Meet author Lane Jordan
Lane Jordan, a best-selling author, international motivational and inspirational speaker, professional life coach, seminar leader, Bible teacher, and artist, has written five books on organization, including 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Woman and 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Mom. She has served as Associate Producer for the program In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. She lives in Frisco, TX with her husband who partners in her ministry.
Tell us about your newest book.
I’m excited to have written my first historical fiction book.
What inspired you to write Evangeline?
During a quiet time as I was reading the book of Esther, the Lord gave me the idea of taking Esther out of the past and place her in the 1960’s, hiding that she is bi-racial rather than Jewish.
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
Take a young orphan to a different city, change her name and identity, and try to keep her safe. However, evil lurks around all corners though God will see her through.
What genre do you focus on?
Usually, I focus on faith-based non-fiction, so this was a big change for me to write an historical fiction.
Why do you write?
I have wanted to write since I was a little girl. I was on the newspaper staff in high school and then majored in Journalism/Broadcasting in college. After hearing a women give her testimony at a Christian Woman’s Club, I decided I wanted to start sharing my testimony and that led me to start writing so I could speak more. The main purpose of speaking is to share the gospel with as many people as I can.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
I love my main character, Evangeline or Evie as her friends call her. Since this book is based on the book of Esther, each character starts with the same first letter: Esther – Evangeline; Mordecai – Martin, etc.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
I pretty much write every day around 1:00 in the afternoon. I need the mornings to sleep in, read, have my quiet time and then dig in. I try to put all my appointments in one day so I’m not leaving the house but maybe two days a week. I also might take a walk and then come back to writing. I write my blog, articles for magazines, and children’s books as well.
What is the hardest part of being an author?
It’s a lot of work and can be isolating. My husband works from home also so that is a big help. Also, there is so much I want to write but it takes such a long time to write/edit/get published. Then you feel that you (with the Lord) have accomplished so much but the book’s life isn’t that long and it’s time to write another one!
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
The pure joy of writing for the Lord and praying these few seeds will be planted and will grow in another person.
What’s one thing your readers should know about you?
I’m really an extravert so I love being around people.
How have you changed or grown as a writer?
Each time I write, I grow. It’s a never-ending learning process. I also oil paint and I will always have a teacher close by.
What is your favorite pastime?
Reading. I could sit all day and read. Also, anything outdoors and all sports. I love to walk/hike/swim/boating/tennis/golf, etc.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
My 12 Step series. The first one, 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Woman was a best seller and ten years later the publisher asked for an updated version. Then 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Mom; 12 Steps to Becoming a More Organized Cook, (cookbook) ; 12 Steps to Having a More Organized Christmas and Holiday Seasons. I have one in the can about crazy people in the Bible that I need to pull out and work on.
What are you working on now?
I have three children’s books with my agent looking for a publisher! And working on a few more. Then, I’m working on another fiction book and another non-fiction.
Website: www.LaneJordanMinistries.com
Link to book:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/164949369X
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58909052-evangeline
Website: http://www.LaneJordanMinistries.com
Website: http://www.PathwaysToOrganization.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaneJordanMinistries
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lane-jordan-burday-88231a9/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lane_Jordan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lanejburday/
My newest BOOK BABY!
Colleen’s Confession
Thousand Islands Brides, Book 4
Colleen’s Confession is set in 1914 on Comfort Island. Colleen Sullivan conceals secrets when she joins her aunt on Comfort Island to work in the laundry and await her betrothed’s arrival. She loves to draw and dreams of growing in the craft. But tragedy strikes when her fiancé perishes in the sinking of the ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland on his way to meet her. With her orphan dreams of finally belonging and becoming a wife and an artist gone, what will her future hold?
Austrian immigrant, Jack Weiss, enjoys being the island’s groundskeeper and is smitten by the lovely Irish lass. But Colleen dismisses him at every turn, no matter how much he admires her art, tries to keep her safe, and waters the blossoms of love. Perhaps introducing her to the famous impressionist, Alson Skinner Clark, will brighten her opinion of him. But rumors of war in Europe means Jack must choose between joining his homeland’s army or staying safe in the Thousand Islands as he makes a life with Colleen. If she will have him.
The first three novellas in the Thousand Islands Brides series features a woman who you met in the previous novels—The Fabric of Hope, Katelyn’s Choice, and Devyn’s Dilemma. But Colleen’s Confession stands alone. Yet each woman eventually finds love and hope in her journey around the Thousand Islands.
Check them all out, and enjoy a warm and inspiring holiday read.
Christmas Charity
Thousand Islands Brides, book 1
Susan Hawkins and Patrick O’Neill find that an arranged marriage is much harder than they think, especially when they emigrate from Wolfe Island, Canada, to Cape Vincent, New York, in 1864, just a week after they marry—with Patrick’s nine-year-old daughter, Lizzy, in tow. Can twenty-three-year-old Susan Hawkins learn to love her forty-nine-year-old husband and find charity for her angry stepdaughter? With Christmas coming, she hopes so.
Sara’s Surprise
Thousand Islands Brides, book 2
Katelyn’s best friend, Sara O’Neill, works as an assistant pastry chef at the magnificent Thousand Islands Crossmon Hotel where she meets precocious, seven-year-old Madison and her charming father and hotel manager, Sean Graham. But Jacque LaFleur, the pastry chef Sara works under, makes her dream job a nightmare. Sean has trouble keeping Madison out of mischief and his mind off Sara. Though he finds Sara captivating, he’s jealous of LaFleur and misreads Sara’s desire to learn from the pastry chef as love. Can Sean learn to trust her and can Sara trust him—and herself to be an instant mother?
Reagan’s Reward
Thousand Islands Brides, book 3
Reagan Kennedy assumes the position of governess to the Bernheim family’s twin nephews, and her life at Cherry Island’s Casa Blanca becomes frustratingly complicated. Service to a Jewish family and tending to eight-year-old mischievous boys brings trouble galore. Daniel Lovitz serves as the island’s caretaker and boatman. When he tries to help the alluring Reagan make sense of her new world, her insecurities mount as her confidence is shaken―especially when she crosses the faith divide and when Etta Damsky makes her life miserable. As trouble brews, Daniel sees another side of the woman he’s come to love.
If you’ve read the previous stories, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them. Leave me a message, and I’d love to connect!
Meet author Angela Breidenbach
Angela Breidenbach is a professional genealogist, media personality, bestselling author, and screenwriter. She’s also the Christian Authors Network president. Angie lives in Montana with her hubby and Muse, a trained fe-lion, who shakes hands, rolls over, and jumps through a hoop. Surprisingly, Angie can also. Don’t miss her show and podcast, Genealogy Publishing Coach.
Tell us about your newest book.
What will her courage cost? As Montana emerges into statehood, one woman must decide if social pressure will prevail when she hides an endangered child, risking her own future happiness. Queen of the Rockies — Book 1 of 6, opens this delightful series of Gilded Age historical romances peppered with genealogical tidbits.
What inspired you to write Queen of the Rockies, and the series?
Montana is a fascinating place. I was asked to research and write this first story but became so enthralled with little tidbits and pieces I found in my research that I had to keep going. The entire Queen of the Rockies series came out of odd lines here and there that jumped off the page or microfiche.
What genre do you focus on?
I love writing historical fiction. The fascinating part for me is delving into the way of life my ancestors might have experienced. I love genealogy and exploring all the intricacies of life. I walk into an old building and immediately begin imagining the people that once lived in it. I can’t help myself.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Calista Blythe is a debutante who has been sheltered from too much reality until she’s faced with a little girl facing a grim reality. I’d been reading a lot of fiction during that time. I felt like I saw the same names over and over. Calista came out of a list of names that I hadn’t read in a book before. There may be, but she was fresh to me to work with. That gave me a sense of a naïve young woman who was suddenly forced to cope with something she couldn’t avoid or fully understand. She was called in that time and place, for who she was, to be obedient to God even against societies opinions. I feel like each one of us are Calista. The question is…will we hear our call and act with courage. Will we answer as the mother of Jesus and say, let it be unto me… or will we cross to the other side of the road as all those who passed by the beaten man before the good Samaritan found him? I wanted to explore what it would be like to be a good Samaritan but not to have the freedom to act as one.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
Oh, it’s just nuts. I’m never only writing a book. When it gets really intense, I have to write after the world goes to sleep. For those who know about me already, you know that I’m a night owl. I promise I’m trying to change. But I don’t know if that’s actually possible. Am I the way I am because that’s part of my DNA? Or am I the way I am because I need complete silence? It’s a mystery.
What’s one unusual fact about you?
An unusual fact about me is that I love ballet, dancing it. I’m a beginner en pointe, but after raising kids I’m doing it because I want to do it. Not because I want to perform. I love the sense of grace and movement. But I’m dancing on my toes at the barre. No way I’m ready to let go, lol.
What is your favorite pastime?
I love learning. But the hobby that most fits with the first book in this series, Queen of the Rockies, is I’m learning to play the Celtic lap harp. I wish I could devote more time to it, but I try to practice 3-4 times a week. Those limited practice times have developed simple tunes and some simple hymns. I do have to battle my fe-lion, Muse, for my harp. He adores both the harp and the harp bag which he has claimed for his favorite sleeping bag.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Thank you for asking. There are 6 books in this series ranging 1889-1910. Each one tells a special element of Montana history and a special moment in time that somehow changed the world. Queen of the Rockies kicks off the series and hands off the story of abandoned Orphan Train children to the Song of the Rockies. Heart of the Rockies explores how women’s roles change while Flower of the Rockies introduces the sense of shame and redemption during the time Montana chose the delicate state flower. Bride of the Rockies is happening in similar time frame as Flower of the Rockies, but we see the women of Montana showcasing their scientific prowess at the 1893 World’s Fair. You’ll be amazed at all they achieved! The last book in this series is Flame of the Rockies and we get to meet a huge historic hero during the largest fire in US history. I hope you’ll join me in these stories.
What are you working on now?
The Queen of the Rockies series has six books releasing each month Sep. 2021 through Feb. 2022. So, the next book in this series is Flower of the Rockies. Emmalee Warren is the most like me of any characters I’ve written. I’m proud of this story, but it’s also the most vulnerable I’ve been in my fiction.
Website: https://AngelaBreidenbach.com
Link to book: https://AngelaBreidenbach.com/books/queen-of-the-rockies/
Social media links: @AngBreidenbach
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/angela-breidenbach
Meet author Karen Whiting
Karen Whiting writes to help families thrive and pray together to build strong bonds. A mom of five and grandmother, she enjoys adventure like camel riding in the Canary Islands, white water rafting in Australia, and scuba diving off Bermuda’s coast. She’s a certified writing and marketing coach, international speaker, former television host, and author of twenty-eight books.
Tell us about your newest book.
52 Weekly Devotions for Family Prayer provides tools to pray together and explore elements of prayer. Every week includes a different way to pray with children, hands on activities to investigate questions children ask about prayer, a contemporary story involving prayer, a Bible story to read that focuses on prayer, scripture prompts to chat about prayer, and ideas to write about in a prayer journal.
What inspired you to write 52 Weekly Devotions for Family Prayer?
As a family my husband and I prayed with our children and that brought us closer together. I wanted to share the value and ideas on prayer with other families. Praying together equips a family for life.
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
Want to create a great family prayer life? Then try this book that’s packed with stories of contemporary families, fifty-two exciting ways to pray together, hands-on activities that help children understand basic principles of prayer, and discussions that encourage you to dig into what happens when we pray.
What genre do you focus on?
Nonfiction. It provides a simple way for me to share lots of create ideas that are easy to apply.
Why do you write?
I write because God gave me a vision followed my someone giving me a painting of the vision. The passion to help families thrive and engage with God drives me to write.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
My schedule when I write a book, market, or write articles is the same. I write all day five days a week unless I am speaking or have appointments/family events.
What is the hardest part of being an author?
Balancing the desire to write with the need to market plus the pressure within the industry that we have good sales.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
The best part is meeting people and impacting their lives in a positive way. I love engaging with people and sharing what God puts in my heart.
What’s one unusual fact about you?
I have five children and fourteen grands who are loving and supportive of one another.
How have you changed or grown as a writer?
I have continually studied writing and marketing so that continues to help me grow as a writer.
What is your favorite pastime?
Being with family.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
I have 27 other books.
Watch for my next two books: Devos for Brave Boys
The Super-sized Book of Bible Gift Crafts (paper crafts that focus on kindness and encouragement written with my older daughter).
What are you working on now?
Two recently contracted books and starting a podcast with Michelle Medlock Adams.
Website: www.karenwhiting.com
Meet author Gail Kittleson
Gail and her retired Army chaplain husband enjoy grandchildren, gardening, and learning about history. She writes World War II women’s fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. No matter how dire the circumstances, you can count on her make-do heroines and heroes to discover new strength and move forward in faith. Facilitating workshops and retreats gives Gail opportunity to cheerlead other writers (she misses instructing college writing classes), and editing other author’s work authors also brings unique satisfaction.
Tell us about your newest book. Land That I Love.
Everett Herring, a British teacher who lost his wife and his home in a tragic fire, moves to the United States in 1938. Having decided to earn his living caring for an orchard, a skill his grandfather taught him, he and William, his butler, bring Everett’s young son to Loyal Valley, an obscure small town in Texas Hill Country. As they observe world events leading to a terrible war, we see its far-reaching effects on the local populace.
What inspired you to write Land That I Love?
For some reason, Texas had been on my mind—at least in my experience, we can’t always explain these things! The more I read about the Hill Country, quite an isolated area northwest of San Antonio, the more I felt it was perfect for Everett, a British immigrant in 1938. Everett made his appearance during 2020—perhaps the Covid isolation prompted him to show up.
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
The ravages of World War II spread near and far, but the foundation of family and solid friendships eased the misery it caused.
What genre do you focus on?
Women’s historical fiction. I actually aim for literary fiction, since it’s my favorite to read, but hesitate to claim that genre.
Why do you write?
Part of my motivation is that I got such a late start. I love the process, even though it’s exhausting, but was slow to begin because I never imagined I could write good fiction. Discovering that I readers do like my stories motivated me to continue, and through it all, my goal is to honor the make-do folks of the Greatest Generation.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
A bit crazy. I’m a true writing addict, so I get going and sometimes forget to eat. Nothing else matters during these binges—housework, cooking, or whatever else is going on around me. I have no set schedule, just write and write and write, then rewrite, rewrite and rewrite, and finally, edit and edit and edit.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
I think the writing itself—I just love writing! Also, hearing readers’ comments makes my day or week or month, at times. I especially like hearing that I didn’t give my characters any “easy outs” or pat answers. People appreciate down-to-earth heroines and heroes who conquer obstacles even without being given any “breaks,” because that’s where most of us live. We may be people of faith, but that doesn’t necessarily make our everyday lives any easier.
What’s one unusual fact about you?
I seem to approach things in a backhanded way. This has always been true of me, I think—I remember Mom saying, “You deal the cards with the wrong hand.” As an adult, my methods probably might seem peculiar to others, as if my brain were processing the opposite of most people’s. But it works for me.
How have you changed or grown as a writer?
Whoo boy! I’ve become resigned to the inevitable presence of errors, for one thing. No matter how many times I edit a manuscript, a few ALWAYS slip through. I’ve also learned to self-edit, and even enjoy the process. Sometimes I think I delete more words than I write. Lastly, I’ve come to value the final creation as worthy. This took a long time, since I began with the belief that I really had very little to offer.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
Yes, you can see them all on my website. My first three books, In Times Like These, With Each New Dawn, and A Purpose True form a series, although they can each be read as stand-alones. My other single titles: All For The Cause, Kiss Me Once Again and Until Then, are about World War II. Secondhand Sunsets is an aberration, telling the story of a pioneer woman in Arizona Territory. Two nonfiction releases, The Food That Held The World Together and A WWII Holiday Scrapbook, were co-written with Cleo Lampos. I co-wrote Country Music’s Hidden Gem with Billy Rae Stewart, the son of Redd Stewart, who wrote the lyrics to The Tennessee Waltz.
What are you working on now?
I have a cozy WWII mystery in the works.
Website: http://www.gailkittleson.com
Social media links:
http://www.gailkittleson.com/
www.facebook.com/GailKittlesonAuthor
http://amazon.com/author/gailkittleson
www.twitter.com/GailGkittleson @GailGkittleson
@gailkittlesonauthor (Instagram)
Meet author Kathy Harris
Kathy Harris has worked as a marketing director in the Nashville music industry for more than 30 years. Her first professional writing job was freelancing entertainer biographies. Later she wrote news stories and columns for various music publications. She has also contributed to several anthologies. Her debut novel was released by Abingdon Press in 2012. Deadly Connection, the second book in The Deadly Secrets series, just released.
Tell us about your newest book.
After fending off a would-be abductor, 27-year-old singer-songwriter Hannah Cassidy hides behind a car in the half-empty parking lot behind Pancake Pantry in Nashville. From there, she watches in horror as her attacker grabs another woman and pushes her into a nearby car. Within seconds, the vehicle speeds away.
TBI Special Agent Jake Matheson may have planned a quiet day off and a date with Shannon―the only name her online profile revealed―for an introductory lunch, but after pulling into a parking space on 21st Avenue South, he hears a scream and finds a frightened young woman gasping for breath. Thrown together by uncanny circumstances and driven by the whys and what-ifs of secrets yet to be revealed, Hannah and Jake set out to find the connection between them before it becomes deadly.
What inspired you to write Deadly Connection?
It’s the second book of my romantic suspense series set in Nashville with heroes who are Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
How would you describe this book to someone in a 30-second blurb?
Singer-songwriter Hannah Cassidy and TBI Special Agent Jake Matheson are thrown together by uncanny circumstances. Will they uncover the secrets between them before it becomes deadly?
What genre do you focus on?
Romantic Suspense. It’s one of my favorite genres to read.
Why do you write?
I’ve wanted to write books since I was a young girl in elementary school. I followed up on that dream by majoring in journalism, and minoring in English, in college. After receiving my B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University, I moved to Nashville to take a ground floor job in the music industry. But a writer writes… and I finally got around to finishing a manuscript in the early 2000s.
I was motivated to keep writing, and to hone my craft, by other writers I met through American Christian Fiction Writers. Those early friendships are now longtime and treasured friendships. Ultimately, however, I am motivated by wanting to encourage others in the faithfulness of God.
Who is your main character, and how did you choose that name?
Hannah Cassidy is the heroine in Deadly Connection. She is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter, who is talented, beautiful and vivacious. But it’s Hannah’s never-say-die attitude that makes her the most attractive to Jake Matheson, a Special Agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Character names are important to me, and it’s somewhat unexplainable how I choose them. However, until I can settle on the right name, I can’t write the character.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing a book?
This book was an anomaly for me. I wrote it in three months, while working my full-time job. It was a busy three months. I wrote till 1 or 2 a.m. many nights.
What is the hardest part of being an author?
There are a lot of hard parts to writing… staying in the seat, staying focused, and believing in your ability to complete the task.
What’s the best part of your author’s life?
The creative process. There’s something incredibly satisfying about storytelling. When I finished my manuscript for Deadly Connection, I thought about this quote from Joseph S. Bonsall’s book From My Perspective: “The creative process. Something that exists today that was not here yesterday. A song. A book. A rebuilt kitchen countertop, or even a new recipe for scampi.”
What is your favorite pastime?
I’ve always loved cooking. And, because I’ve spent so much time at home in the last year, I’ve had time for gardening, which has become a passion. A friend and I are working on a food blog to combine those two things.
Do you have other books? We’d love to know.
My first published novel was a Christian women’s fiction standalone entitled The Road to Mercy. It was the book of my heart, at least at that time, and was based on a traumatic event I witnessed in childhood.
What are you working on now?
Deadly Conclusion, Book 3 in The Deadly Secrets series. It’s set to release in Spring 2022.
Website:
Link to book:
Social media links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KathyHarrisAuthor
Twitter https://twitter.com/divinedetour
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kathyharris_author/