Baby Update!

We had another ultrasound this past Wednesday and found out some great news. We are expecting a girl! What a blessing! We do not have a name for her yet, but we’ll keep you posted. The doctor’s appointment went well, and we were even given a DVD of the ultrasound to take home with us. Jeff and I are both so excited to know that this August our daughter will be born.

So far, I’m feeling great. We got back last weekend from a week in Texas, which was chaotic as usual, but lots of fun. Our families are both so thrilled about the baby. And we’re excited to start working on the nursery! Blessings!

Blog tour! For Pete’s Sake by Linda Windsor

Ellen Brittingham isn’t sure true love exists until she contracts to do the landscaping of the estate of the sophisticated widower next door, Adrian Sinclair. Adrian has it all—at least on the surface, He’s engaged to a beautiful woman who helped him build a successful business and he’ll soon have a mom for his troubled son Pete.

Yet, from the moment Ellen rescues a stranded Adrian on her Harley, his well-ordered world turns upside down, cracking his thin façade of happiness and revealing the void of faith and love behind it. Even more, his son seems to have his own sites set on Ellen – as his new mom.

As Ellen’s friendship grows with Pete, she realizes that his father is about to marry the wrong woman for the right reasons. And despite her resolve to remain “neighbors only” with the dad, the precocious boy works his way into her heart, drawing Ellen and Adrian closer. Close enough for heartbreak, for Pete’s sake!

But how can her heart think that Adrian Sinclair is the one when he’s engaged to a sophisticated beauty who is everything Ellen isn’t. When Ellen’s three best friends see she’s been bitten by the love bug, they jump into action and submit her to a makeover that reveals the woman underneath her rough exterior and puts her in contention for Adrian’s love.

But Ellen must ask herself whether she’s ready to risk the heart that she’s always held close. Will Ellen be able to trust that God brought this family into her life for a reason? Or will her fear of getting hurt cause her to turn away from God’s plan and her one true chance at love?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061171387

Blog Tour! Only Uni by Camy Tang

Trish Sakai walked through the door and the entire room hushed.

Well, not exactly pin-drop hushed. More like a handful of the several dozen people in her aunty’s enormous living room paused their conversations to glance her way. Maybe Trish had simply expected them to laugh and point.

She shouldn’t have worn white. She’d chosen the Bebe dress from her closet in a rebellious mood, which abandoned her at her aunt’s doorstep. Maybe because the explosion of red, orange, or gold outfits made her head swim.

At least the expert cut of her dress made her rather average figure curvier and more slender at the same time. She loved how well-tailored clothes ensured she didn’t have to work as hard to look good.

Trish kicked off her sandals, and they promptly disappeared in the sea of shoes filling the foyer. She swatted away a flimsy paper dragon drooping from the doorframe and smoothed down her skirt. She snatched her hand back and wrung her fingers behind her.

No, that’ll make your hips look huge.

She clenched her hands in front.

Sure, show all the relatives that you’re nervous.

She clasped them loosely at her waist and tried to adopt a regal expression.

“Trish, you okay? You look constipated.”

Her cousin Bobby snickered while she sneered at him. “Oh, you’re so funny I could puke.”

“May as well do it now before Grandma gets here.”

“She’s not here yet?” Oops, that came out sounding a little too relieved. She cleared her throat and modulated her voice to less-than-ecstatic levels. “When’s she coming?”

“Uncle picked her up, but he called Aunty and said Grandma forgot something, so he had to go back.”

Thank goodness for little favors.

 To read the rest of chapter one, go to http://fictioninrathershorttakes.blogspot.com/

Blog Tour & Interview! Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck

When a Southern waitress inherits the Lowcountry cafe where she works, she suddenly has to balance more than just her next food order.

This was such a fun story! And I will admit that even now, I am humming the tune of Sweet Caroline (which happened several times as I was reading the book!). One of my favorite aspects of the book was the menu at the top of each chapter. But my very favorite element of the book is the ending. I love it when things turn out differently than I had assumed–especially when they turn out even better. So many times with romance novels, the stories are rather predictable. I thought Rachel did a great job of mixing things up and giving us an ending we weren’t expecting. And she was sweet enough to give me a quick interview! See below.

What inspired this story?

Rh: This story is a morphed story. I started out with the idea of a girl  hosting a cooking show but she wasn’t a cook. You see very small remnants of that in Caroline’s character. But, I wanted to set the story in the lowcountry and felt if she was doing  a cooking show, it didn’t match the setting. So, I focused on her owning a cafe and went from there.

Do you have a specific writing style? (Such as beginning with an outline,
starting by writing the ending, just writing as it comes to you, etc.)

RH: I am part plotter, part seat of the pants. I know the beginning, middle and end of the story, if not specifics, high details. I may know a few specific scenes I want to include, but I really work on knowing my characters and their goals and history. The story usually flows out of them.

Can you give me a glimpse into your publishing history? (Did you go through
an agent? Start out at writers conferences? Suffer rejections before the
blessed arrival of a contract?

RH: I started writing in the ’90s before the Christian market used agents. I wrote an involved WW 2 historical that was rejected several times, but became my learning book. I met a lovely woman named Lynn Coleman at a writers conference. She suggested writing a category romance together for Heartsong Presents and within a year, we’d sold a series. She ultimately turned it over to me to complete. So, I’m a big fan of networking and attending writer’s conferences. I met Colleen Coble in the same way and she was very instrumental in my career. Not only did she encourage me, but introduced me to her agent, and her editor at Thomas Nelson.

I’ve been very blessed. I only suffered about five or six rejections on the publishing journey. I really asked the Lord to show me His will, unwilling to waste time writing if He had other things for me to do. Time is an eternal commodity. Soon after, doors began to open.

What are you currently reading?

Rh: I am reading an interesting debut novel called Standing Still. I saw it in the library, and the premise intrigued me. It’s about a woman who suffers from panic attacks and is kidnapped in place of her daughter.

Favorite place you’ve ever traveled to?

RH: Wow, now that’s hard, Brandy. I guess I’d have to say Australia because I’d always wanted to visit Down Under and through my corporate job, I went twice in a year. But, shew, what a long flight.I loved the people, the scenery, even driving on the “wrong” side of the road.
 
What would you choose to order at the Frogmore Café?

Rh: Bubba’s buttery biscuits! My mouth waters every time I think about it. And, the pot roast casserole. Sounds yummy. I’m not a cook, but it’s fun to write about food.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595543376

Blog Tour! The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher

Katherine Clarkson has the perfect life. Married to Brad, a loving and handsome husband, respected in their church and the community. Two grown daughters on the verge of starting families of their own. A thriving ministry. Good friends. A comfortable life.

She has it all–until the day a reporter appears with shocking allegations. Splashed across the local news are accusations of Brad’s financial impropriety at his foundation and worse, an affair with a former employee. Without warning, Katherine’s marriage is shattered and her family torn apart. The reassuring words she’s spoken to many brokenhearted women over the years offer little comfort now.

Her world spinning, Katherine wonders if she can find the truth in the chaos that consumes her. How can she survive the loss of what she thought was the perfect life?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595541489

Music and other inspirations

So I was in Texas this past weekend. And while it was a mostly great, very quick trip–traveling wears me out these days. Sara burned me an old Caedmon’s Call CD while I was there and I downloaded it onto my iPod once I got home. But do you know that feeling? The one where you hear a song from a long time ago and it just takes you back to where you were then? I was listening to that CD and suddenly I was in my dormroom in Virginia. Courtney was rushing around, going somewhere with George. I was trying to think of something to write about. I know why I loved that CD so much. I was away from home and certain songs mention Texas–Houston specifically–and being a Houston-girl myself, hearing music about my hometown, words about places that were familiar to me, felt so comforting.

I was back in Texas to see my BFF. She just had a baby (about 9 weeks early). And baby Gillian will have to be in the hospital for several weeks while she continues to grow. I wanted to be there with Michelle. I was taking a gift basket for the baby and wanted to give Michelle something that might be good for her right now. I ended up making her a CD of our favorite songs from some of the greatest moments we’ve had together. Songs that she and I cannot hear without giggling or smiling or remembering something fabulous.

Music can be so comforting. And inspiring. Some people want absolute quiet while they write (or work). For me, music helps with creativity. And while there may be moments when quiet is what I need, more often than not, the perfect song can provide the inspiration I need.

I think I might listen to Somewhere North just one more time.

Conversations with Editors: Denise Morris

Denise Morris is an editor for TrueU.org. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and Spanish from the University of St. Thomas. She has written and edited for some small and some large publications; spent time in Spain learning how to make tapas; cheers for Minnesota sports teams (especially the Timberwolves); likes to debate; and enjoys spending time with friends and/or enemies.
I asked Denise to give us an idea of what she does and offer us any advice. Definitely check out TrueU.org and read a few of her articles.

• I’m the editor of TrueU.org, which is a webzine for college students. We publish three articles every Thursday and are continually involved in conversations on our forum.
• Because we’re a webzine, we don’t have to work very far ahead. I usually get articles from my authors about two weeks in advance (although I often beg them to get the articles to me a month early). We then have two people edit each piece (we edit by making suggestions, not just making cuts), and then we send them back to the author for approval. Once the article gets back to me, I implement the changes, put in a bunch of html so everything looks right online, and then plug it into our online publishing system.
• TrueU is a site dedicated to helping college students understand and discuss the Christian worldview. Because of this, we need a lot of “experts” speaking to certain topics. One section of our site is called Academics, and we only have professors write in that area. Every fiscal year, we contract authors to write a certain number of articles for us. This doesn’t leave much room for extra freelance articles, but we do have a few holes to fill every now and then.
• For authors who are submitting articles to magazines/webzines, I would encourage them to get to know the publication before you submit. TrueU has a very specific style (scholarly in Academics and conversational/casual in the Dorms), and we want authors to write accordingly.
• I write a TrueU article once a month, which is really fun. Many of my articles come from things I’m learning, so I’m often required to be honest and vulnerable (yikes!). College students appreciate this, though, so it’s worth it. The best is when friends write to me and tell me that when they read my article, they could hear me saying those things — just like it was a normal conversation. I love when my voice comes out that clearly in what I write. It’s one of my goals.

Blog Tour! Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carobini

If you read Julie’s first book, Chocolate Beach, then you might remember Gaby as Bri’s dramatic, lovesick best friend. Unfortunately, things get worse—much worse—for her before they get…well, best not to give it away.

Sometimes all a girl has left is chocolate…

Gaby Flores has a penchant for drama and an unfortunate knack for dating Mr. So Wrong. After breaking off yet another relationship, watching her apartment building burn to the ground, and discovering that her dippy delivery guy has run off with most of her business, Gaby decides it’s time to turn things around.

So she moves to a tiny waterfront loft and takes on a new motto: “Be gullible no more!” With help from her friends, she works to rebuild her flower shop—and her life. But when legal troubles and quirky neighbors and two surprising romances enter her beachy world, Gaby’s motto and fledgling faith are put to the test.

Can a young woman prone to disaster in both work and love finally find happily ever after?

Truffles by the Sea