Bookish Tuesday: Introducing Solo Tu in A Tuscan Legacy plus #Giveaway | Narelle Atkins

By Narelle Atkins @NarelleAtkins

I'm thrilled to introduce my tenth book - Solo Tu: Only You - Book 7 in A Tuscan Legacy - a contemporary Christian romance novella series spanning three continents.

Solo Tu is releasing today on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

I've always wanted to write a book for a continuity series that has shared characters and a connected story world.

A Tuscan Legacy is the brainchild of my author friends Marion Ueckermann and Autumn Macarthur. I was delighted to accept their offer when they asked me to join them in their journey to write an indie novella series based in Tuscany.

The series has an overarching family mystery plot that links all the books together. I've loved working with my authors friends in the group who live in England, South Africa and USA. Marion Ueckermann introduced the series back in January - Wandering Wednesday: Beautiful Tuscany.

Here's the video trailer introducing A Tuscan Legacy:

Let me share Solo Tu with you and introduce you to my characters - Sienna Rossi and Dave Maxwell.

If you read A Tuscan Legacy series from start to finish, you'll meet Sienna in That's Amore (Book 1) and Ti Amo (Book 4) before journeying to Sydney, Australia for Book 7.

Home means everything to Sienna Rossi.

Four years ago, Sienna defied her father by moving to Australia to obtain her teaching qualifications. Her grand plan is shaken by her father’s unexpected death and a trip back to Tuscany for her grandmother’s eightieth birthday where she renews her close bond with her sister, Alessa.

Teacher Dave Maxwell likes the freedom of his nomadic lifestyle. He works contract-to-contract, moving to different high schools around Australia. He’s in Sydney for a season, caring for his grandma while his aunt is on an extended overseas vacation.

Back in Sydney, Sienna moves in with her Aussie cousins and starts her first teaching job, torn between her dream for a future in Australia and her longing for home. Sienna and Dave work at the same school, attend the same church, and quickly become friends. They are drawn together by circumstances and an undeniable attraction.

But their idyllic time together is temporary. Can the girl from Tuscany and the boy from Australia risk everything for love?

A Tuscan Legacy series - Amazon Kindle and coming in print

A Tuscan Legacy novellas are available on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. The books will be releasing in ebook format first, and will later be available in print. Please check out A Tuscan Legacy series page on Amazon.com for more information.

Here's the complete A Tuscan Legacy series list and the Amazon Kindle release dates.

AVAILABLE NOW:

THAT'S AMORE: That's Love Book 1 by Marion Ueckermann - set in Tuscany, Italy.

LUNA ROSA: Blushing Moon Book 2 by Elizabeth Maddrey - set in Washington DC, USA.

RAPSODIA: Rhapsody Book 3 by Alexa Verde - set in Texas, USA.

TI AMO: I Love You Book 4 by Marion Ueckermann - set in Rome, Italy.

LA FIAMMA SACRA: The Sacred Flame Book 5 by Clare Revell - set in England.

BELLA NOTTE: Beautiful Night Book 6 by Heather Gray - international setting (Europe and USA).

SPECIAL PRE-ORDER PRICE OF 99 CENTS (US):

SOLO TU: Only You Book 7 by Narelle Atkins - releasing MAY 29 - set in Sydney, Australia.

DOLCE VITA: Sweet Life Book 8 by Autumn Macarthur - releasing JUNE 5 - set in Wales.

LA RISPOSTA: The Answer Book 9 by Autumn Macarthur - releasing JUNE 12 - set in Tuscany, Italy.

A Tuscan Legacy Reader Group on Facebook

A Tuscan Legacy has a Reader Group on Facebook. If you'd like to follow the series and keep up-to-date on the latest news, please join our Reader Group.

Giveaway

I'm giving away a print copy of Solo Tu. The giveaway is open to international entrants with a mailing address where Amazon USA delivers.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and/or the May New Releases post on May 21. Receive two entries in the drawing by commenting on both posts.

The giveaway closes on Tuesday June 5 and the winner will be announced soon after in a comment on this post and the May 2018 New Releases post.

The winner can claim their prize by leaving a comment on this post with their email address or by contacting Narelle via social media. A redraw will take place if the winner doesn't claim their prize by June 30, 2018.

A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, NARELLE ATKINS was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia.

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Wandering Wednesday: Beautiful Tuscany

By Marion Ueckermann @ueckie

When one hears the word Tuscany, one cannot help but be swept away by the sheer romance and beauty of the place conjured up by the name. I mean, look at that cover image...doesn't it make you  want to travel there and fall in love?

That's what happened to fellow author, Autumn Macarthur and I about eighteen months ago. 

I got an email one evening from Autumn saying something to the effect of, "Hey, why don't we put a multi-author set together?" At that time, I was busy writing A Romance for Rose with some scenes in Tuscany. So I suggested Tuscany as a storyworld option. Autumn loved the idea because she had a character from her book Least Expected who needed her story told. And there was a link back to Tuscany in that book. You can read more about what we've planned in this 9-book multi-author series titled A Tuscan Legacy in my blog this week on Inspy Romance
http://www.inspyromance.com/something-a-little-different/
To get an idea of what we have planned in Tuscany, watch our promo video on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Wys-lEjBI&t=6s or our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/atuscanlegacy/videos/443467872738425/

Around that time, I was planning a trip overseas to visit my son, Kyle, in Finland, and my brother and his wife in the UK. Kyle suggested as I'd be that side of the world and I was planning two books set in Italy for this series, one in Tuscany and one in Rome, that hubby and I should plan a stopover in Italy too. And that's how our month-long holiday stretched into six weeks.

Today, I'd like to share a few photos of our time in Tuscany.

I might even throw in one or two of Rome as well. Soon we'll have a photo album of both these places on A Tuscan Legacy's website , however, where you'll be able to enjoy many more of my wonderful Tuscan memories. Follow our Facebook https://www.facebook.com/atuscanlegacy/ page to see when we post the website link (as soon as the site is ready for the world to see).

I chose this picture below to start off with because it reminded me of so many things I loved in Tuscany—the walled villages perched on hilltops, the undulating hills dotted with hay bales (see next photo), and the narrow cyprus-lined roads leading to villas and interesting villages. This is Tuscany!

One of my favorite images in Tuscany was the hay bales. Sometimes they were neatly stacked like here, and other times they lay scattered in newly-cut fields. The first-cut hay, or maggengo, is cut in May/June, the second-cut hay in August, and the third-cut hay in September. Obviously the first-cut is the best quality. So glad we got to see the maggengo.

Monticchiello

was the first little village we decided to stop in a on our way to our hotel. And I'm so glad we did because this quaint place with its very own Michelin-star restaurant for eight years running, features in the storyworld for A Tuscan Legacy's first book, That's Amore. We had fun exploring the alleys and courtyards and old church.

Bosco Della Spina,

with its perfect views and wisteria-laden pergolas near Murlo, was the hotel we stayed at for four incredible days. Have a look at some of the photos from there and you'll soon see why this became my location of choice for my heroine in That's Amore's first days in Tuscany. The window views are from our lounge window (which was mine and hubby's bedroom as we gave my son and his wife the privacy of the bedroom. But with a morning view like this, I wasn't complaining!)

 

Flora

I can't only show you the beautiful views, now can I? I wanted to share these three photos of this strange tree formation, wild poppies (and it was only the beginning of the poppy season), and the overgrown jasmine creepers that left a pungent aroma everywhere. I loved it! But as much as I loved the smell of jasmine hanging in the air, the tiglio tree (lime tree) was like jasmine on steroids. I've never smelt something so incredible—first in Florence, and then one evening in Modena (yes, where the balsamic vinegar comes from).

Food

I'd be cheating you if I didn't let you see a little Italian cuisine, wouldn't I? This was the dessert hubby and I shared one night (traveling abroad on a weak rand, many things were shared LOL). It was at this same dinner that I discovered pici pasta—thick, hand-rolled pasta originating from Tuscany. I loved it so much, I had to try make it when I got back home (see pics below). Why not try it yourself sometime...totally worth it!

Walled medieval village

Finally, I want to take you on a whirlwind tour around Buonconvento that features briefly in That's Amore. Buonconvento is purportedly one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. We could see why.

 

Ice cream

No visit to Italy would be complete without sampling their gelato. Daily! Sometimes more than once. Three scoops in a sugar cone. This little gelato shop in Buonconvento had the best we tasted in Italy. My favorite (as is my heroine), was dark chocolate, mango (only because I couldn't find orange), and I think I topped it with lemon, or limone as the Italian's say.

The famous Italian scooter

I just had to add in this photo. I'm sure you're going to love reading about strong-headed Alessa buzzing around Rome on her Vespa in A Tuscan Legacy book 4, Ti Amo.

Hot springs

Before I go, I just had to pop on over to the next village we visited and share four special photos from there. Bagno Vignoni is in the hamlet of San Quirico d'Orcia and is situated on a hill above the Val d'Orcia (valley of d'Orcia where all these other villages we visited are to be found). It's well-known for its hot springs and hubby and son couldn't resist trying out the thermal pool at the bottom of the hill below the village.

It was in Bagno Vignoni that we discovered the yummiest sandwiches and this wonderful old Italian woman. I just couldn't resist sneaking a few photies of her. All in the name of research.

Arrivederci!

Let me leave you with one last image of Tuscany...the sunset. And believe me, these photos do no justice to how beautiful it was.

PS. Sorry there wasn't space to fit in anything of Rome, and I've barely scratched the surface of Tuscany. Perhaps on my next blog, althought that could be a while as I'll be stepping back from blogging on ICFW due to enormous writing projects scheduled this year. But who knows, maybe I'll find some spare time to share the odd blog here or there. And if I don't, you can always visit A Tuscan Legacy's website to enjoy more of Tuscany, Rome, and Florence...the places to be found in my Tuscan Legacy books.

About Marion Ueckermann

Marion Ueckermann's passion for writing was sparked when she moved to Ireland with her family. Her love of travel has influenced her contemporary inspirational romances set in novel places. Marion and her husband again live in South Africa, but with two gorgeous grandsons hanging their hats at the house next door, their empty nest's no longer so empty.

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HAS THE WORLD GONE CRAZY?

by Marion Ueckermann

My husband and I have just returned from a six-week vacation in Europe and Britain. Despite being far away from South Africa with its increasing political issues, it was hard—even amidst the beautiful colorful countryside, majestic old castles and stately homes, and fresh scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream—to switch off at times from the negative issues from home as we chatted with fellow South Africans and family living abroad about our declining country with its myriad of problems.

The day before we left the UK, the tragic Manchester bombing shattered people’s lives. We’d bypassed this city merely 24 hours before, unaware of the tragedy that would happen the following night. As we explored the streets of Rome later that same week, we saw the effects of the increasing terror threats in Europe in the very visible military presence at all tourist attractions.

Soaking in the tranquil beauty of Tuscany, it was easy to forget about all the problems and suffering in the world. Until our own family crisis struck, something too personal to speak about here, but an event which caused tremendous heartache, leaving us wondering like the rest of the world: “How do we fix this?”

The answer? We can’t. Only God can. And I stand amazed at the incredible ways He has brought people across our path who themselves have walked a similar road, or are close to someone on the same journey…people who could share their stories, offer comfort, give advice. Our Heavenly Father even sent little fireflies in the night to remind us that there is always a light in the dark, always a glimmer of hope.

One evening, several days later, my son and I were walking through the streets of Modena in Italy. We passed through a park and the most beautiful fragrance, like Jasmine on steroids, filled the air…a fragrance we’d enjoyed in Florence and wondered where it came from. I asked my son’s friends what trees held these gloriously fragrant blooms. Tiglio trees came the answer. I googled this later to discover these green giants are known as lime trees or linden in England, and basswood in North America.

We’d just exited this park, the Tiglio trees’ fragrance following us out, when my son shared with me his angst of not knowing what the future held. I reminded him that while we might not know, we serve a God who does. I encouraged him to focus on one day at a time, that Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow because today had enough of its own worries, all the while trying to remind myself to remember this same principle.

When we got back to the house, I checked my emails and there was one from a twice-weekly devotion I subscribe to called Loop. These short devotions are written as personal letters from God to women. To me. The title immediately caught my attention, and as I read I allowed myself to return to the Tiglio trees. With permission, I share this devotion—My Fragrance—and the introductory email from the author, Jennifer J. Camp, with you.

Dear sister,

I want to live this day so aware of God in me—the Holy Spirit my guide and counselor, that I inhabit the fragrance of His presence. For it is beautiful there—this place where I am my true self.

What will that be like for you, this day? How will you be affected by this awareness? Will you be more patient, more kind, more filled with hope and joy? How will others around you, whom you love, be blessed by your heeding the rhythms of the Holy Spirit within you?

Jennifer

 My Fragrance

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15).

I am for you. I am with you. I go before, knowing what is ahead. I stand behind, my hand on your shoulder, so close you can smell my presence. Yes, there is a fragrance of my Spirit. This is where I invite you to live—your truest self, stripped of all insecurities, all what-ifs, all doubts and fears and pains.

Breathe deeply, my dear one. Breathe in sweetness and hope. Breathe in newness and the clean air I bring.

I draw you in.

Let Me be your strength. There, you are glorious. Let Me be the hand you hold—all weight lifted, all sorrow behind. Let Me cup your face in my hands. Let Me look on you. Let Me hold you. Let Me walk next to you. Match my stride. 

I show you how.

There is a pace—within this fragrance of my presence—where I invite you to stay. Keep that pace. You know the pace, the rhythm, the movement of your moments when you can breathe Me and smell the fragrance of Me with you.

I envelop you. I carry you. And all whom you meet will be in my presence, with you, too. They will be enveloped in the fragrance of Me. All you do with Me points the people you meet to the fragrance. Let it spread. Keep in step. Check the pace. Let it be a rhythm that is natural.

Practice.

Breathe.

I show you how.

https://www.gatherministries.com/

Saturday night a week ago, we caught our flight back to South Africa from Milan. We landed in Doha at 6 AM to news of yet another terror attack in London on London Bridge and at Borough Market. More terror. More heartache. More needing to breathe in deep of the fragrance of our Heavenly Father.

This week has seen the most scenic parts of our country wiped out through out-of-control fires and gale force winds with thousands of people losing everything. Even as I write this, fires still rage in our beautiful garden route. We have family in those areas, we have friends, we have friends who have family… So many lives affected. So much tragedy. And in it all, God reminds us to breathe deep and see Him bring beauty from the ashes.

MARION UECKERMANN's passion for writing was sparked when she moved to Ireland with her family. Her love of travel has influenced her contemporary inspirational romances set in novel places. Marion and her husband again live in South Africa, but with two gorgeous grandsons hanging their hats at the house next door, their empty nest's no longer so empty.

Visit Marion at www.marionueckermann.net

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