Month: May 2019

Book Giveaway and Review: The King’s Mercy by Lori Benton

susansnodgrass

Hello!  Today I am thrilled to have as a guest on my blog, author Lori Benton.  Lori has graciously offered to give away a signed copy of her upcoming novel, The King’s Mercy, to one commenter today.  More later on how you can get your name in the hat for that.  For now, let’s settle in and talk to Lori.

  1. I know you grew up near the Appalachian Mountains.  How was it growing up so near to all this wonderful history?

To be honest I wasn’t very interested in history as a kid. I grew up with my maternal grandparents as well as my parents living in our home and knew our family had lived and farmed in southern Virginia for many generations; I’d visited those farms. Now and then we took relatives to see historic places like George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. We had friends who participated in Civil War reenactments and sometimes we attended those (there was a lot to do about Mary Surratt, hung for involvement in President Lincoln’s assassination, in my hometown where her old tavern stood), but by and large my focus, creative and otherwise, was elsewhere—outdoors in the woods and hills with the critters (I studied art in school and briefly worked as a wildlife artist). I had to move 3000 miles away to Oregon before I became keenly interested in Colonial American history. How inconvenient of me! At least the landscape had captured my attention as a child. I took away the bone-deep memories of how the eastern landscape—mountains, piedmont, and coast—feels, smells, and looks in every season.

  • How did you get into writing? 

I blame it on my best friend in the third grade. Without any warning at all she wrote a story and showed it to me. It was a lightbulb moment. Though already an avid reader, I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that I could write my own story—about anything I wanted. I promptly did so. I still have that story; it’s called Yellow Flower and the Wild Mustang, about a Native American girl who finds a wounded horse, heals it, and rides it in a race and beats the boys!

While I wrote in fits and starts after that, it wasn’t until I was in my early twenties, married and anticipating moving west, that I got serious enough about writing to start thinking about publication. This was 1991, before I had a computer or there was email and the internet. I went about it the old fashioned way: I started writing a novel like those I enjoyed reading at the time, realizing I’d figure out how to do it as I went along. Eventually I discovered there were things like writing craft books and writing conferences. I met other writers. I joined a critique group. The internet came along. I frequented writers’ forums, other writer’s blogs, and those of editors and agents.

Now everything a fledgling writer needs to know about the craft of writing and the business of publication is at her fingertips. It couldn’t be an easier time to learn.

  •  How do you get your ideas for books?

Ideas are everywhere. I get them watching films and TV, on long road trips behind the wheel, while hiking, listening to music, during Bible study, and reading other novels. But most often these days I get ideas while I’m researching a subject for a book I’m already writing. If it’s a really good book on the subject, rich with detail and historical accounts of interesting individuals, I probably won’t escape its pages without three or four more ideas for characters or situations that might one day, with enough simmering, become the kernel of a novel, making themselves known. As James Alexander Thom (author of Follow the River) states in his book The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction, “The past is where we get the raw material we use to make the stories by which we earn our bread. The raw material is already there, inexhaustible. We pick bygone time up by the handfuls and, like clay, see if it feels right and then form it into stories about the past.”

  • I have seen some of your photography and it is gorgeous!  Tell us how you came to be interested in photography.

Thank you! A few years ago I met a landscape photographer and learned several things right quick. One, I can edit a digital photo after I’ve taken it (the art college major in me rejoiced). And two, there’s this online platform called Instagram, where I can post my photos and other people can see, like, and comment on them. Who knew? J I was instantly hooked.

  • You are an explorer and you and your husband love to explore the Oregon wilderness.  What is the most favorite place you have visited?

The Pacific Northwest is awesome and majestic and beautifully breathtaking in so many different ways, coast, mountains, and high desert. But my favorite places tend to be National Parks. There are many I’ve yet to visit, but Mount Rainier in Washington, Crater Lake in Oregon, Glacier in Montana, and Yosemite in California are at the top of my favorites list.

  • My favorite book of yours is Many Sparrows, just loved it.  How much research, if any, do you do for your books?

Oh, so very much. I never stop researching. It’s a lifestyle. I read dozens of books for each novel I write, watch YouTube videos, explore the setting via Google Earth, talk to people who know more about the subjects I’m writing about than I do, and every now and then I travel to the places my novels are set—as was the case for Many Sparrows.  I’m so glad you loved that one.

  • Do you have a favorite of all your books and why?

That’s harder to answer than my favorite place to photograph or explore! No sooner can I choose one than I think of a reason another one should be my favorite. Most often the book I’ve most recently finished feels like my favorite because the characters, themes, setting, and the emotional arc of the novel are all very fresh in my mind. Right now that’s The King’s Mercy.

  • Tell us a little about your new book, The King’s Mercy.

Set in the Colony of North Carolina in the 1740s, The King’s Mercy explores the meaning of freedom from multiple perspectives: an imprisoned and exiled Scottish rebel; a blacksmith crippled by a devastating injury; a Cherokee youth who breaks with tradition; a plantation mistress caught in a dehumanizing system; the men and women her stepfather enslaves; a master with his hope set on earthly gain; a young man bound by hate and bitterness; and an itinerant preacher willing to become a slave to see the kingdom of God expand. Each one’s path to freedom is unique, but each must make make a choice. Obedience or willfulness. Trust or despair. Mercy or malice.

  • What do you hope readers will take away from this story? 

Something I’ve discovered about celebrating the grace and redemptive power of Jesus Christ in the form of story is that while I’ve had my conversation with the Lord about these characters and themes, after the book is published it becomes the reader’s turn. God will speak to each heart something unique. I love that! Whatever that is for each reader, my hope is that they’re drawn closer to the Lord through Joanna and Alex’s story, and that they turn that last page of The King’s Mercy more in love with our merciful Jesus than when they began.

Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history. When she isn’t writing, reading, or researching, Lori enjoys exploring and photographing the Oregon wilderness with her husband. She is the author of Burning Sky, recipient of three Christy Awards, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn; Christy nominee The Wood’s Edge; A Flight of Arrows; and Many Sparrows.

MY REVIEW

My Rating: 5 Stars!

‘There isna mercy to be granted, by king or God. He was all but certain no God cared enough to grant it.’

Alastair MacKinnon left God on the battlefield of Culloden and hasn’t had need of Him since. Alex is taken captive and granted the king’s mercy, but it’s no mercy to him. Sold as an indentured servant for seven years in NC’s colony near Cape Fear, Alex knows no mercy as far as he is concerned. Alex is to be the new blacksmith at Severn, a vast property with a multitude of slaves, a practice he finds deplorable. Owner Edmund Carey, and his stepdaughter Joanna are kind to Alex but the overseer, Phineas Reeves, rubs him the wrong way and Alex can’t help but feel something is amiss with the man. An old preacher, Reverend Pauling, known to the Careys, speaks a word over Alex that he has no desire to hear and it is one of the most powerful statements in the book: ‘Almighty God has allowed you, by whatever series of events and decisions brought you to be in this place…if you will allow it, there will be good come of it.’ Turns out to be a most prophetic utterance.

Events happen which cause Alex great pain and he must forge another path for himself, both physically and spiritually. But will others suffer because Alex doesn’t take the reverend’s words seriously?

Reading a novel by Lori Benton is somewhat akin to sitting down at a most anticipated meal with all your favorite dishes. You begin to eat and each bite is more delectable than the last. That’s the way it was with the book: the more I read, the more I loved the book. Benton’s evocative prose swells beautifully with each description, adding many layers to the story, increasing its value to this reader. Her descriptions of everything are vivid and fully exquisite beyond imagining. My heart swelled just reading them. I finished this book with tears of joy washing my face. I thank God for the blessing of these words. Books like this surely cause me to thank God for authors who are obedient to the call of God on their lives to write these words. A true blessing. Bravo! I very highly recommend this book.

*My thanks to the publisher for a preview copy of this book. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.

Publisher: Waterbrook
Publication Date: June 4, 2019

Find Lori at: www.loribenton.com
Find the book at:  https://amzn.to/2ZLbbAD

So who is ready for a giveaway?   Here’s how to get your name in the hat to win this wonderful book.

You must leave a comment on this blog post.  You must also leave your email in a non-spammy format like (susan at yahoo dot com)  The contest runs from May 31st to June 7th.  Sorry, but due to mailing costs, the contest is only open to US residents in the 48 contiguous states.  A winner will be chosen and I will contact you for your mailing address.  Good luck to you all!

Book Review: Bitter Pill by Dr. Richard L. Mabry

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About Dr. Mabry

Biography

About me . . .
      In addition to the practice of medicine, my past includes a stint overseas in the US Air Force, several periods as an interim music minister, and an all-too-brief experience as a semi-pro baseball player. In other words, there’s more to me than “M.D.” covers. Let me share a little about myself.

Education:
      My BA is from the University of North Texas (which was North Texas State University at the time). I graduated with an MD degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, then obtained my specialty training in otolaryngology (that’s “ear, nose, and throat” to    most folks) at two major teaching hospitals in Dallas: Parkland and the VA Hospital.

Air Force:
       I served for almost three years as a Captain in the US Air Force at Lajes Field, in the Azores, a Portuguese possession in the middle of the North Atlantic. I’ve forgotten most of the Portuguese I learned there,   but will never forget the friendships  I made. Because I was involved in saving the life of a little Azorean girl whose airway was obstructed by a coin, I was written up in Stars and Stripes and received the Air Force Commendation medal. When there’s a recognition on Veteran’s Day, I’m proud to stand beside all the others who’ve served.

 
 

      		Medicine: 
      During the 36 years I spent in medicine, I wrote or edited eight textbooks, authored over a hundred professional papers, and was an invited guest speaker all over the world. I held the presidency or vice-presidency of three professional societies, and was privileged to receive a number of awards and honors. But if you asked my greatest reward in medicine, it would be in seeing patients get better under my care.

 Hobbies:
    Primarily golfing, usually once a week with the same golf partner for the past ten years or so. We don’t keep score (heresy to purists, I suppose) and we enjoy the fellowship. I’m also a voracious reader, mainly fiction, although I do read non-fiction books.



Religion: 
      I’ve been a Christian for six decades. For almost forty years, I was a Deacon in the Baptist church, serving as a Sunday school teacher and singing in the choir. After a recent move across the city, I’m proud to be a member of the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where I get to hear Dr. Chuck Swindoll preach regularly.

My rating: 5 stars

‘I don’t think any of us are prepared for the bitter pill we’re sometimes asked to swallow. ‘

Richard Mabry’s books have always been good and I have enjoyed them all. This one is a bit different than his usual fare, but he is wonderful here. We meet three individuals in this novella: Dr Abby Davis, who is somewhat dissatisfied with her practice and with God. Her patients have begun to ask her to pray for them. Then we gave Bob Bannister, itinerant preacher, who conducts healing services, even though there are no real healings. Until one night, there just may have been one. But Brother Bob knows it doesn’t have anything to do with him. And finally, there is Dr Scott Anderson, who has left medicine and gone to seminary.
Each one of these characters have a connection to the other in a roundabout way. They soon discover that God has a plan for their life. And it involves a good amount of discomfort. They must swallow a bitter pill, but like the medicine prescribed for an illness, that pill brings health back. Sometimes we all need a reminder that not everything that looks bad is bad. Good things come in pain and hardship sometimes.
*My thanks to the author fir a preview copy of this book. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Publication Date: May 29, 2019

Find Bitter Pill here: https://amzn.to/2QsZKt6

Author Interview With Melissa Tagg and Book Review of Now and Then and Always

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I am so excited and happy to welcome Melissa Tagg to my blog today.  I have been a forever fan since I read her very first book and intend to remain so.  Melissa’s latest, Now And Then And Always, releases today and she takes us back to Maple Valley!!!  Yay!  I want to at least visit, if not live there.  Melissa is going to be answering some questions about that book for us today, so join us. 

When did you know that you wanted to write books?

I’ve truly wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. I’ve been reading books since I was super young and pretty much as soon as I could string sentences together, I’ve been writing. I wrote story after story as a kid—usually in Mead 5-Star notebooks and almost always featuring a) orphans or b) pioneers or c) both. Haha! So though I started out after college as a reporter before transitioning into nonprofit work, I always knew that somewhere along the way I’d want to try my hand at writing novels on the side. I got serious about it in 2009, attended my first writing conference in 2010, and sold my first two books in 2012.

When you write a book, do you have a theme running through your mind for each book?

Well, yes and no. 🙂 Sometimes I think I know what the theme of a book is when I start writing, but 100% of the time, that theme ends up changing by the end of the book. (And honestly, I don’t even know that my books have just one solid theme.) I’ve learned to not hold any of my plans for the story too tightly…to be flexible enough to go where God, my characters, and my own creative whim takes me as I’m writing.  It’s amazing how the process of telling the story always begins intertwining with my personal journey (whether I want it to or not!)—spiritual, emotional and otherwise—to form the theme(s) of the story. 

How do you prepare for writing the book? Prayer? etc?

I definitely pray about it. I also spend a good amount of time digging into my characters. I’ve learned from an amazing author mentor (Susan May Warren) to get to know some really important key things about my characters before I start writing—their greatest dream, greatest fear, the lie they believe, the dark moment that shaped who they are and what they believe today, etc. Lots of other character traits pop up and surprise me as I’m writing. (For instance, I didn’t have any clue that Mara is obsessed with cereal until I wrote her first bite of cereal into an early scene. Haha!) But the big things, the heart issues, the past struggles—I often have those at least somewhat figured out beforehand. I don’t outline my books in detail, but I do often have some sense of the major plot points—although, again, I’ve learned to be flexible because more often than not, the story ends up taking turns I didn’t see coming as I’m writing. 

Does God ever just deposit something in your spirit for a book? 

That has happened before. I can’t say that it did with this one. This one was more of a normal writing process in that I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but I got surprised along the way and did some early rewriting. Maybe those surprises count as God depositing something in my spirit. But I’ve had other more concrete experiences of truly feeling like God just, boom, dropped the story in my heart. For instance, I was working on a Christmas story once and truly had no clue where I was going with it. I went to bed at night frustrated at the whole thing. I woke up in the morning with, literally, the whole story in my head!

What do you hope readers will take away from Now And Then And Always?

This is such a funny and interesting question to me because I used to be able to give such firm answers to questions like this. But over the years as I’ve received reader letters and messages, I’ve so often been surprised at what people take away from the story. A lot of times it’s not what I expected them to take away! I really strive hard NOT to write “message” or “agenda” fiction…not because I have anything against that kind of fiction, but because I really believe the strongest stories can say different things to different people. So I don’t want to shoehorn a message or moral into my stories.

But I guess to answer the question, I just want the reader to take something away—something personal and memorable. Maybe it’s a reminder that, like Mara, even when they don’t see God at work in their life, He still sees them…He’s still working. Maybe, like Marshall, it’s confronting their deepest, darkest pain…wrestling with the questions and doubts that pain produces…and maybe, hopefully coming to a place where they’re willing to at least consider that God is still good, that He still loves them, that life can still hold moments of joy. For one person maybe the takeaway is examining the “hallway” of their life, learning to see the good even in closed doors…for another, the takeaway might be finding the bravery to step through an open door. And maybe for another reader, the takeaway is simply the fun of a few hours of entertainment in the form of clean romance and a happy ending!

Meet Melissa

Melissa Tagg is the award-winning author of the popular Walker Family series, the Where Love Begins series and the Enchanted Christmas Collection. She’s a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl. Her recent releases include a Carol Award winner (One Enchanted Noel), an RT Book Reviews TOP PICK (All This Time) and a Publishers Weekly Spring Top Ten Pick (Like Never Before). Melissa has taught at multiple national writing conferences, as well as workshops and women’s retreats. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever, watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next book. Melissa loves connecting with readers at http://www.melissatagg.com and on Facebook and Instagram.

Now for the rest of the story:

It all started when my dad, at the ripe old age of sixteen, picked up my mom for their first date. She was thirteen. Thirteen!* Dad drove a cherry red car up the lane to my grandparents big ol’ green house and honked his horn…whereupon Mom jumped out of the apple tree she’d been waiting in and off they went…fishing. True story. (I’d give more details, but I’m saving it for a novella I plan to entitle Two Leaves…which is an inside joke…which means I really hope you’re reading this, Mom and Dad.)

Fast forward a few years and they got married and then a year and a half later I came along.

In addition to trying to take at least slightly better photos (but generally failing), today I also work full-time at a homeless non-profit while playing author on the weekends and sometimes early in the morning, occasionally in the evening…but never late at night because apparently I’m now an old woman who can’t stay awake past 10.

So far, my books include the Walker Family series (Three Little Words, From the Start, Like Never Before, Keep Holding On, All This Time), the Where Love Begins series (Made to Last, Here to Stay), and the Enchanted Christmas Collection (One Enchanted Christmas, One Enchanted Eve, One Enchanted Noel). Also, my novella, A Place to Belong, is free for newsletter subscribers! Look for my next full-length novel in early 2019.

Sometimes people ask why I write romantic stories. The short answer is because it’s fun. The longer answer is because I love the idea of making people laugh, making them swoon…and maybe, hopefully, inspiring or encouraging or challenging them in the process. I believe laughter paves the way for truth. It gets us all comfortable and settled in and prepped for the heavier stuff. And romance tugs on our vulnerabilities. Stories, no matter the genre, change us. They make us think, they get under our skin, they get us to ask questions we might not otherwise. They get us to feel things we might not otherwise.

Other than stories, I love, love, love talking about faith, my insanely cute nieces and nephew, classic movies, baby goats, Pop-Tarts and the bookworm life. Finally, I probably love Needtobreathe, flannel and candy corn more than any other person you will ever meet.

*****

*Um, when I was thirteen, I had braces and glasses that took up two-thirds of my face…and stretch pants with stirrups were a staple in my closet. Yeah, not so first-date-ready. Though, I did rock the slouch socks.

You can find Melissa at: www.melissatagg.com

My Rating:  5 Stars!

‘It was a whisper. A prodding. A conviction. In another life, in hi sold one where he was a man of deep faith, he might’ve believed that was a divine murmur. God’s voice. Saying his name. Letting him know someone saw and heard and cared.’

Melissa Tagg takes us back to Maple Valley in this first novel in a new series. How I love that town! There are but a few fictional places I would like to visit or even live, and Maple Valley is one.

Mara Bristol has ran from a devastating experience and was taken in by Lenora, who bought the old Everwood Bed and Breakfast, with the intent of fixing it up completely. But now, Lenora has left and five weeks have passed with no sign of her. Mara is still taking care of the B&B when one night a stranger passes out on her porch in the midst of a terrific storm.

Detective Marshall Hawkins has been given three months’ of administrative leave because of his erratic job performance. Marshall has lost his 6 year old daughter to leukemia and cannot seem to get past his grief, not even two years later. It rules his life. So he gets in his truck and drives and ends up at the Everwood, head throbbing with a migraine and a storm brewing. For some reason, he feels he should stay and help Mara fix up the place and turn it into a thriving bed and breakfast.

As these two begin to work together, both experience something wonderful as their burdens seem to be shifting . Marshall is broken, oh so broken, and Mara, too, is broken and we are allowed the blessing of seeing them both journey into healing. There is even a mystery, at which Tagg proves herself a dab hand in creating.

Every time I read a Melissa Tagg book, I completely bury myself in it and hate to come up for necessary tasks. She causes her readers to simply fall in love with all her wonderful characters in this precious town. I want to go to Maple Valley so badly! She does add her trademark thread of humor throughout also, along with a powerful spiritual theme. I smiled, I laughed, I shed tears as Tagg once again proved her writing is classic inspirational romance, fit for the keeper shelf and destined to be read again and again. Well done!

*My thanks to the publisher and author for a preview copy of this book. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. I was not encouraged nor expected to leave a positive review.

Publisher: Larkspur Press
Publication Date: May 28, 2019

Get The Book Here: https://amzn.to/2ZLbbAD

Is Your Face Radiant?

susansnodgrass

In this scripture, we see something very important. Moses had spent quite a bit of time with God on the mountain, and it showed in his face. His face was so radiant that the people were even afraid of him at first! In fact, the glory of the Lord on Moses’ face was so strong, he had to put a veil over his features! That is so amazing to me. Everybody, every single person knew Moses had been with the Lord. God was all over him.

When we spend time with the Lord, our faces should reflect that, too. Of course, we’re not going to glow like Moses did, but people should be able to see Jesus in us. All the time, too, not just after prayer and devotions time. I must confess I don’t wear a happy, been with Jesus look on my face all the time. I do want people to see Jesus in me when I am out and about, not a gloomy sourpuss face. How about you? Do you want people to see Jesus in you? Let’s make a decision to let people see that we belong to Christ and let that be evident in our faces.

Book Review: ‘Summer By The Tides’ by Denise Hunter

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Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 30 books, including “The Convenient Groom” and “A December Bride” which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.
Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories. Her readers enjoy the experience of falling in love vicariously through her characters and can expect a happily-ever-after sigh as they close the pages of her books.
In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!
When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are currently enjoying an empty nest.
You can learn more about Denise by visiting her FaceBook page.

My rating: 5 Stars!

‘She’d left God in the dust quite some time ago.’

Maddy is left reeling from an especially vicious betrayal, both professional and emotional when she is called back to her grandmother’s house in Sea Haven, NC. It seems her grandmother is missing and no one has any clue as to where she is. Her grandmother’s neighbor, Connor Sullivan, has called Maddy and her two sisters, Emma and Nora and when they converge on the old house, emotions run rampant between Emma and Nora from old hurts and betrayals.

The sisters get busy packing up family belongings in their grandmother’s home, and recall the good times they had their each summer as children. But there are many secrets in this family, secrets and betrayals that threaten their hearts. Tensions are high as jealousy, resentment and pain come against this family. Will they ever be able to put aside the past and be close again? Or will they just give in to defeat and go their separate ways?

Meanwhile, Connor Sullivan is beginning to have feelings for Maddy as she is for him. But Maddy is bound and determined never to love again after her most recent break up. After all, if you hide your heart, it can’t get hurt. Right? Maybe not.

Denise Hunter has long been a favorite of mine and I never fail to enjoy her books. She knows how to dig right into the reader’s heart and pull them into the story completely. Even her secondary characters are meaningful and good to know. She weaves the spiritual theme throughout this story, while capturing the complete emotional make up of her characters. This one moved me deeply and I found myself crying several times. Well done! I highly recommend Summer By The Tides.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 21, 2019)
  • Publication Date: May 21, 2019
  • Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
  •  

https://amzn.to/2IZ146e

denisehunterbooks.com

Sweet On You by Becky Wade, Prism Book Tour & And Review

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On Tour with Prism Book Tours

 

Sweet on You

(Bradford Sisters #3)
By Becky Wade
Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 368 Pages
April 30th 2019 by Bethany House Publishers
 
Britt Bradford and Zander Ford have been the best of friends since they met thirteen years ago. Unbeknown to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long.
 
Independent and adventurous Britt channels her talent into creating chocolates at her hometown shop. Zander is a bestselling author who’s spent the past 18 months traveling the world. He’s achieved a great deal but still lacks the only thing that ever truly mattered to him–Britt’s heart.
 
When Zander’s uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Merryweather, Washington, to investigate, and Britt is immediately there to help. Although this throws them into close proximity, both understand that an attempt at romance could jeopardize their once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But while Britt is determined to resist any change in their relationship, Zander finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden.
 
As they work together to uncover his uncle’s tangled past, will the truth of what lies between them also, finally, come to light?
 
 
Other Books in the Series
 

 
About the Author
 

 
Becky’s a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children. When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. She loves writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance! She’s the Christy Award and Carol Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, and the Bradford Sisters Romance series.
 
Tour Schedule
 
 
Tour Giveaway
 

 
ONE WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
 
  • Tote bag highlighting Britt’s chocolate shop, Sweet Art
  • Paperback copy of Sweet on You
  • $100 Visa gift card
  • 1 pound box of See’s chocolate truffles
  • Set of chocolate scented soap
  • Box of colored pencils
  • “Tattoo” coloring book
Enter on Becky’s website HERE

Grab Our Button!

‘He only wanted her. There wasn’t enough real estate in his heart for anyone else.’

Becky Wade gives us the final book in her Bradford Sisters Romance series with Sweet On You, Zander and Britt’s story. I have been waiting a long time for this one and Wade absolutely shines here! Zander has loved Britt since they met when they were 14 years old. Britt adored Zander Ford, but she just didn’t see him as he saw her. But his love for her never once wavered in the intervening 13 years. He was solid in his devotion to her. Britt thought of Zander as her very best friend, but maybe she’ll begin to see him differently. He surely hopes so. He has prayed for it for years.

Zander is now a bestselling author and has spent the last year and a half being a world traveler. He left on the journey because he couldn’t bear to not be Britt’s choice. But he’s back because his uncle just died under strange circumstances and he is going to help discover what happened. Britt wants to help and off they go, together again, but only as friends. Britt is happy with their relationship the way it is while Zander is praying things will change. He is finding that keeping his feelings hidden from Britt a very hard thing to do. Something just has to change. Britt is so sure of herself, yet she is also insecure, never allowing herself to feel anything but strong in every way.

There is just something about a Becky Wade book that makes the reader feel as if they hold a treasure in their hands. She takes her time, never rushes things, even a simple conversation or description, which makes these characters just seem to take up residence in the reader’s heart. Her novels are so full and rich, her way of drawing us into their very lives until we sometimes think we’re really there!

Zander has the honor, in my opinion, of being the absolute best fictional hero who loves his woman best and hardest. Nothing will ever shake his love for Britt. He will never not be there for her. His heart is totally true and his love for Britt will endure for all eternity. Some of his thoughts and words in this story made my heart melt! He was so devoted to his woman. Absolutely 100% there!

Wade writes the kind of books that you hate to put down when you finish because these characters populate your thoughts and hearts long afterwards, making it difficult to pick up another book. How I love her stories! Becky Wade absolutely shines here! A book for the keeper shelf and destined to be read more than once.

*My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a copy of this book. The opinions stated here are entirely my own and no compensation was received.

Book Review: Living Lies by Natalie Walters

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About Natalie

I love Jesus. My family. Books. And tea. Traveling excites me and terrifies me. I’m known to turn any conversation into a catchy song (you should hear what I can do to the crab song from Moana!). I eat candy based on mood. Wage war on my curly hair every day (the topknot defies me). And have a photographic memory, which according to my family and friends gives me an unfair advantage on trivia and word games.

But before all of that…

As a little girl I escaped my reality into the world of story. My love of reading grew out of a desperate desire to belong and I found my place among characters who lived lives full of adventure and whimsy. I wish I could say that I was a born writer but the truth is that I was a born reader. Consuming books at a rate my parents couldn’t afford I was introduced to the magical world called The Library. With an endless supply of books and a quiet, air-conditioned corner—the library raised me.

It wasn’t until I was in high school and facing a difficult to please English teacher did I discover how much I enjoyed writing. But before the dream of being a writer could even be planted, the Master Storyteller was only beginning ACT 2 in my own life. I fell in love, married a hero, and had three beautiful babies and they’ve taught me that adventure is best experienced with those you love and who love you.

More than two decades later, I can’t imagine doing life any different. Though I’ve been through dark valleys and experienced euphoric highs—it’s been the journey along the way that has shaped the story of my heart at the hands of a Master Storyteller.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…”

This is my time to write. My season to tell stories full of characters embarking in high-stakes adventure, personal struggle, and page-turning tension highlighted in swoon-worthy moments of romance. It’s my dream that my stories will encourage, inspire, and invite readers into a world where they belong.

I’m represented by Tamela Hancock-Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

My Rating: 5 stars!

‘Not even God heard her prayers.  Or if he did, he chose to ignore them.’

Place: Walton, Georgia.  Tiny town where everybody knows everybody else.  But some people have secrets.  And want to keep those secrets hidden.  Lane Kent doesn’t want anyone to know her secrets when she returns to her hometown with her little boy.  Lane suffers from depression, badly sometimes.  She walks out to a bridge, wondering how she could possibly do what she thinks she wants to do, when she is startled by the town’s new deputy, Charlie Lynch.  She runs off, not knowing who he is, and heads into the woods and falls.  And stares into the eyes of a dead body. 

Charlie sees into Lane’s eyes and heart and desperately wants her to feel worthy of love again.  If only she will give him a chance to prove that he really means it when he says he wants to get to know her and will take care of her.  But he has to solve this crime. 

I love discovering new authors and Natalie Walters gives us her debut novel here and does a wonderful job!  She shows us small town life like she’s been there.  I live in a small town and I could feel the vibes coming off the page here about this one.  She also is very adept at her characterizations, causing this reader to feel their hearts.  I loved all the cast members; well, not the bad guys, of course, but this town has more than a few characters I’d love to meet.  Well done!

*My thanks to the publisher and author for a preview copy of this book via Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Publisher: Revell
Publication Date: May 21, 2019

Find the Book Here: https://amzn.to/2Vl0V3N

Find Natalie Here:  nataliewalterswriter.com

Hidden By God

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I have a very vivid imagination. Always have had. Everyone who knows me, knows how huge of a reader I am. I always have been that as well. I remember clearly how I would imagine scenes in whatever book I was reading. When I’m reading a book, it’s almost like a running video in my mind of what is taking place in the book.

I do the same with Scripture. I absolutely love this verse! It’s my go-to during hard times. This verse is written by David, a man who had many troubles, even running for his life numerous times when King Saul was bent on killing him. But David learned one thing: God would hide him during those times. And God hides us, too. He never promised we would not go through difficulties and suffer. But He DID promise to take care of us during those times. And sometimes, He just has to pick us up and put us on a high rock where the enemy can’t reach! Aren’t you glad of that today? There have been times in my life where I have said, “God, put me on that rock today.” And guess what? He does! When we are battle scarred and weary, and can’t seem to put one foot in front of the other, God picks us up and places us out of reach on that high rock! Rejoice in that today, friend. He’s there. And He will help you, no matter what you’re going through. Blessings!

Called But Not Committed: Samson

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I love the history books of the Bible! I love history, period. But the wonderful stories in the Old Testament are so fascinating and rich, full of lessons to be learned. Samson’s story was a favorite of my childhood, but as I grew older, I realized there was so much more to his story.

Samson was to be set apart from birth to the Lord. His parents did their part, although they did cave in to his demands once. Samson grew up in church, so to speak, doing the right thing. But as he aged, Samson began to desire things he shouldn’t. He strayed first into lust, then became obsessed with vengeance. He failed to take the call of God on his life seriously. He had a problem with commitment to God. We have to take our relationship with God very seriously. I had an aunt who used to say, ‘Serving the Lord is a serious business.’ That is so very true. Our eternity depends on this. We can’t use God when we need Him and forget about Him when we’re doing well.

This is what Samson did. He pursued his fleshly desires and didn’t commit himself to God’s call on his life. And when he was down to the wire with Delilah pestering him about the secret to his strength, he still forgot about God. On the last go round, when he told her that the secret to his strength lay in his hair, he thought to himself, ‘I’ll just jump up like I did the other times.’ But Samson failed to realize that there are consequences for walking in sin. One of the absolute, if not the, saddest verses in the Bible is, ‘he didn’t realize that the Spirit of the Lord had left him.’ Samson had strayed so far from God’s call on his life, he did not even KNOW the Spirit of the Lord was nowhere near him! How horrible that would be. To not even feel the presence of God in your life anymore! I can’t even begin to imagine that.

I want to stay close to God, so close that I feel His presence every moment of the day. He is just a breath away. I want to be committed! Do you?

Book Review: ‘Moments We Forget’ By Beth K. Vogt

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My Rating: 4 stars!

‘It was as if I stood at the edge of an open cavern, peering down into the opaque darkness. How deep was it? And if I slipped would I ever stop falling?’
Beth Vogt continues her Thatcher Sisters series with this second in line, featuring Jillian, the middle sister. Jillian is now one year out from her breast cancer diagnosis but still dealing with the effects of chemo brain and the meds she must take for another 5 years. She is left reeling from two other blows to her life as well and just doesn’t know how she can continue to stand. Then her husband, Geoff, has some secrets, too, that will affect their marriage. And oh, how we feel her pain.
Payton, the younger sister, whose twin died 10 years earlier, is now struggling with her concept of God, especially since she is in a supposed relationship with Zach, who is a committed Christian.
And Johanna, the eldest, the one who must control and boss everything, is back, still in a run off with Payton. These two seem to feel they have to disagree on everything. But all is not rosy in Johanna’s life, either, and Johanna does not show weakness and tell anyone her problems.
Not having a sister, but a brother, the relationship dynamic was a bit foreign to me, but Vogt manages to plumb the depths of the sister relationship quite well. She takes us on a painful journey as we experience the deepest hurts imaginable with these women until we’re left wondering if they will ever experience true happiness of the soul. But what a journey! And there are two scenes near the end that touched my heart so very deeply that they left me absolutely bawling! Well done! I am so looking forward to Johanna’s story in the last book of the series.

*My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Published by: Tyndale House

Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Find Moments We Forget here:  https://amzn.to/2V2wqdO

Find Beth here:  BethVogt.com

About Beth:


God’s best is often found behind the doors marked “Never.”

So many times I approached life with with a virtual roll of yellow duct tape emblazoned with the word NEVER. Over and over again I sealed off certain opportunities.
I would never marry a doctor or anyone in the military.
I would never have children.
I would never write fiction.

And don’t you know God stripped off the duct tape and walked me through each of those NEVER doors?

Have you ever marked a door NEVER … only to discover his best waited where you said you’d never go?

Following God through that door doesn’t mean we’re on “easy street,”‘even though we’re where he wants us to be.