Blog Tour: Gateway To Love by Sarah Hadley Brook (Guest Post + Giveaway)



Show Me, Show Me, Show Me!

Hi! Thanks for having me today! My name is Sarah Hadley Brook and I’m here to talk a little about my new release.

Gateway to Love takes place in the state of Missouri, aka the Show-Me-State. But what does that mean? I’ve lived in Missouri most of my life and I had no idea what it stood for.

So what does a writer do best? Research! Which I completely love, by the way. I dived in to find out what our state motto actually means and was immediately surprised that it wasn’t even an official motto.

According to the state website, even though it’s even on some of the license plates, the “slogan is not official”. Not only that, nobody really knows the real reason Missouri is called the Show-Me-State.

There are several theories, though. The first one—and apparently the most widely believed—goes back to 1899 and refers to U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver. He gave a speech at naval banquet in Philadelphia and is quoted as saying, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

Another reference says it actually came about in a mining town of Leadville, Colorado in the 1890s and was definitely not used as a compliment. There was a miner’s strike there and a group of miners from Missouri traveled to Colorado to replace those workers. Because the Missouri miners were used to mining differently, they were frequently corrected. The pit bosses began to introduce the new miners by saying, “That man is from Missouri. You’ll have to show him.”

There’s another story revolving around passenger trains. In the late 1890s, Missouri politicians were handed out free train passes, by the hundreds. But the conductor’s still insisted they show them the actual pass, rather than accepting the legislator’s word for it.

The last version I found referred back to 1898 when soldiers were stationed in Chickamauga Park, Tennessee when the Spanish-American War began. The guards at the gate were from Missouri and they wouldn’t allow anyone out without showing them a pass.

All four stories came about in the 1890s and any one of them could be the one that started the whole slogan, but over the years it’s evolved to mean something like “Don’t try to fool us. Prove it to us.”

Now, let me show you how to follow me on social media! (See what I did there?) And if you sign up for my newsletter on my website, you receive a free ebook!

You can follow me on social media:
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Website: www.sarahhadleybrookwrites.com

Release Blitz ~ Gateway To Love by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt+Giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Dreamspinner

Length: 32,793 words

Cover Design: Brooke Albrecht

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Blurb

Ten days to finally make the leap from friends to lovers….

Craig and Mitchell have been friends for years, but each of them reached a point where that camaraderie became… more. Mitchell’s kept his feelings close to his chest. So has Craig, but now that they’ve graduated from UMKC, he knows it’s his last chance to show Mitchell they’re meant to be before their careers take them to opposite sides of the country.

He insists they can’t leave Missouri behind without one last adventure. Mitchell agrees to a road trip to visit all the touristy spots and say goodbye to their home state.

As they spend their days and nights together, buried feelings rise to the surface and hope blossoms. When their journey ends with a dance beneath the Branson stars, will they find love and a future together at the end of the road?

Review Tour: Love in the Clouds by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt+Giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Length: 62,771 words

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Rafael Patino has a great life in Rain Valley. He’s a teacher at the high school, has a great group of friends, and enjoys the occasional baseball game. Other than the sporadic call from his drunken mother, he’s pretty content.

He’s also been in love with his best friend Dustin for nearly a decade. Years of keeping those feelings under control are put to the test when they begin a summer project together.

Dustin Vance builds furniture for a living, has just earned his pilot’s license, and has an amazing best friend. When he buys a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk, he asks Rafael to help restore it, then travel with him to Wisconsin for the largest aviation convention in the world.

As they spend their days working on the plane, they begin to spend their nights together. Will they find love in the clouds, or will they stall out before they even take off?

Release Blitz: Love in the Clouds by Sarah Hadley Brook (Giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Length: 62,771 words

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Rafael Patino has a great life in Rain Valley. He’s a teacher at the high school, has a great group of friends, and enjoys the occasional baseball game. Other than the sporadic call from his drunken mother, he’s pretty content.

He’s also been in love with his best friend Dustin for nearly a decade. Years of keeping those feelings under control are put to the test when they begin a summer project together.

Dustin Vance builds furniture for a living, has just earned his pilot’s license, and has an amazing best friend. When he buys a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk, he asks Rafael to help restore it, then travel with him to Wisconsin for the largest aviation convention in the world.

As they spend their days working on the plane, they begin to spend their nights together. Will they find love in the clouds, or will they stall out before they even take off?

Review Tour: A Love To Remember by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Universal Buy Link

Length: 27,000 words approx.

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Graham Hayes decided long ago he’d never be in a relationship. It was better to stay single than to fall in love only to be left alone, which he was certain would happen to him. He’d seen Alzheimer’s ravage his family members all his life, leaving their loved ones to deal with the fallout. Some of them stayed, but some didn’t. Graham isn’t going to risk it.

When he hires nurse Sam Morgan to take care of his dad during the day, his pledge to stay single is put to the test. He soon finds it difficult to maintain a professional distance.

Graham’s guarded his heart for so long, but his resolve is crumbling. Will he be able to conquer his fear to give himself a chance at love? Can he trust Sam to stick around for better or worse?

Release Blitz: A Love To Remember by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Universal Buy Link

Length: 27,000 words approx.

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Graham Hayes decided long ago he’d never be in a relationship. It was better to stay single than to fall in love only to be left alone, which he was certain would happen to him. He’d seen Alzheimer’s ravage his family members all his life, leaving their loved ones to deal with the fallout. Some of them stayed, but some didn’t. Graham isn’t going to risk it.

When he hires nurse Sam Morgan to take care of his dad during the day, his pledge to stay single is put to the test. He soon finds it difficult to maintain a professional distance.

Graham’s guarded his heart for so long, but his resolve is crumbling. Will he be able to conquer his fear to give himself a chance at love? Can he trust Sam to stick around for better or worse?

Review Tour: Holding On by Sarah Hadley Brook (Giveaway)

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Length: 96,300 words approx

Publisher: JMS Books

Blurb

Eighteen-year-old Aaron Pickard is dealing with a lot: he’s falling for his straight best friend, his mother has ended up in the hospital after a violent assault by his father, and he’s trying to decide when to come out. Tack on the stress of an upcoming prom and graduation, a part-time job, and the possibility he could lose his best friend, and he’s an emotional wreck.

Aaron’s best friend Jeff Leaton provides a soft place for him to fall when his life is thrown into chaos, literally holding him each night as they fall asleep. As Jeff helps Aaron navigate through the mess that has become his new normal, Aaron’s feelings for Jeff intensify.

Aaron’s pretty sure it’s all going to end badly, but he’s holding on to hope.

Release Blitz ~ Fate Heats Things Up by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Release Blitz ~ Fate Heats Things Up by Sarah Hadley Brook (Excerpt + Giveaway)

Title:  Fate Heats Things Up

Author: Sarah Hadley Brook

Publisher:  NineStar Press

Release Date: September 18, 2017

Heat Level: 4 - Lots of Sex

Pairing: Male/Male

Length: 15600

Genre: Contemporary, NineStar Press, LGBT, bartenders, firemen, contemporary

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Synopsis

Scott Dwyer meets hot, new fireman Adrian Campbell in an embarrassing incident one evening and can’t stop thinking about him. While bartending at the local hangout for Station 39, he sees Adrian with his colleagues about once a week. He thinks Adrian might be interested in him, too, but every time they find a chance to talk, something gets in their way.

When a rash of arson fires begins the same week Adrian starts at the station, the rumors fly about whether or not he is responsible for them.

Things are heating up in town, but will they heat up between the two men as well? Will Fate ever allow them to be together?

2016 Advent Calendar Review ~ Matthew's Present by Sarah Hadley Brook

2016 Advent Calendar Review ~ Matthew's Present by Sarah Hadley Brook

Title: Matthew's Present
Author: Sarah Hadley Brook
Category: Holiday, Contemporary
Pages: 23
Dreamspinner  Goodreads

Matthew Blick is almost thirty years old, and he hates the thought of another holiday alone. He has become a bit of a wet blanket when Christmas rolls around every year. So much so that even his five-year-old niece, Hannah, knows something needs to change. She asks the department store Santa to bring her uncle a man to love, and when Santa sees her uncle, he formulates a plan to set that possibility in motion.

Santa shows up at Matthew’s house and at first Matthew can’t place him, but then the memories of his first kiss flood his mind and he is shocked to find that Santa is the man he has carried a torch for since high school. Will this twist of fate help Matthew change his view on the holidays? Only a kiss can tell.