Fiction Spotlight: ACFW February Releases, part 2 

This is the 2nd half of the list I shared with you last week–February releases by authors associated with American Christian Fiction Writers. More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. I see some Amish books here, and some friends I know and love. What fun!

Sheltering Love by Elizabeth Goddard — Alexa’s last chance to produce an award-winning documentary draws attention to a canopy biologist hiding in the trees. When their greatest fears collide in the heart of the wilderness, can they each bury the past long enough to nurture love? (Romance from Heartsong Presents (Barbour)).

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke– Michael Dunnagan is given a life, a hope and a future through his friend’s sacrifice aboard Titanic. Now he must keep his promise to help Owen’s family in NJ, and bring his sister from England to America. He never expected to fall in love with her, or that she would disappear into the horrors of WWI. Michael risks everything to find the woman he’s grown to love. (Historical from Tyndale House Publishers).

To Love and To Cherish by Kelly S. Irvin– The sudden, tragic death of Emma Shirack’s parents in a buggy accident and the return of a suitor who abandoned her years earlier test Emma’s Amish faith and her ability to forgive. Will a man she thought of as a friend be the one to help her to heal? (Romance from Harvest House).

Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings– She’s Finally Found a Place to Call Home… How Far Will She Go to Save It? (Historical Romance from Bethany House).

Hometown Cinderella by Ruth Axtell Morren — (Historical Romance from Love Inspired).

Falling for the Fireman by Allie Pleiter– When fire marshall Chad Owens suspects that fire victim Jeannie Nelworth’s son may be channeling his emotions in a dangerous manner, will the pretty and but protective widowed mom be strong enough to help him? (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

Second Chance by Eileen Hinkle Rife– Dareece Jackson, a teen from the projects, wants something in Mave Robertson’s purse…and he’ll stop at nothing to get it. (Contemporary Fiction from OakTara Publishers).

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer– Sadie Wagner has always been devoted to her family. So when her stepfather is injured and can’t work, she decides to leave home and accept a position as a clerk at the mercantile in Goldtree, Kansas. Goldtree also offers the opportunity to use her God-given singing talent – though the promised opera house is far different from what she imagined. With her family needing every cent she can provide, Sadie will do anything to keep her job. Thad McKane comes to Goldtree at the request of the town council. The town has been plagued by bootlegging operations, and Thad believes he can find the culprit. (Historical Romance from Bethany House).

A House Full of Hope by Missy Tippens– A widowed mom of four who’s put her life on hold until her kids are grown finds hope of love in the most unlikely of places when the former bad boy who ruined her sister returns to town seeking redemption. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

A Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh– Campbell Carter has come to Sweethaven in search of answers about her mother’s history. Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter wrote letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne’s three friends-Lila, Jane, and Meghan-haven’t spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne’s letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. (Contemporary Fiction from Guideposts Books).

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate– A sweet deal for the sale of lakeside family property in Texas could make Heather’s career, but suddenly the family backs off, Heather rushes back to the site of a previous family tragedy and finds an old high school flame and her brother scheming to — what? (Cozy Mystery from Bethany House).

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall– Love between a Mennonite woman and an Amish man threatens the lifelong relationship between two brothers. And two families. Annie is a young Old Order Mennonite woman whose grandfather co-owns a restaurant with the Zooks, an Old Order Amish family. Romance between the Mennonites and Amish is unacceptable. Inappropriate. Forbidden. But it seems that Annie and Aden have denied their feelings for each other for as long as they can tolerate. (Contemporary Romance from Waterbrook Multnomah).

Happy reading! ~V

I’m going to be completely honest. I have never been good at DAILY Bible reading. I mean to. I intend to. I realize I should, but … well, life interferes. I have had a lot of Bible study in my life. I was raised Baptist!

When Ted Cooper showed up at my church recently and presented his program to read the Bible (cover to cover) in 90 days, I was intrigued. I think I’ve read MOST of the Bible, but read the entire thing in 90 days?  Hmmm… Then I talked to my husband about it, and he laughed. “You’re leaving something out, if you’re reading it in 90 days!” He was skeptical to say the least.

It’s been 2 weeks … we’ve worked our way through Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. Whew! That was some reading and yes–there were some surprises. The biggest surprise is what an inspiration God’s word has been. I can’t quite explain how much I’m enjoying this, more so because 80 people from my church are doing the program at once. It’s like the best Reading Circle ever!

You can purchase Ted’s book on Amazon, which is the NIV Bible in large print without footnotes. My husband is using it and loves it. Or you can use your NIV Bible and print the schedule off from this blog - it’s basically 12 pages a day. The best way to begin this program is with others, and Ted offers videos and workbooks which have been marvelous. You can see those here, and I highly recommend them for any church.

The Bible–it is inspirational. I’m sure after these 90 days, I’ll understand why I should have had better reading habits all along. Blessings,

~V

February might SEEM like an early time to talk about gardening, but I like the idea of planning out my garden. When I look back over the photos of Amish gardens I have visited, it’s easy to see they are well planned. Lots of work and effort went into these vegetable patches–and for good reason. Here are a few things I noticed:

1. The gardens are an important food source. They’re not just recreational–though everyone seemed to enjoy working in them.
2. They are well planned out, not haphazard. Notice the nice rows. : )
3. Flowers are planted alongside vegetables. I can remember my grandmother telling me that some flowers (marigolds) would keep some pests (ants) away from my vegetables. There might be others that work the same way.

Care to share anything you’ve noticed from Amish gardening? We’ll stay with this subject for a few Saturdays. I hope it inspires you to think about YOUR spring garden. In my Shipshewana Amish Mystery series, there is always a lot of gardening and harvesting … I enjoy the connection to the land, and I think it’s one reason we like Amish stories.

~V

p.s. – Zondervan will have a major contest announcement on my Facebook page on March 2nd. Stay tuned …

I wanted to share with you the following releases by authors associated with American Christian Fiction Writers. This is the 1st half of the list. I’ll post the other half next Wednesday. More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Love Finds You in New Orleans by Christa Allan — (Historical Romance from Summerside Press – Guideposts).

Picture Perfect Family by Renee Andrews — Missionary Daniel Brantley has returned to Claremont, Alabama to raise his orphaned nephew; however, Mandy Carter, the woman whose proposal he refused years before, isn’t about to let him take Kaden away. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired).

Into the Free by Julie Cantrell — A simple girl with anything but a simple story. (Contemporary Fiction from David Cook).

In Too Deep by Mary Connealy– In 1866 Colorado, Ethan Kincaid agrees to a marriage of convenience with the same casual disregard he gives every decision. Audra Gilliland, young mother of two, accepts his proposal because she wants to stop being a burden to her newly married stepdaughter. And suddenly both of them are in far deeper than they’d planned. (Historical Romance from Bethany House).

A Wedding to Remember in Charleston, South Carolina by Annalisa Daughety — Wedding planner Summer Nelson is throwing herself into her work to avoid the pain of her recent marriage separation. Husband Luke knows he made a mistake – but doesn’t know how to fix it. When a hurricane traps them together, the crisis might tear them apart forever. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour Publishing).

Heart’s Safe Passage by Laurie Alice Eakes, — When midwife Phoebe Lee is pressed by her pregnant sister-in-law to help save her husband from an English prison during the War of 1812, they end up aboard a British privateer crossing the Atlantic under the command of a man with a deadly mission. (Historical Romance from Revell).

Highland Crossings by Laurie Alice Eakes, Pamela Griffin, Jennifer Hudson Taylor, Gina Welborn, — Historic North Carolina takes center stage in a new collection of novellas that follows the lives and loves of four women…and the heirloom brooch that connects them through generations. Will Seona, Fiona, Seren, and Brynna find God’s path in a new world far from their Scottish home? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing).

When the Smoke Clears by Lynette Eason — When Alexia arrives home to find her ex-boyfriend dead in her mother’s basement, she realizes she needs help. Thanks goodness Hunter Graham is more than willing to offer it. (Romantic Suspense from Revell).

Sweeter than Birdsong by Rosslyn Elliott — A shy young woman must find her courage when she is thrown together on a dangerous errand with a musical genius. (Historical Romance from Thomas Nelson).

Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart — Adriane Darcy stands ready to do whatever she must to keep her father’s newspaper number one in the city including agreeing to marry a man she doesn’t love, the son of a powerful local political figure, but when she meets Blake Garrett, the editor of a competing newspaper, sparks fly that will change both their lives forever. (Historical Romance from Revell).

Before the Scarlet Dawn by Rita Gerlach– In 1775, A young woman longs for acceptance and leaves behind all she has in order to follow her heart and the man she loves into the Maryland wilderness. But will her love and faith protect her from the trial she must face? Will she find the true meaning of companionship? And how will she face the world when she is rejected by those closest to her? (Historical Romance from Abingdon Press).

Happy reading!

~V

Monday Inspiration: Bell County PRCA Rodeo

You might find it odd, that I think a rodeo is inspiring, but I do! A few nights ago, hubby and I were sitting on the couch, barely awake, when the local news came on. They led with a story about the local Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association … and on our screen appeared a young girl with only one arm, barrel racing. Suddenly I was awake and listening. She wasn’t talking about the joy of participating–she was talking about how she was going to win … and not only in Belton, but how she planned to be a major contender when she grew up.

Wow! I was inspired. What courage and strength in that little girl–and let me add, she knew her way around a horse.

The event in our area raised $25,000 toward scholarships last year. It also serves to teach schoolchildren who don’t live on a ranch a little Texas culture. Not a bad thing all in all. 

But the image of that little girl cutting around barrels, riding proudly in her saddle? THAT is going to inspire me for quite some time.

Blessings,

V~

You all are seriously amazing. I appreciate you so much. Thank you for volunteering to read and post a review of A Perfect Square. You’re awesome. I wish I could have shipped everyone a free copy. I’m so excited about this book. My 5 winners are:

• Wendy Newcomb
• Ellen Dix Wycuff
• Barbara Abbott
• Susan Ferrell
• Sandra Stiles

I’ve already sent these folks an email with instructions (if you don’t receive it, email me at VannettaChapman@gmail.com). For everyone else, don’t despair! You know I have more gifts for you, and we have a BIG contest brought to you by Zondervan which will begin on March 2nd.

Hugs and happy Valentines this week,

V~

All Things Amish– in Shipshewana

The last 5 weeks, I’ve highlighted places in the town of Shipshewana. I did this because my Amish quilt shop mysteries are set in Shipshe. Since book 2, A Perfect Square will be releasing to stores soon–I thought it would be fun to re-visit some old friends. In case you’ve missed any of the posts, you can click on them below.

Feb. 4  Blue Gate Restaurant

Jan. 28  Menno-Hof Museum

Jan. 21 Morton Street Coffee

Jan. 14 Shipshewana

Jan. 7 Lolly’s Fabrics and Quilts

There are many more places in Shipshewana to visit. We didn’t even talk about the market! However, I have another segment of posts planned, so maybe we’ll come back to this in a few months. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and if you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello to my friends.

V~

Kelly Irvin has ruined my day. I began reading her new release, the first book in her “Bliss Creek Amish” series, so I could write an intelligent blog post. Now I want to forget the work I have to do for the rest of the day, curl up with my cat, and READ! 

2012 Give-away #5

It’s FEBRUARY and time for a new type of give-away. I have 5 Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) of my March 31st release, A Perfect Square.

An ARC is what publishers send out to reviewers–they still have a few minor errors, and I poured over one of the copies I’m giving away (no bent pages) and yes–I found some mistakes which we will correct! We also hand these out to librarians so they can read them and then run to order copies for their library system. Clicking on WorldCat, I found 226 library systems that had copies of book 1, Falling to Pieces, a few that had the large-print version which has just been released, and 2 international branches–the U.S. Army base in HEIDELBERG, D-69126 Germany and there’s also a copy in Zürich, 8001 Switzerland (in case you’re travelling and need a copy!).

I’d like to give my 5 copies to people who will have time to read the book in the next month and would be willing to post an honest review on Amazon, B&N, and CBD. If you’re interested, you must comment below with these words, “My email address is ***. I would have time to read this book, and I would be willing to provide an honest review at Amazon, B&N, and CBD”  — or something like that.

If you want to be entered twice, share this contest on Facebook, and comment again, saying, “This is my second entry. I’ve shared on Facebook! My email is ***”

Contest will run until Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. CST (what I call Texas time!).

You all are fabulous! Thank you so much for supporting Amish fiction.

Hugs,

Vannetta

p.s. – I’m sending my newsletter out within the next 24 hours. It will have an exclusive contest for newsletter peeps and ORIGINAL CONTENT (I wrote a tiny little bit of story leading into A Perfect Square). If you haven’t signed up yet, click here.

Sometimes after Sunday worship, a word, or a verse, or a song will stay with me–looping through my mind again and again.

This happened recently with Todd Agnew’s praise song, Grace Like Rain. Maybe it was because he re-visited the words from “Amazing Grace,” a hymn I heard my father play many times at the piano. Maybe it was because the praise song is done in a haunting minor key. Or maybe it was because the words touched a needful place in my heart.

I hope your week is filled with special blessings.

~V

V~