Christians Read

With Thanksgiving approaching, I can’t let this opportunity pass without expressing my thanks to those of you who take a few minutes out of your day to read our blogs, as well as the faithful readers who read and promote our books. Your friendship, comments, and prayers are appreciated more than you know, and I wish you all a blessed day of thanks.

Now for some fun facts that I hope will give you a smile as you prepare that huge turkey dinner. (Of course, I had to add a few of my own comments to make it a little more interesting.)

Turkeys have 3,500 feathers at maturity. (I wonder what they do with all those turkey feathers!)

Male turkeys gobble, hens cluck. (I always knew women were much quieter.)

Turkeys have heart attacks. The United States Air Force was doing test runs and breaking the sound barrier. Nearby turkeys dropped dead with heart attacks. (I’m guessing that turkey farmer has now moved locations.)

Turkeys have poor night vision. (This means you can use your night vision goggles and sneak up on your turkey at night!)

It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30-pound tom turkey. (That’s a lot of feed—and a lot of something else, too, but we won’t go there.)

A 15-pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat. (If you prefer dark meat, you better get to the table first.)

The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog. (I’m guessing that was one tough bird.)

The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days. (We can’t do that nowadays or we’d miss Black Friday.)

Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese are thought to have made up the first Thanksgiving feast. (Except for the rabbit, that sounds mighty good to me.)

In 2007, Americans consumed 690 million pounds of turkey—the approximate weight of the population of Singapore. (Now, I’m thinking that’s a LOT of turkey. Maybe it should be Americans purchased 690 million pounds of turkey, but the figure comes from the National Turkey Foundation and who am I to argue with them? They might call me a turkey!)

And, of course, Ben Franklin was in favor of the turkey as our official United States bird. In a letter to his daughter, Franklin referred to the eagle’s “bad moral character” and further stated, “the turkey is a much more respectable bird.” (Now I ask you—does that eagle look like it has bad moral character?)

Minnesota is where you can find the most turkeys. (I thought it was Washington D.C.—but I guess that’s a different kind of turkey, right?)

And last, but not least, the majority of the cranberries in your sauce do not come from Massachusetts, but from Wisconsin. (I’ll need to take a trip to Wisconsin and check out their bogs.)

There you have it—a few fun facts to help you make it through that turkey, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings.

May you find joy as you thank God for your many blessings.

~Judy

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Louise M. Gouge here. With the upcoming closing of Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. My final LIH book, released last month (October 2017), is Cowboy Lawman’s Christmas Reunion. For those not familiar with series romance novels, you may think that’s quite a mouthful for a title, but such titles tell our readers just what to expect from our always happily-ever-after stories.

Another reason for my feeling nostalgic about this particular book is that it’s the sixth and final book in my Four Stones Ranch series set in the beautiful San Luis Valley of Colorado. Although it’s been thirty-eight years since I lived in the Valley, I always wanted to write stories set there. I’m so grateful to my editor, Shana Asaro, for buying my series. Of course with a Colorado setting, these books had to be westerns. No problem. I grew up on John Wayne and Roy Rogers movies, as well as Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Maverick, and other television westerns. Some of my classmates in high school were real life cowboys and cowgirls.

So let me tell you a little bit about the San Luis Valley, a high mountain valley that sprawls across central-southern Colorado between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountain ranges.

First and most obvious is the spectacular beauty of the landscape. Presided over by queenly Mount Blanca, which reaches a majestic 14,345 feet high, the Valley has an area or 8000 square miles. According to Wikipedia, “Blanca Peak is the fourth highest peak in Colorado, and the eighth highest peak in the contiguous United States.” Travelers across this wide, flat valley never have to feel lost in the SLV as long as Blanca is in sight.

Another important landmark is the famous Rio Grande Del Norte, or as most of us know it, the Rio Grande, whose headwaters flow from the San Juan Mountains on the western side of the Valley. From there, the water takes an eastern, then southern path, winding down to New Mexico and finally Texas, where it forms a natural border between the United States and Mexico.

Another reason I love the San Luis Valley is its rich history. Before the coming of Europeans in the 1600s, Native Americans used this area for hunting but didn’t make permanent settlements due to the extremely cold weather in the winter. When my family moved to the SLV in 1960, we could still find arrow heads left by those long-ago hunters.

After the arrival of Spanish settlers, Ute tribes settled in the southwest corner of the Valley. For a time, Mexico owned what later became Colorado Territory, but the land became the property of the United States with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. People of Spanish and Mexican descent were forced from the land granted to them by the Spanish crown, and Americans began to move to the Valley….slowly. Then, after the Civil War, easterners moved to this area, lured by promises of rich farmland and mineral wealth in the form of gold and silver. Any time you have the conflicts inherent in these situations, the history is ripe for plucking as settings for exciting western adventures.

My third reason for wanting to set my stories in the San Luis Valley is my own personal connection to the place. As mentioned before, I used to live there. In June 1960, my family moved to Alamosa, the Valley’s largest town, where I later graduated from high school and attended Adams State College. Later my husband and I settled in nearby Monte Vista where our four children were born. During all of that time, I loved the history that permeated every square foot of the area. Old buildings, leftover sections of railroad tracks, early architecture, legends and lore, the bluest sky you’ll ever see any place in the United States, even the below-zero-degree winter weather, all call out to me to tell their stories.

Although I wasn’t actively writing back while I lived there, my imagination was already creating exciting adventures. Among my twenty-five published novels, fifteen of which are Love Inspired Historicals, my six western novels set in my old, cold, much-loved home state of Colorado rank among my favorites. I hope my readers feel the same way.

If you love Christmas stories, take a look at Cowboy Lawman’s Christmas Reunion. Here’s the story:

Sheriff Justice Gareau can make outlaws quake in their boots…yet coming face-to-face with Evangeline Benoit once again takes away all his composure. She broke their engagement, and his heart, to marry a wealthy older man. Despite his reluctance, Justice can’t avoid the widowed single mother of two when they’re collaborating on a Christmas village for the town’s children.  The loving boy Evangeline once knew has become an unyielding lawman. Forced to flee New Orleans over false allegations, Evie doubts Justice will take her side when the past follows her to Colorado. Especially when he and her troublesome son butt heads. But perhaps the spirit of Christmas will soften his heart and give them a second chance at love.

Above ad copy: Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, Cover art and cover copy text used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises. ® and ™ Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

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With Thanksgiving drawing close, it is a time for gathering together and homecomings. A special time of the year when we put aside our busy lives and be with the ones we love, to give thanks for all that God has done for us, share a meal around the table, and catch up on each other’s lives.

Yet with each passing year, some of those who were once gathered at our table are no longer there to share this special time with us. They are missed.

It’s sad to think about the ones who have gone on before us, but as Christians we know that we will see them all again one day.

As this holiday season rapidly approaches, Thanksgiving marks the start of the Christmas Season. Stores open early on Thanksgiving to give shoppers a head start on Black Friday. It’s easy to let the importance of Thanksgiving become lost in the Christmas rush.

So this year, as you sat down at the table to share a meal with your loved ones, look around the table. Give thanks for each person seated there, and remember those who have gone one before you.

The Christmas shopping will wait another day. Enjoy these moments with family because we don’t know how many more we will have together.

All the best…

Mary Alford

http://www.maryalford.net

Love’s Sweet Homecoming – Coming November 15th.

Blurb:

Donovan Henderson is finally coming home to Sweet Grove, Texas. Yet it is not to the sweet homecoming he’d once envisioned because he is not the same man he was before he left for the war in Afghanistan. After surviving an IED attack that ended his career with the marines, Donovan feels like half a man. Can this wounded warrior find his place in Sweet Grove once more? And will Donovan accept the love that has been standing right before him all along.

Ava Richards lost her husband to the same war that took Donovan’s leg. Even after two years, Ava is still crippled by the loss. Unable to move forward with her life, she is stuck in the past. Yet the more time she spends with her husband’s best friend, Donovan Henderson, the more Ava longs for a second chance at life…and love.

Can Ava convince Donovan that he doesn’t have to leave Sweet Grove to rebuild his life. And is it possible for two wounded souls to help each other learn what true love really means again?

I have written three books in the Lone Star Justice Series for Love Inspired Suspense. The last one, Texas Ranger Showdown, will be out in April 2018 (working on the fourth in the series right now).  I also wrote four book in my Abingdon series called the Men of the Texas Ranger. What a group!

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the baseball team in Dallas called the Texas Rangers. I’m talking about the oldest state organization of law enforcement officers. Sam Austin formed the first version of the Texas Rangers in 1823. The word “rangers” was coined because these men ranged over the land they protected and guarded.

Through the early years the Texas Rangers, one of the main duties of the group was to protect the people against Indians. Then after the Civil War in 1874 the organization was divided into six companies with 75 men and usually a captain. Their duties were partly a soldier and partly a police officer. By the 1900s the organization totally focused on enforcing the law. A Texas Ranger was called in when the case was too risky for the local agency.

Today there are 172 Texas Rangers who served the state in many investigative capacities. They are part of the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Rangers’ headquarters is in Austin. There are six companies: Company “A” headquartered in Houston, Company “B” in Garland, Company “C” in Lubbock, Company “D” in Weslaco, Company “E” in El Paso, and Company “F” in Waco/San Antonio. The companies were adjusted recently.

The Texas Rangers handle the usual kind of cases like murder, assault, robbery and kidnapping, but they are also tasked with investigating threats against the governor and other state and federal officials. I used some of these crimes for the stories in my series: Lone Star Justice (High-Risk Reunion and Lone Star Christmas Rescue).

My newest release in the Lone Star Justice series is my November book, Lone Star Christmas Rescue available at: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo and Google Play.

In case you missed the big 25 author scavenger hunt last week, I thought I’d post my funny story from that even here for your enjoyment.

Making gardenia perfume, OR: Sometimes the best laid plans don’t work!

   In the picture on the left, little Louise (me) is standing in front of a gardenia bush out of season. (It was square dance season.) On the right, my brother is reading under a gardenia bush in full bloom.

When I was in first grade, we had eighteen gardenia bushes growing outside our family home near Theodore, Alabama. Since then, the fragrance of the blossoms has been a favorite of mine, so much so that I often create heroines whose perfume of choice is gardenia. Eleven years ago, my husband and I moved to a home that had a well-rooted gardenia bush that blossoms prolifically every April and May. What a treat this is to me each year!

In my brand new release, Cowboy Lawman’s Christmas Reunion (October 2017 LIH), my heroine grew up making her own perfume from gardenias that grew outside her home in 1870s and 80s New Orleans. I decided to give it a try myself. I found a recipe online (https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-make-gardenia-perfume) and carefully followed directions. All pictures are my property and subject to copyright laws.

Gathering ingredients and tools. Mashing blossoms. Adding odorless alcohol and spring water.

Let sit 48 hours. Strain through cheese cloth. Test the fragrance.

Well, phooey! The finished product didn’t smell pleasant at all, but rather just like musty leaves. I had tried 80 proof alcohol that first time, so after picking more blossoms and repeating the process, I used 100 proof alcohol (the recipe suggests vodka). Neither worked. By then all of my gardenia blossoms were gone for the year. My attempt to make perfume just as a lady of the 1880s might have done just didn’t work out. What secrets did she have that I wasn’t privy to?

In the meantime, I tried using gardenia scented essential oils mixed with unscented alcohol. Bingo! It worked, giving off a lovely fragrance. This small amount should last me until next spring. In the meantime, I may continue to research this and try again next year when our bush blooms again. After all, I want to make perfume the old-fashioned way. Why? Just for fun!

Here’s the story of my perfume lady and her beau:

Sheriff Justice Gareau can make outlaws quake in their boots…yet coming face-to-face with Evangeline Benoit once again takes away all his composure. She broke their engagement, and his heart, to marry a wealthy older man. Despite his reluctance, Justice can’t avoid the widowed single mother of two when they’re collaborating on a Christmas village for the town’s children.
The loving boy Evangeline once knew has become an unyielding lawman. Forced to flee New Orleans over false allegations, Evie doubts Justice will take her side when the past follows her to Colorado. Especially when he and her troublesome son butt heads. But perhaps the spirit of Christmas will soften his heart and give them a second chance at love.

Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Cover art and cover copy text used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises.

® and ™ Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

It always amazes me how God works in our lives to fulfil our dreams. It may not happen the way we plan for it to, but I’ve discovered in my life, that His plan is always the best for me.

Today, I’d like to share with you how God worked in my life to make my dream of becoming a published author a reality. It was the journey of a lifetime, and through each step along the way, I now see God’s guiding hand.

I was about eight years old when I read my first Nancy Drew mystery and knew that I wanted to create stories just like that when I grew up.

Fast forward six more years, I discovered Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt and became hooked on the romantic suspense genre.

And so, ready to write my first book, I sat down at my brother’s old typewriter, (yes, I’m dating myself), and began to put the story that was in my head down on paper. At that time, I had no idea that I was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

Sadly that first story was never finished. Life took precedence over my writing career for a very long time. Yet, throughout all those years, I still continued to write whenever I had the chance, keeping my dream of becoming a published author alive when it seemed nothing more than an impossible desire.

In the beginning, I had no idea all the intricate steps involved in creating a suspense story, but I wrote, I read about my craft, and I found a great network of seasoned authors who willingly shared their knowledge.

For a while, I tried writing other genres, before I came back to my first love, inspirational romantic suspense. A very wise author once told me, write what you enjoy reading and then perfect it. In other words, if you don’t read contemporary romance, then don’t try to write about it.

For me, years of struggling to keep the dream alive would come down to five minutes in the spotlight.

In 2012, I entered the Speed Dating Contest that editor Emily Rodmell was hosting. I remember reading about the contest on the Harlequin website and going back and forth on whether or not to enter. You see, I’d entered contests before without much luck. In the end, I did enter and was one of the lucky ones who got an appointment to chat with Emily.

On the day of the pitch, I was on vacation in Colorado. At our cabin, internet service is nonexistent. It would have been so easy to say, oh well, better luck next time, but I think God was nudging me not to give up.

And so, my husband and I drove into the small town of Pagosa Springs where I did the entire chat on my laptop in the parking lot outside of the Ace Hardware Store. My fingers were actually shaking so much I was convinced that I’d typed nothing but gibberish.

Emily was kind enough to request a synopsis. I promptly sent the synopsis out to her. Then she requested the first three chapters, followed by the full manuscript. With each request, I tried not to get my hopes up. As I said, I’d been here before.

Yet in December 2012, Emily called to tell me I’d sold my first book to Love Inspired Suspense. To this day, I can’t tell you what she said to me other than that she wanted to buy FORGOTTEN PAST for Love Inspired Suspense. It was a surreal moment. One that still hasn’t fully sunken in. I write for Love Inspired Suspense! It’s a great feeling to have your dream become a reality and even greater to hold your own book in your hands.

Framed For Murder Blurb:

LOST MEMORIES

Faith McKenzie was the only survivor of a brutal home invasion. Viciously attacked and left for dead, Faith can’t remember anything about that night—including the identity of the killer. All she knows is that he’s stalking her from every place she flees and has tracked her to a small Maine island. Her neighbor, private investigator and security specialist JT Wyatt, rescues her twice. Now JT is insisting on the whole story—a story that Faith can’t remember. Desperate to feel safe, Faith puts her trust in the handsome P.I. Yet a killer is dead set on ensuring that Faith’s memory never returns.

Since that first call, I’ve sold five more books to Love Inspired Suspense. So I would tell anyone who has a dream that seems impossible at the moment, don’t give up. Because with God, all things are possible.

Framed For Murder – Available now

Blurb:

FALSELY ACCUSED 

Framed for helping her partner smuggle guns—and then murdering him—CIA agent Liz Ramirez must find the evidence that will prove her innocence…before she’s caught or killed. So when her squad’s leader attempts to bring her in for questioning, she knows her future depends on convincing Aaron Foster to go rogue and help her. On the run from the rest of her team and the gun dealers who are convinced she knows the location of their missing weapons, Liz risks losing the proof that would clear her name. But will eluding her pursuers—and trying not to fall for the handsome commander—prove to be fatal?

All the best…

Mary Alford

www.maryalford.net