Historical Fiction

The Searchers Series by Bertha Schwartz: Kelly’s Search for Family – Review & Giveaway

January 16, 2019 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

Welcome to the circulating blog tour and giveaway for The Searchers series of middle grade historical fiction by Bertha Schwartz, hosted by JustRead tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Kelly’s Search for Family (Searchers #2)
Author: Bertha Schwartz
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: December 1, 2018
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

It’s 1880 and Kelly lives alone with her Papa, a lighthouse-keeper in Massachusetts. She longs to know more about her Mama, and Papa has finally promised to tell her the truth on her fourteenth birthday. Before Kelly can learn much though, dangerous men the notorious Blackburn Brothers arrive unannounced and take Papa away. Kelly is left alone and responsible for the lighthouse.

Granny, a former slave and family friend, learns of Kelly’s plight and decides to help find the answers to her questions. Mysterious letters, snow storms, and violence threaten Kelly’s safe haven as new friends help unearth old secrets in Kelly’s lighthouse home. How can she bring her papa back? Who is her true family?

PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Ambassador

Handmade Hearts by June McCrary Jacobs – Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway

January 15, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 4 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Blitz & Giveaway for Handmade Hearts by June McCrary Jacobs, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Handmade Hearts
Author: June McCrary Jacobs
Publisher: JMJ Story Stitcher Books
Release Date: December 18, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance

‘Handmade Hearts’ is an historical romance short story set in New Orleans during World War II and was inspired by a true story.

Toward the end of his life, the author asked her Uncle ‘Allen’ how he met his wife. He shared about how he met ‘Irene’ at a church social in their neighborhood in New Orleans in the early 1940s. He had been seriously wounded in Guadalcanal in the South Pacific as a young Marine and was using crutches to get around as best he could.

He had many inner wounds which needed time to heal, too. He had no way of knowing when they first met that Irene had suffered her own wartime tragedy. She bravely sought to keep her grief locked away deep inside because thinking about her loss caused her even more sorrow. She needed to be strong because she was the breadwinner for her small family.

Times were tough, but these two unique individuals made it through each day with inner fortitude, determination, and the sincere hope of something greater just over the horizon.

This inspirational short story follows the growth of Allen and Irene’s relationship beginning with their chance meeting and leading forward to a lifetime spent together. ‘Handmade Hearts’ was created to honor this unique couple’s love for and devotion to each other in a relationship which spanned seven decades.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

The Searchers Series by Bertha Schwartz: Daisy’s Search for Freedom – Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway

January 9, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 1 Comment

Welcome to the circulating blog tour and giveaway for The Searchers series of middle grade historical fiction by Bertha Schwartz, hosted by JustRead tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Daisy’s Search for Freedom (Searchers #1)
Author: Bertha Schwartz
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: December 1, 2018
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

It’s the 1850s and Daisy, a slave girl from Alabama, is thrilled when her Mama is brought to her plantation to be the new cook. Six Oaks Plantation has been Daisy’s home for years, and the future looks bright now that she and her Mama have been reunited. The happiness doesn’t last, though, when a dangerous encounter with a notorious slave hunter endangers Daisy’s life. She has no choice but to run. Leaving behind everything she has ever known, Daisy strikes out alone on the Underground Railroad.

Daisy’s search for freedom leads her deep into the woods. Along the way she is joined by Simon, a four-year-old boy and his pet kitten. Pursued by dogs, uncertainty, and a slave tracker determined to capture them by any means necessary, Daisy starts to wonder if she will ever be safe again. Does Jesus care about runaway slaves lost in the woods?

PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Ambassador

Enduring Promises of the Heart by Valerie Loveless – Spotlight & Giveaway

January 8, 2019 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

“What if I told you there is a way that we could all be happy? That if I were to propose to you, your father couldn’t deny us?”

“What is it, John? Tell me!”

Just then the basket hit the water and the sea began to stream in through the spaces between the reeds. This was the end.

The year is 1887, and the small community of Pleasant View is abuzz over Penelope Pottifer’s serialized romances in the local paper. Since the release of the first volume, the thrilling story has captured the hearts and minds of the entire town— and several towns over!

Each successive edition of the Pleasant View Gazette spins a breathtaking tale of kidnappers, pirates, and forbidden love. Between volumes, however, Pleasant View resident Mary Clarence, the story’s toughest critic, hears a rumor that Penelope Pottifer is not, in fact, the author’s real name. Determined to uncover the mystery, Mary drags her friend Elizabeth Black into a hunt for the elusive author’s true identity. But fiction and reality seem to entwine when along the way, Mary and Liz discover unexpected truths, exciting adventures, and dramatic romances of their own.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma – Review & Giveaway

November 30, 2018 by Suzie Waltner 1 Comment

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: When the Heart Sings
Series: Music of Hope #2
Author: Liz Tolsma
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose…

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Christian Book | Book Depository