The End is Near!

Hello All,
I hope you've been enjoying the fall colors. They are about finished here in Orchard Hill. All that's left is raking leaves.

Our official chronicler, Kara Lynn Russell tells me the final story in her series is completed. That's right, it's been written down who, for once and for all, won the matchmaker's contest. Of course I know who the winner was, but I'm not talking. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

Just as I'm sorry to see this year coming to an end, I'm glad I was here to enjoy it. At my age, you never know if you'll be here to see the next season.

I'm also sorry to see the end in site for the Orchard Hill series. I'll miss having all of you to visit with. You're such good listeners. But there's still plenty of story left to tell and fun to be had.

Next month, November, is Kara's birthday. I wouldn't want to say too much, but I hear it's one of those annoying birthdays that ends in '0.' I'm figuring Kara might need some cheering up, so I'm going to try to convince her to plan some festive events in November. Check back for news on the final two Orchard Hill stories, Losing Patience and Finding Joy. Plus, Kara will post the engagement story for Lily and Ian (Considering Lily) as a free read. Watch for news of "A Gift from St. Nick."

See you in November,
Cora Applebaum

New White Rose Portal

The Wild Rose Press has created a new portal to their site made specifically for readers looking for inspirational romance. It was suggested to the owners that some readers may find certain titles on the main site offensive so they have responded by creating this portal, which leads directly to their "White Rose" inspirational line. It also allows access to the rest of The Wild Rose Press catalog, if the viewer so desires. In addition the portal provides links to the White Rose "coming soon" page and submission guidelines.

Stop by and visit at http://www.WhiteRosesBooks.com. They have up blurbs and covers from some of the newest White Rose releases. I especially love the cover for "Relationship Rescue" by Cindy K. Green. As much as I love the cover, I have to admit the story it represents is even better.

I hope you'll find your way to our new address!

Kara

Holidays are Coming

Fall has definitely arrived here in Wisconsin. We're trading in shorts and t-shirts for jeans and sweatshirts. But nature is putting on its usual show of brilliantly colored leaves for us.

When fall arrives, it's certain that the holiday season is right behind. Kara has assured me that the holidays will be celebrated in the final three stories in her Orchard Hill series. The recently release Disrupting Harmony covers Halloween. Will Harmony be able to tame Joseph's terrible trio with the promise of fabulous costumes for the church's harvest celebration?

Next month Losing Patience will be released. Shaun Thiesen is planning on refusing his mother's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner. He's not ready to get over the hurt she caused him. Unexpectedly, his estranged wife shows up and -surprise- he finds out he's about to become a father. Suddenly making peace with both his mother and his wife become top priority.

Finally, in December the series will come to a close with Finding Joy. December is one of the busiest months of the year for Isaac, especially this year with so many weddings coming up and so many couples to provide pre-marriage counseling for. When church secretary Pansy Parker quits to prepare for her own wedding, Isaac thinks he is doomed. Pansy convinces painfully shy but fabulously talented musician Joy Harper to fill in for her. Isaac is sure this will be a disaster. Not only is Joy lacking in both secretarial and people skills, but he's had a secret crush on her for years.

And of course, you'll finally discover who wins the matchmaker contest in Finding Joy. I know, but my lips are sealed. Anyone care to take a guess at whether the winner will be Pansy or Misty?

That's all for now.
Cora Applebaum

Disrupting Harmony Available Soon

Harmony Solberg is happy with her quiet, orderly existence. Then Joseph Velasquez and his brood of noisy children, teenagers move next door, shattering her peace. Against her will, she’s drawn into the children’s lives. Soon she’s sewing Halloween costumes and helping out with the church’s fall harvest party. Harmony realizes that she’d rather have a loud, chaotic life with Joseph and family than go back to her lonely old life but Joseph doesn’t seem to think she’s cut out for it. Will she be able to convince him, with a few tricks and maybe a treat or two?


True Love Never Runs Smoothly

Hope was very nice about the whole thing, considering that Joseph just showed up on her doorstep with Harmony that evening. Her eyes grew big when she opened the door and saw her brother with an overnight bag in one hand. With his other hand, he was holding onto the arm of a clearly outraged Harmony.

“Can Harmony stay with you tonight?” he asked abruptly.

“Um…sure.” She took a step back and motioned them inside. “Come in. Oliver and I were just watching a movie.”

Harmony glared at Joseph. “You see, she’s busy. I’ll be fine at my house.”

“Ignore her,” Joseph ordered his sister. “She needs a place to stay for the night, and she won’t stay at my house.”

Hope’s mouth dropped open and her gaze went back and forth between them. She obviously wanted to say something but was at a loss.

Oliver stuck his head out of the living room and said, “Hi Joseph, Harmony.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, Oliver,” said Harmony, with a scorching glance at Joseph. “But I wasn’t given much choice.”

“Is…is there a problem at Harmony’s?” asked Hope, a bit timidly.

“Yes,” replied Joseph at exactly the same time that Harmony said “No.”

Hope and Oliver exchanged looks. “Which is it?” Oliver ventured.

Harmony’s eyes narrowed and she pointed at Joseph. “The only problem is that my bathroom no longer has a door.”

Joseph’s face darkened further, which Harmony thought a remarkable feat. “If you had come out when I asked you, I wouldn’t have had to take it off the hinges.”

Back to School Time

Cora here. I've finally caught up on all my reading so I'm back to report on the happenings in Orchard Hill.

School started last week. Now every morning I see children walking by my house on their way to the bus stop on the corner. (By the way, Tommy Jenkins, I know you're the one that's been teasing the new boy. You'd better knock it off or I'll let your mother know.) These kids have a happy school to go to this year, I'm guessing, after all the romances its employees found this summer.

At the end of the last school year, our elementary school principal, Andrew Thomas finally realized he loved his secretary Faith Fielding. The whole town knew she'd been in love with him for years, but apparently this intelligent, educated man didn't know his own feelings until Faith threatened to quit. Now Faith's got a ring on her finger and a smile on her face. Andrew looks pretty happy, too. What would he have done if his daughter and Faith's son hadn't stepped in to give him a little nudge in the right direction?



Then there was an unexpected development between gym teacher Oliver Lawrence and school librarian Hope Velasquez. We were all convinced that Oliver couldn't stand Hope. Boy, were we wrong! Their courtship was a field day for the town gossips. (I don't go in for that sort of stuff myself, but I admit to taking a concerned interest in my neighbors and Faith lives across the street from me.) Although they had a rocky start, Oliver and Hope are happy together now. Their engagement announcement took everyone by surprise, especially Hope's brother Joseph. I don't think Joseph is convinced that Oliver is good enough for his sister. This situation may not be resolved yet!



And then there's speech therapist Sarah Rogers. She offered to help David Daniels with his niece Charity. The poor man's sister passed away and left him as guardian to Charity. He didn't have a clue about how to deal with children, never mind one that has a disability. Anyone could see that they made the perfect family - anyone but Sarah that is! David had quite a time convincing her that he loved her for herself and not because she was great with Charity. You should see the ring she's wearing now! That diamond is so big I'm surprised Sarah doesn't need a wheelbarrow to haul it around in. In most cases I'd say that was just plain showing off, but Sarah deserves it. She's such a sweet girl and she had such a hard start in life. David really wanted to show her how much she meant to him.

You can read the stories of all three couples in Kara Lynn Russell's stories - "Keeping Faith," "Enduring Hope," and "Accepting Charity." All are available at the Wild Rose Press.

Looking Forward in Orchard Hill

Accepting Charity is doing well - it's number one on The Wild Rose Press's inspirational bestseller list! It is number six in a nine story series. That means the final three are coming up yet. Those three revolve around events at the Orchard Hill Community Church and the three big holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Here's a little sneak peak:
#7 - Disrupting Harmony - Former television show host and expert homemaker Harmony Solberg is happy with her quiet, orderly existence. Then Joseph Velasquez and his brood of noisy children and teenagers move next door, shattering her peace. Against her will, she’s drawn into their lives. Soon she’s sewing Halloween costumes and helping out with the church’s Harvest Celebration. Harmony realizes that she’d rather have a loud, chaotic life with Joseph and family than go back to her picture-perfect, but lonely, old life. Then she receives an offer to host a new television show. Will she chose fame and fortune or home and family? You can read an excerpt from Disrupting Harmony at my website: karalynnrussell.googlepages.com.


#8 - Losing Patience - Shaun Thiesen’s jealous nature and quick temper drove his wife Patience away. Since then he’s been through counseling with Pastor Isaac and gotten involved with the church. Now he’s just waiting for his second chance. When he learns Patience is visiting her parents for Thanksgiving, he thinks this may be it. In only a few precious days he has to win back his wife, and suddenly the stakes are raised when Patience tells him he’s going to be a father. Can Shaun show Patience they deserve a second chance? Losing Patience has a little different tone to it. It's a little more serious than the other stories but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'll put up an excerpt on my website soon.


#9 - Finding Joy - Shy, timid Joy Harper, the organist for Orchard Hill Community Church has long been overlooked by Pastor Isaac. Then Pansy Parker announces she’s retiring and Joy is asked to fill in as secretary. With an unusually large number of weddings coming up and the Christmas holidays looming, Joy and Isaac put in a lot of hours together and he discovers a beautiful and caring woman beneath Joy’s reserved façade. Can he convince her that the only gift he wants for Christmas is her heart? I believe this will wrap up the series nicely. Look for favorite characters from all the other Orchard Hill stories to make appearances.

Extra! - I'll also be putting out another free read about Ian and Lily from Considering Lily. In spite of Lily's gun shy attitude about relationships and marriage, they may just end up saying "I Do."

What comes after? I thought I'd be happy to see the end of Orchard Hill by the time I'd written all these stories. But I'm not. The characters have all become friends. (One good thing about being a writer. You're never lonely with all these people in your head to talk to.) I may have an idea for at least one more Orchard Hill story. As the saying goes "first comes love, then comes marriage..." We all know what comes after that!

Kara

Accepting Charity is released!

"Accepting Charity" is now available from The Wild Rose Press. The sixth story in this series is the only one that doesn't feature the heroine's name in the title. So who's Charity, you ask? She's an adorable three year old whose mother has recently passed away. Her uncle, the hero of our story, is her new guardian. Only he doesn't know a lot about children in general, and he certainly doesn't know anything about raising a child who has special needs.

Charity has verbal developmental dyspraxia, which makes speaking very difficult for her. You can find out more about developmental dyspraxia in this Wikipedia article, which has links to more scholarly sites if you are not a Wikipedia person.

The inspiration for Charity was a beautiful little girl that I had the pleasure of knowing a few years ago when I worked as an aide in an early childhood classroom. She was bright, sweet, helpful, and very loving. But it was difficult for her to get more than one or two words out at a time. Fortunately there are programs such as Birth to Three and Early Childhood that can get children like Charity help when they are very little. These special needs kids work very hard but they have the hope of a bright future ahead of them, thanks to devoted teachers and therapists.

"Accepting Charity" is dedicated to one of those teachers. She was my daughter's birth to three teacher and also became one of my best friends. She always went above and beyond the call of duty for her students and their families. So here I'm formally saying "Thank you Theresa! We love you!"

Kara