Finding My Destynee Book Blog Tour and #Giveaway #LoneStarLit

True heart’s desire cannot be ignored.

Destynee Olsen has always done what her mother asked, but the road to stardom could mean leaving behind a piece of her heart.

Travis Olsen tries desperately to honor his vow to support his wife. Watching their son grow up without a mother is asking too much and his resentment builds. A marriage alone and single parenting is not what he signed up for.

The line has been drawn between a woman who has been told that her destiny to be a star is more important than she is and a cowboy who refuses to destroy his wife’s dream. Destynee and Travis have to decide what’s important. Can they discover the life they were meant to have at the risk of denying their own hearts?

“Songs that Inspired the Writing”

by Natalie Cline Bright

Authors find inspiration from a variety of sources. Sometimes, when we least expect it, a story idea pops into our head with characters and a setting so vivid it’s almost as if we’ve seen the movie before. That’s what happened to me with the idea for the character of DESTYNEE. The storyline formed in my head from a song one night while I surfed YouTube. I shared the idea with Denise, and then my co-author added her own twists to the plot, and away we went.  We matched the character of Destynee to Travis, the youngest Olsen family son in our new family saga about a Texas ranching family.

The song that started it all is “Everything that Glitters (Is Not Gold)” sung by Dan Seals. The unforgettable acoustic version that I stumbled on was part of the Ryman Country Homecoming in 1999. The song is about a rodeo queen and the choice she made for her life. What would make a young mother walk away from her husband and child? And then we added a twist; what if it wasn’t even her dream to have a career, but someone else’s?

You can click on the Video link to watch Dan Seal sing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWUOU85Gmng

Travis Olsen knew Destynee was the one for him the first moment he saw her ride into the arena holding on to a flag at a local high school rodeo. They became inseparable ever since he first got up the nerve to say hello.

Travis and Destynee are married now with a son, Wyatt, and the story begins with Travis juggling life as a single parent because his mother-in-law has booked his wife to sing throughout the month of December. And you cannot argue with the force that is his mother-in-law. The words in Dan Seal’s song are heart-wrenching as the story is told by the man who has been left behind, just like the character in our book. Travis would never stand in the way of his wife’s dream.

Music can offer comfort or joy, and it even inspires stories. Listening to songs can help writers tap into the emotions of their characters which in turn allows us to pass that on to our readers. Here are a few other songs that inspired me while I worked on FINDING MY DESTYNEE.

Luke Combs sings about his love for the business in “Doin’ This”. No doubt our character Destynee loves singing, and she had never questioned that path before. As a wife and mother her priorities change, and she begins to doubt the true purpose of her life.

Watch Luke Combs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YSqaI3IBpo

Meanwhile, Travis is stuck at home. He sinks into a dark pit and turns to alcohol as he reflects on the reasons Destynee left while arguing with himself over the promise he made to her. He could never stand in the way of her talent. The holiday is empty without her.

There are so many great songs about forgetting lost love and broken hearts, but since this book takes place in December a holiday song seemed to fit the setting better.

Taylor Swift sings about “Christmases When You Were Mine” which taps into Travis’ emotion perfectly.

Taylor Swift here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuEl95hxdg4

“Typical Texas bar scene. Midnight Rodeo featured a sea of cowboy hats worn by men who’d never seen the sunrise from a saddle. They were there for the girls. Nobody was there for Destynee or her music.” —FINDING MY DESTYNEE by Natalie Bright and Denise F. McAllister

Destynee defies her mother, Julee Rae, and sneaks a few traditional holiday songs into her country music sets as they travel across Texas performing at various events. She has never resisted her mother before, but she cannot ignore the calming sense of purpose she feels when she sings what she wants. The bar room crowds love it, of course. Below are a few of the songs Destynee performs, despite her mother’s wishes to stick to traditional country.

Dolly Parton sings “Mary Did You Know”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JAW_7BAs-g

Carrie Underwood sings “How Great Thou Art”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf6C0L_7-CA

Julie Andrews sings “My Favorite Things”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6dd7ikrXs

Each book in our Olsen Family Series is a stand-alone novel, focusing on one of the siblings of the Olsen family clan.

Let us know how you like Travis and Destynee’s story. We love hearing from our readers.