2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway
Thank you to all who participated in this blog tour & giveaway. Our winners are:
Grand Prize: Kimberly S.
First Prize: Phyllis H.
Happy Christmas in July! Welcome to the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway, which runs July 15-22, 2022 (contest closes at 8 p.m. Eastern on 7/22). At the bottom of each author’s blog post, you will find the name of a Christmas song. Write them all down and provide the provide all song titles (26 in total) on this Google form. See below for a list with links of all participating authors or stop by each blog for the next author link!
Note: You must grab all the song titles from every author in the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway to be eligible to win the grand prize of a $520 Amazon gift card, plus a copy of each participating author’s book OR first place prize of a copy of each participating author’s book. At the end of this blog post is a link to the next blog, and so on, to the final blog post (26 authors in all).
The weather and letters played a large part in my Christmas novella, Mistletoe & Murder. First the weather, because isn’t that the topic of conversation we often start with when meeting new acquaintances? I set the story in the fictitious town of Twin Oaks, placed in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Being in the South, Virginia weather at Christmastime can be unpredictable, but not in the way winter weather is unpredictable elsewhere. No, here in the Old Dominion, we’ve had Christmas Day highs in the 70s and snow on rare occasions. Often, the entire month of December can be rather mild, with temperatures not dipping below forty. I used that local knowledge (I’m a Virginia born and raised and lived in the state nearly my entire life) in my story to show why a particular plant would still be green in December when in other parts of the country, it would already died for the season.
Now the letters. I incorporated a Cyrano de Bergerace storyline as an integral part of the plot. As a writer, I’ve always been intrigued by the story of two people falling in love through letters. When my husband and I were dating, we wrote a lot of emails back and forth—one of the modern-day equivalent of letters! One of my daughters loves the movie, “You’ve Got Mail,” which is one of many iterations of the Cyrano de Bergerace. There was even a recent musical called “Cyrano” too. In Mistletoe & Murder, the letters happened offstage, and are only referenced as part of the background of the current happenings.
Here’s more about Mistletoe & Murder. Don’t forget to grab the song title and enjoy the rest of your tour.
Alec Stratman comes home to Twin Oaks, Virginia, after his Army retirement to contemplate his reentry into civilian life. Instead he’s greeted with the murder of his beloved Great-Aunt Heloise.
For Isabella Montoya, the loss of Heloise Stratman Thatcher goes beyond the end of a job. Heloise had encouraged Isabella to follow her dreams and helped fund her studies. Now, accused of her mentor’s murder, Isabella is scrambling to prove her innocence.
Since his great-aunt had written glowing letters about Isabella, Alec is unwilling to believe the police’s suspicion of the former housekeeper. Instead, he works to help clear her name.
Will Isabella and Alec be able to navigate the secrets that threaten to derail their budding romance and uncover the truth about Heloise’s death before the killer strikes again?
I’d love to hear what the weather’s usually like on Christmas for you! Tell me in the blog comments.
Now, it’s time to for my Christmas song title: Silver Bells
Save the holiday song titles from each of the 26 blog stops, and when you reach the final blog, enter all the song titles on this form for a chance to win the grand prize of a $520 Amazon gift card and a copy of each participating author’s featured book OR first prize of a copy of each participating author’s featured book.
Thank you so much for visiting! The next author on the tour is Jill Kemerer and her Christmas book The Prodigal’s Holiday Hope. You can find it at this link. Remember, the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway ends July 22 at 8 PM EST!
Participating Authors
Sarah Hamaker https://sarahhamakerfiction.com/2022/07/14/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway/
Jill Kemerer https://jillkemerer.com/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway/
Kari Trumbo https://karitrumbo.com/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway/
Paula Peckham https://paulapeckham.com/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-and-giveaway/
Tina Radcliffe https://www.tinaradcliffe.com/2022christmasinjulyreaderblogtour
Jennifer Chastain https://jenniferchastain.com/2022/07/14/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway/
Louise M. Gouge https://louisemgougeauthor.blogspot.com/
Katy Lee https://infulllight.blogspot.com/2022/07/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour.html
Zoe McCarthy https://zoemmccarthy.com/activities/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour–giveaway
Tracy Fredrychowski https://tracyfredrychowski.com/christmas-in-july/
Kathy McKinsey https://www.kathymckinsey.com/2022/07/christmas-in-july.html
Donna Schlachter https://donnaschlachter.com/welcome-to-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour
Anne Greene http://anneswritingupdates.blogspot.com/
Pam Hillman http://www.pamhillman.com/holidays/christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour/
Linda Wood Rondeau https://lindarondeau.com/snarksensibility/1617-CHRISTMAS-IN-JULY-READER-BLOG-TOUR–GIVEAWAY?sel=1-
Danielle Grandinetti https://daniellegrandinetti.com/2022/07/14/christmas-in-july-blog-tour-and-giveaway/
Narelle Atkins https://www.narelleatkins.com/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour–giveaway/
Izzy James https://enotsilent.wordpress.com/2022/07/15/christmas-in-july-blog-tour-and-giveaway/
Terri Reed https://www.terrireed.com/
Amy Anguish https://abitofanguish.weebly.com/writing/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway
B.D. Lawrence https://bdlawrence.com/articlesbybdlawrence/christmas-in-july-blog-tour/
Susan Lyttek https://sajlyttek.com/blog/1580-Christmas-in-July-2022?sel=1-
Lenora Worth https://askelnora.com/2022/07/14/christmas-in-july-blog-hop
Nancy Naigle https://www.nancynaigle.com/2022christmasinjulybloghop
Michelle Medlock Adams https://michellemedlockadams.com/gift-reading-christmas-july-blog-tour-giveaway
Ann Brodeur https://brodeurwrites.org/2022-christmas-in-july-reader-blog-tour-giveaway/
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” my guest is Shannon Redmon, who remembers the first grown-up book she checked out from the neighborhood bookmobile. A Victoria Holt novel with romance, intrigue, dashing gentlemen and ballroom parties captivated her attention. For her mother, the silence must have been a pleasant break from non-stop teenage chatter, but for Shannon, those stories whipped up a desire and passion for writing.
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Secrets Left Behind.
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m talking with Michele Chynoweth and Michele Olson, who each shared how they incorporate faith and suspense into their books.
Michele Chynoweth is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker, The Runaway Prophet, The Jealous Son, and The Wise Man, contemporary suspense novels that re-imagine Bible stories. Michele is also a sought-after public speaker who has addressed a variety of writers’ conferences and other organizations across the country, a professional editor and book coach, college writing instructor and founder of “Your Book Done Right” Master Class and Elite Coaching. A former news reporter and marketing director, she’s a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and lives with her husband in North East, Maryland.
Incorporating her work as an artist and a voice professional into her writing whenever she can, she enjoys creative endeavors of all genres and fueling faith with fiction. She speaks to groups about authentic living and creativity and teaches doodling and sketch noting in seminars to build engagement, retention, and pure fun to everyone. She works within the creative imprint of Lake Girl Publishing.
Fatal Forensic Investigation
On this episode of “The Romantic Side of Suspense,” I’m talking with Lisa Phillips, a USA Today and top 10 Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than 50 books that span Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line, independently published series romantic suspense, and thriller novels. She’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.
