Daddy's Little Matchmakers by Kathleen Y'Barbo Ends February 13th

RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish, to name a few. A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen Y’Barbo has a daughter and three grown sons. She recently married her own hero in combat boots and is proud to be a military wife, even if it did mean giving up her Texas drivers license.

Kathleen is giving away a copy of her new release, Daddy's Little matchmakers.Tell Kathy something you procrastinate at writing related or other to be entered in the drawing. Be sure to leave your email addy so I can contact you if you win!

 A Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting to THE END and Hitting Send 

Some people have no trouble writing books. Words flow and contracts arrive almost as frequently as 747s land at LAX. Life is good and so are the royalty checks. Is this your idea of the writing life? Guess what? That’s fiction. Writing is work. Sometimes hard work. Not for the faint of heart or those prone to dropping projects before they’re done. 

Strike a nerve? Good. Because you’re not alone. I tried to find statistics on how many books are abandoned before they’re complete, but couldn’t get close to a good estimate. Know why? People with good intentions who figure they’ll finish that book someday so it’s not exactly abandoned. Add in the ones who just can’t quite turn the book loose after edit #3212 and you get the idea. 

It is a widely accepted fact that a book cannot be published unless it is released from the confines of the computer. So, how does an author finish a book and let it go? Easier said than done, right? 

Maybe not. 

1. Know what you have. Print out the manuscript and do a complete read-through in hard copy. Aloud. Yes. Read your manuscript to yourself. I know. You’ll look like an idiot. Who cares? You’re getting your book finished, and that’s what’s important. 

2. Know what you have to do. Whether you’re writing or editing, I want you to stop right now and decide exactly what needs doing. And write it down. Yes, like a goal. A real goal. Because once you’ve identified what you have to do, you must then figure out exactly how you’re going to do it. 

3. Know how to reach your goal. Need to finish the book? Okay, let’s look at that. What’s your word count goal? How many words can you comfortably write in a day? Or, maybe you need to look at a weekly goal. Underestimate the amount of hours in a week that you can devote to writing. That way you’ll be ahead if you do better than what you’ve projected. 

4. Know when to stop. Yes, that’s right. There are authors out there who do not know when to stop working on their completed manuscript. Yes, editing is important. Yes, we want to have the best possible manuscript to present to editors or agents. But how are these publishing professionals going to usher your book into print if you don’t release it into their hands? Ask yourself: Why can’t I let this go? Is the Lord telling me to wait or am I in defiance of what He wants? Yes, defiance. Because writers, if you’ve been charged with the job of writing for the Lord then you’ve got to be gut-honest and ask yourself if you’re standing in the way of what God wants to use you to do. If you are, you’ll know it. And if you are, you’re walking in disobedience. Just sayin… 

5. Know what to do next. Yes, next. You’re finished with the book. You’ve done the work of editing, and now you’re placing your manuscript in the hands of an editor or agent. Great! That’s awesome! Now what? Are there other manuscripts languishing in a file somewhere that need attention? Knock the dust off the next.

Veterinarian Eric Wilson is confounded by the classified ad his three young daughters have placed. The handsome widower is not in the market for a bride! But when the story of his little matchmakers hits the papers, would-be brides start swamping his waiting room. Despite them all, Eric finds himself drawn to the temp worker at the classifieds office: adorable free spirit Amy Spencer. Amy's been running for a while, and it's time she planted roots. Together, can Amy and Eric realize that trusting in God's plan is the sweetest surrender of all?

Christine Lindsey

Christine Lindsay is an award-winning writer of Christian Inspirational Historicals. SHADOWED IN SILK is her debut novel, which won the 2009 ACFW Genesis award in the historical category. Christine, her husband, and their grownup family live in British Columbia, Canada. She loves being Nana to her 3 little grandsons. 

All exciting fictional heroes have their basis in a person who really lived.

One of the secondary heroines---but oh so integral character of Miriam---in my novel Shadowed in Silk was inspired by a real Indian woman who lived over a century ago.

My fictional Miriam is a former Hindu widow who turned to Christ. In my book Miriam goes about rescuing abused and abandoned women and children, and runs a small clinic and orphanage. The inspiration behind my Miriam is the true-life heroine, Ramabai.

In the sequel to Shadowed in Silk, which is called Captured by Moonlight, my character Eshana will actually visit the real-life Ramabai in the story. Eshana will visit Ramabai just shortly before Ramabai’s death in 1922. This will happen shortly before my fictional Eshana will be captured by her former inlaws.

I’m thrilled to be able to place the true-life Ramabia into my next book in a small way. She was an amazing woman who had done so much for women and children in India. So much good, that England awarded her the Kaisar-I-Hind Gold Medal. India has since issued a commemorative stamp in Ramabai’s honor, and she was given the honorary acclaim of ‘Pandita’ in Hindu tradition, meaning ‘learned master’.

Born into a high caste Hindu family, Ramabai’s father broke with tradition and taught her to read. She memorized enormous amounts of the Hindu scriptures. But this was only the beginning of my heroine’s search for enlightenment.

As a family they walked the length of India. During this time Ramabai’s eyes were opened to the incredible suffering of Indian women and children, especially the way Hindu widows are cast out to live in abject poverty, or children were sold as sex slaves to Hindu temples.

After her parents and siblings died, Ramabai also broke with tradition and married a lawyer of a lower Hindu caste, but he died of a cholera leaving her alone with a tiny daughter.

One day, looking through her husband's papers she found a Bible, and found fulfillment to her spiritual search in the person of Jesus Christ. But Ramabai didn’t just add Jesus to a list of Hindu gods to worship. She came to the realization that Jesus is the only way to God the Father. As a child her heart had ached for her Indian sisters, but her new found faith in Christ gave her the strength to do something about it.

To name just a few of Ramabai's accomplishments---she translated the Bible into her local language, started the first Braille School, promoted the need for female medical doctors, and was the founder of the Ramabai Mukti Mission, a home for sexually abused Hindu widows and children. That mission is still in existence today, and continues to rescue women and children.

I hope you’ll keep your ears open for the release of Captured by Moonlight late 2012.

Where Wildflowers Bloom by Ann Shorey Ends January 30th

ANN SHOREY has been a full-time writer for over twenty years. Her writing has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, and in the Adams Media Cup of Comfort series. She made her fiction debut with The Edge of Light, Book One in the At Home in Beldon Grove series. The Sisters at Heart series is her latest offering. She’s tempted to thank Peet’s coffee and Dove chocolates when she writes the acknowledgments for her books. She may be contacted through her website, www.annshorey.com, which also contains her blog, http://annshorey.blogspot.com/ or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AnnShorey.

Ann has graciously offered to giveaway a copy of her book. TO BE ENTERED IN THE DRAWING please answer the question: If you (the reader) could live in any time period when and where would that be and why? I'm so glad to have you here today, Ann. I just finished your book and loved it. Readers, this is a book you will love. Ann does a great job of taking you back to the reconstruction period following the Civil War. Splurge on yourself and buy this book! Now to the interview...

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

Ha! I’m in my office, wearing my bathrobe. Haven’t had breakfast yet. Hubby left early this morning, and I ran upstairs to catch up on email, Facebook, etc. Here I am an hour later!

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

Right now, I’m thinking I’d like to be Mary Poppins. I don’t know for sure if a children’s book counts as literary, but it would be fun to magically accomplish tasks. Think how clean my house would be.

What is something that very few people know about you?

Down under my outgoing “meet and greet” persona lurks a shy person who’d rather remain on the sidelines and watch.

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

That’s a tough question! In spite of the current problems in the world, I think I’d like to live right here and now. I considered saying “the 1950’s,” because that was a peaceful era, but I’m used to the advances both society and science have made since then.

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

I’d love to go back to Australia and New Zealand with enough time and money to travel everywhere in that fascinating part of the world. I’d also love to visit Africa. I know that’s two places, but I couldn’t make up my mind. Then there’s Scotland, where my great-grandfather was born . . . Hmmm. With enough time and money, I could do it all. J

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

I’d love to have the opportunity to meet my great-grandmother and spend time having her tell me about her life. She was married right after the War Between the States, traveled the Oregon Trail with her husband and four young children, then homesteaded in Washington Territory. Her life is full of stories!

What is the hardest part in writing a story?

Sometimes it’s the blank screen! Overall, the hardest part is dealing with interruptions. Keeping a story alive in my mind when I have to stop writing for any reason is a challenge. I keep a chapter log going, and have a synopsis to follow, but still have to backtrack to pick up the thread. Very time-consuming.

What is the funniest, strangest, or most interesting thing you have learned when doing research?

Since I write about women of the 19^th Century, one of the most interesting things to me is how they dressed. Corsets, shifts, petticoats, hoops, dresses with acres of fabric, special outfits for morning (I mean the hours before noon), paying calls, etc. I can’t imagine wearing all that, much less keeping it clean without a washer and a dryer.

What is your favorite material item that you own (examples: ipod, Gone with the Wind book, grandmother’s rocking chair)

I had to stop and think what I’d rescue in case of fire, and decided that would be the photograph albums of my daughter’s babyhood and school years. They’re irreplaceable.

Thank you for inviting me to visit your blog, Debbie Lynne! I’ve enjoyed answering your questions. Readers, if you’d like to learn more about my books, please visit my website at www.annshorey.com.

How far will she go to follow her dreams?

The War Between the States stole a father and brother from Faith Lindberg—as well as Royal Baxter, the man she wanted to marry. With only her grandfather left, she dreams of leaving Noble Springs, Missouri, and traveling west to Oregon to start a new life, away from the memories that haunt her. But first she must convince her grandfather to sell the family's mercantile and leave a town their family has called home for generations.

When Royal Baxter suddenly returns, Faith allows herself to hope that she and Royal will finally wed. But does he truly love her? Or will another man claim her heart?