Gail Sattler ~ Timeless Thursday ~ Dating the Best Man

It's Timeless Thursday

Please welcome author Gail Sattler as she talks about writing series books and shares the stories in one of them from her backlist.

I love to write a series. I’ve written quite a few, and for today, I’ve gone back to my Best Man series.  Most of the time we see a series written about bridesmaids who never seem to find their Mr. Right and become brides. So I did the opposite. I did books about men who didn’t want to find their Miss Right, but did, then had to figure out what to do about it.

The first book had an odd beginning. I was teaching a workshop at a writers’ conference, teaching the technique of Scene and Sequel - how one scene builds into another, and the a short break in the movement, then back to something else happening. I’d started with throwing the idea to the class, and it got worked into something entirely different from where I started. After I got home I redeveloped it and kept working at it, and ended up with The Best Man’s Secret.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Mans-Secret-Heartsong-Presents-ebook/dp/B00I66BRYI/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137730&s=gateway&sr=8-3-spell

I had to keep going, and I kept with my best man theme. My second best man was jilted almost at the altar. What a great thing to mix with Christmas. And so, The Best Man’s Holiday Romance was born. I’d originally called it The Best Man’s Christmas Wish, but that title was changed to not use the word “Christmas” because Harlequin already had filled their quota of books with the word “Christmas” in the title that year.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Holiday-Romance-Heartsong-Presents-ebook/dp/B00L0XG5G4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137838&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell

The third book about a best man, this time in the summer, took a different track. He’s big, and she’s afraid of big men, except that this big man is her brother’s best friend, and she needs a favor, so she does her best to trust him, even though it’s hard. This was called Dating The Best Man.

https://www.amazon.com/Dating-Best-Heartsong-Presents-Book-ebook/dp/B00OY9Z9MC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137838&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spell

DAVE DUCHARME IS A MAN OF MYSTERY 

Dave's heart is captured from the moment he lays eyes on Ashley Kruger. Too bad it's while he's saving her from a bank robbery! When Ashley is injured, Dave promises to stay close. He's determined to take care of her—and to win her trust. 

Ashley can't believe she was rescued by such a gentle and handsome man. As she gets to know her dashing hero, hope grows that he may be the one for her. But when dangerous secrets from his past come to light, Ashley will have to choose between safety…and love.

 The Best Man's Holiday Romance (Heartsong Presents Book 1123) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Holiday-Romance-Heartsong-Presents-ebook/dp/B00L0XG5G4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137838&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell

 JEFF SHAW EXPECTS A BLUE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR 

Reeling from a broken engagement, Jeff doesn't feel like celebrating. Especially with his ex-fiancée's younger sister, Natasha Brickson. But Natasha is determined to immerse Jeff in Christmas cheer, and to his surprise, her tender care begins to mend his heart. Unlike his ex, Natasha is warm, compassionate and lovely inside and out. 

Natasha's always stood in her sister's shadow, so she doesn't expect the man of her dreams to notice her. But when their friendship becomes something more, can Jeff convince Natasha that he was engaged to the wrong sister…and give her the Christmas gift of a lifetime?

  

Dating the Best Man (Heartsong Presents Book 1139) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/Dating-Best-Heartsong-Presents-Book-ebook/dp/B00OY9Z9MC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137838&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spell

Could Cory Bellanger Be More Than a Friend? 

The tall, dark and handsome forest ranger has a way of making Daphne Carruthers feel safe. Her brother's buddy is also awakening feelings deeper than friendship. Daphne wants to believe in the future Cory's offering, but first she must come to terms with her painful past. 

Helping Daphne recover from a difficult relationship, Cory knows he has to be careful where her heart is concerned. And Cory is hiding a secret of his own that could destroy the fragile trust they're starting to build. Can he stop their pasts from sabotaging their future together—and convince Daphne he's the best man for her?

The Best Man's Secret (Heartsong Presents Book 1103) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Mans-Secret-Heartsong-Presents-ebook/dp/B00I66BRYI/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sattler+best+man&qid=1553137838&s=gateway&sr=8-3-spell

About Gail:  Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver BC Canada, where you don't have to shovel rain. When she's not madly writing (Gail Sattler has over 40 published novels and novellas, plus a few works of non-fiction) she plays bass for an Elton John tribute band as well as a community jazz band, plus she plays piano for a smaller private jazz band. When she's not writing or making music (or at her day job) Gail likes to sit back and read a book written by someone else, along with a good cup of hot coffee.

Visit Gail Sattler's website at www.gailsattler.com  

Gail Sattler's blog - What Goes On In The Mind Of A Writer - http://www.gailsattler.com/category/new/

Facebook  - https://www.facebook.com/gail.sattler.3

Gail Sattler's Facebook author page at https://www.facebook.com/Gail-Sattler-author-568988573496833/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Sherri Wilson Johnson ~ The Bridge Between Us~ Susanna's Story

It's Wahoo Wednesday

Please welcome author Sherri Wilson Johnson as she shares her story as featured in the Erie Canal Brides Collection.

Picture from Google Images

The Bridge Between Us: Susannah’s backstory: by Sherri Wilson Johnson

My name is Susannah Higley. Today, I am waiting to find out if my wax flowers won a ribbon in the Orleans County Fair. I have been waiting for this day for so long! My mother taught me how to make wax flowers, and she always said I was better at making them than she was. She won several ribbons for her wax flowers and always encouraged me to place my own in contests to see if I could win a ribbon, too. Sadly, Mama passed away and will not be able to see my accomplishments if I win. 

Pa is proud of me for my achievements. However, he is not proud of my ambitions of seeing my wax flowers sold in stores in New York City. Pa thinks it is fine to dream so long as those dreams do not take me away from our home in Albion. Pa is not a bad man, just afraid of being alone since Mama has passed. 

I had a chance to leave Albion once, but it would have been a mistake. My former beau Richard asked me to run away with him to California to seek gold. I could not bring myself to go with him, could not leave Pa to run the house and lumber yard alone. Richard said we would never marry if I stayed here, and so he left me no choice but to carry on without him.  He started over in California, and I remain here wishing adventure would come my way every day.

I do the bookkeeping for Pa's lumber yard, a job Mama always did. It helps Pa and I'm happy to help, but the desire in my heart to see places other than Albion never quiets. The Erie Canal leads all the way from Albany to Buffalo. I would love to take a boat ride all the way up and down the Erie Canal and see all of the different towns. But Pa would never let me do that. Maybe someday.

For now, I wait to see if my wax flowers gain the attention of the judges. If I win the county fair prize, my flowers will go to New York City for the state contest. 

Everything bad that happens reminds Pa of a family feud between the Higleys and the Hawkinses. The feud started when Mr. Hawkins cheated Pa out of some lumber, and they dissolved their friendship and declared never to do business with each other again. That ended my childhood friendship with John Hawkins, who I believe I would have married. Pa forbid me to see him again after their business deal soured. Then when John's family was run out of town, there was no hope of us ever seeing each other again. 

John lives in New York City, so I hear, and if I am ever able to make it there, I will try to find him. 

Most days after I work at the lumber yard, I come home, cook dinner, clean the house and wash clothes. Sometimes I even have to repair a board on the house or clean out the chimney because Pa is too sad to do anything around here. I hope if I win in the county fair and go on to win in the state fair for my wax flowers that the prize money could bring some joy to Pa's life. 

Some days it feels like we will never recover from losing Mama and from the feud with our old friends, but I keep the faith because I know God is with us and he's always watching over us. So I will not waste a moment fretting. I will enjoy today!

To start the county fair, George Williams from Brockport will walk across the Erie Canal on a tightrope! His rope is strung from the second floor of the Mansion House across the canal to the second floor of the Pierpont Dyer’s building. I wonder how fast his heart is beating. Is it as fast as mine is beating in anticipation?

I may be adventurous, but I am not that adventurous for I would not want to fall into the waters of the canal. So while I wait for Mr. Walker to do what I could never do, I shall sample some of the apple fritters and popcorn for sale at the merchant carts. Then I will come back and stand on the bridge with everyone else so I can get a better look at Mr. Walker as he performs his daring act. Won’t you join me?

       TITLE OF BOOK - The Erie Canal Brides Collection (My story is The Bridge between Us)

·       GENRE – Historical Romance

·       RELEASE DATE – March 1, 2019

Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, and soon other states like Ohio created canals linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Suddenly the Midwest was open to migration, the harvesting of resources, and even tourism. Join seven couples who live through the rise of the canals and the problems the waterways brought to each community, including land grabs, disease, tourists, racism, and competition. Can these couples hang on to their faith and develop love during times of intense change?

SHORT BIO –

Sherri Wilson Johnson is a multi-published Inspirational Romance novelist, speaker, and virtual assistant. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and is passionate about writing and publishing. Sherri has been published in The Erie Canal Brides (Barbour Books), 101 Simple Ways to Show Your Husband You Love Him by Kathi Lipp (Harvest House), Powerline 365 by Nicole O'Dell (Choose NOW Ministries), Open Hearts Family: Connecting with One Another by Jane Seymour (Running Press, Hachette Book Group), The Writing Academy’s Daily Devotions for Writers, and several homeschool publications. She is the author of six inspirational romances which she independently published.

She lives in Georgia with her husband and her spoiled dog Sawyer. She loves spending time with her adult children and friends or curling up with a good book or her current work-in-progress. Sherri enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles in the winter and counts the days every year until she can take another trip to the beach. You can find Sherri on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Find out more about Sherri at her website:www.sherriwilsonjohnson.com

Links to buy and social media:

The Erie Canal brides:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2GkAN12

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-erie-canal-brides-collection-johnnie-alexander/1129071609?ean=9781683228677#/

CBD: https://www.christianbook.com/brides-collection-romances-develop-manmade-waterways/johnnie-alexander/9781683229865/pd/99086EB

Website https://sherriwilsonjohnson.com/sherris-books/

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Sherri-Wilson-Johnson/e/B004VLWLR4/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSherriWilsonJohnson/

Twitter https://twitter.com/swj_thewriter

Mailing List https://sherriwilsonjohnson.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2248c9442ada9e57ca9370ddb&id=6b54f3b7cf

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

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5233294.Sherri_Wilson_Johnson

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sherri-wilson-johnson

Thanks!

Sherri

Glimpses of Heaven ~ Alexis Goring ~ devotional

Glimpses of Heaven

A devotional by Alexis A. Goring

Sometimes in the midst of my day or night, God gives me what I call “Glimpses of Heaven.”

These glimpses are enlightening moments when I realize that everything is going to be all right because our trials here on Earth are temporary and Heaven with all of its glories await!

It is in these moments that my pain seems to pale in comparison to what awaits. It is in these moments when I realize that I need to focus on what really matters – my relationship with Jesus Christ and telling the world about Him our Savior!

In these moments, God renews my mind (Romans 12:1-2) and makes me fit for His service. In these moments nothing seems as bad as it looks because I know that there is a bigger picture at hand and in the end, God wins!

These Glimpses of Heaven give me hope and joy! These special moments make me feel closer to God and rejoice in His Goodness.

Most importantly, these hope-filled moments inspire me to take my faith walk with Jesus seriously and stay on the straight and narrow road that leads to Heaven.

I am grateful for these glimpses that usually occur when I’m spending time studying God’s Word (The Holy Bible). There’s something about opening that book and reading those timeless words of wisdom that revitalizes my soul.

It is in those moments of prayer and Bible study that God speaks to my spirit and lets me know that there is more to life than chasing my career dreams, being well-fed with good food, achieving total fitness in my body, meeting and marrying Mr. Right…It’s just a reminder that there’s so much more to this life than what we see with our human eyes! And in the end, God wins!

So that means that in this Great Controversy of good vs. evil that every human is born into if you’re on God’s side then you win too! What will you win? Eternal life with Him in a place (Heaven) free of pain, sickness and sorrow…a place where everyone lives forever, and death is history!

Perhaps the greatest reminder of what we as followers of Jesus Christ need to know is found in Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV), which reads:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

So, dear friends, be encouraged to keep the faith and run your race! Jesus Christ and His heavenly hosts are cheering you on! You’ve got this because God’s got you! It is possible to live a victorious life when you keep God as the center of it and seek Him first!

When the weight of the world weighs heavily on your shoulders, turn it over to Jesus because His “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). And when you’re going through dark times, remember that there is a light at the end of that dark tunnel. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12) and you can trust Him to see you through!

As we close this devotional, I’d like to encourage you to ask God to give you glimpses of Heaven as you spend time with Him in Bible study and prayer. My prayer is that these glimpses will help you continue to move forward in your journey here on Earth and follow Jesus all the way to Heaven!

God bless you.

Claiming Annie’s Heart – Behind the Story – Judythe Morgan - Giveaway Extended (Details below)

Claiming Annie’s Heart – The Story Behind the Story - 

by 

Judythe Morgan 

Cliff of Moher, Ireland. Courtesy Pixabay.com

With a paternal grandmother who was an Irish Callahan from County Clare and a maternal grandmother whose family immigrated through Ellis Island during the Potato Famine, authoring a story set in Ireland might seem predictable. But I never set out to plot such a book. Too many other story ideas floated in my head.

That is ... until I went to Ireland and those family roots came to life.

The joy sparkling in the eyes of the Irish people I met danced with the bubbling in my veins. Ireland is magical. The sights and sounds call to deep kinship and connections. If you have even a drop of Irish blood and ever go to Ireland, you'll understand what I mean.

Until my visits to the island, I never realized there were two very different Irelands. Talking with the old timers, I quickly learned the Irish history of how two separate countries came to be.

The cliff note version is the island started as a single entity with its own parliament. After bitter fighting and political maneuvering with the United Kingdom, the island was partitioned into Northern Ireland, which is still a part of the UK, and the Irish Free State or Republic of Ireland in 1920.

Violence erupted again in the 60s and continued through the 90s. The ceasefire of 1994 and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, along with the rebranding of the Orangemen parades in Belfast and Northern Ireland counties, helped reduce flare-ups.

Still, the history remains fresh for those personally affected and, after a few pints of Guinness, discussions about The Troubles can become heated.

My husband’s job often took him to Northern Ireland, and I tagged along. I soon realize how deeply The Troubles touched Irish lives. The seed of an idea for a future story began to grow.

Whenever we went to Belfast, Northern Ireland, we’d always make a stopover in Ireland. On one visit, we toured an Irish girl's boarding school in County Connemara. Wandering the grounds and talking to the girls, I had one of those writer moments where a character sprang fully formed into my head, commanding me to tell her story.

With her consent, I blended what Annie wanted told with a suspense element based on The Troubles to create Claiming Annie's Heart.

Annie and I are pleased with the final product. I hope you’ll enjoy reading Claiming Annie's Heart as much as we did creating it.

About Claiming Annie’s Heart:

Annie Foster remains in Ireland after boarding school to nanny a widower’s infant daughter. Five years later, she accepts the widower’s marriage proposal.

Her first love Chad Jones, whom she believed deserted her, arrives on an undercover assignment weeks before the wedding investigating her Irish fiancé’s connection with an IRA terrorist organization. Chad’s determined to change her mind, and her heart, because he’s never stopped loving her.

Annie is torn between the man she'll always love and the young daughter of her fiancé whom she’s promised never to abandon. Who will claim Annie’s heart?

About Judythe:

Award-winning author Judythe Morgan was an Air Force daughter, then an Army wife and a one time-Department of Army Civilian employee. She's seen a lot of this big world.

She’s mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and his Maltese brother, Buster. Finn’s named after the legendary Irish character, Fionn mac Cumhaill, of Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Also, a mother to three/grandmother to twelve, she’s been an antique dealer, teacher, mayor's wife, and sometimes-church pianist. Recently, she's ventured into Sacred Harp singing of early 17^th and 18th-century hymns.

She writes a weekly blog, View from the Front Porch with her daughter, Chicken Wrangler Sara. You can follow their adventures at www.judythewriter.com

Sign up for her free newsletter to learn about her latest news and get subscriber-only sneak peaks at www.judythemorgan.com All her books are available on Amazon.com in digital and print format. Links for other digital formats – Nook, Kobo, iBooks - are available on her website.

Where to find Judythe:

Visit Judythe’s website 

 Read Judythe’s award-winning blog

Friend Judythe on Facebook and Goodreads

Follow Judythe on Twitter

About the Giveaway:

Question for readers: Have you ever been to Ireland or Northern Ireland? Would you like to go? Why or why not?

Leave a comment with your answer and your contact information for a chance to win a free print (US only) or eBook version of Claiming Annie’s Heart.

This giveaway has been extended for another week ending on Thursday, March 28, at Midnight, Central. Winner will be drawn on Friday, March 29 and notified via email.

Lighter Than Air ~ Linda Hoover ~ Interview ~ Giveaway

Hello. Whispers readers! Please welcome author Linda Hoover as she shares some interview questions with us.

Thanks for joining us on "Wahoo Wednesday," Linda!

 Thank you for hosting me, Peg. I appreciate the opportunity to share Lighter Than Air with a new audience.

Tell us about your writing:

I’ve been writing since 1999 but didn’t publish until 2016. I wrote my first book in a few months, then joined a writing group where I heard all about authors getting multiple rejections before being accepted by either an agent or publisher. I felt bad for all those other writers, but I knew my book would be accepted immediately. Over time I realized I had a lot to learn. It’s one thing to tell a good story and another to craft a story a reader can get lost in. I ended up putting that story on the shelf and working on two others. One, Mountain Prophecy, published in October 2016 and my second, which I’m celebrating today, Wahoo Wednesday, is Lighter Than Air, out in October 2018.

When I choose names for my characters, I want them to be appropriate for the time period and nationality. I have some baby name books that have been helpful, but I also do Google searches. Lighter Than Air takes place in England in 1900, so I looked at names popular there from 1875 onward. In some cases, I’ll name a character to fit their personality. I’ve found it’s essential to keep a character list with names, physical traits, and back story. I don’t want to talk about Joy for most of the book and suddenly start calling her Grace. Or mention Joy’s blue eyes that somehow turn green.

Researching for the books I write is a pleasure. Not only do I look for character names, as I mentioned earlier, but I find out everything I can about the story’s location and time period. It turns out Brighton, the closest city to Julia in Lighter Than Air, was quite the tourist destination, which is why I chose that spot. I also want to know what kind of jobs people did? What did they wear? What did they do for fun? What transportation was available? What kind of trees and flowers grew there? How long would it have taken to get from point A to B? I look for these answers in books and online. I’ll come to a time when I have more information than I can use and have to stop.

I plan to have my next book out by this fall, 2019. I pulled that first manuscript off the shelf and am revising and applying lessons learned along the way. The title is Heart’s Desire and it’s set in 1870, Boston. Julia, a young lady from one of Boston’s old families, falls in love with a young man from the merchant class, but that’s not the only obstacle. Julia’s father is being blackmailed and he is pressuring her to marry the man, who is also from one of the old families. She must choose her heart’s desire and risk her family’s ruin or marry the man to protect her father’s reputation and the family’s place in society.  

Tell us something about yourself: 

I love writing, creating stories and characters. Their voices and personalities are in my head, almost like a family. I enjoy spending time with them and can’t wait until I can quit my day job and park myself in my office. However, I do have other interests. It’s a joy to be with my real family. I like to have everyone around my table so I can cook for them. You’ll find me looking through cookbooks and magazines for new recipes. If the meal gets a thumbs up it will be added into the rotation. If they tell me, “I don’t don’t ever want to eat that again.”, the recipe goes in the trash. I have a sweet tooth, so dessert recipes take up more space in my recipe boxes and binders than anything else.

Reading is something else I love to do. I used to get in trouble at school for reading when I was supposed to be doing something else. My favorite genre is fantasy, but I enjoy others as well. I tend to lean more toward historic stories. I would love to go to Brighton and some of the places in books I’ve read, but I wouldn’t want to travel back in time. I enjoy reading about it and visiting historic places, but I’m too attached to modern conveniences to live in a time period without them.

Tell us about your book:

Back-cover copy:

In 1900, near Brighton, England, Elena Bishop and Justin Ramsay face situations that will change their lives as they know it. They believe they have a plan to fix their problems, even if it means only one of them will have a happy ending. They have no idea how much trouble they'll face along the way, and they certainly don't anticipate falling in love. Ultimately the time comes when they must admit they have no real control. Trusting God to take care of the circumstances is the only way to find peace, even if it means Elena and her father will lose their home and Justin is sent to join a military regiment in India. Will God provide a happy ending for both Elena and Justin?

Available in print or eBook on Amazon at:

https://amzn.to/2UFwWig 

About the Author:

Linda Hoover lives in west-central Ohio with her husband, daughter, grandson and a cat who thinks he owns the house. She earned a degree in psychology at Anderson University where she learned the voices in her head were actually characters from stories waiting to be told.

By day, Linda works as a library assistant at a branch of the county’s public library system where two of her duties include choosing books for the young adult and Christian fiction areas. As a result, she has a very long “To Read” list. In her spare time, she writes the stories her voices tell her.

Visit Linda at www.facebook.com/LindaHooverAuthor

Or her website http://www.lindahooverbooks.com/ 

About the Giveaway:

Linda is offering a free eBook copy of LIGHTER THAN AIR to one of this post readers. Just leave a comment below with your name and contact information to be entered in the drawing. Giveaway ends one week from today on Wednesday, March 20, a MIDNIGHT, Central time. Winner will be notified via email, which is why we need your contact info. 

Ada Brownell ~ Interview ~ Love's Delicate Blossom ~ Giveaway

An Interview with author Ada Brownell

Thank you, Ada, for agreeing to grant my readers a 'Getting To Know You' interview. So, here we go ...

About Your Writing

How long have you been writing?

I started when I was age fifteen and I’m a great-granny now. I was youth president at my church and I submitted ideas for unique youth services to a leadership magazine, and they bought and published them. With the help of two amazing editors, I produced complete articles for youth and adults when I was still in my teens.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

The hook or lead is a big challenge I enjoy. As a retired newspaper reporter, I know the opening sentence to a story needs to contain important information, but it should be presented in a fresh way. That takes thought. I remember a lead I wrote on a feature story for The Pueblo Chieftain about the politically involved Catholic bishop: “If Bishop Charles Buswell would have been alive when Christ was crucified, he probably would have been protesting the death penalty at the foot of the cross.”

A recent lead for my op-ed story in The Chieftain: “Christianity Has Changed the World in My Lifetime.” One from the Teen Devotional Take Five Plus: “Polio once was one of the most dangerous communicable diseases among children in the United States. In 1952 alone, nearly sixty thousand children were infected with the virus. Thousands were paralyzed and more than three thousand died.”

From an Independence Day feature in LIVE “I spent a night in prison. I hadn’t committed a crime, but that night brought new meaning to liberty.”

How have you sensed the Lord’s hand on your writing journey?

I started writing without any college credits and I’d never taken a journalism course. But I had a burning in me to share the gospel. 

I memorized Acts 1:9 that  says “But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.”

I took that seriously and began to witness. That’s when the youth group grew and God poured out his Spirit in our church. I was blessed, but then I got married and two or three years later we had to move to a little town with four bars, no church, and about 90 miles one way to home, and 38 miles another way to the only church we knew about.

I had no ministry, no close Christian friends. I thought we were out of God’s will, but I kept seeking God. We drove 38 miles to church on Sunday nights because my husband worked Sunday mornings.

 Then one night God touched me. Within a week God sent me a Christian friend and we started a Sunday school in the schoolhouse where we lived, Thompson, Utah, population 98. I also began to write.

A few of my articles were published. But when I sold a story about my mother’s Sunday school teaching methods to David C. Cook for $35, in an era when my husband made $14 a day working for the railroad, I enrolled in a course, Writing for Christian Publications by Dorothy C. Haskins. Then I sold my accordion and bought an electric typewriter.

My writing instructor told me I needed to work for a newspaper to get a facility with words. So I became a correspondent for The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. They had a wonderful instruction booklet on how to recognize a news story. I almost memorized it,

We moved, and I was hired as a reporter for The Leadville Herald-Democrat. Less than a year later, I became a staff writer at The Pueblo Chieftain. Then I took out 20 years to stay at home with our five children and earned my bachelor’s degree in mass communications.

So God directed my footsteps, but he also directed my mind. I have always been an idea person and at The Chieftain, I always had a list of about 100 story ideas on file.

I still write for Christian publications and occasional op-ed pieces for newspapers. Sometimes God drops the whole article in my mind. Recently he did that with an op-ed piece that contained spiritual truth. It’s His power, working through me.

About You   

Besides writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy?

Over the years I’ve sung in three different trios from churches where we lived at the time. In the late 1960s at Lakewood (Colo.) Assembly, I sang with Betty Vawter and Lila Butrick. But Betty was killed in an airplane crash. The Damascus Singers sang almost every week during the 1970s at Abundant Life Christian Center (Arvada Colo.) and made several tape recordings and one album. Gloria Vigil, Gayle Ortiz and I made up Praise Trio and sang seventeen years at Praise Assembly in Pueblo, Colo.

Name one of the first books or authors to inspire you and why.

Fiction: Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke because the book shows a couple who need each other and want to live righteously, but they also develop a glorious love relationship.

Non-Fiction: Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell because it shows where to find the evidence, not only for your faith but faith for witnessing and teaching.

About Your Book 

Do you have a favorite character in your novel(s)? If so, why?

My favorite character is difficult to choose because the characters are almost like family. How can you choose a favorite among loved ones?

Yet, I like Ritah O’Casey a lot because of her spunk, her worthy goals, and her courage. Her faith is something to cherish because she believes she can do great things, even if she is a woman in a time when ladies weren’t expected to be achievers. Twice in the book, she faces a man with a gun, and knowing she’s the only one that can stop him, does it.

I like Hillary, Ritah’s college roommate quite a bit because she shows how she feels but is likable in spite of it. Hillary has experienced sorrow and isn’t over grieving. Having less financially than most students, yet she is rich in scholarly knowledge, and eventually opens to the gospel.

I like 11-year-old Willie for his sense of humor and antics. Yet Edmund Pritchett III becomes more loveable all the time. Farmer Joe Nichols is so gentle, wise and romantically smart, it’s no wonder he becomes competition to Edmund in pursuing Ritah, despite his tragic injury.

The World War I victims also grab the heart, as do others that enter Ritah’s life, including her students with their different personalities, backgrounds, and challenges.

What takeaway value do you want readers to gain from your novel?

I would pray they have their eyes opened to how their lives can be used by God to witness and minister to others.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I plan to rewrite some middle-grade lessons I put together for an after-school program, and publish them as books. Unless I change the titles, they will be Dynamite Decisions for Youth, Love is Dynamite, and God’s Powerful Presence in America’s History.

ABOUT THE BOOK 

Love’s Delicate Blossom, a historical suspense novel

By Ada Brownell

Sequel to The Lady Fugitive and Peach Blossom Rancher

1917--Edmund Pritchett III wants to marry Ritah Irene O’Casey, but she says wait. The beautiful redhead is trying to rescue Tulip, a 14-year-old orphan kidnapped by Henry Hunter to work in his brothel, and Ritah doesn’t have much time. She has a train ticket to go to college.

Ritah wants to become a teacher who can help widows keep their children when tragedy strikes. She also would like to teach mothers how to prevent dangerous diseases and treat health problems, in an era when few have access to a doctor. Instead, Ritah ends up fighting for the lives of injured soldiers in a World War I Army health clinic, and her own life is threatened by an influenza pandemic.

But Ritah finds a teaching job in Kansas, and there Joe Nichols, a handsome farmer, edges his way into her heart. But Edmund Pritchett III isn’t giving up, and neither is Henry Hunter, who is still after Tulip and about to open his brothel.

Will Ritah accomplish her dreams or is everything in danger when Henry Hunter bursts into the school shooting a pistol?

COMMENT FROM A READER: Your book set a tone and world from your grandmother’s time; the historical elements are what readers read the genre for.

#WWII #1918FluPandemic #Orphans #Romance

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1731156065

 MEET ADA BROWNELL

The sixth redhead in a family of eight achievers, Ada Nicholson Brownell writes with stick-to-your-soul encouragement from her Missouri home where she lives with her handsome husband, Lester. They have five children, one in heaven—and not one with red hair or freckles.

Ada is a retired reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain and says she had experienced before going into journalism. The youngest of her parent’s children, she was the family tattletale.

She is the author of nine inspirational fiction and non-fiction books and has had hundreds of articles in Christian publications. She still writes occasional op-ed pieces for newspapers as well as devotions for the teen devotional magazine Take Five Plus, articles for Live, blogs and does other freelance writing. She has served as a judge for the American Christian Fiction Writers Grace Awards and for the Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers annual writing contest.

Her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

Her blog: www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/AdaBrownellWritingMinistries

Twitter: @adabrownell

Google https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AdaBrownell/posts

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1654534.Ada_Brownell

ABOUT ADA'S GIVEAWAY:

ADA is offering a free eBook copy of Love's Delicate Blossom to one of my readers of this post. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment in the section below and include your name and email address (so we can notify you if you win) Giveaway ends one week from today on Thursday, March 14, at MIDNIGHT CDT.