Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Summer Freebie” which means that we can choose anything related to summer. While their stories may or may not be set in summer, the covers of these books just say “summer” to me.
Things that to me scream “Summer”:
Fireflies – All in Good Time by Carolyn Astfalk
Honeybees – Meant to Bee by Storm Shultz
Campfires – Dereliction of the Heart by Hannah Hood Lucero
Flowers – Just Let Go by Courtney Walsh
Jean shorts and sunshine – Growing into Greatness by Tanya E. Williams (Note: This is an older version of this book’s cover.)
The Beach, Tropics, Palm Trees – Once Upon a Caribbean Summer by Lisa T. Bergren and Complex by Kortney Keisel
Florida – At Home in Persimmon Hollow by Gerri Bauer
Golf – Summer Ever After by Kortney Keisel
Sailing – If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair
Have you read any of these? Which books say “summer” to you?
Happy June, readers! I hope you are all having a good start to summer! Or winter for my southern hemisphere readers 🙂 Here in Missouri, my family is finishing out the last few days of school and preparing for summer retreats, vacations, and lots of good craziness with everyone being home again.
What’s in this Edition:
WIP Updates – More details on my Work in Progress
New Audiobooks – Stars in the Storm and Coming Up Next
New Photo Community – My photos on Unsplash.com
Releasing in June – Other authors’ new releases I’m most excited about
This month, I finished the main bulk of research for my next novel and am now diving into drafting. I would much rather edit than write, so please pray for me as I slog through the first draft. Here are a few more details of what I can share so far about the story:
Set in the 1910s, specifically 1913
Set in a fictional town, but one you may be familiar with. If you’ve read For a Noble Purpose, this book is set in the same town of Hawthorn Ridge, Missouri with a new cast of characters.
Much of the book takes place in Hawthorn Asylum. While originally founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the institution is now overseen by a superintendent and a board of directors. The sisters continue to serve the patients as nurses and spiritual advisors.
Avila Kohlfeld and Matthias Ward are the Female MC and Male MC respectively. Avila’s father leads the asylum as Superintendent and Matthias works in the asylum’s morgue.
The villain is…wait, I’m not going to tell you that.
Unlike Larksong Legacy, this novel doesn’t contain a speculative/ light fantasy element; however, it does include a touch of the religious supernatural. It is inspired by the near-death experiences of St. Christina the Astonishing and St. Teresa of Avila among others.
Bonus – There’s a cameo appearance from one of the characters who appears in Over the Atlantic and War Across Waters. Send me your best guess!
New Audiobooks!
Good news, everyone! Stars in the Storm, the final book in the Larksong Legacy series is now available in audiobook, which means you can now listen to the entire series start to finish. More good news, I’ve signed a contract with my narrator, Tawnya Rollingson, to begin production of the War Across Waters duology in August with release scheduled for early 2026.
Check out the trailer below for Stars in the Storm. I love the music Tawnya chose and the rolling background waves.
Ready to listen? You can find links to purchase all four books on Tawnya’s website as well as a select number of free promo codes.
As a cover designer, I love that there are sites where I can source free photos for my clients – and do so legally. (Note: You should never save a photo from a random web search and use it on a book cover. That’s illegal and in bad taste. Always check the licensing agreement and copyright rules before using a photo, even on Canva.)
Unsplash.com is my absolute favorite of these free photo sites. Unsplash provides a place for photographers to gain visibility of their work, get hired for future work, and has a huge database of excellent photography for anyone else to choose from. Meaning I can keep my cover design fees at a manageable cost for the average indie author. The one exception to this is photos of people for commercial projects. These must always be purchased to ensure that each model has given consent related to use of his or her image. (Another note: If you purchase a stock photo, especially for a book cover, I highly recommend buying the Expanded License. It is more expensive, but will cover all your legal bases.)
Between cover designs, newsletters, and marketing projects, I’ve sourced countless photos from Unsplash, and it only seemed right to give back to others. Therefore, you can now find many of my own photos on my Unsplash profile. These are all completely free for use, although a note of credit in your project(s) is greatly appreciated. My thanks in advance!
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
Perpetual Rainbows by Jessika Caruso – A young woman must navigate disease, death, first love, and friendship as she decides how much she is willing to risk for the Continental cause.
A Name to Remember by Hannah Hood Lucero – YA romantic military suspense about a gold star daughter and the misunderstood bad boy in town. He’s hiding from the disgrace of his name. She’s running from the legacy of hers.
Secrets of the Revolution by Megan Soja – A young woman will do whatever it takes to preserve her family’s legacy, including joining a dangerous ring of patriot spies…and falling for a revolutionary printer with a brave heart.
A Class Liberated by Susie Murphy – The seventh book in the Irish historical romance fiction series, A Matter of Class. Please note that this series has more mature content than most of the books I recommend, but is extremely well-written.
Awakened by Roseanna M. White – In a world on the brink of war between the mer and the land-dwellers, friendship, faith, and love demand the ultimate sacrifice as both kingdoms seek to unlock the prophesied magic waiting to spring the magic of wind and sky.
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Books that Feature Travel.” Normally, I try to feature other authors’ books on the Top Ten Tuesday, but today’s topic was too perfect for my own that I couldn’t resist giving them some love. All of my novels, except for one, involve extensive travel. In real life, I don’t travel very much, so it’s been fun to visit all sorts of places through the power of words. Below the picture, I’ve listed where each book travels to and the mode of transportation used, so if you don’t want spoilers, make sure not to scroll too far!
Across Oceans – From England to St. Louis, MO, includes steamship, train, and motorcar
Twisted River – From St. Louis to London, England, includes, steamship, train, motorcar, and streetcar/trolley
Unsettled Shores – From New York to London, England then from London to the French Countryside, includes steamship, train, motorcar, and bicycles
For a Noble Purpose – From Charleston, South Carolina to Missouri to Washington Territory, includes covered wagons and lots of walking
Dusk Shall Weep – From southern Washington State to Seattle, Washington, includes canoes and lots of walking
Sparks Fly Upward – From Washington State to San Francisco, California to Georgia to Charleston, South Carolina and back to San Francisco, includes sailing ships, a sailing/steam ship, train, wagons, walking, and even a raft
Stars in the Storm – From southern Washington State to Astoria, Oregon to Deception Pass, Washington, includes sailing ships and lots of walking
Have you read any of these? What is your favorite mode of transportation to read about?
Welcome back to the Extra Edition newsletter! I’m excited to bring you bonus content each month with a special inside look at my novels and the history behind them.
While most of the main characters in my novels are Catholic Christians, many of my readers are not. Therefore, with the recent historic announcement of Pope Leo XIV as the first American-born pope and Peruvian citizen, I thought it would be interesting to look at some topics related to the Catholic Papacy. Please note that I am not a theologian. For more details, I recommend talking to your local Catholic clergy.
In this Edition:
Quick Facts About the Papacy
Does the pope need to be a cardinal before election?
Do cardinals campaign to be pope or side with political parties?
Do Catholics believe the pope is infallible?
Is the movie Conclave accurate of the actual Conclave?
Bonus – Do Catholics worship Mary?
Quick Facts About the Papacy
Photo from EWTN.com
The pope (aka the Supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome, and the Successor of Peter) leads the Roman Catholic Church (over 1 billion people) from the tiny country of Vatican City in Rome.
Pope Leo XIV is the 267th pope in an unbroken line since St. Peter. Of those, 82 are canonized saints; 31 are martyrs.
The Papal Conclave (the meeting where the pope is elected) occurs in the Sistine Chapel adjacent to St. Peter’s Square. Tradition holds that St. Peter was crucified upside down in this square and is now entombed in St. Peter’s Basilica, also adjacent to the square.
Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8, 2025, the feast of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel to Pope Leo XIII, who penned the St. Michael the Archangel prayer to help defend the Church and her believers from demonic attacks.
Pope Leo XIV’s papal motto comes from St. Augustine and is, “In Illo uno unum,” which translates to, “In the one Christ, we are one.”
Does the pope need to be a cardinal before election?
First, let’s clarify what is meant by the title of cardinal. This is the highest pre-papal level of church leader and is appointed by the pope. Prior to being elected, most popes are priests, then bishops, then cardinals; however, the only official requirement to become pope is to be a baptized male. The last non-Cardinal pope was Pope Urban VI in 1378. For a full list of all 267 popes from Peter to Leo XIV, visit the Vatican’s website.
Do cardinals campaign to be pope or side with political parties?
No. The pope is ultimately chosen through each individual cardinal’s prayerful consideration and subsequent voting. 2/3 agreement must be reached to elect a new pope. Church leaders, whether they’re deacons, priests, bishops, cardinals, or the pope himself are called to teach what the Church teaches, including those topics related to political and/or moral issues. Sometimes those fall in line with a particular political party and sometimes they don’t, but no specific party is endorsed by the Church. Church leaders can speak out against a specific politician, law, or policy if it is leading people away from Church teaching, for example, in the case of abortion. However, people do not always behave as they should, so, it’s also important to become familiar with Church teaching through independent study. The Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year studies are excellent resources.
Sort of and only in rare instances. CatholicAnswers.com sums this up pretty well: “An infallible pronouncement—whether made by the pope alone or by an ecumenical council—usually is made only when some doctrine has been called into question. Most doctrines have never been doubted by the large majority of Catholics.”(1) This is known as the pope speaking Ex cathedra, a term that means “from the chair [of St. Peter].” When this happens, the pope prays for the intercession of the Holy Spirit and takes time to come to a decision before making an Ex Cathedra declaration. This is the only time the pope, through the Holy Spirit, is considered infallible. It is so rare that it’s only occurred twice in the last two centuries.
To be very clear, Ex Cathedra does not mean that every time the pope speaks, he is speaking infallibly. For example, when he speaks with the media, gives a homily, or has dinner with friends. One would expect him, even at these times, not to cause a scandal, but unfortunately, some popes throughout the Church’s 2,000 year history have. Therefore, it is important to pray for all church leaders so that, as Matthew 26:41 says, they “may not undergo the test. For the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Is the movie Conclave accurate of the actual Conclave?
I will be honest, I haven’t watched the movie, but I really liked the two reviews below because of the deeper messages they present about the Church and the Conclave process. I follow both of these priests regularly and trust their judgement.
This one isn’t related to the papacy, but it’s the #1 question I’m always asked by non-Catholics, so I think it’s important enough to include.
Catholics do not worship Mary and they never have. Catholics honor Mary as Jesus’s mother, as someone who knew Him intimately, followed Him completely, and leads us back to Him. We ask her to intercede to Jesus for us, praying for us as anyone on earth would pray for us. At the wedding at Cana, she told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you,” which is the same message she still gives us today. On Calvary, Jesus gave His mother to the Church when He said to John, “Behold, your mother,” and to Mary, “Behold, your son.” He honored Mary and asked that we honor her as well.
Mary is a beautiful example of what following Christ should look like. St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest and WWII martyr, once said, “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”(2) I could give a thousand other quotes, but here are just a few to emphasize why Mary is so important:
Pope Saint John Paul II – “The Blessed Mother has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith. From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God. For Mary is not only the Mother of God, she is Mother of the Church as well.”(3)
St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo – “Didn’t the Virgin Mary do the will of the Father? I mean, she believed by faith, she conceived by faith, she was chosen to be the one from whom salvation in the very midst of the human race would be born for us, she was created by Christ before Christ was created in her. Yes, of course, holy Mary did the will of the Father. And therefore it means more for Mary to have been a disciple of Christ than to have been the mother of Christ. It means more for her, an altogether greater blessing, to have been Christ’s disciple than to have been Christ’s mother. That is why Mary was blessed, because even before she gave him birth, she bore her teacher in her womb.”(4)
And finally, in Pope Leo XIV’s first papal address, he said, “Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love.”(5)
Happy Tuesday, readers! Today’s Top Ten topic is “Authors Who Live in My State.” I’m born and raised in the great “Show me State” of Missouri and I’m happy to recommend the following authors who are from here, too.
Susan Laspe – Historical Fantasy
Tara Grace Ericson – Contemporary Romance
Sarah Hanks – Historical Fiction/Split Time/Time Travel
Stephanie Daniels – Historical Fiction
Julie Lessman – Historical Fiction
Annie Cosby – Fantasy
Liz Morrison/Costanzo – Historical Romance and Reincarnation
