This week Terri Reed, Marta Perry, Dianne Matthews, and Amy Lillard

» Posted on Oct 8, 2012 in Blog | Comments Off on This week Terri Reed, Marta Perry, Dianne Matthews, and Amy Lillard

Congratulations to Angela for winning LeAnn Harris’s Fresh-Start Ranch, to Karen for winning Lynette Eason’s When A Heart Stops, to Wanda for winning Rita Gerlach’s Beside Two Rivers, and to Amy for winning Margaret Daley’s Shattered Silence.

This week I’m hosting  Terri Reed with The Doctor’s Defender, Marta Perry with Naomi’s Christmas, Dianne Matthews with Designed for Devotion (non fiction), and Amy Lillard with Saving Gideon. 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 (October 14th) evening.

Bio for Terri Reed:

Award winning, multi-published author Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction at an early age and declared she would one day write a book.  Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Love Inspired. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children, and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing tennis.

You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97280 or visit her online at www.loveinspiredauthors.com or email her at terrireed@sterling.net or leave comments on http://terrireed.blogspot.com or http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/

Blurb for The Doctor’s Defender by Terri Reed:

As a trauma surgeon, Dr. Brenda Storm saves lives every day. But someone wants her dead.  It starts with the anonymous delivery of poisoned cupcakes.  Now the hospital has hired a bodyguard to protect her 24/7.  At first, Brenda doesn’t think too-handsome Kyle Martin is the right for the job.  Then she discovers his harrowing background—and that Kyle will do anything to keep her safe.  With every attempt on her life, she’s more drawn to the strong and silent man who risks his life for hers.  But their growing feelings could put them both in harm’s way.

Bio for Marta Perry:

A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania, where she still lives, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta Perry to write about the Plain People and their rich heritage in her current novels. The author of  fifty novels, with over five million copies of her books in print, Marta is active in her church and community. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Faith, Hope and Love, and American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband enjoy traveling and visiting their six beautiful grandchildren. For more information, visit Marta at www.martaperry.com.

Blurb for Naomi’s Christmas by Marta Perry:

When a new life beckons, a dutiful Amish woman must decide what she owes her family…and what she owes herself.

Since her mother’s death, Naomi Esch has been devoted to caring for her father and siblings, sacrificing any hope of finding love or having a home of her own. Still, working at the local bakery and expanding her beekeeping business give Naomi a satisfying sense of purpose. Then, in the week before Christmas, her father announces he’s re-marrying, and he and his new wife need the home for themselves. Suddenly there’s no place for Naomi.

But new opportunities soon come her way. Widower Nathan King offers his farmland to Naomi to continue her beekeeping—on the condition that she care for his children. The set-up is so perfect that the community expects a wedding will inevitably follow. Yet Naomi has vowed never to marry without love, and Nathan hasn’t gotten over his grief for his late wife, who was Naomi’s dearest friend. And another person is determined to see that these two never get together, whatever the cost. For the people of Pleasant Valley, uniting these two stubborn hearts may take a Christmas miracle.

Includes: How the Amish Celebrate Christmas; a Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Craft; and Marta’s favorite Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Cookie Recipes.

Bio for Dianne Matthews:

Dianne Neal Matthews is a freelance writer and the author of four daily devotional books including The One Year Women of the Bible (Tyndale House) and Designed for Devotion: A 365-Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation (Baker Books). She also writes regularly for websites and blogs (such as CBN.com and FindingGodDaily.com), contributes to compilations (including Guideposts’ 2013 Mornings with Jesus), and enjoys speaking and teaching at writers’ conferences. Dianne is a 2006 CLASS graduate and a member of Advanced Writers & Speakers, Christian Authors Network, and Toastmasters International. She and her husband, Richard, currently live in Salt Lake City, which is too far away from their three grown children and two adorable grandchildren. 

Blurb for Designed for Devotion by Dianne Matthews:

Devotionals are designed to bring the reader into a more intimate relationship with God. Dianne Neal Matthews knows no better way for believers to know God more intimately than to immerse themselves in his Word. To that end, her new daily devotional combines fascinating historical background information about the Bible with practical application that readers can implement in their lives each day. She guides readers on a journey through the Bible from beginning to end, highlighting major events, characters, and stories, as well as difficult issues and topics (such as the concept of theophany, God’s instructions to the Israelites to show no mercy as they entered the Promised Land, and what seems at first glance to be discrepancies between the Gospels).

Readers new to Bible study or those who long to learn more will appreciate the background information Matthews provides, as well as the way she shows how the Scriptures fit together to form a cohesive work. This is the perfect devotional for anyone who desires to go deeper into the Scriptures as they deepen their relationship with God.

Bio for Amy Lillard:

Amy Lillard is an award-winning writer who loves reading romance novels from contemporary to Amish. These two genres meet in her first book, /Saving Gideon/. Born and bred in Mississippi, she now lives with her husband and son in Oklahoma

Blurb for Saving Gideon by Amy Lillard:

Gideon Fisher wants one thing out of life — to be left alone. This is not the Amish way, but he’s devastated after the death of his wife and son to the point of losing his faith. He buys a farm on the outskirts of the district and pulls away from his community. But when a freak spring snowstorm brings a beautiful Englisher to his farm, what choice does Gideon have but to let her in?

Dallas socialite Avery Ann Hamilton is intrigued by the Amish farmer who pulls her out of the snow and into his austere lifestyle. Poor little rich girl, Avery has just gone through (yet another) bad breakup. Every man she meets only wants her for her father’s money. All she has ever wanted is to be loved for herself. Avery soon discovers the Oklahoma Amish country is the perfect place to hide out and heal her broken heart.

But she finds a peace in those back roads that she’s never felt before. Now her life has purpose and meaning as she connects with God and those around her. And there’s something more as she begins to care for this man who needs both love and forgiveness.

Gideon never wanted to live again much less fall in love, but Avery finds her way into his heart, showing him the beauty of life and God’s greatness. Yet as the feelings between Avery and Gideon grow, can they overcome their dissimilar lifestyles, or will their sheer differences pull them apart?