Peering Through Life's Window

On December 25th, Christians celebrate the birth of Christ . Some believe Jesus was born on a different day, but they gather to remember his arrival on earth on December 25th. Jesus came into the world to die for mine and all man’s sins and preached a Gospel of love. He was tortured and put to death, but he rose from the dead. And His spirit lives today in the hearts and souls of Christians from the moment we accept Him. From then on, He is with us always from the darkest valley to the brightest hilltop. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2: 8 – 11). Christ is born! “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sa...

It was difficult to choose, so I jumbled up the names and selected three times. Two out of three it was... Congratulations, Gail!

To enter to win a copy of Anita's book leave a comment and email address.  A Merry Little Christmas is a sweet tale that teems with heart and characters you won't want to leave. Anita Higman will have you turning the pages of this lyrical story of healing and love. Jenny B. Jones, award-winning author of Save the Date and There You'll Find Me. Fall in love with this cozy story about two people from different worlds. Franny Martin is an Oklahoma farm girl who's preparing to spend the holidays alone...again. Then Charlie Landau shows up one day, all wealth and polish, and offers to buy Franny's farm. Franny has no money to speak of, but she is clever and spirited, and she's more than happy to sell the farm and move to the city. As Sinatra croons from the radio and Christmas descends upon her charming farm, Franny teaches Charlie the curious and sometimes comical ways of country life. In the process, they unearth some discoveries of the heart-that sometime...

Wow! It was so hard to pick a winner. To be fair I jumbled up the names and then chose one. The winner is... Congratulations, Pamela!

To win a copy of Freefall leave a comment and an email address below.   Welcome, Jodi. Tell us a little about yourself . Well, let me see.  I’m a native North Carolinian and SO proud of that!  Until I married my Army husband and we moved and moved and moved, I never realized how important home really is.  I returned to teaching last year after an eight-year break.  I love to cook and to read (and, oddly enough, to read cookbooks).  My favorite place in the whole world is Frisco, NC, and if we ever somehow magically get rich, I’m so moving there and planting myself on an ocean-front deck.  I laugh too loud and I probably don’t cry enough, and it’s pretty much a guarantee that I’m going to talk way too much.   Lots of writers also love to read. How about you? Were you an avid reader as a child? What did you read? The joke in my family is that I read everything.  When I was about six, my grandmother found me reading the dictionary because ...

I’d like to thank my friend, Lisa Lickel, for letting the thought that I might have the next big thing cross her mind and inviting me to join the blog hop. Lisa and I met at Clash of the Titles. Now we’re critique partners. I love her new mystery. It’s kept me guessing and turning pages plus it’s a heart-warming story with interesting small-town characters, including a sweet baby and a cat. Be sure to read about it here My work-in-progress (WIP) takes place in a small mountain town in North Carolina. In the book the hero and heroine gaze out a restaurant window at a scene similar to the one here. Below I’ve answered ten questions about my WIP and have tagged four other authors who could be writing the next big thing. Be sure to hop over to their blogs and check them out. THE QUESTIONS What is the working title of your book?   Hot Cash and Hair Calamities Where did the idea come from for the book? For years I wrote non-fiction articles at work and as a freelance wr...

Tina's winner for Shadowed Dreams is... Drumroll... Congratulations, Megan Parsons!

To enter to win a copy of Shadowed Dreams , leave a comment and an email address.              Thanksgiving and Trust One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." This scripture reminds me that God has something more for my life than I can comprehend. He loves me and has the best of plans for my life. Plans He set in motion before I was even born. I really try to hang on to that promise. But if I am honest, I might say I believe it, but my actions don't always prove my words. When I get caught in a whirlwind of trouble, a lot of times from my own making, when I'm worried or feeling inadequate, I find myself asking where God went and what happened to the wonderful plan He had for my life. Certainly the mess I find myself, the mess that is now my life, isn't ...

I jumbled up the names and chose.... Drum roll... Congratulations, Marissa!

K. Dawn will give away a gift card for a free download of Amazing Love. Welcome, K. Dawn. What would you like readers to take away from your book? Amazing Love is the modern-day version of the Hosea and Gomer story from the Bible. I'd like for readers to take away that God loves us with an unconditional love. My heroine, Dee, does some pretty terrible things and believes that God could never forgive her, but He does. Why did you choose to write this book? A couple of years ago, I was reading the story of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible and the thought came to mind that it would be fun to retell the story in a modern setting. What did you learn while writing this book? I learned that even though the Bible gives us stories about individuals who lived in Bible times, it's vague at times about specifics. This gives a fiction writer a lot of leeway to let their imagination run wild. What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer? Finding time to write. I w...

The winner of Jewels for the Kingdom is.... Drumroll... Congratulations, Jes!

Delia Latham talks about a new series, Heart's Haven , and her new book, Jewels for the Kingdom . She'll give away a PDF copy of her book. To enter to win leave a comment and an email address.  Nourish the Body Wow! A Delicious Recipe for Apple Pie from the 1800's From Delia: I’d like to share a recipe from Heart’s Haven, if I may… Back in the 1800s, when Hart House was operational as a boarding facility, Lily Hart’s apple pie was famous. She made the best in the entire area, possibly the whole state of Texas! Lots of things have changed in the intervening years, but one thing that has not changed is that most single men will go anywhere and do anything to at the right place, at the right time, when a home-cooked meal—and, in particular, homemade desserts—are being served. Yet die-hard bachelors in Angel Falls would not step foot inside Hart House, even for Lily Hart’s mouth-watering apple pie. Can you guess why? Here’s the recipe, and I have it on good authority...

Less than two years ago in April of 2011, I started a journey I have yet to regret. With fear of the unknown and the possibility of failure hounding me, I joined the ranks of the Indie-Published, otherwise known as self-published. The publishing world was not new to me after more than ten years of writing for Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line. But there, I had the backing of editors and all the many people who bring together a manuscript into a polished book. Once I stepped across the line to the do-it-yourself side, I found that most, if not all, of that work fell on my shoulders. Since that first book, Learning to Lean , I’ve published ten more in seventeen months. Eight were never before published, while three are from my back list. Two of those, Cora and Eliza , each grew from 50,000 word books to over 80,000 words. They now contain the full story of Cora’s Deception and Eliza’s Mistake . Readers who have read both versions have commented that they seem like new st...