I am sorry to inform all of you, but Peggy, my mother, has passed on early Wednesday morning. Her heart just quit, so she passed peacefully with no pain.
I do know that Mom loved you all dearly, and thank you for supporting her all these years. She loved writing and everything related to her passion.
Please know that Mom is now with her family, Jesus and is happy. Remember her with a smile.
Rest in Peace, Mom. I love you.
Your Daughter, Heidi
It's "What's New Wednesday" and Whispers in Purple welcomes author Julie Arduini with her newest release in a unique interview.
What’s You’re Brilliant
About?
Hannah:
It’s realizing that even if you’re weird or you don’t think you/re good enough,
you are.
Julie: It uses a mentoring ministry to weave a story between girls in high school and a pastor’s wife in a new environment. The girls and the women are all in different ways struggling with believing the lie they’re failures and incompetent. The series is Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’.
Do you have a favorite
character in You’re Brilliant?
Hannah:
No. I love them all.
Julie:
I feel the same as Hannah. I can relate to Cheri. Even as an adult I struggle
with insecurity, especially when I try something new. However, I love Bethany.
She’s got spunk and a sense of justice. KJ was a new character and she’s
important. She appears to have everything going for her but she’s in a bad
situation. We created her to show anyone can enter an issue like that, and it
is not their fault.
What do you hope readers take away from You’re Brilliant?
Hannah:
I hope with all the books that readers would know deep down they have value.
Julie: So many things. I want readers to know they are deeply loved and highly valued by our Heavenly Father, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. I hope they find a support system much like Linked, a trusted group of friends and mentors who can pray, laugh, and help them. And I really hope in KJ’s story, if any girl/woman is experiencing abuse, even verbal, that they seek help and leave the relationship without blaming themselves.
What’s next for you? Will
you keep writing?
Hannah:
I might. Maybe.
Julie:
Hannah has what it takes if she wants to keep writing. As for me, I’m back
writing clean/contemporary romance with a new series called Surrendering Hearts.
The premise surrounds sextuplets who remain in the national spotlight after a
tragedy. Each book features a sibling and their quest to find a love as strong
as what their parents had. The first is Anchored Hearts. Jordyn Bell Hart
is the oldest sibling and dotes on everyone and everything with care and
control. Spencer Collins thought his life after college would be full of family
and opportunity. When WFRN creates a local morning show and taps Jordyn and
Spencer to co-anchor, can these two surrender their need for control?
From the Back Cover:
Amazing
things happen when a group of high school students and women discover they are
more than competent.
Bethany’s not excited
to start high school in a new community where she doesn’t know anyone. She
quickly befriends KJ, a popular sophomore, and it looks like the transition
will go well until Bethany discovers KJ’s boyfriend is a bully. With a strong sense
of justice, Bethany challenges Brent Sullivan, and he’s determined to make her
suffer.
Cheri takes on an
additional job in a school to help pay for Sabrina’s wedding. It’s a different
atmosphere than at the church where she feels more comfortable as the pastor’s
wife and mentor with the Linked ministry. After several mishaps, Cheri feels
like she’s found an assignment where she can make a difference until a teacher
belittles her work.
Can Bethany and Cheri
resist the lies about their competency and hold on to the fact they’re
brilliant?
The final book in the
Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’ series for tweens, teens, and women of all ages
by mother and daughter authors Julie Arduini and Hannah Arduini.
You’re Brilliant: YA/Women’s Fiction. Free on Kindle Unlimited
You’re Brilliant:
https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Brilliant-Surrendering-Stinkin-Thinkin-ebook/dp/B0874Y5B4C
You’re Brilliant, softcover: https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Brilliant-Surrendering-Stinkin-Thinkin/dp/1733687637
My Encounter with the Lord
by James Wilcox
Image courtesy Pixabay.com
I dearly love this
saying. “It isn’t of great concern…a child who fears the dark.” But this is tragic…an adult who fears The
Light!” I can assure you…The Light is
nothing to fear.
September 21, 2011
started out like most mornings. Even though I had been having some chest pains
off and on over the last several days, the past thirty-six hours had been pain
free. Yet getting up that Wednesday morning, I somehow knew the pain was going to
return. Nonetheless, I went outside a little before seven to do my chores. By
the time I finished, the pain was the worst it had ever been. My chest felt
like it would explode! Approaching a
tractor, I leaned on it, my vision beginning to blur.
I suddenly realized that death was very near and it frightened me. However, the fear quickly left and never returned as I became aware of a caring light that enveloped me. It was paper-thin but was enough to keep the utter, unbelievable, coal black darkness next to it, away from me. I was not seeing any colors, only white and black. I didn’t see Him, yet I knew with all certainty it was Jesus who asked me if I wanted to live. Immediately, I answered, “Yes.”
There were many things
that began to happen. The light pushed hard against the endless darkness,
moving it back several feet. Until then, I felt I was suffocating because the
blackness was so heavy and seemed so determined. I thought about lying down but
knew for certain, if I voluntarily lay down, I would surely die! I decided to try
and make it to the car, which was about eighty feet away. Without realizing it,
I was beginning my journey through ‘The Valley of the Shadow of Death.’ During
this walk and for a short time afterward, I have no memory of the relentless
pain in my chest. When I began to walk, the sinister darkness attacked the
light, battering against it constantly. As the protecting light was pushed in
at various spots, it repelled the single-minded darkness every time and
maintained its posture. Walking on, this action continued and was now occurring
at a faster pace than when it began. Many times, the harsh darkness formed a
cone, ramming into the light, attempting to penetrate it. I reasoned from the
beginning of this battle, if there were even a hole smaller than the size of a
tiny pin in the serene light, the ruthless darkness would get through and I
would be engulfed in complete blackness. Suddenly, I heard a voice asking.
“What if you fall down?” There is no doubt in my mind; Satan himself had asked
this question!
The moment was now upon me to respond to the all-important question Jesus had asked. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, I discerned the answer I needed to give Jesus was not a simple “yes” or “no,” but involved a great deal more. Was my faith and relationship I professed with my Savior a facade or was it real? Without any concern about the outcome, it was with complete sincerity, release, trust, and peace I answered His question saying, “You decide. It’s up to You.”
With
my Soul, A Historical Christian Romance
by
Laurie Batzel
Book
Summary:
Betrayed
by her husband, Willa Jane Wilson and her daughter are left penniless and alone
in post-war Germany. She returns to her hometown in rural North Carolina and
prays that a new beginning will soothe the anger still raging inside her heart.
But no matter how many miles Willa Jane puts between her and her shame, the
peace she seeks is drowned out by ignorance and abandonment.
Her saving grace comes in the form of a new
opportunity that she can’t pass up. Tasked with caring for children at a local
orphanage, she dedicates herself to transforming the financially-strapped
institution into a real home filled with love and faith. But when her
fundraising mission lands her in the middle of Raleigh’s glittering social
scene, she encounters PJ Townshend, a handsome young lawyer with a dedication
to service that matches her own. There’s only one problem: PJ is on track to
change the country from its political epicenter—Washington D.C.—and the closer
they grow to one another, the farther apart their worlds seem to be taking
them.
When a natural disaster of Biblical proportions
threatens to part them for good, it also puts the orphanage and everything
Willa Jane has worked for in peril. An offer for help arrives from the most
unexpected source. Accepting it will require forgiveness of the past…but it
might also reunite her with the person her heart desires most.
Excerpt:
Willa Jane at a dinner party.
“I’ve
said it before, and I’ll say it again. Harry S. Truman is going to send this
country
to
hell in a handbasket.”
“Harold—”
his female counterpart interjected feebly to no avail.
“It’s
true. Any real Democrat would be focusing on the needs of our own country, not
shipping off more resources to the daggone Krauts that started the whole mess
in the first place. I heard he’s got a whole commission working on a plan to
rebuild Germany. They’ll spend millions of our taxpayer dollars on what? The
war’s over, what else could the bastards possibly need?”
Maybe
it was the second glass of champagne that had lowered my inhibitions enough
to
insert myself in what was clearly none of my business, but no amount of
coaching or fancy jewelry could contain my natural inclination.
“Actually,
there’s a great deal of need, sir.”
He
leant forward to glare past his shrinking wife at me.
“Young
lady, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I
don’t mean to offend you, sir, but I know very well what I’m talking about.
I’ve been to Germany and seen the devastation. There are entire city blocks
that are nothing but rubble, children exposed and starving on the streets. If
it weren’t for our assistance, there would be no shelter, no clean water. Most
of these ordinary people have had their homes and businesses destroyed through
no fault of their own. It’s not a waste of taxpayer dollars. It’s simple
decency.”
No
longer caring which fork was the assigned utensil, I snatched one up and
started digging into my steak with defiance. The older man’s face turned
splotchy and he narrowed his eyes at me from underneath gray caterpillar
eyebrows.
“I
have never in all my life heard such absolute rubbish. What are you, some sort
of Nazi sympathizer?”
The
meat stuck in my throat and I swallowed so hard it hurt. My big mouth might
have just landed me on the fast track to an interview with the CIA. Then
another voice interjected, one that seemed as familiar as if from a dream.
“The
young lady is correct. The situation overseas is an unparalleled humanitarian
crisis, significantly worse than the aftermath of the first Great War.” The
rich voice went on. “The purpose of Truman’s commission and aid plan for Europe
is to lessen the suffering which, twenty-odd years ago, allowed a madman like
Hitler to come into power.”
I
tried to spy through the petals to catch a glimpse of my impertinent new
friend, but the foliage was too dense. Returning my focus to the steak, I had
until they served coffee to stand up and either thank him for the defense or
tell him off for assuming I was incapable of fighting my own battles. As the
waiter took my empty plate, I was leaning toward the latter. This was 1947, and
I was a full-grown, working woman who had travelled overseas and back on my own.
Almost exactly two years ago, a certain man had come to my rescue and I’d
fallen under the spell of his chauvinism disguised as chivalry. I wouldn’t be
making that mistake again.
Building
up a head full of steam, I stood up, rounded Harold and Co.’s empty chairs and
began the impassioned defense I had been crafting between bites of Duchess potatoes.
“Listen,
I appreciate what you were trying to do there, but what gives you the right to
interrupt other people’s conversations? I was handling that ignorant old coot
just fine, thank you very—”
My
planned diatribe ground to a halt when I came face to face with my unsought defender.
He was the owner of a handsome face that was as strangely familiar as the voice.
Suddenly, I realized where I had seen it before.
~ ~ ~
Available in Print
and in Ebook
FREE on Kindle
Unlimited
About Laurie
Batzel:
The Story
Behind my newest release, Seeing Clearly
by Judythe Morgan
I started participating in ACFW craft courses. My writing
improved as I worked with critique partners. A new romantic suspense story with
the same characters began to take shape.
In 2019 I had an opportunity to attend a conference where Michael Hague was the speaker and participate in a one-on-one small group session to discuss our works-in-progress. I chose Seeing Clearly for the individual tutoring sessions.
After the conference, a small group of us who attended formed a critique group. Between Michael’s input and brainstorming with my new critique group Seeing Clearly finally evolved into a viable story and my characters came to life.
Seeing Clearly Back cover Blurb
She heard her name, the drone of
whispered words, and other sounds she couldn’t identify. It was like trying to
thread a needle, blindfolded.
An antiseptic smell made her cough.
She opened her eyes and reality came crashing through her haze. Hospital. Accident. David and Mandy dead.
She pushed upward from the hard,
cold medical center floor. “No.”
“Lie still, Mrs. Parker.” A
fresh-out-of-medical-school doctor lightly touched her wrist, checking his
watch. “You fainted and gave yourself a nasty bump.”
Fainted? She snatched her hand from
the doctor’s grip. She never fainted. Not even three years ago when her husband
died in her arms. “I’m fine. Where’s my grandson?”
Tiny bumps pebbled across her neck.
Did she already know that answer? Is that why she fainted?
The way-too-young-looking doctor
pointed to a room adjacent to the busy ER waiting area. “Why don’t we go in
there and talk? I can check that bump.”
His voice sounded soft and
sympathetic. She searched his face for any sign of hope against the truth she
feared.
Dawson, her friend and Parker
Industry’s Director of Security, eased his arm behind her back. Her legs
wobbled.
“Steady,” he whispered, tucking her
into his side.
She leaned into the solace of his
chest for a nanosecond then straightened her shoulders and followed the doctor
to a closet-like room with an ancient metal desk and two chrome-armed chairs
that had seen better days.
Evie sank into the nearest chair.
The doctor gently rubbed the back of her head. She flinched.
“Everything looks fine. However, if
you develop a headache, become nauseous or dizzy, you need to come back
immediately. You don’t want to mess with a head injury.”
“I will. Now, what about my
grandson, Dr.—” She glanced at his name badge. “Morrison. Is Michael okay?”
Dawson’s large, warm hand covered
hers. She wanted to nestle into his heat, lean against his strong body, to hide
until all of this went away. She stiffened her spine instead.
Dr. Morrison studied her face. “Your
grandson’s doing okay. He appears to have only cuts and bruises. His seatbelt
harness snapped when the SUV was hit, throwing him from the vehicle as it
flipped. He escaped the fire, and the car seat protected him. We’ve done X-rays
and MRIs to be sure. Results aren’t back yet.”
The room tilted. A fiery image
flashed in her mind’s eye sending a cold chill down her spine. She swallowed.
She couldn’t allow her brain to go there, wouldn’t go there. Doing well sounded
a little iffy, but—thank you, Lord—not as final as dead.
She pressed her fist to her lips,
pushed back the dizziness, and managed to connect with the doctor’s gaze. “When
can I see him?”
The doctor opened the door. Clatter
and chatter from the ER waiting area filled the room. “Follow me.”
Evie planted her flip-flops on the
floor with a thud. The clip-clop of the rubber soles boomed in rhythm with her
pounding heart as she followed.
~~
Dawson slowed his pace to Evie’s
stride. He drew deep on years of training to keep his body language relaxed
while his senses were on high alert after what the investigating officer told
him. A witness reported another car clipped David’s SUV by accident, causing it
to careen off the road.
By accident? Not likely. Not with the
gambling debt David Parker had. More likely a deliberate act executed by
someone he owed or the cartel. He’d bet the cartel.
Either way, it was one more question to
add to his ever-growing list of unanswered questions about Evie’s son.
Parker had risked everything and lost.
Traded his love of gambling for life and family. You don’t mess around with the
cartel. How well Dawson knew.
He’d promised her dying husband he’d
take care of her. If she knew what he was doing, she’d send him away. She
thought she could take care of herself. He should explain his suspicions about
her son. Pointless, she’d never believe David hadn’t reformed like he promised.
Not without proof. Proof he didn’t have. Yet.
Dr. Morrison motioned them inside.
Their hands still clasped, Dawson guided her to Michael’s crib side.
Same
as he’d vowed to find the cartel leader Marco Torres and make him pay for what
he’d done to his boys.
~~
From the waiting room of Mercy
Regional Medical Center, the man watched Parker’s Madre and McKey
approach, trailing behind the doctor down the corridor. Anger stiffened his
back and burned his eyes. Would he ever be rid of McKey?
His first plan to do away with the
nuisance had bombed. Now this. Another big screwup. This one threatened their
supply chain. Prickles of apprehension twined with his anger. Not good. Not
good at all. Mistakes in a business with no margins for error made him look
weak. Made the cartel bosses wonder why he was here. His papá was not going to be happy. And when papá was
not happy, it was never a good thing.
Judythe’s BIO
An antiques dealer, teacher, former mayor's wife, and sometimes-church pianist, she's had some interesting experiences.
As mommy to an Old English sheepdog named Finnegan MacCool and a Maltese named Buster, there are always wild adventures in the works.
Her
travel, experiences, and wild adventures always find their way into her
award-winning stories. Check her website
https://judythemorgan.com for
details.
Besides
her fiction, she writes a weekly blog with her urban farmer daughter, Chicken
Wrangler Sara. You can follow at www.judythewriter.com
Sign up for her free newsletter
to keep up with her latest news and subscriber-only sneak peaks.
And follow her on
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| Image provided by author |
In the
novel, Miss Bee and the Do Bees, Veronica
(Roni) Bagedonas suffers from body
dysmorphic disorder. Although known as the most successful teacher of
children with emotional and behavioral problems, Roni cannot overcome her
embarrassment of her large thighs. A colorful tee shirt tops the long skirts
that hide her legs. Her work is her life.
Cleo Lampos
has written three books in the series The
Teachers of Diamond Project Schools.
Each novel is a stand-alone, but occur in the same make believe building. However, the conflicts in the book are based
on events that happened in the urban areas of Chicago. Fiction and news events
are melded into realistic fiction. The underlying emotions are personally from
the author. The characters in Lampos’ books delve deep into their faith to find
strength and integrity.