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Body Beats to Build On: A Fiction Writer's Resource Nov 18, 2019

$5.99

2,500+ templates for constructing unique body beats.

"My go-to writing tool." -Amazon reviewer
"A true lifesaver for those hair-pulling hours trying to edit my overused and tired beats." -Amazon reviewer
"This book allowed me to look up an action and find tons of options to choose from, helping to make the writing less predictable and really come to life." -Amazon reviewer

BODY BEATS TO BUILD ON is on a mission to nix the same old "he smiled" and "she shrugged," to transform worn-out beats into phrasing the reader won’t flag as been-there-done-that. Need help revolutionizing your tired beats? Now, there’s a resource.

It all starts with a gasp. Fifty-seven of them actually. In one manuscript. You probably just gasped. Or maybe you...gulped air, pulled a sharp breath through your teeth, sucked in a lungful of wind, or took a crisply indrawn breath

The truth is, having numerous inhales over the course of a manuscript isn’t so odd—we humans, even the fictional kind, do tend to breathe. The trouble come with repetition, which readers will interpret as a lack of originality or, Muse forbid, laziness. And they’ll be right.

Staying inventive isn’t easy, though. Especially when it comes to those actions an author can’t avoid repeating, such as gazing, raising eyebrows, making a fist, and the list goes on. Use this fiction writer’s thesaurus to add variety to repetitive body beats!

BODY BEATS TO BUILD ON is an emotion phrase book that provides the bones for fresh, vibrant content. Layer with a little imagination, mix and match, and voilà—endless, unique beats. No more pet phrases. No more wasting time in search of a different way to write "she blushed." Just you and your manuscript climbing to the next level. This easy-to-navigate tool for novelists is a must-have for your fiction self-editing checklist.

Bonus Material:
--thesaurus of 600+ adjectives used to describe gazes, smiles, and laughter
--library of 500 dialogue tags categorized for quick grab

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Red Feather: a Christian Native American Historical Novel (Beneath the Blackberry Moon Book 1) Jan 19, 2016

by April W Gardner

( 374 )

$0.99

She trusts God while bracing for attack. He makes war to protect his clan. Amidst a bloody conflict, will either survive the inevitable collision?

Tensaw Settlements, 1813. Twenty-year-old Adela McGirth strives to follow God’s will. While pondering whether to accept a seemingly ideal proposal from her suitor, the sweet settler’s daughter encounters a band of native intruders on her family’s land. But soon after a handsome member of the party shows her mercy, Adela is terrified when they return for a brutal attack that ends in her captivity.

Totka Hadjo is eager to prove his worth. After a gunshot wound ended his status as a renowned fighter, the fierce Creek warrior reluctantly joins an aggressive faction. But when their raid leads to a beautiful redhead being placed as a slave in his household, he struggles when the young woman begins to evoke unexpected feelings of desire.

As Adela adjusts to life in the village and slowly opens up to the honorable man, she still searches for opportunities to escape and track down her missing father. But as Totka catches wind of bluecoat soldiers closing in and a longtime rival threatening to steal Adela away, he fears the only way to protect her is to let her go.

Can he win over her trust before the world tears them apart?

The Red Feather is part one of the addictive Beneath the Blackberry Moon trilogy of Christian women’s historical fiction. If you like sweeping sagas, strong women of faith, and romantic overtones, then you’ll adore April W Gardner’s moving journey of heart and spirit.

Buy The Red Feather to conquer fear today!

PLEASE NOTE: This is a three-part story. Some of its plot threads continue into parts 2 and 3.

Books in Beneath the Blackberry Moon, a Christian Native American Historical Fiction series
(must be read together)
Part 1, The Red Feather
Part 2, The Sacred Writings
Part 3, The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories (bonus reading for fans!)

Other romance books in the Beneath the Blackberry Moon world:
Drawn by the Frost Moon Series
(standalones)
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Better than Fiction: (A Christian Dual Timeline Novel) Apr 4, 2016

by Michelle Massaro, April W Gardner

( 73 )

$2.99

Imagining him was harmless...until it wasn't.

Romance novelist Meghan Townsend’s marriage is slipping, and no amount of prayer seems to help. She aims to recapture her husband’s waning attention by getting in shape and finds escape by crafting her own fictional love story. Taking inspiration for the hero from a new friend—the attractive, spiritual, and attentive Curtis Jameson—she pours her yearnings onto the page, and craves the kind of pulse-pounding romance found in her book, Racing Hearts...

In 1916 Corona, California, motorcars are all the rage, and racing them is what Meghan’s hero, Russell Keegan, does best. But when his competition vandalizes his car, the only mechanic available is a greasy woman in a man’s overalls. After a racing accident claimed her father’s life, Winifred became the sole breadwinner for her family. She is disdained as a female mechanic, but her daddy's trade is all she has left. Can she swallow her hatred of the races and take up Russell's offer of big bucks to fix his car, or will she lose everything to mounting debt?

Under Meghan's skillful pen, these two embark on a thrilling, adventurous romance. But she finds that writing those love scenes with Curtis’s face in mind takes her heart places it shouldn’t go. Will she realize in time that real life can be better than fiction?

About Better than Fiction
Better than Fiction is a unique, fun blend of Christian women's fiction and turn-of-the 20th century historical romance. It has given two best writer buddies an excuse to work together, laugh together, create together. It’s given them an opportunity to spotlight the colorful town of Corona, California in this lighthearted romance, while sharing their burden for the woman tempted by infidelity or struggling with an affair of the heart.

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Sacred Writings: a Native American Christian Romance (Beneath the Blackberry Moon Book 2) Jan 19, 2016

by April W Gardner

( 92 )

$4.99

(Christian Historical Romance) Big Warrior Totka Hadjo enters his toughest battles yet—the fight for love, the invasion of fear, and the inescapable ashes of each. (Part 2 in Beneath the Blackberry Moon)

The war has ended, and now, Totka Hadjo must endure eleven moons and twenty-six sleeps without his beloved Copper Woman. But he has a two-fold task to keep him occupied: establish a lodge deserving of her and challenge her Jesus Creator to a vision, to prove his existence. Totka leaves the white settlements with Copper Woman’s holy book, an object with medicine strong enough to keep at bay the hounding ghosts of his unavenged ancestors. But the sacred writings cannot restrain the Bluecoat who has returned from the dead, the one who first owned her heart. From the far reaches of the Muscogee Confederacy, Totka is powerless to stop the onslaught of events that conspires to take his beloved from him forever. Leaping Waters, Totka’s old passion, is a constant presence he cannot escape, but she might be able to unlock the spiritual mysteries found in the holy book’s talking leaves. While he wades through the confusing symbols, the Choctaws, his ancient enemy, are determined to seize prime Muscogee hunting lands. In the process, they aggravate wounds that might never heal and expose him to a truth too bitter to swallow. Denial and revenge go down much easier.

Author’s Note:
My goal as a writer is to create a pleasing blend of the historical romance and historical fiction genres. Part 1: the Red Feather is my hearty tribute to romance. Isn’t Totka dreamy? Part 2: the Sacred Writings, while giving a respectful nod to romance, delves into the cultural aspect that history buffs yearn for. It is also a memorial to the Native American tribes who for centuries dominated our Southeastern United States. If you live in Alabama or Georgia, pause for a moment, touch that gorgeous red earth beneath your feet, and remember that this land was not always ours. It first belonged to the Muscogees.

Books in Beneath the Blackberry Moon, a Christian Historical Romance Series
(must be read together)
Part 1, The Red Feather
Part 2, The Sacred Writings
Part 3, The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories (bonus reading for fans!)

Other romance books in the Beneath the Blackberry Moon world:
Drawn by the Frost Moon Series
(standalones)
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Love the War Woman: a Native American Christian Historical Romance (Drawn by the Frost Moon Book 2) Feb 7, 2018

by April W Gardner

( 58 )

$4.99

For the DEFIANCE of a nation. For the DEFENSE of a tribe. For the LOVE of a war woman.

War woman Fierce Mink has loved Tall Bull as long as memory. He is beauty and power, but in the secret pockets of her spirit, he is vastly more. He is the brave to whom she swore her heart, the friend to whom she owes her life, and the chief to whom she will never be bound. Soon, he will be required to take a wife, but lamentably, Mink is severe, intimidating, hard-bitten by war—qualities a man appreciates in combat, not so under the bearskins. But perhaps it’s best he’s blind to her, for he clings viciously to the Beloved Path, and unbeknownst to him, she has joined her fire with Jesus.

Since his youth, Chief Tall Bull has treasured Mink. Even now, in their turbulent refugee world, she is comfort; she is home. Better yet, she shares his passion to preserve the Beloved Path and his fight to start anew in a land where they are no longer hunted. Then, a startling omen: before the blood moon, Tall Bull must make restitution for his transgressions, or the spirits will take payment. From her. A tragedy he would die to prevent. Another portent looms—that of a horde of bluecoat soldiers pecking at their borders, threatening to drive the Red Stick Defiance into uninhabitable swamps. The Defiance will not go quietly, and as Tall Bull prepares for a brutal strike, he realizes the bluecoats aren’t his only enemy, and Mink’s life isn’t all he stands to lose.

PLEASE NOTE: This book was previously listed as book 5 of the Creek Country Saga. Same book, different series organization.

Read the complete Drawn by the Frost Moon Series!
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Other romances in the Drawn by the Frost Moon world:
Beneath the Blackberry Moon Series
(must be read in order)
Part 1:The Red Feather
Part 2. The Sacred Writings
Part 3. The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Ebony Cloak: Part 3 (Beneath the Blackberry Moon) Jan 19, 2016

by April W Gardner

( 75 )

$4.99

(Christian Historical Romance) In the wilds of 1816 Florida, a beautiful slave is free game for depraved men. But for an honorable man, she is a military objective, an asset to be protected, a love that should never be pursued. (Part 3 in Beneath the Blackberry Moon)

Milly’s pale skin provides her with special privileges, but every luxury comes with a command. And Milly is done yielding. On the run, she can pass for white only as long as no one demands she lower her hood. But there’s hope. It lies in the Floridas in a refuge commanded by an army of runaways. Negro Fort. The first sweet taste of freedom convinces Milly that surrender is not an option. But the U.S. Army is keen on the fort’s conquest, and when it accomplishes the unthinkable, Milly must decide whether life is worth fighting for. Major Phillip Bailey has orders to subdue the uprising and return the runaways to their masters, all the while being forced to fight alongside Creek warriors—the same who etched the scars into his mind and flesh. The same who, in a storm of flame and blood, ripped out Phillip’s heart and took her for himself. And then came Milly... While musket balls fly, a war of another sort rages inside Phillip—perpetuate a crumbling dream or pursue the forbidden; follow orders or follow his heart.

Love untamed settings from America's past? How about strong heroes in historical romance? Do they make you sigh? Drawn to know more about our Native American tribes and African American history? Then journey into Part 3, The Ebony Cloak, and come away the richer for it.

About the Beneath the Blackberry Moon, a Christian Historical Romance Series:
Beneath the Blackberry Moon is one story consisting of three complete parts plus a novella-length compilation of bonus scenes.
(must be read in order)
Part 1, The Red Feather
Part 2 The Sacred Writings
Part 3 The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories (supplemental reading)

Other romances in the Beneath the Blackberry Moon world:
Drawn by the Frost Moon Series
(standalones)
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

The Ebony Cloak is based on a tragic yet little-known portion of African American history. Its characters are real and raw and broken. Its setting is gritty and vibrant. Its story is equally so, holding nothing back. Phillip and Milly's journey will open your eyes to love's potential. On the whole, this saga will sweep you away to an enchanting bygone world where cultures collide, romance is breathtakingly tangible, and love is hard-won. Open the pages and see for yourself. But be warned--once opened, there's no closing until The End.

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Finding Pretty Wolf: a Native American Christian Historical Romance (Drawn by the Frost Moon Book 3) Dec 15, 2020

by April W Gardner

( 35 )

$4.99

(Christian Historical Romance) One man was hers for a season. The other, for a lifetime.

Many moons have passed since the spirits threw Pretty Wolf together with a scrawny brave and left them to scratch out an existence in a deserted, war-torn village. Though he became dear to her, duty to the People lured her away. Back now with her fugitive clan in faraway Spanish Territory, she lives at the trade post with her longtime betrothed, the Englishman called Iron Wood. When their war party returns with captive enemy warriors, Pretty Wolf is ill-prepared for one of them to be the boy she abandoned in the north. Neither is she prepared for that boy to have donned a generous spread of muscles. Or for him to have no trouble calling her master.

Night is falling on the Defiance, and it promises to be burial-black. But as Creator Path Maker promised, Strong Bear has found his Wolf. All that’s left is to pray that when the bluecoats invade and rip at the last shreds of her beautiful spirit, there will be something left of her for Strong Bear to love.

Scroll up and click BUY NOW to experience the romance of Creek country!

Please note: This book was previously listed as book 6 of the Creek Country Saga. Same book, different series organization.

Read the complete Drawn by the Frost Moon Series!
(standalones)
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Other romances in the Drawn by the Frost Moon world:
Beneath the Blackberry Moon Series
(must be read in order)
Part 1:The Red Feather
Part 2. The Sacred Writings
Part 3. The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Bitter Eyes No More: a Christian Historical Romance with Native American themes (Drawn by the Frost Moon Book 1) Feb 7, 2017

by April W Gardner

( 81 )

$4.99

For those who enjoy saga-length Christian historical romance. Bitter Eyes No More is a single, complete story.
A man of abiding honor, tested by a woman of ruinous passion. A woman of unspeakable sins, pursued by a God of unquenchable mercy.

Spanish Florida once sheltered Lillian McGirth from her fears. Now, it feeds them. Mercy is for the deserving; for Lillian, an unwed mother accused of treason, there is only battering and defeat, but her fall breaks softly in the arms of an unexpected arrival, a man too beautiful of soul to stain with her lost character.

Captain Marcus Buck sails in on a pledge to save Miss McGirth from herself and from her child's father, a ruthless don. All the while, he’s to regard her as virtuous and worthy of protection and to guard said virtue from pilfering. But the terms are flawed since he must first guard her from himself. Regardless, he is determined. He will free her, repair her name—simple labor compared to dodging the army’s noose, mending wounds three years deep, and navigating a host of rebel Natives bent on inflicting more. Through the steady crumble of his pledge, their friendship becomes a consolation, for she knows his pain as no other can or will. Their scars are one; their paths, however, might irrevocably become two…

PLEASE NOTE: This book was previously listed as book 4 of the Creek Country Saga. Same book, different series organization.

Read the complete Drawn by the Frost Moon Series!
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Other romances in the Drawn by the Frost Moon world:
Beneath the Blackberry Moon Series
(must be read in order)
Part 1:The Red Feather
Part 2. The Sacred Writings
Part 3. The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Beautiful in His Sight: a Christian Historical Romance May 11, 2019

by April W Gardner

( 37 )

$4.99

Jack is her freedom. Silas, her salvation. God? He's the building that buries her.It's 1917, and Halifax is at war. Silas Quinn, street sweeper and army reject, remains on the home front, shunning God and society as religiously as they shun him. But the night he stumbles across a half-frozen prostitute, his eyes blink open, and his greater purpose is born: preserve and protect.There'd been a day when shop girl Helen Fraser was desperate enough to believe a few nights in a brothel would cure her troubles. By some miracle, Major Jack Gordon deemed her worth saving, but Helen knows her meticulously recreated identity cannot last. What she doesn't expect is for its destruction to come about, not by a john or one of the madam's goons, but by a force great enough to flatten a city and bury her alive.Set against the backdrop of the Halifax Explosion, Beautiful in His Sight is a Christian historical romance that explores unequivocal grace and identity in Christ.

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

Beneath the Blackberry Moon Boxed Set: a trio of Native American Christian Historical Romances Aug 28, 2016

by April W Gardner

( 33 )

$9.99

In this CHRISTIAN FICTION, you'll experience a vivid Native American setting and a weighty romance that will render you breathless.
PART 1: On a moonless night in 1813, Adela McGirth encounters a set of wolves and the steely eyed warrior who slays them, searing himself on her heart. When he returns, it's with a brand of a different sort--the flaming arrow that destroys her life.
In the copper-haired captive, Totka Lawe finds the other half of his spirit. He vows he would die ten deaths to protect her, and he would kill any who tried to steal her away. With bluecoat soldiers pursuing him, a jealous cousin pursuing her, and the woman herself pursuing home, that vow stands a serious chance of being called into action.
PART 2: Big Warrior Totka Hadjo enters his toughest battles yet--the fight for love, the invasion of fear, and the inescapable ashes of each.
PART 3: In the wilds of 1816 Florida, a beautiful slave is free game for depraved men. But for an honorable man, she is a military objective, an asset to be protected, a love that should never be pursued.
BONUS: supplemental reading for fans of the Blackberry Moon series. The twenty-six scenes in this novella-length compilation are those that met the edge of the ax over the twelve-year evolution of Beneath the Blackberry Moon.
Beneath the Blackberry Moon Boxed Set includes Parts 1-3 of this first set in the Creek country World plus the novella-length compilation of deleted scenes, The Untold Stories.

SET INCLUDES:
The Red Feather
The Sacred Writings
The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories (supplemental reading)

Other romances in the Creek country world
Drawn by the Frost Moon Series
Bitter Eyes No More
Love the War Woman
Finding Pretty Wolf

Drawn by the Frost Moon Box Set: a trio of Christian Native American Historical Romances May 11, 2022

by April W Gardner

( 4 )

$9.99

(Christian Native American Historical Romance)
Be swept away to 1818 Spanish Florida. Rich in history, faith, romance, and Native American culture.

Romances included in the Drawn by the Frost Moon Box Set:
Bitter Eyes No More
Spanish Florida once sheltered Lillian McGirth from her fears. Now, it feeds them. Mercy is for the deserving; for Lillian, an unwed mother accused of treason, there is only battering and defeat. Captain Marcus Buck sails in on a pledge to save Miss McGirth from herself and from her child’s father, a ruthless don. He determines to free her, repair her name—simple labor compared to dodging the army’s noose, mending wounds three years deep, and navigating a host of rebel Natives bent on inflicting more.

Love the War Woman
Since his youth, Chief Tall Bull has treasured Mink. Even now, in their turbulent refugee world, she is comfort. Better yet, she shares his passion to preserve the Beloved Path and his fight to start anew in a land where they are no longer hunted. Then, a startling omen: before the eclipsing blood moon, Tall Bull must make restitution for his transgressions, or the spirits will take payment…from her.

Finding Pretty Wolf
Many moons have passed since the spirits threw Pretty Wolf together with a scrawny brave and left them to scratch out an existence in a deserted village. Now, back with her fugitive clan in faraway Spanish Territory, Pretty Wolf is ill-prepared an enemy captive warrior to be the boy she abandoned in the north. Neither is she prepared for that boy to have donned a generous spread of muscle, or for him to have no trouble calling her master. Tragically, their reunion comes at a time when night is falling on the Defiance. It promises to be burial-black, and Strong Bear prays that when the Bluecoats invade and rip at the last shreds of Pretty Wolf’s beautiful spirit, there will be something left of her for him to love.

Other books set in the Drawn by the Frost Book world:
Beneath the Blackberry Moon series (3-part saga)
Part 1 The Red Feather
Part 2 The Sacred Writings
Part 3 The Ebony Cloak
The Untold Stories

Beneath the Blackberry Moon: the Untold Stories Jan 19, 2016

by April W Gardner

( 22 )

$0.99

Thirsty for more Creek country? You’ll find just the thing in The Untold Stories, available in digital format on Amazon. (This is NOT a novel but supplemental reading for fans of the Blackberry Moon series.)
The twenty-six scenes in this novella-length (30K words) compilation are those that met the edge of the ax over the twelve-year evolution of Beneath the Blackberry Moon. In them, you’ll reunite with familiar characters—Nokose, Zachariah, Hester, Adela. You’ll meet brand new ones—Dixon Bailey, Red Eagle, Andrew Jackson. And you’ll have nagging questions put to rest—What exactly did Zachariah do while his women were lost to him? How did Hester escape the doomed fort? What happened when Totka went to Coweta to meet the White Warrior? By the end, you’ll have a better grasp of what transpired in Creek country during the war while Totka and his beloved Copper Woman were falling in love. Journey back, dear reader, to 1813 Creek country in The Untold Stories . . .

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

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She trusts God while bracing for attack. He makes war to protect his clan. Amidst a bloody conflict, will either survive the inevitable collision?

Buy The Red Feather to conquer fear today!

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