Fun Interview!
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: May 22, 2012
Find out how long I’ve been writing and get the scoop on the “Winds of Wyoming” sequel. 
http://beckyjacoby.com/blog/
“Michael” Blog Tour Freebies Tomorrow!
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: May 16, 2012
ONE DAY BLOG TOUR! MAY 17th!
Michael, book two in the Airel Saga, is live on Amazon TODAY ONLY for a discounted price!!
To promote Michael I’m hosting a contest where you can win a FREE copy of Airel and win a free Kindle Fire.
To take advantage of this awesome deal, head to Amazon and check out the eBook version of MICHAEL at its promotional price, then see below to enter the contest. Also, leave me a comment on this post. The blogger with the most comments will win the Kindle Fire! If I win, I’ll also get the chance to be part of a special giveaway in the next few months.
Praise for Michael
“Move over Twilight! Here comes Aaron Patterson!”
–Joshua Graham, bestselling author of Beyond Justice and Darkroom
“I was surprised by how much I really, really liked this book. I have not jumped on the whole “fallen angel” bandwagon, just as I didn’t jump on all of the vampire stories that came out after Twilight. This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series. Hurry up please!!!”
–Sandra Stiles
Description of Michael
Michael did the unthinkable to save Airel from death, but now he must live with the choices he has made–both good and evil. Tortured by his past and haunted by what he believes might be his future, Michael seeks redemption–but will the past prove to be too strong? How can he break free of it and be the man he longs to be for Airel? If only he had never…
Airel. Michael’s one true love. He had forced her to drink in new life only to find that old wounds and deep scars do not heal overnight. Can she truly forgive Michael, can she truly love him? And can he accept that forgiveness? Or is it all for nothing, and has he gone too far already? As the darkness of past choices closes in on them, chases them, intercepts them, coming at them from everywhere at once, how can their love possibly survive?
Aaron Patterson is the author of the best-selling WJA series, as well as two Digital Shorts: 19 and The Craigslist Killer. He was home-schooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read as a small child and would often be found behind a book, reading one to three a day on average. This love drove him to want to write, but he never thought he had the talent. His wife Karissa prodded him to try it, and with this encouragement, he wrote Sweet Dreams, the first book in the WJA series, in 2008. Airel is his first teen series, and plans for more to come are already in the works. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family, Soleil, Kale and Klayton. His daughter had an imaginary friend named She.
Chris White has an award for reading 750 books in one school year — from the 3rd grade. So yes, he’s more of a nerd than Aaron. Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that’s not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He also doesn’t get why we have these things called “smart phones” when all they do is make people dumber. Chris recently celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 8, and Jaden, age 3, who inspired the Great Jammy Adventure series; the OK-to-color-in picture books. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore the prologue to Airel, and he is finishing up his first novel, entitled K: phantasmagoria, due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. His wife is okay with all of this.
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Nikki Arana: Wise Words, New Release, Free eBook, Kindle Giveaway
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: May 15, 2012
Today, I’m privileged to host guest author Nikki Arana on widgetwords. Nikki is an award-winning author of women’s fiction, essays, poetry, and magazine articles, whose work has been published in the United States and Canada. She’s won several national awards, including the American Christian Fiction Book of the Year for Women’s Fiction – twice, and the Beacon Award. Her novel, The Winds of Sonoma was named “One of the Top 20 Books of the Year” by Christianbook.com. You can visit her website here.
Outside of writing, Nikki, what are your greatest passions?
My greatest passion is helping persecuted Christians who are under the threat of death. I have a ministry called A Voice for the Persecuted that connects to them in a very personal way through avenues we’ve developed. We assess their needs and seek solutions tailored to their situation. Our goal is to provide all resources necessary to sustain life until a safe refuge can be found. It is all about developing resources. I’m trying to raise public awareness about this through my upcoming novel, The Next Target, which is scheduled for a June 1st release.
What’s your worst nightmare?
This is easy because I’m having it now. Being asked if I’d like to appear on national television. I’m pretty fluffy and the thought of being in a situation where I look at least 10 pounds heavier is truly a nightmare.
A national television appearance – very exciting! I hope it’s a great experience for you. Another question for you: What makes you laugh?
Of course there are lots of things, but one in particular is a cat named Channo. We had a persecuted Christian living with us and he got a cat. A free barn cat. The cat was part Siamese and part human. I’m sure of it. He did everything he saw us do. If we opened a cabinet. He would watch and then do it. If we got our medicine out of it. He would wait until we left the room then open it and knock the pills off the shelf to the counter. Really! He would hide around corners and when we passed by he’d leap out and grab our legs. Mean both front “arms” locked around our calves. Then tear down the hall and out of sight. He was a four-legged human. He’d used his front paws like hands to eat. One day we watched him sit at his food bowl. And instead of crouching down to eat . . . he took his left paw and scooped up some food and put it in his mouth!! It was hysterical. We loved him so much. But he moved with his owner and helped him start his new life.
Do you write daily, with a set schedule?
My life has been very difficult for the past two years. I am the only caregiver for my 90-year-old mother who has Alzheimer and my 94-year-old father, who is in heart and kidney failure. It is hard to set a schedule. I typically get up at about 4:30 AM to write, and I stop when I get called to help them in some way, or have to take care of my husband’s landscaping business, or go to the bank, etc. Then I return to my desk and work until about 10PM on my WIP, interviews, promotions…you get the idea.
But I am not complaining because this has been a wonderful time of intimacy with Christ. The pressure just makes me lean on Him more and He provides for me in extraordinary, miraculous ways. Just this past month, my mother had a massive stroke that left her unable to speak or use her right side. When she was in brain surgery to drain the fluid off, the surgeon saw a tumor and biopsied it. Two weeks later they called and told me it was cancer. I didn’t tell her or my father. I just couldn’t bear to add to their burdens. She was recovering use of her right side and beginning to speak. They were feeling hopeful. Last week the doctor did a second scan. I went to meet privately with him to find out how long she had to live. Before I went, I felt so overwhelmed and discouraged. How much longer do I have to struggle through the days to be strong for her? How much longer can I? I prayed just two words to the Lord before leaving the house, “Help me.”
When I got there, the doctor reviewed the scan . . . There is no tumor. There is no cancer. I will never forget the tremendous weight I felt fall from my shoulders. The surgeon said he can’t explain it. But there is no cancer there. And as I stood just looking at him, God whispered to me, “Your help is at hand.”
Wow! What a miracle, for your mom and for you. PTL! One more question: Have you ever written yourself into a corner? If so, how did you remedy the situation?
I can’t remember the specifics, but once in The Winds of Sonoma, and once in The Fragrance of Roses, I got stuck. It was like having writer’s block. I couldn’t think of anything to move the plot forward. I tried to figure something out for hours. I finally just took a break and read my Bible. After a short time I returned to my computer. I went back about 20 pages and read through the text leading up to the problem spot. And as I read, I realized I had missed a great opportunity that would improve the story. First the idea came, then as I looked back in the manuscript, I saw that everything I needed was already written in! It was as if I had been writing to create the plot twist from the beginning. That was the case both times I got stuck! It taught me something very important. For me at least, it isn’t writer’s block. I believe it is the Holy Spirit stopping me. trying to show me something that He wants me to do. Now, when I get stuck I immediately go back and review the chapters leading up to the problem. It works every time!
Anything else you’d like to say?
If God has called you to write the books of His heart, rest assured, He will prosper what He ordains. Face your writing future with excitement and anticipation for what He is about to do. Watch for the opportunities that are surely before you. My life experience has taught me that He never performs His will in the way I expect, and it is always a thousand times better than anything I imagined.
You can learn more about me and my books by visiting my website, or by following my new blog, Words for the Journey. If you would like to help raise awareness about persecuted Christians 
here in America, you can get the code to put a banner about The Next Target on your website, Facebook, or any place you think is appropriate, from the Media Kit on my website.
Thank you, Nikki. May God richly bless your writing and your wonderful ministry to persecuted Christians.
If you’d like to sample Nikki’s writing, she’s offering The Winds of Sonoma free on Kindle May 16 through May 20. Just click here.
Go to Nikki’s Facebook Author Page today through June 4 for a chance to win a free Kindle. And while you’re there, “like” her page for her. ;-)
Courage to Fail
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: May 9, 2012
“Someti
mes the most important work is the work that is just on the boundaries of failing. What it takes is the courage to be willing to fail, to trust your vision when everyone else is doing something different.”
Anthony Doerr, Boise, ID, author of Memory Wall, The Shell Collector, About Grace, and Four Seasons in Rome
How to Get Published
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: May 9, 2012
Learn the craft. It takes time. It takes effort. Study what other writers are doing. Then get started writing. The more you 
write, the better you get. There is no substitute for determined effort. Alton Gansky
Those who succeed are those who don’t give up but continue to study the craft, practice the creativity, work through the challenges, because it leads to the joy of publication and having our words mean something to another person, as the Lord created us to do. Yvonne Lehman
FREE on Amazon Kindle April 18 & 19th!
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: April 18, 2012
Deep in the Heart by Staci Stallings
Just out of college and completely alone in the world, Maggie Montgomery has one shot left to save her life from an abyss of poverty and hopelessness. Clinging to the last shred of fuel and hope, she arrives at the mansion of Texas billionaire Conrad Ayers. Although Maggie is clearly not what Mr. Ayers and his wife have in mind for a nanny, they agree to hire her temporarily until they can find someone more appropriate to fill the position. However, Maggie’s whole world is about to be up-ended by two way-over-scheduled children and one incredibly handsome hired hand. As she struggles to fit into a world she was never made to fit in, Maggie wonders if she can ever learn to become a perfect version of herself so she can keep the job, or is she doomed to always be searching for a life she can never quite grasp?
| Keith Ayers despises his life. As the son of Texas billionaire Conrad Ayers and the fiance to a Senator from Texas’ daughter, it looks great on the outside, but inside, he is dying. He would vastly prefer to manage and train his father’s racehorses. However, everyone else thins that is beneath him. He needs to get into industry and build on his father’s success. Suffocating under the constrictions of his life, he meets Maggie who begins to teach him that wealth and power is not everything in this life. But can Keith defy the most powerful men in Texas to follow his heart?“This is more than a romance. The author cuts straight to the heart of God–love. God is love. Even through unexpected tragedies. And we can overcome evil with good–by His love.”
–Betty Anne Bantz FREE on Amazon Kindle April 18 & 19th! Kindle Link: http://www.amazon.com/Deep-in-the-Heart-ebook/dp/B005LVVIIG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334082457&sr=8-4 About Staci: Staci Stallings is a Contemporary Christian author and the founder of Grace & Faith Author Connection bringing the best Christian authors to readers every day. Other Staci Stallings Links Christian Living Blog, Spirit Light Books: http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com Ebook Romance Stories: http://ebookromancestories.com |
Just Released – Shattered Identity by K. Dawn Byrd
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: April 16, 2012
Lexi Branson thinks she’s found the guy of her dreams. So what if he’s older? Her new motto is, “Love knows no boundaries or age limits.” Zack Bane loves her and treats her like a princess and that’s all that matters.
Lexi soons discovers that she doesn’t know Zack as well as she thought. He has secrets, the kind that shatter the lives of those who love him. When faced with the truth, Lexi tries to hang onto him because she has a secret of her own.
When Lexi ends up in danger, she discovers she has no one to turn to except her ex-boyfriend, Jeremy. Can Jeremey, who is still in love with her, keep her safe from Zack? When faced with a choice will Lexi choose to stay with the guy who has become a stranger or will she choose Jeremy, the guy who loves her with all his heart?
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-285/Shattered-Identity-K.-Dawn/Detail.bok
Agatha Remembered
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: April 14, 2012
“Winds of Wyoming” is currently featured on this very nice blogsite for new releases: 
http://www.agatharemembered.blogspot.com/
Blog Guest K. Dawn Bird
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: April 4, 2012
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance, romantic suspense, and non-fiction. She is an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most of which are signed by the authors. She’s also the moderator of the popular facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444.
When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years while 
walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.
Lessons from the Open Road
A couple of years ago, the idea of writing a devotional about the lessons I learned while riding a motorcycle came to me. I had no idea what I was getting into and how much writing devotionals would minister to me as an author. I jotted down notes for weeks, hoping to come up with enough lessons to take the reader through a month. Lessons from the Open Road ended with 33 lessons, each followed by Scripture and prayer.
Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes learning new things is hard. Just when I thought I’d mastered the parking lot where I was learning to ride my little Yamaha Virago starter bike, I pulled out, forgot to hit the brake, did an Evel Knievel, and jumped a short concrete wall, landing in some trees. My poor little bike limped home with a hole in the crankcase the size of a quarter. J-B Weld to the rescue!
I’m stubborn, too stubborn to quit. After I recovered from the sore neck that resulted from my stunt, I climbed back on the old iron horse. Eventually, I graduated from the parking lot and hit the streets. When I’d learned to ride well enough to satisfy hubby, he bought himself a new Harley and I inherited his anniversary edition Harley Davidson Sportster. And, when I graduated with my masters degree, you’d never guess what I wanted. Yep, a new bike. I became the proud owner of a Screamin Eagle V-Rod (see picture.)
All good things must eventually come to an end. I enjoyed my days on the road, but found another passion. Writing. I work a full-time job and since there’s only so much time in the day, I have to choose what’s most important to me. The bike had to go. Occasionally, I miss it, but for the most part, I’d rather be writing. I’m hoping the devotions in Lessons from the Open Road will minister to your heart as much as writing them did to mine.
Lessons from the Open Road is currently available in ebook format and will be coming soon in print. I had planned to list it at no cost, but Amazon wouldn’t allow me to do so. I’ve listed it at the lowest price Amazon allows, 99 cents, and all proceeds will be donated to my church’s building fun for the new church that’s currently under construction.
For more information about Lessons from the Open Road, you can check it out on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Open-Road-ebook/dp/B007OYYG64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332895452&sr=8-1
Links:
Book giveaway blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com
Young adult blog: www.zoe-mack.blogspot.com
Website: www.kdawnbyrd.com
I’m also on Twitter (kdawnbyrd) and facebook (K Dawn Byrd.) I am the moderator of the Christian Fiction Gathering facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=128209963444) If you join this group, you’ll get reminders about the weekly book giveaways.
LIVING THE STORY
Posted by: Becky Lyles on: March 27, 2012
I am honored today with a guest appearance by my friend and fabulous writer, Donna Fletcher Crow. I appreciate Donna’s sweet spirit as well as her amazing, prolific output–over 35 books authored so far. She’s my real-life heroine! And the heroine of my ACFW writers group, Idahope Writers, which recently honored her with our “Writer of the Year Award.” Yay, Donna! Here’s her story of “Living the Story.”
“Show, don’t Tell,” writers are always advised. And sound advice that is, too. But before I can show a story, I find that I must live it first. Excepting the murder bits, you understand.
That’s what’s behind my current Monastery Murders series. After publishing thirty-some novels, mostly dealing with British Christian history, I thought I’d change tack and write a nonfiction book. Still telling stories, you understand, but in a more direct genre.
So I set out on pilgrimage to experience my stories first hand. And experience them, I did.
In the fall of 2001 I took one of the first planes to leave Boise after 9/11 to visit 17 ancient holy sites in England and Scotland. And, yes, it was the incredible experience it sounds. (If you’re interested, my journal is here: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/sacredPlacesJournal.php)
And, of course, I thought the ensuing book The Holy Longing for Sacred Places was equally awesome. As did my loyal and energetic agent. But, alas, no editor could be convinced of its brilliance.
But I still wanted to tell those stories. And so The Monastery Murders series was born. If I couldn’t tell 
about my experiences visiting those mystical places, I could tell about Antony and Felicity scrambling over broken ancient arches and slogging through bogs that defeated Cromwell’s destructors. All I really had to do was add a murdered body to the landscape here and there.
Well, of course that’s a simplified version. Madeline L’Engle says that when our stories change over time it isn’t because we’re trying to falsify, but because we’re trying to get closer to the truth— to the real meaning behind the action. And so I’ve found it as I’ve struggled to distill my own experiences through my fictional stories.
A Very Private Grave, Monastery Murders 1, tells the story of St. Cuthbert whose venues I visited on the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, in an echoing cave off the coast of Scotland, in Chester-le-Street and in Durham. And along the way we visit St. Hilda in Whitby, St. Ninian in Whithorn and The Venerable Bede in his monastery in Jarrow. Not a bad return on my pilgrimage investment and a great romp for Felicity and Antony who accomplish it all while chasing and being chased by murderers.
A Darkly Hidden Truth, The Monastery Murders 2, focuses more sharply on a particularly wet corner of England known as the Norfolk Broads and the work of two amazing medieval holy women who both accomplished firsts in the world of literature: Julian of Norwich the first woman to write a book in English and Margery Kempe who wrote the first autobiography in English— although she was illiterate. A little curtailing of the action seemed appropriate because, after all, Felicity has decided to become a nun.
But then a dear friend turns up murdered— literally under her feet. And the action takes her to London to explore the nefarious doings of the Knights of Malta and. . . Well, I’ll leave the rest of it for you to read in the book.
To view trailers for A Very Private Grave and A Darkly Hidden Truth, see pictures from my research trips and visit my rose garden, as well as to order my books, go to: www.DonnaFletcherCrow.com.
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- Donna Fletcher Crow: Hi, Sheila, thanks for visiting!
- Sheila Deeth: I love that Madeline Engle quote. Thank you!
- Donna Fletcher Crow: What a good article, mel. Thanks for the link. Yes, viewpoint is so important in showing--filtering through your VP character's consciousness can make
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