I went to church with this lady for many years as a child. She is so sweet. She's always had a very strong testimony of Jesus that she freely shares with others.
The testimony she shares here is an excerpt from her book and it really touched my heart. My parents had an experience where they believe they were also helped by one of the 3 Nephites. They also described him as very tall.
To order a copy of Joan Ahlberg's book, Please send a check to: Grain Valley Restoration Branch, PO Box 2132, Independence, MO 64050, memo: God Is Our Strong Salvation Book
The Christy Awards are here again and the finalists are travleing from all over the country to find out if they are the lucky winner. There are a lot of wonderful writers that were nominated this year, but today, I'm featuring my friend and author Melanie Dickerson!
Melanie has made quite the splash since publishing her first book, The Healer's Apprentice. She was nominated for numerous awards for that novel, including a Christy. This year she's back in the nominations for her follow up book, The Merchant's Daughter.
Melanie was very gracious in accepting my invitation for an interview. So, welcome Melanie. Thanks for taking a quick stop on your road to success and answering a few questions.
If your readers were to take only one lesson from The Merchant's Daughter, what would you want that to be?
I would want them to take away the lesson that God loves them and has a plan for their lives, a good plan, and He will be with them through whatever they have to face in life to get them into the abundant life He has planned for them. My heroine does her best to follow God, and that’s all God really asks of us.
Great message, I certainly saw that in Annabel. So how does your Christy nomination affect your view of your writing career? Has it changed anything?
I have to say, it is a big encouragement to me, but I’m not sure it changes anything. It encourages me to keep writing the best stories I can, to put every effort into revising and every other aspect of writing, and it lets me know I’m probably on the right track, to a certain extent. It’s very humbling too, because of all the other great books out there.
Do you have a favorite Christy award winning novel? If so, what is it? Has it played into your writing desires in any way?
The novel, Christy by Catherine Marshall, is an amazing book and one of my favorites. I’ve dreamed of winning a Christy Award since I started writing novels again, about eight years ago! That makes it all the sweeter to be a finalist.
I loved the book Christy! It's one of my favorites, too. What one thing would you like readers to know about you that no one knows yet?
I have a Snow White book, The Fairest Beauty, which I just unveiled on my Facebook author page, and a Cinderella book coming out next year. Both of these books feature the grown up children of Rose and Wilhelm from The Healer’s Apprentice. I hope my readers will enjoy hearing about what happened to Rose and Wilhelm and how their children are turning out.
I'm so excited! I can't wait to get my hands on them both. I've hooked my book club on your novels, they're just as excited as I am. Good luck at the Christy's Melanie, we're all cheering for you!
Inspired by “The Beauty and the Beast,” THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER follows Annabel Chapman, the daughter of a once-wealthy merchant, whose fate changes when her family goes into debt and she is forced into the role of servant for the beastly Lord Ranulf le Wyse.
In her new home, Annabel is burdened with a host of household duties, including harvesting barley stalks and preparing dinner for the other servants. Worse, she is horrified by her family’s insistence she marry the despicable Bailiff Tom in order to save the Chapman home and keep her brothers from having to work.
After Tom corners her alone several times, Annabel comes to believe a life within a convent may be her only hope of true escape. But as she settles into life inside Lord le Wyse’s home , Annabel begins to see past the lord’s harsh exterior to the kind and wonderful man who hides behind the physical and emotional scars. A man who wants only to help her, even if it means sending her away. Will Annabel follow her heart’s desire before it’s too late?
Dickerson’s long-awaited second book blends the romance of The Healer’s Apprentice with the fantasy of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” tale. THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER is a must-read for teens and young adults interested in fascinating love stories and historical fiction.
Watch the enchanting trailer for THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER
“Dickerson manages a heartfelt romance that will stick with readers.”—Booklist
“A virtuous romance.”—Kirkus
“The message will resonate with readers of all ages: Beauty is within all of us.”
—Romantic Times
“This riff on Beauty and the Beast makes the story as comfortable as a pair of old shoes, but the shoes fit well.”—Publishers Weekly
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melanie Dickerson is the author of 2010’s The Healer’s Apprentice, her debut novel which won Best First Book at the National Readers’ Choice Awards and came in fourth at the Family Fiction Awards. The novel was also a Christy Award, Maggie Award, Carol Award and Golden Quill finalist, and earned the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama, with her husband and two daughters. www.melaniedickerson.com
Move over John Grisham, there's a new counselor at the podium, and he's got my attention. I love John Grisham, especially his early novels and Todd Johnson's work gives me the same thrill. The hardworking underdog lawyer that fights for justice despite and impossible case. Evil big corporate lawyers, murder, spies and a plot that keeps you guessing until the last hail Mary. It also had heart. Forgiveness is hard to give, especially when it's your father that has betrayed you. But when Jared commits to this case, he finds that the distance between he and his father isn't quite as vast as he thought, and maybe they're more alike than he'll ever want to admit. That realization leads him to see his father with new eyes and recognize that people can change. Forgiveness is a theme that's woven into the story like a fine silk thread. Not just for Jared, but for Erin and the whole town. Final verdict? Fantastic. ABOUT THE BOOK: $10,000,000 Is Missing.
Erin Larson is running out of options. In the wake of her father's death, she found a slim piece of paper--a deposit slip--with an unbelievable amount on it. Only the bank claims they have no record of the money, and trying to hire a lawyer has brought only intimidation and threats. Erin's last chance is Jared Neaton.
How Far Will One Lawyer Go to Find the Money?
When Jared wearied of the shady ethics of his big law firm and started his own, he never expected the wheels to fly off so quickly. One big loss has pushed him to the brink, and it's all he can do to scrape by.
And How Far Will Someone Go to Stop Him?
He's not sure if Erin's case is worth the risk, but if the money is real, all his problems could vanish. When digging deeper unleashes something far more dangerous than just threats, both Jared and Erin must decide the cost they're willing to pay to discover the truth.
If you would like to read the first chapter of The Deposit Slip, go HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Todd M. Johnson has practiced as an attorney for over 30 years,
specializing as a trial lawyer.
A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Minnesota
Law School, he also taught for two years as adjunct professor of
International Law and served as a US diplomat in Hong Kong.
The Deposit Slip is his debut novel. He lives outside Minneapolis,
Minnesota, with his wife Cathy, and children Ian and Libby.
Bertrand has nailed it again with Det. Roland March. His stories are always gripping and addictive. Mystery and suspense that isn't afraid of being a little dark and gritty. Great follow up.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A grisly homicide. An international threat.
The stakes have never been higher for
Detective Roland March.
The victim's head is missing, but what intrigues Detective Roland March
is the hand. The pointing finger must be a clue--but to what? According
to the FBI, the dead man was an undercover asset tracking the flow of
illegal arms to the Mexican cartels. To protect the operation, they want
March to play along with the cover story. With a little digging, though, he
discovers the Feds are lying. And they're not the only ones.
In an upside-down world of paranoia and conspiracy, March finds himself
dogged by injury and haunted by a tragic failure. Forced to take justice into
his own hands, his twisting investigation leads him into the very heart of
darkness, leaving March with nothing to lose--and nothing to hide.
J. Mark Bertrand lived in Houston, where the series is set, for fifteen years,
earning an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. But after
one hurricane too many he left for South Dakota. Mark has been arrested
for a crime he didn't commit, was the foreman of one hung jury and served
on another that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an
honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead.
MY TAKE: I would love to have Mitch Wellington as my doctor. :) How he puts up with Lauren is a little of a mystery. I did enjoy the story a great deal, and the author presents the characters dreams and weaknesses in a very real way. Lauren, especially at first, seems very childish in her jealousy and it was a wee bit grating. But she does grow and you love Mitch for seeing past her behavior and recognizing the woman she could be. He offers her a second chance and nearly drags her screaming into accepting it, but when she gets there, it's a beautiful thing. It made me remember that although we don't like to see ourselves as petty and childish, often we behave less admirably than we like. Mitch saw past that, just as Jesus sees past our childishness to encourage us to find our peace in Him.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A Doctor’s Vow.
When he fled Eagle Point years ago, former air force trauma surgeon Mitch Wellington left only broken dreams behind. Now he’s back with a new dream—opening a trauma center in the rural area and saving lives. He hopes to hire the quick-thinking nurse who impressed him during an emergency. But Lauren Bates lost her faith and doesn’t believe she deserves to help anyone. Mitch knows firsthand what loss feels like. And it’ll take all his devotion to show Lauren that sometimes the best medicine is a combination of faith, community—and love.
Eagle Point Emergency: Saving lives—and losing their hearts—in a small Illinois town.
If you would like to read an excerpt of the first chapter of Doctor's Devotion, go HERE. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born Valentine’s Day on a Navy base, Cheryl Wyatt writes military romance. Her Steeple Hill debuts earned RT Top Picks plus #1 and #4 on eHarlequin's Top 10 Most-Blogged-About-Books, lists including NYT Bestsellers. Cheryl loves interacting with her readers and can be found almost daily on Facebook.
Word from the Author:
I do regular giveaways including a Kindle for every 250 people who join (aka "Like) my Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/CherylWyattAuthor and I'd LOVE for word to spread about that. We have a lot of fun there as I ask for frequent reader input on current books, with helpers being mentioned in the acknowledgements and fun stuff like that.
