Dear Readers, welcome to a new week where good things wait! I especially appreciate Cynthia because she sent me her blog post a month ahead! Just curious, are y'all the get things done early type, the do it's when it's due, or the oh, my goodness, was that due yesterday types?
Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people notice when they meet you.
Hi Everyone! I’m Cynthia Roemer from central Illinois. My husband and I just celebrated our 30th Anniversary. We have two grown sons, a daughter-in-love, and a spoiled cat named Chad. I write inspirational historical romance novels set in the mid 1800’s and Civil War era. When people first meet me, I hope they see Jesus in my smile and mannerisms. Unfortunately, right now, they probably first notice how thin I am due to my nearly four-year battle with Stage IV cancer. Counting each day a blessing.
Tell us about your book
My latest release is Book Three in my Wounded Heart Series, Beyond Shattered Dreams. This series is set during the Civil War era, (the final year of the war and the years following) and chronicles the lives of the three Gallagher siblings: Drew, Luke, and Lydia.
Beyond Shattered Dreams begins just days after the war ends when my hero, Will, boards the Sultana steamboat to return home after nine months in a Confederate prison camp. Little does he know the chain of events that will lead him, not home, but to the Gallagher farm and to my heroine, Lydia. The book is both a tender love story and a spiritual journey in which both Will’s and Lydia’s faith is tested and deepened.
BOOK BLURB:
After months in a Confederate prison camp, Private Will Everett boards the Sultana eager to return home and leave behind the horrors of war. One day into the voyage, the overcrowded steamboat explodes, rendering Will injured and unable to recall his identity. With only a pocket watch and the name Will E. etched inside to guide him, Will begins a relentless quest to find his forgotten past.
Scarred by her father’s untimely death, Lydia Gallagher struggles to trust God with unwanted changes to her family after the war. The arrival of an elusive, but handsome, stranger only adds to her angst. Until the intricacies of his true nature and the mysteries of his past come to light. As they work to thwart a ruthless man’s efforts to sabotage the farm, their admiration for each other deepens. But when Lydia becomes privy to information that could forever alter their lives, she must choose between losing the man she’s come to love or denying him the one thing he longs for most.
BOOK EXCERPT
Monday June 15, 1868
Will cut a glance at Lydia, her straw-hat shading much of her face from view. She’d worked tirelessly all afternoon in the hot sun binding sheaves of wheat while he and her brother, Luke, took turns running the reaper and stacking the sheaves into stooks.
The sluggish stride of the team hinted another round or two would be all they could manage. Will returned to stacking sheaves. Already dozens of stooks dotted the field, left to dry in the summer breeze.
The clank of metal sounded as Luke brought the team to a halt at the edge of the field. “Let’s call it quits for the day,” he hollered back at Will and Lydia.
Will returned a nod, while Lydia’s only response was to straighten and press a hand to the small of her back as though the constant stooping had left her muscles stiff.
Luke quietly unhitched the team from the reaper and led them to the barn for feeding and a much-deserved night’s rest. The waning sun lost its fury as it sank lower in the west. Stillness settled over the landscape, the only sound the rustling of leaves and trill of insects.
Tossing a sheaf of wheat onto the pile, Will glanced at Lydia who seemed to be struggling to tie a piece of straw around a wheat bundle. The strand broke, sending some of the hewn stalks tumbling to the ground. With a sigh, Lydia rolled her shoulders then bent to retrieve the wayward wheat. Clearly, she was exhausted. Yet, he knew her well enough she’d not quit until every last bundle was tied.
Brushing bits of straw from his wrists and gloves, he strode toward her. Lydia straightened and pivoted his way as he neared, her face flushed from heat and exertion.
Will reached for the loose sheaf of wheat in her hands. “It must be near suppertime. You go on to the house. I’ll finish.”
Though fringed with fatigue, her vivid blue eyes flashed what appeared to be a mixture of relief and gratitude. “Are you sure?”
Nodding, he took the bundle from her, his gloved hands grazing hers.
The rosiness in her cheeks deepened as she lifted the hat from her head and fanned herself, glancing over the acres of harvested wheat. “We must’ve harvested ten acres. What do you suppose it’s yielding?”
Quickly tallying the stacks of wheat, Will drew an estimate. “Near eighteen or twenty bushel an acre, I’d say.”
“Truly?” She gazed up at him, a glimmer in her eyes. “That’s a fine crop. Thank the Lord for His bounty.”
Will tried not to notice the way the sunlight glistened on her hair or the smoothness of her skin. Yet, raw beauty poured from within and without of this young woman at his side. He resisted the urge to brush his fingers along her cheek. If not for the fear he might be obligated to someone else, Lydia was just the sort to take his heart captive.
Yet, the unknowns of his past rose up between them like a stone wall he couldn’t scale.
And until he knew the truth, he’d never be free to love.
QUESTION:
What’s your favorite refreshment or leisure activity after spending time in the hot sun?
CONNECT WITH CYNTHIA
Website: https://cynthiaroemer.com/
Author Newsletter Sign-up: subscribepage.io/Hbu3vg
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Cynthia-Roemer/author/B06Y1CJ588
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cynthiaroemer
PURCHASE LINKS
Thank you, Cynthia, for being a guest!
Dear readers, how blessed are we to get to sample all these great books?!
Have a great week, Christina
My favorite place to cool off is on our patio, in the shade, with a nice breeze blowing to help cool you off, and enjoy the scene of our cows in the pasture. So refreshing!
My favorite way to relax after a hot day is to put on shorts and a tank top, turn my A/C down and the fan on, and drink some lemonade.
I am from Missouri - southern part. My name is Jane. What people used to notice about me was my eyes . Now I rarely have anyone talk to me
My favorite drink is an ice cold Pepsi!
My favorite drink lemonade or unsweet tea.