Hello out there! Checking in to let you know we're still alive and kicking, and still working on the launch for our new website. Hoping to do the photo shoot next week and that'll help the ball roll a little faster. :-) Meanwhile, we wanted to make sure you know about the Bloomfield series that we're a part of!

It's a series of stories set in the town of Bloomfield. It's written by different authors and is being released in different formats. Our books aren't in the line-up yet, but you'll see some of our characters!

1. Waiting for a View by Debby Mayne

2. Take the Trophy and Run by Gail Sattler

3. When Pigs and Parrots Fly by Gail Sattler

4. Last Chance for Justice by Kathi Macias (releasing May 2013)

5. Best Laid Plans by Martha Rogers (releasing July 2013)


Like Bloomfield on Facebook to keep us with news and contests.

...That you can still get Bliss for 2.99 on the Kindle and the Nook?!!!!!

Here's what reviewer Michelle Sutton thought about it:

Bliss was a cute story with a serious funny bone at its core. The heroine was snarky, but in an endearing way. Sort of like a combination of Kristin Billerbeck and Jenny B. Jones. I loved the humor in this story and laughed out loud so many times I lost count. Indie was a great character and very real.

Her mother reminded me of a few of my friends' mothers when I was in high school. She had that whole flower child thing going and since my friends had flaky moms none of them knew much about church or faith either. I found Indie's search for Bliss endearing and her spiritual journey well done. I loved how she saw a difference in her new friends and how she decided that she needed to find her own way to truth and no longer follow her mother's training. That was great. I also loved the whole relationship with Nick. He was a great guy and Indie was lucky to have such an attentive male friend.

I would love to see a second book in this series. The heat was just starting to pick up with Indie and Nick. I want more! I want to see her roommate make a few changes in her perspective and to crave the same faith that Indie found. The characters seemed like real people to me, and the humor in the story was quite addicting. Great read!

So if you haven't read it yet, now's a great time to buy! And...if you did read it and liked it...would you consider posting a review, mentioning it on Facebook or Twitter, or somehow spread the word? You would have our everlasting gratitude! :-)

by Tracy Bowen

Have I ever mentioned that I hate hats?  I suppose I should clarify…I hate hats on me. Because, honestly, I look completely ridiculous.

It's been a long time since I've visited this part of Blogland. If you want to get caught up on some writing-related ramblings, check out The Ponderers' site. If you prefer short bursts of communication (like me), Tracy and I are both on Facebook and Twitter. And, as for the Tracy and Jenness team...well, there's a lot of exciting stuff happening! I'll try to give you some of the scoop in a nutshell.

1. A website is in the works! We're pretty excited about it. It's going to be fun, and is going to be designed by the amazing Jason Walker of Website Ministries fame. We're on his waiting list. Yes, he's my husband, and I still have to get in line. Figures. ;-) The design concept has been discussed, though, and it's going to be great.

2. Yes, we have been writing. Just not on here. :-) One fun project is the Bloomfield series. Nine authors are collaborating to write a series of books, novellas, short stories, ebooks, and more, based on a ficitious small town in Mid-America. Bloomfield has an active garden club, numerous quirky characters, and a lot of romance--must be due to the gorgeous roses blooming everywhere! The first book is written by Gail Sattler and it releases this fall. Think you can guess which characters were our brainchildren? Check it out here.



3. I got a dog. Yes, I know. He's worthy of a blog himself. Maybe sometime we'll interview Watson on here. I'm sure he'll have plenty of juicy stories to tell...although he'll probably chase moths instead.

4. Tracy is graduating!!!!!!!!!!! No picture for that one yet, but she's been working so hard over the last year to earn her college diploma. And soon she'll get to wear that beloved hat and gown and take a stroll down the aisle. So proud of my amazing co-author!

5. Bliss is available for $2.99! Yes, you read that right. Get it on the Kindle (or the Nook, I believe) for only $2.99. And you don't have to even have a Kindle--you can download a free app for the your computer or whatever and read it there! (The print version is also still available online.) Oh, and if you've read it and liked it, would you consider posting a review online and/or recommending it to your friends? We'd love for more people to know about Indie and the rest of the gang!


Until next time,

Jenness

Indie decided to interview Tracy and I over on Ralene Burke's blog. Stop by and see how it went! And thank you, Ralene!

Last week, our publisher emailed us to let us know we finaled...in a contest Tracy and I hadn't even known we entered! Written World Communications submitted Bliss to the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Bliss was a finalist in the humor category (see below), and the awards will be presented in New York! Another book from WWC placed first in the religious category. Congrats to Caron, and to WWC! Click here for a full list of finalists.   

HUMOR/COMEDY

• Buffalo Unbound, by Laura Pedersen (Fulcrum Publishing) (ISBN 978-1555917357)

• Bliss, by Tracy Bowen & Jenness Walker (Written World Communications) (ISBN 978-0982937709)
• Cascade Chaos: Or How Not to Put Your Grizzly in the Statehouse, by William Slusher (Country Messenger Press Publishing Group, LLC) (ISBN 978-0961940751)
• Journey to Virginland: Epistle 1, by Armen Melikian (Two Harbors Press) (ISBN 978-1935097518)
• Laughter: The Drug of Choice, by Nicholas Hoesl (LaughterDoc Publications) (ISBN 978-0615437354)
• Once More Into The Breach: A Personal Account: Reliving the History of the Civil War, by Mark Brian Swart (Outskirts Press) (ISBN 978-1432763862)

I love this time of year. The weather is amazing, and the flowers appear to be more vibrant. Easter, and everything that it represents, is one of my favorite holidays. It just seems as if you can feel hope lingering in the air offering new beginnings.

As of two years ago I have added a new reason to find spring so special. On April 16, 2009, our family experienced a miracle.

That evening we decided to take our kids to a park close by our home. Our eleven-year-old, Caleb, decided he wanted to ride his bike. We were going to be right behind him in our van with so we agreed to let him.

To get to our destination we had to cross a two lane road. Caleb was in front of us so he got there first. I saw a car coming, and assumed that Caleb saw it as well. (If I had a dollar for every time I have told my children to look both ways I would be writing this little story from my vacation home in Europe.)

And then I saw his foot move on the bike pedal.

What happened next is without a doubt the most bizarre moment of my life. I knew exactly what was going to happen, and I also knew that I could do absolutely nothing to stop it. My husband realized as well, and immediately began screaming, “No, no, no,” over and over and over again. It was a blood-curdling sound like nothing I have ever heard from him before or since.

Before our very eyes, the car struck Caleb full on.

His body flew up over the hood of the car and disappeared. The vehicle came to an almost immediate stop. I frantically scanned for Caleb, but could see nothing. My husband was the first to jump out of our van and he began running towards the accident, still screaming that one word desperately. I sat stunned. My brain simply could not process what had just happened.

I finally gathered my wits and yelled at our other children to not move a muscle, then I took off running as well. I was not hysterical. It felt like I was having an out of body experience…as if I was looking down at this horrible event as it happened to someone else. I rounded the back of the car that had hit him, and saw that Caleb was in the grass on the opposite side of the road. He was trying to push himself up on one elbow.

My first thought was, “He’s moving! He’s alive!”

My second thought was, “He should not be moving! We don’t know what is going on inside of his body!”

I screamed at him, “Don’t move! Please, don’t move!”

Though I have no memory of grabbing it, I looked down and saw that my cell phone was in my hands. Immediately, I called 911. It rang, and rang, and rang some more. I was frantically talking into the mouthpiece, “Pick up! Pick up!”

Finally, a lady answered. When I told her what had happened she asked for our location. I relayed what road we were on and a few landmark buildings, but she kept saying she needed an actual physical address. To this day I have no clue what she wanted me to say. There is no physical address for car/bike accidents that occur in the middle of the road. I don’t think the third pothole on the right side of the road qualifies.

Bystanders were already gathering, and since it was our neighborhood we knew most of them. One man sensed my frustration at the emergency operator and took the phone from my hands.

I then dropped to my knees beside my son. His face looked horrible. One cheek was just raw, oozing flesh and his arm looked bruised and swollen. And that was what I could see. God only knew what was hidden beneath his clothing.

I can tell you that fear is more than an emotion. It envelopes your body and takes over all of your senses. It smells like burnt rubber and freshly plowed dirt. It has the salty taste of tears, and crawls down your spine like clammy sweat. It looks like flashing lights. And it sounds like your child crying over and over again, “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

Before I knew it we were surrounded by a barrage of rescue workers. The scene was completely chaotic. Looking up from the ground, I saw the man who hit Caleb standing by his car with a look of utter shock on his face. My heart went out to him. He had not been speeding, and there was nothing he could have done to avoid what happened. I remember thinking, “Oh, that poor man. He thinks he may have killed my son.”

I tried to get his attention and told him, “This is not your fault. He pulled out in front of you. There is nothing you could have done.”

The medics were working with Caleb, and very quickly told me that because of contusions to his abdominal area that he would have to be life-flighted to a nearby hospital because of the possibility of internal injuries.

My mind just went numb.

Completely heartbroken, I crouched on the side of the road, my face in the dirt beside Caleb as they strapped him to a gurney. I just kept repeating, “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”

It was all that I could think to say. I knew He was our only hope.

Caleb started going into shock as they loaded him in the ambulance that would take him to meet the trauma hawk that had landed in a field nearby. His body was shaking uncontrollably. They would not allow me to get in the chopper with him.

And so there I stood, watching as my son was taken away. There is not a more helpless feeling on planet earth.

Some friends drove me to the hospital. They prayed out loud as we sped down the road, but I still could not formulate a plea of my own. My mind just kept repeating that one word. Jesus. It felt like the longest ride of my life. I had no idea what news might be awaiting me when I arrived.

Our evening of horror turned into a night of miracles when, after cat scans and x-rays, it was discovered that Caleb had no broken bones and no internal injuries. He was one sore, bruised, road rash covered little boy, but he was alive.

We found out later that night the true extent of our miracle when my husband talked to the man who hit Caleb. He told us that every evening he drives a large service truck home from work.

But not that night.

On that night he was driving a little Honda Civic.

Jenness blogged about the writing journey over on the MBT Ponderers' blog. Read it here.

I'm having a hard time believing it's halfway through January already. Seriously? Between sickness, travel, company, proposals (the book kind), work, and whatever else, the new year has not gotten off to a good blogging start.

However...we have a new addition to our writing family. I'd like to introduce *Willis, my new laptop. So far we're getting along great. I miss the scrollbar thing on my touchpad, but just about everything else is wonderful so far. My husband chooses well. :-) Hyacinth is sticking around--don't worry about her. (Because, yes, I can hear the gasp of concern from our vast crowd of readers...Creepy, eh? :-) )

Anyway. Happy 2011! Hope it's going well for you! Tracy and I are planning for an interesting and busy year. We're wrapping up a proposal right now and are waiting to hear back on others. But you don't really care about all of that. Deep inside, you're longing for me to shut up and announce who one that free copy of Bliss last year. (See? I totally know what you're thinking. Those web-cam things are amazing...)

So, the lucky winner is...

...

...

Jessica!

Please email your snail mail addy to fiction at tandjbooks dot com.

Thank you all for commenting! Stay tuned on Thursday for an interview with none other than Susan May Warren!

P.S. I was kidding about the web cam thing--I cannot see you or hear you or read your mind. I know you were concerned.

*Still trying out names. Willis may only be temporary.

I love this time of year! Hope your Christmas prep is almost done and you're ready to relax and enjoy the holidays...and to remember the real Reason for the season.

As you look at the gifts under the tree, well, we have one to add to it! For Christmas, Tracy and I want to give away a copy of Bliss. (Which does have a few Christmas scenes in it, by the way.)

You can get your name put into the hat up to four times. 1. Tweet this link and let us know. 2. Post this link on your facebook and let us know. 3. Follow our blog. 4. Comment below, telling us about what novel you would choose to live in. Or, well, just comment below. :-)

We'll choose a winner next week. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas from the Bowen and Walker households to yours.  

O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. Psalm 107:1

I had just sat down to write a devotional for this blog, and the text came with the news. My friend has been sitting at the bedside of her father. The vigil is almost over.

He is dying.

Honestly, at first I just sat staring at the computer feeling completely helpless. Her family situation has always been complex, but no matter what the complications, at this moment in time she is simply a daughter watching her father slip away. I am a fixer. I want to do something to make it better.

But sometimes there is no better. Not here. Not on this side of eternity.

My eyes moved from the blinking icon on an empty screen to a piece of paper taped to the wall of my office.

“The moment we get tired waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside us helping us along. He does our praying in and for us, making prayers out of our wordless sighs and aching groans. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and keeps us present before God. That is why we can be sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:26-30 The Message.

I could not help but think of the role of the great high priest as outlined in the Old Testament. He was a human representative who stood before Almighty God in a holy place that was set apart specifically for the meeting of humanity and the Divine. According to directions from God Himself, a beautiful veil of ornate workmanship set apart that sacred space called the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. No one dared enter upon the threat of death, except the great high priest. Once a year he followed the cleansing rituals, adorned the priestly vestments, and with fear and trembling would enter into the very presence of God. His purpose was to sprinkle the blood of a spotless lamb on the mercy seat. He was the intercessor. He reached out to God on behalf of himself, and God’s people.

And then my thoughts moved to the cross. In my mind’s eye I could see Jesus as He took upon Himself the weight of the world.

The Son did not don priestly vestments. Instead He was viscously stripped of His clothing. He did not follow the cleansing ritual. His body was covered with saliva from their contempt, sweat from His arduous journey to Golgotha carrying a cruel cross, and blood from the agonizing stripes placed upon His back.

It was brutal.

It was beautiful.

For in that moment of agony when He cried out, “It is finished”, that veil was torn and Jesus obtained the position of the Great High Priest.

No longer was a weak and frail human being responsible for bridging the great divide between divinity and humanity bearing the insufficient blood of lambs. The perfect spotless Lamb had been sacrificed.

I may be helpless, but He is not. The Son now stands before the Father, and is pleading on behalf of my friend.

And for me...for you.

"Making prayers out of our wordless sighs and aching groans."

He is the intercessor.