#SaturdaySpotlight is on Andrea Boeshaar & A Thousand Shall Fall...

Good Morning and Welcome to the LAST Saturday Spotlight in March 2020!

Yep, it's that time. Yesterday was my Angel Girl's sweet 16 birthday and although we couldn't have an in-person party, I did get to see her and hug her! Don't worry, she had a mask on! But it was more than I originally thought I'd get. Brought me to tears....this Corona crap and quarantine has disrupted our lives but I am THANKFUL for the little moments and Face Time!

Today's guest was a visitor back in January, so please welcome Andrea Boeshaar back with A Thousand Shall Fall (Book one in her Shenandoah Valley Saga).

In the autumn of 1864, spirited Carrie Ann Bell is searching for her runaway sister in the hearth of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Disguised as a Yankee soldier, she stumbles into a skirmish near Front Royal – and instead of her sister, she finds trouble.

Colonel Peyton Collier of the Union cavalry division arrests her for impersonating an officer, but protects her from worse consequences. Soon the Southern girl finds herself drawn to the chivalrous Yankee horseman, discovering that her foe has become her ally – and more than that, someone she could love.

But Carrie has promised to keep a dark secret, never suspecting that her silence might threaten the life of the gallant colonel who holds her – and her heart – captive.

Excerpt: August 15, 1864

Ooh, that Sarah Jane!

Carrie Ann Bell stared at her youngest sister’s sloppily-scratched note. How could Sarah have done such a scandalous thing? Running off with a lowlife peddler? Sure, the girl had threatened to run away numerous times in the past, but who would have thought she’d actually do it? Mama would be heartbroken when she heard the news. 

Heartbroken and angry. Carrie could practically hear Mama crying and blaming her for Sarah running away. Mama would say Carrie paid more attention to Papa’s newspaper than her baby sister…

And maybe Mama was right. After all, Margaret was eighteen and Sarah, fourteen. But Writing for the Bell Tower in Papa’s absence had been Carrie’s refuge, a place of some normalcy when the world continually turned topsy-turvy. 

Staring at Sarah’s note, Carrie wondered about not telling Mama about this at all. Maybe she’d just go looking for her youngest sister and bring her home to the Wayfarers Inn—

What an oxymoron. The Wayfarers Inn was no more a home than a damp, dark cave was an elegant mansion. But it was a roof over her, her sisters’, and Mama’s heads.

Carrie paced her father’s small newspaper office. Surely she could catch up with Arthur Sims, that no-account speculator. He couldn’t have gotten far in that large, rattling wagon of his.

Her hand shook with a sudden fire in her veins. Carrie was tempted to notify the law and file kidnapping charges against the man, except the law had better things to do than go hunting for a fast-talking swindler who rode off with a starry-eyed girl. 

So what should she do?

Andrea and her husband Daniel have been married more than 40 years. They have three wonderful sons, one beautiful daughter-in-law, and five precious grandchildren.

Andrea Kuhn Boeshaar is a Wisconsin author who now resides in Upstate South Carolina. She’s written over 40 books with ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! The three components in all her stories are faith, family, and forever relationships. She also blogs and writes devotionals and magazine articles with the hope of encouraging readers wherever they are in their spiritual journeys.

Andrea’s publishing career began in 1994 when her first novel was released by Heartsong Presents, a mail order book club from Barbour Publishing. She went on to write numerous romances for the book club and was voted one of the line’s “Favorite Authors” several times over. Andrea also wrote trade fiction for Barbour Publishing with her Faded Photographs series. In addition, Andrea collaborated with other popular Christian authors and published numerous novella collections.

Then in 2008, Andrea helped kick off Summerside Press’s “Love Finds You” line in 2008 with her novel Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky.

In addition, she helped re-introduce Charisma House’s fiction line “Realms” into the CBA with her historical series Seasons of Redemption. She wrote another series for Realms/Charisma House called Fabric of Time. Book two of that series, Threads of Faith, finaled in the Inspirational Readers Choice Awards contest. Her third book in the series, Threads of Love, finaled in the National Excellence of Romance Fiction Award contest.

In December 2015, Andrea published a contemporary novella collection, Seasons of Love (Pelican/Prism Book Group). Each story has a recipe at its end which appeared in the story.

Andrea’s latest historical series is the Shenandoah Valley Saga. The first book in the Civil War series, A Thousand Shall Fall (Kregel Publications), released in November 2015. The second, Too Deep for Words (Kregel Publications) released in April 2017. *Note: A third book There Is a Season (Steeple View Publishing) is in the works and will release in July 2020.

In 2017, Andrea was asked to write a book for the popular, multi-author series called, My Heart Belongs. Her contribution was, My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily’s Dilemma (Barbour Publishing) which was released in the fall of 2017.

Andrea’s newer releases include: Give Me Thine Heart, Love’s Guiding Light (Steeple View Publishing), and Her Hometown Heart (Pelican/Prism Book Group).

Find out more about Andrea by visiting her website. Get your copy of A Thousand Shall Fall at Amazon.

Hhhmmm, sounds like Carrie Ann is in quite a dilemma, Andrea and what an amazing career! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight. Be sure to leave a comment if you want to enter my monthly gift card giveaway!

Until next time take care, be SAFE and God Bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes D.K. Christi

Good Morning!

I hope you are all faring well with this crazy Covid-19 crap. We're taking all the precautions we can and so far are all healthy - Praise God!

Today's guest was in our spotlight last month, so please welcome D. K. Christi back with a few words to share with us.....

A writer must write.  That’s all there is to it.  Mom always says it’s a financial loss to write when I could be doing something else that leads to real money, not spurts and spits.  Well, everything I read tells me that the artist’s life is usually one of spurts and spits so I fit right in. I would prefer to have a patron who picks up my expenses, but I live the solo life and for me that requires free-lancing.  Don’t get me wrong. Free-lancing has its advantages.  Never in my lifetime would I have exchanged conversations with the great people I have had the pleasure to interview and quickly note how much I liked them.  One such interview was with Marlo Thomas.  She struck me as almost fragile, petite and seated elegantly for the interview, every curl in place, and light makeup revealing a lovely face and a warm smile. She spoke in a soft but clear feminine voice of genuine interest in my southwest Florida and said that she and Phil had visited the lovely Everglades. I was so energized on my way to my car by my own good fortune in meeting with her that my expensive smart phone slipped from my hands and cracked the glass as it hit the cement.  There is a long list of exceptional interviews, but every time I see St. Jude hospital ads with Marlo Thomas in them, she remains special – in spite of the cost of a new phone.

Wow, how exciting D.K! Seems you've led an interesting life and had a great career. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.

D. K. Christi, M.Ed. has over twenty years grant-writing and public relations success, five years as an editor for an international CPA firm, nine years magazine and newspaper writing, three published novels, BAMBOO RING, ARIRANG and GHOST ORCHID and stories published in seven anthologies.

"Themes of friendship surviving tragedy, love conquering adversity & the triumph of the human spirit over the hardships of life serve to uplift and inspire...through her stories perhaps discover something new about yourself. " -- Amazon.com

Christi interviews celebrities and notables from Jack Hanna to Rob Reiner, Whoopie Goldberg, Newt Gingrich, Jeb Bush, Marlo Thomas, Chris Gardner and more. She lived and worked in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean and spent three years sailing the Caribbean Islands from Ft. Lauderdale to Venezuela.

A polished platform presenter and professional voice with multiple writing and publication topics, she also has an entertaining and informative approach to Sex, Myth and Magic - The Ghost Orchid, popular at book club, book store, environmental and orchid events.

"The beauty of the Everglades shines through on every page, the ghost orchid the heart and soul of the story." -- National Public Radio

D. K. Christi has been executive director, president, CEO and founding board member to successful philanthropic and corporate entities such as the Community Foundation of Collier County, Florida begun in 1985 with currently over 400 funds,  $64 million in assets, and $64 million in grants distributed.

From technical writing to general literature, Christi travels the gamut of literary expression and takes her readers along for an emotional and enlightening ride.

Find out more about D.K by visiting her Website. Get your copy of Ghost Orchid at Amazon.

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll stop by each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight! Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into my monthly gift card giveaway!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Jodi Wolfe & Taming Julia

Good Morning!

I pray all is well with you and yours with this crazy virus going around. I know this is all anyone/everyone talks about so I'm not going to get off on that tangent myself.

Today's guest is brand new to me / our blog so Please give Jodi Wolfe and huge, warm WELCOME!

In 1875, Kansas bachelor Drew Montgomery's sole desire is to serve God, but his congregation's ultimatum that he marry or leave, forces him to advertise for a wife by proxy.

Jules Walker strides into Drew's life wearing breeches and toting a gun and saddle--more cowboy than bride. After years on the trail, she's not exactly wife material, but she longs for home and family, and will do anything to ensure Drew never discovers what she really is.

Excerpt
Matrimony News, February 6, 1875 edition

Minister bachelor aged 27, height 5 feet 10 inches seeks genteel, honest and first-rate homemaker with a desire to serve God. Must be willing to marry by proxy and arrive in Burrton Springs, Kansas by May 1. 
~*~

Burrton Springs, Kansas, Saturday, May 1, 1875

Dear Lord, please don’t let that creature be my new wife. Drew Montgomery swiped the sweat trickling a path down his neck and shoved the new hat back on his head. He squinted, taking in the lone passenger stepping from the stagecoach. At least, he thought it was a woman. He shielded his eyes from the sun, taking in the britches.

Britches? A gun belt strapped to a slim waist. He gulped. A rifle rested on her shoulder, and she wore a Stetson situated low on her brow. The figure shifted sideways, and Drew groaned, fearing his proxy mail-order bride had arrived by the look of all the curves. He squared his shoulders and crossed the street.

"Are you Montgomery?" Her coffee-brown gaze seared through him.

He snapped his gaping mouth shut and nodded. "Y-yes."

"Name’s Jules Walker." She shoved her hand into his and shook it so hard his teeth clattered. "I reckon, Jules Montgomery since we’re hitched." She waved a slip of paper in his face. "Got the paper here to prove it. So are you my husband or not?"

Drew caught a whiff of dirt. He coughed and cleared his throat.

She peered at him as if he were a chicken with one leg.

"I’m Drew." He managed to choke the words out. "Isn’t your name Julia?"

She scrunched her face, pushed her Stetson from her head, and allowed it to dangle from the string around her neck. Her brown hair scattered in disarray, slipping from a shoulder-length braid. "I can’t remember the last time I’ve been called Julia. Like I said, name’s Jules."

"But..." Drew let the word hang between them. No matter. "Where’re your things?"

"Got my knapsack and that there." She pointed to the top of the stagecoach. He expected to see a trunk, but a saddle rested there instead. What kind of woman brought a saddle into a marriage? What kind of woman showed up dressed like a man? No. No. Something was terribly wrong.

Get your copy of Taming Julia at Amazon, B&N, Pelican Book Group & Google Play.

Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Romance Writers of America (RWA), and COMPEL Training. She's been a semi-finalist and finalist in various writing contests. A former columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine, her articles can be found online at: Crosswalk, Christian Devotions, and Heirloom Audio. She's a contributor and co-founder of Stitches Thru Time blog. When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, walking, and being a Grammie. Learn more about Jodi by visiting her Website and connecting with her at the following locations:

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jodie-wolfe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JodieAWolfe

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfe

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15220520.Jodie_Wolfe

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/JodieWolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

OH Wow, Jodi...I'm ROFLOL at this excerpt! Can't wait to read the book! Good luck and God's blessings with it.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends News & Updates from Me!

Good Morning Friends,

It's a beautiful day in this beautiful world!

The Corona virus is causing world wide panic.... Yes, I know it's serious and Yes I think EVERYONE should take precautions but the panic is a bit much in MHO.

With all the not-so-good news, I'd like to share something Wonderful....

An audio book tour is scheduled for Tempered Hearts and Tempered Dreams between March 17th - 30th. Follow the tour and enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card! Details HERE. For a FREE audio copy of either or both books, go to: Audio Books Unleashed. Along with mine, you'll find lot's of audio books to choose from.

Great news! Tempered Fire is available NOW in Audio! Get your copy HERE OR get a FREE code HERE for All 3 books!

But recording an audio book isn't always easy or glamorous. Check out these Bloopers!

A Tempered Trivia contest is up on my website. One or two lucky people will win a special prize. Who knows, perhaps everyone who participates in the contest will win! 

I've written a little over 7K words so far on Tempered Truth and the story seems to be coming together. I think you'll be surprised and pleased with the results. I'm still undecided whether I'll serialize the story for you all first, or on my blog, or what, but I promise to keep you posted as the book evolves.

And, last but not least..... My Heart Weeps Ebook is up for PreOrder at Amazon! The Print version will be available for PreOrder soon too, I'm waiting on the full cover to upload. I'll let you know about that ASAHP.

  

Well, that's about it for now, friends. I love and appreciate you ALL and wish you a rich increase of God's almighty good!

Be sure and leave a comment every Wednesday and on Saturday Spotlights to be entered into my gift card giveaway!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Michal Scott & One Breath Away

Good Morning!

I'm not even sure how to begin this blog post LOL! I was going to voice my opinion on the panic being generated by our media over the Corono virus but why waste my breath? People are going to react to this however they will so I'll just leave it at this.... Be careful. Be sensible. Take care.

Today's guest is brand new to our blog so please give a warm welcome to Michal Scot as we get a peek into her novel One Breath Away..... a "Christian Erotic Romance".... Not sure if there is such a thing but then again, my Inspirational with an Edge is still an oxymoron in many minds LOL!

Anyway...take it away Mical.....

Sentenced to hang for a crime she didn’t commit, former slave Mary Hamilton was exonerated at literally the last gasp. She returns to Safe Haven, broken and resigned to live alone. She’s never been courted, cuddled or spooned, and now no man could want her, not when sexual satisfaction comes only with the thought of asphyxiation. But then the handsome stranger who saved her shows up, stealing her breath from across the room and promising so much more.

Wealthy, freeborn-Black, Eban Thurman followed Mary to Safe Haven, believing the mysteriously exotic woman was foretold by the stars. He must marry her to reclaim his family farm. But first he must help her heal, and to do that means revealing his own predilection for edgier sex. Hope ignites along with lust until the past threatens to keep them one breath away from love…

PG Excerpt:

“Why not you, Mary?”

“Because someone like you only looks at someone like me out of pity.”

Of course. His aunt put him up to this. Anger warmed Mary’s ears.

“Let me go.” She made to pull away. “I want to sit.”

“Please. Not before the music stops.” He timed his plea to the rhythm of the waltz. “I’ve waited all week for this moment.”

Mary gritted her teeth. Heart hurt joined her injured pride. She needed no one’s charity.

“That was cruel of you, sir. No one counts the days until they can ask me for a dance.” Tears pooled behind her closed eyelids. “Anyone in town could tell you that.”

The grip on her hand tightened, forcing her eyes open. The light in his gaze darkened. “Anyone who’d lie to me like that would be taking their life in their hands.” He leaned in so his mouth nuzzled her ear again. “And if you use that I’m-not-worthy tone of voice again, I’ll be forced to prove you wrong with a kiss.”

Alarm shuddered up Mary’s back. “Is—is that a threat?”

“A certainty.”

Michal Scott is the penname of Rev. Anna Taylor Sweringen, a retired United Church of Christ and Presbyterian USA minister. A native New Yorker, Anna is a recent transplant to the Southwest and is enjoying the great weather along with her husband of thirty years and their rescue cat, Scully. Writing fiction professionally since 2003 Rev. Anna had an inspirational novel, Through A Glass Darkly, published in 2008. However, her loves of history and romance came together in her first erotic romance novella, One Breath Away, published by Wild Rose Press in 2016. Anna is a member of the Women's Fiction Association and several Romance Writers of America chapters. In addition to erotic romance, Rev. Anna writes as Anna Taylor (inspirational romance) and as Anna M. Taylor (women's fiction and gothic romance).

Connect with her at the following locations: Twitter: @mscottauthor1
Website; www.michalscott.webs.com  & Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn

Get your copy of One Breath Away at Amazon, B&N & Kobo

Love the excerpt, Michal/Anna! Certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.
PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Laura Tolomei

Good Morning,

Well, this crazy weather finally got to me. I'm fighting some kind of head cold with cough. Hit me yesterday all at once. Taking OTC right now but trust me, if this doesn't clear up within another day or so, it's off to the doctor for a Zpak.

Hope you all are faring better!

Today's guest has shared words with us and been in our spotlight so please welcome Laura Tolomei back to as she shares 3 Ideas for Using Niches to Sell Your Books Fiction Books.....

If you're like me you're always looking for new ways to sell your fiction books, and I'll bet you never thought of niches as a way to do so either have you? I know I didn't until recently. The idea of using niche marketing to sell your books has been around for years, though we usually associate it with non-fiction book marketing. For example, you have a cookbook and every week you post an original recipe on your blog for readers. But how do you use niche marketing to sell fiction books? It's easy than you think. Here are three ideas for using niche marketing to sell your books:

1. Understand your target audience. For example, did you write a romance set in the Regency period? You could target history buffs, people that visit museums that have displays from this period, or those who take tours of areas that were prominent during this period. Once you have your target audience, you could share a photo of a historical place from your book, and then link it back to your blog with an excerpt about the place in question. Knowing your target audience is crucial to figuring out what niche group you want to address.

2. Use blog posts on your blog that will be of interest to your target market. With the example of a regency romance, you could find public domain photos that show clothing for both women and men from the regency period, and share them on social media with a link to your blog post where you talk about the clothing pictured in more detail.

3. What does your main character do for a living? Is she a socialite, or maybe an interior designer, or carpenter, or secretary? Using the idea of an interior designer, then consider posting articles on interior design tips on your blog, along with excerpts where your main character uses one of the tips spoken of.


Using niche's and niche marketing to sell your fiction books is easy if you know how, and there are dozens of different ways to discover niches within your novels that you can capitalize on.

GREAT ideas, Laura! Now please tell us a little more about yourself....

If you really want to know, I was born in 1965 in Rome, Italy, but soon started my travelling career. At the age of five, my parents took me to Lagos, Nigeria, where I grew up free and hot like I've never been since. I loved it there and still think of it with nostalgia. Anyway, it was also where I learned English. 

After my African experience, I was ready to tackle the US. I lived in Atlanta, GA, five teen-age years, attending the Crestwood High School, where I started my writing career by publishing a short story Nostalgia on the Crestwood Journal. Very thrilled about discovering my new talent, I went ahead during college, writing for the Emory University journal The Phoenix. Three articles mark my first-and last-steps in journalism, "The peace Corps", "WAMM, Women Against Military Madness," and "Lesbism".

After my American experience, I moved back to Rome, but still kept living from time to time abroad, spending several months in Mumbay India, a country I always felt very close to me in more ways than one.

Today, I write both in Italian and English, mostly fiction of various genres, from fantasy erotica, to mysteries up to plain ordinary life stories.

Feel free to look over my current and future projects by visiting my website www.lallagatta.com.

Thanks for sharing, Laura! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your writing. Don't forget to leave a comment, friends and enter into my monthly gift card giveaway drawing!

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Sylvia Hornback & Jeanne!

Good Morning!

Lot's going on today. Bayou Writers Group meeting starts in a few hours then a benefit for my uncle goes on all day and into the evening - perhaps early hours of tomorrow morning. I doubt I'll attend the whole event but there'll be lots of music, food, dancing and an auction to help with his medical expenses. So if you're in the Lake area stop on by Mary's Lounge (he's a musician) and see what we've got!

Our guest is brand new to the blog so without much further ado, let's WELCOME Sylvia Hornbak with her new book, Jeanne!

At dawn on a sweltering summer day scrabbling sounds alerted Jeanne of the intruder downstairs.

The pull chain rattled against the light bulb in the kitchen.

Instantly a sliver of yellow light raced up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Someone was moving about inside the house, and had even been bold enough to turn on a light.

It wasn’t the first time she’d awakened to the sounds of this intruder.

Q: Talk about what inspired your new book, Jeanne. (pronounced “Gene”)
A: Jeanne’s story has been abiding with me for a very long time. She worried at the edges of my consciousness as a story to tell because of my own experiences. I lived with my own grandmother for five years while the rest of my family lived next door. It seemed normal at the time, but the rejection had a long-term effect. However, my grandmother taught me the love of God and that saved me. She and I walked to church every Sunday and I learned about love there. I was also compelled to include my little brother in the novel because he was so special to me and all my family. I still miss his unconditional love every day.

Q: Jeanne is a fictional story, but you say it is based on real events. Talk about the meshing of the two.
A: Jeanne has two brothers in the story and her younger brother Robby is a special needs child. This character is based on my own younger brother.  I patterned Robby in Jeanne after him. Cary was an angel here on earth for twenty-three years. He brought unconditional love into our family. I wanted to convey that special love through the character, Robby. In Jeanne, the facility referenced in Austin was the first state home for what then was called the feebleminded. Children were boarded there under lock and key for fear of them developing criminal tendencies, and their families were not allowed to visit often. In the 1940’s when the story takes place, Robby’s condition was known as Mongolism. This label didn’t change until the 1970’s when the term was replaced with Down Syndrome. Today, services and opportunities for special needs children have dramatically changed. Over the years, parents, teachers and communities have come to understand and accept children of special needs. We are blessed to have them in our lives. 

Q: The book deals with an abusive mother and a dysfunctional family. What type of research did you do for the novel?

A: The story of Jeanne expanded when I became involved with organizations against abuse. I talked to women who shared their stories, and I have woven their renderings into the fabric of Jeanne. Because of their stories, I have two other books I am writing about women who have experienced abandonment and abuse and have risen to love because of their love of God. Jesus saved them, too. It is the common thread and will be told in all three of the books.

Q: Talk about your involvement in helping women who have been abused.
A: I have supported organizations against abuse for many years, and in my years as an educator, I observed children and their families being torn apart by abuse in many forms. As president of our local Woman’s club, I became involved in the Wise Hope House, a shelter for battered women. Besides donating money, our group donated clothing specifically for women to be able to dress for interviews for jobs. One woman came for help to escape abuse with her three children wearing underwear and a hospital gown. For several years I have interviewed women of abuse and talked to them about their beliefs and how their faith helped them. While the women are kept anonymous, their stories must be told. Their voices must be heard.

Q: What do you find are the most difficult issues for people who grew up in a dysfunctional family?
A: The pain and hurt came from believing that a parent didn’t love them. In fact, some believed they were hated. They tried to figure out what they had done wrong. Many voiced wanting to know the truth and felt they lived in secrets. They had to develop ways to cope with their roller coaster emotions. Some tried to be the opposite of their abusive parent, while others withdrew. Jeanne chose to seek solace in prayer and believing in God.
  
Q: How does forgiveness help someone who was abused or neglected as a child?
A: The story of Jeanne focuses on neglect and physical and verbal abuse. As a child, there are few opportunities to get away from this treatment and forgiveness becomes harder and harder as the abuse is repeated. Forgiveness in this case comes knowing the abuser does not change, but the abused person learns ways to protects herself from future abuse. Jeanne manages this as she becomes an adult and is able to take care of herself and not be around her mother. Her forgiveness of her mother took away her bitterness, resentment, and anger. 

Q: What do you hope readers gain from Jeanne?
A: I hope the reader understands the role Jeanne’s belief in God played in her life, her survival, her strength, and her ability to forgive. It is important to know that even if a family situation is dysfunctional, a person can find love through other people in their lives. Maybe some readers will identify with Jeanne and learn to cope through her experiences.

Sylvia Hornback received her Doctorate of Education Administration from Texas A&M University. She is the current Chair of the Board of Directors for ENERGY Worldnet, Inc., and served as an educator, principal and school superintendent for over two decades. Among her many accolades, she was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School Principal by the U.S. Secretary of Education. For the past ten years, she has served as a Bible study teacher at First United Methodist Church near her home in Decatur, Texas. Her first novel, “The Mallard Conspiracy,” was published last year. For more information visit www.SylviaHornback.com.

Published by Briggs & Schuster and brought to us by Adams Media,  Jeanne can be purchased at Amazon.

Watch the trailer HERE.

Sounds like an AMAZING story, Sylvia! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with it!

Thanks for visiting, Friends. Be sure and leave a comment to be entered into my monthly gift card giveaway!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Sandra Bretting

Good Morning Friends!

In January, Sandra Bretting shared a peek into her new book, Shameless Persistence. Today she returns to give us more information of her journey from her death bed to medical miracle. However, before we turn the blog over to Sandra, I'd like to announce February's gift card winner.....

Kathy Bailey!

Congratulations Kathy. I've emailed you already but if you did not receive it, please get in touch with me and I'll get your gift card right over.

Now on with our Wednesday Words with Friends guest....

Q: You are not supposed to be alive today. Talk about what happened to you.
A: Early last year, I developed a high fever and nausea that I thought was caused by the flu.  Instead, doctors discovered a massive infection in my stomach, which led to a condition called sepsis. Then, my lungs began to fail because they had to pump so many antibiotics through my system. I was put on life support, and my family was told they needed to say goodbye, because I wasn’t going to make it. But a funny thing happened. First, a few people prayed over me, and then more and more as area churches got involved. The ER staff couldn’t explain it, but my condition inexplicably reversed, and my vital signs gradually improved to the point I could be taken off life support. A pulmonologist who studied a scan of my lungs was amazed to find every sign of trauma had vanished.

Q: Why did you decide to write this book and relive this traumatic experience?
A: Because people often doubt whether God still performs miracles, when I’m proof that He does. Our society seems to have forgotten who really controls this world, and the devil would like nothing more than for Christians like me to stay silent when God does something amazing.

Q: What have you learned about prayer through this process?
A: That having a healthy prayer life doesn’t just happen, and it doesn’t come naturally to most of us. That’s why I studied scripture, and I also looked to the lives of exemplary Christians to learn how to make the most of this gift God’s given us.

Q: Why did you title the book “Shameless Persistence?”
A: I titled the book Shameless Persistence: Lessons from a Modern Miracle, because in Luke, Jesus specifically told his disciples to pray with shameless persistence, like a man who asks his friend for help and won't take no for an answer.

---

​Q: How do you answer someone who prayed for their loved one, yet they were not healed?
A: That’s one of the hardest questions I faced when I was released from the hospital. I had people corner me and demand to know why God spared my life, but not the life of their child/sibling/parent. All I can say is that God has said “no” to many people in the past who we would think deserved a “yes” (including Jesus himself), but it all comes back to this ultimate truth: God knows what’s best for all of us, even if we don’t understand it or agree with it. 

Q: Are there three key lessons you learned about prayer through your experience?
A: The three key lessons I would offer people would be: 1) Take a good look around you whenever you feel as if God has ignored a prayer request. Often He has answered the request, only not in the way we hoped, so we don't see (or we refuse to see) an answer that's right in front of us. 2) Remember Jesus' response when Peter asked about John's future. Jesus basically told him, "It's none of your business." Whenever we compare our lives and the answers to our prayers to the answers others receive, we're negating everything God already has done for us. 3) Anytime we receive a "no," we need to remember whose company that puts us in. God told Jesus "no" when he asked to be spared the cross; C.S. Lewis asked God to spare his new bride, but she succumbed to cancer anyway; and King David asked God to spare his child, to no avail. By seeing their reactions to God's no's, we can learn how to handle our disappointments better.

Q: How are your prayers different today than they were before you became sick?
A: For one thing, the timing of my prayers is different now. I used to try to fix problems on my own (whether I admitted it or not), and then give them to God as a “last resort.” Now, He’s the first one I turn to. The tone of my prayers also has changed. Instead of asking for God’s help in a way that benefits me, I’ve realized that very little in this life is really about me:  it’s about furthering God’s kingdom in whatever way He sees fit. Even if it makes my life harder.

Q: Do you consider yourself a modern-day miracle? Why or why not?
A: I definitely consider myself a modern-day miracle. Look, when every medical specialist on your team agrees you should’ve died, then you know God is in charge. Here I had the best hospital, brilliant doctors, and enough medicine to stock a pharmacy (my medical chart ran over a hundred pages), and still no one could cure me. No human, that is. 

Sandra Bretting is the author of the critically-acclaimed book series, “The Missy DuBois Mystery Series” (Kensington Publishing, New York). A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she spent two decades writing feature stories for national newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and Houston Chronicle. She is a long-time member of The Writer’s League of Texas and the national chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives with her family in a suburb of Houston, Texas. For more information visit www.SandraBretting.com. Connect with Sandra on Facebook and BookBub.

Shameless Persistence can be purchased at Amazon.

Thank you so much, Sandra for sharing your story with us. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings!

Until next time, Friends, take care and God bless.

PamT