Saturday, June 13, 2015

New Novella by Canadian Fav Sharon McGregor


Fiona’s Knight of Dreams



Sharon McGregor
June 2015 Prism Book Group

Historical romantic novella

.99 

The good ladies of Timber are ready to find a wife for their new single minister. Charles has ideas of his own when he meets Fiona, the lovely accident-prone and outspoken part-time librarian. Fiona, on the other hand is holding out for a knight on a white charger to carry her away from her humdrum small town life. Fiona and Charles are thrown together as they begin to solve an old mystery which has turned up in a library book. Will Fiona's white knight ever show up to sweep her away? Will Charles ever run out of invitations for cream cakes and lemon slice? Fiona might just discover the sound of hoof-beats when she least expects it.

My Review:
Post World War II in Canada...everyone has been affected somehow, whether family member or friend, and the new young single pastor in Timber has his own experience as an army chaplain. Fiona thinks of herself as a klutz and futureless. Young, naive, unsure, she’s not sure what to think when the pastor comes calling. Using a little mystery in a library book as the beginning of their courtship, McGregor paints a charming story of regaining a life of purpose, and finding a sure path to the future in this novella.

I enjoy this author’s stories and recommend them for readers who like clean and sweet bite-size romances for a vicarious adventure in historical Canada.


Sharon McGregorSharon McGregor is a west coast transplant from the Canadian prairies. Her imagination and story weaving got its start when she was an only child living on a farm. She's moved on from cowgirl dreams to romance and mystery, but hasn't lost her love for horses.

When not writing or reading, she's busy with the two shops she shares with her daughter- an ice cream and candy store and a bath boutique.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Grab a summer read: On a Summer Night by Diane Dean White



Kate and Vanessa hadn't planned on the summer night that changed their lives. Could they have imagined the darkness that descended and how gripping fear could be? The beauty and sweeping moss, gentle palm trees and Florida breezes was wrapped with the memory of that awful evening. Time steals away from the 60s, Kate and her husband return to the winter home where bygone memories are stored. Nestled next to her husband's strong frame they drive toward town. Watching the egrets, the salty smell and beauty surrounding them, she wonders if she should tell him...Kate never had. Maybe it was time he knew. 

Available on Amazon, KDP for 3.99



Diane, what do you love about this book?
Thank you for having me, Lisa.  This book captures the experience two college bound girls have when visiting Kate’s uncle’s Florida home in 1966. The girls enjoy the sunshine, beach days in the quaint area, very rugged and nothing like the north. They also have an unforgettable experience which goes along with the era and time period. I loved weaving the sixties to present day, and dealing with a plot that revolves around their lives, and extending circumstances from the trip to Florida. Each incident comes full circle. I really enjoyed writing this book, as the Lord guided, giving me the ideas to share.

Introduce us to Florida and share what makes the setting special.
The setting is in a fictional town called Gladesville, much like the Everglades were in the 1960s. The prologue begins with Kate and her husband, recently retired going to her uncle’s home which he left to her, and she had not returned to after the traumatic night with her girl friend. Chapter one goes back to the 1960s, and several chapters later the story starts present day.

Share two things you learned about writing/publishing process/history/yourself while researching and producing this story.
My book was picked up by an approved ACFW publisher, and then during the editing process he announced it would cost me $260.00 for the ebook. I know how popular ebooks are to many readers, and I felt cheated, since he claimed to be a traditional publisher. They removed him from the approved list, but two other girls followed me, and were hurt too. I did finally buy back my rights after seeing the horrendous price of $19.95 that he listed it for, and wouldn’t lower it. I have it priced at $3.99 and it’s now on ebook only. That was quite a learning experience. After dealing with editors for years, this one took the zip out of me and makes self publishing more pleasing. :)

What do you hope readers will tell others about the book?
It’s a story that shares human mistakes, harboring hurt, a loss, God’s love and redemption. I do pray others who read it will see the way the Lord works out the details of our lives when we turn to Him, and how beautiful knowing that He is in control can be. It’s a book of inspirational romance and suspense. Although fictional there’s a lot of reality about the problems that took place during this time period in southern Florida.


What are you working on now?
I’m final proofing a book called This Side of Heaven, which probably is my most suspenseful romance yet. I loved writing this. It takes place in present day rural Georgia. And two of my favorite characters from On a Summer Night are my lead characters in this one. We lived in a small Georgia town for a few years in the late 70s and I think I’m finally able to capture some of those feelings. The book deals with a loving newly married couple, a visiting aunt that left an old flame and moved away, the reality of teens making and selling drugs, a murder and losses. Throughout the story the main characters will touch your hearts and you’ll identify their love, their losses and God’s perfect timing in a world that is indeed NOT perfect until we get to Heaven.


About the author:
Diane started her writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until her husband’s work took them to a small southern town she wrote her first column, “Yankee Viewpoint's” for a local newspaper. Returning to her home-state of Michigan, she did stringer work over the years, ancestral history, and donor appeal letters for non-profit organizations. Diane self-published two books in the early 2000s, and she became a columnist for a weekly magazine, for four years. She is the author of over three-hundred short stories. Her book On a Summer Night was released in October and her ebook, Stories from a Porch Swing in April. Texting Mr. Right was released September 1 of this year, and re released in April 2015, and her Christmas novella, Winter Wonderland was available at the end of October. She and hubby, Stephen, have been married for forty-two years, and they are the parents of three grown children and three grand-gals. Look for This Side of Heaven in late summer 2015.


Come browse my website:

Join me on Facebook:

Diane's Author Page:

Friday, May 29, 2015

Book Review Hidden Storms by Nancy Shew Bolton


Hidden Storms by Nancy Shew Bolton


May, 2015
Prism Book Group
  • ISBN-13: 978-1511994897
e-book: $3.99
Print: $11.99

Buy on Amazon
Barnes and Noble


From the Publisher:
Lilli Clarke. They call her the marked girl. Beginning at her left shoulder, a pink birthmark tracks up her throat just past her jaw, like a finger pointing to her brain. Abandoned by her family, she is ostracized by everyone but her grandmother and cousin Bert, Six years of dust storms have left sixteen-year-old Lilli close to death with dust pneumonia. Now she must leave the only real home she’s ever had, or risk death when the next storm hits. 

Lilli is sent to her aunt and cousins in Florida to recover. The possibility of a different life presents itself, yet circumstances snatch it away, and she flees to New York City. Unable to find a safe place, she yearns for the storm ravaged home she left. All doors appear to be closed to her, and she resigns herself to the lonely fate of a marked girl. Once again, she is close to death, this time with no one to help her. Will this storm prevail, or is there a new answer for Lilli? 


My Review:

The obvious storms of the Dust Bowl era in US history, the burden of a dysfunctional family and emotionally frail mother, topped by a prominent, distracting mark, Lilli has always believed the worst of herself and coincidental events, despite a loving grandmother and neighbor. The depths of superstition and despair brings out the depravity of people, and Bolton shows us no mercy. Lilli winds her way through too many unfortunate events starting with family members who take her in and try to help, and ending broken and living on the streets of a merciless New York City. Lilli is broken before realizing she's always been loved, most of all by the Father who never leaves us, and a neighbor who never gives up. 

Lovely tale. Deeply emotional. Satisfying.