Introductions Please! (with M.J. Elliott)

By Matthew J. Elliott

The Family

I am sure you are wondering... Why is this post up today? Doesn't he post on the 1st of every month? Well, yes, I do, but today is different from my normal posts. In truth, I was given the opportunity to fill in for someone else and thought it would be a great way to share more about myself. So, this post is all about who I am, where I came from, and why I do what I do.

My name is Matthew James Elliott (M.J. Elliott) and my wife Traci and I live in Northern Oklahoma with our three children. We have been together since 2010 and oddly enough, we both consider ourselves writers. Both of us have degrees from OkWU in some kind of ministry, and enjoy long walks, restful vacations, and spending time with our family, of course.

My Inspirational Mother

As a child, writing was insanely difficult for me because I have visual dyslexia, ADHD, and a short attention span, 😉. So making the time to sit down and write something down was more challenging than learning how to drive. Through the encouragement from my late mother, who always dreamed I would become a writer, I could find a way to overcome my struggles and write down words. While it was, and still is, difficult to break through writing block walls and a severe lack of self-confidence, I continued to write devotionals and church curriculums until 2017.

At this point, I took an extended vacation from writing so I could work through some personal struggles and also so I could actually provide for my growing family. In May of 2023, something drastic changed. My imagination began to soar into some unexpected places in the Bible, and thus, I became a Biblical Historical Fiction Writer and I am forever drawn to it. One of the most important lessons I have learned through everything is the value of imagination, and how using it can link the past and the future to the present in more ways than one. What about you though? Where are you from and what are some lessons you have learned in life?

~ Highlighted Release ~

The Cyprus Journal is Coming Soon! May 5th, 2024!

One Young Man. His Significant Story. A Witness of the Early Church.

Many knew him as the young cousin to Barnabas the Encourager, the son of Mary who offered her home to honor the Savior and those who followed Him, or even the man who abandoned Paul on his First Missionary Journey, but there is more to his story. His story is one of new beginnings, a promise fulfilled, and a man who overcame fear of the unknown.

Spotlight on Martha Rogers and a Christmas Give Away

Good morning from Houston, Texas.

Martha Rogers here, one of the regular bloggers on HHH blog. Born and bred in Texas, I’ve never lived in any other state except for six months with my aunt in Washington, D.C. when I was in eighth grade. That was an amazing time for me and my sister as we were able to see and do so much in that great city.

I am the oldest grandchild on each side of the family. When we were younger, I liked to "organize" things for us to do because I was just a little bossy.  I liked telling my cousins "how to do things". Those cousins and my sister and I still get together for what we call "Cousin Camp" every year. Here we are at the church in St. Francisville, Louisiana where we met to commemorate our great-grandparents 105th anniversary. I featured the church in my book about my grandparents' love story in Love Stays True.

My husband Rex and I live in Houston and have lived in the same house for 44 years. Lots of history here. Rex and I met at a social for Career Singles at Houston's First Baptist church where we were married and are still members.On October 24, we will celebrate 61 years of marriage.

My husband and I loved to travel when we were younger and have visited many of our great states. We’re retired, but at the age of 84, we are no longer able to travel like we once did. 

My favorite things or people are our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Our sixth great-grandchild, Zachery Ryan, was born in August and is a delight. Our youngest grandson is a senior in high school and was recently elected president of his senior class. So, despite COVID, this will be a year of good memories.

I love to read and grew with weekly trips to the library for as many books as they would let me check out. I’ve been writing since I was able to hold a pencil and scribble out stories I told my mother. I had a very creative imagination and my teachers in elementary and secondary school encouraged me in my writing.                                                                                            

My freshman English professors at Baylor University also encouraged me in my writing, and from them I learned more about sentence structure and the

mechanics of writing. I wrote my first novel at the age of 17 on a typewriter in my dorm room. I still have a yellowed copy of it. I am an avid Baylor fan and love my Alma Mater as evidenced by the Baylor wall in the room I use as my office.

After graduation, I wrote short stories while I worked as a Home Economist with the electric company here in Houston. Then I married, had a family, and put my writing on the back burner. I started teaching and eventually earned my MEd in curriculum and began teaching English. I then taught at the college level. 

Right after I began teaching at the college level, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery. After treatment, it still came back five years later, and in 1999, I had the second surgery. This time the treatment took care of it, and I've been cancer free since 2004. God has blessed my life in more ways than I could ever count, and I give Him all the praise and glory for all that He's done for me. I am especially proud of our family and how God has blessed us with beautiful grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Below is a picture of our family at our grandson Seth's wedding to Katherine three years ago. 

Finally, after thirty-six years, I retired from teaching when I had my second cancer surgery. I then began attending writing conferences, and got serious about my writing. In 2005, my first novella was published by Barbour in a collection called Sugar and Grits. Our son and his family lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, so we made many trips up there. We always stopped at the Welcome Center just over the Texas line, and I began picking up pamphlets about the history of Oklahoma. That inspired me to set my first book in the state after the land run in the late 19^th century. Then, believe it or not, the acceptance letter for my first full-length novel in the Oklahoma series came on my 73^rd birthday in 2009. One book became the first of six. These are the first four.

Since then, I have over 55 novellas and novels published.

In my series, Homeward Journey, I used some journal entries and letters from my great-grandfather to my great-grandmother just after the Civil War as the starting point for my story. Writing it required a lot of research about the armistice and the conditions of POW camps in the north. My great-grandfather was a prisoner at Pt. Lookout, Maryland and was exchanged a few days after the Armistice to make his way home on foot with his younger brother which is the starting point for the book. That then required research into what towns existed in 1865 between Maryland and his home in Louisiana. Since then, the majority of my books have been set in Texas.

The theme of all my books centers around reunion and reconciliation. That reconciliation may be character to character, the character with self, or the character with God. My characters face tragedy, adversity, loss of faith, sin, and rejection, but through it all, their lives are changed through restoration of faith and prayer.

I'm a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and write the devotional for that loop every week. I'm also a member of Christian Author's Network, WOTS chapter of ACFW in The Woodlands, Texas, and Inspirational Writers Alive, our local writing group in Houston. I also teach a Ladies Bible class on Sundays and co-lead a First Place 4 Health group.

This is one of my most favorite pictures from ACFW conference. I'm getting a hug from Frank Peritti at the Saturday night gala in 2013.

My latest release is a contemporary Christmas story set in south Texas with characters who knew each other in high school, but misunderstanding and a humiliating experience ruined their relationship. Ten years later, it’s time to forgive the past and look to the future, but getting there looks impossible.

Ask me a question about my journey or my books and include your email address. You will then be in the drawing for this book either as a paperback or an e-book.

Learn more about me on my website and Facebook:

marthawrogers.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarthaRogersAuthor

Tamales at Christmastime

By Nancy J. Farrier

One red chili/chicken and
one green chili/cheese tamale.

I’ve lived for most of my life in the Southwest, so when I think of Christmas traditions, tamales come to mind. I’ve loved watching the families who get together and spend the day making tamales. There is a lot of work involved as well as camaraderie and love. The result of their efforts is a delicious food. This year I thought I would share some history behind the tamale and why they are a Christmas tradition.

Tamales with corn husk
opened.

First, what are tamales? Tamales are a corn masa, made of ground corn, and spread on a corn husk or a type of leaf, usually filled and then wrapped and steamed. The filling is varied from meat fillings to chili and cheese to sweet tamales. They are incredibly good and very portable.

Tamales can be traced back to early history bc. Because they are so portable, they were often sent with travelers for their journey or hunters on an expedition. They could carry the tamale with them and the wrapping would keep the food safe.

What is in the tamale filling? Today, you find them with beef, pork or chicken, usually in a chili-based sauce. Or, there are cheese and green chili tamales. Or, the sweet tamales with raisins. There are quite a variety, but what about historically? 

What did the Aztecs and Mayans use to fill their tamales? Some of the fillings used were meats such as rabbit, fish, turkey, beans, fruits, and even eggs, which are all pretty normal to us. But, they also had fillings made of more unusual meats such as gopher, frog or flamingo. Frogs? Flamingos? 

Photo by Diana Ponce Navarrete
Wikimedia Commons

Making tamales can be very time consuming, thus the reason families get together and make dozens of tamales in one day. The filling needs prepared. The masa must be mixed to the right consistency. The corn husks or leaves need softened. 

Once everything is ready, the tamales are assembled by smoothing a layer of masa on the corn husk or leaf, adding a spoon full of filling, and then folding the tamale just so. Some are tied to keep them from opening, but sometimes the husk is large enough to fold and stay closed. The top of the tamale is left open and they are placed in a large

Cooking Tamales
Wikimedia Commons

kettle to steam, standing them on end so the open end is upright and the filling won’t fall out. Having helpers for the process is a wonderful idea, plus the time with family cements relationships and teaches the younger children the family recipe. This is tradition handed down over the years.

Why are tamales so popular at Christmas in the Southwest? There is the belief that the tamales made at Christmas contain an olive, the representation of the Christ child with the tamale representing Mary. It is symbolic of her carrying the Christ child and Him waiting to be born. This story has been handed down for centuries. 

Tamales ready to eat.

No matter the way they are made or the reason for making them, tamales are a wonderful tradition. They are eaten all year long, but at Christmas, the making of them becomes very special. 

Have you ever made tamales? Do you enjoy eating them? They are a wonderful food that is easy to fix once they’ve been made. My family has enjoyed them for years, and I’ve made them a few times. Mine have never measured up to some of the ones we’ve been given from families who have their own recipe handed down. Still, it’s wonderful to try something new.

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.

After Freedom: How Slaves Searched for Family

By Michelle Shocklee

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Yet freedom for most slaves wouldn't come for two more years when the war finally ended in April 1865, and another two months to Juneteenth, the day Union troops arrived in Texas with the proclamation.

While researching my historical novels set on a Texas cotton plantation, I read dozens and dozens of true accounts of what slavery was like. These slave narratives, collected in the 1930s by the Federal Writers Project, are a treasure trove of information about the life of a slave. I wrote about my research in a blog titled I Was Born in Slavery--a Slave's Oral History.  To read and even hear the slaves' own words (there are a few recordings included in the archives!) is truly amazing. 

One heartbreaking theme is found in nearly all the narratives, and that is missing family members. Slave owners regularly split up families, selling off fathers and mothers and children for various (despicable) reasons. Slave traders often transported slaves across state lines, leaving the slaves with no hope of ever seeing their loved ones again. 

Slave auction house in Atlanta, GA, 1864

After the war ended and slavery was abolished, the task of reuniting families was monumental. Records indicate the government began collecting names and pertinent information of the former slaves, creating a sort of data bank to help locate relatives. But without modern-day technology, the endeavor took years and was far from adequate considering the vast number of people searching for their families. At the beginning of the Civil War, there were nearly four million people in bondage in the United States. You can imagine how many of them faced the hopelessness of finding their loved ones. 

As the years passed, some former slaves took to the newspapers, placing ads with information about their missing family members, hoping against all odds that someone somewhere would see it and contact them. I found them very poignant, especially those with updates that include good news. I'll share a few here and let them speak for themselves:

DO YOU KNOW THEM?

Louisville, KY , October 1, 1895.
I desire to know the whereabouts of Edwin Childs, the husband of Lucy Childs. The latter was daughter of old man Carter Page before the war. She belonged to Franklin Guy. She had two brothers, one by the name of William Page, and Archie Page. Edwin Childs belonged to Dr Worthum before the war, and he always hired his own time. His sister Muzinda, and he worked in the tobacco factory together. Edwin Childs' wife, Lucy Childs, was sold to the Negro traders before the war by Franklin Guy. Franklin Guy had two sons, one was named Tommie Guy and the other Warner Guy. 

Oblige,
Bettie Johnson, Louisville, KY

FOUND HER RELATIVES.
Louisville, Ky , October 23, 1895
Mr. Mitchell,
I have heard from my father Edwin Childs. He lives in Washington City. He saw the advertisement in the Richmond Planet. I received the letter from him Tuesday. It has been 36 years since I last saw him. We were sold away from our father in the year of 1859. I received a letter from Philadelphia, Pa , concerning the same matter. My aunt Muzinda lives in Richmond, Va. Through your kindness was the cause of me finding my father and aunt.
From yours,
Bettie Johnson, Louisville, KY

Here is another: 

INFORMATION WANTED OF MY RELATION. My uncle's name is Howard Hightower, his wife's name, Martha Hightower; three sons, Henry, Daniel and John; daughters, Mary, Caroline and Harriet. I have found Henry and Mary, who are living in Greensboro, Ga. We all belonged to William Hightower as late as 1862 '63, and at his death we were divided. Some went to Alabama, Southwestern Georgia and some to Polk county, Ga., while some remained in Green county, Ga., all of us being natives of that county. Uncle's name, Andy Hightower. Aminia and Louisiana Hightower are sisters to Andy. I will inform my uncles and aunts that their mother is living in Greensboro; also two of her sons. Any information will be gladly received by S. M. HIGHTOWER.
Rockmount, Ga.

One must wonder how many families were actually reunited with loved ones, and how many never saw their relatives again. In my historical novel The Widow of Rose Hill, two former slaves, Moses and Harriet, deal with this difficult subject. Without giving away their story, I did my best to keep to the facts of the time period, showing the heartbreak, the challenge, and the difficult decisions so many former slaves had to make. 

Put yourself in their shoes: Had you lived in those days, how would you have gone about searching for your loved ones? How long would you have tried? Would you ever give up?

Michelle Shocklee is the award-winning author of The Planter's Daughter and The Widow of Rose Hill, historical sagas set on a Texas cotton plantation before and after the Civil War. Her historical novella set in the New Mexico Territory is included in The Mail-Order Brides Collection. Michelle and her husband of 32 years make their home in Tennessee. Connect with her at www.MichelleShocklee.com.





THE WIDOW OF ROSE HILL

Widowed during the war, Natalie Ellis finds herself

solely responsible for Rose Hill plantation. When Union troops arrive with a proclamation freeing the slaves, all seems lost. How can she run the plantation without slaves? In order to save her son’s inheritance she strikes a deal with the arrogant, albeit handsome, Colonel Maish. In exchange for use of her family’s property, the army will provide workers to bring in her cotton crop. But as her admiration for the colonel grows, a shocking secret is uncovered. Can she trust him with her heart and her young, fatherless son?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078CN65FH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Bathing in Medieval Times PLUS giveaway!

With the recent discovery of the medieval sin-washing well, I wanted to learn out more about it. I found the post so interesting that I searched sin-washing in medieval times and couldn't find anything on it besides the new discovery of this well. But what I did find was a lot of articles on bathing from Roman times to medieval times. I thought I'd share with you some of what I learned. 

 

Ancient Rome was famous for all of their public bath houses. Some of those building are still standing today allowing us a glimpse into that part of history. These bath houses had hot rooms, cold rooms and even just plain old warm rooms to lounge around in. Some of the wealthier people had their own private bath houses. 

By Diliff - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1231248

Around the 12th century there was Jewish ritual bathing. The water had to come from a live well (water that came from a river, rain water or a spring but the water could not be drawn. This made the water fit for one to dip one's body into. 





 





Jerome and Clement, early Christian fathers, (during the 4th and 5th centuries) did not take a liking to bathing in public bath houses and discouraged it.

By RyanFreisling - I (RyanFreisling) took this photograph of the Domus Aurea myself, in 2005., Public Domain,

 

During the medieval and renaissance periods the Roman type bath houses were reintroduced and encouraged by Islamic countries. It's possible that the bath houses returned to western Europe from the middle east due to the crusades.





 
 



I'm sure you have all heard the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. And you've probably read those emails where they tell you how all of our  sayings came about. This one many time reads that the people only bathed once a year and they bathed oldest to youngest, so by the time the baby was washed the water was black and they couldn't even see the child in the water. Thus don't throw the baby out with the bath water. 

However, medieval people did bath depending on the time period and their place in society. The poor or the laborers bathed less due to the fact they couldn't afford to have tubs or purchase fuel to warm water so their bathing was done more in the summer months when they could take a dip in a pond or a river.
In winter months when the weather was not as conducive for bathing, personal hygiene wasn't at its best, but washing of the hands before and after meals was common practice and good hygiene no matter what your social status. 

For the middle class, having the means to warm water for a tub was a status symbol, making it even more popular for that class to take baths.


Though the wealthy who could afford the fuel to heat the water, they too, usually had the tubs brought to the rooms to bathe rather than the elaborate bath houses they had in the middle east homes. 

So did bathing decline and if it did when did it? It does seem that during the Renaissance period that people didn't bath as frequently. They worried that it was unhealthy and that perhaps it helped spread the plague. People stopped everything that might cause the spread of the disease. 

I have to say when I'm writing in medieval times and in 19th century times I do like to have my heroes and heroines clean and with good hygiene regardless of whether it really was that way in history. 

What do you think? Do you want history to always ring true or are there times that changing something is okay?   

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment to be entered to win your choice of Sword of Forgiveness or Shattered Memories. 

                  SWORD OF FORGIVENESS NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO HERE!

After the death of her cruel father, Brithwin is determined never again to live under the harsh rule of any man. Independent and resourceful, she longs to be left alone to manage her father’s estate. But she soon discovers a woman has few choices when the king decrees she is to marry Royce, the Lord of Rosen Craig. As if the unwelcome marriage isn’t enough, her new husband accuses her of murdering his family, and she is faced with a challenge of either proving her innocence or facing possible execution.

Royce returns home after setting down a rebellion to find his family brutally murdered. When all fingers point to his betrothed and attempts are made on his life, Royce must wade through murky waters to uncover the truth. Yet Brithwin’s wise and kind nature begin to break down the walls of his heart, and he soon finds himself in a race to discover who is behind the evil plot before Brithwin is the next victim.

 Debbie Lynne has enjoyed writing stories since she was eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many capacities in her church and is currently the Children’s director. Debbie Lynne has shown and raised Shetland sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys litters now and then. In their spare time, She and her husband enjoy camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses. Visit Debbie Lynne at www.debbielynnecostello.com
www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/debbielynnecostello https://plus.google.com/+DebbieLynneCostello/posts
https://twitter.com/DebiLynCostello


 

War-time Christmas 1861-1864

Celebrating Christmas on the Battlefield and Homefront
Martha Rogers

From 1861 to 1864 Christmas was difficult for families on both sides of the conflict between the North and South. My great-grandmother Sallie Dyer told of her worst Christmas ever in 1864 when she had not heard from her true love, Manfred, since early November before the battle of Nashville. She had no idea where he was or if he had survived the battle his regiment fought in Tennessee.

Similar scenes played out across the states as those left behind pondered the

fate of their loved ones or mourned the passing of sons, brothers and husbands.

Despite the circumstances, the holiday and celebrating the birth of Jesus was important to both sides. Stories are told of units spending Christmas Eve with enemies singing Christmas carols across enemy lines in a night when the guns were silent to remember the Savior’s birth.

During this time, the first introductions to the modern image of jolly old St. Nick entered their lives through drawings by an immigrant German-speaking artist, Thomas Nast. Another German custom, the Christmas tree, also played a role in the celebration of Christmas with table top size trees and beautiful ornaments, some of them home-made. 

Christmas packages were sent to the front and in most cases were delivered. One soldier, John Haley of Maine, wrote, “It is rumored that there are sundry boxes and mysterious parcels over at Stoneman’s Station directed to us. We retire to sleep with feelings akin to those of children expecting Santa Claus.” Many letters home mentioned decorating camp Christmas trees and having a dinner of salt-pork and hard tack.

The holiday reminded everyone of the melancholy settling over the entire nation. Many parents, especially in the South, warned their children that Santa might not make it across enemy lines thus no gifts under the tree for Christmas morning. Soldiers were reminded more acutely than ever of the domestic bliss left behind. 

The people of Fredericksburg, Virginia had the war brought right to their doorstep only a matter of days before the holiday. Theirs was indeed a bleak Christmas. Perhaps the most well-known war-time Christmas event is the capture of Savannah by General Sherman who wrote a letter to Lincoln on December 22, 1864 giving the President the gift of the beginning to the end of the war. 

Christmas served as both an escape as well as a reminder of the conflict dividing the country. Families back home celebrated but with an eye on that empty chair at the table, wondering when it would again be filled. Children were content to receive hand-carved toys, fruit, and other home-made items. Even General Sherman’s men brought food to starving families in the war stricken Georgia countryside.

The novel, Little Women, was one of my favorite books and I remember Christmas for the March girls during the war. Christmas went on despite horrific conditions and loved ones missing from the family gatherings.

Other wars since that time have brought the same feelings of loneliness and loss to countless loved ones. Through it all, Christmas was one holiday that brought hearts together to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Information source: http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/on-the-homefront/culture/christmas-during-the-civil-war.html

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.  A former English and Home Economics teacher, Martha loves to cook and experimenting with recipes and loves scrapbooking when she has time. She has written three series, Winds Across the Prairie and Seasons of the Heart and The Homeward Journey. Her new contemporary series, Love in the Bayou City of Houston and novella, Christmas Blessing are now available on Amazon.  

Find Martha at:  www.marthawrogers.com

CHRISTMAS DURING WORLD WAR II

ANNE GREENE here.

Here is part of how Americans celebrated Christmas during the war years. 

Christmas has always been a major holiday in the United States, but during World War II (1941-45) the holiday took on special meaning as most families had a loved one serving in the military who could not be home for Christmas. Peace on Earth was not just a nice phrase found on Christmas cards, but the number one prayer of Americans everywhere. The Christmas season gave hope that while this year many were away, maybe next year the war would be over and missing family members would return home. 

Americans tried their best to celebrate Christmas. Families on the Home Front dealt with painful separations and lost loved ones which the holiday made agonizing. But those keeping the home front fires burning worked hard at making Christmas merry for the children. 

Before the war, America was still recovering from the great depression when money and jobs were scarce. Shoppers were often limited to window shopping, not having any extra money to purchase anything. When the war began, war production went into high gear bringing good-paying jobs and additional income. But, there was little to buy as rationing and priorities in war production left few goods on the shelves. Metal toys nearly disappeared as did automobiles, radios, bicycles, typewriters, and other goods. 

Wartime production priorities greatly restricted the presents that children could receive for Christmas. Who better to tell the kids than St. Nick? Santa Claus had to lower children’s expectations when they came to sit on his lap. Santa explained that a particular toy had too much steel in it - and that steel was needed for the war. If a child seemed disappointed, Santa told the child that some children living in the countries where the war was being fought would have no Christmas. With the shortage of men, Santa was often a woman. 

The song, White Christmas, debuted in 1942. Sung by Bing Crosby it became an instant success as its peaceful feeling hit home with those on the home front and those on the battle front. I’ll Be Home for Christmas debuted in 1943. The words touched the hearts of separated loved ones. Both songs are still classics sung at Christmas. 

For the soldiers, sailors and airmen overseas, military necessity and lack of accommodations forced them to have minimal celebrations. Many of the boys serving overseas got the blues. But presents from home cheered them. 

Do you have a Christmas story from the World War II years that you’d like to share? Maybe a soldier or someone in your family shared his or her experience. Maybe you have a story of how a child at home felt during those years at Christmas from 1941 to 1945. I’d love to hear your stories. Please leave a comment. 

ANNE GREENE delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines. Her second novel, a Scottish historical, Masquerade Marriage, won three prestigious book awards. The sequel Marriage By Arrangement, finalled in a number of contests. A Texas Christmas Mystery also won several awards. Look for Anne’s new World War II historical romance, Angel With Steel Wings, early in 2015. The first book in Anne’s lady detective series, Holly Garden, PI, Red is for Rookie, débuts later in 2015. Anne’s highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to awesome new worlds and touch hearts to seek a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus. Anne makes her home in McKinney, Texas. She loves to talk with her readers. Buy Anne’s books at http://www.Amazon.com. Talk with Anne on twitter at @TheAnneGreene. View Anne’s books, travel pictures and art work at http://www.AnneGreeneAuthor.com.

Learn more about Anne as well as gain tips on writing award-winning novels at http://www.anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com.

VISIT WITH ANNE here at Heroes, Heroines, & History every 14^th day of every month.