Is Your Dream Vacation…Ireland?

If you could visit anywhere, where would you go?

Have you ever thought about that question?

For years, our answer has always been: IRELAND!

I wanted to see a castle. (How about you?) 

My husband wanted to see a game of Gaelic Football. (More to that story on a later post.)

We “planned” on going to Ireland for our 10^th wedding anniversary. However, just like so many others’ dream vacation, on the eve of our 10^th anniversary, we did the very adult thing with our saved money and bought a house instead.

(Has your dream vacation ever gotten put on hold?)

A few years later, (Yes, I’m older than I look.) we were talking with our friends about Ireland…and we half-jokingly decided we would all go together. 

How the four of us could all celebrate our 15^th year of wedding anniversaries. 

(We all got married in the same year. :) )

 
















But because we were so excited about the idea, and a few other reasons, the hopeful daydreaming moved to actually planning…and we all ended up going to Ireland last May.

Some of my favorite places weren't the "typical" tourist attractions, 

like this off the path waterfall find.

And yes, it was FABULOUS!!! 

Over the next few blogs, I’ll be digging into where we went, what we saw, and despite what a travel guide advised me against—we managed to drive around the entire country in less than 10 days. And LOVED IT.

(Did I mention they drive on the opposite side of the road than us? 

And not all roads are big enough for passing cars…

Seriously, some were barely large enough for our small rental. 

But some of those nerve-racking “paths” led us to the best scenery!)

Stay tuned for more pictures. (I came home with TONS of photos. It’s so beautiful over there.) And maybe, you can learn how you can plan your own dream 10-day Ireland vacation without a guide too. (Or if someone wants to hire us as guides…we’d love to go back. 😊)

 Have any questions about Ireland, please let me know so I can share our adventure!

Where would your dream vacation be? Maybe we'll go there next. ;) 

With love and prayers,

Megan Besing

Author of The Mail-Order Brides Collection

https://www.meganbesing.com/

Real Life: Death and Taxes

“Two things in life are certain,”

Benjamin Franklin noted, “death and taxes.”

Unfortunately, lately, in my neck of the woods,

Mr. Franklin’s words have rung quite true.

We laid one of my husband’s uncles unexpectedly to rest last week, and with the passing of my grandmother on Monday, the sting of death seemed only to fester.

Two funerals in two weeks…I’m hoping week three brings a different kind of rest. Yet, with the news about my other grandparent’s health issues escalating…well, no matter the day, a love one’s death rarely feels like it comes at the right time.

Does it?

However, one day,

death will hold no more claim.

No more victory.

No more sting.

Death and taxes may be certain,

but we can also count on

God’s promises.

And He’s promised to return.

Is anyone else ready for that day?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!—1 Corinthians 15:56-57 

Please let me know what good things are going on in your life as we draw nearer to tax day. :) 

with love and prayers,

Megan Besing

www.meganbesing.com

Author of: 

Amazon

You're invited!

We're having a Facebook Party Celebration March 3rd starting at 10 AM CST.

There will be games, trivia, and prizes. Come and get to know the 9 authors of The Mail-Order Brides Collection. Can't make it during the event, that's okay. Comments will remain open for a chance at the prizes until 5pm.

 Come join us over on
FACEBOOK.


Hope to see you soon!
https://www.facebook.com/events/212943589268516/permalink/216437075585834/
with love and prayers,
Megan Besing

Guest Post: Author Kathleen Y’Barbo

Making Mistakes: Takeaway from The Mail Order Mistake By Kathleen Y’Barbo

  Have you heard the joke about the guy who thought he made a mistake?

Well, turns out he was wrong.

            We laugh at that joke, but the truth of it is sobering. We’ve all made mistakes, whether we acknowledge that fact or not. Maybe you put your trust in the wrong person.  Or perhaps you made a choice that you were certain would fix all your problems only to have the situation end in disaster.  

            What then? Do you wonder where God was and how He allowed that to happen? To those of us who believe He controls everything, such a mistake can cause us to ask hard questions of Him.

            When May Conrad moved in with her kindly neighbor after fire destroyed her home, she certainly didn’t expect to be throw into the center of a Pinkerton investigation and be considered a prime suspect in a string of mail fraud crimes involving mail order brides. After all, she felt God was taking care of her. But was He? May certainly doesn’t think so when an infuriating Pinkerton detective insists her next choice is between helping him capture that kindly neighbor or be tossed into jail.

            Can you think of a time when you were forced into a situation where none of the options were good? Maybe you had an idea of what your life was going to be like, and then God came in and did something totally different.  Something unexpected. Something uncomfortable. I know I’ve been there. And while you’re in the middle of that something unexpected and uncomfortable, you might be wondering where God is and why He’s allowing this to happen. You may even wonder if God has turned away and forgotten about you.

            Good news! He hasn’t forgotten. In fact, He is absolutely and certainly using this unexpected and uncomfortable thing. What’s He using it for? Sometimes looking back that answer is obvious. Other times there may never be an answer this side of heaven as to why He has allowed something into your life.  

            Through it all, there is one thing that never changes and is always true: God never makes mistakes. He’s never wrong. And he never leaves you when you do. If you get nothing else from The Mail Order Mistake, please do not miss that.

            I know May didn’t. I hope you won’t.

Amazon

 The Mail-Order Mistake by Kathleen Y’Barbo

1855, Texas
Pinkerton detective Jeremiah Bingham is investigating a mail-order bride scam bankrupting potential grooms. When unsuspecting orphan May Conrad answers his false ad, she becomes the prime suspect in the case.

Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee with than

ninety novels, novellas, and nonfiction books to her credit, and over two million copies of these books in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she is the winner of the Inspirational Romance of the Year by Romantic Times magazine and a number of Reader’s Choice awards as well as a nominee for an RT Career Achievement Award. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Novelists Inc. Kathleen loves interacting with her fans and with book clubs. To connect with her through social media or send her an email, check out the links on her website at www.kathleenybarbo.com.  And don’t miss signing up for her newsletter so you’ll be the first to know about new books. She’s got five coming out in 2017!

Thanks for the reminder, Kathleen, that God doesn't make mistakes. :)

with love and prayers,

Megan Besing

Guest Post: Noelle Marchand

Imagine the sound of a single cello playing a melody—deep, rich, vibrant. Now, imagine two violins and a viola joining in. Suddenly, what was once simple becomes complex with each instrument bringing out a new quality in the others. This is exactly what secondary characters do for main characters.  I always try to create well-rounded characters to interact with hero and heroine.

However, in writing The Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride, I gained a better understanding of the importance of secondary characters within a novel. Never before had I tasked these characters with so much responsibility. With a huge portion of the story taking place in an outlaw gang’s secluded hideout, the six outlaws who lived there needed to provide external conflict, help set the tone of the story, and make the time period seem believable.

It was also paramount, due to the short nature of a novella, that these characters be immediately distinct from each other. I ensured this by researching accounts of real outlaws who lived during the old west. Inspired, my imagination went into overdrive. I created six characters complete with a list of their past crimes, endowed with a weapon of choice, unique character traits, motives for mayhem, and outlaw monikers.

Amazon

Meet all six members of the Renegade gang in The Outlaw’s Inconvenient Bride.

After a gang of outlaws uses a mail-order bride advertisement to trick an innocent woman into servitude, an undercover lawman must claim the bride—even if it puts his mission in jeopardy. 

Noelle Marchand is an award-winning author and a proud Texas-native. She enjoys spending time with family, dancing, and going on daytrips.

Thanks for stopping by, Noelle.

with love and prayers,

 Megan Besing

Guest Post: Liz Tolsma

My story, A Fairy-Tale Bride, is set just after the Civil War in the make-believe town of Cuento, Texas. Nora, the main character, is a Southern war widow who has lost her husband, her home, and her land. She is impoverished and has no means to support herself. The only respectable option she has is to become a mail-order bride.

Amazon

As I researched the story I wanted to write for this collection, I found it was very common for war widows, especially those from the South, to enter into such marriages of convenience. Most of them had lost everything during the conflict. Some of the surviving Confederate soldiers left the Southeast to begin new lives in the cotton fields of Texas. This air of familiarity helped with their transition back into civilian life.

The Texas cotton industry boomed around this time. With their former homes and crops razed and slaves gone, many men turned to Texas as a place to start fresh. The land was fertile, crops were good, and they were able to tap into the now-freed slaves as a work force familiar with growing cotton. Texas quickly became one of the leading producers of cotton in the nation. With the new plantation owners thriving, it was natural for the Southern war widows to go to Texas to enter into new marriages and to start new families.

While I considered not having the sharecroppers appear in the story because of the oftentimes unsavory aspects of the institution, in the end, I decided to show them because sharecropping was a way of life in the South after the war. The hero and his friend would not have been able to sustain their large plantations without this means of getting workers. Neither of the characters is unkind to the sharecroppers, and I don’t dwell on it because the characters wouldn’t have. It was part of daily life.

As I researched this book, I learned so much about what life was like for some Southerners following the Civil War. When you read it, I hope you learn a little something too.  

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

What do you like best about Historical books?

with love and prayers,

Megan Besing

Guest Post: Author Jennifer Uhlarik

Hi all! Jennifer Uhlarik here. I’m so excited to share with you the story behind the story on The Brigand and The Bride, my selection from The Mail-Order Brides Collection. So…where did the idea for this story come from? As I pondered the idea of a mail-order bride story, I knew it needed to be different than a previous mail-order bride story I’d done (Wedded to Honor from The Convenient Bride Collection). I began thinking of different scenarios and quickly struck on the idea of a woman marrying a stranger to escape her outlaw family. Probably not the most original of ideas—but then, every story’s been told a million times already. It’s the fun twists you add that makes a story unique. So as I pondered the heroine that was taking shape in my mind, I saw a scene begin to unfold.

The heroine hurries through town, anxious about being caught by her brother. Rather than heading straight to the church, she stops in the seamstress’ shop to pick up a suit for her mail-order groom—something they’d pre-arranged through their letters. Suit in hand, she goes to the church, lays out the clothes and grooming supplies for him, then waits in the sanctuary. A bit later, the hero rushes in, shaves and cuts his hair, dons the suit, and steps out of the room, where the pastor’s wife shoves him down the aisle, scolding him for his lateness.

The scene played so vividly in my mind’s eye that I knew I had to write it and find out how the rest turned out. From the couple’s first awkward face-to-face meeting to the “quickie” wedding that ensues, I was giggling and grinning ear-to-ear. I sure hope you’ll read The Brigand and The Bride to find out why!

The Brigand and the Bride by Jennifer Uhlarik
1876, Arizona 
Jolie Hilliard weds a stranger to flee her outlaw family but discovers her groom is an escaped prisoner. Will she ever find happiness on the right side of the law?

Purchase from your local bookseller or online at:

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Christian Book Distributors: 

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won and finaled in numerous writing competitions. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.

What about you? What would be going through your mind

on your mail-order wedding day?

with love and prayers,

Megan Besing