The Perfect Bride
Avice Touchet has always dreamed of marrying for love and that love would be her best friend, Philip Greslet. She’s waited five years for him to see her as the woman she’s become but when a visiting lord arrives with secrets that could put her father in prison, Avice must consider a sacrificial marriage. Philip Greslet has worked his whole life for one thing—to be a castellan—and now it is finally in his grasp. But when Avice rebuffs his new lord’s attentions, Philip must convince his best friend to marry the lord against his heart’s inclination to have her as his own.
Debbie Lynne Costello has enjoyed writing stories since she was
eight years old. She raised her family and then embarked on her own career of
writing the stories that had been begging to be told. She and her husband have
four children and live in upstate South Carolina. She has worked in many
capacities in her church and is currently the Children's Director. Debbie Lynne
has shown and raised Shetland Sheepdogs for eighteen years and still enjoys
litters now and then. In their spare time, she and her husband take pleasure in
camping and riding their Arabian and Tennessee Walking horses.
Connect with Debbie Lynne:
Listening for God’s Voice
by Debbie Lynne Costello
Do you ever feel like everything you do is an effort? As
much as I love writing, there are times in my life where the words just don’t
want to flow. That’s what happened with this novella. It was contracted a year
ago. I thought I have plenty of time! But I also decided to get it written
early because I knew my life was going to get busy.
A year ago my daughter got married. The beginning of the
busyness—but good busyness. Then we took a trip to Maine to see our son, daughter-in-love
and grandpups —more good busyness. When we got back home
we were full steam into building our new house and all the stresses that go
along with that—good and bad busyness. Now when I say we are building, WE are
building. We do most of it ourselves. Now I’m not the brain behind this, that
would be my husband, but I am great at following directions so when he 
says
drill holes and pull the wires through them, I can do that! Then there were 2
trips to Houston to MDAnderson for Joe to get his PET scans. (For those of you
who don’t know about my hubby, he was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma
(MCL). God sent us to MDA in Houston for a clinical trial for 5 months and
healed him!) My daughter got a job down in Charleston so that meant she was moving
and taking my grandbabies—bad stress!
It seemed like one thing after another kept me busy, or kept
me stressed and kept me from my story. So now I was into the holidays. When they
were over I said I HAVE to get this book written. I sat down and still it
wouldn’t come. Now it is February and we were scheduled to take another mission
trip to Haiti, and then 4 days after getting back, go back out to Houston again
(we have to go every 4 months). I prayed and asked God to give me the words. Haiti
came and went, Houston came and went and I still only had about 1/3 of my
novella written.
My prayers were sincere prayers. I want God to be in every
book I write. I want Him to direct each word I type. But I couldn’t hear Him
speaking. It wasn’t until
How about you? Do you find that sometimes you are caught up
in the noise of life and miss God speaking to you?
GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS!!!
There are TWO giveaways, one on each individual blog for a book AND one Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
RAFFLECOPTER Giveaway Link HERE.
BLOG Giveaway: You MUST leave a comment below answering Debbie Lynne's question/s for an opportunity to win a paperback or e-book (YOUR CHOICE but paperback in US ONLY) of any of Debbie Lynne's books, including her new release, The Perfect Bride. An audio book of Sword of Forgiveness is also being offered for those who prefer audio books. Y'all have so many choices for book and reading format! Be sure and thank Debbie Lynne. :-)
Please leave an email address in a non-spammy format (jane at here dot come) so you can be reached if you are the winner, especially if I don't know you!!! No email. No entry. Then, hop along to the other blogs throughout the month and see what else is happening, along with more opportunities to win books and/or the Rafflecopter giveaway!
May 24th The Cross and Cutlass
http://www.marylutyndall.
GIVEAWAY INSTRUCTIONS!!!
There are TWO giveaways, one on each individual blog for a book AND one Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
RAFFLECOPTER Giveaway Link HERE.
BLOG Giveaway: You MUST leave a comment below answering Debbie Lynne's question/s for an opportunity to win a paperback or e-book (YOUR CHOICE but paperback in US ONLY) of any of Debbie Lynne's books, including her new release, The Perfect Bride. An audio book of Sword of Forgiveness is also being offered for those who prefer audio books. Y'all have so many choices for book and reading format! Be sure and thank Debbie Lynne. :-)
Please leave an email address in a non-spammy format (jane at here dot come) so you can be reached if you are the winner, especially if I don't know you!!! No email. No entry. Then, hop along to the other blogs throughout the month and see what else is happening, along with more opportunities to win books and/or the Rafflecopter giveaway!
April 29th Overcoming With God
April 30th Stuff & Nonsense
May 4thLocks, Hooks and Books
May 7th The Sword and
Spirit
May 9th Singing Librarian Books
May 12th Stitches Thru Time
May 15th- Heroes, Heroines, and History- Mid Month Madness
May 17th Jodie Wolfe Blog
May 21st Sunnie
Reviews
May 24th The Cross and Cutlass
http://www.marylutyndall.
Have a Blessed day!
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ~Romans 8:28
I was praying about the very same thing this morning. I want to know where God is directing me and yes it is difficult to hear his voice through our busyness. One of the scriptures I used to hate was Psalm 46:10. I did not like to be still. I understand it much better now with maturity.
ReplyDeleteSonnetta_Jones@hotmail.com
Good Morning, Sonnetta! Our lives seem to lend toward busyness. It seems like when we had to do everything by hand and manually we got much more done than now with all the technology. God is trying to speak we just can't hear through the noise!
DeleteHey Sonnetta, Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I understand about not wanting to be still when we are younger. Seems like so many things pull at us all the time but the sooner we learn to spend daily time in God's Word and in prayer communicating with Him, the better we learn to hear his voice through His Word and prayer. It's kind of a circle :-)
DeleteJust stopping in to say hi and congratulations on your lovely new novella!
ReplyDeleteSuch a good post. Yes, life wants to make us all Marthas but it is so rewarding when we surrender to His sweet presence like Mary. He reslly does restore our soul.
No need to enter me in the contest. 😊 i already read and lived the story.
Thank you for coming by, Kathy! The best crit partner EVER! You are such a huge part of each of my books and I can't thank you enough for the time and love you pour into each one!
DeleteHey Kathleen! I have always tended to be a Martha but when I practice being a Mary, it is so much more rewarding!!! :-)
DeleteI agree, Anne! I'm Martha, too!!!! Another thing we have in common.
DeleteOh how I long to relax in the gracious love of Jesus, instead of fretting about so much, especially since losing my dear husband a little over 5 years ago. Life is harder, but Jesus, my God, is awesome and is taking care of me in more ways than I realize and will ever know in this life.
ReplyDeleteIt is always wonderful to see, when we do stop trying so hard to control, things just flowing together as part of God's wonderful plan. He is our strength when we are weak. He is always with us.
My DH was the brain behind building projects here also, and I was his helper. Oh how I miss that. Enjoy working together.
I'm glad your husband had healing, enjoy every precious moment you are blessed with. Life is precious.
I have always loved romance stories and this sounds like a good one. I'm on a very limited budget, so I'm going to see if the library has your books Debbie.
God's continued blessings on you and your family, and on your writing.
Thank you dear Anne for another lovely review.
FlowerLady
Hello FlowerLady! My heart hurts for you. I can't imagine what you have gone through. I'm so glad to hear that our Precious Savior helps fill those voids. We serve such a loving God. We sound like we have much in common. I LOVE the time I spend building this house with Joe. Yes, God has truly shown mercy on us and I am so thankful for Joe's healing. Thank you so much for sharing. Be sure to enter the giveaways. You might win my book. I have 10 blog stops and each I'm giving away a book! God Bless you!
DeleteSweet Rainey! I have watched you walk your road of grief with grace and dignity which can only come from being close to the Lord. You exemplify a strong, steady, and loving character. I hope you win a book! Much love to you, my dear friend.
DeleteTotally. Even today, I felt like I was missing something....and life has gotten in the way of my listening to Him. Sigh. But He is forever faithful, even when we’re not.
ReplyDeletemindyhoungATmsnDOTcom
Amen Mindy! That is so true. He is faithful and forgiving. AND understanding. Thankfully!!
DeleteMindy, it is so true about God being faithful to us! Anytime I feel like he is far away, I have to remind myself that it is I who has turned away, never Him!!!And thankfully he is always there to embrace me when I turn back. Bless you today and thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYes, busyness!! It seems there is MORE with the empty nest! I work nights now and sleeping in the day takes most of my time. Thanx for the giveaway! j4hibdon at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteJennifer!!!! Girl! I have been saying the same thing! It is so much busier now that we have an empty nest! I had always thought I'd have more time after the kids left but that is so far from the truth of things!
DeleteOh, my goodness! I so agree about being busier with an empty nest. I had one for a year and actually became busier than before. Now that our youngest has moved back in temporarily, he is always asking me how come I am never available. I have to purposefully close the laptop lid, put away my phone, and spend time with the Lord and my family.
DeleteIt is way too easy to be so busy that I don't hear his voice. I pray for guidance and don't listen for the answer. fishingjan at aol dot com
ReplyDeleteYes, we are all guilty of that Jan. It's hard in this world not to get caught up in the busyness. Sooo much noise.
DeleteOh, Jan, my friend, we are all guilty of that one! Praise God he is quick to forgive. Have a blessed day!
DeleteI stay overwhelmed sometimes, especially this time of year. And God's voice does ring true in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. . .. resting in Him is something that I am continually having to learn. rmaney(at)firstarpchurch(dot)org.
ReplyDeleteMy buddy, Rebecca! It is good to rest in the Lord and like you, I am learning how to do that even at my age. ;) I like my quiet time though so some days it is much easier than others.
DeleteI don't know why we as humans want to keep picking up things that God has under control but it seems to be something we have a hard time leaving alone. I'm so guilty of this. I pick things up when I think it isn't moving as quickly as I'm sure God would want it to be. I don't know why human nature is to do that! I guess because we are a work in progress.
DeleteI think I pick things back up because somewhere in my subconscious I think I can do a better job but of course that is a lie!
DeleteI struggle with the enemies voice being louder than Abba's.
ReplyDeletepsalm103and138atgmaildotcom
God small still voice is powerful. He doesn't have to yell. But Satan does. And I think that is why her creates all the noise.
DeleteCaryl, It happens to all of us. That's why it is so important to read God's Word everyday and pray. That is how we come to know him and be like him. That is how we drown out the shouting from the enemy. Praying Psalm 23 -- Keep me from the evil one!
DeleteNope never. I don't rush I just take it slow.
ReplyDeletecheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom
DeleteThat's great, Kim! I wish I would take it slower when I need to!
DeleteWe need to constantly remind ourselves that God is in control and be instant in prayer , I try to remember to thank God in the midst of the every day busyness . I try not to complain but also to attribute the good things that happen to Him, who us the author and finisher of our faith. Thanks paulams49ATsbcglobalDOTnet
ReplyDeleteHey Paula, I think we as Americans especially forget to thank God for all the good things. I've done several mission trips to Haiti and we take so much for granted. Yes we ask the blessing on our food but do we really thing about how fortunate we are to not go hungry? Are we thankful that we can take our children to the doctor when they get sick? How about having more than one change of clothes? Or having shoes? Or Air conditioning? Heat? A church that we don't have to walk several miles to? Or a dry place to sleep? Oh my I could go on and on. You are so right. We need to give God the thanks for ALL blessings. All the time!
DeleteThanks for your insightful words, Paula! Understanding and trusting in God's sovereignty is key!!! Blessings~
DeleteOh my, yes! It is so easy to get caught up in the "doing" rather than listening and meditating on God's words. I was so busy, busy in years gone by, but now that i'm much older I do have extra time and I've tried to use it wisely to become closer to God. Debbie Lynn, it is so exciting to see that you have another book out. Blessings...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay. Hearing readers excited that I have a new book us really blesses me more than you will ever know! That is wonderful that you have time to get closer to the Lord. Perhaps God will send a young lady for you to mentor!
DeleteKayM, I am like you in that I have more time now to sit and study God's Word. I wish I had made the time when I was younger! It is so important to start young. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Delete