Many congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award!
*Long Contemporary*
1) Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (Tyndale)
2) Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Serena Miller (Summerside)
3) The Six-Liter Club by Harry Kraus (Howard)
*Short Contemporary*
1) White Roses by Shannon Taylor Vannatter (Barbour ˆ Heartsong Presents)
2) Rodeo Redemption by Teri Wilson (White Rose)
3) Tender Mercies by Mary Manners (White Rose)
*Long Historical*
1) The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund (Bethany House)
2) A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin (Revell)
3) Abbie Ann by Sharlene MacLaren (Whitaker House)
*Short Historical*
1) A Matter of Character by Robin Lee Hatcher (Zondervan)
2) Walker’s Wedding by Lori Copeland (Harvest)
3) The Substitute Bride by Janet Dean (Steeple Hill)
*Women’s Fiction*
1) Plain Paradise by Beth Wiseman (Thomas Nelson)
2) Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart (FaithWords)
3) The House on Sugar Plum Lane by Judy Duarte (Kensington)
*Romantic Suspense*
1) Too Close to Home by Lynette Eason (Revell)
2) Forget Me Not by Vicki Hinze (Waterbrook)
3) Nightshade by Ronie Kendig (Barbour)
*Novella*
1) Once Upon a Christmas Eve by Anita Higman (Summerside)
2) A Bodine Family Christmas by Marta Perry (Steeple Hill)
3) The Snowflake by Jamie Carie (Broadman and Holman)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
The Duggar Family - FREE Stuff - Amazon.com Promotion!!
HUGE Amazon Promotion.
Featuring the parents of TLC’s Hit Show 19 Kids & Counting!This means huge savings & free stuff for you!
Over 45 partners offering 25%, 50%, and 75% off, and FREE products & services.
Follow the promotion guidelines below for your piece of all the amazing savings!
Purchase A Love That Multiples and/or The Duggars: 20 and Counting Print Books.
- Go to www.DuggarFamily.com and click on the Redeem Amazon Promo Link.
- Provide your first name, Amazon Sales Number and your email address and hit Send.
- A return email will be sent to you containing all of the discount codes and free offers.
All coupon codes will expire on July 5, 2011 at 11:59 P.M. Pacific Time.
Mark the dates June 28-30, 2011 and get huge discounts and free stuff!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Apologies for Spotlight Delays
For those of you coming here this week and looking for the guest blog from a featured author, I apologize. I had a corrupted file on my computer after installing the latest service pack, and now most of my commonly-used programs won't open or display properly.
One of those is my mail program where my guest blog content is saved.
I'm working hard to repair this corrupted file, but it might not be until the weekend. Until then, stay tuned. And feel free to view the other spotlights here, or the rest of the web site.
Thank you for your continued support. I'll be back as soon as I can.
One of those is my mail program where my guest blog content is saved.
I'm working hard to repair this corrupted file, but it might not be until the weekend. Until then, stay tuned. And feel free to view the other spotlights here, or the rest of the web site.
Thank you for your continued support. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Welcome Margaret Daley and Protecting Her Own
This week, we have another Margaret in the spotlight. :) She has sold 75 books so far and keeps on writing!
Please interact with our guest authors by answering the question they provide. Your response will also enter you in the drawing for a free book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARGARET DALEY is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the ACFW Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date.
Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2200 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.
PROTECTING HER OWN
by Margaret Daley
Published by Steeple Hill/Love Inspired Suspense
ABOUT THE BOOK
Nothing short of her dad's stroke could bring professional bodyguard Cara Madison back to Virginia. But her homecoming turns explosive with a pipe-bomb package addressed to her father. Cara knows two things for sure. First, someone's after either her father or her…or both. And second, this job is too big to handle on her own. Unexpected help comes from agent Connor Fitzgerald. Years ago she'd walked away from him…and love. Now, despite their unresolved feelings, they must join forces—and settle their scarred past—to survive.
Readers, buy your copy of Protecting Her Own (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense) today!
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR
Falling in Love Without Falling in Bed
By Margaret Daley
The Five Love Languages
from Gary Chapman
When two people are in a relationship, it is important for each one of them to demonstrate in some way the importance of the other in his/her life. The problem often arises in a relationship when these two people don’t speak the same love language. They don’t speak to the other’s deepest emotional need (a need that has been shaped by their childhood). We want to be loved by the other and valued as worth loving by that person. So how you express your love is important in a relationship. You may be saying, “I love you,” to your significant other, but he isn’t hearing it because he doesn’t speak your language.
These are the five love language:
1) Words of Affirmation-Some people need to hear the words from their loved one to believe they are loved. They need verbal compliments and praises.
2) Receiving Gifts-To others the receiving of a gift from their loved one tells them they are loved by that person. The gifts don’t necessarily have to be expensive. The thought behind the gift is what is most important. It tells the person he was thinking about her. In a time of turmoil the gift of your presence can be what is valued the most.
3) Acts of Service-There are some who need love expressed through doing something for them. It could be something like doing the dishes or taking out the trash. It is important the act of service is given freely, not demanded.
4) Quality Time-Another love language is spending quality time with your loved one. I don’t just mean being with him. I mean really talking and listening to him. You must be totally focused on him to the exclusion of everything else. Within this are also quality activities. When doing things together, one should want to do the activity and the other has agreed. You are showing your love by doing the activity together.
5) Physical Touch-A touch on his arm as you walk by, holding hands on a couch, or a back rub when he is tense can be to some an expression of love. There are many levels of physical touch and not all have to be intimate to show you love someone.
With your characters determine which love language he/she speak and use that in your story to show love as well as to keep a distance between two people.
* * * * *
Thank you, Margaret, for sharing with us today.
Guest Question: Which love language are you? Why do you say that?
ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.
This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.
Please interact with our guest authors by answering the question they provide. Your response will also enter you in the drawing for a free book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2200 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.
PROTECTING HER OWN
by Margaret Daley
Published by Steeple Hill/Love Inspired Suspense
ABOUT THE BOOK
Nothing short of her dad's stroke could bring professional bodyguard Cara Madison back to Virginia. But her homecoming turns explosive with a pipe-bomb package addressed to her father. Cara knows two things for sure. First, someone's after either her father or her…or both. And second, this job is too big to handle on her own. Unexpected help comes from agent Connor Fitzgerald. Years ago she'd walked away from him…and love. Now, despite their unresolved feelings, they must join forces—and settle their scarred past—to survive.
Readers, buy your copy of Protecting Her Own (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense)
today!AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR
Falling in Love Without Falling in Bed
By Margaret Daley
The Five Love Languages
from Gary Chapman
When two people are in a relationship, it is important for each one of them to demonstrate in some way the importance of the other in his/her life. The problem often arises in a relationship when these two people don’t speak the same love language. They don’t speak to the other’s deepest emotional need (a need that has been shaped by their childhood). We want to be loved by the other and valued as worth loving by that person. So how you express your love is important in a relationship. You may be saying, “I love you,” to your significant other, but he isn’t hearing it because he doesn’t speak your language.
These are the five love language:
1) Words of Affirmation-Some people need to hear the words from their loved one to believe they are loved. They need verbal compliments and praises.
2) Receiving Gifts-To others the receiving of a gift from their loved one tells them they are loved by that person. The gifts don’t necessarily have to be expensive. The thought behind the gift is what is most important. It tells the person he was thinking about her. In a time of turmoil the gift of your presence can be what is valued the most.
3) Acts of Service-There are some who need love expressed through doing something for them. It could be something like doing the dishes or taking out the trash. It is important the act of service is given freely, not demanded.
4) Quality Time-Another love language is spending quality time with your loved one. I don’t just mean being with him. I mean really talking and listening to him. You must be totally focused on him to the exclusion of everything else. Within this are also quality activities. When doing things together, one should want to do the activity and the other has agreed. You are showing your love by doing the activity together.
5) Physical Touch-A touch on his arm as you walk by, holding hands on a couch, or a back rub when he is tense can be to some an expression of love. There are many levels of physical touch and not all have to be intimate to show you love someone.
With your characters determine which love language he/she speak and use that in your story to show love as well as to keep a distance between two people.
* * * * *
Thank you, Margaret, for sharing with us today.
Guest Question: Which love language are you? Why do you say that?
ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.
This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.
Friday, June 03, 2011
Welcome Julie Carobini and Fade to Blue
Please interact with our guest authors by answering the question they provide. IF there is a book giveaway, your response will also enter you in the drawing for a free book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JULIE CAROBINI grew up as Julie Navarro, in a family of truly right-brained individuals. Among them you’ll find writers, artists, and musicians, all willing to talk about the arts at a moment’s notice.
After growing up in Los Angeles, she landed in Ventura County where she made great friends, met Jesus, and fell in love with the dashing Dan Carobini. Despite serious illness and three children delivered by C-section, she managed to hone her lifelong love for writing and sell a few articles. She also edited books for several distinguished authors. Over the years, she's published several hundred articles and stories in magazines and books. As she wrote, she found a common theme cropping up: family, the sea, and God’s timely work in the lives of those around her. She thought it was time to incorporate those into novels. But God shut both doors and windows. So she continued to write and dream and raise her kids with Dan. Eventually she decided to write romantic seaside novels, and that’s where she found her voice.
When she's not writing, marketing, or editing for others, she's driving her kids around town, imagining that her mid-sized SUV is actually a sleek sailing yacht.
FADE TO BLUE
by Julie Carobini
Published by B&H Books
ABOUT THE BOOK
How do you restore a soul? One brush stroke at a time ...
Suz Mitchell is a determined dreamer, and won't allow her ex-husband's jail sentence to ruin their young son Jeremiah's life. An accomplished artist, Suz moves with her child across the country to California's central coast, and lands a job restoring priceless art for the historic Hearst Castle overlooking the sea.
But even dreams have shocking twists. To her surprise, a serious old flame, Seth, works at the castle and jumbles the new aspirations in Suz's heart. While sorting through their past and a palette of spiritual differences, an even bigger brush with yesterday awaits.
Suz must learn to let God be the true restorer of all that once seemed lost.
Readers, buy your copy of Fade to Blue: An Otter Bay Novel today!
MY REVIEW
I don't often have the opportunity to read contemporary fiction. With the time spent researching for my own historical novels and reading other historical novels to stay up to date on what's selling on the market, contemporary novels usually fall by the wayside. But with Julie's Fade to Blue, I took the time. And I'm glad I did.
Julie has a gift for making characters and settings come alive. Having spent most of my life on the East Coast and within an hour of sandy beaches, this book brought back a lot of memories and made me feel as if I were sitting in a lounge chair in that very same sand I once enjoyed.
This book is yet another perfect summer romance as the story of Seth and Suz unfolds. The five years they spent apart carries a lot of burden for both of them. With a divorce hanging on her belt and a young son to raise, Suz faces her hurdles and the hurts of her past with sometimes aching reality. Seth is there in an attempt to help pick up the pieces, but his presence only reminds her of the pain. And the memories of their mistakes makes them both real to the reader. As the flames of attraction are fanned yet again, the realization of second chances becomes a glimmering possibility.
Julie offers a delightful summer read, full of more than romance to satisfy your yearning for a good story. Perfect to escape into the fun and the sun. Be sure to take this book with you!
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR
Hi Everyone,
Julie Carobini (www.juliecarobini.com) here. My recent release, Fade to Blue, is set in and around the famed Hearst Castle, designed by architect Julia Morgan. Morgan was the first female to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in Civil Engineering, and later, the first woman to receive a certificate in architecture from Ecole Nationale et Speciale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
On a recent tour of the sprawling castle located on California’s central coast, my husband, Dan, and I were shown this lean-to off one outer wall. This was Julia Morgan's office. Can you imagine? Ms. Morgan spent nearly thirty years working on that hill with some of the most expensive pieces of art from all over Europe, creating a lavish castle that hosted A-list celebrity guests ~ and she worked in a tiny, nearly windowless office. Phew, that woman got a lot done!
With the hot breath of another deadline scorching my neck, I myself am looking for a non-distracting place to write. So, I'm wondering ... do you think they rent that thing out?
Seriously, here’s my question for you, dear readers: What do you do to ramp up your productivity? I’m all ears!
* * * * *
Thank you, Julie, for sharing with us today.
Guest Question: What do you do to ramp up your productivity?
ENTRY RULES Readers, IF there is a book giveaway, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.
This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After growing up in Los Angeles, she landed in Ventura County where she made great friends, met Jesus, and fell in love with the dashing Dan Carobini. Despite serious illness and three children delivered by C-section, she managed to hone her lifelong love for writing and sell a few articles. She also edited books for several distinguished authors. Over the years, she's published several hundred articles and stories in magazines and books. As she wrote, she found a common theme cropping up: family, the sea, and God’s timely work in the lives of those around her. She thought it was time to incorporate those into novels. But God shut both doors and windows. So she continued to write and dream and raise her kids with Dan. Eventually she decided to write romantic seaside novels, and that’s where she found her voice.
When she's not writing, marketing, or editing for others, she's driving her kids around town, imagining that her mid-sized SUV is actually a sleek sailing yacht.
FADE TO BLUE
by Julie Carobini
Published by B&H Books
ABOUT THE BOOK
How do you restore a soul? One brush stroke at a time ...
Suz Mitchell is a determined dreamer, and won't allow her ex-husband's jail sentence to ruin their young son Jeremiah's life. An accomplished artist, Suz moves with her child across the country to California's central coast, and lands a job restoring priceless art for the historic Hearst Castle overlooking the sea.
But even dreams have shocking twists. To her surprise, a serious old flame, Seth, works at the castle and jumbles the new aspirations in Suz's heart. While sorting through their past and a palette of spiritual differences, an even bigger brush with yesterday awaits.
Suz must learn to let God be the true restorer of all that once seemed lost.
Readers, buy your copy of Fade to Blue: An Otter Bay Novel
today!MY REVIEW
I don't often have the opportunity to read contemporary fiction. With the time spent researching for my own historical novels and reading other historical novels to stay up to date on what's selling on the market, contemporary novels usually fall by the wayside. But with Julie's Fade to Blue, I took the time. And I'm glad I did.
Julie has a gift for making characters and settings come alive. Having spent most of my life on the East Coast and within an hour of sandy beaches, this book brought back a lot of memories and made me feel as if I were sitting in a lounge chair in that very same sand I once enjoyed.
This book is yet another perfect summer romance as the story of Seth and Suz unfolds. The five years they spent apart carries a lot of burden for both of them. With a divorce hanging on her belt and a young son to raise, Suz faces her hurdles and the hurts of her past with sometimes aching reality. Seth is there in an attempt to help pick up the pieces, but his presence only reminds her of the pain. And the memories of their mistakes makes them both real to the reader. As the flames of attraction are fanned yet again, the realization of second chances becomes a glimmering possibility.
Julie offers a delightful summer read, full of more than romance to satisfy your yearning for a good story. Perfect to escape into the fun and the sun. Be sure to take this book with you!
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR
Hi Everyone,
Julie Carobini (www.juliecarobini.com) here. My recent release, Fade to Blue, is set in and around the famed Hearst Castle, designed by architect Julia Morgan. Morgan was the first female to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in Civil Engineering, and later, the first woman to receive a certificate in architecture from Ecole Nationale et Speciale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
With the hot breath of another deadline scorching my neck, I myself am looking for a non-distracting place to write. So, I'm wondering ... do you think they rent that thing out?
Seriously, here’s my question for you, dear readers: What do you do to ramp up your productivity? I’m all ears!
* * * * *
Thank you, Julie, for sharing with us today.
Guest Question: What do you do to ramp up your productivity?
ENTRY RULES Readers, IF there is a book giveaway, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.
This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.
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