Tuesday, May 7, 2024

"The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane" by Michelle Griep

About the Book

Book: The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane

Author: Michelle Griep

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: April, 2024

Wife. Mother. Homemaker. Detective. Kit Forge wears many hats, and if that’s not enough, she’s partnered with her father to open a new detective agency. It’s hard to be all things to all people, but Kit never shies away from the impossible. Despite her hard work and good intentions, some things fall through the cracks.

Namely, her husband.

But Jackson barely notices. He’s too busy putting out his own fires. As the new chief inspector of a busy London station, he must salvage the disaster left behind by the former police chief—an obstacle made all the harder when the superintendent breathes an ultimatum down his neck.

Against her father’s advice, Kit takes on a case involving a missing child, one in which she and Jackson become a little too emotionally involved. . .and end up endangering their own little girl in the process.

Can Kit and Jackson learn that just because they can say yes doesn’t mean they should?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this third book in the Blackfriars Lane series. The books build on each other so it is best to read them in order. I found the book to be well written and easy to read. It was fun seeing familiar characters and seeing their relationships now. There is a biblical faith thread that was nice. I didn't want to put the book down but just read it until I was done so I could know what was going on. I look forward to reading more books by Michell Griep.

About the Author

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is the Christy Award-winning author of historical romances: A Tale of Two Hearts, The Captured Bride, The Innkeeper’s Daughter, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, The Captive Heart, Brentwood’s Ward, A Heart Deceived, and Gallimore, but also leaped the historical fence into the realm of contemporary with the zany romantic mystery Out of the Frying Pan.

More from Michelle

Oh Inspiration…Wherefore Art Thou?

There are several questions I am asked frequently as an author.

“Hey, how much money do you make?”

“Can you help me get my book published?”

“How come it takes you so long to finish a story?”

But probably the most common query is this: what sorts of things inspire you? Now that is a question I can go on and on about! Don’t panic, though. I’ll be brief.

Story ideas come from every place imaginable. I’ve had plot thoughts from watching kids’ movies or even from eavesdropping at a coffee shop (note: beware what you say in public). TV series are also a favorite of mine, so much so that my latest release, The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane, is loosely based on one of my all-time favorite PBS series.

Have you seen this show? If not, do yourself a favor and ride that pony. If you have, then you know what I’m talking about. Either way, you should know that, the main character, is a detective in Victorian London—a very sassy yet classy lady. And that’s what struck me light a lightning bolt.

This woman is Kit, the heroine in my Blackfriars series, like right there on the big screen.

So, for book III, I decided I’d let ol’ Kit open her own private investigation agency with the help of her father, a recently retired police sergeant. Of course much intrigue and chaos ensues, just like in my all-time favorite PBS series, bringing the Blackfriars series to a satisfying end.

Inspiration honestly comes from anywhere, so next time you’re rubbing elbows with an author, beware. You just might end up as a character in their next book.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 26

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, April 26

Book Looks by Lisa, April 26

Live. Love. Read., April 27

Vicky Sluiter, April 27

She Lives To Read, April 27

Texas Book-aholic, April 28

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 28

All-of-a-kind Mom, April 29

Where Faith and Books Meet, April 29

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 30

Sylvan Reads, April 30

Pause for Tales, April 30

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 1

Blogging With Carol, May 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 2

For Him and My Family, May 2

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 2

Betti Mace, May 3

Wishful Endings, May 3

Bizwings Book Blog, May 4

Daysong Reflections, May 4

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, May 5 (Author Interview)

Kristina Hall, May 5

Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 6

The Lofty Pages, May 6

Cover Lover Book Review, May 7

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, May 7

Blossoms and Blessings, May 7

Holly’s Book Corner, May 8

Back Porch Reads, May 8

Lily’s Corner, May 9

Life of Literature, May 9

Jeanette’s Thoughts, May 9

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Michelle is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-gift card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b146/the-sleuth-of-blackfriars-lane-celebration-tour-giveaway

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

Monday, May 6, 2024

"What Color is God's Love?" by Xochitl Dixon -- Author Interview

About the Book

Book: What Color is God’s Love?

Author: Xochitl Dixon

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Release date: March 19, 2024

All the colors displayed in this world that God made—
every glorious, fabulous, beautiful shade—
show how good God is and will always be.
But what is the color of love? Come and see!
In What Color is God’s Love?, a little girl and her service dog join their diverse friends through a
whirlwind of adventures. As they celebrate the spectacular spectrum of colors God designed,
each color invites readers to explore their God-given emotions and becomes a reminder of God’s
unchanging character. While encouraging children to acknowledge God’s constant presence with every turn of the page,
What Color is God’s Love? also empowers children, with and without disabilities, to play, work,
and serve God together, by simply letting the colors of His love shine through them.
With each turn of the page, the focus shifts to a specific color—orange, yellow, blue, green, pink,
black, white, gray, brown, red, purple. Each lyrical rhyme invites readers to engage with God
through empowering and faith-building truth-statements that incite worship and encourage a
lifestyle of loving God and neighbors.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

1. Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?
I can see my whole story before I even begin. God gives me the beginning, middle, and end. I write a
rough summary and then a rough draft. Whether I’m writing a devotion, an article, a short story,
a picture book, a devotional with 30 different devotions, or a novel, I know where I’m going. I
can’t imagine staying on course if I don’t know where I’m heading.
I am a cinematic writer, so my writing comes to me in scenes if I’m writing fiction. If I’m writing
nonfiction, the scenes come in the form of a conversation. I imagine sitting with someone and
sharing the message God gave me to share.
I allow myself lots of wiggle room in my outlines and give myself permission to change things if I
need to, but the landing point usually stays the same because I spend time in prayer to be sure
what the takeaway is supposed to be before I begin. Once I have the Bible verses and the main
message clarified, I ask God for the wisdom to stay on track and continue praying for the words
as I go.

2. What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?
For me, the hardest thing about writing is surrendering the whole process to God, especially now that
I have so many physical limitations. I often struggle to get all the projects done that I have ideas
for because of my physical limits. I wish I could write for more hours in the day and finish
projects faster. But I have had to submit my writing process to God and trust His plan and pace
for me is perfect, even though my productivity is not what it used to be before my health
declined in 2012. Now, if I am not able to work on a project then I trust God has a reason for that
delay. I keep seeking Him first, putting Him first, and relying on Him to keep me on His perfect
pace for His perfect plan. I continue praying for a willingness to surrender everything to Him,
even when it doesn’t make sense.

3. What would you say is the easiest aspect of writing?

The easiest aspect of writing is relying on God through the whole process when I do surrender to
Him. When I’m submitting to God, I have total peace. When I am trusting Him to select the right
ministry opportunities He wants to provide for me, then I have total peace and I enjoy the
process. I can encourage others and even open doors for others because I’m not worried about
missing opportunities or competing with others. God provides the work He has for me to do and
I do that work. He gives me the words He wants me to share and I share those words. I enjoy
linking arms with others who approach ministry with the same Kingdom-Advancement
Leadership mentality. We worship Him as we serve Him together! Being dependent on God
throughout the whole process is the easiest aspect of writing . . . IF I’m willing to do the hardest
thing . . . surrendering to Him.
When I’ve been focused on pursuing God, not publication, He has provided amazing ministry
opportunities in my writing journey. I’m excited about what He has in store for me next!

4. Do you pen down revelations and ideas as you get them, right then and there?
I have a short memory and, because of my chronic pain and fatigue, I forget things easily. So, I will
write ideas down on whatever I have handy. I will text or email ideas to myself. I will write an
entire synopsis for a book in one sitting and file it away if I don’t have time to start the project.
I am always asking God for spiritual insight, so I am always looking and always ready to take notes
when He provides that insight. I am known to interrupt and say, “Oh, there’s a devotion in that!”
or “There’s a story there!” or “That’s a WORD!” which basically means a message I want to
teach.
This part of my writing process is like constant brainstorming, which is why I don’t struggle with
writer’s block. I’m always seeking God, always listening, so even if I’m not always writing . . . I
am always doing something that can be used for writing.
My loved ones are used to my quirkiness and understand I won’t remember if I don’t stop and write
something down right away. I’m sure it’s annoying, but they’ve been patient with me.

5. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?
My life is always in my writing because my heart is in my writing. I am transparent because I
believe God uses testimonies in powerful ways. I’m not ashamed of what I have done or who I was
before Jesus, so I am vulnerable in my nonfiction writing. My best fiction has a heartbeat of real life
behind the words, too. There is always a universal truth that readers can connect with, but I write
from the trenches of life I know.
If you are in my life, you will find yourself in my writing. I will ask you to sign a consent form if
I’m writing about you in a nonfiction article, but not if you’re inspiring me to create a character in a
novel.
My family is used to this and trusts me to honor God and them with the way I write about them, even
when I’m writing about hard topics. I ask God for wisdom, so I don’t overshare. I let my family read
what I write before I submit my work if necessary. I’m grateful for their support, so I make sure I
respect them and our privacy.

About the Author

Xochitl (So-Cheel) Dixon, contributing writer for Our Daily Bread and God Hears Her, is the author of
Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace. She loves Jesus and people, as she crosses
cultural, generational, and international lines with encouraging and sound biblical teaching. Celebrating
diversity and inclusion, she advocates for disability awareness with her beautifully diverse family and her
service dog, Callie. Her first children’s picture book, Different Like Me, now available in Spanish, is a
2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Children’s Book Finalist. In March 2024, Xochitl’s second picture book, What Color is God’s Love?, is releasing with WaterBrook.

More from Xochitl

The Heart Behind My Story

By Xochitl Dixon

Like most of my writing, What Color is God’s Love? began as an overflow of worship while I prayed and praised God. In 2018, my husband and I had followed God from California to Wisconsin. I’m disabled and can’t drive, so his long hours at work left me feeling isolated while I searched for a new church and new doctors. As the weather became more extreme, I grew more discouraged, frustrated, and resentful. I struggled as I wrote my first 31-day devotional for Our Daily Bread, Waiting for God: Trusting Daily in God’s Plan and Pace. I was praying for people, studying and teaching the Bible every day. So, I couldn’t figure out why I felt so out of touch with God.

When my new puppy, Callie, licked my tears away, I looked out the window and noticed the rain had finally stopped. Rays of sunlight pierced through the dark gray clouds, shining on a white heron that had landed in the greed foliage on the creek’s bank next to our front yard. I wept tears of grateful praise. I wrote the first draft of a free verse poem celebrating God’s loving care for the details in Creation and in the lives of His people.

As I prayed, I realized I had been spending time talking to people about God. However, as the physical, emotional, and mental effects of our transition overwhelmed me, I had stopped spending quality time with God. As I watched the white heron take flight, God led me to Psalm 33:6-9, which became the first What Color is God’s Love? Bookend Bible verse.

I released Waiting for God in 2019 and my first picture book, Different Like Me, in 2020. But God had me tuck that free verse poem away as He dramatically transformed me and the original manuscript over the next few years. I wanted to give young image-bearers what I never had growing up: a safe place to process emotions . . . in God’s presence. I also wanted God’s beautifully diverse image-bearers, people with and without disabilities, to see each color as a reminder of His unchanging character, unlimited power, and unwavering grace, as they experienced His unconditional love flowing for them, in them, and through them.

After I signed the contract in November 2021, God began leading me to the right Bible verses to build the messages for each color I shared. Over time, I created the Breath Prayer Cards as a free download on my website, the YouVersion reading plan, and the devotional for the rest of the colors not shared in the reading plan.

I wanted each color to be a reminder of God’s unchanging character, unlimited power, and unwavering grace as we experience His unconditional love flowing for, in, and through us. More importantly, I began praying that everyone who read What Color is God’s Love? would be inspired to open their Bibles and spend more time with God, including me.

Blog Stops

Lots of Helpers, April 24

Texas Book-aholic, April 25

Vicky Sluiter, April 26 (Author Interview)

BookZone Reviews , April 27

By The Book, April 28 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 29

Splashes of Joy, April 30 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 1

Beauty in the Binding, May 2 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 3

Sylvan Musings, May 4 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, May 4

Artistic Nobody, May 5

Blossoms and Blessings, May 6 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 7

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Xochitl is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card, a copy of Different Like Me, and What Color is God’s Love?!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b144/what-color-is-god-s-love-celebration-tour-giveaway

"Earning the Mountain Man's Trust" by Misty M. Beller

About the Book

Book: Earning the Mountain Man’s Trust

Author: Misty M. Beller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: April 9, 2024

In the wild mountains of the Montana Territory, the Coulter ranch is a place of family, second chances…and a hidden fortune.

Naomi Wyatt has finally given up on the man who once promised to love her for the rest of his life—then disappeared with no way to contact him. She’s now a single mother with a beautiful baby girl to provide for, a daughter whose red hair reminds her daily of the man she gave her heart to. She has to move on though, so when Jonah Coulter asks for her hand in marriage, she knows she would be hard-pressed to find a better husband for herself and father for her sweet daughter. He’s a Coulter, after all, and he’s proven to be a good friend during her darkest hours.

But when her first love rides onto the ranch property saying he’d been searching for her for months, her heart is shredded once again. Before she has time to catch her breath though, a new threat appears on the horizon. This time she has far more at stake than her heart, and only a Divine hand can turn this disaster for their good.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes a mountain family saga filled with a second chance romance, love triangles, hidden treasure, and love that heals wounded hearts.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I was so confused when I started reading this book and it was in Eric's point of view. I thought it was going to be Jonah and Naomi's story and Eric is not a "mountain man". I did enjoy reading the story and seeing the characters I've gotten to know from the previous books in the story. It is best to read the books in order since they build off each other. I didn't really like Eric that much at the beginning as he was all upset and wanting to take over. He did come around though. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

About the Author

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Raised on a farm and surrounded by family, Misty developed her love for horses, history, and adventure. These days, her husband and children provide fresh adventure every day, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

Misty’s passion is to create inspiring Christian fiction infused with the grandeur of the mountains, writing historical romance that displays God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

Sharing her stories with readers is a dream come true for Misty. She writes from her country home in South Carolina and escapes to the mountains any chance she gets.

More from Misty

Storytelling vs. Historical Authenticity?

I’ve been a fan of historical fiction for as long as I can remember, all the way back to the Mandie books by Lois Gladys Leppard and the Sadie Rose books by Hilda Stahl. Does anyone remember those series?

When I started thinking about my first novel, there was no doubt it would be a Christian Historical Romance set in the west. By my second book in, I had narrowed my focus to frontier life in the Rockies. My happy place!

It can be challenging to write about a time I haven’t experienced and cultures that don’t exist in the same form anymore. I love reading first-hand accounts to help me bring a particular time period to life. I often visit historic forts and talk with those who have studied the time period and setting in greater depth.

Three years ago, My family and I set out on a 28-day epic road trip to tour many of the state and national parks across the country. We spent about half of our time in Wyoming and Montana, exploring Yellowstone and Glacier, and tour historic and ghost towns. We spent more than one night tent camping in primitive camping!

These experiences definitely make it easy for me to slip into that world as I write. The characters come alive in my mind, and I see the story like a movie in my head. Writing Earning the Mountain Man’s Trust was especially fun to write, as we return to the Coulter Ranch. I fell in love with not just Naomi and Eric, but also sweet little Mary Ellen, their one-year-old daughter who Eric meets for the first time in this book.

I pray the story comes to life for readers as much as it has for me! J

Blessings!

Misty