Roxanne Rustand

Guest blog by Julianna Deering

I will never forget the first time I saw little Elizabeth.  She and her brother and sister had been born just a few days before, and even for new kittens they were especially tiny.  They were living in a barn and it was getting to be the hottest part of the summer, and in Texas that means really hot.  When the people who owned the place decided they needed to give the kittens away, I knew I had to have Elizabeth.

She was only 4 ½ weeks old then, and still very tiny.  I knew I would have to bottle feed her until she was old enough to eat kitten food.  I also realized that she didn’t want to be left alone even for a moment.  If I wasn’t holding her or letting her sleep on me, she would shriek!  So unless I was feeding her, I let her sleep in my t-shirt pocket.

When she got too big for a regular pocket, I took an old t-shirt and cut off everything but the front and the collar.  Then I folded the bottom of the front up and sewed along each side, making a bigger pocket that I could wear around my neck.  Little Elizabeth slept in that quite happily until she was about eight weeks old.  Then, quite abruptly, she decided she was a big girl and didn’t want to sleep in it anymore.

I rather missed having my baby always there, warm against my heart, but I suppose they all grow up.  She’s three years old now and still tiny.  She’s not my little pocket wocket anymore, but she does cuddle up close to me when we sleep, and that’s a fine thing.  I don’t know what I would do without her.

RULES of MURDER

Julianna Deering

Bethany House

Release date August 1, 2013

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJuliannaDeering

by guest blogger Vickie McDonough

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved horses. I grew up in the city, but I watched the cowboy shows of the 1960s with my dad, and fell in love with all things western. I read every horse book I could find. I even talked my parents into buying me a horse.

We lived one block away from the city line, so I was able to board my horse just two blocks from home. During the summer and after school, I’d walked over to the pasture to feed and ride Buddy Boy. He

was a beautiful bay gelding with black fetlocks and a white diamond on his forehead.

On days when it rained or I had a lot of homework and couldn’t go to the pasture until later, Dad would drive me. I usually fed Buddy, but I remember one time that Dad did. My big, strong Dad was scared of horses, and it was a bit comical to watch him dancing around Buddy, trying to keep away from him. One evening, Dad took the feed into Buddy’s stall and dumped it in the bin. What he didn’t know was that Buddy had followed him in, but for some reason, the horse spun around and faced out. When Dad pivoted around to leave, he was looking straight at Buddy’s rear end. It freaked out my dad so much that he yelled and swung the bucket in the air. Buddy jumped and took off running. After I got over the initial shock, I nearly busted a gut, laughing.

I realized later how fortunate my dad was that Buddy didn’t kick him when he yelled. I still thank God that that didn’t happen. As a writer, I look back at those days of riding my horse all over our side of town. They are special memories, and I know that owning not one, but several horses over three years helped prepare me to be able to write about them. Even when I was not yet a teen, God was guiding me to things that would help me in my writing career. And He’ll do the same for you—guide you along the path He’s set up for you—if you only listen and follow His direction. Don’t be afraid to step out and say yes, if He asks you to do something hard. You may be surprised where He will lead you.

And here’s some news about her newest book release!

Whispers on the Prairie
Publisher: Whitaker House
Release date: July 1, 2013

A City Girl Far from Home…
Sarah Marshall just wants to go home. It wasn’t her idea to leave Chicago and head west, but her uncle’s ambition left her no choice. Neither was her intention to settle in Kansas with her ailing aunt, but being penniless and without possessions brings little bargaining power. Pretty soon, she resigns herself to her fate, however unfortunate. It isn’t as if she has a home to go back to.

A Country Boy Seeking to Right a Wrong…
Ethan Harper, the youngest of three brothers, enjoys a peaceful existence helping run his family’s stage shop along the Santa Fe Trail. Only one cloud continues to darken his horizon—guilt over the tragic death of his oldest brother’s wife. The only acceptable penance Ethan can think of is finding another woman to marry his brother and help raise Aaron’s motherless children.

A Match so Incompatible, It Just Might Work…
When a series of misfortunes strands Sarah Marshall and her aunt at Harpers’ Stage Stop, the status quo is overthrown as the presence of an attractive young woman, however unversed in the ways of prairie living, wreaks havoc on the lives of the Harper brothers, all three of them vying for her attention. But will any of them prove himself worth giving up the life Sarah always dreamed of?

“Vickie McDonough has created a wealth of intriguing characters in this heartwarming tale of brotherly conflict and family loyalties set on the Kansas plains. Combining just the right amount of romance, faith and honest emotions, Ms. McDonough has penned another winner that you won’t want to put down.”   Bestselling author Margaret Brownley, Dawn Comes Early, Waiting for Morning & Gunpowder Tea

Website: www.vickiemcdonough.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/VickieMcDonough

Vickie is  starting an email mailing list for readers who’d like to keep up with her book news. If you’d like to be on it, please visit her website, and you’ll find a link to the sign-up page on the Home page.

Do you have any questions or comments for Vickie?  Post them here, and she’ll be sure to answer!

by guest blogger Leigh Bale
Read on to the end, for a chance in a drawing for a FREE BOOK!

Howdy from Nevada!  Today, I’d like to chat about wild mustangs.  I have a new book available from Harlequin Love Inspired titled HEALING THE FOREST RANGER.  The story is centered around the wild horses that live and run free here in Nevada.  I’ve tried to tackle a very difficult issue about whether or not the wild horses should be rounded up and moved off the land when they become too numerous to support their herds with food and water.  The heroine is a forest ranger who loves the horses, but views this dilemma from an ecological perspective.  The hero is a medical doctor and former prisoner of war and a wild horse advocate who thinks the mustangs should be left alone.  The horses serve as a metaphor for the struggles the main characters are dealing with in their personal lives.  A very poignant read I hope you’ll enjoy.

My father is a retired U.S. forest ranger.  When I was young, he’d take me with him to go out and check on “his wild horses,” as he called them.  The picture below shows the mustangs living around Cherry Creek, Nevada.  One time, we got between the stallion and his herd of mares.  He was furious with us.  He screamed, reared, and charged the truck.  I was very glad to be safely inside with metal doors to protect me.  We quickly moved out of the way, but I’ll never forget the wild beauty of that stallion.  The opening scene to my new book is based on that encounter.

Did you know you can adopt a wild horse?  The Bureau of Land Management can assist you with this endeavor.  If you aren’t able to adopt, you can get involved in many other ways.  Check out their website for more information.

That said, I’d like to randomly give away several copies of this heart-warming new book today.  What is your favorite color for a horse?  Have you ever ridden a horse before?  Do you own a horse?  Do you like horses?  (There is no right or wrong answer to these questions.)    🙂

Here’s a link  to the BLM’s wild horse adoption program:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram.html

And here is Leigh’s latest book!

Healing the Forest Ranger
Love Inspired Books
Leigh Bale

Rancher to the Rescue ~ When a wild mustang threatens someone’s life, rancher Cade Baldwin springs into action. But he’s not pleased when he sees the beautiful woman he’s saved is the town’s new forest ranger. Lyn Warner is determined to round up the wild horses Cade loves so much. But she’s also the woman who makes him smile like no one else. After her husband died in a car crash, Lyn turned her back on her beliefs and focused all her attention on her injured daughter. But Cade’s strong faith and steady love might be exactly what they all need to create an unbreakable family.

Leave a comment or a question for Leigh, and you’ll be automatically entered in a drawing for a copy of her new book!!

by guest blogger, Christian author  Christa Allan

When my husband brings his work home with him, it usually has four legs and doesn’t leave.

He’s a veterinarian, and I live in constant fear I’ll turn into one of those crazy cat ladies. You know, the ones who have to move their cats to find their furniture. Or who can’t go out in public because all their clothes are layered with so much cat hair they look like cats themselves.

We don’t have the menagerie people expect us to have. Though my husband will stop on any road, almost anywhere to rescue a slow-crossing turtle. We’ve limited ourselves to cats. Well, my husband has limited us to cats because I’ve nudged him for a dog for years.

I grew up in a dog family; he grew up in a cat family. As a dog-person, I was totally unprepared for the household havoc cats can wreak. They can reach heights beyond my comprehension. I’d find them on top of the kitchen cabinets or peeking from behind one of the tchotchkes on top of the bookshelf. They’re also capable of smushing their bodies into something resembling an oblong pancake to worm their way underneath something or into a furry hotdog to squeeze through something.

Our first cat, Edison, was rather persnickety and preferred Ken over me. Which, since I was still new to being a cat-person, was actually not a problem once I discovered how much hair he left behind. Edison arrived at our house after some high school girls found him in the street after he’d been hit by a car. He was a wee kitten then, and one side of his little head still had black marks from the tires. He lost part of one paw, Ken sewed him back together, and brought him home.

Monkee followed, a small black female, brought home because, well, quite frankly, she was weird. If anyone made eye-contact with her, she’d blast off in the opposite direction. It was only after Edison died from a mouth tumor that Monkee became more social. She truly mourned Edison. She’d mew and mew until, eventually, she resigned herself to his being gone.

In the meantime, he’d brought home another kitten because she was, he said, “Nice.”) Of course she was nice. She knew she had a ticket to a house!). Even as a kitten, she spent more time leaping than walking. So Ken named her Amelia, as in Amelia Earhart.

When Monkee started her decline, I worried more about my husband than the cat. He would give her fluids daily, and hand-feed her, and do whatever he needed to do to make her comfortable. One day, Ken came home to find Monkee’s still little body in her small cat crate, and before I arrived home from school, he’d buried her next to Edison.

We thought Amelia would be a companion for Monkee, but she became my companion instead. She was the first cat who actually curled up in my lap instead of Ken’s.  It was rather surprising and unexpected. Amelia became my writing and grading papers buddy. When she’d spot me sitting at the kitchen table, she’d either stretch herself on top of the papers I needed to grade or curl up in my lap while I typed.

Amelia, loves to hide in drawers, especially the ones in my office where I keep my copy paper. When necessary, she’ll occupy the cabinets where I store, you guessed it, the crystal.  She’s also an expert under-the-bed hider. Ever try to capture a cat while it’s playing boomerang under the bed? It’s a prelude to head injuries and back wrenching.

I actually don’t remember how Newton arrived at our house. It’s likely Ken thought Amelia needed a friend. Not so much. Even today she’s not so crazy about him. He, on the other hand, adores her.  Unrequited love is painful to watch even in cat world.

And, our newest addition is Harrison. Ken had started working at the Animal Shelter, and he was part of a liter that had been dropped off at their door (not uncommon). They were all sick, and Ken nursed them all back to save them from being euthanized. When he was a tiny kitten, I went to work with Ken one day and placed him on a surgery table while I walked to the other side of the room to turn on a light. I walked back, and he’d disappeared. Then I heard this faint “meow” that sounded more like a question. Somehow, he’d managed to make his way to the end of the table and fall into the empty plastic trashcan that was there. He’s still quirky and cute. In fact, his favorite toy is the sink dish drain. We don’t get it either.

Almost everyday Ken sends me photos of woebegone kittens that make their way into the shelter. I told him if he didn’t stop, I’d start sending him pictures of golf clubs.

And here is Christa’s latest release!

THREADS OF HOPE
Abingdon Press, Quilts of Love Series
Released March 2013

Passed over for promotion and dumped by her boyfriend, Nina O’Malley is further frustrated when her editor assigns her one of the “soft” stories she despises—covering a gala benefit supporting the AIDS Memorial Quilt. More determined than ever to prove she deserves a promotion to the NY office, Nina decides to write a series featuring a local quilting group raising money for AIDs research.

At the event, she runs into her high school nemesis: Greg is a widower and the adoptive father of Jazarah, an HIV positive girl from Ethiopia. Unlike Nina, Greg has faith in a loving God, and he trusts in God’s plan for his life. Greg and Nina grow closer, and as Nina interviews the quilt families, she begins to question the choices she has made and her lack of faith. Nina suddenly finds herself facing two possible dreams, two paths for her life.

“Christa Allan has created realistic characters that can get into your heart and under your skin.  Nina has many opportunities to serve others, to make a difference in others’ lives through her writing…and what does she do?  Well, I can’t tell you or I’ll ruin the story, but suffice it to say, there are a few nail biting moments toward the end of the story.”  Review from Window to My World

Twitter:   @ChristaAllan
Facebook: Christa Allan, Author
Website/Blog:Http://www.christaallan.com