A New Beginning

Hi, Patty Smith Hall here. As many of you are aware,  Love Inspired Historical, the line I write for, will publish the last set of books this June. It's always difficult to see a line end, particularly when it's closing directly affects you. I won't say I didn't see it coming--just one look at the sales numbers over the last few years, and you wonder why they didn't do it sooner. Many who wrote for this line are venturing into contemporary or romantic suspense while others are still trying to figure out where to go from here.

For me, it's been an easy decision. I love reading and writing historical romance and fiction so changing genres was never an option for me. But I've been blessed since word of the closing hit. Last year, I was published in three novella collections(The American Heiress Bride, Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands
and The Captive Bride.) This summer, I'll have two more released--The Underground Railroad Bride and The Southern Belle Bride. I'm also working on a historical fiction that I hope will be published sometime next year.

That being said, I feel it's time to say good-bye. It's been difficult as I've read Harlequin books since I was eleven years old, and it was my dearest dream to write for them since the late 1980s. But times have changed--though I still read Love Inspired, there are other dreams to follow.

So thank you, readers. You are the reason I write in the first place. I'm honored and humbled that you would read my 'scratchings' as Jo March would say. Thank you to the LI editorial staff for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream and teaching me how to be a better writer. Thank you to my LI sisters who have talked me through plot points and tough times. You are some of the most generous people I know.

And thank you, Lord! You began this work in me when I was barely a child, and gave me the dreams of my heart. How great you are, Father! I can't wait to see what You have in store for me next!

PS--Don't miss the first installment of the Valentine's Day tomorrow! It's going to be fantastic fun!

Welcome to the Ladies of Love Inspired--Lenora Worth

Hello, and Happy Easter! We are all excited around here. Today, we launch the new and improved Ladies of Love Inspired blog site--Love Inspired: Stories of Faith and Love for Every Reader.

To kick things off, here is a little poem we put together (kinda, sorta, to the tune of "The Brady Bunch." Hope you enjoy it. We are still building our pages, so please come back for book updates and pictures of the Ladies and our fun times. We'll also introduce you to some new Ladies who've joined the blog. More authors, more books, more posts! This week, we will post fun stuff until we're fully loaded. Meantime, if you have questions or suggestions, let us know! We love our readers!

Oh, and to celebrate, I'm putting together a Lovely Ladies spring box of books and goodies. If you post over the next two weeks, you'll be entered into the contest. I will announce the winner here on Saturday, April 29th!!!

Here's the story of some lovely ladies

Who were writing many lovely books,

All of them had plots of gold, with great endings,

That cleared up all the hooks.

Here’s the story of some hunky heroes who always

make us swoon,

They are strong and hardworking, with dreams that always bring them home.

These are men, who love their women,

And don’t want to wind up all alone.

And so we write some love stories, where the lady always gets her man,

Because they know there’s so much more to this life,

When they kiss and take each other’s hand,

And that's how this hunky, loving man marries a strong and loving wife.

Love Inspired Stories

Love Inspired Stories

Faith and love, that’s the way we make every reader smile.

September Means Autumn!

by Jill Kemerer

Happy September 1! In my mind, September 1st kicks off autumn. I live in northern Ohio where Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. Once September hits, anticipation swells inside me. The trees begin to turn colors, the temps drop, and I get the sense of a new start. Probably sounds weird thinking the final months of the year as a new start, but I've always felt autumn is a season of beginnings.

New school year, new television shows, new projects...lots of new! Ahh...autumn!

I took this picture at a local park a few years ago!

Depending on the year, we like to hike in local parks or head to a nearby apple orchard to pick a bushel of fruit. The bees go crazy in the fall, so you do have to be careful. You don't want to get stung! And apple orchards tend to mean freshly made donuts. If you've never had a donut made on the spot then tossed in a paper bag with cinnamon sugar, you need to remedy that. Pronto. I still fantasize about a fresh batch from fourteen years ago! They were the best donuts I'd ever had.

Same park, different location within it. I love the covered bridge aspect!

Another perk of fall? My husband and I love watching football. We're more into the college teams, but I'm also an avid Detroit Lions fan (I get mad at them a lot, but I still root for them!). I'm really excited because my hubby surprised me with tickets to see a game at Ford Field. I've never been there before. It will be fun!

But before the NFL games begin, we'll be watching our beloved Michigan Wolverines. Only two more days until kickoff, not that I'm counting or anything. This game will be watched in our living room, surrounded by game-day food. Hot wings, homemade blue cheese dressing, nacho dip and brownies. Bring on the yum!

What do you love about autumn?

***

Jill Kemerer writes Christian romance novels with love, humor and faith for Harlequin Love Inspired. Jill loves coffee, M&Ms, fluffy animals, magazines and her hilarious family. Visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and connect with Jill on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for her Newsletter.

Finding Her Way Home 

Cozy Lake Endwell, Michigan, seems the perfect place for Jade Emerson's new T-shirt shop—and perhaps a fresh start. After a lifetime of letdowns, she is finally ready to face the future on her own. So when local wilderness guide Bryan Sheffield offers to help Jade overcome a past trauma, she warns him they will remain strictly business. But soon, with the help of Bryan's big, complicated family and a boisterous St. Bernard named Teeny, Jade's frozen heart begins to thaw. Now Jade wonders if she can return the favor, bringing a little happiness to a man who has long kept his own sorrow under wraps…

Jill's April 2016 release, Her Small-Town Romance, is available in paperback and digital form through online retailers now. Click HERE for links to most retailers!

Are You Having a Holiday Today?

Missy, here. I know a good many people have today off for the new year since it fell on a Sunday. Happy 2012 to all of you, our wonderful readers! Are you off today? If so, do you have anything special you usually do for New Year's Day?

In our family, we usually spend the day doing a budget. Yeah, I know. NOT FUN! But alas, it has to be done. :) We also usually take down the Christmas tree. This year, our tree is still fresh and beautiful. I just hate to take it down! I'm thinking of putting it off for just a few days, maybe until we celebrate Epiphany.

Here's a somewhat blurry photo of our tree. I was trying to catch the beauty of the lights, but they just look kind of strange. :)

So, what are you doing today??? :) Any resolutions you'd like to share with us?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merrillee here, wishing you all a fabulous new year. Often in a new year, we think about how we can do things better. We want a new beginning, and we can have that new beginning in Christ. I'm going to share a few scriptures that talk about a new life. Let's start the new year with the word of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Epheisians 4:22-24 (NIV)
²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Do you have a favorite scripture or an inspiring thought to start the new year?

New Beginnings

Springtime is associated with with new beginnings. What paints a better picture than trees as they display their new leaves or flowers as their color and beauty spread across the landscape? Here's a photo I took from the deck of my friends' cabin in the north Georgia mountains last spring when I was doing research for my April book, HOMECOMING BLESSINGS. If only I had stopped and taken a photo of the Dogwood trees that were in full bloom when I passed through Atlanta on my way to the mountains.



The leaves were just starting to pop out on the trees on the hillsides above the lake when I took this picture. The signs of new beginnings were everywhere. The theme of HOMECOMING BLESSINGS is new beginnings for the hero, heroine and even her father. What better time is there to tackle something new than in the spring when we see so many signs of renewal?

Two scriptures come to mind as I think about new beginnings—one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 40:30-31.

³⁰ "Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

The other scripture comes from Romans 12:2.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—
his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Life is reassuring when we know that God is there to guide us and renew our spirits and our minds and give us the strength to make that new beginning. Whatever it is.