Such fun to be a part of Lisa T. Bergren’s Irish Summer Scavenger Hunt to celebrate the release of her latest contemporary romance, Once Upon an Irish Summer. With Irish Summer giveaways at each stop, be sure to check in with Reading is My Superpower’s Carrie (she shares a fab Q&A with Lisa) and Faithfully Bookish’s Beth Erin, where you can read an enticing excerpt from the story.

Be sure to enter the giveaway below as I have TWO signed print copies to giveaway – one to a US reader and one to an Australian reader! Thanks to Lisa for being so generous!

Here’s a peek at the story…

You Can’t Embrace Your Future Until You Deal With Your Past…

Fiona Burke has long been obsessed with Ireland’s famed, sixteenth-century pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. Now that she’s on the final stretch of earning her PhD in history, all she needs to do is finish her dissertation—with Grace O’Malley as her subject—then return home to Boston to defend it. Once that’s done she can compete for a highly coveted history professor position.

Fiona arrives in western Ireland aiming to interview the locals and find additional folklore to flesh out her work. But when she encounters Grace’s distant relative—the handsome, commanding Rory O’Malley—she gets seriously distracted. Rory shares her passion for history and Ireland, and cares for his grandfather and great-uncle in a winsome way. Unfortunately he also carries wounds beyond his injured leg…wounds that threaten to dismantle every little bit of a relationship that he and Fiona begin to build.

As a famed TV host becomes intrigued with Fiona—as well as convinced she should do guest appearances on his show—Rory starts to figure out that he might be as interested in his own personal romantic future as he is in Ireland’s epic past. But can he take the steps toward the healing he needs before it’s too late? It all remains to be seen…Once Upon an Irish Summer.

Now, enjoy meeting Irish Rory and American Fiona!

Rory O’Malley

Physical Stats

Height: 6’2”

Hair colour & style: Reddish, curly, longer

Eye colour: Gray-blue

Dress sense: No-nonsense farmer; flannels and jeans

Resembles…

Toby Stephens (but once we found the stock photos, I was using those models)

Can’t live without…

Summers on his grandda’s farm

Strengths

Caring, loyal, strong

Vulnerabilities

PTSD threatens to send him over the edge; he needs counseling, but he’s avoiding it

Passions

Family, history, driving his old Jeep
 
What book or movie would they recommend? 

He doesn’t watch TV and rarely gets to the movies. Historical non-fiction—Unbroken, Boys in the Boat, Beneath a Scarlet Sky. However, he did catch “Leap Year” on TV, and thought it charming.
 
Your inspiration for the character

I just visualized an ancestor of Grace O’Malley, and big, rugged, contemplative Rory emerged.

Fiona Burke

Physical Stats

Height: 5’6”

Hair colour & style: Longer, reddish-blond hair with a slight wave

Eye colour: Sky-blue

Dress sense: Casual-classy; fisherman sweater and jeans with her hair up in a pony would be typical

Resembles…

Jayma Mays, but again, once we found the stock photo…

Can’t live without…

Learning something new or conquering new goals.

Strengths

Inquisitive, kind, empathetic, smart

Vulnerabilities

Goal-minded to a fault; apt to miss the love interest right in front of her face or potential danger in pursuit of her goal

Passions

History—in particular, Grace O’Malley and Irish history. She’s trying to earn her PhD in history so she can teach at the college level.
 
What book or movie would she recommend?

She doesn’t watch TV (other than Irish documentaries) and rarely gets to the movies. Historical non-fiction is her go-to—Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization and Mysteries of the Middle Ages are some of her favorites. (Although over a pint she’d tell you her guilty pleasure was a binge-read of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series).
 
Your inspiration for the character

If I was single and going after my PhD, I’d want to be Fiona, tucked into an adorable Irish farm with charming men like Rory, Patrick and George who adopted me as family. So basically, I just wrote out my own history-loving fantasy.

Background to the story

Years ago I bought a book on the medieval pirate queen, Grace O’Malley. I’ve long dabbled with the idea of writing her story as a historical, but when this Once Upon a Summer series started, I knew there’d be a different way to cast her—as the subject of interest for my historian, Fiona Burke, as well as her descendant, Rory O’Malley.

Thanks Lisa!

Buy the book

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | CHRISTIANBOOK | INDIEBOUND  

Scavenger Hunt Giveaway & Clue

ENTER TO WIN ALL 3 previously released books in the Once Upon a Summer series—plus 3 other LTB books of choice—(over $80 in retail value!) by collecting all the clues in our mini-hunt, adding them all up, and entering on Lisa’s site on the 16th!

(Open to international contestants too but if someone outside of the USA wins, they will be sent ebooks.)

Prize winner chosen on July 17 after the Facebook Live party!

SCAVENGER HUNT CLUE: 8

Relz Reviewz Giveaway

For my readers, we have two signed copies to give away – one for a US reader and one for an Australian reader. Enter this giveaway via the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IRISH SUMMER SCAVENGER HUNT SCHEDULE

Follow along to collect all the clues and enter for the grand prize at Lisa’s website!

July 12            Faithfully Bookish – Excerpt
July 13            Reading is My Superpower – Q&A
July 14            Relz Reviewz – Character Spotlight
July 15            Wishful Endings – Lisa’s 10 Days in Ireland Itinerary
July 16            Lisa Tawn Bergren – Lisa’s favorite season and entry form
July 17            FB Live – RSVP to be entered into a door prize

Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of over 60 books in a variety of genres, that have sold over three million copies combined. She lives in Colorado Springs, CO with her husband and three big kids. You can find out more about her at LisaTawnBergren.com.

Connect with Lisa

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | BOOKBUB GOODREADS

Own the collection today!

• 

• 

• 

•