Friday, October 18, 2024

"The Time Door" by Shannon McDermott -- Author Interview

About the Book

Book: The Time Door

Author: Shannon McDermott

Genre: Adult Science Fiction

Release date: October 8, 2024

A reckless last mission on Mars, a crusade for justice on Earth …

Reuben Jackson is the only one who still cares about Mars. In the shambles of the Great Collapse, Earth has abandoned the Mars explorers to their fate. But Reuben will make a stand for the Mars team—even against the powerfully united politicians and scientists.

In too deep, he discovers hidden conspiracies and unexpected allies.

As the conflict mounts on Earth, time runs down on Mars. Left to face Mars alone, Commander Donegan Moynihan and his team have no hope of surviving after their supplies are gone. Willing to accept a quicker death than starvation, the explorers strike out on a dangerous mission. They venture deep inside the ancient volcano of Arsia Mons, into perils and secrets long buried. What they discover would move mountains on Earth—but will it be enough to save themselves?

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

1. Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser (or a hybrid)?
A hybrid. When I begin a book, I have a setting, a small collection of characters, and a few ideas
about what should happen. I figure out the rest as I go. But I never write a scene without notes on
who is in it, what happens, and why it matters. I work with a general idea of the whole story, and
a detailed outline of the next three or so chapters.

2. What is your favorite part about writing?
The endgame of the story is the best and the easiest to write. At the beginning, you are trying to
make something of half-formed characters and half-formed ideas. In the middle, you are trying
to weave the plot threads together and wondering if it all truly works. But in the last act, every
road is meeting and you are going home.

3. What is your least favorite part about writing?
Transitional moments can be tricky, especially those that revolve around movement. For
example, your heroine hears a mysterious noise downstairs. She creeps down the stairs,
through the living room, and into the kitchen, where she finds the thing that went bump and the
party really starts. But those moments between hearing the noise and discovering the
intruder—it usually takes some effort to get the pacing and level of detail right.

4. Do you have a way to keep track of your story ideas?
I have a dedicated notebook for ideas that I may use in a future project. Sometimes I use it, too.
And sometimes I keep the ideas in my head, and if I forget them—well, how good could they
have been?

5. How long does it usually take you to write a book?
I want to say two years. But with my current project almost at a standstill as I work to complete
my degree, I have to adjust that to “too long.”

About the Author

Shannon McDermott is an author of science fiction and has been occupied for years with constructing scenarios of the colonization of Mars. Always a fan of the genre, she reviews Christian speculative fiction with Lorehaven. Her interests include history, classic

literature, and lattes. She lives in the great Midwest, where she does her best to avoid icy weather, sweltering heat, and tornadoes, according to the season.

More from Shannon

There is a story of an abandoned space colony. Still young, still unsteady, and suddenly cut off from the mother planet—the colony will either learn fast to survive alone, or it will die altogether.

The story has been told again and again, a thousand variations on the old theme. When I was getting acquainted with it, through battered paperbacks and anthologies gathered from the old “scientifiction” magazines, I noticed that the colonies were usually abandoned because of a space plague, or aliens, or interplanetary war.

Exotic, exciting problems, the stuff of science fiction. But I had a thought: What if the reason for abandoning a space colony were a bit prosaic? What if there was just no more money?

The national debt is very much a thing (and an ever-growing thing, at an ever-increasing rate). We would be in trouble if that debt were ever called, or even if no more could be contracted. If it suddenly became time to pay the piper, if the money running off the press was no longer good enough—America couldn’t afford to support a colony on Mars. And we would have too many problems of our own to care very much about theirs.

A classic sci-fi story with a modern twist, something fantastic mixed with something prosaic. I liked it.

As I set to work on the idea, I soon made another variation to the theme. The abandoned colony did not take the whole stage. I gave equal space to those who had abandoned it. Good or bad, they had their reasons; they had their story, too. And as I began to write it, I realized that both stories were about survival. The struggle over whether they survived, and how, and what they would become on the other side.

These ideas grew into The Time Door—two parallel stories, separated by the distance between Mars and Earth, and yet united in the end. Whether abandoned on Mars, or caught in the collapse on Earth, they all need a way out; they all need to find a door.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 17

Blossoms and Blessings, October 18 (Author Interview)

Wishful Endings, October 18

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 19

The Lofty Pages, October 20

Artistic Nobody, October 21 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, October 22

Guild Master, October 23 (Spotlight)

Tell Tale Book Reviews, October 24

Blogging With Carol, October 25

A Reader’s Brain, October 26 (Author Interview)

Fiction Book Lover, October 27 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 27

Simple Harvest Reads, October 28 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 29

Lily’s Corner, October 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Shannon is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a 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/00adcf5470/

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

"A Token of Love" by Carrie Turansky

About the Book

Book: A Token of Love

Author: Carrie Turansky

Genre: Fiction, Historical Romance

Release date: September 3, 2024

Separated by centuries, the lives of two women intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice.

In 1885 London, Lillian Freemont embarks on a treacherous journey to reunite with her long-lost niece, Alice, who was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital eight years ago. Fueled by her sister’s plea and armed with the gold token that identifies her niece, Lillian teams up with investigative reporter Matthew McGivern to expose the grim reality of the shadowed streets of London. As Lillian and Matthew unravel the mystery of Alice’s disappearance, their partnership blossoms into one of shared purpose and undeniable attraction.

In present-day London, Janelle Spencer finds herself unexpectedly running the Foundling Museum. When filmmaker Jonas Conrad arrives to document the museum’s history, their collaboration takes a surprising turn as they uncover articles from the past that shed light on a haunting connection to the present. As Janelle becomes caught between exposing the truth and protecting the museum’s reputation, she must decide if she can risk everything for what she believes.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be well written and easy to read. It was interesting learning about the tokens that the mothers would leave with their children so that they cold later reclaim them. It was sad to think that the vast majority never were able to claim their child. I was invested in the book and wanted to see how the two storylines were connected. I look forward to reading more books by Carrie Turansky.

About the Author

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of twenty-one inspirational novels and novellas and a winner of the Carol Award, the International Digital Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She loves traveling to England to research her Edwardian novels, including No Journey Too Far, No Ocean Too Wide, Across the Blue, and the Edwardian Brides series. Her novels have been translated into several languages and have received starred reviews from Christianbook.com and Library Journal.

More from Carrie

Come with me to London!

My latest novel, A Token of Love, is a dual-time story set in London during the late Victorian Era and present day. That prompted my husband and I to take a trip to London earlier this year. We were especially delighted to visit the Foundling Museum which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, the first children’s charity home in England. The Foundling Hospital and Foundling Museum tie the historical and contemporary plots together in A Token of Love.

Thousands of children were taken in by the Foundling Hospital when their mothers could no longer care for them. Some of the mothers left small items such as coins, thimbles, and pieces of jewelry with their infants as identifiers in the hope that if their situation changed, they might be able to return and reclaim their child. Those items were called tokens, and we saw several of them on display at the Foundling Museum.

Each token is unique and represents a mother’s love and desire to be reunited with her child. It was very moving to view them on display and think of all the heartache and hope behind each token.

More than two years ago, I saw an image of the tokens on Pinterest. That sparked my curiosity, and I followed the research trail to learn more about them. That led to the Foundling Museum’s website, which offers a treasure trove of information and personal stories about the mothers and children connected by those tokens. What I discovered helped me develop the characters and plot for A Token of Love. The story highlights one mother who gave her daughter into their care, then eight years later tries to reclaim her. But her daughter is missing, and that sets off a series of events that stirs all of London. Family drama, romance, inspiration, and a touch of mystery will make the story meaningful for readers.

If you like stories based on true events in history that will touch your heart and lift your spirit, then I think you will enjoy reading A Token of Love!

If you’d like to see more photos from my research trip to London and the Foundling Museum, I hope you’ll visit my website photo page!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 7

Maureen’s Musings, October 7

Books You Can Feel Good About, October 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 8

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 9

Connie’s History Classroom, October 9

Texas Book-aholic, October 10

Devoted To Hope, October 10

Simple Harvest Reads, October 11 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Live.Love.Read., October 11

Stories By Gina, October 12 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, October 12

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 13

lakesidelivingsite, October 13

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 14

Cover Lover Book Review, October 14

Lighthouse Academy Blog, October 15 (Guest Review from Marilyn)

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 16

Blossoms and Blessings, October 17

Holly’s Book Corner, October 17

Inspired by Fiction, October 18

Pause for Tales, October 18

Labor Not in Vain, October 19

To Everything There is A Season, October 20

Romances of the Cross, October 20

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carrie is giving away the grand prize of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of A Token of Love!!

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/00adcf5461/

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.

"Trail to Love" by Susan F. Craft

About the Book

Book: Trail to Love

Author: Susan F. Craft

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: September 17, 2024

A widowed father…a heartbroken nanny…and a wagon train journey that will change their lives forever.

Since the death of her fiancé, Anne Forbes has given up on the life she thought she’d have. After taking a role as nanny to her two young nephews, she’s grown close to her brother’s family—a replacement for the one she never had the chance to start. But when she accompanies them on the wagon trail to their new life in South Carolina, a handsome and gallant widowed father who’s also part of the group catches her eye and her heart, making her wonder if God might have plans of love for her after all. If only the beautiful woman the man escorts didn’t have her sights set on him.

Michael Harrigan never considered remarrying after the death of his wife. No woman could ever compare. But when he meets the gentlehearted Anne while escorting his sister-in-law on their journey to the Blue Ridge Mountains, he’s taken aback by Anne’s lovely voice and her compassion. As they face the trials and adventures of life on the trail, he finds himself open to the idea of marriage for the first time in many years.
But when disaster strikes the wagon train, Michael and Anne must work side-by-side to save lives. In the midst of their struggles, can they find a way to abandon their separate trails of grief and hardship for the trail to love?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be well written and informative of the time period. I liked the characters and watching them interact. There was a biblical faith thread which I was glad for. I liked the epilogue to get a glimpse into their lives in the future. I look forward to reading more books by Susah F. Craft.

About the Author

Susan F. Craft retired after a 45-year career in writing, editing, and communicating in business settings.

She authored the historical romantic suspense trilogy Women of the American Revolution—The Chamomile, Laurel, and Cassia. The Chamomile and Cassia received national Illumination Silver Awards. The Chamomile was named by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as an Okra Pick and was nominated for a Christy Award.

She collaborated with the International Long Riders’ Guild Academic Foundation to compile An Equestrian Writer’s Guide (www.lrgaf.org), including almost everything you’d ever want to know about horses.

An admitted history nerd, she enjoys painting, singing, listening to music, and sitting on her porch with her dog, Steeler, watching geese eat her daylilies. She most recently took up the ukulele.

More from Susan

A History of Buttons

In my Christian Historical Romance, my main character, Anne Forbes, is a tailor and seamstress. When she arrives in Philadelphia from Scotland in 1753, she visits several shops and is amazed by the huge supply of buttons.

Buttons have been around for 3,000 years. Made from bone, horn, wood, metal, and seashells, they didn’t fasten anything, but were worn for decoration.

The first buttons to be used as fasteners were connected through a loop of thread. The button and buttonhole arrived in Europe in 1200, brought back by the Crusaders.

The French, who called the button a bouton for bud or bouter to push, established the Button Makers Guild in 1250. Still used for adornment, the buttons they produced were beautiful works of art.

By the mid-1300s, tailors fashioned garments with rows of buttons with matching buttonholes. Some outfits were adorned with thousands of buttons, making it necessary for people to hire professional dressers. Buttons became such a craze that the Church denounced them as the devil’s snare, referring to the ladies in their button-fronted dresses.

In 1520 for a meeting between King Francis I of France and King Henry VIII of England, King Francis’ clothing was bedecked with over 13,000 buttons, and King Henry’s clothing was similarly weighed down with buttons.

In the 16th century, the Puritans condemned the over-adornment of buttons as sinful, and soon the number of buttons required to be fashionable diminished, though they were made from gold, ivory, and diamonds.

By the mid-1600s, button makers used silver, ceramics, and silk and often hand painted buttons with portraits or scenery.

The late 17th century saw the beginning of the production by French tailors of thread buttons, little balls of thread. This angered the button artisans so much that they pressured the government to pass a law fining tailors for making thread buttons. The button makers even wanted homes and wardrobes searched and suggested that fines be levied against anyone wearing thread buttons. But in la Guerre des Boutons, it’s not clear that their demands went beyond fining of tailors.

Towards the end of the 1700s in Europe, big metallic buttons came into fashion. At this time, Napoleon introduced the use of sleeve buttons on tunics. This time period saw the development of the double-breasted jacket. When the outside of the jacket was soiled, the wearer would unbutton it, turn the soiled surface to the inside, and re-button.

Thread buttons were used on men’s shirts and other undergarments from the late 17th into the early 19th century. Cheaper, they wouldn’t break when laundresses scrubbed and beat the material. They were also used on shifts and undergarments because they were soft and comfortable. Other types of thread buttons were death head buttons, star buttons, basket buttons, and Dorset buttons. Some said that death head buttons were called that because they resembled a skull and crossbones, memento mori, a reminder that life is short and should be lived as well as possible. Dorset buttons originated in Dorset in southern England where they became a cottage industry. Families, prison inmates, and orphans were employed in the manufacture of thousands of Dorset buttons each year, which were used throughout the UK and exported all over the world.

Bone button molds, slightly domed on one side and flat on the other, were common in the mid to late 18th century. Button molds were used to make both cloth and thread (passementerie) covered buttons.

Horn buttons were used mostly for spatterdashes and gaitered trousers. These strong durable buttons were competitive in price with other types but available in limited numbers in the 18th century since the making of them was slow.

Many colonial American buttons were made from seashells, wood, wax, and animal bones. The bones were boiled for 12 hours, cut into small pieces, shaved around the edges and had a hole punched through them with an awl. The shape was up to the maker — round, oval, square, rectangular, or octagonal.

Brass buttons, functional and ornamental, were also popular in colonial America. In 1750 in Philadelphia, a German immigrant, Caspar Wistar, made brass buttons guaranteed for seven years. He later opened the first successful glass making factory in the colonies.

(I want to thank the William Booth Drapers of Racine, WI, for some of the information provided in this post. Please visit their website at www.wmboothdraper.com where you’ll find a treasure trove of books about 17th and 18th century fashion — shoes, slippers, hats, bonnets, buttons and trimmings, etc., and Packet books about sewing. Fantastic resource. Thank you, William Booth Drapers.)

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 8

Simple Harvest Reads, October 9 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 10

DevotedToHope, October 10

Lighthouse Academy Blog, October 11 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 12

Texas Book-aholic, October 13

For Him and My Family, October 13

lakesidelivingsite, October 14

Locks, Hooks and Books, October 15

An Author’s Take, October 16

Blossoms and Blessings , October 16

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, October 17

Life on Chickadee Lane, October 18

Karen Baney Reviews, October 19

Holly’s Book Corner, October 19

Books You Can Feel Good About, October 20

Cover Lover Book Review, October 21

Pause for Tales, October 21

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card!

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/00adcf5462

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.

Friday, October 11, 2024

"Have You Heard from God Lately? 30 Messages from Heaven to You" by Keon Lindsey -- Author Interview

About the Book

Book: Have You Heard from God Lately? 30 Messages from Heaven to You

Author: Keon Lindsey

Genre: Bible Study/Devotional

Release date: March 15, 2024

Who is God? Does He care about you? What does He want you to know? What is your purpose on Earth? Why is your life not perfect? Is there any hope in this out-of-control world? Can you actually know God?

Have You Heard from God Lately? 30 Messages from Heaven to You helps you discover the answers to these all-important questions. The messages are organized to progressively build your understanding of the God of the universe so that you can relate to Him. Why? He wants to give you the wonderful life you were made for but cannot reach without Him.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

https://KeonLindsey.com/

1. Why did you choose to write about this particular topic?
In September 2019, I took a new look at my favorite book in the Bible, Hebrews. For the first
time, I prayed through it—that is, reading a few verses, thinking about the meaning, and basing
prayers on the meaning. When I started Hebrews 2, a warning caught my attention. That is, if
the messages God gave through angels were 100 percent true, and Jesus who is superior to all
angels came to bring us the message of salvation, we had better pay attention. That made me
think about the messages God had given leading up to and after Jesus. Those messages are
vital for life on and after Earth, so I wanted to capture some and share them with others.

2. How do you balance writing time with other things?
Finding time to write is a challenge. I have a job and family that need time and attention so I
have to carve out minutes for writing when I can. Typically, I’ll do that early in the morning while
the house is still quiet. You might find it hard to believe, but I wrote Have You Heard from God
Lately? in 15-30 minute increments over 18 months!

3. What types of research do you do?
Since I write Bible based books, most of my research is looking for passages in God’s Word that
relate to my theme or outline. There is also a fair amount of investigating word meanings and
passage context using Bible dictionaries and commentaries. I take the Bible very seriously so it
is important for me to accurately convey and discuss the amazing things God has said.

4. How long does the researching stage usually take?
Once I have a book idea, I’ll do initial research for maybe two weeks. I’ll use that information as
a basis for major themes and research more as I write individual chapters. Sometimes I’ll have
to stop writing for several days to investigate a subject in more detail to ensure the chapter is
accurate and fits with larger themes.

5. Was there anything you found particularly interesting while researching?
Yes, I was fascinated that the Lord told us multiple times in both Old Testament and New
Testament that He is the only God. Why is this important? The Bible tells us that it is highly
offensive to the Lord if we worship anything or anyone else, even if we put ourselves in His
place. Because the Lord is the only God, the only Creator, and the only Savior, He deserves
our love, our worship, our loyalty, and our obedience.

6. Do you have any usual writing habits?
Some readers may find it interesting that in this electronic age, I still write my outlines and first
draft by hand. Physically writing my thoughts lets me get them down faster without concern over
spelling, grammar, and readability. Once I’m done with the draft, I’ll read it to my computer and
let it do the initial typing. Even though I have to make a ton of corrections to the talk-to-text
version it gives me a platform to consider readability. I’ll usually read and update the typed
version twice before I let anyone else see the draft book.

About the Author

“Throughout my life God has been the source of my success and my sustainment in failure. I’ve experienced His great love and want others to know the joy that He provides.”

Keon Lindsey is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Pilot, PMP, Business Finance Expert, Black Belt in Karate, and has a master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. More importantly, he has studied the Bible over 40 years and taught Bible studies for adults and youth.

Keon writes to inspire others to dig into God’s Word and find satisfaction for their souls. His first book, Seeking the Lord, a 30 Day Start to Your Journey, was published in 2020. His second book Have You Heard from God Lately? 30 Messages from Heaven to You was released in 2024.

More from Keon

How would you like to get a personal letter from someone? Most people like real mail, especially if its from a person who truly cares about you. What if that letter not only shared their affection but it revealed the answers to some of life’s most profound questions? God has written you such a letter, the Bible! Actually, the Bible is a collection of all God’s written messages to you.

This fact was impressed on me as I read the New Testament book of Hebrews. It opens with a bold statement. God had given messages to humanity in ancient times through prophets and angels. Finally, God sent Jesus, the Ultimate Messenger with the ultimate message that is vital for every person.

This captured my attention and made me wonder how the previous messages in the Bible led up to Jesus and His message? Researching that question took me on an exciting journey of discovery, encouragement, and warning in God’s Word. The result is my book, Have You Heard from God Lately? It summarizes major Bible themes to help you navigate the amazing Book. I hope it inspires you to open God’s letter and realize just how much He cares for you!