Monday, August 31, 2015

FLIGHT SCHOOL ~ A Middle Grader story that will intrigue adults ~

I especially want to welcome

JASON MCINTIRE

~ and ~

FLIGHT SCHOOL

FIRST ~
Jason is offering a GIVE~AWAY

Follow the directions below. . . you may copy and paste:

New Novel From Christian Author Jason McIntire - "Flight School: One Summer, Many Choices"

If you've read The Sparrow Found A House by Jason McIntire (Elisha Press, 2013), you'll already know his style: Real-life situations addressed with equal parts humor and biblical wisdom. It's a combination reviewers find powerful. They've used the words intriguing, believable, captivating, and unique - among many others - to describe his writing. The Sparrow Found A House (which is available as a free Kindle download from Elisha Press) was also endorsed by Exodus Mandate, the prominent homeschooling action group. It tells the story of the Rivera-Sparrows, a newly-blended and newly-homeschooling family facing opposition from without and within.
Today Elisha Press is announcing the release of a sequel to The Sparrow Found A House - and to celebrate, they're giving away signed copies to four randomly-selected winners. You can enter the giveaway here, or go ahead and order the book on Amazon. It's $2.99 for the Kindle version, or $9.99 for the 256-page print edition.
Flight School follows the Rivera kids as they meet new friends, explore careers, and encounter the challenges and choices that come with adult life. As a homeschool graduate himself, Jason knows the things that matter most to homeschoolers, and how to write about those things in a way that will edify, resonate, and entertain.
"If you like Flight School," Jason says, "thank God. If you don't like it, blame me."
Enter the giveaway, or buy a copy now.

Link URL's

Announcement and main giveaway page (will go live on 9/1): http://elishapress.com/blog/2015/09/01/flight-school-announcement/ (http://bit.ly/1Nji69w)
Book page: http://elishapress.com/flight-school (http://bit.ly/1MLdidy)
Amazon page (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/Flight-School-Jason-McIntire-ebook/dp/B012ENY1KA (http://amzn.to/1gILYQc).

JOY'S TAKE:
A delight to read. I was immediately drawn in when in the first chapter Jason wrote about the CONURES. . .gotta say. . .this gal as a soft spot for Sun Conures, having been owned by a male we called Brooster. . .so Jason, you did a great hook there and I'm not talking parrot bill.
The book is a great story for ages 12 and upward. As an adult, I had no trouble staying interested through to the inevitable THE END! I'm going to have to read Jason's previous story - THE SPARROW FINDS A HOME. . .I have a nearly-nine year old grandson who LOVES chapter books. . .Christmas is coming. . .just sayin', followers!

Be sure to encourage Jason in his writing endeavors. . .leave a comment and/or GET THAT BOOK!

Thanks for stopping by Journeys to Joy this week!

Monday, July 13, 2015

To Soar On Eagle's Wings ~ Renee Blare

Renee Blare has released two books so far this year through her publisher ~

Her first ~ BEAST OF STRATTON ~ which has been featured here at Journeys To Joy ~ but her latest release ~ To Soar On Eagle's Wings ~ released Saturday, July 11, 2015.

Welcoming Renee Blare back to Journeys To Joy ~

Raised in Louisiana and Wyoming, Renee started writing poetry in junior high school and that, as they say, was that. After having her son, a desire to attend pharmacy school sent her small family to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and she's been counting pills ever since. While writing's her first love, well, after the Lord and husband, she also likes to fish and hunt as well as pick away on her classical guitar.
Nestled against the Black Hills with her husband, crazy old dog and ornery cat, she serves the community of northeastern Wyoming as a pharmacist and pens her Christian stories, keeping them interesting with action and intrigue, of course. She loves to interact with readers and invites you check out her website, blog, and social media.
Website: http://www.reneeblare.com/
Group Blog: http://diamondsinfiction.blogspot.com/

To Soar On Eagle's Wings ~

Spring’s in the air. While the sun shines in Timber Springs, snow falls on the Snowy Range, and trouble’s brewing in the meadows. The area’s new game warden, Steve Mitchell launches his first wildlife investigation of the season but the trouble follows him—straight to town.

Rachel Fitzgerald’s on Spring Break. Or at least she’s trying. Between paperwork, and harassing phone calls, she may as well have stayed in her classroom. So much for relaxation. A ‘chance’ meeting with her brother’s old roommate offers her weary soul a shred of hope, but she discovers love, like life, isn’t easy.

He talks with the wisdom of the Lord but rejects the future. She wants to soar with the eagles but walks alone. And trusting God proves to be more of a challenge than ever before…

Leave a comment for Renee and I'll enter your name in the drawing for a free copy of To Soar On Eagle's Wings to take place Sunday night - July 19th

Become a follower of Journeys To Joy and I'll enter your name twice!

I've read both of Renee's books ~ I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the SNOWY RANGE CHRONICLES as soon as it comes out too.

To Soar On Eagle's Wings is a book filled with good characterizations, tension, conflict, romance, and the plot keeps you involved in the story! Be sure to read this one!

Thank you for coming by Journeys To Joy ~ Have a blessed day

Monday, June 08, 2015

A WORTHY PURSUIT ~ Karen Witiemeyer

Christy Award finalist and winner of both the ACFW Carol Award and HOLT Medallion, CBA bestselling author Karen Witemeyer writes Christian historical romance for Bethany House, believing the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher and makes her home in Abilene, TX with her husband and three children.

You can learn more about Karen and her books at www.karenwitemeyer.com.

A WORTHY PURSUIT

Stone Hammond is the best tracker in Texas. He never comes home empty-handed. So when a wealthy railroad investor hires him to find his abducted granddaughter, Stone eagerly accepts.

Charlotte Atherton, former headmistress of Sullivan's Academy for Exceptional Youths, will do anything to keep her charges safe, especially the little girl entrusted to her care after her mother's death. Charlotte promised Lily's mother she'd keep the girl away from her unscrupulous grandfather, and nothing will stop Charlotte from fulfilling that pledge. Not even the handsome bounty hunter with surprisingly honest eyes who comes looking for them.

When the teacher he's after produces documentation that shows she's the little girl's legal guardian, Stone must reevaluate everything he's been led to believe. Is Miss Atherton villain or victim? She acts more like a loving mother than an abductress, and the children in her care clearly adore her.

Then a new danger threatens, and Charlotte is forced to trust the man sent to destroy her. Stone becomes determined to protect what he once sought to tear apart. Besides, he's ready to start a new pursuit: winning Charlotte's heart.

Other contact information:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KarenWitemeyersAuthorPage
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3114906.Karen_Witemeyer

JOY'S THOUGHTS ABOUT A WORTHY PURSUIT :

I can still remember my first Karen Witemeyer story. . .have followed the releases with anticipation. Have yet to be disappointed - except when she made Neill's story a novella instead of a full length novel as she had his brothers following Short Straw Bride ~ I am still anticipating the next Karen Witemeyer book. . .A Worthy Pursuit did NOT disappoint, continued to whet my appetite for more of these deliciously intriguing books - with just the right amount of historical fact, humor, romance, and absolutely GREAT writing, I'll be watching for the next one!

LEAVE A COMMENT ~ You'll be entered in the drawing for a FREE BRAND NEW COPY OF A Worthy Pursuit ~ Drawing to be held Friday - June 12, 2015 ~

Friday, May 22, 2015

Pinterest Challenge ~ Launch Party ~ Catherine West invites you to both ~

May 29th we're having an online Facebook Launch Party for Bridge of Faith, with lots of cool giveaways, which I'd love to invite people to that. The link to the giveaway entry form is this -

https://promosimple.com/ps/71b5

We're doing a Pinterest challenge where readers can create boards relating to Vermont and Bridge of Faith -

CHECK THESE OUT ~

Go back through the three posts Catherine West has shared this week. . .LEAVE A COMMENT on any one of them.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Catherine West ~

I’m delighted to be on Joy’s blog again today!

When she asked me to share, I thought about a few things I’ve written over the past few months, and this came to mind. I hope you can relate.

Ever been stuck? Like really stuck. Like, there is no way I'm getting out of this alive, stuck?

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Stuck, like tires spinning. No way out.

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Stuck, middle of the night in a silent house, staring into darkness, mind spinning. No way out.

If you're not there now, you will be. Or you have been. We all get stuck eventually.

It comes in various forms, this being stuck. Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually.

Sometimes it's a slow climb, one little event piles upon another and then another and the cynicism creeps in and the walls go up and you're safe and completely protected in the cold and drafty castle you've built around yourself.

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It's okay there. You can be alone. Nobody visits anymore. But sometimes unwanted guests show up. You want to pull up the ramparts and refuse them entry, yet you nod and move aside and let the baggage through.

Doubt and Fear. They're old friends. They know where their rooms are and they unpack quickly. You don't have to wait on them. They help themselves. Sometimes Insecurity shows up too and they have a real party. Because he's heaps of fun. And so you sit there, watching … watching as they eat away all your stores, drink up every last bit of determination you've saved to use for such a time, and you sit and listen as they talk about all the losers in the world and isn't it a shame they just can't get a break because they never will you know. And you, yeah, you know where you fit, right there with them, those silly fools they're talking about who actually thought … that they were good … and soon discovered otherwise. You watch and you listen and you take it all in and try to ignore that hard knot in your stomach that tells you all you have to do is get up and leave the room. You don't have to be here.

But … you're stuck.

So you stay.

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Time ticks on, and yet, you stay.

And wonder how you got all the way back here.

Stuck, again.

Sometimes all it takes is one careless word. One look. One glance at a person who overstepped and went where they shouldn't have and you just cannot even stand the sight … and bam. Sometimes all it takes is that one memory. A longing. And a realization that things can never be exactly how we want them. And forgiveness? It's the hardest thing in the world.

Stuck.

We think it easy to compartmentalize. To put things into categories, separate and distinct. Yet everything lumps together in the end. If you've any feeling at all, each part of your life will eventually bleed into the next. And you'll look at that mess of melding colors on the paper and you'll say it doesn't matter because the painting was never going to be any good anyway. And so you rip it away. Say you'll start over.

Blank Space.

Stuck.

Whether it's a painting or a screen bereft of words or a soul stuck in muck so thick and so deep it seems impossible to escape - here's the thing

- it doesn't have to be this way.

Ask me how I know.

Remember that time you visited a friend and you talked and talked and talked and then she said something so utterly ridiculously funny and before you knew it, there was laughter … laughter fills a room, fills a soul and starts to mend the broken. You need that.

Remember that time someone reached out and grabbed your hand and just held on? Maybe they prayed and oh, you didn't want them to because you knew that was it right there, your breaking point … but you needed to be broken. You needed to let the healing begin. So let it happen already.

And remember … oh, remember that time you did that really good thing? That hard thing that took years to accomplish, years of battling it out, fighting for it and believing in it when people said you should just give up … but you did it anyway. You did it and it's yours and … It. Was. Good. Really good. And it's okay to know that.

Remember ...

You can do it again.

If you want to.

It won't always be this way.

So when I'm stuck, and I so often am, I reach back and hold fast to the memories of when things were good. When I got up and did the work and loved it. When I didn't question whether I could or not, I just did. I reach back to the time … maybe not so long ago … when I actually believed in myself. Do I want that again?

Like you wouldn't believe.

So sometimes getting unstuck takes work. Sometimes it is a reaching back, a prying open, a painful examination of what went wrong and why and was it really fixable and you just didn't try … sometimes you need to go back to move forward. Not always, but sometimes. And sometimes you don't. Sometimes all you really have to do … and here's the part where you can grin and maybe laugh a little because it is actually that simple … sometimes all you really have to do is move on.

Maybe, all you really have to do, when Doubt and Fear and Insecurity throw a party and insist you sit there and listen to every awful word … maybe all you really have to do is get up. Get up and leave the room.

And slam the door on the way out.

My characters in Bridge of Faith have often felt this way. Stuck, with no way out.