Saturday, August 4, 2018

A Promise Forged by Cara Putnam Blog Tour and Giveaway


About the Book  


 Title: A Promise Forged
Author: Cara Putman  
Genre: World War 2 Romance  
Release date: Originally released in 2010, Re-released in 2017

 Kat transformed in front of him. Her chin came up, her fingers stopped twitching with the fabric of her gown, and a real sparkle bubbled in her eyes. It was like watching Snow White come to life when the prince kissed her.
A heartwarming WWII historical from award-winning author Cara Putman: Kat Miller has dreamed of playing baseball her entire life. When she earns a spot on a team in the All-American Girls Professional Softball League, she finds that things aren’t as glamorous as she imagined. She struggles with long road trips, grueling practices, and older teammates who are jealous of her success. And to top it all off, an irritating reporter is constantly getting under Kat’s skin. Events in Jack Raymond’s career have left him cynical and distanced from God. He never wanted to write at a small paper, and he certainly didn’t want to be assigned to something as inconsequential as a women’s softball team. Then Kat walks into his life. The fiery, young softball player somehow climbs the walls around his heart and makes him want to hope again. When lies fly and the league appears to fail, will Kat and Jack’s new love survive?

 Click here to purchase your copy!

 My Review
I enjoyed this short novel that brought to life an era in women's sports I knew nothing about. During World War II, most of the men who had been playing professional baseball were at war. I had no idea that Wrigley (of chewing gum fame) had the daring plan to have women play professional ball, softball. Putnam has created a good story, highlighting a fictional player. I liked reading about the stress of the try outs, the travel the teams had to do, and the relationships between the women. I can't believe they wore little skirts, but they did! Putnam's writing style is good, making the story an easy one to read.

Of course, there is romance. While I liked Kat, the seventeen year old short stop, I had trouble liking Jack, the older newspaper reporter covering the women's softball. Unable to go to war because of an injury, he had been relegated to a small town newspaper because of a previous reporting mistake. He just seemed too overbearing and forward to me. I wasn't sure he and Kat would make a good couple so I had trouble rooting for their relationship.

I do recommend this novel to readers who enjoy a good story while learning quite a bit about an interesting time in the history of baseball in the U.S.

My rating: 4/5 stars.



About the Author









Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara Putnam has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently working on book 30 and 31. 

Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW, and currently serves on its Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.

Cara is also an attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women’s ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!) and George Mason Law School, and Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com 









Guest Post from Cara



Each of my books starts with a hook that engages my interest, and then as I play with it, I think it will engage readers. A Promise Forged was no different. For this book I was writing a series of three World War II novels for Barbour. I already had two historical hooks that fascinated me: children evacuated from London to Ohio, a top secret project to break Engima in Dayton, but I needed one more. I knew the lead characters were going to be siblings, but I wasn’t sure what to do with the kid sister. Then I remembered the All-American Girls Professional Softball/Baseball League.

And I started thinking.

What would it have been like to desperately want a chance to play a sport you loved professionally?

And to be part of the nascent league when no one was sure whether it was a good or bad idea?

I decided that was the perfect place for Kat. She was the kid sister with fire and passion. She wanted a chance to prove herself, and this would be the perfect place. Then she needed a hero worthy of her. One who could go toe-to-toe with her and still see who she could be.

He came in the form of Jack, a cynical reporter who is disappointed to be assigned to cover girls’ baseball. But then he gets to know Kat and some of the others. And he sees something in her that she doesn’t see in herself. It’s the beginning of fireworks that he doesn’t think can go anywhere because she has to go home to her senior year of high school.

As I began researching the history of the league, I learned that the AAGPS/BL archives were kept at a small museum in South Bend, a couple hours from where I live. I spent a day there talking with the curator and exploring all the records. Because the league wasn’t expected to last there weren’t many records from the first year. That meant I had to guess about some things like schedules based on what happened in the years after.

A Promise Forged became a book I loved writing. Kat was feisty, Jack was cynical, and baseball provided a great setting. I can’t believe this football loving woman can admit that!









Blog Stops







Among the Reads, August 4



The Power of Words, August 4



C Jane Read, August 5





Texas Book-aholic, August 5




Genesis 5020, August 6





Carpe Diem, August 7








Mary Hake, August 8



By The Book, August 9




Simple Harvest Reads, August 9 (Guest Post from Mindy Houng)




Lighthouse Academy, August 10



Remembrancy, August 10





100 Pages per Hour, August 11




Bigreadersite, August 11



Godly Book Reviews, August 12



Cafinated Reads, August 12




A Reader’s Brain, August 13




Book by Book, August 13



All-of-a-kind Mom, August 14



Maureen’s Musings, August 14



Daysong Reflections, August 14



The Morning Chapter, August 15



amandainpa, August 15






Bibliophile Reviews, August 16



Pause for Tales, August 17







Giveaway

















To celebrate her tour, Cara is giving away a grand prize that includes the movie League of Their Own, a box of cracker jacks, M&Ms and a $20 Amazon gift card!!







Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click below to enter.






I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.











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