Love's Miracles Blog Tour & Interview + 2 Giveaways!!

Welcome to the Love's Miracles blog tour hosted by Seasons of Humility! I have the very great pleasure of author Sandra Leesmith dropping by today to answer some questions.

Sandra, welcome to Flowers of Quiet Happiness! So glad you could stop by today. What inspired you to write Love's Miracles?

Sandra:  Thank you, Kara. You have a lovely blog site and I’m delighted to join you today. Love’s Miracles was definitely a book of my heart. My brother served in Vietnam in the Air Force and it just broke my heart how the Vets were treated when they came home. We all hated war, but the men and women who served went to war believing they were making a sacrifice for their country. And they were. But when they returned home, they were spat upon, ridiculed and worse. I wanted to honor that sacrifice. The research of this story brought to life the horror those Vets faced and I wanted the world to know the terrible price they paid.

Your character, Zane, is a Vietnam veteran. Was it difficult to write such a character who's dealing with so much pain and turmoil due to his experiences? Did you draw on personal experiences for the character or research or both?

Sandra:  Zane is a fictional character and fortunately I did not personally know anyone who experienced what Zane experienced. I was blessed to hook up with a psychiatrist who worked at the Veteran’s Hospital and she gave me more information than I would ever want to know. It always amazes me how I meet the people I need to know when I’m researching for a book. I also interviewed several Marines who helped with the accuracy of the war scenes.

If you could pick a song that would describe the mood of your story, what would it be and why?

Sandra:  There is a song in the story, Forever Friends, that plays a key role in the story. I wrote the poem that are the lyrics so the song is not real, but I always pictured Bob Dylan singing it.

What were your favorite books as a child and have they influenced your writing in any way?

Sandra:  As a child, I bypassed Nancy Drew and went straight for my mother’s books.  So I read romance from as far back as I can remember. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier stick in my mind.

Name five things you can't live without.

Sandra:  Five things I can’t live without would be my Bible, my family, my motorhome, my pickleball paddle and my reading glasses.   (I’m assuming you aren’t talking about the basics like air, food, water. LOL)

Pickleball?! I've never heard of that before. The name alone intrigues me! :D

Tea or coffee?

Sandra:  Coffee for sure and I absolutely adore Chocolate Velvet. Black.

I'm a tea person myself, but chocolate velvet sounds delicious.

Where's your favorite place you and your husband have visited? Where do you want to go that you haven't been yet?

Sandra:  Lake Tahoe used to be our favorite place, but we discovered Bend/Sunriver in Oregon and really enjoy that area. I want to travel to Spain and will be doing that next fall. My hubby and I would love to go to New Zealand and Australia.

I'd love to visit Australia or New Zealand. And Spain sounds wonderful. I hope y'all have a lovely trip! :)

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

Sandra:  This is a tough question. I never thought about it before. I suppose the burning question still in my mind is, "What is heaven like?". I will have to wait until I get there to really know.  *smile*

I can't wait to find that out either!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, Sandra! I really appreciate it.

Sandra:  You are welcome, Kara. It has been a pleasure.

 About the Author

Sandra loves to hike, read, bicycle, and write. She lives in Arizona with her husband and Labrador retriever. During the hot summer, she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome, where she enjoys the outdoors and finds wonderful ideas for her next writing project.

You can learn more about Sandra and her books at her website.

 About the Book

Dr. Margo Devaull came to Dominic Zanelli's mountain retreat confident that she could help this Vietnam veteran overcome the torment that kept him apart from the world. But her training as a psychologist had not prepared her for the tragic, explosive contradictions brewing inside him. For here was a sensitive artist who could be gentle – and a man whose eyes flashed with violence and pain when he told her to leave and never come back. Yet Margo did come back, slowly gains his trust, and awakens the sleeping needs of his heart. Only by reliving her own wounded past and helping Zane confront a terrible memory from the war could she set them both free – and save their last chance for love.

{The Kindle book is now available through Amazon and will be free on May 24th - 27th as a special Memorial Day promotion.}

Giveaway #1

Sandra has generously decided to giveaway one of her books (The Price of Victory or Current of Love) to one of YOU! Please leave a comment below in order to be eligible, along with your email address so we can contact you. Giveaway ends on May 31st.

Giveaway #2

Note: US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Poetic Look At My Favorite Book(s)

 If you ask me for my favorite story,

I might say it's Daddy Long Legs.

If I say it's Daddy Long Legs,

I might have to show you the book.

If I show you the book,

I might tell you about Judy Abbott.

If I tell you about Judy,

You might want to read her letters.

If you read her letters,

You might learn about her friend Sallie McBride.

If you learn about her friend Sallie,

You might want to know Sallie's story too.

If you want to know Sallie's story,

I might tell you it's called Dear Enemy.

If I tell you it's called Dear Enemy,

You might want to know who the enemy is.

If you want to know who the enemy is,

I might tell you just to read the book.

If you read the book,

You might fall in love with all the orphans.

If you fall in love with all the orphans,

They might remind you about Judy.

If they remind you about Judy,

You might want to read her story again.

If you read Judy's story again,

It might become a favorite.

If it becomes a favorite,

Someone might ask about your favorite story.

If someone asks about your favorite story,

You might tell them it's Daddy Long Legs.

Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

My Life Next Door

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garrett's. All the time.”

The Garrett's are everything the Reed's are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

This was definitely a story that swept me away for a few hours! I'd opened to the first couple pages planning to only read a little bit. But when I looked up, several hours had passed and I had read the entire thing! :) It's a sweet love story. The romance itself is cute and Samantha and Jase have good chemistry. But what makes this story so much fun is the entire Garrett family. They are awesome! From mom and dad all the way down to little Patsy. Once you meet the Garrett's, you'll wish you could be part of their family yourself! They are loud and teasing and fun, with everyone understanding that love is always a given. No matter what. They are the type of family that will tease and fight with each other constantly, but stand up for each other to anyone else.

My favorite member of the family is George of course! How do you not fall in love with him? He's simply adorable and immediately likes Samantha. She never stood a chance. Her family life is so entirely different and rigid in comparison. The Garrett family, with their warmth and love, is just what she needs! She soaks up every moment she spends at their house. And since they're next door neighbors, once Jase climbs into her life (literally!), she is able to spend as much time as she wants at their house.

So there's lots of blissful moments. But stories never stay blissful for long. Trouble comes, and life gets really, really complicated. Samantha proceeds to make some very bad mistakes, unfortunately. She's got a lot of learning to do when it comes to knowing how to handle bad situations. One of those lessons being the fact that you have to handle them, you can't run away. But Samantha is a great girl and with some time, and some pushing from other characters, realizes the right thing to do.

I will say that there were a couple scenes that get pretty explicit. I didn't actually feel that they were necessary. One happens right after an awful situation, and could have been left out entirely. The story still would have been just fine without it. However, they are easily skipped over, as you can pretty well tell when they are approaching. So beware if you decide to read this one. Overall, this was a fun story. It would make a great beach read in my opinion! :) 

"I'm left with George. He sucks on his Popsicle meditatively for a few minutes, then asks, "Did you know that in space it's very, very cold? And there's no oxygen? And if an astronaut fell out of a shuttle without his suit he'd die right away?"
I'm a fast learner. "But that would never happen. Because astronauts are really, really careful."
George gives me a smile, the same dazzling sweet smile as his big brother, although, at this point, with green teeth. "I might marry you," he allows. "Do you want a big family?"

Questions & Ponderings

via

• Have you ever picked up a book, opened to the first couple pages "just to check it out", and many hours later put the book down because you've finished it? No? Then I won't tell you that's what happened to me today, lest you think I'm silly or something. :D

• Is three trips to the library in one week too many? I had several books requested and they kept coming in on different days. I could have waited til the end of the week and just went once I suppose, but I had no idea that any of the others were going to arrive! Plus when I know the book is waiting for me, it's awful hard not to run out right then and pick it up, especially when the library is close. What if I want to read it that very evening? (Completely disregarding the fact that real life prevented this most of the week.)

• Why does time go so fast? My oldest niece just became a teenager recently. A teenager!! What joys her parents are in for the next few years, right? ;) I can't get over the fact that she's that old already. It seems like just a couple years ago that she was still little. But I do love the fact that we can have meaningful chats now. I hope I can always stay the "cool aunt" that I am today (one of my nephews called me that, so of course it's the truth!).

• How crazy awesome is this? I found out this week that one of my favorite bloggers actually lives just a couple towns away from me! And. And! We actually have several mutual friends and connections that I just discovered! Is that not crazy? Yet awesome?! I always picture my online friends as living other exotic places. You know, exotic places like Montana or Illinois or Canada or England. But to find one that's basically my neighbor? Made me smile all day long when I found it out. :)

• Why is it that I can't get any enthusiasm up for doing some sewing? I have a couple dresses I'd love to have made and the pattern pieces are all cut out and everything! So all I have to do is sit down and start sewing. Yet I seem to find everything else imaginable to do instead of sew. Hmmmm. Does that say something about my priorities?

• Do you like receiving real mail? Versus email I mean? I do. And I got a lovely card from a dear friend this week. Nothing special, she just wanted me to know she was thinking of me and hoped I was having a wonderful week. Isn't that sweet? It was so encouraging for me! Made me think I should do that more often for others. Encouraging notes really do make a difference.

• Are you on Twitter? I'm not, but have been pondering the idea of joining for a while. It sounds so fun to keep up with some lovely people that way. Not to mention it would be great for keeping tabs on the Sanditon happenings! I know The LBD characters were very active and there were several things I missed or was late to the game on because I didn't have Twitter then. I think my biggest question is whether I'd have time to keep up with it. And whether anyone would pay attention to anything I'd have to say in 140 characters. So tell me. Yea? Nay? Should I? Shouldn't I? Rissi was already sweet enough to expound on some of the ups and downs of tweeting (thanks friend!), but I'd love to hear more thoughts. Care to share?

• Did you know that there's a blog tour starting this week? And I'm going to be part of it! Head over here to find out more details and where to visit for the next two weeks. And be sure to come back here on Thursday! The author, Sandra Leesmith, will be answering some questions and there will be a giveaway or two. So please mark your calendars! :)