RITA Nomination!

THE SNOW-KISSED BRIDE is nominated for a RITA Award!

REDEMPTION RIVER - New Series

My new series from Love Inspired began with January book, FINDING HER WAY HOME. It's still available so please order a copy or pick one up from your local book seller. Walmart is out already so please try elsewhere.

Book 2 - THE WEDDING GARDEN arrives in May. I'm already getting some exciting buzz about this book that just thrills me to pieces.  Love Inspired has asked me if they can send out first chapter samples of the book, a good indication that the editors love it too.  No cover yet, but when I get one, I will post it here.

There are 3 more books already scheduled for next year in this series about a small town where hope and healing flow like a river.

Please join me Redemption very soon!!

FINDING HER WAY HOME

FINDING HER WAY HOME has officially found its way to bookstores, Walmart, Amazon and anywhere else you might want to buy a book. Hope you like it!

Snow Ice Cream!!

We rarely have snow in my part of the country. Maybe once a year we get a dusting or if we’re really lucky, a couple of inches. This year, on Christmas Eve, I witnessed my very first blizzard, resulting in snowdrifts up to several feet of wonderful, fluffy, dry snow.


When I was a kid, we couldn’t afford ice cream but when it snowed, Mom would make snow ice cream. I loved it then. I love it now. My kids and grandkids love it too. So here is my recipe for all of you have snow. (Please note, I know some people think it's gross or unhealthy to eat snow. If you do, don't make this. I personally think it's fine.)

Snow ice Cream

(All ingredients are approximates)

1 lg. (3 quart bowl) of clean, dry snow
1 cup of sugar

2 ½ TBS. Cocoa

1-2 tsp. real vanilla extract

½ cup of Milnot

¼ cup of milk (approx.)

Mix cocoa and sugar together, then sprinkle over the top of the snow and mix in lightly with a fork. Once the snow is chocolate colored, slowly add the vanilla and milks, mixing with fork after each addition. Continue until you reach a nice thick ice cream consistency. Put in freezer for a few minutes. Then eat and enjoy!

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS

I received an early Christmas surprise from Love Inspired. They have released my first two books as a duo just in time for Christmas. Both stories have Christmas themes. The shelf date is December 4, so if you've not had a chance to read these, I hope you'll pick one up for a cozy Christmas feeling.

LOVE those Santa cookies on the cover, don't you?

COWBOY DADDY, JINGLE BELL BABY

Even though the title is hokey and the cover not much better, I hope you all enjoy my latest traditional romance from Harlequin Romance. In the story, the cowboy is cuter and the baby is newborn!

But tell me, do you think that baby on the cover is real? Or does she look like a doll to you?  Just saying....

Exciting new series-REDEMPTION RIVER

Coming in 2010 from Love Inspired:

The first two installments of the new small town series, REDEMPTION RIVER.

FINDING HER WAY HOME - January 2010

THE WEDDING GARDEN - May 2010

Two More Sweet Romances on the Horizon

For those of you who enjoy my traditional 'sweet' romances from Harlequin, I have two more scheduled, but no covers yet to show you.

COWBOY DADDY, JINGLE BELL BABY - coming to the U.S. in November and the UK in September.


HER PRINCE'S SECRET SON - - will be released in Dec. 09 in the UK which means it will likely arrive in the U.S. in February.

WHAT'S COMING UP?

Free Downloadable books - including one of my Love Inspireds - A VERY SPECIAL DELIVERY - These are available all this year - Enjoy!!


NEW BOOKS:


Available in April - Perfect as a gift for Mothers' Day!!

Order here


COMING IN MAY - the story of Nic Carano, who first appeared in "A Season For Grace," 2007 ACFW Book of the Year.

Order here

NEW BOOK COMING MARCH 1!

Single Christian teacher Rainy Jernagen is a kid crazy foster mom. Rancher Nate Del Rio is burdened by the responsibility of his three siblings and never wants children. Can there be a future for this mismatched pair?

HOME TO CROSSROADS RANCH - Available March 1 where ever books are sold or order here.

New Book Coming in January

Romantic Times magazine gave the book 4 1/2 stars and said:

Living alone, with only the rescue dogs she trains for company, suits Melody Crawford perfectly. The locals think she's crazy, which is fine with her too -- it ensures her privacy unless she's needed for a search-and-rescue. That changes when ex-Army Ranger John North is hired as the team's management director. He enlists Melody's aid to improve the inadequate maps of the area and, in the process, befriends her. Trust is hard for Melody, due to her tragic family history, but somehow North gets to her, because intimacy isn't simple for him either. Goodnight offers a unique story with extra-special characters.....

Available January 13, 2009 Preorder now!

Order or read an excerpt at Amazon

Thanksgiving Recipes--yum

It's time to share some good eatin'! If you have a favorite recipe to share, please leave it for me in the comments. Here are a couple of my family favs.

Goodnight Sweet Potato Casserole

Casserole for a crowd:
3 big cans or 6 big, big sweet potatoess (baked/boiled and peeled and cut in hunks. You can also mash the potatoes if you like that consistency. )
¾ cup butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ cup pineapple juice, opt.
1 tsp. cinnamon –can add a sprinkle more
Mash this all together and spread in a 9 X 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle with the following praline topping
½ cup brown sugar
3 T. butter cold
4 Tsp. flour
Mix with fork until it crumbles.
Add ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Sprinkle over 9x13 casserole and bake at 350 for 30-45 min.



This salad, which is more like a pie to me, was a big hit its first time out last year at Thanksgiving. We're making it again this year.



STRAWBERRY PRETZEL SALAD

ngredients:
2 cups crushed hard pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter or margarine
3 tablespoons sugar
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
2 cups whipped cream or whipped topping
1 package (6 oz) strawberry gelatin
1 package (10 oz) frozen strawberries, thawed
2 cups boiling water
1 cup sugar (Splenda works fine, too. In fact this recipe can be made with all low-fat ingredients for a great dessert that doesn't feel )low fat.

Preparation:
Mix together the crushed pretzels, butter or margarine, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Pat into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; bake at 400° for 8 to 10 minutes. Beat the cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and whipped topping and place over the cooled pretzel crust. Put this in the fridge while you make the next layer. Mix gelatin into boiling water, then add frozen strawberries. Put in fridge until it is 'jelly-like' but still spoonable. Spoon the gelatin mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Put in the fridge until it all sets up nicely. (This is one of those things you can make the day before. Yay!)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Veteran's Day

I received this as an email a week ago and thought it was incredible. Not only is the art work amazing, but the sentimenet expressed herein is also mine. Enjoy the amazing art of an Iowa teenager, 'Bubba' Sorenson. In case your wondering, the flag is part of the art work. It's not a real flag!

I can't let today pass without saying a heartfelt thank you to the brave men and women in the armed forces. To all those, around the world--American, Canadian, British, Aussie-whoever and where ever you are--who have served for the cause of freedom, THANK YOU! Without you, without your willingness, evil would long ago have had its way.

It is so good to live where freedom rings.

God Bless you!

My Trip to New York City

Central Park is a surprisingly large oasis of beauty and peacefulness in the midst of the Manhattan madness. I loved it.



Lady Liberty still strands strong in NY Harbor. I got chills looking out at her and thinnking of how blessed I am to live in this land of the free.




My trip to NYC wouldn't be complete without lunch with my editor, Allison Lyons. She took me to Ecco, a fabulous Italian restaurant in Old New York. As you can see, I tried the luscious gellato, Allison had the fruit with real cream, and my beautiful daughter Sundy tried the Italian Cheesecake. Even though I got lost and was late, we had a fabulous time.

New Book on the Shelves

AVAILABLE NOW! For an excerpt or to order, visit Amazon or your favorite book store.

Also, check out the Wedding Planners blog for a chance to win a copy!

ACFW WIN

What a joy! The third book in my Brothers' Bond trilogy, THE HEART OF GRACE, won series contemporary "Book of the Year" at the American Christan Fiction Writers' conference in Minneapolis. I am thrilled to pieces and very thankful. This series has been so well received. Thanks to all of you readers, 'my boys' have won two "Book of the Year" awards as well as the RITA.

Here I am cheesing to high heaven as my friend Janet Lee Barton presents the award at our local writers' meeting. (I didn't attend the award ceremony in Minnesota.)

FREE Books

Please come over to Tiffany Stockton's blog and read my interview with her. You can leave a comment for a chance at TWO free books. I hope you win!

NEW BOOK

I think I've forgotten to mention one of the two new books I have on the shelves right now. This one is mostly available at Christian bookstores or larger retail book stores that carry books from Christian publishers.

A BRIDE BY CHRISTMAS is a book of four novellas set on the American Prairie in the 1800's. I authored the story titled,"The Cossack Bride". For fun, we authors decided to make each heroine a particular ethnicity and toss in some Christmas traditions from their native cultures. We have a Cossack (Ukrainian-Russian), Dutch, English, and Irish. I hope you'll pick up a copy or order one and enjoy this taste of early American Christmas.


To order the Cossack bride from Christianbooks.com click the blue words.

To order from Amazon, click here.

FREE! Online novella

If you'd like to read some of my work FREE of charge, eharlequin is posting a short novella of mine. Just follow this link and enjoy! (And let me know what you think.)

Family Ever After

Life Lessons - Regrets

God's been trying to tell me something lately and I think my hard head is finally getting the message. I'm always saying, "One of these days I'm going to do this or that," and yet, I never get around to it. I'm talking about important things, not cleaning out my desk drawers. I mean spending time with people I love or people in need. Going places that I really, really want to see. Doing things I really, really want to do.

One day my dad and I were talking about my son who wanted to watch the NY Yankees play in Yankee Stadium before it closed, but decided he couldn't afford the expense. My dad said something that resonated loud and clear. He'd always wanted to do the same thing. He'd always wanted to go to a World Series, too. He'd always planned to travel and see Europe, etc. But he put it off, thinking he didn't want to spend the money or he didn't have time. And he never went. Now, at 81, he is severely hearing and visually impaired. He will never see or do or enjoy those things. He can't. The choice is no longer his to make. So he said to me, "Sis, you will never miss the money you spend on doing things you always wanted to do. You'll never miss the time it took. But someday, if you don't do those things, you'll look back and wish you had."

I've thought a lot about what my dad said. Then I turned on the radio and a country song was playing. I don't know the song or the singer, but the gist of the story was a man who'd reached his 102nd birthday telling people to love and do good and enjoy life because a hundred years goes by faster than you think.

We don't have the promise of a 100 years or even the promise of tomorrow. But we have today. So I'm starting today. I sent in my application for foster care. (It's been sitting on my desk for 3 months.) And I contacted an old friend that I've been wanting to get together with for YEARS. We email often and say things like, "We have to get together soon," but we never do. So now we are. For real.

So, that's my challenge to you today. Do something good that you've been putting off. And then let me know how it turned out.....

Peace and Grace!