A Miracle on Monday for Kristy Dykes
I have a special prayer request to make of all my readers. Kristy Dykes, a dear writer friend of mine, was diagnosed with brain cancer last month. She has had surgery to remove as much as possible of the tumor and will begin radiation treatments on Monday, December 10, 2007. Her husband has asked for all of her friends to contact their friends to ask for concentrated prayer for her especially at 3:30 PM EST on that date. We know that the power of prayer is much greater than radiation or anything man can devise. Please pray for this dear Christian sister then and in the days ahead, and remember her family, too. I hope you will check out her blog at www.christianlovestories.blogspot.com to read of the true-life love story of Kristy and her husband. He has been posting several blogs lately on the site and they are very inspiring and convicting. Thanks for joining me and many others in prayer.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Book contest rules and winner
Michelle Pendergrass is the winner of the Christmas book drawing. I had over 50 names to draw from this month thanks to all the traffic on Margie Lawson's guest blog last week. Congratulations, Michelle.
I thought this would be a good time to review the rules for my monthly book contest. Each person who leaves a blog comment during the month except for the previous month's winner (Michelle, in this case) is eligible for that month's drawing which will be held on the first of the following month. You will receive one entry for each comment, so feel free to leave one often. Also each person who wishes to win must leave a way for me to email for their mailing info. Any other questions, feel free to contact me.
The book giveaway on January 1st will be for the book featured in yesterday's blog--A Shadow of Treason by Tricia Goyer--so check the info about the book by reading below.
Michelle Pendergrass is the winner of the Christmas book drawing. I had over 50 names to draw from this month thanks to all the traffic on Margie Lawson's guest blog last week. Congratulations, Michelle.
I thought this would be a good time to review the rules for my monthly book contest. Each person who leaves a blog comment during the month except for the previous month's winner (Michelle, in this case) is eligible for that month's drawing which will be held on the first of the following month. You will receive one entry for each comment, so feel free to leave one often. Also each person who wishes to win must leave a way for me to email for their mailing info. Any other questions, feel free to contact me.
The book giveaway on January 1st will be for the book featured in yesterday's blog--A Shadow of Treason by Tricia Goyer--so check the info about the book by reading below.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Blog Tour for Tricia Goyer
For those of you who have visited my site before, the name Tricia Goyer should be familiar. If you scroll down to the entry for November 11, 2007, you will see a picture of Tricia and myself at the ACFW conference this past September where I took her great course on writing historical fiction.
Tricia also writes non-fiction as well as her intriguing fiction. Just a few days ago I was reading my Focus on the Family Midlife and Beyond, Nov. 2007 issue, and noticed an excellent article by her on E-vangelism--using emails as an evangelistic tool.
This blog tour is to promote Tricia's latest historical fiction--A Shadow of Treason. I hope this interview with Tricia and synopsis of the book below will whet your appetite enough to go out and purchase this book and the rest of the series.
Book 2 in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series
Sophie discovers that nothing is as she first imagined. When Walt, the reporter who helped her over the border, shows up again after Guernica is bombed, Sophie is given an impossible mission. She must leave behind the man she's fallen in love with and return to the person who betrayed her. Another layer of the war in Spain is revealed as Sophie is drawn into the international espionage schemes that could turn the tide of the war and help protect the soldiers from the International Brigade ... she must find a way to get a critical piece of information to Walt in time.
Q and A with Tricia!
Q:
A Shadow of Treason follows A Valley of Betrayal. This is the first time you've written books as a series instead of stand alone. Which way do you like better?
A: I love writing in series. It was great to continue with the same characters. In my stand-alone books I fell in love with these people and then I had to say good-bye after one book. It was wonderful to be able to continue on.
Q: In A Shadow of Treason Sophie must return to the person who betrayed her in an effort to help the Spanish people. It makes the book hard to put down because the reader has to know how Sophie's heart will deal with it. Why did you decide to make this an element of the book?
A: There are very few of us who go through life without giving away a part of our hearts to someone who didn't deserve it. Even though Sophie had the best intentions, she gave away her heart and she was hurt-not only that she must revisit those emotions.
I wanted to include this element-to delve into the topic that emotions are sometimes as big of a trap as any physical cage. Emotions are real and they guide us -- even when we don't want to admit it. Poor Sophie, not only does she have to deal with a war around her -- she also has to deal with a war within herself. It's something I've battled, and mostly likely others have too.
Q: There is an interesting element that arises in this book and that is Spanish gold. I know you can't tell us what happens in this book, but can you give us a brief history of this gold?
A: Sure. When I was researching I came upon something interesting. The Spaniards, as we know, had taken much Aztec and Inca gold during the time of the conquistadors. Well, at the start of The Spanish Civil War much of this gold was still held in Madrid. In fact Spain had the fourth largest gold reserves in the world at that time. The Republican government was afraid Franco would take the city and the gold. They had to get it out of Madrid and this included transporting priceless artifacts. The element of gold does make its way into my story. It was great to include this little-known (and true!) element into my story.
Q: Another historical fact I learned about was the Nazi involvement during this time. Not only were the Germans active in Spain, but they had spy networks busy around the world. How did you find out about this?
A: I love reading tons of research books. Usually I find one little element that I dig out and turn into a plot line. This is what happened with my plot-line for the Nazi pilot, Ritter. I dug up this bit of research of Nazi involvement in Spain -- and the United States -- because a lot of people aren't aware of the Nazi involvement prior to WWII. The truth is they were busy at work getting the land, information, and resources they needed far before they threatened the nations around them. The Germans knew what they wanted and how to get it. And most of the time they succeeded!
Q: A Shadow of Treason is Book Two. When will Book Three be out? Can you give us a hint of how the story continues?
A: Book Three is A Whisper of Freedom. It will be out February 2008. The characters that we love are all still in the midst of danger at the end of Book Two. Book Three continues their stories as we follow their journeys in -- and (for a few) out -- of Spain. It's an exciting conclusion to the series!
Q: Wow, so we have a least one more fiction book to look forward to in the near future. Are you working on any non-fiction?
A: Yes, I have two non-fiction books that will be out the early part of 2008. Generation NeXt Marriage is a marriage book for today's couples. It talks about our marriage role models, our struggles, and what we're doing right as a generation. It also gives advice for holding it together.
I've also been privileged to work on the teen edition of Max Lucado's book 3:16. It was a great project to work on. What an honor!
Thanks, Tricia. I hope you all will check out Tricia's websites at www.triciagoyer.com and
http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com and also continue to follow her on this blog tour at the following websites:
12/1Vickihttp://www.vickitalleymccollum.blogspot.com/CeeCeeBooksplurge.blogspot.com 12/3Melissahttp://www.forstrose.blogspot.com/Davidhttp://dameigs.blogspot.com/
12/4Relhttp://http://www.relzreviewz.blogspot.com/Kathiehttp://takingastroll.blogspot.com/
12/5Michellehttp://zanesmilkmachine.blogspot.com/Deenahttp://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/Peghttp://www.peggyblannphifer.blogspot.com/
12/6Karenhttp://skyhighview.blogspot.com/
12/7Carahttp://carasmusings.blogspot.com/Pattiehttp://www.freshbrewedwriter.blogspot.com/
12/8Janishttp://www.janisrodgers.blogspot.com/CherylWorlds-www.unseenworlds.blogspot.comJackiehttp://jjacklyns.greatestjournal.com/
For those of you who have visited my site before, the name Tricia Goyer should be familiar. If you scroll down to the entry for November 11, 2007, you will see a picture of Tricia and myself at the ACFW conference this past September where I took her great course on writing historical fiction.
Tricia also writes non-fiction as well as her intriguing fiction. Just a few days ago I was reading my Focus on the Family Midlife and Beyond, Nov. 2007 issue, and noticed an excellent article by her on E-vangelism--using emails as an evangelistic tool.
This blog tour is to promote Tricia's latest historical fiction--A Shadow of Treason. I hope this interview with Tricia and synopsis of the book below will whet your appetite enough to go out and purchase this book and the rest of the series.
Book 2 in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series
Sophie discovers that nothing is as she first imagined. When Walt, the reporter who helped her over the border, shows up again after Guernica is bombed, Sophie is given an impossible mission. She must leave behind the man she's fallen in love with and return to the person who betrayed her. Another layer of the war in Spain is revealed as Sophie is drawn into the international espionage schemes that could turn the tide of the war and help protect the soldiers from the International Brigade ... she must find a way to get a critical piece of information to Walt in time.
Q and A with Tricia!
Q:
A Shadow of Treason follows A Valley of Betrayal. This is the first time you've written books as a series instead of stand alone. Which way do you like better?
A: I love writing in series. It was great to continue with the same characters. In my stand-alone books I fell in love with these people and then I had to say good-bye after one book. It was wonderful to be able to continue on.
Q: In A Shadow of Treason Sophie must return to the person who betrayed her in an effort to help the Spanish people. It makes the book hard to put down because the reader has to know how Sophie's heart will deal with it. Why did you decide to make this an element of the book?
A: There are very few of us who go through life without giving away a part of our hearts to someone who didn't deserve it. Even though Sophie had the best intentions, she gave away her heart and she was hurt-not only that she must revisit those emotions.
I wanted to include this element-to delve into the topic that emotions are sometimes as big of a trap as any physical cage. Emotions are real and they guide us -- even when we don't want to admit it. Poor Sophie, not only does she have to deal with a war around her -- she also has to deal with a war within herself. It's something I've battled, and mostly likely others have too.
Q: There is an interesting element that arises in this book and that is Spanish gold. I know you can't tell us what happens in this book, but can you give us a brief history of this gold?
A: Sure. When I was researching I came upon something interesting. The Spaniards, as we know, had taken much Aztec and Inca gold during the time of the conquistadors. Well, at the start of The Spanish Civil War much of this gold was still held in Madrid. In fact Spain had the fourth largest gold reserves in the world at that time. The Republican government was afraid Franco would take the city and the gold. They had to get it out of Madrid and this included transporting priceless artifacts. The element of gold does make its way into my story. It was great to include this little-known (and true!) element into my story.
Q: Another historical fact I learned about was the Nazi involvement during this time. Not only were the Germans active in Spain, but they had spy networks busy around the world. How did you find out about this?
A: I love reading tons of research books. Usually I find one little element that I dig out and turn into a plot line. This is what happened with my plot-line for the Nazi pilot, Ritter. I dug up this bit of research of Nazi involvement in Spain -- and the United States -- because a lot of people aren't aware of the Nazi involvement prior to WWII. The truth is they were busy at work getting the land, information, and resources they needed far before they threatened the nations around them. The Germans knew what they wanted and how to get it. And most of the time they succeeded!
Q: A Shadow of Treason is Book Two. When will Book Three be out? Can you give us a hint of how the story continues?
A: Book Three is A Whisper of Freedom. It will be out February 2008. The characters that we love are all still in the midst of danger at the end of Book Two. Book Three continues their stories as we follow their journeys in -- and (for a few) out -- of Spain. It's an exciting conclusion to the series!
Q: Wow, so we have a least one more fiction book to look forward to in the near future. Are you working on any non-fiction?
A: Yes, I have two non-fiction books that will be out the early part of 2008. Generation NeXt Marriage is a marriage book for today's couples. It talks about our marriage role models, our struggles, and what we're doing right as a generation. It also gives advice for holding it together.
I've also been privileged to work on the teen edition of Max Lucado's book 3:16. It was a great project to work on. What an honor!
Thanks, Tricia. I hope you all will check out Tricia's websites at www.triciagoyer.com and
http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com and also continue to follow her on this blog tour at the following websites:
12/1Vickihttp://www.vickitalleymccollum.blogspot.com/CeeCeeBooksplurge.blogspot.com 12/3Melissahttp://www.forstrose.blogspot.com/Davidhttp://dameigs.blogspot.com/
12/4Relhttp://http://www.relzreviewz.blogspot.com/Kathiehttp://takingastroll.blogspot.com/
12/5Michellehttp://zanesmilkmachine.blogspot.com/Deenahttp://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/Peghttp://www.peggyblannphifer.blogspot.com/
12/6Karenhttp://skyhighview.blogspot.com/
12/7Carahttp://carasmusings.blogspot.com/Pattiehttp://www.freshbrewedwriter.blogspot.com/
12/8Janishttp://www.janisrodgers.blogspot.com/CherylWorlds-www.unseenworlds.blogspot.comJackiehttp://jjacklyns.greatestjournal.com/
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