All Sam McCall wants for Christmas is a traditional holiday for his five-year-old daughter, Lacey. The last person he expects to find when he moves to a cozy town in Colorado is the woman who broke his heart: Joy Chase. Joy’s hiding a secret under her grandfather’s Santa suit. When Sam learns she’s carrying his baby, he has to win Joy’s heart fast. But can they learn to trust again? Can Santa deliver a Christmas miracle?

Open in Nine Months (Expecting Santa) is a touching, emotional story, a perfect way to put yourself in the holiday.” Judy Christenberry, best selling author

Leanna Wilson (Ellis) has penned a warm romance with good characterization.
RT Book Reviews

Here’s the brand new cover, and the inside is all updated too! It’s available as a Kindle ebook and also in paperback! Merry Christmas, y’all!

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Maybe that’s where my love of cowboys began. Because most of my cousins were many years older than me, I didn’t know them well and simply watched and admired them. My dad also raised me on John Wayne movies. My favorite movie growing up was True Grit. Just the opening song could get my blood pulsing.

As I grew up, I fell in love with country music. One day, I was driving around Dallas, to and from work, listening to Rodeo by Garth Brooks when a character came to me. He was wearing chaps and boots and he had a slight stutter. I immediately fell in love with Kirk and had to write his story, Strong, Silent Cowboy, which became my very first published book.

So began my writing career, which started with writing about cowboys. I love cowboys’ strength, ingenuity, traditions, and love for nature. I love that they are real men, with a bit of swagger, but also a touch of humility. They know God created the land and bow their heads to pray. I’m proud that I know real cowboys, and I’m blessed to have been able to write about them.

Christmas in July was my second published book and a sequel to my first. This book features not only a cowboy but also a cowgirl–a barrel racer. These girls have courage and big hearts. Geena, a young widow, has more than her share but she also has a wall around her heart that the right cowboy is going to have to jump.

Finally, my latest release, For the Love of Cody, is actually a re-release of my 5th book. It garnered the National Readers’ Choice Award when it was published. Since then, it went out of print but I gained the rights back to it and recently brought it out as a Kindle ebook. But now, it’s also available in paperback! You can click on the titles of my books to find out more about them.

So for a long while, my heroes have always been cowboys. Next year, I’m publishing a brand new cowboy story! Hope you’ll hang around until it’s ready.

So what about you? Do you love cowboys? Country music? Western movies?

Contest: For a copy of the paperback For the Love of Cody. At the end of this week, I’ll draw a name from those who leave a comment below for a winner.

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Then there was the day at school when I was in third grade. Mrs. Hudson was reading Little House on the Prairie, right after lunch. While she read, we were allowed to doodle at our desks. I had this new nifty hair comb. My best friend had bought it for me when she went to Galveston on vacation. It was shaped like a fish, and the combs were like the bones, so they stuck out on both sides. Well, that day it was rainy and my curls had fallen. The travesty! So while I listened to the story, I wrapped my hair around the fish comb, hoping it would curl my hair. Wrong again. How would you like to be in third grade, with half a day left, and a yellow fish comb stuck in your hair?

It wasn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last time I’ve made a fool of myself.

Just in case, you think these two events were flukes, I’ll share about the time in sixth grade when I sprayed red paint in my face. Yep. And no, it was an accident. Thankfully, it did wash off. But it didn’t erase the embarrassment I felt.

Of course there are many different ways to make a fool of yourself. As I read the headlines these days about Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, I wonder if they are embarrassed by their antics. Maybe one day they will be. Even though I’m happy I’ve never been arrested or twerked in public, I am not immune to doing stupid things. I’m thankful, my embarrassing moments weren’t plastered all over the internet or put my life in danger. Hopefully, Miley and Justin will return to their faith, mature and gain wisdom. I hope there are Godly folks in their lives who can speak the truth to them. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to shrug off those foolish moments and keep them safely tucked away. (Believe me, there are many of those moments I’m not about to share on the internet!) Maybe I’ve gotten used to embarrassing myself. Or maybe (and I hope this is the reason) I’ve simply learned that one’s outward appearance isn’t as important as one’s inner beauty.

Is that something some elderly person came up with to make those of us growing older feel better? Maybe. But then again, Peter tells us God’s opinion in his epistle: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (I Peter 3:3-4)

As I am getting of an age that I don’t look the way I used to, I reflect on my grandfather’s words more and more: “Pretty is as pretty does.” I truly believe my grandfather was right. I have been blessed to know some amazing women in my life. Not all of them were Angelina Jolie beautiful. But they were beautiful nonetheless. And their inner beauty was something to behold as they served God, loved their families, and cared for others. You see, there are some ways in which the world might perceive us as being foolish but which brings glory to God.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been looked at by friends and family who didn’t understand our decision to homeschool. God led us to that decision for our family. It doesn’t always make sense to the world. But we’re not doing it to please the world.

Shakespeare said, “A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Frankly, the world will never understand Christians and the choices we make for Him. King Solomon said, “Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?” (Proverbs 17:16) The world’s wisdom is not the same as the Lord’s. It is better to risk everything, even making a fool of oneself, for God’s glory than to seek the things of this world.

Unfortunately, I’m still apparently making a fool of myself at least occasionally. In light of the Super Bowl game yesterday (Congrats to the Seahawks!), there is no explanation for this picture of me.

So how have you made a fool of yourself? And how are you letting your inner beauty shine through?

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Hope you’ll check it out!

And in case you’re wondering where I’ve been…well, after I turned in my book last December I decided to take a much needed break. But the holidays weren’t quite as relaxing as I had hoped. The week before Christmas, my uncle died, and the week after my dog Belle died. So my break extended into January…and I’m embarrassed to say February too! I have been writing and working on revisions for FORSAKEN as well as working up a couple of proposals, and I am slowly getting back in the groove. So I hope to be blogging a bit more regularly.

Blessings,

Leanna

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FORSAKEN

Hannah Schmidt, a young Amish woman mourning the mysterious death of her beloved Jacob, now a vampire, must choose between two brothers, between good and evil, between a lasting love and the damnation of her soul.

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/154606011

If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry. There are applications for FREE to help you download on your PC, iPad, Mac, iPhone. Check these out:

Kindle free application for your Windows PC:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311&tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=6386153591&ref=pd_sl_c0q9u5y7v_b

Kindle free application for your Mac:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_mac_mkt_lnd?docId=1000464931

Kindle free app for your iPad:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000490441&tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=5505446007&ref=pd_sl_88rlub1lit_b

Kindle free app for your iPhone:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_iphone_mkt_lnd?docId=1000301301

So with a few clicks, you can easily download Elvis Takes a Back Seat for free! But you have to hurry! It’s only available for free until Oct. 1st.

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Susan Choy Lee aka The Reading Mom
www.readingmom.net (under construction)
join her e-newsletter by emailing thereadingmom@gmail.com

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http://vimeo.com/10460467

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