Tidbits on Twins with Special Guest Lillian Duncan

Hello Friends! Today I'm excited to welcome special guest Lillian Duncan back to Stitches Thru Time! It's been a couple of years since she's been a guest on our blog, but today we get a special treat as her book is on sale for only $0.99!

Lillian is a multi-published writer with several Amazon bestsellers, including The Christmas Stalking and Game On. Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense with a touch or two of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us

Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word. To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net or at Tiaras & Tennis Shoes, her personal blog at www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.powerupwithGod.com. 

Now, here's Lillian.

 *****

I’m not a twin but I would have loved being one—I think. So in honor of twins, here’s a few fun facts. Did you know…

• that since 1980 the twin birth rate has risen by 76%?
• identical twins share the same DNA but not the same fingerprints?
• 40% of twins invent their own language?

Everyone knows Mary-Kate and Ashley are twins as well as Tia and Tamera Mowry, but did you know that…

• Ashton Kutcher has a twin brother?
• Alanis Morissette has a twin brother?
• Keifer Sutherland has a twin sister?

DECEPTION features a set of estranged twins that couldn’t be more different from each other or so it seems. Patti is a go-by-the-rulebook type of person while Jamie is a “free spirit” or at least that’s the persona she portrays to the world. But Deception is the title of the book so there are more than a few surprises as the story unfolds.

Deception is the first in my Sisters By Choice series. I never planned Deception to be part of a three-book series but it just sort of happened. Each of the Sisters By Choice novels feature courageous women who make the choice to help “a sister” in need in spite of the danger involved.

I loved writing the story of Patti and Jamie which is how it ended up being a three book series. Deception (e-book) is on sale for a limited time for only 99 cents or you can buy the complete anthology for the bargain price of 3.99. 

AMAZON LINK for DECEPTION

AMAZON LINK FOR SISTERS BY CHOICE

Perennials

Perennials 
by Julie Cantrell

This is the story of a girl who lost herself. It's a story about sisters. It's a story about parents. And it's a story about flowers that always come back. I love how Cantrell uses the metaphor of flowers throughout this novel. There is so much to learn from the flowers and there is so much about God's creation that is not only beautiful, but mind-blowing when you realize the object lessons He included in almost everything He made.

The father in this story is full of wisdom, and he likes to share that wisdom with his adult daughters, whether they like it or not. There is love lost, hope lost, and time lost, yet there is an wonderful undercurrent of hope.

For the experienced gardener, there is much detail to love in this novel. For those without a green thumb? You'll still love it. One detail in particular that I must share - the daughter who gets sort of lost runs from the lush land of Mississippi, to the Arizona desert, where almost nothing grows. When she returns to her childhood home, her senses are overwhelmed by everything that is growing everywhere. The scents, the sights, the blooms. I love this dichotomy, and you will love how the author uses the setting as a character.

Do you like to garden? Do you prefer to observe nature from a distance? Leave us a comment to get your name in the drawing for The Healer's Touch by Amber Schamel! Giveaway ends 2/11/18. Winner will be announced in the February 12th edition of the weekly windup.

Jennifer Fromke writes from North Carolina and can be found at jenniferfromke.com or shetalksbook.com

Sisters

HOT OFF THE PRESS! 

This book just dropped on March 1, 2017.

Sisters depicts the lives of three sisters living in Sun Valley, ID. A widow, an empty-nester, and “the wild one” all live in the same small town they grew up in together. Their widower father provides a delightful sparkle amidst all the relationship drama which unfolds.

Gilbert weaves the sisters’ careers, loves, and family dynamics in and out, forming a beautiful braid of love, trouble, and triumph. The characters feel so real, they all remind me of someone specific in my life. Best of all, even when the sisters get on each others’ last nerve, they are always there to catch each other when they fall. It makes me want to be a better sister. It makes me even more grateful for my sister, and it makes me wish everybody had one.

Give Kellie’s book, Sisters, a try. It’s the first in a series of three novels taking place in Sun Valley. Kellie's website describes it like this:

The Sun Valley Books will transport you to America's original ski resort located in the mountains of Idaho. You'll meet a cast of heartwarming characters in these full-length stories, including three sisters and their enduring loyalty - women who serve as touchstones to one another through emotionally powerful storyline and happily ever after romances.

And you have to see this - I love this new idea she's about to launch. In addition to this three-book series, she is adding shorter stories in a collection called the Sun Valley Lodge Books. They will invite the reader to come on vacation with character who travel to Sun Valley and stay at the iconic Sun Valley Lodge. The groundbreaking series is packed with tales of dating and mating, love and marriage and promises to keep your emotions and your funny bone on high alert.

How cool is this? Not only will she present a group of characters that live in Sun Valley - townies if you will - but we also get to view this setting from the point of view of the many visitors who pour into the valley for vacations. And I love that these stories are going to be shorter too. I can't wait to see how these two series shape up.

Do you have a sister? Tell us your favorite thing about her. Leave us a comment to win a copy of Lavender Fields Inn by June Foster. Winner announced on March 27.

Secrets of a Charmed Life

I'm not telling secrets today. Well okay, I'm telling one: I. Loved. This. Book.

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner charmed me.

One girl chases her dreams. The other girl chases her sister. When the war tears them apart, each must learn to live with the guilt of her actions on that fateful day - the day the Luftwaffe began bombing London in WWII.

Meissner delves deep into the psyche of two sisters who are evacuated from London to the Cotwolds. It’s fascinating to think about all the children who lived for up to five years with foster families during the war. Many of them lost their parents. Many returned to their parents after the war as strangers. And other children were taken to America for the duration of the war.

This story gives beautiful and terrible details about the London bombing, and most critically, how difficult it was to find loved ones during the war. Some records were destroyed in bombings. Telephone service was rare. Today we merely call the person we need to find, or Google them or text or email. Back then, if the single paper record was burned in a fire, the record was lost for good, along with the details of that person’s whereabouts. Or sometimes one person would leave word with another person about where they were going. If the one person they told happened to die in a bombing, so did the information. People seemed to disappear during the war, and in many cases it took years for people to reconnect. Entire streets were bombed out, causing many to become homeless overnight. Every person sought refuge where they could find it, but with no address, people were difficult to track.

The story winds its way amidst the years of the war, the twenty years following the war, and present day. The ripple effect of a single decision plays out in heartbreaking fashion as we follow characters whose fates are bound to one another, even while cruelly separated.

I hope you’ll give this book a try. The emotional ride is worth every minute you spend curled up, bent over this treasure.