Review of This I Promise You

This I Promise You by Mary Felkins

The Heart of Moreland Manor prequel
Contemporary Christian Romance
Gardenia Press, May 2022, 186 pp
Ebook $2.99
Paperback $12.99

Buy on Amazon 

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Read an interview with Author here.

About the Book:

What if finding your heart’s desire means entrusting it …just once more … to the one who broke it?
It should not have come as a surprise to school Teacher Adelyn Ormond when she was jilted at the altar,

Promises are meant to be broken.

When her supervisor tasks her with galvanizing support for a local food bank, she directs her energy toward the underprivileged in her community—some of whom are her own students. Problem is, the responsibility requires her to involve celebrity chef, Bryan J. Carlyle, her almost-husband whose participation assures great results.

For all his success, Bryan hasn’t come up with a recipe for how to be restored to his family. Doesn’t help that abandoning Adelyn threatens to spoil his reputation and ruin his career. But when he encounters hungry children scrounging for food behind his restaurant, he agrees to get behind Adelyn’s worthy cause. The collaboration with Adelyn might shed light on the incriminating image he’d discovered minutes before the ceremony—her lip-locked with another man after the rehearsal dinner.

Can Adelyn trust Bryan to make good on his promise—without risking her heart? Will the love that led them to the altar be the key ingredient for reconciliation? Maybe. But his absence on the big day to which he’d committed might be beyond forgiveness.

My Review:

Loved this sweet and poignant romance of second chances. Two adults with secrets in contemporary New Orleans--he a renowned chef, she a former dancer turned elementary school teacher with a tiger mom heart--have a bitter past of disillusionment based on falsehoods. Thrown together to work a miracle for Second Harvest, they reluctantly explore the issues that caused their devastating left-at-the-altar moment six months earlier.

They both learn that the past can never stay buried, and excavating the childhood pain and trauma of their upbringing is the best way they can heal. But healing their relationship is another question.

I appreciated the author's tale of learning how our past shapes us and leads us to respond to present circumstances in both positive and challenging manners. Those who enjoy light allegory, inspirational pure romance will love This I Promise You.

Great new summer read from Mary Felkins

This I Promise You by Mary Felkins

The Heart of Moreland Manor prequel
Contemporary Christian Romance
Gardenia Press, May 2022, 186 pp
Ebook $2.99
Paperback $12.99

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Barnes and Noble 

About the Book:

What if finding your heart’s desire means entrusting it ... just once more 
... to the one who broke it?

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ADELYN ORMOND should not have been surprised when she was jilted at the altar.

Promises are meant to be broken.

When her supervisor tasks her with galvanizing support for a local food bank, she directs her energy toward the underprivileged in her community—some of whom are her own students. Problem is, the responsibility requires her to involve CELEBRITY CHEF BRYAN J. CARLYLE, her almost-husband whose participation assures great results.

For all his success, Bryan hasn’t come up with a recipe for how to be restored to his family. Doesn’t help that abandoning Adelyn threatens to spoil his reputation and ruin his career. But when he encounters hungry children scrounging for food behind his restaurant, Bryan agrees to get behind Adelyn’s worthy cause. The collaboration might shed light on the incriminating image he’d discovered minutes before the ceremony—her lip-locked with another man after the rehearsal dinner.

With much on the line, can Adelyn trust Bryan to make good on his promise—without risking her heart? Will the love that led them to the altar be the key ingredient for reconciliation? Maybe. But his absence on the big day to which he’d committed might be beyond forgiveness.

About the Author

Mary A. Felkins is an inspirational romance author, blogger, and contributor to writer’s blogs and online publications. Her debut novel, Call to Love, is set in Hickory, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband. They have four young adult children. She is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and My Book Therapy. 

Her purpose in writing is to reclaim God’s intention when he created the world–to enable readers to know his heart and experience his love.

The unmerited gift of a large, unopened bag of Peanut M&Ms® will lure her from her writer’s desk. A surprise appearance by her teen idol, Donny Osmond, would also do the trick—although she’d likely pass out.

Upon introduction, if she likes your first or last name, expect to see it show up in one of her novels.

To receive Mary’s story-style devotions, quarterly author newsletter with giveaways, and/or launch team opportunities, subscribe via email on her website, www.maryfelkins.com

Mary A. Felkins’ books on Amazon https://amzn.to/3cxll0d

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAFelkins
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryafelkins/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MaryAFelkins/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryAFelkins

A Brief Interview with the Author:

In This I Promise You, I enjoyed writing a modern-day twist on Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, and his willingness to forgive his offenders. The redemption of family is a theme I often include in my stories. It was a joy to bring the hero’s tragic backstory to life and give him the closure he’d been longing for.

This book features a theme of love in action, seen primarily in fund-raising efforts for a food bank that supports New Orleans parishes and practical assistance to the least of these.

The offer of a pineapple was inspired by a real situation between two brothers in Christ in our church who were in conflict. Motivated by the Spirit, one humbly offered a pineapple to the other as a peace offering. It was a joy to include a fictional representation of this real-life event and weave Biblical narrative into it.

Currently I’m collaborating with the editor for book #2, Sweeter With You, in The Heart of Moreland Manor series contracted with Elk Lake Publishing Inc. Estimated release this December.

I’m currently reading Runaway Saint by Lisa Samson and A Far Way to Run by Lori Altebaumer. Intriguing reads!

My hope is that readers will tell others how This I Promise You inspired them to love in action over words and that forgiveness covers a multitude of sins!

Write Now Literary Tour Breaking Point Anthology

                                      

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and $25.00 Amazon Gift Card for The Breaking Point with co-author Carolyn Coleman. The book tour will run June 20-July 1, 2022.

ISBN: 978-1737093145
Published by: Thy Word Publishing (April 14, 2022)
Genre: Nonfiction, Inspirational, Book Collaboration, Anthology

ABOUT THE CO-AUTHOR

Carolyn Pickens Coleman is a daughter, wife, mother, sister, cousin, friend, and co-worker from Bessemer, Alabama. She has a B.S. in Nursing from Samford University and an M.A. in Health Service Administration from Strayer University. Carolyn is a member of the Birmingham Black Nurses Association, Inc., serving as the Chairperson of the Outreach committee, and is the current President of the Bessemer Public Library Trustee Board. She has a big heart and volunteers in her community.

Carolyn has more than 36 years of experience as a critical care nurse and spent five years as a nurse case manager. She worked with hospital administrators to establish plans regarding complex patient cases, concentrating on outcome management, utilizing best practices, advocating for patients. She is also an adjunct instructor.

Carolyn is the author of four books a series about Gentry who faces her life choices, as we all do, Happiness Hurt Healing, The Re-Entry of Gentry, Gentry’s Journey, and Gentry’s Circle of Friends. For Carolyn, writing is cathartic. She enjoys reading and staying active by line dancing, walking, and spending time with her family and friends.

Carolyn joins a group of esteemed authors in The Breaking Point and hopes that her chapter will give you the insight to find your passion and purpose for a meaningful life.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Breaking Point is Endorsed by Les Brown

Have you ever arrived at a place in life where you knew you were created for more, and you were hungry for more? You knew you possessed greatness, but the life you’d been living didn’t mirror the life you desired or even deserved? These authors, who share their stories in The Breaking Point, wanted more in life. Yes, they were broken, afraid and flawed, but decided to believe in themselves. They wanted to live in their full purpose and potential, and did what was required to obtain it. With strong conviction and passion, they made the necessary turns and adjustments because they wanted more from life. This book will inspire you to bet on yourself and push forward, despite what you face, knowing that you have what it takes to steer the course of your life in the direction you deserve. 

-- Les Brown Speaker, Author, Trainer

BOOK BLURB

The Breaking Point is stories by men and women on how they came to that turning point and were able to over- come adversity and reach their own personal break- through in life. Each story will encompass their unique struggle of how they overcame the challenges to find that you had the courage, the power, and the resolve to build your life again. This book will serve as a potent reminder that everyone has the power to choose which direction they want for their own lives.

These twenty women and men, some first-time authors, said yes to the transformation; yes to the stretching; yes to going back to those dark places that brought them pain. Because they knew what they experienced wasn’t just for them, but it was for others who will come behind them needing those words to pull them up and help them move to a place of wholeness. These authors are writing from a place of victory, a place where they are no longer the victim.

 CO-AUTHOR CHAPTER: EXCERPT

DISCOVERING MY STRENGTH  

My mind was all over the place; life as I knew it was about to change. Not wanting to move. Not knowing what to do next. Getting up meant moving. I did not want to talk to anyone. Talking meant explaining, answering questions. 

That is not who I am. Sometimes you have to reconcile some things within yourself before you can communicate with others. Just because you are comfortable with a situation does not mean that is where you belong. It can sometimes mean you are settling. 

Why should I settle? Newness brings anxiety. I wondered why I had these feelings, because I had detached long before he spoke those words. One thing for sure, I knew moving forward I had to find my strength and my worth.

ENTER THE CONTEST

Amazon $25.00 gift card

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CONNECT WITH CAROLYN

TWITTER         FACEBOOK

 

PURCHASE A COPY

Authors Website

 

TOUR ORGANIZED BY

WRITE NOW LITERARY BOOK TOURS

Write Now Literary presents Removing the Fear

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-week book tour and $25.00 Amazon Gift Card & She Unveils Swag Bag for Removing The Fear: A Truth Journey from Fear to Freedom by Ifedayo Greenway. The book tour will run May 30-June 10, 2022.

ISBN: 978-0578365152

Genre: Non-Fiction

 

 

Removing the Fear: A Truth Journey from Fear to Freedom is a collision of journeys written to chronicle the authentic reality of unveiling the fear, feeling it, and moving forward anyway.

Answering the question, "What are you afraid of?" Ifedayo Greenway and eleven women come face to face with the embedded lies of their respective uncertainties. Accepting the invitation to heal, each writer is liberated as she bravely exposes the truth of the matter. These courageous women reveal their personal struggles and how they managed to turn their fear into a pathway to purpose and freedom.

 

   

Ifedayo Greenway is a mother, transformational speaker, and master life coach who is passionate about her covenant with God to impact & the world and change lives.

She works as a Corporate Investigator in the financial industry, utilizing her degree in Criminal Justice. She is also the CEO of IG & MORE (Ife Greenway & Ministry of Real Empowerment) LLC. A personal development coach, Ifedayo is dedicated to helping women leverage their place of pain as momentum for forward movement; she has been featured in Huffington Post, CBS, FOX, NBC, and Shoutout Atlanta.

As a fear strategist, Ifedayo teaches others the art of living a life less impacted by fear. She is the host of Changing Faces, an annual empowering makeover moment that encourages women to embrace their personal change journey by seeing themselves through the eyes of purpose and not circumstances.

She is the founder of the She Unveils movement. In addition, she serves as a writing coach helping women accomplish their literary goals by unveiling, writing, and publishing their personal stories.

Ifedayo is a five-time author and two-time best-selling author. Other published works include inspirational writings and articles which have reached thousands of readers in various mediums, including Thrive Global & Faith Heart Magazine.

Ifedayo uses her journey to strengthen others and is committed to helping women find their authentic voice in their pursuit of transformation.

 

Pulling back the layers of my struggles presented me with a multi-pronged issue that I needed to explore. There were times when what I toiled with was not fear itself. Instead, it was the life I knew that I could have if I would just let the fear go.

This truth would come to uncover a deeper layer to this phenomenon. What was I really afraid of? Well, the answer was twofold. It was the idea of being stuck with mediocracy because I was either (a) too afraid to let average go or (b) fearful of what it would feel like to embrace first-class. I was scared to lose and even more terrified to win. I wasn’t always frightened by the worst-case scenario. In some instances, the best possible outcome made me uneasy. It caused me to refuse to live a life beyond the proverbial wall of apprehensive excuses. It was the question on the opposite end of, what if I don’t get a better return spectrum. The double-edged sword that said, but what if I do. I remember years ago, talking to a friend after I completed a book project and saying, “What if I don’t do well with book interviews and selling this book?” Her response was, “What if you do?”

I normalized things not working out for me. So, could I respond appropriately if it did? Was I capable of walking in the win? Would true happiness cost more work and effort than I was willing to put in?

 

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She Unveils Swag Bag

 

Tour organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours

New Adele Gossling mystery from Tam May

 

The Carnation Murder
Tam May
May 2022
Dreambook Press
360 pages
Ebook $2.99
Print $12.99
 
Buy on Amazon 
Barnes and Noble 
 
About the Book
Can a forward-thinking woman help the police solve a murder in a backward-thinking town?

Smart inquisitive, and a firm believer in the new progressive reforms, Adele Gossling seeks a new life after the devastating death of her father. So she flees the big city of San Francisco for the small town of Arrojo. She plans a life of peace and small pleasures running her own stationery shop and living in her own house.

But peace is exactly what she doesn’t get when she discovers her neighbor dead in her gazebo. The police think they have a firm suspect: the young man who was secretly engaged to the victim. But Adele and her clairvoyant new friend Nin Branch suspect the young man is innocent. In spite of the raised eyebrows from Arrojo’s Victorian-minded citizens, she and Nin set out to prove Richard Tanning didn’t do it. But if he didn’t, who did?

Can Adele and Nin solve this puzzling case involving a striped carnation, a diamond ring, a note, a muddy pair of boots, and a broken promise? Or will Richard hang for a crime he didn’t commit and the real killer go free?

 
My Review

From the moment Adele roars up to Arrojo, California’s downtown in her newfangled automobile and confronts the hobsnobs, I rooted and cheered for this firmly kind progressive young woman. It’s not easy trying to live the life you want; definitely not when you’re a single young woman in 1904. Adele sets up housekeeping in a classic abandoned home and sets up a stationery business with her inheritance from her late father, a San Francisco attorney. Adele’s handsome single brother, Jackson, a former detective now at loose ends, occasionally comes to check on her, and the two of them become embroiled in a murder investigation after an unfortunate neighbor girl’s body is discovered in Adele’s gazebo.

May did a great job of establishing several suspects and unique plot twists. I love mysteries and truly wasn’t completely certain about the identity of the murderer until the end. Adele gradually turns the hoity toity neighbors into allies and friends, and Jackson learns to find peace with his own special set of policing skills. Fully fleshed characters and well-researched for era and setting, readers who like mysteries with strong female sleuths and unique characters will enjoy this first book in a new series.

 
About the Author

As soon as Tam May started writing when she was fourteen, writing became her voice. She writes engaging, fun-to-solve historical cozy mysteries. Her mysteries empower readers with detailed plots and a sense of “justice is done” at the end. Her fiction is set in and around the San Francisco Bay Area because she adores sourdough bread, Ghirardelli chocolate, and the area’s rich history. Find more at http://www.tammayauthor.com

New Adventure Novel for YA

Stranded on Castaway Island
Amy Laundrie
Young Adult Adventure
April 2022
Henschelhaus Publishers
262 ppg
Print $9.95
Ebook $8.95
Buy on Barnes and Noble or Amazon

About the Book:

Ex-best friends Annie and Mirra are shipwrecked and must try to survive on a remote island near Nova Scotia inhabited only by wild horses—or that’s what the fourteen-year-old girls think at first. Then they discover warm embers and strange footprints.

My Review:

With so much mean-girl activity going on, it's wonderful to read a story about the importance of listening to others, and acknowledging our fears and tears. Friends don't have to be copies of each other, as Annie and Mirra, once best friends but estranged, learn when they find themselves in dire straits. Mirra's desperate attempt to show off by boating away with a storm coming in strands them on an island in the Atlantic. Their survival now depends on working together. Each girl has a unique personality-driven idea about food, shelter, exploration and escape, but it's when they combine forces to confront danger that they learn how to listen to each other and understand the preciousness of what they’ve lost and gained.

Told primarily through Annie, this middle grade adventure will sure to please the younger reader in your family. Great summer read!

About the Author:

Amy Laundrie taught elementary school for over thirty years. She loved sharing her love of nature, animals, and stories with her students. She writes survival adventures, picture books and young reader stories. She's also a weekly columnist and has collected her favorite pieces and included them in an adult memoir called LAUGH, CRY, REFLECT: STORIES FROM A JOYFUL HEART. Visit her at www.laundrie.com.

Write Now Literary presents Tansformational book tour

 

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a one-month book tour and book giveaway for Naked & Not Ashamed: The Transformational Devotional Experience by Chanelle Coleman. The book tour will run May 2- 27, 2022. 

ISBN: 979-8985407600

Genre: Spiritual

 

   

Chanelle Coleman Wesley is a native of Milwaukee Wisconsin. She is the creative powerhouse of CeCi’s Ink, an innovative storytelling company that conveys stories through poetry, books, playwrights, blogs, fashion, and motivational speaking. Chanelle is significantly inspired by her late mother’s, Brenda J. Coleman, penchant for prolific storytelling and developing a strong sense of faith. As a survivor of abuse, Wesley believes in passing on the communication skills she developed to cope in those environments. She is also an accomplished playwright with her latest project, a gospel stage play entitled The Beautiful Truth About an Ugly Lie to be released soon. She strives to empower individuals who have lost their ability to advocate for themselves by challenging them to recognize the power of their voice. Her greatest accomplishment, however, forever remains becoming a mother to her six beautiful children and “GiGi” to her two adorable grandchildren.

Naked & Not Ashamed is a transparent conversation between Sisters. One that allows both the writer and reader to expose themselves without fear or sense of condemnation. It’s a journey towards healing that allows us to dialogue without masks, charades, or pretense. We explore familiar stories of women in the Bible. These powerful narratives of trial, triumph, failures, and flaws show the resiliency, redemptive and transformative power of encountering Christ. I also reveal personal experiences of my own Christian walk with all its ups, downs, twists, and turns. But the most amazing part of these chronicles is you! Right now, you are writing your story. Are you living with pain, grief, and regret that needs to be released? This book is designed to help you see your own undeniably powerful narrative. I want to challenge you to see the hand of God in your life and urge you to find the ability to tell your story. We accomplish this through journal prompts, activities, prayer, etc.

Tony instantly began screaming and yelling. I continued to bite down harder. I continued biting and grinding my teeth until I couldn’t bite anymore. I let go. He fell back onto the bed. I jumped up out of the bed, my heart was pounding, terrified I opened the door, and I was met with darkness. Hurriedly I ran out past the dining room, through the hallway to the kitchen. Panicked, I reached the back door. I began pulling on the door, but it was locked. Fear seized me as I began fumbling with the knob trying to unlock the door. The latch finally twisted up and I raced up the back-hallway stairs. At last, there was light. I ran as fast as I could through the open kitchen door. The light continued to welcome me as I forged ahead running through the hallway past the bathroom and my aunt’s and grandparent’s bedrooms, the dining-room and into the living room to the couch where my grandmother was sitting. I distinctly remember her shocked expression as I pounded towards her as she sat there speechless, on the couch holding my baby brother. I felt relieved and a sense of security momentarily came over me until my grandmother spoke. She stared at me, with her mouth opened in shock. She screamed, “Chanelle, you’re naked! Where are your clothes?” Momentarily, I had forgotten that I was naked, but the awful realization of my nakedness began to cover me like a garment. It was the evidence of my pain, humiliation, and fear. I stood there breathlessly as I gasped, painting for air, naked and ashamed, I told her my story. 

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10 E-books and One paperback

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Tour organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours