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August  2016

In This Issue

Welcome and thank you for sharing your time with me. To those who signed up for my newsletter since last time, thank you for subscribing!

 

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Thanks to all who have been reading my blogs and thanks to those who leave a comment.

 

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If you are a book club leader and interested in your book club reading one of my books, please contact me, telling me a bit about your group. I'll send you a free copy of the book you choose.

 

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Clicking any of the tabs across the top of this newsletter will take you to my website pages. Click the Contact tab to send me a note. I'll personally respond to each message.

    

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You will receive issues of this newsletter quarterly. Important news between newsletter issues will reach you in a timely announcement email. 

 

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You can take a look at earlier newsletters here. Always remember: I value your presence here and the time you share with me.

 

 

 

Quality Quote
Quality
"It is not so much what we have done amiss, as what we have
left undone, that will trouble us, looking back."

Ellen Wood, English playwright and journalist (1813-1887)
 
Book Buzzings
Book

This month I highlight Secrets of Sunbeams by Valerie Comer and Dead Broke by Linda Fulkerson. Below is information about these books.
(Disclaimer: I may not have read these releases yet; just letting you know about them.)  
 







Title: Secrets of Sunbeams  
Author: Valerie Comer
Genre: Romance/Contemporary
Publisher: GreenWords Media 
Release Date: July 2016 
Valerie's Website
Book available at: Amazon

One animal control officer with her own escapee goat. One solar architect whose report has been eaten. Can romance and urban farming blossom on the same city block?


   

Title: Dead Broke  
Author: Linda Fulkerson
Genre: Mystery & Suspense 
Publisher: Independently published     
Release date: July 2016
Linda on Facebook 
Book available at: Amazon

Sports photographer Andrea "Andy" Warren, whose faith has dipped to the same depths as her checkbook balance, receives a phone call that forces her return to the Arkansas hometown she renounced, where she hopes to avoid her meddling mother, her ex-fianc�, and the local sheriff.
 


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My Publisher's Special!

FREE Kindle eBook copy for a limited time,
August 2, 3, and 4, 2016 
 Grab your free copy here

Donna's Detour 

 
Book description:
When Donna Turner and two girlfriends leave Alabama in 1956 and head to California on Route 66, Donna runs out of money. Her girlfriends continue the journey to Los Angeles, leaving Donna in Needles, California where a dream-come-true adventure is about to happen.

She worshiped the ground he walked on when she was fifteen, and now he shows up at the diner where she works. Will he remember her or does he still think of her as her brother's skinny kid sister? Will Donna be confident enough in herself to accept her dream?

Amazon 5-Star Review:
"The book is very relaxing to read and I love the author's smooth writing style. She has a way to take readers back in time with her exquisite words that flow throughout the story....It is time to relax, grab an ice cold bottle of Coke and enjoy a great book that will bring a smile to your face. Join Donna and Tommy as they take a journey on Route 66."

Grab your free copy here! 

 
 

Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3 in my
West Virginia Mountains Series
now available in
eBook and paperback
______________________________________________________  


Book 1Book 2, and Book 3
 in my  
Caney Creek Series 
now available in
eBook & paperback 

  
Guest Gab
Guest
The Saddle Maker's Son     
by Kelly Irvin      
 
 
Our guest this issue is Kelly Irvin. Kelly is the author of The Saddle Maker's Son, the third novel in the Amish of Bee County series from
Kelly Irvin
Zondervan/HarperCollins. It follows The Bishop's Son and The Beekeeper's Son, which received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, calling it "a delicately woven masterpiece." She is also the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Hope Amish series, both from Harvest House. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine.
 
A former newspaper reporter and public relations professional, Kelly is married to photographer Tim Irvin. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to read books by her favorite authors.
 
Welcome, Kelly. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
I like places with ocean. We spent our 25th anniversary in Maui. Our anniversary is in February so we spent more time hiking and zip lining, than playing in the water since it was cool and windy. But it was gorgeous. I could stare at the water for hours and let the sounds of the waves and the birds relax me completely. The ocean is one of those creations that I believe tells us unequivocally there is a God and He is grand. We try to get to the Texas coast whenever we can to Port Aransas and South Padre Island. They're much less picturesque but have their own personalities. I could easily be a beach bum.
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Sometimes I think we should spend time with Bible verses we don't like as much because they tell us something we don't want to hear or we struggle accepting. Right now, mine is found in Paul's story about the thorn that afflicted him.
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9 (NIV)
I'd rather have the thorn taken from me because I prefer to be self-reliant, but God knows what is best for me and wants me to rely on him so I'm trying to be patient with the new "weaker" me.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Creating these people (characters) out of thin air who become like friends or family members by the time the book is done. Some I will see through all three books in the series. People like Mordecai King who delights me every time he opens his mouth. My editor wants an I love Mordecai bumper sticker for her car. I wouldn't mind one myself. In fiction, you can create the people you hope to meet in life.
Do you have a dedicated place to write, or a nook or corner of a room, or the kitchen table?
Yes. I'm including the photo of what I'm supposed to look at (my computer) and what my husband thinks I look at more--out the windows.
If you peruse the photo of my desk/monitor, you'll get a tour of items that give me comfort as I write: a bunny from my friend writer Eileen Key who gave it to me after my cancer diagnosis; a card from writer friend Vannetta Chapman that opens into a hug; my reminder to pray more and worry less along with one of my favorite verses these days: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ("Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."); and finally, a photo of my grandpa and my brother Larry, both who have passed away.

Please tell us a little about your novel, The Saddle Maker's Son.
Rebekah Lantz feels imprisoned by circumstances she didn't create. Tobias Byler is haunted by regret. Can two young runaways from half a world away teach them the healing power of true family?

Rebekah isn't like her sister, but the watchful gaze of her family and small, close knit Amish community makes her feel as if she's been judged and found lacking. The men avoid her and the women whisper behind her back. She simply longs for the same chance to be a wife and mother that her friends have.

Tobias Byler only wants to escape feelings for a woman he knows he should never have allowed to get close to him. Moving with his family to isolated Bee County, Texas, seemed the best way to leave his mistakes behind. But even a move across the country can't erase the past that accompanies his every thought.

A surprise encounter with two half-starved runaway children forces both Rebekah and Tobias to turn to each other to help a sister and brother who have traveled thousands of miles in search of lives of unfettered peace and joy.

In doing so, Rebekah and Tobias discover the key to forgetting the past is the one that will open the door to love and the future they both seek.

Where can readers find you online?
Where can readers purchase The Saddle Maker's Son?
Zondervan


Kelly, thanks for visiting with my readers and me.
On April 25, I'll draw a winner from current newsletter subscribers to receive a print copy of The Saddle Maker's Son, which Kelly has graciously offered.
 
 
 
 

 
 
What Am I Reading?
What

 
I recently read Moved, Left No Address by Vickie Phelps, Inspire Books, 2016, 328 pages. A man with regrets, searching for restitution. Along the way, he meets a woman he can love. A compelling story that pulls you into every day of Joel Webster's search. Vickie Phelps has a smooth knack for weaving suspense into her stories that keeps the reader turning pages. Great characterizations and settings description. A good read.

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       Read FREE the first chapter of each of my novels on my website 
 
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Please check out my GOODREADS GIVEAWAY of 3 print copies of
Trust Me, book #2 in the West Virginia Mountains Series. You can enter the giveaway here or in the left sidebar on my website . The giveaway runs through August 4, 2016. Don't miss your chance to enter!

 
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The April 2016 newsletter winner of a copy of Split! by Lillian Duncan is Carolyn T. Congratulations!


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On August 25, 2016 I'll draw a winner from current newsletter subscribers on that date to receive a copy of The Saddle Maker's Son by Kelly Irvin. 
 
 


Note: To select winners in my book drawings from active subscribers of this newsletter, I use Random.org. If you're a winner, the rules are simple: I'll email winners and get the book to them. For print copies, U.S. mailing addresses only. (See 
Disclaimers for complete details.)    
 

 
Clean Chuckle
Clean


Two elderly women were out for a Sunday drive in a large car and both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection.

The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light."

After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again, and again they went right through. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they
went right through, and she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three red lights in a row? You could have killed us!"

Mildred turned to her and said "Oh, am I driving?"

 
  
 
Back to Top

Inspirational Insight
Inspirational

Below is a recent post from my inspirational blog, Lifelines. I hope you'll visit me there. While there you can sign up to receive each new post in your email inbox.



Excuses or Reasons?
 
"It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
--George Washington, 1st president of the U.S.


What would call for an excuse? That would depend on the person and the activity involved. Promising to complete a task and not doing so would call for an excuse to explain why you didn't fulfill your promise. Conversely, an excuse would be needed if you did something you shouldn't have and you were asked why you did that.

What would constitute a bad excuse? You know, I think a bad excuse for one's behavior would be to place the blame for your actions on something or someone else: "It's not my fault." "I didn't do it."

Some people refer to this kind of excuse as the blame game. I've heard discussion on this blame game, going back to the Garden of Eden: When asked why she ate the fruit, Eve blamed it on the serpent. Adam blamed his tasting the fruit on the woman God gave him.

U.S. President Harry S. Truman said, "The buck stops here." That referred to the fact that the U.S. President has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. Partisan politics aside, Mr. Truman faced his responsibility without trying to blame others or assign blame where it didn't belong.

Former U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Placing blame on another brings about discussion of accountability-people's accountability for their own actions. It seems so easy nowadays for individuals to shun personal responsibility for their behavior. Many times they do so by offering bad excuses--weak and far-fetched excuses. 

Maybe if we stopped using the word excuse and instead used the word reason, playing the blame game would be eliminated. A problem could be better approached if we would give good and plausible reasons instead of bad, lame excuses.

As long as we play the blame game and have no accountability, we'll have weak links in the chain of our lives. In old Western stories or movies, telling someone to own up to their responsibilities and commitments is said by cowboy up. It's time for all of us to cowboy up and stop offering bad excuses for our conduct.


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Each Monday I post my thoughts on my inspirational blog, Lifelines. I hope you'll visit me there. While there you can sign up to receive each new post in your email inbox.
 
 
 
  
 

� 2009-2016 Jo Huddleston. All rights reserved.


P.O. Box 1801    Auburn, AL 36831-1801