Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #1

Jun 14, 2023

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!

If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to collect the clues through all the stops, in order (beginning here at Stop #1), so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 6/15 at noon MDT right here on this page!
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 6/18 at midnight MDT)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back here on my site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Hi! My name’s Lisa Bergren and I’m a writer of many things—children’s books, gift books, nonfiction, and fiction in many genres. And I’m talkin’ MANY. YA time travel, spiritual suspense, women’s fiction, dystopian…you get the gist. You can learn more about me and all my books here on my site and on Facebook. But I always adore an epic story. My newest release is the first in my Oceans of Time Series—Estuary. Here’s what it’s about:

Can a family bond stand the test of time?

Lady Tiliani Forelli is the epitome of the She-Wolves who raised her, an adept archer with a mind of her own. It is long past time for her to wed, but she deems each young lord who comes to bid for her hand lacking. With battles upon their border, and rumors of war growing louder on every front, Lady Forelli’s decision could secure her kingdom’s peace…or bring about its destruction.

Centuries later, history major Luciana Betarrini takes a summer job alongside her twin, Domenico, as a period actor at Castello Forelli in Italy. As incoming college seniors, this might be their last chance to spend meaningful time together, so she’s soaking up every minute. But when Nico’s theory that their lost Betarrini relatives have traveled through time becomes potentially real—and they might be able to follow—Luci fears they’ll be forever divided.

HOW TO RENT A TUSCAN VILLA

Last Summer, Tim and I were blessed to go to Italy for three weeks to celebrate our 30th anniversary! We spent a week in my beloved Siena, then met our kids and their significant others—and our son-in-law’s parents—in Rome for a few days. Then we rented a huge villa for a week before Tim and I moved north to explore the glorious Dolomites (Italian Alps)!

 

I often get questions about an ideal itinerary for seeing Italy for the first time (Rome for 3 days, Tuscany for a week, 3 days in Venice; open-jawed airline ticket, into Rome, out of Venice), but I also get questions about how to rent a villa in Tuscany. It’s our favorite way to travel in Tuscany, by setting up a home base with a great view. It’s marvelous to have a casual morning at home, explore a hill town and have lunch out, then return for sunset and to make dinner. To choose a villa:
(1) Decide on your dates you could be there. Most villas rent from Saturday to Saturday.
(2) Decide on if you want your own place or would rather just rent a room in a bigger villa; bigger villas that you share with others often offer meal plans too, so if you’d rather not cook, it’s a good option. Note: If you decide on the bigger villa option, decide if you want your own bathroom or you’re willing to share that too. A lot of them feel like luxurious inns if you have your own bathroom (“en suite”).
(3) Get a good guide book and decide on which hill towns you want to see and then find a central location. We think Montepulciano is a great, central location, or somewhere between Siena and Florence if you’re interested in more towns toward the north. While driving in Tuscany is part of the experience (pay for automatic transmission and GPS!), you don’t want to spend all day, every day driving. You want to explore beautiful towns and get home to your pretty villa!
(4) How many bedrooms do you want? Bathrooms? Kitchen? Pool?
(5) With those decisions made, you can start to explore web sites. My favorites are Booking.com, agriturismo.it, and agriturismo.net (“Agriturismo” means “farm stay.” It mostly relates to olive groves and vineyards.)
 
Viaggi sicuri! (Safe travels!)

Here are the Stop #1 Basics:

If you’re interested, you can order Estuary on Amazon, ChristianBook, Barnes & Noble or at your local bookstore!

Clue to Write Down: Time and

Link to Stop #2, the Next Stop on the Loop: Carrie Turansky’s site!

BUT WAIT!

Before you go, I’m offering three additional prizes—three complete sets of the Sugar Baron’s Daughters (Keturah, Verity and Selah) or the Gifted Trilogy (Begotten, Betrayed, Blessed). Your choice! All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter (blue box below, “Stay in the Loop!) or mark it off if you’re already a subscriber. Then fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Additional points for those who follow me as an author on BookBub, Facebook or on Instagram! (USA only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway