Spotlight of June Foster’s Dreams Deferred....

We’re happy to have June Foster with us today talking about her novel Dreams Deferred. To learn more about June and her book, read on! 

Frances Matthew Hall is obedient to family tradition: all firstborn sons will serve as a priest. Now Matt officiates at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas. But when on Easter Sunday, he notices a beautiful young woman who takeshis breath away, he must fight against his attraction to her or leave the priesthood and alienate his entire family.

Mary Louise Graham is a middle school teacher and devout catholic. Yet no amount of service to the community can ease the heavy load of guilt she carries. God can never forgive her unspeakable mistake. But when Father Matt tells her about a forgiving God through His son Jesus Christ, she's free. Only thing, the Godly priest now means more to her than he should.

Can two people find their way to each other amidst insurmountable obstacles? Dreams Deferred is inspired by the author's great grandfather and great grandmother's story.

Short blurb:

Father Matt Hall wants to serve the Lord. School teacher Mary Louise Graham needs freedom from her unforgivable past. They never expect to fall in love.

The Story Behind the Story

Dreams Deferred is inspired by the true-to-life story of my great grandfather and great grandmother. I chose to set it in contemporary times, nevertheless, I borrowed many of the story elements from the true story.

Frances Mathew Halbedl grew up in the European Austrian Empire and followed tradition in which the oldest son became a priest in his family's Catholic faith. After being ordained in Moravia, he immigrated to the United States in 1866 to serve in a parish in the state of Louisiana.

My aunt and mother always told the story of how one Sunday while saying mass, he spotted a young teen, much younger than my Mary Louise. He waited several years for her to grow up then stepped down from the priesthood to marry her. I wish I knew some of those rich details of their courtship, but since I don't, I fictionalized their romance.

They later moved to San Antonio, Texas, and had five children, three girls and two boys—Ida, Mamie, Alice, Roy, and Clifton, who was my grandfather. Just for fun in one scene, I imagined that Matt had a dream he was riding in a car with Mary Louise and the three youngest kids. In my story, the dream helped him realize how much he loved Mary Louise.

Mathew taught music both in the public school and privately. Later he became the first principal of a high school in San Antonio. In December of 2005, my husband and I visited San Antonio and looked up Matthew and Mary Louise's house. The large, two-story home is still there on Roseborough Drive. We weren't able to go in because it's a private residence. But I had so much fun envisioning Matt and ML's lives as they lived there with their children.

We also visited Clifton Halbedl's home, which I remember from childhood. I also had the address for Mamie's home, and we were able to go inside. A gracious lady who spoke no English invited us in. I have tons of pictures and hope to share them on my blog.

In the story, Matt gets a job at Jefferson High School. This is patterned after Thomas Jefferson High School where my mother went to school. Her name was Mary Louise, as well, named for her grandmother.

If I've learned anything from writing this book, I wish I'd probed for more information when my mother and aunt were still alive, but I'm grateful for what I do know.

About June Foster

June Foster is an award-winning author who began her writing career in an RV roaming around the USA with her husband, Joe. She brags about visiting a location before it becomes the setting in her next contemporary romance or romantic suspense. June's characters find themselves in precarious circumstances where only God can offer redemption and ultimately freedom. To dateJune has seen publication of 19 novels and 1 devotional. Find June at junefoster.com.

Interview with Alexis A. Goring & spotlight of Love in Pictures...

Interview with Johnnie Alexander & spotlight of Match You Like Crazy...

We're happy to have Johnnie Alexander with us today talking about her book Match You Like Crazy. To learn more about Johnnie and her book, read on!

Back cover blurb

They have everything in common. So why aren’t they a perfect match?

Bre Fisher wishes she’d said no when her grandmother gave her a trip to Matchmaking Week, especially when Nate Hunter takes the seat beside her on the puddle-jumper to Joy Island. He’s the last person she expected to see.

Nate figures he can’t go home if Bre is his match. The longstanding business rivalry between their families makes romance with a Fisher impossible. 

Yet in addition to the same family expectations and obligations, Bre and Nate have the same interests ~ maybe even the same dream. 

Will a week on Joy Island spark another feud? Or prove they’re a crazy perfect match? 

FIRST PAGE

“Match You Like Crazy”

Resort to Romance Series

Johnnie Alexander

Chapter One

A puddle-jumper!

For the hundredth time since Bre had arrived at the oceanside airport, she wished she had paid more attention when Gran asked if she wanted to take a plane or a boat to Joy Island. The plane seemed the obvious choice since the flight didn’t depart till three. The boat had left the dock at ten that morning. Way too early!

By choosing to fly, she’d had plenty of time to make the drive from her Tampa home to the private airport located along Miami’s southeastern seaboard.

But a puddle-jumper?

She prayed she wouldn’t vomit as she maneuvered the narrow aisle on her way to Seat L-1 near the back of the small plane.

L for Love. Perhaps it was a sign.

Gran had suggested as much when she printed out the ticket and stuffed it in the packet with Bre’s other travel documents. Her gray eyes had sparkled with a mischievous glint. Bre should have summoned the courage to say no.

No to the plane. No to Joy Island. No to the whole matchmaking scheme.

Yet here she was, entrusting her life to a flying tin can to make her grandmother happy. But she refused to sit in a window seat no matter what it said on her ticket.

Each row held three seats—two on the right side of the aisle and one on the left. Row L was empty, and Bre gratefully dropped into L-2, the only seat that wasn’t next to a window. Perhaps L also stood for Luck and no one else had been assigned to the row.

She stowed her tote then opened the texting app on her phone to send a quick “I’m on board” message to Gran and her parents.

“I think you’re in my seat.”

Bre looked up at the man hovering above her. And gasped. It couldn’t be. Not him.

Recognition dawned in his eyes, and a slow smile curved his lips.

“You’re Bre Fisher. Aren’t you?”

“And you’re Nate Hunter. Small world.”

“Too small.” He tapped his phone screen. “I’m pretty sure my ticket said L-2. I’ve got it on here.”

“I’m L-1. It’s just that . . .” Bre gazed toward the window. Outside the plane, palm trees waved their fronds in beat with the tropical breezes wafting from the Atlantic Ocean. The sun shone bright and hot in a perfect blue sky dotted with perfect white clouds. A tranquil picturesque scene if you overlooked the concrete of the tarmac.

But to be among those clouds in that perfect blue? Bre gagged at the thought.

“How about I take the window seat?” Nate offered. “You look a little tense.”

“Thank you.” Bre stood so he could squeeze past her. She’d imagined this day getting worse before it got better but sitting beside Nate Hunter for the duration of the flight was the worst of the worst. Unless she did vomit. She shuddered at the thought of that humiliation.

Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.

1.     My birthday is in a couple weeks!

2.     Captain America is my favorite Avenger.

3.     I traveled through Europe with a penguin travel pillow.

4.     My mom lost the crest on her class ring, so she had it polished and gave it to me when I was thirteen. I’ve been wearing it ever since.

5.     I took my kids out of school for Trilogy Tuesday—when theaters showed all three of the Lord of the Ring movies.

Why did you choose to write this book?

Authors Jill Kemerer and Jessica Patch created the series and asked me to write one of the ten novellas. The concept—ten couples spending Matchmaking Week on a Bahama island owned by two eccentric and wealthy sisters—sounded so fun that I immediately said yes. All the stories in the Resort to Romance Series have the word “Match” in the title.

What do you hope readers to take away from your novel?

This is a light-hearted romance which I hope readers will simply enjoy—an escape from the to-do list to a romantic tropical island. The main characters, Nate and Bre, work in their individual family businesses but they both have an adventurous dream. It’s a story of reconciliation and following one’s heart.

What is something you hope to achieve, writing-related or not?

I’d like to write a screenplay based on a short story that was published in an anthology. And though I don’t expect to ever have the opportunity, I’d love to be a director’s VIP guest on a movie set.

What do you do for fun when you finish a writing project?

Start on the next one!

However, I also enjoy going to the movies, browsing the shelves of my local library, taking walks, and curling up on the couch with a good book.

What are you working on now? 

I’m writing “Blue Moon,” a WWII novella for Barbour’s Hometown Heroines Collection. My heroine, a member of the Women Officers of Public Safety unit, teams up with an Army Intelligence agent to protect a top-secret atom bomb facility from sabotage.

Bio

Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won't forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, is a CBA bestseller. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr. 

Where else can readers find you online?   

My monthly newsletter provides fun updates and giveaways. Please sign up at http://johnnie-alexander.com. Connect with me on other social media sites via LinkTree.

Interview with Amy R. Anguish and spotlight of Faith and Hope....

We're happy to have Amy R. Anguish with us today talking about her book Faith and Hope. To learn more about Amy and Faith and Hope, read on!

Back cover blurb

Two sisters. One summer. Multiple problems.

Younger sister Hope has lost her job, her car, and her boyfriend all in one day. Her well-laid plans for life have gone sideways, as has her hope in God.

Older sister Faith is finally getting her dream-come-true after years of struggles and prayers. But when her mom talks her into letting Hope move in for the summer, will the stress turn her dream into a nightmare? Is her faith in God strong enough to handle everything?

For two sisters who haven't gotten along in years, this summer together could be a disaster ... or it could lead them to a closer relationship with each other and God. Can they overcome all life is throwing at them? Or is this going to destroy their relationship for good?

Please give us the first page of the book.

“In all honesty, I really thought this meeting might have been to say I was going to get a raise next year.” Hope Cook gave a little chuckle. Anything was better than bursting into tears in front of her boss, even if it was faking laughter.

“Trust me, Hope. If I could have done that, you would be at the top of my list.” Mr. Smith straightened some papers. “Unfortunately, the school board has spoken. The team has to have another coach.”

“I know.” Hope half-heartedly held up a fist. “Go Buckley!”

“If anything changes at all, I’ll let you know.”

Hope couldn’t help but slump her shoulders as she opened the doors to rain. Evidently, the weather was in the same mood she was. She stepped out from under the overhang ... and directly into a puddle.

Laid off.

Wet clothes.

Soaked feet.

She listed every bad thing the afternoon had wrought thus far as she squished her way through the parking lot.

“You have got to be kidding me.” The umbrella doused her with another shower as she fought to close it. She tossed the miscreant tool into her backseat and slammed the door.

She took a moment to lay her head on the steering wheel and give in to her depression. “Why, God? Why give me my dream job only to take it away?”

A clap of thunder sounded. She lifted her head and hands.

“Okay, okay. Sorry. But I don’t understand.”

She shook her head. Was she really arguing with God? Obviously, she needed to go home and rest.

Please tell us five random things we might not know about you.

1. I hate plan white socks. I prefer polka dots, stripes, and sometimes a mixture of each.

2. I love having a random few streaks of hot pink in my hair.

3. I love reading about horses, but not so much actually being near them, and especially not riding them.

4. I used to tell people that I wanted to be a babysitter when I grew up.

5. In high school, I was a runner up in a contest and had a drawing hanging in the football stadium where the Tennessee Titans play.

Why did you choose to write this book?

I sort of wrote this book as therapy for myself. It helped me work through some of the things I was going through dealing with infertility at the time. I also just couldn’t get the idea out of my head—what would happen if two sisters who didn’t along were forced to spend the summer together?

What one thing about writing do you wish non-writers would understand? 

It’s almost impossible to be perfect. I don’t mean me. I mean my manuscript. No matter how many different eyes have looked at it or how many times I have gone through each line, it seems there is always a mistake left.

What is the toughest test you've faced as a writer?

Marketing myself and my books. It’s not that I don’t believe they’re good and that you’d enjoy them. It’s that I don’t want to be pushy, either.

What do you hope readers to take away from your novel?

No matter what you are going through in your life, if you have God, you can make it through and come out better on the other side. Especially if you have other Christians there to help you.

What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of, writing-related or not?

Being a mommy. Having made several quilts. Any plants that don’t die in my gardens.

 What do you do for fun when not writing?

Crochet, paint, sew, read, garden, teach Bible class, chase kids, and the usual things like laundry and dishes.

What are you working on now? 

I am waiting to hear if I’ve made it past round one in the Love Inspired contest, and rewriting a romance I started back in like 2008 that needed A LOT of work.

Bio

Amy R Anguish
Author of An Unexpected Legacy

Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher's kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

Where else can readers find you online?   

http://abitofanguish.weebly.com and http://facebook.com/amyanguishauthor