Christmas Memories with Helen Gray and link to giveaway

Please Welcome Helen Gray to my blog today. Her debut book is out next March with Hearsong Presents. I got to know Helen at Seekerville. Also dont forget this weeks giveaway.

1.  What do you most associate with Christmas where you live?

Here in the Missouri Ozarks the things I associate with Christmas are cold weather, programs at church. lots of bright lights, and lots of church and civic groups reaching out in various ways to the needy. 

2. Do you have any special family traditions you do at Christmas time?

We have a lot of fun with the goofy little stocking stuffer gifts we exchange. Other than that, our traditions are --well, traditional. Lots of food and just enjoying being together as a family. (Jenny here, today I was visiting my dr and for the first time on an appointment was really sick, I have a fever etc. well we were talking Christmas as I will be alone and I mentioned bacon and she looked I said you have to have bacon on Christmas its a tradition to which she looked at me again and I explained. When we were little we would open our gifts then go to Church Christmas day. Dad would make bacon for breakfast and it was a treat as we rarely had bacon and even when he was gone we kept up the tradition.)

3. Do you have a favorite Christmas carol and if so do you know why?

O Holy Night is my favorite. It paints such a beautiful picture, both lyrically and musically. (Jenny here this is one of my all time favourties song by a male tenor. Michael Crawford or someone else in that vain)

4. If you could spend Christmas any way you could, how would you celebrate?

At home and church with my family.

5. Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

Poverty meant very little in the way of gifts, but we always had a good time. There were always nuts and candy in our hung stockings. (While we were not the poorest we never had a lot but like you Helen we always had a good time and loved our gifts, Christmas isn't about expensive gifts its about the love that goes into them. I remember one year getting a special shell and thinking it was the best gift ever infact I still have that shell)

6. What is a typical Christmas Eve and or Christmas Day for you?

Christmas Eve is usually visiting time with the family, sometimes including some times playing board games. Christmas morning we have our gift exchange, followed by the big meal.

7. Do you have any Christmas movies or Christmas books you like to see or read each year?

When the kids were home, they always watched the Snoopy and Rudolph movies. Ken and I aren't big movie watchers. I read whatever Christmas books my writer friends have releasing near the holiday.

8. Do you have a Christmas message for my readers?

Don't get so caught up in the hoopla of Christmas that we short-change the time with our families--and the TRUE REASON for Christmas, Christ's birth and death here on earth.

My debut book, Ozark Sweetheart, is scheduled to release on March 1 in digital and March 4 in print. The characters are drawn from my mother's background and the notes she made for me about growing up in the Great Depression.

Fantasy Novels Giveaway Contest.

Fantasy Novels Giveaway Contest D. Barkley Briggs (Dean Briggs) loves fantasy novels. He is, after all, a fantasy novelist himself. He is about to make one fan's fantasy come true. Dean is giving away, not just one of his books, but a complete young adult fantasy library from 15 top authors. "The Christmas 2011 Fantasy Prize Pack Giveaway" contains forty-eight (48) of the best YA Christian fantasy novels on the planet, plus a brand new Kindle Fire™...FREE! But that's not all. Second Place gets a FREE iPod™ Shuffle. Dean has also collected several mini-prizes, including dragon jewelry and children's books. To enter, you must upload at least one photo of yourself reading a book from Dean's Legends of Karac Tor series (The Book of Names, Corus the Champion, or The Song of Unmaking) to Dean's Facebook page. The contest launches Nov. 1 and concludes Nov. 30. For official rules, visit to deanbriggs.com.    Upload a photo and you're entered to win. It's that easy! Be creative with the photo and caption. Have your dog read the book if you want, or read standing in a public water fountain. Strike a pose and have fun, then describe what you love about the book! Photo can be taken in any setting except a retail bookstore or library.    The Fantasy Prize Pack 48 Books, 15 Authors D. Barkley Briggs The Book of Names Corus the Champion The Song of Unmaking Ted Dekker Elyon Infidel Chosen Chaos Lunatic Lisa Bergren Waterfall Cascade Torrent Donita K. Paul Dragons of the Valley Dragons of Chiril Dragons of the Watch Jeffrey Overstreet Auralia's Colors Cyndere's Midnight Raven's Ladder The Ale Boy's Feast Wayne Thomas Batson Sword in the Stars The Errant King W.T. Batson &  Christopher Hopper Curse of the Spider King Venom and Song Bryan Davis Eye of the Oracle Enoch's Ghost The Last of the Nephilim Dennis Jernigan Captured C.S. Lakin The Wolf of Tebron The Map Across Time Scott Appleton Swords of Six Offspring Jonathan Rogers The Secret of the Swamp King The Bark Of The Bog Owl The Way of the Wilderking BONUS BOOKS: DEAN'S PERSONAL FAVORITES Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle In Time Wind in the Door A Swiftly Tilting Planet Many Waters Lloyd Alexander The Black Cauldron Book of Three The Castle Llyr Taran Wanderer The High King Susan Cooper Over Sea, Under Stone The Dark is Rising Greenwich The Grey King Silver on the Tree

CFBA tour Surrender the Heart by M. L. Tyndall with giveaway

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing




Surrender the Heart Barbour Publishing (August 1, 2010)


by M. L. Tyndall





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

M. L. (MaryLu) Tyndall grew up on the beaches of South Florida loving the sea and the warm tropics. But despite the beauty around her, she always felt an ache in her soul--a longing for something more.



After college, she married and moved to California where she had two children and settled into a job at a local computer company. Although she had done everything the world expected, she was still miserable. She hated her job and her marriage was falling apart.



Still searching for purpose, adventure and true love, she spent her late twenties and early thirties doing all the things the world told her would make her happy, and after years, her children suffered, her second marriage suffered, and she was still miserable.



One day, she picked up her old Bible, dusted it off, and began to read. Somewhere in the middle, God opened her hardened heart to see that He was real, that He still loved her, and that He had a purpose for her life, if she'd only give her heart to Him completely.



She had written stories her whole life, but never had the confidence to try and get any of them published. But as God began to change her heart, He also showed her that writing had been His wonderful plan for her all along!





ABOUT THE BOOK

For the sake of her ailing mother, Marianne Denton becomes engaged to Noah Brennin---a merchantman she despises. But as the War of 1812 escalates, Jonah's ship is captured by the British, and the ill-matched couple learns vital information that could aid America's cause.



Relive the rich history of the War of 1812 through the eyes of Marianne Denton and Noah Brenin, who both long to please their families but neither one wishes to marry the other. Noah is determined to get his cargo to England before war breaks out, and Marianne is equally determined to have a wedding so that her inheritance can be unlocked and her destitute family saved. When their stubborn games get them captured by a British warship, can they escape and bring liberty to their country—and growing love?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Surrender the Heart, go HERE.

My Review:
I enjoyed this book. I didn't know anything about the 1812 war so was interested in what I learnt. Also how the british navy works was an education. I loved the interaction between Marianne and Noah and the other characters. When they find themselves on the British warship we are introduced to other interesting characters who become very important to this story. I love how Mary Lu weaved this story in the style we have come to expect from her and introduced us to this time of history. Its is a great start to another great series cant wait to  the next book is out.

Give away. Thanks to MaryLu I was sent a second copy of this book which I am giving away to an Australian address. If you would like to enter for a copy of this great book leave a comment by 6pm Monday Sept 6 and a way to contact you.