Is where we introduce listeners to people who have found their way out of the dark shadows of life and back to light and those who lead others on their journey from darkness to light.
STEP INTO THE LIGHT
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Patti’s Blogs; Patti’s Porch & The Over Fifty Writer; Podcast Step Into the Light
Meet seasoned authors, learn about new books and find inspiration to help you along your journey. No matter how far you’ve come or where you are going, I’d be honored to travel with you. If you like what you see, please subscribe to avoid missing updates.
2019-10-22
Episode #99 - Featuring Becky Van Vleet
2019-08-27
Episode #98 - Featuring Evelyn Leite
Recent Posts
THE FUN IN SHOWCASING UPSTATE NY by JULIE ARDUINI 11/16/2019 12:35:00 AM BY Patti Shene
FEATURED BOOK: Restoring Christmas
AUTHOR: Julie Arduini
PUBLISHER: Surrendered Scribe Media
GENRE: Inspy Romance
SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TARGET AGE: 18+
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR JULIE ARDUINI TO PATTI’S PORCH. JULIE SHARES HER LOVE OF THE SMALL TOWN SETTING IN HER INSPIRATIONAL CHRISTMAS ROMANCE NOVELLA.
JULIE IS OFFERING A GIVEAWAY! SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING FOR WINNER’S CHOICE OF A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF RESTORING CHRISTMAS.
THE FUN IN SHOWCASING UPSTATE NY
One of the reasons I enjoy visiting Patti’s Porch is that Patti is familiar with the Adirondack Mountains, the region I based my Surrendering Time Series on. We both enjoy the beautiful foliage, the smell of pine, and the kindness from the residents.
For me, that’s what Upstate NY is about. My goal is to use Upstate NY cities and villages in my romances so readers can fall in love with the settings and the characters. Now that I live in Ohio (where I use settings for my Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’ middle grade/women’s fiction series,) I miss the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes. I long to return to the Thousand Islands and create a series. My hope is readers could learn more about Western New York beyond Rochester and Buffalo. When it comes to all those Upstate NY settings, I have my work cut out for me!
My latest release, Restoring Christmas, is a glimpse into the Finger Lakes region. Based in the fictional village of Geneseo (Jen-uh-see-oh) Valley, the romance is my tip-of-the-hat to the real Geneseo, where I graduated from college.
I loved re-creating a small town where residents rally around the local businesses. The Christmas Mansion is a holiday attraction that is beloved by the townspeople yet has tourists, too. Everyone clamors to visit the place full of decorations and props, highlighted by an appearance from Santa. Drawing from my own college experience, there are a group of college students who choose the mansion as their public relations project. They see the value in the family-owned business, even if it is in need of updating and repair.
There aren’t just college students helping out at The Christmas Mansion, there’s also a class of tweens with slight special needs who believe in the magical place in the middle of the village. With all the students lending a hand, it’s their enthusiasm that helps the new co-owner, Holly Christmas, find the treasure in the mansion that she failed to find before.
I don’t know about you, but I love reading Christmas romances. I especially love when they have small town settings. It’s my joy to offer readers both in Restoring Christmas, a holiday theme and a tribute to a rural Upstate NY village.
What about you? Do you enjoy small town romances? Do you have a favorite setting?
Blurb for Restoring Christmas:
Filled with grief and regret, Holly Christmas returns to Geneseo Valley and the family business, The Christmas Mansion. Can Kevin Holt restore her love for the season and the memories she left behind?
***
Holly Christmas left Geneseo Valley and her family’s holiday tourist attraction, The Christmas Mansion, as soon as she graduated. Now both her parents have passed, and Holly returns when her uncle needs her help running the mansion. On Holly’s first day back, a blunt middle-schooler proclaims Holly hates Christmas. His comment forces her to reconcile the past while planning for the mansion’s future.
Kevin Holt is invested in offering hope to students with challenges. His best friend’s son is in Kevin’s class, and Nathan needs guidance. Their community project placement at The Christmas Mansion is an opportunity to make a positive difference. When Nathan blurts out his thoughts to the beautiful co-owner, Kevin wonders if he has what it takes to help restore the mansion to its former glory, mentor Nathan, and convince Holly Christmas she’s exactly where she needs to be.
DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWING TO WIN A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF RESTORING CHRISTMAS BETWEEN NOW AND TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH AT MIDNIGHT MST. (U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR PRINT COPY).
BY LEAVING A COMMENT, YOU GRANT PERMISSION FOR YOUR EMAIL TO BE REVEALED TO THE AUTHOR IF YOU ARE THE WINNER TO FACILITATE RECEIPT OF YOUR BOOK.
Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the contemporary romance series SURRENDERING TIME, (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged,) as well as the stand-alone novellas, MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. Her other latest release, YOU’RE AMAZING, is a book for girls ages 10-100, written with her teenaged daughter, Hannah, and is book 2 in their SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ series. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, as well as monthly with Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her website, where she invites readers to opt in to her content full of resources and giveaway opportunities.
THE PANIC! THE PANIC!! 10/30/2019 3:40:00 PM BY Patti Shene
Yet another day has arrived on my calendar where I am scheduled to post on this blog, but I have no guest blogger. I try to fill those days with my own thoughts, but usually come up with a bunch of worthless drivel on the page before I construct anything anyone would want to bother to read.
Today, a poet friend of mine was gracious enough to rescue me from having to tax my brain to produce something creative. She shared a poem of hers with me recently that describes exactly how I feel at times like this. I think she was peeking inside my head when she wrote it.
Without further ado, I present…
The Panic! The Panic!!
Oh, woe is me!
For I must write.
And I, who often LOVE to write
Am worried here
I CANNOT write:
I might not write a goodly plight.
I might not write,
I might not quite
Catch all the good words in their flight.
No write. Not right.
The right to write
Eludes me who once LOVED to write.
The deadline nears,
Awaking fears:
What I produce may not bring cheers,
But only sadly mocking jeers,
As inspiration disappears.
What’s that you say?
I need not do it?
The pressure’s off
To hop right to it?
I’m free to simply just relax?
I’m free from writer’s block attacks?
I’m breathing slow and feeling good,
And dream of writing, if I could.
See here: my dog
Is nonsense showin’:
I’m off to frame that
In a poem.
By Gwennonr
Gwennon is a painfully shy woman who has been a practicing extrovert for the last 35 years. Though she's the world's worst chess player, she absolutely hates to lose at chess. In her spare time (and with her indulgent husband's spare money), she collects dinosaurs, books, and musical instruments she hasn't fully mastered.
Her dream is to someday walk Bibles across China and strengthen the persecuted church, though she dreads learning Chinese because the writing looks so hard. "It's not like Spanish or German, where you have the Roman alphabet as a cheat sheet!" she groans.
Gwennon tests the patience of her husband, children, and grandchildren by asking way too many questions, and she loves to pray for anyone who tells her their problems. Readers can see more of her poems on her poetry blog and some of her stories on her story and natural healing blog.
A CHRISTMAS WRITING GIFT by KATHY McKINSEY 10/23/2019 6:00:00 PM BY Patti Shene
FEATURED BOOK: MILLIE’S CHRISTMAS
AUTHOR: Kathy McKinsey
PUBLISHER: Mantle Rock Publishing
GENRE: Children’s fiction
SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand alone
TARGET AGE: Five to eight, and all ages
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR KATHY McKINSEY TO THE OVER 50 WRITER. KATHY SHARES A CHRSTMAS GIFT GOD GAVE HER THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO PASS ON TO HER READERS.
KATHY IS OFFERING A GIVEAWAY! SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING FOR AN EBOOK COPY OF MILLIE’S CHRISTMAS.
A CHRISTMAS WRITING GIFT
My biggest struggle as a writer has always been convincing myself to sit down and write.
Someone asked me recently how many hours a day I write. I cringed. Hours?
A few years ago, I was searching for a project to force me to write every day. I heard about NaNoWriMo, but I didn’t think I was up to that.
It was almost December. Why not write a Christmas story?
I am more of a pantser than a plotter, though I usually have a general idea of how my story will work out.
Not this time. I sat down and just wrote what came to mind.
At least at first. A story told by a kitten.
Before long, God surprised me with my own Christmas writing gift. Millie’s Christmas became one of my favorites of all my stories.
At this point, I always have to say, “No way am I comparing myself, my skill, to that of C. S. Lewis.”
However, just as The Chronicles of Narnia can be enjoyed by children and adults, I believe the same is true forMillie’s Christmas.
It’s fun and sweet for children. And I pray comforting. But adults can also have fun with this cute story. And again, I hope they will find deeper meaning, and the hope of Jesus, in these pages as well.
Blurb for Millie’s Christmas:
Ruthie says Millie will love Christmas. Ruthie is Millie’s best friend, so she’s sure Ruthie’s right, but why does Millie keep finding Ruthie and her brother Jake crying?
Millie, an orange kitten, shares about her first Christmas. Her best friend Ruthie, six years old, teaches Millie about Christmas—food, decorations, music, presents, and Jesus!
Millie’s friend Bruce, the family dog, also helps her celebrate Christmas, and sometimes gets her in trouble.
When Ruthie’s big brother Jake breaks his ankle, Millie learns about sad things, like divorce, when Jake can’t visit his mommy for Christmas. Millie watches Ruthie’s family love each other through the sadness, and find joy in Christmas.
DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWING TO WIN AN EBOOK COPY OF MILLIE’S CHRISTMAS BETWEEN NOW AND SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND AT MIDNIGHT MDT.
BY LEAVING A COMMENT, YOU GRANT PERMISSION FOR YOUR EMAIL TO BE REVEALED TO THE AUTHOR IF YOU ARE THE WINNER TO FACILITATE RECEIPT OF YOUR BOOK.
Kathy McKinsey grew up on a pig farm in Missouri, and although she’s lived in cities for nearly 40 years, she still considers herself a farm girl.
She’s been married to Murray for 32 years, and they have five adult children.
Kathy had two careers before writing—stay-at-home-Mom and rehabilitation teacher for the blind.
She lives in Lakewood, Ohio with her husband of 32 years, Murray, and two of their five adult children. Besides writing, Kathy enjoys activities with her church, editing for other writers, braille transcribing, crocheting, knitting, and playing with the cat and dog.
FEATURED BOOK: Restoring Christmas
AUTHOR: Julie Arduini
PUBLISHER: Surrendered Scribe Media
GENRE: Inspy Romance
SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TARGET AGE: 18+
IT IS MY PLEASURE TO WELCOME AUTHOR JULIE ARDUINI TO PATTI’S PORCH. JULIE SHARES HER LOVE OF THE SMALL TOWN SETTING IN HER INSPIRATIONAL CHRISTMAS ROMANCE NOVELLA.
JULIE IS OFFERING A GIVEAWAY! SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING FOR WINNER’S CHOICE OF A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF RESTORING CHRISTMAS.
THE FUN IN SHOWCASING UPSTATE NY
One of the reasons I enjoy visiting Patti’s Porch is that Patti is familiar with the Adirondack Mountains, the region I based my Surrendering Time Series on. We both enjoy the beautiful foliage, the smell of pine, and the kindness from the residents.
For me, that’s what Upstate NY is about. My goal is to use Upstate NY cities and villages in my romances so readers can fall in love with the settings and the characters. Now that I live in Ohio (where I use settings for my Surrendering Stinkin’ Thinkin’ middle grade/women’s fiction series,) I miss the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes. I long to return to the Thousand Islands and create a series. My hope is readers could learn more about Western New York beyond Rochester and Buffalo. When it comes to all those Upstate NY settings, I have my work cut out for me!
My latest release, Restoring Christmas, is a glimpse into the Finger Lakes region. Based in the fictional village of Geneseo (Jen-uh-see-oh) Valley, the romance is my tip-of-the-hat to the real Geneseo, where I graduated from college.
I loved re-creating a small town where residents rally around the local businesses. The Christmas Mansion is a holiday attraction that is beloved by the townspeople yet has tourists, too. Everyone clamors to visit the place full of decorations and props, highlighted by an appearance from Santa. Drawing from my own college experience, there are a group of college students who choose the mansion as their public relations project. They see the value in the family-owned business, even if it is in need of updating and repair.
There aren’t just college students helping out at The Christmas Mansion, there’s also a class of tweens with slight special needs who believe in the magical place in the middle of the village. With all the students lending a hand, it’s their enthusiasm that helps the new co-owner, Holly Christmas, find the treasure in the mansion that she failed to find before.
I don’t know about you, but I love reading Christmas romances. I especially love when they have small town settings. It’s my joy to offer readers both in Restoring Christmas, a holiday theme and a tribute to a rural Upstate NY village.
What about you? Do you enjoy small town romances? Do you have a favorite setting?
Blurb for Restoring Christmas:
Filled with grief and regret, Holly Christmas returns to Geneseo Valley and the family business, The Christmas Mansion. Can Kevin Holt restore her love for the season and the memories she left behind?
***
Holly Christmas left Geneseo Valley and her family’s holiday tourist attraction, The Christmas Mansion, as soon as she graduated. Now both her parents have passed, and Holly returns when her uncle needs her help running the mansion. On Holly’s first day back, a blunt middle-schooler proclaims Holly hates Christmas. His comment forces her to reconcile the past while planning for the mansion’s future.
Kevin Holt is invested in offering hope to students with challenges. His best friend’s son is in Kevin’s class, and Nathan needs guidance. Their community project placement at The Christmas Mansion is an opportunity to make a positive difference. When Nathan blurts out his thoughts to the beautiful co-owner, Kevin wonders if he has what it takes to help restore the mansion to its former glory, mentor Nathan, and convince Holly Christmas she’s exactly where she needs to be.
Purchase Links:
Restoring Christmas eBook
Restoring Christmas Softcover
DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWING TO WIN A PRINT OR EBOOK COPY OF RESTORING CHRISTMAS BETWEEN NOW AND TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH AT MIDNIGHT MST. (U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR PRINT COPY).
BY LEAVING A COMMENT, YOU GRANT PERMISSION FOR YOUR EMAIL TO BE REVEALED TO THE AUTHOR IF YOU ARE THE WINNER TO FACILITATE RECEIPT OF YOUR BOOK.
Julie Arduini loves to encourage readers to find freedom in Christ by surrendering the good, the bad, and ---maybe one day---the chocolate. She’s the author of the contemporary romance series SURRENDERING TIME, (Entrusted, Entangled, Engaged,) as well as the stand-alone novellas, MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN and RESTORING CHRISTMAS. She also shares her story in the infertility devotional, A WALK IN THE VALLEY. Her other latest release, YOU’RE AMAZING, is a book for girls ages 10-100, written with her teenaged daughter, Hannah, and is book 2 in their SURRENDERING STINKIN’ THINKIN’ series. She blogs every other Wednesday for Christians Read, as well as monthly with Inspy Romance. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. Learn more by visiting her website, where she invites readers to opt in to her content full of resources and giveaway opportunities.
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