Rambling Friday: Updates on my Life!

Hey!

I thought I'd take this Rambling Friday post
(late, I know!)

and share what's happening now

and in the near future

with my life.

First:

This sale will go on through September 9th! 

Knight in Shining Apron, the second book in 

The Appleton, WV Romantic Mystery series

is in this collection.

If you haven't read this series,

then check it out! 

***

Next:

I'm featuring my two books from

The Spies of WWII series

WITH

a surprise announcement in store! 

My hour starts at 5:30!  Monday, July 13!

I will be giving away several nice prizes

(including the books in the meme above!)

***

I'm visiting several blogs this month

promoting 

CALEB'S DESTINY

July 14th at Jodie Wolfe's blog:

https://www.jodiewolfe.com/blog/

More details will follow.

July 16th I'll be at Sandra M. Hart's 

Historical blog:

https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com/

talking about CALEB'S Destiny

and history

Michelle Levigne's blog,

https://michellelevigne.blogspot.com/2020/05/introducing-adventure.html?fbclid=IwAR153VwDjKI6Folw_cY8B0gGOdPHEWTRtNMTE7Wd6n15ltMH0fCImft9dpQ

Date to be announced soon! 

PLUS!

Progress on our remodeling!!!

That's it for now.

Have a great week, and

HAPPY READING!

Serious Wednesday: PTSD: The Hurting Military Families

Many military people dread Christmas due to various sadness, physical problems, financial setbacks, and loss of loved ones. It's a struggle to move forward, to face each day let alone enjoy the season. PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a serious threat to soldiers returning home.

I wanted to share a bit today that is the real--the true meaning of overcoming and/or getting through each day.

Here's a story example of possible causes of PTSD:
He started to scoot out onto the balcony when pain shot through his whole body, and he wanted to scream. He pulled himself from the window ledge and staggered forward two steps before falling on his face.

What had happened? Marshall’s screaming voice echoed outside his head, but the world had faded to mental darkness. His left leg had gone numb. He shook his head. He couldn’t lose consciousness. To do so might mean death. He hung over the rail and surveyed the climb 
he’d have to make. His stomach churned with nausea.

The pain, the danger, the loss and more can affect men and women so much it takes months, years even to recover.


The pain and fear of facing the unknown, of knowing you're injured...
“What happened?”

Her gaze flicked to the bottom of the bed, then back. “You were shot.”

The memory of that night swarmed in. “How long—”

“Must you talk? You’re still pretty weak.”

“How long?”

She sighed. “Two weeks. You almost died.”

Facing the fact that you are injured. Learning what exactly that injury is. Knowing you're at the mercy of the doctors, possibly your wife or family, sometimes it all seems too much...
“Jerry. Lie still. You’re too weak to get up.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, he gritted from between his teeth. “I have to. It’s too dangerous for you to be coming here.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I do. Help me, and I’ll try it again.”

“I wasn’t able to get a doctor. Our family doctor is not to be trusted. You almost died. Medwin—my cousin—has a bit of medical training and he thinks a bone or bones was shattered in your leg. He did what he could but your leg still became dangerously infected. I thought—”

“What?”

Vanda bit her lip. “I thought we’d lose your leg if not your life.”

“The infection’s gone?”

“Yes-s. But it still looks bad.” Her brow lined with another worried frown. Her gaze flicked to his legs and back. “I-I’m not sure you’ll ever completely recover from that wound.”

The reality of the truth: you won't ever be the same as before. Through luck, carelessness and/or lack of training or funds or uncooperative military bureaucracy, life will never be the same.

Soldiers who've given their lives for their country and come back injured severely—and their families—face extreme difficulties. It takes strong and determined companions to get through, to accept the fact that this new life will be a life long endeavor. There are no magic wands to change the facts of war.

Besides the horrific injuries many face, the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with its moodiness, verbal abuse, feelings of wanting to commit suicide, embarrassment, rejection, etc. takes its toll on soldiers.

What You Can Do:
In the second book of my THE SPIES OF WWII series, Book Two: A Flute in the Willows, I tried to show a bit of this in Jerry and the effect it had on Josie, his wife. Young and inexperienced, both of the Pattersons struggle to understand and deal with conflicting emotions. Josie's father, experienced in war service, offers advice and encouragement.

“You're going to have to be stronger than you've ever been in your life.” He warns Josie, and those words stay with his daughter over and over to strengthen and give her a boost to not give up on Jerry. In time her patience and love for Jerry win out.

“I'm here if you ever need to talk.” Knowing what military service is like, and having lived long enough to know a few things, Captain Ossie, Josie's father, offers, but never intrudes on

Jerry's emotions. In time Jerry does head to his father-in-law's office to seek guidance.

• Families need to understand that their soldier is going through unspeakable damages. Love, offer help and listening ears, don't talk when their loved one is moody, encourage and never, never give up on them.

• Appreciate Friends who are there, offering hope and encouragement. Accept any help given and be grateful you have those kinds of friends.

• Encourage your hurting soldier to turn to God. Ask and accept God's guidance as you do what you can for your soldier. God is truly the only source who can pull a person through. Whatever comes, God is the strength, the supreme encouragement, the one who understands all, and the one who loves you unconditionally. Lean on him. Trust. Believe.

Both Josie and Jerry come through their own personal, and shared, problems, with God's help, and understanding from others, that pull them through.

That's what it takes for servicemen/women to overcome the worst of the nightmare of PTSD and injuries during the Christmas season--or anytime throughout the year. God, understanding, and love.

Read about the Patterson's struggles and how God helped them overcome

their troubles in the midst of danger and heartache.

Amazon

Story Sparks and Six Authors: Featuring Carole Brown Today!!

Welcome to the Story Sparks multi-Author Blog Tour. 

Between May 21-26, 2018 readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors. 

Today I'm the featured author. 

A lucky winner will get her choice of a Kindle copy of With Music in Their Hearts or A Flute in the Willows.

Today I'll be talking about these books: The Spies of WWII. Read on to discover what sparks my creativity and to enter the rafflecopter to win one of my heartwarming books. 

Spies, Flutes and Red-heads 

by Carole Brown

Spies:

Developing my WWII Spies series came from two things:

• Listening to my mother talk about her life during WWII and seeing the pictures she had
• A short story about a “supposed” civilian spy during WWII from an elderly man. Rumors had it that HE was that spy, but he neither confirmed nor denied it.T

Because my interest in WWII was sparked through these two avenues, I found it easy to fall in love with the research for the books. 

Researching spies was an eye-opening experience. Not only danger is involved, but there are tons of reasons why men—and women—serve in such a capacity. The rewards are vast—money, esteem, the parties and socializing, exotic countries—if all goes as hoped and the spy escapes detection. Caught—prison and death can be the result.

Music:

And since dangers and sacrifices abound in WWII stories—some of which I brought out in these books, I also wanted to create a sense of fun, warmth and love to lighten the suspense. One way I managed to create the feeling was to bring music into the story as a subplot.

The idea to include music in these books was sparked because of my own love of music. The decision as to what or how it was brought into each book was also a fairly easy decision. Music has so many benefits besides lightening up suspense books.

• Encouragement
• Mood enhancers
• Spiritual uplifter
• Healthy

and so much more.

One tidbit before I move on to the sisters. I love most instruments, but the flute was not one of them—until I heard one played by an expert. That changed my ideas about flutes, and from then on, and the idea was sparked! The flute was the perfect instrument to include in athletic Josie's life.

The Red-headed Sisters:

I'd already planned to feature three red-haired sisters in their own books. It was fun to create their personalities and who the heroes would be. Fortunately, while I wrote book one, the heroes for the other two books appeared and were good matches for sisters two and three.

I've always loved red hair. It's so vibrant, rich in color and alluring. Studying and researching the subject I realized how many different shades of red there are and helped spark the choice of shades for each sister to match their personalities. 

All in all, the first two books have been a delight to write, and I'm looking forward to the writing the third book soon.

Let me share brief thoughts how the spies, music and sisters all worked together to make this series heartwarming and suspenseful.

With Music in Their Hearts

With my interest piqued and imagination soaring, I settled on the plot for book one where the hero—handsome, smart, a minister and godly—is rejected to serve overseas but recruited to serve as a civilian spy. Sparks of jealousy and love fly between him and the heroine as they battle suspicions that one or the other is not on the up and up.

Emma Jaine Rayner, by her own claims, is a non-professional pianist, who entertains and gives an extra doze of homeyness to the boarding house residents with the nightly musical fests. Her active imagination while playing, increases her longing for a man to love—and Tyrell Walker, the civilian spy, increases the pressure by wooing her with his trained voice.

A Flute in the Willows

In Book Two, the heroine and hero are both rebels in their own way. She has two loves—her skating and Jerry, her husband, an overseas U.S. spy. But when he returns home looking like a skeleton trying to return to life, she’s scared. What happened in Germany to change a man so much? When his wife's life is threatened, Jerry realizes he can’t stand by and do nothing. Jerry has to risk all for the very soul and life of himself—Josie. These two damaged, rebellious people learn the hard way that leaning on God instead of their ownselves and abilities is the only true way to love and happiness.

Josephine Rayner Patterson, the second sister, is quite different from her older sister. She's athletic and training for the Olympics once it's resumed after the war. But returning to her flute after a drastic alteration in her life, it's the balm that heals her troubled heart. In spite of resisting, Jerry Patterson through her music and enduring love, finds his heart strangely drawn to what he's never experienced before.

Sing Until You Die (coming)

The third book in this series has a tentative publishing date of 2019. The youngest sister of the WWII Spies sister overhears a private conversation while singing to the military troops and realizes it's vital information to the well being of the United States. When she’s almost discovered, Claire barely escapes. Surrounded by zealous people she can’t and won’t trust, Claire has no options but to trust the one person she most disdains, the one person she ran from: quiet, plugging-along Wills but rumored to be the best spy serving on U.S. soil. In the midst of danger, Wills has the chance of a lifetime: to show the love of his life, his love for her. Will she learn that God is her strength and wisdom and that no matter how well she can sing, how far she travels, how many men she meets, only Wills can fill the void in her heart?

Claire Roseanne Rayner is the princess of the family, the petted and beloved daughter of the Rayner Family who sings like a bird and is determined to fly away like one too. She loves God but staying away from the boy-turned-man she grew up with is never far from her mind. William (Wills) Mason has never wavered in his love for Claire Rayner. In spite of having no talent in either singing or playing, he's fully behind Claire's musical ambitions. And loving her just might bring him to the point of facing death.

Question for readers:

What is your favorite musical instrument? 

ENTER to WIN BOOKS!!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/831a42731/?

Buy Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

Bio:

Besides being a member and active participant of many writing groups, Carole Brown enjoys mentoring beginning writers. An author of ten books, she loves to weave suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy, and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons?

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaroleBrown.author

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carole-Brown/e/B00EZV4RFY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1427898838&sr=8-1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/browncarole212

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carole-brown

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sunnywrtr/boards/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5237997-carole-brown

Linkedin:

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113068871986311965415/posts

Stitches in Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/

Winner of January's Contest

It's always such a pleasure to announce a winner

(although I ALWAYS want to choose everyone! Lol) 

so without further ado...

January 2018's winner is...

BONNIE WILT

You have one week to contact me with your addy.

Happy Reading, folks,
join in

and don't forget to spread the word

for February's contest.

Coming soon!

January Contest and Reasons to Read

Why Read?

* Pleasure. What fun to find an author whose books we love!
* Relaxation. What better way to lose ourselves in a book from the discouraging, disappointing things going on in our lives?
* Keeps us mentally healthy. Reading a mystery/suspense?
Our mentality improves vastly by imagining who's the villain?
Romance? Our heart yearns for a satisfactory ending... And more!
So Read, Read, Read! 

The first contest of the Year!

January, 2018

CONTEST QUESTION TIME

Name one thing that is good about 
this winter in January, 2018

Oh, yeah, you want to know what you get?

This:

or this:

Already read these?
Then you can pick one of my other books
or wait till my next book is out 

(Toby's Troubles, an Appleton, WV Romantic Mystery)

How's that for a Beautiful, wintry contest?

(I will choose a winner by January 31st!)

Blessings!

What Would You do...? Christmas Thoughts

What Would You Do…?

Posted on December 22, 2017 by Carole Brown

by Carole Brown

…if someone wanted to kill your baby? 

• Mary and Joseph fled.
• In the Redemption of Caralynne Hayman, Cara is mad with grief and anger at the death of her oldest daughter. A tough read? Yes, but well worth seeing what happens to this sorrowing mother.

…if you had to give up your business in a hurry? Or face destruction?

• Joseph did. He and Mary had to flee to Egypt to escape the wrath of the King and begin again in his carpentry business.
• In Sabotaged Christmas, Toni DeLuca must find the person casting doubt on her beloved father before her business is ruined and Christmas won’t be coming to Appleton, WV for her employees.

…if you were told you were having a baby, but you had no idea (at first) how it’d happened?

• Mary did. She heard the angel’s proclamation, but told no one and kept everything hidden in her heart, pondering.
• Starli Cameron was always told she couldn’t have a baby, but was it the truth? Only time would tell…after the struggles from the past vanished.

…if valuable items were given to you by kings?

• Baby Jesus was visited by the three Magi and given precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
• Caroline‘s friend, Andy, had valuable paintings, but Caroline disdained them. When one is stolen, she’s pushed into a mystery that proves how valuable paintings (and relationships) can be.  

…if you were suspicious of three foreign kings who visited you?

• King Herod was, afraid that a new baby would take his place someday.
• Tyrell Walker in With Music in Their Hearts had a reason to be suspicious of so many in the boarding house. After all, there was a foreign spy determined to wreck havoc to the U.S.

…if you were about to lose what you loved?

• Mary and Joseph were. Baby Jesus was a precious gift from God. They were assigned a duty to raise him, and they would do anything to keep him safe.
• Jerry and Josie thought they were losing each other, and both were determined to battle the war for their lives and their souls. 

Interest peaked?

Read St. Luke Chapter 2 to find the answers to the above questions.

Go here to find my books that hopefully will keep you reading and warm through the coming winter! 

Amazon Author Page

Merry Christmas!

What's Better than a NEW Book?

Book Blurb:

Both rebels in their own way, Josie and Jerry Patterson must figure out 

how to keep the other's love...and keep the German enemy at bay.

She has two loves—her skating and Jerry, her husband. 

But when he returns home looking like a skeleton trying to return to life, 

she’s scared. What happened in Germany to change a man so much? 

Has another woman captured his heart?

Jerry has vowed to let Josie live her own glamourous life...

especially after what happened in Germany. 

But when his wife's life is threatened, 

Jerry realizes he can’t stand by and do nothing. 

Jerry has to risk all for the very soul and life of himself—Josie.

These two damaged, rebellious people learn the hard way 

that leaning on God instead of their own selves and abilities

 is the only true way to love and happiness. 

READ the First Chapter:

Chapter One

1942

Jerry Patterson stared out the yawning black hole in the side of the plane. Seconds to go before he dropped. Night time parachuting was always a risky thing, but the pilot was one of the best who’d keep this baby right on target, lessening the chances he’d have to hit water. Trees were another matter, but with any kind of luck, the landing would go smooth.

Then to meet his contact and move into the German military high life. His pulse revved up. It was a dangerous game he was about to play.

Josie’s face flashed in his mind, and Jerry felt his heart soften. How he loved his tomboy wife. She was a beautiful butterfly dancing on ice, but put her in a social setting, and she was like a wild creature let lose in a maiden aunt’s prim parlor.

Three weeks of marital bliss. It’d been heaven on earth for him. One rapturous day—and night—after another. She’d cried the night before he’d left, but had been strength personified when he’d boarded the train the next morning.

If—no, when—he got home, he’d wrap his arms around her and not let her out of his sight.

Jerry stepped into the hole and dropped rapidly, counting. One thousand...One thousand one...One thousand two... With a jerk he pulled, the parachute opened above him, and he drifted earthward toward his assignment.

BUY LINK:

Coming SOON!

Sunday Morning Peace: New Books

What do Flutes, Willow trees and Spies 

have to do with each other?

A new book is coming soon.

A Flute in the Willows:

the long-awaited second book in the

WWII Spies series

BLURB:

Both rebels in their own way, Josie and Jerry Patterson must figure out how 

to keep the other's love...and keep the German enemy at bay.

She has two loves—her skating and Jerry, her husband. But when he returns home 

looking like a skeleton trying to return to life, she’s scared. 

What happened in Germany to change a man 

so much? Has another woman captured his heart?

Jerry has vowed to let Josie live her own glamourous life...

especially after what happened in Germany. 

But when his wife's life is threatened, 

Jerry realizes he can’t stand by and do nothing. 

Jerry has to risk all for the very soul and life of himself—Josie.

These two damaged, rebellious people learn the hard way 

that leaning on God instead of their own selves and abilities 

is the only true way to love and happiness. 

Watch for it!