Michigan Tour and a drawing for 3 Free Books!

While I'm in Michigan for my book tour this week, I decided to feature the 3 other authors who are traveling with me. Each one has graciously agreed to give away a free copy of their book! All you have to do is read about their latest release, enjoy their interview, and leave a comment on this post. I will choose a winner on April 17th!

And now first, my friend and fellow author, Mary Connealy! (Who just was nominated for a Christy Award last week!!!)

What do you like best about being a writer? I love everything about being a writer but, I will always be a writer, no matter what, published or not, so my real favorite thing about being a writer is that I get money for something I’d be doing anyway.

Pop, Soda, or Coke? What do you call it, and what's your favorite variety? We call it pop in Nebraska and when my brother visits from New York State…his children call it pop and giggle. Like it’s the funniest thing in the world to talk like Nebraskans. I’m a huge Diet Coke freak. I really care, too, and I’m not proud of that. I love that stuff.

Describe your favorite pair of shoes. I’ve got a pair of black boots that I wear almost constantly. Well not to shower in, but you know what I mean. Daily, for all occasions, except when they are absolutely wrong. They are getting battered but I can’t part with them. Low heels, non-skid soles and warm, my office at work is FREEZING. I keep looking for a new pair but they all have THREE INCH HEELS and a surface fit for ice skating. It’s like shoe designers HATE ME. It’s like that WANT me to die.

What's the most fun/interesting/crazy/scary/unique hands-on research you've done for a book? I had a fair amount of fun with my husband’s rifle recently. I was trying to describe how the heroine (yes, heroine) got her rifle into action fast. How would she wear it, strapped on her back, hanging from her shoulder? Did she grab it with both hands? Could she have managed with one? My husband, Quick-Draw and I fooled with that gun a long time. It’s heavy!

Candles. We all have them. But do you burn them? What scents are your favorite? I am in love with some candles a local woman makes. They are seriously the very best. She has this cottage industry and a little shop in a nearby town full of these spectacular candles, that burn forever and so clean and smell so wonderful. I burn them constantly. My current favorite is a scent called Cinnamon Candy. But we just burned our last one of those and have a Citrus Splash burning and it’s fantastic, too. And I LOVE the holiday scents, Thanksgiving and Christmas and Halloween, lots of apple and pine and cinnamon, just wonderful. You can order through her website. http://www.mastershandcandles.com/ Each candle is in a pint canning jar and has a raffia tie with a little sign on it with John 18:12. Jesus is the Light of the World. I talk about these candles every chance I get because Susie works so hard and makes such an extraordinary product.

Have you ever re-gifted something someone's given you? I do pass along books that people send me, but I think that’s a nice thing to do, a good way to share a new author with someone, it’s not re-gifting. Not that there’s anything wrong with re-gifting.

If you were to write a novel about what your life would have been like if you'd become what you wanted to be at eight years old, what kind of character would the story be about? I don’t remember being eight. I hope this isn’t one of those repressed memory situations. Great, now I have to go into counseling, wonderful! This interview is going to cost me a fortune!

Have you ever gone on a book-signing tour before? What are you looking forward to next week? What makes you nervous? I’ve been at book signings away from home before. The nervous part comes from hoping someone shows up. The great part is spending time with other authors and readers and the people who run book stores. They’re about the nicest people on earth.

What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Write 300 words a day. No excuses.

What's your biggest dream for the future? It was almost beyond my hopes that I’d ever even get one book published. So my biggest dream has come true, but now I’d love a career, a body of work. I’d like to see a shelf full of Mary Connealy books.

Mary Connealy is the author of Petticoat Ranch, Calico Canyon and Gingham Mountain. She will be releasing historical romantic comedies for Barbour for the next three years. Find out more about Mary’s Books at http://www.maryconnealy.com/ and check out her blogs: http://mconnealy.blogspot.com/; http://petticoatsandpistols.com/; and http://seekerville.blogspot.com/ Mary is married to her high school sweetheart, Ivan, a Nebraska farmer/rancher. She is the mother of four beautiful daughters Josie, married to Matt, Wendy, Shelly, married to Aaron and Katy. She’s got one beautiful, brand-new granddaughter, Elle.
Mary is giving away a free copy of her latest release, Gingham Mountain. If you'd like to be entered into the drawing, just leave a comment with your email address so I can reach you!

I'm going on a week-long book tour in Michigan!

Along with 3 other fabulous authors! If you live near the area, please drop in and meet me! Also, next week, I'll be featuring each one of these authors and giving away a free copy of their newest release.

Get copies of The Reluctant Cowgirl, Stand-In Groom, Gingham Mountain, and The Red Siren and meet authors Christine Lynxwiler, Kaye Dacus, Mary Connealy, and M. L. Tyndall during their Michigan book signing tour. See the list below for times and complete location information for each book signing venue.

Monday, March 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Minges Brook Mall
5700 Beckley Road, Suite B-2
Battle Creek, MI 49015

Tuesday, March 31 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
3155 Westshore Drive
Holland, MI 49424

Tuesday, March 31 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Baker Book House
2768 Paris Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Wednesday, April 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Rivertown Center
3819 Rivertown Parkway SW, Suite 100
Grandville, MI 49418

Thursday, April 2 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Leighton Township Library
4451 12th Street
Moline, MI 49335

Thursday, April 2 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Jude 3
2279 North Park Drive, Suite 810
Holland, MI 49424

Friday, April 3 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Jolly Cedar Plaza
5132 S. Cedar Street
Lansing, MI 48911

Friday, April 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Family Christian Stores
Westnedge Corners Shopping Center
4413 S. Westnedge Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Saturday, April 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Family Christian Stores
3343A Alpine Road NW
Walker, MI 49544

Winner of The Husband Project is Kimberly!

Thanks to everyone who entered. This is a great book to help bring the spark back into your marriage. I highly recommend it!

Pictures from Christian book Expo

I had a wonderful time this last weekend at the Christian Book Expo in Dallas. This is the first year the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association put on this show. Over 200 authors attended, along with their publishers who set up booths where you could meet with your favorite authors, chat with them and get their books signed. They also had a ton of great seminars, including one on Heaven and Hell, The 2nd coming, Does God exist?, the Emerging church. Unfortunately, I only had time to attend a couple of these, but they were fantastic.

The turnout to this event was very disappointing. I believe they were expecting close to 20,000 people, but in reality only 1,500 came. Was it not enough advertising, the bad economy, the location, the price of admition? Who knows? Unfortunately it doesn't bode well for them putting on another one, which is sad because this is the only event I know of that is geared mainly toward readers.

It wasn't a loss for me, however. I was able to spend some time chatting with my publisher about future books (yea!) and with my agent, Greg Johnson. And hang out with my writer friends. But the best part was meeting some of my fans who were able to make it. I promised them I'd post their pictures here on my blog, so here they are:

Me and Karen Cross!

Me and Rebornbutterfly (Sarah) !

Me and Linda from Mocha with Linda blogspot!

I loved meeting everyone!

I hope they continue to have these shows as it gives me an opportunity to meet with readers! and that's one of my favorite aspects about being an author.

For such a time as this

I just finished reading the book of Esther--one of my favorite books in the Bible. It is a romance, after all. Because of my love of history and my disdain for the modern, permissive and liberal culture we live in today, I've often asked God why I wasn't born a couple of hundred years earlier. Why did He send me to this time and this place? Have you ever wondered that? God carefully plans out the exact moment in time that we will be born. It isn't some random event or decision. God has a specific purpose for us to accomplish in our lifetimes.

The Word of God reinforces this idea with many scriptures which speak of God's will and obedience to His will for your life. Romans 12:2, Jeremiah 29:11 to name a few.

But never more is it expounded than in the book of Esther. You see Esther was a Jewish peasant who by God-ordained circumstances became a Queen. Nothing but good things happened to her over and over. Indeed, she must have felt very blessed and very thankful to God. But God didn't give her all these things just to make her happy. No, He had another purpose. You see, He had carefully positioned Esther in a specific place and specific time with enough power to accomplish what He planned. But when Esther was approached to follow out this plan, she initially said No. To confront the King and save her people could potentially have ruined her life and perhaps even cost her her life. She could have lost everything.

• You are here on earth at this time and place for a specific purpose and task.


• If you aren't obedient to God and don't accomplish your task, He will find someone else (For His purposes will always come to pass), but you will always regret it and will not receive your reward in Heaven. (Remember the parable of the ten talents and the servant who did nothing with what God gave him? Luke 19)


• Be careful to remember that everything you have, including your family, has been given to you by God to accomplish His purposes, not necessarily to make you comfortable. If you hold onto those things, you will eventually lose them anyway. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it Matt 16:35


• If you are obedient, even if it means you lose everything, including your life, great will be your reward here on earth and later in Heaven. So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30

Esther finally obeyed and in doing so, saved the entire Jewish nation. And she continued being queen and living in great opulence. Plus she got a book in the Bible about her! How cool is that? I wonder what would have happened to her if she had disobeyed? Humm..

Don't waste your time here on earth. Seek God's will for your life with all your heart. Put Him first above everything else. Spend time with Him and allow Him to guide you. Then be obedient to what He tells you. I promise you, You won't regret it!

Greetings from Christian Book Expo!

Today is the last day of the CBE here in Dallas. I have 2 final book signings and then I'm on a plane early tomorrow headed back to California and home! I have had a blast here! The show didn't have the turnout they expected, but still, quite a few people attended and I was able to meet several of my readers and some new ones too. It's so much fun to talk to people face to face about my books and writing and about their lives. (Waving at Rebornbutterfly and Karen! and all of you who took the time to come say Hi. It meant the world to me to see your faces.)

I also am so happy to announce that 2 of my close friends were nominated for a Christy Award. The Christy is the premier Christian Fiction award given out once a year at the International Christian Retailers Conference in July. (My very first book, The Redemption, was nominated back in 2007!) Anyway, my friend Mary Connealy's book Calico Canyon was nominated, and my friend Shelley Adina's book, The Fruit of my Lipstick. !!! I'm so excited for them! It is such an honor just to be nominated. Calico Canyon is an historical romance set in the old west. Mary's books are very humorous. And The Fruit of my Lipstick is part of a series for young adults. I highly recommend both books.

I also had the privilege of attending a seminar on the End Times deception by Dr. Todd Perla. I was very intriqued and purchased his book and hope to read and expound on it in later sessions. I have an intense interest in End-times prophecy.

Anyway, I'll post later in the week. I hope to have some pictures to post as well!
God Bless,

Off to Christian Book Expo!!

I'm leaving early tomorrow for Dallas and won't return until Monday Afternoon. For those of you who can make it, I'm very excited to meet you! I also wanted to mention that my publisher is offering a free copy of The Red Siren for the first 20 people who come to visit me during my signing times. And everyone else after that receives a 20% off coupon for the Barbour book store. So, come early!

This should be an awesome event! I'm hoping to visit some of my favorite authors as well. And attend some great seminars including a guided tour of Heaven and Hell and a panel discussion from the country's best Christian apologetics experts expounding the truth of the gospel.

If possible, I hope to blog about it while I'm there. I'm bringing my camera just in case.
God bless you and have a great week!

Don't give up!

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story found in Matthew 15 where the gentile woman who has the demon-possessed daughter runs up to Jesus, begging Him to deliver her little girl. It's important to note a couple of things about this story.

• Jesus traveled 50 miles outside of Judea to the countries of Tyre and Sidon for the express purpose of meeting this woman. After he saved her daughter, he went right back to Galilee.


• The woman addressed him as "Son of David" which in those days essentially meant the Messiah. In other words, she believed He was the the Son of God.


• She cried out to him several times and received no answer from Him but silence


• The disciples (an example of us Christians today) were annoyed with her and wanted Jesus to send her away. How often do we do that with people that bug us.


• Jesus finally answered her and basically told her He didn't come to heal her daughter (She was not a Jew)


• Even after this discouraging answer, the woman did NOT give up. Instead, she cried all the louder and worshiped Him


• Jesus then basically insulted her by saying that compared to the Jewish people, she was like a dog.


• Yet even in light if Jesus' silence, even in light of his discouragment, even in light of his rebuke, she did NOT GIVE UP. Instead, she humbled herself even further, acknowleding that yes, she was a dog, but didn't the dogs receive crumbs from their master's table.


• Then, Jesus turned, praised her great faith and delivered her daughter right on the spot!

What can we learn from this? If you're praying for something from the Lord and you feel like your prayers are not being heard or you feel like God is ignoring you or He doesn't care about you. Maybe you feel like He's no longer with you, or your spritual walk is dry, DON'T GIVE UP. Perhaps God is allowing these obstacles to come into your life to test your faith, to test your resolve, your perservernce. Do you really believe in Him? Do you really believe He answers prayers? Do you really believe He loves you? So, keep pushing forward. Don't listen to what others say and keep your eyes on Jesus. Humble yourself, bow before Him, admit you're a dog and keep asking.


You may not get exactly what you asked for, but through the process, Jesus will change your heart, change your desires and make them line up with His. Then, He truly will give you the desires of your heart.
Take it from me, a woman who has experienced that very thing!

The Husband Project- Free book giveaway!

And the winner is...... Kimberly!!!! Thanks to everyone who entered. This is a great book, I'm about half way through and my husband is loving it!

An author friend of mine, Kathi Lipp, (who is one of the most charming and funny ladies I have ever met) has written a great book called The Husband Project--21 days of loving your Man on Purpose and with a Plan.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's funny. It's clever and it works! For those of you ladies out there who are married and your marriage seems a little dry lately, this is the book for you. Basically, Kathi gives you ideas to try on your husband for 21 days. 21 great ideas that you may never have thought of before and that only take a few minutes to do. The idea behind the book is not only to enhance your marriage for 21 days but to change your mindset as a wife, to create better habits in your relationship, and to realize that it only takes a few moments a day to make your Man feel special.

With over half the marriages failing in this country (even in the church!) we married couples can use all the help we can get, right? Personally, I feel it is only a reflection of our self-centered, self-involved, quick gratification, it's all about me culture. In the olden days, people married for life. They partnered together and raised children and took care of each other, no matter whether they were "happy" or "in love".

You'll find the best marriage advice in the world in the Bible. If you can do these 2 things, your marriage will prosper. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your spouse as you do yourself. Kathi's book will help you focus on the 2nd part of that command, and maybe just maybe, it will become a habit in your marriage, and you will end up Living Happily Ever After!!!

I have a free copy of Kathi's book to give away to anyone of you married ladies out there or any of you single ladies hoping to get married. Just leave a comment with your email and I'll draw a name in 2 weeks on the 27th.

Please check out Kathi's website at : http://www.kathilipp.com/#home

She is also a phenominal speaker.

Worldly Prosperity is a Fiery Trial

Here in California, the unemployment rate is soaring. My husband told me it was around 10%, and I presonally know serveral people who have lost their jobs, and one friend who is losing her home. I believe we are in the Last days of this age and things will be getting worse, but I found this devotional by Spurgeon and thought it might bless you. His old time language can be a bit hard to understand, but I love his references to the sea and ships!

"In my prosperity I said I shall never be moved."Psalm 30:6

Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich freights; let the winds and waves appear to be his servants to bear his vessels across the bosom of the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly: let the weather be propitious to his crops; let uninterrupted success attend him; let him stand among men as a successful merchant; let him enjoy continued health; allow him with braced nerve and brilliant eye to march through the world, and live happily; give him the buoyant spirit; let him have the song perpetually on his lips; let his eye be ever sparkling with joy--and the natural consequence of such an easy state to any man, let him be the best Christian who ever breathed, will be presumption; even David said, "I shall never be moved;" and we are not better than David, nor half so good. Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God for it. If God should always rock us in the cradle of prosperity; if we were always dandled on the knees of fortune; if we had not some stain on the alabaster pillar; if there were not a few clouds in the sky; if we had not some bitter drops in the wine of this life, we should become intoxicated with pleasure, we should dream "we stand;" and stand we should, but it would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the mast, each moment we should be in jeopardy.

We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank Him for our changes; we extol His name for losses of property; for we feel that had He not chastened us thus, we might have become too secure. Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial.

"Afflictions, though they seem severe,In mercy oft are sent."

Does God still heal?

I'm listening to the New Testament on Audio and working my way through the Gospels, and one thing I'm noticing is how often Jesus healed people and delivered them of demons. In fact, I can't find a single place where He refused to heal someone. Yet, today, when I look around at my fellow Christians, I see so many of them sick and dying. It doesn't make sense to me. I mean, look at what the Scriptures say about healing the sick:

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5:14

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well Mark 16:17-18

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 1:12

I've been talking to God about this and asking Him to reveal to me what's going on. Here's some ideas that have come to me as I've meditated on this question.

• Much of the church in America preaches that the miracles of the New Testament ended with the Apostles (though I can find no scriptures to validate that) Consequently, people lack the faith to truly believe God can heal them.


• God can use an illness to get a person's attention if they are straying from Him or getting involved in something that will cause them much pain.


• God may give someone an infirmity in order to humble that person (This happened to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12)


• God can allow someone to become ill as a means to usher them into Heaven (not such a bad deal)


• God can use a sickness for His glory when the person endures it with faith, patience and joy. (Although I cannot believe God would allow this illness to continue during the person's entire life)


• God can allow someone to become ill so He can heal them, thus bringing others to Him who witnessed the miracle. (John 9:3)


• If a person lives a lifestyle where they don't eat right and don't exercise, they will suffer the consequences of those choices with poor health. In that case, they should not expect God to heal them. This is an important distinction and one we all should take to heart. There are consequences to all our actions and God often allows us to suffer them.

What do you think? I'm curious to hear other's opinions. Have you witnessed a healing miracle? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

All Things Possible Ministry--and a free book

(And the winner is Julianna! Thanks to all who entered. This is a fabulous book that will change the life of any young person who reads it!)

A few weeks ago, a man named Victor Marx visited our church, and his story blew me away. Victor is a master of martial arts, a former U.S. Marine, and he has trained over 30 world and national martial art champions in addition to United States Special forces. He did an awesome karate demonstration on stage and made some moves that seemed impossible. But, more importantly, his testimony was incredible.

You see Victor grew up enduring so much abuse, neglect, rejection and pain that it will make most of us thank God for our parents, even though they were not perfect. What's even more incredible is how God got ahold of this man, healed his damaged, wounded heart, and turned his life around so that you wouldn't recognize him today from the boy of his past.

And now Victor is the head of a wonderful ministry called All Things Possible ministries and he and his wife visit youth in prison. Not just the mild cases, but the kids who have murdered and raped and done more horrible things by the time they hit their teens than most of us could imagine. Some of the stories of how God used Victor to reach these lost young people and give them the love and hope they've been searching for their whole life will change the way you see the love of God.

Victor has written a book containing his life story. It's called With God, all things are possible. He hands this books out for free to kids in prision and he's seeing dramatic results as they read the tale of a boy who suffered many of the same things they have, but who stands before them transformed and full of hope. I purchased 2 copies of it from him at our church and read through the book in just a couple of nights.

If you know a young person struggling with the lure of this world, or some kid who's had a rough childhood and suffered abuse or neglect, I highly recommend this book. I'm giving away one of my copies here on this blog. Just leave me a comment and tell me what you intend to do with the book. (And remember to leave me your email. I'll draw a name next Saturday, the 14th)

And here's a link to Victor's website. I encourage you to check it out: http://www.atpministries.org/index.html

I'll be in Dallas on March 20-22nd!

If you're in the Dallas area or within driving distance to Dallas on March 20-22nd, I'll be at the Christian Book Expo along with over 200 of your favorite authors! Click here to see a list: http://www.christianbookexpo.com/authors/index.php

I would really love to meet you, chat with you, pray for you, or whatever you want. I'll be hanging around my publisher's booth (Barbour) on the following days:

Friday March 2oth (10:00-11:00 AM) and (5:00 - 6:00 PM)
Saturday March 21st (1:00-2:00 PM)
Sunday March 22nd (4:00-5:00 PM)

At the ACFW booth
Sunday March 22nd (1:00-2:00PM)

For more information, click on the links below and if you register online, you'll save $5 off the admission price if you use this discount code: cbe5off

James Caviezel's words of wisdom

I had the opportunity to see Jim Caviezel in person yesterday at a local church. Being a huge fan of his, I arrived an hour early with my eldest daughter and several friends so we could get front row seats. We were all so excited, we probably seemed like groupies! If you don't know who Jim Caviezel is, he played Jesus in the Passion of the Christ along with an assortment of other great movies, The Count of Monte Cristo, Frequency and more recently Deja Vu. When he came out on stage, he was no more than five yards from me, and the very first thing I noticed about him was his humility. The huge audience was on their feet clapping and cheering and he had his face down as if he were embarassed.

He answered all the pastor's questions in a quiet calm tone and never once tried to glorify himself or his accomplishments. Before I went, I assumed he must have some faith in God, but I was surprised to find he possesses a very strong commitment to Jesus.

He has a very calm, passionate personality that puts people at ease and I began to understand why he was chosen for the role of Jesus. He said he prayed everyday when he was doing the filming. During the scenes when he was hanging on the cross, he had to get up at 2:00 am so they could put the makeup on him for 4 hours. Then another 5 or so hours up hanging on the cross during winter. He said that he was freezing, got hypothermia, dislocated his shoulder and had an allergic reaction to all the makeup. Not to mention that when they shot the lashing scene, he was struck twice by the lashes. So, he was in pain during those scenes. I would have liked to have heard more about the spiritual battles that must have gone on during the filming but the pastor never asked him.

Here's a few things Jim said that really struck me personally

Get alone, away from the electronic devices and the people and listen to God. There are three voices inside you. Your Ego, the Devil, and God. Two of them don't matter. Learn to tell the difference and only listen to God.

When you pray to God, don't pray with your head. Pray with your heart. God wants to hear from your heart, not your head.

At the end of the discussion, when the pastor asked him if he had anything else to say, he turned to the audience (one of the few times he looked at us) and said

I feel like God wants me to tell you that He loves you. He loves you more than you'll ever know. And he has created Heaven just for you, just with you in mind.

And it doesn't matter how famous you are here on earth or how many awards you get or how many people know your name, because when you get to heaven the only thing that will matter is that you put your faith in Jesus. And God knows your name.

He had tears in his eyes when he said this. I was quite moved. Anyway, what a blessing to be able to meet one of Hollywood's elite who as a passion for Jesus.