It is always a pleasure to have talented author Faith Blum on our website. Today is extra special though as she has not only an official release day, but also a cover for her newest novel, The Solid Rock!! There’s a catch, though. You can’t see the cover for the novel until you’ve gathered all 15 clues. There’s also an exciting giveaway of 10 books, well 14 if you count the box set of 5 as 5 instead of just 1. Have fun searching for the clues. Instructions on how to see the cover are under the “Clues” section of the blog post.

About the Book

Joshua woke with a quiet groan. As his senses woke up one at a time, he cracked his eyelids open. Sure enough, there was a silhouetted form standing at the foot of the bed. From the smell, the person was either from the brothel down the street or had recently left one.

He forced himself to breathe evenly and reached for the knife in his thigh holster. With as tough and evil a voice as he could imitate, he spoke, “State your intentions.”

Pinkerton detective, Joshua Brookings, is sent on a job that seems simple on the surface. His fellow detective has been kidnapped and his boss, William Pinkerton senses foul play. Joshua is sent to investigate Edward’s case in hopes of finding the kidnapped detective and helping solve the case that has taken over ten years to investigate.

Arriving in Cheyenne, Joshua finds much more than a simple kidnapping. Yet again, he must go undercover, something he made his boss promise never to make him do again. The only Christian in the outlaw group, Joshua falters and almost loses faith in God’s providence. Will he stand on the solid Rock or drown in the sinking sand?

About the Author

Faith Blum started writing at an early age. She started even before she could read! She even thought she could write better than Dr. Seuss. (The picture doesn’t show it well, but there are scribblings on the page of Green Eggs and Ham). Now that she’s grown up a little more, she knows she will probably never reach the success of Dr. Seuss, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

When she isn’t writing, Faith enjoys doing many right-brained activities such as reading, crafting, writing, playing piano, and playing games with her family. One of her dreams is to visit Castle City, Montana someday to see the ghost town she chose for her characters to live in. She currently lives on a hobby farm with her family in Wisconsin.

In addition to her bio, I thought it would be fun to ask Faith a couple of questions about her busy year as a writer.

With a year’s worth of experience, have you changed your writing process in any way?

Yes, I have. Part of that is due to more experience, and part is due to having quit my job to write full-time. Due to both, I have started writing my rough drafts out by hand most of the time. This gives me a more thorough first edit. I’ve also gotten a little better with editing my own work more thoroughly and making sure I don’t make as many editing mistakes. In addition, I now hire a proofreader.

You have mentioned in the past, that you were a homeschooled student. What aspect of homeschool do you feel best prepared you for your career as an author?

Learning to set my own schedule, be self-motivated, and willing to look for ways to improve myself. Plus, homeschooling is so flexible. Mom was able to tailor my High School to fit what I most wanted to learn. Of course, there were subjects I had to do whether I wanted to or not, but the other subjects such as music and writing, she made sure I had the time and resources to do those. And for my other two sisters, she did different subjects based on their talents and desires.

I can see how having your elective classes tailored to each child’s talents and desires would be a big plus! Now let’s move on to something else exciting, the giveaway.

Giveaway

All the books in the giveaway are either Christian, Mystery, or Western. I have not read all of them, so I cannot vouch for what they are like inside. There will only be one winner (sorry), and since they are all ebooks, we can open the giveaway up internationally as well! Here is the list of the ebooks. To find out more about each book, please click on the title and read the Amazon description.

Dangerous Illusions by Barb Goss
A Box of Dreams by James DiBenedetto
Heartfelt Cases by Julie C. Gilbert
Pride and Butterflies by Franky A. Brown
Guardian (Guardian Trilogy #1) by Robin Helm
SoulFire (Guardian Trilogy #1) by Robin Helm
Legacy (Guardian Trilogy #1) by Robin Helm
Finding Hope by Elizabeth Diaz
Lily of the Valley by Faith Blum
Life and Salvation by Faith Blum

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Clue

In order to gain access to the blog page that has the full cover on it, you need to hop over to the 14 other blogs to gather the clues. Each blogger will have a clue number and one character of the clue. Each clue is either a number, letter, or symbol. What you need to do is gather the clues and put them in the correct order. Once this is done, type in the password (no spaces) on the protected page (found here) and you will find the full cover in all its glory.

While you’re on each blog, be sure to read the excerpts and I’m sure each blogger would appreciate a comment. Happy sleuthing!

Blogs

Antrim Cycle
Creative Hodgepodge
God’s Peculiar Treasure
Jaye L. Knight
Leah’s Bookshelf
Meagan Davenport
Melanie D. Snitker, Author
Rebekah Lyn Books
Singing Librarian Books
Wildflower Acres
With a Joyful Noise
Writing Dreams
Writing, Learning. Living
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections
Zerina Blossom’s Books

Excerpt

A few days later, Joshua rode into Cheyenne. With a dazed look, he realized the west really was expanding quickly. It had only been a few months since he had last ridden through this town.

Joshua rode past the saloons, a church, and other businesses, many of which were new and had names he didn’t recognize. Emporium. What kind of merchandise did they sell?

He checked into the hotel closest to the livery stable and walked to the Harris home. At the last crossroad from the house, he noticed a man loitering across from the house. He took a sharp right to go down the side street and found a way to get to the Harris’ back door without being spotted.

Joshua knocked loudly on the back door and stepped back to wait and watch. When the door opened, the muzzle of a shotgun poked through.

“Who are you and why did you come to the back door?”

In the three years since he had last seen her, Elizabeth hadn’t lost her tenacious spirit. “Joshua Brookings, Pinkerton agent,” Joshua said in a low voice. “I came to the back because the front is being watched. I didn’t want to risk them knowing I am here.”

Before he finished, the door swung open. Elizabeth was just as lovely as he remembered. Her chestnut hair was up in a stylish bun, and her dress matched her sparkling green eyes.

“Come in,” Elizabeth said, lowering the shotgun.

Joshua stepped into the kitchen and Elizabeth closed the door behind him.

“You haven’t changed at all,” Elizabeth said.

Joshua raised an eyebrow “Neither have you.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Thank you for coming. I’m glad you were the one who was sent. I know Father trusted the agents he’d met, but I have a hard time trusting men I don’t know.”

Joshua nodded. “When I heard the name Harris and Cheyenne, I put the two together. It will be good to see your father again.”

“If we can find him.”

“Did your father leave any hints, clues, or notes?”

Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, he did. Come with me.” She led him to the study.

“Didn’t the kidnappers search in here?” Joshua asked.

“Yes, they ransacked the house. It was a mess!”

Joshua narrowed his eyes. “How did they miss—“

“Can you please lock the door?” Elizabeth interrupted. “I like to take extra precautions.”