From the monthly archives:

December 2007

A Shadow of Treason Blog Tour

by 123pizza on December 10, 2007

22.jpgBook 2 in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series

Sophie discovers that nothing is as she first imagined. When Walt, the reporter who helped her over the border, shows up again after Guernica is bombed, Sophie is given an impossible mission. She must leave behind the man she’s fallen in love with and return to the person who betrayed her. Another layer of the war in Spain is revealed as Sophie is drawn into the international espionage schemes that could turn the tide of the war and help protect the soldiers from the International Brigade … she must find a way to get a critical piece of information to Walt in time.

Q and A with Tricia!tric

Q:

A Shadow of Treason follows A Valley of Betrayal. This is the first time you’ve written books as a series instead of stand alone. Which way do you like better?

A: I love writing in series. It was great to continue with the same characters. In my stand-alone books I fell in love with these people and then I had to say good-bye after one book. It was wonderful to be able to continue on.

Q: In A Shadow of Treason Sophie must return to the person who betrayed her in an effort to help the Spanish people. It makes the book hard to put down because the reader has to know how Sophie’s heart will deal with it. Why did you decide to make this an element of the book?

A: There are very few of us who go through life without giving away a part of our hearts to someone who didn’t deserve it. Even though Sophie had the best intentions, she gave away her heart and she was hurt-not only that she must revisit those emotions.

I wanted to include this element-to delve into the topic that emotions are sometimes as big of a trap as any physical cage. Emotions are real and they guide us — even when we don’t want to admit it. Poor Sophie, not only does she have to deal with a war around her — she also has to deal with a war within herself. It’s something I’ve battled, and mostly likely others have too.

Q: There is an interesting element that arises in this book and that is Spanish gold. I know you can’t tell us what happens in this book, but can you give us a brief history of this gold?

A: Sure. When I was researching I came upon something interesting. The Spaniards, as we know, had taken much Aztec and Inca gold during the time of the conquistadors. Well, at the start of The Spanish Civil War much of this gold was still held in Madrid. In fact Spain had the fourth largest gold reserves in the world at that time. The Republican government was afraid Franco would take the city and the gold. They had to get it out of Madrid and this included transporting priceless artifacts. The element of gold does make its way into my story. It was great to include this little-known (and true!) element into my story.

Q: Another historical fact I learned about was the Nazi involvement during this time. Not only were the Germans active in Spain, but they had spy networks busy around the world. How did you find out about this?

A: I love reading tons of research books. Usually I find one little element that I dig out and turn into a plot line. This is what happened with my plot-line for the Nazi pilot, Ritter. I dug up this bit of research of Nazi involvement in Spain — and the United States — because a lot of people aren’t aware of the Nazi involvement prior to WWII. The truth is they were busy at work getting the land, information, and resources they needed far before they threatened the nations around them. The Germans knew what they wanted and how to get it. And most of the time they succeeded!

Q: A Shadow of Treason is Book Two. When will Book Three be out? Can you give us a hint of how the story continues?

A: Book Three is A Whisper of Freedom. It will be out February 2008. The characters that we love are all still in the midst of danger at the end of Book Two. Book Three continues their stories as we follow their journeys in — and (for a few) out — of Spain. It’s an exciting conclusion to the series!

Q: Wow, so we have a least one more fiction book to look forward to in the near future. Are you working on any non-fiction?

A: Yes, I have two non-fiction books that will be out the early part of 2008. Generation NeXt Marriage is a marriage book for today’s couples. It talks about our marriage role models, our struggles, and what we’re doing right as a generation. It also gives advice for holding it together.

I’ve also been privileged to work on the teen edition of Max Lucado’s book 3:16. It was a great project to work on. What an honor!

Tricia’s Bio:

Tricia Goyer has published over 300 articles for national publications such as Today’s Christian Woman, Guideposts for Kids, and Focus on the Family, and is the co-author of Meal Time Moments (Focus on the Family). She has led numerous Bible Studies, and her study notes appear in the Women of Faith Study Bible (Zondervan).

She has written seven novels for Moody Publishing:

  • From Dust and Ashes (2003)
  • Night Song (2004)
  • Dawn of a Thousand Nights (2005);
  • Arms of Deliverance (2006)
  • A Valley of Betrayal (2007)
  • A Shadow of Treason (Fall 2007)
  • A Whisper of Freedom (February 2008)

Night Song was awarded American Christian Fiction Writer’s 2005 Book of the Year for Best Long Historical. Dawn of a Thousand Nights won the same award in 2006.

Tricia has also written Life Interrupted: The Scoop on Being a Young Mom (Zondervan, 2004), 10 Minutes to Showtime (Thomas Nelson, 2004), and Generation NeXt Parenting (Multnomah, 2006). Life Interrupted was a 2005 Gold Medallion finalist in the Youth Category.

Also, coming out in the next year are: My Life, Unscripted (Thomas Nelson, 2007), Generation NeXt Marriage (Multnomah, Spring 2008), and 3:16-the teen version of the a book by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson, Spring 2008).

Tricia and her husband John live with their three children in Kalispell, Montana. Tricia’s grandmother also lives with them, and Tricia volunteers mentoring teen moms and leading children’s church. Although Tricia doesn’t live on a farm, she can hit one with a rock by standing on her back porch and giving it a good throw.

Important Links!

First Chapter:

http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2007/09/shadow-of-treason.html

Amazon Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Treason-Chronicles-Spanish-Civil/dp/0802467687/

Book 1, A Valley of Betrayal:http://www.amazon.com/Valley-Betrayal-Chronicles-Spanish-Civil/dp/0802467679/

Tricia’s Website:

http://www.triciagoyer.com

Tricia’s blogs:

http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com

http://genxparents.blogspot.com

http://mywritingmentor.blogspot.com

http://www.myccm.org/triciagoyer

http://www.shoutlife.com/triciagoyer

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Time to Brag

by 123pizza on December 8, 2007

Oldest kiddo asked to have a friend stay all night. Sure, why not? Hey, while I’m at it…why not let middle kiddo have a friend over also? Later in the day I decided to have two more kiddos stay the night. Let’s do the math…I have three kiddos and invited four kiddos over…that’s seven kiddos in all (ages are 2, 5, 6, 8, 8, 8, and 10).

All seven kiddos are excellent! I probably won’t do this very often but it’s fun to be spontaneous every once in awhile. Besides my kiddos are having fun with their kiddo friends.

I’m off to finish getting them all in bed. I’m starting early because the three 8 year olds tend to talk and take awhile to go to sleep.

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Interesting Links Hubby Sends Me - 6th Edition

by 123pizza on December 8, 2007

Mom’s cuddle saves her 20oz baby’s life
Wedding first dance
Mommy’s Santa
Pioneer Woman’s Favorite Christmas Cookie from Childhood and Beyond (Actually hubby didn’t send this to me…I found it all on my own and will have to make these some time with kiddos during Christmas Break because that is what we do. Oh, and we will also make a gingerbread house but don’t tell them that because they don’t know about it.)

I have saved the best for last. I had read about this Father/Son team in Runner’s World and now I have the pleasure of reading about them again and getting to watch them in action.

Read this first it’s about a Dad doing his best to help his handicapped son not feel handicapped. Then watch this video.

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Today I Learned…

by 123pizza on December 7, 2007

…to not knit when tired because if you make a mistake and don’t know what you are doing to begin with it can be disastrous. I’m sure if someone more experienced were in my position they would be able to fix the mistake. I consulted my books and kept making it worse. Sadly I decided to start over. Yes, I ripped out all of my hard work and am going to start over.

My precious hat. I’m going to miss that hat. I pray that the next time will go better and I find the time to finish this hat soon.

I’m tired and going to bed. Remember…DO NOT knit when tired!

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My Son the Writer

by 123pizza on December 6, 2007

Apparently my son has a sense of humor. He was assigned the task of writing a poem and this is what he wrote:

My Family

My family is a reck.

Our dog pees on the floor.

My room is a mess.

We have to eat on the floor.

The kitchen is the worst.

Our dog eats ants.

Whats next?

I’m so proud of him. I have it displayed on the dining room wall of art for all to see. Yes, our family is a wreck…whose isn’t.

 

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Wanting Time but Not Satisfied with the Solutions

by 123pizza on December 5, 2007

Lately I have been wanting some “me time”. Time where I can do anything I want but not have kiddos around or have to leave the house. I want to be able to sit down watch a movie, read a book, knit, or anything other thing I feel like doing.

Kiddos go to bed at a decent hour and I usually have a couple of hours to myself but it’s not the same as having the house to myself and not be expected to do anything. Even when kiddos are in bed I am usually trying to get ready for the next day. I am not at peace and not really relaxing since my mind is running through the next days events.

I thought at first that I needed a break and was going to get a babysitter so I could get out for a bit but realized that what I really want to do is relax at home. If I go out then I feel as though I have wasted that time when I could have been doing something I really wanted to do but instead had to go out because the kiddos are at home with the sitter. I could have the kiddos go to someones house but then I would have to go pick them up or they would be coming back in a couple of hours.

Basically I don’t know what I want and I have an excuse for every solution I or anybody else comes up with. No matter what I won’t be satisfied so I’m going to quit whining, fix a diet coke and enjoy the fact that aspartame is flowing through my body. Actually I’ll probably fix two glasses of coke in case I didn’t get enough aspartame the first time.

Love you all!

**UPDATE - I feel so much better now. I don’t know why I was so whiny earlier. I have plenty of time to do the things I want after kiddos go to bed such as take a looooooong hot shower and knit and update posts. I’m so silly!

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Bluegrass Peril - Blog Tour

by 123pizza on December 5, 2007

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing
Bluegrass Peril

(Steeple Hill December 4, 2007)

by

Virginia Smith
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Virginia Smith left her job as a corporate director to become a full time writer and speaker in the summer of 2005. Since then she has contracted eight novels and numerous articles and short stories.She writes contemporary humorous novels for the Christian market, including her debut, Just As I Am (Kregel Publications, March 2006) and her new release, Murder by Mushroom (Steeple Hill, August 2007). Her short fiction has been anthologized, and her articles have been published in a variety of Christian magazines.An energetic speaker, Virginia loves to exemplify God’s truth by comparing real-life situations to well-known works of fiction, such as her popular talk, “Biblical Truths in Star Trek.”ABOUT THE BOOK:
WHO KILLED HER BOSS?
Local police had tagged single mom Becky Dennison as their prime suspect. But she’d only been in the wrong place at the wrong time…admittedly, with her boss’s lifeless body. Sure it looked bad, but Becky had no motive for killing…even if she had opportunity.When the director of the retirement farm for thoroughbred champions is murdered, Becky Dennison teams up with the handsome manager of a neighboring horse farm, Scott Lewis, to find her boss’s killer. Soon the amateur detective are hot on the trail of the murderer…even as their feelings for each other deepen.The amateur sleuths uncover a trail of clues that lead them into the intricate society of Kentucky’s elite thoroughbred breeding industry. They soon find themselves surrounded by the mint julep set - jealous southern belles and intensely competitive horse breeders - in a high-stakes game of danger, money, and that famous southern pride.And for Becky and Scott, this race on the Kentucky tracks has the greatest stakes of all: life or death!

Romantic Times awarded Bluegrass Peril
* * * * FOUR STARS! * * * *

My thoughts: This is the first book I have actually gotten to read during the blog tours. I’m normally not into romance or suspense but have to say I enjoyed Bluegrass Peril. It’s one I ended up loaning a friend to read and took all of her information so if the book isn’t returned soon I will have to go looking for her.

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First Knitting Project Completed

by 123pizza on December 2, 2007

Hubby has to sometimes work out in the fields and there happen to be hunters out and about so he requested I knit him a bright orange hat. I finally finished it this afternoon.

img_1432-resize.JPGimg_1433-resize.JPG

I’m not very happy with it…for one I think it’s too big and too loose. The bottom is not going to be tight fitting on his head but I don’t know how to fix that. Next time I will use a different kind of yarn. That was the only yarn I could find that was bright orange but it’s not as soft as I would like. I will use a softer yarn when I made the kiddos a hat…possible a chunky wool like the pattern suggested. All in all it’s not bad for my first time. Now I can get back to the scarf I am knitting for myself.

 

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Tough Decision

by 123pizza on December 1, 2007

Yesterday my husband and I made one of the biggest decisions of our lives. We chose to remove our kiddos from their private school and enroll them in public school. It was a difficult decision and one that we have been debating for quite some time (you can read Quandary to get some background info).

I am still recovering from the emotional turmoil I have had for quite some time. I think it is very sad when I have to remove my kiddos from a private school and put them in public school just so they can be treated as people. I am trying hard to not be bitter (mostly I’m sad) at the way one of my kiddos was treated by his teacher and the principal. I am still reeling from the way the principal handled things (such as calling at 9:00 in the evening to tell me she has decided to suspend my kiddo). Tell me where is the professionalism in that? Is this normal practice for educational institutions?

That was the final straw. That next day I enrolled our kiddos in public school and withdrew them from their private school. It was an emotional day. I grieved the loss of our old school because we entrusted our kiddos to them and they failed us. We were not treated with the manner in which they pride themselves in.

I feel good about our decision. The school they will be attending will have the resources we need to help our kiddos especially the one that was suspended. Our old school isn’t equipped to handle children outside of the norm. In all actuality our kiddos will probably fare better at this new school.

I am thankful for being able to see God’s hand in all of this. From the moment we made the decision to move He found us a school and there is too much to list…God was definitely in the midst of my storm and helped me safely to the other side. Thank you Lord.

I do not expect this new school to be perfect however I do expect my kiddos to be nurtured, loved, and treat with dignity.

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