Thursday, July 30, 2020

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ Lisa Reno ~ Heart Restoration: Reno Vations Series, Book 1

Hey, there! Hop up into the truck with me! Don’t forget your seatbelt! You can adjust the AC vent if you need to. Summertime in Kentucky is H-O-T, but it’s really the humidity, isn’t it?

Anyway, thanks for coming! I’m Lisa Reno, and somehow I’ve joined forces with my brother, of all people, in running our dad’s construction business, which we renamed “RenoVations.”

Oh! Did I tell you Dad’s getting married in a few weeks? Talk about a story . . . but that was back at Christmastime. We’ll talk later.

At the moment, I’m on my way to meet our new client, because my brother, bless his heart, has injured himself on the job and is laid up. Believe me, I’ll never let him live that down. The upside is I’m in charge for a change!

Wait. Did I remember to fill up the gas tank? Being ten miles from Marion, Kentucky has its ups and downs – one of the downs being lack of amenities, which includes gas stations.

Don’t let the red hair fool you: I’m not a fiery redhead. In fact, in the past I was so shy that all people could remember about me was my hair, and believe me, I did all I could to blend into the woodwork. It was just easier.

Now? Let’s just say I’ve learned a few things in my vast twenty-seven years that have taught me to project a more polished and confident exterior. “Shy me” is still in there, but you’ve heard the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it?” It works!

When Mom got sick a few years ago, I came back home, and I have no regrets. At the time, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I was working behind the scenes for a successful TV show, had a great boyfriend, and was on my way up in the interior design field. When I realized that my boyfriend wanted me to choose between him and my family, I knew that was God telling me that I needed to depend on Him, and that maybe Ben wasn’t His best for me.

Mom didn’t make it, and Dad was crushed. I couldn’t leave, then. Two years later, after a heart attack at Christmas and his forced semi-retirement, he needed me that much more. Del and I took care of things while he was recuperating, and I never looked back. Sometimes I miss having someone. Okay, I miss it most of the time, but in a tiny town on the river, there’s not much to choose from, so I take solace in my family, my friends, my adorable little house, and my church where I play music every week. It’s a good life, even if it’s a little lonely.

Here we are at the client’s house. Hmmm . . . Looks like it was a showplace in its day, but wow. Fixer-upper? Tearer-downer? Ha! I guess I’ll have to go in and see. Del didn’t tell me who I was meeting. I hope it’s not a cheap-skate that doesn’t have a clue about renovation costs.

Thanks for riding along with me. Del’s usually with me, or Dad, so the company’s been nice. Want to see inside the house? I had a feeling. I’m a sucker for the “old stuff,” and I’ll bet you are, too!

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My Story Title:  Heart Restoration: 
                          RenoVations Series, Book 1

My Story Genre:  Contemporary Romance (Inspirational)

My Story Releases:   August 5, 2020

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The Author of My Story:    Regina Merrick






Regina Merrick is a multi-published writer, church musician, wife, mother, former librarian, lover of all things beachy and chocolate, and grateful follower of Jesus Christ. Married to her husband of 35-plus years, she is the mother of two grown daughters, and the keeper of a 100-year-old house where she lives in the small town of Marion, KY.


See how to connect with her below!

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Get Connected:

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

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*No one wins who doesn't leave an email address!

* If you are uncomfortable leaving an email address with your comment ~ 
Private message it tome before drawing date! http://facebook.com/joy.averymelville

The author will gift one winner a signed copy of
 HEART RESTORATION: RenoVations Series, Book 1 
 U.S. Only

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ August 5, 2020.

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Thursday, July 23, 2020

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ Maggie Parker ~ In High Cotton ~ by Ane Mulligan

I'm Maggie Parker ~

My good friend Sadie always says Southern women may look as delicate as flowers, but there’s iron in our veins. And we need it. While the rest of the world has been roaring through the 1920s, times are hardscrabble here in rural South Georgia. You see, I’m a widow. I guess I should tell you I’m Maggie Parker, and I’m barely surviving while raising my little boy, Barry, alone. Now, the banks are failing, and my father-in-law threatens to take my boy and sell off our livelihood—the grocery store my late husband left me.

I haven’t always lived here in Rivers End. My sister, Duchess, and I were born on a farm in South Georgia, but we are as different as can be. Duchess was the princess Mama and Meemaw wanted. She drank in their stories of the old family plantation and the parties, before the war of Northern Aggression. Our great-grandparents owned a flourishing cotton plantation before that terrible time. But after the Yankees came through, they turned the family out and carpetbaggers took over. Great-granddaddy was forced to become a sharecropper.

The work and humility unhinged our great-grandmother and grandmother, who was nine years old at the time—old enough to remember life before. She raised our mama on stories of those times. When Mama married Daddy, Meemaw moved in with them. And then she raised Duchess on those stories. She was sure they times would return and they’d get their plantation back. Like I said, her mind was unhinged. But she and Mama told Duchess she was a Southern princess. I never paid heed to the stories. I was more practical than Sister. I preferred to help Daddy with the farm animals. I even helped with the crops some.

When my sister was sixteen, a train wrecked near our farm. The passengers needed housing, and a nice man named Mr. Alden stayed with us. He was a rich businessman from Atlanta. Wouldn’t you know, he fell in love with our Duchess. He courted her and married her, then took her off to Atlanta. Their marriage eased life for us with the money they sent.

A few years later, I met Jimmy Parker at a farmers’ market. He was buying for his grocery store. I was smitten from the first time I saw him. When we married, he brought me to Rivers End, where he and his daddy owned Parker’s Grocery. When his daddy decided to retire, he turned full ownership over to my Jimmy. I was so proud of him. But my Jimmy died almost eight years ago, not knowing I was pregnant with our first child. My son, Barry, is what keeps me going.

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To read the first chapter free, go to https://anemulligan.com/georgia-magnolias-series and scroll to the DOWNLOADS.



My Title: In High Cotton

 My Genre: Southern Women's Fiction

 My Release Date: August 3, 2020

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The Author of My Story:   Ane Mulligan




Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown.

But when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. She submerged herself in drama through high school and college.

One day, her two loves collided, and a bestselling, award-winning novelist emerged.

She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler.

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Get Connected:


Find Ane on her

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In High Cotton can be purchased in print or as an eBook.

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy or ebook copy of
IN HIGH COTTON

ONLY COMMENTS WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE ELIGIBLE TO WIN

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ July 29, 2020
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Thursday, July 16, 2020

COVER REVEAL ~ SOWN IN PEACE ~ MEET THE CHARACTERS


Our Story Title:   SOWN IN PEACE

Our Story Genre: Contemporary Christian Women's Fiction ~ With A Blend of Romance

Our Story Releases:   August 27, 2020

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CHARACTERS

  • Heroine ~ Victoria (Tori) Kinsey Archer ~ Veteran
  • Hero ~ Griffin (Griff) Miles Mckay ~ Veteran
  • Jennifer Joy (JJ) McKay Russell ~ Pyschologist / Physical therapist
  • Rex Archer ~ Tori's father
  • Marty Douglas ~ Veteran & neighbor to Rex Archer
  • Pamela (Pam) Douglas ~ Marty's wife & neighbor to Rex Archer
  • Tanner (Micky) Michaels ~  Tori's Battle Buddy
  • Rebecca (Becca) Chapman ~ Veteran
  • Halley ~ Tanner's MWD/Therapy Dog
  • Brick ~ In-Training Therapy Dog

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SOWN IN PEACE ~ Back Cover Blurb 

How much can one wounded soul take? 

Victoria (Tori) Archer has the heart of a soldier. Taken down by an IED during her fourth deployment, she’s permanently separated from her military career and left with physical scars as well as PTSD. Moving back to her hometown of Three Rivers, Michigan, she’s forced by circumstances to live with an irascible and unsympathetic aunt. Tori’s battle with pain, horrific memories, and loss of independence creates a deep yearning for peace. Will God grant her even a small measure of it?

Retired Military Dog Handler Griffin (Griff) McKay turns to training dogs at his farm for wounded warrior therapy, desiring to bring former military men and women emotional and mental healing. Implementing his plan proves to be more difficult than visualized with the arrival of one stubborn soldier. Why has God placed that particular warrior in his path?

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The Author of My Story:    Joy Avery Melville

 Joy Avery Melville's heart’s desire is to be the author God has called her to be by sharing Him with readers in such a way they long to have a deeply committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord.

Fully intending to write Historical Romance—had in fact— she had no plans to deviate from that. God had something else in mind for that ‘call’ He’d made on her life back in 1967. A mere eighth grader at the time, she had no clue about the topics she’d be drawn to write about.

Surrendering to the genre God placed on her heart has given Joy new insight into the hearts and lives of those who too often hurt in silence.

The settings of Joy’s books are near where she lives in Schoolcraft, Michigan with her husband of nearly 47 + years and their 21 mo-old Yorkie, Is-A-Bella Bindi, (Is-a-beautiful little girl) who thinks she’s a much larger breed with tomboy tendencies.

Joy loves to hear from readers and will respond!

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Get Connected:

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy of
SOWN IN PEACE (upon release)

ONLY COMMENTS WITH EMAIL ADDRESS - ELIGIBLE TO WIN
DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ July 22, 2020
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Thursday, July 09, 2020

Our Story BEFORE The Story ~ Henry Roarke & Olivia Vance ~ Explosive Situation

HENRY
Hi there, I’m Henry Roarke. I’m a K-9 officer in the bomb squad division for the newly formed K-9 Unit in Brooklyn, New York. My parents divorced when I was very young. My mom was more interested in her own happiness than taking care of me so I bounced back and forth between my parents’ homes. My mother lives in Michigan and is remarried with no other children. Though my father stayed in Brooklyn, he remarried several times and had a child with the last wife. That marriage lasted for 13 years before my father and stepmother were tragically killed in a car accident, leaving behind a 12-year-old daughter, Riley.

Growing up, I always longed for an intact family, so there was no question that I would take in my little sister. I was twenty-five and already with the NYPD with a serious girlfriend, but she wasn’t interested in a readymade family so she dumped me and I decided I wouldn’t try romance again until Riley was on her own. I moved to the K-9 unit and was partnered with the best little bomb-sniffing beagle in the world, Cody. Okay, I’m biased, but he’s had my back more often than I can count.

I want to be a good parent, which is proving difficult to a now 18-year-old girl. I’m protective of Riley, though she tells me I’m smothering her. I’m afraid of failing her. I just want to make sure she never feels neglected or alone the way I did when I was a kid.

Now I’m being set up for a crime I didn’t commit, and I must navigate internal affairs while keeping Riley safe from some maniac who keeps taunting me with texts and bombs. But the investigating officer, Olivia Vance, is determined to know every aspect of my life. She’s become a complication I don’t need even as I find myself attracted to her. I’m not sure which is more dangerous, the bomber or my growing feelings for Olivia.

Olivia
Hello, my name is Olivia Vance, I’m an investigator for the NYPD internal affairs. I’m the middle child of five, two older brothers and two younger sisters. My father’s a captain at the 120th precinct on Staten Island. My mother stayed home to care for her children but was always busy with church and other charity functions, which left me to ride herd over my siblings. Two of my brothers are law enforcement officers in Manhattan. One sister is with the DA’s office in Manhattan and our baby sister is a paramedic in Brooklyn. We gather for family meals every Sunday.

I followed my father and brothers into law enforcement and at my father’s urging went into internal affairs because it was the quickest way to move up the ranks. I married a dentist. He seemed to understand my drive and wasn’t put off by the long hours of work. I wanted to start a family and he refused. We drifted apart. I dragged him to counseling and we tried to bring back the spark. Or at least I thought we were trying. Then he was killed in a plane crash with his mistress and I realized I was the only one fighting for our marriage.

Eight weeks ago, I was promoted and put on a new case, investigating Henry Roarke. Almost the same day, I discovered I was pregnant with my deceased husband’s child. I’m overwhelmed by the future as a single parent and will need to lean on God and my family more than ever. But I also need to prove myself as an investigator so sticking close to Henry and observing how he operates is a must, especially as there’s a mad bomber on the loose who’s targeting those close to Henry, including me.

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Our Story Title:       Explosive Situation 

Our Story Genre:    Romantic Suspense

Our Story Released:  July 1, 2020

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The Author of My Story:    TERRI REED

Terri Reed’s awarding winning romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publishers Weekly top 15 Romance Bestsellers and Publishers Weekly top 10 Religion Fiction Bestsellers, Nielsen’s Bookscan top 100 Bestsellers and featured in USA Today, and have been Amazon Bestsellers and Fresh Picks at Fresh Fiction.

Her novel A Family Under the Christmas Tree was adapted into a Hallmark movie and retitled Picture a Perfect Christmas in 2019.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers, Novelist Inc. and a member of the Authors Guild.

She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband.

When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and agility training with her dog.

www.terrireed.com

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Get Connected:

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card 
and a signed back-list book. 

ONLY COMMENTS WITH EMAIL INCLUDED ARE ELIGIBLE TO WIN!!!

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ July 15, 2020
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Thursday, July 02, 2020

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ REX ARCHER ~ Sown In Peace by Joy Avery Melville

Hello. My name is Rex Archer. I'm one guy full of remorse over my treatment of my daughter, Torrent.

Oh, her given name is Victoria Kinsey Archer, but she's always been my Torrent. Her aunt, on the other hand, has always called her Victoria Kinsey. Kinsey was a family name on my wife's side. (her aunt is a character our author got so she loved to hate) Anyway, I prefer to keep with the name I chose for my Torrent, 'cause you see, my girl's gone through life in a Torrential kind of way.

She's my only child... straight-A student... A driven young adult, went into the Army... worked her way up... and volunteered for deployment to Afghanistan four times. It was that last deployment... well... you'll need to read the entire book to get a good handle on what happened there.

I messed up our relationship... royally. I kept secrets about her mother's illness, and bowed to the wishes of my wife and sister-in-law by keeping everything hush-hush. Then, I pulled a real 'stupid'... a selfish stupid. By the time Torrent came home between her third and fourth deployment... let's just say, what she had to face was a whole different type of war. It became a cold one.
Torrent left for Fort Hood way earlier than she would have had to, during her break... then volunteered for that fourth deployment as soon as it came up.

I've got neighbors. Their names are Pam and Marty Douglas. Marty is retired Army. The man gave me some insights I desperately needed.

When Joy created me as a character, she gave me some sound strengths, but she made me human... one with flaws... one with a void in his heart.

Meeting her other characters has given me something more to live for, I guess you'd say.  See if you agree with that once you've read the novel.

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The author of My Story ~ Joy Avery Melville

This first story in the Operation Return To Peace Series, Sown In Peace, is one many, many of our heroes across the United States of America could tell - in fact - when my author, Joy Avery Melville,  researched for Sown In Peace, and the stories to follow,  God granted her desire for human resources to guide her through much of the 'logistics', you might call them. She's said many times, since, "There's way more to this novel than fiction."

Jeremy Rockstroh of Fort Wayne, IN and Keith Youngblood of Bryan, TX  contributed much of their time and multiple stories from their experiences and the depths of their hearts to this novel. Joy considers their friendship an honor and privilege.

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BE HERE JULY 16th for SOWN IN PEACE COVER REVEAL!!!!


Leave a comment here for Rex... one comment will win a signed copy of SOWN IN PEACE once it's released. 
Drawing is next Wednesday evening - July 8th.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Sown In Peace from Amazon. com when it releases in late August.
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