Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Sara
R. Turnquist and her new book, “Among the Pages”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this
post – except the Available at Amazon picture, which takes you directly to the
Amazon Book Sale Page.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back daily to interact with Sara
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Among the Pages
by Sara R. Turnquist
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GENRE: Historical Romance (Sweet)
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BLURB:
A woman’s choice…is in question.
Brianne
is a somewhat naïve college freshman. She becomes disillusioned as her
professors and peers challenge many of her long-held beliefs. When she finds a
diary that belonged to a distant relative, she hopes it will offer much needed
distraction. And she is soon drawn into the story of a passionate woman who
seems to whisper from the past.
In
1915’s New York, idealist and primary teacher Margaret struggles with the
problems women face at home and in society. She is first timid about speaking
her mind, but in time cannot keep her impassioned spirit hidden—not even from
the gentleman who teaches in the classroom next door. His concern for her
stretches the limits of their friendship, pressing into something more. Caught
up in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, she faces down authority figures and
others who question her beliefs.
And
so, Brianne is whisked along on this journey as Margaret joins the fight for
women’s rights, all the while trying to work through her own questions and
experiences with modern feminism.
Before
long, things spin out of control and she wonders where her newfound
relationship fits into everything? Are there any clear answers? Will she land
on her feet? Or be forever lost to herself?
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EXCERPT TWO:
HISTORICAL TIME PERIOD (1915) – Margaret and Henry talk on a
Sunday after church
She
narrowed her eyes and bit at her lip to keep her surprise from showing. How did
he know this? Surely he didn’t care about the Woman’s Movement. Or did he? Why
should he? His precious Abigail was ever the dutiful, demure, docile girl that
any man would seek. She wouldn’t be caught within a hundred yards of anything
related to women’s rights.
He
continued, “I also understand that anyone caught attending her speeches on
Sunday is in danger of being thrown out of their church. You don’t want that,
do you?”
“Maybe
I do,” she shot back and looked away. His words stung. Perhaps more so because
he wasn’t wrong. About any of it.
“You
don’t mean that.” He craned his neck, trying to catch her eyes.
“What
if I do?” She jerked her head, turning her features toward him. “Pastor
Thompson said some harsh things today. I don’t know if I can continue to submit
myself to the authority of a man who preaches in such a way.”
“In
what way?” His voice was gentle. Try as she might, she could not find anything
accusing in his tone.
“He
made a several assertions without the Scripture to support it. Yet he insisted
that the Bible was clear about the subject. I think a man of the cloth ought to
be more careful when making such statements about the word of God without the
proper foundation.”
Henry’s
eyes searched hers. The deep brown fell soft upon her eyes and caressed her
features with gentleness. How could she stay angry when she was losing herself
in such dark warmth?
She
averted her gaze. What was this? It would not do for her to be thinking about
him this way. This was not proper! He was someone else’s beau.
“Listen,”
he said, moving closer. “I’d regret if anything bad happened to you.”
She
nodded, focusing on the lines of the sidewalk.
“I
would have to teach your class and mine.” His voice became thick with sarcasm.
Her
eyes shot to his and found his lips spreading in a huge grin.
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GUEST POST:
My Writing Space:
Welcome
to my writing space! I am a multi-published clean Historical Romance author.
And I haven’t always had the nicest, most inspirational space to write in. When
I first started writing, it was at dining tables, propped up in bed, on the
couch, or in a chair. Not the best, but it worked. As I became more prolific,
we set aside a space for me that I could work at. Still, I felt drawn to coffee
shops and little places like that where I could be among people. I am a bit
more extroverted than most writers.
About
a year ago, we decided, for many reasons, to build. And setting aside a spot, a
dedicated space for my office became a priority. We found a floor plan that had
a sketched in sitting room or den space that was redundant. We asked the
builder if it could be closed in to create an office. Thus birthed my now
perfect-as-I-can-imagine writing space.
First is the spot where the creativity really happens – my desk.
A wall to one side of my desk displays my book covers—this keeps me in touch
with where I’ve been.
I write with two screens—the larger one is the primary screen
and the smaller I use to pull up any online resources I might need. Of course,
I keep them at ergonomically safe levels.
This
is where it all takes place…the thinking, the research, the writing, the
pulling and drawing the story out. I try to keep as much as possible accessible
at my fingertips. But I can’t create without another source of inspiration –
the view from the other side of my desk.
Now this pulls me out of any slump and into that place where the
words just pour.
I am useless, though, without my necessary tools. The craft
books, the printer, the dry erase board which tracks my projects and to do
list.
And I LOVE my pen and tool container—a typewriter!!
Now, in my office, I also have a plotting board behind my desk.
It has pictures depicting each scene of my work in progress splayed across this
line.
And I have printed pictures of the actor/model/actress I would
cast for the hero and heroine as inspiration while writing.
There
are two other things in my office that are quite significant. Every once in a
while, I grow tired of writing in my desk chair and need a change of scenery.
Or I need that extra boost of creativity that comes from reading others’ work
or reading a craft book, maybe working a Character Interview or a Plotting
Worksheet.
For these things, I can go to my chair and ottoman, and sit
comfortably and work or read. This makes the office that extra layer of
luxurious. Love the pillow, too! It says “I want to read books, WRITE, &
take naps”—soooo me!
The throw blanket was a gift, too. It has my book covers on it 😊
Last,
but certainly not least, is the place where I do my initial/raw plotting. I
utilize Susan May Warren’s Story Equation method (you can learn about it in her
book The Story Equation). One corner of my office is where I keep my
easel and large post-it pad for that sort of character plotting and development.
So,
thus you have seen my office pretty much in its entirety. This is my creative
space, my inspired place, the area where I can shut the door and block out the
screaming playfulness of the kids and hurriedness of the day. Here, I am just
me. With my characters and my things, the tools of my trade. Ready to write,
ready to create, ready to be inspired…so I can inspire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Sara is a coffee
lovin', word slinging, Historical Romance author whose super power is
converting caffeine into novels. She loves those odd little tidbits of history
that are stranger than fiction. That's what inspires her. Well, that and a good
love story.
But
of all the love stories she knows, hers is her favorite. She lives happily with
her own Prince Charming and their gaggle of minions. Three to be exact. They
sure know how to distract a writer! But, alas, the stories must be written,
even if it must happen in the wee hours of the morning.
Sara
is an avid reader and enjoys reading and writing clean Historical Romance when
she’s not traveling. Her books range from the Czech lands to the American wild
west and from ancient Egypt to the early 1900s. Some of her titles include The
Lady Bornekova, Hope in Cripple Creek, The General’s Wife, Trail
of Fears, and the Convenient Risk Series.
Happy Reading!
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CONNECT WITH SARA:
Website:
Newsletter:
Facebook:
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YouTube:
BookBub Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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AMAZON BOOK BUY
LINK:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Sara will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSara ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ally! And thanks for having me back and hosting me today!! The post is fabulous!
DeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita!!
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Victoria!
DeleteLove your writing space. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim! It's taken a while to fine tune it, but it is cozy and just right for me.
DeleteThanks, James!
ReplyDelete