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Saturday, July 5, 2025

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Barbara M Britton & Defending David!

 

Good Morning and Welcome to the first Saturday Spotlight of July 2025!

Hope your Independence Day celebrations are safe and happy.

Today we bring Barbara Britton back with her book, Defending David, part of her "Tribes of Israel" series.

Thanks for visiting us again, Barbara. Tell us what makes Defending David so special...

Thank you for having me back on the blog, Pam.

King David is a popular Bible hero and recently people have taken a renewed interest in David’s life with the drama “House of David.” Amazon Prime takes a few licenses with Scripture, but viewers tune in to see how a shepherd boy rose to power and became king over Israel.

In my novel “Defending David,” I capture David’s life when it is in turmoil. David is older and his son Absalom is determined to kill his father and claim the throne. David flees Jerusalem like a criminal. David is not fighting with armies or even a sling. David retreats in weakness.

David is still the man after God’s own heart as we read in I Samuel 13:14, and God provides a helper for David. God has a sense of humor because He sends a Philistine exile to assist David. This enemy exile has hundreds of fighting men and is sold out to the One True God. Who is this unlikely hero to David? A man with a fun name—Ittai the Gittite.

I enjoyed shining a light on Ittai and showing how David trusted him during a tumultuous time. Ittai is front and center as the buff warrior who saves an aging king, and he also finds love along the way.

Defending David” covers a chunk of Scripture in II Samuel, chapters 15-19:8. 

Wonderful! Give us more please...

Sure here's the cover, blurb and an excerpt...

When a quiet journey to Jerusalem turns tragic, newly orphaned Rimona must flee a kinsman set on selling her as a slave. Racing into the rocky hills outside of Hebron, Rimona is rescued by a Philistine commander journeying to Jerusalem with six-hundred warriors.
 
Exiled commander, Ittai the Gittite, is seeking refuge in the City of David. Protecting a frantic Hebrew woman is not in his leadership plan. Although, having a nobleman's niece in his caravan might prove useful for finding shelter in a foreign land. Rimona and Ittai arrive in Jerusalem on the eve of a rebellion. In the chaos of an heir's betrayal, will they be separated forever, or can they defend King David and help the aging monarch control his rebellious son?

Excerpt:
Stifling a laugh, Ittai surveyed the approach of the closest stranger. Why was anyone traipsing over rock and crevices in the dark when sunlight wasn’t far off? Some men had no sense. How many fools had he encountered in battle? Too many and they were dead. Crouching near a tower of rocks and a spindly sapling, Ittai unsheathed his blade. He breathed in cool air untainted with kicked-up camel dust. His eyes overcame the darkness to rest on a form breeching the top of the hill. 

Sandal slaps. Wheezing. One fool had made it to the crest. Hamuran would cut off the others. 

Nearer and nearer the climber came. Ittai swallowed. The sour taste of bile pulled his jaw tight. 

Lord, give me victory. 

The man stumbled over a rock and whimpered. 

Ittai lunged. 

He grabbed the stranger and pulled the thin frame taut to his chest. His knife rested against the flesh of the prowler’s neck. 

“Stay silent, or I will send your head thumping to the dirt.” 

His captive turned to stone. Trembling stone. 

A swell of breast rose and fell beneath Ittai’s arm. No stench of sweat or body odor offended his nose. This quivering climber smelled of scented soap even after a trek up a hill. An abundance of soft curls tickled his chin. 

He’d caught a woman. 

What was a woman doing out at night? In the wilderness? In his arms? 

He eased his blade from her neck. “I mean you no harm. I am not a foe. I will release you if you keep your voice low.” 

She nodded ever so slightly. A tiny whine escaped from her lips as if she were agreeing to his demand in earnest. 

He loosened his hold but kept her upright with a commanding grasp of her arm. A crazed or enraged woman could do harm. He had learned that in the most difficult of ways. He gave her enough slack to turn and face him in the shadows. 

“Help me,” the woman rasped. “Men are chasing me.” 

Securing his weapon, he kept his gaze centered on the gleam in her dark eyes. 

“They mean to cut out my tongue.” Her chest rose and sunk like the sea. “And sell me as a slave. My father is not a thief.” 

The woman’s eyes blinked without rest. He had only seen someone so undone under two circumstances—when he told his mother he was going off to war, or in war, when a man was pleading for his life. His mind became a fog of memories. His calm, tranquil night had been set ablaze.


AMAZING! I remember how much I enjoyed reading Defending David. Get your copy on Amazon (FREE in KU), you won't regret it!



Hope you enjoyed Barbara's visit today folks and that you'll check back every week for another Saturday Spotlight. See Barbara's other spotlights HERE.

Until next time take care and God Bless.
PamT

Saturday, June 28, 2025

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Amanda Uhl & Healing Kiss

Good Morning from San Angelo, TX.

My honey and I drove up from Bandera yesterday for drag boat races and we'll be heading out Monday morning toward NM. But enough about me.

Today's guest is brand new to our blog so please give Amanda Uhl a huge W-E-L-C-O-M-E!

Thanks for visiting with us today, Amanda. Please tell us a little about Healing Kiss and why you wrote it...

Thank You, Pam for inviting me to be in your spotlight. My inspiration for writing my paranormal romance, Healing Kiss, stems from a profound personal experience I had at a baby shower. My older sister had invited me to help out, and, being unfamiliar with the guests, I struck up a conversation with a stranger—a young woman at the event. As we delved into the topic of the paranormal, I shared some of my past experiences, including a curious ability I had to draw energy from someone’s arm and hand, causing it to feel numb.

Intrigued, the woman asked me to hold her hands. Once I did, I closed my eyes and was immediately met with a vivid vision: an orange light pulsing around a shadowy form. As I breathed, the light became more vibrant. Thinking that perhaps I was alone in this experience, I eventually released her hands and opened my eyes. To my surprise, she looked at me dazed and remarked, “Wow. It felt like someone hugged me.”

Two weeks later, I learned the incredible outcome of our encounter—this woman had been trying for years to conceive without success. After our meeting, she discovered she was pregnant and excitedly called my sister to share the happy news, insisting, “It was your sister who held my hands that made it happen.”

This remarkable incident inspired Healing Kiss. In the first chapter, when I portray the heroine’s attempts to heal her sister, I draw heavily from this authentic experience.

Oh My Goodness, what an incredible story! Give us more please...

Yeah, the memory still gives me goosebunps. Here are the blurb and an excerpt for Healing Kiss...

To save her dying sister…

Lillian Milano channels energy from the healthy to heal the sick, which makes her an incredible nurse. But her gift puts Lillian and those she loves in danger from an organization that will stop at nothing to exploit her talent. When her sister becomes gravely ill, wealthy computer genius Tristan King is the one man with enough vitality to save her sister’s life. But being near him threatens to expose her secrets and destroy the walls she’s built around her heart.

She bargains with a billionaire.

Tristan doesn’t believe in the supernatural and is wary of emotional entanglements. But his beloved mother is dying, and his lying ex-fiancĂ©e won’t leave him alone, so he strikes a deal: In exchange for his help, Lillian must pose as his date for a hospital fundraiser. As the pair work together to save their loved ones, they confront a spiraling web of secrets that threatens their growing feelings for each other. The choices they make will either destroy their lives or heal their hearts.

Excerpt: Lillian glanced at the woman, who stopped in front of Tristan. She had high cheekbones and long red hair pulled into a sleek ponytail and wore a navy dress with an open neckline and cream-colored heels. Something about her polished, model look made Lillian suspect the woman was used to attracting attention.

The woman placed a slim hand with French-manicured nails on Tristan’s chest and removed a piece of non-existent lint from his black shirt. Tristan’s expression didn’t change, but somehow Lillian sensed his laser focus. Whoever this lady was, she was important to him.

Now was the perfect time to make her escape. Lillian took a step, but a long arm snaked around hers, pulling her backward, so she nearly tumbled into him.

He caught her, his hands snagging in her hair. “Not so fast.” Tristan smiled down at her, softening his harsh features. He winked, the movement so quick, she might have imagined it.

He turned to the lady. “Hello, Angelina.” Tristan’s sounded bored. “The fundraiser is still on. I only came to visit a friend. I’m heading out now.”

Angelina ignored Lillian, leaning in close to whisper in Tristan’s ear and giving him a good frontal view of her chest. Lillian could only imagine what she said. A promise of what might happen after the party?

Tristan wrapped his arm around Lillian’s shoulder and tucked her into his side. He smelled of the sea and something else, something otherworldly, something magical, like tall evergreens under a full moon in a fierce winter snowstorm. He tilted his head and angled his face toward hers. His dark-blue eyes were the night sky, swallowing her whole.

My God, what was happening?

And then she felt it. It began where his fingers grazed her arm, traveled along her spine, caressed sensitive nerve endings, and ignited a shivering, shaking, blazing trail through her entire body. White-hot scorching energy lit the space between them. His warm breath caressed her skin.

So energetic. So thrilling. So full of life.

Lillian stood transfixed under the enchanted spell he cast. Excitement curled and unfolded in her veins. She’d found a burner—the term her mother used to describe someone with immense vitality. Someone with so much natural power, he vibrated with it. Someone who could cure a room full of invalids if he’d let her.

Someone she could use to cure Hannah.

Wow, wow, wow, what a thrilling excerpt! Please tell us a little more about yourself and where we can find you and Healing Kiss.

Award-winning author Amanda Uhl has always had a fascination with the mystical. Having drawn her first breath in a century home rumored to be haunted, you might say she was "born" into it. After a brief stint in college as a paid psychic, Amanda graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in theatre and a master's degree in marketing. Over the past twenty years, she has worked as an admissions representative and graphic designer, owned her own freelance writing company, and managed communications for several Fortune 500 companies, most recently specializing in cyber security and data. Amanda is an avid reader and writes fast-paced, paranormal romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romance from her home in Cleveland, Ohio. When she's not reading or writing, you can find Amanda with her husband and three children, gathering beach glass on the Lake Erie shoreline or biking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Visit her online at www.amandauhl.com and follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amandauhlauthor.

Healing Kiss can be found at Amazon and Other Online Retailers including Kobo, GooglePlay, Apple, etc., HERE.

Well, wish I'd realized last year I was in your neck of the woods, Amanda, I'd have sure tried to look you up.

Thanks Again for visiting. We wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with Healing Kiss.

Hope you enjoyed Amanda's visit as much as I have, friends and that you'll drop by every week for another edition of Saturday Spotlight. Be sure and check out the featured book, Austin's Ambition by Susan Anne Mason in the sidebar!

Until next time, happy reading.

PamT