My publisher, Revell, is offering a Spring Suspense giveaway. I’ve read several of these books and can’t wait to read the rest of them! I’d love for one of my readers to win this awesome Suspense Bundle!

Click here for all the details!

The giveaway is live now and runs through March 20th!

It’s hard to believe, but Unknown Threat officially releases on Tuesday, March 2nd.

Many readers who pre-ordered have already received their copy and will be reading this weekend! Yay!

I wish I could read along with you, but this weekend, I’m busy putting the finishing touches on the 2nd book in the Defend and Protect series. It’s headed to my editor on Monday. Y’all feel free to pray for me! 🙂 

I’d love for you to join me Tuesday night on Facebook at 8PM (Eastern) to celebrate the release of Unknown Threat. We’ll chat about the story, the new series, the characters, and I’ll give away a few goodies. I hope to see you there!

More about Unknown Threat:

US Secret Service Special Agent Luke Powell is lucky to be alive. Three of his fellow agents have died in unusual circumstances in the past ten weeks. Luke is devastated by the loss of his friends and colleagues, and his inability to locate the killer feels like a personal failure. He’s an expert at shielding others, but now the protectors are in need of protection.

FBI Special Agent Faith Malone is driven to succeed and confident in her ability to solve every case she’s assigned. She’s been put in charge of the investigation into the unprecedented attacks, and with Luke’s life in danger, the stakes have never been higher. But it’s hard to know how to fight back when you don’t know who the enemy is.

As more agents are targeted, Luke and Faith will have to work together to bring a killer to justice and prevent any more names from joining their fallen brothers and sisters on the Secret Service Wall of Honor.

Award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn pulls out all the stops in this brand-new romantic suspense series that will have you holding your breath one minute and swooning the next.

Grace and peace,

This fall, I created something special for my readers.

Unseen Enemy, a Dive Team Investigations novella, will be arriving in newsletter subscriber inboxes later this month.

 

Unseen Enemy is Dive Team Investigations 3.5/Defend and Protect 0.5.

The events of Unseen Enemy take place in between the end of One Final Breath (Dive Team Investigations, Book 3) and the beginning of Unknown Threat (Defend and Protect, Book 1). 

For those of you who have been missing Ryan and Leigh, Adam and Sabrina, and Gabe and Anissa, the gang is all here.
The Dive Team is called out to help with a case that has Dr. Sharon Oliver, their favorite medical examiner, working overtime dodging bullets and grenades while reeling from the surprise appearance of the man she said goodbye to ten years ago, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Benjamin North. He usually protects the President, but will he be able to keep Sharon safe from the unseen enemy stalking her every move?

I’d love to give you Unseen Enemy as a gift, but you’ll have to sign up for the newsletter in order to receive it. You can do that here.

I hope you love it!

Grace and peace,

 

It’s hard to believe that the l-o-n-g wait for Unknown Threat is almost over!

Unknown Threat releases in March (yay!) and it’s time to find the people who are most excited about getting the word out to readers everywhere.

That moment when a reader looks at another reader and says, “You have GOT to read this book,” will always be the best way to generate buzz for a new book. But it has never been more crucial to the success of a book than it is now.

And that’s where Street Teams come in.

A street team is made up of enthusiastic readers who are committed to getting the word out about a new book.

They do this by reading the book, sharing about it with their real-life friends and family, posting reviews with on-line retailers, requesting it from their local indie bookseller and library, encouraging their book club to select it, and anything else they can think of to help get the book in the hands of more readers.

You might be wondering what the Street Team members get out of this deal? It varies, but usually there’s a copy of the book in some format, as well as bookish swag that is exclusive for the Street Team members.

We’re still nailing down the details for the Unknown Threat street team, but I know members will receive an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) and will be able to read the book as early as January. That right there is probably a pretty solid incentive for many. 🙂 But there will also be an exclusive FB group just for street team members where I will pop in to chat during the lead-up to the release date. And of course Unknown Threat swag and bookish prizes will be in the mix, too.

The application for the street team will be in the Dec. 1st newsletter. If you think you’d like to apply, be sure you’re a newsletter subscriber by clicking here.

Here’s another opportunity for you to win some fabulous prizes from the Romantic Suspense A-Team!

  • Lynette Eason is giving away her brand new release, Acceptable Risk, and a copy of Collateral Damage, and a $15 Amazon gift card.
  • Janice Cantore is giving away three e-books!
  • Dani Pettrey is giving away an e-copy of The Crushing Depths and a $15 gift card to Barnes & Noble.
  • DiAnn Mills is giving away an e-copy of Airborne.

 

You can enter the giveaway here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Grace and peace,

 

My publisher, Revell, is hosting a summer reading challenge. You only have to read 3 books in 3 different genres (only one of which has to be a Revell book) between now and August 30 in order to enter to win a fabulous selection of novels, bookish goodies, and more! The more you read, the more times you can enter.

You can click on the photo below to get all the details and to find the current coupon code (good through July 19) for some great savings at Baker Book House on many Revell titles.
I was thrilled to see Beneath the Surface included in the summer reading checklist (you can click here to see it). Any book on this list that has an asterisk beside it will be on sale at some point during the reading challenge.

 

Baker Book House will be offering Beneath the Surface, Book 1 in the Dive Team Investigations series, at a huge 40% discount from July 20 – August 9th. This would be a great time to snag the first book in the series at an incredible price.

 

 

Grace and peace,

It’s time for the second giveaway of the Romantic Suspense A-Team’s Summer of Suspense! This time, we’re highlighting the newest release from Dani Pettrey. The Crushing Depths is the second book in the Coastal Guardians series. Check out the details below!

When an accident claims the life of an oil-rig worker on the first drilling platform off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard investigators Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are sent to take the case. Tensions surrounding the oil rig are high and the death has everyone on edge. Environmental activists are threatening to do whatever it takes to stop the structure from being completed, while rumors are being whispered about ancient curses surrounding this part of the ocean. 

Mounting evidence shows the death may not have been an accident at all. Was he killed by one of the activists or, perhaps more frighteningly, a member of his own crew? Rissi and Mason have to sort through not only a plethora of suspects, but also their own past and attraction to each other. 

Just as the case seems like it’ll break open, worse news arrives. A tropical storm has turned their way and soon they’re cut off from any rescue–and right where the killer wants them. It’s a race to discover his identity before he eliminates the threat they pose.

To celebrate the release, Dani is giving away an e-copy of The Crushing Depths and some ocean inspired candles. You can also be entered to win three e-books from Janice Cantore, an Amazon gift card from Lynette Eason, and an e-book of DiAnn Mill’s latest, Airborne.

Grace and peace,

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am privileged to be a part of The Romantic Suspense A-Team over on Facebook and we are hosting a fun Summer of Suspense! Three of our members have summer releases and there’s a fun giveaway each month.

In June, you can enter the giveaway for a chance to win DiAnn Mill’s latest, Where Tomorrow Leads, Book 2 in the Hope for Sudan series.

WHERE TOMORROW LEADS

Once a member of the royal family in Sudan, Paul Farid now carries a price on his head for becoming a Christian. Called to aid his persecuted countrymen, Paul risks his life nearly daily but worries that his sometimes-reckless actions may bring harm to his wife, Larson. This war-torn country is certainly no place to raise a family . . . but that’s little comfort when Larson realizes she’s pregnant.

After fighting more than two decades against the Sudanese government’s mandates, Colonel Ben Alier is wary of the fledgling peace treaty meant to unite the north and south again. Ben vows not to give up the fight, but a pressing health concern turns his thoughts toward securing his legacy and finally acknowledging his son.

The days ahead hold no promise of peace, so Paul, Larson, and Ben must learn to trust God in all things, no matter where tomorrow leads.

You can find more information about DiAnn’s heart for the people of Sudan and Where Tomorrow Leads, as well as the link for the giveaway here.

Grace and peace,

 

I love the smell of sawdust.

One whiff and I feel like a young girl standing in the barn, holding the end of a board while my Daddy cuts it with a Skilsaw. I’m transported to a safe place to talk, to spill my troubles, to ask questions, to get answers.

With each deep breath, I can remember the unique smell of my Pa’s flannel shirts – a combination of sawdust, gasoline and sweat. I’m transported to Friday evenings sitting beside him watching Knight Rider. Or riding on the back of a tractor down to the mailbox, giggling all the way.

To me, sawdust smells like hard work and childhood.

To me, sawdust smells like love.

I thought of this several years ago as I walked through our home which, at that moment, was covered in sawdust. Despite the mess and mayhem, this home was clearly a part of God’s plan for my life, but, as usual, nothing was unfolding in the way I had expected.

God’s ways are unsearchable. His plans beyond our grasp. And sometimes, He feels so far above us, so far beyond us, as to be unknowable.

But He wants us to know Him.

As I walked down the stairs, leaving footprints in the sawdust, breathing in the delicious aroma, He whispered to me in that still small voice….

“I love the smell of sawdust, too.”

I froze on the stairs.

What?

God loves the smell of sawdust?

Really? And why would He take the time to tell me? What was He trying to reveal to me about who He is?

Perhaps it reminds Him of long talks in a barn, holding the end of a board while Joseph made practiced cuts with a handsaw. Maybe He recalls childhood laughter with His siblings as they built towers and forts with the scraps left over from Joseph’s latest project.

Or maybe, there was a hint of sawdust in the air as He bore the cross, as the nails pierced His flesh, as He died for me.

Maybe, to Him, sawdust smells like love.

I John 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (ESV)

 

Note: I wrote the original version of this post 9 years ago. I had no idea that in 2020, we would find ourselves celebrating Holy Week from our homes due to a pandemic. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Even when our world is, quite literally, turned upside down, we know can know that He loves us because He sent His only Son to die for us. In the midst of chaos and confusion, this is Truth. This is Love. This is why we Hope.

Grace and peace,

Hey y’all!

I hope many of you participated in the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt over the weekend! Almost 800 readers made it all the way through and were entered to win the prizes!

WINNERS of the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt:
#1 Lisa Hudson
#2 Kathryn Bochman
#3 Heather Olsen
#4 Jan D.
#5 “DR” of New Zealand
–check your inbox!

I also had my own giveaway!

Congrats to:

Susanne M.

Gail H.

Carol E.

Emails have been sent to the winners so check your inbox!

 

And yesterday, my interview with Karen Ball and Erin Taylor Young, the hosts of Write From the Deep, went live. I’d love for you to check it out! 🙂

Last but not least, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo – that’s short for National Novel Writing Month – and I am doing my best to keep my focus on nothing but my current novel. 🙂

But beginning in December I’m excited about some fun things planned for the blog and newsletter. So stay tuned!

 

Grace and peace!

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