Courtney Walsh, Bethany Kaczmarek, Sandra Merville Hart | New Novel News

Just Look Up 
by Courtney Walsh 

Published: July 4, 2017
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Purchase: Just Look Up

After tirelessly climbing the ranks of her Chicago-based interior design firm, Lane Kelley is about to land her dream promotion when devastating news about her brother draws her back home—a quaint tourist town full of memories she’d just as soon forget. With her cell phone and laptop always within reach, Lane aims to check on her brother while staying focused on work—something her eclectic family doesn’t understand.

Ryan Brooks never expected to settle down in Harbor Pointe, Michigan, but after his final tour of duty, it was the only place that felt like home. Now knee-deep in a renovation project that could boost tourism for the struggling town, he is thrilled to see Lane, the girl he secretly once loved, even if the circumstances of her homecoming aren’t ideal.

Their reunion gets off to a rocky start, however, when Ryan can’t find a trace of the girl he once knew in the woman she is today. As he slowly chips away at the walls Lane has built, secrets from his past collide with a terrible truth even he is reluctant to believe. Facing a crossroads that could define his future with Lane and jeopardize his relationship with the surrogate family he’s found in the Kelleys, Ryan hopes Lane can see that maybe what really matters has been right in front of her all along—if only she’d just look up.

Get to know Courtney...

If your book became a movie, who would you cast for your main characters?
Jaime Alexander (with long hair)

And whoever this guy is: (only a TINY bit less pretty). 😀

Who is your favorite secondary character?

Probably Ursula from Paper Hearts and Change of Heart. That old lady was so much fun to write. I really love people who say whatever pops into their head. Maybe because I am SO not that way!

What are the names of your pets? If you don't have any, what would you name your pets?
I want to get a dog so badly. I would name her Luna. My husband (rightfully) is concerned that bringing any more living things into our household might put me over the edge. Our three kids keep me running ragged!

Favorite place you’ve traveled to?
New York City! While I don’t think I’m cut out to live there, it is one of my very favorite places in the world, AND it’s where I got the idea for Just Look Up. I also loved Alaska for completely different reasons.

I answered four. I love these kinds of questions. LOL

Strains of Silence 
by Bethany Kaczmarek

Published: July 21, 2017
Publisher: Harbourlight, a Pelican Imprint
Purchase eBook: Strains of Silence 
Pre-Order paperback: Strains of Silence


He can’t save her from her past, but he can wait to be her future.

Music was her driving passion and the truest expression of her faith, but three months before her wedding, twenty-year-old Kasia Bernolak can’t even pick up her guitar. Feeling like a fraud who will ruin her dad’s pastoral reputation, she can barely meet his eyes. When Kasia finds the strength to break off her engagement, she still doesn’t realize the dangerous truth: Blake Hamilton isn’t ready to say goodbye. And he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.

Alexander “Zan” Maddox has seen what a domineering man can do to an unsuspecting woman, and Zan is sick of injustice. He gave up a college baseball scholarship so he could protect his sister from her abusive husband. When he rescues Kasia from her ex-fiancé, he instinctively appoints himself her personal bodyguard. Now, all he has to do is keep from falling for her himself. Kasia and Zan become fast friends, but true healing and justice might cost more than either of them is willing to pay.

Get to know Bethany...

If your book became a movie, who would you cast for your main characters?
I adore this question, I do. The problem is, I dreamed up my cast a few years ago, when these guys were younger. So, we’ll have to get in the TARDIS or travel to the past some other way (though it’ll be hard to talk me out of the TARDIS).

Kasia Bernolak = Lindsey Stirling (with her hair just a leetle curlier)

Zan Maddox = This particular picture of young Henry Cavill

Favorite season?
Oooh. Good question. Always before, it’s been the fall. I love the rich colors, and I am a Leaf Stomper Extraordinaire. But it’s because I longed for the cold, and the fall was its beginning. Now, this year, we live in Wisconsin, and I’m anticipating the coldest winter since we lived in Lithuania. Reindeer weather. I might wish for a thaw by the time we’re six months in, but I think it’ll be winter this year.

Coffee or tea?
Coffee if I’m feeling engaged in the present, tea whenever I get nostalgic. (Or when we’re out of coffee.) The best cup of tea I’ve ever had is my son’s signature blend—Prince of Wales tea, lemon, and a sprinkle of a 5-pepper blend. He calls it the Flame & Lizard.

A Rebel in My House
By Sandra Merville Hart

Published: July 15, 2017
Publisher: LPC Books
Purchase: A Rebel in My House

When the cannons roar beside Sarah Hubbard’s home outside of Gettysburg, she despairs of escaping the war that’s come to Pennsylvania. A wounded Confederate soldier on her doorstep leaves her with a heart-wrenching decision.

Separated from his unit and with a bullet in his back, Jesse Mitchell needs help. He seeks refuge at a house beside Willoughby Run. His future lies in the hands of a woman whose sympathies lay with the North.

Jesse has promised his sister-in-law he’d bring his brother home from the war. Sarah has promised her sister that she’d stay clear of the enemy. Can the two keep their promises amid a war bent on tearing their country apart?

Get to know Sandra...

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Would you rather go to the future or go to the past?
I would definitely visit the past. I’ve spent so much time researching the Civil War (the Battle of Gettysburg is the setting for my newest release, A Rebel in My House) that I’d choose Gettysburg. I’d go in June, 1863, before the battle and stay until the new Gettysburg National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. I’d love to see and hear President Abraham Lincoln deliver his famous Gettysburg Address on such a solemn occasion.

Who is your favorite secondary character?
I love several secondary characters in A Rebel in My House. I’m going to single out three characters, but there are others who touched me. Gilly, a wounded Confederate soldier, is the kind of friend everyone wants. Lucinda acts with compassion and courage in fearful circumstances. Elsie is a proud, brave mother who does what she has to do to save her daughter.

What’s one thing you must have/do in the morning?
Most people might say they have to start their day with a cup of coffee. For me, it’s chocolate milk. Even when I’m traveling, I try to find a place that serves chocolate milk for breakfast. Most folks outgrow this phase—I never did.



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These Are the Times that Try Men's Souls by Sandra Merville Hart | Guest Post

Thomas Paine, personal assistant to General Nathanael Greene, scanned the faces of his companions in the Continental Army on a cold day in December, 1776. The soldiers faced difficulties worse than separation from families and harsh winter conditions. The men were disheartened. How could an army one quarter the size of the British forces win freedom?

Paine understood their discouragement. Three thousand Colonial soldiers bravely stood their ground against a foe of thirteen thousand outside the fort at Washington Heights (Manhattan) until the British threatened them with cannons. One hundred forty-nine Colonial soldiers were killed or wounded. Over twenty-eight hundred at the fort surrendered. The Colonial Army also abandoned another fort, Fort Lee, in New Jersey.

Thomas Paine (From Wikipedia)

To make matters worse, General Howe's British troops pursued General Washington's retreating army across New Jersey. The soldiers marched through the colony for sixteen days until they reached safety across the Delaware River.

The loss of three thousand soldiers struck the struggling army a difficult blow. New York City and all of New Jersey were under British control. Eleven thousand colonial soldiers gave up and returned home between September and December. Army contracts expired on December 31st.

Paine remembered the impact of his pamphlet, Common Sense. His words, published earlier that year in January, had been read by thousands. His writing somehow resonated with people in all walks of life.

All thirteen colonies must know of the recent British victories. Paine imagined those at home felt discouragement similar to the soldiers. After he pondered the situation, he sat down to pen these words:

These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.

The American Crisis went to the heart of the problem from these beginning lines. The Pennsylvania Journal published Paine's work on December 19, 1776.

Washington Monument

General Washington commanded the pamphlet to be read to his discouraged men. Paine's stirring words revived hope within their souls at a crucial moment. The results encouraged Washington. His plan for Christmas Day must succeed though he kept the details from his soldiers.

Regiments began assembling at specific crossing points along the Delaware River late in the afternoon of December 25th. Temperatures dropped causing the snow-covered ground to feel even colder.

Washington didn't want delays because after the troops crossed the icy river, they must march to Trenton, New Jersey for a surprise pre-dawn attack on the Hessian soldiers.

Unfortunately some soldiers arrived late to their designated areas. Snow, hail, sleet, and rain hindered their crossing. They contended with ice jams on the river. Dark, stormy skies made navigation difficult.

All this affected Washington's careful timetable. He almost abandoned the plan when faced with a three-hour delay. He trudged on.

Washington's surprise attack worked. The Continental Army won their first major victory.

Would the results have been same without Paine's passionate plea to stay the course? With all the obstacles that had to be overcome on that freezing Christmas Day and everything that led up to it, this author doesn't believe so.

Do our words matter?

You decide.

________________________________

Sandra Merville Hart loves to find unusual facts in her historical research to use in her stories. She and her husband enjoy traveling to many of the sites in her books to explore the history. She serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com and contributes articles about history and holidays. She has written for several publications and websites including The Secret Place, Harpstring, Splickety Magazine, Pockets Magazine, and ChristianDevotions.us. Her inspirational Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, released on August 21, 2014.



 A Stranger On My Land

Carrie and her little brother, Jay, find Adam, a wounded Union soldier, on their land after a battle near their Lookout Mountain home. Carrie takes Adam to the cave where her family has been hiding from the soldiers. Before long, she falls in love with him, but she can't save his life. He requires a surgeon. Carrie weighs the potential danger of revealing her family's hideaway with saving Adam's life.

Connect with Sandra...


Blog (contributor): http://devokids.com/category/stories/adventures-in-history/  
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.m.hart.7  
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/sandramhart7/  
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8445068.Sandra_Merville_Hart
Purchase: A Stranger On My Land


Sources

• "Crossing of the Delaware," George Washington's Mount Vernon, 2015/07/27 http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/crossing-of-the-delaware/. 
• "Ft. Washington Captured - Washington Retreats through N.J -1776," HistoryCentral, 2015/07/27 http://www.historycentral.com/Revolt/Retreatnj.html. 
• Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis," USHistory.org 2015/07/24 http://www.ushistory.org/paine/crisis/c-01.htm. 
• "Thomas Paine," USHistory.org 2015/07/24 http://www.ushistory.org/paine/. 
• "Thomas Paine Publishes American Crisis," History.com, 2015/07/28 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thomas-paine-publishes-american-crisis.