Wednesday Book Giveaway and Guest Blogger, Sandra Orchard

Good morning. It is Guest Blogger Wednesday, which means I'll be giving away another FREE book. And we get to hear from a visiting writer. What a treat it is to have Sandra Orchard as my gusts.

Welcome, Sandra.

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning author of mysteries and romantic suspense with Revell Publishing and Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense imprint.

She is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America and The Word Guild (Canada). A mother of three grown children, she lives in Niagara, Canada with her real-life-hero husband and writes full time…when not doting on her young grandchildren.

Subscribe to Sandra’s newsletter to receive a subscriber-exclusive mini-novella. Learn more about Sandra’s books and bonus features, as well as writer helps, at www.SandraOrchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

God's Gentle Nudges

Since the writing journey can be an emotional roller coaster, I made a point from early on of taking note of the Lord’s little encouragements. Happily, he’s blessed me with many such moments. Like the time the disk in my back blew three days before I was scheduled to fly to my first ACFW conference in Dallas. 

It doesn’t sound like much of a God moment does it? But…it was through the audiotapes of the conference I missed that I learned about Susan May Warren’s plans to launch her My Book Therapy critique service and I became one of her first clients, which turned out to be a huge boost to my learning curve and the beginning of a precious friendship. 

Then there was the day that a single gal, Laurie, in my small rural community showed up at my doorstep with my copy of Romantic Writer’s Review, that had “accidentally” been put in her mailbox along with her own copy. She was thrilled to discover another aspiring romance writer in her community and immediately invited me to her writer’s group. Most of the time, this group wound up being just Laurie, Kate and myself, and it was fabulous. Neither of them were believers, but thankfully wrote pretty sweet romances. And the Lord blessed me incredibly through their critiques and encouragement, as I hope I blessed them through my writing helps, testimony and prayers. 

That experience taught me that God could use my writing here and now even if it was never published to touch the hearts of people I might never have met if I hadn’t embarked on this writing journey.

Sadly Kate has since passed away from cancer, but she definitely drew closer to God in her final months. Laurie continues to be one of my favorite critiquers who I feel incredibly blessed to have. 

Surprisingly, perhaps for those still aspiring to be published, I coveted the God moments more than ever after the contracts started coming in. There was the time I was asked to speak at our local library on Valentine’s Day. It was a snowy day and Valentine’s to boot, so very few made it to the event. However, a reporter from a nearby city paper covered it and wrote a full-page feature article on my work for the “Life” section of the paper! 

These days, the most precious God moments often come in the form of ever-so-timely notes of encouragement from readers who’ve just read one of my books and want to share how it touched them. The Lord seems to bless me with these gentle nudges to persevere on the days I need them most—the days I’ve stared at the computer for hours and deleted more words than I’ve added and wonder if the story will ever come together the way I’d hoped…if at all! 

Whatever is going on in your life, whether you’re aspiring to be a published author or a reader with far different personal pursuits, take note of those God moments in the good times and the times that seem not so good. I suspect God delights in our noticing them as much as we delight in them. 


Sandra, thank you for this message. It is exactly what I needed to hear this morning. 

New Release

Kate won’t be safe until all of Port Aster’s secrets are revealed.

Researcher Kate Adams has finally pinpointed the supposed “miracle plant” that tore her family apart years ago. She’s certain that discovering its secrets is her only hope of solving the mystery surrounding her father’s disappearance. She’s willing to risk anything to find the truth, including her relationship with Detective Tom Parker. But with so many people in pursuit of the plant, going it alone might be a fatal mistake.

Review:

Award-winning author Sandra Orchard pulls out all the stops in this breakneck and breathtaking conclusion to the Port Aster Secrets series.

The series should be read in order—Deadly Devotion, Blind Trust, Desperate Measures—since subsequent books have spoilers to the earlier mysteries. But…beginning May 1st through to the end of August, you’ll be able to download Deadly Devotion for free at most major retailers.
Back Cover

Desperate Measures sounds like a book that would be difficult to put down. And one of you has a chance of winning a FREE copy. In order to be eligible to win a copy of Sandra Orchard's new book all you have to do is leave a comment. And make sure to include your email address so she can contact you.

We have a winner from last week. Congratulations Renee Long. You have won a copy of  Caryl McAdoo,'s book Sing a New Song!


Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie Leon