#SaturdaySpotlight is on Carol James @CarolJamesAuth & Season of Hope!

Good Morning!

Well, no Dixie World Championship for us this time. Arkansas beat South Carolina so I guess the score is even...until next year (hopefully). Anyway, I'm back home in Louisiana and have a TON of things to do today so without much further ado, please welcome today's guest, Carol James. Carol has shared Treasures and Thoughts with us and has been in our Spotlight before but today we're getting a sneak peek into her brand new novel, Season of Hope. 

Hope Stockton’s life is dead, frozen in a winter of guilt, deceit, and fear. When handsome young pastor, Josh Lewis, comes to serve in her church, she wonders if she can trust him with her past. Will he be able to help her answer the questions that have been buried in her heart for years? Or will his own secrets drive them apart and prevent him from helping Hope find her spring of forgiveness?

Set in small town Texas in the years during and following the Vietnam war, Season of Hope is a story of forgiveness and restoration.

Excerpt: He crossed off the last entry on the list. When he’d vowed to do this, he’d had no idea it would be so difficult. He’d called every entry in the phone book and every additional number he’d gotten from Information with no success. 

He didn’t have enough money to hire a private investigator, and even if he had the funds, he may not have enough information for the detective to be successful. 

As the evening sun shone through the gap between his bedroom curtains, the gold chain and pendant sparkled as if mocking his efforts. Opening the small Bible, he placed the necklace back between its pages and slowly folded the covers closed. 

He was tired. Tired of war, tired of loss, tired of failure. 

Father, it’s in Your hands now. I’ve done all I know to do.

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction, in particular redemptive romance. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was an Amazon number one best seller. 

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, and serving in the production department at her church. And most days, in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life.

Connect with Carol at the following locations....

www.carol-james.com

Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor

https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19149238.Carol_James

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carol-james

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3duHqKc

Get your copy of Season of Hope at Amazon, Pelican Book Group (Ebook), and Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Sounds like a wonderful story, Carol. Good luck and God's blessings with it and your other books!

Hope you enjoyed the post, 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

PS: I haven't had a chance to draw for July gift card so watch your email AND the blog Wednesday to see who won!

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Carol James @CarolJamesAuth

Good Morning and Welcome!

Hurricane cleanup again today. We're in a RV park so far away it's difficult to go in every day but I do  my best to go every other day. Alas, life goes on....

Carol James returns to share some insight on The Power of Words. Take it away, Carol.....

 

       “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I can’t remember the first time I heard or even said these words, but years and wisdom have proven their falseness. Words may not cut or bruise, but the pain they inflict often lasts years longer than the six weeks required to mend a broken arm.

            “The pen is mightier than the sword.” I do remember the first time I heard these words in history class. We discussed how, in using words to influence a person’s thoughts, you can transform someone. Words, not swords, have the power to cause true heart-change. That one idea began my love affair with words.

            Several years ago, a friend invited me to a women’s conference. It was a time when my life was in a drought. Certain God had called me into a new ministry, I’d begun writing. After numerous rejections and some harsh critiques, which all writers receive, I began to question my decision. Writing was too much work. Too hard. Too painful. If I wasn’t being successful, maybe I hadn’t really been called.

            In addition to the mental pain, I’d been having unexplained back problems, and the thought of sitting for hours in a stadium seat was torturous. But I went. Because time with my friend was priceless.

            As we entered the huge arena, I recognized the background music. Sovereign Over Us, a song written and sung by my church’s worship pastor, Aaron Keyes. What a fun coincidence! Of all the recordings they could have chosen, one by a person I knew. A song I’d sung many times in church. A reminder of God’s sovereignty.

            We found our seats. Mine had an envelope on it. I glanced around the huge convention center. Each seat held an envelope. Thousands of seats, thousands of envelopes.

            I opened mine. Snoopy. I love Snoopy! And he was sitting at a typewriter struggling to find the right words.

            Then I opened the card. Someone had handwritten a Bible verse inside. “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14”

            The song about God’s sovereignty, the verse about healing, even the typewriter, of all things. I can’t remember the teaching from that weekend. I’m sure it was fabulous. But I will never forget what God said to me through the song and the card. The words were streams in my wasteland.

            Oh, the power of words! We all have the responsibility to use our words for good. To build up rather than tear down. To heal rather than hurt. As a Christian writer, my task is to use words not only to tell a story but also to show God’s love.

            The woman who volunteered her time to inscribe my card most likely had no idea the depth of truth the words would speak to my heart. But she was obedient, and the words she wrote were powerful, life-changing.

            Words. Powerful. Life-changing. Heart-changing. Maybe that’s why John tells us Jesus is the Word.

            In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:1,14

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction, in particular redemptive romance. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was an Amazon number one best seller. 

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, and serving in the production department at her church. And most days, in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life.

Connect with Carol at the following locations....

www.carol-james.com

Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor

https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19149238.Carol_James

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carol-james

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3duHqKc

Get your copy of Carol's newest release, Season of Hope at Amazon, Pelican Book Group (Ebook), and Barnes & Noble (Nook)

Oh, Carol what a lovely story. I adore it when God speaks to me like this! Thank you so much for sharing!

Good luck and God's blessings

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Carol James @CarolJamesAuth!

Good Morning and Welcome!

Before I turn the blog over to today's guest let me take a moment to Thank each and every one of You who have patiently followed my virtual book tour for Kyleigh's Cowboy. Your love and support mean the world to me! This week I'm sharing excerpts on Patricia Kiyono & Alina K Field's blogs. If you've pre-ordered the book through Amazon - THANKS AGAIN! If you haven't, you can not only order but read it 1 week early through Smashwords! Click HERE for details but hurry! This is a limited offer.

Now without much further ado, please give Carol James a huge hug as she returns to share with us some thoughts on The Sacred Call of the Christian Writer. Take it away, Carol!

Why am I writing? What were my goals and motivations when I began? Did I want to achieve fame and fortune? Have a book (or two) listed on the New York Times best-seller list? Be able to support my family or make a nice little nest egg for my retirement? I can imagine some of you snickering right now…

None of these is a bad reason to pursue writing. All of them have value. But for a Christian writers there can be only one reason to write. Because you’re called.

I love writing redemptive romance. One reason is because it’s formulaic and has a built-in timeline that helps me craft the story. Hitting four major plot points (Inciting Event, Point of Commitment, Black Moment, Satisfying Ending) help me with pacing and keep me on track. But what happens between those four points?

Before I put the first words on paper, while the ideas are spinning around in my imagination. I choose a Bible verse or two (Oftentimes, I’ll have one verse for the hero and another for the heroine.) and a hymn or Christian song as the foundation for the story. As I write from point to point, I constantly circle back to the truths expressed in the verses and the lyrics of the song. It’s the best way I’ve found to help me stay “on message.”

As a Christian writer, I’m called to step into the deserts of my readers’ lives and bring them hope and truth. But how do I measure that? In the story of the ninety and nine, the Good Shepherd leaves the many to find the one. I hope this is as much encouragement to you as it is to me. Touching the life of one, or two, or three with my writing is as valuable as touching the lives of a multitude. 

So, be faithful to your calling, whatever it is, and trust God with the rest.

Raised as an Air Force brat, the longest Carol James ever lived in one place was a year and a half. Maybe that’s why when she and her husband bought their first home over forty years ago, they stayed put.

Wife, mother, grandmother, and dog-mama, Carol loves writing stories of redemptive romance. When asked the difference between redemptive romance and standard romance, she replied, “A standard romance has two main characters––a hero and a heroine. A redemptive romance adds a third. God.”

Sign up for her quarterly newsletter and receive a free short story: https://www.carol-james.com/staying-in-touch.html 

Connect with Carol: 

CarolJamesWebsite

FacebookCarolJames

InstagramCarolJamesAuth 

TwitterCarolJamesAuth

GoodreadsCarolJames

BookbubCarolJames

AmazonCarolJames 

Oh MY, Carol....what a lovely message and SO timely as I release a new book! THANK YOU.

Hope you enjoyed Carol's post, Friends and that you take her words to heart as you share your gifts and talents with the world. Speaking of gifts, check out Carol's latest release, A Time for Singing at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, GoodReads, Booktopia, BookBub and Pelican Book Group.

Check out Carol's previous visits to our blog HERE.

THANKS for dropping by, Friends. Until next week, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Carol James @CarolJamesAuth

Good Morning,

On Saturday our guest shared a peek into her new release, No Longer Captive. Today we get some inspiration behind the story!

Learning a Lesson 

Have you ever run away? I remember when I was about eight years old, I decided I would run away from home. I had a good homelife and loving and supportive parents. But for some reason, something (I don’t even remember what it was) had happened, and my eight-year-old self wanted to “teach them a lesson.” If I ran away, they would be sorry they had wronged me, and they’d never do it again.

In No Longer a Captive, the heroine, Ethne, is running away from her past. But as far and as fast as she goes, she can’t escape the pain. It haunts her, follows her. She blames God for allowing her to be treated as she was and runs from Him, also. She’s like the proverbial hamster in the wheel. Running, running, running, always moving but never making progress.

The story of the Prodigal Son has always been one of my favorites. Filled with pride, the son leaves home. He wastes his inheritance, and in fear and shame decides to return home to face his father’s wrath. But the Father welcomes him home in love. The Bible tells us we cannot hide or run away from God. Wherever we might run, He is there. He is quietly waiting for us. Not in anger, but in love.

As I child I understood the part of the story about sinning and asking forgiveness. What I missed was that the Father had been watching and waiting for the son to return, and when he neared his home, the Father didn’t simply wait for him to arrive, but the Father ran to meet him and celebrated his return.

A simple Bible story that most of us know, but often forget to apply to our lives. What situation, person, failure are you running from? Turn and run toward the One who can handle it. He’ll meet you more than half-way.

And my running away episode? With my bags packed, at the last minute, I changed my mind. I realized how sad my parents would be and didn’t want to hurt them. I was the one who was “taught the lesson.”

Bio:

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She loves creating Redemptive Romance. She lives in Lilburn, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell Terrier, Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors of inspirational fiction.

Her debut novel, Rescuing Faith, was an Amazon number one best-seller. Visit her website to sign up for her newsletter to be the first to learn about new releases: www.carol-james.com

Just recently, Carol allowed Zoe to start an instagram page with two of her dog friends. Follow them at 3DogsandtheirAuthors to learn the behind the scenes info about being a writer.

Carol enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren, traveling with friends, and serving in the production department at her church. And most days, in the late hours of the night or the wee hours of the morning, she can be found bringing her newest novel to life.

Connect with Carol at the following locations....

CarolJamesWebsite ~ FacebookCarolJames ~ InstagramCarolJamesAuth ~ TwitterCarolJamesAuth

GoodreadsCarolJames ~ BookbubCarolJames ~ AmazonCarolJames ~ Newsletter Sign-up

 

No Longer a Captive purchase links:

Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/56pdpzmy

Pelican: https://bit.ly/3lve7NN

B&N: https://tinyurl.com/4jnj8u7p

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/no-longer-a-captive

 

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/no-longer-a-captive-by-carol-james

 

Good reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58857487-no-longer-a-captive

Read Carol's previous posts HERE

What a sweet story, Carol! I believe we've all run away, or considered doing so, at some point in our lives. Thanks for sharing.

Hope you enjoyed Carol's post 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

#TuesdayTreasures with Carol James!

Good Morning!

Today's guest is brand new to our blog so please give Carol James a huge WELCOME! as she shares something she treasures with us....

Mom's Dishes.....

I gently placed the small yellow platter on the counter and smiled at the salesperson. “This was my mother’s dinnerware pattern. I have a blue bowl and a green bowl at home . . . all that’s left from her set. And this is the first time I’ve never seen any pieces in an antique store.”

            “Don’t you want the pink one, too?” She winked.

            I hadn’t seen it, but yes, I definitely wanted it. My best friend and I had walked into the little antique store in Clarksville, Georgia on a whim, just to pass the time. I had no idea the treasure awaiting me there.

            I guess you could say my mother was a minimalist. When I was a child, I always wondered why our house lacked the delicate knick-knacks, lovely wall art, and the forests of plants my friends had. But as an adult, I understand.

            My father was a career military officer. The longest we ever lived any one place while I was growing up was two years. An average timeframe was much less. More possessions meant more to pack when you moved and more to grieve over when things became broken or lost in transit. So early in her marriage, my mother made a decision. Her treasured possessions were her family.

            My Mom loved cooking, so the one extravagance she allowed herself was setting a beautiful table. We always ate on her pastel dinnerware with sterling silver flatware and crystal glasses. Never plastic or stainless, and paper plates were for picnics only.

            I can remember her teaching me how to use part of my index finger as a ruler to evenly align the bottom edge of the dinner plates and silverware with the edge of the table. Forks on the left, knives and spoons on the right, dessert cutlery across the top. The knife edges and napkin openings always faced inward toward the plate. When my job was done and the table was set, she’d go outside and take clippings of whatever plants were growing around our quarters and create a centerpiece a florist would be proud to claim. 

            When my father came home, our family would sit around the candlelit table. He’d say a blessing, and we’d eat and share our days. The meal would always end with a similar appropriate comment. Daddy would say, “Lillian, I believe that’s about the best pork chop I ever ate.”

            The four pieces of my mother’s dinnerware are beautiful to me. Not for their monetary value, but for the memories they evoke and for the lesson they symbolize about priorities, about what is lasting. About what we should truly treasure.

What a Wonderful story, Carol and definitely something to treasure!

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors.

Her upcoming novel, The Waiting, will be available January, 2019.

Her Christmas novella, Mary’s Christmas Surprise, is currently available for pre-purchase on Amazon and on the Pelican Book Group website.

  

Connect with Carol at:

www.carol-james.com

Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor

https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth 

Thank you so much Carol for sharing your treasures with us. 

I hope you enjoyed the post friends and that you'll check back for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights.

Until next time good luck and God's blessings!

PamT

#ThursdayThoughts with Carol James

Good Morning!

Last month I introduced to you a new-to-me guest when Carol James shared treasures with us, so please welcome her back to share some thoughts....

The Power of Words

            “The pen is mightier than the sword.” I remember the first time I heard these words in school. We discussed how, in using words to change a person’s thoughts, you can transform the heart. Words, not swords, have the power to cause heart-change. That one idea began my love affair with words.

            Several years ago, a friend invited me to a Beth Moore conference. It was a time when my life was in a drought. Certain God had called me into a new ministry, I’d begun writing. After numerous rejections and some harsh critiques, which all writers receive, I began to question my decision. Writing was too much work. Too hard. Too painful. If I wasn’t being successful, maybe I hadn’t been called.

            In addition to the mental pain, I’d been having unexplained back problems, and the thought of sitting for hours in a stadium seat was torturous. But . . . I went, because time with my friend was priceless.

            As we entered the huge arena, I recognized the background music. It was a recorded song written and sung by my church’s worship pastor, Aaron Keyes. Sovereign Over Us. What a fun coincidence! Of all the recordings they could have chosen, one by a person I knew. A song I’d sung many times in church.

            We found our seats. Mine had an envelope on it. I glanced around the huge convention center. Each seat held an envelope. Thousands of seats, thousands of envelopes.

          I opened mine. Snoopy. I love Snoopy. Sitting at a typewriter and struggling to find the right words.

            Then I opened the card. Someone had handwritten a Bible verse inside. “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.  Jeremiah 17:14”

            The song about God’s sovereignty, the verse about healing, even the typewriter, for goodness sake. I can’t remember what Beth Moore spoke about that weekend. I’m sure it was fabulous. But I will never forget what God said to me through the song and the card. The words were streams in my wasteland.

            Oh, the power of words! We all have the responsibility to use our words for good. To encourage, to build up. Especially as writers. I often struggle with finding the perfect word to express an idea, simply because my task is to use words not only to tell a story, but also to show God’s love.

            When the angels appeared to the shepherds, their words struck fear. Yet, the shepherds were obedient and went to the manger, and the words they heeded changed them forever.

            Words. Powerful. Life-changing. Maybe that’s why John tells us Jesus is the Word.

            In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:1,14

Wow, so true, Carol and how sweet! Thanks for sharing!

Carol James is an author of inspirational fiction. She lives in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Jim, and a perky Jack Russell "Terrorist," Zoe.

Having always loved intriguing stories with happy endings, she was moved to begin writing to encourage others as she'd been encouraged by the works of other authors.

Her upcoming novel, The Waiting, will be available January, 2019.

Her Christmas novella, Mary’s Christmas Surprise, is currently available on Amazon and on the Pelican Book Group website.

                                          

 

Connect with Carol at:

www.carol-james.com

Facebook.com/CarolJamesAuthor

https://www.instagram.com/caroljamesauthor

https://twitter.com/CarolJamesAuth      

Thank you so much Carol for sharing with us.

I hope you enjoyed the post friends and that you'll check back for more Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights.

Until next time good luck and God's blessings!
PamT