Check out my new post on The Engrafted Word! Happy reading!
Happy New Year Friends! - by Heather Snyder
Thursday, December 30, 2021
A Promise for Faith - Spotlight Book Tour
A Promise for Faith
by Stacy T. Simmons
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Release date: January 18, 2022
Secrets have the power to ruin lives. Faith and love have the power to disarm those secrets.
Failure isn’t an option for Faith Fuller, She wants to prove to herself and her very successful parents she can stand on her own, even if it means accepting a job offer from someone she wanted to forget. To add to the problem, that job means facing her biggest fear.
Caleb Gaines is looking for a manager for his coffee shop. He’s in over his head running his successful river outfitters business, and being a single dad to a preschooler. But the perfect candidate wants nothing to do with him. Risk-taker Caleb is up for a challenge and wants to convince Faith to help him.
If neither one relies on faith and learns to trust, any chance at love will be washed downstream.
An out-of-work chef and successful river outfitter are both hiding secret tragedies. How much faith will it take to learn to trust in each other, overcome obstacles, and find love?
I’ll explain later. He’s waving to me to get in
the car.
Okay, I can’t wait to hear all the story. See you
soon.
Riding down the road in the sleek SUV,
she watched every shimmy of her old Bessie, attached by flimsy chains to the
back of the tow truck. She prayed the old girl would not fall apart and leave
her stranded. Nervously, Faith picked at a hangnail.
“Hawk’s
Creek is over there.”
Outlined
in the greying night stood a party hat peaked roof and dull siding.
With
the whirr of a button, her window slid down as spring mountain air moved around
her, along with a gurgle of moving water. She eased back into the seat and held
in a sigh.
“Shouldn’t
be too bad tomorrow. With the rains, we’ll only get a few rapids.”
Shutting out the water’s call with a flick of
the button, Faith’s hands dampened, and her heart galloped. He never knew
what happened, and he never will. Pushing past her whirlpool of emotions,
Faith placed a grin on her face as Caleb told her something funny. She’d deal
with what tomorrow would bring later. On her own terms.
Panic swam in a steady current as
the mechanic shop manager added more numbers to the estimate.
Links to All Excerpts:
Excerpt Six: https://englishmysteriesblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-promise-for-faith-spotlight-book-tour.html?m=1
Excerpt Seven: https://coverloverbookreview.blogspot.com/2021/12/a-promise-for-faith-epic-book-launch.html
Stacy T. Simmons writes uplifting fiction that delights the reader’s romantic sensibilities. Thirty-four years of marital bliss is a great contributor. She is a mom of two grown children, and she and her family have a menagerie of pets she likes to call “Noah’s Ark.” You can find her working on her next manuscript with a piece of dark chocolate and a cup of coffee nearby. She loves to connect with her readers via her website at: www.stacytsimmonsauthor.com
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Friday, December 24, 2021
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Shadows of Swanford Abbey - Spotlight Book Tour
Shadows of Swanford Abbey
Genre: Regency Romance, Historical
Suspense, Inspirational Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
(December 7, 2021)
Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen in this atmospheric Regency tale brimming with mystery, intrigue, and romance.
When Miss Rebecca Lane returns to her home village after a few years
away, her brother begs for a favor: go to nearby Swanford Abbey and deliver his
manuscript to an author staying there who could help him get published. Feeling
responsible for her brother's desperate state, she reluctantly agrees.
The medieval monastery turned grand hotel is rumored to be haunted. Once there,
Rebecca begins noticing strange things, including a figure in a hooded black
gown gliding silently through the abbey's cloisters. For all its renovations
and veneer of luxury, the ancient foundations seem to echo with whispers of the
past--including her own. For there she encounters Sir Frederick—magistrate,
widower, and former neighbor—who long ago broke her heart.
When the famous author is found murdered in the abbey, Sir Frederick begins
questioning staff and guests and quickly discovers that several people held
grudges against the man, including Miss Lane and her brother. Haunted by a
painful betrayal in his past, Sir Frederick searches for answers but is torn
between his growing feelings for Rebecca and his pursuit of the truth. For Miss
Lane is clearly hiding something…
ADVANCE PRAISE
"A brilliant Agatha Christie-esque whodunit by reader favorite Julie Klassen. Set in the creepy atmosphere of an old abbey, Shadows of Swanford Abbey will keep you guessing until the very end. There's plenty of danger, intrigue, and—yes—romance to delight Regency-era lovers of all ages. Truly a don't-miss read!"—Michelle Griep, Christy Award-winning author of Once Upon a Dickens Christmas
“If you enjoy historical fiction with equal blends MYSTERY (suspense) and ROMANCE, then I recommend Shadows of Swanford Abbey with you wholeheartedly without any reservations. This may just be my FAVORITE Klassen novel yet.”—Becky Laney, Becky’s Book Reviews
“Once
again Julie Klassen has delivered an intriguing book with all kinds of mystery
and a few ghosts added in made it all worth the midnight oil I burned because I
didn't want to put it down!”—Lori Parrish, Red Headed Book Lady
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS
Julie
Klassen loves all
things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold over a
million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical
Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the
Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book
Award and Christian Retailing's BEST Award and has been a finalist in the RITA
and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in
publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She and her husband have
two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM
|
BOOKBUB | WIKIPEDIA
| GOODREADS
Author Julie Klassen shares her inspiration for Shadows of Swanford Abbey
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Behind Love's Wall - Spotlight Book Tour
Book: Behind Love’s Wall
Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
Genre: FICTIO: Christian/Romance
Release date: November 1, 2021
Two successful women, a hundred-and-twenty-years apart, build walls to protect their hearts. Modern-day Willa, a successful interior decorator, is chosen to consult for the Grand Hotel’s possible redesign. She discovers a journal detailing the struggles of a young woman, Lily—which reveals dark secrets. The renowned singer wasn’t who she pretended to be. As Willa reaches out to Lily’s descendant, a charismatic and prominent landscape artist, she lets down her guard. Should she share the journal with him, or once again erect a wall as she struggles to redesign both the Grand and her life?
Click here to get your copy!
ECPA-bestselling author Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D., is the award-winning author of over a dozen Christian historical romances. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn’t “cure” her overactive imagination! A self-professed “history geek,” she resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia but grew up as a “Yooper” in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time!
You can connect with her at; www.CarrieFancettPagels.com.
Why I Wrote This Novel
I got a chance to write another novel set on Mackinac Island!!!
I’m the author of over twenty published stories. I have many books, both novel and novella length, set at the Straits of Mackinac including Maggie Award winner and Romantic Times Top Pick My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island. In the summer, I go up to the area and I’m blessed to sign books at the Island Bookstore—sometimes hundreds of books which is such an amazing thing I can’t tell you! Now that MHBoMI is out of print, Barbour has been helping by doing limited print runs for while I am up there.
My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island was originally part of a full series that I pitched but it didn’t get picked up for all three stories. MHBoMI got picked up as part of the My Heart Belongs series that Barbour put out a few years ago. The second book in my original Brides of Mackinac series was heroine Sadie’s story, which was published as a novella “His Anchor” in First Love Forever collection. So I had two of my book babies delivered out into the world and Lily’s story sat there for a while.
In the Covid summer of 2020, I arrived in my home state of Michigan and over dinner with a close friend I learned that the folks at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island were having legal trouble with their previous long-time designed Carlton Varney suing them. I’d been disappointed that the Mussers, who’d owned the Grand for generations, had sold the hotel but this new development really bugged me. While I was in the Upper Peninsula, I finished an Indy book, Dogwood Plantation, which only figures since I often write my Michigan stories while I am in Virginia and vice versa! I knew the only other book I wanted to work on was to complete my Brides of Mackinac trilogy (not exactly since they aren’t all in one series!) with Lily’s story. I also had a manuscript about 70% done that was my very first contemporary Women’s Fiction novel. When my agent encouraged me to submit a Mackinac Island story set at the Grand Hotel to Barbour’s Doors to the Past series, I knew immediately that the only story for historical I wanted to write was Lily’s. That meant that I needed, for this dual-timeline series, a contemporary story. That wasn’t just a chance sharing at dinner—I believe the info about the lawsuit was meant to be passed on to me one of those God-incidences. My modern-day heroine then became an established resort designer who had a trunkful of issues just like Lily did.
Was I ever glad that I had finally written my first contemporary Women’s Fiction (Butterfly Cottage) because that skill set came in very handy in writing the modern-day 2020 story of Willa in Behind Love’s Wall! This was the most difficult novel to write that I have done so far as I write in character and going back and forth between the 1895 and 2020 timelines could be draining. I tried to write each character and setting on separate days but that couldn’t always be managed.
I pray that this story will touch readers’ hearts. I pray that someone, like the young waitress I meant on Mackinac Island who had been spiritually moved by My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island (she read her grandmother’s copy after her grandma passed away!), will read this book and feel that connection to our Maker. That’s what Christian Fiction is all about!
To celebrate her tour, Carrie is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!
Click the link to enter!! .
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Sunday, November 21, 2021
The London House - Spotlight Book Tour
The London House: A Novel
Author: Katherine
Reay
Genre: Historical Fiction, Women’s
Fiction
Publisher: Harper Muse (November 2,
2021)
Caroline
Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat
Hammond, an old college friend and historian. But pleasantries are cut short.
Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried for decades: In World War II,
Caroline’s British great-aunt betrayed family and country to marry her German
lover.
Determined
to find answers and save her family’s reputation, Caroline flies to her
family’s ancestral home in London. She and Mat discover diaries and letters
that reveal her grandmother and great-aunt were known as the “Waite sisters.”
Popular and witty, they came of age during the interwar years, a time of peace
and luxury filled with dances, jazz clubs, and romance. The buoyant tone of the
correspondence soon yields to sadder revelations as the sisters grow apart, and
one leaves home for the glittering fashion scene of Paris, despite rumblings of
a coming world war.
Each
letter brings more questions. Was Caroline’s great-aunt actually a traitor and
Nazi collaborator, or is there a more complex truth buried in the past?
Together, Caroline and Mat uncover stories of spies and secrets, love and
heartbreak, and the events of one fateful evening in 1941 that changed
everything.
In
this rich historical novel from award-winning author Katherine Reay, a young
woman is tasked with writing the next chapter of her family’s story. But
Caroline must choose whether to embrace a love of her own and proceed with
caution if her family’s decades-old wounds are to heal without tearing them
even further apart.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Carefully researched, emotionally hewn, and written with a sure hand, The London House is a tantalizing tale of deeply held secrets, heartbreak, redemption, and the enduring way that family can both hurt and heal us. I enjoyed it thoroughly.”— Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars and The Book of Lost Names
“An
expertly researched and marvelously paced treatise on the many variants of
courage and loyalty . . . Arresting historical fiction destined to thrill fans
of Erica Roebuck and Pam Jenoff.”— Rachel McMillan, author of The London
Restoration and The Mozart Code
“Reay’s
fast-paced foray into the past cleverly reveals a family’s secrets and how a
pivotal moment shaped future generations. Readers who enjoy engrossing family
mystery should take note.”— Publisher’s Weekly
Katherine
Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of Dear
Mr. Knightley, Lizzy and Jane, The Brontë Plot, A Portrait of Emily
Price, The Austen Escape, and The Printed Letter
Bookshop. All Katherine’s novels are contemporary stories with a bit of
classical flair. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern
University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and is a wife, mother, former marketer,
and avid chocolate consumer. After living all across the country and a few
stops in Europe, Katherine now happily resides outside Chicago, IL.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST
| GOODREADS
| BOOKBUB
Saturday, November 20, 2021
Love and Lavender - Spotlight Book Tour
Love and Lavender: A Mayfield
Family Romance (Book 4)
Series: Proper Romance
Author: Josi S.
Kilpack
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency
Romance, Inspirational Fiction
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing (November
2, 2021)
Hazel Stillman is
a woman of rare independence and limited opportunities. Born with a clubbed
foot, she was sent away as a child and, knowing her disability means a marriage
is unlikely, she devoted herself to scholarship and education.
Now working as a
teacher in an elite private girls' school, she is content with the way her
story has unfolded. When her uncle Elliott Mayfield presents her with the
prospect of a substantial inheritance if she marries, Hazel is offended. What
kind of decent man would marry for her money? Besides, she loves her freedom as
a professional, respected woman. When she hears rumors of the school possibly
being sold, however, she knows she must consider all her options.
Duncan Penhale
has a brilliant mind and thrives on order and process. He does not expect to
marry because he likes his solitary life, shared only with his beloved cat.
When Elliott Mayfield, his guardian's brother, presents him with an inheritance
if he marries a woman of social standing, Duncan finds it intrusive. However,
with the inheritance, he could purchase the building in which he works and
run his own firm. It would take an impressive and intellectual woman to
understand and love him, quirks and all.
Hazel and Duncan
believe they have found a solution to both of their problems: marry one
another, receive their inheritances, and then part ways to enjoy their individual
paths. But when Uncle Mayfield stipulates that they must live together as
husband and wife for one year before receiving their inheritances, Hazel and
Duncan reluctantly agree. Over time, their marriage of convenience becomes much
more appealing than they had anticipated. At the end of the full year, will
they go their separate ways or could an unlikely marriage have found
unsuspecting love?
ADVANCE PRAISE
“What a
lovely romance. The historical details, the depth of the authentic characters,
and the realistic dialogue all contribute to an immersive story. [A] beautiful
and inspirational story about loving people just as they are.”— Katie
Jackson, Regency Proofreading
“Phenomenal.
This book was phenomenal. The very best in the series.”— Lyssa Armstrong, For
Where Your Treasure Is
“This
love story was unique and such an uncommon take on a marriage of convenience!
[S]weet and well worth the wait!”— Ashley Johnson, Bringing Up Books
“Beautifully
written, sensitive, poignant addition to the Mayfield Family series.”— Susan
K., The Flipped Page
PURCHASE LINKS
AMAZON | BARNES
& NOBLE | BOOK
DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS
Josi S.
Kilpack has written more than thirty novels, a cookbook, and several novellas.
She is a four-time Whitney award winner, including Best Novel 2015 for
"Lord Fenton's Folly, and has been a Utah Best of State winner for
Fiction. Josi loves to bake, sleep, eat, read, travel, and watch TV--none of
which she gets to do as much as she would like. She writes contemporary fiction
under the pen name Jessica Pack.
Josi has
four children and lives in Northern Utah.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK
| TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS
Saturday, November 13, 2021
Check Out My New Post!
Check out my new post on The Engrafted Word! Happy reading!
Happy Thanksgiving Friends! - by Heather Snyder
Friday, November 12, 2021
Winning a Writing Contest!
I am so excited to announce that I won third place in the Southern Christian Writers Fall "Fear" Writing Challenge! It was a wonderful surprise, and I thank the Lord for the opportunity to enter this contest and for His daily help and encouragement in life and in my writing.
My piece was published on their blog, which is so exciting! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my story. Happy reading friends!
Southern Christian Writing Challenge
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Every Word Unsaid - Spotlight Book Tour
Every Word Unsaid: A Novel by Kimberly Duffy
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Inspirational Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House (November 2, 2021)
Length: (368) pages
Format: Trade paperback, eBook, & audiobook
Augusta Travers has spent the last three years avoiding the stifling expectations of New York society and her family's constant disappointment. As the nation's most fearless--and reviled--columnist, Gussie travels the country with her Kodak camera and spins stories for women unable to leave hearth and home. But when her adventurous nature lands her in the middle of a scandal, an opportunity to leave America offers the perfect escape.
Arriving in
India, she expects only a nice visit with childhood friends, siblings Catherine
and Gabriel, and escapades that will further her career. Instead, she finds
herself facing a plague epidemic, confusion over Gabriel's sudden appeal, and
the realization that what she wants from life is changing. But slowing down
means facing all the hurts of her past that she's long been trying to outrun.
And that may be an undertaking too great even for her.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Duffy
shines in elegant, flowing prose and delicate precision that underscores the
nineteenth-century setting."— Booklist, starred review
"An author to watch."— Library Journal
"Duffy's writing is beautiful, deep, and contemplative."— Jocelyn
Green, Christy Award-winning author of Shadows of the White City
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS
Kimberly
Duffy is Long
Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio, via six months in India. When
she's not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes
her readers back in time and across oceans. She loves trips that require a
passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of
twenty years. He doesn't mind.
WEBSITE
| FACEBOOK
| PINTEREST
| INSTAGRAM
| GOODREADS
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