Monday, December 11, 2023

"Rocky Mountain Promise" by Misty M. Beller

About the Book

Book: Rocky Mountain Promise

Author: Misty M. Beller

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: November 21, 2023

Lorelei Collins possesses a soft heart for any animal in need, so when she finds a buffalo calf bawling beside its mother’s lifeless body, she can’t help but bring it home to raise on the ranch she and her sisters are building in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. Little does she realize that its white coloring is rare and considered sacred by Native Americans, which makes it highly valuable to them and the European trappers alike.

A flood of men visit their ranch to regard the marvel, some trying to woo Lorelei into marriage so she’ll bring the buffalo calf along as dowry, and others trying to steal the calf outright. When the men’s advances become more sinister, she approaches Tanner Mason, the quiet and mysterious owner of the new trading post, with an idea: She and the calf will move to his post, along with her family’s trusted Blackfoot friend. This will solve both their problems, bringing customers to his trade room and protecting her family from the trouble brought on by so many strangers. Yet as the danger travels with her, Lorelei and Tanner are faced with a threat greater than anything they’re prepared for–one that will test the limits of both their abilities and the love growing between them.

USA Today bestselling author Misty M. Beller delivers an exhilarating addition to the Sisters of the Rockies series fraught with peril, adventure, and romance amid the majesty of the Rocky Mountains.

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun being back with the Collins sisters and catching up on their lives. I found the book well written and easy to read. I liked the characters and their interactions. I would love to be able to see a white buffalo in person. I look forward to reading more books by Misty M. Beller in the future.

About the Author

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.

Raised on a farm and surrounded by family, Misty developed her love for horses, history, and adventure. These days, her husband and children provide fresh adventure every day, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

Misty’s passion is to create inspiring Christian fiction infused with the grandeur of the mountains, writing historical romance that displays God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

Sharing her stories with readers is a dream come true for Misty. She writes from her country home in South Carolina and escapes to the mountains any chance she gets.

More from Misty

My latest release, Rocky Mountain Promise, follows the four Collins sisters who traveled west to accomplish their father’s deathbed request, and stayed on to run a ranch in the Wyoming Rockies. This particular book is Lorelei’s story, the third sister by age.

I loved writing Lorelei! She LOVES animals and has a heart to heal and nurture. Growing up on a ranch in the early 1800s, she understands that animals are important to survival, but she loves taking in any injured or orphaned creature she finds.

Like the orphaned buffalo calf with beautiful shades of white fur she discovered on the plains. The creature was only a couple weeks old, far too young to survive on its own in the wild, so she took it home to nurture until it could be released back into a herd.

Little did she know, white buffalos are extremely rare and considered sacred by the Indians, which puts them in high demand. I first learned about this belief when I was reading the non-fiction book My Life as an Indian, a memoir of James Willard Schultz, a white man who married into the Blackfoot tribe and lived among them for many years.

The respect for the white buffalo originally began with the Sioux, and they have a legend about the White Buffalo Woman that I won’t take time to share here (though you can read about it in Rocky Mountain Promise!). The deep respect for a white buffalo spread quickly among all the tribes and the trappers who lived in the Rockies and the surrounding plains, and such a creature (or even its hide) became one of the most sought after treasures in that day!

In Lorelei’s story, trapper and Indian alike show up in their cabin yard to see the remarkable white calf, some trying to woo her into marriage so she’ll bring the buffalo calf along as dowry. Others try to steal the calf outright. She ends up taking drastic measures to protect both the calf and her family. Any guess what she did?

I pray you love Rocky Mountain Promise as much as I do!

Blessings!

Misty

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, November 29

Life on Chickadee Lane, November 30

Pens Pages & Pulses, November 30

Betti Mace, December 1

Wishful Endings, December 1

Lighthouse Academy Blog, December 2 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 2

Texas Book-aholic, December 3

Splashes of Joy, December 3

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 4

For Such A Time As This – Miriam Jacob, December 4

lakesidelivingsite, December 5

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 5

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 6

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 6

Life, Love, Writing, December 7

Avid Reader Nurse, December 7

Cover Lover Book Review, December 8

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 9

For Him and My Family, December 9

Jeanette’s Thoughts, December 10

Exploring the Written Word, December 10

Holly’s Book Corner, December 11

Blossoms and Blessings, December 11

Lily’s Corner, December 12

Pause for Tales, December 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2909a/rocky-mountain-promise-celebration-tour-giveaway

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

Sunday, December 10, 2023

"Knowing You" by Traci Peterson

About the Book

Book: Knowing You

Author: Tracie Peterson

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: November 7, 2023

Could a captivating art exhibit hold the key to truth—and love?

Budding artist May Parker is captivated by the Japanese exhibits at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and longs to know more about her mother’s heritage—which her mother refuses to speak of because of the heartache she left behind in Japan. Wanting to experience more of the exhibits, May works as a Camera Girl–but her curiosity leads her into danger when a suit of samurai armor becomes the target of an elusive art forger.

After ten years apart, May is reunited with her childhood friend Lee Munro, a police detective assigned to keep a watchful eye on the exposition. Their friendship immediately begins to blossom with hints of something more, but when they become entangled in a dangerous heist involving the samurai armor and their love is threatened, can they overcome the odds against them?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book. It was interesting going to visit the Alaska Yukon Pacific Expo. It would be interesting to have seen it in person. I liked the bibilical faith thread woven through the story. There were several mentions of something that happened to one of the other characters and it made me feel as if she were the main character in a different book and I was missing out on part of the story. The story deals well with the issue of prejudice.

About the Author

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling author of more than 100 novels, both historical and contemporary, with more than 6 million copies sold. She has won the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her avid research resonates in her many bestselling series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.

More from Tracie

Knowing You is book three in the Pictures of the Heart series. This series has proven to be a lot of fun for readers, as well as for me. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the research and chance to share this tidbit of history.

In the summer of 1909, Seattle was finally able to debut The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition – often affectionately called the AYP. The AYP was set up with amusement park rides, vendors, concerts, and all things typical of a fair. It was also designed to showcase various details about life in Alaska, the Yukon, and a variety of Pacific Islands. The latter included Hawaii, the Philippines, and Japan as well as others. When I started looking into the various displays, I came across the building they put together for the Japan Building. They spoke of the various displays that the building held and how photographs and other pieces of memorabilia told of Japan’s history. It was a fascinating set up and I couldn’t help but think it might be fun to have a heroine who was part Japanese.

I mapped out the story studying various aspects of Japanese history, talking to folks who knew more than I did on the topic and reading (a lot) on things like the Samurai and their armor, the Satsuma Rebellion, and the language and Kanji. I learned so much and tried to weave some of the most interesting bits into the storyline. I kept thinking about the fact that most people in the United States in 1909 probably didn’t even know where Japan was, much less anything about their history. There was, after all, no Internet.

Another fascinating thing about the AYP was the fact that it was set on the campus of the University of Washington. The AYP groomed the grounds and put in beautiful fountains and over 50,000 flowering plants. They built several permanent buildings for the University of Washington and strictly adhered to their policy of no-liquor on campus. This was unusual because all the other fairs and expositions had allowed alcohol. Nevertheless, from June until October the fair saw nearly four million visitors, and from all reports, they had an amazing time.

I hope you’ll enjoy your journey with me to the AYP!

Tracie Peterson

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid reader, December 4

Book Looks by Lisa, December 4

lakesidelivingsite, December 5

Lighthouse Academy Blog, December 6 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 6

Texas Book-aholic, December 7

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 8

Exploring the Written Word, December 8

Cover Lover Book Review, December 9

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 10

Blossoms and Blessings, December 10

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 11

Blogging With Carol, December 12

For Him and My Family, December 12

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 13 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, December 13

Holly’s Book Corner, December 14

Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, December 14

Splashes of Joy, December 15

Min Reads and Reviews, December 15

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 16

Pause for Tales, December 16

Lily’s Corner, December 17

Lights in a Dark World, December 17

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Tracie is giving away the grand prize package of a $20 Amazon gift card and one paperback set of the Pictures of the Heart series (Remember Me, Finding Us, Knowing You)!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/29246/knowing-you-celebration-tour-giveaway

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

Saturday, December 9, 2023

"Of Sea and Smoke" by Gillian Bronte Adams -- Author Interview

About the Book

Book: Of Sea and Smoke

Author: Gillian Bronte Adams

Genre: YA Epic Fantasy

Release Date: November 21, 2023

He rides a seablood, a steed of salt and spray, born to challenge the tides.

Six years ago, the wrong brother survived, and nothing will ever convince Rafi Tetrani otherwise. But he is done running from his past, and from the truth. As civil war threatens Ceridwen’s tenuous rule in Soldonia, Rafi vows to fight the usurper sitting on the imperial throne of Nadaar, even if it means shouldering his brother’s responsibilities as the empire’s lost heir.

The stolen shipload of magical warhorses offers just the edge he needs. But the steeds have been demanded in ransom by the emperor’s ruthless assassin, and if Rafi hopes to raise a band of riders, he must first outwit his brother’s murderer.

Yet when his best efforts end in disaster, and an audacious raid sparks an empire-wide manhunt, even forging an unexpected alliance might not be enough to help Rafi turn the tides, let alone outrace the wave of destruction intent on sweeping them all away.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

1. What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?
Getting started. I don’t mean starting a project, because that’s honestly one of the most
exciting times when an idea is new and shiny and the reality of the work hasn’t quite set
in yet. But getting started writing each time I sit down to write. That may sound odd,
because I am a writer and I love to write, but each time I open up my laptop, it’s an
exercise in discipline to tune out my other to-do list items and all the other distractions
and actually sink into the story. It typically takes me about thirty minutes to an hour to
fully warm up and get my brain into writing mode, especially when I’m working on a
particularly complex project. But once I can actually get going and keep going, the words
do start to flow and then I usually don’t want to stop!

2. Do you pen down revelations and ideas as you get them, right then and there?
I do! I love brainstorming by hand, so I typically have a notebook for each project along
with stacks of sticky notes that have accumulated over time. For those lightbulb
moments that catch me when I’m on the go, I use the notes app in my phone. It’s always
fun to try to decipher my fantasy character names and worldbuilding elements with
autocorrect in the mix.
As much as I love focused, intentional brainstorming time, it’s also amazing how often
just holding a story question in the back of my mind while I go about my daily tasks can
result in wonderful surprise revelations. For some reason, both showering and washing
dishes are very common places for writers to solve story problems, which can make
recording those solutions a bit of a challenge! But I’ve learned that you have to scribble
them down as soon as you have them and include as many crisp, sharp details as you
can, because the edges of those sudden revelations can wear down very quickly. Before
you know it, you go to write it down, and your perfect missing puzzle piece now appears
hazy and unformed.

3. Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the
middle of a café full of people and write?
I’ll make the occasional trip to a coffee shop to write with friends, but aside from that, I
do like a quiet space for writing. That’s typically either my desk, with my pup to keep me
company, or outside on the porch or on a blanket in the grass. I recently set up my
dream desk space with maps on the wall next to it, books and candles on the hutch, and
a cozy writing chair that’s basically an armchair on wheels, so I love working there. But
there is something about writing outside in particular that unlocks my imagination and
helps me to focus deeply on the story. So if I’m ever struggling to “get started” on any
given day, I’ll take my writing outdoors, even if it means braving a Texas summer
heatwave.

4. Where do you get your ideas for your books?
From all sorts of places! I’ve gotten ideas for books from a single “What if” question, like
my fantasy trilogy The Songkeeper Chronicles which grew out of the question “what if
there was a girl who could hear a song that nobody else could?” Sometimes, my ideas
come from something interesting I’ve observed in nature, which is why I think I love
spending so much time outside. Other times, ideas comes from watching films or
reading books and having that nagging sense that there was an interesting piece that
the writers chose not to explore. The Fireborn Epic grew out of the years that I spent
running the horsemanship program at a youth camp, in the saddle every day, clearing
trails from horseback with hatchets and machetes, and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking
about firebreathing horses! I think that’s one of my favorite things about writing: the
fact that inspiration can come from anywhere and can be waiting for you just around
the next bend in the trail.

5. Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?
I think there are tiny bits of me in every single one of my main characters, even though
each of them ends up being very different from me and from each other. In The Fireborn
Epic, Ceridwen gets her sense of rightness and determination from me, even if she tends
to push things to the nth degree. Like me, she also tends to value her head over her
heart. Rafi and I both know what it feels like to be a second-born with an older sibling
that you admire and aspire to be like. Jakim and I can overthink like champions. We all
have vastly different personalities. I’m not Ceridwen or Rafi or Jakim. They make choices
and do things that are 100% rooted in who they are as characters. And yet, putting a tiny
piece that I can relate to in each of them helps me feel connected to them as I write.

About the Author

Gillian Bronte Adams writes epic fantasy novels, including the award- winning Of Fire and Ash and The Songkeeper Chronicles. She loves strong coffee, desert hikes, and trying out new soup recipes on crisp fall nights. Her favorite books are the ones that make your heart ache and soar in turn. When she’s not creating vibrant new worlds or dreaming up stories that ring with the echoes of eternity, she can be found off chasing sunsets with her horse, or her dog, Took.

More from Gillian

One of my favorite things about writing epic fantasy is not actually what you might expect. It’s not the fantastical elements, although I absolutely love creating worlds filled with magical warhorses, sosswyrm tangles, and stone-eye tigers who can paralyze their prey with a glance. It’s not the intensity of the action or the world altering stakes, although there’s nothing quite so thrilling as throwing your characters into a do-or-die situation, and the pulse-pounding, breathtaking, heart-aching battle sequences that follow.

Instead, one of my favorite things about writing such wild and epic stories is the opportunity to ground them in very real, very human characters, with very real, very human emotions, and in the complexity of those characters’ relationships with others. Mentor relationships, deeply loyal friendships, and especially sibling relationships.

I am the second-born of five siblings, and I love and admire each of my siblings. Each one encourages and inspires and awes me in his or her own unique way. But growing up, if you had told me that my older sister had hung the moon, I would have believed you. She was two and a half years older than me—and yes, that half year mattered to both of us, though for opposite reasons; she because it meant she was that much older, me because it meant we were that much closer. Somehow, everything she touched seemed golden, and I wanted to be a part of it too.

She was a force of nature—a foaming ocean tide—and I was caught up in her wake.

She took up horseback riding, and so did I. She picked up books, and I had to read them too, even if it meant sitting beside her in the car with my own book open on my lap, surreptitiously reading hers over her shoulder. (Needless to say, that drove her crazy, and older siblings everywhere can probably commiserate.)

She dove into creative writing, and out of nowhere, I developed a passion for the written word. But always, within her, there was this spark of imagination and creativity that I felt I could only ever aspire to. Whatever I did, she had done first and better.

And I could only hope to one day achieve her level of greatness.

Rafi, one of the main characters in Of Sea and Smoke, also has an older sibling, a brother he has always looked up to. While Rafi and his relationship with his brother is not based on my relationship with my older sister—we’re all four of us wildly different people—there were some aspects of my experience as a second-born that I was able to draw upon. Rafi admires his brother’s strength and confidence. His assurance and rightness. His nobility and leadership. By the time we enter the story, his older brother is no longer around, but Rafi has spent his whole life setting his brother up on a pedestal and then trying to measure up to that ideal.

Is it any wonder, then, that he has always found himself wanting?

Now, Rafi finds himself having to step into the role that should have been his brother’s, and the only way he can contemplate facing that challenge is by stamping out the things he looks down upon in himself—many of them, the things that make him himself—and trying to be his brother instead.

Growing up, I can’t tell you how many times I looked at my older sister and wished that I could be more like her and less like myself. More confident. More brilliant. More vibrant. More her. But it wasn’t until my older sister’s interests began to drift into new additional avenues, while mine stayed mostly the same (horses, books, writing), that I finally began to grow into myself. To recognize my strengths, my unique skills, the things that only I bring to the table, and to acknowledge that even when they are different from hers, they are still good.

These days, my older sister and I are best friends. She was the first person I trusted to read Of Sea and Smoke before it went out into the world. I still look up to her in so many ways, and yes, I think I’ll always feel a bit like she hung the moon. But I have grown to appreciate the beauty of what I can learn from my sister’s strengths, while also recognizing the value of my own. And without revealing any spoilers, I think I can safely say that part of Rafi’s journey in Of Sea and Smoke wraps around learning that too, all while he’s raising a band of rebel fighters, trying to outwit an infamous assassin, and plotting to overthrow the empire’s oppressive rule.

Wild, epic stories, grounded in real, human experiences, and honestly, can reading get any more fun than that?

I hope you enjoy the ride!

Gillian Bronte Adams

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 2

Through the Fire Blogs, December 3 (Author Interview)

Labor Not in Vain, December 3

Texas Book-aholic, December 4

Artistic Nobody, December 5 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 6

Guild Master, December 7 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 8

Blossoms and Blessings, December 9 (Author Interview)

Blogging With Carol, December 10

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 11 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, December 12 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 13 (Author Interview)

By The Book, December 14 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, December 14

Fiction Book Lover, December 15 (Author Interview)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Gillian is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card and hardcover copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2909e/of-sea-and-smoke-celebration-tour-giveaway

I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

Thursday, December 7, 2023

"Capturing Hope" by Angela K. Couch

About the Book

Book: Capturing Hope

Author: Angela K Couch

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: November, 2023

One step ahead of the Nazi’s. . .leaves Nadia little room for hope.

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.

After her father is murdered by Nazis and her mother flees to her native Germany, hope is something of which Nadia Roenne feels little—even if it is the meaning of her name. It isn’t until an American photographer sacrifices his escape from Poland to save a Jewish family, that she finds a purpose. David Reid is very familiar with failure, but when he is charged with getting Nadia safely out of Poland, he is determined to succeed—even if she works against him at every turn, putting other’s lives ahead of her own. While they race against the daily shower of bombs over Warsaw and the ever-nearing German army, Nadia grows used to risking her life. . .but dare she risk her heart?

Click here to get your copy!

My Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this book. I found the time period leading up to the German invasion of Poland to be interesting. I liked the characters and watching them interact. I found the book to be well written and easy to read. I look forward to reading more books by Angela K. Couch.

About the Author

To keep from freezing in the great white north, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the 2016 International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and toasty warm) by chasing after five munchkins.

More from Angela

When I first decided to set a story during the invasion of Poland, I was woefully unprepared for the pain and horror I found there. I wasn’t new to World War II and had just finished writing A Rose for the Resistance, which is set in France during the war and deals with the resistance and the Normandy invasion. The atrocities and genocide in Poland cut so much deeper.

In the early hours of September 1, 1939, the small town of Wielun, Poland, woke to a shower of bombs on their community. They did not house an army or warehouses, only homes and civilian businesses. Wielun was not the only town or village targeted—demonstrating the Nazi goal to spread fear and death. Six months earlier, Hitler had promised that if Poland did not bow to his wishes, he would wipe them off the map. Over the next month, and more so in the following six years, he came very close to succeeding.

For the full month of September 1939, while German armies rolled across the country, the city of Warsaw endured daily bombardment. Homes, workplaces, churches on Sunday morning, the Warsaw maternity hospital— nowhere was safe. On the tenth of September, someone recorded seventeen separate air raids over the city. I was moved to tears while viewing photographs of women and children who had been shot in the streets and fields by the bombers after they had dropped their payloads over the city.

No one came to their rescue.

Poland was abandoned by its allies to the Nazis.

So how do you write about all that and more while still trying to keep hope alive in the story and in the characters who have to live through such a frightening and demoralizing history?

I invite you to read Capturing Hope to find out.