Sunday, September 8, 2019

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway: Rose's Redemption by Donna L.H. Smith

Book: Rose’s Redemption
Author: Donna L. H. Smith
Genre: Christian Western
Release Date: November, 2018

A Former Dance Hall Girl. A Handsome Young Doctor. Can Rose overcome her past? That’s Rose’s Redemption

Rose Rhodes changed not only her name after the tornado; she changed her outward appearance. No more was she Rosalie O’Roarke, former dance hall girl. She loves her new work as a nurse-in-training to handsome Doctor Scott Allison. As Scott and Rose’s relationship begins to change from professional to personal, they must deal with figures from Rose’s past who make life anything but easy. Rose is concerned that the town will discover her dance hall girl past, especially when Jake Thomas, the man who viciously beat her, asks all over town where Rosalie O’Roarke went. But both Rose and Scott are in for surprise encounters with Christ that will change their lives forever and help them see His plan for them. In fact, they will see God at work all over New Boston.

Rose’s Redemption won second place in the 2017 Golden Leaf Award at the Advance Novelist Retreat and was a finalist in the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Phoenix Rattler Contest.

Click here to grab your copy.

I will admit the first couple of chapters of this book were slow going and it took me some time to get into the book. Once I got to the 3rd chapter, the story picked up for me and I was able to relax and enjoy the book.

The main character, Rose, is a former Dance Hall dancer, who feels it is time to leave her past behind. She moves to a different town and changes not only her name, but her outward appearance and her job. She becomes interested in the Dr., Dr. Scott, at her new job and has to carefully navigate changing from a Professional to both Professional and Romantic relationship. Can Rose and Dr. Scott navigate the new level of their relationship? Will her past be discovered by the Dr. or the Town? They begin to rely on God and allow God to change their hearts and minds.

Once I truly got into the book, I saw how the message was strong. The book is about allowing God to direct our paths and to allow him to change the inside. We can do all we want to our outside appearance, but we need God to change our inward appearance. I began to appreciate the book more after the message became clear! GREAT BOOK!

Rose's Redemption is Book 2 in the Known by Heart Series. It reads good as a Stand Alone novel. Donna L.H. Smith has a wonderful writing style and I look forward to reading other books by her.

Donna L.H. Smith is a Kansas prairie girl transplanted to Lancaster County, PA. She is a graduate of Christian Writer’s Guild Craftsman program and holds two college degrees, both B.S. and M.A. in Mass Communication. She’s been married to a wonderful man named Kirby for thirty years. Her debut novel, Meghan’s Choice, made the finals of both the Selah and Will Rogers Medallion Awards. Rose’s Redemption, the sequel, also made the Selah Award finals in 2019. She blogs, speaks at workshops and holds inner healing retreats. Although she is at an age where many begin slowing down, she wouldn’t think of it. She served as Managing Editor of www.almostanauthor.com, an award-winning website for writers. She continues to serve as ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Mid-Atlantic Zone Director. She is also a member of AWSA’s Protégé program (Advanced Writers & Speaker’s Association).

More from Donna

Rose’s Redemption is the second book in the Known by Heart series. There were interesting challenges to this book.

First, how to change a rascal of an antagonist from Meghan’s Choice, to the romantic hero of Rose’s Redemption.

Second, I serve a supernatural God, so I wanted to include a little something different. It’s not spec-fic, but I hope people will enjoy Rafe. Answer the question for yourself whether or not he is an angel.

Third, I included in Rose’s history a bombshell from her mother. That was personal to me, only I didn’t discover it until two years ago.

The point of Rose’s Redemption is that our faith or our change cannot just be external, as Rose tried to do by changing her name, her appearance, and her profession—but an internal change of heart, too.

God is in the business of change.