8 Great Things I Can’t Help with on the Reading Challenge

WHEW!  After finishing the latest installment of Cassie, I thought I’d take a “short break” and create that list I promised in the Reading Challenge blog post. It took forever.  I should be going home, but I’m determined to do a couple of things first, so I’m working hard over here… on this post.  *rolls eyes at self*

Still, I was surprised at the things that were difficult.  For example, you’d have to fudge to come up with a purple cover of mine!  THAT will be fixed posthaste.  I mean, c’mon.  Purple, people!  We must have the purple!

UPDATE:  I do have a purple cover. DUH!  Argosy Junction!!!!  EEEP!

But once I was done, I discovered that there are technically only eight (and up to twelve) things I can’t help people with.  Like, I’m not a man.  I don’t enter contests, so I can’t win literary awards even if my book is the biggest hit since To Kill a Mockingbird (hint: it isn’t).  I didn’t start writing before most of you were born.  Just sayin’.

So… still.  Eight out of sixty isn’t bad at ALL.  If you only wanted to do one tier, you’d have it made.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

While I have fifty-two books I might be able to help you with,  there are at least…

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8 Great Things I Can’t Help with on the Reading Challenge

Tier 1

Read a book…

1. With a red cover: Discovering Hope or Princess Paisley

2. By an author with the same first name or first initial as you (or as close as you can find): Can’t help you there unless you’re my clone…

3. A color in the title: Tarnished Silver or Out of the Blue Bouquet (it’s a collection, but I’m in it!)

4. A character in the occupation you dreamed of as a child:  Varies… but I have LOTS of occupations

5. By multiple authors: Any of the CrossRoads Collections!  Out of the Blue Bouquet, Yesterday’s Mail, Under the Christmas Star, Betwixt Two Hearts, The Wedding Dress Yes, or When Snowflakes Never Cease.

6. Under 100 pages: Do episodes count?  Lots of The Vintage Wren weeks.  Or what about The Ghastly Therapist?  It’s available in Kindle Unlimited!  Less than 100 pages.

7. Set in a different country: Allerednic, Princess Paisley, Everard, or any of the Annals of Wynnewood.  Technically Deepest Roots of the Heart takes place in Texas and California before they were states and belonged to Mexico!

8. That takes place on or near the ocean:  Sand & Mistletoe, Christmas on Breakers Point, Dual Power of Convenience (later this year), and probably Seaside (also later this year).

9. That you own but haven’t read:  Can’t help you there… but you can buy any of my books, that means you own them, and then you can read them!

10. That takes place during the Civil War: The Trouble with Nancy

11. With a dual/triple timeline: Deepest Roots of the Heart

12. With flowers on the cover: Thirty Days Hath…, Not a Word, Here We Come, Argosy Junction, Princess Paisley, Premeditated Serendipity, Out of the Blue Bouquet,

Tier 2

Read a book…

1. By a debut author: Yeah, that ain’t me. Unless you count releasing a debut sci-fi. Then go for Volition.

2. Chosen because you like the cover:  Surely you like ONE of my covers.  Don’t you?”

3. From the library:  This will take some advance planning, but you can do it.  Just request the book from your library, and once they purchase it, you can then check it out and read it. Hint: some libraries have a policy that if someone requests a book less than 6 months old, they’ll automatically get it.

4. Set in a cold climate: Does a snowstorm work?  Wrong about Mr. Wright would work.  Lots of snow in Highlands, too. If you think that’s cheating, try Alana Terry’s books.  Many take place in Alaska!

5. Recommended by a friend or family member: I’m your friend and I recommend that you read any of mine that sound good!.

6. That won a Christian award: Okay, this one you can’t get from me. I don’t enter contests.  Sorry.

7. Over 300 pages long: Most of my novels fit this criterion. My “noellas” don’t, but the rest almost all do.

8. Any Christian fiction!:  Considering I only have one book that isn’t CF, you’re safe. Just don’t read Moore’s Code.

9. That’s historical fiction:  Okay… Deepest Roots of the Heart, The Trouble with Nancy, Jack, Allerednic, Legends of the Vengeance, and later this fall, Charming Miss Dashwood.

10. Written for teens or YA:  Legends of the Vengeance, Everard, and if her age counts, then the Meddlin’ Madeline books.

11. Published in 2020:  Let’s see… we should have: Byrd’s Eye View, Tempting Tait, Oh, Gracious!, Pointed Suspicion (Agency Files), Charming Miss Dashwood, Seaside, and a few others to choose from.

12. That has a doctor in it: None So Blind, Will Not See, Ties That Blind, The Trouble with Nancy, Prairie, any of the Aggie books, and several of the Past Forward series. The Second Noel, Volition, Manuscript for Murder, A Bird Died, or New Year’s Revolutions.
13. That includes food/baking. Bonus if it has recipes!:  The Aggie Books, Oh, Gracious! (later this year), Tarnished Silver or HearthLand.

14. By a new to you author: Well, if this doesn’t fit me, then ask for recommendations.

Tier 3

Read a book…

1. By a male author: Yeah. Sorry. Can’t help there. I recommend trying Dan Walsh, Steven James, Charles Martin, Michael Phillips, George MacDonald, David Rawlings, James L. Rubart, and so many others.

2. With a pet:  The Second Noel, Past Forward, Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie, Christmas Stalkings, New Year’s Revolutions, The Aggie books, HearthLand, Argosy Junction, Prairie, the Madelines, The Ghosts of New Cheltenham, The Vintage Wren, and Wrong about Mr. Wright.

3. With child(ren) as primary characters: The Aggie books, The Second Noel, Not a Word, Operation Posthaste, The Annals of Wynnewood, The Ghosts of New Cheltenham, A Bird Died, Christmas Embers, Legends of the Vengeance, Speak Now, and Sand & Mistletoe

4. That’s lighthearted: 31 Kisses, 12 Dates of Christmas… quite a few could be.  Some are crazy funny, but are they also lighthearted?  Bentley.  It’s funny, but lighthearted?  I don’t know.

5. From a genre outside your comfort zone: I have a huge variety of genres to choose from. Historical romance, Western romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Sci-fi/Futuristic/Spec-fic, Historical Youth, Youth Fantasy, Dual-timeline, Cozy Mystery, Christian Mystery, Suspense, Romantic Suspense…

6. With a character that has special needs: Does Type1 Diabetes count? The Second Noel.  Does Deafness count?  Sand & Mistletoe. I probably offended people with those, but people define “special needs” so widely.  I’m probably also leaving out someone.  Just can’t remember who.

7. Any book you choose!  Well that’s easy!

8. A book in a series:  Let’s see.  There’s The Aggie Series, Past Forward, The Agency Files, The Hartfield Mysteries, The Independence Island Series, the Journey of Dreams series, The Annals of Wynnewood, series, The Marriages of Conviction series, the HearthLand series, the Crossroads series, Legacy of the Vines series, the Juniper Springs series, the Legends of the Vengeance series, the Sandpiper series (or whatever I end up calling it), the Sight Unseen series, the New Cheltenham Shopkeepers series, the Ballads from the Hearth series, the Heart of Warwickshire series, The Vintage Wren series, the Meddln’ Madeline series, the Not-So-Fairy Tales series, and of course, most of my books fall under the heading of “The Rockland Chronicles” which is an over-arching series.  So, go for it!

9. A book that takes place somewhere you’d like to go. Well… we have the Caribbean, Napa, Texas, California, Ventura, California, the future, Medieval England, London, Warwickshire, Sussex, the Midwest, Jackalopany, and Havilund, the places of dreams, Virginia, South Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming, Italy, Spain, Tahoe, South America, and…

10. A book older than you are:  can’t help most of you there.

11. That involves a bookshop: This will be rectified forthwith.  The closest I can come is the Madeline books. They have lots of her going into the bookstore.  So does Corner Booth.  A bit of Alexa in The Hartfield Mysteries.

12. A book from an award-winning author that didn’t win an award:  Well, I’ve won awards for things that weren’t books, so that makes me an award-winning author who did not win an award for any of my books…

13. With a title more than 6 words long:  Technically Legends of the Vengeance: the First Adventure counts.

14. From a time period you don’t normally read:  I offer the 1200s, 1500s, 1800s, 1900s, 2000s, and 2100s (almost 2200s).

Bonus books:

Read a book…

1. From the 1920’s: Can’t give you this until next year

2. Featuring orphans: The Aggie books, The Trouble with Nancy, Past Forward, Jack, and Will Not See

3. With your favorite color on the cover: Well, that depends on YOUR favorite color. 😀

4. Published the month you were born:  Pretty sure I’ve published in every month out there.

5. That you got on sale: With all the free books I have, SURELY you’ve gotten one “on sale.”

6. With 1st person POV:  That would be… Prairie, Highlands, Volition, and Carol and the Belles. I think that’s it.

7. That won a Christy award in 2018-2019:  Happy hunting for other authors.  I didn’t enter, so it’s kind of hard to win…

8. That features a wedding: Here We Come, Past Forward, HearthLand, Something Borrowed, Someone Blue, Blessing Bentley, Two O’Clock Slump, Dead Letter, Princess Paisley, Everard, Discovering Hope, Jack, and Advent

9. With a purple cover: Argosy Junction!  WOOT!  I didn’t think I had one, but I forgot the new PURPLE cover!  WOOT!

A closer second is… A Bird Died. I will rectify this later this year.  Stay tuned.

10. Published by an independent publisher or self-published:  Don’t read Deepest Roots of the Heart, Christmas on Breakers Point, or Dual Power of Convenience.  Oh, and skip the CrossRoads collections for this one, too.

11. By an author that shares your initials:  Well, if you’re CH or CDH you’re golden. Otherwise, happy hunting!  Ask. We’ll help you!

12. That features a road trip or vacation: Sand & Mistletoe, Ties That Blind (stretching it, but it counts), Volition, Past Forward, Tarnished Silver (if you count mission trips), Manuscript for Murder…

13. That is biblical fiction:  Yeah. Got nothin’.  I’m um… not spiritual enough?

14. About a topic that could be considered controversial:  Blessing Bentley (married because she thinks God wants her to), Justified Means (kidnapping someone for his/her own good?), Not a Word (sexual immorality), Christmas Embers (adultery), Silenced Knight (celebrating Christmas is wrong), Legends of the Vengeance (pirates?), None So Blind (are you married if you don’t remember it?), The Matchmakers of Holly Circle (divorce and remarriage Biblically okay?), Volition (kidnapping people as a population control means?),  Thirty Days Hath… (extreme “Bachelor”), The Annals of Wynnewood (dragons, dwarves, unicorns, “creatures”—no “magic,” though), and Moore’s Code (Santa.)

15. With a one-word title: Volition, Seaside, Highlands, Jack, and Allerednic

16. Includes best friends!: The Aggie Books, The Vintage Wren, Meddlin’ Madeline, and The Annals of Wynnewood

17. With an amateur investigator: The Hartfield Mysteries, The Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries, The Ghosts of New Cheltenham, and Something Borrowed, Someone Blue

18. That you loved as a child:  Um…

19. With a marriage of convenience: Blessing Bentley

20. With a tenacious female character: Blessing Bentley, The Hartfield Mysteries, The Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries, The Agency Files (especially 1 and 5), The Aggie books, Past Forward, and The Vintage Wren

There you have it.

All the bookness.  Happy reading, and let me know if you do decide to read any to fit on any reading challenge–not just this one. 🙂 You can find any of these books right here on the site. Just type in the title up on the top right search bar and it’ll take you right to them.  WOOT!

Okay, I hope everyone knows I’m just being silly and having fun. I certainly would not expect or even want someone to try to do a whole reading challenge JUST with my books.  However, this does show that I can help fill in a gap in almost any category!  😀  That makes me happy.