Mackinac Island: Now & Then + Giveaway

Cara blog tour, giveaway, Mackinac Island 24 Comments



Mackinac Island. It’s a magical place that allows you to step back in time from the moment you first step off the ferry. Authors Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson have teamed up for a tour of the island, now and then. Comment at each stop for a chance to win a copy of one of their books set on Mackinac Island. You’ll find the list of stops here. Share the tour on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and other places, and you’ll gain extra entries for the grand prize of a copy of each of their books and a 5 slice box of Murdick’s Fudge, straight from Mackinac Island. Just be sure to email Cara at cara@caraputman.com, so she can record your entries.



Growing up in Ohio, I always wanted to visit Mackinac Island where there are no cars, where I could freely walk and bike and explore. Researching and then writing Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan was truly a dream come true for me. From the moment I stepped off the ferry and heard the clip-clopping of horses’ hooves along the island’s historic Main Street, I was transported back a good hundred years. Pronounced “Mackinaw” like Mackinaw City (but spelled differently so the post office could differentiate between the island and town), Mackinac Island is a place that time seemed to forget. The diverse history on this island goes back hundreds of years, when Native Americans considered the island the home of their Great Spirit and local tribes gathered there each summer to fish. In the 1700s, lucrative French and American fur companies made their homes and millions of dollars on Mackinac until the British took over during the War of 1812 and held the island for three years before returning it to the United States. Then, in 1819, the first steamship of tourists arrived. The tourists have never stopped coming.


I didn’t grow up aware of Mackinac Island. I wasn’t even sure what I was getting into the first time we drove the ten hours from Lafayette, Indiana to the tip of Michigan’s mitten. I knew is it took a long time to reach this tiny dot on the map. It didn’t take me long to learn the island had worked hard to preserve a feel of days long ago. It took even less time to fall in love with this retreat. We’ve stayed at the Grand, in B&Bs and in Mackinaw City. Each time, I couldn’t wait to reach the island and explore its roads, shops, and Fort. It was only natural that it became the perfect place to set a contemporary romance.


A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island: Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late?  Read the first chapter here.


Love Finds You on Mackinac Island: It’s the height of the Gilded Age, but Elena Bissette’s family has lost most of its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, and they spend summers there in hopes of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls at the Grand Hotel, she spends her days walking along the island’s rugged coastline. There she meets Chase, a young fisherman who invites her to watch the ships from an abandoned lighthouse. The two begin to meet there in secret, hoping to solve a decades-old mystery. Meanwhile, Elena’s mother contrives introductions between Elena and the island’s most eligible bachelor, an elusive millionaire named Chester Darrington. When Elena’s two worlds unexpectedly collide, she will be in for the surprise of her life. Read the first chapter here. 

Comments 24

  1. What beautiful homes in that photograph!

    We have horse-drawn carriages in the downtown part of St. Louis and around Christmas-time in Tillies Park but it’d be lovely to live in a place where people get around without vehicles. My guess is that most people live off the island (too expensive?) and the people who do live there have been there forever.

    Has anyone who’s been to Mackinac Island know whether there’s any truth to this?

    Curious,

    Lauren Miller

    Reply

  4. Lauren, that sounds beautiful! Veronica, I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit to the island. The fudge is pretty incredible isn’t it Paula, thanks for sharing the word!

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  8. What a wonderful idea to pair these books, a historical and contemporary with the same setting. I’d love to read both of them. Thanks for having this contest to give them to a blessed winner (plus the fudge!). Yes, I’m a chocolate lover!

    pmk56[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

    Reply

  9. Love the idea of then & now at one of Michigan’s ideal vacation spots! Now we live in NC but we visit MI several times a year to see family. A few years ago, we took our kids on a tour of Mackinac Island, the Soo Locks and Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes.

    Thanks for the contest!
    crwg96(at)aol(dot)com

    Reply

  10. I’ve lived in Michigan all my life and have been to Mackinac Island numerous times. I love it there! Such a peaceful and beautiful vacationn spot. Thanks for offering this giveaway!
    Nancee

    Reply

  13. Mackinac Island is a wonderful fun place to visit. The boat ride over to the Island was a blast! I hope to go back again some day.

    Great tour and giveaway!

    Blessings!
    Judy sweetpea.judy(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply

  14. Pam, it was one of those ideas that hit me when I finished Melanie’s book. They complement each other so well. Carol, our other favorite spot to return to is Highlands, NC. Love that quaint town!. Nancee, Michigan seems like a state with much to offer. Karen, both books are a great way to return to the island without actually going. Judy, I think the ferry is my kids’ favorite part of the trip.

    Reply

  19. Hi Cara, I have your book! My daughter and her family have visited Mackinac Island; alas, just me by the movie. The silence and the hoof clip-clops are great. My husband and I actually heard them once traveling amid an Amish community with no other sound. Very soothing. I would like a copy of Melanie’s book. Kathleen

    Reply

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