Take the journey into the American west alongside nine women who are chasing their dreams—Cynthia, for security; Beryl, for a new family; Adeline, for freedom; Molly, for marriage; Beth, for a new start; Belinda, for a place to heal; Suzette, for adventure; Juliet, for peace; and Caroline, for a future for her children. Celebrate Christmas alongside these pioneers as love finds them in nine distinctly different romances penned by leading Christian fiction authors, including New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
About the Authors:
Wanda E. Brunstetter:
Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of over 60 books with more than 7 million copies sold. Many of her books have landed on the top bestseller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, CBA, ECPA, and CBD. Wanda is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre, and her work has been covered by national publications, including Time Magazine and USA Today.
Wanda's fascination with the Amish culture developed when she met her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church, and whose family has a Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Meeting her new Mennonite sister-in-laws caused Wanda to yearn for the simpler life. In their travels, she and her husband have become close friends with many Amish people across America. Wanda's desire to explore their culture increased when she discovered that her great-great grandparents were part of the Anabaptist faith.
All of Wanda's novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Many of her books are well-read and trusted by the Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.
Wanda's primary attraction to the Amish is their desire to live a devout Christian life that strives to honor God, work hard, and maintain close family ties. Whenever she visits her Amish friends, Wanda finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties, which is in stark contrast to the chaos and busyness that plagues so many modern "Englishers." Time and time again, Wanda loses her heart in the Amish life, and she hopes her readers will, too. For more information, visit:www.WandaBrunstetter.com
Susan Page Davis:
Susan Page Davis writes romantic suspense, historical romance, and mystery. She is a Maine native now living in Kentucky, and a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. Her books have won several awards including the Carol Award for her novel The Prisoners Wife; the Inspirational Readers' Choice Award for The Prisoner's Wife and The Lumberjack's Lady (Maine Brides series); and the 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for her novel Captive Trail (Texas Trails series). Visit her website atwww.susanpagedavis.com
Melanie Dobson:
Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of thirteen historical romance, suspense, and contemporary novels including Chateau of Secrets, The Courier of Caswell Hall, and The Silent Order. Two of her novels won Carol Awards in 2011, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana in 2010.
Melanie has loved writing fiction since childhood, but it was a long journey to publication. After seven years of writing and rewriting, her first novel (Together for Good) was published in 2006-a story inspired by the adoption of her oldest daughter.
Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with Jon's work, the Dobson family has finally settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to travel and hike in both the mountains and the cliffs above the Pacific. When Melanie isn't writing, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, line dancing, and reading stories with her kids.
More information about Melanie and her books is available at:
www.melaniedobson.com
Cathy Liggett:
Coney Island was never at the top of my list when I was a kid (scaredy cat!). My favorite places were the library, the card shop and hardware stores. As my husband will tell you, it's a good thing that books were my first love. I'm a lot better at fixing up characters in stories than anything that involves a hammer and nails or even super glue. Besides writing, I enjoy impromptu visits from our two grown kids and doing the empty-nester thing with my one true love. We're also enjoying the latest addition to our family, a Boxer mix named Chaz. Please visit me at www.cathyliggett.com. I'd love to hear from you.
Vickie McDonough:
Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher but instead, she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She lives out her childhood dream by penning romances set in the Old West. Vickie is an award-winning author of more than 30 books and novellas. Her books have won the Booksellers Best Award, OWFI Best Fiction Book Award, Inspirational Reader's Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest, and she has been a multi-year finalist in ACFW's BOTY/Carol Awards contest. Vickie is the author of the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series and is a co-author of Texas Trails: A Morgan Family series. Her newest series called Pioneer Promises features a family that runs a stage stop in 1870s Kansas. Whispers on the Prairie, book 1 in this new series, was a Romantic Times Recommended Inspirational Book for July 2013.
Vickie and her husband live in Oklahoma. She is a wife of thirty-nine years, mother of four grown sons and grandma to a feisty eight-year-old girl. When she's not writing, Vickie enjoys reading, gardening, watching movies, traveling, and collecting antiques and stained glass. To learn more about Vickie's books, visit her website: www.vickiemcdonough.com
Olivia Newport:
Olivia Newport's novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. She chases joy in Colorado, where daylilies grow as tall as she is. Her husband and two twenty-something children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books.
Janet Spaeth:
For as long as she can remember, Janet Spaeth has loved to read, and romances were always a favorite. Today she is delighted to be able to write romances based upon the greatest love story of all, that of our Lord for us. When she isn't writing, Janet spends her time reading a romance or a cozy mystery, baking chocolate chip cookies, or spending precious hours with her family in North Dakota.
Jennifer Rogers Spinola:
Jennifer Rogers Spinola, originally from the South, lives with her Brazilian husband, Athos, and two active boys. She has lived in Brazil for nearly eight years and Japan for two years. Jenny is the author of Barbour Books' "Southern Fried Sushi" series - the first of which was a finalist for the 2012 Christy Awards - and a romance novella collection based on Yellowstone National Park (also with Barbour Books).
Jenny loves camping, hiking, cooking, and taking pictures of the outdoors and her rowdy sons. She has a B.A. in English from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina and has worked as a journalist, Christian missionary, Language Arts teacher, and ESL teacher.
Right now she's trying to 1) put Seth in bed for a nap 2) keep Ethan in bed and 3)desperately the nasty colds everybody's getting around her - all the while write paragraphs in her upcoming novella.
To find out more about Jenny's novels (and browse some Southern-fried recipes), find Jenny atwww.jenniferrogerspinola.blogspot.com.
MaryLu Tyndall:
Acclaimed author, M.L. (MaryLu) Tyndall dreamt of pirates and sea-faring adventures during her childhood days on Florida's Coast. After obtaining a degree in Math and working as software engineer for 15 years, she decided to test the waters as a writer. With now more than fourteen books published, she makes no excuses for the deeply spiritual themes embedded within her romantic adventures. As a follower of Christ, her stories often reflect her own journey and walk with God. Her hope is that readers will not only be entertained but will be brought closer to the Creator who loves them beyond measure. In a culture that accepts the occult, wizards, zombies, and vampires without batting an eye, MaryLu hopes to show the awesome present and powerful acts of God in a dying world. A Christy award nominee, MaryLu makes her home with her husband, six children, and four cats on the California coast, where her imagination still surges with the sea.
My Review:
I just finished reading this anthology full of fantastic stories. Each story was so heartwarming that I had to keep reading until I had read them all. Each of these authors are some of the best writers that I have ever had the pleasure of reading their stories. I love historical romances and I love Christmas stories. It doesn't get any better. I give this anthology a 5/5. I was given this book for the purpose of a review and all opinions are my own.