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Follow my journey toward publication. Laugh, cry, point and stare-- it's all good. I'll leave a trail so that you, my fellow author, may have a straighter path to finding your own elusive publishing contract. Adventure awaits. Let's travel together...



Friday, December 21, 2012

November New Releases Winner!


MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM CLASH OF THE TITLES!!
May your days be merry, bright, and filled with Christ's love.

***

The winner of  the Clash of the Titles November New Releases Clash is:


Southern Fried Christmas by Marian Merritt.

A hearty congratulations to Marian!


Her novel takes the honors but it went up against some formidable competitors:

Betrayal on the Border by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Take the Trophy and Run by Gail Sattler
The Q Manifesto by Alan Schleimer
A Bride Sews with Love in Needles, CA by Erica Vetsch

Thanks to all for showing up and playing with COTT this week.

About Southern Friend Christmas:

Love: purer than Colorado snow, 
deeper than a Louisiana bayou.

The Colorado Rockies have always been home to journalist Kelly Shepherd, but after the death of her father, and facing her first Christmas alone, she accepts an assignment that leads her deep into Louisiana’s Cajun country.

Since his wife’s death, Denny Labouve has focused his attention on his ten-year-old daughter and the family business, but Kelly sparks the dying embers of his heart even as a Christmas cold front moves through his beloved Cajun country.

Will Denny and Kelly be able to trust God to bridge the span between the Colorado Rockies and the Louisiana bayou?

What our readers said about Marian's book:


* Such a FUN cover - and a Cajun hero...be still my heart! :)

* Wowsers, you're really making me pick between southern fried and saving the world?

* They all sound like fun, but the cajun interest won my attention! Good choice of setting Marian.

What reviewers are saying about the book:

"Marian Merritt is a ‘new to me’ author that has landed straight onto my ‘to buy list’ for subsequent releases. I can’t wait to read more from this talented author who has a beautiful way of capturing scene, setting, and dialogue. I felt like I was in N’Orleans for Christmas when I read her novella, Southern Fried Christmas (how awesome is that title?!?). Love lost, love found, and starting life anew form the backdrop of the story – and it’s one I highly recommend."

--Marianne Evans author of Devotion, Finding Home, and Hearts Key, 
Hearts Communion, Hearts Surrender, Hearts Crossing, and a previous COTT champ!!

Get to know Marian better through this fun interview on Inkwell Inspirations:

INTERVIEW

About Marian:


Marian Pellegrin Merritt grew up in a rural community south of New Orleans, Louisiana. Her love for the written word began while sitting on her grandparent’s front porch swing reading books.

Her desire to write about the south keeps her grounded in her roots and the hope that one day she can do for someone what many of the authors of her childhood did for her.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy and an accounting certificate from the University of South Alabama.

She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and hones her writing skills by attending writer’s conferences and reading many books on the craft of writing.

Southern Fried Christmas is Marian’s debut novella. She writes from her NW Colorado home that she shares with her husband and a Labradoodle, named Chili. To learn more about Marian and get recipes from her book, visit her website at: www.marianmerritt.com and follow her blog at: www.marianmerritt.blogspot.com


Saturday, December 15, 2012

November's Newest! Last Clash of 2012


Clash of the Titles makes things easy for book lovers everywhere--including Christmas shopping! This week, they present five of Christian fiction's hottest new titles. Surely, one of them will be the perfect gift for Grandma or Auntie Martha. Or maybe even... for yourself!

Introducing, November's New Releases clashing novels...

Don't forget to vote for the one that most catches your interest!


Former army communications specialist Maddie Jerrard may not remember the details of the deadly mission on the Texas-Mexico border, but she knows she's not the one responsible for betraying her unit to the massive ambush that left only her and investigative journalist Chris Mason alive. Logic says the culprit must be the only other survivor—Chris—but with a killer targeting them both, taking a chance on trusting each other may be the only way to make it through alive.

The Colorado Rockies have always been home to journalist Kelly Shepherd, but after the death of her father, and facing her first Christmas alone, she accepts an assignment that leads her deep into Louisiana’s Cajun country.

Since his wife’s death, Denny Labouve has focused his attention on his ten-year-old daughter and the family business, but Kelly sparks the dying embers of his heart even as a Christmas cold front moves through his beloved Cajun country.

Every year Amber Weathersby loans the Bloomfield Garden Club her garden gnome to display their prized trophy in the contest winner's garden. When Gnorman is gnomenapped, Amber chases the gnome around town trying to win the trophy, while Stan chases Amber, trying to win her heart.
The world plunges into chaos when an ancient manuscript is discovered that reveals the Gospels were an orchestrated fiction. When a retired Dead Sea Scrolls expert gets in over his head investigating the scroll, his agnostic son continues the quest for the truth and uncovers evidence of a grand plot that will tip the balance of world power.
As Harvey Girl Meghan Thorson waits on doughboys at the El Garces Hotel in Needles, California, she meets Caleb McBride, a local horse breeder whom the townsfolk have branded a coward and profiteer. Will threads of love unite this couple, or will pride keep them forever apart?
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