Guest blog by Krista Phillips

Help me welcome Krista Phillips, author of "Sandwich, with a Side of Romance".

Krista Phillips writes inspirational romantic comedy. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. Her debut novel, "Sandwich, With a Side of Romance," releases in September, 2012 from Abingdon Press.

Sandwich, with a Side of Romance Blurb:

She moved to Sandwich, Illinois, in search of a new life, but ended up in a giant pickle.

Sandwich represents hope for twenty-year-old Maddie Buckner and Kyle, the eleven-year-old brother Maddie wants to spring out of foster care. Then she loses her new job after less than a day. It’s all Reuben-the-Jerk’s fault, and she’s determined to make him right the wrong.  

He does so, reluctantly, by giving her a job at his restaurant, The Sandwich Emporium. Then crazy things start happening at the restaurant, and Kyle’s foster parents apply to adopt him. To stop it all, Maddie must learn the art of humbling herself and accepting the help God has arranged, risking her heart to Reuben in the process. 

And she’d rather eat a million corned-beef on rye sandwiches than do that.

And now here's Krista...

The Makings of a Sandwich

When Ginger invited me to guest post on her blog, she said I could write about whatever I wanted.

I'm a writer. That should be a pretty easy thing to do.

Right?

WRONG!

Pulling a topic out of thin air was TORTURE.

Like, poke my eyes out, dentist-drilling torture. Well, maybe not that bad. But I sat for a good while with a lot of false starts and a lot of deleting while I thought, "Really? I'm a writer??? You wouldn't know it by that drivel!"

Then I got this stroke of brilliance. At least, I think it is brilliant. You might not agree, but that's okay. My momma still loves me.... :-)

My debut novel that came out a week ago today is titled Sandwich, with a Side of Romance.

It's all about... SANDWICHES.

So here is where the brilliance comes in.

I'm gonna write about SANDWICHES today.

Yes, yes, I know. Where in the world do I come up with this amazing stuff?? HA.

It's also fitting because this afternoon/evening, an author friend of mine and I are going to have a Online Book Launch Open House, and our theme for the open house is A Sandwich for the Road. (The name of her book is The Road to Mercy... Get it? Sandwich? Road? Come on....)

So, I thought I'd share some FUN sandwich facts that you may not be aware of.

•         The Philly Cheesesteak was invented by a dude in Philadelphia named Pat Oliviera who had a hotdog stand but got tired of hotdogs and decided to try something different. I think he succeeded....
•          The PB&J sandwich started to gain popularity during the great depression as a "cheap" means of food, but got it's real break during WWII when GI's would combine peanut butter and Jelly to make their rationed food taste a little better and be less sticky!
•          Even though I've heard it raved about and am even giving a jar of it away in my "sandwich" themed basket at the open house tonight... I've never had Nutella. I guess I'm nervous that it won't live up to all the hype I hear about it!
•          The French dip was created by accident! It is said that in 1918, a sandwich shop owner in LA accidently dropped the roll into the pan drippings before giving it to a police officer to eat, and the police officer came back three days in a row, asking for more "dipped" sandwiches. (another fun note. I LOVE LOVE French dips... but I never dip. In fact, I tell them to keep their sauce. Yeah. I'm crazy. What can I say.)
•          Did you know that May is National Egg Salad Month? And the week before Easter is National Egg Salad Week? Well... now you do!

All these fun facts were found in The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches by Susan Russo (and probably a billion places on the Internet as well.) The book is ALSO included in my sandwich picnic basket at the open house today, and it has a TON of different sandwich recipes!

Discussion: What's your FAVORITE sandwich? And no, the "Oreo" one doesn't count! Although if it did... that'd totally be my answer!

To find Krista on the web:

Blog/Website - www.kristaphillips.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/authorkristaphillips

Twitter - www.twitter.com/kristaphillips

Thanks for coming, Krista. For the record, my favorite sandwich is a BLT (and do NOT give me a hothouse tomato, please).

Blessings,

Ginger

E is for Excitement...

E is for Excitement

Two weeks from today at this time, I'll be on a plane headed for Dallas, TX and ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Conference. I am so EXCITED. 

Although I woke up this morning and remembered the dream I had just had. SCARY! I walked into the main conference room, and it was empty except for three well-known (and highly-respected) writers--Colleen Coble, Ruth Axtell Morren, and Debby Giusti (good thing I checked that spelling, shew). They welcomed me to their table and I soaked up all the geniusness (nope, probably not a word, but there it is).

BTW, they weren't the scary part. The scary part happens when I stand up with a backpack (remember it's a dream, and I guess, in my mind, they are the teachers and I am still a young upstart student).... Anyway, I realize that I forgot to print out all the information about my book that I needed to bring...no one-sheets, sample chapters, synopses (that looks so weird spelled that way). 

That's when I woke up in a panic. I have so much to do, yet, to be ready. I was way more organized last year. I mean, really. I just designed and ordered my business cards on Monday. I still need to get my one-sheets printed. I don't have a color printer, so have to out-source those. My sample chapters need a final look-through before printing, as does my synopsis. And I was looking at agent/editor preferences yesterday (yes, I know) and there's something else that I can't quite remember at the moment, but I remember I haven't done it either. *Sigh* So there's the scary part. 

BUT I know God has great plans for Everyone who gets to attend (and those who are unable to do so this year), me included. 

I'm still so EXCITED. And terrified. And EXCITED. And anxious ("do not be anxious about anything"...I'm praying, really, I am.) And EXCITED. Did I say I was EXCITED?

Thanks for reading with me, and I would appreciate your prayers.

Ginger

Guest blog by Lillian Duncan

Today, I have the distinct pleasure to welcome author and friend, Lillian Duncan as a guest blogger today. She is blogging about dark alleys, which is also the name of her newest book. Please help me welcome her.

FINDING YOUR WAY OUT OF A DARK ALLEY

James 4: 8

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

We humans are not necessarily the smartest of God’s creations even though we think we are! We seem to go out of our way to hurt ourselves in so many different creative ways. At one time or another most of us end up in a dark alley of our own making through our own bad choices and actions. And sometimes other people put us in those alleys or at least lead the way.

It always seems so dark and so lonely there, but God never abandons us—it only feels that way sometimes.

And that’s what I want readers to take away after reading DARK ALLEYS. No matter what we’ve done, God never stops loving us. He is always there waiting for us to ask for His help. In James 4: 8 it says, Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you."

To me that means, God is always there waiting for us to come to HIM.

One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29: 14, I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. Another way of saying draw close to God and God will draw close to you. Of course, His help may not come in the form we want or expect, but then again His ways are higher than our ways.

The important thing to remember is that God loves us and he won’t abandon us.

My latest book, DARK ALLEYS is a story about a woman who ends up homeless and alone in a dark alley on a cold winter night. She witnesses a murder while in a drunken stupor and almost becomes his second victim. She awakens in the hospital with no clear memory of how she was injured. She attempts to put her life back together but, of course, the murderer has other plans.

I wanted to write a story where the main character was the queen of underdogs and I think I succeeded. Tessa is a mess, just like the rest of us. She could give up and no one could blame her, but she doesn’t. She keeps going—putting one step in front of the other.

And some days that’s all any of us can do.

Those are the days we need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

And one step at a time He will lead out of that dark alley and into His light.

ABOUT DARK ALLEYS:  Being innocent and proving it are two different things, especially when a powerful politician is involved 

Tessa’s life spiraled out of control after the death of her only child, and she finds herself in a dark alley on a cold wintry night.  After she witnesses a murder, she almost becomes his second victim, but manages to escape—just barely.

Homeless and alone, she knows the authorities won’t believe someone like her, leaving her only one option—to run.

Lillian Duncan writes stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem. She writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com