It is with great pleasure that I announce the start of The Bartered Bride blog tour!
Read on to learn more about this highly anticipated Western romance, its author, and an exciting giveaway...
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The Bartered Bride is the third book in The Brides series, following the story of Jem from The Unexpected Bride (novel) and Sleigh Bells and Mistletoe (short story). If you haven't yet read the first two books, you're in for a treat! But since The Bartered Bride is quite a separate story, taking place years later, you can also read it as a stand-alone. I know how hard it is to wait when you're really excited about a new release! :)
Now, who is Lena and what's this new book all about? So glad you asked!
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About the Author (AKA My indie-author mentor and dear friend)
I'm sure many of you are already familiar with Lena's name. She's no stranger around here. ;) I've worked with Lena on several of her books, editing and hosting blog tours. And Lena is the designer behind my own lovely book covers! If you've seen any of my paperbacks, she also formatted the interiors of those for me.
Here's the official scoop on this friend of many talents:
You can connect with Lena on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. (And don't forget to follow her on Amazon to stay up-to-date on all her book releases!)
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About the Book (AKA The endearing and romantic sequel to The Unexpected Bride)
COLORADO 1880Jem Wheeler has always been a survivor. He just wants to make a fresh start in Colorado Springs after the loss of his wife. But then he happens upon a young mute woman being sold off to the highest bidder. He wasn’t looking for a mail-order bride. He wasn’t looking to rescue anyone either. But desperate circumstances can drive a good man to do things he hadn’t planned on doing...
When Jem steps into Annie’s life, she’s not expecting anyone to save her. Mute from birth, she’s just using all her wits to survive. All she’s ever really wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough to hear the things she can’t say.
Can a rescued bride who can’t speak communicate her love for a grieving widower and his little girl? Will her love ever be returned?
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Enjoy an Excerpt!
Jem took the apple core from his daughter and passed her one of the remaining crackers with a piece of cheese on it. Mae munched that down and looked to him immediately for another, the last one.
He gave it to her, then showed her his empty hands.
She frowned. “More?”
“No more,” Jem said, and showed her his empty hands again, making a bigger gesture out of it, as if the little girl was accusing him of hiding some.
If Annie weren’t so intent on eating her share of cheese and crackers she might have smiled at the sight of them, one of the most dangerous men she’d ever seen sitting side by side with that tiny little girl. They made quite a mismatched pair.
Mae looked over at Annie, at the last cracker in her hand and the last bit of cheese.
Annie gulped down the mouthful she was chewing. She looked down at the last of her meal and back at the little girl. To her shame, she didn’t want to give up her last cracker. She could barely remember the last meal she’d eaten.
“That’s Annie’s food,” Jem admonished the little girl. “You’ve had yours.”
Mae bit her lip. She glanced down at her lap, then back at Annie again.
I can share, Annie attempted to tell Mae with her eyes alone. She snapped her cracker in half—simply unable to bear parting with the whole thing—and passed it across to the little girl. Mae took it and popped the whole thing in her mouth, making Annie smile.
“Mae!” her father said.
She looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth full of cracker. “Whaf dafdda?” she said, muffled, spraying a few cracker crumbs onto his trousers.
He closed his eyes briefly and brushed them off. “You didn’t have to give her any,” he said to Annie, “but thanks.”
Annie grunted, her way of saying she didn’t mind that much. She looked down quickly and finished her last bit of food. The crackers had been crispy and the cheese silky and smooth. They’d tasted like heaven.
“You must be thirsty,” he said. “Do you mind sharing?”
She shook her head and automatically lifted two fingers.
“Two’s no?” he asked.
She nodded, pleased, and lifted one finger. She’d grown up sending signals through the floor of the Ruskins’ house, one stomp for yes, two for no. It came natural as rain now.
“And one’s yes,” he said, catching on quick.
Annie drank deep when he passed her the flask of water, amazed he’d let her drink from it. She tried her best to pour it down her throat without touching her lips to the flask, so he wouldn’t regret giving it to someone so dirty. She wished she could tell him thanks, but after Mae had her fill and he took his own swallow, he was back under his hat, likely going over the events of the day.
How he’d stuck himself with her.
How he probably regretted even stepping off the train at the last stop.
She couldn’t say she blamed him.
She hadn’t much wanted to marry a stranger herself.
Get Your Copy Today!
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Tour Schedule
This is just the first stop on this Western book tour, so put on your boots and hop onto your steed, 'cause we're takin' off! ;)
Tuesday, December 8th (Today!)
- Spotlight at Jaye L. Knight
- Spotlight at Carissa's Bookshelf
- Spotlight at Taking Dictation
- Review at Zerina Blossom's Books
- Spotlight at Thilly Little Nothings
- Review at Buzzing About Books
- Review at Sunnie Reviews
Intermission
Monday, December 14th
- Spotlight at A Real Writer's Life
- Spotlight at The Wonderings of One Person
- Review at My Favorite Pastime
- Review at To Be a Person
- Review at Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections
- Review at The Librarian's Bookshelf
- Review at A Writer's Heart
- Tour conclusion and announcement of winners here at Seasons of Humility
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Giveaway!
In celebration of this auspicious occasion...Lena is giving away some awesome prizes!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck to all in the drawings, and please do join me in congratulating Lena on this mighty fine accomplishment! :)
- Grand Prize: $25 gift card (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, or Google Play—winner’s choice) + all three ebooks in The Brides series (Open internationally)
- Second Prize: Paperback copy of The Bartered Bride (Open to US residents only)
- Third Prize: All three ebooks in The Brides series (Open internationally)
23 comments:
Loved the book and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the 15th! As for your question, there is something about marriage of convenience stories that just draws me. Maybe I just love the "knight in shining armor" coming to the rescue of the "damsel in distress." Or maybe I just love to read about characters that grow in their love for each other as they do life together. Whichever or whatever, marriage of convenience stories make sweet tales and I am a fan!
I actually have the first two in this series already on my Goodreads 'to be read' list! Would love to win the whole set!
Oh, these sound so good!!! I really want to read them all. I always love the sweetness of the 'marriage of convenience' or 'mail order bride' stories. <3 :)
I'm not sure what draws me to marriage of convenience and mail order bride stories, but I love them.
Hi, Amber! Thanks for celebrating my new release and for hosting this awesome book birthday party!
So nice to see some familiar faces here in the comments. :)
Good luck to all in the Giveaway!
xo
Lena
I'm always waiting to see if it will be love or disaster...
I love marriage of convenience stories, watching them fall in love. Mail-order bride books are my all time favorite genre. All three of these books look like wonderful stories.
My favorite part would be loving family, loving God, sharing goals and dreams, and working together.
susanlulu@yahoo.com
Mail order brides are my favorite genera and I loved the excerpt. Will be on my "To Read List." Thanks for Hosting. Would love to win.
Loved the first one so much and was waiting for this one to come out . I'm normally not a big fan of Christian novels because of the no sex doctrine in most of them. But let's face it without sex there would be no more Christians on earth now, would there? Your book is taking those curves in an elegant way and doesn't put the " devil" behind every heated kiss. So with that said, I'm going to order my copy of the book right now.
I think my favorite part is when the characters meet, and how they react to each other as they become better acquainted.
Thanks, Karin! Hope you enjoy it. :)
Marriage of convenience stories because you never know what to expect. Will they like each other or not. Will they be able to get along and be compatible ? I am really looking forward to reading these. They look like such fun books to dig into.
Thanks, Julie! That's so nice to hear. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. :)
I think what I like about this type of story is that the couple determines to make it work. In our time people seem to get married easily and get divorced just as easily. So many do not make a commitment to work things out.
I love it when marriage of convenience romance books turn into true and real love as they get to know each other. It is heart warming!
I've never read a marriage of convenience book, but I'd like to. I do like sweet romance books, as long as the characters are well-developed.
Oh, I love trying out new authors!! These books look amazing!
These books sound really great! I can't wait to read them!
Hello, Everyone!
It's so great to see your enthusiasm for sweet romance and to hear the various reasons why we're drawn to marriage-of-convenience stories. :) Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and helping us celebrate Lena's new release!
And Lena, I'm excited to join you in promoting your new book and sharing it with readers! Wishing you all the best, dear friend!
~Amber
I loved The Bartered Bride and enjoyed being part of the release celebration! Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories, Lena!
Aww thanks so much, Britney! So sweet of you. Glad you enjoyed it. :)
You're the best, Amber! Thanks so much for hosting this celebration for me. <3
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