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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Spotlight on Christa Allan and Walking on Broken Glass

Today's spotlight was actually dated for 2 weeks ago due to a CFBA Tour that needed it posted then. So, you can find the spotlight here:

http://amberstockton.blogspot.com/2010/02/cfba-blog-tour-christa-allan-and.html

Please leave all comments to enter the drawing with that post. Thanks!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

CFBA Blog Tour - Jennifer AlLee and The Pastor's Wife

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Pastor's Wife
Abingdon Press - (February, 2010)
by Jennifer AlLee


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JENNIFER ALLEE was born in Hollywood, California and for the first 10 years of her life lived over a mortuary one block from Hollywood and Vine. An avid reader and writer, she completed her first novel in high school. That manuscript is now safely tucked away, never again to see the light of day. Her first inspirational romance, The Love of His Brother, was released in November 2007 by Five Star Publisher.

Besides being a writer, she is a wife and mom. She’s an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers and serves as the Nevada Area Coordinator. Living in Las Vegas, Nevada, her husband and teenage son have learned how to enjoy the fabulous buffets there without severely impacting their waistlines. God is good!

THE PASTOR'S WIFE
by Jennifer AlLee
Published by Abingdon Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

Maura Sullivan never intended to set foot in Granger, Ohio, again. But when circumstances force her to return, she must face all the disappointments she tried so hard to leave behind: a husband who ignored her, a congregation she couldn't please, and a God who took away everything she ever loved.

Nick Shepherd thought he had put the past behind him, until the day his estranged wife walked back into town. Intending only to help Maura through her crisis of faith, Nick finds his feelings for her never died. Now, he must admit the mistakes he made, how he hurt his wife, and find a way to give and receive forgiveness.

As God works in both of their lives, Nick and Maura start to believe they can repair their broken relationship and reunite as man and wife. But Maura has one more secret to tell Nick before they can move forward. It's what ultimately drove her to leave him three years earlier, and the one thing that can destroy the fragile trust they've built.

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of The Pastor's Wife, go HERE. You can also sign up as a Follower when you get to that page, and get announcements of the first chapters for all the great books we tour!

Readers, buy your copy of The Pastor's Wife today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is your debut novel. Congratulations! What gave you the inspiration for this story?

Thank you! This is my second novel, but it's my first novel in the CBA, which is very exciting. My inspiration for the story was rooted in real life. I served as a church secretary for many years which definitely gave me a unique perspective on the lives of a pastoral family. When I was working on the original concept for this novel, I thought about the pastors’ wives I’ve known over the years. All of them have handled themselves with amazing grace under pressure. But what if another woman couldn’t? What if a young woman thinks she knows what she’s getting into, but the reality of losing who she is and becoming a “pastor’s wife” is more than she can handle? What if some other tragedy pushes her over the edge? Would she run? And what would happen if she had to return to the scene of her heartbreak years later? All those questions eventually became The Pastor’s Wife.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

My church secretarial experiences came in handy for obvious reasons. Maura and I share a love of theatre, but we're pretty different when it comes to communication. If I had been in her shoes, I would have spoken up before it got so bad.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Rocky Road, because their relationship is full of bumps, but it ends up being smooth and satisfying with surprising moments of sweet marshmallow goodness.

4. Are there any themes in The Pastor's Wife that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the stories progressed?

In this particular story, the theme was pretty clear cut from the beginning. It's about the importance of forgiveness, not only for the one receiving it, but for the one giving it.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

The most difficult scene was in the last third of the book. I don't want to give away the details, but it has to do with the final secret between Nick and Maura being revealed. I had to put them both in a very vulnerable spot.

My favorite part was probably the whole section around Christmas time. It's close to the middle of the book, and I really enjoyed how the couple's relationship was evolving.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

Gee, I wish I knew when my next book was coming out! I don't have a contract for anything right now, but I have a completed manuscript that's looking for a home. I'm also working on several new projects, including a historical romance I'm co-writing with my friend Lisa Richardson. I know God's got a plan, and I can't wait to find out what it is!

* * * * *

Thank you, Jennifer, for being in the spotlight.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win your choice of a FREE autographed copy of The Pastor's Wife.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Spotlight on Roseanna White and A Stray Drop of Blood

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ROSEANNA WHITE is a wife, mommy, writer, reviewer, and lover of all things literature-related. She makes her home in the mountains of Maryland, where she runs the Christian Review of Books. She is a member of ACFW, HisWriters, and HEWN Marketing. She also has a blog as well.

A STRAY DROP OF BLOOD
by Roseanna White
Published by WhiteFire Publishing

ABOUT THE BOOK

Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected.

For seven years, Abigail has been a slave in the Visibullis house. With a Hebrew mistress and a Roman master, she has always been more family than servant . . . until their son returns to Jerusalem after his years in Rome. Within a few months Jason has taken her to his bed and turned her world upside down. Maybe, given time, she can come to love him as he says he loves her. But how does she open her heart to the man who ruined her?

Israel's unrest finds a home in her bosom, but their rebellion tears apart her world. Death descends with Barabbas's sword, and Abigail is determined to be there when the criminal is punished. But when she ventures to the trial, Barabbas is not the one the crowd calls to crucify. Instead, it is the teacher her master and Jason had begun to follow, the man from Nazareth that some call the Son of God . . .

Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter. Disowned by Israel, despised by Rome, desired by all, she never knows love until she receives the smile of a stoic Roman noble.

Readers, buy your copy of A Stray Drop of Blood today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

A fight with my best friend over a guy, actually. It was Good Friday, and I was 16. Torn between new love and an old friend, I settled down on my parents’ couch feeling bittersweet and introspective. I got out my Bible and read the Gospel accounts of that first Good Friday, and as I did, I was totally overwhelmed by how big this was, this thing Jesus did for me. So much bigger than my problems. And it made me wonder what it would have been like to be at Golgotha that day. As just another nobody, maybe one there with bitterness in her heart.

I moved over to the computer and wrote a short story entitled A Stray Drop of Blood. I knew then and there that it would become a book, but it took me six years to develop it and write it. During that time I married that guy my friend and I had fought about and learned so much about the things on which my faith is founded. But more than anything, I really came to appreciate the awesome, cleansing power of the blood of our Savior.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

I gotta say, I don’t think I could have written this book without falling in love with a guy I was crazy-attracted to (same one as above, my now-hubby). But as I dealt with people’s various opinion and expectations, with the throes of love and passion, I certainly came to realize that these aspects of humanity are timeless. Fleeting though some may be, emotions make the world go round.

For aspects other than feelings, I turned to some outside experiences. I had the privilege of having a college class with an Orthodox Jew, and his viewpoints definitely influenced the way this book turned out and some of the opinions the characters hold. I also had the privilege of attending a church pastored by a Messianic Jew for a while, and that perspective made its way in as well.

But the characters ended up an amalgam of all I’d learned. Abigail, though a slave, is well educated in the Classical literature I spent two years studying and has been taught to question everything . . . which more often than not doesn’t lead to answers. Jason, schooled in Rome, is torn between rebelling against the strict rules of Judaism and admitting to the pull it has on him.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

LOL, it’s actually kind of hard to think about my Biblical-era characters in relation to ice cream! Abigail would have to be one of those un-colored Mint Chocolate Chip kinds, that are white but for the chocolate. You see it and think it looks nice (I mean, who doesn’t like vanilla with chocolate, right?). But then you get your first taste of it and are shocked by the burst of flavor. Abigail is beautiful, alluring, but those who expect her to be only what she appears to be are usually caught off guard by her wit and intelligence.

4. Are there any themes in A Stray Drop of Blood that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Forgiveness and redemption are biggies, as you might expect from a story that pivots around the crucifixion. But it isn’t just the need to be forgiven. It’s also about forgiving. Those that hurt you, those that wrong you, those that fail you and disappoint you. And that it’s only when you do that, when you admit your own part, that you can be redeemed.

Something else that snuck in is freedom through Christ. Not just freedom from the law, which wouldn’t have struck my characters all that much, but freedom to believe in something bigger than Israel or Rome. Freedom from who you once were, freedom to be a new creation through Him.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

I had to write a death scene in the middle of the book, and I wanted it to be different. Impactful. So I chose to stay in the point of the view of the character who was dying, all the way up to the moment of death. In the first incarnation of the scene, I switched to another POV halfway through, but in this version I stayed put. It allowed me to write some depth into the character that was such a reflection of his soul, of him. I was afraid I wouldn’t pull it off, though, so I drilled the first people to read it to make sure it turned out as I wanted it to. =)

My favorite is still the scene from which the book gets its name. Abigail in standing with toes on the road leading to Golgotha when Jesus is brought by. Here’s a little snippet from it, picking up when Jesus is jerked to his feet, opening his wounds:

A stray drop of blood arched through the air and landed on the round of Abigail s stomach.

Immediately, she felt a burning on the flesh beneath her garment. It was so quick, so debilitating that she could not even respond. A fire spread through her, devouring her, leaving in its wake a relief that brought tears to her eyes. She looked down at the stain on her clothes in disbelief. It was so small, so insignificant. One little drop of red, a perfect starburst against the faded blue of her woolen tunic.

One little drop to soil her garment.

One little drop to cleanse her soul.


6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

There are a few deals in the works, but none I can talk about right now. I’ll be keeping readers updated via my blog and website, though!

* * * * *

Thank you, Roseanna, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of A Stray Drop of Blood.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

CFBA Blog Tour - Christa Allan and Walking on Broken Glass

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Walking on Broken Glass
Abingdon Press - (February, 2010)
by Christa Allan


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHRISTA ALLAN, a true Southern woman who knows any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart.

The mother of five and grandmother of three, Christa teaches high school English. She and her husband, Ken live in Abita Springs, Louisiana where they play golf, dodge hurricanes, and anticipate retirement.

WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS
by Christa Allan
Published by Abingdon Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

Leah Thornton's life, like her Southern Living home, has great curb appeal. But already sloshed from one-too-many drinks at a faculty party, Leah cruises the supermarket aisles in search of something tasty to enhance her Starbucks—Kahlua and a paralyzing encounter with a can of frozen apple juice shatters the facade, forcing her to admit that all is not as it appears.

When her best friend Molly gets in Leah's face about her refusal to deal with her life, Leah is forced to make a decision. Can this brand-conscious socialite walk away from the country club into 28 days of rehab? Leah is sitting in the office of the local rehab center facing an admissions counselor who fails to understand the most basic things, like the fact that apple juice is not a suitable cocktail mixer.

Rehab is no picnic, and being forced to experience and deal with the reality of her life isn’t Leah’s idea of fun. Can she leave what she has now to gain back what she needs? Joy, sadness, pain and a new srength converge, testing her marriage, her friendships and her faith.

But through the battle she finds a reservoir of courage she never knew she had, and the loving arms of a God she never quite believed existed.

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of Walking on Broken Glass, go HERE. You can also sign up as a Follower when you get to that page, and get announcements of the first chapters for all the great books we tour!

Readers, buy your copy of Walking on Broken Glass today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is your debut novel. Congratulations! What gave you the inspiration for this story?

My tagline is “stories of unscripted grace” and that grew from my realization that our lives don’t always follow the scripts we’ve expected and, as a result, we sometimes find ourselves frustrated, lonely, confused, angry. We think God’s abandoned us, when-ironically-we may be following God’s script for our lives, and His grace will sustain us. I’m a recovering alcoholic, and by God’s grace, have not had a drink for over twenty years. I invited God back into my life because of AA, not in spite of it. As I grew in my faith and in my recovery, I realized that so many Christian families suffer in silence. Alcoholism, drug, sex, or food addiction, lifestyles are all the big elephants in the room we don’t talk about. But we all know they exist. So, what’s someone to do who’s immersed in these challenges? I wanted to reassure women struggling with addiction that they’re not alone, that there’s a loving and compassion God who cares about them and His grace will be sufficient for them. I wanted to remove the façade that often hinders real recovery. “Good” Christian families aren’t immune to the world, but once we admit we have a problem, we can be healed by God.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

My experiences in recovery influenced Leah, and she’s also an English teacher. The teacher experience was an easy one to borrow from since I’m still in the trenches. Some experiences, like Leah’s father’s girlfriend, are loosely based on real experiences, but exaggerated in a way that only fiction can make possible!

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Carl would definitely be Blue Bell’s The Great Divide, which is half chocolate and half vanilla. His personality isn’t as neatly split, but there’s definitely a dichotomy there between who Carl is and how he sees himself. Leah would be Mocha Madness [coffee ice cream with roasted pecan halves, chocolate chips, and caramel sauce]. She’s a caffeine junkie, plus those pecans reflect her Southern-girl self and those “crunch” times in her life. Chocolate is rich, and caramel is smooth and sweet…all characteristics of Leah.

4. Are there any themes in Walking on Broken Glass that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Molly is willing to risk her relationship with Leah, her best friend, to be honest and confront her with the truth. The theme of friendship as a relationship of trust, accountability, and forgiveness unfolds as Leah moves from brokenness to wholeness. And it’s partly through Molly that Leah comes to have a relationship with God. So I think the message there is our actions can bring our friends closer to or further away from God.

Overall, I hope the readers see that God can meet us wherever we are. We may know what we want, but God knows what we need. And His grace and hope are just waiting for us to turn the corner.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

It’s difficult to subject characters to pain. The journals in the novel were originally written in third person, which I thought demonstrated Leah’s separation from herself. My editor suggested changing them to first person. I hedged, but pushed myself through. It hurt me for Leah to have to truly feel those events, but I know the novel is much stronger for it.

My favorite parts were developing secondary characters as foils to Leah, especially her roomie in rehab.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

At this point, what I can say is that I do have another book coming out, but it won’t release for a year. More later; I promise!

* * * * *

Thank you, Christa, for being in the spotlight.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win your choice of a FREE autographed copy of Walking on Broken Glass.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Spotlight on Kaye Dacus and A Case for Love

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KAYE DACUS is the author of contemporary and historical romances with Barbour Publishing and Harvest House Publishers. She holds a Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, is a former Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers, and currently serves as President of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers. She loves action movies and British costume dramas; and when she’s not writing, she enjoys knitting scarves and “lap blankets” (she’s a master of the straight-line knit and purl stitches!). Kaye lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and even though she writes romance novels, she is not afraid to admit that she’s never been kissed. To learn more about Kaye and her books, visit her online at kayedacus.com.

Additional places to find Kaye:
http://twitter.com/kayedacus
http://www.facebook.com/kayedacus

A CASE FOR LOVE
by Kaye Dacus
Published by Barbour Publishing

ABOUT THE BOOK

Welcome back to Bonneterre, Louisiana, for the delightful conclusion to the Brides of Bonneterre series.

The Alaine Delacroix that all of Bonneterre knows is the carefully polished image she puts forth every day on her noontime news-magazine program. When her parents’ home and small business is threatened by the biggest corporation in town, Alaine is forced to choose between her image and fighting for the life her family has built.

Lawyer Forbes Guidry is used to making things go his way. But when he’s asked to take on a pro bono case for a colleague, he’ll learn that he can’t control everything—including his feelings for his new client: Alaine Delacroix.

Alaine’s only option to help her family is hiring Forbes, but can she bring herself to trust the handsome, disarmingly charming lawyer? And will Forbes Guidry be able to make a case for love before losing his job and family? Can both trust that God will present a solution before it’s too late?

Readers, buy your copy of A Case for Love today!

Also available at CBD and B&N.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

In Stand-In Groom, the first book in the Brides of Bonneterre series, with hidden identities and secret celebrity weddings, I needed a puppet-master, someone local who knew all the players and was in a position of power to be able to pull their strings. Enter Forbes Guidry.

The idea for a character like Forbes didn’t start with Stand-In Groom, however.

Before I ever had the idea for a story about a wedding planner falling in love, I had an idea that I might one day write a contemporary-set story loosely based on the storyline of Pride and Prejudice. The hero would be a local politician running for state office—orchestrated by his wealthy aunt—and the heroine would be someone who worked for some kind of advocacy group that was trying to either get him on board with the worthy cause they advocated or get him defeated

When it came time to come up with a proposal of two more books to go with Stand-In Groom I already had the idea for Menu for Romance. I knew it was time to resurrect that P&P idea. And even though the story idea I initially sent in was dismissed and a new storyline not involving politics was called for, the character who would become Forbes remained the same throughout the entire process. But now he was a lawyer (as of Stand-In Groom) and he was a self-professed control freak (as of Menu for Romance). So I needed someone who could handle him. And I realized I had already introduced the perfect foil for Forbes in Menu: Alaine Delacroix, the local TV society reporter. And the story took off from there.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

There’s always something of me in each of my characters—Anne’s and Meredith’s desire to create events that will please the attendees; Major’s love of food; Forbes’s control-freakishness; Alaine’s concern with what other people think of her. For the most part, though, their professions and their experiences with falling in love are uniquely their own as, so far, I have not written a character who’s had any job that I’ve ever had (though I have done lots of event planning over the years and even worked in a restaurant my senior year of high school), and I’ve never experienced falling in love with someone who was also falling in love with me. I think I have a tendency to give my characters traits I would like to have so that as I explore those traits when I’m writing those characters, I will hopefully pick up a little bit of it myself.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

If Alaine were an ice cream flavor, she’d be cinnamon-honey. Being half-Portuguese, she’s very exotic looking, she has a bit of “spice” to her personality, but underneath her take-on-the-world exterior, she’s really sweet and natural inside.

Forbes would be hand-cranking two ice cream makers: one filled with vanilla ice cream and one filled with chocolate. Straightforward and unpretentious, he expects everything around him to be clear-cut and black-and-white; no frills, no add-ons; nothing unexpected.

4. Are there any themes in A Case for Love that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

I’m the world’s worst at trying to figure out what the themes in my books are until someone else points them out to me! On the surface, the story in Case juxtaposes the story in Menu somewhat. In Menu for Romance, Forbes helps Major to see that Major has not been living up to the commandment that calls for us to honor our parents. Yet in A Case for Love, Forbes makes the decision to stand in opposition to his parents. But in reality, both of these stories show different ways in which we honor our parents. In Major’s case, it’s by not being embarrassed by a parent with a disability. In Forbes’s case, it’s taking a stand to try to remind his parents of the very ethics, morals, and Christian values they raised him to have.

A theme I didn’t expect that started developing in Menu for Romance and became much clearer in A Case for Love is the search for identity all of us go through in our twenties or thirties—when we come to a point when we realize we have to separate ourselves from the children we once were to independently functioning adults, especially in a family that’s as close as my fictional Guidry family is. It’s a theme of learning to stand alone, separate from being daughter/sister/granddaughter, yet learning to reweave those relationships into something supportive and sustaining that will be there eternally.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

Most difficult? FORBES GUIDRY. That control freak did not want to let go and let me get inside his head. I think it’s because he knew I was going to start taking away his control over everything in his life and he didn’t like it, not one bit. Eventually, we negotiated a settlement and he was much more forthcoming. But, oh my goodness, how he frustrated me the first couple of months I was trying to write this book.

My favorite part of every book I write—but especially in A Case for Love—is the ending, the final scene in which the hero and heroine finally come back together and work everything out and get their happy ending.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

My next book coming out is Ransome’s Crossing, book two of the Ransome Trilogy from Harvest House, which is set to release June 1, 2010. It’s a continuation of the story from Ransome’s Honor, picking up the day after that book left off. The focus shifts more onto William’s younger sister Charlotte and her desire to leave England to join her secret fiancé in Jamaica. To do so, she disguises herself as a midshipman and signs on as part of the crew of one of the ships in the convoy William is leading to Jamaica. Charlotte is quickly going to discover that the peril of life at sea isn’t the most dangerous part of her Atlantic crossing.

* * * * *

Thank you, Kaye, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of A Case for Love.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.