Chirstmas Comes Early Blog Tour

 
Christmas time is here! Okay, so not quite yet. It's still over a month away, but that doesn't mean we can't start celebrating early, right? So today, we're celebrating the release of not one, not four, but eight new Christmas books! All written by Rebekah A. Morris. I'll be spotlighting two of her books today and you can find out more about the others as you follow the tour.

About the Books

First Christmas in America

Klara Ivanski arrives from the Old Country with her Papa, Mama and ten brothers and sisters. “All vill be vell,” Papa assures them, but Mama and several of her brothers and sisters must remain at their aunt and uncle’s because of sickness. With barely enough money for food, Klara is quick to assure her papa that they only need Mama and the other to make Christmas special. But will the family be together for their first Christmas in America?

Home for Christmas

Feeling that life is unfair when her father is killed in the front lines of France and she has to live with her relatives on a western farm, twelve-year-old Susanna Stanson runs away to the city. She decides that all will be well when she reaches her old home, but a severe snowstorm interrupts her trip.

About the Author

Rebekah A. Morris is a homeschool graduate, an enthusiastic freelance author and a passionate writing teacher. Her books include, among others, Home Fires of the Great War, The Unexpected Request, Gift from the Storm, and her bestselling Triple Creek Ranch series. Some of her favorite pastimes, when she isn't’ writing, include reading and coming up with dramatic and original things to do. The Show-Me state is where she calls home.

Excerpts

“Do you think Mama and the others will be here by Christmas?” Klara looked up. The low flames of the firelight flickered on Papa’s face. ~ First Christmas in America

“Well, that ain’t my concern, though I say it’s a shame to send a young girl like you off with no bag an’ baggage. An’ right before Christmas too.” ~ Home for Christmas

Tour Schedule

November 13

Bookish Orchestrations – Introductory Post

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Kaylee's Kind of Writes – Book Spotlight

Resting Life – Review and Excerpt

Perry Elisabeth – Excerpt

Rachel Rossano's Words – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 14

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Odelia's Blog – Author Interview and Book spotlight

Bryce’s Creative Writing Corner – Author Interview, Review, and Excerpt

Counting Your Blessings One by One – Review and Excerpt

Perpetual Indie Perspective – Book Spotlight

November 15

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Whimsical Writings for His Glory – Author, Review, and Excerpt

Maidens for Modesty – Author Interview and Review

The Destiny of One – Book Spotlight

Rebekah Ashleigh – Book Spotlight

Once Upon an Ordinary – Review

Stephany's BLOG Snippets – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 16

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Laurel's Leaves – Author Interview

Stories by Firefly – Review

Claire Banschbach – Author Interview

Kelsey's Notebook – Review and Excerpt

Jaye L. Knight – Book Spotlight and Excerpt

November 17

Read Another Page – Book Spotlight from the author

Ruffles and Grace – Book Spotlight

With a Joyful Noise – Book Spotlight

Ordinary Girl Extraordinary Father – Review  

Bookish Orchestrations – Closing Post

Infinity Dreams Award

I was tagged by Morgan Huneke for the Infinity Dreams Award. I’ve been bad about doing blog tags. They always slip my mind, but I figured I’d sit down and do this one right away. Thanks, Morgan!

Tell us eleven facts about yourself.

1. I’m the oldest in my family and have two younger brothers, hence my love for writing brother/sister relationships.

2. Despite my author photos, I actually have curly hair. I used to straighten it all the time. Now I just straighten my bangs and pull it back.

3. I have unsuccessfully attempted to learn how to play the piano, guitar, and violin. Music is just not one of my skills.

4. I’ve more or less recently discovered a love for zombie/zombie-like films/TV such as I Am Legend, World War Z, and The Walking Dead. I don’t like zombies, but I LOVE the post-apocolyptic worlds and all the scavenging and survival aspects. Plus such stories are rife with opportunities for character developement and transformation. As a writer, I eat that right up. (No pun intended.)

5. I have a fascination with film prosthetics and makeup, which I believe started when I was really little when my uncle used to make monster masks. TV gore doesn’t really bother me because I’m always thinking things like, I wonder what it took to make that wound look real like that, or I wonder what ingredients that blood is made of. If I wasn’t a writer, I think I’d enjoy being a movie or TV show makeup artist.

6. I’m totally squeamish with real life gore. Just ask my brother (who is a nurse) when he tries to show me one of his medical textbooks. Nope. Not happening.

7. Once, when I was in my teens, my brothers, cousins, and I stayed up until all hours filming a short movie called The Minnesota Chainsaw Massacre. It involved a real running chainsaw, with the blade removed, of course. I was one of the victims.

8. I would really like to dye my hair dark brown/almost black with aqua blue highlights, but I have enough hair issues without potentially damaging it with hair dye.

9. I got to see President George W. Bush in person. My family and I went to a rally during the 2004 election and were standing only about 20 feet from where he was speaking. It was really cool.

10. I have lived in the same house since I was born.

11. Apparently I can hear really well. I have a tendancy to overhear conversations and suddenly join in or answer a question from a completely different room. I think it sometimes freaks out my family.

Answer the eleven questions.

What is your favorite thing to blog about?

Probably anything that involves fangirling. :) Either that or the release of one of my books. It’s always super fun to get to that point.


Who is your favorite fictional character?

Just one?! Aragorn. Yeah, he’ll always be at the top of my list.


What is your biggest pet peeve?

When people are judgmental. I’ve experienced more than enough of that.


If you could visit one place on earth, and only one, where would you choose?

Again, just one? *sigh* It’d be really hard to choose between a castle in England or somewhere tropical.


What's one movie coming out in 2016 you want to watch?

Captain America: Civil War. I can hardly wait! It’s going to awful and awesome at the same time.


Would you rather time travel to the past or the future? Why?

Probably the past. I have a lot of historical figures I would like to meet and some gorgeous dresses I’d like to wear.


What is your least favorite holiday?

Halloween, I guess. We don’t celebrate it, so I really don’t even think about it that much.


What do you want to be when you "grow up"?

Ha, well, being nearly thirty, I’d say I’m pretty much grown up (that doesn’t mean I always have to like it or act like it ;). But I decided when I was 15/16 that I wanted to be a published author, and I’ve accomplished that. I still want to be a wife, so we’ll see how that goes.


If someone offered you a million dollar inheritance if you would drive twenty bucks (as in deer) across Alaska, would you do it? (I know it sounds weird, stems from a game of Balderdash.)

Can I bring help along? Like, say, a group of my favorite characters? If I could bring Aragorn, Leith (The Blades of Acktar), Kien (Books of the Infinite), Kaladin (The Stormlight Archive), and Will, Halt, Horace, and Gilan from Ranger’s Apprentice, then sure! ;) The only problem is, I’d fall hopelessly in love with Leith, Kien, and Kaladin, and that wouldn’t do. Although . . . Kaladin is single at the moment . . . (Look at me, going on a typical fangirl bunny trail.)


What genre of books do you like best to read?

Fantasy for sure, though I enjoy a good historical romance as well.


Do you prefer movies or TV shows?

That’s a tough one. I think I enjoy them both equally. I have a lot of favorite movies and shows, so I don’t think I could pick between them.

Guidelines:

• Use the Infinity Dreams Award picture
• Thank the blogger who tagged you
• Tell us 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions
• Tag 11 bloggers

Tagged: Anyone who wants to join in! Yeah, I’m bad at tagging people since most people in my blogging circles are already tagged by the time I do these. But this way, no one gets left out! ;) And you can answer Morgan’s questions since I’m not feeling particularly creative at the moment. :P

7/7/7 Writing Challenge

I was nominated by Tricia Mingerink to participate in the 7/7/7 Writing Challenge. I may have been nominated by someone else once in the past as well, but it has escaped my memory. :P But, I’m finally getting around to doing it.

These are the rules:

• Go to page 7 of your WIP
• Scroll down to line 7
• Share the next 7 sentences in a blog post.
• After the excerpt, tag 7 other writers to continue the challenge.

Like Tricia, I am currently writing one book and editing another, so they’re both sort of WIPs. Following Tricia’s example, I shall share an excerpt from Samara’s Peril (which I’m editing) and one from Ilyon – Book 5 (which I’m writing).

Samara’s Peril:

Jace could not bear to look at Kyrin, unable to face what thoughts might be evident in her eyes. Yet, now that he’d come this far, he had to finish his story.

“After I killed him, I was punished and thrown into confinement. I was there for a day or two . . . I’m not sure, but when they pulled me out I was sold to the man who made me a gladiator. I faced thirty-eight opponents.” He clenched his teeth. “Thirty-eight . . . and nineteen times it was to the death.”

Book 5:

But as anxious as he was to get to the cabin and start working, first he had to attend the meeting. The lack of food did deeply concern him. If they had a smaller group, it wouldn’t be as serious, but between everyone here and the other two camps that were even bigger, they had close to four hundred mouths to feed, plus the dragons. To gather that much food when game was so scarce was becoming an ever-greater challenge.

Along with the others from his cabin, he walked toward the meeting hall. A good fire burned in the fireplace when they stepped in, dispelling the chill outside.

So there you go. Little sneak peeks at future Ilyon books. ;)

As for tagging, I’m really behind on who’s done what on their blogs, so most bloggers I follow have probably already been tagged. Instead, if you haven’t been tagged and would like to share, consider yourself tagged. ;)

Favorite Screen Characters Tag

I was tagged by Shantelle for the Favorite Screen Characters Tag. Normally I’m really bad at getting around to doing blog posts that involve being tagged, however, gushing over favorite characters is way too much fun to pass up. So, here are my top 10 favorite movie/TV characters (in no particular order except for the first one). And, trust me, narrowing it down to ten was hard. I do so adore characters.

Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings)

He’s Aragorn. ‘Nuff said. ;) But seriously, Aragorn has been my top favorite fictional character since I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring. He’s everything I love in a great hero.

Robin Hood (BBC’s Robin Hood)

I’ve seen a couple different Robin Hoods now, but Jonas Armstrong will always be the Robin Hood to me. He’s adorable, brave, sacrificial, and wonderfully mischievous.

Marian (BBC’s Robin Hood)

I wasn’t sure if any female characters would make it into the list when I first started thinking about. I find it very, very difficult to find female characters I really love. Then I remembered that Marian is definitely one of them. It helps that she and Robin are just so cute together. I don’t know exactly why I love her so much, but yeah, she’s a favorite. ;)

Killian Jones/Captain Hook (Once Upon a Time)

So, like Robin, Killian is just adorable. (I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that they’re both actually Irish . . . oh, but I swear, I’m not basing this all on looks! XD ) But, besides that, his storyline has been probably my favorite part about Once Upon a Time. I mean, who would have thought Captain Hook would turn out to be a good guy? I just love the twist on his story and watching him turn from selfish pirate to hero.

Connor Kenway (Assassin’s Creed III)

Okay, so Connor is not a movie or TV character, but since he’s from a video game, I think “screen character” applies. ;) I adore Connor’s character and totally agree with that last graphic. Maybe I just get brooding characters (Jace, anyone?) more than some other people. I love how fierce Connor can be, but he’s very kind. He’s also determined to do what’s right, even if it’s not popular.

Toby (Scorpion)

How could anyone not love Toby? He’s hilarious, sweet, clever, can be a total child one minute, and then do something heroic the next. I totally wish he was my best friend or older brother or something.

Raymond “Red” Reddington (The Black List)

So Red wouldn’t exactly fit in the “hero” category, but I find his character so incredibly fascinating that he quickly found a high up spot on my favorite characters list. As a writer, I would die to be able to write some of the insanely clever, hilarious, and brilliant lines that come out of his mouth.

Flynn Rider (Tangled)

My list just wouldn’t feel complete without Flynn in it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rapunzel too, but Flynn is . . . well, Flynn. I don’t think I need to say more. ;)

Hawkeye/Clint Barton (The Avengers)

Age of Ultron. Need I say more? How can you not adore Hawkeye after that movie? I always loved him, but yeah, that movie…

Bilbo (The Hobbit)

Dear Bilbo. Again, I don’t think words are quite necessary at this point.

So there you have it. My top 10 favorite fiction screen characters. There are a few who could be switched with other characters, but I had to eventually settle.

Now for the bloggers I tag:

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke
Faith Blum
Kendra E. Ardnek
Tricia Mingerink
Alea Harper
Sarah Holman
Melody Jackson
Tialla Rising
Claire M. Banschbach
Athelas

If you’ve already been tagged or want to skip this tag, just ignore me. ;) Otherwise, you can write up your post and tag ten more bloggers (or however many you can). Share your link in the comments if you do it! I’d love to see your picks. And for anyone who isn’t tagged, consider yourself tagged! It’s quite fun. :D

Or, if you don’t have a blog, which of my ten favorites do you love?