Thursday, February 6, 2025

"Treasures of the Wise: 30 Devotions For Storing Up Heavenly Riches" by Tracy L. Smoak -- Author Interview

 

About the Book

Book: Treasures of the Wise: 30 Devotions For Storing Up Heavenly Riches

Author: Tracy L. Smoak

Genre: Pictorial Devotional

Release date: December, 2024

Stories have been written throughout the centuries about the search for gold. But the true treasure we all need is easier to find than we think. For the wise person, treasure that will not be wasted, tarnished, or stolen can only be found in God’s Word.

Join author and educator Tracy Smoak on a thirty-day journey around the world as she showcases coins to highlight the beauty of the eternal treasure given to us from God. Each devotional is short but filled with riches beyond what the world can offer, as well as photographs of unique international coins and snippets of information about them.

Start your day off as one of the wise, who seeks after priceless insights offered by our Heavenly Father.

 

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview 

1. Why did you choose to write non-fiction?
The topic of money management is on many people’s minds. Times are difficult with high interest rates and inflation.
Many are having trouble keeping up with monthly household expenses. Compound higher costs with many traumatic
incidences, such as natural disasters, and folks are stressed. I wanted to bring reassurance with God’s Word that no
matter the difficulties right now, God can be trusted to provide in the real world.
2. How do you balance writing time with other things?
My writing seems to flow best from a rich environment of good fellowship with engaging activities. If I spend too much
time alone in the writing cave, words fall flat. It is important to know what audience might benefit from the words to be
shared. With these people in mind, it is easier to phrase text to be conversational rather than preachy. If I keep my
personal life balanced with healthy involvement, then the writing goes much better. I swim a couple times weekly and
do yin yoga too. I try to walk daily. These physical outlets provide relief from hours hunched over a keyboard staring into
the blue beyond, and they clear my mind.
3. What types of research do you do?
Not only do I spend hours reading the Bible to discover special verses on the topic at hand, but I also need to know how
to find details about the coins. Google Lens provided great information about some of the money given by friends from
their travels when I had no idea the country of origin. Another aspect of research involves the production side. There’s
an incredible amount of time invested in learning how to navigate electronic images for editing and storing. I almost lost
my mind preparing raw images in the format the publisher needed to send to the printer. Another learning curve
involved studying how to create short videos for YouTube using the extra photographs with audio files for background
music.
4. How long does the researching stage usually take?
I wouldn’t say that research is a single stage. Keeping curiosity ongoing allows an open mind for new inspiration. Once I
had the idea to develop the theme of financial stewardship according to the Bible, I still had to weave together a visual
representation of a concept, plus include the coin as relevant. In some cases, the coins told their own story, like the
hands working together on the old English fifty-pence. Once I found a fact from one source, I had to verity it from others
online to ensure no bias.
5. Was there anything you found particularly interesting while researching?
When I met with a Jewish organization to get permission to use a photograph location, the director wanted to see the
coin to go along with the text. When I showed her the image of Pegasus, she said they couldn’t participate as Pegasus
represented Greek culture, which wasn’t aligned with their beliefs. I was surprised the cultural division still ran so
deeply.


(Here is a link to my YouTube channel with a short video I made to introduce the devotional and a key Bible verse about

money management: https://youtu.be/7-WsW1Qf05c. ---Tracy Smoak, tracysmoak.com)


About the Author

A native Floridian, Tracy L. Smoak grew up riding horses and climbing citrus trees. Her passion is to encourage others in their faith journey. Smoak contributes to Guideposts. Ambassador International released her debut novel, Who Brought the Dog to Church?. Bold Vision published her Bible study about encouragement titled Refuge of Grace: Finding Your Safe Place.

She loves photography, and Treasures of the Wise is the third devotional with her original images. Living Water to Refresh Your Soul features tranquil lake scenes while Arranged with Love showcases floral landscapes.

Smoak holds a master’s in Education and a bachelor’s in Communication. At her church home she leads small-group Bible studies.

More from Tracy

Laying Up Treasures

The word “treasure” can send mixed messages. On one hand, that noun can bring forth images of pirates commandeering others’ gold and valuables. We all get a gleam in our eye from time to time and dream of great wealth.

The verb form of “treasure” means to hold something dear, such as a photograph of loved ones. This object may have no special worth, other than sentiment. What priceless object do you protect? Is it a leather baby shoe stored in a tiny box or a beaten-up, old baseball glove?

Either way, what we pursue—and hold—as our prized possession reveals much about our priorities. Is our contentment based upon acquisitions? If so, we find ourselves on a merry-go-round ride that leaves us dizzy. No matter how much we get, we still want more. This constant demand is damaging.

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9 NIV).

To be well off, we need to put our hope in God, who richly provides us with all that we need and more.

“The emptiness we try to fill with earthly things stems from the desire for more of God,” said author and teacher Nancy Jenkins (Bibledolls: A Panorama of 28 Biblical Women).

To live well, we are advised to complete a wealth of good deeds. We are to be generous and willing to share. “In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19 NIV).

Today’s prayer:

Dear Lord, please help us act on opportunities to do good for others. We appreciate your many gifts and find contentment in this moment, just as things are, with You by our side. Amen.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 29

Lots of Helpers, January 29

Leslie’s Library Escape, January 30

Simple Harvest Reads, January 31 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 1

For the Love of Literature, February 2 (Author Interview)

SHE LIVES TO READ, February 3

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 4 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, February 5

Blossoms and Blessings, February 6 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, February 6

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 7

Cover Lover Book Review, February 8

Artistic Nobody, February 9 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 10

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Tracy is giving away the grand prize of a hardcopy of the color devotional!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54144

Monday, February 3, 2025

"Tracy" by Jennifer Lynn Cary -- Author Interview

 

About the Book

Book: Tracy: A Sweet, Quirky, Romantic Masterpiece (Book 6 of the Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series. It can be read as a stand-alone.)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary

Genre: Sweet, Wholesome Romance (Retro)

Release date: October, 2024

Her heart can’t take more breakage…

…He’s been wounded enough

Yet they’re becoming best friends without ever having met.

Tracy Callahan has learned that relationships aren’t for her. The struggling glass artist puts up barriers to keep romantic entanglements from causing more pain. However, her feelings are growing for her roommate’s brother, despite having never seen him in person.

How can just his voice on the phone hold that much attraction?

Danny Mitchell left a large part of himself in Viet Nam and is learning how to navigate life back here in the states. It’s better to just avoid the public. As long as he doesn’t have to see anyone in person, he can pretend he’s his old self, and the caller on the other end of the phone won’t know the difference.

But Tracy is breaking through, resurrecting feelings he thought were dead and gone.

They might find a way to make a telephone relationship work. Unless meddling loved ones get involved.

When that happens, can Tracy and Danny’s friendship survive meeting face-to-face?

Or could there be something more than friendship in store for them? Maybe a God-designed masterpiece built from their broken parts?

Return to 1973 Kokomo, Indiana where the legend of the cardinal in the sycamore can still prove true love.

You will enjoy this sweet, quirky tale of hidden worth, because sometimes what we need is right in front of us.

 

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview 

1. What is your favorite part about writing?

That’s easy. Brainstorming. My writing friends have called me the idea queen. But I get energized talking about idea and what if’s and throwing everything, even the crazy stuff, at a seed of a plot. My problem isn’t too few ideas, it’s weeding them down. But doing that with friends? That’s the best.

 

2. Do you have a way to keep track of your story ideas?

Since my series is based on song titles from the 1960s and 70s with girls’ names in them, I probably have a method that doesn’t translate to other series. I didn’t start out to do it this way, but it sort of worked out. I made a list of all the songs I could find from the 60s and 70s with girl names and then marked the ones l thought would make good story titles. After the first couple (Judy in Disguise, Sylvia’s Mother) I noticed a cadence. So then I grouped the ones I liked so that every four has a similar rhythm, and I’m planning to eventually release them in boxed sets of four. 

The first four would be the Class of ’72 (Judy in Disguise, Sylvia’s Mother, Runaround Sue, and Cracklin’ Rosie). The next four are just single names and boxed as the Class of ’73 (Ronnie, Tracy, Shilo, and Bernadette). Then the next four are phrases again labeled the Class of ’74 (Pieces of April, Take a Letter Maria, Walk Away Rene’, Julie Do You Love Me?) Though I have ideas and song titles to keep going for a long time, that’s twelve already, and I don’t want to get tired of it or start repeating plot twists. So, I might stop at that point. Keep in mind, I’ve only written through Shilo and plan to start Bernadette in the next week or so. I’m really projecting out here, and you know about man making his plans and all. 😉


3. How long does it usually take you to write a book?

When I first got started, I wrote all day every day. In 2020 I logged over half a million publishable words. I released six books and one box set that year. Fortunately, I’d banked a lot of drafts because 2021 turned out to be my nemesis. Starting with covid, then being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, then a car accident that took the jaws of life to get me and my broken bones out, and all in a matter of six months. I had to put my writing aside. Just thinking became tough. It’s taken awhile, but now my goal is at least three books a year, four if I can swing it. If I work steadily, but don’t push myself to Craziville, I can finish a rough draft in about 6-8 weeks. That’s if the book is about 60,000 words. Moving up to 80,000 words might need another week or two. But I’ve learned to give myself grace. And others too. Life is what is going on while I’m trying to write and to be honest, it’s a little more important. I need to keep that in mind, give this looney business of ideas to God, and then trust He will help me get where I need to be when I need to be there.


4. Where do you get your ideas for your books?

Let’s just admit up front, I have a crazy and fertile imagination. Yeah. I can remember in grade school getting in trouble for daydreaming. But the teacher would say something that would trigger a thought and the next thing I knew, I was off on a totally different topic. It got embarrassing at times. Once, in high school Spanish class, my teacher was from Panama and was explaining that her husband didn’t speak Spanish, and she was learning English when they met. It confused me and I asked how they worked it out since her husband was also deaf. He wasn’t. I had dreamed that the night before. So realistically that I didn’t remember it was a dream until after I’d made a fool of myself.

So, yeah, that’s the first part of the answer. 

But the second part is, I start with a 1960s or 70s song with a girl’s name in the title. All the titles in this and my previous series were also song titles containing a girl’s name. That becomes the title of my book. 

Then I try to picture her. What’s she like? What are her strengths? Weaknesses? What is the lie she believes? How does she need to learn to trust God? 

Then I get to set up her foil, er, hero. And I ask the same questions about him. Often the song lyrics will give me clues or ideas. Sometimes just the title can be enough inspiration. 

I mentioned a book I want to write, Pieces of April. I love that song but what was it all about? I knew that it had something to do with memories. Then came the what ifs. What if he gets amnesia and has these flashes of a girl? What if the girl doesn’t look like the woman who says she’s his wife? How can I add humor and lightness to this? 

Now I’ve got some ideas. 

I need to write one more book before I can write that one, but the longer it stays floating around in my brain, the more ideas I have to start with.


5. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?

Always. Everything gets filtered through me, my experiences, my passions, how I understand the world around me. So, I can’t not reveal parts of me or others I’ve shared life with. However, I’m careful, especially when it comes to others, to change enough so that it doesn’t reveal anything personal.



About the Author

Historical Christian Romance author, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Her current spin-off series, The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue, contains standalones with a common thread.

 

More from Jennifer

Have you ever met characters in a story that stayed with you, even when they weren’t the main characters? That’s what happened to me after I wrote Runaround Sue. Sue’s brother and her roommate seemed to hit it off so well, and I loved those characters.

It only made sense to give Tracy and Danny their own story.

However, I will confess that I had planned to make a character named Tracy because of the song, “Tracy” by the Cufflinks. It’s such a happy, bouncy tune and I thought that fit Sue’s roommate.

I do need to add that I relied on a childhood friend for some Danny’s antics. At one point I was told that something he did wasn’t possible. The problem was, I knew it was because my friend, Maureen McKay did that very thing. Maureen had a personality like Tracy’s and determination like Danny’s.

A few years ago I was back in Kokomo for a special wedding anniversary party. I noticed a guy sitting at a table and went to talk with him. At that time, I was combing faces for someone I’d known back when I went to school there. He had that look, but as we talked, it was obvious we didn’t know each other.

A little later I told my cousin about that, and she said that he was ahead of us in school, but he had a younger sister who would’ve been about my age. I knew immediately why he’d looked familiar. He was Maureen’s big brother.

I searched him and his mother out quickly and let them know I remembered Maureen. I mentioned a few of our escapades. Then I told them that my husband and I had lost a son, and that the kindest thing anyone could say was that they remembered our Ian. So, for that reason, I wanted them to know I remember Maureen.

And that’s why Tracy is dedicated to the memory of my friend Maureen McKay.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 21

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 22

Texas Book-aholic, January 23

Vicky Sluiter, January 24 (Author Interview)

Pause for Tales, January 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 25

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 26 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 27

Simple Harvest Reads, January 28 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 29

For the Love of Literature, January 30 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 31

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 1 (Author Interview)

For Him and My Family, February 2

Blossoms and Blessings, February 3 (Author Interview)

Leslie’s Library Escape, February 3

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54137

Sunday, February 2, 2025

"When the Avalanche Roared" by Lauralee Bliss

 

About the Book

Book: When the Avalanche Roared (A Day to Remember Book Five)

Author: Lauralee Bliss

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release date: January, 2025

The Day Hope Seemed Swept Away

Enjoy a series of 6 exciting novels featuring historic disasters that transformed landscapes and multiple lives. Whether by nature or by man, these disasters changed history and were a day to be remembered.

Lillian Hartwick has been in the small railroad town of Wellington, Washington, caring for her cousin and assisting the postmaster when February snows bring all train traffic to a halt. Slow-witted but kind Griffin Jones, who works odd jobs for the railway while enduring taunts from other workers, has tried his best to gain Lillian’s interest, but she is engaged and waiting her fiancé’s arrival from California. Predawn thunderstorms on Tuesday, March 1, 1910, trigger a devasting avalanche, sweeping two trains down Stevens Pass. Lillian and Griffin work together to help survivors, including Griffin’s tormentors. In the midst of the catastrophe their feelings for each other grow. But is it enough when Lillian’s fiancé finally arrives in the spring, ready to claim her as his own?

 

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts 

I have been enjoying the "A Day to Remember" series of books that this is a part of. It is interesting to learn about some of the great natural disasters that have happened. I liked that there was a biblical faith thread in the story and I liked Griffin and his desire to live like a godly man. The writing style didn't flow for me. But like with anything, different things appeal to different people so I'm sure other people will fit this style better than me. 


About the Author

Lauralee Bliss has always liked to dream big dreams. Part of that dream was writing, and after several years of hard work, her dream of publishing was realized in 1997 with the publication of her first romance novel, Mountaintop, through Barbour Publishing. Since then, she’s had twenty books published, both historical and contemporary. Lauralee is also an avid hiker, completing the entire length of the Appalachian Trail both north and south. Lauralee makes her home in Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her family.

 

 

More from Lauralee

Pure Joy

Lauralee Bliss, Author of “When the Avalanche Roared”

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…  James 1:2 NIV

How does one equate a scripture like this with the death and destruction inherent in natural disasters? It seems an oxymoron to expect joy when faced with twisted metal and broken lives, such as in the deadliest avalanche in American history depicted in When the Avalanche Roared. Even now I think of the natural disaster of the hurricane that just recently destroyed mountain communities in western North Carolina, with homes and lives swept away in an avalanche of water and mud. So it was back in March, 1910 when a mile wide bank of snow detached from Windy Top in the northern Cascades of Washington State, slamming into three parked trains near Wellington, sending cars and sleeping passengers tumbling into the ravine. Over ninety lives were lost.

This could be considered a trial of supreme magnitude. Yet scripture commands we consider joy in the midst of it. The word joy evokes smiles and laughter, peace and satisfaction. It brings to mind Jesus resting in the boat in the midst of a raging storm, tossed about on high waves while the disciples huddle together in abject fear. After He calms the seas He asks them, “Where is your faith?” It demands the human mind look away from apparent destruction to something higher. To look beyond what one sees to the unseen. To trust God even when nothing appears trustworthy.

When the Avalanche Roared delves into the flames that spark, not from smoldering locomotives in a ravine, but within a small rail town that banded together in the wee hours of a frigid morning to rescue others. The destruction is evident. But the grit and determination of those who dug out people from heavy snow solidified by rain and cared for the suffering while their town remained isolated from the world speaks of a picture far greater than the picture of destruction. So it is today with communities swallowed by mud and trees and splintered fragments of homes as reminders of a destructive hurricane. Beyond the visual are the outpouring of help and compassion and holding the hands of those weakened by disaster in gestures of hope and resolve. And in this, a new birth of joy is realized.

God created us to find joy in struggle, to develop perseverance to achieve a goal despite what is thrown our way, to realize that when we do, we truly lack nothing. And therein we find lasting peace even in the midst of catastrophe.

Strangers unite to help the hurting.

A friend flew from Florida to North Carolina and arranged with this store owner for a free truckload of water for communities devastated by the hurricane.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, January 30

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, January 30

Stories By Gina, January 31 (Author Interview)

Pens Pages & Pulses, January 31

Texas Book-aholic, February 1

Blossoms and Blessings, February 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 2

Simple Harvest Reads, February 3 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Life on Chickadee Lane, February 4

Connie’s history classroom, February 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 5

Tell Tale Book Reviews, February 6

Betti Mace, February 7

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 8

Cover Lover Book Review, February 9

Holly’s Book Corner, February 9

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 10

For Him and My Family, February 11

Pause for Tales, February 12

Leslie’s Library Escape, February 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lauralee is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon eGift Card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54145


I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.