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Writer’s Digest is particularly proud to highlight our recommended read of the month in December because the author, Kristen Harnisch, is member of the Writer’s Digest community. At our 2012 conference, she made connections that led to her agent. At the 2013 event, she connected with keynote Adriana Trigiani to secure a blurb for her book. And at our 2014 event, we were proud to host Kristen as one of our speakers.

Kristen’s novel, The Vintner’s Daughter, is an extraordinary read – something that would make a great last-minute gift for Christmas, or a perfect pick to start reading in the new year. The Vintner’s Daughter is also available as a Blackstone audio book, narrated by award-winning voice actor Tavia Gilbert.

Blackstone is providing WD readers with a chance to win a FREE download of the audio book. All you have to do is comment on this article or on this Facebook post and tell us why you love books. We’ll select one winner at random. Deadline is December 25, 2015 (Christmas day!).

The Vintner’s Daughter
By Kristen Harnisch

Loire Valley, 1895. When seventeen-year-old Sara Thibault’s father is killed in a mudslide, her mother sells their vineyard to a rival family whose eldest son marries Sara’s sister, Lydia. But a violent tragedy compels Sara and her sister to flee to New York, forcing Sara to put aside her dream to follow in her father’s footsteps as a master winemaker. Meanwhile, Philippe Lemieux has arrived in California with the ambition of owning the largest vineyard in Napa by 1900. When he receives word of his brother’s death in France, he resolves to bring the killer to justice. Sara has travelled to California in hopes of making her own way in the winemaking world. When she encounters Philippe in a Napa vineyard, they are instantly drawn to one another, but Sara knows he is the one man who could return her family’s vineyard to her, or send her straight to the guillotine. This riveting tale of betrayal, retribution, love, and redemption, Kristen Harnisch’s debut novel immerses readers in the rich vineyard culture of both the Old and New Worlds, the burgeoning cities of late nineteenth-century America and a spirited heroine’s fight to determine her destiny.

“Lush and evocative, this novel brings the Loire Valley and its glorious vineyards to life in a story that will delight readers everywhere. Enjoy with your favorite glass of Merlot.”
–Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife

“Will invoke inevitable comparisons to Gone with the Wind…A pleasure.”
–Roberta Rich, bestselling author of The Midwife of Venice

About the Author

Kristen Harnisch drew upon her extensive research and experiences living in the San Francisco Bay Area and visiting the Loire Valley to create the story for The Vintner’s Daughter, her debut novel. The Vintner’s Daughter is the first in a series about the changing world of vineyard life at the turn of the century and was published by HarperCollins Canada and by She Writes Press in the United States. Visit the author online at www.kristenharnisch.com or follow her on Twitter @KristenHarnisch.