This is such a great magazine. The link is https://www.becausefiction.com/marguerite-martin-gray/ to take you to my article and giveaway. But once you are there, you can go to contemporary, women’s fiction, mystery, etc. where other articles and giveaways exist.
My giveaway is a print copy of Wait for Me.
Does anyone else like giveaways? Do you ever win? I love them and occassionally I will win on Goodreads! I always enter.
Are you ready for a giveaway? This is a fun one. My newly released Wait for Me is available. Set in 1777 Charles Town, SC, the American Revolution is raging across the colonies, while Charles Town is under seige and occupation.
Tammy Kirby recently released Hunt for Grace. This is Book Four in her Haven House series. It’s full of drama and intrigue as the main characters find their way in a fallen world where forgiveness might be the only answer for them.
Please comment on this blog for your chance to win one of the books! Anything bookish or life in general!
Giveaway February 26-March 5! Check back to see if you are a winner!
Also, you can purchase your copies with the links here:
Wait for Me: https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Me-Marguerite-Martin-Gray/dp/195183917X/ref
Hunt for Grace: https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Grace-TAMMY-KIRBY/dp/B08WJZD9GJ/ref
Living in Louisiana, snow is a rare visitor. We usually venture to New Mexico or Colorado for a snow-fix, to ski or to experience a winter wonderland. When we travel to those “foreign” lands, we go prepared with clothing, accommodations, winterized transportation, and an enormous dependence on the native citizens who understand life in the snow and mountains.
Back home on February 15, 2021, north Louisiana residents awoke to a blanket of fluffy, pure-white snow. The blanket became a mattress with many layers of covering. With a few days warning, my home turned into a dwelling cut off from the rest of the physical world. In the past, snows dissipated within a few hours, leaving a faint memory. Not this time with Winter Storm Uri. The accumulation grew and decided to stick around for five days.
I know you snow animals of the north think I’m ranting about nothing. What’s the big deal about eight inches of snow—and ice? Well, I learned many lessons from the snow.
Here are my top five:
The sun came out on Friday, February 19 and began its job of changing the shimmery icy snow fields around my house to a world of green daffodil shoots ready to sprinkle the area with yellow, white, and orange blossoms very soon.
How has an unexpected interruption affected your life in a good way? I’m thankful for the lessons.
Book: Bookers on the Rocks
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
If it ain’t broke, why’s she so intent on fixing it?
Tessa Booker hates romance.
For twenty-five years, Tessa Booker has insisted that romance is something Hollywood cooked up to sell books and movies. Yes, she knows the word existed before movies. She doesn’t care. That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it.
So when Ross gets a gentle nudge from Mallory Barrows to look into what Tessa’s doing every day while he’s at work, he discovers a romance in the works–one that sounds a little too “ripped from the pages” of his life!
Who is this woman, and what has she done with his wife?
Armed with advice from 101 Ways to Romance Your Wife and a copy of the manuscript he printed while she was napping, he’s determined to figure out what’s up with his wife… and if maybe a little romance wouldn’t be a good thing after all.
In a twist of the “on the rocks trope,” this book introduces the next island in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.
Click here to get your copy!
This book is full of wisdom and truth. How often along the journey of marriage (and relationships) so we neglect the one most important to us? I’m throwing myself right into the mixture. The oh-so human element trickles into every aspect of our closest relationships.
This journey with Ross and Tess sparks a hope for better solutions. Even in an idyllic island home, negative vibes find root. I’ve taken the lessons here and put them into practice. I don’t have to implement the entire “101” list to see a difference. I’ve enjoyed this couple with real struggles. Perhaps, the read and journey can put a little spark in your relationship. And the lessons work for other relationships too. Enjoy the adventure. Beware it might hit close to home!
Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
Writing a book about a couple who are in love, devoted to each other, and don’t have marriage problems is… challenging. Let’s face it. Most books about married couples, especially ones “on the rocks,” are going to have fights, an affair (at least of the emotional variety), or some big thing threatening to send them straight to divorce court.
Mine doesn’t.
In fact, Bookers on the Rocks shows what happens when couples become too comfortable in their routines—so comfortable, in fact, that they become blind to each other’s needs. If you asked Tessa Booker if anything is wrong in her marriage, she’d say no. If you asked her if she wanted anything different, she’d say no. The age old, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.
Still, if you look at stories in Scripture, you see deep love and even romance in some places. Elkanah, who loved his wife enough to say, “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” Jacob who worked fourteen years to marry the woman he loved. Solomon and his love for the Shulamite woman. While the first two do not make me squirm, Solomon does. That book… oh, that book.
What I think Song of Solomon does is remind us of the Lord’s wooing of His people and how invested the Shulamite woman was in being delighted in her beloved—in all of him. If that isn’t a picture of how we should devote ourselves to our Lord, I don’t know what is.
In Bookers on the Rocks, I explore the possibility that those of us who aren’t naturally romantic might just be missing a vital ingredient in our marriages. A body can look and feel perfectly healthy for years—even decades. But if some essential nutrient is missing in a person’s diet, eventually that body will show it in some way. A lack of calcium can create brittle bones. No one sees the problem until a slight stumble turns into a nasty break.
Did it change how I view my marriage? No… not yet. Then again, yes it did, too. I’m more… aware of what is going on in my marriage these days. I doubt candlelight and roses will ever become a thing in our relationship, but translating what romance might mean and look like to my husband has become something I do think about from time to time. That probably means more Wienerschnitzel and less broccoli, but hey. He did a lot of dishes, dinner, and diapers (my perfect three Ds of romance) when our kids were small. I can endure a hot dog or three thousand, right?
For Him and My Family, February 20
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, February 20
CarpeDiem, February 20
deb’s Book Review, February 21
Connect in Fiction, February 21
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 22
Blogging With Carol, February 22
Blossoms and Blessings, February 23
Godly Book Reviews, February 23
Pause for Tales, February 23
To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and 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/10740/bookers-on-the-rocks-celebration-tour-giveaway
I needed an island read during our cold snap! What are you reading?
As you have heard, my book baby Wait for Me had a birthday release on February 9, 2021 last week. I’ve held it and welcomed it with open arms. It is the last of the series, making it extra special.
One friend commented after she read the end of Draw Me to Your Side, Book Four, “What happens to George?” My sister’s first words about Wait for Me were “Poor George!”
So who is George? The main characters who have the two points of view are Elizabeth and Louis. Yet, George carries a tenuous thread through all five books. Will he betray his kin and the new nation?
I’ve included the first paragraphs of Wait for Me here:
Charles Town, South Carolina, January 1777
Elizabeth Lestarjette tugged at an escaped ringlet. The pull kept her focused on the present news, rather than the what ifs of the past or the speculations about the future.
Her brother’s fevered body struggled on the bed in the caretaker’s cottage. With few options, the hidden room posed as a safe place to sequester George. The fever had raged for two weeks, ever since Christmas Eve. She knew no more than she had on that terrifying night.
No, no, no. You can’t die like this. Not with Louis gone. I don’t think I could stand to lose you now.
You’ll have to read the book to find out about George’s final role!
Purchase at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Me-Margue…
Is there a literary “Villian” that you like? One that you see some good and want him/her to change?
Hello Readers!
We appreciate you all so much and wanted to do something special for you so I have teamed up with Celebrate Lit to do a special giveaway!
We want you to have a chance to win 40+ books or a $500 Amazon card to buy a ton of books yourself in Celebrate Lit’s We Love our Readers Giveaway! Notice I have two books in the giveaway! For the first time ever–Wait for Me, Book Five in the Revolutionary Faith Series and Surround Me, Book Two!
Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/105b6/3rd-annual-we-love-our-readers
The event and giveaway is going on now through February 20.
Good luck and happy reading. Be sure to comment here and enter with the link above.
BECOMING MISS KNIGHT IS NO EASY TASK, BUT SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION.
Alice Knight’s debut is in less than a year, and everything has to be perfect. Of course, she’d rather be riding her horse or playing with her younger siblings than learning to curtsy. But, with her mother in France for a holiday, the care of the house falls to her—and what better time to learn what it really means to be a lady?
Ivy, her twin sister, has other things on her mind. Namely, the endless conundrum of why she promised to keep an eye on her younger siblings while her parents are gone. She’s the least-qualified person to take care of them, but, bound by her word, she’s determined to try.
Even with all the guidance and advice available, becoming Miss Knight isn’t proving to be easy for either of them. However, any amount of work is worth keeping a promise to their mother.
Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Miss-Knight-novella-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B08RZ2ZDS8/ref
In this beautiful novella, the two young girls from the first two books are becoming young ladies on the brink of their adult selves. A few secrets remain from their parents’ past that could alter their courses.
I love the continuation of the Knight family in the addition of more children. I will not divulge any plot designs. I am intrigued with the character growth of Mrs. Knight and Nettie. Do not the years and time have a way of developing depth in all of us? If only we would learn from our past and choose to take lessons to heart.
I look forward to following Alice and Ivy in the next novel. Bravo, again, for this installment.
Kellyn Roth is a Christian historical women’s fiction & romance author from North-Eastern Oregon who has independently published multiple novels, the most notable being The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series. You should definitely call her Kell.
Kell lives on family-owned property outside an unmemorable but historical town with her parents, two little brothers, arbitrary cat, precious border collies, a dozen cows, and lots of chickens. She also possesses a classic, vintage aesthetic which does not at all speak to her country girl side, but such is life.
When not writing, Kell likes to blog, teach writing to her various students, have day jobs which allow her to keep her car properly insured, and spend lavish amounts of money on Dairy Queen french fries. She also likes to talk about Keira Knightley and her own books just … way too much.
Author Links
Website: https://kellynrothauthor.com/
Blog: https://kellynroth.blog/
Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/u6h6u3
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellynrothauthor/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/kellynrothauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyntheauthor/MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/kellynrothauthor/
I will continue to follow Kellyn throughout her promising career! Leave a comment about the cover, the content, or this beautiful young author.
It’s here! Release Day for Wait for Me–the final novel in the Revolutionary Faith Series.
Purchase at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Me-Revolutionary-Faith-Book-ebook/dp/B08HVWDQNL/
Join my quarterly newsletter for all the latest on my works in progress, giveaways, and news.
So excited about the new novel. Let me know what you think!
Purchase at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wait-Me-Revolutionary-Faith-Book-ebook/dp/B08HVWDQNL/
So Excited to hold a copy in my hands in a few days!!!!
Book: The Dressmaker’s Secret
Author: Kellyn Roth
Genre: Christian historical women’s fiction
IF THEY KNEW WHO SHE WAS, THEY’D NEVER ACCEPT WHAT SHE’S BECOME.
Claire will stop at nothing to provide for her daughters. An unwed mother, she does everything possible to raise them whilst avoiding her scandalous past. Some secrets are best kept, even between mother and daughter. Alice longs for a father, especially if that means her mother will be happy. She takes matters into her own hands—but she never expected what she finds.
Despite her efforts to shelter her daughters, Claire’s ghosts rise up to haunt her, and any semblance of control over her life vanishes. If her secrets are uncovered, what will become of her family?
Click here to get your copy!
A few years ago, I found Kellyn Roth’s The Dressmaker’s Secret and remembered being so startled that a young teenager could produce such a piece of art. Now, she has rewritten and repackaged an already good book turning it into a more awesome read. I love the new twists and depth of character. My promise to follow Kellyn’s writing career holds strong.
The “secret” drives the story, shrouding it in mystery. The secret manipulates the lives of two innocent little girls. Isn’t that the way with secrets and falsehoods? They become live entities, intending to cushion life but making the fall rather jarring.
How long have you kept a secret? Was it as a child or a mature adult? Some secrets last a lifetime. Kellyn uses her imagination and writing skill to present a beautiful, yet imposing, adventure of love, protection, and promise in a situation made into a prison, impregnable due to society and the dressmaker’s unbendable parent.
I loved the point of view of eight-year-old Alice. Children see the world differently, challenging adults to break from the confines of black and white. The world is a little brighter because of them.
Bravo for Kellyn and The Dressmaker’s Secret.
Kellyn Roth is a Christian historical women’s fiction & romance author from North-Eastern Oregon who has independently published multiple novels, the most notable being The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series. You should definitely call her Kell.
Kell lives on family-owned property outside an unmemorable but historical town with her parents, two little brothers, arbitrary cat, precious border collies, a dozen cows, and lots of chickens. She also possesses a classic, vintage aesthetic which does not at all speak to her country girl side, but such is life.
When not writing, Kell likes to blog, teach writing to her various students, have day jobs which allow her to keep her car properly insured, and spend lavish amounts of money on Dairy Queen french fries.
I’ve honestly never rewritten a book as many times as I rewrote The Dressmaker’s Secret, and I hope I never do.A first draft flew out of me one November when I was fourteen, and before the next November had come around, I’d gone through twelve drafts, changed points of view multiple times, and eventually rewrote the whole thing from scratch.The ending especially went through many, many versions … until at last I settled on the final. Or so I thought.Not long after, some more issues were called to light, and I revised again. And again. Years passed. I went through over twenty-five drafts! And, at the time, I liked all of them. Would I ever like one for longer than a month, though?Well, turns out, it was possible! I’m over a year and a half into loving my draft of The Dressmaker’s Secret – e.g. the published draft – and that’s not likely to change any time soon.This book taught me a lot. It practically taught me how to write – and edit! – a good book, and it made me really focus in on quality, even when it took some humility to admit I was wrong and critics were right – or, sometimes, that my gut was right. It taught me to not give up on something I love. It taught me that the risks I always wanted to take are worth taking. It taught me that no mistake is too great to be corrected … well, in some ways, at least.And it taught me that there’s a great God out there who has grace for all my delays and mistakes and learning experiences.So, that’s the story of how The Dressmaker’s Secret came to be written!
Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 2
Inklings and notions, February 3
lakesidelivingsite, February 3
Betti Mace, February 4
Reflections From My Bookshelves, February 4
deb’s Book Review, February 4
For Him and My Family, February 5
Connect in Fiction, February 5
Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, February 6
Connie’s History Classroom, February 6
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 7
Godly Book Reviews, February 7
Labor Not in Vain, February 7
Artistic Nobody, February 8 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
Blogging With Carol, February 8
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 9
Sodbuster Living, February 9
Bizwings Blog, February 9
To celebrate her tour, Kellyn is giving away the grand prize package of a paperback copy of both The Dressmaker’s Secret and Ivy Introspective, as well as a $25 Amazon gift card!!
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/10689/the-dressmaker-s-secret-celebration-tour-giveaway
Leave your thoughts here…
Connect in Fiction with Marguerite Gray 