NO SAFE HARBOR - Elizabeth Ludwig - One Free Book on This Blog + Much More

Bio: Elizabeth Ludwig is an award-winning author and an accomplished speaker and teacher. Her historical novel Love Finds You in Calico, California earned four stars from Romantic Times. She is the owner and editor of the popular literary blog The Borrowed Book. Along with her husband and two children, Elizabeth makes her home in Orange, Texas.
Learn more at www.elizabethludwig.com.

Dear Readers, I've read this book recently and loved it. I think you will, too. And the cover is awesome.

Welcome, Elizabeth. What are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

There’s actually one theme in particular that I try to weave into all of my books. It’s a unifying message in all three of the books from my latest series called the Edge of Freedom. It’s one that I hope will speak to everyone who reads them, but rather than tell you what it is, I’d like to show you with a line taken from one of the books:

“My dear, braw lad,” Cara whispered, “your faith was never in God. It was the church you followed, and the Fenians, not the Savior.”

What other books of yours are coming out soon?

I just finished the second book in the Edge of Freedom Series, called Dark Road Home, and am currently working on book three. Each of these books focuses on a different aspect of the struggle in Ireland, and how it translated to America. Overall, I am very excited to have been entrusted with this great project!

If you could spend an evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would it be and why?

Not a family member…okay, then I guess I would have to say Tim Tebow (and who wouldn’t, right?) My goodness, that man is pretty! J

Joking aside, I would love to just pray with him and encourage him to stay faithful. Lots of eyes are on him. Fair or not, that makes him a role model.

What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?

I’d like to meet Abraham Lincoln. There’s been some controversy lately about him. I think I’d like to get to know him, find out who he really was and what he believed. Also, I’d like to ask him if he ever, ever killed a vampire. ;-)

How can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?

I guess I would have to share a bit of my own writing history.

I wrote for six years before I sold my first book. As you can imagine, a collected a hefty pile of rejections from the time I submitted my first manuscript to the day I completed my first sale. In between is a time I fondly recall now as the desert years.

The desert years were a lonely, desperate time of self-pity and despair. How I wish I had realized then the presence of God in my life. With every tear I wept, He gently and lovingly molded me. Like a potter using water to make the clay pliable, God used my tears to soften and shape me. I’ll never forget the moment the realization hit me that nothing, not a moment of time in my long and difficult publishing journey had been wasted.

“Don’t be so focused on the goal that you miss the journey.” (Paraphrased)

I heard these words at a conference I attended. Suddenly, I realized that was exactly what I’d been doing. My goal was publication. Only that. Not the knowledge to be gained along the way, or the friendships forged in adversity. I missed the fleeting opportunities God had prepared to comfort me, and for me to give comfort. Like a darkened landscape exposed by a shaft of lightening, my life suddenly became visible, and I became determined to ENJOY the writing journey God had set me on.

Tell us about the featured book.

My newest release, No Safe Harbor, is sort of a departure from the typical Historical Romance. I’ve added a strong element of suspense to give it a sort of gothic romance feel (readers familiar with Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney will know what I’m talking about).

The story is set in and around New York City, especially Ellis Island. For those of you not familiar with its history, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island from 1892 to 1954. Many of those immigrants were Irish, so when I decided to write a book about an Irish girl searching for her brother in America, it seemed the natural choice.

Here’s a little blurb about the book:

Lured by a handful of scribbled words across a faded letter, Cara Hamilton sets off from 1896 Ireland on a quest to find the brother she'd thought dead. Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend--Rourke Walsh.

Despite her brother's warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara's desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke's true intentions come to light.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Sure! Here you go:

Ellis Island, 1897

A mischievous wind lifted the tips of Cara’s hair and tossed them into her eyes. She brushed the strands away then blew on her shaking fingers to warm them. The day was overcast, like every one before it for the past two weeks, but thankfully the snow had stopped and the sea had settled into something less than raging. She stood against the rail with no fear of being tossed over.

Few passengers crowded the rails of the ship, Servia. Most were kept below deck by the frigid February temperatures and the choppy Atlantic Ocean, but not Cara. Bad weather had lengthened the crossing, made her longing for her first glimpse of America sharper.

America. And Eoghan.

Just thinking of her twin brother brought a wash of hot tears to her cheeks. Eoghan was alive. After two years of bowing under the villagers’ whispered condemnation, of bearing in silence the brand given her family name. . .finally. . .the chance to uncover the truth behind his disappearance. His letter in hand, she’d scrambled aboard the first ship to America she could find.

Her fingers crept inside her coat to press the precious scrap of paper against her chest.

Soon, my sweet lad. I’ll be at your side! And then we’ll prove you were no traitor to your church or your country.

Gently, she caressed the twisted leather bracelet encircling her wrist. Eoghan wore one identical to it—a gift from their father on their sixteenth birthday.

“Ah, Miss Hamilton. You made it on deck, I see.”

Cara tucked the bracelet into her sleeve then turned toward the boisterous voice. Douglas Healy was a kind man. A bit loud for her liking. Nonetheless, his generosity had rescued her from steerage—a fact for which she would be forever grateful, and his good-humored jokes had made the trip across the Atlantic bearable. His presence had also kept some of the more amorous lads at bay, since they’d assumed mistakenly that he was her father.

She greeted him with a smile. “And you, as well, Mr. Healy. Here to catch your first glimpse of America?”

He snorted, his full moustache stirred by the force. “I’ve seen it before. This is my fourth crossing. Business, you know.”

His gray eyebrows bunched as he claimed the spot next to her at the rail. Teased by the wind, the fedora on his head lifted slightly. He caught it with a gloved hand and jammed it firmly back in place. “You, however, have yet to reveal your reasons for making the journey. Still no hope of finagling the information?”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’ve actually made quite a home for myself out in cyber space. Readers can find me at:

Website: www.elizabethludwig.com

Blog: www.theborrowedbook.blogspot.com.

I’m also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.ludwig.33?ref=tn_tnmn and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/theborrowedbook.

Stop on by! I’d love to have you visit.


Elizabeth Ludwig is celebrating her new book with a Kindle Fire Giveaway and connecting with readers at a Facebook Author Chat party on 12/6.

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• No Safe Harbor by Elizabeth Ludwig

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 5th. Winner will be announced at the "No Safe Harbor" Author Chat Facebook Party on 12/6. Connect with Elizabeth, get a sneak peek of the next book in the Edge of Freedom series, try your hand at the trivia contest, and win some great prizes—gift certificates, books and a Book Club Prize Pack (10 copies for your book club or small group)!

So grab your copy of No Safe Harbor and join Elizabeth on the evening of the December 6th for a chance to connect with her and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun, RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 6th!

Thank you, Elizabeth, for visiting us today and for inviting us to your party.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom) - paperback
No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom) - Kindle


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