THE MAN HE NEVER WAS - James L Rubart - One Free Book (You'll want this one!)

Bio: James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man's body. He thinks he's still young enough to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons, and loves to send readers on journeys they'll remember months after they finish his stories. He's the best-selling, Christy BOOK of the YEAR, CAROL, INSPY and RT Book Reviews award winning author of nine novels, a speaker, branding expert, co-host of the Novel Marketing podcast, and co-founder of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Washington. More at www.jameslrubart.com

Welcome back, James. The first line of your bio made me laugh. I interviewed Sharlene Maclaren on “The Lena Nelson Dooley Show” on the Along Came a Writer Blogtalk radio network. We talked about the age we feel inside being so far distant from our bodily age. Since you’re being published regularly, what new avenues will your future books take?

I’m excited because things are changing! I’ve always published traditionally, but I recently got the rights back to my first three novels so I’ll be reissuing them with added bonus material. In addition, I’m working on a series of indie novels with Susan May Warren that will start to release in 2019. My indie books will help promote my traditionally published books and vice versa.

I’ve been doing some indie publishing, and my last indie book won the Faith, Hope, and Love Reader’s Choice Award last year. It was the only indie to final. What conferences will you be attending this year? Will you be a speaker at any of them?  

I’m cutting back this year on conferences, but will be speaking at the Spokane Christian Writers conference in March, at the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference in St Paul, Minnesota, in July, and at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference in August.

If you were in charge of planning the panel discussion at a writing conference, what topic would the panel cover, and who would you ask to be on the panel, and why?    

Great question! The topic would be how to write from the deep heart, and the identity of a writer. The panel would include Susan May Warren, Ted Dekker, and I might slip in there for a question or two.

I’d love to hear that panel. How important is it to you to be active in writing organizations?

When I started out, it was critical. I made connections, found inspiration and encouragement, and formed relationships with people who are now some of my closest friends. These days I’m still involved, but more by trying to help other writers. I’ve formed a company with my son called The Rubart Writing Academy where I teach authors how to get published, and maybe most importantly discover the theme of their lives which gives the motivation to keep going when they fell like giving up. We did our first Academy last October and the students said it was life changing. It’s a thrill to get to do it with my son.

           

Maybe I should interview you on “The Lena Nelson Dooley Show” about the academy. Email me if you’re interested. Where in the community or your church do you volunteer?

Darci and I are in a wonderful spot (empty nesters) where we can invest time in younger couples who are going through the struggles of young parenthood and marriage. Also, I’m part of a weekly men’s group where we read a book and talk about it. Was a thrill last summer when they chose to read one of my novels. Quite fun being a fly on the wall and seeing what they got out of it.

If you could write the inscription on your tombstone, what would it be?

Brought the Light of Christ to Everyone Around Him

I like that. Tell us about the featured book.         

What if You Woke Up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?

Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man, but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep with no notice, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.

His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been, but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.

But then shards of his old self start to rise up from deep inside—the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.

In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story, James L. Rubart explores the war between good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.

Please share the first page with us.

Toren Daniels rolled over in bed and light pierced his closed eyelids, which meant five a.m. had come and gone. Which meant Quinn was already at the gym, into his third set. Which meant Toren would be buying lunch at the end of the week. And Quinn ate like a whale when he was training heavy. Toren groaned. He’d set two alarms on his phone and still overslept. Not good.

Toren opened his eyes for a second, then immediately closed them against the sunshine, far too bright. His head. Yeah, he’d been pushing his conditioning hard for the past seven weeks, but the haze swirling through his mind along with the dull ache that pressed in from all angles in his skull didn’t feel like the usual day after hard sprints and heavy weights. It felt like the day six years back, the only time he’d ever been rip-roaring drunk, after he’d made the team and all the vets forced Toren and the rest of the rookies to drink far past a rational level. At least he hadn’t puked. Right now? Same feeling. And his stomach might win this time.

What was wrong with him? He lay still, head on the pillow, eyes closed. Took in a deep breath, a vain attempt to clear his senses. Didn’t help. He ignored the pain in his head. He had to ping Quinn, apologize for blowing the workout. Toren covered his eyes with one hand and with his other reached for his cell phone, which he always placed in the same spot on his nightstand, a few inches from the edge, a few inches from the front. His fingers searched the smooth surface of the wood in widening circles. He blew out a sigh of exasperation, turned his head to the side, and opened his eyes again. The phone wasn’t anywhere on his nightstand. Worse, this was not his nightstand. Toren’s heart hammered.

“Sloane?”

He twisted and clutched a handful of the white sheets on the king-size mattress, blinking. Except for three pillows lumped up against the headboard, the bed was empty. His wife wasn’t there. His heart pumped. This wasn’t their bed, their room. The increased pulse brought a new level of throbbing to his brain. Toren did a slow half-circle spin until he sat upright on the edge of the bed, still squinting against the light. Why was it taking his eyes so long to adjust? He blinked and rubbed his eyes as he took in the room. A hotel room. Why? It made no sense. He’d gone to bed last night at home after a movie night with the kids, Sloane next to him, his alarm set for four forty. Toren staggered to his feet and wobbled over to the bathroom door.

“Sloane?”

No response. Toren pushed open the door. No lights. No Sloane standing under a rainfall of steaming water. He was alone. His pulse increased as his gaze swept the room and spotted nothing familiar except a pair of Nike sweats and a Seattle Seahawk’s T-shirt lying over the back of the overstuffed chair next to the window. Toren slipped on the sweats but hesitated with the shirt. His old team. The one he wanted to rage against for releasing him—but the cutting truth was he’d pulled the pin on that grenade all by himself. Still, whoever was behind this had a distorted sense of humor.

Where can my readers find you on the Internet?

On my website http://jameslrubart.com/ where they can sign up for my newsletter and get a free copy of one of my short stories.

On my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JamesLRubart/  

On Twitter: @jamesLrubart

On The Rubart Writing Academy website: http://rubartwritingacademy.com/  

Thanks for having me, Lena!

As always, it’s my great pleasure. - I. Love. Your. Books. - That first page made me want to read your book right now, but I only have 8 days to meet a book deadline. Maybe my copy will be her by the time I meet the deadline.

Readers, here are links to the book.

The Man He Never Was - Christianbook.com
The Man He Never Was: A Modern Reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde - Amazon paperback
The Man He Never Was: A Modern Reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde - Kindle
The Man He Never Was: A Modern Reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde - Audio bookl

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