Michelle Griep ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today, author Michelle Griep is telling us about her book, Life Savors for Women. She has offered an autographed copy of this book to one lucky commenter!

Welcome, Michelle! Tell us a little about yourself.

When my superhero cape is at the drycleaners, I’m a nondescript mini-van driving suburbanite mom of four. Love java. Hate Ziploc bags that refuse to zip. Anglophile at heart. And yes, it is true…I have been known to shop till I drop and/or the ol’ credit card is smoking.

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
I’ve been writing since I discovered Crayolas and blank wall space. For publication, however, about the past 6 or 7 years. I have one full-length novel published, GALLIMORE, and several scripts and devotionals published in various other compilations.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?
Wow. That’s a toughie. I aspire to write like Ginger Garrett or Siri Mitchell. There’s some violence in GALLIMORE (come on…it’s medieval) but only 2 actual kisses so could we invent a G+ rating for romance?

In your own words tell us a little about Life Savors for Women.
This is a collection of true stories meant to inspire. Some are quirky (raising my hand) and some heart rending, but all are entertaining with an underlying Biblical truth. My story is the first in the book, which is both humbling and exciting. I tell the tale of my horrible acting debut when I played the part of Mary discovering the empty tomb.

And if I may be so bold as to put in a shameless short plug for GALLIMORE, it’s a Wizard of Oz tale with a medieval twist.

Official Blurb:

Throughout the ages, women have mentored and supported one another. By sharing their vulnerabilities, lending a helping hand in tough times, or offering timely advice, women have ministered to one another in immeasurable ways.

Life Savors for Women will offer you hope, comfort, and even some heart-tugging messages. In this book, you will find large helpings of smiles and encouragement—flavored with love and served with plenty of inspiration. Come savor all that life has to offer with three dozen women who want you to live life to the fullest.

What made you want to write this story?
As a main character on stage in front of hundreds of eyeballs, forgetting my lines was such an emotionally scarring…I mean spiritually challenging experience that I just had to share.

What research did you have to do for this book?
Personal experience, unfortunately.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

I’m going to go with Lucille Ball playing my part, with James Caviezel as Jesus and Russell Crowe for the roman soldier (ooh-la-la).

What are you working on now or going to write next?
Currently I’m half-way through a historical set in 1795 England (surprise, surprise). The hero is an opium addict and the heroine lives with her brother who’s going mad.

I’ve also got a finished manuscript I’m shopping around that’s a time travel back to the Viking age.

How can readers get in contact with you?
I love to hear from readers. Check out my website at http://www.mmgriep.com/

What are you currently reading?
Right now my bookmarks are in: The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen, The Raven Saint by Marylu Tyndall, and Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
Well, besides the whole indecent exposure incident while tubing down the Apple River, I’m going to go with my mother was a hamster and my father smelled of elderberries—name that movie. Plus I cannot return a library book on time to save my life.

If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
No brainer. Dog. Love ‘em.

FAVORITES:
TV show, and/or movie?
Hands down it’s got to be The Count of Monte Cristo.

Place to go on vacation?
I’m pretty sure you can guess this one. Yep. England.

Book this year or month? Why?
Yikes! There’s so many. To avoid a popularity contest amongst my writing buddies, I’ll go with an oldie that I recently read. I finally got around to Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, this past summer. It’s a title that’s been on my to-be-read pile for years, and now I wish I would’ve read it sooner. Excellent read. Couldn’t put it down. Read it in a day and a half—and that’s only because I was at an amusement park with my kids for the day so I was slightly distracted. Makes you think about the state of bureaucracy and government and who we allow to tell us what is truth and what is not.

Release dates?
Life Savors for Women was released in late 2007.
Gallimore, my novel, was released in late 2008.

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*Giveaway open to any country*

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Life Savors for Women!

 

To enter:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win).

*Please specify that you want to be included in the contest!

*If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.

*The comment is mandatory. (Please, say in the comment if you are a follower!! It makes my job easier when you do.) You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest.

*The contest will run from today (Jan. 1) until 10:30 CST on Thursday (Jan. 7). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 8th, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.

Crossroads of Grace series winner!

The very lucky winner of the ENTIRE 3-book Crossroads of Grace series by Allison Pittman is:

Jackie Russell!!

Congrats! I will contact you today for your mailing address.

First Impressions by Michelle Sutton ~ 5/5 stars + Favorite

First Impressions

Michelle Sutton

Tombstone Treasures, #1

Desert Breeze Publishing

*E-Book*

About the book:

Sammie Carpenter understands how a uniform influences behavior. Wearing her Army fatigues puts her in the mindset of a soldier and donning her Class-A Uniform always helps her shift into Captain Mode. So what harm could come from her dressing like a saloon girl and strutting through the streets of Tombstone? She didn't know how to flirt to save her life, and she wasn't getting any younger.

When she met the lonesome stud cowboy, Jimmy, she knew he was the one. So why was their communication always so awkward? Couldn't he see that she was interested in him? No matter how hard she tried to win him over, she couldn't seem to get him to see past his first impression of her. But Sammie didn't give up easily. Somehow she would make him see that they were meant to be together, but how can she do that when all of her plans keep falling apart?

My review:

First of all, I want to say that this is definitely for mature teens and up. This is very steamy and not to be read by younger people. But, the message in this book is priceless. First Impressions so completely stresses the importance of handling relationships God’s way that it will make you examine yourself and your walk with the Lord. Michelle is one of those authors that really touches you because she understands the importance of being real. Yes, the book is fiction and fun to read, but it deals with real issues that are usually not addressed in such a straight-forward, understandable way. There are consequences for doing things our way instead of God’s. Not because He gets angry and decides to ruin our life since we didn’t do what He told us to, but because God’s way is best. He created us and He knows how we work. When we follow His guidelines, it keeps us from ruining our own lives. I loved this book and think that Sutton is just getting better and better as a writer. I look forward to seeing the amazing ways that God will continue to use her writing to reach people.

**Come back this Friday when Michelle Sutton will be giving away a copy of this e-book**

Cover Contest ~ Time to vote!

Thank you all for sending in covers! Here are the options (in the order that they were nominated):

The Jewel of His Heart by Maggie Brendan

Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska by Loree Lough

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist

The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller

The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen

Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist

A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

Dawn's Prelude by Tracie Peterson

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

Things Worth Remembering by Jackina Stark

A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher

Remember, you are just voting on the covers, not the book. Please only vote once. Thank you for participating! May the best cover win!

*Do not comment your choice. I have a poll going on the right side of my blog.*

12 Pearls of Christmas: Celebrate

What Really Matters
by Dawn Meehan

In the hustle and bustle and commercialism of Christmas, take time to remember the real reason why we celebrate - the birth of Christ, our Lord and Saviour. May you all have a blessed Christmas!

I had a VERY long day with the kids doing little but fighting. By the time we left for church, we were all short tempered, snapping at each other, and not at all in the Christmas spirit. Thankfully, once at church, we calmed down. Things were put in perspective for us. We sang Christmas songs and began to smile at one another again. The kids didn't fight once while we were there. Well, they did use their battery operated candles as light sabers for a minute, but we'll forget about that part.

I never sent out cards (sorry to all my family and friends). It just didn't happen this year. I don't think I ever completely finished my shopping, but it's a little late now. Several items I ordered online have been back ordered. I just realized that the kids have eaten all the cookies I've made and there are none to put out for Santa now. I encouraged them to leave him a glass of wine instead. And I failed to read the Christmas story to the kids before they went to bed.

But you know what? None of that matters. It really doesn't. Christmas is here! Christ is born! And He doesn't care if we sent out Christmas cards. He doesn't care if we ate all the cookies we baked. He doesn't even care if we never got around to baking a single cookie at all! He loves us no matter how much we screw up.

Now that's worth celebrating!

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Dawn Meehan (aka mom2my6pack) grew up in Chicagoland where she began her writing career at the age of 5 with her widely praised, The Lucky Leprechaun, an epic tale of a leprechaun who is- yes, you guessed it, lucky.

Dawn has six children, basically because she didn't want seven. She is the author of Because I Said So and spends her days blogging at BecauseISaidSo.com, changing diapers, cleaning pudding off her ceiling, tackling insurmountable piles of laundry, and explaining to her kids why they can't have a pet squirrel or an indoor slip-n-slide.

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info

Allison Pittman ~ Interview + Giveaway!

Today author Allison Pittman is telling us about her series, Crossroads of Grace. She has offered the ENTIRE three-book series (autographed) to one lucky winner! Allison will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer any questions you leave in a comment for her. (If you are only asking a question, and not entering, then please say that you don't want to be entered.)

Welcome, Allison! Tell us a little about yourself.

Let’s see…I’m a busy mom of three boys (twin teen-agers and a tween), and my husband and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary! I left my teaching career after 17 years to pursue writing full time, and somehow my schedule got crazier! I think I thrive in chaos…

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
My first novel, Ten Thousand Charms, came out in 2006, and The Bridegrooms, my 6th book (yay!!!), comes out in April.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?
Hmmm…I have no idea who I would compare my writing to. Weird, but I think I’m too close to it to make that call. I’m also not sure how to classify it in terms of sweet, sensual etc., because I think that’s all going to depend on what the story calls for. Let’s go with “saucy”!

In your own words tell us a little about the Crossroads of Grace series.
The series tells the story of three women whose lives intersect when they find themselves spending a year together in a frontier Wyoming brothel.

Blurbs:

Ten Thousand Charms-

A woman with no future.

A man with no hope.

A God who knows the key to their deepest need lies in each other…

Wyoming Territories, 1860. Gloria is in trouble. A mining camp is a merciless place when you’re young, pregnant…and a prostitute. No matter. Life will not defeat her.

John William McGregan is in despair. His beloved wife died in childbirth. And while John is a resourceful man, raising an infant daughter on his own seems impossible.

Thrown together by a seemingly cruel fate, Gloria and John William make a pact: She will nurse his daughter; he will raise her son. Neither asks for marriage. They are joined by necessity, nothing more.

But after a move to the new Oregon territory, facing John William’s faith day after day, and receiving an older woman’s motherly mentoring, Gloria longs for something more. For the love she’s been denied all her life. If only that life hadn’t made her unfit, not only for John William…but for God.

Then tragedy strikes—making even the resolute John William question his faith. Terrified, Gloria turns to the One she has never been able to trust. But can even God save what now means more to Gloria than life itself: her newfound family?

Speak Through the Wind-

After a lifetime of mistakes…can Kassandra ever be forgiven?

New York City, 1841

When Reverend Joseph plucks a gravely wounded child from the mean streets of Manhattan’s rough Five Points District, he intends to give her a real home. And though Kassandra flourishes in the preacher’s house, learning Bible verses at his knee and going to school, as a young teenager she makes the first of many devastating decisions, running away from the only haven she’s ever known.

What follows is a waking nightmare: life in a tiny room above a brothel, the loss of a child, a lover’s rejection, and finally, life as a prostitute. As circumstances lead her further and further from the reverend’s secure home, an ashamed Kassandra is certain that neither God, nor Joseph, will ever forgive her.

Feeling as though she has nothing left to lose and nowhere to go, Kassandra leaves behind her hopes of redemption and heads west to California, where she is transformed into the woman known as Sadie. Unfortunately, nothing in her life is pointing to a happy ending, and Sadie is forced to grapple with the question: Once you’ve passed the point of no return, can you ever go back?

With Endless Sight-

Behind every story of loss is the promise of grace.…

Belleville, Illinois and Wyoming Territories, 1861

Born into a life of privilege, fourteen-year-old Belinda never questions her security, even as she leaves Illinois with her family to discover new adventures in the Oregon Territory. But when disaster falls, Belinda is left wounded, weak, and alone. Her faith in God gives her the only strength she knows in a harsh new world.

Belinda’s journey takes her to a snow-covered mining camp and a red-roofed brothel in the Wyoming mountains, but not before she must spend a lonely winter with the man who took away the life she knew. Throughout the grief and hope of a strange land, Belinda must decide if her faith is big enough to allow her to forgive.

The satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series, With Endless Sight offers a rich story of family, new beginnings, and the freedom that grace can bring.

What made you want to write these stories?
The inspiration for the series came from looking at a picture of a group of frontier prostitutes posing in their parlor. I looked into their eyes and realized that these women had stories, and they’d all taken vastly different paths to end up in a life of prostitution. I realized, too, that when it came to their wants and desires for their lives, they weren’t any different from the more “respectable” women of the time or, for that matter, from women today.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

I really do envision actors and actresses when I write, but I’m afraid I sometimes go to obscure extremes. Gloria was inspired by an actress named Theresa Blake, who actually played a character named “Gloria” on a soap opera years ago, so we’d need a time machine to cast her :) ; Kassandra/Sadie Liza Weil (from Gilmore Girls), and Belinda/Biddy is based on a photograph of Laura Ingalls Wilder when she was about 14 years old, so maybe a young Lindsay Lohan? Again, the time machine…

What are you working on now or going to write next?

My next novel is due out in April. It’s called The Bridegrooms, and it is such a fun book! Tons of romance and secrets.

How can readers get in contact with you?

I am, of course, on facebook, and they can also go to my website www.allisonpittman.com to send me an email. I’m the world’s worst blogger, though. That’s my New Year’s resolution!

What are you currently reading?
A couple of different things, actually! I’m reading Anne Patchett’s Run (she is amazing!), and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
Goodness, I am soooooo boring. OK, I just started drinking coffee, like, a month ago. My teen-age sons like it, and wanted a coffee maker in the house. I’ve never liked coffee at all, but that’s because I didn’t know about rich, chocolate Coffee-Mate creamer. ‘Nuff said.

If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
I’d want to be my dog, Stella, because, really, she has such a wonderful life!

FAVORITES:

TV show, and/or movie?
TV show: Gilmore Girls. I can pretty much recite entire episodes. Movie? Hmm…impossible to narrow it to one, so I’ll go with three: Love Actually, Dan in Real Life, and Mildred Pierce.

Place to go on vacation?
Disneyworld! I’m a wee bit obsessed…

Book this year or month? Why?
I just finished reading The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe. It’s an older novel, and it totally doesn’t conform to a lot of current fiction conventions. It dabbles in omniscient point-of-view (gasp!!!) and was such a nice, kind of old-fashioned change. Loved it!

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**USA residents only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win autographed copies of each book in the Crossroads of Grace series! To enter: Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win), and please specify that you want to be included in the contest! *If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.* The comment is mandatory. (Please, say in the comment if you are a follower!! It makes my job easier when you do.) You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest. The contest will run from today (Dec. 25) until 10:30 CST on Thursday (Dec. 31). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 1st, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner. Good luck! Thanks for visiting.

This week's winners!

The winner of The Believer by Ann H. Gabhart is:

KarenK!!

The winner of Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana  by Tricia Goyer is:

Carole!!

12 Pearls of Christmas: Slow Down, Pray & Give Thanks

All Decked Out For Christmas
by Maureen Lang

One of the reasons so many of us love the holiday season is that it's just so...pretty! Twinkling lights, shiny ornaments, packages that glisten with bows and fancy wrapping. Our houses are trimmed with wreaths and glowing trees, and the neighborhood lights up the night with strands of icicles and glimmering reindeer.

Even we get decked out for the holidays! Chances are most of us will attend at least one party this season, and if we don't usually don clothing or jewelry with a bit of sparkle, now's the time to take a chance with something that reflects the holiday.

Smiles are another reason this season is such a popular one. They accompany that familiar greeting-Merry Christmas! Smiles go with the gifts we give and with the gifts we receive. Smiles go with the old Christmas carols and classic movies we watch every year.

The holiday season is a time when everything can seem amplified. But what if we're all decked out on the outside, from the sparkling clothing to our best effort at a smile, and on the inside we're anything but happy? If life isn't what we expected it to be, the gap between reality and our happy, hopeful expectations seem wider when everyone around us is laughing through the season.

I know there are as many reasons to be unhappy as there are to be happy, and I wouldn't begin to have the answer to make this season bearable for everyone. But I do know a few things that have worked for me:

Slow down. What? During the busiest time of the year? Yep. I know when I feel completely overwhelmed it's because I'm pressuring myself to do too much. So I try to plan ahead, settle for less than perfection, do my best without driving myself and everyone around me crazy. Choose what's really important and let go of the other things. And I've adopted my aunt's favorite saying: "However it turns out, that's how we like it." Works wonders on attitude!

Pray. As my pastor reminded me this weekend from Psalm 34:18: the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. God may not deliver us from our troubles, but He promises to stay beside us-in fact, closer than when everything seems hunky-dory.

Find a moment to give thanks for what you do have (without looking around at those who have more).

This last point deserves a moment of reflection, and is something I'm still learning to do. I have a child severely handicapped by Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic form of mental retardation. For years I thought I'd accepted his condition. I obediently said to God, "thank you even for this," since it taught me many things about adjusting to the life I've been given rather than the one I might have chosen.

But as my son gets older, I see new forms of acceptance making that feeling of gratitude more genuine. I think I'm finally letting go of some of the hopes and dreams I had for him, my oldest son. I can no longer imagine him any other way than the way he is, even though I'd be first in line if a cure is ever found.

I still think it's a good thing to give thanks in all things, even if it begins out of obedience rather than tender gratitude for whatever thorn we live with. But realizing it's okay to grow into that gratitude was a blessing to me.

Maybe some of the bruises on our spirit seem tender during the holiday season, a reminder that all the glitter on the outside might not light us up on the inside. My prayer is trust Psalm 34:18. Let's lean on Him this season-He's right here beside us!

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Maureen Lang grew up loving to tell stories, and God has blessed her immeasurably to be able to tell them to a wider audience these days. For the latest goings-on, please check her blog!

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A three strand pearl necklace will be given away on New Year's Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is leave a comment here. Come back on New Year's Day to see if you won!

12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info