A Dichotomy--sad, yet rejoicing at Homecoming of Kristy Dykes

Today is a sad day for myself and many of our ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) members. Most of us learned this morning of the death of our dear sister Kristy Dykes. Below is a copy of the announcement her hero husband Milton made on her website.

Kristy Dykes
August 2, 1951 ~ July 21, 2008
My beloved is healed and is dancing on streets of gold. I will share soon about her glorious transition from my hand into the hands of her Lord and Savior. She is rejoicing with her mother, father, and dear loved ones in heaven. Milton

Rose again: Yet, even in our sorrow, we rejoice to know that she is in the Lord's Presence and no longer suffering from the brain tumor that took her earthly body.

I encourage you to check out her website at www.christianlovestories.blogspot.com and read all of her early blogs about her marriage to Milton and then continue on to the more recent ones where Milton did as Kristy asked and continued to blog throughout her cancer and treatments. All of the stories are of what true love is all about. You will laugh and cry along with Kristy and Milton as you enter their lives through their honest and heartfelt writings. And you will learn what a true Christian marriage is meant to be.

I hope you will also check out the list of Kristy's books and order any that are available. You will be blessed by the writings of this preacher's wife who touched many lives through her writings and her giving nature. I will cherish her memory and the autographed books I have of hers.

Blog Tour for Amber Miller's debut novel--Promises, Promises

I am very pleased to be part of Tiff's (Amber's first name) blog tour for her first novel. Tiff and I used to be in a critique group together, so I had read the first part of this story in its beginning stages, and was glad to finally get to read the happy ending! I hope you will order this book from the author at www.ambermiller.com/books.html

The story is set in 1739, and Tiff does a great job with the historical details, from the setting and clothing of the era to even a visiting sermon from Jonathan Edwards. I'm going to copy the back cover copy to whet your appetite for this delicious read.

"Raelene Strattford knows God has promised never to leave or forsake her. But after the catastrophic deaths of her parents, she doesn't believe it. What kind of God would take a girl's family and leave her alone in a wild land where women have no voice?

Gustaf Hanssen has admired Raelene from afar for awhile, but his poor attempt at courting her in the past has made him unwelcome in her life. When Gustaf promises Raelene's dying father that he will take care of her, he finds himself bound to her happiness, her success, and her well-being in ways he never imagined.

To keep his word must Gustaf really oversee all of Raelene's affairs, find her a husband, and maintain her farm, while she does nothing but scorn him? Can God reach through Raelene's pain and self-centeredness and give her the love that awaits, if only she will accept His will?"

I hope you will order this book from the author at www.ambermiller.com/books.html While you are on her website, you can also check out Tiff's own "Storybook wedding" with pictures of her and her hubby, Stuart Stockton, who also happens to be an author. In fact, when I first saw Promises, Promises, I emailed Tiff to ask if they used her and Stuart as models for the cover!

Book two in the series, Quills & Promises, just released this month, so you can also order it at the site above. Here's the book blurb for that one:

Innocence paired with wisdom beyond her years--

With these traits, Elanna Hanssen unwittingly captures the attentions of Major Madison Scott. Her honest desire to understand the war fascinates him, and he resolves to get to know this perspicacious young lady better. When he is called away to fight the French and the Indians, they begin a correspondence, cautiously baring their hearts to one another. Elanna has never known emotions like these before, but she is drawn to the integrity she sees in her major. When a writer for the first newspaper in the colony questions the major's credentials and activities, however, will she allow her heart or her head to rule? Can true love grow over such distance and around such obstacles?

Author bio: Amber Miller is an author and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband in beautiful Colorado Springs. They don’t have any children yet, but they do have a vivacious puppy named Roxie, who is half Border Collie and half Flat-Haired Retriever. Already nearing 65 pounds, she keeps them on their toes. And with her penchant for rising at 6am on the dot, Roxie is giving Amber and her husband a good taste of what it's like to be parents. Amber has sold four books to the Heartsong Presents line of Barbour Publishing with the promise of two more before the end of the year. She is currently pursuing an expansion into trade-length historical fiction as well. Other writing credits include several writing articles for various publications, five short stories with Romancing the Christian Heart, and nine contributions to the book, 101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage. A born-again Christian since the age of seven, her faith in Christ has often sustained her through difficult experiences. She seeks to share that with others through her writing.

Check out more about Tiff and her books on the following sites:

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Shirley Connolly (July month-long feature) - http://apenforyourthoughts.blogspot.com/

July 7 - Margaret Daley (bio) http://margaretdaley.blogspot.com/
July 7 - Dawn Kinzer at From Dawn til Dusk, Musings of a Night Owl http://dawnkinzer.blogspot.com/
July 8 - Donna Moore at Write by Faith http://writebyfaith.blogspot.com/
July 8 - Kim Woodhouse at God's Grace, Love & Forgiveness http://www.kimberleywoodhouse.com/
July 9 - Margaret Daley (interview) http://margaretdaley.blogspot.com/
July 9 - Amy Riley at The Friendly Book Nook http://thefriendlybooknook.com/
July 10 - Jenny Blake at Come Meet AusJenny http://ausjenny.blogspot.com/
July 11 - Rose McCauley http://rosemccauley.blogspot.com/
July 11 - Shauna Sturge at The Coffee Stop http://shaunasturge.blogspot.com/; Long and Short Reviews http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/
July 12 - Carolyn Strawder at Quiet Time with Carolyn http://www.quiettimewithcarolyn.com/Serenity
July 14-19 - CAN! blog spotlight http://canblog.typepad.com/canbookmarketing
July 14 - Martha Rogers at Martha Writes http://marthasbooks.blogspot.com/
July 15 - Leslie Sowell at A Little Bit of Sunlight http://www.footprintsinthesand.us/blog
July 16 - CFBA blog tour date (various blogs) http://www.blogger.com/
July 16 - Novel Journey / Novel Reviews http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/ / http://novelreviews.blogspot.com/
July 17 - CFBA blog tour date (various blogs) http://www.blogger.com/
July 17 - Eileen Astels at A Christian Romance Writer's Journey http://eileenastels.blogspot.com/
July 17 - Cheryl Wyatt at Squirrel's Treehouse http://scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com/
July 18 - CFBA blog tour date (various blogs) http://www.blogger.com/
July 18 - Cara Putman at Cara's Musings http://carasmusings.blogspot.com/
July 18 - Tyora Moody at CB Reviews http://www.faithwebbin.net/cbreviews
July 19 - Stacy Johnson at Vader's Mom http://jeffstacyandvader.blogspot.com
July 21 - Camy Tang at Camy's Loft http://camytang.blogspot.com/
July 21 - Jennifer AlLee at Musings on This, That & The Other Thing - http://jenniferallee.blogspot.com/
July 21 - Trish Perry (interview) at Reading, Writing and the Stuff In-Between http://www.trishperry.com/
July 22 - Cindy Woodsmall at the Plain Talk Blog http://www.cindywoodsmall.com/category/plain-talk/
July 23 - Delia Latham at The Melody Within (review/interview) http://themelodywithin.blogspot.com/
July 24 - Margaret Chind at Creative Madness http://cherryblossommj.blogspot.com/
July 25 - Delia Latham at The Melody Within (guest blogger) http://themelodywithin.blogspot.com/
July 25 - Christa Allan at Fictionary http://cballan.wordpress.com/
July 26 - Paula Moldenhauer at Grace Reign http://gracereign.blogspot.com/

7th Annual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference

There's a lot of buzz about the upcoming ACFW conference in Minneapolis, MN, September 18-21, 2008. To find out more details and read more blog entries about it go to http://www.acfw.com/ or www.acfw.com/conference. I've been reading several of the blogs and thought I would do something a little different--an acrostic like some of the chapters in the book of Psalms. So, here are a few of the many things I am looking forward to at conference!

Angie Hunt, our keynote speaker
Christian friends
Fellowship--the best this side of heaven!
Wow Worship!

Classes galore
Old friends
New friends
Forever friends
Eating with friends, and editors and agents
Reminiscing about past conferences
Excitement of new contracts
Note-taking
Chocolate party and choir
Expectations of God's blessing

I've already registered and got my hotel and plane reservations. Hope you'll join us for all this and more!

Book Drawing Winner is...

Megan DiMaria. My son is staying here tonight so he got the honors of drawing her name for this month's contest. Mary May Larmoyeux's book on Help for Busy Moms is on its way to her. I started out last month with a blogging blitz, posting 4 times in 4 days, then didn't post again the rest of the month. I promise to do better this month. I already am taking part in two blog tours next week--July 9th for our upcoming ACFW conference and July 11th for Tiff (Amber) Miller's first Heartsong book, so be sure to check back next week for those.

One reason I failed to post was that I went to Florida for a few days with our youngest daughter to give her time away to study for her dental boards she is taking on July 7th. Prayers for her to pass would be muchly appreciated. Another reason is that I have spent most of my "spare" time this month (LOL) working on an anthology proposal with 3 other authors. We just sent if off today and are praying that it will be picked up by Barbour Publishing. It was fun working with this wonderful group of ladies and discovering some new characters! Now tomorrow it will be time to go back to the rewrites of my women's fiction.

The prize book for this month is by Florida author, Lynn A. Coleman, who also is one of the founders of ACFW (originally ACRW). Anyone interested in writing and/or reading good Christian fiction should definitely check out their site at www.acfw.com. The title of the book is Mustering Courage. Lynn is a great writer who was very gentle with me when she did my first ever crit at my first ever writer's conference. She gently told me that my book should start with chapter 3! So leave a comment with your email addy if you wish to be entered in the drawing. And check back next week and post again if you want to be entered more than once. Anyone in the US is eligible except for the past month's winner.