When I released my first indie book, I sent my street team a necklace along with the advance reader copy. The pendant, a gift from the hero to the heroine, figured prominently in the book. She had never had a home or family of her own, and desperately wanted one. The pendant symbolized love, family, belonging—and home.  One of my team members lost almost everything they owned a couple weeks after the book released in a massive fire that completely destroyed their barn and house. Thankfully, their entire family of eight, and all their animals, managed to escape. A week later she sent me this email: Hi Carole, I wanted to write and let you know what a blessing your book has been to me through this week.  When we left for church Sunday morning I decided to take my necklace off that I wear every day and replace it with your carnelian one.  While I'm sad to lose the other one (it was a mother's necklace with all my children's names on it - that did need to be re

Today I am honored to welcome Amanda Cabot to our When Reads the Heart series as she shares a heartwarming letter from one of her readers.     What made me I think I should write this story?   What made me think I could write it?   Those questions bounced through my head countless times as I was working on Scattered Petals , the second of my Texas Dreams trilogy.   Yes, it’s true that I write stories of healing.   Yes, it’s true that I begin each day by praying that my words will touch readers’ hearts and deepen their faith, but why did I feel compelled to create a heroine who’s raped on her way to a wedding?   The research was painful.   So, too, was the actual writing.   I wept as I wrote the scene where Priscilla’s parents are murdered and she’s attacked.   I wept as I wrote the scenes where she tries to deal with the trauma.   And all the while, I kept asking why ?   Why was I writing this story? The answers began to come soon after the book was published in early 2

Today I am excited to welcome author Gail Kittleson to the blog. Today she'll be sharing her experience and what Christian Fiction meant to one of her readers. On this day after Thanksgiving, I’m so grateful to be able to use my gifts—so many people never find that niche where they feel useful and satisfied. This didn’t occur easily for me, or quickly. Nope, it took decades to develop the confidence to believe I had something to offer and fully enter into my vocation. Writing to readers’ hearts means delving into the doubts and hurts and foibles that beset us all. I used to lament having wasted so much time commencing my writing, but having lived through some of those experiences might just be the best qualification for writing women’s fiction. Literature that reaches the heart avoids pat answers and easy fixes. One of my readers pointed that out to me. At the outset, when we met at an event geared toward artsy folks, she looked at my books but said, “You know, I norm

Hello Friends! I am very excited to be introducing a new blog series I'm calling, When Reads the Heart. This series will feature uplifting stories of books and stories that have changed and touched lives. My very first guest for When Reads the Heart is award winning author Linda Wood Rondeau. ***** HOW TO BE A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT BEING RELIGIOUS by Fritz Rednoir Just 188 pages. Back in 1971, a quick read. Yet, the book changed my life. The powerful message of what makes Christianity different from any other religion, ended my search for religious practice and helped me learn to walk with God through faith alone. Though I did not grow up in a traditionally Christian home, my parents believed in God and taught me the importance of nightly prayers. My grandparents came to Christianity in midlife through the influence of my father’s brother, then age seventeen, who became saved at a Billy Graham Crusade and joined the choir. We only attended church when my grandparen