An Unpresentable Glory – Guest Post by Ellie Gustafson

Posted by abakersp in Spotlights / 3 Comments

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Welcome to the blog tour & giveaway for An Unpresentable Glory by Eleanor K. Gustafson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

an unpresentable gloryTitle: An Unpresentable Glory
Author: Eleanor K. Gustafson
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: July 1, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Romance

“I trusted you, and some day, you may know just how much you hold in your hands.”

Linda Jensen leads a relatively quiet life in Westchester County, New York, as the owner of a highly-acclaimed garden. Inherited from her parents, the garden is her pride and joy. What is not so joyful is finding a strange man sprawled near her delphiniums! The mysterious man is sick, unable to do anything more than drink water—and beg for secrecy. Ignoring all alarm bells, Linda sees to his needs, but her caring act takes on unexpected significance, an unpresentable glory.

Seeds of trust, and perhaps love, are planted in Linda’s garden haven. But as secrets are revealed and scandal hits the headlines, the act of caring for this man threatens to tarnish both of their reputations. Like weeds in Linda’s garden, circumstances threaten to choke out their fledgling relationship, and small moments prove to be the biggest influencers—on a national scale.

PURCHASE: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository

 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Verbascum

Ellie grew up in Branchville, NJ, in a county with more cows than people. She attended Wheaton College in Illinois as a music major, then married a pastor/college professor/tree farmer/organist and writer. Together, they have three children and eight grandchildren. Music was Ellie’s first love until she tried on the cloak of writing and found it a comfortable fit. However, early writing attempts saw friends—and even her mother—advising her to stick to music as a career. She pushed manfully along, though, and An Unpresentable Glory is her sixth novel. “God first touched me through story,” Ellie says, “and made the bigger Story come alive. I love Him passionately!”

CONNECT: website | Facebook | Twitter


TRAVEL FOR RESEARCH – GUEST POST

 

The fun part of researching any book is the travel involved. My first novel, Appalachian Spring, started me on that track, and we’ve gone to West Virginia, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Israel, Scotland, and a couple of places that must remain unnamed. I can do hints, though. We’ll see how clever you are at solving puzzles.

No problem with New York. The first paragraph of An Unpresentable Glory says it, right out loud: Westchester County, New York. I learned that most of the trees in that area are deciduous—nary a pine tree anywhere. The county does have some notable hemlock groves, and Linda’s garden has one right beside it. I also checked out a garden center near Linda’s house, and yes, they do have a lively garden club and garden tours. The drive across the Hudson River over Bear Mountain Bridge is scenic in spades. Jay picked a good route.

The other two venues in the book must be camouflaged.

  • The standard joke about one of them: There’s a pretty girl behind every tree in the state—all three of them.
  • The title of a well-known movie is the name of a major city in the state.
  • A national park is named after a president, and a road entering the park would not be closed on Christmas day because it connects with towns beyond the park. (This was a God discovery that fit the story perfectly.)
  • A famous American Indian was killed on Standing Rock Reservation, which straddles two states.

The third venue is quite different from the other two.

  • A lot of buildings, some with marble hallways.
  • One of these has a number of secret rooms that few know about. Some are small and windowless, others quite posh.
  • One particular office has four wild-animal heads on the walls.

I mentioned a famous Indian. This part of my research was both interesting and compelling. We as “immigrants” have a lot to answer for in terms of the Indian community. Our understanding of land ownership was totally foreign to them. WHAT? Owning forest and grazing lands? Who could fathom that? The most egregious problem, though, came in the 1880s, when the government attempted to “civilize” the native people. Kill the Indian, save the man, became the operative slogan, and Indian children were forcibly herded into schools—run by heavy-handed Christians, no less. They were beaten for not following the rules against speaking their own language; their hair was cut, their culture stripped away. An entire generation was poisoned, and the effects are still felt today. I read an article about a school in Lakota territory that is still struggling under this built-in prejudice against Christians. A sad bit of history. The novel also showcases other fascinating Native American stories.

Write a novel and see the world! Thank you for traveling with me to known and unknown places.

 


an unpresentable glory blog giveaway

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive:

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight September 10, 2018 and last through 11:59pm September 17, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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Follow along at JustRead for a full schedule & more chances to win!

3 responses to “An Unpresentable Glory – Guest Post by Ellie Gustafson

  1. Kay Garrett

    Thank you for being part of the book tour for “An Unpresentable Glory” by Eleanor K. Gustafson. Enjoyed reading the author’s guest post and would love the opportunity to read this book.