The Seasoning of Elizabella is Now Available for Purchase

Today is the day! The Seasoning of Elizabella: A Jamestown Bride story, is available for purchase at most online stores.

Amazon eBook

Amazon Paperback

If you want to read the first chapter before buying, click this link. https://www.dropbox.com/…/The%20Seasoning%20of…

The Seasoning of Elizabella

A Jamestown Bride Story

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

Elizabella can’t imagine anything worse than being a Jamestown bride — but her sister is determined to do just that. On the way to the ship to stop her sister, she witnesses a brutal murder and must flee for her life. She takes refuge on the ship, pretending to be her sister, intending to leave as soon as she is safe. Before she knows it, she is headed for the New World, trapped by desperation and deception.

Miles fled to Jamestown with his family to escape the shame from their father’s actions. Tragedy has tested his faith, including the loss of his wife and newborn son. His grief makes him more determined than ever to keep his one remaining brother from following in their father’s footsteps.

Will God heal their pain? How can their love grow when Elizabella desires nothing more than to return to London, and Miles desires nothing more than to remain in Jamestown?

Book Launch Contest ends tomorrow!

The Seasoning of Elizabella Contest ends TOMORROW at MIDNIGHT.

If you haven’t entered yet, tomorrow is the last day. If you have entered, why not enter again. Multiple entries will increase your chances of winning.

NEWSFLASH: I’m giving an extra entry for the most promotions and for the most creative entry.

I’m giving away 3 eBooks, 1 signed paperback, and 1 Amazon gift card for $25 to some blessed winners.

To enter:

• You must be signed up for my newsletter.

• Promote The Seasoning of Elizabella in some way. You can promote it on social media, tell a close friend about it, or use your imagination. I’m attaching a meme to this email for you to use.

• Email me at tkrafty@tameralynnkraft.net and tell me how you promoted it.

• You can enter multiple time by promoting the book in multiple ways.

• Extra points for the most entries and the most creative entry.

• Deadline is November 30th! Winners will be announced on my newsletter on December 1st.

The Seasoning of Elizabella

My new novel, THE SEASONING OF ELIZABELLA, due to be released December 1st, is now available for pre-orders at this link and at other online stores.

THE SEASONING OF ELIZABELLA

A Jamestown Bride Story

Tamera Lynn Kraft

Elizabella can’t imagine anything worse than being a Jamestown bride — but her sister is determined to do just that. On the way to the ship to stop her sister, she witnesses a brutal murder and must flee for her life. She takes refuge on the ship, pretending to be her sister, intending to leave as soon as she is safe. Before she knows it, she is headed for the New World, trapped by desperation and deception.

Miles fled to Jamestown with his family to escape the shame from their father’s actions. Tragedy has tested his faith, including the loss of his wife and newborn son. His grief makes him more determined than ever to keep his one remaining brother from following in their father’s footsteps.

Will God heal their pain? How can their love grow when Elizabella desires nothing more than to return to London, and Miles desires nothing more than to remain in Jamestown?

Featured Christian Fiction VERMILION RIDDLE by Author Dana Li

VERMILION RIDDLE

DANA LI

“To enter Faerie’s blessed demesne four secrets must be found: the land unbound by time and space opens only to the one who knows the Light, the Song, and Mortal Gate.”

In the sheltered town of Carmel, women do not have a future outside of a good marriage. That future is threatened when Leah Edwards’ father gambles away the family’s livelihood and estate. She and her sisters must hurry to find husbands. Then August Fox, a Guardian from Cariath, comes to town and purchases a supposedly haunted manor. Charged to keep the peace between mortals and Faerie, the Guardians are the stuff of legend. After he stuns her with a marriage proposal, Leah reluctantly journeys to Cariath, discovering there is more to August and the legends than she guessed.

Nimrod and his Oath-breakers betrayed the Guardians, seeking to solve an ancient riddle that would unlock the Faerie realm. Not all his followers share his desire for conquest. Benedict Fox, his second-in-command, has different motives. But as he continues fulfilling Nimrod’s plan, Benedict hurtles towards a choice between saving his family and settling a personal vendetta.

For Leah, August, and their allies, it is a race against time to solve the ancient riddle before the Oath-breakers, and reunite the Guardians to save the mortal realm. The war is never really over, and this time, the battle lines cut through blood ties and brotherhood.

You can buy VERMILION RIDDLE at these links:

Paperback eBook

Join Dana, March 1, Tuesday, for her virtual Book Launch Party on Facebook at this link.

7 Ways You Can Be a Hero in Your Own Adventure

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

When I was young, I loved to read anything I could get my hands on, but my favorite types of stories were adventures where an ordinary young person was thrust on a quest of epic proportions. These stories resonant with us for a reason. We all want to think our lives count for something, no matter how insignificant they may seem. We all want to live a life of purpose that is somehow bigger than anything we can see.

We may not realize it, but God has written an epic adventure for each of our lives. According to Jeremiah 29:11, He has plans and purposes for us to give us a hope and a future. If we cooperate with His plans, God will use each of us in ways we never dreamed. Here are seven ways your life is like an adventure novel.

You are not insignificant to God. No matter where you are, or how life has treated you, God knows your name, and He knows where you live. He put you there for a purpose to fulfill your destiny. The Bible, the greatest adventure story of them all, is filled with seemingly insignificant people who do great things for God. David, Gideon, and many of the disciples make that list. Hebrews 11, the heroes of the faith chapter, doesn’t even name some of the heroes it who it says the world was not worthy of.

A Quest Has Obstacles. We’d all love to have more adventure in our lives provided we don’t have to go through any pain or face any obstacles, but every adventure story has insurmountable obstacles the hero must overcome. We have obstacles to face as well. Whenever we read adventure novels, we know the main characters will overcome those obstacles even though we can’t figure out how. When we face obstacles, we have a promise from God that He has overcome the world.

The hero is pure in heart. The hero in an adventure story will make mistakes, He’ll get discouraged. He’ll make wrong turns. But he won’t give up because he has a heart to do right and make a difference. To be the hero of God’s adventure, you also need a pure heart, a heart after God. God called King David a man after His own heart. David wasn’t perfect. He committed grievous sins. But he was also quick to repent because he wanted a pure heart.

A hero is loyal. Every quest has a hero who is loyal to both his friends and to the quest. He won’t give up on either. We need that kind of loyalty to God and to the quest He has sent us on if we are to fulfill what He’s called us to do. So many give up on God or on the adventure He’s called them to because things get hard.No matter how hard things get, remember that God is writing your story. Don’t give up.

A hero puts others above himself. In adventure novels, a hero is self-sacrificing. He pours out his life for others and is even willing to die for them. As Christians in God’s adventure story, we should also be willing to place others before ourselves.

Our happy ending isn’t here on Earth. Adventure novels always have happy endings. Even if the hero dies in the end, he always fulfills his quest. It doesn’t seem to work out that way in real life, but this isn’t all there is. Our quest isn’t over when we die. Our happy ending is in eternity when we will live forever in the presence of God.

My One New Year’s Resolution for 2022

Although I am setting goals for the New Year, I’ve only made one resolution. I made this resolution after reading Psalm 16:5-11 in The Passion Translation of the Bible. The Passion Translation is a paraphrase, but the meaning came alive to me after reading this Psalm.

Psalm 16:5-11 TPT

5) Yahweh, you alone are my inheritance. You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands.

6) Your pleasant path[d] leads me to pleasant places. I’m overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you!

7) The way you counsel me makes me praise you more, for your whispers in the night give me wisdom, showing me what to do next.

8) Because I set you, Yahweh, always close to me, my confidence will never be weakened, for I experience your wraparound presence every moment.

9) My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory! Even my body will rest confident and secure.

10) For you will not abandon me to the realm of death, nor will you allow your Faithful One to experience corruption.

11) Because of you, I know the path of life, as I taste the fullness of joy in your presence. At your right side I experience divine pleasures forevermore!

I resolve in 2022 to enjoy God to the fullest, and through His Joy, to enjoy the life He has given me.

I pray you receive the same fullness of joy in His presence in 2022!

Have a Joyful 2022!

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 ESV

Every year, I ask God for a Word for the year. In 2021, the word was “Get Ready”. Considering all the challenges 2021 held, it was a timely word. Sometimes, I struggle to receive the word God wants to give me because so many things distract me. Other times, God gives me the word fairly quickly. I’ve never experienced a word like I did this time. The word God gave me was like a neon sign. Everywhere I looked, I saw the word. Every sermon I listened to and almost every song I heard had the word. It was even written as notes in Christmas cards I received.

The word I received is JOY. 2022 will be a year of JOY. I speak JOY over each of you.

I am looking forward to 2022 in a new way knowing the LORD will fill us to overflowing with His Joy. That doesn’t mean there won’t be trials, but God will overwhelm us with supernatural joy through the trials.

I’ll be posting about joy from time to time on my blog and social media. I’m also considering having a Zoom Bible study about joy. More on that later. In the meantime, chew on Psalm 16:11 for awhile, and allow God to fill you with His Joy.

5 Awesome Christian Books Released in 2021

Here is my top 10 list for books released in 2021.These books are in no particular order. I am an Amazon Associate, so if you decide to buy any of these, I’d love it if you click on the link embedded in the title and cover art. The link is connected to the paperback. If you’d like to use my associate link for the eBook or audiobook, please contact me at tkrafty @ tameralynnkraft . net.

A Shadow on the Snow

A Rae Riley Mystery

by JPC Allen

This Young Adult cozy mystery by a debut author is sure to satisfy your yearning for a good book. Available in print, eBook and audiobook.

Kiss of Peace

by Diane Virginia

This Bible Study is not for the faint of heart. It show how SONG OF SOLOMON was meant as a allegory for the passionate relationship between us and our LORD.

The Chase

US Marshalls Book 2

by Lisa Harris

If you love heart throbbing suspense, than be sure to read this romantic suspense, but don’t expect to be able to put it down. THE ESCAPE, book 1 should be read first.

Night Fall

The Quantico Files Book 1

by Nancy Mehl

Another great romantic suspense you won’t be able to set down.

Dead Fall

The Quantico Files Book 2

by Nancy Mehl

If you love book 1 of this series, you’ll be ecstatic over book 2.

Merry Christmas!

10 Reasons I’m Joyful at Christmas

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

There is a trend among Christians to try to make people feel guilty for being joyful at Christmas time. Some even say that we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas, but I refuse to allow their naysaying to rob me of my joy. Here are 10 reason to feel joyful at Christmas without feeling the slightest bit of guilt for it.

10. We can be joyful even when things aren’t great. The Bible says we should count it all joy. In other words, even if we are going through a hard time because of a death in the family or because of hard times, we can still be joyful. The word count could probably be better translated command. We can command ourselves to be joyful. What if it’s is someone else who is going through a hard time? This is often an excuse for not being joyful at Christmas. After all, look at all the terrible things happening in people’s lives. I have a suggestion for you. Are you in the right frame of mind to help someone else when you are in a place of joy or a place of depression. I would suggest we are better equipped in a place of joy.

James 1:2-3 ESV “Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

9. We owe it to those around us to be joyful. Have you ever been around somebody who suck the joy of living out of everyone around him. Joy is contagious, but so is depression. That means if you decide not to be joyful, you affect everyone around you, and if you decide you will be joyful, it will also affect your friends and family. Refuse to allow someone’s bad mood to affect you. Instead be the one who heals those who don’t have joy.

Proverbs 17:22 ESV “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

8. Joy makes us healthy. If it’s true that stress and depression cause us harm physically, it’s also true that a joyful heart with make you healthy. That is why Proverbs 17:22 calls a joyful heart good medicine. Medical professionals have proven laughter is beneficial to our overall health. You can read more about it at this link.

7. Joy will give you spiritual and emotional strength. We receive fullness of joy in the presence of God, and His joy will give us the strength we need to do all the things that stress us out during the day.

Psalm 16:11 ESV “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

6. Who Want to Be a Scrooge? I sure don’t, but some Christians act like that’s exactly what they want. They claim they can’t celebrate Christmas because it’s too commercial and most people don’t celebrate it with the right motives. Who told you you can’t be joyful because other people have the wrong motives? That’s silly. Think about some of the people in the past who wanted to kill other people’s joy at Christmas: Scrooge and the Grinch. Do you really want to be like them? You may say they are mythical characters, and that is true, but they represent those who are like them.

The first man who wanted to destroy the joy of Christmas tried to kill Christ. His name was Herod, and he was not a joyful person. Herod killed his wife, two of his sons, and his wife’s extended family because he thought they were trying to usurp his authority as king. Talk about an unhappy person. He tried to kill Christ and Christmas by ordering all the male children of Bethlehem two years and under to be slaughtered.

Matthew 2:16 ESV  “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.”

5. The angels were joyful at Chist’s birth. They sang and proclaimed how Christ’s birth brought great joy to the Earth. Truthfully, we don’t really know what day Christ was born, and there is controversy about how December 25th was chosen. I don’t care. I know Christ was born, and I don’t know when. So unless someone comes to me with a definitive answer about what day Christ was born, I’m going to celebrate His birth on December 25th with as much exuberance and joy as the angels did.

Luke 2:10-14 ESV “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,’Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'”

4. The shepherds were filled with joy. Everyone was happy when Christ was born, even lowly shepherds. If they can be happy even with smelly sheep, I will be happy with the privileged awesome life God has given me.

Luke 2:20.ESV “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

3. I’m happy because of presents. They don’t have to be expensive presents. They can be homemade. The thing is I love to receive presents, and I love to give presents because it reminds me of the joy the Wise Men felt when they saw Jesus and gave Him gifts. They were so joyful they worshipped Him. Our praise and worship comes from the joy we feel about Christ who is God’s gift to us.

Matthew 2:10-11 ESV “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

2. I’m filled with joy when I hear Christmas hymns. Have you ever listened to the words of those hymns. They are songs of worship, and everyone sings them at Christmas – even heathens. What a great time to worship the Lord with songs.

Isaiah 12:6 ESV “Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

1. I am joyful because Christ is my salvation. If Christ had not been born, He would have not died for my sins, not would He have raised from the dead defeating sin and death on my behalf. I am beyond joyful because Christmas lead to Easter.

1 Peter 1:8-9 ESV “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”