveness, and love.

Please give us the first page of the book for my blog readers.

Andrea looked out the window of her veterinarian clinic and watched hail pummel the lineman hanging on the utility pole. Ominous, black clouds obscured the sunlight. She wondered how the man could see what he was doing with the dim light on his helmet. She wondered how long the batteries in her flashlight would hold out. How long would this storm last?

The weather alert bleeped on her phone. The tornado watch had just been upgraded to a tornado warning headed in her direction. With 90 mile an hour winds, it could strike within twenty minutes. She opened the door and clutched onto the porch pillar. Shining her light at the lineman, she yelled at him to come down. He made no move. She brandished the flashlight, motioning for him to come inside. While fighting against the wind to keep her balance, she shuffled one foot at a time until she reached the pole.

Cupping her hands she yelled, “Come down! A tornado is coming!” He stared down at her. “Tor-na-do!” She made a swirling motion with one arm with her other arm wrapped around the pole.  “Tor-na-do! Come down, now!” She gestured again for him to climb down. She started to make her way back to the building. Blown forward, she hit the pillar with a thud. Holding tight she beckoned to the crazy man on the pole. Once she reached the door, she turned to see him making his descent. Even with the ropes tied around his waist, the wind whipped him back and forth.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://connielewisleonard.webs.com/

Connie Lewis Leonard, Author Facebook page

Light up My Life in Texas Book Club Facebook page

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Light-up-My-Life-Texas-ebook/dp/B07B9KNR7J/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522086197&sr=1-1&keywords=light+up+my+life+in+texas

Thank you, Connie, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me.

Readers, 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 REJECTED PRINCESS - Katie Clark - On Free Ebook

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

I’m not sure I consciously write any of myself into my characters…but I guess a little gets in there anyway! For my upcoming novel, The Rejected Princess, I think the biggest part of my characters that resembles myself is their strong desire to follow the rules. It helps them throughout the story—but it also puts up roadblocks more than once!

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

That’s a hard question! I’m pretty much the most boring person ever, so let’s see…quirky? I once volunteered to write and direct an entire children’s program at our church. That was an experience, for sure!

Been there, done that. It is quite a job. When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I’ve been writing stories since I was seven years old. My first two stories were about angels and animal doctors!

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

I enjoy reading almost everything! I used to joke that I would be happy reading the encyclopedia (which is true), but for novels I don’t care what it is as long as it’s a great story.

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

I am not afraid to say no. I’m not afraid to put on the brakes. I value my quiet time, and I definitely need it!

How do you choose your characters’ names?

That’s a tough one! Sometimes I just know them. I know without a doubt what they should be called. Other times, it’s more of a struggle. I have a couple of baby name books I like to flip through for inspiration.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Are we talking writing or just in general? My children are my treasures, for sure. But if we mean writing, I am most proud of the fact that I’ve finished a novel at all (let alone 8!).

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

A cat. Not because I particularly like cats, but because they’re a little antisocial and everyone knows and accepts that.

What is your favorite food?

Do you have a while? Ha! I love food. Chinese, Italian, Mexican…but I guess I’ll just say ice cream.

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

My greatest roadblock was just general lack of knowledge on the writing craft. God opened so many doors that allowed me to learn. Learning is key, and is something a writer must always be open to doing. I remind myself often that I have MUCH to learn.

Tell us about the featured book.

Sure! The Rejected Princess is a YA romantic fantasy novel about a princess who learns she has an anomaly—in a world where anomalies are stomped out through Termination. She has to keep her anomaly hidden while stalling her upcoming marriage and putting a stop to a rebellion within the kingdom, all while learning all she can about her powers.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Princess Roanna of Chester’s Wake had only been to the dungeon once in her life, but that one trip had scared her enough that she never wanted to return. Now, ten years later, Roanna worked in the palace libraries side by side with Prince Benjamin of Lox, her lifelong friend and cohort in crime all those years ago, as they sorted socks, coats, and blankets to take to the Rejected in the orphanages.

“I just want to look around the dungeon for a little while.” Ben’s voice pulled her gaze toward him.

Roanna hated the dark and dank dungeon, which reeked of bodily fluids. The place gave her chills.

Thunder boomed overhead, and Roanna gasped. Pressing her eyes closed, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Perhaps she was being silly.

Ben quirked an eyebrow at her and grinned. He leaned against the library wall and turned to the windows as rain dumped loads of water into the western gardens of her family’s palace at Chester’s Wake. Ben was taller than her, and his dusty-blond hair was parted messily to the right side. He was handsome, as so many hopeful girls had told him before. Not that he seemed to care about that.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website is www.katieclarkwrites.com, and from there you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

Thank you, Katie, for sharing this book with us. I’m eager to read it, and I know many of my readers will want to read it or want it for young adults they know.

Readers, here are links to the book.

The Rejected Princess - Christianbook.com
The Rejected Princess - Amazon paperback
The Rejected Princess - 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 PIRATE BRIDE - Kathleen Y'Barbo - One Free Book

Bio: Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than eighty novels with almost two million copies in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well a Reader’s Choice Award and is the winner of the Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times magazine. To connect with her through social media, check out the links on her website at www.kathleenybarbo.com.

Welcome back, Kathleen. I know you speak at various conferences and meetings. What do you have coming up in 2012?

I will be teaching two classes at the Texas Christian Writers conference in Houston on August 4. In September, I will be taking part in the ACFW National Conference (truly it’s International since writers come from all over the globe), and I will also be teaching at an all-day conference sponsored by my local ACFW group—Woodlands ACFW Chapter/Writers on the Storm—in October. Watch for more news about those events as details become available.

If you were planning a women’s retreat, what would be the theme for it?

Forgiveness. How much do we hold against others? Worse, for what do we blame ourselves? Finding forgiveness is such a big part of having an effective Christian life. It’s also the ONLY way to live.

Who would you want as speakers and why?

Donna Pyle is the first to come to mind because her book Forgiveness: Received from God and Extended to Others is just so amazing.

Where would you hold the retreat and why?

Somewhere warm and sunny!

Do you read print books or e-books? Or a combination of the two?

Unless I’m reading the Bible or books for endorsement that are not available in digital format (which is RARE), I read e-books exclusively.

I'm usually reading both a print book at home and an e-book when I'm away from home. Pirate Bride is an interesting title. How did you come up with it?

Actually I didn’t but I like it. Pirate Bride is part of the Mayflower Brides series, and as such, each book has the word Bride in it combined with another word that hints at the story it tells. I’m thrilled to announce I’m currently working on my next book for that series, Alamo Bride, which takes place in 1836 Texas and features the great-granddaughter of the couple in Pirate Bride.

So what is the book about?

The last time New Orleans attorney Jean-Luc Valmont saw Maribel Cordoba, a Spanish nobleman’s daughter, she was an eleven-year-old orphan perched in the riggings of his privateering vessel proving herself as the best look-out on his crew. Until the day his infamy caught up with them all, and innocent lives were lost.

           

Unsure why he survived but vowing to make something of the chance he was given, Valmont has buried his past life so deep that no living person will ever find it—or so he hopes as he seeks to live as the new man he has become. Until Maribel Cordoba arrives on his doorstep and threatens all he now holds dear. 

One hundred years after her mother's family came to the New World on the Mayflower, Maribel Cordova has landed in New Orleans with one purpose: to find what she has lost. Twelve years after she was pulled from the warm Caribbean Sea and deposited in an orphanage, hazy memories and vaguely remembered stories all collide in the presence of a man she never really forgot. A man who does not want her to remember. 

I can hardly wait to read it. Please give us the first page of the book.

Maribel and the Captain

Part I:

In the waters of the Caribbean, April of 1724

Chapter One

Aboard the Spanish vessel Venganza near Havana

Mama may have been named for the great-grandmother who traveled from England on the Mayflower, but that fact certainly did not keep her in the land of her birth. Twelve-year-old Maribel Cordoba sometimes wondered why Mama refused to discuss anything regarding her relations in the colonies beyond the fact that she had disappointed them all by marrying a Spaniard without her papa’s blessing.

The mystery seemed so silly now, what with Mama gone and the father she barely knew insisting she accompany him aboard the Venganza to his new posting in Havana. Maribel gathered the last reminder of Mary Lytton around her: a beautiful scarf shot through with threads of Spanish silver that matched the piles of coins in the hold of this magnificent sailing vessel and clutched the book she’d already read through once since the journey began.

Though she was far too young at nearly thirteen to call herself a lady, Maribel loved to pretend she would someday wear this same scarf at a beautiful ball along with a gown in some lovely matching color. Oh she would dance, her toes barely touching the floor in her dancing shoes. And her handsome escort would, not doubt, fall madly in love with her just as Papa had fallen in love with Mama.

Her fingers clutched the soft fabric as her heart lurched. Mama. Oh how she missed her. She looked toward the horizon, where a lone vessel’s sails punctuated the divide between sea and sky, and then shrugged deeper into the scarf.

Nothing but adventure was ahead. This her papa had promised when he announced that as newly named Consul General, he was moving her from their home in Spain to the far away Caribbean.

She had read about the Caribbean in the books she hid beneath her pillows. The islands were exotic and warm, populated with friendly natives and not so friendly pirates.

           

Maribel clutched her copy of The Notorious Seafaring Pyrates and their Exploits by Captain Ulysses Jones. The small leather book that held the true stories of Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and others, had been a treasure purchased in a Barcelona bookseller’s shop when Papa hadn’t been looking.

Of course, Papa never looked at her, so she could have purchased the entire shop and he wouldn’t have noticed.

But then until the day her papa arrived with the news that Mama had taken ill and was now with the angels, she’d only seen this man Antonio Cordoba three times in her life. Once at her grandmother’s funeral and twice when he and Mama had quarreled on the doorstep of their home in Madrid.

On none of these occasions had Senor Cordoba, apparently a very busy and very important man, deigned to speak to his only daughter. Thus his speech about Mama had been expectedly brief, as had the response to Maribel’s request to attend her funeral or at least see her grave.

Both had been answered with a resolute no. Two days later, she was packed aboard the Venganza.

She watched the sails grow closer and held tight to Mama’s scarf. Just as Mama had taught her, she turned her fear of this unknown place that would become her new home into prayer. Unlike Mama—who would have been horrified at the stories of Captain Bartholomew Roberts and others—Maribel’s hopes surged.

Perhaps this dull journey was about to become exiting. Perhaps the vessel on the horizon held a band of pirates bent on chasing them down and relieving them of their silver.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/KathleenYBarbo

Twitter: www.twitter.com/KathleenYBarbo

Website: www.kathleenybarbo.com

Readers, here are links to the book.

The Pirate Bride - Christianbook.com
The Pirate Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower - Book 2 - Amazon paperback
The Pirate Bride (Preview): Daughters of the Mayflower - 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