Cami Checketts - Thoughts on Service

Hi all. I'm Cami Checketts, author of inspirational
romantic suspense novels - what a mouthful. I'm
excited to contribute to the White Roses in Bloom
blog.
Today I'm sharing some thoughts on service.

Galatians 5: 13-14
"...by love serve one another. For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself."

I love to spend time serving others, but I've had a
tougher time receiving service. This summer changed
that.

On July 9th, I stuck my hand in a lawn mower. It's not
a happy ending. The lawn mower wins every time. I
chopped off three of my fingers and am now the proud
owner of a nubbin where my middle finger should be.

Through the pain of healing and the hazy world of
being doped up on prescription drugs, I learned a bit
about love and service.

I learned that the Lord is always there for me and He
sends his faithful servants when I need them most.

The service I received wasn't always time-consuming or
elaborate, sometimes just an e-mail or a prayer, but
every act meant so much.

I wanted to share with you a list of what friends and
family did for me.

- Dinners - I didn't cook for six weeks, how sweet is
that?
- Phone calls - Probably the easiest thing to do, but
they helped me get through the day.
- Get well cards and e-mails
- Visits - The visits meant so much because I was
miserable without my three boys around to entertain
me.
- Babysitting - I couldn't change my baby's bum
(silver lining), my friends and family took my boys
whenever my husband had to go to work.
- Housecleaning - you know your friends love you when
they scrub your toilets.
- Ironing - I don't iron when I'm healthy! A sweet
lady ironed 30 shirts for me.
- Prayers - This is the most important act of service
and also the easiest. Thanks to all of you who prayed
for me.

After I healed I determined I wouldn't let
opportunities to serve slip away because I was busy or
unorganized. Sunday night my husband and I write on
our family calendar which days we will take dinner to
someone, visit our elderly friends, or spend the night
making cookies and doing viists. Now when I get the
impression to call someboy, I pick up that phone and
dial.

I pray each of us will find our own ways to serve and
share the Savior's love with others.

Cami Checketts
http://www.camichecketts.com
http://fitmomma.blogstream.com

"The Fourth of July" and "The Broken Path"
Available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Wild Rose Press and Amazon.com

From Summer into Autumn

Now is a great time to have one last summer fling - book-wise that is. My novel UNTIL SUMMER ENDS will be released in print on September 28. It is of course, available in ebook format now. Here's an exclusive excerpt just for our blog readers:

Kathy and Greg have a deal - they'll have a fun summer of dating and remain "just friends." But their hearts aren't willing to go along with that.

“Greg, is something bothering you?”
A guilty look flashed across his face. “I’m sorry I’m not being very attentive Kathy, but something is bothering me. I’m trying to think how to talk to you about it.”
Alarm tingled through Kathy. “Don’t beat around the bush; just say it.”
“Okay. Well, for starters, how come you’re not angry with me?”
Kathy’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”
“I mean about Saturday night. I didn’t treat you very nicely after the incident with Brad.”
Kathy had forgotten everything but the kiss. “I guess not, but....when we said goodnight, everything seemed to be fine.”
Greg rubbed his forehead. “No, it wasn’t, Kathy. I kissed you.”
“I know. I enjoyed it.”
He reached across the table and picked up her hand. She could tell he was lining up his words carefully, as usual. “I kissed you for the wrong reasons.”
Kathy wrinkled her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I kissed you because I was angry that I wasn’t able to protect you from Brad. I didn’t like the idea of you two getting back together again. In short, I was jealous.”
Shock and hurt flashed across Kathy’s face and Greg hurried to continue. “I spent a lot of time thinking about this Saturday night and Sunday. Kathy, I care for you very much. I would really like to kiss you again, and to show you real love, the way God intended it to be. Not to manhandle you to mollify a petty tantrum.”
Kathy smiled tremulously. “You would?”
Taking a deep breath, Greg went on. “But, I also realized that I’m not ready for that yet. You’re the first person I’ve dated since Sharon died, and I don’t want to rush into a serious relationship. Plus it wouldn’t be fair to expect you to step into my life right now as it is. I have two kids, I’m heading into a new job in a new community, and I have a mother-in-law that’s not entirely stable, emotionally speaking.”
To say that she was devastated was an understatement. Kathy struggled to take in all that Greg was saying. Obviously the kiss had been very different than she’d perceived. That made her feel a little stupid. One thing was clear however, and that was that their “just friends” clause would still be in effect.

Meet Victoria Pitts-Caine

Hi – I’m Victoria Pitts-Caine.

Have you ever been sitting in church and felt the Lord was trying to tell you to do something? That’s exactly how I felt the night our praise band sang Turn, Turn, Turn. The song is based on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, which is the passage I’ve used throughout my Christian Romance Adventure novel, ALVARADO GOLD. I felt it was my time.

As a Christian, I’ve learned to believe in signs. I’m sure we can all remember some point in our lives when we knew we were being led by some indiscernible knowledge. That little nudge or the sudden answer to our prayers comes from God’s own hand.

I believe that’s how I found Wild Rose Press and a home for my novel. I sent the manuscript out multiple times to both agents and publishing houses and with standard rejection letters or three pages of email comments, it was always returned.

Then, one Sunday I began searching the internet and over and over, I saw the mention of The Wild Rose Press. The query letter was sent, the first three chapters were asked for and then the full manuscript. I don’t think I fully exhaled for days. Then it was there, in my inbox – the offer of a contract.

I did not take that step blindly but I’m so grateful I did. Here I am. Alvarado Gold is soon to be released and now and then I’ll blog with an excerpt.

Until then, blessings,

Victoria

Introducing Rose Ross Zediker

I’m Rose Ross Zediker, the author of “Through The Eyes of Love” a White Rosebud which should be released for the upcoming holiday season.

Why write an inspirational novel? Christians are urged to share the good news and what better way could there be to convey that message than through a story!

Usually to get going on a story, I find a piece of scripture and try to apply the scripture lesson to a real life plot line without “preaching the lesson”. This approach may be related to writing devotions! I find that writing this way works two fold. I get to share the word of God with readers and as I peruse the scriptures and write my faith gets stronger too.

Let the Blogging Begin!

I’m going to start off the blogging by introducing myself. I’m Kara Lynn Russell and I am the author of Until Summer’s End. I also have a short regency story out in the English Tea Rose line titled “A Recipe for Love.” This holiday season, WRP will release “Nick and Noelle” in their White Rose line.

I promise to tell you more about my books and stories in my next post. For now I’ll stick with introducing myself. I’m not going to cover any of the mundane aspects of my life. You can read those for yourself in my bio on my website if you are interested. (It’s listed in the links in the sidebar) Instead I’d like to tell you why I write inspirationals.

At first, I didn’t think I could put my feelings about my faith into words. If you’ve ever listened to Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion” you’ll understand. I identify strongly with his stoic Lutheran characters. Like them, I was raised to be humble which makes promotion a real nightmare. We are also not known for our evangelism skills. For myself I would have to agree that preaching is not my gift.

So why write an inspirational novel? In a way it isn’t a choice. Faith is a deep and solid foundation for my life. I found that my characters often felt the same way and their faith showed up in my stories. When you read my books you may not find a “lesson” to take away with you, but I hope you will feel that your own faith is echoed and affirmed, perhaps strengthened, through them.

I would love to hear from other authors about their reasons for writing in this category. Readers, please leave a comment on why you read inspirational romance.

Welcome to White Roses in Bloom

We are the authors of the White Rose line for The Wild Rose Press. White Rose is their inspirational romance line. We hope to create a place of fellowship for authors and readers. So look around, leave a comment and come back soon for more entries!