Tag: excerpt

The Christmas Duet Blog Tour

Posted on by Frances

Rebekah Morris and Faith Blum have teamed up for a fun Christmas Duet Blog Tour! Why Christmas Duet? Because both books have titles that have to do with a Christmas song! Be sure to check out all of the blog posts as well as the giveaway.

His Law is Love

Book Description

Will hate and fear drown the song of Christmas love?

Amelia is eagerly anticipating her first Christmas in the west, but she soon finds that her brother-in-law’s worry and her sister’s exhaustion reach far deeper than the cares of a ranch and a family. A rash of fires and cattle thefts is plaguing the area, and the three young orphans they’ve sheltered are under suspicion from their prejudiced neighbors.

As hostilities mount, Amelia seizes every opportunity to help and encourage, but how much can one girl do? Will Reverend Brown win the community over to the true spirit of love? And will help arrive before everything they hold dear is destroyed?

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JZ8HGSR

About the Author

Rebekah A. Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author, and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, the Christmas Collection series, and her best selling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading, playing with her seven nieces and nephews, and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. (Sometimes with the nieces and nephews!) The Show-Me state is where she calls home.

Excerpt

Her attention was arrested by the minister’s deep baritone voice. “Christmas is only a little more than two weeks away, and at this time of year I am reminded of the words of my favorite Christmas song.” He stepped to the side of the pulpit and began to recite the words, but before he had reached the third line, the melody rolled from him and filled the church.

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;”

A thrill–was it of hope?–raced through Amelia, and she caught her breath as the voice seemed to shake the rafters of the church as the minister launched into the refrain.

Not a sound was to be heard when the minister, having finished the first stanza and chorus resumed his place and looked around on his congregation.

“Have you fallen on your knees before the King lately? Have you realized that your soul is not the only soul to have worth? Is not the soul of your neighbor worth as much as your own? Did not our Savior come to save his soul too? As this holy night, this night divine, approaches, let us remember why Christ came.”

 

O Come All Ye Faithful and other short stories

Book Description

O Come All Ye Faithful

Edwin wanted to be home, but instead he crouched in a trench. The English on one side of No Man’s Land and Germans on the other. What a way to spend Christmas. Could anything make it better?

Peace on Earth

Emmie and Elana are estranged sisters, torn apart by an old boyfriend five years earlier. Will they survive a night in the same hotel room after a blizzard forces them together or will peace on earth go out the window?

Silent Night

Christmas decorating had never gone this wrong. Jenna had just started when a crazy, gun-waving woman, walks right in the front door and ties her up in her own Christmas lights. Will Jenna even see her family this Christmas?

The Gift Goes On

Four friends and a year to reflect on. The year had been good for Carlotta, but Priscilla, Remus, and Newton all had at least one trial through the year. A mysterious giver the previous year had helped them all out, though. What would this year’s gifts bring?

O Christmas Tree

Gareth loves Christmas. But more than that, he loves Christmas tree hunting. As the family prepares for their annual trip, Gareth can barely contain his excitement. But what are all the spray bottles for?

Purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JR7FSDT

About the Author

Faith Blum is a small-town Wisconsin girl. She’s lived in, or outside of, small towns her whole life. The thought of living in a city with more than 60,000 people in it scares her, especially after some interesting adventures driving through big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Faith currently resides in the middle of the state of Wisconsin with her husband and their cat, Smokey. She is blessed to be able to have writing as her full-time career with household work and cooking to do on the side. She loves to paint walls as long as she doesn’t have to do hallways or ceilings.

When not writing, you can find her cooking food from scratch due to food allergies (fun), doing dishes (meh), knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband (yay!). She is also a Community Assistant for the Young Writers Workshop and loves her work there. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her on her website.

Excerpt

 

The Christmas lights corded tightly around Jenna’s ankles and wrists. The crazy woman had even plugged them in, giving her body an absurd prettiness considering the situation.

The gun-waving woman gave a slow, self-satisfied smile. “Oh, I must have been good this year. Santa has given me a lovely gift. Many of them, actually.”

Jenna closed her eyes. “Santa isn’t real.”

The woman glared at Jenna. “Of course he is. He’s always brought me either presents or coal. Every year, even when I have no one else around in the house. I was told by all the kids about those fairy tales of Santa not being real, but how does that explain how I always got a present even when neither of my parents had been in the house with me for weeks? Or as I got older and moved away and had no one living with me, I always ended up with presents under my tree.

“Why are you decorating so late in the season, anyway?”

Jenna’s eyes flew open at the question that came directly into her ear. “I… I recently moved out of my parents’ house and didn’t want to get anything unnecessary like decorations. I also thought Christmas would be at their house, but they decided to come here, so now I need to decorate.”

“When are they arriving?”

Was it a sin to lie under duress?

 

Giveaway

Just like Rebekah and Faith teamed up for this tour, they have also teamed up on the giveaway!

Grand Prize: Paperback of each (US only)

1st Prize: eBook of each (International and US)

2nd Prize: eBook of choice (International and US)

Enter here: https://kingsumo.com/g/ocz29j/the-christmas-duet-giveaway

Tour Schedule

November 26

Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory Post

Cover Lover Book Review – Book Spotlights

November 27

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight

Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes – Two Book Reviews

Jaye L. Knight – Excerpts

November 28

Lit Aflame – Book Review and Excerpt

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections – Book Review of His Law is Love

Jenny Berlin – Excerpts

November 29

Frances Hoelsema’s Blog – Two Book Spotlights

Rebekah Ashleigh – Review of His Law is Love and Book Spotlights

Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors – Book Review and Spotlight

Salsa And Tea – Author Interviews

November 30

Purely by Faith Reviews – Two Book Reviews

Once Upon An Ordinary – Author Interview and Book Spotlights

In the Bookcase – Excerpts

December 1

Books, Life, and Christ – Two Book Reviews

Maidens for Modesty – Two Book Reviews

Chosen Vessels – Two Book Reviews

Harvest Lane Cottage – Two Book Reviews

Jessica Greyson – Book Spotlights

Twin Thoughts – Book Spotlights

Heart of the Rose – Two Book Reviews

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight and Review

December 3

Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway winner

 

 

Lo, How A Rose Blog Tour

Posted on by Frances

 

About the Book

 

Everything is against them…

Born into slavery, Rapha is a Philistine who is almost twice as big as his Israelite masters. They find any excuse they can to beat him. When he is accused of murder, he runs off into the desert, planning to never return and hate all Israelites forever.

Nava’s mother died when she was born. Since then she has been raised mostly by her father, but her grandmother and grandfather have also helped. Her passion is to help those who need it most, whether it is watching the healer’s young daughter, Rina, or bringing fresh tunics for the Philistine slave who receives far too many whippings. When Rapha runs off into the desert with no water, Nava begs her father to go after him and bring him back safely.

Will Nava’s father find Rapha? Can Rapha learn that not all Israelites are untrustworthy? Will Nava trust her abba and Rapha to Yahweh’s care or take matters into her own hands?

A Beauty and the Beast reimagining set during the time of King David

 

 

Excerpt

Forgotten and untended, the roses grew wild and untamed across the ruins. The only living creatures to see their beauty were the myriad of animals who made the ruins their home.

In a no-man’s land between two nations, the ruins were in a lonely place far from people and civilization. No one alive knew who had lived there, what kind of people they had been, or how they had been defeated.
Local legend said a race of giants had lived in that place. Others said it had been sorcerers and magicians. Yet others claimed it was a place of the gods from a long-forgotten nation. How else could the roses still grow in such inhumane terrain?

But the roses were dying out. Each year fewer and fewer bloomed. Their beauty faded, and no one saw them or cared enough to tend them and make them grow. Rose bushes surrounded the massive ruins, but as this story begins, there is but one lonely rosebud in the entire heap of bushes. One single, solitary rose in the whole of the known world.

 

To purchase, please go to: http://books2read.com/lohowarose

 

Giveaway

 

This book was released on the author’s 28th birthday! So she’s doing a super fun giveaway by sharing 28 fun facts about herself. To enter the giveaway, you need to collect all 28 fun facts and copy them onto this Google form with your email address and name. You will be entered to win the following:

• Trust and Obey paperback
• Lo, How a Rose paperback
• Handmade rose from the author’s wedding
• A Trust and Obey mouse pad

This giveaway is only open to those in the US. For those who are not in the US, you can fill out this form to receive eBooks of Trust and Obey and Lo, How a Rose.

 

Today’s Fun Facts

  1. Faith is outlining a book set in WWI and will be writing it for NaNoWriMo in November
  2. Faith had 3 ushers for her wedding, a now call them the Three Musketeers
  3. Faith went from one brother to one brother and three brothers-in-law
  4. Faith’s favorite writing drink is water

 

To find the other fun facts, check out the blog tour schedule below to know where to look!

 

About the Author

 

Faith Blum is a small-town Wisconsin girl. She’s lived in, or outside of, small towns her whole life. The thought of living in a city with more than 60,000 people in it scares her, especially after some interesting adventures driving through big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Faith currently resides in the middle of the state of Wisconsin with her husband and their cat, Smokey. She is blessed to be able to have writing as her full-time career with household work and cooking to do on the side. She loves to paint walls as long as she doesn’t have to do hallways or ceilings.

When not writing, you can find her cooking food from scratch due to food allergies (fun), doing dishes (meh), knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband (yay!). She is also a Community Assistant for the Young Writers Workshop and loves her work there. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her on her website.

 

 Tour Schedule

 

October 26
Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory Post
Lit Aflame – Book Review

 

October 27
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections – Special post from the author
Kaylee’s Kind Of Writes – Book Review
His Princess Warrior – Book Review

 

October 29
Frances Hoelsema’s Blog – Book Spotlight
sgwilloughby – Book Review
The Treasure Within – Author Interview

 

October 30
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway Winner

 

 

 

 

Trust and Obey – A Fairy Tale Retelling of Biblical Proportions

Posted on by Frances

Trust and Obey Blog Tour

Faith Blum has a new book. And it’s not a Western. It is a fairy tale retelling set during the time of King Saul. Read on to learn more about the book.

About the Book

Trust and Obey_KindleA wicked priestess, a morally corrupt king, and two children stuck in the middle…

Hadassah and Gidal love their parents and will do anything for them. When Priestess Basmat tell Ehud and Jerusha to pay their debt, they cannot and she takes Hadassah and Gidal as her slaves for two years.

The priestess works them hard, but there are two other servants to divide the load with, so they cope as well as they can. Then King Saul comes in disguise requesting the priestess’s other services—as a medium.

Will Hadassah and Gidal trust Adonai to take care of them? What will happen after Priestess Basmat comes face-to-face with the prophet Samuel?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D939ZPL Continue reading “Trust and Obey – A Fairy Tale Retelling of Biblical Proportions” →

A Marvelous Redeemer Blog Tour

Posted on by Frances

Tour Banner.png

Have you ever been shunned for your faith? Amira has in the book Aleigha Israel recently released. And that isn’t the only problem she will face in life. Find out more about the book and be sure to check out the giveaway.

About the Book

AMR3D She knew the decision would change her life. But she didn’t know she’d have to fight to survive.

When Amira put her faith in Christ, she knew life wouldn’t be easy. But hiding her conversion from her Muslim family soon becomes the least of her worries. Continue reading “A Marvelous Redeemer Blog Tour” →

Seventh Born Blog Tour

Posted on by Frances

 

Having seven sons is a honor above no other. Which is why she is a disappointment. The only girl of seven children, she brought shame to her family. Who knew something like this could be turned into a book, but Rachel Rossano has done just that with her book, Seventh Born. Read on to learn more about the book and enter the giveaway.

About the Book

In a world where seventh born sons are valued for their strength and power, she is born a daughter.

Zezilia Ilar is the disappointment. Born after six brothers, she was supposed to be the son to restore her family’s prestige. She intends to remedy her shortcomings by being a dutiful daughter, marrying well and producing children, preferably a set of seven sons. But when someone offers her an alternative, she begins to dream of more.

In a society that worships a goddess, he follows the Almighty.

Hadrian Aleron, as a seventh son of a seventh son, stands to take up the second highest position in government, Sept Son. His main qualification for office is his birth. Despite preparing for this role from childhood, he does not desire what is to come. As a follower of the Almighty, he knows he will be the target of many, and his faith might eventually lead to death.

Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Z2PPJL
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seventh-born/id1351646000
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seventh-born-2
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-born-rachel-rossano/1128018000

About the Author

Rachel Rossano lives with her husband and three children in the northeastern part of the United States. Homeschooled through high school, she began writing in her early teens. She didn’t become serious about pursuing a career as an author until after she had graduated from college and happily married. Then the children came.

Now she spends her days being a wife, mother, teacher, and household manager. Her evenings and free moments are devoted to her other loves, writing and book cover design. Drawing on a lifelong fascination with reading and history, she spends hours creating historical feeling fantasy worlds and populating them with characters who live and breathe on the page.

Follow Rachel on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RachelRossanoRambles
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RachelRossano
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+RachelRossano
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/rachelrossano/
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1430209.Rachel_Rossano
Blog – http://www.rachelrossano.com/
Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Rossano/e/B004MV17GE/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/anavrea
Newsletter Sign Up – http://eepurl.com/4sbsv

Giveaway

Rachel is giving away an eBook of her book. You can enter here. Your odds of winning increase with every person you refer so spread the word! Good luck, and I hope you win!

Excerpt

A humid haze filled the air, smothering my ability to breathe. Stale air filled my senses as I focused on the temperature outside the windows. Sunlight, bright and hot, flooded the world, painting the grass brown and wilting the plants. Only the trees, tall and strong, seemed unaffected by its blistering gaze.

A tentative trace of plum, cool and sweet, touched my tongue. It beckoned me to linger on the taste, much pleasanter than the oven beyond the windows. I pushed the thought away and continued to admire the trees as they stood motionless in the nonexistent wind.

“Well done,” Errol commented from his place behind his desk. Considering the topic of study, he had allowed a temporary lifting of the no talking ban. “You can release the image now.” He closed the book as I slowly withdrew my focus from the heat. “You have now mastered the ability to block Thought-leading with Image-fixation. Well done.” He scribbled something in his notebook before setting it aside.

“Now let us try shutting out completely. This will be your first line of defense. Image-fixation, Mental-blocks, and Safety-zones are all tools for when they have gotten through your defenses, which are Walling, Sealing, and Shuttering.”

“And these are all defensive forms against interrogation?” I asked to make sure I was clear of what to use when.

“Correct.” Errol readjusted himself in his seat. “Walling is a defensive measure that Talents in precarious positions use at all times. Within their thoughts, they build a wall around certain topics. For example, a Talent who is undercover among other Talents must wall off all topics, facts, and ideas that are not in keeping with his persona. By doing so, he protects them from detection by a mind brush, random thought exchange, or sending.”

“So the Sept Son must use this.”

“Constantly,” Errol agreed. “Now choose a thought that you do not want me to access.”

Choosing the image of Selwyn watching Candra hammer a nail, I carefully built a mental stone wall around it.

“Ready?” Errol asked.

I nodded. Instantly, plum filled my taste buds. I watched with interest as he skimmed my thoughts, nudging gently at some, while completely avoiding others. Then suddenly he was at the wall.

 

Tour Schedule

 

April 9
Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory post
Just A Glimpse – Guest Post
Faith, Loyalty, Adventure Blog – Book Review

 

April 10
Rachel John Writes – Book Review
Annie Louise Twitchell – Book Review
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight

 

April 11
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Character Spotlight
Romantic Typewriter Gardens – Guest Post
The World of the Blue Bells Chronicles – Book Review

 

April 12
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Spotlight
Frances Hoelsema – Book Spotlight
Hunting for Truth – Book Review and Guest Post

 

April 13
Reading On The Edge – Book Spotlight
Ember’s Reviews – Book Review
With a Joyful Noise – Character Spotlight
Views from the Window Friend – Book Review

 

April 14
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway winner

A Note From Annie Douglass Lima

Posted on by Frances Hoelsema - Author

Annie Douglass Lima has this to share:

I’m excited to announce that my young adult action and adventure novel, The Gladiator and the Guard, is now available for purchase! This is the second book in the Krillonian Chronicles, sequel to The Collar and the Cavvarach. 



First Things First: a Little Information about Book 1: 

Continue reading “A Note From Annie Douglass Lima” →