Month: June 2014

But I Don’t Like the Bible!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

That’s right, all the living breathing power of the Word, THE Word is at our fingertips. Pretty sure this is our face when that realization hits us. 

Inside the Word is everything. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timoty 3:16-17

Yeah. Dude! It can change your life! If you apply it. Which leads us to excitement!

Yes! Yes we want this. We need change. We want to devour it piece by piece. And then we open it up.

And we read things like, “And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people…” Exodus 2:8 We feel like giving up, but preachers, pastors, teachers and other Christians tell us to read the Bible. It’s what Christians are supposed to do. So we do it. About like this:

What was once excitement now turns to bitter obligation. Ever been there? Me too. The thing is we don’t seem to know where to start or how to do it “right.” We live in a beautiful age where studying the Bible is fabulous because we have a lot of free tools to help us. And that’s where the difference comes in. Between loving the Word and just saluting and getting it over with. 

You say, “But I’m not a studious person.”

Psalm 119:30 says, “The entrance of Your words give light; It gives understanding to the simple. 

You have to remember a few key factors: Culture at the time the Bible was written as well as context. “Well I don’t know about that culture.” But you can! Free online biblical encyclopedias, commentaries, and maps. You download apps to your smart devices. It gives the passages richer meaning. 

Here are a few: 

Biblegateway

Blueletterbible

These two sites alone are chock-full of valuable resources to help you understand difficult passages. You can read the Bible in various translations. Suddenly, studying the Word becomes a treasure hunt. It becomes an experience you daily look forward to. 

Oh yeah, you’re feelin’ it! I got this! Me and You, Lord. Your Word really is powerful, it’s holy and wonderful. Like fire in my bones, I gotta move! Gotta let it out. Let it shine. I so get that old Sunday school song now. “Hide it under a bushel, NO! I’m gonna let it shine!” This is peace. This is joy. This is intimacy at its finest. I get why Moses sprinkled the blood on the people and I’m thankful for the foreshadowing of Christ’s blood that was shed and covers me to make me holy and in right standing with You! You truly are majestic! You really do have my back. And my front. You are with me, for me, beside me, all around me. I can go nowhere to escape you. Not even to the bottom of the sea. This world that seems so chaotic and out of control is governed by Your mighty hand. 

I get this scripture now:

“How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

And if you’re still timid to go at it alone, then go and grab a Bible study! I recommend any single one by Beth Moore. I just finished up Children of the Day and am starting James, Mercy Triumphs. In fact jump into James and let’s chat online about it. Encourage one another. 

Because the only way to be changed is through the washing of the water of the Word. You can open up the bodywash and even pour it on your skin, but if you don’t rub it in and let it soak, it’s purpose won’t be fulfilled. Just like someone taught us how to lather that soap on and then how to scrub our bodies, we have to be taught.

Don’t shy away from falling in love with the Word because you don’t think you’re smart enough. Don’t let the some of the more difficult parts turn you off. 

Dig! Dig deep! Lyrics from one of my favorite songs goes like this: “Lovers always find what others give up searching for. So I’ll search for you as treasure.” Uh huh. Oh yeah. It’s treasure to my soul. Yep. Yep. 

You got this! Better yet, God’s got this! 



I wanna be a lover. How about you?

Also, super Happy Birthday to my sweet man! I love you!

***I have a newsletter–Patched In. I’d love for you to sign-up for important book information, release dates (when they come) and other fun things. I promise not to give your email address to anyone or spam you. Sign up at the top right corner of the blog!

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Dopplegangers, Twins, and Beth Vogt!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

@bethvogt
Website
Facebook
Today, I am super excited to host the wonderfully talented, super amazing, Beth Vogt! Beth is someone you feel like you’ve known for ages! And her books? Oh yeah. So good! Today, I’ve asked her a few questions and we’re playing a few rounds of Would You Rather? So jump in and join the fun! 
Q1.
Beth, tell us what inspired this particular story?
Somebody
Like You started with a long-time desire to write a book about twins
– I have a fraternal twin sister – as well as my own experience as a military
wife. But even more, Somebody Like You
was inspired by several friends who were widowed at young ages – one was a
military wife who was pregnant with her second child – as well as a close
friend whose son was killed in Afghanistan almost two years ago. I held all of
them close in my heart as I wrote this book.
Q2.
Since we’re talking twins, they say everyone has one…or a doppleganger. When it
comes to Hollywood, who would you say is your doppleganger or twin? Can you
share a photo with us?

Well, as I said, I do have a twin sister – but we are
fraternal. We looked so different from each other growing up that we had a
difficult time convincing people we were sisters, much less twins.
Beth and her sister Brenda! 
A Hollywood twin? Wow … have never thought of that. My
friend, Casey Herringshaw told me there’s an app that helps you discover your
Celebrity Twin. According to that device, I’m twins with  . . . um, Helen Hunt and Julia Stiles?!  Funny story: I had several readers and
reviewers tell me that they thought I looked like the photo of the heroine on
the cover of my debut novel, Wish You
Were Here.
Okay,
let’s play a fun round of Would You Rather? You,
Haley, and Stephen all get to answer!
Would
you rather….

…swim
through a river of crocodiles or an ocean of sharks?

Me – I’ll
take the sharks, because at least you can see that fins sticking up and have a
chance to do some weaving and bobbing

Haley: she’d
take the crocodiles (she ignores stuff, ya know?)

Stephen
He’d
be in there with the crocodiles, protecting Haley. 

…live
in a treehouse or a cave?
All three of us are going for the treehouse. If you read Somebody Like You, then you’ll
understand that answer.

…ride
in a hot air balloon during a downpour or drive a race car on ice?
 I have no desire to
ride in a hot air balloon, so I’m driving a race car on ice – and you didn’t
say I couldn’t drive slowly. Nope.
You didn’t.

Haley
and Stephen would opt for the hot air balloon and make the
best of it.
Ha! I loved it! And when I sent the questions, I hadn’t read
the book yet so yay me for the treehouse question! 😉
Thanks for hanging out today, Beth! It was tons of fun!

 Who would you say your Hollywood Doppleganger is? Post a pic in the comments if you wish! Leave a comment to be entered in a giveaway for Somebody Like You! 

I’ve been told numerous times I look like Megan Mullally (and sound like her) or Tina Fey.
What do you think? 
Here’s a peek at Beth’s book, Somebody Like You! 
Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s

Buy the book!

killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed? 

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation­ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart? 

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.

Would You Rather with Carol J. Post and her Characters!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
website 
I am so excited to have Carol J. Post with us
today! I just finished her latest Love Inspired Suspense, Out for Justice and I
really enjoyed it. Plenty of danger, mystery, and romantic tension. All of my favorite
things on one book! Carol and her characters from Out for Justice are playing a
few rounds of Would You Rather? and Carol is sharing her inspiration for
writing the novel. Thanks for being, Carol!
Would
you rather…
…be
able to talk with all animals OR be able to speak all foreign languages?

Carol: That’s a tough one, but
I’d probably go with being able to speak all foreign languages. Talking with
animals would be cool—when my dachshund doesn’t feel well, I’d love to look
into those big brown eyes and know what she’s trying to tell me. But living in
central Florida, we have quite a few people who don’t speak English. Many are
trying to learn, but as an adult, it’s hard (I know—I studied French in college.)
I would love to be able to speak with anyone, regardless of language. Once
while flying, I was seated next to a lady from Germany. After trying English,
then French, I had to give up. (No Sprechen Sie Deutsch!)
Lexi: I would rather be able
to talk with all animals. I’m a major animal lover. I can never turn away an
animal that needs a home. That’s how I wound up with three cats. I often wonder
where they were and what they went through before they came to me.
Alan: I would rather be able
to speak all foreign languages (although knowing what Lexi’s cats are thinking
when they’re sizing me up might be nice). As a police officer, I meet a lot of
people, and sometimes language can be a barrier. I have a heart for troubled
youth and always try to steer them onto the right path; fortunately they
usually know English, even if their parents don’t.
…watch a
long film of all the best moments of your life thus far OR watch a short clip
of a pivotal moment in your future?
Carol:  If the
pivotal moment was bad and there was something I could do to prevent it, I
would choose the short clip of a pivotal moment. Other than that, when it comes
to the future, I’m more like, “Surprise me.” Watching a long film of the best
moments of my life would be fun. It’s like pulling out all the photo albums. Or
in my case, the boxes of pictures—I have way too many that never made it into
photo albums. Some day…
Lexi: I don’t want to know the future, whether good
or bad. I’ve had some traumatic experiences in my life, so I want to live in
the present and take each day as it comes. I do have some good memories,
though, so watching a long film of the best moments of my life is very
appealing.
Alan: I think I would choose a short clip of a pivotal
moment. There have been a couple of times where I’ve made some decisions that I
really came to regret. Knowing what was coming might prepared me and given me a
chance to think things through more clearly. Although since I started asking
God for guidance, I have to say I’ve done a little better in the
decision-making department!
…zoom in
your vision OR zoom in your hearing?
Carol: I’d rather be able to zoom in my hearing, as
long as I could zoom it back out again. I’m a really light sleeper, and if I
had to have amplified hearing all the time, I’d never get any sleep! But I
think it would be fun to be able to pick out conversations in a crowd. Not that
I’m nosy or anything!
Lexi:  I’d like
to be able to zoom in my vision. When I arrive at a crime scene, I know the CSI
guys are going to process everything, but zooming in my vision might help me
spot things that others might miss.
Alan: I’d rather be able to zoom in my hearing. We’ve
got a few teens around town who are always looking for trouble. When they’re
standing with their heads together, voices low, I’d love to be able to
eavesdrop on those conversations. But I am pretty good at sizing them up
and knowing when they’re up to no good, even without hearing what they’re
saying.
…have no
privacy OR be completely closed off?
Carol: That’s a hard one. I really need my alone time.
I love people, but being constantly around them is emotionally draining. If it
was for a short period of time, I would choose being completely closed off. If
it was for longer, or indefinitely, I would have to choose having no privacy. I
couldn’t handle being completely closed off for long.
Lexi:  I do
cherish my time alone, especially after I’ve spent several hours with my mom! I
don’t know that I would want to be completely closed off, but NO privacy? Ugh!
So I’ll choose completely closed off. Just don’t close me off from my cats! (Or
the people closest to me.)
Alan: I would have to choose having no privacy. I’m
not a major extrovert, but I am a people person. I’m also pretty open. I don’t
have many secrets.
These were great answers. I had a feeling Lexi
would choose to talk to animals. J Thanks for playing! Now, tell us what
inspired this story.
Inspiration
for Out for Justice –
I can’t say there was a particular thing that
“inspired” me, as far as this story. But this book was the turning point as far
as how I plot. It was Christmastime, and I was visiting my sister in North
Carolina. She had some work to do and asked if I wanted to keep her company in
the hobby room. I told her I was starting a new book and asked if she wanted to
help me plot while she worked. All I knew at that point was that I wanted to
have a serial killer in the story. I typed like a madwoman while we bounced
ideas back and forth, and 2½ hours later, we had a great outline with lots of
narrative that eventually became Out for Justice. I haven’t plotted a
book by myself since.
I hear ya! I have friend I text-storm with all
the time and my books are so much better for it! Can’t wait for the next book
to come out, Carol!
Answer one or all of the Would You Rather questions in the comments! 
Here’s a peek at Out for Justice. 

Buy the book! 
THE NEXT TARGET 
Tracking a serial killer in Harmony Grove turns
personal for Detective Lexi Simmons when her cousin becomes a victim. It turns
nearly impossible when she’s teamed up with Officer Alan White—the
almost-fiancé whose heart she broke six years ago. Alan can’t understand how
two people so right for each other didn’t end up together. But they have more
pressing matters of the past to attend to: a vengeful killer and a decade-old
incident on a college campus. Now Lexi fits the profile of the next name on the
hit list. And Alan finds himself not only engaged in a fight for her love—but
for her life.

You Spin Me…

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

…round, like a record, right round…

That’s how I’ve felt the last week. Dizzy. Spun. Thank you, Vertigo.  Yep, on vacation I rode this crazy wild ride. It’s called…the log ride. Yeah, you read that right. The. Log. Ride.

Rode that joker like a pro. Up…up…up…at the end then about 30 seconds down the chute. My stomach dropped and my head spun, like a record right round, baby.

Then on Sunday, the dizziness came back and wouldn’t let up. Turns out I have Vertigo. 

I knew I shouldn’t have gotten on that ride. Warning bells rang all the way to the entrance and through the line of cattle people. But I ignored the bells. Ignored the warning in my gut.

And I’ve spent a week spinning. Can’t quite find my balance. Can’t do all the things I know I do need to do. 

Also, I’ve learned a good spiritual lesson. When the warning bells go off in my spirit, when red flags raise in my life, heed the Spirit’s warning and obey. 

Doesn’t matter how seeminly innocent it is, how fun the ride, how adventerous, or how much somone might beg me (even if it’s not a bad thing).

If there’s a hint of warning. Say no. Pull back. Disengage.

God knows what’s best for us. He sent His Spirit to live inside us. To guide us into all truth and to teach us (among other wonderful things like comfort and bring things into remembrance that we’ve been taught). 

Don’t let ignorning God’s warning turn your spin your life out of control like a record on the turntable. Forego the dizziness. 

Ask God to put you back in balance. He’s willing, ready, and able. 

Get the focus back. Uprightness. Whole. 

It’s time to do the things He has asked you to. 

Who’s ready? 

 

“Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom; listen very closely to the way I see it. Then you’ll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.”
Proverbs 5:1-1 MSG
 
Have you ever had vertigo? Can you climb on rides and not suffer? 

Would You Rather with Karen Witemeyer!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

KAREN WITEMEYER
FACEBOOK 
WEBSITE
One of my all-time favorite authors is with us today! Karen Witemeyer! If you enjoy historical romance, Karen should be one of your must-read authors! I had the pleasure of meeting Karen at ACFW last year and she’s as kind as you might imagine. She didn’t even run from me when I gushed on and on about her books. 🙂 I also had the pleasure of reading Karen’s newest book, Full Steam Ahead! You can read my review on GOODREADS! 
Here’s a peek at the book and then we’re going to play a game with Karen, her heroine Nicole, and her hero Darius!
When Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston from an eastern finishing school, she’s stunned to find her father in ill health. Though she loves him, he’s only ever focused on what she’s not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run their family business, Renard Shipping.

Vowing to secure a suitable marriage partner, Nicole sets out with the Renard family’s greatest treasure: a dagger personally gifted to Nicole’s father by the pirate Jean Lafitte. Many believe the legend that the dagger is the source of all Renard Shipping’s good fortune, though Nicole is sure her father’s work ethic and honorable business practices are the keys to their success. Before she can board the steamer to New Orleans, Nicole finds her father’s rivals–the Jenkins brothers–on either side of the gangplank, ready to grab her and steal the dagger. Quickly, she decides to instead travel north, to Liberty, Texas, where she can decide what to do next.

Darius Thornton needs a secretary–someone to help him get his notes in order. Ever since the boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana, Darius has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. The pretty young socialite who applies for the job baffles him with her knowledge of mathematics and steamships. He decides to take a risk and hire her, but he’s determined her attractive face and fancy clothes won’t distract him from his important research.

The job offer comes at exactly the right time for Nicole. With what Darius is paying her, she’ll be able to afford passage to New Orleans in mere weeks. But Mr. Thornton is so reclusive, so distant, so unusual. He can create complex scientific equations but can’t remember to comb his hair. And his experiments are growing more and more dangerous. Still, there are undeniable sparks of attraction between them. But Nicole is leaving soon, and if she marries, it must be to a man who can manage a shipping empire. Darius certainly doesn’t fit that description. And the Jenkins brothers have not given up on kidnapping Nicole and seizing the Lafitte dagger for themselves.

BUY THE BOOK! 

Would You Rather…
…go way back in time and meet your ancestors or
go way into the future and meet your great grandchildren?
Karen: As much as I
love imagining life in the past, I would actually pick meeting my great
grandchildren. I would love to see how the legacy of faith we’ve worked to
instill in our children has trickled down through the generations. And it would
be fun to see what kind of grandparents my kids turned out to be. Wonder if any
of my books would still be around?
Nicole: Back in
time. I’d love to be in the pirate colony Campeche
when my grandfather, Henri Renard, took the bullet meant for Jean Lafitte. That
pivotal moment shaped my family’s history for generations.
Darius: Future. I’d
love to see all the mechanical advancements that take place in the shipping
industry. Maybe we’ll finally find a way to power our ships without those
blasted boilers.
…have a rewind button in your life or a pause
button in your life?
Karen: Pause – I’m
in constant need of more time. More time to write, more time to spend with my
family, more time to just relax. A pause button sounds heavenly.
Nicole: Pause – With
my father’s illness, I want to savor each moment I have left with him.
Darius: Rewind – I’d
give anything to go back to November 15, 1849 and warn the captain of the Louisiana to get his passengers and crew
to safety. I’ll always regret that I couldn’t do more to save those who lost
their lives that day.
…be a thief or a beggar?
Karen: Hmm – that’s
a hard one. I guess I would have to choose beggar. Swallowing my pride would be
excruciating, but it would be better than forfeiting my moral code.
Nicole: With all the
years I played pirate on the beaches of Galveston with Tommy Ackerman, I’d have
to say thief, but only if the situation were dire enough to justify such
action. For instance . . . if one needed to protect her family from certain
harm. Hypothetically speaking, of course.
Darius: Thief – when
it comes to providing for my family, I’ll do whatever it takes, go to any
length to see that they are safe. Thankfully, with my family owning King Star
Shipping, the likelihood of facing this dilemma is slim.
…reduce hours of sleep needed to 5 or need 10
hours of sleep, but you get to control your dreams every night?
Karen: If I could be
as fully rested after 5 hours as I am after 10, I would definitely choose the
5. Just think what I could accomplish with those extra hours!
Nicole: Between keeping
the accounts for Renard Shipping, watching over Jacob, and helping my mother
tend my father, I could use all the extra hours I could get. I’ll take the 5.

Darius: After being
tormented by nightmares for months, the thought of controlling my dreams is an
enticement that is hard to resist. Yet after meeting Nicole, my dreams are much
less troubling, and I really can’t afford to waste 10 hours of every 24 in
sleep. People are dying due to malfunctioning boilers. Sacrificing my comfort
to continue my research is a small price to pay.
Choose one or all and answer in the comments below! 

Thank you, Karen, for hanging out today!

The Power of “With”

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

 

 
It’s good
to be back after a long week of vacation. We took the kids to Branson for the
week and had a wonderful time. Experienced God’s beauty 174 feet below the
ground in an amazing cave. Marveled at the beauty of his mountains and lakes as
we drove and traveled by boat. And we were moved at His love for each one of us
as we enjoyed the Sight and Sound Theater’s performance of Jonah. Incredible.
The early mornings on the screened-in porch where I sipped coffee and spent
time in the Word breathed fresh life back into me. It was a vacation full of
precious memories.
 
 

 

 

This
morning during my study, I happened to glance down at two passages and they
spoke volumes to me.
 
Paul is
speaking in a letter to his young protégé Timothy. He says in 2 Timothy
4:17-18, “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the
message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might
hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will
deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for the His heavenly
kingdom…”
 
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.
 
If you
know me well, you know that a simple phrase or word will strike up a song
inside me. A good friend calls me walking iTunes. It’s the running joke. So
naturally, I started humming, Stand by Me by Ben E. King.
 
When the
night has come
And the
land is dark
And the
moon is the only light we’ll see
No I won’t
be afraid
Oh, I
won’t be afraid
Just as
long as you stand, stand by me
 
Then it
hit me, the scripture didn’t say that Jesus
stood by Paul. It said, with.
 
The
phrase, “with me” in the Greek is moi. It’s a possessive pronoun of
mine in the first person. It states that which I have; what I possess
 
By isn’t
so bad. In Acts 23:11 Paul says, “…the Lord stood by me and said, ‘Be of
good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must
also bear witness in Rome.'” The Greek word for “by” is
ephistemi and it means to be present, to be at hand. Jesus was there to
encourage Paul when he needed it.
 
And yet…
 
With me says, “Because I am
with you, all that I possess. All that I
have is yours.” That includes His strength.
 
“But
the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…” Because what is His, is
yours when He is with you.
 
Look at
the verses above in 2 Timothy. Paul says in verses 9-15 that several left him
including Demas, Crescens, Titus. Only Luke was left. Alexander the coppersmith
did him much harm.
 
“At
my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me.” (v. 16)
 
But the
Lord…!!!!
 
Whatever
you may be going through. No matter how abandoned you may feel. The Lord is not
only by you to encourage you, He is with you. All that belongs to Him is yours.
Including His strength.
 
Friends,
there is comfort in that!
 
“To
Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!” (v.18)
 
Knowing that all Jesus has is yours, how will that change what you do
today or how you think?
 
 

 

****I’ve set up a newsletter! You can get Patched In if you sign up.
Just click the link on the top right hand corner and enter your email address.
Easy as that and I promise not to ever give your address or name out to anyone
nor bombard your inbox. I’ll only be sending it when books release or when
pertinent writing related news comes out! 
 
****Karen Witemeyer is in the house on Friday so come back and play a few rounds of Would You Rather? with her and her main characters! 

Dancing with Fireflies

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
Buy the book! 

Our book club read the first story in Denise Hunter’s Chapel Springs series, Barefoot in Summer, and I truly enjoyed it (so did our book club!). So when this book released, I was excited to get my hands on it. 

Here’s the blurb:

 Jade returns home to Chapel Springs after years of protecting her fragile heart. Then along comes Daniel, making her long to dance again.

Creative and complicated, Jade McKinley felt like a weed in a rose garden growing up in Chapel Springs. When she left, she thought she’d never look back. But now, pregnant, alone, and broke, she has no other choice but to return.
The mayor of Chapel Springs, Daniel Dawson, has been an honorary member of the McKinley family for years. While his own home life was almost non-existent, Daniel fit right into the boisterous McKinley family. He’s loved Jade for years, but she always saw him as a big brother. Now that she’s back, his feelings are stronger than ever.
As Jade attempts to settle in, nothing feels right. God seems far away, she’s hiding secrets from her family, and she’s strangely attracted to the man who’s always called her “squirt.” Finding her way home may prove more difficult than she imagined.

I gotta say, I loved it even more than the first book in the series! And isn’t that cover lovely? 

Denise Hunter’s hero was fierce and protective and super smart. I love smart heroes in dress shirts and scruff. Daniel was a fun character to get to know in the first book, but I feel head-over-heels in Dancing with Fireflies! There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Jade, the heroine.

Which brings me to Jade. Sweet but strong. Anxious over uncertainty in her life, yet determined to overcome. She was a heroine I could identify with. 

A believable cast of characters set in a community that feels like family and care about each other, I gobbled this book up in two sittings. Because, I do have to sleep a few hours! 

Hunter also weaves a theme of forgiveness and grace into the story that touched me in a real way. God truly does work things out for the good for those who love Him. We can trust Him and rely on Him to supply us with everything we need. It showed beautifully in this story. 

Now, where’s the next book? I encourage you to read both books in the series. You don’t have to read them in order, but I always like to. 🙂 

Thank you, Thomas Nelson, for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review. 

@DeniseAHunter
Website 
Facebook

Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 20 books, including “Dancing with Fireflies” and “The Convenient Groom”. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.
Denise writes heartwarming love stories that are set in quaint, small towns. Her readers enjoy the experience of falling in love vicariously through her characters and can expect a happily-ever-after sigh as they close the pages of her books.
In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!
When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking green tea, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are raising three boys.

Have you ever chased fireflies (lightning bugs)? 
And have you ever read a book by Denise Hunter? 
Which one was your favorite?

***If you’re a Gilmore Girls fan, come by Melissa Tagg’s blog today. She’s hosting a Gilmore Guys summer series and I’m talking all things Logan Huntzberger today! Plus you can enter to win a Starbucks card, Logan magnet, and a Melissa’s newest release, Here to Stay! Gilmore Guys here!