Thursday, March 20, 2014

Her Good Name ~ By ~ Ruth Axtell

I'd LOVE to share a copy of ~
                                                     ~ HER GOOD NAME by Ruth Axtell ~
                                                                        with one of you readers.

I have a free copy for someone who leaves me a comment WITH their email address...AND... can tell me something they KNOW about their name - the meaning, the reason they were named the name there were given ~ anything they may KNOW that someone else may not. . .etc.

Drawing will be held on Friday and the winning name will be announced here as well as to the winner

REPUTATION is important in our world today. . .but . . .imagine back to 1892 in a town or village where EVERYONE knew most every one of the residents. . .how much more important was one's reputation????  Class distinctions were oh so obvious....

LIES and SECRETS can spoil a woman's good name.
                                                           
Setting:      HOLLISTON, MAINE - 1892
                                     
 Characters:   Espy Estrada = Heroine,
                        Warren Brentwood = Hero
No matter how striking she is, a fisherman's daughter doesn't stand a chance with Warren Brentwood, the heir to the local lumber empire.

SCANDAL turns Espy's world upside down and she flees town in disgrace. Alone and penniless, Espy has nothing left but her faith when she is rescued by a missionary family.


Espy longs to return home freed from the lies that surrounded her departure. BUT. . .will ANYONE - particularly Warren -  believe in her professed innocence?



Ruth Axtell has done it again. . .her 2013 release has given me one more reason to keep her books on my TO BE PURCHASED list AND once I've purchased those same books go onto my KEEPER SHELVES - to stay.

This is a great story and one of those I didn't want to STOP reading until I'd hit THE END. . .even if it meant spending the night with a book light so my dearest hubby could snore in the dark while I read. A VERY GOOD READ from my point of view and since I READ HUNDREDS of books per year. . .I think I can safely say. . .IT'S WELL WORTH YOUR TIME and LOSS OF SLEEP to read HER GOOD NAME ~ By~ Ruth Axtell - published by River North - of MOODY PUBLISHERS 



Ruth Axtell knew she wanted to be a writer ever since she wrote her first story—a spy thriller—at the age of twelve. She studied comparative literature at Smith College, spending her junior year at the Sorbonne in Paris. After college, she taught English in the Canary Islands, then worked in international development in Miami, Florida, before moving to the Netherlands, where for the next several years she juggled both writing and raising three children. In 1994, her second manuscript was a finalist in Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart competition. In 2002, her sixth manuscript took second place in the Laurie Contest of RWA’s Smoky Mountain chapter. The final judge requested her full manuscript and this became her first published book, Winter Is Past. Since then, Ruth Axtell has gone on to publish sixteen historical romances and one novella. Her books have been translated into Dutch, Italian, German, Polish, and Afrikaans. Her second historical, Wild Rose, was chosen by Booklist as a “Top Ten Christian Fiction” selection in 2005. Ruth lives on the coast of Maine where she enjoys gardening, walking, swimming, reading romances, and gazing at the ocean plotting her next novel.
With her next book, A Heart’s Rebellion, (Baker/Revell, March 2014), Ruth returns to Regency London.

Thank you, Ruth, for this book and the others you've entertained and taught me with. It's been a pleasure and I look forward in the very near future to reading A Heart's Rebellion. . .it may even show up here on StitchesThruTime. . . in another review!

23 comments:

  1. Her Good Name sounds like a wonderful book. Thank you Joy, for the great post. From the time my mother became pregnant with me, things were not easy. She had suffered a miscarriage the year before and when problems started to occur she was put to bed. My daddy brought her Gone With The Wind to read. Hopefully, her mind could be occupied for short times with the wonderful book rather than worry. As she read, she fell in love with the kind, sweet Melanie, so when a tiny baby girl arrived two months premature, no other name would do but Melanie. I wasn't given a middle name as my mother thought it was a beautiful, stand alone name. It was always a novelty when asked my full name growing up and I only had a first and last name. Many just couldn't believe it.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. :Love the "story" behind the name you carry, MELANIE. . .thanks for sharing that special memory for your family. PRAISE the LORD you lived to tell it and that your mother cared enough to spend all that time in bed to see you have life!

      Will be drawing a name tonight. . . stay tuned!

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  2. Jennifer means 'white wave' and I was named after my great aunt whose name was Jennie Belle. Her Good Name sounds like a great read - thanks for the chance to win! :)

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    1. Oops! My email is bookgirl929 at gmail dot com.

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    2. Thanks for remembering your email needed to be here ';)
      I"d not heard the meaning of your name before - that is so cool as is the fact you know who you were named for. . special things to know about yourself.

      Will be announcing the winner tomorrow. . .

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  3. My name is JOY LOUISE and I was named for my maternal grandmother. Her given name was GEORGIANNA and my parents were going to name me after her. She threw a royal fit (I've been told they could beat out any of England's queens) and told them "NO". They complied - sort of - Her nickname was JOY and thus I was named Joy for my grandmother and Louise was my mother's middle name - incidently - I was number 4 daughter (of seven children) and fell next to the last in line of siblings. . .not sure WHY they waited so long to name someone after Grandma Sanders - but I got the honors. . .It's NOT the easiest name to live up to - don't ya know?

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  4. I have enjoyed Ruth Axtell's books since the first one was published. Can't wait to read this new release. About my first name: Diane - my parents wanted to name me Sharon, but I had a grandmother who stammered and couldn't pronounce words that started with "S" very well, so the second choice was Diane. I always liked my name, so no problem there. My email: kalas3990@aol.com Thank you for a chance to win Ruth's new book. God bless.

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    1. How thoughtful of your parents, Diane. It means a lot that they took your grandmother's situation into consideration. VERY unselfish of them. Thanks for sharing that with us.

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  5. Well, my name was first seen/heard in Peter Pan but my mom always told me she heard the name in a soap opera and liked it. When I was little not too many people had ever heard the name Wendy and would ALWAYS ask me if it was short for Gwendolyn, oh how I hated that! Also, a LOT of people do NOT pronounce the e so I'd get called "Windy", now my name is pretty popular and it amazes me.

    This sounds like a good book, thank you for the review and the chance to win a copy.

    wfnren(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. I never would have thought about 'WINDY' being associated with WENDY. I guess some people just don't concentrate on what they call others. When I was a kid I was bullied about my name and it's association to dish soap. Wasn't the best of times, but I grew to enJOY my name.
      Thanks for giving us a peek into the background of your name, Wendy!

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  6. I LOVE the cover of this book.

    Well, my name is Heather, so it came from the name of the flower heather. That's about all I know! My last name, Manning, is Irish.

    hbroadwayphann(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Heather is gorgeous when spread out over a field and I went to school with a gal MANY DECADES ago with the last name of Manning. Thanks for the reminder fo that sweet gal. Good month for you, don't ye know. I appreciate your comment.

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  7. When I was trying to find a pen name to go with my maiden name, my mother told me she named me Patricia because she thought it was pretty. That pretty much settled what my writing name would be. :-) pat at ptbradley dot com

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    1. How uplifting. To be named something because your mother thought it was pretty. I'm glad you used it as your writing name. It honors your mother in a very special way too. Thanks for letting us in on that, Pat.

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  8. Thanks for the opportunity, Joy!

    I have absolutely LOVED every one of Ruth Axtell's books and can't wait to read this one!

    My parents named me Samantha. It was a very popular name when I was young and I met many other girls with the same name. Later on, I learned that "Samantha" means "listener" and grew to appreciate the name more. Now, I'm thankful for that gentle reminder to be a good listener :)

    Samantha dot jmj at juno dot com

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    1. How cool is that? I had no idea that's what Samantha means. I know several Samantha's and they're all in one generation younger than my own children. . .Listener is a super good reminder . . .'to be still and know I am God.'. . .a verse God insisted I take to heart. ';D

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  9. I love your review, Joy! HER GOOD NAME sounds like a wonderful story and one I will love!

    My mother says she chose my name when she was in the 8th grade. She loved the name Britney and said if she had a little girl that is what her name would be. As my mother before me, I was not given a middle name. Growing up, people were often surprised by my lack of a middle name. When I had a little girl, I debated whether or not to give her a middle name. My grandmother's first name is Joy and we chose to use that for our daughter's middle name, so we have Emma Joy!

    Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and giveaway opportunity!

    texaggs2000 at gmail dot com

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    1. Wow, you had a name when your mother didn't even expect you yet. . .I think that's really committed on her part. How sweet. Thanks for that insight. I didn't name either of my children names I'd picked out way back when . . .my dh thought I was nuts. ':D

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  10. Hi Joy,
    My name was picked out by my dad because he just liked that name and my mother let him pick it out. When I found this out I felt really special because the rest of the family is actually named after other people, except me. My dad just really liked that name so they decided to save the "have to's" for the rest of my siblings. Also, my maiden name is a very Irish name that is actually in an Irish ballad. This is also kinda cool. I would love to read the book by Ruth. Sounds like a winner! Please enter me. Thanks! djbarratt@hotmail.com.

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    1. Pretty neat that your dad WANTED to name you. I know there are some men who don't get all that involved in choosing names, but your dad put some effort into it. I like that! Irish names are special to me and that's one nationality I don't even get to claim. I do love Irish music and even have an Irish guy in one of my books. ':D
      Thanks for sharing how you got your name!

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  11. Unfortunately, I know nothing about why I was named Janet. When I was born, it was a very popular name. We have Ruth's books in the Church Library and I would love to win this one to add to our collection.
    Thank You!
    Janet E.
    von1janet(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. I know several women named JANET and as with other names it had it's POPULAR ERA. . .some of the women I know by that name are very important to me. I'm glad you left a comment. Time to make sure all the names are in the pot!

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  12. Thank you each and every one of you who entered comments in this posting. THE WINNER IS. . . . CHRIS BARRATT. .. .CONGRATULATIONS, Chris. Thanks for leaving you comment yesterday. Will be in touch to get your snail mail address privately!

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