Zoe McCarthy and the Putting Green Whisperer

About the book:

Suddenly unemployed, petite and peppery Allie Masterson returns home to Cary, North Carolina to caddy for her father on the PGA Seniors Tour. There, she encounters Shoo Leonard. The easygoing caddy drives Allie insane, but Shoo's uncanny ability to read the contours of the greens and his determination to overcome a personal hand injury, fascinate Allie. She finds herself agreeing use her sport science degree to become his trainer...and then she falls for him. Shoo Leonard is grateful to Allie for her singular determination to get him ready for the PGA tour, but he isn't ready for anything more. Still raw from a broken engagement and focused on his career, he's content to be her fist-pumping buddy...but then he falls for her. What seems like a happily-ever-after on the horizon takes a turn when Allie decides she's become a distraction to Shoo's career. Is it time for her to step away or can the putting green whisperer find the right words to make her stay?

$5.99 ebook

White Rose Publishing, an imprint of Pelican Ventures, LLC

September 14, 2018

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A brief interview with the author:

Zoe, what do you love about The Putting Green Whisperer?

Allie Masterson lives golf, she caddies on a men’s PGA tour, and her father is a pro golfer, so she associates mostly with males. She’s more a tomboy than prom queen type. I love that guy caddies are romantically drawn to Allie—except Shoo Leonard. He’s the caddy with high ideals and destined for pro golf, the one she’s painfully in love with. Shoo is still raw from a broken engagement and is content to be Allie’s best friend. I like the social play between the guys and feisty but loyal Allie.

Introduce us to your sidekick.

Caddy Mark Hampton is hero Shoo’s best male friend. Mark’s pro player is off his game and not making it into the money. So, the stocky guy suffers financially, eating Ramen noodles and rooming with other caddies in cheap motels. He comes across as blunt, moody, and slovenly. But under his façade, is a loyal friend with a big heart and a good golfer.

Share something you learned from researching The Putting Green Whisperer?

I was surprised to learn that many pro golfers as well as their caddies struggle to financially stay on the PGA tour. Some pros are well off enough to fly to the next tournament, while others have to drive through the night to make the next tournament in time. Also, I learned that the PGA has a Tuesday night fellowship that includes worship and a Bible study.

What do you hope readers will tell others?  

Although the book has a golf background, I hope readers will tell others that the book is humorous and tender. I hope they’ll mention that the book is full of relationships that help Allie to grow in character and faith, such as with her father, her stepmother, Shoo, the other caddies, Shoo’s family, and Jesus.

What are you reading now?  

I’m embarrassed to admit, I have several books going. My husband and I live about forty minutes from stores and like to travel, so I read to John in the car. To him, I’m reading The Taking of Carly Bradford by Romana Richards. After lunch in my office before I plunge into the next writing task, I read Suzanne Woods Fisher’s Phoebe’s Light. In bed, I’ve been reading the Newberry winner hardback, Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. When it’s time for lights out, I enjoy reading And Then Blooms Love by Sally Jo Pitts on my iPad.

What’s next for you?  

Edits should be back soon for Book 2 of the Twisty Creek series, The Identical Woman in a Black Dress for which The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress is Book 1. My nonfiction, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days will release this fall, so I’m preparing to promote that book. Also, I've started writing a novella for a 2019 Valentine Day's collection, which will host five authors’ Valentine’s Day romances.

About the Author

A full-time writer and speaker, Zoe M. McCarthy writes contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. She is the author of The Invisible Woman in a Red Dress, Gift of the Magpie, and Calculated Risk. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. Zoe and her husband live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Website and blog: https://zoemmccarthy.com

Now in paperback Justice with Emily Conrad

About Justice

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she's pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. Brooklyn can’t bring herself to name the father as she wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake. If Harold Keen, the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake's coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both. Can Jake and Brooklyn overcome the obstacles thrown in their path, and finally find the truth in God's love and in each other?

Released from Pelican Ventures last March, Justice is now available in print! $16.99

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Read my review here

What do you love about Justice?

I love the way the circumstances of the novel challenged my faith. As I wrote, I studied some tough questions about suffering, marriage, justice, and forgiveness. I hope the way this reflects in the characters’ lives and actions is as encouraging to readers as it was to me throughout the drafting process.

Introduce us to your sidekick.

I have two sidekicks—my dogs. Luther is a coonhound mix. When he’s up and moving, he’s a troublemaker, but he also really likes to be comfortable, so he spends a good portion of his day curled up in the papasan chair next to my desk. Our pit mix Sadie, is older and quieter. Sometimes she naps nearby, other times, she looks for a quiet corner farther from Luther’s habit of barking at passersby on the sidewalk outside the window.

Share something you learned from researching.

In Justice, a character is coping with the aftermath of a sexual assault. I learned that the number of women who face this is much higher than I ever suspected. Rainn.org reports that 1 in 6 American women have experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Find that statistic and other resources here: https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence

It’s my prayer that Justice deals with this sensitive and important topic well and in a way that offers hope.

What do you hope readers will tell others?

I hope readers will tell others the story hooked them and left them thinking long after they turned the last page.

What are you reading now?

It’s not very glamorous, but I’m reading a book on the mechanics of punctuation, Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors by Kathy Ide. It’s important for writers to know the basics.

What's next for you?

I’m drafting a series of Christian romances where each novel follows a different member of a rock band. These have been so fun to write, and I hope someday they find a publisher!

Bio

Emily Conrad lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two rescue dogs. She loves Jesus and enjoys road trips to the mountains, crafting stories, and drinking coffee. (It’s no coincidence her debut novel is set mostly in a coffee shop!) She offers free short stories on her website and loves to connect with readers on social media.

www.emilyconradauthor.com

facebook.com/emilyconradauthor

Instagram.com/emilyrconrad

Twitter.com/emilyrconrad

Manhattan Grace by Clarice James

Manhattan Grace

Clarice G. James

Elk Lake Publishing

June 1, 2018

eBook $7.99

Print $12.99

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About the Book:

When a door opens for Gracie Camden to leave Cape Cod and move to Manhattan as a nanny for a Juilliard drama instructor, she fully expects God to use her acting talent and launch her to stardom. She’s been here been six months. What’s taking him so long?

Seymour Kaufman relocates to New York City from Iowa due to a shortage of mohels (circumcisers) in the tri-state Messianic congregations. Secretly, he hopes to explore a deeper relationship with Metropolitan Opera star and fellow Moldovan, Polina Zelenka. Seymour is conflicted when he meets her less complicated, widowed cousin.

Meanwhile, fresh from Palm Beach, the Chief plans to cap off his short yet lucrative career as an international jewel thief with a multi-million dollar heist during the Met’s gala in Polina’s honor. His usual modus operandi is to work alone—but this time is different.

While Seymour celebrates every closed door by believing God will open a better one, Gracie whines and wonders why God doesn’t bless her plans. Gracie finally learns success is not about making it big in the Big Apple, but about living God’s perfect plan for your life.

My Review

I just like these characters and this fun story. Gracie has a ways to go to grow up, but don’t we all? I loved her grandmother who kept her grounded with fun sagacity and the always funny “say goodnight, Gracie” schtick that never grows old. I thought Seymour was a hoot, especially since I have family near Postville and really enjoy hearing how people adapt to the craziness of America.

I wondered how on earth these two stories were going to intertwine and, while I occasionally got a little impatient waiting for something to happen, was thoroughly entertained by a jewel thief, ala Cary Grant, prepping for his biggest heist. I figured out several whos, and loved finding out the why, which all came together in a symphonic, justifiable end.

Written from multiple viewpoints, readers follow a young woman on her way to fame and fortune and a middle-aged Jewish immigrant on the hunt for his soulmate. Strangers not for long in the Big Apple, they blunder and assist each other to the good and Godly life.

About the Author

Author Clarice G. James writes smart, fun, relatable contemporary women's fiction. When she's not writing, Clarice is reading, planning another New England Christian Authors Round Table Talk, or involved in a home decorating project. She and her husband, David, live in southern New Hampshire. Together, they have five married children and ten grandchildren.

Arthurian legends to love from Danielle Shipley

The Legend of Allyn-a-Dale, 

The Outlaws of Avalon, Book 3

Danielle Shipley

Ever On Word

October, 2017

eBook $2.99

Print $12.99

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About the book:

Long ago: Hailed as heroes, killed as criminals, an extraordinary band of outlaws met their end in Sherwood Forest – all except the four who were supernaturally saved, and the one who did not exist. …Not yet.

Now: With Avalon Faire’s living legends finally free to move between the realms of magic and modernity, there’s no dream too fantastic to reach – including that kept alive by a secret society, awaiting only the right time, and the right minstrel, to rewrite history.

Just when the future seems brightest, the Merry Men find themselves thrust into the past, facing a second chance at the lives they might have lived … or the death they might not have the luck to cheat twice. For the otherworldly Allyn-a-Dale, it’s all in a day’s destiny. For an already struggling Will Scarlet, it’s a nightmare that may prove black enough to break him. And for the whole of the band, it’s anyone’s guess whether courage, cunning, and camaraderie can win out against their most infamous enemies: The Sheriff of Nottingham, Sir Guy of Gisborne, and – for once in eternity – Time.

My review:

I confess I’ve had this book since it came out. I happened to be moving at the time, so I saved it. I’m also one of those readers who hates for a really good thing to come to an end, so I avoid beginnings. Tragic.

Shipley’s absolutely delightful balladeer’s skills make me want to sit at her feet around the fire pit at the Ren Faire while she strums her stringed whatever and shares her stories. This one, an addition to the accidental heroic cast of Sherwood Forest fame charmed into modern-day fey life, is everything readers of Arthurian fantasy love. Especially if you’re a huge music fan. I’m enthralled by music, but half the giddiness for me is that I know nothing about it, so Shipley’s adorable chapter, or set piece openings to establish the pace of the segment, add to the magic and way-coolness.

Our noble cast by this time have accepted their fates, more or less, and adapted to contemporary life, some better than others. As a late-comer. Allyn a-Dale has a few more ponderences than the others, namely, was the whole time travel thing his fault? And if so, how can he fix it? The story seems like it might come to an abrupt shrug when Merlin assures him he’ll die trying. But of course, that little tidbit of act is only a challenge to a group of modern day misfits who think it’s their business to “correct” the past. Just an aside, if you’ve ever wondered how time travel can reasonably happen, read this. It somehow makes perfect sense. Especially coming from Merlin.

Shipley’s turn of phrase takes a little getting used to, but I promise you’ll be ruined for reading and have to stop a lot and just flop back and think, “wow, love that,” too often the first time through. But that’s okay. Read it again for a grip on the story.

And then meet me at the Faire. Sigh.

 About the author: Danielle E. Shipley is the author of the Wilderhark Tales novellas, the novel Inspired, and several other expressions of wishful thinking. She has spent most of her life in the Chicago area and increasing amounts of time in Germany. She hopes to ultimately retire to a private immortal forest. But first, there are stories to make.

Historical Romance in Seattle with Christine Lindsay

Sofi’s Bridge

Christine Lindsay

Pelican Ventures

c. 2015

ISBN 978-1611165203

Historical Romance

Ebook $4.99

Print $15.99

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About the Book

Seattle debutant Sofi Andersson will do everything in her power to protect her sister who is suffering from shock over their father's death. Charles, the family busy-body, threatens to lock Trina in a sanatorium—a whitewashed term for an insane asylum—so Sofi will rescue her little sister, even if it means running away to the Cascade Mountains with only the new gardener Neil Macpherson to protect them. But in a cabin high in the Cascades, Sofi begins to recognize that the handsome immigrant from Ireland harbors secrets of his own. Can she trust this man whose gentle manner brings such peace to her traumatized sister and such tumult to her own emotions? And can Neil, the gardener continue to hide from Sofi that he is really Dr. Neil Galloway, a man wanted for murder by the British police? Only an act of faith and love will bridge the distance that separates lies from truth and safety.

My Review

First and second generation Americans with secrets help each other move beyond their stereotypes to protect the ones they love. One succeeds and the other watches another member of the family lose the battle.

Sofi Andersson, born of Swedish immigrant parents, has never suffered until the day her beloved papa didn’t come home, and her younger sister became so traumatized she can no longer function. Her mother Roselle is held up only with destructive advice from her physician and late husband’s business partner, who Sofi has long mistrusted. When threatened with institutionalization, Sofi kidnaps her sister with the reluctant help of their newly hired Irish gardener, Neil Galloway, who is not what he appears.

Sofi knows what she’s doing, running back to her late grandfather’s homestead and the friends and family who knew and loved him. Her father had certainly been a modern turn-of-the twentieth-century man who instilled independence in his daughters, encouraging them in daring to cross gender roles in architecture, math, and engineering skills. But he failed to surround them with the support they needed, and Sofi did right to leave Seattle high society and its rules to hunker down amongst her grandfather’s unconventional partners and family. It doesn’t hurt that this hiding place is also near her bridge-building late father’s last project. Sofi, at twenty-one, has absorbed all the skills necessary to build a railroad bridge, and when she realizes her father’s unscrupulous partner has changed her specs, she’ll move heaven and earth to save his reputation.

Meanwhile, Sofi is distracted by her new partner in crime, the Irish gardener Neil, who out of necessity confesses his true vocation and eventually the reason for his subterfuge. Their relationship grows over the summer, but as events come to a head, realize reputation is always trumped by faith, hope, and love.

About the Author

Irish born Christine Lindsay is the author of multi-award-winning Christian fiction and non-fiction. Readers describe her writing as gritty yet tender, realistic yet larger than life, with historical detail that collides into the heart of psychological and relationship drama.

This author’s non-fiction memoir Finding Sarah Finding Me is the true-life story that started this award-winning career in Christian fiction and non-fiction. This book is a must for anyone whose life has been touched by adoption. Christine is currently writing a new fictional series set on the majestic coast of Ireland and loaded with her use of setting as a character that will sweep the reader away. Subscribe to her newsletter on her website www.christinelindsay.org.

New Bible study from Larry Vaughn

A Crash Course in the Bible

By Larry Vaughn

Nonfiction Bible Study

89 pp.

Released May, 2018 from Bible Believers Publishing

$2.99 ebook

$6.99 Print

Buy on Amazon

See this post for other details.

About the book:

God is the author of the Bible as well as the author of life. He reveals his heart and his mind through his words. And when you read his words, you get to know him. A Crash Course in the Bible contains approximately two hundred Bible verses. And these Scriptures will teach you what God wants you to know.

“God so loved the world that he gave . . . .” That’s the essence of God. He’s a giver. That’s who he is and what he does. He loves us so much that he gave us his only begotten Son. And through him, God gives us everything that we need.

He gives us hope and joy and peace. He gives us the desires of our hearts. He gives us eternal life and many other precious gifts. A Crash Course in the Bible describes thirty-eight gifts that God has provided for you. And it tells you how to receive them.

My review:

Larry Vaughn, author the The Bible Believer’s Handbook, has released another little gem in A Crash Course in the Bible. In this tidy little book, Vaughn plucks lessons from everyday life, from children to faith to recompense to salvation and wisdom, and shows how the Word of God teaches God’s ways to humankind.

Opening with an introduction on how times have changed since the Pilgrims first sought America, Vaughn urges us to return to those spiritual roots, and ends with “Twelve things” every believer should know; again, the basics from what faith and redemption are to how to achieve that state of grace and what we should do about it through our newly opened conscience and confidence.

Readers of nonfiction Biblical works will find peace and comfort in these verses, as well as a good way to quantify your faith to share it in a meaningful and understandable way with others.

  

Two questions with Larry:

What do you want readers to know about your latest book, Larry?

I wanted to make the Bible easy to access and easy to understand. And to show how great God is and how generous he is to us.

What do you hope readers will take from this book?

The readers of my book will know what the Bible says. And they will understand what that means to them.

About the author:

Larry Vaughn has been married to his best friend Marie for fifty-one years. They have three daughters, eleven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. And they live just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. Web: http://larryvaughnauthor.blogspot.com and http://Biblebelieverspublishing.com

DiAne Gates and Roped, Booger Daddy, and Giveaway

About the Book:

Thirteen-year-old Crissy Crosby chases a dream to live up to her parents’ rodeo legacy. But the rodeo championship is two months away and problems beyond her ability to solve stack and teeter like a game of Tumbling-Towers. Meanwhile rival Jodie Lea and her father, Ed Fairgate, contrive to swipe the silver buckles from Crissy’s grasp any way they can. Prejudice, anger, and dark secrets simmer in a pot of family feuds destined to boil over in a tragic nightmare at the rodeo. Will Crissy develop courage and faith to overcome the consequences of her temper? Will her dreams of buckles and titles become reality? Or will the character-building adversities of her life quash her dreams forever?

$3.99 Ebook
$12.99 Print
Buy on Amazon

DiAne says:

I always want to know what prompts an author to write a story—

A vision in the night? A flashback? Daydreaming or what?

GIVEAWAY:

DiAne will give an ecopy of Roped in a drawing of those who comment with a story idea! What dream or flashback would you like to see in print?

Drawing will be held at 5 pm Central Standard Time on Tuesday, August  14, 2018.

The Roped Series had played in the back of my mind for years while I hung a million yards of wallpaper. Hanging from a ten-foot ladder, sloshing the glue, and trimming the paper, all the while writing a story in my head. It didn’t hurt my paper-hanging-partner was a rodeo champion and I often went to rodeos with her to shoot pictures.

One such night I was perched atop a chain link fence in a field judge’s seat snapping shot after shot of bronc riding and barrel racing when the announcer’s voice gave me cause to consider… Do I really want to be here?

But his twangy Texas drawl droned, “Hold on to your seat all you little range wranglers, bull riding’s up next!”

I looked at the large mud puddle beneath me…surely no self-respecting bull would venture over here…right?

With the camera lens set just right I peered in the zoom to see Booger Daddy…that’s right Booger Daddy…same bull that Crissy Crosby rides in the first book of the series Roped…B.D. did a quick rump rustle and sent his rider flying. Next thing I realized that snot-nosed-bull glared right at me.

Yep! He pawed three times, turned on the afterburners, and headed right at me, the fence and the mud puddle!

My husband screamed, “Jump and run.”

I couldn’t move. My legs were noodles. My mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. Seconds seemed like hours, but a pick-up man saw my peril, cut his horse around between the fence, me, and the bull. They all arrived at the mud puddle at the exact moment and an explosion of wet, sticky, black Texas mud splattered my camera lens, and left nasty little me in my white eyelet peasant blouse, skinny jeans, and boots covered.

All in a night’s work for the cowboy and bull. But a horrible nightmare for me as I wobbled down from the stand, and with husband’s help headed for the car to clean and stow my camera for the night.

At that moment I knew one of the spot lights in Roped would introduce Booger Daddy to the world.

From Roped, Chapter Twenty-eight:

“The name Steer #1801-Booger Daddy, was right beside my name. I gawked at the board and thought of the picture on my night table. No. It couldn’t be.

But I found him in the pen, and the tag in his ear read Booger Daddy, III. O great. If it weren’t for bad luck—

Snot slung from his nose and he raked his horns across the iron pipe prison. The clanking and banging sounded like a jackhammer. Our eyes met. He pawed the ground and lunged at my side of the pen. My heart skedaddled behind me. This silver-gray Brahma, who looked just like his granddaddy, was the biggest, most ornery bull of the bunch. Talk about the luck of the draw.”