Tell us a little about your family. I’m married to my
husband of 48 years this July. We reared two children—a son who is almost 40
and working as an aid to those with disabilities. My daughter is an artist. Her medium is colored pencil and her subjects
are critters of all kinds.
Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
I read a lot of Christian fiction. Reading helps to hone my own writing
skills. Studying how someone else wrote
a scene helps me improve my own scenes.
There’s something about absorbing someone else’s prose that lends
strength to my own. A writer who doesn’t
read is a writer who doesn’t publish.
What are you working on right now? I have a women’s
fiction tale set on a fictitious island in the Strait of Georgia, British
Columbia. This story involves blackmail,
conflict between heirs, and a child in danger.
What outside interests do you have? I scrapbook, play
piano, bird watch, and love flowers.
How do you choose your settings for each book? The
setting is usually dictated by the storyline. One of my books was about wild
horses so I had to have the characters live in a region where horses could
roam. Another book involved commercial fishermen where they were stuck in Dutch
Harbor Alaska.
If you could spend an evening with one historical person,
who would it be and why? I’d like to spend time with Mary, mother of Jesus.
When I think of her and the courage it must have taken to rear Jesus, watch him
die, and go on living after the crucifixion, I stand in awe of her.
What is the one thing you wish you had known before you
started writing novels? Marketing my books has taken me by
surprise. That’s is a third career in itself. I’m not good at it and it claims
a lot of time.
What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?
I’m having some severe mobility issues, and I’m learning how
to trust the Lord for each day.
What are the three best things you can tell other authors
to do to be successful?
*Never,
never, never give up.
*Pray
before every writing session. Let God direct your writing. Don’t miss a day.
*Involve
yourself with other writers. Draw from their strength.
Tell us about the featured book. This story takes
readers back to where the Mueller Rescue Ranch began. Jayden Clarke, the foster
child in the original story Love Calls Her Home is now grown and
returned from a tour in Afghanistan. He’s been wounded and has not fulfilled
his dream of following in his father’s footsteps, so he is disillusioned and
unsure of his future. His high school best friend Baylie Summers is waiting for
his return, her own recent past full of regrets.
Back Cover Copy
Growing up Jayden Clarke dreamed of becoming a Marine like
his late father, who was killed in Afghanistan when Jayden was nine. His foster
dad, Kurt, was also a decorated soldier. But his own encounter with a narrowly
missed IED in Afghanistan leaves Jayden wounded and honorably discharged. He
returns home defeated, his dream destroyed, not certain what his future will
hold. Who will he become now? Is there anyone he can turn to?
Baylie Summers, two years out of college, has returned to
the Mueller Rescue ranch where her best friend Jayden Clarke once lived as a
foster teen. She hasn’t seen him since they graduated six years ago but she’s
thrilled when she lands the job as the ranch’s fundraising newsletter
writer. Seeking refuge from the storms
of life, Baylie waits for Jayden to return home, hoping he’ll have wisdom to
help her recover from past incidents she wants to forget. Once a foster child
herself, she fears Jayden might not like the woman she’s become. Will telling
her secret make her lose Jayden forever?
Please give us the first page of the book.
CHAPTER ONE
“Stay low, Private.” Jayden Clarke rolled the injured man
into a rocky outcropping along the side of the Jalalabad-Kabul road and patted
his shoulder. “I’m going back up.”
“No, Clarke!” The man rasped. “You’ll be a target.”
Jayden ignored his plea and turned away, crawling toward the
burning Humvee in which he and four others had been riding only moments before.
One wheel caught only a minor shock of an IED blast, but the vehicle had
overturned, throwing them out. Enemy fire pelted the air above causing debris to
churn like a sand storm. His courage waned the closer he got. An image of his
hero dad flashed before his eyes. Had Dad braved a hailstorm of bullets like
this when he was pinned down by enemy fire? Did he feel death coming at him?
Did he persist in spite of it all? Jayden swallowed.
I will make you proud.
He dismissed the images and focused on his target. Were any
more men stranded beneath the vehicle’s overturned frame? Dust choked the air,
making him wheeze. He slithered on his belly toward the wreckage, squinting
through the cloud of smoke.
Steadying himself on one knee, he scanned the area for other survivors. Seeing
no one he turned to go back the way he came. Before he could clear the
pavement, another deafening blast rocked the ground. The Humvee rolled to its
back in the force of this new explosion, catching Jayden’s right leg beneath
its front tire. He screamed, the weight of the vehicle against his thigh
pinning him to the ground. Pain raced up his calf, knee throbbing.
He tried to see through the haze, his safety glasses askew
on his nose, but countless fragments flew from the cloud of smoke and blinded
him. Shapes danced like images in a fun house mirror, grotesque figures that
laughed from the reflection. In a last effort to make sense of what he saw he
squinted, collapsing as everything around him dissolved to shades of gray.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
Facebook: @patricialeebooks
Website: www.authorpatricialee.net
Twitter @lee_patricia__
Linked In: Pat Lee
Thanks, Patricia, for sharing In Search of Forever with
my blog readers.
Readers,
here’s a link to the book.
Leave
a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these
instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least
the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments
containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void
where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants.
Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of
the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining
local/federal/international laws.
The
only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to
check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 2 weeks from
the posting of the winners to claim your book.
If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
3 comments:
Brenda from Mississippi. This sounds like a great book. You are a new author to me.
This sounds like a story I would enjoy reading. Linda in CA
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Nichols SC.
Post a Comment