Peering Through Life's Window

  Hats... Horns... Congratulations, Sonja!

  A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl To enter to win Night Fall (U.S. residents only) leave an email address and a comment below. About Night Fall Now that Alexandra "Alex" Donovan is finally free of her troubled upbringing, she's able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Kansas and Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains traveling across the country--all killed in the same way. Alex never expected to be forced to confront her past in this new job, but she immediately recognizes the graffiti messages the killer is leaving on the train cars. When the BAU sends her to gather information about the messages from her aunt in Wichita, Kansas, Alex is haunted by the struggles she thought she'd left behind forever. In a race against time to solve the case while battling her own weaknesses, Alex must face how far she'll go--and what she's

  A Warm Welcome to Kim McMahill Kim has  written two free short-story prequels in her Risky Research Series ,   Midnight in Montana  and   A Formidable   Foe , as gifts to readers. To download them visit your favorite online book retailer. I would like to thank Gail for hosting me on her blog and giving me the opportunity to talk about my work and my Risky Research Series. It’s my pleasure to have you, Kim. Tell us about your writing, A Measure of Madness and the Risky Research Series. I’ve been writing for about twenty years which has taken me on an evolving journey from non-fiction, to stand-alone novels, to several short stories, to my current project, a romantic suspense series.  Ideas for my books come from many different places including dreams, travel, childhood experiences (grossly exaggerated), and current issues. Most of my novels have been stand-alone adventure and romantic suspense novels, but the idea for my most recent project, the Risky Research Series , began to emer

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: A Chance for the Newcomer by Lisa Carter -- She’s stirring things up…A big-city chef. A small-town single dad. And matchmakers with marriage in mind… Chef Kara Lockwood didn’t think changing a small-town diner’s menu would cause a boycott, but the locals sure do love their apple pie—especially fire chief Will MacKenzie. Kara’s not sure she and the single father can ever learn to live peacefully as neighbors. But even as they clash over pastries, local matchmakers and Will’s little boy are determined to bring their stubborn hearts together. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired (Harlequin)) His Secret Daughter by Laurie Larsen -- he had the perfect life all on her own …Alyssa Stark works hard to make her life's dreams come true … all on her own. She built her reputation as New York City's top advertising executive, client by client. And when her ill

  IN GRATITUDE I'M HONORING THOSE WHO DIED DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM  A visit to the Traveling Wall listing those who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam made me cherish the freedom they and all our brave soldiers died for and inspired the following poem.  American Summer Sunday-Go-To Meeting in soft, cotton dresses, and open-collared shirts. Picnic on the grounds, after church. Wooden tables filled with ripe, red tomatoes, golden corn, garden green beans, and sprigs of mint for tea. Evening walks down a dusty, country road. Neighbors calling, "Come sit a spell;  take off a load." Thoughtful moments all alone, chewing on a grassy blade sitting 'neath the tall oak's shade. Flags flying, watermelon cooling, folks sitting on Dresden Plate and Log Cabin quilts. God Bless America! ________________ Did you enjoy relaxing in your house this morning? Using a computer, posting what was on your mind? Did you enjoy going to church this past Sunday? Did you enjoy picking out what y

  A Warm Welcome to Carol McClain Carol Shares a devotional and talks about her new book, Borrowed Lives. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: …, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees (Isaiah 35:1-3, KJV). We haven’t had an easy year. At times, the weight of loneliness, illness and grief felt like the plagues God sent on Egypt. For me, being over a thousand miles from my family, I fretted when Covid wracked five them and critically affected my sister. I feared when my son-in-law went to work on a Covid ward. My mother’s isolation in assisted living wrenched all our hearts. My own isolation often sent me into a meltdown over issues I’d never had problems with. On top of a pandemic, we had political turmoil—riots, protests, brutality. Society strengthene

     While nothing on earth equals God’s power, many people live for power. Powerful governments affect our lives for good or bad, and we notice that, but what about power in our daily lives?      Long ago before the pandemic my husband and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants fairly often, and a cute, young lady with a friendly smile waited on us. I’ll call her Mandy. One day a couple came in and sat in the booth behind us. Mandy walked up to the table with her big grin. “Hi, how are you today?” she asked.      The man, who had salt and pepper colored hair and a pudgy face, spoke in a harsh tone, “I want the steak.”      “Sure, which one would you like?” Mandy asked.      “I don’t want you to put it in the microwave. That will make it tough. Do you understand?”      Mandy’s lips turned down. “Yes sir.”      “I want it medium rare. I don’t want blood oozing out of it. I want it cooked right.”      “Yes sir, which steak did you prefer?”      “Oh, I think I’ll take the rib eye. And,