A Novel-Tea Evening with Authors + Excerpt from 'Long Way Home' by Lynn Austin

Happy Thursday Bookworms!

I am so excited about today's post! Not only am I featuring an excerpt from a great novel, but I am also sharing information about a bookish event that you are not going to want to miss. Oh, and did I mention there's also a giveaway! This post has it all, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Novel-Tea Evening with Authors including Lynn Austin, Susie Finkbeiner, Jocelyn Green, Laura Frantz, Kate Breslin, Amanda Barratt, and Joanna Davidson Politano, sponsored by JustRead Publicity Tours!

You are Invited

A Novel-Tea Evening with Authors
September 2, 2023 at 7 p.m.
Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago

Join us at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 2, at Chicago’s historic Palmer House Hilton Hotel for a tasteful evening with tea and talk of books, writing, history, and the power of story. Emceed by Chris Jager of Baker Book House, seven novelists will share what inspires them, tales from the research files, what they’ve learned on the journey, and their hope for readers.

Learn More about A Novel-Tea Evening with Authors

About the Novel-Tea Authors

LYNN AUSTIN, whose titles include Long Way Home, Chasing Shadows, and If I Were You. Connect with her at LynnAustin.org.

AMANDA BARRATT, whose titles include Within These Walls of Sorrow, The White Rose Resists, and My Dearest Dietrich. Connect with her at AmandaBarratt.net.

KATE BRESLIN, whose titles include In Love’s Time, As Dawn Breaks, and Far Side of the Sea. Connect with her at KateBreslin.com.

SUSIE FINKBEINER, whose titles include The All-American, The Nature of Small Birds, and All Manner of Things. Connect with her at SusieFinkbeiner.com.

LAURA FRANTZ, whose titles include The Rose and the Thistle, A Heart Adrift, and Tidewater Bride. Connect with her at LauraFrantz.net.

JOCELYN GREEN, whose titles include The Metropolitan Affair, The Windy City Saga series, and The Mark of the King. Connect with her at JocelynGreen.com.

JOANNA DAVIDSON POLITANO, whose titles include The Lost Melody, A Midnight Dance, and The Love Note. Connect with her at JDPStories.com.

Purchase Tickets to Attend A Novel-Tea Evening with Authors

Featured Book

Title: Long Way Home
Author: Lynn Austin
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Release Date: June 1, 2022
Genre: Christian Historical Romance

In this gripping portrait of war and its aftermath from bestselling author Lynn Austin, a young woman searches for the truth her childhood friend won’t discuss after returning from World War II, revealing a story of courage, friendship, and faith.

Peggy Serrano couldn’t wait for her best friend to come home from the war. But the Jimmy Barnett who returns is much different from the Jimmy who left, changed so drastically by his experience as a medic in Europe that he can barely function. When he attempts the unthinkable, his parents check him into the VA hospital. Peggy determines to help the Barnetts unravel what might have happened to send their son over the edge. She starts by contacting Jimmy’s war buddies, trying to identify the mysterious woman in the photo they find in Jimmy’s belongings.

Seven years earlier, sensing the rising tide against her people, Gisela Wolff and her family flee Germany aboard the passenger ship St. Louis, bound for Havana, Cuba. Gisela meets Sam Shapiro on board and the two fall quickly in love. But the ship is denied safe harbor and sent back to Europe. Thus begins Gisela’s perilous journey of exile and survival, made possible only by the kindness and courage of a series of strangers she meets along the way, including one man who will change the course of her life.

Excerpt

I yanked open the door on the passenger side and climbed in. It closed with a rusty-sounding creak. We were supposed to head back to the veterinary clinic, but Mr. B. just sat there with his door open and one leg still hanging out. He was gazing at the mountains again, where cloud shadows moved across the slope below the cliffs.

“Mr. B.?” I said. “I’m sure Jimmy will get better again. He just needs more time.”

“I hope so,” he said with a sigh.

“He must have seen some horrible things during the war, and it will probably take him a while to get over them. But you fought in the first war, right? And you were okay afterwards.” There was a picture of a much-younger Mr. Barnett on the mantel in their living room, wearing an Army uniform. They put Jimmy’s picture beside it after he enlisted. Mr. Barnett had been a veterinarian in the Great War, back when they still used horses in the cavalry. Jimmy was a medic in this war and took care of soldiers, not horses. But I guessed he and his father witnessed many of the same things.

“Yes, some of the men I knew suffered from shell shock,” Mr. B. said. “They call it battle fatigue now. We were all told to go home and put the war behind us.”

“And you did that, right?”

“Jimmy and I are very different. He always did have a tender heart."

About the Author

Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan.

Connect with Lynn by visiting lynnaustin.org to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a tote bag, one bag of Pride and Peppermint Novel Tea, plus a $20 egift card to BakerBookHouse.com!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight April 12, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 19, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!