A Vast and Gracious Tide Review, Author Interview and Giveaway!

Welcome to the blog tour and giveaway for A Vast and Gracious Tide by Lisa Carter, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: A Vast and Gracious Tide
Author: Lisa Carter
Publisher: Gilead
Release Date: June 12, 2018
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense

A wounded veteran and the police chief’s daughter must work together to bring a killer to justice

Caden Wallis lost friends, his girlfriend, and even his leg to the ravages of war. He arrives on the Outer Banks broken and still reeling, struggling to make peace with his new life.

McKenna Dockery has been stuck in limbo since her fiancé died three years ago. Now, when the handsome yet heartbroken Caden arrives at her doorstep, she starts to wonder if there may be hope for her heart after all . . .

But no sooner do they meet than a man is found murdered on McKenna’s property–and Caden is the prime suspect. The two must learn to trust each other, or no one will be safe in the tangled web of conspiracy, greed, and deceit lurking in the tidal marshlands of the Outer Banks.

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

 

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MY PERSPECTIVE

There’s just something about romantic suspense novels that keep me coming back for more. I am always on the lookout for a new author to enjoy in this genre, and I have definitely found one here. Lisa Carter is a fantastic writer who pulls who into the story line immediately. I’m going to be completely honest – I instantly liked Caden. I felt bad for him really, so it was more of a sympathy liking. But somewhere in the story he changed my mind about him. I started getting annoyed with him actually in the way he did things and handled things. Then near the end, we were back on good terms. I have to say that usually I like the hero from beginning to end, but I actually enjoyed this back and forth with Caden. To be honest, it kept me hooked into the story more to see if he was going to become the person I wanted him to be from the beginning.

The Outer Banks was the perfect setting for this suspenseful story. I typically hear about love stories set in the Outer Banks, so this was a welcome change for such a familiar setting. Lisa Carter kept the story line alive the whole time, adding powerful punches here and there just to make things interesting. I will say that it was no surprise who the true villain was, and I would have like there to have been some twist in the end about that. However, it did not stop me from enjoying the book and getting to know Caden and McKenna better! I think romantic suspense fans will fall in the love with the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW

 

Welcome to A Baker’s Perspective Lisa!

Thanks so much for hosting me today on your blog, Jessica.

 

What is the inspiration behind A Vast and Gracious Tide?

When I became aware of the horrendously high statistic of veteran suicides, I was gutted. I began to think about what would cause someone so obviously heroic—so willing to give their life for others—to make the decision to end their own life after getting home. Coming home is a pervasive theme in all my books that I find myself returning to over and over again.

I read stories of great valor regarding wounded warriors. About how sometimes the worst wounds of war weren’t visible. And I tried to understand why after overcoming so much, too many came home and lost the will to live.

Then one former soldier told me something profound. “Every soldier, one way or the other, returns a wounded soldier.”

I thought a lot about the cost of war on a personal level. The price, the sacrifice, that these men and women paid on our behalf. Freedom is not free. And thus was born A Vast and Gracious Tide, about a grievously wounded young soldier desperate to find a reason to live again.

 

I love the lighthouse on the cover!  Did you help with the cover design at all?

Gilead was great about asking for my input and I was so pleased with the cover the graphic designer came up with. I’m married to a graphic designer and over the years, he has taught me to think visually. Covers are really important to me. Covers are vital to a reader deciding to pick a book off a shelf—virtual or real—and ultimately purchase a novel. Or not. I hope readers will love the cover for A Vast and Gracious Tide as much as I do.

 

Where is the most exotic location you have traveled to for research?

The Amazon rainforest. I also just returned from a trip to Thailand. Everything, every place, becomes fodder for a new story idea. I spent quite a few years visiting and getting to know several Native American cultures—the Lumbee, the Cherokee, the Navajo and Apache. Two of those suspense books became award winners.

 

I would love to go to the rainforest! Any places you hope to go “research” in the future?

One of my early books “required” a research trip to Hawaii. I was able to take my family along. So when we returned home, my youngest child (at the time about ten) told me she thought my next book needed to take place in . . . Paris. Not happened yet. But who knows? Anything’s possible.

I am a lifelong travel addict. It would be easier to ask me where I don’t want to go—a short list that might include places like North Korea or Syria. Otherwise . . .

I’m fascinated with other cultures and languages. I have bucket list places I’d love to see some day—China, India, sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Seuss had it right—at least for an author like me.

Oh, the places you’ll go . . .

 

You share some great recipes on your blog, most of which I see are from Pinterest. I have to admit, I have a Pinterest problem. Are you on there daily?

Pinterest is my go-to place when I’m brainstorming ideas for projects. This includes everything from novels to crafts for mission trips. Otherwise, I limit myself to one “binge” a week.

 

I think maybe I should set myself a rule like that! What do you like to do for fun?

I love to read. I love to spend time with family. I love to travel—I write books to fuel my travel addiction.

 

Reading!? That’s right up my alley!! I hear that you have a strong opinion about ACC basketball. As an avid Syracuse fan, I would love to hear what those opinions are 😉

It is a real thing—the madness, I mean. Every March as the basketball championship playoffs begin, North Carolina goes crazy. Business stops; schools stop teaching and turn on classroom televisions during tournament games. Why? To watch the ACC teams slug it out.

We all have our favorites. Ask a North Carolinian about his/her favorite ACC team and be prepared for passion. And nowhere is the cross county rivalry more intense than the competition between beloved NC teams like Duke, NC State and UNC.

The love for a team in NC—which borders on religious fanaticism—begins early. You are raised from the cradle to be a Wolfpack fan or Blue Devil fan. And everyone hates Carolina—unless of course Carolina is your team of choice.

Three rules I was taught as a child—

1. Always support your team.
2. Always support an ACC team if your team doesn’t have any skin in the game.
3. Always cheer for whoever is playing against Carolina.

Yes, in hindsight—I’m not proud to admit it—but I once cheered for Czechoslovakia to whup Carolina in a basketball game. A then-communist country against an American team. But this is how it goes in the ACC and in North Carolina. Especially, if it’s March.

My children never even considered applying for college at a certain NC university, which I shall leave unnamed. They were both seriously afraid they’d be excommunicated from the family if they did. We, I whispered to them when they entered kindergarten, don’t go to that other university . . .

And then there are those poor unfortunates who fall in love with someone of a different basketball persuasion. We warn our children about the inherent hardships and struggles of those kind of mixed marriages.

Let’s be honest. It happens in North Carolina. Nobody’s proud of it. But what are you going to do about young love? None of these deluded ones are stupid enough, however, to try and pull off a wedding during March. That’s just asking for trouble most people don’t need.

Only thing during March all North Carolinians agree on? That the national title should always belong to an ACC team. Although, it hurts me to put Carolina in that category.

North Carolina is a beautiful place to visit—from the mountains to the sea. The food is great. The people are truly everything you’ve ever heard about the South—warm, friendly and hospitable. Except during March.

My coworker is an avid Syracuse fan, and is engaged to a Duke fan! I mean…..I’m not sure I could do that lol.

 

One fun fact readers may not know about you?

When I eat cupcakes, I’m really in it for the icing. So I lick the icing off first. Disgusting, yes I know. Childish, yeah. But hey, you asked.

 

I love that!! What can readers look forward to next?

Right now, I’m working on my next romantic suspense novel, The Sound of Falling Leaves, which will release in 2019. This novel takes readers to the other side of North Carolina, the equally beautiful, yet hauntingly mysterious Blue Ridge Mountains. Stay tuned.

 

Can’t wait to read it!! Thank you so much for chatting with me today!

Thanks, Jessica, for hosting me and A Vast and Gracious Tide today.

 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author Lisa Carter describes her Southern suspense novels as “sweet tea with a slice of murder.” She is the bestselling author of seven romantic suspense novels, four historical novellas, and a contemporary Coast Guard series. Lisa enjoys traveling to romantic locales and researching her next exotic adventure. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball.

CONNECT WITH LISA: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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Don’t miss your chance to enter this great giveaway prize pack! One winner (US only) will receive:

Print copy of A Vast and Gracious Tide by Lisa Carter
Sea glass jewelry set (see here)
Framed print of Psalm 93:4 (see here)

$65 value

Giveaway will run from midnight June 18, 2018 through 11:59pm July 2, 2018. It is subject to the policies found here.

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

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