Saturday, November 23, 2013

BLOG HOP: Here's Johnnie ... (and enter to win her ebook!)

Update: Congrats to CHRIS GRANVILLE, winner of Where Treasure Hides!

My writing pals and I have been doing a BLOG HOP to celebrate the release of our stories in Guideposts Books' new collection, A Cup of Christmas Cheer--and TODAY is the last stop! Johnnie's story, Beneath the Christmas Star, appears in vol. 2
of this two-book anthology, and both volumes are sold together (The set is available here.)

And we're giving away prizes!

*To enter this post's drawing for a free e-novel, please leave Johnnie a comment sometime this week. Winner will be announced next Saturday.

To enter the BLOG HOP'S grand prize drawing worth $125, which includes a replica tea set, Amazon gift card, and other goodies, you need to leave a comment at every blog on this list.

Okay, now that the rules are out of the way, I'm so excited to tell you about Johnnie's story! 

Set in 1944, Beneath the Christmas Star, is a beautiful story of longing during one cold Christmas season near the end of World War II: a son longing for word from his soldier father, a wife longing for her husband, and a soldier longing to be home again. Sounds simple, but life in wartime is anything but. As a reader, I loved how quickly I became engrossed in the characters' lives, and the way this story gently showed the grace and wonder of God in the midst of uncertainty. If you love history and a touch of mystery, you'll enjoy Johnnie's story as much as I did!


*This week's prize: Johnnie is giving away her novel (available only as an ebook), Where Treasure Hides (Tyndale House), to one reader. To enter, please leave a comment. Johnnie will come back next Saturday to announce the winner.

Here's a Link to Chapter One of Where Treasure Hides:

 
More about Johnnie: Author Johnnie Alexander Donley writes stories of suspense, intrigue, and romance set in World War II. Her debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest for Historical Fiction in 2011. A history enthusiast, Johnnie has also edited nonfiction manuscripts and textbooks. She is a founding member and current president of the ACFW Central Florida chapter. A longtime Florida resident, Johnnie treasures family memories, classic movies, road trips, stacks of books, and her papillon Rugby.

63 comments:

Unknown said...

It sounds like a great book
God bless you
Chris Granville
granvilleATfrontiernetDOTnet

Have a blessed day

Carrie Fancett Pagels said...

I am so thrilled that these books are flying out of the warehouse! Praying for God's favor for all the authors and for Guideposts!

So nice working with both of you ladies,
Blessings!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Chris. Thanks so much for stopping by and participating in the blog hop. The Guideposts stories are so good!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Carrie, that's such great news. Wow!

Patricia Bradley said...

I love Johnnie's writing and I know Beneath the Christmas Star is a warm and beautiful story. pat at ptbradley dot com

chappydebbie said...

Hey Johnnie, I've never read any of your books, but the covers are awesome. I love blog hops, they always introduce me to new-to-me authors and more books. Congrats on the new release. I look forward to reading your contribution to A Cup of Christmas Cheer.

Julie Carobini said...

Thanks everyone for stopping in. I'm glad the books are warming hearts all over the country! Please stop by the rest of the tour to learn about all the stories and how you may win the grand prize!

Vera Godley said...

I don't read ebooks but my daughter does, so if I win I'll just have her download it. :)

susanlulu said...

Nice to be introduced to another author I was not familiar with. Loving this blog hop for that reason!
susanlulu@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Oh I do believe I have found another must red book!
Love the cover!

Cheryl Baranski
CherylB1987@Hotmail.com

Faithful Acres Books ~ Linda Marie Finn said...

Johnnie's books sounds awesome , I am so happy for all you authors and this has been such a fine blog hop ! Carrie your wonderful as always !
Hugs
Linda Finn
Faithful Acres Books
http://www.faithfulacresbooks.wordpress.com
faithfulacresbooks@gmail.com

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Pat (my treasured critique partner!. So glad you stopped by. It probably won't surprise you to know there's a German POW in the story. :)

Johnnie Alexander said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Johnnie Alexander said...

ChaplainDebbie, you are so right about the covers. Tyndale designed a beautiful one for Where Treasure Hides and Guideposts designed beautifully Christmas ones for the anthologies. Thanks for commenting.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Julie, thanks so much for the lovely way you summarized my story. I love it! So privileged and excited to be on your blog today!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Vera, I was resistant to ebooks for awhile, but now I love my Kindle :) Thanks so much for participating in the blog hop.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Susanlulu, you have such a cute handle. It's great to meet new readers, too. Thanks!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Cheryl. I love your excitement! Thanks so much!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Linda Marie, so glad you stopped by. The blog hop has been such fun. Thanks!

Wilani Wahl said...

I would love to win Johnnie's book. I would also love to win the big giveaway. I hope you will have a very Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas!

wwchildren at gmail dot com

Mary Preston said...

Thank you for the chapter. Just wonderful.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Diana Montgomery said...

These books sound awesome!!!! I want to read these. Glad the book is doing so well.
Blessings
joeym11@frontier.com

Susan P said...

I have loved meeting new authors on this blog hop. Your book sounds interesting! Thank you for hosting. lattebooks at hotmail dot com

Clella said...

I have read Where Treasure HIdes and found it fascinating. Looking forward to reading Johnnie's story in the Anthology. Clella

Lane Hill House said...

Ian and Alison's story on page 11 is in full rainbow color and unable to read it ~ I want to go have a cherry scone with them at a nearby table!
Hope I win!! Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net

apple blossom said...

sounds like some good books mentioned in this post. thanks for telling about them

thanks for the giveaway also

ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

Anonymous said...


Hello to Julie and to Johnnie. Johnnie, I have been watching this book but didn't know it was only in an e-book. I can't do e-books tho, but wanted to let you know it sounds good and I love the cover. Hope you are successful in selling many. Thanks for joining this Blog Hop. Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com

Sonja said...

Hello Julie and Johnnie, Sounds like a great book, especially if sales are good. I wish you lots of success!

Diana Flowers said...

Julie and Johnnie, I just got an early b'day or Christmas present (they're right together) of ACOCC from my dear friend, Carrie! Such lovely stories. Congrats to you all!
The blog hop has been fabulous!

dianalflowers(at)aol(dot)com

bonton said...

Hi, Johnnie, & Julie!

Love Christmas stories, & books about WWII - also! Will definitely buy A Cup of Christmas Cheer, if I don't win a copy - SO many wonderful stories! Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy of Where Treasure Hides, Johnnie!

You have a birthday near Christmas, also - Diana? Mine is Dec. 25th.

bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

Johnnie Alexander said...

Mary, thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for participating.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Diana, thanks for commenting. Glad you stopped by!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Susan, the blog hop has been a lot of fun, and I'm glad to meet you, too. Thanks for stopping by.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Clella! One of my cherished Kindred Hearts! You are so sweet!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Kathleen, thanks for mentioning that about page 11. It's a pdf file so that's really strange. About the scones, a friend of mine made cherry scones for my debut novel celebration, and they were absolutely delicious!

Unknown said...

Thanks for introducing me to Jonnies Book. I really like the subject line. Having someone in the military always presents different personal challenges I am looking forward to see your story unfold
Thank you
mcnuttjem0(at)gmail(dot)com

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Apple Blossom! I think we've met before around the online universe. So glad to see you here. Thanks for participating in the blog hop.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Maxie. Here's some interesting news -- A Dutch publisher is releasing Where Treasure Hides in April. It's fun, but strange, that my first "print" novel will be in a language I can't read. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Sonja, thanks so much. The sales of the anthology seem to be going very well. Yay!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Happy early birthday, Diana! What a great present, whether for a birthday or Christmas. So glad you're enjoying the stories. Thanks!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Bonnie, wishing you a happy early birthday/Merry Christmas, too! WWII is such a fascinating time in history with both courage and cowardice, and moments of heroism in darkest tragedy. Thanks for participating in the hop.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Jackie. My son-in-law was in the Marines so I called him a couple times for insight into how Ian (the male protagonist in Where Treasure Hides) would act in a given situation. Thank you for your family member's service. I appreciate your stopping by. (I like Julie's subject line, too. Cute!)

Lane Hill House said...

Hi Johnnie, Would your friend share her cherry scone recipe? I did go over to amazon and read chapters 1 and 2, so caught up ~ all the more wanting to "turn the page." This is a stretch for me as I am a print reader, not eBook carrier [read chapters on my desktop]. I would like to finish the story! Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net

Anne Payne said...

I'm looking forward to reading so many heartwarming stories in A Cup of Christmas Cheer!
homesteading[at]charter[dot]net

Johnnie Alexander said...

Ah, Kathleen, you are so sweet! A few of my friends did that same "stretch" to reading on their computers. I'll ask about the recipe. They are soooo good!!!!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hello again, Anne! (Just replied to you on my blog.) So glad to see you here, too. Thanks!

DebH said...

i've really enjoyed the blog tour promoting the Christmas Cheer books. Thanks to the authors for sharing and for the others giving reviews. I hope to get my books soon.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Deb, thanks for participating in the tour. I think I can speak for all the authors that we're having fun, too! We appreciate our readers very much. Thanks again.

Debbie Curto said...

I love hearing about these stories. My to be read list is growing lol

Janice said...

I hope I am not to late to be in the running for a copy of Johnnie's book. Sounds like a great read from a dramatic time period.

Blessings for a super Thanksgiving. We may give a turkey award and an owl award for the biggest gobbler and greatest hoot at the table. :-) Since it will just be me with husband and brother I may do a toss up for the awards and see how they land.

Janice jsmithg(at)hotmail(dot)com

susansbooks said...

I am so glad that I came to this blog hop! I enjoyed getting to know Johnnie, a fellow Floridian, and I really enjoyed learning more about the Cup of Christmas Cheer books!

Teresa Mathews said...

OH my goodness I thought for sure I had already dropped in here to tell you both how excited I am about reading these beautiful Christmas Stories! Thank you so much for taking part in this great Blog Hop!!

Sonja said...

Great blog hop with great Christmas titles. Wish I could read every single one. So fun!
Sonja dot nishimoto at gmail dot com

Lane Hill House said...

Thank you, Johnny, and happy Thanksgiving! My mailing is lanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net for your friend. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House

Lane Hill House said...

I'm in trouble ~ Johnn-ie! Kathleen

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Debbie. Thanks for stopping by. I love your yellow-bowed, red-headed "photo"! So cute!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Janice, you aren't too late. We'll do the drawing on Saturday, November 30th. Love your awards! Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving (with lots of gobbling and hooting).

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Susan. Where in Florida? I'm a native Ohioan, but we've lived in the Sunshine State for about twenty-five years. Glad you stopped by.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Teresa. Glad to have you stop in and thanks so much for participating in the blog hop. It's been a lot of fun.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Sonja, I'm with you. So many books, so little time! :) Thanks for participating!

Johnnie Alexander said...

Kathleen, don't worry about it. My names, first and last, get misspelled all the time. I'm used to it! Thanks again for participating in the blog stops.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Hi, Wilani. I've been going through names for the drawing and realized I missed your comment earlier. I'm so sorry! Thanks so much for participating in the drawing and blog hop. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Johnnie Alexander said...

Congrats to Chris Granville whose name was selected via random.org as the winner of an ebook copy of my novel, Where Treasure Hides.

Chris, I'll be sending you a separate email. Congrats again!