Gayle Roper-Shadows on the Sand-author interview and BOOK GIVEAWAY

Today we welcome Gayle Roper author of Shadows on the Sand. I really enjoyed reading it and recommend it. Here is my review link if you would like to look at it again. 
http://thelifeandtimesofwanda.blogspot.com/2011/10/shadows-on-sand-by-gayle-roper-review.html 






Tell us about Shadows on the Sand the featured book.
Shadows is the fifth book set in my fictional Jersey Shore community of Seaside. Carrie, my heroine, operates a cafe in the heart of town. She's had a hard life and struggles to put the pain and hurt behind her.  Greg is an ex-cop with his own tragic past that he's finally rising above. They, of course, provide the romantic thread of this romantic suspense.

Andi works for Carrie and lives with her Uncle Clooney. She's hiding both a personal secret and a highly dangerous one. When Carrie's dishwasher is killed and Andi disappears, Carrie and Greg team up to solve the various mysteries.

As Carrie and Greg fight for their lives, they learn there's a time for every purpose under heaven.
Can you tell us how many books you have in print in the Christian market?
Counting ebooks, there are currently fifteen of my titles in print.

Is there a particular book among those you've written that you would especially recommend to our readers?  If so, why?
Of course I recommend Shadows on the Sand. It says some important things about cults, forgiveness, and God's timing in our lives, all wrapped in a great story. I also recommend Allah's Fire, a military intrigue that considers Islam and the Palestinian situation. And there's Spring Rain that speaks to the issue of a gay family member. But even when I talk about controversial topics in my books, I'm primarily a story teller. Action, adventure, conflict and emotion are uppermost in all these books.

The Christian fiction field has rapidly expanded over the past few years.  What would you like to see happen in this field in the years to come?
I'm delighted with the expansion of Christian fiction into so many genres and styles of story telling. I've been writing for over 40 years, and it's been exciting to be along for this wonderful ride. I would like to see the quality of our writing and the breadth of our audience continue to increase while we stay true to the eternal message of Christ.

How can readers and fans encourage you as you pursue what is sometimes a challenging and solitary job?
I'm always encouraged by brief notes from those who have read one of my books. And of course I'd love prayers that my writing touches hearts both as good story telling and as a vehicle that turns hearts to God.

If you could only take five books with you on a journey of ten years, which ones would you take?
Obviously the Bible. Knowing God, JI Packer. The One Year Christian History, Rusten and Rusten. Dream a Little Dream, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Ferocious Sudoku, Will Shortz.

If you had 48 hours to hang out with any TWO people (besides Jesus), alive or dead in the history of the world who would you hang out with and what would you do?
Carolyn Custis James and Anne Boleyn.

What three things are you most thankful for in your life?
My family, both my birth one and the ones I married into and raised.
My freedom as a woman born in this time and country.
My salvation.

What is the most fun thing you have ever done?
Too hard to name only one thing. There's the family cruise taken before my husband's health failed. There's the white water rafting adventure last summer. There's the week at Sanibel Island with my husband. And the list goes on.

What are you writing now?
I'm working on two projects. The first is a trio of novellas set in Seaside. The second is preparing to launch a blog called Widow's Journey based on my experiences and emotions for the first two years of being widowed..

How can readers find you on the Internet?
I can be found at www.gayleroper.com.

Gayle Roper has graciously donated her book Shadows on the Sand to one of you
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Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org.  ENTRY DEADLINE November 20, 2011

Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper * A Review

ABOUT SHADOWS ON THE SAND
She serves him breakfast at her cafe every morning … but he never seems to notice her.
Carrie Carter’s small cafe in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.
When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.
Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Multnomah Books (July 19, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1601420846
ISBN-13: 978-1601420848
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gayle the Writer: Gayle is the award winning author of more than forty books. She has been a Christy finalist three times for her novels Spring Rain, Summer Shadows, and Winter Winds.
Her novel Autumn Dreams won the prestigious Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance. Summer Shadows was voted the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest Book of the Year (tied with fellow author Brandilyn Collins).
Gayle has won the Holt Medallion three times for The Decision, Caught in a Bind, and Autumn Dreams. The Decision won the Reviewers Choice Award, and Gayle has also won the Award of Excellence for Spring Rain and the Golden Quill for Summer Shadows and Winter Winds. Romantic Times Book Report gave Gayle the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her Amhearst mystery series, Caught in the Middle, Caught in the Act, and Caught in a Bind, originally published by Zondervan, was reprinted in 2007 by Love Inspired Suspense with a fourth original title added, Caught Redhanded. Another original single title, See No Evil, was also released. Caught in the Middle has been optioned for film.
A Woman and her Emotions, an updated and expanded version of Gayle's title Balancing Your Emotions, also saw release in 2007. Gayle's other nonfiction title, Riding the Waves, has been called the "thinking woman's book on contentment".
2008 sees the release of Fatal Deduction (Waterbrook Multnomah) in May. Publishers Weekly states, "Roper's dialogue and character development are spot-on, which is no small feat, considering that Libby's world is peopled by everyone from elderly patricians to two-bit gangsters…This novel is a pleasure from start to finish."

Gayle the Teacher:  For her work in training Christian writers Gayle has won special recognition from Mount Hermon CWC, St. Davids CWC, Florida CWC, and Greater Philadelphia CWC. She directed St. Davids for five years and Sandy Cove CWC for six. She has taught with Christian Leaders, Authors and Speakers Services (CLASS), serving for several years as their writer in residence.
Gayle enjoys speaking at women's events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality.
When she's not writing, or teaching at conferences, Gayle enjoys reading, gardening, and eating out.
http://www.gayleroper.com/home.html

MY REVIEW
  Another author I haven’t read any of her books before. She is new to me and I really loved this book.
  Right off I really liked/sympathized with one of the main characters Carrie. She is full of spunk, but also tender, but acts tough. It is hard for her to trust people after the way her mother brought her and her younger sister up.
   It was very easy to get involved in this story and it was hard to put down. I couldn’t wait to read it, but didn’t want it to end.
  This book Shadows on the Sand is full of love, patience, suspense and forgiveness. Each of the main characters had something happen in their past that they need to let go of and move on in life. In each other they find how they can do that.
  Also a cult is after two of Carrie’s employees, but she doesn’t know this. It’s sad how things like this happen and no one knows what is going on.
  In this whole book people are dealing with love, loss and forgiveness. Each person deals with things differently.
  I really love the setting of this book. It’s called Seaside, New Jersey and just sounds like a place you would love to live or vacation at. Carrie’s café sounds so very special, warm and inviting. Just a place you would love to visit and share with a friend.
 I highly recommend Shadows on the Sand. You will love it.

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Thanks to WaterBrookMultnomah for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255