Chirp and Chatter Pages

Monday, October 31, 2016

Big Roy, Old Southern Sayings, and Fathers




Guest post By Janet W. Ferguson


“Sounds like you’re busier than
a one-legged cat in a litter box.”
One of my favorite characters to write has been Big Roy Bosarge in Blown Together, book 4 of the Southern Hearts Series. Sure I love the hero, Sam, and the heroine, Elinor, but Elinor’s father, Big Roy, made an appearance in book 2, Going Up South, and right away, I knew he had to have a bigger part in a novel.

Roy’s a huge hulk of a man, but his heart is just as big. He makes the perfect father figure for Elinor and her sisters. He’s protective, but fair and loving. He has permanent smile lines that crinkle by his eyes, and his laugh is loud and hardy. One of the most enjoyable bits of research that came with his character was his manner of speech. He’s so Southern-country. I mean really country-talking.

I grew up and still live in the South. Granted, not all of us talk like Big Roy does anymore, but I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many a country storyteller in my lifetime. I don’t believe they’re all gone!

I’ve listed a few of my favorite phrases I found and used for Big Roy. (A lot of them seem to have to do with dogs and cats.)
  •  “No sense you being as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a
     room full of rocking chairs.”
  • “He’s taking my place and is handier than indoor plumbing.”
  • “I think this partnership will make us both happier than a tick on a fat dog.”
  • “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Elinor Elizabeth can be a little intense. Kinda like a cat in a dog pound.”
  • “Sam-man is handier than a coat pocket to have around…”
As you can see, I really liked Big Roy, especially as a loving father figure. If you don’t have that kind of father, remember you have a heavenly Father who knows the number of hairs on your head and holds you lovingly in the palm of His hand. He won’t fail you! Big Roy might say, “He’ll love you like his long lost huntin’ dog.”

Blessing, and I hope you enjoy Blown Together!



About the Author:

Janet W. Ferguson grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. She has served her church as a children’s minister and a youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public high school. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a few cats that allow them to share the space.





Connect with Janet

Janet's Website     Facebook     Twitter


About the Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Blown-Together-Southern-Hearts-4/dp/0997658746/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
When love storms in…

Wealth manager Sam Conrad is accustomed to his domineering father ordering him around, especially at the bank where they both work. But when his father demands that Sam manage the inheritance of his bossy ex-fiancĂ©e, Sam has finally had enough. He leaves in search of a new life, and attorney Big Roy Bosarge from Mobile, Alabama agrees to mentor Sam on his quest for direction. Sam didn’t expect to be thrown together with Big Roy’s eccentric and opinionated daughter.

Storm damage forces lonely romance writer Elinor Bosarge and her hairless cat, Mr. Darcy, out of her Fort Morgan Beach cottage. She plans to take refuge in the boathouse on her parents’ estate, but finds the place already occupied by one of her father’s “projects.” She’s shocked her father would allow another young man onto the property after his last mentee robbed her family and broke her heart. And from the moment she meets Sam Conrad, they disagree about everything from her cat to how to best renovate a local nursing home.

Between her mother’s health issues and the hurricane brewing in the Gulf, Elinor feels like her life is being ripped apart. It doesn’t help that she’s falling for the man she’s determined not to trust. Sam finds himself drawn to Elinor, wanting to help her and this new family he’s grown to love. But can he overcome the barrier she’s built to keep him out? When the storm rages and the two of them are blown together, can Elinor find the faith to open her heart again?


Buy Now:
Amazon     Barnes & Noble






Visit all the stops along the tour




Friday, October 28, 2016

Love at Christmas Inn Premiere Event

Four award-winning authors! Four breathtaking romance novellas!

Christmas Bells are Ringing (Book 1)

Friday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. EDT

Heiress Ariana Christmas is in trouble. Fed up with her wastrel life full of parties, hot spot appearances and Internet scandals, her parents cut her allowance, her cell phone access and her car. Then they send her to the back of beyond…Hope Springs, Tennessee. Her aunt has suffered a mild heart attack and needs help restoring Christmas Inn to its past glory. All Ariana wants is to get the job done and get back to her life. What she doesn’t count on is the famous old inn weaving its way into her soul…not to mention the handsome young contractor who sees the Inn as it could be, not what it is. Can he do the same for Ariana?

Taylor Knox is a man with a plan. After years of handling the family’s construction business everything is set for his brother to take over. Taylor is determined to finish his education and complete his dream to become an architect. But first, Knox Construction has to complete renovations of Christmas Inn…a task made more difficult by the arrival of Little Miss Entitled. Ariana Christmas throws Taylor’s plans and schedule into complete disarray, threatening the completion of the work and his future. That doesn’t even begin to cover what she does to his heart.


The other three books in the Love at Christmas Inn collection are available for pre-order NOW on Amazon!  Authors include: Tanya Stowe, Marianne Evans, Mary Manners, and Delia Latham.



Saturday, October 22, 2016

October Clash of the Titles. Vote Now!




Autumn leaves are falling from the
trees, and we've raked in some great books 

for this month's Clash of the Titles!

Vote for your Fave!

Scroll through these releases and cast your vote for your fave.
It's a tough choice, but it's up to you to determine our Clash
Champion!


https://www.amazon.com/Loves-Faithful-Promise-Courage-Dream/dp/0764217267/ref=sr_1_1

Love's Faithful Promise  by
Susan Anne Mason

Widower Dr. Matthew Clayborne is devoted to two things: his work with
wounded soldiers and his four-year-old daughter, Phoebe. When Deirdre
O’Leary, a feisty New Yorker, arrives requesting he use his skills to
help her stricken mother, he has no idea how his life is about to
change.

~~~~~~


https://www.amazon.com/Feta-Freeways-Susan-M-Baganz/dp/1537366041/ref=sr_1_1

Feta and Freeways by Susan M.
Baganz

Nikolos Action is the lead singer of the band and doesn't
realize love is right in front of him until their manager, Tia, is
almost killed trying to save his life. After years of ignoring her is it
too late to earn her trust...and her love?
~~~~~~ 


https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Alternative-Kelli-Hughett-ebook/dp/B01LGF1IYE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1

Dangerous Alternative by Kelli
Hughett

Hollywood grip, Levi Boulter unknowingly puts himself in
the crosshairs of a murder plot. Now, he'll do anything to keep the
woman he loves safe, even if it means losing her forever.
~~~~~~ 


https://www.amazon.com/Inconceived-Spinstered-Book-Sharyn-Kopf-ebook/dp/B01LZ4ON59/ref=sr_1_2

Inconceived by Sharyn Kopf

Realizing you’re a spinster is one thing; understanding what that means
and how to handle it is another. And, it would seem, Jolene, Uli and
Catie still have a ways to go before they truly comprehend what God is
trying to show them not only in their desire to marry but in their
longing to have children of their own.


~~~~~~ 


https://www.amazon.com/Child-Dust-Romance-Contemporary-Christian-ebook/dp/B01LVW167W/ref=sr_1_1

Child of Dust by Shoba Sadler


After the sudden death of her parents, Vietnamese
socialite Cao Kim Lye steps out of a world of crystal and chandelier to
enter the dust and chaos of working-class Hanoi when she goes to live
with her Amerasian chauffeur and his adoptive family at a shop cum
living quarters.



VOTE BELOW!

If you have trouble viewing the entire survey, CLICK HERE to load a dedicated page to the survey.


Saturday, October 1, 2016

Friendship Shindig Gift Basket WINNER


Thank you to all the authors who shared such beautiful posts
on friends and friendship during September!

And CONGRATULATIONS to 

RENETTE STEELE,

who won the fantastic gift basket!

The South, Football, and Life




Congratulations to Janet W. Ferguson and the novel Tackling the Fields for taking home this month's Clash crown! We're pleased to feature this guest post, which gives us a little insight into Janet's book and football...yes, football!

In the South, most of us love football. It’s something we talk about, cheer for, and spend time watching with friends, whether in person or as a group viewing it on TV. The adrenaline seems to flow as the leaves begin to turn from deep greens to those fall yellows and oranges, a chill touches the air, and those pads and helmets are put on.

My husband played high school football. He was a center. I’ve always watched the sport at whatever school I attended, and of course, in Mississippi, a lot of us follow the SEC games. I never thought a whole lot about why we enjoy watching so much or about the injuries the players battle with—until my son played the sport.

His junior year, he tore his ACL and his shoulder labrum participating in this sport he loved. And he was not able to make a comeback. I saw the game through different eyes as he struggled with the loss. He missed the comradery, the goal, the discipline, the friendship. Everything about being a part of a team.

While he was going through three of four surgeries that he ended up having, I began writing Tackling the Fields. It combines this love for a game with the loss of a dream for one character and the loss of innocence for another. It was a challenging, almost painful, book to write. But in the end, God heals our wounds and helps each of us recover from our broken places.

He’s there to free each of us from the heartaches that try to take us captive.

About the book:

Cole Sanders is a changed man. The university quarterback questions his direction in life after serving on a mission
trip in Honduras. Things that used to fill Cole’s ego seem empty after witnessing the developing country’s extreme poverty and the death of a precious child. The one glimmer of hope through his confusion is the fresh perspective he now has about his tutor, Audrey. She possesses something beautiful inside and out—something that might help him become the person he wants to be.

University senior Audrey Vaughn tutored Cole Sanders for an entire year and never imagined the popular quarterback would see her as anything more than a friend. After partnering with him on the mission trip, they are drawn together. And he appears to have changed for the better. To let Cole into her life, Audrey will have to overcome not only her brother’s distrust, but also the paralyzing fear still lingering from a past she’s tried to leave behind.

Cole can’t walk away from Audrey now that they’re back in Oxford. He’ll have to figure out how to keep her giant of a brother, a lineman on his football team, from killing him when the coach has his back turned. But can Audrey trust her heart to a player so similar to the one who stole so much from her in the past?