CHATEAU OF SECRETS - Melanie Dobson - One Free Book

Welcome back, Melanie. Tell us about your salvation experience.

When I was seven, my family flew from Ohio to California to attend a church conference near Disneyland. I don’t remember visiting Disneyland, but I’ll never forget walking down the aisle on the last night of the conference to invite Jesus into my life. It took me awhile to decide to follow Christ, but once I did, I wanted to serve Him with all my heart. Almost forty years later, I am incredibly grateful for God’s many beautiful gifts including grace, redemption, peace, and joy.

Actually, Melanie, I asked Jesus into my heart at a revival in a small town in Arkansas when I was seven years old. You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

The perfect writing retreat would be with the wonderful ladies of my critique group—Leslie Gould, Nicole Miller, Dawn Shipman, Kelly Chang, and Kimberly Felton (I realize that’s actually five, but I can’t leave any of our crew behind!). We are all passionate about writing, and they are an incredible encouragement to me and to each other.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I speak occasionally at writer’s conferences and church events. My family spent last December serving children in Uganda, and I had the privilege of sharing our story at a women’s brunch this spring. I love to encourage writers to pursue their calling and encourage parents to serve either internationally or at home alongside their kids.

I know what you mean. I’ve been on missions trips into Mexico and in Guatemala. What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

I remember being absolutely mortified in college when I slipped and fell in front of hundreds of people in the cafeteria. Food all over the place, me and my nice dress sprawled out on the messy floor. I still shudder when I think about it…

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I tell people that I think it’s fantastic, and then I ask how much they’ve written. If they haven’t started their book yet, I encourage them to write a little each day until their manuscript is finished.

Tell us about the featured book.

Château of Secrets is about a French noblewoman named Gisèle Duchant who risks her life to hide members of the French resistance in the tunnels under her family’s château even as the Nazi Germans occupy her home. Seventy years later Gisèle’s granddaughter, Chloe Sauver, returns to the abandoned château to interview with a filmmaker named Riley Holtz. As Chloe and Riley begin to unravel her grandmother’s story, they are both shocked at the family secrets they uncover.

Please give us the first page of the book.

June 1940

Agneaux, France

Candlelight flickered on the medieval walls as Gisèle Duchant stepped into the warmth of the nave. The shadows in the sacristy were the only witnesses to her secret—no one but she and Michel knew the same small room that stored the vestments and supplies for their family’s chapelle was also a hiding place.

She slid the iron gate across the entry into the sacristy, and after locking it, she set down her picnic hamper—emptied of its Camembert cheese and Calvados—and turned toward the pews.

Five women from Agneaux, the tiny commune at the top of the lane, knelt before the altar, the sweet fragrance of incense blending with the smell of cigarette smoke on their clothing. For centuries, women had visited this chapelle to plead with the Almighty to protect their husbands, sons, and brothers as they fought for France. Now they battled in prayer even as the men they loved defended their country against Hitler and his ploy to assimilate the French people into his Third Reich.

Gisèle slid her fingers over the amber rosary beads around her neck, gently fingering the ornamented handle of the brass crucifix in the center. A cross that was also a key.

“Secrets can destroy.”

The words of her university professor echoed in her mind. If a secret was powerful enough, her philosophy professor had declared from his lectern, it could demolish an entire army. Or shatter the heart of a family.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Readers can find me on my website at www.melaniedobson.com or on Facebook at this link: www.facebook.com/pages/Melanie-Dobson/41212604112

Thank you, Melanie, for sharing this new book with us. It sounds intriguing.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Chateau of Secrets - Christianbooks.com
Chateau of Secrets: A Novel - Amazon
Chateau of Secrets: A Novel - Kindle

Christian Book Store

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