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Life Happens

May 18, 2018 By Barbara 3 Comments

So, as you’ve probably noticed, I have not released my new book this spring. But in my defense, I have so many good reasons (some may call them excuses) for not making my deadline. I think once you’ve seen them all, you will see my dilemma and accept that Trial By Fire will be late in coming.

First of all, I’d like to blame my new granddaughter. Her very existence has distracted my brain from the ability to keep a thought straight in my head. Just look at her. Now what was I saying?

Second, my husband literally packed me into the car and forced me to travel over 5600 miles on vacation. As if I had time for that. Brenna and Ivy were in the middle of a very tense situation in book three of the Second Chances series and he thinks I can just up and run off to travel around America!

And that is what we did. On a quest to see the biggest trees in the world, we headed West. So, you might say, the trees got in the way.

Of course there were lots of other things to see other than Redwoods, but the trees were awesome!

The California coast was beautiful as well and Willow especially enjoyed the freedom to run in the sand.

So now you understand. When you’re busy trying to finish something, life happens. And it’s actually better than a book.

ps. I do plan to finish the book though:)

Thanks for stopping!

Barbara and Annie

The Second Chances series have new covers!

March 12, 2018 By Barbara Leave a Comment

The SECOND CHANCES novels have totally new looks! What do you think of the covers? I think they look like exciting movie posters. Check them out!

RUNNING HOME

Ivy’s marriage has been filled with infidelity, lies, and distrust. Her husband disappears in a cloud of suspicion and leaves her and the children to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on without him. Back in her hometown she dreams that everything will be better. She can start over and hopefully not make the same mistakes she made in the past.

But her philandering husband left her with more than bills to pay and children to raise. He left her holding the proverbial bag. The FBI thinks she knows something and the bad guys think she has something. Either way she’s in a world of trouble.

Ivy’s attempt to assemble the broken pieces of her life is proving harder than she anticipated. Will her husband’s secrets push her over the edge or into the arms of grace?

Brenna finds her past catching up in ALIAS RAVEN BLACK. She’s been living just left of the right side of the law since she ran away as a teenager, playing fast and loose with the truth, and her

scruples. Pregnant at sixteen, she gave up her baby and has secretly lived with that pain for eight long years. Not only is her conscience tailing her, but the law is as well.

Now, to wipe her slate clean, she’s been asked to help collect evidence against a dangerous mob boss by working undercover as nanny to his two spoiled children. Will the secrets she discovers bring absolution from the past she’s tried so hard to leave behind or will these motherless children sink their hooks into her heart so deep it breaks in two?

TRIAL BY FIRE picks up the story eighteen months after Raven’s adventure as a nanny in the Giordano family.

Raven, or Brenna Blackman, as she is now known, is living in Minneapolis running an open-door art studio for homeless teens. She now has custody of her daughter Maria and half-brother Rico, and while that may be enough emotional turmoil for a young woman, there can always be more. Giordano lawyers are breathing down her neck trying to pull Rico back into the bosom of the Italian mobster family and in the midst of a fund raiser art show, a stranger shows up with ties to Brenna’s childhood past.

Ivy is dealing with a new marriage, new home, and the trial of Ace Anderson, the man who kidnapped her children back in Running Home. Set to testify against the man, she begins receiving not-so-subtle threats against her family.

With all that is going on with these two, it’s good they have their knights in shining armor by their sides. Samson is still an agent with the FBI and Thomas is working closely with Brenna to continue his P.I. business of finding and rescuing teenage runaways.

The thing is, Ivy and Brenna don’t always let their men handle the hard things for them. Sometimes, knowing a girlfriend has your back is the only way to deal with the kind of trouble that seems to follow these two around.That, and a mutual trust in the God who rescued them in the past. New faith is definitely going to get tested in Trial by Fire.

~Trial By Fire will be available this spring! Keep checking back for news of an official release date!~

Thanks for stopping! Leave a comment and let me know what you think about the new look to the Second Chances series. Happy Spring!

Barbara

Spring Fever promo/giveaway Final Day! Author Shannon Taylor Vannatter

March 9, 2018 By Barbara 2 Comments

Day 10! FINAL DAY of SPRING FEVER!

Award winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does.

She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.

Social media links you want shared: Shannon’s Blog, Shannon’s Facebook, Shannon’s Goodreads, Shannon’s Pinterest, Shannon’s Twitter, and Shannon’s Amazon Author Page

Website: http://www.shannontaylorvannatter.com

Counting on the Cowboy – available March 20

Ranching is his whole life… until he meets one special city girl

Texas Cowboy Brock McBride knows better than to fall for a city girl. She’ll leave and break his heart—just like his ex-fiancée did. But his job at Chasing Eden Dude Ranch requires working alongside Dallas wedding planner Devree Malone. And despite fierce resistance, he’s falling hard. Yet with Devree’s business back in the city, can he convince her she’s found her home…with him?

Link(s) to purchase book(s): Christianbook Amazon

*Free e-copy of Rodeo Dust for signing up for newsletter on Shannon’s website.

Secret word of the day is… Cowboy

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Thanks for playing the SPRING FEVER promo/giveaway! Hope you had fun. Good Luck in the winnings! Leave a comment and let us know what you thought about the great selection of books this week!

Barbara

Day 9 of SPRING FEVER book promo/kindle giveaway! Author Stacy Monson

March 8, 2018 By Barbara Leave a Comment

SPRING FEVER AUTHOR FEATURE #9: STACY MONSON

Stacy Monson is the author of the award-winning Chain of Lakes series. She writes stories that show an extraordinary God at work in ordinary life. Residing in the Twin Cities, she is the wife of a juggling, unicycling physical education teacher, mom to two amazing kids and two wonderful in-law kids, and a very proud grandma.

Here’s a bit about each book:

SHATTERED IMAGE (Book 1): Just a mall-town Iowa boy, Peter is living his dream of music, fame, and the celebrity life but secretly wonders why it’s not what he expected. Fired from the only job she knows how to do, smiling pretty for the camera, Kiera struggles to make sense of life outside the spotlight.

DANCE OF GRACE (Book 2): Vanessa has lost everything and is angry at everyone, including God. Especially God. Kurt leaps at the chance to live his dream but finds it may be easier to build a house of cards than a safe haven for troubled kids.

THE COLOR OF TRUTH (Book 3): Sam managed to pull his life together after some rocky teen years, only to have his new life blown to bits. Marti believes the lies she’s lived under her whole life; she’s never known anything different. A better life seems unattainable to both of them.

These true to life characters struggle with issues just like anyone else—identity, forgiveness, redemption, grief. Who am I? What am I supposed to be doing? Is there a way out of the chaos of my life? All of them learn lessons they never expected, truths that seemed impossible to believe, and discover forgiveness, joy, and love along the way.

Stacy’s next book, Open Circle, will release later this spring.

If you’d like to know more about Stacy’s books, be the first to know when books release, get yummy recipes, and discover new authors, sign up for her newsletter at www.stacymonson.com. As thanks for joining the fun, you’ll receive a FREE ebook version of Shattered Image.

Don’t forget to check all the chances to win in the Spring Fever Promotion HERE

Today’s secret word is extraordinary

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Thanks for stopping by!

Barbara

Spring Fever book promo/kindle giveaway, Day 8 Author Regina Rudd Merrick

March 7, 2018 By Barbara 1 Comment

Welcome to DAY 8 of SPRING FEVER!

Regina Merrick is a writer, church musician, wife, mother, and grateful follower of Jesus Christ. Having lived most of her life in Western Kentucky, she dreams of the sound of crashing waves and sandy beaches. Married to her husband of 30-plus years, she is the mother of two grown daughters, and the keeper of a 100-year-old house where she lives in the small town of Marion, KY.

Regina Merrick began reading romance and thinking of book ideas as early as her teenage years when she attempted a happily-ever-after sequel to “Gone With the Wind.” That love of fiction parlayed into a career as a school librarian and then a public librarian, where she served as a director for thirteen years. She began attending local writing workshops and continued to hone her craft by writing several short and novel-length fan-fiction pieces published online, where she met other authors with a similar love for story, a Christian worldview, and happily-ever-after.

Her first novel, Carolina Dream, is book one in the “Southern Breeze Series,” and Carolina Mercy, book two in the series, will be released in July 2018 by Mantle Rock Publishing, LLC.

Connect with Regina online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Regina-R-Merrick-512257938964888/

Twitter: @trmerrick64

Instagram: reginamerrick

Website: https://reginamerrick.wordpress.com

Carolina Dream

Book blurb:

Sarah Crawford wants more from life than to attend the wedding of her ex-fiancée. An unexpected inheritance in South Carolina comes at the perfect time, just as Sarah is willing to use any excuse to get out of town. When she meets potential business partner Jared Benton and discovers that a house is part of the inheritance, she is sure that God has been preparing her for this time through a recurring dream.

But will a dream about an antebellum mansion, many rooms to be explored, and a man with dark brown eyes give her the confidence to take a leap of faith, leaving friends, family, and her job behind?

Link(s) to purchase book(s):

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Dream-Southern-Regina-Merrick/dp/1945094133/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503621953&sr=1-1

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Dream-Regina-Rudd-Merrick-ebook/dp/B06XF1HK4L/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1503621953&sr=1-1&dpID=51-lUjAuRUL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

Spring Fever special: Sign up for my newsletter and receive a PDF document, “Special Features From Carolina Dream,” which includes the inspiration for the story as well as pictures of the places that inspired the location.

Carolina Mercy, book 2 of the Southern Breeze Series has been submitted and will release in July of 2018. I would love to talk about that!

Secret word of the day is… Beach

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Thanks for stopping! Leave a comment and let us know how you’re enjoying Spring Fever!

Barbara

Spring Fever Promo/kindle Giveaway, Day 7: Author Kimberly Rose Johnson

March 6, 2018 By Barbara Leave a Comment

SPRING FEVER Author Feature #7

Kimberly Rose Johnson

Faith Hope and Love Reader’s Choice Finalist, Kimberly Rose Johnson, married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance that warms the heart and feeds the soul.
Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. ~

Kimberly’s book, The Reluctant Groom, is a modern day marriage of convenience story that takes place in Seattle, Washington. Because I went to college in the Seattle area I felt like I had a pretty good feel for the area. I discovered I was wrong last spring when my husband and I went to visit our son who attends college in the same area.

It didn’t take long for me to realize the Seattle I remembered had changed in the past twenty-five years. For starters, it was louder and dirtier than I remembered. I noticed the smells, sounds, and energy of the city on this trip, and guess what? I needed to do some re-writing. I’m glad I held off on publishing this book since I needed to change a few things to make it believable.

The biggest change I had to make regarded an ally that’s in the story. I had it written like alleyways in my hometown. Big mistake! The other thing I did was add the scent of garbage and the sound of seagulls.

All that being said, the story remained the same. Then the unthinkable happened. I discovered another book that was very similar to mine, so I was afraid to publish mine. To be honest, I was devastated. I tucked the story away and pretty much forgot about it. Then one day I remembered and brought it up in my Facebook readers group. They encouraged me to publish it anyway.

I truly love this story and I hope you will as well.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

When everything goes wrong, can two friends discover true love?

When Ray O’Brien’s world is turned upside down, Katie Fairchild wants to help, but the personal cost is high. Neither desires a marriage of convenience, but when Katie blurts the first thing that comes to her mind Ray can’t dismiss her offer of marriage. It would solve all his problems except for one thing—they aren’t in love.

Can these two friends team up for the greater good and perhaps find love along the way, or are their expectations impossible?

This book is currently listed for $1.99 but the price will rise to the regular price $3.49 sometime in the next thirty days.

Purchase link: The Reluctant Groom http://amzn.to/2FoJ00s

You can sign up for Kimberly’s newsletter via her website at: http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/index.html

Social media links you want shared: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyRoseJohnson

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kimberly-rose-johnson

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/krose1990/

Website: http://www.kimberlyrjohnson.com

*For another chance to win in the Spring Fever Promotion, Today’s secret word is Seattle

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