A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley - Giveaway

Margaret Brownley has graciously agreed to give away a copy of her Western romance, A Lady Like Sarah, to one commenter, so please leave a comment if you'd like to win it. (Limited to the continental U.S.) Here's a bit about the book:

She’s an outlaw: he’s a preacher. Both are in need of a miracle.

Preacher JUSTIN WELLS leaves Boston in disgrace, heading out alone on the dusty trail to Texas. But when the once-respected clergyman encounters a feisty redhead in handcuffs with a dying U.S. Marshal at her side, his journey takes a dramatic turn. When he promises the injured lawman to take his prisoner to Texas, Justin has no idea the trouble that lies ahead. The slightly-built prisoner turns out to be SARAH PRESCOTT—sister of the notorious Prescott brothers—and she’s determined to miss the hanging party waiting for her in Texas.

But escaping proves to be tougher than she thought. Justin doesn’t own a gun and hasn’t the foggiest idea how to survive the wilderness. How can she leave him alone with the injured marshal?

Nothing is more sacred to Justin than a promise made to a dying man, but how can he turn the blue-eyed beauty over to the hangmen? She’s tough as leather, but there’s something about her that is pure and good.

Justin can’t bear to lose her, but how can a simple preacher fight an entire town? And how can either one of them know that miracles come in many guises—including love?

Sounds good, doesn't it? Leave a comment if you'd like to win it!

Bright Star and an excerpt from one of my books

I watched this movie, Bright Star, a couple of nights ago. It's the story of John Keats and his love, Fanny Brawne. John Keats died at the age of 25, so it is a rather sad movie, but sooooo romantic. It stayed with me for the next two days. I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was a really sweet movie, and also rated PG, very clean.

One of the sad things about the story is that John Keats never received much acclaim, and certainly not much, if any, money from his two books of poems published in his lifetime. If he had, he and Fanny could have married. As it was, he was too poor. But if you like romantic movies, I think you will love this. It's filled with beautiful images, and bits of poetry, of course.


Speaking of romance, I want to share that I'm going to be on Pepper Basham's blog on Tuesday, Feb 2nd. She's sharing a short excerpt from a book of mine--a kissing scene in honor of Valentine's Day. It's not from the book that's coming out in October (Yes, I have a book coming out in October! My first book is being published, but I can't reveal all the details just yet, but hopefully I will soon). Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, Pepper has a snippet of one of my scenes on her blog this Tuesday. Click here to read it!
But not until Tuesday. :-)

The Winner of The Husband Tree is ...

The winner of this funny, poignant, romantic book is ...

Jo!

Congratulations, Jo. I'll be emailing you to let you know how to get your book.

Thanks everyone who left a comment! Stay tuned for more giveaways!

The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy - Giveaway

Mary Connealy's latest western romance is her best one yet. It's funny, touching, memorable, and the characters are really vivid. And if you leave a comment, you will get your name in the hat for the drawing to win a copy, courtesy of the author herself.

Belle Tanner has just buried her third no-account husband. She's used to doing all the work on her ranch by herself--well, with the help of her daughters, who work as hard as any man, and much harder than her husbands ever did. She's sworn off husbands and is determined to turn away all suitors. She just doesn't know how to pick a good man. Her husbands were all lazy, one a drinker, one a philanderer, and the only good thing they ever gave her was her daughters. But she's not about to make another mistake.

When she is forced to thin her herd of longhorns and take a thousand head of them over treacherous mountain trails, she goes into town to round up a few men to help her. She hates to ask the help of any man, but she has no choice. She didn't count on falling in love. She promised her girls she wouldn't!

Silas Harden has sworn off women. They are nothing but trouble. But he ends up working harder than he's ever worked in his life, trying to keep Belle Tanner and her four girls safe on the most dangerous cattle drive he's ever had the misfortune to get mixed up in. He didn't count on falling in love with all five of them.

This is a wonderful romance. If you're like me and the marriage self-help book, Love and Respect, just frustrated and confused you more, then this book might help clear it up for you. Honestly. A light bulb came on when I was getting near the end of this book. I actually felt like I understood men a little bit better. I'd be curious if anyone else gets that feeling when they read this book.

Leave a comment if you want to be in the drawing!

Time to Pick a Winner

Time to pick a winner for A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna White.

And the winner is ...

Linda! Congratulations!

And come back Tuesday, when I'll have my review of The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy and will do another giveaway for that wonderful historical romance.

Giveaway - A Stray Drop of Blood by Roseanna White

If you like Women’s Fiction, Historicals, and/or Biblical Fiction, you will love this book! It is very well written, dynamic, intensely emotional, and will make you think. If you ever wondered what life was like in the time when Jesus lived on the earth, how the different cultures clashed, and the different roles of the various classes, such as servants, slaves, and masters, or if you just want to read a really intense, true-to-life story, this book is definitely for you.

As the back cover says, Beautiful is a dangerous thing to be when one is unprotected. Abigail is beautiful, and although she was born a free Jew in Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, as a child she is sold as a slave to a Roman centurion. Through all the twists and turns of her life, she comes to believe in Jesus on the day of his crucifixion and her life takes on new meaning and new joy.

Though not a romance, which is what I usually read, it does have some romance in it, and is only for mature readers. But it carries a powerful message—more than one powerful message, actually. I predict great things from this author!

To get your name in the drawing for this book, please leave a comment with your email address. Thanks!

Winner of Out With the In Crowd

And the winner of this YA novel is ...
Deborah! Congratulations!
I'll be emailing you today for your mailing address. Enjoy the book!

And stop by again soon for more giveaways to come in the very near future!

Out With the In Crowd by Stephanie Morrill - Giveaway!

Today I am featuring the new YA novel by Stephanie Morrill, Out with the In Crowd. If you leave a comment I will put you in the drawing for a copy of this book.

Here's a little bit about the book:
Skylar finds that while she vowed to change her partying ways, it’s not so easy to change her friends. She’s trying hard to live a new life, but her old one is constantly staring her in the face. Add to that two parents battling for her loyalty, a younger sister struggling with a crisis pregnancy, and a new boyfriend wishing for more of her time, and Skylar feels like she can’t win.

About the author: Stephanie Morrill is a twentysomething living in Kansas with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband and their daughter. She loves writing for teens because her high school years greatly impacted her adult life. That, and it's an excuse to keep playing her music really, really loud.

Interview with Stephanie:


1. What's your favorite part of the story?

One of my favorite aspects of this story is Skylar wrestling with how much she should be willing to give up for her high school boyfriend, with whom she believes she has a future. My husband and I met and fell in love our freshman year of high school, so it’s an issue really close to my heart.

2. What was your favorite part to write?

I loved writing scenes with Skylar’s younger sister, Abbie, who’s pregnant. There’s so much emotion and conflict swirling around her that every scene with her naturally came to life.

3. What’s something you wish people understood about being a writer?

That it’s a lot of investment, both with time and money. I spent 8 years pursuing publication, so I’ll have to sell many, many more books before I “break even.”

4. What do you like most about writing for teenagers?

Their enthusiasm. I’ve never written for adults, so I’m not sure what that’s like, but I love the fan e-mails I receive. They’re full of exclamation points and stories about how late they stayed up on a school night to finish one of my books. A lot of the girls have questions that are really fun to answer (Will Skylar and Connor stay together? What’s going to happen with Abbie’s baby?). I think those e-mails make me a better writer. They help me to see what’s hitting home and what gets my audience excited.

5. Where can readers find you and find out more about you and your books?
www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com
I blog daily, and you can also read the first chapters of both Me, Just Different and Out with the In Crowd. With books, there’s no reason to buy it before you try it!

Thanks so much for having me, Melanie!

Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie, and for giving away a copy of your book!

Remember to leave a comment if you would like to win this book!

And we have a winner!

Our winner is ... (drum roll, please)

Deborah M.

Congratulations, Deborah M.! You've won a copy of The Country House Courtship by Linore Rose Burkard!

And I will be having another giveaway tomorrow, so please stop by to check it out!

Country House Courtship - Giveaway!

This week I'll be giving away a copy of Linore Rose Burkard's lovely book, The Country House Courtship. Leave a comment to get your name in the hat!

Here is a summary of the book:

England, 1818: It has been five years since Ariana Forsythe married The Paragon, Mr. Phillip Mornay. Now, Ariana's sister, Miss Beatrice Forsythe, is seventeen and determined to marry advantageously as well. (Surely Ariana's society connexions all but guarantee Beatrice's success-especially if Mr. Mornay is created a baronet by the Prince Regent!

But the Mornay's have disappeared from high society as they raise a family at their country estate. Can Beatrice persuade them to chaperone her in London? And what about her business with the curate, Mr. O'Brien, whom Beatrice rashly promised to marry years earlier? She is too sophisticated now to settle for a mere clergyman-despite his agreeable countenance and gentle, understanding ways. When Mr. Tristan Barton becomes tenant of the Manor House, Beatrice's hopes seem to have found their object. But when Ariana falls gravely ill, secrets come to light, motives are revealed, and pretenses that are easy to keep up in the darkness begin to crumble. As hearts are bared and truths uncovered, a country house courtship like no other cannot be far behind!

Fans of Linore's first books, Before the Season Ends, and The House on Grosvenor Square, will be delighted with final addition to the Regency Inspirational Series, as will all readers of historical romance.

And as if that wasn't enough to tempt you, go here to read the first chapter. Excerpt PDF from "The Country House Courtship"

Country House Courtship is the third book in Mrs. Burkard's Regency series. The first book was Before the Season Ends, and you can go here to read my review.

The second book in the series was The House in Grosvenor Square, another big favorite of mine! Go here to read that review.

Remember, one lucky commenter will win a copy of Country House Courtship, which you can actually read without having read the first two books, or if you like, I believe Linore would be willing to give you a copy of book one or book two instead. We'll ask her nicely. I think she'll say yes. :-)

New Releases, January 2010

Start out the new year with a good book! Here are the new releases for January.
1. A Stray Drop of Blood, by Roseanna M. White from Whitefire Publishing. Born free, made a slave, married out of her bonds, Abigail never knows freedom until she feels the fire of a stray drop of blood from a Jewish carpenter.
(Melanie's note: I'm reading this book right now, and it's a winner! Very intense and well written.)

2. A Deadly Wilderness, by Kelly Irvin from Five Star/Gale/Cengage. A family that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets and a drug cartel hit man are just two of the pieces to the puzzle Homicide Detective Ray Johnson must solve to find a murderer—and save his own life.

3. Becoming Lucy - The Winds Across the Prairie Series, by Martha Rogers from Realms Division of Strang Communications. An alleged murderer reclaims his life, but can he reclaim his beloved?


4. Burn, by Erin Healy and Ted Dekker from Thomas Nelson. A supernatural thriller about a woman who gets an unwanted chance to extinguish her fiery past.

5. First Impressions , by Michelle Sutton from Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. Playing the role of a saloon girl taught her how to flirt, but it makes a lousy first impression on the man whose heart she longs to win.

6. Jenna's Cowboy- Callahans of Texas, 1, by Sharon Gillenwater from Baker/Revell. Will Jenna's love enable Nate to put the horrors of war behind him and become the man she deserves?

7. Never Far from Home- 2nd in the Miller Family Series, by Mary Ellis from Harvest House Publishers. Emma's rebellious Rumschpringe may lead to her banishment as friendship turns to love with the English sheepfarmer.

8. Plain Jane, by Hillary Manton Lodge from Harvest House Publishers. Girl reporter Jayne Tate finds more than she bargained for when she goes to Amish Country to research a story.

9. Sworn to Protect, by Diann Mills from Tyndale. Danika Morales has sworn to protect our nation's borders. But that oath has come with a price.
10. The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth - All About Us #6, by Shelley Adina from Hatchette FaithWords. At exclusive Spencer Academy, Lissa Mansfield gains popularity when she replaces her nemesis, Vanessa, on the senior Cotillion committee, but graduation and major decisions about the future loom.

11. The Choice - Lancaster County Secrets, Book 1, by Suzanne Woods Fisher from Revell. A tender story of love and forgiveness, "The Choice" uncovers the sweet simplicity of the Amish world--and shows it's never too late to find your way back to God.

12. The Husband Tree - Montana Marriages, by Mary Connealy from Barbour. A tough lady rancher drags a reluctant cowhand on a cattledrive, along with her four daughters.

Can't wait to read Mary Connealy's new book!
I wish you all lots of great reading in the coming year! God bless.