Book Review--Sweet Sanctuary by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Another 5 star book by Kim Vogel Sawyer. And a very "sweet" one to match the title!

This book is set during the final year of WWII. Both the hero and heroine are such good examples of how we should live our lives led by the Lord. They both make sacrifices that could hurt themselves, but do it anyway because it is the right thing to do for someone else.

Dr. Micah Hatcher has a heart for the immigrants of Queens, New York, so moves into a clinic there where he can also be handy to help with "packages" from his brother delivered by ship from overseas. Besides taking care of countless patients, many who cannot afford to pay him in cash, he also adopts a little Jewish girl to raise on his own.

Lydia Eldredge is providing sanctuary for her deceased best friend's young son, and trying to keep his biological father who is a drug addict from getting custody of the boy. Something happens that tears her privileged world apart. Can she believe Micah that God can work good out of even this?

Give yourself the gift of reading this novel which is a romance, but so much more!

Interview with Lisa Lickel and an electronic giveaway of Healing Grace

Healing Grace by Lisa Lickel

Giveaway: any electronic version (Nook, Kindle, html, pdf) of Healing Grace

Welcome back to my blog, Lisa. So glad to hear about your newest novel. Please tell us about your favorite book as a child and your favorite book as an adult. Can you see a connection between those books?
My mom had this wonderful old, old book called the Star Fairies. It had all kinds of fantastic children’s stories, most of which I can only remember parts of now, but were full of mystical creatures like elves and nymphs, and also animals. It had great illustrations too. As an adult, my favorite book is still Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine. A connection? Although Dandelion Wine is somewhat autobiographical there is still the element of the wondrous about it. A visit with elderly neighbors is a trip in a time machine; a cookbook ruins Grandma’s ability to create amazing meals, and the like. I love walking the line between what is and what could be, which is a lot of what Healing Grace is about.

Sounds very interesting, Lisa. What is your favorite Scripture? Do you also have a favorite Scripture that encourages you in your writing?
Hebrews 10:23. It’s a challenge both personally and professionally to remember what I’m doing – holding fast to the faith I profess – no matter where I am.

I know you recently traveled to Novia Scotia. If you could go to any place in the world to research/write a book, what setting would you choose?
I think I’d like to visit Beatrix Potter’s farm in the Lake District in England. I’m really sure I could find a story there to research.

I often wonder if I would write if I had to do it the old-fashioned way without computers and spell-checks and email. Is there anything about technology that you don't like? Or anything about it that you feel enhances your writing?
I agree with a lot of what you wonder. People did it, obviously – write whole books by hand. I enjoy starting out making notes on paper and thinking plot and setting and even some characters, but I can type a lot faster than I can write. What is so scary, and this has happened again recently, is that you can too easily lose great chunks of work if you don’t save it properly, if your computer crashes, or just because.

Alas! I think most every writer I know has lost bits of writing to the computer gremlins! As a writer how have you had to grow and stretch out of your comfort zone?
By doing in-person teaching and workshops. It’s good for me, but scary. I love talking shop, though. Can’t ever get enough of that.

What advice would you give to a beginning writer that you wish someone had given you?
I wish someone had told me that fads come and go, and that everyone has opinions about what works and what doesn’t in your writing. That you should keep at it and keep reading and practicing and soon you’ll feel confident and figure out how to trust yourself.

Do you want to add anything about your book such as how to order it?
Healing Grace was originally published in 2009. There are still a few print versions of this book at online publishers. The book with the lavender cover is the old version – please don’t buy it by mistake. The new Healing Grace has been completely rewritten, re-edited and updated. I had a wonderful team of editors to work with. A print version of this new book will be available later in the year.

ISBN: 978-1-77127-305-3

The book is currently available in electronic format only at online retailers, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble, and the publisher’s site.

http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=713&category_id=69&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/healing-grace-lisa-j-lickel/1115150561?ean=2940016518732


http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Grace-ebook/dp/B00CFA09IQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367454831&sr=8-1&keywords=Healing+Grace+lickel

Author bio: Lisa Lickel is a Wisconsin writer who lives with her husband in a hundred and sixty-year-old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain. Surrounded by books and dragons, she writes inspiring fiction. Her novels include the Buried Treasure mystery series (The Last Bequest, The Map Quilt and the upcoming The Newspaper Code) and the Fancy Cat Mystery Meow Mayhem; as well as the award-winning romance, Meander Scar, A Summer in Oakville co-authored with best-selling author Shellie Neumeier and will release in Large Print in August, and Healing Grace. She has penned dozens of feature newspaper stories, short stories, magazine articles and radio theater. She is the editor in chief of Creative Wisconsin magazine and loves to encourage new authors. Lisa also is an avid book reviewer and blogger, a freelance editor, a writing mentor, and blogger. Find her at www.LisaLickel.com.

Healing Grace

By Lisa Lickel

http://tinyurl.com/c5b4ktu

Healing Grace currently on sale at the publisher, MuseItUp

Price: $5.95

$4.76

ISBN 978-1-77127-305-3

Note: Healing Grace was originally published in 2009. There are still a few print versions of this book at online publishers. The book has been completely rewritten, re-edited and updated. The book with the lavender cover is the old version – please don’t buy it by mistake. A print version of this new book will be available later in the year.

Back Cover

Grace has a secret. Just like her aunt, and her grandmother before her, she could fix anyone with a touch, at a cost she never questioned -- until her husband developed cancer and died. Believing no one would forgive her for not being able to save him, Grace runs from the life she knew, hoping even God wouldn’t find her in a little out-of-the-way town in Michigan. It takes a very sick man and his little boy to help her face her past, accept who she is and battle her way back to redemption. Just when she and Ted begin to hope for the future, he relapses. Grace faces the ultimate choice once again: Trust God to work through her precious gift, or let a terminally ill man die. What if the price is more than she can pay?

Discussion guide included!

Lisa loves to visit book clubs.

May and June Giveaways

New giveaway for June 1st...and today's winner is...wandafaithsewell

I will be mailing her a copy of Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins as soon as I receive her mailing address.

And you can do the same thing Wanda did and leave a comment with your email info to be entered into the drawing for a copy of the next book in the Kanner Lake series--Crimson Eve. Another thriller by the master of suspense!

Here's the blurb from the back cover copy so you can see what you would be getting into!

"Realtor Carla Radling shows an 'English gentleman' a lakeside estate--and finds herself facing a gun. Who has hired this assassin to kill her, and why?
Forced on the run, Carla must uncover the scathing secrets of her past. Secrets that could destroy some very powerful people."

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Ms. Collins is also the master of surprises so be prepared for the twists at the end! Great read!

Interview with Susan Reinhardt and Giveaway

Welcoming a friend I met several years ago at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers' Conference--Susan J. Reinhardt, a real prayer warrior. Welcome, Susan. Readers, be sure to read through the whole post to find out her great giveaway to promote her book The Moses Conspiracy.
What is your favorite Scripture? Do you also have a favorite Scripture that encourages you in your writing?

Thanks for having me on your blog, Rose. One of my favorite Scriptures is on my Facebook header, Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

The Scripture for my writing is I Corinthians 10:31b, "...whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." This keeps me improving my craft and striving for excellence.
I often wonder if I would write if I had to do it the old-fashioned way without computers and spell-checks and email. Is there anything about technology that you don't like? Or anything about it that you feel enhances your writing?

I learned how to type on a manual typewriter. Need I say more?
While computers sometime frustrate me because of the constant technological changes, I would not trade the ease of use, access to the writing community, and research sources. I like my modern conveniences.
As a writer how have you had to grow and stretch out of your comfort zone?

I started off as a non-fiction writer. When I jumped into the fiction pool, the shock almost sent me running back to the old and familiar.

The Moses Conspiracy was written in 4 months, but it took a long time to polish my skills. I'd go to a conference workshop, learn a technique, and then run home to apply it to my book.

On the flip side, learning fiction skills made me a better non-fiction writer. I scored more acceptances after implementing them.
What advice would you give to a beginning writer that you wish someone had given you?

Don't be in a rush to approach editors and agents with your manuscript. I'm embarrassed to say I brought mine to a conference in first draft form.

Do you want to add anything about your book such as how to order it?

Amazon Link

http://www.amazon.com/The-Moses-Conspiracy-Novel-ebook/dp/B00BV8ZQ0Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1363620282&sr=8-4&keywords=The+moses+conspiracy

Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/susan.j.reinhardt
Twitter link
http://twitter.com/susanjreinhardt

B&N Link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-moses-conspiracy-a-novel-susan-j-reinhardt/1114847096?ean=2940016213866

Kobobooks.com Link
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Moses-Conspiracy-A-Novel/book-IegUFEoIzUy8BnQ8gZqGGg/page1.html?s=0mghuw11SUS93idSXbaZsg&r=1

Blog Link: http://susanjreinhardt.com

And Susan's giveaway is an ebook copy of The Moses Conspiracy, so be sure to leave a comment today or tomorrow as the blog tour and contest run through April 6th.

And the winner is...

Joann Durgin who will receive a copy of Women's Intution by Lisa Samson.

And if you would like to be the winner drawn on May 1st for a copy of Brandilyn Collins' thriller Coral Moon, leave a message (or more) on any post this month with your email contact info to be entered.

I reviewed Coral Moon on March 16, 2013, but to make it easier on you I am copying that review below.

Those of you who know me well, know that I don't usually read scary books because I'm a BHC! I even have the mouse pad by my computer to prove it! And those of you who have followed my blog for awhile may remember the picture of me in a hot tub reading Brandilyn's first book in this series Violet Dawn about a lady who finds a dead body in a hot tub. (Go to my post on June 5, 2008 if you need a reminder.)


You'll be happy to know that it took me less than 5 years to read the second book in the series, Coral Moon. Not because Brandilyn Collins is not a fabulous writer, because she is. But because Brandilyn told me that Coral Moon was much more scarier than Violet Dawn, so it took me this long to get up my courage!

So, if you like books that scare you to death, make sure you read Violet Dawn, Coral Moon, and the next two in the series. I am not sure how long it will take me to get up the courage to read them, but I hope not 5 years because I do love BC's writing!

Here's my review of Coral Moon that I hope will inspire you to take the plunge and read it:

If you want to catch up on Paige Williams and Leslie Brymes and all the other characters in Kanner Lake that you met in Violet Dawn, I suggest you take another trip to this beautiful area. As you get into town, stop by Bailey's Java Joint for a double shot of expresso to fortify you for the journey through more murders and mayhem with some supernatural stuff thrown in, too.

But, know that with Brandilyn Collins's writing, not only will you be frightened out of your wits, but you will also leave the place at peace, knowing that as one character says, "Jesus is stronger than any demons." And that's a good place to be!

Hey! I think I just talked myself into visiting Kanner Lake again by reading Crimson Eve and Amber Moon, the final books in this series. See you all there! P. S. And I plan to giveaway the last two books as soon as I read them, too, so come back again!

Guest Blog: How Workaholism led to Angie Breidenbach's new book, A Healing Heart

I am so happy to have Angie Breidenbach stop by for a visit again, this time to tell us about her new book A Healing Heart. And Angie is offering an e-book when they come available to one person who leaves a comment by next Saturday. She will email it to you ASAP. Now, let's hear from Angie.

Are you a workaholic? I am. I started to wonder about women like me. How do we change? How do we figure out the path God intends versus the path we think we are supposed to walk? I get asked often how much of myself is in my characters. Well, in this case, she has one of my strongest traits. She's a different person with different talents, but the strength she has is misused. And that's something we all can slip into—misusing our gifts and talents. I realized other people must deal with the same issue of workaholism and the best way to share the struggle might just be through fiction.

Have you heard or said yourself, “I could write a book about that experience!” You knew it had an appeal for the drama/plot twists/and maybe someone could relate. Or maybe it was fascinating and complicated like the movie Frequency or Sixth Sense. Maybe, just maybe, you should write that experience into a fictional character and reach other people who want a solution to the same dilemma.

I took it one step further. I went public with the real story of the topics in A Healing Heart. Now I speak on workaholism and several other issues women face. Do you need a speaker for your special event or conference? I'd be honored to be that speaker. Contact me at: http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com

I encourage you to share your story to uplift and help others too. After all, it's possible the challenges you face, like me, are your ministry.

About the book: Widowed workaholic mother of three, Mara Keegan, has decided on the perfect gift for her daughter's graduation—a photo memory quilt recounting the family's loves and losses. But when a heart attack stops her in her tracks, Mara's perfect gift hangs by a thread. Little does she know, this quilt—and the memories it bolsters—are the key to her rehabilitation. So as graduation day approaches, Mara struggles with past choices and burgeoning feelings for Joel Ryan, the one man who tried to destroy her business. Can Mara balance past memories with her new attraction? How will the pieces of the quilt fit together? Can Mara mend her faith, trust, and love in time?

Sales link: http://ow.ly/jl4he

About Angela: Angela Breidenbach's family tradition is giving unique quilts of memorable moments spanning birth to graduation to their graduating seniors. Mrs. Montana International 2009, an inspirational speaker and author, Angela is also a weight loss/fitness and life coach in Missoula, Montana. http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com

Endorsements:

More Praise for A heart-warming and romantic story of new beginnings and hope through the fog. A story of real life filled with true emotion and characters you can't help but love. --NY Times bestselling author, Tosca Lee, Tosca's latest book: Iscariot

A Healing Heart is an emotional story of learning to let go of the past and embracing the future. Angie Breidenbach deftly creates lifelike teenagers, a frazzled mother, and a caring hero you will love. This charming book tugs at your heart and encourages you to reevaluate what's important in your life." --Vickie McDonough, author of 25 books and novellas, including End of the Trail

"Restoration and hope drive this emotionally charged novel by Angela Breidenbach. Mara Keegan's healing journey will keep you turning the pages as she uncovers promises of a life she never thought she would have again. Family dynamics, made richer through the process of gathering photos for a memory quilt, come full circle as Mara learns to let go, let God, and let love into her heart; a truly healed heart." --Lindi Peterson, award-winning author of Her Best Catch and Summer's Song.

"Breidenbach's latest novel, A Healing Heart, paints a knee-bending word picture of our Healer God. Whether the physical, spiritual, or emotional heart, the Big Guy can handle it. Laden with conflict, sweet romance, and humorous contradictions, the story propels the reader forward while giving her pause to wonder . . . 'What places in my heart need healing? What wounds will I allow God to stitch?' A Healing Heart sports an endearing and motley cast of characters, and the frigid Montana landscape contrasts nicely with the hero's warm, sigh-worthy persona. It's a unique and touching addition to the Quilts of Love series."
--April W. Gardner, librarian and award-winning author

Angie hopes you will stop by for a chat at these sites:
Come visit me: http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com
A Healing Heart, Abingdon Press, April 2013
http://www.quiltsoflovebooks.com

Review of Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins

Another Big Honkin' Chicken Attack

Those of you who know me well, know that I don't usually read scary books because I'm a BHC! I even have the mouse pad by my computer to prove it! And those of you who have followed my blog for awhile may remember the picture of me in a hot tub reading Brandilyn's first book in this series Violet Dawn about a lady who finds a dead body in a hot tub. (Go to my post on June 5, 2008 if you need a reminder.)

So, you'll be happy to know that it took me less than 5 years to read the second book in the series, Coral Moon. Not because Brandilyn Collins is not a fabulous writer, because she is. But because Brandilyn told me that Coral Moon was much more scarier than Violet Dawn, so it took me this long to get up my courage!

So, if you like books that scare you to death, make sure you read Violet Dawn, Coral Moon, and the next two in the series. I am not sure how long it will take me to get up the courage to read them, but I hope not 5 years because I do love BC's writing!

Here's my review of Coral Moon that I hope will inspire you to take the plunge and read it:

If you want to catch up on Paige Williams and Leslie Brymes and all the other characters in Kanner Lake that you met in Violet Dawn, I suggest  you take another trip to this beautiful area. As you get into town, stop by Bailey's Java Joint for a double shot of expresso to fortify you for the journey through more murders and mayhem with some supernatural stuff thrown in, too.

But, know that with Brandilyn Collins's writing, not only will you be frightened out of your wits, but you will also leave the place at peace, knowing that as one character says, "Jesus is stronger than any demons." And that's a good place to be!

Hey! I think I just talked myself into visiting Kanner Lake again by reading Crimson Eve and Amber Moon, the final books in this series. See you all there!