June 2018


I meant to post this earlier, but my day started out not quite the way I wanted it. You know how it is when you have a big day planned, that’s when things go wrong. So, I woke up with a cold this morning and had to take some cold meds and go back to bed. I feel much better now and am trying to make up for lost time. But it doesn’t matter. My invitation to the event is still open on my Facebook page at Women for All Seasons, so you can stop by and see what’s taking place.

Also happening today is the Instafreebie Romance Giveawayof sweet, contemporary romance and women’s fiction books. Coming Out of Egypt, the first book in the series, is in the giveaway, so now is a good time to get your free copy.

Not to be outdone is In the Wilderness, the second book in the series, now discounted to 99c for a limited time only.

Here’s a trivia question to end this post and give you a chance to win one of my books. The first three people to reply with the correct answer to the question below will win one of my books. Just tell me the title that you want. Okay, here’s the question: This Indo-Caribbean author, born in Trinidad, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. Name the author and the novel that won him the prize. Please post your answer on my Facebook page at Women for All Seasons. I will leave it open until eight tonight EST.

A couple weeks ago, I posted that In the Promised Land, book 3 of the Egypt trilogy was coming soon. Well, now it's here. And until 6/29/2018, release day, you can get it for .99c. I'm excited about this book for 3 reasons:

1. It's gripping. Based on a true story, it features the rise of a Muslim coup in the beautiful island of Trinidad in the 1990s and the havoc it wrought for a short time. I have woven the story of Marva and June Garcia, main characters of the Egypt series, around it to show how this brought about dramatic changes in their lives.

2. It's romantic. Written from a Christian perspective, this story captures the romantic tension between the couples without any graphic love scenes, while allowing the reader to use their imagination.

3. It's conclusive. It draws the curtain on the lives of these two young women in a way that I think will satisfy readers who have followed them on their turbulent journey out of Egypt.

Order your copy today and when you read it, please leave a review on Amazon so that other readers will be guided into making a choice. And if you haven't yet signed up for my newsletter, please do so today.

Those are the words on a pretty little plaque that hangs in my guest bathroom. It features a very cheery design with bright, colorful circles and a few glittering pom poms. Whenever I look at it, I get the feeling that life is indeed beautiful.

But is it always?

This week the world was saddened and shocked by the suicide deaths of Kate Spade, handbag designer, and Anthony Bourdain, food writer and TV celebrity, famous for his weekly documentary “Parts Unknown.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates have risen nearly 30% since 1999. This is shocking to say the least. What is the reason for this? When we look at Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain and other celebrities, their lives seem to be beautiful, but “you don’t know if the roof is leaking until you get inside,” Anthony Bourdain.

You may be wondering why I’m writing about suicide on this blog. The reason is that the second book in my Egypt series, In the Wilderness, deals with this very topic. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here it is in a nutshell:

Marva, the protagonist, is tortured by guilt after having killed her father as a result of sexual abuse. Certain that the police will one day arrest her for the murder, she sees suicide as her only option. But before she can carry out her carefully-laid plans, something terrible happens – something that uncovers her closely guarded secret and leaves her groping in the wilderness.

Here we see one of the factors that can contribute to depression and suicidal thoughts – guilt – but experts tell us that there’s usually a combination of factors that push someone over the edge. As someone who has worked in behavioral health, counseling suicidal patients, I have some idea of the burden these people carry. That is why I wrote this book – to give hope to people who are hopeless and understanding to those who love them and suffer along with them.

For a limited time, you can download the first chapter of this gripping novel by clicking the link or signing up on the pop-up form.