Books for Christmas?

     It’s almost a rule: Writers are readers first and last. We love books. We love words. So it will come as no surprise that some authors (like me) love books as gifts.  Love, love, love! This Christmas my girls blessed me with several to add to my TBR (to be read) stack. I have a few more on my iPad. Well, maybe more than a few. 😉 While e-books are wonderfully convenient and I read lots of books that way, I have to confess I’m still a hard copy girl who loves the feel and smell of a printed book.

     What’s your preferred way to read? Print or ebook? Did you get any books for Christmas? What were they?

    

What We're reading

Terri Reed
I’m in the middle of reading the Summer Brides anthology by authors Susan Wiggs, Sherryl Woods and Susan Mallery. All great authors. I’ve finished the first story, the Borrowed Bride by Susan Wiggs and it was delightful. I’m halfway through A Bridge to Dreams by Sherryl Woods and its a cute, fun read. I’m looking forward to reading Susan Mallery’s Sister of the Bride.

I recently finished reading Vulnerable by Mary Burton. As always, it was a fast paced, suspenseful read set in Nashville which I’ll be visiting this summer.

Up next, I’m not sure. It will depend on the mood I’m in when I finish the anthologies.

 

Cate Nolan

Currently reading:  Two different books: Think No Evil : Inside the Story of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting...and Beyond and Debby Giusti's Plain Danger

Just finished: Dana Mentik's Dangerous Tidings

Up next: books for a contest

Jolene Navarro

I finished The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding. It's three mothers that live in the New York area and they wrote this right after 911. I'm actually rereading it. Love this book on motherhood, faith and culture. 

I'm reading Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson and Ron McMillan. It is for work but I'm also finding great insight to personal conversations and a better understanding of the power play with my characters.

What am I reading next? My list is so overwhelming I'm not sure. Maybe a fun Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Jodi Thomas.

Lenora Worth

I am reading The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay. Very good!!

Pamela Tracy
I just finished The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordon.  He wrote Percy Jackson and I'm reading what my son reads.

I'm reading Ghost in the Wind by E.J. Copperman.  What can I say?  I like a good ghost story.

Next, I'll be reading The Apprentice, My Life in the Kitchen by Jacque Pepin.  He wrote Kitchen Confidential.  It's for my book club.

Barbara Phinney

What I am reading: A Fall From Yesterday by Norah Wilson

What I just finished: The Red Sea Rules

Next to be read: Seaside Secrets by Dana Mentink

Leann Harris

I'm reading Linda Goodnight's book, Memory House.

Rhonda Gibson

 Currently Reading: The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris Non-Fiction

What I just finished Reading: Dragon Harper by Anne McCaffery Fantasy

What is next on my reading list: Mrs. Jefferies Wins The Prize by Emily Brightwell Cozy Mystery

Jill Kemerer

I'm currently reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. This is a nonfiction Christian living book written for women who struggle with their weight. I'm very encouraged by the message of finding our significance in Christ and relying on His strength to help us make healthy choices. As someone who is tired of gaining/losing the same 5-7 pounds, I'm thrilled to have found this book.

I recently finished reading Jill Lynn's May Love Inspired, Her Texas Family. Jill has such a fresh voice, I couldn't put this one down!

Deb Kastner

I just finished reading: Books for a contest.

I am currently reading: Venetia by Georgette Heyer. I adore classical Regency romances and Georgette Heyer is the queen of all Regencies.

Next up I plan to read: The Crown by Kiera cass. My daughters passed the first books on to me after they had read them and I am looking forward to this last book in the series.

Linda Goodnight

I just finished reading: Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin, a gorgeously written, heart-tugging story I simply could not put down. Talk about a manly hero. Oh my!

I’m currently reading: Just Down the Road by Jodi Thomas, a Texas rancher romance full of wit, tenderness, and beauty.

Next I plan to read: Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas, one of her Ransom Canyon books. I’ve just discovered her books and love her writing.

So, Craftie readers, what are you reading?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Linda Goodnight here. It’s that time of year again. Spring has come to Oklahoma, and I have a yearning to be out in the garden playing in the dirt. Below is a photo I took near our pond, an old "home place" where flowers grow untended. Can anyone tell me what that white bush is?

I normally grow little tiny tomato gardens but this year Mr. G. plowed up a huge garden spot. I hope I can follow through with this grand idea of growing and preserving my own corn, okra,  tomatoes and so on. One thing I know about gardening. It takes work. Even on days when the sun is too hot or my body is too tired, a garden won’t wait. Weeds take over. The plants dry out. The fruit over-ripens and dies. I have to persevere.

Writing a book is a lot like growing a garden. It takes perseverance-from plowing the fertile ground of the imagination to the seed of an idea that, with careful tending, can take root on the page. Once the story seed blooms, I must dig out the pesky weeds of too much back story, overused adverbs and stilted dialogue. Yes, writing a book takes lots of work, but like the garden harvest, the end result is worth all the sweat and effort.(Remind me I said this in August when it’s 100 degrees!)

Are you planting a garden this spring? Have you ever? And please somebody, identify that white bush!

Linda Goodnight’s latest writing “fruit” is The Rain Sparrow, available now anywhere books are sold. 

The Library Journal says: Tender, haunting, and soul-satisfying, this story of hope, redemption, and justice skillfully blends romances in two separate time periods.

www.lindagoodnight.com

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: The Christmas Family by Linda Goodnight

The Greatest Christmas Gift Contractor Brady Buchanon can't wait to surprise single mom Abby Webster with his company's Christmas home makeover prize. But once he does, the struggling waitress turns him down flat! Raised in foster care, Abby won't accept charity. Yet when her dilapidated porch almost injures her daughter, Abby finally agrees to Brady's offer.

As the hardworking bachelor pushes to finish the house in time for Christmas, he starts falling for Abby and her little girl. With the holidays in sight, Brady wonders if Abby will not only accept her beautiful new home, but also his wish to make her his wife… 

Interview:
How exciting to have Brady Buchanon, the hero from THE CHRISTMAS FAMILY by Linda Goodnight, a November, 2015, release from Love Inspired Romance .

1.   Brady, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I’m a big guy, six-six and built like a linebacker-which I was in college. My size is what people notice first about me. These days, I’m a builder with my family’s company, Buchanon Built Construction. I’m the head boss under my dad and sort of the patriarch of my six brothers and sisters. They all look up to me-literally.

2.  What do you do for fun?

Lots of things. Hang with my huge family. Sports. Build onto my awesome home near the river. But the thing I look forward to most is Christmas. I’m a total nut job for the home maker-over project I do each year as a Christmas gift to one lucky recipient. Nothing pleases me more than giving someone a newly remodeled home. This year, I’ve chosen a waitress from the Buttered Biscuit Café. She and her little girl live in a house that’s falling down. The little girl, a cute charmer, has spina bifida. She needs a nicer, more accessible home. I can give her that if the mom, Abby Webster will lay down her overblown pride and let me!

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?

My dad and I butt heads like two bull goats. This year, because of budget issues and overwork caused by ongoing vandalism of other projects, he thinks I should scrap the home make-over project. I won’t. And I dread the moment he finds out. He and I rarely see eye to eye on anything and he often wins the battle. Not this time. I’m giving Abby Webster and Lila a home no matter how much my dad sputters and roars.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

Failure in any capacity whether it’s the makeover project, looking out for my siblings, or pleasing my father. I hate to fail or disappoint.

5.  What is the most important thing to you?

My faith. I’m a big, tough guy, but I still need Jesus in my life.

6.  Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

Sports books, building and design magazines, and crime fiction. I wish one of my crime books would help me figure out who’s damaging our building projects.

7.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’m a pretty content guy, but I’ve never been in love. Weird because I love woman and I date now and then, but my heart won’t cooperate in the love department. Abby Webster intrigues me, though, and I’d like to know her better. She brings out my protective side but I don’t dare tell her that. She’s proud and independent and thinks she doesn’t need anyone else.

8.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

 Dawg. He’s my big brindle mutt that goes pretty much everywhere with me. He just showed up at my place one day as puppy and never left. Okay by me. He’s a great dog, practically human. Dawg has already fallen for Abby’s little girl and I think the feeling is mutual.

9. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

All the Buchanons wish we could travel back in time to the day my brother Quinn was shot. I’m the big brother. If I’d have gone hunting with him that day, I could have prevented the accident that ruined his chances for an NFL career. Now, he’s a grumpy recluse that keeps the whole family worried and on our knees.

Craftie Ladies - Love Inspired October 2015 Releases

Listed below are the upcoming releases from our talented Love Inspired Contemporary Romance writers here at Craftie Ladies of Romance.  To purchase any of these wonderful books, just click on the book covers.  And to learn more about the authors, click on their names.

                               

The Christmas Family
By Linda Goodnight

The Greatest Christmas Gift 

Contractor Brady Buchanon can't wait to surprise single mom Abby Webster with his company's Christmas home makeover prize. But once he does, the struggling waitress turns him down flat! Raised in foster care, Abby won't accept charity. Yet when her dilapidated porch almost injures her daughter, Abby finally agrees to Brady's offer. 

As the hardworking bachelor pushes to finish the house in time for Christmas, he starts falling for Abby and her little girl. With the holidays in sight, Brady wonders if Abby will not only accept her beautiful new home, but also his wish to make her his wife… 

A Texas Christmas Wish
By Jolene Navarro

Karly Kalakona's new nursing job is the perfect Christmas gift she and her son needed for their future. The single mom just never counted on dealing with not only a stubborn patient, but also with his prodigal son. 

After years away, pilot Tyler Childress is only a temporary traveler to the Texas ranch he's spent his life escaping. But the chemistry he shares with his father's nurse is undeniable—and has him thinking of sticking around past the holiday season. 

Can Tyler learn to trust the woman whose caring ways are bringing his father back to life…and who might just be the partner his wandering heart can find a home with?

What We're Reading

Deb Kastner

What I just finished reading: Gray Girl by Susan I. Spieth  

An interesting look at the inner workings of West Point from a female cadet's point of view.

What I am reading now: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon  

Actually, I'm listening to this one when I'm cleaning the house or washing dishes. I've read her whole series before, but that was many years ago.

What I plan to read next: For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

Kate Nolan

I haven't finished anything lately. I

What I’m reading: Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden

Marta Perry's Where Secrets Sleep

Linda Castillo's The Dead Will Tell

Alison Stone's High Risk Homecoming

Jon Keller's Of Sea and Cloud

Next up - Heather Woodhaven's Surviving the Storm

Pamela Tracy

What I just finished reading:  The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  It was the fictionalized account of Anne Lindbergh’s life.

What I am reading now:  Safe in the Fireman’s Arms by Tina Radcliff.  I’m busy writing a Love Inspired.  I have sticky notes on my computer reminding me IT’S A ROMANCE.  I decided I needed to read a great LI to inspire me.  This one is working :)

What I plan to read next:  I’m thinking For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

Linda Goodnight

What I just finished reading: Nightingale by Kristan Hannah, a story of the French Resistance in WW2.

What I am reading now:  Nothing :(((  Too busy with revisions

What I plan to read next: Probably:  Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon

Dana Mentink

I just finished reading Hiding in the Light by Rifqua Bary. 

I am reading Decieved, by Irene Hannon. 

I plan to read Finding Faith in the Dark, by Laurie Short. 

Christine Johnson

What I just finished reading: The Wedding Dress by Rachael Hauck

   This has been on my TBR pile for ages, waiting for me to meet writing deadlines. What a great treat to devour once those deadlines were met!

What I'm reading now: Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf

   This is pretty scientifically dense for this non-scientist, but I'm always looking for ways to exercise and strengthen the mind, especially since dementia lurks in the family history.

What I plan to read next: Not sure. There's this huge TBR pile. Whatever strikes my interest at the moment will be the book of choice.

Rhonda Gibson

I just finished reading, Ravenspell book 1 of Mice and Magic,                          The Three Heaven's by John Hagee, and Mrs. Jefferies and the One who Got Away by Emily Brightwell

I am reading, Good health, good life by Joyce Meyer. The Iron Trail by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.  And, Frontier Engagement by Regina Scott

  

I plan to read, A Daddy for Christmas by Linda Ford, The Everyday Visionary by Jesse Duplantis, and The Other of One book 1 by Brain Burke

Yes I like to read three books at once :) Most of the time they are all different and from different genres.

Janet Lee Barton 

What I just finished reading: Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist

What I am reading now: Nothing—working on deadline

What I plan to read next: The Marriage Agreement by Renee Ryan

Debby Giusti 

What I just finished reading: NO, MAMA, I DIDN'T DIE, My Life as a Stolen Baby, by Devereaux R. Bruch, a self-pubbed memoir about being a black market baby taken from her unwed birth mother in the 1930s. The mother was told her infant had died at birth. Much later, the author would learn that she had been a victim of the Tennessee Childrens Home Society's illegal baby-mill operation run by Georgia Tann.

What I am reading now: Getting ready to start the next book...

What I plan to read next: My book club selection for the upcoming month is MY MOTHER'S RING, by Dana Fitzwater Cornell, a WWII Holocaust story set in Poland. After visiting Wasaw, the site of the Jewish Ghetto, and Auschwitz this spring, I'm eager to start this story.

Lacy Williams
What I just finished reading: The Jack of Souls by Stephen Merino (fantasy) & Love on a Deadline by Kathryn Springer.

What I am reading now: The Dandelion Field by Kathryn Springer

What I plan to read next: The Boy Next Door - an anthology coming out in late October from Lenora Worth, Kathleen Y'Barbo, Gayle Roper, Susan Crawford and Rene Gutteridge & Cheryl McKay.

The Memory House by Linda Goodnight

THE MEMORY HOUSE, a dual time period Women’s Fiction novel. 

Welcome to Honey Ridge, Tennessee, and a house that’s rich with secrets and brimming with sweet possibilities.

Julia Presley, 34, lost everything when her son was abducted and her husband subsequently left her. Now, she’s emotionally stuck, letting life pass her by and believing she’s as okay as she’ll ever  be.

1.  Julia Presley, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
    I suppose the fact that I run an antebellum bed and breakfast inn in rural Tennessee with my sister is reasonably interesting. The other thing is too painful, too heartbreaking to call interesting. 

2.  What do you do for fun?
    I love entertaining, cooking, making peach tea, and decorating this beautiful old house. In fact, these are the things—those and this wonderful old house--that saved my sanity, and probably my life, when Mikey disappeared.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it?
       Confronting my sister about her drinking. You see, it’s a fact of life that my family doesn’t talk about important matters.  The elephant in the room is politely ignored while all involved hope it will simply go away.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?
    Do not repeat this. I never, ever want anyone to know I doubt, but I am terrible afraid that I will never see my child again.  And I’m also afraid of something happening to another child on my watch. That’s why my inn has a no-child policy.

5.  What do you want out of life?
    I want my son to come home, of course, but also I want to help the mysterious drifter whose pitiful car broke down outside my inn. There’s something hopeless in him that I understand all too well. 

6. What scripture most defines your life?
    Love always hopes.

7.  What is the most important thing to you?
    Running and remodeling my historic inn. Lately, we’ve found some interesting artifacts from the Civil War period, including clay marbles that mysteriously appear at the most troubling times. I wonder if I’ve finally lost my grip on reality or if this old house is trying to tell me something.

 8.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    For years, I’ve felt frozen, waiting. I want to feel something again beside emptiness and heartache. I want to be able to let other people into my life, not just into my home.

9.  Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
    I have Bingo, a blue merle Australian shepherd. He was my son’s dog.  Bingo is getting old and misses having a boy around, but I so want him to still be with us when Mikey is finally found.

10. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?   
    While I live in the contemporary world, Peach Orchard Inn, my bed and breakfast is antebellum,  so traces of the Civil War pop up now and then. The old letters are quite compelling.