by Caryl McAdoo
Originally, Asa sees matrimony as a career move. He hopes a godly, local wife will seal the deal for a permanent call. Then asked right out about that very thing, he lies. Sparks fly when her past love and the preacher meet up, but as the days pass, she finds herself admiring the man and his relationship to God more and more. He’s a hard worker and wonderful, fun companion. Maybe she could learn to love him. But what if New Hope doesn’t call him? She loves it right where she’s at. Plus what about her dying father? And there’s that untruth between them….
And to make things even harder, her ex comes to Christ through it all!
Five Star Reviews of Book One
Lady Luck’s a Loser
I really enjoyed this book. Couldn't put it down. I loved that the characters are more mature and not entirely perfect If you are a more mature reader, as I am, and would like to read about more mature characters I recommend this book. Younger readers would it enjoy it too!
--JoAnn Stewart, reader, Defuniak Springs, Florida
I really like this book! I love plots that are different, not the same old regular love story. I enjoyed that the characters were not the "normal" that they were older and not your skinny beautiful people. I loved that the story kept my attention the entire way.
--Teresa Denise Summers, reader, Irving, Texas
A very unique, witty plot. I couldn't put it down. I love that my favorite characters are still very much active at the end of the book only their relationships have changed. What a way for Dub to fulfill his promises to his deceased wife. Love, trust, forgiveness, and many emotions make for a well written book.
--Joy Gibson, reader, Oneida, Tennessee
Lady Luck's is a Loser is such a fun and quick read. The storyline is unique and clean. The characters are interesting and believable. I love the setting too. If you are looking for a good, clean, quick, and romantic story, then this book is for you. A definite page turner.
--Amy Campbell, reader, Salem, Virginia
Apple Orchard Romances
Lady Luck’s
a Loser
A contemporary mature inspirational romance; Book 1, an Apple Orchard Romance / ISBN 978-0-6159-9574-8 / AISN B00JCC5YI0
Marge Winters answers the ad for manager at a Bed & Breakfast, placed by a wealthy widower seeking a new wife. W. G. Preston, avoids the dating game by hiring eight diverse women to live at his B&B--to be themselves while he gets to know them.
It’s soon apparent he can’t take six months with all eight and devises a plan to eliminate one per month, leaving the decision to Lady Luck, as he successfully has so many times.
The women compete to win his wedding ring. The widow grandmother Marge is witty and friendly, yet naive. Youngest, Vicki hides her enchanting vulnerability with a queenly persona. Audrey, a great listener and cook, can be quite moody. The cute Natalie has trouble making friends.
Beautiful Virginia harbors a secret, and energetic Holly lifts everyone’s spirits, but ruins her wholesome image. Charlotte loves antiques, as did the first Misses Preston, and Dorothy is quite a leader, but Preston isn’t looking for a manager. He wants a wife.
Lady Luck’s a Loser is an amusing character study that hooks readers through the depth provided to the cast, which enables the novel to avoid the pitfalls of How to Marry a Millionaire and The Bachelor. A difficult accomplishment, each of the key players can be distinguished from one another.
And Coming Soon…
Sing a New Song
A contemporary Christian Texas romance / April 17, 2015
Mary Ester, disillusioned with singing God’s praises on the road, decides to go home to Red River County and runs into the man who’d been in the same first grade class--her best friend until he kissed her. That was the day she’d left. The day they buried her Daddy; hadn’t been back since.
Though Samuel Levi Baylor never completely forgot his first love—how could he when she popped up all over the net?—but had been able after so many years of her returning all his letters, to put that love in a deep recess, somewhere. On seeing her again, his cheek burned as though she’d just slapped him.
He stumbles on her at the old place, and thinking someone trespassed, confronts the beauty. The house proves to be structurally sound, so she decides to move it to the place her daddy always intended to build. Samuel offers his carpentry help and hopes the puppy love once between them can grow.
Between hog hunting, church services, and singing the new songs God gives her, Mary Ester finds herself falling in love again with her first boyfriend. The saved love letters he’d written way back them and through the years go a long way toward healing old wounds.
Will the house make it to its new location in one piece? Can their old budding love bloom again? Enjoy the story and the new songs offered in this second, fun Red River Romance.
Coming in May…
Sins of the Mothers
A historical Christian (western adventure) romance; Book 4, a Texas Romance / debuts May 3rd, 2015 /
True love mends what blind love has broken.
At much too tender an age, manipulated by her love for the older and handsome Caleb Wheeler, Mary Rachael defies her father, takes her inheritance, and sneaks off in the dark of the morning to marry without her father’s blessing.
She runs off to California to partner in business with her brand new husband and his cousin. Once she’s far enough away that it’s impossible for her daddy to send anyone after her, she telegraphs him in care of a New York publisher.
Her step-mother offers to cancel their trip and her book tour in Europe to return to Texas and retrieve the wayward eighteen-year-old, but her father, the renown Henry Buckmeyer knows the die is cast.
Already married, his firstborn has sown to the wind, and he can but pray she will not reap the whirlwind. However, that’s exactly what the young bride encounters in the gold rush days of San Francisco.
After finding her husband is far from the man she thought he was, she’s attracted to a successful business man who may even be worse. By a quirk, she’s partnered with the one man who has the heart to redeem her, but he rubs her wrong at every turn.
Doomed to repeat the sins of her mother and grandmother, will Mary Rachel Buckmeyer Wheeler ever find her way back home and be reconciled with her daddy? Or is it too late?
More Coming… (a couple of dates have changed)
Token of the Covenant ~ A Biblical fiction; Book 3 of The Generations series / debuts June, 2015 / This story will feature Noah his wife Hattimas, and their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Keep reading for a Sneak Peek at the End! Read Chapter One of Token of the Covenant below!
One and Done~A contemporary Christian Texas Romance / July, 2015 / Samantha Danielle gets the break she’s dreamed of—being a sportscaster! George Herman Walter Johnson, Gij for short, is smitten, but the lady must get right with the Lord to win the Texas Ranger’s oldest-ever rookie.
Daughters of the Heart~A historical Christian romance; Book 5, a Texas Romance / debuts September 1, 2015 / The three youngest of Henry’s daughters, Gwendolyn, Cecelia, and Bonnie swear to be true and not marry without their father’s blessings, but love can break the strongest bonds.
Acquiring a Wife~A contemporary Christian Texas romance / October, 2015 / Ethan hires Jade to play a game of strategy and high finance as a ruse to see if his first impressions hold true and she’s worthy of matrimony, but she proves no easy acquisition.
Children of Eber ~ A Biblical fiction; Book 4 of The Generations series / debuts November 2nd, 2015 and covers from Shem’s inheritor Eber through the next patriarch, Isaac.
Son of many Fathers ~A historical Christian (western adventure) romance; Book 6, a Texas Romance / debuts January 9th, 2016 / Charley Nightengale returns from the Civil War to learn Lacy Rose has run off to her father’s people. Only Charley, who spent his first four years with the Comanche, can hope to bring her home again.
For your enjoyment… a preview of
The Generations, Vol
ume Three
Token of the Covenant
Chapter One
From above, the ladies screamed as the ark rocked. Outside, the sound of the brace poles cracking shot through the walls. The force slammed Noah and his sons into the door. But it held fast. No water seeped around the edges. Animal trumpets, roars, and squawks echoed in the cavernous ark. But not loud enough to hide the groaning timbers.
“Father!”
“We’re going to die!”
“We did all this to perish? God, save us!”
Noah grabbed Ham as the boat rolled back the other way. “No! We will not depart life in this flood.” He stepped back. “Stand still and see the Lord’s salvation! He told me a hundred years ago to build this ark for this very day. For this time. We will not die, but ride above the troubled waters safe and dry with all His creatures great and small.”
The ark stopped its lurch, paused, then reversed itself. But that time without the force of the first. “Father, what happened? All this because the rain started?”
I EVEN I OPENED THE FOUNTAINS OF THE DEEP
Noah fell to his knees then pressed his forehead to the second story’s plank floor and worshiped. A peace settled over his heart. He and his were safe, but the whole world was going to drown. Every other soul would perish. He hated the realization, hated that God had repented Himself from making man.
What would be left of the valley after forty days of rain? He pushed himself up. The fullness of time would reveal that. Right then, he had a boat load of animals to tend.
He faced his sons. “See to your wives, then we must feed and water the Lord’s creatures He has entrusted to us.”
With each step up the stairs leading to the arc’s third floor, Noah wondered at the marvel the Lord had done. Nine hundred and sixty-nine years ago, He told Father Enoch to name his son when he dies, the deluge comes. And now here Noah was—on the ark God instructed him to build—one week after Grandfather Methuselah passed.
What were the fountain of the deep?
How wondrous are Your ways, Lord?
Would he ever understand the mystery of Adam’s God?
Once inside his quarters, he blessed his sons and their wives as they took their leave. He’d spotted the sadness in Hattimas’ eyes, but waited until he closed their door. He held out his arms, and she hurried into his embrace. “Bless the Lord, wife. The ark held.”
“Yes, I never doubted that it wouldn’t. You do all things well, husband.” She laid her face on his shoulder. A sob escaped, then she wept bitterly. “Oh, Noah…it’s gone…all of it…our – a”
“Our what?”
She sniffed then leaned back. “Our home.”
“Gone? What are you talking about? Gone where?”
She pushed herself away, grabbed his hand, and drug him to the window then faced him. “I saw it with my own eyes. Water poured out of all the windows and doors, then it just…exploded. That wave that slammed the ark and rocked it so bad—it tore our home to pieces before it hit us.”
He heard her words, but they made no sense. Stepping to the window, he lifted the latch and opened it a crack. Waters fell from the skies in slanted sheets. The wind howled. But he could still make out where the house Adam had started so long ago should have been. Only a few splintered tree trunks remained. No orchard. No garden. No home to return to.
“Oh, Lord.” As he stared hardly believing what he saw with his own eyes, the boat lurched to the right. A gust of wind brought the rain in. He closed the window and turned. “Bless God. His mercy endures forever.”
Hattimas glared. “How can we…what are we going to do without our home?”
With both arms flung out to his sides, he walked toward her. “This.” He turned half circles in both directions. “Is our home. The Almighty provided for us.” He leaned in close putting his lips softly on hers. She hesitated then kissed and embraced him. He smiled. “We will endure, wife.”
She closed her eyes, shook her head, then filled her lungs. “Yes, I suppose we will, but I’ll miss the home of my birth, and yours and my sons. I want it back.” She walked away from him then whirled. “Did you know? I never dreamed it would be like this.”
“How could I, my love?”
Her hands went to her hips, and she gave him the look.
“No, dear. Abba did not tell me any specifics that I withheld. I knew nothing of this except what we’ve all known for years. When Grandfather Methuselah passed, then the deluge comes.” The ark rolled a bit. He stuck out his hand and steadied his wife. “Forty days and forty nights, then the rain will stop. We’ll live here in the ark while we rebuild.”
“In Adam’s Valley?”
“Of course. We can use some of the same rocks, and the quarry will still be there. We’ll replant the orchard. We are not that old, and we have our sons. Ten—fifteen years at most, and everything will be the same.”
Hattimas wanted to believe him, but how could it? There’d be so much to do. How could he spend any time working on rebuilding the house? Probably more like a hundred years. That’s what it took him to build the ark. She wanted to cry some more until all her tears were spent. Or slap him.
Or maybe go bed and sleep. Refuse to get up until it was all over. But she couldn’t do any of that. Her husband needed to see to the animals, and she needed to kindle a fire, get to cooking. At least she had her stove. Praise the Lord Noah had coaxed her to bring it. Some things could remain the same.
Her sons and daughters would all put their feet under her table that even, and if the ark would only quit it’s rocking long enough, she would serve supper. That would remain, her family would eat together. It could be worse. She never cared much for swimming. She moved to him, kissed him again, then pushed him toward his closet.
“Put on some dry clothes and go feed all your new pets. I must get to cooking.”
He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but instead, changed his tunic and marched out.
That evening while her children gathered around the very table Father Adam had built over sixteen hundred years ago, her husband took his place at the head. They all appeared used up and as though they wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed; all save Ham’s wife. Myelin wore a bemused expression that belied the grimness of the day.
But of the three daughters, Father Lamech had brought her from Nod, the youngest had surprised her most.
While her family ate in silence, Hattimas could not resist. “Myelin, what has you tickled on this horrible day?”
The young lady grinned. “Oh, it was Lion. Feeding the big cats fell to me when we drew lots. And oh, Mother! I never dreamed…he’s so loving. His mate is shy, but Lion licked my fingers—his tongue is so rough—then pushed his head against me until I rubbed and scratched him good behind his ears.” She scrunched her shoulders, almost looking like a six-year-old again. “He’s as friendly as an orphan goat kid.”
The young lady’s narrative, reminded Hattimas of the stories of Adam in the garden with the big cat’s ancestor. She still had pieces of the Lion skin robe Abba made the first man the day he fell from grace. That’s what this was. A new beginning, except she would not be Eve. After she’d had Seth, she birthed a baby almost every decade for two centuries.
No, the role of repopulating Earth would fall to the three young ladies sitting at her table. Hattimas studied each in turn then stopped at Jemri, Shem’s wife. The young lady caught her staring and offered a weak smile.
“What lot did you draw, daughter?”
Jemri shrugged. “Shem and I have the whole first floor. Fewer beasts, but the size of some of them.” The beautiful girl grinned bigger. “I never dreamed an elephant was so big, or a giraffe so tall. And they eat…” She closed her eyes and cringed.
“What dear?”
Shaking her head, she widened her eyes. “Oh, I was just thinking about the dung they’ll produce.” She looked to Noah. “The way you laid out the ark, Father, is exceptional. The water system alone is fantastic. I never r
ealized until today how it was going to work.”
“Praise be to the Lord. He’s the One who showed me the vision. And yes indeed, I, too, have marveled at its design on numerous occasions.”
Nodding, Jemri agreed. The last fifteen years had all been so amazing. From the day the giant visited her grandmother’s tent until this, the Lord’s hand had been so apparent on her life. Perhaps even before if she thought about it. From Shem, who traded away his choice for Japheth’s birthright, again confirming to her she was the true firstborn.
After a bit of talk regarding the next morning’s duties, and an after-supper cup of wine, her husband stood and nodded toward the dining room’s door. “Are you ready, dear? You must be tired.”
“Weary I surely am, but so very blessed, too.” She extended her hand, and he pulled her up, keeping her hand in his. Her husband pulled gently on her hand. He led her to the end of the hall.
Not letting go of her hand until he reached the rooms he’d prepared for her. A wave of respect for him washed over her. He’d taken such care and thought of so many sweet details. The storm’s roar never abated from its start, but after the ark had obviously been lifted onto the waters, the rolling had lessened, and though it surely pitched, not as violently as in the beginning.
She slipped into her sleeping gown, and Shem unwound her braids and brushed her hair. “Did you have any idea it was going to be like this?”
“No, the water’s fury and strength surprised me the most.”
“I know. Why I thought it would be gentle is a mystery, but I’ve ridden in a boat before on the lake near my home with my father and uncles. Skimming over the shimmering surface…not frightening at all. I quite enjoyed it.”