A Winner

Congratulations to Jolene Hauck. She is the winner of my birthday giveaway - a copy of One Choice.

I hope you enjoy reading it, Jolene.

Thank you to all who participated.

Blessings,
Ginger

Loch Ness - Fun Facts by Aubrie Dionne

Today A Bed of Roses...Thorns Included welcomes Aubrie Dionne.

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her books have received the highest ratings from Romance Times Magazine, as well as Night Owl Reviews and Two Lips Reviews. She has guest blogged on the USA Today Happily Ever After Blog and the Dear Teen Me blog and signed books at the Boston Book Festival, Barnes and Noble, and the Romance Writers of America conference. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Harper Impulse, Astraea Press, Spencer Hill Press, Inkspell Publishing, and Lyrical Press. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras.

Five Fun Facts About Loch Ness

One of the reasons why I decided to write a contemporary romance centered around Scotland’s Loch Ness was the mystery and the hushed atmosphere surrounding the lake. Quoting from the cab driver in the book, I thought it would “bring out the best in people and the worst.” If you read Love on Loch Ness, you’ll see what I mean…

1.    Loch Ness is 755 ft (230 m) deep- three times as deep as the lake by my house, and the deepest loch in Scotland. It contains more freshwater than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. (That’s a very big space to hide if you’re a Loch Ness monster!)

2.   The first sighting of the Loch Ness monster was in 665 AD by the Abbot of Iona, describing how a saint triumphed over a “water beast” in the River Ness.

3.    Scientists have used a number of devices to sweep the lake, including echo scanners, searchlight sonar and sidescan sonar. In 1954, a boat using an echo-sounder obtained an image of a beast under the waters by Urquhart Castle.

4.    Urquhart Castle, the ruins beside the lake, is one of Scotland’s biggest castles with a bloody history in the 13^th-17^th centuries. It fell in English hands and was reclaimed and lost again and again. 

5.   The movie “Loch Ness” with Ted Danson was filmed on location. It’s a great movie with a lot of the same sentiments in my book. 

Book blurb:

Dr. Gail Phillips steps onto the shores of Loch Ness to disprove the Loch Ness monster theory for good so everyone can stop wasting their time. As a marine biologist with a background in archeology, she’s convinced all of the world’s myths such as Big Foot, the Tasmanian devil, and even Nessie are lies. Her father disappeared while following Yettie tracks in the Alps, and she doesn’t want to lose another mislead soul.

Flynn Maloney comes from a family of fanatic cryptozoologists. As a native of Scotland, he believes in Nessie as strong as Gail believes in science. Despite his initial attraction for her, he’s joined her research team to prove her wrong. He wants to find Nessie for a special girl in his life, to show her dreams really can come true.

As they conduct sonar studies and sweeps of the lake, their differing opinions are at odds with their budding attraction. Gail doesn’t believe in anything unscientific, such as romance, thinking the charming Flynn Maloney is full of baloney. Flynn can’t believe he’s falling for someone with no imagination or faith. To make matters worse, their videographer is covering his true identity. Together they must unravel his plan before he destroys everything they are working for. Will Gail force Flynn to question his faith, or will she discover more than she bargained for in the Scottish highlands?

You can find Love on Loch Ness here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Thanks for joining me today, Aubrie, and sharing your fun facts about Scotland's most famous loch.

Blessings,

Ginger

A Giveaway for My Birthday

Today's my birthday and I feel like doing a giveaway. I'm going to give a PDF copy of One Choice to one lucky winner.

Here's the scoop on One Choice in case you missed it.

Cahri Michaels is American by birth, but Belikarian by choice. Being selected to participate in the Bridal March forces her to give up the independent life she’s created for herself. She’s not ready to be anyone’s wife, much less to a man she doesn’t know. 

Prince Josiah Vallis despises the century’s old tradition—the Bridal March—that is forcing him to choose a wife from fifty women. Why does it matter that he’s twenty-five and still single? 

When Cahri and Josiah meet, passion ignites. Will it spark a godly love that can see them through or will they be burned…. never to be the same?

I will draw the winning name next Thursday, 2/27/14, so you have a week to enter. This is my first try at using Rafflecopter, so please use the e-mail address on the left side if something isn't working properly.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blessings,
Ginger

Horribly Behind

Due to the holidays and my busy January, I am horribly behind on the reviews I promised to write. So for the next few weeks, I will be posting a few at a time until I can catch up. I apologize to the authors for not doing these on a timely basis.

Blurb:

What happens when the matchmaker finds a match for herself?Charlotte Rose Hill has been serving up country delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky but beloved customers for more than 10 years. But for her, marriage seems like an elusive butterfly, always out of reach. At 18, Charlotte fell in love with a young man, Sam Wilder, but his family convinced her to walk away from their relationship. She did, and then became engaged to another man, who later died before they were married. Now, more than a decade later, Charlotte finds that she still has feelings for her first love. Initially thrilled to learn that Sam has come home to Middlebury, Texas, Charlotte is devastated to learn that he’s brought someone with him: his fiancée. But all is not lost when the townsfolk decide to get involved. Will Charlotte and Sam find their way back to each other?

A Marriage in Middlebury by Anita Higman was an interesting novel. I enjoyed the story and the writing was excellent and easy to follow. The characters came to life on the page. I wanted to know how Charlotte got her happily-ever-after, since she'd had a hand at providing it for several others. I loved Meredith's quirkiness. It made me smile.

4 roses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blurb:

A woman meant to serve, a child in the dark, a man standing apart—can these three souls embrace a God with new plans for them?

On a small Kansas farm, Christina Willems lovingly shepherds a group of poor and displaced individuals who count on her leadership and have come to see the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor as their home. But when a fire breaks out in the kitchen leaving the house inhabitable, she must scramble to find shelter for all in her care, scattering her dear “family.”

With no other options, Christina is forced to approach Levi Jonnson, a reclusive mill owner, to take in a young blind boy named Tommy Kilgore. Levi agrees with reluctance but finds himself surprised by the bond that quickly grows between him and Tommy. As obstacles to repairing the farm pile up against Christina, she begins to question her leadership ability and wonders if she can fulfill the mission to which she's dedicated her life. And when an old adversary challenges Christina, will she find an unlikely ally—or more—in the aloof Levi? Can Levi reconcile with the rejection that led to his hermit-like existence and open his heart and life to something more, especially a relationship with a loving God?

What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a touching novel. It reminds us that sometimes we think we're doing a good thing for the right reason, but it's not always true. The characters were well-written, allowing me to identify with their struggles and, in the end, their triumphs. I enjoyed this novel a great deal.

4.9 roses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blurb:

In a world of fast-paced living and fly-by-night interpersonal ethics, Eternity exposes the lies behind relationships based solely on physical attraction.

Aaron Foster thought he had the perfect life until his fiancée walked out their door and then back in with his new roommate. In desperation, Aaron and his best friend, Harmony Jordan, devise The Plan, but when The Plan succeeds beyond their wildest expectations, it could spell heartache for them all.

I enjoyed Eternity by Staci Stallings. It was realistic and heart-warming. Staci did a good job expressing the reality that heartbreak fades with time. My biggest complaint was the amount of errors, especially in the first few chapters. It's still a good enough story that after a while you forget to pay attention to them.

4 roses

I hope you enjoy these first few reviews. More to come next week.

Blessings,
Ginger

I'm back. Did you miss me?

Hello beautiful readers. I pray 2014 has been kind to you so far.

I took off the month of January to pray about this blog, and I'm glad I did. January wound up being a VERY eventful month for me.

I started the year off sick. It was just the after effects - cough, tiredness - from the flu, but it wasn't a fun way to start the year.

Then my grandfather died and I made an impromptu trip to West Virginia. I spent the week before making arrangements, and the week after was spent recovering from the 11 hour drive (one way).

A week later I made a trip to the ER for severe abdominal pain. I'm not normally a sick person, so it took me by surprise. After several hours, multiple tests, and a shot of morphine for the pain, the doctor discovered that I had gall stones. Since the pain had receded, I went home to rest and then call the doctor a few days later (I went in on a Saturday night and Monday was a holiday). That Wednesday, my gall bladder was removed. I'm fine now, thankfully. Still a little sore if move in just the right way, or lean against something, but nothing really life-altering.

So that was my January.

February started off with a bang, too. One Choice released on the fourth, and I have been busy guest posting all over the internet, and lining up other blogs to visit. Here's the schedule:

2/14 - http://caroletowriss.com/
2/15 - http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com/
2/17 - http://marylouwrites.weebly.com/
2/17 - www.kickbackandread.com
2/18 - http://creative-hodgepodge.blogspot.com/
2/19 - www.PotOfManna.wordpress.com

2/20 - http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/
2/20 - http://www.maryhamiltonbooks.com/blog/
2/25 - http://www.authoraubrie.net/
2/26 - http://sherrygloagtheheartofromance.blogspot.com/
2/27 - http://www.inspyromance.com/blog/
2/27 - http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/
2/28 - http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com/
3/13 - www.angeladmeyer.com
3/26 - http://www.bridgemanfamily.com/hallee/category/readers-write/
3/27 - http://delialatham.wordpress.com/
4/18 - http://www.shannonvannatter.com/blog
4/18 - www.JamesRCallan.com
4/24 - http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

As you can see, the next few months are busy, and that's just the expected stuff. :)

So, if you haven't read about One Choice on my FB page, or one of the various places I have already posted this month, you can go here: http://gingersolomon.blogspot.com/p/one-choice.html and get all the pertinent information about the book and where to buy it. ;)

Oh, and by the way, for those of you wondering, this blog will remain.

My proposed schedule is to do devotions, reviews, and guest posts once per week. I'd love your feedback. What would you like to see here?

Thanks for following me and reading my ramblings.

Blessings,

Surrender by Marji Laine - Guest Devotion

Marji is a homeschooling mom of 4 with the oldest working in the mission field in Africa. She spends her days transporting to and from volleyball, teaching writing classes at a local coop, and directing the children’s music program at her church.

With decades of leading worship, directing and performing in theatre productions, and script-writing, Marji took the plunge to creating scintillating Christian romance and romantic suspense novels with a side of Texas sassy. She invites readers to unravel their inspiration, seeking a deeper knowledge of the Lord’s Great Mystery that invites us all.

Here's where you can find her online:

MarjiLaine.com

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Surrender

by Marji Laine

There is such a beauty about a new surrender to the Lord. When a heart releases expectations and desires, lifts up hands, and says, “Whatever You want, God.”

Abraham did that when he took Isaac, his only son, to the altar. Mary also as she faced shame and possible stoning after the angel told her about the baby she would carry. Christ, Himself, surrendered to God’s will in the garden of Gethsemane.

Ps. 51:16-17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

In this verse, David relates that God doesn’t want the sin offerings. He’d rather have hearts that are wholly His. Think about that for a moment. It’s a reasonable request. Would you prefer to have a mate or a best friend who is really good at apologizing?

“That man o’ mine done gone and gambled the house away, but he brung me the purtiest little bouquet o’ flowers you ever did see.” Uh … no. Definitely not the type of relationship God wants to have with us either.

1 Sam 15:22 clears this right up. “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Obeying is surrender. The more we practice obeying the Lord, the more that surrender to Him becomes part of our lives. For Him it is a love song. We show adoration with our actions. Isn’t that the way we show love to others in our lives?

But our surrender has monumental effects on us as well. Living a life of obedience to God means we can be assured that we’re walking our most abundant path. Seriously. If you blindfolded your daughter and took her by the hand, would you ram her shins into the furniture? Our loving heavenly Father doesn’t do that either. He coaxes us along the way that He’s set for us. The one that will bring us the most joy and work the best for his plan on earth.

The collaborative novella being released from Write Integrity Press, A Dozen Apologies, deals with surrender. Mara has done some pretty horrible things, but when she comes to know the Lord, she feels she must do her best to make things right. Not an easy task considering the humiliations she created. To read her story, find the posts on Write Integrity Press and watch for the notice of the free e-book. (WriteIntegrity.com)

Your Turn: How are you surrendering today?

Thanks for joining us today, Marji.

Blessings,