Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Authors I Wish More People Knew About

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated.  

Happy Wednesday! Today, we're discussing authors we wish more people knew about. In the years I've been blogging, I've come across some really wonderful authors. Here are five that came to mind today.

I came across H.B. Berlow thanks to my job as an acquisitions editor. The Day of Calamity is one of those books that got away. I loved it in draft form. Loved it even more in published form. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the series, one of which is coming out next month. 

Duffy Brown is a well-known author. She has two series, one book in a new series, and she is a National Bestselling Author. I read her entire Consignment Shop Mystery series and was disappointed when it ended. I wanted more! If you enjoy cozy mysteries with a hint of humor and some romance, she is an author to explore. 

K. M. Daughters is a sister writing team who have published fourteen award-winning novels and three novellas in the inspirational romance and romantic suspense genres. I reviewed Beyond the Code of Conduct first, and then went back and read the first book in The Sullivan Boys series. Superb!

Author Holly Bush seems to have written two books: Romancing Olive and Reconstructing Jackson, which was one of the most amazing books I read in 2013. It is a book that I loved so much, I still recall bits and pieces from it. 

F. M. Meredith is the alternate name of Marilyn Meredith. As F. M. Meredith, she wrote the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, which introduced me to one of my favorite fictional cops, Gordon Butler. Under the name Marilyn Meredith, she wrote the Tempe Crabtree Mysteries series and numerous standalone stories. She has also written three memoirs. She has chosen her latest book, My Writing Life, to be her last. Her friendship has been a true blessing to me for almost two decades. 

Hope you check out these authors. What is an author you wish more people knew about? 

On Sale Now!: Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush

In January of 2013 I had the pleasure of reading Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush. With an updated cover, this Kindle book is currently on sale for only 99 cents. You have to grab it! I loved this book. It is superb. You can read my thoughts here.

1867 . . . Southern lawyer and Civil War veteran, Reed Jackson, returns to his family’s plantation in a wheelchair. His father deems him unfit, and deeds the Jackson holdings, including his intended bride, to a younger brother. Angry and bitter, Reed moves west to Fenton, Missouri, home to a cousin with a successful business, intending to start over.

Belle Richards, a dirt poor farm girl aching to learn how to read, cleans, cooks and holds together her family’s meager property. A violent brother and a drunken father plot to marry her off, and gain a new horse in the bargain. But Belle’s got other plans, and risks her life to reach them.

Reed is captivated by Belle from their first meeting, but wheelchair bound, is unable to protect her from violence. Bleak times will challenge Reed and Belle's courage and dreams as they forge a new beginning from the ashes of war and ignorance.

File Size: 578 KB
Print Length: 299 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Holly Bush Books (February 21, 2014)
Publication Date: February 21, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00IKYR4QQ

Purchase here!

Book Review: Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush

A gripping, emotional historical romance awaits readers in Reconstructing Jackson by Holly Bush.

It is two years since the end of the Civil War. Americans on both sides struggle with reconstructing the Union.

Reed Jackson, a southern lawyer and former Confederate solider, returns home in a wheelchair. When his father deems him unfit to take over the family plantation, an angry and bitter Reed moves to Fenton, Missouri to start over.

Belle Richards is a dirt poor farm girl who has been nothing but mistreated by her father and older brother, Jed. At least her brother Frank treats her kindly.

Reed is immediately drawn to Belle, but rescuing her was not in his plans. Wheelchair bound, he can't protect her from the violence. Dark times plague them, challenging their young love at every turn. Can Belle help Reed turn away from his anger and bitterness? Is their love strong enough to survive the difficult days ahead?

Reconstructing Jackson is a superb novel. I read it in under eight hours; so compelled by the characters I continued reading despite chores beckoning to me. Bush captured the difficulties of the Reconstruction Era brilliantly: the anger some Southerners felt over the Emancipation Proclamation, the difficulties for African-Americans joining a society as free people when not everyone supported that freedom, and the dangers not only for African-Americans, but also those whites who sought to help them.

Into this dangerous period in America's history, we find two characters who have been pushed to their limits. Belle is tortured by her drunken father and abusive brother, but she is working toward improving her life. Reed's anger and bitterness threatens to eat him alive. Circumstances draw these two together and they attempt to make the best with what they are dealt. That's why it is so satisfying when the reader witnesses how they come to care for each other so.

Memorable characters, an intriguing plot, and an outstanding conclusion make Reconstructing Jackson a fascinating novel.


File Size: 321 KB
Print Length: 191 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: BookBaby; 1 edition (September 25, 2012)
ISBN-13: 9781624880445
ASIN: B009LMKGUW

Purchase from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009LMKGUW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theboocon-20&link_code

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reconstructing-jackson-holly-bush/1113387649

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reconstructing-jackson/id567298548?mt=11

I received an electronic copy of this book from the author via Pump Up Your Book. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

This is the 1st book I've read for the following challenge: