Helen C. Johannes's Blog, page 5

For this lovely month of green grass and blooming flowers, I'm giving away a Kindle copy (US only) of Book 1 of the Crown of Tolem series, THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. 

For a chance to win this sweeping romantic tale of crowns and quests, go to NN Light Book Heaven's Beach Blanket Book Giveaway. Log-in with your email and specify you'd like to win THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. If your idea of a beach read is a Cinderella-type story of an orphan healer and a warrior prince, this is the book for you....

Celebrate all that is GREEN in the merry, merry month of May with FREDERICK FLY-CATCHER. 

This month I'm giving away a Kindle copy (US only) of this charming children's fantasy. To enter for a chance to win, go to NN Light Book Heaven's Book Lovers Unite portal. Log in with your email and be sure to specify that you'd like to win FREDERICK FLY-CATCHER for your prize. 

If you're looking for summer reading for your favorite young person, this chapter book is just the ticket. Best of luck!

I seem to have a penchant for writing books that open in Spring. 

BLOODSTONE opens a bit later, in June, because that's when the peonies bloom here. I use them when introducing my father and daughter characters Tolbert and Mirianna. Spring changes also figure in the introduction to the no-man's land, the Wehrland. The cracking of stone and earth that occurs in the mountain highlands during the change of season is the basis for the legend of the Last Dragon. And, of course, the magical bloodstone-...

Are you looking forward to seeing a bit of green? Do you yearn to cast off the snow and welcome Spring?

That's exactly how I felt when I began writing LORD OF DRUEMARWIN. It opens in late winter. (Makes you shiver to think of it, doesn't it?) And the action propels the characters forward into a muddy, messy, eventually full-of-hope Spring. New beginnings for my couple and for the Crown of Tolem series. 

If you'd like to come along for the ride AND have a chance to win a Kindle copy of LORD OF DRUE...

For the month of love, I'm giving away a Kindle copy of the first in my Crown of Tolem series, THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE. A Game-of-Thrones-meets-Cinderella fantasy romance, it features a healer heroine and a warrior hero. Here's a blurb: 

She’s all wrong for Prince Arn, this lowborn healer who keeps meddling in his march to conquer her homeland. If only she hadn’t helped him, and he hadn’t kissed her, he could stop looking for her everywhere, hoping to find her…again.

If you long to be swept awa...

 After giving away one print book a month of my fantasy romances in 2021, I've resolved to give away one Kindle e-book a month in 2022. Up first this month is my children's fantasy FREDERICK FLY-CATCHER. 

For a chance to win this Kindle book for your favorite child and chapter book reader, go to https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/literary-giveaway-portal and enter in the subject line that you would prefer to win FREDERICK FLY-CATCHER. Enter as often as you like because there are many wonderful pr...

Good news! LORD OF DRUEMARWIN is a finalist in NN Light Book Heaven's 2021 Book Awards in the Fantasy Romance category. I'm so pleased!

Also, don't forget you can access a free--that's right, FREE--PDF download of The Wild Rose Press Annual Cookie Cookbook right here: https://www.thewildrosepress.com/product/2021-holiday-garden-gourmet-2

You'll want to try my pressed and frosted butter cookies. Right now, we've almost eaten all of ours--and it's not even Christmas yet! They are a family favorite.

B...

In time for the holidays, the Wild Rose Press annual cookbook is here! This time it's devoted to all kinds of holiday cookie recipes. You can access a free--that's right, FREE--PDF download right here: https://www.thewildrosepress.com/product/2021-holiday-garden-gourmet-2

I've included my glazed butter cookie recipe made with a cookie press. They're dainty bits of yummy goodness we've enjoyed since my teen years. 

In case you're wondering what they look like, they're the little rectangles to the l...

If you're like me, you grew up learning that you should never waste food: There were starving children the world over. Well, all those Halloween pumpkins are actually food, and people in other parts of the world turn them into all kinds of edibles. Here, most of them go to waste on doorsteps.

If you'd rather not waste that gorgeous pumpkin, and you love pumpkin baked goods, here's good news! You can easily turn a pumpkin into all kinds of treats.

To begin, it's best if you don't carve the pumpkin ...

The final three months of my year of giving away one autographed print book per month of my award-winning fantasy romances are here. This month's prize, and being offered for the last time, is THE PRINCE OF VAL-FEYRIDGE, perfect for those who devour enemies-to-lovers stories. 

She’s all wrong for Prince Arn, this lowborn healer who keeps meddling in his march to conquer her homeland. If only she hadn’t helped him, and he hadn’t kissed her, he could stop looking for her everywhere, hoping to find ...