Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

ARC Breview: All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

30 Jan, 2014 by in book review, fairies, harper teen, london, ryan graudin, Uncategorized, young adult fiction 1 comment

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ARC Breview: All That Glows by Ryan Graudin

All That Glows

by Ryan Graudin
Published by Harper Teen on February 11, 2014
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 480
Format: eARC
four-stars
Source: Edelweiss
Buy the BookGoodreads
Emrys—a fiery, red-headed Fae—always embraced her life in the Highlands, far from the city’s draining technology, until she’s sent to London to rejoin the Faery Guard. But this isn’t any normal assignment—she’s sent to guard Prince Richard: Britain’s notorious, partying bad boy and soon-to-be King. The prince’s careless ways and royal blood make him the irresistible for the dark spirits that feed on mortals. Sweet, disheveled, and alive with adventure—Richard is one charge who will put Emrys’s magic and heart to the test.

When an ancient force begins preying on the monarchy, Emrys must hunt through the London’s magical underworld, facing down Banshees, Black Dogs and Green Women to find the one who threatens Richard’s life. In this chaos of dark magic, palace murders and paparazzi, Emrys finds herself facing an impossible choice. For despite all her powers, Emrys has discovered a force that burns brighter than magic: love.

I have to admit that I am drawn like a moth to the flame by all things faerie– so of course, when I saw this one on Eidelweiss I had to grab it! In the vein of Lesley Livingston, Jenna Black, Julie Kagawa and Maggie Stiefvater comes a book about royalty, London and the fairy guard that protect them.

What I liked

The flow of the writing and the premise of a bit of a rogue prince who likes to make trouble being guarded by his very own fiery guard who is as old as time.

There are new mythological creatures not seen much–green ladies, banshees and dark dogs that hunt in the underground clubs and graveyards of London.

The clash between nature and modern civilization, the faeries become sick when surrounded by metal, technology and not enough thick forest

It’s a clean read. There is one swear word and a kissing scene, but otherwise it’s rated PG

Meeting Herne the Hunter and the personification of a very powerful fairy who rides through his own forest on the hunt

I wish

I connected more with the characters, they didn’t feel fleshed out enough and their romance was instant without much build up

The world where the fairies came was more and integral part of the setting the author built

The bottom line

I would buy a physical copy of this one when it comes out. I really enjoyed it and was happy to see a fairy book, as it’s been a while since we’ve seen one in the YA line up. I read All That Glows quickly and genuinely enjoyed the premise, the idea of magical a hidden world living in London and the final battle at the end. Thanks so much to Harper Teen for the sneak peek. I will be buying this one!

heather

 

ryan_graudinAuthor Bio

I write books. Some are about rowdy-partying princes and their faery guardians (ALL THAT GLOWS, HarperTeen, 2/11/14). Others are about teenagers fighting for their lives in the slums of the Hak Nam Walled City (THE WALLED CITY, Little, Brown, Fall 2014). I love writing, traveling to new lands, drinking chai lattes and hanging christmas lights. I also love Jesus. I’m repped by Adams Literary.

Learn More on her website*goodreads*twitter

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The Traitor’s Wife Blog Tour and Kindle Giveaway

21 Jan, 2014 by in allison pataki, blog tour, kindle paperwhite giveaway, kismet book tours, simon schuster, traitor's wife, Uncategorized 8 comments

the_traitor's_wief_blog_tour

Fire and Ice is thrilled to be today’s stop on the official tour for The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki hosted by Kismet Book Touring. We have an exclusive excerpt from the book as well as a kindle paperwhite giveaway which is international! I love the cover…isn’t it gorgeous?!

The-Traitors-Wife_COVER-PHOTOBook Summary

A riveting historical novel about Peggy Shippen Arnold, the cunning wife of Benedict Arnold and mastermind behind America’s most infamous act of treason.

Everyone knows Benedict Arnold—the infamous Revolutionary War General who betrayed America and fled to the British as history’s most notorious turncoat. Many know Arnold’s co-conspirator, Major John André, who was apprehended with Arnold’s documents in his boots and hanged at the orders of General George Washington. But few know of the integral third character in the plot; a charming and cunning young woman, who not only contributed to the betrayal but orchestrated it.

Socialite Peggy Shippen is half Benedict Arnold’s age when she seduces the war hero during his stint as Military Commander of Philadelphia. Blinded by his young bride’s beauty and wit, Arnold does not realize that she harbors a secret: loyalty to the British. Nor does he know that she hides a past romance with the handsome British spy John André. Peggy watches as her husband, crippled from battle wounds and in debt from years of service to the colonies, grows ever more disillusioned with his hero, Washington, and the American cause. Together with her former lover and her disaffected husband, Peggy hatches the plot to deliver West Point to the British and, in exchange, win fame and fortune for herself and Arnold.

Told from the perspective of Peggy’s maid, whose faith in the new nation inspires her to intervene in her mistress’s affairs even when it could cost her everything, The Traitor’s Wife brings these infamous figures to life, illuminating the sordid details and the love triangle that nearly destroyed the American fight for freedom.

Excerpt

September 25, 1780 West Point Fort, New York

When the second messenger arrives on horseback, Mistress hears the frenzied pace of the horse hooves outside her open window.

“Another rider? Goodness, we must be the busiest home on the Hudson River this morning.” Mistress chuckles, tugging at the loose sleeves of her white linen nightdress. “Don’t they know we are set to receive Washington and his party for breakfast this morning? You’d think they could withhold these errands for at least one day.” She sighs, her features fresh from rest, beautiful beneath the frame of loose blond curls.

“Better go see what they want.” She directs me with a nod and I leave her room, making my way down the narrow wooden staircase.

“Scoot, pup.” I edge the dog aside from the door. From my perch on the front step, I shield my eyes and stare up the shaded post road. The rider emerges from the dappled cover of the thick trees into the stark early-morning light. My heart lurches involuntarily at the memory of another morning, when another rider had trotted up this trail. How that soldier had been here to see me. But I cannot allow myself to grow hazy in daydreaming, not today.

I notice that this man is not liveried in the General’s crest, and therefore does not come from Washington’s camp. He approaches the house at alarming speed, urging his weary horse forward with the ruthless spurs of his dusty boots. He halts just feet from me, his horse breathless, the rider looming over me like one of St. John’s horsemen come to warn us of the end of the world. I straighten up to my full height as the man alights from the horse, landing in a cloud of churned-up dirt, uniform filthy, hair matted with sweat.

“Can I help you?” I stand, sentry-like, before the front door of the farmhouse.

“I need to speak with Major General Benedict Arnold.” The man, still gasping for air, careens toward the house, dust surrounding him like a shroud. “Water my horse, miss. I must speak to the General!” The man hands me the bridle and staggers toward the front door without another word.

I hear the commotion in the front of the house as this lone rider calls out the master’s name: “Where is General Benedict Arnold? Urgent message for Benedict Arnold from the south Hudson.”

I tie this man’s horse to the post out front and glide noiselessly back into the house, positioning myself out of sight at the top of the stairway. I hear my master approach the messenger in the drawing room. His telltale plodding on the wooden floor—lopsided, uneven—due to the war wound that has forever crippled him and rendered his left leg useless. Muffled sounds as the master of the house greets the messenger, his voice like gravel as he chides his subordinate.

“What is your aim, man? Barging in on us like this on the morning we are to receive His Excellency George Washington, and with the lady of the house not yet arisen and

dressed?”

The messenger answers through uneven breath. “I assure you, Major General, you will pardon my abruptness when you see the message I’m delivering. I was ordered to deliver it posthaste.”

Good heavens, from where are you coming?” My master’s voice now betrays his alarm.

“North Castle Fort, down the Hudson. A full day’s ride, sir.”

“Give it here, then.” I hear papers being ruffled as they change hands. Silence follows, with just the sound of the morning birdsong to accompany the scene unfolding inside the farmhouse.

Then the master’s gait, again lopsided, but with an urgency I haven’t heard in years. He soon reaches the stairs, causing me to flee back into my mistress’s room.

“What is it?” Her eyes widen as I dash across the threshold of her sunlit chamber.

“Master’s coming!” is all I have time to say. We hear his rapid approach; using his impressive upper body strength, he’s pulling him- self up the stairs. The floorboards groan beneath his boots as he climbs. I look to my lady, and her features are horrorstruck as we understand each other. No words are needed between us after all these years.

“But surely it’s not . . . it can’t be?” Mrs. Arnold fidgets with the bedcovers, deliberating whether to rise or remain abed.

“Peggy.” Arnold bounds through the door, his hulking frame atremble in the doorway.

Struggling to breathe, he gasps, “They’ve found us out! All is lost, all is lost. We’re unearthed.”

His face tells me that he struggles just as much as my lady does to make sense of the words, even as his lips utter them. And then, as quickly as he entered, General Arnold exits back out my lady’s doorway. And I am left alone, in this room, with nothing but my lady and her shrill wails.

“BENEDICT!” she cries after him. “BENEDICT ARNOLD!”

About the AuthorView More: http://triciamccormack.pass.us/allison_selects

ALLISON PATAKI grew up in upstate New York, in the same neighborhood where Benedict and Peggy Arnold once lived. Allison attended Yale University, where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. While at Yale, Allison received Distinction in the Major from the English department and served as a campus reporter and news anchor for the student-run campus television program, YTV News.

The daughter of former New York State Governor George E. Pataki, Allison was inspired to write The Traitor’s Wife: A Novel of Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America based on the rich Revolutionary War history of her hometown in New York State’s Hudson Highlands.

Allison spent several years writing for television and digital news outlets prior to transitioning to fiction. The Traitor’s Wife: A Novel of Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America is Allison’s first novel. Allison lives in Chicago with her husband.

Find Allison Website | Goodreads |  Twitter | Facebook

 

Tour Schedule

Monday, January 20th – Daily Mayo
Tuesday, January 21st – Fire & Ice
Wednesday, January 22nd – Sofia Loves Books
Thursday, January 23rd – Little Miss Drama Queen
Friday, January 24th – Book – A – Holic
Monday, January 27th – The Most Happy Reader
Tuesday, January 28th – Evie Bookish
Wednesday, January 29th – Books Besides My Bed
Thursday, January 30th – Crossroad Reviews
Friday, January 31st – Reading Reality
Monday, February 3rd – Curling Up with a Good Book
Tuesday, February 4th – Le Grande Codex
Wednesday, February 5th – Bewitched Bookworms
Thursday, February 6th – Supernatural Snark
Friday, February 7th – Rose’s Book Corner

kismet_book_tours

The Giveaway

We have a fantastic giveaway for this tour: A Kindle paperwhite! This giveaway is open internationally provided Amazon.com ships to you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Witch Fall Blog Tour

17 Jan, 2014 by in amber argyle, blog tour, book review, giveaway, Uncategorized 8 comments

I received this book for free from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Witch Fall Blog Tour

Witch Fall

by Amber Argyle
Published by Starling on October 24th 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 332
Format: eBook
three-half-stars
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Buy the BookGoodreads
All things fall.

Even Witches.

Supreme in their dominion over seasons, storms, and sea, the Witches have forgotten the unmatched destructiveness of mankind. And among the weapons men seek are the magical songs of the Witches.

Lilette is one of the few who see the decadence and decay weakening the Witches. As an outsider amid her own kind, can she help them survive the coming war?

WitchFallTourBanner

Fire and Ice is happy to be a part of the official blog tour for Amber Argyle’s Witch Fall. Follow the full Xpresso Book tour here

Review

This is my first taste of Amber Argyle’s writing. When I heard Witch Song was free right now, I downloaded the first book in the series then jumped ahead to the third, Witch Fall for the tour. This one is meant as a prequel, or standalone, so the order can be reverse the way I approached the series.

Amber is a master at world building! Witch Song, set in an Asian empire, which I am assuming would be much like Japan or China, is the tale of Lilette. A girl who has lost everything she loves,  including her family,  and somehow survives a shipwreck. She finds home on a remote island and is about to be married to the father of her best friend, the chief of the tribe. Women in this book don’t have much say in the matters of marriage, bethrothal, and  concubines.  Their plight is one I struggled with as well as some of the darker elements. But Lilette is a persistent fighter and she is bound to find a way out when she’s kidnapped by the enemy, an elite, a royal prince with a brutal edge.

A tale of espionage, fantasy and magic, Witch Fall has eloquent writing with detail and lots of action. Can Lilette learn to trust those who she knows from her childhood? Can she remember her song of the Creator and save the destruction of her people? All balance has been lost by rulers seeking power and Lilette is the key to saving them.

Content: Witch Fall packs a punch… literally. If you have a weak stomach for violence (as I do), you may want to bow out. Recommended for mature teens or adults. To see other content highlight here: threat of sexual abuse, violence against women, lots of death by sword, sensuality.

heatherAbout the Authoramber_argyle

Amber Argyle is the author of Witch Song and Fairy Queen trilogies. She grew up with three brothers on a cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains. She spent hours riding horses, roaming the mountains, and playing in her family’s creepy barn. This environment fueled her imagination for writing high fantasy. She has worked as a short order cook, janitor, and staff member in a mental institution. All of which has given her great insight into the human condition and has made for some unique characters. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Physical Education from Utah State University. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and three small children.

Author Links

Purchase the Series- all under $3.99

Fire and Ice Giveaway

One ebook copy of Witch Fall. Open internationally.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Tour Giveaway

Signed copies of Witch Song, Witch Born, and Witch Fall (US only) a Rafflecopter giveaway

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2014 Hopes of a Book Blogger

01 Jan, 2014 by in Uncategorized 6 comments

new yearIt’s a new year and I’ve been thinking a lot about how things have changed since I first started blogging. There are so many things I’ve learned, much has changed in the community and in my life. So, I think it’s time to think about where it is exactly I want to go this year. Here’s a few thoughts I’ve had about what I want to accomplish…

1. Reconnect with people

Let’s face it, in real life I’m a bit recluse. I like to sit down with a book or get behind my camera and I don’t interact much. I’ve made some amazing friends since I started blogging and it seems like I’ve lost touch with so many people. Taking a year off site to regroup made it hard to stay in tune with those around me. My break was necessary and inspired, but coming back in I still feel like I miss the community of friends, authors and publishers. It was hard to jump back in and feel “out of touch.” It’s very easy to compare and compete in this business and I don’t want to. Here’s to a new year: meeting new people, finding new blogs to follow, attending events when I can, talking to authors and feeling back in touch with those I already know. Hoping to make it to BEA or ALA again this year and meet up with fellow bloggers, authors and publicists there.

2. Figure out WordPress

I just made the switch from Blogger to WordPress as a self hosted site and there is a lot to learn. It hasn’t been smooth and easy, but then I knew it would be a learning curve. There is just so much to know, at times I feel a bit tech illiterate. I am just learning about SEO or search engine optimization, broken links, plug ins statistics and categories. It feels a bit overwhelming to plug in my old reviews to the UBB plugin and reformat–so, not sure I am going to do that yet. I want to create more fonts and graphics. Learn how to tweak my posts and format them cleanly.

llrd_transp3. Redesign Little Red Reads

Did you know we have a sister site? Yep. Littleredreads.com. I’m planning to earn enough money soon to give it a custom design and then update it more frequently with middle grade and children’s reviews. I want a place kids and parents can write about what they read.

4. Use Book Likes

I just signed up today and can’t figure out how to import my Goodreads shelf. Anyone out there want to help me out? I’m hoping to feed my posts to Book Likes and find more good books to read. Eventually will customize the page with help from a designer.

5. Buy and Review Locally

In the past, I have focused a lot on LDS and Utah authors. I want to get back to my roots and follow my passion for promoting locals as well as clean reads. Hit indie bookstores, find and tweet local authors and continue shooting photos and doing live interviews. Seeing people face to face has been super rewarding. I would love to host more blog and book tours to help get the word out about books I read and love.

6. Be more efficient

Figure out how to cross post on all my social media effectively and efficiently. What plugins, blogger posts with tips and hints have helped you the most?

7. Shoot more author photos

My favorite part of last year was capturing authors on camera and I’m praying I get to do that again. I want to take a photography and editing class. I have a new camera,  so am ready to go!

What are you hoping to get accomplished or switch up in 2014?

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Best Fic and Audiobook Picks of 2013

31 Dec, 2013 by in best of, Uncategorized 4 comments

best

It’s almost 2014!  Last day of 2013!

It looks like I will surpass my Goodreads goal of 100. I read 148 books this year, added two more DNFs to my list this weekend to make 33, and my grand total is 115 books finished. That would be the biggest change in my reading pattern. Lots of books I put down– mostly due to content. I’ve also noticed I am reading a lot more indie and self-published titles, due to finding and highlighting free and discounted kindle books. I read most on my i phone and i pad for convenience. My nook has all but gone by the wayside because it kept breaking down on me. So less business to Barnes and Noble, more to Amazon. But, interestingly, I’ve found too much e reading affects my sleep and makes it hard for me to “shut off” my brain at night.

Overall, I am still a lover of paper bound books and they are my preferred reading platform. I hope publishers don’t make a complete shift away from them in the future for cost purposes, because I plan to always build my library shelves with physical copies!

My number one book source for favorite books of this year was BEA. I was far more selective about what I picked up this year and those I picked were those I loved.  Number 2 source was paper bound advanced reading copies for blog tours and reviews from publishers. Publicists- your job does matter and outreach to bloggers increases reviews and sales! Number three was e copies I chose for review from Netgalley or purchased, number four the library– and last, but not least,  audio books. I have a hang up with voices reading aloud I think. But my children LOVE them and we used them a lot en route to school.

I managed to pick up some AMAZING books in 2013 and here they are…

Fiction

Sugar Coated by Shannen Crane Camp
Goodreads/ Amazon

River of Time Series by Lisa Tawn Bergren
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review

Hadley, Hadley Benson by Jody Wind Durfee

Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review

Fight For You (Stripling Warrior) by Misty Moncur
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review

Blackmoore (Proper Romances) by Julianne Donaldson
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review


Doon (A Doon Novel) by Carey Corp, Lorie Langdon
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review

Longing for Home: A Proper Romance by Sarah M. Eden
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review


The Season by Sarah MacLean
Goodreads/ Amazon


Miss Grimsley’s Oxford Career by Carla Kelly

Goodreads/ Amazon


The Newport Ladies Book Club: Paige by Annette Lyon
Goodreads/ Amazon


This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review


The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back by Sariah Wilson
Goodreads/ Amazon


Snow in Love by Claire Ray
Goodreads/Amazon

Audiobook


Waking Up in Heaven: A True Story of Brokenness, Heaven, and Life Again by Crystal McVea
Goodreads/ Amazon/ Review


Code Word by Traci  Hunter Abramson
Goodreads/ Amazon

 

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
Goodreads/ Amazon 

What were your favorites of 2013? Leave me your post link.

I would love to add them to my TBR list for 2014.

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Blitz Tour and Giveaway {Heartbeat} by Elizabeth Scott

20 Dec, 2013 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

heartbeat

Heartbeat_Elizabeth-Scott_coverAbout Heartbeat

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma—the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia—New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?

Goodreads | AmazonB&N | Indiebound

Praise for Heartbeat

“An intense examination of a family coping with grief, this absorbing character study easily keeps pages turning.”— Kirkus on Heartbeat

About the AuthorElizabethScottAuthorPhoto_credit-Matt-Mendelsohn

ELIZABETH SCOTT grew up in a town so small it didn’t even have a post office, though it did boast an impressive cattle population. She’s sold hardware and panty hose and had a memorable three-day stint in the dot-com industry, where she learned that she really didn’t want a career burning CDs. She lives just outside Washington, D.C., with her husband, and firmly believes you can never own too many books.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Tumbler

 The Giveaway

Enter to win 1 of 5 ARCs of HEARTBEAT below

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Author Interview with Shelley Shepard Gray

17 Dec, 2013 by in amish fiction, author interview, shelley shepard gray, Uncategorized 1 comment

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Fire and Ice is pleased to have the opportunity to ask a few exclusive questions of author Shelly Shepard Gray on site today! Her novel Peace: A Crittenden County Christmas Novel was just released in October and we reviewed it here last week.

It’s perfect pick for the days before Christmas!

Author Interview

How did you first become interested with or acquainted with the Amish?

I happen to live an hour away from an Amish community. Long before I decided to write about the Amish I was a frequent visitor to their stores. When I started writing inspirational romances, having my characters be Amish was a good fit for me.

Have you had a chance to visit them or live among them for research?

I am friends with a lady who grew up Mennonite in Sugarcreek. She was kind enough to introduce me to one of her friends in Sugarcreek who is old order Amish. That lady has been extremely helpful when I’ve had questions.

Tell us some Amish Christmas traditions.

The Amish do not decorate for Christmas. Gift giving is also not a big part of the focus. However, they do bake Christmas cookies and other holiday treats. They usually do exchange one small or meaningful gift, perhaps something useful like a new wool coat or something for their home. The Amish I know also buy their children a few gifts to open on Christmas day. They also love to exchange Christmas cards.

Is there more than one book planned or is this a stand alone?ShelleyShepardGray_Peace_300

PEACE is actually a follow-up novella to last year’s Secrets of Crittenden County series. That trilogy followed the murder investigation of Perry Borntrager and how his death affected everyone who knew him. The books in that series are Missing, The Search, and Found. Next year, I’ll be publishing six novels. Three will be the Return to Sugarcreek trilogy, which begins with Hopeful in February, followed by Thankful and Joyful. I’ll also be publishing a Christmas novella, an Amish historical, and a single title historical titled Secrets of Sloane House, under the name Shelley Gray. It will be an exciting year, for sure!

Favorite Amish word?

It’s definitely wunderbaar, which means really, really wonderful. I love that!

 

Author Bio

I grew up in Houston, Texas, went to Colorado for college, and after living in Arizona, Dallas, and Denver, we moved to southern Ohio about ten years ago.

I’ve always thought of myself as a very hard worker, but not ‘great’ at anything. I’ve obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree…but I never was a gifted student. I took years of ballet and dance, but I never was anywhere near the star of any recital. I love to cook, but I’m certainly not close to being gourmet…and finally I love to write books, but I’ve certainly read far better authors.

Maybe you are a little bit like me. I’ve been married for almost twenty years and have raised two kids. I try to exercise but really should put on my tennis shoes a whole lot more. I’m not a great housekeeper, I hate to drive in the snow, and I don’t think I’ve ever won a Monopoly game. However, I am the best wife and mother I know how to be.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that in God’s eyes that is okay? That from His point of view, we are all exceptional? I treasure that knowledge and am always so thankful for my faith. His faith in me makes me stand a little straighter, smile a little bit more, and be so very grateful for every gift He’s given me.

I started writing about the Amish because their way of life appealed to me. I wanted to write stories about regular likeable people in extraordinary situations-and who just happened to be Amish.

Getting the opportunity to write Inspirational novels is truly gratifying. With every book, I feel my faith grows stronger. And that makes me feel very special indeed.

Learn More

        
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