Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #22

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

• The hunt BEGINS on 10/21 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.

• Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).

• There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 10/24 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.

• Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

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Hello, beautiful Scavenger Hunt folks!

I'm Michelle Shocklee, author of several historical novels, including UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a 2021 Christy Award finalist! (I'm still pinching myself!) You can learn more about me and my books here on my blog, my website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

One of the best things about being an author of historical fiction is the research. I positively adore visiting historical sites--Civil War battlefields, old homes, graveyards, etc--and imagining the people who walked those hallowed places long before I was born. When we moved to Tennessee in 2017, I felt like a sponge soaking up the fascinating history of the area. A very cool event I kept reading about was the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. And the more I learned about this World's-Fair-type event, the more the novelist in me knew I'd have to write about it someday! 

Ta-da! My next release, COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, a time-slip novel, takes readers to 1897 Nashville, where forbidden love, star-filled nights, and dark secrets come to light when unmailed postcards from the expo are discovered in an elaborate scrapbook 65 years later. The book releases March 8, 2022, but I'd love to give you a sneak peek of that magical place and time now. 

 

Promotional map of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition
(If you look closely at the cover of my new book, you'll see some
familiar buildings hiding on Priscilla's blouse!)

The History:

Tennessee became the 16th state on June 1, 1796. To celebrate its 100th birthday, officials decided to hold an exposition. Planning and finances delayed Tennessee's party, making it one year late for the actual centennial when the expo opened May 1, 1897.

The Buildings:

Me at Centennial Park in front of the
Parthenon and Lake Watauga

Over 100 temporary buildings were constructed on the 200-acre fairgrounds, with the most famous being the city of Nashville's contribution, the Parthenon. Built as an exact replica of the Parthenon located in Greece, it honored Nashville's nickname "the Athens of the South." Because the Parthenon became the symbol of the expo, it was left standing after the fair closed and was rebuilt with permanent materials in the 1920s. All other buildings were torn down or sold and moved. 

Vanity Fair:

Vanity Fair offered a Giant See-Saw, Chinese village, Streets of Cairo, animal shows, historical exhibits, and all manner of exotic foods to over 1.7 million visitors. You could even take a gondola ride on Lake Watauga in an authentic Venetian gondola, steered by a true Italian gondolier. (My characters do this in my new book. So romantic!)

While researching COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, I visited Centennial Park many times, imagining Priscilla and Audrey there in 1897 and in 1961. I hope you'll "visit" the exposition again when my book releases next year!

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Here’s the Stop #22 Basics:

If you’re interested, you can preorder COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Tyndale, or at your local bookstore!

Clue to Write Down: blanket

Link to Stop #23, the Next Stop on the Loop: Pepper Basham’s site!

Before you head out to the next stop, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter (top right corner of this page) and be entered in my giveaway! THREE WINNERS from my newsletter list will choose between a signed paperback copy of UNDER THE TULIP TREE now OR wait until March for a signed paperback copy of COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS! (USA only, please.) Giveaway closes 10/25 at 12:01 AM MST. I'll draw the winners and post names here and on my social media outlets by Wednesday Oct. 27.

For an EXTRA ENTRY, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite state fair/county fair food is! Make my mouth water, y'all! 😋