Vacation in the UK

We spent our first weekend in the UK in Cornwall, searching for the Vawter family castle and seeing a few of the fishing villages along the coast.

First I have to tell you about our B&B, Penvith Barns, where we had the beautiful Seaside Room. (Check out their Web site. Especially the history page.)
Both nights we stayed there, we arrived at the B&B by this road—in the dark. Quite an adventure, to say the least, and I wasn't the one driving. *smile* Thank goodness!
In fact, many of the roads we were on Saturday were very similar to this one, complete with the tall hedgerows and small "lay-bys" to pull into when we met another vehicle.

Our hostess, Alison Swann, loves to tell stories about their alpaca farm as well as the history of their place and the surrounding area.


I couldn't help but think of two writer friends and how they would love the place: Kathy Kovach for the alpacas (her current Heartsong features the lovely animal), and MaryLu Tyndall, who would be excited about the history and the secret tunnel that was possibly used for smuggling, a huge "industry" in the 18th century and earlier. I could picture MaryLu's pirates making use of the tunnel.

Dangerous Heart by Tracey Bateman

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing Dangerous Heart
Avon Inspire (October 14, 2008)
by
Tracey Bateman


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tracey Bateman published her first novel in 2000 and has been busy ever since. There are two other books in the Westward Hearts Series, Defiant Heart (#1) and Distant Heart (#2)

She learned to write by writing, and improved by listening to critique partners and editors. She has sold over 30 books in six years.

She became a member of American Christian Fiction Writers in the early months of its inception in 2000 and served as president for a year.


Tracey loves Sci-fi, Lifetime movies, and Days of Our Lives (this is out of a 21 year habit of watching, rather than enjoyment of current storylines).

She has been married to her husband Rusty for 18 years, has four kids, and lives in Lebanon, Missouri.


ABOUT THE BOOK

For the past seven years, Ginger Freeman has had one goal: find Grant Kelley and make him pay for allowing her brother to die. Growing up motherless with a father who leads an outlaw gang, Ginger isn’t exactly peaches and cream. So when she finally tracks down Grant on a wagon train headed west, she figured providence had stepped in and given her the chance she’s been waiting for.

On the wagon train, finally surrounded by a sense of family and under the nurturing eye of Toni Rodde, Ginger begins to lose her rough edges. She’s made friends for the first time and has become part of something bigger than revenge. Not only has her heart softened toward people in general, but God has become a reality she never understood before. And watching Grant doctor the pioneers, she’s realized she can’t just kill him and leave the train without medical care. Putting her anger aside, before long, Ginger’s a functioning part of the group.

But when the outlaw gang, headed by her pa, shows up and infiltrates the wagon train, she is forced to question her decision. Only self-sacrifice and her new relationship with God can make things right. But it might also means she loses everything she’s begun to hold dear.

If you would like to read from the first chapter of Dangerous Heart, go HERE

Vacation in the UK

When our daughter, Kathy, first moved to London earlier this year, I asked the Lord to allow me to go visit her at least once a year for the time she's there. Getting to spend time in the UK has been a lifelong dream for me, and when the Lord answered my prayer with a couple of substantial influxes of unexpected monies, I knew my dream would become reality.

I'm not going to bore you with the oodles and oodles of pictures Roger took or with every detail of our two weeks in the UK, but I do want to share some of the highlights of the trip for us. We left Denver on Wednesday, October 8, and arrived in London on Thursday, October 9. Then started our adventure of getting our luggage from Heathrow to our hotel (B&B) in Islington via the tube. Thankfully it was the middle of the morning, and we didn't have to contend with the huge crowds on the tube at rush hour. But it was interesting enough. We got settled into our room after lunch, took a nap, then headed out for tea at Claridge's.Here we are after we were done eating.
After a good night's sleep, we repacked to spend the weekend in Cornwall, the area where Roger's family ancestors settled after they came to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror.

While we were waiting for Kathy to finish her morning at work, we did a quick walking tour of Fleet Street, which turns into something else down by St. Paul's Cathedral. On our walk we saw such things as the Millennium Bridge and the archway into the Old Temple Bar, the original location of the Old Bailey and many lawyer and barrister offices. Some of the offices are still there, but most of the law community in the City of London are now located on Fleet Street. And Fleet Street used to be the place where all the newspaper and publishing people reigned supreme. Now you walk by buildings that say this was Samuel Boswell's house, or Charles Dickens, or Samuel Johnson—all authors we covered in English literature, both in classes I've taken and taught.

The weather couldn't have been nicer, almost the whole time we were in the UK. We only had one day (in London) that was rainy, windy, and cold. Most of the time we were blessed with lots of sunshine and perfect temps, even in Scotland. What a blessing!

Kathy was done about 1:00, and after we picked up some lunch at a sandwich shop, we headed to the car hire place via taxi. Our driver gave a quick tour past Buckingham Palace and other points of interest on the way. And he gave us a couple of suggestions of places to visit while we were in Cornwall.

Kathy was our designated driver for the two weekends we had car rentals, and she did a great job with her dad navigating for her. However, she soon learned to ignore him when he told her to turn right or left because he seemed to think that because she was driving on the left side of the road that directions changed as well. And that quirk lasted the whole time we were there! We got lots of laughs out of it, but Kathy listened to our NavSat she'd borrowed from friends rather her dad when it came to making right or left turns.

I'll save Cornwall for the next post, but I'll leave you with a peek at the family castle—not kidding! LOL

Daily Bible Reading

Not sure what I've already posted, so I'm just going with the whole month here. Still part of that lack of Internet accessibility the last two weeks. *smile*

Tuesday, September 30—Ezekiel 24–26; John 13:21–38
Wednesday, October 1—Ezekiel 27–29; John 14
Thursday, October 2—Ezekiel 30–32; John 15
Friday, October 3—Ezekiel 33–34; John 16
Saturday, October 4—Ezekiel 35–36; John 17
Sunday, October 5—Ezekiel 37–39; John 18:1–18
Monday, October 6—Ezekiel 40–41; John 18:19–40

Tuesday, October 7—Ezekiel 42–44; John 19:1–22
Wednesday, October 8—Ezekiel 45–46; John 19:23–42
Thursday, October 9—Ezekiel 47–48; John 20
Friday, October 10—Song of Solomon 1–3; John 21
Saturday, October 11—Song of Solomon 4–5; Ephesians 1
Sunday, October 12—Song of Solomon 6–8; Ephesians 2
Monday, October 13—1 Samuel 1–3; Ephesians 3

Tuesday, October 14—1 Samuel 4–6; Ephesians 4
Wednesday, October 15—1 Samuel 7–9; Ephesians 5:1–16
Thursday, October 16—1 Samuel 10–12; Ephesians 5:17–33
Friday, October 17—1 Samuel 13–14; Ephesians 6
Saturday, October 18—1 Samuel 15–16; 2 Peter 1
Sunday, October 19—1 Samuel 17–18; 2 Peter 2
Monday, October 20—1 Samuel 19–21; 2 Peter 3

Tuesday, October 21—1 Samuel 22–24; 1 Timothy 1
Wednesday, October 22—1 Samuel 25–26; 1 Timothy 2
Thursday, October 23—1 Samuel 27–29; 1 Timothy 3
Friday, October 24—1 Samuel 30–31; 1 Timothy 4
Saturday, October 25—2 Samuel 1–2; 1 Timothy 5
Sunday, October 26—2 Samuel 3–5; 1 Timothy 6
Monday, October 27—2 Samuel 6–8; 1 John 1

Tuesday, October 28—2 Samuel 9–11; 1 John 2
Wednesday, October 29—2 Samuel 12–13; 1 John 3
Thursday, October 30—2 Samuel 14–15; 1 John 4
Friday, October 31—2 Samuel 16–18; 1 John 5
Saturday, November 1—2 Samuel 19–20; 2 John
Sunday, November 2—2 Samuel 21–22; 3 John
Monday, November 3—2 Samuel 23–24; Colossians 1

Murder on the Ol' Bunions by S. Dionne Moore

This was one of last week's blogs, but I wanted to make sure I got my review in on it. And Internet service for us was very sporadic while we were in the UK—not the UK's fault, we didn't stay at places that offered it as part of their guest services, nor did we take the time for Internet cafés. VBG

So here's some info about Sandra's debut mystery novel:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sandra has been writing for years with historicals being her main focus. By the time she had a polished manuscript in hand, historicals were unpopular. She didn't give up though and decided to try her hand at writing a mystery. A cozy mystery.

Her first book, Murder on The Ol' Bunions , released in April of 2008. Book two of the LaTisha Barnhart Mystery series, Polly Dent Loses Grip, and book three, Eat, Drink and Be Buried will follow in April 2009 and 2010, respectively.

She's almost always running a contest, so drop by her Web site, you just might win a free gift!
ABOUT THE BOOK


LaTisha Barnhart’s bunions tell her something’s afoot as she delves deeper into the murder of her former employee, Marion Peters. When LaTisha becomes a suspect, the ante is upped, and she is determined to clear her name and find the culprit.

She’s burping Mark Hamm’s bad cooking to investigate his beef with Marion. . .getting her hair styled at a highfalutin’ beauty parlor to see what has Regina Rogane in a snarl. . .playing self-appointed matchmaker between the local chief and a prime suspect. . .and thinking Payton O’Mahney’s music store lease might be the reason he’s singing out of tune when discussion of Marion’s murder arises. LaTisha’s thinking she just might use the reward money to get her bunions surgically removed. But she’s got to catch the crook first.

Small town intrigue, a delightful, vivid cast, and a well-crafted mystery make S. Dionne Moore’s debut novel a must-read! I loved it!~Susan May Warren~Award-winning author of Reclaiming Nick

“S. Dionne Moore has the rare quality of pulling together great characters and compelling plots.”
~Kelly Klepfer~ www.novelreviews.blogspot.com

If you would like to HEAR the first chapter, go HERE and click on the bookcover trailer box!

If you would like to READ, the first chapter of Murder on The Ol' Bunions , go HERE.


Margie's comments: I had the privilege of working on this book as a proofreader. And the story characters blew me away! Sandra has done a wonderful job of capturing her characters' quirks and uniqueness. I love LaTisha: she's the perfect amateur sleuth that makes this story work, since she already has a reputation for being "nosy," but in a good way because of her love for people, which comes out in her willingness to eat bad food in order to find out the truth of her former employers demise. The town and the people in it came alive for me as I read. If you like cozy mysteries, you'll love this one! My only regret is that we have to wait a whole year between books in this series!

This book is a great example of the Heartsong Mystery! line that Barbour is producing. I'm a member of the book club, even though I get to work on several of the books before going to print. I've enjoyed the variety of the stories as they all work within the cozy mystery genre—my absolute favorite genre, though, as you know, I read widely in many genres.

Off to London

Today Roger and I are leaving for a two-week trip to London to visit our daughter. We (well, actually it's my trip of a lifetime) are very excited. We have lots of plans and places to visit while we're there. So stay tuned! I'll be updating periodically with pictures, if not while we're in the UK, after we get home again.

A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Constant Heart
(Bethany House October 1, 2008)
by
Siri Mitchell


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.

But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.

Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.

A Constant Heart is her sixth novel. Two of her novels, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door were Christy Award finalists. She has been called one of the clearest, most original voices in the CBA.



ABOUT THE BOOK

In a world of wealth, power, and privilege . . . love is the only forbidden luxury.

“Trust was a valuable commodity at court. Traded by everyone, but possessed by no one. Its rarity was surpassed only by love. Love implied commitment and how could any of us commit ourselves to any but the Queen? Love implied singularity and how could any of us benefit another if our affections were bound to one in exclusivity? Love was never looked for and rarely found. When it was, it always ended badly.”

In Queen Elizabeth’s court where men and women willingly trade virtue for power, is it possible for Marget to obtain her heart’s desire or is the promise of love only an illusion?

A riveting glimpse into Queen Elizabeth's Court . . .

Born with the face of an angel, Marget Barnardsen is blessed. Her father is a knight, and now she is to be married to the Earl of Lytham. Her destiny is guaranteed . . . at least, it would seem so. But when her introduction to court goes awry and Queen Elizabeth despises her, Marget fears she's lost her husband forever. Desperate to win him back, she'll do whatever it takes to discover how she failed and capture again the love of a man bound to the queen.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Constant Heart, go HERE

New Blog and Web Site

In the past few weeks I've received e-mails from my friends about some new links to check out.

The first is Patricia Durgin's blog: http://resqkit.typepad.com/

I first met Patricia several years ago when she asked me to edit several things before a conference. But we didn't meet face-to-face until last year's Colorado Christian Writers Conference. She's the kind of friend who pops in from time to time, checking up on me. (Never can have too many of those!) Her ministry is to those who are in difficult relationships—with parents, in marriage, with children, etc. So check out what she has to say.

The other is a link to watercolorist Teddi Wareham—a longtime friend. When we first moved to Colorado over twelve years ago, Teddi "adopted" my family. And she impressed us with her godly example and her generous spirit. That friendship has grown, and now Teddi is one of my dearest friends. Along with one other very dear friend, we try to meet regularly for dinner (ladies night out). Notice the emphasis on try. This year we've had a hard time connecting when we're all in town at the same time. LOL

I think you'll like her paintings. Check out her Web site: http://www.tkwwatercolor.com/

It's Not About Me by Michelle Sutton

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
It's Not About Me
Sheaf House Publishers (September 1, 2008)
by
Michelle Sutton


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Sutton has lived in Arizona since 1991 and has two sons and a husband of 18 years. She began writing fiction in August 2003 when God inspired her to write a novel with realistic characters that would glorify Him. In 2004 she joined ACFW - American Christian Fiction Writers. In 2006 Michelle ran for Volunteer Officer on the ACFW Operating board and ACFW members elected her to serve a two year term. She sold her first manuscript Then Sings My Soul (now re-titled It's Not About Me) to Sheaf House and her debut novel was released in Sept. 2008. The second book in the Second Glances series - It's Not About Him - will be released the following fall (Sept. 2009.)

Last, Michelle is Editor in Chief of the new Christian Fiction Online Magazine. The debut issue released in July 2008. The magazine is sponsored by the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Annie has it all. She's attractive, graduated with honors, was accepted at the college of her choice, has supportive parents, good friends, and a steady boyfriend who loves her. One night an unexpected visitor appears and Annie's safe world is destroyed by a brutal attack. As she tries to pick up the pieces of her broken life, she is torn between two brothers, both of whom claim to love her. She is attracted to both, but which one does she love? How can she choose when her decision may cause a permanent rift between them? And more important, will she give her heart to the One who will sustain her even when human love fails.

"...the exquisitely written spiritual content shows the reader that redemption is available, no matter what the circumstances."
- 4 Stars, Romantic Times!

Instead of dealing with timely issues like alcoholism, premarital sex, and pornography in a preachy, oh-so-tired fashion, Michelle Sutton's It's Not About Me gets to the heart of the matter with a shocking dose of realism and poignant storytelling. From the first paragraph, Sutton weaves together a thoroughly entertaining story that'll keep readers intrigued for the long haul as they get to know Annie, Dan, Tony, and Susie—young adults that probably don't look and sound all that different from themselves. Now that's a seriously refreshing turn for Christian fiction.
~Christa Ann Banister~, author of Around the World in 80 Dates, (NavPress 2007) and Blessed are the Meddlers (NavPress 2008)

It's Not About Me is a wonderfully entertaining and deliciously suspenseful read that will keep you turning the pages. Sutton doesn't back away from the drama and with all of the twists and turns, It's Not About Me is hard to put down. I cannot wait for the sequel! Bravo!
~Victoria Christopher Murray~, Essence best-selling author of multiple titles including The Ex Files and the upcoming YA series The Divine Divas

“Annie captured my heart on the first page and kept me enthralled to the very end. This edgy, yet surprisingly poignant story travels the inroads of intimate relationships – man to woman, brother to brother, parent to child, friend to friend. But especially satisfying is the author’s delicate handling of the relationship between a searching soul and the loving Savior who alone possesses the power to work all things out for the good. A terrific debut for Michelle Sutton. I can’t wait to read more from this talented author!”
~Virginia Smith~, author of Just As I Am and Sincerely, Mayla

"Michelle Sutton's gritty writing style will very likely go straight to the hearts of teens, addressing what they deal with every day in what is all too often grim reality for our youth. Sutton is no doubt a refreshing and much needed voice in today's YA fiction."
~Tina Ann Forkner~, Author of Ruby Among Us
Waterbrook Press/Random House

If you would like to read the Prologue and first Chapter of It's Not About Me, go HERE

ACFW Conference

Yesterday my Internet was down most of the day while Qwest did some requested upgrading on our speed. So . . .

The conference was held in Minneapolis this year. The weather was perfect fall weather with the leaves just starting to change. I went early to attend the early bird session with Margie Lawson. It was excellent as usual. All the workshops I attended were great. And I bought the entire conference on MP3 downloads. So I have access to all the workshops I wished I could attend and couldn't. This year I volunteered in the prayer room, since the ministry that goes on in there affected me directly last year. What a blessing to pray for others.

And of course, the highlight of these conferences for me is being with so many friends, old and new. As is my usual modus operandi, I forgot to take my camera. But others have been wonderful to share their pics with me. Extra special to me this year was being able to share the conference with my sister, Kathy. (At least she remembered her camera! LOL Most of the pictures below are from her camera.)

A first for ACFW this year was the multi-author booksigning at the Mall of America, hosted by Barnes & Noble. In the first picture, Angie Hunt, Karen Ball, James Scott Bell, and Brandilyn Collins are on the hotseat panel.









Here's one of Megan DiMaria signing in the main rotunda.










The line of authors stretched down one of the malls hallways all the way down to Bloomingdale's where my very good friend and critique partner Kim signed next to Rachel Hauck.









Here's Kim on the hotseat with Tammy Alexander and Nancy Moser.









Kathy and I hung out with Eileen Key, another very dear friend and critique partner (go Crit14!).







And Eileen with Terri Blackstock and Brandt Dodson.










Here are a couple more of the line stretching down the side hall. The last one features Kathy Kovach—good friend, critique partner (JOY Writers!), and ACFW Rocky Mountain Zone director.



Finally, after the booksigning was the annual ACFW awards banquet. I'll list the winners of this year's awards in another post. But for now, here are pictures of Kathy and me all dressed up and one with Kim that she took holding her camera out and snapping. (Not bad!!)



Now, I'm off to do some fall planting before getting back to work.