Monday, 14 December 2020

Winter Countdown Blitz Day 6




Sara Harris makes her home with her family of seven, which includes her romance novelesque husband and her five children. 

She holds her BA in history and is currently back in school seeking her BSN.  











An Amish settlement. An English stranger. The Blizzard of 1888. Who can Rebekah trust when the line between the Amish and the English becomes blurred?

A sweet and gentle love blossoms between Rebekah Stoll and her childhood friend Joseph Graber, despite attempts by her saucy nemesis, Katie Knepp, to sway the young man's affections her way. 

When Joseph hints at the promise of forever, Rebekah is positive she should say yes to his proposal - until a mysterious English stranger shows up at her homestead and sets everything she thought she knew about her world on end. 

 

  
  


Author Interview:

What is your favorite Wintertime Activity?

I love listening to Christmas music and buying presents for my loved ones! Especially my babies. All five of them. 

How many unpublished / half-finished books do you have in progress?

I have about thirty books sitting on my desktop either finished, roughly finished, or begging to be finished. They are in about thirty different genres, too! 

What was the most surprising thing you learned when creating your book (in research or in yourself?)

When I wrote Rebekah's Quilt, I actually learned that a branch of my family tree sprouted from Lancaster County, PA. In learning this, I completed my book, then learned the true origins of my family in Amish Country . . . 

Tell us about the greatest Christmas gift you ever received.

Each year being blessed to celebrate another Christmas is gift enough! Material things fade, lose their luster, etc. However being able to celebrate Jesus's birth each year with my loved ones . . . that is a gift to top all gifts. Last year, I was able to afford a Sonic ice maker for my husband -- that was my favorite gift to have ever given. He was so surprised! 

What did you edit out of your book? (Such as a cut scene or an idea that just wouldn't fit?)

I did not edit out any major scenes. 

What inspired you to write this novel?

This novel was inspired by my ancestry. I love digging around in Ancestry.com!



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Friday, 11 December 2020

Believe Audiobook



Best friends share everything, right? Unless it’s a secret that could cost them their lives. Robyn and Kit are born with forbidden magic-sense, the power to see and hear beyond Earthly sight and sound. It’s a curse that haunts them, but the girls are strangely drawn to it—could there be more to this power than they’ve been told?

When they spill their secret, it opens a doorway back to Forever—a beautiful realm where magic-sense began. They learn the truth: they have been given a noble gift. It connects them to the Skyborn royalty of this new world. They’ve been summoned back by the forces for good to preserve the kingdom and revive the power where it once flourished—on Earth. It can thrive again, if Robyn and Kit are brave enough to follow.
However, the doorway awakens more than magical fairy-tales. A dark force is unleashed—one that has battled the Skyborn since time began, and it wants the girls dead, the Earth destroyed.

Beyond the doorway is where the adventure begins—trickery, kidnapping, a prison break, rescue teams, sword fights, magical gold-dust, holographic medallions, and singing orbs—but only for those who have the courage to believe.



Nanette O’Neal is a five-time published author, certified transformational story coach, and professional speaker. Ever since childhood, Nanette was fascinated with the nature of storytelling and how it has the ability to connect us to our higher self and change lives for the good. She uses the power of story to help people find clarity, gain courage, and walk with confidence to become the hero of the most important story of all—the story of you.


A Doorway Back to Forever is a seven-novel series for teens and families designed to entertain, awaken courage, and magnify the divine power within the human soul. The books of the series are Believe, Trust, Defend, Honor, Remember, Restore, and Become. Remember is the most recently released (October 2020) while Restore and Become are scheduled for publication in 2021. Nanette O’Neal is a 2020 top-ten finalist in Fantasy for the global Author Elite Award for Honor, book four in the series. Nanette currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband. She loves her family, hiking, Star Trek, and dogs. 




Character Casting

Robyn: Robyn is a 12yo girl with a long black braid and glasses and no friends because she has magic-sense: a curse that lets her see things that aren’t really there. She wants to learn more about it, but she’s afraid of being arrested, until she meets a new girl in town who has the same curse.

Kit: Kit is a pixie-faced, strawberry-blonde girl with pony tails who moves in and meets Robyn. She’s excited to start life in a new town where she hopes to forget about this magic-sense she has—hearing things that aren’t there. But the curse follows her and she doesn’t know what to do about it, until her new best friend is accused of having magic-sense too.

Cam: Cam is Robyn’s 15yo brother, with dark hair who loves football. He protects Robyn from their mean parents, and has a secret himself—not only does he have magic-sense, but he’s been waiting for his sister to discover her talent so they can join together and learn more about who they are and why they have been given tis gift.

Logan: Logan is a 12yo, bully to Robyn. He has greasy hair with bangs over one deformed eye. He hates her magic-sense and tries to shame her for having it.

Mr. Fischer: Mr. Fischer is Robyn’s elderly neighbor. He wears a baseball cap and is a secret magic-user who knows a lot about what happens beyond the doorway leading to the Kingdom of Forever

Michael the Brave: He is the magical guardian to the children, with a checkered past, but he’s trying hard to be a good leader. I see Chris Pratt playing his role.

Gabriella the Wise: She is the magical guardian to the children with a loving heart.  Jennifer Lawrence would be great in her role.

Prince Calemir:  Prince Calemir is the savior-figure in the story (magical hero in Forever) Chris Hemsworth

Sylvare, Lord Midnight:  He is the satan-figure in the story. (magical enemy in Forever) Tom Hiddleson



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Winter Countdown Blitz Day 5





Award-winning author, wife, mother, grandmother, Harry Potter geek, Army veteran, karate black belt, and online gamer girl.






Facebook ~ Website ~
Amazon ~  


"How do you choose between your heart and your responsibilities?

Merry Hurst, a fierce widow and single mom, is determined to give her young son the life he deserves—including a male role model who will stick around for the long haul. She can't afford to fall for a man who isn't planning to stay in Huckleberry Falls, so she might as well stop dreaming about Carlisle Wyndham. If only it were that easy!

Carlisle Wyndham is determined to develop the avalanche-proof transceiver that could have saved his wife's life. He's glad his daughter has made a new friend, but they’re only staying in Huckleberry Falls long enough to complete the project. When he meets the young boy’s mother, Carlisle’s not prepared for how alive she makes him feel.

But he has pressing responsibilities pulling him back to England while Merry’s require her to stay. Do they dare risk getting involved only to say goodbye?"

  
  


Author Interview:

1.  What is your favorite Wintertime Activity?

Drinking a hot chocolate while reading a good book. Though, to be honest, those two don't usually go together anymore. I do most of my reading anymore by audiobook. I'm a huge fan. That's why all my books are available as audiobooks

 

2.  How many unpublishes / half-finished books do you have in progress?

I tend to be a finisher. In the Keirsey Personality Sorter (that one with classifications like ESFJ), I'm an "SJ." We tend to start a project and finish it before starting another. I'm getting better though and can frequently work on more than one project at a time. But leaving one hanging is like having a pebble in my shoe. The only undone project that's hung around for any length of time has been my fantasy duology, now in the hands of my editor. That took so long because it's the hardest thing I've ever done.

 

3.  What was the most surprising thing you learned when creating your book (in research or in yourself?)

The male love interest is a widower who lost his wife in an avalanche. As part of his grieving, he's been working on a design for a wider-ranging transceiver. While I don't go into a great deal of detail about it, I still needed to understand how avalanche transceivers and beacons work. I watched a lot of videos. It can be scary stuff.

 

4.  Tell us about the greatest Christmas gift you ever received.

I actually have two, though one of them wasn't a gift to me but to my grandmother. Like Merry in the book, my mother's birthday was on Christmas Day. The other gift was my second son who was born enough before Christmas that I was feeling good enough to enjoy the holiday holding a sweet new baby.

 

5.  What did you edit out of your book? (Such as a cut scene or an idea that just wouldn't fit?)

The only real change was to the epilogue. For spoiler reasons, I can go into details. :)

 

6.  What inspired you to write this novel?

Last year I noticed some Christmas books that were written as part of a multi-author project. I thought it'd be fun to have a group of us write in the same fictional town. I mentioned it to some friends--and Huckleberry Falls, Wyoming was born. This year our stories are inspired by Christmas songs. Next year might be different. We've already fallen in love with the town and the people. Since they're "Huckleberry Falls Holiday Romances," they won't all be set during Christmas.



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Thursday, 10 December 2020

Winter Countdown Blitz Day 4



USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

 

When Shanna isn't dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.



A focused cowboy, a distracted executive, and a hilarious quest make for an unforgettable holiday . . .

Wyatt Nash is a professional tie-down roper, a good ranch hand, and not too shabby when it comes to attracting women. But according to his five-year-old niece, he needs to work on both his roping skills and his dating game. His sister thinks he needs to settle down. And don’t get him started on the advice he gets from well-meaning friends. When his rodeo sponsor, billionaire Jon Sinclair, asks for his assistance in tutoring a clueless city girl about Sinclair Industries, Wyatt doesn’t feel like he can say no. Then he discovers he’ll be teaching none other than the one woman on the planet who wants nothing to do with him.

Ashley Jarrett would do almost anything to turn her small publicity firm into a huge success. When Jon Sinclair expresses interest in working with her, she readily agrees to his crazy idea to have her learn about his company through hands-on projects. Not only is she forced far outside her comfort zone, but the man documenting every bumbling misstep she takes is an infuriating cowboy she’s determined to ignore.

Packed with small-town charm and the wonder of falling in love, Roping Christmas is a sweet holiday romance sure to bring laughter and infuse hearts Christmas cheer.  

  
  


Author Interview:

1. What is your favorite Wintertime Activity? When I was younger, sledding was my absolute favorite thing. We lived on a hill and I could grab my sled and go for a ride within a few steps of our back door. A close second would have been ice skating because we had a pond at the bottom of the hill and my brother kept the snow swept off it because he enjoyed skating, too. Now, my favorite thing is to cozy up by the fire with a good book and a cup of tea. 

2. How many unpublishes / half-finished books do you have in progress? I have one I'm working on right now. Once I start I book, I have to finish it! 

3. What was the most surprising thing you learned when creating your book (in research or in yourself?) For Roping Christmas, the heroine has to complete a bunch of challenges to earn the business of a billionaire tycoon. The hero helps her with the tasks. One of the challenges was to make her own pair of boots. It was fascinating to research what goes into making a pair of boots and the time involved to create them.

4. Tell us about the greatest Christmas gift you ever received. That one is easy - my husband! We met on a blind date the day after Christmas and we married a year later, a week before Christmas. He is by far the best gift I've ever received. 

5. What did you edit out of your book? (Such as a cut scene or an idea that just wouldn't fit?) Roping Christmas features many laugh-out-loud scenes. I could have added a dozen more because I was just having so much fun with the story. 

6. What inspired you to write this novel? Every holiday season I run a campaign called Read a Book, Help A Cowboy. To help kick off the campaign, I like to release a book in my Rodeo Romance series, which Roping Christmas is part of. Beyond that, I just thought it would be a lot of fun to write a story about a city girl faced with several challenges only a country boy could help her get through. 



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Wednesday, 9 December 2020

Living Sacrifice


  Rachel Rossano is a happily married mother of three children. She spends her days teaching, mothering, and keeping the chaos at bay. After the little ones are in bed, she immerses herself in the fantasy worlds of her books. Tales of romance, adventure, and virtue set in a medieval fantasy world are her preference, but she also writes speculative fantasy and a bit of science fiction.






Separated, but still joined, they strive for freedom.


Left behind at the sept son’s compound, Zezilia Ilar struggles with the after effects of her prolonged commisceo-link with Hadrian. She devotes herself to caring for the wounded arriving almost daily from the battlefields. Pressed to perform procedures and make decisions far beyond her training, Zez grows in confidence and skill. All the while, she wonders if she'll see Hadrian again, fearing the worst possible news will arrive any day.

Sept Son Hadrian Aleron fights to bring peace to his home nation. Allied with the new high king, he and a small army of Talented struggle to retake the capital city. Elitists, though scattered, continue to pick off the strongest of his men. As he battles the remnants of the commisceo-link and tries to organize the campaign, he begins losing himself to exhaustion. Only a miracle will keep him alive.

  
  


Snippet:

Hadrian

“Hadrian!”

My mulling of Zez’s latest letter dissipated in an instant. I turned toward the voice and discovered not just one, but four men studying me expectantly from the far sides of the map-strewn table. The light of the single lantern burned steadily on the hand-drawn spires of the goddess’ city. The meager light didn’t make it to the outer reaches of the tent walls around us.

“I am sorry. I must have—”

“Fallen asleep?” Clovis supplied. 

“Dozed off?” Plantonio offered.

“—missed the question.” I finished my statement while facing the two military men before me. “I have not been sleeping at night.”

“That is evident, Hadrian.” Cayphis sighed softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “However, I would appreciate it if you would focus long enough to answer the question.”

Will you lead the western assault?” Renato calmly sent me the question.

Yes.” I scanned the map spread across the table between the five of us.

“That is your answer?” Cayphis asked.

“Yes,” I met his gaze. “I will lead the western assault while you and Clovis attempt to take the gates. Plantonio will spearhead the eastern front and Selwyn’s men will cover any escape attempts to the south. We have Ilar and Sabine surrounded.”

It had taken three months of hard chase, driving the joint forces of Ilar and Sabine before us and fighting off ambushes and sabotage, to get to this point. Standing beneath the wall of the goddess’ city, it was hard to know if we were winning or losing the war. We still struggled with insurrection in the ranks and supplying our ragtag army, but at least the end was in sight.

Odds?” Renato asked.

Even,” Clovis replied.

I studied their faces each in turn. Brotherly similarities were obvious despite their differences in physical size. Clovis loomed over Renato’s slighter frame, but they both met my scrutiny with a steady gaze that reminded me so of Zezilia.

Shaking my head to dispel the vision of her gray eyes, I turned to my friend instead. “So we are well matched?”

“Almost one-to-one.” Clovis growled slightly in frustration. “Every one of those roaming bandit gangs we were chasing are accounted for. Father called everyone here for a final stand.”

“I don’t like it,” Cayphis muttered. “Something isn’t right. This isn’t normal behavior for Sabine, or Ilar either. They like stacked decks; no offense Clovis or Renato.”

“None taken. We know how our father works.” Clovis stared at the map. “Is there anyone else we could call on for help and skew the numbers our way?”

Talent and non-talent alike had taken sides. Families split. Brother would eye brother across the battle lines in the morn. My stomach twisted at the thought. My family was one of the few who stood together on one side.




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