This is a video I created for Janet Perez Eckles from one of her blog posts using A.I technology. I hope to be able to offer video creations for a small fee for other Christian authors in the near future.
Category: Kitchen Chat
A place to chat, share what’s happening in our lives, updates on works in progress.
She Brought Shame to her Family
Having seven sons is a honor above no other. Which is why she is a disappointment. The only girl of seven children, she brought shame to her family. Who knew something like this could be turned into a book, but Rachel Rossano has done just that with her book, Seventh Born. Read on to learn more about the book and enter the giveaway.
In a world where seventh born sons are valued for their strength and power, she is born a daughter.
Zezilia Ilar is the disappointment. Born after six brothers, she was supposed to be the son to restore her family’s prestige. She intends to remedy her shortcomings by being a dutiful daughter, marrying well and producing children, preferably a set of seven sons. But when someone offers her an alternative, she begins to dream of more.
In a society that worships a goddess, he follows the Almighty.
Hadrian Aleron, as a seventh son of a seventh son, stands to take up the second highest position in government, Sept Son. His main qualification for office is his birth. Despite preparing for this role from childhood, he does not desire what is to come. As a follower of the Almighty, he knows he will be the target of many, and his faith might eventually lead to death.
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Z2PPJL
iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seventh-born/id1351646000
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seventh-born-2
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seventh-born-rachel-rossano/1128018000
Rachel Rossano lives with her husband and three children in the northeastern part of the United States. Homeschooled through high school, she began writing her early teens. She didn’t become serious about pursuing a career as an author until after she had graduated from college and happily married. Then the children came.
Now she spends her days being a wife, mother, teacher, and household manager. Her evenings and free moments are devoted to her other loves, writing and book cover design. Drawing on a lifelong fascination with reading and history, she spends hours creating historical feeling fantasy worlds and populating them with characters who live and breathe on the page.
Follow Rachel on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RachelRossanoRambles
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RachelRossano
Google+ – https://plus.google.com/+RachelRossano
EXCERPT
A humid haze filled the air, smothering my ability to breathe. Stale air filled my senses as I focused on the temperature outside the windows. Sunlight, bright and hot, flooded the world, painting the grass brown and wilting the plants. Only the trees, tall and strong, seemed unaffected by its blistering gaze.
A tentative trace of plum, cool and sweet, touched my tongue. It beckoned me to linger on the taste, much pleasanter than the oven beyond the windows. I pushed the thought away and continued to admire the trees as they stood motionless in the nonexistent wind.
“Well done,” Errol commented from his place behind his desk. Considering the topic of study, he had allowed a temporary lifting of the no talking ban. “You can release the image now.” He closed the book as I slowly withdrew my focus from the heat. “You have now mastered the ability to block Thought-leading with Image-fixation. Well done.” He scribbled something in his notebook before setting it aside.
“Now let us try shutting out completely. This will be your first line of defense. Image-fixation, Mental-blocks, and Safety-zones are all tools for when they have gotten through your defenses, which are Walling, Sealing, and Shuttering.”
“And these are all defensive forms against interrogation?” I asked to make sure I was clear of what to use when.
“Correct.” Errol readjusted himself in his seat. “Walling is a defensive measure that Talents in precarious positions use at all times. Within their thoughts, they build a wall around certain topics. For example, a Talent who is undercover among other Talents must wall off all topics, facts, and ideas that are not in keeping with his persona. By doing so, he protects them from detection by a mind brush, random thought exchange, or sending.”
“So the Sept Son must use this.”
“Constantly,” Errol agreed. “Now choose a thought that you do not want me to access.”
Choosing the image of Selwyn watching Candra hammer a nail, I carefully built a mental stone wall around it.
“Ready?” Errol asked.
I nodded. Instantly, plum filled my taste buds. I watched with interest as he skimmed my thoughts, nudging gently at some, while completely avoiding others. Then suddenly he was at the wall.
Rachel is giving away an eBook of her book.
You can enter here.
Your odds of winning increase with every person you refer so spread the word! Good luck, and I hope you win!
Tour Schedule
April 9
Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory post
Just A Glimpse – Guest Post
Faith, Loyalty, Adventure Blog – Book Review
April 10
Rachel John Writes – Book Review
Annie Louise Twitchell – Book Review
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight
April 11
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Character Spotlight
Romantic Typewriter Gardens – Guest Post
The World of the Blue Bells Chronicles – Book Review
April 12
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Spotlight
Frances Hoelsema – Book Spotlight
Hunting for Truth – Book Review and Guest Post
April 13
Reading On The Edge – Book Spotlight
Ember’s Reviews – Book Review
With a Joyful Noise – Character Spotlight
Views from the Window Friend – Book Review
April 14
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway winner
Caselli Family Series Blog Tour
We are hosting Ta’mara Hanscom’s blog tour and she has two books to share! The Caselli Family novels first came to my attention on Twitter. I visited the author’s website and definitely wanted to read at least the first book. I downloaded The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise, in November 2017 while deep into my Christmas reading fest.
I was tempted to read it right away, but resisted. I was buried in Christmas stories and needed to wade through them before the season was over. As I flipped the final page of my last holiday novel, I was excited to move on to The Caselli family. Between binging on Hallmark movies and Christmas novels, I was ready for a story with some “meat.”
My official, sort of review. 😆
The Caselli family consisting of two parents, three sons and a baby on the way, emigrated from Italy in 1956. The baby, Tillie was the delight of the family and her brother’s nicknamed her Angel. As she grew up, she became a talented artist whose paintings caught the emotions of the subjects. She was also an obedient Italian daughter, that is until the day she went to a Junior Artist of American competition and became obsessed with Noah, a wild young man with a troubled past and a motorcycle.
Angel returns home full of hope, but soon a misunderstanding breaks her heart and a long time friend vies for her hand.
The interactions of the Caselli family were real as they faced their own challenges. The brothers knew that something was troubling their Angel, but had no idea how to help her. I enjoyed this book and hope to find time to read the next one in the series, Pit of Ambition. I do hope Angel finds true love and happiness!
Now the official blurb:
The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise is the first volume of 5 in the family epic series The Caselli Family Series. It begins in South Dakota in 1975 where eighteen-year-olds could order 3.2 beers in a bar and loaded guns were kept under the counter. Frankie Valli sang My Eyes Adored You, and American soldiers returning from Vietnam struggled with their new reality.
It’s within this tumultuous season of American history that Tillie Caselli meets Noah Hansen, and they are never the same again. Their lives were mysteriously intertwined – and had been for many years – yet they had no idea.
From the moment they met, Tillie and Noah wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but a deliberate omission will keep them apart – and that same omission will be responsible for the escape of a murderer, and a bride’s deception.
These compelling stories are interwoven with Biblical truths and light-hearted, real life events from the author’s own past. Easy to understand and relate to, as well as encouraging.
One of the brothers, Marquette, with his flowing ponytail and larger than life personality captured my curiosity so I asked the author for a character interview.
Character Spotlight Marquette
I was born in what some would consider a shack, but I loved our home in Castellina, Italia, which is located in Chianti. We were poor farmers, but my parents provided good food and clothing. We acquired running water and electricity when I was about ten years of age. My brothers and I used to sleep together in one room, until our parents decided we were old enough and they allowed us to sleep in the barn. We wanted for nothing in those days. But God had so much more planned for us. He knew that the valley could offer us only poverty and wine, and by the time I was fifteen years of age He’d begun the tender creation of our little sister. It was then our father decided to bring us to America.
It was November of 1956 when we made the move, and I could barely speak English. My parents put me in a public school in the heart of the Midwest, and I had to work part-time in their ristorante. I was very depressed at the time because I had left my only true love, Tara, behind in Italia. And after only a month in America we learned that she had died in a terrible train crash in Rome. Those were dark days for me.
I excelled in math as a young man, which is how I broke into the business of investigating. I was challenged with a secret code used by the evil Ponerello family of Sicilia. I broke the code in 1968, shortly after a great earthquake had hit the island. In breaking the code I was able to lead authorities in the capture of thirty-eight of the evil Ponerellos. That single event launched what has been a prosperous and rewarding career for me. And it was also during that very investigation that I learned of the heinous plot to keep me away from my Tara.
I found my Tara, alive and well, in Chicago, and we were married within weeks. She now travels with me wherever I go, and has proven to be an articulate investigator in her own right.
Two of the Ponerellos have never been captured. They elude me still, and that troubles me to my core. I know they are here somewhere in the United States, and I will keep searching for them until I find them.
Sounds good? I think so. Ta’Mara is generously offering a $50 Amazon gift card! There are many different ways in the Rafflecopter to enter. The more you choose, the better chance you have of winning.
The second book in the series I haven’t read yet but I hope to read it soon. I miss the Casellis!
Pit of Ambition is the second volume of 5 in the family epic series The Caselli Family Series.
Five years have passed since Noah and Tillie’s “chance” meeting. They’ve married other people by now, and are both beginning their families.
In the pursuit of professional and political success, Alex runs headlong into a pit of pride and ambition…and Giuseppe begins to hate the husband he chose for his daughter.
Alex and Noah are doing business on many fronts, which will bring Noah to town for an unintended meeting with Giuseppe. Tension abounds as he attempts to conceal his daughter’s identity from Noah.
Alex strays when Tillie needs him the most, and it’s Noah who will bring him home. But, instead of learning Tillie’s identity, he connects with her brothers, especially Marquette.
Unbeknownst to Noah, his new foreman is a member of the crime family Marquette has sought since 1968.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HT5IZHO/
I think you will enjoy this except from Pit of Ambition.
Maggie sighed and shook her head as she glanced at the haunting painting that still hung in her bar…It was the spring of 1975, only five years ago, and she had been so beautiful…The name of the painting was Obedience, and it was a very dramatic depiction of a woman, whom Angel had claimed was her mother, with an old horse. Maggie had bought it at an art show from the girl who’d claimed to be Angel. Tucked in the frame was a snapshot Maggie’s sister, Estelle, had taken of Noah and Angel standing together at the bar. That had been her last night in town and Noah had fallen in love. In fact, Angel had agreed to marry him before she left.
Maggie let out her breath as she studied the painting. Noah hasn’t had a drink since you left…you’d be so proud of what he’s done with his life.
Estelle came out of the kitchen and noticed Maggie’s pensive stare.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Maggie?” she asked, even though she knew the answer, because Estelle thought about it every day, too.
Maggie slowly shook her head and looked at her sister. “Nothin’, baby.”
Estelle only nodded…Why don’tcha just pray about it, Maggie, and get it over with?
Maggie glanced at the corner booth and shook her head. Mona had met Estelle in the bar once a week for the last two years. They read their Bibles and prayed together, and often invited Maggie to join them. Maggie always refused. She didn’t believe in God and had no desire to waste her time reading about Him. She softly snorted as she watched them…This is the dumbest thing Estelle’s ever done.
About the Author
I was born and raised in South Dakota, and I love her people and rich history. For many years I’ve also had a deep love for Italy and her colorful chronology. I was fortunate enough to visit Italy on my 25th wedding anniversary, and I added some of the details of my travels to my fictional series The Caselli Family Series.
My favorite sport is baseball – Detroit Tigers – and I can’t wait until the next time I get to see them play in Comerica Park.
I live for the next family barbeque.
My husband and I own a national pizza franchise in Iowa, where we currently reside. We have three grown children and one grandson. We’ve rescued two cats and one Pomeranian.
I teach AWANA Cubbies and speak at women’s events.
https://tamarahanscom.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TaMara-Hanscom-Author-473920855079/?ref=bookmarks
https://twitter.com/TaMaraHanscom?lang=en&lang=en
I hope you visit the other blogs on the tour where you will find more reviews as well as character spotlights, author interviews and excerpts. PLUS you can enter the giveaway more than once!
February 26
Bookish Orchestration – Introductory post
Rachel Rossano’s Words – Author Interview
Adventures in Publishing – Author Interview
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Review and Character Spotlight
February 27
Simply Kelina – Book Review
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight
February 28
Little Homeschool on the Prairie – Book Spotlight
Seasons of Opportunities – Book Review
Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting – Book Review
March 1
Moments – Book Spotlight
Reader’s Cozy Corner – Book Review
Fiction to Ignite Your Faith – Post from the author
March 2
New Horizon Reviews – Book Review
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Book Review and Author Interview
Adventures Of A King Daughter – Book Review
March 3
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway Winner
He Hideth My Soul
Welcome to the He Hideth My Soul blog tour with one of my favorite people, Faith Blum! For those of you who don’t know Faith, she is a 20-something newly married author of multiple books in various genres. She loves to write, read, play piano, knit, crochet, sew, watch movies, and spend time with her husband. She lives in Wisconsin in a small town with her husband and cat where she can write to her heart’s content during the day. Faith’s goal in her writing is to encourage Christians in their walk with Christ.
About He HIdeth My Soul
He’s never had the courage to love anyone…
The only thing Otis Miller has ever wanted to be is a doctor and he wants to be the best. A surprise talk with his Aunt Eleanor days before his twenty-first birthday leads to a visit from his grandfather’s lawyer and the discovery that he is the heir to a large fortune. With all the papers signed, Otis heads to Chicago to follow his dream.
After graduating from Jenner Medical School, Otis goes to the mine he owns in Colorado to see how things are and to provide medical care for everyone in town. He finds horrible working conditions and learns to make difficult decisions that will be best for all
Will Otis learn to let God cover him in the depths of His love? Can Otis hide in God’s presence whenever he doesn’t know where to go next?
Note: 50% of my income from this series will go to the World Orphans organization
I thought you might enjoy a short except.
Otis spent the day putting Dr. Benson’s office back in order. He was a very good doctor, but not at all good at organizing or keeping things organized. Otis often wondered how Dr. Benson survived before he started helping.
He finished what he could and headed to the stage office. As usual, it was a little late.
Two men stepped off the stage, and Otis looked at first one, then the other. Which one was the lawyer? One was rotund and older and the other thin, wiry, and looked to be a little older than him.
“Mr. Parker?” Otis asked.
The thin, wiry man with slicked down, dark-brown hair looked his way, smiled slightly, and held out his hand. “You must be the fortunate Otis Miller.”
Otis nodded and winced inwardly at his tight grip. “I am.”
“Nice to meet you. Is there a respectable sleeping establishment around here?”
“You have a couple of choices,” he answered. “There is a boarding house, a small hotel, or the family who raised me since Pa died offered to house you if you’d like. It is out of town on a ranch, so I wasn’t sure which you would prefer.”
“I think I would prefer the boarding house. No offense to you or your family.”
Otis smiled. “None taken. I’ll take your bag and we can go.”
“Thank you. When can we meet to go over the inheritance? Miss Miller did mention it to you, correct?”
They walked and talked at the same time. “Yes, she did. I’m sure you are tired, so tomorrow morning will be fine.”
He nodded. “Thank you. That is extremely considerate of you. And with it being a Saturday tomorrow, Miss Miller can join us if you would like.”
“Can my brothers and sisters come, too, if they want? And Mr. Brookings?”
“Of course.”
Otis paused at the walkway to the boarding house. “Is this respectable enough?”
He looked it over. “For a two-bit cowtown, yes.”
Faith is giving away three prizes! The grand prize is a paperback of her new book. First and second prizes are both an eBook of He Hideth My Soul. Enter for the chance to win!
Be sure to visit all the stops on the blog tour to learn more about He Hideth My Soul and another chance to enter the drawing!
February 20
Bookish Orchestrations – Introduction Post
Creating Romance – Book Spotlight
Rachel Rossano’s Words – Book Spotlight
February 21
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Book Spotlight
Rebekah Lyn Books – Book Spotlight
February 22
Ruth’s Real Life – Book Spotlight
Kandi J Wyatt, Where Fantasy and Reality Meet – Book Spotlight
February 23
With a Joyful Noise – Review
God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae – Book Spotlight
February 24
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections – Post from the author
February 26
Bookish Orchestration – Giveaway winner post