Tuesday Wedding Tales–Restoring Love at Christmastime by Bonnie Engstrom

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Bonnie Engstrom, Catherine Castle's Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, clean romance, excerpt from Restoring Love at Christmastime, Holiday romance, Restoring Love at Christmastime, Sweet romance

Welcome to Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series,

where wedding-themed stories are the fare.

Bonnie Engstrom is today’s guest,

and she’ll be sharing about her story Restoring Love at Christmastime

The Story Within the Story of Restoring Love at Christmastime

 

The old hotel in Restoring Love at Christmastime is, or rather was, real. The inn was filled with childhood memories for me that were fun to recreate and bring up to date. The day before I was scheduled to send the story to my publisher I decided to revisit a few facts online. I was shocked to learn the historic inn had burned to the ground three days before. I was devastated and indecisive. Should I publish the story that featured the hotel as the background for love? I decided to go ahead. It would be a tribute to the rickety old building that had housed guests for over one hundred years.

My many summer visits to Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania had special memories of trail rides on handsome Traveler. Yes, the Traveler in the story is a tribute to a gorgeous chestnut-colored steed, the first horse I’d ever ridden. Jenni stands on the impressive wraparound veranda and borrows books from the hotel’s library – both authentic memories. That’s as far as genuine memory went. I had never seen snow there, but I do have a vague memory of ancient bathroom fixtures, old even fifty years ago.

My publisher retitled the book to add at Christmastime when we both latently remembered the story takes place during the holiday. A colorful new cover adorns it. Just before the new title was revealed the book won a 5 Star Readers Favorite Award. It was a fun story to write, especially the teasing banter between Jenni and Jake and how their old friendship grows. I almost forgot . . . readers will meet a skunk, an owl and a preying hawk. Trail rides can be interesting.

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Restoring Love at Christmastime

By Bonnie Engstrom

Why was Jenni taking this journey back in time during the Christmas holidays? Surely, Jenni didn’t expect to see Jake the stable boy. She had moved on from sneaking kisses in the barn after trail rides. He must have, too. Who on earth would stay in the tiny town of Cambridge Springs?

She planned for a respite from teaching, time to read, take quiet walks and indulge in delicious hotel meals. At least no one knew where to find her, none of her friends, and not even her family.

The internet site for Pleasant Springs Hotel highlighted an annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol that guests sometimes played parts in. That sounded like fun, maybe a minor way to fulfil a fanciful dream, if only for a few minutes. Hopefully some handsome guest would play Scrooge.

Odd the name of the historic hotel had changed. Who would have done that? Maybe new owners. She hoped the rooms were still filled with antique furniture. She wanted to soak up memories, alone. Unless by a Christmas miracle Jake was still there to share them.

Can romance still flourish after fifteen years? Will a teacher and a former stable boy remember their first kiss?

 

Excerpt:

They raised their heads, and their eyes met – brown and blue. Both sets of lips grinned and they dug in. Jenni was glad the kitchen had included a large spoon for her to twirl her pasta on. Her Italian friend Corentina had taught her that when she was growing up. It seemed more civilized than sucking the strands into one’s mouth.

Jake watched her with curiosity. “You always eat spaghetti that way?”

“Yes. It’s the proper way to eat long pasta. You don’t?”

“Naw. I just chop it up.” He proceeded to do so, almost mashing it. He shoved a big forkful in his mouth.

“But, that takes the fun out of it. And, it’s easy to twirl.” She demonstrated. “See!”

“Oh, boy! You gonna make an issue of how I eat?” He put his fork down and glared at her. “If there is any future for our relationship, we shouldn’t squabble over eating habits.”

Squabble? Future? What was he insinuating?

Want to read more? Restoring Love at Christmastime is available in eBook and print at https://amzn.to/2OtSRoW.

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About the Author:

Bonnie Engstrom is a multi-published author who mostly writes romances. She has published fourteen books and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America and Christian Writers of the West.

She and her Ph.D. psychologist husband, Dave, reside in Arizona near four of their six grandchildren. The other two live in Costa Rica on the beach with their father who surfs every day and has taught the boys to surf and skateboard since they were toddlers. Pura Vida!

Bonnie spends a lot of her time, when not writing, helping with the four Arizona grandkids. Dave is a full-time faculty member and faculty advisor at the University of Phoenix, as well as a psychologist at Honor Health Medical Center, Scottsdale, Arizona.

They have been a team for fifty-three years.

Please visit Bonnie at her website to see the grandchildren and figure out who the surfing ones are. Fun fact: The little red-head imp recently got baptized with her.

Follow her on Twitter at @BonnieEngstrom1 and on Facebook

Email her at bengstrom@hotmail.com. Please put BOOK in the subject line so your post doesn’t fly off into cyberspace.

She loves to hear from her readers, and reviews are a special way to say you liked her books.

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A Writer’s Garden–Catherine Castle’s Garden Anticipations

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A Groom for Mama, A Writer's Garden, Author Catherine Castle's garden blog, Garden Anticipations, Sweet romance

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books.

Today’s guest is me, Catherine Castle, and I’m going to share my garden adventures and pictures from this season, with a peek at past years.

 

“If you would be happy, plant a garden.” Chinese Proverb

 Garden Anticipations

 

As I write this post, it’s supposed to be fall in our gardens, but here in Southern Ohio the weather has been more summer-like than fall-like. This past week is the first where it has actually felt like fall. The most fall-ish thing I see outside my kitchen window is my sedum, whose tops have turned maroon. I’ve never seen them quite this dark. I’m wondering if it’s because we had a nice amount of rain this year.

I’m anxiously awaiting the flaming red leaves of my burning bush to appear. If I’m lucky I’ll just be able to see it over the no-longer-dwarf mugo pines. The landscaper didn’t tell me I needed to trim them to keep them dwarf and now they block everything behind them.

Picture of red flaming bush when it was young

 

Since the temps have finally dropped below 40 degrees so I—and when I say I, I mean my dear hubby—can dig up some daylilies and wayward black-eyed Susans in a chigger-infested bed and make the bed more tidy. I can’t do heavy labor any more. I get the sit-on-the-garden-stool-and-sort jobs now. While weeding the bed this spring I was eaten alive by the no-see-em bugs, so all gardening stopped in that spot. If you’ve ever had a bunch of chigger bites you know how miserable that can be. I did discover that ice packs held on the bites until you can’t feel your legs kill the sting and itch.

North deck beds that has the chiggers

 

Another fall job we need to do is in the front day lily bed. This bed is full of weedy runner grass, also known as quack grass or snake grass. For three years we’ve sprayed and dug the three tiers back in this corner in an attempt to kill the grass. The grass is gone from the back and we’re ready tackle the last patch of pesky grass. We started the big job this Tuesday, and I think I’m going to have more day lilies than I have bare areas to replant them in. We may have to drop some back in the same place and just keep fighting the weedy grass by hand.

Weedy Day lilies

 

Because of my back issue, we had landscapers come in and do the heavy work this spring. They tore out most of my Shasta Daisies in the front beds. They had become puny and full of clover, which is extremely hard to eradicate or pull. I will be dividing my Stella D’Oro daylilies to fill the empty spaces in the picture on the left below. This is what the beds looked like in their heyday. They haven’t looked as nice recently as the clumps had begun to thin out and bloom sparsely. More weedy than lovely.

 

 

 

 

Old shasta bed (L) and cleared shasta bed (R)

 

Garden Gymnastics

Oh, and I must share the lovely beds my husband built me this spring along the front stairs and the gard. He leveled the slope out so I can stand in the beds or sit on the walls to weed. Slopes are harder and harder for me to navigate.

 

 

 

 

new beds to replace shasta daisies

 

I wasn’t much help with the building as he started. I was recovering from a severe sciatic attack that put me on crutches for a month. I mostly sat on the edge of the front wall and supervised. Great job if you can get it. J

By the time he’d completed the top layer, I had improved enough to work in the garden for short periods of time. My back still hurt, but I could function on a daily basis. So, one morning I grabbed a hoe and started smoothing out the top layer of dirt and compost. One step backward tumbled me over two bags of compost lying in the yard. I flipped heels-over-head backward and then the downward slope of the front yard turned me sideways. I completed the backward roll and ended up sitting, legs stretched out in front of me, facing the opposite direction.

In a very calm voice, my husband said, “Are you all right?”

Confused that I was now looking south, instead of north, I just stared at him, thankful that the compost had broken my fall and amazed that I hadn’t hit the flowerbed wall just above me and broken my neck. “I think so,” I said. Then I asked, “Why didn’t you help or call out my name?”

“I couldn’t get up in time,” he replied. “It happened so fast, yet you were rolling in slow motion. It was crazy.”

He offered to help me up, but I started laughing hysterically—the stomach crunching kind of laughs that put you in tears. After a couple of minutes, when I could breathe again, I inch-wormed my way to my feet—an acrobatic move that in itself would have been video worthy. Upon standing, I discovered my garden gymnastics had adjusted the last piece of my spine that was out-of-place. I had no back pain! And I felt as if I stood fully erect for the first time in months.

Unfortunately, my husband didn’t have his camera with him. If he had we’d have won America’s Funniest Home Videos and could have been $10,000 richer. The story made for weeks of giggles as I recounted it to friends. When I told the chiropractor he was amazed, but recommended I not use that particular adjustment method on a regular basis. I wholeheartedly agreed, although it was the best my back had felt in months.

Currently the new beds next to the stairs are empty, as I can’t make up my mind what I want to plant in them. It needs to be something easy to clean in the spring. At first I was leaning toward filling the beds with the day lilies I separate this fall. It’s been 14 years since my day lilies have been separated, and I’m sure I’d have enough to fill the new beds. But now I’m considering peonies. They die back in the fall and would be easy to clean up. I also love the heady smell of blooming peonies, but I hate the ants that accompany the plants. I know they’re necessary to help the blooms open, but I really hate ants. If you have any suggestions on other plants, I love to hear them. I need easy to clean and easy to care for.

I want to thank all readers who stopped by and spread the word about the blog and the lovely authors who have helped make this blog series a success this year. It’s been so much fun seeing all your gardens—both green and living and those stitched between the covers of your books. I hope you’ve all enjoyed visiting with me as much as I’ve enjoyed having you. At present, I’m planning to repeat A Writer’s Garden next spring, so keep snapping those garden pictures in anticipation of a new gardening year.

Here’s wishing you all Happy Gardening,

wherever you live.

 

About the writer/gardener

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances and both of her books have won awards. You can find her award-winning books The Nun and the Narc and A Groom for Mama on Amazon. Follow her here on her blog or on Catherine’s Amazon author page.

 

 

A Groom for Mama

By Catherine Castle

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

A Groom for Mama won in the Contemporary Category this year in the Raven Awards!

Buy Link

 

A Writer’s Garden–Orchids with Elizabeth John

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A Writer's Garden, Author Catherine Castle's garden blog, Elizabeth John, Forever Hold Your Piece, mystery, orchids, pictures of orchids, suspense, Sweet romance

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books.

Today’s guest is Elizabeth John. She will be sharing orchids with us! Welcome, Elizabeth.

Thanks, Catherine.

For this blog post, I had planned to write about orchids. I know nothing about orchids, and you might wonder why I would choose this topic. The reason is simple. I love flowers and plants, including orchids, and have beautiful gardens on my property. But life changes.

Last year, much to our surprise, my husband and I became empty-nesters with no warning. Our son went on vacation to Texas and never came back. He enjoyed the area and decided to live there permanently. Our daughter began a new job and moved into an apartment closer to work. With this new found freedom, we suddenly found ourselves in a big, empty house.

Teaching full-time and writing keeps me super busy. The large yard requires a lot of maintenance. The vegetable garden needs constant weeding. The potted flowers want daily watering. Exhausting!

I’ve decided to downsize, and the first place I started was with the landscaping. I hired a company to put decorative stone in my front yard gardens and add low maintenance plants. My husband has been traveling so much for work, he didn’t plant his annual vegetable garden this year. Despite cutting back, the backyard has many bushes, trees, and flowers that are overgrown. We will tackle that project in the fall.

The problem is we want to see flowers. One solution we find helpful is to visit gardens. We adore Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania and especially like to go when they have their orchid display. Here are some pictures of orchids I took on my trip. (The orchid at the top of the page is also from Longwood Gardens)

 

 

 

 

 

My husband developed a passion for orchids and decided to try his hand at growing his own plants. Now, he’s a bit of an expert and has several growing in his business office. These are on his desk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon he will be moving out of the building where he works and will bring his orchids home. He’s already buying attractive pots to transplant his orchids and getting ready to display his beauties in our house.

So much for downsizing the flowers.

Maybe I should sell the furniture first.

 

About the Writer/Gardener

Gardener/writer Elizabeth John has been gardening ever since owning her first home. Her favorite thing about gardening is seeing pops of bright colors in her flower beds. When she’s not gardening she’s writing sweet contemporary romances and cozy romantic suspense novels. You can learn more about her at http://www.elizabethjohn.com/

 

 

Forever Hold Your Piece

by Elizabeth John

Lily Becker believes the worst day of her life was when her fiancé stood her up at the altar. That is, until she stumbles upon his dead body in her family’s bridal shop. The shop becomes a crime scene, her business expansion plans tank, and brides demand back their deposits. Confused, scared, and certain that she is being watched, Lily struggles to keep her business and her life afloat.

PI Jake Ward, hired to find a priceless stolen painting, tracks the thief’s location to Lily’s small coastal town. As part of his cover, he leases the vacant bait and tackle shop next door to hers, unaware that she and her sisters had planned to rent the place.

The Chief of Police worries that someone close to Lily murdered her ex and he fears for her safety. The chief, a surrogate father to Lily, asks Jake to act as her bodyguard. Jake agrees and pretends to work on his business but never leaves her side. Although annoyed that Jake interfered with her family’s business plan, she admits that Jake makes her feel protected.

Jake and Lily can’t deny their attraction to one another. Lily decides to trust again as their relationship grows serious. The more time they spend together, the more they realize they are perfect for each other. Guilt eats at Jake’s conscience since he must lie about his true identity. Can he solve his case before he’s free to tell Lily the truth and she learns of his deception?

Forever Hold Your Piece, releasing September 12, is currently available for presale on Amazon.

Warning to readers: While this a sweet romance, the book may contain mild language in this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth John
Tender Romances with a Touch of Intrigue

www.facebook.com/elizabethjohnauthor
@elizabethjohn34

 

Story Sparks Blog Tour–Story Sparks from Catherine Castle’s Imagination

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A Groom for Mama, author Catherine Castle, Bidding on the Bouquet, ebook giveaway, Story Sparks Blog Tour, Story Sparks from Catherine Castle's Imagination, Sweet romance, The Nun and the Narc

 

Welcome to the Story Sparks multi-author blog tour. Between May 21-26, 2018 readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors. Today Catherine Castle (That’s me!) is the featured author. Catherine’s winner may choose an ebook from any of her three books listed above on her book spine. Today Catherine will talk about the story sparks that started each of these books rolling. Read on to discover what inspires Catherine’s creativity and to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway .

 

Story Sparks  from Catherine Castle’s Imagination

By Catherine Castle

Hi, everyone!

I began my writing journey as a stringer for a local weekly newspaper. The hardest thing about that job was finding ideas to write about. I was in Writer Heaven when the editor called with a story idea. It was like getting a bright, shiny gift topped with a beautiful ribbon. The problem was those editorial gifts didn’t come in as fast as I wanted them to when I first started writing. So, I had to figure out where to find more ideas to write about. And of course, the burning question back then was, “How do I find an idea?”

It’s also the question most people ask me when they find out I’m a writer. Now I know the answer.

After I published my first book, a multi-award-winning inspirational romantic suspense titled The Nun and the Narc , my daughter bought me a tee-shirt that read Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel. I’m not sure if she knew how true that quote is, but I suspect she did, because whenever I’d hear, see, or read something interesting, she heard me say, “There’s a story somewhere in that.” For me story ideas are everywhere and within everyone. I find story spark ideas in: the things I’m interested in, in other stories, in the news, in things people do, in things people say, at museums, in places I visit, in places other people visit, in magazines, and even through the tidbits of information on the backs of cereal boxes.

The Nun and the Narc originally started with the heroine as a missionary to Mexico building houses for the poor. I’d been working on some news articles about Habitat for Humanity for the newspaper, which probably spurred the original story plot. But the story wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t get my head wrapped around the missionary heroine. Then a critique partner suggested I consider making the heroine a novice in the Catholic Church. Now, I am fascinated by nun stories. “The Sound of Music” is my favorite musical, and I loved the television series “The Flying Nun.” As a stringer for the local newspaper, I interviewed a nun who left the order to marry, and, in real life, I knew a nun who had also left the convent to marry. I do admit to having a curiosity about how those women dealt with leaving the convent, and I think part of that curiosity spurred my story.

 

The Nun and the Narc

Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, will never be the same.

Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary O’Connor—at least that’s what Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.

 

Although the book was a hard sell—the Christian market doesn’t usually like you to name denominations—the story was so intriguing to me, because of my interest in nuns, that I wrote it anyway, knowing it might never leave my hard drive. It was a book of my heart—inspired by my own interests and my feature stories for the newspaper.

My second book, a sweet romantic comedy with a touch of drama entitled A Groom for Mama, got its inspiration from a radio play my husband and I wrote years ago, entitled a “Bride for Mama.” The original play finaled in the contest, but my hubby and I never did anything more with it. When I was searching for something new to write, I remembered the radio play. I asked my husband if he minded it I took the original premise—a dying mother wants her son to find a bride before she leaves this earth—and turned the plot on its ear, creating a new story. He agreed and A Groom for Mama was born. I found inspiration in another story.

 

A Groom For Mama

Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.

The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.

A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.

 

My most recent release, a contemporary inspirational romance entitled Bidding on the Bouquet, was ripped from an internet headline about a bride who was making her wedding attendants bid for places in her bridal party. My story, however, bears little resemblance to the news story. With plot twists and character changes I created a new story. All I needed was spark of an idea provided by the Bridezilla who wanted to get money for her wedding.

 

Bidding on the Bouquet

The chance to catch a bridal bouquet containing a solid gold rose makes underprivileged, down-on-her-luck grad student Marietta Wilson pawn everything she owns to come up with a bid to win a bridesmaid spot in the most prestigious wedding of the season.

 When he discovers his sister is auctioning off bridesmaid spots in her wedding party, wealthy, elitist Chip Vandermere is appalled. Not only is it in poor taste, but no self-respecting lady would stoop so low as to bid. Convinced Marietta is a gold digger, Chip sets out to thwart her plans.

A social climber and a social misfit. Can a bridal bouquet unite them?

 

So, you might want to be careful the next time you ask a writer, “Where do you get your story ideas?” They might just say, “Why, from you, of course.” Because everything is fodder for the imagination of a writer.

Thanks for coming by today and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win books from these six authors: Carole Brown, Catherine Castle, Linda Matchett, Amber Schamel, Terri Wangard, and Jodie Wolfe. Click on the link below to enter to win a free ebook. My winner may choose either The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, or Bidding on the Bouquet.

A Rafflecopter giveaway

 About the Author:

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her books The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, Bidding on the Bouquet and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon. Connect with Catherine on her website and blog, FB, or Twitter @AuthorCCastle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers–Love By the Numbers by Laura V. Hilton

Tags

Amish author Laura HIlton, Amish fiction, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, clean romance, Love by the Numbers book excerpt, Sweet romance

Today’s guest on Wednesday Writers is Laura V. Hilton, author of Amish romances. She’ll be talking about her book Love By the Numbers and how God the faith message in the story for her characters. Welcome, Laura.

Story Behind the Story – Love by the Numbers

Caleb was a minor character in couple of my Amish books – I think he first made a by-name appearance in Amish Wanderer and Christmas Admirer. A minor character. Lydia was a very minor one-time appearance in those stories, too, a girl who happened to be in the room with Bethany and Susanna at a wedding. (This story is stand alone!) But I knew when Caleb first saw Lydia that they would end up together by the way he reacted to her presence. I wondered what their story was.

March and April is tornado season in Arkansas (and in many other states) and in 2011 we had a bad one. I was out and about that day, driving to the county seat with my five children, and there was something in the air. It was heavy, hard to breathe, and the sky was black off to the west. I’m sure I broke speed limits racing to Melbourne, and then home again so we wouldn’t be out in the storm.

Later that afternoon, tornado sirens went off. One went over our house – even from the basement we could hear the sound of a train roaring overhead. Scary. And still thanking God it didn’t touch down. Highland, Ash Flat, and Evening Shade, Arkansas were hit hard. Buildings completely gone. When we drove out that way later in the week there were pickup trucks in the tops of trees. Other things in odd and unusual places. I always wondered how they got the treetop pickups down. I would’ve stopped to watch if I’d been out there when it was done. I did hear that some of those trucks weren’t damaged at all. Unreal. My two sons and my husband both helped with clean up and my oldest son went with a crew to Joplin, Missouri, to help with clean up there.

There have been other occasions when I’ve been out in tornados. Once I was in the Walmart parking lot when a tornado went through a town west of it. We could see the funnel touching down from where we stood. It did hail when we were on our way home, praying our house was still standing. It was.

One of the verses my daughter had to memorize in Sunday School was 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. ‘We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.’ Perfect for the faith message in Love by the Numbers! I love how God always provides the perfect verse for my characters’ faith messages. I’m pretty sure this verse is one I never memorized, and I never would of thought of it on my own, but God put it in my daughter’s lessons for Sunday School, so she had to memorize it – and thus I did too since I help my daughters learn their verses every week.

I hope you’ll enjoy the story!

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Love by the Numbers

by Laura V. Hilton

After her fiancé dies in a buggy accident, Lydia Hershberger is invited to Jamesport to manage her Mennonite aunt’s gift store while her aunt and uncle are on a mission trip. While there, Lydia gets acquainted with her aentie’s best friend, Bethel Bontrager, and her grown son, Caleb. Lydia is surprised to find herself drawn to handsome clockmaker, Caleb Bontrager. But in spite of an instant flame of attraction between them, he doesn’t seem interested. In fact, pesky Caleb treats her like he doesn’t even like her.

Bright and sparkly. That’s Caleb’s first impression of Lydia. He’s always been attracted to sparkly things. In fact, his affinity for those things, and the trouble they can cause, are exactly why he’s determined to change his ways and settle down. With Lydia’s aentie gone, he is handling the books for the gift shop and is forced to spend too much time in her presence.

When God offers Lydia a second chance at love and family, will she take it? Or will the secret Caleb harbors cause her even more heartbreak?

 

Chapter 1

He was gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.

Lydia Hershberger leaned around the cash register and picked up the glassful of spilled hard candy sticks Aentie Judith’s kitten knocked over as she dashed past. She half-paid attention to arranging the candy. Her focus was fixed on him. She tried not to gawk but…

Wow. He was hot.

Tall. Sandy blond hair. Milk chocolate brown eyes. Clean-shaven.

He removed his straw hat as the door closed behind him, then glanced around the gift store. As his gaze moved in her direction, she quickly looked away. Wouldn’t do to be caught staring.

But she couldn’t resist a peek back.

He seemed to freeze when his gaze caught hers. Or hers caught his. Held it.

And… He scowled.

What?

This man, one she didn’t even know, glared at her? She had the right to be behind the counter of Aenti Judith’s gift shop while she was in, um, wherever she was, on a mission trip. Any other time, she could’ve spouted the information without thought. But not while she stared into the most incredible milk chocolaty eyes ever.

Were there any leftover solid chocolate Easter bunnies in the store? She needed one. Now. She glanced toward the clearance rack, but it was devoid of candy of any type.

Her gaze snapped back to him.

“You.” His voice emerged as a growl.

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About the Author:

Laura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with over twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write.

Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and live in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.

When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls

visit my blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/   

twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

Purchase my books:

Amazon   http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q 

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find?Ntt=laura+hilton&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCG&nav_search=1&cms=1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/laura-hilton?store=allproducts&keyword=laura+hilton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers–A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot

Tags

A Borrowwed Dream, Amanda Cabot, Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, historical romance, Inspirational romance, Sweet romance, The Cimarron Creek trilogy

 

 

Today’s Wednesday Writers’ guest is bestselling author Amanda Cabot. Amanda will be talking about her book A Borrowed Dream, the second book in her Cimarron Creek historical trilogy. Welcome, Amanda.

 

The Promise of Spring

 

The first full day of spring – what a perfect day to talk about A Borrowed Dream. Though the story stretches over a longer period than one season (it begins in January 1881 and ends in July of that year), perhaps more than any book I’ve written, it embodies all that I love about spring.

Those of you who’ve read my interviews over the years know that when someone asks about favorite seasons, I answer without hesitation: spring. For me, spring is a season of rebirth, reawakening, and – most of all – hope. And, oh, do Austin and Catherine need hope! Though she’s found unexpected satisfaction in her position as Cimarron Creek’s schoolteacher, Catherine’s personal life is dismal. Her mother’s death at the hands of the town’s incompetent doctor has left her with a deep-seated distrust of all physicians, and the fact that the man she’d once expected to marry was so easily infatuated by another woman has caused her to believe that she’s not destined for marriage.

Austin has only one hope – that he can keep his daughter safe from a truly despicable man. That’s why he fled Philadelphia, put aside his rewarding career as a surgeon, and established himself as Cimarron Creek’s newest rancher. While his brain tells him that his daughter needs a mother, his heart won’t let him make the same mistake he did the first time. No, sirree, marriage is not for him.

But as spring comes to the Texas Hill Country and the bluebonnets carpet the countryside, both Austin and Catherine experience a reawakening. And when a woman with a mysterious past comes to town, their lives are changed in ways neither one of them could have imagined.

I really enjoyed writing this book, although I’ll admit that some of the scenes wrenched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. But even as I was putting those difficult scenes on paper, I kept reminding myself that hope would triumph, that hearts would reawaken, and that Austin and Catherine would find their happily-ever-after. That’s the promise of spring.

Now I’d like to hear from you. What’s your favorite season and why? When you’re choosing a book, does the season when it takes place affect your choices? Why or why not? Lastly, have I intrigued you with Catherine and Austin’s story? I hope so!

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A Borrowed Dream

by Amanda Cabot

There is no such thing as an impossible dream . . .

Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the local doctor’s treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life where dreams rarely come true.

Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.

With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.

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About the Author:

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroads trilogy, A Stolen Heart, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages. Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming.

 

Social Media Links

http://www.amandacabot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/

 

Buying Links

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christian Book Distributors

 

Tuesday Wedding Tales–Cindy’s Perfect Dance by Bonnie Engstrom

Tags

Bonnie Engstrom, Catherine Castle's Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, Cindy's Perfect Dance, clean romance, Inspirational romance, Sweet romance, The Candy Cane Girls series

 

Welcome to Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, where wedding themed stories are the fare.

 

 

Today’s guest is Bonnie Engstrom. She’ll be talking about Cindy’s Perfect Dance, one of the books in her Candy Cane Girls Series. Bonnie is giving a way a copy of Cindy’s Perfect Dance, either ebook or a print copy, to one lucky commentor. To be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment on her post. Welcome, Bonnie.

 

 

 

Thanks, Catherine.

What if your best friend is getting married to a gorgeous hunk who is rich? And you are the Maid of Honor? And his brother is the Best Man?

Cindy never planned to be attracted to Rob, but because he felt it was protocol he insisted they dance together. Neither really expected to feel the chemistry between them. And, dancing in the parking lot? What was that all about?

Cindy and Rob’s story of love captured my heart. It was so surprising, especially with all the problems attached to it. Rob’s alcoholism and his commitment to AA, as well as his physical problems seemed monumental . . . at first. Cindy believes she can overcome those, until Emily confronts Rob saying she believed he loved her.

Cindy is a strong woman, but her love for Rob is stronger.

This story grew out of the first of The Candy Cane Girls Series. The six girls have a strong bond formed in a former high school swim team. They stick together in prayer and support.

I started to write this series before I realized it could become a series. Suddenly, it became close to my heart. I hope you will explore the series, now in its sixth book, Melanie’s Blue Skirt. In Cindy you will see all my grandchildren and a beautiful wedding on the beach of Playa Hermosa Costa Rica. I think it will make you want to follow the Candy Cane Girls to learn what Noelle, Candy and Connie and Natalie and Melanie have in their future. Oops, Doreen, too. But her story may be last. She’s in love with the most gorgeous man of all, an international model.

All the Candy Cane Girls stories are set in Newport Beach. I use many actual places in each story. Cindy and Rob shop for her engagement ring in Fashion Island outdoor mall. I wanted them to finally purchase it at Traditional Jewelers for several reasons; the owner attended my church (Mariners, which is also the church that sponsors the couple to mission in Costa Rica) and he and his family lived in my community. I had the scene where Rob goes to pick up the ring all set up, then he learns the owner suddenly died a few days ago. That is what actually happened, so I wrote it into the book.

I had also been searching for a way to include my grandchildren in a book. Since our son and his two boys live in Costa Rica I decided to have Cindy and Rob’s wedding take place there on the beach. (Costa Rica is also the mission assignment for the couple). The Arizona grandchildren flew there to share a wedding adventure with their cousins. It was a fun scene to write, including Lucy the Costa Rican French bull dog.

 

Cindy’s Perfect Dance

By Bonnie Engstrom

 

The Candy Canes are a tight-knit group; the six girls are like sisters. They share everything from successes to secrets. Even marriage doesn’t keep them apart. Then …

Cindy caught the bridal bouquet, and Rob caught the blue garter. Neither of them believed in fate or tradition. But, something happened when she stepped on his toes dancing.

When Rob agreed to help his brother by working in the Love In Bloom Floral Shop while Braydon was on his honeymoon, he asked Cindy to join him. He didn’t know what to expect, especially over Christmas break. Would she take over with her promotional ideas and anger his mother, the owner?

Would their relationship flower? Could Cindy accept Rob’s secrets? How would that change her love for him? And, what about Emily, the woman who claimed Rob loved her?

Cindy has decisions to make. She is supposed to receive her unique engagement ring on Valentine’s Day. Should she accept it, or say no to Rob because of the secrets he recently shared? If she accepts, they will have a lifelong commitment. Is she strong enough to go through with the plan, or should she back out and be safe?

 

EXCERPT

“Ouch!”

“What?”

“You stepped on my toes.”

He said it so matter of factly that Cindy wondered if he was kidding. She looked down at his black patent shoes. Aw, oh. A scuff on the right one. Guess Rob was right. Question was … his fault for not being a good leader or hers for being a bad follower?

“Sorry.”

“S’okay.” He pulled her closer and she felt her body melt into the warmth of his.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for a free copy, either ebook or print, of Bonnie’s book Cindy’s Perfect Dance. Winners will be chosen next Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

 

About the Author:

My husband Dave and I were blessed to raise our three children in Newport Beach, California. When our first grandchild, Miss Mookie, was born twelve years ago in Arizona we moved to Scottsdale to be near to her. Since then she has acquired three siblings, a younger sister, and twins, a boy and a girl. We don’t miss Newport at all, except for our wonderful friends and neighbors, and Bible study fellowships. Now, we spend many afternoons picking kids up after school and taking them to gymnastics, doctor appointments and chess tournaments. It’s a different life we thrive on.

We both thought we would retire. Didn’t happen. I am especially blessed to be multi-published by Forget Me Not Romances, a dream come true. You can see almost all my books at http://amzn.to/2Ish792. Dave quips he is the oldest new hire in the U.S. by accepting the position as a Core Counseling Faculty member at the University of Phoenix, for which he also teaches many online classes. He is on the staff at Honor Health Hospital in Scottsdale where he teaches pre-op and post-op classes for bariatric surgery. Honor Health is recognized in several of my books. Not a surprise!

Our grandparenting and our situations keep us busy.

To meet all of our grandchildren read Cindy’s Perfect Dance. They all play a part in Cindy and Rob’s wedding on the beach in Costa Rica. Or, visit my website at http://www.bonnieengstrom.com/ to see Dave and me with the crew. You can also sign up for my newsletter there and a chance to win great prizes. In the last contest I gave away a Kindle Fire!

I love connecting with my readers, so I hope you will write to me at bengstrom@hotmail.com and especially tell me what you want to see happen to Cindy and Rob in the future. Will they be successful in their church planting mission? Your ideas inspire me. I feed on them.

Thank you for reading my books. Writing them for you is a privilege and a blessing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers–Trés Chic by Sherri Stewart

Tags

Catherine Castle's Wednesday Writers blog series, clean romance, scruffy heroes, Sherri Stewart, Sweet romance, Très Chic, wholesome romance

 

Today’s Wednesday Writer’s guest author is Sherri Stewart. Sherri will be dishing the scoop on her own romance and how it relates to the romance in her book Trés Chic. Welcome, Sherri!

 

 

A Different Kind of Handsome

By Sherri Stewart

As I reflected on one of the lessons my main character, Nicole, deals with in my book Très Chic, I realized that some of my other books feature the same lesson. Simply put, Nicole, a flight attendant, judges a man based on outward appearance. How superficial, I thought. Don’t most people overcome that in their teenage years?

In Très Chic, Nicole is set up on a date with a scruffy-looking guy with bloodshot eyes. They enjoy a wonderful evening, but Nicole has planned her future around a debonair passenger who flies first class every Monday on her New York-to-Paris flight. Patrick—she knows his name because she checked the manifest—hasn’t given her a second glance, but she doesn’t give up and even enlists Scruffy-Guy’s help.

In two other books, the female characters make assumptions about the male leads based on their outward appearances. Of course, looks are deceiving, and the men’s inner strength, compassion, and convictions win the women over. Nothing original here. Turn on any Hallmark movie, lower the volume, and just by looking at the male characters, you can predict that the guy with stubble growing on his face will be the hero of the story, while the man in the Brook Brothers suit will make an involuntary exit.

So why did I choose that lesson? I didn’t; it chose me because I’ve had to deal with judging others on outward appearances. I’m a starer. You won’t find that word in the dictionary, but it describes a person who, like me, watches people. For some reason, starers believe that others won’t notice that they’re staring at them. But sometimes, they do. Then we starers glance away and look for the nearest exit. I’ve read that writers are great observers of life around them. I like that—it puts a better spin on the act of staring.

I married a scruffy-looking guy. We met in a diner. I taught French in a high school full time during the day but couldn’t make ends meet without working a night job. The first time I saw him I wasn’t impressed. He sat on a stool at the counter and showed me how to make a proper cup of tea. Not the kind where you float a teabag in a cup of hot water, but the kind where you steep the tea in a pot. He worked for a hockey team. I wasn’t impressed. I’d never liked hockey. But then he asked me out, but not only that, he told me I could pick any restaurant. I was in Hog Heaven. Imagine choosing a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, when your diet consists of different flavors of Ramen Noodles. Bill Gates and Apple hadn’t been born yet, so I conferred with friends, students, faculty members, and finally chose Anthony’s—an Antebellum restaurant—très chic! Two years later, we had our wedding reception there.

It takes time to fall for a scruffy-looking guy. His clothes needed pressing and his car smelled like a locker room. It came by the smell honestly—the backseat was full of hockey skates. But I noticed things about him—the way he searched for a watering can for a Russian defenseman who was having trouble growing a houseplant. Or the way he always brought me back a candy bar or a keychain from whatever city they were playing in.

I learned to love hockey—I’ve been to over a thousand games—and we’ve been married for forty years. He still doesn’t care about a crease in his pants, and he leaves crumbs on the table, but my husband is a kind, thoughtful, sensitive, trustworthy, gentle, loving man.

Appearance can get in the way of sound judgment. In I Samuel 16:7, God warned Samuel about Saul. “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I’m so glad I wasn’t deceived by the polished, debonair Patricks of my youth, but gave the scruffy guy a second glance.

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Trés Chic

By Sherri Stewart

Nicole has her eye on Patrick Duryea, the passenger in 3B on her weekly New York to Paris flights. He doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to marry him someday. That is, if he can satisfy the requirements on her list of ten attributes of a perfect husband.

The other man in her life, her friend Sal whom she met on a blind date, sets out to prove that lists don’t work when it comes to love, and he’s willing to help her win over the elusive passenger in order to prove his point.

When push comes to shove onto a New York street, will the list prevail or fail?
Contains mild Christian references.

Want to see how the scruffy guy romance turns out in Très Chic? Check out the book on Amazon.

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About the Author:

Sherri Stewart loves a great suspense novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong underlying message that challenges her faith. Her work as a freelance editor gives her the opportunity to read a lot of great books. Sherri lives in the Orlando area with her family. She’s a member of Word Weavers, ACFW, Christian Pen, and the California Bar. When not working, Sherri likes to visit potential settings for future books. Her next trip—Israel. Well-founded Fear of Death, Inn Danger, and Noah’s Rescue won Word Weaver’s Tapestry awards. Sherri would love to chat with readers about what interests them. Contact her at http://www.stewartwriting.com/.

Other Books by Sherri Stewart may be found on her Amazon Author Page

 

Tuesday Wedding Tales–Exposing Love by Christina Rich

Tags

Behind the Scenes of Exposing Love, book excerpt from Exposing Love, Catherine Castle's Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, Christina Rich, contemporary inspirational romance, Exposing Love, multi-author ebook giveaway, Sweet romance, Trying Out for Love boxed set

Welcome to Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, where wedding themed stories are the fare.

 

It’s the final week in the Trying Out for Love promo and giveaway. For the past six weeks, week readers have been able to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post’s book excerpt for a chance to win one of six books in the Trying Out for Love boxed set or the complete boxed set of six books. Seven chances and seven winners! Be sure to read to the end of the post for an excerpt of Exposing Love and enter the Rafflecopter for your chance at a free ebook. To see the list of books in the Rafflecopter just click on the circles below the entry box and you can scroll through the book titles.

 

Today’s featured book in the boxed set is Exposing Love, by Christina Rich. I think you’ll find her take on the bridesmaid auction an interesting one, and maybe even a bit personal for Christina. It’s been a lot of fun sharing how each of us got to our very different book plots from a single idea. We hope you all have enjoyed reading about our writing journeys in these books as much as we enjoyed writing them and sharing with you all.

Good luck to everyone who entered the Rafflecopter, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway and pass the word along to your friends about the great prizes!

 

Behind the Scenes of Exposing Love

By Christina Rich

 

I’m an amateur photographer, working toward become a professional photographer, so it was only natural that my heroine, Mia Collins would be a photographer longing for that one chance at stardom, but this story wasn’t inspired by my love for photography. It actually came out of an incident that happened a few years ago when we tried to begin a church in a small art district in my town. We started renovations on a building, and did quite a bit of work, but our future neighbors were not too happy about a church being in their midst. I decided to give my heroine’s grandparents a happier ending in their urban church.

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Exposing Love

By Christina Rich

Mia Collins has been running from love since her first broken engagement with her high school sweetheart, nearly ten years ago, but after being dumped by her former boss and losing her job as one of New York’s sought after wedding photographers, she finds herself back home and in the middle of a wedding photographer auction for a former friend where the one man she’s never been able to extract from her heart is one of her subjects.

Gavin McHugh doesn’t regret choosing the Marines over marrying his first love, not even now with injuries from combat. He does regret how he treated her after their reunion two years before when they nearly died after a tandem jump and with her back in town and one of the finalists for his cousin’s wedding photographer auction, he’s going to do everything he can to mend the damage he’s done and win back her heart.

Exposing Love Excerpt

 

“What are you doing here?”

“You wouldn’t answer your phone.” One corner of his mouth turned upward. “Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

She growled. “I think that is my prerogative to not answer if I don’t want to.”

“So, you were screening your calls?”

“I would have had to look at my phone to do that.” She filled the kettle, set it on the burner, and crossed her arms in front of her.

“You missed lunch with Colleen.”

“Lunch?” She glanced at the clock. How had she slept passed three in the afternoon? Because she’d been up half the night trying to convince herself to back out of the competition. She spent the other half watching every sappy romance movie she could find on the movie channel and bawling her eyes out.

“The meal most people have midday.”

“I know what it is. I didn’t know I had a lunch date with her.”

“If you would have answered your phone you would have.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “She is going to announce the top three winners tomorrow, but she wanted to talk to you first.”

“About?”

“If I’m going on assumptions, to know if you’re going to finish this out, or quit.”

“I’m not a quitter.”

“No, you’re not, Mia.” He rose from the chair. The top of his head mere inches from the low basement ceiling.

She wanted to move closer, to crane her neck as he glanced down at her. She wanted to feel his warmth and his strength. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. She wanted to throw her coffee mug at his hard head and knock some sense into him. “Are you asking me to quit?”

“Not at all.” Gavin leaned across the counter and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. She jerked from his touch, but not before it sent old feelings for him spiraling through her blood stream. “I’m asking you to win.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

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Want to read more? Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win the book. No purchase necessary. Or if you can’t wait, Exposing Love is available on Amazon. Winners will be announced next week, February 20, at the end of the Trying Out for Love author guest posts. Remember, all six authors are giving away an ecopy of their book in the series. A boxed set of Trying Out for Love is also in the giveaway. Seven chances and seven winners! Click on the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win. Remember to scroll through the titles on Rafflecopter, using the circles below the title boxes, to see all the giveaway book titles.

Enter Rafflecopter Giveaway by clicking box below:

 

About the Author:

A mother of four children and a grandmother of one, Christina Rich is a romance author with Love Inspired Historical and Forget Me Not Romances, a speaker, a photographer, and painter.

You can connect with her on Facebook at Author Christina Rich, Twitter @Christinainspy, Instagram at inspyscribe, or at threefoldstrand.com

 

 

Tuesday Wedding Tales–Mercy Me by Pamela Ferguson

Tags

book excerpt from Mercy Me, Catherine Castle's Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, Inspirational romance, Mercy Me, Pamela Ferguson, Rafflecopter giveaway, Sweet romance, Trying Out for Love boxed set, Tuesday Wedding Tales

Welcome to Tuesday Wedding Tales blog series, where wedding themed stories are the fare.

 

It’s week three in the Trying Out for Love promo and giveaway. Each week readers can enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post’s book excerpt for a chance to win one of six books in the Trying Out for Love boxed set or the complete boxed set of six books. Seven giveaways and seven winners! Be sure to read to the end of the post for an excerpt of Mercy Me and enter the Rafflecopter for your chance at a free ebook.

Today’s Tuesday Wedding Tales guest is Pamela Ferguson and her book in the Trying Out for Love boxed set is Mercy Me. Pamela is giving away an ecopy of her book, Mercy Me, so be sure to enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win.

As I’ve mentioned before, this whole series started with a bridal auction for bridesmaid places in the wedding party–a bridezilla who demanded her bridesmaid bid for a spot in her wedding. To make matters worse, she and the groom, who is rich, plan to use the monies from the auction to fund their wedding and honeymoon. Bridezilla even expected her sister to bid on her place in the wedding party. She didn’t and that caused a gigantic stink. Honestly, we’re not making this up. The truth is stranger than fiction sometimes.

If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen two very different story ideas from the bridezilla bridesmaid auction news article. I think Pamela has come up with a great twist on a wedding and an auction combined into one book. I know she’s piqued my curiosity. Read on to discover Pamela’s take on our bridezilla story starter.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

by Pamela Ferguson

A wedding and an auction in one book? Now, there’s a combination that can create unintended consequences—exactly what an author needs to change a basic story into a page-turner! I toyed with the idea of writing about a celebrity who hosts a bridal vendor auction to raise money for a favorite charity. But then I thought, What if the bridal vendor auction becomes the catalyst for a bunch of unintended consequences? Specifically, what if a small town bridal gown designer who wants to participate in the auction suddenly learns the billionaire father of the bride—a man she’s never met—has sent his right-hand man to stop her?

That’s the premise of my novella, Mercy Me, and, believe me, that auction led to a bunch of unintended consequences in the small town of Lilac, where all my books are set. I love writing sweet romances set in small towns because I love exploring how character reveals itself in the day-to-day interactions that take place between people. There’s a saying that goes, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Yet, I believe the way people handle the “small stuff” reveals much about who they are—what they value, how they treat others, why they want what they want. At the beginning of Mercy Me, Chloe Belmont and Luke Stratford are strangers pursuing different goals. Circumstances force them to work together, and, as the story unfolds, they discover they have more in common than they thought.

I hope you enjoy reading Mercy Me as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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Mercy Me

By Pamela Ferguson

Bridal dress designer Chloe Belmont can’t believe her good luck. She’s been invited to participate in a charity bridal vendor auction for the daughter of a Wall Street billionaire. Maybe now the women of Lilac will finally appreciate her dress designs.

New York executive Luke Stratford can’t figure out why his billionaire boss has sent him to keep Chloe Belmont away from his daughter’s bridal vendor auction. What should’ve been a simple business negotiation turns personal when Luke realizes he has feelings for Chloe. As Luke discovers the real reasons for this assignment, will he be able to choose between doing his job and protecting the woman he loves?

Excerpt:

There had to be a mistake.

Luke Stratford squinted at his phone and double-checked the rhinestone-studded numbers on the mailbox. He studied the white farm house with its sprawling wrap-around porch. His gaze wandered to the distant Blue Ridge Mountains, mere foothills compared to the Cascade Range he’d left long ago. Still, the cool autumn air, clean and crisp as only mountain air could be, poked his senses, reminding him there was a world beyond the Manhattan skyscrapers he now called home.

The sausage and green pepper breakfast burrito he’d snagged at JFK for his 6 a.m. flight roiled his stomach. Why would his boss, Martin Dalwich, a man who could buy a town like Lilac twenty times over, send him here to prevent a bridal salon from working at his super-model daughter’s upcoming wedding?

As if anyone with an ounce of sense would need convincing to stay as far away as possible from that matrimonial three-ringed circus. Not that he didn’t like Azure Dalwich and her fiancé. They were great people. But a bridal vendor auction to benefit an endangered blue butterfly? No matter how noble the cause, an event like this was going to attract publicity hounds anxious to donate extravagant amounts of money in exchange for photo ops with the superrich.

I don’t care what you have to do, Martin Dalwich had shouted, red-faced, clutching the list of invited vendors. Keep Belmont Bridal away from this auction.

Luke shook his head. Sure, the boss had been under pressure lately, assuring employees the accusations of insider trading were lies fabricated by his enemies. Company gossip had it Dalwich now spent most days holed up in his office with his inner circle of close advisors. Luke had been surprised when he’d received the call, summoning him to Dalwich’s office. He’d gotten on upper management’s radar five years before when he’d spotted a ten-million-dollar accounting error that everyone else had missed. Dalwich had promoted him out of his account manager job and given him a private corner office with the words Special Projects on the door. Whenever an issue arose that needed additional scrutiny, it made its way through the management chain to Luke’s desk.

This assignment was nothing like the other financial problems he’d tracked down. Instead of discussing the insider trading rumors as he had hoped Dalwich might, his boss had stunned him by launching a rant about his daughter’s bridal vendor auction.

He shut off the engine and sat back against the seat. What had Belmont Bridal, with its frilly curtains, pink-shuttered windows, and mailbox shaped like a fairy princess carriage, done to tick off a hard-nosed billionaire like Martin Dalwich? Even if the auction invitation had been a mistake, why not allow Belmont Bridal to participate and lose? There was no way this small-town shop could compete with rich New York designers.

But asking how high when management said jump had proven to be a winning strategy, gaining Luke a Fifth Avenue condo, a closet of Italian suits, and name recognition with headwaiters at the top restaurants in New York. Sure, the days were long, and having to be on call 24/7 to investigate every obscure request meant zero personal life. But that was a fair trade for enjoying wealth and prestige beyond his wildest dreams, wasn’t it?

The sooner he convinced Belmont Bridal to stay away from the auction, the sooner he could return to New York, to the world where he belonged.

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Want to read more? Enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win the book. No purchase necessary. Or if you can’t wait, Mercy Me is available on Amazon. Winners will be announced February 20 at the end of the Trying Out for Love author guest posts. Remember, all six authors are giving away an ecopy of their book in the series. A boxed set of Trying Out for Love is also in the giveaway. Seven chances and seven winners! Click on the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win.

 

 

About the Author:

Pamela Ferguson is the author of sweet romances set in small towns. Specializing in gossips, meddlers, matchmakers, and happily-ever-afters, Pamela loves dreaming up complications that wreak havoc in the lives of her characters. Her determined heroes and resourceful heroines are forever doing battle with narrow-minded mischief makers. Who knew there were so many bumps on the road to love? Wings of Love, the first novel in her small town romance series, won the 2017 RWA Golden Heart® Award for Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements. True Hearts, the second novel in The Lilac Series, is available now on Amazon. Mercy Me, a Lilac novella and the third book in the series, is also available in the Trying Out for Love boxed set.

Social Media: Website    Facebook     Twitter: @pfwrites