The Unexpected Blessings of the Writing Life by Robin Patchen

Every time I’ve taken a test to place me on the introvert/extrovert scale, I’ve landed right in the middle. In other words, I need to be alone right up until I’m desperate for companionship.

I haven’t been short on companionship lately. We are so blessed that our grown children moved home for the quarantine, joining our third child, a recent high school graduate. This spring, I had my entire family together for Easter and Mother’s Day for the first time since 2015.

And, though it’s been a challenge to make space for three adults to work from home, I’ve enjoyed every minute of this family time.

What I’ve missed these months is my friends. Even though many of them don’t live nearby, there hasn’t been much time even for phone calls and Zoom meetings. And, while I love my family, there’s nothing quite like friendships with other writers, people who get this strange writing life.

For me, this community of other writers has been the greatest and most unexpected blessing of the writing life.

In recent months, I’ve grown my circle of writing friends to include eight other Christian romantic suspense authors. These women whose names I’ve seen in my “also-boughts,” whose books have decorated my Kindle, have become my friends. Together, we’re putting together a box set (more on that below) that will release in October. Honestly, I thought the Lord called me into this boxset to grow my audience and, perhaps, by His grace, to allow us to see our names on a bestseller list.

Now, months into it, I realize He had more in store for me than just business. (Doesn’t He always?) The Lord has blessed me with new friendships. He’s teaching me about working with others, about yielding to those who know more than I do, and about trusting Him to make it all work out. He’s reminding me that friendships don’t have to be tied to the community where I live. Great friendships can be borne over distances like never before.

That last lesson is particularly important for me right now.

After twenty-four years in Oklahoma, we’re relocating to the Austin area. I’ll be saying good-bye to my church family, my extended family, and my friends, many of whom are fellow writers. It’s going to be a challenge. But already, God is planting new friendships in my life. I know his plans for me—for all of us—are good. Despite the unknown lurking ahead, I will trust in Him.

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DANGEROUS DECEPTIONS

Lives...and hearts...are on the line in eight brand-new Christian Romantic Suspense novels from the genre’s most explosive authors

Glimmer in the Darkness: Robin Patchen

When Cassidy learns another child has been kidnapped from her hometown, she's convinced the man who took the girl she’d been babysitting seven years earlier is behind the recent abductions. She alone holds the key to finding him. Though James blames Cassidy for his sister’s death, he’ll help if there’s a chance to save a child’s life. Can Cassidy and James identify the serial killer in time to rescue his latest victim?

About me:

Robin Patchen is one of the authors of the Dangerous Deceptions boxset, which includes eight brand-new, full-length Christian romantic suspense novels from best-selling and award-winning authors. It’s available on preorder for only 99¢.

Preorder Dangerous Deceptions at Amazon or your other favorite e-book retailers.

Learn more about Robin Patchen at her website and download a free copy of Convenient Lies

Inspiring Women by Christina Lorenzen

The older I get, the more I see one thing is guaranteed –everything is subject to change, and nothing is guaranteed

Nothing stays the same. Life is many things, but one thing it isn’t is static. I can only speak for myself, but I know that just as I’m feeling comfortable and sure, something happens, and I find myself knocked off course. As we all must do, I find my strength and pick myself back up. As women, we find ourselves knocked off course more than men, namely because it’s our tendency to care for and nurture those we love. If you want to be an inspired woman, you need to seek out the women who inspire you. And with all that is going on in the world around us, I can think of no better place to look for an inspiring woman than the Bible.

I have always believed that inspiring women inspire other women – to do their best, to be their best and to help others do the same. If you feel despaired with the world around you, you need only pick up your Bible to find examples of women who were courageous, selfless and of unwavering faith. Whenever I am faced with something that seems unsurmountable, that stirs up fear, I turn to a woman in the Bible that continues to inspire me each time I read her story. Ruth.

Ruth suffers a tremendous loss with the death of her husband, Kilion. Her mother-in-law Naomi, in turn, suffers the unspeakable loss of not only her son Kilion, but her other son Mahlon, and her husband Elimelech. Though she urges both her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to go back to their parents’ homes, Ruth will not leave Naomi alone. Together Ruth and Naomi journey to her homeland of Judah. Ruth is a moving example of a selfless woman who remains devoted to family. Despite Naomi’s bitterness, going so far as to call herself Mara (Hebrew for bitter), Ruth stays by her mother-in-law’s side in Judah, working in the fields so the two women will have something to eat.

I have read the Book of Ruth countless times. Each time I pull strength from these two women who carry on in the face of adversity and loss. The last time I had read it, I had been struggling with my writing career, unsure of which way to go next. It had been several months since the release of my last book, and I wasn’t feeling inspired to write anything. Until I got a message from a friend and fellow author. Immediately I felt drawn to this author’s proposal to join her and two other authors in a collaboration of four stories based on four women of the Bible. The idea of crafting a contemporary story based on a woman of my choosing sparked my interest. I knew within minutes I would say yes to her proposal. And even faster than that, I knew I would write a story based on the story of another woman I had come to love and admire, Ruth.

In my story from the collection, Faithful Women: Legacies of Grace, Ruth Baker is reeling from multiple losses. She has lost her beloved husband, her job and her home. With her six-year-old daughter Mara, she is unsure of what the future holds. When her grandmother Eleanora asks for her help as she begins the transition from her long-time home to an assisted living facility, Ruth knows she must pull up stakes and take her child to Pebble Shores, her grandmother’s seaside hometown.

As many women have experienced, Ruth is at crossroads in life, unsure of the future. Unwavering in her faith, she never stops praying each day, patiently waiting for God to answer her in His time. That’s something I know I have struggled with, accepting an answer that may not be on my desired timetable. As she travels down memory lane during her visit, trying to accept the sale of her grandmother’s precious house, her heart begins to open. And with an open heart comes the possibility for another chance for love and a whole new beginning, for Ruth, Mara and her grandmother.

It is my hope that when you read Ruth’s Garden, as well as the three other inspiring stories from gifted authors Belle Calhoune, Leah Atwood and Cate Nolan, you will draw strength from Ruth’s struggle for your own struggles. And in the future, when you find yourself feeling faint of heart, may you draw strength from the women of the Bible who continue to inspire us today. I’ll leave you with one of the verses I run through my mind during trying times:

        

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with

wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

– Isaiah 40:31 KJ

 

Ruth's Garden

Ruth: Ruth Baker has lost her husband. Unsure of what the future holds, she clings to her faith and her six-year-old daughter, Mara, when she travels to her grandmother’s beachside home in Pebble Shores.

Eli Hamill has felt the pull to put down roots. After years of buying and selling houses, he’s doing something he’s never done before – living temporarily in the beachside house he bought from an elderly widow. The last thing he’s looking for is an instant family.

Can an old house filled with loving memories and a sweet little girl show two lonely people what the future can hold?

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Christina Lorenzen is an Amazon bestselling author of sweet and inspirational small-town romance. She is the author of ten books, her most recent book, The Christmas Coin, released September 2018. She is busy working on her next small-town romance. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her grown children and husband.

To find out about Christina’s upcoming release, visit her website at http://christinalorenzen.com. You can subscribe to her quarterly newsletter through her website and automatically be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card each month, just for being a subscriber.

The Joy of Multi-Author Anthologies by Terri Weldon

I recently had the privilege of writing The Matchmakers anthology with Jean C. Gordon and Lisa Belcastro. I had wanted to be involved in a multi-author project for quite some time, and let me tell you it was a blast. 

The three of us first began working on the project when a small press sent out a call for multi-author anthologies. Jean C. Gordon had the idea of basing the books around a dating service for Christians. The dating service would be run by an elderly couple, Libby and Blake, introduced in Jean’s novella. Eventually the idea evolved into a honeymoon travel company set in the Berkshires, but the elderly grandmother still had plans on playing matchmaker for her three single granddaughters. 

It was a fun idea and in no time at all we each had developed a plan for a novella. Unfortunately our writing schedules didn’t allow us to submit the proposal. Still, we wanted to write the books so we decided to indie publish the anthology. 

Writing an anthology based around a single core idea with two other authors proved to be fun. Libby and Blake appeared in all three novellas so descriptions, personality, and tone had to stay consistent. Also, there were times the heroine and hero of one novella popped up in another. I remember Jean asking me questions about what my heroine’s kitchen looked like and how it was decorated as well as needing a description of my hero. 

Jean’s heroine appeared in Lisa’s story along with Libby. And I built the relationship between my hero and Libby based on events in Jean’s book. Whew! Sounds like it would be tough, but with a little teamwork everything flowed smoothly. 

We had so much fun writing The Matchmakers that we plan on doing another anthology together in time for a Valentine’s Day release. I can’t wait!

How about you? Have you ever written a multi-author anthology? Does it sound like something you might pursue in the future? Leave a comment and let me know.

Ellie Alexander is in love. And the only thing sweeter would be if Libby, Natalie, and Stephanie, her three unmarried, unattached granddaughters, could find the same happiness. Maybe with a little help from her and her beau Blake Parker . . .

A Match Made in Williamstown by Lady of Love Inspired Romance Jean C. Gordon — Libby Schuyler has avoided dating since her break-up with college-sweetheart Jack Parker. Out of nowhere, Jack shows up claiming Ellie is swindling his grandfather, Blake, through a travel agency partnership they’ve formed. Libby and Jack team up to protect their grandparents and get to the bottom of Ellie and Blake’s business and romantic relationship. While Libby and Jack fight their reignited attraction, Ellie and Blake conspire to bring the two together.

A Match Made in Sheffield by Terri Weldon— Natalie Benton bounced from one foster home to another until she landed on Ellie Alexander’s doorstep. Natalie’s vagabond childhood caused her to yearn for a secure life, which led to Natalie’s five-year plan: complete her law degree, marry the perfect man, become a partner at Montgomery, Haynes, and Preston, and produce one child. Getting arrested wasn’t in Natalie’s plan. Needing a public defender wasn’t in her plan. Falling for Grady Hunter, her public defender, definitely wasn’t in her plan. Can Grady convince Natalie there is more to life than her five-year plan? Is Ellie the only one who sees a future for Natalie and Grady?

A Match Made in Freedom by Lisa Belcastro — Stephanie Gould loves life on Martha’s Vineyard . . . until she runs into Kay and Tim, her former business partner and her ex-fiancé, who just returned from their honeymoon. Surprised by the heartache she thought was gone, Stephanie heads to the Berkshires to visit family and friends. Arriving in Stockbridge, Stephanie meets Captain Henry Lewis. Little does Stephanie know, her grandmother has already met Henry, and Ellie thinks Henry is perfect. Stephanie has no interest in dating, Henry included. If only Henry didn’t turn up everywhere Stephanie goes. When he walks up beside her at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stephanie can’t deny her attraction, but she’ll do her best to fight it.

Buy Links

Amazon Kindle & Print: http://amzn.to/2pb4HuK 

Nook, iBooks & Kobo: https://www.books2read.com/u/3neJnB
Barnes & Noble Print: http://bit.ly/2qbmqEtMatchmakers  

Terri Weldon is a lead analyst by day and an author by night. She enjoys gardening, reading, and shopping for shoes. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction. She lives with her family in Oklahoma. Terri has two adorable Westies – Crosby and Nolly Grace. She is a member of ACFW and OCFW, a local chapter of ACFW. Terri is the award winning author of The Christmas Bride Wore Boots.

Readers can connect with Terri: Website: www.TerriWeldon.com or

Blog: Seriously Write