#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kathy Bailey & Redemptions Hope!

Good Morning!

Welcome to the first Saturday spotlight of September 2022! 

WOW this year is really flying by, but it's ALL Good!

Today's guest is not new but her book is. Tell us a little about Redemptions Hope before we get the official blurb, Kathy....

“Redemption’s Hope” is the third and last installment of my “Western Dreams” series, following “Westward Hope” and “Settler’s Hope.” The novel takes Janny Thatcher, a secondary character in the first two books on the ride of her life, from the Oregon Country to New Mexico to San Antonio to New Orleans and back, as she looks for her dream and finds herself in the bargain. 

White Bear, the Cheyenne brave, has a foot in two worlds but feels at home in neither. He longs to reconnect with the spirited white woman who had sought refuge with his family three years before. Is his true home with “Blue Eyes,” the woman he knew for only three days?

Only if he finds her.

Wonderful! Now let's get the official blurb....

Two distinct sets of villains. Two orphaned children. A man without a country and a woman with too much past...All in a rambunctious young country where anything goes, especially in the West. Seriously. What can go wrong?

In this latest installment of the best-selling series, "Western Dreams", join Jenny and White Bear as they cross the historic West in an epic story peppered with grit, guns, and glory that award-winning author Kelly Goshorn calls "a sweeping tale of faith, dedication, and perseverance set in the American west."

"...masterful wordsmithing!" says Clarice G. James, author of "The Least of These," "Party of One," "Double Header" and "Manhattan Grace."

Read an excerpt of Redemptions Hope and get your copy at Amazon.

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it. 

Bailey is the author of the Western Dreams series. “Redemption’s Hope” joins “Westward Hope" and “Settler’s Hope” to tell the story of people who settled out West. The books are published by Pelican/White Rose Publishing, a small firm out of New Mexico. In addition, she has published two related Western Dreams novellas with Pelican’s Christmas Extravaganza series. 

While Bailey has always dreamed of publishing fiction, her two Arcadia Publishing projects, “Past and Present Exeter” and “New Hampshire War Monuments,” made her fall in love with nonfiction and telling real people’s stories. She lives in Raymond, New Hampshire.

Thank you, SO Much, Kathy for sharing your new book with us! Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings with it and all the rest!

Friends, if you'd like to know more about Kathy's other two books in this series as well as other works, check out her previous posts HERE.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Tim Shoemaker @TimShoemaker1

Good Morning!

It's a crazy, busy time for me (what's new right? LOL!). I went to Bandera on Friday and returned on Sunday, the first of many trips away from home that will culminate in AK next month. So without much further ado, please join me in welcoming a brand-new-to-our-blog guest, Tim Shoemaker as he answers a few questions about his book, Escape from the Everglades...

Take it away Tim!

1. This is your second book this year! Can you share about your writing process and what it is like to balance multiple writing projects? 

As for writing process, I don’t plan a story out in advance. I may start with a title, or an idea, or a situation. As I develop the characters and some kind of inciting incident, the story unfolds from there.  Normally I only work on one fiction project at a time, but this situation was a little different.  Sometimes writing is a bit like those circus performers who work to keep plates spinning on sticks. I may spend focused time on one project to get it to a good stage. Then I get some work done on the other.  If I leave a story for a bit, I’ll come back with fresh eyes and see ways to strengthen the writing. If I leave the story for too long, I’ll lose too much momentum. So it’s a balancing act. Fortunately I had both manuscripts in pretty good shape when I got the contract, so it was a matter of alternating back and forth to polish and strengthening each one. But I still caught myself putting the wrong character name in a story at times—which is definitely not something I want to do!

2. What sparked your idea for this story? 

I wanted to write an adventure. Something with mystery and suspense set in a really creepy place. Don’t you love reading a book like that? Well, the Everglades is one of the creepiest places on Earth, in my experience. Alligators. Snakes. I hate those beasts. Black water . . . and an area with a dark history . . . yeah, the Everglades was perfect as a setting.  When I was there doing research, I found the place gave off a vibe that felt, well, evil. The longer I was there, the more I wanted to get out—and never come back. But I knew my work wasn’t done there . . . and I took increasing risks to get the material I needed. I think that’s when the seed for “escape” were planted. And sure enough . . . as the story unfolds we’ve got a boy who is desperate to escape the Glades . . . but can’t seem to get away. Worse yet, when a friend goes missing in the Everglades, he feels compelled to join the search—to go deeper into the very place he’s trying to get away from.

3. Why are you passionate about putting clean, compelling fiction in the hands of middle grade and YA readers? 

There’s tons of fiction on the shelves that contain some really bad content—and that isn’t doing the readers any favors.  I love this age . . . and it is a fun, awkward, and often difficult time for them. There are so many “traps” readers can get caught in during their teenage years. I want help them see the traps . . . help them make better choices.  I want to help them avoid the pain of making bad decisions. And I want to do all this through a story that grabs the readers and won’t let them go.

4. What kind of reader will enjoy this book? 

Both guy and girl readers, for starts. I love writing about average kids who get in over their head somehow.  They don’t have a super-power or a magic sword to get them out of the trouble or danger they’re in.  They must make choices . . . and how they decide will determine if they become a hero . . . or lose big.  I think that type of story resonates with a ton of readers out there. 

5. In this novel, you explore an adolescent’s response to trauma. What was it like writing this perspective? 

I think I got an adrenalin rush just writing some of the scenes. It helped for me to reach back to times I’d been hurt. And I got great input by talking to paramedics, doctors, and nurses.  And then there was the really, really close call I had while doing research in the Everglades.  Only by God’s grace did I come out of one situation alive—and with both hands to write the story.  The incident haunted me at night. Believe me, after that happened, writing the scenes with trauma came easier—and felt very real.

6. Tell us about your main characters in Escape from the Everglades. 

Parker Buckman is a National Parks Ranger’s son. Stationed in the Everglades, he has a life and death encounter with a gator. Consequently, his dad puts in for a transfer, and Parker thinks he’s just going to die if the new assignment doesn’t come soon.  And he’s right. When a friend goes missing in the Glades, Parker joins the search. Parker is a decent kid who is striving to be a person of integrity . . . but sometimes he’s not even sure what that means. 

Angelica “Jelly” Malnatti is Parker’s best friend—and the daughter of a ranger herself. She fears something bad is going to happen to Parker if he goes back in the glades. She does everything in her power—both good and bad ideas—to do exactly that.  

Wilson Stillwaters is half Miccosukee and pretty much all trouble. He’s superstitious and feels maybe his good friend Parker is cursed.  His efforts to get Parker over his fears—and back in the Glades—have a way of backfiring . . . on everyone.

7. Tell us about your main characters in Escape from the Everglades. 

Parker Buckman is a National Parks Ranger’s son. Stationed in the Everglades, he has a life and death encounter with a gator. Consequently, his dad puts in for a transfer, and Parker thinks he’s just going to die if the new assignment doesn’t come soon.  And he’s right. When a friend goes missing in the Glades, Parker joins the search. Parker is a decent kid who is striving to be a person of integrity . . . but sometimes he’s not even sure what that means. 

Angelica “Jelly” Malnatti is Parker’s best friend—and the daughter of a ranger herself. She fears something bad is going to happen to Parker if he goes back in the glades. She does everything in her power—both good and bad ideas—to do exactly that.  

Wilson Stillwaters is half Miccosukee and pretty much all trouble. He’s superstitious and feels maybe his good friend Parker is cursed.  His efforts to get Parker over his fears—and back in the Glades—have a way of backfiring . . . on everyone.

8. Who was your favorite character to write and why? 

I think Parker was my favorite character to write. Maybe because I identify with him on some deeper levels. But each character had something that made writing them so much fun.  I think when I’d start a chapter from Wilson’s point of view I was probably sitting there smiling.  And I loved writing Jelly (Angelica)—both the burden of the secret she was keeping—and all the hoops she went through to keep Parker safe.

9. What lessons can be learned from your main characters? 

I think Parker’s journey is especially helpful.  He so badly wants to get away from the Everglades after being mauled by the gator. He thinks everything will be okay—if he can just get out of there. We often think a change of plans, or geography, or maybe even a different family is going to make all the difference when we’re in a spot we don’t like. But Parker helps us see how the real answer to a bad situation is often changing what is inside us.  Jelly shows us the high price of keeping secrets for others instead of talking to her dad—or somebody who could really help. We see how her double life only multiplied her trouble. Wilson learns a bit about friendship . . . and the extent a true friend like Parker will really go to help.

10. Escape from the Everglades is the first book in the High Water series. What is your hope for these books? 

I hope those who buy the books will get more than just a great read. I want readers to experience life with some characters they’ll grow to love in this series.  I hope the characters make them think . . . and inspire the readers to grow in character and integrity.  I hope the readers will make better choices, and avoid some traps and pain because they learned from the experiences of the characters in the story.

Tim Shoemaker is the award-winning author of the Code of Silence series and a popular speaker—especially for school assemblies. When he isn’t on the speaking and teaching circuit, he’s busy working with kids and writing more great stories!

He’s the author of eleven books, including Super Husband, Super Dad; Code of Silence; Back Before Dark; Below the Surface; Smashed Tomatoes, Bottle Rockets . . . and Other Outdoor Devotionals You Can Do With Your Kids; Dangerous Devotions for Guys; and more.

He speaks for schools, churches, and parachurch organizations (such as Focus on the Family, Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conferences, International Network of Children’s Ministry, and the Moody Pastors’ Conference). He also speak at men’s retreats, women’s gatherings, couples’ retreats, youth worker conventions, homeschool conventions, and writers’ conventions and conducts Family Devotion Workshops all across the country. Find out more about Tim by visiting his Website and connecting with him on Twitter @TimShoemaker1 and Facebook.

Get your copy of Escape from the Everglades from Amazon and other retailers where great Christian YA fiction is sold!

Thank you, so much, Tim for visiting with us today! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with your new release.

Hope you enjoyed meeting Tim 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

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Kathy Bailey!

Good Morning Friends!

Well, July is marching right along. The small writing retreat I attended in Nacogdoches, TX last week was a huge success. We had so much fun and, most importantly, every one of us accomplished our writing goals for the time we were there. I'm heading out tomorrow for Ozark, AL to attend the Dixie Youth World Series but never fear, Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight will still go on. Speaking of which, today's guest is not new to our blog, although it has been a while since she shared thoughts and words with us so please welcome Kathy Bailey back to visit with us!

How shall we then give?

When my husband was in Bible college, we operated on a sliver of a budget. At one of our lowest points I made fish chowder with a can of sardines my mom had sent me in a care package.  Needless to say, we did not have weight problems.
In our small town a middle-aged couple ran a small family nursing home. My husband took on the responsibility of giving them a short religious service on Sunday afternoons, and I went along. After he preached to the dozen or so residents, the owners usually invited us to supper. The wife of the pair always apologized for the meal, explaining that she “just put out a few little things.” Her “little things” included three or four varieties of cold cuts, cheese, sandwich rolls, potato salad, macaroni salad, and several varieties of gelatin salads. It was more food, cumulatively, than we had seen all week.
And the blessed woman often packed leftovers with the comment, “Maybe you can use these. I hate to throw them out.” She made us feel like we were doing her a favor for taking, again, more food than we’d seen all week.
This should have been a Christmas post, and maybe some day I’ll recycle it into one. But it’s equally timely now, as we pick up the pieces of the first worldwide pandemic most of us have ever known.
How did we give?
Did we share our toilet paper, or give up our place in line? Did we tuck a gas card into someone’s Bible, or pick up extra take-out for a friend? Did we pay anything forward, knowing that reciprocation probably wouldn’t happen in this life?
There’s an art to giving. While we shouldn’t devalue our gift, we also shouldn’t make the recipient feel devalued. It’s important to help them retain their dignity. It’s important to approach them with respect. “Can you take this off my hands? I’ve outgrown it/my kids have outgrown it/I bought too much/there was a huge sale and I couldn’t resist.” You will know.
It’s also important not to attach strings. If it’s a gift it’s gone. You can comment if you see the recipient wearing or using the gift, but it ends there. Give and move on.
There’s a fine line between “charity” and “justice,” and I’ve spent years working it out, first as a recipient, then as a giver. A friend who was down on her luck got upset one time when our church gave her a gift card. “I don’t want charity,” she snapped.  We had to lead her to the understanding that if it’s from people who know you, and love you, it’s not charity. It’s justice.
Charity is when you drop a buck in the Salvation Army kettle, or write a check to support people you’ll never see. Needed, necessary, but faceless.
Justice is when you see a need in front of you. A family member, a friend, a church associate. You see it and you take care of it, to the best of your ability. Or you get someone else to take care of it. Because it’s in your face. Because it’s the right thing to do.
And, very often, justice knows WHAT to do. If you know the person who needs your help, you can tailor your giving. The young widow whose “Santa gifts” are provided through a Giving Tree, but who still needs help with stocking stuffers. The first-time parents, just home from the hospital, who could use a heat-able meal—and paper plates.  Charity doesn’t know where its dollars go. Justice knows not only where, but why.
At its shining best, justice isn’t “just” about giving. It’s a bridge between people living out God’s plan on this earth, and someone who needs to know that God loves them.

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.
Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. Her first Pelican book, ‘Westward Hope,” was published in September 2019. This was followed by a novella, “The Logger’s Chrsitmas Bride,” in December 2019. Her second full-length novel, “Settler’s Hope,” was released July 17, 2020.
She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David. They have two grown daughters.
For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

After years of wandering, Pace Williams expects to find a home in the Oregon Country. He doesn't expect is to fall in love with a fiery Irishwoman bent on returning home to avenge her people.

Oona Moriarty expects one thing: to exact revenge on the English overlords who took her home. She doesn't expect to fall in love with a man who looks like he's been carved from this Western landscape.

Together they vow to trust the unexpected and settle into a life, but when Pace's ancient enemies threaten to destroy the life they're building, Oona must choose between helping the man she loves and seeking the revenge she craves. 

Get your copy of Settler's Hope at Amazon.

Thank you so much, Kathy for sharing your thoughts on giving. I love how God provided for you and your husband! We should all be willing to meet the needs of others as we see and are able.

Friends, Kathy is giving away THREE different prizes to 3 lucky winners! 

An e-book of Settler's Hope (book 2 in the Western Dreams series). 

A paperback of Westward Hope (book 1 in her Western Dreams series), AND

A New England gift pack. 

*Paperback and gift pack, US only.

Leave a comment to enter her giveaway and for a chance to win my monthly gift card!

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

Until next time, take care, God bless and remember....you can't out-give God!

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends guest Kathy Bailey

Good Morning and Welcome to the first Wednesday in October!

I'm still reeling with disbelief. Where has the time gone? The old adage, 'time flies when you're having fun' keeps running through my head and I have to admit, I did have some fun this year but seriously? It's OCTOBER already?!

Whew! I sure hope we can look back at this year and say we had lots of fun and did lots of good things. Look back and count blessings not trials or disappointments.

Anyway, speaking of time, my friend and fellow Pelican Book Group author, Kathy Baily returns and is sharing some tips on Time Management....

Time Management, I loved you. I loved being efficient, making more than one thing happen at once, and the elusive “being productive.” I LOVED balancing my checkbook in the doctor’s waiting room and folding laundry during a phone call. I relished using every bit of time, like my ancestors used every bit of scrap fabric in a quilt. Well, actually, my people knitted afghans, but I feel a kinship with quilters anyway. Nothing went to waste.

And that’s how it was with you, Time Management. We were a good fit. But now it’s time to break up.

The most I ever remember doing was four things at once: nursing my baby, supervising my toddler in the tub, drying laundry (the dryer was located in the bathroom) and reading my Bible for devotions. I prided myself on being able to do, well, a lot of things. I had two children under 3, no money, and my husband was a full-time church pastor. If I didn’t “do,” it resulted in disaster.

I carried this into the rest of my adult life. Why not sew on Girl Scout badges during the district convention, or read a magazine during the movie previews? Didn’t everybody?

Hey, why NOT do paperwork while my mother lay dying in a hospital room? I was there if she needed me.

I was brought up short – but only barely – when a friend from my old neighborhood came to visit me in my new house. I welcomed her, we made tea in the teapot she brought me for a housewarming gift, and then we settled down for a talk. But I couldn’t just “talk.” I brought out some mending, and stitched merrily away until she asked, “Am I keeping you from something?”

That one changed me, at least as far as multitasking with other people went. I realized how rude that must have seemed, and now, when I have company, I have company. But I continued to juggle projects in private, and to justify it. I read everything I could get my hands (um, my one free hand) on regarding time management, even when, technically, I didn’t have to do it anymore.

I wish my wake-up call had been something less mundane and more spiritual. But I didn’t come to my time-management senses until I hung a purple Nine West bag too near the stove and then proceeded to turn on the WRONG burner, thus scorching a pan beyond use and setting fire to the purse. I don’t remember how many things I was doing that day or what they were. I just knew I had to change.

I’m well out of the active-parenting stage, and I don’t have the time demands pulling on me that I had as a young mother. I do a lot, I have a lot done to me, but it can all be done in sequence. I have no little ones or medium-ones tugging on me, nobody’s bleeding, nobody needs me to feed them or wash their faces or hold them till they sleep.

But I’m thinking even young mothers, or dads, don’t need to time-manage as aggressively as I once did. Children need our attention, and I’m prouder now of the time I did spend with my children than the time I spent “accomplishing” things. Especially since I can’t remember what those “important” things were.

Will I still fold laundry while on a long phone call, or address Christmas cards in front of the television? Most likely. And I’ll probably still haul around a “project bag” for waiting rooms. It is as heavy as the weights at the gym, and I don’t have to pay for it.

But more and more, it’s impressed on me that some things are too precious, or fragile, for double-duty. They deserve my full attention. Friends, my great-nieces and first great-nephew, my husband. Church. (I once made out a Christmas list during a sermon.) And for safety’s sake, anything with an open flame.

And if I had my parents back, I would just sit and look at them for one last time. Without “managing” my own time, because there will never be enough of it.

Time management, we had a good run, but it’s over. I don’t, well, have time for you any more.

                

What’s YOUR worst multitasking blunder, and when did you realize you were doing too much?

                

And what’s your best time management tip?

Great post Kathy! I still get asked how I do everything I do. Being organized is the key to time management for me. I have a monthly planner on my desk and EVERYTHING gets written down in it!

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

She attended a mixture of public and parochial schools, graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She married the Rev. David W. Bailey in 1977, and they lived in Colorado, Wisconsin and Michigan before returning to their home state of New Hampshire. They are the parents of two adult daughters.

She has worked as both a staff and freelance journalist. She semi-retired in 2017, in order to devote herself to a growing interest in Christian fiction. She has won or finaled in several contests, including the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest. Her debut novel, “Westward Hope,” will be published Sept. 20, 2019 by Pelican/White Rose Publishers.

Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other.

For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

Kathy's new book, Westward Hope can be purchased at Amazon for Kindle, and Pelican Book Group in Ebook and Print!

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

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#ThursdayThoughts with Kathy Bailey

Good Morning!

Been a crazy few weeks for me. On the 12th my dad and I flew to AK to visit my brother and his family including a brand new grandbaby (for him, great for dad and great niece for me). We returned on the 21st and on the 22nd I embarked on moving. Hopefully, September will be somewhat quieter LOL!

As you well know it is always a pleasure to bring you a brand new author and today is no exception!

Kathy Bailey is a newly contracted author with Pelican Book Group. Her upcoming novel, an Oregon Trail romance with a reunion & secret baby will be out sometime next year, meanwhile, please give her a great big welcome as she shares some thoughts with us on doubt....

            I have always loved the story of the Apostle Thomas, maybe too much. You remember Tom, the follower of Jesus who didn’t believe the breathless, glowing reports from the Empty Tomb. Who had to touch the nail prints and put his own hand against Jesus’s shattered side before he believed.  But when he did, that was that and he went on to win a portion of the known world to his Lord. I’m a little bit of a skeptic, I like to touch and see and hear and smell, and so Thomas’s story always connects with me.

            It’s easy to doubt in the current literary climate. Publishing houses merging, lines and imprints closing, and the dreaded “platform” requirements. (I was scared of “platform” until someone explained to me that it’s basically talking to people on line about what I love, which is writing.) While self-publishing has shed its stigma and smaller boutique publishers are filling a niche, writing fiction is still one of life’s riskier propositions. Ten editors can say “no” without drawing blood once, but do you really want to face an eleventh?

Here are some times when I doubt:
1. When I receive a rejection.
2. When I receive contest feedback that doesn't "get" the story. I'm usually pretty good about contests and taking my lumps, but occasionally the judge and I are not on the same page. Possibly not on the same planet.
3. When I'm away from the keyboard for too long and I let the doubts take over because I have nothing else to think about. IF I’m writing, there is always hope.
4. When I read something that is much, much better than I could have done, at least at this stage of my career.
5. Used to be, when an online or physical friend signed with an agent or publishing house that I hadn't had success with, or when someone got published in a relatively short amount of time. I've grown out of that, I realize that in today's market a success for one is a success for the rest of us. A metaphorical rising tide lifts all Christian fiction boats.
6. Whenever I try to do it myself instead of depending on the Lord, and His timing.

I'm contracted now but still feel doubts. Am I a one-trick pony? Am I a pony at all? We'll see.

My husband is an ordained elder in our denomination, and has served several churches in various capacities. He often quotes his first pastor and mentor who told him, “Be very certain of your call. There will be times when it’s all you’ve got.” The same can be said of the call to write. The world will knock you down, if it notices you at all. You’ll deal with unfair business decisions, such as a line closing the week after you sell to them, and the whims and idiosyncrasies of others. It’s a subjective business. It’s a crazy business. It’s an inexact science.

And if you’re called to write Christian fiction, it’s your business.

There will be times you doubt, and each of us has his or her own way of overcoming doubt. For me, nothing works better than powering my way through. Write something. Write anything. Cull out what was good, and write it again.

Keep an encouragement file with a record of your sales, contest finals or anything else that gives you hope.

Get on your knees, then get back to the keyboard.

The Apostle Thomas went on to preach in Greece and India, founding a Christian sect in India that continues to this day. He gave his life for his faith in 72 AD. He overcame his doubts, gloriously, and fulfilled his call.

Wow, Kathy we all go through doubt...great thoughts!
Now, here's a little more about Kathy in her own word....

            I’m a freelance writer with 35 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields.  Born in 1951, I was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s, and a young mom in the 80s.  It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.  I spent 35 years in print journalism, magazines and newspapers, before semi-retiring to pursue my first love, Christian fiction. My debut novel, an Oregon Trail romance not yet titled, will release Sept. 20, 2019 with Pelican/White Rose Publishing.  I’ve finaled in the 2014 Unpublished Maggies, 2015Tara Awards (first in my category), 2015 Lone Star Awards, semi-finaled in the 2015 Genesis Awards, was the overall winner in the 2016 Phoenix Rattler contest, finaled in the 2017 Phoenix Rattler and Indiana Golden Opportunity, and am a finalist in this year’s Genesis contest.

            I can be reached at ampie86@comcast.net; through my Web site, www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com, through Facebook or LinkedIn. 

Hope you enjoyed today's post and you'll check back often for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT