#SaturdaySpotlight is on Lilies for Sandi; Part of A Hint of Holiday Romance

Good Morning Friends,

My scheduled guest is having computer issues and not able to make it today and we've rescheduled her. So, I thought I would share the blurb and an excerpt from my Easter story, Lilies for Sandi which is part of A Hint of Holiday Romance collection.

Can two hearts broken by unfulfilled dreams find healing, wholeness, and restoration? 

Sandi and Brett did everything backwards. They got pregnant before the wedding and had a baby instead of a honeymoon. Since, Brett has resented the fact that his dreams of a football career have been cut short and wonders how long it’ll take God to forgive him for his mistakes. 

Sandi has played second fiddle to Brett’s dreams and desires to the point of not knowing herself any longer and fears her marriage will never be a true one because of their failures

Excerpt: Without stopping to second-guess himself, he picked up the spray of Easter lilies he’d brought in case he got up the nerve to approach her and opened his car door while calling her name.

She turned, and an assortment of emotions flitted across her features. The door opened behind her, and Karla stepped out.

“Everything all right out here?”

“I’d like to talk to Sandi, if it’s OK with her.”

Sandi eyed the flowers in his hand then gave Karla the bags and murmured something to her. Karla acknowledged the words with a nod, took the packages, and went back inside.

Brett held the bouquet toward her. “I know these are your favorites. Hope you don’t mind that I picked them up.”

She buried her nose in the fragrant blooms then raised her gaze to his once more. “What are you doing here, Brett? I haven’t seen or heard from you in weeks.”

“I’d hoped we could go to church together Sunday.”

“I thought your games were Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

 “They normally are, just not on Easter Sunday. I know we haven’t gone to church much through the years of our marriage, but I’ve been attending a Bible study with the coach and some of the team members. I figured this was a good time to start going again. I’d like to take you and Candie with me then maybe out to lunch so we can talk. Karla is welcome to come along if you and she want it that way.”

“I’m sorry, Brett, but we’ve already made plans with our families to have lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the little ones. You’re welcome to join us though.”

Brett bit back his disappointment. The last thing he wanted was a family outing when he hadn’t been part of the familial unit for months. “How about an early breakfast, then church? I promise to get you back in plenty of time for the festivities you’ve planned. I’d really like to talk to you, Sandi, to apologize for the way I’ve treated you and to see if there’s a chance of you coming home.”

He reached for her, and she stiffened. Hope and despair collided on her face, churned into anger. Color exploded in her cheeks. She jerked away. “You think it’s that easy, Brett? Just bring a bunch of flowers and sweet talk your way back into our good graces after all this time? You’ve a lot of nerve thinking that.”

“I don’t think that at all, Sandi. Easter’s a time of resurrection, reconciliation, and restoration. I’d hoped we could at least start to work out our differences, most of which, I know are my fault. Have you hardened your heart so much that I don’t even stand a chance?”

A Hint of Holiday Romance can be found at Amazon for Kindle, in Paperback and at other online retailers HERE.

I hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll check back weekly for another episode of Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care, God Bless and Happy Reading!

PamT

*Image by ALESSA ABRAMOFF from Pixabay

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Dana Gautreaux & Whispers in the Storm: A Journey Through Grief

Good Morning and Welcome to another edition of Saturday Spotlight. Today's guest has not been in the spotlight before but her book was featured in the sidebar back in November. Now, Dana is giving us a full look into Whispers in the Storm: A Journey Through Grief.

Thanks for joining us, Dana. Please tell us why you wrote this book and share with us the blurb and an excerpt...

Thank you, Pam. This book was written in purpose and calling—to do something real enough to touch the deepest pain a person can ever feel.

My goal was to be real, raw, and honest—to say what so many of us feel but are afraid to speak out loud. I didn’t write Whispers in the Storm to explain grief or to make sense of it, because some pain has no explanation. I wrote it to show that even when life breaks us apart, God still meets us there.

Every page was written from the middle of the storm, not from the other side of healing. It was obedience—a way to show that faith can tremble, hearts can shatter, and God can still be good.

This story is proof that He can take what nearly destroys us and use it to help someone else survive. Because hope doesn’t erase pain—it anchors us through it.

Here is the Blurb: Whispers in the Storm: A Journey Through Grief is my story of losing my son, Logan, and wrestling with God in the hollow ache that followed. There were days I could barely breathe and nights I begged for answers that never came—but even there, He met me. Not with explanations, but with presence.

As grief reshaped my world, God began weaving women into my life—souls who held space when I couldn’t stand on my own. He wove us together through heartbreak, and I walked beside them through their own storms.

This book is for anyone who has ever whispered, “Where are You, God?” and still found hope breathing softly through the brokenness.

And an Excerpt: This tribe didn’t just offer me comfort; it offered me communion and a divine sisterhood that whispered, “You are not forgotten. You are not walking alone.”

We prayed together, cried together, and sat in silence together. We bore witness to each other’s pain, but more than that, we carried each other’s hope when it felt too heavy to hold alone.

We didn’t try to fix each other, rush the pain, or silence the ache. Instead, we sat with it, held space for it, and honored the weight of what we carried without trying to make it smaller. Sometimes healing begins not with answers, but with someone simply saying, “Me too.”

These women taught me that healing isn’t a straight line; it’s a winding, sometimes stumbling path, covered in prayer, paved with tears, and lit by the flickering flame of hope.

Some days, that flame barely flickers, but it never goes out.

Sometimes, your storm is like a hurricane—violent, loud, and devastating. It knocks the wind out of you and leaves behind wreckage that takes years to rebuild.

Sometimes, it’s a violent thunderstorm—sharp, sudden, and cruel. The skies crack open, hail pounds down without warning, and it feels like everything around you is breaking. You’re soaked in grief before you even know what hit you.

Sometimes, the turmoil inside you is a firestorm—hot, consuming, and relentless. It scorches everything in its path, leaving only ashes behind. And when the flames die down, you’re left staring at a landscape you no longer recognize, wondering how anything can grow again.

Other times, that turmoil is more like a barren wasteland, like a sandstorm in the desert. It doesn’t roar; it whispers. It’s dry, quiet, and disorienting. You can’t see where you came from, and you’re blinded to the path ahead. It feels like the call of God has gone silent.

But even there—especially there—God meets you. Even in the wilderness, silence, and chaos, He’s there. And in His love, He sends others to walk beside you and to be the light when your world goes dim.

If we listen closely enough, there are always whispers in the storm—whispers of grace, mercy, and courage. These whispers are from God, gently reminding us, “I am still here.”

Love often shows up in the smallest of ways. Sometimes, a hand on your back when you can’t breathe, a card that arrives just when you’re unraveling, a friend who says, “You don’t have to be strong today.” This was the kind of love these women gave me. It wasn’t just support, but a fierce, tender compassion that wrapped around my grief like a holy covering.

How Beautiful, Dana! It is so important to have a support system in the middle of grief. I'm sure your book will bless many people. Please tell us where we can find it and how we can find out more about you!

Thanks again, Pam. Whispers in the Storm can be found at Amazon for Kindle, in Hardcover and in Paperback. 

You can find out more about me by visiting my Website or connecting with me on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @danagautreauxauthor.

Wonderful! Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings in all things, Dana. Friends, if you know of someone who could benefit from Dana's book or from connecting with her, PLEASE get them a copy or have them contact her through her website.

Until next week, take care and God bless.

PamT