UPDATE: The winners of my drawing have been notified via email. THANK YOU to everyone who joined the hunt, subscribed to my newsletter, and left a comment! Y'all are the BEST!!!
Many blessings,
~Michelle
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 6/15 at noon MST with Stop #1: Lisa Tawn Bergren's website.
- 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, 6/18 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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Hi everyone!
Welcome! I hope you're having FUN on the hunt!
I'm Michelle Shocklee. I'm a bit of a history nerd, which comes in handy since I write historical fiction. One of my favorite things about writing fiction set many years ago is the excuse to read research books on all kinds of topics, like World War II and the Vietnam war (for the book I'm currently working on). My last three novels are historical split-time stories, so that means I got to research TWO different time periods for each novel! You can learn more about me and my books on my website, on my Facebook page, my Instagram page, and my Pinterest page for folks who enjoy looking through the pictures I use for inspiration as I write my books.
Speaking of books, I'm quite anxious to share my latest, Appalachian Song, with all of you! It releases October 3, 2023, just in time for fall colors, bonfires, and hot cocoa. One of my favorite places on earth is the Great Smoky Mountains, so when I started thinking about a setting I would enjoy reading about, the mountains began'a callin'! Here's a little blurb about the book:
Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.
Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife
who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.
For fans of historical and Southern fiction comes a poignant story of love and sacrifice
set in the heart of Appalachia.
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COME WITH ME TO THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS....
Great Smoky Mountains; nps.gov |
The Great Smoky Mountains have been home to Native American tribes as well as white European settlers for hundreds of years. In the 1800s, logging became a large industry in the area, but by the early 20th century, people began to realize that clearcutting--the logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down--was destroying the forest's natural beauty.
A woman by the name of Ann Davis is credited for suggesting a National Park in the Smokies. She and her husband Willis returned from a trip visiting several Western national parks in 1923 and determined they needed a national park closer to home. This started discussion of the idea with leaders in the area, especially around Knoxville. Sounds like an idea everyone would love, right?
Wrong.
Gregg-Cable house in Cades Cove; nps.gov |
I snapped this pic of my little red VW Bug at the Walker Sisters cabin! A red VW Bug is what my heroine drives when she visits a cabin very much like this one! |
Purchasing the land, however, proved difficult, even with the money in hand. Some 6,000 small farms, large tracts, and other miscellaneous parcels had to be surveyed, appraised, dickered over and sometimes condemned in court. The timber and paper companies had valuable equipment and standing inventory, which required compensation. Some mountain homesteaders, like the Walker Sisters who inspired the characters of Bertie and her sisters in my book, were given lifetime leases to remain on their property, although they couldn't hunt, log, or farm on it. Everyone else was evicted.
Today, the park occupies 522,419 acres of gorgeous, well-preserved land in two states--Tennessee and North Carolina. It boasts two visitors' centers, miles and miles of hiking trails, historical buildings, waterfalls, lakes, and recreation areas. The well-maintained roads take you through some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, especially during the fall.
If you've never been to the Great Smoky Mountains, I encourage you to plan a trip soon. In the meantime, you can preorder a copy of Appalachian Song and travel there vicariously with some of my favorite characters as soon as the book releases October 3, 2023!
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Here’s Your Critical Stop #29 Info:
If you’re interested, you can preorder Appalachian Song on Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Tyndale or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: Let's READ!
Link to Stop #30, the LAST Stop on the Loop: GRAND PRIZE ENTRY!
BUT...before you go, I'm giving away THREE paperback copies of Appalachian Song
as soon as it is available. To be included in the giveaway, all you have to do is sign up for my
e-NEWSLETTER at the TOP RIGHT corner of this page!
If you're already a subscriber, you're already entered!
For an EXTRA entry, after you sign up for the newsletter, leave me a comment
and tell me if your favorite vacation is:
A. Going to the mountains!
B. Going to the beach.
C. Neither. I'd rather go to ____________.
I'll draw the winners on June 20, 2023. (US only, please.)
179 comments:
c. I'd rather go to visit historical sites.
My favorite vacation is Going to the mountains and staying in a cabin. Thank you for the chance. Your book sounds like a great read!
Signed up. I would love to go the mountains. Hide away in a log cabin and read.
We love going to the mountains, but really I love going anywhere with my family!
My preference is the mountains but I love the beach as well!I love the Smokies!
mountains for sure
My husband and I love going to the National Parks! Lots of different experiences with the many parks around the United States.
I love road trips! My husband and I will pick a region of the U.S. and map a route based on National Park sites in that area.
I absolutely love going to the mountains!
B mountains definitely
I would love to see the ocean for the first time, but the mountains fit where I would be more comfortable. Vacation anywhere would be a treat.
A. Total beach girl. I don't care for sand, but I love the ocean. :D
I love both
I so agree that the Great Smoky Mountains are absolutely wonderful. We moved to Knoxville last year, and it has been such a delight to not only see the mountains on clear days, but the chance to explore them on a regular basis.
I'm a subscriber. I love both the mountains and the beach.
Signed up!
I love both!
A lake in the mountains is my favorite.
I love the beach. Something so soothing about the salty air and crashing waves
I would love to vacation in the mountains. I signed up for the newsletter.
I love to go to the beach!
I love going to the beach and to the mountains. And I love reading your books.
We live in South Carolina, between he mountains and the beach, and enjoy both! We do go to the beach more.
I love the mountains AND the beach. It is a huge toss up!
I would rather go to the beach
I am a new subscriber & I love visiting the mountains just as much as going to the beach.
I would love to go the the mountains
I love the beach, but I hate getting the sand off of me afterwards! Haha
I have been on vacation to the beach and would love to vacation in the mountains :)
Anywhere that has a hotel, good food and some shopping.
I would love to travel to important American historical sights, particularly Civil War sites and in New England!
I live near the beach, so I love going to the mountains! The Blue Ridge Mountains are my happy place!!!
I love the mountains! The Blue Ridge are my favorites!
C. Neither. We have family land on a lake. It's 90 acres of trees and a one-lane road to get to our secluded cottage. A little bit of heaven on earth! I subscribed to your newsletter.
C. Both or visit relatives, who live in various states of The United States--Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida. We have gone to the beach and to the mountains and had a great time.
I'd love to go to the mountains where there's a cozy furnished cabin, and where I read CF print books, especially RS (Romantic Suspense)! Thanks for the opportunity to enter a giveaway!
I signed up for your newsletter. I love both the beach and the mountains. But, if I have to pick one I would say the beach.
I grew up in the beach and love to go there anytime, however I love the mountains and the smell of the forest. I’d probably pick the beach for the memories.
I would rather go to a beach and look for sea shells and make photos but not in the hottest weather.
A and B both! We drive through the Grest Smokies to get to the North Carolina beach for our vacations.
Neither. Visiting and spending time with relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) is most precious to me! Life gets too busy to spend quality time with loved ones. we need these times together.
A. If going with my hiking loving husband.
C. I'd rather stay at home and read
I love both the beach and the mountains, but the mountains are my favorite!
Signed up. I would go to the lake that is surrounded by beautiful mountains.
C. I like to go to historical sites and museums.
I love to go to historic sites and museums.
Just signed up and beach all the way!
I just signed up and so excited to meet you! I live within walking distance of the beach and raised a beach girl, so mountains are a nice change. Thanks!
Going to the mountains because I'm blessed to already live by the beach. :)
I would enjoy going to a beautiful historic site!!! I don't love the mountains... or the beach...
Love the mountains they are so beautiful but also the beach. Is there a mountain besides the beach? If so i would go there. Lol.
Definitely the beach!
Anywhere with family - but we do love Dollywood!!
city! But between beach and mountains, probably the beach.
I subscribed
My favorite vacation is at the beach
We have had livestock most of our life so vacations have mostly been day trips, but if I were to pick it would be hills/mountains.
Going to the mountains! But just woods, too. (:
(-Kimberly G.)
I love to go to the beach for vacation. It's the perfect place to read. So relaxing. I signed up for your newsletter too.
I'm a subscriber. I'd love to Ireland for a vacation.
I subscribed.
Not so much into the water part, but I LOVE sitting on the beach and reading a good book.
My favorite vacation is the beach! My dream vacay is Scotland!
I'm already a subscriber! I'd like to go to a working ranch in the mountains for vacation. :)
C I'd rather go to Gettysburg PA
A. I love lakes in the mountains!
I would rather visit historical sites as one commenter said. Or visit family. Also antique shops.
Thank you for this opportunity! I never pass up a chance to see the ocean! I feel so relaxed there.
B. I live near mountains, so I get to be in them any time I want. For vacation, give me the beach and a book!
Going to the mountains
The beach!
I own a vacation home at the NC beach, but I LOVE the mountains and love to read historical fiction novels about the mountains near NC, TN, WV, V, KY.
Go to the beach.
I'd rather go visit different National Parks around the U.S.
I love the beach!
I love both the mountains and the beach.
We love the mountains, especially the Smokies! That's fascinating history! Thank you for sharing!
My favorite is a mountain vacay!
If I had to pick a place then it would be the mountains. I'd rather stay home and read during my vacation time.
Mountains!
I love to go to the beach for vacation. Don't get me wrong, I love the mountains, but I live near them. We live in Knoxville, TN so the Great Smoky Mountains are practically in our back yard.
C. I'm usually a homebody, but I'd definitely love to visit Italy!
I prefer vacations in the mountains. We actually visited Gatlinburg this month. We had a great time enjoying nature and all the wildlife. We saw several black bears including a mother and her two cubs that were in a tree just outside our cabin. Great experience for my us and our grandsons.
Although I live in the Appalachian Mountains (NC), I would rather vacation in these mountains and hunt waterfalls to photo.
Either place I don't need to clean or cook. Lol!
A. Going to the mountains! I'm a Big Bear girl (SoCal) and I love my San G's.
But, visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains are both on my bucket list.
I'd rather go to an island with beautiful waterfalls.
I have subscribed to your newsletter and do thank you for the chance. I'll gladly head for the mountains with a passel of books and some time to relax.
I've subscribed. I would love to sit on a porch by a lake and read and relax!
I love going to Alaska and the National Parks! I subscribed!
A. Going to the mountains. I subscribed.
Go on a cruise
I signed up for your newsletter. I would prefer the beach but also like visiting historical places.
Beach!
I live five minutes from the beach on the Oregon coast, so my choice would be mountains! But what I would love the most is putting an RV in a nice wooded park surrounded by trees & nature and maybe a lake to fish in :-)
Thank you for the extra giveaway chance! I've just subscribed to your newsletter.
Neither. I’d rather go to Ireland. I haven’t made it there yet, but it’s my dream.
the mountains would be awesome but my dream vacation would be toyring ireland and scotland
signed up for your news letter mortalsinn@yahoo
My favorite vacation would be going to the mountains since I live close to the beach. I used to live near the mountains and miss it! I subscribed to your newsletter.
I'm a beach girl! Give me sun and sand ...
A. Going to the mountains! (Already a subscriber)
Going to the beach or mountains! I subscribed to your newsletter!
I subscribed. I live in the mountains so definitely the beach.
I love going to the mountains! I live in Florida, so I can see the beach as often as I want, and while it is beautiful, I'm partial to mountains. My family and I visit the Great Smoky Mountains just about every year. We tend to stay in Gatlinburg, but next time we are going to stay closer to Blue Ridge. I've never read one of your books, but you have me interested!
The MOUNTAINS! But I would love to visit Norway!
The beautiful rocky coast of Maine around Acadia National Park and the the sand beach on Deer Isle Maine. I leave my heart there every year.
Going to the mtns. I love our National Parks, but their creation was heartbreaking for so many families. My husband's grandfather's home and business were displaced when they made the Shenandoah National Park. He even went before Congress on behalf of those being kicked off their land.
I’d rather go to the mountains. We love the Smokies!
Visit with family!
As long as there is a hammock by a body of water.
Sonnetta
If I'm with my family, I like the beach. Just me? The mountains, for sure.
I live in TN near the mountains, so we love to vacation either the beach or new states or countries that we haven’t been to!
I deeply love the ocean, it's embedded in my soul so I have to beach. But I live in the mountains, near GSMNP actually, and couldn't be more excited to read about your upcoming release! *adding it to my TBR list RIGHT NOW!* Thanks for sharing and the opportunity to enter to win. Have a great weekend!
I love the beach, but also the mountains!!!
The fall in the mountains is amazing!!!!
I'm defnitely more relaxed in the mountains! Health issues make the beach weather impossible for me, but I do love a cabin in the Smoky Mountains!
This book sounds so good!
Thank you for being a part of the scavenger hunt, Michelle, and for the giveaway opportunity. You are the Grand Finale Stop!!!
I have been to the Great Smoky Mountains. It was beautiful. I'd love to go again in the fall.
I love both locations, but I find that I enjoy reading more when I am up cozy in the mountains in a cabin with a pile of books and popcorn :-). We like to go up in the fall to see the color and escape our desert heat!
We absolutely love going to the Smoky Mountains and those along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We do, however, go to the beach often as it is only about an hour and a half away, sooo, Day trip!
I believe my ancestors must have been mountain people because when I have the chance to get away, the mountains are always calling my name!! The foothills of the Blue Ridge runs through the upper part of SC but I love to get up into the Smokies...travel awhile on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
My favorite vacations will always be in the mountains. Love them! I feel closer to God there. I was fortunate enough to visit the Swiss Alps, and that is where I am completely awestruck. No words to describe my emotions. Thank you for this opportunity. I love all the books of yours that I've read so far.
I signed up for your newsletter. I love either the mountains or the beach. There are plenty of both to enjoy. We are heading tomorrow for Michigan and the lake. We try to do something different every time we travel on vacation. I'm enjoying the scavenger hunt. Thanks for participating.
I signed up for your newsletter, and my favorite vacation is going to the mountains.
I signed up for your newsletter. I think I would choose the mountains, but a place that had mountains AND a beaxh would be awesome!
Perrianne Askew
The beach is definitely my happy place, especially Ocean Grove, New Jersey!
I can't figure out how to put my name in, so I am posting as Anonymous, but my name is Joyce Mante!
B. Going to the beach.
Definitely going to the mountains! In fact we went to the Smokey Mountains on our honeymoon 50 years ago this October! We have been back a couple times since then and there may be another trip in our near future.
My favorite vacation is the beach! I grew up around the ocean and LOVE it to this day!
C. Neither. I'd rather go nowhere. I am a homebody and love being at home with my kids. (Also, I subscribed.)
My favorite place to go on vacation is the mountains! I love the Great Smoky Mountains too! Looking forward to reading your book!
Mountains for me! I love lakes but not the beach.
I would rather go visit friends or go to a football or baseball game with friends.
Beach, definitely!!
As a teacher, I LOVE this multiple choice question and added a response of my own!
A. Going to the mountains!
B. Going to the beach.
C. Neither. I'd rather go to my local independent bookstore.
D. All of the above!
My response is D all the way!
Neither, I rather go somewhere with lots of interesting or historical things to do and different places to eat
A cabin in the mountains near a lake sounds awesome!
My favorite vacation spot is going to the beach nice and early before the crowds and just taking it all in!
My favorite vacation is the beach!
I would like to go to Ireland or Switzerland. I also enjoy visiting places like Natchez, Mississippi and other historical sites.
I would like to go to a reader's retreat!
c. I'd rather stay home and read!
Just subscribed! Happy to have discovered you on this hunt! .... Hmmm, I like to find new places to explore, intriguing landscapes, whether close to home or far far away.
B. Going to the beach!
A. Going to the mountains! My husband and I honeymooned in the Smoky Mountains including Cades Cove. We loved it so much that we took my entire family back the next year, and again for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. We love that area!!
I just subscribed to you newsletter too and look forward to reading your books!
The mountains and National Parks
A & B. I love both the beach and the mountains.
Going to the BEACH! In fact, my family is going tomorrow morning! (lg.hudson@yahoo.com)
I like to stay home and read a good book.
Going to the mountains! Love to escape the heat.
As my husband would say, "both, both is good."
Going to the mountains!!!
Both! I live in Florida, but rarely get to the beach (how sad is that!). I've been going to the Smokies periodically since I was a little girl. It's one of my favorite places in the world! I look forward to reading Appalachian Song.
subscribed
B
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
I like to alternate between the beach and the mountains. They both offer so much to enjoy!
I subscribed! My favorite place is the beach!
The beach every time๐
I just subscribed to your newsletter. Favorite vacation is definitely the mountains, I absolutely love the Smokeys.
C. Neither. I'd rather visit family and then maybe a day trip to something new that we have not visited before, but historical places rank high on the list.
I just subscribed to newsletter. I love going to the mountains. Smokey mountains are my favorite we go at least once a year.
A. Going to the mountains. I like how peaceful they are.
C. I would rather go to historical sites.
I love The Smokey Mountains
I live 30 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains and the are so beautiful. I can see the Blue Ridge Mountains from my house. I live in Western NC. I subscribed to your newsletter.
Subscribed and I'm going to the beach cause I'm lucky enough to live in the mountains!
Amber
CrystalUnicorn@arcticmail.com (I don't have a Google acct.)
I LOVE the Smokey Mountains!
A and B! Any vacation is a good vacation to me although I love the beach.
C. I’ve never been, but it sounds fun to go to Maine and see the lighthouses ๐
I love the mountains!
Usually I'd say the mountains or stay home but about a month ago my husband and I got the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Kauai. So I'll say wherever the Lord takes us.
Signed up. I love going to the mountains but I also love being home. Sometimes staycations are the best!
I subscribed to your newsletter. I'd prefer the mountains. Anywhere I can be surrounded by trees I'm happy.
A. Mountains! We went to the Smokies several times in my growing-up years and I've been back a few times as an adult as well. But my heart belongs in the majesty of the Rockies. My husband and I honeymooned in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta Canada and I think there is no more beautiful place on earth
Going to the beach!!
I prefer going to the mountains and The Smoky Mountains are a favorite destination! I have special memories of going with my parents when I was little and I've been one time with my husband. I would love to go back soon!!
I'd love to go to the mountains (and I love visiting the Smokies!)
I love the beach! Just signed up for your newsletter.
I live in Ohio so I've only been to beaches here and have never seen mountains. I like trips to cities. I used to travel by Greyhound. I haven't gone anywhere in years. I'd love to go to Philadelphia someday.
My favorite vacation.... ack, this is so hard. I love both the beach and the mountains, and all nature really! But my favorite places to visit are Big Bend National Park in Texas, which has some mountains and a lot of gorgeous desert (really you'd be shocked how much color and beauty can be found in desolate places) and my other favorite vacation place would have to be Hawaii, cause Hawaii has a little bit of everything!
Anywhere! I love to travel, whether it is in the US or internationally, as long as I can go somewhere new and see different parts of the world.
I grew up going to the beach out on Long Island as I grew up in Queens NYC. These days, I don't really think I'd care for the beach or the mountains. I'd rather visit places with my family, such as the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.
I did sign up for your newsletter.
B. the Beach!!!
I love both A and B!
I would rather go to Michigan! Hills, water, woods, home!!!
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