Take a Chance☘️☘️☘️March Giveaway

Summer Storms, book one in my Seasons of Faith series has been rocking the Amazon charts in free Christian fiction. What a blessing and I am deeply thankful.

Today I am happy to announce I am temporarily reducing the price of Spring Dawn, book three in the series, to 99¢. I hope you enjoy reading the series as much as I enjoyed writing it.

SPRING DAWN

Amazon ✮ Barnes and Noble ✮ Smashwords ✮ Apple iTunes ✮ Kobo

Spirit Filled eBooks is giving away a

7″ Kindle Fire

or $50 Cash via Paypal

to one lucky winner on March 18th! Scroll down to the bottom to enter!

and

Check out these great reads from our SPONSORS~

Consider supporting an author or few by buying their books
Many of these books are available FREE with Kindle Unlimited, so you can Read them for FREE with your FREE 30 Day Kindle Unlimited Trial!

And Enter The Giveaway Here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yes, the Dream is Alive

This past weekend SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule filled with supplies for the International Space Station. Supply missions are pretty routine, but there were two things that made this one special. It was the first SpaceX launch in Florida after one of their rockets exploded during a fueling test last fall. and, this is the really important item, it was their first launch from pad 39A. For those who aren’t space geeks, pad 39A was the launch site for all the Apollo missions as well as many of the Space Shuttle missions. This is also the site from which SpaceX will launch their missions to Mars.

While I wasn’t able to be on the coast for the launch, thankfully, technology allowed me to be a part of the action through Twitter and live streaming. The launch was scheduled for 10:01 a.m. eastern time Saturday, February 18. I went on Twitter and watched #SpaceX. There were updates on the countdown and comments from people around the world excited for the launch. About thirty minutes before launch I found a live stream and listened to that right up to the hold called at T-minus13 seconds, which ended up aborting the mission for the day. I think the second attempt on Sunday, February 19 at 9:39 a.m. had even more Twitter engagement with new tweets coming in twenty to thirty at a time as I refreshed the screen every few seconds. I also have sources who informed me that there was an impressive crowd in the Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area both days. I had expected the spectators to drop off a little for Sunday’s attempt as the weather was less than inviting with rain early and heavy clouds until mid-afternoon.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’ve been working on a new book, a follow-up to Jessie, which is set on the Space Coast. I’ve spent so much time with the main character, Jessie Cole, that some of his personality traits have woven their way into my own life. I saw this launch through his eyes, all of the future potential it represents and the history it builds upon. SpaceX had planned to send their first robotic mission to Mars in 2018, but has pushed that back to 2020 after some challenges they experienced last year.

I admit, I’ve been skeptical about our chances of getting to Mars in my lifetime. My dad retired from the Space Center in 2010, and for years prior to that we knew about plans NASA was working on for a vehicle that could make the trip into deep space. Those plans have been in the works for over a decade with little to show for it. During my research for Jessie and this current book (title still pending), I read Deke Slayton’s memoir He said something in it that captured the feelings I had as the Shuttle program was winding down. I don’t have the book on hand to quote it directly so I will use the paraphrase from my notes. In March of 1972 NASA announced the Space Shuttle model. What had been planned as a three pronged program with farther reaching goals including the Space Shuttle, a space station and a space tug had been stripped down to just the Shuttle. Essentially the Shuttle was turned into a truck with nowhere to go.

I believe the Shuttle accomplished many things and brought us new scientific data we couldn’t have found any other way, but I also feel like some of the momentum the country had gained upon reaching the moon was lost when we attached ourselves to low earth orbit for so many years. Here’s where some of Jessie’s personality comes out in me. I believe, if he were here now (instead of back in 1989 where I left him), he would question if we could have established a colony on Mars already if we had kept pushing back in the 1980s and 1990s. We developed an entire industry out of nothing, made it from the first manned launch to the moon is a little over eight years. Now we stand on the precipice of fifty years since that first moon landing and man hasn’t stepped foot on another planet.

I had feared that the country no longer cared about space exploration, but my experience over the weekend, watching people post pictures of themselves either in Florida awaiting the launch or at their desks and living rooms streaming the coverage from the internet renews my hope that we are still enthusiastic about going beyond our earthly borders. I plan to keep a close eye on the developments at SpaceX as well as the other private companies vying for contracts to transport astronauts. I have confidence one of these will be the leader that takes us to another planet in my lifetime.

If you would like to learn more about Jessie Cole and his passion for space, you may purchase Jessie in eBook and paperback on most online book stores, Or you can check your local library’s Overdrive dashboard.

Savior, Like a Shepherd

Have you ever wondered what it was like for orphans born in the Wild West? Faith Blum has a new book that explores the life of three orphans born during that time. She’s with us today to tell us a little about her book. Make sure you read to the end to see the super fun giveaway she has going on, too!

About the Book

The ground shook and a rumble sounded through the air as the train squealed to a stop. Maybe, just maybe, I could carry someone’s bags without the porter taking notice. And then there was the even bigger maybe: Maybe I could get enough money to at least buy a crust of bread for Trevor and Tabitha to share.

I hid behind the boxes in the freight yard and kept one eye on the porter, and the other on the second class passenger car. The porter had his attention on the first class car, so I slipped into the gathering crowd.

Titus Hine has always taken care of others. First in protecting his brother and sister from the men his mother entertained. Even more so after her death, when the townspeople refused to help the orphans of a town prostitute. He’s been protector and provider, despite the hardships. He’s learned that no one will help, no one cares and if he wants to survive he’ll have to rely on his own strength not just for himself but his family as well.

Then a stranger shows him the kindness and help no one else seems willing to. Between her kindness and the lecture she gives the Christian Leaders, Titus’s life takes an unexpected turn for the better. With help and provision from the local believers things should be easier, his burdens are lifted. So why does it feel like life is spinning out of control?

Can Titus learn that while man may fail him there is One who will never fail? Can he learn to allow God to be the Shepherd of his life and lead him? Or will life continue to push him every which way?

Character Spotlight: Tabitha

Name: Tabitha Hine

Age: 5 (at beginning of the book)

Background:

Tabitha was born to Clarice Hine on August 25, 1875. She was the third illegitimate child Clarice had by a third man. Clarice loved all of her children, even though she couldn’t be with them as much as she would have liked. Tabitha was raised by her two brothers.

When their mother died, Trevor took care of Tabitha while Titus tried to earn some money for food. Tabitha thought Trevor was the smartest boy ever. She loved people easily, even if they treated her poorly, but especially if they were kind to her.

Personality: Defiant, high-spirited, outgoing, probably ESTP

Personal Goal: To become a wife and mother

About the Author

Faith Blum is a 20-something author of multiple books in various genres. She loves to write, read, play piano, knit, crochet, sew, watch movies, and play games with her family. She lives in Wisconsin with her family on a small family farm where they raise goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and have 2 dogs and a varying number of cats.

Faith’s goal in her writing is to encourage Christians in their walk with Christ. If you want to know when her latest book comes out, go to her website to sign up for her New Releases Newsletter so you can get an email when her next book in the series comes out. You will also find links to her other Social Media sites on her website. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her.

Giveaway

Faith is generously giving away EIGHT prizes! She has two paperbacks and two eBooks of Savior, Like a Shepherd up for grabs as well as one paperback and three eBooks of her Hymns of the West Novellas: Volume Two. The novella collection contains the novella that inspired her latest series as well as her new novel. Fill out the rafflecopter for the chance to win one of the prizes:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Bonus Post from February 10

Petticoats and Pistols – The History of Paint (Note: the giveaway on that post is closed)

February 16

Bookish Orchestrations-Tour Introduction

Peggy’s Hope 4U– Character Spotlight of Titus

February 17

Leah’s Bookshelf– Book Spotlight

Rebekah Lyn Books– Character Spotlight of Tabitha

February 18

Zerina Blossom’s Books– Guest Post – About the Town

February 20

Once Upon an Ordinary– Character Spotlight of Tabitha Hine

Sarah Allerding– Author Interview

February 21

Tara Ellis Author– Book Spotlight

Melanie D. Snitker, Author – Character Spotlight of Trevor

February 22

Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections– Character Interview

February 23

Reveries Reviews– Character Spotlight of Titus Hine

Kelsey’s Notebook– Guest Post – My Kind of Romance

February 24

With a Joyful Noise– Book Review

February 25

Writing Dreams– Guest Post – Why Orphans?

Zerina Blossom’s Books – Book Review

February 27

God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae– Character Spotlight of Trevor Hine

February 28

Homeschooled Authors– Author Interview

Rachel Rossano’s Words– Guest Post – What’s the Inspiration and song connection?

A note from Onisha:

It is always a delight to host Faith and share her work. You can be a part of sharing her work too by clicking on the share buttons below. If you leave a short comment, that would be super awesome!

Win an Amazon Fire or $50.00 Cash for your Valentine

These Great Books are FREE Today:

And Check these Great Reads for only 99¢ Today:

And The Giveaway:

FIRST PRIZE: (1 WINNER) Your choice of a 7″ Kindle Fire or $50 Cash via Paypal!
SECOND PRIZE: (2 WINNERS) Each will have a choice of 3 of the 99¢ Books listed above!
ENTER TO WIN
a Rafflecopter giveaway