A surprising story...

When I volunteered to participate in Erica's blog tour, I knew I'd be in for a good read and quality writing. Erica is a friend and the crit bud of one of MY crit buds (is that clear? lol) and I knew she was talented...

But I was NOT expecting this!! THE BARTERED BRIDE was a surprising, refreshing, intriguing story that I had trouble putting down. I haven't quite finished it yet, because, well this happened --

But I am determined to get it back and finish the last few chapters!! Time to turn on Dora, because I've got to see how this story winds up.

Here's a quick overview...

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Duluth, Minnesota in 1905 boasts more millionaires than any other U.S. city. Tycoon Abraham Kennebrae intends to marry his grandsons off to three of the wealthiest heiresses in town and allow Kennebrae Shipping to gain control of Duluth Harbor.

Tempests rage, in the board room, the ball room, and on treacherous Lake Superior. Will hearts and helms survive? Will God prove Himself sovereign over wind, waves, and weddings?

Jonathan Kennebrae, oldest of the three Kennebrae brothers, finds himself backed into a corner. Marry heiress Melissa Brooke or lose his own considerable inheritance. Can he find a legitimate reason to avoid the wedding and still keep his fortune? But as the wedding day approaches, does he want to escape?

Melissa Brooke, only heir to her father’s empire, is bartered by her parents into a marriage contract to a man she’s never met. Can she trust him with her deepest secret? Can she trust him with her heart?

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Order your copy of this great story HERE !!!!

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I just immediately fell for these characters and their situation. I don't read a lot of historicals, mostly because I don't have a lot of time anymore to read in general, but I think I've discovered a secret...I think what makes a historical great is when the reader doesn't feel that they are reading one.

I don't mean in regards to word style or setting. Erica did an amazing job in both of those aspects. I'm talking about story quality, where the reader gets sucked in and becomes so involved in that world that it doesn't seem like it was a long time ago. It seems like right now, and you're in petticoats and chemises right there with them! =)

Here's some of the writing you can look forward to, a beautiful phrase that jumped out at me as "wow" -

The morning sun fell through the stained glass of the upper windows, shattering rainbows on the Perisan rug.

I love that!! And that's just one of the pretty descriptions you'll read that will transfer you back in time.

Here's a little bit about Erica, and then keep reading for an interview with her!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




ERICA VETSCH is married to Peter and keeps the company books for the family lumber business. A home-school mom to Heather and James, Erica loves history, romance, and storytelling. Her ideal vacation is taking her family to out-of-the-way history museums and chatting to curators about local history. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Calvary Bible College in Secondary Education: Social Studies. You can find her on the web at http://www.onthewritepath.blogspot.com/


1. Tell us a little about the process for writing The Bartered Bride. The idea came to me while I was sitting in church waiting for the service to start. All of a sudden, the names and the "What if?" queston just burst into my head. I wrote The Bartered Bride in about five weeks. I was so 'high' on the story, I couldn't wait to write it and to get that first critique back to see how it read.

2. Do you see yourself putting a little bit of Erica into all your heroines, or are you totally different from each of them? My heroines are usually the way I WISH I was. They always come up with something snappy to say, or have the right words of wisdom for a situation. That being said, they share my values and as much as possible given the historical context, my views on things.

3. What is the takeaway you hope your readers will gain from reading The Bartered Bride? A couple of things. First, that God is sovereign, and that His will WILL be accomplished, no matter how much scurrying and forcing of issues we might try to do. And Second, that quite often we pray that God will change someone else, when we're the one most in need of change.

4. What is your favorite color and why? Red. Because it makes me happy.
5. What is your favorite guilty pleasure? Book buying. I buy lots of research books and novels.

6. Imagine - you just pulled open the doors to Barnes & Noble and stepped inside. What's your first thought? I wish I had a zillion dollars. :)

7. If you had your choice between a muffin, a bagel, and a donut, which would you go for? A donut. Bavarian creme filled chocolate slathered donut all the way.

8. If you had to pick only ONE theme or message of God's truth to share with the world in your books, what would it be? The message of John 3:16, That God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us, so that we could spend eternity with Him.

9. What is your favorite Thanksgiving holiday tradition? Probably that we put up all our Christmas decorations that weekend. A great family time with music, food, laughter, untangling of lights you promised yourself last year that you'd store more neatly but ended up just wadding up and stuffing into a box.

10. What is a book you recently read that has still "stayed with you" in your mind? Right now it's Montana Rose by Mary Connealy. The heroine was such a departure for Mary and she carried it off beautifully. Humor, love, danger, it's all there.

~ Thanks for reading! Hope you purchase this story for yourself, because you won't regret it!! I'm officially an Erica Vetsch fan. ~

Now to go demand my book back from Little Miss....