Thursday, February 22, 2024
Ordinary Angels movie
Secrets and Wishes by Kathleen Rouser
I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
#SecretsAndWishes #KathleenRouser #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FourStarNovel
About the Book
Book: Secrets and Wishes
Author: Kathleen Rouser
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: January 30, 2024
She only wants a fresh start, but her past might be the only hope to save his life—and the lives of countless innocents.
Determined widow Maggie Galloway dreams of a peaceful life and a successful business. And winning the Silver Leaf Flour Company baking contest could be the key to that success. She even has a chance at a prestigious position through a dashing former beau. But when her son gets into a fight with the local pharmacist’s son, Maggie’s peaceful life is derailed.
Reserved pharmacist and recent widower Thomas Harper is also looking for a fresh start for himself and his four children. But when Thomas falls gravely ill, his only choice is to enlist the help of the local baker with a knowledge of concocting remedies. He’s even more reluctant to admit that Maggie may also be the remedy for his grieving heart. And when a traveling medicine man’s medicines beget tragedy, Thomas and Maggie must overcome their differences to save the children of Stone Creek—and face the growing attraction between them—before it’s too late.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Kathleen Rouser is a multi-published, award-winning author of historical and contemporary Christian romance. She is a longtime member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Faith, Hope and Love Christian Writers. She resides in southeast Michigan, a location which she often uses in her novels, with her hero and husband of forty-some years and two sweet cats who found a home in their empty nest.
More from Kathleen
Maggie Galloway’s Prizewinning Recipe
Maggie Galloway was a secondary character in my first Stone Creek Brides novel, Rumors and Promises. As the older sister and housekeeper of hero, Ian McCormick, she liked to have her say. I enjoyed getting to know Maggie as I created her character. She was so much fun to write I knew she needed her own story.
She has a knowledge of remedies from working with her pharmacist husband in the past, but Maggie is also a prizewinning baker because of her creative and cherished recipe for pecan snickerdoodles. I hope you’ll enjoy her recipe.
Increasing the vanilla in her favorite snickerdoodle recipe while adding toasted chopped pecans to the dough and the cinnamon sugar made for the delightful crunch and a nutty taste, which had won her second place in the recipe contest. (From Maggie’s musings in Secrets and Wishes.)
Maggie Galloway’s Pecan Snickerdoodles
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup flour
½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Cinnamon sugar mixture:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease cookie sheet.
Beat butter until creamy. Add 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar, mixing well.
Beat egg and vanilla into the mixture. Slowly add flour and chopped pecans to the mixture.
Set dough in the refrigerator (or the icebox in Maggie’s day) for at least a half an hour to make it easier to handle.
While you’re waiting, mix the cinnamon sugar ingredients together with the 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans.
When the dough is ready, roll into small balls and roll in cinnamon sugar/nut mixture.
Place a couple of inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes, only until slightly golden brown along the edges. Yield is approximately two dozen cookies.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 20
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 21
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 22
Life on Chickadee Lane, February 22
Devoted To Hope, February 23
Vicky Sluiter, February 23
Texas Book-aholic, February 24
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 25
ABBA’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 26
lakesidelivingsite, February 27
Betti Mace, February 28
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 29
Cover Lover Book Review, March 1
For Him and My Family, March 2
Holly’s Book Corner, March 3
Pause for Tales, March 4
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/2a256/secrets-and-wishes-celebration-tour-giveaway
Friday, February 16, 2024
Finally His Bride by Jody Hedlund
I became fully invested in the characters right away, and their lives growing up together in Manchester, England. Things got especially tough there and Willow's father signed her up to leave for a bride ship to Vancouver Island the next morning. Caleb couldn't take being separated from her so found a way to follow. I cared so much that I would have written them a story myself from there if necessary. But their story is beautiful as they both learn to grow and make a new life. Some very tense and dangerous times; can be hard to put down. Such a beautiful place to start over, with great opportunities to start a new and better life if you want to work hard. Excellent read. I highly recommend reading the Bride Ships series.
I received this book free from the author and Just Read Publicity Tours book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden
Friday, February 9, 2024
A Season of Harvest by Lauraine Snelling
About the Book
Book: A Season of Harvest
Author: Lauraine Snelling
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: January 30, 2024
Can her dreams for the future–and a budding romance–survive the trouble that comes calling?
Larkspur Nielsen is determined to keep her family homestead running and to fulfill their dream of starting a seed catalog, with or without her siblings’ help. With Isaac McTavish back in town, Lark finds herself at odds with her own heart and her determination to shoulder the burden of carrying her responsibilities alone. But Isaac is set on convincing her that he’s here to stay and she doesn’t have to carry everything by herself.
As a new romance blossoms between Lilac and an old schoolmate and the other Nielsen sisters are busy caring for their families, Lark bears more and more responsibility on the farm. When a long-feared threat returns and Lark approaches the breaking point, the life she has always dreamed of is in danger of disappearing forever.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of nearly one-hundred books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold more than five million copies. She makes her home in Tehachapi, California.
More from Lauraine
Please provide a brief summary of your new novel, A Season of Harvest.
Lauraine Snelling: With her three sisters all finding their own paths of life and love, Larkspur Nielsen determines to shoulder their family farm and business dream herself and stay single—even if drifter Isaac McTavish, claiming he’s back in town for good, now seeks her heart. When danger from the past comes knocking, Lark must choose whether to insist on going it alone or accept the love and support God—and Isaac—hold out.
Each of the previous books in your current series, Leah’s Garden, follows a different Neilsen sister as the main character. What led you to save Larkspur’s story for the series conclusion?
LS: I’d actually planned Larkspur’s story to be first since she’s the oldest. However, once The Seeds of Change started coming together, Forsythia took over the story! So the first book became hers.
Loyalty plays a key role in A Season of Harvest. Without giving spoilers, can you hint at why loyalty is at the core of the story?
LS: Loyalty threads through the whole series. These sisters are loyal to each other, to their friends, and to everyone they know. Through all the books, they take care of each other so faithfully. Even their initial departure from Ohio stems from drastic action they take to protect each other and their family. Loyalty then streams over into other characters in the series, especially Isaac McTavish, who really grows into loyalty in this book. Even our villain stays loyal to his purpose all the way through.
Which of the four Neilsen sisters do you personally resonate with the most?
LS: Truth be told, I resonate with each of them. But really, I tend to identify with whichever one I’m writing at the moment! 😊
A Season of Harvest returns to a major conflict from the first book in the series, The Seeds of Change. Was it always in your plan to circle back and address that conflict again in the series conclusion?
LS: It wasn’t always in our plan, but as the book came together, it became inevitable. One benefit of a great editor is that they sometimes contribute ideas, and my editor, Jessica Sharpe, pointed out how key it would be for Ringwald to confront Larkspur at the end of the series. As the book went on, it became so important to resolve that conflict, and we kept the villain in the stories just enough to keep readers from forgetting about him.
What do you hope readers learn or take away from this series?
LS: A reminder of how important our families are. The Nielsens stood by each other in so many crises, and that’s what I would hope readers take away—just a reminder of how important your family is and how absolutely critical faith in Christ is. Salton becomes a place of healing, a place for people to recover joy. That we have so many joys and things to learn in this life is a theme that weaves through all my books.
What led you to set these stories in the homesteading period? How was the setting important to the story you wanted to tell?
LS: It’s one of my favorite periods! The homesteading era was such a time of change and adventure. As for why Nebraska, I hadn’t set stories there very much yet. For Kiersti, it was special to join in on The Seeds of Change and get to write about Nebraska homesteaders living in a soddy because her great-grandfather, a son of Danish immigrants, was born in a soddy in Nebraska in the late 1800s.
Is this truly the last your readers will see of the Neilsen sisters and the rest of their community?
LS: As far as we know!
Now that you’ve wrapped up the Leah’s Garden series, what are you working on next?
LS: A series set in 1889 near Decorah, Iowa. Six-year-old Ruth and twenty-one-year-old Amalia are thrown together on a ship crossing over from Norway when their families die of cholera. Ruth’s dying mother gives her daughter into Amalia’s custody, and the two orphans travel to Iowa to take over the family boardinghouse Ruth will inherit. They must battle a greedy relative trying to claim the property and somehow make ends meet for the motley band of orphans who gather under their roof, while finding a way to make this new land home.
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 5
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 6
Texas Book-aholic, February 7
The Avid Reader, February 7
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 8
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 9 (Author Interview)
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 9
She Lives to Read, February 10
Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 11
Mary Hake, February 11
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 12
For Him and My Family, February 13
Splashes of Joy, February 13
Holly’s Book Corner, February 14
Cover Lover Book Review, February 15
Connie’s History Classroom , February 16
Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, February 16
Live. Love. Read., February 17
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, February 17
lakesidelivingsite, February 18
Pause for Tales, February 18
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Lauraine is giving away the grand prize package of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback set of all four books in the Leah’s Garden Series: The Seeds of Change, A Time to Bloom, Fields of Bounty, and A Season of Harvest!! (US Only)
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/29c4f/a-season-of-harvest-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thursday, February 8, 2024
The Paris Spy's Girl by Amanda Lees
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
"Life has taught me a lot, some I wanted some I didn't."
Wow. We just had the chance to watch an advance copy of I Will Survive - a new movie about Gloria Gaynor. Very inspiring and touching, especially for anyone who has experienced abandonment or abuse. The story, and of course the music is fabulous. Gloria has lived an amazing life with an amazing gift from God, and she's finally able to sing what she wants which is gospel music. Her album "Testimony" is fabulous.
She partnered with GRAMMY-winning producer Chris Stevens (TobyMac, Mandisa) to create a roots gospel collection that relies on Gaynor's songwriting, a couple of hymns and a stunning interpretation of Dylan's "Man of Peace." Special guests include Yolanda Adams, Jason Crabb, Mike Farris and Bart Millard, as well as a "who's who" of studio musicians. A gospel album has always been part of Gaynor's vision, and Testimony proves to be worth the wait.
Release Date: 2/13
Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCvHkWCRWLo
#iwillsurvivemin #booksyoucanfeelgoodabout #ChristianMovies
GLORIA GAYNOR I WILL SURVIVE
Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive is the story of a Disco legend who, for five decades, has inspired millions with her words I WILL SURVIVE, but only understood the lyrics when she hit rock bottom at age 65 - the film is about reinvention, the power of faith and a woman's magnificent second act. Gloria Gaynor has wielded her inner drive and undeniable musical talent to change the course of her life. Having surmounted abuse, paralysis, her sister’s murder, a 35-year troubled marriage and a cleaned-out bank account, she never lost her faith, vision, and momentum. At 71, Gloria embarks on her lifelong dream to write and record a solo Gospel album. As Gloria gets deeper into the process, she realizes that switching music genres is no easy feat and unexpectedly has to self-fund her very personal album TESTIMONY. When US Gospel stars Yolanda Adams, Jason Crabb and Bart Millard join her on the recording, the tides turn. After a five-year struggle to get the album finished and released, Gloria wins the 2020 GRAMMY for Best Gospel Album - 40 years after Gloria won Best Disco Track for “I Will Survive”.
Gloria: I Will Survive blends Gloria’s present-day journey with the artist’s personal collection of archival photos and footage to help track the pivotal moments of Gaynor’s life, including never-before-seen super 8 mm movies of Gloria on the road from 1972-1976 during the early days of disco. Through 8 years of filming we capture a story of reinvention, inner drive and a magnificent second act made possible by Gloria’s private philosophies and life lessons.
“I am finally at a place of joy and self-fulfillment, and I am ready to share my secret to not only “surviving but thriving” with the world” – Gloria Gaynor