HEAVEN'S BLUE IS BACK!

At long last, HEAVEN'S BLUE is available once more in a digital format with a brand new cover designed by Taria Reed. The book garnered EPIC's eBook Award for Best Inspirational way back in 2005. Now you can download it not only on the Kindle, but at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and several other ebook distributors.

But best of all, HEAVEN'S BLUE is also available in a new paper edition! Isn't it beautiful? I'll be giving away TWO of the proofs of this book. One has little notes written in it by me, but otherwise it's in good shape. Although, as a proof copy it has a gray bar right across the heroine's face. 😢

If you'd like to win one of the proof copies, sign up now at http://penelopemarzec.weebly.com/contact-me.html Make sure you write HEAVEN'S BLUE in the comment box so I know you are hoping to win one of the books. The drawing will be held on August 16, 2019. The winners will be contacted at that time.

Many of the reviews from the original edition are long gone, but I saved them all in a folder. 😊
One of my favorite reviews was written in Romantic Times. The last line of that review said, "Marzec's inspirational novel is a wonderful blend of hope, love and belief forged in the fire of adversity."

I'll be lowering the price of the ebook edition to $0.99 in the next few days. It will be featured in Bargain Booksy on Saturday, August 3, 2019, and in Ereader News Today on August 4, 2019. 

Do You Like Bumper Cars?

That's hubby back in 1976 in a bumper car at the Keansburg Amusement Park. I am not fond of wild amusement rides, but I always enjoyed bumper cars. Our daughters rode the bumper cars, too. We used to laugh and say that's where they got their driver's licenses.

The bumper cars in Keansburg were ancient even in 1976, but they worked. The smell of ozone always lingered in the air from the sparking metal ceiling. Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Keansburg Amusement Park, but it was renovated and there are new bumper cars in operation now. The updated bumper cars are sleek and modern.

They are still great fun.

What are your favorite summertime amusement rides?

Not-So-Ancient Migrations

Uncle Henry and his father sitting on the hay in Poland.

When Ancestry had a special price offer for a DNA test, Daughter #2 and I decided to give it a try. My uncle had taken the test several years ago. His results were just about what everyone expected—except for a touch of Viking--though even that should have been expected. After all, my uncle is half Irish and the Vikings undoubtedly visited Ireland on a regular basis.

When Daughter #2 and I received our results, it was also much as we expected—except I didn't have even a tinge of Viking, which was disappointing. However, there was a long smear reaching out into Asia. Interesting! I always wondered if there was a bit of Genghis Klan in our family line or maybe a little Attila the Hun. My mother’s family had some mighty high cheekbones--and hubby's father had those same high cheekbones as well.

Daughter #2 became engrossed with ancient migrations. I had books to write, edit, and reissue.

Meanwhile, hubby continued to go through his family’s photo albums with his mother and when it comes to not-so-ancient migrations, the Polish side of the family has done quite a bit of traveling around. 

On the farm in Poland

Hubby's Polish paternal grandparents lived in Detroit where their sons were born. When the Polish Republic was established after World War I, they decided to return to Poland. When World War II became imminent the two oldest sons, hubby's father and his uncle returned to the United States. 

Their younger brother, who stayed in Poland, joined the Polish resistance and was shot by the Germans in front of his parents. However, the parents remained in Poland. 

Making butter the old-fashioned way in Poland.

Hubby never visited his grandparents, but in the 1960s, his parents and his uncle went to Poland to visit with hubby's grandparents, now elderly but still working on the farm. The photos on this page are from that time. When I first saw them, I thought they looked like they were from the late 1800s. 

Daughter #2 and I still know very little about the Polish line of the family. The country was overrun by other countries on a regular basis and during World War II it is estimated that six million Polish citizens perished--three million ethnic Poles and three million Jews.

Yet hubby's grandparents made it through the war and were able to see their older sons before they died. Those people were amazingly resilient. 

Cover Reveal for HEAVEN'S BLUE!

It's perfect! My book, HEAVEN'S BLUE, has a new cover designed by the awesome Taria Reed. The book was originally published by Awe-Struck Publishing in 2004. It won the EPIC Award for Best Inspirational Fiction in 2005. It will soon be available once again in digital versions and in a new print version. 

This Christian romance is the story of Samantha Lyons, a research scientist, who has finally come home to Clam Creek, a sleepy little town on the marsh in New Jersey, but she needs an assistant to complete her mosquito research if she wants to continue living at Field Station Number 37, the first real home she has ever had. When David Halpern drives into town he is out of options. Robbed and on the run, he and his son find sustenance in the basement of Holy Redeemer church and a job offer from Samantha. David assumes he’ll be safe from discovery in the backwater town and accepts the position. Then Samantha discovers David has kidnapped his son. She knows she isn’t likely to get any other help so she aids David in his deception, never suspecting she might lose her heart. 

💖