My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Deborah Raney's book giveaway

Welcome to the 12th day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Deborah Raney.

She's here to give away one of her books!

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a little bit more about Deborah and her book ...

Author Bio:

Deborah Raney's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Twenty-five years and thirty-five books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. 

Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a three-time Christy Award finalist. 

Deb is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

Visit Deb on the Web at www.deborahraney.com.

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Back Cover Blurb for Deborah's book:

Phylicia thought life was passing her by, but maybe this was love’s plan all along ...

At twenty-nine, Phylicia Chandler put her life on hold to care for her dying mother with her sisters, Joanna and Britt. Now Mom is gone and their father stuns them all by running off with a woman young enough to be their sister. 

Life is moving forward all around her, but Phylicia feels stuck—until her father’s protégé, Quinn Mitchell, presents the sisters with an intriguing business opportunity to purchase a trio of cottages just outside of Langhorne, Missouri. Joanna and Britt are convinced the three of them should launch a vacation rental venture, but Phylicia remains skeptical.

To complicate matters, Quinn soon finds himself falling hard for Phylicia. But how can he pursue this beautiful, talented woman twelve years his junior when she’s still reeling over her father’s hasty engagement to a younger woman? 

Quinn is determined to give Phylicia her happily-ever-after. But first, he must help her come to terms with her discovery of long-held family secrets and persuade her that true love can transcend their differences.

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Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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Book Review for Litfuse Publicity Group, featuring Deborah Raney

Book: Home At Last: A Chicory Inn Novel ― Book 5
Author: Deborah Raney
Review written by: Alexis A. Goring

The incidents of race-related drama, which are portrayed in this book, is heartbreaking. But the author, Deborah Raney, weaves a story that’s rich in beauty, strong in scenarios that are true to real life, and sweet on the romance between the hero and heroine.

Home At Last: A Chicory Inn Novel is a book about differences. Differences in background, class status and race. It focuses on the differences between the hero (Link Whitman) and heroine (Shayla Michaels).

Link is the most eligible bachelor in town. He’s the type of guy who you never see without a date. But beneath his good looks is a good heart and his heart loves Shayla.

Shayla is a beautiful, independent woman who is raising her niece while her brother is serving his prison sentence. She helps her dad run their family-owned bakery Coffee's On which is a hotspot in town.

As the only sibling in his family who is not yet married, Link is feeling the pressure from his family to settle down and marry a wonderful woman. At first, he stays above the pressure but when Shayla enters the picture, he wants to move forward to the altar.

The scenes in this book are well described. The author paints a very vivid and beautiful picture of Coffee’s On—so much so that it makes you want to go to your nearest bakery in real-life and treat yourself to their food. Chicory Inn, Link’s family business, is a lovely place that often smells good because of the bread and sweet treats that Link’s parents order from Shayla’s bakery.

But despite the lovely settings and romantic overtures, the differences between Shayla and Link provide a strong core conflict for most of the story.

Shayla’s Mom is White and her Dad is Black. It’s a mix that’s caused her heart much pain because of the negative ways she and her brother were treated in a world that does not always accept nor is nice to mixed race families. So when Link enters the story of her life and expresses interest in pursuing her heart, Shayla’s guards go up. She builds walls so high that Link has to practically perform acrobatics just to get near her heart and win her over. Discouraged by the incidents of racism that her family has faced for most of their life and knowing what a cultural conflict being in a mixed race relationship would bring, Shayla shies away from Link and continues to fiercely guard her heart. She focuses on raising her niece Portia and bringing good business to the family bakery.

Faith in God plays a role in this story. The author uses faith elements along with interesting situations to challenge stereotypes and push the hero and heroine together. Since Shayla and Link are believers and forward-thinking people, there is hope for this couple. But their road to a happy, healthy romance is filled with roadblocks and at the core of those roadblocks are race-related attacks.

The author handles the race-related situations with tact and believability. She doesn’t allow the cruel behavior of those antagonists to go unchecked. Unlike some situations in the real world, the people who did wrong do pay for it. But she doesn’t do this with vengeance. She proves to, as the author, be a fair judge in those situations.

Aside from addressing heavy topics like racism and interracial romance, the author puts her best foot forward in telling Shayla and Link’s story. It’s a story that’s very deserving of a five-star review!

*I (Alexis A. Goring) received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book, Home At Last: A Chicory Inn Novel ― Book 5, in exchange for an honest review.

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About the author: .

Deborah Raney's novels have won numerous awards including the RITA, National Readers' Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, the Carol Award, and have three times been Christy Award finalists. 

She and her husband, Ken Raney have traded small-town life in Kansas-the setting of many of Deb's novels-for life in the city of Wichita.

Find out more about Deborah at http://deborahraney.com.
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About the book: Why did their differences matter so much?

Link Whitman has settled into the role of bachelor without ever intending to. Now he's stuck in a dead-end job and, as the next Whitman wedding fast approaches, he is the last one standing. The pressure from his sisters' efforts to play matchmaker is getting hard to bear as Link pulls extra shifts at work, and helps his parents at the Chicory Inn.

All her life, Shayla Michaels has felt as if she straddled two worlds. Her mother's white family labeled her African American father with names Shayla didn't repeat in polite-well, in any company. Her father's family disapproved as well, though they eventually embraced Shayla as their own. After the death of her mother, and her brother Jerry's incarceration, life has left Shayla's father bitter, her niece, Portia, an orphan, and Shayla responsible for them all. She knows God loves them all, but why couldn't people accept each other for what was on the inside? For their hearts?

Everything changes one icy morning when a child runs into the street and Link nearly hits her with his pickup. Soon he is falling in love with the little girl's aunt, Shayla, the beautiful woman who runs Coffee's On, the bakery in Langhorne. Can Shayla and Link overcome society's view of their differences and find true love? Is there hope of changing the sometimes-ugly world around them into something better for them all?

Learn more and purchase a copy. 

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A Message from Litfuse Publicity Group:

Conclude Deborah Raney's Chicory Inn novels with the final book, Home at Last, a story of acceptance, trying to overcome differences, and love. Everything changes for bachelor Link Whitman one icy morning when a child runs into the street and he nearly hits her with his pickup-and then the girl's aunt Shayla enters Link's life. Can Shayla and Link overcome society's view of their differences and find true love? Is there hope of changing the sometimes-ugly world around them into something better for them all?

Join Deborah on Thursday, March 23, for a live author chat party in her Facebook group with fun prizes to be won! Click the graphic below for more details and to RSVP. Hope to see you there-bring a friend or two who loves to read!

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14 Days of Sweet Stories: "Home At Last" by Deborah Raney

Interview with Deborah Raney, author of Home At Last:

Alexis: What inspired you to write this book? 

Deborah: God sees and loves all of His children equally. And He has called us to love one another the way He loves us. Right now, we’re not doing a very good job of it in this country (The United States of America) and in this world. And that breaks my heart. If my writing can be one drop of water in a flood of love that brings healing, then I will feel my work was worthwhile.

Alexis: What can you tell us about your hero (Link Whitman)? Describe his looks, personality and heart for the heroine.

Deborah: Link is the fun-loving little brother in a big, boisterous family. His older sisters dote on him. His only brother, a U.S. Marine, died a hero, and Link lives somewhat in his shadow.

Alexis: What can you tell us about your heroine (Shayla Michaels)? Describe her looks, personality and heart for the hero.

Deborah: Shayla is a product of her parents’ loving, but difficult interracial marriage. She struggles to discover who she is, in her own right, but also in Christ. She’s been saddled with the huge burden (but also joy) of raising her niece and caring for her father after her mother’s death.

This is how I pictured my characters: 

Alexis: What brings Link and Shayla together? Do they like each other at first? Why or why not?

Deborah: Shayla has met Link before (and likes him very much), but doesn’t realize at first that it’s him when they meet again on an icy morning after Link almost runs over her niece with his truck!

Alexis: What does Link not like about his life as a bachelor? Does he have issues with him being the only single person in his immediate family? Explain.

Deborah: Link is definitely starting to feel the pressure from his sisters and family. He would like to be married and have what his siblings have—love and family—but he’s not willing to rush into anything just to satisfy his sisters’ matchmaking whims.

Alexis: What role does Chicory Inn play in this story?

Deborah: The Chicory Inn is symbolic of the warmth of home, the love of family, and the coming together in Christ of many diverse people. It is the setting of two weddings in Home At Last, and it has been, of course, Link’s childhood home.

Alexis: Shayla is biracial with an African American Dad and a White American Mom. Was it challenging for you to write her character? Why or why not?

Deborah: Just as it is when I write any character who is different from me—whether in gender, age, occupation, economic status, religion, or race—it is a challenge to assume the point of view of someone very different from yourself. I know that I’d better do my homework if my character is to be believable. When I write from a male character’s point of view, I often holler down to my husband, “Is this something you would say? How would you feel if…?” Or if I’m writing a character who’s closer in age to my kids than to me, I’ll shoot them an e-mail and ask, “How would you say this? What word would you use?” Of course, knowing a wide variety of people, having watched a ton of movies and read a ton of books, I’ve learned a lot about people who are different from me. But I admit I’m surprised by how often I guess the answer wrong to those questions!

Writing a biracial character was no different. I’ve never experienced being biracial, and I’ve never been in an interracial relationship. So I did what I do with every novel: I found real people to interview who have experienced those things. I also asked them to read my finished manuscript and to be very honest about whether I was writing realistically or if I’d gone off track.

Alexis: Why is the maternal side of Shayla’s family so hostile to Shayla?

Deborah: The simple answer is: sin. Perhaps it began as fear, or an unwillingness to learn to know someone different from them. But the bottom line is that they let the sins of of racism and hate infect their family, and Shayla and her family suffered because of it.

Alexis: Why did the paternal side of Shalya’s family embrace her but her maternal side did not?

Deborah: Racism seems to be one of those “sins of the fathers…visited upon the children…” kinds of sins. My own parents taught us to love all people. They treated everyone the same, and it seemed to just come naturally to follow their example. But sadly, for children who grew up in homes where hate and racism ruled, they leave home with those same ugly attitudes and judgments—and worse, they pass them down to their own children. 

Alexis: Shayla’s had a rough life. How did you as the author, use her pain to propel her into her purpose?

Deborah: I’ve learned in my own life that God can take our pain and turn it into something useful, make us teachable, make us compassionate. Turn ashes into beauty. I wanted that kind of redemption for Shayla.

Alexis: What role does your characters’ faith in God play in this story? Explain.

Deborah: I usually write about how faith makes a difference in my characters’ reactions to the trials and tragedies of life. In my own life, God has made all the difference, so I want to explore that phenomenon through my characters as well. 

Alexis: What role does the bakery, “Coffee’s On” play in this story?

Deborah: As the Chicory Inn business is a backdrop for Link’s life and home, so the bakery is the backdrop for Shay’s life. She’s practically grown up there and can’t imagine any other way of living.

Alexis: What makes Shayla and Link fall in love?

Deborah: They discover that they have much more in common than they have differences. They genuinely respect each other. And they genuinely like each other. They make each other laugh. And they’ve each learned some important truths about life from the other.

Alexis: What challenges do Shayla and Link face when they go out on dates as an interracial couple?

Deborah: Until Jesus returns and the New Heaven and New Earth are established, there will always be jerks on this earth. And each of us is likely to cross paths with a jerk or two in our lives. Shayla and Link, because of the differences in their outward appearance, run into more than their share. But as they grow into God’s calling for them to be together, they also begin to notice the positive reactions of some people who encourage and cheer them on, despite the challenges. 

Alexis: What’s the moral of the story?

Deborah: The entirety of God’s Word, from Genesis to Revelation is a story of redemption and reconciliation! Christ’s death on the cross, which reconciled us to God, is the essence of the love we should have for one another. If we all lived and walked in His love, reconciliation would happen every minute of the day.

Alexis: Complete this sentence: My favorite part about writing this story was __________________ because __________________________.

Deborah: My favorite part about writing this story was the love story between Link and Shayla, and how they became “parents” to Portia because love makes the world go ‘round! I love exploring the intricacies of family life and the beauty of godly romance between a man and a woman.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Deborah! Do you have any final comments?

Deborah: Thank you for the great questions, and for giving me a chance to talk about my series and this newest book in particular!

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Author bio: 

Deborah Raney's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. 

Twenty years and thirty books later, she's still writing. She and her husband traded small-town life in Kansas, the setting of many of Deb’s novels, for life in the city of Wichita. They love traveling to visit four grown children and seven grandchildren who all live much too far away. 

Visit Deb on the Web at www.deborahraney.com.

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Blurb for Deborah's book, Home at Last: Link Whitman has settled into the role of bachelor without ever intending to. Now he’s stuck in a dead-end job and, as the next Whitman wedding fast approaches, he is the last one standing. The pressure from his sisters’ efforts to play matchmaker is getting hard to bear as Link pulls extra shifts at work, and helps his parents at the Chicory Inn.

All her life, Shayla Michaels has felt as if she straddled two worlds. Her mother's white family labeled her African American father with names Shayla didn't repeat in polite––well, in any company. Her father’s family disapproved as well, though they eventually embraced Shayla as their own. After the death of her mother, and her brother Jerry’s incarceration, life has left Shayla's father bitter, her niece, Portia, an orphan, and Shayla responsible for them all. She knows God loves them all, but why couldn't people accept each other for what was on the inside? For their hearts?

Everything changes one icy morning when a child runs into the street and Link nearly hits her with his pickup. Soon he is falling in love with the little girl’s aunt, Shayla, the beautiful woman who runs Coffee’s On, the bakery in Langhorne. Can Shayla and Link overcome society’s view of their differences and find true love? Is there hope of changing the sometimes-ugly world around them into something better for them all?

~*~
Buy Deborah's book, Home At Last: 

Amazon: bit.ly/2kvJ1HO
CBD: http://ow.ly/ooSH308H5aA
Abingdon Press: http://www.abingdonpress.com/deborah_raney

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Connect with Deborah:
Website - http://www.deborahraney.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/deborah.raney
Twitter - https://twitter.com/authordebraney
Blog - http://novelgarden.blogspot.com
Amazon Author page - http://amazon.com/author/deborahraney
Instagram - http://instagram.com/deborahraney
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/deborahraney/
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/59414.Deborah_Raney

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Enter the book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: 

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