Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen Copyright 2012 Bethany House Publishers ISBN: 9780764207099 My Thoughts: When it comes to Regency romance nobody does it quite like Julie Klassen. I've come to expect nothing but the best from Ms. Klassen and she has once again delivered it with The Maid of Fairborne Hall . Fans of the hit British drama, Downton Abbey will fall in love with this story where upstairs meets downstairs and love overcomes all obstacles. Margaret Macy who stands to inherit a fortune when she comes of age is at the end of the rope where her conniving and deceitful stepfather is concerned. With seemingly no other option than to flee his household Margaret escapes with her lady's maid, Joan, in hopes of avoiding him for a few months. With no money of her own she not only faces the fierce streets of London but also the prying eyes of society and so disguises herself and takes on a position as a maid at gorgeous Fairbourne Hall. At every...

I don't normally do posts like this but I think it is important to give recognition where recognition is due. Some of these writer's books I admittedly haven't read but those whose books I have read are amazing and they so deserve the nomination. I'm so glad I don't have to choose the winner because I know for sure I wouldn't be able to pick just one! Let me know what you think about the finalists and who you are cheering on! See all the RITA finalists HERE The Christmas Child by Linda Goodnight (Harlequin Love Inspired; Allison Lyons, editor) Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon (Revell; Jennifer Leep, editor) Katie's Way by Marta Perry (Berkley Publishing Group; Ellen Edwards, editor) The Ladies' Room by Carolyn Brown (Avalon Books; Lia Brown, editor) Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist (Bethany House Publishers; David Long and Julie Klassen, editors) The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller (Revell; Vicki Crumpton, editor) M...

I'm so happy to announce the winner of the giveaway from A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana  by Ramona K. Cecil and that lucky girl is... Casey!! Casey has been notified and has 48 hours to claim her prize or another winner will be selected. Please remember if you didn't win that this book is available NOW from Amazon and other retailers. :-)

Guest blogger: Jennifer Slattery Sometimes Clash of the Titles highlights great talent. Other times we get to "discover it." This is exactly what happened with our speculative fiction unpub'bed clash. Join me in welcoming Chawna Schroeder to the COTT family! There's nothing like discovering great talent before it goes to print! And I have a feeling we're going to see our latest COTT champion's books on bookshelves very soon. When we do, we can all say, "We saw her on COTT first!" And this clash--a battle for best speculative fiction unpub'bed--was even more exciting because the winner has been invited to submit a full proposal to Asraea Press for immediate review! Her winning excerpt was pulled from the pages of Metamorphosis, a gripping tale of a Beast and her master: Once upon a time there lived a Beast… Not in a shining castle, but among a pack of dogs. For as long as Beast can remember she has lived among her master’s dogs. Wi...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card authors are: Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith   and the book: The Heart's Frontier Harvest House Publishers (March 1, 2012)   ***Special thanks to Karri | Marketing Assistant | Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lori Copeland is the author of more than 90 titles, both historical and contemporary fiction. With more than 3 million copies of her books in prin...

You guys are probably used to seeing me feature author interviews on this blog on occasion, well I'm so happy to say that one of my dear blogging buddies who just so happens to be an almost published author ( her debut with Barbour releases this summer) is featuring lil' ol' me on her blog! How cool is that?! I hope you guys can stop by and chat with us today and if you're not a follower I hope you subscribe to Keli's wonderful blog. If you don't have time to comment today I at least hope you will check out this little bit about her book and give Keli a holler sometime soon, you won't be sorry. ;-) Keli Gwyn's Blog A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California by Keli Gwyn Barbour Books 2012 ISBN: 9781616265830 PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON (As of 3-18-12 it's $5.35 which is dirt cheap and more than 50% off the cover price! I'm sure that price won't last long so double check before you order!) About the book: An ever-resourceful widow, Elenora ...

Thank you all once again for participating in my blog party last week,it was a huge hit! As promised I have Ramona K. Cecil author of A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana , as well as other inspirational romances through Barbour Publishers here with us today. Please take a few minutes to check out my interview with her and to leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of Bride's Sweet Surpise.... Since you're new to my blog could you please tell us a bit about yourself? :-) I live in southern Indiana with Jim, my husband of 39 years. We have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. I've been writing creatively most of my life. I consider myself first a poet. I've had about ninety verses of poetry published on Christian gift items by a leading company in that market. My first book published was published in 2006. A historical romance novel, it won the publisher's inspirational contest. My next three books, all historical romances were published in...

Many thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate 3 years of blogging. I loved reading your comments and getting to know some great new authors with you. For those who are new to the blog I hope you continue to stop by and visit. A special thanks to Sandra, Lisa, Mesu and Ramona for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in the party too and offering up such great "presents".  The winners of said presents were selected using random.org and they are as follows... Day 1 Book giftpack from me- Kate S . CLAIMED Day 2 Always the Designer, Never the Bride from Sandra- Angie B. CLAIMED Day 3 Prize of My Heart from Lisa- Christina B. CLAIMED Day 4 Love's Sacred Song from me- Amber S. CLAIMED Day 5 The Scent of Cherry Blossoms from me- Tammy S. (Bluerose) CLAIMED All winners will have 48 hours to respond to the email to claim their prize or another winner will be selected.  SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Author Ramona K. Cecil who was unable to attend Fr...

Hi guys I know today author Ramona K. Cecil was supposed to be a guest but unfortunately her uncle passed away last Friday and she will be unable to attend. I'm sure Ramona and her family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as they try to cope with his passing. Please feel free to leave a note in the comments directed at Ramona if you so desire. Hopefully Ramona will stop by the blog sometime in the future and see the comments. I've decided to post the blurb from Ramona's newest book, A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana, that   you might enjoy and I'm offering a book giveaway of Cindy Woodsmall's latest fiction novel, The Scent of Cherry Blossoms . About the book: Travel to a German settlement in Sauers, Indiana, and meet Regina Seitz. Her sisters were allowed to marry for love, but Regina has been told by her father she must marry a man she has never met—just so Papa can have a German son-in-law to inherit the family homestead. Diedrich Rothh...

Love's Sacred Song by Mesu Andrews Copyright 2012 Revell Books ISBN: 9780800734084 My Thoughts: Have you ever been to Jerusalem? I have. Have you ever been to the palace of a king? I have. Have you ever experienced life of a shepherdess? I have and it was all through Mesu Andrews' book, Love's Sacred Song an expanding of the life and love of biblical King Solomon and Arielah his best-loved wife. Even if you have never read the Song of Solomon I think you will find  Love's Sacred Song  to be a gripping story of raw emotion and most importantly flawed characters whose faith-filled lives are anything but perfect and far from easy. Brimming with palace intrigue, politics, clashing of religions, and the unrest among the women of Solomon's harem there is something to capture everyone's attention and really get you thinking about faith and life in ancient times. I can't even begin to imagine the luxuriousness of Solomon's palace but Mesu paints a vivi...

*guest post by COTT Sr. Editor, April W Gardner This week, it was my privilege to spend a few extra minutes with author Gail. Gail is one of the blog alliance correspondents at Clash of the Titles. Her husband, Rick, says she’s the only person he knows who can go in the grocery for a loaf of bread and come out with someone’s life story. That’s probably because she inherited her mother’s love of people and enjoys talking to them. Working as an editor and freelance writer, Gail published a couple hundred articles. While some of them are in anthologies, two ended up in museums. In 2004, the American Christian Writers Association named Gail a regional writer of the year. She recently published her first romance, Love Turns the Tide. When she isn’t writing she likes reading, swimming, and getting together with friends and family. Gail wants to write books of faith that show God’s love. She and Rick live in Georgia. Just a couple hours north of me, actually! We’re practically neighbors....

Wow! Has this week been a blast or what?! I'm loving all the comments you guys are posting and I'm sure the authors do too! Today's VIP is author of Love Amid the Ashes and Love's Sacred Song , Mesu Andrews. Please welcome Mesu and feel free to leave any (nice) comments that you'd like concerning Mesu, her books, writing or even this blog -- we wanna read 'em! Did I mention I'm giving away my copy of Love's Sacred Song ? Read on for details. Oh, and ladies please feel free to tell me the cover model chosen as Solomon isn't the best looking guy you've ever clapped eyes on and I will happily debate with you as to why you are wrong! :-P Mesu Could you tell us a little abut yourself for those of us who haven’t had the chance to “meet” you yet? Most people are curious about my name...it’s a nickname. My given name is “Maralasu”—a concoction of my mom’s creative mind. As a toddler, I couldn’t say my big, long name, so it always came out “Mesu.”...