Pelican Book Group announces the return of Easter Lilies

/ Dora Hiers

————Permission to forward————

Pelican Book Group announces the return of Easter Lilies. While Easter Lilies was originally run as a short story contest, the resurrected Easter Lilies will not be a contest, but conducted as an annual special release much like our Christmas Holiday Extravaganza. Each year, one Easter Lilies story will be released on each day of the Easter Triduum. (Yes, only three stories per year.) 
2013 Defining Scripture for Easter Lilies is: Solomon 2:2 “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.”
Submission Guidelines:
Easter Lilies are historical or contemporary romances. In addition to adhering to the guidelines for the White Rose imprint, the following is also necessary: 

  • The defining Scripture for the year must be used as a basis for the story. (This scripture will change each year on October 1st) 

  • Stories should be between 15,000 and 25,000 words. 

  • Both the hero’s and heroine’s points of view may be incorporated, however, we’d like these stories to be “hero-driven”, so ideally, stories should focus on the hero’s love developing for his heroine. These stories may be historical or contemporary, but they must be set around the Easter holiday. 

  • Heroes and Heroines should be between the ages of 25 and 35. 

  • In addition to using the current year Easter Lilies scripture as the reference, some symbol of the Easter Lily must also be incorporated. Easter lilies have long been a symbol of purity, motherhood, the trumpet herald of the Angel Gabriel as he visited the Virgin Mary, of resurrection, and more. (Feel free to research and use different symbols. These are listed as example only). How you incorporate any of the symbols is up to you. Whether it’s an actual flower that the hero gives to the heroine (or vice-versa), or a piece of jewelry, or a spiritual experience. The use is up to you. Perhaps your hero is a Christian musician who plays the trumpet. Perhaps your heroine has lily earrings that have been passed through her family. Perhaps your hero had a “resurrection” of his faith through some experience past or present, or maybe your heroine is a mother. How you incorporate the Easter lily symbolism is up to you. It can be subtle or overt, but it has to be there.

Submissions for Easter Lilies are accepted August 1st through September 30th each year. Submissions for Easter Lilies that are received outside this time frame will be discarded without response.

These guidelines and submission information can be found at: http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/submission-guidelines/easter-lilies-submission-guidelines

An Eye on the Creator

/ Dora Hiers

During my parents’ last visit, my dad commented about his latest visit to the eye doctor. He’d been experiencing some blurred vision and assumed it was a natural progression of cataracts that the doctor had warned him about previously.


To check the condition of his eye the doctor inserted dye into his arm. 

Huh? I’m still shaking my head over that one. But apparently the veins rocket the dye fairly quickly throughout the body.

For someone who rarely made trips to the doctor and never saw the miracle of watching his kids develop via sonogram, my dad was amazed at the process. His diagnosis wasn’t the original cataracts that he suspected, but something a bit more serious that will require more medical attention.

Most days, I take for granted that my body functions properly. Why is that? Why shouldn’t I be more in awe of my Creator’s intricate design?

I mean, really. My heart’s basically a pump, shooting blood, which carries vital materials to the places that need it. When it shuts down, my body won’t survive for long. My brain sends signals to my legs or arms to move when I want them to. It’s divided into sections or lobes. Lobes are each responsible for different tasks like motor function, sensation, memory, and visual processing. And the eye? The eye converts light into energy, then transmits neurological signals to the brain. Awesome, huh? 

Little Man

Think about all that has to happen for a baby to form (so not going there! lol) and grow inside a mother’s womb. Here’s my grandson, all snug and happy in Mommy’s tummy ———>>





Little Man with Daddy




<<—-And now Little Man is almost three, holding a picture of his daddy who was just a couple years older than he is now. 

I could keep going, but you probably get the idea by now. Do you think this happens by accident?

Are you amazed? Grateful?

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Ps 139:13-14 NIV

Do you ever contemplate how each individual part of your body works together as a whole unit?

God, I know I don’t thank You nearly enough for the proper functions of my body. Thank You for designing us so intricately that we can’t help but be drawn to You.

TERRI by Sharon Srock ~ Sharing My Review

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Terri by Sharon Srock

About the book~

Despite a bustling day care center and a new foster child, Terri Hayes hungers for a family of her own. Then a plumbing mishap leaves her homeless and questioning God’s plan. Steve Evans’s gracious offer of his basement apartment as a temporary solution is an answered prayer.

Steve is a successful writer and a good father, but Terri is horrified when Steve’s book research leads him to a harsh confrontation with the parents of her foster child. She needs to distance herself from Steve, but her efforts fall short as his two scheming daughters plot to make Terri their new stepmother.

Will harsh words and sneaky plans drive Kelsey’s family further apart and put a wedge between Terri and Steve, or does God have another plan in store?


Sharing my humble opinion~
This series is set around four friends and their friendship. The first book introduced Callie and the women of Valley View while this book picks up with Terri, a single owner of a day care center and new foster mother, but you’ll connect with all the friends again. This author writes multiple characters well, and I was never confused at any point in the book with how many characters were on scene at any given time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing of the story line and the conflicts, including the romance thread. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but it caught me unaware, and I love that! This isn’t a book to curl up with for one night. As with Callie, Terri’s a book that you’ll chew and digest over a few readings. Packed with a powerful message of God’s redeeming love and His desire to heal fractured relationships, Terri will satisfy romance and women’s fiction lovers alike.

Purchase Link

Disclosure: I received this book from the author for a fair and honest review.


Sharon Srock lives with her husband, Larry, and two dogs in Rural Oklahoma. She is a mother, grandmother, and Sunday School teacher. Sharon has one and three-quarters jobs and writes in her spare time. Her favorite hobby is traveling with her grandchildren. She is a member of the ACFW and currently serves as treasurer for her local chapter. Sharon’s debut novel, The Women of Valley View: Callie released in October 2012. The second in the series, The Women of Valley View: Terri releases in April 2013.

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