Posts About Me 10

This is the tenth in a series of posts about me. I hope these help you decide my books are worth the read. I also hope they help save time for those who have no interest in my books. I know there's nothing more disappointing than expecting one kind of book and discovering what I'm reading isn't something I'm interested in reading. Not all books in a single genre are the same. Authors in the same genre are as different as football players on the same team and cupcake bakers. A lot of similarities but no two are alike.

I'm not a fan of exercise. I know I feel better if I do it, but that doesn't mean I like it. I choose walking because it's the easiest on the injured back and leg.

I've followed Rob Dubois since reading his book SEAL of Peace. In a FB post, he talked about the joy of gardening for him. He loves the dirt and sweat and hard work. He feels alive when he does it, completely connected. I commented that I don't feel that way about gardening, but I do about making bread from scratch. No bread machine. I love the process, especially the kneading.

There's something else. Working with horses. I owned one for five years. Every single morning, for five years, I groomed and grained him. I went out on Saturday night to clean his stall so I didn't need to do it Sunday morning. I cleaned his stall every morning, except Sunday. The work was dirty and sweaty, and I loved it. He had a number of health problems, and at 23 I had to put him down. It's been 14 years. I still miss him.

My Younger Brother, SiL, and nieces invited me out to meet the horses they lease. YB picked me up and we met SiL and one niece out there.

The first stop had eight horses, three mamas, three babies, and two geldings. The babies ranged in age from a month to three months. Adorable! I pet all of them, but the babies loved having their rumps scratched, the unreachable itchy spot. My niece invited me to help her groom one of the geldings. Gorgeous animal. I hadn't forgotten how soothing it was for me, but it was so wonderful to revel in it again.

The next stop was letting a few horses out and cleaning stalls. Yes, I enjoy cleaning stalls. There's something about the rhythmic sifting of bedding and ending up with ending up with a tidy stall. My back reminded me I hadn't done it in a while, but it wasn't bad.

I came home sweaty, filthy, and happy. It was a wonderful evening.

This is not my horse, but my sister found a free picture for me of my dream horse:

Share Links Saturday...

Sweethearts of the West shared a post on The Unforgettable Trusty Steeds of the West:
http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-unforgettable-trusty-steeds-of.html

History Imagined, Linda Bennett Pennell's blog, took her readers on an adventure through Norway:
https://historyimagined.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/land-of-the-midnight-sun/

Jean Fischer's Something to Write Home About explores 5 Unusual Ways to Get Your WIP Out of a Slump:
https://jeanfischer.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/5-unusual-ways-to-get-your-wip-out-of-a-slump/

Expressions of Me shared a touching message from a veteran for Memorial Day:
https://aerykah.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/happy-memorial-day-from-a-veteran/

The silly picture Motivating Daily shared makes me smile, and it's true:
https://motivatingdaily.com/2016/05/28/happiness-picture-2/

God bless.

Wordless

Errant Knight is available, today!

The Vicar's Daughter

At six and twenty and unwed, Penny accepts her status of spinster. She helps her father with the local parishioners of the duke's estate, often lending an ear to those too uncomfortable to speak to the vicar. Her simple life satisfies her. Serve the people of the estate, read to her heart's content, and stay out of the duke's way.

The Duke's Son

At six and twenty, Fitzgerald's goal in life is to avoid his father like the plague. That and chase down a ruthless criminal. Nowhere in his strategy is the renewing of a childhood friendship, even if she was his best friend.

The Inescapable Past

A duke desires to protect his secrets at any price. A vicar is helpless to protect his daughter. Is a son willing to defy his father to do what's right?

Quote from "Hidden Possibilities"

The lovely Donna Keevers Driver, author of The Path Chosen, created this lovely picture for Cait's thoughts:

Memorial Day

Never Forget

Shared Links Saturday

Patricia Johns shared a story she read about. May God bless the veteran and the judge.
https://patriciajohnsromance.com/2016/05/09/when-the-law-is-the-law/

I enjoyed the post on History Imaged. Linda Bennett Pennell brought back lovely memories of my visit to Scotland and added.
https://historyimagined.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/travels-through-historical-fiction-my-hearts-is-the-highlands/

A lovely post, "This is Amazing Grace," by Melissa Finnegan over at Genesis 5020:
https://5020genesis.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/this-is-amazing-grace/

God Bless.

Giving over to God

Yes, I was raised Christian. I've claimed the label for my own. I pray my life reflects my faith.

Having said that, I struggle with relying on God, for a number of reasons. I remind myself that they are excuses. However, defining them gives me a place to start in working through them.

As an abuse survivor, trust is a major struggle. How do I trust God when I was left in an abusive environment? Didn't He love me enough to save me?

It required a lot of years and tears to understand Jesus is more interested in saving my soul in the long term. I'm not saying the abuse was for my good. It wasn't. However, Jesus is powerful enough to overcome evil with good.

What I learned: Compassion, strength, courage. I struggled with my faith, but I also discovered my faith. While I didn't believe I trusted God, I came to understand that I trusted God bud I didn't trust me. Not trusting myself required approaching the problem in a different way.

Even as I've come to know I trust God, I struggle to give everything over to Him.

Being an abuse survivor, I need to feel in control. I'm finally accepting that me in control is not the best idea. Here's the amazing blessing: God allowed me to work through this at my own pace. He guided and offered inspiration through His Word and through amazing people who have also traveled my same journey and are willing to share their struggle.

The heart of my storytelling is the need to add my voice. My journey of faith is found within the pages of my stories. My prayer is that others find something of worth within those pages, something that strengthens them, inspires them, gives them hope.

Much of my battle to write each story is to step out of my own way and allow God to guide me.

Priscilla Shirer's "Fervent"

I loved the movie War Room. I wrote and received permission to mention the movie in my Holiday, USA series. My characters are also inspired by the movie.

I bought the book Battle Plan for Prayer and read it cover to cover. I did the homework. I learned. I discovered that Priscilla Shirer, who plays the wife in the movie, was inspired by the movie to write a book about prayer, Fervent.

She is running a Friday call to study and prayer. I listened to the first vlog (video blog), last Friday, covering the first chapter of the book. I read it and did the homework. I'm looking forward to seeing the changes in me.

Wordless

Quote from "A Promise of Possibilities"

The amazing Donna Keevers Driver, author of The Path Chosen (yes, the book captured my imagination), enjoys making memes. With the coming release of Errant Knight, I'm remembering where things started. First there was Elizabeth Thorn and Jonathan Silverton. I'm still a little in love with him, and I'm so glad he has Elizabeth.

Poster for "Leap of Faith Day"

The lovely and talented author/artist Donna Keevers Driver took the quote I sent her and paired it with a picture. This is a bit of Vince Timmons, the hero in Leap of Faith Day, the 9th novella in the Holiday, USA series.

I met Donna through Desert Breeze Publishing and discovered we have a few things in common. We're friends on FB, and I've read her book The Path Chosen. She also lives in Australia. How else would we ever have met? God works in mysterious and marvelous ways.

Errant Knight Cover Art

Carol Fiorillo created another gorgeous cover for my Endless Knights series.

Wordless

Finishing edits...

Final edits for Errant Knight are due, today. I love this book and hope my readers love Fitzgerald and Penny as much as I do.

I'm looking forward to returning to work on Knight in Disguise.

What will my world be like without working on my Knights every day?

Learning to Praise God in the Storm.

Sharing Links Saturday

The Writer's Refuge posted a much needed reminder about "What Are You Writing For?":
https://thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com/2016/04/24/what-are-you-writing-for/

Bill Taysom Marketing to Win: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/marketing-win-bill-taysom

Holley Gerth shared a lovely perspective "Hope When Mother's Day is Hard."
http://holleygerth.com/hope-mothers-day/

God bless.

One of the feral cats lazing on the driveway.

Final Edits...

...for Errant Knight are here. Release is scheduled for June. Everything else is put on hold, mostly.

I'll take a moment to mention how much I enjoyed Donna Keevers Driver's debut novel The Path Chosen. I finished it before edits showed up. Time travel isn't my favorite. Having said that I loved this book. I have a tendency to skim through descriptions. I didn't. I wanted to enjoy her turns of phrase and poetic word choices. I agonized with her characters and celebrated. She's now on my "Yes" buy the next book list.

Sunset.

Wordless

Leap of Faith Day

The ninth novella in the series is here...

Welcome back to Holiday, USA, small town America, where nothing happens, except holidays... and a little romance, if the hero and heroine trust God.

Her life a mess, EMT Belle Carlisle wants a fresh start. She's lived in Holiday a few years and likes it well enough. She's happy, mostly. 'Be Bold' is her personal aphorism, but it was never intended to include asking a man on a date.

Born and raised in Holiday, Vince Timmons is certain the prettiest EMT on the planet could never be interested in a younger man. Besides, his life is a mess. Not to mention the woman he pursued for over a year humiliated him in public. The last thing he needs is to fall for another woman who doesn't want him.

Man looks on the outward appearance and judges accordingly. God looks on the heart...

Available in eformat through Kindle Direct
http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Faith-Day-Holiday-Book-ebook/dp/B01EX4Y2IO

Or in paperback in the Holiday USA Anthology 2016 edition available in 2017.

Almost ready...

Leap of Faith Day is almost ready. This time, I'd like to share here the Dedication and Acknowledgments page. I don't think most people see it, as Kindle usually pops the book in on Chapter One.

Dedication
To God the Great Provider, including angels on earth. Thank you to all those who see the child in need and provide. My gratitude to my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, for being both peace giver and warrior, for not caring about the muck and the mire in His effort to rescue His lost sheep.


Acknowledgements
Thank you to Provident Films, the makers of War Room, and Rik Swartzwelder and Team Old Fashioned for kindly giving me permission to reference their wonderful movies in my Holiday, USA series. I pray my storytelling honors theirs. I'm grateful for their courage and inspiration.

Thank you to John McDougall, Chaplain, U.S. Army, for giving me permission to mention his book, Jesus Was an Airborne Ranger. It inspired and strengthened me in my battle to follow my Commander, the Warrior Jesus.

May God continue to bless them in their efforts.