Wednesday Book Giveaway - Guest Blogger, Cynthia Hickey

Happy Wednesday! And welcome to Cynthia Hickey my blogging guest this week. 

Multi-published author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries published through Barbour Publishing, with a novella releasing in March 2013. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series. She has several historical romances releasing in 2013 and 2014 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and two cats. She has five grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”.

Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com
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On Twitter at @cynthiahickey
Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1FSHtKc


DREAMS CHANGE

I’ve been making up stories since I was little. Almost since the time I learned to read. Interestingly enough, I wanted to be a teacher. Being an author didn’t occur to me in any shape or form, although I always wrote my stories down. No, I was pretty emphatic about being a teacher.

Funny how God often has other plans. I didn’t go to college (kind of need to in order to be a teacher). I got married right out of high school when my boyfriend joined the Air Force. It wasn’t until my second marriage and almost twenty years later that I became a teacher of sorts. First, girl scouts, then Sunday school for ten years, then foster care for nine more years, then I worked in an Elementary School as a Detention Monitor. Maybe not a teacher in the normal sense, but still a teacher all the same.

And, I kept on writing my stories down. While working at the Elementary School, I had opportunities to write while supervising students. As time went by, I wrote more and dealt less with children. My dream was changing.

Or…was teaching ever what I was meant to do in the first place? Was I stepping outside of God’s will for me? Sure, I was ministering, in a way, to His flock, but did God want me to take all those story ideas He gave me and put them in the pages of a book?

I entered a time of introspection. 
Now, with one teenager still at home, God has given me the gift of full-time writing. Isn’t it funny how He can change your dream? Or did He?


Cynthia, thank you so much for sharing your story. God knows all of our days ... we get to live them out and discover what he had in store all the time.

Cynthia's new book.

FREE copy to one of you!

On May 12, 1924, a park forest ranger notices rocks out of place near the mouth of the Kilauea Volcano. On Sunday, May 18, the ground splits open, rocks, fire, and ash fill the sky, and those who chose not to evacuate are in a fight for their lives.

LUCY DILLOW, daughter of the local pastor enjoys her days of ministering to Hawaii's friendly people and teaching their young in a simple one-room schoolhouse. When the order arrives to evacuate because of the uncertainty of the volcano, she decides to stay behind with her family in case they are needed, and to keep a journal of the volcano's activity. She doesn't expect to butt heads with a handsome rancher over the danger involved.

JACK GARRISON is ranching land passed down from generation to generation. When the volcano threatens to blow, he refuses to leave his cattle to perish. Instead, he works to save them, herding them as far away from the volcano as possible. Once his livelihood is safe, he turns to helping those who need him; namely the beautiful daughter of a missionary who challenges everything he believes in.

This unlikely couple join forces as part of a team to warn the villagers of impending danger, and find themselves falling in love despite the odds against them. Can they survive nature's fury and each other's differences in order to forge a future together?


This sounds like a good read. I love the butting of heads in a romance. And an exotic location doesn't hurt either.

If you'd like a chance to win a FREE copy make sure to leave a comment and don't forget to include your email address so Cynthia can contact you.

We have a winner from last week.  Maxie, Congratulations!

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie