I’M RUNNING A GIVEAWAY OF LIZ’S NEW BOOK—SEE BELOW.

I’m glad to welcome novelist Liz Tolsma back to the blog. With a flair for romance, she is primarily known for her World War II fiction but has also dabbled in Amish romance and historical romantic suspense.

Liz’s latest release just launched on December 1. It is third in her Echoes of the Past  series. 

Today I’m sharing her other writing endeavors as well, in thanks for her endorsement of my novel, A Hundred Magical Reasons, which will be published by Scrivenings Press in January 2025.

Teaser for A Hundred Magical Reasons . . .

Most fairy tales have happy endings, but is it too late for this one? After all, Mrs. Gordon is 88.

This split-time fiction is set in 1980 and the early 1900s. It encompasses . . . 

• A child’s unlikely friendship with The Wizard of Oz author, L Frank Baum and his influence across 4 generations
• A young woman following a risky dream
• An old woman haunted by regret as she reveals her past

Liz’s full endorsement: 

“Ms. DeNooyer has painted a beautiful, fanciful picture of life with Wizard of Oz author Frank Baum with her new dual time novel. The dialog is rich and captivating and pulls the reader and the main historical character away from the harsh realities the little girl faces. Several generations later, another young woman is also looking for escape and freedom from her stringent parents. It’s a wonderful story revealing the only source of true freedom. Ms. DeNooyer is a talented author and creates vivid pictures for her readers that will leave them mesmerized and pondering the message of the book long after they close the final satisfying page.”
~Liz Tolsma, bestselling author of What I Left For You, What I Promise You, and What I Would Tell You

**********************

The above image is a temporary book cover. I’ll share the final one soon. Learn more about A Hundred Magical Reasons and watch the trailer on my website.

************************

Now I want to put the spotlight back on Liz.

Today I’m running a GIVEAWAY!

Comment below on any of Liz’s books for a chance to win a paperback of her new release. 

Blurb for What I Left For You

A Family’s Ties Were Broken in Poland of 1939   

1939—Helena Kostyszak is an oddity—an educated female ethnic minority lecturing at a university in Krakow at the outbreak of WWII. When the Germans close the university and force Jews into the ghetto, she spirits out a friend’s infant daughter and flees to her small village in the southern hills. Helena does everything in her power to protect her family, but it may not be enough. It will take all of her strength and God’s intervention for both of them to survive the war and the ethnic cleansing to come.   

2023—Recently unengaged social worker McKenna Muir is dealt an awful blow when a two-year-old she’s been working with is murdered. It’s all too much to take, so her friend suggests she dive into her family’s past like she’s always wanted. Putting distance between herself and her problems might help her heal, so she and her friend head on Sabbatical to Poland. But what McKenna discovers about her family shocks everyone, including one long-lost family member. 

****************************

Though this is her tenth World War II novel, Liz still utilizes fresh material, situations, and settings. I was immersed in Helena’s world, fully captivated by her challenges and dilemmas in war-infected Poland. Each incident is tied to the present in McKenna’s world as she seeks to uncover her family’s  past. The two timelines meld together perfectly.

Liz Tolsma’s World War II novels featured on Standout Stories or Journey To Imagination:

• A Picture of Hope  (May 10, 2022) — Part of the Heroines of World War II series, this features an American journalist and a French soldier trying to save a French orphan girl with Down syndrome.
• What I Would Tell You  (March 15, 2023) — 1st book in Echoes of the Past series. Due to a DNA test, Tessa drops everything to head to Greece to learn about her ancestors—Jews in Salonika, Greece under Hitler’s regime. 1941 & 2019.
• What I Promise You  (March 5, 2024) — 2nd book in Echoes of the Past series. The matron is committed to the wellbeing and safety of pregnant Jewish mothers in a maternity hospital in Southwestern France, not far from a transit camp.
• Melody of the Soul & Snow on the Tulips (April 5, 2018 on my Journey to Imagination blog) — Story worlds steeped in World War II history.

Liz’s World War II fiction is part of four different series:

• Women of Courage (3)
• Music of Hope (3)
• Echoes of the Past (3)
• Heroines of World War II (1 of 8)

Liz has also written historical romantic suspense. The Pink Bonnet (featured on the blog Feb 1, 2022) is one mother’s attempt to find her daughter after the child is snatched by Georgia Tann, the corrupt director of the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society.

Liz wrote three others in the True Colors crime series:

• The Green Dress
• The Gold Digger
• The Silver Shadow

Additionally, Liz wrote A Promise Engraved (Book 8 of 12) for the multi-author Doors to the Past series, and Slashed Canvas (Book 8 of 15), part of the Ever After Mystery series inspired by fairy tales. It’s a retelling of The Lost Princess.

Furthermore, Liz has contributed to several romance collections, such as A Log Cabin Christmas, The Matchmaker Brides, and The Rails to Love series.

Coming up on March 1, 2025: When the Sky Burned (on pre-order)

I’m curious to read this book releasing next March since the setting is Wisconsin. It brings to light a devastating day in Wisconsin’s history when the town of Peshtigo burned in October, 1871. It just happened to be the same day of the Holland, Michigan fire across the lake as well as the infamous Chicago fire.

The preorder link is https://amzn.to/4cjr5GJ.

Blurb for When the Sky Burned (Volume 6 of A Day to Remember series)

All is right in Mariah Randolph’s world in the logging town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. She has the attention of Hollis Stanford, heir of a railroad tycoon, and her paintings are also starting to gain recognition. Then on a Sunday evening in October 1871, the drought-stricken land becomes engulfed in flames, sending a tornado of fire down Main Street, and all that Mariah holds dear could be gone in a flash. With the aid of railroad bookkeeper Jay Franklin, she seeks a reason to rebuild. But Jay longs for justice that could further destroy Mariah’s hopes for tomorrow.

*************************

Join me for some Q & A with Liz Tolsma.

Questions about What I Left for You

What was your inspiration for writing this story? What’s your personal connection to the setting or situation? 

As I was thinking about what I could write for the third book in the “Echoes of the Past” series, I wanted something different. Originally, the beginning of the story was set in Ukraine, but the outbreak of the war there made it impossible to write the contemporary storyline I had in mind. 

Instead, as I dove into my family’s genealogy, I discovered the fascinating history of the Lemko people in Poland—the minority group I’m descended from—especially during WWII. The story is all the better for the changes I made to it, and I poured my heart into it, because I want the world to know about my people what what happened to them.

What historical parameters were imposed on you? Where did you have to fill in the gaps with your imagination? 

I always try to stick as closely as possible to history as I can manage. Of course, I had to keep to the WWII timeline, including what happened in the Krakow ghetto, when certain resistance activities occurred, and the liberation of labor camps in Germany, as well as various incidents surrounding the Lemko people. 

One part I had to fudge was the coming of the Polish soldiers to the village of Dubne, Poland. I know the timeframe that would have happened, but I couldn’t locate any record about that, nor any accounts of it, so I compiled bits and pieces of what records there are about other towns and used that to create those scenes.

How did you develop your heroines Helena (1939) and McKenna (2023)? Do your characters hijack the story or do you have full rein? 

Helena is a highly-intelligent Lemko woman, which meant she would be strong, resourceful, and resilient. Those are characteristics of the Lemko people in general. And with what I threw at her, she had to be that way in order to survive. Much of what she’s like is what I understand women in my mom’s side of the family to be like. She a composite of what I know of them. 

For McKenna, I worked backward on her. In other words, I knew the obstacles she would be facing, so I sketched her to be the kind of woman who would be able to withstand those trials and where she might need to grow and change to fight her demons. 

The characters often hijack the story. I tell them what they’re supposed to do, but they refuse to listen. Then again, they know themselves best!

What challenges did you face while creating this split-time novel? Does it get easier each time? 

It was difficult for me to not jump ahead in the contemporary timeline or to drag it too much. I wanted the revelations made there to line up with what was happening in the historical timeline. That way, I wouldn’t give too much away and turn off the reader. 

Writing dual-time fiction has gotten easier. This is my fourth split-time novel, and in many ways it was my easiest.

What unusual thing did you do or discover while researching for this story? Share some fun facts about your trip to Poland. 

One unusual thing we did while my daughter and I were in Poland was to visit an old mineral springs town, the place people used to go to “take the waters.” Our genealogical guide brought us there and bought us three different kinds of water. He poured us each a glass of the first one and told us it was the strongest. No kidding, it tasted like fish-tank water. The “milder” ones weren’t much better. It was an experience. 

We actually loved everything about our trip. It was amazing to visit the church where my great-grandmother was baptized, to stand in the cemetery where my ancestors are buried, to tour Auschwitz and Schindler’s factory, to listen to a couple of accordion players who sounded like they were playing a pipe organ. Oh, and eating pierogi almost every night! The food there was amazing.

COMMENT BELOW ON LIZ’S BOOKS FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PAPERBACK OF HER NEW RELEASE!

********************

Liz Tolsma bio

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters. Learn more on her website LizTolsma.com.

*****************

Join me next time for a visit with author Anita Klumpers.

Meanwhile, have you read any books by Liz Tolsma? Do you gravitate to World War II fiction? Answer in the comments below.

Ever reading,

Laura

Sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive the prequel for All That Is Hidden: www.StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com