The Strength in Our Weaknesses by Kellyn Roth {At Her Fingertips Launch Tour} + Giveaway!

Friends, today we have a special guest. Kellyn Roth is the author of The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series, a series which I have had the pleasure of copy editing for her. The latest Alice & Ivy book, At Her Fingertips, released on July 17, 2021, so is now available.

Be sure to stay tuned after the guest article, because Kellyn is hosting a giveaway.

The Strength in Our Weaknesses

by Kellyn Roth

Hello everyone!

I’m Kellyn Roth, a historical women’s fiction and romance writer who loves filling my novels with Christian themes. Today I’m here to talk about one of the themes in my novel, At Her Fingertips.

This book is practically brimming with ideas—and I never planned for any of them! God just likes to toss random things into my novels, and this was one I hadn’t planned at all.

You see, my idea was to write a novel in which my main character, Alice, struggles to release her plans to Christ. As the Bible notes, “[God] knows the plans [He] thinks toward you.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Our end is “expected” to Him—He’s already got it all figured out!

So with a control freak like Alice (sorry, girl—it’s true!), I had a lot to work with!

However, one day, I was writing along, minding my own business, and suddenly, this happened:

“She was doing it again—letting pride and stubbornness pull her away from those she loved. She’d rather appear strong and reject vulnerability than have a close relationship with her family. But she wasn’t strong; she was weak, and every time she failed to show her weakness, she became weaker.”

After this happened, I had to go back through the rest of the novel during rewrites and think over what I really meant and do some serious Bible research.

Here’s what I arrived at.

Bridge of Gold by Kimberley Woodhouse {book review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

This book was pretty wonderful. There were buckets of things to adore about it and only a couple of reasons why I docked a single star.

Mrs. Woodhouse has improved so much in her writing. I’m growing fonder and fonder of her stories as time goes on, and this book is a prime example of why. It’s a time-slip story that features a murder mystery that revolved around the discovery of a ship buried beneath the streets of San Francisco, California. While it might not all be factual (I hope the murders didn’t actually happen!), I was intrigued to learn that there really were ships that were sunk and used as landfill to expand the growing city of San Francisco during and directly after that California Gold Rush. So neat! It was great to see Mrs. Woodhouse expanding her abilities by dipping into the time-slip genre. She’s long been growing as a historical author, but now she’s added the dual-timeline style to her repertoire.

The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch {book review}

Today's article is a bit lengthy. Hang in there with me, folks. There's loads of good stuff heading your way... starting now!

Recently, I had the great privilege of reading The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch. Just as I suspected, it helped me crack right through that silly reading slump I stumbled into a couple of weeks ago. Here are my thoughts on this pearl of a book.

{Book Review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

What a fantastic finale! I adored this entire series, and each book was better than the previous one. The series built beautifully and felt very connected, which I completely love about series books.

The plethora of naval, water, and sailing analogies helped me feel immersed in Captain Charles Wyvern’s world. They added richness and depth to the atmosphere. I liked that the story began in Portugal. That’s a country I don’t see featured much in Christian fiction, so it was a delight to spend a chapter or so there. The other setting of England really popped to life through the description throughout the book.

From beginning to end, this story was complex. It was twisty with loads of surprises along the way. I especially enjoyed the children’s personalities. They bumped against each other as they were all so different, yet there was a clear thread of love keeping them tethered to one another despite what their words declared at times. This little makeshift family was charming, and I was beyond happy to spend plenty of hours alongside them.

Happy sigh, y’all. This book was spectacular. It was a superb finale. I can hardly wait to see which series will be next up for Mrs. Erica Vetsch. I adore her writing and highly recommend it.

The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch {giveaway}

The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch is one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I feel terrible that I've been ill lately (sinus and ear infections) that have launched me into a huge reading slump right when I wanted to enjoy this little beauty.

I am determined to crack out of the slump, and The Indebted Earl is bound to be the book to do it. The first two books in the Serendipity & Secrets trilogy were spectacular and right up my alley, so I've got really high hopes for this story.

Be on the lookout for my review later this week, right here on Writing to Inspire.

I've got a jam-packed article for you today, and there's going to be some spill-over. I was given so many great tidbits for this blog tour! I just want to use it all. There's a neat Q&A that I'm going to post with my review later in the week. Be sure to come back for that. As for today's article, we've got a really great interview from author Erica Vetsch -- and it includes what's coming up next after The Indebted Earl.

***

Our Good and Sovereign God Works in Mysterious Ways

Erica Vetsch offers readers a marriage-of-convenience story that is sure to delight.

Grand Rapids, MI — Erica Vetsch brings her much beloved Serendipity & Secrets series to a close with the highly anticipated release of The Indebted Earl (Kregel Publications/March 23, 2021/ISBN: 9780825446191/$15.99). This latest installment tells the story of Lady Sophia Haverly, the free-spirited and energetic younger sister of Marcus Haverly readers will remember from The Gentleman Spy, and Captain Charles Wyvern, a longtime naval officer trying to find his footing on dry land.

Facing the Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti {book review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

This book was good, perhaps great, but it wasn’t a good fit for me.

The first half was so stuffed with sarcasm that I really struggled to feel connected with it at all. I had difficulty feeling bad for Mara when things went completely sideways on her, simply because she wasn’t a very likable or relatable character to me through the entire first half. (I did learn to like her better as things progressed into the second half, thankfully.)

Then, here trots the second half, and I’m completely blown away.

That’s what I expect from a Ruchti novel: to be emotionally moved and completely blown away. She succeeded once again, in the second half of the story.

Ashlee and Sol were amazing from beginning to end, and they were the ones who kept me interested when the Jacobs family didn’t. I did like the growth each of the Jacobses showed in the second half of the story. That was really well done and gave me great hope for their next chapter after the finale of this particular glimpse into their lives.

Spring Cleaning + Camp Prep {a personal invitation}

It may not yet be spring, and I may not typically do spring cleaning, but this year feels like I am. In February, my water pipes froze and then burst in the sub-zero temperatures north Texas experienced. I ended up having to use a ton of blankets, comforters, and towels to sop up the water that spilled into my house before my dad got the water turned off. Since I didn't have working water for almost two weeks, I fell behind on washing dishes and other water-related chores.

Now that my pipes have been fixed (thanks, Daddy!), my spring cleaning this year is catching up on laundry and washing dishes.

There's a bit more cleaning going on around here, and some reorganizing too, but the water-based chores are definitely top priorities this season.

In other news, I'm also getting prepared for writing camp. The next session of King's Daughters' Writing Camp (KDWC) -- a writing camp for Christian ladies -- takes place in April. This month I'm outlining, doing a bit of preliminary research, and dipping my toes into several different stories I've got in the works. Since I'm dealing with post-Wuhan Virus short-term memory loss, my creativity is struggling more than I'd like. So I'm trying to figure out how to beat that even as memory issues plague me at the moment. The good news is that I've found pockets of inspiration in the last week or so. The writing sessions of 150; 300; and 500 words (averages) have added up to over 5,000 words already this month. I'm shocked by that number, because it's felt like such a huge fight to get each sentence onto the page. While that number is super low for my normal monthly pace, it's a huge milestone for me with my current memory situation.

I'm celebrating with ice cream tonight, because fighting my way to this milestone has felt like climbing Mount Everest.

Would you like to join me in writing camp next month?

At Her Fingertips by Kellyn Roth {Cover Reveal}

It's my pleasure to share with you the cover of a book I will be editing in late spring.

Author Kellyn Roth has been a client of mine for a while now (and a friend several years longer), and working with her is a complete joy. So when she opened up an opportunity to participate on her cover reveal team, I couldn't resist.

Before we get to the big reveal, there are a few other things you need to know.

Title: At Her Fingertips

Author: Kellyn Roth

Series: The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, Book #3

Release Date: July 17th, 2021

Pre-Order At Her Fingertips

One easy thing that will help Miss Roth is to add the book to your Goodreads want-to-read shelf as well as any appropriate Listopia lists (such as "Most-Anticipated Christian Fiction 2021" or "Best Historical Christian Fiction"). Here's the book's page on Goodreads, if you're of a mind to do either of the above. Before you decide...

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin {book review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.

This book would have been guzzled in a scant number of days if I hadn’t had broken water pipes to deal with in my house.

What a zinger! I adored this story overall. Once again, Mrs. Sarah Sundin melded history with fiction in a seamless way that brought the past to life for me. Her treatment of a female reporter when men ruled the newspaper business was superb. It touched on women’s rights issues yet respected the men in the book at the same time. That’s a delicate touch on a tough subject, if you ask me.

Evelyn Brand was a heroine I could root for. She was spunky and brave, but she had flaws and fears that sometimes got in her way. As a reporter, she knew her stuff and dared to be different. She was courage on display.

The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano {book review}

Hey, friends. I sincerely apologize for not having this up last week. It's been a very long time since I've completely missed a week on the blog. I'm right in the middle of a two-month personal writing camp, and last week found me writing nearly 19,000 new words. Due to the busyness of that, my tutoring job, and household chores, my blog completely escaped my mind except for a couple of times as I was falling asleep at 3:00 a.m. Yep, there have been some late nights involved in this writing journey lately.

So, now it's time for me to share about my #1 favorite book of this calendar year.

Firstly, I am obligated to tell you, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, that I received a complimentary copy of the following book, and these are my honest thoughts.

Now that the official stuff is out of the way, let's dive in.

Y'all, The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano is outstanding. It drew me in, wrapped me in its mystery, and blew my mind... all at the same time. The cover, which I saw when it was revealed, I think, late last year, was my first glimpse of this story, and I knew right away I'd be in for an amazing story. I'm so glad the words beneath that cover art didn't let me down, because it's still my favorite cover of the year.

Before I get to my official review, here's what the book's about.

Audiobook Is Coming!

Friends, as promised, I have another reveal for you this week. This one comes courtesy of my writing friend Sarah Grace Grzy.

Earlier this year, I had the great privilege of reading Sarah Grace's Never Say Goodbye. It's a charming story about a single dad who loves his little girl... and the bookstore owner trying to find where she belongs.

I hope you'll give this little book a chance. Especially once it comes to...

AUDIO!

That's right, y'all. This will be Sarah Grace's first audiobook. Hopefully the first of many. All the details are down below.

Congratulations, Sarah Grace!

Victory's Voice {Cover Reveal Week}

Hey, friends. I have some exciting news to share today. My friend Erika Mathews has a brand-new cover for her Kingdom Adventure novel Victory's Voice, book two in the Truth from Taerna series, and I'm happy to take part in revealing the gorgeous cover for Cover Reveal Week.

The vibrant jewel tones of the covers in this series are especially beautiful and eye-catching. Since I'm one of Erika's brainstorm and writing buddies, I've seen some sneak peeks of most of the covers of the books in this series as well as some story snippets and plot ideas as they took shape. I must say, we're all in for some amazing covers and adventurous, deep stories. I can hardly wait to collect and read them all! They will look stunning on any reader's bookshelves, so if you've got book lovers in your life (or are one yourself), please keep this series in mind as you're shopping in the coming weeks, months, and years.

Victory's Voice releases to the world of books in March 2021, but it is already up for pre-order right now. Scroll down for links to pre-order an autographed paperback or the ebook -- or both!

Victory's Voice by Erika Mathews

Truth from Taerna: Book Two

The Plans We Made by Kathryn Cushman and Lauren Beccue {book review + giveaway}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from I Read with Audra. These are my honest thoughts.

This book was amazing. I loved the characters, the journey, the plot, the twists, the problems, and the resolution. Caroline’s adventure in Rhode Island was fun, and I enjoyed the banter between Chris and her as they were working rivals. Linda’s journey of regret and hope made me cry and wish for a good outcome even when it was tough to see through the hard moments. The reconstruction and preservation of a beautiful building was a wonderful backdrop for the drama of this enjoyable story.

The imagery was especially beautiful, as evidenced by this line: “She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her fractured hope.” There were many exquisite lines like this one that took my breath away.

It was very refreshing to see an engaged couple NOT living together prior to marriage, particularly in a world that appears to adore compromised morals. I want more stories like this one that holds tight to strong, biblical morals and presents a great example to its readers.

The themes in this book were great. I liked the fear of bad impressions, because that’s something very relatable. Regrets and consequences are tough to live with, and this story showed that well and also highlighted how they may be overcome. There were relationship issues, and it was nice to see they were worked out with dialogue and humble attitudes and true remorse. Honesty, faith, and courage seemed to work together well to create a rich atmosphere for the heartbreaking story within.

Emotion and tension were high throughout for me. I laughed and cried, and there were several scenes that had me holding my breath and flipping pages fast to find out what would happen next.

Until I Met You by Tari Faris {book review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Reads. These are my honest thoughts.

“You get to choose if [your past] defines you now.”

This book was like a warm hug on a wintry night, and I think the biggest reason is that it encapsulated the theme from 1 Corinthians 13:5, which states (in part) that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” This has been one of my favorite verses for going on five years now, and I love how a fictional book could so beautifully bring out the gritty truth of what this verse looks like when applied to a person’s life.

Until I Met You by Tari Faris is a messy (in a good way), beautiful story about relatable characters that go through everyday problems. They hold grudges and make mistakes. They’re able to discuss things in real ways instead of skirting around the issues, yet they sometimes let their anger, bitterness, frustrations, and definitely their assumptions get in the way of following through on other conversations. These things reflected real life to me, and I could so easily relate to so many things about this story. Not just the negative things either. There was a ton of good stuff too, all easy to understand and “get.”

While we’re on the topic of assumptions, though, I want to say something. I sometimes make assumptions about people. I think it’s a thing we humans do. Based on our own personal experiences and knowledge, we assume we know what’s best for people or what someone meant by something they said just because of their tone. But I wonder, how many times do we misread the situation? How many times do we not see the hurt behind the tone, that the person had a bad day prior to that moment that gave out that wonky tone that pushed our own buttons to make an assumption? I know a lot of times I can have other things on my mind when I respond to people and don’t realize that the words and tone and intention didn’t all match up to indicate what I really meant. How many times could it be the same for other people too?

This book made me think about that. Among other things, of course, but that was a big one, probably because it was such a huge theme in this story.

Okay, so we’re moving on to the fun stuff about this book.

Danielle was amazing for what few pages she was there. I really hope this gal gets her own book, because I totally want to know more. Like, right now. *cheesy grin*

The Carnegie thing… Y’all, if the only reason you read this book is to find out why this Carnegie thing completely melted my heart, do it. It melted me, I’m telling you.

This line made me laugh so hard: “This library didn’t need to be reopened. It needed to be resuscitated.”

This line spoke to me in a profound way: “I do the only thing I can when faced with a lie. I hold on to the truth.”

The recurring thread involving a bag of coins was priceless. (See what I did there? Wink, wink.)

I adored the way that phobias were represented. I’ve had a phobia or two in my past, and this book showed them in a realistic way. It was made clear how debilitating they are yet how freeing it can be when one finds that “twenty seconds of insane courage,” as We Bought a Zoo says. (Yes, I was absolutely thrilled that this line was quoted in this story. It fit so well and was a great nod to one of my favorite movies, of which there are many, naturally.)

The Edge of Belonging by Amanda Cox {book review}

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from Revell Reads. These are my honest thoughts.

Despite a single expletive, this book has soared onto my favorites list this year. This debut was fresh and different and deep. When I first saw the cover, I was blown away, but I wasn’t certain what to expect beneath it. Let me tell you, it wasn’t anything like I would have guessed.

The story began with a homeless man, and this was something I had never seen done before. This approach tugged my heart in right away. This was a time-split novel, and sometimes the new scenes took me away from what I wanted to keep reading about, but overall, this was very well done (even in those tense moments).

The theme of seeing the unseen people in our lives (those society deems less than worthy of our attention) was superbly on display. This is one reason this book is now a favorite. It takes the “look after orphans and widows” (James 1:27) and “will assemble the outcasts” (Isaiah 11:12) themes and creates a haven for those who are looked down upon by the vast majority of society.

This story is powerful and needed today. I think it’s a must-read for anyone who wants to grow in compassion and who wants to know how to see with new eyes what you’ve missed so many times before.

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer {book review}

Here's the book review I promised last week.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah and NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

"These feuds an' fear gotta end."

That line resonated so loudly as I was reading this timely book.

This beautiful story touched my heart on multiple levels. Its exquisite depth and rich atmosphere immersed me into the quaint mountain town of Boone's Hollow, where I met a quirky cast of amazing characters that each wriggled their way into my heart.

Mrs. Sawyer once again created characters worth caring about. The depth to which she develops her cast is something to not only admire but also to study, if you're a writer like me. The way she captures a local way of speaking amazes me every time, and this talent of hers is one of the many reasons why her characters pop off the pages.

The glimpse at coal mining reminded me of Homer Hickam's true-life story in the movie October Sky. Another similarity between that film and this book was the difficult and sometimes heartrending father-son relationship.

What really made this book stand out among the 150+ books I've read this year is how a library was used to bring hope to families struggling through the Great Depression years. I had never before heard of packhorse librarians, but this story made me want to learn more. The way this novel was written -- filled with hope, love, and lots of grace -- kept me intrigued throughout, and I can hardly wait to read it again. It has moved itself into a tie with My Heart Remembers for my favorite KVS book -- and I wasn't sure that would happen after years and years of MHR reigning alone in that spot.

"What I want is for you to fully use the abilities God has given you."

The above quote really spoke truth into my soul. I'm not fully sure in how many ways God wants to fulfill this in my life, but I am eager to find out.

Works in Progress {sneak peek}

Hello, friends.

Once again, this isn't coming to you on a Monday. So sorry about that.

One reason for the delay is that I've been writing a book. While I'm no longer participating in NaNoWriMo events due to their stepping too far into politics rather than sticking to the writing-community services they offer, I am still writing.

Do you remember a very long while back when you voted on which story I should work on? At the time, I thought I was ready to work on the elderly ladies on a road trip story. Apparently, I wasn't then. But I am now.

In fact, back in June, I worked up a very detailed scene-by-scene outline for the story, which is now going to be a book rather than a screenplay (though I may write that version later, just in case anyone wants to make a movie out of it at some point). This story is now my primary project this month.

Of course I have a couple of other ones I'm chipping away on. I can hardly ever focus solely on one project at a time, thanks to my undiagnosed ADD. Yet, I find that working on multiple projects actually aids my creativity instead of harming it.

Maybe it takes me longer to finish each story that way, but the good news is there may be multiple stories finished up around the same time because of this process.

Some of you might be wondering how I keep the various storylines, character names, and plot points straight if I'm working on multiple books at the same time.

Summer Favorites

Hello, friends! Let's talk books.

What are your favorite books you've read so far this summer? (Yes, I'm looking for your recommendations!)

Here are a few of my favorites. Each of these received five-star ratings from me.

Writing Update {Camp NaNoWriMo 2020}

Hey, friends! Just a swift little writing update for you.

This month is Camp NaNoWriMo, and that means I've been busy typing furiously for the past several weeks. While Camp isn't quite over yet, I have already passed the goal I set prior to the start. February and March were slower creative months for me, so I wasn't sure what to expect for April. Well, I blasted right past the 35,000-word goal I set and am staring down the barrel of 65k. It's looking like I'll be hitting 70,000 words or more.

Woot woot!

Yep, I'm pretty excited. Not only about the word count but about the story itself. Since it's a work in progress, I can't share a ton of details. However, I can tell you that my research has included a few very interesting things. I've had to Google wingsuits, baseball statistics, types of climbing equipment, special needs saddles, and various types of wheelchairs. It's always fun to see the wide variety of things I have to research for any given story I'm working on, and I always learn a lot of information that broadens my horizons. The trick then is to avoid huge information dumps -- or at least make sure to edit them out before the final draft.

The story is taking shape, though it's a pretty rough draft. It's feeling like the early chapters will require some pretty heavy edits, but I often feel like that at this stage of the first draft. Sometimes I'm right and other times I'm wrong and the scenes ended up coming out better than I thought. The scene I was working on yesterday (which was really earlier today for me, because I'm writing this on Sunday night, not Monday morning), came together so well that I might not need to do much more than a quick proofread on it. We'll see if I still feel that same level of confidence once I print out the full draft and pull out my colorful pens and settle in for some color-coded editing.

Silent Shadows by Natalie Walters {book review}

The third and final book in the Harbored Secrets trilogy was a pretty good suspense story. The first half seemed much more like a medical romance, as there was a lot less bad-guy movement than usual for the suspense genre, but the dates were fun and surprising, and Maceo was pretty adorable. I really enjoyed Colton’s battle with a movement disorder I was unfamiliar with. I felt I was taught a lot about it within the context of the story in a way that did not feel like being preached at over the topic.

There was some confusion about Pecca’s profession. She was declared to be a nurse, yet she seemed much more like a physical therapist. The only identifier ever given was “nurse.” A friend pointed out that there is such a thing as a “nurse psychotherapist,” whose job description lines up pretty well with Pecca’s behavior with her patients. I wish this job title would have been given from chapter one (or at all), as it’s interesting, different, and something I would enjoy reading about. Since all I was given was “nurse,” it felt like she (or at least her job or title) was misrepresented.

Oh, my heart loved the sports angle. During the COVID-19 illness the world is facing right now (in spring 2020), sports are absent from my life, which is abnormal to be sure. So reading about a child with only one leg being encouraged to play a sport was just what this sports fan needed during the last couple of weeks. Maybe there won’t be any NBA or NHL finals this season, but at least the little Warriors were there to be cheered for!

Slightly Unprepared But Excited

Camp NaNoWriMo starts in two days.

Two days!

Am I ready?

Not exactly. Not as prepared as I’d like to be, anyway.

See, I used to be a pantser, a writer that has a small spark of an idea and then dives into writing the story by the seat of their pants. The creativity and flow of that style is wonderful and right up my alley. However, when I used the pantser method, I inevitably ended up with slumpy middles and struggled to finish out the final chapter or two of my stories. This was a huge problem.

Therefore, I decided to read articles (and I mean dozens of articles) about plotting. There are charts and graphs and tips and many, many outline types out there. It can be overwhelming. Even as I felt myself sinking in the vast ocean of plotting advice and forms and such, I knew that I had to figure out a way to pull some details together prior to writing the first draft. I needed the guidance of a plot or outline. It would be helpful to know my characters at least a little bit before trying to tell their story (otherwise, I end up exploring and discovering who they are in draft one and then having to do heavy edits in rounds two, three, and four).