Today I’m talking friendship, books, and some fabulous writers in Amy, Nicole, Tammy, and Christy! I’ve had terrible trouble with the video today, getting it uploaded has been a bear, so sorry I’m posting so late. I hope you are enjoying the vlogs, author interviews, and giveaways (which are the BEST, aren’t they?). These authors (with the exception of Christy) are relatively new finds for me, but I so adore their writing styles, stories, and just them! Books and friendship have gone hand in hand for me and I love sharing more about that in my vlog today.
P.S. Apologies for my weird paused face on the video – I’m sure there is a way to choose the still, but that knowledge is beyond me!
I asked these girls this question…
What does it mean to you to have dear friends who share your obsession with story?
Amy Matayo – The Thirteenth Chance
It means absolutely everything. When I first started writing, I thought something was wrong with me. There were all sorts of stories in my head and no one to talk to about them. I knew one local author who was a friend of a friend of a friend, but not well enough to actually ask her questions. That author is Jenny B. Jones and now we are friends, but back then it was lonely. Eight years later, now I know I’m weird for sure–but at least I’ve made some great friends who are just as weird as me. A big thank you and shout out to them. May we band together forever.
Connect with Amy
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram
Nicole Deese – The Promise of Rayne
Sharing my love of story with my closest writing pals has given me a sense of true community in an otherwise solitary career. These friendships have often meant the difference between feeling inspired or discouraged, hopeful or disheartened. They are as vital to my writing process as a hole-free plot is to my protagonist.
Connect with Nicole
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram
Tammy L. Gray – My Hope Next Door
Tammy’s under a tight deadline so she’s excused today! Do check out all her wonderful books 🙂
Connect with Tammy
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram
Christy Barritt – Disillusioned
I love having friends who understand and are passionate about stories. There’s nothing like getting together with other writers who get what it’s like to live and breath an imaginary world with imaginary people. Those are some of my favorite times of the year!
Connect with Christy
Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram
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October 3, 2016 at 2:59 pm
I’m going to go with Brook from The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White. She seems like she’d be fun! 🙂
October 3, 2016 at 3:02 pm
Great topic, Rel. It has been such a surprise to have developed some lovely friendships through this writing/reading adventure. I guess it shouldn’t be really in that we share a love for Christ and books but I guess it wasn’t something I expected when I started out.
So appreciate you, Rel, and not just for everything you do for authors, readers and bloggers.
I had a hunch Ronie might be part of the finale. So looking forward to that one.
Bless …
October 3, 2016 at 11:34 pm
Ian » Thank you, friend. I agree that the friendships have been wonderful. Glad they are for you, too. You are ever an encourager, Ian, and I know I’m not the only one who notices that.
October 3, 2016 at 3:19 pm
I am enjoying your anniversary celebration and learning about different authors.
October 3, 2016 at 3:38 pm
I have read some books by Christy Barrier but none by the others. I always enjoy trying new to me authors.
October 3, 2016 at 11:31 pm
Carol Alscheff » They are well worth reading, Carol.
October 3, 2016 at 3:47 pm
I’d like to be friends with just about any of the characters in Carol Moncado’s books!
October 3, 2016 at 3:56 pm
My favorite character is Captain Jack in Slightly Noble by Lilly Gayle! He is a caring, passionate, and all around hero! I dream of meeting him!
October 3, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Dear Rel, I hope you know how much I value the gift of your friendship. You are a lovely encourager and blessing to all who put pen to paper for those who put paper to heart. I thank the Lord for working in mysteriously beautiful ways from one end of the earth to the other. Now let the new countdown begin–Nashville ACFW 2018. Be here <3
October 3, 2016 at 11:25 pm
Tamara Leigh » I will do my best, my friend! Hugs xoxo
October 3, 2016 at 5:23 pm
Rel,
I love all these authors.
I was on the launch team for Christy’s book and that’s where I came in contact with you.
Fun times!
October 3, 2016 at 11:24 pm
Marylin Furumasu » Definitely!
October 3, 2016 at 7:21 pm
Generally speaking, I would love to be friends with Ellis Peters´s brother Cadfael and Agatha Christie´s Miss Marple (or ANY character).
Christian fiction speaking – Claudia Mair Burney´s Bell or Billerbeck´s Ashley would make great girlfriends!
October 3, 2016 at 7:21 pm
KRISTIN Billerbeck, sorry for the typo 🙁
October 3, 2016 at 11:23 pm
Janka H. » Ooo, like those 🙂
October 3, 2016 at 8:18 pm
Love to read,thanks for a chance to win
October 3, 2016 at 11:23 pm
Martha Peace » You are welcome, Martha
October 3, 2016 at 9:46 pm
I would love to be friends with Geesje in Waves of Mercy.
October 3, 2016 at 9:50 pm
Any of the characters in Tamara Leigh or Marylu Tyndall books! 🙂
October 3, 2016 at 11:51 pm
Any characters in Julie Lessman’s books! They seem like a lot of fun!
October 4, 2016 at 12:31 am
I’d love to meet any of the characters from any of the books these girls have written, but if I could only pick one–wait, I can’t. So here’s 3. Caleb from Matayo’s “Sway”, and Cameron and Shaye from Matayo’s “The End of the World.”
October 4, 2016 at 12:33 am
Hello! I’ve met sooo many like-minded people since blogging and sharing about my love for books – many I now count as my friend, even good friends. One is Rachel, whom I’ve shared via facebook with. I also shared on my deal group, Christian Book Giveaway & Deals.
There are so many books I’ve read where the characters sure feel like my friend. One is Elsa from (no, not Frozen) but Ruth Logan Herne’s Home on the Range.
Thanks again!
October 4, 2016 at 10:22 am
Aw shucks Annie! <3
October 4, 2016 at 12:42 am
Cheney Duvall from Lynn and Gilbert Morris’s series.
October 4, 2016 at 1:11 am
I would like to be friends with Father Timothy and Cynthia Kavanaugh. Although I feel I already am their friends through multiple rereads! 🙂
October 4, 2016 at 1:13 am
I shared this with my friend Joan because we are both readers and have so much in common. Millie Longfellow from Jen Turano’s In Good Company would be a fun friend.
October 4, 2016 at 1:23 am
Read so many books and would want to be friends with most of them.
October 4, 2016 at 2:24 am
Hey Rel, I would love to be friends with Aslan! He is so strong and majestic.
I’ve shared the giveaway on Facebook.
October 4, 2016 at 2:33 am
I’ve always wanted to be friends with Anne Shirley (from Anne of Green Gables)!
However, I have read many, many books that I feel like I know the characters after I’m done reading the book, and feel like they are my friends. I love authors who are able to put that much depth & feeling into their books!
October 4, 2016 at 2:38 am
I know Watermark is just one of Amazon’s publishing imprints, but with most of these authors mentioned, it was their indie published books that I first discovered. Many I found on my own (I spend way too much time looking for new authors and books instead of just reading them haha), but through committed brother’s like yourself
October 4, 2016 at 2:51 am
(Yikes! This is what I get for using my Kindle to comment) committed “bloggers” like yourself, I am able to stay on top of notable indie books. I am always excited for new releases from each of these authors and never been disappointed. Although, disappointingly, I haven’t yet read a book by Christy Barritt, but plan to rectify that soon with my copy of Disillusioned. Thanks, Rel for your commitment to each of these authors and the many other indies that depend on word-of-mouth promotions.
October 4, 2016 at 4:27 am
Since I’m still fresh from my “Operation Zulu Redemption” read, I’m going to say I’d like to be friends with Téya Reiker. Not only does she have ‘interesting’ friends (****cough – The Turk – cough****), but she’s a force to be reckoned with herself. We wouldn’t have to worry about anyone messing with us while we were out and about the town :-).
My friend that I’m sharing this with is Christy B. She was the one who got me started reading Christian Fiction for which I’m ever so grateful.
October 4, 2016 at 6:33 am
ASIDE: Speaking of friendships….I heard your furry friend in the background of this vlog. Would love to see him/her in a future vlog. Maybe you could do one about books where a pet or animal is a strong character…like Dana Mentink’s “Love Unleashed” books or Ronie Kendig’s “A Breed Apart” series. Just a suggestion and really strong hint that I’d love to see your dog. 🙂
October 4, 2016 at 5:03 am
I would love to be friends with Abileen Clark from The Help because I admire her courage in the face of such great oppression.
October 4, 2016 at 6:08 am
Wow, what an awesome giveaway! Four fabulous authors! I just finished A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White. I think Ella would be a fun friend. She is so optimistic and sunny and has a great sense of humor.
October 4, 2016 at 6:26 am
Hey Rel,
Like you, I have been so blessed to make friends with so many wonderful authors, but characters are a different thing entirely. I guess I will be a little selfish and say two characters who were actually named for me, Aaron Winslow from “The Rough Rider” by Gilbert and Aaron Walters in “Old Familiar Places” by Robert Funderburk. I would also love to know Victoria Elizabeth Steen de Lancie in the Cheney Duvall books. I confess to having a bit of a crush on her. 🙂 I met with a writers’ group for many, many years, and we became very close, so friends through love of books are some of the best ever!
October 4, 2016 at 9:09 am
I think Grace from TOLD YOU SO by Kristen Heitzmann would be a good friend. I’m sure there would be others if I pondered on this awhile, but I’ll go with Grace since I read that book recently and can still remember it! I am thankful for my real life book club friends. It is such fun to get together each month to discuss books.
October 4, 2016 at 9:34 am
Birdie Freeman from Some Wildflower in My Heart by Jamie Langston Turner
October 4, 2016 at 9:35 am
My friend Sally has a passion for good books, too!
October 4, 2016 at 9:56 am
I’d love to be friends with Olivia from The Thirteenth Chance because I just love how delightfully neurotic she is! I shared your fabulous giveaway with my good friend Jessica who I don’t see nearly as much as I’d like to but our friendship (and love of books) remains strong and I love her to pieces!
I’m so blessed by the many new bookish friends I’ve made since starting my blog just a few months ago. There are so many wonderful people in the Christian fiction community!
October 4, 2016 at 10:25 am
I would have to say Emelia from Can’t Help Falling by Kara Isaac is at the top of my “I wish you were a real person so that we can be friends” list! I shared the giveaway with Abi, my BFF…I am so thankful for her friendship. She has been a huge encourager and support throughout the many seasons of life.
October 4, 2016 at 10:31 am
I’d like to be friends with Tamara’s heroines, because none of them are wimps.
I’d also stalk Garr.
But I know he’s fake. I do.
I mean, just because I keep asking my husband to wear chain mail doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with Wulfen Castle. Oh, and what’s this about not wanting a destrier? I asked Hubs that too, and he was all “Is that a fishing lure?”
*
I treasure YOU Lady Rel, of Mollet Castle, on the barony of Melbourne.
October 4, 2016 at 10:35 am
Well, I haven’t read ANY of the author’s in today’s giveaway!!!
I completely agree about connecting with readers online with similar reading tastes. I have “met” so many great ladies through social media. And have had the pleasure of meeting one of them in person too (Jamie)!
As for what character I’d most like to be friends with…Elizabeth Bennett.
October 4, 2016 at 11:04 am
Scarlet from Gone with the Wind!!
October 4, 2016 at 11:42 am
I think I would like to be friends with Nicole’s Georgia Cole. We share an interest in the theater and a deep love for our grandmothers.
October 4, 2016 at 11:43 am
It would be fun to be friends with Susanna Truitt from Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck! This was a harder question to answer than I would have thought. Apparently I want to be friends with most of the main characters I read about! 😉
October 4, 2016 at 12:02 pm
I’d love to be friends with Faith of Julie Lessman’s ‘A Passion Most Pure’ – or any other of her characters, for that matter. They’re some of my very faves. I think there is a special friendship connection/bond between those who are Christian Fiction readers (especially those who are sisters-in-Christ) that others can’t fathom. Some of my very closest friends are Christian Fiction author/reader friends.
October 4, 2016 at 2:11 pm
The two who came to my mind have already been mentioned. Those two would be Father Tim from the Mitford books, and Cheney Duvall from the Gilbert Morris series.
October 4, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Lonnie from Joanne Bischof’s The Cadence of Grace Series
Lilly Margolis from Lilies in Moonlight by Allison Pittman
Here she is! My absolute fav ~ Alice from Lynn Austin’s Wonderland Creek ~
“I didn’t plan on reading—you make me sound like such a horrible person. But I started the chapter during my lunch break at work, and then I had to stop right in the middle of it when my hour was up. All afternoon I’ve been dying—pardon the expression—to find out what happened. So when the eulogies went on and on and I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters, I decided to take just a tiny peek and . . . and how was I supposed to know that I would get pulled back into the story again?”
Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
October 6, 2016 at 10:54 pm
Lane Hill House » Lonnie – isn’t she special?
October 4, 2016 at 3:02 pm
Anne Payne is my friend I shared this friendship post with because she is my kindred; we have only met through the airwaves but we even like the same NASB!
Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
October 4, 2016 at 7:52 pm
Ann from Dee Henderson’s latest books. She is so strong and smart.
October 4, 2016 at 10:49 pm
I would love to be friends with Allie from Colleen Coble’s Lonestar Sanctuary. I shared with my friend Alison Heape
October 4, 2016 at 10:50 pm
And Carol Rinehart
October 5, 2016 at 12:27 am
Anne Shirley. Life would never be boring with her around
October 5, 2016 at 12:44 am
I would love to be friends with Ella and Charlie from The Lady and the Lionheart! They are probably the most genuine friends. And I like to share books with my friend, Justine! We try to read in coffee shops together between working and life. 🙂
October 6, 2016 at 10:22 pm
Christine » CHARLIE!!!! Love him…and Ella, too, of course 😉
October 5, 2016 at 1:49 am
Happy blogiversary, Rel!
I think it would be a blast to be friends with Mary Russell (of Laurie R. King’s Sherlock Holmes series).
October 5, 2016 at 11:23 pm
Word Lily » Hello lovely!! Means so much for you to stop by – miss our book chats. Hope all is well with you and yours xo
October 5, 2016 at 3:02 am
I would love to be friends with Tess Spencer from Heather Day Gilbert’s series, and Jane Eyre. 🙂
October 5, 2016 at 3:48 am
Shared with Summer McChristian. I appreciate the fact that she loves to read like I do! 🙂
I’d love to be friends with Ella from Roseanna White’s Unrivaled Lady. She’s such a positive and cheerful person.
October 5, 2016 at 3:50 am
So many great choices, but for now I will say Claire Bennett from The Chapel Springs series by Ane Mulligan.
October 5, 2016 at 6:29 am
There are so many book characters that feel like great friends. My latest is Parvin Blackwater from the Out of Time Series by Nadine Brandes. Another more recent character that sticks out is Tess Spencer from Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert.
October 5, 2016 at 9:15 am
I would not complain if I were just plopped into the world of Pride and Predjudice, and as such, I feel like Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy, and Mr. Bingley would all make excellent friends. In modern times, any one of Jenny B Jones’s characters would be so entertaining to have as friends–their wit and sass would keep life interesting!
I shared this giveaway with my sister, Kira. She has a great sense of humor and can always get me laughing!
October 5, 2016 at 11:09 pm
Leah » Jenny B. Jones’ characters are the best! Do you have a favourite, Leah?
October 6, 2016 at 1:39 am
How hard to pick just one! I think Finley Sinclair would be my favorite character to have as a friend, followed closely by Frances. But Jenny also writes such wonderful heroes…that would be a tie between Beckett and Charlie 🙂
October 6, 2016 at 10:13 pm
Leah » Good choices, Leah 🙂
October 5, 2016 at 9:16 am
The Walker family from Melissa Tagg’s books would be fun to be friends with.
October 5, 2016 at 9:17 am
I shared the giveaway on Facebook with All my friends!
October 5, 2016 at 11:08 pm
emilee douglas » Thanks Emilee!!!!
October 5, 2016 at 10:29 am
I’d like to spend time with Max in Nightshade..cool guy
October 5, 2016 at 11:06 pm
Mark Buzard » Yep, as long as you didn’t make him angry – LOL!
October 5, 2016 at 10:30 am
I shared this with my best friend Steven….. he is loyal and listens
October 5, 2016 at 11:06 pm
Mark Buzard » Sounds like Steven is a great friend, Mark 🙂
October 5, 2016 at 12:23 pm
I’m currently reading “Just A Kiss” by Denise Hunter and I have to say I think Paige would make a pretty great friend. Honestly, the whole “Callahan Bunch” would probably make a pretty neat group of friends. 😉
October 5, 2016 at 11:03 pm
Aerykah » I really enjoyed Just a Kiss, but all Denise’s books are wonderful.
October 6, 2016 at 5:53 am
*thinks really hard to pick just one character* Can’t narrow it down to just one, so I picked a couple – Shiloh Irons and Cheney Duvall in the Cheney Duvall M.D. series by Lynn Morris.
October 6, 2016 at 10:11 pm
Amanda T. » Great choices, Amanda
October 6, 2016 at 10:00 am
I would love to be friends with Anne Shirley!
Thanks for the opportunity to win books. 😁
October 6, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Anne Payne » Welcome!
October 6, 2016 at 10:05 am
My dear friend Kathleen Belongia and I are kindred spirits! We have a shared love for the Lord that binds us together in many things. My life is richer because of Kathleen’s friendship.
October 6, 2016 at 2:53 pm
You are a blessing to me, Anne. Treasure. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
October 6, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Anne Payne » Love hearing that, Anne – thanks for sharing.
October 8, 2016 at 5:53 am
I would like to get to know Melanie from The Tradd Street series by Karen White.
October 8, 2016 at 6:58 am
I’d love to be friends with Marianne from Edenbrooke… although that might not work ’cause I’d try to steal her guy 😉
October 10, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Heidi Robbins » I must read Edenbrooke, Heidi. It’s been on my radar for quite some time.
October 8, 2016 at 6:59 am
I appreciate my friend Caitlin because she is sweet and sassy, and lets us swim in her pool anytime!
October 10, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Heidi Robbins » Gotta love a friend with a pool!
October 8, 2016 at 2:32 pm
I would love to meet Leana McBride from Liz Curtis Higg’s novel “Thorn in my Heart”. She is such a wise, admirable woman! Would be amazing to have a heart-to-heart with her.
October 10, 2016 at 2:02 am
this is an impossible question, my friend. I want to be friends with too many to pick just one 🙂 Although… i do have to say … that being friends with the Navy Seal types in Christy Barritt’s Disillusioned would be beneficial in case i ever have to RUN FOR MY LIFE. 🙂
October 10, 2016 at 12:09 pm
Carrie @ Reading Is My SuperPower » Always good to know people like them, Carrie – hehe!
October 10, 2016 at 2:06 am
I shared the giveaway with my friend Annie JC. I appreciate her so much – for so many reasons. Not only for everything she did for CFRR but because through the planning process we prayed for each other, with each other, together & she truly became one of my most treasured friends.
October 10, 2016 at 12:08 pm
Carrie @ Reading Is My SuperPower » LOVE this, Carrie! Hi Annie 🙂