Thanksgiving Blessings and Traditions

I hope you'll stop by the e-harlequin website this week and discuss special Thanksgiving blessings and traditions! I've posted one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories today. Please come by and share yours!

http://community.eharlequin.com/forums/steeple-hill/thanksgiving-blessings-and-traditions

Missy

Blog Tour Stops This Week!

My new release, A Forever Christmas, is on the shelves now! Don't forget it would make a nice, inexpensive Christmas gift for your friends! :)

Also, please be sure to check the blog tour schedule over on the right side of the screen. I have several stops this week. I hope you'll come by to visit at each one. I'll be offering book giveaways on some of them. I'd love to see you there!

And for local folks, I'll be doing a book signing on November 14 at the Christmas in the Country Arts & Crafts Festival (10 am - 5 pm). More details later. Just hold the date!

Missy

Reading on Blogtalk Radio on Thursday

I'm excited to take part in something new to me, Blogtalk radio, on Thursday evening. I'll be reading a short excerpt from A Forever Christmas at around 7:00 pm Central time with other authors from Red River Writers. I'm not sure exactly what time I'll read, but it should be within the first 20 minutes or so. I hope you'll stop by! And also, they'll put the show up later so you can listen to it at anytime.

To check it out, click here.

Also, I've heard of book sightings in Walmart! I'd love to hear from you if you see my book on the shelf anywhere. Thanks!

Wild Adventure in Gatlinburg, Tennessee!

My kids had fall break last week, and we headed to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to spend some fun time in the mountains. We met my parents and my sister and brother-in-law to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary. Whenever we go, we always stay in an older motel that sits nestled between the mountainside and the river. And one day while standing outside my parents' room, I glanced up and saw this site (you may have to click on the photo to see the detail). I wasn't sure I was seeing correctly, but as I watched, dumbstruck, I saw this next photo...a bear coming down the mountain toward the parking lot! I couldn't even speak. I just pointed and made funny sounds (which my family has teased me mercilessly about!). :)

When everyone realized what I was pointing at, my sister grabbed her camera and started snapping. She was saying, "Oh, how sweet," and things like that as she got WAY too close to the bear. He walked around the parking lot, sniffing.

Thankfully, my brother-in-law had thought to run close the back of the minivan as soon as I saw the bear coming down the hill. But apparently, there was something that drew him to another car. He stood on his hind feet, put his front paws on the top of the car, then seemed to look inside. Meanwhile, my sister got down and snapped this next shot under the railing outside our motel doors.

And the last photo was the best. This is not zoomed. The bear got within about 5 or 6 feet of us before we scampered into the room and closed the door. We figured we better not push our luck no matter how cute he was! :)

What excitement! But there's still something scary about looking into the bloodshot eyes of a black bear!

I'll share more photos of the mountains once my son emails them to me from his phone. It was gorgeous in the Smokies while we were there!

Have any of you made any trips to the mountains to see fall leaves?

Myra Johnson's One Imperfect Christmas

I’m so thrilled to introduce debut author (and my good friend!) Myra Johnson to you today. Myra will be giving away a copy of her new release, One Imperfect Christmas, today. I’ll randomly choose a winner from among those who either leave a comment or email me at missytippens {@} aol.com. (If you email me, please put Myra in the subject line). And now, Myra Johnson…

1. Since this is your first book, I know my readers would love to hear about The Call for that first sale!


Talk about a whirlwind adventure! After 25 years of “positive rejections” and “almosts,” I couldn’t believe how fast this all happened. One day I happened upon an announcement about Abingdon Press’s new fiction line on Brandilyn Collins’s blog. Within hours I had my query off to the new editor, Barbara Scott. She looked at several of my ms. (manuscript) proposals and within a few days had chosen the one that interested her. I e-mailed her the complete ms., we e-mailed back and forth a few times over the next couple of weeks, and within a month of my initial query, she called with the formal contract offer! Needless to say, I had to restrain myself from screaming in her ear! I’ll never forget that day because later that evening we had to go pick up our new car from the Toyota dealership. So much excitement in one day was way more than I could handle, so I got very little sleep that night!


2. Oh, how exciting! Please tell us a little about your book.


Graphic designer Natalie Pearce will soon face the most difficult Christmas of her life. While taking down last year’s Christmas decorations, her mother suffered a massive stroke, and Natalie blames herself for not being there when it happened. Worse, she allows the monstrous load of guilt to drive a wedge between her and everyone she loves--most of all her husband, Daniel. Her marriage is on the verge of dissolving, her prayer life is suffering, and she's one Christmas away from hitting rock bottom.
Junior-high basketball coach Daniel Pearce is at his wit's end. Nothing he's done has been able to break through the wall Natalie has erected between them. And their daughter Lissa's adolescent rebellion isn't helping matters. Daniel's hope reaches its lowest ebb, and he wonders if the next Christmas will spell the end of his marriage and the loss of everything he holds dear.

3. Where can readers buy your book?

My book is available (or can be ordered) through any major bookstore, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. Since Cokesbury Books is the retail arm of Abingdon Press, readers can probably find the best discounts in your local store or at the Cokesbury Website.

4. Can you tell us a little about your personal life?

I’ve been married for over 37 years to a great guy who has supported and encouraged my dream of writing from the beginning. If not for him, I don’t know what I’d be doing right now. We have two lovely daughters who are married to wonderful young men, and between them they’ve given us five adorable grandchildren (4 boys and—finally!!—a gorgeous granddaughter who loves pink!). I’m an animal lover, so we’ve never been without pets in our home. Right now we have a half-Lab and a border collie something-or-other, plus a parakeet who still holds a grudge because I “rescued” him from our backyard birdfeeder several years ago.

5. LOL! What an ungrateful parakeet! :) Okay, so what’s one other thing readers might not know about you, maybe something unusual?

Hmmm. As I mentioned, I love animals, which includes horses. All my life I wished for my own horse, but as a city girl I never had the means or opportunity. Then several years ago I began volunteering with a therapeutic horseback riding program, met some “horsey” people, and got connected with a dressage instructor and a friend of a friend who offered me one of her “extra” horses for lessons and practice. Heavenly! Leaving all that behind was one of the hardest parts of leaving Texas and moving to Oklahoma three years ago. I regret I’ve never had the time to look into riding opportunities in our new locale.

6. Which character in your story is most like you?

While I’m not the workaholic Natalie is, we’re most alike in our moodiness and tendency to lash out at loved ones when we’re stressed or troubled.

7. Can you tell us about your next book (blurb and release date)?

My next book will be a Heartsong Presents contemporary romance. The title is Autumn Rains, and the book is due for release in mid-October. Here’s the blurb:

Healy Ferguson knows all about prisons, both the real and the emotional kind. Paying your dues to society doesn’t always mean you’ve paid your dues to yourself, and often the price you exact on yourself far exceeds the crime. Valerie Bishop is caught in the emotional prison of post-traumatic stress disorder, unable to venture more than a few feet out her back door. Shadowy moments from a night she can’t remember bombard her without warning, keeping her trapped between the painful past and a future seemingly without hope. But God promises to repay the years that have been lost; for those who trust in Him, He promises refreshing, life-giving rain. Will Val and Healy trust to see God’s perfect plan, or will they choose the chains that hold them back?

8. Sounds wonderful! I think maybe I read the first chapters of that story a few years ago. I’m so glad it will be published! Now, a last question. How can readers find you (website, Twitter, Facebook, ect.)?

My Website is www.MyraJohnson.com.
I also blog at http://myra.typepad.com, http://seekerville.blogspot.com, and http://romanceyourspouse.com.
My Facebook fan page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Myra-Johnson/67707395198?ref=ts.
To follow me on Twitter, look up http://twitter.com/MyraJohnson.


Thank you so much for being on my blog today, Myra!
Thanks for having me, Missy! Always a pleasure hanging out with one of my Seekerville sisters!

Bio:

Myra Johnson’s roots go deep into Texas soil, but she’s proud to be a new Oklahoman. Empty-nesters now, she and her husband share their home in Broken Arrow with two loveable dogs and a snobby parakeet. Her debut novel, One Imperfect Christmas, released in September 2009 from Abingdon Press.
She also writes for Barbour Publishing’s Heartsong Presents line. Autumn Rains, winner of the 2005 RWA Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Romance Manuscript, releases October 2009, soon to be followed by Romance by the Book and Where the Dogwoods Bloom.
Myra writes full-time and is active in her church as well as local and national writers groups. Myra and her husband have been married since 1972. The Johnsons have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

Free Book Fridays!

I just heard about a great deal at e-harlequin.com. It's one of the Free Fridays--where if you buy 2 books, you get one free. Today's free book is a Steeple Hill book by an author I enjoyed meeting last week at the ACFW conference in Denver, Ruth Axtell Morren. I had a great time getting to know Ruth at a Steeple Hill author dinner. And this book sounds wonderful!


If you'd like the opportunity to get this book as a gift with the purchase of two books, click here.



And if you're looking for two other books to buy, I can recommend one! His Forever Love, by...me! :) And also Dreaming of Home, the debut novel of one of my good friends (and fellow Seekerville blogger), Glynna Kaye. Or Soldier Daddy by another friend and Seekerville blogger, Cheryl Wyatt.

I hope you have a great weekend!
Missy

Book of the Year Awards and Genesis Contest Winners

I just got back from the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference last night. I had a fantastic time! I'll post some photos later. But I wanted to share a list of the contest winners. A big congrats to all the winners! :) I'm especially thrilled for friend and fellow F.A.I.T.H. blogger, Christy Lashea Smith! For fellow Craftie Ladies of Romance blogger Pamela Tracy. And for my good friend and fellow Seeker blogger, Julie Lessman! Congrats, ladies. Very well deserved.

The American Christian Fiction Writers Awards 2009

2009 Mentor of the Year- Donita K. Paul

2009 Membership Service Award- John B. Olson

2009 Editor of the Year Award- Ami McConnell, Thomas Nelson

2009 Agent of the Year Award Steve Laube, The Steve Laube Agency

2009 Book of the Year Contest

• Debut Author- A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman



• Lits- Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck



• Long Contemporary- Symphony of Secrets by Sharon Hinck



• Long Contemporary Romance- Controlling Interest by Elizabeth White



• Long Historical (tie)- My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer, and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke



• Mystery- For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls by Nancy Mehl



• Novellas- Stuck on You in A Connecticut Christmas anthology by Rhonda Gibson



• Short Contemporary- Family Treasures by Kathryn Springer



• Short Contemporary Suspense- Broken Lullaby by Pamela Tracy



• Short Historical- Family of the Heart by Dorothy Clark



• Speculative- The Restorer’s Journey by Sharon Hinck



• Suspense- Fossil Hunter by John B. Olson



• Women’s Fiction- The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner



• Young Adult- The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones

ACFW 2009 Genesis Contest

• Contemporary Fiction- Jennifer Griffith, Magpies in Trees



• Contemporary Romance- Christy LaShea Smith, The Bridge Between



• Historical Fiction- Christine Schmidtke, Unveiled



• Historical Romance- Lacy Williams, Marrying Miss Marshal



• Mystery/Suspense/Thriller- Alan Schleimer, Q.doc



• Romantic Suspense- Jan Warren, Katherine Octavia, C.I.A.



• Science-Fiction/Fantasy/Allegory- David Fry, Lies To See



• Women’s Fiction- Cathleen Armstrong, The Church of Last Chance



• Young Adult- Gretchen Hoffman, Rewind