THE GRANDFATHER I DIDN'T KNOW WITH SIGMUND BROUWER

WIN SIGMUND BROUWER'S "A THIEF OF GLORY"!!!


http://a-fair-substitute-for-heaven.blogspot.ca/2014/06/d-day-70th-anniversary-blog-tour.html

THE PASSION OF CHRIST & THE THIRD REICH

THE PASSION OF CHRIST & THE THIRD REICH - A D-DAY TOUR BLOG FROM CATHY GOHLKE

http://authorcathygohlke.com/d-day-70th-anniversary-blog-tour-the-passion-of-christ-and-the-third-reich/

D-DAY TOUR CONTINUES WITH PATTY SMITH HALL & HOME FRONT HEROINES

Click on the link, read the blog & enter to win :)

http://patty-smith-hall.blogspot.ca/2014/06/d-day-70th-anniversary-celebration-blog.html

D-DAY TOUR WITH TRICIA GOYER!

THE GREAT D-DAY TOUR CONTINUES TODAY WITH Tricia Goyer Click below & enter to win her book Chasing Mona Lisa

http://www.triciagoyer.com/d-day-70th-anniversary-blog-tour-the-story-behind-chasing-mona-lisa/

70th ANNIVERSARY D-DAY BLOG TOUR - THE BUTTERFLY & THE VIOLIN BY KRISTY CAMBRON

70th ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY TOUR CONTINUES WITH Kristy Cambron & "The Butterfly & The Violin" - click below & enter tow in your copy

http://kristycambron.com/2014/06/07/kristy-cambron-70th-anniversary-of-d-day-blog-tour/

CHATEAU OF SECRETS - D-DAY TOUR MOVES AHEAD!

Check out today's D-Day Blog & enter to win CHATEAU OF SECRETS!


http://melaniedobson.blogspot.com/2014/06/welcome-to-d-day-70th-anniversary-blog.html

RAFFLECOPTER LINK!!!

For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE [ http://www.sarahsundin.com/home/contest ]. You have a new chance to enter each day of the tour! The contest opens June 2, 2014 at 1 am PST and closes June 13, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 16, 2014. *Note* Several of the titles will not be released until later in the year—these copies will be mailed to the winners after the books release.

DAY 4 OF THE TOUR! THE MONUMENTS MEN & CARA PUTNAM!

DAY 4 OF THE D-DAY TOUR AT D MINUS 1! Cara Putman & THE MONUMENTS MEN CLICK, READ, ANSWER THE QUESTION & ENTER TO WIN

http://www.caraputman.com/blog-tour/d-day-70th-anniversary-tour-the-monuments-men/

DAY 3 OF THE D-DAY TOUR - MURRAY PURA & LONDON DAWN

D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour
June 2-13, 2014

Welcome to the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour! Ten authors of Christian World War II novels are commemorating the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Thank you for joining us as we remember their heroism and sacrifice.

Our novels illuminate different aspects of the war—from the Holocaust to the Pacific to the US Home Front. Each day, visit with a new author as we share about our stories, our research, and our unique settings. With each blog post, you’ll have the opportunity to win that author’s novel, plus a chance to win a packet of ALL TEN featured novels!

Giveaway Details

For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog, collect the answers to the questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE [ http://www.sarahsundin.com/home/contest ]. You have a new chance to enter each day of the tour! The contest opens June 2, 2014 at 1 am PST and closes June 13, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 16, 2014. *Note* Several of the titles will not be released until later in the year—these copies will be mailed to the winners after the books release.

To win the prize of ALL TEN books, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL TEN answers within 24 hrs of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.

You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive! However, you only need to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once to be entered. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL TEN answers. To gather the answers, you may download the Word document on the BLOG TOUR PAGE <>

MURRAY PURA
LONDON DAWN
"NO PLACE FOR A D-DAY"

My novel London Dawn starts in 1934 & ends in 1941. It follows a family through the fascist upheavals in Germany, Europe, and Great Britain, including the infamous Nazi or Berlin Olympics of 1936, and into the beginning of the Second World War. In 1940, Hitler's Blitzkrieg flattened Belgium and Holland and France and the Luftwaffe, Nazi Germany's feared airforce, was unleashed on Britain as well. Some 700 pilots, most of them British, their ranks bolstered by Canadians, Americans, Poles, and pilots from other nations, flew into a bullet-riddled sky day after day in the summer and fall to battle thousands of German bombers and fighter planes.

They could have lost. Many still wonder why they didn't lose. The Luftwaffe was destroying British airfields and airplane factories and wearing the Allied pilots down by engaging them in constant combat. When Hitler turned on London, to try and break the will of England and the Londoners, the Allied pilots had the chance to catch their breath, and the RAF had the opportunity to repair their factories, continue producing more fighters to replace the ones lost in aerial combat, and bring all their airfields back into use. The Blitz was horrific and Londoners were killed by the hundreds of thousands - children, youths, women, and men - but London did not break, or England, or Britain.

It would have been impossible to have had a D-Day if they had broken and surrendered. Where would the invasion fleet have been assembled? Where would it have been launched from to assail the shores of the Nazi Empire? Halifax? New York? How could an invasion fleet have sailed across the Atlantic in secret? How could that massive armada have avoided detection? And what would have happened to it once the German wolf packs of submarines targeted them with torpedo after torpedo? Without the Battle of Britain - a Battle of Britain that was won - Britain's surrender would have left the western shores of the German Empire unmolested for generations. Come 2015, that battle in the air will have taken place 75 years ago. Victory among the clouds made sure there was a base to launch the liberation of Europe from in 1944.


QUESTION: What important 75th anniversary will take place in 2015 in addition to the 70th anniversary of the end of World War 2?

(Write your answer down or log it in the Word doc available on the blog tour page. Make sure you enter the main Rafflecopter giveaway today.)

Schedule for the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour
Be sure to visit each site for a chance to win ALL TEN featured novels!
Note: Links will go live on the post date.

June 2: SARAH SUNDIN [URL when available], author of In Perfect Time
June 3: LIZ TOLSMA [URL], author of Daisies Are Forever
June 4: MURRAY PURA [URL], author of London Dawn
June 5: CARA PUTMAN [URL], author of Shadowed by Grace
June 6: MELANIE DOBSON [URL], author of Chateau of Secrets
June 7: KRISTY CAMBRON [URL], author of The Butterfly and the Violin
June 9: TRICIA GOYER [URL], author of Chasing Mona Lisa
June 10: PATTY SMITH HALL [URL], author of Hearts Rekindled
June 11: CATHY GOHLKE [URL], author of Saving Amelie
June 12: SIGMUND BROUWER [URL], author of Thief of Glory

DAY 2 OF THE D-DAY BLOG TOUR - ANOTHER BOOK TO WIN!!!

READ LIZ TOLSMA'S JUNE 3RD BLOG & ENTER TO WIN! http://www.liztolsma.com/

FIRST DAY OF THE D-DAY BLOG TOUR WITH SARAH SUNDIN

The D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour begins today. There are ten books to be won & today's blog is with the talented Sarah Sundin. Click on the link below to get into the first day of the tour http://www.sarahsundin.com/d-day-70th-anniversary-blog-tour-sarah-sundin/

D-DAY BLOG HOP

Starting on June 2nd there will be a blog hop I'm participating in. It has been set up to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion on June 6th, 1944, an invasion that helped liberate Europe from Naziism. My own blog will pop up on June 4th or D minus 2. There will be a chance to win an autographed copy of my WW 2 novel LONDON DAWN, the final book in the trilogy that began with Ashton Park. GET READY!!!

Amish Family Christmas & All The Pretty Ponies & Majestic and Wild

Here. I'm finally back on my blog after so many months while the website was being remodelled. Thank you to all the new people who have joined up in the past couple of days. Normally I will write a blog once a week and it will be on any sort of subject that strikes me as important at the time. Sometimes I'll talk about my books and others' books. Sometimes about God. Sometimes about Creation. Who knows? I do want you to know I will be putting all members into the draw for An Amish Family Christmas as soon as we reach 100 or American Thanksgiving on Nov. 28 - I hope we reach 100 first! I also want you to know I'm looking for people to go into my author page on Amazon & click on the orange LIKE button. If you do that, please tell me, and your name will go into another draw for All the Pretty Little Ponies, a short story I just wrote to initiate a series of horse stories edited by a colleague at HHP. Here's the link to the author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/serengeti009 Third and final announcement! There is a giveaway for Majestic & Wild, my collection of stories on God and the wilderness, going on until the 3rd of November. That giveaway is on Goodreads & here's the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/67259-majestic-and-wild-true-stories-of-faith-and-adventure-in-the-great-outd Family Christmas is based on a discussion I had with two Hutterites on the Amish Wisdom radio show. I mean that story from the heart. Pretty Ponies is dedicated to a young woman I know who loves horses and has been struggling with a debilitating health condition for years. I mean that story from the heart too. Majestic & Wild is based on wilderness adventures I've experienced from the time I was a teen. I mean all those stories from the heart as well. Come to think of it, I mean everything I write from the heart. Thank you for joining me on my blog and may your life, despite all the pain and struggle that comes our way, be rich and full of God's light.

a tribute to our animal companions

I found out in my 20s that sharing something beautiful makes it twice as beautiful, whether you share it with a human companion or an animal companion. I've walked dogs every day since 1986. Today, the last day of February 2013, marks the first time in almost 30 years I haven't walked a dog (usually two dogs). I can't begin to tell you how hollow that feels. Today it's in the 50s F and the sun is shining, the sky is blue, a fresh wind is blowing. What should have happened this morning was I should have gone into the garage where the dog sleeps, woken him up (if he wasn't up already), had a great reunion of smiles and tail wags and fur rubs, then headed out along the frozen creek and out under the gleam of the white-capped Rockies for another adventure. We'd have seen magpies and ravens and nuthatches and chickadees. We'd have seen whitetails and mulies and maybe a fox or a set of cougar tracks. There'd have been other dogs to greet and my dog would have found many fascinating smells to smell. We'd have gone out in joy and returned in even more joy. Before Alaska and his mate Denali there was Yukon and his mate Nahanni - Alaska and Denali purebred Malamutes, Yukon and Nahanni golden labs crossed with coyote. When we lost Yukon we knew we wanted a breed with long muzzles, sharp ears, bushy tails, and a look that said Northern and wilderness. By a striking blessing, I was grieving over the loss of Yukon, our white male lab-coyote, when we found a place that offered Alaskan Malamutes and picked up Alaska and Denali. The mother that raised them (they were just seven weeks) was Nahanni. They adored her. She may have been half their size but they bonded to her and went with her wherever she decided to go. Losing her was as cruel as losing Yukon but at least we had the puppies. Now all my dogs are gone. I feel like I died along with them. When Alaska left us yesterday there were no puppies to turn to for a renewal of joy and life. I should have shared the morning sunshine and mountains with Alaska today. Should be able to cross to the window now and seeing him lying in the sun by his beloved 100 foot high pines and Colorado blue spruce. But the beauty is half as beautiful today because I can't share it. The kids are grown up and at university now. My wife is an RN and at the clinic. And all the dogs I have loved are in a different reality now that I can't be part of. I write my books alone now but I have one blessing - Kokomo, my 4 year old tabby cat. Who doresn't know where her big brother Alaska has gone. Ah, the walk with the silent companions. Not just with dogs but cats too. And the communion with pet birds within the house. And other animals as well. Sure, dogs bark or woof and have their spoken language, cats meow and purr, horses knicker and whinny and stamp their hooves, birds whistle and sing and call. But most of the relationship is in silence. A rich warm silence of eyes and tails and feathers and fur. My dogs spoke to me without English or French or Spanish. They had the universal language of love down pat. It makes for a different depth of relationship than you get with most humans. There are words and commands but the relationship does not rely on words and commands. The relationship relies on what is said with the eyes and the tone of the voice and with the heart. I remember weeping over the death of my mother and Yukon and Nahanni coming to me, their eyes so sad and dark and full, and both putting their paws in my lap at the same time, giving me what they could to comfort me. When I wept over the death of Nahanni my puppies Alaska and Denali stayed close and curled up beside me, refusing to leave me while I grieved. I spent all of February 27th with Alaska, starting at midnight with his first seizure, and staying with him all night and morning and afternoon until the end, petting him, brushing him, kissing him, putting my head close to his and telling him I loved him. He was never the kisser his sister Denali was. She'd always lick you to death. Alaska saved his kisses for certain moments and certain times. As I rubbed and petted Alaska yesterday, as the end drew closer, he stretched up with his head and licked my hand, something he had hardly ever done. I have that love touch to console me. It does not console me much because I want the reality back that was behind it. If I was writing my story I would be able to go to the window now and see all four of the dogs I've lost romping together and the cat I've lost romping with them. And seeing that miracle I'd be out the door in a shot and playing with them again as we played so many times over so many years. It's not my story and I'm not writing it so I sit here at my laptop and dream. If I could do it all over again, knowing the pain of the loss of each one of my animal companions, I wouldn't hesitate, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Yes, I am in a lot of pain now but the beauty that came before it and that still lives inside me is tremendous. My animal companions changed my life, made me a better man, brought me closer to others and to my God, blessed me forever. So when I weep I weep tears of joy as well as tears of sorrow, tears of thankfulness as well as tears of loss, tears of praise as well as tears of mourning. I thank God this was my story and they were the heroes and heroines in it. And I hope people are right and the better ending is still to come.

ASHTON PARK ON ITS WAY!

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "The first installment of Pura’s (The Wings of Morning) the Danforths of Lancashire series introduces the inhabitants of Ashton Park, a centuries-old manor near the shores of northwest England. Tensions of the early 20th century, including WWI and unrest in Ireland and Palestine, create a backdrop for a tale rife with suspense and emotional twists as the large extended Danforth family encounters its share of romance, human tragedy, and skullduggery. Sir William and Lady Elizabeth and their brood of independent-minded daughters and gallant sons have their honor tested, the bonds of family strained, and the goodness of God questioned. Amid trials and treachery, Pura draws poignant exhibitions of integrity, staunch lessons in forgiveness, and tender pictures of love and devotion. Pura excessively entwines the lives of the aristocratic Danforths with those of significantly lower stations, muddling the line between upstairs and downstairs in an apparent disregard for the strict class distinctions that would have been observed during the period covered by this book. Still, a most enjoyable introduction to an intriguing family saga. Agent: Les Stobbe, the Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency."

LINCOLN MEMORIAL EDITION

IF you would like the opportunity to win an autographed copy of The LINCOLN MEMORIAL EDITION of the novel THE FACE OF HEAVEN please enter a comment here. ALL THE BEST!

WINNERS!

JODY RIGLE IS THE WINNER OF THE CIVIL WAR ART PRINT! CONGRATULATIONS, JODY! THERE ARE ALSO FIVE RUNNERS UP WHO WILL BE RECEIVING 4x6 INCH REPLICAS OF THE COVER OF THE FACE OF HEAVEN. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED. OUR NEXT CONTEST WILL BE IN EARLY NOVEMBER!

FACE OF HEAVEN/CIVIL WAR ART/CONTEST

WELCOME TO THE SITE FOR THE FACE OF HEAVEN/CIVIL WAR ART CONTEST! If you wish to enter the contest for an artist-signed print of Mike Thorson's painting of the 7th Wisconsin of the Iron Brigade at the Battle of Brawner's Farm please post a comment below. Contest will run for one week until next Monday the 22nd. Print is 2' x 3' (approximately), on heavy stock, glossy, and one of only 750 signed prints. It will be mailed to the winner in a non-crush tube. The print is suitable for framing. PLEASE BE SURE YOU HAVE LIKED BOTH MURRAY PURA WRITING & 19TH INDIANA IRON BRIGADE BEFORE YOU POST A COMMENT. THANK YOU!

VAN DER GROEF'S REVIEW OF THE WINGS OF MORNING

This book is a definite must people! The best book of 2012! My review of THE WINGS OF MORNING by Murray Pura. (*Translated from the Dutch by BING) The year is 1917. The Amish have no decision taken yet concerning the use of aircraft. Jude Whetstone is a convert of the Lapp Amish community. He is fond of aircraft and has taken flying lessons. Some people in the community do not agree with the fly – including Lynndaya Kurtz ' parents. Jude and Lyyndaya grew up together and were slowly but surely falling in love. Lyyndaya's parents that they now want to Jude sees no more. This breaks her heart, but as a good Amish daughter obeys her parents. In Europe is the first world war broke out. The Amish don't fight in the war. The u.s. military discovered what a good pilot is trying to force him and Jude in Europe to go fight. Jude and some other guys from his Amish community be jailed. The guys are treated badly. Jude pray for a way out and realizes that the only way to come out of prison is to sign to go fly in Europe. Jude decides to do this and the other young men be freed and return to their community. Jude's decision is not understood by his community and he is exiled. Jude knows, however, that he is in the will of God and asks God to guide him in the fighting. He learns to fight against the Germans without someone having to kill. It is not permitted to send letters to Jude Lyyndaya. She decides however to write letters and keep them in a safe place, so that he can read them later when he comes back from Europe and his exile is over. Jude sends weekly letters to Lyyndaya, but they may not read them. The Amish are informed about what Jude is doing things in France, but the question why Jude ever register has to fight, remains unanswered. Then comes the message within that Jude's plane has crashed and that he is missing and presumably dead. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the Spanish flu breaks out. Lyyndaya has signed up as a volunteer to care for the sick. And then if they one day at work, her name is whispered by an unknown man ... I am very excited about this book. It is difficult to find the right words to describe how good this book is. Murray Pura is a great and fascinating writer. Normally I don't read many Amish books, but the way this writer Amish combines with history is simply fantastic! I can hardly wait to Pura's next book to read! (Translated by Bing)

MARIAN BAAY'S REVIEW OF THE ROSE

This is definitely a Murray Pura book! The writing is superb--just like I have become to expect from this author. The characters of Rose and Lydia are so real and feminine, that it put a smile on my face - excellent job, Murray! I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of ebooks of The Rose of Lancaster County. I'm eagerly awaiting the next! Marian Baay, Holland