Our Family Part 1

Amber Schamel

This is a picture of me with my family. I'm the one in the green on the far left. The handsome feller next to me is my brother Ben holding our youngest brother Benaiah. Next to him is David, the redheaded warrior, then John, my parents, Melody, and my grandmother is on the far right. The second row from left to right is Keren (who is the twin of Caleb, the one shielding his face from the sun), Grace, Job the serious, Gabe (yes, he does look like Opie from Andy Griffeth. He hears that ALL the time.) and Caleb. 

Julia Erickson

Meet the Erickson Family!

Bob, Gloria, Julia, Mark, and Steven. We're a creative family and have several home businesses that revolve around writing, LEGOS, duct tape historical-style weapons, and handcrafted jewelry. We live in a log home in rural Georgia and enjoy the peace and quiet of the woods, although we lived in Florida for 14 years while the kids were growing up and were always near the ocean, in the pool, or out on our boat. Our faith is very important to us, and growing up homeschooled allowed us to live, learn and love in a way no other education method could have done. We're very close to each other and we work together and play together with equal enjoyment! We love watching movies as a family and reading stories out loud. Hosting other families for dinner in our home and sharing our hospitality is something we delight in - we only wish you could come sometime! :) 

Ashley Tetzlaff

Mark (33) - my wonderful husband. He owns his own lawn care/landscape business, MRT Services, which keeps him busy Spring, Summer and Fall, organizing and running the crews - mowing grass, trimming bushes, fertilizing, raking leaves, etc. He was homeschooled all the way and also writes, mostly in the winter when he actually has time :)   He is about to come out with his first book later this summer.

Ashley (24) - Here I am: child of God, wife, mother, reader, writer, cook, crafter, homeschooled kid, native Texan (sixth generation), now Pullman, Washington transplant.

Abigail (2 yrs 3 mo) - My little ball of joyful noise and energy. She loves going for walks, swinging, sliding, dancing, singing... and when she has quieter moments: reading and coloring.

Joanna (5 mo) - My little bundle of (comparative) quiet and calmness. I used to say stillness too, but she is starting to roll and scoot all around now. She enjoys looking at toys and watching people.

Need to review the rules for Read-to-Win? Find them here.

Find the full list of books here.

Our Summer Reading Lists part 3

Emily Putzke

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion - Elizabeth L. Cline

The Auschwitz Volunteer -  Witold Pilecki

Resistance and Betrayal - Patrick Marnham

A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II - Adam Makos

Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose

The Collapse of the Third Republic - William L. Shirer

Nuremberg - William F. Buckley Jr.

Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

The Help -  Kathryn Stockett

He Leadeth Me - Walter J. Ciszek,

A Diary From Dixie -  Mary Boykin Chesnut

Aspects of the Novel -  E.M. Forster

Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee

Soldiers of the Night -David Schoenbrun

Vichy France and the Jews -  Michael R. Marrus and  Robert O. Paxton

The Fall of France - Julian T. Jackson

Noah's Ark - Marie-Madeleine Fourcade

Miracles Do Happen - Andree Peel

Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard - Johnnie Moore

In the Skin of a Jihadist: Inside Islamic State's Recruitment Networks - Anna Erelle

Julia Erickson

A Different Kind of Courage by Sarah Holman ;)

The Winnie-the-Pooh collection by A. A. Milne

Preparing to be a Helpmeet by Debi Pearl

Life is for Living by Anita Yoder

Christ the Healer by F. F. Bosworth

By Grace Alone by Derek Prince

You Matter to God by Derek Prince

Beautiful in God's Eyes by Elizabeth George

The Answers Book by Ken Ham

How to Blog for Profit by Ruth Soukup

A Jane Austen Devotional by Thomas Nelson (on Kindle)

Structuring Your Novel by K. M. Weiland (Still have to get my copy!)

The Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook (due to release later this year)

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon (Also due to release later this year)

Read-to-Win: Who We Are Part 1

Welcome to the second annual Read-to-Win Challenge!

This year you have a chance to win a $100 amazon dollar gift card.

Read-to-Win 2015

It is almost here! Here is our Read-To-Win line up!

Kelsey Bryant: Family Reunion 

Julia Erickson: Ashburn

Ashley Elizabeth Blair Tetzlaff: An Easter Carol 

Amber Schamel: The Healer's Touch

Sarah Holman: A Different Kind of Courage

Katie Daniels: Supervillian Series

Kendra E. Ardnek: The Ankulen 

Faith Blum: Amazing Grace

Emily Putzke: It Took a War

J. Grace Pennington: Machiavellian

Jessica Greyson: Captive of Raven Castle 

Morgan Huneke: Creighton Hill

Jason McIntire: The Sparrow Found a House

Please feel free to share this image in any way to tell people about this awesome event.

Book Review: Ashburn by Julia Erickson

Buy it Here

Age Appropriate For: 13 and up for mild violence and mild romance
Best for Ages: 13 and up

Description: Cara Stephenson, a talented graphic designer at Silver Strand Technologies, never thought she'd see her childhood best friend again... but when he suddenly reenters her life ten years later, he's a completely different man. What is he hiding, and why should she trust him? Bryce Reynolds is a man on a mission- a top-secret one at that! He never dreamed the girl down the street would one day become his link to the destruction of Ravenmeister, Inc.- a front for black-market arms and ammunition. Will he crumble underneath the burden of all his secrets?  When the hunt for a missing technology developer in possession of a priceless prototype drags Cara and Bryce on a high-adrenaline ride through the streets of Paris, Venice, and Munich, they must work together to find what they're looking for... and survive the trip!

When I first started this book, I was a bit worried. The first chapter was very wordy and everything was described in so much detail it was causing the story’s pace to drag. However, I am happy to say that after the first chapter or two, the author found a nice balance and was less wordy.

This book, though modern, definitely has old fashioned spy charm. Some of that may be due to the obvious influence of the 1980’s TV series, Scarecrow and Mrs. King. There is plenty of action and excitement, without any gore or innuendo that is so prevalent in modern suspense books and movies.

Cara and Bryce were so great together. Bryce was charming yet a man of great character, having overcome a lot of challenges in his past. Cara was sweet even though she has let some of her past hurts define her. Together, they make a great team, not only for the mystery, but also for helping each other with their faith and love. Their romance was sweet, but not very mushy (aka, no kissing.)

The plot of this book was exciting and kept me turning pages. I mean, who wouldn’t love a mission that took you all around Europe? Risks were often high, injuries happen, and the action only takes brief breaks.

I highly recommend this story to those who love old fashioned mystery and suspense books and TV shows, sweet, clean romance, and lots of action.

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I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Interview of Julia Erickson

Julia, welcome to Homeschool Authors! Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi there! Let's see... I have always adored reading. As a little girl, I even read WHILE rollerblading, floating in the pool, and climbing trees. Off the pages, I am also a budding graphic designer, photographer, and blogger. I love to sing and dance and have my own handcrafted-jewelry business. Sparkle and style and colors are some of my favorite things!

Everyone’s homeshooling experience is different. What do you think made yours unique?

Well, for one thing, my amazing mom homeschooled me and my two younger brothers from age 5 all the way through high school, while at the same time battling a tough auto-immune disease, RA. (I know. She's awesome.) She always made our learning experience fun, doing unit studies by topic... e.g, the ocean, chocolate, Australia. Since we weren't always slaving over textbooks, we had a lot of time to play outside, and spent hours nurturing our creativity in various forms. My brothers became master LEGO builders, and I have a ton of creative hobbies, one of which is... writing! :)

How did being homeschooled prepare you to write?

Hmm. While homeschooling certainly helped, I've always been extremely expressive, verbal, and good with words and spelling. It's a natural bent of mine that my mom encouraged. (Honestly, I was talking at nine months and in full sentences when I was one year old, learned to read at age 3, was reading high school level material in 2nd grade...) ;) Math and numbers, on the other hand? NOPE.

What caused you to start writing?

Short answer: I ran out of good books to read! Haha! I began typing stories on our old XP desktop computer when I was a young teen. My brothers and me and the girl across the street did so much play-acting (our playhouse-slash-chicken-coop became a castle on many occasions) that coming up with exciting stories was easy. Making them sound as good on paper as in my head? I'm still learning that one. :)

 

What inspired Ashburn?

I've always loved the concept of spies and urgent missions and secret agents. Also a very good, clean, light romance that had an interesting plot line and wasn't all about the emotions. And the combination of the two seems to be quite rare. Also - I discovered an old 80's TV series called Scarecrow and Mrs. King about a suburban housewife and a government agent. If you looked past the BIG hair and the shoulder pads, it was actually really funny, and I found myself wanting to put my own spin on it. :)

Would you give us a synopsis?

Gladly! (can I share what I wrote for the back cover of the book? Because I love it)... 

Cara Stephenson, a talented graphic designer at Silver Strand technologies, never thought she’d see her childhood best friend again… but when he suddenly reenters her life ten years later, he’s a completely different man. What is he hiding, and why should she trust him? 

Bryce Reynolds is a man on a mission… a top-secret one, at that. He never imagined the girl down the street would one day become his link to the destruction of Ravenmeister, Inc. – a front for black-market arms and ammunition. Will he crumble underneath the burden of all his secrets?

When the hunt for a missing technology developer in possession of a priceless prototype drags Cara and Bryce on a high-adrenaline ride through the streets of Paris, Venice, and Munich, they must work together to find what they’re looking for… and to survive the trip!

(oh come on, you KNOW you wanna read it...) :D

Who will enjoy Ashburn?

I think it will appeal more to women, simply because of the thread of light romance, but it's actually a very exciting book packed with adventure and action, especially near the climax... ;) So I hope readers of both genders will enjoy it. I think it's clean enough for anybody 14 and up, although there is some "mild peril" as the movies put it. :D

Do you plan to write more books?

YES!! There are two more books following ASHBURN in the series, possibly even a fourth. I'm already partially into writing the sequel, titled DIAMOND, which I plan to publish Spring 2015, and I also have some other stories simmering - a coming-of-age tale of two sisters living in south Florida, and a Regency-era romance in the style of Jane Austen. Those may also morph into series. :)

Where can people connect with you online?

The best place to keep in touch with me is my author page on Facebook - , and I also blog at Julia's Journal and my new lifestyle blog, Sparkle Song. :)

Do you have any final thoughts?

I just want to say thank you, Sarah, for being such a great friend AND squeezing me into your September schedule here on Homeschool Authors! I hope the readers enjoyed this interview - I certainly did! :) Keep on writing!

Julia is giving away one paperback and one Kindle copy of Ashburn! Enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With us today is...

Julia Erickson!

First of all, tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

Hi! Nice to meet you! I am still slightly surprised at the fact that I'm now twenty-one years old. I have the most wonderful parents in the world and two amazing younger brothers, ages eighteen and sixteen. I live in a log cabin at the top of a hill in rural Georgia and we have a big garden and lots of chickens … over 50 at the moment. I’m a country girl at heart, but I grew up at the beach, living in Florida until I was fourteen – and I still love the ocean. Some of my favorite things to do (besides writing, of course!) include designing handcrafted jewelry, photography, reading, blogging, crochet, singing, and graphic design. I'm actually the one who designed the Homeschool Authors blog look. ;) I’m very artistic and I love colors, flowers and music. (Numbers? Not so much!) :)

What was your favorite part of being homeschooled?

The freedom! I loved the free time of being able to grow and learn at my own pace (which was way faster in certain subjects and way slower in others!). I was able to develop many talents and hobbies with the time I was allowed away from the textbooks that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I am so thankful that my sweet mom persevered through a difficult and painful disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, to teach us in spite of her ill health. She is the reason I am where I am, today. :) I want to homeschool my kids just like she taught us.

How did you start making jewelry?

I’ve had the business Jewels by Julia (http://jewelsbyjuliashop.com/) since I was just-turned-fourteen, selling handcrafted jewelry, but I had been playing with beads in various forms and fashions since I was six years old. When I was 13, My mom and I found out how to do the wire crimping technique, allowing us to create really "nice" necklaces and bracelets, and from there it just took off! :)

What inspired you to make e-books?

My brothers had already written their ebooks, and I decided I needed to get in on the action! :D But I'd wanted to share what I know about jewelry making with others for a good long while. I'm just glad it finally happened and I got the books put together! :)

What have people said about your e-books?

I've gotten a lot of feedback, but most of it has been in spoken form so I can't quote directly. However! I've been told that the books are very professionally done, exceedingly easy to follow along and understand, and that the photography quality of the step-by-step photos is awesome. (That makes me really happy, because I did the whole thing myself).

Are you planning on writing more?

Yes, I am! I have some ideas in the works for some special project ebooks on things like beaded watches and a floating pearls necklace. Other than that, I also write novels, and I'm currently in the process of writing my third and editing my first and second ones! I hope to traditionally publish them, versus the self-publishing I did with my ebooks. :)

Do you have any final thoughts?

Hmm, why does that sound like "Any last words? Mwahaha!" - must be just me. ;) If you're interested in learning more about me you can find me blogging at http://jewelsbyjulia-lauren.blogspot.com/! If you want to see some of the jewelry I've made myself, check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheJewelsByJuliaShop. And thanks so much, Sarah, for interviewing me!