Yes, you read that right. This post is full of free short stories or novellas that can be yours. These have been generously offered to you by “clean read” authors as a Valentine gift. To download your copy, click the link under the image and enter your email. This subscribes you to the author’s newsletter, so you don’t miss out on any future deals. You can unsubscribe at any time. What a great way to discover new authors!
Disclaimer: I share a publishing house with the two authors below. Both are clean stories with an element of faith.
I’ve highlighted Carol James before, and I am happy to let you know she gives her newsletter subscribers a free short story called Promises. Isn’t the cover calming? Water scenes always help me relax.
Where is a special place you’ve always wanted to visit? Emily’s dream was to go to the top of the Eiffel tower on Valentine’s Day. But when her fiancé’s job prevents him from joining her in Paris, she must decide whether to go to the top without him or turn her back on her dream. Read more of Emily’s story in Promises.
E.A. West is offering a short romantic suspense called Saving Chasity. I’m drafting a suspense story, and I’m eating up titles that keep me in this mindset.
Security guard Kennedy Drake loves exploring dark places. His elderly neighbor’s call about strange noises in her basement provides the perfect opportunity to explore the space and ensure her safety. Instead of the burglar his neighbor expected, Kennedy discovers a woman trapped in a hidden room. After he hears that her police officer ex-boyfriend is stalking her, he’s determined to help her escape the nightmare.
I’ve also joined up with a group of 50 “clean romance” authors to offer you an early Valentine’s Day gift. Each author is giving away a sweet Valentine’s read! I HAVE NOT READ THESE STORIES, but I have been guaranteed they are PG-13 or under. Take a look. Maybe you’ll find one you like. And free is the perfect price-point for checking out new-to-you writers. To see the selection of titles, click the link under the image. It will take you to the selection of books. If a cover catches your eye, click on it, and enter your email. This subscribes you to the author’s newsletter, so you don’t miss out on any future deals. You can unsubscribe at any time. What a great way to discover new authors!
A while back, my daughter created a few comics as part of a school assignment and in the process, discovered she had a knack for telling visual short stories. It’s our hope that these comics will bring a little joy to what has been a difficult time for many. We will share one comic a month until we run out 🙂
With a new year upon us it can be a a good idea to find your “word of the year.” For 2021, my word is “yet.”
I was reminded last year to focus on what we have and not on what we’ve lost. It was a hard year for so many. Today, with the sinful world continuing to exhibit its need for a savior we should always contemplate the incredible gift of Jesus and the salvation He has brought to us. If you will indulge me, I’d like to do a little Bible word study with you.
I began looking at the word “yet” in Scripture (used about 400 times) and found it to be apropos to our discussion. (Too bad it wouldn’t work in a book title because one would think I was writing about Bigfoot [Yeti].)
Look at the following passages for a moment (emphasis mine).
Lamentations 3:20-22 (NLT) “I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.”
Matthew 7:24-25 (NIV) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NIV) “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Psalm 42:11 (KJV) Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NASB) “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.”
In every sense Jesus is our “yet.” Everything before Him pales when compared to the after.
John 1: 11-12 (NIV) “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 11:25 (KJV) “Jesus said unto her, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.’”
He is our hope. He is our sustenance. He is our redeemer. He is the reason for all we do.
If all seems overwhelming… If all seems impossible…. Remember, God is not finished….yet.
He is our “Yet.”
Soli Deo Gloria.
This post first appeared on the Steve Laube Agency blog on January 11, 2021. Used with permission.
When I was young, I eagerly awaited summer break because it played the introductory notes to a new school year melody. I spent the warm months of July and August dreaming about the song I might sing. Yet, over and over, a familiar refrain played.
This desire for newness followed me into adulthood. I resolved that when I began post-secondary school, when I entered the workforce, and when I switched jobs the chorus and tempo would change. A move across the country provided blank sheet-music. I could be anyone I desired with no historical off-key renditions echoing every movement. Yet, my score built to a disappointing crescendo. Snatching the baton and directing each measure reverberated my wretchedness. I’m not the conductor; I’m an instrument in the Maestro’s orchestra. Anything composed apart from Him will be a deafening disaster of screeching notes.
Now, a new calendar year provides another new beginning filled with lyrics I don’t want to sing. We are in quarantine again. The sorrowful melody resounds. This isn’t the triumphant victory I prayed for, but maybe there is room for a reflective and lonely score in this opera.
No matter how tuneless and chaotic the first notes sound, God is composing new morning mercies. All creation sings of His glory. Lonely notes build urgency, and hearts bang out victory as He puts a new song in the mouths of His people. He pulls from each instrument in perfect time and harmony. The melodic line moves His people, and we sing our praises to Him and tell of His wondrous works.
This New Year of new closures and new disappointments also contains new sheet music penned by the Maestro’s hand. Tune your ears to the song this concerto proclaims. A new heaven and new earth await. Today’s lonely melody preludes tomorrow’s victory. The longing in our hearts reveals that earth was never meant to be our victory song. One day, those who believe will join the angels in heaven and sing for all eternity of God’s great faithfulness. We will sing our songs of repentance and dependence on Christ. We will sing with endless joy the song of the redeemed.
Until then, I choose to sing a new song of new mercies for this new year. I sing to my God, who is worthy to be praised.
Authors are often asked what books they are reading. Considering it is December, I’ve been deep into holiday romances AND I JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH. Below are just a few titles that I’ve enjoyed when I needed an hour or two to escape the realities of the world. I’d love to hear what titles you are reading and how you “escape” when you need a break.
If you decide to download one of these books, consider leaving the author a review on Goodreads or Amazon or Pelican Book Group or wherever you purchased the book. As an author, I promise you that is a wonderful gift that will be greatly appreciated!
After her boyfriend’s betrayal and overall disillusionment with life, a simple flight changes everything for Mandy Brockman – and just in time for the holidays. Discover how seatmate CJ helps her find healing she never knew existed in this sweet Christmas romance.
My Thoughts: This sweet story had me laughing from the very beginning. It’s perfectly sweet, short, and ideal for an easy afternoon read!
Novelist Olivia St. Madeleine is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious stranger she sees when Christmas shopping, and she wonders who exactly he is and what is his story.
My thoughts: There is so much to love in this holiday novella. It’s perfect for that night you want to curl up with a hot chocolate near the fire and start and finish a story in about the time it takes to watch a holiday movie. Carol James is one of my favourite contemporary authors because she writes characters that are easy to fall in love with and her stories honour the Lord. If you’re looking for a holiday read that makes you smile, laugh, and have all those wonderfully warm and fuzzy feelings—this is it.
This Christmas, two lost and broken families need restoration. Two chance meetings spark a friendship and a glimmer of hope.
My thoughts: If you’re the type of reader who loves a good, therapeutic cry, then grab your box of tissues and a copy of A New Hope for Christmas. I was unprepared for the emotions this story stirred inside of me and I found myself dripping with tears several times.
My thoughts: Isabel and Boaz solved the crime in Dark Streets Shineth before I did, which made it a very satisfying mystery. I uncovered the clues alongside them but still didn’t understand the criminal’s motive until the end, making it the perfect mystery!
My thoughts: One of my favourite things about the holiday season is the abundance of new Christmas stories to read! After a while, they can all start to sound the same. So, when I find one that approaches the familiar trope with a twist, I’m hooked. In Everything Noel, a passionate fish farmer/reluctant actor, a secret baby, a childhood illness, and a Hollywood businesswoman come together to tell a story about sacrifice, love, and the importance of family.
