My Blog's 10th Year Birthday Bash: Christina Lorenzen's book giveaway

Welcome to the eighth day of my blog's birthday bash!

Please welcome my author friend Christina Lorenzen.

She's here to give away two of her books!

Enter the book giveaway contest via the Rafflecopter widget the end of this blog post. Only residents of the USA are eligible to receive a signed paperback copy of this author's books. International residents will only receive ebook copies due to costs of mailing books outside of the USA.

Let's learn a bit more about Christina and her books ...

Author Bio:

Christina started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-­to-door saleswoman. 

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Healing Seas, her first historical romance, is Christina's fifth book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna and its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey, Snow Globe Reunion and Harvest Blessings.

 Christina is busy working on a modern retelling of the classic tale, Rapunzel. When she isn't writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

~*~

Back Cover Blurb for A Husband for Danna:

Off and running! In her frenzied quest to escape from a groom her father has chosen for her, Danna Rashba ‘borrows’ a limousine parked on Main Street. The last thing on her mind is finding a groom from another wedding in the backseat. 

What are the chances that the bride and groom from two different weddings running from the altar on the same day? The last thing Danna wants is a hostage as she tries to escape from her nuptials.

The last thing Eric Harmon wants is to be saddled with yet another spoiled, needy woman. He’s furious about this wrench in his plans, he accuses Danna of stealing. He wants to send her home in a cab as soon as they get to the nearest town, but Danna refuses. Much to Eric’s frustration, one thing after another seems to keep them tied together.

Soon the generosity of a local shopkeeper and several people in town have them mistaken for newlyweds. Danna and Eric find themselves stepping into the role as husband and wife leading them to realize they just may be each other’s ‘match’. But will Danna be able to stand up to her rigid, old fashioned father and choose her own husband?

~*~
Back Cover Blurb for Harvest Blessings:

Professional musician Tacy Clark hasn’t been back home to Hill Top Orchards since the death of her beloved Uncle Jerry. When she gets an email from her aunt, the guilt she’s been feeling since her uncle’s death forces her to make the trip back home.

When her car breaks down, a ride from her aunt’s neighbor, Brody Porter, is the beginning of a roller coaster of emotions, as Tacy is forced to deal with guilt and the pain of never having known her mother. Intending to stay only as long as it takes to harvest the apples for the annual festival and be free from guilt, Tacy is determined not to get involved with Brody Porter and his little girl Cami. 

Brody Porter was burned by his estranged wife, Carrie Ann, a struggling actress, who came into his life during a lull in her career and then left him alone to raise their daughter, four year old Cami. He’s vowed never to play the knight in shining armor again. His only interest in Tacy Clark is making sure she gets those apples harvested for the town's annual festival. 

Without that harvest, the festival might not raise enough funds for the church preschool. Without a place for Cami to go every day he won't be able to put the time he needs into his livelihood, his coffee shop, Brews & Bites. Tacy Clark and Brody Porter are both determined to get what they want and go their own ways. 

Will the sweet scent of apples and a harvest moon soften the hearts of two people who need each other more than they know?

~*~

Connect with Christina:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrisfoxlorenz/
Facebook Author page - https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaLorenzenAuthor/
Website - http://christinalorenzen.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/

~*~

Enter this book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below:

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A Guest Post by Christina Lorenzen about Rapunzel and a Lighthouse

Sweet Memories Create a New Twist on Something Old
A guest post by Christina Lorenzen

The sweetest memories I have are the times my grandmother would sit at the foot of my bed and tell me my favorite bedtime story, Rapunzel. My grandmother lived with us for as long as I can remember until she passed away when I was in my early twenties. As a child, my parents would go out for an evening. I would wait for bedtime when my grandmother would ask me what bedtime story I wanted to hear. And each time I would ask to hear Rapunzel. Just as I never tired of hearing her tell it and my grandmother never tired of telling me that fairy tale.

All these years later, when my publisher, Forget Me Not Romances, announced they were putting out a novella collection of fairy tales with a modern spin, I had the pleasure of writing my own version of Rapunzel. The classic tower became a defunct, dilapidated lighthouse and my heroine, Georgie Daniels, is a self-imprisoned longhaired damsel in distress. Raised by her father after her mother dies when she’s barely two years old, Georgie’s father passed away two years ago. Add to that the heartache of her fiancé abandoning her and she has shut out the world, finding security within the walls of the lighthouse cottage.

Writing this novella was such an enjoyable endeavor. I have wanted to write a story with a lighthouse setting for several years. Being able to combine that magical setting with my favorite fairy tale was more play than work. I researched lighthouses and learned quite a bit about them. My heroine Georgie is based on a friend from long ago. The hero, Colby Ford, was a combination of several ‘hero’ type men in my life. I’m proud to say that I have both an Air Force uncle and Navy uncle in my family.

After writing Rapunzel’s Lighthouse, my interest in putting a modern spin on another fairy tale has been sparked. There just might be another military hero in there too. That’s the wonderful thing about storytelling – there are no limits to the possibilities of ideas. Who would have thought that almost fifty years after first hearing my grandmother tell the tale, I would write my very own Rapunzel story? I think she would be pleased.

~*~
Author Bio: 

Christina started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-­to-door saleswoman.

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Snow Globe Reunion, a Christian Christmas romance, is Christina’s third book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna and its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey.

Christina is a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

~*~
Book blurb for Rapunzel's Lighthouse: Georgie Daniels rarely leaves the cottage attached to the Salt Cliffs lighthouse, except when necessary for a trip into town for food. For the last two years, since the lighthouse was declared a historic landmark, she’s lived in the cottage out of sight and, she hopes, out of the minds of the town. With the defunct lighthouse in arrears and in disrepair, she knows it’s only a matter of time before the lighthouse will be on the auction block of the town hall’s steps. With long hair that no one has seen before, except in the fabled fairy tale Rapunzel, things were going well until new neighbor Colby Ford shows up on her doorstep.

Colby Ford didn’t intend to retire from the Navy, at least not right now. When he finds himself with an injury that pushes him into an early retirement, the possibility of opening a sailing school in the coastal town of Salt Cliffs is his only hope. Renting the Moore cottage, he needs to find the right location for his school and a place to store the boats. 

While in town, a conversation with a storekeeper makes his curiosity about the lighthouse burn even stronger – what kind of woman lives alone in a defunct lighthouse? 

In need of paint for the cottage porch, he pays Georgie a visit. Feeling like he’s seen her before, that’s when it hits him – Georgie Daniels is a real life Rapunzel. And this Rapunzel wants nothing to do with being neighborly. Until she’s forced to save him during a storm.

Georgie and Colby have both had their share of disappointments and heartache. Just as Georgie is beginning to open up to him, a letter she finds threatens to shut her down again. Can their shared desperate need for a home bring them together?

~*~
Buy Christina's book on Amazon

~*~
Connect with Christina:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrisfoxlorenz/
Facebook Author page - https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaLorenzenAuthor/
Website - http://christinalorenzen.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/

A Guest Post by Christina Lorenzen about her new book "Healing Seas"

From Pirates to The Titanic 

A guest post by Christina Lorenzen

I was the kid in high school who had absolutely no interest in history. I loved English, creative writing and literature classes. I didn’t figure out how they could connect until years later.

It started when I picked up my first historical novel by author Julia Quinn. I had just finished that book when I saw a friend on Facebook talking about a Mary Balogh novel. So I picked it up. I was in the bookstore when the cover of a Sarah MacLean stopped me as I was making my way to the magazine aisle. No magazines went home with me that day, but that Sarah MacLean book did. I was pretty surprised at how much I liked reading historical romance. That’s when it dawned on me that history could be fascinating to write about. I regretted not putting more effort and interest in my history class in high school, but I was ready to write my first historical romance. But life gets in the way, and I was busy at the time as a freelance writer and working on another novel.

I’ve long since stopped freelance writing but writing three novellas and a novel has kept me busy. The push I needed to write my first historical novel came when my publisher, Forget Me Not Romances, announced they were putting together collections of novellas for each of the fifty states. I knew I wanted to write a story about my state, New York. When I queried about a novella, I asked to write a historical one. In my mind, I dreamed of finally writing a story about pirates that had been rattling around in my head for ages. And since I live on Long Island, just an hour from New York City, I knew I had the perfect setting. Long Island has a rich history that includes Captain Kidd himself staying here back in the late 1600s. I was buzzing with excitement, eager to get started.

Excitement was quickly replaced by anxiety and discouragement. While there was plenty of research and facts about Kidd’s visit to Long Island, too many doubts nagged at me. Would I be able to portray a time period so accurately? Would I be able to make the dialogue believable? I started reading advice from historical novelists. Don’t use period slang. Do use period slang. Within a few weeks, I scrapped my pirate story and decided to write about the rum runners on the island during 1923. As I thought about it in bed one night I realized I didn’t feel anything. No excitement. No anticipation. No real rush to get writing. The next night my daughter, having her own stressors over her college senior thesis, asked if I wanted to watch a movie with her. We’d watched The Titanic at least a dozen times together. It felt like the perfect escape.

Enjoying a late night snack, my daughter brought up the memory of her great-grandmother’s love of that movie. Grandma Dorothea was born March 3, 1912, just weeks before the greatest tragedy of that time took place. She used to love to talk about the stories she’d heard about the Titanic as a child. When the movie came out in 1997, my mother-in-law had no choice but to take grandma to see it. Up until she died she talked about that movie. Remembering the excitement in her eyes was a light bulb moment for me.

Forget pirates and rum runners. I was going to write a story about a woman who had survived the Titanic. The excitement was there. The eagerness to get started. The research was enthralling. And all along I felt as if Grandma Dorothea was right there as I wrote Healing Seas, looking on with that look of excitement she had all those years ago.

~*~
Author Bio:

Christina started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-­to‑door saleswoman.

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Healing Seas, her first historical romance, is Christina's fifth book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna, its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey, Snow Globe Reunion and Harvest Blessings. She is busy working on a modern retelling of the classic tale, Rapunzel. 

When she isn't writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

~*~
Book blurb for Healing Seas: In just a matter of days, Addie Mayfield’s life is upended. Through an arrangement her father makes, she sets sail on the RMS Titanic as governess to the two young Fairchild children. 

When tragedy strikes, she finds herself rescued alongside strangers on the RMS Carpathia, headed for New York City. Far from home, she is taken in by the O’Reilly family to wait for her family to send for her. With no money for her passage home, she’s brought to the small hamlet of Montauk to become a caretaker for a great aunt she has never met. 

Captain Frank Shea is a man without a ship. Removed from duty as captain of the RMS Morrow, he’s come to Montauk to recover from a leg injury. More painful than the injury is his fall from grace after spending his entire life at sea. The ocean was his home and he has never needed anyone. Now faced with an uncertain future, he’s desperate for a way back to the sea. Until he meets Addie Mayfield, a woman who is just as lost as he is.

Can these two people find hope for the future after all they’ve lost? Can an unexpected love heal two broken souls?

~*~
Buy Christina's book, available exclusively on Amazon

~*~
Connect with Christina:
Facebook Author Page ~  Twitter ~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author Page 

14 Days of Sweet Stories: "Harvest Blessings" by Christina Lorenzen

Interview with Christina Lorenzen, author of Harvest Blessings:

Alexis: What’s the significance of your story’s title, Harvest Blessings?

Christina: Well, it’s harvest season for the family apple orchards and unbeknownst to Tacy and Brody, they are both blessed when they come together for a common cause–picking the apples to help fund the church preschool. Not only does the preschool benefit, but they both learn to trust and open their hearts.

Alexis: Tell us about your story’s heroine Tacy Clark. Why did you make her a musician? What are her greatest joys and deepest sorrows? 

Christina: As I was creating Tacy, I had watched a story on television about the amazing time and work that goes into the making of a violin. That stayed with me and like a flash of light I knew that Tacy was going to play one. Her uncle blessed her with the violin that led to her love of music.

Alexis: What brings Tacy back home to Hill Top Orchards? Why did she leave in the first place? Now what makes her want to stay? 

Christina: Tacy gets an email ‘from her aunt’ asking her to come home and help with the orchards. It raises her suspicion because she knows her aunt doesn’t have a computer nor keep up with technology. But because she hasn’t been home in a number of years, she has to check for herself. She’s also propelled by the guilt of not having come home to help her aunt when her uncle was ill and eventually went to be with the Lord.

Going back to her love of music, Tacy left the orchards and the small town of Hill Top to pursue a career in music, hopefully to play in a large orchestra in New York City. The last thing she was expecting was the pull to stay in her childhood home but between her growing affection for both Brody and his daughter, and the new growth in her relationship with her aunt, she desires to make a life in her old hometown.

Alexis: Tell us about your story’s hero Brody Porter. What are his greatest strengths? What are his worst weaknesses? Why is he important to telling this story? 

Christina: Brody is a devoted dad. I’d say his greatest strength is his desire to protect his daughter and give her the very best life he can as a single dad. His worst weakness is that because of the experience he had with Cami’s mother, his ex-wife, he now judges all women in show business as the same as his ex. He’s an important character not only because he is the love interest for Tacy but because he is responsible for bringing Tacy and her aunt together.

Alexis: What is the significance of harvesting apples for the annual festival in this story? Why do the fictional town people look forward to this event? 

Christina: For many years the harvesting of the apples from Hill Top Orchard was a significant event because the funds from the apples went to the church or another need in the small town. Beyond that, the annual festival is one of the biggest events in town and the people in town look forward to as a way to socialize and celebrate their community.

Alexis: What role does Brody’s 4-year-old daughter Cami play in this story? What is Brody’s relationship with her Mom? 

Christina: Cami is a precocious adorable little girl that softens Tacy’s heart. In Cami Tacy is reminded of her own childhood, something she may not have thought had she not met Cami. Like Cami, Tacy lost her mother at a very young age and they share that common bond. When Cami’s mom leaves, she cuts all ties not only with Brody but with her daughter, a deep wound for Brody. 

Alexis: What is it about Tacy that makes Brody consider taking another shot at love? 

Christina: Because Brody is a protector, he is drawn to Tacy’s vulnerable personality. As he sees how much Cami likes Tacy he begins to open up to getting to know her. 

Alexis: What is it about Brody that attracts Tacy to him? Explain. 

Christina: Tacy’s sweetest memories as a child were those she shared with her Uncle Jerry who was like the father she never had. As Tacy gets to observe Brody with Cami, she finds herself taken with his fathering skills and his deep, unconditional love for his daughter.

Alexis: Why do Tacy and Brody need each other? 

Christina: Tacy needs someone that will care for her and make her feel her future is secure, something she hasn’t gotten on her own. Brody needs a woman first and foremost who will love his daughter and prove she is trustworthy.

Alexis: What do you want your readers to learn from this story? 

Christina: I think when I wrote the story I wanted to share with readers that when it comes to family sometimes we don’t know everything we think we do, as Tacy found out about Aunt Ruby. And that if we open our hearts and trust we can find the love we so need.

Alexis: Who is your favorite character in this story? Why? 

Christina: Though I am fond of all of the characters and hated to end the story, I do have to say my favorite was sweet little Cami. She was so much fun.

Alexis: Complete this sentence: When I was writing Harvest Blessings, I craved ________________________ because _________________________.

Christina: When I was writing Harvest Blessings, I craved being out in the country air because it brings me such peace.

Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Christina! God bless you.

~*~
Author bio:

Christina Lorenzen started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-to-door saleswoman. 

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Harvest Blessings, a sweet small town romance, is Christina's fourth book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna, its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey and her recent Christmas release, Snow Globe Reunion. She is busy working on a modern retelling of the classic tale, Rapunzel. 

When she isn't writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

To find out about Christina's upcoming releases, visit her website at http://christinalorenzen.com/.

Subscribe to Christina's newsletter and be entered automatically each month to win a $5 Amazon gift card at http://christinalorenzen.com/connect-with-christina

~*~
Blurb for Harvest Blessings: Professional musician Tacy Clark hasn’t been back home to Hill Top Orchards since the death of her beloved Uncle Jerry. When she gets an email from her aunt, the guilt she’s been feeling since her uncle’s death forces her to make the trip back home.. When her car breaks down, a ride from her aunt’s neighbor, Brody Porter, is the beginning of a roller coaster of emotions, as Tacy is forced to deal with guilt and the pain of never having known her mother. 

Intending to stay only as long as it takes to harvest the apples for the annual festival and be free from guilt, Tacy is determined not to get involved with Brody Porter and his little girl Cami.

Brody Porter was burned by his estranged wife, Carrie Ann, a struggling actress, who came into his life during a lull in her career and then left him alone to raise their daughter, four year old Cami. He’s vowed never to play the knight in shining armor again. His only interest in Tacy Clark is making sure she gets those apples harvested for the town's annual festival. Without that harvest, the festival might not raise enough funds for the church preschool. Without a place for Cami to go every day he won't be able to put the time he needs into his livelihood, his coffee shop, Brews & Bites.

Tacy Clark and Brody Porter are both determined to get what they want and go their own ways. Will the sweet scent of apples and a harvest moon soften the hearts of two people who need each other more than they know?

~*~
Buy Christina's book on Amazon

~*~
Connect with Christina:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/chrisfoxlorenz/
Facebook Author page - https://m.facebook.com/ChristinaLorenzenAuthor/
Website - http://christinalorenzen.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/

~*~

Enter the book giveaway contest for your chance to WIN a copy of this book by filling out the entry form on the Rafflecopter widget below: SaveSave

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A Prelude to Christmas: Christina's story about snow globes and divine connections

Welcome Christina Lorenzen to the blog today! She's here to share a personal essay/guest post based on her Christmas story, Snow Globe Reunion which is available for purchase on Amazon. Her book is part of the Snow Globe Christmas Collection published by Forget Me Not Romances.

Here's the blurb for Snow Globe Reunion:

Stranded by a snowstorm, Carrie Sanders is left holding a bag an old woman she’d been talking to left behind in the airport coffee shop. Mystified by the woman’s disappearance, she sits on the bench staring at the snow globe that was in the bag. 

Inside the glittery snowy world it’s Christmas during the 1940s. Fighting sleep, the next thing she knows she’s in the arms of the soldier she last saw skating on the pond in the snow globe. He’s no stranger, but the boy next door who never forgot her.

~*~
Fill out the book giveaway contest entry form on this Rafflecopter widget for your chance to WIN a copy of Christina's book:
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~*~
A Snow Globe Moment
A guest post written by Christina Lorenzen

I believe in divine connections. I believe that God leads us to the right people, and in this case, the right projects. In my heart, I think nothing makes our God happier than giving us the things that light up our hearts. I saw it happen again months ago when I spent an afternoon with an author friend, sharing some coffee and writerly chat. After talking about our current projects, she mentioned a new publisher who was looking for novellas for several collections she was putting out. Curious, I took a look at this publisher’s website and stopped at the call for Snow Globe stories for a Christmas collection. As soon as I read she was looking for stories centered on a ‘special’ snow globe I knew this would be my first Christmas book, something I’d been wanting to write for years.

I have been enchanted by snow globes since I was a young child. My earliest memories are the snow globes at my great aunt’s house. Every year she would decorate with what seemed like dozens of snow globes, strategically placed throughout her quaint craftsman style house. I think I spent most of my visits there shaking each and every one. We had one or two snow globes at home, but when I grew up and had my own house to decorate, I knew I had to own a few of my own. I have numerous snow globes—those with snowmen, ice skating scenes, carolers beside a tree, wildlife scampering about in the snow and, my favorite, the nativity. There’s something magical about holding up that glass globe, giving it a furious shake, and watching the glittery flakes fall from the sky and blanket the objects in the globe.

Though life changes, and sometimes rapidly at that, there are some traditions that we all cling to, holding near and dear. For me, seeing these familiar globes of miniature figurines and glitter water are like getting together with lifelong friends. We may not see them often, but when we do it’s like nothing has changed. I’ve come to believe that these snow globes offer comfort in a sometimes turbulent, rapidly changing world. Perhaps you’ve felt as I’ve often felt—that it would be lovely if we could freeze the special moments in our lives so they would stay as they are forever, just like the tiny scenes frozen in time inside those snow globes.

But life marches on, both the happy and sad times, and we learn to accept the sad and cherish the happy. And each year when I pull out those globes filled with glittery water, I feel a hopeful flutter in my heart as I eagerly reacquaint myself with old friends. And just for a season I get to enjoy joyful, sweet scenes forever frozen in time.

~*~
Author bio: Christina Lorenzen started writing as a young teen, jotting stories in wire ring composition notebooks. Her first typewriter made it faster to get all those stories out of her head and down on paper. Her love of writing has sustained her through a myriad of jobs that included hairdresser, legal secretary, waitress and door-­to-door saleswoman.

Luckily for her, writing proved to be successful and a lot less walking than going door to door. Harvest Blessings, a sweet small town romance, is Christina's fourth book. She is also the author of A Husband for Danna, its sequel, A Wife for Humphrey and her recent Christmas release, Snow Globe Reunion. She is busy working on a modern retelling of the classic tale, Rapunzel. 

When she isn't writing or reading, she can be found walking her dog, talking to her herd of cats and spending time with her family.

To find out about Christina's upcoming releases, visit her website at http://christinalorenzen.com/.

~*~
Connect with Christina:
Email - carp119@aol.com
Website - http://www.christinalorenzen.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ChrisFoxLorenz
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaLorenzenAuthor/
Visit her Amazon Author Page
Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/christina_lorenzen/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/chrisfoxlorenz/

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