Monday, May 31, 2021

Lyn Cote Asks Do You Volunteer?

 I’m always amazed and pleased at how many Americans give not only monetary gifts but give of their time. In the past, I was active in volunteering at my children’s school and I still volunteer at my church. And my husband volunteers six times a month at our local food pantry. Helping others, I believe, is automatic for most Americans even little kids help out their communities. 

My latest series, titled: New Neighbor Lane, features three Habitat for Humanity projects in a small mythical town of Hope, WI. The Scoop on this new Series!

Small town Hope, WI, is happy to welcome Habitat for Humanity volunteers building homes on its newest street, New Neighbor Lane. But each family helping build their new house, needs more than a structure to live in. Past hurts, such as financial hardship, abandonment, loss of family members or painful divorce have left them hurting and doubting God’s love for them. But God isn’t finished with them. He has plans for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm, plans to give them hope and a future.

Come along and face the heart challenges of these families. Triumph with them as they move forward in faith with hope for homes of their own and new love in their hearts. Come visit New Neighbor 

Lane!

 Book 2, Rosa's Forever Home, is on sale for a limited time. 25% off!


A little boy  chases a stray dog into the path of a cement truck. This heart-pounding meeting brings two wounded souls together. 

Rosa Santos, a single mom, has come to the groundbreaking of her Habitat for Humanity house. When a handsome volunteer, Mark Chambers, puts himself in harms way to save her seven-year-old son, she can barely thank him, her heart in her throat.

 From then on Rosa and Mark’s paths keep meeting. When they work together building her house and when he coaches her son’s Beginner’s Soccer team. Rosa suffers from her own hurts but the gray smudges under Marc’s eyes tug at her heart. What secret pain bedevils this good, kind man?


From a USA Today Bestselling author, a heartwarming story of love, faith and God’s healing power. And the joy of furry friends! Why not download today? Click here for more info.


Memorial Day 2021

 

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States Of America when people remember and pay respect to US military men and women who died while serving the nation in the country’s armed forces. Memorial Day is observed every year throughout the country on the last Monday in the month of May. 




Saturday, May 29, 2021

Happy Anniversary to me by Laura Scott @laurascottbooks

 

The month of May holds a special place in my heart. May 25, 1985 my husband and I were married. That momentum even was thirty-six years ago, but I would go back and marry him all over again.

Not that it's always been easy. Having kids can be stressful, and our son was a bit of a problem child. Now he's a RN at the same hospital where I worked for 38 years, but there was a time when the Waukesha police knew him by name. And I'm not kidding.  

We were actually married on the Saturday over Memorial Day weekend. Ironically, it was also super hot that day, which isn't at all normal for Wisconsin, especially back then. 


So here are some of the pictures - they're a little blurry because well, it was a 36 years ago, haha. And wow, what were we thinking with that white tux? Hilarious.



So tell me what you love the most about May? I'm interested to hear your thoughts. 

I'm also thrilled to have a book releasing on June 1st. Darby's Decision is the third book in my Smoky Mountain Secrets series. 


Will he forgive her betrayal? 

Darby Walsh made the difficult decision to betray Gage Killion to the police so she could get into rehab for the sake of her unborn child. Six years later, she’s managed to stay on track with the help of a wonderful woman who treats Leo like the grandson she never had. When the zip line cable Darby is using pulls free, sending her crashing into a tree, Darby doesn’t think it’s an accident. And when Gage Killion arrives on the scene, he’s her first suspect. She doesn’t tell him about their son, until it becomes clear that the drug dealers they helped put away, are now seeking revenge.


Gage can’t believe he has a five-year-old son. He realizes the baby was the reason Darby had turned him in to the authorities six years ago, and he doesn’t blame her. Ironically, being in jail turned his life around, mainly because of Pastor Davies Bible Study group. Now that Gage knows about Leo, he wants to be a part of the boy’s life, but first he needs to protect Darby, and help find those responsible for the multiple attacks against them. Will he convince Darby her next decision should be to accept his love?

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Friday, May 28, 2021

Beach Reads - Beach Brides - Big Bargain - @MagdalenaScott

 



Can a message in a bottle lead to love?

Grab your beach hat and a towel and prepare for a boxed set brought to you by nine New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors…

Beach Brides! Fun in the summer sun!

When a group of diehard romantics share a silly dare to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to their dream guy and cast it out to sea, will they actually find him? Or will their romantic wish remain adrift?

Find out with these nine delightful sweet romances that will keep you reading well into the night!

Amazon Kindle

Thursday, May 27, 2021

Last Chance for May Bargain Books!

 Don't Miss These 99 Cent Deals

Click the cover to get the deal!


FALLING FOR A SINGLE MOM 2-book boxed set is on sale for 99c. You save $6 off the regular price. This price is available in all Amazon Kindle Stores worldwide.

~  ~  ~

A Chocolate-Box Christmas Wish is on a Kindle countdown and only 99¢!


  • He’s been all over the world. She’s a home-town girl. Can a holiday wish bridge the gap?
  • Available in ebook, Paperback large print Paperback, audiobook, and Hardcover.



And from Roxanne Rustand,
USA Today Bestselling Author 


Someone is targeting both Kate Mathers' veterinary practice and her husband, and now Jared has landed in the ICU after a fiery car accident. Who could be after them, and who was the young woman who died in his car? The ongoing investigation might provide some answers, but the biggest question is the one breaking her heart. How badly can a relationship be broken before there's just no chance to save it? 

Just  $.99 for a limited time. Why not download now?
CLICK HERE for more information and to find the buy links for all major e-book retailers.

~  ~  ~

Jean C. Gordon
USA Today Bestselling Author 
Start the Paradox Lake Sweet Romance series for 99¢!


In the small town of Paradox Lake, fate (with a little help from Eli's mother) keeps pushing Kari and Eli together. Can they leave the past behind them and find a way forward to new love?






Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Such a month we've had!

Everyone gets at least one of them--a time when things just can't seem to go right. Both my husband and I have had a month filled with unanticipated and unusual health challenges. I'll spare you most of the unpleasant details. The important outcome is what I've learned from our Crisis Month.

Lesson 1: Like it or not, we're mortal. As we age, we become more brittle, more easily damaged. I've learned that I can't do everything I did twenty years ago. Or ten. Or five. I need to do better at listening to my body and letting it lead in decisions about what I should and shouldn't do. 

Lesson 2:  When we're in trouble, we learn where we can find our true support. One son drove more than twenty miles to come to the house to clean up after my husband took a nasty spill in the bathroom and went by ambulance to the local ER. I rushed after him, expecting to clean up the mess when I got home. (Hubby is on blood thinners. The room looked like a murder scene. Enough said.) When the ER doctors did the testing they wanted and sent us home sometime after midnight, I found the room clean and all the affected towels and rugs already on the spin cycle. I could not have been more grateful.

Another son--a busy CEO of a medically-connected start-up who is also a PhD candidate still in serious coursework, a father of five young children, and part of the lay leadership in his congregation--took hours out, two days in a row, to check on us and help us work through all the various doctor reports. Again, I am deeply grateful. 

Other children who live out of state have volunteered to fly or drive to where we are, at any time, at a moment's notice, should we need them. They've called to check up on us regularly. We know we can find support within our family. Two neighbors have volunteered to help in any way we need and have also stopped in to check on us. We can find support right here around us as well.

Lesson 3: We need to work together. When my husband first fell, there was a time when, if I tried to ask about what may have caused the fall, he thought I was accusing him of something and got angry and defensive. It took me a while to bring him around to the point where we were working together again. This all had to do with his own injuries, but I still found it difficult. When I took a fall of my own, just a couple of days ago, he was right there for me. He has been ever since.

I'm not including pictures with this blog, largely because I don't particularly want to show off the cut over my brow or the black eye I'm sporting. I look like I went three round with the champ. (Spoiler: I lost!) We're pulling out of Crisis Month and hope we've learned our lessons. If you haven't learned these lessons from your own experience, perhaps you can learn them vicariously through ours, thus avoiding a Crisis Month of your own. I hope so. May your coming month be beautiful.

Susan Aylworth is the author of more than 20 novels. Her newest release is The Trouble with Rainbowssixth book in the Rainbow Rock Romances, released last week. A Joyful Eve in Christmas Town, a revision of last year's Joy Comes to Bedford Falls, releases tomorrow as the first book in the new Christmas Town series. More books are coming this year in both series. Over the Rainbow, a prequel to the Rainbow Rock Romances, is available free for only a short time longer to everyone who subscribes to her newsletter. You can sign up on her website: susanaylworthauthor.com. Contact her on her Facebook author page or via susan.aylworth.author@gmail.com or join her on Twitter @Susan Aylworth. 


Monday, May 24, 2021

A Trip to the Museum by Pat Simmons

While visiting my daughter in Houston earlier this month (first time since December 2018--Praise the Lord Jesus!!!), my family took a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There were two interesting exhibits: Pompeii: The Exhibition and Death by Natural Causes. Have you seen these exhibits at your local science center?

I captured some photos about my adventure. This chart shows how much ash from the volcano covered the ancient city. The explanation of the causes and manner of death exhibit was also fascinating.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science describes this exhibit like this on their website--hmns.org: "The things you fear are the least of your worries! Death by Natural Causes will introduce patrons to the range of “animal, vegetable and mineral” dangers that lurk in their everyday lives.  

Through a collection of specimens, text and interactives, visitors can see what can cause a death, either directly or indirectly, from the natural world. Poisonous, venomous and toxic are just a few of the terms that will be clarified, and things you interact with almost daily will be used as examples—mushrooms, snakes, spiders and even common foods! Old wives tales and urban myths will be debunked, as visitors travel through five general areas of rich graphics, compelling visuals and surprising specimens."

Let me say this exhibit didn't disappoint.


I snapped a couple more photos that I posted on my website  

So.....where are you headed this summer?

--------------

Pat Simmons is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth who is passionate about researching her ancestors and then casting them in starring roles in her novels, in the hope of tracking down any distant relatives who might happen to pick up her books. 

She is a multi-published Christian romance author with more than thirty-five titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth who is passionate about researching her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She is a three-time recipient of the Romance Slam Jam Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance. 

She describes the evidence of the gift of the Holy Ghost as an amazing, unforgettable, life-altering experience. She believes God is the Author who advances the stories she writes.

Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked in various positions in radio, television, and print media for more than twenty years. She oversaw the media publicity for the RT Booklovers Conventions for fifteen years. She has been a featured speaker and workshop presenter at various venues across the country. Learn more at www.PatSimmons.net and check out her Family is Forever series.




 


Sunday, May 23, 2021

Bargain Books

 Check out these bargain books. Get them now while the price is reduced.

A Match to Call Ours is on sale now for 99 cents.

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Apple

Miracle Baby is up ready for preorder at a special 99-cent price.

Amazon

Kobo

B&N

Apple

 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

A Pleasant Spring Surprise by Merri Maywether

One day, life was ho-hum, and my biggest concern was my characters weren't getting along.

Fast forward one day. 🌤️


My teaching co-sponsor pulled me in for a chatty chat. This one brought a little surprise. 


Our school had permission to host a limited prom. Meaning only the students from our school would attend. (Our high school has roughly fifty students.) We decided to have a Casino Night event. There would be music, games, some snacks. We’ve had a game night before. It sounded like fun. 


🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️ I kid you not. Three days later, I was pulled in for another chatty chat. The board decided it was safe to have a full prom.


I had never been to prom. The class we sponsor has six boys and three shy girls. No big deal turned to a big “What are we going to do?” 


Picture ten people on laptops sharing Pinterest Pins. We moved quicker, from one computer to the next, than a cowboy in front of a stampede. What do you think about this? Can we pull off that? Oooh, I wonder if my mom can make these cookies. 


Calls went out to anyone who had a wedding in the past five years. Trips to farms for mason jars, wagon wheels, hay bales, deer antlers, and burlap broke our routine. We were living in controlled chaos and loving every minute of it.


🌤️ In one day: I made a run to Great Falls to purchase the supplies for a country chic swag bag. The class stayed behind to transform our high school gym into an interpretation of “Under the Big Sky.”


image image









I had to clean my ears and make sure I heard correctly after overhearing the football players discuss how to perfect the placement of stars on a picture frame. My heart burst with pride at the confidence in the shy girls’ voices when they designed the graphics for tickets and key chains. The flurry of activity started a buzz of conversations about tuxedos and gowns.


We pulled off in three weeks what others had done over the course of a school year. It was a night to behold. It was a reset of sorts for all of us. 


For the kids, it blended the past and the future. We were safe and had fun. (I left out the parts about the safety measures because they are dull.) 


For me, it sparked what was burning dimly—my belief in what can happen when a community pulls together. We recreated the experiences I had written about in my novels but none of us had lived since 2019. 


It took me a week to physically recover. The kids had a lot of makeup work. I know I speak for all of us when I add that it was worth it. 


This is where I'll take a break from the story to ask, what can-do activities are you looking forward to doing in the near future?



🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️



Merri Maywether lives with her husband in rural Montana. You can find her in the town's only coffee house listening to three generations of Montanans share their stories. Otherwise, she's in the classroom or the school library, inspiring the next generation's writers.


🌤️ 🌤️ 🌤️




Welcome Home is available for 99¢ at your favorite ebook retailer

Amazon | Apple | Kobo| B&N | Google





Sunday, May 16, 2021

New Release from Kimberly Rose Johnson

It's been an eventful month! From the release of my book Dark Threat  to the anticipated birth of my first grandbaby. By the time this post goes live I hope to be a grandmother. I know my daughter-in-law sure hopes to have given birth by now! The baby was in a hurry to get here way before it was safe and now he/she is content to stay inside Mama. 

The birthing process of a book is quite an adventure. From coming up with the idea, to the research, then writing, editing, proofreading, uploading to Amazon and several other things that will bore you.

The research I did for this book was more involved than past. To help me get into the head of my FBI agent I read two book written by a former agents. Their experiences were interesting to say the least.

To get into the head of my television news reporter and to understand the job itself I watched several videos I found online created by news reporters about the day in the life. 

To get a grasp of art galleries I picked the brain of an artist friend who owns her a gallery.

All police procedural questions were answered by a retired police officer. 

It was a lot of work, but I'm very happy with how the story turned out.

Here's the back cover blurb:

Reporter Trinity Lockhart pursues a story but then unwittingly becomes the story.

Acting on a tip from an anonymous source, Trinity investigates an art trafficking ring at a high-end Seattle gallery. She turns to handsome FBI agent Kyle Richards for help after being spotted by the crooks.

Kyle is drawn to the feisty reporter, but he can’t afford a beautiful distraction when lives are at stake. He must trust his friends at Protection Inc. to watch over Trinity while he investigates the gallery.

Will this couple overcome the impossible odds threatening to keep them apart?

Read Dark Threat today.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vvh0RU

Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance and romantic mystery and suspense with a heart.

Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.

You can sign up for Kimberly's newsletter via her website at: https://kimberlyrjohnson.com/

Friday, May 14, 2021

Bargain Books for You!

 

Lyn Cote here-This book on sale for 99 cents LIMTED TIME!

Can a basset hound, two kittens and twin girls succeed as matchmakers?

AND

ON PRE-ORDER FOR 25% OFF TILL MAY 21ST

A little boy  chases a stray dog into the path of a cement truck. This heart-pounding meeting brings two wounded souls together. 

Rosa Santos, a single mom, has come to the groundbreaking of her Habitat for Humanity house. When a handsome volunteer, Mark Chambers, puts himself in harms way to save her seven-year-old son, she can barely thank him, her heart in her throat.

 From then on Rosa and Mark’s paths keep meeting. When they work together building her house and when he coaches her son’s Beginner’s Soccer team. Rosa suffers from her own hurts but the gray smudges under Marc’s eyes tug at her heart. What secret pain bedevils this good, kind man?

From a USA Today Bestselling author, a heartwarming story of love, faith and God’s healing power. And the joy of furry friends! Why not download today?


FOR  BOTH







Flashback by Merrillee Whren

Today I'm going to take a little trip down memory lane. Two years ago I did a blog about the Chicken Dance because today is National Dance Like a Chicken Day. You can read more about it here.

This is the image I used on my blog post two years ago to celebrate the Chicken Dance.

Little did I know when I talked about a book, still unnamed and no plot in sight, on that blog post that I would include the Chicken Dance in the book. I knew four things about that book. 
Number one: Caroline Keller was the heroine's name. 
Number two: The book would be the fourth book in my Kellersburg series.
Number three:  Caroline was the sister of Nathan Keller, the hero of Hometown Dad, book #3 in the series.
Number four: Caroline had recently returned to the United States after serving as a missionary on the African continent. I still hadn't decided in which country. 
 
Even when I started writing the book, I had no idea the Chicken Dance would be a part of the story. But when I wrote the scene in which Caroline is at the wedding reception for her brother, Nathan, and his bride, Melanie, the Chicken Dance made its entrance. Caroline's newly acquired nephews, Ryan and Andrew, Melanie's two young sons, insist that Caroline join them in the Chicken Dance. The hero, Wyatt Bayer, has just had a hard conversation with Caroline, when the boys appear to ask Caroline to dance with them. The scene is in Wyatt's point of view, and he sees the smile that replaces her troubled expression. Even when life is troubled, the Chicken Dance can make you smile.


You can buy Hometown Cowboy at these retailers.
 
Have you ever attended a wedding reception where they did the Chicken Dance, or have you had another occasion when you've had the opportunity to do the Chicken Dance?
 
 
Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty-plus years, and has two grown daughters. Connect with her on her Facebook page and sign up for her newsletter.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

BARGAIN BOOKS FOR YOU!


ONE MORE WISH, a clean and wholesome romance, is available for pre-order right now, and is being released tomorrow, 5/14.  Why not order it today so you don't forget?  Here's a quick blurb:     


Facing emergency surgery, Ethan needs help with his son and small farm as much as Abby needs a temporary home that will accept her rescue dog, too. A perfect situation...until she has to deal with his flock of ornery goats, a herd of cattle escaping, and a litter of new puppies born while he's away. Those challenges she can manage.

But now, someone is trying to destroy her professional reputation. And out in the country, a dangerous, threatening stranger is lurking in the shadows...

To learn more about it (or find buy links)  CLICK HERE.


Chocolate-Box Double Hearts  by Josie Riviera is a new release and only 99¢. 

Six sweet small-town romances to warm your heart! For the first time, the complete Chocolate-Box Series is in one large collection. Grab your copy today. Also available in paperback and Large Print Paperback.



 



Depression Cake by Cindy Flores Martinez

 

Have you ever baked a Depression Cake? Last year, when things became scarce at the supermarket, I began seeing recipes online for Depression Cake, which I had never heard of before. I learned that during the Great Depression, ingredients like eggs, milk and butter were no longer widely available for baking, so people made cake without them. I saw recipes in a variety of flavors that went by the names Crazy Cake and Wacky Cake, in addition to Depression Cake.


I decided to give it a try. I followed the chocolate cake recipe, and the result was a light, spongy cake that was surprisingly good.


If you haven’t tried it and you’re in the mood for something new and different, here’s the recipe:


Chocolate Depression Cake


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Frosting of your choice


Directions:


Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls. Combine them together and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Let cool and add frosting. Note: I baked mine for 4 minutes in the microwave.


One of these days, I plan to try the lemon and cinnamon flavored Depression / Wacky / Crazy Cake.


What about you? Have you tried any of these cakes and was there one you liked the best?


Cindy Flores Martinez is a USA Today bestselling author who writes sweet and Christian Romance. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. Her debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started as a screenplay and movie project, which she shopped around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world. You can learn more about her at www.cindyfloresmartinez.com