Welcome to the Blog Tour that brings Rendezvous 2026 to you, hosted, sponsored, and organized by JustRead Publicity Tours!
Bringing Rendezvous '26 to You!
Rendezvous: reader and writer gathering
November 7, 2026
Holiday Inn Nashville Airport
Rendezvous celebrates Christian fiction and sweet reads, featuring corporate worship, speaker sessions, author panels, small-group discussions, games, giveaways, a pop-up bookshop, and book signings. This event aims to sweeten reading and storytelling experiences with fellowship and encouragement.
Over forty featured authors are participating, including The Christy Award Hall of Fame and bestselling author Tamera Alexander who will deliver the keynote address. USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author Lisa Phillips will lead worship. We will announce several more authors in the coming weeks! We prayerfully honor the legacy of the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat through each Rendezvous event, and this year we are especially celebrating the very first CFRR which was held 10 years ago in Nashville.
Rendezvous is open only to registered attendees. Want to extend your reader getaway? The Christy Award Gala and Art of Writing conference will be held at a nearby venue on November 6.
I'm spotlighting Christian fiction author and all-around lovely lady, Angela Bell. I met Angela at Rendezvous '24 and she was a delight to talk to. Her new book, A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile, releases July 7, 2026. Read on to learn about the book and enjoy a guest post from Angela!
Margaret Kingsley's routine revolves around invention not investigation--until her ordered world springs a gasket.
London, England, 1895
Ambulatory wheelchair user Margaret Kingsley secretly crafts gadgets for the Daughters of Genius Society, a covert team of lady inspectors disguised as harmless bluestocking spinsters. While her fellow inspectors gallivant about London solving crimes, Margaret has been perfectly content assisting from the sidelines--until her expertise is needed to infiltrate the domain of London's most prolific inventor.
Charles Noble sacrificed his career as a musician to support his family after his father's stroke. Now he balances ledgers as a secretary by day and tends to his disabled father by night, but he can't pass up the chance to take a temporary job as event coordinator for a famous inventor commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his mechanical empire. As strange occurrences cause Charles' event planning to collide with Margaret's case, the pair must unravel a plot of sabotage against the inventor's legacy while also investigating the sparks of attraction between them.
A Quaint Bookish Chat about Inspiring Women
Hello, dear reader!
My name is Angela, and today I’m here to share with you the story (or rather stories) behind my latest novel, so do take a moment to fetch your favorite cozy beverage, and let’s settle in for a quaint bookish chat. (I’m drinking a piping hot cup of Scottish Morn from Harney & Sons Fine Teas, for those who are curious.)
As I recall, the notion for A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile was first sparked by an antique book I thrifted, originally published in 1885. It was a nonfiction work—you know the sort with a quintessentially 19th century subtitle that’s lengthy to the point of being equal parts ridiculous and amusing. Said book was called, “Daughters of Genius: A Series of Sketches of Authors, Artists, Reformers, and Heroines, Queens, Princesses, and Women of Society, Women Eccentric and Peculiar.”
As a women’s history and Victorian Era enthusiast, I was most intrigued by this tome penned by one Mr. James Parton who in the book’s preface allotted precious page space to laud “the most essential and efficient assistance” of his beloved niece, Miss Ethel Parton. In Mr. Parton’s own words, “Many of these articles I could not have done without her aid, which was rendered with a ready tact and sympathetic zeal beyond her twenty years, though they were to be expected from her lineage. Whenever the reader comes upon a passage that betrays a finer insight and a happier touch than ordinarily appears in the work, he will know to whom to attribute it.”
This book celebrating brilliant women and contributed to by one such woman sounded like just my cup of tea . . . so much so, that an idea began to brew.
What if I wrote a novel where Little Women met Inspector Gadget in the form of a found sisterhood known as the Daughters of Genius Society—an elite team of lady inspectors disguised as a club for bluestocking spinsters? Recruited for their astute intelligence and aristocratic lineage, what if each D.O.G.S. member was inspired by a real woman of genius from the Victorian Era, and what if together, these daughters of the heavenly Father of all Genius, covertly investigated crimes committed by members of London’s high society? And what if, just for fun, the fictional tale was wonderfully eccentric and peculiar?
Thus, a story idea slowly steeped into a cuppa Victorian whimsy with notes of light academia, steampunk gadgetry, humorous shenanigans, and investigative adventure, sweetened by a he-falls-first romance.
Then, quite unexpectedly, another real woman of genius—one from the pages of my own life—began to leave an indelible mark upon the story, adding a depth of body and poignant aroma to my literary cuppa with authentic disability representation. Fingerprints of this woman’s harrowing struggles and sincere faith can be found on every page of this novel, just as her name can be located on the dedication page—Tabitha Margaret, my sweet sister and my heroine’s namesake.
While Miss Ethel and her uncle may have provided my imagination with the initial story spark, it was Tabitha’s unassuming example of genuine faith that fanned the spark into a flame. By steadfastly carrying me to Jesus when I needed Him most . . . by teaching me how to praise amid pain, hope amid hardship, and cling courageously to the One who calms the sea amid the fiercest storm . . . Tabitha gave this eccentric and peculiar story its beating heart.
It is because of Tabitha that this book was written in honor of those living with chronic pain and invisible illness, and it is because of her that I pray this whimsical little story helps fellow spoonies and their caretakers feel seen. Seen and reassured that—whether the pain they bear weighs on their bodies or their minds—that it matters. That they matter. Both to me and to the Father of all Genius who sustains every one of us by His amazing grace.
Angela Bell is a twenty-first-century lady with nineteenth-century sensibilities, and she resides with her charming pup, Mr. Bingley Crosby. One might categorize her books as historical romance, but Angela likes to describe them as “a cuppa Victorian whimsy” because it sounds so much more poetical. Whenever you need a respite from the harried hustle, you’re welcome to visit her parlor at AuthorAngelaBell.com, where she can be found waiting with a pot of tea and a great book.
Learn more about the 2026 Rendezvous
If you're unable to attend Rendezvous this year, we don't want you to miss out on getting to know our authors and their books. Our bloggers are bringing Rendezvous to you by spotlighting several of the participating authors this week. Follow along to grow your TBR list to astronomical proportions!
Check out recent releases by these participating authors in the JustRead Amazon Storefront.
Spotlight: Angela Bell and A Lady's Handbook to Gadgets and Guile
About the Book:
Margaret Kingsley's routine revolves around invention not investigation--until her ordered world springs a gasket.
London, England, 1895
Ambulatory wheelchair user Margaret Kingsley secretly crafts gadgets for the Daughters of Genius Society, a covert team of lady inspectors disguised as harmless bluestocking spinsters. While her fellow inspectors gallivant about London solving crimes, Margaret has been perfectly content assisting from the sidelines--until her expertise is needed to infiltrate the domain of London's most prolific inventor.
Charles Noble sacrificed his career as a musician to support his family after his father's stroke. Now he balances ledgers as a secretary by day and tends to his disabled father by night, but he can't pass up the chance to take a temporary job as event coordinator for a famous inventor commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his mechanical empire. As strange occurrences cause Charles' event planning to collide with Margaret's case, the pair must unravel a plot of sabotage against the inventor's legacy while also investigating the sparks of attraction between them.
Guest Post by Angela Bell
A Quaint Bookish Chat about Inspiring Women
Hello, dear reader!
My name is Angela, and today I’m here to share with you the story (or rather stories) behind my latest novel, so do take a moment to fetch your favorite cozy beverage, and let’s settle in for a quaint bookish chat. (I’m drinking a piping hot cup of Scottish Morn from Harney & Sons Fine Teas, for those who are curious.)
As I recall, the notion for A Lady’s Handbook to Gadgets and Guile was first sparked by an antique book I thrifted, originally published in 1885. It was a nonfiction work—you know the sort with a quintessentially 19th century subtitle that’s lengthy to the point of being equal parts ridiculous and amusing. Said book was called, “Daughters of Genius: A Series of Sketches of Authors, Artists, Reformers, and Heroines, Queens, Princesses, and Women of Society, Women Eccentric and Peculiar.”
As a women’s history and Victorian Era enthusiast, I was most intrigued by this tome penned by one Mr. James Parton who in the book’s preface allotted precious page space to laud “the most essential and efficient assistance” of his beloved niece, Miss Ethel Parton. In Mr. Parton’s own words, “Many of these articles I could not have done without her aid, which was rendered with a ready tact and sympathetic zeal beyond her twenty years, though they were to be expected from her lineage. Whenever the reader comes upon a passage that betrays a finer insight and a happier touch than ordinarily appears in the work, he will know to whom to attribute it.”
This book celebrating brilliant women and contributed to by one such woman sounded like just my cup of tea . . . so much so, that an idea began to brew.
What if I wrote a novel where Little Women met Inspector Gadget in the form of a found sisterhood known as the Daughters of Genius Society—an elite team of lady inspectors disguised as a club for bluestocking spinsters? Recruited for their astute intelligence and aristocratic lineage, what if each D.O.G.S. member was inspired by a real woman of genius from the Victorian Era, and what if together, these daughters of the heavenly Father of all Genius, covertly investigated crimes committed by members of London’s high society? And what if, just for fun, the fictional tale was wonderfully eccentric and peculiar?
Thus, a story idea slowly steeped into a cuppa Victorian whimsy with notes of light academia, steampunk gadgetry, humorous shenanigans, and investigative adventure, sweetened by a he-falls-first romance.
Then, quite unexpectedly, another real woman of genius—one from the pages of my own life—began to leave an indelible mark upon the story, adding a depth of body and poignant aroma to my literary cuppa with authentic disability representation. Fingerprints of this woman’s harrowing struggles and sincere faith can be found on every page of this novel, just as her name can be located on the dedication page—Tabitha Margaret, my sweet sister and my heroine’s namesake.
While Miss Ethel and her uncle may have provided my imagination with the initial story spark, it was Tabitha’s unassuming example of genuine faith that fanned the spark into a flame. By steadfastly carrying me to Jesus when I needed Him most . . . by teaching me how to praise amid pain, hope amid hardship, and cling courageously to the One who calms the sea amid the fiercest storm . . . Tabitha gave this eccentric and peculiar story its beating heart.
It is because of Tabitha that this book was written in honor of those living with chronic pain and invisible illness, and it is because of her that I pray this whimsical little story helps fellow spoonies and their caretakers feel seen. Seen and reassured that—whether the pain they bear weighs on their bodies or their minds—that it matters. That they matter. Both to me and to the Father of all Genius who sustains every one of us by His amazing grace.
Author Bio
Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a $30 gift card (winner’s choice of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook, or Baker Book House)!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 15, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 22, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Wonder what shenanigans are in place? Sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI love that this book features a person in a wheelchair
ReplyDeleteOh, I love books about female inventors! I’m actually working on my own right now!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteMarion
I enjoyed reading all that the author shares about the inspiration for this book. The book sounds fantastic.
ReplyDeletewhat a fun post! I can't wait to read this book (and see Angela again!)
ReplyDeleteThis looks really intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSounds great.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book! Ty for sharing!
ReplyDelete