SPLASH! Interview with Jan Thompson, author of Draw You Near

Draw You Near

Book Description:

While on vacation in Savannah, Georgia, a year ago, Lars Cargill bought a small watercolor painting to hang in his estate in England. The more he stared at the artwork, the more he wanted to meet the woman in the painting. This summer, Lars returns to Savannah to find the elusive real-life Lady and the Sea. Problem is, the artist says she doesn’t exist. Of course, he doesn’t believe her. Otherwise he wouldn’t be showing up in her art classes and around town where she paints local scenes. He doubts she has the heart to turn him away, not when he shows her that he has artistic potential.

Abilene Dupree is busy trying to make a living as an artist and art teacher in Savannah. She sells commercial art, not personal stories. Although much of her heart goes into her paintings, she doesn’t reveal her soul, not even to the clean-cut guy with cute dimples who is searching for the woman in her Lady and the Sea painting. She keeps telling Lars that the illusive woman in the painting doesn’t exist. Well, the more she tells him that, the more she begins to believe her own words. Before she could give him the real answers he seeks, Lars’ own past shows up and he has to decide on his future. Will their relationship be like an unfinished painting?

Narelle: Welcome, Jan. Can you please tell us more about the setting for Draw You Near.

Jan: Savannah and Tybee Island are two of my favorite coastal Georgia towns by the Atlantic Ocean. I go there quite often. In fact, I had been researching coastal Georgia for my colonial fiction and Civil War series when the idea came to me to write a contemporary series in the same towns to contrast life now with life then. However, it took several more years before I was able to get to this series, and here it is, finally.

Narelle: I’ve always wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean and visit the US East Coast. A lovely location for your research. How does your novella fit with the SPLASH! water theme?

Jan: In Draw You Near, Savannah artist Abilene Dupree keeps her personal life out of her commercial paintings except one, a watercolor painting she called Lady and the Sea. That one painting has now brought Londoner Lars Cargill back to the coastal town and into her art world. Can she hold him at bay before he invades her personal space and paint his way into her heart?

Narelle: Abilene’s watercolor painting sounds intriguing. Is your novella connected to a series?

Jan: Yes. Draw You Near is the third novella in my Savannah Sweethearts series of multiethnic contemporary Christian novellas celebrating faith, hope, and love. Meet local Christians going about their daily businesses when they meet the loves of their lives. Or not. What is God’s will for each of them?

Savannah Sweethearts is all about life by the sea, which in essence, is not much different from life in landlocked cities. Inherently, the human nature is such that we all have in our hearts a need for the Lord, for His salvation, sustenance, and sanctification. There are seven books in the Savannah Sweethearts series, each showcasing a different aspect of man’s need for God and for one another against a backdrop of ocean, sand, and sun.

Savannah Sweethearts Series: www.janthompson.com/savannah

Narelle: Jan, I’m looking forward to reading your Savannah Sweetheart books. Thanks for visiting today and sharing more about Draw You Near with our blog readers.

janthompsonauthor

Jan Thompson blends inspirational women’s fiction with clean Christian love stories to celebrate the grace of God and hope in Jesus Christ. Whether they are multiethnic contemporary Christian romance, international romantic thrillers, or regional historical fiction, Jan’s books are for readers who love inspiring stories of faith, family, friends, and yes, happy endings. Always. Jan is also an avid reader and enjoys reading good books on pleasant days. When she is not busy writing and publishing, she is a wife, mother, educator, family scribe, and chief of staff to the family cat.

Website: www.janthompson.com

Book News: www.janthompson.com/newsletter

Tweet Jan: www.twitter.com/ThompsonAuthor

Like Jan: www.facebook.com/JanThompsonAuthor

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 NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

Introducing Time and Tide by Lynette Sowell

Time and Tide

Book Description:

Karyn Lewis only plans on helping out for the summer season at Pine Breezes Campground just outside Chincoteague, Virginia. After losing her staff writer job at a Manhattan fashion magazine, she’s out of money to stay in the big city. She plans to avoid her past in Chincoteague as much as possible, but ends up facing the tragedy that drove her from the coast years ago.

Brodie Reed’s life is deeply ingrained in the island as a volunteer fireman and local contractor. Everything he does is to make a good life for his young daughter, Trista. Raising her without a mother has been hard, even with the help of his family. When Karyn returns to town, their paths cross again. This time, their hearts are involved. How will they make the decision to love without fear, and let time heal the wounds of the past?

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 NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

Introducing The Lifeguards, the Swim Team, and Frozen Custard by Carol Moncado

The lifeguards the swim team

Book Description:

Lifeguard Alivia Collins looks forward to another summer on the guard stand at the Serenity Landing Aquatic Center in Missouri. Still smarting from the spectacular implosion of her last relationship, she knows she’s going to have to work to keep herself from falling hard for fellow guard, CJ Kenton. Not only is he cute, but she discovers he’s nothing like any other guy she’s ever known. Keeping her heart safe proves to be more difficult than she imagined when he continually shows her his tender, gentle side. Will he convince her it’s time to take another chance with love?

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NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

SPLASH! Introducing Testing the Waters by Lesley Ann McDaniel

Testing the Waters

Book Description:

Testing the waters is one thing, but Teresa Reynolds is in serious danger of going overboard. Feeling down on herself after a breakup with her ultra-critical boyfriend, Teresa arrives in Crescent Cove, Oregon, for a weekend getaway. The trouble is, her ex-boyfriend’s claims that she’s uninteresting and unworthy of love have left her wishing she could be someone else. Then a chance encounter with a cute guy on the beach gives her the opportunity to reinvent herself…

Curt Mason is spending the summer avoiding women and getting over a broken heart. When he meets Terése from Paris on the beach in Crescent Cove, his vow quickly goes out with the tide. Who is this mysterious woman, and why is he suddenly wracking his brain to remember every bit of French he learned back in high school just to try to impress her?

Being Terése seems to bring out the best in Teresa, until her little game turns into a French knot of deception. Does she dare let Curt meet the person God made her to be?

Crescent Cove. Where true love comes in waves.

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NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

SPLASH! Interview with Heidi McCahan, author of Love Flies In

Love Flies In

Book Description:

Southern belle turned sea kayaking guide Tisha McDowell is determined to buy her friends’ lakeside cabin and make Emerald Cove, Alaska, her permanent home.

Until seaplane pilot, Chase Binford, sets his sights on the same cabin. Now the race is on. She has a history of mocking his beliefs. He knows the heartache of falling for an unbeliever. Will the woman who ridiculed his faith finally win his heart?

A beautiful shot of coastal Alaska and exactly how I envision the fictional community of Emerald Cove.
A beautiful shot of coastal Alaska and exactly how I envision the fictional community of Emerald Cove.

Narelle: Welcome, Heidi. Can you please tell us more about the setting for Love Flies In.

Heidi: Love Flies In is set in the fictional town of Emerald Cove, Alaska. It’s a coastal community that’s very similar to the one where I spent my childhood in southcentral Alaska. A tourist-driven economy, fiercely independent residents and a healthy respect for the elements all combine to form a great backdrop for inspirational romance.

Narelle: An Alaskan cruise is on my travel wish list. How does your novella fit with the SPLASH! water theme?

Heidi: While Emerald Cove is a coastal town, I also focused the story around a lakeside cabin. The lake serves as the perfect spot for the hero of the novella, Chase Binford, to land his seaplane. Tisha, the story’s heroine, just happens to be taking care of the cabin during the owners’ absence.

Narelle: It’s so cool that Chase has a seaplane! Is your novella connected to a series?

Heidi: Yes, it’s part of my Emerald Cove series. The first book is called Unraveled. Love Flies In gives readers an opportunity to visit Emerald Cove and enjoy a satisfying, faith-filled romance, while offering a little tease of what’s to come in book two, which will feature Jeremy Tully as the hero. I haven’t finished writing it yet, but I hope to release that novel in late 2015.

Narelle: I love how novellas can sit between books in a series. Heidi, thanks for visiting today and sharing more about Love Flies In with our blog readers.

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A Pacific Northwest girl at heart, Heidi was blessed to spend her formative years in Alaska. Her unique upbringing, coupled with Alaska’s breathtaking scenery, fueled her active imagination and loosely inspired her debut novel, Unraveled.

Heidi graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and a Master’s Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband, Steve. They live in North Carolina with their three active little boys.

When Heidi isn’t stepping on Legos, chauffeuring the boys around suburbia or watching one of their many sporting events, she loves to read and write heartwarming romance.

http://HeidiMcCahan.com

https://www.facebook.com/heidimccahan

https://twitter.com/HeidiMcCahan

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NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

SPLASH! Interview with Autumn Macarthur, author of More than Friends

More than Friends

Book Description:

Catriona Maclean is determined to give the special needs children in her Scottish church a seaside day out. She’s a nurse, her older brother is disabled, and she knows just how tough that can be for a family. But when a last minute hitch means she must call on the man she’s been secretly in love with since her teens for help, only her promise to God will carry her through.

Alistair Murray has seen Catriona almost every day for the last twenty years. She’s a work colleague, his best friend’s little sister, one of the guys. They even went to Sunday School together. The last thing he wants is to spend his day off working on her project, but for Cat, he’ll do it.

Will a summer’s day at the beach, together with a dog and a busload of very special kids, be the miracle it takes to show them they can be more than friends?

beach near Edinburgh
A beach near Edinburgh, Scotland

Narelle: Welcome, Autumn. Can you please tell us more about the setting for More than Friends.

Autumn: More than Friends is set in Edinburgh, Scotland. Both heroine Catriona and hero Alistair were born and grew up there, going to the same church and Sunday School all their lives, and also now work together at the same Edinburgh hospital. As my great-grandfather Murray was a Scottish immigrant to Australia, I could relate to the setting, and I also gave Alistair my ancestor’s family name. J

Narelle: I also have Scottish heritage and I’ve always enjoyed reading highland romances. How does your novella fit with the SPLASH! water theme?

Autumn: Most of the story takes place over one long day, the beach trip Catriona organises for disabled children from the church, their first ever special needs Vacation Bible School Day Camp. There are pirate hats, a treasure hunt, an unauthorised attempt at a boat trip, and even the most severely disabled child gets to enjoy the sea water. I didn’t realise until I began researching the story that Edinburgh has magnificent beautifully clean beaches within a very short drive. And yes, it DOES get warm enough to use them in summer!

Narelle: Wow, I’d never have thought of Edinburgh as a summer beach destination. Is your novella connected to a series?

Autumn: The story is part of the Macleans family series, but also links to book 3 of the Love in Store series. Catriona is sister to Mac, the Scottish hero of A Model Bride, and she and Alistair appear briefly in that book. There are at least two more Maclean stories to write, brothers Fraser and Brodie, and I suspect there will be cousins too. But maybe next year! First I need to complete the last two Love in Store books. Sports-mad Fraser at 26 isn’t quite grown up enough yet for a true committed relationship, and prickly disabled Brodie is just too difficult!

Narelle: Autumn, it’s great to hear how More than Friends is connected with your other series. I prefer to read series books in the right order. Thanks for visiting with us today.

Autumn Macarthur

AUTUMN MACARTHUR is an Australian writer of inspirational romance living near London with her very English husband, three spoiled cats, and a guinea pig with a dandelion addiction. She loves reading, cooking, gardening, and writing deeply emotional stories to make you smile and remind you how big and wide and deep God’s love and forgiveness can be.

She tends to talk a little too much and laugh a little too loud, her sleep schedule is all over the place so you’ll often find her on the internet at 5am, and she’s grateful to be blessed with some good friends and a very patient husband. She’s also eternally thankful for God’s great love and mercy.

When she’s not talking to her strawberry plants or cherry blossoms, she can be found blogging at www.faithhopeandheartwarming.com ; on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/autumn.macarthur , and on Twitter https://twitter.com/autumnmacarthur?lang=en-gb . She loves hearing from readers so do get in touch!

You can subscribe to her mailing list here- http://mad.ly/signups/116735/join, or follow her Amazon author page here – http://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Macarthur/e/B00N9KRHKY/

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NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

SPLASH! Interview with Valerie Comer, author of Sweet Serenade

Sweet Serenade

Book Description:

Canadian river guide and canoe builder Reed Daniels stands by as his lifelong friends pair off. After all, he’s waited this long for the right woman… what’s a little longer? But when newcomer Carly shows up at the gang’s bonfire, he’s mesmerized. Could she be the answer to his prayers?


Water-sport enthusiast Carly Thorbergsen is starting over in Riverbend. Hired as a canoeing and hiking guide, she’s ready to focus on work and leave the personal stuff behind. That is until the competition, Reed Daniels, offers her a ride in his cedar-strip canoe. No resisting that!


But no matter how much they have in common, Carly can’t erase her past, and Reed is bound to discover the truth. When a date finds Carly and Reed running rapids on the outside of the canoe, they come face to face with the real reasons their new relationship might capsize.

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Narelle: Welcome, Valerie. Can you please tell us more about the setting for Sweet Serenade.

Valerie: Sweet Serenade is set in Riverbend, British Columbia, Canada, near where I live. At least, it would be nearby if it were a real place! Instead, I took the best features of various communities in this region and combined them into the quaint little town you wish you were from, where seasons are celebrated, and love is in the air.

Narelle: I’d love to visit Canada one day. How does your novella fit with the SPLASH! water theme?

Valerie: The town of Riverbend is on the banks of the Sandon River, but that wasn’t enough to meet the water theme for the Splash! collection. Both of my main characters are avid canoeists and enjoy the outdoors, so quite a few scenes are set on or beside rivers and lakes. Also in the river when they capsize the canoe. Carly and Reed definitely made a splash that day.

My husband and I have enjoyed many hours in our canoe, including a nine-day trip on the Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit in Canada a number of years ago. Several of our experiences found their way into Sweet Serenade!

Narelle: It’s years since I’ve been canoeing, and I do remember capsizing more than once. Thankfully the water was warm! Is your novella connected to a series?

Valerie: Yes, Sweet Serenade is the third novella in my Riverbend series. Each is a standalone, so readers don’t need to worry about getting lost entering via the third story. My goal is to show the seasons in the community of Riverbend. Secretly Yours is a winter/Valentine’s tale. Pinky Promise takes place in spring, and Sweet Serenade is the summer story. Two more, for autumn and Christmas, will round out this novella series later in 2015.

Narelle: A seasonal novella collection is a fun theme. Valerie, thanks for visiting today and sharing more about Sweet Serenade with our blog readers.

Valerie-Comer-300x300

Valerie Comer’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their creation-care-centric church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

http://valeriecomer.com

http://facebook.com/valeriecomer.author

http://twitter.com/valeriecomer

http://pinterest.com/valeriecomer

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NINE Refreshing Romances Filled with Faith!

Releasing June 23 and available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle for 99 cents.

ACRBA Tour Mirage by Jeanette Grant-Thomson

8 – 12 June 2015

is introducing

Mirage

(Ark House Press)

By

Jeanette Grant-Thomson

About the Book

Miraim is desperate. Her mind is a fog of drug-induced forgetfulness. She has forgotten her past, her family, even who she is. But who is the disturbingly familiar girl in the shopping centre?

Enmeshed in Soleternity, a cult in the Queensland outback, Miriam is pregnant. She believes her future – and that of her baby – lies with the cult.

Bronwyn is determined to rescue Miriam. She has not bargained on falling in love with the journalist helping her.

Away from Soleternity, Miriam faces conflicts. Sol . . .Soleternity . . .and now Anna and Christianity. How can she know the truth? Who is to be trusted?

About the Author

Jeanette Grant-Thomson has been writing since she was a child, having short pieces published. Her first book was Jodie’s Story (Anzea 1991 and two later editions), followed by two more biographies and two novels. She is a teacher and a writer, living in Redlands.

ACFW New Releases: June 2015

ACFW New Releases: June 2015.

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website.

Contemporary Romance:

Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth K. Vogt — A couple who eloped during spring break during their senior year of high school — and then divorced — have to decide whether they should take a second chance at love. (Contemporary Romance from Howard [Simon & Schuster])

A Pinch of Promise by Elizabeth Maddrey — To escape a painful negative image created by her father, physical therapist Rebecca Fischer has constructed an identity completely separate from her past. Helping Ben Taylor, her long lost love, to rehabilitate his knee threatens to shatter her intricate illusions. As Ben digs to uncover the truth of who she is, Rebecca must decide if she will trust any man with her wounded heart. (Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)

Rodeo Reunion by Shannon Taylor Vannatter — Slade Walker, the bronc riding rodeo chaplain breaks all of widowed Raquel’s rules-find a father for her son with a safe occupation, who’s home every night. (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

Cozy Mystery:

Murder Freshly Baked by Vannetta Chapman — Amber Bowman, manager of The Amish Artisan Village in Middlebury, Indiana, and her young Amish friend Hanna Troyer must find a killer in order to clear an employee’s name. The only clues they have are cryptic poems and pies from the “Poison Poet”-an individual who has been sending notes containing bad poetry to warn of poisoned baked goods. (Cozy Mystery from HarperCollins Christian Publishing [Thomas Nelson and Zondervan])

General Fiction:

Two Roads Home: A Chicory Inn Novel, Book 2 by Deborah Raney — Can Corinne and Jesse pick up the pieces of what was once a wonderful life before an innocent flirtation and trumped-up charges of harassment crumble it all beneath them? (General Fiction from Abingdon Press)

Historical Romance:

Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett – In 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes, a young widow joins her brother in his cancer research, but Ruby Marshall doesn’t anticipate finding new love. Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but when his friend’s widowed sister arrives to help research, the close quarters seem close indeed. Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is challenged when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. When time is short, is love still worth the risk? (Historical Romance from Abingdon Press)

Love’s Rescue: A Novel (Keys of Promise) by Christine Johnson — When her mother dies, Elizabeth Benjamin heads home to Key West, determined to transform herself into the perfect Southern belle her parents always wished her to be. But nothing goes according to plan. As family secrets come to light, Elizabeth is faced with a difficult choice: to do her duty and abandon her dreams, or to leave her life of privilege behind to chase the man her father sees as little better than a pirate. (Historical Romance from Revell [Baker Publishing Group])

Family of Her Dreams by Keli Gwyn — A headstrong housekeeper who longs for a family of her own must convince a withdrawn widower she’s the right person to care for his children-and help him learn to live again. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

A Flying Affair by Carla Stewart — Daredevil Mittie Humphreys navigates her heart as well as the skies in this beguiling adventure of grit and determination during the rollicking Roaring Twenties. (Historical Romance from Faith Words [Hachette])

Undercover Bride by Margaret Brownley — Pinkerton operative Maggie Michaels travels to Arizona Territory as an undercover mail-order bride to track down the notorious Whistle-Stop Bandit. If she doesn’t prove the suspect guilty before the wedding-she could end up as his wife! (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

Now and Forever by Mary Connealy — An accident in the wilderness results in a Matthew Tucker, a solitary mountain man, finding himself hitched to a Shannon Wilde, a woman with a passel of relatives, a homestead, and a flock of sheep to care for. Someone clearly wants to drive Shannon off, but whoever it is apparently didn’t count on Tucker. Trying to scare Matthew Tucker just makes him mad–and trying to hurt the woman he’s falling in love with sets off something even he never expected. (Historical Romance from Bethany House [Baker Publishing])

To Win Her Favor (A Belle Meade Plantation Novel) by Tamera Alexander — A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie Linden is determined that her horse will become a champion. But the one man who could help her has vowed to stay away from thoroughbred racing forever. (Historical Romance from Zondervan)

Romantic Suspense:

Permanent Vacancy by Katy Lee — When Gretchen Bauer begins to renovate an old Victorian house with the help of a home improvement TV show, “accidents” start to happen. Could it be a harmful ploy to boost ratings? With many neighbors disgruntled about the inn bringing strangers to their shores, Gretchen has a list of likely suspects. Should she trust the TV show host, handsome Irishman Colm McCrae? She must if she wants to keep her new business venture from turning into a five-star death trap. (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

Speculative Fiction:

Stealthy Steps by Vikki Kestell — My name is Gemma Keyes. Other than my name, I am utterly forgettable-so those who never paid much attention to me in the first place aren’t likely to notice that I’ve disappeared. Vanished. Oh, it’s much more complicated than that. (Speculative Fiction, Independently Published)

Supernatural Thriller:

The Tuning Station by Chris A Crawford — Atheist Ted Duncan finds himself face-to-face with a copy of himself from a parallel universe; his counterpart, however, is Christian. The pair are given controls to the Tuning Station, a machine that allows them to observe their pasts, and assigned a deceptively simple task: discover the exact moment their lives diverged. Ted believed that it was inevitable he’d leave faith and family behind. But his twin stands as a denial. What single event could have changed everything he knows to be true? (Supernatural Thriller, Independently Published)