Great Summer Reads Day Four: The Milkman's Son by Randy Lindsay

RANDY LINDSAY is a native of Arizona. He lives in Mesa with his wife, five of his nine children, a dog, a cat, and a hyperactive imagination. His wife calls him the “Story Man” because he sees everything as material for a story. He has three books traditionally published and four indie-published titles.

As a family historian, Randy has 14 years of genealogy experience. He has researched over 5,000 names in his own family tree and helped over a dozen other people in their ancestral quests. He has a passion for family history and a newfound appreciation for the frequency in which family relations can turn out to be different than what everyone believes to be true.

 ~ Website ~
   

"Raised in a family he bore little resemblance to, Randy was jokingly referred to as ""the milkman's son."" This warm and candid memoir chronicles the unraveling of a family secret, which begins with Randy's dad having dreams about deceased relatives urging him to complete their family tree. Randy agrees to help with the genealogy, but after his searching leads to a dead end, he takes a commercially available DNA test. The results reveal a possible genetic match to a sister, which begins a familial quest that forever changes the author's life.

Featuring a cast of vivid characters, richly drawn from two distinct families, The Milkman's Son, reveals on man's family tree, pulling back layers of new information as he gets closer to the truth--a biological father, siblings, and family members he never knew existed.

This is a story of accepting, forgiving, reuniting, and, most importantly, it's about the bonds that connect us and the unconditional love that makes us feel like we belong. "

~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
     

Q&A With the Author:

1.   What do you like to do when you're not writing?

  
   A: Visit friend, play card/board games, and work on my family history. 

2.  What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?

  A: The decision to actually write it. I didn't want to at first, but several of my friends convinced me that sharing my experience in finding out I had a secret family I didn't know anything about would be a great help to others. They were right. I've had so many people contact me and thank me for sharing my story. I'm glad I wrote it. 

3. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

  A: Ireland. That is where the Lindsay's come from and I would like to visit the ancestral home of my adopted family. 

4.  Where do you get information and ideas for your books?

  A: Most of the time, ideas come to me when I'm supposed to be doing something else. In this case, however, it was a matter of the events being part of my life. I wanted there to be a book about DNA surprises that was focused more on the positive elements of the experience rather than dwelling on the unfortunate parts.

5. Tell us a bit about a future project you are working on? Do you have any little sneak peeks you can share?  

  A: I have promised my dad that I will finish book 4 in The Gathering series. But most of what I'm working on now are projects to help people tell their own personal stories. Or the stories of their family. This includes My Historic Moments Journal to record a person's part of history in the making and The Easy-Peasy Method For Writing Memoir And Family Stories to make it easier for the average person to write stories about the people that are important in their lives. 

6. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell us a story of a favorite childhood activity you used to do during the summer. It can be long or short. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. Tell us a story?

  A: I have a cousin who is 9 days younger than me. We spent summers together, one year at my home and the next year with his family. Not only were we the best of friends and frequently in trouble, but it gave me an opportunity to visit different places. Oklahoma City and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. An entire summer in places that were green and filled with things that I didn't see at home. To this day, Bill is one of my favorite people. I'm glad he has been a part of my life. 

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Countdown Blitz Day Two: Christmas Secrets by Donna Hatch

Donna Hatch is the author of the best-selling “Rogue Hearts Series,” and a winner of writing awards such as The Golden Quill and the International Digital Award. A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, she discovered her writing passion at the tender age of 8 and has been listening to those voices ever since. She has become a sought-after workshop presenter, and also juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children (seven, counting her husband). A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Amazon ~
~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~

A stolen Christmas kiss leaves them bewildered and breathless. A charming rogue-turned-vicar, Will wants to prove that he left his rakish days behind him, but an accidental kiss changes all his plans. His secret could bring them together...or divide them forever. 

Holly has two Christmas wishes this year; finally earn her mother's approval by gaining the notice of a handsome earl, and learn the identity of the stranger who gave her a heart-shattering kiss...even if that stranger is the resident Christmas ghost.

~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 

Q&A With the Author:

1.  Describe yourself in 50 words or less..

I am fairly introverted as well as wildly emotional, creative, intuitive, and romantic. In addition, I am a highly sensitive person: empathetic and easily startled/annoyed/overwhelmed by loud noises, bright lights, strong odors, spicy foods, and violent tv shows/movies, as well as emotionally-charged situations.

2. What do you love most in the world? 

Besides the 3 f's--faith (a.k.a. religion) family, and friends-- I love reading. Most people are surprised that writing isn't at the top of the list, but reading is effortlessly pleasurable. Writing, though a big part of me and something I enjoy, is a lot of hard, and sometimes heartbreaking work.

3. What inspired you to become an Author? 

I have been a writer since I was a child. Being an author chose me rather than me choosing to be an author.

4. What is your favorite Winter / Holiday tradition? 

So many! I love Christmas! I guess if I must pick one, it would be Christmas Eve, when all the hustle and bustle is over, the house is decorated, all the Chrismas lights are on, presents are under the tree, and there is soft Christmas music playing the background while I cuddle with my husband and drink hot cocoa spiced with peppermint sticks. 

5. What is your trick for getting past writer's block? And what advice do you have for other authors who are struggling to tell their story?

When writer's block hits, sometimes I just need to take a break and go for a walk. Sometimes I need to read for pleasure rather than for research purposes. Other times, I ask a friend to help me brainstorm. That usually fixes it. Once in a while, I discover that the block is because I missed a plot point, or I don't know my characters well enough to continue. Brainstorming helps that too. 

6. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?

I play the harp. At least, I did until three years ago.  From the age of twelve when I first fell in love with the harp, I have thought of myself as a harpist. I practiced hours a day and I performed in recitals, school concerts, church, and various special engagements. As I got married and children came along, I played less in public but still enjoyed playing at home and teaching to eager students. My children often fell asleep as I played the harp, especially at Christmas. Then, like many, we fell on hard times during the 2008 Recession (which really, should be called a Depression). Even though we faced dark times, we never got so desperate that we felt we had to sell the harp. In fact, my husband refused to consider the option. Then, when my husband finally got a decent job back into his line of work, it came from a company out of state which required us to move our family. We faced a difficult decision. We were upside down on our mortgage, so selling our home was not a good option, nor could we afford to pay the exorbitant rental prices in the town where we were moving. Our best option was to buy. We could rent our old home, but after years of unemployment and underemployment, we had depleted our savings. This left us with nothing for a down payment. Our only true item of value was my harp. So with heavy heart, I sold my harp. As the delighted new buyer drove away with my harp in the back of her SUV, I stood in the driveway and cried. A large part of my identity and heart left me that day. But our family could now have a decent place to live. Sometimes we must decide what is most important and make sacrifices. One day, I hope to purchase another harp, and I still consider myself a harpist, but for now, I enjoy listening to others play the harp--often while I pen my historical romance novels. 

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Part 1 Official Event page 
and
Part 2 Official Event page

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Summer Reads: Aeonian Dreams by Morgan J Muir

Morgan J Muir lives in Utah with her fantastic husband, three offspring, and as many cats (but she doesn’t carry them with kits in sacks, and has never been to St. Ives). She grew up riding horses and motorcycles and listening to her grandmother read poetry. She grew up reading any sci-fi/fantasy novel she could get her hands on and so was surprised the day she discovered that she also really enjoyed historical fiction.
Morgan always loved to write and draw and her parents always liked to say that they knew she’d write a book some day.  Ever since she was small she told stories and drew pictures for her tales.  When she got old enough, all of her spare time between classes was spent writing and she always had a notebook with her.
Her first novel was originally written after her first child was born, to help her pass the long, lonely hours as a new stay-at-home mom.  As her kids got older and more came she was too busy to do much with her stories, until one year she was introduced to NaNoWriMo, which finally rekindled the spark that led her to finish what she’d started.

Morgan’s favorite authors are Brandon Sanderson, Kristen Britain and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

~ Facebook ~ Amazon ~

Mariah has chosen to become a vampire, but she can’t remember why.

Upon waking in the labyrinthine caves of Sophus, a centuries-old vampire, Mariah can’t remember all the choices that brought her there, but she does know there are dangerous secrets hidden within her.  As she learns to control her powerful new body— and its bloodthirsty urges— Mariah discovers a unique ability to travel through a world of spirit, the key to remembering her past, and possibly the future. 

At first, it seems her path is simple: learn to control her bloodlust, find her missing husband, and return with him to raise their son. However, things are more complicated than they seem, and neither Sophus nor her husband’s captor is willing to let them go. Mariah must use whatever skills she can to find her husband and protect her still-mortal son, but will it be enough? 

~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
~ Goodreads ~ 

Snippet:

Lying in Mariah’s hand was a small, brightly woven bag. The colors jumped out at her, like a story begging to be heard. They pulled at her mind, encouraging her to open the bag. She loosened the ties and a small, red stone, carved in the shape of a bird, tumbled onto Mariah’s hand. Tu’uma, the word came to her mind, a sacred, precious stone to the Wayuu. She ran her fingers gently over the bird as memory teased at her. Focusing on the figure in her hand, she allowed her mind to wander.

As before when she’d entered the spirit world, Mariah found herself standing in the field, this time bursting with flowers, as the scent of impending rain and the breeze holding whispering voices washed over her. Raising her hand to inspect the figurine, she found instead a living bird who flitted around her, his black feathers glinting with gold.

Well, hello there, she said, and he trilled at her, dancing in the air. He darted around her head, and as she turned, she saw in the distance a fire burning, like a large campfire. Her stomach knotted at seeing it. It was waiting for her.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event Page 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Summer Reads: The Dragons of Alsace Farm by Laurie Lewis

Laurie (L.C.) Lewis will always be a Marylander at heart—a weather-whining lover of crabs, American history, and the sea. She admits to being craft-challenged, particularly lethal with a glue gun, and a devotee of sappy movies. Her ninth published novel, her first romance novella, Sweet Water, was inspired by a visit to Oregon’s magnificent coastline, and time spent with Mother Eugenie, upon whom the character Mother Thomasine is based. 

Laurie’s women’s fiction novels include The Dragons of Alsace Farm (2016), Awakening Avery (2010), and Unspoken (2004), written as Laurie Lewis. 

Using the pen name L.C. Lewis, she wrote the five volumes of her award-winning FREE MEN and DREAMERS historical fiction series, set against the backdrop of the War of 1812: Dark Sky at Dawn (2007), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (2008), Dawn’s Early Light (2009), Oh, Say Can You See? (2010), and In God is Our Trust, (2011).

She is currently completing a political suspense novel planned for a summer 2017 release, a re -release of a romantic comedy, and she’s working on another historical fiction novel for a 2018 release. She loves to hear from readers.

~ Facebook ~ Website ~
~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~
~ Goodreads ~

Fears and secrets are the dragons we each must face. . . 

In need of his own redemption, Noah Carter finally confronts his childhood hero, the once-beloved uncle who betrayed him. Instead of vengeance, he offers forgiveness, also granting Uncle John a most curious request—for Noah to work on the ramshackle farm of Agnes Deveraux Keller, a French WWII survivor with dementia.

Despite all Agnes has lost, she still has much to teach Noah. But the pair’s unique friendship is threatened when Tayte, Agnes’s estranged granddaughter, arrives to claim a woman whose circumstances and abilities are far different from those of the grandmother she once knew.

Items hidden in Agnes’s attic raise painful questions about Tayte’s dead parents, steeling Tayte’s determination to save Agnes, even if it requires her to betray the very woman she came to save, and the secret her proud grandmother has guarded for seventy years.

The issue strains the fragile trust between Tayte and Noah, who now realizes Tayte is fighting her own secrets, her own dragons. Weighed down by past guilt and failures, he feels ill-equipped to help either woman, until he remembers Agnes’s lessons about courage and love. In order to save Agnes, the student must now become the teacher, helping Tayte heal—for Agnes’s sake, and for his. 

~ Universal Amazon Link ~ 
~ Goodreads ~ 

Snippet:

At the end of the physical exam the doctor praised her, explaining that her cognitive score was twenty-three out of thirty. She discreetly explained that Agnes’s short-term memory was failing despite the medication she’d been given. Agnes was slipping away.

Noah wanted to wrap his friend up in his arms and protect her from the disease, but this was another enemy he couldn’t fight. John’s mind was sharp, but his body was failing. Agnes’s body was strong, but her mind was dying, one cell at a time. He wondered which was worse.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event Page 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: The Dragons of Alsace Farm by Laurie Lewis

Laurie (L.C.) Lewis was born and raised in rural Maryland where she and her husband still reside. She admits to being craft-challenged, particularly lethal with a glue gun, and a lover of sappy movies. The Dragons of Alsace Farm, her eighth published novel, was inspired by a loved one’s struggle with dementia. Her women’s fiction novels include Unspoken (2004) and Awakening Avery (2010), written as Laurie Lewis. Using the pen name L.C. Lewis, she wrote the five volumes of her award-winning FREE MEN and DREAMERS historical fiction series, set against the backdrop of the War of 1812: Dark Sky at Dawn (2007), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (2008), Dawn’s Early Light (2009), Oh, Say Can You See? (2010), and In God is Our Trust, (2011).

She is currently completing a political suspense novel planned for a late spring 2017 release, and in March 2017 she will release a romance novel for Gelato Book’s “Destination Billionaire’s Series.” She loves to hear from readers, and she can be contacted at any of these locations.

Connect with the Author here: 

~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter ~
~ Goodreads ~ Instagram ~

Agnes, an 82-y-o French WWII survivor will teach Noah and Tayte the greatest lessons of their lives:

The strength of tested love.

The promise of new love.

The power of family love.

And the courage each requires.

In need of his own redemption, Noah Carter finally confronts his childhood hero, the once-beloved uncle who betrayed him. Instead of vengeance, he offers forgiveness, also granting Uncle John a most curious request—for Noah to work on the ramshackle farm of Agnes Deveraux Keller, a French WWII survivor with dementia.

Despite all Agnes has lost, she still has much to teach Noah. But the pair’s unique friendship is threatened when Tayte, Agnes’s estranged granddaughter, arrives to claim a woman whose circumstances and abilities are far different from those of the grandmother she once knew.
Items hidden in Agnes’s attic raise painful questions about Tayte’s dead parents, steeling Tayte’s determination to save Agnes, even if it requires her to betray the very woman she came to save, and the secret her proud grandmother has guarded for seventy years.
The issue strains the fragile trust between Tayte and Noah, who now realizes Tayte is fighting her own secrets, her own dragons. Weighed down by past guilt and failures, he feels ill-equipped to help either woman, until he remembers Agnes’s lessons about courage and love. In order to save Agnes, the student must now become the teacher, helping Tayte heal—for Agnes’s sake, and for his.

~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon UK ~ 

~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon Australia ~

Snippet:

Tayte stared back at the table, glancing at Noah, who had folded his napkin into an origami shape. “For the most part, you’re still a mystery to me, but I have observed a few things. For instance, I know you play with things when you’re nervous. Am I terrible for pointing that out to you?”

Noah gave a comic huff as his tight lips pressed into a timid smile. “It’s an old habit. My father ran dinner like a prison mess hall. No joking. No talking. I was hardheaded. I ended more than a few meals with a backhanded slap that landed me on the floor. After a while, I realized if I kept my hands occupied, my mouth was less likely to get me into trouble. When I started fiddling with the napkin or the salt and pepper shakers, my father knew he had intimidated me.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be hit. I was never even spanked.”

She reached a hand across the table to touch his wrist and felt the leather band. “You always wear that. Is it sentimental?”

He slid forward and met her eyes. “Are you sure you want to know me, Tayte? Really know me?”

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitant in her reply.

He rolled up his sleeve and watched her face melt in sympathy as the round pocked scars appeared within the tattoos. Then he unfastened the band, revealing the healed cuts on his wrists. He pointed to his arms. “These were gifts from my father.” Then he touched his wrist. “And this is how I dealt with them.”

Tayte covered his wrist with her hand. “Is that all of them?”

He shook his head. “There are more burns on my shoulders and my back.”

She gave a silent gasp. “Oh, Noah. He was a terrible father.”

The comment was underscored by a firm squeeze of Noah’s wrist, and then the removal of her hand. Noah missed her touch immediately. The warmth. The connection. He rolled his sleeve back down, savoring the memory.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By