Carrie Turansky book giveaway-Christmas Mail Order Brides

Welcome Carrie! So glad to have you on my blog. Carrie is giving away a copy of her book, Christmas Mail Order Brides. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

1) Where are you right now (LVR, DR, Bathroom) and what are you wearing? You have to tell the truth.

I am sitting at my corner desk in the dining room. I’m wearing long-sleeve flowered T-shirt, navy blue, with navy blue pants, and running shoes. Not too exciting, but I’m very comfortable.

2) Who's your one biggest fan/supporter of your writing?

One of the most encouraging supporters of my writing is my friend Cathy Gohlke, who is also an author. She has invited me to her home several times to brainstorm and write. I feel very blessed to have a friend who loves me and encourages me like that.

3) What is your favorite time period to write in?

I like to write books set in the 1800’s, but I also write contemporary stories.

4) If you could be any character in any literary book who would you be and why?

I’ve always loved Anne of Green Gables. She was very creative, intelligent and had a lot of determination.

5) Are you or any close family members in the characters personalities?

All of my characters are a mix of friends, family and my creative imagination.

6) Did anyone inspire you to write?

My mother was a very creative woman. She was an artist and an author, and she has been a great inspiration to me.

7) If you could live in any time period when and where would that be and why?

I enjoy reading and writing historical stories, but I think I still like living in the present time period.

8) If you could visit any place in the world where would you go and why?

I would like to visit Greece, especially the Greek Islands. I read the book Moon Spinners when I was 12, and I’ve wanted to visit the Greek Islands ever since.

9) If you could meet any person alive or dead who would that be and why? (excluding the Lord)

Another blogger asked me that same question a few months ago and it had some surprising results. I said I would like to meet Dr. and Mrs. James Dobson, because I admire them so much, and they have made a huge impact on our family. Dr. Dobson has someone who keeps an eye on the Internet for any time his name is mentioned. They forwarded my comment, and Dr. Dobson wrote back and invited me to come to Colorado to have lunch with him. We haven’t worked out a date yet, but I was excited to receive his message and look forward to meeting him sometime soon.

Wow! That is really exciting. Dr. Dobson has touched so many lives. You'll have to come back and let us know how that lunch went! Thanks for being on my blog, Carrie.

Three unmarried women contact Mrs. Mayberry's Matrimonial Society for Christians of Moral Character seeking husbands and travel the Transcontinental Railroad hoping love awaits them.

Annika Bergstrom, a Swedish immigrant, travels to Wyoming where her intended, Chase Simms, has disappeared, leaving his father and brother saddled with her future. When her groom returns, will her heart still be free to give?

Enroute to Nevada, Jolie Addams's stagecoach is robbed, placing her in a compromising situation with wounded fellow passenger, Clay Jackson, when they are forced to spend a night on the trail alone together. Will Joile's fiance be understanding?

Elizabeth Lariby packs up her life of secrets and heads to Nebraska for a new start, but her fiance, Zane Michaels, also has secrets that could doom the new marriage. Can they learn to trust each other?

When Amelia Mayberry decides to end her matchmaking service, she still has one prospective groom waiting to be matched. Will traveling to California to meet Lennox Baily set things right or create new conflicts?

Will this Christmas season bring hope to those seeking lasting love?

Winner of Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul is Nancye.

Be sure to leave your email address. Please check your junk mail on and the day after the drawing. I've had to redraw because of no responses. Subject box will have: winner of (book title). I'll email the winner and they'll have seven days to respond. If I don't hear back I'll draw another name. USA shipping only. Thanks so much and please stop back again! Drawing will be held Monday, December 13.

Book Giveaway-Lena Nelson Dooley's 'Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe'

I'd like to welcome Lena Nelson Dooley to my blog. We're going to have a little fun today and get in the holiday spirit.

Lena had her pictures taken and would like to hear what your favorite picture is. Look over the pictures and see which one you like best. Leave a post and which number you like best to be entered into the drawing for Lena's book Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe.









Lena has a fun Thanksgiving tradition that they do every year. After reading what Lena's family does, tell us if you have a Thanksgiving tradition that you every year.

Several years ago, I got one of those blank books and made it our Thanksgiving Day book. I made everyone who came to our house for the holiday write why they were thankful that year, even the little ones. My youngest granddaughter, who is now 15 could hardly write the first time we did it. And the men weren't really into writing their feelings, so theirs were very short.

I continued this every year. Now they are waiting for the book and make sure everyone gets to sign. Last year, my 22-year-old grandson missed it and came back the next day so he would be in it. And my 2-year-old great grandson scribbled in it with the pen.

I notice that many of them look back through the book sometime during the day, reading passages from previous years. One year my son-in-law Eric's father was with us, and he wrote in the book. He's since gone home to be with the Lord. Eric likes to look back at what his father wrote.

When this book is full, we'll start another one.


Winner of Darlene Franklin's Bridge to Love is Diana. Congratulations!

Interview with Sandi Rog and Book Giveaway.

Please welcome Sandi Rog.
The day Sandi's book was released she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Instead of giving away her book this week, I'm asking you to purchase her book for yourself or to give it as a gift this Christmas. Her publisher has set up a fundraiser and for every book sold they will donate $1 to a fund to help offset the expenses of her treatment. I'm giving away Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul and hoping you'll go out and buy Sandi's. Leave a note of encouragement for Sandi and you'll be entered to win.

Sandi is one of the sweetest people you could meet. Always willing to help. She is a wife and mother of four. Please keep her in your prayers.


I've borrowed an interview with Sandi from my good friend and crit partner, Kathy Maher. Thanks Kathy!

What do you wish for this book to accomplish, in terms of your readers, your career, and your genre?

I want it to encourage people to read their Bibles. To question what I’ve written and hold it next to the scriptures. I want them to move closer to God and realize just how passionate He is about them, just how passionately He loves each and every one of us.
As for my career, I think every writer dreams of becoming the next bestseller. Yes. I dream big. Even when being published through a small press. Why not? Since God can part the Red Sea, He can do amazing things with what I write for Him. And why can’t my book be born in a stable? LOL Okay, all that said, it’s all up to God. He knows what I want. The question is, what does He want?
As for my genre, I don’t really have a wish for that. What I mean is, I just want my story to inspire others to write the best stories they can, no matter what the genre.

God tends to speak to me through my own writing. Has this happened to you, and if so, what have you learned from this book?

I’ve learned to pray over everything, every line, every paragraph and every page. And this is no exaggeration . I want my work to be pleasing to God, so I ask Him constantly if there’s something in my work that He doesn’t approve of, to show me so I can fix it. I also ask Him to show me how to fix things, and He does! I’m not saying He speaks to me in this low, heavenly whisper. He usually sends a friend or a critique partner, or a sermon or a song, or a scripture, or whatever, my way to show me the answer. I just have to keep my eyes and ears open because I never know where it’s going to come from. That’s when I also pray and ask Him to help me not to miss it! I tend to get a little distracted and lost in daydreams—which are really my stories, but yah.

Do you have other books in the works?

Yes! Right now, I’m nearing the end of Book Two titled, Yahshua’s Bridge. If you’re wondering what in the world “Yahshua” means, it’s Christ’s name. I just love the thought of having His original Hebrew name on the cover of my book. Lord willing, after that will come “Father’s Rock.”
Thank you so much for having me, Kathy. You’re a fabulous writer, and I’m honored to be here.


Sandi, We are praying for strength both physically and mentally and praying that God will reach down and touch you with His healing hand. We serve a God who is in the business of miracles!





The Master’s Wall
He fights for his freedom. She fights for her life. Together, they fight for each other.
After watching Roman soldiers drag his parents away to their death, David, a young Hebrew, is sold and enslaved to serve at a villa outside of Rome. As David trains to become a skilled fighter, he works hard to please his master and hopes to earn his freedom. However, an opportunity to escape tempts him with its whispering call. Freedom beckons, but invisible chains hold him captive to the master’s granddaughter, an innocent girl with a fiery spirit. David vows to protect Alethea from his master, the murderous patriarch, and contrives a daring plan—sacrifice his own life to save hers.






Winner of Karen Witemeyer's, Head in the Clouds is Joy. Congratulations!

Be sure to leave your email address. Please check your junk mail on and the day after the drawing. I've had to redraw because of no responses. Subject box will have: winner of (book title). I'll email the winner and they'll have seven days to respond. If I don't hear back I'll draw another name. USA shipping only. Thanks so much and please stop back again! Drawing will be held Monday, November 29.

Giveaway- Darlene Franklin's, Bridge to Love

Author bio:Award-winning author and speaker Darlene Franklin recently returned to cowboy country—Oklahoma—to be near family. She recently signed the contract for her tweleth book. This fall she is celebrating the repacking of her Rhode Island romance in Seaside Romance and her third novella anthology, Face of Mary in A Woodland Christmas. Visit Darlene’s blogs at www.darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com and http://thebookdoctorbd.blogspot.com

What led me to a story set in 1816 Vermont?

Heartsong Presents had invested several years in publishing three historical romances and three contemporary series about all fifty states. As you may imagine, competition among writers was fairly fierce. A handful of states remained in 2009; as a native New Englander, the possibility of telling stories set in historical Vermont appealed to me. So I researched Vermont history and came up with stories set during the Revolutionary War (Prodigal Patriot, released last July); the Year of No Summer, when snow or freeze occurred during every month of the year, 1816 (Bridge to Love, releasing this month, which also features the construction of one of Vermont’s famed covered bridges); and the northernmost battle of the Civil War, St. Albans’ Raid (Love’s Raid, releasing next March).

In Bridge to Love, my hero, Calvin Tuttle, has returned home from the War of 1812 and is trying to grow a crop and make enough money to pay off his debt to the bank. But the monthly freezing temperatures are killing the plants almost faster than he can plant them. Can he save his farm—and win the heart of the banker’s daughter?

As I wrote the story, I thought about God’s promise to Noah that “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) Did Calvin wonder if he was living in the last days? Did he question God’s promise, which appeared to be failing? I could easily imagine myself in that situation, wrestling with theological questions as much as the weather.

Calvin tries an ingenious method to grow his crop (proven by history to work in the town of Egypt, Vermont) which leads him to an ethical dilemma that puts him even further at odds with the banker.

And on an even more personal note, the name I gave my heroine just happens to be my mother’s middle name—Beatrice. And Mom went home to be with the Lord in February. So this book is a special tribute to her.

Come with me and enjoy a visit to Maple Notch.

Here are the last four winners!!

Winner of Celtic Knot: Sheree

Winner of Surrender the Heart: Jennifer

Winner of Mail Order Brides: Katie

Winner of A Woodland Christmas: Debbie

Be sure to leave your email address. Please check your junk mail on and the day after the drawing. I've had to redraw because of no responses. Subject box will have: winner of (book title). I'll email the winner and they'll have seven days to respond. If I don't hear back I'll draw another name. USA shipping only. Thanks so much and please stop back again! Drawing will be held Monday, November 22.

Book Giveaway Karen Witemeyer's Head in the Clouds

Welcome Karen Witemeyer. Karen will be giving away her new release, Head in the Clouds. Be sure to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

Fairy Tale Endings

I love happy endings. That's why I adore reading and writing romance novels—I long for that contented sigh at the end, for the hope it instills, for the dreaminess of knowing that love really can conquer all. Love stories with tragic endings? Ugh! They tear my heart out and leave me desperately re-writing the ending in my head to try to capture what was lost. My husband still gives me a hard time for getting so angry in the theater at the end of Sommersby. I edited that ending in my head for days afterward.

Adelaide Proctor, the heroine in Head in the Clouds, is a hopeless romantic—much like the author who created her. She adores love stories, fairy tales, and novels with happy endings even though it is this very passion that gets her into trouble.

Now, happy endings have been around since the beginning of storytelling, but my editors were concerned that having Adelaide use the phrase happily ever after would be too modern an idiom for her 19^th century setting. They felt it was more a product of the Disney generation.

Okay, I admit it. I love Disney. I can probably sing the soundtrack to most of their classic animated movies by heart. But my editors got me to thinking . . . Is happily ever after a Disney-ism or is there a basis for it in the fairy tales from which those movies orignated?

The Grimm brothers published their first volume of fairy tales in 1812 and after several revisions and additions had their collection completed by 1857. In my search for a happily ever after, I skimmed through several of the 200 stories. Here are some samples of what I found:

"He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented." – Rapunzel

"…and there they lived happily a great many years." – The Frog Prince

"…and they lived happily together all their lives long." – Briar Rose

"…but Snowdrop and the price lived and reigned happily over that land many, many years." – Snowdrop

"…and they lived very happily the rest of their days." – The Four Clever Brothers

You've probably noticed that I failed to find the exact phrase happily ever after, although many are quite similar. So I continued searching, moving on to the works of Hans Christian Andersen, with no success. Finally, I tried Charles Perrault, the Frenchman who first published such classic tales as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Surely, I would find a happily ever after with him. But alas, it was not to be.

Then, just when all hope was gone, I discovered a book of fairy tales published in 1858 entitled Four and Twenty Fairy Tales: Selected from those of Perrault, and Other Popular Writers. I scanned through the stories without much expectation until three little words caught my eye at the bottom of page 335. It was the tale of Princess Minute and King Floridor penned by the Count De Caylus, and it concluded with this wonderful sentence:

"They married, and lived happily ever after."

Ah . . . there's the ending I was craving, both for the fairy tale and for my research project. Adelaide now has her happily ever after, and I have mine. I pray that you will find yours as well.

So what do you prefer? Do you like those tear-jerker stories that wrench your heart, or do you prefer the fairy tale endings with the knight riding off into the sunset with his lady? Leave a comment and be entered for a chance to win a copy of Head in the Clouds.

About Head in the Clouds:

When a recovering romantic goes to work for a handsome ranch owner, her heart’s not the only thing in danger.

Adelaide Proctor is a young woman with her head in the clouds, longing for a real-life storybook hero to claim as her own. But when a husband-hunting debacle leaves her humiliated, she interviews for a staid governess position on a central Texas sheep ranch and vows to leave her romantic yearnings behind.

When Gideon Westcott left his privileged life in England to make a name for himself in America's wool industry, he

never expected to become a father overnight. And five-year-old Isabella hasn't uttered a word since she lost her mother. The unconventionality of the new governess concerns Gideon--and intrigues him at the same time. But he can't afford distractions. He has a ranch to run, a shearing to oversee, and a suspicious fence-cutting to investigate.

When Isabella's uncle co

mes to claim the child--and her inheritance--Gideon and Adelaide must work together to protect Isabella from the man's evil schemes. And soon neither can deny their growing attraction. But after so many heartbreaks, will Adelaide be willing to get her head out of the clouds and put her heart on the line?

Be sure to leave your email address. Please check your junk mail on and the day after the drawing. I've had to redraw because of no responses. Subject box will have: winner of (book title). I'll email the winner and they'll have seven days to respond. If I don't hear back I'll draw another name. USA shipping only. Thanks so much and please stop back again! Drawing will be held Monday, October November 15st.