Monday 28 March 2016

Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard #Amish #Inspirational #Romance



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

Energetic widow Mattie Bender Schwartz is working day and night to get Promise Lodge going. She’s also hoping the change will help her son Noah’s heart to heal after his broken engagement. But his former fiancée, Deborah, is looking for a fresh start too. Filled with regret, and cast out by her dat for a reason she can’t yet reveal, Deborah can only pray Noah will forgive her foolishness.

Deborah is the last person Noah expected to show up at Promise Lodge. But with her cruel words still ringing in his head, he’s reluctant to accept her apology—even if the Old Order ways demand he try. If only he could obey Christ’s most important commandment: love one another. But one thing is certain—his mother and aunts, and their beloved Preacher Amos, will do their best to help him get there.




EXCERPT:

Rosetta entered the kitchen, where her two sisters were rolling out the sweet dough she’d taken from the fridge before she’d gone out to milk.

“We’ve got to help Deborah and—and stand up for her,” she stated as she went to stand beside Mattie and Christine at the kitchen counter. “That hand-shaped bruise on her neck’s gotten me all riled up. Surely God does not intend for His daughters to suffer at the hands of His sons. It goes against everything Jesus taught us about loving one another—no matter what the men of our faith believe.”

Her sisters’ eyes widened, yet they nodded solemnly. With a sigh, Mattie said, “Jah, when I saw that bruise I right away figured Preacher Eli had lit into her, so she left home. He and Marvin were cut from the same bolt of cloth in many ways.”

“And with him being her father, there wasn’t anything Alma could do about it,” Christine pointed out sadly.

“That’s exactly the attitude we’ve got to stop!” Rosetta cried. “I can make soap from now until Kingdom Come and it won’t wash away the pain and humiliation after a woman—or a girl—gets smacked around. We can’t let those attitudes—those male beliefs—from Coldstream contaminate what we stand for at Promise Lodge. You of all people should be willing to end that cycle of violence, Mattie.”

Her eldest sister’s face fell. When Mattie looked the other way, Rosetta noted the bump in the bridge of her nose, which hadn’t been there before Marvin broke it. “I wish I knew how,” she said in a tremulous voice. “I’ve vowed never to marry again, so as not to subject myself to another heavy-handed man. But I guess that’s not much help for Deborah or the other gals who’ll be coming here, is it?”

“But how do we ask Deborah who grabbed her neck without upsetting her?” Christine said in a low voice. “Maybe she’ll open up to my girls when she feels settled in, or—”

“This is mighty solemn talk from three sisters who usually tickle my funny bone,” Preacher Amos remarked as he stepped into the kitchen. “And it sounds like a topic best discussed by all of the founders of the Promise Lodge colony.”

Rosetta’s throat went dry as she and her sisters exchanged a startled gaze. Amos Troyer was a skilled carpenter whose talents were badly needed as they repaired the lodge, the cabins, and the outbuildings—not to mention when it came time to build homes for the people who answered their ad in The Budget. No matter how vehemently opposed she and her sisters were to domestic violence, they couldn’t afford to alienate this man . . . not that he would leave just because their independent attitudes irritated him. Amos had invested all of his money in this tract of land, just as they had.

Rosetta prayed for the right words. “With all due respect for your position as a preacher,” she began softly, “we were saying how Deborah’s nasty bruise brings up all the reasons we left Coldstream—and Obadiah Chupp—behind. We don’t believe men should be allowed to—to abuse their women,” she went on in a rush, “or to condone such violence when other fellows carry it out in the name of order and discipline as the heads of their households.”

“If we’re going to let heavy-handed men have their way in our new colony,” Christine chimed in, “we might as well go back where we came from. I might’ve gotten a new barn after Willis died in that fire, but I got no justice. And I can’t watch Mattie remarry because the bishop insists on it, and then suffer at the hands of another mean-spirited husband while the church leaders support him and the women have to keep quiet about what he might be doing to her.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Many moons ago—like, in 1983 while she was still a school librarian—Charlotte Hubbard sold her first story to True Story. This launched her into writing around seventy of those “true confessions” stories over the years, and she’s been a slave to her overactive imagination ever since. Over the course of her writing career, she has sold nearly 50 books—most recently, Amish romance series she’s written as Charlotte Hubbard or Naomi King.
Charlotte lived in Missouri for most of her life, so her Amish stories are set in imaginary Missouri towns. These days she lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband of 40 years and their Border collie, Ramona.

BUY LINKS
Promise Lodge, Book 1
Zebra (February 26, 2016)
ISBN-13: 9781420139419 •• ISBN-10: 142013941X

Click on these links to buy this book now!

Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=142013941X/
Barnes & Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9781420139419
The Book Depository http://www.bookdepository.com/book/9781420139419
B-A-M http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781420139419
Chapters http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/a/9781420139419-item.html
IndieBound  http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420139419
Powell’s  http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781420139419
Kensington Books  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/32120

Ebook:

Kindle  http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Lodge-Charlotte-Hubbard-ebook/dp/B00Y6RB2PA/
Nook  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/promise-lodge-charlotte-hubbard/1121998591?ean=9781420139426
iBooks  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/promise-lodge/id1013564715?mt=11
Google Play   https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Charlotte_Hubbard_Promise_Lodge?id=mZOmCQAAQBAJ
Kensington  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/32119
Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/promise-lodge

WEBSITE   www.CharlotteHubbard.com

Facebook    www.Facebook.com/Charlotte.Hubbard1


a Rafflecopter giveaway

19 comments:

  1. Happy Easter and thanks for this opportunity to win

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    1. Happy Easter back atcha, James Robert! Good luck in the drawing!

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  2. Thanks so much for featuring my book on your blog today, Louise!

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  3. I really NEED this book! It sounds like another winner for you Charlotte!

    wfnren at aol dot com

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    1. I hope you'll give it a try, Wendy! I'm getting a lot of compliments about the Bender sisters and their new community!

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  4. Your book sounds like a great read.

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  5. What do you like to read in your free time?

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    1. I read a wide variety of fiction--murder mysteries, suspense, women's fiction. Anything but Amish stories! I don't want to inadvertently pick up other writers' ideas or "copy" what their characters do.

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  6. Just read about your wonderful cookies on facebook and congrats as they are just perfect. Also your book sounds so good I just can't wait to read it in print. I think that my question today is Do you ever have free time and just relax ?

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    1. Good question, Ms. Clayton! I have a LOT of church activities and because I write 3 books a year, I really have to focus on my writing. BUT--once a book is finished and sent in I take a day or so off. And in June we'll be taking a 2 1/2 week Viking River Cruise, and there will be no time for writing! And when I get back, I'll be working on the next book.

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  7. Enjoyed the excerpt, sounds like a terrific read, thanks for sharing!

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  8. I really loved this excerpt.

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    1. MomJane, it's good to see you today! Glad you liked this segment of story!

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  9. Great post, thanks for sharing the excerpt!!

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