Monday, June 28, 2010

SATURDAY AT BORDERS

I had an enjoyable afternoon book signing my new book, A Love of Her Own, at Borders on Saturday. John Alford, the manager is always helpful and friendly to me. I really meant to get a picture of him this time and somehow forgot once I got busy. Next John!
The lady in the green top is my best friend and crique partner, Kelly Long who was at Borders working on her deadline for her Amish novel. The woman in the light blue is Patty Hall, another writer who enjoys reading my books and a member of the ACFW, too. The picture of me with the lady in the white jacket is my dear, sweet friend, Jeanette Delaney, a fan of my The Heart of the West series. She works at the hair salon where I go to get prettied up. Jeanette is delightful and the epitome of a true southern lady with grace and charm. She was a evacuee from New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane. Soft spoken and lovely, I told her that I pray I can only look near as good as she does when I'm 80!

It's so much fun talking to shoppers at the bookstore, but especially when young children want to know about my books, and of course, I love have a Seattle's Best Mocha! Speaking of coffee, it's time for a cup or two then to get back to writing.

Until next time,
 
 





Friday, June 25, 2010

BOOK SIGNING AT BORDERS

Hi friends. I'm stepping away from my deadline for a while to book sign at Borders this Saturday for my new book, A Love of Her Own, at E. Cobb at the Avenues on Roswell Road. If you're anywhere near the area, I hope you'll drop by. I'm getting great feedback on this book, and while it makes me proud that reader's enjoy it, it pushes me to strive to meet their expectations in the new book. I don't want to disappoint them.

This has been a busy summer for me, not to mention writing the ending for Deeply Devoted. I'm already calling this episode of time "the long hot summer", and we haven't even made it to July yet! The Atlanta heat has been awful. Right before I left for the Southern Baptist Convention, our A/C backed up and ruined part of the guest bathroom ceiling. Needless to say, upstairs was hot for nearly a week before it got repaired since I was in Orlando--Orlando was even hotter! Ceiling still hasn't been repaired. Once I submit my new book, I'm hoping to take a nice break before edits come back to me, and I have to start writing book two of this new series. I surely need it. I haven't even seen our neighborhood pool this summer, and it opened at the end of May. :(

I know I've been promising that I will take time to eventually share a few of my favorites books with you that I've read over the last few months, and I will...when times allows between interviews, writing, etc. There's so many goodreads out there. I have to read in snatches while I'm writing, but I usually have two or three books in the hopper all the time. One book in particular I will be talking about is my critique buddy's new book relasing in July, so check back. I'm so excited for her. Info to follow about that soon, so I'll keep you in suspense.

Back again soon...
MAGGIE

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

LIFEWAY SBC BOOK SIGNING


I've returned from my trip to Orlando and wanted to
share some pictures with you from my LifeWay signing at the Southern Baptist Convention. I booksigned with Eva Marie Everson and Dan Walsh. I've read Eva's books and looking forward to reading Dan's now. Later we had lunch together and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them better. Elaine Helms, prayer minister for NAMB stopped by to say hello. She's had one book on prayer published and working on another one. Way to go Elaine! She was Johnson Ferry's prayer minister for years before accepting the position at NAMB.

My pastor, Bryant Wright, was elected President of the SBC. I'm so happy for him. They couldn't have chosen a finer person for the job. Johnson Ferry Baptist Church is mighty proud of our pastor. Guess we'll be sharing our time between him and the rest of the world now.

It was an enjoyable time despite the horrible temperature and heat index. Thanks LifeWay for inviting me!
I've had trouble posting these pictures and can't get blogger to take out the spaces in between for some reason, so if it looks a little wacky, I apologize. Did you notice I changed the template? I've spent way too much time doing that. It'd help if I had an expert teach me, wouldn't it? I do the best I can to learn, but prefer writing to trying to figure out how blogger works.
Now back to my world of 1877...

Maggie

Thursday, June 10, 2010

My 1st CBA Bestseller!!

My heart is pumping wildly with excitement! My editor just informed me that The Jewel of His Heart is #19 on the CBA bestseller list for July as published in CBA Christian Retailers and Resources! It's incredible to be listed there with many of my favorite authors. Wow! this brings tears of joy to my eyes.

As an author you're always concerned about making each book better than the previous one. As I'm nearing the deadline for Deeply Devoted, my prayer everyday is to not only entertain readers, but encourage them with whatever life throws their way. One thing I'm learning in my walk is that I'm not in control of all that befalls me. It's how I react to it more than anything. Hurts, grief in many forms, illnesses, etc. happen to all of us. But we can choose to face every situation knowing that God has got our back and will see us through even in the lowest point. I choose to take it one day at the time, and that's life. It's all I can do. What about you?

Here's a partial list of of the top 20. I've been priviledge to have met Tracie Peterson and Cecil Murphy. Notice my publisher, Baker has 7 of the top 20 on the list!

#18 The Telling – Beverly Lewis

Fiction (BPG Has 7 of the top 20 titles this month)

#3 The Telling – Beverly Lewis

#10 Maid to Match – Deanne Gist

#13 The Silent Governess – Julie Klassen

#14 No Distance Too Far – Lauraine Snelling

#16 Dawn’s Prelude – Tracie Peterson

#19 The Jewel of His Heart – Maggie Brendan

#20 In Harm’s Way – Irene Hannon

Inspirational

#20 90 Minutes – Don Piper

Christian Living

#21 His Princess Bride – Sheri Rose Shepherd

#25 Have a New Kid – Kevin Leman

Young Adult

#4 God Girl – Hayley DiMarco

#9 Frenemies – Hayley DiMarco

#10 God Guy – Michael DiMarco

Until next time,
Maggie

Monday, June 07, 2010

FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD-NO PLACE FOR A LADY

If you own a Kindle, now's your chance to get a free download of No Place for a Lady if you haven't had a chance to read it. This is the first book in my Heart of the West series. The offer runs starting today until July 4th. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kinc_1 The title held the #1 spot for 24 hours! I'm at #2 now. This is thrilling, but it does change every hour.

I'm also featured on Authorbuzz today with the release of my new book, A Love of Her Own. To read more about the book click here:
http://www.authorbuzz.com/dearreader/brendan.shtml.

This is a great start to the week for me and I hope for you too.

Happy Reading,
Maggie


Sunday, June 06, 2010

INTERVIEW AND CHANCE TO WIN MY NEW BOOK

I have an interview posted by Lena Dooley today on her blog. Check it out and leave us comment for a chance to win a your copy of A Love of Her Own. Then check back on her blog a week from Saturday when she will announce a winner.

Remember to post the your comment to her blog not mine. Here's Lena link.
http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/.

Thanks Lena for hosting me today!

Until next time,
MAGGIE

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

RELEASED TODAY-A LOVE OF HER OWN!

Woo Hoo! I've been waiting for today. The final book in my Heart of the West series released today and I'm absolutely thrilled with the cover. Here's what others are saying.

Praise for Maggie Brendan


"Brendan's gentle style of prairie romance is reminiscent of Janette Oke, capturing the heart of the old West with romance that will make you sigh."
— Julie Lessman, author of the Daughters of Boston series

"Brendan blends colorful characters, lively dialogue, and intriguing historical details."
— Amanda Cabot, author of Paper Roses andScattered Petals

"Maggie Brendan is adept at weaving a sweet love story."
—Tamera Alexander, author of Beyond This Moment


I hope you'll pick up your copy soon. On the left hand side-bar is a list where you can purchase the book. Drop me a comment after you read it. I'm always interested in what my readers have to say. :)

Happy Trails,
Maggie