On the Heroes, Heroines and History blog, we're talking about the history of the Emerald, May's birthstone. Here's a preview of the article. May is my favorite month. The sights, sounds and smell of Spring as it finally arrives, the baby animals that can be seen all around, the fresh smell of rain on newly growing plant sprouts. It's just a lovely time of year! And it's my birthday month. But that doesn't make me biased at all. ;) I've always been fascinated with the birthstone of May, the emerald. It's a beautiful stone, and one with a rich history. So let's explore where this gem was first discovered, and how it has progressed through time. The first known emeralds were mined in Egypt around 1500 B.C. That's about the time that Moses was being called by God to return to Egypt and free the Israelites from slavery. So it is possible that Hebrew slaves were the ones to mine the very first diamonds from the earth. Read the full art...

Welcome to the Story Sparks Multi-author Blog Tour. Between May 21-26, 2018 readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors. Linda Shenton Matchett is today’s featured author. A lucky winner will get a copy Love’s Harvest. Today, Linda will be talking about History, Mystery, and Faith. Read on to discover what sparks Linda’s creativity and to enter the rafflecopter to win her heartwarming retelling of the biblical book of Ruth. ***** I’ve been making up stories since I was little. In fact, I recently found my notebooks from back then and had quite a laugh reading my childish scrawl and teenaged angst. Even then, my fertile imagination was apparent. During interviews and speaking engagements I’m often asked where I get my ideas. The short answer is: I find them everywhere. But that’s not very informative, so I’ll let you in on my secret. I’m constantly on the lookout for “what-if” kernels-sparks, if you will. For example, if I’m in a public locatio...

Today we continue the Story Sparks multi-author blog tour with guest Catherine Castle. Between May 21-26, 2018 readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors.  Catherine’s winner may choose an ebook from any of her three books listed above on her book spine. Today Catherine will talk about the story sparks that started each of these books rolling. Read on to discover what inspires Catherine’s creativity and to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway . ***** Hi, everyone! I began my writing journey as a stringer for a local weekly newspaper. The hardest thing about that job was finding ideas to write about. I was in Writer Heaven when the editor called with a story idea. It was like getting a bright, shiny gift topped with a beautiful ribbon. The problem was those editorial gifts didn’t come in as fast as I wanted them to when I first started writing. So, I had to figure out where to find more ideas to write about. And of course, the burning quest...

Welcome back to the Story Sparks multi-Author Blog Tour. Between  May 21-26, 2018,  readers get a chance to enter and win ebooks from six different authors. Today, Terri Wangard is the featured author. A lucky winner will win her Friends & Enemies . Terri will be talking about “Creating a Family to be Proud Of.” Read on to discover what sparks Terri’s creativity and to enter the rafflecopter to win her heartwarming book. ***** A batch of forgotten letters was found in my grandmother’s house. Written in 1947 and 1948, they came from distant cousins in Germany. My grandparents and other relatives had been sending them care packages. My great-great-grandfather immigrated to Wisconsin in the 1870s, as did two brothers. A fourth brother remained in Germany, and these letters came from his grandchildren. The family in the letters would be the perfect subject around which to craft a story. Research revealed life in Nazi Germany as increasingly grim before the...