Sweet memory #10 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here's memory #10, from Chapter 41 (remember, I haven't revised and cut yet!)

Robert paused, then cupped her hand in both of his and raised it to press a kiss into her palm.

“I have never felt so still as I have these three days, sitting here with you. I understand now what I never comprehended on the manor, how my father bore the discontent I felt simmering in him when I was a boy. Being with her—my mother—quieted his soul. I shall ever be grateful to you, Mae, that for these too-brief days, you have quieted mine. And I shall love you always.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed Rob’s memories! Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to return to my work on the story. Watch for some new Summary Sunday sentences on Sunday!

Sweet memory #9 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here's memory #9. Okay, so this isn’t a very charitable memory for the Christmas season, but Rob really, really enjoyed hitting Kit in this scene. To him, it was a very “sweet memory.” :-) From Chapter 38. (Don’t freak out at the chapter numbers. I’m going to do some cutting in revisions. Really!)

Robert heard the scream of swords scraping free of their scabbards, but all he saw was Kit’s face blurring in a red haze. Robert sprang from a coil he had not realized he had drawn his body into. His fist smashed into Kit’s mouth, then lest Kit’s shuffling feet recover his balance, Robert shoved his shoulder into Kit’s chest to topple him clean over. Robert followed him down to the floor, vaulting both their bodies into a roll. Strode’s guards would not dare strike so long as he kept close enough to Kit to risk their swords hitting the wrong man.

Robert got off another few satisfying punches before the threat from the guards forced him to allow Kit to pivot Robert onto his back.

Sweet memory #8 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here's memory #8. It's another one with Gunthar, because (1) many of Robert’s happy memories with Marguerite are in Marguerite’s POV, (2) good novels are full of conflict and tension, so it’s easier to come up with conflict scenes than it is with “happy” scenes (until we get to “The End”, of course!), and (3) this is a romantic historical, not a romance, which means these scenes with Gunthar are as integral to the plot as the ones between Rob and Marguerite. This is a snippet from a scene where the relationship between Rob and Gunthar has become more comfortable and bantering. From Chapter 30:

“I was not going to snap at you,” Gunthar murmured. “My ears are still ringing too loudly with John’s oaths to leave me with the enthusiasm to summon one myself.”

“I did not think it, sir,” Robert said, resuming his seat on the other side of the desk. “You have not snapped for a fortnight.” Until yesterday.

“And you have exercised an unnatural restraint by not retorting the way you used to.” Until yesterday, lay the unspoken echo between them. “Aye, I say unnatural. If you were not born with a hot rejoinder on your tongue, then I have lost my last wit to judge a man.”

Robert laughed. “My father had a hot temper, though he never turned it on his family. My mother always said I was too much like him.”

“We all of us are, alas. Too much like our parents until someone comes along to steady us a bit. I hope your lass will do that for you, as mine did for me.”

Robert picked up the pen again and resumed his transcription. ’Twas not the first time Gunthar had tried to lure him into talking of Marguerite. As always, Robert dodged. “Tell me the rest, sir. I can finish this while I listen.”

Sweet memory #7 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here is memory #7. This memory isn’t “sweet” to Rob as much as it’s important. What happened between him and Gunthar at this moment changed his life as much as the day he met Marguerite. From Chapter 22:

Robert felt himself unnerved by Gunthar’s touch. He gripped Robert, not shrinkingly, as a noble repelled by a churl, but hard and bracing, the way William might have sought to fortify Robert, or Robert, William. The world had indeed turned upside-down.

Robert stared into Gunthar’s eyes, searching for deceit, but saw only a quiet, almost urgent plea. The barrier between blurred further. He asked one last question, simple and direct. “How?”

Gunthar’s strong mouth tightened, then went slightly awry. “I do not know. But whatever course I decide upon, it will take time. You must give me that time.”

No prevarication, no smooth guarantees. It was that—an honest answer that promised nothing while promising everything—that urged Robert across the gulf of doubt and won the slow nod of his head.

“Your word, then, that you will stay with my guards?” Gunthar said. “Give me that, and I will see to it that you are not bound.”

And that—an exchange of faith for faith—pushed Robert the rest of the way into a wild gamble on Gunthar’s integrity. He spread his hands, knowing he might be walking off a precipice he could never return from, but he heard himself consent anyway. “Very well, my lord. You have my word.”

Sweet memory #6 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here's memory #6. This is how Rob celebrated Christmas in 1213. (And we can all be grateful this Christmas that we aren’t medieval serfs!) From Chapter 9:

 

Robert had spent yesterday’s holy morn attending mass with the other villagers, then stole off to the glade where he had hoped, though not truly expected, that he might find Marguerite. He had known it unlikely that she would be allowed to slip away unnoticed on Christmas Day, and had indeed found the glade empty. To prevent another interrogation from William, whose suspicions had steadily grown as Robert’s absences each day had lengthened, Robert snared a hare and brought it back to the cottage. William had been too grateful for the bracing nourishment it had offered for Lucy’s cold to remind his friend of the dangers of poaching. After they had roasted the hare and dined, Robert built up the fire with some wood he had stolen from the forest along with the hare. That had stretched the limits of William’s tolerance. Though Robert understood William’s fear, it made him impatient all the same. Why waste a woodpenny, he said to William’s chiding, when God could not possibly want some men to freeze only because other men laid greedy claim to what Nature surely intended a benefit to all? Lucy’s alarmed face at their quarrel had finally quieted both their tongues, as it always did. Robert had shifted the conversation to divert her with reminiscences of past Christmases shared with her husband on Beck Manor.

Sweet memory #5 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here is memory #5 from Chapter 17:

That had been the darkest day of Robert’s life after his father’s death, and in some ways it had been worse, for he could not have saved his father, but if he had been more careful, more cautious—if he had thought before he acted—he might have saved Lottie.

Marguerite stood and slid her arms around his neck. “Never again,” she said fiercely.

He held her tight against him and buried his face in her sweet-smelling hair. He had felt a promise of healing once in her kiss. Now her comfort swept all around him. If the guilt and anger did not fully fade, the emotions ebbed back into that bearable corner where he had learned to tamp them down and live his life with energy and optimism, though too often impulsiveness still tripped him into trouble.

Sweet memory #4 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here is sweet memory #4 from Chapter 9 (What can I say? Rob likes reliving all their kissing scenes.)

 

“I think you,” Robert said gruffly, “the most delightful, adorable woman I have ever known. If I was so clumsy that you could not feel my love in those kisses, then I am as contemptible a scoundrel as the Earl of Strode.”

 

That brought Marguerite’s gaze back to his with a glow of hope that was almost painful. Her hands drifted tentatively from her lips. He was grateful for a gusting winter breeze that blew against his cheeks and cooled just a little the blood that still scalded in his veins.

She searched his face. “Do you?” she asked, in softly trembling tones. “Love me?”

He did not think he had assumed his impassive mask, but perhaps the habit had become so second nature that he no longer noticed when he donned it. “You spoke the words first,” he reminded her. “Or did I misunderstand—?”

“No. Oh, no!” She scrambled to her feet.

Another flurry of air glided over him just in time to tamp his blood down another notch before she rushed back into his arms. He pressed her head gently against his shoulder to keep at bay a little longer the temptation to kiss her again.

“You were not clumsy at all.” She sounded suddenly anxious, as though she had left the question hanging unsatisfactorily between them. “I wanted to believe I felt love in your kiss. Could you feel my love in mine?”

“Aye.” And your trust.

Sweet memory #3 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here is memory #3 from Chapter 4. This one is from his childhood and is very sweet to him. If you've read An Epiphany Gift for Robin, you'll be familiar with this lute. :-)

“May I see it?” Marguerite asked.

He removed the lute from its case, and set it in her lap.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “The design of the rose is lovely”

Robert felt a surge of pride at her pleasure in the intricate grillwork over the sound hole. “My father carved it,” he said. “He fashioned the entire instrument for my mother and gave it to her on Epiphany when I was seven years old. I helped him gather the wood late at night while old Lord Simon slept. A minstrel who was passing through the village told us which wood was best: ash for the soundboard, boxwood for the neck, strips of maple for the ribs on the back.”

She had pushed off her hood as he spoke and listened with her gaze flitting alternately between the instrument and his face, but she tilted the lute now to examine its deep, rounded body. He admired the graceful turn of her cheek, the whimsical freckles dusted across her small nose as he continued.

“The minstrel showed my father the thickness to cut the wood and showed him how to bend the ribs to form the belly so that the sound would be the sweetest. Father let me slide the pegs in their places after he had carved their notches before he attached the strings. In truth, my contributions were small, but at the time, I felt for all the world as though I had labored over the gift quite as much as he.”

Sweet memory #2 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. I'm granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel while he waits for me to get back to his story.

Here is memory #2, from Chapter 3 (This is actually from Marguerite’s POV, but it was their first kiss, so you can bet Rob enjoyed it too. :-) )

Gone? Let him go now, when she had only just found him? Heaven could not be so cruel as to ask her to send him away so soon! If it took a kiss to bind him . . .

He must have taken her silence as assent, for he pulled her quickly and firmly against his chest. Marguerite had never been in a man’s arms before. Her heart raced so hard, a pleasurable little buzz of dizziness hummed through her mind and body. He did not look like a man who often hesitated to take what he wanted, and yet when he bent his head towards hers, he checked himself just short of her lips. It was that instant of uncertainty in him, briefer than a heartbeat, that nudged her leap of faith in his honor and lifted her willing mouth and drifted shut her eyes.

And then she felt his mouth on hers, gentle, warm, strong, yet somehow cautious, as if weighing something in her, as if waiting . . . for what? Outrage on her part? Resistance? Oh, heavens! If Marguerite had felt dizzy before, her senses now swam in earnest. She wound her arms around his neck and let her body melt against him and kissed him back as if all her future hung on this one moment.

Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop, sponsored by Bookhounds and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer! Here at JDP NEWS, I'm giving away a copy of my sweet medieval romance, Loyalty's Web (e-book), plus a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or for International entries, up to $10 purchase on Book Depository. Just enter via the Rafflecopter form below. The winner will be selected on January 1, 2014!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(If for any reason the Rafflecopter form doesn't appear, leave a comment with your email address for a free entry)


<!-- end LinkyTools script –>

Sweet memory #1 from The Lady and the Minstrel

My hero, Rob, is locked in the dungeon and I’m not going to have time to write him out before Christmas. (My Christmas, not his.) Still, it’s very cold and damp and depressing in there, so I’m granting him 10 sweet memories from earlier chapters of The Lady and the Minstrel. He and I will share one of them with you each day for the next ten days. 

Sweet memory #1, from Chapter 1

This one face had flitted through his memory again and again o’er the course of the last seven years.

 

No, not this face. The face of a ten-year-old girl who had been playing hide-and-seek with her grandfather in the woods on that day when he might have forfeited all for the sake of a book and a lute.

 

And yet, he thought as his lungs expanded to their normal capacity again, he could easily imagine that child growing up to look very like this graceful, diminutive daughter of a baron. In feature she strongly resembled her mother, with the wide eyes that sat beguilingly in her soft, flowerlike countenance, a small, tip-tilted nose lightly brushed with freckles, and lips that blushed a delicate shade of rose. Lovely, but not beautiful, and cast in a darker mode than her mother, her dusky hair billowing like a cloud from the confines of the fur-trimmed hood that had fallen against her shoulders. Yet her countenance held a sweetness that set her strikingly apart from the gilded haired, equally pretty Lady Valette.

Summary Sunday

I'm excited about how close I'm getting to "the end" of The Lady and at the Minstrel! Still, as I've told you before, I'm a slow writer, so it will likely take me into early next year. Plus I'll be taking a break over Christmas to entertain family, but I'm considering sharing some more extended excerpts with you during my break. Stay tuned to see what I come up with. :-) Until then, here are some new sentences from my progress this week on The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: “Even my Lady Helen cannot deny me your bridal night.” (The Earl of Strode to Marguerite)

 

Tuesday: If what Marguerite suspected proved true, she would be as merciless as Strode in her retribution.

 

Wednesday: “Nor is Robert your son,” Helen said with the spirit that had won Gunthar’s admiration, and then his heart eight-and-thirty years ago, “yet you cannot tell me you have not meddled in his life as though he were, or that you are planning to continue to do so, beginning with telling him who he can and cannot marry.”

 

Thursday: Gunthar slanted a stern study on his wife’s tresses, lest he find their pale gold spoiled with garish yellow streaks.

 

Friday: He towered over Marguerite, his broad-shouldered build less massive than Strode’s, but somehow more daunting, for where Strode intimidated with coldness and bullying force, Gunthar’s terrible gaze stripped away all her defenses and pierced her to the very heart.

Friday the 13th Book Sale!

It's Friday the 13th! Normally we think of Friday the 13th as unlucky—but today is your lucky day! It's a one day sale on over thirty books. Stock up for yourself, grab great deals on Christmas gifts, and find something for everyone!

Original photo by Abhi Sharma via Flickr/CC

Scroll through the titles below and click on the purchase links to pick up anything and everything that looks interesting—or give as Christmas gifts! There's something on this list for everyone to enjoy! *Be sure to check the price of the book before you download so you know you're getting the sale price.*

Categories included:
Clean romance (including romantic comedy & historical romance) (adult)
Clean romantic suspense & adventure romance (adult)
Paranormal romance and Fantasy (adult)
Young Adult
Middle Grade
Christmas

The Book Blogger's Cookbook (2011)
by Christy Dorrity

Promotion Price: 99¢  Click here to purchase!

Great books, bloggers, and recipes meet in this fresh and unique cookbook that helps you experience books, not just read them. Books were selected from the author’s book review blog and paired with delectable recipes like “Fairy Touched Calico Brownies” from the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, “7-Day Layer Dip” from Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, and “I Hate Chocolate Cake” from Amanda Hocking’s Switched. Whether you're a food lover, an avid reader or a book blogger, there’s something for you in The 2011 Book Blogger’s Cookbook.

Clean romance (including romantic comedy & historical romance)

Loyalty's Web
by Joyce DiPastena

Sale price for promotion: 99¢. Click here to purchase from Amazon and Smashwords!

Heléne de Laurant has not forgotten how the Earl of Gunthar destroyed her father’s castle during Henry II’s war with his sons. Apparently neither have her family and friends, for when someone tries to murder Gunthar, every sign points in their direction. Heléne realizes the only way to prove her loved ones’ innocence is by exposing the true assassin.

As Heléne and Gunthar spar over the identity of the traitor, fierce determination gives way to mutual attraction. Heléne must race against time, and dark secrets of the past, to unmask the would-be killer before the kingdom plunges back into war and takes the life of the man she has unexpectedly learned to love.

Spinster's Folly
by Marsha Ward

Sale price for promotion: $3.74 with coupon code VL64M at checkout. Click here to purchase!

Marie Owen longs for a loving husband, but marriage prospects on the Colorado frontier are limited. Her desperation at the prospect of remaining unmarried, fueled by her younger sister's taunting jibes about her becoming a spinster, drives Marie into the arms of a sweet-talking predator, landing her in unimaginable dangers. Winner of 2013 USA Best Books Award for Western Fiction

Working It Out
by Rachael Anderson

Regular price $3.99 Promotion Price: $1.99 Click here to purchase!

A chance encounter . . .
Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable--exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle--a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . .
Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along--assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.

Prank Wars

by Stephanie Fowers

Promotion Price: $2.99 Click here to purchase!

In this fun-filled novel, it’s girls vs. boys in a hilarious prank war that pits the college students against their nemeses. When some of the pranks start getting dangerous, can the two enemies join forces to capture the culprit?

Third Time's the Charm
by Heather B. Moore

Sale price for promotion: 99¢. Click here to purchase!

Liz Carlson will settle for a normal man. A normal man with a job, that is. Married twice, then divorced twice, Liz had her rose-colored glasses fall off and shatter on the ground a long time ago. Her main focus now is raising her six-year-old daughter and surviving long days at work on her feet as a hairdresser. When Sloane Branden answers her call for help, quite literally, Liz doesn’t even give him a second glance. She has sworn off dating for as many years as it takes, and it seems that Sloane has done the same after his own tumultuous marriage. But when Liz realizes that Sloane defies every stereotypical deadbeat she has dated, she might just find room in her heart and discover the third time’s the charm.

Clean romantic suspense & adventure romance

I, Spy (Spy Another Day #1)

by Jordan McCollum

Regular price: $3.99 Promotion Price: 99¢ Click here to purchase on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, or author's website

Canada is probably the last place you’d expect to find an American spy. But even idyllic Ottawa has its deadly secrets—and so does CIA operative Talia Reynolds. She can climb through ventilation shafts, blend in at the occasional diplomatic function, even scale buildings (small ones). But there’s one thing she can’t do: tell her aerospace engineer boyfriend Danny about her Top Secret occupation.

It worked for a year, keeping Danny in the dark, keeping him away from danger, keeping her secrets. And then Talia finally catches a hot case: Fyodor Timofeyev. Russian. Aerospace executive. Possible spy?

She can make this work, too—until Danny needs her at the same time her country does. And when Fyodor targets Danny? Suddenly her schedule isn’t the only thing suffering. Now to save her secrets and her country, Talia must sacrifice the man she loves.

Poison Me

by Cami Checketts

Promotion Price: 99 cents Click here to purchase!

Can they catch a killer that no one believes is real?

Jake Merrill was raised by his grandmother, Ruby, and her hilarious friends. After a suspicious death at the retirement home where Ruby lives, she enlists Jake and Chanel, the beautiful activities director, to help her find the killer.

Secrets Ruby has kept for decades threaten her family and the man she's always loved, but could never have. Chanel's unstable ex-boyfriend, a presumably dead relative, and vicious criminals add to the confusion. Time is running out as Jake, Chanel, and Ruby desperately search for clues to solve the murders and fight to save those they love.

"Poison Me made me laugh out loud and thoroughly enjoy myself. I wish I had a friend like Ruby! Snappy dialogue, romance, and a strong sense of family made this book well worth reading."  Rachel Ann Nunes, bestselling author of Line of Fire and Before I Say Goodbye

The Colony
by Cami Checketts

Sale price for promotion: 99¢. Click here to purchase!

To protect her sons from the mistakes of her past, Brinlee Trapper escapes to a secluded mountain home. But there are dangers lurking in the mountains she has never encountered. The little family is saved from injury by Jed, a mysterious hunter. Brinlee is drawn to him, but she worries about his involvement with a peaceful commune hidden deep in the mountains behind her property.

Lance, Brinlee’s attentive neighbor, has his own troubled history. Between his obvious attraction to Brinlee and his developing love for her children, Brinlee finds it more than difficult to guard her heart against this tender intrusion.

While Jed offers a life of excitement and freedom, Lance holds the key to the family Brinlee always wanted. When it comes time to choose, she learns that both men have secrets that could shatter her fledgling trust in men and the wrong decision could leave more than her heart exposed to danger.

"Cami Checketts is a genius! She writes about topics that aren't widely discussed, in and out of books, and she does such a brilliant job of crafting these things into wonderful stories that touch your heart and remain with you for days afterwards." Myra, Reviewer, Pieces of Whimsy

A Change of Plans (Safe Harbors #1)
by Donna K. Weaver

Sale price for promotion: $2.99. Click here to purchase from Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old Colorado high school teacher wants is to forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. What she plans is a vacation diversion; what fate provides is Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world and its temporary friendships, her emotions come alive.

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn came on the cruise to forget. But Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs off in a panic.

Things are bad enough when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise’s snorkeling excursions in American Samoa. However, paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped. Lyn’s fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

Also available as an audio book from Audible!

Paranormal romance & Fantasy (adult)

The Change (Unbounded #1)

by Teyla Branton

Promotion Price: 99¢ Click here to purchase at Amazon, iBookstore, and Barnes & Noble!  

No Second Chances. Death, Life, or Love—Unbounded Always Play for Keeps.

There are only two ways to kill Unbounded, and fire isn’t one of them—as law school dropout Erin Radkey learns the hard way. By fluke of a recessive gene, she has become Unbounded, a nearly immortal being with paranormal abilities.

Erin’s Change separates her from her loved ones and alters everything she believes to be true. A week earlier she was considering a marriage proposal; now she contemplates the best way to stay alive. Caught in a battle between two Unbounded groups, the Emporium and the Renegades, she is also hunted by a secret mortal society sworn to eradicate the Unbounded gene.

As Erin plunges into this dangerous new life, she must carve out her own place in the madness, protect her mortal family, and decide which group she should join. Her unique ability is vital to both groups in the race to secure an identification software that spells death for all Unbounded—or enslavement for the entire mortal world. Some will stop at nothing to use Erin as one more pawn in a battle that has spanned centuries. Erin’s undeniable attraction to Ritter Langton, whose family was massacred by opposing Unbounded two hundred and forty years ago, complicates her choices. There are no second chances. Death, life, or love—Unbounded always play for keeps.

Non-stop action, terrifying consequences, and powerful romance make The Change an exciting addition to the world of romantic urban fantasy.

Sevenfold

by Ilyan Kei Lavanway

Promotion Price: $2.99   Click here to purchase on Amazon and Smashwords! 

Young wife Gracie yearns for renewed innocence. Abiathar wants to secure it for her. Their trek has been anything but blissful. Stomach their journey, and let your faith be strengthened through their experience. Glimpse tribulations and miracles future pioneers may expect as you live vicariously through the life of this young family.

Out of the Picture and Into the Picture

by Victor G. La Van Way and Ilyan Kei Levanway

Promotion Price: 99¢  Click here to purchase on Amazon and Smashwords!

Out of the Picture and Into the Picture by Victor G. La Van Way and Ilyan Kei Lavanway is a fantasy adventure book containing two short stories about a pilot who is miraculously reunited with his father in a strange storm. Experience superimposed worlds and altered realities. Relive the thrill of flight as you follow this pilot's mysterious journey. Find a renewed hope and youthful determination.

Young Adult

The Big Debate (Literary Loom Book One)
by Carolyn Twede Frank

Promotion Price: 99¢  Click here to purchase!

A bizarre corpse . . .

A strange girl . . .

A creepy teacher . . .

A cool invention . . .

Combine these with an old school and a new student anxious to fit in, and the adventure begins.

Fifteen-year-old Josh’s big mouth gets him in trouble at first. But after walking in the shoes of great men of history in the Literary Loom, he uses that mouth to bring down the bad guy and ultimately solve the mystery behind the murder . . . and the mystery behind a strange girl.

The Dream Keeper (Dream Keeper Chronicles #1)
by Mikey Brooks

Regular $3.99 Sale for Promotion 99¢ Click here to purchase! or here for Nook or Kobo

Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.

When an evil shifter takes over the gateway to the realm of Dreams, it falls to 14-year-olds Parker and Kaelyn to stop him. Their only hope lies with Gladamyr, the Dream Keeper, but can they trust a Nightmare to save their world?

The Dreamstone (Dream Keeper Chronicles #2)
by Mikey Brooks

Sale price: 99¢ Click here to purchase from Amazon and Kobo!


When Parker’s mom is dreamnapped by the wicked Mab, it is up to him and Kaelyn to save her. However when they return to Dreams, they discover Mab isn’t their only problem. Gladamyr has lost his powers and the only way to get them back is to become what he fears the most—a nightmare.

Aura
by Rebecca Lynn Talley

Sale Price for Promotion: 99¢  Click here to purchase!

What if the greatest weapon in the age-old war between good and evil was inside of you?

Crystal Scott has always felt different but tried hard to blend in.  Now that she's scored the lead in the school play, has a boyfriend she adores, and a best friend she can't live without, she finally feels like she belongs.

A few days before prom, a mysterious young man appears and suddenly she has to figure out how to use the weapon of Light she has inside her or mankind is doomed.

Demons are determined to tip the war in their favor no matter what the cost and they're hot on Crystal's trail.  With danger around every corner, she doesn't know if she can save herself, never mind anyone else.  When things look darkest and there's nowhere to turn, Crystal must find the strength to use her newfound gifts against the tide of evil threatening all of them--or die trying.

With a Kiss (Twisted Tales, Book One)
by Stephanie Fowers

Promotion Price: FREE on Amazon Click here to purchase! or free on Smashwords!


Faerytales. They're real . . . they just haven't happened yet. Halley Starr finds out the truth when she loses her heart with a curse. Now she has to get it back from that dirty faery who stole it from her, but first, she must fight against the seven rules of the faery kingdom that mortals must never break. If Halley wants her heart back again, she can’t worry about the rules.

Confessions of a 16-Year-Old Virgin Lips (Episodes 1-3)
by Cindy M. Hogan

Regular price $3.99 Sale price: 99¢ Click here to purchase!

The first 3 Episodes of Confessions of a 16-Year-Old Virgin Lips in one book!
"First Kiss"
VL. Virgin Lips. You may not have heard of it, but where I live, it's a thing with a card, even if it is a figurative card. I was Brooklyn Hamlin, certified virgin lips, and I planned on clinging to that figurative card with all I had--while dating as many of the hottest guys at school as I could.

Maybe that's a bit strange. I mean, what teenage girl isn't interested in kissing? Locking lips definitely interested me, but the drama that came with it didn't. No kissing, no drama. Simple.

But on my sixteenth birthday, on my first real date even, the drama found me. His name was Luke Graham--cute, funny, and bad news for the whole female race.

"Stolen Kiss"
With my VL card gone, my flickering light of hope lay with Ryker, someone else who'd caught my eye. Only he could erase the memory of Luke, the boy who lip-raped me. Unfortunately, Luke was determined to keep me, or at the very least, ruin me.

"Rebound Kiss"
Brooklyn has become a social outcast at school thanks to Luke, who spent his entire weekend playing the victim and spreading rumors. And there’s nothing worse than Luke’s brand of justice. With no other way to escape her torn up, lonely life, she accepts an invitation to her cousin’s birthday party. Attending a party thrown by someone she doesn’t get along with is better than sitting home alone. The highlight of the party is meeting Riley, a boy who’s sweeter than the plate of sugar cookies he arrives with. After everything Brooklyn has been through, it seems that karma is finally on her side, but she soon learns that nothing is ever simple in the dating world.

Gravediggers
by Cindy M. Hogan

Regular price $3.99 Sale price for promotion: $1.99 Click here to purchase!

Seventeen-year-old Billy thinks his father’s murder will never be solved—until he stumbles across an old ammo box while digging a grave in his small-town Tennessee cemetery.

What he finds leads him to question everything he knows, and his search for answers will uncover more than he bargained for: lies, secrets, and conspiracies—and behind them all, a dangerous truth.

Aos Si
by Rebecca Lyn Shelley

Sale price for promotion: 99¢ Click here to purchase from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the iTunes/Apple!

Legends say the magical Aos Si, the Fair Folk of Irish and Scottish folklore that once plagued humanity, have retreated Under the Hill, never to be seen again. The legends are wrong. Aos Si are still abroad in the world, powerful, dangerous, and living among us.

When Carla's mother drags her from their home in Denver to the-middle-of-nowhere Colorado, a mysterious neighbor embroils her in a battle between warring Aos Si factions. Then she meets Shade, a slave of a cruel and power-hungry Aos Si. Her attraction to Shade is as deep as the magical powers that surround him, but her attempt to free him from his evil master sinks them both deeper into the war, endangering her life and those of the people she cares about most.

You're Strong Enough
by Kassi Pontious

Price for promotion: FREE Click here to purchase!

You’re Strong Enough takes young adult readers on a quest to discover who they are, why they are here, where they came from, and what their ultimate goal is. Christian writer, Kassi Pontious, shares personal experiences aimed at teaching young people that each of us is strong enough for our own trials and challenges. In You’re Strong Enough, you will discover who your real enemy is and how to defeat this dragon. As you participate in individual quests at the end of each chapter, you will learn how to cut the strings of dysfunction that may be trying to control your life. Ultimately, you will discover where your true strength lies and how to conquer the obstacles in life’s path. You’re Strong Enough is a book about hope and empowerment. It brings truths to light that will empower your soul and inspire you, and those around you.

The Princess Sisters (Princess Sisters #1)
by Stacy Lynn Carroll

Promotional Price 99¢. Click here to purchase!

The only thing she stands to lose are her shoes.
Cinderella is an ordinary teenage girl, with an extraordinary name. But because of that name, she and her cousins, Belle, Aurora, Ariel, and Snow White suffer years of torment from their peers. Then as the girls enter high school and the enticing world of dating, a life-altering decision must be made. Is it finally time to stop fighting, and surrender to the fairy tale clichés that have been holding them back? By embracing their names, the girls discover an inner-strength they never knew existed. And by putting everything they have on the line, maybe, just maybe they will discover there really is such a thing as 'happily ever after'.

Frogs & Toads (Princess Sisters #2)
by Stacy Lynn Carroll

Promotional price 99¢. Click here to purchase!

One kiss can change the future, for better or for worse.
Belle and her cousins have conquered their fears. Now as they navigate their way through the dating world, they start to see a "happily ever after" on the horizon. But when an unexpected school assignment forces them to examine their past, the Princess sisters realize they have a lot of questions about the fathers they've never met. Secrets are revealed, long lost family members are discovered, and now the girls must decide who belongs in their future and who should be kept in the past.

Middle Grade

Heroes of the Highest Order Book Bundle 1-3
by R. K. Hinrichsen

Regular price $9.99 Promotional price: $5.99 Three books in one! Click here to purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

THE DARK ENEMY NEVER RESTS. BUT NEITHER DO THE HEROES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!

Book 1 (The Hidden Kingdom): A magical playground whisks Dan and Page into the Hidden Kingdom, a skinny giant quickly registers them for hero training camp. There, they learn they must gain skills and earn powerful treasures by travelling back in time and walking in the footsteps of a real pioneer hero.

Book 2 (The Prisoner of the Shadows): Dan and Page search the catacombs in Italy, race through the streets of India, and follow in the footsteps of Mother Teresa in order to rescue their grandfather from the Prison of the Shadows. A bonus: Dan finds out he's even more powerful than he thought!

Book 3 (The Mouth of the Dragon): Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a real-life hero, helps Dan and Page rescue two children from the Nazis in World War II Poland.

All I Got For Christmas
by Rebecca Shelley

Sale price for promotion: 99¢ Click here to purchase from Barnes & Noble and Amazon!

Oh No! Principal Green says Santa can't come to the school Christmas party.

Monkey needs a plan to get Santa to come. Too bad Monkey's ideas get him on Santa's Naughty List. It looks like all he'll get for Christmas is a bucket of coal.

But when a blizzard knocks out the power lines and buries the roads, it's up to Monkey and the Smartboys to save Christmas for everyone.

Christmas!

A Greater Love 
by Rachel Ann Nunes

Regular price $5.99. Price for promotion: FREE Click here to purchase!

A Special Kind of Christmas Story
Miguel Silva is a street orphan who will do anything to avoid the wrath of his alcoholic aunt and to keep his little sister, Sara, happy. He and Sara roam the streets of Portugal, begging and stealing to feed and clothe themselves. A sudden twist of fate throws them into an even colder world, where their only chance for survival is a couple who is childless by choice—Daniel and Cristina Andrade.

Daniel Andrade has put his bitter past behind him and found a new life with Cristina. But the past returns in force when Miguel steals his wallet on the ferry, throwing into motion a series of unstoppable events. Daniel doesn’t want to face the secrets of the past or open his heart to anyone—yet that is exactly what he must do or face losing everything he loves.

Cristina Andrade also has secrets. Now she must choose between her husband and the deep longing in her heart. Or is there a compromise? Only Miguel can help them find the way—and time for Miguel is running out. Can the Savior’s love heal them all before it’s too late?

Dreaming of You my Christian romantic comedy / Christmas story.
by Marie Higgins

Regular price $2.99. Sale price for promotion 99¢. Click here to purchase!

Katelyn Palmer never believed any harm could come from using her college crush as the hero in her first romance novel—the novel that jumpstarted her writing career. However, when Shane Hunter storms into town, demanding to meet the writer who used his identity, Katelyn is confronted with more than her long, silent emotions. If Shane takes her to court for invasion of privacy, her career would be over.

Shane doesn’t know how to act when his ex sister-in-law accuses him of having an affair while he was married—and then shows him the romance book as proof. Now he wants to know who this author really is and why she used his name and most of the events in his life for her story. Desperate to know the truth Shane befriends Katelyn but he does not expect to be attracted to her, even more unexpected is the joy he finds watching his twins fall in love with the woman who is stealing his heart, too...

All I Want (Christmas Anthology)

by Rachael Anderson, Jolene Perry, and Kaylee Baldwin

Regular Price $3.99 Promotion Price: $1.99 Click here to purchase from Amazon or here for Barnes and Noble!

Pretty Near Perfect by Jolene Perry
The last thing Norah needs is to be attracted to anyone – especially in her deceased fiancé's parents' home. Collin’s starting a new career, and has no business getting involved – especially while staying with his roommate’s family, who very kindly offered to take him in for the holidays. Unfortunately, you just don’t always pick the most convenient time and place to fall for someone.

Six Days of Christmas by Kaylee Baldwin
When Natalie goes home with her best friend for Christmas, she expects plenty of quiet time to work on a winning ad so she can turn her dream internship into her dream job. Instead, she gets time-consuming Christmas festivities, a house full of children, and Jimmy, her best friend’s brother - someone who makes her question everything she’s always thought she wanted.

Twist of Fate by Rachael Anderson
When a postcard meant for Kenzie winds up in Ty's mailbox, Ty's faced with a decision. Should he tell her that her fiancé is breaking up with her and let it ruin her favorite holiday, or should he do what he’s wanted to do since he met her - make a move and hope that he can win her over before she discovers there won’t be a wedding after all?

Enjoy!