Books, Books, Books!
Book news and more
Here’s your place for all things BOOK! Book news, cover reveals, release day giveaways, scavenger hunts, and more!
And a new character – Kira
In each of the first two books of the series, I had third point-of-view character who was the heroine's lady's maid. I obviously needed another third character to give us that below-stairs view in this books . . . but I wanted to shake it up a bit. So instead of...
And then there’s Cayton . . .
I knew it would be a little tricky, making my hero in book 3 a man who wasn't exactly likeable in the first two books. But that was part of the challenge. In book 1, we see Cayton marry for money and break the heart of Brook's cousin. In book 2, we see him newly...
I’m Baaaaaaaack! (And Ella is here!)
Hello, lovely readers! I'm back from my tour of England and Paris and ready (er...something, LOL) to dive back into the world of blogging. =) And of course, last week A Lady Unrivaled released! Bethany House and I will be hosting a truly spectacular giveaway...
Song Unheard Contest Winner!
Well the votes were tallied, and the public spoke! The winner of the Song Unheard Contest is... Finalist #3 Jessica Brand! Congratulations, Jessica, and thank you so much for the gorgeous song for my heroine, Willa! Thank you, everyone, for joining with me in this fun...
#SongUnheard Contest ~ Finalists!
The finalists for the #SongUnheard Contest have been selected! First, I'd like to say that this was a fabulous batch of songs. And there were quite a few gorgeous piano pieces that were ruled out solely because they wouldn't convert well to violin, but which deserve a...
Giver of Wonders Launch Team!
While I'm at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference this week and away from normal blogging, I thought it would be the perfect time to let the blog do some work on its own. 😉 And so, it's time to build the Launch Team for Giver of Wonders! Giver of Wonders is a...
A Lady Unrivaled ~ Influencer Sign-Up
Thank you for your interest in helping me promote A Lady Unrivaled! I'm so excited for this book to release, and so blessed to have readers like you who want to help me spread the word. =) At this time I only have 15-20 slots open for paperback reviewers, so I'll have...
Influencer Sign-Ups Coming!
It's that time again! I'm filling out my influencer list for A Lady Unrivaled! I will be posting a public link to the sign-up form on THURSDAY, 14 July at 2 p.m. EDT. There will only be 15-20 slots available for paperbacks, so in the interest of giving everyone a fair...
Song Unheard Contest
Time for a fun contest I'm launching! Read on to learn about your chance to have your work appear in one of my novels published with Bethany House! (But not like you might think...) WHAT I NEED: an original melody to feature in book 2 of the Shadows Over...
Remember When . . . It Was Time for a Tea Party?
It's time for the June tea party at Colonial Quills! We just realized my April release, The Reluctant Duchess, hadn't been featured in one yet, so I got in on the fun. =) The main action will take place on the CQ blog, where we're virtually dining at the Jefferson...
Remember When . . . The London Shadows Series
Many of you probably saw this on Facebook on Monday, but in case you missed it . . . I'm super-excited to share that my next series (beginning July 2017) has its official titles! The series itself will be called London Shadows. I love this. My editor recommended...
British Blooms and Books Contest!
Hello, gentle reader, and welcome to the first annual British Blooms and Books giveaway! This week, we’d like to celebrate the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show with you. After enjoying this post, please visit each of the other five authors’ blogs...
Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! ~ Stop #9
Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #9 Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 33 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 3 grand prizes!...
Announcing Rowena’s Comforts Giveaway!
To celebrate the release of The Reluctant Duchess, I'm giving away some things that would make Rowena smile. ~ Brookside chocolates. Because . . . chocolate. Need I say more? ~ Pepperidge Farm cookies A nice biscuit to go with her tea on a blustery day always hits the...
New Book Series!
I've been waiting and waiting to share the good news. And now, the ink is on the dotted line, and I can finally tell you all about the Society Thieves Series that I just sold to Bethany House! This series will launch in spring of 2017 with The Name Thief. 1914 –...
Cover Reveal ~ A Lady Unrivaled
I have been so excited over the covers for my Ladies of the Manor series with Bethany House. The elegance. The simplicity. The colors. We have oohed and ahhed over Brook in The Lost Heiress. We have gone ga-ga over Rowena in The Reluctant Duchess. (Because seriously....
Influencer Sign-Up for The Reluctant Duchess
As usual, I'm collecting names of people to receive a copy of The Reluctant Duchess from Bethany House in exchange for helping promote the book (book description is at the bottom of the post). You can help promote by: * Posting reviews to Amazon, B&N,...
Influencer Sign-Up and News Coming
I'm so excited! We're at the 2-months-to-go mark for the release of The Reluctant Duchess. In my world, that means chatting with Bethany House about fun things like bookmarks, personalized tea bags, Facebook covers, and when I can share the cover for the third book in...
Sale!
First of all, thanks to all my fabulous readers for sharing about the 1-day-only sale of The Lost Heiress on the 2nd. In unprecedented awesomeness, it skyrocketed to the top of its lists and even cracked the top 100 on all Kindle books! If you heard any strange...
Remember When . . . We Had a Photo Shoot?
This isn't exactly a cover design post, since the covers haven't been finalized yet. But this past weekend we had a photo shoot for an upcoming WhiteFire series, and it was so much fun that I thought I'd post a bit about it, and get y'all looking forward to when I do...
Announcing the Ladies of the Manor Series
Wow, it feels like forever since I did a Remember When Wednesday post! Of course, last week we were celebrating the release of Circle of Spies. Which reminds me that we have some winners--but you'll have to scroll down to find them. 😉 First, I can finally share the...
Remember When . . . I Designed A Soft Breath of Wind
I designed this cover quite a while ago, but hey. Why not do the step-by-step for my own book, right? =) I'd had the idea for A Soft Breath of Wind for years. As in, years. Even before I rewrote and re-released A Stray Drop of Blood. The idea for the story came to me...
Behind the Design – Cover of Soul Painter
Well last week's cover post was so much fun, I decided to do another one today. =) Especially because this week I'm editing the truly-amazing book behind the cover. Soul Painter is set in 1891 Chicago--a city of crime and excess, where the opium dens butt up against...
Behind the Design – Cover of Sweet Mountain Music
Quick note ~ Don't forget I'm running a giveaway of The Wyoming Heir! Click here to enter. ~*~ Last week I was in a designing groove, so had some fun with the next WhiteFire historical, due to release in May. Sweet Mountain Music is a really fun story set in the...
Remember When . . . Characters Appeared
I'm having a blast digging into the writing of A Soft Breath of Wind. Right now, on chapter 2, I'm still getting to know my characters. And so, I'm building Pinterest boards and playing with Photoshop and coming up with images to inspire me. I thought it would be fun...
30 Days of Giveaways ~ Day 29
Weekend winners are: Chaplain Debbie and Meghan Gorecki Wowy zowy, it's hard to believe we only have 2 days left! Which means not a whole lot of time to enter for this truly amazing book of prayers. And of course, only 2 more drawings for Ring of Secrets! Why? Because...
30 Days of Giveaways ~ Day 25
I had so much fun hearing about everyone's wedding dresses yesterday! If anyone missed that conversation but want in on it, I've posted some pictures of the dresses described by readers too. Check it out here. And of course, we have a new winner of Ring of Secrets --...
30 Days of Giveaways ~ Day 22
Hope everyone had a great weekend! We participated in a fundraiser walk for some friends of our adopting from Ethiopia, watched Captain America, and did some much-needed straightening up around here. =) Two of those activities were much more fun than the other,...
30 Days of Giveaways ~ Day 15
Wow, halfway through our month of giveaways already!! How did that happen? LOL. We've had lots of winners already (most recently Kelsey Shade Perkins and bn100!), and just as many still to come! Remember, every day I'm doing a drawing for Ring of Secrets, book 1 in...
30 Days of Giveaways! ~ Day 11
Day 10's winner of Ring of Secrets is... Sarah Keimig ! Keep entering all week for a chance at the daily book drawing AND Friday's drawing for winner's choice of one of these two necklaces by Susie Finkbeiner of Inspired Novelties. And for today: Thoughtful About . ....
30 Days of Giveaways! ~ Day 8
The winner of day 7's drawing is: Amy WV! As a reminder, every entry this week keeps you in each day's drawing for a book, and also for winner's choice of one of two necklaces from Inspired Novelties--so keep those entries coming, and please do share! Last week we...
30 Days of Giveaways! ~ Day 7
Yesterday's winner of Ring of Secrets is: Amy Putney! Keep entering! Every entry you make this week increases your chances to win a copy of the book, AND this week's bonus winner will have a choice of one of two one-of-a-kind necklaces from Inspired Novelties!...
30 Days of Giveaways! ~ Day 1
Much as I can't believe it, there is only ONE MONTH before the release of Whispers from the Shadows, book 2 in the Culper Ring Series! Man, the last six months have flown by!! And you know what? I still have boxes and boxes of Ring of Secrets sitting here, just...
Remember When…The Countdown Began?
Ring of Secrets is thiiiiiiis close to releasing, y'all! Okay, so maybe thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close. 😉 I know some stores will stock it beginning February 18, though other places are listing March 1 as the official T-0 day. Either way, I just realized last night...
Story Time . . . FINDING JEENA
Giveaway here - Deb Raney's Almost ForeverGiveaway of A Stray Drop of Blood - a special Mother's Day contest at Sunnybank Meandering includes my book and many other awesome prizes. Also, there's a really awesome interview and giveaway to correspond with the ACFW book...
My Friend . . . Christina Berry
During my first writers conference back in '07, I was standing around waiting for class to start one day and struck up a conversation with a mother/daughter writing team in front of me--Christina Berry and Sherry Ashcroft. Though I met a lot of people there, these...
Story Time . . . ZORA & NICKY by Claudia Mair Burney
When Claudia Mair Burney's new book out from Cook arrived on my in-pile, I thought something along the lines of "Sigh." I'd only read one book by this author before, and while I enjoyed most of it, I didn't care for the ending. I was kinda afraid this would have the...