Monday, August 19, 2019

"Jewel’s Gold" by Caryl McAdoo Book Tour And Give Away

Jewels gold FB BannerAbout the Book

Book: Jewel’s Gold
Author: Caryl McAdoo
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: July 20, 2019
Jewels GoldCan a tangled web snare two hearts and point them true north?
A Papa’s girl from the start, Jewel Jones remembers all the things he told her. Wealthy, but far from being a snob, she finds Boaz Branson both irritating and intriguing. How can she know if the handsome confidence man truly turns from his wicked ways, or if his interest only in her gold? Papa said let God’s peace lead her.
Only by God’s grace can Boaz escape the deceptions he plans to perpetrate on the beautiful heiress. While his head wants to flee the entanglement, his heart bids him stay.
Are Jewel and Boaz building on sinking sand, or have they found the golden nugget they seek?

Click here to grab your copy.
I just finish reading "Jewel’s Gold" by Caryl McAdoo and I am thinking I want to read more about these characters. Yes, Caryl McAdoo  has done it again. The other thing I don't like about this book and I know not all agreed with me, but it did brother me every time I  read the word "whore". I know that is what women were called and  in the time period of the book  ',but I have to be honest and say I cringe when I read that word.

I really liked that Caryl McAdoo's books all have the Gospel message in the story and it is done in a way that isn't preachy.    This book has surprises that I  didn't see coming but I think it makes the ending so much more realistic.

This book makes me want to take a cruise to Alaska.

The scenes in this book isn't all happy, a character turns criminal.

I recommend this book to any reader that likes adventures stories along with a clean love story and one that the Bible is shared and where characters show that they live the Christian life.

I forgot to mention that I found the scenes of digging for gold fascinating.

Is there a difference between gambling and investing, read this book and see if character you are more prone to agreed with!

I received a complimentary copy by the author and CelebrateLit. These opinions are my own.

About the Author

Caryl Cabo BeachAward-winning, hybrid author Caryl McAdoo prays her story gives God glory! That is why she writes, why she breathes. Her forty-fourth novel has just launched, joining her best-selling title list! Besides writing, she loves singing the new songs the Lord gives her. (Listen to a few at YouTube.) Ron, her husband of 50+ years shares four children and eighteen grandsugars—life’s best blessings, Caryl says. The McAdoos live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas, waiting expectantly for God to open the next door.

More from Caryl

Jewel’s Gold, my July release and book four in the Gold Diggers Collection, begins in San Francisco in 1895 and moves quickly north to Alaska on Troublesome Creek where Jewel’s papa has a gold mine. My husband Ron was on Troublesome Creek in 1993 seeking the Lord. While there, he also did a little prospecting.
To mention gold is to speak of wealth as gold is the most sought-after metal in the world. It’s found on every continent, and I’ve discovered it can be located our bodies as well! Mostly in our blood! Small traces have also been extracted from eucalyptus leaves, a favorite snack of Koala bears!
Jewel Jones is the daughter of Joshua Jones, son of Moses and Lanell introduced in SINS OF THE MOTHERS, book three in the Texas Romance Family Saga. Truth be known, little Joshua was in fact a Wheeler, not as Jones, though Moses reared him as his own son.
His real father was Caleb who married Mary Rachael Buckmeyer and talked her into running off to California. So, this book may also be classified as a ‘Companion Book’ to that highly acclaimed historical romance series.
Ron has always wanted to go back and show me Alaska, and one day we most likely will go north . . . but only in the summer! Who doesn’t love leaving Texas for northern, cooler temperatures in the summer?
This story has a little mystery along with the romance and history. When we drove the Oregon/California Trail last December, we visited the site of Sutter’s Mill where the gold rush of 1849 was born. That last place we went before turning south and east back to Texas was an unexpected stop.
On the American River, the park and museum offered an amazing place to visit, and knowing this book was on the schedule made it all the more interesting! I also believe that place will add to the genuine feel of Jewel’s Gold.

Blog Stops

Power of Words, August 14 (Spotlight)
Emily Yager, August 16
Simple Harvest Reads, August 20 (Spotlight)
Texas Book-aholic, August 22
janicesbookreviews, August 23
Artistic Nobody, August 24 (Spotlight)
A Reader’s Brain, August 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter the giveaway.
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Saturday, August 17, 2019

"Daughters of Northern Shores" by Joanne Bischof





Daughter of Northern Shores


About the Book

Book: Daughters of Northern Shores
Author: Joanne Bischof
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Daughters of Nother Shores CoverAven Norgaard understands courage. Orphaned within an Irish workhouse, then widowed at just nineteen, she voyaged to America where she was wooed and wed by Thor Norgaard, a Deaf man in rural Appalachia. That the Lord saw her along the winding journey and that Aven now carries Thor’s child are blessings beyond measure. Yet while Thor holds her heart, it is his younger brother and rival who haunts her memories. Haakon—whose selfish choices shattered her trust in him.
Having fled the Norgaard orchard after trying to take Aven as his own, Haakon sails on the North Atlantic ice trade, where his soul is plagued with regrets that distance cannot heal. Not even the beautiful Norwegian woman he’s pursued can ease the torment. When the winds bear him home after four years away, Haakon finds the family on the brink of tragedy. A decades-old feud with the neighboring farm has wrenched them into the fiercest confrontation on Blackbird Mountain since the Civil War. Haakon’s cunning and strength hold the power to seal many fates, including Thor’s—which is already imperiled due to a grave illness brought to him at the first prick of warfare.
Now Haakon faces the hardest choice of his life. One that shapes a battlefield where pride must be broken enough to be restored, and where a prodigal son may finally know the healing peace of surrender and the boundless gift of forgiveness. And when it comes to the woman he left behind in Norway, he just might discover that while his heart belongs to a daughter of the north, she’s been awaiting him on shores more distant than the land he’s fighting for.

Click here to grab your copy!
"Daughters of Northern Shores" by Joanne Bischof is a book that has been on my to be read list ever since I read the first book in the "Blackbird Mountain" Series, "Sons of Blackbird Mountain". I was so glad when I learned it was going to part of a book tour for Celebrate Lit. I have never been disappointed with any of the books that I have read that have been written by Joanne Bischof.

I believe a reader would enjoy "Daughters of Northern Shores" by Joanne Bischof without reading "Sons of Blackbird Mountain". But, as always I recommend reading Daughters of Northern Shores just to get the full impact of both books.

"Daughters Of Northern Shores" is truly a heart gripping novel filled with heartache and regret and loss and healing.

I say the wait for this sequel was worth the wait and I hardly recommend to all readers.

I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinions are my own.




 About the Author
Bischof JoanneJoanne Bischof is an ACFW Carol Award and ECPA Christy Award-winning author. She writes deeply layered fiction that tugs at the heartstrings. She was honored to receive the San Diego Christian Writers Guild Novel of the Year Award in 2014 and in 2015 was named Author of the Year by the Mount Hermon conference. Joanne’s 2016 novel, The Lady and the Lionheart, received an extraordinary 5 Star TOP PICK! from RT Book Reviews, among other critical acclaim. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her three children. Visit her online at JoanneBischof.com; Facebook: Author, JoanneBischof; Instagram: @JoanneBischof.

More from Joanne

One of the questions I receive most often is “How do you get it all done?” As a single, homeschooling mom, I’ve long-since learned that there would be easier ways to have a day job than being an author, but God has been gracious in providing abundantly in so many areas. Here are four that I am most thankful for as I look back over the last few years, including this season of writing Sons of Blackbird Mountain and Daughters of Northern Shores.

Togetherness
Now, most authors would agree that “togetherness” isn’t exactly conducive to quality writing time – especially when kids are involved! And while I do need quiet focus to be able to work through a scene or chapter, what I’ve been thankful for is the chance to share story and research discoveries with my children. It’s created more unity around the stories. Instead of needing to usher the kids away, isolating them from the novels I’m writing, I’m able to invite them into them. For the Blackbird Mountain series, I walked them through the Pinterest boards, showing them the different characters. Then we did a history unit on Vikings since that’s the Norgaard Family’s background. We had a blast and it helped make “the story that Mom was working on”, something that they were more aware of and interested in. For my current work-in-progress, we just recently finished an all new history unit including visits to a few local museums and stories that the kids wrote on their own!

Patience
I used to want to write, write, write all the time. And often, that’s what I did! Well, I still would love to write as often as I can, but God has been teaching me something oh-so-important: patience. As part of this, I set aside certain parts of the week for writing office hours. These slots of writing time typically occur on Tuesday evenings, and include a few additional 1 ½ hours slots during the week, once homeschooling is done. In this manner, I am able to carve out some quiet writing time while still making sure the kids are having a great and productive day. But for any writer or working mom, we can agree . . . that’s not a lot of time when added up! In God’s wonderful provision, though, He seems to extend much richness to those little snatches of time. They might not be many, but they are mighty! It’s been a prayer of mine for several years now, that by keeping my writing below these other priorities, that God would help me fill in the cracks of time and energy—and He has been so faithful to supply. I still have my moments when I feel frazzled,  especially when deadlines are near, and that’s why I am thankful for this next lesson that God has been teaching me . . .

Communication
The thing about living with a writer, is that you often find them staring at a computer screen. That doesn’t look all that productive, does it? But what we’re doing on the other side of that screen is weaving a story-world of plot, characters, purpose, and heart. Typing words onto the page that we hope will touch lives, digging through old articles for research, or jotting down messy plotting notes that we pray will somehow amount to a story one day. By communicating with my kids (like sharing with them about the story and characters) I’m able to help them see what I’m doing and why. And since kids can be rambunctious and full of life (and questions, and needs for snacking, and ideas, and messes . . . *wink*) and since this writer works well with quiet, I have a little chalkboard that I hang on my doorknob when it’s one of my “office hour” slots. I jot down my start time and end time for that 1 ½ hour block, add a heart or smiley face, and often make note of what our next task will be like preparing a meal or doing an activity together. Then I shut my door and the little sign dangling from the knob outside helps the kids remember what I’m up to. It reminds them that I won’t be tucked away for long, but that I do need to focus for a little while. They’re always allowed to come knocking if a need arises, but for the most part, they’re happy on these afternoons with their own projects. When the hour or so is up, we reconvene and go back about our day, usually slipping into something fun that we do together. By having these slots of time in the week, and by communicating carefully with them in a way they can understand, it helps to bring us all what we need.

Grace
There are days when I blow it, and days when I need a lot of grace. Maybe I’ve spilled iced tea on one of the research books (don’t worry, this is a hypothetical example 😉 ) or maybe I didn’t save a scene properly, or just feel stuck and exhausted with a plot thread. These days can certainly tamper with the harmony, which begins with my heart and the need to remember the reason for why I write these stories: for God’s glory. When I begin to lose my calm, or grow frustrated or weary with the challenges afoot, I know it’s time to circle back to what it’s all for. It’s for the readers, it’s for my children, it’s for my joy, and most of all, it’s for God’s glory. By me being harried or stressed, very little of this is being accomplished! God has used the writing process to speak to my heart in ways that have reminded me of what I can surrender, and more and more of the ways that I can look to HIM for guidance. The lessons aren’t always easy, but through each season, and through each book, I have come to see more and more all the ways to be thankful.

Blog Stops

KarenSueHadley , August 7
Batya’s Bits, August 7
By The Book, August 8
Betti Mace, August 10
Moments, August 12
Bigreadersite , August 15
A Reader’s Brain, August 17
Texas Book-aholic, August 17
janicesbookreviews, August 18
LifeofLiterature, August 19
As He Leads is Joy, August 19
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" Warriors with Holy Hands" by Peter Toeg Book Tour and GiveAway

Warriors with Holy Hands FB Banner

About the Book

Book: Warriors with Holy Hands
Author: Peter Toeg
Genre: Christian Suspense
Release Date: February 3, 2017
Warriors with Holy Hands CoverWarriors With Holy Hands  is the story of a young woman who finds herself lost in time and whose life over a period of three years is spiraling downward. Ruth Falk is stricken with an inexplicable illness and then orphaned. With only a distant relative in her life now, Ruth faces a life of debilitating pain and infirmity. She determines to look to the past for answers she believes her bloodline may reveal.
Searching through diaries and records, Ruth discovers blood relatives and others who lived far away over the course of a century.  We follow their lives across three generations culminating in the revelation of indisputable connections that are created—words and actions with lasting results.
Ruth learns that a curse spoken by one ancestor may have had a devastating domino effect, one whose beginning also engaged her prayer-warrior grandmother in a pitched spiritual battle to break. A challenged believer herself, Ruth grows in the faith of her predecessors who faced ominous situations.
The rich symbolism of Judaism provides a backdrop for the saga with traditions and meaning sprinkled throughout the story.
When she faces increasing paralysis, Ruth and a birth friend in the faith journey to the Southern Highlands of Tennessee where it all began. Here in the span of seven days—over ten months—all that has unraveled in recent years comes together. Life as she knows it will never be the same.
God reveals himself to Ruth and others in remarkable ways along a tortuous path that comes full circle.
Warriors is a mystery that is finally, stunningly, revealed as serendipitous fruit from the branches of a family tree. It is a story of encouragement and life that empowers those who seek God and believe.

Grab your copy here.
"Warriors with Holy Hands" by Peter Toeg is a book that once again I didn't know what to think when I started reading but ended up liking it. It was confusing at first, but the more I read it make sense.

I don't think there are any characters that I really disliked, I think they all had something to contribute to the story and made it that much more interesting. 
Even thought this book ends on a happy tune, not all is happy in this story. 

The story is told partly in journals.

This book has alot of spiritual meanings hidden within the pages, curses that are passed down and placing loved ones on the altar and placing on hands when praying. This story shows how we can be affected by our ancestors whether we knew them or not and whether the past was filled with good or bad events. 

This book definitely ended differently that I thought it would.

I was given a complimentary copy by the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinion are my own.


 About the Author
Peter ToegPeter Toeg was a technical writer for over twenty years and a trained journalist who taught communication and media writing for fifteen years at a small Midwestern university. A believer for thirty years, he has roots that extend both to Iraq and Judaism, two themes in Warriors.
He writes full-time now: mostly memoir and short stories with several published. Writing is his avocation.

More from Peter



I’ve always been fascinated with connections, whether family or circumstances. As a memoirist, I have been granted a wonderful perspective on my life filled with connections. Warriors With Holy Hands is a family saga in that vein. Exploring our roots and bloodline. In Warriors, a young woman receives a wonderful gift from the grandmother she never knew and learns the power of prayer.
Ruth Falk, the main character faces two problems: an illness that is robbing her of her mobility and, as an orphan, little knowledge of her past. She wonders whether the two are connected: her background and her illness. So begins her amazing search. In her debilitating condition, time is not on her side.
As often happens in a family, we discover more than we expect. I did forty years after being orphaned myself. I learned that my father rescued his own sister and mother, spiriting them to safety with him when he emigrated from a hostile land to the United States. The grand deception was revealed in documents I’d tucked away. I’d never been told the story.
Ruth Falk also crosses paths with a man on a spiritual journey and another mysterious soldier-warrior, who is mentally gifted—and also her rescuer.
Spanning one hundred years and populated by a dozen remarkable people and a few miscreants, Warriors With Holy Hands is a mystery and adventure with wonders and rich spiritual truths. And maybe a miracle or two. It was quite a trip for me in the writing as I trust it will be for my readers.
Peter Toeg

Excerpt from Warriors:

“Tell me why you’re here, Jacob,” I said through the chorus. We sat at angles to each other in wicker chairs, the vantage of direct face-to-face lost. A candle on a small table before us illuminated considerably more than our plastic glasses and now-soggy paper plates.
“Everybody has to be somewhere, sis.” A quick response.
I pressed. “What are you looking for here? I have reasons—that you’ve hammered me with. What about your family? Are you taking the genealogy route?”
Jacob finished his wine. A loud swallow. I caught him looking at his stump, the prosthetic he’d removed before we came out. He’d rarely been this quiet in my presence this long, the flight excepted. Then he placed the drained glass down, stood, and, with his hand, moved the table to his left, pulled his chair more directly opposing me, and sat down. Military posture, his arms on the chair arms. He looked kindly at me with wine-softened eyes.
“I’m here to help you, Ruthie.” He looked into the night and back at me. “I confess I do have some unfinished business. You’re smart enough to know that—and what it is.” A sad smile formed, genuine emotion breaking out.
I saw hurt in his eyes brewing deep down. “Your father. You have a bridge to cross.” I touched his hand with mine and withdrew it after a moment. “Over a river.”
Jacob looked away longer now, and then back, but he said nothing.
“I can carry you, Jacob,” I said confidently. “You’re not alone.”
Jacob looked at me, a little surprised and pleased at the same time, his eyes damp. “We are kin, are we not? Covenant. A covenant of three.”
I nodded, looked at his stump and then down at my legs. I lifted up my plastic glass and looked at Jacob through its prism with a squint.
“Your father’s spirit is not at the river, but God is… Look for Him and you’ll find your father.”
He nodded. “As much as we think what happens is about us, it’s not, is it?”
I shook my head.
I had momentarily seen Jacob’s face distorted through the glass by the candlelight. Now, the glass removed, his face was almost radiant. “It is said the mystic knows God by contact of spirit with spirit; cor ad cor loquitur. He has the immediate vision…he hears the still, small voice speaking clearly to him in the silence of his soul.”
“And what is the translation?” Jacob perked.
I felt at rest in the moment after a day on the road had awakened nerve pain in my limbs. Gone now. “It means ‘heart speaks to heart.’ Some Catholic theologian. Some say that the origins of the heart speaking are in music—a crystal voice, the sounds of the night, the call of a bird—rushing water.” I waved my hand in a sweeping motion at the darkness before us that was filled with sound.
Jacob nodded then returned to his usual playful self. “So, you’re going to carry me, eh kid?”
“We all need to be carried.” (p. 123)

Blog Stops

Betti Mace, August 10
CarpeDiem, August 12
Mary Hake, August 13
Artistic Nobody, August 13 (Spotlight)
Texas Book-aholic, August 18
janicesbookreviews, August 19
A Reader’s Brain, August 20

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Peter is Giving away a grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

"The Story Raider " by Lindsay A. Franklin Book Tour and GiveAway

The story raider fb bannerAbout the Book

Book: The Story Raider
Author: Lindsay A. Franklin
Genre: Christian YA Epic Fantasy
Release Date: July 23, 2019
The story raider coverDeceiving an empire is a treacherous game.
Tanwen and the Corsyth weavers race to collect the strands of an ancient cure that might save Gryfelle. But Tanwen has a secret—Gryfelle isn’t the only one afflicted by the weaver’s curse.
As Queen Braith struggles to assert her rule, a new arrival throws her tenuous claim to the Tirian throne into question. Braith’s heart is turned upside down, and she’s not sure she can trust anyone—least of all herself.
The puppet master behind Gareth’s rise to power has designs on Tanwen and the story weavers and will stop at nothing to reclaim the throne. A plot to incite the angry peasants of Tir takes shape, and those dearest to Tanwen will be caught in the crossfire. As the fight for Tir consumes the realm, no one can remain innocent.

Click here to grab your copy.
"The Story Raider " by Lindsay A. Franklin is the second book in the (The Weaver Trilogy) series. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, because I didn't like the first book, "The Story Peddler".  I was pleasantly surprised, I did end up enjoying "The Story Raider".
Even thought I didn't like the "The Story Peddler", I am glad I read it before reading "The Story Raider" because it continues right where "The Story Peddler" ends. I think a reader could still enjoy reading "The Story Reader" without reading the first book, but might have a few questions about what occurred before events in "The Story Raider".
While reading these books, I was wishing I was watching some of the scenes in 3d, as I am sure  some of the imagines described would be beautiful in colors. Images such as the flowers and strands of color.
These books definitely have several plots and have evil characters. The banter between some of the characters might just make you laugh out loud.  There are also scenes that might make you cringe a little also. 
I am already eager to read book three when it comes available.
If you like the fantasy genre, then I recommend you read this series. 
I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit. These opinions are my own.
About the Author
Franklin, Lindsay2018 - Author PhotoLindsay A. Franklin is a best-selling author, freelance editor, and homeschooling mom of three. She would wear pajama pants all the time if it were socially acceptable. Lindsay lives in her native San Diego with her scruffy-looking nerf-herder husband, their precious geeklings, three demanding thunder pillows (a.k.a. cats), and a stuffed wombat with his own Instagram following. You can find Lindsay on social media, too, if Wombatman hasn’t hijacked all her accounts. She’s @LinzyAFranklin on Instagram and Twitter, and she Facebooks at www.facebook.com/LindsayAFranklin.

More from Lindsay

I often get asked how I came up with the idea for The Story Peddler, book 1 in The Weaver Trilogy. It’s a dangerous thing to dig too deep into a fantasy novelist’s imagination (it’s pretty weird in here, you guys), but the short answer is I was sitting in a workshop at a writers’ conference, and an acquisitions editor made a comment—something like: “I have to peddle your stories to executives. At the end of the day, I’m just a story peddler.” When I heard that phrase, my imagination exploded. I thought of what a “story peddler” might look like if we added a little wonder and a sprinkling of fairy dust to the equation. Then Tanwen emerged as a character who might be a fun vehicle for this story-peddling process, and I imagined a story that would suit her. The Story Peddler was born.
But someone recently asked me why I visualized the supernatural art of storytelling in the way I did—as strands of color, light, fabric, or glitter coming out of the hands of the person telling the story, then crystallizing into a solid object for her to sell. And I have no real answer for that, except, again, “It’s pretty weird in here, you guys.” The Weaver Trilogy is a celebration of creativity and art, and that gave me reason to think about what other types of strand-weavers in this story world might look like.
If you’re new to the series, here’s a primer on the weavers you’ll find in these books.
Storytellers: Strands pour from their hands as they tell stories. When they reach the moral or ending of the story, the strands come together to form a crystallized sculpture. A story peddler then sells the sculptures to make her living.
Songspinners: Strands are lighter, airier, and come from their mouths instead of their hands as they sing. Songspinner strands are emotive and speak to the hearts of the hearers. Once the song is over, the strands disappear.
Colormasters: Strands are like streams of paint, ribbons of fire, or jets of water. When they hit a solid object, they create an image on the object. Colormasters seek to reflect the beauty of their surroundings, capturing the physical world exactly as it is or simply as it feels.
Stoneshapers: Their hands light up as they manipulate rock and stone with their fingertips. They create beauty by molding something that already exists and releasing the art trapped inside.
If that sounds like fun, welcome to my weirdness! Tanwen can’t wait to weave a sparkling adventure for you.

Giveaway

 
To celebrate her tour, Lindsay is giving away a grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card, The Corsyth custom Story Peddler candle from Novelly Yours, The Cethorelle custom Story Raider candle from Novelly Yours, choice of two tea tins from the Adagio Story Peddler Tea Shoppe, “Hedgenibblers, fluffhoppers, mountainbeasts, oh my!” mug
Story Peddler book sleeve, Story Raider enamel pin, and assorted bookmarks, stickers, and art prints.
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Tour Reminders

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