Sunday Devotional

Max is a little dog but he’s got a big heart, and he can be pretty tenacious. I learned this watching him play with my son. Max has a braided toy with fringes on the end that he likes to chase. He never tires of having someone throw it across the room so he can retrieve it. He brings the toy back and lays it at our feet, then stares up expectantly until one of us throws it again.

We were sitting in front of the TV one night, and my son had been doing this for almost an hour. Somehow, I lost track of when he stopped until he whispered, “Mom, look at this.”

I glanced over to see him sitting in a chair, his arm stretched to the floor. In his hand he held the rag, but attached to the other end was Max. Unwillingly to let go of his end, Max had fallen asleep with the rag clenched tightly between his teeth.

“He’s been like this for almost ten minutes,” my son said.

Now that’s tenacity, and it taught me something about my walk with God.

“Love the Lord your God. . . .with all your strength.” (NKJV)

I realize that it isn’t my puny strength that keeps me firmly in the will of God. It isn’t even my faith and spiritual maturity that keeps me assured of my place in heaven. However, God has asked me to love Him with all of my strength, kind of like Max holding on to one end of that rag with all of his might. It sounds like an easy task, but it’s not. Still, I can rest assured because holding on to the other end? Well, you get the idea.

Luke 10:25-28 (New King James Version)

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

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Winners!!

It's always so much fun to give away great books!! Congratulations to this week's lucky winners:

Diane Marie Shaw - Driven by Shellie Neumeier

sanash - Unforgettable by Trish Perry

Virginia R. vrush729(at)aol(dot)com- When All My Dreams Come True by Janelle Mowery

Winners of this week's books, please use the button in the upper right side of this page to email me with your mailing address so I can forward your information to the authors. Then, sit back and wait for your book to arrive.

Thank you all so much for stopping by The Borrowed Book and thank you, Shellie Neumeier, Trish Perry, and Janelle Mowery for your generosity in providing books!

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Weekly Drawing

Entering our weekly drawing is easy:

1. Leave a comment on Fridays or...

2. Sign up to follow The Borrowed Book. Followers will automatically be entered for a chance to win that week's drawing!

This week, The Borrowed Book is giving away:

Driven by Shellie Neumeier ~ Robyn can’t help but notice the handsome new guy at her school. She ignores, however, the arrival of another being at Brookfield Central High School—a demon assigned to destroy her…

Robyn loves her friends, enjoys her youth group, and looks forward to meeting cute Caleb Montague. But when a caustic news reporter challenges her school’s prayer team, Robyn must choose: defend their right to meet on campus and pray for whomever they wish or back down at the principal’s request.

Now she must learn what God wants her to do. And she had better learn fast, because there’s a supernatural enemy in town whose sole mission is to stop her—no matter the cost.


Unforgettable by Trish Perry ~ Rachel Stanhope tries to see the good in everyone. But Josh Reegan tests even her good graces when they meet outside her Arlington, Virginia, dance studio in 1951. He’s attractive, yet his cynicism and cockiness are hard to tolerate.

A journalist and former World War II Air Force pilot, Josh considers ballroom dancing a frivolous waste of time. Although Rachel’s confident nature is a refreshing
challenge, he wouldn’t tangle with her if his newspaper hadn’t assigned him to cover her studio’s competition in New York City.

Between the melodrama of ballroom antics and the real drama of political corruption, Rachel and Josh have their hands full. The last thing either of them expects is mutual need and support. But once they stop dancing around the truth, the results are unforgettable.

When All My Dreams Come True by Janelle Mowery ~ Bobbie McIntyre dreams of running a ranch of her own. Raised without a mother and having spent most of her time around men, she knows more about wrangling than acting like a lady. The friendship of her new employer awakens a desire to learn more about presenting her feminine side, but ranch life keeps getting in the way.

Ranch owner Jace Kincaid figures the Lord is testing his faith when a female wrangler shows up looking for work. Bobbie has an uncanny way of getting under his skin, though, and he’s surprised when she finds a home next to his heart. But when his cattle begin to go missing and his wranglers are in danger from some low-down cattle thief, can Jace trust God, even if it may mean giving up on his dreams?

An adventurous novel of faith, hope, and love in the Wild West.

Winners will be announced on Saturday, 03/19/11.

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Interview with Janelle Mowery

I'm thrilled to have my good friend Janelle Mowery with us today at The Borrowed Book. Here's what Janelle has to say about herself:

Janelle Mowery lives in Texas with her husband and two sons, though a portion of her heart still resides in her birth state of Minnesota. Janelle began writing inspirational stories in 2001 and has since written several historical novels as well as a mystery series. Her first published novel, Where the Truth Lies, released in 2008. This was followed in 2010 by The Christmas Chain, part of a Christmas anthology titled, A Woodland Christmas. Her second novel, Love Finds You in Silver City, Idaho, released October 2010 and received four stars from the Romantic Times review. Janelle's Colorado trilogy will release in 2011. The first of this series, When All My Dreams Come True, also received four stars from the Romantic Times review. When she isn’t writing, her interests include reading, enjoying nature, and visiting historical sites. To learn more, visit her Web site at www.janellemowery.com.

Welcome, Janelle. We at The Borrowed Book have watched your writing career blossom in the last few years, and we're all delighted with your success. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

I carried my first story around in my head for a year before I sat down and started writing it out. Before that one was finished, the second story came to me. Before I finished writing the second, the third one formed. I think that’s when I realized that writing is what I really wanted to do.

It sounds like God was already giving you the stories He wanted you to write even before you sat down to put the words on paper. After you began writing, how long did it take to make that first sale?

I started writing that first story on January 1, 2001. I signed my first contract in 2006. The publishing world is not a speedy process.

I know you have several books out right now, but what is the title of your current release?

The title of my most recent release is When All My Dreams Come True.


Give our readers a blurb about it.

Bobbie McIntyre dreams of running a ranch of her own. Raised without a mother and having spent most of her time around men, she knows more about wrangling than acting like a lady. The friendship of her new employer awakens a desire to learn more about presenting her feminine side, but ranch life keeps getting in the way. Ranch owner Jace Kincaid figures the Lord is testing his faith when a female wrangler shows up looking for work. Bobbie has an uncanny way of getting under his skin, though, and he’s surprised when she finds a home next to his heart. But when his cattle begin to go missing and his wranglers are in danger from some low-down cattle thief, can Jace trust God, even if it may mean giving up on his dreams?

What inspirational message do you want readers to take away after reading When All My Dreams Come True?

I’d like the readers to know that even when times are tough, it’s best to trust the Lord…ESPECIALLY when times are tough…that we shouldn’t grow weary and lose heart but to keep our eyes fixed on Him. Some of my favorite verses are Hebrews 12:1-3.

Which character in the book is your favorite? Why?

I’d have to say that Bobbie is my favorite character. A friend put it this way and I have to agree…She's flawed, real and multi-dimensional. She's spunky and willing to speak her mind, yet respectful at the same time. She was hurting and proud, yet willing to accept help. All and all a very sympathetic heroine.

Where one has lived often affects the settings a writer uses in his/her stories. Have you found this to be true in your writing?

Very much so. There’s a place not a mile down the road from where I live. A creek cuts through the land and one has to cross a pipe to get to the other side. It’s one of the most peaceful places I know. It was this very place that I thought of as I wrote When All My Dreams Come True. I just had to picture it surround by the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Having been friends with you for a long time, I know you are dedicated to your family, friends, and your church. How do you juggle all your responsibilities and still find time to write wonderful novels?

Not well. LOL. I’m far from being an organized person. In fact, the word ‘organization’ is a very bad word and rarely a part of my vocabulary. LOL. So when all that you mentioned above are on a collision course, I tend to get a bit stressed. My husband tells me I work well under pressure. That may be so, but that pressure sure makes me droop once all is back to normal again.

I also know you to be a fun-loving individual who likes to laugh and live life to the fullest. What would you say is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Quirky? Me? Do something quirky? May it never be! Well…okay, maybe sometimes. But let me say this…one woman’s quirk is another’s normal. (smile) Let’s see, I’ve jumped out of a perfectly good airplane just to see what skydiving was like. I killed a large snake in my garage…with a butcher knife. Hey, it was a desperate times=desperate measures kind of thing. Hmm…other than that, I’m pretty normal, unless you consider getting my picture taken by a game cam while piggy back riding on my husband’s back in the dark as quirky. He was being very chivalrous…trying to keep my feet dry. Um…long story.

It seems like I remember that story about the snake. (smile) But let's talk about happier things. What are you working on now? Can we expect other books to release soon?

Right now, I’m working on a Christmas anthology as well as the first book of another historical series. As for other releases, books two and three of my mystery series, titled Died in the Wool and Inn Plain Sight, written with Elizabeth Ludwig will release May 1 and November 1 this year. Also, books two and three of my Colorado historical series, titled When Love Gets in the Way and When Two Hearts Meet, will release in October this year. And my second Christmas anthology, Christmas at Barncastle Inn, will release September 1 this year.

For the aspiring writers who may be reading this, what advice would you give them?

This is NOT an easy road you’ve chosen, but don’t give up. It takes hard work and plenty of patience, but I’ve found that when I let God do the driving instead of me trying to take over, the road was so much easier to navigate. Follow God’s timing. Enjoy the journey. And take time to look back at the steps the Lord has led you through to get to where you are. I can see God’s hand all over my journey from the time I picked up my first Lori Wick book, to my first writer’s conference, as well as those He’s placed in my path to help me along the way. I can only praise Him and give Him the glory.

Great advice, Janelle. Writing is definitely not an easy road to choose. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us that I haven’t asked?

If you’re serious about becoming published, try to get to a writer’s conference. The things you’ll learn and the contacts you’ll make are beyond priceless. And get involved with a critique group. As the Bible says, iron sharpens iron, and your writing will be sharpened with the help of other authors.

Thank you so much for being a guest today. If you haven't read Janelle's book When All My Dreams Come True, you're missing a great read. She's left us with a wonderful thought today about what the Bible has to say about iron sharpening iron. For you writers, what Bible verse inspires you to keep writing? We'd like to know.

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Video Interview ~ Shellie Neumeier

Shellie Neumeier holds a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a minor in Psychology, Sociology and Social Studies. A devoted mother of four, Shellie previously worked on staff with Northbrook Church as the King’s Kids ministry assistant (serving children in grades 2nd through 5th), developing and writing curriculum, involving families and volunteers in King’s Kids programs and encouraging the spiritual growth in school-aged children. Shellie’s YA novel, Driven, is now available in electronic form and is scheduled for print release March 1, 2011 from Risen Fiction. She is an active member of SCBWI and ACFW as well as a contributing author at various blogs including Samiesisters.com, and thebarndoor.net.




Driven by Shellie Neumeier
Kindle release: December 1, 2010
Paperback release: March 1, 2011
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http://www.risenfiction.com/driven-by-shellie-neumeier/
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http://shellieneumeier.com/

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Recipe: Healthy Corn and Black Bean Salsa

This is supposed to be a *writing* site, not a recipe haven. But every writer needs a break, right? And every writer needs to eat. So just think of this as a healthy recipe for writers who need to take a break. There. Now I'm writing related.

Oh, and there might be a contest opp too. . .

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

2 cans Corn (15 Oz.), Drained

1 can Chopped Chilies (4 Oz), Drained

1 can Chopped Jalapenos (4 Oz), Drained (variation below)

2 can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed

1 whole Red Bell Pepper (Chopped)

1 bunch(es) Scallions, Chopped

1 cup Sour Cream

1 bag Finely Grated Mexican Cheese (8 Oz)

½ bunch(es) Fresh Cilantro, Coarsely Chopped (or To Taste)

Throw everything together, except jalapenos, and let it marinade overnight. Placed sliced jalapenos on top before serving. This way they are easy to remove for those who are faint of heart. didn’t add any salt to the recipe mainly because the chips that you use for dipping will be salty enough, imo.

Now it's your turn!

Since I just got a box of my latest historical romance that releases next month, Promise of Time (Gettysburg, PA), a book goes to the person who can give the healthiest, easiest, tastiest, five ingredient or less recipe for this poor, sit-on-my-soft-spot-all-day writer. I'll try them all and pick the best so PLEASE SHARE! (Because a trip to the store is probably inevitable, I'll announce the winner Saturday. Sound good?)

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Author Interview ~ Trish Perry

Award-winning novelist Trish Perry has written eight inspirational romances for Harvest House Publishers, Summerside Press, and Barbour Publishing, as well as two devotionals for Summerside Press. She has served as a columnist and as a newsletter editor over the years, as well as a 1980s stockbroker and a board member of the Capital Christian Writers organization in Washington, D.C. She holds a degree in Psychology.

Trish’s latest novel, Unforgettable, releases in March, and Tea for Two releases in April. She invites you to visit her at www.TrishPerry.com

Did you see yourself becoming a writer as a child? If not, what did you dream of being?

No, I only dabbled in writing on rare occasions in my youth. If anything, I dreamed of being an actress, because I absolutely loved movies. But I never did much to pursue that dream, other than throwing together the occasional play for the neighborhood kids with my siblings. I did get a thrill from those, but by the time I was in high school, I had become far too shy to go after acting roles. I wasn’t quite sure what to pursue, really, until I was beyond college age.

How long did you write before you sold your first book?

I started seriously writing around 1994, and I got a two-book contract in 2005.

Many of the people who follow our blog are aspiring writers themselves. Can you share your favorite writing tip with them?

Always start your day by dedicating your writing to God. Ask for His guidance and inspiration and ask Him to help you stay disciplined to accomplish what He wants you to accomplish during your day. When I started doing that, I found myself less stressed if I had a family event that required my attention or if I got a rejection or if I wasn’t 100 percent pleased with what I had written that day. I knew His hand was in it, regardless. And the removal of that stress seemed to free my mind and make writing less of a task and more of a service to Him. I knew that, if I was doing the best I could, I was following His will for me and my writing.

Now for the readers…many times, it’s easy for them to connect with the characters in a book, but not so much the authors themselves. Share something about your day-to-day life that might help a reader to feel as though they know you a little better.

I struggle with the same thing everyone struggles with, especially the fact that the day passes by far too quickly for me to get done everything I want to get done. The dusting doesn’t get done, I don’t work out often enough, there’s always work unfinished at day’s end, and I have to force myself to give attention to others who need and deserve it. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have a chauffeur, maid, and beauty entourage at my beck and call.

Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

Oh, sure I still get rejections; I got one just a couple of weeks ago. The difference now is that I’m only having a paragraph rejected, rather than an entire book, because that’s all the publisher needs to see before deciding, usually. What a relief! And the rejection is definitely about that paragraph, rather than the idea of working with me, so I feel more hopeful about future work being accepted. I should add, though, that should that one paragraph be accepted, the publisher usually wants to see a one-page summary before offering me a contract. Still, that part of the process does get easier as time goes on.

Tell us a little about your latest release:

Rachel Stanhope tries to see the good in everyone. But even her good graces are challenged when she meets Josh Reegan outside her Arlington, Virginia dance studio on a brisk fall morning in 1951. Admittedly, he’s attractive, but she finds his cynicism and cockiness hard to tolerate.

A hard-news journalist and former World War II Air Force pilot, Josh considers distractions like ballroom dancing frivolous wastes of time. He has yet to shed his wartime drive to defend good against evil whenever he can. Yes, Rachel’s confident nature is a refreshing challenge, but he wouldn’t tangle with her if his newspaper hadn’t roped him into covering one of her studio’s competitions in New York City.

Between Arlington and New York, between the melodrama of ballroom antics and the real drama of political corruption, between family involvement and romantic entanglement, Rachel and Josh have their hands full. The last thing either of them expects is mutual need and support. But once they stop dancing around the truth, the results are unforgettable.

If you could only share one line from Unforgettable, which one would you choose and why?

Wow, that’s a hard one. I’m sure if you asked me this question ten different times, I’d give you ten different answers. But I just pulled this short line out:

“That’s the way a man in love acts.”

I chose that line because I think nothing is more romantic than love acted out. Plenty of men can turn a phrase to express love beautifully. Or they can lavish their loved one with gifts. Or they can kiss to make her swoon. But when a man truly loves a woman, he treats her as someone precious, someone he cherishes. I love to see that between a couple, and I portrayed some of that in Unforgettable.

Writers often put things in their books that are very personal—like a funny story that happened to them, a spiritual truth they learned through difficulty, or even just a character trait that is uniquely theirs. Is there something in Unforgettable that only people close to you know is about you or someone you know?

I’m stretching here to give you an answer. The parts of me or my life that make it into any of my stories are unconscious on my part. Although I’ve inserted little tidbits I’ve learned about healthy relationships in past novels, Unforgettable unfolded pretty organically—gosh, I cringe when people use that word, but it works here. Still, I can look at the elderly couple in Unforgettable and see traces of my parents’ relationship. They tease each other and love each other like Mr. and Mrs. Chambers do, so it was easy to imagine the Chambers realistically.
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Readers often talk a lot about the hero and heroine of a story, but today I’d like to know something about your villain. Does he or she have a redeeming quality? Why or why not?
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The troublemaker in Unforgettable is a jealous egotist who has no qualms about making a scene. There is eventually a brief moment of humility and remorse on his part. But I’m sorry, honey, we still don’t like him.

What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

I corresponded several times with a representative with the USA Dance Central Office in Cape Coral, Florida in order to get my ballroom dances and dance competition history correct. I also used CDs of ballroom dance lessons to get a feel for the basic dances and how they’re taught—the lingo, the first things students learn, etc.

I had a recent computer crash and lost my backup, but I’ve gone back to find a few of the links I found useful. There are two hotels that feature in the book, and I loved the fact that I was able to see what they looked like in the early fifties:

The Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, Virginia http://www.cavalierhotel.com/history/index.cfm
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The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan http://www.waldorfnewyork.com/photo-gallery/original.cfm?LinkToGo=original_1

There were a number of other topics I researched for my reporter hero, since he wrote a number of human-interest articles during the story: A&W Root Beer; tabletop jukeboxes; the first fire department established in Arlington, Virginia; segregation; the local government structure; and other such topics.

And I had a great time researching fashions and music of the era!

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

Tea for Two, the second novel in my Tea With Millicent series with Harvest House Publishers, releases April 1. I’m eager to hear what readers think of Milly’s latest involvement with people passing through her tea shop. This book features Tina, a young psychological counselor who Milly enlists to help the handsome farmer who supplies the tea shop with fresh produce. He has two troubled teens on his hands, and he joins forces with Tina to try to keep them out of hot water. Before long things heat up in a different fashion.

Delight Yourself in the Lord…Even on Bad Hair Days, the Summerside Press devotional I wrote with Sandie Bricker, Kristin Billerbeck, Diane Hunt, and Debby Mayne, released March 1, and another, tentatively called Your Grace is Sufficient, But Decaf is NOT, will release at the end of the year (I believe).

In September, Summerside will release Love Finds You on Christmas Morning, which contains Debby Mayne’s historic novel, Deck the Halls, and my contemporary follow-up novel, ‘Tis the Season.

The most common thing I hear when people learned I’ve published a book is, “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Faced with this statement, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in this business?

I would say, “Every published author started out feeling that way. You can do it if you want it enough.”

The very first thing I would advise is that they join American Christian Fiction Writers. I don’t care where you are in your writing career—right at the start or years into publishing—there are advantages to belonging to this wonderful group. You can learn so much about the craft and the business in general, you can meet people who have experience to share, you can attend the annual conference and make friends and contacts that will last the rest of your life.

And I would advise the new writer to read plenty of books on the craft (you could start with Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson, and then move on to craft books by James Scott Bell, Jeff Gerke, and Brandilyn Collins, just to get you rolling). And read a lot of novels. If you don’t enjoy reading novels, you really have no business writing them.

What is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

That was it, Lisa.

And that’s how I would answer it.
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Trish is giving away a copy of her book, Unforgettable. Stop by The Borrowed Book on Friday for your chance to win!

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