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DISCLAIMER:

I do not read every book/author I spotlight or book tour I host!
Readers, Please research and use wisdom before buying

Thursday, July 30, 2015

#ThursdayThoughts: Special Guest post by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Good Morning and Welcome to the last Thursday Thoughts of July 2015!

Yeah, it goes without saying this year has flown by. It is my pleasure to bring you this special guest post by Kim Vogel Sawyer and Litfuse publicity.

When Grace Sings

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 niv

That is the focus scripture for WHEN GRACE SINGS, Book 2 in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. And boy, did I learn the truth of that verse while writing the series. My youngest granddaughter, born with multiple health challenges, arrived in the midst of the series. At the same time, my mother’s health was deteriorating. During the months of writing, I had so many interruptions to go to doctor appointments, provide emotional support, stop and pray... And deadlines don’t change just because the writer has interruptions! Time and again as I sat down at my computer, panic tried to rise up. So little time, so much to do. And somehow, with prayer, God centered my focus during those fleeting minutes and hours and the stories came to life on the computer screen. I was an emotional, weak, weary mess during the writing of this trilogy, but God’s strength saw me through. His power is always there when we feel powerless. I am so grateful for His sufficiency.

When Grace Sings is book 2 in Kim's "The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy" and can be purchased at Amazon in Print, for Kindle & Hardcover along with book 1, When Mercy Rains.

Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher someday people would check out her books in libraries. That little girl’s dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer’s Return. Since then, Sawyer has watched God expand her dream beyond her childhood imaginings. With more than 30 titles on library shelves and more than a 1.5 million copies of her books in print, she enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her books have received the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Empty-nesters, Sawyer and her retired military husband, Don, enjoy a quiet existence in small-town Kansas, the setting for many of her novels. When she isn’t writing, Sawyer stays active serving in her church’s women’s and music ministries, traveling with “The Hubs” and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings.

Keep up with Kim Vogel Sawyer at www.kimvogelsawyer.com, on Facebook (KimVogelSawyer.Author.Speaker) or by following her on Twitter (KimVogelSawyer).

Sounds like another great book by Kim. 

Stay tuned for Saturday Spotlight and come back next week for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights!

Until next time....take care & God Bless!
PamT 

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

#TuesdayTreasure: Vacation Memories

Good Morning Friends!

A little over a month ago, I mentioned I was going with my daughter and her family to Pigeon Forge, TN on a min-vacation because my Angel Girl was dancing in a national competition. At that time I promised to share some vacation memories with you but, as you know, I've had several guests lined up so was unable to do so...until today!


First let me begin by saying Bryanna and her team did wonderful, the best performance all year and received a Platinum award & National Champions in their category!

Now on to some of those other vacation memories....


Tennessee is absolutely beautiful and although I'd been in the Nashville area before, I'd never visited Pigeon Forge. We stayed at the Wilderness resort where there was a water-park that dumped 1000 gallons of water out of a huge barrel every 15 minutes or so (can't remember). Kids and adults alike enjoyed that experience!



We also visited the Hollywood Wax Museum




 and the Titanic Museum  


We walked into Wonderworks (an indoor theme park) but didn't stay due to time restraints and we stopped at a Bass Pro Shops store.



Out of all the memories, I do believe the Titanic was the most awesome and fascinating and that's a whole other blog post in itself.

All in all we had a wonderful trip despite the long drive and short stay.

Thanks for allowing me to share my vacation memories with you...I can definitely say these are some I'll treasure forever!

Until next time...take care & God Bless!
PamT







Saturday, July 25, 2015

#SaturdaySpotlight: DISGUISED BLESSINGS by Mary Manners!

Good Morning Friends,

Over the last few weeks you've heard about something Mary treasures and some of her thoughts on the seasons of life, and in each we mentioned her upcoming release, Disguised Blessings.

Well today we're spotlighting the novel itself!

Blessings linger at a fork in the road as the winds of change whisper…

Jaxon Briscoe has enjoyed a decade as the beloved star center of the Chicago Blackhawks. But off the ice, a string of reckless relationships has resulted in an accusation that he’'s fathered a child. As Jaxon'’s conscience is tossed into a firestorm, he learns his nephew, Grayson, has been expelled from school, and Jax is blindsided when Gray shows up on his doorstep--—for good.

Adrienne Price carries a heavy secret...pregnant at a young age, she gave up her daughter for adoption in the hopes that the child might have a better life. Now, Adrienne's vowed to help teens rise above unsavory situations. As a result of God'’s grace, her project, Second Chances Day School, has prospered beyond her wildest imagination. But when Jax'’s troubled nephew enrolls at Second Chances, Adrianne is faced with a big challenge in the form of a hockey player with a bad reputation and a lot of boyish charm.

Can Adrienne and Jax finally find real love?

Excerpt:
Jaxon swung open French doors leading to a corner balcony and let the warmth of late spring air wash over him. Sunlight played hide and seek with a quilt of rain clouds, and he sucked in a gentle breeze laced with the sweet, musky scent of impending rain. Along the river, Bradford Pears peaked to full bloom. The pollen wreaked havoc with his allergies, but at the moment he didn’t mind. 

I’m not a father…the baby is not mine. Thanks to negative test results, he wouldn’t be bound to Shayla for the remainder of his life.

But someone would. Obviously, she’d had more than one fish in the tank, so to speak. Jaxon didn’t know why it crawled under his skin to imagine her with someone else. He certainly  had enjoyed more than his fair share of the female persuasion, never giving a second thought to the flip side of that perspective.  His encounters had always been laid back and easy…no strings attached and certainly no expectations. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d never considered the women he enjoyed might be dabbling in more than him.

But now that that gear was turning, Jaxon couldn’t shove the idea from his mind. And  suddenly the images he conjured bothered him—very much. And the oath he’d muttered in his weakest moment came back to haunt him.

I swear I’ll do anything You ask, God, if you just let this paternity test come back negative.

Surely God wouldn’t hold him to such an oath, would He? Jaxon shook off the thought as he punched a series of numbers into the phone. Calhoun’s didn’t usually deliver this time of day but he was sure they would make an exception…for him.

Disguised Blessings releases August 7th  but you can find out about Mary's many other 36 titles HERE!

Mary Manners is an award-winning romance writer who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and the cherished cats they've rescued from local animal shelters...Lucky and Gus. She loves swimming, running, flavored coffee and Smoky Mountain sunsets.

Mary was named Author of the Year by Book and Trailer Showcase. She writes inspirational romances of all lengths, from short stories to novels—something for everyone.

Learn more about Mary Manners at her website.

Hope you enjoyed the spotlight!

Check back weekly for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights!

Until later...take care & God Bless!
PamT

Thursday, July 23, 2015

#ThursdayThoughts: More on Contests

Good Morning!

On June 4th I talked with you about contests. Well there's not much else we can say about them...except everybody loves the idea of getting something for FREE!

So today I want to tell you about a great contest TWJ Magazine is having in which they are giving away an Android Tablet loaded with Wholesome Entertainment....





Yes that's right.... Books and Music for your reading and listening pleasure and All you have to do is sign up to receive the newsletter!

Actually there are two ways to enter so visit the PAGE and get your name in there today.

Good Luck!

Also, this is not actually a contest but I wanted to let you know that my Tempered series E-Bundle is on SALE at AmazonSmashwords for 50% off thru July 31st so....if you haven't read these books yet, now is a great time to get them!

Not much else to chat about...busy, busy, busy as usual so I'll bid you ado and Blessings!

PamT



Tuesday, July 21, 2015

#TuesdayTreasure: Guest post by Kate Flora!

Good Morning Friends,

Last month Kate shared some of her thoughts with us and today she wants to share something she treasures.....


My treasure for this Tuesday is not a thing but a place. Specifically, our summer cottage on the coast of Maine. I was born in Maine many years ago, lived there until I went to college, and then came back after law school to take my dream job in the attorney general’s office. But then love and life intervened, and while I continued to think of myself as a Maniac (yes, we do sometimes calls ourselves this), I was spending most of my time in Massachusetts.

Fast forward to the year 2000. For about twenty years, we had been looking for my husband’s dream house on the ocean. For most of that twenty years, the places we looked at, when we had time to look at all with busy jobs and small children, were never what he wanted. But in January of 2000, I got a call from our realtor that he was about to list a place he thought we might like.

I jumped in the car and drove to Maine, slithered down a long set of icy steps, and entered a little 1920’s cottage perched on a rocky ledge above the sea. Unlike most of the houses we’d seen, this one had a kitchen with a view. I took a dozen pictures, had them developed, and handed them to my husband, saying I’d finally found his dream house. That weekend we came to look at the house together, and he agreed.

We’re now enjoying our fifteenth summer in the cottage, and I never get over my initial delight. I’m slowly wrestling some flower gardens from the rocky Maine soil, including some plants from my mother’s garden which make me smile whenever they bloom. The cottage faces west, so when the fog isn’t surrounding us, as it has this weekend, we get to enjoy gorgeous Maine sunsets.

It’s also a perfect place to write. The days seem so long and quiet here, interrupted only by the chirping of the birds. My co-writer, Joe Loughlin, and I hashed out the complexities of our true crime, Finding Amy, sitting on the deck overlooking the lawn. I interviewed a retired Maine game warden, Roger Guay, for his memoir about resource protection and training search and rescue and cadaver dogs, A Good Man with a Dog, in this living room. I sat at the dining table and write my Joe Burgess police procedurals.

This summer, after fourteen years of writing at opposite ends of the dining table, me writing fiction, my husband doing legal work, we added a small third-floor room which will be our new office. And now, settled at my new desk staring out through a stately white birch toward a busy lobstering harbor, I have just started a new, non-series book. With the fascination of a reader wanting to know: What happens next? I am writing the story to see who this character who came knocking on my imagination is, and why he wants his story told.

Kate Flora is the author of 14 books. Her titles include the star-reviewed Joe Burgess police series. And Grant You Peace won the 2015 Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Redemption won in 2013. Her nonfiction includes the Agatha and Anthony nominated true crime Death Dealer, and Finding Amy, co-written with Portland, Maine deputy chief Joseph Loughlin, which was a 2007 Edgar nominee. With retired Maine game warden Roger Guay, she has co-written a memoir, A Good Man with a Dog. Her next Thea Kozak mystery, Death Warmed Over, will be published in 2016.

A former Maine assistant attorney general in the areas of battered children and employment discrimination, she’s a founding member the New England Crime Bake, the Maine Crime Wave, and a founder of Level Best Books. She served as international president of Sisters in Crime. Flora teaches writing for Grub Street in Boston. Find out about all of Kate's releases including these last two at her website.

Wow, such a prolific author! We certainly wish Kate the best of God's blessings on all of her endeavors!

Hope to see you again soon for another Tuesday Treasure, Thursday Thoughts and/or Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care & God Bless.
PamT

Saturday, July 18, 2015

#SaturdaySpotlight: #RockingSummerRomanceReads with Linda McLaughlin!

Hello Friends,

Welcome to another edition of Saturday Spotlight. This week I'm pleased to bring you two  Rocking Summer Romance Reads from Linda McLaughlin.

The first is a boxed set of 11 stories titled Always & Forever Romances!

Romance Super Bundle III: Always and Forever

The follow-up to the USA Today Bestselling Romance Super Bundle II: Second Chances is available!

SKIN (book 1 of Broken but… Mending) by Dale Mayer
A journey of exploration... A journey of healing… A journey of love… Two people are forced by circumstances into a therapy class to help them deal with their problems. They are strangers. Forced to be partners. Naturally opposites.

EVIDENCE OF TRUST by Stacey Joy Netzel
Sparks fly when a headstrong wrangler & an alpha park ranger are thrown together while he’s searching for evidence to stop a poacher killing animals in RMNP. When the monster turns his sights on Brittany, Joel discovers he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.

CROSS THE LINE by Wendy Ely
Living the ‘no strings’ attached lifestyle has always worked for Leslie until she arrives in Phoenix and meets Chris Matthews. She doesn’t like bad-boys, so why can’t she keep her hands off her new neighbor? Can she let him lead her places she’s never been before?

TREASURE ON MOON LAKE by Amy Gamet
Tori Henderson has never forgotten her teenage crush, Gabe. When her mother gets engaged to Gabe’s father, Tori assumes Gabe will be at the wedding and hatches a plan to get him back. But Gabe also has a half-brother, Jed, with plans of his own to snag Tori himself.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY by Donna Marie Rogers
James is furious when his shiftless brother sells half their horse ranch to match a bet. When a golden opportunity falls into Angela’s lap, she takes it and sets out to prove she has what it takes to help James run the ranch—and ends up losing her heart to both.

HEARTS IN MOTION by Edie Ramer
Take two cats, a dog, a determined woman and her teenage sister… Add a businessman trying to do the right thing and a six-year-old girl with a damaged heart… And it’s hard to tell who is rescuing who...

OUT OF CONTROL by Kate Kelly
One night of passion turned into a crazy, unforgettable month—until Serena McGregor walked away from undercover FBI agent Nick DeMarco. Six months later, her elusive scent still haunting him, Nick risks his career to prove Serena is innocent of a million dollar theft.

LOST IN MANHATTAN by Lois Winston—A terrorist’s twisted need for revenge has claimed the lives of Sarah Montgomery’s entire family. One more kill will fulfill a promise made long ago. Can a woman who can’t remember and a man who can’t forget stop the assassin before Sarah becomes the final victim?

ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE by Barbara Phinney
Comedy, romance and a meddling family: Former beauty queen Janet Jemseg is asked to raise money for charity and ‘marry’ hunky, annoying Devon Kidder? No way! But it’s for a good cause.

LADY ELINOR’S ESCAPE by Linda McLaughlin
Lady Elinor Ashworth longs for adventure, but when she runs away from her abusive aunt, she finds more than she bargained for in Stephen Chaplin, a curious barrister determined to ferret out her secrets. Cinderella meets Mr. Darcy in this sweet Regency romance.

LORD OF DARKNESS by Ava Bradley
The night Victoria Conrad runs away doesn’t turn out at all like she planned. After being accosted by two ruffians, she is rescued by the horribly scarred Earl of Carlisle—only to discover she is his prisoner!

Released on July 6, 2015. Order at:






The next Rocking Summer Romance Read is Linda's single title, Lady Elinor's Escape...

Note: In this excerpt, Stephen shows up at the dress shop on a rainy spring day with a basket of flowers.

He handed her the basket of flowers, then shrugged out of his coat and handed it and his hat to Peggy O’Shea. She gave him a flirtatious smile in return before hanging the wet items on a nearby rack.

Elinor stepped forward. “Flowers, Mr. Chaplin?”

He turned toward her. “Ah, Mrs. Brown. Yes, I thought these spring blossoms just the thing to brighten Madame Latour’s shop on such a dismal day.”

“How very kind you are,” said Ellie. “But an entire basketful?”

He smiled. “The young girl selling them was in despair over the lack of customers. She appeared to be almost drowned and nearly in tears, so I bought all she had, including the basket.”

“And paid far more than they were worth, I am certain,” Elinor murmured.

“Did you say something, Mrs. Brown?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Nothing of importance.”

He rummaged through the basket and produced a nosegay of bluebells, which he presented to Dolly. “These are for you, to match your eyes.”

Her blue eyes grew wide with wonder as she accepted the nosegay. “Oh, sir, no one ever give me flowers afore.”

“Well, I am certain this will not be the last time,” he said gallantly. Ignoring Dolly’s worshipful look, he returned to the basket for another nosegay, white violets this time, which he gave to Peggy.

She bobbed him a curtsy. “Oh, thank ye, yer lordship.”

He gave her a warm smile. “You are very welcome, Miss O’Shea. But I am not a lord, merely a mister.”

“No matter. ’Tis a fine gentleman ye are, to be thinking of us working girls.”

“Girls, why do you not go on home?” Mimi asked. “You have all worked so very hard today, and there will be no more customers, n’est-ce-pas?”

With glad smiles for Mimi, and more thanks and curtsies for Stephen Chaplin, the girls donned their cloaks and left the shop.

“I will get a vase for these lovely flowers,” Mimi said. “Please come into the parlor, Monsieur Chaplin, and warm yourself by the fire. I have made the coffee and there is water for tea.”

“Thank you,” Stephen Chaplin said. He delved into the basket one last time before handing it to Mimi. As she left the room, he handed Elinor a bunch of purple violets.

Elinor held them to her nose and breathed in the sweet, delicate fragrance. “‘A violet in the youth of primary nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,’” she quoted.

“‘The perfume and suppliance of a minute; no more,’” he added softly.

Startled, she gazed into his warm honey-brown eyes and her pulse began to race. She would have to guard her heart around this man? Why did he have to have such an effect on her? Was it simply because he was the only eligible gentleman she had ever known?

No, a gentleman who brought flowers to poor shop girls and quoted Shakespeare was surely out of the ordinary. What a catch he would be for some young lady. But of course, not for her.

Buy links:



Linda McLaughlin grew up with a love of books and history, so it's only natural she prefers writing historical romance. She loves transporting her readers into the past where her characters learn that, in the journey of life, love is the sweetest reward. 

Linda also writes steamy to erotic romance under the name Lyndi Lamont, and is one half of the writing team of Lyn O'Farrell.

You can find her online at http://lindalyndi.com/ 
Twitter: @Lyndi Lamont https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont

Well Friends hope you enjoyed today's spotlight!

Be sure and check back weekly for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and of course Saturday Spotlight.

Oh and just in case you're interested, TWJ Magazine is giving away an Android Tablet loaded with a collection of wholesome books! Enter to win today!

Until next time...take care & God Bless!
PamT

Thursday, July 16, 2015

#ThursdayThoughts with Mary Manners!

Good Morning!

Last Tuesday fellow Pelican Book Group author, Mary Manners shared with us something she treasures well today she's sharing a few thoughts about the colors of life.....

Life is like the changing colors of trees that line a sun-kissed horizon. Throughout our daily walk, we go through phases of bloom and loss, fullness and barrenness, vibrancy and brittle dullness, just as trees do. Through each phase, the roots of the trees remain strong and steadfast, like the roots of our faith and the promise of our Father’s unending love. No storm can conquer, no season destroy what God has put into place.
How does inspirational romance fit into the colors of our lives? Well, a good Christian romance is filled with a message that inspires hope and strengthens faith. For a brief time, the reader is transported to a place where, although the characters may not be perfect (is anyone…really?) they manage to find their way together. Love and faith shine like beacons, reminding readers there is always hope and a future for us—even during the driest, most colorless season, when all appears dull and lifeless.
I truly believe the colors of life are ever-changing to keep us aware and appreciative of God’s many precious gifts, given to each and every one of us. Romance is one of these gifts…a gift to be savored.

What do you think of the colors of life, and what season are you in? What inspirational romance has given you a bushel of hope? Please share your thoughts with us!

Mary Manners is an award-winning romance writer who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and the cherished cats they've rescued from local animal shelters...Lucky and Gus. She loves swimming, running, flavored coffee and Smoky Mountain sunsets.
Mary was named Author of the Year by Book and Trailer Showcase. She writes inspirational romances of all lengths, from short stories to novels—something for everyone.
Learn more about Mary Manners at her website: www.MaryMannersRomance.com.
Mary's latest creation, Disguised Blessings releases in August from Pelican Book Group. Find out more about her many other titles HERE.

Hope you enjoyed the post and have a Blessed day!
PamT

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

#TuesdayTreasure: Guest Post by Marion Ueckermann

Good Morning Friends and Welcome to another edition of Tuesday Treasures!

Today we welcome fellow Pelican Book Group author, Marion Ueckermann back to our blog with something she treasures....

It’s a little difficult to make out my Tuesday Treasure—that’s because it’s really, really, really old. In fact, this piece of paper, handwritten in 1891, is nearly 124 years old. Its shape, no longer square, has an arc to its edges due to the magic tape holding it all together.

This is my grandfather, Adam Morrison’s birth certificate. He was born on November 5th, and every year skies across the world are set ablaze with fireworks celebrating his birth. Joking...but I always thought it pretty cool that he was born on Guy Fawkes Day.
You’re probably thinking this is a strange treasure, but I guard this document with my life. That’s because this birth certificate gives me the right to hold a British Passport. Yet, I’m the only one of my siblings to have this amazing privilege. Why, you ask. Because this document alone is not enough to make me, or my siblings, a British citizen. However, combine this with my own birth certificate and voila—one British passport.
I was born in Northern Rhodesia, a British colony at the time of my birth. Two years later the country got independence from the United Kingdom and in 1964 changed the name to Zambia. My country of birth, combined with my paternal grandfather being born in the UK—Scotland to be more precise—has allowed me to be issued with a British passport, classifying me as a British citizen. Although my siblings can apply for an Ancestral Visa to live and work in the UK for five years with this birth certificate, they cannot get a British passport.
Oh, the privileges that have come with this document. But then, as the most widely travelled in our family, I guess God knew I’d need it the most when he planned my birth in Zambia.
I planned a little Zambian birth, too. My novella, Orphaned Hearts, which released independently this Friday, July 10th, and as part of the SPLASH! boxed set in June, is set on the banks of the mighty Zambezi River in Zambia. It’s an amazing place to visit, and you can do so from the comfort of your armchair...no passport required. So why not sit back, relax, and take a trip to Africa with me?

Will his past, or her future, keep their hearts orphaned?
When his wife dies in childbirth, Zambian conservationist Simon Hartley pours his life into raising his daughter and his orphan elephants. He has no time, or desire, to fall in love again. Or so he thinks.
Wanting to escape English society and postpone an arranged marriage, Lady Abigail Chadwick heads to Africa for a year to teach the children of the Good Shepherd Orphanage. Upon her arrival she is left stranded at Livingstone airport…until a reluctant Simon comes to her rescue.
Now only fears born of his loss, and secrets of the life she’s tried to leave behind, can stonewall their romance, budding in the heart of Africa.

                                         Purchase Links:

I’d love to interact with readers at any of the following places:

WEBSITE       http://marionueckermann.com/
TWITTER       https://twitter.com/ueckie


Follow the tour tomorrow:
Wednesday 15th ~ A Wednesday Wander to the Sycamore Fig

Marion Ueckermann’s passion for writing was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then she has published devotional articles and stories in Winners, The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miraculous Messages from Heaven.

Marion loves writing Contemporary Inspirational Romances set in novel places and has three Passport to Romance novellas published and contracted through White Rose Publishing, a Pelican Book Group imprint: her debut novella, Helsinki Sunrise; Oslo Overtures (August 2015); and Glasgow Grace (2016).

She lives in Pretoria East, South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally.

 Wow! Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Treasure as much as I did! See you in a couple of days for Thursday Thoughts and then Saturday Spotlight!

Until later...take care & God Bless!
PamT

Saturday, July 11, 2015

#SaturdaySpotlight: Katie Clark & Vanquished!

Good Morning and Welcome!

Today it is with great pleasure I bring to you another Pelican Book Group author, Katie Clark with her book Vanquised, the first in a YA Dystopian "Enslaved" series.


When Hana’s mom is diagnosed with the mutation, she confesses to Hana she doesn’t know what will happen if she dies.  Fischer, a medic at the hospital, implies there is Someone who can help–but religion’s been outlawed. 
Hana embarks on a dangerous journey, seeking the answers Fischer insists are available. But when the truth is uncovered, will Hana stick to what she's been taught?  Or will she join the rebellion and take a stand against an oppressive society?
Vanquished can be purchased at Amazon (Kindle) and at Pelican Book Group in Ebook & Print.

Watch the book trailer HERE!

Excerpt: The door to the stairs is beside the old elevator shafts. I reach out and feel the cool metal doors. They reflect my image back to me, but I don’t pay attention to that. I’ve seen enough of my short blond hair and not-so-tall stature, but I’ve never actually seen elevators before. I wish the doors would open, and I could peek inside. Riding up to the third floor would be even better, but no one has enough electricity allowance to run elevators, not even the hospital I guess.

I make the climb to the third floor without even getting winded, and more manufactured lighting greets me. Long bulbs line the ceiling. These lights are brighter than the lamps downstairs, and they make an odd buzzing noise. I stumbled into a beehive once, and the angry bees buzzed a lot like the lights.

There are so many rooms down the long hallway, I can’t imagine there would ever be enough sick people to fill them all, but then I remember what they tell us about the Early Days. There were a lot more people back then. Now there are so few people I think we could all fit in this hospital together. How would it feel to be around so many people, all the time? Would it feel crowded? I don’t think so. I think it would feel safe.

The hallway is empty, but a faint beeping comes from down the hall. I pass an old desk on my way toward the beeping. A dumpy computer sits on the desk. People still have those?

I pass one door, two doors, and then an irritated voice stops me in my tracks.

“We could give her chemo at the onset to slow things down a bit, and then start the natural healing. The least we can do is to give her a fighting chance. She’s a Middle, after all.” It’s a woman’s voice, coming from the room with the faint beeping. Her tone is hushed and angry.

I look at the piece of paper that’s been tacked to the wall outside the room.

Maya Norfolk.

~ ~ ~ ~ 
Katie began writing novels while still in high school, and she never let her dream die. Today she lives in North Alabama where she works with children, and advocates for childhood cancer charities such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Katie has sixteen books for children and teens published or under contract. She is a member of ACFW and has worked with children and teens for over ten years in the preschool, elementary, and high school setting, and she spends her free time writing and presenting at writer’s workshops. Vanquished is her first novel.
Find out more by visiting her Website, or connecting with her on Facebook, Twitter and GoodReads.

Well friends if you love YA Christian fiction be sure and check out Katie's Enslaved series. Stay tuned too, because we're going to feature each one of these books all the way through!

Hope you have a Blessed weekend!
PamT

Thursday, July 9, 2015

#ThursdayThoughts on Responsibilty

Good Afternoon Friends!

If you've followed me long, you know I normally post my blog early...well occasionally I'll post Thursday Thoughts on Friday, but for the most part I'm on time or early.

Well that was my intention this morning until a LARGE piece of cardboard flew out of a garbage truck, hit my windshield, bounced off then went under my truck!

Thank God no one was hurt nor did it cause a major accident, but the fog light on my truck was broken and a rubber shield that attaches to my bumper was torn off!


My nephew tried to tape the light up but the bracket was broken so that didn't hold.

I had to re-tape it.

Boy was I upset!

Anyway, I called the company and explained to the voice mail box what had happened.

Within a few minutes I received a return call. The gentleman said he'd take care of it and set up for me to go to one of his clients' body shop.

Luckily they were able to fix it right then and there.

This is a perfect example of taking responsibility!

So many people now days refuse to do so and others are so ready to sue someone they don't even try to resolve issues peacefully.

I must say I am so grateful to God we were able to get this repaired with no hassle.

Hope you're having a great day friends and enjoy a Blessed weekend!

Until later...take care & God Bless.
PamT