Showing posts with label Christian novelist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian novelist. Show all posts

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Interview With Author Dawn V. Cahill!

Hi all, Angela here, and I am so pleased to introduce you to another wonderful writer!

Author Dawn V. Cahill pens “Stories of Victorious Faith for the 21st Century,” nearly always with a crossword puzzle, sudoku, or dark chocolate nearby. “The characters in my stories face situations that would have been unthinkable even 20 years ago. We live in a vastly different world than our parents did, and that’s the world I write about.”

Ms. Cahill also blogs about puppies, substance abuse, and single parenting…sometimes all in the same day. She’s going to finish that novel she started at age 11 called Mitch and the Martians…someday. She has written several newspaper articles, three Christian contemporary novels, and more limericks than she can count. Email her at dawn@dawnvcahill.com, or find her on Facebook. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). 

Welcome, Dawn! We're so glad you could visit us today. 

Thank you! I’m excited about my latest release, Moonstone Secrets, now available. For those of you who’ve read Book I in my Seattle Trilogy, Sapphire Secrets, I invite you to Victoria BC where the McCreary twins find themselves in danger…again! Learn more here: https://www.amazon.com/Moonstone-Secrets-Christian-Contemporary-Seattle-ebook/dp/B06Y1P9R3Z

Wonderful! Looks like a great read. What made you decide to become a writer?

I was an early reader, thanks to my older sister who taught me to read by age 5, and I became a story addict. Since I loved stories so much, I became curious if I could write one just as good as the ones in my beloved storybooks.


Where did the inspiration for your latest book come from? 

My husband & I went to Victoria BC on our honeymoon, and I always thought it would make a wonderfully romantic setting for a book!

Victoria is beautiful. We go out there quite often to visit family, and it would be a great setting! 
How does your faith and spirituality work in with your writing? 

I didn’t really know God until age 30. Prior to that, I lived like your typical unbeliever. So I like to insert a little of my own faith journey/testimony in each book. My non-Christian characters are like those we encounter every day…people enslaved to drugs, homosexuality, sexual immorality. But each book shows the redeeming power of God to transform the hardest of hearts!

That is a wonderful and needful thing to show. What do you want readers to come away with after reading your books?

I want them to remember what it’s like when they first came to know God, how He brought their dead hearts to life. For non-Christians, I want them to see what they’re missing, and maybe start seeking God for themselves.

I love that. Great hopes! 
What are you working on next? 

I’m working on Book II of my other series, Golden State Trilogy. I published Book I, Paint the Storm, last October. My WIP is called Paint the Valley. This is the series that tackles tough contemporary topics like same-sex marriage and school shootings. You can learn more here: https://dawnvcahill.com/my-books/


So here is my random question for you. When you are stressed, maybe a deadline’s approaching too fast, what is your favorite snack food? Or so you have another way to cope?

Believe it or not, puzzles have a calming effect on me. Like Crosswords or sudoku. When I turn my attention away from my source of stress, it really helps.

Those are really good ones, because they would require you to think about something else. Might have to give that a try some time. :) Thank you so much for joining  us today and all the best with your writing and this latest release! 

So to our readers, have you ever been to Canada or read a book set there recently? (If not you might have to check this one out!) 




As the Christmas season sparkles around her, DeeDee McCreary eagerly anticipates visiting magical Victoria, BC, with her boyfriend, Nick, and meeting his family. But the trip proves disastrous. First, Nick finds his bank account cleaned out. Then he disappears. Frantic, she determines to uncover what happened. When she discovers something far worse than she anticipated, she questions everything she believes to be true about him.
With the man she loves in jail for an unspeakable crime, DeeDee knows the truth lies somewhere in Nick and his ex-wife’s past. But if she pursues their secrets, will she put herself in danger, too?

Monday, August 22, 2016

Don't End Up in a Whale!



“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

I live the lessons of the Bible study I am leading. It happens each spring and fall without fail. I get a few weeks into the study and realize that my life parallels the topic. You can imagine what happened when our study was Jonah, Joel, and Amos. You guessed it! I had the urge to run the other way. After 10 consecutive years of heading up the study at our church, my 18th year leading Bible studies, I felt ready for a break.

A couple of years ago, I was anticipating the release of my debut novel. I felt overwhelmed by editing and the demands of learning social media. I spent hours at the computer working on frustrating details I had no idea would be required when I reached my lifetime goal of getting a book contract. How I would get everything done and still have time for my family and downtime for myself?

Leading a Bible study requires discipline and determination. The tasks competing for my attention weren’t bad. The book was also something God planned for me. The difficulty was in determining where God would most want me to spend my time.

As I looked at Jonah’s decision to run the other way, I realized that God was very specific when He told Jonah where to go and what to do. Jonah’s decision to run put him out of fellowship with God, and it also affected other people.
Some television commercials for a cable TV provider depict a series of decisions, which spiral downward to a terrible conclusion. If you do “x,” “y” will happen, which leads to “z,” and before you know it, you’re in a terrible mess.


There are definitely times when God allows us to leave a ministry or job, but in my heart, I knew this was not the time. Disobedience would take me out of fellowship with God and His people. I didn't want to end up in the belly of a whale, so I obeyed and stayed.

Are you struggling with where God has placed you? Seek His will in prayer. Examine your motives, trust Him to show the way, and then obey.

God tells us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. My stress decreased when I submitted to His will. When I am where He wants me, everything else falls into place.


Copyright, January 18, 2014 by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman

Don't forget to hop over to the Prizes Galore page on the blog and enter to win a signed copy of my contemporary inspirational romance, Land of My Dreams, or a Kindle loaded with great Christian books as part of our Stitches Thru Time Birthday Celebration! 

About the author: 
Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.
Connect with Norma:
Book Links:

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http:// lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/

Monday, April 11, 2016

Receive Power Be Witnesses

I love to have opportunities to share the Good News of Christ’s sacrifice and free gift of salvation! I’ve spoken before of answering “Blessed and Highly Favored!” to anyone asking me, “How are you?” I’ve been using that truth (I AM always blessed and highly favored no matter what else is going on) nigh onto thirty years now as my response.

It’s afforded me many openings to tell them the ‘story’ behind it and share His Word. It’s a way Holy Spirit and I came up with to #1 be sure I tell the truth (instead of replying ‘good’ or ‘fine’ when I am neither) #2 be proactive in opening the door to testify to family, friends, and perfect strangers.

I grew up with a mama who modeled this ‘making your own opportunities’ protocol. She bought a white sweatshirt then took it to the T-Shirt Shack to have some of those heat-pressed letters put on it. She had them stretch PBPGIFWMY across its chest. The first time I saw it, what do you suppose I did? I asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

It means, “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me yet.” My mother was not an angry or impatient woman at all, but the sweetest, kindest lady with the biggest servant’s heart I’ve ever known, bar none. I just grinned and love her all the more for her love of the Lord and her fun way of making her own opportunity to share Jesus.

She wore that sweatshirt often. I hope my brother or sister or one of her grandsugars still have it. I don’t guess I’ve seen it since she went to live with Him in Heaven, but I have wonderful mental photos and videos of the times I was with her when she used it as a means to fulfill the Great Commission.

I encourage you to get with Holy Spirit and come up with ways of opening the door for you to be His witness! Just ask Him. :) He loves brainstorming and is so creative!
Or do you already have a clever way? Will you share it with us? 


Caryl McAdoo is all about loving God! She currently writes four series: the historical Christian ‘Texas Romance’; a contemporary ‘Red River Romance’; The Generations, her Biblical fiction, and the newest Days of Dread Trilogy for mid-grade readers. Known as the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and prays her story gives God glory! 
    In 2008, she and her high school sweetheart-husband Ron moved from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods of Red River County. Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings believing all good things come from God. Besides glorifying Him, she hopes each title will also minister His love, mercy, and grace to its readers. Caryl and Ron live in Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

Links: 
All Caryl's Books Please "FOLLOW" while you're there!  Author's Page    Website