October 5: Take the Bible challenge quiz!

How much do you know about the Bible and its influence on our culture, history–and the whole world? Focus on the Family and Bring Your Bible have teamed up to create a quiz to test how much you and your kids know about the Bible. Take the quiz to find out!

Don’t forget to mark your calendars to celebrate religious freedom with other students across the U.S. on October 6—Bring Your Bible to School Day! Students from kindergarten to college will be bringing their Bibles to school and sharing God with their friends in just a few short weeks. Sign up to be a part of the movement to protect religious freedom for future generations.

 

By signing up, you’ll receive a free guide with tips, downloadable posters, sticker and T-shirt designs, information on your legal rights, and other fun, interactive activities.

You’ll also be automatically entered for a chance to win a free trip for four to hear the Newsboys, an award-winning Christian music band, in Dallas!

Plus Bring Your Bible to School Comes to Adventures in Odyssey

 

Getting used to a new school isn’t easy, especially for someone as paranoid as Buddy Norman. In “A Predicament of Biblical Proportions” he envisions wacky worst-case encounters with townsfolk who seem like mobsters, snoops and fairy-tale tyrants—until he gets to know them. He’s also a little confused about Bring Your Bible to School Day. What’s it about? Should he participate? See Odyssey through Buddy’s eyes in this witty celebration of religious freedom.

Listen to this story through a two-week trial only on the Odyssey Adventure Club.

Shawn Lamb “Spotlight & Giveaway!”

BLUB: “Glencoe” is based upon a true story of family, love, faith and betrayal in 17th century Scotland.

 

Throughout the turbulent 17th century, Scotland survived civil war, five kings and embraced the Reformers. What were such troubles to a young bard returning home after eight years of studying music on the Continent? Nothing changed in Glencoe, or so Gavin thought.

 

He would soon discover a harsh reality when age-old prejudices and clan misgivings question his newfound ideals and his budding relationship with childhood friend Jenny Middleton. Courting the daughter of an English Protestant missionary meant something else to predominately Catholic Clan MacDonald.

 

Yet an even bigger threat loomed when the English government ordered all Highland clans to “Swear allegiance to King William or suffer the consequences.” Can love survive political ambition and betrayal?

 

Bio: Shawn Lamb is award-winning author with over 20 books for ages 8 thru adults. She began her writing career in 1980s, as scriptwriter for children’s television. She eas

Link for Glencoe: http://amzn.to/1eh49Ut

 It is available in paperback and e-book.

Tasty! The Honeybee Sisters Cookbook by Jennifer Beckstrand

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

Click here to purchase.

A collection of delicious honey recipes from the Honeybee Sisters book series, featuring quotes and recipes from Sweet as Honey, A Bee in her Bonnet, and Like a Bee to Honey–Amish romances by Jennifer Beckstrand.

Lily, Poppy, and Rose Christner, known as the Honeybee Sisters in their Amish community, are smart, inseparable, and all grown up. Orphaned when they were very young, the girls were raised by their eccentric Aunt Bitsy, who doesn’t behave like a proper Amish spinster. The Honeybee Sisters have blossomed into rare beauties, and the boys in the community have begun to take notice. But Aunt Bitsy is determined to scare off all comers with her brusque manner and her handy shotgun. None but the most worthy will make it past Bitsy’s defenses. It’s going to be a rowdy and romantic summer–harvesting honey from their many beehives and fighting off the boys right and left.

Note from Aunt Bitsy: When my girls told me they wanted to write a cookbook, I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Food attracts boys like honey attracts bees. I warned them that if they didn’t want the boys hanging around the house, they shouldn’t make the cakes and pies and cookies that are sure to bring them running. My nieces didn’t seem to be alarmed about the prospect of boys all over the place, so I suppose they’ll have to learn the hard way.

My problem is that smart, feisty, pretty girls attract boys even better than honey does. So even if my girls stopped cooking altogether, I have a sneaking suspicion that the boys would still find excuses to come over.

Some of the recipes in this book, like Honey Glazed Pretzels and Whole Wheat Bread, are very traditional Amish dishes. Others, like Salmon Tacos and Coconut Lime Chicken, are less traditional but still wunderbarr. I lived as an Englischer for twenty years before coming back to the Amish to raise my three nieces, and as a dental hygienist, I collected a lot of recipes.

Here’s my final warning: Boys are like stray cats. If you feed them, they’ll keep coming back. Buy this cookbook at your own risk.

About the Author

Jennifer Beckstrand is the bestselling Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series for Kensington Books. Huckleberry Summer was nominated for the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award and the 2015 RITA® Award, and Huckleberry Hill won the 2014 LIME Award for Inspirational fiction. BothHuckleberry Hill and Huckleberry Christmas appeared in Examiner.com list of top ten inspirational books for 2014.

Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth. Jennifer has a degree in mathematics and a background in editing. She and her husband have been married for thirty years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and four adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

Guest Post from Jennifer Beckstrand

Nothing brings family and friends together like a home-cooked meal. When I think of Amish food and cooking, I think of the way my mother used to cook and the way her mother cooked before her.

Both my parents grew up on farms, and hard work was a way of life. So were homemade meals and food that stuck to your ribs and gave you fuel for a hard day’s work in the fields. Cooking was more of an art than a burden, a way to sustain life, but also a labor of love for your family, day in and day out.

I joke with my husband that I have forgotten how to cook now that we’re empty nesters and I’d rather eat cold cereal that fire up the stove, but creating a nutritious meal for my family or baking a delicious dessert still brings me satisfaction and is a gift of the heart to my loved ones.

The Honeybee Sisters Cookbook began to take shape when I came up with the idea for a series about three sisters who keep bees and make delicious honey treats. In the Honeybee Sisters Cookbook, you’ll find some traditional Amish favorites as well as some not-so-Amish dishes—recipes that Aendi Bitsy collected from her years living with the Englisch. The pages are filled with mouth-watering photos, and I’ve included quotes from the Honeybee Sisters books. I hope you enjoy trying out the recipes as much as we enjoyed creating them for you.

My father in-law, who was also raised on a farm, passed away very recently. His mother made him a bowl of oatmeal every morning, which he hated, and it would be waiting for him after school if he didn’t eat it at breakfast. In honor of him, I would like to share a rhubarb recipe. Rhubarb was one of his favorite treats.

This recipe is authentically Amish from my friend Priscilla Stoltzfus in Pennsylvania.

Rhubarb Upside-down Cake

Mix together:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 cups rhubarb, diced

Pour rhubarb mixture into an 8×8 pan.

Mix together:

¼ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

Add:

2 cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Pour the flour mixture over rhubarb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Turn upside-down on a plate to serve. Serve warm, if you wish.

Blog Stops

September 20: Smiling Book Reviews

September 20: Book Babble

September 21: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner

September 22: Reading Is My SuperPower

September 23: Artistic Nobody

September 24: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

September 25: Bibliophile Reviews

September 26: Simple Harvest Reads

September 27: A Baker’s Perspective

September 28: Blogging With Carol

September 29: Bukwurmzzz

September 29: Donna’s BookShelf

September 30: Through the Open Window

September 30: cherylbbookblog

October 1: Eat, Read, Teach, Blog

October 2: Blossoms and Blessings

October 3: Quiet Quilter

October 3: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away one set of The Honeybee Sisters Series! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a2ba

Review: I absolutely loved this cookbook. It is full of tasty honey recipes that will have you salivating to taste them. I love the quotes from Aunt Bitsy she is a hoot. The pictures are wonderful. If you love honey than this is the cookbook for you. Be sure to order your copy of The Honeybee Sisters Cookbook today. I received a copy of this book for my honest review. 5 stars!

(Review, bloghop & Giveaway) The Honeybee Sisters Cookbook by Jennifer Beckstrand

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Books

Click here to purchase.

A collection of delicious honey recipes from the Honeybee Sisters book series, featuring quotes and recipes from Sweet as Honey, A Bee in her Bonnet, and Like a Bee to Honey–Amish romances by Jennifer Beckstrand.

Lily, Poppy, and Rose Christner, known as the Honeybee Sisters in their Amish community, are smart, inseparable, and all grown up. Orphaned when they were very young, the girls were raised by their eccentric Aunt Bitsy, who doesn’t behave like a proper Amish spinster. The Honeybee Sisters have blossomed into rare beauties, and the boys in the community have begun to take notice. But Aunt Bitsy is determined to scare off all comers with her brusque manner and her handy shotgun. None but the most worthy will make it past Bitsy’s defenses. It’s going to be a rowdy and romantic summer–harvesting honey from their many beehives and fighting off the boys right and left.

Note from Aunt Bitsy: When my girls told me they wanted to write a cookbook, I wasn’t too keen on the idea. Food attracts boys like honey attracts bees. I warned them that if they didn’t want the boys hanging around the house, they shouldn’t make the cakes and pies and cookies that are sure to bring them running. My nieces didn’t seem to be alarmed about the prospect of boys all over the place, so I suppose they’ll have to learn the hard way.

My problem is that smart, feisty, pretty girls attract boys even better than honey does. So even if my girls stopped cooking altogether, I have a sneaking suspicion that the boys would still find excuses to come over.

Some of the recipes in this book, like Honey Glazed Pretzels and Whole Wheat Bread, are very traditional Amish dishes. Others, like Salmon Tacos and Coconut Lime Chicken, are less traditional but still wunderbarr. I lived as an Englischer for twenty years before coming back to the Amish to raise my three nieces, and as a dental hygienist, I collected a lot of recipes.

Here’s my final warning: Boys are like stray cats. If you feed them, they’ll keep coming back. Buy this cookbook at your own risk.

About the Author

Jennifer Beckstrand is the bestselling Amish romance author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series for Kensington Books. Huckleberry Summer was nominated for the RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award and the 2015 RITA® Award, and Huckleberry Hill won the 2014 LIME Award for Inspirational fiction. BothHuckleberry Hill and Huckleberry Christmas appeared in Examiner.com list of top ten inspirational books for 2014.

Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people and loves writing about the antics of Anna and Felty Helmuth. Jennifer has a degree in mathematics and a background in editing. She and her husband have been married for thirty years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and four adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

Guest Post from Jennifer Beckstrand

Nothing brings family and friends together like a home-cooked meal. When I think of Amish food and cooking, I think of the way my mother used to cook and the way her mother cooked before her.

Both my parents grew up on farms, and hard work was a way of life. So were homemade meals and food that stuck to your ribs and gave you fuel for a hard day’s work in the fields. Cooking was more of an art than a burden, a way to sustain life, but also a labor of love for your family, day in and day out.

I joke with my husband that I have forgotten how to cook now that we’re empty nesters and I’d rather eat cold cereal that fire up the stove, but creating a nutritious meal for my family or baking a delicious dessert still brings me satisfaction and is a gift of the heart to my loved ones.

The Honeybee Sisters Cookbook began to take shape when I came up with the idea for a series about three sisters who keep bees and make delicious honey treats. In the Honeybee Sisters Cookbook, you’ll find some traditional Amish favorites as well as some not-so-Amish dishes—recipes that Aendi Bitsy collected from her years living with the Englisch. The pages are filled with mouth-watering photos, and I’ve included quotes from the Honeybee Sisters books. I hope you enjoy trying out the recipes as much as we enjoyed creating them for you.

My father in-law, who was also raised on a farm, passed away very recently. His mother made him a bowl of oatmeal every morning, which he hated, and it would be waiting for him after school if he didn’t eat it at breakfast. In honor of him, I would like to share a rhubarb recipe. Rhubarb was one of his favorite treats.

This recipe is authentically Amish from my friend Priscilla Stoltzfus in Pennsylvania.

Rhubarb Upside-down Cake

Mix together:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 cups rhubarb, diced

Pour rhubarb mixture into an 8×8 pan.

Mix together:

¼ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

Add:

2 cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Pour the flour mixture over rhubarb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Turn upside-down on a plate to serve. Serve warm, if you wish.

Blog Stops

September 20: Smiling Book Reviews

September 20: Book Babble

September 21: Chas Ray’s Book Nerd Corner

September 22: Reading Is My SuperPower

September 23: Books,Dreams,Life

September 24: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

September 25: Bibliophile Reviews

September 26: Simple Harvest Reads

September 27: A Baker’s Perspective

September 28: Blogging With Carol

September 29: Bukwurmzzz

September 29: Donna’s BookShelf

September 30: Through the Open Window

September 30: cherylbbookblog

October 1: Eat, Read, Teach, Blog

October 2: Blossoms and Blessings

October 3: Quiet Quilter

October 3: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away one set of The Honeybee Sisters Series! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a2ba

 

Overshadowed by Vannetta Chapman

Overshadowed by Vannetta Chapman is the prequil to Deep Shadows of the The Remnant series. This is a powerful short story that will leave you wanting of the electrify excitement. I am so looking forward to reading book two in this series Raging Storm. Would you be ready for a major event like this? Vannetta Chapman has done a great job researching this story. Reading this makes me stop and wonder should I stock up for a major event. 5 stars!

 

Blurb from back of book.

All Gabe Thompson wanted was a rewarding and challenging career in the U.S. military. He’s about to get his wish.

The government knows that a massive solar flare could plunge the entire world into darkness for decades to come, but few believe it will ever happen. The governor of Texas is hoping it won’t, but planning that it could. She implements her brainchild, the top secret Operation Nightshade, and Gabe suddenly finds himself chosen to train for the end of modern society.

When the government learns their darkest fear is about to become a reality, Gabe can’t warn anyone of the impending disaster—but he can stock his shelves and do everything in his power to ensure his neighbor, Lenora Diaz, will survive as long as possible.

Gabe must race against a cataclysmic solar clock if he hopes to be in position when the blackout descends.

http://vannettachapman.com/

https://www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks

https://twitter.com/VannettaChapman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

 

Love’s Faithful Promise by Susan Anne Mason

Blurb from back cover.

A Stirring Story of Love and Faith and America’s Great Promise

When her mother suffers a stroke, medical student Deirdre O’Leary makes the difficult choice to put her career on hold to care for her. Dr. Matthew Clayborne is renowned for his amazing results with patients, but when Deirdre approaches him about helping her mother, she finds him challenging and surly. Deirdre has had enough of complicated men in her life. After her fiancé left her, she vowed never to give a man that kind of power again.

Widower Dr. Matthew Clayborne is devoted to two things: his work with wounded soldiers and his four-year-old daughter, Phoebe. He won’t abandon either of these priorities to care for one older woman. However, when Phoebe suffers a health scare, they’re offered respite at the Irish Meadows farm, where his daughter’s weakened lungs can recover–but only if he cares for Mrs. O’Leary.

Matthew intends to hate Irish Meadows, yet he immediately feels at home, and soon both Mrs. O’Leary and Phoebe are showing improvement. But since he has no intention of leaving his life up north forever, and Deirdre has sworn off marriage in favor of her career, how will they deal with the undeniable attraction between them?

 

Review: Love’s Faithful Promise by Susan Anne Mason is book three in the Courage to Dream series. This book was absolutely amazing. It is packed with so many happenings that it will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. Catch up with some of your favorite characters and meet some new ones that are sure to delight you. Love’s Faithful Promise is a wonderful work of art. It is more than a story, it makes you feel part of everything that is happening. You will be glued to you seat with this book. So be sure to grab a glass of sweet tea and some tissues as you kick back and dive into this masterpiece. Be sure to order your copy of Love’s Faithful Promise today. Remember that is also makes a great gift. I received a copy of this book for my honest review. 5 + stars! 

 

http://www.susanannemason.com/

https://www.facebook.com/susan.mason.127?ref=tn_tnmn

https://www.pinterest.com/susanannemason/things-i-love/

 

The Bedwarmer’s Son (Blog tour & Giveaway)

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

Click to purchase

What if Abel had killed Cain? But there was no jury of his peers….

In 1928 Georgia, a black man who kills a white man is automatically guilty, but the bedwarmer’s son, an ex-slave, is no normal black man. Once his lily-white lawyer lady learns the truth, everything changes. Can she save him from swinging?

Will the bedwarmer murder the one she’s been bought to serve?

From the antebellum South, come travel the dusty trails of Jim Crowe Dalton, Georgia with slave and master, saint and sinner. See if God is really big enough, if He truly cares about His children. McAdoo has done it again, this time in a brand new way. A delightful morsel for the palates of Christian readers world round.

About the Author

Caryl, praying her story gives God glory, loves writing for Christian genres–historical and contemporary romance, Biblical fiction, and mid-grade especially. In 2014, Simon and Schuster debuted VOW UNBROKEN, a historical Christian romance set in 1832 Texas, and Caryl followed with three additional novels. In April, LADY LUCK’S A LOSER (contemporary, mature, inspirational romance); September’s debut, HEARTS STOLEN (set in 1839-1844), book two of her historical Christian Texas Romances–a #1 Amazon Best-seller; and in November, A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS, volume one of her new Biblical fiction series, The Generations–also an Amazon #1 Best-seller.

In 2008, her high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved her to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings believing all good things come from God. Praying her story gives God glory, she hopes each one ministers His love, mercy, and grace to its readers. She and Ron live in Clarksville, Texas with two grandsons, Christian and Benjamen.

Guest Post from Caryl McAdoo

The Bedwarmer’s Son, my twenty-eighth title to be published, is different from any of my books to date, offering two complete love stories from two eras a generation apart.

How I came to write it is a very different story, too!

You see, I have a contemporary book in progress based loosely on the television show The Voice, but instead of the big new singer, my imagined program The Pitch is looking for the next big author! I started it in November 2013, but abandoned its 35,000 words shortly after Vow Unbroken debuted in March from Simon and Schuster.

My characters in The Pitch—three teams of authors and agents—attend writers’ conferences all over the country looking for the next great American novel with the voters being the readers across the country. For my story, I needed lots of titles, a few with skeleton story premises to make it work.

The Bedwarmer’s Son was one of those God gave me.

But it refused to be left there as just a title. The intriguing title demanded to be written.

And so, now I’m blessed that CelebrateLit is hosting a blog tour to celebrate its September release!

Though definitely a historical, this novel is not in my Texas Romance family saga series, but is a ‘companion’ book to it. My readers will remember four-year-old Charley from Hearts Stolen, book two…then him grown up and the hero of book six Just Kin. Well, in The Bedwarmer’s Son, readers meet Charley’s son and grandson, minor characters in a chapter or two.

The story opens in 1928 where the title character, William “Billy” Sinclair II is on trial for the murder of his white half-brother Jamison. Alice Parmalee, his lawyer, finds the old man’s grandson, William “Will” Robert Sinclair IV quite handsome, good-hearted and generous.

In explaining to Alice why he killed his brother, Billy goes back to the story of his mother, the ‘owned’ bedwarmer, Jasmine. Of course, every time he starts, I break into the young slave girl’s point of view, and readers find themselves back in the mid-1800’s. I love her spunk and think you will, too.

I especially love The Bedwarmer’s Son’s opening line: “He sold us right before he married that fancy lady from England, then bought us back the next Spring.” It’s set on the fictitious Three Springs plantation near Dalton, Georgia.

In my story, I used a word that in my growing up was considered on the same level as a cuss word. I would have had my mouth washed out for saying it. So conflicted, I asked for much counsel, and everyone agreed that for the story’s time period—to portray it correctly—it was necessary…but still hard for this lady.

On the other hand, I so enjoyed going back and forth between the two stories. There’s plenty of period racial tension—so common to the day—with the KKK unhappy about the pretty white attorney defending the old black man who’s guilty simply because his victim’s skin was white.

Of course, being a Christian novel, he and his grandson trust God and believe the Almighty sent Alice—an atheist who’s been taught putting any faith in an invisible being is nothing more than a fool’s errand. She’s been reared by a famous black attorney who volunteered to take Billy’s case.

At the end of the story, when Billy’s trial is over, I think readers may be cheering. I hope so.

I pray Jasmine’s and Alice’s journey will cause readers to draw closer to the Lord, while others might reconsider a few of the things they’ve been comfortable believing. That Holy Spirit will use this story to draw them deeper into their own relationship with our Awesome God.

Looking back, I can see God’s hand all over this story and its creation and cover…the whole nine yards. I can’t begin to imagine all the ways He will used it, but am convinced that use it, He will! I always say I am blessed and highly favored, and He keeps on creating the fruit of my lips!

I love story and the cover of The Bedwarmer’s Son (designed by Ruthie Madison Derby) that displays both dejection and hope, and melds the two historic periods. God has indeed blessed me and showered His favor over me. I pray it will touch your hearts.

Oh, and as an aside I spoke with Sandy Barela about over a coffee chat, I wrote Lady Luck’s A Loser back in 2001 long before The Batchelor ever hit TV. My story is a mature inspirational romance about a wealthy man inviting nine women to come live at his bed and breakfast—under the guise of hiring a manager for it—in order to choose a wife.

Hopefully if The Pitch becomes a TV reality show, I’ll get proper credit, considering this idea is published here and copyrighted in my doing it! Laaaa!

Blog Stops

September 27: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

September 28: Karen’s Krayons

September 29: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

September 30: Simple Harvest Reads

October 1: Bibliophile Reviews

October 2: Artistic Nobody

October 3: The Power of Words

October 4: Back Porch Reads

October 5: Bigreadersite

October 6: His Grace is Sufficient

October 7: Once Upon A Time

October 8: Bukwurmzzz

October 9: Under His Wings

October 10: Mary Hake

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away all seven of her Texas Romance ebooks to a lucky winner! Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a3fd

(Review, Giveaway & Blog Hop) A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White

 

Click here to purchase your own copy.

About the Book

 

Amid the Unforgettable Cotswolds, the Final Grasp for the Fire Eyes Diamonds Could Threaten Them All

Lady Ella Myerston can always find a reason to smile–even if it’s just in hope that tomorrow will be better than today. All her life everyone has tried to protect her from the realities of the world, but Ella knows very well how the dangerous Fire Eyes diamonds have haunted her brother and their friends, and she won’t wait for it to strike again. She intends to take action . . . and if that happens to involve an adventurous trip to the Cotswolds, then so much the better.

Lord James Cayton has already broken two hearts, including that of his first wife, who died before he could convince himself to love her. Now he’s determined to live a better life . . . but that proves complicated when old acquaintances pull Cayton into their desperate attempt to seize the jewels. He does his best to remove the intriguing Lady Ella from danger, but the stubborn girl won’t budge. How else can he redeem himself, though, but by saving her–and his daughter–from those intent to destroy them all?

About the Author

Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels and novellas, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to Edwardian British romances. She makes her home in the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

Guest Post from Roseanna White

So Very Ella

Back in 2008, I went to my first writers conference, where I met my current best friend and critique partner. I’d been pitching the first book in a series I was rewriting from my childhood, so this was the first project of mine our newly formed critique group did together. Specifically, the third book in the series, which I was then calling Diamond Blaze.

It was about a girl very much like me. Optimistic in the extreme. Always looking for a reason to smile. Her name was Lady Ella Myerston, and though she was the heroine in the third novel in a series—friend to heroine from book 1 and sister of hero in book 2—Ella stood on her own. Or I hoped she did. You see, it’s not very often I try to write a character so much like me, and I wasn’t sure what my new critique partners would think.

I was delighted and relieved when my critters, as I call them, loved her—it felt a little like them loving me. 😉 With Stephanie, that BFF/critique partner, Ella became part of our language. “That’s so Ella” meant “that’s so hopefully and optimistic.” It’s a phrase we used for years, long after that series got shelved and we focused on other projects.

When I finally sold a rewrite of the first book to Bethany House and The Lost Heiress released last September, I was so excited to get to breathe new life into the other books in the series as well. I gave some new twists and turns to Brice’s and Rowena’s story in The Reluctant Duchess, took it to new depths, but it was still largely the story I’d first written seven years before.

Ella’s story, though . . . we eventually settled on the title A Lady Unrivaled, but it was the hardest one in the series for us to name. And writing! Ella’s story didn’t work anymore as I’d had it. I had to toss out the entire thing and start fresh, with a new premise and new plot. But Ella—Ella had to remain Ella. I learned more about her as I rewrote the series, of course, and I added a few things not like me, naturally. But Ella still seeks a reason to smile, always. She still believes in hope, in every situation. And her knack for misplacing things—herself included—might be borrowed (and exaggerated) from my remarkable ability to lose things that I sat down right there two minutes ago.

Ella got new adventures, new goals, new excitement in her life—but she’s still the Ella I got to know all those years ago. And her hero, Cayton, is still the sometimes surly, too-realistic, very different-from-Ella man he has to be to counteract her.

My editor, in her notes to me, said, “Cayton and Ella are so very different. In a way, you wonder how they’ll make it work. And yet you can’t help think they will, and want them to.”

The love story in this book is partly mine, too. Because though on the surface my husband isn’t much like Cayton, in the ways that matters, he is. He’s my opposite, but my perfect complement. He doesn’t always see the bright side I cling to, but he’d never ask me not to cling on anyway. We view the world very differently—and can face it because we’re together.

I love all my books, all my characters. But A Lady Unrivaled . . . well, it’s just so very Ella. I hope you love it just a fraction as much as I do!

Blog Stops

September 22: 100 pages per hour

September 22: Smiling Book Reviews

September 23: Book by Book

September 23: Bibliophile Reviews

September 24: bigreadersite

September 24: Jeanette’s Thoughts

September 25: The Power of Words

September 25: Pause for Tales

September 26: Reading Is My SuperPower

September 26: Faithfully Bookish

September 27: History, Mystery and Faith

September 27: Back Porch Reads

September 28: cherylbbookblog

September 28: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS

September 29: Blossoms and Blessings

September 29: Heidi Reads…

September 30: The Scribbler

September 30: Karen’s Krayons

October 1: Singing Librarian Books

October 1: Book Bites, Bee Stings, and Butterfly Kisses

October 2: Simple Harvest Reads

October 3: Colonial Quills

October 3: History, Hope, Laughter & Happily-ever-after

October 3: Blogging With Carol

October 4: Reader’s cozy corner

October 4: A Baker’s Perspective

October 5: Books and Beverages

October 5: Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations

Giveaway

I’m giving away a complete set of the Ladies of the Manor Series PLUS a special surprise straight from England! (US addresses only for paperbacks; an international winner is eligible for digital gifts, though!)

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e146afbf28/?

 

Review:  A Lady Unrivaled is book three in the Ladies of the Manor series by Roseanna M. White. This book is a wonderful work of historical fiction. This book is packed with so much happening that you won’t want to put it down. A story that will surly capture your heart. A story that is filled with love, faith, determination, and hope. Characters that you will surly love. Be sure to order your copy of A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White today. I received a copy of this book for my honest review. 5 stars. 

Love Impossible: Amish Dreams by: J.E.B. Spredemann (Giveaway, review & spotlight)

Introducing the latest book from J.E.B. Spredemann!

Love Impossible:  Amish Dreams

What if you discovered your past was a lie?

Life as Sarah once knew it no longer exists. When she is thrust into an unimaginable situation, she turns to God for help but her prayers seem to go unanswered. When those closest to her offer advice, it doesn’t sit well with her soul. She feels she must do what is right, but there’s a problem: she can’t determine just what the right thing to do is. As years of deceit unfold, Sarah knows she must make a choice. Will she ultimately heed the advice of her loved ones, or will she choose an entirely different path that could result in losing everyone close to her? Christian fiction

Read excerpt here: http://amzn.to/2acDm2D

GIVEAWAY!

You can WIN a signed paperback copy of Love Impossible: Amish Secrets along with other goodies.

OTHER NEWS:

Joanna’s Struggle (Amish Girls) is currently FREE, and other books in the series are ON SALE so be sure to check them out! http://amzn.to/1DyyK12

Be sure to leave a comment with your name and email address about why you love Amish fiction for your chance to win.

 

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Beyond The Attic Door by Tracy Del Campo

Blurb from back cover:

The year is 1925, and the nation is at odds as the “trial of the century” approaches. Mr. John Scopes, a schoolteacher, has been arrested for teaching evolution. Creationists and evolutionists are debating the existence of God and the authority of the Bible. Many believe religion may be doomed.

Meanwhile, eleven-year-old Lulu and her seven-year-old brother, Buddy, are visiting their grandmother in the Missouri countryside. On a dark and stormy night, they sneak into the attic workshop of their uncle, a brilliant scientist and inventor, and suddenly find themselves on a harrowing journey through time.

Join Lulu and Buddy on this incredible adventure filled with history, humor, and hair-raising excitement, as they discover the meaning of faith: Beyond the Attic Door.

 

Review: Beyond The Attic Door by Tracy Del Campo is a book that will sure delight young and old. This story carries you through time on an biblical adventure.  What a wonderful way to help your children understand faith. Be sure to order your copy today. I received a copy of this book for my honest review. 4 stars!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00L35PEKW