Amanda Cabot writes inspirational romances that carry a message of hope and forgiveness. Though many of her books are written as trilogies, they can be read in any sequence.
Amanda writes historical romances because she’s fascinated by what life was like in earlier days. She used to write romances for the secular market, but switched to Christian novels after hearing the request from many fans over the years.
“In today’s world, with all the economic uncertainty and political divisions, I think it’s more important than ever to tell stories that affirm positive values, and what could be more positive than love and the promise of eternal life?” Amanda says.
She carefully researches her stories to provide enough details for readers to be feel as if they’re transported to the same era. As a result, she spends a lot of her time at libraries, and she usually starts with the children’s section. The books there have enough detail to provide a framework for a story without getting bogged down with hundreds of pages. Once her first draft is complete, Amanda knows exactly which additional details are required.
While writing at her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Amanda sticks to a two-chapters-a-week schedule. She aims to have the two chapters done by Friday morning. If she hasn’t finished, she continues writing Friday afternoon and Saturday.
Amanda often hears from aspiring writers, and she provides some succinct advice: Never give up.
“Rejection is a fact of life,” she said. “But if you let it defeat you, if you stop sending out your manuscript just because it was rejected, you’ll never be published. Believe in your book and in yourself.”
At the top of today’s Buffet is Paper Roses, Book 1 of Amanda’s Texas Dreams series, which sweeps readers into the Hill Country with a tale of love and loss, closed doors, and beautiful possibilities.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours (except for the “Kindle Daily Deals” on page 3). Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Book #1): A Novel
Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah Dobbs arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom–a man she has never met but whose letters, her paper roses, have won her heart from afar.
But there is a problem–Austin Canfield is dead, and Sarah cannot go back East. As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin’s brother Clay wants nothing more than to shake the Texas dust from his boots, but first he must find his brother’s killer. And then there’s Sarah. Something is blooming out in the vast Texas landscape that neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit, and the promise of redemption blows like a gentle breeze through the prairie grasses.
blog advertising is good for you
The Girl in the Italian Bakery
Biographies & Memoirs
- $9.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Life didn’t do Kenny Tingle any favors. In The Girl in the Italian Bakery, follow his journey from childhood in a tough housing project north of Boston, the abduction and disappearance of a childhood friend, to the complete destruction of a family. His introduction to crime and the years he spent in foster homes. The poor choices he made in high school and the startling climax on prom night. Although he never has trouble meeting girls, the one girl he longs for always seems out of reach. The Girl in the Italian Bakery is the remarkably true story of always keeping hope, even when there is little left to hope for. This is a story of surviving through extreme adversity, and, ultimately, redemption.
Life didn’t do Kenny Tingle any favors. In The Girl in the Italian Bakery, follow his journey from childhood in a tough housing project north of Boston, the abduction and disappearance of a childhood friend, to the complete destruction of a family. His introduction to crime and the years he spent in foster homes. The poor choices he made in high school and the startling climax on prom night. Although he never has trouble meeting girls, the one girl he longs for always seems out of reach. The Girl in the Italian Bakery is the remarkably true story of always keeping hope, even when there is little left to hope for. This is a story of surviving through extreme adversity, and, ultimately, redemption.
No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom Book #1)
Religious Fiction
Lured by a handful of scribbled words across a faded letter, Cara Hamilton sets off from 1896 Ireland on a quest to find the brother she’d thought dead. Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend–Rourke Walsh.
Despite her brother’s warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara’s desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke’s true intentions come to light.
They Shall See God
Mystery & Thrillers
Little Katie was a Christian. Her very best friend Ruth was a Jew. The girls’ eyewitness testimony sent a bad man to Louisiana’s infamous Angola prison. 25 years later, Ruth has become an embittered Rabbi, Kate is a lonely widow, the bad man is out, and people are dying in the strangest of ways.
Torn apart in childhood by animosities beyond their understanding, Kate and Ruth can no longer elude the past’s unfinished business. To survive, these very different women must reach out to each other in spite of the mayhem and mistrust that shrouds one vital truth: sometimes the most dangerous of enemies crouches just inside the human heart.
Hot Flash
Romance
- $7.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Runaway: 1 (Starlight Animal Rescue)
Children’s eBooks
Author: Dandi Daley Mackall
Meet 16-year-old Dakota Brown. She used to love all things “horse” until she lost everything, including hope. The minute she sets foot on her foster parents’ farm—Starlight Animal Rescue—she plans her escape. But can an “impossible” horse named Blackfire and this quirky collection of animal lovers be the home she’s always dreamed of?
The Devil and Preston Black (Murder Ballads and Whiskey)
Fantasy
- $2.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Preston Black has a nasty habit of falling in love with the wrong type of woman. But girls who don’t play nice are the least of his problems. This handsome bar band guitarist isn’t washed-up, but he’s about to be. He’s broke, he’s tired of playing covers and he’s obsessed with the Curse of 27.
He’s about to add ‘deal with the devil’ to his list.
Lucky for Preston, he has help. Like the angelic beauty who picks him up when he’s down. And the university professor who helps him sort through old Appalachian hexes and curses to find the song that may be his only shot at redemption. And when things get real bad, he has the ghost of John Lennon to remind him that “nothing is real.”
Baked Chicago’s Simply Decadent Brownies Cookbook
Cooking, Food & Wine
People love eating brownies. And you’re going to love making them with this book as your guide. Author Harvey Morris shares tried and true – yet unusually decadent – brownie recipes that will turn on the taste buds of your family and friends. These recipes are easy to follow and simple to execute, with each recipe fitting on a single page and without creating a sink full of dirty pots and pans!
Your guests will literally squeal with delight when you serve them the Bacon & Salted Caramel Brownies or the Marshmallow Pretzel Crunch Brownies. Your family will beg you to make the Deconstructed S’Mores Brownies or Chipotle Chocolate Brownies for Sunday dinner.
Justice in June (Mary Magruder Katz)
Mystery & Thrillers
- $2.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Miami in June: it’s raining, it’s pouring, but the life of criminal defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz is anything but boring—especially when she gets caught up in a whirlwind of three different cases.
Judge Liz Maxwell’s job, sanity, and reputation are at stake, and she needs Mary to ferret out wrongdoing in Miami’s courts. Solving this case won’t just mean going out on a limb; it will mean risking life and limb.
Luis Corona, a family friend of Mary’s boyfriend, Carlos, needs help with a legal matter that, to Mary’s horror, turns out to be a terrorism charge. And this case will leave some catastrophic damage—and unwelcome notoriety—in its wake.
Just when Mary thought things couldn’t get worse, Carlos gets in his own nasty legal quandary—one that could cost him everything.
The Minstrel’s Tale
Teens
- $2.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Fourteenth Century, France. Amos Questerly, a wandering minstrel takes on a mysterious young apprentice. But his new protégé, Richard, carries a deadly secret. A secret someone is willing to kill for. To reach safety they must earn their way to England by telling exciting stories of magical swords, princesses, and dragons, while danger follows on their heels.
The Love Market
Contemporary Fiction
Three years after seeing her first love, Patrick, quite by chance in London, Celine’s ten-year marriage to Mike is over. She is running her own business, a professional matchmaking service called The Love Market, in Northern England, and coping with the unanticipated heartbreak of a marriage ending – not to mention her quirky twelve-year-old daughter who blames her for the split.
Then, out of the blue, Patrick emails. Celine is tempted to find out if all the old feelings can still possibly be there, but then Mike has an unusual proposition for her. One that forces her to question whether a divorce really means it’s over.
My Emily
Parenting & Families
- $5.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Emily wasn’t born perfect – so one might think.
She was born with Down Syndrome and many would jump to the conclusion that she would have very little hope for a life with any significance. Two years later came the diagnosis of leukemia. What little hope remaining turned to no hope whatsoever – or so one might think.
The life of this little girl, with all its perceived imperfections, had great meaning. Her loving nature and courage touched the hearts of everyone she met. She also taught them how to value their own lives – even with their many “imperfections.”
The Grimm Curse (Once Upon A Time Is Now)
Fantasy
- $2.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
From the creator of NBC’s hit series, GRIMM, Stephen Carpenter presents his original novel, THE GRIMM CURSE (Once Upon A Time is Now).
Fifteen year-old Jake Grimm is the last living descendent of the Brothers Grimm, who wrote the famous fairy tales in the 1800′s. But Jake grew up never knowing his true destiny until he ran away from his unhappy foster home, to the place of his birth–Woodland–a small town nestled deep in a Northwestern forest.
In Woodland, Jake discovers that the fairy tales are real, and they are happening today. And Jake, as the last living Grimm, is the only one who can stop the witches, big bad wolves, and evil stepmothers who are all alive and well, and about to wreak havoc in the small town of Woodland.
Because once upon a time is now.
Firecracker
Fantasy
A team of eccentric psychics who assist local authorities with difficult cases has reluctantly hired Aideen Cassidy, a timid pyrokinetic who has managed to accidentally burn to rubble every building she’s ever worked in. Now, after months of scraping by on the last of her savings and spending every day terrified of her own gifts, she’s being given the chance to prove her worth. To be accepted for who and what she is.
But there’s more happening behind the scenes than anyone realizes, and Aideen soon finds herself caught in a conspiracy of evil monsters and dangerous assassins that dates back over six hundred years.
Affluenza
Literary Fiction
Charles Dash has everything a young insurance executive rising through the ranks of Midwestern Accident and Life can hope for-a beautiful wife, a white Mustang, a townhouse, a tape deck, satin sheets, and contemporary leather furniture. As Dash climbs the corporate ladder, his superiors soon recognize his brutal skill set: denying customer claims with a ruthlessness they had seldom seen. Midwestern rewards Dash with promotions. Banks reward him with credit cards.
Soon Dash finds his spending spiraling out of control. Ensnared in the vicious cycle of spending, he finally has to remortgage his house, but soon, even that isn’t enough. Broke and desperate, Dash decides to wage a violent one-man war against the credit card companies.
First Lady Down
Men’s Adventure
- $0.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
When a sniper tries to assassinate the President, but accidentally kills the First Lady, everyone thinks it was a clear case of a bad shot. But as one investigator digs deeper, he finds evidence that suggests the First Lady was really the target. But his superiors ignore him and he has to go it alone. Within a few short hours, he is elbow-deep in government agents, hired thugs, lying witnesses and enough killers to stock a small country. As he gets closer and closer to the secret cabal behind the assassination, they fight back. To stay alive, the investigator goes on the run–but where do you go when there’s no place to hide.
The Devil’s Fire: A Pirate Adventure Novel
Action & Adventure
- $4.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
The year is 1717. Katherine Lindsay, the pampered young wife of a wealthy ship captain, has left her leisurely life in London to accompany her husband to America. So far, their journey has been uneventful, even boring. But when ruthless pirates suddenly storm on board to plunder her husband’s riches, Katherine is one of the treasures they steal… and in an instant her life is changed forever.
LITTLE WHITE LIES (The Carringtons)
Romance
Miranda Carrington has been secretly in love with her boss for years, but after getting involved with his twin brother, Jack, and also spending one passionate night with Holt, she has a serious problem. Miranda is pregnant and doesn’t know which one of them is the father.
Grave Situation
Mystery & Thrillers
- $0.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Halifax cop Allan Stanton is a troubled homicide detective who has lost everything, including his family and his sense of justice. When he finally decides to leave the force and start over, he’s assigned a string of murders that all bear the signs of a serial killer collecting trophies. As Stanton unravels each grisly crime scene, the mounting evidence points uncomfortably close to him, forcing him to confront a past he’d rather forget–and a dangerous future when the killer targets Stanton himself.
Getting Organized: Improving Focus, Organization and Productivity
Advice & How-to
- $9.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Getting Organized is a collection of simple ideas that address at least six major issues that could be generating chaos and disorder in your life. The ideas are presented in a simple format, with specific suggestions on how to put each idea to work, so busy people can find the time to read and try them. You’ll find effective solutions to your organizing challenges and will enjoy the benefits for years to come.
Embers of Hope (Second Gift Series)
Contemporary Fiction
- $0.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Savanna Thompson knows what it’s like when you blink and your life shatters. She’s been hiding her divorce from her best friend Cassie, but she knows she can’t any longer. Cassie’s husband, a firefighter, just died. Savanna rushes home, along with her one-year-old daughter to help, and now she’s staying with Cassie in a nursery meant for a baby that won’t ever exist.
She will fix their relationship, but it’s complicated with Jason around. He’s the firefighter who saved Savanna’s life two and a half years ago. He just lost his best friend, and like Cassie, he blames himself for Mike’s death. When he convinced Mike to remain with the department, how could he know Mike would die fighting a house fire?
Angel On Board – Guardian Angels 101
Fiction
- $9.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
If you’ve ever wondered whether:
- Our guardian angels leave presents for us?
- Our guardian angels play with babies, when no one is looking?
- Our guardian angels dance alongside of us, when we’re happy?
You’ll have the answer by the end of the novel, you’ll be convinced that our guardian angels not only play with us, but help us and protect us in ways we’ll never truly fully appreciate.
Toonopolis: Gemini (Toonopolis Files, #1)
Comics & Graphic Novels
- $2.99 List Price
- See Kindle Price at Amazon.com
Gemini finds himself thrown into a cartoon universe, becomes a reluctant hero, and fights to save Toonopolis’s destruction from a deadly shadowy figure.
Hungry For More
Romance
Hot-tempered celebrity chef Paul Devoe has no problem handling those elements in the kitchen- but when Nanny Bridget Parker introduces them into his every day life, he quickly realizes that he is out of his league!
Bridget has raised “Tad” Devoe since he was born. He’s much more of a son than a charge. Bridget is devastated to learn that she might lose Tad when he goes to live with his negligent father after his mother’s untimely death.