I've gotten involved in something I've never done before.
And it has nothing to do with COWS.
I'm in a series with five other authors called
Thanksgiving Books and Blessings
The novellas (one is book length) release September 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Mine is book #3 releasing on September 3rd.
(it all seems so orderly it's almost like a poem!)
Thanksgiving.
Our fearless leader Caryl McAdoo, who invited me into this series feels like Thankgiving is a a very special and very neglected holiday. She's been doing these series for a while now.
In fact there's a Thanksgiving Books and Blessings series 1 & 2 this year.
I'm in the 2nd collection.
It's been a fun and interesting process and frankly I think I'm the weak link.
But it's all Christian fiction and thus my co-authors are forgiving as I scramble to keep up with whatever they're doing now.
Thankful for the Cowboy
Hero Tom MacKinnon rides up driving a wagon with a second wagon trailing him. He and his sister want to be hired to build windmills. They’ll ask for very little money and, in exchange heroine, Lauren Drummond, newly widowed mother of four nearly grown sons, will help them learn to survive in the Sandhills of Nebraska. What to grow, what to hunt, how to build a sod house.
Tom’s windmills will save her ranch. Lauren needs three windmills on this drought year or her growing herd of cattle is going to die of thirst. She agrees to teach him the ways of the Sandhills, and to give him fifteen head of cattle.She’s not ready to think of another man. But Tom changes her mind. His little sister and one of her sons find love together before Tom and Lauren do.
Thanksgiving Books and Blessings Series #2
What do you do to remember to thank God for all you have. And this is a challenge to me, too because I realized as I worked on this book how much time I spend thinking about the delicious way my son-in-law makes TURKEY! (two turkey breasts, one smoked, then roasted, then glazed with pecans, one deep fried. They are DELICIOUS.
But do I spend time thanking God for my wonderful son-in-law? My wonderful blessed life? Yes we say a heartfelt grace before we eat, but I know I fail to really, deeply thank God for how he's blessed me.
A free copy of Thankful for the Cowboy for one commentor. These are Kindle only!
Tell me how you make (or how you PLAN TO START MAKING) Thanksgiving about God.
No Way Up is currently FREE in all ebook formats
No Way Up is book #1 in the Cimarron Legacy Series
Book 2, Long Time Gone
Book 3, Too Far Down
Are at a reduced price
All for a limited time, so go grab a Kindle copy of
Even if you have it, I'd appreciate it if you got one.
It's currently sky high on the Amazon rankings and how fun is THAT?!!!
!!!!!
And to make this a completely self-centered blog
Here is a Publishers Weekly Review of my October Release
We're thinking along the same lines, Mary! Years ago when our children were small, my husband and I decided we needed to make a serious effort to keep Thanksgiving alive - a day to give thanks to God rather than just the day before Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteStarting then, we made the entire month of November a month of Thanksgiving. Now that the children are grown, we enjoy celebrating with as many people as we can stuff into our house. We invite church family who aren't able to be with their own families at this time, and with an Air Force base nearby, we enjoy the company of many young families. :-)
In fact, when we bought our new house, one of the perks was that we can have Thanksgiving here. That is, if the weather is good.
So, yay! for Thanksgiving!
And your story sounds wonderful!
Jan, oh so true. 'Rather than just the day before Black Friday."
DeleteBlack Friday is now starting Thursday afternoon! BTW I avoid the stores like the PLAGUE on Black Friday.
Jan, love that you open your home to the Air Force folks far from extended family. We did that while stationed in Germany!
DeleteI'm laughing that the completely self-centered blog has one comment.... but I know that's because half the country is getting ready to go back to school tomorrow and we don't usually have a Tuesday post, because I loved to see all this cool stuff you've got going on! THIS IS AWESOME! I love being part of collections, it makes me smile when I work with other authors... we're so blessed to have a great community, aren't we?
ReplyDeleteAnd then I look at this treasure of Thanksgiving and I love Thanksgiving so much. You know Catholics see Advent as a very important kick-off for Jesus in the Christmas season, the season of anticipation. We have beautiful hymns for just that time and I love it, and to me, celebrating Thanksgiving just before Advent (often the Thursday before that first Sunday) is the perfect, perfect, perfect reminder of how much God loves us. What he gave for us. And how important it is to be grateful. Not just about food and harvest, but about the blessings of life and love and friendship and grace and eternity. We are just so stinkin' blessed!
Great reminder, Mary, and I love that we get to teach here, but also that we get to show folks what we're up to.... I use that as a real good excuse about why they should listen to me.
:)
Whatever it takes! (laughing!)
ALSO Ruthy, I came over about 9 am and found out the BLOG WASN'T UP! It was all done and sitting, weeping, in the background until Super Mary came along and set it free!!!
DeleteAnd I CANNOT wait for this new series! I was over the moon in love with the last one, I think it was your best series ever... except for The Husband Tree, my favorite because I could totally be Belle Tanner. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sadly afraid we can all be Belle Tanner.
DeleteLet me just say, Mary, that you are in no way the weak link in this collection! (I think we all probably pop in and out of our weak moments - I know I do.) However, when I read your Chapter 1 for Thankful for the Cowboy, I puddled up in good 'ol pioneer gal fashion. Can't wait to read the rest of your well-written (as always) story.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Davalyn. It's been a fun (and LEARNING!!!) experience to be in this collection!
DeleteCan't wait to read your book (and the others as well).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherry!
DeleteMary, you have a lot of exciting things going on! I love the new covers! Congrats on the new releases! I think having a series of Thanksgiving books is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteLOL! Let me see if I can write one more exclamation point. haha
DeleteThanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. The focus in our home is on God's blessings and the gathering of family and friends around the table. (Of course, I am a foodie so feeding my family is always at the top of my To-Do List! :))
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your Thanksgiving anthology, Mary. Great idea. You're right. Thanksgiving doesn't get enough attention!
That's how it should be, Debby, focusing on being Thankful to GOD. Even people who are thankful don't necessarily include..."To God" in their thanks.
DeleteHi Mary:
ReplyDeleteI don't see any cranes on the cover of "Thankful for the Cowboy". Are there any cranes in the story? BTW: I just pre-ordered it. Love that special price $2.99. Love the series theme. I've always liked Thanksgiving stories best because Christmas has been about the madness of shopping from, now, even before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of the purest holidays in the commercial sense. Give Thanks and watch football. It does not get much better than that! I just wish there were more Thanksgiving romance stories...even at the expense of the dozens of Christmas novellas that flood the market. Good for you.
Vince
I, too, preordered it!! Can't wait!
DeleteNo cranes, Vince. I should include Sandhills Cranes and Whooping Cranes. That'd be cool!!!
DeleteMy son began a new tradition: At Thanksgiving he gives each niece $50. They have to report back at Christmas how they used the money to give others a nice Christmas, either buying something for someone in need or giving the money to someone who needs it. They have spent it in some very interesting ways. Great to teach thankfulness and sharing blessings.
ReplyDeleteI LIKE THIS!!! What a great idea. How old were they when he started this. I might do this when they get a little older.
DeleteAlthough my oldest granddaughter is ten. That might be enough.
Hi Mary. This collection looks great. I have often that we need more Thanksgiving stories. It really is a forgotten holiday--especially in the stores. There aren't too many Thanksgiving songs, either, except for a few hymns. Our family has always begins Thanksgiving dinner with a prayer thanking God for all our blessings and the bounteous food. If you asked my family, they would say that our tradition is me making the cranberry sauce, then forgetting it and having to turn back home after about 15 miles to get it. (I did that at least 2 years in a row.) It is my grandmother's recipe so it is expected at Thanksgiving. So of course it is a family joke that I will forget the cranberries.
ReplyDeleteSandy, good for you and I'll bet we have that same recipe!!! It's my grandma's recipe
DeleteI like the Thanksgiving a lot. Around here the harvest is usually in by then so there's a breather between harvest and Christmas craziness. I like the windmill angle in your story, Mary. Flint & Walling was a big name out here and when I worked at The FArmer's Exchange ("Michiana's Popular Farm Newspaper") I got to cover the windmill festival. That was years ago and I don't know if it's still a thing or not. Thanksgiving reminds me of how much my Grandma liked it. She knew all the Mayflower settlers' names and a lot of their stories. MOre recently, one memorable Thanksgiving feast was roast duck raised by the kids, and stew with rabbits that my son got while out hunting. He ended up not liking rabbit hunting because he thought it was awfully messy dressing them out "and all you get are some rabbit nuggets." Now that the kids are grown I just hope we can find a time to have everybody at our house.
ReplyDeleteAnn the house I live in right now is my husband's grandfather's home. And for most of history (the house is nearly 100 years old) we had a 12 foot hand-dug well run by a windmill. So I know a well and windmill can be a true thing.
DeleteFamily that we would spend the holidays with are 7.5 hours away so we usually end up celebrating things on our own. For Thanksgiving, up here in Canada, it's the last official weekend for camping so we pack up our trailer one last time, I make pumpkin pie ahead of time, and prepare a camping-worthy Thanksgiving feast. Each one of us (kids included) thank God for 3 things before we eat, and then enjoy making up stories around the campfire (while wearing our woolies!). Lee-Ann
ReplyDeleteLee-Ann such a cool and personal tradition. Camping and a feast!
DeleteNeed to be more intentional about thanksgiving. Possibly more vocal too.
DeleteMary -- LOVE the idea of a Thanksgiving collection of stories! Thanksgiving has long been a favorite holiday in my family for generations--and we like to keep it special in and of itself--not just an extension of Christmas. A cozy day of reflection, thankfulness, family & friends.
ReplyDeleteMmm. Turkey. Now you have me looking forward to Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteIt is very much a family and food holiday and I get so sad when I see people skipping straight from Halloween to Christmas. It has been a goal of mine to for the past year to thank God more than I ask Him for things. Some days that's easier than others, but He gives us so much more than we can imagine or deserve.