Here we are, the last day of the tour! What a ride it has been, just like the writing process for this story! So today, I thought I would share some things that almost happened in this book, but were cut or altered through the editing process! Let's Hop In!

Originally...

|| Alvin and Jeremy were captured at Cold Harbor! In a random accident that leaves Alvin blind, the two are captured by the Federal Army and packed off to Camp Douglas in Chicago. This didn't end up working in the story, unfortunately for the facts I wanted to use, fortunately for Alvin and Jeremy ;)

|| Burdy was wounded at Cold Harbor! This battle was going to be an emotion driven focal point of the story, but again, it just did fit and ramped up the action so early in the story, there was no way I could top that climax and keep people reading.

|| Seth went into shock at the Crater. When you read the book, I think you will agree that the way it turned out worked out better ;)

|| Mrs. Mason was expecting! While I haven't ruled this out entirely for a character in book 5, originally, Mrs. Mason was down with morning sickness during the summer months. It just wasn't working, so out it came.

|| Andersonville was center stage of it's own plot line! I have long desired to tell the story of Andersonville, a prison that is at the center of some hot controversy. Armed with a documentary put together by respected historians, personal research and eye-witness accounts, I was prepared to set the record straight. But, this book was way too long, it was difficult to tie this line in with the rest of the book and overall, I had way too much to share about other things. So that will have to be a story for another day.

|| Someone joined the military. In fact two unrelated somebodies. But because of spoilers, I cannot divulge who :)



And now...for the Title reveal of book 5!


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So exciting to finally get to share the title of the final book in this series! Check out my Updates page for information on how the process is going!

Today is your last chance to enter the giveaway! Winner is announced on Monday!

And hop over here for three book reviews!

Leona@ greatbooksforgodsgirls.wordpress.com
Katja@ old-fashionedbooklove.blogspot.com
Kassie Angle@ soldiergirlstories.com

That wraps it up for now! Thank you all for all your help and for hanging out this week for the tour!

God Bless!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello Everyone! Today is day 5 of the tour and I'm excited to share a teaser from the prologue of A Song of Home! Let's hop right in!

Tyler Nace shivered as Carlisle led him toward a towering hotel building. Snow lay in sooty piles and the streets bustled with bundled up people speaking a mix of British-English or French. “Well, you’re right; this certainly isn’t Richmond,” Tyler teased, clutching his threadbare coat tight and pulling down his hat.

His fellow Confederate operative smirked as they neared the lobby door. “Just trust me.” The two young men, agents of the Confederate Secret Service, bustled across the lobby.

Moments later they stepped inside a small, dim room furnished with simple oak chairs and end tables, the latter sporting a wooden bowl of fruit and a vase of flowers. The floorboards creaked a little, and a draft whistled through the doorway, but compared to the outdoors, Tyler thought the place rather homey.

“Home sweet headquarters,” Carlisle explained, plucking a flower from the arrangement. He breathed in the lilac scent. “Just like Emily.”

Tyler grinned and shook his head. Emily, he’d discovered, was Carlisle’s bride in Kentucky. Everything made him think of her.

Tyler tried his hardest to act interested, but Carlisle didn’t miss the younger agent’s frequent glances at the door on the other end of the room. Carlisle strode forward and twisted the rusty knob, pushing hard against the warped wood. Tyler hurried to assist him. The door groaned under their combined weight, at last flying open, sending the two sprawling to the floor. Tyler sneezed as dust flew up from the old rug that had cushioned their fall.

Carlisle pulled himself up and dusted his frock coat. “I really ought to fix that door…”
Tyler’s head whipped around at the sounds of laughter from the far end of the room. There sat the other members of their little branch of operations: Mr. Gentry, the “Rough Man”, the “Young Agent” Sabine, and another pallid-faced young man.


Who is this pallid-faced young man? You'll have to read A Song of Home to find out!

And today, we have a double interview! Natalie Claire@ kenmorepines.wordpress.com

That's about it for now!
Have a Blessed Day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Welcome to day 4 of the Blog Tour! Lots of fun stuff today! Two interviews, a spotlight, the giveaway of course and 5 more songs! Lets jump right in!

6| Company I, 2nd South Caroline. Okay, y’all, this song is hilarious! And I can so hear my 32:7 Boys adapting this to their unit!

7| The Minstrel Boy. This one can be done jaunty or solemn. So I’ve provided my two favorite versions, one sung, (Union) and the other instrumental (Southern).

8| The Upidee Song. This song is another comedy pic and I just love it. All through the years, soldiers have complained about the buglers!

9| The Deep South. This song is actually a tribute piece and I enjoyed most of the album (I was thinking a couple tracks might have drums? I can’t remember, but I know I deleted a couple tracks off my laptop…). I loved the sound effects on this one!

10| Tenting Tonight. And last but not least, the song that inspired it all…

And now for the giveaway!

And now I shall send you off to visit with these kind ladies!

Kenechi Duatron@ randomgirlsramblings.home.blog
Tara@ towerintheplains.wordpress.com
Faith@ fireflysstoryspace.blogspot.com

That's all for today! Don't forget you can preorder for $14.00 + $3.00 S/H!
Have a Blessed Day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello everyone! So, this is day 3 of the tour. Midway! It’s crazy! And I can hardly believe this is happen even though it is! Okay, enough rambling. Today, I’m sharing five songs from A Song of Home’s Playlist and five more tomorrow! Hope you enjoy!

1| The North Carolina War Song. This is one of my very favorite songs from the War Between the States. It was the official song of the North Carolina soldiers and I am so grateful I found it!

2| God Will Defend the Right. This song talks about the righteousness of our cause and how God will always defend the right side.

3| Mother Would Comfort Me. This is a sad song, but so perfect to this story…it’s classified as a sentimental tune…just…yeah, really sad and sweet…

4| Brother Green. Another sad one and this one is actually a Union song. It’s the dying words of a soldier and I have a feel that both sides, as they often did, would adapt the words to work for their perspective.

5| Dunlap’s Creek. This is actually a hymn! The depth of the words and the tune are just so *heart eyes*!

Want to win eBooks of the whole series?

And today, we have a post from Brooklyn @bensshowersofblessings.blogspot.com!
 
And now for an exciting announcement…

A SONG OF HOME IS AT THE PRINTERS!!!!!!

That’s right! I finished it up today and sent it off…which is why the post it late XP Anyway, I’m so excited to share this book with all of you!

Hope you all have a Blessed Day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

Hello again! This week should hopefully make up for me not posting all month ? Today I have a few new things to share about A Song of Home!

So what do I mean by a few new things? Well, these are things I have never done in published work before. There are three new things total for us to discuss, so let’s dive in!

When writing A Song of Home, I realized that part of my story needed to dip back into 1863. I had no idea how to pull this off until I remembered a lovely little technique called a Prologue. For those who don’t know, this is a “chapter before chapter 1”, which generally shares information that is important, but that takes place before your actual story starts. For me, I used it to transport the reader into the end of December 1863 and the very beginning of January 1864. The information is important, so don’t skip reading it before you jump into Chapter 1!

I’ve mentioned here before that I have many Confederate ancestors. One of them makes an appearance in A Song of Home! His name is Joshua Bowman. He served in the 37th, N.C. Regiment under Gen. A.P. Hill and had quite the exhausting career in the military in his three years of service. But you’ll have to read the book to learn about that!

It’s no secret that in general I do not like people tampering with history to accommodate their stories. You should never sacrifice historical fact for a good plot twist. You make your story fit history, or you’ve deceived your readers. (You can read more about this here.) My opinion has not changed. However, I got an amazing and unique opportunity to tweak my story to accommodate a sad, but little known bit of history by inserting one of my characters into the shoes of a real person. The catch? No one knows the rank or identity of this historical hero. His name is lost to history. All we know is that he was a Confederate officer. Nothing more. I consulted others who shared my view to make sure I wasn’t taking too much liberty in having one of my characters represent him and they all encouraged me to go for it. A note about this is included in the back of the book.
 
Today’s Blog Stops
Laura Guenot@ beautifulthingsbylaura.com
Natalie Claire@ kenmorepines.wordpress.com
 
And don’t forget to enter for a chance to win 4 eBooks!

And feel free to pre-order your copy of A Song of Home today! $14.00 + $3.00 S/H. Upon receiving your payment, a copy will be reserved for you! And if you would like to begin reading as soon as your payment is processed, I will gladly send you an eCopy of the story for you to enjoy until I receive my print copies!

That’s all for now! See you tomorrow!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22