Support Our Troops Reading Challenge

I have always admired the members of our military. They sacrifice their time, abilities, and sometimes their lives in order to preserve the freedoms we Americans enjoy.

Our reading challenge in May will be one way of thanking them for their service.

Fairchild's Lady - a FREE novella

Ten years after his words were used against him by a spy in Ring of Secrets, Isaac Fairchild finds himself using covert tactics in the follow-up novella, Fairchild’s Lady. When he is commissioned to find a friend’s wife and daughter and bring them safely home to England before war breaks out in France, he isn’t expecting Lady Julienne to be so beautiful with such startlingly blue eyes. Will he convince the two women to flee before it’s too late? Or will they wait for the impending proposal from a French duke? Will Fairchild suffer a broken heart for the second time?

This eBook might be short at only eight chapters and a prologue, but it carries a large dose of sweetness. I was glad to see what happened to Fairchild after the events of book one in Roseanna M. White’s Culper Ring series. Even though I wasn’t rooting for him in book one, I did grow quite attached to him. Getting a peek at what took place between Ring of Secrets and Whispers from the Shadows made me feel a little like a spy myself.

The day I was reading this book, I was on a shopping trip. One stop was a Half-Price Books store. Wouldn’t you know I’d see a section on espionage while browsing the military history section for research books for my latest novel. I giggled over the irony of reading a book about spies and happening across a whole shelf full of books about covert operations.

It only took me one day to read this book, and I enjoyed every word of it. It’s a fabulous story that enhances the series. Soon I’ll be reading book two, and I’m sure you’ll be seeing my review on it not long afterwards.

Don't forget to hop over to Roseanna White's website. She's got the links to the free novella here.

Also, Roseanna hosted me recently on her blog. Check out my article here.

Do you like novellas? Do they add to or detract from a series? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

Summing Up Summer

My friend Amanda, sister Kristy,
and parents (not pictured)
helped me celebrate my birthday.

August is my one full month off from my job as a tutor of children grades five through eight. It’s the month I celebrate the day I was born (by eating at Cheddar's, of course), and it’s also the month in which my family typically tries to go on vacation.

This year was no different. My parents, sister and I packed up our Tahoe and headed down the road. Up the road, technically, since our destination was north of our home state of Texas.

Where were we headed? Indiana and Michigan.

My challenge? Not getting distracted by the landscape whizzing by my window.

Yes, that’s right. I brought my laptop. I gladly sacrificed some of my landscape-watching, book-reading, z-z-z-z-catching time in order to get a good jump on the edits necessary to make my manuscript shine. That task proved quite daunting, but I steadily made progress on my work in progress (WIP). No, I didn’t get it completed. Even though I didn’t meet my goal 100%, I couldn’t be too disappointed in myself. I could have taken the entire month off, claiming it as family time, which would have been true on all accounts. But I chose to use the many hours in the car to my advantage.

Did I have fun on this trip, or was it just a working vacation for me? Oh, I had fun. Lots of fun.

The reason my family chose to visit Indiana was to spend some time with my dad’s aunts, uncles and cousins. My two great-aunts we met last summer, and of course we wanted to make more memories with them. This year, though, we also planned on meeting my second-cousin and another uncle and his wife. Since the cousin’s brother was in town, we got the bonus treat of meeting his family, including his granddaughter. When puzzling it out, I realized that she was my fourth-cousin. That meant we had four generations—from my great-aunt to my fourth-cousin—at Golden Corral that day! How neat is that? It was so wonderful to share a meal and fellowship with these relatives I’ve only known for one year. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to gather again soon.

JoAnn Durgin

Since we were going to Indiana, I asked my parents if we could stop by and meet author JoAnn Durgin on the way. JoAnn was one of four authors who critiqued my manuscript proposal in order to help me improve it. I really appreciated the tips she gave me and wanted to thank her in person and get to know her even better than I already had on Facebook. Also, I was planning on taking the first book in her Lewis Legacy series, Awakening, along on the trip to read (when I wasn’t working on my MS). My parents agreed to take a route that would take us through her part of Indiana, so we met JoAnn at Cheddar’s, my favorite restaurant. Tasty food, great company and conversation about books . . . It couldn’t have been a better evening.

Vigo County Historical Society Museum

From there, we took a side trip to Vigo County. This portion of the trip was sweet because I actually got to go “on location” for the manuscript I took along to work on. I had the opportunity to visit the small town I had chosen as the hometown for my characters. Also, I got to stop by the Vigo County Historical Society Museum to see what information they had on the town I had chosen. Though the file on the tiny town wasn't very large, the information was wonderful. It confirmed to me that the town was a tight-knit community that cared about each other . . . just like in my story!

West Michigan Glass Art Center

Once we reached Michigan, we stayed in Kalamazoo, just so we could say we’ve been there. The next morning, we went downtown to this neat place called West Michigan Glass Art Center. When we told the man that greeted us we were from Texas, he offered to give us a tour of the place. The art of working with glass is quite impressive and takes so much patience and time to learn. From creating stained glass to bead making to flameworking to glassblowing, they do it all—and a little bit of everything in between. The thing that surprised me the most was the fact that they leave the huge furnace on 24/7 to keep it at the correct temperature for their art form. The only time it’s shut down is when it needs to be replaced every five or so years.

Besides visiting Kalamazoo, another of my family’s goals while in Michigan was to put our feet in Lake Michigan. (We had done the same in Lake Erie in the summer of 2012.) We accomplished this goal while making some new ones. There are numerous lighthouses along the lake, and we decided to see some of them. We enjoy taking pictures of them as they are typically very beautiful. We weren’t disappointed. The lighthouses we went to were gorgeous with breathtaking views of Lake Michigan from the grounds.

West Point Lighthouse

Two Harbors Light Station... now a B&B too!

At that point, we were barely a week into our two-week trip. We didn’t really have any further plans of things to see or do. My dad surprised us by suggesting we travel down the coast of Lake Michigan, into Wisconsin and up into Minnesota, stopping by Lake Superior before heading home through Iowa. That would give us three more states on our quest to see all 48 continental United States over the years, leaving fewer than 10 states to accomplish that goal.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, we saw a few more lighthouses, including Split Rock which was such an amazing sight from the lookout point up the road. While we were putting our feet in Lake Superior, a ginormous freighter left the port. I didn’t realize just how humongous those things really were until I saw this one up close. Talk about daunting!

Split Rock Lighthouse

Wisconsin Point Lighthouse

My sister Kristy and friend Jessica
Yes, that's a bear in the background.
We were at the Tulsa Zoo.

The last day of our trek, we stopped in Oklahoma to visit a dear friend whom we met at the beginning of summer. Her car had broken down on the way home from college, so my family had taken her home to Houston—six hours away from our hometown. We stayed in touch over the next couple of months, and my family decided that hanging out with her for a day would be a great way to end our vacation.

All along the trip, we met great people who each had a story to tell. Oh, the books I could write with such inspiration! At most, if not all, of the hotels we stayed at, the staff were friendly and ready to help their clients. At restaurants, the waitresses were often overworked but still managed to wear broad smiles across their faces. Some of the people I met were having bad days, so I smiled and greeted them warmly, hoping to add a little sparkle in the midst of their stressful moments. To many of these people, I gave a bookmark of one of my favorite authors, along with my own blog information. If you are one of them, thank you for your kindness and friendly smile. Thank you for visiting my website. I am thrilled you’re here! Please leave me a comment or friend me on Facebook or Twitter.

This summer’s vacation was amazing. I’m so grateful for every experience and each person who crossed my family’s path. Many more people and things and experiences than I could possibly mention made the trip one never to forget. My family and I had a memorable, enjoyable time. And I even made progress on my WIP!

What helped make your summer special? Was it the people around you? A family vacation? What will you remember most about Summer 2013?

Breathing Life With Words - by guest Reba J. Hoffman

On numerous blogs lately, I've been following Reba J. Hoffman's journey across country on her bicycle and have been touched by all the ways God is using her to help women break free from the fears that bind them. She has graciously agreed to share a piece of her story with us here on Writing to Inspire today. Thanks, Reba!

Loading the gear--all 50 pounds of it!

I’ve written for as long as I can remember. I’ve spoken for as long as I have a voice. And I’ve ridden a bicycle for half a century. I never thought combining those three activities would change lives.

On July 13^th, I set off on a bicycle ride of sorts. I packed fifty pounds of gear onto it and set off in the direction of the west coast. God has commissioned me to travel around the country on my bicycle talking about women who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of a violent assault.

I never know where I’ll end up on any given day. I have no specific direction in mind, other than eventually the west coast. I pray and trust God to lead me to women (and now men) that I can encourage, minister to and help take steps to overcome the fear they face while in the clutches of PTSD.

Not a day has gone by that I have not met women who live in fear. Through tears they tell me their stories. I validate them. I also tell them that, no matter what they have been led to believe, they really are women of incredible value and worth.

One such woman had not been out of her home in seventeen years. She never left the four walls of her house after being attacked. When her cousin told her I was in town and what I was doing, she asked, “Why in the world would she do something like that?”

Her cousin simply said, “She’s doing it for you!”

Reba shaking hands with Steve Beavers,
a reporter for the Daily Corinthian newspaper

On wobbly legs, this prisoner of fear in her own home ventured out. She allowed her cousin to bring her to the town square where I was waiting. As she slowly made her way toward me, I stood with outstretched arms. I knew I could not go to her. She had to come to me.

When she finally closed the distance, she fell into my arms and sobbed for what seemed like years. She was purging herself of all the anguish. I then took her by the hand and said, “Let’s take a victory lap.”

Arm in arm she and I made our way around the town square. One by one, women joined us. We walked and cried in unity for the huge step this woman took in coming out of her safe haven.

I felt the strength returning to her frail body with each step we took. Finally, she turned to me and said, “Your words breathed life back into me.”

When the victory lap had been completed and women slowly began to walk away and back to their own lives, I was reminded of how powerful our words are. The spoken word. The written word. They all have the power of life and death in them.

I’m so grateful to have the privilege of riding my bicycle across country alone to help these women take back their life. Each day I see lives transform right in front of me. Women who had been held prisoner in their own homes after surviving a violent attack finally let go of the fear and move forward in life.

Dakota (my bike) and I are on a mission to set women free. We are not in a dress rehearsal. This is our one shot at life as we know it. I don’t want a single woman who survived being attacked to get to the end of their life, look back and realize they only existed through the life they should have abundantly lived through.

There really is life beyond survival. Through words of encouragement and healing, it breathes the breath of life back into someone. I urge you to join the life-saving mission. Help a woman overcome by speaking life into them. Tell them about my story and encourage them to follow my journey… the Road to Freedom Tour.

Reba J. Hoffman is the author of Facing Fear and Finding Freedom. She is currently on a solo cross-country bicycle tour to help women who suffer from PTSD. You can follow her epic journey at www.RebaJHoffman.com. 

What fear have YOU faced lately? How have you felt God's freedom since facing it?