Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Grace & Lavender by Heather Norman Smith, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Grace & Lavender
Author: Heather Norman Smith
Publisher: Ambassador International
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: March 1, 2019
Recently retired Colleen Hill is always busy, constantly on a quest to make life more interesting.
When the ladies’ group at her church partners with the local children’s home, Colleen jumps in as usual, volunteering to share her passion for cooking with a troubled teenager named Grace. But Colleen must balance the new project with her pursuit of becoming a contestant on a television game show, along with all the other ideas her brain continually spins out.
Colleen’s daughter Melody is quite different. She lives a calm, simple life and is content with who she is. That is, until an unexpected opportunity to work with Grace, too, pushes her to reevaluate life and dare to take on bigger dreams. The path starts with a newly-found interest in soap-making and leads her to responsibilities she didn’t even know she wanted, including helping Grace understand the meaning of her name.
Grace & Lavender is a book for all audiences—a heart-warming story that reminds us to seek God’s purpose for our lives.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository
Interview with Author Heather Norman Smith
Can you tell us a little about
yourself?
I’m married and I have three
children, ages 11, 8, and 6. We’ve been licensed as a foster family for a few
months now, but we are still waiting on our first placement. Our home is in the
Piedmont of North Carolina. We have two cats and two dogs. Along with writing
novels, I enjoy writing children’s stories and devotions. I love to sing about
Jesus, and I drink an alarming amount of black coffee and Diet Dr. Pepper. I
like birds. I spend way too much time on social media. I’m a preacher’s kid,
and my dad has been my pastor all my life, and at the same church since I was
two-years-old.
What do you do besides writing?
Along with being a wife and mom, I
work as a Business Analyst in the Information Technology field. I’m currently
working as a contractor at a financial institution. Also, my husband is our
Youth Pastor (in addition to his public job), so helping him in ministry
occupies some of my time.
Do you have images you can share
that come close to how you picture your characters? Do you like to find visual
inspiration for your characters before or during your writing process?
I like to let the reader come up with their own image in
their imaginations. But I do find pictures on the internet sometimes, to help
with describing a character. In my mind, Colleen bears a slight resemblance to
Paula Deen, which is referenced in the book. And Grace resembles Disney Channel
actress Jenna Ortega.
What are some songs that you listened to or inspired you
while writing your book?
I don’t really listen to music while
I write, unless you count the intro songs for the television shows my kids are
watching while I’m trying to write.
What message would you like
readers to ultimately take away from the book?
That God has a purpose and a plan
for your life, and He is faithful to reveal it when you seek Him.
What can we look forward to coming from you in the
future?
My second book titled
“Where I Was Planted” will be released later this year. I don’t have an exact
date yet. It’s set in the Great Smoky Mountains and is told from the
first-person perspective of a ten-year-old boy.
I’m still finding my
niche as a writer, but I expect most of what you see from me down the road will
continue to fall into the sub-genre of Southern Fiction.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Heather Norman Smith aims to entertain and encourage, while illuminating the redemptive love of God through her writing. Along with Christian Fiction, she writes devotions and children’s books. She also enjoys writing songs and singing about Jesus.
Heather is proud to be a life-long North Carolinian and hopes to present the beauty of the Tar Heel State in her writing. Her home is just outside Winston-Salem, NC, where she lives with one husband, two daughters, one son, two cats, and two dogs. Heather loves words and does not enjoy math, except when it comes to counting blessings.
CONNECT WITH HEATHER : Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will win a print copy of Grace & Lavender (US only)
(4) winners will receive an ebook copy of Grace & Lavender (open internationally)
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight March 4, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm March 11, 2019. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
