Thursday, October 26, 2017

October Blog Tour—Character Interview & Excerpt + Giveaway!

Yesterday we began a countdown. To what? The release of J. Grace Pennington's new book, October. Yep, she named her book after the month we are in. Check out the great giveaway, and the other posts in this countdown!

About the Book


For Emily Baxter, life is simple. Her world is made up completely of school, church, and the community in the small farming town she calls home. All that changes one fateful Sunday, when a new girl shows up at Pleasanton Baptist—a girl unlike anyone Emily has ever seen. A girl with long red hair, crystal green eyes, and style and posture like royalty.

A girl named October.

The months that follow are filled with magic—the magic of ordinary things, of finding pictures in the stars, of imagination and a new sense of beauty. But as time goes by, Emily begins to sense that her enchanting new friend may have secrets that could break the spell. Is October really all she seems to be?


About the Author


J. Grace Pennington has been telling stories since she could talk and writing them down since age five.  Now she lives in the great state of Texas, where she writes as much as adult life permits.  When she's not writing she enjoys reading good books, having adventures with her husband, and looking up at the stars.


Giveaway

Grace has generously offered a paperback book of her new book as her giveaway prize. You can enter at this link or the widget below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Character Spotlight: Jackson “Jax” Miller

Jax is the third of the main characters of October.  He is Emily's cousin, neighbor, and closest friend.  Essentially he's like a brother to her, though he claims he's glad he's not really her brother because she talks too much.  She doubts that he really means this.

So who is Jax, exactly?

His name is Jackson, but everyone has always called him Jax.  He is currently seventeen and six feet, three inches.  He's quiet and good-natured, protective and soft-hearted.  He has a dry sense of humor and doesn't like to let his hair grow more than about an eighth of an inch.

He loves reading and gets good grades.  He especially loves history because he sees it as having so much to say to anyone who cares to listen.  He helps run his parents' small farm, but doesn't want to be a farmer himself.  He's not yet sure what he wants to do.

He becomes very close with October, and the three share many delightful, everyday adventures together.  She draws him out more than anyone ever has—helping him discover new talents and become a nobler version of himself.  But as Emily begins to sense hidden depths in October, how will this affect his relationship with them both?

Excerpt

The sanctuary was empty the third Friday that we walked into it. After our first time, October had insisted that we arrive early, a preference that she freely admitted was because arriving before everyone else helped her not be so overwhelmed by too many people at once.

The late afternoon sun shone through the stained glass windows on the west wall, and the only sound was the hum of the air conditioning.

Halfway down the center aisle, she stopped. I watched the dust particles floating in the multi-colored light as she turned to look at each window in turn.

Jesus with the children. Jesus turning water into wine. Jesus at the last supper. Jesus walking on the water.

She turned at last to the one of Him carrying the lost lamb, and there she stopped for a long while. I looked at the glass for a moment, eyes again drawn to the misplaced red piece in His robe, then I turned to look at her face.

It wasn't very expressive. The only spark that I could see was in her eyes, which sparkled in the rainbows. Her eyebrows drew down over her eyes slightly.

“That's my favorite,” I told her.

She took one step forward, stopped, then took two more steps, eyes fixated on the window as though she were mesmerized. “I think perhaps it's mine, too.”

She kept focusing on it, her gaze sweeping every bit of glass. I started to ramble.

“I think it's just the look on His face... and how He has His arms around it, sort of... gently, and strong. I like the way it looks... nurturing. It looks caring, don't you think so?”

She kept looking at it for a moment, then she spoke slowly. “I think... I like it because I know the story it represents. The lost sheep. And how out of a hundred sheep, ninety-nine of them good and perfectly well-behaved, he went after the one who left. The disobedient one. He was willing to leave everything good and right and go after... things that most people would say weren't worth it.”


October 25, 2017
Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory post
God's Peculiar Treasure Rae – Character Spotlight
Letters from Annie Douglass Lima – Character Spotlight
Lisa Swinton - Queen of Random – Book Spotlight
Audrey Rich – Book Spotlight

October 26, 2017
Frances Hoelsema – Excerpt
Jaye L. Knight – Character Spotlight and Excerpt

October 27, 2017
Liv K. Fisher – Author Interview and Excerpt
Opinions, Thoughts, and General Rambling – Character Spotlight and Excerpt
Leila's Bookshelf – Book Spotlight
Britbear's Book Reviews – Guest Post

October 28, 2017
Rebekah Lyn Books – Excerpt
In the Bookcase – Review
Roxbury Books – Character Spotlight and Excerpt
J. Grace Pennington – Special author’s post

October 29, 2017
Bookish Orchestrations – Giveaway Winner