7-Year Blogoversary Party - Guest Post by Lindsay Harrel + Giveaway!

Here it is: the final day of the 7-Year Blogoversary Party! I hope you have had fun this month with the posts and giveaways. Thanks so much to the authors for being a part of it and you for stopping by. I'm hoping to have many more years of blogging. ;)

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Find on Amazon, Goodreads

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Come Along on the Journey: Researching to Write The Heart Between Us By Lindsay Harrel

A lot of people ask about my inspiration for writing The Heart Between Us, the story of estranged twin sisters Megan and Crystal who set out on a journey around the world to fulfill the bucket list of Megan’s teenage heart donor.

The initial inspiration came from a radio story I heard. It featured a woman who went sky diving because her heart donor had always wanted to. I thought (1) what an amazing way to honor a donor, and (2) what if a recipient tackled a donor’s ENTIRE bucket list instead of just one item?

Most bucket lists have some element of travel—so my imagination started going bananas. I thought of all the places on my own personal bucket list and how awesome it would be to write about them!

So of course, I had so much fun doing the research for this story. No, I wasn’t able to convince my tax lawyer husband to let me take an actual research trip and write it off—plus, with a toddler at home, it just wasn’t feasible! But I spent my evenings and weekends online reading all about the Colosseum in Rome, the beaches of Greece, an Irish castle, the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Wall of China, and many other places I’ve never seen with my own eyes.

Then there was the research that came from looking through old photographs from a trip I took in the summer of 2005. For six weeks, I traveled through England, Ireland, Scotland, and Paris with a group from my university. What wonderful memories those photos hold for me. For the first time, I was submerged in cultures different from my own. My eyes were opened to things I’d taken as fact simply because it was how I experienced them.

However, that trip was more than just a physical journey for me—it was also a spiritual one. I’d lost my mother to cancer 8 months before leaving, and I needed to get away and experience God, and my faith, in a new and different way.

So when I looked at the photos while researching for The Heart Between Us, my memories were so completely intertwined with my faith journey, and I knew that it would be the same for Megan and Crystal. Like I did, they had to come face to face with their fears, choosing between safety (the “known”) and adventure (the “unknown”), between chains and freedom.

While this book is very much about travel and fulfilling dreams, there’s another side to it: prolonged illness and how that affects not only the person who is sick, but his or her family as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to look too far to understand this aspect of the story (my own mother fought cancer for over four years before passing away). However, I did do some research into congenital heart issues and organ donation.

I think most writers would tell you that they leave a part of themselves on the page, and that’s completely true of The Heart Between Us. Yes, the journey belongs to the characters, but the heart of the story was inspired by my own experiences and adventures. I pray that readers are inspired and encouraged, not only to live their own lives to the fullest, but also to turn to God as the ultimate source of hope and freedom.

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About Lindsay

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd who lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. She’s held a variety of writing and editing jobs over the years, and now juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with writing novels. When she’s not writing or chasing after her children, Lindsay enjoys making a fool of herself at Zumba, curling up with anything by Jane Austen, and savoring sour candy one piece at a time. Connect with her at www.LindsayHarrel.com.

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Giveaway!

Enter to win a copy of The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel. Giveaway is only open to US residents. Ends 3/12

How to enter: Sign into the Giveaway Tools form below (it might take a moment to load) and submit each entry you complete. Commenting alone will not get you entered – you must click enter on the form. Happy entering!

Entry-Form

Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Giveaway Tools and announced here as well as emailed and will have up to one week to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Giveaway Tools or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. I am not responsible for any packages lost or damaged in the mail. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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