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Do you like Women's Fiction? How about books that feature characters in their forties or older? Our guest author today, Jen Dodrill, has just what you're looking for. See why she's recently switched this new genre and what she hopes it will bring readers.  I recently made the switch from writing cozy mysteries to publishing women’s fiction. In my cozies, I get to be an amateur sleuth (don’t all authors live vicariously through their characters?). Women’s fiction is a whole new ball game.
Some basic differences in cozies and women’s fiction:
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Do you have a good relationship with your mom? How about your child? It's not always easy, is it? Guest author Deena Adams is chatting about the mother-daughter theme running through her soon-to-release book, Stronger than the Storm, in today's book spotlight. See if some of this resonates with you and feel free to comment about your own relationship hurdles you've overcome.  When Love Hurts: Hope for Healing in Mother-Daughter Relationships
All of us have relationships in our lives—some that feel like a gift and others that are incredibly hard. And sometimes, the same person can be both at different moments. That’s especially true in mother-daughter relationships. Do you love novels that let you travel with the characters? How about characters based on real people from history? Well, Casey Cline has woven her latest novel around a very interest real person, and the sneak peek she gives us today is definitely moving this book up higher on my TBR (it was already going to be read this month, anyway). See what you think.  In my historical romance novel, The Wayfaring Widow, widow Victoria Clarke is on an ill-fated trip through some of America’s largest cities in 1854 with declared bachelor, Harrison Wright. Only the third member of their party, mutual friend (and real-life English explorer) Isabella Bird, keeps the two from constantly being at each other’s throats.
After visiting Boston, Chicago, and Detroit, with each destination presenting its own excitements (and terrors), the trio next travels aboard the Mayflower steamship across Lake Erie to Buffalo, New York. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading one of Tonya Ashley's stories yet, get ready. She's guesting today to talk about the inspiration behind her newest novella in Romancing the Elements, Grit and Grace. Read on, because you're going to see from the beautiful writing below that you don't want to miss this sweet and inspirational story.  The first time I hiked to Fuzzy Butt Falls, it was late autumn.
A couple of days’ rain had left the ground soft and messy. The trail isn’t maintained, but worn enough follow without getting entirely lost. A horse trail crosses through it, and the ground had been churned to thick mud. My boys and I skirted around those spots, stepping carefully along the edges, brown leaves plastered to our boots. Most of the trees had already surrendered their leaves. The landscape felt hushed. Gray trunks, gray rock, brown leaf litter bathed in golden autumn. Only the evergreens held their color. The air was cool and crisp. I remember wearing a thick plaid flannel and being grateful for it. Hard topics, while it's good that they're mentioned in short shows and commercials, sometimes need a deeper dive for us to really appreciate everything they entail. My friend Heather Greer does an excellent job of showing the hard side of alcoholism in her new book, Hope Even After. But she does more than that too. Read on to see why she chose to deal with something so hard in her newest romance.  What I’ve seen and experienced in my life prompted Luke and Daisy’s story in Hope Even After. It’s a different story than I usually tell, but I hope you’ll stick with me for a few minutes as I share my heart about why their story is so important for those in our churches today.
I grew up in the era when Jessie got hooked on caffeine pills to cope with the pressures of Bayside High and DJ was wrongfully accused of drinking by her dad and uncles when a drink was spilled on her. In those days, a brain on drugs looked like a fried egg, and we all understood that kids who used drugs could learn it by watching parents who used them. Each of us went through the D.A.R.E. program at least one time in our middle to junior high years. A few weeks ago, Ellen Withers was my guest author interview. She spoke about her newest novella, and today, we're blessed to have Jenny Carlisle here to tell us about her story in this fun collection. Warning, cute dog photos ahead! Do you love pets in stories?  A novella calls for focus. No time for extra storylines or a large cast of characters. My readers know this is a problem for me. For the second time in my fiction writing journey, I have been asked to place a spotlight on the romance between the main characters. Fortunately, my research for my latest story inspired a couple of companions who enhance the action, and even play a part in bringing my protagonists together.
You all know I love a good fairy-tale retelling. But what about those fairy tales that aren't our favorites? What about the ones we didn't love when we were growing up? Do you think they deserve to be retold too? Well, guest author Amy Walsh is here today to tell us about her newest fairy-tale retelling, and how her opinion of it changed through the years.  As a child, I had very strong opinions about Goldilocks...
She was rude. She was careless. She absolutely deserved to be chased out of that house by three very angry bears. End of discussion. As an adult, I find myself asking inconvenient questions. Like why a girl was wandering alone in the woods. Or why a house full of warm food, empty chairs, and silence felt safer than wherever she came from. Or why the story never bothered to ask what she was searching for. Fairy tales have a funny way of doing that. They wait patiently until we’re grown enough to reread them—and then they reveal they were never as simple as we thought. Can you keep a secret? It can be a good thing. But sometimes, it's not. Our guest author today, Sarah Hamaker, is chatting about all things secrets along with her newest book. See what you think.  How are you with keeping secrets? Some of us keep them very well while others of us are terrible at not spilling the beans. Secrets can be deadly in more ways than one. When thinking about writing this blog, I decided to delve a little deeper into what the word means and how it has been used over the ages.
The word “secret” originated in late Middle English from the Old French. The Latin roots centered around being separate and set apart. Miriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines secret as “kept from knowledge or view (hidden), marked by the habit of discretion (closemouthed), working with hidden aims or methods (secret agent), not acknowledged (secret bride) or conducted in secret (secret meeting). Have you ever considered how the Christian faith is perceived by cultures other than your own? Dr. Ruth Wong, our guest author today, talks about how she weaves those perceptions into her latest story.  God’s son—one claim, two cultures
Every one of my books touches upon the Christian faith. That thread continues in my latest book, Fire Between Two Skies (special $2.99 promo at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2YZZ8LG; watch the teaser video at https://youtu.be/UE9egV5VlUs). Set against the fiery upheaval of the Taiping movement, the story explores a question that has long gripped me: how can the same claim—“I am the Son of God”—ignite such different responses in different cultures? Can you imagine waging a war over a Christmas tree? What if your tree might be one to grace the halls of the White House or Rockefeller Center? Well, my friend Delores Topliff is here chatting about her book that talks about just such a situation. I think you're going to love this cute Christmas story.  Like most authors, I enjoy each book I write, but Christmas Tree Wars was the most fun because I received the whole story came as an almost complete download one Sunday morning as I drove a country road in rural Minnesota. A Christmas tree farm lined one side of the road. A hayfield bordered the other with one lone, straight Christmas tree standing at its edge.
I don’t know how many thought layers can converge in a single moment of time, but they all did. I knew the Christmas tree farm owner would claim the tree on the other side, although he had plenty of his own. Underneath that story line, I glimpsed the account of Israel’s King David claiming Bathsheba, although he already possessed plenty of wives and concubines. |
This is a place for me to tell you about what I'm writing, talk about the process or where some of my ideas came from, or even have other authors come in and talk about their books.
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