Hopefully, everyone who participated feels they won by finding out about great, new books, but here are the PRIZES…

GRAND PRIZE: Susan (seventysevensusieq)

RUNNERS-UP: Debbie Karlin & Claudia Castenir

All three provided the secret quote and have been notified by email of their prizes.

In addition, here are other, bonus prizes! Each author will notify their winners. If you haven’t heard from them, go to their site and email them directly, please.

Lisa Bergren:
Kristen Lowery
Anna Weaver
Shira
@jgraumann
Krysti
Carol (cyperh: joy)
Cheyenne
LYK
Mandy Watson
Stephanie (cypher: clover/trinity knot)

Julie Lessman:
Deborah Wilder
Laurel Stein
Kathryn Scarbrough

Ruth Axtell:
Tammy Sotela

Tracy Higley:
Sarah Anderson

Susan Sleeman:
Merry, Kim, Janet, Cindy, Wilani

Leslie Gould:
Bethany Ward
Glenn (kingjames2bible)
Amy L. Norman
Meagan Williford
superstarsarah94

Winnie Griggs:
Brie Kae
Margi Mijares

MaryLu Tyndall:
Wendy (vansoest)
Bethany N. Wallace
Leslie McDonald Lipscomb

Missy Tippens:
Amanda Arrowood

Anne Elisabeth Stengl:
Rachel Koppleberger

Lorna Seilstad:
Jasmine A & her sister/friend

Deb Raney:
Jesse Solivero

RJ Larson:
Ginger M. Solomon

Maureen Lang:
Gena R.

Robin Lee Hatcher:
Becky I./Chuck I
Lori R.

Marta Perry:
Judy Stewart
Kristal Singletary
Sarah Penner
Bonton
Lori Ramos
Ladette Kerr
Heather Nicholson
Kate Steiner
Linda Finn
Leilani Hornberger

Margaret Daley:
Barbara (barbmaci61)
Lynn (lynfordshire)
Melissa (bookwormLSU)

Louise M. Gouge:
Jenny Tipton
Maria (mer84)

GRAND PRIZE:
iPad Mini 32 GB, with 31 e-books sent to you to read!

2nd & 3rd PRIZE:
All 31 of our new releases in paperback, sent to your doorstep!

Winners will be announced here, on my page, on 5/20/13. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to my email, sent on 5/20, with the secret quote, if they didn’t fill it out in the Rafflecopter box. If I don’t hear from you within 24 hours, I will have Rafflecopter choose another winner. So watch your email! Winners of small, bonus prizes from individual authors, will be notified by those authors. Thanks for playing!

Open to internationals. See fine print in Rafflecopter form for what it would mean if a winner outside the USA won one of our prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***PLEASE DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER AS YOUR BROWSER. SOME LINKS MIGHT APPEAR “BROKEN” IN EXPLORER. WE RECOMMEND FIREFOX, CHROME OR SAFARI.***

Be sure to gather the clue at each stop, jotting it down as you go. You will need to provide the COMPLETED phrase, in order, within 24 hours of email notification from me that you have won. (Make sure my email Lisa@bergrencreativegroup.com doesn’t go to spam!) I’ll also post the winners here, on this page, and on my Facebook page. If I don’t hear back from you with the correct phrase within the time limit, I will move on to the next winner Rafflecopter draws. Ready? Here we go…

Rachel Hauck

Last year, so many people gushed and talked on and on about Rachel’s The Wedding Dress, that I knew I had to get it and read it. But then…life happened. Basically, I think I read maybe 10 books all year, a stat I’m anxious to change in 2013. And when I saw the cover for THIS book, I thought, “Okay, it just may be a Rachel Hauck summer.” I can’t WAIT to read the pages behind this adorable cover, as well as The Wedding Dress, as the lazy days of summer unfold.

Do you already know Rachel? If not, here’s a little bio:
Rachel Hauck is the RITA nominated, best selling author of The Wedding Dress and acclaimed Songbird Novels with country artist Sara Evans. She lives in Florida with her family. Visit her at www.rachelhauck.com

I imagine that Rachel’s research for this book put her into serious princess-mode, which can either draw others to you, or repel them! From her post below, you can tell she’s as warm and welcoming in person, as she is in her fiction. Read on…

5 Ways To Feel Like A Princess – Every Day! by Rachel Hauck

Are you a fan of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge?

I am. She’s poised, confident, beautiful and loved. While I don’t know her and William personally, the pictures I see of them tell me they are in love.

Even better, they are best friends.

Most of us will never have the lifestyle and wealthy of a duchess. But we can have her poise and confidence, if not her beauty, and the love of friends and family.

So how can we capture the inner princess (or duchess) in all of us?

Believe – Everyone, and I mean everyone, has some gifting, a calling of God, a talent. Even if it’s smiling at people in the grocery store, you have a talent. Believe in yourself. God believes in you. Agree with Him.

Love – Love is given every bit as much as it’s received. We often reserve loving until we are loved, but Jesus, the Prince of Peace, demonstrated that while we were still stuck in our old, sinful ways, He died for us. He loved when there was no guarantee He’d be loved back. Tap your inner princess that loves easily.

Give – Princesses are giving. Generous. Quick to lend a hand or a buck. It doesn’t have to be much, but whatever you can do, or can give, to fill a need. I love that royals are patrons of charities and the arts. It reminds us to be generous and to be creative. Don’t wear yourself out or neglect your own needs, but open up your heart a bit. Give.

Pamper – You know Duchess Kate takes time to exercise and shop, have her hair done, get a manicure or pedicure. While we may not have her base beauty to work with, we certainly can work with what the good Lord has given us. Maybe try a new hairstyle. Color the grey. Get a mani-pedi. Add walking to your morning routine. In other words, do something for you.

Pray –  I know, prayer can be more of a labor of love at times than feel like pampering or princessing, but I tell you, it’s in the place of prayer, reading the Word and praying it into my heart that I actually started to believe I really was a princess in God’s kingdom. I adopted what He said about me instead of what my own dark heart and weak emotions believed at any given moment. Psalm 45:11 is a favorite of mine, “The King desires your beauty!”

The King of earth and heaven desires you and me. Boy howdy, that’s the best kind of princess to be! Royalty in Jesus’s Kingdom.

Rachel on Research

Writing a book about royalty proved to be a bit of a challenge since, you know, I’m not a royal in the practical sense. Nor did Clarence House return any of my calls requesting a sit down with Queen Elizabeth II.

So I did lots of research. Read a few books. Developed my own sense of royalty for my fictional countries and characters.

One thing I learned about was the royal cypher. Like a seal, it is carved or etched or embroidered on walls, stones, flags, curtains, or any number of royal items. It’s a royal’s sign or signet. Queen Elizabeth’s is a EIIR under the Windsor Crown. Elizabeth the Second, Regent.

Don’t you love that? William, Kate and Harry have their names under a crown as their “sign.”

So, if you could make a princess cypher, what would yours be?

Rachel’s new release, Once Upon a Prince, is available at bookstores or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Book Distributors and elsewhere.

And NOW, Your NEXT Steps:

Write down this clue: Novels
Have it written down? Great! Now head on over to Rachel Hauck’s Stop #2 for the next clue! Thanks for stopping by!

***PLEASE DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER AS YOUR BROWSER. SOME LINKS MIGHT APPEAR “BROKEN” IN EXPLORER. WE RECOMMEND FIREFOX, CHROME OR SAFARI.***

BONUS PRIZE, JUST ON LISA’S SITE:

Comment below, answering Rachel’s question about what YOUR royal cypher would depict (what image you’d use–a crown? a crow? a carrot?) and WHY you’d choose that, and you could win one of three books. If you win, you’ll receive your choice of either GLAMOROUS ILLUSIONS or GRAVE CONSEQUENCES. USA only. Winners will be notified via email. TO COMMENT CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST AT THE TOP (“Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #1) AND YOU’LL GO TO THE POST’S INDIVIDUAL PAGE. You can continue the hunt afterward. Thanks!

If you make the loop around all 32 stops, you’ll be in the running to win:

GRAND PRIZE: An iPad Mini loaded with all of our new e-releases! (Estimated Value: Over $700; if you live outside the United States, you will receive the equivalent value in your country’s currency to the USD prize, to be used on Apple, Amazon, Book Depository, or Christian Book Distributors.)

TWO RUNNERS-UP: A paperback copy of each of our new releases, autographed to you! (Estimated Value: Over $300; if you live outside the United States, you will receive a copy of our books, but they will likely not be signed–sorry! International shipping is expensive, and we’ll be shipping via Book Depository.)

IN ADDITION: Many authors will feature additional contests along the scavenger hunt route!

Here is the order of the Hunt’s loop’s STOPS (I’ll add a hyperlink on the afternoon of May 17, in case you get lost along the loop):

STOP 1. LisaBergren.com
STOP 2. RachelHauck.com/blog
STOP 3. Stephanie Grace Whitson
STOP 4. Vickie McDonough
STOP 5. ColleenCoble.com
STOP 6. JulieLessman.com
STOP 7. Deborah Raney
STOP 8. Maureen Lang
STOP 9. MargaretDaley.com
STOP 10. Crossandcutlass.blogspot.com (Mary Lu Tyndall)
STOP 11. RuthAxtell.com/blog
STOP 12. SusanSleeman.com
STOP 13. TerriBlackstock.com
STOP 14. RMabry.blogspot.com (Richard Mabry)
STOP 15. IlluminatingtheWordThroughFiction.blogspot.com (RJ Larson)
STOP 16.TracyHigley.com
STOP 17. LynetteEason.com
STOP 18. AuthorCarolCox.com/journal
STOP 19. LornaSeilstad.com/blog
STOP 20. BooksbyMartaPerry.blogspot.com
STOP 21. LeslieGould.com
STOP 22. RobinLeeHatcher.com
STOP 23. RonieKendig.com
STOP 24. AnneElisabethStengl.blogspot.com
STOP 25. Leastread.blogspot.com (John Otte)
STOP 26. JillWilliamson.com
STOP 27. Patricia Hickman
STOP 28. Sandra Robbins
STOP 29. LifewithMissy.blogspot.com (Missy Tippens)
STOP 30. Winnie Griggs
STOP 31. LouiseMGouge.com
STOP 32. LisaTawnBergren.com (to enter the Rafflecopter form, stating you completed the loop and have the clues put together in case I email!)

To take part in the hunt, you’ll begin here, on my site, on May 17 AT NOON OR LATER, MOUNTAIN TIME, and that day/weekend, loop through each successive blog or site (we’ll give you the next link at the bottom of each post), and you’ll finish back here too, by Sunday, May 19 at midnight Mountain time. There is no race—you can complete it at your leisure, through the weekend. So mark your calendars to stop by here again the weekend of May 17! YOU could win one amazing prize! All you’ll need is a pen and paper, marked #1-31, on which you’ll write each clue, in each post. Stop #1 has clue #1, Stop #2 has clue #2, etc. Easy-peasy. Together, the clues will form one long quote, and you’ll need that quote if I email you to tell you that you won! You’ll have 24 hours to respond.

Along the way, you can enter other, smaller, individual-author contests too, so it’ll be well worth your time. Even if you DON’T win, you’re bound to find all sorts of books you’ll want to add to your summer reading list!

If you’d like to read one of three, autographed galley copies, when I have a galley (pre-publication, bound manuscript) approved by the publisher, please enter my contest below by:

1. Liking the Remnants Series Facebook page (yes, you have to be on Facebook to enter–sorry!)
2. Commenting at the bottom of this post about any dystopian (Hunger Games, Divergent, Legend, Wool, etc) you’ve read, and/or what’s caught your interest in this one.
3. Filling out the Rafflecopter form
4. Bonus points (not required): Tweet about the contest

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What’s the last dystopian you read? What do you like about dystopians? If you’ve never read one, tell us why, and why you’re interested in mine!

She’s a widow. My husband is very much alive. She’s the owner of a struggling café. I’m an author. She’s an exceptional pianist. I don’t even know how to read music. She’s all about baking from scratch. I’m all about prepackaged brownie and cake mix.

Yet despite our many differences, we do share two things:

We both know what it is to be afraid.

And we both know what it’s like when life doesn’t turn out as expected.

For Robin, it was the death of her husband.

For me, it was infertility.

When my husband and I got married, we had this plan—after five years of marriage, we’d start having kids. Two or three, a couple years apart. Five and a half years after saying I do, we had our son. Our vision was turning into a reality. We had no idea a road block called secondary infertility was waiting just around the corner.

The vision I’d created for our family disappeared amidst a slew of negative pregnancy tests. And my inability to let go of what my life was “supposed” to be kept me rooted in place. Even when God started nudging us toward adoption. Even when those nudges turned into undeniable shoves.

You see, I was afraid. Adoption is daunting and uncertain. There are no guarantees. And life was just fine with our son. We were comfortable. We had a routine. We knew how to survive. Did we really want to mess that up?

I found myself in the same place as those Israelites wandering the desert. The same place as Robin Price in Wishing on Willows. Staring at the mountain, afraid to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. Afraid to consider the possibility that perhaps God has a blessing out there for us in those uncharted territories. A blessing that would only be ours if we stepped out in faith.

So we did.

We stepped. All the way back in November, 2011.

We are in the process of adopting from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world. And although this journey has, at times, been downright exhausting, His blessings in the midst of it are undeniable. He is with us in the hard. He is with us in the unknown. In fact, it’s in those very places that we experience Him most profoundly.

If you’d like to join us on this journey, you can! We are doing an adoption puzzle fundraiser and we’re so very close to completion! Just 50 more pieces left to sponsor.

Here’s how it works:

For $10, you can sponsor a piece of our Congolese cutie’s puzzle and we will write your name on the back. Every little bit gets us that much closer to bringing this precious one home. All donations are tax-deductible! To get involved, please either email Katie at ganshertadoption@gmail.com or visit my blog (paypal link button is on the right column of the blog).

LTB, here: I think this is such a creative way to tackle what must’ve seemed like an insurmountable goal–raising the last of the money needed in order to adopt. We Bergrens have bought some puzzle pieces, and I get all teary thinking about that picture on Katie’s precious child’s wall. Such a gift, family. Would you kindly donate $10 or more to help them complete the puzzle? Only 50 pieces to go!

Oh, and buying her new book would help too! Check out the description below…it’s on my Summer reading list!

About Wishing on Willows (released March 19^th with Waterbrook Press):

Does a second chance at life and love always involve surrender?

A three-year old son, a struggling café, and fading memories are all Robin Price has left of her late husband. As the proud owner of Willow Tree Café in small town Peaks, Iowa,  she pours her heart into every muffin she bakes and espresso she pulls, thankful for the sense of purpose and community the work provides.

So when developer Ian McKay shows up in Peaks with plans to build condos where her café and a vital town ministry are located, she isn’t about to let go without a fight.

As stubborn as he is handsome, Ian won’t give up easily. His family’s business depends on his success in Peaks. But as Ian pushes to seal the deal, he wonders if he has met his match. Robin’s gracious spirit threatens to undo his resolve, especially when he discovers the beautiful widow harbors a grief that resonates with his own.

With polarized opinions forming all over town, business becomes unavoidably personal and Robin and Ian must decide whether to cling to the familiar or surrender their plans to the God of Second Chances.

Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love. When she’s not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels. She and her husband are in the process of adopting from the Congo. You can find her online at her blog and on Facebook.

Here’s what Ashleigh has to say about reading UDP4P: “I loved the book. Everyday that I read made me realize more that God is there for us in every way. I didn’t have a very good childhood. As I grew older, I realized that God helps us make our decisions in everyday life. I’m so glad that I read your book. It’s helped me become not only a better person, but a better mom, wife and friend. I especially liked Day 16. I pray you’ll lose your job–and know that your Provider has not forgotten you. Both my husband and I have lost jobs and we’ve gotten by, I know that God helped us in providing for ourselves and the kids. Sorry I’m rambling. The book has helped so much. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this book.”

Love that! Hope you get a chance to dive into the 31-day devotional soon…you can read it once a week, or a few days a week, or every day for a month! I think it’s one of the most challenging, out-of-the-box devos out there. See what you think.