UPDATE: The scavenger hunt has come to a close and it was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who participated! The winner of the PINK prize is Dana Michael, the winner of the PURPLE prize Kristine Klein, the grand prize winner is Shay Teague, and the two winners of the bonus giveaway are Toni Shiloh and Kay Moorhouse! Congratulations winners! And thanks again to everyone who join in on the fun!
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Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! I am a part of TEAM PINK, and this is Stop #15. The Hunt begins at NOON Mountain time on April 16 and ends at midnight Mountain on April 19, 2015, so you have a long weekend to complete all 34 stops and maximize your chances at prizes!
If you’re just joining us, there are two loops—pink and purple—and they begin at Lisa Bergren’s site and Robin Hatcher’s site for stop #1 for either stream. If you complete either the pink loop or purple loop, you can enter for a Kindle paperwhite and the 17 autographed books from that loop. If you complete BOTH loops, you can enter for the Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire HDX and ALL 34 autographed books.
BE SURE to keep track of the clues at the bottom of every post in the loop and the favorite number mentioned. You’ll need those clues to enter for the loop prize and every number mentioned in order to enter for the grand prize.
ALSO, please don’t use Internet Explorer to navigate through the loops. Some web sites won’t show up using IE. Please use Chrome or Firefox—they’re better anyway!
Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my guest for the Scavenger Hunt, Sandra Byrd. I’ve known Sandra for awhile. Our paths have intersected via various writing circles, so it’s fun to have her here today!
Here’s her professional bio:
Sandra Byrd is a noted author of historical fiction, including the first book in her Tudor series, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn and her current release, Mist of Midnight. She lives near Seattle, Washington. Visit sandrabyrd.com to learn more.
Here’s the summary of her latest book:
In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.
Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her…and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca’s name, but her home and incomes.
That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?
A captivating Gothic love story set against a backdrop of intrigue and danger, Mist of Midnight will leave you breathless.
And here’s her EXCLUSIVE content, that you’ll only find in this hunt!
English and Indian Lace Makers
East meets West
India has always been a place of tremendous creative expression, whether that be articulated through color, cuisine, music, poetry or fine arts – even though the delicate and intricate patterns of henna (mehndi) application. English lace making was a new art, introduced by missionary Martha Mault in 1821. Her goal in teaching that art was to provide a stream of income to young, lower-caste women who had no other means by which to help lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
According to Indian author Joy Gnanadason in her book, A Forgotten History, Mault also taught this craft to the slave girls to give them a means to buy back their freedom. She lived James 2:16, ” If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
Honiton Lace
Martha Mault was from Honiton, an area in East Devon. The Allhallows Museum of Lace in Devon recounts that lace making, which had probably spread from Italy throughout Europe, has been recorded in the area from the 17th century, perhaps earlier. Wives of men who were paid low wages, men who fished or labored for a living, often made the lace as a way to supplement their family’s income. The museum explains that it can take up to five hours to make one square centimeter of lace, perhaps thousands of hours was required for a lace handkerchief or collar.
Queen Victoria
Honiton lace became very popular indeed when Queen Victoria selected it to adorn her wedding gown; although she was not the first royal to be married in white, she was the most popular and was married in the age of photography. The tradition of white wedding gowns, adorned with lace, persists to this day.
Missionaries
Victorian era missionary to India Samuel Mateer recorded that, “Lace-making, introduced by Mrs. Mault in her boarding school at Nagercoil… has succeeded to perfection. Admirable specimens of fine pillow lace, in cotton and gold and silver thread, manufactured at the Mission school, were shown at Madras, and in the great London and Paris Exhibitions, in all of which they gained prize medals…”
It was a nod to her progressive nature that Mault encouraged the girls to adapt English methods to their native designs and tastes; they were not to be transformed into English lace-makers but taught to make lace in a manner which could express their own heritage and culture. The Maults and other missionaries networked through the British communities to ensure there was a healthy market for the lace goods.
Sandra Byrd’s new book, Mist of Midnight, is a Gothic Romance set in Victorian England, but was loosely inspired by real missionary families who served in India, including the Maults.
*Photo Credit: Queen Victorian, wikimedia
*Photo Credit: Indian lacemakers, oldIndianphotos.in
THE SCAVENGER HUNT SKINNY:
Thanks for stopping by on the hunt! Before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THESE CLUES:
Secret Word: life.’ “
Secret Number: 12, a number I chose because that’s the day of my April birthday!
Got ‘em down?? Great! Your next stop is #16, Sandra Byrd’s site. Click on over there now. And if you get lost, a complete list of the loop with links can be found at our mother host’s site.
bonus giveaway!
My fourth novel, The Art of Losing Yourself, is releasing in a few short days. Romantic Times made it a Top Pick, calling it exquisite! In celebration, I’m giving away TWO autographed copies. To enter, all you have to do is sign up for my quarterly newsletter. If you already are signed up, you’ll be automatically entered to win. If you’re not signed up, you can do so by clicking this link and filling out your email address and name. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to your inbox. Make sure to click the link to verify your subscription.
This bonus giveaway will end at 12:00 a.m. on April 20th. I’ll pull two winners from my Newsletter list using random.org and announce the winner later on the 20th.
Just like in my dream, I was drowning and nobody even noticed.
Every morning, Carmen Hart pastes on her made-for-TV smile and broadcasts the weather. She’s the Florida panhandle’s favorite meteorologist, married to everyone’s favorite high school football coach. They’re the perfect-looking couple, live in a nice house, and attend church on Sundays. From the outside, she’s a woman who has it all together. But on the inside, Carmen Hart struggles with doubt. She wonders if she made a mistake when she married her husband. She wonders if God is as powerful as she once believed. Sometimes she wonders if He exists at all. After years of secret losses and empty arms, she’s not so sure anymore.
Until Carmen’s sister—seventeen year old runaway, Gracie Fisher—steps in and changes everything. Gracie is caught squatting at a boarded-up motel that belongs to Carmen’s aunt, and their mother is off on another one of her benders, which means Carmen has no other option but to take Gracie in. Is it possible for God to use a broken teenager and an abandoned motel to bring a woman’s faith and marriage back to life? Can two half-sisters make each other whole?
It’s Release Day! Another book baby has come into the world.