Blog Book Tour | feat. the Blackbird Mountain series by Joanne Bischof, especially "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" (book one) and "Daughters of Distant Shores" (book two)
Posted Friday, 15 March, 2019 by jorielov Blackbird Mountain series, Daughters of Northern Shores, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Joanne Bischof, Sons of Blackbird Mountain, Thomas Nelson 2 Comments
Acquired Book By: I've been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa's blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. Oft-times you'll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I'll be hosting on behalf of their authors when I'm not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.
I received a complimentary ARC copy of "Daughters from Distant Shores" direct from the publisher Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for an honest review. A print copy of "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" was available via my local library by which I borrowed in order to understand the fuller back-story attached to this series. My ruminations on behalf of the first novel are being shared for my own edification and to help introduce my readers to the series overall whilst sharing my own journey in its discovery. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
How my love of INSPY reads inspired my choice to participate on this blog tour:
When I first started blogging, I was going to set out to read new authors of INSPY Lit I hadn't had the pleasure of reading previously. It was through my visitations with Casey Herringshaw's blog which inspired the list I had developed of seeking out new and established INSPY authors who were drawing the eye of book bloggers like Ms Herringshaw and readers alike. It was through reading her blog rather extensively I found the list which was then developed in the final #70AuthorsChallenge.
Joanne Bischof happens to be the 18th author out of my original #70AuthorsChallenge List.
Curiously, like most book bloggers our good intentions when we first start joining the exciting world of the book blogosphere and the bookish side of Twitter, our personal reading goals can sometime be cast aside. This is why I haven't made an extensive dent in my readerly goals for my INSPY Reads and why I am intending to make more head-way on them this year as I feel it will be a healthier year for me all the way round. The past few years especially were marred a bit with personal health afflictions but this year, as I move into March, I feel more hopeful I might have sorted out a way to ease the frequencies of my chronic migraines and by doing so, perhaps for the first time since I started my blog I'll have a greater freedom in being able to read whenever the mood strikes rather than having to wait out the after effects of a migraine.
My love of reading INSPY Lit extends back to childhood – as I've been a hybrid reader of both mainstream and INSPY Lit since the origins of when I first became a reader. Finding several blog tours this year focusing on these authors and their stories was a treat of bookish joy as I dearly want to expand my knowledge of the stories being published from both Major Trade and Indie Publishers within the INSPY realms of interest I enjoy reading. This particular blog tour felt like a step in the right direction.
Sons of Blackbird Mountain
by Joanne Bischof
Source: Borrowed from local library
A Tale of Family, Brotherhood, and the Healing Power of Love
After the tragic death of her husband, Aven Norgaard is beckoned to give up her life in Norway to become a housekeeper in the rugged hills of Nineteenth-Century Appalachia. Upon arrival, she finds herself in the home of her late husband's cousins—three brothers who make a living by brewing hard cider on their three-hundred acre farm. Yet even as a stranger in a foreign land, Aven has hope to build a new life in this tight-knit family.
But her unassuming beauty disrupts the bond between the brothers. The youngest two both desire her hand, and Aven is caught in the middle, unsure where—and whether—to offer her affection. While Haakon is bold and passionate, it is Thor who casts the greatest spell upon her. Though Deaf, mute, and dependent on hard drink to cope with his silent pain, Thor possesses a sobering strength.
As autumn ushers in the apple harvest, the rift between Thor and Haakon deepens and Aven faces a choice that risks hearts. Will two brothers' longing for her quiet spirit tear apart a family? Can she find a tender belonging in this remote, rugged, and unfamiliar world?
A haunting tale of struggle and redemption, Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a portrait of grace in a world where the broken may find new life through the healing mercy of love.
Genres: Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction, Historical Romance
Published by Thomas Nelson
on 3rd July, 2018
My path originally crossed with Joanne Bischof before I became a book blogger as I was an avid reader of blogs – both individuals like myself and author blogs or group author blogs – somewhere in those travels, whilst finding new and inspiring authors of INSPY Fiction I wanted to be reading I came across Ms Bischof. I had her badge in my sidebar for a long time until during one of the updates to the theme I hadn't realised it hadn't staid where I had placed it. I've changed that now – as I love to support the authors I want to be reading inasmuch as the authors I am reading.
There is a lot of life being lived between those early promising months as a 1st Year Book Blogger and now – to where, I truly have only just embarked on gaining a footing towards my reading goals for my *70 Authors Challenge* wherein I want to be reading more INSPY Fiction per month and year. I used to have a bit more equality in my reading life – where I would read approx. 50/50 spilt between mainstream and INSPY narratives though as a book blogger, I realise those ratios have decreased a bit on the INSPY side.
I love this side of literature because I love the soul lift I receive in reading the stories – the novelists who write INSPY Historical Fiction give me a wicked good sense of the historical past as much as any mainstream author but with one added benefit – the stories are writ clean and I don't have to worry about inclusions that might offend or leave me feeling uncomfortable in those sequences as I read. Despite that, I still stand behind reading my mainstream choices as to me literature as a whole is best read through all the different styles and voices which are readily available today. You learn and grow through what you read – the variety of voice, style and the craft behind the written word is what invigorates me the most.
Having said this – I hadn't realised this series was focused on the deaf and I was quite humbled to realise it is has a wonderful writer behind it who not only recognises the deaf culture and community but has taken great lengths to represent their language and the ways in which they communicate to the degree she has given her series! I've been wanting to become fluent in sign (ASL) for a long, long time. It is hard to source tutors and generally in my experience the communities who have resources are not always open to those who are sighted and of hearing to learn to sign. I find my region especially difficult in crossing that barrier even though I tend to pick up the signs quite quickly and at one point, I was understanding a conversation without knowing all the signs initially as I could 'read them' as they were signed all the same.
Perhaps one day I can finally deepen my knowledge of ASL and find a tutor open to a girl who wants to sign and understand the nuances of communicating in this language. Til then, I was most eager to settle into "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" as I was truly captured by what Ms Biscof shared in her author's note to readers.
One thing was definitely for certain, if an elder Aunt (Aunt Dorothe) had started a conversation and a friendship by postal mail to a grieving widow, the last thing one would expect upon arrival to this Aunt's house is finding her deceased! When I read this section of the novel, I could understand how the very oxygen had left Aven's lungs and how she felt as light-headed as a woman about to faint. She had travelled so dearly far and had come up far shorter than anyone could have surmised from such correspondences as she had exchanged! To be on a mountain with family of her late husband but without a compass of a thought towards why she was guided here would put anyone at a disadvantage and of feeling uneasy about their arrival.
As soon she met the 'sons' of this Blackbird Mountain, the alarms of regret started to wash over her spirit as well it should as she was told they were far younger than their present state of adulthood! You'd have to wonder what the old woman was really up to in regards to wanting to get Aven here and what was motivating her to encourage her to take such a leap of faith in removing herself from overseas and of trucking so far into the Virginia mountains?
You're first struck by the quiet nature of Thor, the impedious personality of Haakon and the kind hearted nature of Jorgan. Not to mention how Miss Ida their housekeeper is a salt of the earth and knows exactly what to do when something unexpected riles a person's nerves! How sweet it was to find her about as it felt like she was the first outside of Thor who was seeking a chance to make her feel more comfortable on her arrival than being the odd one out.
Thor has a sensitive heart – he might not be able to communicate traditionally through spoken speech but he feels things in life deeply. He's moved by a person's emotional state and that is how he originally felt something for Aven; it was through a photograph of her – where he could intuit her emotional state of mind when she first married his cousin Benn. It was a union he felt might be a bit fraught with adversity as he could sort out by her photograph what was going on in her mind at the time the photograph was taken.
Observing Thor struggling with his affection and fondness for Aven; thus far removed from her life and then suddenly finding himself in close quarters with her now in the future was humbling. Especially as he had genuine concern for her and could sort out things about her emotional state that she might not have been fully aware of herself; or if she had, you might muse she might have hoped part of that inner truth could have been better veiled.
Jorgan was such a sweet fellow – not just to welcome Aven in with open arms but to have the courtesy to explain the 'family business' be as it were – though just observing Thor a bit with his affection for a drink, you could almost surmise it! Jorgan was also soon to be wed which I felt might put Aven's concerns to bed – though in measure of that news, she still seemed to be a bit unsure of herself and her place here. Even with the reassurance about how Miss Ida lives nearby and how the boys despite their grievances with the locals come to have quite a keen living based off what their selling. She's been in worst straits than this and being how agreeable the three seemed on sight, I was hoping Aven might find herself comfortable to be with this side of her husband's family. Especially as I had a feeling she was being influenced to come here by a crafty old woman who knew a thing or two about second chances and new beginnings.
I liked the attention to the smaller details – of how embroidery was a bit of a challenge for Aven but she had the eye for it and how sewing gave her a true sense of pride. Sewing is something I've longed to acquire a skill for myself but I'm thankful I learnt how to knit. There is a strong joy in being able to see something appear in front of you which you've been able to craft yourself and by hand. Knitting and sewing share that kind of simple happiness and I liked how Bischof was describing the scene in Dorothea's room where Aven first saw her handiwork.
Atmospherically – this story is rooted in the mountains and of mountain life; something I truly appreciate as I have read other stories set in and round Appalachia which are equally enjoyable to simply 'settle into' and be of the folk who live there. There is a simplicity to living but there are also obstacles and prejudices to overcome as well – Bischof hints at these larger issues in the background whilst tucking us close to how these brothers live on the land they have to use to provide for themselves. I even enjoyed the arching back-story about Aven herself – from her memories of her mother to what happened which prompted her marriage to Benn. Circumstances dictated a lot of her life and how she had to remain adaptable to the adversities which arrived on her path.
Daughters of Distant Shores
Source: Publisher via Prism Book Tours
Heartache and regret, boldness and sacrifice. What will restoration cost the beloved Norgaard family?
Aven Norgaard understands courage. Orphaned within an Irish workhouse, then widowed at just nineteen, she voyaged to America where she was wooed and wed by Thor Norgaard, a Deaf man in rural Appalachia. That the Lord saw her along the winding journey and that Aven now carries Thor's child are blessings beyond measure. Yet while Thor holds her heart, it is his younger brother and rival who haunts her memories. Haakon—whose selfish choices shattered her trust in him.
Having fled the farm after trying to take Aven as his own, Haakon sails on the North Atlantic ice trade where his soul is plagued with regrets that distance cannot heal. Not even the beautiful Norwegian woman he's pursued can ease the torment. When the winds bear him home after four years away, Haakon finds the family on the brink of tragedy. A decades-old feud with the neighboring farm has wrenched them into the fiercest confrontation on Blackbird Mountain since the Civil War. Haakon's cunning and strength hold the power to seal many fates, including Thor's which is already at stake through a grave illness brought to him as the first prick of warfare.
Now Haakon faces the hardest choice of his life. One that shapes a battlefield where pride must be broken enough to be restored, and where a prodigal son may finally know the healing peace of surrender and the boundless gift of forgiveness. And when it comes to the woman he left behind in Norway, he just might discover that while his heart belongs to a daughter of the north, she's been awaiting him on shores more distant than the land he's fighting for.
From Christy Award–winning author Joanne Bischof comes Daughters of Northern Shores: the highly anticipated sequel to her moving novel Sons of Blackbird Mountain.
on 12th of March, 2019
Published by: Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson)
Formats Available: Hardback, Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook
The Blackbird Mountain series:
Sons of Blackbird Mountain (book one)
Daughters of Northern Shores (book two)
Converse via: #HistoricalFiction or #HistFic and #HistRom
#INSPYRomance + #INSPY or #INSPYBooks
About Joanne Bischof
Joanne Bischof is an ACFW Carol Award and ECPA Christy Award-winning author. She writes deeply layered fiction that tugs at the heartstrings. She was honored to receive the San Diego Christian Writers Guild Novel of the Year Award in 2014 and in 2015 was named Author of the Year by the Mount Hermon conference. Joanne's 2016 novel, The Lady and the Lionheart, received an extraordinary 5 Star TOP PICK! from RT Book Reviews, among other critical acclaim. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her three children.
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest | LibraryThing | FantasticFiction | YouTube
my review of daughters of northern shores (book two):
Whilst I was reading the first novel in this series Sons of Blackbird Mountain – I was delightfully happy seeing how the story was moving to bridge two characters together: Aven and Thor. In many ways, I felt Thor might be able to help heal Aven's own heart and soul; as she had already seen what an obsession with drink can do to a man (by way of her late husband, Benn) and as Thor himself wanted to recover from his alcoholism, I was musing this might be the direction the story would evolve to take us into the journey of how their love blossomed.
From the very beginning, you noticed a connection between Thor and Aven; it was very organic the way Bischof wrote their interactions – from Aven's perspective it was at first curiosity about his character and then, it was a bit of anxiety for how wrong she had let her mind wander about his person before she understood the fuller truth of how his ways of communicating differ from most men due to being deaf. In time, she understood but in the initial moments of their newly formed lives together on Blackbird Mountain, she was cautiously optimistic about Thor.
Whilst this is a series rooted in the lives of Aven, Thor and his two brothers, Jorgan and Haakon – it is also about racial injustice and the prejudice facing rural America; although, those effects are widely felt this series focuses on the mountains and how those who lived there were affected directly. This was the portion of the story which worried me the most – as it is one thing to recognise the rising danger and then another to brace oneself for what is about to happen to the characters' you've come deeply attached too.
Even now, as Aven is on the brink of motherhood and Thor is willing to talk about being deaf to help others like him become better understood – their quiet farm and life on the mountain is once again at danger of being wrecked by the actions of men who cause harm and destruction to those who they feel stand in their way or live against their own beliefs. This isn't something to take lightly as Bischof highlights throughout the series – she truly hugs close to the psychological and emotional after effects of living in fear and how to live in transition out of fearing each new day could bring new dangers to your home. It is a testament of how strength and courage is wrought out of being adaptive to life's adversities and the curious way no one has the benefit of knowing the dangers arriving inside their lives until it is nearly to late to react. She shows how her characters lean hard on their faith but also find resolve in knowing they are strong and are prepared for battle. It isn't a life for the faint of spirit – life on a farm in this mountain region is a tougher life than most but a rewarding one at the same time.
One of the most cherished acts of transformation was what becomes of Thor in this series – especially as he has such a keen sense of creating products out of what the land can produce. To see where he started in the first installment and where he is now in the second, is truly a gift from the author herself – as you see how he's come full circle. To create a living wage off what he can produce is admirable but how he was able to shift industries and go into a new direction to use the farm's yields in crops of fruit is quite remarkable. I was overjoyed seeing Thor as happy as he is now – four years removed from where he had been previously – it is like night and day, the difference in his person.
Sadly, this time round it is Haakon who has a difficult walk to resolve for his own soul is shouldering a weight he cannot shift himself. It is tied into what happened to this brothers and the feud with their neighbours who are part of the background in the story where acts of violence are a component of the series as there is a strong sense of prejudice and discontent for certain persons in the region where the brothers call home. They were of the mind of progressive families who strove to seek a future which was better than the present but that frame of mind came with its own share of difficulties and struggles which is aptly seen in the narrative.
Haakon is far afield from Blackbird Mountain – cast off into the Nordic north and the life at sea he has desired to try to etch out a life far away from his regrets as he can take himself, we find Haakon hasn't found happiness despite the distances he's endured. It made sense too as you can travel as far as your feet will carry you but if you haven't let go of the burden of regret and mistake; it can cast a harder stone against your soul. Haakon is living in the moment but his heart is tied to the past where he has a bit of a war inside him with his thoughts and his motivations for continuing to move forward but without making an progress at all in his life outside of steady hard work.
I was so dearly happy Miss Ida was making a second appearance in the series – she has such a sweet heart and her compassion for the people in her life knows no bounds. She truly is integral to the life of the brothers but also, towards the healing of Aven's own heart. I felt she was one of the most special supporting characters I've come to find in a series as she had this natural way about her to where she reveals what is needed in the moment and you can always expect to find her when you'd hope she'd be nearby. I love how she immediately accepted Aven into the fold but also, how her love for this family shined such a positive light on their connectedness to each other whilst providing a unique voice to the heart of the story.
Aven had endured so much in her life – it seemed nearly unfair for her to be subjected to more strife by the unwanted advances of Haakon but one thing that has given Aven her deepest strength is her resolve and her faith. Aven truly tucks close to her spirit and she tries to focus on the here and now without rehashing the past to a degree of what could be unhealthy. She wants to see the good in people but also find ways to forgive them for their misdeeds even if I felt that when it came to Haakon forgiveness might be quite a bit harder for her to accept. You can't help but smile the way her husband Thor protects her and comes immediately to her aide whenever she is in need of a valiant warrior! Thor is quite the character, that is for sure but his strong will and his sensitive heart bodes him well in marriage as he would sacrifice himself if it meant his protection of his wife and family was secured.
Part of the story this time also involved fraud and misinformation about the hearing impaired and deaf; to where it has to be set right by Alexander Graham Bell himself. It tugs at your heart to hear how someone would go to such lengths to tuck the wool over someone elses eyes and the reasons for such deception was not readily known but there was a hinting towards why someone would want to do this – though it brought up a good life lesson for today as well. Sometimes when you are researching for answers, you have to draw caution and be vigilant in making sure your sources are true and sound. I think it might have been harder in Thor and Aven's era to do this as information moved at a much slower pace and sometimes information for specialty niches in medicine were harder to source.
I also enjoyed seeing how Bischof handled the pregnancy of Aven and the worrisome concerns of Thor as he was on the fence about if he wanted the child to hear or to be deaf like him. It struck a balance between the humbling honesty of expecting parents and the concerns a man would have for his child not knowing if they would understand him or better understand the world if they were not afflicted with a condition he himself was still reconciling to handle in his own life. Thor's development in the series is one that is near and dear to my heart as he went from a man consumed by alcohol to a man who lived his life for not just his family, wife and children but for himself. He had finally found purpose and his motivations to succeed were rooted in what he himself had wanted to provide for his own future. You have to admire his strength but also his determined grit to overcome an illness many still battle today.
It is hard to properly articulate the emotional response you feel when your reading Daughters of Northern Shores – there is so much girth to this story! As you re-align into the pacing of their lives, you find that all is not well with this dearly loved family you've come to cherish spending time amongst! Between the angst of having a poison of an illness inflicted into Thor by persons whose hearts were long since blackened in hate and malice to the difficulties of healing a heart whose hardened himself against life itself (Haakon's journey) – you find yourself hugged closer to this text.
The final chapters tell the most truths of the series – how love can overcome hatred and how hatred cannot win against the Light. For Haakon to honour his own heart he first had to learn how to repair his own soul – he was a difficult bloke to understand at first but as you pull back the layers of his character's history you start to see the truth in the pudding. He truly has a compassionate soul of his own but it is his own conscience and walk in faith that had to be resolved before he could fully embrace the love he was meant to find. The sweetest ending is this one – where not only does the family find redemption out of the terrors they were subjected to over the course of the series but Haakon finds his one true love in a place where he hadn't suspected to find himself (ie. Norway) thus bringing us full circle.
on the historical INSPy writing styling of joanne bischof:
What I loved most is the immediate connection I felt to reading Ms Bischof's stories – she has a passionate way of telling a story which interconnects you to her vision for her characters, the world she is setting them inside and the message of the story she wishes to convey to you as a reader. The depth of her writing can be felt emotionally as she tucks you close to the drama which is centered round the life of her characters and the time in which they are alive – for instance, in the background of the Blackbird Mountain series is a deeply rooted prejudicial movement which focuses more on 'hate' than acceptance of differences. She does this with realistic impressions of how those prejudicial views are affecting her characters and to the larger picture, how hatred can overtake the senses of man and become a difficult barrier to overturn.
There is a seamless continuity between these two stories as well – there is a bit of a repeat of the events from Sons of Blackbird Mountain in the sequel, to an extent where I nearly felt it worked well for those who might not have realised there were two stories connected to this series – however, I enjoyed moving from the first novel into the second as there is something about seeing how it all began originally which helps lay a good foundation for the series overall.
You can pick up the rhythm of Aven's life from one installment to the other, moving at a gentle pace of disclosure and finding yourself smitten by how Bischof has chosen to tell her story. She takes you into their lives as if your a long lost relative needing to stay for awhile in their company and as you move about the farm and other places within their lives, you start to see who they are and how they live as if you were always there yourself. It is a gift of narrative from that angle because you can take your time to soak into their hours and find what strengthens and renews their spirit. Life might not be easy in the mountains but through its simplicity there is strong rewards in hearth, family and the fortitude of living a life you can feel honoured to have lived.
I am overjoyed I had the pleasure of joy of being a part of this blog tour – I have truly found a new voice in INSPY Lit I can't wait to continue to seek out and read, as Ms Bischof is writing the stories I truly appreciate to find. This series is #unputdownable and is going to stay inside your heart long after you put down the pages you've just read. Her characters are as real as any of us and their story is such a realistic account of life being lived through grace and leant on faith it is a refreshing glimpse into the past with a bridge of hope for our futures.
Equality in Lit:
I was fascinated by how she introduced us to Thor, how she took the time to let him become known to us as he might have presented himself in real life and how his deafness was as much a part of his personality as any spoken vernacular of another character! He truly shined in the breadth of this series – how he communicated but also, how he was an earnest thinker. Thor would take time to sort out his thoughts when it was something he felt was especially important to tell someone and he was a wise observer of human behaviour and the quirks we reveal in body language.
Aside from Thor being a wonderfully real character to draw closer to as you read the series, I also appreciated how Bischof handled the truism of living during this era where African-Americans and Europeans found themselves between the racial tensions of living in the South. The Blackbird Mountain brothers in the series are compassionate and open-minded but it is their neighbours who surround them who are the ones with the closed-minded impressions about race, identity and the inequality they wish to promote. Countered to this are the brothers Aven came to love and appreciate having in her life – as they saw the world differently than most and endeavoured to right the wrongs others were not willing to do themselves.
This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours
By clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn't host the giveaway as I'm a review stop, however,
you'll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!
Reading this story counted towards my 2019 reading challenges, specifically:
These reviews are cross-posted to LibraryThing.
You can see what I shared about "Sons of Blackbird Mountain"
& "Daughters of Northern Shores" with readers on LibraryThing.
{SOURCES: Cover art of "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" and "Daughters of Distant Shores", book synopsis of "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" and "Daughters of Distant Shores", author biography, author photograph of Joanne Bischof and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. 2019 New Release Challenge badge provided by unconventionalbookworms.com and is used with permission. 2019 Beat the Backlist Challenge banner provided by A Novel Knight and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna, 70 Authors Challenge banner, 2019 Historical Fiction Reading challenge banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
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I have truly found a new voice in #ChrisFic Lit I can't wait to continue to read; This series is #unputdownable and stays inside your heart long after you put down the pages you've just read
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About jorielov
I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer's block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.
"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)
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Posted Friday, 15 March, 2019 by jorielov in 19th Century, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host & Reviewer, Family Drama, Family Life, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Prism Book Tours, Romance Fiction, Siblings
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2 responses to "Blog Book Tour | feat. the Blackbird Mountain series by Joanne Bischof, especially "Sons of Blackbird Mountain" (book one) and "Daughters of Distant Shores" (book two)"
These sound like a great selection of books. I had never heard about INSPY awards earlier, so I had to Google and now I am intrigued. Hope you have fun with your challenge.
Saturday, 16 March, 2019, 11:56 AM
jorielov
Hallo, Hallo Gayathri,
I am thankful I could introduce you to these stories – I was most impressed with Ms Bischof's style of Historical Romance whilst she truly let you breathe inside this world she knitted out of Appalachia. You truly felt the trials and the struggles but it was also threaded through a life filled with faith and the ways in which we must find a way to lean on our faith to get through the most difficult parts of our lives. I am thankful I also helped you know about INSPY as the shorter name for the genre but also, as a nod to the INSPY Awards which are reader supported and judged.
I can honestly say I am enjoying the journey through this challenge as it is allowing me to expand my readings and my wanderings within INSPY whilst having te pleasure of joy of discovering new voices I haven't yet read. When you find a niche of literature you love it is nice when you can do a focus reading of it and that's what I've been doing with my 70 Authors.
Thanks for visiting and for sharing your thoughts. I hope you'll enjoy this series if you pick it up to read.
Saturday, 16 March, 2019, 3:17 PM
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