Meet Linda Carroll-Bradd, author of The Ring That Binds

The Ring That Binds

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

 

 

Linda, what do you love about this book?

I love the small personal feel to this story that contains fewer than ten characters.

 

Introduce us to the story and one character—any one.

In The Ring That Binds (a western historical novella that spent 7 weeks on Kindle Top 100 western romance list), a widowed seamstress Celina strives to earn enough money to provide a happy Christmas for her 4-year old daughter, Keena. Co-owner of the general store, Mikel Toussaint has his eye on Celina and wishes for the chance to make her life a bit easier. Mikel is an emigrant from the Basque region of Spain. He and his older brother, Danel, arrived about four years earlier than the story’s 1884 setting. Mikel is effusive, generous and not shy about the fact his English is sometimes rough. He loves little Keena and slips her treats whenever he can. The gesture he makes at the conclusion of the story brought tears to my eyes as I wrote it.

 

What one new thing did you learn during the research of this book?

I learned that Aspen, Colorado experienced a big silver mining strike in the early 1880s that boomed when the railroad reached the town in 1887 and provided the means to transport large quantities of the ore.

 

What’s your best marketing tip?

Join blog hops with themes or genres that match your book. Through the association with other authors writing similar stories, you reach a wider audience of potential readers.

BUY LINKS

Prism Book Group 

Amazon 

B&N 

Smashwords

 

About the author: 

As a child, Linda was often found lying on her bed reading about characters having exciting adventures in places far away. Upon reaching a landmark birthday, she decided to write one of those romances she loved so much. Easier said than done. Perseverance paid out and twelve years later, she received her first call from a publisher and a confession story was published. Now Linda writes heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor, and many have a tie to her previous home of Texas.

Linda currently lives in the southern California mountains with her husband of 34 years and their two spoiled dogs, Shiba Inu Keiko and terrier mix Phoenix.

For more information, find Linda here:

www.lindacarroll-bradd.com

http://blog.lindacarroll-bradd.com

 

May: Women’s Healthcare Month

A Stealth Attack

By Joanie Shawhan

 

Do you know the symptoms of one of the most insidious diseases assaulting women today? I thought I did. But despite my background in oncology nursing, I had missed a cardinal symptom of ovarian cancer—nausea. Over the course of several months, I had experienced a few episodes of queasiness, mistaking it for the flu. Fleeting thoughts of ovarian cancer even crept into my mind, but I brushed them away. This nausea is just too infrequent, I rationalized. 

During the blackness of night, a late warning sign emerged. I rolled over on a firm grapefruit-sized mass in my abdomen. When I pressed on the growth, stabbing pain clutched my abdomen and sucked my breath away. I hope this is just a uterine fibroid.  

My doctor agreed that a fibroid was the most probable diagnosis, but we needed to schedule an ultrasound. In the darkened room, the ultrasound technician shot me a glance. I knew something was wrong. After the scan, I tucked the films under my arm and strode into my doctor’s office. She examined the images, then spun around and faced me. Her verdict? Ovarian cancer—the size of a cantaloupe. While she rattled off the tests and surgery that still needed to be scheduled, I sat numb. Words spilled over her lips, but the syllables sounded foreign and distant. Is she talking to me?  

After surgery, I endured the ravages of chemotherapy: baldness, crushing chest pain, nausea and brain fog. Fatigue siphoned my strength and left me winded.  

My sister said, “We have to make this fun,” and she sent me my first installment of hats. Fun? Hats—yes. Chemotherapy—no.  

But after a while, my hair grew back with perfect summer highlights. A spring returned to my step and the fog lifted off my mind. The anxiety that gripped my chest prior to each follow-up appointment has dissolved into what I now dub “a social visit.” 

I won my race against cancer.

 

May is Women’s Health Care month:   Do you know the symptoms of ovarian cancer?   v  Pain or pressure in the pelvis, abdomen or lower back v  Abdominal bloating or a sense of fullness v  Nausea, constipation, diarrhea, gas or indigestion v  Urinary frequency or urgency v  Fatigue   If you experience any of these symptoms, consult your doctor.   The life you save? Your own.

 

         

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joanie Shawhan Bio:

Joanie Shawhan is an ovarian cancer survivor and a registered nurse. She writes encouraging articles for women undergoing chemotherapy and is available for speaking engagements. Publishing credits include Coping with Cancer magazine and God Still Meets Needs. When not writing or attending book club, Joanie enjoys designing jewelry, knitting, and playing guitar. Website: http://joanieshawhan.com/.

Book Review: When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad

When Love Calls

 

By Lorna Seilstad

Historical romance

Revel, a division of Baker Publishing Group

May 2013

ISBN 9780800721817

Paper: 14.99

 

From the publisher:

Hannah Gregory is a good many things, but that list does not include following rules. So when she must apply for a job as a switchboard operator to support her two sisters, she knows it won’t be easy. Hello Girls must conduct themselves according to strict and often bewildering rules, which include absolutely no consorting with gentlemen while in training. 

With historical details that bring to life the exciting first decade of the twentieth century, Lorna Seilstad weaves a charming tale of companionship that blossoms into sweet romance.

 

My review:

I enjoy Lorna’s stories. So far they’ve made the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth-century era come alive in America’s heartland—Iowa.

 

In this new book, When Love Calls, from the Gregory Sisters series, Seilstad explores the world of switchboard operators on the telephone exchange. I was especially interested since I had written about a similar character. Readers who enjoy history, particularly the plight of working women in the early twentieth century, will find much to appreciate about the depth of detail the author uses to effectively create dilemma for her wonderfully multi-layered characters.

 

Romances don’t leave much to the imagination, but the journey to the church aisle is often entertaining. From the moment attorney Lincoln Cole shows up at the recently orphaned Gregory girls’ farm to foreclose, the reader knows Hannah is in for a fight for her heart. Having given up law school in order to find work, independent and feisty Hannah sees an advertisement for switchboard operators, or Hello Girls, for the Iowa exchange, and applies for a highly-coveted training position. Not even the dire warning that less than half of them will graduate and only a handful will succeed on the switchboard, Hannah excels in the course, making friends and enemies along the way. Too practical to realize a farm neighbor has been harboring a secret crush, Hannah worries but ignores his warnings about the unrest caused by local union activities for laborer’s rights.

 

Lincoln Cole, son of a senator, is pushed toward his late father’s political aspirations. Those plans include associating with the right type of people and marriage with the right kind of society woman, not a common switchboard operator who associates with criminals. Lincoln realizes there is more to life when he meets Hannah and her younger sisters, a teenage potential hoyden, and the youngest, a dreamy schoolgirl who’s willing to help him plot Hannah’s romantic downfall.

 

When Love Calls hit nice highs and lows for all characters during this time of change, of unrest and uncertainty. Told from multiple viewpoints, the story shows what family devotion, faith, love, and respect should look like.

 

Available May 2013 at your favorite book seller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Meet Mary Ball, author of Escape to Big Fork Lake

Meet some of my new friends from the Prism Book Group, starting with Mary Ball, author of Escape to Big Fork Lake

Mary, what do you love about Escape to Big Fork Lake?

I love that Samantha Blacker got a new start in life. How many of us have often fantasized about starting fresh somewhere else 

 

Introduce us to the story and one character—any one:

 

Bad luck seems to follow Sam Blacker. She loses her job and faces daily struggles keeping her drunken neighbor away from her. When an unexpected inheritance gives her a chance for a new beginning, Sam, a city girl at heart, is hesitant. However, after a brutal attack she has no choice. Making a decision that will forever change her life she flees to the small fishing town of Big Fork Lake, Alabama and soon finds herself in the arms of Noah Frye. As Sam adjusts to small town life trouble lurks in the shadows, waiting and watching. Inescapable, Sam’s bad luck returns when she stumbles upon a murder and becomes the only suspect.

 

Exciting, Mary. What one new thing did you learn during the research of this book?

I discovered the beauty that lies in Alabama. (one city I haven't visited yet)

 

What’s your best marketing tip?

Stay away from blue eye shadow or use it sparely.

 

Me: Big grin! Thanks, Mary.

 

Will an inheritance bring new happiness or a trap for murder?

https://www.amazon.com/author/marylball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y42b7wBUdHI

 

Mary L. Ball lives in the North Carolina. She writes novels and Christian articles. Her passion is weaving together Inspirational Romantic Suspense and Mysteries, which show the imperfect lives of everyday characters as they face hardships while discovering the real meaning of grace. When she’s not writing she enjoys family, the outdoors and fishing. You can visit me at http://MaryLouwrites.weebly.com Stop by and “like” her FB page.

May 6-10: National Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6-10: National Teacher Appreciation Week

  

Just Icing on the Cake

By Hally Franz

 

Teachers deserve our appreciation. There are many ways my daughter’s school commemorates National Teacher Appreciation Week, held this year May 6-10. Parents serve themed, private, and, most importantly, long lunches to teachers and staff, while monitoring classrooms during these respites. Students bring in flowers to build a vibrant and bountiful spring bouquet. Kids supply treat bags with candy bars and microwave popcorn to satisfy afternoon blood sugar dips. You can brainstorm your own ways to show teachers appreciation this year.

It’s wonderful to close the school year with a celebration of teachers and their hard work, but perhaps we should view this week of pampering as icing on the cake, a final thank you that follows a year of appreciation and support for those educating our children each day. Here are some ways parents can show we value teachers throughout the school year.

 

Partner with Your Child’s Teacher

Fifty years ago, parents just naturally supported teachers. Children understood that parents held the same expectations for classroom behavior and academic performance as the teacher; there was solidarity between the two. When parents provide that support, it means a lot to a teacher, and it benefits kids. Not only do children clearly know what’s acceptable, they learn to respect authority figures.

 

Take the Initiative on Communication      

We may have unrealistic expectations regarding communications from teachers. Fortunately, technology in many school districts makes it convenient to check grades, attendance and lunch accounts as often as we like. However, it may be more difficult to get that personal conversation or note from a teacher, especially at the secondary level. With the job of teachers becoming more difficult each year due to larger class sizes and/or increased state mandates, we should take time to address concerns or check-in on things ourselves. That lets the teacher know we’re attentive and, at the same time, we recognize the demands teachers face.  

Words of Thanks Throughout the Year

When school programs or events occur during the year, teachers appreciate not only our attendance, but also our thanks for the extra time they’ve spent to spotlight our children. A bit of praise or a heartfelt compliment means a lot to these hard-working professionals.

Final Assessment

Most teachers are genuinely devoted to their students and the goal of educating. If we find that to be so, let’s give them our appreciation all year long, knowing that this special week in May will be yet another rewarding moment in a year of a job well done!

About the Author:

Hally Franz writes about her observations on family, faith, parenting and people. A former high school guidance counselor turned stay-at-home mom, Hally is a 4-H leader, and she serves as her church secretary and a Bible class teacher. She enjoys traveling with family and monthly book club meetings with pals.

April 7 is No Housework Day by Robin Steinweg

Since I believe any day can be a no housework day, I offer this article.

April 7 is International No Housework Day

 

 

No Housework Day

By Robin Steinweg

 

I used to be queen of procrastination. I abdicated that throne.

 

Now you can call me Sisyphus.

 

That’s right—the mythological Greek who was forced to roll a boulder uphill all day, then watch it plunge back down at night—only to start again the next morning. And the next, and the next.

 

Anyone whose responsibilities include the daily round of family meals, dishes, laundry or floor-care could relate to Sisyphus. A recurring nightmare might go like this:  a mountainous meatball lumbers down the stairs toward my kitchen, spraying a trail of spaghetti sauce, grated Parmesan and a few unruly noodles. It gains momentum. It lurches straight toward my freshly shined sink.

 

“Nooooooo!”

 

The meatball takes a deliberate turn. I hear its sneering tone as it threatens me, “I’ll roll over you. You’ll be flat as a sheet.” The meatball leans over me menacingly, looking strangely like my husband—

 

“Roll over, Honey. You’re dreaming. And you’ve got the flat sheet all to yourself.”

 

The average American woman scrubs her house for at least seventeen hours a week^*. That means if she lives to be eighty years old, she’ll have spent over eight years of her life cleaning house!

 

I’d like to slice a sliver out of that perennial pie. April 7 is International No Housework Day.

 

Put down your mop

Hang the broom

Watch dust bunnies gather in every room

Don’t let your youth just fade away

Take time to celebrate No Housework Day

 

Put off till later what needs to be done

Cooking and housework aren’t much fun

Take the day off. Augment your sorrow—

Every mess, every job will be there tomorrow

 

Dishes will litter each horizontal space

Oatmeal will harden at an alarming pace

Slog through the clutter? You’ll be confounded

As tasks pile up with interest compounded

 

Hm. That didn’t go quite like I thought it would.

 

It could be that the statistics of the average woman’s housecleaning would change in the wrong direction. I’ve heard that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If I take a day off, how many extra hours—days—months—will it take me to catch up?  

 

Maybe I’ll be queen of procrastination one more time—

 

—and put off celebrating No Housework Day!

 

^*According to a 2008 study by the University of Michigan.  

 

 

Robin Steinweg

Robin Steinweg finds life sweet in the middle of writing, teaching music students, caring for aging parents, adjusting to having adult children, and nudging life and home to a state of order. She, her husband and sons live near Madison, Wisconsin.

Lynn Dove's Love the Wounded book blast! Enter a Drawing!

Title: Love the Wounded By Lynn Dove

About the Book:

Love the Wounded by Lynn Dove is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each of them question why God allows “bad things to happen to good people.” Leigh does not know who to choose…her heart tells her she will always love Jake, but he has changed so much since the death of their friend, Ronnie, and with his mother going through breast cancer, he has totally closed himself off from her emotionally. Now she is dating Dylan and try as she might to accept him for who he is, she can’t stop thinking about Jake!

Dylan has never gotten over the loss of his father and little sister, killed by a drunk driver when he was just a young boy. After a horrific accident that has put both Tim and his little brother, Evan in the hospital, everyone knows that not only is he being bullied at school; he cuts himself to cope with it all. But meeting Cassidy has given him the courage to stand up to the bullies and at the same time give her what she so desperately needs…a life-giving bone marrow transplant.

Jake’s mother keeps telling him that “God works all things out for good” but with all the things going on in his life and with his friends, he’s just not sure anymore. It is only after Mike is paralyzed in a car accident that Jake was partially responsible for that all the families and friends will be brought back together, not by coincidence, but by God’s design and then Jake will finally believe that God truly does Love the Wounded.

“A life of working with youth has inspired Lynn Dove, a Cochrane mother, to turn her experiences into a book trilogy…(the Wounded Trilogy) series that parallels the struggles of students…(and) covers the angst of some of the real serious issues that teenagers face today, particularly with bullying and gossip. ” -Rocky View Weekly-

Kindle | Paperback

Lynn Dove Lynn Dove calls herself a Christ-follower, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, a teacher and a writer (in that order). She is the author of award winning books: The Wounded Trilogy. Her blog, Journey Thoughts, won a Canadian Christian Writing Award - 2011. She has also had essays published in "Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith" and "Chicken Soup for the Soul - Parenthood" (March 2013).

Readers may connect with Lynn on Facebook, Twitter and on her blogs: Journey Thoughts and Word Salt or on her website: www.shootthewounded.org

Follow Lynn Dove Website | Facebook | Twitter

Enter to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!

Enter below to enter a $50 amazon gift card, sponsored by author Lynn Dove! a Rafflecopter giveaway This book blast is hosted by Crossreads. We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads book blast bloggers!