Category Archives: Uncategorized

LIV AND BREATHE

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Misty Simon is our guest…a mystery writer for a change! She’s introducing her new novel, LIV AND BREATHE, and offering one free copy to a commenter.

Hello, blog readers!

When I think of things I’m thankful for, I can honestly say that the number is huge and I don’t really know where to start. But I’ll try…

I’m so thankful for the community of readers and authors I am a part of. The boosting, the love, the support and the friendships I have formed are such a huge part of my every day world. I adore the people I have met through writing and the chance to celebrate other people’s successes with them. To be on this journey with such amazing men and women makes the ride so much more than I thought it could be. There are tears of joy and sadness, laughing at the small things and in the face of the scary ones. Coming together to make the world a better place one page at a time, one reader at a time.

Life can knock you down but in the end it’s up to you what you do with that setback. Sometimes you just have to find the right perspective and make it into a positive.

Here’s my philosophy:

There will be a silver lining, even if you have to draw it with your own crayon!

Misty Simon…Knows Whodunnit

www.mistysimon.com

On that note I was very keen to write Liv and Breathe. It’s a story I started about sixteen years ago when my then two year old was taking a bath. I wanted to write a woman who had nothing when she was little and ended up with everything she wanted but with some strings attached that she couldn’t avoid. And when those strings got pulled what would she do to save her dream, her oasis, and the life she’d created from the ashes of the past?

And so Liv came to life. She’s feisty and smart and driven. But I had to put her up against someone who had those same qualities to challenge her and make her think and perhaps see that compromise or even just embracing what has happened instead of trying to force what you want to happen can make all the difference. I think Alex is up to the challenge and hope you will enjoy the journey they take together to make a life together out of the broken pieces they’ve been handed.

www.mistysimon.com

https://www.facebook.com/misty.simon.18

Buy Link: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/paperback-books/6488-liv-and-breathe-paperback.html

 

Mothers In Waiting—Healing and Hope for Those with Empty Arms

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Usually we welcome fiction authors, but non-fiction authors Crystal and Meghann Bowman offer so much to many women in this new publication. I can attest to the beauty of these heartfelt stories and the hope they offer. The authors have agreed  give away one copy of this book, published by Harvest House, so please leave a comment.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10 percent of women in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant. That’s about 6.1 million women whose bodies work a little differently when it comes to having a baby. When infertility rules a woman’s life, the downward spiral begins.

Everyday experiences become painful reminders. She stays home from church on Mother’s Day, and she cringes when she receives another baby shower invitation. It also takes a toll on her marriage as making loves turns into making babies.

This is how my daughter-in-law Meghann felt for more than 5 long years. Besides wondering what was wrong with her body–and why she couldn’t do the one thing that a woman’s body is supposed to do—she felt alone. Surrounded by pregnant friends and happy baby announcements, she struggled with feelings of inferiority and sadness.

After several exhausting years, Meghann finally became pregnant and is currently the mother of two healthy little ones. Her desire is to offer hope and encouragement to other women who are walking that lonely path. She wanted to write a book and came to me for help.

Since her story is only one woman’s story, I had an idea: what if we collected stories from 30 women so we could have a wide variety of stories? Meghann said “Yes!” and the project began.

I thought it would be difficult to find 30 women to share their stories, but God brought them to me one after the other. It seemed no matter where I went, I met women who wanted to share their stories. Women of all ages, all ethnicities, and all walks of life offered their stories of infertility, surgeries, miscarriage, adoption, IVF failures and successes, as well as finding peace in being childless.

The result is a beautiful new book titled Mothers In Waiting–Healing and Hope for Those with Empty Arms.

 

Each story follows the same format: My Story; My Struggle, My Strength, and My Scripture. Each story is told through the voice of the contributor—honest, real, and heartfelt. There are no easy answers or simple solutions offered. But readers with aching hearts will find hope and encouragement from women who want to walk beside them, identify with their pain, and point them to God.

You can find this encouraging book here: https://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/books/mothers-in-waiting-9780736975360

 

 

 

Flights of Fancy

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Welcome to Jen Turano, a Bethany House author who is releasing her thirteenth novel….Here’s a brief history of her writing.

Named One of the Funniest Voices in Inspirational Romanceby Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today Best-Selling Author, known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publisher Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from Romantic Times, and praise from Library Journal. She’s been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. When she’s not writing, she spends her time outside of Denver, CO.

Jen is offering a giveaway of one paper copy to a fortunate commenter…now, I hope you enjoy getting to know her better.

Tell us about your new release, please. Are you one of those who details the plot before beginning to write, or how does the process work for you?

“Flights of Fancy” is the story of Miss Isadora Delafield, an American heiress in possession of an annoyingly determined mother – one who believes nothing but an aristocrat will do as a potential husband for her one and only daughter. When the dastardly Duke of Montrose sets his eye on Isadora, she decides she has no choice but to flee New York until her mother comes to her senses, which sets the scene for all sorts of unlikely incidents when Isadora, oddly enough, finds herself living on a farm, taking on the role of housekeeper to Mr. Ian MacKenzie, a self-made man with more than a few secrets of his own.

The idea for the story came about as most ideas do with two words…What if. In this case I wondered what if, instead of giving into her mother’s wishes, Consuelo Vanderbilt balked and ran away instead of marrying the Duke of Marlborough. Just like that, a series began to take shape and before I knew it, I’d done a proposal for the American Heiress series with Isadora’s story being the first of the trilogy. I do plan out my stories in a lot of detail – mostly because I’m required to turn in a proposal to my editors first. Having said that, though, none of my stories ever turn out the way I originally intend, mostly because my characters always have a mind of their own and they take me exactly where I need to be taken.

What unique aspects about your research can you share with us?

The most interesting research I uncovered with this story revolved around the orphanages in Pittsburgh in the 1880’s. I was intending on using an orphan train as backstory for the children readers will find in the book, but then I ran across this book – “Child Care in Black & White: Working Parents and the History of Orphanages” by Jessie B. Ramey. It was a fascinating read – detailed how many parents used orphanages much like parents use daycare today, and because of that book, I completely changed one of the plot points.

How did you begin writing …and how has this vocation affected you?

Odd as this will probably sound, I never had any aspirations to be a writer when I was younger. My family leans more toward the sciences, and because of that, I never considered writing as a serious choice to pursue as a career. Much to my father’s concern, I decided to major in Clothing & Textiles because I wanted to become a buyer, and even though that was not a career he thought was suitable for me (one of my brothers is a surgeon, the other two are engineers) he figured that since I’d at least be doing a bit of math, it wasn’t a completely horrible major to obtain. I worked in retail for years before my husband and I decided we’d probably need to get around to starting a family. And because I didn’t think I’d win any Mom of the Year awards if I’d continue traveling after I had my son, I gave up my career to become a stay-at-home mom. When my son was in third grade, we decided to try our hand at writing our own book after reading a horrible series about a bird, and that’s when I really began considering pursuing a career in writing. I knew nothing about the publishing industry and certainly needed to improve my writing craft because, even though I’d always done well in English and writing classes, well, I’ll merely say that I had quite a few issues, each and one pointed out in detail by agents who were kind enough to lend me their advice, even if that advice was incredibly painful at times. After about seven failures, I finally landed an agent, and then she very kindly went out and sold “A Change of Fortune” to Bethany House. I’ve been writing for them ever since.

Thanks so much. I’m glad you persevered, and so are your readers.

 

Connect further with Jen at these sites:

www.jenturano.com

https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/

JenTurano@JenTurano

Earth to Gail…

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Two nights ago, Lance took some photos of the moon just before it became a “blood moon.” This was about 9 p.m. Arizona time, and we could just see a rosy haze rising due to refracted light. 

 

He didn’t think they’d turn out, but…well, I’ll let you be the judge.

He’s been snapping dozens of elk, deer, javelina, and bird pics too…but this total eclipse only happens once in a… quite a few years.

I’ve neglected blogging for the past few weeks, and could explain that I’ve been head over heels into my next WWII story featuring the POW camp in Algona, Iowa. But that would sound like an excuse, so I’m just starting in again…hopefully you’re all in a compassionate frame of mind.

The good news is that I am approaching…not there yet, but CLOSE to completing this final (I HOPE!!) edit of a manuscript that has given me some surprises and frustrations along the way. Aren’t things supposed to become easier with practice???

And just for good measure, here are a couple more pics from our day trip to Sedona.

I love the way the background and foreground integrate. Reminds me of how the main characters and secondary characters in a novel complement each other.

Each of their personal stories shares a common premise. It stands to reason that during war, that premise may become even more complicated than normal.

Picture a small midwestern town chosen to host hundreds of Nazi prisoners…many of them from Hitler’s elite SS, taken captive in North Africa. What would it be like to guard them…to provide milk, eggs, and other essentials to feed them, knowing that chances are slim Allied prisoners were being treated according to the Geneva Convention? 

Doesn’t this sound a little complicated?  Stay tuned – ALL FOR THE CAUSE is on its way!

A New Year

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From the beautiful Ponderosa Pine forest under the Mogollon Rim, some photos for you to enjoy, thanks to my husband. May 2019 be a succession of days in which you see beauty all around you.

For today, a glorious shot of this deer outside our door, our woodpile, and a red-named sapsucker getting the most he can out of our mountain oak tree.

Here’s to the MOST out of life for us all in 2019!

Not Just Any Man

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Welcome to New Mexico author Loretta Miles Tollefson. As you relax after the holiday, here’s your chance to learn about Old New Mexico, a gorgeous ares of the Southwest United States. I can tell this author is all about research because of the many questions she asks.

AND here is a chance to win a print copy of Loretta’s novel by responding to one of her questions at the end of her post. 

Sometimes, the character in one novel becomes the impetus for an entirely different book. In 2017, Sunstone Press published The Pain and The Sorrow, my novel about an 1860s Hispanic teenager married to a serial killer. In that book, a middle-aged multiracial woman named Alma Kinkaid comes to my protagonist’s assistance after the girl reports her husband’s nefarious activities.

Even before The Pain and the Sorrow was published, I began thinking about Alma’s heritage. I envisioned this Black/Native American/Anglo woman as living in New Mexico all of her life. This would mean she was born there in the 1820s. But how did that happen?

The most rational explanation was that her father was a black mountain man who married a New Mexico girl of mixed heritage. So then the question became how a black man from Missouri, where many of the American mountain men came from, and a young woman in New Mexico might have met and fallen in love. What kind of issues might have stood in their way? What events were occurring in New Mexico at the time? How would those events have affected my protagonists? Historical fiction is made fro questions like these. The result was Not Just Any Man.

 

Not Just Any Man addresses some of my favorite themes. There’s the love story, of course. But there’s also the search for a way to achieve one’s heart’s desire without compromising one’s integrity. In addition, the novel explores the issue of being accepted for one’s character rather than one’s external appearance or possessions. We all want these things. They’re universal needs that transcend location and time.

Not Just Any Man and The Pain and The Sorrow are just the first of many stories of Old New Mexico that I hope to tell. I’d love to hear from you about the kinds of novels you wish someone would write about 1800’s New Mexico and the American West. What kinds of characters and situations intrigue you? What themes do you wish historical fiction would address more often? Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Not Just Any Man or The Pain And The Sorrow, the novel that inspired it.

Loretta Miles Tollefson grew up in the American West in a log cabin built by her grandfather. She lives in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountains, where she researches the region’s history and imagines what it would have been like to actually experience it.
Readers can contact her at lorettamilestollefson@gmail.com or via the contact page at lorettamilestollefson.com.
The Amazon link for Not Just Any Man is https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998349852.

Christmas thoughts 2019

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Frosty days…frostier nights. Ice waiting right outside your door. The days get shorter, the nights get longer. That’s Iowa in winter.

But last week, in the midst of my research/writing about the HORRID winter of 1944 and commiserating about the plight of Allied soldiers in the Battle of the Bulge and my nurse heroine trying to save their lives,  a little elf came to our house to decorate…

 

Inside and outside. Wherever needed…pretty much everywhere!

She brought so much energy and joy along, winter seems brighter already. And then we started baking…

Christmas Eve arrived, and the. photos multiplied.

How did our grandson get so tall, compared with last year at this time?

And our Greatest Generation GREAT Grandma still made her famous German potato salad and rice pudding for us all last night.

As Charlie Brown says, it doesn’t matter what’s under the tree, what matters is WHO is around the tree.

A blessed Christmas to all of you.

Historical Biblical Fiction Mystery Thriller?

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I’d like to welcome Kelly Fitzgerald Fowler today. Her unfamiliar/unique genre poses questions in my mind, which may have something to do with age, but we’re still here to learn and grow, right? One of my questions is, WHY would someone want to read this?

So come along with me and attempt to grasp the gist of this genre. Please feel free to ask Kelly questions, and she’s giving away one free audiobook and one free e-book. We’re trying something new this time: if you can find a way to use the word THRILLER in your comment, you will qualify for her giveaways. (:  enjoy!

Over My Dead Body: A Supernatural Novel– Historical Biblical Fiction Mystery Thriller!

Have you ever heard of an Historical Biblical Fiction Mystery Thriller? If not, get ready to dive into this new genre as I break down why Over My Dead Body is more than just a novel.

Historical fiction is a made-up story set in the past, borrowing characteristics of that period. Take Margaret Mitchel’ls Gone with the Wind, for example; a real war but fake characters. When you think of a biblical thriller, think of the thrilling life David must have led as he escaped the grip of King Saul, who was determined to end the young king’s reign before it could even begin.

Think in terms of The Robe or This Present Darkness. Now, try to imagine these two breath-taking genres working together to create a gripping tale that is too good to be true!

Over My Dead Body spans from the creation of the universe through ancient biblical times to the present with lead character, Joel Cohen, attempting to solve an old family mystery as angels and demons fight for and against his mission. The story weaves the influence of the past with events of the present in a heightened sense of suspense, excitement, surprise, and anticipation you would find in a thriller.

With more details to discover, Over My Dead Body explores the life of the High Priest Annas (Ananias) and his Jewish Dynasty, 70 AD Jewish Historian Josephus in his report about ancient Jerusalem and Rome, and gentile saviors (think Schindler’s List) from World War II with Joel’s Bubbe (meaning Jewish Grandmother) Rachel recording a detailed account of her escape from the Nazis.

As I mentioned above not only human eyes see what lies in the past or the present.  Narration from an angel named Harper and a demon named Marq walk you through many of the historical events from spiritual realms revealing even more mysteries.

Since this novel was developed from my own personal Bible study, I decided to put together a study guide to accompany the book for anyone who is interested in diving deeper into the major concepts in the novel. Concepts such as gentiles grafted with the New Covenant, the Throne room of heaven, and the angels mentioned in Ezekiel.

The study guide will be released initially via e-book in February 2019 for a Bible study I will personally lead at Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC, in March. There are also discussion questions at the back of the novel for book clubs that would like to dig deeper into scripture and biblical discussions of the concepts in the story.

So, as Gail asked, why would you want to read this? Jesus said in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The full abundance Jesus is speaking of does not start when you make it to heaven. It starts when you meet Jesus. A biblical thriller is our story of our own personal walk with our savior. It’s a thrill to be on assignment for the Kingdom of God and I promise Joel’s mysterious assignment will take you to places you would never imagine.

I hope you look forward to an adventure through this new and exciting genre and learn something new along the way. If so, Over My Dead Body: A Supernatural Novelis available in paperback, hardcopy, e-book and audiobook on Amazon here https://amzn.to/2SIG8Bh. You can also learn more at my website: https://kellyfitzgeraldfowler.com/

 

RELEASE DAY…SENDING MY BABY OUT…

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A fellow writer recently sent me this photo of his newborn calf, a Saler-Hereford.

SO cute! Look at all that curly hair, and a face any mother could love!

How does this tie in with today being RELEASE DAY for Kiss Me Once Again? Very clearly.

Sending a story into the world after such a long process of drafting, writing, editing, re-editing, re-re-editing (you get the picture) shares several parallels with birthing an infant.

But when that infant grows up, they’re out of your hands…well, actually quite a while before that point.

So off you go, Kiss Me Once Again, my first World War II novella…out into the cold, but hopefully not cruel world. It’s been joy-laced hard work to bring you to this moment. May you touch hearts and faithfully reveal the incredible era of World War II.

My publisher tells me this novella debuted at #56 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases chart in the World War II Historical Fiction category.

Reviews

Kiss Me Once Again is a sweet novella that will make you feel like you are in the WWII era. I loved how Gail crafted Glenora, I could really feel her tough exterior filled with grease and less-than feminine features, but she also captured “Glen’s” tender interior. Hank is everything you want to read in a 1940’s hero. Affected by war, yet lacking confidence due to everything he’s been through. It’s a novella, so it’s a quick read. I definitely recommend!  

 “Kiss Me Once Again is a heartwarming story of love, sacrifice, dreams deferred, faith and family. I always appreciate the historical research that underlies author Kittleson’s stories.” 

Purchase Kiss Me Once Again HERE for Amazon

Purchase Kiss Me Once Again HERE for Barnes and Noble

 

Pearl Harbor Day and After…

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In this photo from long-ago. yours truly is the shortest baby boomer. 

Julie Arduini, http://juliearduini.com,a fellow author, reviewed my new Pearl Harbor day release this week on her blog. Positive words to warm an author’s heart. Thanks, Julie. For those who like short reads, or need a gift for someone who loves this time period, but prefers something less exacting than full novels, this novella might be just the ticket.

 

Kiss Me Once Again is a sweet novella that will make you feel like you are in the WWII era. I loved how Gail crafted Glenora, I could really feel her tough exterior filled with grease and less-than feminine features, but she also captured “Glen’s” tender interior. Hank is everything you want to read in a 1940’s hero. Affected by war, yet lacking confidence due to everything he’s been through. It’s a novella, so it’s a quick read. I definitely recommend!

 

Purchase Kiss Me Once Again HERE for Amazon

Purchase Kiss Me Once Again HERE for Barnes and Noble