Review of Attracted to Fire

Back Cover:
Special Agent Meghan Connors’ dream of one day protecting the president of the United States is about to come true. Only one assignment stands in her way. After the vice president’s rebellious daughter is threatened, Meghan is assigned to her protective detail on a secluded ranch in West Texas. Unfortunately, working with Special Agent in Charge Ash Zinders may be as tough as controlling her charge. Ash has a reputation for being critical and exacting, and he’s also after the same promotion as Meghan. But when the threats escalate and security on the ranch is breached, it becomes clear this isn’t the work of a single suspect—it’s part of a sophisticated plan that reaches deeper and higher than anyone imagined. And only Ash and Meghan can put the pieces together before it’s too late.

My Take:
Set in Texas, on a rich horse ranch belonging to the Press Secretary Scottard Burnette, you get the feel of seclusion--the wealthy atmosphere--from the first. Walls, large pool, chef. Heat from a Texas summer. Space.

The characters, too, are vivid and life-like. A peppery chef who serves way-to-hot food for the simpler palates of the Secret Service guards. A father and son team who care for and train Burnette's horses. A glimpse into a few of the Secret Service member guards' lives. A peek into a father and mother's personalities and their love for a rebellious daughter. Vice President's daughter, Lyndsey's teenage angst, fears, and mistrust are well written and life-like.

Ash Zinders, in charge of protecting her, is determined nothing bad will happen on his watch. Distressed and angry at having a woman--again--on his team, he does his best to discourage Meghan Connors so much she'll quit. Besides, he wants the job of protecting the president of the United States, and only one thing stands in his way--Meghan.

But something does go wrong. A secret service man is killed by a sniper. Lyndsey's saddle is cut. Meghan is threatened. And his heart insists on falling in love with the red-haired woman he's working with.

Meghan, intent on winning the same coveted job as Ash is just as determined to ignore Ash's rude ways. Her admiration raises when she watches him at work. Fighting her own battles of depression over her adopted sister's own drug use and death, Meghan hones in on Lyndsey's needs and drug abuse, winning her trust and eventually working with Ash to save the teen.

But will the two be able to keep the fires of love burning when only one can win the job they both yearn for? Can they put aside their prejudices to do their duty? Can they allow their love for each other to grow when each have so much baggage from the past haunting their memories?

A great story. Easy to read. A page turner, both interesting and intriguing. Well written. Well done, Diann!


Blessings!

Join Me in Welcoming my Friend, Rose McCauley!  

 How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

I have loved to write all my life, and remember making little books that my mom would stitch together on her treadle sewing machine. Wish I had some of them now! I was also editor of my HS newspaper. But, during the years of raising my three children, teaching school and Sunday School, sports, girl scouts, etc. the main writing I did was on school forms! The last few years before I retired, I started jotting down ideas for books, which encouraged me to retire and actually write some of them down!

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is? 

I write both romance and women’s fiction.  I think romance is pretty self-explanatory (LOL) although I should mention that it usually includes a HEA—happily ever after ending! Women’s fiction often includes a romance, but also can include other elements such as problems, drama, suspense, etc. It doesn’t have to end in a HEA ending, but the ones I like and write do!

How do you spend your writing days?

Right now I am spending most of my writing time on emails, blogs and other forms of marketing my first book. Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? I once participated in the BIAM (Book in a Month) drive and wrote over 50,000 words that month, with my daily average ranging from 1,000 words to 5,000, depending on what else I had going on that day.

Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

The novella I have out right now is only 20,000 words long, and it took me a month to write, so I guess a whole novel would take 4-5 months.

You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us?

Christmas Belles of Georgia is about identical quadruplets who are adopted by different families when their mother dies shortly after their birth. They have no idea the others exist until they get a letter from a lawyer. The four stories are each told by a different author from each girl’s POV and chronicles the 4 months leading up to their first meeting on Christmas Day.

Ooooh! Sounds great. How and where can readers buy your books?

They will be sold at WalMart and Sam’s Clubs and most Christian bookstores as well as online outlets. I even have buttons on my website to make it super-easy to order.

What is the spiritual message in your book?

I hope it encourages us all to remember that Jesus IS the reason for the season, and that we give to others because of all that He gave for us.

What can readers expect to get from reading it? A happy read that will put you in the Christmas spirit!
Do you ever feel like giving up?

Not right now, but I have in the past.

Most people don’t understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you’ve gone through?

I wrote about it on my blog, (see the September 22, 2010 post) but the short version is that I told my roommate Jennifer Johnson last year at conference that if I didn’t get a contract by the following year (2011) I would take a break and seek out God’s next plan for my life. That very day I got my first contract in front of 600 people at last year’s ACFW conference!
Would you explain how you “chose” (or were chosen by) a publisher? Do you just go “inny, minny, miny, moe?”

Barbour Publishing chose me after I submitted many proposals over the past 7 years! Maybe they got tired of me pestering them! LOL They are a great publishing house to work with.

Now, that you’re published, can you sit back and relax from the success you’ve experienced?

Definitely not! I have four proposals out there right now, and a meeting set up with an agent.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests?

I love to read, of course! Other hobbies are walking daily and scrapbooking, although my scrapbook time is more limited now. Where would you like to travel if you could? I have been very fortunate to travel more than I ever thought I would! My husband and I say we travel less than I want to, but more than he wants to! We have traveled to most of the states, including Hawaii and Alaska. And I have been to 10 countries in Europe and also to Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Barbados, and the Bahamas. My favorite place would be Hawaii and any place I haven’t been yet!

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out?

I hope everyone will check out my website at www.rosemccauley.com and be sure to visit my blog at http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to be entered into my monthly drawing.

Anything else you’d like to share?

For any Christian writer who isn’t already a member, hurry to http://www.acfw.com/ to join American Christian Fiction Writers.

Promotional information?

My book is available at WalMart and Sam’s Clubs, other bookstores, and the usual online places, or you can order from the buttons on my site!

Bio: Rose Allen McCauley is happy to live in the beautiful bluegrass region of Kentucky on a farm surrounded by God’s creation. She has been writing for over ten years and has been published in several non-fiction anthologies and devotionals. She is thrilled for this to be her first published fiction because Christmas books are her favorites. She has a growing collection of Christmas books, and this one will takes its rightful place among them.

A retired schoolteacher who has been happily married to her college sweetheart for over 43 years, she is also mother to three grown children and their spouses and Mimi to three lovely, lively grandkids! You can reach her through her website http://www.rosemccauley.com/ or blogsite at http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com/ 


Thank you, Rose, for joining us!
Blessings to all.

Monday Morning Gratitudes

Hard workers
history
Memory-making pictures
Fun ideas
gum
doing unto others as I'd like them to do to me
writers' novels I've read who've impressed me
becoming a grandmother for the first time
Sunday meals
the relaxation I feel once Sunday evening comes!

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace

He . . .

gave us rain from heaven,

and fruitful seaons,

Filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Acts 14:17

Blessings!

Review of Wolfsbane by Ronie Kendig    

Back Cover:
In Venezuela, Danielle Roark and her Army Corps of Engineers team is captured. After six months of captivity, Dani escapes, only to end up charged with espionage and forced to return to the jungle to prove that a nuclear facility exists. On the mission, she is abandoned by God and country. Will she live long enough to make those responsible pay?



Haunted by memories of a mission gone bad, former Green Beret Canyon Metcalfe wrestles with his developing feelings for the feisty senator’s daughter. Setting aside his misgivings, he and Nightshade take the mission to help Dani unravel her lethal secrets. Separated from the team leaves Dani and Canyon vulnerable—and captured. After he is rescued, Canyon discovers Dani has been left behind. Livid, he sacrifices everything to save Dani—including his role with Nightshade.

My Take:
By far one of the best books I've read this year! Action, fear, real-life issues, and healing fill the pages of this novel.

The novel opens with:

Captain Canyon Metcalf forced to endure imposed silence, military accusations and taking the blame about a gone wrong overseas, is angry and ripe for the proposition General Lambert puts to him.

 Dani in an unendurable situation of rape, capture, physical and mental torture in the depths of Venezuela by the leader of El Valor de Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivvarian, a fictitious rebel army, General Bruzon, after she and her army corp of Engineers are destroyed/captured. Waiting till he's in the deepest part of sleep, she steals the stick drive, and naked, bleeding, and desperate she flees, diving into the ocean, willing to die rather than be recaptured.

Fortunately she's rescued, and recovered, faces those able to do something about the nuclear plans of Captain Bruzon. Instead of belief, she's accused of treachery. Instead of quick-moving plans to destroy the facility, she's forced once again to return to Venezuela to prove, not only her innocence, but the existence of such a plant.

When she and Canyon are separated from their special ops team, they are recaptured. But when Caynon realizes after he is rescued that Dani was left behind, he takes matters into his own hands. Thrown off the team, he coaxes his brother to help him leave the states--but his brother takes advantage by manipulating a promise from Canyon--step back and leave the field open for him to win Dani's love.

Does Canyon love Dani enough to give up his love for Dani to save her life? And will Dani even be alive by the time he arrives? Can these two bruised, bitter individuals find their way to freedom--enough to open their hearts to love--and God?

Set in the jungles of Venezuela and in the political regions of D.C., Kendig pulls the reader into the action of the book and forces them to be a part of the scene, the lives, the horror and good within the pages.

Meet my friend, John Snyder

How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

When I was in the seventh grade I wrote a science fiction story and was told by my teacher that it might be good enough to publish. This was a total shock to me. Until that moment it had never even crossed my mind to write.

My call to write came much later and mostly from my friends and church members who said that I would be irresponsible for not utilizing what they saw was a gift from God that needed to be used for his glory. But it’s clearly the case that when I write, I feel God’s pleasure.

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

Probably religious non-fiction. My style and interests have changed greatly over the years. In the beginning, I wrote mostly academic type stuff (papers, articles, and the like), but in recent years I’ve shifted to down-to-earth books about God, Jesus, and general faith and church related issues, striving for simplicity and clarity to communicate the greatest news on earth.

How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

Due to a visual handicap I can write only about two hours per day, first thing in the morning. After that it’s over. On the average it takes me about a hundred days of writing to complete a book.

You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your books?

My newest book is entitled Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God. It’s a guided prayer tour for a hundred day period to encourage the reader to keep on faithfully bringing their prayer requests to God. It’s not just for those facing an unusually big problem, life transition, or decision, but also for anyone seeking a discipline of reading Scripture daily and to journal their prayer walk. Our family has found that wonderful things happen when we follow Jesus’ admonition to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.

The book can be found at Amazon or CBD or Barnes and Noble.

What is the spiritual message in your book?
What I’m hoping to communicate is God’s love, faithfulness, and very best for us—his trustworthiness, compassion, and kindness. God is near and very accessible. What I hope everyone gets from it is that God doesn’t dwell in a heaven light-years away from us, but just inches above our heads. He enters into our grief and pain. I want them to be encouraged to wait on him and to see how he brings us through to the other side—to learn how he blesses us not according to our excellent faith or performance, but according to his excellent mercy and generosity. I have tried to put a course on biblical theology in the form of a readable prayer guide.

Do you ever feel like giving up? Most people don’t understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you’ve gone through?

I’ve not only been tempted to give up, I’ve given up—many times and sometimes for years. It’s just too hard to keep trying when no one seems to like what you have to say. The rejection notices can be joy killers! You have to look at them and laugh and figure out how many you’ll collect before God opens just the right door.

Writing for me was like the Myth of Sisyphus, trying to roll the boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down, over and over again. But the love of writing and the inner “push” to write were the driving force. My only regret is that I did give in and stopped writing. If you truly believe that God has called you to do something, you just have to keep going, keep climbing, even when all you want to do is quit and find the nearest hammock.

Who’s inspired you the most?

I would have to say my wife Shirin. She always kept after me to pick up the writing again when I was fed up with it. She never lost confidence in me even when I thought I was just wasting my time.

Would you explain how you “chose” (or were chosen by) a publisher? Do you just go “inny, minny, miny, moe?” Now, that you’re published, can you sit back and relax from the success you’ve experienced?

Twenty-eight years ago I found a publisher on my own. That was when they were still accepting unsolicited manuscripts. After that, I got so busy pastoring that I didn’t have time to write.

Today, it’s really tough to do that. Now I have a great literary agent, Diana Flegal, who I believe came only by divine providence and is really an incredible gift to our family. She just knows a lot about the who’s and where’s that I could never get.

Rather than relaxing now, I’m even more motivated to keep going and at an even faster pace. Our family really wants God to use us for his work.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel if you could?

I love being with my wife Shirin and daughters Sarah and Stephanie, research and learning, watching old and new films, and thinking by the hour. I still haven’t been to my wife’s country India, so that is on our prayer list.

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you’d like to share? Promotional information?

A lot of my writing that’s still unpublished appears on our website Community 321 (named after Ephesians 3:21). For promotional work, I point to Shirin, Sarah, and Stephanie who are all great writers and computer gurus. They know the new rules on how to maximize the web in order to get the information out. Besides being musicians, Sarah and Stephanie are social media consultants.

Thanks for joining me this week, John!
Blessings, readers. Check out John's book if you want a deeper prayer life with God.

Monday Morning Gratitudes

Gems of love from friends
Being Volunteer of the week for ACFW
Hubby loving me and starting a first fire of the fall in the fireplace
Sweaters
buying a gift for a baby
hugs
USB drives
Sayings that speak to my heart
Anticipation
A music box I recieved this week

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace

For  now we see through a glass--darkly . . .

I Corinthians 13

I don't know why there are trials, persecutions, troubles and sorrows--today

But "tomorrow" I'll understand, and if I don't, I won't care.

I'll be enjoying heaven too much.

Blessings!

Good-by, Mary, My Friend

A slice of my life . . .

Four years ago I met Mary. When she asked me if I wanted to join her critique group, I said, "Let's give me a trial run." Well, that trial run, turned into a longlasting friendship.

Mary was an encourager. She was a great critiquer, giving it all she had to help make my manuscript all it could be, but her best talent lay in encouraging her critique partners. Her prayers and blessings and wishes on us all were gifts that we cherished. We could always count on Mary to see a blessing in whatever trial we were going through.

Cancer finally caught up with her, but not her spirit. She was her cheerful, chipper self right up to the last.
Along with another critiquer in our group, I had Mary on my mind off and on for days.

I've lost a dear friend, but heaven's gained a sweetheart. Good-by, Mary, I'll see you again . . . someday.



Blessings!

I'm Excited about Having Nick Daniels on my blog this week!

He's giving away a copy of his book: The Jihad's Messiah
Leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win his book!
How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

Ever since I read Dick Sand: A Captain at Fifteen by Jules Verne, during sixth grade. Fascinated won’t even begin to describe it. I discovered my passion for stories and before finishing high-school I was already a story teller. Obviously, hand writing a novel in a notebook during math class didn’t help my grades.

LOL. Probably didn't, but what fun. I did the same thing. What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

Suspense and thrillers are my genres. I tend to hover on controversies like the science versus faith debate (the theme of my first novel, The Gentlemen’s Conspiracy) and the role of Islam in Biblical prophecy (the premise of my new series). I guess suspense and thrillers are the most suitable genres to deal with these topics. And besides, I’m a guy who likes guy stuff.

They both sound great to me! How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

I tend to write in spells. I’ll get in a roll and write for days, then get busy with other projects for a couple of weeks and then go back to my manuscript. That’s why it takes me two years to finish a novel, even though the actual writing time is not more than three months. Once I’m past the three-fourths mark, it goes really fast.

You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your books?

The Jihad’s Messiah is the first book in the Jihad Series (http://www.jihadseries.com/). Here’s the back cover copy:

In a future when world power has shifted to the Middle East, and the Arab nations have signed a seven-year peace treaty with Israel, a radical Iraqi leader—known as Al-Mahdi, “the Awaited One”—rises to power promising to convert the world to Islam.


Major General Farid Zadeh is Al-Mahdi’s most loyal follower and the next in line to become the Full Army General of Iraq—until he is falsely accused of being an Israeli spy.


Determined to vindicate himself, Farid flies to Jerusalem to spy on the Israeli military. But before he can return home with the intelligence, the peace treaty is broken and war breaks out between the Arabs and Israel. Now he must run for his life, as both armies consider him their enemy and want him dead.


Help—and perhaps redemption—come from unlikely sources: a stunning Jewish woman and a Christian prisoner. When his faith and his loyalties are tested, Farid must decide which side to take….


His decision could alter the course of Man’s final war.

The book is available everywhere books are sold.

What is the spiritual message in your book? What can readers expect to get from reading it?

The Jihad Series examines Islamic terrorism in the light of biblical prophecy, while giving a human face to the so-called “enemy of America”—the Muslim world. Unlike other novels in the market dealing with terrorism, the Jihad Series tells the story from the point of view of a Muslim militant, not an American with a Christian background. The character’s spiritual and physical struggle plays against the end-time events described in the Bible.

Oooo. Love the end time novels. Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you’d like to share? Promotional information?

My personal website is http://www.nickdanielsbooks.com/ and my podcast is at http://www.breakingunbelief.org/

There is also a website exclusively for the series: http://www.jihadseries.com/

Along with my publisher, Risen Books, we have started a campaign to sponsor orphan children around the world through a wonderful ministry called Holt International. All my royalties for The Jihad’s Messiah will go to feed these children. Check out the ministry’s website at http://www.holtinternational.org/



Thanks for being here, Nick!
Readers, your comments and email addresses will enter you in for a chance on Nick's book!

Blessings

Monday Morning Gratitudes

Toilet tissue! Who wants to use leaves?
Soothing ointment for burns, bites, and itches
toothpaste
mouthwash
Ugh, I hate/love this one, but a necessary: dentists!
spices
good-smelling candles
eyeglasses
people who share recipes
nice soap

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace

By asking for the impossible,
we obtain the best possible

Italian proverb
Blessings!

Guest Blog from my dear friend, Linore Rose Burkard

Naming Your Fictional Character


by Linore Rose Burkard

Do you struggle to find the right name for a character when writing? Is there such a thing as a "right" name? And if there is, how do you know when you've found it?

Here's my personal take on these questions, as well as some of my favorite ways to find names when I need them.

First of all, I think most writers do struggle at times with naming one or more characters. If you've never struggled with this, be grateful. If you have, it probably means that you had a good idea about the sort of character you were naming, and you were smart enough to recognize that not just any ol' name would do.

When I am in need of just the 'right' name for a character, I usually use a stand-in or temporary name until I find the right one. (The temporary name isn't important, so use whatever you like, but I would avoid going with "Character A" and "Character B"--these are cardboard-flat names and won't help you envision your character at all.) If you get really stuck on what the "right" name should be, it may help you to do some further brainstorming about that character. The better you get to know this person, the easier it will be to settle upon a name that feels right.

One of my tricks is to search catalogs with lots of models (both male and female) until I find a face that really matches my idea for a person. Once I have a face, I can usually decide upon a name. Some writers use baby name books, but I don't find these helpful until I have a face in mind, first. I also find that movie credits sometimes contain wonderful names. I never borrow anyone's full name, but I find both a first name and a surname that I like, and combine them to get that "just right" name for my character.

Each writer really needs to find what works for them.

Secondly, is there such a thing as a right or wrong name? Again, this is partly subjective, but in some cases, such as with historical novels, it is more a matter of being period-correct.

Some things to consider when choosing a name are:

1. Will it make the reader stumble each time they encounter it? Some historical novelists choose names that are period-correct but impossible to pronounce unless you "know" that period. Don't make reading your book a chore! Find a name that is both correct for the time and place of your novel, while also going easy on readers. If you must use an obscure name, or one that has an obscure spelling, use another character to let us know exactly how the name should be read.
2. Check that the name was in existence for the period you are writing in. Many authors check to see if the name was popular during a given period, but this is not necessary in many cases. The fact that it existed is technically all you need to know; however, when naming a Puritan, you wouldn't want to try something like "Crystal" when names such as Mary, Patience, and Charity were really the vogue. If you were trying to emphasize the singularity of a character, the difference between him and her and the average person of the world they live in, then a very different-sounding name might be just right, however.

So, the story-line plays a part in naming.

I'll never forget this lesson from T.S. Eliot: He wrote a heart-tugging poem called, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Say that name aloud! It is anything but romantic, anything but what one would associate with a love song, and the poem indeed conveys Prufrock's utter inability to "sing" one, even when opportunity and desire are there. Eliot named this character carefully. The awkward name emphasizes the pathos of the character. Can you do this in your fiction?

It's not by accident that romance writers try to choose pretty or exotic or smooth-sounding names for their heroes and heroines. Give a girl a pretty name, and it's easier to see her as attractive. Give a hero a strong name, and it's easier to see him as strong. Even a hero, however, can have a "wrong" name and triumph anyway, when it's part of their appeal (such as in the Johnny Cash song, " A Boy Named Sue").

Interestingly, you might want to choose the name for your villain as carefully as for the hero or heroine. A villain often disguises him or herself as a hero or heroine, at least for some portion of a book, and until they are found out, a beautiful name will go far to fool the reader. Conversely, an uncertain name, one that is not particularly evocative or attractive (think: Clark Kent) can be used to de-emphasize the real hero or heroine until they are revealed for their true colors later in the book.

There's also the idea that evil can appear beautiful, and a lovely name for a villain can make for fun reading. In my book, The House in Grosvenor Square, the good-looking villain's name is Lord Wingate, or Julian. Neither sound ominous, but "Julian" has a sort of mysterious air to it, which I think supports the character's
persona.

You shouldn't need to obsess over naming a character, and only historical novels can objectively be accused of having a "wrong" name, anyway--either for their time or place.

Above all, have fun naming your characters! Find a method you like, whether it be an internet search, a baby-name book, movie credits, or any other source, and have at it. Experiment with different names for the same character if you're just not sure, and see what sits best with you. Eventually, you will find the "right" name for each character, and your book will be stronger for it.





BIO-LINORE ROSE BURKARD

Linore Rose Burkard creates Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul. Her characters take you back in time to experience life and love during the era of Regency England (circa 1800 - 1830). Fans of classic romances, such as Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Sense & Sensibility, will enjoy meeting Ariana Forsythe, a feisty heroine who finds her heart and beliefs tested by high-society London.


Ms. Burkard's novels include Before the Seasons Ends, The House in Grosvenor Square, and The Country House Courtship. Her stories blend Christian faith and romance with well-researched details from the Regency period. Her books and monthly newsletter captivate readers with little-known facts, exciting stories, and historical insights. Experience a romantic age, where timeless lessons still apply to modern life. And, enjoy romance that reminds us happy endings are possible for everyone.


Publisher's Weekly affirms, "Ms. Burkard's command of period detail is impressive, evident in material details, but also in dialogue. Her novels even help non-Regencyphiles learn the difference between ladies' pelisses and spencers...On the whole, it's a tasty confection."

Ms. Burkard began writing when she couldn't find a Regency romance with an inspirational twist. "There were Christian books that approached the genre," she says, "But, they fell short of being a genuine Regency. I knew that many women like me want stories that are historically authentic and offer glimpses of God's involvement in our lives. So, I finally gave up looking and decided to write one myself."

Ms. Burkard was raised in New York, where she graduated magna cum laude from the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. She lives with her husband and five children in a town full of antique stores and gift shops in southwestern Ohio. Her hobbies include working on four new Regency novels, family movie nights, swimming, and gardening.

Blessings, readers!

Monday Morning Gratitudes

Friends who can correct me and and love while doing it
Friends who encourage me to venture outside my comfort zone
New experiences
Knowing I've given my kids a wonderful day
Listening to my hubby read
The comfort of a warm body beside me
A problem solved with our car
Crockpots!
Jelly belly beans! (grin)
Home grown tomatoes

Blessings

Sunday Morning Peace

Today

Today is ours--let's live it.

And love is strong--let's give it.

A song can help--let's sing it.

The past is gone--don't rue it

Our work is here--let's do it.

If evil comes--let's fight it.

The road is rough--let's clear it.

The future vast--don't fear it.

Is faith asleep?--let's wake it.

Today is free--let's take it.

-Lydia L. Roberts

A Glimpse into My World . . .

I'm a suspense writer, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a few minutes time out . . .

Making cookies . . .

Making memories.

Blessings!