Monday, June 19, 2023

Unassailable by K.J. Rowe

About the Book

Book: Unassailable

Author: K.J. Rowe

Genre: Teen/Young Adult

To be picture perfect on the outside can cause people to think you have it all together on the inside. Which is exactly the case for Hope Meyer.

Stuck in a dead-end job with no vision for her future, parents arguing at home and newly-single under terms she bitterly objects to, Hope puts on a brave front in the face of friends. Only, she’s not as subtle as she thinks. Called out on her pretense by a close friend and, drawn into a mission project that causes her to question everything she’s been led to believe, Hope finds herself floundering.

Until recently, the perfect hair, manicured nails, a wardrobe straight out of a fashion magazine and a handsome suitor by her side had defined her. Now seeing those things as insignificant, and understanding why her boyfriend left, Hope turns to her youth minister for help; with one burning question in mind:

Who was she?

Set on a path of self-discovery, Hope finds her day to day both unraveling and piecing together like a jigsaw as her perception begins to alter.

Will she embrace how God defines her and ultimately learn what true happiness is?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

This is a story about being true to your calling. It is about being a Christian in action as well as in name. The heroine makes a complete change in her life choices. I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Since I could hold a pencil, I’ve be writing.

In primary school, I wrote stories about my pets, my own version of princess stories, a classroom crush…

In high school, I wrote stories about horses, adventures, my sister…

However, as strong as the writing hobby was, I still pursued a career in Veterinary Nursing.

It wasn’t until God intervened and moved me out of the city and into a small country town to be a farmer’s wife, that he resurfaced the writing desire – and gave me the stories. So was born my debut series, each book holding a part of my own testimony, Casts of Silver.

It is my prayer that you enjoy the journey these stories take you on, and that they challenge, encourage and inspire you.

More from K.J. Rowe

Since I could hold a pencil, I’ve been writing.

In primary school, I wrote stories about my pets, my own version of princess stories, a classroom crush…

In high school, I wrote stories about horses, adventures, my family members…

However as strong as the writing hobby was, I still pursued a career in Veterinary Nursing.

It wasn’t until God intervened, moved me out of the city and into a small country town to be a famers wife, that He resurfaced the writing desire and gave me the stories. So was born my debut series, each book holding a part of my own testimony, Casts of Silver.

It is my prayer that you enjoy the journey these stories take you on and that they challenge, encourage and inspire you.

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, June 17 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, June 18 (Author Interview)

Through the Fire Blogs, June 19 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 19

Texas Book-aholic, June 20

Blossoms and Blessings, June 21 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 22

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, June 23

Artistic Nobody, June 24 (Author Interview)

Splashes of Joy, June 25 (Author Interview)

Lily’s Book Reviews, June 25

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, June 26 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 27

Beauty in the Binding, June 28 (Author Interview)

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, June 29

Guild Master, June 30 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, K.J. is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon voucher and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2659b/unassailable-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sunday, June 18, 2023

The pursuit of Miss Parish by Grace Hitchcock

About the Book

Book: The Pursuit of Miss Parish

Author: Grace Hitchcock

Genre: Historical Romance

Release date: May 31, 2023

Love’s gentle promise becomes nothing more than a withered dream.

With dreams of love and a hope for belonging, shy Belle Parish leaves her position as a maid in Charleston to travel to New Mexico with her best friend to become mail-order brides. Colt Lawson’s letters hold great promise and while his devilishly handsome face matches his picture, something does not add up. Discovering his lie only moments before they wed, Belle flees the church and straight into the Castañeda Hotel Harvey House. Giving up the prospect on ever marrying, she dons her nun-like uniform and focuses on her role as a Harvey Girl waitress until a strong, former Texas Ranger rides into her life.

Colt Lawson didn’t want to send that letter to Belle Parish in the first place, but her first response had all but captured his heart. When he is left standing at the altar alone, he is left with two choices—either release his dream of a love marriage, or attempt to win her heart. Wooing her would be a lot easier if that Texas Ranger wasn’t back in town. Who wants a dusty rancher with a past when she could have a shining knight in a Stetson?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is a story about a Harvey House girl who started out to be a mail-order bride. The groom to be isn’t what he appear to be in the letters he wrote. This is a story that has twists that I didn’t see coming. This book kept me reading till the end. I recommend this book to readers who likes a liking twist to an happy ever after.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my my own.

About the Author

Grace Hitchcockis the award-winning author of multiple historical novels and novellas. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives in the New Orleans area with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter. Connect with her online at GraceHitchcock.com.

More from Grace

Questions from READERS for Grace Hitchcock

Q: As a mom, how/when do you find time to write?

Grace Hitchcock: I used to walk around the block to my favorite coffee shop in New Orleans, writing with a delicious latte and scone beside me, headphones in with the perfect soundtrack playing waiting for the muse. . . and now days, I write during Sofia the First episodes blaring in the background for my toddler while the baby sleeps and my Kindergartner is in half-day school.

On the days when I can’t get the word count down during those tiny moments, my husband takes the babies for an hour in the evenings and tells me to go write! When I’m on tight deadline with days left to go, the house usually isn’t the cleanest and Laundry Mountain, in all its splendor, may just fall on top of us. Sometimes while on deadline, I get the urge to pause and clean, but if I ignore the impulse long enough, the feeling generally passes. Once the book is in to my editor, it’s time to clean.

Q: What is your favorite source of inspiration for creating the characters in your stories?

Grace Hitchcock: For main characters, I use Names Through the Ages to figure out their names based on their background and once I know a character’s name, it’s as if the heroine/hero stroll into my writing room and I get to know their personality, the story closely following.

For the supporting characters, I have a need/plot point that they need to fill and I build their personality around that need. Not quite as exciting haha but they serve a purpose. But, I always remind myself to try to fill them out because they do not know they are not the main characters.

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Grace Hitchcock: One of my earliest memories is writing stories in my little diary in my closet. (Remember the diaries with the locks on them that were super easy to pick, but still dreamy to have a book with a lock on it.)

I started taking my desire to write seriously when I was a senior in high school. I was homeschooled and my mom let me write a novel for my senior English project to test that theory if I wanted to write. It was so fun to write, I knew that’s what I wanted to do, so I got my Masters in Creative Writing and I’ve been typing away ever since 

Q: What is your writing process like?

Grace Hitchcock: I usually begin with a spark of an idea that I at once research to see if it would work with the eras I enjoy writing (Gilded Age and Regency England). From there, I do a deep dive into writing out a chapter by chapter plot, which generally takes about a week to ten days.

Once I have my plot down, I do about a week or two more of basic research and begin the first very, very rough draft that I usually finish at 50,000 words after 3 months of writing.

Then, I research any spots that needed improving in the first draft and go full editing mode, pausing throughout the book to research spots that need more description and historical accuracy, which is about two months and then, I do a third round of edits and research while doing a line edit, which takes a month.

By the time I get to the 6-month mark, I am more than ready to have a break haha and I send my 75,000/80,000 word novel off to my publisher/editor who does a content edit, sends it back to me for three weeks, another editor does a line edit, sends it back to me for three weeks, then another editor does a copy edit and sends it to galleys (where they format the book) and send it back to me to proof one last time for two weeks! Then, it goes to press at usually 75,000-100,000 depending on the novel. So long story short, 6 months to write and about 2 months to edit!

Q: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

Grace Hitchcock: In this business, just about every author gets a rejection from a publisher . . . even by publishers who later accept them!

When I began sending out one of my first manuscripts, I thought it was pristine, but after about 15 rejections, I put it on the shelf and focused on a new manuscript with fresh eyes and new goals based on some of the industry professionals’ suggestions. Six months after I shelved that first manuscript, I went back and looked over it . . . the professionals were right. It wasn’t ready and it would require a lot more love (aka bleeding edits) before I attempted to send it out again. Sometimes, time is what you need to get a fresh perspective.

But it is also important to remember thatwhen you get a rejection letter, they are not rejecting you. They are rejecting the work. And as much as you see it as a work of art, the publishers see it as a product. They are there to sell a product and if the product isn’t ready, it won’t sell well, so take heart and “hone your craft” and focus on any feedback you received that has merit.

That critique was very hard for me to hear haha but it helped push me to keep learning, attending writer conferences, and following my dreams. Over the years, I have had novels rejected by Barbour, Bethany, and Kregel, but I tried again and again and eventually signed with each publishing house! So keep it up! You can do it!

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , June 16

Vicky Sluiter, June 16

Melissa’s Bookshelf, June 17

She Lives To Read, June 17

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 18

Texas Book-aholic, June 19

Alena Mentink, June 19

All-of-a-kind Mom, June 20

Bigreadersite, June 20

Connie’s History Classroom, June 21

Books You Can Feel Good About, June 21

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, June 22

Betti Mace, June 23

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 23

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 24

Karen Baney Reviews, June 24

Blogging With Carol, June 25

For Him and My Family, June 25

Labor Not in Vain, June 26

Mary Hake, June 26

Cover Lover Book Review, June 27

Holly’s Book Corner, June 27

Splashes of Joy, June 28

Pause for Tales, June 28

Jodie Wolfe -Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, June 29

Lights in a Dark World, June 29

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Grace is giving away the grand prize package of an autographed copy of The Finding of Miss Fairfield AND The Pursuit of Miss Parish with bookmarks and book magnets, and 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.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2658d/the-pursuit-of-miss-parish-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Managing Millie by Susan pope Sloan

About the Book

Book: Managing Millie

Author: Susan Pope Sloan

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: July 11, 2023

In a time of war, love has to fight for a happily-ever-after.

Millie Gibson has loved Troy McNeil for years. So when he suddenly confesses his attraction to her, she’s ecstatic, even if their time together is limited as Troy must stay on the move to avoid the Confederate army. When Troy rescues her from an attacker, Millie begs him to replace the awful memory with one of love. But will that love last when he learns their time together produced lasting consequences?

Dodging the Rebel army has kept Troy apart from Millie for months, but he can’t forget their last hours together. The last thing he expects upon his return is to find her surrounded by Union soldiers, and now he’s been apprehended as a possible spy and sent to a Union prison. With his fate in the hands of others, only God can orchestrate hope from the chaos of war.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is a book filled with surprises and twists that I didn’t see coming. I recommend recalling all three books in order to get the full story. This series would be good for readers who likes stories that took place during the Civil war. It is tale of forgiveness and love.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Born into a family of storytellers, Susan Pope Sloanpublished her first articles in high school and continued writing sporadically for decades. Retirement provided the time to focus on writing and indulge her avid interest in history. Her Civil War series begins (and ultimately ends) in her home state of Georgia with references to lesser-known events of that period. She and husband Ricky live near Columbus where she participates in Word Weavers, ACFW, and Toastmasters.

More from Susan

Millie and Troy captured my heart while writing *Rescuing Rose*, and I knew their story had to be told. It was inspired by people close to me—but generations apart–who had a similar experience. *Managing Millie* is loosely based on those.

The challenging part for me was remembering that these characters are very young (16 and 19) and thus plagued by a wide range of volatile emotions and hormones. The decisions they make seem to defy logic at times. Like many young women, Millie tries to grasp control of her life amid difficult situations. Troy is more easy-going, merely trying to stay one step ahead of the Confederate Army until he ends up in a Union prison. Suddenly forced to face his responsibilities, he learns to “man-up” and take charge. His
greatest task, of course, is learning to “manage” Millie without destroying their love for each other.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 17

Texas Book-aholic, July 18

Life on Chickadee Lane, July 18

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 19

Lighthouse Academy Blog, July 20 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Connie’s History Classroom, July 21

The Book Club Network, July 22

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 23

Christina’s Corner, July 23

Blossoms and Blessings, July 24

Cover Lover Book Review, July 25

annette_reads_daily, July 26

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 27

For Him and My Family, July 28

Holly’s Book Corner, July 29

Splashes of Joy, July 29

Pause for Tales, July 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the 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.

https://promosimple.com/ps/26b9a/managing-millie-celebration-tour-giveaway

Friday, June 16, 2023

A Not So Peaceful Journey by Sandra Melville Hart

About the Book

Book: A Not So Peaceful Journey

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: June 13, 2023

Dreams of adventure send him across the country. She prefers to keep her feet firmly planted in Ohio.

Rennie Hill has no illusions about the hardships in life, which is why it’s so important her beau, John Welch, keeps his secure job with the newspaper. Though he hopes to write fiction, the unsteady pay would mean an end to their plans, wouldn’t it?

John Welch dreams of adventure worthy of storybooks, like Mark Twain, and when two of his short stories are published, he sees it as a sign of future success. But while he’s dreaming big with his head in the clouds, his girl has her feet firmly planted, and he can’t help wondering if she really believes in him.

When Rennie must escort a little girl to her parents’ home in San Francisco, John is forced to alter his plans to travel across the country with them. But the journey proves far more adventurous than either of them expect.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is a story about a couple’s change of heart. This is the third story in the series but it can be enjoyed as a stand alone. This is a story that shows that if you truly pray to have God change your heart to understand what is truly best for someone else,it can give you both want you need.

I received a complimentary copy from the Author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher. Connect with Sandra on her blog, https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com/.

More from Sandra

It was fun to invite readers on this book’s journey!

To those who lived in the 1880s, venturing into this newly-settled and largely-unsettled West had become much safer—though not without danger—with the system of railroads already in place. I enjoyed taking readers to Chicago, Omaha, Oakland, Ogden, and Sacramento, as well as frontier towns along the journey such as Cheyenne.

Our heroine is a telegraph operator. She temporarily leaves her job to escort a little girl to her ailing mother in San Francisco.

My research about telegraph jobs taught me quite a bit of terminology.

For example, a clatter arises when another operator “calls.” The call begins with something like “B m—X n”, which means the B m is the station receiving the call and X n is the caller.

B m must signal a reply that she’s ready to receive the call.

The Sounder receives sounds of the alphabet in dots and dashes. Some operators sent messages too rapidly to understand. When this occurs, the receiving operating asks for it again with a Break (she opens her “key” to break the circuit) and interrupts with “Please repeat.”

“G.A. the—” means “Go ahead” and “the” was the last word she understood.

Operators end every message with his/her own private “call” as well as the office’s call and “O.K.” at the end of each message.

Wired Love, which was written by telegraph operator Ella Cheever Thayer in 1879, provided many insights about the job’s daily tasks.

One of them was the lack of privacy on the lines. She can hear the messages sent to other wires but only offices on the same wire. In Wired Love, operators heard messages sent to and from twenty offices.

By the way, the public grew so fascinated with the role of women in telegraphy that it became the topic of romance novels and short stories, creating a new genre called “telegraphic romance” in the latter 1800s. That’s a little-known fun fact for you!

I enjoyed writing this series. I invite you to read the whole “Second Chances” series beginning with A Not So Convenient Marriage, Book 1, A Not So Persistent Suitor, Book 2, and A Not So Peaceful Journey, Book 3.

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, June 14

Alena Mentink, June 14

Betti Mace, June 15

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 16

Texas Book-aholic, June 17

Karen Baney Reviews, June 17

Connie’s History Classroom, June 18

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 19

For Him and My Family, June 20

Lily’s Book Reviews, June 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 21

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , June 22

Mary Hake, June 22

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 23

Blogging With Carol, June 24

Blossoms and Blessings, June 24

Simple Harvest Reads, June 25 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Cover Lover Book Review, June 26

Pause for Tales, June 27

Holly’s Book Corner, June 27

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sandra is giving away the 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.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2658b/a-not-so-peaceful-journey-celebration-tour-giveaway

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Ava. By Caryl McAdoo

About the Book

Book: Ava

Author: Caryl McAdoo

Genre: Historical Christian Romance

Release date: May 3, 2023

And a child will lead them.

Even if she’s a seventeen-year-old, raven-haired bear slayer though? Ava May, head strong, fetching, and true of soul grew up wise in the ways of swamp living while so naive concerning the outside world. Gold for her ma to pay off her dead father’s debts and the promise of great adventure transport her from her backwoods Louisiana cabin to Montana’s big sky county to marry a stranger. However, love threatens to thwart all the plans made for the mail-order bride before the wagon train’s wheels stop rolling. Enjoy your journey with Ava and the other brides under Miss Lottie’s care on the Oregon Trail, living though temptations, dangers, and the harrowing trek.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review:

This is such a sweet tale of mail order bride. It is a story of hearts being changed by the Gospel. It is also a tale of brothers forgiveness. It is a tale of love at first glance. If a reader likes mail order tales and tales of changed hearts then I recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these opinions are my own.

About the Author

Award-winning, Christian authorCaryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory. Of her best-selling novels, readers love her historical Christian romance family sagas most, but also enjoy their contemporary cousins, Caryl’s Biblical fiction, her historical mystery series, and tales for young adults, mid-grade booklovers, and pre-K through 2nd grade picture books.

The majority of reviewers award her stories five-stars and praise Caryl’s writing style, citing her extensive research and the depth of her characters.

The prolific writer loves singing the new songs God gives her almost as much as penning new novels—hear a few at YouTube! She’s been married to Ron fifty-five years, and they share four children and twenty-five grandsugars. 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

2023 is the fifth annual Prairie Roses Collection, and I’m so excited to add AVA to my contributions for this multi-author, covered-wagon-stories project! The sojourners of these grueling treks fascinate me, willingly suffering such hardships and walking two thousand miles for a fresh start.

In fact, Ava May Harley never wanted to leave her home, a log cabin her father built in Skeeter Bottoms. She was born there, but with her Pap gone, for her family’s sake . . . The Word says if we don’t take care of our own, we are worse than an infidel, right?

What have you sacrificed for the sake of your family?

What immediately comes to my mind is the time we gave up our “golden years” and put off our empty-nest for fourteen years to take in four precious grandsugar-sons when we were fifty-two. They were six, four, three, and three-days-old.

Had we not, CPS was going to remove them from our family and spread the brothers out among strangers. Ron and I couldn’t let that happen and asked them to leave the boys with us. Of course, we thought it would only be for a few months.

We assumed their parents would attend the required classes and ‘get clean’ Figured we could do anything for a couple of months, right? The short months turned into years. Each boy left when the graduated high school, except the baby. When the third brother left, he asked to go with him to the other grandmother’s. He was fourteen then.

When people asked how we did it, there was an easy answer. “Only by the mercy and grace of God.” The boys are grown now. The oldest is a fire fighter, and the youngest is a Marine. Ron and I have enjoyed our empty nest since 2017 (at 67 years of age), but we miss our fellers!

In AVA, my sweet heroine was only seventeen when a cousin dangled gold coins in front of her broke and bereft mother. Ma could buy a proper gravestone for her dead husband and pay off his debts if she would only send her firstborn off to marry a stranger in Montana.

My brave and independent character made her own decision to make the journey for the betterment of her family and count it a great adventure. As the miles piled on top one another, taking her farther and farther from her life in the Louisiana swamps, the only home she’d ever known, she doubted her decision more than once.

Her strong faith in God worked with her naivety and kept her on the Oregon Trail, moving ever toward her future. When a person knows God has a plan, and believes they are on that very path, there’s no reason to be afraid or worry. She knew God would never leave her or forsake her.

She knew how completely trustworthy He is.

I fell in love with this precious character, and I hope you will, too. I hope you will enjoy going along with AVA on the harrowing journey!
How involved have you gotten with a book character in the past? Share the character’s name and the book’s title if you will in your comments below!

BLESSINGS!