CFBA: A Plain Disappearance by Amanda Flower

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingA Plain DisappearanceB&H Books (September 1, 2013)
byAmanda Flower



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amanda Flower, an Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling of making people laugh with her words. Her debut mystery, Maid of Murder, was an Agatha Award Nominee for Best First Novel. Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland.





ABOUT THE BOOK

USA Today recently hailed award-nominated author Amanda Flower for A Plain Death, calling it “the first Amish rom-com . . . bring on the next one!” As the enthusiastic reviews continue to mount, she’s back with her third Appleseed Creek mystery, A Plain Disappearance.

It’s Christmastime in Amish Country, and Chloe Humphrey has begun settling into her life in Appleseed Creek excited to see where her new relationship with Timothy Troyer will lead. Unfortunately it leads to murder when the couple discovers the body of Amish teenager Katie Lambright while on their first date.

Near the scene there is evidence that Timothy’s friend and auto mechanic Billy Thorpe is involved with the crime. The police reveal Billy is not really who he said he was and has been living the last decade in Knox County under a stolen alias. Now, Chloe and Timothy must find Billy, bring him to justice, or prove his innocence.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Plain Disappearance, go HERE.

"Parents Matter" Infographic

I was recently sent a link to this “Parents Matter" infographic. I've lived life as a single parent and as a married stay-at-home mom. I remember the struggles of my former life and I certainly wouldn't like to relive them. Some of the statistics included below are shocking.


Source: Best Psychology Degrees

Book Spotlight: A Pioneer Christmas Collection by Kathleen Fuller, Vickie McDonough, Lauraine Snelling, Et al.

Journey along with American settlers who learn that despite where the trail takes them or how primitive their lodgings may be Christmas is all about the heart. Determined to honor Christ's birth, these pioneers find a way to make Christmas happen in places like a cave, a tipi, and a dugout. Modern readers will enjoy a peek into life before commercialism took over the sacred day, distracting us from the true blessings of faith, hope, and love. Enjoy nine original novellas of Christmas romance as penned from many of today’s leading Christian authors, including Lauraine Snelling, Kathleen Fuller, and Vickie McDonough.

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. (September 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1624161901
ISBN-13: 978-1624161902

PURCHASE AT CHRISTIANBOOK.COM, AMAZON AND BARNES AND NOBLE!

iPad Apps to Help Your Child Become a Better Reader

So, here is my iPad story. I'm not a technology person. My hubby dragged me to the local Apple store one day and the Lil' Diva had her display unit playing music before I even figured out the first screen of mine. I'm still learning, but the more I use my hubby's iPad, the more comfortable I become.

One of the great things about iPads is they truly are a learning tool. They aren't just juiced up video game systems. My girls use their devices to perform research for school and study their weekly Bible verses. I find my girls using their devices to read more often than they ever did before, especially because reading has now become interactive. I wish the iPad was around when they were learning how to read.

"8 iPad Apps to Help Your Child Become a Better Reader" is an article that discusses 8 iPad appls you can use to help your child become a better reader. You'll learn what each app offers and there's a hyperlink to each app's iTunes page. Click here to read the article.

Diary of a Busy Mom - Working from Home

How is working from home different from working outside the home? If you work from home:

·         Friends and neighbors don’t think twice about asking you to watch their kids;
·         Your children want you to drive them to and pick them up from school every day;
·         Your spouse thinks it’s cute that you call what you do “working;”
·         Potential outside employers think it’s quaint that you call what you do “working.”

CFBA: Honest Heart by Kaye Dacus

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingHonest HeartB&H Books (October 15, 2013)
byKaye Dacus



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Humor, Hope, and Happily Ever Afters! Kaye Dacus is the author of humorous, hope-filled contemporary and historical romances with Barbour Publishing, Harvest House Publishers, and B&H Publishing. She holds a Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, is a former Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers, and currently serves as President of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers. Kaye lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is a full-time academic advisor and part-time college composition instructor for Bethel University.

Kaye Dacus (KAY DAY-cuss) is an author and educator who has been writing fiction for more than twenty years. A former Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers, Kaye enjoys being an active ACFW member and the fellowship and community of hundreds of other writers from across the country and around the world that she finds there. She currently serves as President of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, which she co-founded in 2003 with three other writers. Each month, she teaches a two-hour workshop on an aspect of the craft of writing at the MTCW monthly meeting. Kaye lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is an academic advisor and English Composition instructor for Bethel University.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Set during the Industrial Revolution and the Great Exhibition of 1851, An Honest Heart is a “sitting-room romance” with the feel of a Regency-era novel but the fashions and technological advances of the mid-Victorian age.

Featuring dual romance stories, the main plot involves seamstress Caddy Bainbridge and the choice she must make between two men: one from the aristocracy, the other from the working class. Award-nominated author Kaye Dacus pinpoints the theme of honesty—both men in this love triangle have deep secrets to hide, and Caddy’s choice will be based on which of them can be honest with her.

Courtship . . . cunning . . . candor. Who possesses an honest heart?


If you would like to read the first chapter of Honest Heart, go HERE

Guest Blogger: Cinta Garcia de la Rosa, Author of The Funny Adventures of Little Nani

Little Nani is a little girl who likes helping people. However, when she helps people the results can be a bit unexpected. Why is that? Little Nani is a witch! Or at least she wants to be a witch. With her magic wand, she will try to cast different spells to help her friends, but she won’t be successful all the time. Follow Little Nani in her funny adventures and meet her extraordinary friends. Funny ostriches, horses that love reading, super-fast turtles, grumpy zombies… Little Nani has lots of friends! You can also draw your own characters! Little Nani is willing to become a good witch. Will she manage to do it? Who knows? Read the stories and discover what happens next!

Purchase at Amazon!

The Creation of Little Nani and Her World by Cinta Garica de la Rosa

Lots of people ask me about how Little Nani was created. Well, she is a lot a reflection of myself, and I have already said in other blogs that her name is the nickname that the girls I was looking after in London gave me, due to my small size. But what about her world? How did I create the background for her adventures?

Well, Little Nani is a happy, positive, vitalist, and a bit naughty girl who lives with a horse and two ostrichres. Then, I thought that it would be perfect if she lived in the middle of the country rather than in a town or city. Her exuberant personality goes well with that kind of setting, since she has plenty of space for running, jumping, dancing, and doing all the silly things she likes doing.

But someone can say... “If Little Nani lives in the middle of the country, how can she meet people?” Well, I made her house be close to a town (where she will meet some extraordinary people), surrounded by cornfields, and next to a forest with a river. Both the cornfields and the forest are inhabited by amazing creatures that will bump into Little Nani at certain moments, creating hilarious, funny, and absurd situations.

So the creation of Little Nani’s world was kind of easy, since I just wanted something to reflect her personality: wild like the forest, easy-going like the river, playful like the cornfields, and friendly like towns can be. It just wouldn’t make any sense to make her live her adventures in a different setting. And every setting is created at the same time I am writing the story, without previous thoughts; it is as if the story or the situation I am creating ask me for a certain setting to happen.

Little Nani and her world may seem crazy, but together they make a lot of sense and contribute to the better enjoyment of the stories. Please, everybody, check the stories out and let me know.

Cinta Garcia de la Rosa is a Spanish writer who has loved the written word since she discovered she was able to read books at age 5. Since then, she has become a bookworm and reads around 100 books every year. She also writes, every day, compulsively, even in the middle of the night. You cannot control when inspiration hits you, can you? She writes in English because she is convinced that in a previous life she was British, so writing in English feels more natural to her than writing in her native language. Yes, she is crazy like that. Cinta Garcia is the author of “The Funny Adventures of Little Nani”, a collection of short stories for children, and “A Foreigner in London”, a short story published on Smashwords.

Visit her online at http://cintascorner.com/