PRODIGAL LIVES - Carol McClain - One Free Book

Welcome back, Carol. How did you come up with the idea for this story? For several years, I’ve worked with addicts. The solution to their problems sound easy for the uninitiated. However … I’ve seen devoted Christians with an ear to God’s tender voice fall victim again. Without good support groups, they have nowhere to go but back to the conditions that caused them to be addicted.

This is the second book in the Treasured Lives series. Book 1, Borrowed Lives, introduced us to the protagonist, Pearl. I wanted to show the conditions and thought processes that plunge us into darkness. Even though she thinks life stinks, her “perfect” family battles their own issues.

All my books involve the concept of redemption. None of us have fallen so low that God can’t pick us up. The book’s not a downer, but a hope-filled journey of despair, love and redemption.

Oh, also humor. I cannot write without my trademark humor poking through.

If you were planning a party with Christian authors of contemporary fiction, what six people would you invite and why?

Without a doubt, the first person on my list would be Lisa Wingate. I haven’t read a book of hers I didn’t like. Her style and presentation are elements I’d love in my work.

Deb Raney would be on the list. She knows how to set up a character with complex problems with no way out. Plus, her sweet personality is a delightful counterpoint to my pessimism.

Linda Rondeau has mentored me, encouraged me, and opened doors in my writing career I’d never open on my own. Linda’s my doppelganger. We tease each other (both of us space cadets) that we’re the blonde leading the blonde.

Steven James’s writing work has schooled me in this craft. He once had a launch party where the name of someone who attended would be the victim in his next novel. He would be invited under the condition I’m the murdered woman.

Angela Hunt. I’m not a fan of her historical fiction, but I love her contemporary. She holds me spellbound and is an author I’ll pick up without perusing the details of the novel too deeply.

Lynette Eason rounds out my list. I’ve taken classes from her at BRCWC. She taught me so much. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write so much and win so many awards.

Now let’s do that for a party for Christian authors of historical fiction, what six people would you invite and why? Janette Oke’s work filled our library when my daughter was young. We’d sit for hours and read. After she went to bed, I read ahead because I couldn’t stop the story.

Francine Rivers covers so many areas of historical fiction from Appalachia to ancient Israel. Plus, she such a universally loved author, billions of other people would come to my party. Peruse any recommended reading list, she tops the names multiple times.

If we could resurrect the dead, Catherine Marshall. To this day Christy resonates in me.

Tessa Afshar. She’d been in one of my writing groups, and I loved the book I read of hers.

Henry McLaughlin had been in one of my earliest writing groups. He was an excellent critique partner and a delight to be with. We need a man in this party, and who doesn’t love a good Western?

Many times, people (and other authors) think you have it made with so many books published. What is your most difficult problem with writing at this time in your career?

The hardest part is coming up with something new and fresh. Prodigal Lives is second in a series. As I complete this interview, I’m struggling with Book 3. I started Book 3 once and abandoned it after thirty-thousand words. I’m now on a roll, but book launch, editing for Elk Lake, and caring for family eats so much of my time, I shunt writing aside.

Tell us about the featured book. Have you ever fallen so low you know there’s no way up?  

This is Pearl Solomon’s life. Jealous of her sisters who remained with her foster mother after Grandpa Guy adopted her, Pearl makes every wrong decision possible.

Little does she know, life throws roadblocks in her foster parents’ and her sisters’ lives, too.

Life keeps piling problems on Meredith Jaynes. She loses her second foster child—one she was scheduled to adopt. Then Parker Snow refuses to marry her. With only her goats and artisan soap to support her, life will get no better.

If she is honest, though, she still has Crystal. Her funny, happy, loveable toddler makes the sun shine and reminds her of the never-failing love of God.

Pearl Solomon loves her life with her grandfather Guy, but every one of her triumphs is overshadowed by her sisters’ lives. With Mama Meredith, they live a life she envies. Because of her jealousy, she refuses to contact them.

Years later, life for both families twist down paths they do not wish to travel. Pearl knows she’s lost what was most precious in life but has no means of fixing things. Left to her own devices, she spirals out of control.

Meredith finds it harder to mask the despair infertility has brought to her life.

Both families believe they must reconcile themselves to their fates as reality shatters their dreams unless they dig deep for the promise of love.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Nothing ever happened as promised. The warm March

day mocked Meredith Jaynes. A pale sun in a pastel blue

sky shone on her as she clung to Parker Snow. The soft

breeze stirred the redbuds like a scene she’d imagine on

her Hallmark movies. Unfortunately, this was not happily

ever after.

Meredith and Parker stood on the side of the road

watching the social worker’s white car carry her foster child

away. Breathing came hard as her heart squeezed her lungs.

They stood for a long time after Roxie disappeared—gone to

live with Lisa and Todd Simpson. Lisa—the aunt who swore

she only wanted to meet the girls before she signed away

parental rights. Then changed her mind. The Simpsons

would not only take Roxie to Kentucky. They’d fly her to

Korea when the army transferred Todd. 

Roxie left, and Olaf stayed. Another broken promise.

The kitty had been Roxie’s lifeline and should’ve gone

with her. Lisa complained cats irritated her boys’ allergies.

Roxie, though, loved her cat with the orange stripe along

his nose. Didn’t love endure all things?

Meredith’s throat dried. Breathing became impossible.

If Roxie stayed with her, she’d have given the sweet pixie

unicorns and mermaids—or, at the very least, Olaf. Why

couldn’t Roxie stay?

The stupid law.

How can readers find you on the Internet? My favorite places to connect with readers are the following—with my website the best.

On carolmcclain.com you can sign up for my newsletter and blog. You can find out where I’ll be with books and my glass work (I am a glass artist, also).

On Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/author.Carol.McClain

BookBub is a great place to connect. https://www.bookbub.com/profile/carol-mcclain

Finally, Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard?ref=nav_profile_authordash

Prodigal Lives, at the moment, is only found here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60750069-prodigal-lives?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=91KT6OzXsA&rank=2

Thank you, Carol, for sharing this new book on my blog.

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