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Are you in the mood for a FREE or 99 cent summer or patriotic read?


Happy 4th of July! I’m happy to be part of a sale going on today only with some other awesome authors. All the books are free or $0.99 today only. All these books are patriotic or summer-themed. Perfect for loading up your Kindle for a road trip, staycation, beach read, or by the pool.

I have four books in this sale, including Promise’s Prayer!

I’ve personally read all but four of these, and I highly recommend them all:

Promise’s Prayer by Erika Mathews (kingdom fiction)

Across the Land I Love by Sarah Holman (Contemporary)

Cookies by Rebekah A. Morris (Historical)

England Adventure by Kelsey Bryant (Contemporary)

Enjoy the Poodle Skirt by Kate Willis (Contemporary)

Gather ‘Round the Fables by Erika Mathews (Short fable retelling collection)

A Good Summer by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary)

Honor All Men by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary)

Lessons from Liberty by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary)

Mystery at Random by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary/Mystery)

Oh, The Fallen by Abigail Kay Harris (Contemporary)

Overrun By Your Love by Erika Mathews (Inspirational poetry including 2 patriotic poems)

Prairie Independence Day by Kelsey Bryant (Contemporary)

Summer Light by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary)

The Treasure Hunt by Kate Willis (Contemporary)

Treasures from Taerna by Erika Mathews (Kingdom Fiction)

Waltz into the Waves by Sarah Holman (Kingdom Fantasy/Non-Magical Fantasy/Fairytale)

Wherever He Leads by Rebekah A. Morris (Contemporary)

I hope you found some awesome treasures among these. Happy 4th of July!

Sales, Freebie, and a BIG bookish giveaway!

I have some sales and a big giveaway happening right now!

  1. Victory’s Voice is 50% off this week! Go grab it! This works well as a standalone read. It highlights the power of spoken words in the spiritual realm in a gripping family friendly story that deals with spiritual warfare and true victory.
  2. If you haven’t started the series yet, Promise’s Prayer is FREE TODAY only.
  3. And Resting Life is 50% off also!
  4. This week I’ve teamed up with other indie authors of stories with teen girls to give you a BOOKISH BASKET! Enter here.

Please grab the books, enter the giveaway, and share, share, share!

Walk 100 Miles This Spring

The past two years, my family has participated in the Spring100 Challenge. Over the three months of springtime, we all walked 100 miles together.

We were looking forward to participating again this year, but the challenge organizers decided to take a break for 2023.

But my online walking accountability group I created in 2022 wanted to walk 100 miles this spring again anyway!

So I’m hosting my own unofficial 100 Miles in Spring challenge! We’re again attempting to walk 100 miles from March 20-June 20.

If you’d like to join us, the signup form is currently open! It’s all online, free, and hosted on Slack, an easy and free platform. There’s also an optional meditation challenge where we’ll be meditating on John 13-17 over the three months of walking.

More information and signup is here.

Let me know if you have any questions! I hope you’ll join us!

Happy Birthday to My Books! [big sales, free books, new releases!]

Two big pieces of news for you today:

  1. It’s Taerna’s birthday! Promise’s Prayer turns 6 and Victory’s Voice turns 2 on March 18. Memory’s Mind and Romance’s Rest also have their first within a month of now – not to mention Resting Life turns 3 on March 20! 

    So I’m celebrating with:

    – A SALE. Get the whole series for under $9! (Regularly $23!) These prices are only good March 1-8, so don’t wait. Most of the books are just 99 cents apiece. (Years of work are poured into these books. This sale is totally a steal for you. I’m not making any profit off of these. But I am passionate about getting these books and the messages in them out to people to encourage people in their walk with God.) And just for fun, most of my other books are 99 cents as well.
    – FREE BOOKS. Promise’s Prayer is FREE for a few days only. And Treasures from Taerna, my short story collection, is also free here.
    – FUN EXTRAS. Did you know that there are maps of Taerna? Or that Taerna has detailed Pinterest boards with character images, gorgeous landscape photos, and inspirational series-related quotes? Or that you can find out your Taerna title or which Taerna character you are? and more? It’s all here!
    – A BRAND NEW RELEASE! See below…

SHOP SALES ~ Get Promise’s Prayer FREE ~ Get Treasures from Taerna FREE ~ Browse Behind-the-Scenes Extras

2. Everything is published! Before you scratch your head, I will quickly explain that Everything is the title of a story collection – a collection with 21 stories all on the theme “everything.” I edited, formatted, and published this collection with stories from me and from twenty-one other female Christian authors. 

This collection weaves tales both historical and contemporary in a variety of imaginative settings. Everything features lovable characters: a homeless orphan, a reminiscing mother, an agent juggling fatherhood, a wary teenager and his dog, a terrified housebound woman, and a pair of Sherlock Holmes-obsessed orphan twins on a mission. Learn the spiritual lessons of an old car, a mission trip tragedy, a lonely grandmother’s box of Christmas ornaments, and a graphic designer’s work worries. Smile and weep with a wife bereaved by war, a taxi driver and his ministry, a sweet child with a terminal diagnosis, and chronic illness warrior who learns to bless others.

Catch the vision of hope in everything captured in two inspiring poems. Rejoice with a faithful, trusting relative with an uncertain future, sympathize with a health-challenged gardener-wannabe, cry with a family separated by war, and decide who struggles more with birthday party planning: two loyal pixies or a young mother and her mischievous dog.

Warmth, hope, and encouragement pervade the pages, echoing the theme of “everything” from a refreshing plethora of angles equally insightful and entertaining, spiritually profound, and eternally valuable.

GET IT HERE or Add it to Goodreads

Or check out Anything (Book 1) here.

Also, today is the release day for a book by some author friends of mine… 

A VERY BOOKISH EASTER

It’s four stories by four authors. Each story is based on/themed around a classic novel: Heidi, A Christmas Carol, The Secret Garden, Romeo and Juliet. Each story is resurrection themed. 

Check it out here.

A Dollar Store for 600 Books (& a “Free Box”)

If you like reading clean books, don’t miss the Sale of the Year. Every book of mine is either 99 cents or free. That includes 3 of my anthologies! Go here to browse and buy them.

If you’ve been wanting to start my series, Promise’s Prayer is free! And the rest of the books are the lowest they’ve ever been!

All free or 99 cents

  • Resting Life (inspirational nonfiction)
  • Truth from Taerna series (Promise’s Prayer, Victory’s Voice, Surrender’s Strength, Sustainer’s Smile, Memory’s Mind, Romance’s Rest – realistic clean kingdom fiction novels)
  • NEW! Treasures from Taerna, a Taerna short story collection. FREE here.
  • Overrun By Your Love (inspirational poetry collection)
  • FREE! Gather ‘Round the Fables (whimsical fables retold in the style of KJV, politically correct, and narrative poetry)
  • Happiness Below (historical fiction short story)
  • Anything (KDWC short story collection)
  • Hope (KDWC short story collection)
  • A Homewood Christmas (six stories set in one town over 150 years; historical and contemporary fiction)

But that’s not all! Go browse 600 other 99 cent and free clean books here!


If 600 books is too many to sort through, here are a few books from that sale I’ve loved (besides my own, of course), sorted by genre:

Christmas

Glad Tidings by Angie Thompson: 25 short stories for Christmas! Besides A Homewood Christmas, this is my favorite Christmas collection (and this might even top Homewood)!

Molly and Anna by Sarah Holman: a cute story themed around Christmas and Pollyanna

Red Boots by Kate Willis: touching short Christmas story

Saving Miss Christmas by Rebekah Morris: a fun small-town Christmas story

Sincerely, Jem by Kate Willis: a secret penpal at Christmastime

Contemporary

Bridgers by Angie Thompson: a powerful parable retelling

Coffee Cake Days by Amanda Tero: great, relatable story with an excellent lesson – and it’s free!

Enjoy the Poodle Skirt by Kate Willis: a fun contemporary story with a mystery

Fanny’s Hope Chest by Sarah Holman: excellent story on contentment and ministry!

Fellowship of Light series by Chelsea Burden: I edited this one and it’s all about community and love and unity and growing and learning and it has such excellent characters and lessons!

Six Cousins series by Kelsey Bryant: such fun cousin stories with excellent spiritual lessons along the way

Wedding Score by Amanda Tero: excellent book for single ladies, but great for all ages!

Fantasy (non-fantasy readers, don’t skip this category. There a lot of non-fantasy kingdom adventure books hiding among the traditional fantasy here)

Tales of Ambia by Alison Tebo: I’ve only read the first one, but it’s whimsical, light, fun, and full of amazing characters and fun plots

Ilyon Chronicles series by Jaye L. Knight: excellent clean non-magical fantasy. Adventures, deep characters, good spiritual message. Bonus: the last book in the series is coming out NEXT YEAR (I’m currently beta reading it!). If you want to catch up before it comes out, this is the lowest price the series has EVER been!

The Blades of Acktar series by Tricia Mingerink: non-magical fantasy without any fantasy elements. A powerful epic story.

The Rizkaland Legends series by Kendra E. Ardnek: fun and colorful yet deep, thought provoking tales.

Historical Fiction

As the Heavens are Higher by Courtenay Burden: I haven’t read this one yet but I can’t wait to! I’ve loved all Courtenay’s other works that I’ve read! Such a gorgeous vintage Christian writing style!

Hymns in the Hills by Rebekah Morris: a historical tale of a young girl

Librarians of Willow Hollow series: fascinating tales of horseback librarians in a historical town

Never by J. Grace Pennington: high stakes, drama, edge-of-your-seat historical Western with a message that stays with you

The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy by Kellyn Roth: such well-written historical stories. I haven’t read them all, but I’ve enjoyed what I have read so far.

Mystery

AKA Simon Lee series by P.D. Atkerson: if you like mystery and high stakes secret spy adventures, you’ll LOVE this series.

Kate’s Case Files series by Sarah Holman: Biblical morals meet detective stories

The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbot series: This series is AMAZING. If you only get one series (besides mine of course ;)), get this one. Fun, funny, great characters, excellent plot, clean, good message… this mystery series is just an enjoyable experience you’ll want to keep revisiting.

The Mrs. Meade Mysteries by Elisabeth Grace Foley: I read the first one and loved it so much I want the rest now!

Romance (sorry, I don’t read a whole lot in this category!)

Kiera: a futuristic story with so much faith throughout the tense and exciting happenings

Sci-Fi

The Firmament series by J. Grace Pennington: Even though I don’t read much sci-fi, this series was pretty amazing. Clean, exciting, with Biblical approaches to tough questions.

One in a Galaxy by Angie Thompson: This book is incredible! It’s a beautiful story with wonderful characters. So well-written and well-told.

Non-fiction

There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman: a fun, true story

Enjoy reading!

I released a Christmas collection!

Hi everyone! Welcome to October at Resting Life! I have something very special to introduce to you today.

It’s a brand new story of mine! And not only mine, but connected stories from five other authors as well!

Also, it released this week, so you can pick it up today. I definitely want to add it to my Christmas book collection!

÷

A Homewood Christmas

By Courtenay Burden, Erika Mathews, Hannah Gridley, Angie Thompson, Rebekah A. Morris and Hannah Foster

Come home to a small-town Christmas through the ages…

The close-knit community of Homewood, Minnesota might not even be a dot on most maps. But from its earliest settlement to the present day, a warm Christmas welcome and a shining Moravian star have been its hallmarks of the holiday.

Step into the bustle of preparations as a young orphan travels an unexpected path to the Christmas he’s longed for and a boisterous flock of cousins learns the eternal secrets of the Christmas fruit bowl. Follow a wintery road with a widowed mother in the shadow of war and a generous aunt trying her best for her family as they search for a place where they truly belong. Slip into the fire glow next to a lonely stranger with a terrible secret and a hometown girl trying to escape past hurts, and watch Christmas light and love warm even the coldest places.

With so many ways to celebrate the season, one reason undergirds them all—and the Christmas stars of Homewood never tire of telling His story!

This collection of six Christmas novellas is presented to you by the Aunties of the King’s Daughters Writing Camp. We’ve been working for almost a year to put together a volume of Christmas stories set against the backdrop of a nostalgic Minnesota town—and scattered across history from the mid-1800s to the 21st century.

This week, all of us are excited to be sharing our finished collection with all of you!

The Collection at a Glance

Title: A Homewood Christmas

Authors: Courtenay Burden, Erika Mathews, Hannah Gridley, Angie Thompson, Rebekah A. Morris, Hannah Foster

Genre: Clean Christmas Fiction

Theme: Hometown Christmases with Strong Christian Messages

Page Count: 482

Launch Date: October 24, 2022

Buy it from your favorite retailer: https://books2read.com/u/47g1wg

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61530387-a-homewood-christmas

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJV41DM3/

All the Details

A Homewood Christmas is more than just a collection of Christmas tales. It’s also a holiday treasure hunt that will keep you making surprise connections all the way through. Keep your eyes open for recurring characters, locations, and of course, the special Christmas star that pops up in every story!

Star of Bethlehem (Courtenay Burden): As ten-year-old Earnest tries to help his new aunt fit in to the family during the Christmas of 1843, he learns valuable lessons about fitting in himself as he ponders the fact that Bethlehem had no room for his Savior.

The Christmas Fruit Bowl (Erika Mathews – that’s me!): During Christmas 1900, it seems nothing can redeem the holiday for Auntie Beth’s nine nieces and nephew—except perhaps a treasured heirloom that holds eternal lessons about the true Christmas fruit of the spirit.

Room in the Manger? (Hannah Gridley): During World War II, a widowed mother in the big city takes her young children home for Christmas so they can experience a real family Christmas in Homewood, but will they find room in the busy little town?

Home Forever (Angie Thompson): Just before Christmas of 1955, a big-city visitor offers Magda the perfect present for her family—or is it truly what they want after all?

He is Still Emmanuel (Rebekah A. Morris): Aunt Peggy befriends a troubled young woman during the Christmas season of 1985, but can she show her that, no matter what, Jesus is still Emmanuel?

An Auntie for Christmas (Hannah Foster): All seven-year-old Lora wants for Christmas 2013 is for Auntie Jaz to come home–but can old hurts be mended in time for the holiday?

Meet the Authors

All six of the authors who collaborated on A Homewood Christmas are part of the Aunties Team at the King’s Daughters Writing Camp (www.kingsdaughterswritingcamp.com). Here’s a little personal introduction to each of us:

Courtenay Burden is a homeschool graduate, Victorian fanatic, and author of historical fiction. She loves working with yarn, devouring history, playing the occasional game of chess, and discovering new ways to cook the humble potato. She is passionate about good and great literature—writing that embodies both literary and spiritual excellence for the glory of Christ.

Connect with Courtenay: sawpublishing.com

Erika Mathews writes Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God in ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. The author of the kingdom adventure fiction series Truth from Taerna, she’s passionate about encouraging others to intimately know Jesus. She enjoys playing with her children, editing, anything outdoors, being organized, autumn, apple crisp, and sunrises.

Connect with Erika: restinglife.com

Hannah Gridley is a church employee, a music teacher, and a historical fiction author from Arkansas. She loves gardening, online team games, English, and hot tea. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her outdoors in the garden or hiking, reading, or trying to grow something exotic.

Connect with Hannah:  goodreads.com/user/show/17442587-hannah or on Truth Social as @BookwormHannahGardens

An avid reader and incurable story-spinner, Angie Thompson also enjoys volunteering in her church’s children’s program and starting (but not always finishing) various kinds of craft projects. She currently lives in central Virginia near most of her incredible family, including two parents, six brothers, one sister, and five siblings-in-law—plus four nieces, six nephews, and several assorted pets!

Connect with Angie: quietwaterspress.com

Rebekah A. Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author, and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, and her bestselling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. The Show-Me state is where she calls home.

Connect with Rebekah: readanotherpage.com/blog

Hannah Foster was born and raised in North Carolina where she was homeschooled with her eight siblings. She attended college in Minnesota where she got her bachelor’s degree in literature, learned to survive temperatures of below zero, and became Mrs. Foster. Hannah loves writing small-town Christian romance with spunky, sassy women and strong, protective men. And if you started running as soon as you saw she writes romance, then she hopes you’ll come back and give it a chance. She writes for the ones who think they hate romance because romance as designed by God is good, beautiful, and right. So if you love small towns, families that love, gentle romance, delightful characters, and an imperfect church serving a perfect God, then you’ve come to the right place. If you don’t find Hannah reading or writing a book, you might find her watercolor painting, playing tennis with her husband, or making coffee at a small-town cafe.

Connect with Hannah: hannahfosterwrites.wordpress.com

Hope you enjoy A Homewood Christmas this season! Don’t forget to pick up your copy today.

Romance’s Rest Launch Tour Wrap-up

Thank you so much for joining me this week for the launch of my book! If you got Romance’s Rest, I pray you find Kethin’s story a blessing that sticks with you and propels you nearer, still nearer to Jesus.

If you missed anything during this tour, you can always go back and find it using the list below. And don’t forget: the series is on sale through tomorrow, so grab it now!

Monday, April 18 – KICK-OFF DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – tour intro

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – book spotlight and excerpt

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – character spotlight on Faeth Dale

Tuesday, April 19 – FREE CHAPTER DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Read the First Chapter for Free 

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – book spotlight and review

Wednesday, April 20 – BIBLE STUDY DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Bible study on blood covenant

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – book review
Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – book spotlight and excerpt

Thursday, April 21 – LAUNCH DAY
Erika Mathews at Resting Life – special launch post

Chelsea Burden at Light in the Tunnel – character spotlight on Kethin Ellith

Friday, April 22 – SALE DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life
Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – Book review

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – guest post by Erika on true love in Scripture

Esther J at The Lost Review of Odd Books & instagram – author interview with Erika

Ryana Lynn on Instagram

Saturday, April 23 – WRAPUP DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Tour wrapup

Katja Labonte at Old Fashioned Book Love – Book spotlight and review


Two other bloggers are posting about Memory’s Mind today. Don’t forget to check them out!

Katja Labonté at Old Fashioned Book Love and Instagram – Book spotlight, exclusive excerpt, and review


Get Six Novels for under $10

Romance’s Rest launched yesterday, and today you can pick up ALL SIX Taerna books for under $10! Promise’s Prayer is FREE today, and the rest of the series is on sale for 50-75% off! Plus the rest of my books are also on sale.

Now’s a great time to pick them up! And spread the word.


We have several other excellent posts today:

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – Book review

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – guest post by Erika on true love in Scripture

Esther J at The Lost Review of Odd Books & instagram – author interview with Erika

Ryana Lynn on Instagram

Come back tomorrow for the tour wrap-up!

The Series is Officially Complete! Romance’s Rest is Here!

It’s here!

Romance’s Rest is a journey into the heart of God—into His covenant relationship with His people and into the depths of true covenant love. This is a message laid strongly upon my heart—a message that every believer should internalize. 

The message meshed into the story of Kethin—already a favorite character—and his romance mirrors the romance of God for His people. 

I encourage you to go to the pages of Scripture. As you read its stories, accounts, histories, prophecies, and exhortations, ask God to open your eyes to His cove­nant, of which He has left echoes on every page of the Bible. 

Above all, reader, may you, too, receive and embrace the depths of God’s steadfast, loyal, infinite love for you. May that love flow through you to all those around you in ways far beyond what you can imagine. He loves you more than you can ever dream!


Today I have a character spotlight on Kethin Ellith, the main character of the book! He’s such a fun, energetic character – go check it out! It’s posted by Chelsea Burden at Light in the Tunnel.C

Come back tomorrow for a spotlight on the whole series – and the massive Taerna sale!