by Roseanna White | Jun 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
I’m deviating from the normal post-type today because, well, I’m not sure I have the brain power for creativity, LOL.
So, Saturday was the first stop of the Life & Faith Tour. There was lower-than-expected turnout, and it was HOT. Under the author tent it was probably about 100 degrees, and we were all well-roasted by the end of the day.
But that’s not what made my weekend truly awful. See, Friday night Xoe couldn’t get to sleep in the hotel bed. She finally did at midnight, at which point Rowyn began waking up coughing every half hour or so. So I didn’t get much sleep. Then Saturday morning my poor little boy-o was wheezing and having trouble breathing, clingy and lethargic. We hoped he would get better as the day went on but . . . no. David kept him at the hotel for a few hours, since the heat made it worse, but mid-afternoon he and my Dad ended up taking him to the emergency room.
Now, I’m not usually one to lose my cool, but knowing my baby was headed for the hospital while I sat there sweating behind my book table, with nary a customer? Yeah. Several of the other fabulous authors gathered around while I cried and prayed with me. Thanks Danny, Bernard, and Wanda!
They ended up giving him three breathing treatments and a chest x-ray, which showed a spot of pneumonia. I got to the hospital a little before 9 p.m., at which point we were just waiting for discharge papers. But when the doc realized we were out-of-towners and that the nebulizer we have wasn’t handy, our options became admitting him or driving the four hours home.
We drove home. Got here at 2:30 a.m. Didn’t get to bed until 4. Rowyn woke me up at 6:30. I was a little tired yesterday, LOL. But the boy-o was happy, playful, talkative, and basically his usual self.
I would appreciate continued prayers for him–hopefully this pneumonia will clear up without trouble, now that we’ve got him on antibiotics. And really, that’s the silver lining. Had this happened at home, I would have just given him the medicine I have on hand for this type of thing, it would have helped the breathing, and I wouldn’t have taken him to the doctor. Which means no x-ray, so we wouldn’t have known about the pneumonia. The Lord’s ways, you know?
So thanks to all who were praying. Today’s going to be dedicated to getting things back in order around here (had no energy for that yesterday), and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be back on schedule.
by Roseanna White | Jun 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
Well, while y’all are enjoying a normal Friday/weekend, I’m going to be in Richmond on the first stop of the Life & Faith Tour! Say a prayer for me, will you? Specifically, that there is a steady line of people at the table. =)
Now, onto what you actually came for! Let’s give a hearty welcome to Lyn Cote as she talks about her gorgeously-covered novel, Her Abundant Joy.
~*~
About Lyn
When Lyn Cote became a mother, she gave up teaching, and while raising a son and a daughter, she began working on her first novel. Long years of rejection followed. Finally in 1997, Lyn got “the call.” Her first book, Never Alone, was chosen by Steeple Hill for the new Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over twenty-five novels published. In 2006 Lyn’s book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, one of the highest awards in the romance genre. Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and “friend or follow” her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love.
Her latest release is Her Abundant Joy, the final book in her Texas Star of Destiny series, to purchase drop by her website or blog http://strongwomenbravestories.blogspot.com.
~*~
About Her Abundant Joy
Can a beautiful young widow find peace in the arms of a Texas Ranger?
In 1846, young German widow Mariel Wolfe comes start a new life in the “promised” land of Texas. Texas Ranger Carson Quinn is responsible for leading her party of immigrants through dangerous Comanche-held territory. As he watches Mariel hold her head high, he will stop at nothing to protect her. But war is brewing: Mexico will not accept the U.S. annexation of the young Texas Republic without a fight. Honor bound to fight for Texas, Carson’s deepest longing is to lay down his rifle. As Mariel and Carson fall deeply in love, could her painful past or this new war destroy all their hopes?
~*~
What’s your latest book?
It’s a Historical Romance, the final book in the Texas Star of Destiny series–Her Abundant Joy, from Avon Inspire released 1 June 2010.
That is an absolutely breathtaking cover! What’s your favorite part of the story?
I love my ending. I always make my hero and heroine face and conquer their greatest fears. So I always give them a great joyful uplifting finale. They deserve it. I also try to make it seem impossible and I think I did that this time.
Love the “they deserve it”–they really do after all we authors put them through, don’t they? =) What do you hope your readers will get out of the story?
Hope is always my underlying theme. If we trust God, we should never give up hope.
Roseanna-Optimist agrees! Is there any other theme to this book?
The humble shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace….
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Psalm 37: 11, 37
What are you reading right now–and what do you want to read next?
I just finished reading Kim Vogel Sawyer’s A Hopeful Heart ( 4 star classic mail order bride with a unique heroine) and next I’l be reading Nancy Mehl’s Simple Secrets. Drop by my blog and on the right column is my GoodReads bookshelf. I always blog about books I read. If you haven’t read Kathy Herman’s suspense books, you should!
What are you writing right now?
Just finishing the 2nd book in my Love Inspired series, New Friends Street. It’s titled Daddy in the Making and stars a basset hound. I’ve enjoyed writing this one!
Awww! Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?
The first in this series comes out in September, A Shelter of Hope, a story of a single mom and a lost soul hero. I love wounded heroes. Hope my readers to too!
Thanks for having me as a guest, Roseanna!
Thanks for visiting, Lyn!
~*~
Readers, you can purchase Her Abundant Joy directly from Lyn or at CrossPurposes.
by Roseanna White | Jun 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
And the winner of Jill Elizabeth Nelson’s
Calculated Revenge is . . .
Michelle Massaro!
Congrats, Michelle! I just sent you an email.
by Roseanna White | Jun 17, 2010 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
Nine years ago today, I pledged my heart, body, and future to David. The man I loved since I we were 15, the man I knew with all that was in me was The One. Sometimes, I think he’s much more than that.
It seemed an appropriate day to muse (not for the first time, I know) on Love–and to share some of the awesome pictures from our gorgeous beach wedding. =)
Through my life
, I’ve known a lot of love.
That feeling that Mom and Dad will always be there, always encourage, always believe in my dreams–even when those dreams defy convention (like when I get engaged at 17 and married just before I turn 19).
I’ll always have a place on Daddy’s knee.
Mom will always be there carry my burdens with me.
That knowledge that for every storm (like the one that raged up the coast the day before The Day) in life, God sends me a rainbow.
That we have friends and family willing to travel hundreds of miles to share our Joy. And that after traveling all day, they’ll put more hours into decorating the rental house hosting our big day.
Love is looking into David’s eyes and knowing, each and every time, that this is the man God planned for me, and for whom I was planned. Knowing we are perfectly matched, perfectly balanced.
Love is that security that comes with resting my head on his shoulder.
Love is laughing over nothing, rejoicing in each moment.
It’s dancing barefoot in the sand when you forget your shoes for your own wedding (ahem, David!;-)
It’s standing together, beside all those that matter. It’s standing together always, through whatever the years bring you.
These days, love is also cuddling warm little bodies with damp curls pressed against your cheek, it’s helping put on dress-up costumes and pretend to dash powder onto little noses. It’s laughing over toddler knock-knock jokes–and looking over into each other’s eyes and thinking, “This is us. These are ours. This is family.”
Love is building a life on much more than one day. It’s building a life on every day.
Thank you, Lord, for all those you’ve put in my life. For my family, for my friends. For those who have emailed encouragement, who know how to read my heart in the lines that I write.
Thank you most of all for the man who bends over backwards to make my dreams come true–who not only believes in them with me, but who chases them down for me when my legs begin to fail.
David–you’re my everything. Here’s to way more than 9 years to come!
by Roseanna White | Jun 16, 2010 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
I am writing, in the other window up on my computer, the last scene of the war. Whew! It’s about time, right? I mean, this thing has been going on for ages, and I’ve been carefully sifting through all the facts jammed in my little head, searching for those key items that have to be included and skipping the rest.
I covered Thermopylae last week. I wrote about Xerxes burning Athens to the ground yesterday. Today he’s about to lose a sea battle at Salamis, a little island near Athens. And then the war is over.
Glory hallelujah, amen!
Okay, so I’ve enjoyed writing about the Greco-Persian War, actually. For starters, it’s one of those things that most people sorta-kinda know happened . . . that was one of the prophecies in Daniel, right? And, er . . . we’ve heard of that Xerxes fella, and, well, Thermopylae–300 was a cool movie, so sure. Thermopylae. (FYI, I’ve yet to see all of 300.) But it’s all very obscure, and I seriously doubt most of my readers are going to already know what happens at each big event before I tell them.
That’s pretty cool.
I get to take a look at historical events through new eyes–which is fun for a nerd like me. Most challenging and interesting is figuring out how to write about it in a way that’s still approachable to a love story.
Y’all will have to let me know how I do on that once you rush out to buy it and read it next year. 😉
But now that the war’s over, I’m looking forward to bridging events with a ridiculously scandalous scandal Herodotus recorded and using it to segue brilliantly (ahem) into the book of Esther.
Have I mentioned I’m already up to 104,000 words, and I haven’t hit the book of Esther yet? As in, the book that inspired this whole thing?? Sheesh, I see some slicing and dicing in my future. But for now, writing and growing.
And peace–sort of–at last!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. Having successfully launched two homeschool grads, she now spends her time writing fiction, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years, as well as a fantasy series and contemporary mysteries and romances. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.