Category Archives: Towering Pines

Don’t forget your free novelette!

rsz_charisa_cover_55x8_96_dpiAll subscribers to my newsletter receive a free novelette, Charisa’s Chance, written just for them! Sign up today!

Charisa’s Chance tells the story of a secondary character from my award-winning novella, You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch. I loved her when I wrote her many years ago, and she had a story that needed to be told! You’ll remember her as the young unwed mother who helped Rick and Edie find their way back to each other. Now she’s on vacation in Towering Pines, Colorado with your favorite charming Grinch and his lovely wife–and Charisa has a romance of her own to discover! You’ll get to visit with a few characters from the Towering Pines series, too. It’s a ton of fun!

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A New Day Added to Free Book Week!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Free to Flourish Publishing give-away week! I’ve loved it–it feels like a way to give all my faithful readers a big box of presents!

75% smallerOriginally Friday was to be the last day of the give-away, but a bit of a buzz has built around A Packaged Deal, so Free to Flourish extended the give-away of this title for one more day!

I don’t think of this story as a Christmas book, but there is an important scene that occurs on Christmas, so I thought you might enjoy tucking this one onto your Kindle to read the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The snow’s falling today at my house, and let me tell you, this is the perfect read for a snowy day.

So you can still get A Packaged Deal, the first title in the the Towering Pines series, for free download on Kindle. (If you’re a “real” book, I love to smell the pages person, you can purchase the paperback for  $9.99. I’m also doing a give-away for the paperback this month. I’m collecting names of people who comment here on my blog or sign-up for my newsletter, and one lucky winner (USA only) will get the book sent to them!)

I’m praying the Lord blesses you as you download the free books and read them. All books published by Free to Flourish carry the theme of freedom, inner-healing, and discovering the true essence of life, person, and self. They invite readers to be a part of the grand Love Story with Jesus.

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Merry Christmas and sweet blessings from my house to yours,

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PS I’ll be taking a break until January 1st, the launch day of my newest story, At Home with Daffodils, which is included in Barbour Publishing’s collection, A Bouquet of Brides.

A Package Deal Free today

The first book in my new Towering Pines series is FREE today only! I hope you enjoy A Packaged Deal!  Here’s a short video sharing a little about it!

 

A Packaged Deal is free today on Kindle, but of course you can always buy it in paperback! 75% smaller

What’s Free to Flourish?

This week the publishing arm of Free to Flourish is giving away a lot of books. (Click here for the give-away schedule.) This video shares the passion behind everything I write and speak about and tells you what you can expect if you download one of our books, whether it is fiction or non-fiction.

Next to my computer is my passion statement. Every thing we do at Free to Flourish filters through this lens: “I write and speak to join with the Holy Spirit in setting captives free and healing the brokenhearted. To call forth the true essence of life, person, self. To be a part of the grand Love Story with Jesus.”

Blessings,

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*Free Books All Week*

Free to Flourish Publishing is gifting books to our readers each week day between now and Christmas. Check out the schedule below for December 18th through 22nd, and make a plan to get the books you want FREE for Kindle.

(All of Paula’s books, except Selections for Advent, which was excerpted from Soul Scents: Flourish, are also available in paperback.)

Monday’s Free Books:

Soul Scents: Awaken and Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent

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The Soul Scents collection invites readers into an ever-deepening discovery of who God is and how He interacts with us. Combined, its four volumes—Awaken, Rooted, Bloom, and Flourish—offer a year’s worth of devotional reading. Each book has thirteen weeks of down-to-earth insight gleaned from Scripture and the author’s journey into spiritual freedom.  The week-day readings include Scriptures and prayers. Rest in the Son’s embrace as you enter the beautiful heart of the Freedom Giver Himself.

The first book, Soul Scents: Awaken, invites readers to awaken to a more intimate, peaceful relationship with God.

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Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent offers four weeks of devotional thoughts, Scriptures, and prayers for meditation and worship in the weeks before Christmas. If you’re celebrating Advent with candles, you can use Sunday’s reading for reflection as you light the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love. It also includes a scripted prayer and suggestions for worship. This title is FREE all week as a downloadable pdf on the author’s website: www.paulamoldenhauer.com. It can also be purchased for Kindle for 99 cents.

Tuesday’s Free Books:

You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch, Soul Scents: Awaken, Soul Scents: Rooted and Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent

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FREE today!

You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch ~ Retired police officer Rick Stanton dons a Grinch costume for the holidays and “patrols” Christmas, Florida to promote the festive town. Everyone falls under his charm except the person he most wants to impress—Postmaster Edie Hathaway. The Grinch is stealing Edie’s heart, but will Edie learn to trust him before he gives up on love?

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Become rooted in your identity as the beloved! Soul Scents: Rooted, the second book in the Soul Scents devotional series, includes topics such as worthiness, spiritual battle, and destiny. The week-day readings include scriptures and prayers.

The Soul Scents collection invites readers into an ever-deepening discovery of who God is and how He interacts with us. Combined, its four volumes, Awaken, Rooted, Bloom, and Flourish, offer a year’s worth of devotional reading. Each book has thirteen weeks of down-to-earth insight gleaned from scripture and the author’s journey into spiritual freedom.  Rest in the Son’s embrace as you enter the beautiful heart of the Freedom Giver Himself.

(For a description of the other two *FREE* books see Monday’s schedule.)

Wednesday’s Free Books:

Soul Scents: Bloom, Soul Scents: Rooted,  You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch, and Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent

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Soul Scents: Bloom ~ In His presence we bloom in sunshine and storm. His Spirit carries us through the struggle, offering the love, strength, and wisdom we need for the times of trial. In the joyous seasons, His smile deepens our pleasure.  Bloom in season and out!

The Soul Scents collection invites readers into an ever-deepening discovery of who God is and how He interacts with us. Combined, its four volumes, Awaken, Rooted, Bloom, and Flourish, offer a year’s worth of devotional reading. Each book has thirteen weeks of down-to-earth insight gleaned from Scripture and the author’s journey into spiritual freedom.  The week-day readings include Scriptures and prayers. Rest in the Son’s embrace as you enter the beautiful heart of the Freedom Giver Himself.

(For a description of today’s other  *FREE* books see previous days’ schedules.)

Thursday’s Free Books:

Soul Scents: Flourish, Soul Scents: Bloom, You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch, and Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent

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Soul Scents: Flourish ~ At just the right time in history God sent His beloved Son to set the captives free and claim victory over the darkness. At just the right time in each life God shows His child how to step into the freedom He already won.

In this fourth volume of the Soul Scents series, Paula talks about her journey out of emotional, verbal, and spiritual abuse.  She says, “As God reveals how pain and abuse twists our understanding of who He is and how He works, the distrust falls away.  The root of the lie weed is exposed, and the Lord pulls that sucker out completely! In its place comes a deepened intimacy with Jesus and the joy we’ve prayed for but couldn’t find. We rise from the pain and live free to flourish.”

Take the Flourish journey and brave deeper healing, letting go of shame and learning to live as vibrant daughters of the King!

The Soul Scents collection invites readers into an ever-deepening discovery of who God is and how He interacts with us. Combined, its four volumes—Awaken, Rooted, Bloom, and Flourish—offer a year’s worth of devotional reading. Each book has thirteen weeks of down-to-earth insight gleaned from Scripture and the author’s journey into spiritual freedom.  The week-day readings include Scriptures and prayers. Rest in the Son’s embrace as you enter the beautiful heart of the Freedom Giver Himself.

(For a description of today’s other  *FREE* books see previous days’ schedules.)

Friday’s Free Books:

A Packaged Deal, Soul Scents: Flourish, You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch, and Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent

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A Packaged Deal, Book one in the Towering Pines series ~ Snuggle next to a fireplace in Towering Pines, the Colorado ski town where friendship is served up in hearty helpings and love is as true as the cobalt blue sky.

When Olympic hopeful Aspen Carlisle gave up her ski-racing dreams to raise her orphaned siblings, she found out the hard way that men aren’t interested in a “packaged deal.” Thrust into a stiff learning curve on motherhood, Aspen discovers the love and support of her friends in Towering Pines, but when the handsome new resort manager Stephen Wallace shows kindness to her little family, can she drop her guard long enough to allow him into that trusted circle—and her heart?

As Aspen struggles to believe in him, Stephen battles ghosts of his own. Time with Aspen and her family causes old issues to bubble to the surface. Does he have what it takes to push through the fear and regret, or will he stay stuck in the pain of the past? If he can believe in himself enough to become the husband and father they need, he’ll discover how wonderful a packaged deal can be.

(For a description of today’s other  *FREE* books see previous days’ schedules.)

The following are 99 cents all week!

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You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch ~ Retired police officer Rick Stanton dons a Grinch costume for the holidays and “patrols” Christmas, Florida to promote the festive town. Everyone falls under his charm except the person he most wants to impress—Postmaster Edie Hathaway. The Grinch is stealing Edie’s heart, but will Edie learn to trust him before he gives up on love?rsz_tinseled_tidings_small_scrooge

The Joy Scrooge ~ Spunky pediatrician Krista Fjeld loved Tait Skroog for most of her life, but when Tait and his young son, Timmy, move back to town, she is shocked by the change in her old heart-throb. Embittered by his wife’s death, Tait is paralyzed by fear and grief. Will Krista convince him to embrace life—and her—or is the risk too great for everyone?

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Fruitcake Fallout ~ Family legend says that the Preston fruitcake recipe makes young couples fall in love. But when WAC Evelyn Preston sends one to her high school crush stationed overseas during WW II, she snags the wrong private! When Willie Baxter tries to clear up the unintentional deception, will Evie give his poor smitten heart a chance?

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Soul Scents: Flourish Selections for Advent offers four weeks of devotional thoughts, Scriptures, and prayers for meditation and worship in the weeks before Christmas. If you’re celebrating Advent with candles, you can use Sunday’s reading for reflection as you light the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love. It also includes a scripted prayer and suggestions for worship. This title can also be downloaded as a free pdf on the author’s website: www.paulamoldenhauer.com

Merry Christmas! I pray you are blessed by these free books!

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Our Son is Engaged!

If you like Hallmark Christmas movies or sweet holiday romance of any kind, you’ll likely agree with me that this video of my son Sam proposing to the beautiful Ariel is the real-life thing!

Imagine his family and hers gathered to watch the annual Christmas parade in Estes Park. It’s long been Ariel’s favorite family tradition, and the last few years Sam has joined her family for the event. This year everyone was “magically” invited by Ariel herself, which made it convenient to set her up for the surprise since she thought she made the plan!

Hot chocolate and popcorn is purchased. Everyone is cozy and happy. The parade starts, and Ariel remembers her favorite floats from years past. Sam complains of a stomachache (which though he was faking was probably not too far from the truth). He disappears. Once in a while she glances around, searching the crowd at the side of the street for his return.

Little did she know he would be joining her FROM the parade.

We’ve long thought of Ariel as family. We’re thrilled it’s now official!

Here are a few of my favorite still shots from the occasion. Congratulations Sam and Ariel! You are dearly loved!

Thank you for sharing this special moment with us. I still cry happy tears when I watch that video!

Until next time,

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PS If you’re looking for holiday romance this season, check out my novella collection, Tinseled Tidings, and A Packaged Deal, the first book in the Towering Pines series. I can’t promise it will be as wonderful as the real life stuff, but I bet you wipe a sentimental tear or two as you read.

 

A Story Grows Up

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Did you really begin writing A Packaged Deal when you were high school, you ask. Yup. True story. I have roughly fifty pages of cursive on lined notebook paper to prove it.

Yesterday I said that the stories that don’t go away are the ones you eventually have to write. This story stayed with me. Even though I didn’t complete it in that nine week creative writing class, I lived it in my mind, and it lurked there for many years. When it shouted for attention, I had my own seventeen year-old. Now that it is ready for the public, my children are grown and (usually) out of the house.

The call to finish the story which became A Packaged Deal grew louder when my middle son, Stephen, and my nephew Caleb competed with the Nederland Middle School ski team. Life was busy for the writing of the great American novel, but I thought I might be able to handle penning a romance amidst the hustle and bustle of four teenager’s activities. As I wound through mountain curves to drive Stephen and Caleb to Eldora Mountain, the little story I started as a seventeen year-old began once again to take shape, only this time the setting was a quaint ski town full of quirky and caring supporting characters. Now the heroine became a downhill racer, and the hero waltzed in as the handsome GM of a small-town resort.

Here’s the back cover copy of the NOW story:
Snuggle next to a fireplace in Towering Pines, the Colorado ski town where friendship is served up in hearty helpings and love is as true as the cobalt blue sky.

When Olympic hopeful Aspen Carlisle gave up her ski-racing dreams to raise her orphaned siblings, she found out the hard way that men aren’t interested in a “packaged deal.” Thrust into a stiff learning curve on motherhood, Aspen discovers the love and support of her friends in Towering Pines, but when the handsome new resort manager Stephen Wallace shows kindness to her little family, can she drop her guard long enough to allow him into that trusted circle—and her heart?

As Aspen struggles to believe in him, Stephen battles ghosts of his own. Time with Aspen and her family causes old issues to bubble to the surface. Does he have what it takes to push through the fear and regret, or will he stay stuck in the pain of the past? If he can believe in himself enough to become the husband and father they need, he’ll discover how wonderful a packaged deal can be.

The heart of the  book dreamed up in Robert Wyly’s English class stayed true. A young woman’s life was interrupted when her parents passed suddenly, and she chose to raise her siblings.  That was in the original story line. It’s precious to me, maybe because I love my brother, Curtis, so much. Sibling relationships are so important!

Originally in the seventeen-year-old version there were two men vying for the heroine’s attention, but the more grown-up me didn’t want to do that, so a man named Chad became the ex-boyfriend, and Stephen was the only one pursuing Aspen. (I actually don’t remember what the guys names were originally. I need to find that old manuscript and see!)

While today’s book is definitely the romance genre as was the work of that dreamy seventeen-year-old, this grown-up book works through faith, loss, and the struggle to hope in ways the high school version never could. I pray it blesses you! I absolutely love  what the Free to Flourish publishing team did to make the book beautiful. Thank you to Lisa Joy Samson for the interior artwork and the Towering Pines series logo, to Bryan Butler for the gorgeous cover, and to Carmen Barber for her vision for a lovely interior design and layout.

It’s great fun to see a book dreamed up in my youth become something I can hold in my hands.

Blessings,

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PS A Packaged Deal, which is the first book in the series about Towering Pines and its people, ends with a lovely Christmas Eve surprise, so it is perfect reading for this season and would make a great gift for the readers in your family. Consider purchasing it along with the Tinseled Tidings Collection. Both are available in paperback and on Kindle. Did you know you can gift books on Kindle to your electronic reading friends? In the case of these books, gifting electronically is a wonderful way to stretch the budget.

PPS It’s not too late to download your free Advent devotion from my website. I’m also posting a daily Advent thought on my author page on Facebook. Follow me there to share the Advent journey.

A Shout Out to English Teachers

Ever have an English teacher change your life? Maybe it was a discussion about that story you read in class. Or maybe, like me, you had teachers who flamed your passion for writing.

Today is the official release of my new book, A Packaged Deal, the first story in the Amazon_Front_Cover_1600x2560 JPGTowering Pines series. I dedicated it to three English teachers. My friend Maria Clinton, who teaches high school English a few blocks from my home, my high school English teacher, Mr. Wyly, and my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Duncan. Other names and faces flit through my mind. I’ve had many excellent English teachers, but there’s a reason I singled out these three.

Years ago as I drove up a windy road toward Nederland, Colorado, a story called for my attention. It was a tale from years before, my first attempt at writing a book. I started it my senior year in high school, and I still have the handwritten cursive manuscript on lined notebook paper to prove it.

That story matured with me over many years, but it never went away. It’s the stories that don’t leave you alone that must be written. A Packaged Deal is one of those, and that story I began at seventeen grew into the book releasing today. I remain forever grateful to Robert Wyly for this and more. Why? Because in that nine-week creative writing class I requested permission to write a novel instead of doing the daily assignments, and he cheered me on.

It was one of those touch points that established my dream to become an author. The experience helped keep my dream alive and sustained it during my busy years as a teacher and young mom, when I thought I would write books and didn’t accomplish much more than short poetry and family letters.

I chose my third grade teacher, Mrs. Duncan, for this dedication because her class is the first place I remember knowing I would someday write books. It started when she assigned us a creative writing exercise using personification. I wrote about a pencil and an eraser who always fought but eventually discovered they needed each other when they had to work together to save the third grade classroom. As I wrote that little story, I was hooked. My first “real” job out of college was as a third grade teacher. I can only hope there are a few students out there whose lives were impacted by me as I was by Mrs. Duncan. I read that pencil and eraser story to my students every year, and they always loved it–and loved writing their own personification tale.

Mrs. Duncan also gave me another gift I’m forever grateful for. She discovered that I loved to read and that I finished my work quickly. Instead of allowing me to sit idle, she and the librarian set me up on a speed reading device that helped me read and comprehend more and more quickly. This valuable skill allows me to consume books even now, and I’m very grateful.

I chose to include my friend Maria in the dedication because of her dedication to her students. I am consistently amazed by her passion for them. She cares about their academics and works hard to prepare them for college. She is also passionate about them as individuals. I believe the literature, writing, and class discussion in Mrs. Clinton’s classes open the world beyond that classroom as well as helping her students explore the world within. No doubt the experience grows their understanding and provides forward momentum in their lives. What a difference a passionate teacher makes! (Mrs. Clinton and I share another joy beyond our mutual love of literature, learning, and people. My son, Sam, just proposed to her daughter, Ariel! Wahooo!!)

I’m forever grateful to these three teachers–and to all the English teachers (and librarians!) who called forth my passions. As I reflect, story after story, teacher after teacher, comes to mind who fostered my love of books and writing. The story that made me laugh that our fourth grade teacher read to the class? I read it to my own class of third graders years later. We laughed so hard my co-worker came over and asked what was going on because her class was getting jealous. That serious book about concentration camps in fifth grade? Still part of the shaping within me for justice and compassion. The sixth graders teachers who allowed me to express creativity in numerous ways. Anne Frank’s Dairy, Great Expectations. The immersion into fantasy thanks to a teacher who loved Brigadoon and pookas. The elementary librarian who constantly worked to find me the next books series and keep me engaged in reading. The junior high librarian who became a friend as she shared her favorite authors with me, again finding ways to keep my love of books growing. The list continues into college.

So here’s to English teachers (and librarians) everywhere! Thank you for pouring out on our behalf!

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Blessings,

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PS A Packaged Deal is available in paperback and on Kindle. Tomorrow I’ll share a little more about how this story matured from its beginnings in Mr. Wyly’s class to become the novel of today.