Friday, September 1, 2017

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Seasons of a Life by D.H. Barbara


Click here to purchase your copy.


About the Book


Book title: Seasons of a Life
Author: D.H. Barbara
Release date: May, 2017
Genre: Inspirational fiction, family drama, romance

Time passes with little regard of human perspective. At times painfully slow and often it slips past more swiftly than we’d like. Sammie Young is a testimony to the changing of life’s many seasons. As life deals it’s harsh blows, she stands strong. Now, with two of her five children left at home, change whizzes toward her at the speed of light. Frequently down, but never beaten, Sammie steps out in faith to face the new and exciting seasons awaiting her family.

My Thoughts:

Seasons of a Life was a very straightforward story about a woman, Sammie, who has experienced many ups and downs in her life. She had a tumultuous marriage, but her husband turned his life around only to die shortly after. Now a few years later she is homeschooling her two sons, who are both going to be leaving the nest soon, being a grandmother, and navigating a life she did not think she would be living. Sammie is a mom of five kids and I enjoyed her relationship with them, even the very rocky one she shares with her oldest daughter.

Then Sammie meets another man who offers her a future that she in a million years would never have thought could happen to her. So she sets forth on this rather crazy adventure and has some major surprises thrown her way.

I enjoyed this journey with Sammie. I liked that the author showed that no matter what we have lived through or how old we are there just may be some adventures in our life yet. I also really valued her friends and their relationships and I liked that she and her kids really looked out for each other. It appears that the author has more to write about concerning this family in the future Lakeville Series.

I received a copy of this book for free. I was not required to post a positive review and all the views and opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author


Writing and storytelling began in elementary school, including rewriting song lyrics. Often, I would rewrite them to God, and my favorite to sing was “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” I told elaborate tales to my Barbie and Dawn dolls, stuffed animals and imaginary friends.

My faith is vital to me, and my writing. I write inspirational fiction and fantasy because, frankly, I can’t help myself. I have tried to write without the faith element and it’s next to impossible. I want my story to reflect faith and honest struggles. The plots appear in my mind as if I’m watching a full length feature movie. At times, it’s hard for my fingers to keep up with my brain. I’ve moved from my beloved yellow legal pads and Crystal Bic pens to a keyboard, but the process is the same. I start at the beginning, find a “soundtrack,” and start typing. In the back of my books you’ll find a section titled The Song Behind The Story. Many times, I find a worship or praise song that fits the story perfectly and that becomes the main track I listen to while writing.

If I’m not writing something, I’m reading a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, theology and apologetics, to name a few. My favorite genres are, by far, science fiction and suspense. Some authors I enjoy are, in no particular order, Susan Sleeman, Anne McCaffrey, C.S. Lewis, Max Lucado, John Jakes, Stephen King, Robin Lee Hatcher, Chautona Havig, Frank Peretti, Randy Alcorn, Dr. Richard Mabry, Tess Gerrison, J.K. Rowling, Peter Tremayne, Elis Peters, oh, the list could go on and on and on! I have the immense pleasure of interacting with some of them online via social media.

Currently, I’m working on completing my Lakeville series. Lakeville is a fictional town in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania.


Guest Post from D.H. Barbara


Thank you to Celebrate Lit for featuring the first novel in my Lakeville Series, Seasons of a Life, for this tour. I hope many of you enjoy your introduction to Lakeville.

So many people, when they discover my little writing hobby, ask me how I come up with ideas. I then attempt to explain that ideas are literally exploding out of my brain! That usually causes them to search my face with a rather alarmed or concerned expression. Such is the life of an author!

I had no problems writing Seasons of a Life; the story presented itself to me as though I were watching a movie. I even have a soundtrack. That will stay locked in there as I have no musical talent whatsoever. I did have a song that is the theme of the book, which I write about at the end. In each book I have a page that is titled “The Song Behind the Story.”

There is a lot of “me” in Seasons of a Life. While no character, specifically, is me, one is totally based on a wonderful friend. I was blessed to have a Victoria in my life for many years before we moved to Colorado. With the exception of hair color, Victoria is a tribute to my dear friend Diana. Also, the story of the Young Turkey Sandwich is true to my New Jersey mall rat youth. Yumm-ola!

Be Blessed and Dream Big!
Barb

Blog Stops

August 26: The Power of Words (spotlight)
August 29: Carpe Diem
August 30: Reading Is My SuperPower (interview)
September 1: Pause for Tales
September 2: Simple Harvest Reads (interview)
September 3: Quiet Quilter
September 4: Christian Bookaholic
September 5: Just the Write Escape
September 6: Mary Hake

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, D.H. Barbara is giving away a Lakeville Beach Bundle tote/beach bag containing: 1 copy Seasons of a Life,1 copy of my book Angels Unaware (inspirational fantasy), 1 sun visor, 1 cold drink bottle, and 1 box of drink flavoring packets!! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/bd16

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for hosting my book today and for the kind review! This tour has been fun!
    Blessings,
    Barb

    ReplyDelete