Jo Huddleston of Guideposts shares her sequel BEYOND THE PAST

Meet Jo Huddleston

Jo Huddleston's debut novel, That Summer, released in December 2012 as the first  book in The Caney Creek Series. Book 2, Beyond the Past, released April 2013. Book 3 is scheduled to release September 2013. Jo holds a B.A. degree with honors from Lincoln Memorial University (TN), and is a member of their Literary Hall of Fame. She earned a M.Ed. degree from Mississippi State University. Professional membership: American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

Jo’s career has spanned a variety of work. She was a high school teacher and guidance counselor, a political campaign secretary, two-time business owner and a real estate agent.  Her writing career includes more than 200 articles and short stories, which have appeared in over 50 well-known Christian and secular publications such as Guideposts and The Upper Room. She contributes to ChristianDevotions.us.

Jo loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, visiting the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, and reading.

Website: www.johuddleston.com/p/home.html

Blog: www.johuddleston.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jo.huddleston.hope

About the book:

 

Emmajean Callaway’s life in Atlanta plummets from bad to worse.  

Can big brother, Jim, lead her back to the family who loves her 

and also hold the imploding Callaway family together?

 

Jim Callaway looks forward to 1951 and the chance to forge a relationship with Caroline after twenty years apart. He’s sidetracked when his sister and his best friend need his help. His baby sister, Emmajean, skids into jail on drug charges in Atlanta. The ordeal of incarceration and trial diminishes her and she needs rescuing, not only physically but spiritually. She struggles toward recovery and restoration with her lawyer’s help as he champions her inside and outside the courtroom. Jim’s nephew Art is one step ahead of the truant officer, wrecks his car, and officials suspect alcohol is involved. Art awaits his fate at the hands of the juvenile court judge. Jim and Caroline continue their bumpy journey as they seek realization of their dreams, wondering if they really can overcome obstacles to their being together after so many years.

Jo, tell us what you love about your books.

What I love the most about my books are the characters. Perhaps all authors feel this same way but I know these people to their core. Most of them would be welcome to my dinner table any time. While writing this series, I have cried with them, laughed with them, struggled with them when their faith faltered, cheered with them in the happy times and prayed with them in sorrowful times.

Introduce us to one character from the latest book, please.

The basic premise of this series and this book is that whatever decisions we make, they will have consequences. This is so true for several of my characters in this series. Let me introduce you to Emmajean Callaway. She grew up dirt poor on a rented farm. Before her poppa came to know Jesus, he was mean to her brothers and even she and her sister became afraid of him. As soon as Emmajean finished high school, she took money she’s saved from part-time jobs, bought a bus ticket to Atlanta, and headed for a career in the fashion industry. Never having been in a big city, Atlanta and the people there overwhelmed her. She worked two jobs just to pay her rent. A man offered her a lucrative job, which she accepted in her naïveté. That decision, although made innocently, put her in great trouble. She has no one in Atlanta and needs her family that she discarded many years ago. Will they help her when she asks them for help?

Share your best three marketing tips?

Some beginning authors incorrectly think that once they get a publishing contract for their book, it’s fun time from there on. No, they have to slay that dragon called marketing. Marketing is not like cooking spaghetti—take a noodle, throw it at the refrigerator and if it sticks it’s done. I find marketing harder than writing. One of the three marketing things I’ve used to my best advantage is a virtual blog tour—setting up dates to visit other blogs with either being interviewed about my book or writing an article related to my book. Another is interviewing a character from the book, either on my blog or elsewhere online. A third one that’s worked well for me is announcing and talking about my book in my newsletter. Subscribers to my newsletter are people who, by giving me their email address, already want to hear from me about my books. I haven’t found a magical bullet for marketing. However, you do have to start with a great book to market.

BUY THE BOOK:

Signed paperback copies available in left sidebar at www.johuddleston.com
Paperback copies available at publisher’s website
Paperback and eBook copies available at Amazon

 

Announcing a new devo by Rose Chandler Johnson

God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea

 

Click over to Amazon, if you'd like to have a look inside the book, and read the first devotional.

 

 

Being confident of this very things, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

 



 

Now, let me tell you how you can win your own copy of God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea.  Rose is making it an easy click, click.

 

 

1.  Please "LIKE" her Facebook author page.

 

www.facebook.com/rosechandlerjohnsonauthor

 

2.  Share about this blog post today on your own Facebook page so your friends will know about it and have an opportunity to participate as well.  You can do that by clicking at the bottom of the page or sharing my post when you go to my page to "like" it.

 

3. Leave a comment on her blog and include your email address so that I can contact you if you are a winner.

 

Take these easy steps no later than Saturday, July 13th at 11:00.  The winner will be announced on Monday, July 15th.  If up to 20 readers participate, she will give away 2 copies.  Thanks again.  And thank you for blessing her by participating.

Announcing exciting new book: Swept Up by the Sea

SWEPT UP BY THE SEA….. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride

 

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

ISBN	978-1-60907-661-0

Children's Fantasy

17.99 Print

9.99 E-book

 

Determined to seek his fortune, Percival Taylor leaves behind his sleepy hometown and sets out to become a legendary pirate—only no one at the roguish seaport of Blackshore will allow him any- where near a ship!

Percival must find other means to win the heart of the beautiful Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock, who has mistaken him for a pirate rogue out of one of her romantic tales. She is entirely willing to swoon into his arms if he can prove his buccaneer soul—and she is willing to arrange her own kidnapping to prove it.

Percival eventually finds himself captain of a broken-down ship, complete with a crew of pirates who make their living selling fake treasure maps, a jilted fiancee, a reclusive Master Shipwright, and an old professor with a secret that could kill them all. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride as this motley group of characters sets sail for treasure and romance.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORSTracy Hickman is a New York Times best-selling fantasy author who has published more than 40 novels, many of the co-authored with Margaret Weis. He published the first of his solo novels in 1995. Laura and her husband, Tracy have been collaborating on fantastic works of fiction since their marriage in 1977. Together, Laura and Tracy have written role-playing games, screenplays, and works of fiction, including their first co-authored novel in 2004.

 

 

My review will be coming later.....Lisa

K Dawn Byrd's newest book - Hotline Girl

K Dawn Byrd, that marvelously prolific author, sends us another intriguing novel!

Please check K Dawn's online links for purchase info.

Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com

Facebook Christian Fiction Gathering: https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianfictiongathering/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/k.d.byrd.7

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdawnbyrd

Abby is surprised to find out that the guy she's been counseling through the hotline at school is her forever crush. Can she give good advice when she really wants to tell him to dump his girlfriend?

Hotline Girl


When the school counselor asks Abby to work a counseling chat line, she begs her to choose someone else. When Race, Abby's three-year crush, begins using the chat line to talk about his girlfriend problems, can Abby be impartial when she really wants to tell him to dump her?

Race notices Abby after she has a complete make-over. He begins to spend more time with her and feels like a cheater because he likes the hotline girl too. How can he like two girls at once?

Abby is thrilled when Race begins spending time with her, but she's crushed when he tells the hotline girl that he likes her and wants to take her out. Is he a player? Will he even want to be with her when he finds out that she is the hotline girl and knows all his deepest secrets?

KDawn talks about the book

What would you like readers to take away from your book?

 It's important that when Christian teens choose a boyfriend or girlfriend, they choose someone who shares their Christian faith. 

Why did you choose to write this book?
I thought it would be fun to explore how a couple could fall in love on-line. When my heroine's high school begins a counseling hotline, she's chosen to work it anonymously. She finds herself giving advice to a guy she's had a crush on forever. Once she knows all the hero's secret, will love blossom or fail? When he divulges the problems he's having with his girlfriend, she's tempted to give him advice that will break them up. Will she do the right thing? 

What did you learn while writing this book?
I really love writing for the young adult market. Bouncing back to YA after writing suspense is a refreshing break.

 

About the Author:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational novels in several genres, including historical, suspense, romance, and young adult. Some of her favorite things are chocolate, sports cars, and her pets. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and riding down country roads in the passenger seat of her husband's Corvette Stingray. When asked why she writes, her response is, "For the simple joy of placing words on the page!"

When painting with words...expect the unexpected!
Blog: http://www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com/  

Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/www.kdawnbyrd.com  

 

Just Verdicts - brand new (cheap!) fiction from Max Lewis

    

         

 

Just Verdicts on Kindle

– Literary Short Stories, by Joseph Max Lewis

On the heels of his success with the open throttled, no time for doubts novel, The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, Joseph Max Lewis displays his versatility with a new release, Just Verdicts.   These are “first person” short stories of legal suspense.

Hunting Lawyers – A troubled man victimized by the legal system decides to hunt lawyers.  Neither he nor his prey are likely to escape unscathed.

The Judge’s Eyes – Gulf War Veteran Ralph Jackson returns to Iraq after the second Iraq war as a legal advisor to Isha Hami, Iraq’s first female Judge.  When Isha defies Iraq’s deadly political factions, Jackson’s legal and military skills are put to the test.

Redemption – (Previously released)   After a personal tragedy, Steven Burgess allowed himself to sink into self-pity and his law practice into disrepute.   Now he has one last chance, but will it lead to ruin or Redemption?

Just Verdicts costs 99 cents and, as with The Diaries of Pontius Pilate, a portion of the author’s royalties go to support Pine Valley Camp, a Christian Ministry that provides a free camp experience for inner city kids.

About Max:

Joseph Max Lewis served as a member of an Operational Detachment in the U.S. Army's Seventh Special Forces Group, the storied Green Berets.  During his service Lewis received antiterrorist training and his detachment was tasked to "Special Projects."  Afterward, he served as an instructor at the Special Forces Qualification Course.  Lewis attended the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the University of Tel Aviv in Israel, and the University of Pittsburgh, receiving degrees in International Politics and Law while being certified in Middle East Studies. After living and studying abroad, first in the Middle East and then Southeast Asia, Lewis returned home to practice law.  He’s a columnist in the New Bethlehem Leader-Vindicator, author of The Diaries of Pontius Pilate and currently lives, writes, and practices law in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Gail Pallotta: Stopped Cold, and giveaway!

Gail Pallotta talks about her newest YA, Stopped Cold.

Welcome! Gail is giving away EITHER a PDF file OR a coupon to purchase the version of your choice from Smashwords to a commenter of her book. Drawing will be held on Saturday.

 

Gail, what was the inspiration for Stopped Cold?

I wanted to write a fun-to-read story. As a teen, I especially liked Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys mysteries. The amateur sleuths in Stopped Cold are reminiscent of them.

As far as the plot goes, over the years I’ve seen quite a bit of pain in some children and young people when they can’t be number one. Whether the pressure comes from within, peers, siblings or parents, not winning often hurts and sometimes leads to destruction. When I was in college a student on my hall tried to commit suicide because her grades weren’t as good as she or someone thought they should be. The agony she must have felt gnawed at me. Then the message in the book started rattling around in my head. We don’t have to be number one for God to love us.

Young people face lots of problems today, but I chose to write about steroid use. Reasons teens give for using steroids range from simply wanting to look better to attract a girlfriend or boyfriend to wanting to build muscles to enhance athletic performance, which indicates a desire to be “number one.”

Today’s society throws a lot at young people, in some instances giving mixed signals about right and wrong. This makes it more difficult to make good choices than it ever has been. It’s inspiring to see so many making decisions that lead to  rewarding, fulfilled teen years and set them on a happy path.     

How did you research?

   For information about steroids, I read quite a bit of material from library books, the Physicians Desk Reference and the internet. Also, I interviewed an undercover detective and a narcotics officer as well as an administrative policeman.

   As for swimming, my daughter was a high school and U.S. swimmer, so I had lots of experience as a Team Mom doing everything from timing to serving as a team coordinator. Still, it’s been a while, so I consulted a coach and a director of summer league swimming about the technicalities.

Share a funny life moment. Hmm. Recently, I was asked to tell something romantic my husband, Rick, did when we were dating. It’s been so long. My mind went blank. Then I thought of our first date. Rick had offered to come over and grill a steak.  

When he arrived, I showed him to the patio with the grill then went to the kitchen to check on my baked potatoes and chop lettuce for a salad. 

          “Could you bring some water?” He called out to me. 

          Thinking he was thirsty, I filled a glass.  

Then he hollered, “Could you hurry?” 

I rushed out and gasped. Flames shot from the grill. I hurriedly handed him the water and dashed back to the sink with my heart beating like a jackhammer. I charged outside with a pitcher in my hand and a large pan of water wedged under my armpit, splashes sloshing on my living room carpet. On the patio the blaze nearly scorched the plywood ceiling. 

From the street below a passerby yelled out, “Hey buddy, I think it’s done.” 

          Only a couple more trips, and the grill sat smoking. 

          Perhaps, not romantic, but certainly exciting and what one would call a “hot” date.

 

Could you introduce us to your heroine, Margaret? 

          Margaret’s a good student and competitive swimmer at Meriwether Christian High School in Mistville, N. C. She’s known as Maggie Butterfly to her swimming buddy, Tammy, because butterfly is Margaret’s favorite stroke. She’s enjoying life going to swim meets, hanging out with friends and flirting with Jimmy Wilmore. Then her older brother, Sean, has a stroke from taking a steroid. Suddenly the deep heartache cuts her off emotionally from her friends and the life she knew. She resents her dad for pushing Sean and her in sports. Maybe if he hadn’t Sean wouldn’t have taken the drug. She’s overcome with hatred for the drug dealers who sold Sean Winstrol V and won’t rest until she finds them. Her goal is to report their whereabouts to Detective Joe Garrett, the cop on the case. She’s a believer and prays for God to heal Sean while she and her friends launch an investigation. She just wants to have her brother and her life back and to heal the hate inside.   

 

What do you hope your audience gains from this book?

I hope they enjoy the story as they experience the excitement of Margaret’s swim meets, her closeness to Sean, Jimmy and Emily and the scary search for the drug dealers. 

They’ll know why not to take steroids, and hopefully will benefit from the message that they don’t have to be number one for God to love them. There’s a huge difference in using one’s God-given talent to the best of one’s ability and having to be better than everyone else.

 

Book Blurb for Stopped Cold

    Margaret McWhorter enjoys a laid-back Freshman year in high school flirting with Jimmy Willmore, swimming and hanging out with friends—until that day. Her brother, Sean, suffers a stroke from taking a steroid. Now he’s lying unconscious in a hospital. Margaret’s angry at her dad for pushing Sean to be a great quarterback, but a fire of hatred burns inside her to make the criminals pay. Looking for justice, she takes Jimmy and her best friend, Emily, through a twisted, drug-filled sub-culture. A clue sends them deep into the woods behind the school where they overhear drug dealers discuss Sean. Time and time again they walk a treacherous path and come face to face with danger. Even the cop on the case can’t stop them from investigating. All the while Margaret really wants to cure Sean, heal the hate and open her heart to love.

Bio

Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. She’s been a Sunday school teacher, a swim-team coordinator and an after-school literary instructor. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. Her new teen book, Stopped Cold, is a best-seller on All Romance eBooks. Some of her published articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Readers can find her on the internet on the staff of Clash ofthe Titles, at her blog, and on her website.

 

Buy Links for Stopped Cold:

Smashwords 

Front Porch Romance

Amazon

All Romance eBooks

And visit:
Goodreads

My book review:

Stopped Cold

Gail Pallotta

Front Porch Romance

c. April 10, 2013

ASIN: B00CBAT37I

e-book $2.99

Young Adult

 

From the publisher: Margaret McWhorter enjoys a laid-back Freshman year in high school flirting with Jimmy Willmore, swimming and hanging out with friends—until that day. Her brother, Sean, suffers a stroke from taking a steroid. Now he’s lying unconscious in a hospital. Margaret’s angry at her dad for pushing Sean to be a great quarterback, but a fire of hatred burns inside her to make the criminals pay.

My review:

Pallotta’s high school drama could take place anywhere. Pressure from all sides: parents, teachers, coaches, and peers take their toll, no matter the size or type of school. Margaret McWhorter and her brother Sean attend the exclusive Meriwether School, one which is targeted by drug-trafficking creeps who have infiltrated the very place that’s supposed to be a safe and supportive environment.

 

It’s not enough to be talented in the world of high school athletics. Margaret and Sean’s parents unwittingly push their son over the edge as new competition for Sean’s quarterback position comes in and takes over. Sean is pressured into taking steroids and body-building, and suffers a stroke and subsequent coma. Even though the pressure for Margaret, a champion swimmer, is eased by Sean’s condition and the resulting parental guilt, she can’t stop her own consuming desire for vengeance against those who hurt her brother.

 

But Margaret is only a freshman. She’s just learning about life in high school, what can she do to find the bad guys? And who are they? Who can she trust, besides her mother’s faith that God will make everything right? And Dad—he was the one who pushed Sean too much to begin with.

 

Detective Garrett, the one assigned to the case, is moving way too slow for Margaret’s taste. He won’t figure things out until someone else gets hurt, and Margaret isn’t about to let that happen. She finally confides in her best friend Emily, who agrees to keep her eyes and ears open around school and their fav hangout, The Grill. Life changes in many ways as Margaret is forced to learn who to trust and what to believe in. Emily is a Buddhist, and a boy Margaret secretly admires, Jimmy, wants to hang out and help find the people behind the drugs. Is Emily’s faith stronger than Mom’s? And what does Jimmy really want?

 

Find out in this great new read. Told in first person, follow Margaret’s journey to discover the depth of true character and faith not only in school and friends, but family.

Michelle Sutton talks about Surprise Love, baseball, and Ashton Kutcher

Michelle Sutton is the author of over eighteen inspirational novels with more coming in the future. She has been married almost 23 years to the same man and they have two kids in college. She lives with her family in Arizona.

 

 

Introduce us to your favorite character in your book.

Well, I like Bryan the hero who is trying out for the Texas Rangers baseball team because he looks like Ashton Kutcher "only cuter" according to the heroine, anyway.

What kind of research did you do for this book/character?

I consulted with some people who knew about the rodeo lifestyle and people who were avid baseball spring training fans. I also referred to a couple of situations I came across while in Surprise like someone who had a freezer full of tarantulas and scorpions (frozen) because they made paperweights with them for fun and sold them on the side.

What specific aspect of your book do you hope readers will discover about (themselves/your main character) in this story?

Don't follow someone else's dreams for your life. Make your own choices.

What’s been a favorite work experience you’ve had so far in life?

Favorite work experience? Probably the day my employees gave me a card that said something like, "Do you want your people to love you or fear you?" And the inside said, "I want my employees to be afraid of how much they love me." That was hilarious. Plus, I didn't realize boss's day was coming. It also included several Starbucks gift cards.

 

If you could do anything you want, what would it be? Write fiction full time and review books for say, Publisher's Weekly or the Library Journal.

What’s the most exotic place you’ve traveled?

 

Hmmm... exotic? I live in Arizona and there is plenty of exotic stuff to see here. Maybe Mexico? But it was a border town and there were people begging on the streets. Not used to seeing that stuff in the USA. Not like that anyway.

 

What do you see outside the closest window right now?

The Huachuca Mountain range with a light dusting of snow on the peaks.

What do you tell people when they ask “and what do you do?”

Actually I tell them I'm a supervisor for the state government, and by the way, I also write fiction and have 18 different books they can buy on Amazon.

Where’s your favorite place to grocery shop?

Um, my husband does all of the shopping. I just eat whatever he buys, but I guess if I had to choose, then Safeway.

What, to you, is worship?

My heart inclining toward God and being open to hear what He is speaking to my heart.

 

Michelle Sutton - Healing Hearts - fiction making an impact on real lives...
new titles releasing in 2013... Collette's Crusade, Learning to Trust, Somebody Help Me,

Her Innocence, Serena's Something