Special Guest – Philip Montero & a Giveaway

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Last week I “met” a new author Stephanie Guerrero. I haven’t had a chance to read her book, but the setting–the Orient–intrigued me so I invited her hero over for an interview.

But first let me tell you a little about Stephanie. She holds her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies specializing in reading. A former middle school teacher, this pastor’s wife and home-school mom of 4 kids has a passion for the redemptive, life-changing impact of a great story. Her husband of 18 years is her delight and inspiration.
Her debut novel is titled Shades of the Orient and releases this week from Westbow Press, the new self-publishing division of Thomas Nelson. I suspect some of you may have questions for Stephanie about that process, and you’re welcome to ask in the comments below. 
 
Before we start with the interview, Stephanie has provided a little setup to orient us (pardon the pun) since in this action-packed suspense set in the exotic Orient, no one is who they seem… (sounds a little like my undercover cops!)

 

The Smuggler
    Black Jade is many things… Hiding behind a prominent name by day and a Chinese mask by night, he can be anyone, just not the man he wants to be. Trapped in an ever tightening web of deceit, and pursued relentlessly by the White Dragon (Major Montero) he must choose which man he wants to be. When a way out is offered from a surprising source, will he choose power or let it go?
The Spy
A Spanish officer, a black market dealer, a shipping executive…      
Intelligence officer Philip Montero is skilled at wearing masks to defeat the enemy, but this time he must face the enemy within. When his body betrays him with night terrors, he must unlock the past in order to survive, but time is running out and Black Jade has targeted the woman of his heart.
Betrayed by his family, his fiancé, and his fears, WHO can teach him how to trust again?
The Senorita
      Shipping heiress turned missionary nurse, Francesca McRae is a target everywhere she turns. Desired as an heiress by power-hungry men and hated by the Chinese Boxers for her interference in the culture… she is surrounded by betrayal and hatred. None of her suitors are who they seem, yet one has stolen her heart. When loving others becomes more than she can handle, WHO can she trust?
The Interview: with Major Philip Montero
Major, thank you for joining us all the way from Shanghai. Please tell us a little about yourself and how a United States Marine ended up in China.
 I was born in California in 1874 where my parents own a large hacienda and wheat fields in the San Joaquin Valley. We were very blessed. Upon hearing of all the famine in China from his brother-in-law, my father contacted the U.S. Embassy in China, bought a second house with a connecting warehouse on the river and began a humanitarian effort to distribute some of our wheat. It was quite an adventure for a ten year old boy, until the warehouse caught fire one night and both my parents were killed.
What happened to you?
Although I escaped the fire, I was apprehended by the Boxers. They are a secretive Chinese society that hates all things foreign. I was beaten, tortured and held for ransom. No one could find my uncle… a British shipping mogul. Finally, just as I was to be sold into slavery on the human trafficking market, my uncle’s business partner, Adam McRae, redeemed me, took me home and under his wing.  By the time my uncle finally showed up, the raw wounds on my back and the hurt in my heart had begun to heal. I vowed I would become a godly man like the one who redeemed me. That’s why I joined the marines… to fight for the freedoms our country represents.
What an amazing story. Tell us about Adam’s daughter Francesca McRae.
Ah… the first time I met Francesca was when I opened my eyes after Adam took me home. I thought she was a black-haired angel. Her mother is Spanish and her father Irish-American which makes Francesca quite a spitfire with an amazingly gentle heart for the poor and hurting. She’s about five years my junior. I lost contact with her until I was on mission undercover in the Philippines and she on a missionary trip. When I stumbled across her, she was about to be accosted by a rogue Spanish soldier. I rescued her, completed the mission and to her surprise escorted her to China.
What did you think of the new grownup Francesca?
She takes my breath away. She is a gorgeous Spanish seniorita with emerald green eyes and a heart full of compassion, purity, faith and adventure. Actually, I’m a little shocked at the emotion she brings out in my heart. I had a fiancé betray me and I had sworn off relationships. Now… she makes me want everything I had buried deep. I’m just worried what Adam will say. Francesca is his most prized possession. I’m also worried that both of them have become a target of the man I am in China to hunt down… Black Jade. The man is a notorious smuggler and human trafficker. He’s also rumored to be part of Shanghai society. The last I heard was that his sights were set on McRae’s daughter. But not if I have anything to say about it.
Tell me about your mission?
Once I got back from undercover work in the Philippines, I was reassigned to go undercover in my uncle’s shipping agency to root out an international smuggler. I found evidence that he has been using McRae-Stafford shipping company for his nefarious purposes. This may be why he is targeting Francesca and her father. With Adam out of the way, he could marry Francesca and gain control of the company. The problem is there are a number of men who meet the profile and time is running out. Thanks to the Boxers, life for foreigners is getting more difficult every day. I believe things will come to a head soon between East and West.
Is there a future for you and Francesca?
I’m so afraid she’ll move on. That’s what happened to me before. Military life is so uncertain, but being the fiercely loyal woman she tells me I can trust her and God. I love her so much it hurts, but it’s hard to trust that love won’t betray me again. I’m doing my best to trust her and God for the future. That’s all I can say right now.
 

Where do you turn when life is too much to handle?
There is a God… Who is waiting to be your answer…

Thanks so much for visiting with us Stephanie and Philip. The story sounds very intriguing. 

READERS: One commenter on today’s blog will win a signed print copy of Shades of the Orient (must be North American mailing address) AND a second commenter (from anywhere) will receive a free Ecopy.

If live outside NA, please let us know in your comment. Winners names will be drawn and posted Saturday night. You do not need to leave your email address in the comment. Check back Sunday to see if you’ve won. If you did, then you can email me your contact information.

Your turn: Do you have any questions or comments for Stephanie or her story’s hero?   

Back to Conversations about Characters…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

After getting sidetracked last week by my Christmas going-ons, I want to get back to our character conversations.

Since Christmas is only two weeks away, I’ve drawn today’s question from Hope White’s November Love Inspired Suspense Christmas Haven.

It’s a story about a woman who left her small hometown and high school sweetheart to become a social worker in the city. She knew her sweetheart’s dream was to be a small town cop, but that he would follow her if she asked. So she didn’t ask. She just left. There’s also a deeper reason that drove her to the profession, but I won’t give that away here.

The story begins with the heroine returning to her hometown–the only safe place she can turn–after witnessing a kidnapping. Of course, danger follows, and her former sweetheart, now the police captain, must protect her and his town.

But the heroine has a difficult time accepting his help.

Your turn: So here’s the question I’d like to discuss:

Do you know someone (or are you someone) who has difficulty accepting help from friends? If so, how might you get through  to her/him?

For myself, I’ve noticed that my husband has difficulty asking for help and accepting it when it’s offered. I, on the other hand, welcome any help that’s offered. My husband is an eldest child. I am a youngest. So I did an impromptu poll and came to the conclusion that generally speaking, eldest (or only) children have a more difficult time accepting help than youngest children.

What do you think? Has this been your experience

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Christmas Greetings!
This has been an exciting year in our household. We started the year by welcoming a new pup into our home. By spring we were welcoming our first grandchild. My youngest fan!  Then come September, we were celebrating the release of my debut novel!!
 
It’s been a whirlwind year to say the least. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, especially hearing from you, my readers.
Now that Christmas is upon us, I want to give you something special.
As many of you who follow my blog or FB have probably already heard, I’ve added novel “Extras” to my website: deleted scenes, bloopers, editor’s cut and commentary, on location in Miller’s Bay, character interviews, recipes, and exclusively for my newsletter subscribers, Rick and Ginny’s Christmas story.  (Caveat: it’s not a romantic suspense since they’re already together, but it has a bit of a mystery and a cozy Christmas feel that I hope you will enjoy.)
Click here to read the story online.
Or, if you’d prefer to read the 15 page story on your Ereader, email me with “Send Story” in the subject and I’ll email you a pdf version.
As an aside to Ereader users: Did you know that you can convert a pdf file to any version of Ereader for even easier reading? There’s free software called Calibre that I use and it works great. You can learn more here: http://calibre-ebook.com/about

On my website, there are also links to two free recipe Ebooks that you can read on your computer or print recipes from if you don’t have an Ereader: https://www.sandraorchard.com/DeepCoverRecipes.html  Novel Morsels has recipes related to various fiction books, while the International Cookbook is a collaboration effort of the international authors with whom I blog.

What’s next?
On Valentine’s Day, I will be speaking in the afternoon at the Pelham Public Library and in the evening at the Thorold Public Library. I hope to have advance copies of my next book by then to give away as door prizes. So if you’re in the area…please join us.

This is what book 2 looks like!!!

In 2012, Love Inspired celebrates its 15th anniversary and will have several commemorative specials throughout the year.
As a fun surprise, I used random.org to select one of my newsletter subscribers to win an advanced signed copy…to be mailed the day after I receive them. ~ grin~
And the winner is… INSERT WINNER’S NAME
Please email me your snail mail address and I will send you your copy soon!
I recently submitted the third book to my editor, retitled Critical Condition. It should release in October 2012. Now, I’m working on a proposal for a fourth book in the series, and I’ve started a Christmas novella romance that I hope to have ready for my readers by next Christmas!
Please know how very much I appreciate your support. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to others who you think might enjoy the stories.
Do you belong to a book club? If your book club would like to have an “ask the author” night, I’d be happy to arrange to “visit” via Skype if someone in the club has a laptop on which that would work. Email me and we’ll see what we can work out.
Also…I have a favor to ask:
Since print copies of Deep Cover are almost sold out from online retailers, Ebook copies will soon be the only option available to new readers. Retailers have found that positive book reviews play an important role in influencing Ebook shoppers. If you enjoyed Deep Cover and shop at an online book retailer and are comfortable doing so, please consider writing a brief review for the Ebook version of Deep Cover. (On Amazon, at least, reviews for the print version do not appear with the Ebook version.) I’d very much appreciate your efforts.
BTW, in Niagara, print copies are still available at the Believer’s Bookshelf in Beamsville and Heritage Christian Bookstore in St. Catharines. I am so grateful for the support of these wonderful local stores.
If you’d like to connect online between newsletters:
I blog Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at www.SandraOrchard.blogspot.com
I have a Facebook author page (and would love more fans J ) www.facebook.com/SandraOrchard
I add news of new appearances/book signings etc as they are scheduled to my website: www.SandraOrchard.com

I wish you all a safe, healthy and joyous Christmas season as we celebrate the greatest gift of all.

Been thinking about Phases…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Do ever go through phases of doing things?

My Christmas decorations are a pictorial record of many of my “craft” phases.

There was the “needlepoint phase”

The cross-stitch phase

The applique phase

The painting phase

Not to mention, the dried flower arranging phase, the knitting phase, the crocheting phase, and probably a few more I’ve long forgotten.

My writing has gone through phases, too. The write-the-story-with-no-understanding-of-story-craft phase, the learning-to-craft-a-publishable-story phase, the edit-like-crazy phase, and on and on.

I’m thrilled to finally be in the writing-for-publication phase. And I plan to persevere so… hopefully, this phase proves to not be a phase at all!

Your Turn: What are some of the phases in your life or hobbies that you have fond memories of, or… are happy to be done?

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas…

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Snow is in the air. The fire is crackling. And the decorations are up.

The above picture is of nativity characters I painted when my children were younger. Each year I set them out arranging them a little differently. I find holiday decorating to be a bittersweet time as many of my decorations are cherished gifts from my mom who passed away when my children were babes, and from my dad who passed away more recently.

So I have to admit that I was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year.

With our children grown, traditions are changing. This will be the first year that I don’t share either Christmas or Boxing Day with my sisters and their families. Like my own eldest daughter who has married and had a child, my sisters’ eldest children have also started families, which makes arranging a get together far more difficult.

But… we’re looking forward to new traditions.

This will be my grand daughter’s FIRST Christmas. And it will be so much fun to enjoy Christmas through the eyes of a child once again.

So these days I’m happily sewing a cuddly flannel quilt for her, while listening to Christmas carols, and dreaming of snuggling up with her to read Christmas stories.

Your Turn: What are some of your favorite “preparing for Christmas” traditions?

One thing I did with my children every year was bake and build gingerbread houses. This was a several day affair of shopping for the candy decorations, preparing the dough, rolling and shaping and baking it the next day, assembling and admiring, and then finally on Christmas Eve, nibbling. ~grin~

Deep Cover Extras are Here!!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Well…not here on this blog…over at my website.

Think DVD extras, only they’re extras for a book instead of a movie.


I’ve been a busy beaver for the past week and a half, working to get them done in time for a December unveiling. I’d love to hear what you think. 

If you hop on over, you’ll find: 
 ~deleted scenes
 ~bloopers 
 ~on location in Miller’s Bay etc.
as well as some items you may have already seen here, such as the recipe book links and character interviews. 

Still to come is Rick and Ginny’s Christmas story. I’m planning to email an exclusive link to my newsletter subscribers in another week or so…when I get my quarterly newsletter written!! Please sign up if you’d like to read it.


Your Turn: What do you think of the extras? Any suggestions for more I might add?

Early Christmas Present!!!

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This week I got my first glimpse of the cover of the second book in my Undercover Cops series. It release in March 2012 and appeared on Amazon this week for preorder!

What do you think?

I’m thrilled. Love the colors.

The book centers around a youth detention center called Hope Manor that is surrounded by farmland. I like how the artist has captured the mood.

Now, any writers reading this…if you’d like an early Christmas present…

The final gift package on the fundraiser for Sandi Rog blog goes up today  at noon Mountain Standard Time TODAY. And it’s a doozy. For as little as a $5 donation, you could have a chance to win…

PACKAGE 15: Writing 3 ($125+249=)—Open to international participants!
A free Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Webinar and a 2500 word critique by a guild member (http://www.christianwritersguild.com/) AND a Fiction Writing Master Course by Janice Thompson. 

This is a gold mine of information! Ten lessons– each presented in video, audio, and print format so you can interact with the material in whichever way suits you best–cover every imaginable facet of fiction writing, from plotting, point of view, and characterization to theme, genre, common mistakes, and what to do with that manuscript once you’ve typed “The End.”


Don’t dilly dally, because it closes Saturday noon.


Your Turn: What do you think of the cover? How does it make you feel? What does it make you think the book will be about?

How to Make the Most of Email Irritations

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

This past weekend, I apparently sent myself an email about a great deal on Rolex watches.

Imagine my surprise!!!

When I’ve gotten this sort of junk mail from a real friend’s email address, I’ve always told them that their email has been hacked. Well, this week I learned that’s not necessarily so.

According to my internet provider, since the email didn’t come from my computer. I don’t have a virus.

I’ve been spoofed.

Now, here’s the scary part. If someone gets such an email from me and blocks the sender because it’s clearly spam…they could be blocking me from ever being able to email them from that address again!

These guys are deviously clever.

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well, first of all, I thought it was intriguing. Something one of my characters should have to deal with at some point. Don’t you think?

Good fiction is all about conflict. Imagine the conflict if the heroine is sending the most important email of her life to her editor or agent or future hero, and doesn’t realize they’ve blocked her address because some creep is tarnishing her good name selling watches or pharmaceuticals or who knows what else?!

Second, I wanted to warn you to be careful about blocking senders when you get spam. If someone you know is listed as the sender, even if you know he or she didn’t really send it, s/he will be the one cut out of your email box, not the real sender.

Third, to protect yourself, discourage your friends from “forwarding” you jokes etc. Or urge them to use BCC, i.e. blind carbon copy so that your email address doesn’t wind up on a bunch of computers of people you don’t know. Eventually, the forwarded email will return to the originator, who is likely a spammer farming email addresses.

Oh, there is definitely a story in this…next book 🙂

Your Turn: What is the most bizarre or irritating or scary email, social media, or computer-related situation you’ve had to deal with?

Lakeside Reunion – Character Interview

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

A couple of Mondays ago we talked about how the hero of Lakeside Reunion had to sacrifice a future with the woman he loved to do the honorable thing. Today, I’m excited to be able to bring him here to answer a few questions his choice raised for me.

But first allow me to introduce you to his creator, debut author, Lisa Jordan. I first met Lisa online through My Book Therapy and then later in person at ACFW conferences.  What a thrill it has been for us to see our debut novels come out with Love Inspired within months of each other. 
 
Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories that feature both comes naturally to her. Happily married for twenty-two years, Lisa and her husband have two young adult sons. When she isn’t writing or caring for children in her in-home childcare business, Lisa enjoys family time, romantic comedies, good books, crafting with friends and feeding her NCIS addiction. Visit her at www.lisajordanbooks.com to learn more about her writing. 
 
Before we dive into the character questions, here’s the back cover blurb for Lakeside Reunion:
 
Bed-and-breakfast owner Lindsey Porter prays she won’t run into Stephen Chase when she returns to Shelby Lake.Five years ago, the cop jilted her to marry another woman, and Lindsey fled town. But no sooner does she hit city limits than Stephen pulls her over for a broken taillight. Despite the past, he’s still able to stir up Lindsey’s old feelings for him. Now a widower and single dad, Stephen recognizes a second chance when he sees one. And he’ll do anything to make Lindsey trust in God and take a risk for love—again.Read an excerpt of Lakeside Reunion
 
Now, Stephen, you chose honor over love. Why?
I screwed up. Big time. I had to man up and face the consequences of my actions. What happened affected many people I loved, but I had to do the right thing, even if it meant giving up Lindsey.
 
What would you have missed out on if you had chosen Lindsey?         
I missed the first two years of Ty’s life. If I had married Lindsey, I would have become a weekend dad, and I didn’t want that. Tyler didn’t deserve that either. He was already losing his mother. The poor guy needed some security in his life.
 
And Bethany … she was a great person who didn’t deserve what happened to her. She was one of the kindest, gentlest people I’ve had the privilege to know. She loved Ty with all her heart. He’s a great kid, mainly because of her.
 
How did you feel when you saw Lindsey for the first time?
Like someone had just stepped on my chest. Man, she looked amazing. She was so close, yet so far away, you know?
 
What regrets do you have over hurting Lindsey?
I loved Lindsey. That never changed. But I had to do what was right for Bethany and Tyler. I was all they had. Breaking my engagement was one of the toughest things I had to do, especially since she was grieving her father’s death.
 
How did you grow to care for Bethany?
Bethany’s gentle personality made it easy. We were strangers when we got married, but as we talked, our relationship grew into a deep friendship. She was my wife, and I loved her. I will always cherish her memory and honor it for Ty.
 
Why is your job so important?
I’m a cop. I catch bad guys. But it’s more than that. I screwed up in the past. Being a cop showed I could do something right and honorable. Lindsey’s father was my mentor and believed in me. I couldn’t let him down.
 
What’s the hardest thing about being a single parent?
What’s not hard about it? You have to do everything yourself. Thank God I had my family to lend a hand or else Ty and I may have lived on chicken nuggets or mac and cheese. He deserved so much more. I do my best, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. I miss having a partner to share his accomplishments or cute stories with. I hate having to juggle work, his school events, and making sure someone is always there for him.
 
What life lesson would you share with someone else?
God’s grace is a free gift—it’s up to you to accept it or deny it. Plus, life’s hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Lean on family and friends, but most of all, lean on God. His shoulders can take it and wants to walk alongside us every day. 
 
Stephen and Lisa, thanks so much for joining us today and being so open with your answers. Lisa do you have anything you’d like to tell my readers? 
 
 
Yes, for the past month-plus, I’ve been holding a scavenger hunt to promote my Lakeside Reunion release. Also, blog commenters on my blog hop (like today) will be put in a drawing for fun prizes—breakfast basket, Love Inspired Authors basket, autographed copies of Lakeside Reunion. (U.S. addresses only, I’m afraid.) 
 
There are still a couple of days left to get in on the scavenger hunt. Visit my Lakeside Reunion Contest page for more information. For those participating…the token for this blog is a home-cooked meal.
Your Turn: Do you have any questions for Lisa or Stephen? 

Special Notice: Tomorrow at noon Mountain Standard Time, the For Canadians Only gift basket will go up on the fundraiser for Sandi Rog blog. The basket open to International for the 2500 word critique from the Christian Writer’s Guild will be on Friday. Be sure to stop in every day. These baskets are worth hundreds of dollars and feature everything from chocolates, crafts, hand-knitted items, jewellery, scrapbooking supplies to books. 
 

 

Reach Out this Holiday Season

Posted on: by Sandra Orchard

Imagine you’re a mom of four, living with MS, still readjusting to life in the states after years spent abroad, and finally seeing a dream come true. The book you’ve researched for years and poured your soul into is finally, today, being released into the world. After all the struggles of moving, of helping children acclimate, of learning a new city, of juggling motherhood and family and writing, you get to celebrate the realization of a dream.

And on that same day, your doctor tells you to come in right away–you you have stage 4 T-cell lymphoma, possibly caused by the medication you’ve been taking for MS.

This is what happened to Sandi Rog on November 1, 2010. For the last year, Sandi has endured chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, with the hope of destroying this aggressive cancer. And then, just a few weeks before the release of her second book, new tumors were discovered near her spine that show the cancer has not succumbed the way we had all hoped.

So now, in the face of the holiday season, the Rog family finds themselves settling in for another year of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual battle as Sandi faces more treatments–one of which holds much promise but is not covered by insurance. As you can imagine, the financial cost of fighting cancer can be overwhelming, and that’s why we’re hosting this fundraiser.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
Donated items such as books and ornaments and a wide assortment of other items have been added almost daily to the fundraiser site. These will be available for you to win starting today, November 25th at noon MST.

To purchase a raffle “ticket”, donate $5 at GiveForward.com. (If you wish to enter the drawings for donated items, be sure NOT to mark your donation as anonymous or to hide your donated amount!) Every $5 you donate will purchase you one raffle ticket.

The fundraising site will post two awesome gift “baskets” per day. To enter the drawing for a basket, leave a comment on the post. Want to enter more than once on the basket you really want? In your comment, note how many “tickets” you’re spending. They’ll be able to track through GiveForward.com how many tickets you purchased.  

They regret that most items are only able to be shipped to US addresses. HOWEVER, there will be a special for Canadians Only Gift Basket. As well, Aspiring Writers from anywhere in the world will not want to miss the opportunity to win a 2,500 word critique from the Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild.  I’ll keep you posted on those important dates.

Note that, once your ticket has been spent, you won’t get it back if you don’t win. (Just like a raffle with physical tickets–once you enter it in a drawing, your ticket is gone.) The comments will close at noon the next day; comments left after that time will not be counted. We’ll use Random.org to choose the winner and will post their name the next day. Read yesterday’s post at the fundraiser site for more detailed instructions.

Your donation is not tax deductible. This is strictly a sacrificial, out-of-the-goodness-of-your-heart donation.

HOW TO PURCHASE A RAFFLE TICKET:
Be sure to have your credit card info available. Click the GiveForward.com button and enter your info there. (Note that if you want to purchase more tickets later, you will need to reenter your information at that time as GiveForward.com does not store payment info.) Donate as much or as little as you want, and every $5 increment will get you an entry toward the gift basket of your choice. GiveForward.com will keep track for us of names and email addresses, so we’ll be able to contact you if you win.

We know times are hard for everyone. The economy is in the tank, folks are losing their jobs, and Christmas is probably going to be a lot less materially-focused this year for many people. But, for most of us, the Rogs fall under the “it could be a lot worse” category. Every donation helps. So please prayerfully consider how you might help, and help spread the word to help keep the Rogs afloat as Sandi fights for her life.


HOW TO BID WITHOUT A DONATION TO SANDI:
To keep things legal, they have to allow an option for people to enter the raffle at least once without making a purchase. If you wish to bid on a gift basket, leave a comment that states your name, email address so we can contact you if you win, and the phrase “entering without purchasing a bid”. 
~Alison