Website Down!

I know we haven't been updating much with everything that has been going on in our family: move, new baby, mentally ill child; however, anyone wanting to get gifts for others from our website at today will find it offline because of a cyberattack on the hosting service, Moonfruit.

It is anticipated that it will be up and running by tomorrow. You can still find our books on Amazon.

Thank you!

On Cyber Monday (December 1), all our published e-book titles will be FREE for download on Amazon!

On Cyber Monday (December 1), all our published e-book titles will be FREE for download on Amazon!

Black Friday – Small Business Saturday – Cyber Monday Sale!!!

All paperback/ hardcover titles on our website will be 15% for the sale weekend with discount code. You can also click to order them through CreateSpace and input the CreateSpace code to receive the same discount.

Goodreads Giveaway:

We will be giving away copies of The Corruption and The Essential U.S. Guide to Chemotherapy and Radiation (later) throughout the weekend and in December on Goodreads!

We currently have these books available:

Sal, Captain of the Baby Guards in English , Spanish , and Simplified Chinese : A children’s picture book that deals with the fear of vacuums.

The Inconvenient Widow : A historical inspirational (Christian) romance.

The Corruption : An epic fantasy dealing with the pre-flood period described in Genesis when the angels came down and took human wives.

Cheaper By the Dozen Study Guide : a reproducible workbook for Cheaper By the Dozen that covers language arts topics such as nouns, verbs, synonyms, antonyms, discussion questions, and more.

The Essential Guide to Chemotherapy and Radiation : This book is a non-fiction resource that explains cancer treatments and ways to prevent side effects in an easy-to-understand format. The included Help List is filled with resources for patients and their caregivers. There is both a U.K. version and a U.S. version with resources respective to each country.

The Inconvenient Widow Study Questions

1. Emily constantly rushes into things. Have you ever rushed into something? How did it turn out? What are things you do to keep yourself from rushing decisions?

2. Emily is constantly worried about taking care of her family. Is your family important to you? Have you had to make sacrifices for your family? How does giving up things for your family make you feel?

3. Marcus had decided not to marry because of the way girls acted around him. Have you ever decided that you would not do something but changed your mind later?  Is there anything you always wanted to do but never had a chance? Why do goals change over time?

4. Do you feel Lady Radford is pushy or loving? What are some of her best and worst traits? Would you want to have her as your mother?

5. Lady Radford walks in at a bad time and assumes wrong. Have you ever been in a situation where someone made the wrong judgement about you? How did you resolve the problem?

6. Marcus has a difficult time telling Emily he loves her. In what ways does Stephen help or hinder the situation? Have you ever given advice to someone that did not help them? What happened?

7. Similarly, Emily has a difficult time understanding Marcus' actions. Have you ever misunderstood someone? How did you find out the truth?

8. Many of the books characters do not trust Algernon when Emily continues to give him the benefit of the doubt. The Bible says to be as crafty as serpents and as innocent as doves. How is it difficult balancing this fine line in your life?

9. Some of the bad guys in this story are truly bad. They have completely closed themselves off to reform. How should they be dealt with by the law? Do you believe they should receive the death penalty for their crimes? (They would have been hung in the time period.)

10. Algernon makes many bad choices. Do you feel his actions are excusable? Do you think he has truly changed by the end of the book?

What is an Inspirational Romance?

Well, my book, The Inconvenient Widow, isn't doing so well ratings wise on Goodreads right now. Why? Because it is an inspirational romance. Now, I don't try to hide this fact from anyone. I clearly stated it on my Goodreads Giveaway page. In case anyone didn't know what that was, in the description, I say, "Marcus is there to protect her while Emily’s faith helps her through her ordeals." Unfortunately, the same people who do not know what an Inspirational Romance is also seem to miss that very important clue. 

According to the Romance Writers of America, Inspirational Romance is "Romance novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs (in the context of any religion or spiritual belief system) are a major part of the romantic relationship." All the books I have read that are marked "Inspirational Romance" use Christianity as their basis of belief. Obviously, mine follows suit. 

So, I am getting bad reviews because of all the Christianity in my Inspirational Romance. Sigh. I know I am not the only author to suffer this readership misunderstanding, but it is the equivalent of someone reading a fantasy and giving it a bad review because it contained unicorns and dragons. After all, those creatures aren't very realistic. 

True, my novels don't have sex in them or swearing, so I suppose they are attractive to those who shun these things in books, but it is disappointing to get a one-star review that berates the unbelievably Christian characters, but then in the last sentence says, "The author is a good writer." I write well, but since I have chosen to write Christian Romance my books are one-star. 

So, please, if you are following this blog, go out and tell your friends - and tell them to tell their friends - Inspirational Romances are Christian Romances. The next time I do a Goodreads Giveaway, I will definitely be spelling it out better. 

Lady Radford

Lady Radford is the leader in propriety. She always is concerned about putting her best foot forward and making sure the rest of the polite world has as little to talk about as possible. When she makes her appearance, it is because she truly has her best interest at heart - even if it might not seem like it. It poses difficulty because no one really wants to move back in with their parent(s) (or have their parents move into the same home as them) once they have been independent.

With all that sense of what is proper, it is slightly shocking that she knows common cant. I think there may be some unanswered questions about Lady Radford's past that will probably be explored in future books.

Stephen

Stephen is anti-marriage in this book. As the younger brother he doesn't see why he should be the one who must leave an heir. Unlike the Lucian-Algernon title, Stephen is safe from inheriting until Marcus' death because their title can only go to the oldest living son.

Unfortunately, I think it is going to take more than one book to get Stephen to settle down. Will he ever find a woman to settle him down?

Book Group Study Questions - Coming Soon

For any book groups that want to use "The Inconvenient Widow," I am planning on posting a few study questions on this website in the future. Feel free to print them out and share them.