Saturday, June 18, 2011

First review of Mistaken Identity...


I'm so excited! I just had to share my first review of Mistaken Identity. It's from Clare Revell at http://telscha.blogspot.com/. She gave it 4 1/2 out of  5 stars. Here's what she had to say:

I loved Mistaken Identity. I read it in one sitting, so engrossed that the toast burned and milk boiled over as I read. Eden faces all the problems young Christian girls do today. Short skirts, make up, protective parents (and yes I’m one of those dreaded protective parents who ban her daughters from wearing belts or pelmets – aka short skirts). And when she does finally fall for a boy, admittedly a slightly older boy, not only does she have to worry about what her parents will think, her BF, Lexi falls for him too. Problem is what Lexi wants, Lexi gets.

A book for parents and teenagers alike, this one deals with important issues as well as having an engaging storyline, loveable characters and enough nail biting moments to keep you rooted to the pages and wondering about the characters after the last page is turned.

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/6ez8xvh
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/6bpw26c
Also available at Sony and other ebook outlets and coming soon to Christianbook.com

Monday, June 13, 2011

"Angels in Cowboy Boots" by Sunny Eads


Clash of The Titles
Guest post by April W Gardner



Meet previous Clash of the Titles gladiator, Sunny (SQ) Eads. She is the author of Angel in Cowboy Boots.

ABOUT THE BOOK


Two years ago Sarah Bentley lost everything except her faith and it teeters in sync with her hesitant steps. Now a chance encounter with four-year-old Matt and his uncle, Dave McKeever, brings hope for the future with a job, a wonderful new place to live, and...dare she dream?...love. Active outdoors man, Dave McKeever, battles the instant attraction between them believing God can't possibly want him to marry a woman held together by titanium joints and steel rods when he needs a capable, athletic mate. Though God's love brings them up out of the valley of pain and death, can they trust Him not to thrust them there again?




ABOUT SUNNY:

Sunny (SQ) Eads, an award winning author, was born and raised in southern Arizona. She received her higher education at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona and flew several years with American Airlines. Her love of Arizona and the mountains surrounding the state are evident in all of her novels thus far. Sunny has lived in Arizona, New York, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas. Inspiration for her characters comes from the hero she married, her two lovely daughters and especially her six wonderful grandchildren.


Sunny, how long have you been writing?
SQ Eads is my pen name, I've been writing for over twenty years.


What do you love about writing in general, and about this book in particular?
I love writing because, unlike life, I can guarantee a happy ending. God seems to plant an idea in my mind, then He lets me run with it and develop the story. In the end, Jesus is the answer to all my characters' problems.

In Angels In Cowboy Boots, Matt, the four-year-old boy, holds a special place in my heart; he's a blend of my five grandsons. Sarah is far from Dave's idea of a perfect mate, but God repairs the broken and makes it ideal.
How did you arrive at this particular back cover blurb? Was it you or your publisher or a group effort?
I created the blurb.  I wanted the reader to see how all things are possible with God. In Angels In Cowboy Boots, God takes a broken life and a misguided one, intertwines the two, and creates a deeply loving couple to parent an orphaned boy.

What do you do first when you’re browsing in a book store? Back cover, front, cover, inside, first few pages? What usually entices you to buy a book by an author new to you?
When browsing in a book store, my first step is to look at the title then read the back blurb. My decision to purchase comes from that information. It hooks me or it doesn't.

Thanks, Sunny!

In her giveaway, Sunny is offering her drawing winner the choice of paperback, Nook, or Kindle.
--April W. Gardner is the Sr. Editor at the literary site, Clash of the Titles. 
                                            She is also the author of the best-selling novel, Wounded Spirits.

" A Stray Drop of Blood" by Roseanna White

Clash of The Titles
Guest post by April W. Gardner

Meet recent Clash of the Titles Champion, Roseanna White. She is the author of A Stray Drop of Blood, which by the way has one of my all time favorite tag lines: Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected





ABOUT THE BOOK:
For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upside down. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trail, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .






ABOUT ROSEANNA:
Roseanna M. White is the editor of Christian Review of Books. She makes her home in the mountains of Western Maryland with her husband, two small children, and the colony of dust bunnies living under her couch.



Welcome, Roseanna! Have you learned anything new about God's character through this book?
Oh my, yes. As I rewrote this book a couple years ago for its paperback release, I realized that one of the most beautiful aspects of God’s nature that the story highlights is how He surprises us by meeting us in unexpected places. In Stray Drop, Abigail goes to Jesus’ trial hungry for revenge, and instead runs smack into the Lord’s forgiveness. She’s never the same, and I wasn’t the same after writing it.

What does your process look like? Are you a Plotter or a Pantser?
Both. ;-) When I’ve got an idea for a book, it’s usually about 70% complete within 24 hours. I’ll write the first three chapters, then a synopsis. I’ll pants my way through the first half of the book, sticking to my loose outline (mostly) but with plenty of freedom. By the second half of the book, though, I’ll have already figured out what scenes need to finish it out, so I’ll jot down a more detailed outline so I don’t forget them and can pinpoint any holes that need filled in before I hit my climax.

Of course, Stray Drop was so long that I went through this process twice—the crucifixion scene being my first “climax,” then the actual ending my second one. Beginning the second half of the book was like starting a sequel in a lot of ways, though I couldn’t conceive of actually ending it after that first “climax.” (Quotes on purpose, since it’s not the real climax, LOL.)

When's your favorite time to write?
It used to be early morning, but that was before my kids started waking up at 6 rather than 8. (boy do I hear ya) Most of my writing time ends up being during my son’s naptime, but my favorite times are still those times of quiet and semi-darkness, when I can sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, some treasured silence, and no interruptions—early morning or after the kids are in bed, when hubby’s occupied with a hockey game. ;-)

Thanks, Roseanna!

--April W. Gardner is the Sr. Editor at the literary site, Clash of the Titles
She is also the author of the best-selling novel, Wounded Spirits.

Interview with Barbara M. Britton and spotlight of Lioness...

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