Magnificent Mind: Uncover Your Psychological Well Being So You Can Live in Heaven While on Earth by Jan Christenson

 Please welcome Jan Christenson author of Magnificent Mind: Uncover Your Psychological Well Being So You Can Live in Heaven While

Jan Christenson will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Magnificent Mind: Uncover Your Psychological Well Being So You Can Live in Heaven While on Earth

by Jan Christenson

 

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GENRE: Self-help

 

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BLURB:

 

This book will help you understand your thinking. You are never broken inside; you just need to take yourself, your thinking, and your life less seriously. There is a divine wisdom always present and waiting for you to listen to it. There is no one — and I mean no one — wiser than you and me. We all have available to us this wisdom that is ready and willing to help you to be safe, to be happy, and to live a most fulfilling life. There is really nothing for you to do except read and watch for a lovely feeling to develop inside of you. This feeling is with you from birth; it is your ever-present inner energy of psychological well-being. Most of us cannot experience this inner spark of well-being because we have learned to think of ourselves as inadequate. The words in this book are meant to take you back to the gentle feeling of peaceful contentment and love for self and others. Relax, and see if you can find your way back to yourself, your inner home inside of you. You need not look anywhere other than inside yourself to find all that you truly want and need. It doesn’t matter what your life looks like now; you are capable of turning it around into a heavenly life while here on this Earth.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

This inner feeling is a gentle feeling, sort of like butterflies in your stomach. You just feel connected, a real sense of belonging, a feeling of being a part of all that is in you and fully connected to all that is around you. Learning and feeling this has left me with a clear sense of how very much I am just fine. I know that the thoughts and decisions in my life have led me here to this present moment, and it is perfect. I belong right here, right now. This can become your truth too.

 

This is your place and your time to learn a new way of not just existing but truly experiencing your life as a blessing to be enjoyed and cherished by you. There is a perfectly healthy psychological state inside of you just waiting to be discovered. Don’t wait another moment: dive in and discover your existence as the divine gift it is meant to be. Let the waves of change wash over you and become all that you were meant to be. You will learn your path to a life that can feel like heaven on Earth.

 

Some people can live in the most lavish conditions and they are utterly miserable, and others can live with pretty much nothing and they are as happy as they can possibly be. What is it that allows some people to be so happy, no matter their circumstances?

 

I think it is safe to say that money and possessions are not the difference-maker in happiness. Some people can have a background of little to no problems or suffering and they are hateful and spiteful, while others may have had the most horrendous of things happen to and around them and they remain compassionate and loving. So what creates such a wide range of individual differences in people’s worlds?

 

Since we can only ever experience the world from our own perspective, we create our own reality one thought at a time. We, as humans, all work the same, and how we think is the same process for all of us. It is just that what we think and what we do with that thinking differs from one person to another, and so we create these different realities that become our lives.

 

I spent a lot of time in my life trying to become mentally healthier by reading self-development books. I went to university, achieved a B.A. in psychology, and I sought help in therapy. I tried talking, I tried behaviour modification, I tried meditating, I tried medication, I tried counselling, I tried yoga, I tried reflexology. If you can name it, I have probably tried it. Some of these techniques and treatments helped, but needing fixing remained the focus. Then I came across the three principles of mind, consciousness, and thought, and my life changed for the better almost immediately. With this understanding, the realization set in that no one is broken, no one needs to be fixed, and there really is very little to do to be healthy psychologically.

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I live in Canada. This is where my husband Rae and I have raised our two daughters; they are our absolute pride and joy in life. Along with a career in nursing, I received my B.A. in psychology at the University of Manitoba. I have also undertaken the study of developing an understanding of the three principles of mind, consciousness, and thought. This understanding has enhanced my life immeasurably. Following a workplace head injury and depression, I went through a long climb back to health. I learned of an ever-present, inner psychological health that I have always had and just needed to understand once again. The result of this knowledge has led me to a life of peace, contentment, and love. I hope this book will lead you to a similar place.

 

 

CONNECT WITH JAN CHRISTENSON

 

WEBSITE: https://janchristensonauthor.com/ 

 

 

PURCHASE LINKS for MAGNIFICENT MIND     

 

AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/022882205X 

 

AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/022882205X 

 

BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/books/magnificent-mind-uncover-your-psychological-well-being-so-you-can-live-in-heaven-while-on-earth-9780228822066/9780228822059

 

INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/magnificent-mind-uncover-your-psychological/9780228822073-item.html

 

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/magnificent-mind-jan-christenson/1137311890 

 

BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/Magnificent-Mind-Jan-Christenson/9780228822059

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

Jan Christenson will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3867

#CheckInAndShareDay

    

It's Check In Day.

Let's Make Fireworks

Time to pay the piper! How did you do? How much did you write? Did words explode on your WIP?

This is the Rogue's Angels weekly check-in. Every Thursday we encourage the Angels and visitors to let us know how their writing is going.

How well are you doing?

Had problems this week? That's ok. Just sit down this coming week and write. Whatever you do, don't let difficulties from the week before get in your way this week.

Every word is one word closer to the finished product.

All I Want Is Link is available. Rough Draft of Only Caro's Baby the next book is finished. This is part of the Bad Boys series. Thinking of plot lines for this book. Next book is the second in a new series. Naughty. Devlin's Angels is with my editor. Looking forward to the publication.

Seventeen Butterflies by Anna Katmore

 Please welcome Anna Katmore author of Seventeen Butterflies

Anna Katmore will be awarding her entire GROVER BEACH PLAYERS series as ebooks, or alternatively any of her own novels in ebook format the winner likes, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Seventeen Butterflies

by Anna Katmore 

 

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GENRE: Contemporary YA Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

The embarrassment of being the only “un-kissed” girl in senior high is something Sandy Cardington refuses to accept. The first kiss project is her foolproof plan to finally get rid of the status at her birthday party while her parents are out of town.

 

With several kissable boys on her guest list, this should be a walk in the park. But she didn’t reckon on her older brother returning from college days before her 17th birthday, putting a spoke in her plans. To make matters even more complicated, he has a friend in tow, and the cute hockey player stirs unexpected butterflies in her stomach every time their paths cross.

 

While Sandy moves heaven and earth to make her party and project come true, she doesn't know that Thane Griffyn is making his own plans to teach her the real meaning of a first kiss.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

“You know what?” I follow him around the kitchen island with my breakfast and take a seat beside him. “Since you’re going to live here for the next few days, I guess it’s okay that you feel at home. So when you’re hungry, just come down and grab whatever you want.”

 

His black eyebrows knit in my direction. “Without asking?”

 

I bite the corner of one toast. “Mm-hmm.”

 

“Really? You mean everything?”

 

“Yes, I mean everything,” I assure him, laughing now while I chew. “Except my Oreos. If you want to live, don’t touch them.” This is a warning he should take very seriously. I’m addicted to the cookies.

 

As his gaze drops to my body and rises within a millisecond, I roll my eyes because I realize I ran right into that one. To his credit, he holds back his gamy smirk ninety percent. “Got it. Can eat everything. No Oreos.” Leaving his mug on the counter, he slides from the stool and gets the sugar bowl from where I pointed him. After he comes back, standing beside me now instead of taking a seat again, and adds a careful spoonful of sugar to his brew, he reaches over and snags the untouched second slice of toast from my plate.

 

My eyes widen in sharp protest. “Hey!”

 

“What? You said everything.” With a shower of mischief in his star-blue eyes, he arches his brows once as he takes a bite from the toast. Then he leans in really close, keeping our gazes locked with his intense stare, and adds in a drawl that makes shivers zoom down my body, “Be thankful that I didn’t eat the Milky Way.”

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I’ve been a storyteller all my life, building bridges into different worlds. Already in kindergarten, I’ve seen the most fantastical things and wanted to share them with everyone. My teacher called me a liar back then. Today, I call it the first real flash of my spiritual gift and the cornerstone of my writing career.

 

When I got older, I’ve had many visions of a perfect career, while writing has always been more of a hobby and kind of a therapy for me when the longing for more magic in this world once again caught up with me in a crushing way. When my first book was finished, I couldn’t even imagine sharing one of my stories with others, ever. In fact, I only got used to the idea while I wrote my second book and learned in a very miraculous way where the many stories in this world really come from.

 

It’s funny how, at that point, everyone told me I can’t possibly make a living with writing. They even warned me not to quit my job. But after my debut novella PLAY WITH ME came out and sales skyrocketed within the first week, I knew I could do anything I wanted if only I never stopped dreaming.

 

That’s also part of what I teach my students in writing and spiritual workshops today. Always dream big! If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.

 

Some personal stuff:

 

“I’m writing stories because I can’t breathe without.”

 

Disney is my attitude to life, and if I could I’d save the world from itself. My Patronus is a wolf, my wand the broken twig of an apple tree, 13 ¾ inches with a unicorn hair core. I can’t deny that on some days, I prefer my book characters over real people, but there’s not a single day going by where I wouldn’t try to find magic in reality. And when I’m alone, I love to listen to the many stories of the wind in a mystic mid-summer night.

 

So you see, I’m lucky enough to live in an enchanting world of my own. It’s peaceful there and full of magical things, fairies and wonders. You’re welcome to follow me there – if you’re ready to open up your mind and leave everything you learned about reality behind. But beware, if you dare to step through this door, you may never want to leave again…

 

Website:

www.annakatmore.com

 

Facebook:

German: www.facebook.com/annakatmore

English (brand new) www.facebook.com/annakatmorebooks

 

Buy link for Amazon and Kindle Unlimited:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BD3XDZQ

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

Anna Katmore will be awarding her entire GROVER BEACH PLAYERS series as ebooks, or alternatively any of her own novels in ebook format the winner likes, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3871

Frostborn by Michael Haddad

 Please welcome Michael Haddad author of Firstborn

Michael Haddad will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Frostborn

by Michael Haddad

 

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GENRE:   YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Fantasy / General

 

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INTERVIEW:

1. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

For this novel, I started with a character concept and then attempted to build a world that included this character. I had initially created that character for roleplaying purposes, but I saw so much potential in his story that I began to develop it until the idea came to transform this into a book. Once I had it in my head that this would become a book, countless ideas had surfaced and I weaved them together to form the world of Frostborn. 

2. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

I’m very new to this whole author thing, but I do have experience writing stories. However, it was definitely a learning process and it took years to find my style. I have made a lot of awful short stories in the past, though it was all to help build up my skill to the point where I could pump out a full novel. Any time school required me to hand-in something that was creative, I turned to writing automatically. No other art formed interested me. All I wanted was to write. So I may not have had years of expertise and education on the subject matter, but I have a fiery passion to keep progressing and that’s what drives me forward. 

3. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

Writing and publishing is not all fun and games, nor is it as profitable as one may think. I write because I love seeing others enjoy what I create. I write because it’s an outlet for my emotions and a place to escape to. And yet, authors struggle a lot to maintain their motivation. There are times where authors feel like this whole journey is a waste, and there are moments where authors are nothing but ecstatic about their publications. It’s hard to push through all the negativities, and this is especially true with self-publishing authors. At times, we can feel all alone. To all the readers out there, if you enjoy a book, show it. Support it. Review it. Share it. Because, at the end of the day, you readers can be the catalyst to keep us writing. 

4. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

A trilogy! The Frostborn will hopefully become a series and I’m nothing but excited to keep it going. 

5. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

I would probably love to be Katerina. She’s a force to be reckoned with and, although not quite pampered, she grew up comfortably in a palace while being taught by a renowned lord. She’s also drop-dead gorgeous and witty to boot!

6. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

My parents. I was nervous about taking that first step and risking so much. I didn’t want to waste so much time and effort on a project that would never take off. Both my parents eased my hesitations and supported my ability to follow through with publishing. They told me that I’m too young to worry about feeling regret over this. They said, if it fails, so what? My life won’t be over. I’ll still be in school. I’ll still have a job. But if it succeeds, then I have a future ahead of me. They assured me that there was no good reason to hold back. 

7. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

Best advice: Write what you want to read, because you’re going to have to read it a thousand times before being able to publish. 

Worst advice: You don’t need to pay, just do it yourself. 

For context, I’m not capable of doing it all myself. It would take years to learn all those skills. I’m not an editor. I’m not a graphic designer. I’m not a marketing agent. Sometimes you need to let the professionals handle it. 

8. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I create a rough outline and then start writing. I prefer to have at least my characters and my world set up before I get going. Once that’s completed, I feel like I can work freely. 

9. How do you maintain your creativity?

Reading, watching movies, and playing video games. Fantasy is packed with creativity and original content so I need places of inspiration. I pull a lot of ideas from other projects and I modify them to fit my themes and my story. Some ideas end up accidently being too similar to pre-established characters. For example, I didn’t even think of the similarities between Elsa and Elias until someone brought it up in a beta-read. I just really liked the name Elias and ice powers …who doesn’t love that? 

10. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?

Over the course of my blog tour, the answer to this question keeps changing! Khai is definitely a front-runner and contender. He does what he needs to get by and, although not morally in the right place, I feel some sort of respect when it comes to his grind. His witty personality and lack of shame for anything he does is rather comforting to read. We rarely see Khai regret his choices and that’s because he knows what it takes to make it in a world ruled by usurious leaders. 

BLURB:

 

The Frostborn—the one destined to end the war, the one blessed by the magic of Aether—was supposedly nothing more than a hopeless fairytale, a myth lost to time. But as the centuries-long war between the kingdoms of Eljud and Surtrol forces Elias Jökull to evacuate his village, a run-in with the fearsome Gjallarhorn army awakens within him a dormant power long since forgotten by the people—a power signaling the existence of the Frostborn.

With such critical news, hope of victory against Surtrol becomes contagious, yet Elias's former life of slavery leaves him apprehensive about lending a hand to his own flawed kingdom. Even still, knowing the world will soon be in search of him, the newfound Frostborn must choose his allegiances quickly. And after encountering a ranked Surt captain, he does just that.

But while acting as a double agent, feeding intel to Eljud's southern enemy and working both sides of the same border, his conflicted self struggles to anchor his loyalty to a single kingdom as buried secrets begin to unearth.

The incessant clash between the north and south is soon coming to an end and Elias will have to find a side to stand on. The hard question is: which side? Everyone wants the Frostborn for themselves, but for how long can Elias let the world string him along?

 

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EXCERPT:

 

She holds the child close to her chest, cradling the head with a mother’s delicate touch. The other infant is nestled in a crib only a few feet away. Winds rattle the glass panes of the cracked window and some of the winter air seeps through. The rough and tattered curtains dance with it—the only movement in the room besides the woman’s near-chattering teeth. She does her best to keep the children warm, but for some reason they sleep soundlessly, soothed by the whistling of the wind. 

 

The woman brushes a gaunt, wrinkled finger along the pudgy cheeks of the bundle in her arms. The shackles on her wrist jangle, anchored down by a bolt at the centre of the room. The tight, unrefined metal leaves behind blisters, but to her it is worth it. The young child’s skin is stone cold to her touch, but soft and full of colour. He breathes evenly and she can feel his pulse just fine when she moves her finger to the child’s neck. He feels dead, yet is as alive as anyone. 

 

“Freezing cold. Ah, but look at these pudgy cheeks. You remind me of those statues in the hall,” she whispers, pinching his face until it is ruddy. “I’d be scared if you weren’t so adorable.” 

 

The woman lifts her head as the sound of rushed steps echoes in the hall outside the door. She hears the jiggle of keys and a mechanical click releasing the lock. The knob turns and the door swings open...

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Hardworking university student and recent John Abbott College graduate, Michael Haddad doubles as a fiction author of the fantastic who throws himself into his own writing—who can't stop imagining new worlds, new ideas, new characters. His passion for roleplaying games has earned him his fair share of teasing, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't open his imagination. When not at his computer, typing away, Michael is often with his friends and family, losing terribly at tennis, hunkering down for movie marathons, and trying to get a good night's sleep. As someone born and raised in Montreal, he is no stranger to having ice rinks for streets and snow up to the knee—but that's nothing a warm cup of coffee can't beat.

 

CONNECT WITH MICHAEL HADDAD

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Michael-Haddad-Author-106283484884430 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mhaddad_author/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21313196.Michael_Haddad

 

PURCHASE LINKS                

 

AMAZON.CA

https://amazon.ca/dp/0228849640

         

AMAZON.COM

https://amazon.com/dp/0228849640

         

BARNES & NOBLE

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frostborn-michael-haddad/1139075432

         

BOOK DEPOSITORY

https://www.bookdepository.com/Frostborn-Michael-Haddad/9780228849643

 

NOTE: The author is also running a Goodreads (ebook) giveaway for his book. We would love it if you included a link to the giveaway:  https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/325053-frostborn-- Or if you wish to use the simple short code widget, we’ve attached an HTML file called “HTML for additional Goodreads Giveaway widget”.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

Michael Haddad will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3762

Christmas Comes to Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard

 Please welcome Charlotte Hubbard author of Christmas Comes to Morning Star

Charlotte Hubbard be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. In addition to the GC, the author would like to select one female reader's name to use in her upcoming book, HIDDEN AWAY AT PROMISE LODGE.

Christmas Comes to Morning Star

byCharlotte Hubbard

 

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GENRE:   Amish/Inspirational romance

 

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INTERVIEW:

What elements are necessary components for this genre?

 

For stories to be considered authentic in the Amish genre, the author must be familiar with worship practices, clothing, acceptable behavior (before and after young people join the Amish church) and the rural lifestyle that defines Plain communities. Although some of these matters differ from one Amish community to the next—which allows you a little wiggle room when you write about breaking the “rules” of the Amish faith—many tenets of this religion remain strictly in place. This “wiggle room” allows me to create towns like Morning Star where my characters can behave the way they need to in a story, but they must still follow the basic ways of the Old Order religion.

For example, very conservative Amish wear only dark colors (always solids, no prints) and fasten their clothing with pins because buttons and zippers are forbidden, where in more lenient settlements like Morning Star you’ll see folks wearing pink, yellow, and other bright colors (still no zippers, though!) Amish may not own cars; you’ll see Pete Shetler driving an old pickup in CHRISTMAS COMES TO MORNING STAR, but that’s because he’s dragging his feet about joining the church! Old Order Amish avoid electricity because it can bring the outside world into their homes via TV, but they’ll allow storekeepers like Molly and Marietta Helfing to have a solar-powered credit card processor in their noodle shop so they can run a successful business. In some towns, Amish women aren’t allowed to work after they marry—and this becomes a major issue for my Morning Star heroines as they wonder about their future running The Marketplace shops they’ve worked so hard to establish.

 What expertise did you bring to your writing?

 

Before I began writing Amish romances, I did a lot of on-site research in Jamesport, MO and I studied nonfiction books about the Amish. I also subscribe to The Budget, which is the national newspaper for Amish and Mennonite communities. It’s there (in the obituaries, especially) I locate names that are authentic Old Order names, because those folks use a specific, limited number of German-style surnames (like Detweiler and Fussner), and their first names are often from the Bible, or are names you heard back in previous centuries (like Enos or Lovina). 

I was also an English teacher before I became a novelist, so I like to think I have a pretty good handle on sentence structure, punctuation, etc.—although every copy editor who’s worked on my manuscripts has her own opinion about where the commas should go! Go figure.

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

 

My first published stories were confessions, for such magazines as True Confessionsand Modern Romances—which gave me a lot of practice at story crafting before I tackled book-length fiction. At the time, I didn’t know about joining writers’ groups, so I was researching stuff like marketing on my own. Luckily, I landed a good agent to help me sell my books to publishers. My first book came out in 1991, when you still used a typewriter and carbon paper to write a manuscript, and you boxed it up and sent it to a publisher in the mail. Things changed a lot when we got computers and the internet!

 

Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?
            

Maybe I’m stubborn and vain, but I’ve never seen the benefit of having other people—no matter how well-intentioned they are—tell you how to rewrite your story. They invariably have different opinions about your work, so who do you believe?? The only writing advice I follow comes from the person signing my checks. I listen closely to changes my editor and my agent ask me to make, and I listen to my own instinct. All those other voices just tend to confuse the matter!

 

What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

 

            It’s a good idea to “write what you know” because when you fake it too much, a reader will call you on it. For instance, I love writing these Amish books because mine are set in rural Missouri, where I grew up, so I know the lay of the land and how their homes look, and how the odor from those pigs in the barn lot can make your whole house stink on a hot day.

            The worst piece of advice involves “write the book of your heart”. While you should indeed write stories you believe in, that come from your soul, you’re in big trouble if you don’t pay attention to whether that sort of story willsell. My agent taught me a lot about that early on, because he refused to represent books he felt he couldn’t sell. You can waste a lot of years and effort on dead-end books if you don’t know about salability—but then these days, you can self-publish anything. Many self-published writers make a lot more money than I do because they know how to market their work effectively on social media, etc. Good for them! That’s just not the way my career has gone.

 

Do you outline your books or just start writing?

            

Both! In order to get a contract from my publisher, I must turn in a fairly detailed synopsis of each story in the series—which is a big help when I begin to write each book. A synopsis is about 15-20 pages long, however, which means a lotof the book gets written because I sit down and “just start writing.” 

 

If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

 

I’d like to be more like Pete Shetler, the easy-going carpenter who falls in love with Molly Helfing. Pete made me laugh a lot as I wrote CHRISTMAS COMES TO MORNING STAR, and he and his rowdy Golden retriever, Riley, are just a lot of fun to be with—even if this means Molly wonders if Pete will ever wake up and realize he’s in love with her. Pete’s also able to sketch out a floor plan and then build a house from it! What a great talent to have.

Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?

Molly Helfing’s my favorite character because she’s such a can-do person who doesn’t allow doubt to stop her. I admire her a great deal because when her twin sister, Marietta, lost all her long hair during her chemo treatments, Molly shaved her head in support—even though this boldly defies the Old Order rule that says women are never to cut their hair. And because Marietta believes she’s “damaged goods” no man will ever want to marry after her double mastectomy, Molly vows never to marry, either, so she can always help her twin as they support themselves with their noodle making. Now that’slove and loyalty!

 

How do you maintain your creativity?

 

I’ve learned over the years that there really is more to life than work (although, during the pandemic, I was so thankful to have books to write. Work can keep you sane). I spend a lot of time each day walking my border collie, Vera, and I cook a lot, and I enjoy reading (but I read historical mysteries, not Amish stories!) and crocheting and other crafty things. Sometimes when I get stuck, not knowing where to go next with a story, the repetitive motion of crocheting loosens things in my mind so the ideas flow again. I’m also very active in church—and it’s amazing how often an idea in a sermon will give me things to add to a story! We also take vacations and cruises to get away from home and see fascinating places. When we come back, I feel mentally refreshed and ready to write again!


As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

 

As you read this, I’ve finished the 4^th/final book in the Morning Star series (LOVE BLOOMS IN MORNING STAR, 8/2022) and have returned to Promise Lodge to write two more stories in that series (#6 FAMILY GATHERINGS AT PROMISE LODGE, and #7 HIDDEN AWAY AT PROMISE LODGE, both in 2023). I’ve toyed with the idea of retiring, but I’m cogitating on a new series idea, still in the Amish romance genre, because I learned during the pandemic that retiring probably isn’t a good idea for me yet. I need the structure of having something with a deadline to work on.

BLURB:

 

Founded by five unmarried and enterprising Amish maidels, the new Morning Star Marketplace in small-town Missouri is preparing for a joyous Christmas season. But will the holiday also bring
unexpected tidings of love?

Twin sisters Molly and Marietta Helfing are eagerly anticipating Christmas, with Marietta fully recovered from cancer and their noodle making business thriving. But Molly clearly misses having former tenant Pete Shetler and his rambunctious dog, Riley, around. Marietta can’t ignore Molly’s feelings for Pete—or the anxiety it stirs within her. Convinced her illness has made her unmarriageable, Marietta wonders what kind of life she’ll have if her sister marries—despite Molly’s promise never to leave her behind. . .

Then a fire destroys the home of Amish neighbors and Molly and Marietta graciously make room for widower Glenn Detweiler, his dat, and his two young boys. When Pete returns to help the family rebuild, Molly relishes her reunion with the handsome carpenter, while Marietta delights in mothering Glenn’s boys—and is surprised by her poignant bond with their quiet, brooding father. Soon everyone is wondering if this season will bring the blessing of a merry double wedding to Morning Star . . .

 

 

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EXCERPT:

 

When she glanced at her sister, who was placing a strip of noodle dough into the roller, Marietta noticed a rare frown on Molly’s face. “Penny for your thoughts, sister.”

            

Molly shrugged. “Sure is quiet without Riley and Pete around.”

 

Marietta’s eyes widened at her sister’s wistful remark. For several months, Pete Shetler and his golden retriever, Riley, had rented one of their two dawdi hauses. Pete had done some much-needed maintenance around their farm—while his active young dog had mostly dug up Mamm’s flower beds, chewed the belts on their noodle making equipment, and found other trouble to get into.

 

Pete had moved into his uncle’s house, however. Although Marietta appreciated the return to a quieter routine without their renter, she sensed Molly had secretly adored the muscular blond carpenter and his rambunctious dog.

 

“Maybe you should pay Pete a visit,” she suggested. “I bet he’d be tickled if you took over a pan of noodle pudding—”

 

“Why would I do that?” Molly blurted. “It’s not as though anything would come of a relationship—even if Pete took the hint and asked me out.”

 

 

“Why not?” Marietta paused, hoping to express her concerns carefully. “Just because I’ll never marry doesn’t mean you should forfeit a potential romance. Sure, Pete’s clueless most of the time but he seems trainable. And he’s awfully cute.”

 

“Let’s not forget that Pete refuses to join the Amish church, so a romance would be pointless—even if he knew the meaning of the word,” Molly shot back. “Truth be told, I like Riley better than Pete, anyway. I intend to remain here on the farm with you, sister, like we’ve always agreed upon. We’re turning thirty-five next month, so why would I want to change my life—and my attitude—to accommodate a husband?”

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

In 1983, Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story.She wrote around 70 of those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 50 books to traditional or online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in Omaha, NE with her husband of 40+ years and their Border collie, Vera.

www.charlottehubbard.com

Facebook -- www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1

 

 

Zebra Books •• ISBN-13: 9781420151831 •• ISBN-10: 1420151835

Print: •• Amazon•• Amazon UK•• Amazon Canada•• Barnes & Noble•• Books-A-Million•• Chapters Indigo•• IndieBound••Kensington•• Target•• The Book Depository••Walmart•• 


Ebook: •Kindle•• Kobo•• Google Play•

 

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

Charlotte Hubbard be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. In addition to the GC, the author would like to select one female reader's name to use in her upcoming book, HIDDEN AWAY AT PROMISE LODGE.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3796