Blog Tour: Anna the Prophetess

I'm excited to announce the blog tour schedule for Anna the Prophetess. Be sure to check out the giveaway as well (by clicking on any of the blog sites below). Thank you for all the reviews!

*August 13^th: 

http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/ 

 https://www.rockinbookreviews.com/ 

 http://mybookaday.com/

 

*August 14^th:  

https://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/ 

 http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/

 http://www.iamareader.com/ 

http://whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/ 

http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com/

 

*August 15^th:

http://empowermoms.net/,

http://lifeiswhatitscalled.blogspot.com/ 

https://rachellechristensen.com/

 

*August 16^th: 

http://heidi-reads.blogspot.com/ 

https://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/

 

*August 17^th: http://minreadsandreviews.blogspot.com/ 

 http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

Cover reveal: Finding Us (Pine Valley #5)

I'm excited to announce the cover reveal for the next book in the Pine Valley series:

FINDING US

Release date: September 6, 2018


Felicity Miner is not normally an anxious person, and she’s been on her own since high school. But after a shoplifter steals from her bookshop, she calls the cops. When Officer Leo Russo shows up, Felicity has to tell herself that just because the romance novel she’s been reading has a hero police officer doesn’t mean she needs to project her imagination onto the real man. Yes, Officer Russo is unexpectedly generous, and he helps make Felicity’s home more secure when her worries won’t settle down. But the more Felicity is around Officer Russo, the more she imagines a future between them. Is he merely doing his duty, protecting and serving the citizens of Pine Valley, or is there potential for something more?

 More books in the Pine Valley series:

Word counts of a full time writer

Frequently, people ask how many books I have published. I've counted before, but I don't technically keep track. I now have more novellas than novels written, and interestingly enough, I never thought I'd write shorter books, novellas, or short-stories. Now that I've written so many 15,000 word novellas (Timeless Romance Anthologies), or 25,000 word novellas (Timeless Regency Collections), 30,000 words novellas (Lady of Breken Manor, Mistress Grim), sometimes writing my longer novels (90,000-100,000 words) feels like writing two books ;-)

This year I've been focusing on the Pine Valley romance series, and those novels are on the shorter end of novel word count. Each one is between 50,000-55,000 words. This word count length enables me to write and publish them at a quicker rate . . . also because they are contemporary so the extra research I do with historical manuscripts isn't required.

I have many author friends who write more than I do, but I do keep track of my word count religiously. It's the way I track progress and meet my writing goals (which vary with each book).

I've cut and pasted some of my word count lists for various manuscripts in the Pine Valley series so that you can get an idea of the daily writing effort of a first draft. This of course doesn't include all of the later stages of revision work and editing. For those of you who have done the NANOWRIMO program with the goal of writing 50,000 words each November, that's pretty much what it feels like to be a full time writer. You are doing a NANOWRIMO every month of the year.

Finding Us: A Pine Valley Novel (coming sometime in September 2018)
WORD COUNT
6/5 3,000
6/6 4,500
6/7 6,500
6/11 7,600
6/12 8,000
6/13 11,200
6/14 13,700
6/16 15,000
6/18 15,500
6/19 16,600
6/20 20,000
6/22 20,500
6/23 23,000
6/25 26,100
6/26 28,400
6/27 30,500
6/28 31,500
6/29 36,100
6/30 37,200
7/2 38,200
7/3 41,200
7/4 44,200
7/5 46,300
7/6 49,700
7/7 53,100
7/9 55,300

Waiting for You: A Pine Valley Novel (released June 2018)
Can't find this word count list ;-)

Say You Love Me: A Pine Valley Novel (released April 2018)
WORD COUNT
1/25 3,200
1/26 4,400
1/27 8,000
1/29 11,700
1/30 15,800
1/31 18,200
2/1 21,200
2/2 23,400
2/3 25,100
2/5 28,100
2/6 31,100
2/7 33,400
2/8 36,400
2/9 38,800
2/10 42,000
2/12 45,100
2/13 50,000


Where I Belong: A Pine Valley Novel (released March 2018)
WORD COUNT
12/29 5,200
12/30 11,300
1/1 15,000
1/2 16,400
1/3 19,500
1/4 22,500
1/5 25,600
1/6 28,100
1/8 31,600
1/9 37,000
1/10 43,000
1/11 49,500
1/12 51,500
 

Worth the Risk: A Pine Valley Novel (released Feb 2018)
WORD COUNT
11/25: 1,500
11/27: 4,600
11/28 8,200
11/29 12,400
11/30 15,400
12/1 17,500
12/2 18,600
12/3 19,200
12/4 22,500
12/5 25,600
12/6 27,700
12/7 30,700
12/8 34,100
12/9 35,800
12/11 38,100
12/12 41,200
12/13 43,000
12/14 46,000
12/15 51,700
 

 

 

Cover reveal: Anna the Prophetess

I'm excited to reveal the cover for my upcoming Biblical novel: Anna the Prophetess.

Coming August 2018 from Covenant Communications. Below, I also have the introduction to the book which details some of the things we know about this remarkable woman.

Introduction

            The prophetess Anna lived during a remarkable era—that of the Messiah’s birth and early years. Her name is the New Testament form of Hannah, and she is the only woman called a prophetess in the Gospels. Anna’s family history descended from the tribe of Asher, in which she was the daughter of Phanuel.

Unfortunately, Anna became a widow after a seven-year marriage, and there is no mention of whether she had children. She was, therefore, a woman whose life took a painful, unexpected turn. But as we will learn, Anna continued in her devotion to the Lord and determined to serve Him all the remainder of her days.

She is a testament to modern women that it’s possible to live a life of joy even when struck with a severe trial. She carried an eternal perspective in her heart, and it’s no small matter that she is heralded as a prophetess—one who draws close to the Lord and gains His utmost trust.

Interestingly enough, she never remarried but instead spent her remaining widowhood serving in the temple—a service time estimated at over sixty years. It’s an impressive record of service in the public eye. Not many women are able to perform such an act away from home and for the public. And like many other women, she prioritized her time so she could be there, likely maintaining a residence near the holy place.

            At the temple on Jesus’s presentation day, we meet Anna as a woman “of a great age,” of fourscore and four years (age eighty-four; Luke 2:37). With the forty days of Mary’s required purification after giving birth at an end, she and Joseph brought Jesus into Jerusalem. In Leviticus 12:2–5, we learn that for a male child, the woman was unclean for seven days and the days of purification lasted thirty-three days; for a female child, the woman was unclean fourteen days, and purification lasted sixty-six days.

Mary and Joseph were to present their newborn son to the Lord God at the temple, according to the law of Moses. Part of the presentation at the temple was offering a sacrifice of two turtledoves or two young pigeons in order to complete Mary’s purification (see Luke 2:24). Simeon was the first to meet Mary and Joseph; he had been promised that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. He greeted the parents and took Jesus into his arms and prophesied about the salvation that had come to earth.

            While Mary and Joseph “[marveled] at those things which were spoken” by Simeon (Luke v. 33), Anna entered the scene. Like Simeon, the Spirit led her to the Messiah and unmistakably informed her that this infant was the Redeemer.

Upon meeting the Messiah, Anna not only became a witness of the Messiah, but she also gave “thanks likewise unto the Lord, and [spoke] of him to all them that [looked] for redemption in Jerusalem” (v. 38). This notation leads us to believe that after Jesus and His parents fled to Egypt, Anna spoke reverentially about His birth and His presence on earth for as long as she lived. Her testimony may have been great before, as evidenced in her role as prophetess, but now it was magnified as she served as a sure witness to the Messiah’s existence.

            In this way, Anna’s lifelong devotion to the Lord was no longer based on faith, but like the brother of Jared, she “had faith no longer, for [she] knew, nothing doubting” (Ether 3:19, emphasis added). What a wonderful gift! It is important for us to remember what preceded Anna’s sure knowledge and what she embraced for at least sixty years of her life—it is something we cannot see or hear but only feel: faith.

            Anna’s devotion and role as a prophetess is further secured when we learn that she was the second woman in the Bible noted as fasting on a day other than the Day of Atonement (Esther was the first; see Esther 4:16). Fasting wasn’t normally encouraged for women during ancient times, yet it seems that for Anna it was part of her spiritual regimen wherein she “served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). It was part of her journey toward becoming like her divine Father in Heaven, and it was this sort of devotion that led to the opportunity of meeting the infant Jesus and becoming a physical and spiritual witness to His mission on earth.

            Anna’s fasting was likely no easy task, especially at her age, but she recognized the importance of it in bringing her close to the Spirit, and as she continued to fast, her faith was strengthened. We do not know if Anna recognized other signs of Jesus’s birth that had been prophesied and taught for generations. There is no clear indication that anyone in the Old World knew of a prophecy in advance of the Savior’s birth that a new star in the heavens would be a sign of His birth, but for this novel’s purposes, sighting a new star is part of Anna’s faith.

            At the age of eighty-four, Anna became a true witness, and certainly, her unquestionable testimony has blessed many lives. Her devotion to the Lord and her people, as well as the spirit of inspiration she cultivated in order to become one of the Lord’s spokeswomen, marked her long life as a touching example of a divinely led woman. Like some of us, her life didn’t turn out how she planned, yet she found ways to fill her life and devote it to the Lord. She moved forward with purpose and created a fulfilling life, giving us a wonderful example.

(Parts of the introduction were taken from the original publication of: The Divinity of Women: Inspirations and Insights from Women of the Scriptures by Heather B. Moore and S. Kent Brown, Covenant Communications, 2014.)