https://www.celebratelit.com/marys-redemption-celebration-tour/

Bio: Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance from her home in North Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A mother of two wonderful young adult daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

Welcome back, Denise. Why did you become an author? I sensed the call to write ever since I was in middle school and the trips I made with my parents to historic sites inspired stories in spiral-bound notebooks. I knew this was how God had gifted me—absorbing details, nuances of character, and blending them using right-brain creativity with left-brain research and organization. Being an author allows me to bring the past alive and His love and healing to readers through story form. Being an editor also allows me to help others hone the same skills.

If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job? I very nearly went into historic preservation and restoration. Old homes and buildings tell such fascinating tales, just like books.

If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why? I find American history fascinating during the years the nation was gaining independence and expanding, especially along the Eastern frontier. That time through the Civil War resonates most with me, although I also enjoy later periods of history as well. There would be something to be said for living in the Edwardian era through WWII when the old ways and manners were still practiced but some modern conveniences were to be had.

What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to? The Grand Canyon and a snowy resort and Christmas town in Colorado.

How about a foreign country you hope to visit? I don’t see any international travel coming in my near future, but my top picks would be Scotland, Switzerland, or a return to Italy or Spain.

What lesson has the Lord taught you recently? My life has changed so much and there have been so many lessons in the last year, I couldn’t begin to name them all. But through it all, the biggest lesson is that He’s faithful.

That is so, so true in my life, too. Please tell us about the featured book? The death of her titled husband means that not only is Tabitha Gage no longer a lady—but she’s also abandoned on an isolated Southern Georgia plantation on the eve of revolution. With the fine house and fields sold to a neighbor, she’s left with a log cabin on unsettled timber land. Rather than marry the neighbor’s son, Tabitha determines to make her own way—and never again be shackled to a man she doesn’t love.

Sergeant Edmond Lassiter is one assignment away from promotion when he comes to the aid of a red-haired beauty fending off cattle rustlers. Thrown together during an attack at a nearby fort, the Patriot scout and Loyalist widow are surprised by the values they share—including honesty, loyalty, and equality. When Edmond learns the same man who ruined his family is after what little Tabitha has left, he convinces her they should work together to make her land profitable—all while fighting off the British from East Florida and her greedy neighbor, who sabotages their every effort to succeed. Their work together will be a business arrangement…nothing more. But as a British invasion threatens, the truth soon becomes clear—continuing the connection between them will risk far more than their hearts.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Early February, 1777

The morning she awoke at home after the funeral of her husband, Lady Tabitha Gage opened her eyes to bright winter sunlight and shuddered—with relief. She was free.

But a lady no longer.

Terror quickly replaced the relief. Free, yes, but also alone on a thousand-acre South Georgia rice plantation. Across the Altamaha River, Creek and Seminole Indians roamed the no-man’s land of tangled swamps and bogs, allied to the British who held East Florida. Lord Riley’s allegiance to the Crown had not excluded his cattle from being raided. Should an invasion come, it would not protect this plantation, either—especially now he was gone. After Henry’s name appeared on the St. Andrews Parochial Committee’s list of twenty-nine suspected Tories last autumn, River’s Bend was equally susceptible to Patriot retribution. 

And yet it was to River’s Bend Tabitha had returned—fled, more like—the day after she’d seen Henry laid to rest in the Christ Church burying ground. Keeping up appearances in Savannah had required more fortitude—and fortune—than she possessed now. Not to mention, her twin, Temperance, was too apt to see past Tabitha’s façade. And their father, too apt to pull her back under his control.

Tabitha sat up but clutched the covers beneath her chin, not yet ready to relinquish their warmth for the chill of the January morning. Maybe she could stay here all day.

When she’d first set eyes on her new husband’s country house, she’d cried. The white frame home with its two tiers of piazzas and saltbox-style extension in the rear set among the live oaks and palms appeared so parochial in comparison to his elegant brick Savannah residence. What a little fool she’d been. Her upstairs room with its twelve-foot ceilings, walnut furniture, and tapestry curtains and counterpane had since become her refuge. Lord Riley had sought her out here less and less frequently as his hope for an heir dwindled over the eleven years of their marriage.

And now the burden of that expectation was gone, along with the silent judgment of the man who’d imposed it. She knew not whether to stretch her shoulders with the relinquishment or continue to cringe under the accusation she’d come to expect. Her own head supplied it in the absence of Henry’s voice. What kind of wife was she to not mourn her husband?

Buy link:

https://www.amazon.com/Calculated-Betrothal-Scouts-Georgia-Frontier-ebook/dp/B0D577ZJ1B/

How can readers find you on the Internet? Connect with Denise here:

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Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 2 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

This is a second edition of an  award-winning book that released 15 years ago.

Excerpt:

“Mrs. Caine.” Angus McKenna came to an abrupt stop and cleared  is throat before starting again. “I’ve come to ask you something that . . . I never dreamed I’d . . . ever ask anyone.” His voice rasped, and he stopped to take a gulp of air, staring off into the distance.

She couldn’t take her eyes from him, even when the baby in her arms squirmed. “How can we help you?”

New tears followed the trails down his cheeks and disappeared into his beard. He grabbed a bandanna from his back pocket and blew his nose with one hand. “I’ve just lost the most important thing in my life.” He paused and stared at the ground. “I don’t know how I can go on without her.” His voice cracked on the last word.

Once again he paused, but much longer this time. His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed several times. “I’ve been crying out to God, but I don’t think He’s listening to me right now. If He were . . . ”

What a thing for a man to admit to them. Florence knew he must be near a breakdown. He did need help, but what could they do?

“I’ve decided . . . it would be best to find another family to raise one of my girls.” He stood straighter. “I’ve watched you with Margaret Lenora . . . ”

“Is that what you’ve named her?” Florence gazed at the sleeping baby, and her heart ached for the child. To grow up without a mother.

“Yes.”

Angus looked straight at Joshua, and her husband gave a slow nod. “Your husband has told me . . . how much you’ve wanted a child.”

For a moment, anger flared in her chest. Joshua shouldn’t share her secret with anyone. She took a deep breath to keep from saying something she’d regret. Even though she didn’t even look at her husband, she could feel his gaze deep inside. She was grateful he couldn’t see the ugly jealousy and covetousness that resided there.

“What I’m trying to say, Mrs. Caine, is . . . ” His Adam’s apple bobbed again. “Would you consider adopting one of my daughters and raising her as your own?” He snapped his mouth shut and just stood there waiting, staring at the ground and clinging to the tiny baby in his arms.

As her own? Was this God’s answer to her prayer for a baby? It could be. She knew she should try to encourage Mr. McKenna to keep his daughters. He might marry again and want all three of

them, but she pushed those thoughts aside before they could take root. This might be the only chance she would ever have for a child, and she didn’t want to lose it. Finally, she turned her attention toward Joshua.

“I’ll be happy with whatever you decide, Florence.” Love poured from her husband and enclosed her in its warmth.

How could she refuse? She held this precious bundle close to her heart right now, and she didn’t want to ever let her go.

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DFF4JTN2?storeType=ebooks&linkCode=sl1&tag=las_leadpage_lower-20&linkId=c5a26f97290589ad3b22c083d66bc59c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/maggies-journey-lena-nelson-dooley/1102422760?ean=9781963212150

About the book:

The stories of these identical triplets percolated in my heart and mind for several years before I put them on paper. 

If I’m setting the story in an actual city instead of a fictional one, I want to find pictures or descriptions of that city. With Seattle, Washington Territory, in 1885, I had trouble finding any information. I did know a lot about wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, so I didn’t have trouble with the Prologue. With Chapter 1, I came to a standstill. 

I knew most libraries had Adult Research Librarians. So I called the Seattle library. I told the ARL that I didn’t want her to do the research for me. I just wanted her to point me in the right directions to find what I needed. 

Their library had digitized thousands of historical photographs. She sent me the link to where they were stored, by decade. The information with each photo included who took the picture and the names of the people in the picture, as well as the street names and names of the businesses if they weren’t on the building. 

This was like a gold mine to me. I went to the 1880 decade and went through the photos, printing the ones I needed to recreate the city. Everything in the book, besides the business of my characters are actual businesses in 1885. And the mayor and his wife who attended Maggie’s birthday party were the actual ones at that time. 

This is true for the railroad trip, Denver, and Little Rock as well. I grew up in Arkansas and lived near Little Rock when I was in high school. 

Book 2 in the series, Mary's Redemption, will release in March, and the third book, Catherine's Pursuit, will release in April.

If you are a member of a book club, I’d be glad to attend one of your meetings on Zoom to discuss my story. Email me at: lenanelsondooley@gmail.com if you want to book me.

The Love's Road Home Series box set has been selected for a Bookbub Featured Deal. It will be discounted to $0.99 from Nov. 8 - 12 in the US and UK. 

Get books 1 - 3 in this bestselling Christian historical romance series! With a combined total of over 1,500 reviews, get three full-length novels at a substantial discount over their individual prices.

A Heart's Gift (Love's Road Home Book 1)
Is a marriage of convenience the answer?
Franklin Vine has worked hard to build the ranch he inherited into one of the most successful in the majestic Colorado mountains. If only he had an heir to one day inherit the legacy he's building. But he was burned once in the worst way, and he doesn't plan to open his heart to another woman. Even if that means he'll eventually have to divide up his spread among the most loyal of his hired hands.
When Lorinda Sullivan is finally out from under the control of men who made all the decisions in her life, she promises herself she'll never allow a man to make choices for her again. But without a home in the midst of a hard Rocky Mountain winter, she has to do something to provide for her infant son.

A marriage of convenience seems like the perfect arrangement, yet the stakes quickly become much higher than either of them ever planned. When hearts become entangled, the increasing danger may change their lives forever.

A Heart's Forgiveness (Love's Road Home Book 2)
Accepting an ad for a mail-order bride was supposed to solve her problems.
It's 1890, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when Jeremiah Dennison's good friend and mentor finds himself in need of a nurse, Philip places an ad for a mail-order bride—despite Jeremiah’s protests.

Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. What she finds in Golden is nothing like what she expected, especially not Philip, her expected husband-to-be.

But just as she begins to win over Philip—and Jeremiah himself—the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden…and tarnish her character beyond redemption.

A Heart's Forever Home (Love's Road Home Book 3)
A single lawyer whose clients think he needs a wife. A woman who needs a forever home...or a forever family...or a forever love.

BIO: Award-Winning and Amazon Bestselling Author Sandra Merville Hart is past Executive Editor for DevoKids.com where she also contributed historical articles. She serves on the Planning Committee for Faith and Fellowship Book Festival. As Treasurer of ACFW Ohio, she has helped plan writing retreats and other events. Sandra is also a speaker, blogger, and workshop teacher.

Sandra is a founding member of The Erasers, a group that encourages and uplifts writers and readers. ERASERS is an acronym for “Edit, Rewrite, And Save. Edit. Repeat. Save.”

Sandra is thrilled that her Spies of the Civil War series was released by Wild Heart Books in 2022. Book 1 of the series, Avenue of Betrayal, is set in Washington DC in 1861. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger (Books 2 & 3) are set in Richmond, Virginia, in 1862. Byway to Danger won the Gold Illumination Award 2023. Actual historical spies will influence the lives of fictional characters. Books 4-6 in this series are set in Vicksburg, a Southern city the Union considered a prize it needed to capture. Streams of Mercy, Book 4, was published on March 26, 2024.

Sandra has taught at writers’ conferences, writers’ groups, and women’s retreats, participated in Author Panels, and led sessions at women’s retreats. As Treasurer of ACFW Ohio, she has helped plan writing retreats and other events. 

How did you come up with the idea for this story? River of Peril is Book 5 in my Spies of the Civil War Series. We met Felicity and Luke, the heroine and hero in our story, in Book 4, when several friends are introduced to readers.

Felicity and Luke were already courting and very much in love in the previous story. I wanted to give them a mighty hurdle to overcome in their relationship. As the story opens, we see Nurse Felicity’s horror when her soldier beau is among her wounded patients. Unfortunately, the situation worsens—Luke has amnesia and cannot remember her. The doctor cautions her to allow him to recall those hidden memories on his own, but her secret rips her heart apart.  

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why? What a fun question! For my contemporary friends, I’d ask them to bring their favorite appetizers for supper.

I have many writer friends because I’ve been writing for years. It’s not easy to narrow it down to six, so I will choose some authors I’d love to talk with again soon—Deborah Sprinkle, Lisa Carter, Ane Mulligan, Sharon Lavy, Sharyn Kopf, and Rebecca Waters.

I’d add one more… Yvonne Lehman, who has gone on to her reward. She was such a sweet, fun, feisty author—and she was such an encouragement to me and hundreds of others. I’m not the only one who misses her friendship and sense of humor.

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why? Yes! Let’s have another party for more author friends. For my historical friends, I’d plan a meal with recipes from my cookbook written about 150 years ago. These recipes are not always easy to decipher so I’d try them out on my husband first.

However, it’s not any easier to whittle back this list. I’d invite KD Holmberg, Starr Ayers, Linda Dindzans, Debra DuPree Williams, Misty Beller, and Susan Mathis. And Lena Nelson Dooley, can you come too? 😊

I’d be honored to attend. Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career? My biggest problem is that there’s not enough time to accomplish all my tasks/projects. One might imagine that writer’s block might attack after the completion of a book or a series. That’s not the case with me. I’m always planning ahead. Ideas for my next book/project begin to swirl while I’m still writing the last novel. I can’t wait to begin researching, yet I do think it’s healthy to take a creative break. That’s not always been possible.

Writing brings with it many other opportunities and we, as authors, always seem to have lots of irons in the fire. I try to remember to pray for guidance as a new opportunity arises. If I can’t forget about it, I feel that God is prompting me to pursue it. If I never think of it again, then I believe He’s telling me to pass on it.

What I most need to do is to keep my focus on what God wants me do. Ideas for my next series are taking shape and I’m praying for His guidance.

Tell us about the featured book.

Amnesia stole his memory, and now he’s fighting for the wrong side.

Orphaned and alone at sixteen, Felicity has found solace in serving others as a volunteer nurse. When she discovers her Confederate soldier beau, Luke Shea, among the wounded in her ward, her worst nightmares come true. Luke's shrapnel wound has stolen his memory, leaving him with no recollection of their love or his past. As Felicity struggles with the loss of the man she once knew, she turns her attention to the service of her broken country. But the more she learns about the brutal war, the more she realizes she can no longer stay silent. She becomes a Union spy, plunging herself into danger.

When Luke Shea awakes in a hospital with no memory of the last five years, he’s shocked to learn he's been fighting against the Union he once so strongly supported. And when he learns of his past courtship with his nurse, Felicity, he struggles to understand the man he was and what happened in those missing years. Determined to atone for his Confederate past, Luke also joins the Union cause as a spy.

As danger lurks at every turn, only a Divine hand can not only protect their lives, but give them a second chance for love and the future they both crave.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Friday, December 19, 1862, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Felicity Danielson hurried through the city streets of Vicksburg in the early-morning fog toward her volunteer job at the City Hospital. Some shops she passed were unlocking their doors for the day’s business, while others had been closed since the Union navy’s two-month attack on the city. Ultimately, the Confederates had won the battle, more’s the pity—and not only because Felicity supported the Union. Northern military leaders were too interested in her city located on a bluff by the mighty Mississippi River to leave them alone. They’d be back.

Her pace slowed as she approached an intersection. Five Confederate soldiers headed down the steep sidewalk toward the center of town, another common occurrence in occupied Vicksburg. Some soldiers had left after running the Union ships from the river, and others had replaced them. She lowered her eyes as their booted steps passed her on the other side of the cobblestone street. If the Twenty-first Mississippi Infantry—her beau Luke Shea’s Confederate regiment—were

How can readers find you on the Internet? I love to connect with readers. Thank you so much for asking!

I’d love to connect with readers on my blog and Facebook. Follow me on Goodreads and BookBub to find my all my books. Here are my links:

https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/sandra.m.hart.7

https://www.pinterest.com/sandramhart7/_saved/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8445068.Sandra_Merville_Hart

https://www.amazon.com/Sandra-Merville-Hart/e/B00OBSJ3PU/

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sandra-merville-hart

https://twitter.com/Sandra_M_Hart

Thank you, Sandra, for sharing River of Peril with my blog readers and me. I know a lot of us will love this book.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/River-Peril-Spies-Civil-Book-ebook/dp/B0CW1KQBWC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=WK9PRGLRSZ27&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.CcmA3W9gPHRN8STFIsa5Fw.VQQLYZFL_5PJHLwvA9vWZl73oaiaJmngMu63NwciZHA&dib_tag=se&keywords=river+of+peril+sandra+merville&qid=1729551402&sprefix=River+of+Peril+%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 2 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com