Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Melony Teague & A Promise to Keep

Welcome to the Blog + Quote Tour (and Giveaway!) for A Promise to Keep by Melony Teague, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: A Promise to Keep
Author: Melony Teague
Publisher: Anaiah Press
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance

Research librarian Savannah Sanderson wants nothing more than to escape into her happily-ever-after novels with their larger-than-life fictional heroes. But a promise to her late husband has her attending her dreaded twenty-year high school reunion, drinking ghastly punch, and taking desperate measures just to keep her vow, even if she has to hide behind the décor to do it.

Once a reckless troublemaker, Michael McCann fled town after graduation. Now a professional technical rescuer, he’s back for the reunion, but on his trip down memory lane, he soon comes face to face with unresolved issues, namely Savannah.

Before the night is over, a pact between these two old friends will lead them on an adventure into uncharted emotional territory where Michael must confront his past regrets and find the courage to reveal the truth. But can Savannah fly from her sheltered nest and risk her heart on a real-life hero?

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WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER

by Melony Teague, author of A Promise to Keep

In A Promise to Keep, I tried to incorporate elements in the book that I love in the books I love to read, like humor and romance. I love to read about tension and action caused by some harrowing circumstances. Edge of your seat kind of stuff. Let’s explore the reasons these elements appeared in A Promise to Keep. I’ll also talk about cultural elements and the reason you see a waterfall on the cover.

ROMANCE: Like Carrie, I love a good… as you call them… kissing book. I’m a romantic at heart and I can’t help it. I love seeing how two characters fall in love. *sigh.  I hope Carrie approves of Michael McCann as a potential book boyfriend? Essentially in this story, Savannah and Michael rekindle their lost friendship and make a pact that proves hard to keep.

Note from Carrie: What’s not to approve? He looks like Henry Cavill. Enough said.

HUMOR: Life is messy and hard and I firmly believe that if we can see the funny side of life, then we can get through the challenges much easier. Also, when your own life is hard, as a reader, you want to read something lighthearted that will make you giggle and forget your own troubles for a while. I, for one, have Jen Turano as my go-to author for books to relieve my stress. Many times I’ve been giggling or laughing out loud while reading her books. I wanted Savannah and Michael’s story to show their quirky characters and the situations Savannah seems to get herself into. It’s funny because Savannah reminds me of myself, I seem to get myself into awkward situations that are funnier after the fact. (Like getting stuck in an elevator with the amazing Jen Turano at CFRR 2017).

Note from Carrie: They weren’t STUCK … they were mistakenly hitting the wrong button. A very Savannah-ish thing to do 😛

ACTION: Part of the reason for having some action and intense scenes in A Promise to Keep was because it gave my characters the opportunity to grow. It’s kind of like real life, really. When we face challenges, it is an opportunity for character building. At least, that’s what my Pastor always used to say. In the book I face some of my own fears, such as my fear of heights and claustrophobia. While I was writing the rescue scene, my palms were sweating ya’ll!

CULTURAL ELEMENTS: I intentionally made Savannah a South African and an immigrant. I can relate to this because I am both. So I wanted to show readers, who may never have uprooted and moved to another country, what it might be like. Although I was brought up speaking English, so when we arrived in Canada the fact that there were many words that were different it surprised me. Then there were words that were the same, but had different meanings. Then, we found out that Canadians have words that Americans don’t know, like kerfuffle. And there are words Americans use that Canadians don’t. It all became very confusing and sometimes embarrassing.

Part of Savannah’s heritage is from the Dutch settlers who settled in South Africa, coming from Holland and bringing their culture with them.

Note from Carrie: Hmm… i use (and love) the word ‘kerfuffle’. Does that make me Canadian? 😀

TRAVEL: Another intentional element was a bit of travel. I love it when a book I’m reading takes me to a place I’ve never been before. I brought readers to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-lake in Canada. Niagara-on-the-lake has been a favorite spot of mine and my husbands. It’s the last place we vacationed to before we became parents, so it holds special memories for us. Since then we haven’t been away from our kids much at all in the 18 years, we’ve been parents. We celebrate our 26^th Anniversary this year, so I think we are overdue for another trip back to Niagara-on-the-lake. While I was researching the book in 2018, we took a family day-trip to Niagara Falls and enjoyed “The Journey behind the Falls” and walked around the places where Michael and Savannah would have walked. We made some memories as a family and I used it all as research.

All these elements came together to bring you Savannah and Michael’s story and I hope that you’ll enjoying reading their story.

Melony Teague writes contemporary romance with a dash of humor, she loves to inspire and motivate others through her written words, and she believes everyone has a story to tell. Melony is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and she is the co-author of As the Ink Flows, a devotional for authors. Her fiction debut, A Promise to Keep releases, Jan 21, 2020. Melony was born in South Africa and now lives in Toronto with her handsome husband, their two teenagers, and does the bidding of her two adorable cats.

CONNECT WITH MELONY: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Check out my Q&A with Melony too!

(1) winner will receive a prize package including Mocktails book, 4 pins: 2 x Embrace Life, 2x Be Original, 1 large pretty napkin (tropical flowers), 1 small cocktail napkins (with maple leaves on them), A Promise to Keep bookmarks and an Amazon gift card $10 value!

Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight January 20, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on January 27, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Open to US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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What about you? What interests you most about the elements in A Promise to Keep?