After a short career in elementary education, Deeanne Gist retired to raise her four children. Over the course of the next fifteen years, she ran a home accessory and antique business, became a member of the press, wrote freelance journalism for national publications such as People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, Houston Chronicle and Orlando Sentinel, and acted as CFO for her husband’s small engineering firm–all from the comforts of home.
Squeezed betwixt-and-between all this, she read romance novels by the truckload and even wrote a couple of her own. While those unpublished manuscripts rested on the shelf, she founded a publishing corporation for the purpose of developing, producing and marketing products that would reinforce family values, teach children responsibility and provide character building activities.
After a few short months of running her publishing company, Gist quickly discovered being a “corporate executive” was not where her gifts and talents lie. In answer to Gist’s fervent prayers, God sent a mainstream publisher to her door who licensed her parenting I Did It!® product line and committed to publish the next generation of her system, thus freeing Gist to return to her writing.
Eight months later, she sold A Bride Most Begrudging to Bethany House Publishers. Since that debut, her very original, very fun romances have rocketed up the bestseller lists and captured readers everywhere. Add to this two consecutive Christy Awards, two RITA nominations, rave reviews, and a growing loyal fan base, and you’ve got one recipe for success.
Her 2010 books, Beguiled and Maid To Match are now available for order.
Gist lives in Texas with her husband of twenty-seven years and their two border collies. They have four grown children. Visit her blog to find out the most up-to-the-minute news about Dee.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Falling in love could cost her everything.
From the day she arrived at the Biltmore, Tillie Reese is dazzled, by the riches of the Vanderbilts and by Mack Danvers, a mountain man turned footman. When Tillie is enlisted to help tame Mack’s rugged behavior by tutoring him in proper servant etiquette, the resulting sparks threaten Tillie’s efforts to be chosen as Edith Vanderbilt’s lady’s maid, After all, the one rule of the house is no romance below stairs.
But the stakes rise even higher when Mack and Tillie become entangles in a cover-up at the town orphanage. They could both lose their jobs, their aspirations…their hearts.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Maid to Match, go HERE.
Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline “Don’t forget to b r e a t h e…”® Brandilyn’s first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is now working on her 20th book.
In addition, Brandilyn’s other latest release is Final Touch, third in The Rayne Tour series—young adult suspense co-written with her daughter, Amberly. The Rayne Tour series features Shaley O’Connor, daughter of a rock star, who just may have it all—until murder crashes her world.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Skip Tracer Joanne Weeks knows Baxter Jackson killed his second wife—and Joanne’s best friend—seven years ago. But Jackson, a church elder and beloved member of the town, walks the streets a free man.
The police tell Joanne to leave well enough alone, but Joanne is determined to bring Jackson down. Using her skip tracing skills, she sets out to locate Melissa Harkoff, now twenty-two, who lived in the Jackson home at the time of Linda Jackson’s disappearance.
As Joanne drives home on a rainy winter night, a hooded figure darts in front of her car. In her headlight beams she glimpses the half-concealed face of a man, a rivulet of blood jagging down his cheek. She squeals to a stop but clips him with her right fender. Shaking, she gets out of her car in the pouring rain. The man will not let her see his face. Before he limps off into the night he warns her not to talk to police.
As Joanne tries to find Melissa, someone seems to be after her. Who was the man she hit on the road. Is Baxter Jackson out to silence her? Or is some other skip she’s traced in the past now out for revenge?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Deceit, go HERE —-
Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline “Don’t forget to b r e a t h e…”® Brandilyn’s first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is now working on her 20th book.
In addition, Brandilyn’s other latest release is Final Touch, third in The Rayne Tour series—young adult suspense co-written with her daughter, Amberly. The Rayne Tour series features Shaley O’Connor, daughter of a rock star, who just may have it all—until murder crashes her world.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Skip Tracer Joanne Weeks knows Baxter Jackson killed his second wife—and Joanne’s best friend—seven years ago. But Jackson, a church elder and beloved member of the town, walks the streets a free man.
The police tell Joanne to leave well enough alone, but Joanne is determined to bring Jackson down. Using her skip tracing skills, she sets out to locate Melissa Harkoff, now twenty-two, who lived in the Jackson home at the time of Linda Jackson’s disappearance.
As Joanne drives home on a rainy winter night, a hooded figure darts in front of her car. In her headlight beams she glimpses the half-concealed face of a man, a rivulet of blood jagging down his cheek. She squeals to a stop but clips him with her right fender. Shaking, she gets out of her car in the pouring rain. The man will not let her see his face. Before he limps off into the night he warns her not to talk to police.
As Joanne tries to find Melissa, someone seems to be after her. Who was the man she hit on the road. Is Baxter Jackson out to silence her? Or is some other skip she’s traced in the past now out for revenge?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Deceit, go HERE —-
I barely missed finishing Travis Thrasher’s latest book, Broken, in time for the CFBA Tour for last week. Here’s my take on the book.
Synopsis: Laila Torres is a beautiful woman on the outside, by anyone’s standards. Inside she is tormented by choices she has made in the past, and she keeps everyone outside of a shell she has constructed as she tries to run from her past. Holed up in Greenville, South Carolina, working in an inconspicuous job, she is found by a stranger who knows things about her past.
As this stalker haunts her, leaving threatening messages, she starts seeing visions of a dead man. And something more, buried even deeper in the wasteland of her history. Even as a co-worker tries to peel back some of her layers, and her brother tries to track down his long-lost sister, the risks may be too deep for any of them to overcome.
Review: Nebulous. From Merrian-Webster Online: “lacking clarity of feature or sharpness of outline.” That is the one word that describes Broken the best. Thrasher is staking a claim to the suspense/horror side of Christian fiction. I know other writers that really enjoy his work. As for me, not as much.
There is plenty of building of tension in Broken, and there are some intriguing twists along the way. Laila has a complicated past, so Travis pulls back the layers ever so slowly. This leads to the problem of being nebulous – the book takes too long to develop. By the time I found out certain things that drove along Laila and even other characters, I was reading the book more for obligation than for enjoyment. In trying to keep the mystery hidden, it ends up obscured.
There is some touching resolution towards the end, and I did enjoy that. Some of the circumstances Laila faced did catch my interest to see how she escaped. Still, too much was veiled and strung along by “something in her past is spooking her” throughout the book.
I haven’t really connected with Travis Thrasher’s books in the past, so I think I’ll stop trying. For another point of view, check out my friend Nicole’s take on Broken at her blog, Into the Fire. — Disclosure of Material Connection: I’d like to thank Faith Words Publishers for providing me this Book free as part of the CFBA book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I barely missed finishing Travis Thrasher’s latest book, Broken, in time for the CFBA Tour for last week. Here’s my take on the book.
Synopsis: Laila Torres is a beautiful woman on the outside, by anyone’s standards. Inside she is tormented by choices she has made in the past, and she keeps everyone outside of a shell she has constructed as she tries to run from her past. Holed up in Greenville, South Carolina, working in an inconspicuous job, she is found by a stranger who knows things about her past.
As this stalker haunts her, leaving threatening messages, she starts seeing visions of a dead man. And something more, buried even deeper in the wasteland of her history. Even as a co-worker tries to peel back some of her layers, and her brother tries to track down his long-lost sister, the risks may be too deep for any of them to overcome.
Review: Nebulous. From Merrian-Webster Online: “lacking clarity of feature or sharpness of outline.” That is the one word that describes Broken the best. Thrasher is staking a claim to the suspense/horror side of Christian fiction. I know other writers that really enjoy his work. As for me, not as much.
There is plenty of building of tension in Broken, and there are some intriguing twists along the way. Laila has a complicated past, so Travis pulls back the layers ever so slowly. This leads to the problem of being nebulous – the book takes too long to develop. By the time I found out certain things that drove along Laila and even other characters, I was reading the book more for obligation than for enjoyment. In trying to keep the mystery hidden, it ends up obscured.
There is some touching resolution towards the end, and I did enjoy that. Some of the circumstances Laila faced did catch my interest to see how she escaped. Still, too much was veiled and strung along by “something in her past is spooking her” throughout the book.
I haven’t really connected with Travis Thrasher’s books in the past, so I think I’ll stop trying. For another point of view, check out my friend Nicole’s take on Broken at her blog, Into the Fire. — Disclosure of Material Connection: I’d like to thank Faith Words Publishers for providing me this Book free as part of the CFBA book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd’s Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.
Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon
ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s 1918, and Daphne McKinley, heiress to a small fortune, has found contentment in the town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho. But Daphne has a secret.
A series of dime novels loosely based on local lore and featuring a nefarious villain known as Rawhide Rick has enjoyed modest popularity among readers. Nobody in Bethlehem Springs knows the man behind the stories … except Daphne.
When newspaperman Joshua Crawford comes to town searching for the man who sullied the good name of his grandfather, Daphne finds herself at a crossroads, reassessing the power of her words, re-thinking how best to honor her gifts, and reconsidering what she wants out of life.
Robin is conducting a contest for the new book. Join in the fun HERE.
