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Monday, August 31, 2020

The Strong Amongst Us by J. A. Boulet - Book Tour - Book Sale - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hi, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host J. A. Boulet and her new book, “The Strong Amongst Us”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with J. A. and to increase your chances of winning!

This eBook is on SALE on Kobo for ONLY $0.99 during the book tour!!!  See below for more details.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!


The Strong Amongst Us
by J. A. Boulet

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GENRE: Historical Fiction

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BLURB:

On a stormy day in October 1875, a boatload of Icelandic explorers crash land on a beach paradise called Willow Point on Lake Winnipeg. Except it proves to be anything but paradise.

On that fateful day, young Nathan Olason steps afoot onto the soil of a foreign country, a place that he is determined to claim as his new home. Against a stunning backdrop of Lake Winnipeg, Nath and his relatives struggle to stay alive against all odds in this strange unforgiving new country called Canada. With natural sand beaches and breathtaking sunsets, the lake quickly changes to a menacing force, with massive storm surges and frigid temperatures, claiming lives like flies. Nath soon realizes that to claim this wilderness as New Iceland, he must persevere.

Events soon blow wildly out of control as heavy snowfalls, emerging governments, racism and mass starvation tests Nathan’s limits. With the help of a beautiful local Cree woman named Anwa, they learn vital hunting and ice fishing skills, teaching themselves how to live off the land. Then just when they think they have prevailed, tragedy strikes an ominous blow, a smallpox epidemic that decimates villages, quarantines the town of Gimli, but most of all threatens to claim what he holds dear the most.

With stirring realism, surprising bits of humour and steamy romance scenes, The Strong Amongst Us weaves a rich historical tale of immigration, manhood, immense love and resilience, leaving readers empowered by the sheer will of the human spirit.

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EXCERPT ONE:

He stared at the beautiful sun, peering over the horizon of gentle waves. The coldness stung, but he embraced it. The lake was much calmer today. He loved it actually; luck was on his side. They would most likely be able to send the funds request of the remaining five-thousand-dollar loan to the Dominion today by boat.

A movement caught his eye. Someone was pulling in a larger boat. He stood and used his hand to shelter from the sun. He squinted into the bright rays. It was just one person, pulling in the boat. He strapped his boots on and scurried over to the dock.

“Hey, do you need a hand?” Nathanael shouted as he approached.

A woman’s voice lilted into the air, gentle but full of strength. “No, I am okay.”

“No, I must! Let me help you,” Nathan insisted.

She looked at him stubbornly, shook her head and relented. “If you must.”

Nath grabbed the rope and helped pull in the boat, anchoring it along the sand. “Is this the boat that will be taking the letter to the Dominion for us today?”

“It is, yes,” she replied. “Sorry for my English. I am still learning.”

“You are native to this land?” Nath asked. “How long have you lived here?”

“Forever,” she laughed. “Ma and Pa were born here, so was I.”

“Interesting,” Nath said. “It is a beautiful land. And a beautiful lake.”

“Yes, Nath, it is,” she replied.

“You remembered my name?”

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GUEST POST:

Falling in Love with the Main Characters:

Firstly, the most important thing I believe that I did when writing this book was falling in love with Nathanael Olason myself. When you love someone yourself, as a writer, the passion will come through your writing without the author even knowing it.

Yuri slammed the gate behind him and approached the group. Nath smiled and stuck out his hand. “My name is Nathanael. We are part of a much larger group of Icelanders that have recently settled on Willow Point. We are here to ask for your assistance.”

His courage and determination is palatable. When he begins to fall in love, my readers start loving his girlfriend too, because she is not perfect to everyone else but, in his eyes, she is the best thing to happen for him.

“I can show you how to hunt the deer,” Anwa offered. “My family has been eating deer meat for centuries. We use bow and arrows for the deer.”

“I would love that.” Nathanael looked at this small strong woman and was amazed. She knew how to fish and hunt this land better than anyone, and she was half the size of some of his Icelandic cousins. “I think that’s pretty amazing that you are so experienced in fishing and hunting, Anwa. It is rare for a woman to know such things.”

Anwa looked up; her large brown eyes shone with achievement. “Thank you, Nath. No one has ever said anything like that to me before.”

I include many glimpses of into Nath’s emotions as he prepares to commit to the love of his life.

Nath’s heart exploded. His pent-up emotions released into a torrent of misery and happiness.

They stood there at the door, crying on each other, so happy to just be in each other’s embrace again. Her smell wafted into his nostrils, filling him with her pheromones until he felt high and giddy. Her softness made his heart melt instantly. He forgot every single thing he had rehearsed and just said the next thing that came to his mind.

Then finally when the weather, environment, governments and a dangerous smallpox epidemic carry them towards the climax, they bravely face each obstacle together.

As they returned to the entrance, the smell of smoke filled their nostrils again. It was a sickly acrid smell, something Nath had never smelled before.

Anwa spoke firmly to James Settee. “Whatever are they burning, Reverend?”

James coughed and cleared his throat. “They are burning the bodies and clothing. Just in case it is smallpox.”

Anwa breathed in sharply and stomped out with Nath in tow. He rushed to catch up with her.

“Hey, babe,” Nath called out to her.

She continued rushing to the horses, without turning back once.

“Hey,” Nath said as he finally caught up to her. He grabbed her arm. She turned to face him with tears flowing freely down her pretty face. She collapsed into his arms as he engulfed her whole body into his.

The strength of both main characters are felt through their actions. Readers experience Nath and Anwa’s lives on very personal level, every tear and every fear, taking readers on a roller coaster ride of love, racism, hardship, death, storms and hope for a better future.

It was November 27, 1876. A cordon sanitaire station was set up at Netley Creek, sixteen miles from the northern border of Manitoba at Boundary Creek. The quarantine line was being enforced by a thirteen-member military garrison.

“We are here to stay now,” Nath said, solemnly.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy The Strong Amongst Us (Book One of The Olason Chronicles). My wish is that it changes your life as much as it changed mine. My gracious thanks also to Fabulous and Brunette for hosting me.

Enjoy a free excerpt on my website:

Chapter One Preview:

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AUTHOR BIO:


J. A. Boulet is the passionate author of The Olason Chronicles, a historical saga of immigration, love and perseverance. The Strong Amongst Us Book 1 was released on Amazon in April 2020. She was born and raised in Western Canada as a first generation Canadian from European descent. Her parents landed in St. John’s, NFLD as refugees in 1956, a direct result of the Hungarian Revolution. J. A. Boulet was born many years later, raised in a strong Hungarian culture and proudly calls Canada home to this day. She started writing poetry at the age of five and progressed to short stories and novels. She has a keen interest in history, healing, family bonds and embracing the unknown. J. A Boulet writes with a spine-tingling realism like none other, grabbing your emotions and refusing to let go. The Strong Within Us Book 2 is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2020.

She currently lives in Canada with her two teenaged sons and a crested gecko named Mossio. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit.

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CONNECT WITH J. A.:

J. A. Enjoying Some R&R Out on the Lake
PC - @ J. A. Boulet

Website:

Blog:

Email:
admin@jaboulet.ca

Twitter:

Instagram:

YouTube:

Reddit:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALE INFO:

**The Strong Amongst Us eBook is on SALE on Kobo for ONLY $0.99 during the book tour!!!**


Amazon US Kindle eBook:

Amazon US Paperback:

Amazon US Hardcover:

Amazon CA:

Amazon UK:

Amazon AU:

Amazon FR:

Amazon IT:

Barnes and Noble Hardcover:

The Book Depository Hardcover:

BAM! Books-A-Million Hardcover:

Chapters Hardcover:

Kobo eBook – ON SALE $0.99!!!:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

J. A. will be awarding a $15 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.

7 comments:

  1. J. A. ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)

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    1. Good morning! Thank you so much! I'm delighted to be here! It's not an easy road following your dreams but I'm doing it!

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  2. Thank you so much for hosting! Idk what authors would do without you 💕

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  3. I like the excerpt, sounds good.

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  4. It's been great getting to discover your book and share with the readers in my family. Thank you and thanks for the giveaway. 

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  5. It sounds like a fascinating book. I'm doing genealogy into my husband's family, in NW Ontario, very similar in time (and Metis). Harsh climate, hard life.

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