A dollar store for books – with a “free box” + my picks

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

If you like reading clean books, don’t miss the Sale of the Year. Every book of mine is either 99 cents or free. That includes 3 of my anthologies! Go here to browse and buy them.

If you’ve been wanting to start my series, Promise’s Prayer is free! And the rest of the books are the lowest they’ve ever been!

All free or 99 cents

Resting Life (inspirational nonfiction)
Truth from Taerna series (Promise’s Prayer, Victory’s Voice, Surrender’s Strength, Sustainer’s Smile, Memory’s Mind, Romance’s Rest – realistic clean kingdom fiction novels)
NEW! Treasures from Taerna, a Taerna short story collection. FREE here.
Overrun By Your Love (inspirational poetry collection)
FREE! Gather ‘Round the Fables (whimsical fables retold in the style of KJV, politically correct, and narrative poetry)
Happiness Below (historical fiction short story)
Anything (KDWC short story collection)
Hope (KDWC short story collection)
A Homewood Christmas (six stories set in one town over 150 years; historical and contemporary fiction)

But that’s not all! Go browse 600 other 99 cent and free clean books here!

If 600 books is too many to sort through, here are a few books from that sale I’ve loved (besides my own, of course), sorted by genre:

Christmas

Glad Tidings by Angie Thompson: 25 short stories for Christmas! Besides A Homewood Christmas, this is my favorite Christmas collection (and this might even top Homewood)!

Molly and Anna by Sarah Holman: a cute story themed around Christmas and Pollyanna

Red Boots by Kate Willis: touching short Christmas story

Saving Miss Christmas by Rebekah Morris: a fun small-town Christmas story

Sincerely, Jem by Kate Willis: a secret penpal at Christmastime

Contemporary

Bridgers by Angie Thompson: a powerful parable retelling

Coffee Cake Days by Amanda Tero: great, relatable story with an excellent lesson – and it’s free!

Enjoy the Poodle Skirt by Kate Willis: a fun contemporary story with a mystery

Fanny’s Hope Chest by Sarah Holman: excellent story on contentment and ministry!

Fellowship of Light series by Chelsea Burden: I edited this one and it’s all about community and love and unity and growing and learning and it has such excellent characters and lessons!

Six Cousins series by Kelsey Bryant: such fun cousin stories with excellent spiritual lessons along the way

Wedding Score by Amanda Tero: excellent book for single ladies, but great for all ages!

Fantasy (non-fantasy readers, don’t skip this category. There a lot of non-fantasy kingdom adventure books hiding among the traditional fantasy here)

Tales of Ambia by Alison Tebo: I’ve only read the first one, but it’s whimsical, light, fun, and full of amazing characters and fun plots

Ilyon Chronicles series by Jaye L. Knight: excellent clean non-magical fantasy. Adventures, deep characters, good spiritual message. Bonus: the last book in the series is coming out NEXT YEAR (I’m currently beta reading it!). If you want to catch up before it comes out, this is the lowest price the series has EVER been!

The Blades of Acktar series by Tricia Mingerink: non-magical fantasy without any fantasy elements. A powerful epic story.

The Rizkaland Legends series by Kendra E. Ardnek: fun and colorful yet deep, thought provoking tales.

Historical Fiction

As the Heavens are Higher by Courtenay Burden: I haven’t read this one yet but I can’t wait to! I’ve loved all Courtenay’s other works that I’ve read! Such a gorgeous vintage Christian writing style!

Hymns in the Hills by Rebekah Morris: a historical tale of a young girl

Librarians of Willow Hollow series: fascinating tales of horseback librarians in a historical town

Never by J. Grace Pennington: high stakes, drama, edge-of-your-seat historical Western with a message that stays with you

The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy by Kellyn Roth: such well-written historical stories. I haven’t read them all, but I’ve enjoyed what I have read so far.

Mystery

AKA Simon Lee series by P.D. Atkerson: if you like mystery and high stakes secret spy adventures, you’ll LOVE this series.

Kate’s Case Files series by Sarah Holman: Biblical morals meet detective stories

The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbot series: This series is AMAZING. If you only get one series (besides mine of course ;)), get this one. Fun, funny, great characters, excellent plot, clean, good message… this mystery series is just an enjoyable experience you’ll want to keep revisiting.

The Mrs. Meade Mysteries by Elisabeth Grace Foley: I read the first one and loved it so much I want the rest now!

Romance (sorry, I don’t read a whole lot in this category!)

Kiera: a futuristic story with so much faith throughout the tense and exciting happenings

Sci-Fi

The Firmament series by J. Grace Pennington: Even though I don’t read much sci-fi, this series was pretty amazing. Clean, exciting, with Biblical approaches to tough questions.

One in a Galaxy by Angie Thompson: This book is incredible! It’s a beautiful story with wonderful characters. So well-written and well-told.

Non-fiction

There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman: a fun, true story

Enjoy reading!

I released a Christmas collection!

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

Hi everyone! Welcome to October at Resting Life! I have something very special to introduce to you today.

It’s a brand new story of mine! And not only mine, but connected stories from five other authors as well!

Also, it released this week, so you can pick it up today. I definitely want to add it to my Christmas book collection!

A Homewood Christmas

By Courtenay Burden, Erika Mathews, Hannah Gridley, Angie Thompson, Rebekah A. Morris and Hannah Foster

Come home to a small-town Christmas through the ages…

The close-knit community of Homewood, Minnesota might not even be a dot on most maps. But from its earliest settlement to the present day, a warm Christmas welcome and a shining Moravian star have been its hallmarks of the holiday.

Step into the bustle of preparations as a young orphan travels an unexpected path to the Christmas he’s longed for and a boisterous flock of cousins learns the eternal secrets of the Christmas fruit bowl. Follow a wintery road with a widowed mother in the shadow of war and a generous aunt trying her best for her family as they search for a place where they truly belong. Slip into the fire glow next to a lonely stranger with a terrible secret and a hometown girl trying to escape past hurts, and watch Christmas light and love warm even the coldest places.

With so many ways to celebrate the season, one reason undergirds them all—and the Christmas stars of Homewood never tire of telling His story!

This collection of six Christmas novellas is presented to you by the Aunties of the King’s Daughters Writing Camp. We’ve been working for almost a year to put together a volume of Christmas stories set against the backdrop of a nostalgic Minnesota town—and scattered across history from the mid-1800s to the 21^st century.

This week, all of us are excited to be sharing our finished collection with all of you!

The Collection at a Glance

Title: A Homewood Christmas

Authors: Courtenay Burden, Erika Mathews, Hannah Gridley, Angie Thompson, Rebekah A. Morris, Hannah Foster

Genre: Clean Christmas Fiction

Theme: Hometown Christmases with Strong Christian Messages

Page Count: 482

Launch Date: October 24, 2022

Buy it from your favorite retailer: https://books2read.com/u/47g1wg

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61530387-a-homewood-christmas

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJV41DM3/

All the Details

A Homewood Christmas is more than just a collection of Christmas tales. It’s also a holiday treasure hunt that will keep you making surprise connections all the way through. Keep your eyes open for recurring characters, locations, and of course, the special Christmas star that pops up in every story!

Star of Bethlehem (Courtenay Burden): As ten-year-old Earnest tries to help his new aunt fit in to the family during the Christmas of 1843, he learns valuable lessons about fitting in himself as he ponders the fact that Bethlehem had no room for his Savior.

The Christmas Fruit Bowl (Erika Mathews – that’s me!): During Christmas 1900, it seems nothing can redeem the holiday for Auntie Beth’s nine nieces and nephew—except perhaps a treasured heirloom that holds eternal lessons about the true Christmas fruit of the spirit.

Room in the Manger? (Hannah Gridley): During World War II, a widowed mother in the big city takes her young children home for Christmas so they can experience a real family Christmas in Homewood, but will they find room in the busy little town?

Home Forever (Angie Thompson): Just before Christmas of 1955, a big-city visitor offers Magda the perfect present for her family—or is it truly what they want after all?

He is Still Emmanuel (Rebekah A. Morris): Aunt Peggy befriends a troubled young woman during the Christmas season of 1985, but can she show her that, no matter what, Jesus is still Emmanuel?

An Auntie for Christmas (Hannah Foster): All seven-year-old Lora wants for Christmas 2013 is for Auntie Jaz to come home–but can old hurts be mended in time for the holiday?

Meet the Authors

All six of the authors who collaborated on A Homewood Christmas are part of the Aunties Team at the King’s Daughters Writing Camp (www.kingsdaughterswritingcamp.com). Here’s a little personal introduction to each of us:

Courtenay Burden is a homeschool graduate, Victorian fanatic, and author of historical fiction. She loves working with yarn, devouring history, playing the occasional game of chess, and discovering new ways to cook the humble potato. She is passionate about good and great literature—writing that embodies both literary and spiritual excellence for the glory of Christ.

Connect with Courtenay: sawpublishing.com

Erika Mathews writes Christian living books, both fiction and non-fiction, that demonstrate the power of God in ordinary people, transforming daily life into His resting life. The author of the kingdom adventure fiction series Truth from Taerna, she’s passionate about encouraging others to intimately know Jesus. She enjoys playing with her children, editing, anything outdoors, being organized, autumn, apple crisp, and sunrises.

Connect with Erika: restinglife.com

Hannah Gridley is a church employee, a music teacher, and a historical fiction author from Arkansas. She loves gardening, online team games, English, and hot tea. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her outdoors in the garden or hiking, reading, or trying to grow something exotic.

Connect with Hannah: goodreads.com/user/show/17442587-hannah or on Truth Social as @BookwormHannahGardens

An avid reader and incurable story-spinner, Angie Thompson also enjoys volunteering in her church’s children’s program and starting (but not always finishing) various kinds of craft projects. She currently lives in central Virginia near most of her incredible family, including two parents, six brothers, one sister, and five siblings-in-law—plus four nieces, six nephews, and several assorted pets!

Connect with Angie: quietwaterspress.com

Rebekah A. Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author, and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, and her bestselling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn’t writing, include reading and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. The Show-Me state is where she calls home.

Connect with Rebekah: readanotherpage.com/blog

Hannah Foster was born and raised in North Carolina where she was homeschooled with her eight siblings. She attended college in Minnesota where she got her bachelor’s degree in literature, learned to survive temperatures of below zero, and became Mrs. Foster. Hannah loves writing small-town Christian romance with spunky, sassy women and strong, protective men. And if you started running as soon as you saw she writes romance, then she hopes you’ll come back and give it a chance. She writes for the ones who think they hate romance because romance as designed by God is good, beautiful, and right. So if you love small towns, families that love, gentle romance, delightful characters, and an imperfect church serving a perfect God, then you’ve come to the right place. If you don’t find Hannah reading or writing a book, you might find her watercolor painting, playing tennis with her husband, or making coffee at a small-town cafe.

Connect with Hannah: hannahfosterwrites.wordpress.com

Hope you enjoy A Homewood Christmas this season! Don’t forget to pick up your copy today.

Romance’s Rest Launch Wrap-up

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

Thank you so much for joining me this week for the launch of my book! If you got Romance’s Rest, I pray you find Kethin’s story a blessing that sticks with you and propels you nearer, still nearer to Jesus.

If you missed anything during this tour, you can always go back and find it using the list below. And don’t forget: the series is on sale through tomorrow, so grab it now!

Monday, April 18 – KICK-OFF DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – tour intro

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – book spotlight and excerpt

Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – character spotlight on Faeth Dale

Tuesday, April 19 – FREE CHAPTER DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Read the First Chapter for Free

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – book spotlight and review

Wednesday, April 20 – BIBLE STUDY DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Bible study on blood covenant

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall – book review
Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness – book spotlight and excerpt

Thursday, April 21 – LAUNCH DAY
Erika Mathews at Resting Life – special launch post

Chelsea Burden at Light in the Tunnel – character spotlight on Kethin Ellith

Friday, April 22 – SALE DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life
Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – Book review

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – guest post by Erika on true love in Scripture

Esther J at The Lost Review of Odd Books & instagram – author interview with Erika

Ryana Lynn on Instagram

Saturday, April 23 – WRAPUP DAY

Erika Mathews at Resting Life – Tour wrapup

Katja Labonte at Old Fashioned Book Love – Book spotlight and review

Purchase the ebook

Purchase signed paperback

Shop the Taerna sale

Add to Goodreads

Two other bloggers are posting about Memory’s Mind today. Don’t forget to check them out!

Katja Labonté at Old Fashioned Book Love and Instagram – Book spotlight, exclusive excerpt, and review

Katja’s blog

Six Novels Under $10

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

Romance’s Rest launched yesterday, and today you can pick up ALL SIX Taerna books for under $10! Promise’s Prayer is FREE today, and the rest of the series is on sale for 50-75% off! Plus the rest of my books are also on sale.

Now’s a great time to pick them up! And spread the word.

Buy Romance’s Rest

Shop the Taerna sale!

We have several other excellent posts today:

Stephanie Agnes-Crockett at Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase – Book review

Rachael Anne English at Note By Note – guest post by Erika on true love in Scripture

Esther J at The Lost Review of Odd Books & instagram – author interview with Erika

Ryana Lynn on Instagram

Come back tomorrow for the tour wrap-up!

It’s a Complete Series Now!

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

It’s here!

Romance’s Rest is a journey into the heart of God—into His covenant relationship with His people and into the depths of true covenant love. This is a message laid strongly upon my heart—a message that every believer should internalize.

The message meshed into the story of Kethin—already a favorite character—and his romance mirrors the romance of God for His people.

I encourage you to go to the pages of Scripture. As you read its stories, accounts, histories, prophecies, and exhortations, ask God to open your eyes to His covenant, of which He has left echoes on every page of the Bible.

Above all, reader, may you, too, receive and embrace the depths of God’s steadfast, loyal, infinite love for you. May that love flow through you to all those around you in ways far beyond what you can imagine. He loves you more than you can ever dream!

Purchase the ebook

Purchase signed paperback

Shop the Taerna sale

Add to Goodreads

Today I have a character spotlight on Kethin Ellith, the main character of the book! He’s such a fun, energetic character – go check it out! It’s posted by Chelsea Burden at Light in the Tunnel.C

Chelsea’s blog

Come back tomorrow for a spotlight on the whole series – and the massive Taerna sale!

It’s on every page of the Bible

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Erika under Uncategorized

It’s BIBLE STUDY DAY! Today we’re looking at a specific word in Scripture that’s very important to Kethin in Romance’s Rest–and to us also. In fact, this concept can be found on every page of the Bible.

“In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:16-17

God is love.

It’s the most basic, foundational principle given to us in Scripture.

There is no love apart from Him. He IS love within Himself – pure, unfeigned, uninhibited love. However, God does not merely communicate His love within Himself; He communicates it to humankind.

The method by which God has chosen to communicate His love to humans is through covenant. From eternity, God’s covenant with His people has been based upon His steadfast love, which might be called covenant love. He expressed His covenant love in four ways: through creation, through Christ, through the cross, and through daily blessings.

By first understanding how His love is communicated through the covenant and then how that covenant love is expressed in history, we can not only appreciate the grandeur of His love for us but live within it—and let it flow through us to others.

The essence of covenant is encompassed in the descriptive Hebrew word hesed. Translated mercy, lovingkindness, steadfast love, and similar terms in Scripture, hesed refers to the unchanging, strong, loyal, faithful, deep covenant love of God.

Hesed is the Hebrew word used to describe the ongoing relationship of the parties in covenant who worked out the commitment made in covenant, the keeping of its promises and responsibilities
The Power of the Blood Covenant, Malcolm Smith, p. 22

The Hebrew conception of covenant is an unbreakable, binding agreement between two parties.

Often, a covenant was initiated by a superior, such as a king or sheik, to a lesser person. Typically, the covenant parties would arrange the covenant through a mediator, establish the covenant with an oath and shedding of blood, and celebrate the covenant through a shared meal. After a covenant, the two parties were friends—friends in a far deeper way than in the modern use of the term. Such friends were obligated to protect each other, stand by each other, and love each other intimately.

That is the type of covenant that God made with His people.

Examples of covenant are found throughout Scripture—God and Abraham, David and Jonathan, Joshua and the Gibeonites, and so on. The covenant is relationship: a love relationship with committed trust far beyond anything in modern human experience. Hesed love is the foundation of this covenant: a love that gives its all for its covenant partner and delights to do so because of the covenant between them.

A beautiful picture of the covenant love of God for man is expressed in Zephaniah 3:17. He does not communicate His love like human imagination might think that He would; instead, His communication is much richer and deeper than that.

In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
Zephaniah 3:16-17

Hebrew is an extremely descriptive language, and the word pictures hidden within the Hebrew terms in this passage give valuable insight into the covenant love of God.

“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty.”

This refers to Yahweh Himself – the covenant partner. “In the midst,” in Hebrew, refers to the very center, the “nearest part,” to be “within.” It stems from a word that means “to bring near” (Strong’s Concordance). Literally, God could not be any nearer to His people than that—and yet He is constantly drawing them yet nearer to Himself.

“He will save.”

Yasha, the Hebrew term for “save,” means “to be open, wide, or free; to make safe” (Strong’s). Based on this definition, God opens Himself wide to His people, making them free and safe. The entire being of God is used for His people.

“He will rejoice over thee with joy.”

To “rejoice” is to be bright and cheerful; “joy” speaks of blithesomeness and glee. The LORD God Himself brightens up to see His people—that is how much He loves them!

“He will rest in His love.”

In the midst of His joy, Father rests in the great love that He has for His people. Sometimes His joy is too deep for words; He silently enjoys being with His children. His covenant love is the basis of perfect, eternal rest.

“He will joy over thee with singing.”

The word translated “joy” is a different word than the one used in the previous portion of the verse. Gul means, “to spin around (under the influence of any violent emotion), that is, rejoice” (Strong). “Singing” is “a creaking or shrill sound, that is, shout” (Strong).

If we believed that His love for us is so strong that He spins around, leaping, dancing, skipping, singing, and shouting for joy `all around, through, and in us for the sheer delight of His love for us, how much of a difference that realization would make in our lives!

That is the love of God undisguised.

That is the deep delight of God for each one of His children. God is thrilled and excited about each of us. He is crazily in love with you and with me. Such covenant love is unimaginable. It is infinite. It is who He is. That is the communication of His covenant love to us.

Hop over to Instagram

Shop the Taerna sale

Preorder Romance’s Rest

We have two other excellent posts today.

Vanessa Hall at Vanessa Hall posted a book review of Romance’s Rest!
Autumn Lehman at Bursting Through the Darkness posted a book spotlight and exclusive excerpt!

Vanessa’s blog

Autumn’s blog

Come back tomorrow for LAUNCH DAY!