#SaturdaySpotlight is on Lillian Duncan and No Home for the Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, we #sharedthejoy with Christmas titles and other books that are on sale through the holidays. Well today is another wonderful Christmas story by returning author, Lillian Duncan!

You've gotten a sneak peek into Lillian's book when she visited us for Tuesday Treasures and Thursday Thoughts but today you'll get an even better look at No Home for the Holidays!

Unlike the Prodigal Son, Chloe Sullivan knows she can’t go home for the Christmas holidays or ever—not if she wants to stay alive.

She’s resigned to the fact she must stay in hiding to keep herself and her family safe. Lonely and desperate for God’s presence, she’s drawn to a nearby church.

Ex-FBI agent turned preacher, Colton Douglas, mistakenly identifies Chloe as the person breaking into local churches. A midnight chase ensues that ends with him snapping her photo. When the photo goes public he learns more about the mystery woman than he bargained for. . .

And that changes everything!  

EXCERPT:

Colton Douglas huddled in the dark while the icy wind swirled.

If the weather got worse, he wouldn’t be able to take pictures. With the falling snow and the star shining bright above the Nativity, it would make an awesome picture to post on the church website. So far, the photos hadn’t turned out as pretty as what he could see.

He rubbed his hands together in an effort to keep warm. The wind chill factor was already below zero. He considered going back to his warm cozy house to sit in front of the fireplace, but insomnia had crept in once again. Instead of lying in bed trying not to think of things better forgotten, he’d decided to get up. A glance at the Nativity had brought him out to capture the perfect photo.

He held up the camera and snapped several times and shivered as a strong gust of wind assaulted him. Colton pulled the scarf tighter around his neck, then held his hands up to his mouth so he could warm them with his breath. He wiggled them around, barely able to feel his fingers. Five more minutes and then he’d call it a night whether he got the right picture or not.

Waiting outside in the dark reminded him of his days as an FBI agent. The familiar pit in his stomach jolted, inviting him back into the darkness.

Colton refused to jump in.

Those days were behind him. God had other plans for him that didn’t include carrying a gun. These days he carried a Bible.

Colton stamped his feet to bring back feeling. Brutal was the only way to describe the weather this winter—and it was only December! What would January be like?

He snapped a few more shots but still wasn’t happy. Maybe it would be better with the flash off. To give that ethereal quality he was looking for.

Snap.

Perfect! The star shone but with a hazy quality. He sent the photo to his social media sites and to the church website. Pleased that he’d captured the essence of the season, he scanned the area, taking in the lovely scene one more time.

A shadowed figure darted near the church steps.

Lillian Duncan: stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem!

Lillian is a multi-published writer with several Amazon bestsellers, including The Christmas Stalking and Betrayed. Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch or two of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. Tiaras & Tennis Shoes is her personal blog at www.lillian-duncan.com. 

To celebrate the release of No Home For The Holidays, Lillian is running a contest on her blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes. Five lucky winners will receive a $10 Amazon Gift card. So hop on over to www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment under the No Home For The Holidays blog post so you’ll be entered to win one of the gift cards. Winners will be picked on Dec. 23—just in time for Christmas!

You can purchase No Home for the Holidays right now for only $.99 cents at Pelican Book Group ($1.99 at Amazon) 

Well...if you received an E-reader for Christmas, you've got numerous titles to choose from to start filling it up!

Hope you enjoyed today's spotlight. Hope to see you next week!

Until later....take care and God Bless.

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts: Guest post by Lillian Duncan

Good Morning,

Today we welcome Lillian Duncan back to our blog with something to think about....

The Faith of a Child

(cdndloven)

“I just came across this verse, Pink. Made me think of you. Want to hear it?”

          Not really. “Sure.”

          “In Matthew it says unless you become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

          “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

          “But what do you think it means?” His voice was insistent.

          She leaned against the door, suddenly so tired she could barely stand. “I don’t know. What do you think it means?”

          “It’s all about trust and faith. The kind children have. Especially the kind they have at Christmas. Think about it—kids just believe in Santa because their parents tell them he exists. Even though it makes no sense, they believe.”

          Zoe slid down to the floor with her back against the door. “And you want me to have that kind of faith in you?”

          “Not in me. In God.”

The above is a short excerpt from NO Home For The Holidays, my new Christmas-themed novella. In it, Chloe Sullivan needs a miracle but has given up on getting it. Ex-FBI turned preacher, Colton Douglas believes no miracle is too hard for God.

He has the faith of a child and he wants Chloe to have the same.

When we were children, we accepted the myth without question that Santa flies around the world, leaves gifts for every child, and even takes a moment to eat a bite or two of the cookies we left out. Our logical minds told us that it was impossible, but that was the magic of Christmas.

Faith comes easy when we’re children. Not so easy as adults. Our adult mind tells us:

Jesus couldn’t be the Son of God born of a virgin—that’s where faith comes in.

Heaven sounds too good to be true—that’s where faith comes in.

God couldn’t really love us after all we’ve done—that’s where faith comes in.

I can admit that sometimes my teeny-tiny human mind has difficulty comprehending such amazing concepts as heaven or forever or unconditional love. But I don’t need to understand it to believe it, just as I don’t need to understand electricity to believe in or to use it.

So this Christmas season close those adult eyes. Instead, look at Christmas through the eyes of a child—through eyes of faith. And be amazed at God’s love for each of us.

Be amazed by the miracle we call Christmas.

To celebrate the release of No Home For The Holidays, Lillian is running a contest on her blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes. Five lucky winners will receive a $10 Amazon Gift card. So hop on over to www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment under the No Home For The Holidays blog post so you’ll be entered to win one of the gift cards.

You can purchase No Home for the Holidays right now for only $.99 cents at Pelican Book Group ($1.99 at Amazon)

Lillian Duncan: stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem!

Lillian is a multi-published writer with several Amazon bestsellers, including The Christmas Stalking and Betrayed. Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch or two of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. Tiaras & Tennis Shoes is her personal blog at www.lillian-duncan.com. 

Hope you enjoyed today's treasure. Lillian will be back for Saturday Spotlight this month so drop by often!

Until later, take care and God Bless.

PamT

#TuesdayTreasure: Special Guest post and Contest by Lillian Duncan

Good Morning!

It is with great pleasure I bring you today's guest. Lillian Duncan is a fellow Pelican Book Group author and she is sharing with us something she treasures!

CELEBRATE!

My latest release is No Home For The Holidays, a Christmas-themed romantic suspense novella. Christmas and suspense? I love the challenge of finding a way to mix the two together. The gist of the story is about a “prodigal daughter” who wants to go home but knows she will put her family in danger as well as herself if she does.

In the story, Chloe is downright grinchy. Christmas reminds her of home and since she can’t go home, she refuses to acknowledge or celebrate Christmas in any way. I wonder how many of us do the same thing.

I’ve got no kids so why put up a tree?

I’m alone now, so what’s the point of decorating?

It’s too much work.

I’m so busy.

Mmmm….Do any of those excuses sound familiar?

There’s nothing like a serious health crisis to teach us to appreciate life!  It started on April Fool’s Day in 2012 when I developed Bell’s palsy (an inflammation of the facial nerves). An MRI brought even more shocking news—bilateral brain tumors and a diagnosis of NF2, a genetic disorder.  It continues still today.

How it will end? Only God knows. It’s been a long and difficult journey, but God has taught me much. And one of those nuggets of wisdom is to celebrate life!

For the past several years, we’d cleared off our enclosed porch and filled it with Christmas trees--lots of them!  It's just for fun and just for us--no grandbabies around to enjoy it.  But when I started experience side effects from my second brain tumor treatment in 2013 much earlier than expected, we decided to forego the Christmas Porch.  Too much work and I didn't feel well enough to help.

But one morning I woke up to a porch full of Christmas trees, thanks to my sweet husband.  I can’t tell you how much joy I got from just seeing the Christmas Trees every time I walked past them.  And it taught me a lesson, life is worth celebrating, especially at Christmas. Last year there wasn’t even a question. The trees were going up!

At this time of the year, we have so much to celebrate--the birth of a babe in a lowly manger. A birth that changed the world! A birth that brought heaven to earth! It’s a time of the year when we should all be celebrating, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

We’re celebrating the birth of Jesus, our king, our savior!

You're right, Lillian...the gift of LIFE is definitely something to treasure!

To celebrate the release of No Home For The Holidays, Lillian is running a contest on her blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes. Five lucky winners will receive a $10 Amazon Gift card. So hop on over to www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment under the No Home For The Holidays blog post so you’ll be entered to win one of the gift cards.

You can purchase No Home for the Holidays right now for only $.99 cents at Pelican Book Group ($1.99 at Amazon)

Lillian Duncan: stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem!

Lillian is a multi-published writer with several Amazon bestsellers, including The Christmas Stalking and Betrayed. Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch or two of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. Tiaras & Tennis Shoes is her personal blog at www.lillian-duncan.com. 

Hope you enjoyed today's treasure. Lillian will be back for Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight this month so drop by often!

Until later, take care and God Bless.

PamT