Spring Into Reading with The Lost Lieutenant

Hello reader friends! Welcome to my Spring Into Reading Event! Every day this month I’m going to feature a new release (or will be released) book for you to add to your TBR. There will be guest posts, giveaways, book excerpts, and more! So make sure you come back daily and see what book is in the spotlight next! And if you’ve missed any, be sure to click on the “Spring Into Reading” tab and look at the other posts!

Today I am featuring a book that has been staring at me for weeks – and I can finally dive into this weekend. WOOHOO!! I’ve heard so many good things about The Lost Lieutenant, that I already know I am going to love it. Besides, Erica Vetsch is awesome, both as an author and as a person. Not only is she answering some questions for me today, she’s giving away a copy of her book to only lucky US resident!!!

ABOUT THE BOOK

He’s doing what he can to save the Prince Regent’s life . . . but can he save his new marriage as well?

Evan Eldridge never meant to be a war hero–he just wanted to fight Napoleon for the future of his country. And he certainly didn’t think that saving the life of a peer would mean being made the Earl of Whitelock. But when the life you save is dear to the Prince Regent, things can change in a hurry.

Now Evan has a new title, a manor house in shambles, and a stranger for a bride, all thrust upon him by a grateful ruler. What he doesn’t have are all his memories. Traumatized as a result of his wounds and bravery on the battlefield, Evan knows there’s something he can’t quite remember. It’s important, dangerous–and if he doesn’t recall it in time, will jeopardize not only his marriage but someone’s very life.

Readers who enjoy Julie Klassen, Carolyn Miller, and Kristi Ann Hunter will love diving into this brand-new Regency series filled with suspense, aristocratic struggles, and a firm foundation of faith.

Amazon

AUTHOR Q&A

Welcome to the blog Erica! To start, can you tell us the inspiration behind The Lost Lieutenant?

I wanted to dive into something new and different for me. I love history, and I love research. After writing so much fiction set in the American West, I was looking for a new challenge. I was reading some really great Regency fiction, and I thought it might be fun to try a novel-length Regency.

Well I, for one, am happy you went in this direction! What’s in your current TBR pile?

I have a wide-ranging taste in reading. I’m reading The London Restoration by Rachel McMillan, and I’m listening to The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.

Oh The London Restoration is on my TBR!! Can you tell us about any research trips you took while working on The Lost Lieutenant?

This one hurts a bit. I was scheduled to make my first trip to England in May, but thanks to the pandemic, I’ve had to cancel those plans. I’m hoping to reschedule for 2021, and I have a very long list of places I want to visit. Museums, castles, cities.

Oh man, I’m so sorry. So many people have put things on hold. I just hope and pray it’s over soon! Did you google something as research for this book and find something funny?

I don’t remember finding anything funny, but the type of thing I find myself googling most is the etymology of a word or phrase. I have to check whether a particular word was in use during the Regency. Anachronisms will pull a reader right out of the story, and I try to cull as many as possible from my work.

That must be a lot of work! Tell us about your writing routine, other than this of course.

I am a coffee-shop writer, so the stay-at-home order here in Minnesota has put a crimp on my writing and creativity. A typical day sees me leaving the house about noon, heading to my favorite coffee shop, spending a half-hour to an hour on social media, connecting with readers, blogging, etc. Then writing until four or five.

I love coffee shops!! If you could have dinner with any character, who would you pick? What would you eat? What would you talk about?

I would reach way back into my past and have dinner with Laura Ingalls Wilder. An author and a character! I think we might have something really modern, like a pizza or a burger, since it would be novel for her. And I have so many questions I would love to ask her. The stories behind the stories.

Great choice! Can I join?? What’s your favorite dessert?

My family has a favorite called Buster Bar Dessert. Crushed Oreo base, ice cream, roasted Spanish peanuts, and a rich chocolate sauce over the top. Yum!

You had me at crushed oreo 🙂 If you weren’t an author right now, what would you be doing?

Possibly teaching history? I have taught history to middle school and high school students before bringing my children home to homeschool.

Well I’d sign up for your class! What’s your favorite Bible verse?

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I love this verse! What’s one thing readers don’t know about you?

I am a bookkeeper. I keep the books for our family lumber business, Vetsch Hardwoods, Inc. I’ve been doing this job for almost 15 years now.

I look at numbers all day long – I’d much rather be reading lol. You’re on a stranded island and you can only have one book with you. What would you pick and why?

These questions are so hard! I know this answer would change week to week…or even day to day! Right now, I would choose something that is encouraging, humorous, and hopeful. I would choose All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. Heartwarming stories of animals and people, with a happy ending and a lot of laughs.

Honestly, I don’t know what I would pick. That’s why I make you answer lol! What do you want readers to gain from reading this?

Reading this interview? A better look into me and my life, a few points of connection and relation.

Reading The Lost Lieutenant? First, a good, entertaining read. Second, hope. Hope that comes from knowing that God is Sovereign and God is Good.

And this my dear, is why I love you and your books. What an amazing message. Okay, next up – do your characters ever talk to you at odd times?

Yes! At the most inopportune moments, too! Sometimes late at night when I’m trying to fall asleep. Often in church when I’m trying to concentrate on the sermon!

Well you need to tell them to stop! What’s the weirdest thing you’ve written notes on for a story idea? 

Oh, I have lots of story notes. I wrote up a quick proposal once on a time-travel novel where a museum curator had the power to travel through time when she touched certain artifacts in her museum…but she never knew which one would send her winging through the time portal.

Now that sounds interesting! I’ll be looking for your manuscript hehe. What are you working on next?

I’ll be starting a new Regency series, this one stronger on mystery and mayhem, with a romantic thread running through it, rather than straight up Regency romance. I’m excited to dive in!

YAY! I’m excited to dive in too. hint hint……. Thank you so much for talking to me today!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Best-selling, award-winning author Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. She’s a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota, and she married her total opposite and soul mate! When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks.

You can connect with her at her website, www.ericavetsch.com where you can read about her books and sign up for her newsletter, and you can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/EricaVetschAuthor/ where she spends way too much time!  

GIVEAWAY

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Are you as excited as I am to read this book? What part interests you the most? Don’t forget to stop back every day this month for more great reads, and if you’ve missed any days, go back and check them out!