Christmas at the Unity Plenkiss

Have you read my Great Lakes Christmas books? If not, this is the time to pick them up, at a discounted price.  Christmas at the Unity Plenkiss includes both books – Snow Angels and Hope for the Holidays. Life at the Unity Plenkiss Community Center is always interesting.  There are so many different kinds of people in this Chicago neighborhood. I think you’ll be touched and entertained by the stories. The first book in the Great Lakes series, Baggage Claim, isn’t set at the Unity Plenkiss at all, but you’ll meet some of the characters there. There are two more books in this series. Chasing Grace will be available this winter, and Home Run will happen next summer. As always, my books are Kindle Unlimited library, so if you are a subscriber, you can read them free! Snow Angels When Lisa Marsh is roped into serving Thanksgiving dinner at the local community center, she encounters hundreds of children, lively teenagers, stubbornly independent veterans, eccentric elderly people, and a particularly rude and scruffy homeless man named Pete. The evening ends in disaster, but when her best friend challenges her to reach out and help other people, Lisa decides to take on Read More

Read Snow Angels – just in time for the sequel!

Snow Angels is on sale this week, just in time to read it before you get the sequel in Making Spirits Bright ~ the 2017 Christmas Lights Novella Collection. The collection will be available on Amazon on Wednesday, November 1st.! On Monday and Tuesday, Snow Angels is only 99 cents for Kindle on Amazon!    Snow Angels on sale this week!    My new Christmas novella, Hope for the Holidays, is a sequel to last year’s book, Snow Angels. It isn’t necessary to read Snow Angels first, but I think you’d enjoy it. So on Monday and Tuesday, you can pick up the kindle version of Snow Angels for just 99 cents. On Wednesday, with the release of Making Spirits Bright, the price goes up to $1.99, and then on Thursday, the sale is over and Snow Angels returns to its regular price.     Newly arrived from her home in the Congo and armed with a brand-new degree in nonprofit management, Carrie Strough is eager to organize and improve the Unity Plenkiss Community Center. Unfortunately, no one wants to be organized, and only Micah Neresen, the charming and handsome pastor of the local church, is interested in her plans. Read More

Happy Valentine’s Day to Me – Baggage Claim is Here!

My wonderful, supportive husband brought me TWO dozen roses today: one for Valentine’s Day and one to congratulate me on the release of Baggage Claim. Isn’t he amazing? I sure do love him. In addition to working hard so I can stay home and write, he’s been so patient as I worked on preparing Baggage Claim for publication! Baggage Claim It’s a little like having a baby, but instead of nine months, Baggage Claim took me nearly nine years to produce. I started it in 2009 for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), All of my sons had finally graduated from high school, and after all those years of homeschooling, I had some free time to do “me” things! Then I got a real job and didn’t have time for writing anymore. I looked at it every so often, made a few edits, changed a few plot points… and then put it away again. After a few years, I forced myself to finish it, and then I set it aside again. I started an outline for a sequel. (Oh – I  was also working on a few other books, all of which followed that pattern. I have a very short attention Read More

Valentine’s Day Snow Angels Giveaway!

February 14th is the Big Day! In honor of the long-awaited release of Baggage Claim, the first novel in my Great Lakes series, I’m giving away three paperback copies of the Snow Angels, the companion novella. The winners will be selected on Valentine’s Day, when Baggage Claim is released.   The Great Lakes Collection Baggage Claim is set shortly before Snow Angels and takes place in the suburbs of Chicago and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It’s a romantic suspense novel – suitable for Valentine’s Day! – but it’s funny, too, with the antics of the hero’s four young children. I think you’ll enjoy it. The next book, Real Religion, will return to Hope House and the Unity Plenkiss Community Center, which you may have visited in Snow Angels.  You will find familiar faces there, including Pete and Lisa. More suspense, more romance, more comedy… I’m still mulling over ideas for the last book in the series, tentatively titled Higher Ground. Tally, from Snow Angels, might be a good heroine for that book, or maybe someone new.  I also like romances with older people (not OLD – I mean people in their mid-30’s to late 40’s). And I would Read More

Snow Angels and Christmas Stalkings Christmas Stocking MASH-UP

Last month, I was blessed with a visit from one of my favorite people – Chautona Havig! We have been friends for a long time, and this year, we were part of the Christmas Lights team of authors. We had a terrific time together and came up with lots of good ideas for the future. One of the fun things we did was make a Christmas stocking to give away – a Snow Angels and Christmas Stalkings Mash-up stocking! Here’s the story from Chautona’s point of view. Opinions expressed may not reflect those of the management… It began innocently enough–just two friends shopping in Michael’s. We did the usual… you know, finding cool things, spending WAY too much money, laughing! Talking! But… but then this happened: And today’s the day! Yep! It’s time! After terrorizing Michael’s with our incessant videos, we bought the stocking and filled that sucker! I’m a sucker for stockings, so that really does fit. Just sayin’. What’s in this knitted sock of surprises? Well, if I tell you, it won’t be a surprise! Oh, all right. Here goes! First a couple of pictures…. A bag of “Life Is Too Short for Bad Coffee” brand coffee! Beeswax Read More

Christmas Lights Giveaway ~ Enter to Win this Gorgeous Nativity Scene

I am happy to announce the release of my first published book, Snow Angels, as part of the novella collection, Christmas Lights. It’s exciting for any debut author, but I’ve been especially blessed in the process. Not only did I get to partner with fellow ACFW authors Vikki Kestell, Chautona Havig and April Hayman, but I had a great team of ladies who helped me with pre-reading, proofreading and promoting the book.  Not many authors have that kind of encouragement with their first book. I’m grateful. In celebration of the book launch, we are having a special giveaway.  This beautiful 3-piece nativity display is handcrafted in Ukraine and will be shipped to the winner directly from the artist.  Each of the pieces is 8″ tall, 20″ long and 5.5″ deep. Use battery-operated votive candles or a string of lights to create a scene of shadows and silhouettes. You can display the pieces separately or use them together on a mantel or on top of a piano or bookcase. It’s absolutely lovely. In addition to this, we are giving away two $5 Amazon gift cards, just in time for Christmas shopping! CLICK HERE to enter the giveaway, and check out the Read More