That's When the Crazy Started ...

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is available now! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-5, 2015.

My Craziest Summer

Guest Post by Julie Arduini

I was in my early 20’s, fresh out of college and ready to start a new life. I was at a crossroads because I was new in my relationship with Christ but clueless how to live in a way that was pleasing to Him when I was still hung up on what others thought of me.

Entrusted
Available on Amazon & Kindle

I was also new in my first real job, matching senior citizens with not-for-profit agencies. It was a position that gave me the opportunity to network with the community. My friend wanted to help me along, so she invited me to join the local service club in town. Although I felt young, awkward and lost amidst a sea of older men, I decided to participate with her.

That summer the club was having a big meeting at the local hotel. It was a big deal and the members were expected to be there. Enough time has passed that I don’t remember what the agenda was, but I do recall being bored.

Bored and me never have a happy ending.

The leaders called for a break so I decided to explore the other conference rooms in the hotel. Another woman joined me and together we headed for the hallway where the walls seemed to shake from the rockin’ music.

“I think it’s a wedding reception.” I gestured for her to follow me as I decided to walk by.

And that’s when the crazy started.

A man from inside the party, where alcohol was definitely flowing freely, pointed to me and waved me in. I shook my head, panicked that I would be the pioneer wedding crasher long before Hollywood decided to make a movie about it. The guy wouldn’t take no for an answer and went into the hallway. He begged me to join him, taking me by the arm, and leading me inside.

Part of me was excited, it was the kind of unpredictable fun college had been. Yet, as a new Christian, the place was full of choices that were going to lead me down a path I didn’t want to go down anymore. Most of all, trespassing.

“I can’t be here. I’m not invited.”

He grinned, his glassy eyes full of spunk. “Don’t worry. I’ll vouch for you.”

I tried to back out. “I have a meeting. I really can’t be here.”

He reached for my hand. “C’mon, let’s dance. Bob won’t mind.”

I looked around trying to find who this “Bob” was.

The stranger continued. “He’s my best friend from college, the groom.” Then he dropped Bob’s last name. A name I knew.

I jerked my hand away and headed for the door. “That’s my dentist. I can’t be here.” I thought about when my next appointment was. Of all the times to have an appointment, it was Monday. I had a hard enough time facing the guy. He was young and resembled Top Gun Tom Cruise. Something my mom didn’t miss when she sent his news article to my college mailbox.

“You know him? You have to dance with him. Let’s go.” Oh this guy wasn’t giving up.

By then I was in an all-out panic. I back-pedaled out of there so fast that the college friend couldn’t keep up. I high-tailed it back to the stuffy meeting prepared to sit straight and pay attention for the rest of the day. And I breathed a prayer that Dr. Bob would never, ever know I crashed his wedding.

Monday came and I felt confident I was in the clear. I wasn’t sure why the guy was cleaning my teeth instead of being on a honeymoon but I wasn’t going to ask. He asked how I was and I gave the most uninterested tone I could muster.

He continued getting the tools ready, fixing the seat, turning the headlamp thing on. “Anything interesting happen this summer?”

I opened my mouth and he inserted the plaque-scraper-thingy. Even if I wanted to talk, I couldn’t, so I shook my head. Nope. Not one thing. Especially not Saturday at the hotel where his reception was.

“So, Julie. How did you like my wedding reception?”

Busted.

Thankfully, he laughed and asked why I didn’t dance with him and made sure his friend in his state treated me right. But I could never look Dr. Bob in the eye again.

That was a crazy summer.

****

Julie Arduini’s passion is to encourage readers to find freedom through surrender. She knows it has to start with her so she admits she’s surrendering “the good, the bad, and---maybe one day---the chocolate.”

She desires in her fiction to not only bring hope to those struggling with surrender issues, she wants to highlight the various Upstate New York settings she enjoyed for over three decades. Entrusted,Entangled, and Engaged pay homage to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains.

Julie is also one of the authors in the sequel to A Dozen Apologies,The Love Boat Bachelor.

She holds a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo and is a graduate of the Christian Writers Guild. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the 2011 winner of the JournEzine Christmas Contest. Every other Wednesday she blogs at the popular site Christians Read. She enjoys reviewing books and encouraging others at juliearduini.com.

When she’s not writing, reading or blogging she enjoys taking amateur nature pictures and nurturing youth. With a heart to encourage others, she enjoys interacting with readers through social media and can be found throughout social media @JulieArduini.

She resides in NE Ohio with her husband and two children and is blessed to be a step-mom to two adult children and son-in-law who reside in Wisconsin. All of them know not to mess with her chocolate stash.

Behind the Scenes of Unlikely Merger:

Monday, June 29:

            

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Jennifer Hallmark

Sunday, June 28:

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Patricia M. Dyer

Saturday, June 27

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Carole Towriss

Friday, June 26

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Julie Arduini

Thursday, June 25

Jennifer Hallmark: Traveling with Others by Phee Paradise

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Marji Laine

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin

Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Saturday, June 20

Write Integrity Press: Vote for the Hero!

One Moose of a Summer

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is available now! We will offer 

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-5, 2015.

My Craziest Summer

by Deborah Dee Harper

It was the summer of 2008, specifically August of 2008. I remember it like it was seven years ago.

I was living with my daughter, Darice, and her husband, Ron (as I still do), and it was in the days before Molly, their little three-year-old girl, was born. We moved from Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi to Ron’s new assignment on Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska. Ron’s first year of this four-year tour would be spent in Korea, so it was just the two of us to keep the home fires burning and try to stay out of trouble.

Darice and Ron had previously spent four years on Eielson AFB near Fairbanks before our tour in Mississippi, and I’d joined their household during the last year of that Alaskan tour. That made Darice a relatively knowledgeable Alaska resident and me still a newbie. We soon discovered that living in the middle of the last frontier vs. living farther south near the ocean changed everything from the weather (a bit warmer and lots more snow) to the number and kind of wildlife (vastly larger) we’d encounter.

Ron left for Korea and we set out to explore our new home. Since we lived in military housing, we were relatively safe as far as marauding human beings went, but the wildlife did whatever they darned well pleased. One day I leaned against the family room side of the kitchen counter while Darice worked in the kitchen. Suddenly her eyes widened and she pointed behind me. I turned to see a huge bull moose walking about a foot beyond our backyard fence. He meandered through the backyards of our neighbors and off to parts unknown. It was wise to look both ways before leaving the sidewalk to make sure we weren’t in the path of one of those magnificent animals.

The memories blur together, but during that summer and in the three years beyond, we saw fin whales, humpback whales (and their babies), gray whales, and Belugas. There were sea lions, dall porpoises, dall sheep, eagles, wolves, moose, fox, otters, great horned owls, and bears. Glaciers, icy glacial rivers, towering snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, granite cliffs, caves, and thousands upon thousands of acres of pine forests surrounded us wherever we went.

Although all wildlife was abundant, the moose were the ones we ran across most frequently, sometimes in our own yard. This one wandered past our living room window and through our front yard while I ran out barefoot to take her picture. She was not amused. I went back inside.

           

There was one other time when my daughter and I ran across a moose and her brand spankin-new baby mooselet. She rested on the side of the road while her baby slept nearby. We discovered her on the short road to the base hospital. Normally well-traveled, the road remained empty, aside from the two of us (well, four counting the snoozing baby and its wary mother giving us the evil eye), and we able to spend a full 45 minutes drinking in the splendor of God’s beautiful creatures and reassure Mama Moose we weren’t a threat. She must have believed us because any other time, a new mama would’ve charged an intruder, stomped on his/her head, and eventually taught her/him a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget. God was surely with his foolish children that day.

The next three years included several earthquakes, an erupting volcano and the resulting ash fall (don’t get that stuff in your eyes, for Pete’s sake), long, dark, snow-filled winters, short, but breathtakingly beautiful springs, sunshine-filled (and very long) days of summer, and crisp, colorful autumns that ended with the Termination Dust—that first dusting of snow visible on the mountain peaks signifying the end of fall and the beginning of a much longer and darker winter.

Eventually, our years in Alaska came to an end when Ron completed his years of service and retired. We moved to Tennessee, a beautiful state in its own right, but will never forget those  glorious memories of that first summer in Alaska.

We will return.

**********************

Deborah Dee Harper resides in and writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Besides writing her humorous and inspirational Christian fiction, she enjoys agitating wildlife, taking her life in her hands, and in general, doing foolish things from which her Heavenly Father has graciously rescued her time and again. She plans to eventually learn her lesson and behave.

Deb has another daughter, son-in-law, and three grandsons in Kentucky, and a son, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons in Michigan. In addition to writing, she enjoys being a child of Christ, visiting her loved ones, herb gardening, reading, astronomy, and photography.

Her Road’s End series will be published soon by Write Integrity Press, and her children’s adventure series, Laramie on the Lam, which includes the story of a trip along the ALCAN Highway, is slated for re-release in four separate books. It’s available now in print compilation of all six stories. She maintains three blogs: www.deborahdeetales.blogspot.com,

www.deetrails.blogspot.com, and www.laramieonthelam.blogspot.com. Her website can be found at www.deborahdeeharper.com.

Our Unforgettable Road Trip

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is NOW available! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-July 5, 2015!

This has been a busy month for us here at WIP, and for many of our authors. Today's guest blogger is Betty Thomason Owens, and she's been one of the busiest! Her latest novel, Annabelle's Ruth, released last week, she's one of the authors of Unlikely Merger, and she's a Contributing Editor to Imaginate Magazine, which premiered earlier this month. Yet somehow, she manages to keep the sweetest disposition, and offers many of us encouragement and a laugh or two every single day.

My Favorite Road Trip

by Betty Thomason Owens

A couple of years ago, I flew to Seattle to accompany my daughter-in-law and her mini schnauzer as she drove East to join my son in Kentucky. We planned to take our time, and see a few sights along the way. So instead of heading due east, we headed west from Seattle to Portland, Oregon to visit her sister, who lives in the beautiful Willamette Valley. Then we continued west until we reached the Pacific Ocean.

From there, we headed south on the 101. Of course, we had to stop to “ooo” and “ahh” along the way, so our progress was slow. Every bend in the road revealed breathtaking vistas. Oregon’s west coast is rugged and beautiful. We spent our first night at a quiet little inn on a bay, a place I could easily have stayed a few days just to chill.

Northern California: Eureka! I thought of the SyFy channel’s quirky series by the same name. Happily, nothing untoward happened to us as we passed through.

Tall, tall trees. We had to stop and get out, because you can’t see the tops of those trees from inside your car. Gus, the mini schnauzer did what dogs do. He marked the first ancient redwood he could find. We also paid a quick visit to Paul Bunyan, who stood tall next to Blue at his own roadside museum.

The Golden Gate Bridge loomed ahead. We spent an hour or so traipsing Golden Gate Park, ate a delicious bowl of veggie chili and watched the colorful sails of the contestants in the World Cup. Yes, we had happened upon a world-class sailing event, something I’d never expected to see.

Before heading to the valley, we made a mistake, really our only one on this long, fun journey. We decided to check out the “1.” Highway 1 hugs the Pacific coastline and on the map, looks really interesting. But in person—twists and turns will slow you way down and make you seriously carsick. Both of us suffered. I survived by drinking strong ginger ale, so I took over driving for a while. The scenery was amazing, but I was happy to get back to the 101.

After a cozy night at a Tuscan-style motel in the Napa Valley, we left California by way of America’s salad bowl (desert gardens) and headed for the last site on our must-see list—the Grand Canyon.

It’s been said before. Cameras just can’t do it justice. I’ll never forget the rugged beauty of the Grand Canyon. I’ve flown over beautiful mountains and prairies, traversed deserts, gazed at blue water, but this big gully kept my attention for a good while. The vivid colors that change with the sun’s light, the flora and fauna—we were spellbound. Gus just wanted to eat the chipmunks.

After the canyon, we gawked at many beautiful sights along the road home. The ghost towns along Route 66, the night view of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the unimpressive Rio Grande, the rail yards of Amarillo, Texas. It was an unforgettable trip in so many ways.

Each time we exited our vehicle, we came into contact with folks. That’s what I called the natives. We met a lot of (mostly) friendly people along the way. I was only freaked out once (in California) when I walked into a women’s restroom at a McDonald’s and there were two homeless men in there. I have nothing more to say about that.

The entire experience, which included flying by myself for the first time ever, pulled me out of my comfort zone, and stretched me in many ways. It’s one of my fondest memories so far. Because of that trip, I can appreciate what Mercy Lacewell, heroine of Unlikely Merger, went through. It takes real fortitude to leave your home and head into the unknown.

****

Betty Thomason Owens writes romantic comedy, historical fiction, and fantasy-adventure. She has contributed hundreds of articles and interviews to various blogs around the Internet and is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), where she leads a critique group. She’s also a mentor, assisting other writers. She is a co-founder of a blog dedicated to inspiring writers, and a contributing editor for the online magazine Imaginate.

Her 20’s era romance, Amelia's Legacy, Book One of the Legacy Series, released October, 2014 (Write Integrity Press). She also writes contemporary stories as a co-author of A Dozen Apologies and its sequels, The Love Boat Bachelor and Unlikely Merger (July 1). She has two fantasy-adventure novels, The Lady of the Haven and A Gathering of Eagles, in a second edition published by Sign of the Whale Books^TM, an imprint of Olivia Kimbrell Press^TM.

Her latest book, a 1950’s historical novel inspired by the Book of Ruth, Annabelle’s Ruth, Book One of the Kinsman Redeemer Series (Write Integrity Press) released this month.

You can connect with Betty on her personal webpage, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and at Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas…Oh My!

More for the Journey:

Saturday, June 27

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Carole Towriss

Friday, June 26

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Julie Arduini

Thursday, June 25

Jennifer Hallmark: Traveling with Others by Phee Paradise

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Marji Laine

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin
Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Saturday, June 20

Write Integrity Press: Vote for the Hero!

Friday, June 19

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Eleven

Marji Laine: A Horse of a Different Color

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 5

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Daniel Knight

Carole Towriss: Daniel’s Design Horse Capital of the World

Thursday, June 18

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Ten

Marji Laine: Shake It Up

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 4

Jennifer Hallmark: Your Comfort Zone by Raelee May Carpenter

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Reuben Miller

Carole Towriss: Reuben’s Home Samo

Wednesday, June 17

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Nine

Marji Laine:  No Joy in Mudville

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 3

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Steve Leclerc

Carole Towriss: Steve’s Home Great Barrington

Trouble Seems to Follow Her ...

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is NOW available! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-July 5, 2015!

Today, we welcome Fay Lamb, who is a vital part of our organization. She's our Executive Editor in the fiction department for both WIP and PNP, and she's our Managing Editor for Imaginate Magazine. We couldn't have grown without her! On a personal level, I'm also honored to call her friend. (And that's the only reason I can get away with this blog's title!)

My Favorite Road Trip

by Fay Lamb 

My favorite road trip started out miserably but ended in a place that, to this day, holds my heart. We left our home on the east coast intent on exploring some of the state over vacation. Our first stop had been Busch Gardens in Tampa, and then across the state to St. Augustine. Our children were about eight and six at the time. You know the age: “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” That age.

When we left the attraction, we had no particular destination in mind. We traveled up Highway 19 on the west coast. That’s when we saw the sign: Cedar Key, 24 miles. We made the left turn and headed twenty-four miles out into the Gulf of Mexico to find the most beautiful and rustic fishing island we’d ever seen.

With no plans to stay, we reluctantly left and traveled back across the state to St. Augustine, usually a favorite city of mine, but I normally visit it in the fall. The oldest city in America is not the place to be during the Dog Days of Summer, and we realized that very quickly.

The next morning, my husband asked what we wanted to do.

Recovering from a scathing migraine suffered in the sweltering heat of the antiquated streets, I had only two words, “Cedar Key.”

My husband smiled and back across the state we traveled with “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” ringing in our ears.

Upon our return to Cedar Key, we were lucky to find someone to rent us a small home that sat on one of the bayous of the key.

Then we started to explore. You could walk the island in thirty minutes, but the boys weren’t for that. No, we had to rent a golf cart, but it turned out to be a fun way to explore.

Upon our return from our exploration, though, we noted that our car had a big dent in it, and it had been moved—sideways. We learned that Cedar Key had two police officers, and they really did know everyone. One of the officers arrived. He smiled, held up his hand, and went to the home across the street. “Ms. Annie wants to talk to you,” he said upon his return.

Ms. Annie was a dear older woman who had made it a habit of accidentally backing into every car that parked in front of the house we’d rented. She been too embarrassed to come to us, but she was terribly sorry about what she’d done.

Characters like Ms. Annie are why I love that place. My husband and I went back every year for several years. Ms. Annie has passed away, and a restaurant fittingly named after her resided in her home.

I never got to tell her that her “accident” solved our “Don’t touch me! He’s touching me! He’s touching my pillow! Get off of me!” problem. Instead of fixing the car, we bought a van and dared either boy to sit in the same row on any future trips to Cedar Key or elsewhere.

****

Fay Lamb is an editor, writing coach, and author, whose emotionally charged stories remind the reader that God is always in the details. Fay has contracted three series. Stalking Willow and Better than Revenge, Books 1 and 2 in the Amazing Grace romantic suspense series are currently available for purchase. Charisse and Libby are the first two books in The Ties That Bind contemporary romance series. Fay has also collaborated on four romance novellas:The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt, A Ruby Christmas, A Dozen Apologies, and the newest, The Love Boat Bachelor. Her adventurous spirit has taken her into the realm of non-fiction with The Art of Characterization: How to Use the Elements of Storytelling to Connect Readers to an Unforgettable Cast.

Future releases from Fay are: Everybody’s Broken and Frozen Notes, Books 3 and 4 of Amazing Grace and Hope and Delilah, Books 3 and 4 from The Ties that Bind. Also, look for Book 1 in Fay’s Serenity Key series entitled Storms in Serenity.

Fay loves to meet readers, and you can find her on her personal Facebook page, her Facebook Author page, and at The Tactical Editor on Facebook. She’s also active on Twitter. Then there are her blogs: On the Ledge, Inner Source, and the Tactical Editor. And, yes, there’s one more: Goodreads.

More for the Journey:

Thursday, June 25

Jennifer Hallmark: Traveling with Others by Phee Paradise

Fay Lamb: Who Wrote Whom: Meet the Authors of Unlikely Merger: Marji Laine

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin
Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Friday, June 19

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Eleven

Marji Laine: A Horse of a Different Color

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 5

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Daniel Knight

Carole Towriss: Daniel’s Design Horse Capital of the World

Thursday, June 18

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Ten

Marji Laine: Shake It Up

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 4

Jennifer Hallmark: Your Comfort Zone by Raelee May Carpenter

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Reuben Miller

Carole Towriss: Reuben’s Home Samo

Wednesday, June 17

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Nine

Marji Laine:  No Joy in Mudville

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 3

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Steve Leclerc

Carole Towriss: Steve’s Home Great Barrington

The Road Trip of the Century

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is NOW available! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-July 5, 2015!

Today, we welcome one of our new authors to the blog. Raelee Carpenter was one of our chapter contest winners and created one of the heroes in Unlikely Merger. She also has a nonfiction article in Imaginate Magazine this quarter.

Rocky Mountain Stressed-OUT!

by Raelee May Carpenter

My hands white-knuckle the wheel as the road curves wildly. I ride the mini-van’s brakes as it speeds down another 7% grade decline.

The on-going commentary from the passenger seat is not helping me maintain my composure.

“Watch for falling rock!” My grandmother shouts out her amped-up, extra-scary version of the road sign we just passed.

I think she needs a Xanax.

“It’s ‘fallen rock.’” I say. “It doesn’t mean something’s going to drop right on you, but that you might have to curve around something that already fell.”

“You don’t know when it could fall,” she replies.

I glance in the rearview at my mom and beg silently for help. Her head at an awkward tilt, she peers out her window and up the side of the mountain.

I like to drive. I honestly enjoy it. When I took the wheel from mom after our hearty Italian lunch in Butte, Montana, I wasn’t expecting the crazy roads, tight lanes sandwiched between barely-in-control eighteen wheelers, the freeway-side dirt ramps for runaway vehicles, or the creepy road signs and the creepier commentary...

I certainly wasn’t counting on the number of times I’d wonder if I was about to see my pasta again—in a half-digested configuration.

“Chain up Zone!” Grama announces.

“Grama!” I protest. “They only mean in the winter. It’s June now.”

“You never know.”

“Yes, you do. Please stop saying those things. I’m trying to concentrate on not killing us.”

Mom says nothing. Grama huffs and resorts to reading the signs in a mumble. I grind my teeth over 200 miles westward on I-90 until shortly after the Idaho border.

At long last a yellow sign beside the road declares “Chain Down Zone.”

“Oh!” Grama says. “You can take the chains off now!”

I laugh. Hysterically. Soon Mom and Grama chuckles join mine, until we’re all laughing so hard we can’t breathe.

I say, between gasps for air, “Seriously, how many times in the last four hours did you think we were going to die?”

When the laughter dies down, I read a road sign. We’ll be in Coeur d’Alene soon; that might be a good place to stop for gas. “Can you take over soon, Mom? I need to relax for awhile.”

“Sure, honey,” she says.

We enter the city, bypassing high over Lake Coeur d’Alene. In the late afternoon June sun, it’s breath-taking. Billions of fiery diamonds on a field of glassy rippled azure.

Tomorrow morning we’ll reach Seattle, a couple days after that, we’ll cross the Oregon border into California. We’ll celebrate Father’s Day with my great aunt, her husband, and all their kids and grandkids. I’ll see Solvang, Long Beach, and Surf City. A couple weeks from now, I’ll even lose my transmission somewhere in Utah. But this—right here—is a moment I’ll never forget.

****

Raelee May Carpenter is a Christian and an author of work that is passionate, descriptive and just a little edgy. Her literary romantic suspense novel Liberation Song (eLectio Publishing) released in May 2015. She also self-published a contemporary teen novel The Lincoln High Project and an allegory Kings and Shepherds.

Raelee's three lifelong passions are faith, people, and words. She's a tone-deaf music fan and "Mumma" to a young-at-heart, rescued Beagle mix. She has ADHD and ASD, and she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Her favorite thing to write about is the force that saved her life: Grace.

Connect with Raelee online:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

GoodReads

Amazon

More for the Journey:

Tuesday, June 23

Write Integrity Press: Marji Laine's What’s a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Marie Wells Coutu: The Ultimate Bucket List

Deborah Dee Harper: DeeTrails ~ To Love a Weed

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin
Deborah Dee Harper: The Only Thing We Have to Fear ... Getting it All Wrong

Saturday, June 20

Write Integrity Press: Vote for the Hero!

Friday, June 19

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Eleven

Marji Laine: A Horse of a Different Color

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 5

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Daniel Knight

Carole Towriss: Daniel’s Design Horse Capital of the World

Thursday, June 18

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Ten

Marji Laine: Shake It Up

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 4

Jennifer Hallmark: Your Comfort Zone by Raelee May Carpenter

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Reuben Miller

Carole Towriss: Reuben’s Home Samo

Wednesday, June 17

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Nine

Marji Laine:  No Joy in Mudville

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 3

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Steve LeClerc

Carole Towriss: Steve’s Home Great Barrington

What's a Boom-Hunt Road Trip?

UPDATE: Unlikely Merger is NOW available! We will offer

the book FREE on Kindle July 1-July 5, 2015!

Today, we welcome author Marji Laine. Marji's been a regular around WIP since she won our very first chapter contest for The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt. She created the character of Mercy Lacewell for The Love Boat Bachelor, and developed the plot for Unlikely Merger. She also developed one of the heroes for Mercy, but we can't tell you which one just yet!

Road Trips 

by Marji Laine

I confess: I’m a homebody. I am quite content to stay at home and consider quiet time to write to my heart’s content to be a vacation. However, I’ve taken some memorable vacations!

As I was growing up, we would take two to three-week road trips, dragging our tent camper behind us. We traveled west all the way to Idaho through New Mexico and Colorado and came back to Texas by way of Mt. Rushmore. Another year, we traveled up to Boston and back. I got to enjoy my very first experience with a water slide before water parks even existed!

But my favorite road trips are like the one I just took with my girls and a neighbor. As I was writing this blog, we heard a boom. The girls and I climbed into the van and went on a boom-hunt. Didn’t find anything, but drove around for a half hour laughing, chatting, and searching the skyline for whirling red and blue lights.

Spontaneous trips like that are the most fun to me. We took a trip not long ago to the small towns north of the metroplex just to photograph some unique things. Long horn cattle, strange vehicles, old buildings. We sang, imitated animals, laughed – a lot!

The same happens each year when we take our annual trip southward to the bluebonnet region.
Gorgeous pictures and always fun. Sometimes we even have deep conversations over circumstances, scripture, and future hopes. These trips have strengthened the relationship I have with my kids more than any other activity. I feel so blessed that our homeschooling affords us the opportunity to set out almost anytime we feel like it.

I can tell you, I will treasure these un-extraordinary journeys forever. Maybe because the trip rather than the destination is the best part.

****

Marji Laine is a wife and homeschooling mom with teenage twins left in the nest. Having just released her debut novella Grime Beat, she spends her non-writing time transporting to and from volleyball, directing high school classes at a local coop, and leading the children’s music program at her church. From suburban Dallas, she loves to create scintillating suspense with a side of Texas sassy. She invites readers to unravel their inspiration, seeking a deeper knowledge of the Lord’s Great Mystery that invites us all.

Connect with her:

www.MarjiLaine.com
Suspense Sisters Reviews

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A Dozen Apologies

The Love Boat Bachelor

More for the Journey:

Tuesday, June 23

Jennifer Hallmark: Why I Keep Saying Yes to The Proposal by Julie Arduini

Monday, June 22

Write Integrity Press: Let the Road Trips Begin

Saturday, June 20

Write Integrity Press: Vote for the Hero!

Friday, June 19

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Eleven

Marji Laine: A Horse of a Different Color

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 5

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Daniel Knight

Carole Towriss: Daniel’s Design Horse Capital of the World

Thursday, June 18

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Ten

Marji Laine: Shake It Up

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 4

Jennifer Hallmark: Your Comfort Zone by Raelee May Carpenter

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Reuben Miller

Carole Towriss: Reuben’s Home Samo

Wednesday, June 17

Write Integrity Press: Unlikely Merger Chapter Nine

Marji Laine:  No Joy in Mudville

Julie Arduini: Our Business Influences Part 3

Fay Lamb: Meet the Heroes of Unlikely Merger: Steve LeClerc

Carole Towriss: Steve’s Home Great Barrington