Saint's Roost Giveaway

LEAVE A COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS BOOK. :)

Terry is a great writer and I'm sure you'll enjoy this one.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Saint's Roost
Sundowners (September 20, 2009)
by
Terry Burns


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Terry has over 30 books in print, including work in a dozen short story collections and four non-fiction books plus numerous articles and short stories.

His last book Beyond the Smoke is a 2009 winner of the Will Rogers Medallion for best youth fiction and a nominee for the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. He has a three book Mysterious Ways series out from David C Cook, and Trails of the Dime Novel from Echelon Press.

A graduate of West Texas State he did post graduate work at Southern Methodist University. Terry plans to continue writing inspirational fiction as well as working as an agent for Hartline Literary Agency. Terry is a native Texan Living in Amarillo, Texas with his lovely wife Saundra.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Terry Burns has written a novel rich in Texan drawl and old western authenticity.

Saint’s Roost opens with a determined couple leaving a wagon train to set off on their own, only to be set upon by savages. Patrick, an eager evangelizing preacher, steps out to share the Good Book with the savages and meets an untimely demise, leaving his wife, Janie, alone on a trail to nowhere with no one to help her survive.

She makes her way across the frontier determined to follow her husband’s calling, but she doesn’t know where to begin, or even how to take care of herself. When her travels bring her into the lives of two cowhands, an ex-prostitute, a young boy and his drunken grandfather, and towns filled with cowboys waiting to be saved, she discovers there’s more than one way to spread God’s word.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Saint's Roost, go HERE

What the Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What The Bayou Saw
Kregel Publications (March 24, 2009)
by
Patti Lacy


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Though Patti's only been writing since 2005, she thinks her latest profession of capturing stories on paper (or computer files) will stick awhile.

The Still, Small Voice encouraged Patti to write after a brave Irish friend shared memories of betrayal and her decision to forgive. In 2008, An Irishwoman’s Tale was published by Kregel Publications. Patti’s second novel, What the Bayou Saw, draws on the memories of two young girls who refused to let segregation, a chain link fence, and a brutal rape come between them.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, My Name is Sheba, has been completed. Patti's WIP, Recapturing Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worchestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed.



ABOUT THE BOOK


Segregation and a chain link fence separated twelve-year-old Sally Flowers from her best friend, Ella Ward. Yet a brutal assault bound them together. Forever. Thirty-eight years later, Sally, a middle-aged Midwestern instructor, dredges up childhood secrets long buried beneath the waters of a Louisiana bayou in order to help her student, who has also been raped. Fragments of spirituals, gospel songs, and images of a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans are woven into the story.


The past can't stay buried forever Rising author Patti Lacy's second novel exposes the life of Sally, set amid the shadows of prejudice in Louisiana.

Since leaving her home in the South, Sally Stevens has held the secrets of her past at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband, has heard the truth about her childhood.

But when one of her students is violently raped, Sally's memories quickly bubble to the surface unbidden, like a dead body in a bayou. As Sally's story comes to light, the lies she's told begin to catch up with her. And as her web of deceit unravels, she resolves to face the truth at last, whatever the consequences.

If you would like to read the first chapter of What The Bayou Saw, go HERE

Watch the Book Trailer:

Fit To Be Tied...Robin Lee Hatcher

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Fit to Be Tied
Zondervan (November 1, 2009)
by
Robin Lee Hatcher


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd's Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon



ABOUT THE BOOK

Cleo Arlington dresses like a cowboy, is fearless and fun-loving, and can ride, rope, and wrangle a horse as well as any man. In 1916, however, those talents aren’t what most young women aspire to. But Cleo isn’t most women. Twenty-nine years old and single, Cleo loves life on her father’s Idaho ranch. Still, she hopes someday to marry and have children.

Enter Sherwood Statham, an English aristocrat whose father has sentenced him to a year of work in America to “straighten him out.” Sherwood, who expected a desk job at a posh spa, isn’t happy to be stuck on an Idaho ranch. And he has no idea how to handle Cleo, who’s been challenged with transforming this uptight playboy into a down-home cowboy, because he has never encountered a woman succeeding in a “man’s world.”

Just about everything either of them says or does leaves the other, well, fit to be tied. Cleo Arlington knows everything about horses but nothing about men. And though Cleo believes God’s plan for her includes a husband, it couldn’t possibly be Sherwood Statham. Could it?

Their bumpy trot into romance is frustrating, exhilarating, and ultimately heartwarming.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Fit to Be Tied , go HERE.

Watch the book video Trailer:

GIVING YOUR CHARACTERS LIFE...BY RACHELLE GARDNER

This is a blog post copied from Rachelle Gardner's blog Rants and Ramblings of a Literary Agent.

I love Rachelle's blog as it's becoming a great source of publishing information for me. She's fun, witty, and very well informed. I found this post particularly valuable and thought you might too.

RACHELLE'S POST:

It's such an important concept to remember when creating characters in our novels. Developing a character who has seemingly contradictory traits, skills, habits and hobbies, and making it work, is one of the more difficult aspects of the art of writing. But it's part of what gives your characters LIFE.

We talked about this a couple of weeks ago (Avoiding On the Nose Writing) but it's a concept I can't stress strongly enough. I quickly get bored with characters that never surprise me. I want you to look at your characters and ask yourself if they're constantly doing only what would be expected of them, or if they're actually real, rounded, interesting people. Give them some life by allowing them to be surprising in some way. Go through Friday's comments and steal some of the interesting things people revealed about themselves!

Your Character's Life—or Your Life?

I wanted to mention one other aspect of giving characters life. It's something I don't hear mentioned very often by those who teach writing, but as is so often the case, it's something I seem to come across in my work with newer writers. It's the idea that sometimes, to give your characters life, you need to separate them from your own life.

Here's what I mean. It's not uncommon that I'm working on a manuscript with an author, and discover that one of the problems keeping the story from being powerful is that one or more of the characters is not very well-developed. It feels like there's a hole in the story, because I don't feel like I know this character well enough.

So I'll start talking to the author about the character, finding out what the writer thinks, what she knows about the character's background, personality, interests, etc. I'll ask who the character was based on. Often—bingo. There's the issue.

Maybe the character is based on the author. Or perhaps the character was inspired by the author's mother. Or someone else in their family. On further discussion, we'll realize that the author was unconsciously trying to avoid revealing too much about herself through the character. She held back in fully forming her, perhaps out of a fear of vulnerability. Or maybe the author was trying to protect someone else. Or perhaps the character was based on someone with whom the author has a conflicted relationship, and so she had trouble drawing that character fully and honestly.

The point is, to give your characters life, you have to be unafraid to plumb the depths of their personalities, get into their heart and soul and truly know who they are. You can only write them with honesty if you're unafraid of them—their dark sides, the parts of them that scare you, the parts of them that you don't feel you know. You really have to get to know them. And if your character is based (even loosely) on someone in real life, then that connection to reality could be holding you back from creating a character who comes to life on the page.

If you have a character who is coming across a bit cardboard, or simply not as well-developed as your other characters, ask yourself if there is a personal (psychological or emotional) block that is preventing you from letting this character be real. You might find your answer.

(Or maybe not. Maybe you just need to write better.)

Food for thought, anyway.

Have you had issues with particular characters that were difficult to bring to life? How did you resolve them

WHAT AUTHORS DO WHEN THEY SHOULD BE WRITING

I SOOO LOVE THIS!!! WANTED TO SHARE. Such talented authors and apparently they're hilarious. :)

A Slow Burn by Mary Demuth and Trial By Fire Winner

Winner for Cara Putman's book Trial by Fire is Leslie. I'll get that out to you this week.

Thanks for commenting, Leslie. Now this weeks Blog Tour:

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Slow Burn
Zondervan (October 1, 2009)
by
Mary DeMuth
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary E. DeMuth is an expert in Pioneer Parenting. She enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow.

Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005).

Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, Watching The Tree Limbs
(nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing On Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).

Mary has spoken at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, the ACFW Conference, the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, and at various churches and church planting ministries. She's also taught in Germany, Austria, Monaco, Italy, France, and the United States. Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, and planting a church.

ABOUT THE BOOK


She touched Daisy’s shoulder. So cold. So hard. So unlike Daisy.

Yet so much like herself it made Emory shudder.

Burying her grief, Emory Chance is determined to find her daughter Daisy’s murderer—a man she saw in a flicker of a vision. But when the investigation hits every dead end, her despair escalates. As questions surrounding Daisy’s death continue to mount, Emory’s safety is shattered by the pursuit of a stranger, and she can’t shake the sickening fear that her own choices contributed to Daisy’s disappearance. Will she ever experience the peace her heart longs for?

The second book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, this suspenseful novel is about courageous love, the burden of regret, and bonds that never break. It is about the beauty and the pain of telling the truth. Most of all, it is about the power of forgiveness and what remains when shame no longer holds us captive.

Watch the video:



If you would like to read the first chapter of A Slow Burn, go HERE

Trial By Fire review and giveaway...

I'm excited to have Cara Putman with me today. Cara is a dear friend who has been such a blessing to me with my own writing journey. It has been so fun to watch her grow as a writer and to see her shine.

Cara has had a whirlwind writing journey. She's written 9 books since 2005. Yes, I said 9. :) This month her second Love Inspired Suspense Trial by Fire releases.

Here's my review of the book and then a short interview with Cara follows. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this book. :) I'll draw a name October 30.

Indiana writer Cara Putman has another new book out this month. Trial by Fire releases October 13 from the Love Inspired Suspense line. If you've read Cara's first book, Deadly Exposure, you might remember Caleb Jamison's sister, Tricia. Trial by Fire is Tricia's story.

However, one of my favorite things about this book is the continuation of Dani and Caleb's story. We don't just get a small little cameo from them like in most short series, they're a part of this storyline--in a smaller way, but still very much a part of the plot. I loved that.

The story starts with Tricia's mother's house targeted by an arsonist. Or rather her garage. Even though Tricia works as a county prosecutor, her brother, a police investigator, is sure someone is targeting him from a case he's worked.

Fireman Noah Brust thought he'd never have to see Tricia Jamison again. At least he hoped. After working with her on a trial the previous year, and subsequently having his father's reputation as a fireman ruined, he has no use for Tricia or any attorney for that matter.

Like most great characters, Tricia is hiding some serious hurts from her past. That and a few issues she runs into on her current case prosecuting a wife beating scumbag, makes the issue with the arsonist the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. She's unable to process everything and finds herself vulnerable.

Even though he'd like nothing more than to avoid Tricia, Noah finds himself a target of the arsonist. He realizes the two of them would do better working together on this case than against each other. While Noah still harbors some bitterness for the beautiful attorney, her vulnerability moves him more than he'd have thought.

I can honestly say this is Putman's best work. I loved the twisty turny plot that kept us guessing and the romance...well, he's a fireman. Need I say more? LOL. Seriously, this is a great quick, romantic suspense you can take with you anywhere.

Now a little about Cara's writing journey:

CARA: After God gave me permission to chase this dream in April 2005, I started writing seriously in June. I attended my first ACFW conference in September and had a wonderful time learning and meeting with agents and editors. Out of that conference, I had invitations to submit to a couple houses. That has resulted in my first four books. But that first contract came at the 2006 ACFW conference. That book, Canteen Dreams, released in October 2007. Last week I received author copies of my eighth book and the edits on my ninth book. I’m also waiting on contracts for books ten and eleven — from different publishers!

SABRINA: Wow, things happened pretty fast for you. However, we know it couldn't have been easy. You worked hard and had to be very disciplined to get as many books published as you've had. Still, from the outside looking in it seems to come very easy to you--what has been the most difficult part of your journey? Or maybe what might surprise those of us who stand in awe at your ability to produce books so fast. :)

CARA: What would surprise you the most right now is that I am struggling to get started on this next book. I came home from conference and spent 3+ weeks pretty sick. Now I’m under the gun, and it’s time to apply my tried and true techniques: 1) Get my rear-end on the chair and write; 2) Ask for help now before I am overwhelmed, and 3) start narrowing extra stuff out of my schedule. Sigh. I hate doing that last one.

SABRINA: How do you juggle all your obligations? Family, homeschooling, being an attorney, teaching, church, etc...

CARA: I’m not sure I’ve got this figured out yet. Right now, it means that I don’t get a lot of sleep — especially as I look at trade length deadlines on January 15 and March 1. I’m home primarily with the kids. I love that flexibility and ability to pour into my children. I teach an occasional class at Purdue, still work with some of my legal clients, and write. Most of the time I have the ability to squeeze these around my commitments with the children. And Eric and I squeeze in the occasional date night, too, though not nearly as often as we’d like.

SABRINA: I'm exhausted just thinking about it. LOL. Since this is your second Love Inspired Suspense is there anything in particular you've learned from the editors in regards to writing for this particular line? Or advice for writers targeting the LI line.

CARA: Here are the two things I have definitely learned about the line and romantic suspense from my editors: 1) make sure the romance is balanced 50-50 with the suspense. That’s been a tough one for me :-) and 2) get the suspense action started in the first chapter. The line is very focused on that right now. And they know what their readers like. Read a few of the great titles coming out from LIS and you’ll have a great idea of what they like.

SABRINA: Thanks for the advice, Cara. Can you share what's in store for you in the coming months and years as far as future projects?

CARA: I’m working on a series that ties my two loves together: World War Two and suspense. I also have a legal romantic suspense series under consideration at a house. I don’t know if that door will open, but I would love to write this series for them. I am also seeking God right now and asking Him what He has next for me. We were challenged at ACFW by Debbie Macomber to dream impossible dreams. And for someone who’s always dreamed big, it struck me how far I had moved from that. So I’m back to asking God what His dreams for me are, so I can line mine up with His.

SABRINA: Dreaming big is something I need to work on myself. Thanks so much for the advice and for sharing your story with us. I look forward to your new books.

Remember to leave a comment for a chance at a free copy of Trial by Fire. Drawing is the 28th.