Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Suzie Waltner & Midnight Blue

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Midnight Blue by Suzie Waltner, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I’m delighted to have Suzie back on the blog today to share about the 1st book she loved!

MIDNIGHT BLUE by Suzie Waltner
SERIES: Love in Color #1
GENRE: Inspirational Contemporary Romance
PUBLISHER: Anaiah Press
RELEASE DATE: September 6, 2022
PAGES: 278

A series of heartbreaking setbacks behind her, Scarlett Sykes is now focused on creating the best life possible for her daughter. One where innocence and joy is not colored by rejection or loss. While finances are tight and Scarlett’s job isn’t ideal for a single mother, her child will always know she’s loved. Especially since Harmony’s father wanted nothing to do with them.

As lead singer and the face of a successful country band, Jake Turnquist’s closest friends depend on him, but life in the spotlight is quickly losing its appeal. At a party celebrating another accomplishment, he’s stunned to discover Scarlett assisting the caterer. Almost ten years have passed, but he’s never forgotten his first love.

In the hours after a surprise revelation, Jake scrambles to orchestrate a way to spend time with Scarlett and Harmony—the family he’s always wanted but never knew he had. He once gave her up to pursue his music. What will he have to surrender to win her back?

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the first book i loved

by Suzie Waltner, author of Midnight Blue

Before we get to the book, I’ll confess that I did not start out a fan of reading. During my first couple of years of school, I struggled with it. At the end of second grade, my teacher challenged me to read ten books over the summer. That encouragement started my love of reading, and it was that summer that I read a book I still remember decades later.

I connected with Emily as I read this book and walked through grief, guilt, and sorrow with her as she navigates the loss of her brother. It was a hard book to read because of all the emotions it stirred up, but it also showed me how immersive reading could be. How a well-written story with characters I connected with made me want to read more books like that.

Nobody’s Fault? by Patricia Hermes is out of print now, but I went on a hunt for it when my nieces became readers and found them a copy. The quick synopsis of the book on Goodreads is: Emily likes to play baseball and tease her brother, but her happy life is interrupted when her brother has a fatal accident.

It’s interesting to read the reviews because many of the readers say the same thing I do. This book has stuck with me for years not because of a happy ending but because of the portrayal of a real and messy life.

I never got to thank Mrs. Elder for the suggestion of reading that summer because we moved to a different state before the next school year started. Teachers are so important in encouraging students to stretch their minds. It’s because of one teacher many pictures of me taken throughout my childhood and teenage years include a book in my hand. It’s because of one teacher I became a reader, then a book blogger, and am an author today.

To all the teachers out there, thank you for your time and investment in your students. You make a difference.

Suzie Waltner is a lover of fiction and is first and foremost a reader. When she’s not at work or reading or writing, you can find her cheering on the Nashville Predators (hockey) or dancing an hour away in Zumba class. Until her second year of college, her life plan was to become a veterinarian. A fainting spell while watching a surgery performed on a sheep changed that plan. Now she works in the corporate world during the day while creating stories in her free time. Suzie resides in a suburb of Nashville, TN and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers as well as Faith, Hope, and Love Christian Writers. She currently serves as the president of the Middle Tennessee ACFW chapter.

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

(1) winner will receive a Everything But the Book Cozy Reading Basket: sherpa throw, I’d Rather Be Reading mug, I Read Past My Bedtime socks, 12 oz orange spice candle, portable power bank, book cozy, and some reading snacks plus a $20 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight January 16, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on January 23, 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 the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

This giveaway is hosted by JustRead Tours, not RimSP
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

What about you? What makes you want to read Midnight Blue by Suzie Waltner?