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Happy Friday and welcome to First Line Fridays!

Today I'm posting a line from

Living Lies
by Natalie Walters.

Check out the other books in the Harbored Secrets Series HERE.

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Sometimes the path to freedom is found in an unexpected future.

Upon the death of her mother, Rosalind Standford’s life shatters, the pieces scattering to the wind when she is forced into a betrothal to a cunning banker. But when a telegram arrives announcing the man who captured her heart is on a train to Boston, Rosalind must hide her true feelings before the thin cord of her existence unravels the deadly secrets she keeps.

Cowboy Trent Easton returns to his roots in Boston society to find his childhood friend, the love of his heart. Instead he finds a broken woman engaged to a man close to her father’s age. Though she once rejected him, when Trent learns she’s in danger, he determines to do whatever it takes to keep her safe—even taking her to the altar in the black of night. But will his name and the remote wilds of his Texas ranch be enough to protect her? Or will freedom cost them their lives?

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Tanya Eavenson is an international bestselling and award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Tanya is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book.

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This intriguing story is full of romance, suspense, danger, cowboys, and a happily ever after.  Although the story in this novel had a great premises, but it just didn’t quite live up to it.  Throughout the entire novel it is pretty straight forward and readers will easily be able to guess what will happen next.  The story is also a little bit slow, dragging out and repeating similar situations over and over.  After readers get past this and if they stick with it, it is still a fun sweet read about escaping an abusive relationship and a father that can only think about getting rid of his gambling debts and rekindling that romance and true love.  This is an enjoyable and easy evening read.
 
Series: All Roads Lead to Texas
Genre: historical, romance
Publisher: All Roads Publishing
Publication date: September 2, 2019
Number of pages: 295
 
A review copy of this book was provided by JustRead Publicity Tours.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. 

​Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Bright Unknown by Elizabeth Byler Younts, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: The Bright Unknown
Author: Elizabeth Byler Younts
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Literary Fiction
Release Date: October 22, 2019

This poignant and heartbreaking novel explores the power of resilience, the gift of friendship, and the divine beauty to be found in the big, bright world—if only we’re willing to look.

Pennsylvania, 1940s. The only life Brighton Friedrich has ever known is the one she has endured within the dreary walls of Riverside Home—the rural asylum where she was born. A nurse, Joann, has educated and raised Brighton, whose mother is a patient at the hospital. But Joann has also kept vital information from Brighton—secrets that if ever revealed would illuminate Brighton’s troubling past and the circumstances that confine her to Riverside. Brighton’s best friend is a boy she calls Angel, and as they grow up together and face the bleak future that awaits them, they determine to make a daring escape.
​
Nothing can prepare Brighton and Angel for life beyond Riverside’s walls. They have no legal identities, very little money, and only a few leads toward a safe place to land. As they struggle to survive in a world they’ve never seen before, they must rely on each other and the kindness of strangers—some of whom may prove more dangerous than the asylum they’ve fled.
Narrated in Elizabeth Byler Younts's gorgeous style, The Bright Unknown is a sparkling search for answers, family, and a place to call home.

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Elizabeth Byler Younts gained a worldwide audience through her first book, Seasons: A Real Story of an Amish Girl. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Solace of Water and the Promise of Sunrise series. Elizabeth lives in Central Pennsylvania with her husband, her two daughters, and a small menagerie of well-loved pets.

CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH:
​Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

A heartbreaking story of survival and friendship comes to life in author Elizabeth Byler Younts novel, The Bright Unknonw.  Although Younts has written a fiction story, she brings to life the horrific circumstances of a variety of types of people, those who really need to be there and those that do not, living inside an insane asylum.  It is a beautifully and powerfully written story that is both depressing and enlightening.  Younts tackles a hard subject matter with beautiful efficiency.  This novel is not for the faint of heart.  It’s hard, and wonderful, and emotional, and a story that will leave readers thinking about it long after they turn the last page.
 
Genre: historical, Christian
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication date: October 22, 2019
Number of pages: 368
 
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley via JustRead Publicity Tours.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

​Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

In this standalone holiday novella, return to the charming Cornish village readers fell in love with in The Secrets of Paper and Ink.

Women’s counselor Joy Beckman has always been a friend and helper to all. That’s why she’s given up everything to be with her parents as her mother suffers through Alzheimer’s. Joy may not have a thriving career or a love life at the moment, but she’s doing what she does best—taking care of others. And even though it’s difficult, she knows it’s where she is supposed to be.

But life throws a curveball when she has to leave her parents temporarily to travel to Cornwall, England, for the Christmas-time wedding of her best friend. While there, Joy helps Sophia tackle her last-minute to-do list, and in the process, finally meets a man who turns her head—and her heart. The only problem? He lives in snowy London, and her life is with her parents back in sunny Florida.

She tries to resist Oliver Lincoln’s charms, but it’s harder than it should be. With her heart torn in two, Joy is forced to choose between a life she knows she’s meant for and the one she didn’t see coming. 

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Lindsay Harrel brings to life the story of Joy Beckman, the best friend of Sophia from Harrel’s The Secrets of Paper and Ink.  Here, Joy gets her own story told.  This story is about giving up a life and career to help take care of a parent with Alzheimer’s and the pains and joys that come with that.  It’s about a best friend’s wedding and about falling in love when you least expect it.  This story is sweet and charming and one that readers will thoroughly enjoy!
 
Series: Port Willis
Genre: holiday, Christmas, Christian
Publisher: Indie
Publication date: October 29, 2019
Number of pages: 148
 
An ARC copy of this book was provided for review by the author, as well as an ecopy of this book pre-ordered for review.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

I’m just thrilled to bring you the cover reveal for Waltz in the Wilderness by Kathleen Denly!

Title: Waltz in the Wilderness
Series: Chaparral Hearts
Genre: Historical Christian Romance
Length: 328 pages
Publisher: Wild Heart Books
Release Date: Feb. 4, 2020
 
She's desperate to find her missing father. His conscience demands he risk all to help.
 
Eliza Brooks is haunted by her role in her mother's death, so she'll do anything to find her missing pa—even if it means sneaking aboard a southbound ship. When those meant to protect her abandon and betray her instead, a family friend's unexpected assistance is a blessing she can't refuse.
Daniel Clarke came to California to make his fortune, and a stable job as a San Francisco carpenter has earned him more than most have scraped from the local goldfields. But it's been four years since he left Massachusetts and his fiancé is impatient for his return. Bound for home at last, Daniel Clarke finds his heart and plans challenged by a tenacious young woman with haunted eyes. Though every word he utters seems to offend her, he is determined to see her safely returned to her father. Even if that means risking his fragile engagement.
When disaster befalls them in the remote wilderness of the Southern California mountains, true feelings are revealed, and both must face heart-rending decisions. But how to decide when every choice before them leads to someone getting hurt?​

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​Kathleen Denly lives in sunny Southern California with her loving husband, four young children, and two cats. As a member of the adoption and foster community, children in need are a cause dear to her heart and she finds they make frequent appearances in her stories. When she isn’t writing, researching, or caring for children, Kathleen spends her time reading, visiting historical sites, hiking, and crafting. 
 
Waltz in the Wilderness is Kathleen’s debut novel and the first in a series of three stand-alone historical Christian romance novels connected by secondary characters and their beautiful Southern California setting.
 
Kathleen would love it if you visited her website at KathleenDenly.com. You can also connect with her on social media: 

​To see some of the photos that inspired Waltz in the Wilderness, follow her on Pinterest.

​Preorder your copy today!
​Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo

If you preorder Waltz in the Wilderness AND email Kathleen proof of purchase (screenshot) before 12:00am PT January 11, 2020, you will receive a free digital copy of Ribbons and Beaus, a Chaparral Hearts Novella on January 21, 2020!
​For complete details, click here.

​October 1850
California gold fields
 
 
They were going to starve to death, if they didn’t freeze to death first. Sure, they had beans for dinner, but Eli had had to trade her spare shirt for them—the one she’d been wearing beneath her everyday shirt to keep the early-October frost from biting her skin. She shivered beside the fire. Not much left to trade for supper, but then, there wasn’t another miner in these diggings that had grub to spare even if she had something worth trading.
She studied each bean, careful not to burn a one. Her hollow stomach cramped as the sweet smell of the simmering meal mixed with the scent of wood smoke filling the air.
A pinch of rosemary would have added flavor. Would Mama have been disappointed Eli’d traded the last of their herbs for Pa’s new coat? She shook her head. If Eli couldn’t coax Pa from the creek, the least she could do was keep his shoulders warm. Mama would have understood.
A shift in the cold wind blew soot into Eli’s eyes as she lifted the pan from the fire. Brushing a grimy strand of hair from her face and blinking away the sting, she turned her back to the smoke and stirred the beans.
Time to get Pa.
She walked to where he squatted in the icy mountain creek.
He wouldn’t be happy she’d traded the spare shirt. He’d wanted it to hide her blossoming womanhood. Of course, he’d have to notice the shirt was gone first.
Standing beside the babbling water, she toed off her boots before yanking her tattered socks off. After stuffing them into a boot, she pulled up her trousers and, with a bracing breath, waded into the chilling water.
“Here, Pa.”
She held the spoon out handle first, but he shrugged her away. Afternoon sunlight bounced off his thin, greasy hair—brown like hers, but darkened by muck. His dirt-encrusted brown eyes continued squinting into the swirling pan of water. The gentle rotation of his wrists never ceased.
“Come on, Pa. You gotta eat.”
He cleared his throat and spat to the side opposite where she stood, never taking his eyes from the water. “I’m fine. You eat.”
Eli lifted the spoon higher. “But, Pa—”
“I’ll eat later.” He shifted in the calf-deep water so that her worried stare landed squarely between his broad shoulder blades.
Her fingers tightened around the spoon as she planted her fist on her hip. The rocks shifted beneath her feet. “That’s what you said this morning.”
“I’m busy, Eli. Now hush and leave me be.”
She stood there a moment longer, taking in the sight of him. That tall, too-thin frame draped in the now too-large, threadbare shirt. She’d mended that thing more times than she could count. The trousers he kept up with a rope at his waist needed mending in the right knee, but she doubted the fabric could endure another stitching. She peered down at her own trousers. The worn threads of the cuffs drifted and tugged with the current.
She frowned at the beans cooling in the pan. A body shouldn’t have to choose between clothes and food. But miners upstream caught any fish in the creek, and hunting around here was pointless. All the digging, rattling, and mining commotion scared the game away.
She’d tried to coax Pa to leave their claim long enough to hunt elsewhere to no avail.
Mama could’ve convinced him.
Mama isn’t here. Eli straightened her shoulders. “Pa, this is the last—”
“Hey, Eli!” The familiar voice cut her off.
She turned in time to see a small rock sail toward her head and managed to duck it, but the move upset her balance. She tipped backward.
The beans!
Contorting herself to right her balance without spilling their dinner, she wobbled back and forth as stones rocked beneath her. She shifted her footing, but the sloped face of a large, moss-covered rock hastened her descent. Holding the pan aloft as she fell backward, her body tilted sideways and she overcorrected--
Sending the beans spilling down her shirt and into the creek.
For a moment she sat still, the chill of the icy mountain runoff failing to cool her blood as gales of boyish laughter drifted toward her from the bank. She erupted from the creek, wielding her now-empty pan above her head. “Morgan Channing, I’m gonna have your hide for this!”
She sloshed three full steps to the edge of the creek before she froze.
The eleven-year-old had stopped laughing and was staring at her, mouth hanging open, eyes wide. “Y-you…! Y-you’re a…a…”
Eli followed his gaze to her chest, where a few beans still clung to her drenched, oversized shirt. She dropped the pan and covered herself. Oh, how brainless of her! Would Pa send her away?

​To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away a “Trust in the Lord” Journal & 80+ Journal Stickers Set, along with a $10 Amazon gift card. Be sure to comment on the blogs listed below for extra entries into the giveaway. 

CLICK HERE TO ENTER GIVEAWAY!​

How To Find Light in Dark Seasons
 
When I wrote about graverobbers in The Yellow Lantern, I’m thankful to say that the subject did NOT grow from a place of personal experience. But, I discovered that the areas where Josie Clay found light amidst all her dark circumstances were not uncommon to the places I’ve found while walking through seasons of darkness.
 
During this festive time of traipsing around at night, hiding behind masks, and begging and tricking, the brightness of candles and lights and glow sticks steal the shadowy show. Light is brightest against darkness…actually, if we pay close attention, God has placed beacons of light for us to grow in before darkness even creeps in. The Yellow Lantern offers three beacons I have found to be light-bearing in my own dark seasons:
 
#1: Friendship
 
Josie Clay finds friendship in a way that gives her fuel to seek a way out of the darkness. She becomes connected with a community during her dark dealings. In my own dark seasons, God provided His light to shine through the friendships that had grown before the darkness, but perhaps, for my own protection in the nearing darker seasons. Just as Proverbs 17:17 says,
 
 “A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
 
The Yellow Lantern is dedicated to my Proverbs 17:17 sisters. God grew us for community. I don’t know that I would have found much light in my dark seasons without those friends He had provided for me.
 
#2 Gifting
 
Whether you are an artist or a servant at heart, another place to discover light in the darkness is in the very gifting God has uniquely placed upon you. Josie is an herbalist. She finds her greatest passion and joy in creating remedies for those in need. I am an author—I find my greatest passion and joy spill out as I write. And it’s not just for my own pleasure. It’s a much-needed gifting that points me to light no matter how much darkness brews around me.
 
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
 
If He’s given us these gifts, then we have what it takes to find light in a dark situation. Good and perfect and ever chasing away those shadows.
 
#3 Faith
 
There have been seasons in my life where I feel like faith is this thin, fragile thread. At any moment, it might snap. But it doesn’t. Scripture gives us a hint as to why it might be stronger than I imagine:
 
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
 
Faith, in itself, is a light. It might not chase the darkness away, we might not see any light at all, but Faith provides the assurance that something IS there beyond the dark. Josie Clay makes some choices without knowing that she will ever leave the darkness, but faith gives her the confidence to do so. Of all the beacons God gives us in our dark seasons, Faith might be the most abstract and at times, hidden, but it is the most assured place of everlasting light.
 
Have you recently leaned into one of these three beacons to shine light in a dark season?

Angie Dicken credits her love of story to reading British literature during life as a military kid in England. Now living in the U.S. heartland, she's a member of ACFW, sharing about author life with her fellow Alley Cats on The Writer's Alley blog and Facebook page. Besides writing, she is a busy mom of four and works in Adult Ministry. Angie enjoys eclectic new restaurants, authentic conversation with friends, and date nights with her Texas Aggie husband. Connect with Angie online at:

​​​​​​via Hoarding Books

​Happy Friday and welcome to First Line Fridays!

Today I'm posting a line from

A Rumored Fortune
by Joanna Politano.

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Series: Edisto
Genre:  Adult, Romance
Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction a division of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Publication date: July 31, 2019

Louisa Coultrie Halloway has returned home as caretaker for the family home on Edisto Island, but years before she left this world behind. Now she flounders to find her place. When Liam Whiting, a local professor studying tidal creek preservation, invites Lou to join his research team, she welcomes the opportunity for purpose.
David, her ex-husband, has followed Lou and their children to Edisto. As he finds his footing in this new life, their once strained relationship eases into a familiar rhythm—and he hopes for more.
But the past still has a hold on them all, especially in the presence of Grace Watson, whose son intends to marry Lou and David’s daughter. Somehow, Grace and Lou must let the past of a shared love settle between them.
​
In this idyllic setting, relationships, like the creeks, deepen and shift. Once more, Lou finds herself caught between the life she’s chosen—and the love that might be meant to be.

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Lindsey P. Brackett writes southern fiction and cooks big family meals, but she complains about the dishes. Her debut novel, Still Waters, released in 2017 and was named the 2018 Selah Book of the Year. Her latest novel, The Bridge Between, released in 2019. Someday she hopes to balance motherhood and writing full-time. Until then, she’s just very grateful for her public school system.
Connect with Lindsey and get her free novella, Magnolia Mistletoe with newsletter signup at lindseypbrackett.com.

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Check out the interview with the author HERE.

1. My grandparents actually met on a back road in Colleton County in the 1940’s. She was lost and he was bundling pine straw to sell. So that story inside the story is true.
2. McConkey’s Jungle Shack—and they’re not kidding about the shack part—really does have the best fish tacos on the coast
3. Late in Still Waters, I reference a story about soldiers mistaking a loggerhead turtle for an enemy when the beach was being used as a lookout during WWII. This really happened and you can read about it in Nell Graydon’s Tales of Edisto, which I used for both reference and inspiration.
4. We drive a blue minivan and it’s kind of well-known because the paint job was bad (thanks Honda) and we’ve never spend the money to fix it. So my best friend begged me to put the blue van in the story. It’s there, when Cora Anne and Nan stop at King’s Market, complete with a passel of kids. (I have four of those.)
5. I buy and eat a whole King’s Market key lime pie every time we go to Edisto.
6. My cousin Heather and I were born 18 hours apart, and our moms are sisters. Yes, she inspired Cora Anne’s cousin, Hannah. When we were kids at Edisto, we always hunted for sharks teeth and snail shells so we could make necklaces with our grandmother.
7. The book is set in 2006 because I wanted a time period before social media’s invasion and before BiLo bought out the Piggly Wiggly. Edistonians are not coming around. They still call their only grocery store The Pig.
8. The Edisto Island Open Land Trust is a gem I stumbled upon while researching what made the most sense for Tennessee’s philanthropic spirit. The EIOLT was the perfect fit since it’s all about preservation of the Island’s natural beauty, while empowering home owners to still be able to afford family property that’s been passed down for generations. The executive director, John, drank coffee with me one morning at the Edisto Coffee Shop and told me so much valuable information.
9. Botany Bay (and that’s the Botany sentinel tree on the Still Waters cover) was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Edisto took the brunt of the storm’s hit and the eye passed over the island. When the beach pushed inland, the entire first row of houses were left standing in water. But the community there is strong and resilient. They’ve been rebuilding and regrouping. The beaches will never look the same, but as my mama says, “That’s nature. And life. Storms come and you have to deal with the aftermath.” Or, as Tennessee puts it in the story, “Sometimes a storm’s what clears out the junk…”
10.  Edisto Beach still has a video store, probably the last one left in the country. It’s also one of two places in the town to get ice cream—unless you’re sitting on your own porch enjoying the ocean breeze and listening for the churn to slow down.

“Sparkler time.” Cole grabbed the package and headed out the door, his brothers on his heels.
Outside was clear—a sailor’s dream sky. The boys set off the sparklers against the midnight black and whooped when someone a few streets over sent up a spray of light.
Lou stamped her feet and rubbed her arms. “I’m going to freeze to death.” She’d traded her earlier t-shirt for a sweater, and David could tell it was thin by the way the fabric skimmed her body.
“Here,” he slid his coat around her shoulders, pulling the collar close under her chin and brushing aside her chestnut hair. She’d let it grow beyond her jaw for the first time in at least a decade.
“Thank you.” They stood that way for only a moment—but in the freshness of the new year under skies beaded with light eternity could have come and he would’ve died a happy man. 
Review

Marriage and family relationships can be hard, messy, challenging, and frustrating, but they can also be rewarding, emotionally bonding, fun, and beautiful.  Relatiomships not always what a person expects, they can be broken, but they can also be mended.  Author Lindsey P. Brackett once again brings to life the world of Edisto, capturing the love and heart of her readers.  This story is about friendships, families, love and second chances.  It’s about overcoming obstacles in life and moving forward and making a good life.  The multiple storylines will keep readers enthralled and interested in this emotional and inspiring story.
 
Series: Edisto
Genre: contemporary, southern, romance
Publisher: Firefly Southern Fiction
Publication date: July 31, 2019
Number of pages: 300
 
Other books in the series:
Still Waters
 
A print review copy of this book was provided by the author and an ecopy purchased for review.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. 

​(1) winner will receive a Bridge Between Prize Pack.
Enter the giveaway HERE.
Giveaway ends October  27 at 11:59pm MT.
​
Giveaway is subject to policies HERE.

When a spunky photographer wrangles her way onto an 1871 survey crew of the Grand Canyon she thinks nothing can stand in her way. But her mind changes when she finds out she'll be working alongside the one man she doesn't want to fall in love with.

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Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn't actually sell her first novel until she had learned a bit more about writing such as vocabulary, sentence structure, and plot. After numerous short stories and articles in magazines and trade journals, she got serious about her novel writing. The Unflappable Miss Fairchild was her first novel to be published (March 1998).

Besides her novels, Regina Scott has had published three Regency novellas ("The June Bride Conspiracy" in His Blushing Bride, "Sweeter Than Candy" in A Match for Mother, and "A Place by the Fire" in Mistletoe Kittens). Two of her novels, A Dangerous Dalliance and The Twelve Days of Christmas, have been translated into German. A Dangerous Dalliance and The Incomparable Miss Compton have been translated into Italian. Starstruck and Perfection have been translated into Dutch.

Regina Scott and her husband are the parents of two sons. They reside in the Tri-Cities of southeast Washington State and are members of the Church of the Nazarene. Born in 1959 and raised in the Seattle area, Regina Scott is a graduate of the University of Washington. She comes by her writing talent naturally--both her parents are excellent writers in their vocations as teacher and electrical technician. Her mother envisioned the plot for "Sweeter Than Candy," the novella which was written as a tribute to her.

Regina Scott is a devout Christian and a decent fencer; owns a historical, fantasy, and science fiction costume collection that currently takes up over a third of her large closet; and has been known to impersonate an independent consultant specializing in risk communication.

Regina Scott has crafted an engaging and enjoyable story about a woman photographer in the Grand Canyon.  Meg and Ben have a sweet romance, but the story as a whole is a bit slow.  There are also several side stories within the novel that detract a bit from the main storyline, making it feel like a lot is going on.  This is a fun historical story that brings to life the time period and the scenes of the Grand Canyon.
 
Series: American Wonders Collection
Genre: historical, romance, adventure, Christian
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication date: October 1, 2019
Number of pages: 384
 
A review copy of this book was provided by Revell.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. 

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