This week Christa Allan, Cerella Sechrist, Raquel Byrnes and Pam Hillman

» Posted on Aug 22, 2011 in Blog | Comments Off on This week Christa Allan, Cerella Sechrist, Raquel Byrnes and Pam Hillman

The Edge of GraceCongratulations to Miss Kallie for winning Leanna Ellis’ Forsaken, to Rebecca for winning Miralee Ferrell’s Love Finds You in Sundance, WY, to Kelly for winning Julie Lessman’s A Heart Revealed and to Barb for winning Sarah Sundin’s Blue Skies Tomorrow.

This week I’m hosting Christa Allan with The Edge of Grace, Cerella Sechrist with Love Finds You in Hershey, PA, Raquel Byrnes with Purple Knot (an ebook), and Pam Hillman with Stealing Jake (there is no drawing from this blog but Pam is having a contest at this link:  http://pamhillman.blogspot.com/2011/07/pams-blog-tour-kindle-contest.html for a Kindle giveaway). If you want to enter the drawings for Christa Allan, Cerella Sechrist or Raquel Byrnes’ books, please leave a comment on one of the post during the week with your email address. I will not enter you without an email address (my way to contact you if you win). If you don’t want to leave an email address, another way you can enter is to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com. The drawings end Sunday (August 28th) evening.

Bio for Christa Allan:

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. Visit Christa on the web at http://www.christaallan.com.
Blurb for The Edge of Grace:
 
An early morning call shatters Caryn Becker’s world. Unable to cope with her brother’s news that he is gay, Caryn rejects him and disappears into her own turbulent life as a young widow and single mom. But when David is attacked and nearly killed, Caryn is forced to make hard choices about family, faith, and her own future; choices that take her to the very edge of grace.
Love Finds You in Hershey, PABio for Cerella Sechrist:
Cerella Sechrist makes her home in southern Pennsylvania, under an hour’s drive from the sweet life in Hershey. Growing up, her family annually celebrated an event called “Cookie Baking Day” where everyone gathered to bake over 80-dozen cookies, including one of their specialties: Peanut Blossoms topped with a Hershey’s kiss. It therefore stands to reason that her love of desserts is a genetic inheritance and not to be taken lightly. When dieting, she consoles herself with midnight viewings of the Food Network. Learn more about Cerella and her writing at www.cerellasechrist.com.
Blurb for Love Finds You in Hershey, PA:
Sadie Spencer has learned that in life, as well as in food, sour balances sweet. Returning to her hometown of Hershey with a five-year-old daughter, she manages to rise from the ashes following the death of her husband and the passing of her mother and the dissolution of her career as a TV chef. She opens a restaurant and looks forward to savoring the sweet side of life—until a handsome Russian entrepreneur arrives in town, apparently intent on opening up his own restaurant in direct competition to hers. Sadie becomes obsessed with honing the one skill she’s never had—creating desserts—to keep up with her adversary and in the process, she finds a love that’s simply icing on the cake.
Purple KnotBio for Raquel Byrnes:
Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her first book the Shades of Hope Series, Purple Knot, releases on June 3rd from White Rose Publishing. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog, Edge of Your Seat Romance.
Blurb for Purple Knot:
A killer strikes. A love rekindled. A life-altering choice.
When her best friend is murdered, Reyna Cruz doesn’t believe the police have the whole story. An investigator by trade, she has the talent to track Summer’s killer, but when clues lead to a family connection and a vicious gang, she suddenly becomes the hunted. At the end of her rope, Reyna must decide to trust the God she believes abandoned her.
Wanting justice for his sister’s murder, lawyer Jimmy Corbeau agrees to help Reyna–even though she’s his ex-fiance, and their break-up  devastated him. Romance is reawakened, but so are memories of their tragic undoing. Jimmy must decide if he will fight for a future with Reyna or allow their past to derail the investigation and his second chance at love.
When the investigation goes awry and Summer’s infant daughter is kidnapped, Reyna must put her life on the line. Will Jimmy and Reyna survive the desperate measures it takes to recover his niece, catch a killer and secure a happily-ever-after for them all
Stealing JakeBio for Pam Hillman:
Award-winning author Pam Hillman writes inspirational fiction set in the turbulent times of the American West and the Gilded Age. Her debut book, Stealing Jake, won the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest and was a finalist in Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart contest. She lives in Mississippi with her husband and family.

Pam on the web:

My website: www.pamhillman.com 

My personal blog: www.calicotrails.blogspot.com 

My group blog: www.seekerville.blogspot.com

Blurb for Stealing Jake:

 

When Livy O’Brien spies a young boy jostling a man walking along the boardwalk, she recognizes the act for what it is. After all, she used to be known as Light-fingered Livy. But that was before she put her past behind her and moved to the growing town of Chestnut, Illinois, where she’s helping to run an orphanage. Now she’ll do almost anything to protect the street kids like herself.

Sheriff’s deputy Jake Russell had no idea what he was in for when he ran into Livy–literally–while chasing down a pickpocket. With a rash of robberies and a growing number of street kids in town–as well as a loan on the family farm that needs to be paid off–Jake doesn’t have time to pursue a girl. Still, he can’t seem to get Livy out of his mind. He wants to get to know her better . . . but Livy isn’t willing to trust any man, especially not a lawman.

Interwoven throughout is a group of street kids arrested in Chicago and sold as child labor. Leading this band of ragamuffins is young Luke, a scared, determined orphan intent on rescuing his little brother at any cost.