About the Books

Book: Bandana Acres: Kit’s New Home & My Bandana Acres Journal

Author: Kathy J. Perry

Genre: Early Reader Chapter Book

Release date: November 1, 2018

Wait! That’s not a coyote. Is he here to help me?

 

FIRE! Kit must find a new home in the woods. She is surrounded by wild coyotes. A banana buddy comes to her rescue. Did she earn his friendship?

My Bandana Acres Journal

 

Explore your dreams, write, doodle and discover, with this guided journal!

Use the prompts and you will learn how to:

• Be thankful and optimistic
• Recognize the good things and learn from mistakes
• Make positive decisions
• Understand promise-keeping and secrets
• Break down worries and reflect
• How to ask for help

You don’t have to use the writing prompts or work in any particular order. So, if you want to start in the middle of the book, or at the end, go ahead!

Have fun!

 

Click here to get your copy of Bandana Acers: Kit's New Home!
Click here to get your copy of My Bandana Acres Journal!

 

About the Author

A former classroom teacher and homeschool mom, I’ve always had a heart for educating kids.

I set my mission and started my own publishing company, Chickadee Words, LLC. I do my best to affect our youth through wonderful stories full of timeless character struggles.

 

More from Kathy

The inspiration for Kit’s New Home surrounds us everyday: people who say they’ll do something and then don’t; those who promise and then fail to deliver; people without reliability, honesty, or punctuality. This all boils down to the issue of TRUST. Trust is easily lost and so hard to get back.

Trustworthy people are successful, valuable, and popular in every area of life.

 

Make your yes, “yes” and your no “no”.

Mean what you say and say what you mean.

Keep promises.

Hurt no one. Help others.

 

 

Kit’s lonely and makes new friends in the farm yard. Ollie, the farm dog, explains the “rules” to him with which Kit agrees. He’s a good friend, until one day when he fails Zartie, the red-eared slider turtle.

 

Later, when he’s in trouble, Ollie proves to be a faithful, trustworthy dog and saves Kit from a coyote attack.

 

Here’s one question in the “What If” part at the end of the book:

 

What if you promise to play with a classmate at recess, but then you have a chance to play a fun game with someone else instead? What will you do?

 

 

Special things about this book (and series) include:

 

1. Proven easy-to-read font for early readers (Sassoon Primary)
2. In full-color with original watercolor artwork.
3. Leveled by Lexile and Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) for dialing in to your child’s reading level.
4. Purple words are the character’s inside thoughts (rather than italics, which I thought would be harder to read). Kids enjoy the color. In fact, struggling readers love to read just the colored parts to start – and then want to continue reading! (Each book has its own color for this.)
5. A glossary of newer words with definitions.
6. A “What If” section for discussion with five questions about the story, and five questions of how the theme plays out in real life. (Parents and teachers love these books!)
7. Kit’s New Home is available in hardcover and softcover.

 

Help your kids learn to read with this fun story and cute watercolor illustrations. This early reader chapter book is perfect for ages 5-8 and can usually be read alone by 2nd or 3rd grades.

 

Don’t miss the companion guided journal: My Bandana Acres Journal. Perfect for readers learning to write about their thoughts, dreams, or just doodle. Use for a deeper dive into the themes from the Bandana Acres series. Currently available only from my website shop. Ages 8-12

MY REVIEW 

If you have not purchased any of the books in this series, go now and do it. Each book features an animal who learns valuable lessons about honesty, trust, friendship and more. In this book we meet Kit the fox. Kit wants to make friends and be accepted. I loved how the animals tell Kit how to be a friend to them. Children will learn how important it is to be honest, trustworthy and loyal. The illustrations are nice and will keep children’s attention as the story is read. 

I loved the journal that came with the book. It covers all the books in the series and will give children a chance to write down or share their thoughts about different topics in the series. I encourage parents to grab the entire series along with the journal for their children. It would also be a great addition to any children’s library. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 2 (Spotlight)

A Reader’s Brain, December 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 3

Texas Book-aholic, December 4

Bigreadersite, December 5

Splashes of Joy, December 5

Older & Smarter?, December 6

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 7

Vicky Sluiter, December 7

Girls in White Dresses, December 8

Blogging With Carol, December 8

For Him and My Family, December 9

Inklings and notions, December 10

Cats in the Cradle Blog, December 10

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 11

deb’s Book Review, December 12

Mary Hake, December 12

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 13

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 14

Lights in a Dark World, December 14

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, December 15

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card, a softcover copy of the book, digital artwork with motivational phrase, and a custom Hoo-Rag with artwork from the Bandana Acres series!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/14182/bandana-acres-kit-s-new-home-my-bandana-acres-journal-celebration-tour-giveaway

 

About the Book

Book: A Convenient Risk

Author: Sara R. Turnquist

Genre: Clean Historical Romance

Release date: October 26, 2021

He never imagined her heart would be so hard to reach.

Forced into a marriage of convenience after her husband dies, Amanda Haynes is determined she will never love again. Not that it bothers Brandon Miller. He needs her husband’s cattle. She needs financial stability and long-term support for her son and herself. But she never expected to care so much about the running of the ranch.

Butting heads over the decisions of the ranch, only adds to her frustration. Her wellbeing is soon threatened as their lives become entangled with Billy the Kid and his gang.

What has she gotten herself into? What kind of man has she married? Is there any way out?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sara is a coffee lovin’, word slinging, clean Historical Romance author whose super power is converting caffeine into novels. She loves those odd little tidbits of history that are stranger than fiction. That’s what inspires her. Well, that and a good love story.

But of all the love stories she knows, hers is her favorite. She lives happily with her own Prince Charming and their gaggle of minions. Three to be exact. They sure know how to distract a writer! But, alas, the stories must be written, even if it must happen in the wee hours of the morning.

Sara is an avid reader and also enjoys reading clean Historical Romance when she’s not traveling. Her books range from the Czech lands to the American Wild West and from ancient Egypt to the early 1900s. Some of her titles include The Lady Bornekova, Hope in Cripple Creek, The General’s Wife, Trail of Fears, and the Convenient Risk Series.

 

More from Sara

Hello, Readers!

 

I am always asked about the inspiration behind my work. These tidbits can be wide and varied from one story to the next. But none is so interesting, in my opinion, as the thing that sparked A Convenient Risk.

 

It just so happens that one of my good friends, best-selling contemporary romance author Hannah R. Conway, is my conference buddy. We go to writing conferences and retreats together, networking with other writers and learning more about the craft of writing.

 

And…at one such conference during some down time, Hannah (who is a fellow lover of history) said, “hey, let’s go to the cemetery.” I wasn’t quite so certain about that particular jaunt, but it was daytime and she raved about the history to be mined there, so I was in.

 

As we walked around, indeed we did look at stones—especially older ones—and thought about the lives of the people based on the era they lived in and whatnot. Just a heyday for our writer brains. We came upon a particular set of stones from the early 1900s. And, according to the little bit information on the stones, we determined that the woman had first married a man who was much older. Then he died. And she married a man closer to her own age. My writer wheels started turning!

 

Did her parents arrange a marriage for some sort of benefit? Maybe she was from a poor family and they needed her to have a better circumstance? At any rate, the man died a few years later. Then she married a man closer to her age…perhaps a man she had previously been in love with and had always wanted to marry?

 

I thought, then, about second marriages after a spouse passes. And how we tend to memorialize loved ones who pass—remember the good times and gloss over the hard, more challenging things. I don’t think this is a conscious thing, more of a way our mind handles grief.

 

So, if a widow must make a marriage of convenience, how does that affect her ability to develop love for the second husband if she is comparing him to this image of her first spouse in a way he wasn’t actually in real life.

 

Now, I don’t know for certain…I’ve only been married once (and thank the Lord my Prince Charming is patient enough to stick it out with this writer). But I wanted to work this scenario out within this fictive bubble…play with this concept…see where it led. After mixing that with a bit of history, throwing in a dash of a famous American outlaw, A Convenient Risk was born.

MY REVIEW 

This book is a journey where two people learn to work together to make a marriage of convenience  work. It was interesting that Amanda took Brandon up on his offer so quickly. Her need for security and his need to save his ranch brings them together in this adventure. There were times at the beginning where I didn’t like Brandon. He was abrupt and focused only on his cattle. His harsh words at Amanda didn’t help their relationship. 

Amanda isn’t much better at treating Brandon with respect. She has a feisty side to her and wants to help out but I think she goes at it the wrong way. I did have to laugh at their bickering and how it always ended with bruised egos. They have a lot of learning to do about each other. I did enjoy how the author showed us through these two characters how trust and communication is important in a marriage. 

I liked reading how both characters start to become more comfortable with each other and slowly begin to have feelings for each other. There is a little danger in the story which makes for a great western theme with bad guys that are up to no good. I liked that it is a clean story with a thread of faith weaving throughout. The author gives us a glimpse into Amanda’s  life before Brandon entered the picture. This helped me understand her insecurity and hesitance to give her heart to someone. If you are looking for a story that is not only about relationships but also focuses on trust then this is the story for you. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

For Him and My Family, December 1

Boondock Ramblings, December 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 2

Texas Book-aholic, December 3

Inklings and notions, December 4

Britt Reads Fiction, December 4

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 5

deb’s Book Review, December 6

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 7

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 8

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 9

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 10 (Spotlight)

Cats in the Cradle Blog, December 10

Blossoms and Blessings, December 11

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 13

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 14

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sara is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and an eBook copy of A Convenient Risk!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1417f/a-convenient-risk-celebration-tour-giveaway

 

About the Book

Book: Revived Hope

Author: Kathleen J. Robison

Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

Release date: October 19, 2021

How many near misses does it take not to be a coincidence anymore?

Melanie Thompson has spent her entire adult life trying to overcome the mistakes of her youth. Just as everything is looking up, it all begins to unravel as one problem after another piles on top of each other, each with one goal in mind. Get her out of the way.

Determined to make a better life for herself and her daughter, and with the help of her father, Melanie looks at alternative ways to make her dream of owning a storefront for her bridal business come true. Complications with her ex-husband, the new business, and a threatening landlord all conspire against her, and everything seems lost when tragedy strikes not once, but twice.

What will it take for Melanie to accept the alternate path the Lord has laid out for her?

Revived Hope, the prequel to the romantic suspense Bay Town Series, paves the path for Melanie and Lacey’s move from Orange County to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and a new life in Bay Town.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Kathleen J. Robison is an Okinawan-American. Born in Okinawa, raised in California, Florida, Mississippi, and Singapore. Her travels are the inspirational settings for her stories. She and her Pastor husband have eight adult children. Seven are married, blessing them with fourteen grandchildren and counting. The diversity of their 31 family members provide the inspiration for more lively characters than can be imagined. Her husband grew up in the streets of Los Angeles raised by a single working mom, and that life provides fodder for many of the conflicts of her characters.

Tackling difficult life’s trials with God’s strength are the central theme of Kathleen’s stories. She hopes to inspire her readers to trust God and with His strength, weather through and rise above trials and tragedies. If you like suspenseful stories with a thread of romance, you will enjoy Kathleen’s Bay Town Series

 

More from Kathleen

In Revived Hope, the prequel to Shattered Guilt, it’s one year earlier. Melanie Thompson races through life’s challenges while navigating the trials of being a single mother, a budding entrepreneur, and a woman of faith, all with threats of danger.

Our past doesn’t define us, as Melanie learns, but it definitely frames who we become. Thankfully, we have a gracious God who uses all of the good and the bad to bring us to a place of communion with Him…desiring His will for His glory. And ultimately, it’s always for our good.

I love my character Melanie, and I hope you will too. I’ve spent so many years getting to know her that it was fun writing this prequel. I enjoyed writing about her past and introducing you to her family in California before the move to charming fictional Bay Town in Shattered Guilt. When I wrote of Melanie’s relationship with her dad, I laughed, I cried, and I left my heart in the book…in a manner of speaking.

But Revived Hope is not all sweetness and heartache. Things get pretty testy when Melanie tackles villains head-on and sometimes all alone. Often the world encourages us to do it all, and Melanie tries. Although tragedy strikes too many times, the lessons she learns strengthen her faith and trust in the Almighty.

Lastly, Revived Hope teases with a hint of romance but sets the stage for Melanie’s love story in Shattered Guilt, Book 1, Bay Town Series. I’m excited for you to meet Melanie and her family as you root for her in all her harrowing escapades.

MY REVIEW 

Being introduced to Melanie was very inspiring. I loved her determination, faith and love for her family. She has many struggles in her life but her parents have been a strong support system for her. Raising her daughter as a single parent was challenging at times, but it was nice to see how the grandparents were always there for both their daughter and granddaughter. 

What I liked the most about this story was how the author illustrated how important it is to follow God’s direction for your life. There are some sad moments in the story which I think helped Melanie understand that she could handle anything with God’s help. 

The story is at look at loss and finding a new beginning with God’s plan for your life. I think at times we all doubt that we will succeed at things, but if we could only grasp the truth that “God  will never leave us nor forsake us,” we can find hope. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Inklings and notions, November 30

Gina Holder, December 1 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 1

Texas Book-aholic, December 2

deb’s Book Review, December 3

For Him and My Family, December 4

lakesidelivingsite, December 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 5

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 6

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, December 7

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 8

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 9

Wishful Endings, December 10 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 11

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 12

Splashes of Joy, December 13 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/13cff/revived-hope-celebration-tour-giveaway

 

About the Book

Book: Protecting Annie

Author: Jodie Wolfe

Genre: Western Historical Romance

Release date: November 12, 2021

After twenty years living along the trail as a deputy U.S. Marshal, Joshua Walker takes a job as sheriff in Burrton Springs, Kansas so he can be closer to his sister. Only problem is, she no longer requires his protecting.

After the death of her father, Annie McPherson needs a change. She accepts a position as schoolmarm hoping her past won’t catch up with her. Life is good, except for the pesky lawman who creates confrontations at every turn and continually questions her ability to adjust to life in the west.

When the irritating schoolteacher’s past and present collide, dragging Josh into the turmoil, he has to decide who he’s willing to defend.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Jodie Wolfe creates novels where hope and quirky meet. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Faith, Hope & Love Christian Writers, and COMPEL Training. She’s been a semi-finalist and finalist in various writing contests. A former columnist for Home School Enrichment magazine, her articles can be found online at: Crosswalk, Christian Devotions, and Heirloom Audio. When not writing she enjoys spending time with her husband in Pennsylvania, reading, walking, and being a Grammie. Learn more at www.jodiewolfe.com.

 

More from Jodie

I’ve always been fond of reading mail-order bride books. Not that I would have ever had the courage to do something so brave. 🙂 But it’s fun writing and reading them. I also love perusing historical journal entries of women who decided to marry a complete stranger. Sometimes it worked out great, other times, not so much. In most cases, the heroine traveled across country to arrive in the west to meet her potential groom. Often they had no idea what each other looked like before they met for the first time. Not that looks matter.

At times the woman was given the opportunity to get to know the fella for a while before they actually married. Other times, they tied the knot as soon as the potential wife arrived at their destination. Some women fled desperate situations in the east, hoping for a better outcome only to find themselves embroiled in another bad position. All of the different scenarios I’ve read about helped to prime the pump for Protecting Annie.

 

In book one of my Burrton Springs Brides series, Taming Julia, I had the heroine’s brother, Josh set Jules (Julia) up as a mail-order bride. As I was writing that story, I knew it would be fun to change things up in book two and have Jules return the favor by ordering a mail-order bride for Josh. That’s the premise for this new story. Josh isn’t exactly thrilled to learn of his sister’s interference in his life and decision to remain single.

 

I hope you’ll enjoy the story of two unlikely people who are thrown together.

MY REVIEW 

I really enjoyed this mail order bride story. During this time period it was often that men sent away for a mail order bride. Now I’m not sure how safe it was but many young women answered the ads and set out on an adventure of a new life. I have always been fascinated by this time of genre because I love to find out why a woman would risk  everything to marry a stranger. 

This is the second book in the series and the focus is on the sheriff and Annie.  His sister decides he needs to be married and sends for a mail order bride for him. Josh is not happy with his sister’s decision to go behind his back. His sister means well but he has his hands full keeping the town safe and trying to avoid Annie McPherson. 

Annie has come to town as the new schoolmarm  and finds that the town is behind the times according  to her upbringing, I laugh every time  I think about her shock at not having facilities closer to her. She has this uppity attitude and crashes with Josh. Their banter is comical and had me laughing so hard that I was crying. Annie needs to lighten up a little and give Josh a chance to show her that he really is a nice man.

There is a little mystery in the story that keeps Josh on his toes. Who is stealing from people in the town? The author has crafted a story that takes you back to the Wild West as unsavory characters lurked in the distance waiting to strike at any moment. I couldn’t wait to see who the guilty person was. The author incorporates one of my favorite stories from the Bible which is about the prodigal son. It made me look at this piece from the Bible in a different way. God is waiting for  those who have strayed away to come back to Him and receive forgiveness.  E sure to read the little devotional at the end of the story. 

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 30

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 30

Texas Book-aholic, December 1

Inklings and notions, December 2

For Him and My Family, December 3

deb’s Book Review, December 4

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 5

Jeanette’s Thoughts, December 5

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 6

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 7

Bizwings Blog, December 7

Connie’s History Classroom, December 8

Mary Hake, December 8

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 9

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 10

Stephanie’s life of Determination, December 10

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, December 11

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 12

Vicky Sluiter, December 12

Labor Not in Vain, December 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jodie is giving away the grand prize of an audio CD of 12 historical novels and novellas. Stories of chivalry, adventure and romance!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/13cfe/protecting-annie-celebration-tour-giveaway