#SaturdaySpotlight is on Clare Revell @ClareRevell & her "Say a Prayer" series!

Good Morning!

Well, another month has passed and there is still no reprieve in sight with Covid-19 nor the civil unrest. I. Am. SO. T-I-R-E-D of the negativity....and that's all I've got to say about that!

Today's guest is no stranger to our blog. Clare Revell has been here numerous times with many of her books and let me tell you, folks, there are a ton of them! This lady cranks them out quicker than anyone I know! And they are all excellent stories.

This time Clare is sharing with us her brand new series, released entirely last month. Take it away Clare....

DC Zander Ellery isn't sure which he dislikes the most: New partners, rookie female officers, or cases he can't solve. Right now he has all three.

DC Isabel York is fresh out of uniform and out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire as her personal and professional lives clash with her first case—ten stolen works of art.

When a postcard arrives addressed to Isabel with a cryptic message on it, it's just the beginning. The mystery deepens as the first of the stolen paintings is found alongside a dead body—bound and gagged and left posed in prayer at the place depicted in the postcard.

Are nine more murders coming? Can Zander and Isabel find the missing paintings and solve the murder before another victim falls?

Amazon UK   Amazon US

As the body count increases and more paintings are recovered, DC Zander Ellery and his partner DC Isabel York are under increasing pressure to catch the killer the press have dubbed the Prayer Slayer.

A few tenuous links are all they have between the deaths of three young, pretty women. The new Chief Superintendent is only adding to the pressure and seems to be picking on Isabel more than any other officer.

Torn between his urge to protect his partner and his need to solve the case, Zander sits his sergeant's exams, hoping once they are over, he won't be so distracted. But a rocky relationship with his girlfriend and one more murder only adds to his stress.

Amazon UK   Amazon US

With trouble on the streets, DS Zander Ellery is under even more pressure to solve the case of the Prayer Slayer. 

His partner DC Isabel York is convinced she is being targeted, as all the postcards the Slayer sends are addressed only to her.

With Zander and Isabel pulled in different directions, the body count escalates, until the case explodes in a direction no one could foresee—Something that will test everyone to the limits of their experience and faith.

Amazon UK  Amazon US

Just when things couldn't get much worse, they suddenly do. With DS Zander Ellery in jail, his partner DC Isabel York fights to clear his name. Not an easy task when she is suspended from duty and the evidence against him is compelling.

Finally, pieces begin to fall into place, but to catch the Prayer Slayer once and for all, both officers must walk down a dark path where their very souls are at risk of being taken.

Amazon UK  Amazon US

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:

http://clarerevell.com

https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor

https://twitter.com/ClareRevell

http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/

https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/

https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B005NZT2O2

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005NZT2O2

http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=45

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4476220.Clare_Revell

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/clare-revell

Newsletter Sign Up - http://eepurl.com/chtmdH

WOW, Clare...what a great premise for a series. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with it!

Well Friends, that's all for today. Remember, it's your last chance to enter my monthly drawing and I've added the option to get 1 month Audible membership into the mix so be sure to leave a comment!

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes T. I. Lowe @TILowe back with Q&A on book 2 in her Carolina Coast series!

Good Morning Friends,

Well June is more than half over and it doesn't look like we'll be getting to the beaches anytime soon, especially with the crowds of people ignoring the warnings about this crazy virus spreading so easily!  Unless of course, we can find a camping spot with a tiny slice of private oasis then I'm all there LOL!

With this in mind, now is the perfect time to welcome T. I. Lowe back with book 2 in her Carolina Coast series, Driftwood Dreams.... Take it away Tonya....

What inspired you to write Driftwood Dreams?

Don’t we all want our dreams to come true? Absolutely, but how many times do we assume our dreams are too big? I want readers to see that doesn’t have to be the case. To not allow circumstances or the boxes that people tend to put us in to hold us back. I say go for it!

What are you most excited for your readers to experience through reading this story?

The passion of creativity and the excitement of giving in to our dreams. August just romances Josie right into going for it!

What role does faith play in this story?

It takes a heavy dose of faith to dream. Just giving over our hopes and desires to God to do as he sees fit, knowing that sometimes means the answer is no. But we won’t know if we don’t pursue it.

What lessons or truths do you hope people take away from Driftwood Dreams?

The Bible verse for this book is “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:15-16). We all have unique gifts, discovered most times through our dreams. We are to use our gifts to shine a beautiful light on just how wonderful God truly is.

As an author, what did you particularly enjoy about writing this story?

The oldest member of the Knitting Club has a more prevalent part in this story. Dalma Jean is considered a senile old lady whom everyone thinks they need to take care of, but the clever woman ends up taking care of people in a sneaky way that was so fun for me to reveal to the reader, at times even before revealing it to other characters. Fans of Lulu in Lulu’s Café will definitely fall in love with this eccentric yet wise lady.

What was the most difficult part of writing this story?

This is a sweet contemporary romance, so the difficulty of not presenting issues too darkly was always on my mind while sharing Josie’s bout with depression. We all have seasons of despair, so I wanted her experience to be relatable to readers. And I loved how she used her experience with depression to reach out and offer support to a friend going through a dark season.

Can you tell us about your inspiration for the main character in this book, Josie Slater? What about August Bradford?

I think we all have a little Josie Slater in us, holding back from pursuing what we view as an unattainable dream. I know I can relate, considering it took me nearly forty years of living to pursue my dream of becoming an author. Hello, folks! It’s never too late! And what woman wouldn’t want a handsome, charming man encouraging her to pursue those dreams? My hand is raised and waving like a wild woman. How about yours? Ah, August . . . I dare you not to fall for him! Such a sweetie, that one.

Can you tell us more about your inspiration for Driftwood Diner?

Driftwood Diner is Josie’s family restaurant, which was the dream her parents had that they made into their reality. The dilapidated facade of the diner represents the idea of how one person’s dream and life goals can look nothing like another’s, and you know what? That’s totally okay! Josie’s parents’ dream never fit her, and finally—through much persuasion and a firm, figurative kick in the backside from her father—Josie comes to terms with this fact and moves on to chase after her own dream.

What can you tell us about the second-chance story of Josie and August?

We’ve probably all had that one crush from our teen years that left the what-ifs whirling around in moments of nostalgia. Well, these two are perfect examples of that. Both were attracted to each other but didn’t do anything about those feelings, just leaving them behind along with their youth. Luckily, Josie and August are presented another chance, and readers will have front-row seats to witnessing their love bloom into something beyond simple crushes and stronger than a wistful what-if.

In what ways do you hope this story connects with contemporary Christian women?

We as Christian mothers, sisters, and friends have a tendency to focus on supporting others. We are fabulous cheerleaders, supporting our children, husbands, and friends in their ambitious pursuits, but we can barely muster an atta-almost-girl for ourselves. What better way to encourage others to make their dreams into reality than leading by example?

Tonya “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. In 2014, Tonya independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of twelve published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. She resides near Myrtle Beach with her family.

Connect with her on her Author Page,  T.I. Lowe’s Website   Instagram   Twitter (@TiLowe)   and Facebook  

Get a copy of Driftwood Dreams at Tyndale, Amazon OR wherever books are sold. Don't forget to pick up book 1 in the series, Beach Haven!

Check out Tonya's previous posts HERE  HERE and HERE.

Thank you so much for joining us again, Tonya. We wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new series.

Hope you enjoyed the post friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight. Don't forget to leave a comment on the blog and enter my drawing for a gift card of your choice or perhaps a 1 month Audible membership!

Also, NN Light's Book Heaven's "Celebrate Audiobook Month" event is still going on (see sidebar) be sure to enter the contest to win one of 5 different gift cards!

Until next time, take care, God bless and be safe.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Lynn Austin & If I Were You!

Good Morning and Welcome to another edition of Saturday Spotlight!

I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe in this crazy world of ours.

Today's guest has visited us before but it's been a while so let me introduce her to you once more....


Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan.

Visit her online at www.lynnaustin.org.

From bestselling and eight-time Christy Award–winning author Lynn Austin comes a remarkable novel of sisterhood and self-discovery set against the backdrop of WWII.

1950. In the wake of the war, Audrey Clarkson leaves her manor house in England for a fresh start in America with her young son. As a widowed war bride, Audrey needs the support of her American in-laws, whom she has never met. But she arrives to find that her longtime friend Eve Dawson has been impersonating her for the past four years. Unraveling this deception will force Audrey and Eve’s secrets—and the complicated history of their friendship—to the surface.

1940. Eve and Audrey have been as different as two friends can be since the day they met at Wellingford Hall, where Eve’s mother served as a lady’s maid for Audrey’s mother. As young women, those differences force them apart until the threat of Nazi invasion and war bring them back together. An American stationed in England brings a chance at love for Audrey, and the collapse of the class system gives Eve hope for a future with Audrey’s brother. But in the wake of devastating loss, both women must make life-altering decisions that will set in motion a web of lies and push them both to the breaking point.

This sweeping story transports readers to one of the most challenging eras of history to explore the deep, abiding power of faith and friendship to overcome more than we ever thought possible.

Excerpt: 

They reached the end of their block. Another constable pointed across the street to a church that had served as a shelter during the Blitz. They scrambled down the stone stairs, huddling inside the crypt with hundreds of other people in pajamas and dressing gowns, waiting for experts to defuse the bomb. Eve had plenty of time to think of all the things she wished she’d rescued. Audrey was right about needing her purse. It was going to be a huge bother replacing all her ID cards and ration books.

“What time is it?” Audrey asked. “We’ll be late for work. Do you think the church will let us use the telephone so we can call and explain?”

Eve looked at her watch, a present from Alfie. “It’s too early to call. Not even seven yet. Honestly, Audrey, you worry about the dumbest things.” Eve wore the watch all the time, even to bed at night. If the UXB did go off, at least she had one thing to remember him by.

Audrey inched closer, leaning in, lowering her voice. “Eve, listen. I need to tell you a secret.”

Eve hid a smile. It was so like Audrey to be so serious, so dramatic.

“Should I cross my heart and swear on my life not to tell?” Eve asked.

Audrey didn’t smile. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Eve barely stopped herself from saying, I’m pregnant, too.

They had done everything else together these past six years, so of course, why not have babies together? Except that Audrey had a husband and Eve didn’t. “Congratulations,” she managed to say, hugging her.

“I haven’t written to tell Robert yet. I’m afraid to. It was an accident. We took precautions . . .”

“He’ll be happy, just the same,” she said, squeezing Audrey’s hands. “Especially if it’s a boy. Doesn’t every man want a son?”

She remembered, too late, how Audrey’s father doted on his son, ignoring his daughter all these years. She wished she had bitten her tongue.

Audrey didn’t seem to hear her as she continued on. “This morning, with this bomb—I realized how badly I want to stay safe from now on. We risked our lives so many times during the war, and it didn’t seem to matter because nobody knew what tomorrow would bring, whether we would live or die, or if the Nazis would pour across the channel and murder us. But the war is over and Robert is safe, and I want to stay safe, too, until it’s time to move to America to be with him. I want our baby to be safe.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m leaving London. I’m going home to Wellingford Hall.”

Eve took a moment to respond. “What about your job? And our flat?”

“I’ll give them my notice. Today, even. You won’t have any problem finding a new flatmate.”

Wow, what an excerpt! Sounds like a wonderful story, Lynn and we wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with this new book.

Hope you enjoyed this peek into Lynn's book as much as I did 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

PS: Don't forget to leave a comment and enter into my monthly gift card giveaway and be sure to check out N. N. Light's Book Heaven's Audiobook Month giveaway where 5 gift cards are up for grabs! (see graphic in sidebar)

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Jess @AnAudiobookworm Promotions!

Good Morning Friends,

Since June is Audio Book Month and I'm participating in N. N. Light's Book Heaven huge audio book promotion (see sidebar) and since I've done audio book blog tours through Audio Bookworm Promotions, I thought it would be fun to interview Jess at ABWP and see what made her choose to focus on promoting audio books in lieu of print or E. So please give her a huge WELCOME!

●    What inspired you to start Audiobookworm Promotions?

Simply put, the need for it. If there had been someone, anyone, already doing this, I never would have been driven to start. But there just wasn't anyone giving audiobooks the promotional attention I felt they deserved.

I started out as an audiobook blogger at The Audiobookworm. When I saw some of my fellow book bloggers participating in book tours, I wanted to join. I approached several large blog tour companies and was told that there simply wasn't a market for audiobook blog tours. One of the largest companies actually told me that they ran one or two audiobook blog tours per year.

Compare that to Audiobookworm Promotions, where we run an average of three audiobook blog tours per week. Audiobookworm Promotions is the first blog tour company specializing in audiobooks and catering to listeners. Our mailing list of over 400 bloggers was compiled with audiobook promotion in mind. We tour audiobooks in every genre. I'm so proud of what we have achieved in just 4.5 years.

●    What makes you prefer audiobooks over print or E-books?

A lot of things, but the first to come to mind is: Multitasking. I'm a busy individual. As ironic as it sounds, promoting audiobooks really cuts into my time for listening to them. Fortunately, the great thing about audiobooks is that they enable a degree of multitasking not available to traditional book readers.

A prime example is listening to audiobooks while driving. This is a hugely popular activity for commuters. I like to listen while I work. Others listen while they work out! The list of listening activities is practically endless.

For so long, audiobooks have been underestimated, not only as a viable method of media consumption, but as an industry. That viewpoint has led to a “younger sibling” perception when compared to traditional books. But I try really hard not to have this ebooks vs. audiobooks mentality. To me, any type of literature consumption is a win! Do what works for you and don't judge someone else for doing what works for them.

●    Where do you see the audiobook industry in 1 year? 5 yrs?

○     You know, that's hard to say because I'm terrible at making predictions, but I think it's safe to assume that this industry is going to continue growing and expanding. I think it will become much more mainstream than it already is now.

○     Just in the last few years, since I've been working in this industry, I've already seen it evolve so much.  I remember when I first started, podcasts were really huge. They were the trendy thing. Everyone was listening to podcasts during their commutes and downtime. I don't think the popularity of podcasts has diminished any, but I've always said that podcasts are the gateway to audiobooks. It seems like now all those folks who were so hooked on podcasts for the last few years are finally making their way into the audiobook community. I think that will continue, because almost everyone who discovers podcasts will eventually make their way to audiobooks at some point, so there will be this steady flow of new people discovering a love for the format.

○    I also think that we'll see more diversification among retailers. When I first started promoting audio books, Audible (Amazon) had almost a total monopoly on audiobook retail. But recently, that has started to shift. They’re still a giant in the industry, of course, but some real competitors have also popped up. For example, my preferred listening service is actually Scribd and I know a lot of people, myself included, who have switched from an Audible membership to a Scribd subscription because of the different subscription model. I think we'll see more retail options and pricing models like that in the years to come.

○     And that's just from the consumer perspective. There's also been a shift on the production end with many authors choosing to go with someone like Author’s Direct over ACX (also Amazon owned) to produce and distribute their audiobooks. And I think that's fantastic! Not because I'm anti-Audible or Amazon, but just because I feel that more options benefit consumers and authors.

●    What does it look like when you get the chance to relax and listen to an audiobook?

      It could look like any number of things.

○It could look like me relaxing in bed at night listening to an audio while I fall asleep and then having to frantically back track the next morning to find the exact spot where I fell asleep.

○It could also look like me sitting at my desk working on audiobook promotional tasks while listening to an audiobook, like right now!

○But more likely, it would look like me sitting outside on my back porch, drinking a cup of coffee, admiring the verdant rural scenery and probably coloring, since that's my favorite thing to do while listening right now (seriously, try it!).

●    When you’re not promoting audiobooks, what are you doing?

   ○Listening to them! No, really. I'm still an avid audiobook listener. It's what got me into this business and four years later, it hasn't changed. The number of books I'm able to hear on an annual basis certainly has, though. But I try not to get too caught up with the number of audiobooks I consume each year. To me, everything is about quality over quantity.

   ○What has changed, however, is the length of audiobook I listen to now. 20+ hour audios used to intimidate me, but now I crave them. So even though I may only hear three or four audiobooks a month, that usually means they are really long ones, or that I was particularly busy with audio promotion that month, because it definitely cuts into my listening time.

●    Give us 5 fun facts about you/Audiobookworm Promotions

○     I'm a huge Elvis fan, but I've never been to Graceland. Not yet, anyway,  but it's on the bucket list.

○     I wrote my Master's thesis on audiobooks! Well, on how listening to something affects the brain versus reading. Essentially, both have their merits, but the best method of comprehension and information retention is reading and listening at the same time, which is why we should all have our subtitles on when we watch television!

○     Audiobookworm Promotions is the first blog tour company specializing in audiobooks. We host over 100 audiobook tours each year and currently work with more than 380 bloggers.

○     Before going to grad school, I was vice president of a local animal rescue organization and regularly fostered kittens.

○     I'm an amateur genealogist. It's a terribly addicting hobby and one of the only leisure activities I can’t do while listening to an audiobook, because it requires too much concentration.

Wow, THANKS, Jess for sharing your passion for audio books with us today! I know I'm excited and grateful for the audio book fans who've picked up Tempered Hearts, Tempered Dreams and Tempered Fire and I can't wait to get the rest of my titles out in audio. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with Audio Bookworm Promotions!

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

Don't forget to leave a comment and enter into my monthly drawing for a gift card!

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on @BarbaraMBritton & Until June!

Good Morning!

It's been a wonderful few days with near-perfect weather....cooler nights/mornings and warm/hot days. Best of all, no rain and none in the forecast for several days. Perfect camping weather. Couldn't find a spot this weekend but hopefully soon.

Today's guest has been in our spotlight before so please welcome, Barbara Britton back with her newest release, Until June....

Thanks for having me in the spotlight, Pam.

When seventeen-year-old seamstress, Josephine Nimetz, agrees to take care of a WWI amputee in a remote Alaskan lodge to escape the influenza of 1918, there’s enough friction to melt the Mendenhall Glacier. Her position is only until June, and it pays well enough to overlook the hardship of managing a rustic home and a shell-shocked veteran, Geoff Chambers.

Geoff makes it clear that he isn’t too fond of the “runt” sent to take care of his needs, nor of her painful mistakes. Dealing with a depressed and addicted amputee, pushes Josephine to the brink of leaving, if not for the money her salary brings.

But Josephine is a perfectionist, determined to get Geoff back on his feet—figuratively. Though, sending a rich, handsome veteran back into society may cost Josephine the man she has grown to love.

Excerpt:

The wheelchair stood empty next to the bed. Through the bathroom doorway, she saw Geoff propped against the side of the tub, bare-chested, wearing only his underwear.

“Can I come in?” she asked.

His head flopped backward and rested on the tub. “It’s going to be kind of hard for you to assist me from way out there.”

She laughed. She actually laughed. He laughed, too.

Emptying the hot water into the tub, she asked, “How did you get in here?”

“I used my arms. Thank heaven the blast didn’t blow off all my limbs.” He motioned toward some cupboards. “We’re going to need lots of towels.”

Nodding, she asked, “How are we going to do this?”

“You’re going to do as little as possible. I’ll get a hold on the outside of this tub and stand myself up. You will lift my legs over the metal edge and back out again. I don’t need you in between.”

Thank heaven. Josephine ran her fingers through her locks, curling some behind her ears.

“Can you wash your hair?”

He scowled at her. “Of course, I can.”

“You’ll need to soak those bed sores.”

“Yes, doctor.”

Geoff grasped the sides of the tub and lifted his body straight off the floor. “Up and over,” he huffed, arm muscles bulging.

With her back to Geoff’s chest, Josephine wrapped her arms around his legs and hoisted them into the tub. A shallow minefield of divets covered the skin beneath his left stump. Her ring finger sunk into his flesh.

Dropping into the water, Geoff caused a small tidal wave to crest at the rim of the tub. A few drops splashed the side of her dress, hip level. She didn’t mind the dampness. She had to take care of him.

“Anything else?” She laid a washcloth on the rim of the tub.

He shook his head. “Come when I call.” 

Josephine jogged upstairs to her bedroom and dead-dropped on to the hospital-white bedspread. She had a double bed all to herself—–no Ann—a window with a view of the inlet, and a brand- new Singer sewing machine, compliments of Mr. Chambers. She unpacked a few clothes before heading downstairs to check on Geoff.

“Are you decent?” She tapped on the bathroom door. Water gurgled down the drain.

“I’m always decent,” he replied. “I’m covered if that’s what you mean.”

Barb got the idea for Until June while visiting the Taku Glacier Lodge on an Alaskan cruise excursion over a decade ago. She heard how a man and a woman resided at the lodge and were cut off from society when the Taku River froze. A man and a woman alone in a lodge….

Until June can be purchased on Amazon, B&N and other book retailers.   

Barbara M. Britton lives in Southeast Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She is published in Biblical fiction and enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light in her stories. Look for Barb to venture into Christian Historical fiction with “Until June.” Barb is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America, and Wisconsin Romance Writers of America. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. You can find out about Barb’s books on her Website. She is also active on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Congratulations on your new release, Barb! Until June sounds like another winner! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with it.

Thanks for dropping by to support Barbara, friends. Be sure to leave a comment and enter my monthly gift card giveaway.

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Shirley Raye Redmond!

Good Morning!

Well we've made it through our first tropical storm of the season here in Louisiana. Although, Cristobal hit east of me, we still go on alert anytime something like this is in the Gulf. I pray all of you, dear friends, in Cristobal's path fare well. I've also noticed by some Facebook posts, our friends in the north are still getting some snow. Wow...send that cooler weather down here please. We need to keep our Gulf waters cool as long as possible!

N. N. Light's Book Heaven is hosting a huge audiobook promotion and giving away 5 gift cards (see sidebar to enter). Other than that, not too much else going on in my world so without much further ado, let me introduce to you my guest, fellow Pelican Book Group author, Shirley Raye Redmond.

Shirley is not brand new to our blog, but it's been quite a while since she was in our spotlight, so please give her a warm SWLA WELCOME!

An award-winning writer, Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God and three inspirational novels, PRUDENCE PURSUED, VIPER’S NEST, and AMANDA’S BEAU.

Her children’s book, LEWIS & CLARK: A PRAIRIE DOG FOR THE PRESIDENT (Random House) was a Children’s Book of the Month Club selection.

Shirley Raye holds an M.A. in literature and has been married to her husband Bill for over forty years. They live in New Mexico and are blessed with two grown children and four precious grandchildren. Touch bases at shirleyrayeredmond.com or Facebook.

Welcome, Shirley! Please share what words are on your heart today.....

Biographies Matter

When I was in 5th grade I read more than 300 library books and wrote a brief paragraph about each one. My teacher, Miss Cornelius and the school librarian were thrilled. At the end of the year awards assembly, they presented me with an embarrassment of prizes—including a lap desk with an assortment of pens, pencils, and writing paper inside. It was my pride and joy for a long time.

Looking back, I realize that many of the books I read that year were biographies. How
I loved learning about Annie Oakley, Dolley Madison, Amelia Earhart and Abigail Adams. Even now I still love reading biographies and memoirs. Why? There are several reasons.

Biographies bring history to life. World War II becomes more than dates and places when one reads about Corrie Ten Boom’s trials and tribulations in a concentration camp. Ecuador becomes vividly real when one reads about Elisabeth Elliot eating roast monkey while evangelizing the savage Waorani tribe. The battle for civil rights takes on flesh when one reads about little Ruby Bridges, who had to be escorted to elementary school by US Marshals.

Biographies make me want to be a better person. Reading about surfer Bethany Hamilton makes me want to be braver. Reading about Florence Nightingale makes me want to be more caring. Reading about Pandita Ramabai—a female Hindu scholar who converted to Christianity—makes me want to be bolder in my faith.

Biographies provide us with valuable life lessons. Young athletes and others cannot help but be encouraged by the life of runner Wilma Rudolph, who overcame crippling polio to go on to win gold medals in the Olympics. The musically inclined will admire Mahalia Jackson, who overcame poverty and prejudice to earn the title of gospel music queen. Although paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada’s experiences teach all of us about faith, prayer, and determination. She didn’t let her disabilities prevent her from achieving a reputation as a gifted mouth artist, talented vocalist, and author.

Christian biographies encourage us to keep running the good race. Living in a culture addicted to mediocrity, we need to be inspired by believers who struggled against sin and adversity to triumph in the end—people who served as salt and light in this troubled world.

Biographies should be a staple in our in our diet—especially in the diet of our children and grandchildren. As author Os Guinness has written, “…great lives do more than teach. They stir, challenge, rebuke, amuse and inspire at levels of which we are hardly aware.”

So when was the last time you read a good biography? Maybe it’s time to do so again. You won’t even have to write a book report.

Shirley's latest book, Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God can be purchased at Amazon, B&N and Christian Book.com

Wow, Shirley, your post reminds me of the Vocational Biographies I wrote early in my career! Great information. Thanks for sharing!

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 and leave a comment to enter my monthly gift card giveaway!

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Delsora Lowe & The Rancher Needs a Wife

Good Morning!

It is always my pleasure to introduce to you a new-to-me author and today is no exception. Delsora Lowe welcomed me to her blog last month with Tempered Fire Audio book so it is with much gratitude and appreciation I return the favor and shine the spotlight on her and her latest release, The Rancher Needs a Wife. Take it away Delsora!

Wanted: A Suitable Wife

Workaholic cowboy needs hardy woman to manage household and motley family. 

“Girly” widows, with small children, who sell naughty lingerie need not apply.

Overprotective big brother and ranch owner, Carter Peters, draws the short straw at a contrived family meeting, to buy his stepmom’s sixtieth birthday present. He never imagines while on the present-buying quest he’ll get zapped with cupid’s arrow by a feisty southern belle, single mom, and lingerie shop owner who is so wrong for him and has off-limits written all over her. He has no time for romance—he has a ranch to run and a father who, despite being “retired,” can’t help micro-manage. Dad insists Carter’s new-fangled ways won’t work.

Lynette Mercer wants nothing to do with the tall, sexy, and slightly bashful cowboy who walks through her door. Okay, maybe just a little. They could be friends. After all, she’s vowed not to date until her four-year old reaches the ripe age of thirty-six.  She’s recovering from the death of her husband in a marriage that had turned bad and starting a new business.

With new friends and Carter’s family determined to marry them off, neither stand a chance against cupid or a town full of caring folks.

Excerpt: She placed the mug in the dish rack and turned to come face to face with Carter, his coffee cup in one hand and the plate of cookies in the other.

“I better head out. Early morning...” But he didn’t move. His breath tickled the fine hair wisping against her forehead.

A nod was all she was capable of as she stood only inches from his chest.

The seconds stretched before he reached over her shoulder to put down the plate of cookies. The light brush of his hand against her arm sent a flutter straight to her belly.

Oh, lordy.

When he started to reach around her again, to deposit the mug on the counter, she swore the air thinned around them. Lightheaded and dizzy, she reeled from a faint aroma of pine mixed with the heady scent of leather and man. The mug thunked against the counter behind her and she waited for Carter to back up.

He didn’t.

The heat of his body, the caress of his breath...

When she looked up, he was staring at her. At her mouth. The tick, tick, tick of the muscle along his jawline the only movement on his face. His lips set straight like he fought the urge to kiss her.

Oh lordy, yes. No. What am I thinking?

Before she could figure out a way to wiggle away from the counter without rubbing up against him—all of him—he swooped in like a sharp-shinned hawk on its prey.

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine.

Connect with Delsora at the following locations....

Author website: www.delsoralowe.com 

Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor 

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/

Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe 

BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518 

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe

Get your copy of The Rancher Needs a Wife at Amazon and Other Online Retailers.

WOW, Delsora you've got me hooked with that blurb and excerpt LOL! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release and other books.

Hope you enjoyed the post 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 welcomes Jess Lederman & Hearts Set Free Audio Book Tour!

Good Morning and Welcome to the first Wednesday Words with Friends post of June 2020!

I hope and pray all is well with you and yours and that you've not only withstood Covid-19 and the civil unrest in our country, but flourished. The anger, violence and destruction we've witnessed the last couple of weeks makes my heart sick and I pray for God's healing throughout our land.

And that's ALL I'm going to say about that!

Before we introduce our guest today, I'd like to announce the winner of May's gift card.....

Mary Preston!

Congratulations Mary, and Thank You ALL for continuing to support my guests by visiting and commenting on their posts.

Now without further ado, please welcome today's guest brought to us by Audio Bookworm Promotions.....

Author: Jess Lederman

Narrator: Alison Maglaughlin

Length: 12 hours and 24 minutes

Released: January 06, 2020

Publisher: Jess Lederman

Genre: Literary Fiction; Christian