Tuesday, March 18, 2025

A Constant Love by Tracie Peterson

 



Wyoming after the Great Die-Up - a terrible winter after a drought, where livestock and people froze in 60 degrees below zero weather. Charlotte, her mother and their neighbor Micah suffer tragic losses during the deep freeze and get through things by working together, with love and healing. An additional deep threat also awaits them, where they all struggle and turn for aid to their Pastor and the Sheriff. Tracy is an expert at describing scenes and bringing people to life, at teaching Christian lessons through her characters' experiences, and you feel deeply for each one. Excellent story.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#AConstantLove #TraciePeterson #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #BethanyHousePublishers #ChristianHistoricalFiction



About the Book

Book: A Constant Love

Author: Tracie Peterson

Genre: Historical Romance

Release date: March 4, 2025

Heartache has left them emotionally desolate, but traces of love and healing could forge a future.

In the wake of a harsh winter, Micah Hamilton and Charlotte Aldrich are grappling with loss and guilt after the disaster that took the lives of their loved ones. Struggling to cope with his grief, Micah abandons his father’s dreams of a prosperous ranch and cuts himself off from the rest of the world.

Charlotte has loved Micah her entire life and is determined not to lose him as well. With her mother’s help, she begins coaxing Micah to live again. Despite their enduring heartache, the affection between them deepens, but just as Charlotte thinks her dreams may come true, a scorned suitor threatens everything she holds dear. Micah and Charlotte must embark on a journey of healing and renewal to build a life founded on faith, hope, and love.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

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

A Constant Love is a book near and dear to my heart. The book deals with tragedy and loss that came about during and after the Great Die-Up—a hideous winter of blizzards and desperately cold temperatures that affected the prairie states and up into the Rockies. Many of the ranchers in the areas were completely wiped out and gave up their ranches when their cattle died off in record numbers.

Ranchers and farmers had dealt with the elements turning against them prior to this, but the winter of 1886–1887 was different. The summer of 1886 had brought about record droughts, and many of the crops had failed. The livestock suffered as the grass died off and feed wasn’t readily available. By November, early and heavy snows started and continued. Temperatures dropped to record lows. In eastern Montana the temperatures were said to drop to negative 63 degrees Fahrenheit.

In January, a Chinook wind warmed things considerably, melting a lot of the snow. This just made things worse, however, because when the plunging sub-zero temperatures returned, the water froze a thick layer on top of what little grass the animals had been able to dig down to eat. Mass starvation followed, and thousands upon thousands of animals were lost. In reading about the era and all that happened, I came across comments from people that showed the great despair that flooded the states involved. The hopelessness of it all was overwhelming.

During the same time I was researching and mapping out this book, a beloved family member committed suicide. The devastation we felt was overwhelming, and it all seemed to come together with what I had been reading. I felt that deep sadness and despair. I read that some people had taken their lives after that winter. People were at a loss as to what to do, and in that day and age, the church was not always very kind to the families of those who killed themselves. As I prayed about the book I planned to write, I felt compelled to write about suicide and the ripple effect it has on family, friends, and even total strangers. I wanted to share the hope that I found in God’s Word, and A Constant Love was born.

There are times in our lives when we are overwhelmed to the point of despair, when giving up seems far easier than going on. I pray if you ever feel that way, you’ll reach out to someone and talk it through. But I also challenge those who aren’t feeling that way to be observant . . . to care about those around you enough to get in their business when things just don’t seem right. You might very well save a life. As the Bible says, we need to bear one another’s burdens. I hope you’ll keep that in mind as you read A Constant Love.

Blog Stops

Pens Pages & Pulses, March 8
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 8
Devoted To Hope, March 9
Allyson Jamison, March 9
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 10
Simple Harvest Reads, March 11 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)
Texas Book-aholic, March 11
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 12
Jodie Wolfe, March 12
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 13
Life on Chickadee Lane, March 14
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 14
Stories By Gina, March 15 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, March 15
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 16
Maureen’s Musings, March 16
She Lives To Read, March 17
Books You Can Feel Good About, March 18
For Him and My Family, March 18
Leslie’s Library Escape, March 19
Cover Lover Book Review, March 19
Holly’s Book Corner, March 20
Jeanette’s Thoughts, March 20
lakesidelivingsite, March 21
Pause for Tales, March 21

Giveaway


To celebrate her tour, Tracie is giving away the grand prize of a $15 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54169


My reviews

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

The Last Supper from Pinnacle Peak Pictures

 

I didn't like this. Scripture is strong enough to stand on its own. In the interest of illustration and explanation, they embellished on and added to scripture. I suppose that it might not do harm as it does tell the story. But I wasn't moved by it because it added to and left out the true, exact story. I suggest that you read the bible to get the story from there.

Buy tickets today to see The Last Supper in theaters starting March 14! 

Synopsis: A cinematic Biblical journey that brings to life the ultimate act of love and sacrifice as seen through the eyes of those who walked alongside Jesus. 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jwAbai7k0s&t=1s

Website: https://feverup.com/movies/en/movie/28792-the-last-supper?thm=supper&cp_landing_source=thelastsupper&utm_source=direct&latitude=35.6151&longitude=-87.0353&q=Columbia%2C+TN+38401%2C+USA&date=2025-03-13

Buy Tickets: https://feverup.com/movies/en/movie/28792-the-last-supper?thm=supper&cp_landing_source=thelastsupper&utm_source=direct&latitude=35.6151&longitude=-87.0353&q=Columbia%2C+TN+38401%2C+USA&date=2025-03-13

#TheLastSupperMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork @TheLastSupper @thelastsuppermovie

Giveaway: $10 Amazon giftcard 

(Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full name and email address by 3/20 in the comments area below. Winner will be chosen randomly. We will not be able to accept winners submitted after this date.) 

Disclosure: Many thanks to Pinnacle Peak Pictures for providing a sample of the product for this 
review. Opinions are 100% my own. 

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Tides of Healing by Sandra Merville Hart

 

 


July 4, 1863 Vicksburg. The Union had taken the city after a hard beating and starvation, and they freed slaves as they marched through the city and surrounding area. Savannah belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Vicksburg and lost all her help that day. The Union gave them supplies but she and her mother had never learned how to use them. An opportunity presented itself, and Savanah became a spy for the Confederates. A Union soldier came to her home as they had wounded soldiers there in the house, and they begin to know each other, softening the edges of their new lives. Seeing the aftermath of the war through each of their eyes brings out your compassion for each of them. Interesting illustration of the spy network and tension, wondering if Savannah will get caught, keep you turning the pages to the end. 

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TidesOfHealing #SandraMervilleHart #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #WildHeartBooks #ChristianHistoricalRomance



About the Book

Book: Tides of Healing

Author: Sandra Merville Hart

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: February 11, 2025

A Southern belle fights to reclaim her home, but will her spying destroy the Union officer she never meant to love? 

Savannah Adair has endured the unimaginable, hiding in a cave while her beloved Vicksburg was under siege. With the city now occupied by Union soldiers, Savannah cannot stand by and do nothing. So when one of the gaunt, half-starved Confederate prisoners asks her to spy for the South, she can’t refuse the chance to take back her home.

First Lieutenant Travis Lawson takes pride in the Union army’s hard-fought victory, but he quickly realizes that the challenges of rebuilding and reconciliation are just beginning . . . and not everyone is appreciative of changes he’s making. Namely, the fiery and alluring Savannah Adair. Despite their differing loyalties and the societal divide between them, Travis cannot deny the growing feelings he has for her. When he is tasked with finding Southern spies in Vicksburg and he captures a female spy, Travis is forced to consider that the woman he’s beginning to love may be the enemy.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Her desire is to transport her readers back in time. She is also a blogger, speaker, and conference teacher.

 

 

 

 

More from Sandra

As I typed away on this final book in my Spies of the Civil War Series, it felt as if I’d written the entire series to tell this story.

Previously, I had felt a similar importance of an as yet unpublished two-book contemporary series, but the sense that the whole series climaxed with the final book was as surprising as it was welcome.

Because it seemed as if everything that happened in all the earlier books culminated in Book 6 for me as an author. Its significance reverberated in my soul while still researching the events…and weeks before I sat to pen the first page, the first paragraph, the first sentence.

That sense of importance made this book difficult to begin. The early chapters took far longer to write than normal.

I believe that those who only read Tides of Healing will have a satisfying, complete story. Those who read the entire series in order—or at least Books 4-6 set in Vicksburg—will experience a deeper impact as the characters’ stories build on one another.

There is a song in Tides of Healing. As an author, the impact of the lyrics within the story preceded it, meaning that I knew a certain song would play a significant role while still in the research phase.

Let me explain.

When I’m researching a story, I read a variety of nonfiction resources including diaries, journals, and newspaper accounts. My research for Vicksburg during the Civil War led me to song lyrics written by the enslaved.

African American Spirituals, also called Negro Spirituals, were sung before and after the Civil War. These Christian songs served a variety of purposes beyond bolstering hope and faith during dark days. They told stories about Biblical characters like Moses. Some comforted the sorrowful and some rejoiced with the joyful. They were sung in churches, in camp meetings, and in the fields.

They often contained secret messages. “Home” in a song can refer to Heaven, but the secret meaning was a free country. Author Frederick Douglas had been a former slave. He wrote that the lyrics to “O Canaan, Sweet Canaan” signified more than a hope of Heaven. Repeated singing of the lyrics “I am bound for the land of Canaan” announced an intention to go North, their Canaan.

The Underground Railroad is a theme in Tides of Healing. In 1828, Reverend John Rankin built his home on a hill overlooking the Ohio River in Ripley, Ohio. As a station on the Underground Railroad, this home was easily seen from the opposite side of the river in the slave state of Kentucky. Runaways waited for a boat to take them across the river.

It surprised me to learn that the lyrics of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” are about this station. “I looked over Jordan and what did I see?” refers to the Ohio River. The band of angels are people who rowed them across the wide river to the free state of Ohio.

Neither of these songs is referenced in Tides of Healing. The tune that is in my story was a popular spiritual leading up to the war. I listened to it many times. The message took root in my heart long before it affected my characters.

My research trip to Vicksburg’s battlefield and museums inspired the writing of Streams of Courage, Book 4, River of Peril, Book 5, and Tides of Healing, Book 6.

Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1, is set in the Union capital of Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861, where a surprising number of Confederate sympathizers and spies lived. Boulevard of Confusion and Byway to Danger are set in Richmond, the Confederate capital in 1862. Actual historical spies touch the lives of our fictional family. The heroines in Books 1 – 3 are two sisters and their cousins. Another set of characters begin with Book 4, and three friends are the heroines in Books 4 -6.

Through both real and fictional characters, this series highlights activities spies were involved in and some of the motives behind their decisions.

I invite you to read the whole Spies of the Civil War Series!

Blog Stops

Giveaway



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

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54163


My reviews:
ChristianBook

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

I Am Living Proof

 




Let go - let God.

So this isn't a star-studded movie, but it's real. Proof of miracles that have been received, and I'm sure there have been many more. If you have a chance to go to his tent meeting, go. If you feel that you should have your own tent meeting, do it. Miracles do happen. I can testify to that. Believe in God and the power of Jesus.

Is God real? If so, where is He? Meet three skeptics suffering from critical illnesses when they attend a healing meeting at a modern-day tent revival whose lives are forever changed. 

Synopsis: I Am Living Proof is a compelling and intimate look into the lives of three individuals who face an extraordinary life-altering event. Bri, once a promising student, finds her academic dreams derailed by an illness that’s deteriorating her body. For seven years, she’s caught in a cycle of failed medical treatments and excruciating pain, pushing her toward assisted suicide. Steve’s life spirals out of control after a workplace accident leaves him dependent on opioids. Jobless and desperate, he attempts to end it all with an overdose. Mary, a mother of five, faces debilitating pain from a spinal injury that leaves her unable to care for her children—until a vivid dream sparks an unexpected turning point. 


#IAmLivingProofMIN @iamlivingproofthemovie #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

Many thanks to I Am Living Proof the Movie for providing a sample of the product for 
this review. Opinions are 100% my own.



Giveaway: $10 Amazon giftcard 
(Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full name and email address by 3/12 in the comments below. Winner will be chosen randomly. We will not be able to accept winners submitted after this date.) 

Thursday, February 27, 2025

No Address movie

 



Puts a face on homelessness. People become homeless for all kinds of reasons, many through no fault of their own. This shines some light on it, humanizes it, to bring awareness of the problem and hopefully raise some money and/or help to combat it. A hard problem to face, that can become all too real, all too easily for anyone. It makes you realize what you have and how blessed you are to be provided for and taken care of, safe, with enough to eat.

 Buy tickets today to see No Address in theaters starting February 28! 

• This feature film highlights the human side of homelessness and vividly portrays that “homelessness could happen to anyone.” 
• No Address is an exploration of hope, humanity, and resilience as characters navigate challenges with no physical address. 


#NoAddressMIN @NoAddressMovie #MomentumInfluencerNetwork  #BreakTheNoAddressCycle

Giveaway: $10 Amazon giftcard (Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full 
name and email address by 3/6 in the comments below. Winner will be chosen randomly. We will not be able to accept winners submitted after this date. You will not be spammed.) 

Disclosure:  Many thanks to Robert Craig Films for providing a sample of the product for this re
view. Opinions are 100% my own. 

Homelessness Statistics**

- There are 1.2 million adults and 1.5 million children experiencing homelessness nationwide.
- Between 2022 and 2023, street-level homelessness increased 12% nationwide, if this rate continues, street-level homelessness will double in 5-6 years.
- Nearly 1 in 3 foster youth in California face homelessness after leaving the child welfare system.
- Before 2014, the number of unsheltered individuals dropped by 31.4% between 2007 and 2014, thanks to intensive wraparound services and participation requirements in most homelessness assistance programs. This progress was reversed when the federal government cut funding for supportive services and removed participation requirements.

Synopsis:
Homeless at 17, Lauren lost everything—except the will to survive. On the streets, she finds new meaning in a family of outcasts and discovers that home is where the hope is.

*No Address* is a gripping journey of living without walls and rising above them.
 
Starring Lucas Jade Zumann, Beverly D’Angelo, Isabella Ferreira, William Baldwin, Xander Berkeley, Ty Pennington, Kristanna Loken, Patricia Velasquez, and Ashanti, this powerful film dares you to believe in second chances. Get tickets & learn more at: [NoAddressMovie.com](http://www.noaddressmovie.com/).


LONG SYNOPSIS

Inspired by true events, NO ADDRESS follows the harrowing journey of Lauren, a young woman pushed onto the streets and forced to survive against all odds. Alongside a makeshift family of outcasts—each with their own haunting story of struggle and loss—Lauren discovers that home is not just a place, but the people who refuse to let you fall.

Featuring powerhouse performances from Lucas Jade Zumann, (*20th Century Women*, *Anne with an E, Chicago Fire*), Beverly D’Angelo (*National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation*, *Entourage, Vegas Vacation*), Isabella Ferreira (*Crush, Love Victor, Orange is the New Black*), William Baldwin (*Gossip Girl, Parenthood, Forgetting Sarah Marshall*), Xander Berkeley (*Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Walking Dead, 24*), Ty Pennington (*Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition, Trading Spaces*), Kristanna Loken (*Terminator 3, Boy Meets World*), Patricia Velasquez (*The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Arrested Development*) and GRAMMY Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter & actress, Ashanti (*Coach Carter, John Tucker Must Die*), ***NO ADDRESS** s* is a raw and unflinching look at the dark realities of homelessness.

Experience the year’s most inspiring movie event that reminds us to never stop believing in hope and the unstoppable human spirit. Get tickets & learn more at: [NoAddressMovie.com](http://www.noaddressmovie.com/).


Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Miss Blaire in Blackwell's Island: a Friends to Lovers Historical True Crime Novel (Heiresses of Adventure Book 1) by Grace Hitchcock

 



Wow. Just a bit in and I got this chilling feeling. Another wealthy heiress who is independent, unpredictable and not your average girl. She likes to fence. Then, ok, it's easy to see where this is going, how it will unfold. Then wowza! Intense progression, some serious breath holding. Very real and sadly based on information about the insane asylum and what happened to women who were sent there - and why they were sent there. Nellie Bly brought it all to light and Edyth's story is just one example. The romance is excellent as well.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#MissBlaireInBlackwellsIsland #GraceHitchcock #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianMystery&Suspense #ValmontHousePublishers #GildedAgeHistoricalRomance



About the Book

 

Book: Miss Blaire in Blackwell’s Island (Heiresses of Adventure Book One)

Author: Grace Hitchcock

Genre: Historical Romance True Crime

Release date: July 31, 2024

Will Edyth prove her sanity before it is too late?

On Blackwell’s Island, New York, a hospital was built to keep its patients from ever leaving.

With her late parents’ fortune under her uncle’s care until her twenty-fifth birthday in the year 1887, Edyth Blaire does not feel pressured to marry or to bow to society’s demands. She freely indulges in eccentric hobbies like fencing and riding her velocipede in her cycling costume about the city for all to see. Finding a loophole in the will, though, her uncle whisks Edyth off to the women’s lunatic asylum just weeks before her birthday. And Edyth fears she will never be found.

At the asylum she meets another inmate, who upon discovering Edyth’s plight, confesses that she is Nellie Bly, an undercover journalist for The World. Will either woman find a way to leave the terrifying island and reclaim her true self?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Grace Hitchcock is the award-winning author of multiple his­torical novels and novellas, including the American Royalty, Best Laid Plans, and Aprons & Veils series. She holds a Master’s in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives on the Northshore of New Orleans, with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter in a cottage that is always filled with the sounds of sweet little footsteps running at full speed. When not writing, or chasing babies, she’s baking something delightful and can usually be found with a book clutched in her fist.­­­­

 

 

More from Grace

I am thrilled to share with you my FIRST novel in the HEIRESSES OF ADVENTURE series, MISS BLAIRE IN BLACKWELL’S ISLAND, which is set in New York City in 1887. I loved writing about Edyth Blaire, our cat-rescuing, spunky heroine who spends her days painting, fencing with her dreamy instructor, and avoiding society at all costs, which as you can imagine, comes back to haunt her before the end. I’ve never written about a character who despised reading, so that was a new one for me. Edyth just doesn’t like to sit still long enough to finish a book, but you’ll find out why later.

While writing this book, I am pretty certain the librarians at my local branch were wondering what in the world my hobbies are, judging from the stacks of fencing books for beginners, histories of New York crime in the 19th century, and Nellie Bly’s Ten Days in a Mad-House, and more.

The inspiration for this book came from Nellie Bly’s scandalous exposé for Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper, The World. In reading Nellie’s articles, I was shocked at the grounds by which the asylum would commit women and that’s when I discovered a tiny mention about an heiress with family members who had her tucked away so they could have her fortune. . . and Edyth Blaire was born.

I hope you will enjoy reading about our eccentric leading lady and her fencing master hero, Raoul “Bane” Banebridge in this friends-to-lovers romance. If you are interested in seeing pictures of the asylum and to see what I pictured the characters looking like, check out my Pinterest board here.

Are you part of a book club? I have discussion questions here!

Blog Stops

Pens Pages & Pulses, February 21
Allyson Jamison, February 21
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 22
Devoted To Hope, February 22
Texas Book-aholic, February 23
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 23
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, February 24
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 25
Maureen’s Musings, February 25
Melissa’s Bookshelf, February 26
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 26
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 27
Vicky Sluiter, February 27
Betti Mace, February 28
Cover Lover Book Review, February 28
Blogging With Carol, March 1
Connie’s History Classroom, March 1
lakesidelivingsite, March 2
For Him and My Family, March 3
Mary Hake, March 3
Labor Not in Vain, March 4
Holly’s Book Corner, March 4
Leslie’s Library Escape, March 5
Inspired by Fiction, March 5
Pause for Tales, March 6
Lights in a Dark World, March 6

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Grace is giving away the grand prize of a $20 gift card with FREE SHIPPING to Grace’s Autographed Bookshop!!

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54161

My reviews

Monday, February 24, 2025

Love and Chocolate by Linda Shenton Matchett

 

 

1914. I suspected that this was loosely modeled after Hershey, PA. I've spent some time in that area and it's a special place, very homey and comfortable. Ilsa and her siblings are struggling with their farm after their father died, so she has to go to work in the factory. Her old beau is in management there, so it's involved and uncomfortable. It's a progressive environment though and she soon finds that she is very good at her job and is able to advance. Interesting story and romance, in an interesting place. I was hooked right to the exciting end! I look forward to more from this family. 

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#LoveandChocolate #LindaShentonMatchett #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianHistoricalFiction #Draft2Digital #GildedAgeHistoricalRomance



About the Book

Book: Love and Chocolate

Author: Linda Shenton Matchett

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release date: September 13, 2024

She just needs a job. He wants a career. Is there room in their hearts for love?

Ilsa Krause and her siblings are stunned to discover their father left massive debt behind upon his death. To help pay off their creditors and save the farm, she takes a job at Beck’s Chocolates, the company her father despised and refused to supply with milk. Then she discovers her boss is Ernst Webber, her high school love who unceremoniously dumped her via letter from college. Could life get any more difficult?

A freshly-minted university diploma in his hand, Ernst Webber lands his dream job at Beck’s Chocolates. His plans to work his way up the ladder don’t include romantic entanglements, then Ilsa Krause walks back into his life resurrecting feelings he thought long dead. However, her animosity makes it clear she has no interest in giving him a second chance. Can he get her to change her mind? Does he want to?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Linda Shenton Matchett writes happily-ever-after historical Christian fiction about second chances and women who overcome life’s challenges to be better versions of themselves.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, she was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry (of Star-Spangled Banner fame) and has lived in historical places all her life. She is a volunteer docent and archivist at the Wright Museum of WWII and a former trustee for her local public library. She now lives in central New Hampshire where she explores the history of this great state and immerses herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.

 

More from Linda

A couple of years ago while I was planning my upcoming writing projects, I knew I wanted to write a series of books about siblings but couldn’t decide where or went to set the stories. Lots of research later, I discovered the 1898 Columbian Exposition here in the United States and the various inventions associated with that event. Further study led me to Milton Hershey who attended that World’s Fair and was so enamored with the concept of chocolate production for the masses that he sold his caramel company to enter the chocolate business – a risky proposition at that time. As I read more about Milton and his wife Catherine “Kitty” Sweeney-Hershey, I knew I had the beginnings of a story.

The owner of Beck’s Chocolates in my latest release Love and Chocolate is inspired by Milton Hershey, and I enjoyed creating my own “company town,” Cocoaville in which to set the story. Taking place in 1914 prior to the beginning of World War I, the story explores the mixed feelings about German Americans that were prevalent at the time as well as themes of second chances and forgiveness.

In the early days of my career, I worked in a printed circuit board factory, but I knew nothing about chocolate or how to manufacture it. Research for Love and Chocolate included interviewing a close friend who is a chocolatier and trying various brands of chocolate to understand the difference in flavor and texture. Here are a few fun facts I learned about chocolate along the way:

  • The Aztecs and the Mayans were the first to realize the benefits of cacao beans, ground and soaked in water approximately 5,000 years ago.
  • Switzerland has the highest per capita chocolate consumption.
  • The smell of chocolate can help relax and reduce stress.
  • It takes two to four days to produce a single serving chocolate bar.
  • Cote d’Ivoire is the single largest producer of cocoa, providing roughly 40 percent of the world’s supply.
  • The world’s largest chocolate bar weighed over 12,000 pounds.
  • It takes about 400 cacao beans to make a pound of chocolate.
  • Cacao trees can live up to 100 years.

Blog Stops

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Visa Gift Card and a signed copy of the book!!

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

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54156


My reviews