I’m thrilled to share with you Tillie and Will’s story. It’s the second book in the Love Letters from Ellis Creek series, but can be read as a standalone.
One of the things I love most about Love Unforeseen and Love from Afaris that they are quick and fun reads. They are sweet romances filled with faith and humor, can be read in one sitting, and are a perfect temporary escape. Below is the blurb:
Will a best friend’s matchmaking scheme be successful?
Tillie Waller finds her life’s purpose in molding young minds as a teacher in Ellis Creek in the late-1890s. While she claims contentment, there is a part of her that longs to marry and be a mother, like her sister, Meredith, and best friend, Lula. But no matter. With her students and books, how could she ever be lonesome?
Willard “Will” Fairbanks has longed to return to Ellis Creek since the day he left the town with his family twelve years ago. When a job offer at Ellis Creek Mill beckons his return, Will eagerly embraces the opportunity. An added bonus? He hopes to reconnect with Tillie Waller, the girl he has always loved—the girl who never felt the same about him.
When Tillie encourages her pupils to write to pen pals in another town, she can’t possibly foresee how such an assignment will impact her own future. Her best friend, Lula, concocts a plan, unbeknownst to Tillie, for Will to become Tillie’s pen pal under a false name. Tillie forms a connection with her pen pal and even dares herself to fall in love.
When she falls in love with both Will and her pen pal, which one will she choose?
Will love unforeseen become a reality for Tillie and Willard?
In other news…
And speaking of sweet romances, Henry and Evaline will be free for download this Thursday and Friday. If you’ve been wanting to take a little journey to the 1960s for a fun visit and a peek into the life of one of Chokecherry Heights’ most beloved characters, here is your chance! Go here for your Kindle download.
Free free to spread the word!
Also, if you love giveaways, especially the chance to win 40+ books or a $500 Amazon giftcard, you’ll want to check this out. I am honored that my contemporary Christian romance novel, Love Under Construction, is a part of this phenomenal Celebrate Lit giveaway!
What’s better than a garden of flowers? How about a garden of books!
You will want to hurry because the giveaway ends May 14.
And finally, two items…have you signed up for my newsletter yet? All of the details can be found on the Newsletter tab on this blog.
Also, I’m starting a new Penny’s Peeps street team, and I’d love to have you join me. Interested in learning more? Go here.
Join me for my post Are you an Encourager or Discourager later this week, as well as a Saturday Spotlight with a new author friend. And coming up, I’ll be posting Movie Monday reviews for The Inspectors and God’s Not Dead: We the People.
I’m taking a brief break from my usual posts to share a couple of tidbits of exciting information.
First of all, I’m super excited to announce that Love in Disguise is part of Celebrate Lit’s April Showers Bring May Flowers Books Giveaway! Entering is easy and you could win 40+ books or a $500 Amazon card.
Can you imagine winning all of these amazing books? Or having $500 to splurge at Amazon? Be sure to enter and be sure to share the details with your friends!
Second, I wanted to share with you that I recently received word that two of my books will be available for free download. The first, Love from Afar, is free today (Wednesday, April 13) and tomorrow (Thursday, April 14) only.
Here is the blurb for Love from Afar:
What happens when two little sisters become self-appointed matchmakers?
Best friends Tillie and Lula are tired of watching Tillie’s older sister and Lula’s older brother admire each other from afar. Determined to bring their siblings together, they hatch a most brilliant plan. After all, it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in mischief if it’s for a good cause, right?
Meredith Waller has an excellent reputation as a wedding dress seamstress in the frontier town of Ellis Creek in 1880s Montana Territory. There’s just one problem: all of the wedding dresses she has sewn have been for others. The eligible bachelor options—or at least decent eligible bachelor options—are next to nil in Ellis Creek, and Meredith worries spinsterhood is God’s plan for her.
Gabe Kleeman has recently returned to Ellis Creek. In those three years away, his affection for Meredith Waller, a woman he’s admired from a distance since their former school days, has remained steadfast. But Meredith doesn’t know Gabe exists, and if he doesn’t figure out a way to use the mouth God gave him to tell her his intentions, Meredith may never know.
Can Tillie and Lula’s clandestine plot bring two lonely hearts together?
Love from Afar is a fun and sweet romance novella with plentiful humor and a glimpse into 1880s Montana.
Second, mark your calendars because Henry and Evaline will be free for one day only: Saturday, April 16. If you are looking for a fun romantic novella that takes place in 1960 and also includes plentiful humor, be sure to download Henry and Evaline. Fans of Love Under Construction will appreciate Gram’s starring role.
The blurb is as follows:
What happens when an entire town becomes involved in a matchmaking scheme?
Evaline doesn’t know what to think when her mother volunteers her for the Bible club helper position. What she does know, however, is that she is most unimpressed when Henry Gregory, the Bible club leader, mistakes her for one of the participants. Who knew a quiet man of faith could have such an ornery streak?
Henry never met anyone quite like Evaline Browning. The petite librarian volunteering as a Bible club helper is a lot of spunk in a small package. But the more he’s around her, the more he fears he’ll lose his heart. Could this be the woman God has planned for him?
Soon, Evaline and Henry find themselves caught in a matchmaking endeavor. Polls, well-meaning gossips, and more shenanigans ensue as the residents of Chokecherry Heights do their best to convince Evaline and Henry they’d make the perfect couple.
Travel back in time for a peek into the life of one of Chokecherry Heights’ most beloved characters.
As always, feel free to spread the word and share about these freebies with your friends. (By the way if you would like to receive occasional newsletters with information about giveaways, free books, happenings, and other fun morsels, please sign up for my newsletter here).
I’m excited to launch the new Saturday Spotlight Series on my blog. On various Saturdays throughout each month, I’ll be spotlighting fellow authors. My goal for this new venture? To introduce you to some fantastic authors and books you might never have heard about.
Today, I’m excited to host Author Jennifer Slattery. She has blessed us with a wonderful guest post below about fear and anxiety.
But first, Jennifer has a new book out titled “Her Small-Town Refuge”.
Her Small-Town Refuge
To secure the future she’s been wishing for, she must earn her boss’s trust.
Escaping to the Texas Hill Country with her daughter for a vet tech internship is Stephanie Thornton’s chance at a safer life. But when medicine goes missing from Caden Stoughton’s struggling vet clinic, all evidence points to Stephanie. With the new life she’s been searching for hanging in the balance, Stephanie must convince Caden to trust her with his business…and his heart.
I’ve learned, in my ongoing fight against fear, I won’t experience the peace of Christ in my own strength. I can’t take my anxious, and often snowballing, thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5) without supernatural help. But I’ve also learned, I can live in the victory of Christ, during my most hectic and uncertain moments included, if I’ll actively and consistently pursue Him. When my world feels chaotic and like I’m being whipped about in a never-ending cyclone, I prayed for reprieve, yes, but even more so, I prayed against the storm raging within me. That was when I began taking my greatest steps toward freedom.
2011 was an incredibly rough year for me, for so many reasons. We’d recently moved, which meant saying goodbye to some close friends, uprooting ourselves from faith communities, grieving the loss of both while battling loneliness. That was also the year I got sick with what was, initially, an unknown illness. This triggered my anxiety, my anxiety fed my desire for control, and that desire led to an obsession with myself, my illness, and germs. The worse I felt, the more I cleaned.
Soon, one thought dominated my thinking: what was or wasn’t making me sick. Bit by bit, one handwashing at a time, germaphobia developed. Eventually, I became completely enslaved to my fear. But then one day, as I was walking to the laundry room, a realization silenced my normally loud brain: This is not how God wants me to live. He promised me freedom.
And I knew, with the certainty that can only come from the Holy Spirit, that the same God who called me to live in freedom would give me the tools to do so.
That was my call to action moment, where I sensed God challenging me to make a choice. I could remain stuck in my gunk, slipping further and further into fear. Or I could follow His lead, however He led, in this battle for freedom. Praise God, and by His grace alone, I chose the latter and began actively, persistently, and consistently praying against my fear. Every time I felt that knot in my gut, I paused to seek God’s help and His strength.I asked Him to break the power my fear had over me, which at the time felt insurmountable, and in its place, to flood my soul with peace.
I was following the biblical example of the father who began in fear and anguish, but received that which he desperately sought. We read his story in Mark chapter 9. Scripture tells us, one day Jesus took Peter, James, and John up onto a mountain where He revealed to them His glory in an unforgettable, awe-inspiring way.
While they were gone, a deeply distressed father came searching for Jesus. Not finding Him, he sought help from His disciples, maybe because he’d heard about all the miracles they’d performed not long before (Matthew 10:1-20). His situation, it seemed, was simply too hard; the disciples failed. But then Jesus arrived, and, noticing a conflict between His followers and the teachers of the law, asked what they were arguing about.
Scripture says, “A man in the crowd answered, ‘Teacher, I brought You my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not'” (V. 17-18).
Then Jesus summoned the child, and the demon “threw the boy into a convulsion.” The child “fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth” (v. 20).
After a short explanation, the father said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (v. 21).
To which Jesus responded,“‘If you can’? Everything is possible for one who believes” (v. 22).
Hearing this, the father let out a guttural, shriek-like cry, krazo in the original Greek, perhaps because he feared his son’s healing depended on his faith. He exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (v. 24).
Here’s what I find encouraging. Jesus didn’t get upset at the man. He didn’t rebuke him and send him away for his weak faith. Instead, He responded to the father and son in love and grace. He commanded the demon to leave the boy, never to return again.
This passage reminds me to bring my anxieties to Jesus, and to seek Him in the midst of my doubts, knowing He won’t chastise or reject me. Instead, He’ll give me precisely what I need–increased intimacy with the only One whose love has the power to cast out my fears. (1 John 4:18).
Friends, He’s been so faithful. That fall when I began actively and persistently praying against my fears? That was a life-changer for me. I didn’t notice much difference at first, and there were times I wondered if my constant requests were doing any good. But I kept praying, day after day, sometimes moment by moment, month after month. Then, one day some six months later, I realized a situation that had once triggered intense anxiety barely bothered me anymore, and other situations no longer bothered me at all. God indeed had been working.
He was working on a spiritual level, using His supernatural power to break the chains that kept me bound. He was also teaching me how to grab hold of His freedom, step by step. To turn to Him in times of fear. Through this, I practiced stopping my anxious thoughts before they gained moment and rerouting them onto the good, in essence, onto God.
Lessons I probably wouldn’t have learned, had God immediately eradicated my anxiety.
Let’s talk about this! Do you suffer from anxiety? And if so, how often do you pray against your fear specifically?
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who has addressed women’s groups, church groups, Bible studies, and other writers across the nation. As the founder of Wholly Love Ministries she and her team help their local, national, and global community experience increased spiritual and emotional freedom through an ever-deepening relationship with Christ. She cohosts, with Grace Fox, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast and also cohosts, with her Wholly Loved Ministry team, the Faith Over Fear podcast. She also maintains devotional blogs found JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and is a regular contributor to iBelieve.com. Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband. Contact her through her website to book her for your next women’s event.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this post. I appreciate you!
I have been waiting for the day when Thad and Emilie have their stories in print (and on an ebook) for what seems like forever! It is truly a book full of faith, romance, and humor. Take a trip back to 1911 Montana where there’s abundant humor involving displaced parcels, cows, and supportive, but hilarious, secondary characters. There’s redemption and forgiveness, and of course, a spunky heroine and a dashing and handsome rancher.
Today is the official release day for Love in Disguise. Below is the blurb:
Who knew concealing one’s true identity could be so disastrous?
Who knew asserting one’s independence would cause such embarrassment? If only Almira “Emilie” Crawford Wheeler hadn’t insisted upon carrying her own stack of parcels, she wouldn’t have landed in an unladylike heap on the boardwalk. And what about the half-truth she told the handsome stranger who came to her aid? The stranger she never expected to see again?
Thad Alexander Evanson should have been paying closer attention to the boardwalk, rather than the newfangled automobile motoring down the street. Had he been more astute, a collision with the beautiful parcel-laden stranger might never have happened. And if it never had happened, he wouldn’t have told a partial-truth he figured wouldn’t matter.
Before long, Emilie and Thad are arranging to meet for a noonday meal each weekend in Missoula under the guise of different names. But what happens when their true identities are revealed? When half-truths are exposed? Could God have a plan even in the midst of a tangledweb of lies?
I am thrilled to announce the Release Day for Henry and Evaline! (Ebook releases today; paperback releases later this week).
And just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Release Day is always an exciting day for authors. It’s the day our characters finally come alive through hours of writing—many times long hours far into the night when we should be sleeping.
Readying a book to send off into the masses is not for the faint of heart. It involves hours of pounding on the keyboard, back-and-forth chat sessions with our editor, and reading the manuscript over a thousand times until we have it memorized. But it is so worth it to see the finished product and to share it with our readers.
Henry and Evaline is available in ebook format on Amazon by clicking here.
Below is the official blurb and some fun quotables. I hope you enjoy reading Henry and Evaline as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Blurb:
What happens when an entire town becomes involved in a matchmaking scheme?
Evaline doesn’t know what to think when her mother volunteers her for the Bible club helper position. What she does know, however, is that she is most unimpressed when Henry Gregory, the Bible club leader, mistakes her for one of the participants. Who knew a quiet man of faith could have such an ornery streak?
Henry never met anyone quite like Evaline Browning. The petite librarian volunteering as a Bible club helper is a lot of spunk in a small package. But the more he’s around her, the more he fears he’ll lose his heart. Could this be the woman God has planned for him?
Soon, Evaline and Henry find themselves caught in a matchmaking endeavor. Polls, well-meaning gossips, and more shenanigans ensue as the residents of Chokecherry Heights do their best to convince Evaline and Henry they’d make the perfect couple.
Travel back in time for a peek into the life of one of Chokecherry Heights’ most beloved characters.
Readers of sweet Christian romance will enjoy this faith-based novella with heartwarming and memorable characters. Can be read as a stand-alone or in conjunction with Love Under Construction.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this post. I appreciate you!
I’m super excited to announce that Love from Afar is free on Kindle today and tomorrow only! Click herefor the Amazon link.
Written especially for those who love sweet Christian historical romances with plentiful humor.
Below is the blurb:
What happens when two little sisters become self-appointed matchmakers?
Best friends Tillie and Lula are tired of watching Tillie’s older sister and Lula’s older brother admire each other from afar. Determined to bring their siblings together, they hatch a most brilliant plan. After all, it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in mischief if it’s for a good cause, right?
Meredith Waller has an excellent reputation as a wedding dress seamstress in the frontier town of Ellis Creek in 1880s Montana Territory. There’s just one problem: all of the wedding dresses she has sewn have been for others. The eligible bachelor options—or at least decent eligible bachelor options—are next to nil in Ellis Creek, and Meredith worries spinsterhood is God’s plan for her.
Gabe Kleeman has recently returned to Ellis Creek. In those three years away, his affection for Meredith Waller, a woman he’s admired from a distance since their former school days, has remained steadfast. But Meredith doesn’t know Gabe exists, and if he doesn’t figure out a way to use the mouth God gave him to tell her his intentions, Meredith may never know.
Can Tillie and Lula’s clandestine plot bring two lonely hearts together?
Feel free to spread the word and happy reading!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this post. I appreciate you!
As 2021 wraps up, I want to send a huge thank you on behalf of all authors.
Thank you for sharing in our love for quirky characters.
Thank you for recommending us to your friends.
Thank you for encouraging us by writing reviews.
Thank you for joining our “street teams” and being first-line readers.
Thank you for spreading the word about our books, whether it be through posts, retweets, “likes”, or word-of-mouth.
Thank you for hosting us on your blogs and podcasts.
Thank you for choosing to take a chance and read a book by an unknown-to-you author.
Thank you for supporting us by buying, borrowing, and uploading books.
Thank you showing us grace when you come across a typo in our books. Despite our best efforts (and dozens of rounds of editing by both us and professional editors and proofreaders), picky-petty errors still manage to find a way into our books.
Thank you for your encouraging enthusiasm.
Readers, we could not do it without you. You are the reason we write. The reason we stay up late to perfect that “problem” scene. The reason we put ourselves “out there” for others to read our creations. And the reason that currently-only-a-dreamed-up-story will find its way onto the pages of a novel or the screen of an ebook.
And you are worth it.
God’s blessings for a safe and healthy New Year!
Penny
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this post. I appreciate you!
Thank you for joining me for the blog tour for Love Under Construction. I have been so honored to be a guest on several blogs this past week. On Monday, I’ll feature a fellow author on her blog tour, and then Wednesday, we’ll return to our regularly-scheduled program.
There is one more pit stop on the blog tour today, where I’m guest blogging about “minor inconveniences” on Patti’s Porch and offering a giveaway of Love Under Construction. It can all be found here. And if you’d like double the chances of winning a copy, be sure to stop by Chat with Vera and enter to win there!
For fun, I’ve included some character quotables from the book.
Thank you again for joining me!
Love Under Construction Mini Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, December 6:
Blog Tour Kickoff/Sneak Peek/Meet the Characters | Penny Zeller
Since it’s been awhile since we’ve had a giveaway…
Leave a comment about which book trailer you like best and I’ll pick a winner from all of the entries to win a copy of the corresponding book!
Is it the book trailer for Kaydie, Book #2 in the Montana Skies Historical Romance Series –
Here’s the blurb:
Haunted by her painful marriage, Kaydie Worthington Kraemer is determined never to fall in love again, and it will take the grace of God to change her mind—the same grace that works in the heart of ranch hand Jonah Dickenson, a confirmed bachelor who has unhealed wounds of his own to overcome.
OR…
The trailer for Hailee, Book #3 in the Montana Skies Historical Romance Series:
Here’s the blurb:
For years, orphan Hailee Annigan was just a ragamuffin in the Cincinnati streets, stealing food to keep her two younger brothers fed. Her thievery landed her in a home for delinquent youngsters, where her life was changed, thanks to her teachers. Now, nineteen-year-old Hailee excitedly heads to Montana to be a teacher, yet she’s still plagued by her shameful past and the fear of never seeing her brothers again.
Based on his upbringing in high-society Boston, no one would have guessed that Nate Adams would attend seminary and become a church pastor in rugged Montana. Even now, Nate’s parents refuse to put aside their own plans for his future and accept his calling.
When their paths converge, an immediate attraction draws Hailee and Nate together, even as the pressures and demands of others pull them apart. Can the unlikely pair come to terms with their pasts and face the future together?
While there’s not yet a trailer for the book that started the whole series, I invite you to check out McKenzie, Book #1 in the Montana Skies Historical Romance Series:
Desperate to save her sister from an abusive husband, socialite McKenzie Worthington responds to a mail-order bride ad in the Montana Territory—where God-fearing rancher Zachary Sawyer prays for a wife to share his life. But when McKenzie arrives with a plan that includes divorce, will Zachary’s persistent kindness and self-sacrifice change her heart?
All books are available in paperback, Kindle, and Nook formats.
McKenzie is available at your favorite bookstore or –
Soooo… now here’s your turn! Tell me which book trailer you liked best and I will choose a winner at random to win a copy of the corresponding book! And although McKenzie doesn’t have a book trailer, you can pick that book if you’d like a chance to win it instead.
The small print: Entering is super simple. Leave a comment below about which book trailer you liked best (or if you’d rather choose McKenzie). Anyone can enter, and if you’re a subscriber to this blog, you get an extra entry. 🙂 The winner will be chosen at random. If the winner resides in the U.S., they will have their choice of either a paperback or ebook version. If the winner resides outside of the U.S., they will receive an ebook copy. Contest expires November 1, 2013.
Happy Wednesday morning! I hope you are all having a great week.
A couple of announcements to share (including a couple of freebies at the end of this post!)…
Today is the last day to have a chance to win a copy of McKenzie on Amada Chavez’s awesome blog at http://ascphotosanddesigns.blogspot.com/2013/02/interview-and-giveaway.html. Amada interviewed me and asked some fantastic questions about the writing life, including how I started writing, where I write, and how I came up with the idea for McKenzie. So…if you didn’t have a chance to download McKenzie while it was free on Kindle last week, here’s another chance for you to get your hands on a copy!
Secondly, anyone who has read my books will notice that I’m a huge supporter of adoption. As such, when my fellow writing friend Jessie Gunderson told me of the dream she and her husband have of adopting two precious children from Ethiopia, I knew I had to help.
Jessie and her husband are attempting to raise $1,800 to begin their dossier to bring their children home. She is offering everyone who makes a donation a chance to be entered to win a first place prize of Disney Tickets. There is also a second place prize – a choice of one of any of five of my books (paperback form of McKenzie, Kaydie, Hailee, 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference, or Hollyhocks). All of the details are at Jessie’s blog. Please consider a donation of any size to assist in giving two children their forever home.
Third, don’t miss the awesome birthday celebration! My fellow author friend, Kelly Hagen, is celebrating the two-year anniversary of her delightful children’s book Jake & Jesus and you’re invited! When you purchase her book, you will have a chance to win an autographed copy of Kaydie, book #2 in my Montana Skies Historical Romance Series. You’ll also receive valuable savings off Amanda Beth’s books You Can Have a Happy Family and The Love Walk (both books I would highly recommend!) and a discount off JBAM Candles. All of the details are at Kelly’s blog.
If you’d like to read the review I wrote of Jake & Jesus, you can find it here. The review I wrote for Amanda Beth’s You Can Have a Happy Family can be found here.
You Can Have a Happy Family is also free on Kindle today and tomorrow. The Love Walk is free tomorrow for Valentine’s Day.
Lastly, join me in the coming weeks for a revamped blog, including some changes on my Movie Monday postings. I’m looking forward to sharing some more fantastic movie reviews with you and some hilarious and inspirational posts. Stay tuned! In the meantime, feel free to check out my Mom-Approved Movie Listings for some fantastic ideas for your next family night.
Penny Zeller 