Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.07.2006 Arrrrr me hearties! Today I have M.L. (MaryLu) Tyndall with me! Her pirate historical romance, THE REDEMPTION, releases today, which also happens to coincide with the opening of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ! Johnny-alert! Johnny-alert! THE REDEMPTION Lady Charlisse Bristol sets off on a voyage in search of a father she never knew, only to find herself shipwrecked on a desert island. Near starvation, she is rescued by a band of pirates and their fiercely handsome leader, Edmund Merrick. Will Clarisse win her struggle against the seductive lure of this pirate captain? While battling his attraction to this winsome lady, Edmund offers to help Charlisse on her quest--until he discovers her father is none other than Edward the Terror, the cruelest pirate on the Caribbean. Can Edmund win this lady's love while shielding her from his lecherous crew and working to bring her father to justice? Now here’s MaryLu! Tell u...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.06.2006 For all you writers —check out my Story Sensei critique service Summer Sale ! Get a 10% off coupon just for entering! Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . My Monday book giveaway is RECONSTRUCTING NATALIE by Laura Jensen Walker. You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On FRIDAY (not Thursday), I'll draw the winner for LOVE ONLINE and post the title for another book I'm giving away—PLUS . . . Save the date! On Friday July 7th, to celebrate the release of THE REDEMPTION by M.L. Tyndall (my good friend), I'll be posting a contest for a free book AND two free tickets to see the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Curse ! But you can only enter all day on Friday, July 7th! Ronie’s trip to California: I got to spend some time with Ronie and her family when they visited Dineen ’s place yesterday! TMI: Writing: I got my contrac...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.04.2006 Lovely Laura: Hilarious and bubbly Laura Jensen Walker is guest blogging for me today! Her newest book is Women of Faith Novel of the Year RECONSTRUCTING NATALIE ! "You think you're self-conscious about YOUR lack of cleavage?!" You wouldn't think the words "breast cancer" and "hilarity" belonged in the same book, much less the same sentence, but chick lit author and breast cancer survivor Laura Jensen Walker knows how to address painful topics with a wink and a smile. Reconstructing Natalie is the story of a woman whose breast cancer is the catalyst for some serious changes—not the least of which is her cup size! Holding tight to her old friends while reaching out to new ones, Natalie must redefine herself and her faith on new terms. And now, here’s Laura! No Place Like Home Don’t hate me, but my husband Michael and I just returned from three weeks in Europe (England, Scotland, Wales, and Paris) on...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.02.2006 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, e-mail me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't e-mail me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray 3 Sundays. Lord, thank you for this sunny 4th of July weekend. I lift up Brenda, Gail, and Bob to you. Cover them all with your strength and grace. Thank you that Heather’s almost done with her manuscript. Please protect her from any spiritual warfare that might try to stop her. Please heal Pammer from her hives. I pray for relief for her. Please also give her your grace and strength for everything else. Help Squirl finish her manuscript. I pray everything is going well. Bless Dineen’s new graphic design business. Please help her as she finis...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 07.01.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is CONSIDER LILY by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for CONSIDER LILY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. TMI: Delia tagged me AND complained about no posts on Saturday (but she did it very gently). So today, just for her, here’s a meme for your blog-reading pleasure. 1. My home is... filled with dog hair and never clean enough. 2. I am listening to... I flip between a worship playlist on my iPod and the 2005 RWA National workshops on MP3. 3. Maybe I should... take a few months to read the dozens of books in my TBR pile. 4. I love it when... I finish watching a really good movie or reading a really good book. The Aaaaaah at The End is priceless. 5. My best friend... is my hu...

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.30.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is CONSIDER LILY by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for CONSIDER LILY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Haunted by a Question: Sorry, this is really long again. As before, some things I liked and some questions. Eve—What Happened? The authors say: “[Eve] brought strength to the world, but not a striving, sharp-edged strength. She was inviting, alluring, captivating.” I don’t know if I buy that. I don’t know if I really see how being inviting, alluring, or captivating is a strength. I understand how restfulness (restful inner beauty?) can be a strength, or solidity like a rock. To me, that’s strength. But being alluring? Captivating? Then they talk about “Why do so few wom...

Captain's Log, Stardate 06.28.2006 I'm a favorite blog! Tricia Goyer conducted a small blog survey, and she compiled a list of favorite blogs from the survey participants. Tricia also blogs at Gen X Parents and WriterQuotes (where I'm a contributor--every Monday is my Health and the Writer column). Novel Journey - Gina Holmes, Ane Mulligan, Jessica Dotta - author interviews blog Author Intrusion - Lisa Samson Faith in Fiction - Bethany House Fiction Acquisitions Editor Dave Long The Uprising - Lisa Koons Rhythms of Grace - Marilynn Griffith Christian Fiction - Dee Stewart The Master's Artist - Christian writers' group blog Girls Write Out - Colleen Coble, Denise Hunter, Diann Hunt, and Kristin Billerbeck Forensics & Faith - Brandilyn Collins Romancing the Blog - Romance writers group blog Dee's Blog - Deeanne Gist Relevant Prose - Mary DeMuth Your Writers Group - WaterBrook Press Acquisitions Editor Mick Silva The Writing Life - Howard Fic...