Scavenger Hunt Stop #4

Follow the clues to win a Kindle Fire, free books, and a box of Southern Treats!

Welcome to our Fall 2012 Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! The fun begins Thursday, Oct 25 at 12 noon MT and ends Sunday, Oct 28 at 12 midnight MT.

Take your time visiting 31 different author websites this weekend, getting to know new and familiar Christian novelists, reading about their exciting new releases for Fall 2012, and collecting one clue in red at each stop, beginning at Stop #1. 

When you end at Stop #32, fill out the Rafflecopter form and keep those clues handy. A winner will be randomly drawn and contacted via email on Monday, October 29. No need to submit your completed clue quote, unless you receive that exciting email on Monday. If that happens, be ready to provide the completed clue quote, gathered from all 31 stops, within 24 hours of email notification or another winner (sniff!) will be randomly drawn. Here's hoping you win!

• Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire ($199 value), plus 31 novels (that’s a big box of books!)

• 2nd and 3rd Prizes: $50 Amazon, B&N, CBD or BookDepository.com gift certificate

Good news! This contest is open to international entrants. If our winner lives outside the United States, he/she will win an equivalent prize in gift certificate funds.

Enough already with the details! As part of this scavenger hunt, I'm hosting Tracy Higley. And honey, does she have a great exclusive to share with you!

Tracy L. Higley

Tracy L. Higley started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. She has authored nine novels, including Pompeii: City on Fire and Garden of Madness. Tracy is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Ancient History and has traveled the globe, researching her novels and falling into adventures. See her travel journals and more at www.TracyHigley.com or catch up with her on Facebook.

ISLE OF SHADOWS

Enslaved in a world of money and power, Tessa dares to be free.

Raised as courtesan to wealthy and powerful men, Tessa of Delos serves at the whim of her current patron, the politician Glaucas. After ten years with him, Tessa has abandoned all desire for freedom or love, choosing instead to lock her heart away. But when Glaucus meets a violent death in his own home, Tessa grasps at a fragile hope. Only she knows of his death. If she can keep it a secret for long enough, she can escape.

And here’s your Fall Scavenger Hunt Exclusive from Tracy…

When I started writing historical fiction set in ancient times and exotic places around the world, I had no idea that I’d be able to embark on so many adventures around the globe to research my books and see amazing sights. My research has taken me to Egypt, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Jordan, and this past month I revisited many of those beautiful places via a cruise around the eastern Mediterranean.

The trip was partly research and partly an anniversary trip with my husband, and he gamely let me drag him through Rome, Sicily, Athens, Pompeii, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, and Ephesus, not to mention all the photos and he videos he took for me!

But one particular day was extra-special…

My upcoming novel, Isle of Shadows, is set on the Greek island of Rhodes. But as the cover design was coming together, with a beautiful photo of Greece in the background and a model the publisher hired superimposed over the photo, I had a suspicion that the original photo had been taken somewhere on the island of Santorini. And so the hunt began!

From our cruise ship, docked in the middle of Santorini’s caldera (the huge sea-water filled crater that resulted from a volcanic eruption over 3500 years ago), we took a small boat to the shoreline of the island. A cable car took us to the clifftop city of Fira, and my husband and I quickly made our way through the picturesque streets to an ATV-rental store. A few minutes later we were speeding up the rocky coastline, toward the city of Oia on the northern tip of the island. Gorgeous views along the way, but absolutely stunning sights to come when we reached Oia. (Google “Oia, Santorini” and click on Images to see what I mean!)

We wandered up and down streets, winding around whitewashed buildings, blue domes gleaming in the island sun, all the while comparing the vista to the cover of Isle of Shadows.

And then suddenly, there it was! 

It took a little positioning to get the angle just right, and some patience while a guy who looked like he had nowhere to go hung around in the picture, smoking his cigarette.  But finally we were able to take some perfect photos. If you look at the background behind me, then at the cover of the book, you’ll see what I mean!

And then, as if the discovery wasn’t perfect enough…  A nearby church started playing some music, and couples began dancing in the courtyard.  I took a 30-second video to capture the moment.

I hope my special memory has given you a taste of this wonderful island! With every story I write, it’s my passion to transport readers to wonderful places.

I hope you’ll come visit me on my website, www.TracyHigley.com, where you can read more about Isle of Shadows and see more photos and travel journals!

~Tracy

The Fall Scavenger Hunt Basics:

Before you go, write down this STOP #4 Clue: teaches

Your next stop is Stop #5: Tracy Higley's blog 

And now, a Bonus Prize from (Bless) My Southern Heart!

I've loaded a box full of yummy Southern treats from the Belle Meade Plantation, the setting of To Whisper Her Name. Everything from pecan honey to a Belle Meade Pony Pattie, to Tennessee Taffy, a copy of To Whisper Her Name and A Lasting Impression, and more! To be eligible to win this special bonus prize you need to leave a comment on this blog (telling me why you love historical fiction).

Then, you can get extra chances to win (one each) by:

1) Signing up to receive my email updates, if you don't receive them already (Sign up box located on the right sidebar under "Join Tamera's Mailing List")

2) LIKING my Facebook Page, if you don't already (LOVE connecting with you over there too)

3) And if you’re on Twitter, please tweet either (or both) of the following: 

#ToWhisperHerName Real history, real people, real historical romance at Belle Meade Plantation http://ow.ly/eEuj7 @TameraAlexander

OR

FROM A DISTANCE, the 2009 Christy Award winner, FREE on Kindle, Nook, iBook: ow.ly/ejpdw

I'll draw a winner for the "Bless My Southern Heart" prize at random at 12 midnight MT on Sunday, October 28 from the comments on this blog, combined with the additional chances for those who LIKED my Facebook Page, signed up for email updates, and tweeted) beginning Thursday, October 25 at 12 noon MT at the start of the Scavenger Hunt. NOTE: Due to mailing costs, only USA addresses are eligible to win in this bonus drawing.

Many thanks, friends! Now scavenge away!  And be Sociable, Share!

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CONGRATULATIONS TO KATHY WHO IS THE WINNER OF THE BLESS MY SOUTHERN HEART TREATS!

Kathy, thanks for sharing this:

Kathy said...

I love historical fiction because of all I learn that either I don't remember from history class or they didn't teach. I so enjoy learning how people lived. Life was so different than what we know now.

Thank you for the opportunity to win your gift basket too.

Kathy, if you'll send me your snail mail address, I'll get your gift to you!

Thanks, everyone, for taking part. We'll do this again soon.



Update on the GRAND PRIZE WINNER, and congrats to all:

The GRAND PRIZE went to: Jennifer Friedley
The $50 gift certificates went to: Laura McEwen and Gretchen Michels Garrison