Remember the Lilies

February 11th, 2015

Remember the Lilies

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By Liz Tolsma

Be swept away to exotic places in Liz Tolsma’s Remember the Lilies! Filled with mystery, romance, and a race to find a family before it’s too late, you’ll want to keep the pages turning.

Irene and Rand come from very different walks of life. Will they find common ground in their fight to survive?

Irene has grown up in the jungle as a missionary with her Aunt Anita, but now she and countless others are imprisoned by Japanese soldiers at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines. Irene and her aunt are safe there, and she keeps busy with her duty of delivering censored messages to the camp’s prisoners, but like everyone else, she prays for the war to end and for her freedom.

Rand is a wealthy, womanizing American, whose attempted escape from the internment camp has put himself and others in danger. When Rand and Irene’s Aunt Anita meet one another in the hospital, Irene learns more of his story and her heart is determined to save his family.

But the danger outside the walls of the hospital worsens every day, and life in this exotic place is anything but luxurious. Can Irene find Rand’s family before they disappear forever? And can a humble missionary woman and an arrogant man find common ground in the face of their biggest fears?

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Rand and Irene come from very different backgrounds, but both end up in an internment camp as prisoners of war. Life becomes a desperate struggle for survival. Many don’t live to leave the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.

As always, Ms Tolsma has done a masterful job of sucking me into her story. I learn so much from her historical novels, and it is such an enjoyable way to learn. There were so many things I didn’t know about WWII before reading her novels.

I’m looking forward to more of Ms Tolsma’s history lessons.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

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New York Times best-selling author Liz Tolsma is the author of Daisies are Forever, Snow on the Tulips, and the contributing author of A Log Cabin Christmas. When not busy putting words to paper, Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and children, all adopted internationally.

A Brush with Love

January 31st, 2015

A Brush with Love

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By Rachel Hauck

Ginger Winters is a gifted hairstylist with scars no one can see. The last thing she expects from the New Year is a new chance at love.

Overcoming a childhood tragedy, Ginger emerges from the pain and trauma with a gift for bringing out the beauty in others. From the top big city salons to traveling the world as personal stylist to a country music sensation, success was almost enough to make Ginger forget her she would never be one of the beautiful people.

Almost. Now that she’s back home in Rosebud, Alabama and running her own salon, the truth remains: Ginger is still that girl, forever on the outside looking in. But she needs her confidence this weekend. She’s the acclaimed “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade.

When high-school crush Tom Wells Jr. also returns to town and shows up at her shop looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her locked away from love, Despite Tom’s best efforts, Ginger can’t forget how he disappeared on her twelve years ago and broke her heart. Can she ever trust him again?

When Tom challenges her to see her own beauty, Ginger must decide if she will remained chained to the past or move freely into a new, exciting future.

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A life of scars that can’t be hidden. Neither physical nor emotional as Ginger found out. Tom isn’t doing much better with his secret that helped create Ginger’s scars.

The lives of these two families have been intertwined longer than either Tom nor Ginger knew until recently. Ginger has a major problem secondary to her physical scars. She has gone through most of her life knowing she is not beautiful. Instead she spends her time making other women beautiful.

Will Tom or anyone else be able to convince Ginger of her beauty? You might need that box of tissues before you finish this story.

Thank you so very much, Ms Hauck, for showing us the essence of true beauty.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

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Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author of critically acclaimed novels such as The Wedding Dress, Love Starts with Elle, and Once Upon A Prince.

She also penned the Songbird Novels with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Booklist named their novel, Softly and Tenderly, one of 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in an uncomfortable chair to write full-time in 2004.

She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship at their annual conference. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker.

Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pets, and writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

New from Quilts of Love | A Stitch in Crime Kindle Fire Giveaway!

January 28th, 2015

Don’t miss the newest Quilts of Love book, A Stitch in Crime by Cathy Elliott. Thea’s first quilt show begins to fall apart at the seams. Will she be able to piece the mystery together and save the town’s investment in the quilt show before another attack happens . . . with far worse results.

 

Enter to win a Kindle HDX!

 

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One winner will receive:

  • A Kindle HDX
  • A Stitch in Crime by Cathy Elliott
  • Masterpiece Marriage by Gina Welborn
  • Swept Away by Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven

Enter today by clicking the button below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th. Winner will be announced on the Quilts of Love blog February 9th.

 

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Enter today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues

January 27th, 2015

The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues

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By Cindy Vincent

Perfect for the middle grader in your life, Cindy Vincent’s The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues (the third Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper book) is a heartwarming mystery uncovering the real treasures in life — our friends.

Buckley and Bogey, Cat Detectives, find their next big case with the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Agency to be their most complicated ever!

When someone hides a mysterious package in their mom’s antique store, the boys find it—but that’s when a whole bunch of suspicious people who are after the package show up in St. Gertrude! Holy Catnip! Coincidentally, a priceless, jeweled statue collection goes on display at the St. Gertrude Museum. Missing from that collection are two jewel covered cat statues that disappeared almost a hundred and fifty years ago.

Soon Buckley and Bogey wonder how long those statues will stay missing. Because this is one case that really keeps them on their paws

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Cat detectives. Give me a break. (Did you just see me roll my eyes?)

Actually, they did a really good job investigating a crime and helping prevent more crimes. Buckley and Bogey run the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Agency. There’s a whole herd of cat friends who assist them.

These cats are quite ingenious, and kept my attention throughout the book.

Holy Mackerel! I want to see what their caseload will bring next. I’ll have to go back and read about their first two capers.

Thank you, Ms Vincent. I like the way your mind works. If I’m not careful, you’ll turn me into a cat person.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Cindy Vincent was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and has lived all around the US and Canada. She holds an M.A.Ed, and is the creator of the Mysteries by Vincent murder mystery party games and the Daisy Diamond Detective Series games for girls. She is also the award-winning author of the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper books, the Daisy Diamond Detective book series, and Cats are Part of His Kingdom, Too: 33 Daily Devotions to Understanding God’s Love. She lives with her husband and the real, live Buckley and Bogey, who run surveillance on her house each and every night.

At Home in Last Chance

January 27th, 2015

At Home in Last Chance

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By Cathleen Armstrong

What happens when the life you’re running from won’t let go of your heart?

Kaitlyn Reed and Steven Braden have always had a similar philosophy of life: when the going gets tough, they get going–out of town and away from the problem. Now they are both back in Last Chance, New Mexico, and trying to start over.

Kaitlyn is working to reestablish a relationship with the seven-year-old daughter she left behind six months earlier. Steven is trying to prove to his family that he is not the irresponsible charmer they have always known him to be. As Kaitlyn and Steven find themselves drawn to one another, one big question keeps getting in the way: How will they learn to trust each other when they don’t even trust themselves?

With emotional depth and characters who leap off the page and into your heart, Cathleen Armstrong invites you to return once more to the dusty and delightful town of Last Chance.

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Thank you so much, Ms Armstrong, for taking us back to Last Chance. With this book you brought life to a character I previously didn’t care for very much.

Kaitlyn and Steven seem to be cut from the same bolt of fabric. While she’s working to straighten out her life, she’s being drawn to this bad boy who appears to not want to act like an adult. He would prefer to run away and Kaitlyn knows that that’s like.

That would be all fine and dandy except she needs to become the parent figure in her daughter Olivia’s life now that she wants to settle down instead of running.

This is a good stand alone read, but you’ll appreciate it more if you read Welcome to Last Chance and One More Last Chance first. The back stories help you see new life in old friends.

Thank you, Ms Armstrong. Will you take us to Last Chance again or is this our last chance with these characters we’ve grown to love?

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

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Cathleen Armstrong lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Ed, and their corgi. Though she has been in California for many years now, her roots remain deep in New Mexico where she grew up and where much of her family still lives. She is the author of Welcome to Last Chance, winner of the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Women’s Fiction, and One More Last Chance.

A Stitch in Crime

January 27th, 2015

A Stitch in Crime

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By Cathy Elliot

About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women’s fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

Thea’s first quilt show is coming apart at the seams!

Thea James has accepted an assignment as co-chairperson for Larkindale’s first quilt show extravaganza. Juggling the new assignment with running her antique business, she’s already feeling frayed when things start to unravel.

Mary-Alice Wentworth, a much-loved town matriarch, respected quilt judge, and Thea’s dear friend, is covertly conked on the head during the kick-off Quilt Show Soiree, throwing suspicion on her guests. It also appears that a valuable diamond brooch has been stolen during the attack. The family is furious. But is it because of their mugged mother or the missing diamonds?

When a renowned textile expert goes MIA and the famous Wentworth heritage quilt disappears, Larkindale’s reputation as a tourist haven is at risk. Thea attempts to piece the mystery together and save the town’s investment in the quilt show before Mary-Alice is attacked again . . . with far worse results.

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It was supposed to be a smooth running, well organized quilt show. Well, that’s if the co-chair would actually help.

It’s been interesting to see how Thea could work through one mess after another to try to pull off this quilt show. She has to keep pulling it back from the brink of disaster.

Ms Elliott has stitched subterfuge and danger in this quilt lover’s read. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Author and speaker Cathy Elliot nourishes her night-owl habit by creating cozy mysteries and more on her trusty laptop in Anderson, California. Like the protagonist in her new mystery, Cathy is an avid quilter. Besides collecting (too much) cool fabric, she also enjoys hunting for antique treasures.

Love Gently Falling

January 25th, 2015

Love Gently Falling

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By Melody Carlson

Rita Jansen is living her dream as a hairstylist in Hollywood when her father calls with news that her mother has suffered a stroke. When she gets home to Chicago, Rita finds her mother is healing but facing a long recovery. Worse, without being able to run their family-owned salon, her mother could lose the business. Rita decides to help, but she only has until Valentine’s Day to come up with a plan.

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Rita has to take a leave from her job working with stars and celebrities to return to Chicago until her mother’s health improves. While waiting for her mother to finish rehab, Rita is helping out at her mother’s hair salon.

Rita discovers that her mother’s business is in worse shape that her mother. While looking at some pictures of the salon’s early days and then while cleaning out the storage room there, Rita has a brainstorm. She comes up with a plan to revive the salon’s business before heading back to L.A. Her goal is to have a grand reopening to coincide with the opening of the skating rink in the center of the mall where the salon is located.

During all this makeover, Rita finds herself falling for one of the janitors who cares for the salon. Will a janitor keep her in Chicago? Get real. She has her dream job waiting for her.

I’ve always enjoyed Melody Carlson’s books. This one was no exception. Thank you, Ms Carlson. I’m looking forward to your next book.

***A special thank you to Katie Connors for providing a review copy.***

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Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she is a writer who loves to write! She is a bestselling and award-winning author of more than 200 books for children, teens, and adults–with sales totaling more than six million. Carlson’s passion for ‘true to life’ fiction has had great success for both the young adult and women’s markets. Informed and aware of the challenges and struggles facing teens today, she writes young adult novels that she hopes will change lives and women’s fiction to which women of all ages can relate. Her popular series, Diary of a Teenage Girl (Multnomah), has sold more than 775,000 copies and her popular Christmas novellas have sold over 590,000 copies combined. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

Hidden Agenda

January 20th, 2015

Hidden Agenda

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By Lisa Harris

His cover is blown. Now his enemies are on his heels and closing in.

Michael Hunt is alive–and on the run. Presumed dead by friends and family, the undercover assignment he’s been working for the past eight months has just been blown. With a hit out on his life and corruption inside the Atlanta police department, Michael finds himself hunted by both the cartel and the law. His only hope is Olivia Hamilton–the daughter of the man who wants him dead.

This nonstop chase from Christy Award-winning Lisa Harris will leave you breathless.

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Michael is dead. Or is he? If you read Fatal Exchange it left you wondering. Lisa Harris follows up on Michael’s death in this book.

This is the story that gives you understanding of the grief his family is living through.

It’s also the story of what happened from a different vantage point – that of Michael. It’s why he had to die, and how he managed to survive his second death sentence.

Ms Harris once again skillfully weaves the danger and adrenalin in a book that grabs a person from beginning to end. She’s one of the authors whose books leave me no sleep until I’ve turned the last page.

I’m looking forward to your next book. I certainly hope you’ll have it out to us soon.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

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Lisa Harris is the award-winning author of more than twenty books, including the Christy Award winner Dangerous Passage and Fatal Exchange. Winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from Romantic Times, Harris has spent over ten years living with her family as missionaries in Mozambique, where she leads a women’s group and runs a nonprofit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry. Visit www.lisaharriswrites.com for more

Romancing Your Better Half

January 20th, 2015

Romancing Your Better Half

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By Rick Johnson

Expert advice to keep the fire burning in your marriage

If you’ve been married more than a few years, you probably know how it goes. You start out in the throes of passionate romance only to have the fire cool over the years–especially when kids come along or life gets too busy. But keeping the romance alive is easier than most people think. Now the author of Becoming Your Spouse’s Better Half shares the secrets of pursuing romance that won’t quit.

With wit and wisdom, Rick Johnson shows you how to communicate effectively with your spouse, recapture the feeling of young love, incorporate romance and intimacy into everyday life, understand each other’s unique sexual needs, and more. The useful insights and solid advice in this practical book will strengthen your marriage now and into the future.

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Marriage is not one big party. Even if you don’t admit it, you all know that. Marriage is work – sometimes really hard work. Mr. Johnson knows it’s work, and wants to help us rekindle that young love and fire we once had.

It’s not such a young love anymore, but the more mature, deeper love can be so much more satisfying. In this world it’s so much easier to say, “I give up,” and head to the divorce court. Right now my husband and I are separated, but have plans to end that nonsense.

With Mr. Johnson’s help, I anticipate getting back in the zone instead of being zoned out. He has some very good advice for bringing romance back into a marriage. Thank you, Mr. Johnson, for your well thought out advice.

***A special thank to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

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Rick Johnson is a bestselling author of Becoming Your Spouse’s Better Half, How to Talk So Your Husband Will Listen, That’s My Son, Becoming the Dad Your Daughter Needs, and Better Dads, Stronger Sons. He is the founder of Better Dads and is a sought-after speaker at many large parenting and marriage conferences across the United States and Canada. Rick, his wife, Suzanne, and their grown children live in Oregon. To find out more about Rick Johnson, visit www.betterdads.net.

The Financially Confident Woman

January 12th, 2015

The Financially Confident Woman

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By Mary Hunt

You have what it takes to take control of your money

Have you ever felt that you lack the know-how to take control of your financial life? You’re not alone. But it’s not a lack of savvy that’s the problem, says personal financial expert Mary Hunt; it’s a lack of confidence. And Hunt is here to help you develop a can-do attitude toward money so that you can take control of your finances.

Using the lessons she’s learned from her own hard-fought battle with debt, Hunt empowers you to cultivate nine essential money habits, including

· giving

· saving

· investing

· rejecting unsecured debt

· preparing for emergencies

· getting what you pay for

· and more

She also includes a six-week action plan to help you get started right away.

You’re smart, you’re capable, and you’re just a few steps away from a positive, confident financial future.

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Mary Hunt always has good financial advice. In the not so good old days the men took control of the money. That left the woman high and dry if she became widowed or her husband decided to trade her in for a newer model.

Many women today are single, working women. Many are in marriages where the man still controls the money. Ladies, it’s time to let Mary help you to become a financially confident woman. She has a six-week action plan to get you there. We all need this, especfially when there are so many of us who weren’t taught how to deal properly with finances when we were young. I certainly know how easy it is to mess up without that knowledge.

We are intelligent. That often means admitting we don’t know everything. Ms Hunt has taught me a lot. I’m working through her plan. You should, also.

Thank you, Ms Hunt, for sharing your experiences with us.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

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Mary Hunt is an award-winning and bestselling author, a syndicated columnist, and a sought-after motivational speaker who helps men and women battle the epidemic of consumer debt. She is founder and publisher of the interactive website Debt-Proof Living, which features financial tools, resources, and information for her online members. Her books have sold more than a million copies, and her daily newspaper column, Everyday Cheapskate, is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate. Hunt speaks widely on personal finance and has appeared on shows such as NBC’s TODAY and Dr. Phil. She and her husband live in Colorado. Find out more at www.debtproofliving.com.