Eight at the Lake Blog Tour: Author Guest Post + Giveaway

 

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Eight at the Lake by Lin Stepp, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Eight at the Lake 

Series: Mountain Home 

Author: Lin Stepp 

Publisher: Mountain Hill Press 

Release Date: April 1, 2022 

Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance 

Set in the charming historic town of Dandridge, Tennessee, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp’s sweet and touching story follows the unlikely romantic attraction between two characters with nothing in common but an undeniable zing. 

Samantha King, a nationally known storm chaser with Weather First, is covering a hurricane hitting the Florida Panhandle when a sign slams into her, tossing her over a wall and into the pounding surf. Accidents demand recovery and Samantha reluctantly heads to her Aunt Dixie’s in Dandridge, Tennessee, for a needed rest. The only plus, besides time with Dixie, is sharing time with her sister Andrea’s children, taken in years ago by Ford and Laura McDaniel when Andrea and her husband were killed. Samantha has spent little time with the children over the years, due to her demanding work schedule, but she is purposed to get to know the children better while in Dandridge. 

Ford McDaniel, with a busy veterinary practice and part ownership in his family’s lakeside resort, often wonders how in the world he ended up with eight children on his own. Yes, he and Laura agreed, as godparents to their best friends, Andrea and Adam Bradley, that if anything ever happened to them they’d raise their kids, but who imagined that scenario would ever occur? Still, he and Laura seemed to manage okay until Laura died, shattering his world and leaving him with eight small children to raise on his own. Now Andrea’s celebrated sister Samantha is in town for a while and it’s hard for Ford not to resent her carefree life—or to ignore his attraction to her, a relationship he clearly knows can only go nowhere. 

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound | BookBub

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lin Stepp is a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon best-selling international author, A native Tennessean, businesswoman, and former faculty member at Tusculum College, Lin has over twenty published novels set around the Smoky Mountains near her home and the South Carolina coast. She and her husband J.L. also write regional guidebooks and have three published guides to Smokies hiking trails and TN and SC state parks. Lin enjoys hiking and exploring out of doors, speaking for events, and sharing about her work and interests through her monthly blog and newsletter, both on her website at: www.linstepp.com

CONNECT WITH LIN: Website | Facebook | Twitter

GUEST POST

 

Location, Location, Location: On Bringing the Mountain to the Pages
by Linn Stepp

When the idea for my first books slipped into my mind, part of my vision in starting to create my novels was to bring readers to the Great Smoky Mountains I so love. As the idea for a series of stand-alone books began to grow in my imagination, I knew I wanted to bring readers to visit a new part of the mountains of Tennessee or North Carolina in every one of my stories.  And that is just what I did in all twelve of the books in the Smoky Mountain Series … and now, ongoing, in the Mountain Home Books. Every one of my mountain books are stand-alone titles with new characters and a new story set in a new mountain location. 

My first book took readers to Wears Valley in the Smokies with subsequent books traveling to Townsend, Gatlinburg, Greenbrier, Cosby, Happy Valley, Pittman Center, and other locations in Tennessee and then into North Carolina to Bryson City and Maggie Valley, with a new book coming out next year set in Cherokee. When working on any of my novels, I collect information about each book location to be featured, visit each area taking notes and photos, looking for real shops, restaurants, and places to tuck into my novels. I gather local stories and history about the area, which often find their way into conversations in the book, and I plot out a mystery or a bit of suspense to thread through every book that would be realistic to that location and the characters involved. I try to use realistic dialogue for many local characters and I draw story maps for the settings of all my books, too, which my publishers have always featured in the front of my books since the very first title published. I love the idea that my readers around the U.S. and abroad get to visit the places in my mountain books that I love and know so well.

My current book now being featured with the JustRead tour, which published April 1^st, takes visitors to the charming, historic town of Dandridge, Tennessee, near Cosby on the eastern side of the Smoky Mountains. Dandridge was one of the earliest cities to develop in the state of Tennessee and it is steeped in history, with beautiful old homes, churches, and inns in its downtown area. I created the Sycamore Lake Resort just outside of town as part of the major setting of my book, but as always many of my book scenes take readers exploring in downtown Dandridge, seeing the sights, making a side trip to the wonderful Bush’s factory and visitor center nearby, and traveling to the nearby Cosby Campground to spend a weekend camping out and hiking the trails. I’m sure that after reading this book many of my readers will be eager to take a “road trip” to Dandridge to visit spots featured in the story, to look out over Douglas Lake, to shop in the downtown stores mentioned, and to eat at local restaurants. One of my readers wrote to me and said, “You’re the best Ambassador for tourism to the Smoky Mountains that I know” and that to me is a wonderful compliment.

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Eight at the Lake and Light the Way plus bookmarks for each book!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight April 4, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on April 11, 2022. 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 the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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

 

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