FFBC TOURS - A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund + Giveaway

A Daring Sacrifice (An Uncertain Choice #2)
by Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Zondervan
Release Date: March 1st 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance, Retellings, Christian

Synopsis:

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling author of inspirational historical romances including books for adults and youth. She currently makes her home in central Michigan with her husband and their five busy children.

As a busy mama-writer, she has the wonderful privilege of teaching her crew of 5 children at home. In between grading math papers and giving spelling tests, she occasionally does a load of laundry and washes dishes. When she's not busy being a mama, you can find her in front of her laptop working on another of her page-turning stories.

She loves reading almost as much as she loves writing, especially when it also involves chocolate and coffee.

Hello Everyone! We are super excited to be hosting Jody Hedlund this week!

Please read below to get to know more about Jody and her book, A Daring Sacrifice! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!

Main Interview

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

1. Favorite Book? A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

2. Favorite TV show? Survivor

3. Favorite movie? Cinderella (the 2015 release starring Lily James)

4. Your Favorite Song? Piano Guys “Rockebel’s Canon”

5. Favorite Food? Chocolate (Nachos is a close second)

6. Name 3 fictional places you would move to in a heartbeat. Narnia, the castle in Cinderella, and the time traveling capability of the Ruby Red series

7. Who is your perfect fictional boyfriend? Leopold from the movie Kate and Leopold

8. Favorite Quote? “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” ~Martin Luther

9. What do you find yourself “Fangirling” over? The release of the next book in the series of some of my favorite authors.

10. If you could meet one author, dead or alive, who would it be? Louisa May Alcott of Little Women

11. Something to say to our Book Addicts? I adore audio books (through Audible)! They are my comfort food. And good news! A Daring Sacrifice is available on Audible/ITunes/Amazon for anyone else who loves audio books!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Hello Jody! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about A Daring Sacrifice?

The feisty heroine of the story is Lady Juliana Wessex who has been living in the forest in hiding from her tyrannical uncle who believes she was killed along with her father. Little does he know that the Cloaked Bandit who has been robbing him and other noblemen with a well-placed arrow is really Juliana, the rightful heir to Wessex.

The dashing hero of the story is Lord Collin Goodrich who is one of the three knights that vied for Lady Rosemarie’s hand in An Uncertain Choice. After returning home from his failed attempts to win Lady Rosemarie’s, he’s bored and lonely and ready for another adventure.

During a hunting expedition, adventure lands behind him on his horse in the form of a quick and daring thief. Compassionate at heart, Collin lets the thief and his accomplice escape and even aids them by giving them more than they ask for. Sensing all is not as it seems with the young thief, Collin tracks the duo and discovers Lady Juliana, the beautiful red-headed neighbor he’d once known in childhood.

Collin challenges Juliana to stay on his estate for a week in order to prove to her that the nobility are not all evil and hopefully convince her to give up her dangerous thieving ways. In return Juliana challenges him to come live among the poor peasants for a week. Accepting the challenges brings about more problems than either anticipated, especially as they learn they must sacrifice more than they’d ever imagined.

Could you describe the main character of A Daring Sacrifice in a tweet (140 characters)?

Robin Hood's got nothing on this girl! Read @jodyhedlund's A DARING SACRIFICE #amreading #YAlit #medievalromance

A spirited heroine and a charming warrior do battle in @JodyHedlund's A DARING SACRIFICE #YAlit #medievalromance

How did you come up with the story? Did you find inspiration in any other story/movie/show and how has this affected your writing?

I've always loved tales about underdogs rising up against injustice. The story of Robin Hood encompasses such an element, where the poor are unfairly cast from their homes, forced into hiding, and must rely upon their fearless leader to fight for their rights.

Instead of a nobleman leading and fighting for the needs of the underdogs, I decided to add a twist and have my heroine, a displaced noblewoman be the leader of a band of poor outcasts. As a skilled archer, she's gained a reputation as the "Cloaked Bandit" doing her best to protect and provide for the people she's grown to love.

Tell us your favorite quote from A Daring Sacrifice.

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun to write?

I had a lot of fun writing the sword-wielding, arrow-shooting, death-defying scenes, especially the last few chapters where the characters are in really desperate straits! In addition, I always have fun figuring out how my heroine can help save the day (because while I like having the knight come to the rescue, I also like being able to have the heroine do some rescuing too!).

Imagine that we get to see your book on the big screen (how awesome would that be?). Who would you pick to play your characters? (It can be anyone – famous or not)

Here are the two pictures I liked best and put on Pinterest on my A Daring Sacrifice Novel Board (make sure to check out the board for more pictures AND join my Reader’s Board to add your own pictures!) Here are Lord Collin and Lady Juliana as I envision them:

Is there any recommendations you could give your readers to be in the “perfect mood” to read A Daring Sacrifice (specific music, snacks…)?

Go hammocking! Hang a hammock in the woods (or a wooded area) and read the book there!

What would you say is the best thing about retelling stories?

I’ve always loved fairy tales, castles, knights, and damsels in distress. I love the chivalry, honor, and courage that are so often displayed during that time. And I really like how stark and different their way of living was. It’s such a contrast from how we live that I find it fascinating.

Additionally, I love that the Middle Ages was filled with so much danger not only from wars and battles among kings and lords, but also due to the elements, harsh living conditions, and diseases. It was a time of plagues, dungeons, torture, and all the stuff that makes for a good plot!

What’s next for you?

For Love and Honor is the third book in the series and gives the final knight his happily-ever-after. (It releases March 2017) However, as you know from the cliff-hanger at the end of A Daring Sacrifice, he has to work extremely hard to gain his true love as well as save his life and those of the people he loves.

I had a lot of fun writing the heroine of the third book. She’s a little quirky and not quite as beautiful (aka more normal!) as the ladies in the first two books. She’s also hiding a secret, a “blemish” on her skin that could brand her as a witch if anyone ever sees it. During the Middle Ages, the time of the Inquisition and extreme religious intolerance, even the slightest mole, birth defect, or blemish could easily lead to accusations of witchcraft. The times were dangerous, and of course, I just love putting my characters right into the middle of the worst possible danger.

Thank you so much for everything, Jody!