Friday, March 27, 2020

Book Tour, Excerpt & Giveaway: Happy Valley by Lin Stepp


Happy Valley Return to Edisto JustRead Blog Tour 
Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Happy Valley & Return to Edisto by Lin Stepp, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Happy Valley by Lin Stepp Title: Happy Valley
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Release Date: April 2, 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Escape to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee in this sweet tale of two young people who meet by chance, their paths soon overlapping and intertwining amid a cast of warm-hearted characters in the small rural community of Happy Valley.

With Grandpa suffering a heart attack, Juliette Hollander saw little choice but to head back to their Tennessee mountain farm in Happy Valley to help out.  She didn’t expect, or want, to leave behind her life and work in North Carolina to return to her grandparents’ home so soon. Nor did she imagine meeting, and working with, the mysterious man she met briefly last summer and never thought to see again.

Walker Logan spent the last two years traveling the United States, seeing the beauty of the country and running from his past. But an old rock house he sees while hiking near Abrams Creek Campground unexpectedly calls to his soul. With danger close behind, he never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots. Yet now, with a new vision, he decides to take the risk.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
 



EXCERPT



Over coffee and banana bread, the women chatted and caught up on their lives and news, enjoying being together again. …After a pause in their conversation, though, Lenora leaned forward across the table, a hand under her chin, and asked, “And how is Juliette deep inside where no one sees?”
It was an old familiar line of Lenora’s and brought tears to Juliette’s eyes to hear it.
“Talk to me,” Lenora said. “You’re unhappy. I can feel it.”
“Well, I feel guilty to be unhappy. There’s nothing wrong with my life. … There’s no reason I should feel edgy, restless, and discontent.”
“But you do.”
“I do.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t either. I don’t know what in the world is wrong with me.”
Lenora smiled. “Sometimes it takes a while to sort ourselves out in life, to know who we are within ourselves.” …
She sighed. “I always feel so torn. Like I can’t figure out who I am or what I should be.”
Lenora sat quietly for a time and then said, “Forging an identity takes hard work and involves some struggle and searching for most people. For women especially, raised eager to please, we hope for an affirmation from others that we’re on the right course, pursuing the right thing, becoming what we should become. But frankly, Juliette, the courage to be who you are and to pursue your own dreams must come from within. You have to decide personally that your goals are worth pursuing, your talents valuable, your contributions and service good—despite what others may say or think. You need to be willing to pay the price to follow your heart and your destiny.”
She smiled at Juliette. “You are an artist, and a gifted one…. There is a rich creativity inside you, a gift placed there—yes, put there by God—that yearns to find its place in the world. It would be wrong to suppress it. Why would you want to do that?”





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lin Stepp

Lin Stepp is a native Tennessean, businesswoman and educator. A New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon best-selling international author, Lin has eighteen published books, including her twelve beloved Smoky Mountain novels, all set in different Tennessee and North Carolina locations, her newest Mountain Home book, a novella in one of Kensington’s Christmas anthologies, and two novels in her new Edisto Trilogy, set on the South Carolina coast. Lin and her husband J.L. also write regional guidebooks, including a Smoky Mountain hiking guide and a Tennessee state parks book.

Stepp’s latest 2020 releases are Happy Valley, set in a quiet rural valley near the Smoky Mountains, and Return to Edisto, set at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Lin’s previous title Claire At Edisto was the 2019 Best Books Award Winner in Fiction: Romance, sponsored by American Book Fest, her novel Welcome Back a finalist in the 2017 Selah Awards, and Lin and her husband’s guidebook Discovering Tennessee State Parks a 2019 American Book Fest Best Books Award Finalist in Nonfiction: Travel Guides and Essays.

Lin enjoys speaking for events, festivals, libraries, and book clubs, reading, hiking, exploring out of doors, and keeping up with her readers on Facebook, Twitter, and through her monthly blog and newsletter which you will find on her website at: www.linstepp.com

CONNECT WITH LIN: Website | Facebook | Twitter


TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Happy Valley & Return to Edisto, matching bookmarks, and a $25 Amazon gift card!

Happy Valley & Return to Edisto JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 23, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on March 30, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
cropped-justread-logo.png
*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.





No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comment!