Novel Reviews: Eileen Rife's Laughing with Lily ~ Reviewed

Novel Reviews: Eileen Rife's Laughing with Lily ~ Reviewed: Laughing With Lily By Eileen Rife Published by Oak Tara April 2013 ISBN:  978-1602900790 Back Cover: A long-buried secret. An unexp...

Goodreads giveaways! Two copies of Laughing with Lily

 Goodreads giveaways! Two copies of Laughing with Lily. Winners announced on July 4.

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/55483-laughing-with-lily

Catch the book trailer

Missing in action!

What is it about post-menopausal women and brain freeze? At times, more often than I'd like, my mind's missing in action!

I'm scrubbing the floor, see . . . yeah, down on my knees, scrubbing dirt from the crevices in the foyer linoleum. Call me crazy. But actually, housecleaning is a welcome change from a rigorous writing routine. And some forms of cleaning are well overdue. 

 

I'm quite pleased with my scrubbing results, by the way. Didn't know the floor could look this good! 

Then I think, Pandora music would be nice. So, I step to the computer and immediately get sucked up into answering emails, shopping for Father's Day, and writing a get-well card. It's like tentacles reach out and grab me. Ah, the advance of technology . . .

But that's an entirely different blog topic. 

I return to my scrubbing, then pause, lean back on my heels and scratch my head. What in the world did I go to the computer for in the first place?

Ah, Pandora music. Yes . . .

 

But the writer in me can't resist: I have to blog. I must blog! 

So, I charge back to the computer, and here I type. Still no Pandora music. 

But that's gonna change . . . right now.

But first, let me explore the "advance of technology" angle. That'd make a solid article, I think. 

Guess that's why writers get pegged as scatter-brained.

So, maybe I can't blame my brain-freeze on menopause, after all. 

Calico Brides by Darlene Franklin!

Determined to sow good deeds into the lives of needy people, the four youngest members of the 1876 Calico, Kansas, sewing circle reap romance. Gladys Polson, designing to aid a crotchety widower, falls for a stranger. Annie Bliss, knitting for soldiers, has a fort chaplain on pins and needles. Birdy Landry, sewing dresses for saloon girls looking for a new life, has her feathers ruffled by a beneficent shopkeeper. Schoolteacher Ruth Fairfield is about to teach a new guardian a few lessons in life and love. Will God stitch forever-after romances into the lives of these four women?

What inspired you to write this book, Darlene?

When Barbour opened up to monthly novellas, including anthologies all by one author, I jumped at the chance. Combining the contemporary fascination with quilts, my love of alliteration, and the ongoing love of a good prairie romance, I came up with a title: Kansas Calico Brides, shortened by my publisher to simply Calico Brides.

 

My brides are the four unmarried members of the Ladies’ Missionary Society of Calico, Kansas. They decide to make missions local: each one will choose a personal project involving sewing to show the love of Christ in the Calico community. 

A crochety wealthy reclusive—a “bear” of an army chaplain—a reformed saloon girl—and an uncle who takes over an instant family when his sister dies---God stitches love into their lives as each woman finds her unique calling.

What's one fun piece of trivia my readers might not know about you, but would like to? 

I was baptized in Lake Maranacook in Winthrop, Maine, back in 1964.

ABOUT DARLENE

Award-winning author and speaker Darlene Franklin lives in Oklahoma near her son’s family. Darlene loves music, needlework, reading, and reality TV. She has published several titles with Barbour Publishing, including her two latest releases, A Bride’s Rogue in Roma, Texas, and Merry Christmas, With Love, in Postmark: Christmas. She has also written two books in the Texas Trails series with RiverNorth Fiction, Lone Star Trail and A Ranger’s Trail. She’s a member of Oklahoma City Christian Fiction Writers.

You can find Darlene online at http://darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/darlene.franklin.3 You may also be interested in her Facebook page, Darlene’s 5 Questions a Day (https://www.facebook.com/groups/542991419047696/?bookmark_t=group) where she answers the first five questions related to the writing life posed on any given day. Group members are also welcome to contribute.

Thanks for sharing with my readers today, Darlene! Great to host you!