Author Spotlight week - Excerpt from Touched by Mercy

Preston led his boys in evening study and prayer then tucked them in. They weren't babies anymore, but he enjoyed the few moments before bed with them. He enjoyed mussing their hair, hugging them, and telling them he loved them. As fast as the years moved, it wouldn't be long before they'd be grown, tucking in children of their own. He recalled the way their mama used to kiss their cheeks and whisper her love as she pushed the blankets around them. He remembered with an ache.


Would he ever stop missing her? Would the boys ever have another mother? Would he ever take another wife?
He lay back on his pillow and asked the Lord those very things. He believed he'd have them someday. Maybe soon. The ache he once bore had eased with time, and the conviction that he'd never love another was being tested. It'd been tested that very afternoon when he found himself looking into Miss Northam's deep green eyes with longing. It surprised him. Her, too, judging from her reaction.

He remembered something the Lord had told him three years before, about a year after his wife had died. He lay in bed, asking the same questions. Figuring the Lord agreed, he'd told the Lord a firm no to every one of them. No new wife, no marriage, no... He loved his dear Sarah too much. How could the Lord want him to marry, or love another?

The Lord surprised him.

Preston, my beloved son, the ache will ebb, and a time will arise when you'll take another wife.

Preston had chuckled. "This can't be. I've loved Sarah for too long. I couldn't love another. I couldn't bear it." Besides there weren't many woman in the territory at the time.

You will. The voice in his heart had been adamant.

"I don't know any women. Not any that I want to marry."

I've chosen one for you, beloved.

Preston nearly gasped. But he didn't scoff at God. "All right, let's say you have. How will I know her? Does she have a name? Who is she, Lord? Where is she?"

When the time comes, you'll find her at the Chicken Ranch.

Preston had sat up with yelp and argued no man of God could find a woman to be his wife at the Chicken Ranch. A woman from a brothel? A woman like Lil? What did the Lord want him to be… another Hosea? Surely not.

The Lord had been adamant. I know whom I have for you. She'll be at the Chicken Ranch.

Petrified he'd find her sitting in her long underwear on the front porch, Preston took long detours home, skirting the ranch so he wouldn't find the wife the Lord had for him.

My website -- http://www.tinapinson.com/
Twitter:@Tina_Pinson
Facebook-- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=754617103
Purchase my books at:

Desert Breeze Bookstore.
Touched By Mercy http://tiny.cc/0rgkm
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/we4ul

Amazon:
Touched By Mercy http://tiny.cc/k5tgw
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/doc8w

Barnes & Noble
Touched By Mercy—available soon
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/oh767

Christian Books Distributors
Touched By Mercy – available soon
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/4u5h9
In honor of the release of Touched By Mercy I am running a contest, Win a Nook… Touch Mercy for the month of Dec. 2010. Check out my blog under the Touched BY Mercy Contest page for the particulars.
http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/

Author Spotlight Week - Tina Pinson shares her passion for Inspirationals

I write inspirational, because I thoroughly believe my love of words and imagination are a gift from God. I realize that may sound hokey to a lot of people. But that's what I was taught. I believe we are all endowed with gifts and talents to use for him. I believe I am here for this time and moment because of God's plan for my life. I believe God created art and music, and stories in the first place for our pleasure and for us to use for his. I may not be a painter with oils or paints like the great artists Renoir or Monet (although I could probably do a Picasso, LOL) but I'm certain my words paint a picture. I just hope they paint a picture that touches people's lives. I want my stories to instill hope. I realize that I only write stories, but stories stem from real life many a time. Touched By Mercy certainly does. Maybe reading it will help someone walk through their pain to life again. Just as it helped me to write it. And I hope my words and the stories I tell, direct people to God and leave an imprint of him on their hearts long after my story has been forgotten.

Author Spotlight week - Q&A with Tina Pinson

Tina's latest Desert Breeze release is "Touched by Mercy." We've got Tina here today (and the rest of the week!) to share her thoughts on her latest and writing. Welcome, Tina?

STEPH: I don't know much about Touched by Mercy. What's it about?

TINA: Touched by Mercy tells the story of one woman's journey to grace. Samantha Northam comes from a background of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, having been molested as a child, I identify with Samantha.

The story was pretty much my rite of passage. Coming to a point where I believed God could find me lovely. I made it a bit harder on Samantha than myself, but I wanted to show the beauty of God's grace on us, his arms around the brokenhearted. Samantha hadn't done anything wrong, as far as the molestation went, but she spent years believing she had, and spent long years hating and being afraid to love. When her daughter, Angelina, is taken from her, she believes that it happened because she's not good enough. She sets out to find Angelina, which leads her to the Orphanages of New York. She doesn't find Angelina, but she is introduced to several needy children and some Nuns who begin to teach her about God's love. Because of her wounds, Samantha doesn't quite believe the Nuns, she still thinks she has to prove her worth to God. So Samantha sets out to ease the pain that the children of the orphanage suffer. When word comes that Angelina might have been found in Kansas, Samantha heads west, with plans to get her daughter and open a boardinghouse for stops on the Orphan Train. The west seems to hold all the answers to her dreams, but time and circumstances cause her to wonder if it has taken her far enough away from her past and her nightmares.

And if she'll ever be good enough in God's eyes to become his child.

Touched By Mercy is a story about God's plan for our lives, and how he can use and loves us even though we feel inadequate. It also tells shows how God places people in our lives to Touch us with his Mercy.


STEPH: Where did you find the inspiration for the story?

TINA: Some of the inspiration comes from my own journey through trying to find acceptance. And through writing down some of the journey, (which I made the abuse and conflict harder for Samantha) I hope to give others who might find themselves in that place of despair, hope.

STEPH: What attracts to writing Historicals?

TINA: Okay, so don't laugh, but truthfully, I like historical because I've wondered what it would have been like to live during some of those times. And doing the research and writing the story allows me a glimpse, if only a little one, into the world as it was back when. I can see myself riding across the range, with my six-gun on my hip, and so on goes the dream, then I return to reality. It's all good. Unless, of course, I throw in some conflict, then it could get a bit dicey.

STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

TINA: I write whatever comes to mind, by the seat of my pants, but I sometimes jot down outlines once I get going. So, maybe I'm a bit of both.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write Touched by Mercy?

TINA: I would say it took me about seven months to write Touched By Mercy and many years to edit. You may wonder why it took years to edit. Because they went and changed some of the writing rules on me and I had to change the layout to meet those rules. UGH.


STEPH: Do you cast the characters? If so, who are the leads?

TINA: Some of the leads for Touched By Mercy, well as close as I can get them to the vision in my mind's eye, are Paul Walker for Allan Pratt. Rachel Nichols for Samantha, and Josh Turner for Reverend Preston Trent.

STEPH: Can you tell us a little about the state you live in?

TINA: I live in Western Colorado in Grand Junction, in a area called the Grand Valley. Colorado is well-known for its mountains, Denver the Mile High and skiing, of course. The world's biggest flattop, Grand Mesa, rises from the valley floor to our East. Mount Garfield and the Bookcliffs set as sentinels to our north. Colorado National Monument cuts the skyline to our West and another smaller line of wee mountains anchors the south. Because we live in a valley, we can stay warmer through the winter. We have world-renown wineries, peaches, lots of orchard with fruits and vegetables. Grand Junction is a good-sized city.

STEPH: What was the last book you read?

TINA: I read two books pretty much around the same time. Under a Viking Moon, by Tami Dee and Doctor in Petticoats, by Mary Connealy. I read a few others; In All Things and Orphaned Hearts by Shawna Williams and Behind the Scenes, by Michelle Levigne because I was doing some light editing on them.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one

TINA: I have a Kindle. Which is nice for taking on trips so I don't have to carry a lot of books. And it's close to the size of a book. I just wished it had a backlight for reading in the dark. But I have a clip on light so it works. I took it camping and was able to download a book while at the campsite.

STEPH: FUN QUESTION: Renoir, Monet, or Picasso?

TINA: Picasso's art is a wee bit disjointed for me. Although he does have a few that are okay. But picking between Monet and Renoir would be hard. I like the scenery paintings form Monet, but I also like the paintings of people from Renoir. Maybe I could say I like Renoir just a tad more, but…


You can find Tina at:

My website -- http://www.tinapinson.com/
Twitter:@Tina_Pinson
Facebook-- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=754617103
Purchase my books at:

Desert Breeze Bookstore.
Touched By Mercy http://tiny.cc/0rgkm
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/we4ul

Amazon:
Touched By Mercy http://tiny.cc/k5tgw
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/doc8w

Barnes & Noble
Touched By Mercy—available soon
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/oh767

Christian Books Distributors
Touched By Mercy – available soon
In the Manor of the Ghost http://tiny.cc/4u5h9
In honor of the release of Touched By Mercy I am running a contest, Win a Nook… Touch Mercy for the month of Dec. 2010. Check out my blog under the Touched BY Mercy Contest page for the particulars.
http://tinapinson.blogspot.com/

Featured December 2010 Release - Touched by Mercy by Tina Pinson

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Angelina!

She wasn’t Samantha’s daughter, but she should have been. Sam mothered her with love like she was her own. The child became heaven in her world.

Now the child was gone. Samantha felt her world slipping away. She had to find Angelina. She prayed. But doubted God would hear her. How could he when she was so dirty? And how could she trust a God who she believed abandoned her? Hopefully this God wouldn’t abandon Angelina.

God uses the gentle hands of another carpenter to strip back the layers of abuse that have tarnished her faith and worth to teach Sam there is mercy instead of shame, and love. And though it seems out of reach, she always had freedom in Christ.


EXCERPT:

"What did you think of the sermon, Samantha?"

Sam thought she'd choke on her cherry pie right there. And practically did.

"Here now." The reverend laughed as he patted her back. "Did we find a pit or was the sermon that bad?"

Visiting with a reverend was bad enough, but a reverend with humor. Sam started to choke all over again. She waved her hand in front of her face to circulate the air and gulped a deep breath. Then if her teary eyes and choking weren't enough, she had to go and snort on her exhale. Not some delicate little snort either -- no, it was a full-bodied thing. She sounded like her stepfather's grand sow. Her skin warmed. Soon she would even be as pink as the pig.

It was a disaster, unavoidable, but a disaster nonetheless. She'd never get another invite. Groaning softly, Sam put her head in her hands until she could breathe again. It'd be easier if the good reverend would quit patting her back, disrupting her heartbeat. But how did one tell a reverend to stop?

"Are you all right?" Ruth asked.

"Yes, yes." Sam surfaced, her face on fire. Reverend Trent's hand lifted from her back. "It went down the wrong pipe," she replied meekly.

"Are you sure you're all right?" the reverend asked. He handed her his napkin. Sam used it as a shield to compose behind. "It hurts something fierce when it does that," he added sympathetically.

Sam dabbed her watery eyes so she wouldn't have to look at him. 'Cause the preacher man's smile was soft, beguiling.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tina Pinson resides in Grand Junction, Colorado with her husband of twenty-nine years, Danny. They've ran their own business, Omega Avionics, since 2004. The Pinsons have three grown sons, two lovely daughter-in-laws and four grand children.
Tina began her first novel in elementary school. Her love of writing has caused her to seek creative outlets be it writing poetry, songs, or stories. She had four years of journalism, a half a year of college, took a fourteen-month correspondence course through The Writer's Institute. Tina has been involved with American Christian Fiction Writers for seven year.

Tina has completed eleven novels. She was a third finalist in the ACFW Genesis Contest in 2003 for her story Trail of the Sandpiper-Rescued.

Beyond writing, Tina enjoys building, gardening, singing, speaking and some biking. She and her husband hope to get out more into God's country and do some camping.

She continues to work on other stories, and hopes that one or more of her stories will be published soon.

****

Touched by Mercy is avail for the Kindle, Nook, Sony Ereader, and Kobo. Desert Breeze Congratulates Tina on her December release.