Meet and Greet: Elizabeth Johnson

Book Giveaway Drawing!

Read the details later in this post.

Liz Johnson grew up reading Christian fiction, and always dreamed of being part of the publishing industry. In 2006 she got her wish when she accepted a publicity position at a major trade book publisher. While working in the industry, she decided to pursue her other dream—becoming an author. Liz makes her home in Nashville , TN , where she enjoys theater, exploring the local music scene, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her two nephews and three nieces.

BRC: Welcome to Book Readers Central.

I’m thrilled to have been invited to Book Readers Central to talk about my writing and my most recent book, Code of Justice.

BRC: What type of books do you write?

So far, I’ve published three romantic suspense novels, but I’m open to writing any love stories. I’ve put together some contemporary romance stories, and even an historical romance. I just love love!

BRC: Tell us, why do you write?

I’ve always had ideas, stories and characters who just want me to tell their tale. But it’s not that easy. Writing takes a lot of hard work, so what keeps me writing is believing that God has given me a talent for writing. In the New Testament Jesus tells a parable of a man who takes what he’s been given and buries it. In the end what he was given is taken away. But in that same story, Jesus speaks of a man who is given many talents and puts them use. His talents are multiplied. I’d rather be the latter, so it keeps me working on my writing, continuing to improve.

BRC: You have a good attitude. 

How would you describe your newest release?

Code of Justice is a story of a sister’s love. FBI agent Heather Sloan is broken when her sister Kit dies in a helicopter crash, and Heather vows to figure out who’s responsible. Her love for her sister leaves Heather willing to risk her own life to find the killer. But that drive also risks her budding romance with sheriff’s deputy Jeremy Latham, who’s assigned to investigate the crash. Heather must discover if justice and mercy can go hand in hand.

BRC:What do you hope the reader takes away after reading it?

I hope that the readers take away a reminder that we can trust God to be just in every situation. When we love mercy and put our trust in God, we free ourselves from the prison of hate and vengeance and open ourselves to the amazing things that God has in store for us.

BRC:Which is your favorite character from your book?

I love Heather, who I first introduced in my second book, but I think that Kit may be my favorite character. She doesn’t live far past the first page, but her fingerprint is all through this story. Who she is is a direct reflection on how Heather reacts to losing her.

BRC:Do you have a funny or touching story that relates to your book?

I’m not sure I have a funny or touching story, but I am very thankful for the reminder that writing this book brought me. Sometimes it’s easy to take my amazing family for granted, especially my sister. Writing this book reminded me of how special our bond is and how much I appreciate and love being her sister. I was reminded to tell her that every chance I get. This book is incredibly special to me for just that reason.

BRC:Tell us about your writing process.

Every one of my books has started with a simple idea sparked by a trip I’ve taken or a map I saw or something like that. And from that comes a question. What if. What if there was a girl who did this? What if there was a guy who did that? Then I build on that. I start to flesh out the ideas, writing a several-page summary. At some point in this process, I begin to really get to know my characters, including finding pictures of people who look like them. This helps me keep the characters in mind, figuring out their motivations and goals. When I have the summary and characters figured out, I divide it up by chapters and begin writing. When I finish the first draft, there’s lots of editing to be done, and I’m very thankful to have a great editor.

BRC:What will you write next?

My next book is a novella called A Star in the Night, which is part of A Log Cabin Christmas Collection, releasing from Barbour in September. It’s an historical romance set near Franklin, TN at the end of the Civil War. All the stories in this collection are set in log cabins at Christmas-time. After that I’ll be working on more romantic suspense novels as well as a contemporary romance.

BRC:Which books do you recommend to readers?

I recommend books that I love! For humor I recommend Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones. For overall uniqueness, I always recommend The Princess Bride, which is one of the most original novels I’ve ever read. It’s so smart! For YA, I recommend nearly anything by Meg Cabot, who’s written across genres but maintains really amazing characters.

BRC:Where can readers find you online?

I blog at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com. I’m also on twitter @lizjohnsonbooks. I love hearing from readers, so stop by any time.

Book Giveaway Drawing: Elizabeth Johnson will give away a free copy of Code of Justice to a reader of this blog. To enter, leave a comment to this post. If you are a follower of Book Readers Central and tell me so in a separate comment, I'll give you an extra chance to win. 

Please include a valid email address in an anti-spam format (example: youremailhandle[at]gmail[dot]com]) or your entry will become invalid. Entries will be accepted until this Friday at midnight (Pacific Time/US).

I'll announce the winner on Book Readers Central on Saturday. The winner must respond within two weeks of notification. Detailed rules of giveaways on Book Reader's Central are located in the footer of this blog.

Posted by Janalyn Voigt, author of novel books

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*Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when books are purchased on Amazon through links from Book Readers Central.

Whistlestop Book Review: "White Doves" by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Holly Weiss

A note from Holly: I feel honored to write this review. Because I won a copy of White Doves through a Book Readers Central giveaway sponsored by Janalyn Voigt, I met her online and formed a friendship.  I thank Janalyn for inviting me to guest post monthly reviews. I am grateful that our friendship has deepened. 


My Review:

White Doves author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter, explains how the post office in Romance, Arkansas came to be the inspiration for the second novel in her Romance Trilogy. The post office creates a unique hand-stamped postmark each year to use from February 1– 15. People often send wedding invitations and Valentine’s cards to the town to be re-mailed bearing the romantic postmark.  Such local flavor is the perfect setting for a romance between a postmaster and a mail-carrier. Ms. Vannatter playfully sprinkles her book with plays on words such as “mail,” “male,” and “Priority Male.”

Laken Kroft, new postmistress in town, doesn’t know what hit her when mail-carrier, Hayden Winters introduces himself. The story revolves around their relationship, however surprises abound when new characters are introduced and their presence brings twists to the plot. My favorite character, Brady, a boy in a wheelchair from a terrible accident, oozes forgiveness to those who have abandoned him.  His healing influence is a touching thread throughout the story. The author’s sensitive voice to handicapped accessibility is commendable.

Vannatter, a pastor’s wife, stay-at-home mom, writer, finds time to teach fiction writing workshops and speak at church conferences.  Her short stories have appeared in various periodicals.  A unique hobby of Vannatter’s is collecting seashells which she calls “proof of God’s intricate creation.”

This Christian romance novel is recommended for anyone whose heart has been captured by someone who has not yet found God. This Heartsong Presents book will be released April 2011.

Thank you to the author and Heartsong Presents for providing a review copy. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and wholly my own.

©2011 Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont

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**Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when products are purchased on Amazon through links from Book Readers Central.

Whistlestop Book Review: "Keeper of My Heart" by Therese Travis

Should they let themselves fall in love? Reeling from a broken heart, Rebecca shies away from her attraction to her employer, handsome veterinarian Adam McCormack. And while Adam can't ignore his feelings for Rebecca, he can't overlook her distance from the God he loves.

Set in 1930's Virginia, Keeper of My Heart is a heart-warming love story between a man and a woman but also between God and his children. Available from White Rose Publishing in e-book format, this novella-length book is quick to read but rich in detail. Author Therese Travis does a fine job of providing intimate characterizations in an economy of words. The plot is simple and straightforward, but believable.

Readers who enjoy romance will like Keeper of My Heart by Therese Travis. This book is teen-approved because it models an appropriate response to attraction between two people at different places in their relationship to God.

©2011 Janalyn Voigt, author of novel books

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Be sure and catch my interview with Therese Travis, the author of this book, here on Book Readers Central.


*Thanks to the author for providing a complimentary copy of this title for purposes of review.


**Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when products are purchased on Amazon through links from Book Readers Central.

Whistlestop Book Review: "Touching the Clouds" by Bonnie Leon

Enter a world of adventure in Depression-era Alaska in Bonnie Leon's Touching the Clouds. Meet Kate, a pilot driven by guilt over a crash that killed her best friend. With something to prove, she leaves home, family and fiance to become a bush pilot. Piloting the rugged Alaskan frontier is viewed as a man's job, she soon discovers. But animosity from her co-workers is less of a problem than the fear that rises up to choke her whenever something triggers a flashback from her accident.

Kate crosses paths with Paul, who lives as something of a hermit due to his own fears. Despite their mutual curiosity and attraction, walls separate Kate and Paul.

Bonnie Leon's vivid writing inserts the reader immediately in the era and brings the setting alive. The flying scenes felt real. The characterizations are believable but would have benefitted from a more in-depth treatment. The plot delivers few surprises. Still, this novel's concept, the beauty of its descriptions and the writer's unique and compelling voice deliver an enjoyable reading experience.  

I recommend Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon to women who enjoy reading books of romantic suspense.

©2011 Janalyn Voigt, author of novel books

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*Thanks go to the author for a complimentary review copy of this book.
**Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when products are purchased on Amazon through links from Book Readers Central.

Meet and Greet Monday: Anita Higman

3-Book Giveaway Drawing! See the details later in this Post.

Award-winning author, Anita Higman, has twenty-six books published (several coauthored) for adults and children, and she has been honored as a Barnes & Noble Author of the Month for Houston. Anita has a BA degree, combining communication, psychology, and art. Her favorite things include exotic teas, movies, and all things Jane Austen.


Interview with Anita Higman:


BRC:. How would you describe your new book?

My latest book is Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe, and it’s coauthored with Irene Brand. We each have a Christmas novella in this 2-in-1 compilation, and both novellas are interconnected with mistletoe. My story, Once Upon a Christmas Eve, is a love triangle—two men falling in love with the same woman. It’s also about the emotional ramifications of abandonment and the blessings of adoption.

BRC: What message do you hope it conveys?

I hope the story reminds readers that even though life can get messy God is the best detangler!

BRC: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Pushing the send button when it was finished!


BRC: What did you dislike most about writing this book?

It was a rough ride getting to know the characters this time around, but once I really knew them my fingers could fly across the keyboard.

BRC: What inspired you to become a writer?

I was an unhappy kid growing up on a farm in the midst of a dysfunctional family. I needed a creative outlet—a way to release all that angst—and writing was it. Funny, though, much of what I write comes out comedic. Carol Burnett says, “Comedy is tragedy plus time,” and I think she’s right.

BRC: Tell us about your writing process.

My process is difficult to describe, since I feel it is part mystery. I start with a simple synopsis. I know where I’m going with the story, but I don’t always know how I’m going to get there. I let my characters take off on tangents. If their direction doesn’t work I can always cut it, but usually they are cleverer than I am when it comes to plot. Writers say this all the time. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s real—the subconscious sort of wonderfully takes over for us. I consider all of it a miraculous process.

As far as a routine, I’m usually up at 5:30 to have breakfast and a devotion time with my husband. Then I go up to my office, reply to emails, and start on my writing. I stop for lunch, run a few errands, and then to go back to work again. I don’t watch TV in the evening, but I do rent movies for the weekends.

BRC: What are you working on now?

I’m doing some freelance writing before I start on a novel in March.

BRC: What books do you enjoy reading?

All kinds of books—romance, suspense, the classics. I love Christian gothic novels, but there aren’t many CBA authors writing in that genre. Right now I’m reading, A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle.

BRC: Where can readers buy your book?

Bookstores, sometimes Wal-Mart, and always on Amazon.

BRC: Where can readers find you online?

Please visit my site at www.anitahigman.com. Right now I have a free e-book on my site,
to view, download, or email to a friend.

















** Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when books are purchased on Amazon.com through links from Book Readers Central.

Book Giveaway Drawing: Therese Travis will give away three free copies of  Keeper of My Heart to three readers of this blog. To enter, leave a comment to this post. If you are a follower of Book Readers Central and tell me so in your comment, I'll give you an extra chance to win. 


Please include a valid email address in an anti-spam format (example: youremailhandle[at]gmail[dot]com]) or your entry will become invalid. Entries will be accepted until this Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time/US). 


The winner will be announced on Book Readers Central on Friday. The winner must respond within two weeks of notification. Detailed rules of giveaways on Book Reader's Central are located in the footer of this blog.

Meet and Greet Monday: Therese Travis

Book Giveaway Drawing!

Read the details later in this post.

Therese Travis is a wife, mother, grandmother. She lives in a suburb of Los Angeles with her husband

and youngest daughter. She says she knew she was a writer at the age of eight and has worked at it on

and off ever since.

Dear Reader,

I’ve been writing since I was eight, and arting even longer. I love to draw and have just recently

found an outlet that sort of combines with my writing. I’ve got four kids and four grandchildren.

My oldest son is serving in Afghanistan right now (all prayers blessed and appreciated) and his

family lives almost 2,000 miles away from me.

I was writing middle grade fiction when a Christian romance writer friend read something of mine that I’d written for fun. She encouraged me to write romance, then arranged a novella set for myself, herself and two other writers, planning to submit it to her publisher. I wrote my part in about three weeks, and right about then, the publisher announced they were no longer doing novella sets. But I loved the story and finally found a home for Keeper of My Heart with White Rose Publishing.

Rebecca is hurt and lonely, and isolates herself. However, she finds herself thrown together with the new veterinarian in town. She’s afraid that even if he’s not just passing through, he’ll still hurt her, and she can’t understand why God didn’t protect her from the pain in the first place.

Through Rebecca's story, I wanted to show one aspect of free will—how God is  always with us, even if He doesn’t change the behavior of others to suit us.

I have a lot of future writing projects. I’m almost finished with Cinderella Reversed. She’s got a death sentence crouching inside her head; he has to marry to save his company from his stepmother. She’s been in love with him since he hired her; he’s been watching her walk from behind for the same length of time. She wonders why God is calling her home so soon; he wonders what God has to do with anything. Lainie Harper overhears Tanner Elliott’s stepsisters gossiping and starts a roller coaster ride that nearly pitches her in front of a bus, a runaway car, and someone who wants her out of the way. She just isn’t sure who that person is.

I’m also working on a darker mystery, titled Stolen Sun, and another about twins Holly and Noelle, titled The Christmas House.

I read, aside from a few non-fiction books, Christian romance, mysteries, children’s books (middle grade novels and some of the books my teenaged daughter insists I need to read). My house is pretty much decorated in books.

Find Therese Online

Website: http://theresetravis.net/

Purchase Keeper of My Heart

White Rose Publishing

** Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when books are purchased on Amazon.com through links from Book Readers Central.

Book Giveaway Drawing: Therese Travis will give away a free pdf copy of  Keeper of My Heart to a reader of this blog. To enter, leave a comment to this post. If you are a follower of Book Readers Central and tell me so in your comment, you'll have an extra chance to win. Please include a valid email address in an anti-spam format (example: youremailhandle[at]gmail[dot]com]) or your entry will become invalid. Entries will be accepted until this Wednesday at midnight (Pacific Time/US). The winner will be announced on Book Readers Central on Friday. The winner must respond within two weeks of notification. Detailed rules of giveaways on Book Reader's Central are located in the footer of this blog.

Meet and Greet Monday: Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Book Giveaway!
Read the details at the end of this post.

Central Arkansas author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom/pastor’s wife/
writer. White Roses, her debut novel is now available through heartsongpresents.com and
available in stores in November. Two more books in the series will follow: White Doves
releases to the book club in October and stores in April and White Pearls releases to the
book club in January and stores in July.


Vannatter hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer's
heart as her characters struggle with real-life issues. Their journeys, from ordinary lives
to extraordinary romance through Christ-centered relationships demonstrate that love
doesn't conquer all, Jesus does.


Vannatter’s short stories appeared in Mature Living and The Writers' Journal, in 2009.
She has taught fiction workshops for several writers' groups including: Arkansas
Inspirational Writers, Cleburne County Writers' Guild, Fiction Writers of Central
Arkansas, and White County Creative Writers. She's contracted to teach workshops in
2010 at the Life Press Christian Writers' Conference in Memphis, TN and the Ozark
Creative Writers' Conference in Eureka Springs, AR.

Dear Reader,

Hi, I’m Shannon Taylor Vannatter. I appreciate Janalyn for inviting me back to Book Readers Central. I live in rural Arkansas, am a pastor’s wife and stay-at-home mom. I’d like to tell you why I started writing inspirational romance.

I started reading romance at the age of twelve. My mom would scour the library until she found wholesome books. After I married and went to work, I didn’t have time to read for several years. About five years into our marriage, my husband started working from noon until eight or nine in the evening. My workday ended at five and my evenings were suddenly long, boring, and lonely.

To fill the empty hours, I started reading again and was amazed that there so few clean romances. In the span of about ten years, wholesome books had disappeared. If I managed to find a clean read, I’d get something else by the same author, and be disappointed to find it wasn’t clean.

My husband began working normal hours and my reading ended once again. I had my own romance going on. Fast forward about eight years and my husband started working evening hours again. Once again, I turned to the library and was once again disappointed. I thought about the story I’d carried in my head since I was fifteen and finally realized it could be a book. I promised myself that if I ever got a computer, I’d write a clean romance like I’d love to read but couldn’t find.

Three years later, my father-in-law gave me his old computer. As soon as we got it set up, I started writing that book in my head. The more I wrote, the more my characters prayed, talked to God, and went to church. I realized that I couldn’t just write a clean romance, that I don’t believe romance can exist without God in the center of the relationship. And so my clean romance turned into an inspirational romance. After I finished it, I went to the library to find out how to get it published. The librarian led me to a Market Guide that listed all the publishers and what they were looking for and I realized there was an inspirational market.

For years, I’d gone to the Christian book stores and went straight to the music, totally missing out on all those clean romances. It took nine and a half years to learn my craft and sign a contract. It wasn’t an easy road to publication, but well worth it. It’s indescribable how it makes me feel when a reader takes the time to e-mail or send a letter letting me know they enjoyed my book. It’s still surreal to know that people I don’t know are reading the words God put on my heart.

White Roses is the first book in a series. I feel a kinship with the heroine, Adrea because she’s falling in love with a pastor. The series is set in real Arkansas towns, Romance and Rose Bud. I based the church on a real church in Rose Bud and featured the Romance Waterfalls where people get married, and the Rambler Café in Rose Bud. Brides and couples mail their wedding invitations and Valentines cards to the Romance Post Office for a unique, romantic postmark and this local flavor is worked into the series.

In book 2, White Doves, the heroine is the Romance postmaster. Book 3, White Pearls is set in the historic Darden Gifford house in Rose Bud. In the book, the heroine is restoring the house and turning it into a bed and breakfast. I enjoyed setting the stories in these tiny towns and researching the area.

Purchase White Roses: http://www.heartsongpresents.com/book/detail/9781602607552/

Purchase White Doves: http://www.heartsongpresents.com/book/detail/9781602609952/

Note: Janalyn Voigt is an Amazon Associate and benefits when books are purchased on Amazon.com through links from Book Readers Central.

Learn more about Shannon and her books at http://shannonvannatter.com/. On her Inkslinger blog, she celebrates true love stories, inspirational author’s real-life romances, insight into the love lives of their fictional characters, book excerpts, romantic destinations, and book giveaways.

Book Giveaway Drawing: To enter for a free copy of White Doves, leave a comment to this post and include your contact information. Entries without contact information will become ineligible. Entries will be accepted until this Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time/US). The winner will be announced on this blog on Friday. Detailed rules of giveaways on this blog are located in the footer.

Meet and Greet Monday: Darlene Franklin

Book Giveaway Drawing! See details, below.

Award-winning author and speaker Darlene Franklin recently returned to cowboy country—Oklahoma—to be near family. She recently signed the contract for her twelfth book. This fall she celebrates the repacking of her Rhode Island romance in Seaside Romance and her third novella anthology, Face of Mary in A Woodland Christmas.

Dear Reader,

I am so glad we can chat together together about books, reading and writing. There’s nothing better than meeting a fellow enthusiast and settling in for a good chat.

I’m delighted to be able to offer a copy of my Christmas novella, A Woodland Christmas, to one of your readers. Interwoven through four novellas, an itinerant woodcarver moves from town to town in the piney woods of East Texas, delivering “sawdust sermons.” In my story, The Face of Mary, he’s carving life-size manger figures for a church. The hero paints the finished carvings and he is looking for the right woman to be the “face of Mary.”

Both The Face of Mary and a novella I’m writing for next year (in Christmas at Barncastle Inn) are based on the biblical account of the first Christmas. My hope is that a novella with echoes of the familiar story will bring home some truths in a new way. I know it’s been good for me! Especially since Barbour Publishing contracts the novellas in time for us to write them during the Christmas season. We don’t have to get in the holiday spirit in the middle of summer.

Since I began writing full time a year ago, God has blessed me abundantly. This year I’ve written a three-book set of historical romances set in Vermont. The first volume, The Prodigal Patriot, came out in July. Next I’m working on sequels to accompany my first ever book (Romanian Rhapsody, 2005); Plainsong and Knight Music should both be published in 2011. I’m excited to see what God has next for me.

As a writer, I read all the time. Some time it’s heavy plodding through historical research books. I also usually read a “serious” Christian living book during my quiet times. Other times I’m reading books by my fellow Christian authors—I read a lot of historical romance, since that’s what I write. But for pure escapism, my default genre is mystery/suspense.

Or I could tell you my books by location. My quiet time book: Breathing Grace by Harry Strauss. My bathroom book: Rocky Mountain Match by Pamela Nissen. My purse book: Love Finds You in Calico, California by Lisa Ludwig. My mystery (which I read before bed and when I wake up and in between): I just finished Die For You by Lisa Unger.

If you would like to learn more about my life and work, check out my blog at http://darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/. Monthly book giveaways feature both my books and books from guest authors. My books are available for purchase at Amazon and from Barbour Books.

Janalyn Voigt benefits when books are purchased on Amazon.com through
links from Book Readers Central.

Barbour Book Link to Purchase A Woodland Christmas

Darlene Franklin's Blogs:

http://darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/ ~ http://thebookdoctorbd.blogspot.com/

Book Giveaway Drawing: Leave a comment to this post to be entered in the drawing for a free copy of M

A Woodland Christmas. Please include a way to reach you online or your entry will be ineligible. Entries will be accepted until this Wednesday at midnight (Pacific Coast time/United States). The winner will be posted Friday. A link to detailed giveaway rules is located in this blog's footer.

Whistlestop Wednesday Book Review: "Hope's Promise" by Tammy Barley

Newly wedded ranchers, Jake and Jessica Bennett face drought, prejudice against the Indians they befriend and anti-Southerner sentiment in the West during the Civil War. Besides these hazards, someone with a personal vendetta wants Jess dead. Jake's efforts to protect Jess succeed only in raising her ire. Unconfided heartaches and the pain of loss drive a wedge between the couple. Can they find their way to harmony? Can they escape an unknown enemy?

In Hope's Promise, book two of The Sierra Chronicles, author Tammy Barley continues the romance and adventure that began in book one, Love's Rescue. Deep characterizations and riveting action scenes as well as tender romance and a touch of humor enliven this well-plotted story. Occasionally the author explained a point she'd already illustrated and thus diluted its impact. Nevertheless I don't hesitate to recommend Hope's Promise for women who enjoy Western Romance.

©2010 Janalyn Voigt

*The author provided a complimentary copy of this book to me for purposes of review.

Meet and Greet: Erin Rainwater

Erin Rainwater probably should have been born in the 19th century but somehow got flash-forwarded into the 20th. There was never any question that she would be a nurse when she grew up, regardless of which century she was in. And beginning in about the seventh grade, there was no question that she’d launch that nursing career in the military. As an Army nurse during the Vietnam War era, and she was privileged to care for the bodies and spirits of soldiers and veterans, including repatriated POWs and MIAs. Her military experience has helped in writing parts of her novels. Her support of the military is ongoing, and one of her favorite pastimes is volunteering at the USO in Denver. She writes historical novels, the latest of which is Refining Fires, which takes place in the late 1950s, and is the story of a disfigured Korean War veteran and a nurse with a tainted reputation. It was released in July, 2010 by Torn Veil Books. Erin is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Military Writers Society of America, who awarded her a 2009 Gold Medal in historical fiction. She lives in Colorado with her husband of 36 years. She has four children and, in her view, the four most adorable grandchildren on the planet.

Dear Readers,

What a great way Janalyn offers to get in touch with you, and I’m so appreciative for this opportunity to let you get to know me just a little bit. I call my web site my “virtual fireside,” and this feels like an extension of that. So go grab a frosty glass of iced tea, pull up a bear skin rug and let’s chat, although it looks like I’ll be doing all the chatting.

First of all, no, I’m not of Indian heritage. I inherited the name from my hubby, who is part Cherokee. As for me, I’m 100% Irish stock, born and raised in Pennsylvania. My heart and soul somehow always seemed to be drawn to the West. So now I’m a happy camper living in Colorado. But I absolutely love going back to PA to visit family and stay in the house where I grew up. The heroine of my Civil War novel grew up in PA, too. Come to think of it, so did the heroine of my Colorado western romance. Imagine that!

I’m not sure where the heroine of my current release, Refining Fires, hails from. But she, like the others before her, is what I like to call a strong-without-being-an-alpha-female kind of heroine. She has to be if she’s to survive the likes of Korean War veteran Peter Cochran, for whom she must work if she’s to get off the streets and get some food in her stomach. A week spent in his household has her mulling over whether food and a bed are overrated as basic necessities. Peter is disfigured, bitter and self-absorbed. But his anger is no match for his newly hired nurse’s pluck. Her determined efforts elicit renewed life from his body while evoking a raw yearning in his soul.

Theirs is quite a love story, but it’s only the beginning. Their story is the first of three parts in the book, and is called, similar to the title, “Refining Fire.” The second story begins ten months later, takes you to a remote mountain area, and introduces you to an exceptional little girl named Susannah. The love Peter and Clare share has an immense impact on this extraordinary child who is filled with “Blind Courage.” Then you’ll meet the “Kept Woman.” Kept by whom is the question of the day.

Refining Fires goes way beyond the boundaries of a simple romance novel. You’ll get to see how a couple’s love impacts the lives of others whom God brings across their path. My hope is always that the reader’s life will be impacted by my stories as well. Endurance and Perseverance are major themes in all of my writing. I always point to the Source of those characteristics in some fashion in my books.

Not many authors get to see their characters come alive on stage or screen, but I’m privileged with the opportunity to have a scene from my Civil War love story, True Colors, translated onto the stage in Pittsburgh this fall. It will take place on opening night of the Military Writers Society of America’s annual conference. So aside from working as a camp nurse this summer, I’ll be collaborating with the producer to translate that scene from page to stage. Exciting stuff for an author. I can’t wait to see my war-torn characters “come to life” before my very eyes.

I’m betting there are some of you who hold to the traditional way of reading a book, with paper pages and a binding in between. Then there are those of you more technical-minded folks who are all about the convenience of your electronic reader that takes up no space on your book shelf. That’s why I’m excited to be able to say that Refining Fires is out in both formats.
It’s been such a pleasure to chat with you today. If you’d like to learn more about me and my books, all of which are love stories, visit me at my virtual fireside at http://www.erinrainwater.com/. Be sure to shoot me an email from my website so you can have the chance to chat back at me for once.

Purchase links:
Print: http://www.amazon.com/Refining-Fires-Christian-Romance-Novel/dp/1926712455/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281310086&sr=1-4
Ebook: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b111911/?si=0

Meet and Greet Monday: Susan Page Davis

Book Giveaway Drawing (details below)

Susan Page Davis is the author of thirty novels. She and her husband Jim, an editor, live in western Kentucky with the two youngest of their six children. She enjoys reading, travel, needlework, and genealogy. She has homeschooled all her children and is the grandmother of six.


Hi, I’m Susan Page Davis, and I’m happy to be here. I just moved from Maine (where I was born and lived more than 50 years) to western Kentucky, so I’m still amid piles of boxes and culture shock. But so far, I love my new home!

I’ve lived both east and west of the Mississippi, having married a man from Oregon. Jim and I have six children and six grandchildren. The Lord has blessed me with thirty published novels.


My new book is Gunsmith’s Gallantry, book 2 in The Ladies’ Shooting Club series. I loved writing this story about Hiram Dooley, the shy gunsmith (brother to Gert, the heroine of the first book, The Sheriff’s Surrender).

Hiram is a quiet man whose wife died ten years ago. He’s happy to be left alone to do his solitary work. There is one woman in town he admires greatly, but she’s a savvy, beautiful businesswoman who probably would never think twice about the likes of him. Still, he gets all mushy inside whenever he enters her store.

Hiram’s life is disrupted when his sister-in-law, Rose, arrives in town (that’s Fergus, Idaho, a small mountain town you won’t find on any map). Rose has the notion that since they are both widowed, Hiram should marry her. That’s the last thing he wants to do.

Meanwhile, schoolmarm Isabel is shocked when an uncle she never knew existed shows up at her door. Later that night, she sees her father digging a mysterious hole behind their barn, and the uncle is nowhere to be seen. She confides in Libby, the woman Hiram adores.

Soon Hiram finds himself up to his ears in woman problems—and that’s not even counting his sister and her slow-moving beau. Hiram steps up to help his friend Ethan, the sheriff, and shocks the town by clocking a rowdy cowboy. It seems Hiram’s quiet life has become tumult.

Writing this series was an adventure. Stepping into an 1880s mountain town was hard work and tremendous fun. I was able to visit my daughter in Idaho and make an exploratory trip with her. We visited the ghost town at Silver City and other historic places in southwest Idaho.

The research continued as I worked my way through the series. I wanted to put a player piano in the Nugget saloon in the first book, and to my disappointment learned my story was a few years too early for that. Who’d have thought it? Seems every saloon in every western movie has a player piano! But in checking out facts like that, I learned new things that led to other interesting details in my books.

An important part of each book in the series is the Ladies’ Shooting Club of Fergus. Each woman uses the gun she has available. They meet to practice, and Hiram’s sister teaches them to use their weapons safely and effectively. In the first book, this nearly caused a riot among the town’s men. In The Gunsmith’s Gallantry, the club helps rescue one of its beloved members.

This series is about the community of women, their support for each other, and their faith journey. It’s also about adventure and old-fashioned Wild West action.

You can purchase this book through retail stores, Christian Book Distributors, or Amazon.com
My future books will include the third in this series—The Blacksmith’s Bravery, coming your way in December; a 1915 historical suspense novel called The Crimson Cipher—releasing July 1; and a novella in the collection Christmas Mail Order Brides, coming in September. My story is called “Mrs. Mayberry Meets Her Match.” Visit me at my personal website: http://www.susanpagedavis.com/

Enter to win a free copy of Gunsmith’s Gallantry by leaving a comment to this post. Please include a way to contact you online or your entry will become ineligible. A link to detailed rules for Book Readers Central book giveaway drawings is located in this blog's footnotes. Entries will be accepted until this Wednesday at midnight (Pacific Coast time/United States). The winner will be posted on Book Readers Central this Friday.

Please consider following Book Readers Central to keep informed of future giveaways and for more great interviews and book reviews. An email sign-up form is located in the sidebar if you prefer to receive posts by email.

Meet and Greet Monday: Laurie Alice Eakes

Award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes does not remember a time when books did not play a part in her life; thus, no one was surprised when she decided to be a writer. Her first hardcover was an October, 2006 Regency historical from Avalon Books and won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency, as well as being a finalist for Best First Book. After selling her first book in the inspirational market, she also wrote articles and essays for Christian publications. A brief hiatus in publishing climaxed with her selling thirteen books in thirteen months, to publishers such as Barbour, Avalon, and Baker/Revell.

She is an active member of RWA and ACFW, and started the Avalon Authors group blog. A graduate of the Seton Hill University Master of Arts Degree in Writing Popular Fiction, And a Bachelor of Arts graduate in English and French from Asbury College, she is an experienced speaker, and has made presentations at local and national RWA conferences, as well as local universities and libraries.

Until recently, she lived in Northern Virginia, then her husband’s law career took them and their dogs and cats, to southern Texas, where she writes full-time and enjoys the beach whenever possible.

Dear Reader,

My name is Laurie Alice Eakes. That was the name with I was given at birth and it worked so well for a writer that I don’t use my married name. Yes, I have a long-suffering husband, bless him. He’s been supportive of my writing career even when I wasn’t selling.

And let me tell you about that. It was rough. We think that when we get “the call”, we are on our way. Not. My first book, Family Guardian, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency. Yet I didn’t sell another book for a year and a half after that first one. Then I didn’t sell another one for another year and a half. Frustrating? Yes. Questioning whether or not I should be a writer? Absolutely.

Then it happened. I was in new Jersey doing some training and my agent called to say that Heartsong Presents wanted my New Jersey historical series. The flood gates opened. Over the next thirteen months, I signed contracts for thirteen more books. The first book in the New Jersey series, The Glassblower, will forever be special to me because of this. Interestingly, the hero, the glassblower, is from Scotland and his name is Colin. In my class was a man from Scotland named Colin. Awesome, wasn’t it? I listened to the cadence of his speech so I could get it down without resorting to a lot of Scots dialect that is so hard to read.

I bring Colin to New Jersey to help with a fledgling glassworks. He wants to be successful so that he can bring his family over to make a better life in 1809. Unfortunately, he falls in love with his boss’s daughter and she is engaged to another man. She doesn’t want this engagement. Her father insists on it, and as Colin gets to know Meg, her father, and the local world, he realizes something about the engagement is fishy. His pursuit of the truth and Meg nearly cost him his life.

A prominent theme in The Glassblower is seeking God’s will first and allowing Him to provide for our futures as we do so. It’s a difficult concept for those of us who are control freaks. Meg and Colin like to take matters into their own hands, and it costs them dearly. How true! I hope my readers will take away an understanding that God has our best interests in His heart and His way is perfect.

The Glassblower is followed by two more historical novels set in New Jersey. The Heiress follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Colin’s grandson. The Newcomer is related to the first two, but if I say too much, I give away the ending of The Heiress.

All three are available from http://www.heartsongpresents.com/ and The Glassblower is on amazon.com. Or you can wait until next March when all three books will be released in one book called Jersey Brides. I promise, I have no cows in the book. Jersey Brides will be available in WalMart and Sam’s and on Amazon. Bookstores can order it, too.

Besides the New Jersey books, I have a book coming out in hardcover from Avalon Books. Both my hero and heroine are doctors in 1890, but the hero has been blinded in a shooting. The story is about healing of mind, if not body, and finding how one can rebuild one’s life after tragedy. This is a secular book, but squeaky clean and holding the biblical principle of hope in Christ.

And—TADA!—my first trade paperback is coming out from Baker/Revell in February. Lady in the Mist is the first of the midwife series set in 1809 Virginia. This is a historical romantic suspense with a dashing and sometimes badboy English hero. Currently, I am working on the second midwife book, while doing my edits on my first Regency for Revell out in October of 2011.

So, as you can see, I’m more than a little busy with my writing, but I love to take a few minutes out to socialize.

You can keep up with Laurie Alice Eakes and her books on her blog: http://www.seizethechance.blogspot.com/

Meet and Greet Monday: Jill Nelson

Book Giveaway Drawing! Details below.

Jill Elizabeth Nelson writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith, earning her the tagline: Endless Adventure, Timeless Truth. Jill speaks regularly at conferences, writer’s groups, library associations, and civic and church groups. When teaching classes for writers, she delights in bringing the Ahah! moment to her students as they make a new skill their own. Jill and her husband live in rural Minnesota where they raised four children and are currently enjoying their first grandchild.

Dear Reader:

I’m excited to “meet” you through the pages of my books. I write what I like to read-- tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith; hence, my tagline: Endless Adventure, Timeless Truth. If this sounds right up your alley, pull up a seat and let me tell you about my latest release, Calculated Revenge.

Available on Amazon.com

Calculated Revenge begins when a young school teacher finds on the playground a backpack that belonged to her kid sister--victim of a murderous abductor eighteen years ago. Now she must team up with a reluctant investigator to stop this killer before her own daughter meets the same fate.

It’s been eighteen years since Laney Thompson’s sister was abducted and killed, but Laney’s pain and haunting guilt has never faded. Now the murderer is back, taunting Laney with mementos of her sister and threatening Laney’s young daughter. School principal Noah Ryder is her best hope for protecting her daughter—if she can convince the former investigator to take the case. As the threats escalate and clues lead to shocking secrets from the past, Laney’s survival—and that of her daughter—depends on the rusty gifts and skills Noah wants only to forget.

What do you think, dear Reader? Will you brave the deep waters of this tale of danger, abduction, and betrayal? My heroine is honest, sincere, sensitive, and caring. She’s also fiesty and can be touchy and a bit blind in defense of her family. My hero is strong, honorable, protective, and determined, but ultra-cautious about relationships. They both wrestle with guilt over past tragedies. I hope their struggles with issues of faith and forgiveness in the face of tragedy will strike a resonant chord in your heart.

My web site contains excerpts, links to purchase books, my speaking schedule, a monthly contest to win an autographed copy of my latest release, and an opportunity to sign up for my quarterly newsletter. Pop on by at http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/. I have a readers’ group on Facebook where we chat about all sorts of things, book-wise. I’m also on Twitter and Shoutlife. Oh, and I have a blog on my web site, too. I give away lots of books there that are not my own.

Calculated Revenge released in April. My next book releases in October:

Legacy of Lies finds a cop’s widow scrambling to defend her family’s honor after the bones of a long-ago kidnap victim are found in her grandparents’ back yard. In order to unearth the truth, she must defy her hometown’s powerful founding family and team up with the last man on the planet for whom she’d like to feel attraction—another cop.

Blessings, dear Reader, in all your adventures within the pages of a good book.

Jill

Enter to win a free copy of Calculated Revenge by leaving a comment to this post, including your contact information. A link to detailed rules for Book Readers Central book giveaway drawings is located in this blog's footnotes. Entries will be accepted until midnight on Wednesday, July 21st. The winner will be announced on this blog on Friday, July 23rd.

Please consider following this blog to keep informed of future giveaways and for more great interviews and book reviews. An email sign-up form is located in the sidebar if you prefer to receive posts by email.