Sarah Sundin is the author of five historical novels, including On Distant Shores
(Revell, August 2013). Sarah lives in northern California with her
husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to tennis and
karate, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday
school. You can find her at http://www.sarahsundin.com/.
Along with a copy of Sarah's latest release On Distant Shores (August 2013), Hope Inspired Stories is offering as a giveaway this week, a hand-made book mark made of blue iridescent thread
(representing a starry sky) with a "north star" charm and navy blue
ribbon attached. Included is a blue crystal earring and bracelet set. The navy and light blue colors represent the nurse's
uniform Georgie wore in the story. Please leave a comment with your e-mail address to be included in the drawing.(Only those living in U.S. and Canada are eligible).
Sky Blue bracelet & earring set
North Star book mark
For other interesting facts about WWII nurses go to this site:
We welcome two authors this week to Hope Inspired Stories: Carla Gade, presenting her historical romance, Pattern for Romance, and God's Provision in Tough Times in which Cynthia Howerter collaborated witha group of other authors to bring you an inspiring non-fiction collection. It is our hope you will enjoy these books, and discover God's guidance through their hope-filled stories.
Title: Pattern for Romance
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Author: Carla Gade
Honour Metcalf’s quilting needlework is admired by a wealthy customer of the Boston mantua-maker for whom she works. In need of increasing her earnings, she agrees to create an elaborate white work bridal quilt for the dowager’s niece. A beautiful design emerges as she carefully stitches the intricate patterns and she begins to dream of fashioning a wedding quilt of her own. When Honour is falsely accused of thievery and finds herself in a perilous position, merchant tailor Joshua Sutton comes to her aid. As he risks his relationships, reputation, and livelihood to prove her innocence, the two discover a grander plan—a design for love.
Author: Carla Gade
Carla Olson Gade has been imagining stories most her life. Her love for
writing and eras gone by turned her attention to writing
historical Christian romance. A member of American
Christian Fiction Writers, she is represented by agent Chip MacGregor. Carla
and her husband share their home in rural Maine where they reside near their
two young adult sons and new grandson. To learn more
about her, please visit her website CarlaGade.com or her
popular blog WritingToDistraction.blogspot.com.
God's Provision in Tough Times is thesecond book hi-lighted on H.I.S. Stories this week by one of its authors, Cynthia Howerter.
Title: God's Provision in Tough Times
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Author: Cynthia Howerter and Guest Writers
Are you in the midst of tough times? Perhaps you're unemployed,
underemployed, or having financial difficulties that leave you feeling
hopeless and helpless. Do you question if God is aware of your
circumstances? Are you wondering if there is a way out of your
situation?
Cynthia Howerter and La-Tan Roland Murphy
have both experienced God's provision in tough times. Along with guest
writers, they candidly share their own personal stories of unemployment
and financial despair.
You will find encouragement and hope as
you read each story. Like you, many of these writers have lost their
income, savings, homes, and health insurance. Some have found themselves
on public assistance while others faced homelessness. Their faith and
trust was refined and strengthened as God provided a successful path
through their tough times.
Each writer's personal story
demonstrates the power of God who knows exactly what you are going
through and who promises to care for those who put their faith and trust
in Him.
God's Provision in Tough Timesincludes
personal accounts by guest writers Alycia W. Morales, Beth K. Fortune,
Carrie Fancett Pagels, Cecil Stokes, Dan Walsh, Deborah Raney, Dee Dee
Parker, Eddie Jones, Eva Marie Everson, Felicia Bowen Bridges, James L.
Rubart, Ramona Richards, Roger E. Bruner, Tamara D. Fickas, and Torry
Martin.
Author: Cynthia Howerter
If you wish to be included in the giveaway-- a copy each of Pattern for Romance, God's Provision in Tough Times,
a 15" colonial "Honour" doll, a 5" x 7" crocheted cross book mark, please leave a comment with your e-mail address (only those living in U.S. and Canada are eligible).
Welcome. This week it is my very great pleasure to celebrate debut author Lori Benton and hernovel Burning Sky. Coincidentally its release date was August 6th, the anniversary of the Battle of Oriskany, which plays an important part in the backdrop of Lori's book. Included in this post is a short video of the Battle scenes illustrated by Don Troiani, an historical artist who has captured a sense of early America and its rugged frontiersmen. Hope you enjoy this post and reading about Lori's new book!
Please try these links to meet with Lori and read about God's guidance and blessings on her journey to publication:
Lori, what affect did the Battle of Oriskany have on the characters in Burning Sky?
Burning Sky
is set in 1784, seven years after the Battle of Oriskany, but the
settlement of Shiloh, New York, is located near enough to Fort Stanwix
and Oriskany Creek that the men from this fictional village would have
been part of General Nicholas Herkimer’s mixed force of militia and
Oneida warriors that fought against the British and other Iroquois
Nations on that day.
In the pages ofBurning Sky,
those members of the militia who survived that battle and the rest of
the war still live daily with its repercussions. The Warings, a
prominent family in Shiloh, lost two of their members in that battle.
Those who survived it were never the same for the brutality they
witnessed and committed, or for the losses they sustained. Although it
wasn’t called Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in the 18th
century, my goal was to portray these characters, and the long-term
consequences of war upon their bodies and souls, as honestly as I could
in light of our current understanding of this disorder.
Publishers Weekly, in their review ofBurning Sky, had this to say:
A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoking flax he shall not
quench: that's the theme resonating through this lovingly rendered
historical-romantic homage to the men and women of the American frontier
after the Revolutionary War. That is part of what I hoped to
accomplish with this novel, to honor those of all nations who fought on
the New York frontier during the Revolutionary War, or suffered loss and
endured to rebuild and reshape their lives.
I thought it very fitting that the release date forBurning Sky “happens” to fall on August 6, the anniversary of the Battle of Oriskany.
Title: Burning Sky
Author: Lori Benton
Publisher: Waterbrook Press
Lori Benton
“I remember the borders of our land, though I have been gone from
them nearly half the moons of my life. But who there will remember me?
What I have seen, what I have done, it has changed me. I am the place where two rivers meet, silted with upheaval and loss. Yet
memory of our land is a clear stream. I shall know it as a mother knows
the faces of her children. It may be I will find me there.“
Abducted
by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain
is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after
many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her
father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path.
Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has
changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in
disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young
Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the
horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.
When
her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world,
the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse
back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what
about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into
in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm?
In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against
“savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety
unsure.
Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions
rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must
find a new courage--the courage to again risk embracing the blessings
the Almighty
wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?
My Review of "Burning Sky":
As I read this book, the word haunting came to mind ... not only in the lovely, lyrical writing, but in the characters of Willa, Neil, Joseph and Francis. They've stayed with me well after I've closed its covers. To me that's haunting--like friends who have never left you. There are a few books I've returned to; the Bible, and some of the classics. This well-crafted story will be one of them. This story, with its depth and layers, will
always seem fresh to me as I discover more from each read. I've always marveled at the mental, physical and spiritual
toughness of
our frontier forebears in times of triumph and tragedy; Ms. Benton has captured these unique qualities in "real" people, not just as romantic
heroes of fiction.
I'd not call this first book by Ms. Benton a success, I'd call it a triumph.
Along with a copy of "Burning Sky", our giveaway will include a "Willa" doll (with her unusual eye coloring, dressed in colonial day dress and moccasins), a silk fan, a packet of Twinings Tea, and a botanical print of "Wild Rose", by the 18th century French artist Pierre Joseph Redoute suitable for framing; perhaps Neil MacGregor might have done a similar botanical study! Please leave your e-mail address when making your comment so we can contact you if you are the winner! (you must live in U.S. to be eligible for book and giveaway).
Wild Rose ~ Pierre Joseph Redoute
Cross Book Mark for Burning Sky
Battle of Oriskany, New York
August 6, 1777
Thank you for stopping in to H.I.S. Stories to look over this new release, and God's blessings.
