“B” shelf Beauties

I’ve shared my “G” and “S” shelves in my new office. Today I have some treasures from my “B” shelf. I’m not posting these blogs in any specific order; except I did start with where my books fit in first with the Gs.

On with my awesome books. Since I have my favorites and tend to keep series, behind the books that are displayed are stacks of books by the same authors that might complete a series or superb novels that I must keep forever. Here it goes:

Pepper Basham is one of the first authors I started following in the past few years. The Thorn Keeper, Penned in Time Book Two, is set in WWI England.

I met Misty Beller at a conference last year. Since I have read all of her novels, including Hope’s Highest Mountain, historical Montana mountain fiction.

Glamorous Illusions is part of Lisa Bergren’s The Grand Tour Series set in 1913. How I would like to go on a grand tour of Europe again!

I’ve followed Terri Blackstock’s career for a long time, all the way back to when we lived in the same town in Mississippi. Catching Christmas offers a short contemporary read of love and redemption.

I picked up Nadine Brandes magical Fawkes at the ACFW conference in 2019. Wonderful! I have another of her books waiting to be read.

The lucky Bs share the shelf with the Brontë sisters: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

One of my favorite secular authors is Dan Brown. His Angels and Demons inspired me to add a personal tour in Rome that followed the steps of Robert Langdon in this novel. Such fun!

And last, but certainly not least, is The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I’ll be the first to admit, I have the version in modern English!

Do you have a favorite author from your own “B” shelf? Please share.

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Review and Giveaway Betwixt Two Hearts

Tour page on Celebrate Lit

About the Book

Book:  Betwixt Two Hearts

Authors: Amanda Tru, Cathe Swanson, Kari Trumbo, Alana Terry, Carol Moncado, & Chautona Havig

Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

Release Date: June 9, 2019

 

Six of today’s Best-selling Christian Authors weave six brand-new, unique, interconnected stories where nothing comes between the love betwixt two hearts.

Betwixt Two Hearts by Amanda Tru
With control of their dating website the prize, Bailey and Camden embark on a matchmaking competition that snags on unexpected results. All is fair in a contest of love. May the best matchmaker win.

The Swedehearts Glory Quilt by Cathe Swanson
Eleanor ran away to find herself. David knew exactly where he wanted to go. Could a matchmaking agency put them on the same map?

Whole Latte Love by Kari Trumbo
Misguided Drew thinks all quiet women hide harmful secrets. While pretty, new best friend Addi’s soft-spoken nature reminds him too much of past hurts to move their relationship forward. Can a matchmaking agency change his heart?

Seoul Refuge by Alana Terry
Caroline is a new believer, excited and passionate about her faith. Calvin is a Boston police detective, an atheist who can hardly believe Christians have brainwashed his wife. Caroline just wants to follow God. Calvin just wants his wife back.

Guardian of Her Heart by Carol Moncado
Signed up for a dating service by friends and brought together by a stowaway cat, Mark and Casey must decide if they want to overcome their apparent incompatibilities or go their separate ways.

Random Acts of Shyness by Chautona Havig
Heath’s sister, Selby, has laid down the law. It’s time to let her take over his love life. After a series of first and only dates, Heath embarks on her new scheme to help him overcome the debilitating nervous habit that has plagued him all his life. However, between dates, each worse than the last, he tries one more time to do things his way… sort of.

Please Note: The Crossroads Collections are sets of stories that are interconnected in some way, but the collections are independent, complete, and can be read in any order.

 

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

My Review

When six authors collaborate, the result is bound to be delightful. These novellas center around the Betwixt Two Hearts matchmaking business. The adventures cover coast to coast and even overseas to Korea and Europe. Three of the authors were new to me. I enjoyed getting to know their work in this way. Although all stories could be standalone novels, I found reading them as a whole gave credibility to the concept of the online business. Follow the characters through many trials including murder, divorce, royalty, missions, humor, quirks, family, and love, lots of true love at last. I look forward to following these authors on future writing endeavors. I had some favorite characters, but I’ll let the reader pick without my bias. Thank you for a unique journey around the world with the Betwixt Two Hearts concept and app.

About the Authors

 

Welcome to the Crossroads!
This is a unique collection of stories, with each never before published book by one of today’s favorite best-selling Christian authors fitting together like puzzle pieces. There is nothing else like it on the market!
If you love the premise of this Crossroads Collection and are eager for more, please check out the other Crossroads Collections. In each of them, you will find all new stories tied together once again where the books intersect at a Crossroads.

Out of the Blue Bouquet
Floral folly fables from Hallee Bridgeman, Alana Terry, Carol Moncado, Chautona Havig, & Amanda Tru

Yesterday’s Mail
Misdelivered mail tales from Alana Terry, Cynthia Hickey, Hallee Bridgeman, Chautona Havig, & Amanda Tru

Under the Christmas Star
Ornamental yarns from Lesley Ann McDaniel, April Hayman, Chautona Havig, Alana Terry, & Amanda Tru

Betwixt Two Hearts
Dating site stories from Amanda Tru, Cathe Swanson, Kari Trumbo, Alana Terry, Carol Moncado, & Chautona Havig

The Wedding Dress Yes
Wedding dress dramas from Alexa Verde, Chautona Havig, Hallee Bridgeman, Alana Terry, & Amanda Tru

When Snowflakes Never Cease
Heartwarming wintery accounts from Hallee Bridgeman, Alana Terry, Chautona Havig, Jaycee Weaver, & Amanda Tru

Sign up to receive Amanda Tru’s email newsletter for news of upcoming Crossroads Collections!
www.amandatru.com/newsletter

 

More from Chautona

“I’ve got a new idea for the next CrossRoads Collection, and I think it might be perfect for your bladder guy.”

Excitement?  Total understatement. Giddy—that’s more like it.  Totally giddy when I “hear” (read) Amanda Tru say, “I’ve got a new idea….”  Without skipping a beat, I typed back, “Let’s hear it.”

As the idea burst into my messenger box, I knew she was right. A matchmaking website?  Perfect for a shy guy with an unfortunate coping mechanism that ensures that he has a string of first and only dates in his back pocket. You can read about that story, here.

I had two months to write it—and had two other books to finish in the meantime.  YIKES!  Still, I had to do it.

I almost made it, too.

For those who don’t know about the CrossRoads Collections, they feature five or six books (of varying length from short novella to full-length novel) and the final (or in the case of Betwixt Two Hearts, the first) book interconnects all the others.  Each collection stands alone, and each story in the collections stand alone, but that one book in each collection ties all the others together in a unique, brilliant way that only the lovely Amanda Tru could manage.

We began with Out of the Blue Bouquet, which tells of five floral fiascos and one florist who causes and redeems them all.

Then came Yesterday’s Mail which features five accounts of lost or misdirected mail and the postal worker tasked with fixing it all.

Of course, when Christmas came around, we needed a good Christmas collection, so our first kicked off with Under the Christmas Star. This collection features five ornaments and the stories connected to each.

Next, we combined forces to do a little matchmaking, and kicked off this collection. Betwixt Two Hearts in a story of a matchmaking website and the people it connected, not to mention the entrepreneurial pair that can’t agree on how to run it!

Of course, weddings are lots of fun, so we came up with The Wedding Dress Yes. In it, you’ll meet CrossRoads’ fabulous new bridal designer who thwarts the efforts of a shop owner still stuck in the eighties with dresses that ensure more social distance than most couples care to have on their wedding day.

And most recently, the When Snowflakes Never Cease collection features a snowstorm that sweeps across the nation during Christmas week and tries to prevent two people determined to find someone in the midst of all that frosty carnage.

I’ve loved writing for all of these collections, but my novel, Random Acts of Shyness in the Betwixt Two Hearts is probably my favorite.

All of the CrossRoads Collection books are available on Kindle Unlimited, and several are just .99 to purchase.

The CrossRoads authors invite you to pick up one of the collections today. We recommend starting with Betwixt Two Hearts while it’s still available in one, inexpensive collection.

 

Blog Stops

Connect in Fiction, June 23

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 24

Artistic Nobody, June 25 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate their tour, the Betwixt authors are giving away the grand prize of a 6-month subscription to Kindle Unlimited!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fc72/betwixt-two-hearts-celebration-tour-giveaway

 

Be sure to comment and enter.

Tully

I have a 12-week-old puppy!!! Yes, that deserves many exclamation points. I’m not a dog person. Cat lady 100%….but when I saw this puppy under our carport just waiting for me, my heart expanded to puppy size. Not just any puppy. This one! The right size for my life, although I had no idea. I wasn’t looking for another pet. Isn’t it funny when God knows just what I need? A PUPPY!

I’m not so naive to think he’ll stay small or learn to never make a mess or stop chewing up all my stuff or trampling my plants. He’s a puppy. I do see him in the future being a mature dog, faithful and constant. He is already loved no matter his pedigree, which the vet thinks might be part beagle and part something else!!! haha!

Our rescue puppy’s name is Tully–a family name from a long time ago. He’s here to stay. I just know our rescue cats will love him (in time). Now my life includes walks with a puppy on a leash (I think he walks me) and picking up his toys.

Thank you for letting me share our new addition.

Have you ever been given a chance to offer love in a unique, unexpected way? Please share…

Multi-Author Giveaway June 15-21!

Readers, summer begins next week, and we are celebrating with a HUGE giveaway!

Don’t miss your chance to enter to win a $200 Amazon gift card and 37 books in our Celebrate Lit Multi-Author Giveaway.

Click here to enter:  https://promosimple.com/ps/fa43/2020-summer-book-bash

The event and giveaway is going on now through June 21! Open to US residents only.

Why not enter right now???!!! I’m giving away Hold Me Close.

Good luck, buena suerte, bonne chance!

Two Giveaways! Yes, Two!

This is a reminder to enter the Goodreads Giveaway which ends June 18! I’m giving away ten, yes 10, copies of Draw Me to Your Side. It’s so easy to enter. Even if you have your own copy of the book, this would be a great gift for someone else. Follow the link below.

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/307666-draw-me-to-your-side

 

The second giveaway ends tonight (Sunday night at 11:59 PM)!!! I’m giving away a print copy of Draw Me to Your Side and a copy of The Orphan’s Wish by Melanie Dickerson to two lucky winners. Comment on this blog for your chance to win. But, you must enter this one today!!!!

This next week there will be two more giveaway opportunities. Stay connected….

 

One of My Happy Places

“The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought…You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11

As I’ve mentioned before, while home this spring during the pandemic, my garden benefited from my presence and the awesome Hand of God. Yes, I give Him the credit. All I did was plant, tend, and water. Now, I have a sea of color in my English-style flower garden. A hodgepodge of flowers–wildflowers, bulbs, seeds–with butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. I now get to admire God’s handiwork.

 

“Let us Cultivate our Garden.” Voltaire’s words apply to more than the green garden plots. We should be about cultivating and tending and pruning and loving the gifts and talents God has given us. Let’s do it.

Enjoy the beauty I admire every day in my own slice of Eden. Zinnias, daisies, gladiolas, lantana, sunflowers, hibiscus, marigolds…Do you have a favorite flower?

June Giveaway

I have two wonderful books to giveaway this month: Draw Me to Your Side par moi and The Orphan’s Wish by Melanie Dickerson.

Leave a comment from June 8-14 for your chance to win one of the two books: what are you reading? What are your summer plans? Anything….

Good Luck!

When I Meet You Review and Giveaway

Tour page on Celebrate Lit

About the Book

Book:  When I Meet You

Author: Olivia Newport

Genre:  Christian fiction

Release Date: May, 2020

Book 3 in the Tree of Life Series: A Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Faith Journeys on Family Trees

A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago leads Jillian and Nolan to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.

When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series by Olivia Newport. You’ll want to return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

My Review

I’ve now read all three in this series, but each one really can stand alone. The joy of a series with the same characters is the depth of personality gained from book to book. If you haven’t read the others, it’s fine to begin with When I Meet You. If you are like me, you will want to read the first ones.

Genealogist. Genealogy. History. Family. DNA. All of these words put me in my happy place. And all of them are here. I want to hire Jillian (the heroine) to delve into my family history. The author pinpoints a job I would love to pursue. With Jillian, there’s always a mystery to find the one or two pieces to unlock the tree.

In this book, I am encouraged to look around my house at my family heirlooms, at my story. There is inspiration to be found in our ancestors, their struggles, successes, and failures. I’m still looking for that “skeleton in the closet.”

Enjoy the mystery as the author takes you from the present to 1909-10 on a long train journey with a twisted final destination.

About the Author

Olivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak.

 

More from Olivia

Stolen Identity or Stolen Secrets?

Years ago I made a business trip to a country in Asia. Somehow I managed to pack for two weeks in carry-on luggage. This was before everyone started carrying electronic devices that required a bag of their own, and the impoverished area I visited had only intermittent electricity anyway.

When it was time to come home, my luggage met the requirements to keep it with me as I traveled halfway around the world through several airports. But at the boarding gate, a woman pushed a cart stacked with six oversized and overstuffed suitcases, insisting she had to take all of them on the plane. Her argument was that she couldn’t risk losing her personal belongings. She was moving back to the States, this was everything she owned, and she just wasn’t having this nonsense about abiding by the same limitations as the other 300 people in line or that none of those bags would fit in an overhead compartment anyway. The airline staff began waving people around her to get the large aircraft boarded on time for an international flight. She was one of the last people to take her seat—without her bags.

I admit I prefer keeping my bags with me and getting in and out of airports quickly. And once my bags didn’t come off the same plane I did, and it took a few hours for them to be delivered to me.

But what happens to truly unclaimed baggage? One-half to one percent of baggage that goes through American airports is never claimed. Airlines will try for ninety days to find the owners. If they can’t, they have to do something with it. Generally it’s sold, sight unseen, to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama. There it is opened and sorted into what can be cleaned and sold in their store, what might be donated, and what has no value and is disposed of as trash. They find some pretty interesting things!

But my brain goes back to the curious question of why the baggage is unclaimed in the first place.

It’s not just because the airline lost it. We’ve all seen the lines of suitcases that baggage handlers remove from the circling conveyer belt because they’ve been around enough times that it’s obvious no one is there to pick them up after the flight. People got off the plane and left the airport without their bags. Why?

My new book, When I Meet You, raises the same question about travel in the railroad era. A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago surfaces, leading genealogist Jillian and her lawyer father, Nolan, to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.

When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series. Return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys.

Visit www.olivianewport.com or find me at www.facebook.com/OliviaNewport.

Blog Stops

Tell Tale Book Reviews, June 7

Connect in Fiction, June 7

Daysong Reflections, June 7

She Lives To Read, June 8

Read Review Rejoice, June 8

A Baker’s Perspective, June 9

Mary Hake, June 9

Remembrancy, June 9

Moments, June 10

With a Joyful Noise, June 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Olivia is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/fa0b/when-i-meet-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

I can’t wait to see your comments! I’m anxiously awaiting book 4!

Cemetery Cheer

I know this is a strange subject. Who goes around talking about cemeteries? Well, if you grew up in my family, it seemed visits to graveyards appeared on our schedules. As a writer of historical fiction, I find cemeteries and records as an excellent source for plots, dates, facts, and characters.

A recent conversation at my local post office started me thinking about this subject and how other people might view cemeteries. The conversation went something like this:

Post Mistress: I saw you walking this week.

Me: I’m not surprised. I love to walk around the neighborhood.

Post Mistress: But I wouldn’t do that.

Me: Oh, I don’t go at night unless I’m with my husband.

Post Mistress: I wouldn’t walk where you walk even with my husband at any time of day.

Me: Why not?

Post Mistress: The cemetery. How can you walk around it? I hate even driving around it.

Then, I understood. It wasn’t the time of day or the neighborhood or walking alone. The cemetery was the culprit and all that it symbolized in her thoughts. I wanted to give her my positive spiel about all my fun experiences associated with graveyards, for I realized she had her own opinions for a reason. So, I chuckled to myself as I left the Post Office and went for a walk around the cemetery.

Bordeaux, France

Charleston, South Carolina

My experiences with cemeteries go way back to childhood as my parents, my sisters, and I explored family plots, old cemeteries in foreign countries and domestic destinations, even catacombs in Rome and Paris. Nothing scary or Halloween-like.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here.” Luke 24:5-6

A promise of resurrection from Jesus for His followers. Not anything to fear! His promises always come true.

So, I continue my walks around the cemetery. I’m on our old cemetery’s board where I get to care for the headstones and the grounds. My parents and my faith provide a healthy relationship with cemeteries where memories, tears, prayers, and history collide…but not fear…

What are your thoughts about cemeteries?

 

Giveaway on Goodreads NOW

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/307666-draw-me-to-your-side

I’ve posted a Giveaway of Draw Me to Your Side on Goodreads until June 18, 2020. Follow the link above and enter for your chance to win one of ten print copies. Don’t miss this chance.

If you don’t win, you can still order a copy from Amazon link or personally from me at margueriteg@att.net.

Happy reading. I appreciate your support.

 

 

Draw Me to Your Side (Revolutionary Faith, #4)
by

Marguerite Martin Gray (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Feb 25, 2020

Enter for a chance to win one of 10 print copies of Draw Me to Your Side by Marguerite Martin Gray, Book Four in the Revolutionary Faith series. The novel opens in January, 1776 Charles Town, South Carolina with the continuation of the Lestarjette family and the Patriots.