Why I wrote Paint the Storm
In case you haven’t seen my latest news, my new novel Paint the Storm was released on October 10. What’s so special about that? you may wonder. Well, PTS deals with a very controversial, and possibly uncomfortable, topic: same-sex marriage. In light of last year’s landmark Supreme Court case, how are we Christians to deal with this new reality?
That is the question I attempted to answer when I wrote this story.
When I began writing Paint the Storm three years ago, same-sex marriage was not yet legal in the US. At the time, I approached the story as if it were a likely future scenario. Two years later, it was no longer a “what if.” It became reality when, in June 2015, the US Supreme Court affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Unfortunately, it’s an issue which has polarized our nation, and even our churches.
You may be wondering why I would tackle such a controversial topic. In essence, I saw an unfilled niche in the Christian market for edgier fiction that dealt with issues unique to our time, and came up with the concept of Hot Topic Fiction (HTF). My stories aren’t afraid to explore the question, how does God want us Christians to live out our faith in this not-so-brave new world? Without insulting the reader by offering pat or easy answers—because there aren’t any—my books tell of ordinary Christians following hard after Christ in a world of terror and violence, upside-down morality, and hostility to Judeo-Christian values. The characters in my stories face situations that would have been unthinkable even 20 years ago. We live in a vastly different world than our parents did, and that’s the world I write about.
Yet very few Christian fiction books contain gay characters, even though fiction is a great medium for imparting life lessons. I don’t claim to have all the answers. My goal was not to push an agenda. I simply wanted to tell the story of one Christian mom, and how she chose to live out Christ’s law of love without abandoning her convictions.
Download here.
I hope that more Christian authors will be courageous enough to tackle this and related issues in the future. After all, this is the world in which we live. And we Christians need to be prepared to deal with it.
Here’s the blurb:
GOLDEN STATE TRILOGY, BOOK I: Set amidst the spectacular scenery of California’s Marin Peninsula, Paint the Storm tells a timely story that resonates in today’s culture. It’s a saga of God’s power to heal relationships and answer prayers in the unlikeliest of ways. It’s a tale of loss, danger, and ultimately love.
When her daughter Linzee announces her engagement to her partner Nena, artist and single mother Meg struggles to understand how God wants her to respond. Should she follow the culture around her by embracing and celebrating Linzee’s same-sex relationship? And what does Christ think of a local church notorious for its hateful anti-gay messages? While she wrestles with these questions, she turns to a Christian support group where she learns what it means to love like Christ did. An intriguing new man makes life interesting, but while she is getting to know him, another man from her past suddenly shows up, further complicating matters.
Meanwhile, a cyber bully is targeting Linzee. His hateful messages turn threatening. Meg and Linzee rekindle their bond as together they determine to uncover the stalker’s identity. When the clues point toward Meg’s own family, she is paralyzed with fear. The violence escalates–until the day Linzee turns up missing. In her search for Linzee, Meg joins up with the unlikeliest of allies – and begins to see God’s hand at work. It’s only when she turns to her support-group friends for comfort and prayer that she finally understands God’s faithfulness through the deepest of trials.
Join Meg on her adventure toward love, healing, and a heart-warming conclusion.
Source: Why I wrote Paint the Storm
Giveaway, Part 2 – What’s better than a 99 cent book?
Answer: A free book!
For this week’s giveaway, I’ll draw one name of a new follower or subscriber, and announce the winner next Tuesday, Nov 24. The winner will receive a copy of my 4-star ebook, When Lyric Met Limerick.
Guidelines to enter:
- Just fill in your email on my home page and sign up as a subscriber.
- Or, if you’re already a subscriber, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. I’ll be pulling a new follower’s name out of my hat from all my social media sites!
- For a greater chance to win, you may sign up on all four sites if you wish.
- Only residents of countries with access to Amazon are eligible to enter. I still love ya, I just don’t have a way to send you a copy 🙂
Hot Topics in Fiction with Guest Candee Fick
Dear Readers,
Do you like college football? I certainly do. And so does new author Candee Fick. In fact, her new novel is set in the always-exciting college football world.This intrigued me, so I invited her to share with us a little about her new release and the hot topics it addresses.
First off, can you tell us about the premise of your debut?
Catch of a Lifetime is an inspirational romance about a first year college football coach who wants to win and the football-hating graduate student athletic trainer who has to work with the team. Of course, romantic relationships between staff and students are discouraged and they must keep their growing attraction hidden behind a wall of professionalism in order to avoid a scandal.
Sounds intriguing. Did you have a message you wanted readers to come away with?
I wanted to show a real example of how people look at and judge each other based on the outside, but God sees the heart. While my heroine’s opinions about football change as she gets to know the individuals on the team, headlines over the past year indicate that our nation still wrestles with broader stereotypes and prejudice based on race, political party, moral convictions, and even career choices like law enforcement. Unfortunately, those damaging and divisive stereotypes are often rooted in the poor behavior of specific individuals.
Can you think of an example?
Take, for instance, a narcissistic football player. His athletic skill may have propelled him to the limelight and then he starts to believe the world revolves around him. That every ball should be thrown to him so that he gets the statistics and credit. That every girl on campus should be begging for his attention. That the rules don’t apply to him. After meeting such an egomaniac, one could assume that all of the other players on the team feel the same sense of entitlement.
However, just because a team has such a player (or two), doesn’t mean everyone on the team is that self-absorbed. Some, in fact, are hard-workers with personal integrity and a strong sense of right and wrong. While my heroine learns to not judge the whole group by the actions of one, it was also satisfying through the course of the story to have the narcissist suffer the natural consequences of his behavior and get taken down by the good guys.
Nice. So, your book touches on negative stereotypes and narcissism. Any other hot topics?
How about sex? Or rather maintaining sexual purity despite temptations and external pressure? My hero and heroine had to work to keep their attraction to each other within the safe boundaries of their personal faith convictions and I tried to give an honest picture of their struggle in the context of a college football environment. However, as one reviewer already pointed out, I ended up also showing readers practical solutions like accountability and staying in public places. I believe that’s the purpose of touching on a hot topic … to meet readers where they are and leave them with hope.
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CATCH OF A LIFETIME: He breathes football. She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game he cherishes and the woman he loves.
Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. In what little free time remains, she enjoys exploring the great Colorado outdoors, indulging in dark chocolate, and savoring happily-ever-after endings through a good book.
Click here to purchase or get a sneak preview.
Thank you, Candee, for visiting my blog today!
~DVC~
Meet My Guest for Today, Brenda S. Anderson. Author of Gritty Fiction
DVC: My fellow author Brenda S. Anderson is here to say hi and tell us about herself and her writing journey.
First of all, Brenda, thank you for visiting today. I am intrigued that you write what you describe as “gritty” fiction. It sounds a lot like the type of fiction I like to read and write. Tell us why you decided to write that type of fiction.
“When I sit down to write, the stories that come alive on my computer all tend to focus on broken people and messy lives. If you look at the majority of fiction released under the Christian fiction umbrella, you’ll see gritty fiction isn’t the norm, and the edgy books that are out there aren’t big sellers. So why write gritty fiction when the market doesn’t support it? Well, I have a number of reasons:
“It’s What I Enjoy Reading. When I look for books to read, I quickly skim past the sweet romances and cozy mysteries, not because they’re poor quality (which they aren’t), but because I prefer what I call meaty fiction. I want to read a book I can ‘sink my teeth into.’ I love stories that challenge me and make me think, not ones that merely provide entertainment. I want to read about God’s broken people because He can do such a mighty work through them.
“Out of Obedience. Most authors will tell you they’re called to write. They can’t not write. And that’s true with me as well. Although my stories aren’t your typical Christian fiction fare, they are all stories God puts on my heart—I have to tell them, and then trust that He will get them to the right readers.
“Writing Allows Me to Speak Out. I’m normally a quiet person, one who doesn’t like to make waves, but I also know God doesn’t want us to sit on life’s sidelines when we live in a very fallen world. Writing stories allows me to speak out on those topics I’m passionate about. My first published work, Chain of Mercy, centered around a man going through post-abortion syndrome. Pieces of Granite is about a couple who struggles with their marriage after learning their unborn child has Down syndrome. My new release, Hungry for Home, is about a homeless teen. Stories touch people’s hearts in a deeper way than non-fiction, so my hope is that my stories will get someone to think beyond their cozy little world.
“It Helps Me See From Multiple Perspectives. In Hungry for Home, I tell the story from a homeless teen’s perspective and a wealthy couple’s perspective, along with some minor characters points of view. All are going to see the world through their own unique lens. Writing their stories helps me see people’s hearts, the heart God sees, not that the world sees.
DVC: I love the cover of your new release, Hungry for Home. Can you tell us more about it?
About Hungry for Home
After a troubling encounter with a pregnant teen, Sheila Peterson-Brooks hurries from the crisis pregnancy center into the frigid Minnesota winter where she is mugged and left for dead. After a frantic search, Richard, her husband, finds her, and the police quickly nab the mugger …
A hungry, homeless teen.
The brother of the pregnant girl Sheila had just counseled.The girl pleads for her brother, and Sheila and Richard choose not to press charges. Instead, they open their home to the boy, a move that could cost them their possessions, and their hearts.And, in the process, teach them the true meaning of home.
Pre-Order Hungry for Home for Kindle: http://amzn.to/1VtIb8h
Brenda S. Anderson bio:
Brenda S. Anderson writes gritty and authentic, life-affirming fiction. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and is currently President of the ACFW Minnesota chapter, MN-NICE. When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, theater, roller coasters, and baseball, and she loves watching movies with her family. She lives in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area with her husband of 28 years, their three children, and one sassy cat.
Readers can learn more about Brenda S. Anderson at www.brendaandersonbooks.com
Get in touch with Brenda:
- Website:http://brendaandersonbooks.com/
- Blogs: http://brendaandersonbooks.com/blog/ http://inkspirationalmessages.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendaSAndersonAuthor
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrendaSAnders_n
- Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/brendabanderson/
- Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/brendasanderson
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/BrendaSAnderson
Dawn V. Cahill - Hot Topic Christian Fiction 