THE TRANSFORMATION OF A BOOK ~ Bonnie Engstrom ~ Giveaway

The Transformation of a Book

Guest Post

By Bonnie Engstrom

I’ve tried to think of a different word, one that isn’t based on molecular biology as one dictionary says. But, come to think about it, isn’t love biological? Another definition states transformation is change in form, appearance, nature, or character. That’s more like it.

Another definition is “. . . the act or process of transforming.” It was a process, definitely.

Poor A Cup of Love was desperate for a transformation. It was my third book, a story I was very happy with. The characters had depth. Their struggle had tension. The setting was perfect for two people to meet by accident, fall in love, then have conflict – well, fight.

So why didn’t it sell? Not one single sale, and after two other books that sold quite well. It did have two very nice reviews, but those were from my loyal street team, members who received free copies, but with no obligation to post glowing reviews. Just honest ones.

My publisher and I were frustrated. Well, I was. She wasn’t as much since I’d written numerous books following A Cup of Love. Still, she was open to suggestion when I asked to have a total redo of cover and title. We worked together and came up with three options. I asked for opinions on my Facebook author page. My followers love to vote on just about anything, and they did.

What a response! They were very opinionated. One commenter, Wilma, nailed it by suggesting to put the tag line from cover option #1 on cover option #3. Your blog host, Peg Phifer, made the first comment that made a difference ~ “I like the 3rd cover best. It's warmer and more intimate. Oh, and I adore the little red gingham heart pillows. ♥”

Thanks to Wilma and Peg the book made a transformation. It’s a cover I love that represents love and intimacy. Just what I wanted. Nope, not going to show you the old cover. Just the new one. Please share what you think.

Oh, forgot to say . . . the story is exactly the same. Didn’t change a thing. It’s a story of love, anger, guilt and triumph. And a few Danish pastries. I hope you enjoy it. It’s on sale in eBook this week only for 99 cents. And the print book, mailed right to your home, is a bargain at $6.74.

https://amzn.to/3bEA5XX and https://amzn.to/2xxkY3U

Here’s a preview:

The cooking class was to be a respite for Jillian from her stressful job as a high school guidance counselor. Was meeting co-student Erik who carried a baggage of guilt for his parents’ murder and his unique way of witnessing an invitation to emotional disaster? Caught between “friendship” with Erik and her politically incorrect support of Josh, a Muslim student turned Christian, Jillie almost lost her faith in love.

Giveaway:

I planned to give away a signed print copy, but my daughter won’t let me leave my house to go to the P.O. until the “stay in place” is lifted. If the winner is willing to wait, I will be happy to send it to that person “whenever.” If the winner wants an eBook copy, I can do that right away.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below with your name and contact information (so we can reach you if you're the winner) This giveaway will run for one week from today, on Aprril 8, at Midnight, CDT.

I hope you all will sign up for my newsletter where you can win books and have fun voting on “stuff” (like Peg did), as well as comment on interesting subjects. Last week I had a Reading Challenge. I hope to see you there and chat with you.

Connect with me at:

www.facebook.com/BonnieEngstromauthor/. Win books and prizes!

Website to sign up for my newsletter www.bonnieengstrom.com. You can see all my grandchilden there and read about my writing journey!

​To see all my books please go to https://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Engstrom/e/B073T2W73M?

Please email me at bengstrom@hotmail.com. I love to chat with readers.

JOBS: PART ONE ~ Christina Sinisi - Devotional

JOBS - Part One

A Devotional by Christina Sinisi

Warning: This is my first devotional.

Comfort: But it’s not God’s first rodeo in inspiring people to write for Him.

This week, several people in my circle experienced trouble with work. One failed to get a job that he very much wanted, and another failed at a job he thought was the first step in his career. In each case, the individual called himself a failure and feared our disapproval. I was so emotionally involved that I spiraled down with them.

My husband was the rock. He stayed calm and helped us see that a person’s life isn’t over because of one failure, or even a number of them. We all make mistakes, we all take the wrong roads. He also pointed out other possible paths and ways we/they might get over those big humps in the road they were on.

My church provides a daily devotional titled, “Portals of Prayer.” Terrible Thursday’s scripture was 2 Corinthians 6:4-5: “But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger…”

Not exactly what I or anyone else wants to hear. I turned to my devotion for comfort, and this is what I get? More from my devotional…”Who would want this? Why does it seem like one bad thing after another continues to happen?”

The answer: “This is enduring under the cross as a Christian. When all that we do fails, we have only Jesus.” 

God wants us to turn to Him. When we get a rejection from a publisher (and I have ten years worth), when we get a bad review at work, when a loved one falters and we hurt so much for them, we MUST turn to God. We also need to turn to each other, and be there for others when we can. This is why God gave us relationship.

“Afflictions, hardships, calamities…hunger…”

I wish we could just say no. But we can’t. At the same time, as Christians, we know that Jesus will help us through whatever hardships come our way. He doesn’t want us to go through these things, but sometimes they happen because we live in a broken world. Sometimes they happen because we need to be turned down a different path or learn a lesson. Sometimes they happen to bend or break us to the point we turn to HIM.

No matter what, Jesus will see us through it.

Can we pray together? “Jesus, we know we can count on you to help us through the hard times. Help us to remember you have plans for us that are good and that you love us, every single one of us. Amen.”

A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, and finalists in a number of writing contests, such as the American Title IV Contest where she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. By day, she is a psychology professor and lives in the LowCountry of South Carolina with her husband and two children and loves a good cooking challenge. Please visit her at Christina Sinisi-Author on Facebook and christinasinisi.com.

How can writers connect with you?

Social Media Links:

• Website/Blog: https://www.christinasinisi.com/ 
• Twitter: @ChristinaSinisi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Christina-Sinisi-Author-105861987440664/?modal=admin_todo_tour
• Instagram: @csinisi123
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/csinisi/
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/101218889-christina-sinisi

Purchase Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Confusion-Christina-Sinisi/dp/1947327690/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=christina+sinisi&qid=1584722142&sr=8-1  

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/christmas-confusion-christina-sinisi/1135231104;jsessionid=0FF2FD7DE62ED81AC9C1DD3D0C389324.prodny_store02-atgap16?ean=9781947327696  

  

AN INTERVIEW WITH WENDY WILSON SPOONER ~ Once Upon an Irish Summer ~ Giveaway

Please welcome special guest

 Wendy Wilson Spooner who has 

graciously consented to an 

interview -- and a look at her debut 

novel Once Upon an Irish Summer.

AND...there's a giveaway, too!

Welcome Wendy! Thanks so much for spending some time with us and letting us learn more about you and your writing! 

Are you ready?

How long have you been writing?

I’ve kept a journal since I was thirteen years old. That’s when I began consistently writing. As an adult—and in my career as a professional Genetic Genealogist—I’ve written many professional articles and I’ve dabbled in poetry. I love to write. Period.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how did/do you overcome it?

TIME. Finding the time to write is difficult. One thing I’ve recently implemented that works perfectly is doing writing sprints each evening with a group I belong to. We usually start at 9 or 10 pm by gathering in a Facebook Messenger group, then we sprint for 20 minutes, take a five-minute break, and repeat three times. Even if I’ve already written for several hours during the day, I’ll often still do sprints at night because it’s become a habit. And it’s very productive!

Besides writing, what other hobbies do you enjoy?  

I love so many things in life and the many opportunities this big beautiful planet has to offer that I sometimes have a hard time choosing. But my doable, go-to favorites are:

• ·       Painting. I’ve explored and love to paint in multiple mediums
• ·       Music. I'm a former piano teacher and it’s utter and complete therapy for me to just sit at the piano and play
• ·       Movies. I'm an insane movie buff and I’ve seen pretty much everything
• ·       Travel. Anywhere, anytime! From exotic countries to camping in the remotest of areas, I love to explore ghost towns, historic sites, museums, libraries, parks, rollercoasters, you name it!

If you could travel to any time or place, where/when would it be? Why?

I would travel back in time to Calcutta (now Kolkata), in India. My 4^th great grandfather was a Colonel in the British army and he lived in India with his family in the late 1700s to the early 1800s. He sent his daughter to Ireland to live with his sister—her aunt—to gain an education at his sister’s estate. This true story in my family is similar to that of the Secret Garden. I’ve traveled India three times already, but I’ve never been to Kalkatta. This trip is at the top of my bucket list because there is much that remains from the British Inidia time period all over India!

Let's talk about your book:

Title: Once Upon an Irish Summer

Author: Wendy Wilson Spooner

Publisher: Ambassador International

Release Date: April 3^rd 

Genre: YA/crossover historical fiction romance

Series/Stand-Alone: The first in a series

Target Audience: All girls and women from 10 years old to 110

Is research something you enjoy? To what extent do you go to find answers?

I live for research. I am stopped dead in my tracks by old photographs, historical buildings, yellowed letters, and family heirlooms. I have to know the story behind the letter, or the people in the photo, or who it was that lived in a beautiful old building. I'm utterly compelled to find out. It's like nothing else in the world matters until I know. And then I must write about the discoveries—people’s stories from the past—because every life matters. And what we learn from those who came before has the potential to completely change our futures.

What take-away value do you want readers to gain from your novel?

Emory University has released the results of a study conducted on teenagers knowing—or not knowing—their family history. The study was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers to these 20 questions had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their families, and they also proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges. So, the take-away from my book? I hope my readers feel inspired to delve into their own family trees to find the people who inspire them!

About Wendy:

My love of what we can learn from history compels me to write the true stories I unearth during research, and I've found that truth is indeed, much more exciting and inspiring than fiction!

I write about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we truly are—children of God, and the descendants of remarkable people who paved the way before us—even if they really struggled. I believe in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become someone even better. I know that's what they want for us. How do I know? Because that's what I want for my own descendants, and how great would it be if every generation became just a little better than the one before?

Why I turned to novel writing

As an award-winning author of professional articles and poems, I've turned to novel writing to share the true stories I discover with a greater audience. The spark of the dual-timeline story of Once Upon an Irish Summer came about while I researched an ancestor on location in Ireland. When I unearthed his story and found out why he left his homeland, and then researched his life  after he came to the United States, I knew many readers would relate to what he overcame and feel inspired to successfully work through trials in their own lives.

I wrote the present-day timeline through the eyes of a struggling teenage girl, to show readers the impact of what can happen to us when we come to know our ancestors. It can literally change us.

The study that compels me to write

Emory University has released the results of a study they conducted on teenagers knowing or not knowing their family history. It was based on 20 questions. The results showed that kids who knew the answers had a stronger sense of control over their lives, higher self-esteem, a greater belief in the successful functioning of their own families, and they proved to be more resilient to life’s challenges.

So, this is why I write. To inspire readers—especially the rising generation—to know who they come from, to learn from them, and to stand on their shoulders to become someone even better.

https://wendywilsonspooner.com/

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B084BPSQH4

https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/

https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner

About the Giveaway:

Wendy is offering a gift eBook copy of Once Upon an Irish Summer to one of the readers of this blog post who leaves a domment below with name and contact information, and answers the (optional) question have you ever been to Ireland? I'd love to get a fun conversation going!.

Giveaway ends one week from today on Wednesday, April1--No fooling!--at Midnight O'Clock CDT. 

OH!! If you're not already a follower of this blog (see sidebar) please consider becoming one, mention it in your comment, and you'll receive one extra entry in the giveawy. What a deal, huh?

 A "two-for-one!"

Thanks, Wendy, for being my guest this week!

HOPE FOR OUR TROUBLED WORLD ~ Alexis A. Goring ~ A Devotional

Hope for Our Troubled World

A devotional by Alexis A. Goring

Image courtesy Pixabay.com

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

–Psalm 42:5 (NIV)

In the early morning hours of Sunday, March 15, CNN reported around 1:07 a.m. (EST) that there are 142,000 Coronavirus cases globally. People are getting sick from the virus and dying. The numbers of cases and deaths seem to increase on a daily basis. Fear is sweeping over the people of this world.

On their company website, CNN reported the following in a box titled “What You Need to Know” about emergency measures globally: The US has declared a national emergency. France is closing all restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and clubs. People in Spain are restricted from leaving their homes. And the Philippines capital is about to go under partial lockdown.”

Clearly, our world is in trouble and people have real reasons to be fearful. But the Bible says that this is just the beginning! However, God doesn’t want us to be fearful. The Bible says in Matthew 24:6 (NKJV), “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Now here’s the Good News: God has promised to be with us until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20) and He means that literally!

Let’s take a moment to see what that means … The Creator of the Universe who made this Earth and your heart tells us to NOT let our hearts be troubled! In John 14:1 (KJV), Jesus Christ (God’s Son) says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

Let’s read the full context of that Scripture in John 14:1-6 (NIV). This is where Jesus comforts his disciples. He said:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus is The Way to our home in Heaven. He is our hope in troubled times. He is our Savior. Our Healer. Our Redeemer, and He wants to be your Best Friend. Let that sink in, the Savior of the world wants to be your very Best Friend! Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Jesus is the only friend capable of not only calming your fears, but saving your soul (John 3:16-17).

With Jesus in the picture, you always have hope! And the good news is that Jesus is always in the picture! Unfortunately, we as humans (even those of us who believe in God and are sold out for Jesus Christ) can sometimes forget these beautiful, Bible based truths and comforting promises of God as we become overwhelmed by the troubles of this world.

Early in the morning of Sunday, March 15, my soul was troubled. I was wide awake with worry after watching the news and emotional eating just after midnight. But, then God struck me with a Bible verse then He followed up with a song. Let’s read the verse first. The psalmist says in Psalm 42:5 (NIV), “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Put your hope in God. I could almost feel God whisper those words to me.

Then the song “Find Rest” by Francesca Battistelli entered my mind and I went to YouTube and played it immediately. As the song lyrics washed over me, it helped me to renew my mind (Romans 12:2) and focus on what really matters (my relationship with Jesus Christ because only He can save me)!

Let’s examine my paraphrase of the song. The opening lyrics point to Biblical truth in saying that God never sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:3-4). He’s never off the clock. Nothing that happens to us on Earth from the shedding of our tears to our expressions of what we fear, is a surprise to Him. God never runs out of resources to rush to our aid. All He wants us to do is to trust Him. He wants our weary souls to find rest in Him. He wants us to put our hope in Him. God is strong. God is faithful. God’s love for you and me is real.

As we say in church, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good! Unlike mankind, God cannot lie. Everything that He says in His Word (The Holy Bible) is true! The Bible says in Numbers 23:19 (ESV), “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Now the age old saying when we are living in troubled times and experience tragedy or trauma is, “How could a good God allow this?”

There are many answers that we may not receive until we arrive in Heaven, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29, and even then we may not know everything. But we can be okay with not knowing everything because what we do know is that God is good, God loves us unconditionally and He has our best interest at heart. We can trust Him to take care of us. Even when you don’t feel like God is there for you, He is. Don’t be fooled into thinking that He’s abandoned you. The Bible says that He will NEVER abandon you (Hebrews 13:5).

If you are living and breathing on this planet Earth then that is proof therein itself that God loves you and is there for you! Pastor Bianca Olthoff says, “If you are NOT dead, then God is NOT done!” Every day is another chance to accept Jesus Christ into your heart, believe in Him, love Him, obey Him, trust Him and follow Him all the way to Heaven!

Yes, we are living in troubled times. No, we don’t know what tomorrow holds but as the saying goes, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow.” God holds tomorrow! Can I get a “Hallelujah, Amen?”

You are in my heart and prayers. May God continue to watch over, bless and protect you. I pray that you will trust Him to deliver you and know that He will always be there for you. God will show up right on time in your situation. If you believe in the Bible and what it says then you have hope knowing that in the end, God wins! And if you stay on His team, you will win too and receive the most beautiful gift for free!

The free gift from God is better than a winner’s trophy or cash prize, it is eternal life spent in His Presence and that life starts in Heaven. It will be a life free from sickness and sorrow. A place that does not include death and is free of pain and destruction. It will be the start of a beautiful, real story that never ends.  But first, we must press forward and never give up or grow weary of doing good (Galatians 6:9)! We must live for Him (God) and not worry about or become fearful of anything. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV), “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Hold on to hope, God’s hope. Put your trust in God.

~*~

Author Bio (short): Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ. 

I ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE MYSTERY STORIES ~ Patrick Craig ~ Giveaway

I Always Wanted to Write Mystery Stories

Guest post by

Patrick E. Craig

WITH A Giveaway. 

Scroll down for details.

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As an author, I am recognized for my Amish books—seven altogether and an anthology of Amish stories coming out in June. But Amish fiction is a kind of detour for me. I never intended to write Amish books—I wanted to write adventure stories and mysteries.

When I was about twelve, I discovered Betty Zane, by Zane Grey. I was enthralled with it and still have my original copy. Then I got my first Hardy Boys mystery, The Tower Treasure, written by the enigmatic Franklin W. Dixon. I remember going down to Dan Reeder’s, a great little fun store in my hometown of Walla Walla with my brother whenever a Hardy Boys book came in and adding it to our collection. I still have sixty-eight Hardy Boy books on my shelf, right next to my fifty Zane Grey books.

When I retired from ministry, I decided to write fiction. I knew I wanted to write mystery stories and adventure stories. One night I had a dream. In the dream my favorite Aunt, who had always been a fan of my writing and a great encourager, walked into my bedroom while I was in bed. She pointed her finger at me, looked at me with that oh-so-familiar knit brow and said two words—“You write!” The next morning, I was thinking about the dream and reading the paper. I turned to the want ads and an interesting ad caught my eye—“For Sale, Ghost Dancer Ranch.”

The whole idea for the story came to me in a flash, and in a moment I had the story and the title—The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch.

I sat down that day to write it, and Franklin W. Dixon and Zane Grey began pouring out onto the page—mystery and adventure. I wrote the book in about two weeks. And as I wrote I discovered that it had all the elements of The Hardy Boys and Riders of The Purple Sage, with some Frank Peretti thrown in. Not long after my wife and I were vacationing on the Mendocino coast and the second book came—The Lost Coast. I started writing it at the little ranch in the woods where we were renting a cabin.

I used my two oldest granddaughters as the heroines—Jacie and Hannah, fondly know to us as Punkin and Boo, and the series was born—The Adventures of Punkin and Boo. That was in 2007. I tried to sell them, but had no luck. Then six Amish novels diverted me. I published the two books through a vanity press but that was like not publishing them at all. The Adventures of Punkin and Boo stories languished in a folder inside my computer for the next eleven years.

Then in 2019 I met Deb Ogle Haggerty, the owner of Elk Lake Publishing, on LinkedIn, and told her about my YA series. I sent her The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch and The Lost Coast and by the end of the year The Adventures of Punkin and Boo had come back to life in the welcoming environs of Elk Lake. When ELP released Ghost Dancer Ranch, it hit #1 in Children’s Detective stories on Amazon, my first #1. Now the second book, The Lost Coast is ready to go and it will be out this month—then on to The Hidden Gate and the twenty-six other story ideas I have in The Adventures of Punkin and Boo series folder.

If you haven’t read The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch, start there. Then read The Lost Coast. Both are available on Amazon. Someone asked Deb Haggerty what the age range was for the stories. She said, “Middle Grade, but I enjoyed them and I’m seventy-one.” I hope you enjoy them, too.

Patrick E. Craig is a traditionally published/independent author. In 2013, Harvest House Publishers published his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles and his own imprint, P&J Publishing, published the first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, in 2015. Heiress remained on the Amazon Top 100 best sellers list for seven months in two categories. The Amish Princess was released in 2016, enjoyed the same type of success, and will be followed by The Mennonite Queen in April, 2019. In 2017 Harlequin purchased the print rights for The Amish Heiress for their Walmart Amish series. It will be released under the Love Inspired imprint in April 2019. Recently Patrick obtained the rights to the Apple Creek Dreams series and re-released it through P&J Publishing. The series includes A Quilt For Jenna, The Road Home, and Jenny’s Choice. His latest romance release, The Journals of Jenny Hershberger, is a six book eBook anthology of all his Amish stories. All his books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and other major retailers.   Patrick and his wife, Judy, make their home in Idaho. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.

  

Where can readers find Patrick online?

www.patrickecraig.com  Webpage
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig  Facebook

https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig  Twitter
Where can readers purchase my books?

http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg Amazon

About the Giveaway:

Patrick is generously offering a signed, print copy of both The Mystery of Ghost Dancer Ranch, and The Lost Coast to one of my readers of this post. Wow, huh? TWO books for one entry! Be sure to leave your name and contact information in the comment section below with the initials of your state or province.

Giveaway runs for one week from today, ending on Thursday, March 26 at Midnight Central time.

PS: Want an extra chance to win? Become a 'follower of Whispers in Purple (see left sidebar) and you'll get a DOUBLE entry.