First Page-Reinventing Rachel by Author Alison Strobel

Reinventing Rachel

By Alison Strobel

Chapter 1

Rachel Westing pulled into the parking lot of Beach Cities Church and finished the last sip of Ethiopian Harrar she’d been nursing. The exotic coffee had required a half hour detour up the coast, but she’d needed a break from the seminary application she had been working on that morning before frustration made her head explode. The traffic on Beach Boulevard had given her plenty of time to think, but she was no clearer on the essay she still needed to write. Rare coffee usually sparked her creativity, but as she left the cool cocoon of her car for the SoCal May heat, she resigned herself to the fact that she was no closer to starting her paper than she’d been over an hour ago.

The worship team was polishing their set in the sanctuary when Rachel arrived. Despite feeling like a raincloud of consternation followed her, she sang along with the leader as he came to the chorus. The love of God is greater far, Than tongue or pen can ever tell… Upon hearing the words, warmth spread through her, and the cloud began to dissipate. The concept of God’s love would never cease to amaze her.

Rachel exchanged waves with fellow volunteers as they caught each other’s eyes, basking in the familiarity and security she always felt when she entered the building. After setting her Bible in her usual spot, she headed back out to the foyer where the associate pastor’s wife was preparing the refreshments table with coffee and cookies."

What readers are saying about Reinventing Rachel:

For every reader who has doubted God through troubled times, this book is for you.

~ Rene Gutteridge, author of Listen and Never the Bride

I lent this book to a friend—and she called it a life-altering story. Way to go, Alison!

~ Melody Carlson, author of The Four Lindas and 86 Bloomberg Place

What the book is about:

God let Rachel Westing down. For twenty-six years she’s done everything by the book; she figures He should have her back. But then she learns her fiancé is cheating on her. Her parents are getting a divorce. And her Christian mentor has a pill addiction. Where is God in all this? Nowhere, as far as Rachel can see. Wounded, bitter, and with a shattered faith, she quits her job and goes across the country to live with Daphne—her childhood best friend whose soul Rachel once thought she was meant to save.

Confident, successful, fun-loving Daphne sets about helping Rachel reinvent herself, and for a while it’s exciting. But when another tragedy shakes Rachel to the core, what little bit of self-possession she has left begins to unravel. A true-to-life story that will draw you in and keep you biting your nails until the end.

Drop by http://www.alisonstrobel.com/ for more about Alison and her books!--Lyn

Author Patricia Hickman & Her Most Desperate Hour

The Power of Solitude

By Patricia Hickman

After the loss of our daughter, everything inside of me shifted never to return to the same shape again. I had loved noise and activity and being around crowds of people. Suddenly, my tolerance for clamor evaporated. I had to find time alone. The first time I went away on a retreat to practice spiritual solitude my goal was not to be needed by anyone. But what awaited me was a surprise.

The first day I knelt in a quiet room overlooking a rose garden. I was acquainted with practicing God’s presence, seeking God in a waiting posture, not asking for anything. So I did that until the silence became nearly deafening. Restlessness set in. I paced. After two days of solitude, I moved out to the rose gardens where I journaled. By the third day, though, I was finally beginning to relax and become accustomed to the silence. That is when I first noticed God speaking to me. Had he been doing that all along?

Next God showed me the condition of my own soul. Realize women are already innately racked with guilt. But when God examined me, I sensed a benevolent soul hovering over me, guiding me to understand why I stumble or why I keep taking the same hills. It was a necessary examination. Next came the realization of those whom I had wounded. The latter part of that confessional practice—recognizing those I’ve wounded--had eluded me most of the time because I lived in a continual clamor. So as I began to repent, a deep sense of sorrow followed.

From that time on, I began to find creative ways to practice solitude in God’s presence. When I left behind the noise of everyday life, I realized God has been talking to me when I thought he had fallen cruelly silent. But the noisy place where I lived prevented me from hearing him. I realized that when I’m home and allowing my life to spin out of the busyness of activities, I can easily adopt pseudo-spirituality. I justify my actions, anger, judgmental attitudes if I measure my life by the life of other flawed humans. But when I seek him in solitude, then I no longer have others around me as my measuring stick, just the measure of my own sin-sick life against the radiance of Christ.

In the past, I would breathe a quick prayer in the morning, rattle off a generic “forgive me of all my sins,” and then hit the day, guns-a-blazing. But what I learned through this new practice of solitude was my own need to offer up everything to God for his examination. The more I practiced it, the more I found myself inviting his examination of me throughout the day. And that is when I discovered an amazing lightness of being I had not known in all of my striving—a condition the Bible calls God’s “perfect peace.” In my most desperate hour, I finally understood what scripture means by God’s “gentle whisper.”

"The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper … " (1 Kings 19: 11-13) --Patricia

Thanks for sharing so candidly, Patricia. Perfect peace is attractive to us all in this hasty, bizzy world. Your "guns-ablazing" definitely matches my style. I don't often seek God in silence. You've given me something to consider. Thanks.

And here's the cover of Patricia's latest book. I gave it 5 stars when I reviewed it on GoodReads, not something I do very often.--Lyn

Now a couple of important links with the chance of winning a prize!

http://www.patriciahickman.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Patricia-Hickman/34010447810?ref=ts

And by visiting either of these web addresses, bloggers may register for my Pirate Queen Treasure Trove with the grand prize of a 3G Kindle, an e-book version of The Pirate Queen, and 9 other great prizes.

Book Monday-Author Sandra Byrd & Don't Kiss Him Goodbye! & More

Book Monday has two books today! Book 3 and 4 of Author Sandra Byrd's

London Confidential Series--

Byrd's ability to provide a fun story that incorporates biblical truth will help teens relate to this new series. Readers will identify with the struggle to fit in while staying true to one's convictions.

Romantic Times, 4 star review

Book Three, Don't Kiss Him Goodbye, finds Savvy, now established in her quirky British village, working hard to get an article with her own byline published. When an attractive and mysterious boy asks her for help with his school work, Savvy is slowly pulled into his circle and soon finds out that the wrong set of friends—boys and girls—can influence her own behavior. Following her own advice to cut ties with a charming bad boy would mean abandoning her dearest wishes, and it just doesn't seem as wrong as it feels. Is it? Read on for surprise twists throughout the book!

In a shocking turn of events, all writers for the Wexburg Academy Times will cast their votes for next year's editor—and it looks like Savvy's vote will be the tie breaker! In Book Four, Flirting With Disaster, Savvy must choose between a nasty-girl-turned-nice, with a sudden interest in letting Savvy get what she wants, and the prickly Hazelle, who promises nothing at all. Savvy then finds herself wrapped up in a new, seemingly innocent but potentially dangerous activity. It's all at risk in this book: her position on the paper, the boy she likes, the ministry she wants to go well. At a critical moment, Savvy must figure out how to rely on God rather than luck and to overcome temptation before it is too late.

London Confidential is a new series for tweens and teens where British fashion, friendships, and guys collide as an all-American teen girl learns to love life and live out her faith.

Please visit Sandra online at http://www.sandrabyrd.com/ The books can be purchased at amazon.com through her website or at other fine online or local bookstores near you. If they're not stocked, just ask!

London Confidential Books 1 and 2 were featured in Focus on the Family's Thriving Family Magazine ... click here:

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/protecting_your_family/book-reviews/a/asking-for-trouble.aspx

About the Author:



After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd went on to publish three dozen books including her widely-acclaimed adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, and her recent 4-book young adult fiction series, London Confidential.

A former textbook acquisitions editor, Sandra is also an accomplished non-fiction writer and author. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications such as Radiant, Focus on the Family's Clubhouse Magazine, Christian Parenting Today, Pockets, Decision, and Guideposts. During the past seven years, Sandra has mentored hundreds of students through the Christian Writer's Guild.

Sandra resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband Michael, a chaplain, their two teenagers, and a circus dog named Brie.

Author Cara Putman & The All-Expense Paid Vacation to the World's Largest Kitty Litter Box

My guest today is Author Cara Putman. Here's Cara:

"My Mom – A Woman of Strength

I’ve always admired my mom. She homeschooled us kids as soon as it was legal – in the days when it was still very weird. She has always poured Christ’s love into others through homeschool groups, crisis pregnancy centers, church ministries and so much more.

But in 1990, I saw her strength in a whole new light. In August, my dad and his National Guard unit were at their two-week summer training when Iraq invaded Kuwait. At that time, I wondered if he’d even get to come home before being shipped overseas. He did.

It wasn’t until Thanksgiving week that his unit got called to active status. On three days notice, Mom went from a busy woman helping with our restaurants, homeschooling, community involvement, and more to a woman who’s husband was shipping to a war zone. Her support system was gone, and unlike when he served in Vietnam, she was left with four children and all her responsibilities plus much of the load Dad had borne for our stores.

That Christmas I got a stack of boxes from the nicest store at the Mall because Mom didn’t have time to shop in a dozen places like she usually would. My Dad’s unit shipped home in April – just in time for Easter. I barely recognized the man with the tan and mustache.

That six months was a challenge for each of us. Phone calls were so rare. Email barely existed. And regular letters were what we had to rely on for most of our communications. I remember making jokes about Dad’s all-expense paid vacation to the kitty liter box of the world in an effort to keep from crying when people would ask about him.

We all cope in different ways. But that period gave me a great respect for all the military families that are left behind when their loved one deploys. And it also revealed just how strong my Mom is."--Cara Putman

Here's Cara's latest book. What a fantastic cover!

Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer's sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her but instead must identify her body. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan. Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When two other women are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to that of her sister. Could the killer be the man with whom she's falling in love?

About the Author

Stars in the Night is CARA PUTMAN's ninth novel and tenth book. An attorney and sometimes lecturer at a Big Ten University, Cara lives in Indiana with her husband and three children. http://www.caraputman.com

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First Page-Masquerade by Author Nancy Moser

Masquerade by Nancy Moser

Chapter One

Dornby Manor

Wiltshire, England

Early autumn 1886

“I’ve told you, Father, I won’t marry him.”

Thomas Gleason held a matchstick to the bowl of his pipe and puffed repeatedly, luring the tobacco to ignite. “It’s a good match, daughter. Everyone has heard of the Tremaines, even here in England.”

Heard of their money, perhaps . . .

Lottie remembered the whispered rumors about the Tremaines. She knew her parents hated gossip—or pretended to for propriety’s sake—but now was not the time for her to be timid. “Some say the Tremaines are nouveau riche. The elder Mr. Tremaine is but one generation away from those who peddled their goods on the streets of New York City.”

Her father pointed his pipe at her. “Perhaps. But Tremaine’s Dry Goods has grown to encompass a five-story building within an entire city block.”

Mother shook her head and said beneath her breath, “A glorified shopkeeper.”

Father shot her a glance.

Mother nodded to the maid, Dora, to pour the tea. “We are the ones doing the Tremaines the favor. You are Sir Thomas Gleason,” she said. “The Gleasons have ties to Richard the Second. Our name is listed in Debrett’s.”

A puff of smoke billowed in front of Father’s face. “Now, now, Hester. By seeking a goodly match for our daughter, we’re not negating our own roots. It’s a blessing the Tremaines have shown interest in our Charlotte, especially since they’ve never met any of us. And considering . . . ”

Lottie interrupted. “You act as if meeting me might cause them to change their minds. I may not be a ravishing beauty, Father, but I’ve been complimented many times regarding my appearance.”

“No, no,” her father said. “Don’t take offense. You’re a lovely girl. I was merely pointing out the odd circumstances of . . . our situation.”

Hester coughed and put her ever-present handkerchief to her mouth.

Lottie tried unsuccessfully to squelch her annoyance at her mother’s cough. Hack, hack, hack. Perhaps if Mother spent more time outside, walking the grounds of their Wiltshire estate, her health would improve. But Mother prided herself on indoor pursuits, namely her needlepoint chair cushions. Best in the county, she bragged. Lottie didn’t care for such nonsense. To go to so much work only to have someone sit upon it was absurd.

As was this conversation.

Lottie set her teacup down, rose from her chair, and moved to the windows that overlooked the front lawn. “I don’t see why we have to talk about this now.” Or ever. “It’s my birthday and my friends will be arriving for my party soon and . . . ” She turned to her mother directly. “Speaking of my party, why aren’t you bustling about? A dozen of my friends will arrive in just a few hours, yet if I didn’t know better, I’d think the party was next Tuesday rather than today.”

Do You Rember these 3 Questions?

1-Why do Authors and Publishers give away books on blogs?
2-Have you won a book on a blog?
3-If you did, what did you do with that book?

Project Journal's reply summed up and added a little zest to the replies I received.

Her reply: "I think they give away books one) for publicity, let's be honest. Giving away free books is an easy way to catch new readers and keep old followers! Two) Along the same lines, it keeps people interested in your blog a lot of times I think. Three) I think it shows a lot about your character. Lol! I know that's not necessarily true or anything, but I personally think that it's really nice to do the giveaways! There's a couple answers :- )"

I appreciated the comment that giving away books was a nice thing to do! I do like giving gifts.

Another common reply to # 3) came from JKW: "I pass books on to friends - keep them going."

That's also good to hear. Do you know what the most common and strongest reason for a person to pick up and read a book by an author she/he hasn't read before is?
Word of mouth--that means that people telling people is what sells books!

Ellen Too replied to 3. with "Read it then put it on my special keeper shelf." That's so wonderful, Ellen! Thanks. Every author hopes she will write books that people will deem "Keepers"--those books that remain with us and are reread. (I'm always so happy when I DON'T see my books at garage sales and Goodwill!)

Aus Jenny wrote-"The ones that are signed to me I have kept but often have shared them. Others are or will end up in the Church library or if its a must keep in my library to share. I also normally will post a review on my blog and other places."

Now that's what I often do with books I read. I give them either to our smalltown (1 room) library or to our church library.

And the final sentence of of AusJenny's reply--She posts reviews of the books she received.

That's one of the main reasons that authors and publishers give away books. We hope that if you like the book:
A- you will post a review of it on your blog OR
B- you will post a review of it on Amazon.com or Christianbook.com or BN.com

A few other commenters said that they do post reviews of books. And you know you don't have to get fancy with reviews, click a rank and say what you liked.

I know I appreciate a reader who does this. My September book has no reviews up yet on any sites. (HINT-HINT) GRIN.

Anyway, I'm not done with this recap of those questions I asked in September. Soon I'm going to start visiting the blogs that the people who left comments recommended.

BTW, if you drop by the Craftie Ladies blog, you'll read what a special day this is for me!

Book Monday-Author Trish Perry & The Perfect Blend

A little about The Perfect Blend by Author Trish Perry. Here's Trish:

"Steph Vandergrift left everything to elope with Middleburg attorney Rick Manfred, who then stood her up at the altar. Too embarrassed to return home, Steph hopes to earn enough to get by until she can decide what to do next. Tea Shop owner Milly Jewel hires her and appreciates the extra help at the tea shop. Also appreciative of Steph is Kendall James, one of the kindest, most eligible bachelors in the area. But by the time Steph feels able to consider dating again, her run-away fiancé returns and tries to win her back. Steph is wary, but she and Rick always blended so well. Christie Burnham, the frank-talking equestrian from whom Steph rents a room, and her frillier sister Liz become fast friends and confidantes to Steph. Between the two sisters, there isn't much any man is going to pull over on Middleburg's newest bachelorette and tea shop employee.



A little about Trish: Award-winning novelist Trish Perry has written The Perfect Blend (2010), Sunset Beach (2009), Beach Dreams (2008), Too Good to Be True (2007), and The Guy I’m Not Dating (2006), all for Harvest House Publishers. Her monthly column, “Real Life is Stranger,” appeared in Christian Fiction Online Magazine during its inaugural year. She was editor of Ink and the Spirit, the newsletter of Washington D.C.’s Capital Christian Writers organization (CCW), for seven years. Before her novels, Perry published numerous short stories, essays, devotionals, and poetry in Christian and general market media. She will release several new books in 2011. Perry holds a B.A. in Psychology, was a 1980s stockbroker, and held positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission and in several Washington law firms. She serves on the Board of Directors of CCW and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She invites you to visit her at www.trishperry.com"