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Stories Available

1. Teacher's Plans:  This is a 55,000 word contemporary inspirational romance novel set in a fictional town called Milltown, Vermont.

Available @ White Rose Publishing Buy Teacher's Plans Here!
Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.com and other e-book retailers. (E-book format $6.00, trade paper-back $11.99)  

Review: Lynn from ReviewYourBook.com said,

“…If your looking for a quick afternoon read with a wonderful story line then I highly recommend this book. An excellent read with high praise for the author.”

For the full review, please go to: ReviewYourBook.com (Christian Romance.)

Excerpt- Teacher's Plans (c) 2008 by: JoAnn Carter

Amanda reached out to shake his hand when his words hit her full force. She withdrew her hand like she just touched fire and squeaked, "You’re who?"

"I’m your new assistant. The principal said to meet you here."

Silence engulfed the room.

Tracy shifted his weight to one hip looking slightly uncomfortable for the first time. "He said you would be expecting me."

Amanda tried to cover up her shock. "Um, right… it’s just…" You’re a man--and not just any man--a drop dead gorgeous one! She felt like she was drowning with no way out. She grabbed at straws for anything to say; she needed time to gather her wits. "Were you by any chance at an interview in the Board of Education building on June 13th?"

2. By the Book Buy By the Book Here!

Summary: Perky 24 year old police dispatcher, Sarah Murphy, is held captive by images of her past. She doesn't trust men and is determined to hold onto her heart at all costs. Lieutenant Dylan Eldredge of the Hampton Police Department believes she’s the woman God has intended for him and is equally determined to have her for his wife. But can he prove he’s the man for her?

Excerpt: (c)2007 by JoAnn Carter

Sarah swiveled her chair so she could face Helen. "Now, what were we saying?"

Helen grunted and pushed her thick glasses up further on the bridge of her nose. "Independence," She remarked dryly. "Have you ever stopped to consider, being able to depend on someone other than yourself might not be such a bad thing?"

Here we go again, Sarah gritted her teeth to keep from saying something she would regret later. She picked a piece of lint off her pants. "You're right."

"I know I'm right." Helen's eyes widened as if Sarah had a temporary loss of her senses. "But in the five years we've worked together you've never agreed with me before."

"That's because you've never quite said it that way. But where man will fail, God will not. He is the only one I ever want to depend on." Sarah put her headset on and watched the monitor's black blinking curser.

With a groan, Helen put her head into her hands and murmured, "Back to square one!"

Sarah lowered her eye lashes, "Helen, honestly, I like my life just as it is." Sarah knew the concern she saw in Helen's eyes was for her. However, she also knew men were on a whole were a problem, not a solution.

"Fine. But, I don't understand why you won't even entertain the thought of dating someone."

Sarah swatted at the finger Helen had pointed at her nose. A spurt of anger drew her chin up a notch as she wondered why, of all times, did the radios need to be quiet now? "I'm happy. Why spoil it?"

REVIEW FOR ~ By The Book 

3. Sweet Rest: Released May 22, 2009 through whiterosepublishing.com. (Digital price $3.50) Buy Sweet Rest Here! Blurb: Soft spoken, twenty-eight-year-old Mike Anderson prepares to join his brother on a short-term mission trip to Florida. Here he plans on helping build new facilities for New Hopes Mission Agency. However, before he leaves, Mike learns there was an accident at the building site. Now the person who was injured is missing. Could these two incidents be mere coincidence or is something more sinister at work?

And then there is the five-two spit-fire, Leah Rizzo, with whom he agreed to swap photography projects. Taking her with him could prove to be the colossal mistake of his lifetime—or perhaps God has a plan even in the midst of the mystery that shrouds the project.

4. Smuggler of the Heart  Buy Smuggler of the Heart Here! 

Available now through White Rose Publishing: Disheartened and tired, Samantha Warren returns to Vermont during the winter break. Her passion for history rekindles after finding an old smuggler’s chest hidden in her grandparents' attic. Will she be able to return to New Jersey without her heart being smuggled like the chest once was? Or is it already too late?

5. Mr. Beckman's Secretary: Released March 2008' through By Grace Publishing. This is available as a trade paperback for $5.50 -

Mr. Beckman's Secretary

When Harrison Beckman meets his father’s secretary, Daniella Duncan, she’s shy and self-conscious. Harrison, however, is determined to get to know her better. Before he gets to do that a rival comes along to steal Dani’s heart as quickly and thoroughly as the company’s contracts, which have been disappearing.

As the mystery unfolds, Harrison has to fight for the woman he loves, even though this means crossing swords with his father and his determined adversary. Will Harrison be able to find the love that could await them or will it be too late?

Excerpt from: MR. BECKMAN’S SECRETARY

(c)2008 by JoAnn Carter

The relentless beep, beep, beep of the alarm startled her awake. Dani slipped one hand from beneath the flannel sheets to slap the snooze button. Same old stupid, horrible dream she thought, burrowing deeper under the covers. Just a dream, but…

She rolled onto her back. Dani knew she had to get a grip, had to do something about this disruptive nightmare she’d had since elementary school.

Unfortunately, she’d always been one of those ‘once I’m awake, the night’s over’ types, so she flung the covers aside and slid both feet into her slippers, then shuffled toward the window. One quick tug at the bottom of the shade sent it flapping and snapping to the top, and the warm winter sun, peeping over the horizon, slanted across her room.

The clutter certainly had accumulated over the years. Stuffed animals scattered across the red carpet stared sightlessly through wide, shoe-button eyes. Her desk, littered with dictionaries, magazines, monitor and computer tower, sagged from the weight of its burdens. Rumpled bed linens spoiled the ‘look’ of her beautiful canopied bed, while Precious Moments collectibles collected dust on the bookshelves. There was even her baby blanket crocheted by Aunt Thelma, hanging over the back of Grandma Faye’s overstuffed chair. She really did need to get a grip, because the nightmare had overflowed from her dreams into just about every area of her life.

Like every other morning of her twenty-six-year existence, Dani squeezed her eyes shut, as if that could blot out the ugliness from her room… from her life. But if pretending for those few tranquil seconds that her life was, indeed, in order hadn’t worked in all these years, she had no reason to hope it would work today.

Eyes opened and teeth clenched, she folded her arms across her chest and straightened her spine. She had to start somewhere if her dream of an organized life was to come true.

I’ll start right after work, she promised herself.

***

A little tidbit: While in the middle of writing this story, I heard the song MIRROR MIRROR by Barlow Girl on the radio. As I listened to the lyrics, it hit me how many women like Dani, (the heroine in Mr. Beckman’s Secretary) struggles with self-image.

As the plot develops, and Dani comes to the realization God loves her the way he made her. I had to be honest and ask myself, "Do I believe that?" It’s easy for me to nod my head while I’m writing this, but it’s another story when I’m standing in one of those dinky changing rooms try to find a bathing suit for the summer!

Accepting myself is sometimes is a daily struggle. In the same way this story has challenged me, as you experience Dani growth reading this book, it’s my prayer that it will draw you closer to God as well. (If you’d like to hear Mirror Mirror, click onto this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZgq8pA-ipY&feature=related )