About the Author

IRENE BRAND is a lifelong resident of West Virginia, where she lives with her husband, Rod. Irene's first inspirational romance was published in 1984, and since that time she has had multiple books published. She is the author of four non-fiction books, various devotional materials, and her writings have appeared in numerous historical, religious, and general magazines. Irene became a Christian at the age of eleven and continues to be actively involved in her local church. Before retiring in 1989 to devote full time to freelance writing, Irene taught for 23 years in secondary public schools. Many of her books have been inspired while traveling to 49 of the United States and 24 foreign countries. Kristy Dykes--wife to Rev. Milton Dykes, mother to two beautiful young women, grandmother, and native Floridian--was author of hundreds of articles, a weekly cooking column, short stories, and novels. She was also a public speaker whose favorite topic was on "How to Love Your Husband." Her goal in writing was to "make them laugh, make them cry, and make them wait" (a Charles Dickens's quote). She passed away from this life in 2008.


Nancy J. Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children and two grandsons. When Nancy isn't writing, she loves to read, do needle craft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.
Pamela Griffin lives in Texas with her family. Her main goal in writing is to help and encourage those who know the Lord and plant a seed of hope in those who don't, through entertaining stories. She has over fifty titles published to date, in both novels and novellas, and loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her at words_of_honey@juno.com

JoAnn lives on the Minnesota prairie which is a setting for many of her stories. Once a full-time CPA, JoAnn now spends most of her time researching and writing. JoAnn has published historical nonfiction books for children and several novels with Barbour Publishing in the Heartsong Presents line as well as the American Adventure and Sisters in Time series for children. Several of her novellas are included in CBA bestselling anthologies by Barbour Publishing. JoAnn's love of history developed when she worked at an historical restoration in North Carolina for five years. She enjoys researching and weaving her fictional characters' lives into historical backgrounds and events. JoAnn believes that readers can receive a message of salvation and encouragement from well-crafted fiction. She captures and addresses the deeper meaning between life and faith.

Sally Laity has written both contemporary and historical novels, many of which have appeared on ECPA bestseller lists. She is a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist, a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and has placed in the Inspirational Readers' Choice contest. Along with numerous romances and novellas for Barbour Publishing, she also coauthored with Dianna Crawford a three-book historical series for Barbour and a six-book series on the Revolutionary War for Tyndale House. She considers it a joy that the Lord can touch hearts through her stories. Her favorite pastimes include oil painting, quilting for her church's Prayer Quilt Ministry, and scrapbooking. She makes her home in beautiful central California with her husband of over fifty years, and loves that their four married children have made her a grandma and a great-grandma. Sally can be contacted at sallymlaity@gmail.com. You can also write to Sally at P.O. Box 1855, Tehachapi, CA 93581.


JUDITH MCCOY MILLER is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her novels, many of which have appeared on the CBA bestseller lists. Judy makes her home in Topeka, Kansas. www.judithmccoymiller.com
In first grade, Janet Spaeth was asked to write a summary of a story about a family making maple syrup. She wrote all during class, through morning recess, lunch, and afternoon recess, and asked to stay after school. When the teacher pointed out that a summary was supposed to be shorter than the original story, Janet explained that she didn't feel the readers knew the characters well enough, so she was expanding on what was in the first-grade reader. Thus a writer was born. She lives in the Midwest and loves to travel, but to her, the happiest word in the English language is home.

Reviews

There are multiple stories in the book and each one is unique. I enjoyed each story and thought they were all well written.

I really liked how the stories included a diverse group of women. I did not expect that when picking up the book. The women are all written with intriguing personalities and interesting story lines. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for some small stories that are enjoyable to read. You can choose to read one or a few and not spend too much time. I highly recommend this collection and hope each author continues to write other stories like these!
--Irene Grove"Irene's Christian Reviews" (11/08/2013)