Welcome to the D-Day 75th Anniversary Blog Tour! Seven novelists are commemorating the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Thank you for joining us as we remember their heroism and sacrifice.
Our novels illuminate different aspects of the war—from the landing beaches of Normandy to Nazi-occupied Europe to the US Home Front. Each day, visit with a new author as we share about our stories, our research, and our unique settings. With each blog post, you’ll have the opportunity to win that author’s novel–plus a chance to win a packet of ALL NINE featured novels and a gorgeous signed hardback copy of Everything We Have: D-Day 6.6.44, the new commemorative book from the National World War II Museum!
Giveaway Details
For a chance to win ALL TEN books, please visit each blog, collect the answers to ALL SEVEN questions, and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below or on the BLOG TOUR PAGE. The contest opens June 3, 2019 at 1 am PST and closes June 16, 2019 at 11 pm PST. The winner will be announced on Monday, June 17, 2019. *Note* Several of the titles will not be released until later—these will be mailed after the release dates.
To win the prize of ALL TEN books, you must have collected ALL SEVEN answers. The winner must be prepared to send ALL SEVEN answers within 48 hours of notification by email, or a new winner will be selected.
Natia has a secret—and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose.
In 1943 Poland, the Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their peaceful farm to the harsh confines of a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.
The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear—but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.
Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and christianbook.com
D-Day: What Did It Mean for Ordinary Europeans
There’s no doubt that D-day was a life-altering, world-changing event. Many brave men from the US, Canada, England, Australia, and eight other countries gave their lives to take those stormy Normandy beaches. Without their sacrifices, the world we live in would not exist. Those of us in the West owe an unpayable debt to them. Their lives bought us our rights, our freedoms, our liberty.
For many on the home fronts in the Allied countries, it was a day they sat by the radio, hoping and praying that our boys would be successful and that all those they knew and loved who were fighting there would come home to them. Sadly, many of them did not.
But for those in countries controlled by Hitler – France, Germany, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, and all the others – their thoughts were so much different. In many cases, they didn’t have radios to sit beside. For most, the day passed with little or no recognition. Word of the invasion may have trickled down to them days or weeks later.
Still, whether they knew what was happening on the western European coast or not, it was a day of hope for them. Hope that, after 4 1/2 years of war, the Allies had arrived. Hope that the tide of the war was changing and that they would not be enslaved forever. Hope that, if they could hang on, just live a little longer, they might enjoy the sweet taste of freedom once again.
Anne Frank best sums up what D-day meant for her, her family, and all those suffering under Nazi persecution. “Is this really the beginning of the long-awaited liberation? The liberation we’ve all talked so much about, which still seems too good, too much of a fairy tale ever to come true? Will this year, 1944, bring us victory? We don’t know yet. But where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”
Sadly, Anne Frank didn’t live to see her liberation. But thanks to the 4,414 Allied troops who gave their lives on those French beaches, many tens of thousands did experience the day when they once again breathed free and slept peacefully at night.
Question: How many Allied countries participated in storming the beaches on D-day? Write the answer down, or enter it in the main Rafflecopter giveaway below right away.
Rafflecopter Giveaway
To enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, enter your name and email address (we need these to notify the winner). Then select an author’s name and enter the answer to that author’s question. You only need to enter the Rafflecopter once to be entered in the giveaway, but you can earn up to seven entries by answering all seven questions in the Rafflecopter. But don’t forget…to win, you must have collected ALL SEVEN answers. You can enter the Rafflecopter each day, or you can enter all your answers at once any time before June 16, 2019 at 11 pm PST. US mailing addresses only, please.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, prairie romance novellas, an Amish romance, and a romantic suspense. She is a popular speaker and an editor. She has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son proudly serves as a U.S. Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. They adopted all of their children internationally, and one has special needs. When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family.
Individual Giveaway Details
For a chance to win the first book in The Music of Hope series, The Melody of the Soul, please sign up for my newsletter. I promise not to spam you but only to keep you up to date on new releases, sales, appearances, contests, and other news. I often share my favorite recipes, and I have a giveaway at least once a month! When you’ve signed up, please fill out the form below to be entered to win. If you’re already signed up for my newsletter, just fill out the form and check yes.
Schedule for the D-Day 75th Anniversary Blog Tour
Be sure to visit each site for a chance to win ALL NINE featured novels, plus the commemorative D-day book!
Note: Links will go live on the post date.
June 3: AMANDA DYKES, author of Whose Waves These Are
June 4: CATHY GOHLKE, author of The Medallion
June 5: LIZ TOLSMA, author of When the Heart Sings
June 6: SARAH SUNDIN, author of the Sunrise at Normandy series: The Sea Before Us, The Sky Above Us, and The Land Beneath Us
June 7: AMANDA BARRATT, author of My Dearest Dietrich
June 10: VALERIE LUESSE, author of Almost Home
June 11: MELANIE DOBSON, author of Memories of Glass