Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Mid-month Madness Party!!

We really appreciate you coming by! 

We will be giving away books so be sure to pay attention about how to enter. To enter for a chance to win, you MUST leave a comment WITH your EMAIL and you MUST ask one or more of the authors a question you’d like to know about them, their writing, or their books. 

We are looking forward to getting to know you better and hope you’ll get to know us better, too! 

Be sure to drop by the Facebook Party for a chance to mingle with the authors, and nab even more great giveaways! 

The party is today from 4:00 to 6:15 PM Eastern Time.




After Nazi soldiers close the opera and destroy Tamar Kaplan’s dream of becoming a professional singer, she joins the Dutch Resistance, her fair coloring concealing her Jewish heritage. Tamar partners with Dr. Daniel Feldman, and they risk their lives to help escaping refugees. When they are forced to flee themselves, violinist Neelie Visser takes them into hiding. Tamar’s love for Daniel flowers in hardship, but she struggles with the paradox that a loving God would allow the atrocities around her. When Tamar resists the advances of a Third Reich officer, he exacts his revenge by betraying the secrets hidden behind the walls of Neelie’s house. From a prison hospital to a Nazi celebration to a concentration camp, will the three of them survive to tell the world the secrets behind barbed wire?






Summer 1902

Peyton Quinn is tasked with preparing the grand Calumet Castle ballroom for a spectacular two-hundred-guest summer gala. As she works in a male-dominated position of upholsterer and fights for women’s equality, she’s persecuted for her unorthodox ways. But when her pyrotechnics-engineer father is seriously hurt, she takes over the plans for the fireworks display despite being socially ostracized.

Patrick Taylor, Calumet’s carpenter and Peyton’s childhood chum, hopes to win her heart, but her unconventional undertakings cause a rift. Peyton has to ignore the prejudices and persevere or she could lose her job, forfeit Patrick’s love and respect, and forever become the talk of local gossips.

She’s making a run toward hope, love, and family and she’s not letting go.






Orphaned as a young girl, Ella longs for a life she’s only read about in books. To escape a desperate situation, she heads west as a mail-order bride, narrowing her choice of spouse to three brothers, a millwright, a businessman, and a horse trainer, all searching for a marriage of convenience which will provide the inheritance that will finance the family’s business venture in Oklahoma.
Newspapers claim the unchartered territory is a land where streams flow with milk and the heavens rain down a supply of honey. Will her road lead to the Promised Land?






Roxy Silva is completing her hometown mail route, when a sinkhole suddenly opens up and drains a retention pond, revealing the hiding place of the damaged car used in her husband’s unsolved murder. Roxy - determined to find her husband’s killer - turns amateur sleuth and uses her amazing photographic memory to piece together clues. Her relationship with the town’s handsome detective Kyle heats up as they uncover shocking secrets. When the killer takes Roxy captive, she must use her wits to survive.








Calli works as a nurse with the US Army at Fort Bridger, Wyoming in 1880. When a wagon train full of discouraged emigrants passes through on its way east, a pregnant widow delivers her baby then dies. Bradley Wilson, leading this train, has few options. He asks Calli to travel with them until they find a relative to take the child in St. Joe, Missouri. Calli, drawn to both this dark and quiet man and the child, resists. But when she disappears, he wonders if she’s run away or been kidnapped. Can these two put their pasts behind them and move into a new future together? Or will Calli insist on having things her own way?







He is destined to be high priest—but at what cost to those he loves?

In ancient Samaria, Aban anticipates his rites of passage with excitement and dread. But when the prophet Elijah interrupts the rituals and curses the land with drought, the king appears powerless and the rain god does nothing.

Against his better judgment, Aban conceals the prophet’s whereabouts. Now an enemy of the relentless Queen Jezebel, Aban has little time to question his fading commitment to Melqart. He will have to choose a side in Yahweh’s war against the Ba’als—and it may cost him his life.







Are a new life and new love possible in a country devastated by war?

Barely married before she’s widowed, journalist Cora Strealer travels to England where she’s assigned to work with United Press’s top reporter who thinks the last place for a woman is on the front lines. Will she have to choose her job over her heart?

A sought-after journalist, Van Toppel deserves his pick of assignments, so why did the bureau chief saddle him with a cub reporter. The beautiful rookie is no puff piece. Can he get her off his beat without making headlines…or losing his heart?






Sherri Stewart’s hobby is writing inspirational fiction—either suspense or historical, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges our faith. A former French teacher, principal, attorney, and flight attendant, she now spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passion is traveling to the settings of her books, sampling the food, and visiting the sites. She enjoyed visiting Haarlem to research A Song for Her Enemies, and Paris for its sequel which is in the works. A recent widow, Sherri lives in the Orlando area with her lazy dog, Lily, and her son, Joshua, who can fix anything. She shares recipes, tidbits of the books’ locations, and pix in her newsletter. Subscribe at http://eepurl.com/gZ-mv9




 
Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than twenty-five times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has seven in her fiction line including, The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, Katelyn’s Choice, Devyn’s Dilemma, Sara’s Surprise, Reagan’s Reward, and Colleen’s Confession. Her newest, Peyton’s Promise, came out in May 2022 and Rachel’s Reunion releases October 7, 2022. She just finished writing book ten, Mary’s Moment. Her book awards include two Illumination Book Awards, three American Fiction Awards, two Indie Excellence Book Awards, and two Literary Titan Book Awards. Reagan’s Reward is a Selah Awards finalist. Visit her at https://www.susangmathis.com/





Kimberly Grist is married to her high school sweetheart, Nelson, a former teacher and coach, now a pastor. They have three adult sons, one with Down syndrome, and they have a passion for encouraging others with family members with special needs.

After years of thinking about it, in 2017, she began writing her first novel. Rebecca’s Hope is the first story in seven books and introduced a western town in the late 19th century filled with colorful characters and innovative young women inspired by her grandmothers. From the very beginning, her objective was to combine History, Humor, and Romance, emphasizing Faith, Friends, and Good Clean Fun. Learn more at https://kimberlygrist.com/




 
Mary Dodge Allen has won a 2022 Christian Indie Award and two Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writer's Association. She and her husband live in Central Florida, where she has served as a volunteer with the local police department. Her childhood in Minnesota sparked her lifelong love of the outdoors. She has worked as a Teacher, Counselor and Social Worker and as a USPS mail carrier during a college break. Her quirky sense of humor is energized by a passion for coffee and chocolate. She’s a member of The Florida Writer's Association, American Christian Fiction Writers and Faith Hope and Love Christian Writers. Her website: http://www.marydodgeallen.com



 

A hybrid author, Donna writes squeaky clean historical and contemporary suspense. She has been published more than 50 times in books; is a member of several writers groups; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, traveling extensively for both.  Visit her at https://www.donnaschlachter.com/





Dana McNeely dreamed of living in a world teeming with adventure, danger, and romance, but she had a problem—she also needed a lot of peace and quiet. She learned to visit that dream world by stepping into a book. Soon, she began writing her own stories, fact and fiction. Inspired by the Bible stories of Elijah, Dana wondered why the prophet came to stay with the widow of Zarephath and her son. Who were they? What was their life, before? How did the boy change after he died, saw the other world—and came back? Those questions led to Dana writing RAIN, in which she built her dream world of adventure, danger, and romance. Peace and quiet, however, have remained elusive. No stranger to drought, Dana lives in an Arizona oasis with her hubby the constant gardener, two good dogs, an antisocial cat, and migrating butterflies. Learn more at https://DanaMcNeely.com





 
Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is a former trustee for her local public library. She is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry. Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors. Learn more about Linda and her books at http://www.LindaShentonMatchett.com





37 comments:

  1. Good morning, all! What a great group of books there are this month! I think I'll go off course today with my question and ask all of you what your favorite summer treat is. I have two must-haves in the summer....fresh veggies from farmstands and ice cream. Your turns!! bcrug AT twc DOT com

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    1. Hi Connie, My favorite summer treat is a hot fudge sundae with chocolate sprinkles! You can't have too much chocolate. 😊

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    2. Connie, I agree with you about ice cream. Nothing better on a hot day.

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    3. Lime popsicles, especially after working in the heat. And fresh cherries, although I don't buy them at their current price :)

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  2. Hi Connie! Thanks for stopping by as always! I love ice cream too but a night treat for me is a hamburger on the grill. Yum!

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  3. Hi all!
    How did you choose the time period in your historicals? Have you ever wanted to write a book in a different genre?
    Historical Christian Fiction is my all time favorite.

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    1. I fell in love with WWII after my first visit to the Wright Museum here in town. I've always been interested in the post-Civil War era from my years of living in Maryland and Northern Virginia. I've written mysteries and contemporary, but my favorites are historicals.

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    2. Paula, I write both historical novels and contemporary suspense. Historicals involves more research, but I like research and traveling to the locations.

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    3. I write biblical novels. One day when I was reading in 1 Kings, I came to the passage where Elijah prays the widow's son back to life. I was so moved at the thought of dying, going to the other world, and opening my eyes again to this world. So my time period chose me! My debut novel, Rain, was published in 2021 and finaled for the Christy award that year. Whirlwind, a second novel in the same series, is slated for publication in December 2022.

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    4. I love the years 1860 through 1899, and I usually look for something interested that happened in the area where I'm setting my story so I can include some real history.

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  4. Hello Ladies, Do you have travel plans this Summer?
    psalm103and138atgmaildotcom

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    1. Hi Caryl: I just started a new job so don't have much vacation scheduled, but I'll be flying to FL to see my dad at the end of season.

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    3. Sorry, I meant to type Caryl. Spell check kicked in.

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    4. Hi Caryl, My husband and I are going to Maryland for his high school class reunion.

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    5. Hi Caryl, Although I don't travel much, I'm going with several writers to Hatteras, NC for a time of writing, brainstorming, and editing with a bit of beach walking tossed in the mix.

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    6. Hi Caryl, I'm traveling to Michigan in July to research a book I'm writing about romance scamming. My mother's burial ceremony is also going to be in July in Michigan.

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    7. Yes. We are members of a large international ministry that is having its annual convention in Grapevine in July. So far there are delegates from more than 90 countries and almost every state in the Union registered to attend.

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  5. Ice cream or fruit are my summer treats! I'm a huge fan of blueberry cobbler ice cream, which incorporates both. :)

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  6. Question for @MaryDodgeAllen - was the "sinkhole" family in the house or the swimming pool?

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    1. They were not in the house or pool at the time (which was fortunate).

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  7. question for mary dodge allen...where was the sinkhole?
    question for sheri stewart. did you always want to be a writer? thanks for the chance to win, amandasmother(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. Hi Charlene, The sinkhole was in Winter Park, FL.

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    2. Charlene, No, I didn't like writing, and I had to write a lot of essays for school. But at one point when my family was going through a really rough patch, a friend dared me to write a book for a contest, and it turned a switch on in me and I've been writing ever since.

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  8. Okay, this question is for all the authors and came to me when I was thinking about my daughter's riding lesson. Since horses had a very important role in transportation in the past, have any of you specifically taken lessons or rode a horse as research?

    Luvthots(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I have owned a lot of horses in my life. But my book Rain featured a wild camel ride through the desert and I did ride a camel for researching that scene. :)

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    2. Dana, I think that was brave of you to ride a camel in the name of research. I heard that some camels get nasty and spit if they are displeased.

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    3. Dana, I agree, that was very brave of you. Riding a camel looks scary to me.

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    4. Roxanne and Mary, my camel was named Isaac, was very clean and had soft fur, and was kind and gentle. He even smelled nice. :) He felt much like a horse to ride, only with longer strides. :) Much longer!

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    5. Not for research, but I took lessons about 45 years ago and still love to ride. I have done a couple of virtual stagecoach rides for research, though.

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    6. Not me! I had a friend during my teen years who had a horse, and we went a couple of times, but I was terrified to be that high up on the animal. The last time we went, he walked under a tree and brushed me off. I decided I'd had enough of horses, but they are beautiful creatures.

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    7. Linda, I had a similar experience, so I understand how you feel.

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  9. I would like to ask Susan Mathis if she lives near Thousand Islands and if she has ever visited there?

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  10. Kimberly, what is a specific story of one of your grandmother's that has shown up in a book?

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    1. I forgot to put my email address: stevejoin@donohoanalytics.com

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