“I’m coming.” Thick carpet muffled her footsteps as she crossed the parlor. She opened the door and hugged her brother. “Why didn’t you just use your key?”

Allen returned her hug, then stood back. “I only kept the key because you insisted. It’s a good idea for me to check on things for you when you’re out at the farm, since you’re living here alone. But I won’t use it for any other reason. You deserve your privacy.” He glanced around the room that had been Marie’s home before she and Allen married. He had spent a lot of time here visiting with his sister and later courting Marie. “I like what you’ve done with the place. It really expresses your personality.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” Esther gave a low curtsey. She and her brother had enjoyed a playful relationship all their lives.

“Are you ready?” Allen picked up her jacket from the claret-colored velvet settee. After helping her into the wrap, he opened the door, and they proceeded down the stairs into the warm, August twilight.

Esther placed her hand in the crook of his arm as they walked across the street to the hotel. “It was really nice of Marie to offer to keep Gerald and Linda’s children so we could take them out to dinner for their anniversary.”

“She loves those two little ones. And I do, too. They come over to our house a lot, since we live so close.”

When they entered the lobby of the hotel, Esther glanced around. She didn’t come here often, but she always liked the friendly, yet elegant, atmosphere. The gaslights around the walls gave a warm glow to the plush carpeting and matching wallpaper. Esther liked that they used a lot of potted plants in the decor. It enhanced the sense of opulence ... and freshness. When she came to the hotel, it made her feel that Denton was as cosmopolitan as Chicago or even New York City.

A man descending the wide staircase that dominated the room drew Esther’s attention. He stood taller than any other man she had ever seen. Although his body looked lean, muscles rippled under his shirt and slacks. His dark, clean-shaven face sported a neat mustache. He must have spent a lot of time in the sun, and the tan looked good on him. Much of his forehead appeared lighter than the rest of his face, evidence he wore a Stetson most of the time. The fine lines fanning out from the corner of each eye revealed that he squinted against the blazing sun, and they only enhanced his good looks.

He wasn’t dressed like a cowboy, but as he walked down the stairs, he had the bowlegged gait of a man who spent most of his life on the back of a horse. His luxuriously thick, dark hair looked wet. It was slicked back, but separate locks were pulling into strong waves as they dried.

For some unexplainable reason, Esther felt drawn to him. Her fingers tingled with the desire to brush back an errant curl that had drooped over his strong forehead. She had never felt this way about any man.

For a moment, she held her breath in wonder. His most arresting feature, his eyes, shone a clear, icy blue. When his gaze met hers, something passed between them, a feeling both exciting … and disturbing. As if they were connected somehow. Uncomfortable, Esther quickly looked away.

What in the world is wrong with me? Maybe it was because all her close friends had husbands, and she wanted one, too. Why did some stranger affect her this way? Esther felt relieved when Gerald and Linda arrived at that moment, and the four of them went into the dining room. She tried to dismiss the man from her thoughts as she followed her brothers and sister-in-law to their table.

~~~~~

When they were seated at a table in the dining room, Esther decided to forget what had happened in the hotel lobby and concentrate on her brothers and sister-in-law. “Well, Linda, I guess it’s nice for you to go out without the children.”

Linda smiled at her. “Oh yes, it’s a real treat. It was good of you and Allen to plan this little celebration.”

“Actually, it was Marie’s idea.” Allen picked up his linen napkin and spread it across his lap.

“Why didn’t she come with us?” Linda smiled at her.

Esther laughed. “You mean besides the fact that she’s keeping your children for you?” Linda nodded. “I offered to keep them at the apartment, but Marie thought it would be special for Gerald’s brother and sister to take the two of you out.”

Allen picked up his fork and absently turned it over and over in his hands as if checking its weight. “She really likes having Olivia and Stephen at the house.” He put the fork down and cleared his throat. “She’s hoping we’ll have a little one ourselves pretty soon. I told her it has only been a few months since we married, and I enjoy our time together, but I’m eager for our own children, too.”

Gerald patted his wife’s hand. “Well, we have an announcement to make, and you two are the first to hear it.”

Linda blushed and looked down at the table in front of her. “We are going to have another baby.”

Esther got up, hurried around the table, and hugged her. “I’m so happy for you.” When she passed Gerald on the way back to her chair, she hugged him, too. “And I’m happy for you, big brother.”

The waitress came to their table. “What are we all having tonight?”

“This calls for steaks.” Allen looked at each of them in turn. “Unless you want something else. We have a lot to celebrate.”

When the waitress left, conversation flowed around the table, but Esther’s attention was divided.

That cowboy sat across the room. She could see him when she turned to talk to Allen. He seemed to be enjoying his food, but once in a while, she felt his gaze on her. Why did he do that? It made her very uncomfortable. Even though she enjoyed having this time with her relatives, she couldn’t forget the man or the impression he made on her when they stood in the lobby.

Esther knew it didn’t make any sense. She felt drawn to him, even here in the dining room. She noticed when his coffee arrived. While he ate his roast beef and hot rolls, she looked at him from time to time. He had perfect table manners, not like most of the cowboys she had seen in the past. She didn’t want him to catch her watching, so she peeked at him out of the corner of her eyes to make sure it wasn’t when he was looking at her.

She was acting like a desperate old maid. Just because everyone else was married, it didn’t mean anything was wrong with her life, did it? Her business was successful, and she had a comfortable home, good friends, and a family who loved her.

But they weren’t a husband and children. She felt that deep longing she’d harbored since she became an adult. She wanted to be loved by a man the way her father loved her mother. The way Gerald loved Linda. The way Allen loved Marie. The way Marie’s brothers Oliver and Leonard loved their wives. She wanted a home of her own, not just an apartment above a store … and she wanted children. To feel their arms around her neck. To have them call her, Mother.

Oh yes, Esther wanted all those things more than she could tell anyone. But that cowboy across the dining room wasn’t the man to give them to her.

    

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I put a little bit of my life or life experience into every character, even the villains. In Hosea’s Heart, I asked myself if I would be that faithful to an unfaithful spouse. Having experienced a divorce, I doubt I would. However, Aubrey’s command for faithfulness came from the Lord. He obeyed, not out of common sense, but out of his allegiance to a greater power.

I was once challenged to eat four pancakes. Simple right? Only, at the time, I didn’t realize the pancakes were the size of a plate. I did it, only because I was too stubborn to admit defeat.

The old cliché … I was born with a pencil in my hand is almost true. As a young girl, I loved to tell stories to the younger children and write them down for my classmates. My teacher often read my stories or had me read them to lower grades. In high school, I won an award for a poem. I was published in my college journal. I loved to write plays for my church and devotionals for our church ladies. However, I did not consider writing professionally, until I reached my fifties.

Like my taste in music, I enjoy an art well done regardless of genre. My favorite books range from sci-fi/fantasy to historical and everything between.

I am fortunate to have a spouse who keeps me grounded. He tells me to slow down or speed up as the need arises. Since he retired, he likes to clean and cook. I don’t mind. I was primary household manager for the first 35 years or so even when I worked fulltime. Hubs also likes to go for walks in City Park, an occasional movie, or walk in the mall. This change of pace helps me to keep my sanity.

They come to me. Sometimes, I associate a name with a certain social class or occupation. Sometimes my character’s personality quirks invite a name. Occasionally, I will consult my baby name book or research popular names by year.

My three children. They are more of a blessing to me than the many books I’ve written or any accomplishment in my writing journey. They may not be perfect, but they bring me such joy, in addition to my nine grandchildren!

I’d be a tiger. They are majestic and graceful. 

Is it cliché to say chocolate? Chocolate anything. Although one of my favorite dishes is chicken and biscuits. I rarely have that anymore since my husband is not fond of it. Growing up it was always my request for birthday dinner.

At the moment, I have so many stories pouring out of my brain, I don’t get writer’s block very much as to what to write. However, my creativity is often shut down because of marketing demands. They mentally exhaust me, and I find it difficult to pick up where I left off in my writing. I pull myself out the funk through prayer and writing small amounts. I write something every day even though I might have to put my work in progress aside for a bit.  

Hosea’s Heart is a modern day adaptation of the Biblical Hosea’s quest for his runaway wife. Aubrey Beaumont has been in search of his drug-addicted, runaway wife for fifteen years. However, new to faith, she finds him. When they are reunited, Aubrey discovers that she is not only terminally ill, but she is a star witness against a notorious drug lord, her former lover. How much should a wrong husband forgive? The book is set in Washington, DC. Aubrey finds new ministry as a result of his wife’s struggle with addiction. I have attempted to show the human equation in a serious epidemic. Reviewers so far find the book suspenseful as well as heart-warming.

Prologue

Aubrey Beaumont’s heart pounded as Darlene burst past stodgy Mrs. Donovan and ran into his arms. The girl’s reddened eyes confirmed his worst fears.

“Mommy went away again, Aubrey.”

Darlene sobbed against his overcoat while he absorbed the news. From the entryway, he saw Paul and Bradley at the kitchen table, frozen to their seats, remnants of peanut butter sandwiches on their plates. Paul guzzled the last of his milk, and Bradley rocked back and forth as he hummed “Jesus Loves Me.”

“Thank you for staying with the children, Mrs. Donovan. I rushed out as soon as the seminary gave me your message. I don’t suppose you know where Joanna went off to, do you?”

She handed him a note tucked inside Joanna’s wedding ring.

“Sorry, Mr. Beaumont. I got here my usual time, and your wife handed me this package like it were a present. Then she stormed out the door. Slammed it so hard, she done bust the hinge. Said I was to stay here with Darlene and the boys ’til you came home. Then she slapped a twenty-dollar bill in my hand. ‘For the inconvenience,’ she said. ’Taint no inconvenience. I love these kids as if they were my own.”

Aubrey gripped the parchment paper—Joanna’s curt goodbye. She’d never left a note before. Usually, she slithered away during the night. This time she left while the sun still shone. He slid the gold-edged stationery from its circular perch as he gazed toward Mrs. Donovan. “Did my wife say anything else?”

Mrs. Donavan lumbered toward the coat rack. “Nope. Just high-tailed it out that door.” She twirled as she wriggled her wide body into a coat three sizes too small. “Didn’t even take her purse. Walked out with just the clothes she wore … no coat or nothing.” She grabbed the doorknob with one hand and snatched her straw purse off the counter with the other.

My website is www.lindarondeau.com. My social media links are: Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, Linked In, Instagram and Goodreads.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook. This is available for readers outside the United States. 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.)

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I have a 13-year old grandson who loves to read. I wanted to provide him with decent reading material in a genre he enjoys. That was time travel. I started thinking about what kind of time travel book would someone, say 9 – 16 years old enjoy? There have been lots of time travel books written, so I needed to find an original way to get the protagonists from one time/place to another. I decided on a board game to do that.

I designed a board game (Time Game) and have had it produced and do have it available for sale through local vendors and through my websites. It’s a game of luck…not skill…and anyone ages 12 – adult can enjoy playing it.

The series of books I’ve based on the game will be a 13-book series, one book for each illustration on the game board. I’m up through Book 7 (published to date) and working on the 8th one. My reading range has expanded to adults, so now I say my market is ages 9 – 99.

I don’t know how quirky it was…but it certainly shook up my sister and my mom. We had been somewhere and I was driving them home, taking some side streets to get to their neighborhood. I spotted a couple of tree stumps in someone’s yard. Cut stumps which had been put out by the curb to be picked up by the trash people. My creative instincts shouted coffee table so I stopped the car, got out and rang the doorbell of the house and asked the owner if they minded if I took the stumps. Needless to say, they were a bit surprised, but gave permission. I put the stumps in the trunk of the car and resumed the driver’s seat. All the way to my mom’s house I kept hearing “I can’t believe you did that’s” from my sister and my mom. But hey, I figure you don’t ask, you don’t have. I’m big on asking.

I’ve been a reader all my life (make that avid reader, like on average one book a day when I’m not busy), but I never tried my hand at creative writing until about 1999 when I read an article in Reader’s Digest asking what you would do as a career if you didn’t have to worry about training, time, finances, education, etc. Without thinking, the thought popped into my mind… “I’d write books.” It really surprised me because, even though I loved to read, I’d never thought about writing books. I stuffed the thought into the back of my mind, but it kept coming back until I finally figured “how am I going to know I can/can’t unless I try?” So I tried. That began my writing journey. Since 2013, when I started writing full time, I’ve published 22 books so I guess writing was definitely in my future.

My favorite genre is mysteries. I also enjoy many suspense books, action/adventure/thriller books as well. I do read some historicals and some romances. 

I’ve written and published 22 books. Four of those are non-fiction (2 are just e-books), and the rest fiction. I’ve written two different mystery series, a romantic comedy series, an end times series, the afore-mentioned time travel/sci-fi series, and a romance. Probably the most unusual was the non-fiction cold case murder I wrote about that occurred in 1930 in the town I now live in. That was quite an experience, but I’m pretty sure I solved the case.

I am blessed in that I am retired from a day job, so can pretty much keep my own schedule. Things do tend to come to me in clumps for some reason – usually groups of three…so occasionally I’m juggling many plates at the same time. But I can usually manage to stay on track and take time as needed for health issues and other necessities (like grocery shopping…ugh).

There is a faith element in all my books. When I started the Time Game series of books, I wanted to offer readers something exciting, yet clean, and not weird supernatural as is so prevalent today. I think I’ve accomplished that with this series and the responses I get from readers of all ages pretty much confirm that. I can’t take the credit, the Lord gets that, but I appreciate Him letting me help.

Probably a cat. I love cats. Unfortunately, my allergies don’t allow a pet, so haven’t had one for years. But they are SO independent and graceful, I just love them. I know I don’t qualify for the graceful designation, but I am independent and can relate to cats on that level.

This is a toughie. If you mean just one food item…it would have to be carrot cake with 4-inch thick icing (if only they’d make it that thick). If you mean food types…probably Mexican food (Tex-Mex). All of it.

Being independently (indie) published, it’s a bit different. I did try for a short time, when I began the Time Game series, to see if any agents were looking for children’s/middle grade books. Only found one and she never responded to my query. So I went ahead with my indie publishing (in which I’d done all my other books). The marketing is challenging. But then marketing is these days for all writers.

Occasionally, I now see there are agents who are soliciting those types of books, so I’d encourage authors who want to write for children to try traditional publishing if they want to. But if they don’t mind the marketing aspect, indie publishing is an avenue to explore. Advice? Try to come up with an original idea…one that hasn’t been done to death and find a fresh approach. It is possible.

 

Eye of the Storm: The First Token is book one in the Time Game series. It introduces the series, the board game, and twins Marcus and Samantha Willoughby. I switch back and forth between them in scenes and chapters so they get equal time. Therefore, the book can be enjoyed by both males and females. The idea came from discovering information about an actual shipwreck that took place on the Great Lakes in 1898 (no, not the Edmund Fitzgerald). The wreckage of the ship in my book hadn’t been found for over a hundred years and hasn’t received the publicity it might have earlier. But it was a great story and I enjoyed weaving my characters into an actual event that was quite dramatic and exciting and I hope, set the tone, for the adventures to follow.

Again, I’d like to mention that the board game (Time Game) was the basis for the themes for all the books in the series and can be played by 2-4 players, including adults. It moves fast but has enough pitfalls to keep it exciting.

I have two different websites. One for the Time Game series books and game:

Another for all my books (including the Time Game series and game):

I’m on Facebook at:

E-mail is: dafeatherling@gmail.com

Readers, here is a link to the paperback.

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.)

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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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This 90-day devotional is the third continuation to DaySpring’s bestselling, farmhouse-inspired, Grits to Grace and Sweet Tea for the Soultitles. Sweet servings of inspiration, these down-home devotions are chock-full of Scripture, Godly wisdom, and common-sense country wit. Each devotion begins with a thoughtful or witty title, a Scripture, an inspirational story or thought, a faith-check take-away, and ends with a humorous or thought-provoking tag. Like a hand-stitched and heartfelt gift, these faith-crafted pages will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye.

Publisher:DaySpring, RELEASES August 6, 2018

DaySpring has set up the code 5BISCUITS good for $5 off any purchase on DaySpring.com. Good thru 8/31/18.

My husband Michael and I have been married for 29 years and we have two daughters. Our oldest, Katie is a psycho-therapist and is married to Dan, the youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Lufkin. Lauren is a social strategist at The Richards Group, an advertising agency in Dallas.

Have you written other nonfiction books?

Yes, Sweet Tea For The Soul (also Dayspring), Babes With A Beatitude (Simon & Schuster), Moving Tales, Doomsday Devotions.

Forget-Me-Not just published Calliope’s Kiss, a historical gothic romance set in New Orleans and it has everything a gothic romance should have. A creepy old mansion. A cemetery. Characters with lots of secrets. Suspense. Murder. More secrets. Romance. And a touch of insanity, of course.

I am presently working on another cozy mystery.

When I’m not writing I like to paint. Either in oil or acrylic usually. But I sometimes dabble in watercolor, though I’m not very good at it.

Dayspring asked me to do a follow-up book to Sweet Tea For The Soul, which is quite popular.

Hopefully, they will read a daily devotion and go through their day feeling blessed. And maybe they will bake some delicious biscuits from the recipes included in the book, with a generous pat of butter!

I write my devotions from notes I take during my daily time with the Lord. I open my Bible randomly every morning and read the passages on the open pages. And I am never disappointed. God always gives me something wonderful to work with and ideas to combine with scripture. I take a lot of time writing every devotion and making sure I choose the right scripture to go with what I’ve written. There’s a lot of love put into what I do.

Please give us the first page or two from the book.

 

 

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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.)

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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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