Welcome to the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour

 

This month ten authors of inspirational World War II novels are commemorating the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Thank you for joining us as we remember their heroism and sacrifice!

Our novels illuminate different aspects of the war —from the Holocaust to the Pacific to the US Home Front. Each day we will share about our stories, our research, and our unique settings, and with each blog post, you'll have the opportunity to win that author's novel, plus a chance to win a packet of all ten featured novels!

Giveaway Details 

For a chance to win ALL TEN novels featured on our blog tour, please visit each blog listed below, collect the answers to the questions and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway on the BLOG TOUR PAGE. You have a new chance to enter each day of the tour! The contest opened June 2 and closes June 13, 2014 at 11 pm PST. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 15. Several of the titles will not be released until later in the year--these copies will be mailed to the winners after the release dates.

To win the prize of all ten books, you must collect all ten answers. The winner must be prepared to send all ten answers within 24 hours of notification by email or a new winner will be selected. 

You can enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway once each day! The more often you visit, the more entries you receive. To collect the ten answers, you may want to download the Word document answer sheet on the BLOG TOUR PAGE.

A huge thank you to two talented ladies--Sarah Sundin for all of her hard work organizing this tour and Kristy Cambron for gifting all of us with the beautiful artwork to accompany it. Here is a bit of my story:

The Soil of Normandy

As I stood on the shore of Utah Beach last spring, watching waves from the English Channel brush over the golden sand, I tried to imagine the more than twenty thousand troops storming this stretch in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. Twenty thousand incredibly brave men, young and old, many of them seasick, cold and terrified.

I thought about the courage of Captain George Edick, the father of a friend, who arrived on this beach eight days after the surprise invasion in 1944 and helped push back the Germans through France. I thought about the strength of the French people who resisted the Germans from the inside of their country and protected Allied paratroopers from the enemy. And I thought about another friend's mother-in-law, a French noblewoman named Genevieve de Saint Pern who rescued downed Allied airmen even as the Germans occupied her family's home.

For a week, two girlfriends and I explored Normandy, and on our journey, we heard story after story of courageous men and women who stood up against evil and risked their life to save others. One elegant woman named Marie-Charlotte told us about her parents who led the local French resistance.

Afternoon with Serge and Marie-Charlotte

As a girl, Marie-Charlotte delivered the counterfeit ID cards for American pilots while her parents helped transfer Allied airmen and gather information for the Americans before D-Day.

Marie-Charlotte didn't speak much English but her husband Serge did.

The soil in Normandy is damp with American blood.

This is what Serge told us as they shared their memories. Then he brought out strips of soiled nylon he'd found nearby, pieces of a parachute used by an American trooper seventy years ago. He honored us, thanking my friends and I as Americans for what we had done to help save France.

My friends and I weren't there in 1944. I wasn't even born for another twenty-plus years. Thousands of Allied and French men and women died that June in Normandy, and in that moment with Serge and Marie-Charlotte, holding the nylon and other gifts they gave us, I felt guilty. I had done nothing to deserve this while Marie-Charlotte, her parents, and so many others had done so much.

"Chateau of Secrets" before the war

But then I realized that more than anything, our new friends honored us not just because of the past. They honored us because of what they desire for the future. They want Americans to remember the stories of the courageous men and women who fought for their country.

When I returned home, I sat down and wrote a story about the courage and tenacity of the French people during that occupation and about the Allied men who helped them. A story that I hope will help people remember some of the forgotten heroes of World War II.

Today, seventy years after the Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, I want to honor Serge, Marie-Charlotte, George Edick, Genevieve de Saint Pern and every man and woman
who defied the evil that had overtaken France and
risked their life to save someone else.

Chateau of Secrets

"Amazing characters, deep family secrets, 

and an authentic French chateau make Dobson's story a delight."

RT Book Review (4 1/2 stars)

Overview: Chateau of Secrets is about a courageous French noblewoman who hides members of the French resistance in the tunnels under her father's chateau even as the Germans occupy her home. Seventy years later, her granddaughter Chloe Sauver returns to the chateau to work with a filmmaker to unravel her family's story, and the secrets they uncover will change both of their lives forever.

More information about Chateau of Secrets can be found here:

www.melaniedobson.com

As well as giving away Chateau of Secrets at the end of this tour, I will be giving away a copy of this novel to readers here. If you would like to enter this giveaway, please leave a comment with your email address below or sign up for my newsletter at this link. Thank you for stopping by!

Blog Tour Question: The soil of Normandy is damp with what?
 

Schedule for the D-Day 70th Anniversary Blog Tour 

(Links below will go live on the post date)

June 2: SARAH SUNDIN, author of In Perfect Time
June 3: LIZ TOLSMA, author of Daisies Are Forever
June 4: MURRAY PURA, author of London Dawn
June 5: CARA PUTMAN, author of Shadowed by Grace
June 6: MELANIE DOBSON, author of Chateau of Secrets
June 7: KRISTY CAMBRON, author of The Butterfly and the Violin
June 9: TRICIA GOYER, author of Chasing Mona Lisa
June 10: PATTY SMITH HALL, author of Hearts Rekindled
June 11: CATHY GOHLKE, author of Saving Amelie
June 12: SIGMUND BROUWER, author of Thief of Glory