Summer . . . a time to READ!

Hey everyone! Lee Tobin McClain here to talk about summer reading . . . and to tell you about a great deal!

What's your favorite spot for summertime reading? Most people talk about beach reading, but for me, I love taking a book along on a camping trip. I can hang out for hours in a camp chair, just reading.

Because we love summer reading, some writer friends and I decided put together a collection of books with summertime themes. Our books are all very different, but they're all Christian romance novels and they are all set in summer. And we're selling them for a low price--only 99 cents!

Preorder now, get it May 19th!

Check out the book descriptions below, grab your favorite lawn chair, and kick back . . . it's (almost) summertime!

Come to Me Alive, a celebrity-meets-small-town-charm romance by Leah Atwood 
Bryce Landry and Sophie Thatcher are two strangers, opposite in every way, until a chance encounter brings them together. Neither can deny the pull between them, but as the weeks and months pass, they discover that finding each other was easy, but holding on will be a different story. 

Wild Mint Tea, a farm-living romance by Valerie Comer 
Local foods chef Claire Halford hosts weddings on Green Acres Farm, but the first bride comes with a ruggedly handsome brother. Noel Kenzie’s reforestation company provides him the means to enjoy a globe-trotting life... until he's captivated by a certain chef who's firmly rooted in one place. 

Catching Serenity, a beach romance with a twist by JoAnn Durgin 
Serenity McClaren's world collapsed five years ago and she returns to South Carolina to find the answers. Child psychologist Jackson Ross discovers the truth, but by telling her, he risks losing everything—including Serenity—in this heartwarming Christian romance novel. 

Marrying Kate, a marriage-of-convenience romance by Kimberly Rae Jordan 
When Jared proposes marriage to Kate, it’s for the sake of their orphaned nieces and nephew. Though Kate hopes for more, their chance at love is threatened when Jared’s past comes to call. 

The Bride's Broken Bond, a runaway-bride romance by Lee Tobin McClain 
Urban missionary Rock Anderson must rescue the woman he’s always found annoying but irresistible, spoiled rich girl Hope DeMille, from a wedding she doesn’t want. But when her domineering father disowns her, it’s up to Rock to help Hope overcome her dysfunctional past and find meaning in service, faith, and love. 

The Long Way Home, an opposites-attract romance by Staci Stallings 
Sent from Chicago to his grandfather’s backroads Kansas farm on family business, Jaxton Anderson is faced with culture shock and Ami Martin, and he’s not sure which one is worse. Ami hates him and so does most everyone else, so why can’t he just go back where he came from? 

Where Do You Get Your Ideas by Marta Perry

If there's one question writers dread, it's this one: Where do you get your ideas? The problem isn't that we don't know the answer--rather, that it's so difficult to explain the answer to someone who doesn't see the world in the same way we do. (I was tempted to say, "the same screwy way" but didn't!) I understand that Speculative Fiction authors get a even more difficult question--where do you get your crazy ideas?! One well-known author is rumored to answer that--"Why, from a crazy idea factory in Schenectady, of course!"

This weekend I had a terrific example of this from my ten-year-old granddaughter. We were having hot chocolate in Barnes and Noble after book browsing when she whispered, "Don't look around, but I think that man and lady just got bad news."

Exercising super-human effort not to look, I asked, "Why do you think so?"

Georgia answered, "Because he was looking at his e-mail, and his face got real tight, and then it turned red. And he said something to the lady, and she looked like she was going to cry."

Doesn't it raise questions in your mind? A writer friend, to whom I told this story, suggested that we write the story so we could find out what news the man received! Okay--that's how a writer looks at life, and I expect in a few years, the world will be hearing from our Georgia.

So that's the real answer to the question. There are story nuggets all around us every day, but only a writer notices them and starts weaving a story from them.

If you're not a writer and want to know what it feels like, I'd suggest spending a day just really noticing the people and events around you. Let yourself wonder, the way a child does. Give your imagination a chance to begin weaving a story. You'll surprise yourself with the results!

Blessings,
Marta (proud grandmother of six)

Barbara Vey's Reader Appreciation Luncheon 2015!

Debby Giusti (R) with Barbara Vey (L) at
her Fourth Annual Readers Appreciation
Luncheon

Anyone who knows Barbara Vey knows that she hosts wonderful events. This weekend was the Fourth Annual Barbara Vey Readers Appreciation Luncheon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Barbara outdid herself to ensure everyone had the time of their lives! 

Debby Giusti (L) with NY Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen (R) 

of Rizzoli and Isles fame.

I flew in on Friday and roomed with fellow Love Inspired Suspense author and RITA finalist, Katy Lee. 

(L to R) Love Inspired Suspense Author Katy Lee,
Love Inspired Historical Author Winnie Griggs and
Love Inspired Suspense Author Debby Giusti
represented Love Inspired Books at the luncheon!

We enjoyed dinner that night at The Packing Company, compliments of the WisRWA Chapter who treated the 61 authors to a yummy dinner. After the meal, we bused back to the hotel for a fun Q&A with readers. 

My table.

Tote bags decorated the chairs at my table.

Saturday, the authors were in the ballroom early to set up their tables and get ready for the readers. Doors opened at 10:30 AM, and the readers scrambled to find their tables and connect with their favorite authors. I loved meeting and getting to know the delightful women who sat at my table. 

My wonderful table! Thanks, ladies, for making
the day so special!

Author baskets were given away during lunch with even more raffle drawings after lunch. A book signing followed. 

Lots of author giveaways!

 Thanks, Barbara, for a wonderful event and a chance to get to know so many readers. 

Happy Reading!

Wishing you an abundant blessings!
Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com
www.seekerville.blogspot.com

STRANDED

BY DEBBY GIUSTI

AMISH COUNTRY REFUGE

Colleen Brennan has one goal—take down her sister’s killer.  But chasing after evidence leaves her in the path of a tornado and stranded in an Amish community. With the killer nearby, Colleen must depend on the kindness of Special Agent Frank Gallagher. Although the army officer is recuperating from a battlefield injury, he wants to help the beautiful woman he rescued from the tornado’s fury. He can tell she’s hiding something important. But getting her to reveal her secrets may be his most dangerous mission ever.

Order your copy in digital or print format: Amazon.

Allie Pleiter on a rich new era that has us fascinated

Have you noticed the 1910’s and 1920’s are catching our imaginations lately?  Shows like Downton Abbey and Mr. Selfridge explore how the world changed in the wake of the Great War, and now many novels are exploring the era.

And why not?  It’s rich with human growth and conflict, with musical and social innovations that changed the world forever.  The war moved women into jobs and and roles they never had before, and things could not go back to the way they were.  Battle’s ravages were wreaking havoc on men physically, emotionally, and economically.  If you want drama, the post WWI years had loads of it.

I’ve always been fascinated with the aftermath of great events.  I set my Great California Earthquake book MISSION OF HOPE not during the tragedy, but in the struggle to reconstruct after the devastation.  If we, as authors of inspirational romance, seek to show faith and hope, I can think of no greater time such gifts are needed.

I chose the aftermath of WWI for my newest historical, THE DOCTOR’S UNDOING, because I wanted to follow spunky Ida Lee Landway into her life after the war. Ida needed her own happy ending—and she wasn’t leaving me alone until I gave it to her.  When I learned about the huge demands placed on orphanages after the war, I knew I had the perfect setting for Ida to use her gifts for color and courage.

What about you?  What have you learned in the aftermath of tumult in your life?

Lilac Circle - Creating A New Series

Good morning, LI Readers and friends from Gail Gaymer Martin, novelist for LI since 1999. You can find me at www.gailgaymermartin.com

One thing I love to do is create a new series idea. This photo was taken in a real small town in Michigan called Owosso.  I spent a couple of days there taking photos, interviewing people, and being guided around town by Kimberly Springsdorf, Director of the Visitor's Bureau. She was amazingly helpful and guided me to wonderful places in this great town. Since I enjoy small towns, I wanted to set my Lilac Circle series here. I used a real cul-de-sac in town but name it Lilac Circle. It's a "dead end" street and every story in the series involves people who live on this road.

Since I enjoy having children in my novels,
I was  happy to find this amazing Playscape. at
Bentley park which provides a setting for a few scenes in my first book A Mother To Love, released in June, but in stores at the end of May. I will tell you more about this book in my May blog post.  The city has it's own Castle owned by a writer from the early days and a variety of great places to feature in the novels.



Those of you who are part of the Direct Mail Books will have read the novel already. I have received reader mail and the book was enjoyed by them all. I love hearing from readers so you are welcome to drop me a letter at the address that appears in the novel or contact me on my website shown above. I collect your emails and they are used to draw names for a free copy of one of my books.

You're worth more than gold by Camy Tang

Hey guys! I was recently just listening to my MP3 player and it cycled to one of my favorite songs, “Gold” by Britt Nicole. This was one of the songs that inspired me as I was writing Gone Missing.

Joslyn, my heroine, was from a poor background, so she was working at an electronics store in Los Angeles and putting herself through school in computer programming.

When she got involved with her ex-boyfriend, who murdered her father, she ran away to Oregon. She lost her baby and the woman she was working for helped her through that ordeal. The woman also talked a lot about Christ to her, and so Joslyn has been seeking Christ more and more.

She’s lost a lot and has gone through a grieving process after her father was murdered and she miscarried her baby. She had to leave school and her job to run away from her ex, so she has to start the school year all over again. At least she’s able to work for Liam and Elisabeth in Sonoma, California, at their new skip-tracing agency rather than trying to find a new job.

She’s grateful to Liam and Elisabeth for saving her and for bringing her into their “family” in Sonoma after the loss of her father. She is a good team player and only wants their business to succeed. Her job for them teaches the the skills she needs to try to find her friend, Fiona, in Gone Missing.

Through out the story, Joslyn learns that she’s not alone, no matter what she’s done, no matter what has happened to her. God loves her deeply, because she’s “worth more than gold.”

When I was writing the book, that was my prayer for you, my reader. I pray that when you finish the book, you’ll also truly feel God’s love for you and how he values you as something infinitely precious to Him.

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Her romantic suspense, Gone Missing, releases May 2015 so pre-order it now! Also, her romantic suspense novella, Necessary Proof, is available for free. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Sign up for her newsletter to hear about new releases or sales on her backlist.

Spring blooms by Leann Harris

I love Spring. It is a coming to life, which follows up after Easter. My iris have quietly come to life and have opened up and started blooming. When I was teaching, I'd cut an iris everyday and take it with me to school so I could look at it and have a moment of joy. My mother-in-law had half her backyard filled with iris, 50 different varieties and that was in the 1960's. I wish I had cutting from her garden, but I only have my husband's pictures. Also my hyacinth is blooming. (Ignore the weed.)

Browsing Through My Bookshelves by Marta Perry

I've been determined to bring order to the chaos in my office recently. I've purged files, discovered how long income tax documents are supposed to be saved, and considered the advisability of hanging onto paper copies of workshops I gave so many years ago I can't remember them. In the process, I actually found that one of my file drawers had broken under the weight of all the things I'd crammed into it!

Maybe writers are especially guilty of hanging onto anything resembling the printed word. I'm convinced that as soon as I throw something away, I'll learn that I need it. But I'm struggling to ignore that little voice and be as ruthless as someone of my nature can be. Do I really want to keep outdated books on writing or tapes I can no longer play on any device I own? Probably not.

The process has been painful in some ways, but it's had an unexpected benefit. As I went through my bookshelves in search of materials to donate or recycle, I ran into some old favorites I hadn't turned to in some time, and I refreshed myself and stretched my writing muscles with some techniques I'd learned once and let slip away.

Maybe you'd like a look at some of my writing favorites. Here are a few, culled from my shelves, in no particular order. I can guarantee dipping into any of these will give your writing a boost, and if you're not a writer but a booklover, you might enjoy seeing how authors achieve the books that keep you coming back time after time. 

GETTING INTO CHARACTER: SEVEN SECRETS A NOVELIST CAN LEARN FROM ACTORS by Brandilyn Collins.  

THE PLOT THICKENS:  EIGHT WAYS TO BRING FICTION TO LIFE by Noah Lukeman. 

THE STORY WITHIN GUIDEBOOK: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDEBOOK TO PLOTTING POPULAR FICTION by Alicia Rasley.  www.sff.net/people/alicia

PRESCRIPTION FOR PLOTTING by Carolyn Greene.  E-mail: greene@visi.net

THE COMPLETE WRITER’S GUIDE TO HEROES & HEROINES: SIXTEEN MASTER ARCHETYPES by Cowden, LaFever, and Viders.  

45 MASTER CHARACTERS: MYTHIC MODELS FOR CREATING ORIGINAL CHARACTERS by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.  Writer’s Digest Books.  www.writersdigest.com

CREATING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS by Linda Seger.  

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: MYTHIC STRUCTURE FOR STORYTELLERS AND SCREENWRITERS by Christopher Vogler.  

Enjoy!

Marta

Following Your Favorite Authors on Amazon

Keli Gwyn here with a confession. I can be slow at times. That's especially true when technology is involved. A cyber whiz I'm not.

Since the release of my first Love Inspired Historical, Family of Her Dreams, is getting closer, I thought it would be wise to update my Amazon author page. After all, June will be here before we know it.

I typed my name in the search bar, and up came my beautiful cover. Doesn't the Love Inspired design team do great work?

I clicked on my name. My author page appeared, complete with my smiling face.

As is often the case when I revisit a profile page after some time away, I discover things have changed, usually for the better. That was the case this time.

Just below my picture, there is now a "follow" button. I clicked it, not sure what would happen. The word "follow" became "following." That was it.

Or so I thought.

A few weeks went by, and I received an email telling me that Keli Gwyn has a new book coming out. Yup! Amazon was telling me about my upcoming release. How cool is that?

I've since become a fan of the "follow" button. I've visited the Amazon pages of my favorite authors and clicked away. I'm eagerly awaiting a flood of emails letting me know when more of the stories I love will be available.

Did you know about the Amazon "follow" button, or am I the last person to figure out how this nifty feature works?

Capitol K-9 Unit continuity

Hi there, Terri Reed stopping in to let you all know that last month the first book in the Capitol K-9 Unit released from Love Inspired Suspense.  The second book released yesterday in ebook and next Tuesday in print.
We're super excited about this series set in the nations capitol.

Here's the line up the book in the  Capitol K-9 Unit  Below I've posted the covers for the first five books. We're still anxiously awaiting the cover reveal for book six!

Also there is a short story connected to the Capitol K-9 Unit that you might enjoy.  We're up to chapter five this week.

Dangerous Justice, March-April 2015 FREE online read

Here's the link Harlequin website .  Each Monday a new chapter will be posted for a total of eight chapters/eight weeks.

Someone is after Capitol K-9 Unit tech guru Fiona Fargo, and they'll stop at nothing to keep her from decoding the secrets of Washington, D.C.'s elite. She knows Officer Christopher Torrance and his canine partner Dutch will keep her safe, but he's the last colleague she wants dogging her heels. Spending time with him might reveal her secret crush on him. But with killers determined to silence her forever, she'll have to put aside her fears and accept his help. Chris has secrets of his own, and a failed engagement makes him leery of moving forward with any woman, even the beautiful Fiona. As they hunt for the killer, they'll find that love can break any barrier.

The novels

Protective Instincts, March 2015, Shirlee McCoy

Duty Bound Guardian, April 2015, Terri Reed 

 Trail of Evidence, Lynette Eason, May 2015

 Security Breach, June 2015, Margaret Daley

 Detecting Danger, Valerie Hansen, July 2015

 

Proof of Innocence, Lenora Worth, August 2015