THE DESIRES OF HER HEART TEXAS: Star of Destiny By Lyn Cote THE DESIRES OF HER HEART (Avon Inspire, on-sale: Feb 10, 2009, ISBN: 9780061373411, price: $12.99) is a beautiful historical romance between a woman forced to make a new life on the Texas frontier and the scout who leads their wagon train through the uncharted territory. Set in 1821, Dorritt Mott who is against slavery is a woman ahead of her time. When events make it impossible for her family, including an overbearing stepfather and a spoiled half-sister, to remain in New Orleans, they head to Texas to join Stephen Austin’s first angloamericano settlement and recoup their fortune in the Spanish colony of Texas. Quinn, a social outcast as the half-breed son of a Cherokee mother and an American father, has made a name for himself as a scout and a man not to be taken lightly. When the New Orleans lady and the frontiersman meet, they become unlikely allies as they travel the wilds of Texas. But will their trek be in vain? Mexico...

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.27.2009 I was at Faithchick talking about how The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay has been helping me to reset my priorities. Click here to read my Faithchick post.

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.26.2009 Love as a Way of Life Devotional by Dr. Gary Chapman In his book Love As a Way of Life , best-selling author Gary Chapman shows readers how to cultivate a new lifestyle built around the seven characteristics of authentic love. Now in a companion devotional, he provides ninety inspirational readings to help Christians consistently live out the characteristics of love in every relationship. Each devotional entry showcases biblical truths that guide a life of love, offering fresh insight and practical guidance in how to make love a lasting habit. Over the course of three months, readers will learn to follow God’s lead as they practice the characteristics of a loving person: kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity, and honesty. The Love As a Way of Life Devotional makes an ideal gift for the holidays or for any special occasion. Couples, parents, new graduates, and anyone celebrating a milestone in life will welcome ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.25.2009 I got the cover for my July romantic suspense a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t allowed to post it until it was official released. Well, it’s officially released b/c it’s on the Christianbook.com website ! Here’s the official blurb, too: SCENE OF THE CRIME The Grant family’s exclusive Sonoma spa is a place for rest and relaxation—not murder! Then Naomi Grant finds her client Jessica Ortiz bleeding to death in her massage room, and everything falls apart. The salon’s reputation is at stake...and so is Naomi’s freedom when she discovers that she is one of the main suspects! Her only solace is found with the other suspect—Dr. Devon Knightley, the victim’s ex-husband. But Devon is hiding secrets of his own. When they come to light, where can Naomi turn...and whom can she trust? You can preorder Deadly Intent , too! Preorder from Amazon Preorder from Christianbook.com

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.24.2009 I am extraordinarily proud of this. For Christmas, I wanted to knit something for my parents that would be really cool and personal, and sort of an heirloom. So I took the five family crests I had for my family (in Japanese, a family crest is called a “mon”) and graphed the designs on knitting graph paper so that I could knit intarsia panels of the mons. I knit 5 intarsia panels and 4 plain panels and then sewed them together to make an afghan. In Japan, family crests are carried by both male and female, so I used mons from both my parents' sides. Traditionally, mons are passed down from mother to daughter and from father to son, but there are sometimes cases of a son taking a mother’s mon or a husband taking his wife’s family’s mon and things like that. I know we have more than 5 family crests, but we’ve lost some of them. My mom tried to find them all several years ago, but could only find these five. The fans mon was actually...

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.24.2009 The Stress Eater Diet by Robert Posner and Linda Hlivka Are you a Stress Eater? With a crumbling economy, depressed real estate, foreclosures, plunging stock markets, job insecurity, credit card debt, political instability and uncertainty; stress levels in America are skyrocketing. For those that attempt to eat their stress away, The Stress Eater Diet is a simple guide for women who want to stress less, shed pounds and look great. To find out if you are a stress eater, take our free stress eater quiz. The Stress Eater Diet's Solution Based on new published research, The Stress Eater Diet is a revolutionary program that can help rid you of stress and control your weight through a proven nutritional and simple exercise plan. It will reduce stress eating while balancing your mood and increasing your energy. The Stress Eater Diet combines: - Nutrition - Stress Relieving Exercise - Calming Techniques - Serotonin boosting foods (activating calming m...

Today's Wild Card author is: Brandt Dodson and the book: Daniel’s Den Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2009) ABOUT THE BOOK: In this fast–paced thriller by popular author Brandt Dodson, a young government accountant learns to trust God when his life begins to fall apart and unseen enemies pursue him with relentless zeal. Daniel Borden is a thirty–year–old government accountant who lives a quiet life and plays by the rules. But when events transpire that shatter his orderly world and a team of assassins mark him for death, Daniel must flee for his life. While on the run, Daniel encounters Laura Sky. Carefree and easygoing, Laura is everything that Daniel isn’t. But when the killers assigned to eliminate Daniel find him at Laura’s bed–and–breakfast, gunfire erupts and the two set out on the run once again. As they try to unravel the mystery that confronts them, they discover how tenuous life can be and how their very existence depends on the God who will never abandon the...

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.23.2009 Age Before Beauty by Virginia Smith Desperate to stay home with her baby, Allie Harrod launches a new career. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she was lousy at cookie sales, but makeup is different, right? She'll do anything to make enough money to cover her share of the household bills, but how can she focus on her business when her list of problems is growing? None of her pre-baby clothes fit, her checking account is dwindling, and her mother-in-law has decided to move in! To top it off, her husband's attractive coworker suddenly needs his help every weekend. Middle sister Joan insists that God has the answers to all her problems, but Allie isn't so sure. Can she really trust him? Buy from Christianbook.com Excerpt of chapter one: The mirror had to be warped. That was the only explanation for the image staring back at Allie from its treacherous surface. Her thighs couldn’t be that wide, her belly that flabby. ...