
Saturday, February 4, 2012
FEATURED BOOK: FALLING FOR A FIREMAN BY ALLIE PLEITER

Friday, February 3, 2012
Ask Elnora--about closet space??? Lenora Worth
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Plot Thickens
Once friends find out I write for “Harlequin”, they like to tease my hubby with questions such as: So what’s it like to be married to a romance writer? ~Elbow. Elbow. Wink. Wink.~
Well, let me tell you. It’s not all fun and games. Sure hubby’s happy to help inspire me when I need to experiment with a kiss to get all the details right.
But I’m an inspirational writer so it never gets any further than that, much to my hubby’s disappointment I’m sure.
Besides, I’m not really a romance writer. I’m a romantic suspense writer.
So more often than not, I’m contemplating means of killing people, and more importantly, how to get away with it.
This can be quite uncomfortable for my family. Especially if they happen to notice my book of poisons sitting on the counter as they sit down to dinner.
Did you know that too much…?
Hmm, never mind, I’d better not reveal that. I’m planning to use the tidbit in my next book.
My family has learned to take my quirky ways in stride. My hubby is quick to assure people that it’s not him I’m planning to do away with when after I ask, “How could someone in your profession get away with murder?”
Most of the time, people warm right up to the subject. After all, be honest, how many of you have never contemplated how you might kill someone?
I’ve had a lot of fun with this line of questioning.
One time on the way to the airport following a writer’s conference, I shared a cab with a forensic pathologist. I was working on a mystery in which I killed someone by… hmm, won’t give that one away either.
Let’s just say by an ingenious means.
So I asked him, “If I killed someone by such and such a means, would you be able to detect that?”
The cabbie’s gaze shot to the rearview mirror. After the pathologist said, “No,” and I rubbed my hands in glee, I think the cabbie spent more time eyeing the rearview mirror than the road.
We made it to the airport in record time.
Then in the plane, I sat beside an aviation inspector. This was a divine meeting since I’d written a plane crash story that I wanted to tweak, and I had a two-hour flight to pick this guy’s brain about the myriad of reasons a plane might go down, and how.
Let me tell you, if you knew this stuff, you’d think twice before you got on a plane. I’m pretty sure the woman in front of us clutching her armrests was.
I could go and on with examples of ideas that have blossomed from the most innocuous situations.
Of course, there are drawbacks to having such an active imagination. It makes relaxing difficult.
This past summer while kayaking with the family, I couldn’t help but notice how easy it would be to sneak up on someone’s house from the water. My daughter who is also a writer locked right onto the idea and before you knew it we were spinning a tale of mystery and mayhem, and eyeing suspiciously every person who paddled by.
Of course, while I have a lot of fun writing my heroes and heroines into the worst situations imaginable, in the end, with the love of God and a good woman, the good guys triumph.
Check out how much trouble I get my characters into in my March LIS release now available on Harlequin.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Do You Love Weddings?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Films Celebrate the Human Spirit

I’m a huge movie buff. Talk for me for five minutes and you’d pretty much figure that out. With all the awards shows cramming our TV schedules, I thought I’d share an observation that really makes me smile.
As I looked at the list of movies up for awards this year, it struck me how most of the movies are celebratory in nature. They celebrate the human spirit.
For instance, in The Help, The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, and Moneyball, the protagonists are struggling with a major conflict regarding personal survival. They’re headed into a battle and hope to come out the other side as better people. They do. And we get to join them on this journey, feel their pain, their passion, their loss, and their victory.
I especially loved The Artist. I know, I know, you’re thinking, “You didn’t pick Midnight in Paris as your number one? A writer gets to go back in time and meet his novelist heroes!” Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed Midnight in Paris very much. But The Artist demanded I participate in the movie-going experience in a different, and deeper way.
At first the lack of sound freaked me out. I’m sitting there thinking, “My kid (23) is going to hate it! My husband is fidgeting. Why is that lady’s popcorn bag so loud?” Then something amazing happened: I fell headlong into story in a way I never have before. I was captivated. It was a lovely, entertaining story, without sex or violence. How refreshing!
I think that’s one of the reasons the Love Inspired line is so popular. I enjoy a bit of mystery and suspense with my reading, so I’m really excited about upcoming titles: Dangerous Imposter by Virginia Smith, Protecting the Princess by Rachelle McCalla, The Rookie’s Assignment by Valerie Hansen, and Shattered Identity by Sandra Robbins.
Between making a dent in my TBR pile, and writing my own books, I’ll keep busy until Oscar night, Sunday, February 26th. What are you reading these days? And which film do you think will win the coveted Best Picture honor?
Peace,
Hope White
www.hopewhiteauthor.com
Monday, January 30, 2012
Hanging in there...
Late in the summer, my daughter found some little bulbs she'd bought for a fundraiser, and my husband decided to just toss them in the pots to see what happened. Well, they've been blooming since about November! And they've survived the frost, I guess because they're on the edge of the porch.
Those cute little flowers (I don't even know what kind they are) have taught me about persistence. I thought I'd share. :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Small-Town Sweethearts Interview
How exciting to have Emily Hazard the heroine from Small-Town Sweethearts by Jean C. Gordon a January release from Love Inspired Romance.
You might find this interesting. Everyone here in Hazardtown seems to. I’m somewhat of a jinx. Although since I left my Adirondack Mountains hometown on Paradox Lake, NY, for college and my job in New York City, I’ve been able to control this interesting thing.
2. What do you do for fun?
Between trying to handle my work as an assistant art director for an agency in New York City from here on Paradox Lake and supervising my 17-year-old niece while her father is deployed in Afghanistan, I don’t have a lot of time for fun. I do enjoy the little family tradition my niece and I have of going out for soft ice cream to celebrate our various triumphs large and small. And I love the annual Essex County Fair, although I haven’t been there since high school.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
FEATURED BOOK: SMALL-TOWN SWEETHEARTS BY JEAN C. GORDON

Friday, January 27, 2012
Ask Elnora--About Pain??? Lenora Worth
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Ready for some fun? Word Search with the Historical Ladies
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Give it up for the Redheads!

Patty Smith Hall here, and I was tickled to get a sneak peek at the cover of my July 2012 release, Hearts in Hiding, last week. It’s always a thrill to get a look at the art department’s conception of your book and trust me when I say, the artists at Love Inspired Historical out did themselves!
I’m particularly thrilled with my hero, Beau Daniels and his mane of dark auburn hair. A lot of folks asked me after my last book, Hearts in Flight, why I chose to feature a family made of predominately redheads in my story. I guess the answer would be I love uniqueness, and titan hair is as unique as they come, making up on 1-2% of the population. People with red hair usually have fair skin, light colored eyes and a smattering of freckles--the perfect start for any hero or heroine!
The sad part is that there are a great many misconceptions about redheads or ‘gingers,‘ and different cultures look at them with anything from admiration to scorn. Their hair often coupled
with a fiery temper and a sharp tongue as noted in Anne of Green Gables when Anne was said to have a ‘temper to match her (red) hair.' In the Medieval Age, people thought red hair was a sign of moral degeneration and went so far as to kill them for being witches, werewolves or vampires. In the modern age, gingers have been targeted by cartoons and comedians alike, and in Great Britain, ‘Gingerism‘ is compared in the same vein as racism.
All this fuss over of two recessive genes!
An yet, history provides us with a number of redheads who have and continue to influence art, literature, history and science even hundreds of years after their deaths:


And the list goes on.
Of course, I’ve always known how adventurous and fun gingers are because God blessed me with a family full of redheads, including my husband of 28 years and my youngest daughter! So now it's your turn--tell me about any of the wonderful redheads in your life!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Research in Rome!
| Debby at the Colosseum. The Forum is to the right. The Arch of Constantine to the left. |
| Saint Peter's Basilica |
| Florence |
| Assisi |
| Debby throws a coin in the Trevi Fountain so she'll return to Rome. |
Monday, January 23, 2012
Not So Secret Sisters
1. These Two Solve Mysteries in Children’s Books
2. These Two Wrote Books
3. These Three Are Cartoon Characters
4. These Two Play Tennis
5. This One Sings; This One Acts
6. These Two Wrote Advice Columns
7. These Three Were Harmony Singing Group Whose Career Spanned the 1920s through the 1960’s.
8. These Two Sisters Lived in a Full House on Television
Ashley
LaVerne
Brittany
Charlotte
Ann
Mary-Kate
Maxene
Patty
Eleanor
Nan
Wynonna
Venus
Abby
Jeanette
Ashley
Serena
Flossie
Emily
racy put together this game for the Secret Sister unveiling party at her church. See if you can guess the pairs. I'll be checking in and out through-out the day and will let you know when someone gets them correct :) Sunday, January 22, 2012
Montana Match Interview
How exciting to have Parker Watson the hero from Montana Match written by Merrillee Whren a January 2012 release from Love Inspired Romance.
1. Parker Watson, tell me the most interesting thing about you.
I like to invent stuff. My current project involves turning the waste from my ranch into
fuel. It’s a work in progress. I’ve been studying some of the methods used by other people
and trying to make something that will operate on my ranch.
2. What do you do for fun?
I love to snow ski, but I don’t do it very often because my work keeps me too busy. At
home, I like to watch movies with my girls.
3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?
I dread leaving the ranch and going into town because the people there don’t like me much.
4. What are you afraid of most in life?
I’m most afraid of confronting the people who believed the worst about me when I was
falsely accused of misconduct with one of my students.
5. What is the most important thing to you?
The most important thing to me is giving my girls the best life possible. They mean
everything to me. They keep me going, even when life doesn’t seem fair.
6. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?
Most of the books I read are non-fiction. I work as a medical writer, and I do a lot of scientific
research for my work and my inventions. I don’t do much pleasure reading.
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would learn how to better deal with the people who hurt me. I don’t know what to say to
them anymore.
8. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?
I don’t have a pet myself, but there are lots of animals on the ranch. I recently gave our nanny
a dog for her birthday. It was my girls’ idea, and I thought it would be a great gift since she
has always wanted a dog of her own.
9. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the time when my life was simple and I was a respected
teacher in my community rather than an outcast. But then, my girls, Rose and Jasmine,
wouldn’t be a part of my life. There is no going back, so I have to accept the way things are.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
FEATURED BOOK: MONTANA MATCH MERRILLEE WHREN

Friday, January 20, 2012
Let's Discuss Elnora Today!
I imagine Big Daddy takes good care of Elnora when she's under the weather. Can't you just imagine her demanding it? :) What do y'all think? And are you lucky enough to have someone to give you all the sympathy and TLC you need when you get a migraine or the flu or even a pesky cold?
Let's chat!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Prayers for Our Readers
--Allie Pleiter
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Handling Disappointment -- how do you do it?
Cara Putman here. We had an interesting week at the beginning of the month in the Putman household. First, I had disappointing news from a publisher, then my eldest had a disappointing gymnastics meet.
Disappointment is terrible. Especially when you've worked as hard as you know how to work and hear that your efforts aren't quite there. They don't reach the level needed. Yet there's no clear direction on how to improve.
I cried out to God that I would do the work, I just don't know what that work is. For my daughter she can't feel the pike on her vault. How can you fix something you can't feel?
I'm such a doer. I want the four step plan, so we can take action, do something to move closer to the goal. Yet I get the sense that's not really an option this go around. I'm trying to pray. To circle the dreams with prayer and praise as Mark Batterson puts it in his new book The Circle Maker. I appreciate how God prepared me to handle these disappointments by reading this book and other things.
And as I've prayed about these disappointments, God has met me. First through a friend. He kept dropping her name in my mind, so I emailed her asking for help. She gave me an amazing gift of her time and talent by going through my synopsis and helping me identify all the good pieces I had in there and digging deeper to the elements that were missing. Then at practice I've watched my daughter put together elements and skills that have eluded her all year. She has to do the work, but that effort is being honored.
Here's what I know. Disappointment can push me to work harder, to go deeper as I chase my dreams. Disappointment can also push me away from my dreams. It's a choice I make. So I'm pushing deeper, checking that my dreams are the right ones, and committing to the extra work. What about you? What happens when you face disappointment? Do you have strategies for handling it?
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Oregon covered SNOW

Hi, Terri Reed here. We have a rare occurrence today in my part of the world. SNOW. And its sticking. At least it was. We haven't had snow stick to the ground where we live in two years.
A Shocking Revelation
Finding out she is heir to a fortune shocks Caroline Tully to her core. And to “qualify” for the inheritance, she just has to visit her newfound grandfather’s Mississippi home from Christmas to New Year’s. Adopted as a baby, Caroline knows nothing about her mother’s family...and doesn’t realize they can’t be trusted. When attempts are made on her life, there’s only one man who can protect her. Donovan Cavanaugh—a man who made her lonely heart want to love again. Posing as her fiancé, Don promises to find the would-be killer. But will his protection-and his love-be enough to keep her safe?
Protection Specialists: Guarding the innocent.




