This week Janet Dean, M.K. Gilroy, Cara Putman and Karen Whiting

Congratulations to Kimberly for winning Naomi Rawlings’ Sanctuary for a Lady, to Abi for winning Susan Page Davis’s Lady Anne’s Quest, and to Karen for winning Rebecca Ondov’s Heavenly Horse Sense.

This week I’m hosting Janet Dean with Brides of the West, M.K. Gilroy with Cuts Like a Knife, Cara Putman with A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island, and Karen Whiting with Stories of Faith and Courage From the Home Front.  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 (April 15th) evening.

Bio for Janet Dean:

Award winning author Janet Dean believes in love stories that grab people from the first page and carry them along the sometimes rocky journey of maintaining faith in trying circumstances. Janet likes nothing better than to sit at her computer and travel into America’s past, spinning stories for Love Inspired Books. A lifelong reader and writer, she married her college sweetheart and taught elementary school before leaving the teaching field to raise two daughters. The Deans enjoy spoiling their four grandchildren and love to travel. 

Blurb for stories in Brides of the West by Janet Dean and other authors:

Josie’s Wedding Dress by Victoria Bylin

Desperate for someone to help her save her ranch, Josie Bright makes a deal with Ty Dormer. Now the man who’d left her waiting at the altar is making her hope for things she had long stopped wishing for.

Last Minute Bride by Janet Dean

Elise Langley was stung to the quick when her would-be suitor suddenly left town. But when David Wellman returns and they are thrown together organizing their friends’ wedding, can she open her heart again?

Her Ideal Husband by Pamela Nissen

As a girl, Lydia Townsend hoped to marry Jebediah Gentry—until his rejection spoiled her dreams. When family duty brings her home, it’s Jeb’s chance to show Lydia that now is the time for her wedding dreams to come true.

Bio for M.K. Gilroy:

Mark “M.K.” Gilroy is a 30-year publishing veteran, having worked in just about every area of the industry, from his first job as a proof reader – and occasional box packer – to executive vice president and publisher and just about everything in between. Gilroy’s debut novel, CUTS LIKE A KNIFE, is a tribute to his love for character-driven mysteries and thrillers. He is currently writing his second novel featuring Detective Kristen Conner, EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, which is slated for Spring 2013. Gilroy is the father of six children and resides in Brentwood, Tennessee, with his wife Amy.

Blurb for Cuts Like a Knife:

Chicago has a new resident—a cold-blooded serial killer. But he’s met his match in detective Kristen Conner. She’s a good cop, loves her mom,
and coaches her niece’s soccer team. But she’s tough—and determined not to let this menace get away with murder again. Can she catch him
before he strikes those closest to her?

Bio for Cara Putman:

Cara C. Putman lives in Indiana with her husband and four children. She’s an attorney and a ministry leader and teacher at her church. She has loved reading and writing from a young age and now realizes it was all training for writing books. An honors graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Mason University School of Law, Cara loves bringing history and romance to life. You can learn more about Cara and read first chapters of her books at http://www.caraputman.com. You can also read her blog at http://blog.caraputman.com and keep up with her at http://www.facebook.com/cara.putman.

Blurb for A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island by Cara Putman:

Attorney Alanna Stone vowed long ago to avoid Mackinac Island. Although it may seem the perfect place to heal, for Alanna it holds too many memories of a painful past.

But an exhausting high profile case and an urgent plea from her parents have brought Alanna home. Moving into the house next to Jonathan Covington doesn’t help her. Jonathan may have been her first love, but he was also her first lesson in betrayal. Now Alanna must protect her privacy and her heart. Then Secrets and a murder intersect, and she’s thrust into controversy again as tragedy turns public opinion against her and potentially her family.

For years, Jonathan has stubbornly resisted the urging of his family and friends to date, believing he’s already found the perfect woman. With Alanna’s return, he begins to wonder if he’s waited too long for someone who isn’t the right one after all.

Bio for Karen Whiting:

Karen Whiting, a freelance writer and author of fourteen nonfiction books, loves to let creativity splash onto the page as she writes. Whiting’s books include the popular tween series God’s Girls (inspirational craft books for tween girls) and a devotional, The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for Women. Her more than 400 articles and devotions have been published in over four-dozen magazines including Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Women, Reminisce, and Devo-Zine. Karen hosted a TV series, Puppets on Parade, WLRN for Miami educational television. Karen is a speaker for women’s groups, retreats, schools, and mother-daughter events.

She has been married to James Whiting, a retired Coast Guard Officer, for over 35 years. She is a mother of five, including a son in the Air Force, and grandmother of eight. She and her husband have been active members of Officers’ Christian Fellowship their entire married life. They currently help with Bible studies and fellowship with the midshipmen at the US Naval Academy.

Blurb of Stories of Faith and Courage From the Home Front by Karen Whiting:

Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front allows you to peer into the hearts of people on the home front with greater understanding and compassion. It represents hundreds of years of history that up until now has gone largely unnoticed and uncelebrated. While generations have gone to war, those who stayed behind were the backbones holding them up. These stories capture the fascinating and inspiring history of the heroines and others at home, from the very foundation of our nation up until the present day.

The words of Abigail Adams echo through history to reflect the heart and soul of spouses, parents, children, friends, and patriots who support the men and women who serve and have served our country,— I dare not express to you, at three hundred miles distance, how ardently I long for your return. . . . . And whether the end will be tragical, Heaven alone knows. You cannot be, I know, nor do I wish to see you, an inactive spectator; but if the sword be drawn, I bid adieu to all domestic felicity, and look forward to that country where there are neither wars, nor rumors of war, in a firm belief, that through the mercy of its King, we shall both rejoice there together.–Abigail Adams to John Adams, [October 17, 1774]

Those faithful supporters at home understand the commitment of soldiers and statesmen to invest their lives for others, though it means personal sacrifice and separation from the people they love.

The book is organized into themed weeks, and each begins with “original words” —an excerpt from a letter, journal, or news article—and ends with “glimpses into daily life,” which give a richer taste of what life was like during a particular period of history. The stories are personal snapshots of real individuals who survived—and in many cases thrived—while displaying great courage, love, and personal sacrifice on the home front. The trials and triumphs represented in this book, whether they took place yesterday or years ago, point to timeless truths we can each apply to our own lives.