Copper Fire by Suzanne Woods Fisher

On a summer day in 1945, Louisa Gordon receives a telegram from the International Red Cross Tracing Service. Her young cousin, Elisabeth, has just been released from Dachau, a concentration camp, and Louisa is her only remaining relative.

Determined to go to war-torn Germany to retrieve her cousin, Louisa is also on a mission to discover the whereabouts of Friedrich Mueller, a Nazi sympathizer who fled Copper Springs, Arizona. What Louisa never expected was to meet the man she had once loved. And now hated.

Copper Fire (sequel to award-winning Copper Star)
Publisher: Vintage Inspirations
ISBN: 978-0-981-5592-0-9
Available through Amazon and other booksellers
www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

From Dusk to Dawn by Niambi Davis

Successful Body Products CEO, Ayo Montgomery, has her life on track. Her son is away at Annapolis, her business is flourishing and she is comfortable in her own skin, despite the untimely death of her husband. She doesn't know she's missing something in her life until on a hot, August day, she meets a younger man, Bilal Abdul-Salaam. Bilal Abdul-Salaam has been waiting for the right woman all his life, a woman he can love, cherish, have children with and grow old with. He finds her, but she's everything he didn't expect. Ayo and Bilal are worlds apart. She's Christian and he's Muslim. She is ten years older than he and already had her family, and he wants to start his. But both are overwhelmed by a smoldering attraction that refuses to acknowledge their differences. As they work their way through the obstacles of family and friends, they discover their love is strong enough, passionate enough and deep enough to make every sacrifice worthwhile.

From Dusk to Dawn can be ordered whereever books are sold and online at Amazon, Borders and Books-a-Million.

CSFF Presents: Vanished by Kathryn Mackel

A terrorist bombing. A rogue experiment. A community vanished. Who will save them now? In a series that blends the urgent action of the Left Behind books with the alluring weirdness of the television show Lost, this first book opens with a terrorist bombing that combines with a rogue underground experiment to rip a clovershaped section of the working-class city of Barcester loose from the world. Cut off from any hope of help, police sergeant Jason Logan fights to keep order and track the terrorist mastermind. But after a second bomb explodes, effectively sealing the displacement of the vanished area, he knows the nightmare is just beginning. As the mist from the bomb slowly clears, those inside the vanished community find themselves surrounded by a majestic wilderness that is both primitive and primal as the vanished community battles for survival against enemies they've always known and forces they've never imagined.

Purchase at Amazon.

For more, check out these blogs:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Andrea Graham
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Mirtika or Mir’s Here
Chawna Schroeder
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Linda Wichman
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Firestorm of Dragons by Michele Acker and Kirk Dougal

So, you want to know all about dragons? Run the gamut of stories about the mythological beasts in "Firestorm of Dragons." Humorous tales of extreme sports with genetically-engineered animals and pesky door-to-door salesmen with scales, exist beside conventional stories of treasure and deceit, hunter and hunted, hatred and sacrifice. See how dragons exist today without most humans noticing, or abandon all preconceived notions and imagine a dragon as a 1940s-style detective. Let your experience with dragons end with a trio of stories depicting the possible end of dragons--one uplifting, one poignant, and one heart-wrenching in its meloncholy.



Learn more at www.firestormofdragons.com

Purchase at Dragon Moon Press or Amazon.

An Interview with Cindi Myers

What led you to write "A Soldier Comes Home"?

This book evolved from a collection of newspaper articles I had about our soldiers in Iraq. One set of articles was about soldiers who got 'Dear John' letters from wives and girlfriends while they were overseas. I thought this was so sad and the romantic in me wanted to give them all happy endings! The other set of articles was about Native American soldiers from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and that gave me my subplot. From there my imagination took over .

What was the hardest part of writing this story?

I think the hardest part was trying to do justice to the men and women serving our country in the armed forces, and to their families waiting at home. I didn't want to misrepresent them in any way. I hope I've succeeded in making the characters and their situations realistic.


What was the easiest?

I really fell in love with these characters! They came to life for me and really spoke to me.

What do you hope readers will get from this story?

I hope they'll enjoy the book -- that it will give them hours of entertainment away from their regular lives, and will be a story that resonates for them and one they'll remember. If any of them are going through difficult times in their own lives, I hope my characters will inspire them to have courage and hope.

What's next for you?

I have a lot of exciting things coming up -- In September and October 2008, look for two Blaze titles -- At Her Pleasure and Her Secret Treasure. Both books are deal with the search for, and recovery of, shipwrecked treasure from an infamous female pirate, Passionata. Both take place in the Caribbean, on deserted Passionata's Island, once the stronghold of the Pirate Queen. They're fun, sexy reads.

In December, I have another Superromance, A Man to Rely On, about a woman who returns to her hometown after a sensational trial in which she was acquitted of murdering her basketball superstar husband. She runs into an old friend who's trying to put his life back together after a few missteps. The attraction is instantaneous, but each is wary of repeating past mistakes.

In May 2009 I have a Superromance that has yet to be titled. I'm finishing it up right now and it features a single pregnant mom and a dad who's trying to regain custody of his six-year old daughter. Neither one of them thinks the time is right to get involved with anyone, but of course, love has its own timing.

I've also completed the third book in my Crested Butte series for Harlequin American and am awaiting a publication date for that. So lots of good things on the horizon.

A Soldier Comes Home by Cindi Myers

It takes courage to start over

No one is waiting for him when Captain Ray Hughes returns from his tour of duty. With his soon-to-be ex-wife gone, it's just him and his little boy now creating their own version of a family. Although he faces a lot of uncertainty, Ray is determined to raise his son the best way he knows how.

Chrissie Evans is a complication Ray didn't expect. Almost against his will, he's drawn into a relationship with his widowed neighbor. Chrissie is everything he could desire in a woman and he wants a future with her. But can he promise her what she needs to hear?



Buy it at Amazon.com.

When a Man Loves a Woman by LaConnie Taylor-Jones

Nursing administrator Victoria Bennett has soured on love. She has sworn off men; they bring too much drama and too much pain into her life. That is, until she meets pediatrician A.J. Baptiste, a single parent determined to woo her. A.J. will stop at nothing to have her, and Victoria finds her resolve put to the test…but is this a fight she really wants to win?

Excerpt from book:

Vic paused and sucked in a long breath. He was doing it again. Every time they disagreed about something, he’d lower his tone and then give her that sideways grin when she raised her voice.

“I’m moving to Atlanta.”

A.J. gave her a sympathetic nod. “I understand you think you’re moving, but it’s not going to happen.”

Vic stared at him as if he’d just mistakenly been released from the nearest mental ward. Baptiste, you don’t have the sense God gave baby geese. Have you totally lost your mind?

Ignoring the jab, he eyed her intently. “Why can’t you accept the fact that we’re going to be together?”

“I swear, man, you’re U.S. certifiable, Grade-A,” she paused, searching for the right word, then shouted out, “incorrigible.”

He lifted his brow. “You really think so?”

Dear God, help me,” Vic muttered softly and dropped her head.

She silently counted to ten and looked back into the mirror. “Baptiste, there’s not one good reason you can give me why I shouldn’t move.”

Observing their reflections, he shook his head in disagreement. “You’re wrong, Honey. I can give you two. Number one, I love you. And number two, I intend to marry you.”

“I’m not gonna marry you, Baptiste.”

“You’re wrong, Honey.”

“Why can’t we just enjoy the feelings we have for each other without any commitments?”

“No,” he countered quickly, “I’m not going to settle for a casual affair.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re worthy of more, and we deserve better.”

Momentarily speechless, Vic took in a deep breath. Whatever response she’d expected, the one she’d just heard wasn’t it. “Baptiste, I’ve always been honest with you. I’ve told you a thousand times, I don’t do the love boat.”

Reaching out, he turned her around to face him. “Is that why you’re moving to Atlanta, because you’ve convinced yourself not to fall in love with me?”

“Boy, listen——”

“I’m not going to let it rest until you answer me.”

“Baptiste, I told you shortly after we met, that I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself with you or any other man.”

“What did Ron do to hurt you so badly that you can’t learn to love again?”

Oblivious to where she stood, Vic recoiled, her hips colliding with the sink. For eight years, she’d been asked that very question more times than she cared to remember. Yet hearing it come from the man who stood in front of her packed the same force as a two hundred mile-per-hour hurricane making landfall.

“I-I don’t want to talk about it,” Vic finally managed to say in a strangled voice.

At that moment, A.J. saw such profound pain surface in her eyes that he felt it, too. The question he’d just posed was the one he’d avoided asking for months. What could a man possibly do to cause a hurt so deep? He reached out and caressed her shoulders. “Honey, whatever Ron did, he was a fool.”

“Y-You don’t understand, Baptiste,” she cried out, lowering her head to hide her tears.

With his index finger, he tilted her chin up. “Baby, if you tell me, perhaps I would.”

“I-I can’t tell you,” she whispered, her words catching on a strangled sob.

“And I can’t help you if you don’t,” he whispered back.

She wiped the tears from her face with both hands and glanced up at him. Maybe, just maybe if he knew, he’d understand there was no way they could ever be together. “You can’t tell…”

“Tell what, baby?” He stroked his thumb along her brow, coaxing her into finishing her sentence. “Honey, I’m a lot of things, but I’d never share with anyone what you tell me in confidence. Understand?”

“H-He cheated on me…”

Finally, after ten, long agonizing months, he knew the cause of her hurt. He pulled her gently against his chest. “Honey, I’m sorry,” he uttered softly, cajoling her face into the space between his neck and shoulder. “Whoever the other woman was, she doesn’t measure up to you.”

Vic’s spine went rigid and she retreated to a private place inside where loneliness and pain resided, the place she never allowed anyone to enter.

The depth of the agony she’d borne alone made her pull back. She stared up blankly at him. Before her brain had time to consult with her mouth, she blurted out the rest of the secret she’d kept hidden for eight long years.

“It was a man.”

With that, she bolted from the room.

Order at Amazon.

Relationsip Magic by Edyth Denkin

Relationship Magic invites you on a journey that moves away from childhood habits of reacting and moves towards gaining control of your personal power. Enjoy the tale of Prince James and Princess Cinda while you learn the basics of Imago Relationship Therapy. This couple, and their mentor, teach you how to be your own best friend rather than your worst enemy. Relationships bring out unconscious behavior learned in childhood. James and Cinda take you into their lives and show you how you too can develop lasting love. Acquire awareness of how your reactions can help your partner feel loved rather than re-wounded by old childhood issues.

Excerpt:

Introduction
Relationship Magic has been written as a tribute to Imago Relationship Therapy and Harville Hendrix, its founder. The genius of Imago Relationship Therapy is acquiring the ability to not take what is said or done personally through developing the skills needed for intentional dialog.

While each of us wants to feel like a prince or princess, we cannot do so without developing the necessary skills to find gratitude within and the ability to recognize the magical moments in our relationships. This is difficult, indeed, as we all must live in the reality of every day.

Intentional dialog is the tool that Harville Hendrix brought to marriage and is what brings relationship magic into our lives. After twenty-five years of experience in Imago, I have seen many couples that have acquired the ability to dialog and empathize with their partner’s point of view—but rarely do so. They say, “It is not natural,” “People don’t talk that way,” “It takes too long to talk that way,” “You cannot really express yourself,” etc. So instead, they continue to argue and feel frustrated and unloved by talking in same manner they learned as children. No wonder they believe they have lost the magic.

The sacred truth is that although each of us dreams like a prince or princess, we find that we have to live in our daily reality. And when we are not doing the work in the marriage, the kingdom is not magical. Although the secret to happiness is to enjoy the moments, we also must want to feel happy to do the work creating them.
Cinda and James' fairytale is representative of typical events in the lives of the hundreds of couples I have helped over the past twenty-five years. In the beginning, when their relationship brings them so many magical moments, they look forward to spending the rest of their lives together, and they commit to marriage. But after the first few years, the same criticism, blame, and shame they absorbed from their parents begins to creep into their lives. Because they unknowingly bring the same negative energy of their childhood wounds into their marriage, they find they are repeating similar patterns of their parents that they swore they would never do.

Luckily for them, they find Satori with whom to study and learn. He teaches them their most valuable lesson: developing the skill of intentional dialog. From this experience, they develop the ability to not take what the other says personally. You see, Satori teaches them that when they are criticized or blamed, they are brought back to their childhood where all they wanted was to please mommy or daddy but found they could not do so. By dialogging with their chosen partner today, they become aware that they are not children anymore and learn how to stop taking what happens personally. Instead, they learn that what is said is not about them.

Readers watch as James’ and Cinda’s adult realizations free them from being victims and allow them to feel and enjoy the many new moments each day brings. Therefore, our tale teaches readers how to empower themselves. They watch as Cinda and James develop consciousness of the daily signs in their lives, and by so doing, their newly developed awareness brings them to learning how to not repeat what happened when they were children. Cinda’s and James' knowledge helps them use the bad that happens to create good moments, rather than become victims of each other.

Enjoy, also, reading about Woodrow, Satori’s friend and companion. This little dog is the model of what every relationship needs to thrive and grow… unconditional love and acceptance. Woodrow interacts with and teaches James and Cinda how to love without criticism or blame.

In the end, you too can receive the unconditional love and acceptance that you have craved all of your life but could not get as a child. And you too will learn how intentional dialog can become your best friend and trusted adviser.


Order at Amazon.

Stand by Debbie Williamson

One courageous woman shatters the chains of abuse that bound her family for generations and dares to brave the crippling memories of sexual abuse; shatter the illusions of denial; reveal her family s bitter legacy of violence; reach for healing and wholeness, and take her place on a path to forgiveness and peace. Replacing shame with hope, fear with truth, and shadows with light, Debbie Williamson shares her arduous journey to wellness. She did not choose this journey. At nine years old, she was a victim of sexual abuse. The hidden trauma of childhood rape often maps a life filled with destructive patterns and shame. Such was almost the case for Ms. Williamson. As a young woman struggling to repair her family, she finds the courage to take a STAND. Grasping for health because her life truly depends upon it, she uncovers and shatters her family s tragic tradition of violence. With focus and conviction, Debbie Williamson overcomes a lifetime of denial to heal herself and protect the next generation.

Excerpt from the book:

Introduction

The details of my suicide were planned right down to the final moment. I envisioned it clearly. On the appointed evening, I would drive home from work as usual, pick up speed, aim for the large oak tree that was near the shoulder of the road by my house and crash head on.

Everyone would believe it was an accident. My children would never know that I did it intentionally. I would be free at last. No more would I have to live my life.

That was my glorified version of how to step out of this life; it did not happen.

Instead, I swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills and went to bed one afternoon. I woke up in the emergency room drinking charcoal. My daughter had found me and called her dad to tell him she couldn’t wake me up.

After that event, the ultimate shame hovered over me like a swarm of bees. The constant buzzing relentlessly reminded me of what I had just done to my children.
Two days after I got home from the hospital I called a friend who recommended a self-help program. Two weeks later, I was on my way to Boise, Idaho for what turned out to be a life-saving event. From that point forward, I began to live my life. Do you ever wonder how you got to where you are in life? And then wondered why you made the choices you did? I’ve asked myself these questions most of my adult life. I finally figured it out for myself, and my story has a happy ending.

My story includes three generations of abominable abuse of the darkest variety: sexual, emotional, and mental. My story sheds light on the shadow side of the adult human who uses children to relieve his sexual appetites and need for power and domination over the innocent and helpless. But my story ends in triumph instead of despair.

Being raped and sexually abused as a child imprisoned me in a lifetime of emotional and mental anguish. Not only did I survive and triumph, I found great happiness. I want to share the how and why with you.

We all have a story to tell and I am hoping mine will make a difference to someone out there. It is my hope that you won’t feel alone or think of yourself as another tragic statistic who dreams of leaving by the back door of suicide as I once did.
Yes, I wrote this story to give you hope because it is an inspirational and triumphant coming-of-age memoir. I also wrote it for my children, that they may recognize the miracles that have been bestowed upon us and stopped this sickening cycle of abuse.


Order at Amazon.