Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A Piece of Heaven

It's finally here!!! My newest release has arrived! Come check out A Piece of Heaven. 

This story is truly a dream of mine - a dream to own a Christian coffee house where people can come to enjoy good music and good food in a good clean atmosphere. So come on inside and take a peek, listen to some good music, and enjoy a cup of coffee while you're here. Hope you can stop by sometime!

Blurb:

Trina Wembly dreamt of owning a Christian coffee house for years –a Godly place where people could enjoy a good meal, and entertainment that was pleasing to God. A Piece of Heaven is that dream, and Trina the star entertainer.

Jared Larou, the construction foreman who helps design and build the coffee house, is a wounded soul with a soft heart, a soft heart that Trina is drawn to.

Trina knows God is the only one who can heal Jared’s wounded soul. Does she have the faith and patience to wait on God’s will – if it is God’s will?


Excerpt:

Trina Wembly stared at the name painted on the frosted glass, Dared Construction & Design. This was it, the start of her dream. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open. She hoped everything she’d heard about them was true.

----

Oh yeah, they could help her create the atmosphere she wanted in A Piece of Heaven, turn her dream into something real. Still, would they be able to get her vision from her simple drawings?

"Can I help you?"

Trina whipped around, a hand to her throat. "Oh, I didn’t hear you." She looked up, past broad shoulders covered by a white dress shirt that tightened around the man’s upper chest as he crossed his arms. Guaranteed, he didn’t spend all his time behind a desk.
Serious gray eyes stared back. His face settled into a quiet smile as he raised his brows. 

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, I’m sorry. I have an appointment with..." She fumbled through her bag, searching for the slip of paper she had written on. What was wrong with her? She was never this scatterbrained.

"Are you Ms. Wembly?"

"Yes." She paused in her search to meet his gaze. "Is it you I’m supposed to meet with?"

This time the smile reached his eyes. He held out his hand. "I’m Jared Larou. You spoke with Dave, but he had to go out of town today, so I’m covering the office. He told me you’d be coming in."

Her hand was swallowed by his, and a mild shock ran up her arm. "Should I reschedule?"

"No, this is fine. We’re partners and cover for each other, plus work together on every project anyway, so it doesn’t much matter which one of us you meet with initially. We’re both involved in every project eventually."

Leave a comment! I'll draw a name and send a free copy out to one lucky commenter!

Buy link:


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Terri - Sharon Srock

Welcome back, Sharon, with book two from the Women of Valley View series. I've got to tell you, I didn't want to put this one down. It's precious! I can't wait for the next one already!

If you haven't heard about it yet, readers, take a peek:

Back cover blurb:

Despite a bustling day care center and a new foster child, Terri Hayes hungers for a family of her own. Then a plumbing mishap leaves her homeless and questioning God’s plan. Steve Evans’s gracious offer of his basement apartment as a temporary solution is an answered prayer.

Steve is a successful writer and a good father, but Terri is horrified when Steve’s book research leads him to a harsh confrontation with the parents of her foster child. She needs to distance herself from Steve, but her efforts fall short as his two scheming daughters plot to make Terri their new stepmother.

Will harsh words and sneaky plans drive Kelsey’s family further apart and put a wedge between Terri and Steve, or does God have another plan in store?

Excerpt:

Terri opened the door to the larger of her two spare bedrooms. The odor of fresh paint drifted out to greet them. This was the pride of her summer. She motioned her guest inside, aching to point out the highlights of what she’d worked so hard to accomplish, but she held her peace in the face of Ms. Wilson’s strident and silent inspection. More notes on the clipboard, murmurs, and hums. Approval or disapproval? How can I tell?

Inspection completed, Terri followed her visitor back to her sunken living room and made an effort to gain some control over the situation. “Have a seat, Ms. Wilson. I have iced tea or soda if you’d like something to drink.”

“No, thank you.” Ms. Wilson sat on the sofa and studied her notes. Her pen tapped an annoying beat as she read. Terri took a chair across from her and waited in helpless anticipation.

“It says here that your decision to apply to our program was motivated by a television show. Can you clarify that for me, please?”

Terri clasped white-knuckled hands in her lap. “It was a documentary. I cried for the whole hour. It broke my heart to see so much to be done and so few people willing to make a difference.”

“So this is an emotional decision on your part?”

“Yes…I mean no. I—”

Ms. Wilson continued. “Ms. Hayes, you’re a single young woman with a business to run. I’m told your day care center next door is a busy place. You spend every day in the company of other people’s children. By all reports, you do an excellent job. You’re already making a difference. I need you to tell me why you want to take it further.”

“That’s a difficult question to answer in a few words.”

“You need to try. I take my job very seriously. If I approve you for our program, it’s only going to be after I’m sure you’re proceeding for legitimate reasons, not a passing emotional whim.”

“Surely you’ve looked at all the paperwork I’ve already filled out.”

“My decision will not be based on your answers to a standard questionnaire. Lives are at stake here. You need to convince me of your ability to handle this job.”

Terri slumped back in her chair and exhaled a deep breath. Jesus, I need wisdom. With those four words she found peace. She pushed herself to the edge of her seat and leaned forward, elbows braced on her knees. “Are you a Christian, Ms. Wilson?”

“I like to think so, but I’m not the one being interviewed.”

“But you understand the power of prayer, the direction of God in our lives?”

Ms. Wilson nodded.

“That television show moved me in ways I still don’t understand. It was an emotional hour. Emotional because I desire God’s will for my life, and I finally had direction. I prayed for days before I made the initial call to your office. I have experience and a heart full of love to share. If you’re looking for a lifetime commitment to your program,”—Terri shook her head—”I can’t promise that. But I know God has led me to this place and time. Somewhere there’s a child, a family, who needs what I have to offer.”

The two women studied each other for a few heartbeats. Terri’s eyes held those of the social worker. It’s now or never, Father. This isn’t what I’ve pictured for my future. I always saw myself with a husband before there were children, but if this is Your will for me…

Cindy Wilson’s eyes cut back to her notes, and Terri swallowed hard. I blew it. “Ms. Wilson…”

A smile transformed Ms. Wilson’s forbidding countenance. She held out a hand. “Call me Cindy. You’re going to make a wonderful foster parent.

Buy Links: 

Review:
What a wonderful story! Ms. Srock made me laugh and cry, and brought a smile to my face with the final words even though I was sad to be finished.

Terri and Steve are both wonderful characters, people I would love to have in my own circle of friends. We all really need a Steve in our lives, someone who knows when to speak the hard truths. And I think we all have a bit of Terri in us - fearing how hard it is to hear those truths. I love the way these two interact and their lives weave together.


The children are wonderful too, and such an integral part of the story, just like in real life.


I can't say enough good things about this story! Pick up a copy, you'll love it!

About the author:

I live in small town Oklahoma with my Husband, Larry and two dogs. Together we have 6 children and 23 grands and great grands. I love to go on special vacations, read, cook, write, pan for gold, and watch NASCAR, not necessarily in that order.

I’ve worshiped at the same Pentecostal church for more than forty years. They are my forever family.


Saturday, May 4, 2013

Lexi's Heart by Delia Latham

Ooh, sorry, I lost track of time here! I forgot there was a new Heart's Haven book out - Lexi's Heart - by one of my favorite authors, Delia Latham.

For any of you who haven't heard of them, this is a series of stories all happening in the cozy community of Heart's Haven...a wonderful little community where love blooms all over the place and angels are known to help the residents along the right path.

I love this story!!! So sweet! What a wonderful Mother's Day treat this is!

Back Cover:

Forty-three-year-old Lexi Carlisle’s abusive marriage ended three years ago. Deeply scarred by the experience, and helplessly watching her beloved mother succumb to Alzheimers, Lexi is devastated. After selling her fancy home, she rents a cottage in Heart’s Haven, a special place unlike any other. Slowly learning to live again, she despairs of ever delivering the message of love that burns within her heart for her ever-worsening mother. But Mitch Gaynor, a handsome Christian author, reminds Lexi that with God all things are possible, planting within her battered and distrustful heart the seed of hope for a miracle. But can she open her fortressed heart to God? And is Mitch a part of His plans for her future?

Here's a peek:

Go see Mama.

The thought sliced through her mind out of nowhere, just as she turned the wheel toward Angel Falls and touched her foot to the accelerator. She frowned, gave her head a slight shake, and ignored it. She visited Mama on Monday, not Friday.

Again, decision made. Lexi rarely wasted time on mental hashing and rehashing. She floored the gas pedal and sent her car flying into town.

Owner and operator of Angel Hair—the sweetest little beauty salon in East Texas, in Lexi’s biased opinion—she spent each Monday cleaning the shop. Every barber-type facility in the mid-sized town closed its doors on the first day of the work week, making it the ideal time to give the place a decent once-over. Lexi still tried to keep Sundays free of extensive labor, even though she hadn’t attended a church service in too long to remember. She recognized the contrasting behaviors but couldn’t seem to change the pattern. Old habits did, indeed, die hard.

Decision made.

On Friday afternoons, she always drove into Lufkin to visit her mother at Rosewood Senior Care. The facility was the only place within driving distance that boasted the excellent reputation and caring staff Lexi required for the most important person in her life. The thirty-minute drive wasn’t convenient, but it could have been worse. She might have had to drive all the way to Dallas.

She shuddered at the thought. Although she wasn’t a church goer, she did thank God for Rosewood! Having Mama half an hour away was difficult enough. Two hours would be unthinkable.

What gift would she take with her this week? She’d have to fit in some shopping time before Friday. On every visit, Lexi presented her mother with some small item…something meaningful, that she hoped would trigger a spark in Mama’s sadly short-circuited memory. She loved the hunt for the perfect gift, loved her recollections of fun shopping excursions the two of them had enjoyed in better times.

But Mother’s Day was coming up in a few weeks, and Lexi wished she could find a way to just skip to the week afterward—why on earth hadn’t scientists found a way to do that by now? Getting through this first year on her own would be hard. Beyond hard. As far back as she could remember, Mother’s Day had been a treasured time of togetherness—church first, then a special lunch, just her and Mama, usually at some fancy little tea room they’d scouted out earlier.

Go see her.

The words thundered through her mind with the force of a bellowing megaphone. Lexi’s foot slammed down on the brake, and she sucked in a sharp breath that hung in her frozen throat. She eased onto the shoulder and forced herself to breathe. A glance at her dash verified the radio’s continuing state of non-operation. It hadn’t worked in over a year.

She had heard something. But now she decided it hadn’t been an actual voice—not an audible one that required ears to hear. Yet the directive rang too clearly to be denied.

Go! Now!

Without further hesitation, she checked for traffic, made a sharp U-turn, and headed for Lufkin. The salon would have to get by on last week’s efforts.

Decision made.

Review:

Lexi's pain is one that many of us know and understand. The loss of an ageing parent to Alzheimer's disease is heart wrenching, watching them drift away.  Yet the joy that can be found in those special moments with them are treasures to cling to. And going through it alone is nearly unbearable. 

Mitch is so obviously a God-given gift to both mother and daughter that your heart can't help but sigh. You can feel the God's love wrap around you as you read this story.

Kudos to Ms. Latham! Well done!

Buy links: