Congratulations to Jackie for winning Allie Pleiter’s Falling for the Fireman, to Bethany for winning Ann Shorey’s Where Wildflowers Bloom, to Merry for winning Kathy Fuller’s An Amish Wedding, and to Angie for winning Murray Pura’s The Wings of Morning.
This week I’m hosting Christa Allan with Love Finds You in New Orleans, Louisiana, Yvonne Lehman with Hearts that Survive, Mary Ellis with An Amish Family Reunion, and Kelly Irvin with To Love and Cherish. If you want to enter the drawings for the 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 (February 26th) evening.
Bio of Christa Allan:A true Southern woman who knows that any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, Love Finds You in New Orleans is Christa Allan’s first historical novel. Her sophomore novel, The Edge of Grace released in 2011 and received a starred review from Library Journal. Her debut women’s fiction, Walking on Broken Glass, was published by Abingdon Press in 2010. Her next novel is Threads of Hope, one of the books in Abingdon’s upcoming Quilt Series.
Christa is the mother of five, a grandmother of three, and a teacher of high school English. She and her husband Ken recently moved to a home in New Orleans built in the same year as the setting of her historical…1840!
Blurb for Love Finds You in New Orleans, Louisiana:
Raised by her grandparents in 19th-century New Orleans, Charlotte LeClerc knows little about her long-lost parents. Now facing an arranged marriage to a suitor she dreads, she finds herself attracted to somebody else: a young Creole man named Gabriel Girod. Meanwhile, her grandparents harbor a family secret. Will the truth set everybody free—especially Charlotte?
Bio of Yvonne Lehman:
YVONNE LEHMAN is an award-winning, best-selling author of novels in many genres such as historical, contemporary, romance, mystery, women’s fiction, mainstream. Hearts that Survive – A Novel of the Titanic (Abingdon) is her 50th novel to be released March 1, 2012 in time for the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. She will have a 3-day book signing at the Titanic Display in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee April 27, 28, and 29. Other novels to be released in 2012 are A Knight to Remember in April (Heartsong, second in a series set in Washington DC) and Let it Snow in December (Heartsong, third in the DC series). Yvonne earned her Master’s Degree in English Literature at Western Carolina University and has taught English and Creative Writing on the college level. She founded and directed the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference for 25 years and now directs the Blue Ridge “Autumn in the Mountains” Novelist Retreat held at Ridgecrest NC. She is a mentor with the Jerry Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild.
Blurb of Hearts that Survive:
Of all the unbelievable things that occurred, the strangest thing took place. The floating half of the ship began to melt like a dollop of butter on a hot roll. It just melted smoothly into the ocean and the hoard of people were in the water. Their hair didn’t get wet. No water splashed on their faces. For an instant they didn’t scream. They couldn’t. A communal gasp went out over the sea, produced by hundreds and hundreds of terrified people who unexpectedly stepped into icy water up to their necks.
The ship of dreams vanished, disappeared as it sank into the sea.
In its place emerged a nightmare.
The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic was not the end of the story for the 2207 passengers, plus the crew. It was the beginning of an unforgettable event that changed history, changed culture. There were only a few hundred saved in the 20 lifeboats. Not only were hundreds and hundreds of souls lost that night, but the event touched people throughout the world. Each person had family, friends, acquaintances and their lives too were touched and changed. Being saved was not the end, but the beginning for those who struggled not just to survive, but to live again.
Read this incredible story of
ONE SHIP… TWO FAMILIES… THREE GENERATIONS.
Bio of Mary Ellis:
Mary Ellis grew up close to an Amish settlement where she loved their peaceful agrarian lifestyle and strong sense of Christian community. She and her husband now live by the largest population of Amish in the country where they take weekend trips to research her books. Mary enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming. Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught Middle School and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate—a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. All three in her Miller Family series made the Christian bestseller lists. A Widow’s Hope was a finalist in the 2010 ACFW Carol Awards and Award of Merit for the Holt Medallion. Her current release is An Amish Family Reunion.
Blurb for An Amish Family Reunion:
Ties That Bind
Julia Miller misses her children. They are grown and have families of their own now, but her mother’s heart yearns for a houseful of laughter and joy once again. She plans to gather her chicks together in a summer celebration to remember.
At the farm next door, Julia’s niece, Phoebe, meets Eli Riehl, a young man who charms her—and everyone else—with his exceptional storytelling ability on a rumschpringe trip to Niagara Falls. When Phoebe sketches scenes to illustrate one of his tales, Eli encourages her incredible talent, and together they embark on a lofty and unlikely business venture for two young Amish people—writing and illustrating a children’s book.
Eli’s kindness and appeal extend beyond his knack for words to reach inside Phoebe’s shy heart. But he is an only son with five sisters, and when tragedy strikes at home, Eli gives up his writing to assume responsibility on the farm. Though willing to abandon his dream of becoming an author, he won’t give up his beloved Phoebe.
Can their love for a good story develop into something that lasts forever, or will memories of the past stand in their way?
ISBN 978-0-7369-4487-8
Category: Fiction—Romance
Bio of Kelly Irvin:
Kelly Irvin is the author of To Love and to Cherish, an Amish romance from Harvest House Publishing. The follow-up in the Bliss Creek Amish series, A Heart Made New, is slated for release in September. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine, published in 2010 and 2011 by Five Star Gale. A former newspaper reporter, she is a public relations professional. She and her husband live in Texas along with two semi-adult children, three cats, and a tank full of fish. Find out more at www.kellyirvin.com.
Blurb for To Love and to Cherish:
How Do You Forgive When Your Heart Is Broken?
It’s been four years since Carl left. Four years since he left the safety of the small Amish community for the Englisch world. And in four years, Emma’s heart has only begun to heal.
Now, with the unexpected death of her parents, Emma is plunged back into a world of despair and confusion. It’s a confusion only compounded by Carl’s return. She’s supposed to be in love with him…so why can’t she keep her mind off Thomas, the strong, quiet widower who always seems to be underfoot? Could the man she knew only as a friend be the one to help her to heal?
In a world that seems to be changing no matter how tightly she clings to the past, one woman must see beyond her pain, find strength in God, and open her heart to trust once again.
Find out more at www.amishreader.com.
