Rebecca Lyles' Cover Love and Coveted Excerpt

I love how understand-ed and clean cut this cover is!

Rebecca, congratulations on your DEBUT novel!

It's amazing how much blood, sweat and tears can go into a project like this, but isn't it totally worth it?!?

**Coveted Excerpt**

Kate Neilson peered into the slot on the collection box lid. Was that money she saw on the bottom or crumpled paper? Sometimes people put weird stuff in offering boxes.

The early morning sunshine hadn’t reached her side of the dark log chapel, but she didn’t dare turn on the interior lights and attract attention. Maybe she should grab the flashlight from her car. Though she’d opened the side door at the front of the sanctuary, she still couldn’t see inside the box.

She toyed with the padlock. All she needed was enough cash to get by until payday at her new job. If she left a note saying she’d pay it back right away, with interest, surely they’d understand. After all, she was down to her last ten—

The floor creaked.

Her heart stopped.

“That box is empty, sweetie.”

This excerpt totally makes me want to say "I have to stop reading now??"

Thanks for sharing Becky!

**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

Creating in the Story Process with Becky Lyles!

May I introduce you?

In the two years I've done Operation Encourage an Author I've featured many debut novelists.

There is something exciting about a debut novel wouldn't you agree?

What are your favorite things about discovering a new novel from a fresh author?

This week I asked my featured guests one question and my guest Rebecca (Becky) Lyles answered how she does Creation in the story process..

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I’m a slow writer, so for me, story creation takes time. 

My first novel, Winds of Wyoming, took many years and much prayer to create. That was partly due to my need to learn the craft of fiction writing through classes, conferences, critique groups and contest-judge comments. I also needed time to discover what the story was really about. But the truth is, my turtle pace had much to do with lack of, as they say, seat-in-the-chair time. 

I’m writing the sequel, Winds of Freedom, at a much faster pace; however, I still have to daily convince myself that SIT-chair discipline is the only way to finish the story.

Casey here: I know I struggle with SIT-chair enough on my own, but oh the feeling of a good day of hard work and the fruits of such labors! A good feeling. :-))

**Connect with Becky**

Website: http://www.beckylyles.com

Blog: www.widgetwords.wordpress.com   

Facebook: Becky Carey Lyles / Rebecca Carey Lyles (author page)

Twitter: @BeckyLyles

Join the conversation! What is the best writing advice you were given? How does it help push you toward completing a novel?

**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

Alice J. Wisler Cover Love and Coveted Excerpt!

Enjoy a bit of eye candy, why don't you. ;-)

*~*Coveted Excerpt*~*

February 1993

When a pet goes missing, it’s hard to concentrate on anything but where he might be. Missing a cat can cause his owner to lose focus, forget, and do silly things---even hang clothing in wrong places. Today this is happening to my mother.

As though she’s walking through a fog, Mom stares into the distance and hangs the newest order of black dresses all together in a clump. The metal hangers clink against each other, and I wince, realizing what she’s done. The size twos are next to the size fourteens, yet the entire point of Mom’s store are that the small and large sizes are displayed conveniently on different racks, not all meshed together, tangled in a confused web.

Following behind her, I sort the designer dresses in their proper sections, wondering if I should remind Mom that she can’t compromise her organizational skills—they are her strength in running her boutique, Have a Fit.




Join the conversation! Which is your favorite book cover in the above featured?



**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

A Special Interview with Author Alice J. Wisler

I have had the privilege of having Alice J. Wisler on the blog several times now, and this time I bring to you a special interview, prepared for your reading pleasure! I hope you enjoy this chance to take a peak into Alice's life a bit more...


Why do you write the kind of books you do?
The kind of books I write (contemporary fiction) are the genre I like to read.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?
I’ve had many happy days----the birth of my four children, the day I married Carl,
and the day I signed my first contract for two novels with Bethany House.


How has being published changed your life?
I’ve always written, even as a kid I was creating stories. Being published makes
me feel validated in my writing. So, it has bridged me from a “wanna-be” author to
a “real author”.

 What is your current work in progress?
I’m revising Fragrance of Marigolds, a novel I completed a year ago about a
bereaved mother who sells her home and buys a RV.

What would be your dream vacation?
I’ve been on so many vacations that have been dreams come true. I’d like to go on a
cruise through the Mediterranean with my husband.

How do you choose your settings for each book?
My five novels (the most recent, Still Life in Shadows, will be published by River
North/Moody is August) are all set in North Carolina. I placed my first novel, Rain
Song, in Mount Olive, and since then decided to set all my novels in North Carolina.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be
and why?
I’d like to talk with John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted”. His son died and we
have a lot in common since my son died in 1997 from cancer treatments. I’d like
to ask him about his son Adam as well as about all he’s done to help others in the
aftermath of Adam’s abduction and murder.

 What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?
Cooking Asian food, walking three miles each day, and spending time on our
runabout boat, Rain Song, are some of the things I like to do.


What are you reading right now?

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold.


What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?
Facebook! Facebook can snatch all your writing time if you aren’t careful. Once I
set out to write, I’m pretty good at sticking with it but those little visits over from my
manuscript file to Facebook do cause some delays.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?
Don’t give up. Revise, revise, edit and edit. You can always improve. Write often----
that is how you get better at it.

Tell us about the featured book.
A Wedding Invitation is about two teachers helping a young refugee woman find her
birth mom. It is loosely based on my time of working as a teacher in a refugee camp
in the Philippines in the mid 1980s.

**Connect with Alice online...**

http://www.alicewisler.com  is my website. Friend me on Facebook and follow me on

Twitter. My author page on Facebook is:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-J-Wisler/333751835453      

I love hearing from readers!

Join the conversation! What do you love learning the most about an author??

**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

Opening Reader Mail for Ann

Dear Ann,

I know you mentioned being under deadline this week--oh what a challenge I can image! I hope it goes nothing but smooth and all the little details fall into place.

Remember to take a deep breath. Smile and remember how much you enjoy--no LOVE writing. Because I know you wouldn't be doing it unless you did love it. :-)

Keep pressing on. Keep trusting God. Even when it can be discouraging, remember that He opened this door for you and His plans are always in their perfect timing.

As you put your fingers to the keyboard today, I hope that you are inspired. Motivated by the powerful support of a faithful reader. And I hope you are completely in love with every moment you spend with your characters.

All the best to you today and in the coming days!
~Casey

**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

A Prayer for Cara

Dear Heavenly Father,

God, I lift my friend, Cara up to you today. She touches so many lives, my own included, and I pray that you would put people in her life who will lift her up in return.

In times of disappointment, remind her just again how much you love her and how she is exactly where she needs to be. It isn't easy to get rejection or disappointment, but God I ask that she would find herself surrounded by readers and friends and family that will shower her with love and praise, encouragement and support that will remind her of the power of just one reader touched and reached for you.

Give her time and grace and a life that overflows with everything she loves. Because I know she does what she loves, never let her forget or get lost in the rush and hurry of today. But to find the love in each activity.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

**Do you have a specific piece of reader mail you would like to share with our featured author? Please email the letter to me at: caseym(dot)writer(at)gmail(dot)com and it will post on Friday, our "Reader Mail/Prayer" day**

Ann Gaylia O'Barr's Cover Love and Coveted Excerpt!

I saw Ann's two latest covers, A Quiet Deception and Searching for Home and sighed.  Isn't there just something so lovely about a well designed cover? It's the first thing and speaks for what you can expect to find between those two slick sides.

*~*Coveted Excerpt*~*

           

Besotted, that’s what he was, like a teenage Romeo, and didn’t care. With this beguiling creature he had no choice. “I cherish you, habbibi, darling, cheri.”

            Hannah fed him an orange section, and he chewed it, pulpy and sweet. He loved the way she tossed her head in that saucy challenge. “It’s not every woman who can be courted in Arabic, English, and French,” she said.

So....what do you think? I really love the cover of A Quiet Deception, which one is your favorite? Join the conversation (or start it! :-)