Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!
- The hunt BEGINS on 4/10 at noon Mountain with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
- Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
- There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 4/13 at midnight Mountain)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
- Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!
I’m Karen Witemeyer. I write western historical romance with feisty heroines, swoon-worthy Texas heros, lots of adventure, and a healthy dash of humor. I’m delighted to introduce you to my latest western fairy tale retelling – To Love a Beast. Beauty and the Beast is my all-time favorite fairy tale. A bookish heroine. A wounded hero. Courage and kindness bringing an unlikely love to life. It just makes my heart happy.
As I brainstormed this novel, I thought it would be fun to create a heroine who not only loved to read, but one who was also in the book business. That’s when I discovered the Guild of Woman Bookbinders.
During the later years of the 19th century, custom bookbinding became popular among the wealthy in Europe and America. The arts and crafts movement flourished during this time in response to growing industrialization and mass-production of products. A demand for skilled aritsans rose, and many women stepped into the gap with their keen eye for design. In fact, by the early 1900’s, women bookbinders outnumbered their male counterparts. The Guild of Woman Bookbinders was established in 1898. Before the guild, women in the industry would work alongside husbands or fathers, but by the late 1800’s they came into their own as independent binders who signed their own work.
It was an honor to have Callista Rosenfeld follow in these ladies’ footsteps!
Here’s the Stop #8 Basics:
If you’re interested, you can preorder To Love a Beast on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It releases on June 10.
Clue to Write Down:
Spring is
Link to Stop #9, the Next Stop on the Loop: Ann H. Gabhart’s site!
Extra Giveaway
In addition to the scavenger hunt prizes, I’m offering a separate giveaway just for readers who visit this page.
In keeping with the Beauty & the Beast theme, you can win an ebook copy of To Love a Beast, a Belle reading sign, and a rose-themed teacup. The winner will be announced in the comments of this post on April 22.
(US addresses only for the plaque and teacup. Any international winner chosen will receive the ebook only.)
Have fun on the rest of the hunt!
Latest posts by Karen Witemeyer (see all)
- Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #8 - April 9, 2025
- The Mathematics of Dancing - April 3, 2025
- Inside a Writer’s Brain - March 20, 2025
Very interesting information about bookbinding.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Texas Ever After series. I read If the Boot Fits first–I actually couldn’t put it down! I immediately scooped up Cloaked in Beauty and devoured it as well. Somehow I missed Fairest of Heart when it came out–but I finally found it–in my local library–and devoured it as well.
I’m not sure which novel was my favorite–but I imagine you had a lot of fun re-imagining the seven dwarfs as retired cowboys on the Diamond D Ranch in Fairest of Heart.
Thanks for writing such a wonderful series!
Thanks so much, Martha. I’ve really enjoyed reimagining the fairy tales I grew up with. I’m delighted that you have enjoyed them, too. 🙂
I would have loved to be a bookbinder, although I would have been tempted to stop and read what I was binding. 😛
To Love a Beast sounds awesome. Looking forward to it
Thanks, Mark! Coming soon!
Me too! Unless it was some stuffy old law book. Ha!
I love a good fairy tale retelling! I had no idea book binding was such a big business for women either! So fascinating.
I love hen I learn interesting tidbits like this. 🙂
Thank you Karen, look forward to reading your latest. Love your books
Thanks, Kathy!
Always love learning the history behind the stories, Karen. Wonderful discovery! I’m hoping to catch up on these retellings as soon as I get past a couple more edit jobs. Happy writing!
I love those tidbits, too, Andrea. It’s one of the reasons historical fiction appeals to me so much. Happy editing! 🙂
Thank you, Karen!
So interesting about the book binders. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites, too. Looking forward to your new book!
Thanks, Kelsey!
doesn’t give me credit for following on Bookbub on the giveaway
Hmm – I’m not sure why that happened, Sheila, but I will make a note. Thanks!
Thanks for the chance to win the cool stuff. Interesting fact about the women bookbinders.
You’re welcome, Sue. 🙂
Thank you for the historical information.
To Love a Beast looks like it will be a very interesting read.
I especially love the cover!