Locks, Hooks and Books: #CharlotteHubbard

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Friday, September 30, 2022

Book Blast and Giveaway: An Amish Christmas Star by Charlotte Hubbard

An Amish Christmas Star

by Charlotte Hubbard

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GENRE: Inspirational Romance (Amish)

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BLURB:

The crisp fragrance of pine trees and the warm spice of fresh cookies aren’t the only blessings that Christmas brings, and no one knows more about happy homecomings than three couples who are celebrating the greatest gift of all . . .

STAR OF WONDER by Charlotte Hubbard

When Raymond Overholt comes to Promise Lodge, hoping to sell the barnboard signs he’s painted with stars and Christmas messages, spirited young Mennonite Lizzie Zehr is intrigued. But any courtship between them will face fierce opposition from the bishop of Raymond’s Old Order community—unless someone can convince him that at the heart of faith lies love . . .

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EXCERPT:

After a deadly dull Monday morning of filling small plastic containers with colored sugars and Christmas jimmies, Lizzie Zehr loaded them onto her wheeled cart and headed into the main room of Promise Lodge’s new bulk store. It was boring work, all that scooping and labeling—repetitive and downright lonely, being stuck back in the warehouse by herself.

But compared to slaving in her older sister Maria’s bakery or, for years before that, running the household for their eldest, crippled sister, Malinda, it was a piece of cake.

And because Dale Kraybill was paying her, it was freedom. This job was her ticket to independence, an escape from the two bossy sisters who’d been running her ragged for most of her eighteen years. Their parents had passed when she was very young, so Lizzie’s sisters had raised her as best they could—and they expected her to be grateful. She was, of course. But she was also really tired of being at their beck and call.

Lizzie’s thoughts shifted into a higher gear the moment she spotted the guy who was talking to Dale. The two fellows were hanging wooden signboards, which caught her eye because of their sparkly gold stars—but the shimmer of their glittery paint paled the moment the younger fellow turned around. In his green paisley shirt, red jeans, and backswept black hair, he looked anything but Plain, and when he met her gaze through his red-framed glasses, Lizzie immediately knew they were soul mates. Like her, this free spirit was gnashing at the bit and refusing to conform to the religious limitations he’d been raised with.

Like her, he wanted out.

“Hey there,” he said. His voice, barely audible from across the cavernous room, spoke volumes to Lizzie’s restless heart.

Afraid to say something stupid, she merely nodded and held his gaze. She heard the secretive whisper of soft, small objects hitting a hard surface—or maybe it was the feathery swishing of angels’ wings—

“Lizzie, watch what—you’re spilling jimmies all over the floor!” Dale cried out.

She blinked. She had no memory of picking up a container, just as she didn’t realize she’d been squeezing it so tightly that the lid had popped off. The sight of red and green jimmies bouncing off her bare feet—she wore flip-flops year-round to show off her painted toenails—was suddenly the funniest thing she’d ever seen. As Lizzie sprinted into the warehouse for a broom, her laughter filled the store.

Her life was finally taking a turn for the better. She just knew it.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

In 1983, Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. She wrote around 70 of those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 60 books to traditional or online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in Omaha, NE with her husband of 40+ years and their Border collie, Vera.

www.charlottehubbard.com

Facebook -- www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amish-Christmas-Star-Shelley-Shepard-ebook/dp/B09PJ348C8

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-amish-christmas-star-shelley-shepard-gray/1140825147

Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9781496734273/an-amish-christmas-star/

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/An-Amish-Christmas-Star-Paperback-9781496734259/385381250

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/an-amish-christmas-star/id1602867197

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GIVEAWAY:

Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, July 25, 2022

Book Blast and Giveaway: Love Blooms in Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

As Jo Fussner keeps the Marketplace humming, her heart dances with a joyous secret. Jo and Michael Wengerd, a shy nursery owner from a nearby town, have fallen hopelessly in love. When Michael buys a courting buggy, Jo is sure a proposal will follow. But she’ll have to work hard to gain her mother’s approval—because the widowed Drusilla Fussner is convinced that marriage will bring her daughter nothing but heartache.

To win Jo’s hand, Michael enlists his father’s help in convincing Drusilla to give the marriage her blessing—and perhaps even open her heart to new happiness of her own. . . . But just as Jo and Michael’s hope for their future grows, an even bigger obstacle looms. The Amish elders vote to forbid any maidel from working once she marries. Now Jo must choose between the beloved store she’s put her heart into, and the man she can’t live without. Conflicted, Jo will have to trust that anything is possible when true faith guides the way.

Read an Excerpt

Jo was soon pulled out of the ceremonial spell the bishop wove with his words, however, meeting Michael’s gaze again. It had been such a blessing when she’d spotted him earlier this morning, striding toward her. As he’d done in her fondest dreams over the winter, he’d held out his hands and she’d grabbed them as though she’d never let them go.

“I have a surprise for you, Josie-girl,” he’d whispered. “Right after the wedding, you’ll see it.”

Josie-girl. The sound of Michael’s unique endearment had made her eager heart turn somersaults. How was she supposed to pay attention to the wedding ceremony while she wondered about the surprise he’d promised?

But one thing Jo knew, as surely as she could bake cinnamon rolls: Michael had returned to Morning Star loving her even more than when Mamm had sent him and his dat away at Christmas. Michael and Nelson weren’t renting the Fussners’ dawdi haus anymore, but the Wengerds were back in her life, and they intended to move forward with the plans they’d made during her visit to their home in Queen City last December.

Life simply didn’t get any more exciting than that.

About the Author:

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Book Blast and Giveaway: First Light in Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Founded by five enterprising Amish maidels, the new Morning Star Marketplace is a joyous success. What’s even more remarkable is the gift the business bestows upon each of these unmarried women—the unexpected blessing of love . . .

Leaving Flaud’s Furniture to teach at the community’s new school is a joy for Lydianne Christner. Old Order Amish, but new to Morning Star, she’s grateful that the congregation trusts her with the position—but she panics when handsome Bishop Jeremiah Shetler asks about the life she left behind. If anyone discovers the secret she’s hiding, she would, quite rightly, be shunned.

A widower, Bishop Jeremiah admires young Lydianne’s youthful energy and skill with the children. He’s also curious about her past, and the burden he senses on her heart. When his request to court her is refused, he’s stung, and lonelier than ever. It isn’t until a crisis prompts a tearful Lydianne to confess to him that Jeremiah is faced with a choice that requires all of his faith—and teaches them both that love and forgiveness go hand in hand.

Read an Excerpt

“Miss Christner, we’re pleased to offer you this teaching position,” Bishop Jeremiah said as he grasped her hand, “and if you need time to consider your answer—”

“Oh, no, I’ll be happy to accept!” Lydianne interrupted gleefully. “Denki so much for considering my application. What I lack in experience, I’ll make up for with careful preparation and my love of learning. I won’t let you down.”

“That thought never entered our heads,” the bishop put in. “And with Lorena Flaud and Clarence’s Lucy being in their final year of school—and with their sisters right behind them—you’ll have plenty of eager assistance as you teach the youngest ones the basics of reading and arithmetic. I anticipate a productive—and fun—year for our scholars.”

“This is so exciting!” Lydianne said as she shook each man’s hand in turn. “Maybe this sounds silly, but I still love the smell of fresh packages of notebook paper and new bottles of glue, and the joy of opening a fresh box of crayons—thinking of all the drawings and reports and projects that lie ahead of us.”

As she left the schoolhouse and drove down the road, Lydianne floated on a cloud of euphoria. After she turned off the main county highway to head for home, she paused at the sight of a little blond girl chasing a butterfly on the front lawn of Tim and Julia Nissley’s place. With the sunshine shimmering on her golden hair and upturned face, six-year-old Ella Nissley looked for all the world like a little angel. Her laughter rang out as she ran and reached eagerly for the butterfly, followed closely by a little brown puppy that yipped and yapped.

Lydianne’s heart overflowed with a wave of emotions. Her dream had come true: she would now be Ella’s teacher. But she would have to be very, very careful. Ella was the apple of her adoptive parents’ eyes, and Lydianne had no intentions of interfering with their happy family.

No one else, including Tim and Julia, knew that Ella was the newborn baby Lydianne had given up when she’d been an unwed mother.

About the Author:

Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/First-Light-Morning-Star-Maidels-ebook/dp/B086R84P2N/ref=sr_1_2

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/First-Light-Morning-Star-Maidels/dp/1420151827/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 14, 2020

Excerpt Tour and Giveaway: Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When four maidels join forces to turn an abandoned barn into an Amish marketplace, the unmarried women have community in mind. But their fledgling enterprise promises to reap surprising rewards for each in turn, including the gift of unexpected love . . .

For Regina Miller, the new Morning Star Marketplace is a chance to share her secret work with the world—without revealing herself. Old Order Amish forbid the creation of art without purpose, but without a husband, Regina has been free to explore the joy of painting in her attic. Yet when Gabe Flaud’s curiosity leads him to speculate that Regina herself is the painter, the full weight of their community’s judgement falls on her shoulders. When Gabe stands up to defend Regina, questioning the Order’s restrictions, he reveals his own guilty secret and is shunned along with her. Forced to turn to each other for companionship, the young couple must learn to balance their own needs with their deep faith … and a love that will show them all things are possible.

Read an Excerpt

As the Sunday service neared its end, Regina Miller opened her eyes after the prayer. She reached for the Ausbund under her pew bench. Across the room on the men’s side, Gabe Flaud sang the first phrase of the final hymn in his clear, melodious voice to establish the pitch and the tempo.

I could listen to Gabe sing all day, Regina thought as she joined in with the others.

She would never tell Gabe that, of course. Five days a week she worked as a finisher in the furniture shop his dat owned, staining and varnishing the dining room and bedroom sets the male employees built in the factory. Gabe was the foreman and he was single, but he looked at Regina as though she was a fixture in the shop—just one of the boys. She’d heard rumors that he dated English girls despite the fact that he’d joined the Old Order, yet the church leaders had never called him on it.

He’s way too adventurous to give a mouse like me a second glance, she mused as she looked at the stained hands holding her hymnal. Why do I waste my time thinking about him? Must be that springtime thing Jo was talking about, wanting something different—something more—in my life.

Regina had a more compelling reason for not entertaining notions about Gabe, but it was a secret she didn’t dare think about during church. God was undoubtedly displeased with the part of her life she kept hidden away. She’d probably be inviting a visible sign of His judgment—perhaps a lightning bolt shooting through the roof to strike her down—if she allowed her mind to wander to her sinful pastime while she was supposed to be worshipping Him.

About the Author:

In 1983, Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. She wrote around 70 of those confession stories, and she’s sold more than 50 books to traditional or online publishers. A longtime resident of Missouri, she’s currently writing Amish romances set in imaginary Missouri towns for Kensington. She now lives in Omaha, NE with her husband of 40+ years and their Border collie, Vera.

Website http://www.charlottehubbard.com
Facebook http://www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1

Order Ebook

Kindle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZPKX5SQ
Kindle UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07ZPKX5SQ/
Kindle Canada http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07ZPKX5SQ/
Kindle Australia http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07ZPKX5SQ/
Apple Books https://books.apple.com/us/book/morning-star/id1507818638
Apple Books UK https://books.apple.com/gb/book/morning-star/id1507818638
Apple Books Canada https://books.apple.com/ca/book/morning-star/id1507818638
Apple Books Australia https://books.apple.com/au/book/morning-star/id1507818638
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/morning-star-charlotte-hubbard/1134434813?ean=9781420145151oks New Zealand Apple: https://books.apple.com/nz/book/morning-star/id1507818638
Nook https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/morning-star-charlotte-hubbard/1134434813
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/morning-star-60
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Charlotte_Hubbard_Morning_Star?id=goq5DwAAQBAJ

Order Print
Zebra Books
July 28, 2020
ISBN-13: 9781420145120
ISBN-10: 1420145126

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1420145126/
Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ISBN=1420145126
Amazon Canada http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ISBN=1420145126
Barnes & Noble http://barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781420145120
Books-A-Million http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781420145120
Chapters Indigo http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/a/9781420145120-item.html
IndieBound http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420145120
The Book Depository http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9781420145120

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE TOUR AND COMMENT

ON EACH STOP TO EARN MORE ENTRIES TO WIN!

August 10:

1: Southern Gal Loves to Read review

2: Splashes of Joy review

3: Rogue's Angels

4: Two Ends of the Pen

5: Hearts and Scribbles

6: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love

7: Long and Short Reviews

8: Gimme The Scoop Reviews

August 11:

1: Book Corner News and Reviews

2: Uplifting Reads

3: Books and Benches

4: Peaceful Pastime REVIEW

5: Dragon's Den

6: Rainy Day Reviews

7: Harlie's Books

August 12:

1: So Many Books

2: Independent Authors

3: Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

4: Literary Gold

5: It's Raining Books

6: Unabridged Andra's

7: Musings From An Addicted Reader

August 13:

1: Vickie's Kitchen and Garden review

2: A Chick Who Reads REVIEW

3: All the Ups and Downs

4: Jazzy Book Reviews

5: Straight From the Library

6: Adventures of a Travelers Wife

7: Author C.A.Milson

August 14:

1: My Journey Back review

2: Miss Tinas Amish Book Review review

3: Sunnie Reviews review

4: Our Town Book Reviews review

5: Fabulous and Brunette

6: Iron Canuck Reviews and More

7: A Writer's Life

8: Locks, Hooks and Books

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Monday, April 6, 2020

Blurb Blitz and Giveaway: Light Shines on Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Charlotte Hubbard will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

For abandoned wife Annabelle Beachey, Promise Lodge is a refuge where she’s gained confidence and self-sufficiency. But she and the others are dismayed when newly arrived Bishop Clayton King claims the community is too progressive and sets out to change its ways. Worse, her husband, Phineas, returns, expecting her to give up her faith as he has. And he won’t leave Promise Lodge without her…

But little by little, Annabelle’s determination and new forthrightness make Phineas realize his mistakes—and truly hear his wife for the first time. Meanwhile, Annabelle finds herself feeling compassion—and even renewed love—for her newly humble, more caring husband. And as Bishop Clayton’s attempt to control Promise Lodge threatens everything its residents have built, Phineas and Annabelle must work together with unshakeable courage to save their new home—and their opportunity for forever happiness.

Read an Excerpt

As Annabelle Beachey gazed at the happy couple standing before Bishop Monroe Burkholder to exchange their wedding vows, she fought tears. During the four months she’d spent in an apartment at Promise Lodge, she’d become good friends with the bride, Frances Lehman, and she’d acquired a lot of respect for the groom, Preacher Marlin Kurtz. The love light on their faces shone as a testament to the devotion that had grown between them during their summertime courtship—a brilliant example of how God worked out His purpose through the lives of those who kept His faith, even after they’d been widowed.

Annabelle sighed with the rightness of it all. The women around her dabbed at their eyes as Preacher Marlin repeated his vows in an endearingly confident voice, gazing at Frances as though she were the only woman in the world. Folks here were still in awe because Marlin had bought back all the furnishings Frances had consigned to an auction in May, thinking she had to sell everything to get by because her first husband hadn’t left her with much.

My husband didn’t leave me with much, either. He just left me.

About the Author: