The Last Secret Kept

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Gail

Interview with Elaine Stock, who writes historical fiction. Here, she emphasizes her latest novel, due out on April 24. Glad to host you, Elaine!

1. Tell me about your writing history, Elaine. When I first began writing, “Christian fiction” seemed the way to go, but I believe these choices can sometimes limit our readership and outreach. For me, the way we “label” our work sometimes alters as we grow in our skills and also in our faith, and can be freeing rather than limiting.

First, Gail, thanks for hosting me. I truly appreciate it.

In short, I was baptized twice as an adult into the Christian faith. Christian fiction was my second choice of genre, having initially begun with romance for the general market. Like you, I believed I was now writing where God intended me to be. What could possibly go wrong? Although my breakthrough into publishing novel-length fiction was through a small Christian-based publisher, followed by a few independently published Christian fiction novels, I honestly felt lost with my writing. I took a deep and hard look into myself, my writing, and the readership of Christian fiction. After this reflection, I concluded that although my stories contained elements of faith, I was not an author who could write solely for the Christian market. I shifted my focus to writing historical fiction for the general market, and I have been quite pleased with this decision. My main theme as an author, which relates to my attempts at Christian fiction, embodies hope for a better tomorrow.

2. With this particular novel, what would you like your readers’ takeaway to be?

The Last Secret Kept tells the story of three women who dismantle the hidden walls that family and friends erect between one another, as well as the barriers that exist between countries. This dual-timeline story unfolds in 1961 in a town near Lake Ontario, NY, and in Berlin, Germany, during WWII. The tale begins on the day America awakens to discover that the Berlin Wall is under construction, dividing Germany in two and separating families and friends while preventing businesses and customers from connecting. Fanny is a defense attorney, despite the naysayers who urge her to marry and remain at home to raise a family. She meets Gina, a newly married young woman whose husband, Kenny, has faced a lifetime of prejudice for being labeled by society as low-functioning due to his “lesser” intelligence, and is now also accused of murdering a co-worker. Fanny takes on Kenny’s case, and in preparation, uncovers that Gina’s grandmother, Helene, harbors secrets of betrayal that could jeopardize the possibility of winning Kenny’s case.

3. I find that everything I write/research has an effect on me. Please describe how writing this story has affected you as an individual. Please include specific examples, if possible.

What a fascinating, unique question I’ve never been asked before. In researching this specific novel, I encountered various viewpoints on post-WWII life around the world, which opened my eyes to how, despite a global war coming to an end, many concerns were either never resolved or only just beginning to be addressed. For instance, a staggering number of people were now homeless and stateless, let alone left without any family. This truth deepened the bitter taste in my mouth and heart regarding the tragic sadness of how readily people can walk away from their fellow human beings.

Another eye-opener was discovering all the scientific breakthroughs (for example, the world was on the brink of genetic research with many positive impacts, both health-wise and socially). Additionally, the US was also on the verge of judicial changes at both national and state levels. These changes have prompted cultural shifts in redefining, or expanding, if you will, who in society possesses rights. My character Kenny, for instance, constantly had to “behave” if he did not want others to suspect him of acting below society’s standards and, consequently, creating trouble.

Lastly, but not of lesser importance, is the character of Fanny. Without giving too much away, she sees the world in black-and-white terms. She even wears black and white clothing. Right or wrong, this black-and-white outlook on life had shaded her perception of loved ones and friends… until befriending Gina, Helene, and Kenny taught her that life has many different colors. Because of this, new doors can open to new beginnings, and old, rusted doors that seemed tightly bolted might not have to remain that way.

4. I appreciate your honesty and experience, Elaine, and the time you’ve taken to share with my readers. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I very much appreciate you hosting me. I wish your readers to always have a wonderful book to read!

If anyone would like to know more about me, my writing, and to see book trailers of my historical fiction novels, please visit my website: https://elainestock.com/index.html

Each month I host guest authors in my newsletters, which are always free: https://elainestock.substack.com

Other places to find me:

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

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

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/elainestock.bsky.social

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/ElaineStock

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elaine-stock

LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/author/stockelaine

Amazon: https://amazon.com/author/elainestock

Author Bio:

Elaine Stock pens historical fiction of courageous people taking chances because life is full of challenges, and we must bravely step forward. Her next novel, The Last Secret Kept, releases on April 24, 2025. Her award-winning Resilient Women of WWII trilogy novels have made several Amazon Bestseller Lists. What pleases her the most is that readers from various countries have reached out to say that these novels encouraged them to face their tomorrows.

An Independent Woman

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Gail

Welcome to Peggy Lovelace Ellis. Congrats to the happy reader who wins a free copy!

February 23, 2025

I’m pleased Gail invited me to her Author Visit page again. I will give a signed copy of An Independent Woman to one reader in the United States who leaves a comment. https://www.amazon.com/Independent-Woman-Peggy-Lovelace-Ellis/dp/B0DW42V4TQ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=

I conceived the idea for An Independent Woman, my new Regency Romance standalone set in 1815, when a distant relative gave his beautiful, petite 13-year-old daughter in marriage to a man in his fifties. She was home-schooled and had no friends. A complete innocent. I was appalled but couldn’t do anything about it. I dealt with it in fiction.

Lady Judith Ainsley was young, but smart, when she learned of her father’s devious schemes. Despite the pain of deception and the illusion of a loving father destroyed, Lady Judith devised safeguards for her protection and independence. She had help: a companion, a guardian angel, and a duke whom she could not decide whether to love or to hate.

Major Richard Chadwick inherits a near destitute duchy. As he searches for ways to increase revenue, he uncovers a means to benefit himself but hurting the infuriating, adventurous, reckless woman he is coming to care for. However, before Lord Richard breaks the news, the lady disappears, and everything comes to a standstill while he rushes to her rescue. Will he make it in time? And if he does, will she want him after he reveals the truth?

Here’s an excerpt

Hampshire, England, October 1801

The seven-year-old ragamuffin kicked off her half boots, laughing with delight while she wiggled her toes among dead leaves. The earthy smell rising from beneath the top layer made her nose crinkle. She sneezed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then tucked her skirts into the top of cotton drawers and climbed the tree until she stood on a broad limb. There were many trees around, but this one had limbs near the ground. Mattie didn’t let her climb trees.

The little miss sank small teeth into a juicy red apple, delighting in the noise. Mattie would frown about that too. Eating whole apples is beneath your social position, she would say. What would she say about all the smudges on her charge’s face? The child didn’t want to know. She didn’t want a governess, but Father insisted she needed lessons Nanny couldn’t teach her, so Miss Matthews had moved into Ainsley Park.

Susanna’s scolds are different. After all, she’s an angel and whispers into her small charge’s mind.

Horse’s hooves interrupted the child’s thoughts about the ridiculous whims of her elders. Probably a groom from Ainsley Park looking for her. She didn’t want to give up these few minutes of stolen freedom. The child peeked through the leaves.

Reining his gray horse to a standstill beneath the tree, the rider reached for an apple. Not an Ainsley groom, but a young gentleman she’d never seen before. Relief bubbled into a mischievous impulse. She tossed her half-eaten apple toward him. It hit the horse, which reared, white-stockinged feet clawing the air.

The unexpected movement sent the rider backward off his mount. His brimmed hat flew in one direction, his apple in another. He scrambled to his feet and soothed the mare. “Sorry, old girl. That apple chose a bad time to separate itself from the tree.”

The girl couldn’t control her giggles, which brought the man’s frowning gaze upward. Afraid now, she lost her footing, tumbling unceremoniously toward the ground. He jumped forward and caught her. They landed in the leaves barely missing the horse’s hooves.

She rolled off him and scooted backward, staring into the prettiest face she’d seen outside her storybook about Greek gods. Glittering green eyes beneath fair curls that tumbled over his forehead stared back at her.

“Did you throw the apple?” He smoothed his face into a superior smirk. “Oh well. You’re only a little girl, not old enough to know better, but don’t throw apples at horses again, understand?”

The voice of the Greek god in her storybook must sound like his, light, not a deep rumble like her father’s voice.

“Little hoyden, your face is filthy.” He stood, hauling her up beside him. Without warning, he kissed the tip of her nose. “There, I’ll wager that’s your first kiss—also your last if you don’t wash your face.”

“My name’s Judith,” she blurted. “What’s yours?”

“Richard.” He rescued his hat from a low limb, then swung himself onto the saddle and spurred his mount.

She shouted after him, “I’ll marry you someday, even if you are prettier than I am!”

His laughter floated back until his mount’s long strides carried him from her sight.

“I will marry him,” she muttered, “or my name is not Judith Elizabeth Ainsley.”

Don’t make rash promises. They might come back and haunt you someday. Now, you must return home.

Judith trudged toward Ainsley Park. Susanna telling her what to do again.

In An Independent Woman, Lady Judith Ainsley learns that the very thing she strived for—independence—might not be what she truly wants. We live in a different era and have vastly different lives, but I believe we experience the same circumstances today.

Thank you for reading!

NEED A PEARL FOR VALENTINE’S?

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Gail

Erma Ullrey’s blog (below) has so much to say about the connections between pain,

pearls and patience, I asked permission to share with you all. Happy Valentine’s!

MERRY HEART INK – ERMA ULLREY

FEB 14, 2025

“Did you know … an oyster that has not been wounded in any way does not produce pearls?

A pearl is a healed wound.

Pearls are a product of pain, the result of a foreign or unwanted substance entering the oyster, such as a parasite or a grain of sand.

Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash

The inside of an oyster shell is a shiny substance called “nacre.”

When a grain of sand enters, the nacre cells go to work and cover the grain of sand with layers and more layers to protect the defenseless body from the oyster. As a result, a beautiful pearl is formed!

The more pearls, the more valuable …

God never allows pain without a purpose.

What if your greatest ministry to others comes out of your greatest hurt or deepest wounds?

The hard things we may be going through now are really nothing in comparison to the glory that will be revealed in us later. (Romans 8:17-18)”

-author unknown

… to all the Valentine pearls in the making: hold tight to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith!

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Thanks for reading Merry Heart Ink – by Author Erma Ullrey! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

You can connect with Erma: On Facebook – On Instagram – On X (Twitter)

A REAL WRITER

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Gail

I’m so pleased to introduce Monica McCann to you all. She’s one of the contributing authors in A Hill Country Christmas- Truths for Troubled Trails. A former teacher, she’s helped introduce writing to many students, and now gets to GO FOR IT herself! I appreciated her thoughts here, since I’ve also written notes for a novel on many an unworthy scrap of paper. We’ll be hearing more from Monica, I’m sure of it!

Monica says…

I always imagined when I “became a real writer” that my writing would be this organized, linear, easy telling of a story on paper. After all, I have been telling stories to myself, to my pets, to my best friend my whole life. Ha! Silly me.

I have two novels and two short stories that I am in the middle of and none of them just flow from my fingers to my laptop. I have sticky notes and legal pads and 30 tabs open on my computer screen for research (yes,30, I just counted them). I am not claiming this is the best way, this is just my way.

What I have found to be true is that “writing” happens at all hours, in inconvenient places and not always on paper. It can be messy. Stories appear as we go about our day. Inspiration will dawn suddenly and as my daddy always said, “Gotta make hay while the sun shines.”

Sometimes that happens while you are on a plane dutifully reading a book to help you with your fear of the editing process. The exercise in this book shed light on one of my unfinished novels that lays waiting in the dark. I knew my aging brain would remember only part of the idea if I wrote it later, so I wanted to get it down.

I hadn’t brought my laptop or a notebook, and the tiny napkin from my airline refreshment would handle very little of my swoopy cursive. What did I find? The airsick bag! My whole row’s air-sick bags. Yep, I am a real writer.

One of my short story ideas started with a person and a geographical location. That led me to his sister, who authored a book about the place, which led me to another historical website, and there was my story waiting for me.

Driving to town yesterday, a song on the radio made me think about what it would be like to look someone in the eye that you had thought was lost to you in time. Suddenly my idea became two living, breathing people. I get horribly carsick so writing while sitting in the car is not my favorite, but I grabbed my new notebook out of my bag (My husband, appalled at my behavior on the airplane, bought me two.) I wrote feverishly, and oh so messy, in my notebook for the entire hour drive.

Today I am back at the computer, translating my scribbles from yesterday, and the voice memo I made for myself while walking this morning. A few more tabs of research will be opened. The husband or the dogs will interrupt me a dozen or more times, so the “writing” continues in my head.

I will continue to gather sticky notes and other pieces of my story here and there. None of this disqualifies me as a “real writer.” I am so thankful for people that encourage me to just tell the stories.

I think the truth I have been learning is the same truth the Velveteen Rabbit learned.

“Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’

‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit.

‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. ‘When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.’

‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ he asked, ‘or bit by bit?’

‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

Becoming a real writer is something that happens as you write. It is sometimes painful, often messy, and in the end, wonderfully real.

Tools of the trade

Monica McCann is one of the contributing authors in

A Hill Country Christmas- Truths for Troubled Trails.

A Christmas Gift

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Gail

I’ve gotten to know my Words With Friends partner, Erma Ullrey, a bit better. She’s a writer, too, and it’s fun to banter as we endeavor to beat each other at the Scrabble-like game.

Just recently I learned more about the story she her husband have lived for the past six years–what a challenge they’ve faced! During this time Erma has written a children’s book…here’s the cover. Don’t you love the concept of a snowflake afraid to fall because it knows it’ll melt?

You can read all about it as we reflect on Christmas 2023 and the New Year. May Erma’s words increase our appreciation for every breath we take.

merryheartink.substack.com

CHRISTMAS IS…God’s Breath of Life

By eMarie

More than six years ago, my husband Bert and I reeled when he received the staggering diagnosis of stage 4 cancer. No signs or symptoms, and never a history of cancer in his family. From that moment on, when he fell on his knees, I knelt beside him. When he rose up in faith, I cheered him on. When he felt well, we celebrated.

I wore an impenetrable stoic face all day, every day. Although I believed God and took Him at His word, in my quiet moments I felt and acted more like Jacob. I didn’t have a visible wrestling match with the Lord, but an intense spiritual battle raged. Especially after reading the statistical prognosis for Bert’s disease. “Hopeless” fit the percentage. The doctors had already told us as much. But faith said these outcomes and statistics hadn’t met our God. Faith said nothing is impossible with Him.

The Lord invites us in Hebrews to come and reason with Him.

I came, but I was beyond reason. I didn’t have the peace of an overcomer, the peace that insured the battle had been won. I cried out to the Lord asking, wanting, needing something personal from Him. Something to demonstrate that even though I didn’t see it, He was at work, able to heal sicknesses of every kind, including cancer. That He cared about what was happening to Bert. That every promise in His word was still true and still ours. Jehovah would continue to be faithful, able, and in control of every aspect of our lives.

A snapshot flashed across my mind. I glimpsed the crossroads in Sacramento, CA where I first became a believer at age 19. Then, as if He needed it, I reminded the Lord of His covenant, His many promises throughout all generations. And that one of His names is Emmanuel—God with us. I prayed – Lord, if you’re still with us, show me that you are.

Crickets.

https://unsplash.com/@jannerboy62

I got in the car that day to go to lunch with a group of Bible study friends. As I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, I again asked for some revelation that He was the same miracle-working God.

Beyond frustrated with this unanswered prayer, I walked up to the restaurant and released a deep exhale. As I watched, my breath formed a vapor, lingering in the frosty air.

God’s word awakened my spirit.

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” (Gen. 2:7)

I stood stunned at the answer He’d shown me!

Every breath was, is, and always will be proof of God’s existence, love, faithfulness. He graciously made visible to me what He’d provided all along. Life! For, from, by, and in Him!

My wrestling ended there and then, and a deeper sense of wonder was birthed. That afternoon, in an effort to capture what God graciously demonstrated in that spine-tingling moment, I penned the first words to A Snowflake’s Adventure.

…six years later, by God’s grace and strength, my husband praises the Lord for each new day he’s been given to live for Him.

A Snowflake’s Adventure is a story of God’s breath of life to every child He’s ever created. Unique. Purposeful. We are His one-of-a-kind design. Each. And. Every. One.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

(To the glory of God, we have donated A Snowflake’s Adventure, a #1 Amazon children’s book to more than 500 children around the world through OCC/Samaritan’s Purse. For every book sold, one is donated!)

I appreciate your purchases, and please leave a review on Amazon. Thank you! www.amazon.com/Snowflakes-Adventure-eMarie/dp/B09HFXX3N

A Fallen Sparrow

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Gail

I just finished reading this novel, and if you want to get RIGHT INTO the heart of the Revolutionary War, this book will do the trick! What a tumultuous time in our nation’s history, full of intrigue and complicated choices. Lynn has a great eye for detail…I learned a lot.

A Fallen Sparrow By Lynne Basham Tagawa

Writing a story set during the American Revolution was a great adventure for me. I knew certain things—and I’m sure y’all do too—but there was so much I had yet to learn!

I loved learning about some of the people. Like Benjamin Rush. I knew he was a doctor, and a signer of the Declaration, but not much more than that. Turns out, he was a Christian and a very interesting man.

Another fascinating man was Daniel Morgan, the rough-and-ready teamster turned general. I stumbled upon a letter he wrote to a friend. In it, he was making a theological point. I’m like, wait a minute, this guy’s faith is not in the bio I have. Secular writers don’t care about this stuff. So I included a quote from that letter somewhere at the top of a chapter—every chapter has a quote.

The battles were kind of interesting, but I had a harder time with all of that. I had to figure out who was where and when and so forth. Bernard Cornwell’s book Redcoat inspired me a little. He’s good with battle scenes. I loved finding out the little things, like the aurora borealis which weirdly was visible very far south during the war.

Characters were my biggest struggle. Some kind of wrote themselves. I liked writing Robert the British spy. But I had to work on the others. At first, Jonathan, my hero, was a big fat zero. Uninteresting. I thought, I need to make him interesting, so I gave him a secret. Something bad he had done. Ruth, my heroine, was a little easier, because she likes to write—just like me.

Men like George Whitefield and Samuel Rutherford have no lines in the story, but their influence is critical. Americans in 1776 didn’t just engage in riots and killing for the mere sake of rebellion. They had ideals. They had to do it right. They had to do it according to law and honor and a sense of justice—and not just justice for themselves, but for all. They weren’t always successful, but they gave us a good start. I wanted to dive into what all of it meant.

I hope I was successful.

A Fallen Sparrow Summary:

Ruth Haynes uses the pen name Honorius when she writes for her father’s newspaper. Boston has changed beyond recognition, and her Loyalist views soon get her in trouble. With war looming, what will their family do?

Jonathan Russell hides a guilty secret. The Battle of Bunker’s Hill sweeps him and his Shenandoah Valley family into the war. The unthinkable happens, and he’s forced to deal with both his grief—and his guilt.

Lieutenant Robert Shirley is summoned by his godmother and introduced to the Earl of Dartmouth, who charges him to gather intelligence in Boston. He is horrified but must obey.

Gritty, realistic, and rich with scriptural truth, this story features Dr. Joseph Warren, Major John André, Henry Knox, and Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton.

Excerpt:

Robert’s mind whirled. He was being ripped from his duty here with the Fifth Regiment and inserted into the melee of Boston political intrigue, a totally unknown world. The parlor itself seemed to waver.

“But General Gage? Does he have his own sp—sources?”

Dartmouth paused while the countess handed him another cup of tea. “General Gage uses his own judgment. We have given him considerable leeway in his command. After all, we are three thousand miles away. But consider this, lieutenant. It is clear the inhabitants of Boston hate the soldiers stationed there. How is Gage to gather intelligence? How is he to discover the thinking of the ordinary man? Worse, he will have difficulties discovering the plots of the rebels.”

Discovering the plots of the rebels. This was a serious task. He had only one more card to play, a weak one. “I have a cousin who might be willing to serve in this capacity.”

Lord Dartmouth studied him.

His godmother arched an eyebrow. “Nonsense. Lord Rawdon is too young.” Her voice dripped with what she would not say, that her grandson’s character was deficient. Robert’s cousin was a scapegrace and a follower of the rakehell Banastre Tarleton. Both had been behind him several years at both Harrow and Oxford, and they were notorious for bullying the youngest students. Rawdon’s father had washed his hands of him, and his uncle had purchased him a commission.

She was right. There was no escape. “My lord, I am honored to serve King and country.”

A little about Lynne:

Lynne Tagawa is a mom and a grandma to six. Coffee and chocolate, in that order. She loves to include gospel truth in her stories. She lives with her husband in Texas.

Buy link: https://amzn.to/3uO6Y0t Coming soon: audiobook!

Wooing Gertrude By Jodie Wolfe

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Gail

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi! I’m Jodie Wolfe. It’s great to be here. Thank you, Gail, for having me. I live in south central PA with my husband. This December we’ll celebrate our 36^th anniversary. I have two sons and six grandchildren. I’ve always had an interest in writing since I was a little girl.

What genre do you write?

I write Christian historical romance. My stories usually revolve around a theme. Usually, it’s something either God is in the process of teaching me, or He’s recently taught me. 🙂 Most times I’m learning along with my characters.

What is your least favorite aspect of writing?

Editing and marketing. I’d rather be creating a story and interacting with my characters – going with them on their adventures and seeing where they lead.

How is faith interwoven in your books?

It’s an intrinsic part of each of my books. My characters are often struggling in their faith walk, but they’re striving to be better.

What things do you like to do outside of writing?

I enjoy walking, birdwatching, and spending time with my hero husband.

Did you always want to be a writer?

I did. Ever since I wrote my first poem and stories while in grade school, I dreamed about becoming a writer.

What’s the title of your new book, and is it part of a series?

My new book is Wooing Gertrude, and it’s book three in my Burrton Springs Brides Series. All this month, Amazon has a discount on the first book in the series, Taming Julia. It’s only $1.99 for the ebook.

Tell us about Gertrude’s story, please.

Enoch Valentine has given up finding peace for his past mistakes. He throws everything he has into being the new part-time deputy in Burrton Springs, Kansas while maintaining the foreman position at a local horse ranch. But when trouble stirs on the ranch, he questions whether he’s the right man for either job.

Peace has been elusive for most of Gertrude Miller’s life, especially under the oppressiveness of an overbearing mother. She takes matters into her own hands and sends for a potential husband, while also opening her own dress shop. Gertrude hopes to build a future where she’ll find peace and happiness.

Will either of them ever be able to find peace?

Sounds so interesting, and the cover really draws me in.

Where can readers find you online?

Website: https://www.jodiewolfe.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jodie-Wolfe-553400191384913

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jodie-wolfe

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/JodieAWolfe

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15220520.Jodie_Wolfe

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jodie-Wolfe/e/B01EAWOHXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

MeWe: https://mewe.com/jodiewolfe

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodie-wolfe-3955b2bb/

Thank you for having me, Gail. I hope readers will enjoy Wooing Gertrude.

Confession – Good For The Soul

Posted on December 16, 2022 by Gail

Patti Shene Gonzales has always been such an encouragement to me and other writers, but I had no idea she had the PROBLEM she shares about here. I’ve always admired people who share their struggles, so here she is, and she’s offering a free e-book of her debut novella to a commenter. Enjoy!

What I Learned From My First Published Novella

All my life, I have been a procrastinator. Lately, I have passed off the flaw with the statement, “why do today what can be done tomorrow? After all, Jesus might return tonight!” Although this thought brings a chuckle, it does not lead to a productive lifestyle.

More than once, I have found myself in situations where I lack some important food ingredient, household product, or whatever, because I failed to write it down on my shopping list.

I can’t count the number of events I have missed in town or online because I put off entering said event in my calendar at the time I read about it. I am always thinking, “I’ll do it later.”

I believe it was way back in April that I was invited to participate in a multi author Christmas novella series. I was so excited, but in my mind, April was a long way away from a November release date. HA!

The months in between flew by faster than an airliner in blue sky, and before I knew it, summer was drawing to a close. I had not written one word of the story. Oh, yes, ideas churned in my mind all the time, but I had nothing concrete to show for it.

I am a member of an excellent critique group who have offered me so much valuable advice about my writing over the past couple of years. By the time I settled down to write Cathy’s Christmas Confession, there was not enough time to send all of my chapters to my critique buddies.

In retrospect, this first novella would have been so much better if I had taken the time to write, get critiques, edit, and hone the finished product. As it turned out, I spent a very rushed eight weeks writing this story.

Many days and nights I was literally in a panic, fearful I would not fulfill my commitment to God and my fellow authors. I could not face another defeat in my writing career. I had told too many people about this novella. No way was I going to back out on the project.

God intervened at this point and gave me some solid ideas to help me craft a story worth reading. He brought scenes to mind that I had not even thought of. He spoke to me through my main characters and their shared experience of loss. He enabled me to demonstrate the theme that Christmas is not always joyful for the hurting, but there are ways to recognize the true meaning of Christmas through our pain.

Writing is hard. It takes time, patience, perseverance, skill, encouragement, creativity and guidance. I learned a valuable lesson while writing this novella. Procrastination is not a positive trait for an author.

There are hundreds of Christmas stories available to readers every year. Cathy’s Christmas Confession is not a story for all audiences. However, if this story appeals to you, my prayer is that it will bless you and bring joy to your heart.

Happy Jesus’s birthday!

Christmas is not a time of joy for the hurting.

During a snowstorm, widow Cathy Fischer creams a stop sign on her way to work at the Christmas Ridge Community Church. Acquaintance David Martin stops to help. Cathy sees signs of deep grief in David, a recent widower. She reaches out with support in an attempt to help David through this most difficult first Christmas without his beloved wife.

David Martin struggles with grief over the death of his wife. He blames God for her rapid demise after her cancer diagnosis. Cathy reaches out to him with compassion and support and soon enlists him in her mission to bring joy to others at Christmas. Will their joint quest restore David’s faith?

David needs to turn loose of the past and embrace his future. Cathy has a confession to make to the entire community that may give David a different perspective of who she really is. Will her confession set her free?

Does God have plans in mind for the two of them they did not anticipate?

Buy link: https://tinyurl.com/mr26ekaj

Available now on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Check out our Amazon Christmas Ridge Romance page (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLCJ9P9J) to learn about other books in the series and receive updates!

BIO:

Patti Shene Gonzales hosts Step Into the Light, a weekly interview style podcast, where guests share their journey out of darkness or ways they lead others back to light. She hosts writers on her two blogs, Patti’s Porch and The Over 50 Writer. Patti is published in two anthologies and local publications and has three novels in progress. She enjoys writing, reading, critiquing, and spending time with family and friends. Patti lives in Colorado with her devoted feline companion, Duncan. Cathy’s Christmas Confession is her first novella.

Visit Patti at her website www.pattishene.com

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/PattiShene

Unintended Hero–a debut historical novel!

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Gail

A hearty welcome to Becky Van Vleet, whose first novel tells her father’s WWII story and honors his sacrifice. Becky’s offering a signed hardback copy of Unintended Hero to one commenter–for yourself, or would make a great gift!

The Story Behind the Story

As a baby boomer, I grew up in a household hearing stories from my parents about the Great Depression and WWII. I don’t recall being all that interested as a youngster, yet I never forgot the firsthand stories my parents shared. Fast forward a few years, and I marry a baby boomer, who also recalled similar stories. As an educator with four children, the call to preserve these stories in some fashion or form came to me. Not knowing how long our parents would live to share their firsthand accounts with our children, I decided I’d better not let the stories perish in oblivion.

I’d always been fascinated with my father’s stories he shared about the USS Denver, the light cruiser he was a gunner on in the South Pacific in WWII. So I whipped out my dated cassette recorder on March 19, 1990, corralled my father to our kitchen table, and asked him to recount his WWII adventures, experiences, and battles so I could save his stories for our children, his grandchildren.

For the next two hours, his stories tumbled out with pride and a remarkable remembrance. I sat spellbound, taking it all in. At the time, my plan was to simply save the cassettes as historical keepsakes for my family.

Fast forward again, thirty years later. Covid hits, and I’m homebound with a worldwide shutdown. My children are grown up with children of their own. Time is on my hands. Another call to write a book to preserve my father’s WWII stories came loud and clear.

Google and search engines became my friends, working in tandem with my fingers on my keyboard. I had a big puzzle on my hands to fit all the pieces together—my dad’s stories on the cassettes, the USS Denver deck logs, tedious research for the whole Pacific Theater for WWII, researching ammunition and guns (remember I said my father was a gunner), all the battles, hundreds of other Navy ships, and the . . . well, I had a lot of pieces to fit together to formulate a story. And a well-written story. I wouldn’t settle for less than the best.

This was a story, after all, about my father.

He was no longer living, and my book must honor not only him, but the other sixteen million Americans who also answered the call of duty to fight for our country. They had sacrificed school, jobs, families, homes, personal aspirations, and their very lives. My book would represent them as well.

Tap, tap, tap. My fingers flew over my keyboard faster than armor piercing shells flying from WWII battleships for more than a year as a manuscript immerged. Help came from everywhere–my husband, editors, WWII veterans, and friends. Family cheered me on.

Unintended Hero, my debut historical novel, finally made an inaugural appearance on Amazon in August, 2022. For Gail’s readers, if you know of any WWII buffs in your circle, or, if you have young people in your circle who could benefit from a good story about patriotism, sacrifice for a cause beyond self, and teamwork for America, I’d like to recommend this book to you. This is not about self-promotion nor sales. That was never my intention when I set out to write my father’s story. This book is about preserving a firsthand story from Walter Troyan, my father, who came from The Greatest Generation, to use Tom Brokaw’s term. A story about sacrifice and freedom which impersonates Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis” which he wrote in 1776.

Becky Van Vleet

Becky Van Vleet is a wife, mother, grandmother, swimmer, gardener, oil painter, power walker, and a writer who loves God. She especially enjoys getting together with friends and family, eating cotton candy, asking Alexa hundreds of questions, and reading books to her grandchildren. An award-winning author of children’s picture books, she’s over the moon about her debut novel, Unintended Hero, a true story about her father’s experiences on the USS Denver in WWII. Her website is devoted to preserving family stories and memories, believing it’s important to tell our stories to the next generations. Check out her website at www.beckyvanvleet.com

Links:

www.beckyvanvleet.com

https://www.facebook.com/authorbeckyvanvleet

https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-van-vleet-ms-806055181/

Bringing the Book Baby Home

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Gail

Nothing like welcoming a debut author with her new release! Cheri Dargan, an IOWA author, is offering a paperback copy of THE GIFT to a commenter. (It’s a WWII story…and the beginning of a saga…you’ll like it!)

Cherie, here you go!

I’ve been waiting for the past six months for my novel to be published. There’s no nursery to paint or stacks of onesies to wash and arrange neatly in a bureau. No need to stock the freezer, buy several boxes of disposable diapers, arrange stuffed animals in a room, or assemble a new crib. However, the experience feels familiar from two pregnancies.

When I got the word that I could order books, I was excited, but it didn’t seem real. I developed several presentations to give at book talks and put together my first newsletter. I was running errands when the baby arrived on Oct. 21st. My husband sent me a text with a picture of four medium-sized boxes stacked up on our bench outside the front door.

When I got home, I brought the boxes in and opened one, my heart beating fast. I lifted out a book and examined it, smiling. My husband took pictures of me holding the book. I sent them out to friends and family in a text and my sister said, “it’s beautiful!” I agreed. It’s a girl! The Gift, born October 21^st at 8 ½ by 5 ½ inches and weighing 12.83 ounces. A week later, the hardbound edition arrived, and we admired its beautiful cover like adoring parents.

One of my daughter’s friends read the book and posted a review. “I just finished reading your book and I just thought it was wonderful! I loved all the Iowa and Midwest references, and I really enjoyed the characters and the story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! Congratulations!”

And I thought, “She likes it! She likes our book baby. She wants to read Book Two!” Book Two is ready for Beta readers, and I have a few lined up. Then, as I juggle book events for book One, and get Book Two ready for publication, I need to get back to Book Three, which needs more development.

Suddenly, I feel like a busy young mother, wiping her hands on the apron from doing dishes, checking on the baby, refereeing a squabble between the twins, and patting her pregnant belly. So far, I’ve written Books one through Five for the Grandmother’s Treasures series. It’s going to be fun to bring home all the babies!