Winner!!!

Hey all! Congratulations to the Winner of Nicole O'Dell's two teen books, Magna and Making Waves, who is....(drum roll, please)... KarenK! Karen, you'll need to email me your mailing address, and I'll get it to Nicole.
Sorry that this is late. Yesterday was slightly hectic, being Mother's Day and all. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers! I hope that, despite my not getting this posted, you had an excellent day yesterday.


Is anyone excited about this week or next week? Or even tomorrow? Boy, I'm about to bounce off of the walls waiting for next week! Me, my sister, and our three brothers are going on a three to five day camping trip--pioneer style! That means that the only electronics that we can bring are small flashlights, cameras, and alphies. Which means that we aren't going to be on the computers, and that also means that I won't be posting on here... and my automatic posting thingamajig doesn't post when I want it to. But I will be keeping a trail log, and when I can get back on the computer, sometime on the afternoon of Saturday the 22nd, I'll post that on here, along with lots of pictures! Hopefully I won't get a chance to take a picture of a tent that a deer didn't see...
I've got my fingers crossed that it doesn't rain this Saturday and Sunday, to give the ground a bit of time to dry out, because it is supposed to be dreary and rain all week. The corn in the fields around us is growing fast and needs the rain, so I suppose that I'm thankful for it. But that doesn't mean that I don't find it annoying sometimes...like when the ground is almost dry enough to mow the grass before it becomes a jungle and it rains again, or the deer trails are almost hard and they become a squishy, mushy mess. =) Okay, no more talking about rain, before it actually starts raining again!
Has anyone cooked with a dutch oven? We are going to pull the old dutch oven down from the barn loft, and we'll be using that on the camping trip, which should be quite an experience! Just cooking any meal outdoors that isn't hot dogs will be different.
We will be going out on the morning of Monday the 17th, right after breakfast, and staying until, at the very least, through Wednesday night. But we can stay out there until Saturday morning if we want to.

I'm going to go figure out what I am going to pack and start packing it, so if I forget anything, I'll have a whole week to remember it. =) Have an awesome, beautiful, amazing, wonderful week!!

Author spotlight with David and Diane Munson and book giveaway!!

Welcome David and Diane,





What advice would you give to today’s high school and college girls?
God designed each of you to be unique. Find the divine purpose He has for your life and don’t compromise your values to fit in with the group. While it may hurt for a bit, in the end you will find fulfillment. In the midst of hard times, keep your faith in the love of Jesus—it will bring you through everything. Remember to have fun in school and be a true friend. You may be friends for life!

What has past experience taught you about life?
Nothing about life is easy. Life has been this way since sin entered the world. Because of their sins, Adam and Eve had to work hard to keep weeds from overtaking their garden. At the same time, pressing forward helps overcome adversity, builds strong character, and makes us able to endure the difficulties that we will face. It will be this way until Christ returns and throws Satan from the earth. But faith and trust in Christ give us joy to live even in this imperfect world.

How has your faith helped you?
Besides being the compass that guides us through life, our faith in God determines what we write. Without our faith, we would be writing crime novels with blood and gore, because we write from our experience in criminal justice. Our faith in Jesus helps us to see those around us as God’s creation so we look for the redeeming things about people. We show God’s influence on our fictional character as we write about the failures of people that result in their run-ins with the law.

What is your favorite verse and why?
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
What truth, what a sacrifice, what love we find in Christ Jesus. The longer we live, the closer we want to be to Jesus and to live so we are worthy of him. He lived on earth as a man and experienced trouble, pain, weeping, and joy. There is no greater love than what Jesus did for us. If we accept the gift he gives of salvation, we can have eternal life in Heaven.

What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
We both love all books that tell a terrific story, whether it is of a real person such as Sarah Palin or Tony Dungy, or fiction. The Bible is our favorite book and we try to read some of it every day. Also, we enjoy history, biographies and suspense books, which is what we write.

When did you first start writing and what got you started?
We never know in our lives what can influence us. We were reading of the genealogy of Jesus in the Bible, when we got the bug to trace our own ancestors. Out of that, came a desire to write a historical fiction, which Diane wrote on many legal pads and David typed. From that first work, publishers suggested we write suspense based on our careers. David was a Federal agent who worked undercover and Diane was a Federal prosecutor. So, this time we wrote a novel together sitting under a palm tree in Florida. That was Facing Justice. We now have three more novels finished and are working hard on our fifth one.

What would you do if you found a purple and green polka dotted panda in your living room one morning?
David would investigate to see how she got inside the house and where she came from. Diane would take her picture and then find out what the panda wanted to eat.

What would your perfect day be like?
Hands down, it would be taking a trip out West to Yellowstone National Park, walking together and photographing God’s creation. We love to watch eagles soaring, moose foraging in the woods, coyotes sneaking in the weeds or bison roaming the rolling hills. We’d have a picnic of apples, cheese and great bread. Hey, maybe we should quit typing and get outside. The sun is shining!

What is your favorite character in the books you have written?
We have four novels: Facing Justice, Confirming Justice, The Camelot Conspiracy, and Hero’s Ransom. In each one, the female Federal agent, Eva Montanna, appears with her FBI agent partner, Griff Topping. They are so cool under pressure, facing the odds with courage, that we keep them solving mysteries in each one. We like them both. Also, in Hero’s Ransom, we wrote in more detail about the escapades of CIA agent, Bo Rider, as he battles against Chinese plots. He’s a lot of fun and will be back in the next novel. Hope you like them, too.

Do you have another book coming out soon? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?
Thanks for asking! The next thriller is about half-done. It will feature Bo Rider, Wally and Liberty, who were from the “Lost Boys and Girls” from Sudan as they face intrigue in the country of Iran and other places. We will also write some more about Virginia, where we used to live, and include some feisty minor characters. In all our books, we highlight freedom, justice, hope and courage under fire.


We did this backwards today, we'll do the book blurb tomorrow. :) Sorry this is so hurried, we have a big storm coming our way, and I'm going to get this up real quick because I'm not sure how good our internet is going to be later.


~Abby

With Nicole O'Dell

Today we have Nicole O'Dell with Magna and Making Waves. Hi Nicole! We're glad that you're here. What is your favorite memory from when you were a teenager?
Among my favorites were my weeks at summer camp and events with the church youth group. On Sunday nights, after church, many of the youth would come to my house to swim. We’d have pop and snacks—sometimes hot dogs. They usually stayed until pretty late. We always had a blast!
Cool! What did you enjoy doing the most as a teenager? Why?
I LOVED being on the swim team. Much of the Making Waves story (except for bad ending—oh, and the scholarship potential) came from my own swim team experience. I loved being in the water and bleach is still one of my favorite smells. 

I love swimming and the smell of bleach too. What was your most embarrassing moment as a teenager?
LOL One time I called my youth pastor a really bad name because I didn’t know what it meant. Advice: Find out the meaning of words that sound cool before you try them out on an authority figure!

lol, I've been lucky enough to not do that! What was your favorite midnight snack?
Macaroni and Cheese or Doritos dipped in sour cream. My friend, Jodi, and I used to try to make mac & cheese all the time but it always seemed like we were out of one of the ingredients and had to improvise—never quite right.

What would you do if you found a purple-polka dotted panda in your living room one morning?
Assume it was my husband in costume and try to pull the mask off his head.

What kind of books did you enjoy reading as a teenager?
I enjoyed mysteries like Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, etc. I also devoured books like Frank Peretti’s, This Present Darkness. My mom and I had a membership to The Paperback Trading Co. It was cool because you could bring bags and bags of books and turn them in for credit toward other books. We did that often!

When did you first discover that you were a writer?
I won a contest in 4th grade by writing a book called The Girl on the Runaway Pogo Stick. After that, I was hooked!

Who is your favorite character in the book?
I love the main characters in both books. Molly, in Magna, is a lot like me—we share very similar circumstances and reactions. My time working in retail contributed to that storyline. Kate, in Making Waves, really tugs at my heartstrings, too. I feel her burden for helping her mom by earning a college scholarship.

I think the “choice” format of the books really draw me in to the characters. I know what it’s like to face those kinds of dilemmas and, even though these are stories, we all deal with battles of the mind just like Molly and Kate.


What was the hardest part of the book to write?
I always have a tough time writing my characters into the wrong choice. I don’t want them to walk that road—I know where it leads and want them to avoid the consequences. But…I can’t make their choices for them.

What is your favorite verse? Why?
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

That’s really my life’s theme verse. I love the assurance that I didn’t start the process in me, and I’m not the one who’s going to finish it. It’s a beautiful promise that I claim for my kids, too. I can relax a little knowing that they are a work in progress and that the work WILL be completed in me and in them.

What advice would you give to today’s high school and college girls?
Don’t sacrifice long-term things like your reputation and your parent’s trust, for temporary things that will NEVER be as great as you think they will be.

Do you have another book coming out soon? Can you tell us a bit about it?
High Stakes and Essence of Lilly come out in the Spring of 2011. High Stakes deals with the issue of cheating in school, and the tough decision of confessing to a wrongdoing to clear a friend’s name. Essence of Lilly deals with physical intimacy among teens.

And here is the book trailer for Magna and Making Waves:



Readers, here is how you can find Nicole O'Dell:
www.nicoleodell.com
www.scenariosforgirls.com
www.nicoleodell.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/nicole_odell
www.facebook.com/nicoleodell

Nicole O'Dell is giving away a copy of Magna and Making Waves. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, May 9th to see if you've won. You can enter twice--once on each post in this spotlight. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment.

Meet Nicole O'Dell

Nicole O’Dell and her husband Wil have six wonderful children, the most recent additions being triplets, born in August 2008. Nicole and Wil recently began a youth group at their church for grades 7-12 where Nicole focuses on the teaching, Bible study application, service outreach planning and evangelism focus for the group. She enjoys speaking at other churches, youth groups and parenting groups to offer insight into healthy, Godly navigation of those rough teen years. Over the years, Nicole has worked as a youth director, a Bible study leader for women and teens, a counselor at a crisis pregnancy center and was a veteran camp counselor for over a decade.

Back Cover Blurbs
Magna: Molly Jacobs isn’t sure what she should do: Should she follow through with stealing some clothes for her friends from Magna the trendy girls clothing store where she works? Or should she do what she knows is right, even if it means losing her friends? Girls ages 10 to 15 make the choice in this interactive story and see how the consequences change Molly's life. Includes a contract and prayer to remind the reader of the importance of making godly decisions.

Making Waves: Kate Walker joins the swim team and becomes obsessed with practice and making it through the championships with flying colors. With a scholarship on the line and pressure from everyone, what will Kate do when she’s faced with pressure from her teammates to take an illegal substance that will help her swim multiple events in their championship meet? Girls ages 10 to 15 make the choice in this interactive story and see how the consequences change Kate s life. Includes a contract and prayer to remind the reader of the importance of making godly decisions.


Readers, here is how you can find Nicole O'Dell:
www.nicoleodell.com
www.scenariosforgirls.com
www.nicoleodell.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/nicole_odell
www.facebook.com/nicoleodell

Nicole O'Dell is giving away a copy of Magna and Making Waves. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, May 9th to see if you've won. You can enter twice--once on each post in this spotlight. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment.

Here is the book trailer for Magna and Making Waves:

Winner!!

Congratulations to Anonymous, aka Sunny, on winning Yesterday's Promise, by Vanessa Miller! Sunny, you'll need to email me with your mailing address. I'm pretty sure that you know my email, but if you don't, just let me know.

So is anyone enjoying the beautiful weather? Reading any good books? Writing any? I know that I sure am. I sat out in the sun a week ago doing some bead-work for at least a couple of hours, several days in a row, and I got sunburned! Boy was I sore! But now it's faded into a tan, which has just made me even darker then I was before.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow, because my grandparents from Arizona are coming! =) We are all soo excited! We don't get to see them more then twice a year, so this week, get ready for this, none of us kids have school! heehee, we get to take the whole week off and spend it with Grammy and Pappy. =) That is one of the things that I enjoy the most about being homeschooled. But here is another surprise for you...I am going to work ahead on some things, while they are here, like Science and History. Not Math. I just finished doing the last lesson in Algebra 1/2. Shhh, don't tell mom that I'm working ahead! ;) lol, but she is probably reading this right now, so it won't do any good to say it. Oh well. A person can try. =)

Congratulations again to Sunny on winning Yesterday's Promise, by Vanessa Miller.

This book, Sworn to Protect is a really good book. Being my first time reading a book about Border Patrol Agents, I had no idea what they did besides patrol the borders. lol, but now I do.




Sworn to Protect is about a border patrol agent, Danika Morales. She is a single parent while working a tough job, catching immigrants and drug traffickers then bringing them back over the border. Two years before her husband, a high school teacher, was murdered and nobody knows why. There were no motives that anyone could find, but not all things are as they appear. As Danika searches for clues to the mystery for two fruitless years, things start to happen. When things start to get dangerous, she sends her four year old daughter away until things settle down. As she struggles to put the pieces of the puzzle together, attempts are made on her life. Danika tries to figure it out and stay alive at the same time, she tentatively teams up with Alex Price, a doctor who heads up a local clinic that treated everybody, whether they were illegal or not. Everything is escalating and Alex is trying to keep Danika safe and the most important part, alive. As the pieces start falling into place, the suspense is raised and Danika is in grave danger.

With Vanessa Miller

What is your favorite memory from when you were a teenager?

Spending time with my father. He passed away when I was seventeen… I didn’t realize how special my time with him was until I didn’t have it anymore.

I love spending time with my dad, too. What did you enjoy doing the most as a teenager?

I loved to dance and hang out with my friends. I don’t know why, those were just the things that seemed the most fun to me.

What was your most embarrassing moment as a teenager?

When my grandmother caught me trying to skip school. My mother was out of town and I thought that was the perfect time to hang out at a park with my sister and one of my cousins. But my grandmother wasn’t going for that… let’s just say that was the first and last time I ever tried anything like that.

What was your favorite midnight snack?

Pizza. Still is, so let’s get to the next question because I’m on a diet right now. 

What would you do if you found a blue and orange polka dotted panda in your living room one morning?

Probably scream and then open the door so it could leave. Sorry, I don’t like pets, so I wouldn’t keep it.

What kind of books did you enjoy reading as a teenager?

I enjoyed mysteries and romances. As a matter of fact, I still enjoy reading those kind of books.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I’ve been writing since I was about nine years old. I started out writing poems, then short stories, stage plays and finally novels. I always knew that I would be a writer, but when I was a kid I had no idea how to accomplish my goal.

Who is your favorite character in Yesterday’s Promise?

I loved Melinda’s character because she was so complex. She was a preacher with issues of unforgiveness that stemmed from broken promises that had been made by her mother, ex-fiancé and her father. She was an interesting character study. I enjoyed watching as she resolved her issues and gave love a second chance.

What was the hardest part of Yesterday’s Promise to write?

Yesterday’s Promise deals with women in ministry. Since I know that this is a topic not everyone agrees on, I wanted to address the controversy but also find a way to some women believe they have every right to preach the gospel. I was very careful with those parts of the story because I wanted to make sure I told both sides of the story.

What is your favorite verse? Why?

I have been young and now I am old, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.

I was twenty six and a single mother when I gave my life to the Lord. I worried about not having enough to provide for my daughter, but when I read that scripture, I stopped worrying.

What advice would you give to today’s high school and college girls?

My advice is simply. Stay in school, don’t try to grow up too fast, but take time to enjoy the moment.

Do you have another book coming out soon? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?

I have (4) books releasing this year:

Yesterday’s Promise April 2010
Forgiven June 2010
A Love for Tomorrow September 2010
Long Time Coming November 2010

Readers, here is the book trailer for Yesterday's Promise:



Vanessa Miller is giving away a copy of Yesterday's Promise. To be entered in the book giveaway, leave a comment and check back on Sunday, April 11th to see if you've won. You can enter twice--once on each post in this spotlight. If you want to guarantee that you're notified if you win, then leave your email address in the comment.