Wanda B. Campbell

Book Description:

Samson Taylor has just been installed as assistant pastor at a thriving North Carolina church. He’s a man of God-and most definitely no saint. Handsome and charismatic, Samson is controlled by his lust for beautiful women, a weakness that stirs up trouble, heartache, betrayal, and damaging rumors-and soon costs him his marriage, his best friendship, and even his new job. Samson loves God and tries harder than ever to keep his temptations in check. Then he meets Delinda…Beautiful, irresistibly sexy, and married to a famous NBA star, Delinda has Samson head-over-heels in love . . . in a dangerous affair that leads to a physical confrontation with Delinda’s husband. Now, the disgraced pastor begins a journey he could never have anticipated, where his heart is now his guide-not a heart of lust, but of new wisdom and a new kind of seeing. God will forgive Samson’s past-but will Samson himself be able to let go of bitterness and regret, and find a new light in his life? Inspired by the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah, Jacquelin Thomas powerfully portrays a modern-day pastor’s dance with earthly desires . . . and the faith that made him whole.

AUTHOR BIO

Jacquelin Thomas is an award winning, bestselling author with twenty-nine titles in print. Her books have garnered several awards, including two EMMA awards, the Romance In Color Reviewers Award, Readers Choice Award and the Atlanta Choice Award in the Religious & Spiritual category. Jacquelin was a 2005 honoree at the Houston Black Film Festival for the movie adaptation of her novel, Hidden Blessings. She was the first recipient to receive the Writers Achievement Award at the North Carolina Book Festival in Winston-Salem.      

Although Jacquelin initially published in the romance genre, she decided to follow the call on her heart to write Christian fiction because she seeks to write books that will touch your heart and uplift your spirits with tales of characters who yearn to have an intimate relationship with God.  Committed to writing books that glorify God and her growing teen audience, Jacquelin published the first of her Young Adult Inspirational Fiction series titled Simply Divine in October 2006.  Her second book in the series, Divine Confidential was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image Award.  She has since gone on to publish two more books in the series.  When asked why she is so passionate about writing teen novels, Thomas shares that teens are confronted with so much-sex, drugs, violence and abuse, physically and mentally. They need to not only listen to what the world says about these things but also to what the Bible says.

Jacquelin is a member of the National Writers Union, Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is happily married to her best friend and is the proud mother of three children. Jacquelin and her family live in North Carolina.  

Author Interview

Do you have a particular goal for your writing? For your readers?   

J.T.: “I want them to inspire them to go back to the Bible to learn about the real people my stories are based on.”

Are you a compartmental writer? Are you able/seek to separate who you are from what you write? 

J.T.: “My writing is very much a part of me.  I am an emotional writer, so I feel what my characters feel.  When they hurt, so do I.  When I finish a book, I am always drained and it takes me about a week to recover.”

How would you complete this sentence? My greatest accomplishment in life has been…

J.T.: ”My greatest accomplishment in life has been… being able to write books that glorify God and inspiring others to seek out a relationship with Him, being a wife and mother. 

How can readers keep up with you online? 

J.T.: You can reach me at the following: 

Facebook/www.facebook.com/jacquelin.thomas,

Twitter — @jacquelinthomas

Email — jacquelinthomas@yahoo.com

For more information on Jacquelin’s young adult novels, please visit her site:

www.simplydivinebooks.com.

Just in case you didn’t know, Ms. Thomas, you are one of my favorite authors. It’s an honor to participate in the blog tour. Much success and many blessings to you.

My Review

On the surface, Pastor Samson Taylor appears to be the ideal pastor. Every time he mounts the podium, he delivers a soul-stirring message. Lives are changed and people are uplifted, unfortunately, Samson doesn’t listen to his own sermons. Instead, Pastor Taylor is lead by his arrogance and lust for the flesh.

Ms. Thomas has written a realistic modern-day story of the biblical Samson. At times, I became frustrated with Pastor Samson Taylor, because of the foolish mistakes he made and his lack of accountability and godly consciousness. I sadly discovered my frustration was due to the similarities of many church leaders today.

I recommend this book to all church leaders.

Devotional Excerpt taken from Ch. 9
of Who Speaks To Your Heart?

God reveals through his living Word that what matters most to us should be the same things that matter most to him. It’s no coincidence that love is the greatest commandment. It trumps all else in God’s eyes. When we love with our whole heart, we are modeling the example set by Jesus, whose life and death were built on this foundation.  Let’s be honest today - this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Sometimes we fail to meet this standard because achieving it and maintaining it leaves us feeling like doormats. We feel weak and used rather than empowered and giving.

Add to the struggle of building solid, loving relationships the challenges you may have faced recently in trying to pursue your purpose.  Our nation’s ailing economy, disappearing jobs, home foreclosures and personal tragedies have left people everywhere anxious. If you haven’t faced losses, you may be stressed in trying to dodge them. 

I’ll encourage you during seasons of turmoil to fight even harder to stay focused on whose you are and on who you desire to be. This is the perfect time to decide, if you haven’t done so already, to make your relationship with God the top priority in your life. Decide to develop a friendship with him, because the bonds of love and trust between friends breed a sense of security that can’t be purchased or manufactured.

What matters most in all we do is finding out who Christ is calling us to be in the time we have allotted to grace the planet. Hours can’t be put on pause and the days of our lives can’t be refunded.  It’s important to stop procrastinating and apply God’s wisdom to every facet of your life.

As you learn about and experience God’s love, you become more loving. The more love you share, the more we find ourselves fulfilled.  This sense of satisfaction won’t necessarily come in the form of the glitz the world adores, but will instead reveal itself through the pure intentions and unassuming wisdom that only God can provide. 

© Stacy Hawkins Adams.  Excerpted from Who Speaks To Your Heart? Do not reprint or publish this excerpt without full attribution to the author or without express permission from the author or publisher, Zondervan.

About the Book

With insight, inspiration, and practical ideas in her new book-Who Speaks to Your Heart?-, author Stacy Hawkins Adams shows you and all women-regardless of the labels placed on you-that your best and most important title is the one given by God … chosen vessel.

To women all over the country, from all walks of life, this uncomfortable uncertainty is all too familiar. Now-for inspiration, for affirmation, for a divine connection-you have a new place to turn … to this authentic look at what it takes to pursue God with abandon, by acclaimed author Stacy Hawkins Adams.

Offering insight, inspiration, and practical ideas on how to connect more often and more deeply with God, Adams helps give you and women the world over the courage to go deeper and grow deeper in God’s word to hear Him more clearly. Women young and old will be empowered and renewed by Adams’ reminder that-regardless of the labels placed on you by society, your family, your friends, and even yourself-your best and most important title is the one given by God … chosen vessel.

My Review

Who Speaks to Your Heart? is exactly what I needed for this season in my life. The short, yet, powerful chapters are easy to read. The examples and personal testimonies reveal a transparency that gives hope and make growth attainable.  The simple exercises at the end of each chapter were enlightening.

I recommend this book to women everywhere. 

About the Author

Stacy Hawkins Adams is a nationally-published, award-winning author and speaker. Her contemporary women’s fiction novels are filled with social themes and spiritual quests that take readers on journeys into their own souls. 

She holds a degree in journalism and served as a newspaper reporter for more than a decade before turning her full attention to penning books, speaking professionally and writing freelance articles.

Stacy lives in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia with her husband and two young children. Visit Stacy online at stacyhawkinsadams.com.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/WhoSpeaksToYourHeart.

“When a man’s ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Proverbs 16:7)

Vanessa Richardson is an author, poet, and playwright. Vanessa has written several stage productions and have been blessed to perform them at various venues. Her stage productions includes: Someone To Love Me, Why Do Bad Things Happens To Good People?, Lord, I Don’t Understand, and The Fullness Of Time.

Vanessa wrote her freshman nonfiction inspirational novel titled, The Certain Ones, a spiritual impacting novel that inspires her readers to know that not everyone is called into greatness. Fact: Many can not handle the process that goes along with becoming great. Only the certain ones, who endures; can obtain destined greatness. She is currently working on the second installment of her, Inspirational Suspense Love Series titled, Love Lifted Me.  Visit Vanessa online at vanessarichardson.net.

About the Book

Mike Montgomery once lived the American dream. Gainfully employed, beautiful home, and a wonderful loving wife. Growing up in a loving family whose faith was unbreakable was his source of strength. Mike’s faith would one day be shaken after losing the love of his life in an unexpected tragedy. Mike thought he would never love again until he meets Sheila Lawson. Everything about Sheila made him want to love again. Could he risk his heart again?

Sheila Lawson, a woman’s health advocate was strong and independent, yet something was missing in her life. Immersing herself in her work, she vowed off any relationships. Sheila would find her self-made decree shaken when she meets tall, dark, and handsome Mike Montgomery. There is an evil lurking in the shadows. Mike and Sheila will have to unite to overcome evil forces trying to keep them apart. Will their love be enough to see them through the testing of their faith?

Vanessa Shares An Excerpt

Book Review

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/LoveFoundMeBlogTour

I few days ago, a literary friend asked the question, “What are you thankful for?” So far, 2010 has yielded many reasons for my thanksgiving.  

In February, I was blessed to turn 40. A blessing because many people didn’t make it.

In January, I became a grandmother; by my estimate too soon and not under ideal circumstances. My daughter’s labor was without complications and my grandson is adorable.

Four weeks ago I had my first mammogram. The routine exam revealed a breast lump, which led to a biopsy. During the ten days I waited for the pathology report many emotions and conflicting thoughts raged through my mind and spirit. I am a mature Christian and I know and believe what the Bible says. While I desired a benign report, I had to rememeber that God never promised me I wouldn’t suffer. What He promised was He would be with me through the suffering. Where is it written that I, Wanda Campbell, can’t endure a less than favorable report?

As I celebrated Easter Sunrise service with the community at the cementary (awesome service) I accepted the fact that whatever the results, I win. If I live a long healthy life here on earth, I win. If I transition to my heavenly, I win. With that settled, I rested in the knowledge that God had everything in control and He knows the steps I must take because He has ordered them.

I praise God, because the report was benign. But most importantly, through the process I learned to trust God with my life.

Meet the Author

Sherri Lewis’ writing was put on hold while she attended Howard University as an undergraduate, then medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After working almost fifteen years in the medical field, Sherri left her position as a staff physician at a Georgia Department of Corrections’ Women’s prison to pursue writing and ministry full time.

Sherri is co-founder of the Faith-Based Black Fiction Writers of Atlanta with Essence Best-Selling author Tia McCollors. Selling My Soul is the anticipated sequel to Sherri’s debut novel, My Soul Cries Out. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.  Visit Sherri online at www.sherrilewis.com.

My Soul Cries Out was an intense novel. What inspired you to write a sequel?

Intense is a great way to describe My Soul Cries Out. To be honest, dealing with such a painful, sticky, taboo issue was so difficult, when I finished writing the book, I never wanted to see or talk about those characters again. But everyone that read the book had unanswered questions. EVERY single email I got and any feedback from My Soul Cries Out always ended by saying that I HAD to write a sequel. So I have to admit that my readers inspired me to write Selling My Soul.

Were any characters in Selling My Soul inspired by your recent travels to Africa?

Not at all. I often say that Selling My Soul is a case of life imitating art. When I wrote the book, I had never traveled to Africa. It had always been a dream of mine, but I hadn’t done it yet. I got all my information and research from several missionary friends who had been on trips to Mozambique. Also from books I’ve read by my missionary shero, Heidi Baker, whose mission base is the focus of the book. Selling My Soul was completely written and edited before I ever set foot on African soil. The crazy part was when I came back, I experienced a lot of the same emotions and thoughts that Trina had on her return from Africa. I wrote it before it even happened.

Who are your favorite characters in Selling My Soul? Why?

Trina’s mother, Moms, is one of my favorite characters in the book and she was a lot of fun to write. She’s full of fire and is hilarious, in spite of the fact that she’s “ate up with cancer”. She loves her daughters fiercely and wants the best for them in life and even though she’s not perfect, and not even saved for most of the book, she’s a beautiful person. I also LOVED Gabe, Trina’s love interest. I love writing wonderful male characters to honor the godly men in my life and show the world that there are some beautiful black men out there. And of course Trina is my absolute favorite in the whole book. It’s hard to write a whole book if you can’t connect on a deep level with your main character. She has a huge heart and she’s full of God and struggles to do what’s right for everyone involved in the story, even to the point of selling her soul.

About the Book 

When Trina Michaels steps off the plane after her two-year missions trip in Africa, she realizes that other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere she’s… ever lived. And to the man who’s stolen her heart.

Her dream of a quick return to Mozambique fades within hours when Trina discovers that her mother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Trina is forced to go back to her job as a publicist to cover her mother’s health costs.

She’s assigned a damage control client, Bishop Walker, a megachurch pastor accused of covering up a church sex scandal within his church involving the molestation of young boys. Representing him could cost Trina her most valued friendship, the love of her life, and her soul.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/SellingMySoulBlogTour .

As I prepare for the October 2010 release of my third novel, Right Package, Wrong Baggage, many questions about relationships come to mind. I have been married for over 20 years. The rules of dating in the twenty-first century are mind boggling to me. General simple questions I would have asked twenty years ago, are now more complex and often have three part answers. For example: “Where do you work?”  is now ”Do you have a job in which you receive a regular paycheck with federal and state taxes withheld, and recieve a W-2 for?”

I think it’s a safe assumption in this day and age that the majority of individuals, Christians included, are dating and entering into relationships with benefits once reserved for marriage. As a result many of us carry baggage such as emotional scars, children out of wedlock, health problems and so on.

While none of us are perfect and all of us have done things we are not proud of. I’m talking about things that we won’t tell nobody, but God and then on a limited basis. Taking our own imperfections into consideration, I pose the questions:

In your opinion, what baggage would cause you to end a relationship?

When looking for a mate, how much weight should be placed on an individual’s past?

Coming October 2010

I’m estatic to shine the spotlight on new non-fiction author, Sonya Visor. Sonya and I have a little history together. She and I presented our first published work in The MIdnight Clear anthology. She has since penned a heartfelt testimony of God’s awesome delivering power.

Who I’ve Become is NOT who I AM, is Sonya Visor’s first non-fiction book. Her passion is to minister to the people who hide behind masks. Sonya’s calling is to break and destroy the yokes of bondage, releasing the power of God into the lives of others by the preached Word and prayers of deliverance. When you can find the strength, to step into who you truly are; you can find the strength to BE THE (Tru U). TruU Ministries is the women’s ministry that God has charged her with to help other’s become free.

Sonya shares her heart with her husband, Pastor Tony Visor, who she calls her better half, for nineteen years. She and her husband have ministered effectively in the city of Racine together at NCC since 1999. Sonya is blessed to love two sons, Jason and Tony, Jr. Visit her online at sonyavisor.com.

Is “Take Off the Mask” based on personal experience?

Yes, taking off the Mask is truly based on my own experience. My masks were the secrets that I kept. In order to be liberated I had to acknowledge where I was in life. I had to look at the secrets, the wounds and allow them to be seen in a safe place. Asking the question: Why did I mask? I was ashamed of what happened to me and I didn’t want anybody to see “my stuff”. It was easier to say, “I’m alright”, then to say this is where I am. Taking off the mask does not sweep abuse, divorce, hurts under the rug; no this freedom says what it is and then deals with life.

What impact do you think your book will have on the traditional church?

The book will hopefully be an eye opener to the church in more ways than one. I tell of my experience of being judged, and talked about in the house of God. I realized that people really didn’t want to see the wounds that were bleeding in my life. I believe it was because they really didn’t know how to deal with me. After all, most “church people” go in looking the part so how can they admit that there’s something wrong?

What main point do you want readers to understand in your book?

Everyone has their own story that has caused them to act or respond to life in their own way. What you do in life doesn’t necessarily tell me who you are in life; it only tells me what you do. When you are done operating in all the roles, tell me who that person is?

I hope that readers would look at where they are in life and evaluate the questions, who have I become? What am I masking? Whether the reader is someone who has kept secrets, been through a divorce, endured sexual abuse or was somebody’s punching bag; it’s time to uncover issues and deal with them. Breaking the silence, looking at “it” and not sweeping things under the rug is the way to become the true you.

About the Book

Who are you when nobody’s looking? It’s time to take off what hides who you truly are…the mask! Are you tired of going around family, friends and church folk with a frozen smile and a broken heart? Unmask your true identity and learn your real name as pastor’s wife and playwright Sonya Visor cuts to the heart with dynamic testimony of sexual molestation at a young age.

BEING SILENT GAVE POWER to the hands that touched her life. Can hands meant to protect you also have the power to crush your identity? YES! But when we stop allowing a mask of shame to hold us captive with CLOSED mouths, WE CAN let Jesus be real in our lives.

Discover who you have become and embrace who you really are in a book that goes past the pews and what others think about you - to bring glory to God by being transparent and transformed. It’s time to take off your mask and let the true you show up!

Learn about TruU Ministries

Visit the www.truuministries.com for more information.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/TakeOffTheMask

Dwan Abrams is a full-time novelist, freelance editor, and publisher. She’s the best-selling author of My Mother’s Child (the sequel to Divorcing the Devil), Married Strangers, Divorcing the Devil, Only True Love Waits, and The Scream Within. She’s the founder, publisher, and editorial director of Nevaeh Publishing, LLC a small press independent publishing house. She’s currently signed to Urban Christian, an imprint of Urban Books/Kensington. Her sixth novel, the second book in the Married Series, is set to hit national bookshelves in 2011.

About the Book

Lyric Stokes lives, by most standards, a charmed life. Married to Michael Stokes, a prominent heart surgeon, she has financial security and lives in the lap of luxury. All is not perfect, though. Lyric feels inadequate because she gave birth to a daughter, rather than the son that her husband so desperately wanted.

After an unexpected turn of events, Lyric discovers that she’s pregnant again, but now she has to decide whether she even wants to keep the child she has longed for. She seeks solace in her church, where her daughter also feels at home; but they can’t get Michael to join them. Disagreeing with organized religion, he has put his job before all else, including God. The distance between the couple grows further every day.

Nigel Fredericks has a history of stalking women. He’s been accused, but never convicted. Now he’s set his sights on Lyric. She’s at a low point in her life, and Nigel knows just how to take advantage of that vulnerability. Lyric’s life is turned upside down; Nigel is like a cancer eating away at her mental stability, her marriage, and ultimately, her life. Will Michael reevaluate his priorities and his faith in time to save his family?

Review

My Mother’s Child goes beyond the surface issues and devels into how the lack of selfworth can drive an individual to support the dreams of others and forget about living their own dream. Lyric and Michael are faced with some enlightening truths about themselves while being forced to make some hard choices. The vows, “For better or for worse” are tried by fire. Will the Stokes come out as pure gold?

Listen to an excerpt from My Mother’s Child

Visit Dwan online at http://dwanabrams.com.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/MyMothersChild.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Josiah Tucker, the son of a substance dependent and neglectful mother, spent most of his childhood years in the custody of the State, living in foster homes throughout Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of fourteen, he was taken from  the foster family that he had grown to love, the Smiths, and returned to his negligent birth mother. Enduring the hardships faced while living with his birth mother JT manages to makes something of his life.  However, fifteen years after being taken from the Smiths and at the peak of success, he finds himself feeling empty and at his lowest.  When he decides to reconnect with the Smiths, JT finds his faith in God renewed and discovers his attraction to his foster sister.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KENDRA NORMAN-BELLAMY is a national best-selling author and the founder of KNB Publications LLC. She is the organizer of Visions in Print, an Atlanta-based national organization for faith-based writers, and The Writer’s Hut, an online fellowship for African American Writers. She is the founder of Cruisin’ For Christ, a groundbreaking at-sea ministry that celebrates writing, gospel music and other God-glorifying arts, and also serves as a motivational speaker.

A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, Kendra currently resides in Stone Mountain, George with her family. For more information, visit www.knb-publications.com

Book Review

In Fifteen Years, Kendra Norman-Bellamy takes a bold look into family dynamics and challenges the traditional definition of “family”.

From the opening pages, I was engaged in the life of Josiah (JT) Tucker. I related to his character on personal level, having experienced similar circumstances. The author did an excellent job of developing realistic characters with realistic struggles. I particularly enjoyed reading a novel in which the majority of the main characters are strong God-fearing men.

Fifteen Years presents many practical lessons on life. My favorites are: 1) Never judge someone without knowing their story and 2) Go get your leg!

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/FifteenYearsBlogTour.

About Beautiful Ugly

Three friends with different struggles rely on God and each other to get by. Layla Hobbs has so much to offer, including a beautiful singing voice, but obesity and low self-esteem hold her back from life and finding true love. Envy Wilson has always been Layla’s backbone. But what about her own dark secrets? She won’t share them with anyone, and it’s starting to eat away at her from the inside. And then there’s Kacie Mayweather. Stricken with cerebral palsy, she’s had her share of men—five baby daddies for six children, in fact. But she’s never had one man to call her own. They’ll need plenty of faith and support from each other to see the real beauty that lies within each one of them and fulfill their deepest desires at last.

About the Author

Author Shelia E. Lipsey is a multi-award winning author.  Her novels are available at most bookstores nationwide as well as online.  Lipsey’s books have been called gripping, life-altering, memorable and realistic. Lipsey was recently awarded the 2009 Top Shelf Award for Beautiful Ugly by Black Pearls Magazine. She also won 2009 Shades of Romance Readers’ Choice Awards for My Son’s Wife in the following categories: Author of the Year, Christian fiction Book of the Year, Christian Romance of the Year, Best Book Cover of the Year, Best Fiction Book of the Year, among several other awards for her novels, Into Each Life and Sinsatiable.

My Review

Win this book

Shelia Lipsey is the author of three other Christian Fiction novels. The trivia question below is from one of those novels. Leave your response to the trivia question below in the comment section.

Name the protagonists in each of Shelia E. Lipsey’s novels.