Our godson got married on Saturday night - it was a beautiful wedding. The wedding was at a Catholic church in Cincinnati. It was fun seeing old friends at the reception afterwards. Amanda had a blast as usual. She loves to dance and also enjoyed snapping pictures of the bride and groom. Of course, she took a few while standing next to the groom and bride.

If you have any time to spare this week - Monday-Friday, I’d appreciate you visiting me at the LASR site. On the home page each day, there will be a new question about that day’s blog post. If you email the correct answer, you’ll be entered in the drawing for chance to win either an eBook of my contemporary romance, Whitney in Charge, or Your Place or Mine. The winner gets to choose one of these books in Kindle edition, Nook, or any electronic book preferred.

LINKS: LASR home page
LASR blog

Here is the topic list for the week:

Monday - “Write What You Don’t Know”
Tuesday - “Creating Memorable Characters”
Wednesday - “Summer Activities”
Thursday - “Introvert or Extrovert”
Friday - “Saying Good-bye”

Friday, May 13th, was a great day - two new reviews were posted!

Diana Coyle, reviewer for Night Owl Reviews, asked me a few short weeks ago if she could review my older releases and of course, I said yes! She gave both books 5 stars and Reviewer Top Pick.

Here is her Night Owl Book Review for my contemporary romance, WHITNEY IN CHARGE:

Young widow, Whitney Benson, is dealing with quite a bit of emotional baggage at the young age of thirty-one. You see her husband, Rob, was a news reporter who was killed in Iraq. Besides dealing with the tragic loss of Rob, she decides to quit her high paying producer job and move to Cornett, Ohio to tend to her ailing mother who is dying of cancer. Eventually the inevitable happens to her mom and Whitney finds herself trying to deal with two close losses to her.

Her two sisters decide to take it upon themselves and make it their mission to help Whitney get through this rough time. Not only do they come up with the idea of starting a business venture together, but also they set out to find Whitney a man in which she can move on with her life. This seems like a generous offer and both Shannon and Regan succeed in finding Whitney not one, but two suitors they think she’ll love.

There’s the new neighbor, Ben, who has just moved in next door and has an adorable younger son. Things seem great between them and he even helps out with finding her a new business venture she can pursue. But after Whitney has an accident while she and Ben are on a hike in the woods, she has to be rescued by helicopter and meets Jack, a medic, in the process. Coincidentally, Jack is the guy that Regan and her husband want her to meet. Now she has two eligible suitors trying to vie for her attention.

Which of the two guys, if any, does Whitney decide to start a relationship with? Does she ever get to start the business up with her sisters that they had spoken about?

Ms. Craver has penned another great read that pulls her readers into her story and takes them on an enjoyable ride. I felt so bad for Whitney that she had to face two deaths of people that were close to her. She was definitely dealing with a lot of grief in a very short timeframe. As for her sisters, on one hand I was happy that they were trying to help her through her grief, but on the other hand I felt that they might have been a bit too intrusive in trying to set Whitney up with a prospective long-term relationship. I easily fell in love with both Ben and Jack and I found it hard to decide which one I thought fit Whitney as the best suitor. I couldn’t wait to see which one she chose or if she’d decide she wasn’t ready for a relationship with either of them. If you’re looking for a story that will make you laugh, cry and smile all in the same story, than you have stumbled upon the perfect match for you!
Purchase Link
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Diana Coyle’s Review for NO GREATER LOSS - another Top Pick!
Ms. Craver has a knack for pulling at your heartstrings with her endearing characters in No Greater Loss. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Jennifer and Luke and I hoped that both of these characters could find the peace that they were looking for within themselves. They both deserved to move on with their lives and I hoped they were able to leave their heartache behind them so they could find happiness again. Although this is categorized as an inspirational story, I found that it told the tale perfectly without being too preachy for the readers. This author definitely has a talent for storytelling and I’m a true fan of her writing style. Keep up the great work!

I received a review yesterday from Midwest Book Review. After I received the letter and review in the mail, I went to Amazon to see it posted there and noticed two other reviews had been posted since the last time I checked. I’ll post all three here. Whenever I get discouraged about my writing, I seem to get a boost from new reviews. God seems to know when I need this encouragement.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story!, May 7, 2011 By Samatha Davis “Samatha” (USA) - This review is from: A Christmas Gift (Kindle Edition)
A great story that can be read many times throughout the year! Kudos to Ms. Craver for penning such a wonderful book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read of facing the past for your children, May 6, 2011
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - This review is from: A Christmas Gift (Paperback)
A secret can’t be secret forever. “A Christmas Gift” follows Justin Reeves, a man who has everything he could ever ask for as a father. But when his daughter discovers a bit of his past, the truth jumps out and shakes his serene life and offers a lot more challenges. Drawing on her own experiences, Diane Carver presents a thoughtful story that won’t be easy to put down. “A Christmas Gift” is a wonderful read of facing the past for your children.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Heartfelt Christmas Story, February 20, 2011 By Colette (Sydney, NSW, AU) - Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: A Christmas Gift (Kindle Edition)
I can highly recommend this beautifully written memoir of an unforgettable Christmas as seen through the eyes of seven year old Debby. Family life in the 1950’s was wonderfully captured and Debby was a delight. The story was quite poignant, but ultimately uplifting and very touching, and I cried more than a few tears. It is not a long book but I enjoyed it from start to finish. It reminded me of classic storytelling such as Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. A gift not just for Christmas.

A BIG THANKS to the MIDWEST BOOK REVIEWER and to readers Samantha and Colette - so glad you loved A Christmas Gift!
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I just finished reading IN ALL THINGS by Shawna Williams this morning. I loved her two other books, NO OTHER and ORPHANED HEARTS, and didn’t think it possible for me to love her new release more, but I do. I’ll write a review later this week and will post it here. If you want to read the reviews I wrote for No Other, just click on the book title above. My review for OH is posted at Amazon’s site.

Before I forget, I hope I’ll get visitors tomorrow at Joanne’s blog. She interviewed me about A Christmas Gift. If you’ve read this book, you already know that it can be read year round. The father-daughter relationship is a big theme and of course, the faith of a little precious girl named Debby. I think you’ll enjoy all the secondary characters too! When Debby learned a secret so long ago, she didn’t know who to talk to about what she saw. Who can she trust? Her best friend, Ellen? Her sister Gail who keeps romantic stars in her eyes? Brother Carl who’s far away in the Army? Or polio-stricken Kathy? The prologue and epilogue are in the viewpoint of adult Debby while the rest of the book is in her child’s POV.

Click here for Joanne’s blog! Looking forward to reading the comments tomorrow.
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“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”
-Princess Diana

What Diana said is so true because as a mother of six children, I enjoyed doing things for each one. I received joy in my life by spending time with them. Breastfeeding each baby, reading to them, driving to storytime at the library, teaching them how to read, and as they grew, we attended many practices and games of several different sports they all played. I even had a preschool in my home when the first three were young. I wrote a book about my experience as a preschool teacher in my own home. Here is the link for this book, in case you’re interested - http://booklocker.com/books/1128.html
Now my babies are all grown-out, they are extraordinary adults. Just as they gave me joy as children, they constantly give me so much in return now that they are older. I’m proud of each one of them. I better stop writing this post because we are all getting together this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

My brother David, me, and my mom

Over the weekend, I proofread my first five chapters of my new Christian romance. I like this new wip a lot and hopefully, I’ll get an agent for it when finished. I want to get a bigger publisher for my next book and I plan to write a series.

I tried to write in a notebook during my lunch break at work today, but I didn’t get a whole lot of writing done. I only have 30 minutes so not sure it’s worth taking my laptop and using it in the car. My goal is to have the first draft done by the end of June, which is actually fast for me.

I definitely need to leave earlier tomorrow morning because I left at 7:15 this morning and was a few minutes late to work. The rain made it take longer. I enjoy scoring but hate the long commute and the heavy traffic. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow.

I want to watch Castle so getting off here now.