Amish Fiction Giveaway

Today on Inkwell Inspirations, Kathleen Fuller is giving away a copy of her latest book, Letters to Katie, which released last week.

Hop over and enter for a chance to win!

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In other happy news...


I am a semi-finalist in the 2013 ACFW Genesis Contest, Historical Romance Category! Woot! I wish I could tell you more about my entry, but my lips have to stay sealed for now. The Genesis is the largest contest for Christian unpublished fiction, so I'm humbled and honored to have been named as a semi-finalist.

The Diary in the Attic

The Annie’s Attic Series is a rare find—these cozy mysteries are well-written, engaging, and totally appropriate for just about everyone. They’re perfect reading for an afternoon, and when you’re finished, you can share with your grandma or teenager.

This installment, The Diary in the Attic by DeAnna Julie Dodson, finds Annie Dawson hunting in her grandma’s attic for linens when she uncovers a box of letters, photos, and a diary from 1940’s—all painting a sweet picture of young romance between Lilly and Peter. Lilly, the author of the diary, is now in her eighties and lives in a nearby apartment, but what happened to Peter, the soldier Lilly loved who never came home?

Meanwhile, Annie’s struggle with her romantic feelings for the town mayor, Ian, starts to come to a head. When Lilly asks Annie to investigate what really happened to Peter, new questions arise, and Annie is shocked by what she finds. Will solving a sixty-year-old mystery bring closure, pain, or something far better than anyone ever expected?

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, check out the Annie's Attic series!

White's--Sanctuary for the Regency Gentleman

A well-born Regency hero very well would have been a member of White’s London gentlemen’s club—oh no, it was not that kind of gentlemen’s club.

White’s was a place where a noble or wealthy gentleman (once members, of course) could dine, gamble, drink, and gather with similarly well-heeled friends.

  © Copyright PAUL FARMER and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

In 1693, an Italian named Francesco Bianco (anglicized to Francis White) opened an establishment to sell hot chocolate, which was nothing like today’s Swiss Miss. The beverage was thick, bitter, exotic, expensive, and went well with dissident discussion. Charles II didn’t care for chocolate houses, and many converted into fashionable gentlemen’s clubs like White’s, Brooks’s, and Boodles’.

Entry wasn't easy to receive, mind you. It was exclusive and proud of it.

In 1778, White’s moved to its current location on Nos. 37-38 St. James’s Street. Today, once can still view the ground floor bow window which became a seat of honor. That arbiter of style and elegance, Beau Brummell, took the spot until he left in shame for the Continent in 1816, and his seat was quickly taken by Lord Alvanley, friend of the Prince Regent.

Ah, Beau Brummell. Get a load of that snazzy neck cloth. Public Domain.

With such strong ties to the monarchy, it’s little wonder White’s was the unofficial headquarters of the Tories, while Whigs preferred Brooks’s.

Betting was as liberal as the consumption of Madeira. Wealthy, bored gentlemen bet on anything and everything, from whom would marry who to which horse could run fastest. The Napoleonic Wars offered innumerable fodder for gamblers, but many bets were less serious in nature: Lord Alvanley bet £3,000 which of two raindrops would slide down the bottom of the pane of the box window.

White’s is still in business as a gentleman’s club today. Current members include Prince Charles, David Cameron MP, and oddly, Henry Winkler (the Fonz).

I wonder who gets to sit in the bow window now?

Ten Things with Novelist Angela Breidenbach!

Welcome Angela Breidenbach to Tea and a Good Book!

Angela is a speaker, coach, and author of A Healing Heart, April 2013 from Abingdon Press in the Quilts of Love series. Her family tradition is to create a life story on a photo memory quilt for each graduating senior. She is certified in mentor/peer counseling as a CTA life coach, as a Stephen Minister, and a weight loss/nutrition coach. Angela serves as an assisting minister (worship/prayer leader) for her congregation in Missoula, MT.

1. I've lived in Spain for three years. My oldest son was born there and has a dual citizenship.
2. My husband and I won the "Newlywed Game" on our honeymoon cruise. The couple that was married 50 years to our 4 days became long time pen pals.
3. I have "awe attacks" according to my husband. It could be the beauty of creation or wondering what God thought when he knew we'd invent roads and drive on them.
4. I love synchronized swimming, both doing it and watching the sport. It's incredibly hard, graceful, and gorgeous to watch.
5. I like coffee and tea, but my coffee has to be hot and a sugar-free skinny peppermint mocha, but white chocolate is okay too. :)
6. My husband says I bake when I'm stressed. (Aside: I didn't realize that until he said it.)
7. I can't read or watch horror. My imagination is too vivid. I end up with days of nightmares. I watch a lot of comedy and sweet romances.
8. Because I'm a workaholic, I'm getting a new munchkin kitten to distract me from work. His name is going to be Schnitzel. Come see my website/blog http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com and watch for his picture. (Mama cat is due mid-April and I'll begin visiting him early May. He'll come home end of June!)
9. To me, writing is the most intimate, transparent form of communication. I open up freely in writing.
10. I write because I want to leave a legacy.

Thanks for sharing with us today, Angela! Love the book cover. And here's a peek at A Healing Heart:

What happens when the only man who can help is the one man she can't trust? A heart attack has stopped Mara Keegan in her tracks, leaving her daughter's unfinished photo memory quilt hanging by a thread. Little does Mara know, this quilt—and the memories it bolsters—are the key to her rehabilitation. But Mara's heart needs to be healed in more ways than one. And Joel Ryan is fraying her last nerve. With her daughter's graduation fast approaching, even Mara starts to wonder if she—and her faith—can mend in time. Will Joel's photo find a place on the quilt... and in Mara's heart?

Don't forget to visit Angela!

 http://www.AngelaBreidenbach.com

Twitter/Pinterest: @AngBreidenbach

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AngelaBreidenbachInspirationalSpeakerAuthor

Forsaken Dreams

In Forsaken Dreams (Escape to Paradise), MaryLu Tyndall takes the reader on a journey over the sea from a South ravaged by the Civil War to the paradise of Brazil--a place to start over and live in peace. 

The characters are all in desperate need of peace and yearnings to start new lives.  Colonel Blake Wallace was a war hero, but he is haunted by the horrors he experienced during the Civil War and the death of his family. He is eager to start a colony in Brazil, far away from the darkness of his past. On board the ship, the New Hope, he meets Eliza Crawford, a widow and former Confederate nurse.

Eliza holds a secret that, if exposed, could ruin her new life in Brazil—a life she realizes she wants to forge with Blake. But Blake would never forgive her if he uncovered her secret.

Meanwhile, disease, storms, and darkness follow the ship, threatening the arrival of the passengers to their new paradise.

I had no idea former Southerners from the US established new homes in Brazil after the Civil War. MaryLu Tyndall creates fresh stories every time she pens a novel, and I love how her characters are three-dimensional, broken people. They are likable, but not perfect: they deal with alcoholism, PTSD, pain, and anxiety, just like real people do. Such inclusions make the spiritual threads all the stronger and more relatable. 

I look forward to the second book in the series!

I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.

And the Winner Is....

ElaineK!

Congratulations, ElaineK! Thanks to all who visited with Christine Lindsay when she shared her Ten Things, and thanks to all who entered the drawing!

Ten Things with Author Christine Lindsay...and a Giveaway

Welcome Author Christine Lindsay to Tea and a Good Book!

Irish-born Christine Lindsay writes award-winning inspirational historical novels. In her novels, SHADOWED IN SILK and CAPTURED BY MOONLIGHT, Christine delights in showing the love of God in times of great injustice on a national and domestic scale. She weaves the endless theme of redemptive love throughout stories of danger, suspense, adventure, and romance.

The Pacific coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home. Like a lot of authors, Christine’s chief editor is her cat. 

1. I was patted on the head by Prince Philip when I was a baby sitting in my pram just outside the Belfast City Hall. I’ve felt special ever since. Seriously though, I love all things British, adore Queen Elizabeth, and write most comfortably from a British viewpoint and voice.
2. My great-grandfather and my grandfather (yes, father and son) were both riveters on the Titanic as it was being built in the shipyard in Belfast. My grandfather was only 14 at the time, and it was his first job as an apprentice riveter. As a family we take no responsibility for the sinking of that great liner. The lives of my ancestors have always stirred my romantic imagination. One day I will write a novel about riveters, but it was my ancestors on my mother’s side that seeded my fascination in the British Raj of Colonial India. Those men (and their families) who served in the British Army and British Cavalry in India were the fodder for my debut novel Shadowed in Silk.
3. I adore the secular blockbuster novels by MM Kaye who wrote Far Pavilions so much, that when I decided to write fiction I wanted to write romantic adventure epics like her, set in British India, but from a Christian point of view.
4. Being born in Northern Ireland means that I am also British, because N. Ireland (the 6 counties in the north) is still loyal to England. So in many ways I am a proper Brit, avid tea-drinker and lover of scones with clotted cream.






5. At the same time I am also very Irish, with a sense of humor, and I laugh far too loudly at times. I think my sense of humor can be seen most clearly in my character Laine in Captured by Moonlight. She’s a bit zany, and I can be a bit that way too. Not too zany, just a bit.
6. I’m crazy about cats. Love ’em. I also love dogs, but my cats are my babies. But oh yes, I do have 3 grown children whom I adore, and am Nanny to my 3 grandsons. I hope to get a granddaughter one day. I sort of casually mentioned that one afternoon after church when my son-in-law and daughter were visiting. And I got that “look” from my son-in-law. You know the “look”. That was naughty of me, I know. I’ll never do it again. I promise. None of my business when they start their family. But then . . . you know how it is when you see all those cute baby clothes in the stores . . . and smell the teeney weeney diapers. And babies are so wonderful.
7. I guess I adore babies because I relinquished my first child (Sarah) to adoption and was reunited with her 20 years later. Sarah is the model on the front cover of my debut novel Shadowed in Silk.  The incredible way the Lord arranged all that is in a short article on my blog page Story Behind the Front Covers
   
8. My beautiful daughter Lana is the model on the front cover of Captured by Moonlight, book 2 of my series Twilight of the British Raj. We had such fun that day doing the photo-shoot.
9. It was my privilege to visit India once, so far, on a writing missions trip. I went to the south of India, Tamil Nadu, which used to be called the Madras Presidency, and which is the gorgeous tropical setting for Captured by Moonlight. One of the highlights of my life. I especially loved travelling on the train, and it was not first class, but ordinary travel with hard seats, and only bars on the windows. It was fantastic. I’ll never forget it . . . the train trundling through the countryside. Those memories created this paragraph from Captured by Moonlight. ...“On one side of the rutted track a rice paddy stretched out, a verdant green that almost hurt her eyes in the sunlight. Dotting the paddy, women’s saris—saffron, crimson, vermillion, peacock blue—shimmied in the light like beads on a bangle. Seeing this beauty again, she admitted she shouldn’t have let the painful memories stop her from coming back. Her roots to this southern land were as numerous and deep as those of the banyan tree.”
10. I would visit India again, in a flash if the opportunity arose.

 Blessings on you.

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Thanks for visiting today, Christine! 

Christine has graciously offered e-copies of her books to one lucky commenter today! Drawing ends 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 17. Make sure you leave your email addy in the comments!

 Be sure to check out:

•  www.christinelindsay.com
• Live link to Captured by Moonlight Book Trailer
• Amazon Purchase link for Shadowed in Silk
• Amazon Purchase link for Captured by Moonlight
• Barnes and Noble Purchase link for Shadowed in Silk
• Barnes and Noble Purchase link for Captured by Moonlight