Happy Fourth of July Weekend
from your friends in Seekerville!
We Have Winnersfrom your friends in Seekerville!
Giveaway rules can be found here. Drop us a line to claim your giveaway at seekers@seekerville.net. Please allow us the 6-8 weeks per our legal page to get your prize sent out.
** Effective 5/31/16 all winners are required to submit their address and phone number to verify their identity even if they win an e-prize. This is due to scammers attempting to claim prizes. ***
All prizes not claimed in 8 weeks go back into the prize vault. We wish we could contact all our winners individually, but we'd rather write books!
Weekend Edition Winners of Audio book of choice by Sandra Leesmith are Megan Brummer, KC Frantzen, Edwina, Kaybee and Wilani.
Winner of a check out the Yankee-Belle Cafe Starbucks gift card is Tracey Gadget Hagwood.
Winner of a Seeker Coloring book Starbucks gift card is Sharee Stover.
Monday we brought you a contest primer along with advice from divas, with a post called, "How to Be Successful in Romance Writing Contests: And Stop Throwing Away Money." Winner of a box of books is Tanya Agler.
Tuesday we talked about "Why Readers Make Main Street, U.S.A. Their Hometown for Happy-Ever-Afters"with Ruth Logan Hern. Winners of their choice of An Unexpected Groom OR Her Unexpected Family are Jeanette Hill, LeAnne Bristow and Nancy Connally.
Wednesday Brandy Vallance returned to Seekerville with her post, "Writing Scared: The Best Way Out Is Always Through." Trixi is the winner of Within the Veil, her brand new release.
Tina Radcliffe brought you "Angst, Torture, and a Very Bad Day: Conflict" on Thursday. Winners of a package of books is Barb Fox. Winners of a first scene critique, not to exceed ten pages are Laura and Jessica.
Monday: We are closed in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
Tuesday: Mary Connealy is your hostess on Tuesday! Mary is going to talk about how to GRAB and HOLD a reader. Mary will be giving away a signed copy of No Way Up...which is releasing ON TUESDAY.
Wednesday: Time for the July Contest Update. Stop by to meet our July diva/divo. The prize vault is open.
Thursday: "Confessions of a Cover Queen: tapping into your creativity to create a memorable cover," with author Belle Calhoune. Stop by to chat and you might win a copy of A Match Made in Alaska. Belle is generously giving away FIVE copies.
Friday: The Best of the Archives: Sandra Leesmith is your hostess with her post "Plot Structure of a Novella," because she is celebrating the release of her new novella in Love Will Find a Way. Comments are closed to allow more reading and writing time.
You can purchase Refuge of the Heart, a Maggie Award finalist release here.
Just in time for your long weekend! Love Will Find a Way is now available for only $1.99. Cara Lynn James, Myra Johnson and Sandra Leesmith bring you summer romance in the outdoors.
Hope for the Holidays Contemporary Collection
Hope for the Holidays Historical Collection
A Heart Full of Christmas Contemporary Collection
Home for Christmas Historical Collection
All of these holiday favorites are available for .99 from July 1- July 31.
RELEASES JULY 5TH!
The Fight for the Cimarron Ranch Has Just Begun!When Cimarron ranch patriarch Chance Boden is caught in an avalanche, only the quick actions of hired hand Heath Kincaid save him. Before leaving by train to receive treatment to save his leg--and possibly his life--Chance demands that his three bickering adult children, Justin, Sadie, and Cole, live and work at home for an entire year, or lose ownership of the ranch .
Then Heath discovers that the avalanche may have been set--and more danger lurks. Finding his own future--and a desired future with Sadie--locked up in saving the Cimarron Ranch, Heath and the Boden siblings must work together against outside forces that threaten them all.
A NEW COVER, A NEW CONTEST, A NEW SALE, AND EXCERPTS! Join Julie Lessman on her Journal Jots blog for a chance to have a character named after you in her next book and a signed copy!
Two Amish stories of faith and perseverance!
ON SALE NOW!!!
ON SALE NOW!!!
If you missed either release, be sure to pick up this two-in-one that features STRANDED, by Debby Giusti, an acclaimed story in her Military Investigations series, along with Emma Miller’s MIRIAM’S HEART. Two great reads available here.
Stranded by Debby Giusti
Colleen Brennan is determined to take down her sister's killer. Stranded in an Amish community, with the killer nearby, Colleen must depend on Special Agent Frank Gallagher. The army officer wants to help the beautiful woman, but he can tell she's hiding something. But getting her to reveal her secrets may be his most dangerous mission of all.
Miriam's Heart by Emma Miller
Miriam Yoder always thought she'd marry her next-door neighbor—then veterinarian John Hartman catches her eye. He's handsome and charming—but he is not Plain. While Miriam is known as the "wild" Yoder sister, she's still expected to marry a good Amish man. Miriam must decide who will claim her love and her future.
Thank you to everyone who sent link suggestions.
The 2016 RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony will be streamed live on the Internet on Saturday, July 16, starting at 8 p.m. PST. The URL is http://www.rwa.org.
The July Calendar is UP!
Congratulations to the Christy Award Winners & Finalists!
Congratulations to the Carol Award finalists!
ACFW to Honor Pioneer Novelist Janette Oke (Christian Retailing)
Gratitude Will Enrich Your Writing Life (Writers in the Storm)**
A Frame of Place (Writer Unboxed)
How To Write 50,000 Words In A Month With Grant Faulkner (The Creative Penn)
3 Ways You Can Plant Metadata in Your Book Blurb (DBW)
What Makes a Bestseller? Two SMP Authors Say They Know the Formula (PW)
Joel Friedlander on How to Pitch Book Bloggers (booklife)
Why Every Man Should Read Jane Austen (The Art of Manliness)
Metadata 101 (Kobo Writing Life)
What to do When Hemingway Needs Help (Publication Coach)**
5 Secrets of Complex Supporting Characters (Helping Writers Become Authors)**
Congratulations to the Maggie Award Finalists in the Inspirational Category-Unpublished!
Tanya Agler, A Degree of Hope
Angela Arndt, The Beekeeper's Daughter
Deb Garland, Laundress By Day
Michele Morris, Honorable Intentions
Joanna Davidson Politano, Lady Jayne Disappears
 |
| Seeker Book of Choice. |
Anyone who leaves a comment will be entered.
Winner announced in the next WE ED.
That's it. Have a terrific holiday weekend. See you on Tuesday!
Looks like I might be the first to comment this weekend! Hope it is a wonderful Independence Day weekend for everyone. I'm looking forward to a quiet one (other than the fireworks).
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Happy Independence Day everyone! Husband and kids want to attend the fireworks this year, I'm kind of fond of our tradition of going to bed and cranking the fans up so we can sleep through the ruckus ;) Ah well, I can't be a fuddy-dud all the time, I'll play nice!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a safe holiday.
ReplyDeleteLoved the WE, but Ms. Tina always does an excellent job.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Congratulations to all of the winners. A big congrats to Missy and Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great WE, Tina! Have a happy and safe 4th of July.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHaha, just call me Inspector Gadget Tina! Thanks so much for the gift card from the WE Yankee Belle Cafe gadget day!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all winners and BIG congrats to MISSY and RUTHY!
Happy 4th!
TINA, love the patriotic images! And all the great news! Congrats, Ruthy, on the Maggie final and Missy on the Carol final!!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to our winners!
Love the sale on the Seeker novellas! I've got my copy of Love Will Find A Way the new novella release!
Rain is predicted here the morning of July 4th. Hoping for dry weather in the afternoon for our picnic. Happy weekend everyone!
Janet
Thanks for another great weekend and great links! Happy 4th of July weekend! And if you served
ReplyDeletelike Tina, thank you!
Congrats to all the winners and I'm so happy for Missy and Ruthy! Whoohoo!
We attended the Philharmonic Patriotic concert that was held outdoors last night. Just wonderful music. The vets from all branches of service were recognized. Thankful to live in America and for all who have and are protecting us.
ReplyDeleteJanet
Hey Julie Lessman,
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog post on Jots, but did you know the comment section is turned off? Or maybe it's my computer. I just thought I'd mention it. I look forward to reading Love Everlasting.
Congratulations to all the winners!
ReplyDeleteTina, another fabulous WE!
I wish you and yours a wonderful and safe holiday weekend! We will be spending a nice quiet weekend this year.
Blessings to all,
Cindy W.
Congratulations to all the contest winners! I just got my scores and comments back from two contests and read through them all, so I can now say I survived without too much emotional damage :-). And I wouldn't have entered if not for all of you. So thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all of the finalists! And to the winners!
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th of July!
Great WE, TINA! Congratulations to all the winners!! And WOO-HOO (if I'm the Laura mentioned here) on winning the ten page critique!! Thank you so much!!
ReplyDeleteJULIE, like Jackie, I noticed the comments were turned off, too. I got an email notice saying you had new blog post yesterday, but when I tried to comment, I couldn't.
The Seeker novella collections are on my TBR list as of today - can't wait to read them!
Congratulations to all the contests finalists - so happy for you!!
Thanks for providing the link to the RITA and Golden Hearts awards!
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Congratulations to all the finalists in the various contests.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners.
I purchased the new seekerville collection.
Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend everyone!
Is anyone participating in Camp nanowrimo this month?
Congratulations to the contest finalist!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to this week's winners.
Have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!
So many things to celebrate on this Fourth of July weekend!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners!!!
Wishing everyone a joyous holiday. God bless the USA!!!
Lovely post...lots of catching up!! Thanks...and BIG congrats to ALL the winners!!
ReplyDeleteHappy, Happy Independence Day!! We're grateful to all who have and who are serving to keep us FREE!!
Have a safe, delightful celebration everyone!!
Great WE Tina So fun to see all the winners and hear all the terrific news. Thanks everyone for the great links also.
ReplyDeleteI love weekend. Yippee!!!!
Huge thank yous for the congrats on the Maggie final.... I was so excited to get that call!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy dancing in upstate, and we're just in time for some red/white and blue cake....
And my mother's favorite "Mary's Lemon Cake" one of those awesome recipes passed down from ladies' magazines in the fifties.... and a Herne family favorite!
Bring on the fireworks!
Tina, thank you for that meme! How did you do that so quickly, you are AMAZING.
I've just finished a Christmas story for a 2016 collection (but it meant I can't be in the Seeker Christmas collection this year, and that's a bummer) and so I've been surrounding myself with outside summer work and Christmas, which made this a perfect time for us to do a month-long NINETY NINE cent Christmas in July sale!!!!
And I've got a delightful historical proposal on an editor's desk, and if they like it enough to contract it, I'll get to play in Second Chance, South Dakota.... with the Eichas sisters.
I'M SO PSYCHED!!!!!
But now. Back to cleaning.
Don't ask, you know I'm not a clean freak.
I'm not even HALF a clean freak.
I'd so much rather write books!!!!
Woot Woot! Thank you for supporting my coffee addiction. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Ruth, I cleaned yesterday so I could play today. A necessary evil.
Have a wonderful weekend all!
Congrats to Missy & Ruthy for contest finals--way to go!!! And all our Seekervillager finalists!! Are we rockin' it or what???
ReplyDeleteCrazy-busy at my house. Daughter, SIL, & 4 grandkids in town for the holiday weekend and our SIL's outpatient surgery yesterday. He's doing okay but not comfortable at all. :( Prayers appreciated! We're taking the two oldest grandkids to see The BFG this afternoon. Should be fun!
I'M DONE!!! I'M DONE!!! I'M DONE!!!!
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe it! I finished "Ferocious Faith" a 40 Day Prayer Battle"!!
It's printed, xeroxed & stuffed in notebooks ready for Sunday night!!!!
This is a total "God Did This" Celebration!!!
Now we get to PRAY!!
"the Mighty One has done Great Things for me! Holy is His Name!" Lk 1:49
*I just had to tell someone & yall would be the ones who would understand how Huge this is!!! THANK YOU!!
Jana Vanderslice, I am so excited to hear this.... and so proud of you. I am praying for you, your work, your health and I wish I could manufacture and bottle your indomitable spirit (Is that the right word??? Unshakable? Never to be blown apart???) and sprinkle it on folks near and far and remind them how blessed we are to be here... to be healthy... to be Americans...
ReplyDeleteOh my stars, you have me happy dancing, yes! And Holy is His Name, indeed!
JOYFUL!
Sharee, I am proud of you.
ReplyDeleteSeriously proud.
I do have oatmeal cake baked.
THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT???? (Please say yes).
Beth Erin, I love fireworks!!! But they start so late here in the north, it's almost ten o'clock before they light the first round... which is fine, but that 3:30 AM wake-up call doesn't like midnight bedtimes, so I hear you loud and clear!
ReplyDeleteWe're doing fireworks here in town at the end of summer, when they can start them around 8:30...
So much better! It will be our end of summer town party, and I'm so excited!
Fireworks on Ruthy time, LOL!
Happy Fourth of July weekend Seekerville.
ReplyDeleteHope you all get some staycation writing and reading done.
Congratulations to all the finalists!!!! WOOT to Missy and Ruthy and Tanya and Deb Garland!!
Lara!!! So proud of you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. You are now officially a diva.
Jana!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations.
I am so excited for you.
The power of prayer is our most effective weapon. If only everyone recognized that.
WOW. The day is just flying! Great W.E. Tina!
ReplyDeleteCongrats Missy & Ruthy on being contest finalists! :)
I've downloaded Myra, Cara & Sandra's novella collection and am eager to start reading!!
LARA -- congrats on surviving your contest feedback! Seekers entered our fair share of unpubbed contests and the feedback really strengthened our writing (even though YES, there were more than a few OUCH! moments).
CONGRATS, JANA!! There is so much power in prayer and we leave it largely untapped because we don't take the time to pray.
This has been project day for me in hopes that I can do some writing on Monday. :) But have you ever noticed that everything on your To Do list always takes longer than you think it will??
Congrats to Missy!
ReplyDeleteI thought at the time I read, "The Doctor's Second Chance,"
that it was Missy's best book to date.
It has often been said here on Seekerville that each new book gets harder to write. Well, that's true if the author keeps attempting more challenging work with each new book. Missy sure did that and I mentioned it in my review at the time.
To wit:
"Indeed, if you love the heartwarming joy of reading ‘second chance’ romances, as much as I do, then you should delight in this story which features second chances in love, redemption, and forgiveness for Remy, Remy’s parents, Violet, Violet’s parents, and Jake – all inspired because of the love for an adorable fatherless new born infant!
"Here is a story so rich in depth that five different lives obtain a second chance at happiness because of the courageous decisions of each of the characters. It has been years since I’ve felt as good reading a romance as I felt reading "The Doctor's Second Chance". "
Again, Congrats, Missy.
Congrats to Ruth!
ReplyDeleteSo happy for Ruth and for Franciscan Media! I hope this is the start of a long term success journey! So nice to see a Catholic inspirational doing well.
As I wrote when the book came out:
"Finally, if you want to read literary quality Christian fiction with a strong and honest portrayal of the Catholic Church, this is it.
"Refuge of the Heart" is a stellar example of why we need Franciscan Media publishing."
There is a saying in business: "What gets rewarded gets done."
Looking forward for more choice books from the good fathers!
Vince
Hi Tina:
ReplyDeleteGreat new look for the SBC logo!
Red, white and blue, cheerful, and patriotic.
And remember:
SBC spelled backwards means:
Choice Books by Seekers!
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tina, for another sizzling WE and SUPER CONGRATS to our winners and ESPECIALLY Missy and Ruthy for finaling in two HUGE contests -- you go, girls!!
Jackie said: "Hey Julie Lessman, I loved your blog post on Jots, but did you know the comment section is turned off? Or maybe it's my computer. I just thought I'd mention it. I look forward to reading Love Everlasting."
Thanks, Jackie, for reading my blog, my friend, but I have a confession to make. When I first started my blog five years ago, I posted every day. Then that got to be too much, so I posted three times a week for a year or so. Then THAT got to be too much, so I now post every Friday. When I first started, I had the comments on, and honestly, it ate up so much of my time responding to them that I decided I needed to go no comments. So when I have contests like the one I'm having now, I tell people to contact me through my website or FB. So all that to say -- I'm sorry there are no comments, but I'm guessing most of my readers would rather I write novels than books in comments. :)
Laura said: "JULIE, like Jackie, I noticed the comments were turned off, too. I got an email notice saying you had new blog post yesterday, but when I tried to comment, I couldn't."
You know, you guys are first people who have ever mentioned my comments being off. I know we have them open for Seekerville, but as I explained to Jackie above, I learned loooooooong ago that if I was going to get any writing done, I needed to turn comments off or I'd be responding all day. You see how long my books and blogs are ... my comments on my blog used to be RIDICULOUSLY long. So I quit comments since I couldn't trust myself not to write a book to each person. :)
But thanks, you guys, for coming by. If you want to send me a comment, just contact me through my website or FB message, okay? Or ... even here! ;)
Hugs,
Julie
Thanks, JULIE! That makes perfect sense to me - I don't know how any of you ladies get as much done as you do! Truly amazing! And yes, I would definitely prefer you to be writing novels :-) Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!
ReplyDeleteAw, Vince, what a lovely thing to say! Thank you so much....
ReplyDeleteAnd we have "The First Gift" coming out in early September, and I absolutely love that story... and it was a joy to work with Franciscan on it, their worldview of spirituality reflects mine, so writing these beautiful stories was like a dream come true.
I'm so glad the Maggie judges liked it! That made my day!
And thank you for your loving support. It means the world to us, Vince. To all of us!
Ruthy
Tanya and Deb!!!!
ReplyDeleteI FORGOT TO CONGRATULATE YOU GUYS!
SLACKER RUTHY
Congratulations to both of you! Happy dancing with you!!!!!
LOLOLOL, Vince. Glad to see you getting on the SBC bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, y'all for celebrating with me! Vince, you're so nice to say that. I try hard with each story.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Ruthy, Tanya and Deb and anyone else I may have missed!! I hope you all have a fabulous 4th!
Seeker Books of Choice rock!
ReplyDeleteVince, you're adorable.
Thanks, Laura! I'd prefer to be writing novels, too, although I do love chatting with reader friends via comments as well -- A LOT -- which is exactly why I had to cut it out except when I do Seekerville blogs and blog interviews. I get a littttttttle carried away ... ;)
ReplyDeleteSO much so that I actually quit sending Christmas cards over 30 years ago because I had to write a book in each one, which meant I needed to start in July ... ;)
Hugs,
Julie
Thanks for the encouragement guys. Question: Were you submitting to agents at the same time as entering the contests? Also, I know there was some mention in one of the posts about thanking the judges. Since you don't know who they are, do you just send a thanks through the coordinator? (Deep breath. One step at a time.) :-)
ReplyDeleteJANA, congratulations on your accomplishment!! God is good! Prayer is effective when we wait for the answer with expectation that nothing is too hard for God.
ReplyDeleteJanet
LARA, yes, you can send a thank you through the coordinator if the judge doesn't give her name.
ReplyDeleteYou can submit to agents anytime. I submitted to agents and editors before my writing was ready. A good indication of when to submit is when you are a finalist in contests.
Janet
Happy 4th of July!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everyone with good writing news this week. It's inspiring!
Lara,
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend you go the BookEnds Literary blog, as they have a ton of information on how to write a query letter.
BookEnds Literary
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!! Your success inspires us all. And thanks for another great WE, Miss Tina!
ReplyDeleteGreat patriotic Weekend Edition, Tina.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of my idea to start calling the Week End Edition ...
Weekerville????
It really rolls off the tongue (or more correctly, it rolls off my fingertips on the keyboard. I keep typing it!)
But then I almost told you this was a very Pastry weekend Edition, instead of Patriotic. So keep that all in mind.
Happy Independence Day. I'm watching John Adams the HBO seven part series on Amazon Prime. Very inspiring. Watching Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin debate the use of Self-Evident in the Declaration of Independence, very cool because I suspect it went just the way they said it did.
And John Adams saying at the end, something like, "I am willing to stand and fight and die for every word in this declaration.
Weekerville is almost as shuddering as Speedbo.
ReplyDeleteWeekenderville
Or after nine years, leave it be.
Are you bored?
"I'm watching John Adams the HBO seven-part series on Amazon Prime"
Amazon Prime also has a series on Navy Seals.
Right now I am listening to Michael Hauge deconstruct a Kristan Higgins book because somehow I suspect that John Adams will not improve my writing.
How about one big CONGRATULATIONS to everyone? Look at all those accomplishments! So much good news!
ReplyDeleteWhat a joy to celebrate all that is July 4th -- and belated Happy Canada Day greetings to those of you to the north :-)
Nancy C
Navy Seals? That sounds cool. And I like to write tough guys. I could learn more about that from Navy Seals.
ReplyDeleteAlthough those revolutionaries like John Adams were surprisingly tough. It took a lot of guts.
Weekerville sounds sort of like Weaker
ReplyDeleteStill
And you're right. Speedbo was my idea too.
I'd probably better start just focusing all my creative energy on the books I write.
I love John Adams. I love his story, I love the whole Philadelphia connection, and those great, stalwart sacrificial minds are crazy inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know HBO had this series, Mary!
I'm bookmarking this, too much outside stuff to do today, but I am popping in 1776 because I love the thought of what those folks were willing to do for our freedom.
God bless those colonists and the pioneers that build this country. I feel pretty lame by comparison.
Great WE, but that's no surprise :-) Congrats to the winners this week, and can I say how very EXCITED I am to have won a copy of "Within the Veil" by Brandy!! I only just "met" her & her book very recently via another blog. I can't wait to read this book, I can already tell by the rave reviews how good it's going to be!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all of our Seeker authors who've won awards for their books, well deserved!! You all have such a great God-given talent it's no surprise :-)
Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July! See you all on Tuesday's post & spend time with Mary!