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Heyyyyy... *sneaks in as quietly as possible* So, yeah, this is a few days late. I am so sorry! I have no excuse really (well, I do, but yeah, not going into that. *snorts* It's a mess.) ANYWHO!
Have you seen the cuteness that is Tell Me You Love Me anthology?! Yeah,I really love that cover! Really though, I'm supposed to be closing off this blog tour and I will do my best to do so in a timely manner.
First off we have some giveaway winners!
eBook Giveaway Winners
During the tour several of the bloggers were kind enough to share ebook giveaways of TMYLM & StL! So, congratulations to...
Amelie
Erin
Bree
Sawyer Marie
Becky
Sara
Elisabeth
I believe Grace has been in contact with you, or will be contacting you soon. I hope you enjoy the books!
Paperback Giveaway Winner
The winner of my release day post is...
Lillian Keith!
Lillian, please email me at abigailkayharris@gmail.com with your address and who you would like the book signed to and I will get that out to you soon!
Next up I think it is high time I share more about TMYLM! Don't you agree?
Tell Me You Love Me Anthology blurb
Tell Me You Love Me – a timeless collection of stories that truly understand the meaning of “I love you”
Twelve young Christian authors have come together, alongside romance novelist Grace A. Johnson and editor Issabelle Perry to show our world of depravity and cheap imitations of romance what love really means: faith, hope, and sacrifice.
These stories range from contemporary YA to historical to fantasy, and tell diverse, unique love stories that compel, captivate, and warm readers’ hearts with their sweet and authentic nature.
Featuring work from Michaela Bush, Saraina Whitney, Karynn Heckler, Margaret Copeland, Lucia Molano, Sarah Lawton, Brooklyn O’Brennan, Mackenzie Hendricks, H.S. Kylian, Lydia M. Jupp, Katherine Perry, and Amelia Cabot, the Tell Me You Love Me anthology is the collaboration of talented and inspirational young writers you’ve been waiting for!
Learn more at graceajohnson.com/tell-me-you-love-me-anthology or on Goodreads!
Cover design by Issabelle Perry at www.iperryauthor.wixsite.com/blog!
Now, that's the short and sweet blrub, but we still have the lovely individual blurbs for each story.
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME Story blurbs
Love is the Little Things: Reece Larkson loves her simple small-town life in Westbrook, Wisconsin; but her life isn't perfect, even when she thinks it ought to be. Sleepless nights bring about the doubt she wishes would leave her alone, but Reece knows she can't escape her thoughts.
Levi Hills has been her best friend since forever, but he's started paying Reece more attention, which leaves her confused. When he whispers those three unexpected words in her ear one night, Reece finds herself questioning what love even is.
As she searches for answers, Reece also yearns for the courage to open herself up. But what will Levi think if she tells him her darkest secret? And what will it mean to her when she learns of his own well-kept secret?
For Better or For Worse: To those who don’t know better, nothing appears remarkable about Will & Susie Gray’s life. They have a roof over their heads, a stable job, and three energetic children to raise.
Yet his experience in Vietnam has never stopped haunting Will, causing Susie to worry for his state of mind. Though he reassures her he’s fine, Will knows he’s not. The nightmares have come back, stealing the sleep he craves. To make matters worse, he fears he’s starting to forget important details about his life.
All Susie wants is for her husband to be okay. All Will wants is for the nightmares to go away, to have the ability to once more rest peacefully at night.
As Beautiful as the Stars: Haseena was a reject; marked as a freak by the vitiligo that colors her skin and left to survive on her own in this cruel world. While she tries her best to remain unseen, every Choosing Ceremony forces her to face mockery and rejection all over again. This is her last one before she ages out. Though she’s ready for it to be over, her rebellious heart still desires to be loved.
Prince Amro has more than just his own fate to worry about. He has a whole kingdom resting on his shoulders and only one Ceremony left to find himself a bride. Now he’s traveled much farther than ever before, hoping America might offer him the chance to find the one he’s spent so long searching for.
As worlds collide, two young hearts are left to question what true love and beauty really mean.
Always: Commit treason or abandon the girl he has loved from childhood? Regardless of Demir’s choice, both lead to paths of peril. Will his decision be worth the cost?
To Be Loved: A young noblewoman's recklessness cost someone his life.
Stricken with regret and shame, Evangeline has fled her home city in disgrace, rejected both by the family she loves and even, she fears, by God. She's desperate to start a new life all alone, separated even from Reed, the private investigator who stole her heart years ago. But he's just as desperate not to let her face this nightmare on her own. How can his most relentless efforts ever convince her that she is still wanted?
Forever Loved: Forsaken, Unloved, and Alone.
Those were three words that Charity Reynolds knew all too well. When a war threatens to take away her last hope of being loved, will a chance meeting help her understand a new kind of love, one that will last forever?
Old Time Devotion: Gabriel Dawton, the newest resident of the Tranquility Retirement complex, is doing his very best to ignore the fact that being seventy-three does in fact make you an old man; but when he meets Evangeline Jones, a retired gospel-singer trying to accept that any chance of a love life disappeared with her youth, he begins to wonder if being a life-long bachelor really is God’s plan for his life. And while Evangeline longs to believe that their relationship will work out, she starts to doubt. After all, who gets married at seventy-one?
His Freedom Over Mine: She never could distinctly remember what freedom truly was.
Ever since Annemarie Müller was a little girl, all she’d known was horror, war, and the consequences of war. But after she met Rudolph, her world began to change. And once they had grown up and gotten married, changes sprang up into their lives like the first green plants of spring inching their way through the soil. One of those sprouts of change was a blazing hope to escape East Berlin into that ever-coveted freedom called West Berlin, a home that had once been theirs.
What they didn’t expect to sprout overnight was the Berlin Wall–the wall that could forever bar them from their only chance at having freedom.
He Wanted My Heart: An obnoxious man from Clarissa's past has shown up asking for her hand in marriage. Her initial denial doesn't work as Greyson tries to win her favor. Through the next several weeks, she begins to see a side of him she never thought existed. Could it be he's had a change of heart, or does he have some ulterior motive? And what of her own changing feelings?
Until You Call Me Yours: Saige Hawthrone has had a crush on her best friend since they were young but she’ll never admit it to him. She’s done her best to trust in God’s timing but it’s hard… very hard when the only person she has had eyes for doesn’t see her the way she sees him. When her secret crush is revealed to Weston, their relationship seems to be broken at their argument. And then they are thrust into the hardest trial of their lives and they must come together and trust in God, despite the pain. Until You Call Me Yours is a short story about waiting for God’s timing and coming together to face the fiery trials the Lord uses to test our faith.
The Day That Tragedy Strikes: It’s Christmas 1941. Nancy Smith, who is a nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital, worries over her fiance, James McCallen, who is serving in the Navy at the base in Hawaii. She waits day in and day out for him to come home, but nothing ever comes from him in the mail. Her faith in God is being tested and pushed, but she never wavers and never gives up hope on him, especially during Christmas time. She trusts that the Lord will give her what she needs, until there is a tragic accident at Pearl Harbor. Will Nancy ever see James again or will she be stuck wondering what has happened to him when the day that tragedy strikes?
Till Death Do Us Part: Jonathan Graham has been waiting to marry his dearest friend and fiancee since the day he met her. Carlissa Briggs was diagnosed with leukemia at age sixteen but knows that God has a plan for her life. When Carlissa is rushed to the hospital in critical condition and told she only has a little while to live, will Jonathan have the strength to stand by her? And will he ever truly understand what it means to trust God and to be thankful in everything? Till Death Do Us Part is a heartwrenching short story about true love and the meaning of thankfulness.
Don't those just sound so sweet?! I thought so and you can find my...
My Review of tell me you love me here!
Tell Me You Love Me is a truly spectacular collection of stories each honoring God, showing a depth of love that is incredible. It's all wrapped up in a sweet pink little book that should be on every Christian reader's TBR list in 2023!
Always by Michaela Bush
Michaela Bush kicks off the Tell Me You Love Me anthology with the sweetest story of selfless love and risking everything to protect the one you love. The story may be short, but Always is one of the most powerful fantasy stories full of true love that I've ever read.
Until You Call Me Yours by Mackenzie Hendricks
Until You Call Me Yours wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it turned out to be lovely all the same.
His Freedom Over Mine by Amelia Cabot
Amelia Cabot wrote a truly impressive story with a short amount of words… I don’t want to spoil anything, but this story was bittersweet and full of love.
Forever Loved by Lydia M. Jupp
Wow… Commonly, I can be picky with how Bible verses are used in a story, if they’re being thrown around or just tossed in… But Lydia Jupp did a tremendously good job with Forever Loved. It’s a sweet and lovely story.
Love is the Little Things by Brooklyn O’Brennan
This one was a sweet and somewhat old fashioned love story that I really enjoyed.
The Day that Tragedy Strikes by Margaret Copeland
While I often enjoy WWII set stories this one didn’t click completely for me. It was okay, I just didn’t love it.
As Beautiful as the Stars by Karynn Heckler
Wow… A different, but truly wonderful tale of love. It was not quite the genre I expected, but I found that it was still a wonderful read. The sweet love even in the midst of what the world considers a blemish, but God sees as His creation with a lovely reminder that it’s the heart that matters, you’ll be swept into a fairy-tale unlike any other.
He Wanted My Heart by Katherine Perry
Okay! This was so cute! I really wish that it hadn’t been as short as it was… Le sigh. But it was an absolutely beautiful little story!
Old Time Devotion by Lucia Molano
Lucia shared a story that was simple in a good way, calm, sweet, and filled with pure love. The romance was spot on with the perfect ending!
‘Till Death Do Us Part by Sarah Lawton
Though somewhat bittersweet, ‘Till Death Do Us Part is filled with a young but strong, sure love and a sweet romance.
For Better or For Worse by H.S. Kylian
As always (because I’m privileged to be in writing groups with her!) H.S. Kylian has shared a need to read short story that drags your heart through the mud while at the same time warming your heart–leaving you needing more.
To Be Loved by Saraina Whitney
May I now see this story in novel length, please? Seriously, this is such a good story and I need it like 100 times longer than it is already!
I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary ebook or physical copy of this book which I received from the author and/or publisher or blog tour coordinator All views expressed are only my honest opinion and are in no way influenced by others views or wishes.
Let's not forget to meet the authors! All of these ladies put a lot of hard work into sharing their stories.
About the Tell Me You Love Me Authors
Michaela Bush
Author Bio: Michaela Bush is a Christian author, editor, and entrepreneur. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2019 from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a B.A. in English and a minor in Psychology. She has enjoyed writing from an early age, and mostly writes Christian fantasy and romance. When she isn't working or creating her next story, she enjoys spending time with her family, horseback riding, playing violin, and spending time at church. She is also a crazy cat lady and enjoys various arts and crafts. Connect with her at tangledupinwriting.com.
Social Links:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangledupinwriting/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tangledupinwriting/
Website: https://www.tangledupinwriting.com/
Newsletter: https://tangledupinwriting.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2037db9c579b1256fa787a648&id=5376fbb5b8
Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Michaela-Bush/author/B01JM6MOOM?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Mackenzie Hendricks
Author Bio: Mackenzie Hendricks is a young author who lives in the dry desert of Arizona. She has loved reading and writing since she was little and firmly believes that stories can change the world. She is a student at the Author Conservatory, where she is learning to turn her passion for beautiful words into a career. On top of writing and reading good books, she also enjoys baking muffins, watching K-dramas (or Hallmark movies), and listening to K-Pop. Through contemporary and magical realism stories, Mackenzie hopes to impact the world with words that glorify and honor her Lord.
Social Links:
Email list: https://mackenziehendricks.ck.page
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/pumpkin_muffin/
Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.ca/pumpkin_muffin/wip-until-you-call-me-yours/
H.S. Kylian (H.S. Kylian has a story in each TMYLM and StL! She had a double release day which I think is awesome!)
Author Bio: H.S. Kylian (a.k.a Hannah) has been in love with writing since she was nine, really got into it at thirteen, and discovered the gem of story structure at eighteen. When she’s not writing, she’s daydreaming about writing while doing other things like knitting/reading/photography/studying theology and apologetics, or playing board games and watching movies/TV shows with her family. She lives with her family and a couple of cats and dogs in the beautiful PNW.
Social Links:
Katherine Perry
Author Bio: Katherine Perry finds her identity in Christ and hopes to show people the love of Jesus. She is the co-founder of the blog, Teen Writers' Nook, and the co-editor of the Teen Writers' Nook Imagine anthology. Her short story, “Talented Mers Competition,” was featured in the Level Up anthology put together by Owl Hollow Press and Teen Author Boot Camp. She enjoys writing in a variety of genres, creatively challenging herself, and dancing to her heart’s content.
Social Links:
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/katherineTWN3/
Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/katherineTWN3/he-wanted-my-heart/
Wakelet: https://wakelet.com/@KatherineTWN3
Lucia Molano
Author Bio: Lucia (or Lulu, whichever you prefer) has always loved stories, though it took her a while to realise that her insatiable hunger for printed pages and that stack of half-filled notebooks were signs that she was meant to be a writer. Now, over three years and many, many words later, she can’t imagine doing anything different.
Lulu writes because she believes in the power of the light that stories can shed in the dark places of the world, and how they can help us understand ourselves, our fellow creatures, and our Heavenly Father. She loves setting stories in her home nation of Great Britain, especially in her beloved west country, as well as exploring other places, worlds and times through her books. When she isn’t caught up in a flurry of inspiration - revelling in that God-given thrill when the words begin to flow from her fingertips - or daydreaming about her characters, you can find her wandering and wondering in the countryside, avidly discussing period dramas and fantasy classics with her friends and family, or scrambling up walls at her favourite climbing gym.
Saraina Whitney
Author Bio: Saraina Whitney is a passionate Christian writer who has a weakness for poignant stories with hints of true hope. She lives in the windy Illinois countryside with her family of fourteen. Known as the quietest of them all (except when she’s singing), she loves observing people and sharing inside jokes about movies with her siblings. She often spends her free time editing what she just wrote, rereading her favorite scenes from books, learning about Myers-Briggs personality types, or playing piano pieces from epic soundtracks. Her short story To Be Loved in the Tell Me You Love Me anthology is her first publication. Connect with her at www.sarainawhitney.wordpress.com.
Social Links:
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saraina05/
Sarah Lawton
Author Bio: Sarah Lawton is a teenage Christian romance authoress, total bookworm, and blogger. She lives in a big house in southern Ontario with her parents and seven younger siblings. She has always had an interest in reading and writing, and is currently working on many stories and novels. Her short story, Till Death Do Us Part in the Tell Me You Love Me anthology is her first published work. She is happily a homeschooler, food lover, big sister, and piano teacher. She is a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, and is always willing to talk about her faith. You can find Sarah blogging away at sarahgracelawton.wordpress.com.
Social Links: https://sarahgracelawton.wordpress.com/
Lydia M. Jupp
Author Bio: Lydia M. Jupp is a born-again Christian who desires to show others the love of Jesus Christ in spirit, word, and script. She lives enveloped in the beautiful farmland, forests, and lakes of South Eastern Ontario, with her loving parents and six younger siblings. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing her instruments, working on her family’s farm, or running around with her siblings; but whether writing or not, you will always find her singing praises to the Lord. Her short story, Forever Loved in the Tell Me You Love Me Anthology, is her first publication. She hopes to write more stories (and possibly some novels) about her Saviour’s amazing grace. You can connect with Lydia on Goodreads and Pinterest.
Social Links:
Goodreads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/150681475-lydia-m-jupp
Pinterest Profile: https://www.pinterest.ca/lydiamayjupp/
Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.ca/lydiamayjupp/inspo-forever-loved/
Karynn Heckler
Author Bio: Karynn Heckler is a seventeen-year-old writer who hails from Texas. She started writing back in December of 2019 as a hobby to pass the time but now it has developed into a passion. Her vision for her writing is to pen clean stories that glorify God and deliver impactful messages. Her works are infused with love and a heart for unity. She tries to make each story she writes spread a little more light and hope in this world.
When she isn’t exploring a fictional world, you might find her working on graphic designs, listening to music, or spending time with her family. All most likely with her quirky dog Leonitus snoozing nearby. She believes strongly that age doesn’t limit your ability to impact the world and start pursuing your dreams. She lives by the motto “Do Hard Things” and encourages other teens to step out of their comfort zones and start seizing the day.
Social Links:
Email List: http://eepurl.com/ihpSQX
Pinterest Profile: https://www.pinterest.com/theblondebookworm/
Margaret Copeland
Author Bio: Maggie Copeland is a college student from Southern VA and a follower of Christ. She enjoys writing feel-good stories that reflect the love of the Father. When she is not reading or studying, she enjoys watching classic movie musicals (maybe White Christmas in May), plotting new story lines, or finding new ways to make her characters diverse.
Social Links:
Brooklyn O’Brennan
Author Bio: Brooklyn O’Brennan has a passion for writing stories that show both the real and beautiful aspects of life and she yearns for her stories to tell what she can’t say out loud. Brooklyn is a quiet introvert currently living in Wisconsin with her big family and an abundance of squirrels; her favorite being the one she named Kirk. In addition to writing, her hobbies are reading, crafting, and re-watching all her favorite movies and TV shows. When she isn’t daydreaming inevitable torture for her characters, or speeding through a book, Brooklyn is procrastinating, hanging out with her family, or being a nut with her friends.
Amelia Cabot
Author Bio: Amelia Cabot is a sinner saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, homeschooler, and Christian fiction/poetry writer who has embraced the world of writing since she was six. She can typically be found in the corner of the living room at her desk, mostly due to the fact that she lives in an apartment and doesn't use her room half of the time. Although she hasn’t published her own novels, she has dabbled in writing contests, with the Tell Me You Love Me anthology as the first official work she has been published in. When she’s not writing, she’s mentally correcting improper grammar (and punctuation, and capitalization, and spelling), uncovering the enigmas of the piano and violin, singing, comprehending Spanish, or daydreaming about her characters and their never-ending predicaments.
Social Links:
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amelia_cabot/
Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/amelia_cabot/his-freedom-over-mine/
Be sure to stop by the tour stops to support the lovely bloggers!
Dual Blog Tour Schedule
February 7th
Grace A. Johnson – tour kickoff
H.S. Kylian – anthologies spotlight & giveaway
Kaytlin Phillips – anthologies spotlight & giveaway
February 8th
Grace A. Johnson – anthologies spotlight & giveaway
February 9th
Rhys-Marie Whitnell – anthologies spotlight & STL review
February 10th
Vanessa Hall – STL spotlight & anthologies giveaway
Weekend Break
February 13th
Lilly Wiscaver – STL spotlight & giveaway
Allyson Jamison – STL spotlight
February 14th – Release Day!
Madisyn Carlin – STL spotlight & giveaway
Lillian Keith – anthologies spotlight & giveaway
February 15th
Kellyn Roth – anthologies spotlight
February 16th
February 17th
Kristina Hall – anthologies giveaway
Vanessa Hall – TMYLM review
Weekend Break
February 20th
Allyson Jamison – TMYLM spotlight
February 21st
Merie Shen – TMYLM review & anthologies giveaway
Katja Labonte – anthologies spotlight
Katja Labonte – anthologies review
Abigail Kay Harris – tour conclusion (You're here!)
Thank you all so, so very much for making these launches so much fun! I hope that you enjoyed seeing all of these lovely posts.
Over and out! ;)
Abigail