Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Read an excerpt from Light Out of Darkness (Waldensian Series) by Donna Wichelman with Giveaways

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Welcome to the tour for the Waldensian series by Donna Wichelman. Today I'm bringing you an excerpt from the first book in the series, Light Out of Darkness. You are also invited to check out the second book in the series. Follow the tour schedule for even more excerpts and reviews, including one coming up soon at Andi's Book Reviews, one of my sister blogs. Plus at the bottom, you'll find multiple great giveaways to enter!

 Please note that affiliate links are present within this post. Should you make a purchase through one, I may earn a small commission to help support my websites, at no additional cost to you. I only share those books that I feel my readers will enjoy.

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Light Out of Darkness
(The Waldensian Series #1)
By Donna Wichelman
Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 320 pages
April 2nd 2018 by Soujourner's Press

A prestigious art exhibition turns into a horrific spectacle when a murder sends an art curator and a professor on a hunt for a highly coveted stolen painting.

Escaping a painful past in Cleveland, Ohio, Jamie Holbrooke flees to Milan, Italy as an art curator. But her past follows her during an evening stroll along Varenna’s shoreline walk when an assailant, who looks like her dead brother, presses a mysterious riddle into her hand. Still reeling from shock the next day, she discovers her long-time paragon, Dr. Alessandro Marianni, may have a link to the enigmatic riddle. Before she can discover the answers, their colleague falls prey to an assassin’s bullet. Convinced the riddle and murder are connected, Jamie and Alessandro risk their lives to uncover why an obscure painting has caught the attention of art critics and criminals alike. At stake is a two-thousand–year-old drama, unfolding in the contemporary world of the Northern Italian Alps.

Will Jamie and Alessandro stop powerful organized crime figures before the painting is lost forever and with it a secret more valuable than the prized artwork? Will Jamie find the answers to help her reclaim her life again? She will need the courage to face her fears and the persevering faith of Dr. Alessandro Marianni to heal her wounded heart.

Goodreads│Amazon
Read an excerpt:
Alessandro returned her gaze. “Until now, I have not truly been tested for my faith.” He moved to the doorway.
They clambered about the exterior of the stone edifices for a few minutes more. The buildings seemed in need of repair after the winter snows, though Jamie imagined these structures had never been truly rain- or snow-worthy. She suspected the barba had always contended with their surroundings in the same way they persevered through persecution.
All at once, an explosive cacophony of what sounded like firecrackers ricocheted across the valley. Jamie whirled around as Alessandro snatched hold of her. “We’re being shot at. Follow me!”
She clutched his hand and sped with him toward the stone pathway back down through the chestnut forest.
Another round of shots rang out.
Jamie felt her heart pounding as her panic rose. “Alessandro!”
“Just keep moving!” he told her, tightening his grip on her as they ran.
A flash of lightning chiseled the sky, and a crack of thunder resounded around them as the rains let loose.
Involuntarily, Jamie dropped his hand and dropped to her knees. She covered her ears with her hands and screamed in terror.
Alessandro squatted next to her, grabbed her hands away from her head and peered into her eyes. “It’s all right, Jamie. It was only thunder this time. But we must move on. Please, take my hand.”
Tentatively she nodded, then took his hand once more.
They continued their flight down the waterlogged slope, the rain dripping from their coats and their hiking boots now soaked. Jamie feared she would slip on the eroded steps. “I don’t want to die,” she breathed.
A barrage of shots assailed them from the forest to the right. Jamie twisted around. Someone in a green-hooded jacket tracked them down the mountain. Adrenaline kept her moving, concerned now more about the hunter than by falling down the mountainside.
“It will be safer over here,” Alessandro said, leading her onto the soggy leaves among the chestnut trees.
They came to the clearing where the residences dotted the pasturelands and the Church of the Pra del Tor rested peacefully on its rocky precipice. Fog hung over the valley below. Jamie stopped to take a breath. She heard shots above them.
“Move!” Alessandro commanded.
They scurried past the church to take the hill down to the car. Sodden by the drenching rains, the small stream had become a torrent of cascading falls, devouring the trail they had earlier ascended. The steep and rocky slope became difficult to navigate, and Alessandro dropped her hand. “It’ll be easier for each of us to keep our balance. Keep following my lead.”
Jamie picked her way, attempting to get footholds on the protruding rocks, yet knowing one misstep could result in tumbling to the road below. The slow process made them targets for the stalker who followed close behind. Either way, their lives were at risk.
Hope kindled when Jamie saw Alessandro make the road and open the car door. She strove harder to get down, executing a few more carefully calculated steps. Then she took a flying leap, falling to the ground below and rolling several feet. Fighting the pain in her arm, she pushed herself up and jumped into the car. Alessandro peeled the car away from the curb.
Jamie twisted her head to look back at the gunman on the slope. She watched in horror as he aimed his gun and shot. The bullet missed them. He de-cloaked his head, but Jamie could not get a clear view of him other than to notice dark hair and complexion before Alessandro rounded the hairpin turn.


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Undaunted Valor
(The Waldensian Series #2)
By Donna Wichelman
Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 281 pages
April 4th 2018 by Sojourner's Press

For nature lovers, ski aficionados, travel enthusiasts and history scholars, the French Alps offer some of the most spectacular scenery and outdoor recreation in all Europe with its majestic mountain peaks, cascading waterfalls, unspoiled forests and quaint mountain villages. People come to get away from the daily grind and rejuvenate their spirits.

But when Alessandro Marianni’s grandmother Luciana is kidnapped during a church conference in Chamonix, the same landscape becomes an ominous height to scale, and Jamie Holbrooke and her fiancé Alessandro have difficulty distinguishing between friend and foe on the race to find her. They will have to weather a rainstorm on a mountain trail, negotiate a dangerous waterfall, outmaneuver a car chase, and defy an assassin’s gun in their search.

Will they find their beloved Luciana before it’s too late? Who will die on the way to the finish line? Who can they trust? And where will Jamie find the courage to confront her adversaries?

In this sequel to Light Out of Darkness, the answers will lie in unanticipated places and with unexpected allies and require Jamie to discover what it means to trust God with Undaunted Valor.


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About the Author

Donna Wichelman was a communications professional before writing full-time. She has authored short stories, essays and articles in various inspirational publications and lives her dream writing novels and screenplays. She and her husband work with teens at their local church in Fort Collins, Colorado. They travel, bike and kayak whenever their schedules allows.


Tour Giveaway
1st Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card, Copy of the LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS (signed print copy to US winner, ebook to international winner) + 4 oz. Tea of your choice from the Tea Source or 1 LB of Coffee from DazBog Coffee (will Add $10 to Gift Card for international gift in lieu of tea or coffee)

2nd Prize: $15 Amazon Gift Card + Copy of LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS (signed print copy to US winner, ebook to international winner)

3rd Prize: Copy of LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS (signed print copy to US winner, ebook to international winner)

Ends May 23rd

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