Thanks to my author friend LINDA WEAVER CLARKE for featuring me on her blog.
Linda is the
author of 30 books: historical romances, a romantic cozy mystery series,
mystery suspense series, a children’s book, and non-fiction. All her books are
family friendly. Contact her at: lwc@lindaweaverclarke.com.
For
expanded post, including pictures of Linda’s many book covers, go to
This is the first time Linda has written short stories. Taking upon herself the task of writing six short
stories for the Willow Valley series, she realized that writing
short stories was a pleasure and quite fun.
Holidays in Willow Valley: What were the holidays
like at Willow Valley, Illinois, in 1840? Relive life in the “olden days” in
each of these stories, featuring the characters from the Willow Valley Series.
How will Emmeline and Felicity celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do Sam and Josie
believe in leprechauns and the pot of gold when St. Patrick’s Day comes around?
Is it common to play jokes on one another on April Fools Day? Nicholas and
Lucas find out first hand. How will Simon and Angelica celebrate Independence
Day and Christmas? When the Irish and Scottish came to America, they brought
their Halloween traditions with them. Will Willow Valley accept these
traditions? Find out as you share their experiences. This book is full of surprises.
Holidays in Willow Valley: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089CQL6NB
Monday, June 22, 2020
God’s Mysterious Ways: The Colleen
L. Reece Story
Colleen L. Reece: Author of 160+ published books, 6 million
copies sold.
Kindle Giveaway June 23 - July 4:
Make a comment and you may be a winner for one of her three E-books
below!
Cancer surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation in 2013 at age
77 drastically changed my 40+ year writing career. God brought me through and I
became the “miracle patient.” Yet the long road back left me unable to write
new books or teach. To help replace income, God led me to a publisher who
reprinted many of my out-of-print books. I began scanning books no longer in my
computer for a Cherished Romances Historical series (Winged
Publications).
Computer Problems lead to surprises
Scanning in order to edit was slow but better than retyping,
until my OCR (Optimum Character Recognition) stopped working. Romans 8:28 promises that all things
work together for those who love God, but how could stopping Christian books in
progress be good? I couldn’t fix the problem; grounded by COV-19, I didn’t dare
bring in a repair person.
Discouraged, I dug in my dormant file and struck gold. My
co-author niece Julie Reece-DeMarco and I had earlier drafted an inspirational,
nonfiction title. Now our Winged editor wanted short, encouraging books about
over-comers. She quickly approved Doorways and Windowsills: Finding Sunlight
After Storms, which advises, don’t stare at closed doors. Search for
open windows.
My OCR still didn’t work. Then my across-the-street neighbor
opened a window by commenting, “Your best book is that one.” He pointed to my
front yard. Walking with the Master, stories of God’s miraculous working
in my life, included his putting out a 4th of July fireworks blaze, and my
discovering his name was Marc Angel! I had made a collection for family and
friends at the local print shop and giving them out at Christmas.
Aha! “Lord, if he likes it that much, why haven’t I offered
it to my editor?” I did. It is now blessing many.
God still wasn’t through sending “interim” projects.
Guardian Angel Press, who had done many children’s books for
me, fell victim to COV-19 after fifteen successful years. Books 6 and 7 of Colleen
Reece Chapbooks would not be published. I grieved, then looked for a
window. Laura Ingalls Wilder, beloved author of the Little House books, said,
“If I had a remembrance book, I'd write about . . . Pa and Mr. Hanson and how
they walked and looked and talked and how we wondered what they said.”
What if I combined Book 6 and its sequel into a
two-story book? A quick go-ahead from my Winged editor and The Remembrance
Book became reality.
an invitation
Join Carol (Colleen) and her family on a 3500- mile Vagabond
Summer driving trip. Encounter car trouble, a bear, two parades, a prairie
dog town, lions roaring in the night, and much more.
See how Wishbooks and Promises brighten the family’s
lives, along with their wonderful lamp, a mysterious friend for Carol, an
uncle’s desperate prayer, and Carol’s daring plan to get a bicycle when her
parents cannot afford to buy her one.
These chapters show God’s loving care and can be used for
bed-time reading or as part of family devotions.
Sequel to the story
1. If the OCR had not stopped working, these books would not
have been written, at least not now, when readers are desperately looking for
hope.
2. The day after I finished the three nonfiction titles, I
fiddled with the OCR for the gazillionth time. It worked.
What’s next? More scanning? Not yet. After seven years of
being unable to write new Christian fiction, He has restored my strength! I am
working on a long-delayed, much-requested series finale. I thank, praise, and
give Him the glory.
JULI SCOTT, SUPER SLEUTH, IS BACK WITH A BRAND-NEW MYSTERY! Bellingham, Washington's answer to Nancy Drew, and her
mystery-solving friends from the Mysterious Monday through Saturday
Scare series, return to confront Sunday Suspicion, their
most baffling case. Available late July-early August.
4 comments:
This posting comes through more clearly on your blog. I posted on an earlier one with the same content. Not sure if you want to keep both up or not. In any case, I'm glad to see this interview here. It's a good one!
I was having a lot of trouble getting to post with the illustrations, so I cut/pasted/changed title. This is final.
Hello Ms. Colleen! I’m hoping that you can give me some guidance. My family is super interested in getting The American Adventure series as a whole set but we can’t find it anywhere for less than a small fortune. I thought you might be able to share some guidance on if it was ever reprinted under a different publisher, or where we may be able to at least find the ones that you have written. Can you help us?
Hi, Monkier,
I wrote #1 and #2-- Sarah's New World and Rebekah in Danger. They later came out in the Sisters in Time series. Good news. Both these titles are available from Amazon as inexpensive used copies. I hope you can find some of the other titles! Colleen
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