Category Archives: WRITER OF THE DAY

Friday Friend–Michelle Ule

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Navy wife Michelle Ule is a graduate of UCLA and the author of five novellas and a novel. She lives in northern California with her family where she works at a literary agency, teaches Bible study, plays in a woodwind ensemble, and writes. She’s a long-time lay counselor in both crisis pregnancies and budget counseling. She loves to travel and is an accomplished genealogist. You can learn more about her at www.michelleule.com

Today, Michelle tells us a little about how she researched part of her novel, 12 BRIDES OF SUMMER:

 

It’s always interesting when you start the research involved with writing any new story. The use of money in a business was a subplot of The Sunbonnet Bride because I’ve known so many women who have tried to run small businesses out of their homes with often limited success.

To that end, I gave Sally Martin a familiar skill—sewing—a slightly unique approach: sewing a sunbonnet whose brim kept its shape even in a tornado; and provided two men with different ideas about using their talents in a disaster.

Sally learned to her surprise that she couldn’t continue to donate her time and talents to help neighbors who have lost their homes, if she didn’t keep back some resources to refresh her supplies. That meant I had to learn how much things cost in 1875 Nebraska.

Google, of course, helped.

Her needs were few: narrow reeds (free from the creek), a thimble, needle, thread and calico. The rest she could do with a borrowed iron and her skills.

How much would it cost to sew a sunbonnet?

A yard of calico cloth cost seven cents a yard, while a spool of thread cost a dime.

I never did learn the cost of a thimble, perhaps they could be handed down, but today on ebay, you can purchase a silver 1875 thimble for $75! Way too expensive for Sally.

A needle? According to Godey’s Magazine, volume 81, published in 1880, you could buy 10 needles for four cents

So, the tools cost about 17 cents for a full yard of material, thread and needle. You could probably get at least two sunbonnets from that much—so a sunbonnet would cost about eight cents in materials to sew. Is that so much to ask.

Her time, of course, was a completely different matter and 1 Timothy 5:18 reminds us “a laborer is worthy of his/her hire.”

Sally’s two very different suitors—Josiah the banker in a pristine suit and Malcolm the teamster sweating as he toted goods to the tornado victims—both argued with her about keeping some of the money as “seed corn” for the sunbonnets she sold.

It was hard for sweet generous Sally, but as she puzzled out what type of businesswoman she wanted to be, she came to see a man’s heart toward the poor was a fine indicator of the type of husband she wanted.

And in the end, it all came down to the purchase of seven sunbonnets!

 

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The Sunbonnet Bride

By Michelle Ule

part of The 12 Brides of Summer, Collection # 1

Bumbling teamster Malcolm MacDougall vies with suave banker Josiah Finch for the hand of the lively hat maker Sally Martin after a tornado touches down in the neighboring communities.

While Josiah sees an opportunity to make plenty of money to support a potential bride in style, Malcolm adds up the facts against his Bible and realizes helping those in need is more important than turning a profit.

When Sally’s hats become the stylish rage of southeastern Nebraska, will she choose a teamster or a banker for her life’s happiness?

 

Thanks, Michelle, for being my guest today and giving us a glimpse of what it takes to be a historical writer! Good for you–I’ll stick to contemporary!

 

Until next time…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

 

Writer of the Day–Loree Peery

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BOOK GIVEAWAY!

My Writer of the Day is Christian romance author LoRee Peery. She writes to feel alive, as a way of contributing, and to pass forward the hope of rescue from sin. She writes of redeeming grace with a sense of place. LoRee clings to I John 5:4 and prays her family sees that faith. Her desire for readers, the same as for her characters, is to discover where they fit in this life journey to best work out the Lord’s life plan.

You can connect with Loree at:

www.loreepeery.com  or https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery.

She has a brand new release,Where Hearts Meet! And lucky us, she wants to give away a PDF copy of it. To be entered in the giveaway, scroll down to the bottom of this post and leave a comment. The winner will be drawn on July 27 and announced on the blog.

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PBGhttp://tinyurl.com/kl3h8lk

Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/o3sn5qk

Blurb: Shattered by the loss of her parents, Deena pours her love into her patients at an assisted living facility. When the son of one her charges starts showing up to spend time with his mother, Deena’s wary heart is warmed by his attention to his mother…and to her. Simon is plagued by his ex-wife’s disappearance years before. When he meets Deena, who closely resembles the woman, he fears his attraction is based only on Deena’s looks. But she exhibits a warmth his ex-wife never had. Dare he risk his once broken heart? As two lonely souls pursue a tentative, budding love, secrets and lies come forward to tear them apart. Can Simon and Deena overcome loss and allow their hearts to mend?

It sounds like a great book, Loree! Thanks for visiting with us. And don’t forget to leave a comment so you can win the copy of WHERE HEARTS MEET! Contest ends on July 27 and the winner will be announced on the blog. If I don’t have an email for you, then that will be the only way to let you know you won so be sure to check back!

Until next time…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

FRIDAY FRIEND–MARY L. HAMILTON

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I know it’s Saturday but…here’s my Friday Friend-Mary L. Hamilton… and she’s been gracious enough to give away a print copy of her first Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series, Hear No Evil. Thanks, Mary! To be entered all you have to do is leave a comment.

Mary L. Hamilton grew up at a youth camp in southern Wisconsin, much like the setting for her Rustic Knoll Bible Camp series. While raising her own three children, she was active in her church’s youth ministry, including serving as a camp counselor for a week–once was enough.

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Mary is a graduate of the Long Ridge Writer’s Group and a member of ACFW. She started out writing non-fiction articles and has written one play. Her fiction has won recognition in the Genesis, Selah, and Cat5 contests. When not writing, Mary enjoys knitting, reading and being outdoors. She and her husband make their home in Texas with a rescued Golden Retriever.

Connect with Mary on her website/blog: http://www.maryhamiltonbooks.com

Today, Mary shares a bit about her life and her father:

 

Shortly after I was born, my dad accepted a position as the first full-time director at a camp in southeastern Wisconsin. We lived there year round until I was almost twenty. If you asked me what was it like living at a camp, I’d say it’s a little like living at Disneyworld. In the summer and on winter weekends, there were always lots of people around, mainly kids. And we never lacked for things to do. We could swim in the lake, take out a canoe or rowboat, and participate in many of the activities, like the weekly staff/camper softball game and the evening campfires. In the winter, there was always ice skating and tobogganing down the long toboggan slide that dumped you out onto the frozen lake.

The downside was that whenever school was out, Dad was busy with camp. He’d be up early to ring the wake up bell at 7:00. He might come home for a nap in the afternoon, but then he was busy with the camp again until midnight or later. I always knew I could see him around camp, but in some ways, I didn’t really get to know him until I began working in the camp kitchen. One of the ways I got to know him was by watching him interact with the staff and campers.

Dad was unflappable. I never knew him to react in anger, even when he had every right. About halfway through every summer, the counselors would start fighting amongst themselves. The newness had worn off and the constant demands of campers took their toll. The year I worked in the kitchen, one of the counselors told me she and some of the others had gone off campus after the campers were asleep. One of the cooks had invited everyone to her house to work through the problems that were dividing them. Going off campus without permission was a serious breach of the rules, especially when counselors were supposed to be in the cabins with the campers.

The next day, Dad got wind of the midnight meeting and asked this counselor if they had indeed left the property. Ashamed at having betrayed his trust, the counselor confessed.

Calmly, Dad asked, “Did everything get worked out?”

“Yes, it did.”

“Good.”

That’s all Dad ever said about the incident, but the counselor vowed never to break another rule ever again.

Can you see why I patterned the camp director in my books after this man I called Dad? He didn’t have to say much to earn respect, and he taught me a lot by the way he lived.

 

Thanks, Mary for giving us a glimse into the life of a “camp kid.” I’m sure you must have tons of great memories.

Here’s a bit about her latest Rustic Knoll series novel, SEE NO EVIL:

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SEE NO EVIL:

Steven Miller guards a dark secret.

Dad drilled into Steven that blindness should never be used as an excuse. So when Steven finds an old triathlon medallion among Dad’s belongings, he’s inspired to follow in his footsteps. Maybe it’ll quiet the guilt he’s carried since Dad’s death three years ago.

While Steven continues his triathlon training during his final summer at camp, a serious illness keeps Rustic Knoll’s beloved Nurse Willie from managing her clinic. When Steven teams up with his friend Claire to encourage Willie’s recovery, his feelings for Claire grow beyond friendship.

But his buddy, Dillon, has started down a dangerous path that Steven knows all too well. Can he keep his friend from falling into that sin without exposing his own past?

Purchase link: http://amzn.to/1yslU36

 

Thanks Mary for sharing a bit about your life and your new book with us.

Don’t forget to leave a comment if you want to be in the drawing for the book. The contest ends on July 1!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

 

 

Book Blast Giveaway–Femi Bolaji!!

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SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILS TO ENTER AMAZON GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!

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GOD TELLS THE SUN TO SHINE: An amazing story of love and forgiveness
By Femi Bolaji

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About the Book:

God tells the Sun to Shine is a short story about ambition, love, intrigue and forgiveness. The main character is the second-born of twin boys Esau and Jacob. Jacob struggles to come to terms with the privileges that the natural birth order accords the first-born twin Esau. He becomes so obsessed with the desire to become the alpha male in the family enterprise that he plots with their mum to upstage Esau. Although his plan succeeds, he is forced to flee the homeland after Esau plots to kill him in retaliation. For two decades, his life in exile is marked by turmoil in love, marriage and work. When a business arrangement goes pear shaped and he is faced with bankruptcy and the loss of his family, he decides instead to return to his country and face his nemesis – Esau. How will Jacob manoeuvre his way through the ordeal?

LINK to KINDLE | LINK to PAPERBACK

Femi Bolaji - photoFemi Bolaji is a seasoned writer and commentator on topical Christian themes. He likes to tell Bible-based stories in contemporary language and style that would appeal to all, yet with profound insight and application to the pressures of modern day living. He is an alumnus of the Bartlett, University College London. He lives in London, United Kingdom.

Follow Femi Bolaji
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Enter to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

Enter below to enter a $50 Amazon gift card, sponsored by author Femi Bolaji!

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This book blast is hosted by Crossreads.

We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads book blast bloggers!

Friday Friend–Bonnie Doran & A Giveaway!

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It’s been a while since I’ve had a friend stop by on a Friday.

Today’s guest writer is  Bonnie Doran. She tells me her heart is in science fiction. She enjoys reading, cooking, knitting, solving Sudoku puzzles, and telling groan-producing puns. Her published works include six magazine articles, three short stories, 67 devotional writings, and her science thriller, Dark Biology.

And Bonnie wants to give one lucky winner a print copy of her book, DARK BIOLOGY. To be entered to win, leave a comment. A name will be drawn next Friday!

 

I Married a Mad Scientist

Not many women claim they’re married to a Mad Scientist. They might be a military wife or pastor’s wife. Not me.

Thirty-one years ago, I had celebrated by 31st birthday and broken up with a boyfriend. I figured I’d never find that special someone. I was living on the Central Coast of California at the time.

Then Don, friend of mine, played matchmaker. He knew a guy who worked at Vandenberg Air Force Base as an electrical engineer with Martin Marietta, now Lockheed Martin. Does anybody remember the MX missile? Yes, he was a rocket scientist at the time. Don was his quality control inspector.

We exchanged photos before we met. John’s photos showed him playing a harp and working with his homemade laser. He also had a photo of his Siamese cat.

We rendezvoused at Don and Tricia’s place and went out for dinner. The rest is history. John proposed after two and a half weeks and we married three months later. Six weeks after that, John completed his work and we moved back to Denver. We’ll celebrate our 32nd anniversary this May.

I should have suspected that John was a Mad Scientist. He owned a home-built laser that had been his senior project at Georgia Tech. He spent his free time with computer and model-rocket groups.

Although the label of Mad Scientist hadn’t occurred to me, the moniker fits him well. He built a Tesla coil. One of his latest projects is working with a Van de Graaf machine. He has a 2,300-pound electromagnet that now resides on the production floor of his company which builds laser-engraving machines. Getting that electromagnet out of the basement of our house required several men and a mechanical engineer who devised a block and tackle.

For a number of years, he’s been a member in good standing of the Denver Mad Scientists, an informal club which meets at a restaurant for brunch and at a pot luck at someone’s home every month. The conversation usually disintegrates into techno-speak about computers, electronic design, or the latest sci-fi movie.

So yes, I’m a Mad Scientist’s Wife. My experience as such resulted in a flash fiction piece, “The Mad Scientist Pot Luck” which Splickety Magazine published several years ago. John sees a few of his quirks reflected in one of my characters in Dark Biology, but of course I disavow the novel bears any resemblance to real people or events.

Thanks, Bonnie. Here’s a little more about her book, DARK BIOLOGY. And by the way, Bonnie, I love this cover! It’s awesome.

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Renowned vaccinologist “Hildi” Hildebrandt has set her sights on beating her brother to a Nobel Prize, and the opportunity to conduct experiments on the International Space Station might just provide the means to obtain that goal. Chet Hildebrandt should have had that opportunity. But now he’ll teach a lesson to them all: his hot-shot astronaut sister, his philandering hypocritical father, and the CDC for not properly appreciating his work. One vial of a virus purloined from the CDC labs and released at his father’s marriage seminar should do the trick, without hurting anybody. After all, it’s only a mild influenza strain…Or is it?

If you’d like to buy it, go to: http://pelink.us/1fzRErC

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the book!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Writer of the Day–Stephanie Prichard

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My Writer of the Day is Stephanie Prichard and she has an interesting story to share about how she became a writer and she’s been gracious enough to offer a giveaway of her new book, STRANDED. So be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to win an e-copy of the book.

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Stephanie is an army brat who lived in many countries around the world and loved it. She met her husband at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she majored in English/Literature. She and Don have lived in Indianapolis, IN, for forty years, and in retirement have turned to co-authoring novels now that their three children are busy raising a beautiful crop of grandchildren for them.
You can visit Stephanie at the following sites:

Now let’s hear about her writing journey:

My writing journey is good evidence that God has a sense of humor. He took me, who loves reading, writing, and grammar and who wanted to be an author when she grew up, and partnered me as co-author to my husband, Don, who prefers movies over books, is dyslexic, and almost flunked out of college because of his lack of grammar skills. When I became a wife and mom, I abandoned all thoughts of writing a novel. When our nest emptied, my husband decided out of the blue that he wanted to write one.

See what I mean?

Yep, at age fifty-seven, Don asked me how to write a novel. This story, he said, was nagging him and he wanted to publish it. I giggled behind my hand, gave him a few pointers, and dismissed the silly idea. Five months later, he suffered a stroke and lost all ability to read. Guess what turned out to be the best therapy? Uh-huh, his novel. By plugging away at it he learned how to read again. He expanded the story until it became a trilogy, and on top of that rewrote it four times.

After several years he asked me to become his co-author. I figured I’d only bother with correcting the spelling and grammar, but I fell in love with the story. We read some how-to books together, reshaped the plot and characters, and I rewrote what Don had written. We went to our first writers’ conference and learned omniscient viewpoint was a no-no (what else would a reader of classics write, I ask you?), so I came home and rewrote our novel in third person POV. We then hired an editor-turned-agent to critique the book. He shared many pointers, said to learn how to show-not-tell, and at the end of the critique suggested we scrap the book and start from scratch.

What? Surely he wasn’t saying that I, an English major (with straight A’s, mind you), didn’t know how to write? Sigh. Indeed he was!

Then we joined American Christian Fiction Writers and participated in its online workshops, critique group, and annual conferences. I paid for other online classes and got immediate feedback from instructors. My writing knowledge and skills improved to the point where we acquired an agent … but no nibbles from publishers.

Finally we turned a corner. I got a one-on-one critique partner who said to stop rewriting the beginning of the novel every time I learned something new. Finish it, she demanded. I did. After that, the edits were quick and simple. Our agent had given up on us, but in the meantime self-publishing had come into its own and held too many attractions to turn it down. Not wanting to start off with a shoddy book, we hired a professional cover designer (isn’t the cover beautiful?) and a freelance editor who used to be a fiction acquisitions editor for a major CBA publishing house. From the time I wrote The End until the novel’s publication date, only six months had gone by.

Uh, I guess I should confess it took ten years of co-authoring and co-laboring before Stranded: A Novel became a reality. A whole decade—yet I can’t tell you how thankful we are to God that He made us take that long a time. Every twist and turn in the road and every loop backwards over it was actually forward progress. We had so much to learn—writing skills, technology, blogging, social media, the publishing world, critiquing, self-editing, acquaintance with other authors—and between each of those you can insert writing skills, writing skills, writing skills.

But ta-daaah! We crossed the finish line! So now I’m eager to start on the next book. This time I hope to take only a year. And Don? Hoo, can you believe he’s on the rough draft of book number six?

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Back cover blurb:
All Marine Corps reservist Jake Chalmers wants is to give his dying wife a last, romantic cruise to the Philippines. Unable to save her in a mass murder aboard ship, he washes ashore a jungle island, where he discovers three other survivors. Heartbroken that he failed to save his wife, he is determined not to fail these helpless castaways.
 
Federal prosecutor Eve Eriksson rescues a young girl and her elderly great-aunt from the same ship. They badly need Jake’s survival skills, but why is he so maddeningly careful? She needs to hurry home to nail a significant career trial. And, please, before Jake learns her secret that she’s responsible for his wife’s death. 

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment so you’re entered in the giveaway!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Cindy Loven–My Friday Friend!

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Cindy Loven is seeing her dreams fulfilled with the publication of her first novel, Swept Away Quilt of Love.  She co-authored this novel with Laura V. Hilton.  Born and raised in Arkansas, she loves her home state and is happy to live there with her husband of nearly twenty-nine years and her adult son. You can find her online at Facebook, her blog or @cndloven on Twitter.

 

My dad was a pastor, so I am a PK, as well as a PW (pastor’s wife) so there were always funny things happening at the parsonage. You never knew what was going to go on around there. Here are a couple of short stories from those days growing up in the house right next to the church.

Daddy’s Job

In addition to being a pastor, my dad worked as a carpenter on several different crews. One year he worked with 2 brothers, who were local guys. Daddy would come home telling stories about them, and he always talked about them speaking French (his code for them cursing). Well my brother and I didn’t understand that this was “code”. When Daddy was working in town, my mom would cook lunch every day. One day mom cooked lunch for Daddy and he invited the guys home for lunch with us. My brother and I were over the moon, excited. This was it, we had never heard anyone speak in French and the guys were coming to dinner, we were finally going to hear them talk French. As we are all eating lunch, we asked them, “Can you talk French for us,” they were so embarrassed, and my dad thought it was hilarious. I often wonder if they remember that happening.

 

Rock and Roll in the Church

My little brother worked all the time when we were kids and he saved money like a miser..and I do mean like a miser. He bought himself a set of drums, and one day during his senior year, he thought Mom and Daddy were going to be gone from home all day.  He and some friends cut school and decided to go to the church and ROCK out, hehehehe poor brother. Little did he know, Mom and Dad forgot something and came back for it, and he was busted. Mom was not happy with my brother and he found that out very quickly!! We all still giggle about it,.I think the guys thought our mom was whacko!! NEVER a dull moment around our house as kids!!

 

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About Swept Away

He survived a life-altering event. She is facing one.

Sara Jane Morgan is trying to balance teaching with caring for her grandmother who doesn’t want to be cared for. When school lets out for the summer, the plans are for Grandma to teach Sara Jane to quilt as they finish up the Appalachian Ballad quilt Grandma started as a teenager. But things don’t always go as planned.

Andrew Stevenson is hiding from his past—and his future. He works as a handyman to pay the bills, but also as an artisan, designing homemade brooms. When Sara Jane’s grandmother hires him to renovate her home, sparks fly between him and his new employer’s granddaughter.

It doesn’t take Sara Jane long to see Drew isn’t what he seems. Questions arise, and she starts online researching him. What she discovers could change her life—and her heart—forever.

Buy Links for Swept Away

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/kr9ygxh 

 

Congratulations, Cindy, on your debut novel! May all your dreams come true.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

My Friday Friend–Ruth O’Neil

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As we know FRIDAYS ARE FOR FRIENDS so…today I want to introduce you to Ruth O’Neil

Ruth  has been a freelance writer for more than 20 years. She sees everything as a writing opportunity in disguise, whether it is an interesting character, setting, or situation. When she’s not writing or homeschooling her kids, Ruth spends her time quilting, reading, scrapbooking, camping and hiking with her family. Website link:  http://ruthoneil.weebly.com/

Today, she’s going to share how she started writing.

The Story That Started it All

One of the questions I am often asked is how I became a writer. Like most little girls, I wanted to be just like my mom when I grew up.

Going back to the beginning…

We lived way out in the country. We didn’t often have people stop by because they were “in the neighborhood.” One day someone did stop by unexpectedly. Our house was in a shambles. My mom sent all four of us kids in different directions shoving and cramming junk wherever we could find a hidey-hole. I took the broom and swept my sister’s toys under the living room couch. What I thought should fit, wasn’t fitting. I look under the couch to see what was stopping my progress. It was a file full of typed paper.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Put that back under there!” I think Mom said it in an angry tone of voice because the unexpected guest was already on the porch and she didn’t have time for questions.

I found out later that it was a book that my mom had been writing. Ever since that day, I wanted to be a writer, too.

When I was nine I wrote my first story called “The Hunchback Bug.” My mom was never anything but encouraging. She even allowed me to use her typewriter. I felt proud as I sat at the dining room table pounding away at the keys. When I was done I asked if I should put my name, age, and date at the bottom. She thought it was a good idea.

Later on that story came up missing. I never knew what happened to it until my mom passed away. Dad gave all four of us kids our baby books that Mom had meticulously kept up with from the days we were born. Inside were treasures of all kinds: hair, reward certificates from school, honor roll certificates, report cards, and…my story. She had kept that story all those years, safely tucked away so it wouldn’t get lost or damaged.

I still have it today.

My mother was definitely my inspiration and encouragement for writing. She made sure I went to writer’s conferences so I could learn as much as possible. She read everything I wrote and gave me advice and constructive criticism.

Now, I am able to pass along some of what I’ve learned to those who want to learn this business of writing.

I’ve also learned that I can stir the emotions of people through words on a page. I can make people cry and I can make people laugh. I can touch people’s hearts.

That is why I write.

 

Ruth’s latest book is BELONGING  and the Amazon link is. http://amzn.to/TFP8bf

About BELONGING:

Shelly feels alone in the world. She would like to bury herself in a whole and not pay any attention to the world outside her door, but God has big plans for her. These plans will force her to step out of her comfort zone, which might be impossible for her.

FRIDAY FRIEND & FOUR FREE BOOKS!

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My Friday Friend today is ADA BROWNELL. In celebration of the release of her new novel, The Lady Fugitive, Ada Brownell is offering her four other books free September 25-28. All books are available on Ada Brownell’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06. WOW! What a bargain!

Here’s a short blurb about each of the books as well as her new book, THE LADY FUGITIVE.

Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult

Enter an area where people are missing and radicals want to obliterate Christianity from the earth. Joe Baker’s parents are missing and he finds himself with someone after himWill he escape or be harmed? Will he find his parents? Does God answer prayer?

No fantasy. No wizard, but suspense. Christian payload.

IMAGINE THE FUTURE YOU

       A motivational Bible study

If you continue to do or not do what you practice now, what kind of future do you imagine for yourself?  The decisions we make ourselves affect our future more than those made for us. We have control of our attitudes, our work ethic, our sense of wonder, our faith to believe in God and for great things. It is up to us where we end up in life and eternity.

SWALLOWED BY LIFE:

 Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal

Do you believe you could live with someone else’s heart or kidneys, but not without your body? Evidence shows we’re more than flesh. The author, a prolific religion writer and retired medical journalist, talks about the evidence;

Questions and answers make this non-fiction inspirational book a great text for group study. It’s written for support groups, religion classes, people with chronic or terminal illness, individuals who fear death or are curious about it, the grieving, and those who give them counsel.

Review: “It was wonderful how the author merged the medical with the spiritual.”

CONFESSIONS OF A PENTECOSTAL

Ada tells what it was like to grow up in a Pentecostal home, miracles she witnessed, and then of her own journey following the Lord. Her inspiring confessions of faith will encourage and bless believers everywhere. Originally published by the Assemblies of God in 1978, out of print but release in 2011 as an e-book. The book was listed many years among 10 recommendations on Pentecostalism by The Library Thing. Review: Confessions Of a Pentecostal is more than just a book or a story; it is an ultimate look inside another person’s faith. Truly remarkable, a book that I will reread time and time again, I recommend this to anyone who ever wonders about who we are: who are the Pentecostals.
The Lady Fugitive

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How does a respected elocutionist become a face on a wanted poster?

Determination to remain free grips Jenny, especially after she meets William and there’s a hint of romance. But while peddling household goods and showing a Passion of the Christ moving picture, he discovers his father’s brutal murder.

Will Jenny avoid the bounty hunters? Can she forgive the person who turns her in? Will she find peace, joy and love?

More about ADA BROWNELL:

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Ada, a devoted Bible student, has written for Christian publications since age 15 and spent much of her life as a reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colo. She also is a veteran youth Christian education teacher. After moving to Missouri in her retirement, she continues to write books, freelance for Sunday school papers, Christian magazines, write op-ed pieces for newspapers, and blogs with stick-to-your-soul encouragement. She is critique group leader of Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband have five children, one in heaven, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

All books are available on Ada Brownell’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

I don’t know about you but I’m planning on getting all the books!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…GOD BLESS & GOOD READING!

Ane Mulligan–Chapel Springs Revival

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I’m so excited to have Ane Mulligan as my Friday Friend–even though it’s Monday!  I’ve been on Ane’s blog a time or two, but this is her time. to be in the spotlight She’s releasing her debut novel, Chapel Springs Revival. Today, she shares about her writing journey–and what a journey it was!

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MY WRITING JOURNEY

While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, Ane has worn many different ones: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that’s a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction (try saying that three times fast). She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and two dogs of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane on her Southern-fried Fiction website, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Pinterest.

In 2003, I started my first novel. I found an online Christian critique group and a few mentors, who became close friends, ones who told me plainly I had a lot to learn. POV? Never heard the term. Omniscient? That’s what God was. Show don’t tell? How do I tell a story without telling? Yikes!

In 2006, an editor took my manuscript to committee. While I waited for the result, expecting a contract of course, I got an agent. However … sigh …the editorial committee said no. I was discouraged. I cried out to God, asking … okay, whining … why wasn’t I getting anywhere? I had been so sure God called me to write. I needed a sign. And God gave me the one in the form of a contest win. That carried me for months.

While I kept writing and going to conferences, my critique partners kept getting published. Finally, in 2010, my agent called. My manuscript had passed editorial committee and was going to pub board. This was it! Pub board loved it, but their slate was filled, so the editor would hold it for their next quarter. Only she retired and her computer hard drive was wiped clean. I was lost in cyber oblivion.

Do you see a pattern here? I did and it looked like a rollercoaster. Once again, I whined, “Lord, what is going on?”

And He said, “Wait. Trust me.” He didn’t offer me another choice, so I chose to trust. The next three years went about the same.

Then, in August of 2013, nearly eleven years after I began this journey, my agent called with an offer from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. And my heart quickened. All right, God! This was it. This time, He said, “Yes.

I’m so glad I didn’t push but listened to my agent’s advice. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during this journey, it’s this: God must be part of the equation. Though I’d learned the craft earlier, He wasn’t ready for me to publish. I won’t know why this side of Heaven, but I’m okay with that.

I believe people let down their guard when they think they’re being entertained. Through fiction, I can entertain readers. Through fiction, I can present seeds of God’s truth. Then when they least expect it, the story can reach out, touch their hearts, and change them. And isn’t that why we write?

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Chapel Springs Revival:

With a friend like Claire, you need a gurney, a mop, and a guardian angel.

Everybody in the small town of Chapel Springs, Georgia, knows best friends Claire and Patsy. It’s impossible not to, what with Claire’s zany antics and Patsy’s self-appointed mission to keep her friend out of trouble. And trouble abounds. Chapel Springs has grown dilapidated and the tourist trade has slackened. With their livelihoods threatened, they join forces to revitalize the town. No one could have guessed the real issue needing restoration is personal.

With their marriages in as much disarray as the town, Claire and Patsy embark on a mission of mishaps and miscommunication, determined to restore warmth to Chapel Springs —and their lives. That is if they can convince their husbands and the town council, led by two curmudgeons who would prefer to see Chapel Springs left in the fifties and closed to traffic.

 

CONGRATULATIONS, ANE! By the way, Ane told me that her husband, the artist, created the cover.