It brings me great pleasure to introduce you to Tessa Emily Hall, the author of Purple Moon.
Tessa is the kind of writer who captivates you in the first chapter. A connection is immediately gained between Selena and yourself. You become intrigued by the struggles she has endured and will withstand throughout the course of the book. If it had not been for being discovered by my parents, I would have pulled an all-nighter simply to reach the end of this enthralling novel.
This is without a doubt the best Christian novel I have read in a very long time. It is common to assume that it will be mundane and "preachy" because it has the label of Christian, but after reading the first few pages, you know that this will not be the case with Purple Moon. Tessa does a terrific job with keeping the action rolling and providing a great message while not letting it seem like you are listening to a sermon. I do not have enough words to praise this book.
As soon as I had finished reading the last page, I wanted to go share Purple Moon with everyone I met. I feel like it is a novel that could really change a person's life. It definitely provided me with a new perspective of myself and those around me. I advice everyone to retrieve their own copy as soon as you are able. It is an investment worth making.
Tessa is the kind of writer who captivates you in the first chapter. A connection is immediately gained between Selena and yourself. You become intrigued by the struggles she has endured and will withstand throughout the course of the book. If it had not been for being discovered by my parents, I would have pulled an all-nighter simply to reach the end of this enthralling novel.
This is without a doubt the best Christian novel I have read in a very long time. It is common to assume that it will be mundane and "preachy" because it has the label of Christian, but after reading the first few pages, you know that this will not be the case with Purple Moon. Tessa does a terrific job with keeping the action rolling and providing a great message while not letting it seem like you are listening to a sermon. I do not have enough words to praise this book.
As soon as I had finished reading the last page, I wanted to go share Purple Moon with everyone I met. I feel like it is a novel that could really change a person's life. It definitely provided me with a new perspective of myself and those around me. I advice everyone to retrieve their own copy as soon as you are able. It is an investment worth making.
~
Enough of my rambling, let's get on to the Blog Tour! :)
Selena's life isn't
turning out to be the fairy tale she imagined as a kid. That hope seemed to vanish long ago when her dad kicked her
and her mom out of the house. This summer might finally hold the chance of a
new beginning for Selena ... but having to live with her snobby cousin in Lake
Lure, NC while waiting for her mom to get out of rehab wasn't how Selena was
planning on spending her summer. She soon begins to wonder why she committed to
give up her "bad habits" for this.Things don't seem too bad, though. Especially when Selena gains the attention of the cute neighbor next door. But when her best friend back home in Brooklyn desperately needs her, a secret that's been hidden from Selena for years is revealed, and when she becomes a target for one of her cousin's nasty pranks, she finds herself having to face the scars from her past and the memories that come along with them. Will she follow her mom's example in running away, or trust that God still has a fairy tale life written just for her?
Purple Moon Excerpt: Wooden Swings
Here’s
an excerpt from my debut YA novel, PURPLE MOON. (Be sure to read behind the
scenes snippets about this excerpt below):
“Wait.” His hand on my elbow keeps me from moving toward the
door. “It’s still early. Come outside with me so we can play. I mean—not play.”
A corner of his mouth rises slowly. “I have a surprise.”
I laugh. “Play? Sounds very mature.”
The urge for Austin’s hand to remain on my elbow surprises me.
“It’s because I remember us as kids playing games outside during
the summertime. Follow me, I’ll show you.” (1)
Since I seem to have no choice, I follow as he leads me
through the familiar trees in his backyard and into a more wooded area along
the lake. My legs weaken with each step.
“Didn't we already go on a hike today?”
I focus on the ground and carefully decide where to step, just
in case there’s a snake hiding in the leaves. Something stops me from moving
forward. I look down at my shirt: it’s snagged on a tree branch.
Fabulous.
“We’re here,” Austin says as I detach the shirt from the branch.
He stands between two trees a few yards from the lake. Hanging
from both trees are wooden swings.
I take a few steps closer, struggling to figure out why they
look so familiar. It seems as if I’ve dreamed about them before, because I
remember being afraid of falling into the water as I would swing over the lake.
(2)
“Don’t you remember?” Austin asks, anticipating
a surprised reaction.
The sound of a croaking toad seems
magnified in the silence.
“My dad built these for Audrey and me when I was six,” he
finally says at my lack of response.
“Oh, yeah!” A door to my childhood opens as several images
of my past reel through my mind. I grab the ropes of one of the swings and
carefully sit onto the wooden seat. “How could I forget? Whitney and I used to
make you push us.” (3)
“Not funny.” Austin crouches down to snap a picture of the
empty swing with the lake in the background. “That was torture, getting a tiny
kid like me to push two spoiled brats like you girls.”
My feet kick the dirt as I push off. “Hey, I wasn’t the
spoiled brat. I was just the spoiled brat’s servant.”
The fact that these swings probably haven’t been swung on in
years doesn’t scare me a bit. I allow the sudden rush of wind to take me all
the way back to childhood as the swing flies over the edge of the lake.
(1)
I had two
close guy friends when I was little, which is why I chose for Selena and Austin
to have been friends when they were kids as well.
(2) I first had the idea to include wooden
swings in this scene after I attended a family reunion. This reunion was held
at one of my relatives’ houses, and in the backyard was a wooden swing above a
pond, much like the one in Purple Moon.
When I was at family reunion, I could vaguely remember swinging on the wooden
swing from when I was a kid. (Click here for a picture of my cousin
on the swing.)
(3) The swings in this scene was originally
an old swing set in Austin’s backyard. However, after attending the reunion, I
decided to change the swing set to a pair of wooden swings above the lake.
(4) This was one of the funnest scenes to
write (yes, that is a word!)
(5) Later in this scene is when the reader
finds out why a purple moon is so significant to Selena.
Fact or Fiction?:
Guess this fact or
fiction, and be sure to stop by the next blog tour stop to see if you guessed
correctly! (You’ll also receive one extra entry for the “Purple Moon” Prize
Pack if you send me your guess.)
“Purple
Moon” Prize Pack!
Two people will receive the below
prizes--however, I will also be giving away one more prize pack (as well as two
signed copies of my book) at my virtual launch party on Sept. 24th. RSVP by clicking
here!
“Purple
Moon” Blog Tour Stops:
Wednesday,
September 18th: Purple Moon Blog Tour Launch: The Story Behind
the Story: Christ
is Write
Tuesday,
September 24th: Release Day! Selena’s Diary Entry + Creative
Photo Contest: Writing for
Young Adults
Thursday, October 24th: How
Much of My Personal Life Did I Put Into “Purple Moon”?: Read
For Your Future
Tessa Emily Hall is a 19-year-old author of Purple Moon, her YA Christian fiction
novel to be published September 2013 by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas.
She is also the editor over the faith department for Temperance Magazine, a
column writer for Whole Magazine, a contributing writer for More To Be, as well
as the PR for God of Moses Entertainment. Other than writing, Tessa enjoys
acting, music, Starbucks, and her Teacup Shih Tzu—who is named Brewer after a
character in her book, as well as her love for coffee.
Website: www.tessaemilyhall.com
Blog: www.christiswrite.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tessaemily
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tessa.h16
Blog: www.christiswrite.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tessaemily
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tessa.h16
This seems like a really interesting book! I'd be happy to win the giveaway. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having me!! =)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great giveaway! :)
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a very enjoyable book... Definitely going to try win the giveaway :D x
ReplyDelete