Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Guest Post by J. L. Mbewe (Jennette Mbewe)

Today I welcome a special guest. Jennette Mbewe and I met years and years ago in our hometown at a homeschool function. We became good friends and both shared our love of writing. A few years ago, we reconnected on Facebook and Jennette offered me my very first critique. Since then, I've watched her writing career grow and celebrated with her as she released Secrets Kept, which she'll share more about below. Thank you for stopping by, Jennette!
~ ~ ~ ~
When Gabe asked me if I would stop by her blog and share a bit about my writing, I was honored and a little nervous. As you all know, she writes inspirational historical romance, and she is amazing! I, on the other hand, write fantasy.

What?

Yeah, that’s what I said.

But a good adventure with just the right amount of romance makes for a great read, regardless if the characters are elves and dwarves or cowboys and lumberjacks. Right?

I discovered my love for writing and reading like many other authors, when I was young, but never pursued it seriously until God spoke to me as an adult. I had been reading through the parable of the talents, and I felt God asking me, “What are you doing with what I gave you?”

“Um, what did you give me?” I had been so busy looking at everyone else and their talents that I had overlooked what God had given me. Writing.

I had no clue where to start, but I knew I wanted to create a story like Pilgrim’s Progress meets Lord of the Rings, but instead of coming to know Christ like Christian did in Bunyan's story, the characters would be walking out their faith. That the world would see a reflection of God, His principles working out in the lives of the characters throughout the story. But I didn’t want it to be obvious. Thus the story that would one day become Secrets Kept was born.

And then for the next ten years I learned about plots and characters arcs, head-hopping, and the industry. The hard way. And I'm still learning!

So why fantasy?

As a child I read almost anything I could get my hands on, but there was something about fantasy that drew me in. Chronicles of Narnia anyone? When I read fantasy, I am reminded of the awe inspiring God we serve. A God who created the world, named the stars, parted the Red Sea, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and raised people from the dead. The God who set aside His glorious immortality and took on mortal flesh to live among us and redeem us. How crazy amazing is that?

When it came to writing, I knew exactly what genre I would write. Fantasy. The ability to create worlds, creatures, and wonders that reflected our world in some ways yet transported us to a place where the abstract became more tangible, the invisible more visible. To write stories where characters embark on epic adventures, discovering who they are and their true love amid great peril and fantastic landscapes, and where we can find echoes of truth, hope, and encouragement to live life to the fullest. What better way to portray the battle of good and evil?

And that is what I hope to accomplish through my writing. To create an adventure that burns on in your heart. If you'd like to learn more about Secrets Kept and the world of Nälu, just stop by my blog!

Thank you so much, Gabe, for having me!
~ ~ ~ ~
It was my pleasure, Jennette! Thank you for joining me.

Jennette has agreed to give away a copy of Secrets Kept to one lucky winner! Please enter the Rafflecopter below to be eligible to win.

About Secrets Kept


With a curse, she will build an army. With the dagger, she will undo the last sacrifice. But first the sorceress must find the secret keeper.

Torn from her homeland and thrust into a betrothal against her wishes, Ayianna learns her family has a deadly secret that now has her on the run. She joins forces with Kael, an embittered half-elf, and Saeed, an elderly High Guardian, to seek answers to her father’s death, the destruction of Dagmar, and the plains people’s bizarre behavior.

Ayianna discovers there is more at stake here than just her mother’s disappearance and her familial duty to her betrothed. The sorceress has cursed the plains people, and it is a race against time to release them before the sorceress resurrects an ancient evil.

About Jennette
 
Writing as J. L. Mbewe, Jennette is an author, artist, mother, wife, but not always in that order. Born and raised in Minnesota, she now braves the heat of Texas, but pines for the Northern Lights and the lakes of home every autumn. She loves trying to capture the abstract and make it concrete. She is currently living her second childhood with her wonderful husband and two precious children who don’t seem to mind her eclectic collections of rocks, shells, and swords, among other things. Here, between reality and dreams, you will find her busily creating worlds inhabited by all sorts of fantasy creatures and characters, all questing about and discovering true love amid lots of peril.
Her debut novel, Secrets Kept, was nominated for the 2014 Clive Staples Award.
Connect:
Website
World of Nälu
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 8, 2015

The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection Blog Hop - Kathleen Y'Barbo

Today is the final day in The Most Eligible Bachelor Blog Hop Tour and I have the honor of welcoming author Kathleen Y'Barbo to my blog. Here's a little about Kathleen's story, and about her. Don't forget to enter the grand prize giveaway at the end of this post!

Name of Story: THE FINAL BAKER BRIDE

Bachelor's Name: Merritt “Rit” Baker, youngest of the Baker clan
 
 
Story Setting/Era: 1889, New Orleans and Texas

What makes him so eligible?
Rit is the heir of Baker Shipping, and when he’s not running his father’s company, he’s on horseback at the Baker Ranch in Texas

Does he want to be eligible, or is it something thrust upon him?
Definitely thrust upon him ... his father’s will has obligated him and his brothers to marry before they can receive their inheritance. His brothers quickly complied, but he is reluctant to marry for anything but love.

Who are the ladies contending for the bachelor?
Half the unmarried ladies in New Orleans! And Octavia Derby, heiress disguised as a middle-class typist with no experience. Because her mother has convinced her she will never be loved for herself if it is known she is an heiress, the last thing she wants is to marry a man with money, or let it be known that she’s also wealthy, before she can find a man who’ll love her for herself.

What must the ladies do to win his hand?
Rit is beating them off with a stick. And he’s using Octavia to help!

Inspiration for the story: While doing research on acceptable careers for 1880s women other than teaching or acting as governess for another novel, I came across a story about typewriter girls. Basically the forerunner of today’s admin or secretary, these woman did exactly as it sounds: they typed. Unlike their modern counterparts, there was little to no interaction with clients. Rather, they were generally closeted away on some top floor with their typewriters and their assignments. I imagined how a wealthy heiress on the run from an arranged marriage might relish that sort of anonymity, even if she can’t figure out how to use a typewriter. As I played with that idea, Octavia was born.

About Kathleen
 
 
Author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than fifty novels with almost two million copies of her books in print. A tenth-generation Texan and certified family law paralegal, she has been nominated for a Career Achievement Award as well as a Reader’s Choice Award and several Top Picks by Romantic Times magazine. A member of ACFW, NINC, and a former member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, she is currently a proud military wife and an expatriate Texan cheering on her beloved Texas Aggies from north of the Red River. She is especially excited that her novel Sadie’s Secrets, has just been named the 2014 Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times Magazine.



Facebook: www.facebook.com/Kathleen.YBarbo

Today is the last chance you'll have to enter the grand prize drawing for a fabulous gift basket by the nine authors of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection. You can find the link here at Coffee Cups & Camisoles blog.


Here's a list of everything in the basket:1. Collapsible storage cube.
2. A box of Ghirardelli chocolates
3. A book of MN stories called Bring Warm Clothes
4. A DVD (Nim's Island, Night at the Museum, & Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
5. A Gifts in a Jar recipe book
6. A whimsical little book of Dr. Seuss quotes.
7. A CD of Victorian Love Songs
8. A vintage-dressed lady Christmas ornament
9. A jar of preserves
10. A packet of lovely note cards
11. A little treasure box
12. A stuffed cow.
13. Dangly, sparkly earrings
14. A Starbucks gift card
15. A cotton tea-towel with a vintage typewriter on it
16. A turquoise cotton tea-towel
17. An apron
18. A miniature post office counter
19. In infinity scarf and fingerless gloves (In colors inspired by Egypt.)
20. A sweet little notebook with a penny-farthing bicycle on the front.
21. A copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection -- AUTOGRAPHED BY ALL NINE AUTHORS!

Monday, May 4, 2015

The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection Blog Hop

Today I have the privilege of kicking off a fun blog hop! The authors of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection are talking all about our bachelors this week (could it get any better than that?!?!), and giving away a fabulous gift basket to celebrate the release of our novella collection. Read to the bottom to see how you can enter!

To get the party started, here's a little about my story, Four Brides and a Bachelor, and my very eligible bachelor, Luke Longley.


Luke Longley is dedicated and passionate
about his work with the Chippewa Indians
in Northern Minnesota--but he's also a
rule-follower and bends to the will of the
Mission Board, who demand he find a wife
Luke is a missionary working on the Red Lake Mission in northern Minnesota in 1852. The missionary board has told Luke he must be married by the end of August, or return east, forfeiting over two years of work with the Chippewa Indians. Luke has heard a single female missionary is living a hundred and fifty miles down the Mississippi River at the Belle Prairie Mission. With nothing to lose, he takes a canoe downriver and when he arrives at Belle Prairie, he discovers there is not one single female, but four, and all are eager to marry!
Here are the four young ladies he encounters. Forgive their unsmiling faces. They were actually quite excited to meet the handsome missionary. :)

Genevieve Pinet is beautiful, hard-working, and
intelligent. But she's also very aloof and distant,
and Luke wonders if she'll open her heart to love.

Hazel Smith has the most mission
experience, but her practical personality
leaves Luke wondering if she'll find time
for the little pleasures in life.

Mary Cooper is filled with joy and merriment,
but Luke questions if she'll hold
up under the realities of frontier life.

Sarah Ellis has a gentle, kind spirit, and all the
mission workers love her, but she tends to
break rules set in place to keep her safe.
Luke is a rule-followers, and fears he cannot
marry a woman who doesn't do the same.
The story is set on Belle Prairie in central Minnesota, along the banks of the Mississippi River. The setting is a real place, where a real mission existed over a hundred and fifty years ago, and the premise of the story is real, as well. One of the actual women involved was named Harriet Nichols and she wrote a letter home to her brother about the incident. She said: "There was romance enough acted here to write as good a story as you will find in any novel."

The Mississippi near Belle Prairie

Belle Prairie today
In the fictionalized story, all four ladies have been given the same instructions by the mission board: marry, or return east. But none of them are eager to go back to their old lives. Luke not only represents a way for them to stay in Minnesota, but he's also handsome, hard-working, dedicated to his calling, and passionate about his faith.

Luke spends the week getting to know each woman, and over the course of several outings, his heart begins to fall for one of them...but will he overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of his happily-ever-after?

Now for some fun giveaways!

Hop over to the Coffee Cups & Camisoles blog (here), to enter the grand prize drawing pictured below, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post to be entered to win a signed copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection from me! I'll draw a winner on Friday after 7:00 p.m. CST.

Stop by Author Shannon McNear's blog today to learn more about her eligible bachelor, too. You can find that here.

 
Here's a list of everything in the basket:
1. Collapsible storage cube.
2. A box of Ghirardelli chocolates
3. A book of MN stories called Bring Warm Clothes
4. A DVD (Nim's Island, Night at the Museum, & Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium)
5. A Gifts in a Jar recipe book
6. A whimsical little book of Dr. Seuss quotes.
7. A CD of Victorian Love Songs
8. A vintage-dressed lady Christmas ornament
9. A jar of preserves
10. A packet of lovely note cards
11. A little treasure box
12. A stuffed cow.
13. Dangly, sparkly earrings
14. A Starbucks gift card
15. A cotton tea-towel with a vintage typewriter on it
16. A turquoise cotton tea-towel
17. An apron
18. A miniature post office counter
19. In infinity scarf and fingerless gloves (In colors inspired by Egypt.)
20. A sweet little notebook with a penny-farthing bicycle on the front.
21. A copy of The Most Eligible Bachelor Collection -- AUTOGRAPHED BY ALL NINE AUTHORS!
 
Also, stop back here on Wednesday to meet one of the other authors from the collection, Kathleen Y'Barbo.