Our Story BEFORE The Story ~ Mattie Welling and Jake Hicken ~ Lady and the Tramps by Jennifer Uhlarik

Hi everyone, my name is Mattie Welling.

I’ve been an orphan since I was eleven years old (I’m more than double that now—but we’ll let that be our little secret). For the first three years after our parents’ deaths, my brother Owlie and I lived on the streets of New York City. Then, a wonderful man named Charles Loring Brace took Owlie and me into The Children’s Aid Society. We lived out the rest of our childhoods there, and when Owlie turned eighteen, he went west to make his way in the world. He’s always promised to send for me when he had a place set up, so I’ve been waiting. And waiting. (It’s been years now…) When I aged out of the Children’s Aid Society, I stayed on with them as a worker, traveling with the Orphan Train program from time to time. Recently, I received a letter from a stranger, a doctor in Salinas, California, informing me that Owlie had died. Of course, I was heartbroken. My only family was gone. But the doctor sent along what Owlie had with him at his death—which included a deed to his California homestead. So after talking to Charles Loring Brace, we set up an Orphan Train going all the way to California, and here I am. At the end of the Orphan Train’s route, there were eight children who hadn’t been placed out, so since I have this wonderful home with lots of land to go to, I’m taking them with me. But we’ve run out of money to get that last short leg of the trip to Salinas, so we’ve stowed away in a boxcar. Hope no one notices!

And I’m Jake Hicken.

I’m a Wells Fargo Special Agent, which means I get called in to investigate when a shipment entrusted to the company is stolen. In this case, I’m not on the trail in search of an outlaw. In fact, I’m acting as a guard for a sizeable shipment that’s going to Salinas—trying to prevent it from being stolen, instead of waiting to chase down the bad guys if and when it is. That was a fortuitous happenstance, for sure. You see, I got a cryptic letter from one Mr. Ben Figueroa—a stranger to me—asking me to come to Salinas and meet with him. I was going to ignore the summons since I don’t know the man, but curiosity got the better of me. When I heard of this shipment and the need for an extra guard, I volunteered. So here I sit on a southbound train, pondering what on earth Ben Figueroa might want, and trying to keep my mind focused on my job in the process.

We hope you’ll read the story to see how we meet and what happens next!

Leave us a comment, and our author will give away one copy of our story (or another of her titles) to one lucky winner (US only).

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My Story Title:   Lady and the Tramps
          From Courting Calamity Collection
My Story Genre: Western Romance

My Story Releases:   July 1, 2020

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The Author of My Story:    Jennifer Uhlarik



Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list several times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers, Women Writing the West, and is a lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.

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Get Connected:

• Newsletter Sign-up: https://www.subscribepage.com/Jen's_Newsletter
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferUhlarik
• Website: www.jenniferuhlarik.com
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenuhlarik/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferUhlarikAuthor/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferuhlarik/
• Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jennifer-uhlarik

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WHERE can the book be purchased?

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Courting-Calamity-4-Historical-Stories/dp/1643524127

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DRAWING TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY EVENING ~ July 1, 2019.

INTRODUCING ~ Our Stories Before The Stories

Journeystojoy is excited to announce a brand new concept in author/novel promotion.

Each Thursday morning ~ February 14 through December 12, 2019 ~ you're invited to read from the character's viewpoint of MANY novellas and novels, just how they arrived in the story they've been written into.

You'll be introduced to a wide array of Christian authors and genres from Children's, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Historical Romantic Suspense, Western Historical, Contemporary Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romantic Mystery, Speculative Romance, Women's Fiction, to a whole LOT more.
 

Can you tell I'm excited about this project?
                                                                YOU BET I AM.

I've had the opportunity to read the post scheduled for NEXT THURS ~ FEB 14th - OH WOW - I can hardly wait to see your reaction to the two characters who've told their back story in a Romantic Mystery novel.

For your participation ~ those characters have a signed-by-the-author book awaiting one blessed winner.

JOIN US HERE, BEGINNING NEXT THURSDAY! We are so looking forward to your visit.

Drawings for give-aways will be held WEDNESDAY EVENINGS preceding the next post-date. You'll have several days' opportunity to comment!

May God richly bless you through the characters and their stories this year!

WELCOME, MARYLU TYNDALL ~ "SURRENDER the DAWN" ~

 INTRODUCING: 

~ MaryLu Tyndall, a Christy Award Finalist, and best-selling author of the Legacy of the King’s Pirates series is known for her swashbuckling historical romances filled with deep spiritual themes. She holds a degree in Math and worked as a software engineer for fifteen years before testing the waters as a writer. MaryLu currently writes full time and makes her home on the California coast with her husband, six kids, and four cats. Her passion is to write page-turning, romantic adventures that not only entertain but expose Christians to their full potential in Christ. For more information on MaryLu and her upcoming releases, please visit her website at http://www.marylutyndall.com or her blog at http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/
So glad you could come by today, MaryLu -
 Bringing:             "SURRENDER the DAWN"  

Another in the Surrender to Destiny Series

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed this terrific book! Thank you for allowing me to share it with my followers.

I also want to thank you for agreeing to this interview 

~ Please allow me to jump in with the first question here.

Can you explain what your author tag line, Swashbuckling Romances, anchored in faith, means?

When people hear the word swashbuckling they normally picture a pirate or sailor wielding a sword, but a swashbuckler is actually defined as a swaggering swordsman, soldier, or adventurer; a daredevil.  And that’s a fair description of all the heroes in my books.  Though my stories take place on both land and sea, they are set during the age of sail when tall ships ruled the sea. Filled with suspense, adventure, and a few sword fights thrown in for good measure, they are also highly romantic and have very strong spiritual themes.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I grew up on the shores of South Florida where I fell in love with the sea and with sea-faring adventures. After years of drifting from God and searching for meaning in life, I finally came to my senses and began to put Him first in all things. Eight years ago, God told me to write a story about a Christian Pirate. I thought I was hearing things, but I obeyed. Now, ten books later, I’m still writing to glorify Him!  Currently, I live in California with my husband, six kids and three cats.

What new lessons do you believe the Lord is teaching you right now?

He’s always teaching me so much! But at the moment, I’d have to say that He’s teaching me to trust Him with every tiny detail of my life. You see, I’m a bit of a control freak. It stems from a very insecure, turbulent childhood, so I try to fit my life into lists and neat little boxes in an effort to control the outcome. But recently, God is telling me to live second by second in His presence, to relinquish my lists and my desired outcomes into His capable hands. It is a hard lesson for me, but I know when I learn it, I will have the peace in my life that I’m seeking.

Do you know ahead of time how your books are going to end or what you are going to write about next with the book in a series? Or, do you just go with the flow and hope it all comes together in the end?

I am somewhere in between a plotter and a seat-of-the-pants writer. I have a general idea of the beginning and end of each book and the main crises or turning points, but I fill in the rest as I go. Regarding a series, I usually have no idea what the other books will be about until I’m writing the first book. Secondary characters usually pop out at me, screaming for their own story. Demanding is more like it!

What is the ultimate dream you want to conquer with your writing

To reveal the presence, the reality, the love, and the power of Almighty God in ordinary people’s lives. And in doing so, to bring people closer to Him.

What inspired you to write you Surrender to Destiny series?

I meet so many people who have no idea what God’s purpose is for them. They flounder about doing this and that and finally conclude they are not useful in the Kingdom of God. I believe from Scripture that we are each here on earth for a reason, and that God will reveal that reason to us in His time. But we must be open to it, and we must get rid of the things that keep us from that destiny. I attempt to show in my Surrender to Destiny series some of the things that can inhibit us from fulfilling our God-given purpose: insecurity (Surrender the Heart, book 1); fear (Surrender the Night, book 2) and unbelief (Surrender the Dawn, book 3). Then once you cast away all these entanglements, I show how to discover that purpose.

What did you find interesting about the war of 1812

Everything! The more I researched this war, the more I fell in love with it. America was a new nation. We didn’t have much of an army and a very small navy, yet we took on the most powerful empire in the world at that time—Britain. The British were intent on regaining the colonies as their own. Arrogant and boastful, they had no doubt they would win. Yet by the Divine Providence of God, America defeated them and remained the one bastion of freedom in the world. You cannot read about the War of 1812 and not see the hand of God all over each event and each battle, and over those who fought.

Tell us about your new release, Surrender the Dawn.

When the war of 1812 robs Cassandra Channing of her father and brothers, she must find a way to support her mother and younger siblings without being forced to marry a man she does not love. Determined to remain independent, she hires a privateer, captained by the town rogue.

Tortured by guilt for his parents’ death, Luke Heaton spends his time drinking and gambling. When Cassandra offers him enough money to fix up his ship, he sees an opportunity to redeem his reputation and help the lady he has loved from afar. Things go well until the British blackmail him into selling supplies to their ships. Still Luke cannot allow Cassandra’s family to be tossed on the streets. 

Cassandra has fallen in love with Luke. When she begins to suspect his nefarious activities, she is heartbroken. Hoping to prove her suspicions wrong, she sets out to catch him in the act. But what she doesn’t expect is to get caught up in a massive British invasion.

When the entire British fleet heads toward Baltimore and begins to bombard Fort McHenry, lives, liberty, and the future of a nation are at stake. What destiny awaits the couple in one of the most decisive battles of the war?

Where can readers find you on the web?

http://www.marylutyndall.com/

http://www.crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/MaryLu-Tyndall-Swashbuckling-Romance/175344859169475




I appreciate your candor and the interview you've granted me for the sake of my followers.
May God richly bless you in your writing efforts and the sale of this terrific book, MaryLu.


A MUST-READ for you historical lovers!!!

SHE'LL BE COMING FROM THE CANYON WHEN SHE COMES, SHE'LL BE COMING FROM THE CANYON WHEN SHE . . .

~  DEEP ~ TROUBLE   ~  DEEP ~ TROUBLE  ~ 

MARY CONNEALY

Aimless, Wyoming rancher wandering from a less than desireable situation, 

GABE LASLEY 

Determined, searching but stranded on a mountain top, 

SHANNON DYSART

Quite a combination, two head-strong young people thrown together in a treasure hunt leading them into the Grand Canyon in another of Mary Connealy's uniquely woven novels of humorous, action-laden incidences that will tickle your funny bone as well as keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation.

With trouble on their back trail from villains who want Shannon's map, the map she's using to prove her father's research isn't the work of a madman, that he really did find a treasure in the wild west.

And with the dream of gold coloring every decision Shannon makes, and Gabe's surprising need to protect her, they set out to find a city of gold.

Gabe finds Shannon stranded in a mountain top cave, left to die.

Along the way they find that true treasure is rooted in love

I've asked Mary to share some answers with readers ~ hers and mine ~ she has kindly consented to do so. Read on to get to know more about this gifted author and her latest release ~ DEEP TROUBLE ~

Mary, What made you want to write?

I don't really think of writing as something I do, more like what I AM. I have always written. My school assignments were too long. My letters home to Grandma were LONG. My children's baby books are covered with writing rather than pictures. It's not something I became.

What do you use as inspiration for your books?
Inspiration can come from anywhere. People-watching, playing 'what if' games. Movies, books, TV. Funny things the kids say. It's startling when it hits you, wow, that would make a great book if only. . .

Do you know ahead of time how your books are going to end or what you are going to write about next with the book in a series?
Or, do you just go with the flow and hope it all comes together in the end?
I sort of know because to end the book well, you need to bring it full circle and usually have the hero or heroine or both face up to their deepest fears or greatest failures. And that is often rooted in how you begin your book. So, the beginning creates the ending. And in between the beginning and ending, I just shoot people and have run away stage coaches, and the occasional passionate kiss.

What do you do to keep yourself in the right frame of mind when writing your books?
I enjoy writing so much, I think I'm really low maintenance when it comes to writing. I can get distracted, deal with the distraction, then go right back to the book and pick it up. No frame of mind is required.


What is the ultimate dream you want to conquer with your writing?
My prayer when I am writing is that God will make my words say more than I'm capable of having them say. That I will respect this precious gift I've been given of having my books published and do work worthy of the blessing.

You often write about country girls and historical romance. 
Have you ever considered writing a different genre?
Or ever had ideas for a book of a different genre? 
I have ideas all the time that jump around different genres. Always romance, but not always historical westerns. But I do dearly love them, and that's what's selling now, so I'm going with it. I have a great idea fro a time travel book and a suspense concerning a messed up chat room situation, and another with a cell phone kicking off the trouble. I can't do those in historical westerns. Although the time travel does go back to western times.

How did you come up with the story ~ DEEP TROUBLE ~?
Barbour Publishing was focusing on setting books in fascinating places and I wondered about several cool locations. I set one near Mount Rushmore and that seemed to work well. Researching different ideas, I found a really wonderful book written by a man who hiked the length of the Grand Canyon. I realized how little I knew about that famous place and decided to explore it through my book ~ Deep Trouble ~.

 If you didn't make it as a writer what would you be doing right now?
I'd still be writing. I can't seem to stop. I seriously suspect I'll keep writing until I die whether anyone wants my books or not.


Do any of your characters have a little piece of you in them?
I write really tough, plain spoken frontier women who never get pushed around. That is the exact opposite of me. I think I create characters who are like I WISH I was rather than who I am. I have a pretty good sense of humor but I mostly keep it to myself . . . to the relief of all who know me.


Do any of your characters have resemblance to characters you have crossed paths with in real life?
For the most part, real people are too sane. Sometimes I find someone who gives me a jumping off spot, but I usually have to exaggerate that character until they lose all resemblance to real people.

If you got to be a character in a novel, movie or on television or if you got to write yourself into one of your books; what type of character would you want to be?
What genre would it be in?
Well, since this is fiction, I'd be young and slender and maybe I'd know karate. And I'd like to drive a snazzy car too. And eat all I want without getting fat. Who would that be? Maybe Mrs. Peel on the old Avengers TV show, (not the movie). I really love Belle Tanner in my book - THE HUSBAND TREE. But I know how badly I'd miss air conditioning, so I wouldn't want to be her.

Mary, this has been an amazingly fast interview. I wish you could stick around for longer. I'm also going to be sure to get those other books that are just perking under the surface - sure to come out one of these upcoming months. Thank you, Mary!

 
Mary Connealy writes fun and lively romantic comedy with cowboys for the Inspirational market.

She is the author of the successful series'

~ LASSOED IN TEXAS ~

~ MONTANA MARRIAGES ~

~ SOPHIE'S DAUGHTERS ~

Mary is a Rita Award and Christy Award finalist.
She lives on a ranch in Nebraska with her husband
and has four grown daughters and two spectacular grandchildren (yes, she has pictures available upon request).


Mary can be found at the following sites ~ Doing what else?   Writing, of course!                  

http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com

http://www.petticoatsandpistols.com

http://www.mconnealy.blogspot.com

http://www.maryconnealy.com 

 BOOK DRAWING INSTRUCTIONS:  

LEAVE A COMMENT - LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENT- IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THE DRAWING!

           DRAWING TO BE HELD  MONDAY ~ MAY 16, 2011

WINNER WILL BE NOTIFIED ONLY BY EMAIL AND HERE ON THE BLOG.

Thank you for stopping by! Be sure to check back here and watch your email inbox for winner notification of ~ DEEP TROUBLE ~