If you have little ones at home, check out this cool recipe for empty tomb cookies. Each ingredient symbolizes a part of the Easter story.
Ever notice how things seem to happen in threes?
Well, I have 3 things to share with you today.
First of all my super-exciting, big news that I’m finally allowed to disclose!!
Revell Publishing has given me a three-book contract for a romantic suspense/mystery trade-length series. This was a series for which the proposal was submitted in June 2010, so aspiring writers…don’t give up hope!
The first book will release in June 2013 and is guaranteed to change the way you look at flowers.
This series is very dear to my heart. Book one was called Murder by Marigolds. I say was, because that title makes it sound like a cozy mystery, which it isn’t. So we’re in the process of brainstorming new titles.
Although… it does feature a herbal researcher-turned-amateur-sleuth as the heroine. The romance and an underlying suspense plot overarches the series, while each book features a standalone mystery. I’m very excited about having the opportunity to develop my characters and several subplots more deeply with the longer format.
Nothing is at it seems in this rural Niagara-area town!
Second: Aspiring Writers…I’m posting at MBT Ponderers today on Five Tips for Writing for Love Inspired Suspense.
Readers who haven’t snagged a copy of my latest release...I believe my host is generously giving away a copy to one of the commenters on today’s blog!
Third: This news is also for aspiring writers. I highly recommend you check out the Touched by Love contest. TBL is the contest of the Faith Hope Love Chapter of RWA. You don’t have to be a member of RWA to enter.
I coordinate the historical category and so far we only have 3 entries! The entry numbers for the other categories are low, too. A contest win or final is a great boon to a proposal. And this makes the odds in entrants favor!
Lynette Eason mentioned that she received her first LI contract as the result of a request following the TBL contest.
The deadline is midnight, this Sunday April 1st. Almost all the judges are published, the winner of each category wins a read from a Bethany editor and cash!
Here’s the link: http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/tbl.html The entry consists of the 1st 30 pages of your ms and a 2-page synopsis.
Please feel free to share this info, if you go to my Facebook page, you can just click “share” to post the announcement to your page.
Your Turn: Do you have any news to share..in threes or otherwise
I’m pleased to welcome Margaret Daley to my blog today. I’ve been blessed by her mentorship.
She is a prolific, award-winning author of inspirational romance, historical romance and romantic suspense for Love Inspired, Summerside Press and Abingdon Press. She is currently the president of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Recently retired, she taught special needs teens for many years and volunteered with the special Olympics.
I invited her here today to tell us why she wrote Saving Hope. Scroll down to Monday’s post if you missed the introduction to this wonderful book.
Here’s why Margaret wrote Saving Hope…
The above are the reasons I wrote Saving Hope. I taught high school students for twenty-seven years. I never wanted them to become a victim of a human trafficker. I wanted to do something about the problem, to warn them of what can happen if they aren’t careful, but at the same time give the reader an entertaining story that they will remember after they finish the book. I hope people become involved in Kate, Wyatt and Rose’s stories.
Your Turn: I really appreciate the opportunity to deepen my understanding about different people’s lives as an organic part of a story. What kind of topics in stories made a lasting impression on you?
*You can read an excerpt from Saving Hope here: http://www.margaretdaley.com/2012/02/saving-hope-excerpt/
What boy-crazy young girl wouldn’t be flattered by the interest of a good-looking older “boy”?
Very few, and as Margaret Daley’s newest romantic suspense so deftly illustrates, sometimes the consequences are your worst nightmare.
Here’s the book’s back cover blurb:
When a teenager goes missing from the Beacon of Hope School, Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan and school director Kate Winslow are forced into a dangerous struggle against a human trafficking organization. But the battle brings dire consequences as Wyatt’s daughter is terrorized and Kate is kidnapped. Now it’s personal, and Wyatt finds both his faith and investigative skills challenged as he fights to discover the mastermind behind the ring before evil destroys everyone he loves.
Saving Hope deals with the harsh reality of human trafficking in an informative and tasteful way that leaves you aching for the girls whose innocence is being stolen, without filling your mind with gritty images.
I’ve told my daughter that I want her to read the novel, and I’m recommending it to mothers of preteen and teen girls. Why?
Because Margaret has done a superb job of showing how innocently and easily a young girl can be lured into a trap.
Young men make quick cash, working for trafficking rings by seeking out girls at a mall, for example, and showing interest in them. As I asked in my opening, what boy-crazy, young teen isn’t going to be flattered?
We had exactly such a scenario make headlines here in Canada recently, because the father found out what was going on, sought out the house and pounded on the door, demanding they release his daughter. At the time, the daughter was embarrassed, unaware of the danger she was in. Her father was lucky he wasn’t shot.
Your Turn: Wyatt Sheridan is having problems with his daughter. She wants more independence, but he isn’t ready to give it to her. How would you let a teenager become independent, but still safe?
Please join me again on Wednesday. I’ve invited Margaret to stop by and share why she wrote this story.
On Monday, we talked about Highland Hearts. Today I’d like to introduce you to its author, fellow Canadian, Eva Maria Hamilton.
I “met” Eva online soon after she signed her first contract with Love Inspired Historical, but it wasn’t until she made a comment on my Facebook page about wanting to visit the African Lion Safari, too, that I realized she lived near me.
In fact, she lives less than an hour away. As fellow newbie LI authors and fellow Southern Ontarioians, we became fast friends.
Last Saturday we even held a joint book signing together!
I asked her a few questions so we could all get to know her a little better.
What do want your readers to take away after the last page?
I want readers to take away the message that where there is love, anything is possible. If something is that important to you, never give up.
We talked about some great examples of that on Monday’s blog. Would you share with us a favorite character from a book you have read?
Here’s one from childhood – Ralph from The Lord of the Rings. Despite personal injury or rejection Ralph never backs down from his beliefs or his integrity. He is a leader not a follower.
Sounds like he might have inspired your hero. Could you share with us something that the enemy could have used to hurt you in some way, but God turned it around for good?
I had a truly horrible pregnancy. Without getting into detail I was in constant pain. A complete invalid. However I didn’t let that depress me. I dealt with it the best I could. And being unable to walk or even move much and thus stuck in my house I started writing. And that has turned into a blessing. I’m now a writer for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line and loving every minute of it.
Wow, I had no idea! It always amazes me how God can turn our trials into triumph.
Do you have a life and/or a ministry verse (or for this book)?
The verse that resonates throughout Highland Hearts is Song of Solomon 2:10-13.
“My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come. The cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.'”
Is there anything I didn’t ask that you would like to add?
Right now I am working on a proposal for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line that is also set in 18th century Scotland.
To find out more about Highland Hearts and connect with me online please visit my website at www.EvaMariaHamilton.com where you can also view the book trailer I created. If anyone is interested in reading the first scene from Highland Hearts please follow this link: http://amzn.to/HighlandHearts
Here’s Eva’s official bio: Eva Maria Hamilton spent years studying people from all different areas of academia and brings that understanding of the human condition into each of her written pieces. An advocate for lifelong learning, Eva Maria Hamilton studied in both Canada and the United States, earning a diploma in Human Resources Management, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, and a Master of Science in Education.
Your Turn: Could you share something that the enemy could have used to hurt you in some way, but God turned it around for good?
On Friday’s blog I will announce the recipient of the signed copy of Highland Hearts, chosen from those who left comments Monday or today, so be sure to check back.
Today we’re going to talk about the hero in Eva Maria Hamilton’s debut Love Inspired Historical, Highland Hearts.
I read the book last week. What a treat! Here’s a brief description before we chat:
Logan McAllister survived years of indentured servitude in America to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father—that five years as a servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost…and Sheena is engaged to another man.
Sheena has spent the past five years trying to forget Logan, the man who abandoned her with no explanation. She won’t listen to his protests that he loves her—has always loved her. It’ll take more than empty promises to win her back…and to prove that his highland heart is hers forever.
I greatly admire this hero. Logan loved Sheena so much that he was willing to do anything to gain her father’s permission to wed her, even selling himself into what amounted to slavery.
And although I hate that he never told Sheena why he was leaving Scotland, I admire the kind of integrity it took to honor her father’s conditions rather than divulge the secret to the woman he loved, a woman he could have trusted to not betray to her father that she knew.
So here’s our question for discussion…and this week, I’ll be giving away a signed copy of Highland Hearts to one of our participants so don’t be shy!
Your Turn: When have you challenged yourself and pushed yourself to your limit to accomplish something important to you? Did you succeed? Was it worth the effort?
if you haven’t felt challenged in this way, what kind of circumstance might drive you to push yourself to the limit to achieve your desired goal?
Did you know that method actors often study animal behavior to perfect characterizations?
I often find inspiration for my fictional characters from animals. Take this picture for example.
Is the cat yawning, yowling, yodeling, yelling for help? What’s it doing in the corner? Was it sent there? Is it stuck?
Your Turn: Give your imagination a workout and tell a story about what’s happening in the picture.
Spring is in the air. The neighborhood children are out of school. Perfect weather for playing tag. Apparently, bloggers feel the same.
Monday I was tagged by Loree Huebner, a talented historical fiction writer and civil war re-enactor. I always learn something interesting at her blog Between You, Me, and the Gatepost…. She posts each Monday, I encourage you to stop by. This week she answered the same questions as below, and the previous Monday she had a great post on the woman who started the Red Cross.
Horse drawn carriage, because it’s so romantic.
Play with my grandbaby!
Church.
Oh, and while I’m sharing blog links…
Giving away a copy of Deep Cover “here” this week
One of the discussion questions at the back of Shades of Truth is: Kim wants to believe the best of everyone…How might that endanger her?
These kinds of questions are a suspense writer’s launching pad to all sorts of mayhem.
Let’s have some fun tossing around ideas. I’ll start.
For simplicity, we’ll pretend “Kim” could be any one of us, single or married.
What if she gets a text from her “hubby” saying he’s at the bank and forgotten the password for their bank card, and would she text it to him. Does she believe him?
Of course. Her husband’s notorious for forgetting passwords and his name came up on the caller ID. She has the fleeting thought that there are people who tap cell phones. But it’s not as though anyone can “hear” a text message, so she quickly texts him back, and then deletes the message for security.
A few minutes later she gets a call from her hubby asking if he left his cell phone and wallet at home. Oops.
Your Turn: Who might a woman trust or believe, only to have that trust come back to bite her?
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