#SaturdaySpotlight is on Judy Davis & Willie my Love!

Good Morning and Welcome to the LAST Saturday Spotlight of June 2019!

No, I can't believe this year is half over either, but I'm excited about all that's transpired and blessings yet to come.

I pray you are too.

Today's guest is no stranger to our blog. Judy has been in our spotlight before and has shared treasures and thoughts with us but today we get a peek into her newest release, Willie my Love!

Can two stubborn hearts find love under the tall white pines?

The year is 1856. White pine is king of the forest.
       The last thing Jonathan Wain wants to do is ride miles through Pennsylvania’s wilderness to help his father’s logging partner in the small settlement of Clearfield. His family owns clipper ships in the Chesapeake Bay that carry the coveted logs to the markets each spring, and they can’t afford a loss.
       The last thing Wilhelmina Wydcliffe wants is a handsome sea captain from Maryland meddling in her father’s logging operations under attack by unknown enemies. A feisty tomboy and better known as Willie to her crews, she has a dream to be the largest logging operator east of the Mississippi River.
       When both Willie’s and Jonathan’s lives are threatened, they are forced to work together to find their enemies before both of their companies are in shambles.

       But as their attraction to each other escalates, can they set aside their differences, unearth the truth and troublemakers, and discover contentment in each other’s arms?

EXCERPT:

Smiling, Jonathan took Willie’s proffered hand and shook it, without releasing it. “To show you I bargain in good faith, I offer your pistol as well.” With his free hand, he pulled her small, single shot, dueling pistol from his waistcoat and placed it in her open palm.

“But I have absolutely nothing to trade,” she said with a haughty theatrical voice.

“Ah, ha,” he whispered, pulling her close to him. “A kiss, perhaps?”

Her voice exploded as she tried to push him away. “Why you arrogant scoundrel, I ought to shoot you with this gun.”

His face moved closer. She gasped in surprise before his mouth swooped down on her lips. The kiss was brief, but soft and bewitching, and when he released her, she skidded safely backward.

“Now tell me,” he crooned in a velvet voice. “Why do you carry a loaded pistol?”

“For rattlesnakes.” Her hand fell to her side, the pistol enclosed in the folds of her dress.

“And the knife?”

“To cut off their rattles.”

He laughed, his hearty chuckles filling up the room and silence around them. “I'd rather sit naked with the rattlesnake than with you so heavily armed.”

Judy Ann Davis began her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television in Scranton, PA. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications and has written for industry and education throughout her career.

Over a dozen of her short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines, and anthologies, and have received numerous awards. To date, she was written five novels, a collection of short stories, and a novella. Her works encompass romance, mystery, western, and paranormal in the historical as well as the contemporary arena. Her last novel, Four White Roses, was a finalist in the Book Excellence and Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie awards.   

When Judy Ann is not behind a computer, you can find her looking for anything humorous to make her laugh or swinging a golf club where the chuckles are few.

She is a member of Pennwriters, Inc. and Romance Writers of America, and lives in Central Pennsylvania.

VISIT HER ON:

Her blog: www.judyanndavis.blogspot.com

The Web: www.judyanndavis.com

Facebook: Judy Ann Davis Author

Twitter: @JudyAnnDavis4

Uh, oh Judy, you've got me hooked! What a wonderful scene. Thanks for sharing. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new book.

Hope you enjoyed the spotlight friends. You can get a copy of Willie my Love at Amazon.

I pray blessings over you and yours and hope you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and, as always, Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends with Tina Fausett

Good Morning!

Today we're visiting with a guest that has not appeared on our blog before so please welcome Tina Fausett who writes Erotic Paranormal books!

Thanks for having me. I'm Tina Fausett and I’m a writer. Life happens then I write. I’ve been very fortunate to have had so many wonderful adventures and to have lived in California, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and New Orleans, the place I love most (next to my front porch), and I incorporate them all in my books. I write about love, romance, heartbreak, erotica, family, friends, the government, the IRS, the users, losers and abusers…the haters, naysayers and people who want to suck the life right out of you. I try to get real. I write from experience. I write from life. I write about depression and elation, relationships and loneliness…the good, the bad, the ugly and the exquisite and beautiful. I even write about how life can be so “daily”.

I have two grown children, Autumn Abernathy and Zachary McCall. And there’s my granddaughter, Rhiannon Elizabeth, preparing for her last year of college. I am so proud of them and they are my life. I’ve owned an antique store, art gallery and pickle company that I use in my series 'A Shift in the Universe' (Swamp Witch Pickles). I’ve had battles and failures but have had to pick myself up and keep going. I've been married twice and twice divorced. I’ve traveled to amazing places. I’ve loved, I’ve been hurt, and my hearts been broken so many times, I often wonder if it can be made whole again, yet I’m always grateful. I’m no different from anyone else out there. Everyone's got a story, and I love to sit on my porch with friends and family and hear them. I am so often humbled and awed.

Now, I write books and I’m doing a blog to share stories, hopefully inspire and give hope.

I took a break from writing for a few months and one of my friends noticed a post about a book of mine on Facebook. She commented, "I see you're back to writing."

I responded, "Yes, I can only handle small breaks. It's like holding your breath as long as you can, but you finally have to let it out and start breathing again."

That's how I feel about writing.

~~~~

Wow, Tina! I do believe that's how most of us feel about writing and it is SO wonderful to get back to it after a break, isn't it?! Now please tell us a little about your book.

A jealous, malevolent wife hooked on prescription drugs, a husband caught between reality and carnal fantasies, and an angel cast from heaven, are all bound together by their hatred for one woman whose spells and manifestations catch them in a downward spiral towards hell...Gina Faulkner, thought to be a voodoo queen, owner of Swamp Witch Pickles in New Orleans, is the center of it all.

Bane Colton, dangerous and cocky, sees Gina at the French Market and the game is on. He makes up his mind he's going to break the feisty redhead with the infamous kinky reputation, body and soul. And Gina's ready to be a player, until Bane’s estranged and demented wife, Beverly, wants him back.

Enter enigmatic Darsh, known to many as the Angel of Death, who’s watched over Gina since she was fifteen and has loved her almost as much as he’s hated her. Now they would come face to face. He could save her from certain peril, but could never save her from herself. Would she destroy them all and remain an unbroken beauty? At the very least, a shift in the universe was coming.

Excerpt: 

He left the car and walked across the street. Running his hand over the wrought iron gate, he remembered how she’d called to him with her eyes, like a siren in Greek mythology, luring him in. Even at that tender age, she posed the threat of impending doom, standing in her pink, low-cut disco dress, her breasts pushed up to show an ample cleavage, without exposing the nipples. Her coppery-red hair was wild and tantalizing, her face innocent and sensuous all at the same time, the sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheeks delectable, as she stood rocking on platform heels.

He looked up at the porch, and the original gas lamp was still flickering after all these years, just like it had the night they stood gazing into each other’s eyes. He took a deep breath of the air, filled with all the heady scents of laurel, gardenia, tuberose, ginger, orange blossoms, and dozens of other flowers, and was filled with sadness. He wished he could be that boy again, knowing what he knew now. If he could go back, he would whisk her into his arms and take her away…he would have saved her from herself. But God didn’t give do-overs.

He sighed and looked at the capitals of the columns, as he used to do and, suddenly, it hit him. One was slightly different than the other three. He hadn’t seen it before. Does age make us see more clearly? Shaking his head, he answered his own question. It couldn’t. When I looked at Gina today, I saw her just like I had back then, an unbroken beauty, who needs saving from certain peril.

Wow, sounds like an amazing story Gina! We certainly wish you good luck and God's blessings with it.

Hope you enjoyed this week's edition of Wednesday Words with Friends and that you'll check back weekly for more interesting visits with friends and of course, Saturday Spotlight.

Meanwhile, connect with Tina on her Blog, FB, Twitter @TinaFausett & FB Author Page  @tinafausettauthor and get your copy of Unbroken Beauty at Amazon.

Until next time take care and God Bless!
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Katie Clark & Whispering Tower!

Good Morning!

I drove up to Toledo Bend on Thursday to spend the weekend camping and fishing. Really loving time out in nature and on the water. Hope YOUR weekend is as lovely!

Katie Clark is not new to our blog. She has shared thoughts and treasures and been in our spotlight before, but today we're getting a peek into her latest novel, Whispering Tower so please extend her a big 'ole Southern (or Northern/Eastern/Western)  W-E-L-C-O-M-E!!

Whispering Tower is book 2 in my Beguiled Series, which is a set of modern day stories with elements of mystery, the supernatural, and a little bit of romance. Each is a standalone, so you don’t have to read them in order! Shadowed Eden is #1.

Here’s a little more about Whispering Tower, and you can read a short excerpt below!

BLURB:

Stuck in London for one of her mom’s work trips, Skye Humphries can’t help holding a grudge when she ends up roped into a summer tour group with Philip-who-crushed-her-heart. But when Skye and Philip find themselves barreling through time after unsuspectingly opening the veil between the past and present, they’re thrust into a world where Skye’s very life is in danger. If she’d known her choices were between summering with Philip or being sacrificed to the god of the skies, Skye might have changed her attitude. Now she must figure out what’s most important to her—getting even for the past or having a future.

EXCERPT

Present Day

Skye

Skye stared at Big Ben in the distance, watched it tick away the time, taking her life with it. A few blocks from her hotel window, the London Eye Ferris wheel rose toward the sky. Tourists and locals mingled in the streets around it, preparing to start their day. Too bad she wouldn’t be starting hers down at the London Eye, instead of with breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

“You’re not ready yet?” Mom’s impatient voice came from the door between their plush hotel rooms.

Skye kept her mouth shut. She hated these trips, but she tried not to take it out on Mom. Most kids at school would kill for a parent who travelled the world and took their teen along, but long hours away from home, while Mom worked eighteen-hour days? Not fun. At least at home, she had the soup kitchen where she volunteered and the people who volunteered with her. The people who had become her friends.

Here? She was on her own. Dad had offered to let Skye stay with him, and she’d almost said yes. Almost.

“I’ll be ready.” She turned back to the window, her gaze going back to Big Ben.

“Still working on homework?” Mom moved into the room. She glanced over Skye’s shoulder. Skye looked at her laptop screen. She’d been working through a lesson on ancient Mesopotamia from Mr. Kilpatrick’s class. Now, that was something to smile about. The rituals of the ancient peoples fascinated her. She’d gone over the information a few dozen times with her history teacher. He was great about video chatting with her, delving deeper into the customs, languages, and religions used four thousand years ago. He’d even helped her narrow down the best college choices if she planned to pursue archeology. Someone had to help her, since Mom never had the time.

“I’m about halfway through.” Really, she should have been done hours ago. The time difference between Tennessee and London had jarred her, and she’d been awake forever. Besides, last time she’d slept was on the plane, and she’d had a bad dream she didn’t want to repeat. But Mom had mentioned breakfast with her business partner and his son, Philip Matthews, and Skye was hoping Mom would let her skip if she hadn’t finished her school work yet.

“You’ll have lots of time to finish it later,” Mom said. OK, not skipping breakfast. “Go get ready,” Mom called over her shoulder as she moved back to her own room.

Skye stayed put, her gaze going back to that clock. Big Ben, telling time for a hundred and fifty years. If only those fancy clock hands could wind backward. Back to a week ago, when Mom had announced the London trip. Back to just before she’d told Dad, and he’d invited her to stay with him and his new wife, Gloria. She’d asked Mom, and Mom had freaked. Yeah, she definitely would stop herself from asking that question.

Besides, Dad had only invited her out of pity. His eyes had been anything but welcoming. She winced at the painful memory and quickly turned back to her laptop. After saving her work and shutting down the computer, she moved to the bathroom for a shower. Thick, plush carpet softened every footstep, and floor to ceiling windows lined an entire wall of her room. Three different shower heads blasted steamy water against the fancy tiles, and Skye took a deep breath. She would make it through this breakfast. Make it through this trip. As always. She’d already contacted All Nations Church, for whom she’d done benevolence work on past London trips. Keeping busy was the best way to keep her mind off of things like Mom yanking her around, and Dad patronizing her. And staying on the same hotel floor as Philip Matthews—for an entire summer.

The hot water was good at burning away the bad feelings, allowing her body to relax and her mind to wander. Steam swirled through the bathroom, and Skye took another deep, cleansing breath. Everything would be fine. The billowing steam fogged up the mirror. It reminded her of something. Billowing sand? She frowned. The dream. She had been somewhere dry and dusty. Alone? No, not alone, but she couldn’t remember who had come. Mrs. Garrison, one of the women who frequented the soup kitchen where she helped out back home, would call Skye’s dream déjà vu. Skye always smiled along with Mrs. Garrison’s crazy beliefs, but she didn’t go for stuff like déjà vu. Seeing into the future--or past? A little too hard to believe.

KATIE CLARK started reading fantastical stories in grade school and her love for books never died. Today she reads in all genres; her only requirement is an awesome story! She writes young adult speculative fiction, including her romantic fantasy novel, The Rejected Princess, a supernatural survival series including Shadowed Eden and Whispering Tower, AVAILABLE NOW, and her dystopian Enslaved Series. You can connect with her at her website, as well as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Wow, Katie, sounds like another GREAT book!

Good luck and God's blessings with it.

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and another Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends

Good Morning Friends!

As with my previous Tuesday Treasures and Thursday Thoughts posts, I try to share something with you on occasion. Looking back I only found a handful of times I actually posted something myself instead of for someone else. Although I LOVE sharing other authors' stories, treasures, thoughts and tips, I'm determined to be more active in visiting with  my reader's on a personal level.

So much has happened since I spent time with you in the Spotlight!

This year I've traveled to SC, the FL Keys!!!, OK (for a writing retreat!!) and TX (to visit my son) as well as to teach at TX Gulf Coast Writers Guild's 1 day conference in April and at their monthly meeting this past weekend.

I LOVE teaching what I've learned over the years as a writer/author/editor/publisher/promotions person.

I also love helping other authors get their work published. With that in mind, let me tell you about my most recent client and her book. Another client gave me Keyon's name and said she would be calling me. Lo and behold, before she did, we ran into each other at the gym! (Don't'cha just love how God works?!)  Anyway, she contacted me earlier this year and we got her book, Tucked in HIM: 9 Days of Prayer for Headship and Covering out this month. This is a BEAUTIFUL prayer book and I am truly honored and humbled to be a small part of it. The book is available on Kindle and in Print so if you love prayer books, check this one out!!

I hope to have Keyon as a guest here on the blog sometime later this year. We're pretty booked up for a while but I'll get her here with a peek into this wonderful title.

As I mentioned, in May I went to OK for a writing retreat. While there, I got my mojo back and have been working steadily on My Heart Weeps, a novel that takes us on Melina Ryker's journey through widowhood into new life as a full-fledged, gallery-worthy artist. I'm looking forward to finishing this book soon and working on something else. I've promised Tempered Truth for quite some time now, so that may be the next one to finish.

Speaking of the Tempered books, Tempered Hearts is now in Audio!

Yep! That's another thing I've been working on these past six months! I listed the book on ACX last fall but things feel through the cracks with Medicare AEP, injury to my arm and the holidays. So, in January I contacted the narrator again and we got busy. She finished recording at the end of March/early April. I had to review the files. After a couple rounds where she made corrections, the book went live last week!

For new visitors who don't know about this book, here's the Blurb: Rancher Craig Harris and veterinarian Tamera Collins clash from the moment they meet.  Innocence is pitted against arrogance as tempers rise and passions ignite to form a love as pure as the finest gold, fresh from the crucible and as strong as steel.  Thrown together amid tragedy and unsated passion, Tamera and Craig share a strong attraction that neither accepts as the first stages of love.  Torn between desire and dislike, they must make peace with their pasts and God in order to open up to the love blossoming between them.  It is a love that nothing can destroy when they come to understand that only when hearts are tempered, minds are opened and wills are softened can man discern the will of God for his life.

And an EXCERPT: Craig’s breath escaped with a moan as desire rocketed through him. Her shy, inexperienced passion affected him more than any expert touch he ever knew. “Oh, Lord,” he breathed. “You’ve presented me with the physical manifestation of temptation. Help me,” he groaned.

It was Tamera’s turn to grin. “Call on someone closer, Craig,” she teased.

He laughed. “Right. I don’t think He’d appreciate me consorting with a witch, and a seductive one at that.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “If I were a witch, of any sort, I’d turn you into a frog. Just like that,” she snapped her fingers. “There’d be one less arrogant jerk for the world to put up with.”

His high-pitched voice, punctuated with frog-like croaks, reduced her to a helpless mass of giggles as he begged her to kiss him again and turn him back into her prince. She turned her nose up haughtily, ignoring his pleas until she could no longer resist. With the regality of a queen bestowing favors on a lowly knight, she lowered her lips to his cheek.

😏 💓 😍

I have a few audio copies to give away. In fact, I'm having a special giveaway for my Newsletter Subscribers only. So if you're not subscribed, do so today and then leave a comment on this blog post and I will send you the link to the contest.

If you prefer Print or Ebook, Tempered Hearts is available at Amazon (Kindle), B&N (Nook) and at Smashwords for other E-reader versions.

The first half of this year has been busy but, as a Medicare agent, I'm about to enter the craziest season at my day job. We've already begun setting up training for the 2020 Medicare changes and products.

Regardless, I hope to share personal posts with you on a regular (well maybe semi-regular) basis.

I'd LOVE to know what YOU'VE been up to these past six months!

Leave a comment and who knows? I just might give away an audio copy of Tempered Hearts right here today.

Until next time, good luck and God's blessings to EACH of YOU!
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Stanley (S.P) Brown and The Legacy!

Good Morning!

Last month I introduced you to Stanley Brown when he gave us a peek into his novel Fallen Wizard. Today Stanley shares a peek into his novel, The Legacy so please give him a great, big o'le SWLA welcome!

Harry Black has a curse he doesn’t understand, or could it be a gift he can’t escape? He’s the last heir of a dying clan, but there’s a problem. To inherit, he must fulfill the only stipulation in the will—accept the Black family Legacy. After seven weeks of the same nightmare, Harry is desperate to see a psychologist to be “cured.” But instead of help at the hands of Dr. Virginia Rankin, Harry falls headlong into the legacy’s grip when he experiences an ecstatic utterance and inexplicably reveals information to her that he couldn’t possibly know.

Shocked that this stranger has knowledge of her family’s dark secret, Ginny makes a frantic call to her brother. The call makes the Minority Whip of the US Senate late for a meeting at a world economic summit in DC, delaying him long enough to avoid a terrorist bombing that kills two other senators and dozens more innocent people. By saving the life of Dr. Rankin’s famous brother, Harry has also sealed his own fate. Wanted or not, the Legacy has finally come to him.

The Legacy Excerpt

The air shimmered where the surf reached the zenith of its climb up the beach, as though a sudden blast of heat had radiated from the bowels of the earth. Arie Peeters materialized and checked the GPS in his watch to confirm his location. A stiff wind blowing in from the Gulf of Oman peppered his white shirt with spray. He didn’t care. He wouldn’t be stuck in this shithole very long.

The cry of gulls filled the air as Peeters got his bearings. He turned east and let his senses drift out. In a moment, his own working wafted to him as a combination of smell and touch. He threw his cigarette to the sand and lifted his head higher, arms spread and extended from his body. He couldn’t see them, but his contacts were there in the dark, waiting about a hundred meters off. The cigarette’s dying embers vanished as a flood of lights from several motor vehicles backlit the silhouettes of three men. More Jihadist bastards were near, just over the dunes to his right, but he didn’t need his special ability to know this. He expected nothing less of his three contacts. They would make sure he’d come alone. He chuckled, imagining the confusion of the watchers as they puzzled over how he had gotten ashore.

Peeters dropped the bag containing the cash just out of reach of the surf. The message was clear. He would go no farther. His three contacts gave each other sideways glances and started toward him at once. The money was a powerful draw, an inducement to get them here. It would give them something to inspect. The promise of ten million more would keep him safe from any treachery these three might hatch.

It had taken too long to piece this part of the operation together, almost a year of bribing and plying them with sex on the yacht, waiting for him far enough off shore to remain unseen. He’d convinced these three principals they would be needed, not their underlings. It had also taken a fair amount of aeromancy to pull it off, but he had managed it with his own power.

Sounds like another hit, Stanley! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings!

Nothing fascinates me like writing, creating stories, or sub-creating as JRR Tolkien referred to it. And, of course, to write and write well, one must read widely. It started early in my life and continues to this day. But, long before I began writing stories, I was working long hours as a college professor, squeezing in time whenever I could find the time to work my hobby—which I began in earnest almost 20 years ago.

Readers can find me at the following locations....

Twitter @StanleyPBrown, Website, Amazon Black Opal Books and
FaceBook

The Legacy can be found at B&N, Kobo and Smashwords

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends with Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger

Good Morning!

I'm LOVING this weather here in SW LA! Cool mornings, hot afternoons. Enjoy opening up the windows and letting fresh air in when possible. This is my idea of perfect weather and I wish it would stay this way. All. The. Time.

Alas, perfection in any area doesn't last long. Life is always moving, always changing, always evolving and hopefully we're growing right along with it. I know, change isn't always easy and sometimes we're dragged into it kicking and screaming LOL!

Today our guests speak to us about Ending a Novel Series so please welcome Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger!

Accomplishing the Final Book

My husband, Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Mysteries, a hardboiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our new book, GAME TOWN, is set in Hollywood and exposes a scandal that rocks the toy industry in Los Angeles. GAME TOWN is the fifth and final book of the series.

We knew that GAME TOWN was going to be the last book of the series. We also wanted to write this series as an episode series. That is, someone can pick up anyone of our books and enjoy the story instead of starting in the middle and getting confused. Also, we began writing the series keeping in mind what kind of endings we could use.

There were several things we wanted to accomplish with this final book. We wanted to:
- tie-up loose ends by taking care of the lingering questions throughout each book.
-re-orient our characters so the readers would know that they would be okay in their next phase of life.

Tying-up loose ends was easy since we kept notes on all our characters, their flaws and goals. However, after the joy ride of 1950s Hollywood, it was coming to an end. And re-orienting our characters was tough.

  Re-orienting our characters was difficult. We had been living with them for five years.  It was sad. Not because each character had sad endings, but because our relationship with them was coming to an end. It was like ending a relationship with dear friends or moving away.

We wanted to be sure our readers were happy that the  major question about the death of Skylar Drake's beautiful wife and sweet daughter was answered. And to be sure our characters did not have sad endings but that everything would work out okay, not necessarily happily ever after, but okay.

It was bittersweet  as we wrote the last chapter. Sadness swept over us when we held the finished manuscript in our hands for the first time. The realization that we would not be writing any more new adventures for them. And that we would not be moving the characters forward.

One of our readers asked,  "What about Fan Fiction?"

Sure, why not. Some of our fans have tried it and said it was fun. So it can be done. Remember,  just because we are not writing the story doesn't mean you need to stop the story.

Many have asked, "What are you going to do now?"

We will continue to write separately and together, more books and short stories as well as essays or articles as we come across them. And though we are not writing about Skylar Drake and his friends, the memory of the plots, sub plots and people in his life will be fond memories.


GAME TOWN is the fifth and final book in the series and yes...we are still married!

That's wonderful Janet & Will! Having written my Tempered Series, I can definitely identify! 

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn write individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57.  Janet has published seven mystery novels and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, GAME TOWN,  the fifth and final book in the series, will be available April 15, 2019 and yes...we are still married!

Find out  more about Janet and Will at the following locations...

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/janet.lynn.5477 

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=nav_responsive_tab_home

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanetLynn4

Blog: http://janetelizabethlynnauthor.blogspot.com/

e-mail: janet_lynn51@yahoo.com

website: www.janetlynnauthor.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contact info for Will:

Twitter:  @Will_Zeilinger

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/wzeilinger

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/william-zeilinger/15/48/9a7/

website: http://www.willzeilingerauthor.com

blog: http://www.booksbywilzeilinger.blogspot.com

Get a sneak peek into Game Town on last month's Saturday Spotlight and check out Janet & Will's previous Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back weekly for more Saturday Spotlights and Wednesday Words with Friends!

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Diane Burton & Rescuing Mara's Father

Good Morning!

Today's guest is not new to us. Diane has shared thoughts and treasures with us and been in our spotlight before. Today we get a peek into her newest release, Rescuing Mara's Father, a Middle Grade Science Fiction Adventure novel. 

3 friends, a hidden starship, a quest

Her father is gone! Taken by the Queen of Compara’s agents. Mara has to rescue him before the Queen tortures and kills him.

Instead of the kind, loving father she’s always known, he’s become demanding, critical, with impossible expectations—not just as Father but also as the only teacher in their frontier outpost. Mara would rather scoop zircan poop than listen to another boring lecture about governments on Central Planets. Give her a starship engine to take apart or, better yet, fly, and she’s happy. Now, he’s gone.

Never mind, they’ve had a rocky road lately. 

Never mind, Father promised she could go off planet to Tech Institute next month when she turns fifteen, where she’ll learn to fly starships. 

Never mind, she ran away because she’s furious with himbecause he reneged on that promise. Father is her only parent. She has to save him.

Along with her best friend, eleven-year-old Jako, and his brother 15-year-old Lukus, Mara sets off to find her father. Her mentor, old spaceport mechanic, seems to know why the Queen captured Father. In fact, he seems to know her father well. But, does he tell her everything? Of course not. He dribbles out info like a mush-eating baby. Worse, he indicates he’ll be leaving them soon. And Lukus can’t wait to get off their planet. Mara’s afraid they will all leave, and she’ll be on her own. Despite her fears, Mara has to rescue her father.

Excerpt: 

“Sit, Mara.” Basco’s quiet order stops me. His tone has such force I do as he says. “Jako gave you good advice that you should heed. You need a plan.”

“But we’re wasting time sitting here. What if the ship takes off? Call Dockmaster and—and tell him to delay the ship.”

He glances away from me. “The ship is gone.”

“No.” Despair crashes down on me. I slump against the wall. “We’ll never find him. We don’t know where they’re taking him. They’re Coalition. They could take him anywhere.”

“We are not going after your father,” Basco says.

“What?” I cry.

“He gave me explicit instructions to get you to safety if this situation ever arose.”

“Why would he do that? How could he even know the Coalition would come after him?”

Basco sighs. “His actions from long ago have caught up with him. Now, the forces of a powerful person have found him.”

I’m still anxious to get going, to do something, to find Father. “What did he do? Who’s after him?”

“That’s not important now.”

“Yes, it is,” I persist. “How can I know what we’re up against if I don’t have all the facts?” That’s what Father always told me. Get all the facts. “Who is after him?”

“Queen Bormella of Compara.”

“What?” Jako and I whisper-shout in unison.

“The Queen wants Father? Why?”

Basco eyes me as if trying to make up his mind what to say. I can almost see him come to a conclusion. “Taking Grendarus is a means to an end. The person she really wants is you.”

I gasp. “Me? Why me?”

“She has her reasons. That is why I have to take you to a safe place.”

“Forget going to some safe place. I’m going after Father.”

Basco gives me a long look. “Do you realize that if you try to rescue Grendarus, the Queen could take you?”

“So?”

“Mara.” Lukus finally speaks. “Didn’t you pay attention to anything Teacher said about Compara? About what Bormella does to prisoners?”

I hate that he reminds me. Of course, I remember the lectures on corrupt governments among the Central Planets, especially Compara. But that was just lectures. Words about places as far away and as removed from us as storybook tales.

Now it’s real. Father is Queen Bormella’s enemy. Hang on, how would she even know him? We live out on the Frontier. How could he be her enemy? Stars and asteroids, she tortures and executes her enemies. If she wants me, I must be her enemy, too. Fear for Father, fear for myself overwhelm me. I slide down the wall and struggle to breathe.

“Don’t you get it, Mara?” Jako says. “She’ll torture you . . . or worse.”

The first time D.M. Burton saw Star Wars IV: A New Hope, she was hooked on science fiction and space travel. The Star Trek movies made her want to travel to other planets. Alas, she is still Earth-bound. D.M. and her husband live in Michigan, close to their two children and fivegrandchildren.

Join D.M. Burton's readers’ group on Facebook.

For more info and excerpts, visit D.M.’s website: http://www.dmburton.com

She writes adult fiction as Diane Burton, whereshe combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Connect with Diane Burton online.

Website:http://www.dianeburton.com

            http://www.dmburton.com

Blog:  http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dmburton72

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor

            D.M. Burton’s sci-fi adventure group on Facebook

Goodreads:   Diane Burton Author

                        https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19005868.D_M_Burton

Pinterest:http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/

Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf

Thanks Diane for giving us a peek into your new book! Good luck and God's blessings with it!

Hope you enjoyed the post friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Q&A with T.I. Lowe

Good Morning and Welcome!

It's raining -again- here in SW Louisiana. Seems we can't go a whole week much less two without rain. Alas, it's H-O-T already - 90+ degrees! So rain is a good thing when it lowers temperatures a few degrees. Except for the increased humidity LOL! A firm example of taking the good with the bad.

Today's guest, T. I. Lowe is brought to us by Tyndale Publishing and is giving us a peek into the why's and wherefore's behind her book, Lulu's Cafe.

What inspired you to write Lulu’s Café? The story of Lulu's Café came from me trying to wrap my mind around why a close loved one wouldn’t leave her abuser. I sat down with my mother, who was a survivor of domestic abuse in her second marriage, to discuss why a woman wouldn’t leave an abusive situation. This was during her battle with cancer, and we had long conversations about the topic of abuse during her chemo treatments. The most profound bit she shared with me was, “You can’t fully understand unless you’ve been there.”

First, I thanked God that I hadn’t been there, and then I prayed for those who were to find the strength to get out. The story developed from me wanting to understand, and it also became a creative outlet during the hardest days of my life as I could do nothing but watch my mother slowly succumb to the disease. Leah helped me to better grasp the mind-set of an abused woman who had been so beaten down and brainwashed that she truly did not see any way out. Plus, it was such a gift to be able to create for her a happily ever after! It was near the end of my mother’s battle and I needed that gift of hope myself.

How do you expect the novel to resonate with your audience? What are you most excited for your readers to experience through reading this story? Leah SURVIVES! Praise God, she survives. Even in a devastating situation, there is a way out. A popular highlighted passage from the book is a quote from Lulu. “I know the bad can’t be ignored. It’s everywhere, and I have no doubt that you have survived something horribly bad, but don’t overlook the good. Please remember good is like treasure. You have to seek it out. And remember how rewarding it is when you find it.”

What role does faith play in this story? The story displays other characters’ faith and how that eventually draws Leah to discover her own faith in God. I hope it will be a reminder to readers to be a light and share their faith with others.

What lessons or truths do you hope people take away from Lulu’s Café?
-It’s never okay to be mistreated in any way, whatsoever.
-We need to understand and be empathetic to others and their situations, leaving judgment out of our thoughts.

As an author, what did you particularly enjoy about writing this story? I loved the opportunity to spotlight small-town culture. Southerners have a more laid-back approach to living, and we love to love on people with food! It was fun to also showcase the lighter moments of life, and I hope readers had a laugh or two while reading this story.

Can you tell us about your inspiration for the main character in this book, Leah Allen?  Leah represents every abandoned child and every abused woman. She has a big role to fill, yes, but it was such an important one to take on. The world can feel hopeless in these situations, so Leah has to show readers to never give up and to seek help. To lean on those who cross your path and offer support.

This story is about leaving a past of pain and hurt and starting over. How do you hope this encourages your readers? I hope if someone is in an unhealthy situation that they will seek help after reading this book. I also want readers who are untouched by domestic abuse to be more aware and to be willing to reach out to those in need. We need to take off our blinders.

You say that because Leah is accustomed to cruelty, the kindness she meets in her new life is overwhelming. Can you talk more about that?  We are comfortable with what we know. In Leah’s case, a life of cruelty and setbacks is all she knew before landing in Rivertown. Like a skittish animal, she takes a while to trust, and rightfully so after what she endured. I hope readers will be encouraged to do the same after surviving difficult times.

What was your inspiration for the setting of this book? Can you tell us more about your inspiration for Lulu’s Café itself?  I’m from a small town in the country where family and friendship are important. I wanted Leah to discover this and to show her there was a better, simpler way of living than what she’d experienced. Southern charm and hospitality is like butter melting on a warm, fluffy biscuit. Who wouldn’t be drawn to it?

What can you tell us about the love connection that develops between Leah and Crowley? What difficulties do they face, given Leah’s past? It was a slow progression for them to get to that love connection, but Leah needed quite a bit of time to heal, both physically and emotionally, before even considering another relationship with a man. A friendship was formed first, so their relationship had a firm foundation to build upon. However, Leah struggled with opening up to Crowley and he struggled to understand why, but the Southern gentleman didn’t give up on her. The patience and compassion he so freely gave to Leah was exactly what the fragile woman needed.

In what ways do you hope this story connects with contemporary Christian women? I've had several readers contact me or leave reviews, sharing how my books were relatable. Many shared their personal stories (devastating stories in some cases) with me and how they fell away from their faith during those dark times. It never ceases to make my heart warm and give me goose bumps when they say through my stories, they have found their way back to God. Redemption and transformation are front and center in Lulu's Café. The understanding of forgiving yourself is important as well.

T. I. Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in psychology but excelled in creative writing. Go figure. Writing was always a dream, and she finally took a leap of faith in 2014 and independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of ten published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. A wife and mother who’s active in her church community, she resides near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her family.

What a wonderful premise, T. I. ! Much like my book, Tempered Dreams. Good luck and God's blessings with it!

Hope you enjoyed today's Wednesday Words with Friends, folks and that you'll check back weekly for more great guests. Also, stop by on Saturday and see who is in our spotlight. Pick up your copy of Lulu's Cafe at Amazon.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Ann C. Sullivan & Unsatisfied

Good Morning!

Welcome to the first Saturday Spotlight in June 2019! As you well know, I LOVE introducing brand new-to-me authors and sharing their books with you. Today is no exception. Please welcome Ann C. Sullivan to our spotlight.

Tell us a little about your book.....

You should be happy, right? Everyone else is. Unsatisfied: Finding Contentment in a Discontented World by Ann C. Sullivan (Abingdon Press, Feb. 2019).

Look at your friend’s perfect vacations on Facebook and smiling faces on Instagram. But, you feel unsatisfied and unhappy with your life. You struggle to find contentment even though you recognize that you are blessed. Ann C. Sullivan has been there. As an active speaker, she found herself scheduled to speak about contentment at a time she was struggling with her own depression. After going through the process to address her depression, she realized she had to rethink her idea of contentment, this thing she had been speaking about for years.

In Unsatisfied: Finding Contentment in a Discontented World, Sullivan sorts through the reasons for our frustrations – Drama, Judgement, Fear, and Comparison – and leads readers on a path to genuine contentment through Hope, Purpose, and Fulfillment. Unsatisfied dares readers to believe that God is closer than you think, sorts through the reasons for unhappiness and frustrations, helps define fulfillment, and leads readers to find genuine contentment.

Unsatisfied:

Unravels our cultural definition of fulfillment.
Identifies the empty spaces the comparison game leaves behind.
Connects the dots that lead to genuine contentment.

Unsatisfied by Ann C. Sullivan guides readers to find genuine contentment.

Praise for Unsatisfied

“In Unsatisfied: Finding Contentment in a Discontented World, Ann C. Sullivan accomplishes something I wish could be taught yet fear that it can’t: She writes an in-your-face book about a deeply difficult subject, yet she avoids preaching. Rather, Ann takes a come-alongside approach and shares her life, warts and all, revealing what she’s learned and how she’s grown—allowing us to apply the morals and principles for ourselves. It’s a work of art.” – Jerry B. Jenkins, Novelist & Biographer, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild

Sounds lovely, Ann. Please give us an excerpt....

Intro to Unsatisfied: Finding Contentment in a Discontented World

When I agreed to speak at a women’s conference out west on the topic of contentment, I had no idea I’d be battling depression. If I’d known, I would’ve cleared my calendar. 

Choosing a topic for a bunch of strangers is a tricky business even without depression. It gets even trickier when a coordinator wants me to announce my topic months before I’m ready to pick one.
I’ve actually received publicity brochures in the mail detailing my talks long before I’ve written them. I’ll read the descriptions and think, Hmm, I’d like to hear that. 

I love connecting with women, but let’s face it, when I land at their retreat, we’re typically strangers. I’ll stand at the podium and look out over the sea of unfamiliar faces and think, I wonder what they’re all retreating from. 

Would they tell me stories of cruddy jobs or cranky spouses? Would they tell me how tough it was just getting away for the weekend? Or would they tell me it’s a great day, and they’re ready to celebrate the good things in life, like caramel lattés and girlfriends. 

What, kids? 

One thing I can count on, though, wherever I’m booked to speak, the moment a topic is
chosen, I know I’m going to get worked over by it, just a bit. It’s God’s way of keeping me real and giving me something worthwhile to say to the strangers who are obviously not strangers to Him.

And it happens every time. If I’m speaking on the topic of contentment, I suddenly have none. If I’m speaking on discernment, I can’t figure anything out. If I’m asked to address the power of self-control, I become the kitchen magnet that reads, “Lead me not into temptation, I can find it myself.”

A few years ago, I was asked to speak at a moms’ event at a large contemporary church. While I sat at my computer trying to come up with some sort of outline that would inspire the young moms, my own kids were driving me crazy. All I could come up with was:

I. Don’t have any more kids. 
II. Quit while you’re ahead. 
III. Bigger kids, bigger problems.  (Let’s close in prayer.) 

Depression can show up very quickly, usually after a crisis. But for me, depression crept up almost imperceptibly, generously offering a front row seat to the world of discontentment. All the things that used to bring me pleasure suddenly offered none.

I’m not even sure I knew what hope was until I lost it. Before then, life was full of possibilities. 

Then one day, while he was home from college and grabbing the milk from the fridge, my son suddenly stopped and looked at me and said, “Mom, you gotta get a grip.”

 That’s when I realized I’d been crying for six months. Maybe I did have a problem.

Oh Wow! Ann, I can certainly relate! I'm sure most of  our readers can too! Thank you. We certainly with you the best of luck and God's blessings with your book!

 Now please give us your bio and other info.

Ann C. Sullivan is a celebrated author, international speaker, blogger, and freelance writer. Her articles have been included in Christianity Today and Relevant magazine. She graduated from Northern Illinois University where she studied education, history, and philosophy. Sullivan worked more than ten years coordinating women’s studies outside of Milwaukee before expanding her speaking to include the corporate world. She remains passionate about inspiring men and women in all areas of their lives.

Connect with Ann to chat or to book her to speak at your next event.

Website  Facebook

Purchase Unsatisfied on Amazon
Purchase Unsatisfied book on Abingdon
Purchase Permission to Doubt on Amazon

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT