You can be a winner!

In almost every Book Blast I give away one free book, usually by another Christian author. For the next twelve months, everyone can get a free book everymonth. Scroll down to find out more.

As missionaries, my husband Art and I are currently traveling in the USA, visiting our supporting churches. On May 9 our plans take us back to New Zealand where we minister in Invercargill, New Zealand, home to the Southernmost Starbucks in the world. Usually we try to be “all there” wherever our bodies are. But this furlough is different.

If all goes to plan, our return to Invercargill will begin a time of transition. The church will end its time of having a missionary pastor and wife supported by other churches and will begin to support its first local pastor and wife. We plan an overlap of time where both of us couples will be actively involved and anticipate this phase of ministry will last about six months. Then we’ll return to the States to begin our steps toward retirement from our career missions ministry. This transition is a big step of faith for Art and I, as well as for the couple we hope will replace us and our church.

With all these changes in the air, this six-month furlough has felt like a whirlwind. Our minds constantly shift back and forth between three worlds. One world takes us to our supporting churches where we try to be in the moment, focusing on friends and supporters we’ve known for years. At the same time, we stay in contact remotely with the couple in New Zealand who will replace us, working out details of the transition. Another part of us gathers information for our retirement. In less than a year we could be living in Iowa, in a different house, with different furniture, attending a different church, and finding different doctors and dentists and health care plan in a different country. We already know retirement will demand many big changes in our lives.

All of this would seem impossibly daunting were it not for the fact that we trust God to direct our paths. He has been faithful throughout our 45 years of ministry so we don’t expect him to abandon us as we leave our ministry and enter retirement.

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us this precious promise: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)

In what way are you finding God faithful today?

You probably understand “faith-focused” fiction is Christian fiction. And you know some of the common genres of Christian fiction: romance, suspense, historical, fantasy. Those are obvious.

But what is women’s fiction?

Is it just for women? Do the author and the main protagonist have to be female?  The answer to both questions is no. In the next year, I’m partnering with ten other writers of women’s fiction and one of the authors, T.K. Chapin, is a man.

Be warned! If you’re like me, you might enjoy women’s Christian fiction even more than some of those other genres. Personally, I like a bit of romance in a book, but would like less raging hormones and formulaic plots than I find in some romances. While watching TV, I fall asleep during car chases but am fascinated by the complex characters on the TV program Monk.

Women’s fiction may have elements of romance, suspense, history, even fantasy. But the main focus of the story is about the character’s emotional journey and her relationships. The protagonist has to overcome internal obstacles or change the way she sees her world to reach her full potential. Women’s fiction focuses more on the character development than heart-pumping action. That distinction allows these books to deal with deeper issues and complex themes and emotions. This genre appeals to me partly because it gives an author greater opportunity to develop some real spiritual depth to her novels.

Today’s Book Blast begins a series of twelve, monthly articles that introduce you to different Christian authors who write women’s fiction. I am one of those authors. Each month you’ll have a chance to read a novel by one of those authors— for free.

What’s the catch?

To get each free book, you’ll have to subscribe to the newsletter of that book’s author. Consider this an opportunity to meet some new authors, maybe even find a new favorite. If, after reading your free book and a few of an author’s newsletters, you really don’t want to read any more, you can always unsubscribe. But we hope you will take the time to find out who an author is before you take that action.

Today I’m pleased to be able to introduce you to Christine Dillon. Though I’ve never met Christine, we have a lot in common.

• I served as a missionary in Taiwan from 1980 to 1996. Christine served as a missionary to Taiwan from 1999-2021.
• I’ve lived in New Zealand from 1998 until now. Christine’s father is from New Zealand. She now lives in Australia. These two countries have very strong ties so I sort of feel like her neighbor. (Or should I say “neighbour?”)
• Christine attended primary school in Malaysia and high school in the Philippines. We have many families in our New Zealand church from the Philippines and other Asian countries.
• We both write women’s Christian fiction.

These similarities are what drove me to read Christine’s book, Grace in Strange Disguise, in 2017.

 Instead of a wedding, Esther is facing radical surgery and chemotherapy. Where is

God when she needs him most?

Esther is a people pleaser. It’s never been a major problem because she’s just gone with

the flow. Her father has always preached, “Follow Jesus and you’ll be blessed.” And up

until age twenty-eight, Esther has never had any reason to doubt it.

Will she appease her father? Or will she listen to the words of a stranger who challenges

everything she believes?

Grace in Strange Disguise is a soul-stirring contemporary Christian novel. Book 1 in the

Grace series.

If you like compelling Christian fiction, relatable characters, and real emotion, then

you’ll love Christine Dillon’s inspiring series.

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvTQef1pIP8

Click here to get your free book.

Christine now has written six books in her Grace Series. After you’ve read one, you might want to read them all.

 My review of Grace in Strange Disguise:

I wrote this review of Grace in Strange Disguise in 2017 when I read her book:

Esther McDonald, a physiotherapist in Australia, gets breast cancer. Her father is the prominent pastor of Victory Church, who believes that God will heal anyone who has enough faith. When she isn’t immediately healed, she becomes an embarrassment to her family, fiancé, and church. What will she do when living out her belief could cause her to seem disloyal to her family?

This book has a strong Christian message with extended sections that deal with the topic, “Does God always heal? What does God promise?” The salvation message is clear. I’m happy to add her book to my list of “distinctively Christian fiction.”

 Get Christine’s free book here:

You could win this ebook! It’s easy!

Since most readers don’t bother to comment or leave a reply, your chances of winning my Book Blast giveaway are much higher that winning most other contests. I’d love to hear from you.

 To enter:

Simply leave a comment in the comment box below or send a comment to this email address: artdebbrammer@gmail.com.

I will choose a winner to receive this ebook at random from all my Book Blast readers who comment on or before  March 6.

Do you ever wonder about the significance of being a member of your family?

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. Most of you know that I am a career missionary. My husband and I have served as church planting missionaries, first in Taiwan and now in New Zealand and also speaking in churches about our work, for almost 45 years. What you may not know is that my father, Pastor Ray Allen, also served as a pastor for 45 years. My dad went to glory in 1990 and my mom followed him in 2002. As I creep closer to retirement I ask myself, “What does it mean to be the daughter of Pastor Ray and Florence Allen?

Right now my husband and I are in the States, traveling to present our work to supporting churches. This has given me a chance to visit some of the churches my dad pastored so many years ago. One Sunday in February we visited a church connected to my dad’s first church in Worthing, South Dakota which he pastored in the 1940’s, before I was born. We met the current pastor, Jerry Miller, and sat down in the second row, a few chairs away from a man named Mick. When the pastor got up behind the pulpit, he revealed something that made tears stream down my face. Eighty years ago, my mom led Nick’s mom to the Lord! Lorraine (his mom) lives in a retirement home in town. She’s 94 and still remembers my parents!

Because Lorraine was saved in the 1940’s Mick grew up in a Christian family. He is one of six members from that church that held the church together until Jerry and Crystal, not knowing there was a church in town, came to start a church. Now the four remaining members of the original church are working with the Millers to revive the church which will be the only remaining church in town. With the Sioux Falls area close by and growing quickly, they know they have great potential for growth.

When my dad became the pastor in the 1940’s, the church had experienced some pastors who didn’t really present the gospel clearly. The pastor before him had preached about salvation, but never really challenged church people to make a salvation decision. Out of a hundred people who attended church when they came, only about four really felt sure they were saved. In that first year of his ministry, 45 people were saved during one set of meetings and 20 were saved in another. My dad saw more visible results for his ministry in that church than any of the churches he pastored. Of course, the credit goes to God who worked in such an amazing way in this town of three hundred. But He used my dad and mom make the path of salvation clear to them.

Does it matter that Ray Allen became the pastor of this church so long ago? To some it may not. Few people in Worthing remember his name. But it was a joy to hear of one lady who became a Christian eighty years ago as a product of my parents’ ministry. As I reflect on their 45 years of ministry, I realize that they influenced hundreds of people over their years of ministry. Not only that, their ministry had a trickle-down effect that outlasted that generation.

My dad wasn’t a well-known preacher but he was a faithful pastor who cared about people. God used him and my mom to make a difference in many lives. That’s such an encouragement to me because it shows me that we influence people a lot more than we know. God uses ordinary people for eternal purposes. 1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us our labor for the Lord is not in vain.

How about you?

What kind of spiritual or character legacy have you inherited from your family? How are you building into the lives of people around you today? Don’t forget to comment in the comment box below or send a comment to this email address: artdebbrammer@gmail.com.

Here’s the winner of my last giveaway:

In my December Book Blast Jan Hall won a copy of If the Creek Don’t Rise by Donna Poole.

You could be the winner of the ebook Breath of Heaven by Deborah Raney.

Remember, all you have to do is simply leave a comment in the comment box below or send a comment to this email address: artdebbrammer@gmail.com.

Here’s my review:

Natalie returns to a remote Columbian village as a married woman to continue the work her missionary father started. She and her husband, David, face marital issues connected to living life in the jungle and befriending native people. Natalie longs for a child and David thinks the jungle isn’t a good place to raise one. Suddenly they are responsible for Lele, a native girl whose parents are gone. Then Natalie falls pregnant and David tries to come to terms with her pregnancy. Soon Natalie’s life is in danger and their faith and their love is tested in ways they never dreamed.

I really enjoyed this book. It gave a realistic look at this kind of ministry and the deprivations and dangers that come with it. David and Natalie respond with maturity and trust in God, even under the circumstances.

You could win this ebook! It’s easy!

 In my September Book Blast Joel Andring won a copy of my book Give It a Go. Joel said, “I rarely enter contests and it’s even rarer that I win.” Since most readers don’t bother to comment or leave a reply, your chances of winning my Book Blast giveaway are much higher that winning most other contests. I’d love to hear from you.

 To enter:

Simply leave a comment in the comment box below or send a comment to this email address: artdebbrammer@gmail.com. You might like to tell me about something special you are doing to celebrate Christmas this year.

This is a special Christmas for my family. My husband and I are beginning a furlough from our ministry in New Zealand by celebrating Christmas in many ways with my two daughters and their family. During the month of December we are driving back and forth between Des Moines, Iowa and Minneapolis, Minnesota so see our grandsons in special programs and participate in a live nativity with our daughter. Our whole family plans to celebrate Christmas together in a mission house in Iowa for around five days. We enjoy simple family traditions: decorating Christmas cookies, cutting out snowflakes, painting nutcracker men, and playing games together. If we get snow at the right time, we’ll do some sledding and build a snowman, something we can rarely do in our home in New Zealand. We’re so thankful for this opportunity to spend the holiday together.

Does buying gifts this Christmas season leave you worried and stressed?

Maybe you’re worried about the $$ you’re spending or finding a gift for the person who has everything?

Here’s an idea that:

• Is inexpensive
• Is easy to wrap
• Doesn’t cost for shipping
• Is available immediately
• Doesn’t clutter your home
• Fits inside a Christmas stocking
• Provides hours of pleasure
• Moves the heart in a way that honors God

What gift could fit all these descriptions? If you guessed “a Christian ebook” you’re absolutely right. My husband and I love to give ebooks for all these reasons. It’s also a great way to support authors.

Don’t know how to do it? It’s easy. To buy a Kindle book to gift to others, this is all you do:

• Sign in to your Amazon account
• Bring the book you want to gift up on your screen
• Click “buy for others” on the far right of your screen
• Fill in the information
• Click “buy now” and you’re done!

Want something to wrap up or slip into a stocking? Here’s a copy of a stocking stuffer printout I use for my book Short Poppies. You can print out this image on letter size paper if you want to gift this book, but you can also change this image by cropping out the cover of Short Poppies and replacing it with another book. Or make your own image that fits on the top of a letter size paper. (Trim the extra paper off after printing.) Copying the cover of a book to use in this way doesn’t violate copyright laws. Just click on the image, right click, and copy image.

Here’s more about author of the book for the free drawing this time:

For many years Donna Poole and I both wrote many articles and stories for Regular Baptist Press which publishes quality Christian curriculum for Sunday School and VBS. This gives me a feeling of kinship with her, even though I only met her in person only once, years ago, in a restroom. Here’s a description of her book.

 If the Creek Don’t Rise by Donna Poole

Welcome to Corners Church, a white frame building on the corner of two dirt roads. A new set of characters joins familiar, beloved ones, but the church is the same loving, comforting place as always, or is it? Pastor J.D. finds more conflict than comfort at Corners Church. He’d hoped to find peace here, but his past with its painful secrets follows him. Not only that, but he has to deal with Cyrus who seems intent on forcing him to leave. J.D. must also untangle his complicated feelings toward Trish Hart. Trish has secrets of her own. She’s a mystery even to those who know her best. J.D. and Trish desperately need peace that eludes them. Others, especially their friends Tim and Edna, try to help them, but it isn’t enough. They need God. God shows His face in many ways in this book: in Tim’s booming laughter, in Edna’s endless supply of spaghetti, in a church that never tires of giving, and in little Charlie Boy’s toothless grin.