Tag Archives: inspirational novel

Praises for Paper!

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Winner of the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and finalist in the 2015 ACFW Carol awards, Dawn Crandall’s beautiful novel the Hesitant Heiress, an intriguing historical romance, is now available on paper!

If you’re anything like me, this is a big thing. As much cuddling up with a digital device appeals to many, I am not ready to marry a android (no offence Mr. Data), or give up the four huge bookshelves that I just set up in my living room! I love the feel, smell, and look of a book-book (not to be mistaken with an e-book).

Back to Dawn and her books (now book-books), as the next two in her series are arriving in tangible form on the 6th of October and the 3rd on November. So mark those on your calendar as good days to raid Amazon. (Or, if you don’t want to wait that long, you can cuddle up with an electronic device as they are already available as e-books 😉 )

Dawn Crandall’s book-book, The Hesitant Heiress:

1.The Hesitant HeiressAfter being unjustly expelled from the Boston Conservatory of Music, Amaryllis Brigham sees her dreams of founding a music academy in her hometown of Seattle, Washington, disappearing before her very eyes. Now, the only way to achieve her goal comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible: Marry within the year to inherit the immense fortune of her estranged grandmother.

Amaryllis reluctantly moves in to her aunt’s Boston home and rubs shoulders with fashionable society. Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds herself quickly falling in love with the most unlikely of men—Nathan Everstone, the envy of every eligible female, whose father has haunted her dreams for the decade following her mother’s tragic death.

However, Nathan turns out to be much more than he seems…and everything she never knew she wanted. But can she ever really trust an Everstone man?

 

Dawn Crandall:

IMG_3368 (683x1024)A graduate of Taylor University with a degree in Christian Education, and a former bookseller at Barnes & Noble, Dawn Crandall didn’t begin writing until 2010. That is the year she shared with her husband her long-time dream of writing books. He encouraged her to quit her job and to pursue her passion to write stories. Apart from writing books, Dawn also recently became a mother—she and her husband were blessed with a baby boy in March 2014. She also serves with her husband in a premarriage mentor program at their local church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Dawn is a member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers, secretary for the Indiana ACFW Chapter (Hoosier Ink), and associate member of the Great Lakes ACFW Chapter. Dawn is represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary.

 

 

Connect with Dawn online:

www.dawncrandall.blogspot.com

www.FaceBook.com/DawnCrandallWritesFirst

www.twitter.com/dawnwritesfirst

www.APassionforPages.blogspot.com

www.pinterest.com/dawnwritesfirst

dawncrandallwritesfirst@gmail.com

 

Now for the most important question of the day…

Wait for it…

What do you prefer? E-books or book-books?

I Always Cry at Weddings

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I don’t do many actual book reviews here, but Sara Goff’s I Always Cry At Weddings stood out in a very particular way. You have to understand that usually I read Christian Historical Romance and even fifty years ago it was discouraged by the general population to have intimate relationships before marriage. Somehow in the past few years we have gone from that 61HmFdDarxLwonderful ideal, to premarital sex being almost expected. And it appears that is what Ava, from I Always Cry at Weddings, was also led to believe. Then she watches the deep excitement and love between a newlywed couple who have saved themselves for a real honeymoon, and her whole outlook begins to change.

I Always Cry at Weddings is the first Christian novel I have read that has really addressed premarital intimacy. Not as a “I have sinned”, but “this is something I have done, wish I didn’t do, and don’t want to do again, and this is why.”  With this theme woven tactfully into a entertaining story-line, I enjoyed this book from start to finish.

I want to thank Sara for being a voice to young woman (and everyone, really) who might question whether waiting for marriage is worth it when the media and society cry out that sex is something trivial — a fun way to express yourself. I want to join my voice with hers and say, yes it is worth waiting for! Sex is a wonderful, enjoyable, and powerful thing, given by God to strengthen marriage, and create children. It is sacred, holy, and beautiful when kept between a husband and wife as an expression of devotion and love.

So worth waiting for!

I Always Cry at Weddings: Engaged to a wealthy NYC socialite’s son, Ava is ready to set the city abuzz with her glamorous wedding. At least until she realizes her relationship isn’t what it should be. Then, in a move as daring as a red satin dress, she does the unthinkable–she calls it all off and makes a promise to God that from now on, she’ll save sex for marriage.

She’s convinced the future is hers for the taking, especially when an undercover cop promises a new romance…and an unexpected friendship with the homeless guy under her stoop brightens her days.

But when her carefully balanced life teeters out of control, weddings aren’t the only thing to make her cry. Ava has to figure out what life she really wants to live…and what in the world love really means

Interested? You can find this book on Amazon, and Goodreads.

Remembering Lew Wallace and Ben-Hur: By Shirley Raye Redmond

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February 2015 marks the 110th anniversary of the death of author Lew Wallace—a former Army general and Wallaceterritorial governor of New Mexico. In my inspirational novel, AMANDA’S BEAU, the school teacher hero Gil Gladney loans my heroine Wallace’s bestselling novel to read: BEN-HUR, A TALE OF THE CHRIST.

Many of you are probably familiar with the book or perhaps the classic movie starring Charlton Heston as the title character. Interestingly enough, when the novel was first released in Ben Hur1880, it was considered unusual for its time—too romantic, and historical fiction was not popular with readers. Wallace declared that after researching and writing the novel, he was convicted with an “absolute belief in God and in the divinity of Christ.” The novel was not expected to become a bestseller, but it did.

After reading and enjoying the book, my heroine Amanda returns in to Gil, saying, “It made me want to be a better person, a stronger Christian. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do,” Gil replies.

When Lew Wallace died at the age of 77 in 1905, his many books had earned him more royalty income than any other American novelist up to that time. Today, a marble statue of Wallace stands in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capital—representing his home state of Indiana. He is the only American novelist honored there.

 

Book Blurb:
The year is 1905. It is autumn in the village of Aztec in New Mexico territory. Amanda Dale is burdened with the responsibility of caring for her widowed sister—an invalid—and Ella’s two children—one a premature infant. But Amanda wants a husband and children of her own and despairsAmandasBeau that God does not care about her plight. Schoolteacher Gil Gladney is handsome, intelligent, and God-fearing. He is drawn to Amanda, but feels he cannot propose marriage until he is able to purchase the ranch he has been saving for.

When Gil and his pupils discover the relics of an ancient culture among the ruins outside the village, Gil contacts an old college friend. The possibility of an archeological excavation excites the community of cash-strapped farmers, eager to earn extra money working on the site. 

Gil is delighted when Nate Phillips comes to Aztec to take up the challenge. When a rabid skunk reels through the excavation site, threatening the lives of Amanda and her nephew Rex, Gil realizes that life is short and the possibility of true happiness can be fleeting. In the end, Amanda learns to trust God to provide the happily-ever-after ending she’s been praying for.

 

SRR #1

 

An award-winning children’s book author, Shirley Raye Redmond holds an M.A. in literature from the University of Illinois. She has been married to her husband Bill for forty years, and is active with Community Bible Study. They have two grown children and two adorable grandsons. Lewis & Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Random House) was a Children’s Book of the Month Club selection. Patriots in Petticoats: Heroines of the American Revolution, was named one of the best children’s books of 2005 by the Bank Street College of Education. Amanda’s Beau is her first inspirational romance.

Connect with Shirley Raye:
www.shirleyrayeredmond.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shirley-Raye-Redmond-Author/533496973399344

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/239947.Shirley_Raye_Redmond