Sunday, March 23, 2014

New Website!

Hi Everyone!

Jump on over and visit my new web site. This is just a start so check back often to see the new posts.

Enjoy!
www.karahowell.com

You will find the release date for The Presence of Shadows the first book in The Chronicles of Kings and Dragons series. Mark your calendars, It's almost here!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Read Excerpts from three wonderful books and enter to win fee prizes!

Here is a schedule blogs where you can red excerpts from the following three books and enter multiple times for a drawing for a free $100.00 gift card!

Daily Chapter Excerpt Schedule:
Daily Chapter Excerpt for Gatehaven can be found at:
March 3: #1 Jill Richarson jill-theimperfectjourney.blogspot.com/
March 5: #3 Cheryl Colwell www.travelandmysteryblog.com
March 6: #4 Cheryl Colwell www.inspiredfictionbooks.com
March 11: #7 Emma Right emmaright.com/blog
March 12: #8 Kimberly Payne www.kimpayne.wordpress.com
March 13: #9 Martin Roth www.martinroth.com.au
March 14: #10 Molly Noble Bell writersrest.blogspot.com
 
 
Daily Chapter Excerpt for Shadow Stalker can be found at:
March 3: #1 Kimberly Payne  www.kimpayne.wordpress.com
March 4: #2 Emma Right emmaright.com/blog
March 5: #3 Chuck Page pagingdrpage.com
March 7: #5 Jill Richardson jill-theimperfectjourney.blogspot.com/
March 11: #7 Carol Brown www.connectwithcarolbrown.blogspot.com
March 12: #8 Martin Roth www.martinroth.com.au
March 13: #9 Cheyl Colwell www.inspiredfictionbooks.com
March 14: #10 Barbara Derksen www.barbaraannderksen.com
 
Daily Chapter Excerpt for The Proof can be found at:
March 4: #2 Carol Brown  www.connectwithcarolbrown.blogspot.com
March 5: #3 Martin Roth www.martinroth.com.au
March 6: #4 Kimberly Payne www.kimpayne.wordpress.com
March 7: #5 Emma Right emmaright.com/blog
March 10: #6 Jill Richardson jill-theimperfectjourney.blogspot.com/
March 11: #7 Cheryl Colwell  www.inspiredfictionbooks.com
March 12: #8 Chuck Page pagingdrpage.com
March 13: #9 Dana Rongione danarongione.blogspot.com
March 14: #10 Cheyl Colwell www.travelandmysteryblog.com


Visit the launch page to find out more about these books and the giveaway.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Come Meet the Author of Shadow Stalker


Barbara Ann Derksenis the author of the mystery Shadow Stalker.



 Join me as Barbara answers some questions about herself and her new book. Then enter to win a $100.00 Amazon gift certificate.


    Where are you from?

I grew up in rural Quebec to a non-Christian family. At fifteen, my parents moved the family to Ottawa Ontario, the capitol of Canada. There I graduated high school and began a working career in the Bank of Commerce.  Had no aspirations to write.

    For those who aren't familiar with your work, can you tell us a little about yourself?

My interests have always included a book of some kind. As my husband and I were raising or family, I read self-help, especially once I accepted Jesus as my Saviour when I was 27. I read to learn how to be a Christian wife and mother and to find out who Jesus was and why I was worth His death. In later years, my reading settled into mystery so when I began to put together my first novel, it was the mystery genre. By then I was working as a journalist in Iowa, where we put down roots for twelve years. It was also while living in Iowa that we were introduced to Christian Motorcyclists Association and the ministry we have engaged in for the last 13 years.

    How many books have you written?

I’ve penned 17 book, 6 mysteries (one inactive for rewrites), 6 devotionals, a parenting guide, a collection of war stories, and three children’s books, one with six stories. I also have two audio collections for children.

    What is your newest book about?

Shadow Stalker, is the first book in the Finders Keepers Mystery series. At the age of five, Christine Finder, alias Melissa Rompart, watched her parent’s brutal murder from a hiding place of her father’s choosing. She was spirited to a distant cousin’s ranch in Texas to keep her safe but the killer was never caught and she is the only person who can identify him. He stalked her to the ranch but only after she returned to Winnipeg, Canada 20 years later, her country of citizenship, and the city where her parents once lived. The killer’s shadow stalks her as she opens an agency to find missing people with the help of her service dog, Chief. She also plans to find him and see her parents vindicated.

    What inspired you to write this book?

Aside from the fact that I love a good mystery, I woke one morning after my last series was complete, with the entire story rolling around in my head.  Believe the Lord is my inspiration and my boss so His plan becomes mine.

    Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?

My main character is a non-believer who begins to work out of the office of Jeremy Goodman, a strong believer who listens to the still small voice of God. My readers will encounter in him an on-going active faith that walks with him daily. They will discover that God speak to all of us who call ourselves God’s children.

    Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

If God is calling you to write, then you need to do so and to write what He asks of you. I write devotions because He asked if I was going to obey Him or what after I fought the still small voice for three months. He gives me inspiration for mystery, I believe, because I obeyed Him with devotions. God uses our words to reach people where they are and to get them to notice Him. As a writer, you need to do your best and produce your best because it reflects Him and we want, always, to put our best foot forward for the cause of Christ.

    What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

In my ministry with Christian Motorcyclists Association, I once took wiper rags with the gospel message into a Hell’s Angel encampment. I passed them out, with a smile, to all the bikers assembled. Another time, I took fresh, cold water to bikers in a Sons of Silence camp. God uses me, a woman, in this hard core biker environment, to get their attention and, based on the reaction I got, He succeeded. One biker jumped away from me saying, “I can feel that God thing happening.” I didn’t have to say a word. I’ve also been dubbed the Spray Lady for hosing off 1000 or more hot, sun-burned bikers at another rally.

 Thanks for sharing with us Barbara!


Be sure you enter to win!

Go to the launch page for Shadow Stalker and find more than one great book.