Monday, June 24, 2013

Two new novels by Kathi Macias



The Moses Quilt is a contemporary novel that bridges racial and generational divides. With a realistic and compassionate look into a twenty-first-century dilemma, multiple award-winning author Kathi Macias introduces readers to a confused and apprehensive young woman, Mazie Hartford. 

Facing major decisions about the love of her life and her future, she must also wrestle with a nagging question about her family’s past. She finds the answer to her questions in a most unexpected way—her great-grandmother’s Moses quilt. 

As her great-grandmother begins to explain how each patch represents a story of courage and freedom, Mazie must decide if she has the courage and freedom to overcome her own personal fears and prejudices.

 
 Welcome to Bloomfield, where life is simple, love is real, and stories are shared. Lynn Myers is still reeling from losing her husband of thirty-five years when word comes that her only sibling, an older brother, has also died. With no one else to settle the estate, she must return to her small hometown of Bloomfield, however briefly, to settle his affairs.

Lynn’s daughter, Rachel, has just graduated from Bible college and with no other commitments comes along to sort through her uncle’s huge old home, right next to the local cemetery.

It isn't long before Rachel has two men -- a handsome CPA and the youth pastor -- seriously vying for her attention. At the same time, Lynn's attention is drawn to a set of journals her brother has left behind detailing a long-standing Bloomfield mystery. As they pursue solving this mystery, Rachel must make some personal decisions about her future, while Lynn is forced to face unexpected issues from her own past.



 Kathi's Amazon page: http://tinyurl.com/n85fecj



 Visit Kathi's website:  http://kathimacias.com/

Monday, June 17, 2013

Laughing with Lily by Eileen Hinkle Rife

A long-buried secret. An unexpected encounter. A quest for answers. Celeste Tatem, a special-education teacher at The Brighton Center in Schreiber, Indiana, couldn't be more in love with her husband, Joe. But the memory of one day in the past haunts her, threatening their relationship. When Joe dies in a factory explosion, she sinks into depression. It will take the arrival of a new student, Lily, and her delightful honesty, laughter, and joy at life's little things to awaken Celeste to hope.

When Don, an old flame from college, reenters Celeste's world, the flickers of love stir once again, and startling questions arise. Questions that threaten to rip the veneer off of her carefully guarded secret. Then the most unexpected thing of all happens.... A story of love and forgiveness in the most unexpected places.

Amazon in ebook and paperback: http://tinyurl.com/kcwyojk

Visit Eileen's website:  http://www.eileenrife.com/

Monday, June 10, 2013

McKenna's Daughters Series by Lena Nelson Dooley


Maggie's Journey ~ book 1

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her.
Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn't fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.
When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?
 Mary’s Blessing ~ book 2
When her mother dies, Mary Lenora must grow up quickly to take care of her brothers and sisters. Can love help her to shoulder the burden?
Mary Lenora Murray knows she is adopted. As she was growing up, her mother called her “God’s blessing.” But now that she’s gone, Mary no longer feels like any kind of blessing. Her father, in his grief, has cut himself off from the family, leaving the running of the home entirely in Mary’s hands.
As she nears her eighteenth birthday, Mary can’t see anything in her future but drudgery. Then her childhood friend Daniel begins to court her, promising her a life of riches and ease. But her fairy-tale dreams turn to dust when her family becomes too much for Daniel, and he abandons her in her time of deepest need.
Will Daniel come to grips with God’s plan for him? And if he does return, can Mary trust that this time he will really follow through?
Catherine's Pursuit ~ book 3
Raised by her father, Catherine McKenna has never lacked for anything, surrounded by people to take care of her every need. On her eighteenth birthday she discovers that not only did her mother die when she was born, but she has two identical sisters. Although her father vowed not to look for his daughters, Catherine made no such promise. Setting out on her own with one clue and her maid in tow, she's determined to find her sisters.
Collin Elliott has seen better days. After losing his ship to a violent and unexpected storm, he is trying to recover--physically and emotionally. When Angus McKenna sends him to find, follow, and protect his daughter, he wants nothing more than to finish his task and return home. Can he help her find her sisters?
And will the discoveries they make along the way teach them both what's most important in life?
 
Lena Nelson Dooley is an award-winning author with more than 650,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers—where she received the Mentor of the Year award in 2006—DFW Ready Writers, and Christian Authors Network. She lives in Hurst, Texas, with her husband of over 45 years.

Monday, June 3, 2013

The Chamomile by Susan F. Craft



 Lilyan joins Patriot spies in British-occupied Charlestown, SC, to rescue her brother from a notorious prison ship. She'll lie, steal, kill or be killed she promises Nicholas Xanthakos, a scout with Francis Marion's partisans, who leads the mission. In Nicholas' arms she discovers enduring love...a home. But that home is a long time coming. Her journey requires she save the life of one British officer but kill another to protect her Cherokee friend Elizabeth. In escaping bounty hunters, she treks miles of wilderness and very nearly loses everything before finally reuniting with her true love.

 A history lover, Susan F. Craft researches for her novels with the same excitement as Alan Quartermain hunting for King Solomon's Mines and with the persistence of Lewis and Clark. She enjoys the chase when a clue leads her from one "treasure" to the next, to the next.

A South Carolinian, Susan has a degree in Broadcast Journalism. Her 40-year career includes working for SC Educational Television, the SC Department of Mental Health, the SC College of Pharmacy, and currently for the SC Senate. The Chamomile, published by Ingalls Publishing Group, was released in November 2011 and is the fourth book she has authored. The first two were S.C. State Library award-winning professional works in the field of mental health, and the third, self-published in 2006, is A Perfect Tempest, a historical fiction set in Columbia during the Civil War.

Susan is a member of Romance Writers of America, the American Christian Fiction Writers, The Historical Novel Society, the S.C. Writers Workshop, the SC Historical Society, the Robert Burns Society, the Colonial American Christian Writers, and the Inkplots, a writers' critique group. Her short stories have been published in four of the group's collections.

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance selected The Chamomile as a Fall 2011 Okra Pick, recognizing it as a top novel of the season.


Susan's Website: http://www.susanfcraft.com/