Sunday, May 29, 2011

summer

Summer is about to begin and I've been thinking about what the next few months hold. You're probably doing the same. Here's what will be happening at our house...

June will be dedicated to family. Here's hoping some warm weather is on the way! Time for sleeping in, cookouts, gardening, tending kitties (our twin cats just had a double batch!), and just being together. Wyatt is 14 and Paul is 11. Children grow up so fast. I sense the Lord telling me to savor every second.


I'm so excited about July. I'll be flying to Philadelphia and going on tour with The Providence Forum. Sound like a book tour? I wish! Dr. Peter Lillback, colonial historian, seminary president, and pastor will be our guide. He's the #1 bestselling author of George Washington's Sacred Fire. It's an honor to spend time with this gifted man in this historic city.

This charming scene at right is Elfreth's Alley, the oldest street in America, and the very spot Morrow's Aunt Etta had her dress shop in Courting Morrow Little. We'll visit here and Betsy Ross's home, Franklin's print shop, Christ Church, City Tavern, Valley Forge, and other historic places. After leaving Philadelphia, I'll take the train to Pittsburgh where I'll be staying with my college roommate and her family. You can plan on my spending a lot of time at Fort Pitt, Red Shirt and Ezekial Click's old haunt, or what is left of it. Since my new series figures prominently in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, this is a huge blessing.

August is a bit of a blur! I'll be having a launch party right here as well as other places. Please join me as I give away copies of The Colonel's Lady each week and also spotlight author friends MaryLu Tyndall, Kaye Dacus, and Sarah Sundin who are also releasing historicals that month. Lots of fun and prizes!
I'm wishing you His best blessings as you start this summer season - and a bounty of good books!


Ever been to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh? Do you have any favorite spots there? Are you staying home this summer or planning a getaway? I'd love to know either way!

Last but not least, the winner, per random. org, of An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser is....

Cassie!

If you can send me your snail mail address I'll mail that right out. Bless you all!







Friday, May 27, 2011

friday and a giveaway!





I simply love this gown and fichu and all the little details, even the softer colors. And the fan! When I saw it I thought of Roxanna in The Colonel's Lady as this ensemble is something she would have worn (and does) - when she's not dressed up in blue silk, that is;)

I'm posting over at Colonial Quills today if you want to stop by and visit. A copy of Courting Morrow Little will be given away if you want to be in the drawing or you can just stop and say hello.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

song in the night

I remembered my songs in the night. ~Psalm 77:6

It is indeed extremely doubtful that a person's soul can really know the love of God in its richness and in its comforting, satisfying completeness until the skies are dark and threatening. Light emerges from the darkness, and morning is born from the womb of night.

James Creelman once journeyed through the Balkans in search of Natalie, the exiled Queen of Serbia. In one of his letters, he described his trip this way:

During that memorable journey, I learned that the world's supply of rose oil comes from the Balkan Mountains. The thing that interested me most was that the roses had to be gathered during the darkest hours, with the pickers starting at one o'clock and finishing by two. Initially this practice seemed to me to be a relic of superstition or tradition, but as I investigated further, I learned that actual scientific tests had proved that a full forty percent of the fragrance of the roses disappeared in the light of day.

And it is also a real and unquestionable fact of human life and culture that a person's character is strengthened most during the darkest days.

~Streams in the Desert

Monday, May 23, 2011

an unlikely suitor












Since we've been talking about heroes recently, I thought it would be fun to give away a copy of this book - it has three of them! I love spotlighting historicals and wanted to share this new release with you. I picked up an extra copy in case one of you might like it for your library. Some of you are fans of the Gilded Age, I'm sure;)

Nancy Moser does a beautiful job with her books and I became a fan after reading Washington's Lady a couple of years ago. That particular colonial cover bears a startling resemblance to The Colonel's Lady if you want to look it up!

Isn't the cover for An Unlikely Suitor lovely ~ both of them!? Take a peek at the original in the smaller pic. Covers can be tweaked quite a bit from start to finish as you can see here. Any guesses as to why the final was a winner? I think the hero's stance is rather intriguing and love the way the woman is holding her skirt plus the way her hair is escaping its pins. Cover art remains my favorite part of publishing, if you couldn't tell...

Have you read any of Nancy Moser's books? If you'd like to be entered in the drawing just leave your name and email below. I'll draw a winner next Monday, May 30.

What are you reading right now? Any good fiction or nonfiction? I'll tell you if you tell me;)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

priorities

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Colossians 3:4



Colossians 3:4 says that Christ is our life, and this is so important to me when I list my priorities. As a young, married woman I knew it was supposed to be God first - then my husband, my family, my church, my work, and my other relationships. We get raised on this mentality. We compartmentalize priorities like a chest of drawers, making God the top drawer. Hover, that mentality is fruitless because God says, "I don't want to be the most important thing in your life. I want to be your life."


~Beth Moore

Monday, May 16, 2011

your very own hero

As a historical fiction/romance author, I spend a lot of time thinking romantic thoughts. No surprise there;) And I get precious emails and notes from women who wish they could find a godly hero like the ones I (and other Christian writers) write about. I understand that yearning. Once - not so long ago - I was there myself. I married late. Had babies late. Published books late. Well, later than I wanted, but right on schedule according to the eternal timetable. And that's the only one that matters.

In today's culture, we have to walk the courtship path very carefully. We're bombarded with ungodly heroes on a daily basis. That's why it's such a joy to create godly men, even on paper! Fortunately, I have many, many heroes from history to help flesh out my characters.

I don't have a daughter but if I did, I'd get on my knees and pray for a George Whitefield for her. Seriously! Don't let the George fool you! I don't know if those of you who want to marry keep a list of qualities you desire in a man, but here, let me help you add to it...

*as a young man he began a lifelong practice of reading the Bible on his knees
*he chose godly friends (John and Charles Wesley, to name but two)
*he had a great sense of humor
*he had a heart for orphans and the poor
*he got up at 4 a.m. each morning
*he said holy things like, "I had rather wear out that rust out" when told he preached too much, and "We are immortal until our work is done."
*he had an amazing speaking voice - he preached in the open air to crowds of thirty to forty thousand people! If you don't believe it, ask Benjamin Franklin. He didn't believe it either till he went and heard for himself and emptied his pockets for his cause (and Franklin was so frugal he squeaked).
*he was so incredibly charismatic, that he (don't laugh) could reduce an audience to tears by simply pronouncing "Mesopotamia." So says historical sources!

Doesn't that sound like a real hero! Under inspiration, that is! If I wasn't smitten before I made that list (are you taking notes?), then this next comment finished me off...

"He lived. Other men seem to be only half alive; but Whitefield was all life, fire, wing, and force." ~Charles Spurgeon

Anyway, this post is from my heart to yours and far longer than I intended. I'm sure we all agree that no man, literary or otherwise, is worthy of worship. Just Jesus. Can you share a quality of Whitefield that speaks to you and you can add to your list? If you're married, does your real-life hero have a quality you love and can name here? Can you name a blessing of singleness?


Friday, May 13, 2011

a bit of beauty for you...




I thought I'd wish each of you a blessed Friday and leave you with a lovely book cover, compliments of author friend, MaryLu Tyndall. Isn't it a beauty!? If you've not visited MaryLu's blog, it's one of my favorites. She has a great website and posts beautiful pictures along with inspiring devotional thoughts among other things. Today she is spotlighting her cover and gives a fascinating blurb about this upcoming book. Hats off to MaryLu and another amazing cover!

Hope you dear readers have a good book in hand! And a bit of sun peeking through:)



See you Monday!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

a higher, nobler, fuller life


Many saints are content to live like people in coal mines, who never see the sun. Tears sadden their faces when they could be annointed with heavenly oil. I am convinced that many believers suffer in a dungeon when they could walk on a palace roof, viewing the lush landscape.


Wake up, believers, from your lowly condition! Throw away your laziness, sluggishness, coldness, or whatever is interfering with your pure love for Christ. Make Him the Source, the Center, and the One who encompasses every delight of your soul. Refuse to be satisfied any longer with your meager accomplishments. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, and a fuller life.


~Charles H. Spurgeon

Monday, May 9, 2011

fun happenings

Recently I received an email from my very first reader of The Colonel's Lady - it made my day! No, the book isn't out yet but one of the perks of working in-house at Revell is reading those books before they grace shelves. I'd so love to share what this dear reader wrote but that would be a major spoiler! So mum's the word;) This particular reader fell quite hard for my hero! So much so that she was researching him online - rather the real life hero he was patterned after:) Be still my heart!

I'm so happy to announce that today is the day our new group blog, Colonial Quills, officially debuts! The designer, Carla Gade, a new author and a web designer of many years, created the site and did a beautiful job. If you visit, you'll see some names that are familiar to you. And a bevy of beautiful colonial era books! She kindly dubbed the man in the tricorn hat at right Ezekial Click:)

My own site here will be undergoing some BIG changes this month. I don't know how long these things take but I'm excited about a new look and hope you like it, too. Please stay tuned!

Think of the blogs you like best and keep coming back to. What features do they have that appeal to you? What would you like to see more of here? I'd love to know your thoughts...

Thursday, May 5, 2011

sing

Oh, if only we would worry less about our problems and sing and praise more! How different our lives would be, and how much more joyful, if we would stop indulging in self-centered and inward thinking and instead would lift our experiences to God, praising Him for them.

It is easier to sing your worries away than to reason them away. Why not sing in the morning? Think of the birds - they are the first to sing each day, and they have fewer worries than anything else in creation. And don't forget to sing in the evening, which is what the robins do when they have finished their daily work. Once they have flown their last flight of the day and gathered the last bit of food, they find a treetop from which to sing a song of praise.

Oh, that we might sing morning and evening, offering up song after song of continual praise throughout our day.

~Streams in the Desert

Monday, May 2, 2011

cover cafe




Can't resist these new covers. Have you seen them yet? Most of the time you readers are way ahead of me in the cover spotting game. But I always like to try and beat you to it;) These two Susans are quite prolific and Captive Trail appeals to me as I've always wanted to write a captivity story. But I think they're all beautiful and unique. I must be getting used to heroines with their heads chopped off, thanks to my Roxanna;) These two lovely ladies on To Die For made me feel quite at home. If you're curious about these books, pop on over to Amazon as they're up for pre-order and you can read the blurbs.

Speaking of covers, I was delighted to find that one of mine is a finalist for the 2010 Cover Cafe Contest. Guess which one? Click on the link to find out and please vote for whichever cover tickles your fancy. When I received the email last week I was so surprised. I don't know who entered this particular one in the historical division but feel it's quite an honor for Revell's art team since this is a site outside the CBA. It's fun thinking my girl has some admirers in the general market:) Voting opens today and ends May 31.

Have you seen any upcoming covers which just pop for you within or outside the CBA? In the cover contest over at Cover Cafe?