Fresh Pick for Friday, June 13th, 2014 is HANNAH’S COURTSHIP by Emma Miller #InspirationFriday Second Chance Love Hannah’s Daughters 8 Harlequin Love Inspired May 2014 On Sale: May 18, 2014 220 pages ISBN: 0373878893 EAN: 9780373878895 Kindle: B00HAZ5CO2 Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Inspirational Fiction, Romance Series Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Hannah’s Courtship by Emma Miller Second Chance At Love Amish widow Hannah Yoder never intended to marry again. Yet when her friendship with veterinarian Albert Hartman begins to bloom into something more, Hannah wonders if perhaps she’s finally ready for a new love. Albert waited his whole life to find the right woman, only to realize Hannah was there all along. But there’s more than their friendship to consider. Albert is a Mennonite, born-and-bred, and Hannah cannot—will not—leave her Amish faith, not even for him. Does Albert have the courage to give up his modern life for Hannah…and will Hannah have the courage to let him? Hannah’s Daughters: Seeking love, family and faith in Amish country. Mature people go courting too in ths charming Amish romance Previous Picks

Fresh Pick for Thursday, June 12th, 2014 is JAGUAR’S KISS by Vivi Andrews Supernaturally addictive Lone Pine Pride Samhain June 2014 On Sale: June 10, 2014 102 pages ISBN: 1619220245 EAN: 9781619220249 Kindle: B00I5LA4T8 e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Jaguar’s Kiss by Vivi Andrews To get what he wants, he’ll have to rattle her cage… Lone Pine Pride, Book 1 Lila Fallon, the Lone Pine Pride Alpha’s only daughter, has been betrothed since childhood to marry her father’s chosen successor. The match is designed to maintain peace by shoring up any cracks in pride solidarity. She’s always known she would do her duty—she just never expected to meet a man who would tempt her to throw it all away. As a black panther, Santiago Flores couldn’t be a less suitable mate for the Alpha’s purebred lioness daughter. But that doesn’t change the fact that for every one of the five years he’s been with the Lone Pine Pride, he’s been head-over-heels in love with her. And when the Alpha announces that Lila’s indefinite engagement is about to end in a very definite marriage, Santiago is through holding his peace….

Most novelists walk through life collecting stories and scenes and breath-stealing words like black knit pants collect cat hair. We can’t walk through a room or a day without something landing and sticking. When I sat down to write ALL MY BELONGINGS, I drew heavily on those stick-forever moments. The main character in ALL MY BELONGINGS, Becca, is a selfless caregiver. Even when rebuffed, shamed, and unappreciated, she kept caring. As I wrote scenes of Becca’s patience and kindness toward a woman who couldn’t remember her cherished son and flitted seamlessly from reality to a non-existent ballet class, I realized I was writing Becca as the caregiver I wish I’d always been for my kids, my husband, my grandkids, my mother… Some of Becca’s actions seemed so familiar. Where did they originate? Long ago, I visited an elderly relative in a nursing home. When she motioned for the nurse to take her to the bathroom, I stepped into the hall, but couldn’t help overhearing the nurse talking low and sweetly to the woman. “Bernice, why don’t I get you a dry pair of panties? You’ll feel so much better.” Tenderness laced every word that came from the caregiver’s mouth. At…

First painful rule of fiction:  Everything–dialogue, characters, plot, scenes–must move the story forward.  If it does not, cut with the ruthlessness of a film editor.  So, why include historic or well-known characters in cameo appearances?  What would make the research for credibility worth the trouble for a character’s one or two-time walk into the pages of your novel? Sometimes, it’s the cameo character that holds significance for your main character, and sometimes it’s their work, their passion, or simply their influence that permeates the story. In SAVING AMELIE, a WWII story set in Berlin and Oberramergau, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a well-known dissident German pastor makes two brief appearances.  But, those appearances carry tremendous weight. Bonhoeffer saw early the dangers posed by the Nazis and Hitler’s quest for absolute power.  He recognized the horrific ramifications for Jews in the Nuremberg Laws and the Aryan Clause which stripped German Jews of their citizenship and rights, and eliminated Hebrew Christians from public and church roles.  He saw the burning of synagogues for the hate crimes they were, and sterilizations and “mercy killings” of the physically and mentally handicapped for murder.  Bonhoeffer knew that the church, by not protecting Jews or anyone else outside Hitler’s…