Friday, July 7, 2017

Book Tour, Review & Giveaway: The Renegade's Redemption by Stacy Henrie



On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

The Renegade's Redemption
by Stacy Henrie
Inspirational Historical Romance
Paperback & ebook, 288 pages
July 1st 2017 by Love Inspired Historical

Refuge for the Outlaw

When Tex Beckett arrives at Ravena Reid's farm, he's eight years too late for the elopement they'd once planned—and it's far too early to win her forgiveness. He's seriously wounded, though, and she can't turn him away, though she knows better than to trust him. Yes, it's wonderful having help with the farm, and with the orphans she fosters, but if she opens her heart, she'll get hurt again when he leaves. And Tex always leaves.

As a notorious bank robber, Tex is used to danger. Yet reuniting with the only woman he's ever loved is the riskiest thing he's ever done. All he wants is to stay with Ravena and the children. But can he build a new start before his past catches up with him?


My Review

I've been especially excited to read this book after the first one in the series, where Tate assumes Tex's outlaw identity. I was so curious about Tex's story so I was thrilled that this book came out soon after! Tex goes through a process of recognizing his choices as poor ones and accepting the responsibility for them. It was great to see the gradual chance in his attitude as Ravena and the memories of his experiences with her late grandfather work together to turn him toward God and planting seeds of faith. I loved the various personalities of the orphans that Ravena cares for and how it shows her compassionate nature. She struggles with her long-held feelings for Tex and forgiveness of others and self is a big theme in the story. There is some action as Tex's outlaw background catches up with him but I appreciated that he came to terms with it of his own volition before he was forced to by circumstances. Lovely romance between a stalwart young woman and a charming rogue!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions expressed are my own)

Other Books in the Series

The Outlaw's Secret
by Stacy Henrie
Christian Historical RomancePaperback & ebook, 288 pages
February 7th 2017 by Love Inspired Historical

Lawman in Disguise 

Getting taken hostage by a gang of train robbers wasn't in dime novelist Essie Vanderfair's plans, but interviewing these men could make her career soar. Especially since the gang includes legendary outlaw Tex Beckett, better known as the Texas Titan. Tex is famed for his protection of women and children, so she'll be fine…right? 

Keeping the gang in line was hard enough before a stubborn, beautiful writer interfered. Now Tex is scrambling to keep Essie safe, to gather evidence against the gang and most of all to hide his dangerous secrets. First, that he's a detective working undercover. And second, that he's not the Texas Titan at all, but Tex's twin brother, Tate Beckett.


About the Author


 USA Today bestselling author Stacy Henrie is the author of western romances and the Of Love and War series, which includes Hope at Dawn, a 2015 RITA Award finalist for excellence in romance. She was born and raised in the West, where she currently resides with her family. She enjoys reading, road trips, interior decorating, chocolate, and most of all, laughing with her husband and kids.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Pinterest
Tour Giveaway

 - 1 winner will receive  copies of The Express Rider's Lady and The Outlaw's Secret, and a $10 Amazon e-gift card (US only)
- 1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon e-gift card (open internationally)
- Ends July 22nd





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Book Tour Grand Finale: Family of His Own by Catherine Lanigan

On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Book Tour Grand Finale for
Family of His Own
By Catherine Lanigan

We hope you enjoyed the tour! If you missed any of the stops
you can see snippets, as well as the link to each full post, below...

Launch - The Faerie Tour

Welcome back to THE SHORES OF INDIAN LAKE! If you’re reading the series and following our Prism book tours, I’ll bet you weren’t expecting something as fantastical as a Faerie Tale, especially after dealing with cops, drug dealers and PTSD like we did with Cate Sullivan and Trent Davis in PROTECTING THE SINGLE MOM, now did you?

Brooke Blogs - Isabelle’s Dreams

Isabelle’s ultimate dream is to see her paintings hang in a famous Chicago or New York City gallery. She is convinced that no art critic or buyer will ever want her silly faeries. She believes she needs to move on. To what, she is unsure.

Her insecurity about her art and her future stymies her, to some extent, just as any fear does to all of us. She wants so much, but is conflicted about which direction to take.


"This is not a book where you can easily predict the ending. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to turn out. Lanigan wove a story with complicated players and some unexpected twists, while once again infusing the novel with warmth and family. While I never really warmed up to Isabelle, Scott (and Bella and Michael) makes up for this in spades. And of course the setting of Indian Lake is one I’m always happy to visit"

It's All About the Romance - Painting Faeries

It was nearly six years ago when I started creating and building many of my characters for Indian Lake. Granted, there are some new ones, such as Isabelle’s entire family. They’re all new and I’m getting to know them now and you will, too, as we move into the future. Isabelle was quite vivid to me. Right from the beginning, I knew I wanted her to paint faeries. Not the little baby looking cutie pies inside flowers and laundry baskets, but real, honest to goodness faeries. I know…you are asking…are they real? Or you are asking, “Come on.”


She had to force herself to focus. “Yes, the glasses. Uh, for the midnight toast.”

He brushed his lips against her cheek. “And I’ll find you for my kiss to ring in the New Year.”

Isabelle hadn’t realized she’d shut her eyes, immersing herself in the moment with Scott.

She felt a whoosh of air, the temperature dropped and she blinked, returning to the present. Scott had left her.


Scott Abbott is one of those truly decent guys that come along one in your lifetime, if you’re lucky. He, like Isabelle, the heroine, was introduced in the first novel in the series, LOVE SHADOWS. Scott owns The Book Shop and Java Stop as well as being a reporter for the local newspaper. He grew up in Indian Lake and in high school, he had a crush on Isabelle, but after he went off to college to earn his journalism degree, Isabelle was left behind, working hard to help her mother pay for college tuitions for her brothers and sisters.


"FAMILY OF HIS OWN, is a sweet love story about two friends finding their forever together. Filled with wonderful characters, and heart wrenching emotion, this story was impossible to put down until the end. I had to know what happened to Scott and Isabelle. Loved, loved, loved this book."


Mel's Shelves - Review

"I love spending time in Indian Lake! It's fun to catch up with some of the other couples we've met in previous books and learn what's happening in their lives. This book does stand well on its own, so if it's your first visit to Indian Lake, you won't feel lost, and will most likely want to get to know the other characters as well. I hope to meet more Indian Lake residents in the future!"


"With characters from previous books appearing, these books always provide a sense of community and feelings of coming home. I love that. Indian Shores is a place I would want to live."


"A trip back to Indian Lake brings us the story of two friends … and possibly soul mates? I had conflicted feelings about this heroine. On one side, I understood how she felt about her past and the unfairness of it all, but on the other side, I found it really hard to like her when she was acting so selfish & one dimensional. There is turmoil, growth and happily ever afters … but a long road of self-discovery to get there!"

Paulette's Papers - Scott's Real Life Magic

In the scene in which Scott first sees Bella in a dank, musty crack house bedroom, she’s watching a cheap television that is playing “The Bishop’s Wife”, the old black and white movie with Cary Grant. It’s New Year’s Eve and Scott has just left Isabelle on the dance floor at midnight at the Lodge. Scott is wearing his tuxedo while the rest of the police wear Kevlar vests and gun holsters. Bella asks Scott if he is an angel. Surprised, he asks her why. She picks up the video tape box and points to Cary Grant in a dress suit. “You look just like him.” Convinced that Scott is the angel sent to save her and her brother Bella, she trusts Scott immediately, and melts his heart.

Children have no problem with magic. They expect it. And many times, they get it.

I Am A Reader - Excerpt

Isabelle steeled herself as she approached Scott. Before he had a chance to berate or accuse her, she whispered, “I was in Chicago and Wes graciously offered to drive me home through this terrible storm.”

 Scott, ever the gentleman, offered his arm, which she took.

 “Then I should thank him.

Becky on Books - Faerie Research and Other Fancies

I’d always wanted to write a story that involved faeries. Though there is nothing supernatural in the story telling in this Heartwarming story, I was piqued by the prodigious world of information about fairies. Folklore and mythology from ancient Celtics to Shakespeare, to Sir Walter Scott and William Blake in the 1790’s illustrate that fairies have been a source of delight and fascination to many generations.

Sylv.net - Excerpt

The room was small and smelled musty, with only the light from an old television illuminating the faces of a little girl, about five or six years old, and the toddler in her arms.

 The girl stared at them fearfully. Her lips quivered, but she remained silent. She took a step backward and hoisted the baby closer to the crook of her neck. The baby grabbed a handful of her cotton shirt and started fussing.

 She made a cooing sound into the baby’s ear and whispered something Scott couldn’t make out, but it was clear she knew exactly how to react to the baby and the baby to her.

Wishful Endings - Interview

As FAMILY OF HIS OWN is your eighth book in your Shores of Indian Lake series, are you still discovering new things about the setting and/or the characters?

Discovering new characters has been the delight of doing a series like this. This is the first time I’ve created an entire town and the people in it. Just like moving to a new city and going through all the necessary introductions, finding new doctors, a new church, new schools, everything and everyone is new. I have the joy of discovering each new person and all of their extended family as well. Each time a main character goes out to buy something or interview for a job, there are all those “other” people who have backgrounds and stories. I love asking, “And who are you?” And the list of curious questions I ask when I meet someone new.

In a word, this has been a “blast!”

Heidi Reads... - Excerpt

Scott leaned toward her, gazing at her with a force of longing and desire she couldn’t remember seeing before. “Isabelle, I came here tonight...” He placed his hand on hers. “To ask you something.”

 A sense of foreboding settled over her. “Scott, I don’t think...”


"This book has made me fall in love with Indian Lake and I think I am gonna have to go back and read the rest of the series. I think this may be a first of Lanigan's books for me but will not be my last!"


“Scott,” Malcolm said, “I’d like you to meet my nephew—Wes Adams.”

 “Great to meet you, Wes,” Scott said, offering his hand.

 Wes nodded vaguely in Scott’s direction before locking eyes with Isabelle once more.

 “Isabelle and Wes have already met,” Malcolm explained.

 Scott dropped his hand to his side. “I can see that.”

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below, if you haven't already...



Family of His Own
(Shores of Indian Lake #8)
Catherine Lanigan
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
July 1st 2017 by Harlequin Heartwarming

He's ready to settle down…with or without her

Scott Abbott has always loved Isabelle Hawks. And he's always been her rock. Patient, dependable, strong. But lately, she's been acting like that rock is weighing her down. With her art career taking off, Isabelle has been spending less and less time in Indian Lake…and with him. Scott isn't even sure what they are to each other anymore. They might be friends with a history, but it sure doesn't feel like a future. Maybe it's time for Scott to set her free and focus on his own dreams. A real home. A family. All the things he had hoped to share with her…

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Harlequin

Other Books in the Series


About the Author

Catherine Lanigan is the international bestselling and award-winning author of forty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, and more. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into dozens of languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available in E-books on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, Apple Store, Mobi and Kobo. Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her Vietnam war-based novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference.

Lanigan is the author of a trilogy of non- fiction books regarding angelic intervention in human life: Angel Watch, Divine Nudges and Angel Tales published by HCI and Cedar Fort. Skyhorse published Lanigan’s “how-to” book on writing: Writing the Great American Romance Novel. Lanigan was tasked by the NotMYkid Foundation to write a non-fiction book addressing teen addictions. Ms. Lanigan’s first Young Adult adventure novel, The Adventures of Lillie and Zane: The Golden Flute, was published by Cedar Fort.

Currently, she has published eight novels in the Shores of Indian Lake series for Harlequin Heartwarming: Love Shadows, Heart’s Desire, A Fine Year for Love, Katia’s Promise, Fear of Falling, Sophie’s Path and Protecting the Single Mom. Family of His Own pubs July, 2016. She has recently contracted for one more in the series: His Baby Dilemma.

As a cancer survivor, Ms. Lanigan is a frequent speaker at literary functions and book conventions as well as inspiring audiences with her real stories of angelic intervention from her Angel Tales series of books. She is an outspoken advocate for domestic violence and abuse and was honored by The National Domestic Violence Hotline in Washington, D.C. (THE EVOLVING WOMAN). She has been a guest on numerous radio programs including “Coast to Coast” and on television interview and talk show programs as well as blogs, podcasts and online radio interview programs.

Tour Giveaway


- 1 winner will receive a $50 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
- 1 winner will receive a tote bag and three Shores of Indian Lake books: Katia's Promise, Fear of Falling and Sophie's Path (US only)
- Ends July 11th

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Thursday, July 6, 2017

Interview with Tammy L. Gray, author of My Unexpected Hope


Today I get to share an interview with Tammy L. Gray, an author of contemporary romance that I really enjoy reading! Isn't it fun getting to know more about authors? :) First, check out her new book My Unexpected Hope . . .

 http://amzn.to/2tKYEAb

http://www.amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.comhttp://www.barnesandnoble.comhttp://www.bookdepository.comhttp://www.goodreads.com

Synopsis

After a year of grieving her divorce and living a life permanently stuck on pause, Laila Richardson is finally ready to have her own happy ending. Then a listing for a quaint cottage in another town answers her prayers for a fresh beginning—one that will bring her closer to her new boyfriend, Ben. Unfortunately, in her small town of Fairfield, Georgia, letting go of the past is virtually impossible. No one wants to see her move on, including the man who destroyed her heart to begin with.

Chad Richardson has spent years in misery but finally has his life on somewhat stable ground. When he learns his ex-wife is dating, he knows it’s time to go back and fight for the life he abandoned. Bolstered by his newfound sobriety, Chad has every intention of winning back the woman he loves, even if that means facing old demons that are waiting for him to fail.

Passions run deep as two souls searching for a second chance find the courage to let go of old patterns. Can they recognize that their dreams are still possible, even when forged from a broken past?

And now, here's Tammy!


Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in a military family and traveled around a lot when I was a kid. I went to fourteen different schools and really found my place within the library walls. Books were a great companionship no matter where I lived. I guess that’s why I’ve always loved story so much. When I got older, I put aside my story telling days and became an engineer. I spent 8 ½ years in the Air Force and then another year and a half as a civilian doing pretty much the same job, just out of uniform.

In 2008, my husband went into full time ministry and I decided it was time for me to stay home with my two kids (one on the way) and support his calling. It’s been a beautiful journey as a pastor’s wife. In 2012, I really felt God’s call to write a book about self-esteem and how God loves the imperfect, like myself. I never knew it would turn into a career, but I love how God gave me a ministry and a passion all in one.  

That’s probably more information than you wanted! ☺

What do you do besides writing?

Since I’m a pastor’s wife and full time mommy of three very busy kids, I spend a lot of my non-writing time chauffeuring kids around to school and extra-curricular activities, participating in church events and trying to maintain a somewhat functional home. When I’m not “on duty,” I really do enjoy reading. It’s my go-to activity and often a reward after a long day.

Do you have images you can share that come close to how you picture your characters? Do you like to find visual inspiration for your characters before or during your writing process?

I typically don’t look for images on my characters. I find it stifles me a little. Sometimes after the book is written and I know their individual personalities, I might think of an actor/actress to play them if the book were a movie. But really, I like to let the readers paint their own picture; after all, it’s their world too.

What are some songs that you listened to or inspired you while writing your book?

I was writing My Hope Next Door when Hello by Adele came out. Every time I heard the lyrics, I thought of Chad and Laila, and his homecoming scene on their front porch. I was so eager, I had to force myself to finish the book I was writing before I started this one.

What message would you like readers to ultimately take away from the book?

My Unexpected Hope is a story of second chances and reconciliation. While most of your readers may not suffer from an addiction, I imagine they’ve known someone who has. Or even struggled themselves with something in their life that wasn’t positive. So often, we want to give up, or count ourselves a failure. We wrestle with why we can’t overcome this one thing in our lives, and yet return to it over and over again. It’s for those moments that I wrote this book.

There is a line in the book that says, You can try and fight, and maybe even sometimes succeed, but without faith, you cannot call it freedom. It’s simply bondage on hold.

I wanted to show there was a pathway out of bondage, but I also wanted to be authentic and real, because that journey is not easy. It takes time and work and an incredible amount of prayer.

The beautiful thing, though, is God is the God of reconciliation, so I stayed focused on His promises, and slowly the story began to evolve. And with it, I felt healing and renewal, and I hope my readers will as well.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

What can we look forward to coming from you in the future?

I’m super excited about 2018 when I will launch a brand new series set just outside of Austin, Texas. This series will be a little different from my others because the characters are professionals in their twenties trying find direction and purpose in their life.

There will be at least three books in the series and it focuses on a group of five dysfunctional friends who slowly learn the loving grace of Christ through an outsider.

The inspiration for this series comes from this verse in Matthew 13:

“He also asked, ‘What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.’”  Matthew 13: 20-21 NLT

More to come, but I expect the first book to launch in February!

Thank you so much Tammy! 

My Unexpected Hope is now available and the digital price is a steal at $3.99 (and FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers)! Don't miss it!



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Link-up: Free / Bargain Books



Sharing the Love of Books
Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Authors please feel free to add your own books
Readers please free to add your own finds
(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...
Monday
 Leels Loves Books | IrishdaisylovesRomance | Book Babble | Traci Hayden
Tuesday
Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures 
Wednesday
Beck Valley Books | Jude Ouvrard
Thursday
Miki's Hope | Heidi Reads...
Friday
Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | Colorimetry | J.C. Clarke
Saturday
3 Partners in Shopping | I Create Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings 
Sunday

For Pre-orders post - PRE-ORDER / genre / title /author
For New Releases post - NEW / genre / title / author
For Free Books post - FREE / genre / title / author / end date 
For Bargain Books post - SALE / price / genre / title / author / end date
(Strictly no Erotica please.  Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, incase any underage child is viewing it!)

Here is this weeks awesome selection!

Would you like to share our linkup on your site? click here
Would you like to become a weekly host? sign up here
Come back and check out the new selection every week!







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