favorite books

What do the books you love say about YOU? Find out from @TriciaGoyer

What book(s) are you most looking forward to reading in 2015? Share in the comment section for the chance to win a surprise set of books!!!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

October 28, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

3 Things Books You Love Say About You

How often do you re-read your favorite books? And what do they say about you?

Recently, I’ve been caught up in Rome during the first century. I first read A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion) and An Echo in the Darkness (Mark of the Lion #2) by Francince Rivers as a young mom. I remember being totally captivated by the stories, and I recommend the books to everyone I know, but I realized after twenty years I’d forgotten what much of the story was about . . . so I decided to read them again.

I finished the first two books just last week, and I remember why I loved them so!

As I read about ancient Rome and Ephesus, I couldn’t help but think of the United States and our vain pursuits of pleasure. Because it’s been so long I’d forgotten much of the story, so they were new and exciting to me.

After all this time, these are still some of my favorite books. And I’ll continue to recommend them.

Re-reading these favorites also got me thinking about why I love what I love.

3 Things The Books We Love Tell Us About Ourselves

We find comfort in familiar stories. We have that sense that “I’ve been here before.” As humans we love our comfort zones, and we even can discover these zones in books filled with strife and conflict!

Read the rest of this post over at Inspired By Life… And Fiction!

What books influenced Shelley Shepard Gray most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

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April 10, 2014 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

The Books Authors Read | Shelley Shepard Gray

What was your favorite book as a child?

My favorite book was Alice In Wonderland. It’s still one of my all-time favorites. Right there with Little Women.

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

Boy, I can’t remember a particular book. I have always been a voracious reader and still do read a lot. I wrote my first page during my lunch hour when I was teaching sixth grade. The only reason I wrote something was because I had forgotten the book I was reading at home. I never, ever thought I would get published.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Hmm. I’ve been reading some of Nora Roberts’ Chesapeake Bay romances, Charles Todd’s The Walnut Tree, and Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly. Kind of an eclectic mix!

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

I absolutely love Anne Perry’s Victorian Mysteries. I buy them in hardcover the day they are published. Her latest one was published in March. She can’t write fast enough for me.

Purchase a copy and learn more at Shelley’s website.

About Shelley Shepard Gray

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail. Find out more about Shelley at her website or on Facebook.

About Hopeful

Miriam Zehr has worked at the Sugarcreek Inn longer than she cares to admit. The restaurant is a favorite of town residents as well as the many tourists who come to taste the famous Amish fare. Though she always tries to have a smile for every customer, deep down Miriam knows something’s missing: a family of her own.

Miriam has never felt particularly beautiful, especially because she’s always been a bit heavier than other girls her age. When Junior, the man she’s pined for all her life, suddenly seeks her out, she’s thrilled to be noticed . . . until she realizes he’s only asking her to help get the attention of Mary Kathryn Hershberger, her pretty friend.

If Miriam helps Junior court Mary Kathryn, she’ll get to spend a lot of time with him, but she might lose him in the process. Are these few stolen moments worth a lifetime of sacrifice? Is Miriam right to even hope for the life she dreams of?

March 25, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 60 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Susan May Warren (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

The Ghosts (a time travel story)!

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

The Little House on the Prairie books!

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Burning Sky by Lori Benton

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

When I Fall in Love (coming in July)!

What books influenced @SusanMayWarren most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

Purchase a copy here.

About Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award–winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women’s events about God’s amazing grace in our lives. She also runs a writing community for authors. Visit MyBookTherapy.com to learn more. For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website.

About It Had to Be You

Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits—and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.

Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior—on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he’s getting from Eden Christiansen isn’t making things any easier. But when Owen’s carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.

Giveaway

Susan is giving away a copy of It Had to Be You to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win. For more chances to win It Had to Be You AND a $100 Visa cash card, check out this page!

What books influenced @ColleenCoble and @DeniseAHunter most?

February 25, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 58 Comments

The Books Authors Read | The Authors of ‘Smitten’ (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

Colleen: Bambi’s Children.

Denise: The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

Colleen: All of them. I’ve been a reader as long as I can remember.

Denise: It wasn’t really one particular book, but an accumulation of all the great books I’d read.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Colleen: Love You More by Lisa Gardner.

Denise: A January Bride by Deborah Raney.

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

Colleen: That’s like saying who is my favorite child. The next one is always the most exciting. And then next and then next.

Denise: Francine Rivers’ Bridge to Haven

About the Smitten Authors

RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including Tidewater Inn, and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. * Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include A Billion Reasons Why and What a Girl Wants. * Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including A Cowboy’s Touch and Sweetwater Gap. She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana. *Diann Hunt was a writer of romantic comedy and humorous women’s fiction. She lost her courageous battle with cancer last fall. A Hallmark Channel adaptation of her novel For Better or For Worse will air fall 2014. Find out more about Coble, Billerbeck, Hunter, and Hunt.

About Smitten Book Club

The thick, leathery tome Heather pulled out of the dusty cardboard box was definitely coming home with her. Not only was The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Love and Courtship an appealing curiosity by virtue of its title; it was also written by Smitten, Vermont native Pearl Chambers, a local gentlewoman from three generations back.

Little did Heather know the repercussions this little curiosity would have on her and her friends’ romantic exploits.
When Heather and her fellow book club members begin passing the book around, their respective interpretations are unleashed on their respective love lives . . . for better or for worse. Is it a mystery? An idealist fantasy? An intimation of Jane Austen? As romantic love finds its way to each woman, the Guide proves itself both surprisingly prescient and hilariously irrelevant.

Giveaway

Kristin, Colleen, and Denise are giving away a copy of Smitten Book Club to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win.

What books influenced @SuzanneWFisher most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

February 18, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 9 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Suzanne Woods Fisher (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

The first book I remember my mother reading to me was Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. Hitty was a doll who belonged to a little Quaker girl during the whaling days. The irony is not lost on me that my next series will be set in Quaker Nantucket in the early 1800s. I’ve gone full circle!

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

In high school, I read a lot of Luci Shaw and Madeleine L’Engle—two women who happened to be good friends. There was something about their writing that spoke to me, deep down. At that point, I’m not sure I felt like I could be an author, but I felt like I loved language and writing.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Anne Lamott’s Stitches. She is such an original.

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

I’m right in the middle of writing an historical fiction, set in 1737, about the first Amish who crossed the Atlantic to reach Pennsylvania. If this story comes together in the way I envision it, then I will be thrilled. I’m starting to think and talk in pirate lingo. . . .

Purchase a copy here.

About Suzanne Woods Fisher

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including “Amish Peace.” She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your mobile device! Download the free app!

Find out more about Suzanne at her website, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

About The Calling

Twenty-year-old Bethany Schrock is restless. Her love life has derailed, her faith hangs by a thread, and she is spending the incredibly hot summer days wading through a lifetime’s accumulation of junk at the home of five ancient Amish sisters. About the only thing that holds her interest is the spirited and dangerously handsome Jimmy Fisher–and he seems bent on irritating her to no end.

When the sly old sisters and a guest at the Inn get Bethany involved in running the local soup kitchen and starting a community garden, she suddenly finds herself wondering, Shootfire! How did that happen? Despite her newfound purposefulness, a gnawing emptiness about a childhood mystery continues to plague her. Encouraged by Jimmy Fisher, she will seek out the answers she craves–and uncover a shocking secret that will break her heart, heal it, and point her to love.

Giveaway

Suzanne is giving away a copy of The Calling to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win.

What books influenced @RobinLeeHatcher most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

February 3, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 7 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Robin Lee Hatcher (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

Anything to do with horses. Everything to do with horses. Two books that I still own today (although the paperback is seriously ready to crumble into a thousand pieces) are: Golden Cloud and Old Bones.

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

I won’t give you the title because the book that made me want to try to write a novel was one that I didn’t like. I basically thought, If this can get published, I could get published. (I’m sure my early books launched a few careers for the same reason.) Aspiring writers don’t realize how arrogant that statement is until we actually begin to write, one book, then another and another and another. By the time we discover just how hard this particular career path is, it’s too late. We are hooked on storytelling.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

About Robin Lee Hatcher

Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. A best-selling author, she is the winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, and many other awards, including the prestigious RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of 70 novels and novellas with more than five million copies in print. Her latest release, A Promise Kept, is a deeply personal story to Hatcher, based on her own experience of being an alcoholic and the reconciliation God brought to their relationship.

For more information about Hatcher and her books, visit her online home at www.robinleehatcher.com, become a fan on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

About A Promise Kept

Tony Kavanagh had been Allison’s dream-come-true. They were in love within days, engaged within weeks, married and pregnant within a year. Her cup bubbled over with joy . . . but years later, that joy had been extinguished by unexpected trials.

The day Allison issued her husband an ultimatum, she thought it might save him. She never expected he would actually leave. She was certain God had promised to heal; it was clear that she’d misunderstood.

Now, living in the quiet mountain cabin she inherited from her single, self-reliant Great Aunt Emma, Allison must come to terms with her grief and figure out how to adapt to small town life. But when she finds a wedding dress and a collection of journals in Emma’s attic, a portrait of her aunt emerges that takes Allison completely by surprise: a portrait of a heartbroken woman surprisingly like herself.

As Allison reads the incredible story of Emma’s life in the 1920s and 1930s, she is forced to ask a difficult question: Does she really surrender every piece of her life to the Lord?

Drawing from her own heart-wrenching story of redemption, A Promise Kept is Robin Lee Hatcher’s emotionally charged thanksgiving to a God who answers prayers—in His own time and His own ways.

Giveaway

Robin is giving away a copy of A Promise Kept to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win. You can enter to win more copies of the book and a Kindle HDX by clicking here, plus RSVP to her upcoming author chat party!

What books influenced @SarahLaddAuthor most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

January 28, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 16 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Sarah Ladd (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

Any book in the Mandie series by Lois Gladys Leppard. In fact, I STILL love the Mandie books! I remember how excited I used to get to go to the bookstore and see the covers for the new books as they came out.

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Even to this day, if I need a little inspiration, I flip open my worn copy of Jane Eyre and read a page or two.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

I just started reading Laura Frantz’s Love Awakening—so far, it is great! I am a huge fan of Laura’s past novels. Her writing has such a beautiful, haunting quality to it; I know I will be sad to see this one end.

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

Julie Klassen’s The Dancing Master. I have been a fan of Julie’s for a long time, and I am in awe of her ability to bring the Regency period to life. I am counting down the days until my copy arrives!

About Sarah Ladd

Sarah E. Ladd has more than ten years of marketing experience. She is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. “The Heiress of Winterwood” was the recipient of the 2011 Genesis Award for historical romance. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever. Find out more about Sarah at her website or via Facebook and Twitter.

About The Headmistress of Rosemere

Bright, sensible Patience knows what is expected of her. At twenty-five, her opportunity for a family of her own has passed, so she invests herself in teaching at her father’s school for girls. When her father dies suddenly and her brother moves away to London, she is determined to make the school successful.

Confirmed bachelor William Sterling also knows what is expected of him, but mistake after mistake has left him teetering on ruin’s edge. As master of Eastmore Hall he owns a great deal of property — including the land where Rosemere School is located — but possesses little money to manage its upkeep. When debtors start calling, he is desperate to find a new source of income, even if it means sacrificing Rosemere.

When a fire threatens the school grounds, William must decide to what lengths he is willing to go to protect his birthright. And when Patience’s brother returns with a new wife to take over management of the school, Patience suddenly finds herself unsure of her calling. After a surprising truth about William’s past is brought to light, both William and Patience will have to seek God’s plans for their lives—and their hearts.

Giveaway

Sarah is giving away a copy of The Headmistress of Rosemere to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win. For more chances to win from Sarah, attend her author chat party tonight on Facebook or enter her Kindle giveaway.

What books influenced Julie Klassen most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

January 24, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 3 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Julie Klassen (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

The Secret Garden and The Trixie Belden Mysteries

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

Jane Eyre

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah Ladd

About Julie Klassen

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane–”Jane Eyre” and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She is a three-time Christy Award winner and a 2010 Midwest Book Award winner for Genre Fiction. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. Connect with Julie on her website or via Facebook.

About The Dancing Master

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul–and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master–a man her mother would never approve of–but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village…and to her mother’s tattered heart?

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a “good match” in Regency England.

Giveaway

Julie is giving away a copy of The Dancing Master to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win.

What books influenced @WriterDorothy most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

January 7, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 7 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Dorothy Love (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

Little Women

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

To Kill a Mockingbird

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

Silver Girls

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

A Beauty Most Rare

About Dorothy Love

A former journalist, free-lance writer and college professor, Dorothy Love explores the intersection of history and human relationships to create novels that speak to the hearts of women everywhere. She is the author of the acclaimed Hickory Ridge novels set in her native state of Tennessee. After earning a masters degree and Ph.D, she authored dozens of magazine articles before breaking into book publishing with a number of award-winning novels for preteens and young adults. The Hickory Ridge series marked her adult fiction debut. Currently she is working on several stand-alone historical novels set in the South.

When she isn’t busy writing or researching her next book, Love enjoys hiking, traveling, and hanging out with her husband Ron and their rambunctious golden retriever. The Loves make their home in the Texas hill country. Connect with Dorothy on her website or via Facebook and Twitter.

About Carolina Gold

Charlotte Fraser returns to her late father’s once-flourishing rice plantation on the Waccamaw River, determined to continue growing the special kind of rice known as Carolina Gold. But Fairhaven Plantation is in ruins, the bondsmen are free, and money is scarce.

To make ends meet, Charlotte reluctantly accepts a position as tutor to the young daughters of Nicholas Betancourt, heir to the neighboring Willowood Plantation. Then Nick’s quest to prove his ownership of Willowood sends Charlotte on a dangerous journey that reveals an old family mystery—and threatens all that she holds dear.

Inspired by the life of a 19th century woman rice planter, Carolina Gold continues Dorothy Love’s winning tradition of weaving together mystery, romance, and rich historical detail, bringing to life the story of one young woman’s struggle to restore her ruined world.

Giveaway

Dorothy is giving away a copy of Carolina Gold to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the contiguous U.S. are eligible to win. You can enter to win more copies of the book, other southern essentials, and a $100 Visa cash card by clicking here, plus RSVP to her upcoming author chat party!

What books influenced @AnitaHigman most? She shares with @TriciaGoyer:

December 6, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 4 Comments

The Books Authors Read | Anita Higman (Plus a Giveaway)

What was your favorite book as a child?

The Little Golden Book, Cinderella. The story was full drama and romance, and it had this wonderful happily-ever-after.

What book did you read that first made you want to be an author?

Probably the Trixie Belden Mysteries.

What was the last book you read, just for fun?

I’m reading Jane Eyre. It’s such a masterpiece! When I’m finished I’m going to start it all over again.

What upcoming release are you most looking forward to?

A Marriage in Middlebury. I had great fun writing this particular book, since it has some comedy in it as well as some funky characters. I hope readers enjoy the ride!

About Anita Higman

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has over thirty books published (several coauthored) for adults and children. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends. Find out more about Anita at her website or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

About A Marriage in Middlebury

One decision changed both their lives . . . but will love win in the end? Charlotte Rose Hill enjoys a comfortable life serving up country delicacies, uniquely blended teas, and matchmaking advice for her quirky, devoted customers. The only thing lacking is someone to share it with. At eighteen she denied Sam Wilder’s marriage proposal after his family convinced her to walk away from their relationship. They both moved on . . . or so she thought. When Sam walks back into her life more than a decade later, Charlotte is surprised that her heart still quickens. But is it because of his presence? Or because of the presence of Sam’s new fiancée? A second chance at love doesn’t happen often, but their past may keep them apart. Is it too late for Sam and Charlotte? Find out more and purchase a copy here.

Giveaway

Anita Higman is giving away a copy of A Marriage in Middlebury to one lucky reader! Enter using the widget below. Only those in the U.S. are eligible to win. You can enter to win more copies of the book and TWO Kindle Fire HDXs by clicking here, plus RSVP to her upcoming author chat party!