Posted on February 29, 2016 by Gail

Spring in the Arizona mountains comes six to eight weeks ahead of spring in the midwest. It’s hard to argue with getting to experience this wonderful, bright season twice. The elk gathered in our yard this morning, waiting for our wonderful World War II veteran neighbor to come out. He offers them grain and a couple of them have essentially become his pets.

Down the road, forsythia bushes burst into wild yellow blossoms.

Apple blossoms blend with decorative cherry-like flowers. Against a crystal blue sky and towering pines, these trees warm the heart after winter’s cold. (Granted, not as cold as winters north of Missouri, but this year’s storms dumped heavy snows here.)We shared pictures of that incredible beauty a month ago.

I clicked my camera over and over, hoping to get the perfect shot. (My husband would have!)

Underfoot, fuzzy spring-green mullien peeks through rocky soil. I just learned last week that mullien helps ear and respiratory health. A new friend here offers a wealth of information on various herbs.

All of this puts me in mind of time’s passage . . . spring, summer, winter, and fall. Infancy, childhood, youth, adulthood. Time keeps moving on until we begin counting decades rather than years.

This month, I’m working on a non-fiction manuscript I began writing back in 2010, my first extended time in Arizona’s beautiful high desert country. The main word in my “cartoon bubble” right now seems to be gratitude. I’m so grateful for sight, for health, for this quiet place. A lovely concept, gratitude. I liken a thankful attitude to gentleness enveloping my spirit and brightening my outlook on life.

Still Not Too Late

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Gail

Sometimes we surprise ourselves. For example, it’s been a few years since I trekked down, down, down to view the amazing Tonto Natural Bridge, about three miles from Pine, AZ. But on Wednesday, a new reader friend invited me to hike the trail.

And we did it, the two of us, with a limp here and a pant there. Definitely worth it, and the next day wasn’t all that bad. Just a few twinges in my leg muscles–nothing to compare with the joy of seeing such incredible natural beauty.

I titled this Not Too Late Yet instead of Never Too Late, because some day, it will be too late for this kind of adventure. Better keep at it while I can.

Everyday experiences and thoughts often take me to Dottie and Al, the main characters of my first published novel. They’re mid-life folks, not expecting much in the way of excitement to show up in their simple rural lives.

But something DOES show up, and it’s pretty exhilarating. New doorways open as they face the future. They surprise themselves, and that can only be a good thing.

Finding One’s Tribe

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Gail

Winter can be daunting. The cold, unproductive seasons of our lives can be, too. Perhaps these wild Iowa turkeys find comfort in facing the blizzardy February weather together.

My husband shot these photos near Osage, Iowa, during weeks of below-zero temperatures. He focused in on one bird in the next picture, and this fellow looks awfully lonely.

Last weekend, my husband also held the annual confirmation retreat–the weather cooperated this time. Take a look at these kids out sledding–nothing like racing down a freezing hill…together.

The beauty of it is, cold or no cold, life’s brighter with companionship. I see this in my writing world, too–we can get so involved with our characters, they seem more real than the REAL FOLKS, and discovering new friends online or meeting them in person makes a world of difference.

During this Valentine’s week, I’d love to hear how making a new acquaintance or a deepening friendship has brightened your day/week/year.

Joshua’s Mission – Vannetta Chapman

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Gail

Please help me welcome Vanetta Chapman, author of Joshua’s Mission. We’ll plunge right in. Vannetta, tell us the story behind this book, please.

Thank you for allowing me to visit your blog today. I’m very excited about the release of Joshua’s Mission (2-1-16), which is book 2 in my Plain & Simple Miracles series. I’d like to share what inspired me to write this book.

Cornerstones of our faith. My husband is probably my biggest critic—which is a good thing. He keeps me on my toes, professionally speaking. He’s also very supportive in every way.

One night we were talking about an upcoming proposal, and he challenged me to think of a deeper plot line—something that would touch on the cornerstones of our faith. Wow! That sent me back to the drawing board. I started wondering what makes us, as Christians, different from everyone else? Certainly our faith in Christ. But how do we show that? The answer I came up with was …

We believe in miracles. I did a poll on my Facebook page. We had an outstanding response and the vast majority (close to 98%) said they do believe in miracles—not that they always happen when we pray for one, but that God does still intercede in the lives of believers. That idea gave birth to Anna’s Healing, book 1 in this series.

We participate in missions. We send donations, pray, and sometimes actually go and participate in missions. We don’t do this for an award or because our photo might end up in the paper. We do it because God told us “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” When we do this to the least of those around us, we do this to Him. This commandment to care for others led me to write Joshua’s Mission, book 2 in this series.

We care for orphans. We’re also commanded to “look after orphans and widows in their distress.” In our society, it’s sometimes easy to overlook those in need and to assume that some governmental agency will take care of them. Sarah’s Orphans, book 3 in this series, addresses the plight of the orphans in our day and age, and how we can make a difference in their lives. This book releases in December of this year.

Miracles, missions, and orphans stood out to me, and they inspired me to write the three books in the Plain & Simple Miracles series. I hope you will pick up a copy of Joshua’s Mission and learn about the wonderful work churches are doing across our nation and abroad to help those in need.

Now it’s your turn. What do you consider to be a cornerstone of our faith? And would you like to see a book written about it? Or would you like to write one yourself? I’d love to hear from you.

Vannetta is gifting a paperback copy of Joshua’s Mission to one fortunate commenter, so let the comments roll! (until February 4th, when we’ll announce the winner.)

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her novel, Falling to Pieces, was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award winner for best mystery. Chapman was a teacher for 15 years and currently writes full time. She lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.

http://www.amazon.com/Joshuas-Mission-Plain-Simple-Miracles-ebook/dp/B018676F02/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

http://vannettachapman.com

https://twitter.com/VannettaChapman

https://www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks

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https://instagram.com/vannettachapman/

Book Blurb:

Joshua Kline travels from his farm in Oklahoma to offer aid to an Englisch town on the gulf coast of Texas after a category 4 hurricane has ravaged the area. What will Joshua find when he arrives in Texas? A budding romance? A call from God? A possible healing of his relationship with his brother? Joshua’s Mission is a story of love, forgiveness, and the grace of God that carries us through even the worst situations.

An Iowan in Narnia

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Gail

Well, it’s a gorgeous day under the Mogollon Rim, like C.S. Lewis’s magnificent winter scenes in The Chronicles of Narnia.

For some who think going to Arizona means basking in the summer sun of Phoenix, get a load of this incredible photo my husband shot from our window.

What strikes me is the juxtaposition of the Rim and the icicles: you can focus on either one. We have a friend here who’s fighting for his life after surgery, and know of others facing huge struggles at the beginning of this new year.

One challenge of life is to be able to still see the beauty through our tears … or icicles. We’ve all experienced those times when our hearts grow cold and sore, and will again in the future.

I’ve been working on yet another edit of a pioneer woman’s story that takes place right in this canyon under the Rim. She looked out at the same tall pines replete with snow and the massive ridge that defines this area.

Some things remain the same through the centuries. Women still find their voices though tumultuous times, learn lessons the hard way, and hopefully emerge the better for their struggles.

For me, that’s what writing is all about–telling these women’s stories. I’m so glad to have the privilege, and very grateful to readers who embrace my heroines.

Snow and Grace

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Gail

Such a nebulous entity, grace. Oh, I’ve studied this concept, meditated on it, even taught lessons about it.

But I sense grace in a new way in this morning’s lovely mountain snowfall, whitening every tiny twist and turn of each branch and twig and leaf. The scene mesmerizes me, tweaks my imagination, calms me somehow.

May grace seep into your life like that today, I emailed a friend going through frightening health difficulties. That’s what I wish for her, grace filtering into the cracks of her life, bringing gifts she can see and realize, even momentary, fleeting ones.

And grace to accept those gifts. Not pie-the-sky grace, but the kind that opens her to the moment, to the reason-defying offerings all around us. Grace that tells her nothing, including our worst fears, escapes the Father’s notice.

Above our bathroom mirror sit two little wooden plaques. One says simply, JOY, and one reminds me to Give thanks with a grateful heart. This morning I thought how they embellish each other, like the sparkles on a snow-covered tree when the sun shines through.

The dictionary boasts complicated labels for grace, but maybe I’ll stick with this simple word picture from nature: snowflakes falling, wafting, thickening, joining together in a wonder world of white.

…snow invading spaces that seemed closed even to light.

Snow changing everything.

A New Year with an Author From the Past

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Gail

We remember Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But even a little research reveals another legacy this author left us.

Stevenson lived only forty-four years, became a literary celebrity during his brief lifetime, and ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world. Literary geniuses Hemingway, Kipling, Jack London, and Arthur Conan Doyle admired his works, and G.K. Chesterton declared that Stevenson “seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins.’

Robert loved to travel, and fell in love with a married American woman in France. Eventually, she returned to the States, divorced her husband, and married Robert. He gained two stepsons in this marriage, and the couple continued to seek adventures in California, Hawaii, and Samoa.

Perhaps not the perfect example of piety, but neither was King David–and millions still read both men’s writings. Stevenson still exhibited faith. During these days between Christmas and New Year’s, I consider the winter storm bearing down on the route we’ll soon travel to Arizona, and his Christmas prayer informs me.

“Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clean hearts. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake, Amen!”

Acknowledging the world’s hate and evil, Stevenson prayed for deliverance and “… to be merry with clear hearts …” What does this mean? Perhaps to face evil and hate head-on, yet still find joy.

Stevenson knew pain first-hand, since he suffered from hemorrhaging lungs and lived only to the age of forty-four. He wrote many of his best manuscripts from bed, including Treasure Island, conjured after drawing a map for his son. First serialized in a magazine, this story captivated young readers’ hearts.

Since Stevenson’s death in 1894, evil and hate continue to have a heyday. But this author’s prayer still calls us to share the angels’ song and marvel with the shepherds and wise men.

As we enter a new year, his words fit this hurting world’s needs–and ours, to be realistic, prayerful, grateful and forgiving. To be merry with clear hearts–and to use our creative gifts to the best of our ability.

Sounds like a goal for 2016!

An Author’s Saga and a WILD Giveaway!

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Gail

A hearty welcome to Alice K. Arenz. There’s so much I want to learn about you and your work, Alice, so we’ll start out with your favorite things about the Advent season.

Thanks, Gail, what a wonderful question! I’ve always loved this season—the sights, sounds, the gentleness that prevails—except in shopping frenzies, that is. I even have a cling on my car window that says “Merry Christmas!” which I keep up all year long. 😉

Because of some brain/hearing/balance issues, I can’t enjoy the flashing lights on trees and houses, and sound issues make it difficult to listen to music. I miss that all year long, but especially this time of year. Still, the excitement in my grandchildren’s’ eyes when Christmas is mentioned, the joy I feel setting up Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus . . .

Christmas means time to spend with my children and grandchildren. Our celebration may not last long, but the time together is priceless—a true blessing from God.
Alice, tell us more about your writing history. What are the two most significant occurrences?

I’ve always had a very active imagination. Stories and books, TV, movies, and people’s interactions made my mind soar with possibilities, spinning off into lands and scenes so real I could almost touch them.

When I was twelve, my handwritten Adventures of Christopher and Christina was passed around during study halls mingling 7th & 8th graders with high school students. That meant a lot of different ages read my wild imaginings of twins who delved into mysteries and got into danger on a daily basis. I don’t remember much of that chronicle, just that the TV series The Man From Uncle, and other mysteries and suspense shows or books contributed to the overall story.

In the 70s, my “then” husband issued a challenge: get a B in a college creative writing course or agree to give up the dream. I got an A from the toughest teacher in the department, which led to a five-year contract with a New York literary agency. No hoped-for results, but it taught me discipline and determination, necessities in the writing world. Life intervened, as it tends to do, and until my “new” husband introduced me to Christian fiction, I ignored characters demanding release onto paper.

I prayed for for the writing dream to fade and die. Then Brandilyn Collins’ Eyes of Elisha impressed me so much that I emailed Brandilyn. Boy, was I surprised when she wrote back! She suggested I join ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) which started a whole new era of learning and writing.

In spite of more health issues—especially hypersensitivity in my fingers and hands that made typing a challenge–between 2008 and 2010, I got three books published. The Case of the Bouncing Grandma (cozy mystery and Mirrored Image (classic romantic mystery/suspense), finaled in the Carol Awards, with The Case of the Missing M.D. winning the Carol Awards in 2010.
Now, after a five-year absence from writing because of even more challenging health issues, a new publisher, Forget Me Not Romances, has published my new classic romantic suspense, An American Gothic. My other books have been re-issued with wonderful new covers and changes. And two more hopefully will be out before the middle of next year! Talk about God’s blessing with this second chance at my dream.

If you could do any kind of writing in the whole world, what would you write? A sci-fi trilogy that would knock fans’ socks off?
Wow! I guess I would just want to write whatever God gives me and have it published. I’d love if it would knock the socks off fans—I’d love to know there WERE fans out there waiting for my next book!

Please tell us about the work(s) you’d like to promote.
Presenting a chance for FOUR different winners to receive a special Christmas gift of ONE Kindle book from the following, feels wonderful.
An American Gothic(August 2015)—mystery/romantic suspense

She came to Foxxemoor to write a mystery, not become part of one.

Devastated by the death of a child in her care, Lyssie’s heart strings are tugged when she finds another child in danger. Amid past secrets, lies, and betrayals of an old college friend’s family, she must choose a twin brother to trust. The wrong decision could cost her life, and also the life of the child she’s come to love.

OTHER BOOKS—RE-RELEASE
The Case of the Bouncing Grandma (Re-Issued September 2015), The Bouncing Grandma Mysteries, Book 1—cozy mystery
Has Glory hit her head one too many times, or was there really a foot dangling out of that carpet?
Reduced to watching new neighbors move in as a form of amusement, Glory Harper is stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg, bored, and itching for some excitement. She just doesn’t expect it to come in the form of a foot dangling out the back of a carpet as it’s carried into her new neighbor’s house. The problem is getting someone to believe her.

The moment police recognize Glory as the woman whose misadventures have given her a sketchy reputation, her believability quotient lowers considerably. Just when she thinks someone’s taking her seriously, Glory realizes Detective Rick Spencer, a Harrison Ford look alike, appears more interested in her than in her story.

But, while she’s looking in what seems the obvious direction to solve this mystery, the real criminals are hot on her trail.

The Case of the Mystified M.D. (Re-Issued September 2015), The Bouncing Grandma Mysteries, Book 2 – cozy mystery

First a foot, now a hand—what body part is next?
When her puppy finds a severed hand on a walking trail, Glory Harper is positive the signet ring belongs to a missing college professor who caused a lot of trouble around town. Her insatiable desire to solve his murder mystery finds her in over her head with secrets, blackmail, and arson.
With her sister Jane overwhelmed by fiancé troubles and an arson fire in her home, Glory latches onto an unlikely partner, and soon feels as though she’s stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone—where nothing is as it appears, and danger lurks around every corner . . .
Including from her boyfriend, Detective Rick Spencer.
Mirrored Image (Re-Issued September 2015) Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Their faces were the same, will their fates be as well?

Eccentric newspaper columnist Cassandra Chase and by-the-book Detective Jeff McMichaels clash over the murder investigation of Lynette Sandler—a woman who looks eerily like Cassandra.
The case becomes more than a test of McMichaels’ mental acumen as he finds himself drawn to a woman he determined to dislike. While the department hunts a murderer, the uncanny similarities between herself and Lynette cause Cassie to launch her own investigation. What she uncovers gives her the sneaking suspicion that she was the murderer’s original mark. She just needs to stay alive long enough to prove it.

Thanks so much for this interview, Gail. Merry Christmas!

And thanks to you, Alice. It’s good to get to know you, and may the best FOUR commenters win one of your books!

Candy Cane Christmas Dec 10-13

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Gail

Bonnie Engstrom’s novella, A Candy Cane Christmas, makes a perfect Christmas read, and a great gift – honest, playful and full of hope.

This fun book has some difficult situations its characters struggle to overcome.

Readers will discover how Doreen forgives the person who caused a devastating accident that altered her life forever, how Noelle has the courage to cancel her Christmas wedding, and especially how The Candy Canes bond together. Oh, and how Braydon Lovejoy becomes their anchor.

Christmas offers joy and hope, but will Noelle and Braydon’s relationship blossom, and will Doreen forgive the woman who caused her accident?

And what does Candy Cane Cindy have in her future? For that answer, you’ll have to check back in January when Cindy tells her story for Valentine’s Day.

Purchase Link:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Her+candy+cane+christmas+by+bonnie+engstrom

You may contact Bonnie at: bengstrom@hotmail.com or her Author Page on Facebook

December 7

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Gail

Seventy-four years ago, Americans woke to the horrible news of the Pearl Harbor attacks. I can’t let December seventh go by without calling attention to this significant event in our nation’s history.

Many young men went to war during the next months. My grandparents sent their two older sons to the fight, one still in his senior year of high school. The army drafted my dad, too, and my father-in-law. They all came home, but so many others didn’t.

Fifteen years ago, our family visited Normandy and stood in an actual Nazi bunker from which soldiers rained fire on the D-Day invaders. And we spent some time in Dachau, recalling what motivated the Allies.

Much of my writing research involves besieged London, southern France, where the Resistance risked everything to thwart the Nazis, and stateside. Everywhere, people sacrificed for the cause of freedom.

Today, I’d like to honor my father, my father-in-law, my uncles, and so many who waited at home (like my grandparents and my mother.) In This Together, my debut novel, honors them through the heroine’s loss of her son during the war, and her neighbor Al’s continuing challenges from his World War I service.

The story of the long-range effects of the war on a regular, down-to-earth rural Iowa Gold Star mother takes us back in time. Hopefully, readers will resonate to Dottie’s sacrifice.