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Today for Book Monday, I’m featuring another Love Inspired author, Cheryl Wyatt.

Ready-Made Family

April 2009-Steeple Hill Love Inspired–IN STORES NOW!

Wings of Refuge Series

Amelia North needs refuge, and finds it–in Refuge, Illinois. Stranded there after a car wreck, the single mother expects to be cold-shouldered. After all, she’s already been rejected by her parents, her church and her daughter’s father. Instead, she finds a town full of people with open hands and hearts…including pararescue jumper Ben Dillinger.

Ben wants to help Amelia and her daughter find safety and stability. Instead, he finds himself freefalling–right into love with the ready-made family.

——–

AUTHOR INFO/BIO:

Cheryl Wyatt’s closest friends would never dream the mayhem she plots during announcements at church. An RN-turned-SAHM, joyful chaos rules her home, and she delights in the stealth moments God gives her to write. She’s convinced that having been born on a Naval base on Valentine’s Day destined her to write military romance. She stays active in her church and in her laundry room. Her debut novels (Books 1 and 2-Wings of Refuge Series-Steeple Hill) received Romantic Times Top Picks. In addition, her debut books received the honor of coming in at #1 and #4 on eHarlequins’s Top Ten Most-Blogged-About-Books, lists which included several NYT Bestselling authors. Cheryl is currently serving as Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers. www.acfw.com

To receive her quarterly newsletter for updates on new releases and contests with GREAT prizes (think: free books, CDs, iPods, and a Kindle!), visit her Web site at www.cherylwyatt.com and sign up in the space provided. Cheryl respects your privacy and will not share your e-mail address with a third party.

Her current contest:

KINDLE CONTEST–NO FOOLIN!

Starting April Fool’s day 2009 I’ll be running a Kindle contest. Only my newsletter subscribers will be eligible for entry. To receive those quarterly newsletters as well as more information on the Kindle contest, visit www.cherylwyatt.com and sign up in the newsletter space provided. This is a double-opt-in feature and you will receive an e-mail prompting you to confirm that you wish to receive the newsletter. I respect your privacy and will not share your e-mail address with a third party. Winner will be announced on Independence Day 2009 on my newsletter and blog.

AUTHOR CONTACT INFO:

E-mail: cheryl@cherylwyatt.com

Web site: http://www.CherylWyatt.com

Cheryl’s Blog: http://www.scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com

Though Ready-Made Family is part of Cheryl’s Wings of Refuge Series, each story stands alone.

A Soldier’s Promise and A Soldier’s Family are still available at most online booksellers.

Look for Cheryl’s upcoming Wings of Refuge books:

A Soldiers Reunion-June 2009

Soldier Daddy-October 2009

A Soldier’s Devotion-January 2010

Home Sweet Hero (tentative title)-Spring 2010

I’m so happy that DiAnn Mills is sharing a story of a strong woman of Africa today.
Here’s DiAnn:

The Courage to Take a Stand

When I think of courageous women, I think of Rosemary of Kenya. I first met her at a Christian guest house in Nairobi in November 2006. My husband had arranged for her to escort me into Southern Sudan so I could research a novel. I was excited about the trip, and she’d done all the leg work to make it happen. With a smile and a genuine hug, we became fast friends.

I didn’t assume a journey into a third world country would be easy. But with Rosemary having made several trips into Southern Sudan, I knew I was in capable and loving hands. She and I had our share of adventures. Once, while driving beyond the city limits of Juba, Sudan, our driver ran out of gas. I swallowed my apprehension and modeled my behavior after calm Rosemary. I prayed hard, and the situation worked out fine. Another time, we were in a car and suddenly found ourselves trapped by several vehicles. Just like the hub of a bicycle wheel, the spokes had us trapped. Again, I modeled my behavior after Rosemary, and a vehicle finally moved to allow us to pass.

One evening, several of us were sitting outside our compound. A man began to tease Rosemary about her heroic feats during the two decade long civil war between northern and southern Sudan. Rosemary had journeyed to the northernmost province of southern Sudan to bring food and medical aid to the suffering people. Amidst gunfire from enemy soldiers, she had to choose between diving into a snake-infested shelter and dodging bullets. She chose the snakes.

Today, Rosemary is hard at work helping the people of Boma, Sudan. Initially, she approached this primitive tribe of mountain people for permission to build a school. Once that was obtained, she gathered teachers to show them how to make bricks for the building, construct a mill for grinding grain, and lay out other buildings in the community. Through her leadership, the children of Boma are obtaining an education, and the people have learned about nutrition, sanitation, and Jesus. Did I mention she is a single parent rearing four daughters? All four girls are devoted to missions and the cause of Christ.

Who knows what tomorrow may bring for Rosemary? But one thing I know for sure is she will not allow a threat of danger to stop her from following God’s will.

You can read about Rosemary’s work at http://www.sea-partners.org/.

Today another writing friend shares a story. This time it’s her story.
Here’s Marlo:

“Infertility. Most of my adult life, I fought it. It’s challenged my faith, robbed my bank account, and in the end, made me into a stronger, braver woman. From it, I’ve written a nonfiction book on infertility, Empty Womb, Aching Heart, and several novels. But none of that would have happened if I hadn’t remembered Sarah.

For years friends and family would say “Remember Sarah!” to encourage me to have faith. Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth–God opened their wombs, but mine was still closed. Didn’t I have enough faith? So, my Bible sat on the shelf, unopened, my prayer journal lay unused, and my attendance at church dwindled.

Then, one day I was cleaning out the closet when I found a small journal with peonies on the front. I sat on the floor, with my back against the closet door, and rubbed one hand over the first page. “Junior Year,” it read in big purple letters, my favorite color. I flipped to about half way through and began to read.

I saw the sunrise today, Lord. It was amazing. I wish I could say that I saw it because I was up early to pray, but as You know, I had to pull an all-nighter to get that paper done. But it was worth it to see the streaks of orange, red, and gold at the dawn of a new day. I stood there and thought to myself, I know the One who made that sunrise. The same One who lives in me. You know, I can feel You there, Lord, in my heart. Some days, like today, Your love is a tangible thing, like a warm blanket that wraps around my insides. In these moments, I feel like I could shout to the stars about what an awesome, incredible, super-wow God You are. I can’t believe there was ever a time when I turned my back on You. What a fool I was. But everything’s different now, God. My life, my heart, is filled with the wonder of knowing You. I’ll never forget this feeling. I’ll never forget to keep loving You. I promise . . .

Tears came to my eyes. I’d lost something more precious than my hope for a child. I’d lost my closeness with God. And that had made my heart even emptier than my womb. Yet, I could still feel the anger at God that was lodged in my heart like a huge stone, burying me in my self-made tomb. How could I ever get past my pain?

I rose from the floor and began to write.

God, it’s me, you know, the one who keeps asking you for a baby. Well, I’m so mad at You I could just spit . . .

That long, slow journey back to God is also reflected in Kinna the main character in If Tomorrow Never Comes. She, too, finds a new kind of strength and sacrifice through her journey through infertility.

Only when I surrendered all my dreams, doubts, and difficulties to God, He gave me two daughters, and after miscarriages, twin boys.
All God asks is that we bring our frustration, fears, anger, and questions to Him. He has big shoulders, as big as the sunrise.”

Marlo, I also had to go through infertility and all the nasty tests and dismissive doctors. I am grateful for the son and daughter God gifted me with. Yet sometimes God does not send children. I think however that your story shows that God never abandons us and the true victory is to live within His gracious will for us.

Here’s the latest from another talented writer!

Paige Rogers survived every CIA operative’s worst nightmare.

A covert mission gone terribly wrong.

A betrayal by the one man she thought she could trust.

Forced to disappear to protect the lives of her loved ones, Paige has spent the last several years building a quiet life as a small-town librarian. But the day a stranger comes to town and starts asking questions, Paige knows her careful existence has been shattered.

He is coming after her again. And this time, he intends to silence her for good.

Take a look around at the people you see every day. The friendly clerk at the coffee shop. The cheerful woman who teaches Sunday school. The quiet, unassuming librarian. Wouldn’t you be shocked if one of them turned out to be a former CIA operative with a secret too big to keep under wraps?

It could happen.

This edge-of-your-seat thriller is the first book in the new Call of Duty series. In Breach of Trust, Paige Rogers is a former CIA agent who is living incognito as a librarian in the sleepy little town of Split Creek, Oklahoma, after experiencing a life-altering disaster in the line of duty. But the unwelcome past has suddenly turned up to find her, in the form of a ruthless politician who is out to destroy everything Paige holds dear. She knows too much, and he’s desperate to silence her. Can she bring him down before he ruins her life? And most of all, what would the Lord want her to do?

DiAnn encourages readers to visit her website’s homepage where you can view the trailer for Breach of Trust, Book 1 in the Call of Duty series by Tyndale House Publishers. While there, please sign-up for her monthly e-newsletter so she can stay in-touch with her readers.

–Breach of Trust Book Trailer: www.diannmills.com

–Endorsements from back cover:

“[Breach of Trust] is romance with an operative kick when the quiet life Paige Rogers enjoys is sent into overdrive by a past that refuses to stay buried.” —Tamera Alexander, best-selling author of From a Distance

“DiAnn Mills has crafted a tightly woven tale of danger and deception. Breach of Trust is a page turner to the very end.”—Kathy Herman, author of The Grand Scheme

“Mills creates extraordinary characters wrestling with profound life issues in the face of immediate danger. A surefire recipe for a great read!”—Jill Elizabeth Nelson, author of Reluctant Smuggler

–What people are saying about Breach of Trust:

“DiAnn Mills certainly knows how to stay one step ahead of her readers in Breach of Trust!” Kim Ford, CFBA

“Readers who enjoy the works of Dee Henderson, especially her O’Malley series, will love Breach of Trust.” – Harriet Klausner

“If you have been waiting for a story to match Dee Henderson’s O’Malley series or Susan May Warren’s Team Hope, look no further than Breach of Trust, the first in the Call of Duty series. Breach of Trust is romantic suspense at its finest.” Rel Mollet – Relz Reviewz

–DiAnn has Chapter 1 of Breach of Trust, Discussion Questions suitable for Book Clubs, Reviews, etc. available on her website www.diannmills.com.

You can purchase your own copy of Breach of Trust at bookstores everywhere including:

www.tyndale.com,

www.bn.com,

www.amazon.com,

www.christianbook.com

and at your favorite Christian bookstore.

A direct link to Amazon is http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414320477

–Author Bio – DiAnn Mills
Award-winning author DiAnn Mills launched her career in 1998 with the publication of her first book. Currently she has over forty books in print and has sold over 1.5 million copies.

DiAnn believes her readers should “Expect an Adventure.” Six of her anthologies have appeared on the CBA best seller list. Three of her books were selected by Heartsong Presents as best historical of the year. Five of her books have placed in the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards from 2003 to 2007. She also received Inspirational Reader’s Choice awards in 2005 and 2007. She was a Christy Award Finalist 2008.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope and Love, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. DiAnn is also a mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild. DiAnn’s home is in Houston, Texas.

www.diannmills.com – Expect an Adventure

Today a new Love Inspired Author shares a family story.

Here’s Stephanie:

My great-grandmother Helen was born in 1898. She lived in swampy lower Alabama. There were no buses, no public schools, not even many roads other than the dirt tracks that the farmers used to take their goods to market to sell. The War Between the States had been hard on the South, especially the rural areas. There was no money and very little food. Education was a luxury. Helen’s parents were determined that she would be able to read and write. The old stereotype that women didn’t need to be educated didn’t apply to her.

And even though times were hard, they would do everything they could to make that happen. Because there was no school in the rural area where she lived, she had a governess when she was young. When she was old enough to attend high school, the choice became harder. If she wanted to continue her education it meant leaving home. There was no high school in her area, but there was one in Selma, Alabama where her aunt lived. She would have to ride the riverboat to Selma and live with her aunt during the semesters, returning home only for holidays–if she was lucky. Sometimes the river was impassable–like the Christmas Eve when she made it halfway home before the boat ran aground. The crew on the boat gathered little trinkets from the staff and passengers for Helen and the other students on board. When she woke Christmas morning, she found a tattered stocking full of little baubles on the door of her cabin.

Helen went to college at Montevallo University (known as Alabama Girls Technical Institute and College for Women while she was there) at a time in history when not very many women did. She had a dream to be a teacher, to give other little girls and boys the opportunity to discover the world that she had discovered through the eyes of her governess and teachers in high school. When she graduated, she moved to the tiny town of Latham, Alabama and lived with a family, teaching in a tiny one-room schoolhouse until she married.

Those of us who knew her remember her as a funny, smart, opinionated, strong-willed woman. She loved to garden and had a showplace of a yard. She could do a crossword puzzle in ten minutes flat and loved to make her grandchildren and great-grandchildren laugh. I feel very lucky to have been born in a family where being educated isn’t considered a luxury, but a part of life. I was never asked, “Do you want to go to college,” but “Where do you want to go to college?” In my family, learning was an everyday occurrence and an expectation. The legacy of a strong woman named Helen.


In PERFECT TARGET, my heroine Bayley, comes from a privileged family. She doesn’t face the same issues that Helen did in her life. But certainly, Bayley does confront things in her life that she is unprepared for and feels unequipped to handle. She faces them with courage and a strength of spirit that reminds me of a certain steel magnolia great-grandmother.

Thanks for that great story, Stephanie.

Also Stephanie put Helen’s recipe for sour cream pound cake on her blog, so if you want that recipe, click this link.

http://stephanienewton.blogspot.com/2009/03/geegees-sour-cream-pound-cake.html