Lyn Cote--Question for you

Hey, blog-readers!
Will you answer a few questions for me?

1-What types of blog posts here do you like best?

a-blogs about new Love Inspired books?
b-blogs where the author shares about her personal life?
c-blogs with favorite recipes?
d-interviews with authors?
e-round robin stories by the authors here
f-write your own description of your favorite type of posts.

2-Do you leave comments so you will be entered in the monthly contest? Or do you forget? GRIN

3-Would you miss this blog if it went away? Why or why not?

So let us know what your opinions are? Curious authors want to know!

Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims

Janet Tronstad here. I just got back from a trip to Boston for Thanksgiving and I am reeling with grateful thoughts. We (my nieces, nephew and I) went down to Plimouth Plantation and had Thanksgiving with 'the Pilgrims' (costumed role players). Then we went over to see the Mayflower II (an exact replica of the original). Believe me, we have so much to be thankful for these days. I can't imagine crossing the ocean with 130 other people (crew and passengers) on a ship the size of my condo in Pasadena! Families were stacked on top of each other! And the voyage over was the easy part. The Pilgrims arrived in weather so cold about half of them died from pneumonia (and related things). They had little food, little shelter, and lots of fears. I wondered as I heard their stories if I would have their kind of courage. As I said earlier though it did make me very grateful I don't have their challenges. How about you? Have you ever wondered if you would have made a Pilgrim voyage back in the day?

The Cowboy Daddy Interview

How exciting to have Kip Cosgrove the hero from The Cowboy Daddy by Carolyne Aarsen, a November 2010 release from Love Inspired Romance.

1. Kip, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I guess the most interesting would be the fact that I used to race chuckwagons. Used to.
2. What do you do for fun?
Yeah. That's a good one. I don't have a lot of fun these days. Except when I take my brother's boys out for an outing. But what with my mom's surgery, my sister acting up and taking care of the ranch, I don't have much time for anything else. But I enjoy my life, don't get me wrong.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Telling the boys about their mother. How she took off on them and never showed up again. They know a bit, but they're pretty young yet.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Losing the boys. I love the twins and I'd do anything . . . anything for them.
5. What do you want out of life?
To be able to keep taking care of the people in my life. Someday I'd like to get married, but with the way things are going in my life, doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
My relationship with my family. My faith.
7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
That's right up there with what I do for fun! Haven't read a book since my brother died and left the boys with me. But when I did read, I liked reading murder mysteries. Like figuring out the puzzles.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Too many things. I don't think I'm very patient. I'd like to be less frustrated with my sister and the twins.
9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
The horses are more than enough. Tristan and Justin have a puppy, but that's about it.
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I'd go back to that moment when my brother Scott, the boys father, climbed up on that horse. If he hadn't . . . he'd still be here. Things would be so different. For everyone. But, I can't. I just have to live with what happened. Pray that God will take away the guilt. And take care of my boys.

Thank you Carolyne for sharing Kip with us.

FEATURED BOOK: COWBOY DADDY BY CAROLYNE AARSEN

Rancher Kip Cosgrove promised his dying brother he'd take care of his motherless young twins. So when the boys' estranged aunt shows up on the Cosgrove doorstep with a will and the law on her side, Kip digs in his boot heels. Nicole Williams is wonderful with the boys, but Kip is just as much their kin as she is. And until legal issues are settled, she'll have to abide by his rules. Which means visiting the twins at the ranch. Seeing how much he loves the boys. How much they love him. And maybe…staying forever.

From Us to You

Happy Thanksgiving from the Craftie Ladies of Romance!

What are you Reading?

Terri Reed here. I just finished reading The Cowboy’s Convenient Bride by two-time recipient of Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award and finalist for Affaire de Coeur’s Best Up-and-Coming Romance Author Wendy Warren.

I have to say it was a fabulous story with endearing characters that made me laugh, cry and root for them as they skirted around their feelings until finally risking their hearts to love. Wendy’s use of language and imagery really brought this story to life. Full of angst and joy, this was a heartwarming and enjoyable read.

Hungry Ranchers? Messy House? Filthy Barn? I’m your woman...
Claire Dobbs needed a job—and she needed it yesterday. But when the single mother of three arrived at Pine Road Ranch, she didn't expect to be greeted by six-foot-plus of scowling, growling cowboy….

After being injured in a bullfight, all Fletcher Kingsley wanted to do was slink home to Honeyford, Oregon, and lick his wounds. The former rodeo champ didn't need a housekeeper. He needed a wife! It was either that—or forfeit his beloved family home.

It would be a cold day in Honeyford before Fletcher ever got hitched. But having the pretty, spirited widow and her lively brood underfoot could change a man's mind in a hurry. Especially when sweet Claire started him thinking about home and hearth…and love?

http://http//www.eharlequin.com/author.html?authorid=899

God is Really Good

Pamela Tracy here, and yes, I am the mother of a five-year-old. It's exhilarating and exhausting. See, he's in kindergarten now and I'm lurking in the background always aware of the ole "How is he doing?" critiques.
Have I ever mentioned that I used to be an elementary schoolteacher? More specifically, I taught kindergarten. Since Mike's birth, I've daydreamed of his entering school already knowing how to read, with beautiful penmanship, no desire whatsoever to wriggle in his seat, and polite. Oh, yes, my son would be polite.
For the last five years, BK (before K), we've gone camping, built train worlds, loved anything Spiderman, watched a million episodes of Scooby Doo, put together puzzles, dug in the dirt, went for walks/rides/ and chased each other with nerf guns.
Whenever I brought out the handwriting papers, Mike turned up his nose. Coloring? "Here's two scribbles, Mom. Good enough?" Getting him to write his name was comparable to getting me to eat green peas: very painful.
Now, he's in kindergarten, and I'm pleased. He's writing his name, learning the ABC's and their sounds, adding outloud, and coloring.
Guess what? He's not at the head of the class.
But that class is behind a door and has twenty little people who all have mother's lurking behind them all worrying about the "How is he/she doing?" critique.
Yesterday, while sitting at the table, my son took a pencil and wrote Good.
I'm sure he saw it on a paper!
Then, he wrote God.
Okay, so I'm looking at a phrase, an interjection if you will: Good God.
He wasn't done. He wrote Good again.
I'm looking at him, and finally said. "Good God good?"
"Yup," he said with confidence. "I wrote good twice because God is really good."
I'm no longer a kindergarten teacher. I'm now an English professor; have been for years.
My son is the next John Grisham.
Ya think?

Their First Noel Interview

How exciting to have _Andy MacFarland the hero from Their First Noel by Annie Jones, a November 2010 release from Love Inspired Romance .

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

I don’t know if you’d call it interesting but right now I’m pretty focused on restoring an old landmark here in Mt Piney, Vermont, the Snowy Eaves Inn.

2. What do you do for fun?

I don’t really have time for fun, with all the work I’m doing on the inn and taking care of my adopted little sister, Greer, while my mom helps other families bring home children from China (as she did with Greer). Family is a big deal to us MacFarlands. But if I had to say, well, I did just meet this girl from South Carolina, Corrine Bennington. She’s a baker and… well, she sure has brought an element of fun into my life lately… whether I planned for her to or not.

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

Nothing. I do what is expected of me and always have since my dad died when I was a teenager.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Of letting people down. That’s why I have to get the inn up and running before Christmas Eve, people are counting on it.

5. What do you want out of life?

What most Godly men want, to serve the Lord, to serve others, for my word to be my bond and to have the love of a family.

6. What is the most important thing to you?
Right now, to get this inn finished and to take care of my sister.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
Corrie was just noticing the books on the shelf in my office – C.S. Lewis and books on vintage architecture.

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

Maybe to loosen up a bit, to not have to always go by the plan. Corrie thinks people need to go with the flow, but I don’t know if I can change that much.

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

No, but I have a sock monkey named Budy MonKaye that I had when I was a kid and now my little sister carries with her everywhere. I like knowing she loves that little guy even though I don’t know about her idea that I may want it back for my own kids in the near future!
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I’d go back to when the Snow Eaves Inn was built so I could figure out how to get it right. Or maybe back to when I was a kid and me and my mom and sister used to come out to the inn on Christmas Eve to be with other people who didn’t have big families. Or maybe to when Corrie’s parents met at the inn, to tell them they shouldn’t let anything come between them because they have a pretty great daughter who is going to need them. Or… Or maybe I’d stay right here in the present and see if this Christmas is the first of a lifetime to come with a certain southern baker who has never seen snow and is here to share our first noel.


Thank you Annie for sharing Andy with us.

FEATURED BOOK: THEIR FIRST NOEL BY ANNIE JONES

A spunky Southern baker, Corrie Bennington has her heart set on winning a gingerbread house contest in Vermont. Her masterpiece: a replica of the old inn where her estranged parents met. And where Corrie hopes to find the father she's never known. But when she arrives in Mt. Piney, Vermont, the inn is closed—and being restored. Handsome carpenter Andy McFarland offers to help Corrie find her dad and build her candy house. But Andy's matchmaking little sister has her own sweet holiday wish—helping Andy and Corrie find a little romance this Christmas.

More on the Thanksgiving Theme

Merrillee here, who is especially thankful this year that my mother-in-law will be joining us for Thanksgiving. We will be a small group--just three of us--my hubby, my mother-in-law and me. You see this year is the year that our kids are coming for Christmas, instead of Thanksgiving. Sometimes, we go to their place, if they aren't coming here, but we can't leave this year because my mother-in-law is in a nursing home. They are going to let her leave for the day to share Thanksgiving with us. That is special because she has either been in the hospital or nursing home since August 18. So we are going to have some turkey and all the trimmings, especially some pumpkin pie and thank God for our blessings.

What are you thankful for this year?

On a side note, one of my sons-in-law is a vegetarian, and I'm always on the lookout for good vegetarian dishes that I can serve when he comes for Thanksgiving. If you know any, I'd certainly love to have your recipes. Anyone?

His goose was cooked by Pat Davids

November is here and Thanksgiving is so close I can smell the turkey roasting. Except, this year I'll be in Cancun Mexico for a wedding instead of chowing down on my favorite pumpkin pie and whipped cream. I know, poor little me. Boo hoo.

Anyway, I thought I'd talk about one of my special Thanksgiving memories. After more than fifty years it's hard to pick one Thanksgiving memory out of so many wonderful ones, but I got a chuckle thinking about this one and thought I'd share it with you.

My brothers, all four of them, were hunters. Pheasant, duck, quail, goose. You name it. If it had a season they shot it. One day, just before Thanksgiving, my brother Mark came in with two big geese. Now geese in the wild aren't like the ones that live here in the city and beg for bread crumbs in the park. Bagging a goose takes skill and luck and Mark had TWO.

Thanksgiving was at our house that year and Mom decided to cook the geese instead of the usual turkey. I admit they smelled good as they roasted throughout the morning. When everyone was assembled at the table, my mother brought them in. My brother Mark watched with pride as his trophies came to the table. After cautioning everyone to watch out for buckshot, mom carved them up.

My grandpa, as the oldest, got the first piece. He took a bite and nearly pulled his dentures out. After mulling his mouthful for a while, he gulped and looked at Mark. "You didn't shoot these.""But I did," Mark insisted. By this time we were all trying to eat the tougher-than-boot-leather birds and not having much success.

"Nope," said Grandpa, pushing his meat to the side of the plate. "This one died of old age when your gunshot scared him to death."We all laughed but I did feel bad for Mark and my mom. Thank goodness there was plenty of side dishes to go around and plenty of pumpkin pie to fill us up. No one when away hungry, but goose was never on the menu at our house again.

I invite you to share a less than perfect Thanksgiving memory. I'm sure you've had one or two.

How Trials Strengthen You

Hi, this is Margaret Daley. I had rotator cuff surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. I am now going through the long process of regaining use of my right arm, which is my dominant arm. It has been interesting trying to figure out how to do things with my left hand. I have decided I will not master writing with my left hand. I've been using a highlighter on books that I'm reading for research and my straight lines are definitely not straight. With eating I am doing better. I am actually not spilling very much food anymore. Getting dressed is another challenge that I have had to work on. I am using a voice to text program to write this blog. Learning to use the program wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but there are some bugs that I haven't been able to work out. Needless to say I will be using this experience in a story. Have you had a challenge lately that has made you stronger?

God's Beauty is Amazing

I'm just thinking today what a beautiful thing God's love is today. I'm so Thankful for all the blessings in my life and as Thanksgiving is approaching I just want to God the glory for all His blessings. This is a beautiful sunset that we took when we were on our honeymoon in Kauai. If you just look around how could you not believe in God. His beauty is just so amazing.

This is a really short post since I have been running at a fast pace ever since my wedding and missed that today was my day to post. I'm getting into a new routine and will have my act together soon!

I hope everyone will be on the look out for my book YULTIDE COWBOY it hits the shelves Dec and is the 3rd book in the Men of Mule Hollow series. This is Chance's story and I had a blast writing this Christmas story.

God Blesss and until next time live, laugh and seek God with all your hearts.

Debra Clopton

A Season for Family Interveiw

How exciting to have Heath Stone the hero from A Season for Family by Mae Nunn, a November 2010 release from Love Inspired Romance.


1. Heath, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I’m an undercover narcotics officer. I’m good at the work, meaning my conviction rate is higher than normal. But I hate what it’s done to me inside. I spend so much time being somebody else that I’ve forgetting who I am underneath the disguises.

2. What do you do for fun?
Go to court and listen to sentencing. Isn’t that sick?

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Checking in with my adoptive parents always turns into an argument. They don’t really understand that I keep my distance to protect them. Someday I want to get out of this work so I can have a normal life, whatever that is. I want to live without looking over my shoulder all the time.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?
My greatest fear is having my folks become targets for the people I’ve helped bring to justice.

5. What do you want out of life?
I want to reconnect with my two older sisters. We’ve been separated for twenty-five years, ever since our father went to prison for killing our mother. If I could get to know my sisters I think I might be able to get to know my real self, too.

6. What is the most important thing to you?
Finding a place where I belong, where I can just be myself. I don’t know what that feels like. I’m not sure I’ve ever known.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
When I was about fifteen I discovered historical western novels in the library at school. Those stories about the men and women who settled the old west helped offset the boredom of algebra and biology. I still find that reading can help with the day’s stress and settle me down when nothing else works.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d be a kinder person. I’ve recently met a woman who is so selfless and giving that it’s hard to believe she’s for real. Olivia Wyatt runs a homeless shelter in a rough part of Waco, and everybody who comes through the doors gets a big helping of faith along with the meal. If I could change, I’d be more like Olivia.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
I don’t have time for pets right now, but someday I’ll have a big ole’ slobbery dog who will be waiting at home for me, no matter what kind of day it’s been.

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
I’d go back to the days when my old man was hitting our mother. I’d stop him from tearing our family apart. But thankfully, my sisters have done okay for themselves and I’m sensing good things in my future, so maybe God worked everything out for us after all.

Thank you Mae for sharing Heath with us today.

FEATURED BOOK: A SEASON FOR FAMILY BY MAE NUNN

Texas cop Heath Stone knows what it's like to have no home or family. Once a foster-care kid, Heath now appreciates those who help others. Like Olivia Wyatt, the lovely young woman who opened a homeless shelter in a tough part of town. But Olivia's hard work is in danger when Table of Hope is suspected of being a drug front. Heath goes undercover to keep a close eye on the shelter—and Olivia. What he finds is a woman of faith, a woman who feels like family…the family he's always dreamed of.

More thoughts on Veteran's Day--Leann Harris

I was going to blog on something entirely different until I read Allie's post yesterday and want to continue her theme of thankfulness and allowing God to use you.

My husband is a Vietnam Veteran and he was a munitions officer. He was the guy that organized the bullets and bombs and gave them out to different units. One night his mother (this was before I met him) woke up from a deep sleep and knew in her heart she had to pray for my husband's safety. She prayed for hours. In their letters back and forth to each other my husband related to his family that the munitions dump had been infiltrated and the enemy had set off a certain palette of bombs. It had been a rough few hours. He took pictures of the crater left. Later, when his mom asked when and what time this happened, he told her. It was the exact time when his mother had woke with the urgency to pray.

It is always good to listen to that small still voice.

Allie Pleiter on Veteran's Day

It’s Veteran’s Day.

Professionally, I’m writing a WWI novel and I would love to be able to speak to the Great War’s long gone veterans.  My research tells me it was a brutal war. I’ve had the opportunity to read letters from soldiers that made me cry.  Still, that’s mostly academic, and I feel totally unqualified to write today’s post.   I come from a completely military-less family.  Short of a couple of my husband’s co-workers and one writer friend, I don’t even know military people personally.

In theory, every American citizen should be qualified to respect the military, to honor those in service.  An experience a few years ago, however, showed me how little I really know of the sacrifices those families make in my name.

I was hired to speak at an army base near me just after my parenting book FACING EVERY MOM’S FEARS came out.  The idea was to translate the fear-fighting tactics I’d researched for this book so that they could be used to fight the fears that plague families with loved ones in combat.  I thought it was a wonderful invitation, and I was thrilled to put this valuable information to such good use.

I was unprepared for the emotional impact of the people I met.  Wives who couldn’t bring themselves to leave home because they might miss the phone call from their husbands--the phone call that could be their last conversation.  Mothers paralyzed by the darkness of knowing their sons are in harms way, but not knowing exactly where their sons are.  Teens aware but too young to handle the continual stress of a parent in combat.  Women afraid to discuss their bone-deep fears with their husbands because “the last thing he needs to do is worry more about me at home.”  It was an awe-filled, humbling experience for me.  I left knowing just how little I knew.  I was struck silent by the huge sacrifices made to which I had never given a moment’s thought.  People have not just lost loved ones to war--I saw the lives of the living devastated by the burden of service.

You may not be able to attend a service or ceremony today, but you can stop and say a prayer for our service men and women, for their families, for those grieving a loss or those struggling with survival.  I know I will.

Pulling the Plug

Kim Watters here. Now that I’ve got your attention, it’s not quite the dire situation the title reflects. Well, for my kids yes, but in the big scheme of things—no.

Earlier this month we cut the satellite TV. Yes, you read that correctly. We pulled the plug on over 300+ channels, most of which we never watched anyway, because our family spent way too much time in front of the boob tube. So now we have public channels only, just as we had when I was a kid. Cruel I know but in a cost cutting economy, we had to make some choices. DirecTV was one of them. I want to encourage my kids to be more active and use their minds creatively instead of vegetating out in front of the TV. Of course, they can still see some of their favorite episodes on the computer, but we’ve limited their time there as well.

Has it worked? I think so, but only time will tell. Without the myriad of choices of some somewhat inappropriate shows that don’t exactly mirror the values I’m trying to instill in my kids, they are finding other things to do. Reading, which makes my heart beat faster since I’m a writer, is one of them. Dusting off the old toys sitting in the closet is another. They’re even more helpful around the house, though I suspect it’s more from boredom or them hoping by being underfoot, we’ll change our minds and bring the satellite back. Not going to happen anytime soon, but I do like getting the dishes done faster.

As for myself, I miss Monday Night Football and the Discovery Channel, and the Cooking and the History channel. It’s funny how you miss things when they’re gone, but not for long. I survived my childhood, I can survive this. My TBR pile is growing smaller and the money saved will buy a lot more books to add to my dwindling pile.

That said, what have you done without lately? How has it hurt or helped you? Curious minds want to know.

*Photo by Salvatore Vuono www.freedigitalphotos.net

Fall flavors.....

Wow--Lisa's stew sounds just delicious!  I love the late fall, when the weather turns chilly and it's time for all sorts of  meals from the crockpot, and for baking bread! Here's a recipe that I make every week for our family, that would be great with Lisa's stew:

WONDERFUL HOMEMADE BREAD
Combine the following in the mixer bowl:
3 pkg regular yeast (or 2 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp, if you buy it in jars)
1/4 cup  bread flour
1 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
Let the mixture bubble  five minutes, while measuring the next ingredients into a separate bowl, then add these ingredients to the yeast:

2 cups quick oatmeal
2 cups whole wheat flour
1  Tbsp  Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Tbsp + 3/4 tsp  salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3  cups canola oil
4 1/2  cups warm water
Add the above mixture to the yeast mixture, and mix well.

Add flour below, using a dough hook to knead if you have one, until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (dough will still be sticky, not dry.  Amount of flour needed may vary with room humidity.)
4 cups whole wheat flour 
6 cups bread flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans
1/2 cup cracked wheat

Pour dough into a huge, well-oiled bowl,  turn to coat with oil. Cover loosely with a damp, clean tea towel. Let rise one hour, or until doubled in size. Dump onto a large cutting board or clean counter. Cut in sections, and place in  oiled bread pans. Let rise one hour. BE SURE to preheat  oven fully to 350 degrees. Bake 35 minutes. Brush tops with butter, cool in pans ten minutes, then turn out on cooling racks.  This  also makes yummy dinner rolls.

I'm now imagining that Devlin Sloane and Beth Carrigan might be enjoying Lisa's wonderful stew and the aroma of this easy homemade bread, in Winter Reunion, which is out in the stores right now!


Winter Reunion is my first book for Steeple Hill's Love Inspired line, and is also the first book in my three-book Aspen Creek Crossroads series.

What are some of your favorite fall recipes?  I would love to hear about them!

Best wishes to you all,
Roxanne Rustand
www.roxannerustand.com   and      http://roxannerustand.blogspot.com

Cold days...stew in the pot...stewing over a plot!

Hello from Lisa Mondello! It hailed all morning and the ground was covered with ice when we woke up. I heard a collective groan from my daughters as they headed out the door and even the scuffle of shoes being changed into boots.

So it's officially that time of the year when I pull out my crock pot and make my favorite stew. I love my crock pot. On days I'm deep into working on a story, it's my lifesaver. It never fails that I end up wrestling with a story idea only to have to stop working so I can make dinner. A little bit of planning in the morning takes care of all that and makes me feel like I have my own personal chef come dinner time!

As I said, I'm deep into working on my next proposal for Love Inspired Romance. At the same time I'm taking a wonderful workshop on screenwriting that is really helping me nail down a lot of plot points and is making the writing of the story easier. I'll be getting back to work on both of those in a minute, but I wanted to leave you with this family favorite recipe. Many blessings, Lisa Mondello



Crock Pot Stew

2 to 2 1/2 pounds of stew beef
2 carrot sticks cut into chunks
4 potatoes peeled and cubed
1 onion either cut up fine or put in whole
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups hot beef broth or 2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in two cups of hot water
Salt and pepper to taste.

Literally mix all that together in the crock pot and put on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Serve with salad and a loaf of bread. Enjoy!

A Daughter for Christmas Interview

How exciting to have Dr. Max Connors, the hero, from A Daughter for Christmas, a November 2010 release by Margaret Daley, from Love Inspired Romance with us today.

1. Max, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I have a chance to be a father to a thirteen year old daughter I never knew I had. I'm excited and afraid at the same time.
2. What do you do for fun?
Read--mostly non fiction books about history and biographies.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
Telling Rachel Howard her adopted daughter is my child--a child my ex-wife never told me she had when I was serving in the Middle East. I'm not looking forward to that, but I want to be a part of my daughter's life.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
Not knowing how to be a good dad for Taylor. Suddenly I've got a teenage daughter and I didn't have the years before to get to know her and establish a relationship with her.
5. What do you want out of life?
Peace. As a doctor serving in the military in the Middle East, I've seen too much death.
6. What is the most important thing to you?
Getting to know my daughter.
7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
Non-fiction about history and biographies.
8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Since my ex-wife left me when I was overseas in the military, I've become very cautious of letting myself get too close to another.
9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
No. I didn't think it was fair to have one when I worked long hours in New York City at the hospital.
10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
That's hard for me to answer. There are so many historical periods I find fascinating. But I suppose if I had to pick it would be during the time when the United States became a new country. What an exciting time for us. Our founding fathers had such a vision. I would have liked to have been there and given them my two cents, especially in light of what is happening today.

FEATURED BOOK: A DAUGHTER FOR CHRISTMAS BY MARGARET DALEY

Dr. Max Connors had no idea he'd fathered a child thirteen years ago. Or that his baby girl had been given up for adoption. He locates his daughter in a small Oklahoma town and moves there, hoping to become a part of her life. But when he meets her widowed mother, Max is unsure how to reveal his identity. As he helps Rachel Howard with her plans to homeschool the girl, he's welcomed into the family. But with the holidays approaching, Max must tell Rachel who he really is. Can he make his dreams of family come true by Christmas?

Valerie Hansen surfaces again!

Wahoo! Valerie Hansen is back. I know, I know. You hadn't really missed me. That's okay. I was chained to my computer and working on one of the new books for which I recently received a contract. This one is a suspense and there are three of those, plus two historicals, plus a regular Love Inspired Romance. Whew! Yeah, I get tired but I also consider my work as my personal ministry and it thrills me when I have more chances to write for Love Inspired.

As you can see from this cover, I do have a new historical coming in early 2011. Then, the month after that, there's a suspense about Texas Rangers that was part of a six-book, six-author series. The manuscript I just completed TONIGHT before readying this post, will be released in Oct. 2011. And then come the as yet unwritten others.

I truly love what I do. May you all be blessed as much by the tasks you're given.

Valerie Hansen

Annual Ham & Egg Supper

Missy, here. We just had our annual Ham & Egg Supper at our church last night. It's a big community event that's been going on for over 40 years!

The menu includes country ham, grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and homemade jelly. YUM! Some of my favorites. Of course, the day after, I'm always as thirsty as can be from all the salt in the country ham. :)

Every year, people start working the day before, trimming the ham, cracking the eggs, rolling the silverware in napkins, decorating the tables...

And then the day of the event, doing all the cooking and baking. And it takes an army of people to direct traffic, take tickets, serve the food, run the take-out window and clean up afterward. It's quite a production and a wonderful tradition.

Do you have any church or community activities that have become a tradition through the years?

Firefighter Heroes Love You, too.

Linda Goodnight here with an important message. Sounds like a commercial for life insurance, doesn’t it? Well, in a way it is. One of my favorite heroes, both in books and in real life, is the firefighter, probably because I happen to personally know some very handsome, hunky, young men who work in this noble profession. Godly men who really care about the people they serve, which brings me to my message. Smoke detectors.




For obvious reasons, fall and winter bring more house fires. Yesterday my FF son and his crew responded to an early morning fire. Because there were no smoke alarms in the house, the family slept on until the fire was out of control. Two little ones died.

Firefighters don’t just walk away from a scene and forget about it. Those deaths haunt them. FF hurt. They question. They pray that it will never happen again. Most fire departments will provide smoke alarms free of charge and even install them for you. Be sure yours are good to go. Check them now. We love our firefighter heroes, and they love you too much to lose you.

Already Thinking Thanksgiving! A Must-Have Recipe!

Lyn Cote here! I'm already thinking Thanksgiving. And I wanted to share a must-have recipe if you're like me and have a husband who LOVES stuffing! I do stuff the bird but then I make a crockpot full of stuffing so I have some for leftovers. Also I only have one oven and usually the turkey takes up all the room in my oven.
So here's the recipe:

Crockpot Stuffing
1/3 c butter or margarine
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp thyme
6 1/2 c dry bread cubes
1 can cream of chicken soup with enough water to equal 2 cups liquid OR 2 cups of chicken or turkey broth
1 egg, well beaten
Saute onions and celery in butter around 7 minutes. (Personally I don't. I like my veggies al dente)
Combine all ingredients. Add egg last. Pour mixture into crockpot, cover, cook on high for 45 minutes and then low for 5-8 hours. Adjust liquid in accordance with dryness of bread cubes.
For large recipe, 13-14 cups, double all ingredients except soup or broth.

Hope this helps! How do you make stuffing or dressing? Anybody like cornbread or with raisins or craisins?

Trying to think like a monk (yes, the old ones)

This Janet Tronstad. I recently forced my twelve-year old nephew to go to the Huntington Gardens here in Pasadena with me so I could show him their copy of the Guttenberg Bible. It's one of the few in existence and I think it's awesome. He wasn't impressed (;)), but I haven't stopped thinking about it since. Partly because I feel like we are at the same kind of crossroads in the evolution of books today. Our new ebooks are (maybe, somewhat) like the Guttenberg press. And I feel like I'm one of the monks who might have looked up from a lifetime of painting the scrollwork in those ancient texts to protest that people would lose their reverence for books if they weren't done in the same way. And the monks were right. No one would have ever taken one of those scrolls to the bathtub with them! The monks probably also pointed out that their books were more beautiful than the ones printed by machine -- and again they were right. The monks might have even wondered what they would do without their jobs since making the scrollwork was their life.

Change is almost always hard. You hear all the chatter about whether or not people are going to buy ebooks, but I want to know how you feel about the change. Nostalgic for the old? Fearful of the new? Dragging your feet in resistance? Jumping off the bridge in eagerness? Let's talk. And try, if you can, to put yourself in the mind of one of those old monks. Incredible to even think of laboring like they did just to make one copy of one book!