PACK YOUR E-BAGS, WE’RE GOING TRAVELLING (Book Giveaway)

by Marion Ueckermann

I’m so excited! Helsinki Sunrise, a Passport to Romance, blog tour is finally here…officially. Nearly a month of hopping from blog to blog, country to country lies ahead. I’d love you to join me on this journey from one side of the world to the other–it’s going to be awesome. Yes, we’ll probably be cyber-lagged by the end, but it will be worth it, I promise.

Why not pack your eBags, and let’s clock up some cyber-miles together. But, in the bustle of our travels, don’t forget to visit Pelican Book Group on August 22nd and purchase an eCopy of Helsinki Sunrise—you’ll need a good book to read as you travel, and you’ll get it at half-price on that day. I guarantee you’ll love spending time in that special corner of Finland on Lake Sahajärvi at the Mikkola’s summer cottage.

Join the blog tour each day at the following links (remember to visit the stops that have already happened.) All blogs are hyperlinked to make your journey comfortable and easy.

The beauty of cyber travel means you don’t have to miss any stop and as a travel temptation, I’ve included a few highlights on this travel itinerary. 

May 19:  

Canada — No Wrong Turn and Book Promo @ Christine Lindsay

Please search under the label, Homeless. In writing Helsinki Sunrise, there’ve been no wrong turns. As I look back over my years of writing, I can see how God has guided me to this moment, this special debut novelette.

August 4:  

South Africa — Book and Author of August @ Foreign Affaire

This story will draw you into the scenery and the characters as well as the plot. For me, it was a one-sitting read. I couldn't put it down. I loved the look at Finland, a place I will probably never get to visit in any other way. But it feels like I've already been there.

August 11:  

South Africa — Suomi Sauna @ Foreign Affaire

Timo Nakari, Managing Director of Suomi Sauna Kft. in Gyorujbarat, Hungary, kindly shared his childhood memories of their family saunas in Finland.

August 14: 

South Africa — Pack Your Bags, We’re Going Travelling @ International Christian Fiction Writers

Oh, that’s us, today, right now, right here…read on!

August 15:  

Australia — Friday Weekend Escape to South Africa @ NarelleAtkins

It was difficult to choose a specific place to showcase in South Africa on this travel blog, so I decided on a quick overview of the places most significant to me—the beautiful and the ugly.

August 16:  

Hungary — Re-cover @ Re-Birth

On this blog stop we’ll look at some interesting facts about the cover of this fun romance novelette.

August 18:  Today we have a double feature...

South Africa — Meet Adam and Eve ~ Part 1 @ Foreign Affaire

Adam, what's your favorite saying? 
The best things in life are unseen, that's why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry, and dream.
Get a little more insight into our hero by visiting this blog.

August 18: 

Zambia — Meet Marion with Aldyth Thomson @ Beauty forAshes

Your school friends used to call you John Wayne. Please tell us why.

August 19:  

South Africa — Helsinki Sunrise Interview and Giveaway @ Shirley Corder

I love travel. I love foreign countries and cultures. I love the feeling of being in love. With the Passport to Romance books, I can give my readers a taste of all three from the comfort of their armchairs.

August 20:  

Zambia — Book Review with Aldyth Thomson @ Beauty for Ashes 

  

I have never read a love story where the main character is fasting and praying of all things, and yet Marion Ueckermann skillfully turns what could be dry and boring into a modern day Taming of the Shrew with a Christian twist.

August 21:  Our second double feature day…

South Africa — Meet Adam and Eve ~ Part 2 @ Foreign Affaire

Eveliina, what's your favorite saying? 
Not all scars show. Not ll wounds heal. Sometimes you can't see the pain someone feels.
Get a little more insight into our heroine by visiting this blog.

August 21: 

USA — Falling in Love in the Helsinki Sunrise, A Critiquers Journey and Book Review @ Diane Tatum

What do you get when you cross a devout (hot!) missionary fasting before going on the mission field, a bitter missionary kid whose parents died in their service to God, and a small island with one house and sauna?

August 22:  RELEASE DAY!!!

UK — Heroine Interview and Book Review with fellow Passport to Romance author, Clare Revel

What fun I had having my heroine, Eveliina Mikkola, interviewed.

August 23:  

USA — Blurb and Excerpt @ The Barn Door Book Loft

Stop by The Barn Door Book Loft to read the full opening scene.

August 24:  

USA — Author Interview @ The Barn Door Book Loft

Want to know the quirkiest thing I’ve ever done? Or my strangest habit? You’ll find out on this author interview.

August 25:  The third double feature day…

South Africa — Meet Marion @ Foreign Affaire

Interviewing myself...this should be interesting.

August 25: 

USA — Location, Location, Location and Book Review @ Johnnie Alexander Donley

Want to know why I chose to write a book set in Finland? Hop on over and decide for yourself whether I’m half Finnish now.

August 26:  

USA — Hero Interview and Book Review @ Heidi McCahan

I enjoyed having my heroine interviewed so much that I had to afford my hero the same opportunity.

August 27:  

South Africa — Author Interview with Ruth Dell @ International Christian Fiction Writers

I want my readers to not only feel like they are falling in love all over again, but also to know that God will pursue the lost sheep relentlessly to bring them back home.

August 28:  

South Africa — Book Review with Ruth Dell @ International Christian Fiction Writers

August 29:  

Australia — Slices of Romance @ Inspirational Romance

Two small slices of romance from different scenes in Helsinki Sunrise to tempt you.

August 30:  

South Africa — Bear Necessities @ Marion Ueckermann

How many ways can you eat liquorice? The Finns believe in as many ways as possible.

September 1: 

USA — Hero Review and Book Review with Nancy Kimball on FictionHero Features

I am looking forward to this blog where Adam Carter, the hero, will be scored under the following aspects of his character:

•           Gallant Score

•           Wounded Score

•           Softie Score

•           Stupid Strike

•           Swoon Score

September 2:  

Hungary — Sweet Temptations @ Go Hungry Go Home

On this blog we take a closer look at “Operation Missionary Elimination.” Poor Adam!

     Was a little fruit all it took to turn God's finest creation to apple crumble? Had the way to a man's heart been through his stomach since the beginning of time?

     But she wasn't interested in Adam's heart—she wanted her space.

September 3: 

Canada — A Book Review with a Difference @ Marcia Lee Laylock

Today’s book review has been compiled from comments made by my critiquers as they journeyed with me—reading, giving feedback, advice, suggestions and praise—to ensure the Helsinki Sunrise manuscript was publication-worthy.

September 4: 

USA — “How to Keep Your Readers Turning the Page” @ Zoe M. McCarthy

Applying this method turned critiquers' comments from "...this is where I'd stop reading," to "...as a reader I loved the conflict which works because often I was tired and needed to go to bed but I had to see the next sub to know what happened."

September 5:  Our last double feature day…

Australia — Friday Weekend Escape to Finland @ Narelle Atkins

My second travel style blog. This time we visit the location of Helsinki Sunrise… Finland.

September 5: 

Australia — A Finnish Wedding @ Inspirational Romance

When asked to focus this blog on the romance side of Helsinki Sunrise, I chose to write this blog based on my son’s Finnish wedding to avoid spoiling anything for the readers. And what could be more romantic than a wedding?

September 6: 

USA — Stop and Smell (or taste) the Finnish Flowers @ Pamela Thibodeaux  

In a country that consists mainly of forests and water, you might be tempted to ask, “What Finnish flowers?” Why don’t you stop by this blog and see for yourself?

September 8: 

Australia — Final Author Interview @ Paula Vince

I dreaded the final empty nest, but when it came, much as I love my two boys, I found it strangely enjoyable. Does that make me a bad mother?

October 3: 

Facebook Party — Meet the Pelican Book Group Authors. 

I’ll be one of the four featured authors. Come and join us. It’s great fun, and there are giveaways.

I hope you’re as excited about this itinerary as I am and ready to join me on this blog tour. Come and enjoy a Helsinki Sunrise in the northern wonderland of Finland.

He needed the island to himself. So did she.

Three weeks alone at a friend’s summer cottage on a Finnish lake to fast and pray. That was Adam Carter's plan. But sometimes plans go awry.

On an impromptu trip to her family's secluded summer cottage, the last thing Eveliina Mikkola expected to find was a missionary from the other side of the world—in her sauna.

Determined to stay, Eveliina will do whatever it takes—from shortcrust pastry to shorts—to send the man of God packing. This island’s too small for them both.

Adam Carter, however, is not about to leave.

Will he be able to resist her temptations?

Can she withstand his prayers?

There will be an eBook of Helsinki Sunrise up for grabs today. To be entered into the draw, please leave a comment with your email address before September 19th.*

Numerous eBooks of Helsinki Sunrise will be given away on the blog tour, so journey to each of the stops and leave a comment. Don’t forget to include your email address.

Helsinki Sunrise is available to purchase from Pelican Book Group, Christianbook.com, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Watch the Helsinki Sunrise book trailer on YouTube.

Watch the Passport to Romance book trailer on YouTube.

Marion Ueckermann’s passion for writing was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then she has published devotional articles and stories in Winners, The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter (Tyndale House Publishers), and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miraculous Messages from Heaven. Her debut novelette, Helsinki Sunrise, releases August 22, 2014 by White Rose Publishing, a Pelican Book Group imprint, Passport to Romance series.

Marion blogs for International Christian Fiction Writers and Beauty for Ashes. She belongs to Christian Writers of South Africa and American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives in Pretoria East, South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally.

Connect with Marion Ueckermann: Website / Amazon / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest

Blogs: A Pebble in my Pocket / Foreign Affaire

* Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

Permission to use images obtained.

A Good Year

It’s great to be back in the ICFW writing seat after so many months of absence. This year, life has consisted of four weddings and a funeral. Yep, I know that sounds like a movie, as does the title of this blog, but seriously, that really has been 2012 for me.

When both my sons got engaged last year, I knew 2012 would be the year of weddings. Sadly though, a month after my brother’s mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in January, she passed away and so the funeral that I so dreaded when I joked about having four weddings, happened.

On April 23rd, my youngest son, Kyle, married his Finnish sweetheart. This was only a marriage on paper however, done to aid the process of his Finnish residency application. Kyle and Tiia determined to wait for their church wedding on July 7th, which my husband and I planned to attend ... in Finland!

 

So, between arranging two August weddings merely three days apart in South Africa (from florist to wedding co-ordinator, and everything in between), I now also had to arrange an overseas trip, with an outreach to Romania thrown in for good measure. Thankfully, I had nothing to do with any arrangements for the Finnish wedding – I just had to be there.

January to August passed in a blur of tuxedos, satin, roses, horse-drawn carriages, the luxurious colours of burgundy, olive green and silver, and a twelve-metre veil that needed beading stitched on both sides for Ryan and Amy’s fairytale wedding, to the earthy browns of hessian, baskets, picnic blankets, origami flowers, chinos and Jesus sandals for Kyle’s missionary wedding. Two totally different weddings, but equally fun to plan and execute.

 

 The wedding in Finland was beautiful. Azure skies formed the chapel roof, tall green pines its walls and a grey lake reflected behind the bridal couple like a gigantic window looking into forever. Finnish weddings are quite different to what we’re used to with games played, songs and dances performed by family children, and a ritual kidnapping of the bride and her subsequent rescue by the groom.

 

 

Noel and I definitely amassed beautiful memories from our sons’ weddings and emerged from this hectic time as very proud parents.

 

After the wedding in Finland we were privileged to spend ten tranquil days with friends at their summer cottage beside an enormous lake in the southeast of Finland ... along with a dozen fabulous young adults who had been on missionary training in South Africa with Kyle last year. Here we were immersed in the cultures of sauna and roasting makra. What fun it was to row on the lake, find new islands to explore – some not much bigger than a very large rock; watch my hubby fish while I settled down on the wooden jetty with the Ted Dekker novel I’d packed (The Bride Collector ... wonder what inspired that choice); or head off into the forest blueberry picking! 

 

During our time there we visited the quaint town of Savonlinna. Every year  the internationally renowned Savonlinna Opera Festival is held inside the walls of the medieval Olavinlinna Castle. 2012 was the centennial celebrations. It was awesome to have a backstage tour tagged onto our castle tour ticket, where we got a peak into dressing rooms, prop rooms, costume wardrobes, seating inside the opera and stage set-up. Five operas held over a month with two stage changes every day. The Magic Flute, The Flying Dutchman, and Aida were matched with two world premieres: La Fenice and Free Will, the first ever opera born on the Internet and created by an online community.

We also visited the world's largest wooden church in Kerimaki.

After a great time of rest and boosting ourselves on tiny blue super fruit  in the form of blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, or just plain blueberries and cream - sadly we ran out of time to make blueberry jam - we headed south. Armed with one small 10kg bag, we boarded a Ryan Air flight to Budapest. It took a good portion of our three hour layover to find the big orange midnight bus headed for Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 

The week in Romania, working in the gypsy village, Dallas, with ProRoma was hard but rewarding. Our team of ten demolished a shack and built a new two-roomed home in its place, finished another home built by a previous team, painted the prayer room (decorative sponge painting and all), played with the children, mixed cement and dug trenches. It felt really good to hand over a new home to the father and mother of three lovely young girls. How humbling to know God has used you to make a difference in someone’s life. You can read more at http://romania.the-rebirth.com/

And in Romania we learnt all about Romanian hospitality in new friends, our hosts. I hope someday we will be able to return their kindness in true South African style.

From the time we landed back on South African soil, I had nine days to finalise Ryan and Kyle’s weddings. Between returning to work, final venue meetings, bridal showers, bachelors’ parties, collecting hire items, making bouquets, finalising seating arrangements, final printing, buying food items, etcetera, etcetera, life was a flurry of activity. Suffice it to say, I literally vegetated for the rest of August and well into September, as I tried to catch my breath after this rewarding, albeit hectic year.

 

 

But all through the hustle and bustle of weddings on two opposite ends of the world, bride kidnappings, initiations, children, gypsies, castles, cathedrals, street markets, shacks, forests, lakes, and not forgetting blueberries, my writer’s mind was like a sponge. I absorbed every sight and smell, every landscape and face, every cultural difference, every new friendship, every piece of history, storing them away as I wait for that one new story to emerge from any of these experiences.  Will it be set in the forests of Finland, or within the solid walls of an ancient castle, or in the dirty streets of a gypsy village? Will my protagonist be a medieval knight, or a cagey gypsy with an attitude as large as the gold earring that dangles from his right ear, or a scantily clad child living off the garbage dumps? Will the story be historical, telling of unending feuds between Russians and Swedes, or will it tell a tale of murder and mystery when a bride goes missing after a traditional wedding prank? Who knows? I, for one, cannot wait to find out!