Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Marine's Deadly Reunion by Loretta Eidson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Marine's Deadly Reunion Series: The Protectors Author: Loretta Eidson Publisher: Inspirational The Protectors Collection (Love Inspired) Release Date: December 26, 2023 Genre: Christian romantic suspense

To keep a child safe They must outrun a killer… When Sergeant Daria Gordon saves US Marine Jake Fisher and his baby niece from an attacker, she instantly puts a target on her own back. Someone murdered Jake’s sister and now they want Jake and Daria dead. To survive, Jake and Daria must discover this ruthless killer’s identity. But can they uncover the truth and keep the baby safe…before the killer finds them?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub

Also Available

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About the Author

Award-winning author Loretta Eidson lives by the motto ‘never a dull moment,’ especially with her four children, thirteen grandchildren, and four great-grands. Her love of reading began during the required library time in middle school, where she devoured Phyllis Whitney’s mystery novels before she moved on to suspense author Frank Peretti. She left her eighteen-year administrative assistant position at her church to pursue the dream of writing inspirational romantic suspense. She has multiple short stories in anthologies, but her heart is writing romantic suspense. She believes in the power of prayer and loves putting her hero and heroine in realistic predicaments where they must trust God to pull them through.

Connect with Loretta by visiting lorettaeidson.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.

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Guest Post from Loretta Eidson

I’d love to share some insights into my personal life and tidbits about how my writing journey progressed as a Love Inspired author.

I’m an introvert. Seriously. Any time a teacher asked me a question in grade school, I cried. I can’t tell you how many times throughout the day she sent me to the restroom to wash tears from my face. I was so afraid my answer would be wrong and everyone in class would laugh at me.

By the time my senior year arrived, I realized school wasn’t so scary after all. I relaxed, joined the yearbook club, and enjoyed my last season with friends.

After graduation, I married and had three children. Two boys and a girl. Since then, a stepson has joined the family, and today I have four grown children, fourteen grandchildren, and four great grands. Yes. That’s a houseful, especially on holidays when they all visit.

As I’ve traveled through the years, I’ve encountered some funny adventures. Thought I’d share some with you.

As far as my writing journey, it’s been eye-opening to see how God moves when we pray and trust Him. I can validate the saying that God’s timing is not our timing. After ten years of submissions and rejections, I received my first Love Inspired contract. 

But let’s back up a minute. Acquiring an agent was highly recommended in the traditional publishing world, so I nervously began searching. The thought of trying to convince someone to represent me sent my stress level soaring. Being raised in the south, my parents reiterated you don’t brag about yourself. Talking to an agent meant telling her good stuff about myself. Eek! I began praying God would send me an agent that loved Him as much as I and someone whose personality would mesh with mine.

Chased by a rhino - While on a mission trip to Kapoeta, Africa, I went on a safari with a Maasai Warrior as our driver. We rode a jeep across the open terrain. A rhino wasn’t happy with our approach and began chasing the vehicle. This massive, horned creature came so close I could almost reach out and touch him. It was a scream-worthy incident. Thankfully, the driver realized the seriousness of the situation and sped up.

Married to a Maasai Warrior – While visiting a Maasai village in Kenya where thorn bushes surrounded the small village to keep predators out (lions, tigers, leopards, etc.), a Maasai warrior decked out in his red attire, unique headdress, with a lengthy spear in his hand, came up to me and began jumping up and down. I didn’t move a muscle. He was so close; I thought he’d knock me down. He uttered indecipherable groans and chants. I later learned he was doing his wedding dance. It occurred to me the tent I was staying in didn’t have a lock on the door. My introverted thinking went wild. What if that warrior tried to kidnap me? It’s funny now, but almost caused a panic attack back then.

Parasailing – I’m not an adventurous person, but my best friend is. She insisted I go parasailing over the ocean while visiting Destin, Florida. After offering a multitude of excuses, I finally agreed. It was very peaceful up in the sky, but the ocean below mortified me. I never should have watched Shark Week on television because all I could think about was a Great White tracking me for dinner.

Eye contact – During another mission trip to Costa Rica, our team drove for hours into the jungle, then took a long hike up into the Chirripo Mountains. Our guide explained the indigenous natives are some of the most isolated and uneducated. Females in our group should not make eye contact with any of the native men. If you did, that meant you wanted to be with them. Yikes! This was a problem for me. How can you enter a village, smile, and not look into people’s eyes? If that wasn’t bad enough, I was the only blue-eyed, blond female in the group, so I stood out among the natives. The moment my eyes met with one of them, I immediately ducked my head and kept my eyes on the ground, telling myself, “No, no, no, don’t look.”

God did just that, and this is how! After I entered my manuscript in a contest, it made it to the finals but didn’t win. The contest coordinator called, asking if I was interested in talking with one contest judge who was an agent. She’d seen something in my writing that piqued her interest, so she offered to represent me. The cool thing is, she was the exact one I’d researched, but wasn’t brave enough to approach. That’s when Tamela Hancock Murray with the Steve Laube Agency became my literary agent. 

Then, a couple of years later, Tamela emailed me, asking if I’d like to try writing a novel for the Mountain Rescue Collection with Love Inspired. Of course, the answer was yes. After experiencing so many rejections, I couldn’t turn the opportunity down. 

The moment I sat at my keyboard, a story dropped into my head. That had never happened before and hasn’t happened since. I dove in and wrote Pursued in the Wilderness. My editor liked it and offered a contract a few weeks later. I was over the moon, excited.

Since then, I’ve written two more. Blue Ridge Mountain Escape which released June 27, 2023, and The Marine’s Deadly Reunion which releases this Christmas on December 26, 2023. 

I love attending Christian writers' conferences and mingling with readers and authors. I now call myself a recovering introvert because when it comes to writing and being with my like-minded friends, I feel at home.

A little more about me is I love pecans, cashews, almonds, and walnuts. Covered in dark chocolate is even better. I’m an iced tea and coffee drinker. Cute coffee mugs are like a magnet for me. I love silly, cute, and inspirational themes.

I’ve enjoyed this time with you and hope you’ve gained some insight into my life. Feel free to contact me at loretta@lorettaeidson.com or on my website www.lorettaeidson.com. 

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win a $50 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight December 18, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on December 25, 2023. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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