ABOUT THE BOOK

Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters.
Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of the nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts.

The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser
1899—Mackinac Point Lighthouse
Natalie Brooks loses her past to amnesia, and Cal Waterson, the lighthouse keeper who rescues her, didn’t bargain on risking his heart—when her past might change everything.

The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: November 1, 2018

Publisher: Barbour

Click here to purchase your copy.

MY BOOK REVIEW

The Great Lakes Lighthouse contains seven novellas. Its a collection of well-written stories taking you back from 1883-1911.

The Seven Stories are:

1. Anna's Tower by Pegg Thomas - 1883- Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse.

Topic: Shipwreck, love, future, career

Anna's Wilson plans to be the next lighthouse keeper until Maksim Ivanov is shipwrecked on Thunder Bay Island.

Thunder Bay Island

2. Beneath a Michigan Moon by Candice Sue Patterson

1885- New Presque Isle Lighthouse.

Ava Ryan's father passes away leaving her alone and ill to tend the light with nowhere else to go. Logging foreman Benjamin Colfax needs the height of the lighthouse to determine the best cutting route but he senses something amiss in Ava and her determination to remain reclusive. Can he get her to open up, or will she keep herself locked away?

Topics: Friendship, Isolation, Sadness, Family, Death, Trust

New Presque Isle Lighthouse

3. Safe Haven by Rebecca Jepson- 1892 - Old Mission Lighthouse

Rose Miller was found on the lighthouse doorstep as an infant, and now she must hide her quest to find the child who left her there from Captain Nathan Perry, the man she loves to hate.

Topics: Isolation, Sadness, Revenge, Being Left, Family

Mission Point Light House (1913)

4. Love's Beacon by Carrie Fancett Pagels

1898 - Round Island Lighthouse

Valerie Fillman's best hope for a future lies on the tiny island that holds her worst memories. Can Paul Sholtus, the new lightkeeper, and his daughter help bring healing? And Love?

Topics: Forgiveness, Love, Friendship, Family, Faith

Round Island Lighthouse

5. The Last Memory by Kathleen Rowser

1899- Mackinac Point Lighthouse

Natalie Brooks loses her past to amnesia, and Cal Waterson, the lighthouse keeper who rescues her didn't bargain on risking his heart -- when her past might change everything.

Topics: Love, Faith, Past, Broken Heart

Mackinac Point Lighthouse

6. The Disappearing Ship by Lena Nelson Dooley.

1902- Whitefish Pant Lighthouse

Romance and mystery collide at Whitefish Point Lighthouse when unemployed doctor Norma Kimbell and Drake Logan, owner of a steamship line, search for evidence of a supposed shipwreck.

Topics: Mystery, Romance, Love

Whitefish Pant Lighthouse

7. The Wrong Survivor by Marilyn Turka

1911- Au Sable Lighthouse

Lydia Palmer's dream for happiness as a lighthouse keeper's wife shatters when her fiance Nathan Drake drowned in a shipwreck, but his brother Jesse survived.

Au Sable Lighthouse

Kathy Rouser did her research because living in Michigan you learn a lot of the history of the Great Lakes and its lighthouses. The Great Lakes Lighthouse features many Great Lake history from shipwrecks, immigration, war, weather, and mining. Rouser takes you into what these men and woman dealt with. It gives us an idea of how isolation, strength, faith, courage, love, family, friendship, sadness, and faith which is happening in and around these beautiful lighthouses.

If you love history, lakes, lighthouses, Great Lakes, shipwrecks, love, mysteries, survival, and faith then I would recommend reading this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Rouser is the multi-published author of the 2017 Bookvana Award winner, Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and its sequel, Secrets and Wishes. She is a longtime member in good standing of American Christian Fiction Writers. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers who realize their need for the touch God’s grace and hope in their everyday lives. A former homeschool instructor, mild-mannered dental assistant, and current Community Bible Study kids’ teacher, she lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of thirty-some years, and the sassy tail-less cat who found a home in their empty nest. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.

A GUEST POST FROM KATHY

When author Pegg Thomas approached me about writing a novella for The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides book proposal I couldn’t refuse the chance. After all, I am a lifelong resident of Michigan, which is the Great Lakes State! Plus, I had a favorite lighthouse in mind, though I briefly considered others.

For over 20 years we have ventured “up north” for a week-long summer vacation on Lake Michigan, most of them spent in the same cottage. Since the cottage is almost 20 miles west of Mackinaw City, I’ve made the annual pilgrimage to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse since they reopened with exhibits in 2004. Part of the first floor has since been restored to the middle-class furnishings of 1910 when George Marshall and his family resided there. Two generations of Marshalls manned the lighthouse and George Marshall’s brother, Charles, was at one time the assistant lighthouse keeper.

There is also an area of the lighthouse where they display maps, photographs and other information, chronicling the history of the lighthouse built on the Straits of Mackinac in 1892. Fresnel lenses, like those used in the tower, and interactive displays are also included. Did you know for several years, the fourth-order Fresnel lens flashed a red light? I’d always pictured a yellow light! A tour guide, dressed in period clothing, such as a U.S. Lighthouse Service uniform, will take you up the tall, winding metal staircase to enjoy the view.

My many visits, whether they’ve included the long climb to the tower or not, have intrigued me. I’d often thought that someday I would like to write a fictional story about this lighthouse. Built with Cream City brick, in a Norman architectural style, the building reminds me of a castle. Perhaps that’s why I chose to have the lighthouse keeper hero, Cal Waterson, rescue Natalie Brooks, a lone shipwreck survivor. She is the proverbial damsel in distress. Yet, despite her amnesia she finds a new strength in her faith to face an unknown future and in a sense rescues Cal and his daughter.

Returning to the lighthouse last year, I did climb to the tower to examine the view my characters might have had. Of course, I had to imagine what it would have been like without the Mackinac Bridge, which has joined our upper and lower peninsulas since 1957. It’s a spectacular view, where you can also see Mackinac Island, home of the famous Grand Hotel, which was already there in 1899, when my story takes place.

Not only do lighthouses spark so many ideas of history and romance, they are so symbolic— as guiding lights—and beacons of hope to lead through treacherous waters, much like our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the true Light who leads us to the Father. Indeed, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse played a strategic part in guiding ships through the dangers of the straits. I look forward to visiting this beautiful historic landmark again and hope my readers will be drawn into an intriguing visit to the lighthouse through my story, The Last Memory.

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card, a signed copy of The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection, a sterling silver charm of the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, and a souvenir pictorial book of some of the Great Lakes lighthouse!!

CLICK HERE to Enter

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

BLOG STOPS

Among the Reads, February 21

The Power of Words, February 21

Godly Book Reviews, February 22

Simple Harvest Reads, February 22 (Guest Post from Mindy Houng)

Bibliophile Reviews, February 23

For the Love of Literature, February 23

Just the Write Escape, February 24

Carla Loves To Read, February 24

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, February 25