GIVEAWAY & Crazy4Fiction Book Bash Stop #1!

Hello and
Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee! 

During this week’s Crazy4Fiction Summer Book Bash, I’m taking visitors on a virtual visit to Nashville where Priscilla Nichols and Audrey Whitfield live in my new time-slip novel Count the Nights by Stars. Both Priscilla and Audrey want to host a summer book club in Nashville’s beautiful Centennial Park, and if you could meet these women in real life and join them for an afternoon, I know you’d love a chance to talk books with them. But since Audrey and Priscilla can’t join us in person, I’ve come up with a few ways you can have a little book bash of your own, inspired by our two heroines in Count the Night by Stars.

First, here’s a quick peek around Centennial Park, one of the fascinating settings in Count the Nights by Stars: 

The Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the original Greek structure, was built for the 

Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897 and is the only building that still remains in the park. 

Makes me wish I could've seen them all!

Centennial Park is a lush, historic park that has a storied history dating back to the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition of 1897 which Priscilla visits in Count the Nights by Stars 

and plays a key role in her story. 

There are several informative signs along the paths circling

Lake Watauga that tell the history of the exposition.

I was SO excited to see a vendor selling Italian ice, 

just like the yummy dessert Priscilla enjoys with 

a handsome man in the book!

Even though summers may be hot and humid here in Tennessee, Priscilla and Audrey would love to sit under one of the park’s tall trees on a breezy afternoon with a good book and some sweet iced tea, and maybe even a bowl of peaches and cream--a favorite dessert of someone in the book!

How can you enjoy your own book bash inspired by Audrey and Priscilla? Invite your book group or just some book-loving friends over and have a fun afternoon of books and goodies! Or treat yourself to a quiet day of summer reading and relaxation on your own! 

Audrey’s and Priscilla’s Summer Book Bash Ideas:

The food/drinks: Ice cold lemonade, spicy BBQ sliders, 

and birthday cupcakes to celebrate Tennessee's birthday!

The music:  A band is set up in the gazebo. Music from the 60s fills the park!

 

The theme: Happy Birthday, Tennessee!

The setting: Centennial Park or your own backyard complete with lots of big trees!

(You could even print out a picture of the Parthenon for decoration!)

THANK YOU for stopping by the Crazy4Fiction Summer Book Bash! 

Happy Reading!

~Michelle

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BEFORE YOU GO!! 

Click HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN a signed copy of 

Count the Nights by Stars, a scrapbook album, 

and a cool Nashville themed coffee mug! 

Contest closes July 31, 2022

The Next Crazy4Fiction Summer Book Bash stop is 

Author Jennifer L. Wright's Book Bash Stop #2!

Jenn's Book Bash begins Tuesday, July 26!

P.S. You'll want to check out each Book Bash post this week because...

there's a GRAND FINALE GIVEAWAY which includes a signed copy of each 

participating author’s book along with a Kindle e-Reader and a tote bag!! 

It opens July 29th on the Crazy4Fiction site. 

Details & links will be available on the last Book Bash stop!

Exclusive Giveaway Just for YOU!

Happy Spring, everyone!

I'm popping into your day to let you know that because you're a regular subscriber to my blog, I'm entering your name into a drawing for a signed copy of my new release COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS plus a $10 Amazon gift card and a few other goodies!

The book released into the world March 22, so I'm celebrating! And YOU, subscribers to my blog/newsletter, are the only folks eligible for this exclusive offer. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you! If I could give all of you a book, I would!

I'll announce the winner (and contact them via email) Saturday, April 2. 

If you haven't had a chance to snag a copy of COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS yet, here's a blurb and a link for purchase options. 

Again, THANK YOU for going on this journey called Life with me!

Blessings,

~Michelle

PS. If you're NOT a regular subscriber to this blog/newsletter and are reading this online, you too can become a Subscriber simply by entering your email at the top-right of this page where it says "Subscribe." I promise not to fill up your inbox with posts! You'll only hear from me a few times a year, either with bookish news or an inspirational post. 

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ABOUT COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS

Count your nights by stars, not shadows. Count your life with smiles, not tears.

1961. After a longtime resident at Nashville’s historic Maxwell House Hotel suffers a debilitating stroke, Audrey Whitfield is tasked with cleaning out the reclusive woman’s room. There, she discovers an elaborate scrapbook filled with memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Love notes on the backs of unmailed postcards inside capture Audrey’s imagination with hints of a forbidden romance . . . and troubling revelations about the disappearance of young women at the exposition. Audrey enlists the help of a handsome hotel guest as she tracks down clues and information about the mysterious “Peaches” and her regrets over one fateful day, nearly sixty-five years earlier.

https://www.tyndale.com/p/count-the-nights-by-stars/9781496459930

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! 😋 

Count the Nights by Stars is Available for Preorder!

Happy September, all!

The year is flying by and March 2022 will be here before we know it! What's happening in March 2022?!

This!

Here's a blurb about the story:

Count your nights by stars, not shadows. Count your life with smiles, not tears.

1961. After a longtime resident at Nashville’s historic Maxwell House Hotel suffers a debilitating stroke, Audrey Whitfield is tasked with cleaning out the reclusive woman’s room. There, she discovers an elaborate scrapbook filled with memorabilia from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Love notes on the backs of unmailed postcards inside capture Audrey’s imagination with hints of a forbidden romance . . . and troubling revelations about the disappearance of young women at the exposition. Audrey enlists the help of a handsome hotel guest as she tracks down clues and information about the mysterious “Peaches” and her regrets over one fateful day, nearly sixty-five years earlier.

1897. Outspoken and forward-thinking Priscilla Nichols isn’t willing to settle for just any man. She’s still holding out hope for love when she meets Luca Moretti on the eve of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Charmed by the Italian immigrant’s boldness, Priscilla spends time exploring the wonderous sights of the expo with Luca—until a darkness overshadows the monthslong event. Haunted by a terrible truth, Priscilla and Luca are sent down separate paths as the night’s stars fade into dawn.

Stay tuned for more details in the coming months about Launch Parties, giveaways, and more! In the meantime, click the Tab for my website for Preorder options!

Blessings,

~Michelle

Cover Reveal!

Hello Friends!

I'm SO excited to reveal the cover AND title of my new book! Here it is!!! 

Count the Nights by Stars is an historical time-slip novel set in 1961 & 1897 Nashville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Centennial Exposition took place in the summer of 1897, and I thoroughly enjoyed digging into the history of it. If you look closely, you'll see a map of the exposition overlayed on our heroine's blouse.  

I'll share more about the story in the coming weeks. Pre-order will be available soon ahead of the March 2022 release date. I can't wait to share Priscilla's and Audrey's stories with you!!

Thanks for celebrating with me! 

Blessings, 

~Michelle