Showing posts with label bestseller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bestseller. Show all posts

Saturday, March 26, 2016

WeWriWa - March 27, 2016 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

On last week's installment of Weekend Writing Warriors, we were in the throes of the Emergency Room excitement in Vicenza, Italy when the life of an unborn baby hung in the balance. Welcome to this eight-sentence snippet. To get back to the other Weekend Writers, click here!  

A favorite Italian restaurant, Il Fauno's -- wonderful waitstaff, great food, and
an American toilet!! 
After a quick, burning shot to stop the contractions and a tub of progesterone capsules to insert nightly, we were released. These people who didn’t even speak my language had just saved the life of my unborn child. “What did the doctor say before he left,” I asked our nurse as she walked us to the front doors of the hospital.
The view from the villa where we lived
The view from the other side of the villa
Our Texan kitchen in Italy
Her lips tilted into a half-smile. “He said Americans and their modesty . . . do they not understand that there is no modesty in life and death?”
I locked eyes with my husband and blinked back unwelcome tears 

as I remembered my nurse's words. No modesty in life and death.

wish I had asked her if dignity followed the same rule.




Our chilly villa where I was on bed rest for four weeks following the ER incident. 


April 14th -- the rebirth date of my debut novel, A Heart on Hold. Cover reveal time!!! 



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Final Installment of The Saga of Indian Em'ly: The Journey Home is HERE!


The fourth and final installment of the Indian Em'ly Saga is here . . . and just .99 cents! This is by far my favorite of the series, and I hope it will be yours too. Get yours here! 

BLURB

Twelve-year-old Knocks Down and his little sister, Cactus Flower, manage to escape the evil orphanage along with a new pale face friend, Kid McCoy. But once they escape, they are set upon by a gang of murdering claim jumpers who steal Cactus and leave Knocks Down for dead. 

Determined to find his little sister, Knocks Down gets to the nearest town where they’ve taken her, only to discover she has been sold as a slave! With Kid McCoy’s help, Knocks Down goes after her. Escaping once more, they encounter an old nemesis, a soldier from the nearby fort that was responsible for their mother’s death—and he’s set on seeing Knocks Down and Cactus Flower dead, as well. 

How can a boy defeat a battle-hardened soldier? Just when Knocks Down is about to give up, the biggest surprise of all changes everything on THE JOURNEY HOME…

EXCERPT

    The day passed quickly and in relative silence until Kid realized something. “Say Chief, where is it we’re headed, anyway?”
    I scanned the foreign horizon, an odd feeling suddenly gripping my backbone. “South,” I whispered, “back home, to the land of the Comanche.” Without thinking, I dropped to a crouch and let every sound fade away. Chirping birds, whistling wind, even the breath of Cactus and Kid. Every sound disappeared except the one that had pricked my ear and shot the rash of tingles in the first place. 
    “Something has happened nearby.” 
    Cactus slipped her hand into mine. “I hear it, too. Let’s go.”
    Kid scratched his head. “What’d I miss? I don’t hear nothin’.”

    By the time we arrived at what was left of the pale face camp, Kid heard it too. The dog’s whimpering had grown louder with each step, and more mournful. There hadn’t been but six people in camp, two of them children, and no survivors. The dog, a hulking black beast with pointed ears, low hips and a long tail, lay by the body of the girl. Whining, he licked her face and nuzzled her hands, as if trying to wake her from a deep sleep.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Western Romance Box Set

Good morning one and all! I hope this finds each one of you well and good this morning.

I have wonderful news. If you're looking for an affordable box set of five western romance novels, I hope you'll check out A COWBOY'S HEART.  Just .99 cents!

Right now, it is climbing in Amazon's top 100 bestselling Western Romance books! 

Here's a bit about each book featured in this box set . . .

In Cheryl Pierson’s time travel story, TIME PLAINS DRIFTER, Romantic Times reviewer Donna M. Brown says, “4.5 stars…Cheryl Pierson's fresh, well-crafted novel pits some unlikely heroes against evil incarnate. The characters are vibrant and tell a story of courage in difficult circumstances.”



THE CALLING is an inspirational tale by Sara Barnard about a young man who turns away from God and the woman he loves to follow the outlaw trail. But love holds true and Esau can’t forget the past as God pushes him to face his sins and make things right again in a most unusual way!



In CLAIMING HIS HEART by Tanya Hanson, a handsome stranger who arrives in a peaceful California valley bearing a mysterious letter leaves Charmlee no choice but marriage to him. But Charmlee and Tulsa each have plans of their own. Is there a bigger dream for the future ahead that they can’t see?



ALL FOR LOVE by Beverly Wells tells a gut-wrenching tale of social injustice in Wyoming of the 1880’s. Lorelei Webster, schoolmarm, tries to right the wrongs of the small town she’s a part of, and hopes for the help of the town doctor, Seth Taylor. Will her determination spark more than friendship between them as they work together?



Is Leroy Vance a SAINT OR SINNER? Gil McDonald pens a riveting tale of a hard hearted bounty hunter, hot on the heels of a gang of outlaws. Injured and on foot, Vance faces almost certain death. But when he realizes that there is a young woman and her brother who desperately need his help, he risks everything for them. Will this bounty hunter and sinner finally find true love with the wife of another man? Or will any of them get out alive?

Saturday, July 11, 2015

WeWriWa - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods - July 12, 2015

Last week, we finally found out what Charlie did to get thrown out of the Army shrink's office with an MP escort. He told the truth. Many of you commented and stated that you weren't sure how you would have reacted to news that your husband told the shrink he was dreaming of throwing her out the window . . . let's see what happens next. 

Cupping my hands around my mouth and nose, I closed my eyes. I didn’t have time to draw a breath before he continued.

“Her eyes got real wide. Real, like, deathly wide. Then she went all white and picked up the phone.” Charlie gave a little laugh, breaking the solemnity that had filled the car. “Then the MP’s came. Thought they were gonna arrest me, and I said for what, telling the truth?”

To get back and sample more from other delectable Weekend Writing Warriors, click here

My debut novel, A Heart on Hold, is on sale for just .99 this week! Get yours here! See where we are falling in love with Charlotte and Sanderson eight sentences at a time on my Everlasting Heart blog here

Keep up to date with my upcoming releases at my website

Saturday, April 18, 2015

WeWriWa - April 19, 2015 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Welcome back to this week's eight sentence snippet from my forthcoming memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods. Without further ado, let's jump right back into the mix and see what is going on in the Army clinic that drew the MPs on the run . . . and see why in the world I followed them inside. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The MPs stepped to the side, like something out of a movie, revealing my husband standing between them.
“Is this your wife?” one of the burly officers barked.
Charlie nodded and stepped beside me, but the Military Police officers just stared at us - unmoving. “Are we leaving?” I asked, feeling as though I’d walked into a group where the punchline of a joke had just been delivered.
Charlie just put one hand on the small of my back and began guiding me toward the door with the MPs following us closely.
I kept my voice at a whisper, acutely aware that all eyes in the clinic were fixed on us. “Charlie, what is going on?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see my other blogs for this week, click here for my snippet from A Heart on Hold, my debut novel, and click here for a snippet from my forthcoming Amish novel, Old Amarillo

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Welcome Kirsten Lynn -- RONE nominee!

Welcome Kirsten! Thanks for coming by today. Can you tell us a little bit about your RONE (Romance Novel Excellence Award) nominated book, HOME FIRES?

Cord Matthews sets his sights on the open Montana Territory when the War Between the States rips everything from him. Olivia Bartlett, the only woman he's ever loved, has been killed--a cross marks the place where she lies buried. Cord builds a new dream, but a ghost from his past won’t let him forget what his heart wanted most.

Olivia, forced to flee her Virginia home, finds new purpose as a nurse to the wounded at Fort Laramie, Wyoming Territory. War and separation haven’t diminished her love for Cord Matthews, or her stubborn belief that he is coming for her. Danger threatens once more with the impending arrival of a new commander at Fort Laramie--a man who has already tried to kill her once. Olivia flees to Montana Territory, seeking refuge.

Reunited on the Montana frontier, can Cord and Olivia hold tight to their love and defeat the man who seeks to destroy them both?


What prompted you to write this particular story?

HOME FIRES was actually the first historical Western romance I wrote.  I had been living in the DC area for about five years and was homesick for the West.  Civil War history has always fascinated me, and was my focus during my undergraduate studies, so I combined my love of Civil War history and my love of Wyoming and Montana and moved Cord and Olivia from the East to the West.  Through this couple, I could travel the trails of home and visit well-loved places while adding a bit of danger and a whole lot of love.

Cord and Olivia helped me get through a rough time in my life. They gave me something to look forward to and allowed me to go home for a few hours a day.  This couple and this story will always hold a special place in my heart.

Where can we find you and your work?







Awesome! I love Civil War history. Here's some more about Kirsten! 

Kirsten Lynn writes stories based on the people and history of the West, more specifically those who live and love in Wyoming and Montana. Using her MA in Naval History, Kirsten, weaves her love of the West and the military together in many of her stories, merging these two halves of her heart. When she's not roping, riding and rabble-rousing with the cowboys and cowgirls who reside in her endless imagination, Kirsten works as a professional historian.

How can we vote for HOME FIRES in the RONE awards? 

http://indtale.com/2015-rone-awards-week-one

Saturday, April 11, 2015

WeWriWa -April 12, 2015 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Welcome back! Last week, a character I called Villa the Strangler swept by and it was pointed out to me that such an interestingly named character hadn't been properly introduced. I hope you enjoy this next eight-sentence snippet from my memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods, as you brush shoulders with Villa the Strangler :-)
***
I kicked my way through the ankle-tall grass, wishing I had an Italian version of an Audubon field guide so I could identify some of the interesting birds that flitted about. I’d already discovered ivy, growing unchecked, choking out an ancient grove of towering trees, but when I mentioned to my husband’s unit commander the need to get someone to cut down the troublesome vine, I was met with condescending smiles and smirks, laced with a general who cares attitude. I was seriously considering, in all of my pregnant glory, taking to the ivy myself with a pair of scissors when I noticed a twosome of Military Police officers, or MPs, walking down the street toward me. Abruptly, they turned up the covered walkway and almost sprinted into the clinic, passing me without so much as a glance.

Curious, I followed them. Had Villa, the friendly soldier who tried to strangle his pregnant wife in her sleep, freaked out on her right there in the clinic?

I squinted as I entered the dark building, unable to make out much of anything except for a flurry of excited chatter coming from every direction. Then, as the MPs slowed to a stop, everything started to come into focus. 


***

Thank you for stopping by for this week's eight! Be sure to come back next Sunday to find out what happens when Sara's world comes into sharp focus . . . 

Are you in need of a professional editor for your manuscript or WIP? Contact me, Sara, at Silver Line Editorial Service to see how I can be of service to you! 
silverlineeditorial@gmail.com

The Weekend Writing Warriors are a group of talented writers that spans most every genre imaginable. Head over to check out some more of their work back at the WeWriWa blog!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Meet Author Ann Swann

Today, join me in welcoming the beautiful and talented author Ann Swann to the blog. Not only is Ann an amazing author, she is also a fantastic mother and grandmother! Yup, she is my mommy!



Welcome Ann (er, Mom!) Give us the run down on your newest release, Lilac Lane, your suspense follow up to bestseller Stutter Creek. 


Ella and son escaped her ex's drunken wrath once. Now he's out of jail. Can they survive another round?

        He shattered the old wooden door from the inside with one well-placed kick from his size twelve boot.
            The chair was still beneath the knob, but the entire top panel of the door had splintered. In the moonlight coming through the kitchen window, Ella could see his massive silhouette.
            With another kick, the whole door disintegrated. Shards of wood flew in all directions. The red kitchen chair went scooting across the floor until it hit a piece of debris and flipped over on its side.

Sounds like a good one -- as usual! Where can readers grab a copy? 



Barnes and Noble   http://bit.ly/WJt2H1

Smashwords   http://bit.ly/WJt8yf

http://www.5Princebooks.com


I hear you're working on a third installment in this series, Copper Lake. Care to share a bit?  

Here is a snippet from Work in Progress: COPPER LAKE ~ Book Three in the STUTTER CREEK series

            The bones were wet. The clay in the soil trapped the moisture as efficiently as a layer of mulch in a flowerbed. When Edgar held the femur up to the moonlight, he was thrilled to observe how fully the dirt and mold had settled into the cuts he’d made. It created an inky labyrinthine abstract on the once-white surface.   Ecclesiastes says there’s a time for everything.
            I think the time has come.
            He caressed the soil around the bones, and then he pulled on latex gloves and lifted the rest of them from their shallow bed. Time has come, he whispered. Time has come. He often repeated things to himself when his hands were engaged in pleasurable activities—and this was the most enjoyment he’d had in a long time.












Want More? Here's a little bit more about Ann . . . 

Bio
Ann lives in Texas with her husband and rescue pets. She loves libraries and book stores and owns two e-readers just for fun. Ann writes what she likes to read.

All For Love, a Contemporary Romance filled with heartache and hope, was Ann’s first novel for 5 Prince Publishing. It was an Amazon bestseller in Literary Fiction.

Her Romantic Suspense series begins with
Stutter Creek (Amazon bestseller), and continues with
Book Two, Lilac Lane, which one reviewer labeled “scared-the-pants-off-me.”
Book three, Copper Lake, will be out in 2015.

Ann’s Phantom book series centers around a couple of teenage ghost-hunters.
Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot,
Stevie-girl and The Phantom Student, and
Stevie-girl and The Phantom of Crybaby Bridge
All have been on Amazon’s bestseller lists for scary tales and ghost stories.

Ann also has short fiction in several anthologies. The most recent short story, Sleepaway Pounds, is included in the anthology, Seasonal, Sweet, and Suspenseful.

To find out more contact Ann at one of the ways listed below, or click on the STAY UPDATED button on her Amazon Author Page.
Amazon Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/6wl3oe2
Twitter: @ann_swann      

Saturday, March 28, 2015

WeWriWa - 3/29/15 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Welcome back for this week's eight sentence snippet from my forthcoming memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods, where one woman's reliance on her eclectic wilderness background helps her navigate some of life's most unexpected curves from a war-torn marriage to children to an extreme cancer diagnosis. 


***

My breath caught in my throat. In all the wisdom of the Army, they’d hired a Muslim woman to treat combat soldiers who were having problems adjusting after returning from fighting Muslims?

“You,” she gesticulated at me roughly. “You wait in downstairs waiting room.”

Charlie’s knee was bouncing and his knuckles had gone white from gripping the sides of the metal chair. Ever nervous, any noise made him jump and a thin sheen of sweat veiled his forehead. “No, you don’t understand, she has to stay with me.”

She stared at us through sour, empty eyes and growled, “She wait outside. I call her in later.”

***

Thanks for stopping by! Check out other great authors at the WeWriWa blog :-)

***

In need of affordable editing services for your manuscript? 
Trust an author who has been there!  
Sara Barnard's own Silver Line Editorial Service is now accepting manuscripts for editing.
 Check out their rates on the Silver Line page on this blog! 

***
Custom cookies for custom taste buds? What a novel idea!


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Author Christine Steendam

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of my blog, where I feature one spectacular author each week!

Are you an author who would like to be featured? Contact me at sarathreesuns@gmail.com for available dates.


********************************


Hi Christine, thanks for stopping by today! I fell in love with your OCEAN series with the first book, Heart Like an Ocean. Can you tell us about your most recent release in this series? 

I guess I'll start with a little background on Betrayed by the Ocean. It is book 2 in the OCEAN series, sequel to Heart Like an Ocean. When I wrote Heart Like an Ocean, I intended it to be a standalone. It is the story of Senona Montez and in my mind, her story was done in that book. Even Brant Foxton had his happily-for-now. But after talking with a few readers and one of my editors , I came to realize there was more to Brant Foxton's story. So I began to explore it. That's how Betrayed by the Ocean came to be. 

Oooh, Brant Foxton. Now that is the name of a hero! What's his story? 

I realized that the person he ended up with in Book 1 wasn't the right person for him, he hadn't become to person he needed to be and Senona wasn't going to be the one to change him. So I began writing Book 2, Betrayed by the Ocean and was taken on a journey of discovery right along with Brant.

Most authors say that their newest releases are their favorite stories. Is that true with Betrayed by the Ocean? 

It is one of my favorite stories to date. Brant has a very special place in my heart, and the writing of Betrayed by the Ocean was a very organic process. I knew how it began, but I had no idea where it was going after that. But I am very happy with how it turned out.

Do we get to look forward to more installments in the OCEAN series in the future? 

I'm currently working on book 3, Embraced by the Ocean which centers around Johnny Marshall, but the rest of the characters in my Ocean series still play a role. Although I mostly wrap up Brant's story in Betrayed by the Ocean, you'll see a little bit more development for him in the last book. I think readers are going to be more than happy with where I leave everyone off.

We can't wait to check it out, Christine! No doubt you will leave your readers happy once again and, as always, wanting more. Where can we find out more about you and purchase your books?

Links to Christine's OCEAN books . . .


Keep up with Christine by checking out these links below! 

Christine's Website: http://www.christinesteendam.com
Christine's Author Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorchristine.s
 Follow Christine on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/chrissteen1991

Saturday, March 21, 2015

WeWriWa - March 22 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Welcome back! Thanks for stopping by for this week's snippet from my newest work:

Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Last week, our heroine's husband made a big, drunken deal out of his leaving his 
family . . . again. 
Let's see what happens next.


The  first time my husband freaked out and called us quits was at our duty station in Italy when I was five months pregnant with our first child together. Drunk, he'd torn apart our luggage in an attempt to find the passports, belonging to my two young children and myself, so he could put us on "the first plane back to the States". Luckily, I'd hidden them well. Angered at his inability to find them, he swore through slurred words to pay child support for “that one,” as he called our unborn son, thrusting a finger at my slightly swollen belly. 

 He had been back from his 15-month tour in Afghanistan for a whopping six months before he "broke", an amazing feat considering most of his fellow airborne infantrymen he'd served with had broken long before; like the ever-smiling family man who attempted to strangle his pregnant wife in her sleep or the quiet soldier who had eaten Thanksgiving dinner with us before returning to the Army post and slashing his arms bloody and climbing into a tub filled with steaming water. 


When the liquor wore off, he begged forgiveness and swore to get help from Mental Health, in the off chance he did have the so-called PTSD affliction, as long as I would accompany him . . . and give him another chance. Not having it in my genes to be the Army wife who walked out on her sick husband, I agreed and sat proudly by his side as we waited for the psychiatrist to come in. 

The door creaked open revealing not the white-haired Viet Nam vet with all the answers like in the movies, but instead a short, unsmiling Middle Eastern woman sporting glasses . . . and a Muslim hijab.



Thank you for stopping by this week! Be sure to stop by next Sunday morning for another snippet from 

Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Missi Wanderin' in the Woods is my forthcoming memoir and perhaps the hardest story I've written to date. This is the story of one woman's reliance on her eclectic wilderness background to face epic struggles, from war-ravaged marriages to life-threatening baby deliveries to a teaching career to cancer, that just may shatter her life -- if she lets them.





Book One of my
Everlasting Heart series,
written when
my husband was on his final
deployment to Afghanistan.
This saga continues through
a four-book series!
Rebekah's Quilt is
my debut Amish fiction
work.
Just .99 cents
this month!
Look for more from these
characters coming soon
in a new series!
Head on over to my website to check out more of  my titles featuring strong female heroines, like my debut novel and book one of the Everlasting Heart series A Heart on Hold, where Charlotte Adamsland must journey north through the war-ravaged United States in search of her husband Confederate Captain Sanderson Redding . . . or his remains, or my first ever Amish novella, Rebekah's Quilt, where timid Rebekah must face a heartbreaking truth that no other Amish girl in Gasthof Village could ever understand and one that just may cost her a future with her handsome beau, Joseph Graber. 

(Rebekah's Quilt is just .99 cents this month!)






Sunday, March 15, 2015

WeWriWa - March 15 - Missi Wanderin' in the Woods

Welcome Weekend Writing Warriors and Guests! 
Enjoy this eight-sentence excerpt from my newest work: 
Missi Wanderin' in the Woods. 
***
I slid my white gold wedding ring, the one we’d picked out together after only two weeks of dating, off my finger and sucked in a breath, trying not to let the hurricane of familiar emotions drown me yet again. 

Across the house, my husband of five years threw everything that was outright his into various bags and suitcases, taking care to fling the pictures of us and our life together onto the ground. Like trash.

“There’s no going back,” he bellowed as he stormed into the kitchen where we'd sought refuge, his words slurred by the drink, “this is for real. We're finished!”

Up until then, I had been futilely attempting to shield his leaving from our two youngest children, sugar sweet and ever-grinning boys aged two and four, but as he carried on, the baby began picking up random toys and shoes. “Don’t yell at Mama,” he shouted, his own little words garbled by the speech impediment that afflicts three quarters of my children, before hurling what he could grab at his daddy, who up until then had been the center of his protected little universe. 

My oldest babies, ten and eight, retreated to the dark corners of the kitchen to watch this all-too-familiar scene, always brought on by combat anniversaries and alcohol, play out yet again.

***

Thank you for stopping by and checking out these eight sentences from my forthcoming memoir, Missi Wanderin' in the Woods, the story of one woman's reliance on her eclectic wilderness background to face front-country struggles ranging from a war-ravaged marriage to cancer.

Need a cheap read? Rebekah's Quilt is on sale for just 99 cents this month!

Check out more excerpts from other amazing 

See you next Sunday for more from 
Missi Wanderin' in the Woods!


Saturday, June 21, 2014

The Saga of Indian Em'ly : The Apache and the Pale Face Soldiers (Book 1)

New release alert! My debut middle grade reader, book 1 of 4, titled The Saga of Indian Em'ly: The Apache and the Pale Face Soldiers has been released from Painted Pony Books.

More great news, it went bestseller just today! Yay! What a wonderful way to commemorate the historical significance of the real Indian Em'ly . . . the "squaw killed by mistake" outside Fort Davis, Texas in the late 1800's.


Here is the back matter: 

Wind That Knocks Down Lodges loves his Apache mother Shining Waters, his grandfather Chief Strawberry Moon, his baby sister Cactus Flower and the wildness of the desert canyonland they call home. He has even developed a rough-hewn trust for Cactus Flower’s father, the pale face soldier from the fort that their mother loves. In one night of gross misunderstanding and novice mistakes, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower’s innocent young world is broken and shaken before they find themselves locked in the soldier fort with the pale faces and their mother’s lifeless body. With no one to lean on but each other and the fragile balance between the Apache and the soldiers irreparably upset, Knocks Down and Cactus Flower must make their way as children of The People in the pale face world – pale faces who have now become the enemy.

Only .99 cents in kindle format!  Grab yours today! And stay tuned for The Saga of Indian Em'ly: On the Colorado Trail (book 2) coming in September 2014!

www.sarabarnardbooks.com