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COTT {Clash of the Titles) January winner announced!

It is my great pleasure to announce the winner of this month's clash...

Redneck Debutante 

by Jenny Hammerle

Congratulations, Jenny!

Your book will be automatically entered for a chance to win a Laurel Award later this year!

And a big thank-you to ALL our participating authors!

Lacey Williams with Return of the Cowboy Doctor,

Norma Downing with A Promise Made,

and Anne Greene with Marriage byArrangement

Here are a few of the comments left by our voters:

• Jenny Hammerle is a talented author who knows how to connect with girls through an engaging story where the reader can gain valuable life lessons along the way!:-)
• I have spent some time in Fruitville and I Love this place. Many great memories there. I must read your book, I am sure it is wonderful, as are the People of Fruitville. Thank You for taking time to write this book.
• Redneck Debutante is a great title! The cover is spectacular and really catches your eye. I have read this book and it is a very good, fast-paced read.
• Great story and character development! Loved Redneck Debutante and am loving the second book Cowgirl Down!

And a couple Amazon Reviews:

• "Jenny Hammerle's Redneck Debutante is a breath of fresh air that you don't want to miss. Her characters will engage you and keep you involved just as if you knew them personally. Whether you are an adult reader or a young adult, you will be captivated by this book and find it hard to put down. I enjoyed this first book in the series immensely and I can't wait for more of the story! Write faster Jenny!"
• "If you or the teen girl in your life is tired of sparkly vampires, witches and werewolves this is a wonderful book about the real issues teen girls deal with. It is wonderfully written and will keep you engaged all the way through. Can't wait for the second book!!"

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight of the rugged cowboy.
Green eyes, dark-brown hair, tall, tanned, nicely muscled.
And there she was, standing in the creek in only her underwear.

West Palm, Florida

Fifteen-year-old Rachael Harte has everything she could want—plenty of money, hang-out time with friends at the beach, and Colten, the hot boyfriend every girl in her prep school drools over.

But just as she receives her long-awaited debutante invitation, scandal strikes her family. Now Rachael has to go to public high school and live with her Aunt Margaret in a place called Fruitville. How much more redneck could it get? The first day, as she’s cooling off from the heat, she hears a soft “ahem” and looks up into the eyes of Travis Baxter, the most handsome cowboy she’s ever seen. His smirk is bad enough. Worse, they’re now neighbors and will attend the same school.

As Rachael plunges into redneck life in rural Florida, she’s charmed by a quirky new group of friends, including Travis’s twin, Maysie, but still misses her friends back home. Can Rachael and Colten survive on once-a-month visits? Or will Travis’s cowboy charms win her over? What she learns as a Redneck Debutante will teach her more about love and life than she could ever have dreamed.

The REDNECK DEBUTANTE Series®
Romance that’s a little bit city, a little bit country.

**********

Book Two, Cowgirl Down, is also available!

And guess what? Extra congrats are in order because Redneck Debutante recently won the ACFW Book Club Poll and will be one of three books for the Spring reading list. What fantastic news!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

On my father’s side we are sixth generation Floridians- cattle and citrus mostly. I grew up on a working cattle ranch. My dad still manages ranches in twelve Florida counties.

I have been bucked off more than a few times- I survived and lived to write about it. That is why you will find that some of my writing revolves around rural Florida and ranch life. My favorite place to be is at the hunt camp sitting around the campfire listening to, or in some cases, telling funny stories! I love to work cows in the cow pens- branding, tagging, marking, legging and parting out calves to keep or sell is always a good time!

I currently stay home with our two wonderful little boys. I can be found coaching a group of middle school cheerleaders which serves my writing well by keeping me in touch with the youth of today and their slang, drama and texting practices!

Storytelling is something that comes naturally to most cowboys and cowgirls. If you join us on any workday, around a campfire or in the cow pens you can experience the true nature of the cowboy storyteller and see that it is a living, breathing verbal tradition still being shared today. This storytelling tradition comes alive in the texture of my writing!

You can find Jenny Hammerle on her website or on her Facebook page

Congratulations, Jenny! We can't wait to watch your story unfold.

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WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Creamy White Bean Soup

Another great soup recipe from Pinterest!

Ingredients:

12 ounces apple smoked bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
2 celery stalks, small dice
4 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Pinch or two sea salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

6 (15 ounce) cans small white beans (or navy beans), drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken stock, hot
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation:  Place a large Dutch oven, or heavy bottom pot, over medium-high heat; once the pot is hot, add in a small drizzle of olive oil, and the chopped bacon; crisp the bacon completely until nice and brown, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain it on some paper towel, and set it aside for a moment; reserve about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat, and set that aside for a moment, as well; wipe out the pot, and return it to medium-high heat.

Next, add back into the pot the bacon fat, along with the olive oil and the butter, and allow them to melt together; once melted and hot, add in the diced onion, carrots and celery, and allow them to soften and saute for about 5 minutes; next, add in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in about 2/3 of the reserved, crisped bacon, as well as the Italian seasoning, the sea salt and the pepper, along with the white beans, and stir to combine; next, add in the hot chicken stock, stir, and allow the stew to gently simmer for about 40-45 minutes, partially covered with lid; about half way through the cooking process, mash the beans a little bit with the  back of your spoon, or with a potato masher, to break up the beans a little bit and release their natural starch to thicken the stew; after about 40 minutes, turn the heat off and finish the stew by adding in the chopped parsley, the lemon zest and the lemon juice; serve the stew with some nice, crusty bread to dip, and garnish with some of the remaining crisped bacon.

(Serves about 6)

{Kregel Blog Tour} The Vicar's Wife by Katherine Swartz

Book Description:  Jane Hatton and her British husband Andrew relocate from New York City to a small village on the Cumbrian coast. Jane has been city-based and career-driven but when her fourteen year old daughter Natalie falls in with the wrong crowd at school in Manhattan, she and Andrew decide to try country living. However Jane has trouble getting used to the silence and solitude of a remote village. Natalie hates her new school, and eleven-year-old Ben struggles academically. Only seven-year-old Merrie enjoys country life. Has Jane made a horrible mistake? The Hattons have bought the old vicarage in the village. When Jane finds a scrap of shopping list, she grows curious about Alice, the vicar’s wife who lived there years before. As we follow the twin narratives of Jane, in the present, and Alice in the 1930s we discover that both are on a journey to discover their true selves, and to address their deepest fears.

My Thoughts:  This is quite an interesting read.  It drew me in from page one.   

The lives of two vicar wives, two different perspectives but yet, oh!so!the!same!  Funny how life can be so much the same in two different  times zones  . . . one in the present and one in the 1930's!

The story begins with the Hatton family moving from New York to a small, very small English village.  Jane Hatton is a business woman, the mother of three and quite independent.  Alice (the 1930's vicar wife) is inexperienced and wide-eyed with youthful innocence.  But yet, these two women have some  of the same issues in life.  

Jane finds a scrap of a grocery list when she is cleaning and painting one of the pantries.  Who ever heard of having two pantries in a big ole' house anyway?!?!  Not quite sure Jane is not already having some resentment as she  tries to, well fights to, maintain some of her sanity in this very small village.  And oh! the silence.  Silence can be deafening when one is use to the noise of a big city!

Then there's Alice from the 1930's.  Alice is young and it seems that she and her husband may never conceive a child.  Alice goes into somewhat of a depression wanting and not conceiving a child.  But when Alice's husband must go off to war, she is left to run it all and finds she can.  

The struggles, the faith, the sacrifices and the love these two women have makes for quite a story!

This is one great read with a mix of contemporary and historical women's fiction!

*This book was provided for review by Kregel Publications*

Meet the Author:

After spending three years as a diehard New Yorker, Katharine Swartz now lives in the Lake District with her husband, an Anglican minister, their five children, and a Golden Retriever. She enjoys such novel things as long country walks and chatting with people in the street, and her children love the freedom of village life--although she often has to ring four or five people to figure out where they've gone off to!

She writes women's fiction as well as contemporary romance for Mills & Boon Modern under the name Kate Hewitt, and whatever the genre she enjoys delivering a compelling and intensely emotional story. Find out more about her books at www.katharineswartz.com.Paperback: 336 pages

• Publisher: Lion Fiction; 1st New edition edition (October 24, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1782640703
• ISBN-13: 978-1782640707

Princess Ever After (Royal Wedding #2) by Rachel Hauck

Book Description:  Regina Beswick was born to be a princess. But she's content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother's hand-painted book of fairytales. Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation's future---and his own. Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever. Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she's destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. 

My Thoughts: Rachel Hauck is another favorite of mine . . . especially when it comes to romantic novels.  And I love this royal wedding series!

I had the pleasure of reading Once Upon a Prince so I was overjoyed when Princess Ever After finally made its debut.  I absolutely love the covers on both of these fab books.  There's just something about not seeing a face that adds to the intrigue and lets one imagine what the heroine looks like.

As much as I love a good mystery/suspense read I truly enjoy a well written romance ever.now.and.again.too!  And this read fits right in there...maybe at the top of the list.

Now Regina runs a classic auto restoration shop, not exactly the kind of job one would think a princess would do.  But Regina is great at her job.  Then Tanner is asked to go retrieve the long lost princess.  

A modern day fairy tale! 

I quickly fell in "love" with Tanner.  He's such a true.blue.type.of.guy!  

But Regina and Tanner have quite a journey ahead of them.  Intrigue, romance and decisions.

As much as I enjoyed Once Upon A Prince, Princess Ever After may just be my all time favorite romantic read!

These are stand.alone.reads.  

This book would make a great Valentine's Day gift for that romantic reader on your list!

*This book was provided for review by BookSneeze*

• Series: Royal Wedding Series
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 30, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310315476
• ISBN-13: 978-0310315476

February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

Book Description:  Allie left the love of her life at the altar - to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine's Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family's destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress?

History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day - in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family - women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus but fears she's destined to repeat her family's mistakes. She can't bear to hurt Marcus worse.

Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar - him. When the two are thrown together for his sister's Valentine's Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?

My Thoughts:  Another novella!  This novella was a quick read for me.  Not only did I love the story line, I loved Allie!  This novella has a bit of a mystery in it. Why did Allie leave her future husband at the alter?  Twice??  This fun read has a bit more of a twist in it.  Allie seems to have some issues that she can't get past.  Hurdles that keep her from loving any man.  And yet, she wants to love and be loved.  Sometimes it just takes that "special" man to see through the facade.  

This novella is a perfect before Valentine's Day read.  It's romantic, fun and yes, a bit over the top but that's the fun of reading a "made up story!"  A definite excuse to escape the cares of life!

This fun read only comes in Kindle-not physical book.  And it's only $3.79!

*This ebook was provided for review by BookSneeze*

• File Size: 1381 KB
• Print Length: 80 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: Zondervan (January 28, 2014)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
• Language: English