An END OF THE YEAR WWII RELEASE!!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Gail

I’m always grateful for new friends gathered during the year, and 2019 has brought me a written friend from Idaho. I’m so looking forward to getting to know her better during the new year, and am delighted to share her new historical novel with readers. Happily, I’ve read this story, and still think about its characters. If you enjoy historical fiction of this era, this book belongs on your reading list!

Jan is offering a free paperback copy of ALL MY GOOD-BYES to one commenter here. Now, she shares with us a little of her family history behind this novel.

I Wish I’d Known

It dawned on me the other day that I was born just 9 years after the end of WW2. This boggles my mind. As I have been researching for my latest release, set in those years, I had it set in my mind that the war was far removed from me. But the more we discover about our pasts, the more we realize how things that happen long ago effect who we are today.

If it had not been for certain circumstances of the war, I would not be here at all. I don’t mean to sound mysterious, okay maybe I do, but legacies were cut short for many of the men and women who fought and died then. World War II changed the course of history for families everywhere.

I had to research to find out how my life came to be, because my parents both were gone by the time I became interested in their stories. I never bothered to prod them about their experiences as they lived through the depression and the war. I took for granted that life had been as smooth as mine. I never realized there were so many secrets unspoken, so many unpleasant memories tucked down deep. By the time I felt the weight of the past calling me to write, it was too late to ask those close to me all the important questions.

This is now a sort of mission for me – to encourage folks to talk to their aging parents and grandparents and even great-grandparents. Some may still not want to explain their experiences, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Most of them have rich stories that should be written down and passed down to the next generation. How tragic that so many of these stories are being lost as the people of those war years die.

One thing I discovered as I pulled out family photos and documents is that most of them were not marked with names and dates. It would have been so much easier to put the puzzle pieces of my family together if those items had been identified. This is something each family can do when they are together for the holidays – catalog all those pictures of places and people.

As I finished up my historical series, I was so thankful for the treasures of knowledge I had gained. But I long for more. I want my children to know where they came from and the solid, courageous, and honorable heritage they can be proud of. I tell what I know, even when they look bored or roll their eyes.

But I’ve noticed one thing…the little ones are fascinated by the stories I tell.

Like me, my grown children may not be all that interested until it’s too late, but when I’m not around to tell them anymore, my books will be. This is why I must keep writing them. It’s my way to leave the story legacy of the family for the future.

I hope if you haven’t gleaned those experiences from your loved ones that you will take a few minutes to make a plan for the new year. Go through your closets and find the old albums and use them to start conversations with your elders. Or if you are the elder, initiate a reveal of those special memories.

My book All My Goodbyes is based on the life of my mother and I hope the parts I had to guess about are close to accurate. It is a work of fiction but with real life entwined, with a surprise at the end. I hope you will read it to inspire you to uncover your own legacy.

I would love for you to follow me on Facebook at Jan Cline author. Also, you can check out my website and sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive a free short story. Jancline.net

Blessings to your and your family.

Jan

A December Twist

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Gail

About a year ago, my publisher released a book I thought I’d never write. For one thing, it was a novella, much shorter than my usual. For another, it turned out to be a romance.

I must admit I’ve never held romances in high esteem. They seemed too predictable to qualify as “real” literature–I suppose those of you with tastes like mine will nod your heads about now. Some of us like not knowing how things will turn out–we feel characters exhibit more depth when the reader has no clue about their destiny.

Or the author, I might say, because that’s how it was for me. When I began writing Kiss Me Once Again, titled after a popular WWII song, I had no idea it would turn into a romance.

But my heroine Glenora knew all along. She tried to prepare me for this turn of events, but her gangly stature and low self-concept tricked me. She always thought, “Who could ever entertain romantic thoughts about me, such a tall girl with an angular face?

She felt this way even though Joe, her high school friend, had pledged his love to her before he left for the war. To her, it seemed an aberration that he had evinced interest in her, and nothing like this would ever occur again.

So she tucked away the word “romance” forever, like the prom dress she wore to the dance. Everything connected with that arena belonged in the past, in effect buried with Joe in the Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

Glenora cherished these memories, but took on life’s present challenges with practical pluck. Writing faithful letters to her brother Red, especially in the terrible uncertainty after a typhoon struck his ship, became her duty. Though her own cup felt empty, she determined to keep Red’s full.

Her father’s angst over Red and his growing health concerns, and the family business–a small-town garage in need of a grease monkey in Red’s absence–these were tasks Glenora took on with a make-do attitude. Just as she took on the household when her mother died instead of following her dream to Iowa State.

She’d help her dad out at the shop, write faithful letters to Red, and keep her chin up. Yep, that’s what she’d do!

For readers who like lots of WWII information but also appreciate a sweet romance, this might just be the book for you to read over the holidays.

Winter’s Hidden Beauty

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Gail

Some thoughtful Iowa photographs straight from my husband’s camera. The interplay of white on color, the patterns of windswept snow after a storm–winter beauty. along with its cold.

Today I’ll try to tie together a few straggly ends–it’s been that kind of season.

Ernest Hemingway wrote, “…before you quit, try.”

Sometimes we feel defeated before we even begin and ask “How could this possibly succeed?” But inspiration may come in peculiar ways . . . I’m experiencing this right now.

Over the past four months, we’ve observed an extremely independent, accomplished loved one’s thought processes decline. What beauty could we possibly find in this?

Along the way it has struck me that, like snow’s patterns on natural objects, unexpected balance and perspective may appear at peculiar times in our journeys. Even what we normally classify as negative experiences may contain bright spots.

Last week we learned that our local nursing home had an opening for my husband’s mother. As her weakness escalates, this news comes as a clear blessing, znd her willing attitude gives us such a lovely example..

Most people hate the thought of leaving their homes for such a facility. But my mother-in-law has accepted her situation with grace.

She realizes she can no longer live alone, and as she said yesterday, “I’ve been waiting for an opening.” You can imagine how her positivity eases this transition. On her first morning in her new room, she said, “This is my home now–I don’t even want to go back at all.”

So we move ahead, with eyes open for surprises, glimpses of loveliness along the way–ready to try as we begin.

This week also reminds us of the beginning of the Battle of The Bulge on December 14, 1944. On December 7, I spoke with a man whose father fought through that horrendous winter at the Bulge and never spoke of his service (he won the Purple Heart.)

Those soldiers and their medical support teams certainly took Hemingway’s advice. Quitting was not an option . . . they had to try. The whole world depended on the outcome. One Iowan taken captive at the bulge was trudging through northern Germany to a POW camp in the cold, and on a nearby wall one day, he spied a loaf of bread. No one else in the long line of prisoners noticed it, so he grabbed it and ate the whole thing.

There it was…what he most longed for, right along the way. A beauteous discovery, and one that sustained his faith.

In the final month of this year, realizing my writing will come to an end some day, I reflect on why I write World War II stories. It’s really quite simple: I want to do all I can to honor those who sacrificed so much for our freedom. I want future generations to remember them.

December Seventh

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Gail

Local Iowa temps provide a recent example of the roller-coaster, up and down ride life can give us at times.

But can you imagine living through the attack on Pearl Harbor? I just heard a survivor interviewed on a news program. A typical Sunday morning at Hickam Field…breakfast as usual . . . and then the attack.

Japanese naval aircraft prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier (reportedly Shokaku) to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941. Plane in the foreground is a Zero Fighter. This is probably the launch of the second attack wave. The original photograph was captured on Attu in 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

It’s good to recall that day, wise to consider how the world changed for so many in such a brief amount of time. A “sleeping giant” had been rudely awakened.

Puts things in perspective . . .

Meant for Her

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Gail

This new contemporary title comes from Joy Avery Melville, an author I “met” online. Here, she describes her novel writing process. She’s offering a signed paperback copy to someone who leaves a comment. Enjoy!

When God nudged and steered me into writing Contemporary Christian Women’s Fiction, He allowed me the privilege of writing a strong thread of romance into the story.

I set out to write what I thought would be stand-alone novels, only to discover characters, who decided they wanted to keep the story moving into a series by bringing in sub-plots.

Since my books are character driven, I take my time to get their backstories cemented in my mind and heart. Then they take over, moving the novels forward chronologically.

The research for Meant For Her—once I surrendered my will about the genre issue—took me seven months. The story developed over six weeks with some days out for traveling. Before edits and revisions, the book boasted 125,000 words. I’d never written such a lengthy novel in so short a time.

Meant For Her came about from overhearing a local TV news broadcast. The Lord kept bringing it to my mind long after the events had taken place. When I decided to follow His leading, He gave me what I call dot-to-dot connections. People came into my life when I most needed them for research and for human resources.

It took a lot of people along the way to bring about the final Meant For Her. I am very grateful for the help, encouragement, and prayerful support so many have poured into my life.

Promotion and marketing were the farthest things from my mind during the writing and revision process, but God gave me just what I’d asked for the week the book was to release. My prayer was for open doors and opportunities I wasn’t aware were available. I was deluged with more than I could have asked or hoped for. (Doesn’t Scripture tell us that – why was I surprised?)

I so appreciate the opportunity to be here with Gail Kittleson today. She opened her heart and blog for this occasion!

One of my favorite things to do these days is answer readers’ questions about Meant For Her and/or my writing. Feel free to ask!

Here’s a taste of the novel:

Had it all truly been ~ MEANT FOR HER?

Kidnapped, raped, brutally beaten, and left for dead, Candi Reynolds becomes a prisoner of fear. Faced also with the impact of the unexpected break-up with her fiancé, and an unwanted pregnancy resulting from the attacks, she believes God has forsaken her. Choosing to move back to the Michigan horse farm, owned by her older brother, Dr. Cam Reynolds, Candi essentially goes into seclusion.

Dr. Patrick (Mack) MacKevon, Carri’s ong-time friend, watches from the sidelines at the farm where his horses are stabled, while Candi struggles to regain a sense of normalcy. His own big-brother tendencies develop into a much deeper emotion over the months he prays for her.

Is it possible for Candi to put all of the pain and trauma behind her and renew her former relationship with the Lord? Will she allow her heart to open enough to discover authentic love, while making decisions of victory on her personal journey to joy?

KINDLE PURCHASE:

PAPERBACK PURCHASE:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meant+for+her+by+joy+avery+melville&crid=1CHO5QW76X9ZV&sprefix=meant+for+her%2Caps%2C151&ref

The Day Before Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Gail

Sounds a lot like the night before Christmas, doesn’t it? Maybe the prequel to Thanksgiving Day ought to get higher billing. After all, we don’t always take the time for gratitude.

Time for gratitude? Yes. It does take the to think about our blessings, to formulate the words to express our gratefulness, and to shove aside everything else that fills our too-full lives. Gratitude takes time…and a certain mindset.

This morning, I snapped a photo through one of our south windows…screen and all. The wind went wild in the night and forced snow into every sliver of space.

Okay, so it’s upside down and I can’t get it to flip over. (: I’m still grateful. You even get a glimpse of a geranium plant I brought inside–it doesn’t even know winter has arrived.

And if you look closely enough, you might see the squares of the window screen at the bottom….ahem, the top. Nearly filled in completely with blown snow, they provide a good visual of gratitude. Perhaps this attitude acts like a screen, filtering what comes through.

We perceive our surroundings, our circumstances, through various filters. I’d like to adopt the filter of gratitude more consistently. Whatever we’re experiencing, however difficult it may be, still offers moments of clarity and whispers of the eternal.

Employing this filter, the day may be brighter than we had imagined. A cup of tea and a good book make everything look better.

And the rain fell . . .

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Gail

I’d like to introduce Anna Jensen, a British-born writer who has lived in South Africa for twenty-four years. She lives in Durban, on the east coast with her husband, son and daughter.
She had her first book ‘The Outskirts of His Glory’ published in May 2019. Using stories of family travels in and around South Africa, devotional content, and poetry, the book offers insights into the surprising ways God speaks to us through his creation.During this Thanksgiving month, I think you’ll enjoy Anna’s thoughts on gratitude.

November. Gratitude month. Thanksgiving day. Being from the UK and now living in South Africa, I don’t have the long tradition of seasonal gratefulness. I’ve seen it depicted in Hollywood movies but haven’t felt personally connected or involved.

That’s begun to change as I now have an American mom-friend. Each November, Stephanie undertakes thirty days of gratitude. She shares what she is particularly grateful for; her family ‘grow’ a gratitude tree from sticks and paper leaves upon which are transcribed intentional moments of thankfulness.

My friend challenges me; I rarely list all that I am grateful to God for. And yet, in a quick concordance-count of the number of times the word ‘thanks’ appears in the Bible, I find 110 instances. Thanks are given for God’s goodness, for His provision, for His protection. Thanks are given abundantly, loudly, untidily, continuously. Thanks are given to God as Lord, as Father, as Healer, as Saviour.

As I write, the sky has darkened over the sea, thunder grumbles in the distance and rain is beginning to fall. Where I live, we have barely any rain during winter and by the time we reach November, everywhere seems a little dried-up and weary. Furthermore, South Africa is experiencing the worst drought in living memory. Lakes have dried up, leaving behind gaping cracks and starving livestock. Nationwide prayer meetings have been held to implore God to forgive and be merciful, as the book of Chronicles suggests.

So, when I look out and see the horizon shrouded by grey streaks of falling rain, I’m immensely thankful. Gratitude rises like the sweet fragrance of freshly doused vegetation, incense to a God of mercy and kindness.

The rain stirs me to be thankful more often, to notice the many simple, taken for granted gifts; I wake in the morning with breath in my lungs and health in my bones; I have a car to drive on a well-paved road as I take my children to their amazing schools. My husband has a job when many don’t. We have food on the table, and in the fridge and in the cupboard.

After prolonged dryness, the blessing of rain reawakens life that has lain dormant. So it can be with our souls. In Hosea 3:6 the promise is given that the Lord ‘will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” My heart often needs the tenderness of these rains, needs to be softened by the showers of God’s presence and restored to life by the whisper of His Spirit.

I am so grateful that our God waters the earth when it is most in need; I am even more grateful that He waters my heart when I don’t even realize it is dry.

Happy Thanksgiving. Today and every day!

I’m a British ex-pat who has lived in South Africa for a little over twenty years. My husband and I live with our two teenage children on the east coast, a few miles north of the city of Durban. We overlook the Indian Ocean where we have the privilege of watching dolphins and whales at play.

My first book ‘The Outskirts of His Glory’ was published in May 2019. The book is a Christian devotional and poetry collection exploring the many surprising ways that God can speak to us through His creation. I have drawn on my travels in and around South Africa, as well as further afield, to hopefully inspire each of us to slow down and perhaps listen more carefully to the ‘whispers of His ways’ (Job 26:14) that are all around us.

Since publishing ‘Outskirts’ I have had the privilege of speaking at a number of local churches and even have a weekly slot on a Christian radio station. I have also continued writing by contributing to a variety of blogs and online writing communities as well as developing my own website and blog.

Want to know more? You can find me at www.annajensen.co.uk

Or follow me at

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/annalouj

Jerome…a step back in time

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Gail

Suzanne Bratcher, whom I met in Mogollon Rim Country a few years ago, is now releasing the second in her series, set in Jerome, AZ. She’s here to introduce us to this popular tourist destination and to gift an e-book to one commenter. Enjoy!

Jerome, Arizona, population 444, claims two titles: “largest ghost town in America” and “billion-dollar copper camp.” An hour’s drive from my home in Flagstaff, Jerome was one of my favorite getaway spots for almost thirty years. When I first went to Jerome in 1978, it was a genuine ghost town with more buildings abandoned than occupied. The rugged unpaved road that crossed Mingus mountain into Prescott attracted aging hippies on motorcycles and four-wheel drive enthusiasts like my husband. A vacant hospital, an echoing school, and empty houses with sagging roofs all tickled my imagination with stories. The Douglas Mansion, home to the tiny Jerome State Historic Park, introduced me to the history of the once dirty, noisy copper camp that mined copper, silver, and gold.

Fast forward to five years ago when I decided I wanted to write a series. Though I’d moved to Arkansas by then, Jerome leapt onto my computer screen: ghost town, billion-dollar copper camp, and home to a sophisticated pre-Colombian culture. I had my setting with an interesting twist for three books. Next two characters stepped on stage: antiques expert Marty Greenlaw and historian Paul Russell, ordinary people caught in a confusing web of greed and murder. The Copper Box, Book 1 of the Jerome mysteries, is Marty’s story set against the ghost-town backdrop. The Silver Lode, Book 2, which grew out is Paul’s story set against the copper-camp history. Paul and Marty are the main characters of the trilogy, but each book is a stand-alone mystery.

Today I’m giving away an e-book of The Silver Lodeto a commenter, so here’s a quick synopsis:

Beneath the ghost town of Jerome, Arizona, a labyrinth of abandoned mine tunnels hides a vein of silver ore mixed with pure gold. The discovery of that silver lode caused a murder decades ago. Are more coming?

Historian Paul Russell is about to lose his job and the woman he loves. He doesn’t have time to search for the legendary silver lode. But when a student drops a seventy-year-old cold case on his desk, a murder connected to the silver lode, the mystery offers Paul the perfect opportunity to work with Marty Greenlaw and win her back.

As Paul and Marty search for the silver lode, suspicious deaths begin to happen. When Paul’s son disappears, the stakes become personal.

You may connect with Suzanne J. Bratcher at
https://suzannebratcher.com

https://www.facebook.com/authorsuzannebratcher/

link to The Silver Lodee-book: https://amzn.to2LWE3Rx

link to The Silver Lodepaper book: https://amzn.to/33hqEtp

November musings…

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Gail

A harsh wind brings a chill to northern Iowa, squirrels prepare for winter, and November reminds us of our hard-won privilege and responsibility to vote.

“The whole aim of politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and hence clamorous to be led to safety, by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.”

Today’s journalists might beg to differ, but H. L. Mencken, early twentieth-century social critic and journalist, would most likely stand his ground. In this voting month, how appropriate to consider his words—and that’s all I’ll offer on this topic!

November also honors our veterans, and on Thursday the seventh, I’ll be speaking for the Rotary Club in New Hampton, Iowa. That night, I’ll be at a veterans’ dinner in Alta Vista, and on Friday the eighth, at the Kling Memorial Library in Grundy Center (2 p.m.)

I’m looking forward to sharing a devoted veteran’s story—it’s always a pleasure to introduce audiences to Dorothy Woebbeking, whose story fills the pages of Until Then.

Saturday from 1-4, I’ll co-facilitate a workshop integrating art and writing—pure fun! If you’re near the Marion Public Library, please consider joining us at this free event.

Always, people have worried about the future or the injustices around us. But we can also view these challenges as channels for growth. It’s good to consider Ralph Waldo Emerson’s declaration:

“Only to the degree that people are unsettled is there any hope for them.”

Well, it appears our lives abound in hope!

Hiding From Christmas

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Gail

Alice K Arenz is sharing one of her new releases with us–perhaps you can do a little early Christmas shopping! And, she’s giving away an e-book to one commenter.

Please tell us how this book idea came to you, Alice.

Last fall, my publisher put out a list of ideas for different boxed sets to be published during 2019. The moment I saw the “Secret Santa” listing, I signed up. Then, I questioned why I’d done it. I didn’t have long to wait to find out.

Within hours God gave me the title Hiding From Christmas, and He’d encouraged me to pick up paper and pen—which I only do when paying bills!—and I had nearly the first chapter! That had to hold me for awhile because I’d also signed up for a Romantic Suspense due May 1 of 2019 and the Secret Santa wasn’t due until September.

I kept the paper handy, though, and continued writing little bits and pieces of ideas that would just miraculously pop into my head. When I finally started the real writing, I must admit to being overwhelmed. I thank God every day for seeing me through to the end.

What obstacles did you conquer during the writing?

Creating a company for my characters was, well… in a word, difficult. I’ve made up things before, but nothing as elaborate as the company Ornamental! You’re talking to someone who hates research, okay? This book had me researching something—most times MANY things—every single day! And that’s just the writing.

I have a condition with my ears where I “over hear” things. As in, something that doesn’t make much noise to most, is overwhelming to me. During the writing of both Dark of Night and Hiding From Christmas, there were constant sounds of construction, heavy equipment, etc., that would throw off my balance, making it difficult to even sit in my office chair. Yet another PRAISE GOD moment—moments!

How is this publication unique from others you have written? How does it compare with others already published?

It’s unique in that it’s a Christmas book—and the tremendous amount of research that went into the book, most of which wasn’t even used.

Um… Maddie Kelley is almost 25, the youngest protagonist I’ve ever had. She loves baking and cooking—something I don’t do much of anymore. She gets excited over kitchen appliances, things like that. Oh, and I also used memories from my life, which I don’t usually do.

I’d say that the closest book to Hiding From Christmas would have to be The Wedding Barter. They are both romances, with Hiding a bit lighter, more fun. You can’t compare either of these to the romantic mysteries/suspense. Though the two Bouncing Grandma books (The Case of the Bouncing Grandma, The Case of the Mystified M.D.) are lighter, funny cozies—and all four books are set in the fictional town of Tarryton, Missouri.

What would you say to someone considering this read for themselves or for a gift?

If you want a light, fun book with just the right amount of romance this book is for you. Maddie doesn’t know where she fits into the company founded by her great-grandfather and his best friend, or in life, for that matter. She is passionate about baking, her little rescue kitten, and wanting to keep a promise to her deceased father. According to one of my editors “She’s real!”