~ BLOG TOUR STOP ~
-- 'CLAIRE AT EDISTA'
and
'THE INTERLUDE' --
AUTHOR LIN STEPP
~Post Includes: Book Spotlights, Excerpt,
Author Bio, Unique Guest Post Shared by the
Author and Giveaway~
Welcome to the Blog & Review Tour, plus Giveaway, for two books by Lin Stepp - The Interlude and Claire at Edisto, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
With Spring Break upon us, author Lin Stepp wants to know: Where do you love to go on vacation - the mountains or the sea? Don't worry - she's got a book for you, no matter what you decide! Both books release on April 2, 2019, so pack your virtual bags and head to the destination of your choice. And the beauty of travel-by-novel is... you can easily visit both!
ABOUT THE BOOKS
Title: The Interlude
Series: Smoky Mountains #12
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
In this gentle, inspirational romance, Lin Stepp reveals the healing touch and deep peace the beauty of the Smoky Mountains can bring to a hurt and troubled heart.
Too much work, too much pressure, and too much heartache can lead even a strong young woman like Mallory Wingate to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Now her doctor and employer have insisted she take a space to heal and rest—so like it or not, she’s heading to her grandparents’ resort in the Smoky Mountains.
Hoping to sleep and rest on the flight home, Mallory is entertained instead by an unexpectedly charismatic stranger, making her forget many of her problems and even making her feel deliciously female again.
Series: Smoky Mountains #12
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
In this gentle, inspirational romance, Lin Stepp reveals the healing touch and deep peace the beauty of the Smoky Mountains can bring to a hurt and troubled heart.
Too much work, too much pressure, and too much heartache can lead even a strong young woman like Mallory Wingate to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Now her doctor and employer have insisted she take a space to heal and rest—so like it or not, she’s heading to her grandparents’ resort in the Smoky Mountains.
Hoping to sleep and rest on the flight home, Mallory is entertained instead by an unexpectedly charismatic stranger, making her forget many of her problems and even making her feel deliciously female again.
Lucas James, flying home from a pro golfing event, hadn’t expected to enjoy an interlude of flirting with a pretty stranger on the plane. A stranger he never expected to see again but who turns out to be the granddaughter of his boss at The Millhouse Resort. Worse, he quickly learns she’s passed through a recent history of emotional problems that remind him all too painfully of his past wife. The last thing Lucas wants is to get involved with anyone like Cecily again. Surely it won’t be too hard to keep his distance while Mallory is at the resort.
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Title: Claire at Edisto
Series: Edisto Trilogy #1
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Set against the alluring backdrop of coastal South Carolina, CLAIRE AT EDISTO takes the reader on a sweet and gentle journey showing that love and new beginnings can often bloom from the deepest sorrows.
Standing in grief and shock at the grave of her young husband, Claire Avery wonders what she and her young daughters will do now. They live in the church parsonage they need to vacate. She hasn’t worked since her marriage twelve years ago. Old issues and complications hinder relationships with her family. Struggling for answers, Claire accepts her brother-in-law’s offer to stay at his beach house at Edisto to give her a season to heal and think. But even the peace and beauty of the coastal island bring new problems along with unexpected joys as Claire seeks to find her way.
Parker Avery always promised his brother Charles he would look after Claire if anything happened to him. Charles stood by him three years ago when his wife Ann died and Parker is determined now to be a help to Claire and the girls. As time passes, instead of feeling like a hero, he feels like a heel instead as he realizes he’s developing feelings for his own brother’s widow. To make things worse, he watches with pain and jealousy as Miles Lawrence waltzes into Claire’s life. What can he expect though? It hardly seems right that Claire, even after a season of mourning, would ever fall in love with her own brother-in-law.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Series: Edisto Trilogy #1
Author: Lin Stepp
Publisher: Mountain Hill Press
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Set against the alluring backdrop of coastal South Carolina, CLAIRE AT EDISTO takes the reader on a sweet and gentle journey showing that love and new beginnings can often bloom from the deepest sorrows.
Standing in grief and shock at the grave of her young husband, Claire Avery wonders what she and her young daughters will do now. They live in the church parsonage they need to vacate. She hasn’t worked since her marriage twelve years ago. Old issues and complications hinder relationships with her family. Struggling for answers, Claire accepts her brother-in-law’s offer to stay at his beach house at Edisto to give her a season to heal and think. But even the peace and beauty of the coastal island bring new problems along with unexpected joys as Claire seeks to find her way.
Parker Avery always promised his brother Charles he would look after Claire if anything happened to him. Charles stood by him three years ago when his wife Ann died and Parker is determined now to be a help to Claire and the girls. As time passes, instead of feeling like a hero, he feels like a heel instead as he realizes he’s developing feelings for his own brother’s widow. To make things worse, he watches with pain and jealousy as Miles Lawrence waltzes into Claire’s life. What can he expect though? It hardly seems right that Claire, even after a season of mourning, would ever fall in love with her own brother-in-law.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
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EXCERPT FROM THE INTERLUDE:
Lucas James never expects to see the woman he inadvertently met on the airplane the day before, but at breakfast at his boss’s home the next morning, he gets a surprise:
“Lucas, have another biscuit and gravy,” Nonnie said, passing him the platter of biscuits across the big table in the kitchen’s eat- in area.
“Gosh, no, Nonnie. I’m already stuffed, but thanks.” He got up to get himself another cup of coffee.
“Ah, here’s my other favorite girl,” he heard Nonnie say behind him. “I didn’t even set a plate for you, sweetie, thinking you’d be worn out after your trip.”
“All the wonderful smells from your kitchen woke me,” Lucas heard a low throaty voice say.
Feeling an odd prickle, he turned around to see the girl from the airplane standing in the doorway, wearing a long, flirty pink skirt and a white camisole top, her feet bare and her dark honey-colored hair loose around her shoulders. Lucas felt sure his mouth dropped open, and he noticed her eyes pop wide.
Nonnie smiled at him, apparently not noticing his unease. “Lucas James, this is our granddaughter Mallory Wingate. She’s come up from Savannah, Georgia, to spend six to eight weeks with us.” Turning her eyes to the girl, she said, “Mallory, this is Lucas James, the golf pro and assistant manager of the resort. I’m sure you remember me writing when he came to work here.”
… Lucas cleared his throat, glancing toward Mallory. “I think we might have met on the plane last night,” he put in, deciding to smooth over this awkward moment.
…Away from the house, he let out a deep breath and then laughed out loud. Of all the coincidences in the world to happen, this had to be one of the most remarkable ones he’d hit yet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lin Stepp is a native Tennessean, businesswoman and educator. A New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon best-selling international author, Lin now has sixteen published books, including her twelve beloved Smoky Mountain novels set in different locations of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains, as well as a Smoky Mountain novella in one of Kensington’s Christmas anthologies. In addition, Lin’s first novel in a new Edisto Trilogy recently released, set on the South Carolina coast. Lin and her husband also write regional guidebooks, including a Smoky Mountain hiking guide and a Tennessee state parks book. Stepp’s latest 2019 releases are The Interlude, set in the Greenbrier and Pittman Center of the Great Smoky Mountains and Claire at Edisto set at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. Lin enjoys keeping up with her readers on Facebook, Twitter, and through her monthly blog on her website at: www.linstepp.com
GUEST POST: MY WRITING PROCESS -- A Guest Post Shared by Author Lin Stepp:
All my stories start with an idea or concept that starts floating around in my mind, gradually expanding, and then coming more and more to life. Book ideas pop into my mind at all sorts of random times—on the hiking trail, traveling and visiting in a new place, working in the backyard, or while reading the newspaper over morning coffee—but seldom when I am seeking them. To aspiring writers I advise—when an idea comes write it down. Put down any of those inspired ideas that flow into your mind and thought so you won’t forget them. I actually start a manila Book Folder anytime a new idea comes and then continue to add thoughts and pictures to it as my idea keeps developing.
After a new story idea fleshes out in my imagination and mind—I begin to work on developing characters and setting. Main characters come first, then secondary characters and setting, and as these evolve the storyline and plot begin to naturally develop, too. I research and plan every book I write extensively, usually spending about three months developing a book and then about three months writing it.
Creating a book to me is like being pregnant and birthing a baby. The idea grows larger and larger as I work and plan, the book coming more and more to life. Like many women plan a nursery, collect baby needs, and begin to ready for a baby, I find photos to represent my characters and places, visit locales and scenes that will be in my books, find and draw maps and house-plans. Toward the end of my planning stage, I begin to create an outline for the book that plots out the scenes, action, and conflicts that will occur.
After long months of planning, there is that moment at last when it finally feels like time to birth the story and begin to write. At that point, I create a visual storyboard collage of pictures of the main characters and places that will be in my book on a big bulletin board behind my computer in my home office. This becomes a visual inspiration point as I write, reminding me of how my characters, houses, special spots, and pets look and setting the scene for the story to come.
Once I settle in to write, I can usually write a chapter a day on the days when I write. Occasionally I stop and re-read all to see how the book thus far is flowing, to check word count, and to make changes on my outline if needed (always written in pencil for that reason). Over a three-month period, or less, I can usually finish writing a book. Then after it is finished, I return after a few weeks to edit. Because I work far ahead of my publishers, I also have time to lay a finished book aside for several months after that, as well, so I can come back to read it again for a final edit with “fresh eyes” before submission. At this time I read my book out loud, too, a wise way to catch mistakes I might miss seeing.
Although this is my writing process, it isn’t the way all writers work. All authors, like artists, develop their own unique style and methodology. However, I would advise hopeful writers—as I used to advise my college students—that good planning always produces better work. Poor planning or last minute rushing, allowing little time to think, organize, or edit, usually creates a product of poor quality. Training yourself to do things in a right method in all endeavors, writing included, usually saves time later in having to “unlearn” faulty habits developed and to correct mistakes that could have been avoided. A sweet quote from Christopher Robin says it well: “Organization is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it’s not all mixed up.” In more academic words Emerson wisely wrote: “A good system shortens the road to the goal.”
Writing—like all work in the arts—is learned mostly by “doing.” There are basic principles helpful to learn, but advancing in the art is done by sheer, diligent, ongoing practice and hard work. Each author, like artists in other areas, must follow the call and voice within to create what is uniquely their own. And they must discipline their time to accomplish it. Here is where most aspiring authors fall down. They want it to be easy. They don’t want to make sacrifices of time. They want constant praise and encouragement, and they want quick, instant reward. Henri Matisse once wrote: “Creativity takes courage.” It does and Rollo May wrote an entire book on the subject, the Courage to Create.
Writing comes from deep within … and the joy and satisfaction comes from deep within, too. Rachel Zadok said, “Don’t write for therapy, financial gain or glory. Write for the beauty of language and the joy of story. The first three things will disappoint you and rob you of the other two.” However, despite how hard the life of a full-time author is, there is nothing like the joy authors feel each time they hold a new published book in hand. For me all the work and effort has been worth it.
CONNECT WITH LIN: website | Facebook | Twitter
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will win:
- your choice of The Interlude OR Claire at Edisto (print, US only)
- $10 Amazon gift card
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Which do you like best - the mountains or the sea?
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Title: Glory Road
