Lisa Lickel & Liberta

Today a fellow Wisconsin author will share her family story. Here's Lisa:

"Although I’m an historian and joined my father in family research, our stories never seemed quite so exciting: there’s the great-great-great aunt who was to have sailed on the Titanic, but broke her leg; there’s contracted brides, and the usual family upsets, but nothing drastic or far-reaching. It wasn’t until I moved to my old house and got involved in local Wisconsin history that I began to feel deeply what some of these women had endured. One family in particular has a history that I adore.

Liberta Klessig Jaehnig came to America as a young woman and married a neighborhood man, Ernst Klessig. Together they built a comfortable life in the middle of the nineteenth century. Liberta and Ernst owned and operated the Saxonia House, an inn where immigrants could get a foothold before settling. It was the local store, bar, post office for a time, dance hall, brewery, and meeting place for church and clubs until those groups could establish their own places. The Klessigs had four children, and then Ernst died suddenly.

Although I’m sure Liberta was a brave woman in her own right, it also took strength to reach out and ask for help – in the form of another neighbor who had left town years earlier for the California Gold Rush. Ernst Jaehnig returned to Fillmore and married the widow Klessig. The business became more of a private home and farm, and when Ernst Jaehnig passed on only ten years later, Liberta was able to manage with the help of her older children. I never cease to smile when I think of or visit her grave, where she lies in sight of her once lovely home, between Ernst and Ernst.


In my story, Healing Grace, Grace Runyon has also suffered deep personal losses. She, however, forgets in whom her strength lies and tries to run, ala the biblical Jonah. She learns that God not only knows our every thought, but also is there to meet us wherever we go. Like Liberta, Grace eventually comes to understand that bravery doesn’t always mean acting independently, and strength is best found in numbers, especially familiar people who care for you and want to see you succeed. Grace must use her special gift for God’s greater glory, just as we all must use our God-given special abilities to advance His kingdom."


About the author: Lisa Lickel lives and writes in Wisconsin, often drawing her stories out of Midwestern lore. She is the author of a cozy mystery, The Gold Standard, from Heartsong Presents: Mysteries; Healing Grace, a story of love and sacrifice, due out in May from Zumaya; and Meander Scar, an adventure of re-discovering home, coming in 2010; as well as numerous newspaper features, magazine articles, and radio drama. Visit her at http://lisalickel.com, and http://livingourfaithoutloud.blogspot.com.

Lisa, thanks for sharing such an inspiring story.

Victoria Bylin Reminds us of Rizpah's Unwavering Strength

When Victoria said she was going to write about Rizpah, I confess that I had forgotten this little known biblical, but strong woman. Here's Victoria:

Cassie O’Rourke is a single mother with a wayward son. She’s also the heroine of “Home Again,” my contribution to the Love Inspired Historical Mother’s Day anthology entitled In a Mother’s Arms. I loved writing about Cassie because she gave me the opportunity to work one of my favorite Bible stories into a book set in 1890 Colorado. Like Rizpah from the Old Testament, Cassie would do anything for her son. Even when he’s at his most unlovable, she fights for him.

Here’s Rizpah’s story: She gave Saul two sons. When Saul got in a war with the Gibeonites, it was left to David to make things right. For retribution, the Gibeonites asked for the death of seven of Saul’s sons. Rizpah’s two sons were in the lot. The Gibeonites put them to death and hung their bodies from trees. For five months, Rizpah stayed with the bodies of all seven men. Every minute of every day, she chased away the buzzards until David allowed a proper burial and she could lay her sons to rest.

Rizpah was a concubine, a woman at the beck and call of others. She didn’t have the social capital to see to the burial of her sons, but neither did she back down. She protected their bodies as best as she could. That’s what mother’s do. They fight for their children. They love them even when they’re damaged and broken.

I first heard the story Rizpah several years ago in church on Mother’s Day. Ever since, I’ve wanted to work it into a book. The opportunity came with this novella. Cassie has many challenges, among them a twelve-year-old son who throws rocks through windows. When he ends up jail, she comes face to face with Deputy Gabe Wyatt, the man she jilted fourteen years earlier.


I’m not spoiling anything if I tell you Cassie gets her “happily ever after” with Gabe. How they get there is the story, and Luke is a big part of what draws them together and pushes them apart. Anyone who’s ever dealt with a twelve-year-old boy will recognize the conflict. It’s my deepest hope that anyone who’s ever loved a child will also recognize the love.

Book Monday-Amy Wallace's Enduring Justice

Today an author new to me, Amy Wallace tells us about her latest book.

“If you love breath-stealing suspense, unforgettable characters, and remarkable spiritual depth in your fiction, Enduring Justice is a book to savor. Amy Wallace is at her best with this poignant, grace-filled addition to her deeply satisfying Defenders of Hope Series.” —CLAUDIA MAIR BURNEY, author of Wounded: A Love Story

ENDURING JUSTICE Secrets Can’t Last Forever
A PAINFUL PAST Hanna Kessler’s childhood secret has remained buried for over two decades. But when the dark shadows of her past threaten to destroy those she loves, Hanna must face the summer that changed her life and the man who still haunts her memories.

A RACIALLY-MOTIVATED KILLER As a Crimes Against Children FBI Agent, Michael Parker knows what it means to get knocked down. Difficult cases and broken relationships have plagued his entire year. But when the system fails and a white supremacist is set free, Michael’s drive for retribution eclipses all else.

A LIFE-ALTERING CHOICE A racist's well-planned assault forces Hanna and Michael to decide between executing vengeance and pursuing justice. The dividing line is the choice to heal. But when the attack turns personal, is justice enough?

Q and A with author Amy Wallace
Q. Where did the idea for the stories in the DEFENDERS OF HOPE series come from?
A. The Defenders of Hope series started with a literal dream about an FBI agent with a wounded heart and a mom on a dangerous quest for answers. That dream became the book Ransomed Dreams. During the research for Ransomed Dreams, I met with a federal agent and asked the question—what would happen if an FBI agent found out he had cancer? His answer became the second book, Healing Promises. And the third book in the series, Enduring Justice, grew out of a secret one of the characters, Hanna Kessler, struggles to keep hidden.

Q. One of the key themes running through Enduring Justice is racism, as Hanna’s love interest, FBI Agent Michael Parker, is investigating a white supremacist. Why is this topic near to your heart?
A. I grew up in the military and had friends of all skin colors and nationalities. One of my best friends was African American. We never talked about our skin color, but I remember one time she made a comment about how people treated her differently because of her skin. She wouldn’t explain. It wasn’t until years later after hearing some ugly words from extended family members about people of other skin colors that I started to understand racism still exists. And it breaks my heart. Through Hanna and Eve and Michael and Lee, I wanted to highlight some of the challenges I’ve learned about from friends of other nationalities and also to show that it’s not skin color that matters, it’s who we are on the inside. We truly can be color-blind.

Q. Where can readers learn more about you, Enduring Justice, and your other books?
A. I enjoy and value email from readers! So please visit me on the web at the Dark Chocolate Suspense site: www.amywallace.com and leave a note in the guestbook, drop me an email, or join the Dark Chocolate Suspense newsletter community:
http://www.amywallace.com/Newsletter.html.
Readers can also check out a very cool book format and read the first two chapters of Enduring Justice online: http://www.amywallace.com/ej_chapter.html

To purchase: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1601420145"


Thanks, Amy. Amy shared that this story comes from the shards of her once-broken heart.

Amy: "Fifteen years ago, God placed me in a safe place and used my future husband’s hands to hold me together while my heart shattered. David was the first person to hear about my being date raped when I was a teen. For five years I’d denied what happened or blamed myself. So when my walls of secrecy started to crumble, I felt alone and terrified.

But God met me there. He covered my shame with His grace and we started down the painful path of healing. Even though this isn’t the same circumstances as what Hanna Kessler faces in Enduring Justice, a lot of my personal story went into the writing. And while this subject may qualify this story as “gritty,” the focus is not on the past experiences, but on the healing an adult woman finds as she opens up to her family and the man she loves."

Thanks for sharing the story of your trial and strength, Amy. And your book sounds like an excellent read!--Lyn

Elizabeth Musser & God's promises

Today, I'm introducing an author who is new to me, Elizabeth Musser. I found her story so true for many of us. Here's Elizabeth:

"When I am Weak, I am strong I have never thought of myself as a strong woman. Strong-willed maybe, stubborn, yes, prideful, sure. But strong in the positive sense? Nope, not hypersensitive me. As a creative soul, I had struggled for most of my life with dark thoughts that often spiraled into despair. I often heard voices whispering You are a failure, you never do enough, guilty, guilty, guilty!
I loved Jesus, and I had seen His hand in my life in hundreds of ways since He called me to Himself when I was a child. But the dark thoughts and the voices came back. As a young wife, mother and missionary, I had a wonderful breakthrough in my spiritual life when God began revealing to me the concept of renewing my mind. When struggling with false guilt heaped on by the Accuser, I needed repent of those spiraling thoughts, call on Jesus and then replace the lies with the truth.
How thankful I am for the way the Lord brought more mature saints into my life to help me form what I call ‘a battle plan’. I learned through God’s Word what it meant to ‘take every thought captive’ and to ‘set my mind on things above’.
Practically, that meant I identified the things in my life that most often sent me spiraling into despair: comparison, desire to control, jealousy, worry. I began not only memorizing God’s Word, but meditating on it. I wrote out a list of things my husband could do when he saw me becoming ‘weak’. One of the most helpful was to suggest I go for a walk, to get out into nature with Jesus and let Him lift my eyes to the hills and to Him. God’s Word calmed the voices.
On my own, I will never be strong. I will still succumb to the voices. But I am NOT on my own. I love what Jesus said to Paul, concerning his thorn in the flesh. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” And Paul concludes, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me… for when I am weak, then I am strong." (II Corinthians 12:9-10, emphasis mine.) There is not a lot of room for pride when I see God using me in spite of myself. I know it is not because of me but because of His strength in me, and then, God gets the glory. How cool is that?


WORDS UNSPOKEN, Bethany House Publishers, c2009, available now Which voice will she listen to? Lissa Randall’s future was bright with academic promise until the tragic accident that brought her plans to a screeching halt. Eighteen months later, she still can’t get back behind the wheel, hearing subconscious whispers of Never good enough and All your fault. A casual recommendation to Ev McAllistair’s driving school sets in motion a cascade of events . . . until Lissa begins to wonder if maybe, just maybe, life isn’t as random as she’s thought. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Words Unspoken introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who must choose whether to listen to voices that entice them towards greed, depression, and anger or to a still small voice that offers hope.

For more information about Elizabeth and her novels, please visit her website at www.elizabethmusser.com."

Thanks, Elizabeth. I often think of 2 Timothy 1:7--For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Virginia Smith and Her Grandmother, "Mono"

Today my friend Ginny shares special memories.

It’s hard to pick just one strong woman to write about, because I come from a family of them. We’re from the south, and southern women are known for their inner strength, well-hidden beneath a soft veneer. Remember Steel Magnolias? We stand firm. We don’t buckle in the face of adversity. And that was definitely true of my grandmother.

My grandmother was born in 1906, several months after her father’s death. She was the seventh daughter, and her mother named her after her father as a final act of remembrance – Bennie Virginia. (Yes, I was named after her.) Her mother never remarried, and with such a big family and no father around, you know they weren’t wealthy. My grandmother put herself through school, and then married. She gave birth to three boys – two of them survived. Then, when my father was nine, her husband died suddenly. The girl who grew up without a father became a widow without a father for her sons. She got a job as a teacher and worked hard to support them.

I called her Mono. The name came from an older cousin who couldn’t pronounce ‘Mother,’ as all the grown-ups were calling her. It stuck, even though I went through preadolescent agonies of embarrassment over the name when Mono was my fourth-grade math teacher. But she loved the silly name, so I couldn’t do anything about it. (I did try to call her Granny once, but she insisted, “Grannies are old ladies who sit in rocking chairs and knit. I’m not Granny – I’m Mono!”)

Some of my most cherished memories come from my times with Mono. Her house always smelled of cookies, and she prided herself on her secret fried chicken recipe (which she took to the grave with her!). She was a proper southern woman – don’t wear white or open-toed shoes after Labor Day, always wear a petticoat, male guests should only be entertained with an appropriate chaperone hovering nearby. I don’t ever remember Mono sitting me down to teach me the lessons I learned from her; instead, her life was her classroom. From her, I learned that difficulties are not reasons to stop striving; they are merely obstacles to be overcome. I learned to love fiercely and forever, as she did. I learned that the difference we make in life is not measured by a list of accomplishments, but by the number of lives we have touched.

That was evident at Mono’s funeral, when the mourners overflowed the funeral home. Many of them told us that Mono had taught three generations of their family, and had been the favorite teacher of them all. They’d smile and tell us their favorite memories of that grand old lady who’d lived to be ninety-six, then they’d file past the casket. The funeral spray on top had two ribbons – one said Mother. The other said Mono.

What does Mono have to do with my new book, Murder at Eagle Summit? Why, not a thing! The grandmother in this book is a funny old character, bur she bears very little resemblance to my Mono. On the other hand, now that I think about it, the heroine, Liz, is an awfully strong-willed woman. And in the course of the story, she learns that love—true love—is forever. So maybe Mono does show up in Murder at Eagle Summit after all. You be the judge!"

For more information about Virginia (Ginny) Smith

Stories with Humor and Heart

www.virginiasmith.org

Thanks, Ginny. Great story!

Book Monday-Leanna Ellis's Ruby Slippers

Leanna Ellis's latest novel. This sounds like fun!

Ruby’s Slippers:

Wizard of Oz meets Cinderella

When Dottie Meyers loses her ‘no place like home’ during a Kansas tornado, she wakes up to find a pair of ruby slippers left by her father who abandoned his family thirty years ago. With her sister hot on her trail to find the treasured ruby slippers, Dottie travels a yellow brick road with three friends to find her father. No wizard can solve her problems. Only the love of a heavenly father can heal her wounds and give her the desires of her heart.

There’s no place like … the heart for God’s healing touch.

Winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, Leanna Ellis writes quirky women's fiction. When she’s not busy writing, taxiing her kids to and from dance and fencing, or taking the dogs in and out, then she’s contemplating some new weird plot.

Visit her website at http://leannaellis.com.

For a real treat, check out the trailer on the home Leanna's website.

Also http://www.leannaellis.com/rubysslippers.html and read the first chapter!

Lyn Teaches Class on Conflict-Registration Opens Monday

RWA® Online Presents THE CONFLICT GRID, TOOL FOR SUCCESS

Instructor: Lyn Cote
Dates: May 4 -15, 2009 (Registration April 20 - May 3, 2009)
CLASS DESCRIPTION:

If you don't have conflict, you don't have a story. With Kathy Jacobson's CONFLICT GRID, you will learn to uncover every possible conflict inherent that keep your hero and heroine apart. No more sagging middle. No more trouble crafting a true black moment. No more trouble finding the unifying theme that gives your romance power, no matter what subgenre you write. The CONFLICT GRID also clarifies the basic elements of your romance so that you can pitch it to an editor and give her exactly the info she needs to assess whether it's a winner or not. The CONFLICT GRID, filled out in full, also provides you all you need to write a proposal. It can be your main planning tool for character and plot. Once you learn it, you'll wonder how you did without it!

About the Presenter:

In 1996, Lyn Cote's first inspirational historical manuscript was a finalist in the inspirational category in the RWA's Golden Heart Contest. This became her first historical novel, Whispers of Love, in her “Blessed Assurance” series, which was reissued October 2007 by the new Avon Inspire line. Most recently, Chloe, the first novel in Lyn's “Women of Ivy Manor” historical series was a 2006 RWA Rita Award finalist for Best Inspirational, as well as a finalist for the Holt Medallion and the National Readers Choice Contest. Lyn also writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense for Love Inspired. Author of over twenty novels, Lyn lives in the lovely northwoods of Wisconsin with her husband and three cats. But she is quick to point out that she loves dogs, too. Visit her online at www.LynCote.net.

Registration Opens: April 20, 2009
Registration Deadline: May 3, 2009
Fee: $15 Non-Chapter members. RWAOL Chapter #136 members; free.
Payment method: PAYPAL is recommended! It's safe and easy! Check/Money Orders are also accepted, but payment must be received prior to class start date for guaranteed entrance!
NOTE: -Use your real First and Last Name & Choose Pay Option. Chapter Members DO NOT need to submit a registration form. Only non-RWAOL chapter members need to complete registration. FORMAT: Course is conducted via online discussion (bulletin) board on the RWA® Online website. Non-chapter members MUST complete both the workshop registration AND the discussion board login registration for access. Instructions for login are presented after the registration pages (or to return to the login instructions, go to http://www.rwaonlinechapter.org/WorkshopAppTY.html. The workshop is available for up to one week after the end date and a downloadable archive of the workshop will be available the week following the workshop.
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Lenora Worth & Her Source of Strength

The “Strong Woman” Story today is from my dear friend, Lenora Worth. I just visited Lenora at her Louisiana home and here we are in front of her WORLD FAMOUS shoe collection. GRIN
Here's Lenora:

"I’ve never considered myself a “strong woman”. I see other women working at their jobs, taking care of children and their aging parents, and trying to maintain a home. I’m always amazed at these women. I’ve had lots of trials in my life but sometimes I wonder if I could do what some of my friends do—juggle all those plates in the air. I do know that when I got married right out of high school, I didn’t have a clue about what being married was all about. My husband and I were very young and we fought a lot in those early years. But we also learned a lot. We moved away from our families to live in a big city. We had a baby girl. I stayed home with her while he worked the night shift.

Those days were very lonely for me at times, but they were also very liberating. I had to learn to handle life on my own. I came from a big family so I always felt “smothered”. With six older brothers and sisters always telling me what to do, or telling me what I’d done wrong, I never felt like my own person. And being a country girl, I was terrified of the big city. But I was also intrigued by it, too. I did a lot of growing up in those first years and I believe my time out there on my own made me much stronger. Ironically, the big city I’m talking about is Atlanta, Georgia, where my April book “Code of Honor” is set.

I loved Atlanta from the moment I saw those gray skyscrapers off in a distance. So it’s only natural that I’d set books there all these years later. I’ve been married 34 years but I lived six of those years in Atlanta. The big city helped me to become more independent and strong. My heroine in “Code of Honor” is a nurse who becomes a missionary in Northern Argentina. But when she’s forced to come home to Atlanta for her safety, she doesn’t like the idea. She doesn’t want to leave the villagers she’d cared for, for two years. My hero Brice Whelan is in love with Selena Carter and he has orders from her father to bring her home and to watch over her. Selena cares for Brice, but she feels smothered by his presence in her life. Selena is a strong woman but she’s also afraid—not so much for her own safety—but because she’s suspicious of those around her. She realizes she might not be able to trust some of the people in her life but she’s afraid to let go of her control. So she and Brice clash over her independent nature and her need to withhold information from him. Selena has to learn that sometimes the best strength is the kind that allows you to be vulnerable.

I had to learn that lesson, too. I took a leap of faith by moving to Atlanta. And while the road was sometimes rough in those early years, that experience forged me into the person I’ve become today. I stand up for what I believe in and I stand firm in God’s grace and understanding. Sometimes it seems we are ALL alone in the big city. But God is right there with us, giving us the strength we need to get things done. We all have a story of strength and we can all find our strength in the Lord."

You speak the truth, Lenora. Thanks.
For more about Lenora

http://www.lenoraworth.com AND HER SHOES!

Linda Goodnight Honors Her Mother in Law

Today my guest is another Love Inspired author Linda Goodnight, a RITA award-winning author (I sat beside her last year when she won it and heard her scream.) Linda pays tribute to her mother in law. Here's Linda:
"I’ve had so many strong women in my life-Women who influenced, encouraged and just plain blessed me. Since my current book is Mothers and Daughters I thought I’d talk about a mom. Not my own mom, but my mother-in-law, Lorene. By the world’s standards, Lorene was not a particularly successful woman. She was poorly educated, having gone only to about the 5th or 6th grade. Most of her life, she worked as an aide in nursing homes—and did it with great love and caring, I might add. She suffered many hardships from being abandoned by her father to living in a dirt-floor tent to losing a child. And yet this woman was a fortress of quiet, uncomplaining strength.

A gentle, Christ-like nature just flowed out of her. Material possessions meant little, but people meant everything. No matter their issues, their mistakes, their illness or how ‘unlovely’ they might be, Lorene accepted them, prayed for them and tried to help them. Even when someone wronged her, Lorene never reacted in anger. Never. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I loved her, and thank God that I was blessed to be her daughter-in-law. So it is not surprising that I dedicated my Mother’s Day anthology to Lorene.



Mothers and Daughters includes two novellas. One is by bestselling author, Deborah Bedford, a beautiful story, by the way. My contribution, “Unforgettable,” tells of two strong women, though the daughter does not recognize her own strength until the flamboyant, sometimes embarrassingly outrageous mother, Granny Frannie, is faced with an uncertain and frightening future. I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Mothers and Daughters and let me know what you think. It’s a perfect Mothers’ Day gift, too!

Book Monday-Elizabeth White's Tour de Force

My dear friend Elizabeth White's latest book from Zondervan will be released April 20th, just a week away. Here's Elizabeth:

"TOUR DE FORCE is set in the world of professional ballet, so many of the scenes take place in New York City--one of my favorite places to visit. The heroine of this story is Gilly Kincade, who appeared as a secondary character--younger sister of Laurel--in OFF THE RECORD.

In TOUR DE FORCE, Gilly has grown up to become a rising star in one of the premier NYC ballet companies. However, when she comes back to Alabama to dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, she finds herself intrigued by the Birmingham company's handsome young director, Jacob Ferrar. Gilly and Jacob have to wrestle with ordering priorities in the Christian life: where do building a relationship, pursuing artistic dreams, and serving God fit into the mix?

I found the research involved in writing about dance fascinating. I did a little tap-dancing as a preteen, but needed lots of help with the details of professional ballet. Fortunately I made friends with a young lady who serves God in the beautiful art of dance with grace and dedication. She and her mom have been very generous with their time over the last year or so. I hope my readers will be as inspired as I was to commit my God-given gifts to Him for His use.Oh--and what is a tour de force? In ballet terms, it's "an arresting, vital step; a feat of technical skill such as a series of brilliant pirouettes or a combination of outstanding jumps and beats." Fits in with my story nicely!"


For more information, drop by http://www.elizabethwhite.net/
Sounds like a great story, Beth!

Lois Richer, Ruth and Her Heroine Olivia

Today, my good friend Lois Richer shares her thoughts on Ruth, the grandmother of King David and her latest Love Inspired. Here's Lois:



"Thanks for inviting me to blog, Lyn.

A very strong woman in the Bible whom I’ve always admired is Ruth. Losing a husband would be decimating, scary and painful. The future would be terrifying. But still Ruth refused Naomi’s admonition to stay where she was. Imagine leaving home with your mother-in-law!
Naomi must have been some kind of a mother-in-law because Ruth was determined to stick by her side. I’ve always loved Ruth’s famous response. ‘Don’t ask me to go back anymore. Wherever you’re going, I’m going. Whoever you call family, I will, too. Your God is mine. I’ll stick so close that when you die, I’ll be buried beside you.’ (Paraphrase mine.) After those amazing statements, Ruth even invokes God to help her keep her vow, a God she only knew through her husband’s family! What a powerful faith she must have had to trust this new God.

But Ruth’s strength survived more than the long journey to a foreign place, or the people Naomi had once called family. Once they were ‘home’, Ruth had strength enough to plan for their daily needs. She didn’t hesitate or avoid the rough and heavy job, but went out into the fields to gather the bits that were left for the poor and hungry. Humiliating? Embarrassing? I’m sure Ruth felt that and more, but she kept going every day, picking up as much as she could so the only family she had left wouldn’t go hungry. How hard it must have been for Ruth to accept that this was her life now, that she wasn’t a protected wife any longer, but alone and responsible for another mouth. And yet she accepted her life with grace, dignity and strength.


Olivia Hastings, the heroine in my April Love Inspired, TWICE UPON A TIME, is just such a strong woman. A psychologist for a kid’s radio talk show, Olivia devoted herself to helping children find solutions for their problems until her husband and child were murdered. Olivia clung to her faith, left home and friends behind. But she couldn’t, wouldn’t, give up her desire to help children. When an abused teen struggles to break free of her brother’s manipulations, Olivia refuses to give up, even though it means risking her new love for Reese and his adorable kids.
Ruth and Olivia–two strong women who drew on God to see them through their trials."

Thanks, Lois and Happy Easter!

Jane Jordan Browne, My Friend & Agent

Today I'm taking a turn blogging about a strong woman in my life.


She was Jane Jordan Browne, my literary agent. She acquired me in 1997 just before I sold my first book to Love Inspired. I knew I had made the right decision in signing with her when I told the editor who called to offer me a contract that Jane Browne was now my agent. In an awed tone, she asked, "Jane Jordan Browne?"


Jane was a fantastic agent who took a real interest in the careers of her authors. She read all my early manuscripts and critiqued them before my editors saw them. She made sure I connected with editors who would help grow my career.


I often still hear her voice in my head giving me advice. After every conversation we had about a new project, she would end it by saying, "We shall see," as in "We shall see how it will turn out." And it usually turned out WELL.


I was horribly shocked and saddened when she died suddenly of pancreatic cancer the first week of February 2003. (Pancreatic cancer is hard to diagnose.)


Before her unexpected death, Jane had asked one of the young women she had trained in the 90's to come back and begin taking over the agency so Jane could retire. I'm so thankful that Jane did this because her successor Danielle Egan-Miller was there to take up where Jane had left off.


Danielle has been a real blessing to me too. And I'm sure Danielle would agree that neither of us will ever forget Jane's impact on our lives both personally and professionally. Jane and Danielle have been blessings not only in my career but in my life. Jane is one the people I look forward to seeing again in Heaven. Thanks to a strong woman who helped not only me but so many authors.

Merrillee Whren & Her Mom & Homecoming Blessings

Today another Love Inspired author guests. Here's Merrillee Whren:

"Thank you, Lyn, for inviting me to share on her blog today as I talk about one of the most influential people in my life—my mother.

My mom Gladys Luft went to be with her Lord over twenty-five years ago, but her influence lives to this day. I have many fond memories about this woman of quiet strength. Photographs, memories and the values she instilled in my life are ways that I remember her. One of my fondest memories is of the time she read to my brothers and me before we went to bed when we were small children. My favorite story was Old Bones the Wonder Horse. She gave me the love of stories that ultimately led me to write my own.

She became a wife and mother during the age of June Cleaver from the television show, Leave It To Beaver. Although she didn’t wear pearls to do housework, she often wore her “house dress.” It wasn’t until I was an adult that I would see her wearing pants on a regular basis. Although she had a career as a beautician, when she married and started raising a family, she joined the majority of women of that time who were stay-at-home moms. Home, family and her faith were her priorities.

When I was thirteen, my father had a heart attack. Because of my father’s health, my mother took a job as a receptionist for a beauty shop. When my parents moved, she found work as a clerk in the bakery of a grocery store and finally as a salesperson in ladies’ better dresses in a local department store. She did whatever she had to do in order to benefit her family, even though it may not have been her first choice. Then tragically, she became a widow before my youngest brother graduated from high school.


Although my mother was reserved and often stood in the shadow of her husband, and even her children, she had an inner strength born of her faith that carried her through the difficult times. She always opened her home to a myriad of family and friends who remember her hospitality. She is my heroine because in her quiet way she encouraged me and gave me the confidence to reach for my dreams.

Ashley Hiatt, the heroine of my April book, HOMECOMING BLESSINGS, is also a strong, quiet woman. Against her father’s wishes, she decides to become a teacher on the mission field instead of taking a job with his construction firm. The story begins when she has to return home because of unrest in the country where she works as a missionary. She has to deal with what appears to be her father’s attempt to once again manage her life when he pairs her with Peter Dalton to administer a new mission project. Although she initially resists the idea, she sees God’s calling in her father’s endeavor and signs on with an enthusiasm that makes Peter reexamine everything about his life. Her quiet faith makes him want to be a better person. She also makes him realize, despite his past hurts, that he wants to love again.


I hope you’ll pick up a copy of HOMECOMING BLESSINGS and read about a strong woman whose quiet witness is affective in a way she doesn’t anticipate. See how she has the strength to face her own faults and let God lead her in a new direction."

Thanks for sharing your mother's story, Merrillee. As we draw closer to Mother's Day, I want to remind our blog readers that there is still time to request me to send a Mother's Day card to a special woman in their lives and also to send me a story to post in May about their own mothers, grandmothers, etc.

Each story posted here gives me a lift and I hope it does the same to you all.

Book Monday-Tamara Alexander's Beyond This Moment

Tamera Alexander's latest release is Beyond This Moment, a Timber Ridge Reflections novel.

Here's a quick peek at Beyond This Moment:
Lives are made up of tiny steps. Some are chosen for us; some we choose. All hold the power to change who we become—but only if we let them. When Dr. Molly Whitcomb, Professor of Romance Languages, steps off the train in Colorado Territory, she makes a choice—one that goes against everything she stands for. Yet it’s the only choice that offers her a chance to regain a fraction of all she’s lost.Sheriff James McPherson’s instincts about people rarely miss the mark. He senses Professor Whitcomb is hiding something. He just doesn’t know what.

When James learns Molly’s secret, his own reputation is undermined. But when Molly Whitcomb’s reinvented life begins to unravel, it threatens his job, the stability of Timber Ridge, and what he always knew to be true about himself.

What others are saying about Beyond This Moment:"Pull up a comfy armchair! The main and secondary characters in Beyond This Moment instantly become people to care about, and the plot twists will keep you turning pages long into the night. The themes of racial tolerance and second chances are as timely today as they were back in the early days of Colorado's history." -Romantic Times, 4 1/2 star review

“Tamera Alexander paints scenery with the written word, and makes characters, stories, and insights linger long after the book is read.”—Cindy Woodsmall, New York Times bestselling author

“The characters are charming, engaging, and very realistic . . . a great story that will have readers quickly turning pages . . .”—The Romance Readers Connection

About the author: Tamera Alexander is a best-selling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose resonate with readers. Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in Nashville, Tennessee, where they enjoy life with their two college-age children and a precious--and precocious--silky terrier named Jack.


If you have a minute, you can visit Tamera's website (www.tameraalexander.com) and her blog (tameraaalexander.blogspot.com). Or read an excerpt of Beyond This Moment (http://www.tameraalexander.com/cmsdocuments/BeyondThisMoment_Ch01_Website.pdf).

And for a chance to win a copy of one of Tamera's books, visit (http://www.tameraalexander.com/contest.html).

Hyperlinks for Amazon and CBD are:http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Moment-Timber-Ridge-Reflections/dp/0764203908

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=203909&netp_id=558411&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW&view=covers

Brandt Dodson -Homeless – with the Wind in her Sails

This is a real treat. Though authors and readers share the stories of the strong women in their lives on this blog, I haven't had the opportunity to get the male point of view till today.

Brandt Dodson shares the story of his grandmother and of the heroine in his latest book, Daniel's Den.

Here's Brandt:

"At the height of the great depression, my maternal grandmother found herself and her four small children in the worst of all possible situations. They were homeless.
After her husband abandoned her – a scenario that was all too common during the great depression – she took to the streets, looking for any work she could find. Tasks such as cooking, cleaning, or doing the laundry often meant the difference between sleeping under a bridge or in a bed. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough work and there many days over the next several months when her family was as cold as it was hungry.
When the authorities heard of this they moved to take the children away. Until she could provide for them, they reasoned, her children would be wards of the state.
With no resources, no connections, and no means with which to fight, she began to pray.
The original language of the New Testament uses the same word for spirit as it does for wind. As a Christian, my grandmother knew that while she was down, she was not out. She had the Holy Spirit walking beside her. She had the wind in her sails.
While meeting with the judge and social workers in an attempt to secure her children, a young minister was passing by and entered the room to listen. Hearing her story, he began to feel the tug in his heart that he recognized as the leading of God. He asked if he could approach the bench. When the judge agreed, the young minister made a startling offer. As startling to him as to the woman he was about to help.
He told the judge he would take the woman and her four children into his home (without consulting his wife) and would provide for them until my grandmother could find work. He offered to enroll the children in school, clothe them and feed them, and would allow the courts to examine the situation as often as the judge deemed necessary. His offer so impressed the court, that her children were released that day.
My grandmother fought to keep her family alive – then together. Her strength came not from her own power, but from the God she served. It was He, after all, who sent a young minister into the courtroom that day; a Christian who chose to live his witness rather than just proclaim it.
All of us have women in our lives who were strong enough to show us the way. Sometimes it was through strength of personality. Sometimes it was through strength of faith. But in every case, we are their beneficiary. And we are the better for it."

Brandt, thanks so much for sharing. Your grandmother knew where her strength came from, from the Lord. Sadly, my mother, another single mother, didn't walk, trusting that the Lord would be there for her till later in life. Once after she had come to the Lord, she said to me, "If only I had walked with the Lord, depending on Him every day, how different my life would have been."

I pray that all of you whether fathers or mothers, sons or daughters will take that sad sentence to heart.

Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes

Today I want to call attention to an opportunity to help in May to end the disease, diabetes.

Here's the scoop from Brenda Novak, a NYTimes best-selling author:

The 5th Annual On-line Auction for Diabetes Research will open May 1st and run through the month. We're currently gathering items and plan to make this auction the biggest and the best ever. Last year, we raised $252,300. We hope to break $300,000 this year.

Every year, I offer an amazing prize package to the person who places the highest number of bids over all, whether said person actually wins any items or not. This year, I've scoured the Internet and looked through all the stores, trying to decide just what it will be--and I decided to offer the new giant touch screen Hewlett Packard computer that has done away with the tower and is completely wireless. This is such an amazing system, I stood at Costco for at least 30 minutes lusting over it. I would love to have it myself. It's a $1300 value before tax, so get your bidding fingers ready! Last year, Mary McCoy won the prize package, which included a brand new Camcorder (retail value of at least $1,000), Her Name In My Next Book, an autographed copy of TRUST ME (on sale now!), and some chocolates. Her name will appear in THE PERFECT MURDER, out October 2009.

Recent changes: Because the auction has grown too large to effectively manage as a third-party fundraiser, I had to file the paperwork to become my own non-profit. I was putting in more hours than I could afford to take away from my writing and my family and needed to hire some help. This was the only way to do it. As a result, some overhead is now taken out of the funds I raise. I carefully watch every expense, making sure that each one is absolutely vital to the running of the charity so that as much money as possible goes to the research this auction is supposed to support. The expenses (the hired help, the auction tool itself, postage, letterhead and other supplies, fees for accepting Mastercard, Paypal and Visa, and what advertising I can't get donated) run no more than 10%. I take nothing for myself.

I'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to my co-sponsors for this year: Harlequin Enterprises, Publisher's Weekly, RT Book Review Magazine and Writer's Digest Magazine for their generous support of my efforts. PAYMENT OPTIONS for the 2009 auction: Paypal, credit card, check or money order.

(Please check individual listings to be sure whether or not shipping is included. However, buyer will be responsible for all shipping charges on anything that needs to be shipped out of the United States.)"

Again this year, I am donating a gift basket (see below) . Please go to http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/ and bid.