Waltzing Matilda Christmas Read from Clare Revell

Will anyone go a’waltzing this Christmas or is the ball over before it’s begun?

About the Book:

As head of the festival committee it falls to Tilly Sullivan to organise the annual Christmas Ball each year. However when the venue burns to the ground with only four days to go, she’s left with a huge task, and it looks like an impossible one as everywhere else is booked solid.

Leo Keely has the only place big enough to host the party, however he has a huge issue with Christmas and Australian women whose surname is Sullivan.

A winter storm, fallen trees, and a corrupt mayor all conspire to make certain that this the year the ball doesn’t happen. However Tilly isn’t a woman to give up. And if it means convincing Leo that his is the only venue left in town, that’s what she’ll do.

$3.99 Ebook

White Rose Publishing

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My review:

Revell’s latest addition to her wide repertoire is an utterly charming quick holiday read with all the right Bridget Jones goofiness romance readers love, minus the naughtiness.

When the acting mayor of a small English town does a suspicious reverse on the beloved traditional community Christmas ball, aided by the torching of the venue, it’s up to event organizer Tilly Sullivan to sort things out. Four days until Christmas seems like enough time to switch venues but for one problem after another. At her last possible chance venue for the dance, an old manor house with a crotchety owner in residence, a storm takes out the power, her car, and she later learns, her apartment.

What could get worse?

Falling for the crotchety owner, of course! Twisted family history, secrets, a wise aunt and giddy youthful sister add to the fun of this story. Tilly, as you can probably guess, is an Australian transplant. Reminding Leo Keely, the bitter manor owner, that bah-humbugging Christmas is passé, Tilly, Leo’s little sister Arabella who has her own reasons to demand the ball must go on, and Aunt Mildred stir up Christmas cheer. In the meantime, Tilly, who’s also a city council member, helps to expose as many secrets as there are days until Christmas, and is unsurprisingly “rewarded” for her efforts. Leo, who’s been biding his time as a Luddite, wakes up more than his latent Christmas spirit.

It’s cheers and cheesy holiday sweaters, or jumpers—what a hoot—all around as the community faith is restored in time for a memorable Christmas. I loved this lighthearted romantic tale.

Enjoy an excerpt:

The phone continued to ring. Curiosity got the better of her. Without opening her eyes, she reached out and grabbed the handset. “Matilda Sullivan speaking.”

“Have you seen the news?” Millicent Awning, her best friend and her personal assistant, spoke quickly and without preamble.

Tilly sighed. “No.” She wasn’t going to ask why, she could guess. “Why are you phoning me from the room next door?”

“I’m not. I’m currently stuck in traffic on the bypass. The Birches is on fire although you probably already know that. It’s all over the radio and probably the TV as well.”

“What channel?” Did she really want to see how bad the fire was? Yes. She had to know. She rose and crossed the room to the TV and reached for the remote control.

“Try the BBC first. But I imagine it’d be on all of them. It’s one massive fire. Twenty pumps in attendance at the last count.”

Tilly flicked on the TV and turned to the news channel. Shock ricocheted through her as she stood transfixed in front of the box. Flames surrounded the historic eighteenth century building, leaping from every window, licking up all four sides. An aerial view showed the roof had collapsed. It was worse than the initial phone call had made it seem.

A tiny squeak escaped and Tilly dropped to her knees on the cold office floor. What was she going to do now? A small fire they could have worked around, but this…?

“What are you going to do?” Millicent’s voice dragged Tilly’s attention back to the phone. The same thought she’d had, the same question she was now going to be asked a million times from several different people. Over and over again.

“I have no idea. I’ll see you when you get in.” Tilly ended the call and dropped the handset to the floor beside her. “Maybe.” She blinked hard and rubbed her hands over her face.

All her hard work gone. She’d spent the better part of the last week helping the owners of the gorgeous hotel decorate the ballroom and entrance hall to match her theme. Each year was different. This year, they told her she had excelled herself. Her best yet. The ball had sold out weeks ago. Now she’d have to refund all three hundred tickets. Not to mention compensate the caterers, musicians…

She broke off the thought. Guilt ran rampant. What if someone was hurt? Surely that should have been her first concern, not the fact her planning was now literally in ashes.

She groaned again. Rolling off her knees, she lay face down and gave into the urge to scream and hit the floor. It didn’t help. She sucked in a deep breath. She could almost hear her mother’s voice. “Pride cometh before a fall, Matilda, and a haughty spirit before destruction.”

She closed her eyes. Was it a sin to take a modicum of pride in her work? It’s not like she was doing it for herself? OK, she’d get as much fun out of the ball as the next person, but she was doing it for the town. It wasn’t Christmas without the ball. And now for the first time in the years she’d been doing the job, there would be no ball.

About the Author:

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. They have recently been joined by Hedwig and Sirius the guinea pigs. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/
https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/
https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/

Wonderful memoir from Amy Laundrie

Laugh, Cry, Reflect: Stories From a Joyful Heart

Amy Laundrie

HenschelHAUS publishing

June 1, 2018

200 pages

$9.98 Ebook

$14.95 Print

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About the Book

Laugh, Cry, Reflect: Stories From a Joyful Heart is a collection of short yet powerful personal stories. Some will make you laugh—like when you find out why the author’s 12-year-old daughter requested a home pregnancy test. Other stories may tug at your heartstrings—like when you learn what item was placed on a beloved relative’s casket. Many of these poignant essays will prompt you to reflect on moments from your own life. All are offerings of hope, wonder, and joy.

My Review

When an author begins her memoir with an apology to a police officer, you know you’re in for a treat.

Written mostly as essays and pieces for her local central Wisconsin newspapers, Laundrie’s reflections from a lifetime of being married, of teaching public elementary school, and being a parent emphasize finding moments of joy and memories to treasure and pass on.

These poignant and humorous vignettes range from finally accepting one’s attributes to exploring how to grow wings with her grandchildren. Laundrie offers an outlook on how to interpret the dizzying lifestyle changes across generations as well as shares precious lessons in lists garnered from her patience with fourth-graders, from raising ducks, and from sitting quietly for fifteen minutes outside on a beautiful morning.

“Who cares about matching outfits,” she says of marriage, “when you find a mate who knows where your stressed muscles need massaging, or just the right words to lift your spirits.”

Who else but an intensely curious soul would wonder if her dust rag held asteroid or mummy particles? And then shake them loose outside to resettle elsewhere? Or why you should bite the tail of the minnow?

These simple but powerful imaginative, heart-warming bits of life are warmly accompanied by photographs illustrating many of the pieces. When is the right time to write a memoir? When you have something to say. Laundrie’s memoir will help you seek and find the joy in those important, quiet moments between breaths.

If you possess even a single sentimental skin cell, you’ll want a tissue box handy as you read this memoir. Better yet, buy one for a friend.

About the Author

A retired fourth-grade teacher, Amy Laundrie began writing personal essays because of a desire share some of her favorite stories and connect with others. Readers have called her stories poignant, humorous, and heartfelt testimonials to a woman's life. They have universal truths and emotions that speak to a wide reading audience. She considers herself a goal setter and is proud of finishing a half-marathon, surviving two wilderness backpack trips, and earning a black belt. She enjoys playing tennis, cross country skiing, hiking with her dog Josie, and raising pet ducks.
to 

Amy continues to write a weekly column for her hometown newspaper, The Dells Events, and work on various children's books.

Jody Day and Joy Express

Book 3 in the Express series

The Washout Express, 2013

The Wedding Express, 2016

Joy Express
Pelican Ventures LLC, Harbourlight Books
November 8, 2019
Christmas inspirational fiction

$4.99

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About the Book:

Nearly a year has passed since Scott and Bailey’s Christmas wedding. Now they are expecting joy in the form of twins! The day arrives for the opening of Barkley House, a missionary retreat provided by Bailey’s inheritance, but an unspeakable evil descends upon Bailey as she awaits...

Shocking revelations accompany Bailey's ordeal. Will she ever find joy again?

My Review:

The third book in the series set in Texas, in this story we are re-introduced to Bailey and Scott West, and literally come in the middle of frightening action and dreadful secrets.        

Told in alternating first person, Bailey and Scott, who married a year earlier, are expecting their first baby…babies…like, any second. Complicating the matter is Grandpa Brown, on the lam with embezzlement charges on his head and serious anger issues, has a strange way of “just trying to talk” to his oldest daughter for the first time in twenty years. There’s much more to his story, and Bailey comes to learn just how dark the world can be, but also how big her heart can grow. With Bailey at such a desperate place, Scott fears not only for her, but worries over his own abilities to be the husband of strength and faith she can rely on.

As we come in the middle of a traumatic event, references to friends and family, an inheritance, settlement, and a dedication of a missionary retreat are somewhat vague in the early going. I recommend reading the stories in order to get the full picture.

Joy Express is a sweet, detailed episode in the Wests’ lives as Bailey faces peril and then she and Scott learn about parenthood and reliance. Set during Bailey’s favorite time of year, Christmas, Joy Express is a warm Texas holiday treat of a read.

About the Author: I am an author who looks at life through love-colored glasses. My passion is inspiring people to live a life that embraces who they are in Jesus Christ. I write poems, articles, devotionals, and novels from West Texas, where I am President of the Fort Stockton area writers group called Critique Café. I am a member of ACFW and Faithwriters.com. My debut novel, Washout Express, and the sequel, Wedding Express are published by Harbourlight Books/The Pelican Group. My poems and articles have appeared in Mature Living, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Christiandevotions.us, and EveryDayPoets.com. I'm published with Pelican Ventures under the imprints of Harbourlight and White Rose.

Suspense in Colorado High Deceit by CE Waterman

High Deceit

CE Waterman

Harbourlight, a division of Pelican Book Group

September, 2019

273 pp

$5.99 Ebook

$15.99 Print

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About the Book

Robin Clayton gets the worst phone call of her life. Mark, her police detective husband, has been shot in the line of duty. Or was it? A young woman is dead, and Mark lies in a coma. While he remains helpless and unaware, Internal Affairs builds a case that threatens to tear Mark and Robin apart. Mark's gun is missing, and a briefcase full of money has appeared in Robin's house.

Has Mark been leaking information to his girlfriend as IA claims? Did he kill the woman?

When someone sneaks into the hospital with one purpose--to kill Mark--Robin and her friends fight to find answers before it's too late.

My Review

A drug cartel hidden in plain sight. When a small town Colorado detective gets a tip about a potential drug bust from an amateur sleuth with a passion for saving kids, everything goes wrong. Someone in the police department is lying and it’s up to the detective’s wife and friend to get to the bottom of mayhem in Pinion Creek.

High Deceit is the story of a fight against illegal drug trafficking, suspicion out of control, and ethics. There are quite a few threads running through the story, which is told in multiple viewpoints. High Deceit is part of a series, so all of the threads don’t wrap up neatly in this book.

I found it interesting and enjoyed working with Robin, the detective’s wife, as she and her friend tracked down suspects and went through their own angst about who to believe. Those who enjoy suspenseful, inspirational mystery series with large casts will enjoy these tales.

About the Author

C.E. Waterman is an avid mystery reader. Starting with The Boxcar Children, followed by Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, on to Agatha Christie and then Mary Higgins Clark, she has always loved a good mystery. She lives in Colorado with her husband.

Christmas romance from LoRee Perry

Christmas ’Couragement

LoRee Perry

Audio version

December, 2016

Pelican Ventures Holiday Extravaganza ebook

$3.99

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About the Book

Liam once approved of helping others, but not anymore. He lost his mother due to a crazed street person, and he's hardened his heart. Now a successful photographer, he's returned to set up shop in his hometown--directly across the courtyard from his sister's best friend. Zoe runs an outreach center and encourages the homeless and needy, especially at Christmas. Nursing a soft spot for Liam that started as a girlhood crush, she sets out to help him by creating her unique brand of encouragement cards. Her hope is to reignite the fire and love for Christmas and God, which Liam once had. The cards and ornaments countdown to Christmas, but what if Liam doesn't want to be one of Zoe's projects? What happens when her crush grows into something more? What if they both receive more than expected?

My Review

Opening in the past, youngster best pals Zoe and Meredith put their youthful faith in action by crafting beautiful Christmas cards for the downtrodden of their hometown, Lincoln, Nebraska. The girls have their own traditions and secret codes, including a special word, ’couragement, a two-fold term meant to instill courage as well as inspire encouragement. Fast forward to adulthood. The pals have lost touch. Zoe has grown up, but harbors a dark secret she covers with an unshakeable faith and service, still to those in need in her home community.

When Zoe spies her kid crush, Liam, Meredith’s big brother, returned to Lincoln, she soon learns he has as much need of her special brand of ‘couragement as those who don’t hide their neediness.

Liam sees Zoe for the first time as an adult and realizes she holds the key to his broken spirit, but he strongly disapproves of her open door service to the down and out and needy. Zoe does all she can to restore his faith, but can she get past his walls? Sharing the events of her life, the good and the dark, since he and Meredith left Lincoln, is one way to reach him, and so are the Christmas cards and ornaments she gives him that explore the gospel through holiday traditions.

As Liam’s despair lifts, he still struggles with Zoe’s work until one day he’s given cause to change his heart.

I listened to the audio recording of this story. The male narrator used a softened voice when reading the female characters which was a distraction. Just reading naturally would have been fine. Throughout this book, the author reveals the stories behind our US Christmas traditions. Her holiday tale is highly inspirational with many prayers and Scriptures. Zoe is a wonderful role model, if somewhat naïve, and puts her faith in action. Recommended for those who love very sweet, religious romances.

About the Author

Christian author LoRee Peery wrote fiction for many years before her first novella was published in 2010. She smiles as she remembers that initial contract arrived on her birthday. She thrills at the writing process when ideas, words, or character voices resonate in her mind. Jotting notes in the middle of the night or trailing toothpaste across the floor on her way to pen and paper, get her pulse pumping. She often notices character quirks and conversation while she’s out and about, and is invigorated when she spends time outside.

LoRee is drawn to reunion stories for two reasons. She believes God is a God of second chances, and the past often needs to be dealt with before anyone can move on in life. Moselle’s Insurance is her first publication, where Frivolities is a crafty, kooky shop in a small fictitious Nebraska town. Her Frivolities Series and other publications are available from Pelican Book Group.

Grace stories and a novella from Dan Burns

Grace by Dan Burns

Chicago Arts Press, October 2019

195 pp

Available in 4 formats:

Ebook, paperback, harcover, and audible

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About the Book

“We’re all flawed and confronted daily with sometimes slight but often apparently insurmountable challenges. But if we dig deep, what we unearth from the depths of our souls, if we’re lucky, can allow us to overcome and carry on to live another day with an untortured heart.”

This is the sentiment Dan Burns explores in his exciting new collection. Five stories and a novella highlight Burns’s range as a storyteller and his ability to see life and all its emotions through a unique lens. This collection features his most personal and insightful stories to date.

Redemption—In a quiet Montana town, an aging writer and his nephew are forced to weave the past and the present into a future of more significant meaning.

The Plight of Maximus Octavius Reinhold—In the new story featuring private investigator Sebastian Drake (from the novel A Fine Line), the local patrons of a rural Wisconsin town test Drake’s resolve as he stares into the barrel of a .44 Magnum revolver.

Hardwired—A dying man contemplates the end of his life while hoping to pass along a secret legacy to his family.

Adrift at Sea—To fuel his creative desires, a seabound journeyman leaves behind the anchor of distraction in pursuit of a natural world.

The Final Countdown—In the year 2110, the Earth struggles to survive, ravaged by overpopulation and greed. Food is scarce, and the youth-run government has no choice but to implement a plan devised decades earlier: deport the elderly population to a remote outpost—on the moon.

Grace: A Novella—A story of impaired love, betrayal, and redemption as realized by characters who experience life through the perception of liquor-bottle glasses. Life is never what it seems. Everyone has secrets. The question is whether the skeleton key of alcohol will open the closet door and let out the hidden truths.

The collection includes notes about the thoughts, ideas, and inspiration behind the stories, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes perspective of the author’s writing process, along with twenty-six illustrations by artist Kelly Maryanski.

Enjoy the trailer

My review

Burns’s new collection of stories is a pleasant and poignant read, with a delightful flow from peaceful and magnanimity to evocative to noir. My favorite story, Final Countdown, channels our mutually admired author, Ray Bradbury. Simple pencil drawings add an extra level of revelation in each story.

Beginning with a past meets present tale set on a Montana ranch, family relationships tying youth and age, love and lust, is the thread woven throughout the book.

Burns proves his versatility with genre, moving adeptly along western, gunslinger, detective noir, old man and the sea-type plots, futuristic, and his specialty of stage writing with ease. The first story features a tenderness of two-way grace when a lonely old man gets a surprise visit from his nephew in need. By the time we get to the last short story before we reach the centerpiece, the novella of the title, we have traversed through time and geography to a future glut of septuagenarians. In Grace: a novella, the reader is drawn back around to reconsider family through the eyes of a bitter wife and her sometimes humorous attempt to deal with her perceived problems.

The cover is an intriguing tumble of letters over the ghostly image of hands and face reaching out, or perhaps breaking through. Readers who enjoy shorter slices of story dealing with the challenges of family secrets, family love and war, and family adrift, will enjoy this book.

 

About the Author

Dan Burns's new story collection is Grace: Stories and a Novella. He is the author of the novels A Fine Line and Recalled to Life and the short story collection No Turning Back: Stories. He is also an award-winning writer of stories for the screen and stage. He resides with his family in Illinois and enjoys spending time in Wisconsin and Montana, where he stalks endless rivers in pursuit of trout and a career as a fly fisherman. www.danburnsauthor.com

New Memoir from Nancy Bolton

Adventures in Poverty

Nancy Shew Bolton

               

Memoir, 171 pp.

c. July 2019

Celebrate Lit publishing

$4.99 ebook

$12.99 print

Buy on Amazon

About the Book

Faced with eviction, living on union strike pay, our time for making a decision was running out. Where could we go to live with our five small sons? We had few options. The scariest possibility was also the one that fit best with our tiny income. But could we really make such a difficult move? To transport our family, and our mobile home onto a five-acre parcel of rural, undeveloped land? No electricity, no running water, with winter fast approaching. It sounded a little crazy.......

My Review

An eye opening look at living simply with purpose and joy.

Bolton’s story of raising her family during a difficult period of time in the 1980s unencumbered by modern conveniences is uplifting and truthful. Told with a spirit of making do and a deliberate choice not to complain (much), Bolton shares what it was like for a few years living on public and private assistance while her husband reoriented his career. It honestly sounded like a terrific leap of faith that worked out better in the end, though I think Bolton ended her tale without letting us know that for certain.

The best parts of her adventure included her willingness to do whatever it took, raising chickens, milking goats, using a kerosene heater, planting a garden, and cooking on a camp stove, besides hauling water, and the worst parts were being treated as poor by the public. Poverty means barely or not having enough, but Bolton proved that they truly did have enough, although maybe not by modern standards. I would have had a much more difficult time accepting the image of being poverty-stricken, and realize that my attitude on both sides of the equation need to adjust.

I’m glad she shared this bit of her life in a fascinating read. She didn’t mince problems but told simply how she dealt with issues from neighbors to tilted tables to the loss of the chickens to hunting to freezing cold to charity with grace. Good read. Recommended.

About the Author

Nancy Shew Bolton loves to write character-driven stories about relationships of love and faith, since she is fascinated by the complexities within this emotional terrain. She thanks God and His Son for her life, her loved ones and the spark of creativity inside every person. She believes each person is a unique creation, with their own special voice and place in this amazing universe. God’s handiwork amazes her every day!