A LIFE RENEWED ~ Olivia Rae ~ Giveaway

Please welcome guest blogger author Olivia Rae and her new release A LIVE RENEWED, an Historical Romance set during the time of the Tudor's reign in sixteenth-century England. A time  when being a 'royal' wasn't always a good thing. Oh, there's a giveaway, too.

You Vs Me

by Olivia Rae

When I tell people I write romance novels, most think I write light fluffy happily-ever-after stories with little substance. Some inappropriate comments until they find out I write Christian romance. It’s easy to pigeon-hole people. In today’s society, we do it more than ever. How often have you heard groups screaming at each other all in hopes to prove the other group is wrong? We do this in our daily life too, with our spouses, children, coworkers, etc.

Recently, I heard a friend state there are really only two emotions, love and fear. The more I thought about this, the more I believe it. Fear can trigger so many dark feelings. I’m angry because I am afraid you want to ruin my way of live. I’m sad because I’m afraid you won’t like me. I’m mean because I’m afraid you might hurt me.

My new book, A Life Renewed, takes place in Tudor England. It was a time when you could be burned at the stake if you had a different religion than the Crown’s. (Or if you were a royal, beheaded.) Sad but true, we still see this in some parts of our world today. Fear propels us to do many evil things in the name of religion, progress, or revolution. Fortunately, love can do the same.

If we love our neighbor (who is everyone), we listen and respect them no matter what their views are. We have honest and open dialogues minus the hateful words. If we love, we help others in their sorrow. If we love, we will sacrifice our own needs for others.

My book does end with a happily-ever-after all because of respectful love and the realization that, in Christ, we are more the same than we are different. So, the next time you are ready to blast, criticize or just plain ignore someone, think of what Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”   

Go forth in love and turn you vs me into you and me.

In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, “The Nine Days’ Queen” was executed for high treason.

But what if, instead of feeling the blade on her neck she secretly survived?

Escaping execution, Lady Jane hides as a peasant girl in a principality in Germany. She loves the simple life and never wants to return to England. But her benefactor, a power-hungry German prince, wants to march on London and place her on the English throne again, thereby increasing his dominance in Europe. If she doesn’t agree to his plan, her beloved childhood nurse will be put to death. Desperate for help, Jane must put her trust in the mysterious spy Asher Hayes.   

Asher Hayes is done rounding up Protestants for “Bloody Mary” and wants nothing more than to live a quiet life as a farmer and expunge the blood of many from his hands. Except Queen Mary isn’t done with him yet. She throws his father, mother, and sister into prison on false charges in order to force him to accept one last mission – find and kill Lady Jane Grey. But when Asher discovers Lady Jane isn’t a threat to the throne as he believed her to be, he faces a devastating decision – does he sacrifice his family for the woman who reigns in his heart?

About the Author: 

Olivia Rae is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary inspirational romance. She spent her school days dreaming of knights, princesses and far away kingdoms; it made those long, boring days in the classroom go by much faster. Nobody was more shocked than her when she decided to become a teacher. Besides getting her Master’s degree, marrying her own prince, and raising a couple of kids, Olivia decided to breathe a little more life into her childhood stories by adding in what she’s learned as an adult living in a small town on the edge of a big city. When not writing, she loves to travel, dragging her family to old castles and forts all across the world.

Olivia is the winner of the Golden Quill Award, New England Readers’ Choice Award, Southern Magic Contest, and the American Fiction Award. She is an Illumination Award Gold and Bronze medalist. She has also been a finalist in many other contests such as the National Readers’ Choice Awards, and the National Romance Fiction Awards. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.

Website: http://www.oliviaraebooks.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oliviaraebooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviaraebooks

Book Purchase Links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Wa3LaS

B&N: https://bit.ly/39LWEJLApple: https://apple.co/3cXtKbI

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3aP2vOr

About the Giveaway: Olivia is offering an eBook copy of her new release - A Life Renewed - to one reader of this blog post who leaves a comment below with name and contact information (ao we can notify you if you're the winner).

Giveaway runs for one week from today ending on Wednesday, April 29, at Midnight, central time.

~ Tanya Eavenson ~ The Rescue ~ Wahoo Wednesday

The Rescue

By Tanya Eavenson

All Roads Publishing

All Roads Lead to Texas Book 1

Christian Historical Fiction

About the Book:

Sometimes the path to freedom is found in an unexpected future.

Upon the death of her mother, Rosalind Standford’s life shatters, the pieces scattering to the wind when she is forced into a betrothal to a cunning banker. But when a telegram arrives announcing the man who captured her heart is on a train to Boston, Rosalind must hide her true feelings before the thin cord of her existence unravels the deadly secrets she keeps.

Cowboy Trent Easton returns to his roots in Boston society to find his childhood friend, the love of his heart. Instead he finds a broken woman engaged to a man close to her father’s age. Though she once rejected him, when Trent learns she’s in danger, he determines to do whatever it takes to keep her safe—even taking her to the altar in the black of night. But will his name and the remote wilds of his Texas ranch be enough to protect her? Or will freedom cost them their lives?

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TTVKJVY/

The Rescue releases September 2, 2019 but is available for pre-order now for $2.99 (Kindle edition) at the link above. Get your order in now.

The Rescue is a Cascade Award winner in the historical romance category.

What others have said:

“Ms. Eavenson writes a poignant tale filled with emotions. One can’t help but feel for the characters as they battle an evil man intent on getting his way. A genteel lady and a gentleman cowboy on the race for their lives. This is a historical not to be missed!”
--Laura V. Hilton, author of Married to a Stranger (Whitaker House)

“Eavenson knows how to ratchet up the action and suspense, carried all the way through to the last chapter. Rosalind and Trent are endearing characters hounded by a villain that truly gave me chills, with a supporting cast as well-drawn as the hero and heroine. The Rescue will draw you in, pump you up, and touch your heart.”
--Carole Towriss, author of By the Waters of Kadesh

 

About Tanya:

Tanya Eavenson is an international bestselling and award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book. You can find her at her website http://www.tanyaeavenson.com/

Links:

Website: http://www.tanyaeavenson.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tanya-Eavenson/e/B00B2UO5TE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tanya-Eavenson-129609683872033/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6913760.Tanya_Eavenson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanyaeavenson/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tanya-eavenson-9d088e1d-ab19-49c0-a25a-72f623418d75?list=author_books

Behind the Story ~ The Cumberland Bride ~ Shannon McNeer ~ Giveaway

The Cumberland Bride

Behind the Story

By Shannon McNear

 Thank you so much, Peg, for hosting me today! I’ve been asked to do the “story behind the story” of my new release, The Cumberland Bride, #5 in the Daughters of the Mayflower series, but I’m choosing a slightly different telling than I’ve done elsewhere.

This part of the story begins, oh, several decades ago, with a bright-eyed, story-obsessed fifteen-year-old who, at the encouragement of her mother, launched into writing her first novel. She worked hard at it, finished a draft, started right in on revising it, was encouraged to enter a contest by one of her mother’s close friends. After being blessed with an honorable mention, the young writer wondered what next? Submission to various book publishers, of course. So she applied herself to yet more editing and revising, then submitting her work, and … waiting.

Back then, a writer had to send the entire manuscript by mail (REAL mail, carried by actual people) and wait for several months for a reply, oftentimes upward of a year, depending upon the publisher. But I was reconciled to the wait. It was hard, of course—and anytime I walked into a bookstore, the longing to see my name up on there on the shelves with everyone else would grab me by the throat.

Months of waiting stretched into years. I grew up, married, kept writing, started having babies, still kept writing. When my oldest children were all very little, conviction led me to set my fiction writing aside, but the writing came out in other ways, and just after my next-to-youngest was born, I felt the nudging to pick up my fiction again. Was God finally opening the door for me to be published, after all this time? I hardly dared hope, but applied myself afresh to editing, revising, and learning the writing craft. God provided the way for me to attend my first writer’s conference, where I received some extremely encouraging feedback from a highly respected and well-known author.

But the waiting would continue. And even though we’d officially entered the digital age by this time, once again months stretched into years.

Understand, during this time I continued to get a lot of positive feedback. Did I think I had nothing more to learn? No, I knew that even bestselling authors never really “arrive” craft-wise, and I’m so grateful to those who, while they encouraged me, didn’t hesitate to call me on what they saw I could improve. Among other things, I learned that I had huge issues with what we writers call GMC—goals, motivation, and conflict—basically, why our characters do what they do, and what gets in their way. I could see it, but somehow failed to translate that to the reader. So I worked hard to learn how to do that. Set aside my first, reworked-to-death novel, started new ones.

Years stretched into a decade, and about that time God opened the door for my first contract, a historical romance novella. A second novella contract followed shortly after. And then, more waiting. I was doing my best to come up with new story ideas, but life was still crushingly busy—more so than ever, especially while I devoted several months to caring for my mother in the middle of managing my own household.

But when the time was right, God opened the door again … and this time in a way I could never have dreamed, as a close friend recommended me for a particular project.

During all those waiting years, though, I struggled hugely with having to watch so many people in the writing industry get their first contract way before me. Some of those were my own close friends—and while I desperately treasured getting to share that journey with them, it was hard. Hard not to ask why, what I was doing wrong. Hard not to feel “left behind.” Hard not to feel just plain—let’s say the ugly word, here—jealous.

I had to take that struggle back to the Lord so many times. Had to trust, over and over, that He really is God, and if I believed He was the one leading me on this road, then He had a plan and purpose. Even in the long, long waiting.

Along the way, I learned to focus more on the privilege of sharing my friends’ joy as God opened doors for them. Learned to choose gratitude for all my other blessings. To not dismiss the encouragement people might offer as just “being nice” because they knew I was struggling. To simply appreciate the friendships God had surrounded me with, and the unique perspective He was giving me of that phase of the writing journey, so I might learn it wasn’t all sunshine and roses after publication, either.

Being published is amazing, but it’s also a higher level of responsibility. There’s an increased visibility that a fragile soul can find terrifying. And it’s distressed me to discover that for all those years I struggled with envy, I’m now the focus of other people’s envy. I want to tell them … don’t! Don’t be jealous of me. You don’t want the wait I’ve endured!

But of course they can’t see that. They only see the blessings—and aren’t we all guilty of that at some point or another? We can only see the end result of something in other people’s lives, or something God has blessed them with … we can’t see the trials they suffered, getting there. And suffering is something nobody enjoys, but God often uses it to prepare us for what He has for us—or simply to conform us more to the image of Christ.

So my encouragement to you, the reader, is this: trust God with your journey, whatever that might look like. Your journey isn’t mine. God only gives you the grace you need for the trials He calls you to endure—not for my trials, and vice versa. In the same way, embrace the joy in whatever blessings He offers, even if they aren’t the particular blessings you think you want at the moment.

Just—trust Him. He’s worthy of your trust!

 About the story:

In 1794, when Kate Gruener’s father is ready to move the family farther west into the wilderness to farm untouched land, Kate is eager to live out her own story of adventure like he did during the War for Independence, and to see untamed lands. And she sets her sights on learning more about their scout, Thomas Bledsoe. Thomas’s job is to get settlers safely across the Kentucky Wilderness Road to their destination while keeping an ear open for news of Shawnee unrest. But naïve Kate’s inquisitive nature could put them both in the middle of a rising tide of conflict. Is there more to Thomas’s story than he is willing to tell? Is there an untapped courage in Kate that can thwart a coming disaster?

Buy links:

Amazon (both paperback and Kindle)
Christianbook.com (both paperback and ebook)
Barnes & Noble (both paperback and Nook)

AUTHOR BIO:

After more than two decades in the South, Shannon McNear now makes her home on the windy northern plains with her husband, four of their eight children, two German Shepherds, three cats, several chickens, and a noisy flock of guinea fowl. She serves in worship and youth ministry, and has been writing novel-length fiction since age 15. Her first novella, Defending Truth, from A Pioneer Christmas Collection, was a 2014 RITA® nominee. She’s a member of ACFW and RWA and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. When not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the Dakota prairies.

 Social media links:

·  Facebook

·  Pinterest

·  Goodreads

·  Twitter

·  BookBub 

Giveaway:
Shannon is offering a free copy of The Cumberland Bride to one of my readers. To enter, just leave your name and contact information in the comment section below. Giveaway will run for one week, ending Thursday, October 11, at Midnight, Central Time. Thank you.

On the Way to Publication ~ Linda Shenton Matchett ~ Giveaway

Nostalgia

By Linda Shenton Matchett

My birthday falls in the month of May, and each year I become more nostalgic on that day, remembering previous celebrations and other heartwarming memories. This year my husband and I went away for the weekend to a cozy cabin in the White Mountains. Every morning was spent writing my latest work-in-progress. It is nearly complete, and I got to thinking about the fact that the manuscript is the ninth one I’ve written, six of which have been published.

I began to reminisce about my writing odyssey. It has been two years since my first book, Love’s Harvest, was published, but putting pen to paper started long before that. I made up stories in elementary school and a little bit in junior high, but I put writing in high school. I didn’t return to it until we moved to New Hampshire fifteen years ago to operate a B&B. As we pulled out of the driveway in Virginia, I wrote my first journal entry. 

Capturing our experience reignited my love of the craft, and I’ve been writing ever since.

Twists and turns littered my path: some freelance writing in travel and lifestyle magazines, a few guest blog posts, and an opportunity to write a monthly devotion for my church’s regional association. I enjoyed the non-fiction work, but telling stories is my first love, so I set out to write “The Great American Novel.” I wrote it, but great it was not! However, I didn’t know that and submitted it to several publishers, one of whom took the time to tell me she saw great potential but that I needed to improve my writing.

To make a long story short (which as a novelist is tough for me!), I took classes, attended conferences, and joined ACFW,[American Christian Fiction Writers] which connected me with a group of authors who decided to create a collaborative blog at www.stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com  

Three years ago, one of the authors suggested we band together and publish a collection of romance novellas. I was alternately excited and terrified of the opportunity. I had never written a romance before. Could I do it? Would anyone read it? If so, would they like it?

The questions continued, including the most important: what in the world could I write about? When the answer came to me, I couldn’t get to my computer fast enough. The biblical book of Ruth is one of my favorites. While I was growing up, my family moved quite often, so I appreciate that Ruth chose to leave her family and all that she knew to follow Naomi to a land where she may not have even spoken the language. Having read Francine River’s book Redeeming Love which is a retelling of the book of Hosea set in the American Old West, I decided to set Ruth during the WWII era. Research helped me find a famine (like the one in Ruth’s story) and the British Women’s Land Army, and a story was born!

It was a long trek to publication, but as I look back I see God’s perfect timing. I wish I had paid attention more during the journey. I think I may have missed some blessings. Are you waiting on God? Instead of chafing at the bit to reach the destination, ask Him what He would have you learn along the way.

About the Book

Noreen Hirsch loses everything including her husband and two sons. Then her adopted country goes to war with her homeland. Has God abandoned her?

Rosa Hirsch barely adjusts to being a bride before she is widowed. She gives up her citizenship to accompany her mother-in-law to her home country. Can Rosa find acceptance among strangers who hate her belligerent nation?

Basil Quincey is rich beyond his wildest dreams, but loneliness stalks him. Can he find a woman who loves him and not his money?

Three people. One God who can raise hope from the ashes of despair.

 About Linda:

Linda Shenton Matchett is an author, journalist, and history geek. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry and has lived in historic places most of her life. A member of ACFW, RWA, and Sisters In Crime, Linda is a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of World War II, and a trustee for her local public library.

Linda's Social Media links:

Website: www.LindaShentonMatchett.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlindamatchett

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/lindasmatchett

LinkedIn: www.linkedin/in/authorlindamatchett

About the Giveaway:

Sign up for her newsletter (https://bit.ly/2DDLmI2) to be entered in a raffle to win a paperback (US, or ebook international winner) copy of Love's Harvest. Once you've signed up, post "done" in the comments. The winner will be selected on May 31st.