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Monday, March 20, 2017

THE ELUSIVE MISS ELLISON BY CAROLYN MILLER | BLOG TOUR AND KINDLE AND A CUPPA GIVEAWAY

The Elusive Miss Ellison        (Kregel, February 2017)
Handsome appearance counts for naught unless matched by good character and actions.
That’s the firm opinion of not-so-meek minister’s daughter Lavinia Ellison. So even though all the other villagers of St. Hampton Heath are swooning over the newly returned seventh Earl of Hawkesbury, she is not impressed. If a man won’t take his responsibilities seriously and help those who are supposed to be able to depend on him, he deserves no respect from her. In Lavinia’s pretty, gray eyes, Nicholas Stamford is just as arrogant and reckless as his brother–who stole the most important person in Livvie’s world.
Nicholas is weighed down by his own guilt and responsibility, by the pain his careless brother caused, and by the legacy of war he’s just left. This quick visit home to St. Hampton Heath will be just long enough to ease a small part of that burden. Asking him to bother with the lives of the villagers when there’s already a bailiff on the job is simply too much to expect.
That is, until the hoydenish, intelligent, and very opinionated Miss Ellison challenges him to see past his pain and pride. With her angelic voice in his head, he may even be beginning to care. But his isn’t the only heart that needs to change.
These two lonely hearts may each have something the other needs. But with society’s opposition, ancestral obligations, and a shocking family secret, there may be too many obstacles in their way.
Fans of Georgette Heyer, Lori Wick, and Julie Klassen will enjoy the spirited exchanges between the bluestocking minister’s daughter and the bruised war hero as they move past pride and presumption to a humbled appreciation of God’s grace and the true strength of love.

MY REVIEW

Actually, this is more than just my review of The Elusive Miss EllisonI had the wonderful opportunity to read this debut novel with the option of endorsing it to my readers and my reader friends! You'll find my official endorsement in the front few pages of the book, and I cannot recommend it enough! If you love my books, you will likely fall in love with Carolyn Miller's as well! It was such a joy to read! And here is my official endorsement for when the book comes out in a few months! I'll be buying a paperback of this book for my keeper shelf! 

"Lovers of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer will be delighted with Carolyn Miller's debut novel, The Elusive Miss Ellison--especially readers who want to know more about the hero's journey to adoring their regency heroine. This new author's beautifully written book is definitely worth reading!"--Dawn Crandall, award winning author of The Everstone Chronicles


*** by the way--some of the digital ebook versions are FREE RIGHT NOW! Go get it!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Miller lives in New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn'’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers.








GIVEAWAY!


Settle in for a cozy night of reading with a cuppa 

and a Kindle from Carolyn!

One grand prize winner will receive:
Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on March 22. The winner will be announced March 23 on the Litfuse blog.



Friday, March 3, 2017

A Writer's Review of Making Marriage Beautiful by Dorothy Greco





Book info


What makes a marriage beautiful? Honesty? Compatibility? Physical and emotional intimacy?

All of these are important, but there's one component that determines the quality and longevity of a marriage more than anything else: a willingness to grow.Because a wedding joins together two imperfect people, all couples experience disappointment, conflict, and pain. How husbands and wives respond to these challenges determines the kind of people they will become and the kind of marriage they will have.


Making Marriage Beautiful reveals how the pursuit of Christ results in profound transformation for both the individual and the marriage. Rather than offering clichés and formulas, Greco relies on candor, humor, and real life stories to bring encouragement and wisdom to all couples, regardless of whether they have been married four weeks or forty years.


 Learn more and purchase a copy.


                               My Review.                              

Marriage is sometimes a messy thing. Especially when babies (finally, I might add) come along. Especially when your little family makes a move away from easy suburban life to live in a really old fixer upper in the middle of the country. Especially when the mommy is an author who wants to write... but can't. Especially when the mommy has ADD.


Let all this happen in the spanse of 12 months and it's one whopper of a YEAR-11.


So, I signed up for this book.


Me, who used to actually mentor young engaged couples on preparing for marriage. But let's face it--being married for the first five years was somehow easier than being married for the last six. I'm not sure why, but it's just how it's been for us. I've known other very-long-married couples tell of having the worst years as their first, so I guess it's different for everyone.


Yeah, I signed up for a marriage book.


Not that my marriage is bad, I just thought maybe I could use a little perspective now that we've been married for almost 12 years.


To get down to it, this was an interesting book to read. I liked that it wasn't only fr M her perspective, but that she involved her husband a lot of the time. I believe it had good things to say in an encouraging way and that it was filled with good reminders for couples who might have become distanced because of busy-ness and life changes.


                                       Author info.                                   
Dorothy Greco and her husband, Christopher, have spent their entire twenty-five-year marriage helping men and women create and sustain healthy marriages. They have served numerous churches in the Greater Boston area for thirty years. Dorothy's writing has been featured in "Relevant Magazine," "Christianity Today," "Sojourners," and "Her.meneutics." She is a regular contributor for "Gifted for Leadership," "Today's Christian Woman," and "Start Marriage Right."