#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Erin Stevenson @ESQwrites & Home to You

Good Morning from FROZEN....

Yep, that's what it is here in SW Louisiana. We've had snow since Sunday night and it's not going away too soon with these freezing temps. I am SO DONE with Winter. Like you haven't heard that before LOL!

Today is is my pleasure to welcome Erin Stevenson back to our blog as she talks about her book, Home to You, another of her St. Clair family series. Take it away, Erin....

When it came time to think about design elements for the second book in the St. Clair Family series, Home to You, I got feedback from beta readers saying that they really wanted to see an actual home on the front cover. 

So the search began. 

**SPOILER ALERT**

At the end of the book, the characters moved into a log home (one of my lifelong dreams) so I started looking online for a good photo. I finally landed on the perfect one but couldn’t find it in any of the stock photo libraries, so I began to trace it to its source, and found it on a website for Town + Country Cedar Homes, a custom log and cedar home company in Michigan. It was their Stoney Creek model. 

I decided to simply ask them if I could use the image on the book cover. The worst that could happen is that they would say no, or ignore the request. So I clicked on the “contact us” button, and began my e-mail: This is probably the craziest request you will ever receive…

The next morning, I had both an e-mail and a phone call from their VP of Marketing. They were thrilled and honored. So was I! I offered to give them credit for the photo and include their web address. And they posted this on their website when the links were up. Everybody wins! Feel free to visit and like their page. 

I’m still dreaming of a log home. I told them that if the book gets made into a movie, I’ll buy a piece of land and have them build this home on it! 

Brandon St. Clair is one of Minneapolis' top orthopedic surgeons. Still crushed by his wife's sudden death almost a year ago, he's struggling to care for their two young daughters and find the will to keep going. Their one wish is something Brandon can't fulfill, and it breaks his heart. Morgan Anderson is a highly respected art therapist in Chicago. Her work gives her great fulfillment, but her personal life is lonely and lacking. A deep personal secret has kept Morgan from succeeding in any long-term relationship, and she's ready to give up. Brandon's brother is married to Morgan's sister, and they meet at a family event. Their initial dislike of one another plus the fact that they live in different states almost guarantees that they'll never connect. But sometimes God—with a little help from a pink-haired matchmaker named Rosie—can make what seems impossible, possible.

About Erin.....

Erin has been writing fiction since 2014. She has published independently and with Pelican Book Group and Winged Publications and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

Writing is like breathing to Erin. Stories are running through her mind during most of her waking hours, and by the time she sits down at the computer, the words flow and time ceases to exist. 

Erin was raised in Illinois and has lived in many places in the U.S., including on both coasts, but is a Midwest girl at heart. She spent many years as an educator from pre-school through college levels, and currently works in training and internal communications for a global corporation.

When she’s not writing, Erin loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, and playing in the garden (which equates to mostly pulling weeds) at her central Iowa home. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.

Find out more about Erin and her books by visiting her Website.

Connect with Erin on Social Media! Facebook: ESQwrites

Twitter: @ESQwrites and Instagram: ESQwrites

Check out Erin's previous posts HERE and HERE.

Oh my goodness, Erin, MY dream home is a log home also! Love that the manufacturer allowed you to use the picture on your cover! Amazing how generous people can be. 

Good luck and God's blessings with your books.

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

Until next time take care, God bless and stay warm.

PamT

**UPDATE** Erin is in Houston, TX and may not be able to drop by due to power outages but said she'll get here ASAHP.

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Erin Stevenson @ESQwrites!

Good Morning!

It is with great pleasure we welcome Erin Stevenson back to our blog with a cute story about a Lucky License Plate. Take it away Erin....

In November 2017, I was driving to the library to pick up a book I had ordered (when I’m not writing, I’m reading) and a car passed me on the highway. I looked over and its personalized license plate said NO PLAN B. All of a sudden, a story popped into my mind about a jilted bride. She’s left at the altar and has to come up with a plan B for the rest of her life. When I got to the library, I had the story arc. It just came pouring out. 

My mother always told me to have a Plan B. When my marriage fell apart, I pulled up my bootstraps and took that advice. I passed that important life lesson on to my daughter. When she called me just before her college graduation and shared that an anticipated job had fallen through, the first words out of my mouth were, “what’s your Plan B?” 

I was thrilled when her response was, “already on it, Mom.” 

By the next day, she had steps in place. 

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 

Landon St. Clair was left at the altar on New Year’s Day at St. Louis’ social event of the season. He wants nothing more than to lick his wounds in solitude and figure out a Plan B, and intends to keep his reservation at the St. Jardin Honeymoon Resort, even without a bride. With the owners’ reluctant approval, Landon takes on an assumed identity and cuts all ties to home for the week.

Kelsea Anderson is a jilted bride with nothing left but a battered heart and a plane ticket to the Caribbean. The only part of her doomed wedding that she had any say in was the honeymoon. She paid for it, and there’s no reason she can’t come to the romantic resort alone, so Kelsea jumps on a plane the day after New Year’s to escape the icy St. Louis winter and come up with a Plan B for the rest of her life.

  

Lottery winners Rose and Ike Goldman, married for 53 years, never looked back when they left Brooklyn, NY for the Caribbean where they bought a honeymoon resort three years ago. Rose was something of a matchmaker in Brooklyn, and once she meets Kelsea and “Brandon,” she knows she has her work cut out for her. She has only a week to convince them that sometimes, Plan B is the best plan of all.

 

Take a quick getaway to St. Jardin! Plan B is your ticket to a tropical paradise filled with beautiful gardens, merriment, and romance. 

About Erin.....

Erin has been writing fiction since 2014. She has published independently and with Pelican Book Group and Winged Publications and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

Writing is like breathing to Erin. Stories are running through her mind during most of her waking hours, and by the time she sits down at the computer, the words flow and time ceases to exist. 

Erin was raised in Illinois and has lived in many places in the U.S., including on both coasts, but is a Midwest girl at heart. She spent many years as an educator from pre-school through college levels, and currently works in training and internal communications for a global corporation.

When she’s not writing, Erin loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, and playing in the garden (which equates to mostly pulling weeds) at her central Iowa home. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.

Find out more about Erin and her books by visiting her Website.

Connect with Erin on Social Media! Facebook: ESQwrites

Twitter: @ESQwrites and Instagram: ESQwrites

What a cute story, Erin and just goes to show, folks, we never know when or how inspiration will strike!

Hope you enjoyed our guest today and that you'll stop by each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Check out Erin's previous post HERE.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Erin Stevenson & A New Hope for Christmas!

Good Morning,

Today's guest is brand new to our blog so please welcome Erin Stevenson with her Christmas novella, A New Hope for Christmas, part of Pelican Book Group's Christmas Extravaganza!

This Christmas, Two Lost and Broken Families Need Restoration.

Sam Jarrett was just starting to explore spiritual things when his world was shattered. Now, he's completely turned his back on God. Laura Preston is a devoted believer, leaning heavily on her faith to get her through each tortured day.

Two Chance Meetings Spark a Friendship and a Glimmer of Hope.

Sam battles God's prodding through Laura's gentle, caring spirit. When another tragedy strikes on Christmas Eve, Sam is sure that God has completely deserted him. Laura tries to show Sam that God loves him and has been there all the time, but how can Sam trust when he has no faith?

A New Hope for Christmas is a story of restored faith in a God who never leaves us, even when we can't see or feel Him near.

Read an excerpt of A New Hope for Christmas and get your copy from Pelican Book Group or Amazon!

Now, let's find out a little more about Erin!

Hi. My name is Erin and I’m a prayer warrior.

I love to pray. I’ve always loved to pray, since I met Jesus at the age of 15 and asked him into my heart. I guess I love to pray because it’s just talking with my Best Friend, Jesus. So I always look for opportunities to pray for and with people. 

But for a long time, I struggled with prayer, because I didn’t understand it. Let me share two things that hampered my prayer life:

1)      Someone asks me on Monday to pray for their husband’s surgery on Thursday. I send up a ‘pre-prayer’ then, but when the hour of his surgery rolls around on Thursday…I’m busy with something else, or maybe I just forget. And when he doesn’t come through surgery well, I wonder if it was because of my neglect. 

2)      I see a request on social media to pray for a child who is in critical condition. Hundreds are praying, thousands! But the child doesn’t survive. I prayed for him often. Did I not pray enough? But if I pray more and someone still dies, and my prayers couldn’t change the outcome, then WHY SHOULD I PRAY?

Entire books have been written about prayer, and I could write a VERY long blog on this, but I’ll just tell you one lesson that I learned when I asked God to help me figure this out. Regardless of the outcome of a situation I’ve prayed for, my prayers are a comfort to the one who I’m praying for and/or the one who requested the prayer and assure them that they are not alone. I’ve been on the flip side when I’ve needed prayer. No matter the outcome, I am blessed and encouraged just by knowing that someone is on their knees in the valley with me.

Even in a pandemic, I can still connect with people by praying for them. A while back I posted on my social media, “Raise your hand if I can pray for you today.” I made it clear that I didn’t want or need to know any details, I just wanted to pray. Over a hundred people responded! Many said they were so blessed by this. Believe me, I got the blessing!

I invite you to do what I often do, ask God, “who needs my prayers today?” You will be amazed at the names He will bring to your mind, and if you let that person know (sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t), you will be amazed at their response!  

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  I Thes. 5:16-18

Erin's Bio: Writing is like breathing to Erin. Stories are running through her mind during most of her waking hours, and by the time she sits down at the computer, the words flow and time ceases to exist. 

Erin was raised in Illinois and has lived in many places in the U.S., including on both coasts, but is a Midwest girl at heart. She spent many years as an educator from pre-school through college levels, and currently works in training and internal communications for a global corporation.

When she’s not writing, Erin loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, and playing in the garden (which equates to mostly pulling weeds) at her central Iowa home. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.

Find out more about Erin and her books by visiting her Website.

Connect with Erin on Social Media! Facebook: ESQwrites

Twitter: @ESQwrites and Instagram: ESQwrites

Thank you SO Much Erin for sharing your love of prayer with us. I know I can relate! Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings.

Thanks for stopping by friends and supporting Erin. Hope to see you for Saturday Spotlight where we feature another Christmas book.

Meanwhile, wishing each and every one of YOU and YOUR a very Merry Christmas!

PamT