FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: The Cowboy Meets His Match by Leann Harris

Corralling Her Heart 

Sawyer Jensen is ready to grab life—and his new job—by the horns. The tall, hazel-eyed cowboy has been brought in to revive Quay County's faltering rodeo, but his bigger challenge may be taking on Erin Delong. The beautiful rodeo rider was in the running for Sawyer's job, and she's not walking away without a fight. Sawyer is no stranger to conflict, but the feelings Erin is stirring in him are brand-new. Her independent spirit both intrigues and scares him. As it turns out, Sawyer's biggest project will be repairing his own wounded heart—and Erin may just be the perfect person for the job!

How exciting to have Erin DeLong the heroine  from  The Cowboy Meets His Match written by Leann Harris a June 2016 release from Love Inspired Romance .

1.  Erin, tell me the most interesting thing about you?  I grew up in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The city is off  I-10, but known for being off  Route 66.  I’m a barrel racer and been riding all my life.

2.  What do you do for fun? Ride my horse, Wind Dancer. Growing up, when my mom went to the reservation to visit her family, I went with her and always managed to organize a race.

3.  What do you put off doing because you dread it? Cooking.  That’s not my thing.  To relax, I’m with my horse. I’d rather muck out the barn than fix dinner.  My brother claims my skill at cooking reflects my interest.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life? Losing. When I lost the big job to reorganize my hometown rodeo, I knew I couldn’t walk away and let Sawyer Jensen do it without my input and that caused all sorts of problems. Oddly enough, Sawyer didn’t mind.

5.  What is the most important thing to you?  My family. When my dad had a stroke, it threw my family’s world into chaos, leaving us all in confusion, and with questions. Oddly, Sawyer stepped into the vacuum left.  

6.  Do you read books?  Absolutely. You can learn so much from a book on animal husbandry or the memories of a famous barrel rider. It’s not widely known, but I love reading a good romance while out on the back porch. The men in those books are great.

7.  If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?  Well, my mom tells me that it isn’t my job to solve everyone’s problem. I should stop doing that.

8.  Do you have a pet? My horse is my best friend and buddy. Wind Dancer is part of me. I’ve had boyfriends complain that I give my horse more attention than them. Guilty.

9. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? I would’ve liked to have been in this area of New Mexico when my mother’s people The Navajo or Diné  roamed the land.

What We're Reading

Teri Wilson

I just finished reading: After You by Jojo Moyes. (This is the sequel to Me Before You.)

I am currently reading: Emily Giffin's upcoming novel First Comes Love, which releases on June 28. I'm interviewing her for HelloGiggles.com during her book tour, so her publicist sent me an advance review copy. I'm beside myself with excitement. Emily is one of my favorite all-time authors. (And the book is sooo good.) 

Next, I plan to read: The Memory of Us, by Camille Di Maoi. Camille is a friend of mine, and this is her debut book for Lake Union Publishing, based on the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby. I can't wait to read it! 

Barbara Phinney:

I just finished reading: A Fall From Yesterday by Norah Wilson.

I am currently editing my mystery books.

Next, I plan to read: Emma’s Prayer by RA Giggie, a local author who writes poignant Christian mysteries.

Danica Favorite:
I just finished reading: An Alaskan Wedding by Belle Calhoune

I am currently reading: Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury

Next, I plan to read something light and fluffy that I don’t need to think about. My current read is really challenging!

Pamela Tracy
I just finished Kiss River by Diane Chamberlin, which I enjoyed.  There was a surprising twist at the end. 
I am currently reading Her Rancher Bodyguard by Brenda Minton.  I keep hoping that if I read her enough whatever she is doing right will zap me so I can write like she does.
Next I'll probably read No Test for the Wicked which I picked up at the RT Book Conference.


Patricia Johns
Right now, I'm reading middle grade books with my son. There is only so much time in a day, and I'm writing hard! When my reading is vastly different from my writing, it helps me not to confuse the two.
So right now, I'm reading: a Hardy Boy's Book called The Flickering Torch Mystery. ;)

Lorraine Beatty
I just finished reading White Shirts? A first hand account of a mass shooting at a Jackson fire department several years ago. Written by the wife of one of the victims.
What I'm reading now: Mindy Obenhaus Falling forthright Hometown Hero.
What I'm going to read next - Yuletide Reunion by Virginia Vaugan. 

Deb Kastner

I just finished reading: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Excellent writing and characterization.

I'm currently reading (well, re-reading): Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It's a classic for a reason! I adore Mr. Rochester. Love those dark, broody heroes.

Next, I'm planning to read: Something out of the Regency era, I think. 


Linda Goodnight
I am currently reading The First Gift by Ruth Logan Herne. It was sent to me for endorsement by her publisher and I am really enjoying it. It is a heart-tugging, surprising story set in New York's Appalachia.
I just finished reading Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden, a beautifully written, complex tale of a mother with a horrifying secret past and her daughters who struggle to understand her.
Next, I will read Lacy William's Once Upon a Cowboy. It looks very cute. The cover is gorgeous and the opening scene hooked me.

Summer mayhem!

Aka I no longer know the days of the week.

Hi Everyone, Danica Favorite here, and I'm just going to confess and say that when Winnie asked me to post on THURSDAY, and I said yes, I had every intention of posting on Thursday. And technically, at my house, it still is. :)

But here's the trouble: It's summer, and with my kids not going to school every day, and the transition of days when they have their activities, I never know what day of the week it is. So there I was, happily getting ready with all of my Wednesday night things, because my daughter has gymnastics on Wednesday, and oops!! I forgot that she moved to a Thursday gymnastics day. Yep. I was working on a post on what I thought was Wednesday, for Thursday, and guess what? It was already Thursday.

Welcome to summers at my house! I think I'm busier in the summer with the kids than any other time of the year.

So, since I can't seem to get my days straight, you'll all have to forgive me. One day, I will finally figure out a good system for remembering what day it is!

Until then, tell me about how you handle your summer schedule craziness. Apparently, I need all the help I can get!

The Beauty Of Change

Okay, I know what you’re saying…change can be beautiful? No way. I’m inclined to agree with you. I’ll be the first person to say I am not a fan of change. It can be disruptive and overwhelming to your peace of mind. But in life as in writing, change is inevitable.

So when I recently had an unexpected change occur in my life, I found myself searching for a way to find something good about change. And what I found was not only good, but beautiful.

 

First I thought about the changing seasons. If you live in the north where it snows a bunch, you probably love it when winter changes to spring. My favorite season is the fall. By the end of a long hot Texas summer, fall is a welcoming change in both temperature and scenery.  Good thing…right?

 

Then I thought about change in my family life. I’m a grandmother of three beautiful girls and I can’t imagine my life without them enriching it. Each are special and different in their own way. But if I’d never met my husband, who knows where my life would be. I thank God every day for those blessings.   

 

 

I considered the changes I’ve seen at my church in the years that I’ve attended. We’ve seen pastors come and go. Each brought value to our church. Youth pastors have moved on to serve other churches and members have gone to be with God. My life has been enriched by each of them.    

 

 

 

 

Then I thought about my writing. I’m so happy to be called a Christian writer, but if I’d never taken the chance to enter a Love Inspired writing contest would I still be searching for my place to serve God? Getting my first Love Inspired Suspense contract confirmed what I believe God wanted me to do with my writing.

 

 

 

 

 

So, if you are going through change in your life or your career, take a moment to look back on the changes you’ve gone through so far. I bet you’ll see the fingerprints of God throughout it all.  

While change is always hard and can turn your life upside down, as I’ve looked back on my life, I’ve realized change has always moved me toward good things. And looking at it now, I can see God’s hand through it all.

 

All the best…

 

Mary Alford
www.maryalford.net

Rocky Mountain Pursuit - Available now at: Love Inspired Suspense
IDENTITY: CONFIDENTIAL
Everyone believes agent Jase Bradford is dead—everyone but Reyna Peterson. Only he can protect her now that someone wants the information her CIA husband died to secure.

Forgotten Past - Available now at: Love Inspired Suspense
LOST MEMORIES
Faith McKenzie was the only survivor of a brutal home invasion. Viciously attacked and left for dead, Faith can't remember anything about that night—including the identity of the killer.

    

10 Inspiring Quotes for Book Lovers by Teri Wilson

Hello, lovelies! 

Here at Craftie Ladies, some of us write contemporary romance, some of us write historical and some of us write romantic suspense. But there's something we all have in common: books. We're all devoted book lovers, and I'm guessing that you are too.

So in celebration of the love of reading, here are ten inspiring quotes about books...

There is no friend as loyal as a book.

Ernest Hemingway

Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.

Joyce Carol Oates

A book is a dream you hold in your hand. 

Neil Gaiman

There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all. 

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it.

Edward P. Morgan

I cannot sleep unless I am surrounded by books. 

Jorge Luis Borges

Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.

Frederick Douglas

We read to know that we are not alone. 

C.S. Lewis 

You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had been alive. 

James Baldwin 

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.

Jorge Luis Borges 

Craftie Ladies - Love Inspired Historical June 2016 Release

Listed below is the new release from our talented Love Inspired Historical June author here at Craftie Ladies of Romance. To purchase this wonderful book, just click on the cover. And to learn more about the author, click on her name.

A Nanny for Keeps

by Janet Lee Barton

A Family in Need
 With no teaching positions open, Georgia Marshall agrees to become the temporary nanny for the two little girls next door. But she soon becomes enamored of the precocious children and their dashing but distant widowed father. Though she's falling for him, she can't help but think that the nobleman is out of her reach.

After the tragic loss of his wife, Tyler Walker swore he'd never again give his heart away. Until his neighbor brightens his home and brings some much-needed stability to his motherless family. But he refuses to allow this arrangement with the pretty teacher to become permanent…no matter how much he wants Georgia by his side—forever.

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: A Nanny for Keeps by Janet Lee Barton

A Family in Need 

With no teaching positions open, Georgia Marshall agrees to become the temporary nanny for the two little girls next door. But she soon becomes enamored of the precocious children and their dashing but distant widowed father. Though she's falling for him, she can't help but think that the nobleman is out of her reach. 

After the tragic loss of his wife, Tyler Walker swore he'd never again give his heart away. Until his neighbor brightens his home and brings some much-needed stability to his motherless family. But he refuses to allow this arrangement with the pretty teacher to become permanent…no matter how much he wants Georgia by his side—forever.

 Interview:

How exciting to have Georgia the heroine from  A Nanny For Keeps written by Janet Lee Barton a June 2016 release from Love Inspired Romance .

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

I’m not sure most people would find me interesting. I’m a teacher—well, a nanny now, but one only because there are no openings for me at present and I can’t take advantage of Mrs. Heaton’s generosity any longer. I must have employment.

2.  What do you do for fun?

On my days off, I do many things with the other boarders at Heaton House, but right now, I’m enjoying being nanny to two of the sweetest little girls and I work just next-door to Heaton House.

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

I put off admitting how attracted I am to their papa because once I do, I must resign and then I fear I wouldn’t be able to be part of his— or their— lives any longer. He’s part of the English gentry and I’d never be considered a match for him.

4.  What are you afraid of most in life?

That I’ll never have a family of my own.

5.  What do you want out of life?

I want to please the Lord and deep down I want real love—a husband who truly loves me.  And of course a family.

6.  What is the most important thing to you?

My faith in the Lord. I know He will be with me no matter what.

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

That I wouldn’t seem to fall in love with the wrong men.

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

No. I used to have a dog before I moved to New York City, but we can’t have pets in a boardinghouse. Maybe one day . . .

9. Can you tell us a little interesting tidbit about the time period you live in?

Oh, there is so much interesting about it! So many single women coming to the city to find work—you know many in small towns don’t approve of that, but in the city it seems much more commonplace now. And there are all kinds of positions—besides being a nanny or teacher. One of our former boarders is a photographer with her own shop—of course she’s married now but her husband fully supports her in her venture. One of the boarders is a seamstress and another works at the Barge office helping the immigrants who come into the country. Yet another is a window dresser at Macy’s. Small towns just don’t have the same kind of opportunities that a big city offers. And those of us at Heaton House feel blessed to have Mrs. Heaton as a landlady. She makes us feel we have a real home.

Hello, my darlings. Elnora's in a good mood because I made my deadline this week. I'm going to take a few days off and rest up until I start all over again. But I thought it would be fun to show you the fruits of my labor over the past three years, starting in the fall of 2013 when I first started this contract. I love to write. I love sitting in my little room with view telling love stories. So other than the times I've beat my head against the wall or thrown a few shoes or ate too much chocolate or had me a royal hissy fit and stomped my feet and left the house to go shopping or maybe had a little tizzy tantrum and headed off to the beach a few times, I've been perfectly content writing all of these stories. I also have an ulterior motive for doing this. I want you to read. If you don't read my books, read someone's book and send me a picture of you reading on the beach, or on a bench, or in your car or even in a bar. I'll post them on social media, with your permission. Send them to LNwrite2@aol.com and put Reading a Book in the subject line! God gave women books so they wouldn't go AWOL, after all. I want you to have a great summer. We'll call it the Summer of Love!

So here goes. Let's stroll through my marathon book collection. This is all of the books I've written since mid-2013 (and four more on the way but I don't have covers for them yet!) Send me those pictures!