New Release Highlight: Clare Revell's WELSH WILDFIRE

A Chat with Author Clare Revell

What, if anything, do you and your heroine have in common?

She and my daughter have the same name. And my other daughter has a guest role, a very minor character towards the end of the book. Jess not only chose her profession in the book, but picked the cast list and hero as well. Of course, Josh is played by Gerard Butler. A major crush of both of ours. Oops, did I just say that out loud?

What fun, for you and for your girls! And (this is me, whispering…) doesn’t everyone have a major crush on Gerard??? lol

What book are you currently reading?

I’m reading Time Search by Danele J. Rotharmel. Actually I’m binge reading lol. I got book three—Time Search—via the PBG subscription service, then decided I really ought to read one and two first. What can I say? Time travel can be addictive.

Time travel is very addictive. I recently read that same book. It's a good one! :)

Do you usually insert a spiritual theme into your books? If so, do you have a favorite?

Forgiveness is one of my fave themes. The fact that nothing we can do is too huge for God to forgive us. Over and over again if need be. Of course there is a limit, but I haven’t found it yet, and hope I never will.

Well, Jesus instructed us to forgive 490 times a day. He’s far more forgiving than are we, so I think it’s safe to say we’ll never sin or offend beyond His ability to forgive. His grace is everlasting.

Thank you so much for visiting Chirp ‘N Chatter today, Clare! It’s always a pleasure to have you.

About Welsh Wildfire (Passport to Romance)

Pastor Josh Wilson is running from his past and from God. He takes a construction job and volunteers as a retained firefighter in hopes that the small Welsh town of Betws-y-Coed will be a refuge and hiding place...but God has other plans.

GP Jess Thomas fights the instant attraction when an injured construction worker comes into her surgery. A native Scot with a U.S. passport is a mystery, but there is something else about the man that keeps drawing her to him.

As summer heats up, and the wildfires draw closer, can Josh overcome the past and move on? Or will he lose everything before his new life has begun?

Read an excerpt

Author Clare Revell delivers humor and emotion along with a captivating romance in Welsh Wildfire.

Dr. Olwyn-Jessica (Jess) Thomas is not the typical dewy-eyed heroine found in the typical romance novels. She’s level-headed, honest to a fault, and brave enough to look beyond Josh Wilson’s good looks and rippling muscles to seek out the mystery buried in his troubled gaze. She’s open, direct, and wastes little time zoning into the source of his angst. 

Josh is a Scotland-born son of the American president with a claim to fame of his own—one he’s hoping to be free of in this little hideaway in Wales. He’s on the run…from God, from his calling, and from himself. The last thing he’s looking for is love, but when it comes calling, he swings the door wide open. Trouble is, until he fixes his falling out with His heavenly Father, the feisty doctor isn’t setting one pretty little toe across that threshold.

I enjoyed the Welsh lingo and mannerisms in this book, as well as the peek into the Wales culture. A well-written, lively addition to Pelican Book Group’s Pure Amore imprint.

About the Author:

Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their three children, and unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the black cat. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology.

The first draft of every novel is hand written.

She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.

She can be found at:

Website           Facebook  

Twitter            Instagram

Pinterest         Blog

Amazon US author page          

Amazon UK author page

COTT: Clash Winner Announcement!

Congratulations to Jennifer Vander Klip

and the novel

Protective Custody

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PURCHASE

About the book:

A cop burned by love falls for a key witness in a crime implicating the town's rich and powerful.

Lifestyle magazine editor Heather McAlister was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What she saw sends her faith and life into a tailspin. As a key witness in a crime shaking the roots of the town's power brokers, doing the right thing may cost her everything. Including her life.

Detective Kyle Taylor is in the midst of solving the town's worst crime spree, a case that cold make or break his career, when the woman he thinks he might have a future with witnesses a gang initiation gone wrong before they can finish their first date. He has spent his entire adult life protecting his hometown. Now he's protecting a woman he'll risk everything to save.

With more than their future at risk, they must discern betrayal from trust, image from truth while avoiding a danger closer than they think.

Christian Romantic Suspense


What Reviewers Are Saying:

I just kept turning pages to see what would happen next! Can't wait for the next one!—R. Cole

This is my second novel from Vander Klipp and I continue to be impressed with her writing.--Kelly T.

Add this book to your must-read list!—Regina F.

What COTT Voters Had to Say:

~Great Book, Jennifer! Kept me on the edge of my seat!!

~Jennifer Vanderklipp, keep on writing. Some days it may seem as if no one appreciates

your books, but believe me, we, your readers, are out here just waiting for your next

release. A. Zuniga

~You have an awesome cover.The book sounds great.

~In love with Jennifer's writings!!!

~Enjoying so many new titles from amazing authors that pour their hearts in to their work. However I have to say that Protective Custody is a nail biter beginning to end. I could not put it down. Kudos to Jennifer Vander Klipp. Looking forward to more great reads from her.

~I like suspense like Jennifer VanderKlipp writes!

About the Author:

I make beauty from neglect, order from chaos. I like fixing messes!

And I get to do that a lot since I’m a mom to two and stepmom to four, navigating the tweens and
teens while battling my daughter’s juvenile arthritis, exploring the delights of my son’s autism, and keeping gluten free. A California native transplanted to the Midwest, my favorite thing is discovering with my husband how much there is to love about seasons, snow, and the delight that is Michigan.


Upcoming Release:

Promise Me is a prequel novella to Protective Custody, and it is releasing in May. With the same great setting as Protective Custody, (Orange County, California) this story focuses on Cait Bellamy and Grayson Kendall, who make brief appearances in Protective Custody. But we also get introduced to the stars of Protective Custody, Detective Kyle Taylor and Heather McAlistair.

Marketing director for Samashima Family Farms Cait Bellamy, on a break from the endless restoration of her farmhouse, witnesses potentially-devastating vandalism at the farm. Car restoration hobbiest and real estate attorney Grayson Kendall finds himself intrigued by the happenings at the farm which seem to be related to his latest real estate development. He does some digging, unknowingly putting Cait and her beloved farmhouse in danger. Can they both learn trust each other and create something new out of the wreckage their pasts while trying to discover who wants to put the farm out of business?

To find out more about her books, her latest releases, and get free chapters sign up for her newsletter at www.JenniferVanderKlipp.com

Guest Post: Debra E. Marvin

Debra E. Marvin

I’m so pleased to visit Delia’s blog. Goodness! What a great blog name! When she and I chirped and chattered last month, I was actively promoting my novella, WHY NOT, part of the Valentine Matchmaker Collection from Forget Me Not Romances. I say ‘was’ because I’m now in the Land of Impending Deadline and working on two upcoming stories that (ahem) may or may not be late.

Confused? So am I. Some days I type in the wrong character name. 

But WHY NOT (purchase link) is available now, (Ebook), and I’m giving away the nine-novella collection. Let me know in the comments, if you’re interested.

While the action culminates at a Valentine’s Party held at the Grand Canyon’s El

Tovar Hotel, 1914, the theme resonates year round—control. 

Do I jest? Because if you still think you have control over things, you must be young or…slow to catch on.

Desiring control of our lives is part of the process of maturing and, dare I say, escaping from the whims of our all-too-flawed parents and teachers. Being in control lets us finally make our own incredibly insightful decisions.

In WHY NOT, we meet Amber Wynott, a confident, intelligent young woman eager to prove that she has more to offer the world than settling for the role of society wife and mother.  Amber’s station in life has provided a safe base for her dreams. And perhaps that’s half the problem. If she had no choice but to work—taking in laundry, for example—in order for her family to eat, she wouldn’t have time to pooh-pooh her limited options. Don’t worry. Amber is not as snooty as she sounds. She’s also a champion of the working class… and much more unsure of herself than she wants you to think.  But, bless her heart, she has something to prove.

Next along is Stone Morrison, a master stone mason, and he just happens to have even more to prove than Amber. He’s just not so obvious about it.

Amber and Stone are both desperate to control their futures, rather than fall into the old, un-escapable family expectations, and gave me a lot to work with! I hope you are tempted to find out how incredibly suited they are to one another.

Because I can’t quite control what you do, can I? No more than I controlled my children, my pets, or my undying love for baked goods. Wishing we had control over things isn’t a bad thing; we’d protect our loved ones, and help those in need. What about self-control? For me, I can manage to stay away from sugar, or avoid buying another book, or yard of fabric, but, boy, the big things like doubt, worry, depression? No. That’s when we learn that giving it up, turning it over by faith to our God is the better choice. He can guide us, but he won’t control us.

“Jesus, Take the Wheel”, right?

Unfortunately, right down the road, we grab that wheel right back when things get bumpy.

I suggest you give yourself a little break. We can start over every day, multiple times a day, if needed.  God wants obedience—not because He abhors free will (He gave it), but because He knows the plans He has for you. Just like parents would love to control their children if it meant keeping them safe from harm and pain.

Pinterest Page

About WHY NOT?

Love Puts These Two On the Edge!

Grand Canyon, 1914

Society girl Amber Wynott’s wintry escape to the Grand Canyon provides a chance to pursue her dream and prove she has what it takes to be a successful architect. It doesn’t take long to realize the incredible scenery can’t hide the simmering anger between ‘railroad money’ and the struggling locals.

Which side is master builder Stone Morrison on?

Amber has met her match in the handsome, hard-headed man. He’s been directed to keep an eye on her, but when iron meets iron—oh the sparks! As their unlikely old matchmaker tells them, pride goes before a fall, and this is a bad place to fall. Will danger finally knock some sense into the pair?

You can find me in too many places. Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest, and my website, DebraEMarvin, where I’m currently offering a 1-in-50 chance for a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card for new subscribers to my newsletter.

About the Author

Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. She is published with WhiteFire Publishing, Forget Me Not Romances, and contracted with Journey Fiction. Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends. 

Guest post and...COVER REVEAL! Barbara M. Britton

Once again, I'm happy to welcome fellow Pelican Book Group author, Barbara M. Britton, to Chirp 'N Chatter. It is no less a pleasure this time than it was on her first visit. Today, Barbara will talk about the editing of Building Benjamin while on radiation therapy, and then...she'll introduce her brand new cover for the next book in the series, Jerusalem Rising: Adah's Journey. What fun to be the first to see this stunning cover! 

In addition, Barbara will give away a copy of Building Benjamin to a commenter on this post. Winner's choice of digital or print format. So be sure to say hello in the comments. Let us know what you're thinking about this series...and about the new cover. 

Building Benjamin...Through the Fire of Radiation

Thank you for having me on your blog today, Delia—Again! 

In two days, my second novel in my Tribes of Israel series will release in print. I am a print book reader, so I am thrilled to actually hold this story in my hands. “Building Benjamin: Naomi’s Journey” was inspired by Judges 19-21 where the tribe of Benjamin is almost wiped out by the other tribes of Israel. I had no idea this story was in the Bible. A lot of chaos happens in these final chapters in Judges, and a lot of chaos happens to Naomi, Cuzbi, and Jael in my story.

But, God is at work to save the tribe of Benjamin. I’m happy He did! The apostle Paul is from the tribe of Benjamin as is Saul, the first king of Israel (although that didn’t work out as well).

If you open “Building Benjamin” to the acknowledgements page, you will see a list of doctors and medical professionals who helped save my life. We know God is the ultimate healer, but these surgeons and nurses and physical therapists gave me a chance to beat breast cancer. I’m optimistic my cancer will not return because I had radical surgery and radiation therapy. But even if it does, I know God is in control.

My radiation therapy was to catch and kill any cancer cells that were left behind from my surgery. It was during radiation therapy that I edited Naomi’s story.

At first, I almost panicked to get my edits when I had to go to the hospital every day. Not to mention, I had to rest, drink water at every turn, and be a big grease ball of lotion to keep my skin from burning. I added a drop, or two, of Calendula oil to my lotion to prevent burning, so not only was I greasy, I was yellow! My edits were a blessing in disguise. I could turn my attention from cancer and oncology wards to something fun and rewarding—my writing.

God guided me through my cancer journey. He gave me peace and strength to battle the fear of the unknown. I’m not a big fan of needles, and God provided the grit for me to make it through many unpleasant procedures. The prayers of His saints were like a vitamin elixir every morning.

And while I was getting ready for Naomi and Eliab to have their day in the publishing sun, God gave me the idea for another story. Since Delia has been a huge support to me during my publishing career, I thought her readers might like to see the cover to my next Tribes of Israel novel. I’m sure Naomi won’t mind sharing her release day with Adah.

My next heroine is a daughter of Shallum who helped build the wall around the city of Jerusalem with Nehemiah. Adah’s story will release in November of 2017.

I’m happy to answer any questions about Naomi, Adah, or breast cancer. God is good!

About BUILDING BENJAMIN:

Love Grows Where God Grafts the Tender Shoot.

Naomi desires to dance well enough to catch the eye of a wealthy landowner. Her father needs a substantial bride price due to the deaths of her brothers at the hands of the tribe of Benjamin. But when Benjamites raid the Ephraimite feast and capture young girls, Naomi is bound and carried from her home by Eliab, a troubled shepherd who needs a wife.

As Naomi awaits rescue, she finds Eliab has a strong faith in God and a just reason for abducting her. A reason that affects all the tribes of Israel. The future of the tribe of Benjamin hangs in the balance, but if Naomi follows her heart and stays with Eliab to rebuild his lineage, she must forfeit her family and become a traitor to her tribe.

Cover Reveal!

Jerusalem Rising: 

Adah's Journey

When Adah bat Shallum volunteers to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, she soon discovers not all of Judah’s enemies lie outside the crumbling rocks.

Delia here: Isn't this cover gorgeous? I absolutely love it! All of the covers for the Tribes of Israel series have been breathtaking. Side by side, they're quite the eye-catching set of book covers. Don't you agree? :)

About the Author:

Barbara M. Britton was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, but currently lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She writes Christian Fiction for teens and adults. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb kicked off her Tribes of Israel series in October with the release of “Providence: Hannah’s Journey.” Naomi’s journey, “Building Benjamin” is out now. Barb is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America and Wisconsin Romance Writers of America.

Connect with Barb: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Book Video

Buy Links…. Amazon, B&N, Target

Guest Post: Amanda Cabot

A Hero’s Motivation

Why would a man with a successful career as the town’s only attorney decide to run for sheriff? That’s the question I asked myself when I created Travis Whitfield, the hero of A Stolen Heart. The answer wasn’t difficult to find. All I had to do was consider what was happening in Texas while Travis was growing up. T.R. Fehrenbach’s Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans provided some fascinating details.

Though Travis was too young to have served in the War Between the States, there’s no doubt that its aftermath shaped him. It wasn’t only his father’s bitterness at having lost the war…and a leg at Gettysburg. Even more importantly, Travis saw the excesses of the Carpetbagger regime and the problems that occurred during E.J. Davis’s term as governor of the Lone Star State.

Image courtesy of the Texas State
Library and Archives Commission

If you’re not a Texan, you may not have heard of Edmund J. Davis, so I’d like to share a bit of history with you. When Davis set his sights on being elected governor in 1869, he and his cronies were so determined that he would be victorious that they did everything they could—legal and not so legal—to ensure it. Some voting registrars summarily rejected not only men who’d fought for the Confederacy but also Unionists who didn’t agree with the Carpetbaggers. By keeping so many men from voting, Davis had a better chance of winning.

But he didn’t stop there. The Army, which was controlled by the Carpetbaggers, supervised the polling and was quick to shut down any polling place where someone protested. As if that weren’t enough, in one county the registrar fled, taking the list of voters with him so that no one could vote. In another, the votes were counted by only one man— a Davis supporter, naturally. After all that, it was hardly a surprise that he won.

As soon as he took office, Davis began to exercise his power through the passage of the Militia Bill, which gave the government the power to declare martial law at any time. The Enabling Act allowed the governor to appoint almost every official in the state, leading—as you might expect—to corruption. The Printing Bill established a state press, which helped control the spread of information. And then there was the creation of the State Police. Not only were a number of former criminals appointed to the police force, but the State Police were authorized to act as secret agents, which was not a common practice at the time. Contrary to prior law, the State Police were also allowed to take prisoners from one county to another to stand trial, presumably so they could control the outcome of the trial.

As you can imagine, all this led to abuses of power, something an intelligent and impressionable young man would abhor. Having seen what could happen when the wrong people controlled the police, Travis was determined that that would not happen in his town. And so he ran for sheriff.

As for E.J. Davis, he was defeated in the election of 1873 but tried to have the results overthrown. When that attempt was unsuccessful, he refused to leave the governor’s office and petitioned President Grant for troops to support him. That request was denied. Ultimately, Davis left the building but kept the key, forcing the new governor to have the door to his new office broken down. Davis’s reign was over but not forgotten, at least not by my hero.

About A Stolen Heart:

The future she dreamed of is gone. But perhaps a better one awaits . . .

From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners—like her. Lydia won’t let that get her down, though. All will be well when she’s reunited with her fiancé.

But when she discovers he has disappeared—and that he left behind a pregnant wife—Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring?

Bestselling author Amanda Cabot invites you into Texas’s storied past to experience adventure, mystery—and love.

Purchase Links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Christian Book Distributors

About Amanda:

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, the Texas Crossroad trilogy, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming. 

Social Media Links:

www.amandacabot.com

https://www.facebook.com/amanda.j.cabot

https://twitter.com/AmandaJoyCabot/

http://amandajoycabot.blogspot.com/

COTT: Vote for your favorite springtime read!

Clash of the Titles presents
four new springtime reads! 

Peruse the images, read the blurbs, then vote on your favorite in the survey. I know which one is my favorite.

Enjoy, dear readers!

~~~~~



He's a nature photographer returning to make amends, and she's a camera-shy naturalist seeking privacy. Their love for a boy brings them together, but the camera could drive them apart.

~ ~ ~

Lifestyle magazine editor Heather McAlister was in the wrong place at the wrong time, witnessing a crime that shakes the roots of the town’s power brokers and sends her life into a tailspin. Previously burned by love, Detective Kyle Taylor has spent his entire adult life protecting his hometown, but now he’s protecting a woman he’ll risk everything to save.

~ ~ ~

She’s ready to fly free of a life-long cocoon; he’s looking for anything but Raine. Can Paradise Pines find a miracle for two unwilling hearts?

~ ~ ~

When a homeless man rescues Glorilyn Neilson from violent assault, he's not the man he seems. What powerful secret keeps him on the streets?

VOTE BELOW!

If you have trouble viewing the entire survey Click Here to load a dedicated page to the survey. 

Guest Author: Lillian Duncan

Lillian Duncan

Broken Trust

My latest book, BROKEN TRUST, uses a butterfly to symbolize the spiritual aspect of the story. When we see a beautiful butterfly most of us don’t think about the caterpillar and what it went through to become that butterfly.

As it was hidden in the cocoon, it might have been thinking it was the end of the world, but it wasn't. It was actually being protected so it could become what God created it to be. We often have those same “cocoon” times in our life—a time to learn and grow so that we can become all that God created us to be.

Certainly childhood and young adulthood would be examples of that. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be other cocoon times in our life. A time when we need to step back and let God protect us as we change into yet another butterfly.

For the past five years I’ve been dealing with brain tumors and their aftermath of which some are still evolving and are permanent—such as a significant hearing loss and balance issues. It’s certainly been a cocoon time for me but I’m more than ready to transform into that butterfly.

One of the changes is that my writing is also in the process of transforming. Even though my books have always had a spiritual message, the message has deepened as my health issues have changed me.

BROKEN TRUST is an example of that change. The main character is Chrysalis better known as Chryssie. A chrysalis is another name for a cocoon and a cocoon is one of the necessary steps for a caterpillar to become a butterfly.

Chryssie wants to soar like a butterfly but because of a lifetime of bad choices she seems to be stuck in the caterpillar stage. She knows good choices can propel her forward but it’s not always easy to make the good choices.

Chryssie is only days away from graduating when she witnesses a murder. Common sense would tell her to call the police, but she’s so focused on taking her final exam for nursing school, she decides to take the easy way out—again.

Chryssie makes a bad choice—and even worse consequences follow! Her easy way out not only puts everything she’s worked so hard for in jeopardy but her very life!

Each day we make hundreds of choices—they may not be life and death choices like Chryssie faces in BROKEN TRUST, but they will either move us toward our goals or away from our goals. It’s not easy to break patterns and bad habits but it can be done—one choice at a time and with God guiding us in our choices.

Giveaway Information

To celebrate the release of BROKEN TRUST, I’m giving away Amazon Gift Cards. All you have to do is hop over to my blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com and leave a comment under one of the Broken Trust posts and you’re entered. Easy Peasy!

About BROKEN TRUST

Life is all about choices…and consequences. Chryssie Mason longs to soar like a butterfly, but a lifetime of bad choices has kept her in the caterpillar stage. After years of struggling, her dreams are finally within her grasp. Her only goal is to graduate from nursing school so she can have a better life—so she can morph into a butterfly. With her final exam only days away, she witnesses a murder. A butterfly would call the police, but she decides to take the easy way out…once again. Life has taught her to never trust anyone, especially herself. With her freedom and her very life at risk, it’s time to trust. And that choice changes everything.

Purchase BROKEN TRUST

About the Author

Lillian Duncan…Stories of faith mingled… with murder & mayhem.

Lillian is a multi-published author who lives in the middle of Ohio Amish country with her husband and a menagerie of pets. After more than 30 years working as a speech pathologist for children, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us. To learn more about Lillian, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.