My Story BEFORE The Story ~ Susanna Russell ~ The Heart of Courage by Lynne Basham Tagawa

I’m not quite sure where to start. Here I am, Susanna Russell, sitting in Uncle Basham’s carriage, on my way to glorious Williamsburg—I cannot wait—but my story is a bit dull.

My father’s name is John Russell [The Shenandoah Road]. He married my stepmother about ten years ago, and that was quite a tale, I’m told. But life goes on, you see, and though I love my parents, I just could not wait to leave the Shenandoah Valley.

For one thing, I’ve never been east of Richmond, which you know is not a town at all, just a landing with tobacco warehouses and a few shops. I’ve also been to the Jeffersons numerous times, which is infinitely more interesting. Tom is such a character! He’s always working on some project or other. When we were young we would hunt for precious jewels in the streambeds. We never found any actual gemstones, of course, unless you count colored quartz. We each have a rock collection.

As you know, young men always get a better education than young women, and while Grandda taught me a bit of Latin and history, it does not compare to the education Tom gets—or even Jamie Paxton’s, our minister’s student. He is studying for the ministry, which sounds positively dry, but I hear Jamie studies not just Latin and Greek, but also history and higher mathematics. I do not know if he has studied French, which is my goal. And painting.

I have always loved to draw. And I love color. I do not know why there are so few words to describe the color green. Forest green, hunter green—we must always put a modifier before the word. Green deserves better treatment, if you ask me. Why, other colors have special words: mauve and azure and gold. Why is that?

Anyway, I hope to study painting, though I have no hope of actually doing portraits for a living. In truth, other kinds of projects would suit me better. I wouldn’t even mind weaving. Spinning gives me a headache, though. I just can’t seem to get the knack! My threads are always lumpy.

There’s another reason I’m going to Williamsburg I haven’t mentioned yet. It’s the war. Oh, I know, there is no official war yet. My father says it’s only a matter of time before a declaration of war is made. You’ve undoubtedly heard about Major Washington and Fort Necessity. Some people laugh as if it were some kind of debacle, but it wasn’t! You must understand that between the French and the Indians our militia had no chance at all. I suppose I am just a little biased. Washington is a Virginian, the head of the Virginia militia.

The horrible French have stirred up the Indians, and folks are worried. On top of that, my father and Jamie Paxton are headed north to join Washington, who’s serving as an aide to General Braddock. So he’s sent the rest of the family to my aunt and uncle’s near Richmond, and I get to go to Williamsburg and stay with Tom’s aunt.

Braddock brought thousands of regular red-coated soldiers over here now in addition to our brave militiamen. They are going to capture Fort Duquesne. Or try, anyway.

And I’m worried about my father. And about Jamie, truth be told.

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My Story Title:   The Heart of Courage

My Story Genre:  Historical

My Story Releases:   Date 2019

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The Author of My Story:    Lynne Basham Tagawa

Lynne Tagawa is an author, editor, educator, and best of all, grandma to four. She loves to write quality fiction with solid gospel content. Her debut novel, A Twisted

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Get Connected:

• Website: https://www.lynnetagawa.com/
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/Lynne-Basham-Tagawa-263573557821364/

To sign up for her newsletter and find special deals on her books - be sure to go to her website ~ above.

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ajxMKs

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy of
The Heart of Courage.

Without an email address, we cannot inform the winner!
You may private message your email to me at   http://facebook.com/joy.averymelville, letting me know you've left a comment, if you're uncomfortable leaving it here in the comments.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ September 30, 2020

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ Abby Ferguson ~ Second Hand Sunsets by Gail Kittleson

You might think of beauty as a gorgeous sunset or a bird’s song. There was a time in my youth when sketching the flowers and wrens in our yard in Poplar Bluff, Missouri brought me such joy.

Then war came, that terrible conflict between North and South. Elwood and I were young, and the fighting scarcely touched our community until the battle at New Madrid.

Suddenly, Elwood and his comrades, patriots all, went off to do battle, and in no time at all they came home—in the back of a wagon. The whole town gathered to see them off, this time to heaven. My name, Abby Ferguson, would never blend with Elwood’s now, and nothing would ever be the same.

Though Mama’s hollyhocks and the bittersweet over the back gate remained, the world turned dull for me. The cardinal called outside my window before dawn every morning, the sunset brought glorious tones, and work at Papa’s store continued, but with no meaning.

I used to ask Union soldiers passing through, “What of your adventures? Have you traveled in the wild territories west of here?

But with Elwood’s passing, all of my interest ceased. Even my passion for sketching disappeared. Elwood and I had such plans, you see. After we made our marriage vows in our little church, we would hitch up a wagon and head west.

We had heard the call echoing through this great land and had determined to set our course. Westward Ho!

Now, all those dreams were buried with Elwood under granite stone. What difference did my frivolous sketches make? What difference did anything make? How the days passed, I could not say, but they did, one after another.

I thought losing my beloved the very worst experience I would ever endure. But then one summer evening, Papa and Mama perished, too, as they worked late at the store.


Many weeks have passed. Still, I think Mama will sweep through the dining room to offer an herbal remedy to a hurting soul, or Papa might cross the threshold.

The devastating fire that took their lives perplexes our Marshall. How could this tragedy have happened? With both a back door and the front entrance, what had prevented two able adults from escaping on that fateful night?

The Marshall’s questions trouble me greatly. Did Papa have an enemy? There was no finer man in our town. An enemy? Unthinkable. And Mama…tears start again as I recollect upon her loving ways. At every turn, she reached out to the needy.

A melancholy mourning dove heralds the close of day and I ponder what lies ahead for me. I can scarcely bear the looks of pity from our townspeople, and must borrow Aunt Susan’s faith, for my own lies as shattered as my family.

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These days, support groups, abundant literature, and professional counseling help us navigate painful experiences. But during pioneer days, and especially in wartime, what did sufferers do with the many losses and transitions they endured?

Perhaps that’s the answer. One day, one moment at a time, they endured.

Second-hand Sunsets tells the story of a young woman who thought God had forgotten her and that her life was over. But despite her horrific trials, little reminders of grace find her in the untamed wilds of Arizona Territory. With time, she discovers that second-hand sunsets can offer beauty, too.
This novel will release sometime before Christmas. Please subscribe to my blog and watch for a notice of its release. Since the cover is not yet available, I’m sharing a photo of a gorgeous Arizona sunset, thanks to Horizon Worden and Lisa Delight.

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My Story Title: Second Hand Sunsets

My Story Genre: Western Historical

My Story Releases: Near Christmas 2020

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The Author of My Story:    Gail Kittleson

Gail Kittleson lives with her husband Lance in northern Iowa. A history buff long before they met, he shares her love for research. About ten years ago, the World War II bug big Gail, and she’s thoroughly addicted to the era. Her Women of the Heartland series and other stand-alone novels reveal make-do heroines who face great odds to make a contribution to the war effort.

In winter, Gail writes from Arizona's Mogollon Rim Country. Learning more about this rugged, beautiful land led to a developing story, and over a decade, she has gleaned new understanding of life under the Rim during the Civil War era. If someone had something to hide, this remote area would be perfect, and the word deceptive describes the antagonist in Second-Hand Sunsets to a T.

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Get Connected:

• Website: http://www.gailkittleson.com/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GailKittlesonAuthor
• Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/gailkittleson
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GailGkittleson
• Instagram: @gailkittlesonauthor

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ John Russell ~ THE SHENANDOAH ROAD ~ A Novel of the Great Awakening

I’m John Russell, and I’m pleased to meet ye. [inaudible] I dinna ken if there’s all that much to tell about myself and my life, except it be something about the grace of God in it all . . . but maybe I should go back to the beginning.

I willna forget the day . . . the day I lost my Janet. She went to the Cunninghams that day, I dinna remember why. I just remember her standing in the open door of their cabin in the dusk, the light from the hearth outlining her form. [inaudible] There were Indians, and Captain McDowell had led a bunch of us to guard the settlement, but what happened—it was an accident, no matter they call it a massacre. I dinna believe the Indians meant any harm myself.

Some of the Indians had muskets. One of them aimed at a Cunningham—father or son I couldna see in the smoke, ye may know how ’tis with muskets. Anyway, Cunningham galloped past not far from the cabin, and . . . [inaudible]

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d had a long rifle on that day. Ye ken the type? Jake Deckard makes fine rifles in Pennsylvania, they are much more accurate than a musket. Anyone can take down a buck at a hundred yards with it. And if ye’ve a keen eye, well, I’ve heard stories.

But no, I’ve wrestled with that long enough. The Lord knows the end from the beginning, and He’s in control of it all. Isaiah tells me that. The catechism tells me that. But it took a long time before my heart kent it.

Now I can look back and see that good has come out of it all, good that is much happier to tell. It all started when my father, who works as a bookkeeper in Philadelphia, meddled just a wee bit. I’d written of my plan to look for a wife there. I didna tell you about Susanna, did I? She was just a wee bairn at the time, needed a mother.

Anyway, there were some good families in Gilbert Tennent’s meetinghouse, and immigrants from Ulster tend to go there, being Presbyterian mostly. These “Irish” are actually Scots, if ye dinna ken that already.

That was the plan, but it didna work out exactly as I imagined . . .

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My Story Title:   THE SHENANDOAH ROAD ~ 
A novel of the Great Awakening

My Story Genre:  Historical Fiction

My Story Released:   July 2018

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The Author of My Story:    Lynne Basham Tawaga


Lynne Basham Tawaga is an author, editor, educator, and best of all, grandma to four. She loves to write quality fiction with solid gospel content. Her debut novel, A Twisted Strand, is contemporary romantic suspense, but she thinks
she’s found a true home in historical fiction.

Currently she’s writing the sequel to The Shenandoah Road: A Novel of the Great Awakening.

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  Get Connected:

• Website: www.lynnetagawa.com

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• A Kindle Unlimited selection
• Can be purchased at Amazon, B&N, and Grace and Truth Books.

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The author will be honored to gift a winner 
a signed print copy ~ OR ~ Kindle copy of
The Shenandoah Road ~ A Novel of the Great Awakening.

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address - or - PM Joy  in Messenger - where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ August 28, 2019.

My Story BEFORE The Story ~ Maria von Wedemeyer ~ My Dearest Dietrich

My name is Maria von Wedemeyer. I was born in 1924 at Pätzig Estate in Pomerania. I’m the third of seven children. Growing up, I was blessed to be a part of a loving and supportive family. I’ve always been especially close to my vater, Hans von Wedemeyer. He taught me how to ride a horse, how to appreciate nature. Together, along with my dear brother Max, we would spend hours on horseback, touring the estate and stopping to chat with our tenant farmhands. Rarely have I felt freer than in those moments.

Our extended family is also close, and I share a special relationship with my maternal grossmutter, Ruth von Kleist. She taught her grandchildren the piano, and her home was always open to our visits. One Sunday morning when I and some of my siblings were staying at her home, she announced we would be attending church at a chapel run by a group of seminarians who were studying in the area. Due to Hitler’s restrictions on the church, pastors who wished to be trained independently of the Reich had to do so in secret. My highly-opinionated grossmutter would not be told what to do by anyone, least of all Adolf Hitler, and she pledged her full support to this group of seminarians and their leader. That morning, I met him for the first name. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I found myself awed by him, and moved by his sermon. As a young person growing up in 1930s Germany, it was difficult to know whom to look to for guidance, whom one could trust was truly doing the will of God. Our family found such a person in Dietrich.

I attended boarding school at Wieblingen Academy. The leader of the school was Elisabeth von Thadden. We students recognized right away that our fiery teacher wasn’t about to bow to the Nazis, nor teach us to do so. Even in the way she gave the Hitler salute—compulsory at the start of morning classes—she showed her dislike by limply raising her arm as if swatting a fly. I dearly loved that school and graduated with honors, especially in mathematics.

After graduation in 1942, I embarked upon a round of visits to friends and family before beginning my compulsory term of national service. Foremost among these was a stay with my grossmutter. It was there, on a sunlit June evening, that I was reunited with Dietrich Bonhoeffer again. After that evening, nothing in my life would ever again be the same.

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My Story Title:  My Dearest Dietrich:
A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love


My Story Genre:  Historical Fiction


My Story Released:   June 09, 2019

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The Author of My Story: 

Amanda Barratt is the ECPA best-selling author of several novels and novellas, including My Heart Belongs in Niagara Falls, New York. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a two-time FHL Reader's Choice Award finalist. She and her family live in northern Michigan.

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  Get Connected:

• Website: www.amandabarratt.net.

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Christian Book Distributors

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Amanda Barratt will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy of
My Dearest Dietrich

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into the drawing!

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ July 03, 2019.

My Story BEFORE The Story ~

I'm Miriam, and I was a good girl.

I helped my ima with the chores and took care of my baby brother Zaccheus. I was kind to those around me. I prayed to Jehovah and listened intently to abba when he read from the Torah. I did everything I was told to do. From the outside, I was doing everything right. Or so I thought.

But inside I was selfish and self-centered. And maybe a bit prideful. My actions shouted, “Look at me! Aren’t I virtuous? What an example of a righteous life I am!”

If I were to be honest, my insides — my heart — did not match my actions. I thought only of myself and my own comfort. What would make me happy? Who would make me happy?

I had many friends, especially Jonas, the boy who was raised from the dead by

the prophet Elisha. We spent our days laughing and playing by a nearby stream. We fished and basked in the sun, carefree and content. Trouble was not a word we understood. Tragedy had not yet touched our lives.

My facade continued until one day, we heard of the invasion by the Syrian army in nearby villages. A runner came through the center of Shunem town to spread the news. Fear rose up in our hearts. Would it happen to us? Family members held each other more closely. We planned for the possibility of an invasion. What would we bring? Where would we flee?

All this was for naught, because when the time came, it caught us unawares. Life would never be the same. Especially for this girl with a selfish heart . . .

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My Story Title:   THE HEART CHANGER

My Story Genre:  Middle Grade Historical Fiction

My Story Released:   APRIL 26TH 2019

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The Author of My Story:   Jarmila Del Boccio

Jarm (‘J’ pronounced as a 'Y') Del Boccio finds her inspiration in everyday life, but in particular, when she travels the globe, observing the quirky things that happen along the way. Focusing on lives of characters from the past, Jarm is devoted to breathing new life into the pages of history.

Jarm has a background in elementary and high school education, and served for seven years as a school librarian. Grateful for the opportunity, she taught three missionary kids in an isolated area of Papua New Guinea. She is part of SCBWI and American Christian Fiction Writers, and has published articles in "The Old Schoolhouse" magazine.

“The Heart Changer,” her debut MG historical/biblical fiction, releases with Ambassador International April 26th 2019. Jarm is content with the journey God has placed her on, and lives with her husband, adult daughter and son (when he lands at home) in a tree-lined suburb of Chicago. You can connect on her author’s website/blog at: https://www.jarmdelboccio.com/

"My Passion is to Make Scripture and History Come Alive for my Readers: Illuminating the Past. Making Sense of the Present. Offering Hope for the Future.”

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Get Connected: 

• My author’s website ✍🏻: https://www.jarmdelboccio.com/
• Facebook Page: https://m.facebook.com/JarmDelBoccio
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/JarmVee
• Instagram author’s account: https://www.instagram.com/jarmdelboccio/

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2SCcPnx
• AMBASSADOR INTERNATIONAL: https://bit.ly/2CnnrND

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The author will be honored to gift a winner a signed copy of
THE HEART CHANGER

Be sure to leave a comment with an email address where you can be reached should you win.

DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ May  29, 2019.