~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~
-- 'LOVING GRACE' --
AUTHOR APRIL SMITH
~Post Includes: Book Spotlight, Author
Bio, Special Feature--Eight Behind-the-Scenes
Facts Shared by the Author
& Giveaway~
Welcome to the Loving Grace by April Smith blog & review tour plus giveaway, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Loving Grace
Author: April Smith
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: March 20, 2018
Genre: Christian Fiction, Young Adult Romance
Grace Summer lands herself in a melon load of trouble when she becomes torn between the boy of her dreams and the boy almost next door.
As the newly crowned Watermelon Queen, she is thrust into the spotlight, meets the dreamy Warren Hartley, and continues trying to get over an accident that rocked her world. Mix in working with Beau Baron who Grace happens to fight with just about as much as breathing and the metaphorical sparks fly.
Like most things in life, Grace must learn to take the good with the bad. While the good is the handsome and fun Warren Hartley, the bad is Beau Baron—or at least being around his annoying and rude self way more than she would like. For Beau, Grace is nothing more than aggravating and an irritating reminder from the night of the accident.
Tensions soar as Grace and Beau fight to love themselves and maybe, just maybe, each other.
PURCHASE A COPY: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | CBD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
April Smith grew up spending summers working on her best friend’s family watermelon farm and she was one of those watermelon queens she writes about. She has her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching.
CONNECT WITH APRIL: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
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--SPECIAL FEATURE--
1. How I Chose Characters Names: Grace was a very easy character to name as I’ve always liked the name Grace, and I love what the name means. Grace (the character) has the ability to be polished, elegant and refined when necessary which pretty much is the definition of graceful. For Beau, it was a subtle hint of what was to come. His name means handsome, and it’s what my grandma used to call my grandpa before they got married.
2. The Watermelon Drop: In the book it’s done during a watermelon festival, but in all actuality it’s a real thing. Only, it’s done to ring in the New Year in a small town in Indiana. I thought that was an interesting and definitely different thing to do with a watermelon and a fun tradition, so I created my own watermelon drop for the festival.
3. Watermelon Salsa: One of my all-time favorite summer treats is watermelon salsa.
Seriously, I could eat the entire batch in one setting. The recipe I use comes from my time as a watermelon queen. It was one of the first things I was taught how to make when learning about all the yummy recipes there are for watermelon, so I had to include it in the story!
4. How I Picked the Setting: The setting comes from my time working on my best friend’s family watermelon farm. I did all kinds of jobs there like turning vines (which is basically going down every row in an entire field with a crew and using sticks to put the vines back in a row, so the tractor could get through and the vines could continue to grow) to picking the melons and loading them in the bins. While it was hard work, it holds a lot of fun summer memories, so I wanted Grace’s story to take place in the world of watermelons.
5. The New Orleans Promotion: When I was the watermelon queen, I actually attended a rather large promotion in New Orleans which was the starting point for Grace’s trip. I enjoyed my time there and wanted Grace to have some fun in New Orleans too.
6. Writing Timeframe: Start to finish it took about four months to write the first draft, but that doesn’t include the editing process. :)
2. The Watermelon Drop: In the book it’s done during a watermelon festival, but in all actuality it’s a real thing. Only, it’s done to ring in the New Year in a small town in Indiana. I thought that was an interesting and definitely different thing to do with a watermelon and a fun tradition, so I created my own watermelon drop for the festival.
3. Watermelon Salsa: One of my all-time favorite summer treats is watermelon salsa.
Seriously, I could eat the entire batch in one setting. The recipe I use comes from my time as a watermelon queen. It was one of the first things I was taught how to make when learning about all the yummy recipes there are for watermelon, so I had to include it in the story!
4. How I Picked the Setting: The setting comes from my time working on my best friend’s family watermelon farm. I did all kinds of jobs there like turning vines (which is basically going down every row in an entire field with a crew and using sticks to put the vines back in a row, so the tractor could get through and the vines could continue to grow) to picking the melons and loading them in the bins. While it was hard work, it holds a lot of fun summer memories, so I wanted Grace’s story to take place in the world of watermelons.
5. The New Orleans Promotion: When I was the watermelon queen, I actually attended a rather large promotion in New Orleans which was the starting point for Grace’s trip. I enjoyed my time there and wanted Grace to have some fun in New Orleans too.
6. Writing Timeframe: Start to finish it took about four months to write the first draft, but that doesn’t include the editing process. :)
7. How I Chose the Title: I loved the play on words with the title. Grace is learning to love herself throughout the book, hence, she’s loving Grace. And then, it can also be looked at it from the viewpoint of having God’s loving grace which Grace experiences in the book as well. And, many other characters are loving Grace throughout the book too.
8. Watermelon in the Field: Grace and Beau share a watermelon in the fields, and she references the heart of the watermelon. It’s true that the sweetest part of the watermelon generally comes from the center of the melon. One of my favorite things to do after a day’s work in the field was crack open a melon and eat it in the wagon while waiting to be picked up for the day.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) JustRead Summer Fun Book Box, which features Loving Grace as well as at least 4 quality items which complement the story. Find out more here.
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 16, 2018 and last through 11:59pm July 23, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week 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.
Check out the tour landing page at JustRead for the full schedule!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
-- Friday, July 20th: Friday Fiction Feature is a Blog Tour Stop for a middle-grade novel, 'Sophie Washington: Mission Costa Rica'. Post includes a book spotlight, author bio, excerpt, ten behind-the-scenes facts shared by the author, and a giveaway. Tour organized by Singing Librarian Books.
-- Saturday, July 21st: Book Blitz for Award-Winning Author Robin Caroll's newest suspense release, 'Backwater Secrets'. Post includes book spotlight, excerpt, and a giveaway. Tour organized by JustRead Publicity.
-- Monday, July 23rd: Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday feature on a new contemporary fiction release by K.A. Holt, 'From You to Me'. Post includes book spotlight and a review.
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what a fun behind the scenes look! Thanks, June & April!
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