Here and now are the perfect place and time to get your copy of Unclaimed Legacy.
Now? Because it’s only 99 cents for Kindle (for the month of September only). Here? Because buying it enters you in my giveaway of the complete Time and Again trilogy (personally signed by yours truly) AND a pretty mug for your morning coffee. Hint: You might want to keep the mug and Kindle book for yourself and give the signed copies of the trilogy as a gift. The Rafflecopter giveaway entry form is below, but first let me tell you about Unclaimed Legacy.
Those who have read Time and Again know that Abby Thomas is a college student on a summer service project with 11-year-old Merri. And they know that the summer is not going the way Abby had expected—but in a good way. For one thing, she meets a very nice guy named John Roberts. And for another, she discovers a strange computer program called Beautiful House that lets her fast-forward and rewind life. Not her own, of course, but those of the people who lived in Merri’s old house. And now Beautiful House comes in handy when Abby, John, and Merri agree to help the “Old Dears” next door with their family tree. Except Abby and John learn more about one of the ladies’ ancestors than they ever wanted to know. Convicted in 1871 of murder and arson, Reuben Buchanan is a blight on the family’s reputation. But was he really guilty? Abby and John must get inside the mind of a murderer to find out. And while they’re rummaging around in the Old Dears’ family history, they also find Nathan Buchanan, a heroic relative connected to the Lewis and Clark Expedition—and a legacy waiting to be reclaimed. But the most important discovery they make is that God’s promise to bless a thousand generations is true. “In this sequel to Time and Again Deborah Heal has taken pieces of real life history and woven them [into] a fantastic story geared to keep the reader entertained and on the edge of their seat… I adored every single bit of this. It has the perfect blend of history and action-packed suspense to keep young adults glued to the pages… I think she has mastered a home run here. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars for me…and I hope it will work its way to the top of the best seller lists for young adults.”
— Pirate2240 “Kat” Amazon Reviewer
The Clue of the Unclaimed Legacy
The blurb above doesn’t say a lot about it, but Unclaimed Legacy features my heroes Lewis and Clark. I’ve always been fascinated by them, partly because I knew the explorers spent the winter of 1803 at Hartford, Illinois, near where I grew up in Woodburn. They chose that site for the camp they called Camp River Dubois, because it was near the mouth of the Missouri River, which they would ascend the next spring. The captains spent the winter laying in supplies and training their men. I decided it would be fun to let Abby “time-surf” back to see Camp River Dubois. . .
Continue reading HERE to get my clues about Unclaimed Legacy.
As the blurb says, sometimes when Abby and John are “time-surfing” they learn more than they want to know about people from the past–like Bertram White a violent husband. Read my companion article about him HERE. Read a free chapter of Unclaimed Legacy HERE) Now, enter the contest to get your Kindle copy of Unclaimed Legacy for 99 cents and a chance to win the complete trilogy in paperback, personally signed by me. Oh, and a mug.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Deborah Heal Author Every Hill and Mountain (Time and Again) Read Now – http://bit.ly/13tVyYJ Twitter – @deborahheal
Floyd and I and a friend to try out a new restaurant this evening (or what we thought was a new restaurant). Have you seen No. 9 Harbor? No, it’s not an address on Harbor Road; it’s the restaurant across the street from Starbucks where the one we called the Prawn Palace used to stand.
Well, as it turns out, No. 9 Harbor is the Prawn Palace, just with a new look. They’ve changed the interior quite a bit, including getting rid of the murals that used to show scenic spots in Taiwan and switching them out for giant pictures of beer (and one with a ship/travel theme).
The menu is the same, though – that was our only clue that it wasn’t really a new restaurant.
Here are the dishes we ordered. Some of them were our old standards back in the days when we used to eat at the Prawn Palace a lot, and a few were ones we tried for the first time this evening.
Above: their asparagus is always tasty. Good and garlicky!
This was my favorite dish: the kung pao chicken. It’s also the first one we ordered the first time we ever came to the Prawn Palace – which was the first restaurant Floyd and I ever ventured out to alone back when we were new in Taiwan. Click here to read my blog post about that memorable event!
The black pepper beef was good but very spicy! This picture doesn’t do it justice – there were a lot more chili peppers in it than you can see here!
This scrambled egg and shrimp dish wasn’t quite what we had expected. But it turned out to be delicious, though a little soupy. I think it was my second-favorite dish of the evening.
We didn’t think the duck would be quite like this either! It came breaded and deep-fried, with colorful shrimp chips adorning the platter. I liked the flavor, but Floyd described it as “deep-fried grease”. The frog, which I forgot to take a picture of but is also one of our old favorites, he called “deep-fried bones”. As you can imagine, neither had much meat on it!
Along with the ubiquitous white rice, this restaurant offers its customers free noodles. With bits of cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms, they’re pretty tasty.
Well, all in all we enjoyed our meal at No. 9 Harbor. Have you been there? If you live in Taichung and enjoy Taiwanese food, we recommend you try it out! (Of course, if you can’t read Chinese, make sure you bring along someone who can.) Feel free to reply to this post and let us know what your favorite dishes are – Floyd and I are always looking for new favorites!
Join us over the next 12 weeks (starting August 29th) as we share Bible study topics, discussion questions, suggested reading, and activities that you can do with your kiddos! The writers at CSAHM are so excited to share with you the wonderful “Deep Blue Kids Bible” and Bible Studies that will encourage you to include regular Bible Study time with your children that isn’t overwhelming and is a A LOT of FUN!
Today we are celebrating by hosting a giveaway launch!
Be sure to enter the giveaway below and share the news with your friends in order to gain extra entries for the prize – which is a $200 USD Amazon Gift Card!
Before you enter the giveaway…
Be sure to subscribe below to our update list where you will receive weekly updates about our 12 Week Kids Bible Study and you will also receive a FREE PDF version of each week’s Bible Study!
Giveaway {$200 Amazon Gift Card!}
Be sure to enter below for your chance to win a $200 amazon gift card sponsored by the “Deep Blue Kids Bible!” a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: Some affiliate links have been used in this post.
The Day My Parents Got Lost
a guest post by Susette Williams
Has your child ever wandered off or gotten lost? When our oldest daughter was a toddler, she wandered off in a department store. Suddenly we were experiencing every parent’s worst fear. Then when we found her, her tone was accusing, “You left me.”
Muttering in my own disbelief, “I… didn’t… leave you.” Then having to spend many years trying to convince her that the way she ‘pictured’ things was not what she thought. I’m not sure who needed therapy more. Our daughter, for feeling abandoned, or us for her making us feel like we were horrible parents. She was too young to realize the whole situation. Now that she’s older, and a school teacher, she’s thrilled to find out I wrote a book inspired by those events. Her students are anxious to read it, especially knowing it was inspired by their teacher.
My newest picture book, The Day My Parents Got Lost, takes a look at getting lost through a child’s eyes. While in the story, his parents are having fun, that most likely wouldn’t be the case in real life. The story gives children the opportunity to see how parents feel. I wrote this as a humorous story because while getting lost is very real and scary, we don’t want to scare children. The book gives parents and teachers the opportunity to speak with children about what they should do if they get separated from parents or a group. If you haven’t developed a plan with your children, or even your grandchildren, discuss safety tips and who they should turn to if they have a problem.
As a tool to help you lead into this conversation with discussing the topic and how to respond, I am offering The Day My Parents Got Lost for free August 20-22. Please download a free copy during these dates and leave a review on Amazon so that other readers know how much you enjoyed the story.
Feel free to contact me through my website and share if you have ever had a child wander off or get lost. You can also download free coloring pages for Wacky Wishes. We will be having free coloring pages coming soon for The Day My Parents Got Lost.
Comments and coloring pages:
Found AdriftBy Pauline Creeden
About the Book
Welcome fellow drifter. I don’t know about you, but I’m easily distracted. If God set me in a rowboat on the water and told me to pay attention and not let myself drift too far from the shoreline, I’m sure I’d be in the middle of the lake before I realized I’d drifted from the shore. Then sitting in the middle of that lake, I’d realize I didn’t have a paddle. And sometimes I feel so far away that no one on the shore could possibly hear me. Have you ever been there? If you have ever been distracted by your daily life and suddenly looked up and found yourself far behind where you should be in your walk with God, then you are a drifter like me. This devotional is your paddle.
About Pauline Creeden
In simple language, Pauline Creeden breaks down Biblical stories and applies them to real life in new ways. Her methods of teaching have brought new light to old scriptures. In her fiction, she creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long.
Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Follow Pauline Creeden
Enter to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card!
Enter below to enter a $50 amazon gift card, sponsored by author Pauline Creeden! a Rafflecopter giveaway This book blast is hosted by Crossreads. We would like to send out a special THANK YOU to all of the CrossReads book blast bloggers!
From August 9th-19th, my blog and I are participating in a “Discovery” through DiscoverAuthors.wordpress.com. Each day, I’ll be featuring a different author and one of their books; the other authors will also be featuring me and each other on their blogs at the same time. Check in every day to find out about great new reads!
Remember, you can subscribe or follow my blog (at the sidebar on the right) to make sure you don’t miss any posts.
Disclaimer: I haven’t actually read any of the books beside my own. While they look good to me, I can’t guarantee their quality or content.
Day 8: Ocean City Lowdown by Kim Kash
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Ocean City Lowdown introduces Eastern Shore Maryland reporter Jamie August, who has a talent for unearthing more than her editor wants and a weakness for Ravens jerseys and sparkly underwear. Jamie’s tenacity, smarts, and sheer recklessness\u2014plus some smokin\u2019 striptease dance moves\u2014can get her out of some tight spots, but are they enough to save her from a psychopathic arsonist and two generations of corrupt real estate tycoons?
At the end of this Discover Authors tour, one lucky guy or girl will walk away with a free copy of Ocean City Lowdown! For real. How? It’s so easy. Just email me at [email protected] to let me know you’re interested, and keep your fingers crossed!
Meanwhile, here’s a teeny free sample to whet your appetite:
Donald leaned forward earnestly. \u201CBayview\nPreserve is the biggest and most high-end of all the Ivory projects. It will\nhave its own main street, with a Reynauld\u2019s Steakhouse, a sushi bar, a\nStarbucks and some retail gallery space with artists\u2019 lofts above them. This\nestablishes Ocean City as an upscale place for people from Washington, Baltimore,\nPhiladelphia, and even New York, to own a beach home,\u201D he said. \u201CIt\u2019s going to\nchange the way the world looks at Ocean City! Coastal Life magazine is going to be featuring Bayview Preserve in\nan upcoming issue, and of course, the opening is going to be front-page news in\nthe Weekly Breeze.\u201D
I envisioned a pod of plywood houses sprouting\nout of the reeds of Assawoman Bay, within earshot of a dinosaur-themed\nmini-golf course and a teen nightclub in a metal agricultural warehouse. I\nexamined Donald\u2019s face, and didn\u2019t see any hint of sarcasm. Hmm.
\u201COkay, so what kind of coverage do you want?\nShould I look at the history of the company? Market trends for bayside\ndevelopment? I could talk to the engineers who figured out how to fill in the\nmarshland\u2026\u201D
\u201CWe\u2019re going to devote most of Lifestyles to Bayview Preserve, and\nyou\u2019ll actually need to do a couple of stories,\u201D Donald said. \u201CSo, sure, talk\nabout the real estate trends and maybe a little about the engineering if\nthere\u2019s a story there, but we are not doing an expose on the big, bad\ndevelopers, okay? Forget it. This is a Beach\u2019n\u2019Bay\nLifestyles feature.\u201D
\u201CGot it.\u201D
\u201CI\u2019m serious, Jamie. There is nothing to\ninvestigate here.\u201D
\u201COkay. No investigating. I promise.\u201D I held up my\nhand, Girl Scout style.
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Ocean City Lowdown introduces Eastern Shore Maryland reporter Jamie August, who has a talent for unearthing more than her editor wants and a weakness for Ravens jerseys and sparkly underwear. Jamie’s tenacity, smarts, and sheer recklessness—plus some smokin’ dance moves—can get her out of some tight spots, but are they enough to save her from a psychopathic arsonist and two generations of corrupt real estate tycoons?
At the end of this Discover Authors tour, one lucky guy or girl will walk away with a free copy of
Ocean City Lowdown! For real. How? It’s so easy. Just email me at
[email protected] to let me know you’re interested, and keep your fingers crossed!
Meanwhile, here’s a teeny free sample to whet your appetite:
Donald leaned forward earnestly. “Bayview Preserve is the biggest and most high-end of all the Ivory projects. It will have its own main street, with a Reynauld’s Steakhouse, a sushi bar, a Starbucks and some retail gallery space with artists’ lofts above them. This establishes Ocean City as an upscale place for people from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and even New York, to own a beach home,” he said. “It’s going to change the way the world looks at Ocean City! Coastal Life magazine is going to be featuring Bayview Preserve in an upcoming issue, and of course, the opening is going to be front-page news in the Weekly Breeze.”
I envisioned a pod of plywood houses sprouting out of the reeds of Assawoman Bay, within earshot of a dinosaur-themed mini-golf course and a teen nightclub in a metal agricultural warehouse. I examined Donald’s face, and didn’t see any hint of sarcasm. Hmm.
“Okay, so what kind of coverage do you want? Should I look at the history of the company? Market trends for bayside development? I could talk to the engineers who figured out how to fill in the marshland…”
“We’re going to devote most of Lifestyles to Bayview Preserve, and you’ll actually need to do a couple of stories,” Donald said. “So, sure, talk about the real estate trends and maybe a little about the engineering if there’s a story there, but we are not doing an expose on the big, bad developers, okay? Forget it. This is a Beach’n’Bay Lifestyles feature.”
“Got it.”
“I’m serious, Jamie. There is nothing to investigate here.”
“Okay. No investigating. I promise.” I held up my hand, Girl Scout style.
Did you miss any of my previous book discoveries? Check them out in the list below!
An urban fantasy story that will grip you and leave you wanting more.
Fed up with the dirty city and a disenchanting life as a fashion model, Beauty’s world is at least safe. But the illusion of safety shatters the night that she frees herself from her self-imposed fears only to be thrust into the magical underbelly of the city, where forces that want to save humanity and evil beings that want to feed off humanity’s despair fight for balance and power.
Driven from both the comforts and the trappings of her old life, now hunted by a cadre of sinister, rat-faced business men, Beauty’s only hope is to join with a strange magical ally. Together, with the help of fae creatures in unlikely guises, they must seek out an enchanted, improbable artifact that can heal the city before evil tips the balance, once and for all.
This powerful coming-of-age fairy tale follows the path of a young heroine who chooses to take fate into her own hands for the first time in her life, and of the consequences that her choice has on the magical beings of the city.
Why This Story?
Penumbra started as a short story years ago, but the main character got into my head. Beauty is my response against the many young heroines popular today that rely solely on other’s for their strength and happiness. In this story, on this journey, Beauty is finding herself. It’s as much an inner journey for her as it is a traditional fairy tale.
I also had lots of fun creating my own creatures of magic and fantasy and playing with traditional fairy tale tropes in a modern setting. Part of the joy of being an independent author, for me, is being able to write a story the way it wants to be written, serving the characters and the plot rather than a preconceived market put on me by an outside person. The result, in this case, is positive, and I have high hopes for my future work as well.
The Giveaway
In celebration of Discovery 4 at
Discover Authors being my first round robin blog tour, and as it is my birthday month, I will be giving away three (3) ebooks. You can enter in many ways, up to three times. First – comment on this blog. Second – link to either the Amazon or Smashwords page via social media, and either comment here or email or tweet at me that you have done so with the link to your site so I can follow you. I’ll count two social media links as separate entries. On August 20th (the day after this blog tour ends), I will do a drawing and announce the winners!
