#WednesdayWordswithFriends Q&A with T.I. Lowe

Good Morning and Welcome!

It's raining -again- here in SW Louisiana. Seems we can't go a whole week much less two without rain. Alas, it's H-O-T already - 90+ degrees! So rain is a good thing when it lowers temperatures a few degrees. Except for the increased humidity LOL! A firm example of taking the good with the bad.

Today's guest, T. I. Lowe is brought to us by Tyndale Publishing and is giving us a peek into the why's and wherefore's behind her book, Lulu's Cafe.

What inspired you to write Lulu’s Café? The story of Lulu's Café came from me trying to wrap my mind around why a close loved one wouldn’t leave her abuser. I sat down with my mother, who was a survivor of domestic abuse in her second marriage, to discuss why a woman wouldn’t leave an abusive situation. This was during her battle with cancer, and we had long conversations about the topic of abuse during her chemo treatments. The most profound bit she shared with me was, “You can’t fully understand unless you’ve been there.”

First, I thanked God that I hadn’t been there, and then I prayed for those who were to find the strength to get out. The story developed from me wanting to understand, and it also became a creative outlet during the hardest days of my life as I could do nothing but watch my mother slowly succumb to the disease. Leah helped me to better grasp the mind-set of an abused woman who had been so beaten down and brainwashed that she truly did not see any way out. Plus, it was such a gift to be able to create for her a happily ever after! It was near the end of my mother’s battle and I needed that gift of hope myself.

How do you expect the novel to resonate with your audience? What are you most excited for your readers to experience through reading this story? Leah SURVIVES! Praise God, she survives. Even in a devastating situation, there is a way out. A popular highlighted passage from the book is a quote from Lulu. “I know the bad can’t be ignored. It’s everywhere, and I have no doubt that you have survived something horribly bad, but don’t overlook the good. Please remember good is like treasure. You have to seek it out. And remember how rewarding it is when you find it.”

What role does faith play in this story? The story displays other characters’ faith and how that eventually draws Leah to discover her own faith in God. I hope it will be a reminder to readers to be a light and share their faith with others.

What lessons or truths do you hope people take away from Lulu’s Café?
-It’s never okay to be mistreated in any way, whatsoever.
-We need to understand and be empathetic to others and their situations, leaving judgment out of our thoughts.

As an author, what did you particularly enjoy about writing this story? I loved the opportunity to spotlight small-town culture. Southerners have a more laid-back approach to living, and we love to love on people with food! It was fun to also showcase the lighter moments of life, and I hope readers had a laugh or two while reading this story.

Can you tell us about your inspiration for the main character in this book, Leah Allen?  Leah represents every abandoned child and every abused woman. She has a big role to fill, yes, but it was such an important one to take on. The world can feel hopeless in these situations, so Leah has to show readers to never give up and to seek help. To lean on those who cross your path and offer support.

This story is about leaving a past of pain and hurt and starting over. How do you hope this encourages your readers? I hope if someone is in an unhealthy situation that they will seek help after reading this book. I also want readers who are untouched by domestic abuse to be more aware and to be willing to reach out to those in need. We need to take off our blinders.

You say that because Leah is accustomed to cruelty, the kindness she meets in her new life is overwhelming. Can you talk more about that?  We are comfortable with what we know. In Leah’s case, a life of cruelty and setbacks is all she knew before landing in Rivertown. Like a skittish animal, she takes a while to trust, and rightfully so after what she endured. I hope readers will be encouraged to do the same after surviving difficult times.

What was your inspiration for the setting of this book? Can you tell us more about your inspiration for Lulu’s Café itself?  I’m from a small town in the country where family and friendship are important. I wanted Leah to discover this and to show her there was a better, simpler way of living than what she’d experienced. Southern charm and hospitality is like butter melting on a warm, fluffy biscuit. Who wouldn’t be drawn to it?

What can you tell us about the love connection that develops between Leah and Crowley? What difficulties do they face, given Leah’s past? It was a slow progression for them to get to that love connection, but Leah needed quite a bit of time to heal, both physically and emotionally, before even considering another relationship with a man. A friendship was formed first, so their relationship had a firm foundation to build upon. However, Leah struggled with opening up to Crowley and he struggled to understand why, but the Southern gentleman didn’t give up on her. The patience and compassion he so freely gave to Leah was exactly what the fragile woman needed.

In what ways do you hope this story connects with contemporary Christian women? I've had several readers contact me or leave reviews, sharing how my books were relatable. Many shared their personal stories (devastating stories in some cases) with me and how they fell away from their faith during those dark times. It never ceases to make my heart warm and give me goose bumps when they say through my stories, they have found their way back to God. Redemption and transformation are front and center in Lulu's Café. The understanding of forgiving yourself is important as well.

T. I. Lowe is a native of coastal South Carolina. She attended Coastal Carolina University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she majored in psychology but excelled in creative writing. Go figure. Writing was always a dream, and she finally took a leap of faith in 2014 and independently published her first novel, Lulu’s Café, which quickly became a bestseller. Now the author of ten published novels with hundreds of thousands of copies sold, she knows she’s just getting started and has many more stories to tell. A wife and mother who’s active in her church community, she resides near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her family.

What a wonderful premise, T. I. ! Much like my book, Tempered Dreams. Good luck and God's blessings with it!

Hope you enjoyed today's Wednesday Words with Friends, folks and that you'll check back weekly for more great guests. Also, stop by on Saturday and see who is in our spotlight. Pick up your copy of Lulu's Cafe at Amazon.

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on.... Me

Good Morning Friends,

My scheduled guest was unable to be here today so, instead of tossing someone into the spotlight unaware and unprepared, I decided to take today to visit with you myself.

When I started writing years and years ago, my intention was simply to write the kind of romance I love to read....strong, alpha male heroes and strong, yet gentle, sensitive and, maybe just a little delicate, heroines. Well, even if she thought herself strong, the man in her life appreciated and understood she still needed his strength and protection.

So very different from the stories of today where the female is just as tough and .... I don't know, capable is the word that comes to mind.....as the man.

That was my plan.

But God had another agenda, one I discovered the day I recommitted my life to Him and asked to write something that gave Him glory.

Many people are not thrilled with my "Inspirational with an Edge" writing, saying that you can't have that much sensuality and "gritty realism" or characters that get angry and curse or attempt suicide in a 'Christian' novel. Which is why I don't claim to write Christian, but Inspirational fiction.

Even though I love to read a clean, chaste, Christian romance, it's just not what I write.

So for those authors and readers who prefer traditional Christian books, I ask your forgiveness and grace if you've been dissatisfied with my books.

And for those of you who would like to read something different than trad CF, yet do not want today's versions of traditional romance, I invite you to give my books a try.

In fact, one lucky person who leaves a comment will get the Ebook of their choice of my titles (self-pubbed OR PBG)!

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll join me each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time, take care and God bless.
PamT

PS: sign up to receive my newsletter and get a FREE story!

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Karen Pashley & Precious in His Sight

Good Morning Friends!

Way back in June, I introduced to you Karen Pashley and her debut novel, Precious in His Sight.

Today, we are spotlighting that book.

 A determined wife, her guilt-ridden husband, and the other woman, whose struggle may set them all free . . .

What if your husband was cheating? What would you do? 

Feisty, tenacious, and adorably flawed, Sugar Brennan is fiercely committed to her family, her traditional Christian values, and her spotless reputation in her affluent Southern community. When she discovers her husband Clay has been unfaithful, Sugar is determined to right the wrongs in her life. 

Then Clay's former mistress returns to Westfield with devastating news, posing a heart-wrenching dilemma that challenges Sugar to rethink all she's believed about faith, family, and the healing power of forgiveness. 

She's been raised in a preacher's home, taught to love her enemies. 

She's got the fish sticker on her car and a collection of good works under her belt. 

But . . . reach out to the woman who nearly destroyed her marriage? Surely God wouldn't ask her to go that far.

Karen Pashley lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and the youngest of their four daughters. Her first novel, “Precious in His Sight,” won 1st place in the unpublished novels competition at the 2014 Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference. 

Karen is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Association, Word Weavers International, and the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association. Visit http://www.KarenPashley.com for more information.

Enjoy this Interview with Karen...

Q: What inspired you to write the book “Precious in His Sight?”

A: I’ve often struggled with grasping how much God loves me. To think that He cares enough to walk through every dark nook and cranny of my life, and to know He has a good plan even when bad things are happening—that’s a mind blowing concept that is hard to wrap my mind around sometimes. I wanted to write something that would affect people in a deep way. Something that would spark a desire to trust this loving God we serve in a radical, freeing way. This story challenged my personal faith. I hope it does so for others.

Q: Introduce us to your main character, Sugar Brennan.

A: In today’s image-conscious, social media-focused society, it’s tough to filter out all the external influences that can drive our motivations and our actions. Sugar Brennan has been bombarded with messages her whole life about what it means to be an upstanding southern Christian woman. She’s invested a tremendous amount of energy into fulfilling that image. I wanted to explore how she might react when faced with a devastating moral crisis.

Many, many times while writing the early drafts, I would lie awake at night wondering how I would handle her situation, and how God could turn something that awful into something beautiful. Sugar inspired me to dig deeper into my relationship with God. I hope she inspires my readers to do that as well.

Q: There are several twists and turns in the story. Did you have those in mind in the beginning, or did they develop as you wrote?

A: The entire story came to my mind and played out like a movie while I was driving through the hills of Massachusetts with my family one summer. It started as a “what if” kind of daydream, just to pass the time. An hour later, when we pulled into a little country store to fill up on fuel and snacks, I bought a dusty spiral notebook, returned to the passenger seat, and scribbled descriptions for all of the characters and settings. By the time we reached our destination, I had written the entire outline for Precious in His Sight. After that trip, I stuck the notebook in a desk drawer and didn’t pull it out for a year. When I did, the plot and characters begged to be written, and since I had always wanted to write a novel, and I had some time on my hands, a project was born.

Q: The main character makes some life choices that may shock readers. Why did you have her make those decisions?

A: As a married woman myself, I wrestled with Sugar’s choices. The wrestling led me to the conclusion that regardless of the difficult circumstances I might find myself in, there is always hope. And there is grace, even when we fight against the pain. It’s often our futile attempts to avoid pain that wind up causing us even greater calamity. Without pain, we don’t get to the bottom of ourselves. And unless we  get to the bottom of ourselves, we can’t experience the power and peace that come from complete surrender. I wanted Sugar to run, and wrestle, and squirm, and ache to find that “peace that passes all understanding.” I wanted her to experience the freedom of letting go.

Q: The story presents the ethics of risking the life of a pregnant woman for her unborn child. How did you decide how to portray that dilemma?

A: I didn’t set out to write a pro-life story. In fact, while developing the characters, I struggled with their predicament for some time. I researched their scenario and learned that cancer during pregnancy strikes more often than we realize, and that some doctors still advise women to abort their babies, even with today’s medical advances. In certain cases, continuing the pregnancy poses life-threatening risks to the mother. I had to ask myself, as a person of faith, what would I do? The answer seemed simple enough.

But while writing Christine’s character, and thinking about her back story, the question became, what would a woman with no religious allegiance or personal faith do in this situation? At the time, I didn’t honestly know how Christine would handle her plight. As I got into her head more, I felt like the choices she made were a natural progression of her journey.

Q: What do you hope readers will learn from the main character's plight?

A: I hope readers are inspired by Sugar’s tenacity, her deep love of family, and her determination. But more than that, I hope readers connect with her frailties, and her yearning to be real and open and authentic. I hope that Sugar’s journey encourages readers to seek God and cling to Him in the dark times of life, and to trust Him when circumstances don’t work out the way they hope. I hope readers learn that they have the choice and the power to be become women of joy, and strength, and serenity, no matter what life throws at them.

Q: Sugar Brennan is a strong female character. You seem like a strong woman too. Is Sugar modeled after you?

A: Ha! Sugar is a feisty go-getter, that’s for sure, and I think we have a lot in common. But as I wrote Precious in His Sight, I found myself identifying with all of the characters. I think there’s a little bit of me in each one of them. And their struggles motivated me to search my own heart. Like Sugar, I’ve made decisions based on what others might think of me. At times, I’ve tried to out-think God, running from His will in a panic before relinquishing control and finding solitude in His open arms.

Like Clay, I’ve experienced the humiliation of sin, and the haunting regrets that follow a fall, and I’ve felt the forgiving hand of my Savior take mine and say, “Come on, let’s walk out of this darkness together.”

Like Christine, I’ve been confused about God’s love for me, and at times have wondered if I measured up—wondered why He would care about me when I was so undeserving.

Like Daniel, I’ve been skeptical—wary of the church and the hypocrisy that sometimes exists within her walls. But I’ve come to love the church, not the buildings, or the denominations, but the people who exemplify the body of Christ in a variety of flavors and forms, and who are just doing their best to navigate the path to eternity. And like Miranda, I’ve put certain people on a pedestal only to be terribly let down when they don’t meet my lofty expectations. Because of that, I’ve learned to see people’s mistakes as opportunities for them to grow, and I can now look with anticipation toward what God can do, rather than with disdain at what they did.

The wonderful thing I’ve discovered along the way is that God’s love for me underscores all of my shortcomings, all of my fears, and my failures. His grace is gift enough, yet I often fight against that gift, straining and striving to satisfy my insatiable need to put my own stamp of approval on myself.

Understanding His grace, arising in hope, and resting in His steadfast love are the keys to a life that celebrates this undeniable fact—that I am precious in God’s sight—we all are.

Q: What are you involved in besides writing?

A: My husband and I have four daughters, one granddaughter, and another grandchild on the way, so we invest quite a bit of time creating opportunities for our busy family to be together. We take the whole brood skiing in the winter and to the lake in the summer, and we enjoy holidays and special events throughout the year. I’ve always been a big cook, and I love entertaining and getting people together, so a few years ago I combined my two loves into a monthly event called “Girls Dine In.” Each month I create a themed menu, write the recipes, put together table décor and music to go with the theme, and host an all-out cooking frenzy in my kitchen. The women love learning new techniques and inventive ways of serving and presenting a dinner party. And they have a chance to do something just for fun that doesn’t involve the kids or the job or anything. I also like taking walks in the woods, binge-watching Netflix, and painting furniture.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I’m working on a new novel about five former college roommates who reunite twenty-five years later. It’s kind of a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for middle-aged women, set on the Gulf Coast beaches of Florida. The characters are quirky and funny, yet deeply troubled and carrying heavy burdens. I’m falling in love with them as a write, and can’t wait to share their story.

Precious in His Sight can be purchased at Amazon and other online retailers as well as your local bookstore. I've read this novel and it is definitely worth your time, energy and money! You can read my review here.

Well friends, hope you enjoyed today's spotlight and I hope to see you each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT

#TuesdayTreasures: Guest post by Karen Pashley

Good Morning Friends,

It is with great pleasure I bring brand new author, Karen Pashley to share something she treasures with us....

Girlfriends—The lost Art of Healthy Female Relationships

"My friends are my estate." —Emily Dickinson

Ladies, if you’re like millions of women across America, doing their level best for their families, you know how it goes most days . . .

We nurture and we love, we kiss booboos, we juggle, and we pull our hair in a ponytail for the third straight day. We serve ourselves the last piece of chicken because it’s the ugly burnt one. We stay up later, get up earlier, drive across town and back, then across town again for our kids. We run as if our bodies have been issued a lifetime warranty and our souls can thrive even as they are continually depleted—and in the process of managing the lives of those we love, we are missing out on one of life’s most rewarding gifts.

Girlfriends.

I’m not talking about the women from the PTA or the football boosters, or our yoga class. I’m talking about deep, strong ties to other females—the kind of relationships that sustain us through the ups and downs of our crazy lives.

Girl talk. Laughter. Transparency. Shoulders to cry on, hands to clutch in prayer.

True friends are our cheerleaders, our mirrors, and our safe places. Ladies, we need each other!

In my new novel, I explore what goes through the mind and heart of a Christian wife who discovers her prominent husband is having an affair. Set in an affluent Southern community, I can totally relate to the struggle she feels when she contemplates her family’s future if the scandalous secret were to become public.

What my character realizes, is that among her tennis league pals, her neighbors and fellow moms, and even her church friends, she finds no one she feels comfortable confiding in. While her situation may be extreme, the feedback I’m hearing from my readers is that this yearning for deep female connection strikes a chord with many of them.

The women who came before us had a lot of issues to contend with: equality, career limitations, protocol to adhere to, standards to aspire to. But what they suffered due to societal ignorance, they made up for through their bonding and support of one another in the most intimate ways. Childbirth, child rearing, the responsibilities of preparing food and making clothing for their families, and the wisdom imparted from the older women to the younger about marriage, parenting, housekeeping and the faith and strength of character they needed to do it all with grace and dignity.

These women knew the value of girlfriends. The Bible is full of examples of the importance female connections. We see examples throughout the scriptures. Naomi and Ruth, Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, Esther and her precious fasting friends, and so many others.

Today we “bond” over soccer team meetings, snack duty, carpooling, office lunches, Facebook posts of our “amazing” lives and brilliant children, and the like.

No wonder so many women yearn for deeper, more meaningful friendships where they can be themselves—shortcomings and all, and be loved and accepted anyway.

As my fictional character discovers in Precious in His Sight, true relationships start with being vulnerable and willing. And meaningful friendships are often discovered in the most unlikely pairings when we open ourselves to the possibilities.

I thank God for the sweet sisterhood I enjoy with a diverse group of women. I might never have become close with any of them had I not been bold enough to be real and honest, and to allow my true self to be exposed.

Friendship is like a precious gem—a treasure of indescribable beauty and value. It is God-given, God-designed, and in my opinion, good friends are the nutrients needed in the starving souls of today’s multi-tasking women.

So make a point to call an old friend tonight. Get together for tea. Go for a walk in the park. Have some girls over for pizza and a movie. Be a friend to someone new. It’ll be good medicine for the both of you, and you’ll find that time spent with a good friend is an investment that yields the highest return!

You are so right, Karen! Friends, especially girlfriends are definitely something to treasure.

In addition to speaking and writing, Pashley is an accomplished foodie who founded “Girls Dine In,” a monthly gathering that is part supper club, part cooking class where she brings women together for great food and fellowship in the Nashville area. Whether cooking or writing or speaking, Pashley has her finger on the pulse of what women need, and she believes “Precious in His Sight” will resonate with women in a real way. Even before it was published, the novel was already garnering attention. The book was awarded first place in the unpublished novels competition at the 2014 Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference. The novel deals with some difficult moral issues that an unsuspecting wife must face. And the life-altering choices the book’s main character ultimately makes are already challenging a lot of Christians to think about their own personal beliefs.

“The life of a Christian is not all peaches and cream, nor should it be,” says Pashley. “But when we bend down and pick up the bricks of hardship, one by one, and apply the cement of the Holy Spirit to them, we are building an impenetrable wall of faith that cannot be constructed any other way. We must work with God rather than running from Him in our hardships. We must never lose our hope. Storms will come. We shouldn’t fear them. With God, we can persevere with dignity and joy.” For more information, visit www.KarenPashley.com.

Karen's debut novel, Precious in His Sight can be purchased at Amazon and other online retailers as well as your local bookstore. I've read this novel and it is definitely worth your time, energy and money! You can read my review here.

Hope you enjoyed today's treasure. 

Until next time, take care and be blessed!

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on @kmdaughters and Fill the Stadium!

Good Morning!

I pray your weekend and Easter celebrations are going well. 

Our guests today are not new to us. KM Daughters shared some thoughts with us in Feb and treasures in Jan and in both visits, we talked about their latest release, a WF novel, Fill the Stadium.

Well today you're getting a glimpse into the story!

So without much further ado...here are Pat and Kathie AKA: KM Daughters!

K.M. Daughters is the penname for team writers and sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare nee Lynch. The author name is dedicated to the memory of their parents, Katherine and Michael, the "K" and "M" in K.M. Daughters. Inspired by their father who wrote children's books for them when they were small and their mother's love of romance novels, K.M. Daughters was "born" in 2005 at a Romance Writers of America national conference when the sisters plotted their first manuscript. 

K.M. Daughters has published twelve award-winning novels garnering rave reviews. RT Book Reviews magazine awarded a 4-star, "Compelling, Page Turner..." rating to BEYOND THE CODE OF CONDUCT, CAPTURING KARMA and ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW. 

RT Book Reviews awarded ROSE OF THE ADRIATIC 4 1/2 stars! "Fantastic...", and the final installment in the Sullivan Boys Romantic Suspense Series: IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME, rated 4 1/2 stars by RT Book Reviews - "FANTASTIC, A KEEPER". 

THE SNOWS, an Amazon Kindle Select book is the author's first women's fiction novel with inspirational elements.

Nikki Lambert’s husband purposely stalls his truck in the path of the midnight freight on the same day her eldest son, Jack, is diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Injured NFL quarterback, Ramsey Delaney is benched from his starting position leaving him ample time for more hands-on involvement in The Good Sports Club, a community center he established where Nikki’s sons, Jack and Rocky are enrolled. Jack’s deteriorating motor skills concern Ram’s employees who bar Jack from attending the club without Ram’s knowledge. Nikki wants nothing but normalcy for Jack and she heatedly confronts Ram for depriving her son of a beloved activity. Ram immediately reinstates Jack forging the fateful bond between Nikki and her boys’ number-one sports hero. Ram is instantly attracted to Nikki. He wants to win her heart more than he’s ever wanted to win a game. But after her husband’s terrible abandonment will Nikki trust Ram’s motives and open her heart to love again?

Excerpt: 

John, I should have…Done what? Foreseen that John would ride off in the night after the Tylenol P.M. dose he had suggested finally worked on her? Understood that John couldn’t face a life without his son and begged him not to drive his truck onto the tracks and turn off the engine? This was no accident. He left her to raise their two little boys and to face Jack’s illness alone. The man that she thought she knew had turned his back on her with stunning, cruel finality. She had no idea that her husband was capable of something so monstrous.

FILL THE STADIUM, mainstream women's fiction, is K.M. Daughters' newest release and is available on Amazon in Paperback and for Kindle, Barnes and Noble and at All Romance Ebooks!

I've read Fill the Stadium and you can find my review at Amazon.

That wraps up another edition of Saturday Spotlight! Hope to see you again next week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and of course, Saturday Spotlight.

Until later, take care and God Bless!

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts: Guest Post by @kmdaughters!

Good Morning Friends,

It is with great pleasure I bring back to our blog, KM Daughters who are sharing some very special thoughts with us....

As little girls we idolized our dad. He worked three jobs for much of his career to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. We didn’t have much in economic terms, but looking back on our childhood we agree that we had everything we needed and that we were rich in the love our parents lavished on us.

We couldn’t afford a car, so taking walks together as a family was major entertainment. Those frequent expeditions on foot taught us to appreciate togetherness and inspired our love of nature.

Another childhood joy inspired us – listening to the children’s stories Daddy wrote for us.

He carried a steno book everywhere with him and whenever he had a few minutes downtime, whether waiting for a bus or a break from one of his jobs, he wrote. His stories set our imaginations soaring.

Many years later we continue the tradition of walking and talking. On one of our sister walks, K.M. Daughters created the storyline for our first book, Reunion for the First Time (Coming in 2016 from The Wild Rose Press). Every book since has started the same way – walking together on Prairie Paths, along a sandy beach, uphill on mountain paths or suburban sidewalks like the days we strolled hand in hand with our father.

We can’t help feeling that Daddy is still with us on those walks inspiring his daughters to weave tales of their own.

Visit K.M. Daughters at http://www.kmdaughters.com

K.M. Daughters is the penname for team writers and sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare nee Lynch. The author name is dedicated to the memory of their parents, Katherine and Michael, the "K" and "M" in K.M. Daughters. Inspired by their father who wrote children's books for them when they were small and their mother's love of romance novels, K.M. Daughters was "born" in 2005 at a Romance Writers of America national conference when the sisters plotted their first manuscript. 

K.M. Daughters has published twelve award-winning novels garnering rave reviews. RT Book Reviews magazine awarded a 4-star, "Compelling, Page Turner..." rating to BEYOND THE CODE OF CONDUCT, CAPTURING KARMA and ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW. 

RT Book Reviews awarded ROSE OF THE ADRIATIC 4 1/2 stars! "Fantastic...", and the final installment in the Sullivan Boys Romantic Suspense Series: IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME, rated 4 1/2 stars by RT Book Reviews - "FANTASTIC, A KEEPER". 

THE SNOWS, an Amazon Kindle Select book is the author's first women's fiction novel with inspirational elements.

FILL THE STADIUM, mainstream women's fiction, is K.M. Daughters' newest release and is available on Amazon inPaperback and for Kindle, Barnes and Noble and at All Romance Ebooks!

I've read Fill the Stadium and you can find my review at Amazon.

Hope you enjoyed this week's Thursday Thoughts, check back every week for more as well as Saturday Spotlight and Tuesday Treasures!

Until next time...take care and God bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasures: Guest post by KM Daughters!

Good Morning!

It is with great pleasure I bring you the following Tuesday Treasure....

Hi Pam! We are especially happy to be with you and your followers today of all days – January 26th. On this date in 2008 K.M. Daughters sold their first book to a publisher in the morning (JEWEL OF THE ADRIATIC to White Rose Publishing) and their second book to a publisher in the afternoon (AGAINST DOCTORS ORDERS to The Wild Rose Press)! It was a thrilling day for us as team writers and sisters.

After faith and family, sisterhood is a treasure that we prize. We have different personalities and very different life experiences, but the common history of being raised together by our beloved parents provides us with a bedrock of shared values and very similar ways of looking at the world with gratitude. 

We believe that Faith is best defined as Love, with a capital “L” – healing, fulfilling, a treasure beyond compare. Those themes repeat in all our stories. The power of love in all its forms to heal even the most broken hearts is the central theme in our new book, Fill The Stadium. Per a recent review, “A touching, heartbreaking, yet inspiring story, with a bit of romance mixed in.”
Yes! This comment affirms our desire to satisfy and hopefully delight our readers. Our fans are treasures to us, also! 

Visit K.M. Daughters at http://www.kmdaughters.com

K.M. Daughters is the penname for team writers and sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare nee Lynch. The author name is dedicated to the memory of their parents, Katherine and Michael, the "K" and "M" in K.M. Daughters. Inspired by their father who wrote children's books for them when they were small and their mother's love of romance novels, K.M. Daughters was "born" in 2005 at a Romance Writers of America national conference when the sisters plotted their first manuscript. 

K.M. Daughters has published twelve award-winning novels garnering rave reviews. RT Book Reviews magazine awarded a 4-star, "Compelling, Page Turner..." rating to BEYOND THE CODE OF CONDUCT, CAPTURING KARMA and ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND LAW. 

RT Book Reviews awarded ROSE OF THE ADRIATIC 4 1/2 stars! "Fantastic...", and the final installment in the Sullivan Boys Romantic Suspense Series: IN THE ST. NICK OF TIME, rated 4 1/2 stars by RT Book Reviews - "FANTASTIC, A KEEPER". 

THE SNOWS, an Amazon Kindle Select book is the author's first women's fiction novel with inspirational elements.

FILL THE STADIUM, mainstream women's fiction, is K.M. Daughters' newest release and is available on Amazon in Paperback and for Kindle, Barnes and Noble and at All Romance Ebooks!

I've read Fill the Stadium and you can find my review at Amazon.

Hope you enjoyed today's treasure....check back later in the week for Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time...take care and God Bless.
PamT

#TuesdayTreasures: Reviews on Circles of Fate

Good Morning!

Today I'm leaving Santee, SC headed to Savannah, GA so check back Thursday where I'll share some random ramblings about this little vacation.

As a reader I love to encourage authors by leaving reviews. As an author, I agree with the following statements found on Facebook posted by Karen L Silverman and Paul Cwalina

So it is with great pleasure I share with you these reviews on my novel Circles of Fate....

Lalla Broussard Allen said.... "Started reading your book yesterday. Today I am still in my pjs, reading and watching Hallmark movies. I never stay in my pj’s all day, totally out of character for me but I can't put the book down. Thanks for writing another book."

Deena Peterson said.... "Circle of Fate is a passionate Story.  Characters come within seconds of falling hard into temptation's grasp, and love is often heated and emotional.  But the writing never crosses the line into sensuality...it just tiptoes kind of close to it once in a while!" Read Deena's entire review HERE.

Deborah Piccurelli said... "I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, rich, love story that leaves you thinking about it long after you’ve turned the last page." Read Deb's entire review HERE.

Talk about  humbled and blessed! Great reviewers/fans/friends and wonderful reviews like these are always something to treasure!

Set at the tail end of the Vietnam War era, Circles of Fate takes the reader from Fort Benning, Georgia to Thibodaux, Louisiana. A romantic saga, this gripping novel covers nearly twenty years in the lives of Shaunna Chatman and Todd Jameson. Constantly thrown together and torn apart by fate, the two are repeatedly forced to choose between love and duty, right and wrong, standing on faith or succumbing to the world’s viewpoint on life, love, marriage and fidelity. With intriguing twists and turns, fate brings together a cast of characters whose lives will forever be entwined. Through it all is the hand of God as He works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.


Circles of Fate can be purchased at Amazon (KINDLE); Barnes and Noble (NOOK); Create Space and Smashwords ... but for now enjoy this Excerpt....

She saw the struggle in his eyes, felt it in her heart, as each fought not to grab hold and cling. They gazed at each other, read the naked truth in each other’s eyes.

Neither wanted to be the first to walk away.

Shaunna touched his face, traced his features…his eyes, his jaw, his mouth. A shiver shook her when he held her hand and pressed his lips to her fingertips.

“I almost wish we had made love the other night.”

Almost?

The word echoed between them like a silent scream. The despair in his eyes slashed her heart another degree. He shook his head, swallowed hard.

“Know this. If we had, you would not leave here today.”

She stroked his cheek, her smile tender, bittersweet. “Take care of yourself. Please,” she whispered then placed her mouth on his.

Lips met on a sigh, breaths mingled on a sob. Each of them committed the kiss to heart, and fought not to cling to the other. With a final touch, a last trembling smile, Shaunna did one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life.

She left.

***********
Hope you enjoyed this week's treasure. Hope to see you again later for Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!

Until next time...take care & God Bless.
PamT

Saturday Spotlight - Sharon Srock

Good Morning!

Can you believe today is the first Saturday in April already!?  Yeah, I know, me neither LOL!

Today's guest is Sharon Srock & Callie (book 1 in her Women of Valley View series)

Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s debut novel, The Women of Valley View: Callie released in October 2012. The second in the series, The Women of Valley View: Terri releases in April 2013. 

Three dire circumstances. Three desperate prayers. One miracle to save them all.  

Callie Stillman is drawn to the evasive girl who’s befriended her granddaughter, but the last time Callie tried to help a child, her efforts backfired. Memories of the tiny coffin still haunt her. 

Samantha and Iris Evans should be worried about homework, not whether they can pool enough cash to survive another week of caring for an infant while evading the authorities.  

Steve Evans wants a second chance at fatherhood, but his children are missing.  And no one seems to want to help the former addict who deserted his family. 

For Steve to regain the relationship he abandoned, for his girls to receive the care they deserve, Callie must surrender her fear and rely on God to work the miracle they all need. 

Excerpt:

Callie Stillman dabbed raindrops from her face with a linen napkin as Benton dodged a server with a loaded tray and took his place across from her. She smiled into her husband’s blue eyes and reached across to wipe water from his beard. “We’ll both have pneumonia if we don’t dry off soon.” 

Benton took the napkin and finished the job. “I’ve been told the food is very good. A few sniffles should be worth it.”  

Callie’s gaze roamed the room. “It’s…” Recognition slammed into her chest, forcing the air from her lungs. The man crossing the room behind her husband nodded and continued to his table. Was that the bailiff? Do you swear to tell the truth… She gulped for breath and fought the familiar darkness that crowded the edges of her vision.  

Callie ran a finger around her collar, tugging the neck of the blouse away from skin suddenly dewed with a fine film of sweat. Too hot. She took a sip of water, dismayed at the tremor in her hand as she lifted the glass to her lips. Not here, not tonight. Callie closed her eyes and practiced the breathing techniques she’d learned over the last six months. In through her nose, hold for a few seconds, and out through her mouth. Concentrate only on the current step in the process, the next breath. The tightness in her chest began to fade away. Thank you, Jesus. She raised her water again and held the cold glass to her flushed cheek. 

Callie can be purchased directly from the publisher, Harbour Light Books/Pelican Book Group, at Amazon or Barnes&Noble!

To find out more about the Women of Valley View download a FREE pdf!

To find out more about Sharon, visit her Blog, friend her on FaceBook and Good Reads, and/or follow her on Twitter!

Well friends, I sure hope you enjoyed the first Saturday Spotlight of April 2013! Stay tuned for more great Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and of course, Saturday Spotlights!

PamT

"Inspirational with an Edge!" (tm)