by Roseanna White | Feb 25, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m pleased to welcome Susan Page Davis to my blog to chat about some of her many new releases. She’ll be back this spring with another, but for now we’re going to focus on her 3-in-1 collection,
Alaska Weddings.
Susan has been generous enough to offer a copy of Alaska Weddings to one lucky reader, so please leave your comment below for a chance to enter, along with an email address where I can reach you if you win. And remember to click “Follow” if you haven’t already!
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About Alaska Weddings
Love comes looking for the Holland family of Alaska, but new challenges to their faith lie around every bend.
Secrets from the past and dangers involved in their duties as members of the Coast Guard threaten Caddie Lyle and Aven Holland’s budding romance. Is a longterm relationship possible when they struggle to have faith to get through today?
When Robyn Holland’s sled dog kennel is threatened by financial woes and theft, she turns to veterinarian Rick Baker for help. As she works to organize the Fire and Ice race, some of her best dogs are stolen. Will Robyn and Rick trust God to lead them to the answers they seek?
Widow Cheryl Holland thought she’d never love again—and certainly not someone as different from her as animal scientist Oz Thormond. But when he arrives as the new vet at the clinic where she works, she can’t deny her sudden interest in polar bear studies. But is this just a temporary magnetic attraction?
Will the chance for love be swallowed by wilderness dangers, or will God reveal a bright future in the last great frontier?
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About Susan
Susan Page Davis is the author of more than thirty published novels in the romance, historical, mystery and suspense genres. She’s the mother of six and grandmother of six. A Maine native, she now lives in western Kentucky.
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What’s your latest book?
Alaska Weddings and Pieces of the Past both released in January. Alaska Weddings is a 3-book anthology from Barbour, featuring contemporary romances set in Alaska.
Pieces of the Past is a cozy mystery from Guideposts. It’s number 6 in the Patchwork Mysteries series, where each book is written by a different author.
How exciting to have so many releases to celebrate at once! But let’s focus on Alaska. =) What’s your favorite part of the story?
In Alaska Weddings, I love the part where Cheryl and Oz are off on a snowmobile observing polar bears, and they spot a huge bear closer than they’d realized. Did you know bears like ham sandwiches?
Hmm, can’t say as I did. Though I think I assumed they like ANY food, LOL. What was the hardest part to write?
The first story, Almost Ready, is about a young woman who is an officer is the Coast Guard. Since I’ve never served in the military, this was a challenge. But my brother, who was a career officer in the Coast Guard, helped me a lot. He also put me in touch with his former captain in Alaska and a friend still on active duty. Both answered a lot of my questions.
Ah, I love it when the connections are in place! Definitely makes that research easier. Is there any one thing or reference you keep handy when writing? Anything you kept around for this particular book?
For this book (actually three shorter books) I built quite a Library. Over and over I referred to The Civilian’s Guide to the U.S. Military, the latest edition of The Coast Guardsman’s Manual, several books on dog sledding, several others on polar bears, and a multitude of general Alaska resources, including books, Alaska magazine, and my notes from my trip to Alaska. I also kept handy the email addresses and phone numbers of my “experts” who helped me so much on this book.
What are you writing right now?
I’m working on two historicals—
Lady Anne’s Quest is the second in my Prairie Dreams series, for Barbour. In it, an English noblewoman goes West in 1855 (yes, we’re talking wagon train west) in search of her uncle, who doesn’t yet know he’s the new Earl of Stoneford.
Captive Trail is set in north-central Texas. It’s second in the Texas Trails series for Moody. In this series, authors Darlene Franklin, Vickie McDonough and I will take turns on the books. Darlene’s Lone Star Trail and my Captive Trail appear first, in August and September. My book is about a stagecoach driver who finds an unconscious white woman lying on the trail, dressed in Comanche clothing.
They sound so interesting! Any upcoming releases we should keep our eye out for?
Oh, yes! Love Finds You in Prince Edward Island, Canada comes out April 1. Don’t miss this fun historical romance. Queen Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales, is a major character.
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That sounds awesome, Susan! And thanks so much for visiting today. Readers, check out her website at www.susanpagedavis.com, and look for Alaska Weddings at Amazon and ChristianBooks.
Void where prohibited. Entry into the contest is considered verification of eligibility based on your local laws. Chance of winning depends on number of entries. Contest ends 3/4/11. Winner will have two weeks to claim prize.
by Roseanna White | Feb 24, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
In the course of writing my Annapolis story, I read through a lot of Poor Richard’s Almanack, filled with fun proverbs by Ben Franklin. I had a secondary character who quoted him constantly, and it was a ton of fun to try to weave in my favorites of his adages through the story.
One that I liked best, and which it was tricky to find a place for, was “Clean your finger, before you point at my spots.” Love that–such a clever way of saying the “clear the plank from you own eye before you point out the speck in mine” sort of thing.
Not long after I found a way to fit it in, my prayer time brought another scripture to mind that dealt with something similiar–you know the one, it says something about how God doesn’t want our sacrifices so long as we bear a grudge against our brother. To go first and settle things with him, then come back to Him.
These two things really got me thinking. How often do we ask God for something, while we’re holding a grudge against a brother or sister? How often do we not understand why something isn’t working out, yet we refuse to see our own blame? Assuming I’m not alone in the world, the answer is A LOT.
Am I jealous over others’ successes, when I ought to be rejoicing with them? If so, why should God give success to me? Am I bitter over a slight or false accusation some made against me or mine? Then why should God iron out the situation? Am I determined to find the flaws in my spouse so that I can better “understand” how I’ve been injured over the years? Then why should God strengthen my marriage?
Something I realize anew a couple times a year is that I can’t change anyone else–but I can, with God, change ME. I can’t snap my fingers and have success. But I can pray and rejoice with my friends when they do, and be a good steward of what I’m given. I can’t make people treat me fairly. But I can love them when they don’t, and work to keep relationships solid so that if a break does come, it’s not through fault and blame. I can’t make my husband do every little thing I want him to do, and if I look for things to complain about, no doubt I’d find some. But instead I can love him and ask the Lord to change me and my outlook on things. Stop resenting my honey for not getting up early with the kids, for example, and instead ask the Lord to give me the energy to do so and recognize the why of this stuff–that unlike me, my hubby doesn’t often sleep well at night.
Get what I’m saying? It’s easy to blame others. Very easy. But that’s not what God wants us to do. He instead wants us to be aware of our own flaws so that we can seek His strength in our weakness. He wants us to cleanse ourselves until we’re blameless–that way, if He does ask us to address the blemishes of others, we do it out of love, not with a filthy finger that will just make things worse when we go poking them in the chest in accusation.
This is perhaps one of the hardest things God regularly asks of me, but I can’t deny its importance. Letting Him work on me is an ongoing task . . . but one that has helped me see it’s not about what is going on in my life, but about how I react to it. It’s not about the spots of others–it’s about how clean I am.
by Roseanna White | Feb 23, 2011 | Remember When Wednesdays, Uncategorized
Okay, not really. But one of the interesting things from wars of centuries gone by is that officers captured in battle were often sent, not to a prisoner-of-war camp or any other detention center as we think of them, but to a parole town.
A what, you ask? (Or I did, anyway, when I first heard of them, LOL.) A parole town. A town authorized to hold these higher-ranking enemies in semi-freedom until such a time as they were brought to trial, traded for officers held by the other side, or released. Interesting, eh?
The prisoners in these parole towns would have enjoyed a far better life than ones kept in prisons or camps. They were men who were either very high profile, respected, wealthy, or otherwise trustworthy. (Keep in mind this was back in the day when war, on some levels at least, was gentlemanly.) But if they left the town . . . well, then things got bad for them, and they were sent straight to prison.
And what did the townspeople think of all this, you ask? Well, let’s just say that there are quite a number of tales of young folk putting pretty girls up to luring the prisoners to a meeting place just past the border they were supposed to honor, and then having the authorities waiting for them. Poor saps. Thought they were getting a kiss and instead got sent straight to jail without collecting their $200. 😉
Down near Annapolis, there’s a portion of town (once its own town) called Parole. I never understood it until some research I did for a college brochure explained the idea of a parole town and that Parole was formed for just this purpose during the Civil War.
It came up again when I was researching where to set a Regency idea I had, and I realized that the town I liked best was in fact a parole town during the war then going on with France. Pretty nifty. =) I fully intend to make my hero tell horror stories of the French soldiers to my heroine, just to make her jumpy. Oh yes. He’s that type, LOL.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
by Roseanna White | Feb 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
After week upon week of telling you about what books I’m reading, it occurs to me that I’d like to know what you’re reading too! (And, well, my eyes suffered considerably from a nasty cold/flu thing I had last week, and I couldn’t read without pain, so I have nothing else to talk about, LOL.)
So who are your favorite authors? Favorite books in a genre? What new release are you chewing your nails waiting for?
I’m really looking forward to Julie Klassen’s Girl in the Gatehouse. Also really looking forward to MaryLu Tyndall’s Surrender the Night.
How about you?
Oh, and as a reminder, I’m the featured author over at
ACFW this week! There’s no giveaway, but it was a fun interview, and it’s pretty awesome to see my face on the homepage of this great organization! (Yes, I achieved it by filling out a form and making it into their first-come, first-serve system. What of it? LOL)
by Roseanna White | Feb 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today I’m thrilled to bring you a special guest. Yeah, it’s sort of Laurie Alice Eakes, a friend of mine from an awesome historical loop–but she comes today in the form of her latest heart-throb hero, Dominick Cherett. Get to know him below, and then you’ll find some info on Laurie Alice and where to find her wonderful historical romantic suspense, Lady in the Mist. (Click to read my review)
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Hello, Dominick, and thank you so much for talking with me today! To begin, could you just tell us a little bit about yourself?
I try not to tell anyone too much about myself. That I’m English is impossible to disguise once I open my mouth, which doesn’t go over all that well here in America. They resent us from the last war and are trying to pick a new fight with us, or perhaps it’s the other way around. See, I talk about politics and get away with saying little about me.
How did you get involved in your profession? Do you find it difficult? Rewarding?
It’s tiresome. I’d scarcely call it a profession, though my father’s butler would disagree with me. He thinks himself as important as the Lord Chancellor. For my part, the uniform is uncomfortable and the hair powder! I feel like a fool. But the worst part is the menial nature of it. I was raised to be served, not serve. So perhaps this is good for me. Pride, after all, hasn’t gotten me anywhere good. That would be the reward. And then I did get to meet Tabitha. Anything I go through is worth that most important part of my life.
What’s your favorite indulgence?
Spending my free time, what little I can spare or steal, in Tabitha’s company. She might say annoying her, but I don’t think she truly means it. I make her smile, even laugh, and that. . . Well, as you can see, I’m a bit besotted.
Where do you live? Did you grow up there?
I live in Virginia, right along the Atlantic. I certainly did not grow up there. Compared to the organized green fields of Dorset, England, this is untamed and uncivilized, which rather suits me.
Do you like to read? If so, who’s your favorite author or book?
I definitely like to read. Master Shakespeare holds considerable entertainment for me, and so does Mr. Tobias Smolett. I used to read my Bible, but now it rather hurts from those points I’d rather not be poking at me right now.
If you could travel anywhere, to any time, where would you go and why?
I’d definitely go back about three years in my life and stop the events of destruction I set in motion then. But then I’d have to figure out another way to get me back here to Virginia and the lady I met on a misty beach.
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You’re in love, right? 😉 Well then, you’ll want to check out Lady in the Mist on Amazon or CrossPurposes.
About Lady in the Mist
By virtue of her profession as a midwife, Tabitha Eckles is the keeper of many secrets: the names of fathers of illegitimate children, the level of love and harmony within many a marriage, and now the identity of a man who may have caused his wife’s death. Dominick Cherrett is a man with his own secret to keep: namely, what he, a British nobleman, is doing on American soil working as a bondsman in the home of Mayor Kendall, a Southern gentleman with his eye on a higher office.
By chance one morning before the dawn has broken, Tabitha and Dominick cross paths on a misty beachhead, leading them on a twisted path through kidnappings, death threats, public disgrace, and . . . love? Can Tabitha trust Dominick? What might he be hiding? And can either of them find true love in a world that seems set against them?
With stirring writing that puts readers directly into the story, Lady in the Mist expertly explores themes of identity, misperception, and love’s discovery.
About Laurie Alice Eakes
Award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes does not remember a time when books did not play a part in her life; thus, no one was surprised when she decided to be a writer. Her first hardcover was an October, 2006 Regency historical from Avalon Books and won the National Readers Choice Award for Best Regency, as well as being a finalist for Best First Book. She was also a finalist for the ACFW 2010 Carol award in the short historical category. After selling her first book in the inspirational market, she also wrote articles and essays for Christian publications. A brief hiatus in publishing climaxed with her selling thirteen books in thirteen months, to publishers such as Barbour, Avalon, and Baker/Revell.
A graduate of the Seton Hill University Master of Arts Degree in Writing Popular Fiction, And a Bachelor of Arts graduate in English and French from Asbury College, she is an experienced speaker and writing teacher, and has made presentations at local and national RWA conferences, as well as local universities and libraries.
Until recently, she lived in Northern Virginia, then her husband’s law career took them and their dogs and cats, to southern Texas, where she writes full-time and enjoys the beach whenever possible.
by Roseanna White | Feb 17, 2011 | Thoughtful Thursdays, Uncategorized
So, we’re sick. The kids and I came down with a rather nasty cold/flu thing on Saturday p.m., and we’re still wiped from it. Xoe has barely budged from the couch for the last five days, and both the wee ones are coughing to beat the band.
Naturally, things take a different turn in me. Rather than it going into the deep cough they’ve got going on, mine moves into nasal congestion and a killer sore throat. Then–then–the eyes.
Rowyn had this on Monday evening. Eyes got all puffy and goopy, enough that I thought, “If they’re still like this in the morning, I’m taking him to the doctor.” But by morning, the eyes were better. And Rowyn’s mostly better now in general, back to playing and singing and whatnot. Yesterday about noon, though, the eye-thing hit me. Can I just say that this isn’t fun? I can’t focus on much because they keep weeping, plus it just hurts.
To make matters worse, I’m supposed to be baking a “Max & Ruby” cake for the kids’ birthday party on Saturday, and I couldn’t exactly drive to the store yesterday to get the stuff I need. I woke up stressed near to tears. Then, within minutes of whining to all my online buddies about it, asking for prayers, I could feel the swelling start to go down (weird feeling, that). So I think it’ll resolve itself in the next few hours. Phew, and praise the Lord!
All that said, I gotta also say this–though there’s never a fun time to be sick, this is actually the best possible time for this to have struck. I shudder to think what I would have done had it hit a week or two earlier, when I was trying to finish up a manuscript an editor requested. Yikes!
So while the kids might not get the extravagant cake my mind’s eye had wanted to fiddle with, I imagine I’ll come up with something. And though I’m not feeling great, I no longer have the urge to break into tears over it. And through it all, I’m determined to stay focused on how great God is for holding this off until now!
Today I’m pleased to welcome Susan Page Davis to my blog to chat about some of her many new releases. She’ll be back this spring with another, but for now we’re going to focus on her 3-in-1 collection, Alaska Weddings.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, 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. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.