Friday, February 10, 2017

Love is in the Air with Special Guest Tanya Eavenson



Today I'm pleased to introduce Tanya Eavenson!

Tanya is a bestselling and an award-winning inspirational romance author. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their three children. Tanya is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers International. Her favorite pastime is grabbing a cup of coffee, eating chocolate, and reading a good book. You can find her at her website








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Love is in the Air
Tanya Eavenson


Can you feel it? Whether it’s a romantic kind of love or the parental kind, love is in the air! Even in my fictional world from my new release To Gain a Valentine.

Last week, I released my second novella in the Gaining Love series entitled To Gain a Valentine. I had so much fun writing this story because I could relate to the hero, Patrick Reynolds, who works wonders with sick children as a pediatrician, yet when it comes to pets, he’s clueless.

That is so me! Several years ago we moved from the pastorium to the home we bought seven minutes away. Carrying all our possessions, including our cat, Woody, (he was named after Woody from Toy Story) I placed him in the garage. Little did I realize, I left the back door open.

Can you imagine my horror when I was the one who allowed my daughter’s cat, her best friend, to escape and wander around lost in a neighborhood during a rain storm? Yes, a storm! It was raining cats and dogs, pun intended. I could hardly see three feet in front of my face. I felt just awful! The way my eight-year-old cried, those tears, the words “he’s going to die out there!” just about killed me on the spot.

So me, who uses an umbrella at the first sign of rain or mist in the air, I charge out into the pelting rain in hopes of finding a cat and mending broken hearts—hers and mine. “Soaked through” wouldn’t even begin to describe my clothes, which clung to me seconds after stepping outside. Already exhausted from the move, I dragged myself through the process of combing the neighborhood.

But there, at last, was Woody, waiting under a stranger’s patio, sheltered from the storm. I still remember whispering a prayer of thanksgiving as I trespassed on this person’s yard with all intent to steal my own cat. But as I neared, he ran. And I chased.

Two blocks, yard after yard, calling his name. “Woody!”

Then, I lost him. What was I going to do now? How was I going to tell my daughter that not once but twice in one day I had lost her most beloved cat?

Heading back toward the house, I hung my sopping head and said another prayer that Woody would return, and soon.

Sloshing up the front steps, I heard my husband’s voice from the garage. It was better to tell him first, so I went to him. There, sitting in a folding chair next to our dresser, sat my daughter with a wide smile on her face, holding Woody against her chest.

Happy tears filled my eyes, but in the next breath I realized seeing him in her arms, dry, I’d been running down the streets of our new neighborhood like a crazy person, chasing after another person’s cat! Needless to say, in life, you have to learn how to laugh at yourself. This was indeed one of those moments that will forever be etched in my daughter's mind and heart, as well as my own. She saw, in action, how much I loved her.

Yes, I see a lot of myself in Patrick from To Gain a Valentine, his attempts to care for animals when he has no idea what in the world he’s doing. Granted, I had one cat in my care, and he had one dog, three fish, two— Well, you’ll have to read the story, but it was also his desire to forget what was safe and love others with action and abandonment. And like my ending, Patrick’s actions will forever last in Amabelle’s heart and mind. For them, it was the day when love took flight.

Tanya is offering a giveaway of her book, To Gain a Valentine this week! Leave a comment, here and on any post before  Monday to get your name in the drawing!

Check out To Gain a Valentine on Amazon

14 comments:

  1. OH what a book! I would love to read it!

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  2. This book sounds so great and I appreciate that you shared your "adventure"!
    Happy Valentine's Day!
    Connie
    cps1950 (at) gmail (dot) com

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    1. Oh, Connie, it certainly was! Lol! Thank you for stopping by and saying hello!

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  3. What a great object lesson to your daughter! Would love to win your book! paulams49(AT)sbcglobal(DOT)net. Thanks!

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    1. So true and one we'll both never forget. =) Thank you for visiting, Paula!

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  4. Hello Tanya, Nice to see you on Stitches Thru Time. Thank you for sharing about your experience with Wooly. I remember as a child chasing after our small Pekingese dog in a corn field--we were sure she couldn't find her way home and it was dark (thankfully no rain). She did return home just like our parents assured us she would.

    To Gain a Valentine is a great story filled with love, laughter and finding God's love is always there.

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    1. Hi Marilyn! Great to see you! And yes, such wonderful memories we can look back and treasure. I love how they bring smiles to our faces! It's our own stitches thru time.

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  5. Tanya, Thank you for being our guest today and sharing this humorous story. Love it! Cats can be so uncooperative. I admire your patience. LOL

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    1. Lol! But they are so cute! =) Thanks for having me as your guest!

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  6. What a fun story. Don't include me in the drawing since I have already read To Gain a Valentine. I loved it.

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    1. Thank you so much, Ann! Grateful for your kind words about Patrick and Amabelle's story and for visiting with me!

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  7. Don't enter me in the drawing-- I couldn't wait. So glad to see you here, Tanya!

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  8. Aww, thank you, Pat! It's always great to see you!!

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