#SaturdaySpotlight is on Jamie Saloff & Marvelous Messages from Your Faith!

Good Morning from Bandera, TX!

You know I always have a good time when I'm at my home away from home and where my soul feels at peace the most. I'll fill you all in on the trip later. Meanwhile, please welcome new-to-our-blog author, Jamie Saloff as she shares with us her book Marvelous Messages from Your Faith.

Marvelous Messages from Your Faith, a simple method to manifest your desires and receive answered prayers.

When faced with difficult life situations—especially when we are feeling helpless—prayer is often our go-to tool for guidance and hope. But if your requests frequently go unanswered, if you're not manifesting your needs, or if you sometimes wonder if anyone hears your prayers at all, this little book is for you.

Most of us have never been taught how to pray other than, perhaps, ancient, rote words to recite. We’ve never been shown how to frame a request that unties God's hands and frees the heavenly hosts to assist us.

A champion of prayer since childhood, Jamie Saloff shares her methods for creating simple requests that get answers. You’ll quickly build your faith and increase your success rate.

No matter how you imagine God (the Divine, Angels, Guides, an invisible force), this non-denominational, quick-to-read book will provide valuable insights into the power of prayer.

Excerpt: Nothing is Ever Lost ©2019-2022 All Rights Reserved. 

My favorite, everyday watch had been missing for months. I had looked everywhere but hadn’t found it. The watch had been gone for so long, most people would have given up. But I didn’t. I felt I would still find it. 

I had read somewhere that “nothing is ever lost” to God, that he always knows where everything is. So I began to pray that God would find my watch. 

The watch wasn’t very expensive. I could have easily bought a new one. I just always had liked it and wanted it back. 

One day while out golfing, I started digging in my golf bag for something. For some reason, I opened a pocket I rarely opened. 

Guess what was inside? 

My watch! The battery had died, but otherwise, it was in perfect condition. I didn’t even remember putting my watch in my golf bag. Finding my watch grew my faith, so I tried it on some other things. 

We had a sign hanging in front of our house, as many of the cottages in our lakeside neighborhood had names. One day it disappeared. We informed the police, but they did not offer us much hope of recovering it. 

My husband wanted to make a new one, but I kept telling him no. I knew our sign would somehow find its way home. God knew where to find the sign, so I left it up to him. 

A few months passed. 

We were sitting on our front deck when a car stopped out front. A man called from his car, “Did you used to have a sign hanging here?” He pointed to the lamp post and empty hangers. 

“Yes,” we replied. 

Soon we learned that some college kids had stolen many local signs as part of a fraternity stunt and left them in a rental house this man owned. He found all the signs behind the piano when the students moved out. He decided to return any he could. 

The sign now hangs in front of our home in its rightful place. 

If you have lost something, God knows where it is. 

This Supercharger has worked for me for a great many things. There are still some things I’m missing, but I am being patient.

My mother used to make dolls for the Christmas tree. She sold them all over the country and through stores like Marshall Fields and Frederick Nelson. Of course, the best set was hers because she had all the originals including the ones that never made it to market.

During every holiday season, we honor my mother by hanging the ornaments she created on the tree. Unfortunately, my tree is a little bare. My mother always promised to give me her set since I didn’t have one of my own. Sadly, due to complicated circumstances, they ended up with my stepfather’s third wife, and, unbeknown to us, she sold them in a yard sale. 

Some of my mother’s ornaments have found their way home including a special one made just for me. In the sixth grade, I wrote a report on Finland. My mother made me a traditional Finnish dress to wear and a doll to match. I surely was blessed to find the doll, along with other of her ornaments on eBay. 

Some are still out there, including her trademark piece, The Storyteller (an old man sitting in a rocking chair, slippered feet on a footstool, reading a book – see Iaulandas.com). God knows where to find The Storyteller and the other missing dolls. Someday, He will bring them home too.  

If you’ve lost something you loved, God knows where it is. Ask him to find it for you, to protect it, and to bring it home safely.

Author and Lily Dale trained intuitive, Jamie L. Saloff teaches new ways to listen to your body, tap into your internal guidance, and follow your heart. Using her Marvelous Messages™ process, discover the guidance all around and within you to clear life blocks, old baggage, and self-limiting beliefs. Discover the wondrous and joy-filled life awaiting you as you arise and answer your soul’s sacred calling. Find out more and connect with Jamie by visiting her Website, FaceBook, Twitter @JamieSaloff, Instagram, Amazon Author Page, GoodReads and LinkedIn. Sign up to receive Jamie's newsletter and get a free book!

Get your copy of Marvelous Messages from Your Faith Here.

I absolutely love your excerpt Jamie! One short prayer I learned a long time ago for things that are misplaced is, "Nothing is lost in the mind of God." Works every time! THANKS for sharing. Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings.

Hope you enjoyed a peek into Jamie's book as much as I did friends and that you'll check back each week for another edition of Saturday Spotlight and Wednesday Words with Friends.

Until next time take care and God Bless.

PamT

PS: NN Light's "Christmas in July Fete" ends tomorrow so if you haven't entered the rafflecopter giveaway do so now!

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes @crystalcaudillauthor Crystal Caudill!

Good Morning Friends,

Well I'm off for my annual visit to Bandera, TX! This time with 4 other ladies. Fun times ahead LOL!

Our guest today was in the spotlight on May 28th so please welcome Chrystal Caudill back as she talks with us about Embracing God’s Plan for Our Lives.

No story of becoming a published author is the same. That is because God has called each one of us to a unique path meant to draw us nearer to Him and meant to glorify His name. Even if it isn’t the way we envisioned. 

My story certainly isn’t, but I hope that it one that will encourage you to embrace whatever plans God has for your life, whether a writer or not. His ways are better than ours, even if it means walking through some really hard stuff we never wanted to. 

When I was in high school, I thought I knew what my life would look like. I’d be an elementary school teacher in the Appalachian Mountains and would probably get married around 28 after I’d had time to live and grow as an individual woman. But that isn’t not what God had planned for me. 

 

I married at 19, live just outside Cincinnati, OH—which is NOTHING like living in the Appalachian Mountains, and although I taught for five years, I’m now a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and author.

It’s that last one that I never envisioned, even in my wildest dreams. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always written stories. It was how I escaped and processed the challenges of living in a broken world. But I never dreamed of being a published author. I didn’t even want it. My stories were just for me. 

Then God firmly closed the door on my teaching, calling me to be home where my family needed me. When I left teaching, I knew that this leaving wasn’t “just for a season” but a permanent end to what I thought had been my dreams. I was devastated. I wrestled for almost two years to learn to place my identity in Christ and not anything I did. 

It took time, but I finally embraced that I was called to be a stay-at-home mom and caregiver. I was content. Sometimes I wonder if God took that contentment as a challenge to see how He much He could shake my world up again.

Through God’s hand and my husband’s obedience, I attended my first writers conference in 2015—not to learn how to become a published author mind you. No, my only purpose was learning to become a better writer, solely for myself. I’m a teacher after all, and teachers tend to be life-long learners. 

Then God introduced me to a man who scared the daylights out of me by being extremely direct. “Are you looking to be published?” 

“Nope.”

“Why not?” 

“Because my stories are just for me.” 

“Didn’t God give you these stories?” 

“Well, yes, but . . .”

“Then why aren’t you seeking to be published.”

“I gotta go. It was nice to meet you.”

Boy, did I run. I absolutely planned on ignoring that conversation and avoiding that man the rest of the conference. Then God took all but one of the writing craft classes I wanted and canceled them due to the instructor becoming ill. 

The only classes remaining? Publishing classes. 

Seriously, God? To make a long story short, I attended the classes, had a tentative meeting to learn more from the guy that scared me, and then went home. 

And fought God’s direction for SIX MONTHS. 

When I finally embraced to God’s plan and begrudgingly did as He told, He used the journey of essentially seven years to grow me in my walk with Him, bring me friends I had prayed for 15 years to have, and to teach me His ways—though difficult to walk in—are far better than anything I could plan myself.

There have been many gifts of this writing journey, but one that brings me to tears every time I think about it is this one. 

My teaching certificate—the plan and dream I once had—expired this June (2022). My debut novel, Counterfeit Love, released in March. It has symbolically been the closing of one door and the opening of another. 

My encouragement for you is to embrace God’s plan for your life, even if it looks nothing like you dreamed or expected. It won’t be easy—it is STILL hard for me—but the way God will work on your heart and in your life is a reward that can’t be experienced until you do.

Feel free to reach out to me through my website, https://crystalcaudill.com/, join my newsletter (https://bitly.com/CaudillNews), or read Counterfeit Love to see glimpses of what embracing God’s plan for my life has and is teaching me.

What a lovely post, Crystal, Thank You for sharing!

Hope you enjoyed Crystal's post as much as I did, Friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Robin W Pearson & Walking in Tall Weeds!

Good Morning!

I'm off to Eunice, LA today for LSU-E's first annual Cajun Prairie Authors Expo a FREE event for readers/authors in SW LA area, so I'm not going to take up too much of your time on myself. I'm just going to let our brand-new-to-me-our-blog author, Robin W Pearson tell us about her latest book, Walking in Tall Weeds from Tyndale House. Take it away, Robin....

From award-winning author Robin W. Pearson comes a new Southern family drama about one family who discovers their history is only skin-deep and that God’s love is the only family tie that binds.

Paulette and Fred Baldwin find themselves wading through a new season of life in Hickory Grove, North Carolina. Their only son, McKinley, now works hundreds of miles away, and the distance between the husband and wife feels even farther. When their son returns home, his visit dredges up even more conflict between Fred and Paulette.

McKinley makes it no secret that he doesn’t intend to follow in his father’s footsteps at George & Company Fine Furnishings or otherwise. Fred can’t quite bring himself to accept all his son’s choices, yet Paulette is determined McKinley will want for nothing, least of all a mother’s love and attention—which her own skin color cost her as a child. But all her striving leaves Fred on the outside looking in.

Paulette suspects McKinley and Fred are hiding something that could change the whole family. Soon, she’s facing a whirlwind she never saw coming, and the three of them must dig deep to confront the truth. Maybe then they’ll discover that their history is only skin-deep while their faith can take them right to the heart of things.

Excerpt: “I can see your mind churning like the wings on that hummingbird over there.” Fred inched back his wide white cuff to reveal his watch. The sun glinted off its crystal face. “But whatever thought you just picked up, set it down again and let it rest. We have a long drive ahead of us. You can elucidate your honey dos on the way.” He hooked an index finger under the strap of her green crocheted satchel and let the bag swing gently to and fro. “That’s all I was coming to do: collect my worker bee and get a move on.”

“Just layin’ out my steps, not makin’ work for you. I thought I’d plan some talkin’ points with McKinley so I don’t forget what I want to say.” She stuffed the notes into a leather book that still had a price tag on its cover. Then she lifted the bag from his finger and stowed everything inside.

Fred shook his head. “I wouldn’t resurrect your daddy’s list making, Etta.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m only followin’ what he said, not what he did. These are more like . . . ideas. Reminders. You know you and I don’t have the best track record for stayin’ out the weeds, Fred.”

There was no give in the lists of dos and don’ts Harold Burdell had raised his daughter by, just take. Her daddy’s timekeeping didn’t set riverbanks that kept Paulette’s life from overflowing with too much; his planning erected stultifying, narrow walls. There was always a right thing to do, which meant there was a wrong, too. Paulette had never been able to see the maybes or what-ifs that life offered every now and again because her daddy and his infernal lists blocked her view. Considering life’s possibilities hadn’t done him much good, and he’d tried to keep his only child from coming to the same tragic end.

Hence, her sticky notes and her new journal . . . and Fred. This was the closest she’d ever come to planning ahead. She’d do what was within her power not to mess up this time with her son.

*****

Sounds like an amazing story, Robin, now please tell us a little more about yourself....

Basically, I am Jesus centered, family focused. My Lord and Savior is why I “live and move and have [my] being.” (Acts 17:28) I know He has an eye and a purpose in each leaf that drifts to the ground, in every tear that courses my cheek, in all the twists and turns of our whirlwind adventure through life. And we have raised and taught our family based on His trusted Word.

Though we’ve lived up and down the East Coast, Hubby and I sprouted from Southern soil and will always be rooted in North Carolina. The South flavors our faith, our family, and my fiction—not to mention my food. Find out more by visiting my Website and connecting with me on FaceBook and Instagram.

Wonderful! Where can we get a copy of Walking in Tall Weeds?

Directly through Tyndale House, Amazon, ChristianBook(dot)com and wherever Christian fiction can be found.

Thank You, SO MUCH for visiting with us today, Robin. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release.

Until next week for Wednesday Words with Friends, take care and God Bless Y'ALL!

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Penelope Marcez!

Good Morning!

Lot's of stuff going on this week. On Saturday I have an author event out of town then next Wednesday, I'm headed to Bandera for a few days! So without much further ado, please welcome Penelope Marcez back to talk about her new book, Angel of the L Train.

I grew up in a house across the bay from New York City. I now live a bit farther inland, but not by much. Many people in the area commute to New York City every day to go to work. I’ve enjoyed going to the museums in New York, seeing the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty (multiple times), the Coney Island Aquarium, and the World Trade Center many years ago. However, I never knew much about taking the subways until one of our daughters moved to Brooklyn. Then I learned about the G train, the E train, and the L train—among others.

On the subway trains, I was entertained by a wide variety of subway musicians, a few rats, a poetry writer, and the guy who beats plastic buckets. I learned it is far, far better to ride the trains at off-peak hours if you want to get a seat. The subways are usually extremely efficient at getting you where you want to go most of the time—except when they’re not. New York City is a very busy place.

I realized if I included this country’s largest city as a setting in a book, I needed to include the New York City subway. Angel of the L Train is a story about a young woman who grew up in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey but gets a job at a tabloid in Manhattan. But working for a media company that deals in gossip is a huge mistake for a young woman with a big secret.

Thea Ahern desperately needs a job, so when she lands a job at LetSlip, a New York City gossip magazine, she takes it even though it will mean hiding her heritage. When she helps a man who is attacked on the subway, she's hailed as the Angel of the L Train, and people notice her striking resemblance to a once famous actress. This sparks a renewed interest in Paris Hulette and her whereabouts. What happened to the award-winning actress after her husband shot her? And is Thea Ahern really the actress's daughter?

Thea's coworker, John, understands what it means to hide from your past, and so he shields Thea from the ensuing media frenzy. She falls for him, and he falls for her, but LetSlip's CEO orders John to investigate Thea. Now he has to choose between protecting Thea or losing his job.

When LetSlip's CEO is murdered while John is in the building, John is thrust into the public spotlight along with Thea, and his past is revealed. Can Thea ever trust him again? And can he ever be forgiven for what he's done?

Interested? Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the book.

Thea Ahern twisted her hands in her lap as she sat in front of the huge polished desk of LetSlip’s CEO. The receptionist in the notorious gossip magazine’s human resources office took one look at Thea and sent her directly to this office, which seemed odd. Still, this interview was the first one she’d managed to get, and while LetSlip’s reputation might be unsavory, it was a job—and she needed money.

As the petite CEO studied Thea’s portfolio, Thea glanced at the huge, abstract painting covering the wall on her left. She clamped her jaw together in an effort to prevent displaying any trace of emotion. Her mother created that work of art ten years ago or so. Sorrow pierced Thea as she remembered her mother’s joy in splashing the canvas with the vivid colors. It spanned the entire wall, brightening up the otherwise drab office.

“I’m impressed with your work.” The woman stated from across the other side of the massive desk.

“Thank you, Ms. Capello.” Thea gave a tentative smile as a sense of relief flowed through her.

“Please, call me Salbatora. We use first names only at LetSlip. We’re all family here.” The woman shoved aside Thea’s portfolio. “You haven’t lived in Brooklyn for long. I can tell by your accent. Where did you grow up?”

“In south Jersey,” Thea answered.

“Down the shore?” The woman tapped her well- manicured fingers on the shiny desk.

“Sort of, actually in the Pine Barrens.”

“I’ve never been there.” The woman turned her head to stare at the painting on the wall.

A strange chill slid up Thea’s spine. 

Penelope Marzec grew up along the Jersey shore. She started reading romances at a young age and fell hopelessly in love with happy endings. Two of her inspirational romances won EPIC’s eBook Award and another was a finalist in that contest. Her paranormal, Irons in the Fire, was a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award. Her Christian historical, Patriot’s Courage, placed First in the Inspirational category of the 2021 National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest. 

Visit her website at penelopemarzec.com for more information. 

Angel of the L Train will be released on August 12, 2022. It is now available for pre-order at: Amazon.

Pelican Book Group  Apple  Nook  Kobo

Check out Penelope's previous visit to our blog HERE.

Oh my, Penelope, this sounds like a really intriguing book! Good luck and God's blessings with it!

Hope you enjoyed Penelope's post as much as I did, friends and that you'll come back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Sandra Byrd & Heirlooms!

Good Morning!

Can you believe July is half over already?!

Me either.

Alas, time marches on and we're in the middle of "Christmas in July" so please be sure and visit NN Light's Book Heaven's "Christmas in July Fete" and enter the rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win a $75.00 Amazon gift card!

I'm off to Bayou Writers Group meeting so let me introduce to you, brand new-to-me-our-blog guest Sandra Byrd. Please give her a huge W-E-L-C-O-M-E as she gives us sneak peek into her brand new book, Heirlooms!

Answering a woman’s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.

After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmother’s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.

Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmother’s final breaths: ask Grace Kim—Eunhee’s granddaughter—to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothers’ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.

Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four women—grandmothers and granddaughters—intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.

In Heirlooms, Sandra Byrd . . .

• Tells a dual-narrative story of four women—grandmothers and granddaughters— intertwining across generations and cultures to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit.

• Encourages us to change views and responses to neurodiverse people in a world built for the neurotypical.

• Explores the American dream, the costs for the first generation, and the challenges of the generations that follow.

• Acknowledges that making a life is more important than making a living.

• Inspires the courage to take risks and make changes in a world built upon not disappointing others. 

Excerpt:  Two long rings, three short.

Helen hesitantly moved toward the phone. It sat upon a small table next to the window overlooking the unused canning shed, set in a field sleepy with wet weeds splayed against the ground like closed eyelashes. Licorice rope phone lines stretched toward the farmhouse. Four birds convened on the line, silhouetted by the outdoor lights she’d had installed for safety.

Two long rings, three short.

One bird cocked his head and looked directly at her. Are you going to answer?

Helen reached for the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hello. Is this Mrs. Helen Devries?” a lady’s voice queried, her tone undergirded by strain and slightly nasal, as if spoken by someone who’d been crying. “The wife of Lieutenant Bob Devries?”

“Yes, this is Mrs. Helen Devries.”

“I am sorry to bother you at this hour. I am Choi Eunhee. Wife of Chief James Roy.”

Helen shuffled through her memories. “Hello, Mrs. Roy. Am I right to think that your husband served with my husband?”

“Yes. In South Korea, where I am from and where we married. My husband told me that he served many years with your husband and that if I were ever in trouble, I should contact him, as he would help me.”

Helen’s fatigue lifted and the sound of the news in the background faded. “Are you in trouble?”

“Yes.”

Helen steadied herself. “I’m honored that Chief Roy thinks so highly of my husband. But my husband can’t help you. He was killed two years ago.”

“My husband is also dead.” Silence bled into the white space of the moment, and then she continued, “They whisper that I helped kill him. That I might help kill them, too.”

Taken from Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd. Copyright © 2022. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.  All rights reserved.

Sandra Byrd is the author of more than fifty published books, including the historical novels To Die For, Mist of Midnight, and her most recent, Lady of a Thousand Treasures. She has received many awards, nominations, and accolades for her work, including the Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice award, two Christy Award nominations, Library Journal Best Book selections, and inclusion on Booklist’s Top Ten Inspirational Books of the Year list. Sandra lives in Seattle with her husband and with her grown children nearby.

Find out more by visiting Sandra's Website and following her on Social Media.

Heirlooms sounds like a lovely novel, Sandra. Thank you for sharing with us today. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.

Until next week friends, take care and God Bless you Also!

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes @JanyreTromp Janyre Tromp!

Good Morning Friends,

Today's guest was introduced to us last month when we spotlighted her book, Shadow's in the Mind's Eye, so please welcome Janyre back as she shares some words of wisdom. 

Summer is creeping, tiptoeing across the Mitten State. 

As the days stretch, one hundred thousand leaves unfurl from the tip of a single tree. A hundred trees in my backyard. Ten million leaves to cup the drops of rain. Ten million leaves to filter the sunlight, broken across the water into prismatic color arched across the sky.

I curl into my chair reminded of the promise of the creator to never flood the entire world again. But there is something I know as fact. In this life, we will have trouble. 

Trouble has sifted through each of our lives and the things we have discovered—that my daughter can become so ill that she should have died, that power corrupts and breaks wars open, and that I don’t understand the plan.

Above the colored bow in the sky, the creator sees, he knows. He holds the future, the past, our very present-tense selves in capable, all-knowing hands. 

And so we tell stories of finding, of seeing hope in the darkness. We use stories to explore the hard things. Won’t you choose with me to celebrate beauty even when it isn’t pretty. 

Janyre Tromp is a historical novelist whose loves spinning tales that, at their core, hunt for beauty, even when it isn’t pretty. 

Her most recent book, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye, explores PTSD just after WWII—a time we often think of idyllic and simple. In 1946, a soldier returns from the Pacific Theatre to his young family and no one knows if he's actually seeing criminals in the Arkansas hills or if, in a Hitchcockian twist, his battle scarred mind has made him the true danger.

You can purchase Shadows in the Mind’s Eye wherever books are sold. Baker | Schuler Books | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Amazon

FREE Book Club kit HERE.

FREE Sample Chapters HERE.

Janyre is also the coauthor of O Little Town (releasing Fall 2022) and It’s a Wonderful Christmas. She’s also a book editor, published children’s book author, and lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her family, two crazy cats, and a slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog. 

You can download a free copy of her novella Wide Open from her website (http://JanyreTromp.com) or join her on social media:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/JanyreTromp

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JanyreTromp 

Instagram: www.instagram/JanyreTromp

BookBub: Janyre Tromp Books - BookBub

What wonderful sentiments, Janyre. Thank you for sharing!

Until next time friends, Good luck and God's blessings.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Liz Crowe & Win. Place. Show!

Good Morning Friends,

If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE horses and the Triple Crown races. You also know I visited Churchill Downs back in 2018 while on my East Coast Vacation, so when I heard about Liz Crowe's steamy romance novel, Win. Place. Show. which takes place around the Derby I just had to get her here! Since this is Liz's first visit, I'm just going to let her take the reins and tell us all about her book. Take it away, Liz....

Win Place Show: All bets are on!

Start with a perfect spring weekend full of pretty dresses, high heels, fancy hats, horse races, and bourbon. 

Combine with a friends-from-childhood couple whose ongoing misunderstandings have led Lucy Granger to swear she’ll never move back home. 

Mix in a splash of combined family pressure for Lucy and Nate Hawthorne to be The Golden Couple.

Pour over crushed ice and garnish with plenty of hot, secret hookups.

Win. Place. Show.

A funny sort of romance chock full of dressing up, mint juleps, an axe-throwing bar, and a huge winning bet at the big race.

Excerpt: 

Lucy dropped the phone to her side, wishing she could sleep another three hours to skip the whole still-a-tad-drunk part of the hangover. She had, indeed, made some poor choices the night before. Beginning with thinking she could slide back into easy, sexy time with Nate. She’d already more or less decided against it before he’d gotten there. But, of course, he’d shown up looking so flipping edible in a pair of dark jeans and a form-fitting purple polo with the Trifecta logo stitched where the little polo guy usually sat. Damn the man. He had no right to go around being so...hot. 

He’d always been vain about his hair, something he’d discovered was a featured benefit about the same time he decided she no longer deserved his friendship. It was a wavy strawberry blond, cut just short enough so he didn’t have to use any products while it was full and tempting to female fingers. His eyes were so green, people accused him of wearing contacts to make them that way. Someone had obviously told him the trick about green eyes, that wearing purple made them even more striking. 

“Some woman, I’m sure,” she said, lying flat on her back a few more seconds before hauling herself up and limping toward the shower. 

Maintaining her anger at Nate was easy. She’d been ready to outright reject him. But when he’d shown up looking like some kind of a male model, turning every damn female head in the place, she’d stumbled. He was such a good dancer, not to mention a top notch kisser. So she’d gone with it, fueled by too much booze, ready to leap back into bed with him as if no time had passed since they last hooked up. 

Thankfully, he’d given her an out by going all talkative. That was the last thing she wanted from him. So she’d walked away. And subsequently had a lot more to drink, hence her current condition, ergo she planned to lay blame for her pounding head and queasy stomach at his feet, too. 

So there, Mr. Perfect. 

The shower transformed her from being a woman with a hangover into a clean woman with a hangover and many regrets. She glared at her bloodshot eyes in the foggy mirror, hating herself for being here, in her stupid bathroom where she’d spent so many hours as a little girl and later a teenager, second guessing herself and her relationship with Nate. 

She slapped on some rudimentary makeup, dried and styled her hair enough to pass her mother’s scrutiny, then stood in front of the dresses hanging in her closet. A line of matching shoes were on the floor beneath them. Several hatboxes stacked on the shelves to one side. The floral-patterned one made her headache worse, so she chose a light blue option, with a halter neckline, tight-fitting bodice and skirt. It was a beautiful choice, as they all were. One thing she could never accuse her mother of was shopping poorly. 

She slid her feet into a pair of cream-colored high heels, then pondered the hats with a sigh. When they were little, she and Mimi loved this weekend more than any other. The opportunity to put on a pretty new dress, hat, and shoes had been the highlight of their year. The hours spent at the track over the course of Derby weekends were some of her best memories.

Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in South Carolina. She's spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a digital marketing and fundraising consultant, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Follow along with Liz online:

TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/LizCroweAuthor

FACEBOOK:  http://www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor

FACEBOOK CHAT ROOM: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lizcrowefans

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lizcroweauthor/

TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeQoUHjD/

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-crowe

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Liz-Crowe/e/B00573TC7M

GOODREADS PAGE: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4350864.Liz_Crowe

WEBSITE: http://www.lizcrowe.com

SIGN UP FOR THE LIZ NEWSLETTER & GET A FREE BOOK: 

https://www.subscribepage.com/houserulestwo

EMAIL LIZ: lizcroweauthor@gmail.com

Get your copy of Win. Place. Show. at Amazon, GoodReads, BookBub, and other Online Retailers.

Watch the trailer HERE.

Sounds like a thrilling ride, Liz! Thanks for sharing with us. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.

Hope you enjoyed the spotlight, Friends and that you'll check back weekly for another edition of Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

PS: More on my 2018 East Coast Vacation can be found HERE.

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Nancy AKA: NN Light's!

Good Morning Friends,

If you've followed me for long, you've heard me mention NN Light's Book Heaven. Well today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Nancy or Mrs. N from NN Lights! 

A lot of people ask me to describe myself. I tend to avoid questions like that because, hey, I’m just me. I’m also shy which is why I’m a writer. Here it goes. My name is Nancy, but I am well-known in the book world as Mrs. N aka N. N. Light. Without further ado, here are twenty-six fun facts about me, alphabetical, for your enjoyment.

A- Art lover and one time, I got lost in the Louvre and had to ask a guard for directions.

B- Baking is a secret obsession of mine. I love to bake and I love trying new recipes. I tend to share my creations on Instagram and Facebook.

C- Chocolate is my favorite food and, in my opinion, it should be a food group.

D- Dreamt of marrying a chef and getting published ever since I was eighteen. 2/2 is pretty good!

E- Exercise saved my life and I walk over 20 miles a week, no matter the weather.

F- Favorite foods include: anything Italian, Greek, Mexican, pizza, steak, burgers, lobster, etc.

G- Great writers I admire: Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harlan Coben, Sophie Kinsella, J. K. Rowling, Stephen King and Agatha Christie.

H- Happiness is curled up reading a book or watching a movie with Mr. N.

I- Inspiration is all around me and I get inspired by the smallest thing. 

J- Jovial is a way to describe me. There is nothing more I love to do than laugh, even if it is at myself. 

K- Kindness to everyone is one of my mantras for living.

L- Love Actually is one of my favorite movie and I watch it at least twice times a year.

M- MLB is one of my favorite sports to watch and my favorite team is the Minnesota Twins.

N- Natural beauty is my lifestyle and appearance. I don’t overdo on make-up, perfume or jewelry. Short red hair tousled, light eye shadow complimenting my hazel eyes and a big smile are all the accessories I need to make an outfit complete. 

O- Only child growing up left me free to explore my world using my imagination and books.

P- Perseverance throughout life is what has made me into the woman I am today.

Q- Questions tumbled out of my mouth as a child and some of my teachers found it annoying.  I was curious about everything and wanted to know how stuff worked. 

R- Romance is not something couples do once or twice a year; it’s every day and that’s how my marriage with Mr. N continues to feel like we’re still newlyweds. This summer we’ll be celebrating our eighteenth wedding anniversary.

S- School was troublesome for me due to bullying but I survived and I try to inspire others to stand up to bullies.

T- Twitter is my favorite social media site although I am discovering how addictive Facebook can be.

U- Understanding is one my strongest personality attributes.  I can empathize with anyone and when needed, I give out hugs.

V- Vino in a glass is one of my favorite ways to unwind after a long day.  My tastes vary but my go-to variety is Cabernet Sauvignon.

W- Winnie the Pooh is my favorite cartoon character growing up and I still love it.  I relate to all the friends from Hundred Acre Wood: Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl and Christopher Robin.

X- Xtra shy in front of a camera has been something I have had to deal with since I was ten.  I would much rather meet in person or talk on the phone. I’m still a work in progress.

Y- Yoda is my favorite Star Wars character and I try to emulate him. Wise, he is.

Z- Zen or prayer is something I incorporate in my everyday life.  It’s a constant conversation and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My spiritual life is a living thing and one I cherish.

That’s a little bit about me, Nancy.  I hope you enjoyed learning more about me. Now here's a little bit more about the inspirational thought book I wrote with Mr. N a few years ago.

"Spread the Light and inspire others to do the same." -- N. N. Light

In 2013, we wrote a mission statement and started a blog. We wanted to test a theory. Could one person (or in our case, one couple) use uplifting words to create change?

The answer is a resounding yes! People from all over the world responded to our short inspirational thoughts of the day, and our following grew. What started out as a few people promoting kindness and goodwill turned into a movement. In every city, there are Light-Bearers making a difference and we want you to join us.

Everyone needs inspiration. It doesn’t matter what spiritual belief you hold dear, you have the Light inside you. Kindness, compassion, empathy, encouragement are all attributes of the Light. In this book, you’ll find a ninety second inspirational thought for each day of the year. You’ll be inspiring people to spread the Light daily with our collection of inspirational thoughts. From giving of yourself to simply smiling, these are easy concepts for anyone to apply!

Excerpt:

The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don't give up!

Do you need a little encouragement?

This week has been a series of missteps and falters for me. I'm totally exhausted and in need of a rest. I've been working my tail off and yesterday was feeling a little low. Without me saying a word, I had three friends, two clients and MR N all tell me the same thing:

You're doing amazing work and I'm so proud of you.

Those ten words uplifted and encouraged me. It was the boost I needed.

Each of us is dealing with one struggle or another. We're trying to make it through the day. Some days are harder than others. The truth is, we need to go through these struggles to deal with what comes tomorrow.

N. N. Light is the award-winning husband-wife writing team, commonly known as Mr. N and Mrs. N.

Mrs. N. has been creating stories ever since she was little. Her grandfather remembers when she was two years old, she would stand at the top of the stairs and tell him a story filled with emotion (and in a language foreign to him) with her hands on her hips. Let’s just say she was a born storyteller.

They’re blissfully happy and loves all things chocolate, books, music, movies, art, sports, trains, history, cooking and baking. Their mantra is to spread the Light.

In addition to being authors, they’re also book promoters/reviewers, social media marketers/influencers and the owners of N. N. Light Author Promotions. They both love books, have ever since they were young. Matching up books and readers is something that gives them great pleasure.

Find and Follow NN Light's at....

Website  Goodreads   Facebook  Twitter  Bookbub  Instagram  

LinkedIn  Amazon Author Page

Get your copy of NN Light's Daily Book of Inspiration at the following locations....

Amazon US   Amazon CA   Amazon UK 

Walmart   Goodreads  

Other Ebook Retailers

It has been a real treat getting to know more about you, Nancy. I agree chocolate should be a food group LOL! We certainly wish you and Mr. N the best of luck and God's blessings!

Hope you enjoyed today's guest as much as I have, Friends. Check out NN Light's "Christmas in July Fete" and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card!

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Christmas in July Fete!

Good Morning,

My scheduled guest couldn't be here today so I'm featuring Keri's Christmas Wish which is part of NN Light's Book Heaven's "Christmas in July Fete."

Controversy and Inconsistencies are thieves of holiday joy for Keri...is there any hope for a happy holiday season?

For as long as she can remember, Keri Jackson has despised the hype and commercialism around Christmas—especially with the controversy over the time of Jesus’s birth. Will she get her wish and be free of the angst to truly enjoy Christmas this year?

Jeremy Hinton thinks Keri is a highly intelligent, deeply emotional, and intensely complex woman and he’s as fascinated by her aversion to Christmas as he is of the woman herself. A devout Christian at heart, he’s studied all of the world’s religions and homeopathic healing modalities. But when a rare bacterial infection threatens her life, will all of his faith and training be for naught? 

Fans of near death experiences will enjoy this woman’s mystical journey into spiritual Truth.

The Christmas is July Fete runs the entire month and a $75 Amazon Gift Card is up for grabs!

Details of the contest HERE

Enter the Raflecopter Giveaway HERE.

Get your copy of Keri's Christmas Wish in Ebook, Print or Audio HERE.

Good luck and God's blessings!

PamT