Featured Author: Denise M. Colby
March 29, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Author of the Month, Christian Historical Fiction, Denise M Colby, Marketing, Social Media, writing
Denise M. Colby loves to write words that encourage, enrich, and engage whether it’s in her blog, social media, magazine articles, or devotions. With over 20+ years’ experience in marketing, she enjoys using her skills to help other authors.
She treasures the written word and the messages that can be conveyed when certain words are strung together. She, being an avid journal writer, is often seen with a pen and notepad whenever she reads God’s word. Denise is writing her first Christian Historical Romance Series, and you can find her at www.denisemcolby.com
Denise is a member of OCRW, Faith, Hope & Love Christian Writers, ACFW (where she was a semi-finalist in the Genesis contest Historical Romance Category), OC Chapter of ACFW, and Novel Academy.
You can read Denise’s column The Writing Journey on A Slice of Orange, or follow her on Facebook or Instagram. You can also sign-up for her newsletter.
Big news for Denise!
Denise’s debut novel, When Plans Go Awry, won the Grand Prize in the Scrivenings Press #GetPubbed Contest for 2023, placing 1st place in the Historical category. It is the first of four books in this series being published by Scrivenings Press.
When Plans Go Awry
Denise M. Colby
ISBN: 978-1-64917-391-1
June 4, 2024
Olivia Carmichael escapes her past to become the next schoolmarm in the small ranching community of Washton, California. Her plan? Live a quiet spinster life alone, never to depend on anyone again.
Luke Taylor selected a mail-order bride to help raise his two younger sisters and protect his broken heart. His plans don’t include being responsible for the beautiful new schoolmarm, who threatens his resolve between his need to stay away and his need to ensure her safety.
Along the way, Olivia’s carefully laid-out plans are challenged at every turn, and Luke’s mail-order bride is not what he expected.
With the help of the entire town and its wily rooster, can Luke and Olivia learn to trust again?
Denise M. Colby’s Books
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2025 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
March 24, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Contests, From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as #TheBWG, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Short Story Award
The Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award 2025
BWG is seeking never-published stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (broadly interpreted tales of science fiction and fantasy).
The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
The Contest opened January 1, 2025, and the deadline is March 31, 2025. Science fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky will judge the 2025 contest. Click the link below for more information and the entry form.
https://bwgwritersroundtable.com/short-story-award-2
If you have a great story concept for Illusive Worlds, fire up that word processor and get started.
First Place:
$250 and consideration for publication in our upcoming anthology: Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy or Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Second Place:
$100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Third Place:
$50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
The 2025 contest judge is science-fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
For more information on the 2025 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here. You can also read an interview with Mr. Tchaikovsky here.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
2025 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
March 13, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Contests, From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as #TheBWG, Bethlehem Writers Group, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award, Short Story AwardThe Bethlehem Writers Short Story Award 2025
BWG is seeking never-published stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction (broadly interpreted tales of science fiction and fantasy).
The winners receive cash and publication, with the first-place winner being considered for our upcoming anthology, Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
The Contest opened January 1, 2025, and the deadline is March 31, 2025. Science fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky will judge the 2025 contest. Click the link below for more information and the entry form.
https://bwgwritersroundtable.com/short-story-award-2
If you have a great story concept for Illusive Worlds, fire up that word processor and get started.
First Place:
$250 and consideration for publication in our upcoming anthology: Illusive Worlds: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy or Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Second Place:
$100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
Third Place:
$50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
The 2025 contest judge is science-fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
For more information on the 2025 Short Story Award and for information on how to enter, click here. You can also read an interview with Mr. Tchaikovsky here.
Books from Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC
Spotlight on Lynette M. Burrows
February 16, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Spotlight tagged as Alternative History, Lynette M Burrows, science fiction, Speculative Fiction, The Fellowship Dystopia series
Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, writing coach, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. Her stories weave her experiences into speculative fiction worlds that capture your attention, characters you root for, and action that keeps you turning pages.
Her Fellowship Dystopia series, My Soul to Keep, and If I Should Die, and a companion novel, Fellowship, tell the story of a world where the isolationists and fundamentalists merged after FDR’s assassination and created an America where even the elite can be judged sinners and hunted by the Angels of Death. They are in online bookstores everywhere. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2025.
Lynette lives in the land of OZ and is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next project, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook, or BlueSky (@lynettemburrows.bsky.social) or on her website.
Lynette’s Books
Hover over the cover for buy links. Click the cover for more information on each book.
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Faery Swap by Susan Kaye Quinn
January 24, 2025 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Book Reviews tagged as Faery Swap
Faery Swap
Susan Kaye Quinn
ISBN: 9798348298463
Publisher: Twisted Spaces LLC
Pub date: 12/12/2013
Two souls, one body. A missing brother. A missing father. Stonehenge. And math-based magic. All the elements necessary to conjure up an engaging and fast pace story that will keep kids (grades 3 to 6) on the edge of their seats.
Both Finn, the 14 year old whose body gets snatched trapping him in the Otherworld fighting spriggans and faeries and walking trees, and Zaneyr, the faery who does the snatching and must fight off his father’s seekers, have compelling and sympathetic reasons for the choices they make.
Finn needs to get out of the Otherworld to protect his sister from Child Protective Services and neighborhood bullies. Zaneyr wants to hide himself from his father who is planning a World and Otherworld catastrophe—regardless of the humans or faeries he destroys.
Add to all of this is the ticking clock of Midsummer’s eve. Once it’s over, the boy and the faery are stuck just where they are—likely for a lifetime.
The book is published in ebook (free for January 2025), paperback and audio. There are links in the back for a cool two minute book trailer, a virtual author visit video and a downloadable teacher’s guide. The teacher’s guide included discussion questions, activities, and a card game for classroom play.
Featured Books
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