Sitting on the Porch, Visiting with Lynn Donovan: Emerald Barnes

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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Featuring Entertaining Angels by Emerald Barnes

Young Adult Author, Emerald Barnes, is releasing her latest novel, Entertaining Angels, today. It's a Young Adult Christian romance that faces the issues of self-esteem and weight in teens. It's a story that will hopefully grab the attention of girls - and boys alike - and help them understand that no matter what they are beautiful.

About Entertaining Angels

"I've read many books that tackle the issue of spiritual warfare, but I especially loved this one. Mads was alive and real and jumped off the page! Her character is so strong, she needed strong characters to balance her, and Barnes certainly provided that in the characters of Chase and Zach." - Author Precarious Yates

"This story is beautiful and so profound." - Author Sylvia Stein

"I would recommend Entertaining Angels as a graceful stepping stone to self-acceptance and self-love." - Author Christine Cunningham

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Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school. He’s smoking hot and totally out of her league. She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once. But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won’t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

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A Word from the Author

Entertaining Angels is near and dear to my heart. Essentially, it's my story. I have struggled with my weight issues for many years, and I remember clearly the very first day I fell victim to the word fat

I am more than that label. I am a Child of God, and He wanted me to see that. Making a long story short here, I have began to realize that although I am overweight, it's not who I am. I am so much more, and He wanted me to share that story with everyone else, especially young adults and woman who need to be reminded just how beautiful they are.

If you do buy Entertaining Angels, I hope that it shows you just how beautiful, or handsome if you're a guy, you are.

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Giveaway Time!

Enter to win this autographed (by Emerald) tote bag with the Bible Verse Psalm 91:11 on it, and this notebook that says "God Makes Beautiful Things." (US Only please. If you're international, Emerald will send you an e-book and choose another winner.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Where can you purchase Entertaining Angels?

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Entertaining Angels, Cover Reveal by Emerald Barnes

I am super thrilled to show you the beautiful cover for Emerald Barnes's newest and upcoming novel, Entertaining Angels. Again, my cover artist was Natasha Brown, and she is super talented. She brought my disjointed vision to life, and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank her properly.

I can't wait to publish it, which I'm hoping will be in May. That's what I'm estimating anyway. But, I couldn't wait any longer to show you my beautiful cover!

I asked Emerald to give me a Guest Post and boy did she write me a guest post. I LOVE God stories! Here's Emerald's:

What happens when God tells you to write a story? You write it.

I spent some time in prayer over my story, Entertaining Angels because I had no idea where to take my story. I knew that I wanted it to be a sweet little romance for young adults to read so they could have clean fiction to read. (I think it’s important to have clean fiction for young adults.) My story wasn’t exactly what I wanted it to be. There was something missing, and I knew that. I sought God.

He planted the idea in my mind about Entertaining Angels. He told me He wanted me to write a novel that would help young girls. I wasn’t sure that I could do that. You know how we are as humans, we doubt. Here I am, doubting what God has told me. I kept thinking, My gosh, what are people going to think about this? What are they going to think?

Well, my hopes are that they’ll think about themselves a little differently. Entertaining Angels focuses on Madison Andrews; she’s sixteen and overweight. Basically, she’s me in high school minus the devastatingly hot new guy and nerdy best friend. Well, I did have a nerdy best friend, but things were a bit different between us.

What I’m saying is that the thoughts and feelings that Madison feels, I felt. This made it one intense and emotional ride for me as I wrote it. I had to face how I felt about myself, but also, I had to face how I was looking at myself versus how God was looking at me.

He’s told me before that I’m beautiful, but I didn’t let that sink in. I didn’t let His words truly sink in. So it was far past time that I started listening to Him, and it was my job to pass God’s words along. He wants His children to know how much He loves them. He sends people to us just to show us how much He cares. He sent His only Son to die for our sins, so that should tell us how much He does love us. Yet, we don’t always listen. We push Him aside, and we focus on us and our emotions. We should be focusing on God and how much He loves us. You’re His Sons and Daughters. He loves you, and He wants us to love ourselves. If we can’t face ourselves, how can we help His kingdom? We can’t.

Today, I hope that you look in the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful you are and also how lucky you are to have God as your Father. He wants you to know He loves you. Let’s start believing Him.

About Entertaining Angels:

Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

Are you a book reviewer? If so, please sign up for an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of my novel here.

About Emerald:

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.

She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages! She's constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with. She blogs which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much! She's also a volunteer at the World Literary Cafe which is amazing, and she is a crazy grammar nazi who proofreads novels!

She's an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn't imagine spending her time in any other way!

She's a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number One in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

Connect with Emerald: Website Blog Inspiration Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads Google +

Amazon Author Page Piercing Through the Darkness Read Me Dead

Where am I touring?

March 17:

The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something year Old Girl

Andrea Buginsky, Author

Tammy's Tea Time

Rachelle's Window -- Guest Post

The Writing Realm -- Interview

March 18:

ssteinwriting -- Interview

Fran's Stuff

Sitting On The Porch With Lynn -- Guest Post

Angel Breath Books -- Guest post

The Serious Reader

March 19:

Totally unrelated to this tour is my interview with Angie Brashear.

Sheila Deeth -- Guest post

The Wonderings of One Person

J.L. Mbewe

Ever On Word -- Guest Post

March 20:

Community Bookstop

Fictional Reality

A.R. Silverberry -- Guest Post

Bonnie Blythe's Pure Romance

March 21:

The Readers Realm

Blue Brown Books

Beck Valley Books

Belindawitzenhausen.com, Igniteyourcreativity.net & WriterzBlox.net

Nike Chillemi ~ Crime Fictionista -- Guest Post

Friday, July 19, 2013

An Interview with Author Emerald Barnes

Emerald Barnes is my guest today. She is the author of two amazing books. Read Me Dead and Piercing Through the Darkness. Below you will have an opportunity to win a fun give away pack, so be sure to read all the way down!!!

With out further ado...

Emerald, Welcome!

I think Christian Fiction writers always have an amazing God moment or two when they write their stories. Did you have one? What was it?

I agree. And yes, I did. While I was writing Read Me Dead, I totally freaked out. I began doubting myself and my work. Honestly, I spent a lot of time in tears. And then one day, I kind of had a revelation. God wouldn’t have put me on this path if He didn’t have plans for me. After that, I stayed in prayer and persevered through it.

Why did you choose to write Read Me Dead in first person, present tense point of view?

Well, I had originally written it in third person, past tense. It wasn’t working because I felt like I had too many points of view, and I needed to strongly dismiss those. I wanted it to be more mysterious, especially since I didn’t want people figuring out who the killer was too early in the book. So, I took all of that out and wrote it in first person. It worked better to me, and I felt like that was what the reader needed to see. I wanted people to understand why Alex was the way she was. As far as present tense, I thought it would help with the suspense. If the reader feels like s/he’s right there, reading it in present tense, I thought it would help the tension. The decision wasn’t taken lightly. I can promise you that.

Are any of your characters based on a real person? Can you tell us who?

They aren’t. I don’t really draw from real-life inspiration. Unless you count me writing my guys as someone I wish was real. ;)

Your dialog was spot-on for the age of your characters. How did you do that?

Thank you. I read a lot of young adult fiction, and that helped. But, I have friends who are teens and talking to them really helped out. It’s easier to keep up with what the kids say these days when you’re texting or talking to them all the time. J

What inspired you to write this story? It seems like something that could have really happened.

Read Me Dead was inspired by a dream that I had. All I dreamed about at the time was a young girl being chased by a killer because of something that she’d said. I had written this story a few times before my finished product, focusing on a robbery gone wrong, but it just never worked out. Until, I had a new idea. Alex saw the murder of her parents, and she had this terrible secret about who the killer is. I tried to keep it as realistic as possible. I didn’t want it to seem like it couldn’t really happen. It just didn’t seem right to me to write it that way.

What are your hobbies, other interests besides writing?

I’m a huge fan of TV. I love watching it and movies. I read, which is probably obvious. ;) And, I like to crochet, believe it or not. I’m not a very creative person (outside of writing that is), but this is one thing that I like to do. It keeps me focused on that instead of my mind racing with editing ideas or new stories. Sometimes, I need that break.

Can you tell us something interesting about you that most people do not know?

It may not be interesting, but I sing. I used to sing in church all of the time, but I quit that when we changed churches. However, now, I believe God is calling me back to singing. So, I’ll probably be picking that back up soon-ish.

Thanks for hosting me, Lynn! It’s been a pleasure being on your blog! J

My Pleasure! I enjoyed having you here today and I can't wait to hear back from you when you do start singing in church again. I sign with singers. Because my sister is deaf and I can't carry a tune. So I love it when people use their God-given talents to bless the church with their voice! You and I have a lot in common. I love TV and movies too and I crochet! HA!!! How about that?

I love it that this story, Read Me Dead, started with a dream. I believe dreams are how God contacts us sometimes.

Check out Emerald's other book: Piercing Through The Darkness. It is excellent. I have read both and recommend them to any body who loves a good story.

Here's a little peek into Read Me Dead and Piercing Through The Darkness. And how to buy them online.

Alexia Wheaton’s problems go far beyond picking a dress and a date for the homecoming dance.

For seven years, Alex has lived with a painful memory - the memory of her parents' horrific murder. As the sole witness, she has kept quiet about the identity of the murderer to protect herself and her family and friends, but when a journalist over hears her secret and writes about it in the local newspaper, Alex is plagued with fear that her parents' murderer will soon find her - and silence her forever.

Alex is catapulted into a race against time to save her own life and bring her parents' murderer to justice. She will face many secrets, lies, and betrayals before the truth about their murder is revealed.

"Read Me Dead" by Emerald Barnes on Ganxy

It’s on the edge of her memory like a word on the tip of her tongue, but Kandi can’t remember what it is to save her life.

Despite being a cop, Jimmy can’t protect Kandi from the one thing that haunts her. She’s in danger and doesn’t even know it. After it happened, her brain repressed her memories of the accident, and now, she’s taking a Biology class under a man who wants to see her dead. The memories have started coming back, and it feels like she’s miles away from him. How can he protect her when she doesn’t even know she needs protecting?

Can these characters pierce their way through the darkness?

"Piercing Through the Darkness" by Emerald Barnes on Ganxy

Enter to win this Summer Fun Prize Pack!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Emerald Barnes:

Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it.

and ebarnes23.wordpress.com which takes up more of her time than she anticipates but loves it so very much! She's also a volunteer at the World Literary Cafe which is so amazing!

She's an auntie to two beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews (and another unknown gender coming by the end of 2013) who take up the other half of her time, but she couldn't imagine spending her time in any other way!

She's a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number one in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

Stay up to date with her at her Website, Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find her on Goodreads , Google+, and stay up to date with her releases on her Amazon Author Page.