Art In Life

(Hey readers, it’s Preslaysa. If you are looking for the 12 Peals of Christmas, Day Ten, you’ll find it at the end of Michelle’s guest post. A double treat! Enjoy)

When Love Collides officially releases on Dec. 15, 2011 in e-book format. Recognizing that Dec. 15^th is the official “Bill of Rights Day” for our nation, I thought I’d post a little bit about how my novel, When Love Collides, ties into that particular day of observance.

Did you know that the Bill of Rights actually began with the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States? That’s right. The amendments were ratified on Dec. 15, 1791 and form what we now call “The Bill of Rights.”

If I had to choose one to focus on as an author, I would have to say the first amendment stands out as being the most significant in regards to my personal freedoms despite the ongoing debates over the interpretation of its full meaning. The freedom that I have as an author to express my thoughts, opinions, and feelings regarding any subject, including religion, is a freedom that I do not take lightly. I can’t imagine being an author in a world where the government decided what I could and could not write about.

Specifically, the First Amendment reads:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

For me, the beauty of personal freedom is inherent in the ability of individuals to express themselves. I pray that we never lose this freedom, for it is one of the many reasons the United States is such a great place to live.  

In particular, When Love Collides deals with the spoken and unspoken expression of love, and the ability to trust. There is a strong faith element to the story. One important theme is that communication is critical in all relationships, because this allows people to make informed choices. One of the barriers to the heroine’s happiness is the knowledge that she made some poor choices in the past which resulted in painful experiences she could have avoided. Had she known the truth about how the hero had felt about her back in college, she may never have married an abusive man. Ten years later, she believes that God has given her a second chance. This story is about her journey and being given a second chance at love.

—————————————————–

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas!

Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from some of today’s most beloved writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

 AND just for fun … there’s also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 – 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

 ***

Inside Out Christmas

by Debora M. Coty

My veterinarian friend, Dr. Katie, tells the story about the December when a woman brought a very sick black lab into her clinic. The dog was only ten months old, so she was really just a big puppy, but she’d been vomiting incessantly and her worried owner didn’t know what was wrong.

“Why don’t you go on home?” Dr. Katie told the owner. “I’ll need to run tests for about four hours. We’ll give you a call when we’re finished.”

Dr. Katie’s assistant took x-rays and hung them on the light panel for Dr. Katie to examine. Hmm. Something looked a little peculiar. Dr. Katie called her assistant over.

“Is it just me, or does that look like a … a camel to you?” she asked incredulously.

“Matter of fact, it does,” replied the astute assistant. “And look, there’s an angel here, a shepherd there, and down there in the colon, it’s Baby Jesus!”

At that moment the phone rang. It was the dog’s distraught owner. “I can’t believe this! I just got home and glanced at the coffee table where I put my manger scene yesterday. There’s nothing there but an empty stable!”

As I thought about this quite literal technique for internalizing the true meaning of Christmas, it occurred to me that sometimes I have the opposite problem. With all the bustling busyness, my inner joy in celebration of my savior’s birth never really makes it to the outside.

Oh, I have plenty of glittery, festive evidences of the holiday in decorations, baking galore, and gifts under my tree. But those things are for show. They’re merely the pretty wrappings, not the gift itself.

Can people really see the core-deep joy that radiates within me when I think of the true gift that Papa God sent the world in his son, Jesus? Is my immeasurable gratitude for eternal life evident as I dash through this hectic season?

I’m afraid all too often, the answer is no.

I’m just too preoccupied to allow my outside to reflect my inside so that nonbelievers recognize that I rejoice because of the hope that is within me. My joy is obscured by the mounds of clutter. Gratefulness is sucked out of my soul by the vacuum called urgency.

“But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy” (Psalm 68:3, NLT).

This verse has become my prayer this Christmas season – that I would make the time to give priority to rejoicing, being glad in God’s presence, and letting my inner joy show for those who may be silently desperate to know the giver of true joy.

Yep, there’s a better way to internalize the gift of Christmas than the black lab technique. We can lodge the Little Lord Jesus in our hearts rather than our colons.

 ***

Debora M. Coty is a humorist, inspirational speaker, and award-winning author of twelve books, including Too Blessed to be Stressed, and coming in March, More Beauty, Less Beast: Transforming Your Inner Ogre. Debora would love to swap Christmas hugs with you at www.DeboraCoty.com. 

 

(Hey readers, it’s Preslaysa. If you are looking for the 12 Peals of Christmas, Day Three, you’ll find it at the end of Precarious’s wonderful guest post today. A double treat! Enjoy)

The Role of Prayer in Combating Human Trafficking

by Precarious Yates

 On December 2, 2011, I released The Elite of the Weak, a young adult suspense/thriller. Set in the not-too-distant future, this novel follows Hadassah, a highly trained Messianic Jewish girl, as she rescues kids from the web of human trafficking. Here’s the reality of the situation:

 Generating over $32 billion annually, human trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal activity in the world, making even more than black market arms deals. Conservative estimates tell us that 27 million children are among those trafficked, often in the horrific form of forced prostitution.

This doesn’t just happen in Southeast Asia or in Africa (although it is terrible there), there are over 100,000 kids affected in the USA. The average age of those kids is 13-14 years old.

In the face of something so huge and evil, what can one person do in response?

The fight against human trafficking requires a double edged sword. One edge is those who pray and war in the heavenlies on behalf of the oppressed. The other edge is those who work on the ground (or underground) to bring the Lord’s justice and healing to the dark places.

Blaire Pilkington from Exodus Cry (www.exoduscry.com) shared this story about how the Lord used the prayers of people to combat human trafficking:

“[There was] a prayer meeting on February 5th, 2007. Benjamin Nolot had received a burden from God for Human Trafficking. Several hundred intercessors joined the call and together they cried out to God for a breakthrough. The very next day, one of the largest human trafficking busts in history occurred involving 2,400 arrests in 77 countries.”

I remember that day. I was living in Ireland, tuning in to the International House of Prayer by live streaming. Tears poured down my face as I prayed along with them, thanking God that so many others were crying out for justice about this issue.

Whatever your age or financial means, you can definitely partner with the Lord in prayer, and cry out to Him for a breakthrough. Pray on your own. Pray in groups of two or three. Pray with your church. Believe me, the Lord will answer and will move heaven and earth.

You can visit here for a list of organizations working to combat human trafficking. Most of these organizations have set up safe homes to provide restoration and channels of reintegration for the victims.

About The Elite of the Weak: Weak because their hearts are broken for the oppressed. Elite because they keep the code. Hadassah isn’t like the rest of her friends in high school. Neither is she like the kids in her church’s youth group. At least not when she’s in the African jungle trying to rescue an abducted child, or when she’s crawling through an air duct on a surveillance mission in Queens. She was born for such a time as this. She also wasn’t cut out to do this work alone. Book 1 of the Revelation Special Ops series.

 

 

 

—————————————————————————————————————

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas! DAY THREE

 

Enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from some of today’s most beloved writer’s (Tricia Goyer, Suzanne Woods Fisher, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Sibella Giorello and more)! Please follow the series through Christmas day as each contributor shares heartfelt stories of how God has touched a life during this most wonderful time of the year.

AND just for fun … there’s also a giveaway! Fill out this simple {form} and enter for a chance to win a beautiful pearl necklace and earring set ($450 value). Contest runs 12/14 – 12/25 and the winner will on 1/1. Contest is only open to US and Canadian residents. You may enter once per day.

If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.

***

Where is Comfort and Joy Found?

By Sandy Ralya

The year 2006 ushered unwelcome emotions into my life. My husband was unhappy in his job, two of my grown children were making poor choices, my mother-in-law was showing signs of Alzheimer’s, extended-family issues were surfacing, and I was writing a book. Things only got worse. Much worse.

Early in 2007, I was asked to represent the mentoring ministry for wives I founded, Beautiful Womanhood, and lead a women’s conference in Uganda, Africa. My husband wasn’t sure if traveling to Africa was a good idea, so we committed it to prayer. While we were listening for an answer, I sensed God asking me to fast from spending, except for groceries, for thirty days. Sometimes you know that you’ve heard God’s voice because you’d never have come up with those words on your own. This was one of those times. I’d never heard of a fast from spending. Tom needed no convincing that a fast from spending came directly from the mouth of God. He still gets excited just thinking about it!

During the fast, it became clear I had used spending as a way to gain a comfort fix. When I was spending money, I felt carefree and lighthearted. Instead of dwelling on the unpleasantness in my life, I was thinking of my purchases and how they would bring me pleasure. Not until I stopped spending did I realize how short-lived the fix really was. During the fast, when I felt the urge to spend—to anesthetize my pain—I pictured myself running into the arms of Jesus, the Great Comforter. Oh, what comfort I received!

One night, I told good friends my experience of gaining comfort through the power of the Holy Spirit rather than money. I exclaimed that I had never felt so comforted. One friend then told us about a dream he’d had shortly after hearing about the invitation from Uganda. After the dream, he had awoken and recorded the following thoughts:

“. . . this is for Sandy. Christ’s redemption of women is beautiful. Beautiful Womanhood is a result of redemptive wholeness. The visuals the ministry uses on the books, etc., are like a piece of beautifully veneered furniture. There is something going on with the ministry to the brokenness of abused women. In Uganda, there are hurting, abused women, and something is connecting their need and Beautiful Womanhood. Though there is nothing wrong with veneer, it is only the topping—the covering, and without good structure it is shallow and will not hold up. It is time to add a new depth to the ministry.”

Then these verses came to my friend’s mind:

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NL

When my friend was finished sharing, everyone in the room broke down in tears, praising God for His work in my life. I’d learned to listen and God had spoken. I’d obeyed, and He’d acted. When He acted, I was changed.

Needless to say, I packed my bags and experienced some of the best days of my life in Uganda—offering God’s comfort to His troubled women.

***

Sandy and her husband Tom have been married since 1980 and live near Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren. When not writing and speaking, Sandy enjoys shopping at yard sales for vintage clothing, cooking, travelling, and drinking really good coffee (black is best) with her husband. For more information, contact Sandy at sandy@beautifulwomanhood.com. Subscribe to Sandy’s blog at www.beautifulwomanhood.com/blog. Find Sandy on Facebook at Beautiful Womanhood. Follow Sandy on Twitter @MentoringWives.

 

When I first decided to write, I had grandiose ideas of the getting hit by these creative surges of energy (aka ‘inspiration’ or ‘the Muse). Once the Muse arrived, I would be magically transported to my laptop and urged to turn off my wireless internet for hours on end. During these long streches of time, I imagined myself writing in a white, hot frenzy, each word coming out pitch perfect (meaning: doesn’t need revision). Then, once I complete my tens of thousands of words in one sitting, I would reread my masterpiece and wonder at the genius who penned the words.

I soon confronted reality.

Reality is juggling a whole bunch of responsibilities while trying to navigate my way to the keyboard. Could I write 50 words? 100 words? 150? One word?!! Could I press the ‘on’ button in my brain and just write something when I had dishes to do, laundry to fold and a child who wants to undecorate the Christmas tree?

Yes.

I stopped trying to fool myself and settled for writing in small chunks. I don’t have a set “schedule” per se with allotted writing time, but I do have a daily word count goal.  A reasonable word count goal. My busy mom plan for writing involves leaving the laptop on all day and getting to the keyboard in between my other activities. And when it’s time to put the kiddos down for a nap, I write for a longer stretch.

Is it inspiration? Hardly. Most of the time, I’m on autopilot, typing out what I had planned for a particular scene, knowing I’ll go back and improve it later.

Is it perspiration? Not quite. I enjoy my writing spurts durin the day. It takes the stress and self-sabotaging pressure of having to write a 1,00o words an hour.  And I especially love the afternoon nap time when I can write longer.

I’d call my writing life a steady commitment. I’m committed to pounding out daily verbage and revising as needed. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it drags, but I like the  pace of producing something on a regular basis. It’s like reading your Bible everyday or exercising. At first, it looks overwhelming and feels like a huge gruntworthy task. But after you do it for a while, you start to feel weird on the days when you don’t engage in the habit.

How about you? Is writing more inspiration or perspiration?

 

 

Stitching New Stories

by Jane Kirkpatrick

The offer for my first novella  required a Christmas theme, a log cabin, a romance and less than 20,000 words.  Known for writing longer historical novels – from 80,000 to 130,000 words – based on the lives of actual women, I wasn’t sure if I could write something both shorter and without the spine of an historical woman to show me the way.

“This is a good for you,”  my agent of 16 years told me. ” You always do better with a challenge.”

She might have been referring to how I felt the first time I wrote a series. The second book needed tons of revisions because I didn’t really understand that readers want to know what happens next to the characters they’ve met in book one rather than be introduced to new characters who might be dealing with the same landscape, problems or even goals. Readers want continuity. It took courage for me to rewrite that second book and then the third but The Kinship and Courage Series went on to be my biggest seller and I wrote three more series after that.

This log cabin novella would be a new adventure overcoming the fear of looking foolish. But as writer Annie Dilliard once wrote, “You can’t test courage cautiously.”  So I plunged in.

I gleaned my idea from a Bible Quilt book given to me by a friend cleaning out her closet and a story I’d read about an 1850 quilt made up of signature blocks given to a man who had courted all the signature women. He married none of them but kept the quilt blocks. His new wife quilted them together.

What if I created a thread salesman hoping to help his employer, a widow trying to keep her log cabin store from going under?  And what if he decided he’d sell more thread if he suggested to several women on his itinerant route that they each make a Bible Quilt Block and hint that he might just wed the creator of a well-stitched block.  Of course he didn’t tell any of the women about the others and he didn’t tell his employer either. What if the widowed owner of the log cabin store found herself falling in love only to discover her thread salesman’s thread-bare scheme. What if her customers held her responsible for being rejected in marriage? What if at the Christmas bazaar, all the individual women involved discover their Bible Block competition?  Could I bring those events to a romantic, humorous believable conclusion in less than 20,000 words? That was my challenge.

“A Courting Quilt” was finished and accepted near my 65th birthday.  It’s part of nine author’s works in what is now a New York Times Bestselling collection called A Log Cabin Christmas (Barbour) released in September.  My foray into new territory stretched my skills, introduced me to new readers and reminded me that we are never too old to learn new ways. New risks can keep us writing.

About A Log Cabin Christmas:

 

Remembering You

By Tricia Goyer

 In the last ten years since I started interviewing veterans for my WWII novels, most have passed away. Some of them—realizing their days on earth were coming to an end—returned to Europe one last time with their family members to walk along paths they’ve never forgotten. Those trips inspired my most recent novel, Remembering You .

One of the most amazing experiences was when I received an email from a woman named Hana. She’d heard of my book and knew I’d interviewed some of the veterans. She asked if I’d interviewed any medics. Then she told me an amazing story. Hana was born on a cart just outside of Mauthausen. Her mother had survived being a prisoner of another camp and was transported to Mauthausen at the end of the war.

Hana was just three weeks old when the Americans arrived, and she was very ill. Because of the filthy conditions she got a skin infection and sores covered her body. No one expected her to live. Yet one of the medics saw the small baby and knew he had to do something. Even though it took most of the day, he lanced and cleaned all Hana’s sores, saving her life. Over the years she’d wanted to find the medic, but didn’t know where to start.

I was amazed by Hana’s story and told her I knew one medic—maybe he remembered who that man was. I gave Hana the contact information and I soon heard the good news. My friend LeRoy “Pete” Petersohn was the medic who’d saved her life! The two were soon reunited! After all these years Hana was able to look into the eyes of the man who saved her and thanked him. After all these years Pete was able to meet the woman he saved. “Baby!” he called out when he met her.

Remembering You is a work of fiction, but the experiences of the men are true. The experiences of the main character, Ava, are also true-to-life. I was busy with life when God pointed me to an amazing story, and to even more amazing men. I’m so thankful I took time to listen and care. I’m so thankful I allowed these men to share what … and who … they remembered most.

About the book: 35-year-old Ava Andrews’ dream job is interrupted by an unusual request–fulfill her 84-year-old grandfather’s last wish by joining him on a battle site tour of Europe. Ava is sure her boss will refuse her request. But, instead, he gives her a directive of his own–to videotape the tour and send it back as mini-segments for the show she produces.

As if juggling these two things isn’t hard enough, Ava is soon surprised again … twice. First, Ava and Grandpa Jack arrive in Europe, only to discover the tour is cancelled. Unwilling to let down her grandfather or her boss, Ava and Grandpa Jack head out on their own. Then, while they’re on their way, the pair soon meet up with Paul, her grandpa’s best friend, and his grandson Dennis. The same Dennis who just happens to be Ava’s first love.

Before she knows it, Ava and Dennis are swept down memory lane as they visit the sites that are discussed in the history books. And even though Ava’s videotaping old soldiers, she can see their youth, their hopes and fears, and their pride in their eyes. Soon Ava learns the trip isn’t just for them … it’s for her too–especially for her heart.
 
Read an excerpt, watch a video and find out more here. http://www.triciagoyer.com/contemporaryfiction.html#RememberingYou 
 
About Tricia:
 
Tricia Goyer is the author of thirty books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2003. Tricia’s book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. On Tricia’s weekly radio show, Living Inspired, she shares stories of inspiration and encouragement. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.
 
For more about Tricia and her other books visitwww.triciagoyer.com

Preslaysa’s Review of Remembering You:

Remembering You is a wonderful reading experience. Although I haven’t finished the entire story yet, I am intrigued about the relationship between a grandparent and a grandaughter as they explore the granfather’s WWII memories. I aso love a the theme running throughout this book. Can we redeem the past? Goyer’s fine writing is a wonderful mix of history, romance and family that will keep you turning pages.

About the Contest:

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her novel, Remembering You, with a KINDLE Touch Giveaway for you … and for the friend of your choice. Then on 11/29 she’ll be wrapping up the release of Remembering You with a Book Chat Party!

During the first half of the party Tricia will be chatting, sharing a sneak peek of her next book, and giving away a ton of great stuff. Then she’ll head over to her website for a Live Chat! Readers will be able to chat with Tricia via video or text.

Don’t miss your chance to win a Kindle Touch for yourself … and to “remember” a friend this holiday with a Kindle Touch for them!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

 

• A Brand New Kindle Touch and a Kindle Touch for a Friend (winner’s choice!) 
• A copy of Remembering You by Tricia Goyer for each

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on November 29th. Winner will be announced at Remembering You Facebook Party on 11/29. Tricia will be hosting an author chat (on Facebook and Live from her website) and giving away copies of her other WWII books and gift certificates to Starbucks and Amazon.com. So grab your copy of Remembering You and join Tricia on the evening of the 29th for an author chat, a trivia contest (How much do you know about WWII?) and lots of giveaways.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 15th!

The Story Behind His Holiday Family (Love Inspired, December 2011)

By Margaret Daley

Over the years I’ve watched my hometown, Biloxi, Mississippi, go through one hurricane after another. Two of the hurricanes were category five and did extensive damage–Camille and Katrina. My mother was director of nursing at the hospital and would spend a lot of time at the hospital during the hurricane and afterwards. When Camille hit in 1969, my mother was a school nurse, and after it hit, she worked with families who lost their homes. She was only one of many people who pitched in to help people get back on their feet–medical staff, fire fighters, police officers, neighbors, strangers.

When I was thinking of a new series to write for Love Inspired, I decided I wanted to show how a town can come together and rise above a tragedy to put their town and lives back together. Having seen that on the Mississippi Gulf Coast after a hurricane, I knew that I wanted to show how a town recovers from a hurricane.

As I was writing the first book in the series, I found myself putting some of the experiences that happened to me in the story. With one particular hurricane, I was visiting my mother during my summer vacation (I was teaching school at that time). My son was with me. A hurricane was coming toward Biloxi. We prepared my mother’s house and we were getting ready for it to strike. It made a ninety degree turn toward Florida and we thought Biloxi had been lucky and missed one. We went out on my stepfather’s boat to do some deep sea fishing. We were gone all day. By the time we came back to the pier in the late afternoon, we discovered that the hurricane had made an about face turn and heading back to Biloxi. My sister-in-law and I got the last rental car out of Biloxi right before the hurricane hit. All planes were grounded and the only way we were going to fly home was to be ahead of the storm and catch a plane in Memphis (she to Florida, me to Oklahoma). The whole experience was a wild ride. My emotions took a ride on a roller coaster.

Recently we had several earthquakes in Oklahoma. After talking to some people after the earthquake, they said they would rather deal with a tornado than an earthquake because they knew what to do. When the earthquake hit, I didn’t–a lot of people in Oklahoma didn’t know–what to do. I just sat in my lounge chair. Since then I’ve read what to do. I’m better prepared. Not that I want to be in an earthquake–tornado–or hurricane again.

About the Book: When Hurricane Naomi tears through a small Mississippi town, a daring rescue unites two heroes. Nurse Kathleen Hart is a single mom racked by guilt over her husband’s death. Firefighter Gideon O’Brien—orphaned as a young boy—has lost too many people he cared for. To rise above the storm’s devastation, Gideon helps Kathleen and her sons rebuild their home. As Christmas approaches, they discover that even the strongest of storms can’t destroy a romance built on the foundation of faith.

Bio for Margaret Daley: Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of seventy-six books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

What’s Wrong with this Cover? by Charlotte Carter

The creation of a book cover is a collaboration of the author (most of whom claim their suggestions are ignored), the editor, art department and marketing. Sometimes things go wrong.

One of the most infamous cover calamities happened to Christina Dodd, author of Castle in the Air, a historical romance. The hero on the cover is standing behind the heroine in a lovely red gown, holding her with, um, all THREE of his arms. Amazing fellow!

Jill Marie Landis, who writes western historicals circa 1880, got an early peek at one of her covers. It featured a cabin in the woods with a TV antenna. Oophs! The publisher had to reprint ALL of the covers. Boy, was that an expensive mistake.

I think my cover for Big Sky Family is both appealing and charming; the colors are positively lovely. It’s hard to beat a cowboy hero (Arnie), the heroine’s young daughter (Torie) and a golden retriever (Sheila) for getting reader attention. But there’s just one small problem.                  

Arnie, our hero, is sitting on the porch steps. He’s a paraplegic. In every scene in the book he is sitting in a wheelchair (with the small exception of rounding up cattle on a specially equipped ATV).

I’m guessing, and I really don’t know, that marketing has ‘discovered’ that heroes portrayed in wheelchairs don’t sell. Okay, I really want to sell lots of copies of Big Sky Family.

But what will readers think when they get to page 10 and find Arnie in his wheelchair? Will they blame me for the misleading cover and write nasty notes? Ouch!

And what about readers who read Big Sky Reunion, a previous book which featured Arnie’s brother Daniel? Won’t they remember that Arnie was a paraplegic in that book? When they see the cover will they think he’s been cured? And write nasty notes? Oh dear . . .

So do you think marketing is right? Would you be more or less likely to buy a book with the hero on the cover in a wheelchair?

Let me know.

Happy reading…….

Char…..

Big Sky Family, Love Inspired, available 10/19/2011

Written With Love, working title, Love Inspired, 10/2012

Books that leave you smiling by

www.CharlotteCarter.com

 

About the book:
 
A fake. A forger. More than anything, Claire Laurent longs for the chance to live an authentic life, to become the woman she wants to be. And she’ll be given that choice. But will it come at too costly a price?

 

Claire Laurent’s greatest aspiration is to paint something that will bring her acclaim. Yet her father insists she work as a copyist. A forger. When she’s forced to flee from New Orleans to Nashville only a year after the War Between the States has ended, her path collides with attorney Sutton Monroe. She considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But after he later refuses to come to her aid, Claire fears she’s sorely misjudged the man. Finding herself among the elite of Nashville’s society, Claire believes her dream to create a lasting impression in the world of art is within reach–but only if her fraudulent past remains hidden.

 

The Federal Army has destroyed Sutton’s home and confiscated his land, and threatens to destroy his family’s honor. His determination to reclaim what belongs to him and to right a grievous wrong reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever imagined–as well as the woman he loves.Set at Nashville’s historic Belmont Mansion, a stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, A Lasting Impression is a sweeping love story about a nation mending after war, the redemption of those wounded, and the courage of a man and woman to see themselves–and each other–for who they really are.

My Review:

I love this story and the cover is fabulous! This is an intriguing historical novel about romance, art forgery with a touch of suspense. Alexander creates characters so real they feel like they could leap off the page. I was completely engrossed in the world of Claire and Sutton as they embark on their treasure hunt. I highly recommend this book!!

Kindle Fire Giveaway and Facebook Party from Tamera Alexander!

While Tamera and her book,  A Lasting Impression, are traveling across the country virtually
(with a few international stops as well!), she will be hosting a Kindle Fire Giveaway (11/4 – 11/15) and preparing for a lavish Southern-Style Facebook Party (11/15)(dripping with hospitality, of course). She will be giving away Southern Food Baskets, books, and an array of other fabulous freebies! Don’t miss a minute of the fun. Swoon!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Brand New Kindle Fire (shipped as soon as it releases)
• A copy of A Lasting Impression and 3 other special books Tamera wants you to have (for Kindle)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on November 15th. Winner will be announced at A Lasting Impression Facebook Party on the 15th. Tamera will be wrapping up the A Lasting Impression celebration with an author chat and giving away Southern Food Baskets (Loveless Cafe Food Baskets, books, Amazon & Starbucks gift certificates, and copies of Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate cookbook), six gift certificates to Starbucks and Amazon.com, and copies of A Lasting Impression! So grab your copy of A Lasting Impression (it’s okay if you don’t have one yet- you might win one!) and join Tamera on the evening of November 15th for an author chat, a trivia contest (How
much do you know about the 1860’s?) and lots of Southern-inspired giveaways (complete listing here).

Don’t miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER. Hope to see you on the 15th!

About Tamera:
 
Tamera Alexander is a best-selling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose resonate with readers. Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in Nashville Tennessee, along with their two adult children who live near by. And don’t forget Jack, their precious–and precocious–silky terrier.

For more information please visit www.tameraalexander.com