Welcome Guest Blogger JC Morrows

TO PICK A PRINCESS. . .

Press release: This just in!

This week, Prince Dvarius sent the more well-to-do families of our Kingdom into a flurry of activity as they prepped their daughters for an event – the likes of which this country has never seen.

His Royal Highness, Prince Dvarius, last male heir to the Fortine family throne and fortune, has invited twenty-five young women to the Palace for the sole purpose of finding a bride.

Auralius law dictates that any heir – male of female, who wishes to ascend to the throne, must be married and thus able to provide an heir to the throne, leaving Prince Dvarius little choice in the matter. He must marry if he wishes to step into his father's shoes. . . or crown.

With the unexpected and tragic passing of our beloved King, the responsibilities of the throne have fallen to Queen Shiara until her son weds. Sources inside the palace have hinted that while the Queen continues to fulfill her duties, she rarely leaves her suite of rooms. . . much less the palace itself.

With such tremendous pressure – and not nearly enough time to prepare – can Prince Dvarius find a Queen befitting the magnificent house of Fortine, using such an unconventional method?

Though the palace has refused to comment on the subject, we have managed to gather information on a few of the ladies invited and it appears that the Prince is out to catch a Princess with connections.

The whirlwind romance of our beloved Queen Shiara and dear, departed King Devron is well-known among our young people – a true Cinderella story. Clearly Prince Dvarius is not interested in following his parents example in this area.

Though with so much at stake – and with so little time – perhaps the Prince is merely being practical.

We intend to watch the situation closely and will bring you more news as the story unfolds.

Article © JCMorrows 2015

♦

Her mission was simple — get close to the Prince, and kill him. . .

Kayden entered the palace under a lie, one designed to get her close to the Prince. On the outside, she may look like a princess but beneath the mask, a killer lays in wait — for the perfect moment.

Dvarius was not ready to take the crown, nor was he ready for a wife . . .

But due to his father’s unexpected death and an archaic law — he must find a bride before he is allowed to take his rightful place on the throne.

And the one woman he wants — just might be the one who is there to kill him…

• Book Title: A Reluctant Assassin


• Author: JC Morrows


• Publisher: S&G Publishing - http://sgpublish.com


• Release date: September 29th, 2015


• Genre: YA Inspirational Speculative

Purchase links:

• iTunes: http://apple.co/1UjOJ8U


• Nook: http://bit.ly/1MMu4bp


• Kindle: http://amzn.to/1fWKD7y


• Kobo: http://bit.ly/1UjODhE


• GoodReads: http://bit.ly/1LYPwLa

♦

About JC:



JC Morrows - Bestselling author of YA Christian speculative fiction, drinker of coffee and avid reader - is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. JC has been telling stories in one form or another her entire life and once her mother convinced her to write them down, she couldn't stop.
She finished her first speculative fiction novel purely for the enjoyment of her mother - also known as her biggest fan.
She gives God all of the glory for her talent and ability!
"And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." Habakkuk 2:2 KJV

My social media links:

• Website: http://jcmorrows.com


• Amazon:  http://amazon.com/author/jcmorrows


• Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7279550.J_C_Morrows


• Instagram:  http://instagram.com/jcmorrows


• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JCMorrows


• Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/jcmorrows/


• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JC.Morrows.Author


• Tumblr:  http://jcmorrows.tumblr.com/

TWEETABLE:

[bctt tweet="The prince must take a wife, but will the one he chooses be the death of him? Author JC Morrows@jcmorrows, #AReluctantAssassin #YA #Speculative #fiction"]

Writing Talk Tuesday with Nike Chillemi: Are Christian Heroes Too Wimpy?

Are Christian Crime Fiction Heroes Too Wimpy? by Nike Chillemi

Are we creating a bunch of Dudley Do-Rights? Are these guys so good they're boring? Are they too saccharine? I've read Amazon reviews and heard a few whispers (even a few grumbles) stating the hero is so perfect, he's one dimensional. It's a Christian novel, so there can be angels in it, but the flesh-and-blood hero should not be angelic.

They say nice guys finish last, and I think that's true in crime fiction. The hero has to be as much fun or more fun to watch in action than the villain or antagonist. The hero has to have a backbone. When the hero is set upon by the villain, it can't be that he overcomes the obstacles and wins the day as a clueless wonder who accidently stumbles through. He's got to have the fortitude and law enforcement skills to overcome the villain, or he's not very compelling.

If the hero is a Christian character, the author has some limits in that the reader will expect the hero to live by certain principles. Of course, that is as it should be. No quarrel there. Yet in life, we know real Christians have faults, some of them major. We know real statistics show a little over fifty percent of all Christian marriages end in divorce, a good number of them due to infidelity. In real life, we know most of those couples do not reconcile. Although it's changing, we still don't see too many divorced heroes in Christian fiction. We do have tons of nearly perfect widowers who have become nearly perfect single fathers.

If the author creates a wimpy hero, the only way it works in crime fiction is when the plotline shows him morphing into a forceful protagonist who can meet and defeat the villain. In this way, all of his goody-two-shoes traits can grow into some type of competent strategy to stop the evil deeds of his enemy. This is the type of storyline I can sink my teeth into.

Last, but not least, there should be some fireworks. This is especially true if the story is a romantic suspense. If there isn't any chemistry between the hero and heroine, it leaves me flat. Those romantic fireworks don't have to be physical. There can be an intense lingering gaze...even a hostile one, or witty repartee. Although physical magnetism on some level is a plus as far as I'm concerned. Christians do have bodies and those bodies do respond when there's attraction. There might be some type of mystery to the guy. The hero has something lurking in his past, which functions as the catalyst for this chemistry and his actions in the story.

♦

Dawson Hughes, my hero in DEADLY DESIGNS is a highly competent lawman, compassionate, and wildly attracted to my heroine, Veronica "Ronnie" Ingels. He's got some personal tragedy in his life, and he's also well-read and highly intelligent. Readers today have no tolerance for a dumb hero. In addition, a great hero isn't predictable. The author is able to reach within him and pull some response out that creates unexpected plot twists. Dawson finds himself in this situation soon after he re-commits his life to Jesus and the only one he can share this with is heroine Ronnie Ingels.

♦

Purchase Link: ebook

 

 

♦

ABOUT NIKE:

Like so many writers, Nike Chillemi started writing at a very young age. She still has the Crayola, fully illustrated book she penned (colored might be more accurate) as a little girl about her then off-the-chart love of horses. Today, you might call her a crime fictionista. Her passion is crime fiction. She likes her bad guys really bad and her good guys smarter and better.

Nike is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and is its Chair, a reader's choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She has been a judge in the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories; and an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category. Her four-novel Sanctuary Point series, set in the mid-1940s has finaled, won an award, and garnered critical acclaim. HARMFUL INTENT released under the auspices of her own publishing company, Crime Fictionista Press, won in the Grace Awards 2014 Mystery/Thriller/Romantic Suspense/Historic Suspense category. Her new release is DEADLY DESIGNS. She has written book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and John 3:16 Marketing Network.

Check out her website at: http://nikechillemi.wordpress.com/

♦So, writers, what kind of heroes do you write? And readers—if you’re here—what kind of heroes do you like to read?

Join the conversation!

TWEETABLE:

[bctt tweet="Are Christian fiction heroes too wimpy? Author Nike Chillemi weighs in on the subject on #WhispersinPurple blog. #Readers, #Writers, what do YOU think? Join the conversation."]

Interview with Deborah Hemstreet, all the way from Haifa, Israel: Part III

Welcome back, again for Part III of my interview with Deborah Hemstreet, who lives in Haifa, Israel. If you missed the previous blog posts with Debbie, click on PART I and/or PART II to learn about my friend across the sea.

 

Matter of fact, here’s a map of Israel, the blue star marking Haifa, where Debbie lives. Click to enlarge.

 

Now, let’s pick up where we left off on Thursday. Ready?

Q: I understand you’ve written a song and made a video. How did that come about?

A: The name of the song is Kotel. I first wrote it in 1982 during my first visit to Israel. I remember looking at the Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew), and praying, “Lord, what is it about this place that touches my soul so much?” Just like that the words and melody came to my mind. I couldn’t forget them and wrote it all down as soon as I got to my hotel room.

About a year later, after I had come to Israel to live, I was thinking about the song and could see in my mind exactly how it should be presented, with me singing it, out of sight, and everyone looking at a big screen with pictures about the history of Israel flashing on and off in succession. This was long before the advanced features of PowerPoint had been created. In fact, the closest I'd seen of something of what I envisioned was a costly slide show with several projectors working in synchronization for an amazing presentation! I remember sharing my dream with some friends. I deeply believed it was from the Lord and that this was HIS vision for the song He had given me. They quickly reminded me of my limited budget and suggested that I should place this dream on a back shelf where dreams belong—if it was from the Lord He would have to do it.

Some 30 years later I was preparing for my first trip to Norway. My friend Solvejg and her husband loved the song. Over the years, every time they visited they would ask me to play it on my guitar and sing it for them. If I was visiting them with friends, they would ask me to perform for their friends. They even had me sing it at their wedding! Truthfully, I got sick of the song and lost the vision. But since coming back to Israel in 2011 my heart has markedly softened and I began to find a new place for it. I began to understand what God had given me in a different way. Now, as I prepared to visit Solvejg, I realized that I needed to give her a gift—a recording of my song for her to enjoy all the time.

Then I remembered my dream from so long ago and thought, “Oh, Lord, it’s hopeless.” The thought came to me, “Are you sure? What about PowerPoint?” I got a friend to help me with a piano accompaniment and put a quick presentation together. Needless to say, my friend Solvejg and her husband William were thrilled.

When I got back to Israel I began to fill this tugging on my heart strings with the thought, “Now do it again, only with a professional recording and good photos that you have permission to use, and put it on YouTube to speak to people about Israel.” I talked about it with one of the elders in my congregation and his response was, “I was wondering how long it would take you to do this!”

So my friends on the worship team in my congregation helped and we did a professional recording. What is really neat is that the musicians are myself, from the USA, Alexi from Russia, Kyung Im from Korea, Naomi, an Israeli, Gabriele the guitarist is from Italy and his wife is an Israeli with Swiss background. One of the verses talks about the waves cast upon the shore of Israel. In Israeli history, they call the different groups that came en mass to Israel a “wave.” I realized as we prepared to record that in God’s eyes, the waves cast onto the shore of Israel were not just the different groups of Jewish people, but all the people groups who have found refuge here over the centuries, refuge in God their savior!

Putting the pictures together was quite a challenge. I found amazing photos on the Israeli archives for free. One newspaper gave me permission to use their photo—for free, and another company charged me only $75 instead of $500 for a photo.

So more than 30 years later, I feel like my dream is on the way to being fulfilled. I don't know if this video is the fulfillment of that dream, but like this song, it’s a start.

For some reason my web browser (Google Chrome) wouldn’t allow me to embed the video within this post, so here’s the YouTube e link: https://youtu.be/IOV98_rSBGk

Debbie, would you mind sharing the lyrics here?

KOTEL Stone upon stone upon stone Polished by touch of hand. Shining from multitudes' tears Standing tall in an eternal land. Touch upon touch upon touch In tremors of joy and of pain Centuries' old dream come true Hearts linked to a wall in a chain.   Tear upon tear upon tear Shed in a stream that won't dry, Praying for peace to come That no more of her sons may die. Land upon land upon land Casting waves upon the shore Determined from their hearts To live free forevermore.   Kotel, Kotel, Kotel, You've engraved your stones on my heart So now I lay my prayer in yours Trusting Him before whom you stand. All that you are no man can see But perhaps with this song it's a start. Original lyrics by Deborah Hemstreet © 2015. All rights reserved.

 

Oh, what beautiful, heart-touching words. Thank you.

Where can folks find you on the Internet?

• website: http://www.hope-challenged.com
• Email: dvora@hope-challenged.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DvoraElisheva
• Twitter (I don’t tweet much though): @DvoraElisheva (https://twitter.com/DvoraElisheva)

 

And now I share the final picture Be sure to click to enlarge this one. It’s beautiful!

Debbie says:

“One of my favorite views is Haifa at night. This is looking towards the north, with Haifa Bay middle right.”

And I don’t blame you one bit, my friend. I wouldn’t mind sharing that view with you some day.

Thank you, Debbie, for sharing so much of you, your life, and your beloved Israel. It’s been a wonderful visit.

The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

                                          And give you peace.

Winner of COTT's September Clash!

Congratulations to...

Midnight on the Mississippi

by Mary Ellis

 

About the book:

What Lies Beneath the Black Water of the Bayou?

Hunter Galen, a New Orleans securities broker, suspects his business partner, James Nowak, of embezzling their clients’ money, but he’s reluctant to jeopardize their friendship. After James turns up dead, Hunter realizes his unwillingness to confront a problem may have cost James his life.
Nicki Price, a newly minted PI, intends to solve the stockbroker’s murder as she establishes herself in the career she adores. As she ferrets out fraud and deception at Galen-Nowak Investments, Hunter’s fiancée, Ashley Menard, rubs her the wrong way. Nicki doesn’t trust the ostentatious woman who seems to be hiding something, but is the PI’s growing attraction to Hunter—the police’s only suspect—her true reason for disliking Ashley?

As Hunter and Nicki encounter sophisticated shell games, blackmail, and death threats both subtle and overt, danger swirls around them like the mysterious dark water of the bayou. Only their reliance on faith and fearless determination give them hope they will live to see another day.

PURCHASE

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

 

 

What COTT voters had to say:

--I normally enjoy reading mostly Amish fiction. But, because Mary Ellis is such a wonderful writer, I would choose Midnight on the Mississippi.
--Mary Ellis, Looking forward to reading this.! Congratulations !
--Love to read books written by Mary Ellis. She writes great stories.
--Mary Ellis as with all your books i love this one too, you amaze me each time i read one of your books, they just get better and better
--Mary Ellis, wishing you much success with this one!
--Just love Mary Ellis writing style and always look forward to new releases !!
--Love your books, Mary! Best of luck with MIDNIGHT ON THE MISSISSIPPI!
--Go Mary Ellis! Your books are always wonderful
--Mary Ellis pulls you into the story in the first few pages!
--Mary Ellis, love her work. She writes a character so well, you can feel like you know them, and you can't wait to see what's on the next page.

About the author:
Mary has written twelve bestselling Amish fiction novel along with three historical romances. She is currently working on a romantic suspense series called Secret of the South mysteries for Harvest House Publishers. First of the series, Midnight on the Mississippi is set in New Orleans and was given 4 1/2 stars by RT Book Reviews. Book two, What Happened on Beale Street, is set in Memphis and will release in March. She is a former middle school teacher and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the Internet at her Website or on FaceBook.

Guest Author Interview with Tanya Stowe

Welcome. Tanya, so happy to have you here today. Ready to do a bit of Let’s Get Acquainted?

What five words best describe you?

Friendly-outgoing-athletic-detail oriented-traveler

List five things that you must have in your life…people NOT included.

Music-exercise-good food-outdoors-books

Did you have a childhood nickname? How did you get it?

Magamapie – my grandmother told me I talked as much as a magpie and I promptly told her I wasn’t a magamapie.

When is your most productive writing time?

Early morning while it’s still quiet.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would love to have the motivation and self-discipline to be an athlete.

Do you listen to music as you write, or are you the silent writer, or a combination?

Both. Quiet most of the time but when I need inspiration and a reason to park my behind in the seat, I definitely need mood music.

What made you decide to be a writer?

I don’t know how to do anything else. I’ve been making up stories for as long as I can remember.

What is your typical day like?

We rise early. I write for 2-3 hours then I do my yoga stretch to help prevent carpal tunnel. Then I like ride my bike or play tennis. After that I’ll do house work or run errands. By that time it’s dinner and a good movie. But that routine is about to change since my husband has retired and we will be selling our house and moving into a motorhome to travel full time.

Tell us a bit about The Christmas Mail-Order Angels series.

I’ve been involved with another series but all of the writers knew each other before starting the project. The ladies in the Christmas Mail-Order Angels were new to me so I’ve enjoyed brainstorming, sharing ideas and now, reading the stories.

Next, talk about your book, The Evergreen Wreath.

I was really intrigued by the concept of why a woman would sign up to leave her life and her family and journey to the west to marry a stranger. I felt a woman needed to be desperate and the idea of a young girl in an impossible situation with no way out came to me. Virginia Pepper was born. I knew she needed someone young and full of hope to love. Levi Harper and his siblings were the perfect antidote to her fear and bitterness. The Evergreen Wreath was the symbol of hope they needed in their lives.

Back Cover Blurb:

Twenty-year-old Levi Harper needs help. Life is difficult after his father and brother die in a mine cave-in. But when pneumonia takes his mother, Levi can't manage the mine and his four younger siblings alone. He signs up for a mail-order-bride.

Virginia Pepper is determined to escape her father’s unrelenting anger and all-too-ready fists. She’ll do anything to get on that train…even agree to marry a stranger. But she has no intention of trading one abusive man for another. Paper marriage or not, she’ll be on her way first chance she gets, no matter how sweet and kind Levi seems.

As Christmas approaches, Levi counts down the days with a waiting, hopeful spirit. Can the Christmas season create a path for Levi into Virginia’s heart?

Where can readers find you on the Internet?

It seems like I’m everywhere on the Internet…or at least I spend a good deal of time there. My books are available on most Internet sales sites and with Pelican Book Group.

• My website is: www.TanyaStowe.com
• Bio and Press Page: http://www.tanyastowe.com/bio--press-page.html
• My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TanyaStoweReadersPage?ref=hl
• Twitter: @TanyaStowe1

Thank you, Tanya. I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit today. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to host you on Whispers in Purple.

Thank you very much! I love visiting new blogs and meeting new people!