Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Blog Tour: Blue Ribbon Brides

Blog Tour: Blue Ribbon Brides



About the book: Meet nine men and women whose competitive goals take them to state and county fairs between 1889 and 1930. From baking pie to polishing pigs, from sculpting butter to stitching quilts, everyone has something to prove to themselves and their communities. But in going for the blue ribbon, will nine women miss the greatest prize of all - the devoted heart of a godly man?

My thoughts: The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection is a delightful mix of nine stories set in the mid-west during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The characters are well-developed and are easy to related to as they deal with realistic issues of doubt, distrust, and forgiveness. Having attended 4-H and county fairs as a child, the stories took me on an enjoyable trip down Memory Lane. I like historical fiction that teaches me, and these novelettes didn't disappoint, especially Carrie Fancett Pagel's "Requilted by Love" that centers around two balloonists, a topic I knew almost nothing about prior to reading her story. Information is effectively woven into each novelette through description and dialogue. Highly recommended as a light and uplifting read. (I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.)




Guest post from Author Gina Welborn: 

Bravery God's Way

Naturally brave people exist. I'm not one of them. And I think I'm all right with that. Or at least I used to think that I'm not brave. As I starting writing "Altered Hearts," I finished reading "Let's Be Brave" by Annie K. Downs. In it she writes:

"To see yourself the way God sees you is the first stop in being brave. If you are seeing yourself the way God sees you, then you can see your strengths and weaknesses. And you can see they are different from mine. You an see the unique ways you are wired and the rare combination of qualities and desires that make you uniquely you. And you, my friend, have a unique call to be brave."

In the beginning of my Blue Ribbon Brides novella, my heroine's father tells her, "You are braver than I have ever been." She's also braver than I have ever been. Then again, maybe we demonstrate our bravery differently. I can't help but remember the day my oldest son's choir teacher belittled him and his friends in front of the whole class. She said, "These are the failures in life." I could have said nothing. I chose to be brave and have a talk with her. Not only did she apologize to my son (and he to her), she also apologized to the class.

For my son's 18th birthday, he gave me a letter with eighteen reasons why he loved me. One of those reasons - for standing up to his choir teacher and helping raise his grade from a C- to an A.

Bravery begins with seeing yourself for how God sees you.

According to Colossians 1:22, God see me-you-us as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.

That right there is enough to make us brave!



A Giveaway! To celebrate their tour, the Blue Ribbon Brides Collection authors are giving away an award winning themed basket that includes a quilt and an Amazon Kindle Fire. Be sure to comment on this post, and if we have ten people who comment (not including the authors), I will be picking one person to win a book! Click  here to enter.





Visit these blogs to meet the other authors of Blue Ribbon Brides Collection:

November 1: Simple Harvest Reads


November 2: D's Quilts and Books

November 3: Bibliophile Reviews

November 3: Smiling Book Reviews


November 5: A Greater Yes


November 6: Artistic Nobody

November 7: Cheryl B Book Blog


November 8: Jeanette's Thoughts


November 9: Inklings and Notions

November 10: Lighthouse Academy

November 11: The Scribbler

November 12: Karen's Krayons

November 13; Daysong Reflections

November 14: Splashes of Joy

November 14: Blogging with Carol

38 comments:

  1. Wow, 18 reasons why he loves you? How special is that?! Congratulations on your release!

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    1. Thanks, Chappy! Funny thing is today is Child #3's 17th birthday. I should ask him for 17 reasons why I'm his favorite.

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  2. I agree that bravery is not always the "pull them from the fire" type. Sometimes just defending another person's action or even taking the time to right a wrong is all that God expects of us. It sounds like you have a very special relationship with your son. Congratulations on that and for your new release.
    Blessings!
    Connie
    cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Thanks, Connie! I wish I had read Let's Be Brave back when I was a teenager. Sometimes bravery means being silent.

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  3. Loved this collection! The book is beautiful too :)

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    1. Isn't the cover lovely? When Becky Germany shared it with us, none of us had anything to do with peaches in our stories. I challenged my fellow authors to find a way to work peaches (canned, pie, fresh, etc) into their stories. Great idea...or so I thought it was until I did a little research and discovered peaches weren't grown in South Dakota. Let's just say I chastised myself for the suggestion. Can anyone list the different ways peaches are mentioned in the collection?

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    2. That would be a great question for a book club FB party, later, Gina!

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  4. Thank you for being part of the Blue Ribbon Brides tour :)
    Angela

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  5. Hello, All! Thanks so much for helping us celebrate the release of this collection. I'm honored to be alongside so many talented, wonderful women!

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  6. I, too, am honored to be in this collection with authors I admire. :-)

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  7. Congratulations on this wonderful collection of stories! I loved each one.
    Good for you Gina! standing up to a teacher is a very difficult thing to do sometimes. I'm sure it meant a lot to your son.

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  8. I'm popping in between a 12-hour workday and a work-related meeting to say hello! Cool post, Gina! Sometimes it takes bravery to get out of bed. :) Thank you, Linda, for participating!

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    1. This is true. Rhyinn shared her cold with me and I certainly didn't want to get out of bed this morning.

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    2. I agree with Niki! With RA sometimes I have to push past the pain to shove off out of the bed lol!

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  9. WOW, such an insightful post! To see ourselves as God sees us :-) I need this reminder everyday, such a powerful statement and the truth. God calls us worthy, God calls us loved, God calls us cherished, etc

    What a fun sounding set, I do so love the Barbour novellas and have several on my shelf. I just love this cover! Thank you for the chance to win a copy!

    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

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    1. Thanks, Trixi! Changing our mindset of "I'm a sinner in need of grace" to one of "I am holy, blameless, and beyond reproach" isn't easy. Especially when fellow believers claim we're being prideful when we say we're saints not sinners. Doesn't matter how they see us or how we see ourselves. What matters is how God sees us. We are worthy. We are loved. We are cherished. We are clean.

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  10. I like your take on the stories. I enjoyed reading the ideas on bravery. It has made me me do some thinking. fishingjan{at}aol(dot)com

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    1. I'm all in favor of thinking. :-)

      Thanks, Jan!

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  11. Ladies, congratulations on your release! I LOVE these collections!
    psalm103and138 at gmail dot com

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    1. Hi Caryl! Well, your fictional namesake will be in Dime Novel Suitor!

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  12. I used to not be brave but when it comes to my kids and grandkids I csn get brave in a hurry. I try my best to handle things in the right way but sometimes you just have to speak up.

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    1. Sometimes you just have to speak up -- amen, girlfriend!

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  13. I forgot this. grandmama_brendaATyahooDOTcom
    Oh yes the book is beautiful.

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  14. Congrats on the new release! The cover is beautiful and the stories sound amazing!
    Trdivincenzo (at) gmail (dot) com

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  15. Hi Gena. This is neat. Sounds like the stories will make a great book. And, great authors. GOD bless you. Maxie > mac262(at)me(dot)com <

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  16. I loved this book. ❤️ Blessings!

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  17. This book looks great!! I'm looking forward to reading it!

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  18. Great review! The book was awesome and written by some amazing authors!!

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  19. Congratulations authors on this book release. I can't wait to read it. I love collections like this.

    Cnnamongirl at aol dot com

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  20. Beautiful cover! Congratulations to all the authors!

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