My Contest Winning Books

Reviews are very important to all authors. A positive review can help to convince someone to buy a book.  There will always be negative reviews, but those are often outweighed by the many readers who appreciated the story.

Contests are helpful in selling books as well as long as the contests are reputable ones. Several of my books have been winners or finaled in contests, which is why I call myself an award-winning author--because I am. 

The first book of mine that was published, SEA OF HOPE, won the 2002 EPPIE Award Winner for Best Inspirational Novel.

HEAVEN'S BLUE was an EPPIE Award Winner for Best Inspirational Fiction.

PATRIOT'S COURAGE won the NEST Award (National Excellence in Story Telling) for Best Inspirational. 

THE COWBOY'S MIRACLE won third place in the Ancient City Romance Writers' Heart of Excellence Readers' Choice Award and was named a finalist in the EPIC eBook Awards. 

LOVE'S GIFT is a finalist for the Golden Leaf Award from the New Jersey Romance Writers.

THE KEEPER'S PROMISE was an EPPIE finalist for Inspiration Fiction in 2009. (This book was later released as THE KEEPER'S SECRET by Prism Lux in 2024.

IRONS IN THE FIRE was awarded Best Small Press Paranormal in the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

Those are the accolades for several of my books. However, there are far more reviews than awards. Most of my books are very inexpensive and some are available with Kindle Unlimited. Many are also available for free from Hoopla and Libby library apps. 

Take some time off and read a good book! 

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The Salt Mine

 Way back in 1973, I signed up for the Summer Study in Italy course, which was offered through Trenton State College—now The College of New Jersey. (I really hate it when colleges change their names.) A colleague of mine suggested the tour because she went on it and loved every moment of it. I signed up, saved my money, and when June came I flew off to France with the tour group. The course included six weeks in Italy, but there was initially a week in Paris and at the end of the tour, a week in Munich. 

The photo above was taken on that last week in Germany when we went down into a salt mine. Everyone donned special protective clothing and boarded a small train. The salt mine was large and to me, it smelled salty. 😆 It was a fun way to end our time together. After eight weeks, we all knew each other quite well. 

I took two courses on that trip, an art history course and a watercolor course. The credits transferred toward the graduate degree I was pursuing at Jersey City State College—now the New Jersey City University. (Why did they have to change the name?) 

It was the first time I was away from home for such a long amount of time and I was homesick for a while—until my cousin wandered into town. He was touring Europe that summer, too, and his mother instructed him to visit me. He showed me the letter she wrote to him as proof.😂

I brought my guitar with me, but also discovered the residenza where we stayed in Florence had a piano in the basement. I bought a crochet hook when we landed in Paris. LOL! Some things about me never change. Obviously, I had homework but I enjoy being busy all the time. I wasn’t writing any books at the time though I wrote many, many letters home. The internet hadn’t been invented and phone calls were practically impossible. I still have all the letters. Those are a real treasure to me. 

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I Did It!!!

I did it again! I wrote 30,000 words in the month of February on my current Work-In-Progress for the JeRoWriMo challenge. I still don’t have a name for the book but it is set in 1918 in New Jersey, which is one of my favorite places. 😊

The JeRoWritMo Challenge is a wonderful way to focus on writing. There are cheerleaders who acknowledge each writer’s success in typing out the words every day. It’s a wonderful way to push through and get the words down. 

I am very grateful to the New Jersey Romance Writers for hosting this challenge. 

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LOVE’S GIFT IS A FINALIST!

LOVE’S GIFT is a finalist in the NJ Romance Writers’ Golden Leaf Awards! I am thrilled. 🤩 

https://www.amazon.com/Loves-Gift-Penelope-Marzec-ebook/dp/B0D49BZ5P4 

 

Do You Like Snow?

We are supposed to have a significant snowstorm. We have stocked up on food. We have battery lanterns and wood for the fireplace in case we lose power. I am not looking forward to digging out.

When I was young, I used to love snow. School would close and I could go sledding and make snowmen. I loved ice skating. I'd shovel the snow off the ice and have my personal skating rink. I tried skiing in my twenties, but it was an expensive hobby because more often than not, there wasn't enough snow in this part of NJ.

I don't ever remember being cold.

Then I grew up. Snowstorms create problems. Now I worry. I worry about my nearest and dearest driving in the snow. I worry about heavy ice on tree limbs. I worry about slipping on the ice. 

Nevertheless, falling snow is still pretty to see. I like the quiet that settles on the neighborhood as sound is muffled by the soft coating. I still find it magical to wake up and see a world of glittering diamond dust on all the trees and bushes. 

I always study the snowflakes on the sleeve of my coat and on my mittens to see if each one is really unique. I take photographs of the snow even though I have to put on extra layers of clothing so I don't feel the cold as much. 

Waiting for the snow to stop is also a great time to read books. 

But then the storm ends. The peace of the neighborhood ends, too, as snowblowers, plows, and shovels struggle to move the white stuff out of the way. 

Stay safe everyone. 

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Reflecting

      I took this photo in one of our local parks on a cloudy but mild day. Without any wind, the lake became a mirror, reflecting everything perfectly. I was sitting on a bench opposite the one in the photo and doing some mental reflecting. My oldest daughter gave me a very lovely notebook for Christmas. When I'm writing a book, I usually type out the story. I can type much faster than I can write by hand. However, I decided to use the notebook for reflections of the past. Life was very different in the 1950s when I was a child growing up in a small neighborhood. Maybe someday my granddaughter would be interested in reading about my experiences. Of course, I'll be writing in cursive so I hope she learns how to decipher my flowing script. 😄

     But I'll still be typing out another book, too. I've entered the JeRoWriMo challenge again in hopes of writing out 30,000 words in the month of February. Wish me luck. 

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Guest Post: THE SECRET INGREDIENT by Kirsten Clark

My guest today is Kirsten Clark. She developed a deep and abiding love for stories at a young age, and has been plotting how to become an author ever since. When not writing sweet romances, she can be found in the classroom teaching at her local college, curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book, or baking chocolate cake while listening to podcasts. A graduate of the Universities of Alberta and British Columbia, she lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband and two children, who keep her on her toes.

     Kirsten's latest release is The Secret Ingredient. It's about the Holy Grounds shop which runs on two things: the nutty, caramel scent of coffee and Sebastien Davenport's beloved cranberry-gingerbread muffins.

     When the pastry chef collapses days before Christmas, owner Bridgette Calloway faces an impossible morning rush and an even harder truth: the beloved chef she's leaned on may need her more than ever.
     When a frightening diagnosis upends Seb's independence and he's at his lowest, it's his boss he finds himself calling. Perhaps she's more than a boss after all… Bridgette shows up with a Bible, Chinese takeout, and the solid courage he didn't know he needed. In the hush of winter and a kitchen dusted with flour and light, their friendship warms into something deeper. But fear, pride, and new limitations could cost them more than a holiday menu.
     As carols ring and candlelight glows, Bridgette and Seb are thrust into uncharted territory and must make a choice. Will they retreat into safety, or put their trust in the God who writes love stories in unexpected places like a coffee sleeve, a baker's bench, and prayer whispered over racks of cooling pastries?

Now for an excerpt! Enjoy!

     Bridgette pulled a pan of muffins from the oven before silencing a blaring alarm. “Iris, the tops are pointy. Again.”

     Iris didn't speak but wrinkled her nose as she joined Bridgette in the kitchen, inspecting the latest batch.

     “I must’ve overmixed the batter.” Bridgette sucked in a breath in a futile attempt to hold back the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “I, I...I made sure to weigh the flour and to set the oven properly to temperature, and I even used a timer for the stand mixer and these darn muffin tops still came out looking like mountains!”

     “I see that,” Iris said mildly, knotting a forest green apron around her hips before turning to wash her hands in the shiny industrial sink. “Sebastien never overmixes the batter,” she shot over her shoulder.

     Bridgette swallowed a sigh, resigning herself to the incoming tears. Iris was...Iris. A cosmetology student with purple hair. Chunky silver necklaces. Thick eyeliner. And she was also right. Seb’s muffins always came out perfect. What was she going to do?

     Bridgette pulled up the bottom of her apron, wiping her eyes. Crying was OK. She was only human after all. But, she thought, clacking a perfectly manicured nail on the shiny metal counter, she also had a job to do. Bridgette allowed a pause, holding up a hand to admire the sparkles in her latest manicure. The garnet has been a good choice this time. Very Christmassy. She shook her head as if to clear cobwebs. No, no time for pretty things. Focus.

     Because even without Sebastien, Bridgette had to have baking to offer her customers. When the usual crowd walked through her front door they expected to be greeted with the nutty, caramel scent of coffee and—in December—the warm spiciness of Seb’s famous cranberry gingerbread muffins, just as much as they expected catchy worship music playing over the speakers and Bible verses on their drink sleeves. The muffins were an integral part of what made Holy Grounds, well, Holy Grounds.

One reviewer called this story, "...an enjoyable and heartwarming story that proves God still answers prayer."

Visit Kirsten's website at: https://www.kirstenclarkauthor.com/

Get your copy of THE SECRET INGREDIENT now at:

Amazon 

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

Apple

Pelican Book Group