#SaturdaySpotlight is on Barbara Britton & Providence Hannah's Journey!

Good Morning!

One more week and October is over. Can you believe it? We're already seeing Christmas commercials and movies and decorations out with urgings to buy now and PRAY we get our purchases before then! 

UGH.

When did everything become such a mess?

We could discuss that for a lifetime LOL! But we're not going to! We are going to welcome fellow Pelican Book Group author, Barbara Britton back to our spotlight. Take it away Barb.....

Thanks for having me in the spotlight, Pam. October is a special month for me. My debut novel released in print on October 1, 2016. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I had no idea that when my book launched, I would be a breast cancer survivor. The theme to Providence: Hannah’s Journey is “God is in control even in the chaos of life.” I lived the theme to my first novel.

I’d like to share the wisdom that I gleaned while battling cancer.

-Schedule a yearly 3D mammogram.

-Do not wait to biopsy if something shows up on your mammogram.

I had three clear ultrasounds the day the spot showed on my mammography. I was told to return in six months. The spot was cancer. If my cancer had been aggressive, my story may not have had a happy ending. I started my fight eight months late.

-Do not suffer in silence. I was on several prayer chains and could feel the power of prayer.

-Accept help from friends and family. People are scared of cancer and don’t know what to say to a cancer patient. Allow friends to bring meals or go to the store for you. Loved ones want to be there for you, but they may need direction on how to help. I used takethemameal.com to organize meals for my family.

My family, my church family, Scripture, Christian music, and cards from friends, all encouraged me during my journey.

One elder asked me if I was embarrassed to ask for prayer for breast cancer. I said, “No way,” rather loudly. I wanted all the prayer that I could get.

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Great advice, Barbara we are SO very glad your story had a happy ending and you're here to share your wonderful books with us. Tell us more about Providence Hannah's Journey...

As the sole daughter of the chief priest, Hannah is publicly shamed when the prophet of Israel refuses to heal her.

Determined to restore her family’s honor, Hannah escapes Jerusalem in hopes of finding the prophet and convincing him to heal her deformities. Gilead, a young Hebrew guard sympathetic to her plight, willingly accompanies her. On their way, they are captured by a band of raiders.

Hannah is forced to serve in the household of the commander of the Aramean army, an officer who is in need of healing himself. Meanwhile Gilead is being used as sword practice for the Aramean soldiers.

Hannah must act fast to save Gilead and herself. But survival means coaxing the prophet of Israel to heal an enemy commander.

(A story similar to Naaman’s in II Kings 5)

Excerpt:

“Alabaster, beads, bangles,” a merchant shouted.

Leave it to a salesman to find opportunity behind the rump of a slow donkey. His father had taught him well.

The chants of the merchant grew louder, came closer. “Men, trinkets for the fair and lovely.”

Hannah believed the heckler was upon her. Did he mistake her for a man? She had no free hand to test his wares.

“Young woman.”

The address was too close to ignore. Her elbow rose to ward off his seller’s assault. Her heart rapped against her chest anticipating a run home.

“Ah, but your arm is bare. Can I not interest you in—”

She whipped her head his direction.

And stared.

At her bracelet. The rubies sparkled in the sunlight they captured.

At Gil. And his radiant smile.

“You do have interest.” He herded her without a touch toward a narrow side street. “Your father has coin, no doubt.”

She matched his pace not knowing where he was guiding her and not caring. Gil had found her, and she would follow him out of the crowd, out of the city, out to Mahanaim. “You came.”

He drew her into a doorway. The bustle of the city was but a memory. “Jewels are my business,” he said in a loud voice. And lower, “My mother spoke of a sad girl in need. I know very few who wear such wealth.” He held up her gold and ruby bracelet.

Setting her jar out of the way, she met his gaze. He grinned as if she had bought all his trinkets.

She let him take her arm and slip the bracelet on her wrist. His calloused fingers slid over her skin like a silk ribbon.

“It is a perfect fit,” he said, eyeing a passerby. His fingers cocooned her hand and wrist.

“We are in public,” she whispered.

“Did I not say it was lovely?” He winked and dared her with his just-made-a-sale eyes.

 

You can purchase “Providence” on Amazon, B&N, or wherever books are sold. Libraries can order it too.

Barbara M. Britton lives in Southeast, Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She is published in Biblical Fiction and loves bringing little-known Bible characters to light in her stories. Her WWI Historical Until June released in 2020. Barb is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and Romance Writers of America. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Find out more about Barb’s books on her website at www.barbarambritton.com.

You can also follow Barbara on Facebook, Twitter, BookBub and Goodreads AND check out Barbara's previous visits to our blog HERE.

THANKS so much, Barbara for sharing your story and a peek into your novel with us! We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings moving forward in life and in your writing.

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

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Anne Garboczi Evans!

Good Morning!

If you've followed my blog for long you know how much I LOVE sharing a brand new-to-me author!

Anne Garboczi Evans is a fellow PBG author but she has never visited my blog until today so please give her a great, big, SW LA welcome!

Tell us a little about your Love & Warfare series, Anne!

For Life Until....Book 1

Everyone in the Celtic Catuvellauni village assumed Ness would marry the man she had loved since age fifteen. Their eventual matrimony seemed preordained. His inscrutable rejection of Ness sends shock through the entire community. Heartbroken but resilient, Ness accepts a marriage proposal from a most unlikely eligible bachelor. Battle scarred and weary of solitude, Roman Tribune Aquilus trained to do just one thing all his life—stoically serve the empire. The beautiful tribeswoman perfectly answers a long ignored call from deep within his soul. Though he adores his new bride, when Ness harms a political connection, Aquilus lays down the law. But Celtic women aren't inclined to submit to inconvenient rules, and the only obstacle standing between Ness and a Celtic divorce is Aquilus's garrison of legionaries. Will Roman might, Celtic stubbornness, or something else entirely prevail?

When Gambling....Book 2

She rolls the dice, but only God controls the cost of her wager.

Cara of Camulodunum dreams of traveling the world, but as the daughter of a blacksmith, the height of her exploration is the plebian carpenter’s shop of her intended. Then she meets the patrician’s son, Eric Paterculi, who regales Cara with tales of Greece and Hercules.

The sons of Roman noblemen are meant to become soldiers and politicians, and Eric’s father, the Legate of Britannia has illustrious plans for Eric. However, Eric fails rhetoric class and seems more interested in training for the Olympic Games than for statesmanship.

At the training grounds, Victor Ocelli, a member of the Viri piracy ring, befriends Eric in order to use him against his father.

The more Cara learns about Eric, the more she desires to break free from the restrictive rules of her intended. But breaking the rules lands Cara in a bondage worse than she could have imagined. Only Eric can save her, but will a patrician defy his familia to rescue a plebeian?

To Deceive an Empire....Book 3

Loving her could get him crucified.

Daughter of an elite patrician father and a Celtic woman, Gwen Paterculi chafes against the restrictions of Roman society. Her family thinks Caius Marcellus is a smuggler with the ruthless empire-wide smuggling ring, the Viri, as well as a violent lecher. But Gwen's been kissing Marcellus behind secluded hedges for two years now.

Caius Marcellus isn't even his real name, and the part he plays contradicts everything he believes in. Now that she's turned eighteen, Gwen has decided it's past time for Marcellus to marry her and she's used to getting what she wants.

Marcellus has much too dark a secret to ever marry. Then both sides of his double life conjoin, threatening Gwen's life. He could marry Gwen and thus save her life, but if she discovers his secret, she'll not only despise him, he'll hang on a cross.

What choice will he make? Either way, can Gwen ever forgive him?

Without Love...Book 4

No man marries a prostitute.

Born a slave, forced into ill-repute, Libya's one meaning in life is her young son, the child of a nobleman, Victor Ocelli. Then, one night, her master moves to sell the boy.

A stranger rescues the boy by buying her and her child.

Moved by her tears, Roman patrician Felix "Wryn" Paterculi purchases Libya and her son that night. Wryn is working to gain a higher military post to bring the force of the law against the criminal who tried to kill him and his familia seven years ago—Victor Ocelli. To gain such a post, Wryn must follow custom and marry an elite patrician girl, but he can't get the prostitute under his roof out of his head.

Then Victor Ocelli re-enters Libya's life, offering her son freedom and a nobleman's life if she will betray Wryn. Will Libya place her trust in the father of her son or the master whose kindness never ceases to amaze her? What will Wryn sacrifice for love?

Wow...sounds like a whole lot of great reads! Thanks for sharing with us.

Anne is a mental health counselor, military spouse, and mama to an opinionated preschooler named "Joe-Joe" and a very dramatic baby named "Chip." Reading Rosemary Sutcliff as a middle school student and taking Latin in college instilled in her a love of the Roman Empire, leading to her Love & Warfare series. Moving to the CO Rockies inspired her to write the Lawmen & Suffragette series, romantic comedies set in the Old West. Working in mental health got her interested in writing women's fiction.

When not writing or reading, you can find Anne introducing her boys to the outdoor wonders of colorful Colorado.

Find out more about Anne and her work by visiting her Amazon Author Page,  Blog and connecting with her on Facebook.

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and that you'll drop by each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT