Tidings of Joy (The Ladies of Sweetwater Lake, Book 5) (Love Inspired #369) [Mass Market Paperback]

Margaret Daley (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Steeple Hill (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373873999
• ISBN-13: 978-0373873999
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,800,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret has been writing for over 20 years. She started writing in the late 1970s because she wanted to see if she could put a whole story down on paper. That book is still in the drawer and will never see the light of day. But she was able to finish a book, which was her goal.
She decided after that to get some help, and joined a writers' roundtable where she met once a week with some fellow writers who went over each other's work. She sold her first book in the early 1980s and has been selling ever since.
She loves to tell a story. When she was a little girl she made up stories while playing with her dolls. On long trips with her family she would weave a story about the surrounding countryside. From those early beginnings grew a love of entertaining people with a story.
When she went away to college, she met her husband, Mike, to whom she has been married for over 30 years. He is her support and her best friend. She has always felt she was the luckiest woman the day she bumped into him on campus.
When they married, they moved to Tulsa, where she finished her degree in special education and began teaching. She still teaches today and loves working with students with special needs. They help her remember what is important in life. She also participates in the Special Olympics as a coach with her students and has attended the State Games in May for years.
Besides teaching and writing, she is also a mother of one. Her son, Shaun, loves animals and there have been times they could have their own zoo at the house. The most interesting pet Shaun has is a leopard tortoise, which could outlive him. She has joked that his children will be inheriting a tortoise. Shaun is getting married to his high school sweetheart. Margaret hopes that they are as happy as she and her husband are.
When she isn't working, she loves to read, travel, and go to lunch and a movie with a friend. She has been to many countries in the world and loves to meet new people. Her favorite place is Tahiti -- Bora Bora. It is as beautiful as all the pictures portray it.
In her travels she has found herself in some interesting situations. Once, in London, she got caught in the middle of a protest that later turned into a riot over poll taxes. In the rain forest of Costa Rica, she was covered from head to toe in mud and ruined a perfectly good outfit. She should have remembered it was going to be wet since it was called a rain forest. In Rio, she and a friend were left with no means to get back to the hotel on the other side of the city. Neither Margaret nor her companion spoke Portuguese and there wasn't a cab in sight. Thankfully one finally pulled up to the curb at the museum because she couldn't see herself hiking across Rio to get back to the hotel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas visit to Sweetwater, October 28, 2006

By 

Sheryl Root (Pompano Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tidings of Joy (The Ladies of Sweetwater Lake, Book 5) (Love Inspired #369) (Mass Market Paperback)

The characters of Margaret Daley's "Tidings of Joy" immediately absorbed me into their lives. Chance--recently released from prison for a crime he didn't commit--comes to Sweetwater to pay back the debt he feels he owes to his cellmate Tom who saved his life. Tanya, Tom's wife, is struggling to make ends meet as a single mom while battling her own fears and guilt over the past. Crystal, Tanya's teenage daughter--paralyzed in a riding accident and now wheel chair bound--battles not only the normal insecurities of growing up, but bullying and prejudice at school.

Chance's struggle to understand how God could allow him to go through what he did, and his difficulty believing he can be a welcome part of a community once again, is understandable and written with both sensitivity and realism.

This is the final installment of "The Ladies of Sweetwater Lake" series, but you don't have to read the earlier books to enjoy this one. I hadn't, but the secondary characters in "Tidings of Joy" were such a special part of Chance and Tanya's story that I want to go back and read each of their stories as well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Ladies of Sweetwater Lake romance, October 19, 2006

By 

Barbara Warren - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tidings of Joy (The Ladies of Sweetwater Lake, Book 5) (Love Inspired #369) (Mass Market Paperback)

Life has been hard for Chance Taylor. He was sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. He has been released, but now he has to start over. However, he can't escape his past. Tanya Bolten has had her own problems to overcome. Her husband, Tom, died in prison, leaving her with a daughter to raise. Tanya needs the money, so she agrees to rent her garage apartment to Chance. She never wanted him to become part of her life, but in spite of her better judgment, she begins to depend on him.
Crystal, Tanya's daughter, is confined to a wheelchair. Crystal is a talented, lovely young girl, but a few of the kids from her schol have been harassing her. In addition, some of the townspeople don't want Chance in their town. Tanya tries to defend him, but Chance has a secret that may destroy their blossoming relationship.
This is a tender love story about two people struggling to overcome their past and live a normal life. Bullies come in all sizes. Whether it's kids in school picking on a girl in a wheelchair, or adults determined to drive someone out of town because he's different. Margaret Daley has done a good job of making us aware of the problem. You'll see the hurt, feel the pain, and be warmed by the love as Chance, Tanya, and Crystal learn to rely on God and on each other.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tidings of Joy, January 31, 2007

By 

Cheryl Wyatt "Author and Avid Reader" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tidings of Joy (The Ladies of Sweetwater Lake, Book 5) (Love Inspired #369) (Mass Market Paperback)

I wish, wish, wish this book would be recommended reading for all junior high and high school students. The manner in which Margaret handled the bullying issues in the story were excellent. Very touching story by a master in the craft of fiction. Heartwarming characters that stayed with me long after I finished the book. BRAVO, MARGARET!!!