Melanie Dickerson: Combining past fairy tales with a brand new book!

Dear Readers~

Today I have the pleasure of hosting author Melanie Dickerson! If you're not familiar with her or her books, here's Melanie's bio:

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama. 

Melanie, please tell us how you came to write your latest novel, The Beautiful Pretender. 

"Strangely enough, I actually started writing a version of The Beautiful Pretender before I started writing The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest, which was the first book in the series. I wanted to write a gothic-type story where a girl is sent to marry a “beastly” hero at a dark and scary castle in the forest. But my agent wasn’t crazy about the idea and asked me to come up with something else. Thomas Nelson asked me for a proposal for an adult series of Medieval fairy tale re-tellings, so I started thinking, What if I write a mash-up of two different fairy tales instead of just one?

"The first story I thought up was a combination of Robin Hood and Swan Lake. And then as I plotted that story, I realized the margrave—the hero’s boss—would make a great hero for the second book in that series, and I could use the story that I’d already started as a jumping off point for the margrave’s story. 

"Everything fell into place, and I added elements of The Princess and the Pea. I felt like God was giving me a forum to show that everyone has longings and insecurities, everyone has hurts from past relationships, but it pays to open your heart to love, kindness, and compassion. That became one of the themes of the story."

Sounds awesome! I can't wait to read the series. Now here's a blurb about Melanie's latest:

After inheriting his title from his brother, the margrave has two weeks to find a noble bride. What will happen when he learns he has fallen for a lovely servant girl in disguise?

The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who meet the king’s approval to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.

Avelina has only two instructions: keep her true identity a secret and make sure the margrave doesn’t select her as his bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.

Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences.

Readers, you can visit Melanie online at:
www.melaniedickerson.com  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MelanieDickersonBooks
Twitter: @melanieauthor

Victoria Bylin Addresses Love's Dangers and God's Grace

Dear Readers,

Today I have the honor and privilege to host author Victorian Bylin on Everything Writerly. If you're not familiar with her or her books, Victoria is a romance writer known for her realistic and relatable characters. Her books have finaled in multiple contests, including the Carol Awards, the RITAs, and RT Magazine's Reviewers Choice Award. A native of California, she and her husband now make their home in Lexington, Kentucky, where their family and their crazy Jack Russell terrier keep them on the go. Learn more at http://www.victoriabylin.com/

Thank you, Victoria, for stopping by Everything Writerly today. (Incidentally, today begins Victoria's blog tour!) Please  tell us more about your book and why you wrote it.

Dangerous Dating

"I have a real concern for what women experience in today’s dating culture. We hear a lot about personal freedom and choices, but the choices we make have long-term consequences. Some are obvious; others aren’t. Either way, people sometimes get hurt, or they hurt others.

"Someone Like You deals specifically with narcissism, the love of “self” to the exclusion of truly loving others. Narcissists feed on other people. They take whatever they want and need. This is rampant in today’s society. It’s also completely counter to everything I believe about both romance and what it means to love as a Christian.

 "The antagonist in Someone Like You (Julia’s ex and the father of her son) is a classic narcissist. He’s clever, manipulative, and the polar opposite of Zeke Monroe, a man who lives with integrity even while he struggles with his faith."

God’s Grace in the Midst of Mistakes

"I wrote Someone Like You to show how gracious God is to us even in the midst of trials. If one woman sees herself in Julia, or a Christian relates to Zeke and his struggle to honor God, I’ve done my job."

Back of the Book Blurb:

Julia Dare is trying to run her own business, raise her young son, Max, and help her widowed mother. Her biggest worry, though, is keeping Max's father from being a bad influence while still allowing the boy to spend time with his dad. When an account from her event-planning business sends her to Caliente Springs resort, she's shocked to encounter Zeke Monroe, her college sweetheart.

Zeke is determined to keep Caliente Springs running despite financial trouble. When Julia walks back into his life, he's surprised at the feelings she stirs up. As they work together on an important client's wedding, the fate of the resort soon depends on their success. With Zeke and Julia both pushed to their limits, will their history put up walls between them or bring them together?

Talking Love With Lisa Lickel

Hey, Everyone -- Happy Monday! Today I have the pleasure of hosting my friend and fellow-Wisconsinite (and fellow Prism Book Group author) Lisa Lickel here on Everything Writerly. Today we're talking love.

Lisa, please tell us about yourself and how God has shown his love for you and your family.

"From the time boys became more than “tag” targets I was never without someone of the opposite sex to hang out with, call on the phone, escort me to dances or movies, even when Mom was the chauffeur. I was a drama queen flirt, histrionic friend, and disingenuous church group groupie. I’d love to say it changed in an instant when as a middle teen the Holy Spirit provided the answer to that infinite question of whether Christ was for real. Decades later, I am still working out who I am on many levels. That story won’t get the final edit until it’s over.

"In between, I went to college and joined not one, but two Christian groups, fell in love with the music, studying anything and everything, and the boy with the wispy blond mustache and high-water pants from one of the faith groups who prayed with me for John Denver’s soul. Seriously. We won’t know for a while if poor John received the benefit of our intervention. When the mustached boy didn’t run screaming after meeting my family for the first time when we got snowed in and ate turkey three days in a row, and his dad laughed in good humor when I dropped and broke dishes on the way from the table to the sink the first time I met his folks, I knew things would work out fine.

"Two grown up children and an odd assortment of grands—girls, boys, and kitties—later, life is full circle as our oldest son heeded the call to seminary and now serves as area director for the many branches of the campus faith organization his dad and I attended. Son number two followed in his father’s footsteps, attempting to encourage a better world through public education. “Love is not proud” is not an easy description to avoid when it comes to introducing family.

"Love has shown me all the attention I need has always surrounded me, filled me, poured out of me in ways I don’t have to control or manipulate, or understand. The Lord of life is in charge. My job is to leave behind a story that boasts only of God’s great mercy and grace exemplified in what He has done for me."

Thanks so much for the testimony!

Readers, you can find out more about Lisa by logging on to her website: http://lisalickel.com/ 

Check out Lisa’s contribution to Prism Book Group’s new Love Is series…

Everything About You

“Love is not proud…” 1 Corinthians: 13:4

She needs a movie set miracle, he needs cash...can a farmer morph into a movie star in five days?

If Shelly has her way, Danny will become America’s next heartthrob and she’ll get her own promotions company. He’s already gorgeous, a little naive, and needs to work on that accent. To Danny, Shelly is on the pompous side, but holds the key to his real dreams...if he can figure out all the rules, say the right things for the daily vlog session, keep his heart strings in place, dodge Shelly’s vicious former boyfriend and the movie star diva.

Shelly’s about to lose a lot more than her heart if she can’t get a handle on her wounded pride and learn who to trust.

*     * 

Readers, find Lisa's book on the Prism Book Group's website:

http://www.prismbookgroup.com/EverythingAboutYou.html

Find "Everything About You" on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-About-You-Lisa-Lickel-ebook/dp/B01BYIUBKA

Thank you, Lisa, for visiting Everything Writerly today. Best wishes with your new novella!

Beth Ziarnik: Never give up!

Dear Friends and Readers~

It's always a treat to host a good friend on my blog. Beth Ziarnik is no exception. Beth and I met about 20 years ago at a Christian Writers Conference at Green Lake Conference Center. Together, we rode together (my husband driving the van) to Write-to-Publish Conference. We also flew to Kansas City together to attend one of the first ACFW (then ACRW) Conferences. Beth stayed overnight at my house in Milwaukee. I can tell you that her story, Her Deadly Inheritance, has been on her heart at least that long. Beth has honed her craft and revised her manuscript several times before getting it to a place where she felt comfortable submitting it.

So my question for Beth is -- Why did you write Her Deadly Inheritance?

"I remember clearly what brought me to writing Her Deadly Inheritance. Wannabe writers are often told:

“Write what you read!” I loved reading romantic suspense, especially Phyllis A. Whitney’s intriguing stories. In her articles on writing, she said a writer should pen the stories that were on her heart, even if no one was publishing that genre yet. She insisted, if the writer were faithful to her dream, the train of opportunity would eventually stop at her station, and she would be ready to board. I took her advice.Though no Christian publisher would touch romantic suspense back then, I started planning my novels. I was sure the Lord wanted me to write romantic suspense with Christians as heroes and heroines. So, I partially wrote six novels and worked on acquiring fiction writing skills—much different from those needed to write the nonfiction articles I was regularly getting published. "It took years, but I was told that if I didn’t quit, I could realize my “impossible” dream. As much as I sometimes wanted to throw the whole thing in the air and run, I stayed. I wrote, learned, rewrote, submitted my efforts for critique and evaluation, rewrote some more, studied, tweaked and polished, and rewrote some more.

"Then one day … an agent, Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency, declared he loved my novel and offered a contract to represent me. A year later, Her Deadly Inheritance won an award during the 2014 Write-to-Publish Conference banquet. Six months later, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas offered a contract to publish it. A year after that, on January 2, 2016, my dream came true. My novel debuted."

Beth, what did God teach you through writing Her Deadly Inheritance? 

"To believe in Him and the writing dream He put on my heart. To persevere, no matter what. Most of all, I discovered what a wonderful writing partner the Lord is—leading and guiding to the right resources, providing teachers and encouragers, and making the dream come true in the right way and at the right time—if we don’t quit."

What a wonderful message to other writers who may be struggling with writing their first novel--or even their second. Many times authors can feel discouraged after rejection notices show up in their inboxes or mailboxes.  Thank you, Beth.

Readers, find Beth's book available in online bookstores, including Amazon.com 

You can find out more about Beth, by logging on to her website. BethZiarnik.com/

Thank you, Beth, for stopping by Everything Writerly.

JEN TURANO: Blessing others through her fiction.

Dear Friends and Readers, 

I am so thrilled to host Jen Turano on Everything Writerly. If you're not familiar with this fabulous author's work, here's her bio:

Jen Turano is the best-selling, critically acclaimed author of The Ladies of Distinction series, and A Class of Their Own series, published through Bethany House Publishers.  Her novel, After a Fashion, was chosen as a top pick from Romantic Times, as well as being named a top ten romance of 2015 from Booklist.  It is also a nominee for Romantic Times 2015 Reviewers’ Choice Award.  Her book, A Most Peculiar Circumstance, was chosen as a top ten romance by Booklist in 2013.  Her seventh book, Playing the Part, will release in the spring of 2016, followed by a new four-book series, Apart from the Crowd. 

Jen is visiting today to tell us a bit about her latest book, Playing the Part.

"The process of writing Playing the Part turned out to be a bit of a struggle for me at times, especially when I first began the story.  All the plotting I did simply wouldn’t work out, and before I knew it, I was creating a story where reconciliation seemed to be the theme that demanded time on the pages. I’ve since come to the conclusion that God led me in that direction because of a distant relative I’ve recently reconnected with, a lady who has allowed her life to pass her by simply because she let the hurts and slights of her past color her perspective of the future. By having both Lucetta Plum and Abigail Hart embrace their respective pasts in Playing the Part, I was able to craft a future for them filled with hope instead of despair, something I’ve been praying my distant relative will someday be able to do as well – which is why she’ll be getting a copy of the book in the mail."

That is awesome, Jen. I pray your distant relative will be blessed by your book. I believe you've captured the essence of Christian Fiction -- blessing others through the art of story.

Thank you for sharing, Jen.

Friends and Readers, you'll be interested to know that when Jen is not writing, she spends her time outside of Denver with her husband and neurotic Cattle Dog, enjoying herself as an empty-nester since her son recently abandoned her for the college life. 

I thoroughly enjoy Jen's books, and if you want to connect with this talented author, she can be found on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/ 
or visit her on the web at www.jenturano.com. 
She is represented by the Natasha Kern Literary Agency. 
Her books can be found in most fine bookstores, or follow the Baker House Publishing link to find additional places to purchase her work - http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/authors/jen-turano/1761

Thank you for visiting Everything Writerly, Jen. I wish you God's best on your latest book. 

Miralee Ferrell: Impacting the Lives of Young Adults

Greetings Readers! Today I have the blessing of hosting my friend Miralee Ferrell on Everything Writerly. 

Miralee and I go back a ways. Both of us wrote for the now-defunct fiction line called Summerside Press and its Love Finds You imprint. She began her writing career at Kregel Publications and I am presently under contract with Kregel. It's fun to see our career parallels.

Here's a little about Miralee:

Miralee Ferrell’s debut novel released in the fall of 2007, and eighteen more have followed since. Her historical western romance, Love Finds You in Sundance, WY, won the Will Rogers Excellence in Western Fiction award in 2012, and her first book in the four-book Love Blossoms in Oregon series, Blowing on Dandelions, hit the ECPA Best Seller list, along with The 12 Brides of Christmas. Since then, she’s ventured into writing horse novels for middle-grade kids, and opened her own publishing company, publishing Christian novels. Miralee and her husband have been married over 40 years and live in the beautiful Columbia Gorge in WA State, where she loves to ride horses, garden, take walks, play with her dogs, and minister to women.

   

So how did an author of Christian romance begin writing books for young adults (YA)? Let's find out.

Miralee:  "An editor-friend read one of my historical romances set on a horse ranch and loved all the horse references and scenes. She suggested I consider writing a book or series of books for girls who are horse crazy, as so many young girls wish they could own or ride a horse.

"I didn’t think much of it, as I’d never considered writing middle-school or even YA fiction. But while praying about what I should be working on next, I felt the Lord nudging to remember my conversation with my friend. Ideas started flowing, and I started writing.

 "About a year later, my publisher at David C. Cook heard I was working up a proposal to shop to various houses, and asked to see it. The rest, as they say, is history, as they contracted a set of four books. 

"I’ve had a ball writing fun stories for kids, but most of all, investing life lessons and morals into the stories, as well as a faith thread and showing how my characters have grown in their own maturity and faith as the series has progressed."

The book sounds great! Thank you, Miralee.

Readers, you can connect with Miralee via her website: http://miraleeferrell.com/

Miralee's book is available online or at your local bookstore. If it's not on the shelf, ask for it.

Terri Blackstock: Illustrating Christ's Love to Readers

Dear Readers-

Years ago I read a book authored by Terri Blackstock called Never Again Goodbye." I LOVED THAT STORY, so I was hooked. I must admit that I haven't read some of Terri's latest suspense novels, but her latest book looks very tempting.

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over seven million copies sold worldwide. She is the winner of two Carol Awards, a Christian Retailers Choice Award, and a Romantic Times Book Reviews Career Achievement Award, among others. Her most recent suspense novel is If I Run, about a young female fugitive whose being accused of a heinous murder.  Other books include Truth Stained Lies (the Moonlighters Series), Intervention (the Intervention Series), and Last Light (the Restoration Series). 

Here's what Terri had to say about her new novel, If I Run:

"While I finished my Moonlighters Series, I kept seeing my new character Casey running from a murder charge. Her DNA is all over the crime scene, so she knows proving her innocence will be impossible. Because the justice system has let her down before, Casey runs to keep the police and others from catching up to her, so she has to constantly change her identity and her appearance, move from one part of the country to another, and leave no clues that would lead police to her.

"At first, I didn’t know how well this would work since I write Christian suspense novels. I knew Casey was going to have to break the law several times throughout the story, and the fear that drives her isn’t all that Christ-like. She’s a lost, but winsome character who tries to do the right thing. Then I realized that God didn’t mean for her to be a Christian when the story opens. Casey’s interaction with a God whose existence she doubts will show readers that Christ is concerned with the details of our lives even before we turn to Him, and that when we do call out to Him, we are guaranteed to find Him."

 Thank you, Teri.

Readers, see the complete list of Terri’s books at www.terriblackstock.com/books. 
Join her at Facebook (www.facebook.com/tblackstock) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TerriBlackstock).