Welcome to the Blog Tour for Chain of Mercy by Brenda S. Anderson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! Be sure to check out my fun guest post below from Brenda!
About the Book
Title: Chain of Mercy
Series: Coming Home
Author: Brenda Anderson
Publisher: Independently published through The Mosaic Collection (2nd ed.)
Release Date: April 22, 2014 (1st ed.)
Genre: Contemporary Romance (Christian)
A devastating argument
One reckless decision
An unforgivable sin
Successful Manhattan businessman Richard Brooks is living the dream, drunk with success and all its trappings, until one reckless decision turns his dream life into a living nightmare.
Richard flees to Minneapolis where he repairs ancient boilers instead of solving corporate problems, and he's determined to live the solitary life he now deserves.
Executive Sheila Peterson has other plans for the handsome custodian. Richard appears to be the perfect match for the no-strings-attached romance she's after, but she soon discovers that he's hiding more than the designer clothes in his closet.
Richard can't deny the allure of a relationship with Sheila. The closer they get, though, the greater the risk that she will discover not only who he used to be but also the unforgivable sin he committed that reckless night.
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub
Guest Post:
What do you like best about starting a new series? Do you like getting to know the characters as they're fleshed out as you write, making a new "world" come to life from your imagination, watching as the story in your mind comes to life on the page, or...?
Personally, I appreciate Christian fiction that tackles the grittier side of life. How do you determine the level of "grit" you use in a story and what that topic will be?
I’m always glad to meet readers who appreciate stories with some “grit” in them. Personally, that’s what I love to read, and when I put my fingers to the keyboard, that’s what comes out. I prefer stories that deal with real life, and that have imperfect, relatable characters. Think Nancy Drew vs. Trixie Belden. Even when I was young, I preferred Trixie over Nancy because Nancy was too perfect, and I couldn’t relate to her whereas Trixie was always messing up.
As for determining which lines to cross, that varies with each book.
In Chain of Mercy, a story that includes abortion, you have to allude to sex. One character is a prodigal and another never believed, so that determines the author’s first step. Those characters aren’t going to believe or behave as Christians would. Another book of mine, A Beautiful Mess, is about a couple who divorced after he had an affair. As far as what to include, I never go behind closed doors, but I will not ignore that something is going on behind that door.
The topics I choose often come from the news. I’ll hear a news story and wonder, what happened afterward? Or what made those people act that way? And I’ll have to “finish” their story from my perspective and ask God to show me the heart that He sees, often in very broken people.
Years ago, I’d watched an interview with a woman who’d fought for years for her husband’s release from prison, and she finally won that battle. The interviewer asked how they were doing now, and she replied that they were divorced. My first thought was, you loved him enough to fight hard for him but couldn’t stay married?
Well, that story needed to be explored, which meant including scenes inside a prison. I couldn’t have prisoners speak on the page as they would in real life, so I had to come up with creative ways to allude to the course language without putting it in print. Sometimes it was as simple as “he cursed” and other times it might be something like, “the language that poured from his mouth was worse than the water in a cesspool.” It shows reality without sharing every detail.
In a way, the allusion creates an illusion for the readers. The story is still gritty, it still deals with real life situations, without having to create an exact replica of the scene.
Thank you for hosting me!
About the Author
Brenda S. Anderson writes authentic and gritty life-affirming fiction that shows God at work in people’s messy lives. She enjoys live sports and theater, walking along the shores of Lake Superior, and sharing hot cocoa with friends and family. She lives near Minneapolis with her newly retired husband and their mischievous twin kitties.
Connect with Brenda at brendaandersonbooks.com to follow her on social media and sign up for email updates.
Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will win a book box which includes a paperback copy of Chain of Mercy and locally crafted, book-related items like a Booktrovert glass tumbler, bath balls, a bookish tote, bookmarks, and much more!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 28, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 4, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for book box. Winner outside the US will receive a $30 Amazon gift card and ebook. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
6 comments:
Sounds like a book I will enjoy.
this is a great post from Brenda! Thanks for sharing it, Mimi :)
I loved your question, Mimi! Thank you for hosting me and spotlighting Chain of Mercy.
This sounds like a great book to read thanks for sharing!
This looks awesome. Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour.
Brenda Anderson is a new-to-me author. Mimi, Thank you for sharing.
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