Sara's Library

Saturday, April 25, 2015

A Heart on Hold (An Everlasting Heart #1) WeWriWa - 4/26/15

Welcome back to this week's eight sentence snippet from A Heart on Hold, my debut novel that released in 2012. I have such a special place in my heart for these characters that A Heart on Hold turned into a four-book series!

Last week, a voice from behind her interrupted Charlotte's twilight creek-side musings in pre-war 1860's Arkansas.


Charlotte smiled, not bothering to turn around or even open her eyes, because the melodic voice was of course that of Sanderson Redding, the man who had stolen her heart so many years before.

“You think I’m hiding, Sanderson?” Charlotte asked, the hint of a smile teasing the corners of her lips. “Well, you’re right. I am hiding.” Her voice lingered in the twilight as she pushed herself upright and turned to face him. “Because I think that war of any kind is a complete and total waste of time. And of life.”

His voice took an accusing tone. “You’ve been reading the books I lent you.”

Thank you for stopping by! To get back to the other amazing contributors of this weekly multi-genre bloghop we call affectionately call The Weekend Writing Warriors, click here!

Check out my other excerpts by following the links below!

Sara's Amish Dreams (Fiction)

Missi Wanderin' in the Woods (Non Fiction Memoir)

Thank you for spending part of your day with me, Charlotte, and Sanderson!

Saturday, April 18, 2015

WeWriWa 4/19/15 - A Heart on Hold

Welcome to this Sunday's snippet, the very first eight sentences from my Civil War romance and debut novel, A Heart on Hold.  These are the words that turned me from a writer into an author. 



The thought of war was removed from Charlotte’s mind as she uncurled her legs from beneath her patched cotton dress and stretched them into the brook. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as the icy water swirled over her bare feet. It felt good to have finally loosened the tight braid from her hair. She swayed back and forth, letting the wavy locks tickle her shoulders. Achilles, who had been grazing contentedly, whinnied at the light bugs that flickered about his muzzle. 

Charlotte’s fingers found the soft jade and eggshell tassels that ringed her picnic blanket and her mind began to wander. 

“It is coming you know,” a voice from behind her stated matter-of-factly. “None of us will be able to hide much longer.”

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Thank you for stopping by to see this week's edition of eight-sentence-Sunday with the Weekend Writing Warriors! To check out more snippets from all sorts of genres, click here!

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Come back next week to meet the owner of the mysterious voice and fall in love with the Scarlet and Rhett of Arkansas!

Happily Ever After . . .

Sigh. April 17th, always a bittersweet day, as it has been every anniversary since 2010. But before we get to all that, let's go back to the beginning . . .



Just weeks after joining a Rapid Deployment unit at Fort Carson, Colorado, my husband and I had a baby -- a sweet and chunky boy who made his debut a month early -- and six short weeks later took this photo. This was taken just hours before he deployed to Afghanistan. Again. My newborn and I drove home to Texas with the lawnmower tied to the hood of the Dodge Journey we'd bought in Italy and had shipped home as my husband began his trek halfway around the world to hell on earth. Don't Cry by Guns and Roses, a song I'd never heard before despite being a devout metal head, played several times on the way home and became my year-long anthem. (Don't mind the weird video, it's the words I love.) Haven't heard it much since, either.




More coming next Saturday on this misadventure . . .


Monday, April 13, 2015

Where it all began . . .

Where did it all begin? What made Sara Barnard actually take the plunge and begin the exciting and heartbreaking journey to becoming a published author?

A Heart on Hold (An Everlasting Heart #1) was actually born during a time of great adversity. My husband was on his second deployment to Afghanistan and I was home with two toddlers and a newborn . . . and very, very sad. It was a rough deployment to say the least and every time the phone rang, heartwrenching news was on the other end.

Always having been a lover of history and having gained enough foresight in my near-30 years, I knew what we were going through was timeless and had been experienced by couples the world over for centuries. So, I decided to take what we were both going through and toss it back into the Civil War times, where I could control the ending and make sure of a HEA. In doing this, A Heart on Hold was born, but not without  many trials, tribulations, twists, and turns.

Come back on Sunday for a snippet from A Heart on Hold!