Win a KindleTouch from Patti Lacy!

Patti Lacy is celebrating the release of her latest book, Reclaiming Lily,  with a KindleTouch Giveaway, blog tour and FB Book Chat Party!


Follow the blog tour and read the reviews!


Patti and her publisher, Bethany House, are giving away a Reclaiming Lily prize package worth over $150 to one lucky winner!!!!

Enter the Reclaiming Lily Giveaway and you could win:

• A brand new just released KindleTouch with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift cetificate to Amazon.com

But, wait there’s more!


Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. Giveaway ends on 10/19! Patti will be announcing the winner of the Reclaiming Lily Giveaway at her Party on Facebook October 20th! She’ll be hosting a book club chat of Reclaiming Lily (it's okay if you haven't read it - you could win a copy!) and giving away other fun prizes! (signed copies of her books and gift certificates to Amazon.com, Starbucks, & iTunes!). Don’t miss the fun at Patti’s FB Author Page on 10/20/11 at 5pm PST ( 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, & 8 pm EST)! RSVP today!

About the book:

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Ft. Worth hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer--or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

About Patti:

Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University with a BS in education and completed master's-level courses in English at Indiana State University. She taught atHeartland Community College until May 2006, when she resigned to pursue her passion of writing. The author of three previous novels, Patti is the mother of two grown children and lives with her husband in Normal, Illinois.

For more about Patti and her other books, visit her website at www.pattilacy.com.


My Review:
Thanks the Litfuse for my review copy: I loved this book. This book deals with international adoption, a potential fatal genetic disease and two families with an interest in one child. Kai is a doctor who grew up in China and had to watch her sister being adopted by an American couple. Years later Kai is meeting with Lily's adopt parents to reunite with her sister and to discuss that fact she may have a medical issue. I found the book interesting as I knew little of the Cultural Revolution in China and some of the issues resulting from it. I knew a little about adopting in China due to friends adopting a girl from there and knew how hard it was for them and some of the issues they faced with the cultural differences. I love how the book tells Kia's story about what happened in China and how she got to be where she is. Kia is also searching for something she wants to know about God but doesn't realise that is what she is looking for. This was a compelling story and would recommend it to all. I have read 2 others of Patti's book and I think this is by far her best so far.

CFBA Tour Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Reclaiming Lily Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Patti Lacy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Patti Lacy, Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, The Rhythm of Secrets, released in January of 2011. Patti's, Reclaiming Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church and has had a blast planning the September 2009 wedding of her firstborn, Sarah.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worchestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed."


ABOUT THE BOOK

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

If you would like to read the first chapter of reclaiming Lily, go HERE.

Focus on Christmas with Patti Lacy

Today we welcome Patti Lacy to my blog for focus on Christmas.
This will be the last post as I am on holidays at present.
I want to wish you all a very happy Christmas.

Firstly, thanks for coming back to my blog this time we are focusing on Christmas.
What do you most associate with Christmas where you live?

Whistling winter winds, steel-gray clouds dumping piles of snow—in my driveway! Sub-zero temperatures! Hey, it’s happening RIGHT NOW—while you Aussies bask in the sun!


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

Hushed candlelit church sanctuaries on December 24 top our tradition list, as does unpacking our precious Italian manger scene that has twenty-one-year-old teeth marks. When our children were young, we drew hand-sewn symbols from an Advent calendar and enjoyed a daily treat. Now our focus falls on how best to adore the Child in the manger. Prayer? Fasting?

“Oh, come, let us adore Him…Did I mention that we love singing carols?

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas Carol and if so do you know why?

Was that a lead-in or WHAT? “Silent Night” lends the wonder and emotion of the participants in that first sacred Christmas. Oh, how I hear the cattle lowing, the angels singing, the shepherds sighing with awe…

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

Just like we do, in the bosom of our family. We’ve had beach Christmases and Disney World Christmases, but what I like best is gathering before our own hearth and eating at our own table.

5. Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

Growing up in the South, I didn’t understand the meaning of White Christmas until we traveled to Colorado. Suddenly the glittery Christmas cards took on meaning!


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

We attend a Christmas Eve service. How I love the candlelit ones that end with singing…”Silent Night.” Then we prepare a Tex-Mex dinner and have a White Elephant party. Often gifts get recycled in different forms! Yeah, the Santa Claus outfitted baby alligator lurks in the most inauspicious boxes!!
On Christmas Day, we gather around the tree, open gifts, and spend time just being together. It’s pretty low-key.

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

My son adores “The Christmas Story.” I gravitate toward “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” A precious gem that many don’t know about is Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory.”

8. Do you have a Christmas message for my readers?
Let the expectations of the world fall away as you turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in that wonderful Infant face, yet let the shadow of the cross remain in your view…

www.pattilacy.com/blog

Getting to Know you Thursday's with Patti Lacy

Please welcome Patti Lacy to getting to know you Thursdays.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a displaced Southerner who has fallen in love with the Midwest. In 2005, God whispered in my ear that I needed to tell a story I’d heard ten years earlier. For a time, I juggled teaching and writing, but now I work full-time as a novelist. Alan, my faithful spouse, and my two adult children are the most important gifts of my life. A rescue dog named Laura lounges in MY favorite chair while I write.

2. When you were a child, did you have a favourite book or books?
Oh, my bookshelves groaned from all the volumes in my tiny bedroom! Favorites? The Children’s Illustrated Bible, Beautiful Joe, Nancy Drew mysteries. How I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking’s friend! (I remember her I loved reading about Pippi)

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and write?
Literary fiction sends chills up my spine and sets my gray matter to spinning in my skull. For that reason, I try to dabble with literary elements in my genre of women’s fiction.

4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?
We’d overload your system if I listed all my favorite authors, Jenny! I’ve inhaled works by authors as diverse as Louisa May Alcott, Agatha Christie, Francine Rivers, Jane Austen, Barbara Kingsolver, Gayl Jones, and A.W. Tozer. I’d better stop there!

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?
In 1995, an Irishwoman shared her poignant life story with me. For years, I treasured the Biblical truths glittering therein. Ten years later, the Still, Small Voice called me to capture that story on paper. And that’s what I tried to do. Now I’m addicted.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?
Set daily page quotas. Gobbled up writing books. Attended Write to Publish in Wheaton. God kinda took it from there.

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?
A teacher! With occasional seminars, library appearances, and partnership at writing conferences, I’ve been able to combine two passions!

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?
Ride bikes. Jog. Eat chocolate. Drink coffee. Laugh. Love.

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?
Italy (particularly Cinque Terra) and Australia.

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?
Billy Graham, Jamie Johnson, and Barbara Kingsolver. Years ago, God drew me to a Billy Graham crusade. I believe the Holy Spirit infused Dr. Graham’s poignant Southern drawl with a white-hot fire, and some of the flame melted the coldness in my heart.
I would love for Dr. Graham to preach to Jamie Johnson, Barbara Kingsolver, and me. Then I would ask Jamie to sing “In Color,” and all the other songs from “That Lonesome Road.” For a finale, I’d discuss Poisonwood Bible and the Turtle series with Ms. Kingsolver, who is a phenomenal writer.

Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will be coming out soon? Also where we can find you on the web.

An Irishwoman’s Tale—After a book discussion group meeting, an impetuous red-haired woman shares her life story with a chatty Southerner. Then the two women embark on a quest to the mystical coast of County Clare and uncover the secrets of the Irishwoman’s past.

What the Bayou Saw—Segregation and a chain link fence separated Sally Stevens from her best friend, Ella Ward. But a brutal rape bound them together. Forever. Over thirty years later, the secrets that Sally and Ella tried to bury in the bayou ooze into the present. If Sally doesn’t face her past—and the truth—she risks destroying her future.
I’ve just finished a manuscript that I call My Name is Sheba. Hopefully you’ll be hearing about it soon.

Oh, I’d love to have y’all visit me at http://www.pattilacy.com/. See you soon!

Thanks again for your time and agreeing to be on my blog.