Friday, March 31, 2023

Enhanced by Candace Kade

About the Book

Book: Enhanced

Author: Candace Kade

Genre: YA Science Fiction

Release date: March 14, 2023

Lee Urban is living a lie.

In a society where everyone’s DNA determines their destiny, being a Natural means automatic relegation to the gritty and dangerous Outskirts. With the harnessed power of gene-editing, the ability to create a super-human race has transformed the world and offered the opportunity of a genetically enhanced life. But only to those who can afford it.

Born a Natural, Lee Urban was adopted into the Enhanced high society of the Asian Federation and forced to conceal her genetic roots. When her dream of attending Peking University becomes a reality, she is determined to go despite a warning from a mysterious source.

Targeted by a hacker bent on exposing her true DNA, Urban faces off with an Artificial Intelligence Game that puts her—and her lies—to the test. What was supposed to be a dream come true turns into a lethal gamble of hide-and-seek with her genetics. Can Urban continue the act, or will the cracks in her story expose her and endanger her family?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Candace Kade grew up in China and currently lives in Austin, Texas. When she’s not missing Chinese food, she’s busy writing, exploring new countries, volunteering, hiking in national parks, teaching her husband Mandarin, and keeping a baby human alive.

More from Candace

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong?

It could be something as small as showing up at a party alone to something bigger like moving to a new city.

In ENHANCED, Urban also feels like she doesn’t belong. In New Beijing in the year 2124, everyone has amazing genetic enhancements given to them through CRISPR gene-editing technology.

Everyone, except Urban.

New Beijing is full of humans with breath-taking DNA. Inceptors with brain enhancements allowing them to read micro facial expressions, Supers who can withstand hard hits and extreme temperatures, Aquas able to breathe underwater, and more. There are eight main gene pools, and Urban doesn’t belong in any of them.

Instead, Urban’s born a Natural, without genetic enhancements, and secretly adopted into New Beijing. She’s forced to hide her genetic roots to protect her family, and pretends to be something she’s not—enhanced.

Urban’s story is personal to me.

As a Third Culture Kid, I’ve spent most of my life straddling two worlds and, trying to fit into places I felt I didn’t belong. At the age of four, my family moved from Ohio to China. I spent my childhood as the only foreign kid at my Chinese schools, neighborhood, and sports teams.

Since then, I’ve often returned to China. I was actually living and working there while writing ENHANCED.

Despite the frequent trips, I didn’t feel “American enough” or “Chinese enough” growing up. Maybe it’s because I botched most American sayings. Maybe it’s because no matter how good my Mandarin was, people looked at my white skin and assumed I didn’t belong in China.

It’s taken me years to come to peace with this.

Urban struggles with something similar. She must balance the Enhanced and Natural worlds all while trying to keep her web of lies from tangling and tripping her up. Which, of course, gets harder when she’s selected as the next AI Games contestant.

When I wrote this book, I was living in Beijing and going through one of the hardest seasons in my life. I had never felt so lonely. There was a song that brought me great comfort during this time. The chorus goes:

“God only knows what you’ve been through,

God only knows what they say about you,

God only knows the real you,

There’s a kind of love that God only knows.”

-For King and Country.

I played that song on repeat while writing Enhanced. It reminded me that God sees us and knows us intimately. With him, we are never truly alone.

I wrote this book for anyone who feels like they slip between the cracks of society—like they don’t belong. My hope is that you feel seen and understood.

You’re not alone.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 31

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 31

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 1

Texas Book-aholic, April 2

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 3

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 5

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 6

Inklings and Notions, April 7

Blogging With Carol, April 8

Book Butterfly in Dreamland, April 8

Tell Tale Book Reviews, April 9

Simple Harvest Reads, April 10 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

For Him and My Family, April 11

Mary Hake, April 11

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, April 12

Through the Fire Blogs, April 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Candace is giving away the grand prize package of a hardback of ENHANCED, $50 Amazon gift card, $10 Starbucks gift card, and a signed bookplate!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/25259/enhanced-celebration-tour-giveaway

Monday, March 13, 2023

Where Treasure Lies by Amanda Tru

About the Book

Book: Where Treasure Lies

Author: Amanda Tru

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: February 28, 2023

Two stories…thirty years apart. Will solving the mystery of the past provide the key to the present?

Scott Connelly arrives in the Suamalie Islands determined to acquire property for his father and leave as soon as possible. But he doesn’t count on the animosity of the residents, the fascinating local legend of a sunken Spanish treasure ship, or the highly unavailable waitress who comes to his rescue. The fabled treasure promises to buy his freedom, but even seeking it may be a dangerous risk.

News of her father’s death precedes Tavia Connelly’s arrival in the Suamalie Islands. Despite the hatred of the island residents, Tavia’s determined to settle her father’s affairs and return immediately to assume her role as head of the family company. But her father’s wishes require her to find out what happened long ago, given only Scott’s mumbled clues, crazy rumors, and a centuries-old fable.

Tavia should be safe after all those years, but her presence attracts a lot of resentment, and the ghosts of Scott’s enemies may still lie in wait for someone to come searching for a treasure that may have never existed.

But what if it did?

Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Amanda Tru is a best-selling author of over thirty Christian fiction books. She writes page-turning fiction to inspire real-life stories. In her own real story, she sheds her super-hero writing cape to be mommy to four kids in a small Idaho town.

More from Amanda

I love to mix truth with fiction. Sometimes I use my own experiences as inspiration for my stories, sometimes I use actual events, and sometimes I do both! When I started writing Where Treasure Lies, I wanted to anchor my fiction in truth. We’ve all read stories that featured a rather cheesy treasure hunt, and I wanted more than that. Besides the subject, the format of a dual time story made it even more difficult. However, a book isn’t worth writing if it isn’t a challenge.

What I found in my research thrilled me, driving my imagination to create a story even better than I thought possible. We’re all familiar with the fantastic tales of treasure ships in the Caribbean. But the story I wanted to tell was set on the fictional Suamalie Islands located a bit farther away—the Pacific. Was it even possible that a Spanish treasure ship could be in that area?

My initial research was discouraging. After all, the main age when Spanish galleons sailed the seas was from 1565 to 1815. The Suamalie Islands were supposedly not discovered until the early 1800s. And they were discovered by a French explorer, which didn’t quite fit my Spanish treasure ship idea. But the more research I did, the more it fascinated me. Starting in the late 1500s, Spain did run treasure ships to the Caribbean, but they also ran them the other direction, seeking the treasures of the New World from the western coast of the continents. Typically, they would set out from Manila in the Philippines, transporting spices, porcelain, and silk to Acapulco where they would trade them for New World silve, gold, gems, and other treasures. They would often make land in Oregon or California before following the coast south. Then they would turn around with their new load and take the treasure back to Manilla and then mainland Spain.

The exact trade route was kept secret. After all, if it were known, the treasure ships would be prime targets for pirates. To this day, the route of the Manilla galleons isn’t known. However, it is estimated that at least 30 Manilla galleons were wrecked, and not all of them have been found. There are even rumors that one of them was shipwrecked off the coast of Oregon!

With that information, I knew it was possible that one of these mysterious Spanish treasure ships could have passed by the fictional Suamalie Islands, even before it was officially discovered. And it would have been kept hush hush because of the secrecy of the trade route. And if one was passing by the island of Oli Oli when there happened to be a big storm… And if residents of the island of Oli Oli told a local legend about such a ship (similar to what is told today even in Oregon)… And if certain characters came to the island and heard the tale… Maybe, just maybe, they would go searching. Whether or not they found a treasure, that search could be a story. And if two different people were searching for the same treasure thirty years apart, maybe readers would want to go on the search with them!

I won’t reveal any spoilers. I won’t say if a Manilla galleon is found, or if four hundred years later such a ship would still contain treasure. However, I hope you will still find treasure as you read this book. In 2023, finding a wonderful story, filled with mystery, romance, and adventure with a few deeper truths mixed in is a wonderful treasure indeed.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 9

Texas Book-aholic, March 10

Sara Beth Williams, March 10

deb’s Book Review, March 11

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 12

Stories By Gina, March 13 (Author Interview

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 13

Sylvan Musings, March 14

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, March 14

Aryn the Libraryan, March 15

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, March 16

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 17

She Lives To Read, March 18

For Him and My Family, March 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 19

Blogging With Carol, March 20

lakesidelivingsite, March 21

Mary Hake, March 21

Simple Harvest Reads, March 22 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Amanda is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/24b77/where-treasure-lies-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Faith Lights a Flame by Loni Kemper Moore

About the Book

Book: Faith Lights a Flame

Author:Loni Kemper Moore

Genre:Clean Historical Fiction

Release date: April 2022

Love and Forgiveness…

Seventeen-year-old Francesca “Chessa” Campbell would give anything to have her perfect family back. Instead, her father faces a death sentence, her mother takes ill, and her heritage suddenly makes her the target of prejudice in the small 1920s New Mexico town. Then a single act irrevocably changes her life forever…and rescue comes in the unlikely form of her new teacher, Walker Smythe.

Hoping to earn enough money to finish college and forget the woman who broke his heart, Walker Smythe rides a train for three days from Indiana to the Texas Panhandle to become a cowhand. Instead, he accepts a teaching position in Clayton, New Mexico, to replace a man dismissed in disgrace. Even though Walker secretly questions his faith, friends call him straight as an arrow — and he is. At least, until he is permanently disabled and realizes the only woman who has caught his attention is one of his students.

Thrown together by fate and circumstance, Walker and Chessa must forge a life together. But will the drought hitting the American southwest and dust storms swirling across the plains rip them apart? Find out in this compelling story of faith, love, and the power of forgiveness.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Loni Kemper Moore is a sports cheering, Diet-Pepsi sipping, Rocky Mountain adventure-seeking kind of girl. She wants to share God’s beautiful love through life’s ugliness with remarkable women around the globe.

A preacher’s kid, her wanderlust was fueled by hearing missionary stories. She’s visited a dozen countries learning from other cultures while experiencing a sort of “minority” feeling. Although she attended several schools as a minority and her DNA test returned a percentage African, she’d never presume to claim such status.

She completed a bachelor’s degrees in Education and Biblical Studies at the former Denver Baptist Bible College and graduate work in Education at the University of Evansville.

A Jesus following history nerd, she was named Leonnie Sue for dead people. Leonnie was her great-grandmother whose died in the Influenza pandemic, and Sue is a common name on the family tree, dating to the 1640’s when Susanna Dean stepped off a ship in Korea, Maine.

Her writing came alive when the crazy Covid time forced her to flip through diaries and family albums. She was specifically struck by a memory of visiting her grandmother during the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial, shocked to hear her say, “He’s innocent!” What followed was a tale of her as a 14-year-old testifying in her father’s murder trial. As Loni put the story on a computer, her imagination expanded to become Faith Lights a Flame.

When she’s not writing, she’s a technical support engineer for a product called Cherwell, named for the river near Oxford which T.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis walked. During a trip to the company office in Swindon, UK, she visited the Child and the Eagle Pub where Tolkien and Lewis’ writers group met.

She’s also mom to Adam. a mechanical engineering student; traveler with dear “Hugsband” Robert an embedded engineer; thrilled by her GrandMiracles, Naomie, Zemira and their parents Becca and Anthony.

Loni’s experiences of loving history, learning to trust God through tragedy, and being the granddaughter of ranchers put this story close to her heart. Her grandparents’ love for God and each other helped them survive the Dust Bowl and provide guiding examples for life.

More from Loni

Why I Wrote “Faith Lights a Flame”

I visited Grandma James’ retirement apartment. A news channel distracted us and blared the familiar report of a retired football player’s homicide trial of his ex-wife and friend.

“O. J. Simpson is innocent!” My petite grandmother settled on her couch with ankles crossed.

My jaw dropped. “What? I’ve heard many people talk about him, but you are one of the few I’ve heard say he’s not guilty.”

An hour later her tale of being forced as a fourteen-year-old to testify in her father’s murder trial in 1920’s New Mexico, shifted the way I viewed her. Dreams, laughs and tears filled me with admiration and desire to be like her.

But twenty-four years later, when my brother-in-law, Ray returned from China, an alarming disease, COVID Flu, invaded my awareness. For Christmas he gave us hand-sanitizer, boxes of K-95 masks, and advice to purchase more Vitamin D and an oxygen concentrator.

COVID rumors and Ray’s comments frustrated me as much as the story I hadn’t finished. I pushed aside those thoughts to reminisce, surrounded by binders, diaries and books penned by family members. Good times outweighed the bad.

My Covid fears diminished in light of additional stories of those who maintained strength through the deadly Spanish Flu Pandemic, a hostile Dust Bowl, the devastating Depression, and unbelievable heartbreaks.

I pictured reunions where older ladies and cowboy-hat-wearing men covered tables with their arduous work just like troubles of youth were covered with laughter. How did they do that? Could I use their skills to survive the Covid pandemic?

Having lost dear relatives and friends, I know that COVID was costly indeed, but writing stimulated my faith through those uncertain times. I envisioned book of love and survival which became Faith Lights a Flame loosely based on the saga told by my grandmother.

My prayer is your faith will burn like a flame as we travel along on a fictional journey through decades of beloved memories. Please let me know what you think.

“Faith does not quench desire, it enflames it.” Thomas Aquinas

–Loni Kemper Moore

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 8

Texas Book-aholic, March 9

Connie’s History Classroom, March 10

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 11

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 13

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 14

Artistic Nobody, March 15 (Author Interview)

Book Looks by Lisa, March 15

Cover Lover Book Review, March 16

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, March 17 (Author Interview)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, March 18

For Him and My Family, March 19

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, March 20 (Author Interview)

Holly’s Book Corner, March 20

Pause for Tales, March 21

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Loni is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card and a paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/24dba/faith-lights-a-flame-celebration-tour-giveaway

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Love’s New Beginnings by Penny Zeller

About the Book

Book: Love’s New Beginnings

Author: Penny Zeller

Genre:Christian Historical Romance

Release date: December 13, 2022

Where it all began…

Lydie Beauchamp recently moved with her aunts—sisters Myrtle and Fern—to the untamed Wyoming Territory. When a teaching position in nearby Willow Falls captures her attention, can she leave her aunts, one of whom just suffered a broken heart, and embark on this new adventure? Will she find the courage to persevere in the midst of challenges, one being a handsome challenge named Solomon Eliason?

Reverend Solomon Eliason has the goal of making a difference. Hired as the pastor of Willow Falls, he must convince the congregation that he is able to undertake the role of a reverend. When he’s nominated to be the adult in charge of the annual prank tradition at the school, he embraces the idea, thinking the new teacher will be an elderly crotchety woman like his former teacher. What he doesn’t realize until it’s too late is that the teacher is far from crotchety and elderly.

When Lydie’s and Solomon’s paths cross in an unexpected way during the prank tradition at the Willow Falls school, can Solomon redeem himself in the eyes of the lovely new teacher?

Take a glimpse into where it all began with Lydie and Solomon’s story in this tender tale that reminds us that God can and does use willing hearts for His purposes.

My Thoughts:

This was a really good book. I loved the setting and descriptions that the author gave It made me feel as though I was actually there and involved in the whole thing. Very well written.

4/5

Thank you to the author/publisher for the review copy of this book via Celebrate Lit. I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Penny Zeller is known for her heartfelt stories of faith and her passion to impact lives for Christ through fiction. While she has had a love for writing since childhood, she began her adult writing career penning articles for national and regional publications on a wide variety of topics.

Today Penny is the author of over a dozen books. She is also a homeschool mom and a group fitness instructor. Her desire is to assist and nurture women into a closer relationship with Christ.

When Penny is not dreaming up new characters, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and camping, hiking, canoeing, bicycling/cycling, reading, running, gardening, and playing volleyball.

She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and loves to hear from her readers at her website, blog, and on Facebook.

More from Penny

Stagecoach etiquette, a casket for sale in the mercantile, and mock turtle soup were just a few of the items included in Love’s New Beginnings. Research is always fun for historical novels, and I even discovered that some people ate skunks back in the “olden days.” Not a regular delicatessen, but they did eat them on occasion. After reading about the ingredients for mock turtle soup and discovering about skunks for dinner (aka supper), I’m even more grateful for enchiladas and regular plain ol’ hamburgers. Historical romance novels are a delight to read, but is Love’s New Beginnings the book for you?

If you love…

To read love stories

Stories set in the late 1800s

Settings in the Wild West in small western towns

Sweet romance and tender love stories

Plentiful humor

Character-driven plots

Faith element organically interwoven into the story

Scenes that tug at the heartstrings

Hilarious antidotes tucked within the pages of a novel

To curl up and escape into the lives of book characters

Realistic plot lines