A touching tale...

SEASONS: A REAL STORY OF AN AMISH GIRL - is exactly that, told beautifully by Elizabeth Byler Younts--the heroine's own granddaughter.


Here's the book description:

As the oldest child in an impoverished Amish family, Lydia Lee knows little more of life beyond hard work, sacrifice and extreme hunger. Yet, even as a young girl she strives to be content with all God has provided. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Lydia’s childhood unfolds as her family struggles to survive, finding strength from their Amish faith. But, when tragedy strikes, that very faith is tested beyond what any child should have to endure. When all hope seems lost, Lydia is reminded that all things have seasons. The spring of her life has been spent planting prayers in the soil of sadness and heartache. Will she see a summer of true love? Will there be a harvest of happiness?

Elizabeth weaves a touching, poignant tale of the seasons in life her grandmother endured and triumphed in - all while rejoicing. Her recounts of life are told in a novel form that blend effortlessly into the feel of a historical fiction tale, yet remain shockingly true. Join Liddy in her adventures through poverty and loss, love and war, fear and contentment --and even a bull chase or two ;)

I read this story in two days. It's a quick read, not only in word count (192 pages) but in the fact that you just want to see what happens next in this amazing woman's journey. I had to admit, for me the beginning started a little slow, it seemed to be several well-told, yet repetitive, instances of poverty and the various moves the family made, but I realized soon that all those recounts played a significant part in building who Liddy is--and I guarantee that you'll be glad to have known her by the end. I kept pulling away from the reading and reminding myself this was REAL. All of these instances really happened and it made me so warm inside to think about...

Don't miss this memoir of a sweet woman with an exceptionally solid faith in her Lord Jesus.

And kudos to Elizabeth, for making a self-published novel feel absolutely anything but! The editing was precise and exact and exactly what it needed to be. Elizabeth, while yet unpublished in traditional fiction form, is apparently well on her way to changing that! :)

Author Bio:
Elizabeth Byler Younts is the granddaughter of Lydia Lee Coblentz. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She is an Air Force Officer’s wife with two young daughters, making a home wherever they are currently stationed. Please visit her at http://www.elizabethbyleryounts.com/.


Grab a copy HERE!

And the WINNER is...

Sorry I didn't do this drawing earlier, you guys! Got caught up in Labor day eating and family time :) Thanks for being patient with me.

Little Miss (my handy three year old) assisted me in the drawing so it was fair, and...we have a winner!

Congrats to TALIA!!!

But guess what...I totally didn't realize back when I received giveaway copies from the publisher to review and giveaway that I had an extra. So there were two winners!! What a great Labor Day :)

The second winner is...PATTIE!!!

You've both won a FREE copy of Tricia Goyer and Robin Jones Gunn's PRAYING FOR YOUR FUTURE HUSBAND and a FREE autographed copy of my own contemporary romance new release FIREMAN DAD.

YAY! Thanks to all for entering and check back for more contests soon. I love giveaways! :)

PS - Winners, email me your mailing addresses and I'll get these in the mail ASAP. Enjoy!

Happy Labor Day!

Proposals and one-sheets and suitcases, oh my!

The 2011 ACFW Conference in St. Louis is in 3 weeks. Actually, 2 weeks and 6 days, but if I say it that way, I start getting tunnel vision and my breath starts catching and my stomach cramps.

Not quite that bad, but close. So much to do before I leave! As always, everything is coming due at once, which is fun and exciting and coffee-inducing.

In the next 3 weeks (let me have my denial, please) I'm going to be working part time at my title company job as usual, have 2 newspaper article deadlines for my freelance gigs (one being the biggest article I've ever written for them - 3500 words), the galley to read-through for my final look at Addison Blakely, Confessions of a PK before it goes to the printers (YAY!), a series proposal to finish tweaking and get to my agent, 2 different one-sheets to prepare to pitch two different books at conference, a list of 75 names and addresses to prepare for my marketing guru at Barbour, a YA proposal to finish writing and submit to my agent, a blog post to prepare on a presitigious romance blog to promote FIREMAN DAD, and crits to do for friends/clients.

And oh yeah, a house to keep clean, a toddler to keep fed, and suitcases to pack...not to mention this week we've got preschool and AWANA and dance class for the Little Miss...

Ok. Maybe making a list wasn't such a great idea! Yikes! Where's the coffee??

Thankfully I'm feeling confident about it all, despite my few moments of panic, (they go away with each swig of the Diet Coke) because hey, it's all good! Literally, all of the above are great things to accomplish and I'm sooo not complaining. This is what I want! Just venting. And maybe seeking new coffee blend ideas...

What about you? Are you going to conference? What do you have to prepare? And if you aren't, will you come help me? ;)

GIVEAWAY of a fabulous YA read...

PRAYING FOR YOUR FUTURE HUSBAND - PREPARING YOUR HEART FOR HIS by Tricia Goyer and Robin Jones Gunn is a fantastic book I want to personally shove into the hands of each and every 13 year old girl and older.

And as you can see, I started even earlier...hehehe.

Here's the industry info on this fabulous, must-have nonfiction novel:

Have you ever thought about praying for your future husband?
Will it make a difference?
There's only one way to find out…

From when we were small girls, most of us dream of “The One,” our future husband. We think about what it would be like to be a bride. We wonder who that special guy is and when we'll find him. The great news is that what you do now can make a difference in your life and the life of your future husband!

Authors and good friends Robin Jones Gunn (Christy Miller series) and Tricia Goyer (author and former teen mom) believe God answers women's prayers for husbands—even husbands they may not meet for years. They invite young women to pray boldly for their future mate … while also asking God to prepare their own hearts.

In Praying for Your Future Husband, Robin and Tricia share their two vastly different experiences, including the things they did right and the mistakes they made on the path to meeting and marrying their husbands. Each chapter includes helpful Bible verses, prayers, and practical application, along with true stories of women who prayed for a husband and how God answered in remarkable ways.

God has a beautiful romance prepared for you. Prayer is the key to unlocking the love story … with your future husband and with God, the lover of your soul.

If you don't already know Tricia and Robin, then you're missing out! I've had the honor of meeting and chatting with them both in person, multiple times, and I'd easily put them at the top of various lists, titled "Sincere", "Warm", "Friendly", "Sweet", "Talented", and "Has a Huge Heart For God" !!! :)

Here's some bio info on them:

Robin Jones Gunn has written more than 70 books, including the well-loved Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen series, and more than 4 million copies of her books have sold. Robin and her husband have been married for more than 34 years, and they have two grown children.

Tricia Goyer, the author of more than 25 books, has drawn from her experiences as a teen mother and leader of today’s generation to be a voice of hope for women. Tricia has been married for more than twenty years and is the mother of four children.

And now for the best part - the GIVEAWAY! That's right. You can have this book for FREE. I'm giving away a fabulous version of this novel and...guess what else? A copy of my own recent release, FIREMAN DAD, by Love Inspired, just for fun. Because really, the only thing better than a free book is TWO free books, right?

Sign up by leaving a comment on this blog post, and I'll do the drawing next Monday morning (a sure way to brighten it up!) In the comment, simply state why you want the book, what appeals to you about it, if you've read other books by Tricia or Robin, or etc. Nothing fancy ::wink::

So go ahead...whatcha waiting for??? :)