Bentonsport- A Christmas Story Blog Tour: Author Guest Post + Giveaway

 

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Bentonsport - A Christmas Story by Lisa Schnedler, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Bentonsport - A Christmas Story 

Series: Bentonsport #1 

Author: Lisa Schnedler 

Publisher: Scrivenings Press 

Release Date: September 27, 2022 

Genre: Clean Romance/Christmas/Time Travel

What if you found the love of your life right in your hometown—in another century? Bentonsport—two different eras in one special town, two lonely persons, and one miraculous Christmas...

For Bentonsport Academy Headmaster Thomas Barton, Christmas emphasizes his loneliness. He has given up hope of discovering a woman to share his heart and life and plans to return to his hometown for the holidays. But when his friend’s preposterous prophecy comes true, he finds himself having traveled not by train, but through time, from 1869, to Bentonsport today! Now he must navigate a modern world for the two weeks before Christmas and discover what he was sent to find. 

Baker Sarah Peterson has everything she wants in the small historic town of modern-day Bentonsport—everything but a man with whom to share her dreams and future. And, in a town of under fifty residents, where’s she going to encounter a soulmate? But when Thomas walks into her bakery, seemingly odd and out of place, but handsome and charming, she finds herself hoping something special might happen this Christmas.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound | BookBub

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Schnedler writes cozy romances. She has lived in Bentonsport, Iowa, for more than 25 years, the setting of her latest series. A certified Christian Life Coach, Lisa has a Christian life planning ministry, Branch Living, to help Christians live out their God-given purposes. This ministry includes retreats, classes, a website, blog, and podcast. She is president of a health system in Wisconsin. She is a pastor’s wife, mother of three, and grandmother of six.

Connect with Lisa by visiting lisaschnedler.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates. 

GUEST POST

The Magic of Christmas
by Lisa Schnedler

When I began writing Bentonsport: A Christmas Story, I didn’t intend the story to involve time travel. I intended to convey my experience of moving from an urban area to a tiny town of just 45 people and how this city girl fell in love with the magic of small-town living.

I still remember moving day. We loaded all of our possessions into a moving truck, drove four hours away from St. Louis, my hometown, and arrived at this small village along the Des Moines River. The movers were also from St. Louis, and when they finished unloading the truck, one of them turned to me and said, “How are you going to stand all this quiet?”

I turned, walked quickly into the house, and cried. 

The coming weeks proved difficult. We ran out of diapers late at night, and I told my husband I would run and get some. He asked a one-word question. 

“Where?” 

The nearest all-night grocery store was 25 miles away. More tears.

A week later, it was evening, and I realized we had no coffee. This time, I didn’t have to ask the question. I knew the answer.

I had this overwhelming sense of the unfamiliar. Of nothing going quite as planned. Of not fitting in.

But, over time, I fell in love with my small town of Bentonsport. I loved the people I got to know well because in small towns, unlike cities, you see the same people at the store, church, and school athletic events.

I enjoyed the slower pace of life, venturing to the cities for entertainment, shopping, and adventure, but returning to my little village to recharge and spend time with family.

One day, as I was walking the streets of my tiny village, I wondered what someone who had lived in this river town back when it was growing and bustling would think of the town today. No steamboats. Few remaining houses. No mills along the river. All gone.

And, I thought—I bet they would feel like I did when I first came here. Lost. Lonely. Sad.

But, I realized that what made me fall in love with my small village—a small community of artists—would likely have the same impact on them. They would enjoy the people. Enjoy the close relationships, the beauty of the area, and the peace.

When my husband first brought me to Bentonsport, he said, “When you visit most places, you go to see the sites, the shopping, the fun. And while Bentonsport has nice shops and artist studios, here you come to meet the people.”

So, I decided that instead of the story involving a city-to-small town move, the story would involve time travel—with all the same emotions.

But, I didn’t want time travel to detract from the true story of Bentonsport—the small artist community with good people leading good lives. People you would like to know, how they relate, how they care for each other.

So how to have time travel—but not make it so jarring?

How to make it plausible and, well, magical?

And then it came to me. No season says “magic” and “everything is possible,” like Christmas.

Christmas is a season of setting differences aside. Of coming together. Of being with friends and family.

The magic of Christmas softens the element of time travel and allows readers to focus on the people—and let circumstance slide away.

Christmas - what a perfect setting for a time-travel romance!

 

 

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card & bookmarks.

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 10, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 17, 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/CAN. 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!