It’s HERE! Dreams of Savannah Release Day

It’s HERE! Dreams of Savannah Release Day

I first came up with the idea and wrote the manuscript way back in 2011, fully expecting it to be published in the next year. But God (thankfully!) had other ideas. Nine years later, it’s finally coming out, and let’s just say a lot has changed in those nine years–not just in my story, but in the world. The book originally meant to hit a few Gone with the Wind notes now has a very different goal. Themes I never would have considered back then became the central ones. Lessons I didn’t know I needed have become so important to me.

In many ways, the process of this book opened my eyes to the noble ideals of racial reconciliation. I certainly won’t make any bold claims that this story will do any amazing work in that vein–I have no idea what it will or will not strike in the hearts of any readers. But I know what rewriting and editing have done for my heart. I know how the lessons my heroine learned have opened my own eyes. And I pray–I pray with fervency and hope–that it will do the same for you.

 

One of those lessons Delia learns is that it’s through learning each other’s stories that we can really come to understand and love each other. And so, I’d like to invite you all to share yours. Your personal story, your family’s story, your community’s…whatever you feel is what led you to where you are today. I love it when readers contact me to say, “My grandfather had a role like this character’s in the Great War!” or “My family came from this same area!” Those many emails I get actually inspired me to begin a new project. I’ll have a post dedicated SOLELY to it soon, but for now, a quick invitation. If you’d like to share your story, I’ve created SeeingtheStory.com as a place for you to do so. You can type it up, or you can record it either just with audio (even just calling in!) or with video. We’ll then index and post your musings, so you can share with your own family and everyone else’s! Let’s preserve our stories. They’re what keep us connected to our past and give us the courage to face the future. How? Because stories change the world.

About the Book

Cordelia Owens can weave a dream around anything and is well used to winning the hearts of everyone in Savannah with her whimsy. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister.

But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the first horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and cynical, and all too sure that he is not the hero Cordelia seems determined to make him.

As the War Between the States rages ever nearer and Savannah’s slaves start sneaking away to the islands off the coast to join the Yankees, both Phin and Cordelia get caught up in questions they never thought they’d have to ask–questions that threaten the very dreams of a future they’d cherished.

Dreams of Savannah Prize Pack

Dreams of Savannah PRIZE PACK Includes:

  • One (1) Signed Print copy of Dreams of Savannah
  • One (1) “Because Stories Change the World” tote
  • One (1) “Once Upon a Time” pendant

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Prizes subject to change due to availability. Open to US mailing addresses only. Void where prohibited. Giveaway open 1/5/21-1/11/21. One (1) winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and will be notified via the email provided. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize before a new winner is selected. See roseannamwhite.com for more information.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

International Giveaway

International Prize Includes:

  • One (1) print copy of Dreams fo Savannah – shipped through Book Depository, not signed.

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Prizes subject to change due to availability. Open to residents outside the USA only. Void where prohibited. Giveaway open 1/5/21-1/11/21. One (1) winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and will be notified via the email provided. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize before a new winner is selected. See roseannamwhite.com for more information.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bookish Tees & Totes

Tea Party Book Club

Coming up in February, we have a special Tea Parties for Dreams of Savannah! Mark your calendar and follow the link below for more info!

 
Saturday, February 20 & Friday, February 26 ~ with me
talking about Dreams of Savannah

Friday, March 19 ~ with Hannah Currie
talking about Heart of the Crown
Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt – Stop #8

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt – Stop #8

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 10/15 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, 10/18 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!

I’m so glad you’re joining us! I’m Roseanna M. White, writer of historical romance that always seems to include spies or war or mayhem of some sort…which is ironic, because my life is ridiculously ordinary. (Well, if you discount the fact that I have all these stories in my head. Which, if one can trust my 12-year-old son, you should definitely discount.) Most of my books are set in Edwardian/World War 1 England, but I also have a few American-set stories and some biblical fiction too. I hope you take a minute to look around and even check out my book-themed T-shirts, tote bags, and tea parties!

But today let’s focus on my latest release, A Portrait of Loyalty.

Set in 1918, this final book in the Codebreakers series (it can be read alone, don’t worry!) has a heroine who’s a photographer working for Intelligence and a crytographer hero who just escaped to England from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution…though of course, his enemies aren’t about to let one of their Intelligence’s highest ranking officers leave without a fuss. We’ve got war, betrayal, questions about propaganda, the purpose of art, the Spanish flu, the biggest aerial raid of the war, and of course a love story all packed in these pages! (Click on the book cover to see the actual description here on my website.)

As I did my research for this series, I knew I wanted to write a book about the photographers that did so much work for the Admiralty during the war, especially when I learned that a fake photograph played a huge part in the end of the war. But how, I wondered, did these photographers even do what they did?

How You Photoshopped a Picture Before Photoshop

I’m a book cover designer and graphic artist in my (ahem) spare time, so I do a lot of photo-manipulation…but I do it all digitally. I’ve always wondered how people did the same work before the advent of computers, and when they even started doing it.

The answer: they’ve been doing it since the dawn of photography! Some of the earliest examples we have of photographs include touch-ups, cut-outs, or inserts. And some of the most famous ones too. (Like quite a few of Abraham Lincoln.) But how?

For small changes–blotting out a figure they didn’t want in there, smoothing out flaws, that sort of thing–the retoucher would go in with a paintbrush and simply match the shades of the surrounding items (keeping in mind these were in black and white) to make items disappear or change. But this took skill, especially if you were trying to work on a person–to remove scars or freckles or otherwise “airbrush” a figure. Too heavy a hand, and the people would start to look fake. (Leading to an outcry in the photography community against any retouching at all.)

Complete self-instructing library of practical photography via Archive.org // Public Domain

But then there were the more extreme examples, when an artist was called upon to combine images to create a new one. When I’m doing this work in Photoshop, I always select what I want from one image, cut it out, paste it on a new layer. Well, go figure, that’s exactly what they did then too! They would literally cut one image out of a print and paste it onto another photograph, then reshoot it and develop it as a single image.

Of course, a skilled eye could detect this work–it left small edges, or evidence of where the two layers met. Sometimes there would be a shadow between the old and new or you could see where the paper had bubbled from the glue. But the best artists left little evidence of their work…and of course, my heroine is the best of the best. 😉

A retouching desk. Image credit: Finishing the Negative via Google Books. // Public Domain

Here’s the Stop #8 Basics:
If you’re interested, you can order A Portrait of Loyalty on Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook or get a signed copy from my store here!

Clue to Write Down:
you

Link to Stop #9, the Next Stop on the Loop:
Robin Lee Hatcher’s site!

Giveaway!

I’m giving away a signed copy of my book PLUS your choice of a Bookish Tote bag from my store to one US winner ~ or a copy of my book sent from Book Depository to an international winner!

 

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #3

Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #3

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 3/12 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, 3/15 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!

I’m Roseanna M. White, author of historical fiction and hostess of the Tea Party Book Club, managing editor for WhiteFire, cover designer, and homeschooling mom. And because all that wasn’t enough to do, I’m also launching Bookish Tees and Totes, where you can get fun book-themed merch. A sample of which is part of my individual giveaway, so keep on reading for more info on that! 😉 
I’m super excited about my latest release, book 2 in The Codebreakers series about England’s intelligence division during the First World War. If you’re new to the series, don’t worry! On Wings of Devotion can be read as a stand-alone. Here’s the official blurb:
https://www.roseannamwhite.com/books/codebreakers-series/on-wings-of-devotion/

Against Every Warning,
She’s Drawn
Ever Closer
to the Man Known as “Black Heart”


All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster–a man who
deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have
preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the
Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no
great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.

As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she
sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And
when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes
she has a role to play in his healing–and some of her own to do as well.


With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up,
intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40
into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the cross
hairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope–and to each other–if
they want to survive.

Something not exactly pointed out in the summary about Arabelle seems to be the very thing that most resonates with readers.
My heroine is not beautiful.
In fact, the first time the hero meets her, his scene begins with She wasn’t pretty. When my husband read that line before I turned it in to my editors, he snorted and said, “Seriously? That’s his first thought? In a romance?”
Yep. Arabelle Denler is what one might call plain. She’s tall–I don’t mention her height in the story, but I imagine her at 6 feet, in honor of my favorite boss of all times, Patricia, who literally towered over short little me. Someone in the story calls her gangly. And while people might look at her and think the word “kind,” no one ever thinks “pretty.”

And I love writing a character like this. Because, first of all, it’s something most people can relate to. Sure, I know some super-model-gorgeous people…but most of us aren’t. Most of us just learn how to work with the features God has given us and to appreciate them. Most of us can look nice when we put some effort into it, but we can also scare ourselves when we look in the mirror on a bad day. 😉 But most of us also have people who love us and call us beautiful.
That’s what I wanted for Arabelle Denler. I wanted a heroine who might not attract many men at first glance. Because then, as Camden gets to know her, he can notice how her eyes are really the most amazing shade of green-gold…and that single dimple in one cheek is just enchanting…and she’s all long, lean lines…and how somehow she’s beautiful. Or as he puts it, “How could she be so beautiful when she wasn’t even pretty?”
That’s the miracle of the lens of love, right? As we get to know people–whether they’re family, friends, or potential romances–we stop seeing how they look as a whole and just see them. We see features that we come to cherish. 
We see the heart that shines through them. And that, above all, is what makes Arabelle beautiful. And, in turn, what makes her a heroine most of us can relate to.
So to celebrate Arabelle, Camden, and On Wings of Devotion, I’m offering a special giveaway! It’s open to both US and International, but the prizes will vary slightly depending on who wins. 😉 If you’re international, you’ll receive a copy of the book via Book Depository. If you have a US mailing address, you’re eligible for a signed copy of the book PLUS a Bookish Tees and Totes tote bag in your choice of available designs. (You can view them all in detail at www.BookishTeesandTotes.com or, if you’re a big Etsy shopper, at my shop there.)


Here’s the Stop #3 Basics:
If you’re interested, you can order On Wings of Devotion on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book, SIGNED from my store, or at your local bookstore! 
Clue to Write Down: or raining

The Be Our Valentine Giveaway!

The Be Our Valentine Giveaway!

It’s Valentine’s Week!

So how better to celebrate than with six English-set historical romances? I’m thrilled to be teaming up with some of my favorite authors to bring you an amazing giveaway!

How It Works

It’s beautifully simple. =) Just enter the giveaway form below; there are two possible entries for each author, so do as many or as few as you like!
The giveaway runs from Monday 10 February until Saturday15 February. It’s open to anyone, no matter where you’ll from. One winner will be sent all six books!
Please share with your friends who enjoy historical romances as much as you do! 😉
It’s Release Day for On Wings of Devotion!!!

It’s Release Day for On Wings of Devotion!!!

It’s January 7 — and that means it’s Release Day for book 2 in the Codebreakers series, On Wings of Devotion!

In This Post:

  • A little bit of behind-the-scenes
  • Official blurb and cover
  • LIVE video tonight!
  • Link to the Quiz – how closely were you paying attention when you read it?
  • Tea Party Book Club
  • GIVEAWAY!

Behind the Scenes

I am so excited to get to introduce you to one of my favorite couples I’ve created. If you read The Number of Love, then you already know Phillip Camden–and you had a glimpse of Arabelle in the hospital scenes too. These two have been with me for quite a few years. I first developed them for a pirate story set in Jamaica of the 1600s…which I wrote, oh, two whole chapters of. 😉 I later repurposed them for a Regency idea…which got a whole seven chapters long before I called it quits. But when I was brainstorming this series, I had a moment of “Aha! I can FINALLY use them!” And I found that Camden made just as good a grounded pilot as he did a pirate. 😉
I’ve already had several early readers email me to say how much they love the interaction of these two characters, which of course makes my day. There’s something really special about a hero hurting so deeply and a heroine whose calling is to heal. Especially when you throw in an adventurer father, an office full of cryptographers, an admiral that history has likened to a real-life Sherlock Holmes, and a Swiss spy loyal to her German-Intelligence beau. I had so much fun writing this book, and I’m so excited to welcome it officially into the world!
https://www.pinterest.com/roseannamwhite/on-wings-of-devotion-the-codebreakers-book-2/
Want a visual of my characters and their world? Check out my Pinterest board for the book! (I do have a Graphics section on the board, with images you’re welcome to share on any social media, and of course I love re-pins!)

 About the Book

Against Every Warning, She’s Drawn Ever Closer
to the Man Known as “Black Heart”

All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster–a man who
deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have
preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the
Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no
great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.


As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she
sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And
when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes
she has a role to play in his healing–and some of her own to do as well.


With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up,
intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40
into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the cross
hairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope–and to each other–if
they want to survive.

Join Me Tonight!

https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite/posts/1438135803030207?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBs8Cb2oR018M6SrdiVByLE3nVFBnc3-Trc1aAdg17Ol7xJ4NPyoiu2emYff5e4C6Q4s318TGyttowc5jCol2XooifIzxc2qwU06SRPMh0_DmcVNNce4wsC-6UV6Ro4OU_s_B2V5XhqdmXYJz0uo-VUwoL7TqQgPgkpOI4agXtVDtZLA6Oy_ThJgnBbB5TbPc4fP7iQi3PsrTuD8scTmwyLv-OyznNANrlEnk0xhaFhcCFqP69z43shXmCwYdNNvyVo2WvoJ1CZQpKzwohYgmW0r80VNxZMuuZcOZ6EO4VeD9I_XDA2C5VbbniSa9c5FRxQ1W0q88RwaV-LgpTcNLgWTeWNbXkTZRAA7FQlJSJDDRsdI93B&__tn__=-R

Tonight I’ll be going live on Facebook, chatting about the book! I’ll share some fun behind-the-scenes, read an excerpt, I’ll be giving away TWO copies to commenters, answering your questions, and more! It’ll be at 7 EST, but if you can’t make it live, don’t worry! The giveaway will be open 24 hours, and you can catch it in my video archives on Facebook or watch on my website!

Once You’ve Read It, Take the Quiz!

How well were you paying attention while you were reading?
Take the quiz and share your score! Don’t forget to tag me @RoseannaMWhite
and use the hashtag #codebreakers

Tea Party Book Club

Of course this month’s Tea Party Book Club is going to be focused on On Wings of Devotion! I’m offering two dates to get us started and will add more as necessary, in a later month.

Friday, January 24, 7 p.m. EST / 6 CST / 5 MST / 4 PST
Saturday, January 25, 1 p.m. EST / 12 CST / 11 a.m. MST / 10 PST

What’s a Tea Party Book Club, you may ask?

It’s pretty simple–much like a regular book club, we’ll be chatting about the book, so it’ll assume you’ve read it already. But to make it extra fun, it’s also a tea party! I send you a package with loose-leaf tea and treats, including some bookish things like page flags and a pen (so you can mark your favorite parts, of course). At the given time, we all log in to Chime (online meeting software), enjoy our tea together, and talk about the book!

You can purchase the seat and the package for $25, opt to add a signed book, and even purchase a tea party starter kit that includes your pick of a vintage cup, a personal tea pot, a homemade tea cozy, and a spoon. There’s also an option to donate to the scholarship fund–and to apply for a scholarship.

Non-US? I can’t ship you a package, but you can purchase the seat and join us to talk about the book for a reduced price!

Want to share the experience with a friend who’d join you in person? This is perfect for mother/daughter duos or reader friends! Purchase one seat normally, then the bring-a-friend option as an add-on!

Want to book a private Tea Party Book Club for your in-person book club or Library group? I’m happy to put together group rates! Just shoot me an email at roseanna@roseannawhite.com to set it up!

Spots are already filling up, so act quickly!

Giveaway

And now, the part you’ve probably been waiting for. 😉 As always, I’ve put together two different giveaways–one that’s US only and one that is NON-US only.

Calling All Artists!

Calling All Artists!

I had so much fun with the coloring contest for An Hour Unspent. I wanted to continue with the creative theme for The Number of Love, so…

I want to see your ORIGINAL artwork! 

That’s right! Use computer graphics, colored pencils, watercolor, or another choice of medium to create an original piece of art inspired by The Number of Love. There are so many themes to pull from for this, I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

Submit your creations to bookwormracheld@gmail.com (my assistant) and we will feature all the artwork on a Pinterest Board. From that, I will choose 1 winner. The winner will receive a $15 gift card to Blick and have their artwork featured on my blog, newsletter, and social media platforms.

Rules of Entry

1. This is a skill-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winning.
2. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase will not increase your odds of winning.
3. Contest is open Internationally.
4. Contest begins June 6, 2019 at 12:00AM EDT and ends June 26, 2019 at 11:59 PM EDT.
5. To enter, create original artwork inspired by The Number of Love using any medium you’d like. Artwork must be appropriate. Photograph or scan your artwork and email entry to bookwormracheld@gmail.com with subject line “The Number of Love Art Contest””. Please include your full name in your email.
Entry must include a parent or legal guardian’s full name, telephone number and email address if the contestant is under 18 years of age. Entry must be submitted in English. Any entries missing the above requirements will be immediately disqualified.
6. Entry must be received by Rachel Dixon (Roseanna’s Assistant) no later than 11:59PM EDT on June 26, 2019 by email. No other method of entry will be accepted.
7. All personal information collected will be used for the purposes of this contest only and will not be used for marketing or other purposes.
8. Limit one (1) entry per person.
9. All entries must be original and entirely created by the entrant. There are no restrictions on what an entrant can use to create the image.
10. Entries will be judged by Roseanna M. White based on creativity, skill, and overall artistic ability. Roseanna M. White will decide ONE finalist and the winner will then be notified via email. All entries will be shared on a designated Pinterest board and the winner’s entry will be shared on Roseanna’s blog and social media.
11. One (1) Grand Prize winner will be selected at the end of the contest.

12. Grand Prize:
One (1) $15 Gift Card to Blick.

Prizes subject to change according to availability. If a prize is unavailable, a similar prize will be substituted.
13. Non-compliance or return of prize notification as undeliverable, may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
14. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
15. All entries become the property of Roseanna M. White and may be used or reproduced in any manner and for any purpose by Roseanna M. White without additional consent or compensation, and will not be acknowledged or returned.
16. By participating, Contest entrants: (1) represent that they have complied with these Official Contest Rules; (2) have received parental consent if under the age of 18 and grant Roseanna M. White the right to use his or her name, and state, (3) release Roseanna M. White from all liability in connection with this Contest, and (4) agree to execute an affidavit of eligibility/prize acceptance form and publicity release if requested to do so, all without further compensation.
17. Roseanna M. White and staff are not responsible for lost, late or misdirected entries, or incomplete/incorrect entries.
18. Roseanna M. White reserves the right to disqualify anyone who attempts to tamper or otherwise interfere with the proper functioning of the promotion.
19. Void where prohibited.