New contest: "The Brightest Day" anthology plus signed postcard and more!

This contest is now closed. Lail won the books!

This month I’m giving away a paperback copy of The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology, by Kianna Alexander, Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, and Piper Huguley! Included in the giveaway is a separate signed copy of Alyssa’s novella, “Let It Shine” (a RITA finalist and one of the greatest covers I’ve ever seen!), and a postcard for another upcoming anthology from these authors, Daughters of a Nation: A Black Suffragette Historical Romance Anthology, signed by ALL FOUR AUTHORS!

The “Let It Shine” paperback also includes a bonus short story!

brighest day

(Spokesmodel T-Rex not included in giveaway. Image credit: “Sunrise at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky,” by DavidCrumm, via Wikimedia Commons.)

I cannot say enough good things about this anthology. It opens with a foreword by Beverly Jenkins which made me cry, about the history of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating Emancipation. Lena’s story about a girl on her way to an arranged marriage out West who meets a former Confederate soldier on the train was sweet and moving. Kianna’s story about a baker and a shipwright was…look, you guys know me. It was about a BAKER and a SHIPWRIGHT, and it took place on a riverboat. I was in heaven. Piper Huguley is always both charming and gripping and this story about a pregnant schoolteacher and the commitmentphobic bar owner she can’t quite wish she hadn’t slept with is no exception. And of course Alyssa’s novella, about a girl ready to leave behind her shy, proper ways for non-violent protest and the Jewish boxer she was friends with as a kid, is one of my favorite stories I’ve ever read in my life.

[Amazon link]

51HDrPzx-gLThe Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology, with a foreword by the inimitable Beverly Jenkins, brings you four novellas highlighting love, light, and hope set over a period of history that’s often left in the shadows.

Amazing Grace, by Lena Hart:

It’s the year 1866—the Civil War is over and slavery has ended. Life for 18-year-old Gracie Shaw takes an unexpected turn when she is “encouraged” to marry a man sight-unseen. Boarded on a train headed West—to lawless territory—she is faced with misfortune at every turn and must accept the help of former Confederate soldier, Logan Finley, while denying herself the one thing she wants most. Him.

Drifting to You, by Kianna Alexander:

During the sultry Carolina summer of 1875, baker Rosaline Rhodes boards a Juneteenth cruise down the Cape Fear River. She’s there to serve her famous cinnamon spice cake; shipbuilder Will Pruett is there for pleasure. They’ve denied their mutual attraction for months, but now the river won’t be the only thing ebbing and flowing.

51dPqKH0wDLA Sweet Way to Freedom, by Piper Huguley:

In 1910, schoolteacher Missouri Baxter refuses to return home with a big belly and no husband. She’s got nine months to teach juke joint owner Arlo Tucker—a most reluctant student—an important lesson about what marriage means to their people. With God on her side, she’ll show him “A Sweet Way to Freedom.”

Let It Shine, by Alyssa Cole:

Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women don’t court trouble by upending the status quo, and they most certainly don’t associate with roughneck Jewish boxers like Ivan Friedman. But it’s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Change—and love—are coming whether Sofie is ready or not.

Contest rules:

1. Comment on this post to enter.
2. The winner will be chosen at random using random.org.
3. US and Canada only.
4. Open for entries through August 31st, 2016.
5. I got this stuff signed at a conference. The anthology authors aren’t involved in the giveaway.

If you’d like to be alerted when new contests go up, you can sign up for my newsletter.

Good luck!

28 thoughts on “New contest: "The Brightest Day" anthology plus signed postcard and more!”

  1. Oooh, ooh, me, pick me! I love Alyssa Cole and Piper Huguley and can’t wait to try the other writers in the anthology!!!

    1. They are all great! I especially want to read more Kianna Alexander because I love Gilded Age.
      Good luck in the drawing!

  2. I would love to win signed stuff but I must tell you I plan on picking up these books anyway. They sound wonderful!

    1. Random.org does not discriminate! I think wanting to own signed stuff is a great motivation. 🙂 Good luck in the drawing!

  3. Thank you, Rose. I had not known of this anthology and I only recently discovered Piper Huguley’s books. Definitely one I will be reading. I haven’t read anything from the other authors, but you have me crazy excited for Alyssa Cole.

    1. This story was the first thing I read by Alyssa and she’s quickly become one of my favorite authors. I’m so excited for the Civil War series she has coming out…next year, I think?

  4. I like to read anthologys since I don’t have time to read a big book at once. This gives me stories in short doses.

    1. I am very picky about novellas so I don’t read a lot of anthos, but I’ve reading a few great ones lately! (And I’ve been discovering the fun of writing short myself, too, which is something I never thought I would do.) I thought all of these did a good job of telling a full story in a small space.

  5. How exciting! I would love the opportunity to have such a gift to treasure always!!! I have put in for hundreds of giveaways for wonderful books and other fun gifts but I’ve not been lucky yet. I could even win a one chance of four winners that went on every week for a year! Lol!!! But, I will have hope this time you will be selecting my name for this great contest🙏🙏🙏😁

    1. lol, I too have terrible luck in drawings. But after years of nothing, I won a weekend getaway a few years ago, so I figure that was all my drawing luck in one fell swoop. Don’t worry, your day will come! Good luck. 🙂

    2. Lail, believe it or not, random.org picked you!!! Yay, so glad I could be your first piece of contest good luck. Expect an email from me shortly.

    3. Yeah!!! I’m so grateful for these wonderful books! I’m very excited to get them and start reading! Thank you again soooo much:)

  6. Love the anthology. It has a selection of authors to pick from, which I like. Thanks for the chance to win such a great prize.

  7. This would be great to win! I just started reading a novella by Piper Huguley and am enjoying it. Thanks for the chance.

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