Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Awesome Read!

Today I'm sharing about Rachel Hauck's book, The Wedding Shop.

My daughter just finished this book and absolutely loved it! Having gotten connected with Rachel at a writing conference, I decided to contact her for info about this book for my readers.




Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled.
It's the early 1930s, but Cora Scott is walking in stride as a career woman after having inherited her great aunt's wedding shop in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, where brides come from as far away as Birmingham to experience her famed bridal treatment. Meanwhile, Cora is counting down the days until her own true love returns from the river to make her his bride. But days turn into months and months to years. All the while, Birch Good continues to woo Cora and try to show her that while he is solid and dependable, he can sweep her off her feet.
More than eighty years later, former Air Force Captain Haley Morgan has returned home to Heart's Bend after finishing her commitment to military service. After the devastating death of her best friend, Tammy, and discovering the truth about the man she loved, Haley is searching for her place in life. 
When Haley decides to reopen the romantic but abandoned wedding shop where she and Tammy played and dreamed as children, she begins a journey of courage, mystery, and love.
As Cora’s and Haley's stories intertwine through time in the shadow of the beloved wedding shop, they both discover the power of their own dreams and the magic of everyday love. 



Rachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.
Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times. She is a double RITA finalist, a Christy and Carol Award Winner.
Rachel sits on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers, and is the comical sidekick to Susan May Warren at the amazing My Book Therapy. She is a worship leader and speaker.
A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel is a devoted Ohio State football fan. She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.​


Sounds like another "must add to my reading list" type book. 

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Another Book on Marriage? YES

Please welcome my friend, Andrea Merrell. She has a new book out about marriage that's not to be ignored!



When God Has a Plan
By Andrea Merrell

Why in the world do we need another book on marriage?

That was my initial response when my daughter suggested I write one. The thought had never crossed my mind, plus the available resources are endless. I had just finished a book on prodigals and was ready to dive into my novels.

But my daughter insisted that I had a lot of experience and wisdom to share with others, and she felt it was a great idea. I halfheartedly promised to think—and pray—about it. But God wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily, so it was obvious He had a plan. Suddenly, her idea was all I could think about.

I decided that after forty-plus years of marriage—practicing both the good, the bad, and even the ugly—I’ve discovered attitudes and behaviors that can cause couples to make it or break it and how to avoid the inevitable pitfalls—or at least many of them.

We live in a modern age of throwaway relationships. Instead of a commitment to love, honor, and cherish—standing with each other through the good times and bad—people try each other on for size and back out when the seas get a little turbulent.

In Marriage: Make It or Break It, you’ll find out the importance of open, honest communication and the different ways men and women approach life (waffles vs. spaghetti). This includes examining the different types of love, the five basic love languages, and the four basic temperaments. You’ll also find danger signs, roadblocks to bypass, and Scriptures to personalize and pray on a daily basis. You’ll learn a few truths that will make marriage strong—and a lot of things that will destroy it.

A good marriage is a process, not an event. It also comes with a price: compromise, change, and a lot of hard work on both parts. The most crucial factor in a lasting, healthy relationship is a godly foundation coupled with prayer.

I believe marriage is a God-ordained institution and one of His greatest gifts to men and women. He has given us instructions in His Word and all the tools we need to make our relationships thrive.
***




Andrea's book, Praying for the Prodigal, was an awesome read for anyone. And now she is blessing us with another book that isn't to be missed. Add it to your reading list today! 

Saturday, July 1, 2017

A New Release for Your List

Welcome Clare! You're going to christen the revival of the writing blog with your new release.



Gold medalist, Peter Stanmore has returned home a broken man and intends to put the past behind him. But love isn't so easily repressed, and second chances are rare.
Jill Davenport has given up any hope of marriage and a life of her own, after all, years ago, she lost the only man she ever loved. But the truth is impossible to hide.
When secrets are revealed, decisions must be made in spite of the consequences. Can what was once lost be found, or is love destined to remain forever lost?

Here's a little excerpt:
“Jill? Jill Davenport, as I live and breathe, is that you?”
She jerked her hand back from the bread and looked into eyes that dragged her in and swallowed her whole. “Yeah…” Her voice died in her throat and she had to cough to make it work. “Yeah, yeah, it’s me. Hello, Peter.”
Peter Stanmore looked as gorgeous as he always had, as he leaned on a cane next to her. His ankle was in one of those Velcro support boots, surprising her as she’d expected a cast. His dark hair, longer than she remembered stuck up untidily as well as brushing against his collar. His green eyes still as piercing as they were all those years ago, although now their brightness was dimmed with grief.
The rest of him however, was just as striking as when she last saw him. And judging by the way her heart pounded, her stomach flipped and lack of air currently in her lungs, he still had the same effect on her. She struggled to breathe, light headed through lack of oxygen. Simply being this close to him was intoxicating, mind numbing and overwhelming.
“Of all the places to bump into you, I didn’t think it would be here.” His voice concentrated her mind; which could only be a good thing. “What are you doing?”
“Shopping,” she said, stating the obvious as she seemed incapable of doing anything else right now. “The thing same as you are doing. The same thing most people do in a grocery shop. Unless you’re Mrs. Jones, in which case you’re here to gossip.”
“I guess some people never change, but you sure have.” Amusement tinged his voice as his gaze swept up and down her figure, before lingering on her head and face. “What’s with the hair?”
Jill ran her hand over the top of her head. Had she left the comb in her hair? Left a single plait in or splashed bleach in it and now had a white streak in her dark locks? “I d-don’t…” she stuttered.
“It’s long,” he said. “I’ve never seen you with long hair before.”
“Oh. I stopped cutting it years ago. I usually tie it back, but haven’t gotten that far this morning.” She pulled a band from her jacket pocket and tied her hair back into a high ponytail. “There.”
Then, out of a desperate need to get back onto solid ground, she held the loaf of whole meal bread out to him. “Here.”
Peter shook his head. “You have it. You got to it first.”
“It’s fine,” she insisted. The solid ground, she so desperately needed, could only be found by ending this conversation and sudden encounter right now.
“I can eat white bread just as easily.”
Jill rolled her eyes. “And I can make my own.”
“Really?” Surprise filled his face. “That’s a talent I don’t possess. Most things I can cook, but my bread always turns out doughy and inedible. Mum always says…said I’m the reason shop bought bread was invented.”
Jill put the bread into his basket. “Then you should definitely take this one. I must get on. Have fun shopping.”
She headed into the next aisle and leaned against the freezer of vegetables, rubbing the back of her neck. She hadn’t expected the reaction to seeing him again that now flooded her. Every nerve ending sang and her pulse raced, conflicting with the pitting in her stomach and the way the scars around her broken heart ached. They were old friends from school, who became skating partners, who then dated off the ice. They’d been teased by their competitors for their chasteness and she’d hoped and prayed that his kisses would one day lead to more and her happy ever after would mean marriage and life with Peter.
But it hadn’t happened. He’d dropped her like hot cakes to pursue a solo career. The last thing she needed was someone like Peter back in her life. No, not someone like him, rather him personified. The last thing she needed was him back in her life, breaking her heart all over again. They were so over.
She shook herself and opened the freezer to pull out a packet of frozen peas. A hand reached down and grabbed the same packet.
Jill sighed. Not again.
“This is getting to be a habit.” Peter pulled back. “You can have this one.”
“Thanks.” Jill picked up the peas.
Bumping into Peter was a habit she wanted to avoid. Moreover it was a habit she needed to avoid if she were to have any hope of getting home before her nerves shattered into a million tiny pieces and went spinning off into the heavens. She moved away and continued to shop.
Only to find she reached the checkout at the same point he did. Somehow Jill managed to resist raising her eyes heavenward as she all but begged God to stop them meeting like this. It wouldn’t do either of them any good in the long run. There was too much water under the broken bridge between them to ever hope it would be mended or gulfed.
Peter held out a hand. “Ladies first. We seem destined to meet today.”
“That we do.” She began unloading her basket onto the conveyor belt. She could feel his gaze almost burning through her jacket and glanced back.
“It seems a shame to waste the opportunity destiny has presented us with. Can I buy you coffee? We could catch up.”


About the author:
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.
Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.
Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.
The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.  You can sign up for her quarterly newsletter here -
She can be found at: