Welcome to my little bit of cyber-space. It is my prayer that all who enter here may be richly blessed by the God of all grace. All praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Book Review--Maggie Rose by Sharlene MacLaren

Warning: Do not start this book unless you want to stay up reading past midnight for two nights like I did!

This book, Maggie Rose, is the second in The Daughters of Jacob Kane series by Sharlene MacLaren. Although I had not read the first book, there are enough bits and pieces of the family history in this book to let you enjoy it without reading the other one first. And, book three, Abbie Ann, about the third daughter of Jacob Kane is slated to be published next Spring, 2010. I look forward to reading it and losing some more sleep!

Maggie Rose is called by God to leave her hometown to travel to New York City to help at the Sheltering Arms Refuge, a short-term home to keep orphans who will be transported across the country for adoption. There she meets a newspaper reporter, Luke Madison, who is assigned the job of writing a story about the home and the orphan trains. Luke has experienced heartache that has shaken his already-weak faith.

Luke and Maggie Rose are attracted to each other, but she will not allow herself to fall for someone who doesn't love the Lord like she does. They accomplish a daring rescue together and are also the targets of some shady characters. Read this book and find out how God keeps them all in His sheltering arms.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009


I'm the Recipient of the...Superior Scribbler Award

Joining me on the red carpet are the other 851 blog writers who have also received this award, including the wonderful Karen Lange, another KY writer who nominated me! You can check out her site at http://www.karenelange.blogspot.com/

And you can also check out the complete list of winners at www.scholastic-scribe@blogspot.com I tried to copy the rules but couldn't, so you will have to check out the site for yourself to read them. The first rule is to pass on this award to 5 deserving fellow bloggers so here is my list:

Rachelle Gardner whose blog on the writing profession as seen through the eyes of an agent is invaluable and one I read almost every day. Check her out at http://www.cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/ You can thank me later!

Another very helpful writing blog is http://www.kayedacus.com/ Kaye Dacus is a wonderful author who has just been published for the first time this past year, and already has three books out and another one soon to come. She is also a great editor. Right now she is doing a series on the "bad guys" in our books--those guys we love to hate, or is it hate to love?

Another great editor who has her first book (The Familiar Stranger) coming out the first of next month is Christina Berry. Check out her site at http://www.authorchristinaberry.blogspot.com/

My next pick is a group of 5 authors who jointly do a blog at http://www.writespassage.blogspot.com/ These lovely women are: Tamera Alexander, Robin Lee Hatcher, Judith Miller, Tracie Peterson, and Kim Vogel Sawyer. They all write historical fiction, although some of them also write contemporary fiction, too.

Another group of four ladies compose the http://www.girlswriteout.blogspot.com/ site. They are Kristin Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, Denise Hunter, and Diann Hunt. You'll enjoy the variety of views on this site. Plus you'll read about some of the funniest, heart-warming, chick-litty, scariest books out there--just not all in the same book!

Now, I am supposed to tell you something about me that many people don't know, so how about I took violin lessons in the second grade, I have travelled to 10 countries in Europe plus several other countries in the Western Hemisphere, and I can recite the alphabet backwards! Hope you'll check out these other sites and learn more about all these interesting authors.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

"Don't Quit--Persevere."

Since perseverance is something God has been working on in my life for a few years now, the title of the preacher's sermon this morning really caught my attention. I believe God wants me to persevere in my writing, but no matter what God wants you to persevere in, the points of the sermon will apply to you, too, so I am sharing them.

He spoke of a man whom I had never heard of before (maybe I didn't listen too well in history class?)--William Lloyd Garrison. Mr. Garrison was so against slavery that he published an Abolitionist newspaper named The Liberator from 1831-1865. The minister said Mr. Garrison sold his bed and ate practically nothing in order to use his money on the publication. You can read parts of the publication online at http://www.theliberatorfiles.com/ He published 1,803 weekly issues of The Liberator. Even when his voice was in the minority in the United States. Now that's perseverance!

I'll close with the five qualities the minister mentioned as necessary to help us to persevere. We must have:
1. vision, 2. confidence, 3. discipline, 4. hope, and 5. gratitude to God! How do you stack up? I've still got some room to grow!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

New contest, and last month's winner is...

Diana Brandmeyer! Deb Vogts debut novel Snow Melts in Spring will be on its way to her as soon as I receive her mailing info. For a glimpse at this month's contest offering, see my previous post on July 18th for info about Kaye Dacus's novel Menu for Romance. I know you will love this book and its engaging characters, so be sure to leave a post and contact info (must have US mailing addy) during the month of August. Everyone except Diana is eligible, so what are you waiting for?