~ FRIDAY FICTION FEATURE ~
-- 'THE THORNKEEPER' --
AUTHOR PEPPER D. BASHAM
~Post Includes: Book Spotlight, Excerpt,
Unique Guest Post by the Author,
Author Bio & Giveaway~
Author Bio & Giveaway~
Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for The Thorn Keeper by Pepper D. Basham, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: The Thorn KeeperSeries: Penned in Time #2
Author: Pepper D. Basham
Publisher: Vinspire Publishing
Release Date: February 28, 2016
Genre: Historical Romance
With her past in shambles, how can she fashion a future of hope?
Catherine Dougall’s past of manipulation has left her future in threads. With a new faith, she longs to take the remnants of her life and make something beautiful, but shame, societies’ judgments, and the natural consequences of an unplanned pregnancy test her newfound hope.
Dr. David Ross doesn’t help either. His kindness, sacrifice, and tenderness tempt her to impossible dreams. A fallen woman doesn’t merit a fairytale. David Ross has made every effort to keep his life above reproach. His passion for the sick pump fresh purpose through his choices, but without financial support to maintain his war hospital, all is lost. When his notorious aunt offers an easy solution, David is tempted to give in to her demands, but his growing affection for the reformed flirt, Catherine Dougall, unwinds the careful wall around his heart and offers an unexpected choice.
When the worst of war tears them apart, can love renew the memory of what was lost or will tragedy steal away their hope forever?
From the beautiful Derbyshire countryside to the trenches of World War One, Catherine and David must learn to trust in a God who designs a masterpiece out of brokenness and fashions hope in the most unlikely places.
PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
EXCERPT:
Music rose from a room to his right, another massive room opened to his left, and a grand stairway ascended in the center, curving up into the recesses of the house. A figure on the stairs brought his breathing to a full stop.
Catherine.
His Catherine.
He’d always known she was beautiful, even from the first moment they met on the streets of Ednesbury, but never had he imagined something as breathtaking as her in ravishing red. He finally understood why every social circle within Ednesbury’s vicinity spoke of Catherine Dougal’s infallible beauty. Why men waited in lines to enjoy her company. Why a man would hover on the brink of impropriety to gain her favor. And this vision of beauty was smiling at him – the bookish, introverted, nearly penniless surgeon. The word ‘captivated’ took on new meaning.
She bypassed the crowd congregating outside the ballroom and made her way to his side, bringing her lavender scent and lovely glow with her. Her lips were tinted a darker shade, like a forbidden fruit. He placed his palm to his chest and took in every detail. Overwhelmed.
“You look quite fetching in your tails, Dr. Ross.” Her gaze of approval kindled a deeper smolder in his chest. “A definite improvement from your surgeon’s coat.”
“Catherine.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips, never taking his eyes from hers. “If I’ve been hesitant to respond, it’s only because I fail to find words accurate enough to describe how beautiful you are.”
PENNED IN TIME SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pepper loves getting to know readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You may also learn more about her on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com
CONNECT WITH PEPPER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Character Spotlight on Catherine Dougall:
~Catherine Dougall surprised me.
Actually, God surprised me through Catherine Dougall, but that’s a
story for another post 😊 I think you can read
about it over on Just Your Average Reviews.
If you’ve read The Thorn Bearer, you know that Catherine is not a nice
person. She’s selfish and vengeful and determined to “make” her own success at
any cost. Her perspective is a faulty one, which was a good reminder to me that
sometimes people’s actions are based out of long-standing, unhealed wounds that
have turned into a weapon or excuse. We see that in Catherine, but…we also see
much more. Potential.
I’m SO glad God sees potential in me when I don’t see it in myself.
~Who is Catherine?
Catherine is the oldest child of three in the Dougall family. Because
of a childhood event, she nursed a wound which pushed her into striving for
attention, seeking identity from others’ views of her, and doing whatever she
could to be “successful” in her own definition – which eventually means “rich
husband”. She and her sister, Ashleigh, do not have a healthy relationship,
and, in fact, despite trying to hide it, Catherine is jealous of Ashleigh.
Instead of staying in the U.S. with their grandmother, Ashleigh, and Catherine’s
fiancé, Sam, Catherine moves with her mother back to England after her father’s
death and has been living beyond her means in the small town of Ednesbury with
the hopes of gaining the attention of that aforementioned rich husband.
Unfortunately, desperation and naivete are not good companions for our dear
Catherine.
~What do I love about Catherine?
Oh my goodness! I LOVE Catherine! I didn’t like her at all in The Thorn
Bearer and (as you’ll learn about in a post on Just Your
Average Reviews), she became a surprise-heroine for book two – but once that
shift happened, she became my favorite heroine from this series (and I love
them all…but Catherine most of all).
Why? Because, even though grace changes her perspective, she maintains
the same strengths of character she’d once used for selfish means…now turned
for good. She’s feisty, determined, witty, and unswervingly devoted to the ones
she loves. And when she sees a way to make a difference, social status or “acceptance”
won’t deter her from choosing what is right. She may have started in a very bad
situation, especially for the historical time period she’s in, but what I love
best, is how her brokenness ends up being one of her greatest strengths. She
becomes a champion for the broken. She’s still feisty and stubborn, but the
Gospel has infiltrated her life in such a way that her heart is turned toward
others, toward championing for those broken people, and she doesn’t feel worthy
of the love David offers. (but David doesn’t take no for an answer…see a
perfectly lovely closet kissing scene for elaboration on that fact).
And when things do look as though they’ve fallen apart, I love how she
rises above her heartbreak because of the selflessness and love that have transformed
her.
~Where do we read about Catherine?
Catherine is in all three Penned in Time books and we get to follow her
from rebel to new Christian to thriving and beloved wife (and even mentor). I
love her character arc, but the “heart” of her story is in The Thorn Keeper.
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive all three Penned in Time novels in print or ebook format plus a stained glass dragonfly!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight April 14, 2020, and last through 11:59 PM EST on April 21, 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!
*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
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What an amazing Post Thank you for sharing about these wonderful books!
ReplyDeleteI love Catherine! Thank you for sharing! - JustRead Tours (Rachel)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great series. Adding to my TBR list.
ReplyDelete