Guest Post by Laura J. Marshall

A love story set in the 17th century

Download on Kindle ( http://amzn.com/B00CHAE3QS)
Free Tuesday May 14th and Wednesday May 15th
Persistent Love:
Christian Romantic Suspense Novella set in 1685, England.

Fear has been Tara’s constant companion since age nine when she witnessed her mother’s murder. Tara’s father moves his family to the ancient castle of Raven’s Cliff, far from the ships that could carry her back to India and the answers she believes lie there. Andrew offers her friendship and guides her gently to the One who will give her peace. Will she find hope for something other than revenge?

A Brief Q&A with the Author, Laura J. Marshall.
Q: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript for Persistent Love?

A: It took me a month to write the entire story. During the next three years I tore it apart, learned more and more about the craft, and then edited it ten more times. I really appreciated the help and input of my two editors towards the end of this journey.

Laura J. Marshall is the full-time mother of five sons and part-time writer and blogger. She operates a popular blog called The Old Stone Wall. Laura is the best-selling author of the Battle Cry Devotional Series. Visit http://www.LauraJMarshall.com to find out more about Laura’s books.

No Longer Meaningless

Are you one of those hopeless romantics? I’m not. I used to be and I may well be again, but I’m not at the moment. That said, I’ve learned the root of romance, and for that reason alone being a romantic has its draw.

Within the Bible are eight strange and beautiful chapters that have helped to carve out who I am as a human being living on earth with my heart in heaven.

The Song of Solomon.

Eight chapters of the steepest romance known to man. If this defines me, no wonder I’ll be a hopeless romantic again soon.

I’m going to stay here for a while, and I hope you hang out with me in this place where we can glimpse, if even for a moment, beauties unrivaled anywhere in this majestic world we live in. So, since we’ll be here for a while, let’s start at the beginning.

It starts out like this:

The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

The expression ‘song of songs’ means that it’s the greatest song ever written.

We learn in 1 Kings 4:32 that Solomon wrote 1005 songs. I grew up around songwriters, and the most prolific among them has written probably 800. One thousand and five is a huge number of songs. But among those, one stands out as the best. The superlative, the greatest song of all: The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

That’s quite a boast to make, to have written the greatest song of all, but he only makes this boast under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s consider for a moment the placement of this glorious and most wonderful song:

It sits beside the book of Ecclesiastes. I don’t know if you’ve cracked open that book lately, but the contrast between Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon is amazing (especially if they were written by the same man). The main exclamation in Ecclesiastes is:

Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!

In the KJV, it says:

Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!

Do you immediately see the contrast? Again, we have a superlative, this time informing us that everything in life is vanity. Meaningless. Worthless. Eek. You feel happy yet? Don’t worry, you will.

Ecclesiastes kindly informs us that everything under the sun is meaningless (1:14).

But don’t despair. Because everything under the SON is life, love, sweetness, glories unimaginable. Last week I wrote about how the Cross is the gateway to the Bridal Paradigm. This is the beautiful road that follows.

Of all the songs, this is the best. Some rabbinical scholars have called the Song of Songs the Holy of Holies of the Bible (yet another ancient superlative). Many modern Jews, in preparation for the Sabbath, read these wonderful eight chapters (see The Gift of Rest by Senator Joe Liebermann and David Klinghoffer). Can you think of a better way to begin rest then to revel in the glories of romance?

This is the secret place, the Holy of Holies. It’s not a place to trample into, but to enter in on one’s knees. The things the Lord has shown me through this Song have frightened me, have excited me, have carved me into a brand new human being. Read it. Pray it. Sing it. Journey with me for these next few weeks, or months, as I dive into this Song. Because here, life is no longer meaningless.

Lord, I thank you for this Song, and I thank you that you’ve provided a secret place to meet with you.

All day I’m running a special on Revelation Special Op where you can buy both for just $0.99 (and if you have Amazon Prime, you can get both free).

Book 1 — The Elite of the Weak $0.99

$0.99

Book 2 — Pharmacia: Those Magic Arts: FREE

FREE!

Real Faith – Guest Post by Staci Stallings

I’m so pleased to have Staci Stallings as a guest on my blog today.

Staci Stallings is a Contemporary Christian author and the founder of Grace & Faith Author Connection. You can check out one of Staci’s Best-Selling Christian Romances…

White Knight
~ The Courage Series~
Book 2

“Expect the unexpected…”

“Through a series of entertaining twists and turns and a lot of suspense, two very unlikely people find in each other a reason to laugh and love and live.”

–Amazon Reviewer, Myrna Brorman

The hardest part is losing the person someone else loves… 

Buy your copy today for:

Kindle Ebook: http://ow.ly/ckyuq

B&N Nook: http://ow.ly/ckyMh

Real Faith

by Staci Stallings

Faith is the bedrock of being a Christian. Few people would argue that fact.  However, I recently read something that caused me to go, “Hmm… I never thought about it like that.”

The author of the piece pointed out that faith no longer seems to mean what it once did.  It, like so many other things and words in our society today, has been cheapened.  That cheapening affects not just our understanding of the word but also how we put it into practice in our lives.

There are five definitions for faith on Dictionary.com.  They are:

1. confidence or trust in a person or thing

2. belief that is not based on proof

3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion

4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit

5. a system of religious belief

Our basic problem in Christianity stems from the fact that the world has, in the minds of many, replaced the first definition with the second.

The first definition speaks about “trust.”  The second only speaks about believing in something you cannot see.

Now don’t misunderstand me.  The second is important.  The problem is when we completely supplant it for the first.

Let me offer it this way:  I can believe in God–i.e. believe He exists without trusting Him.

Merely believing that He exists gets us no farther on our faith walk than believing another person exists gets us married.  Yes, that belief in His existence is important, but you can believe God and Christ exist and not experience what Christian living is all about.

Why?

Because the belief in their existence is not what changes your life.  It is only in experiencing and living the first definition of faith that real Christianity and real faith begin to be manifested.

Once I clear the first hurdle of believing in God, the next leap of faith–trusting Him must be made or “Christian life” will feel exactly as “non-Christian life” felt.  It will still be all up to me.  I will continue to try to self-effort myself through life.

You see these types of Christians all the time.  They work and they do and they serve.  They are in the choir and on the finance counsel.  They run from church meeting to church meeting.  If they aren’t exhausted yet, they soon will be.

I know.  I was one of those Christians.

It was only when God allowed my self-effort to prove to me how futile it was that I went seeking for another answer, and the Answer I found was in the first definition–in fully trusting God.  It was only when I began to fully trust God and Christ and stop relying on myself that I found what I had been searching for the whole time:  A victorious Christian walk etched in grace and forgiveness and love.

When I put that first definition into practice, I found that it really is as easy as just letting God love me and then giving that love to others.

It was only when I found real faith, rooted in the FIRST definition of faith that my life began to have meaning and peace and hope.  I believe that life is offered to everyone, just don’t fall for the trap that believing in God’s existence is enough.  You must take that second (albeit scary) step of fully trusting Him in every aspect of your life to experience the incredible freedom that God can in your spirit, your world, and your life.

Copyright Staci Stallings, 2012

Review of Tamed by Sarah Witenhafer

I almost put this book down. I’m so glad I didn’t. But we’ll get to reasons later… I want to explain what drew me in.

I love history, especially anything dealing with 1st and 2nd century A.D. or ancient Sumerians. For that aspect alone, this book rocked my world. Ms. Witenhafer REALLY knows her stuff when it comes to history and I loved learning new facts that were interwoven beautifully into the story line.

Each one of the characters made an impression immediately. That’s not to say that I loved each one immediately, but I was left with no middle ground. There were no tepid emotions for any of the characters in this book–I either loved them or hated them (or both).

Also, when it comes to craft, skill and style, I applaud Ms. Witenhafer! She drew me entirely into Damon’s world, either the ancient one or the modern one, and fully into his internal world as well. At one point I hated him so thoroughly I almost put the book down, but the beauty of the words, the story, the history and the characters around him kept me reading. And I’m so glad I did. I love the sword fights, the high speed chases, the fully original story. Damon gave me chills of delight and horror, Reign made me want to jump up and shout “YEAH!”, Minkey made me twinge with disgust, Miss Lily made me feel warm and loved–I could keep going on and on.

I love the way a relationship with the Lord is presented in this book. Even when I didn’t agree with Ms. Witenhafer on certain details about ancient beings, the story was told well enough that I could look past all that. It was less about doctrine and more about GRACE and I really appreciated that. Like a breath of fresh air.

If I spent $99 instead of $.99 I’d still have gotten a bargain. If I could give it 10 stars instead of five, boy, would I! I’m so glad there’s a sequel. What a book!

Book Review: Dry as Rain by Gina Holmes

 Dry as Rain

by Gina Holmes

 Published 2011 by Tyndale Fiction

 ***** Five stars

If I keep reading romance novels, people will start to think I like them in general. I don’t. But I liked this one specifically, and I’ll tell you why.

First of all, I gravitate toward stories about marriages being redeemed since I’ve seen too much of the opposite.

Second of all, I like a well written story, and this one was very well written. I’m confident I’m not just subjective about this assessment. Ms. Holmes wrote her main character well enough that I felt like I was walking around with his thoughts for at least an hour after I put the book down. There was an unmistakeably organic feel to all the characters, but particularly to the main character, Eric Yoshida.

The third, and most significant, reason I loved this book is how it exposed my heart. The character flaws I read in both Eric and Kyra mirrored ones I saw in me, and the way Ms. Holmes wrote about these flaws was a gentle prodding to walk a different way.

I loved the settings, from central VA to coastal VA to Milan, Italy. In every scene I felt like I could smell the tires in the car dealership showroom or taste the salt in the air at the party on the yacht.

I also appreciated the believable side characters, and always admire a writer who can do this well.

Quick rundown of the basic plot: During a painful separation, Eric’s busy cheating on Kyra while Kyra’s involved in a car accident that damages her memory. She’s seemed to have forgotten that they were separated or even why she was ever mad at him. Realizing what he’s done, Eric wonders if he’ll ever be able to earn his wife’s love and trust again.

As for the reason it’s called Dry as Rain—I let you find that out for yourself. Coming across that was one of the most pleasant aspects of devouring this page turner. I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Interview with Lee Carver

I loved interviewing Lee Carver for the self-published authors series. She’s a member of the DFW Ready Writers, where I also attend since I moved to Texas this summer. She’s a fabulous writer and encourager, and has helped me with many of the formatting questions that come up for self-published writers. At her blog you’ll find fantastic advice and wisdom on the subject of self-publishing. I am indebted to the wealth of knowledge she’s shared on the subject! You’ll see the link at the end of the interview. But seriously, check out her book, especially if you’re a fan of romance.

• Tell me about your book. Love’s Second Verse is the courageous story of an Army widow in her forties, with two teenage sons. She must redefine herself, get a job to support her family, deal with the family con man, and rear those boys to be God-fearing men. And if she also has a second chance at a loving marriage, that would be so fine. The title comes from her past as a music teacher and soprano singer.

• If you took your main character out for dinner what would he/she order? She would definitely go to a fine seafood restaurant. All the men in her life feed her barbeque.

• What made you decide to self-publish? The short answer is impatience. I love the story of an overcomer with a sense of humor. I read a lot of traditionally-published books that are less well put together, have obvious errors and improbable characters. How do they get published?

• What is your favorite aspect of being a self-published author? Being in control of the entire process, from cover to final crit. Of course, the manuscript went through thorough vetting by an excellent writers’ crit group. But all the final decisions are mine. Another favorite aspect is that my normal (non-writing) friends don’t know the difference. I bought 40 copies at my author’s price, with low shipping cost per book, and people begged to buy them for $10.That’s 47% profit to me. Traditionally published books return a few cents per copy to the author, though they sell thousands to my hundreds.

• What is your least favorite aspect of being a self-publish author? Definitely marketing. Even FaceBook time is at cost to the creative time. Wouldn’t it be nice if the words flew from your computer to the eyes of the reader, with a soft “ka-ching” sound in the Ethernet?

• What marketing advice would you give other self-published authors? I’m just following the advice of others on marketing. I do FaceBook, my own blog and blog interviews by others, contact friends and family by e-mail, and have a very supportive group of friends. My church ladies are taking the book as their December book review. I’ve been on the radio and in the online newspaper of my hometown in Alabama. I just need to travel less and stay on the job at this point.

• What writing advice would you give to other self-published authors? Be the best you can be. Use Beta readers (non-writing readers) and writing crit group(s). Go to classes, take ACFW online classes, study the instruction manuals, get the formatting and spelling and grammar correct. Do it all! Don’t be sloppy just because you can put it out without passing through an editor.

• How many hours a day, week or month do you devote to marketing your books? I travel with my husband frequently and have lots of other activities, like our work with homeless women in Fort Worth. My work comes in bursts more than daily planned activity. I may do several days and evenings of concentrated writing and editing, and then play catch-up with real life. We’re about to do a three-week road trip for mission aviation concerns and visit both our grown children in distant states. I’ll be doing well to keep up with e-mails during that time, and I need to be nailed into my computer chair at home. This is my third total failure at Retirement 101.

• How do you come up with deadlines? I don’t have to earn a living, thank God. (A sincere praise, not using His name in vain.) My deadlines are self-motivated. Sure, I want the gratification of having my work read by others and receiving money for work, but Dear Hubby is pleased to support me and my writing efforts. He feels the value of God-centered fiction, and gives me free rein. I have a completed novel that I want to see published traditionally, so I do have hoops to jump through and keep an eye on the calendar as I write agents and publishers. And I’m writing another, totally different novel at the same time. Having a professional crit group every Thursday night keeps me writing and trying to perfect a chapter a week, at least. I don’t give them a half-baked chapter rampant with errors.

• Tell us about your favorite non-writing activity. They are many: sewing and quilting; I knit and crochet for the Prayer Shawl Ministry; sing alto in the choir and go to practices and both morning services for that; participate in an intensive Bible study with daily assignments; walk on a treadmill at home several miles most days (fighting Writer’s Wide-bottom Disease); I work with a women’s circle of hands-on do-gooders at church; I’m treasurer of the church women’s unit and secretary of DFW Ready Writers, the local chapter of ACFW, DH and I give talks on Brazilian missionary aviation in the Amazon, sell Stream Energy to benefit missionary aviation; and did I say travel with my husband?

• What (or who) keeps you writing? I love the wordsmithing activity, like a never-ending puzzle of infinite solutions. To be doing this and feel its outreach for the kingdom of God hits a lot of my hot buttons.

• How can we find you? www.LeeCarverWriter.com and http://leecarverwriter.blogspot.com/, Lee Carver on FaceBook, and by typing in “Lee Carver” on www.Amazon.com for the print and Kindle versions and www.Smashwords.com for all other e-book formats. My e-mail is LeeCarver2@aol.com , and I love hearing from readers.

News From Nashville & Beyond by Staci Stallings

Here’s something I haven’t done before, have a guest blogger share a character interview–very fun. Staci Stallings is an excellent and versatile writer.

You’ll find more info about Staci at the end of the character interview. I hope you enjoy!

News From Nashville & Beyond

(Transcribed from a television interview with “The Music Plays… World Tour” featuring opening solo artist Kalin Lane and headliner Ashton Raines, both accompanied by their wives, Beth Raines and Danae Lane.)

NFNB: First of all, welcome to you all. Thanks for sitting down with us.

Ashton: Thank you for having us.

NFNB: Let’s start with what it’s like to be on a world tour. What cities? What are the crowds like?

Kalin: Well, for me it’s been an absolute dream come true. I mean, getting invited to be here with Ashton who, let’s face it is the King of Country music right now. Standing on that stage every night, hearing the fans singing my songs, cheering, in all these different countries…. it’s truly amazing.

Ashton: I have to agree. I stand down there as Kalin’s playing, and there’s just this incredible energy that sweeps through the whole place, no matter if we’re playing for 20,000 or 60,000. To hear those fans, to get to connect with them. It’s what I came here to do, it’s why I started singing in the first place, and to get to do it night after night has been such a blessing.

NFNB: How’s it been working together? The two of you play country music, but it’s really not quite the same kind of country.

Ashton (laughing): Yeah. I could never pull off the hair! (Reaches over and ruffles Kalin’s famously stringy blond mane then shrugs.) But it works, you know? I play the more traditional stuff, Kalin rocks the house, it works.

Kalin: I have to agree. I think it has really come together because we’re not two performers who happen to get on the same stage every night. We really understand each other and respect each other for what life has thrown at us and the hard knocks it’s taken us to be able to play from the heart so to speak. So it doesn’t matter that he plays the acoustic and piano, and I’ve got more electric and keyboards to my style of music because I think deep down we both really see that we’re doing what we love to do, making the kind of music we love to make. When you do that, somehow the synthesis of what comes out of it just works even if on the outside it doesn’t look like it should.

NFNB: You mentioned what life has thrown at you. Would you call the road to get here bumpy or smooth?

(Ashton looks to Beth who smiles back, and Kalin grins at Danae who brushes her brown locks from her forehead and shakes her head with a soft laugh.)

All: Bumpy.

(Laughter)

Ashton: Definitely bumpy. (Beth nods, her eyes filled with respect and love as she looks at her husband, and the two of them share a moment. When he turns back to the camera, Ashton seems to drift into another world.) After my first wife died of cancer, there was a long stretch in there that honestly I didn’t even want to be here. I mean here as in making music here, but even here as in on the planet. Then one night I wound up in this little diner in the middle of nowhere (He looks over to Beth.) And an angel from Heaven pulled me back and gave me a reason to keep on living. (As if no one else is watching, he leans over and kisses.) Thank you, babe (he whispers so the camera barely catches the words. Then he turns back.) To be real honest, I’m not even sure I’d be here without her.

NFNB: So Beth, what was it like? I mean, he is Ashton Raines. It’s like every girl’s dream to have the king of music to walk in and sweep you off your feet. That must have been surreal.

(They glance at each other.)

Beth: Well, to be honest with you, I didn’t even know who he was that night.

NFNB: You didn’t?

Beth: No, really I didn’t. It’s a long story, but let’s just say I fell in love with a man, not a music star.

NFNB: Okay. Well… (Turning to the other couple.) Kalin, you also said bumpy. Now we know a little about your career’s early fits and starts what with having to go back to your home country the first time around. What was that like?

Kalin: Rough. Really, really rough. To be honest with you, that first time I let the fame and the money and the adulation of all the people around me go straight to my head. I fell in with a lifestyle I thought was great at first, but it caught up with me real fast. When I lost everything–the dream, my meal ticket in Nashville and almost my life–I thought it was all over, you know? Back then, there was no way I could have seen the amazing grace God was waiting to give me and the joy and the mercy and the grace He gives me every day now. Getting to be here now, like this, with the Raines family, and my beautiful wife. (He turns to Danae and smiles. She smiles back.) I’m telling you it’s more than a dream come true. In fact, it’s the reason I sing “Lucky” every night out there on stage.

That line about, “And it’s not fate, it’s not luck, it’s a gift from God above, that I found you, you found me, and we found love”? Those aren’t just nice, pretty words. I really believe that, you know? Because if it was not for God and the love of this wonderful, strong woman sitting next to me, I can almost guarantee I would not be sitting here today. It’s more grace and love than I’ve ever deserved or imagined, I’ll tell you that.

NFNB: Well, it’s almost time to wrap this up. Closing thoughts, anyone?

Ashton: The tour’s been amazing. The fans, the cities, the experiences. All out amazing.

Kalin: Come out and see the show!

NFNB: That’s it for now from News from Nashville & Beyond. Now back to you in the studio.

Read more about Ashton and Beth’s story in “Cowboy” (http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-The-Harmony-Series-ebook/dp/B0049B2E82/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2) available now for only $0.99. Cowboy is Book 1 of The Harmony Series by Staci Stallings.)

Kalin and Danae are featured in “Lucky” — Book 2 of the Harmony Series.

Look for The Harmony Series by Staci Stallings on Kindle and Nook!

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors including:

Books In Print, Kindle, & FREE on Spirit Light Works:

http://stacistallings.wordpress.com/

 Spirit Light Books–The Blog: http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com/

 And… Staci’s website http://www.stacistallings.com Come on over for a visit…

 You’ll feel better for the experience!