Book Review-Author Janet Tronstad & A Hero For Dry Creek

A Hero For Dry Creek



FUN! FUN! FUN! This is the first Janet Tronstad "Dry Creek" series book I've read. It won't be my last! Who couldn't love a romance that starts with the heroine awakening to find Prince Charming standing outside her window in a tuxedo. And her window is on her family's Redfern Ranch in a tiny town of Dry Creek, Montana. I loved the heroine Nicki and the hero Garrett (who is a trucker when he's not Prince Charming). So many delightful touches, such as the old men sitting around the stove at the general store reading Women's World! FUN! FUN! FUN!

A Hero for Dry Creek is a 2003 Love Inspired. To find a current Janet Tronstad's delightful romantic Dry Creek comedies, try

Sugar Plums for Dry Creek and At Home in Dry Creek. To purchase, go to

http://www.eharlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=22744

Author Mae Nunn & Her Mama's Bravery

My guest today is a great gal (I don't call every woman a "gal." To me that means, a good-hearted woman who always has a smile for everybody.") I love this photo of her sitting in a field of Texas bluebonnets. She's a Texas gal you see. GRIN

So today's great gal guest is Author Mae Nunn. Here's Mae:

"Mama was my spiritual guide. She brought me up to love Jesus and she prayed for me to return when I occasionally strayed from His will in my twenties and thirties. About a dozen years ago when I was writing my first book she called me one weekend to see what I was up to. Since Saturday was my only full day to write I said, “I’m working on my book, like always.” Mama shocked me by asking, “Are you writing filth?” After I picked my jaw up off the floor I grinned and answered, “No, Mama, I’m not writing filth. I could! I certainly know all the words. But I promise I won’t ever publish anything that will offend you.” She seemed satisfied and closed the subject by saying, “Well, I just had to ask to be sure.” I sold my first book in 2003 just a few months before my precious mama went home to be with our Lord. I’m grateful that she held me accountable for the words I was writing and I will always be thankful to God that she bravely asked the question that was worrying her heart.

Some form of my mama’s bravery shows up in every single one of my heroines, whether it’s asking the tough questions, taking a leap of faith or going it alone if that’s what God requires. In Her Forever Family you’ll cry and cheer for Doctor Alison Stone, a survivor of the most heinous of abusive backgrounds. Instead of stifling the brutal memories, Ali studied the psychology of abuse so she could help children overcome their victimization and let God take what was intended for evil and use it for His glory. I know you will enjoy meeting Ali, a woman so brave her friends call her The Rock! Until we meet again, let your light shine!"--Mae

That's a wonderful story about your mama, Mae. I hope you'll all seek out more about Mae and her stories,Her Forever Family, April 2010
A Season for Family, November 2010 at
www.MaeNunn.com
www.LoveInspiredAuthors.com

Did your mama ever ask you a question that stuck in your mind?--Lyn

Author Ruth Logan Herne & Winter's End

My guest today is Ruth Logan Herne, a debut Love Inspired author, who is pretty happy. And her title is definitely TIMELY! Here's Ruth:

"As a child interventionist for a local school district, I spent nine years dealing with children’s anger issues, anger whose roots began in a small child and mushroomed into acting out behaviors by the time they reached me in middle school. But what happens to those children who don’t act out? I wondered. The ones who suck it up, put their chin in the air, and quietly survive? Who’s there to help them?

And so began the structuring of Kayla Dougherty, the heroine of Winter’s End, my 4 ½ Star debut novel about a hospice nurse who deals with life and death by facing both head on. All I knew when I started this book was that Kayla had faced her Rubicon successfully but carried residual clutter from her dysfunctional setting, a ripped and torn childhood.

For Kayla, a new believer who can’t quite accept that God’s grace really, truly means her, facing the hero’s antagonism and anxiety is a drain. As she recognizes the depths of his personal losses, she realizes there is no hope, no chance for them and broken families are the grillwork of her past, not stepping stones to the future. Kayla wants the fairy tale, the happy ending, and she’s willing to step aside to prevent ruining that for anyone else, even the man she loves.

Yesterday’s child has grown into today’s woman. The child of the streets became the woman who longs for normalcy and strength, victimized, yet refusing to be a victim, a professional in her own right, clinging to an image of savvy success.

While life has sharpened and honed the well-dressed nurse, faith has softened the sassy woman within, offering her a chance to embrace a life she hadn’t dared hope for. A husband. A home. A family of faith, where warmth embraces the coldest winter days."

Thanks, Ruth. And for more about Ruth and her books, here you go!--Lyn

Winter's End Steeple Hill Love Inspired, March 2010, 4 1/2 STARS!!! Romantic Times Review...

Waiting Out the Storm Steeple Hill Love Inspired, July 2010

Made To Order Family Steeple Hill Love Inspired, September 2010

Enduring, endearing... Fiction that embraces the heart.

www.ruthloganherne.com

www.seekerville.blogspot.com Fifteen author blog!!!! SOOOO fun!

Book Monday-Author Gail Gaymer Martin & Groom in Training

Groom In Training

by Gail Gaymer Martin

Second book in the Man's Best Friend Series from Steeple Hill Love Inspired

Friends, Four-legged Friends and Love.

A widow with a sad past, Steph Wright, finds comfort in her faith and her adorable Border Collie, Fred. When Fred becomes enamored with the neighbor's pedigreed Bouvier, Steph meets Nick. With a broken engagement and a busy job, Nick isn't open to love and romance. But when Nick steps in to defend Steph, long talks ensue during dog walking, and both begin to learn that God has plans for each of them, especially Steph who sees some unexpected "groom-in-training" going on.

Endorsements from readers:

Had a hard time putting this book down. I highly recommend Groom In Training, and look forward to reading more from Gail Gaymer Martin.

Rikki Lee Howland, Reader

A delightful story of two hearts discovering where they belong.

Jo Huddleston, Reader

Bio:

Multi-award-winning author, Gail Gaymer Martin writes fiction for Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing, where she was recently honored by Heartsong readers as their Favorite Author of 2008. Gail has written forty-four contracted novels with three million books in print. She is the author of Writing the Christian Romance, a Writers Digest Books release. Gail is a co-founder of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a keynote speaker at churches, libraries and civic organizations and also presents workshops at conference across the US. Gail has a Masters degree and post-master’s classes from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and is a licensed counselor. She lives in Michigan with her husband.

Links:

Website: www.gailmartin.com
Gail's Thoughts: www.gailmartin.blogspot.com
Writing Fiction Right: www.writingright-martin.blogspot.com

Facebook:: http://www.facebook.com/people/Gail-Gaymer-Martin/1429640580

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GailGMartin

Groom In Training available where books are sold or click below

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0373875794?ie=UTF8&tag=novgaigaymar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0373875794

You can find this book and the first book in the series, Dad In Training, at

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0373875509?ie=UTF8&tag=novgaigaymar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0373875509

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Author Irene Hannon & Her Unmarried "Grandmother"

My guest today is Irene Hannon, a longtime Love Inspired author who is now also writing for Revell. Irene today tells a family story of faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness. Here's Irene:

"Today I’d like to pay tribute to a woman I never met but who I suspect had a tremendous influence on my life.

Her name was Catherine Hannon, and she was born in Ireland more than 100 years ago. Still single as she approached 40, she was drafted by her newly widowed brother to take care of his two pre-school children, James (my father) and Cis, while he set off for America. He promised to send for the siblings soon and to provide financial support.

So Aunt Kate, as Dad called her, moved into her brother’s home. In that small rural cottage without indoor plumbing, electricity, or heat (except for a fireplace, where she also cooked), she took on the temporary job of substitute mom.

Except it wasn’t temporary. Her brother never sent for the children. And financial support was sporadic. Aunt Kate worked in the fields, took in laundry, served as a midwife, prepared bodies for burial—no job was beneath her as she struggled to put food on the table and take care of the two little children in her charge.

Years later, as adults, my dad and his sister did come to America. They both regularly sent money to Aunt Kate, who never married. When she died, they paid tribute to her with a headstone that said, “In Loving Memory of Catherine Hannon…erected by her ‘children’ James and Cis.”

In a country that was very traditional, Aunt Kate took on a role usually reserved for men—the head of a household. I have to believe that her competence and strength and independence had a profound effect on my father, who never factored gender into any challenge I faced, nor limited my opportunities based on sexist stereotypes. He encouraged me to reach for the stars. And I did.

While I’ve never consciously based any of my heroines on Aunt Kate, I always write about strong, brave women. Psychologist Emily Lawson, the heroine in my latest suspense novel, An Eye For An Eye, (Book 2 in my Heroes of Quantico series) is a good example. Though a sniper turns her world upside down, she carries on with grace, courage and even a touch of humor as she reconnects with her first love, FBI Hostage Rescue Team member Mark Sanders. Yes, she’s afraid. But she doesn’t let fear paralyze her. The same is true for Monica Callahan in Against All Odds, Book 1 in the series, after terrorists mark her as the next victim. Both of these women endure—and triumph—in the face of obstacles.

I have a feeling Aunt Kate would have liked them.

If you’d like to know more about the brave women who are the heroines in my stories, please visit my Web site at www.irenehannon.com. And drop me a line, if you like. I love to hear from readers!"--Irene

On Irene's website, she has a page titled, "What's Cooking?" She's features a new recipe every month. And she also has a page "News and Notes" where she keeps her fans up to date on her activities.

Thanks, Irene, for a wonderful story.--Lyn

Author Marta Perry & Her Grandmother Mattie

My guest today is a longtime friend Author Marta Perry. She is a prolific writer and a good one too. Here's Marta:

"One of the strongest women I ever knew was my grandmother, Mattie Dovenbarger, but I didn’t realize that until long after her death. I was only eight when Grandma Mattie died. I remember being taken to see her during her last days, at the home of my aunt, and hearing my mother and aunt assure me that Grandma was slipping away into the arms of Jesus. Since she’d often spoken of Him, it seemed to me that she must be happy.

When I thought of her afterwards, I remembered most of all her patience and serenity. Grandma could sit for hours rocking a cranky child and play endless games with a sick one. I never saw her upset or angry, never heard her speak a harsh word. I knew, without asking, that when she sat with her Bible in her lap, eyes closed, she was praying, possibly for me.

Many years later, when I started researching my family history, I realized what an extraordinary woman she had been. Born in Ohio in 1869 to English and Pennsylvania Dutch parents, she married at twenty to William Dovenbarger and took up the life of a busy farm wife. Over the next eighteen years she had seven children, one of whom, Elizabeth Lucinda, died at age eleven in one of the flu epidemics which took so many lives. She saw two of her sons go off to Europe in World War I, praying them through until their safe return. She was only forty when her husband died, leaving her with three children still at home to support at a time when there was no government safety net. She worked hard, raised her children to lives of faith, and never seemed to lose her serene spirit or her confidence that God would show her the way.

Reflecting on my grandmother’s life led me to the desire to write about a character like her...a strong woman of faith who could endure all life’s difficulties and retain a sense of serenity and wisdom. That character is Miz Callie in my new series from Love Inspired, The Bodine Family. The central strength around which her large extended family revolves, Miz Callie was a joy to write. She came alive on the page for me, as I hope she will for readers. In the first book, TWICE IN A LIFETIME, available now from Steeple Hill Books, Miz Callie’s longing to resolve a family secret sends her granddaughter on a quest for the truth, as well as bringing her to a love she didn’t think she’d ever experience. Miz Callie, of course, knew better. Filled with Miz Callie’s love for her family, her devotion to God, and her love of the natural wonders of the Carolina coast, the subsequent books will follow the adventures of the rest of the Bodine clan as they come home to love.

And finally for Sentimental September: My mother left me some beautiful advice in a note I found folded into her Bible after her death. It reads, "Reach out to other people for Jesus, and you'll receive more than you can imagine." My mother and grandmother showed that in their lives. I hope I can do the same."--Marta

Marta has a new venture coming up soon. She has written her first Amish series: The Pleasant Valley Amish Series from Berkley Books, and the first book, LEAH'S CHOICE, debuts this November. I wrote an endorsement for Leah's Choice --Even if you're not a fan of Amish books, this one is captivating with tender and true emotion. Don't miss it! For more info, drop by her website.

Love Inspired Author Anna Schmidt & Her Love of History

Today a fellow Wisconsin author, Anna Schmidt, tells about her mother's heritage.

"My love of history came down to me from my parents -- especially my Mom. I truly think she would have been happy to have lived in an earlier time! At any rate although she had less than a high school education, she was an avid reader and loved (as I do) puttering around in antique shops and looking at items with an eye to who might have held them and used them before. She taught me that if we pay attention to what has gone before we can avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Clearly we are two generations of cock-eyed optimists!

But writing GIFT FROM THE SEA (my latest novel for Steeple Hill and the sequel to SEASIDE CINDERELLA) was a pure labor of love. The idea was to bring two people together who would have been natural enemies in the years of WWI -- an American nurse and a German seaman caught my heart.

Believe me, my hero and heroine totally took over once I brought them onstage and the exploration of the question of forgiveness became the focus for the story and their ability to find love.

Disagreements between nations are really (IMHO) disagreements between governments. When we are brought face to face with another individual whose ideals, traditions and even faith differs from our own, each of us must decide -- do I respect and value this person even thought his or her values and beliefs may differ from my own? And if I do then how to begin a dialogue that will lead to understanding and acceptance and true peace on earth. Blessings to you all."--Anna Schmidt
PS: Hope you will watch my website www.booksbyanna.com "Stories of Challenges Met with Courage, Faith and Healing" for some exciting new opportunities to win free stuff coming later this summer!!!

Thanks, Anna, my own mother always stopped at any little town museum we passed through and I did the same for my children who also became lovers of history.
Anna has already sent me signed copies of both her books--SEASIDE CINDERELLA and its sequel GIFT FROM THE SEA--which will be included in my MEGA May gift basket drawing.--Lyn

Brenda Minton & her mom Rosetta

Today, another Love Inspired author shares the story of her mother. Here's Brenda:

"When I think of strong women, I think of a woman that I didn’t have in my life for long enough. My mom, Rosetta Kasiah, lost her struggle with breast cancer 27 years ago. I was fourteen. As a child I wanted her to fight harder, to not give up. Looking back at her life, I realize now that she fought harder than anyone. My mother not only fought cancer, but she was also a polio survivor. She grew up in the 1930s and 40s, in a family with nearly a dozen children. Life was not easy, not by any stretch of the imagination. But my mother survived. She overcame her disability.

As a matter of fact, growing up, I never realized she had one. She didn’t talk about it. She didn’t let it stop her. She was beautiful, caring, and always busy. She worked our farm, she worked in the school cafeteria and she made a career out of selling AVON. Avon was the place where she shined. She went door-to-door, taking me with her. She knew everyone, and everyone loved her. In the fourteen years that I had her in my life she taught me lessons that I didn’t realize she was teaching me. She taught me to fight for what I wanted, even if it was just an orphaned baby bird or a possum. Yes, a possum.

My room was a menagerie of orphaned animals and bird’s eggs. She was willing to go sledding with me, and to sit outside and watch my latest fantastic bike trick. She taught me to dream. My mother also encouraged my love of books. Each month that we got the form from Scholastic, I would pick out several books. Old Bones the Wonder Horse, Black Beauty, King of the Wind and many more. I still have several of them. One of the sweetest memories is of the two of us on the couch reading ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL out of Reader’s Digest. We loved those stories and we loved watching PBS together. The other thing my mom did for me: she sent me to church. She always felt self-conscious in dresses, so she wouldn’t go. But each Sunday she would wake me up and send me.



I didn’t know until later that her faith included time alone with God, and the blessing of ministries on our local TV stations. My mom was the one of the strongest women that I know, and I wish I could have known her better. Lacey Gould is the heroine in THE COWBOY NEXT DOOR, my May Love Inspired. Like my mother, Lacey had a difficult childhood, but she wanted better and she was willing to work hard to change her life."

Thanks, Brenda--Lyn

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-Robin Lee Hatcher's When Love Blooms

It's my pleasure to feature the latest release of a longtime friend. (Notice I didn't say OLD friend--I'm learning!) Robin always writes a rich and emotionally satisfying story.
Here's the scoop:

WHEN LOVE BLOOMS

by Robin Lee Hatcher

Zondervan, February 2009

She could say what she wanted. Emily Harris didn't belong in the hard life of the Blakes. She would wilt there like a rose without water. He'd be sending her back to Boise before the first snows. He'd be willing to bet on it.

From the moment Gavin Blake set eyes on Emily Harris, he knew she would never make it in the rugged high country where backbreaking work and constant hardship were commonplace. Beautiful and refined, she was accustomed to the best life had to offer. Heaven only knew why she wanted to leave Boise to teach two young girls on a ranch miles from nowhere. He'd wager it had to do with a man. It always did when a beautiful woman was involved.

Emily wanted to make some sort of mark on the world before marriage. She wanted to be more than just a society wife. Though she had plenty of opportunities back East, she had come to the Idaho high country looking to make a difference. Gavin’s resistance to her presence made her even more determined to prove herself. Perhaps changing the heart of just one man may make the greatest difference of all.

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REVIEWS:

Penned with the descriptive nibs of all the five senses, Robin Lee Hatcher transports the reader to the magnificent high country of Idaho in a thoroughly engaging tale of love and wounded heroes. When Love Blooms is layered with appealing characters, and I was so at home with the story's cast, I felt like I was like viewing my own family history. I have yet to read a Hatcher novel that didn't entrance me from the first page, and with a unique plot for a romance, When Love Blooms is no exception. Novel Reviews and I give it a high recommendation.
— Novel Reviews

Christy Award winner Hatcher's (Wagered Heart; Catching Katie) latest novel is a historical romance set in the rugged high country of Idaho in the late 1800s... Populated with lively characters, this delightful title deserves a place in [Christian Fiction] and historical romance collections and will appeal to those who enjoy Lori Wick or Lori Copeland. Recommended for Public Libraries.
— Library Journal

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 60 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.

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Link to Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310259282/novelistrobinlee

Link to Christianbook.com:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1138486&item_no=259282

Link to book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usnuoJNuBdE

An Inspiring Story of a Strong Woman and the Power of Love

Anna Schmidt who also writes for Love Inspired has been a long time writing friend. I was so happy when she accepted my invitation to write about a strong woman who inspired her. This story brought tears to my eyes and I hope it may touch you deeply too.

"I could not have been more delighted when Lyn invited me to stop by her blog and post my thoughts on STRONG WOMEN BRAVE STORIES. The problem I ran into was trying to choose which woman in my life – fictional or real – to write about! I have been so privileged to be surrounded by many strong women throughout my life – women who have inspired me and given me the courage to face whatever came my way. Women who have become the models for my heroines.

My latest book, MISTLETOE REUNION is the story of a marriage that has come apart – ended actually. And in many ways as I wrote that story I was thinking of my oldest sister, Patsy. Patsy is more than a decade older than I am and her life in so many ways has been far more challenging than my own. Without going into details I have watched (and hopefully supported her) as she faced a devastating divorce, three grown children each with problems that tested her patience and her financial reserves, the need to work and attend graduate school so she could build a career in teaching in order to support herself (and those children), years that should have been her time to explore her dreams and follow her adventures when she put it all on hold for others, and then finally the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. As the disease took hold, she was forced to give up her home and move into a care center. For awhile she was able to maintain herself independently within that community, but then she suffered a series of falls – leading to head trauma and brain injury. Today she lives in a nursing center, spends her days in a wheelchair and has reached the point where she must be fed, dressed and otherwise attended by others. The falls robbed her of her ability to make sense of things, recognize people, state her needs.

And yet…

Because I live half a country away from her, my visits are infrequent (and speaking to her via phone or e-mail is not possible). So when I go to visit – as I did several weeks ago – I always prepare myself for the possibility that she will not know me. This was such a visit. It was clear to me that she was drawn to me, but could not put to mind exactly who I was. And yet we had a wonderful visit. We shared laughter and conversation (much of it making little sense). But as I looked past the gibberish into the eyes and the smile and the mischievous little grin that has always been her trademark, I knew that whatever the outer shell might be saying to others, my sister was in there. They brought her tray and I prepared to feed her, but an aide warned, “She won’t let you do that. She only lets us feed her.” The spoon was already halfway to Patsy’s lips so I went ahead and offered it. She took a bite. I asked if she wanted to try some milk. She nodded. And step by step we shared a connection through the simple act of one sister feeding the other. At the end of the meal when I had to leave I took out a piece of Godiva chocolate I had been saving for her. I offered it to her and the expression on her face when she tasted that delectable treat after the bland tastelessness of her regular fare was priceless. I laughed. She laughed. And she looked at me then and said, “So, what’s Larry been up to?”

Larry is my husband.

She knew me – maybe for only an instant – but an instant can be enough. I told her about a fishing trip my husband and I had shared. She laughed and when I left and bent to kiss her forehead, tears leaked down her cheeks – as they always do every time I visit her – whether she knows me or not. This is my sister – a strong woman whose story did not end as happily ever after as MISTLETOE REUNION does, but a brave woman who has faced incredible challenges and can still laugh, still relish the sweet taste of chocolate, still reassure her little sister with a look, a comment and tears when parting. My holiday wish for all of you is that you cherish the women in your life who, like Patsy, have made you stronger and braver. They are indeed the best possible gift! Happy holidays! Anna Schmidt

Drop by http://www.eharlequin.com and enter Anna's name and read an excerpt of her latest Love Inspired romance.--Lyn