OVERCOMER - Chris Fabry - One Free Book

Bio: Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio. He is also heard on Love Worth Finding, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, and other radio programs. A 1982 graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University and a native of West Virginia, Chris and his wife, Andrea, now live in Arizona and are the parents of nine children.

Chris’s novels, which include Dogwood, June Bug, Almost Heaven, and The Promise of Jesse Woods, have won five Christy Awards, an ECPA Christian Book Award, and two Awards of Merit from Christianity Today. He was inducted into the Christy Award Hall of Fame in 2018. His eightieth published book, Under a Cloudless Sky, is a novel set in the coalfields of his home state of West Virginia. His books include movie novelizations, like the bestseller War Room; nonfiction; and novels for children and young adults. He coauthored the Left Behind: The Kids series with Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, as well as the Red Rock Mysteries and the Wormling series with Jerry B. Jenkins. Visit his website at www.chrisfabry.com

Welcome back, Chris. You visited the set of Overcomer when it was being filmed. What did you take away from that experience?

I was amazed at the complexity of all the moving parts. I was also struck by the commitment the Kendricks and their team have to tell the story they’re given and not deviate. Their commitment to prayer on set was heartening and rich.

Can you tell us a little bit about the story line, without giving too much away?

The film focuses on a fifteen-year-old girl, Hannah Scott. She’s been through a lot of loss in her life and struggles with her identity, which is universal. As you watch her grapple with what life throws at her, you will be encouraged to run your own race. Her coach also has a big part in the film and novel because he’s struggling with some of the same questions.

This story suggests that we often let others, our culture, or the roles we play define us. What do you hope this story does inside readers?

First, I hope it captivates readers as simply a good story. I want you to turn the pages to see what will happen next. I was able to develop some of the story lines a little further and show a little more than the film can show in two hours. So my desire is for a satisfying read that takes you deeper into your own heart. Then, when you see the film, I hope you’ll be amazed at how the two versions of the story come together.

Is discovering our identity in Christ something you can do “mentally”? How do you get the knowledge to transform the way you live?

There is a sense that you can “know” this and not experience it. In other words, there are plenty of Christians who get this in the head but not the heart. It’s our hope that this story will bridge the gap between head and heart. Transformation doesn’t come with knowing facts. It comes when you participate with God in the change He is making on the inside. That’s always a painful process but a good one.

This book suggests that surrendering our lives to God is the only way to discover the life we were meant to live. Comment on that principle.

I once knew an old missionary to India who told me, “Your greatest mission in life is submission.” The best thing we can do with our lives is to fully surrender to God’s work. For those of us who like to control things (me being chief controller), this is a scary, vulnerable thing to do. But we find real, abundant life when we get to the point where we’re willing to allow God to do whatever he wants to do in and through us.

What do we risk when we surrender control and place our future in God’s hands? What do we gain?

Surrender is a huge risk because we lose control. We lose the ability to write our own story. But when you take that step of faith—and another and another—you begin the journey of entering the Bigger Story, the Larger Story of what God is doing in you and in the world. Look at the disciples before they fully entered that story and after they entered it. You’ll never reach your full potential until you submit to God’s working in your life.

This is your second novelization of a Kendrick brothers’ movie. What is your process for writing a movie novelization?

I love the fact that the Kendricks have drawn the boundary lines and have made all the hard choices. I call it the fence line—they’ve put up the barbed wire and I get to play in the pasture. I read the script, I watch the rough cut of the film about a thousand times, I ask questions about what’s on Hannah’s wall, for example. Why does she choose those images to put above her bed? Why does she wear that shirt on her first day of school? So I get to do things with words and answer questions that you can’t do in a film because of the limitations on-screen.

Are there similarities between this story and War Room?

Yes. I could almost feel Miss Clara praying for this little girl. And there’s a sense of an unseen hand at work behind the scenes. Things come together in a way that can’t be explained other than the work of God in hearts and lives.

What do you enjoy about this process?

I love the sense of exploring characters and their hearts. To me, these are real people. I like to put myself in the place of a coach who has defined himself by wins and losses. I like to run with Hannah and hear the struggle she has with asthma. And I enjoyed getting to know Hannah’s grandmother, Barbara. She’s a difficult character in the film, but in the book you learn some of the backstory of why she acts the way she acts. I just love that process.

What is challenging about this process?

The most challenging thing about writing someone else’s idea is that I have to stay consistent with something someone else invented. It’s easy for me to go in some direction or add some motivation that isn’t necessarily on target with the vision of the Kendricks. So I lean on Alex mostly to rein me in and keep me in the pasture.

What character will we learn more about in the book than we see in the movie?

Hannah’s grandmother, Barbara, has a tough, crusty exterior. And in the film you see a lot of her fear and how that motivates her life. Of course, you want to see her change by the end of the story, but we know that doesn’t always happen. So I found it challenging to tell more about what’s going on inside Barbara in the novel.

Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

How do you not answer with Hannah? She’s just so relatable and real to me. But I have to say that Thomas captured my heart. When you see the depth of his struggle, the guilt he has lived with, the way God has taken hold of him—but that he is still growing in grace when we meet him—his face, his heart all comes through so strongly.

How did you relate to this story personally?

I aspire to have my identity come from what God has done for me in Christ. In reality, I struggle with the same thing these characters are struggling with. Do I gauge my worth by my performance? Do I gauge my acceptability with God by some external thing, or do I really believe God accepts me as I am and that He sees the righteousness of Christ in me? Do I strive or rest? Those are questions that are huge in my life and I think will make a difference for anyone who reads or sees this story.

What goes on behind the scenes regarding the film and novelization process that you’d like people to know?

I wish you could see the e-mails that go back and forth. We get into such minute detail in some cases. Alex has the freedom to say, “I didn’t like this chapter.” And then I probe and find out how I missed the mark. It’s such a collaborative effort, but at the same time I feel a freedom to go certain directions that we might not eventually use. I have freedom to fail, which is important in any creative endeavor.

Here’s the blurb for the story.

Life changes overnight for coach John Harrison when his high school basketball team’s state championship dreams are crushed under the weight of unexpected news. When the largest manufacturing plant in town suddenly shuts down and hundreds of families begin moving away, John must come to grips with the challenges facing his family and his team. Urged by the school’s principal to coach a sport he doesn’t know or like, John is frustrated and questioning his worth . . . until he crosses paths with a student struggling with her own journey.

Thank you, Chris, for sharing this new book on its release date with my blog readers and me. I love the Kendrick brothers’ movies. I’m eager to see the movie and read your book.

Readers, here are links to the book.

Overcomer - Christianbook.com
Overcomer - Amazon Paperback
Overcomer - Kindle

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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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THE PROMISE OF JESSE WOOD - Chris Fabry - One Free Book

BIO: Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live! on Moody Radio. He has written more than 70 books for children and adults. His novels, which include Dogwood, June Bug, Almost Heaven, and Not in the Heart, have won three Christy Awards, an ECPA Christian Book Award, and a Christianity Today Award of Merit, but it's his lyrical prose and tales of redemption that keep readers returning for more. Chris and his wife, Andrea, have nine children and live in Arizona.

Welcome, Chris. How did you “discover” The Promise of Jesse Woods?

I don’t discover stories, they come to me in bits and pieces. I grew up in a small, West Virginia town like Dogwood and the people who populate this story are echoes of those people. Like Matt, who moves to Dogwood from a bigger city, I felt a little like an outsider or an observer of life as I was growing up. We have the opportunity to watch or participate in life and Matt is forced to begin living because of his two new friends.

Where did you get the name, Daisy Grace?

My mother grew up near a little mining town called Putney on Campbell’s Creek. Her sister, Grace, would toddle into the field near their house and pick daisies and bring them to her mother. Her mom acted surprised each time. Grace died during a diphtheria epidemic when she was three. My mother still takes daisies and puts them on Grace’s grave. When I heard that, I knew I wanted her to be part of this story.

What is significant about the title, The Promise of Jesse Woods?

When you hear those words, you immediately wonder, What did Jesse promise? Who is she? How does this promise shape her life? We all make promises or agreements with others, with God and with ourselves. These shape us and others in ways we often don’t realize. So the story looks at what Jesse’s promise did to her, Matt, Matt’s parents, the church and the town.

Talk about the themes you develop in the novel.

The most arresting theme is the dawning of first love and what this coming of age passage does to each character. Matt falls for an Appalachian girl and the longing this awakens in him follows him a dozen years into the future and compels him to return home. There is a strong theme of secrets kept and what those secrets do once they are uncovered. Faith—real faith and what it is—that theme runs through the novel. What if my father’s faith is not my own? How do I navigate a real relationship with God when my example is less than perfect? Coming home to a world you left behind is a strong theme—and the way music shapes a life and calls back memories.

Your main character, Matt, finds himself tied to his past. How strong a hold does our past have and how do you develop this idea?

Our adult lives are spent trying to figure out what happened to us in the rearview. Why am I the way I am? What forces shaped me for good or ill? Do I really know the truth about all that happened to me and why it happened? Matt knows, intuitively, that something in his past doesn’t add up, but he can’t figure out what that is. The book is really his search for that truth and once he finds it, it’s like a key that unlocks all the other rooms and gives him answers he never received as a boy.

As parents we sometimes see red flags in our kids’ lives. How does fear play into parenting and what are the negative effects of that kind of parenting?

Once you have tasted this fear, it’s difficult to break free. Fear will cause you to avoid real life—it will make you choose something other than life. Matt’s parents are in many ways guided by their fear and this has devastating effects on their family, though their motives are good. They want to protect Matt from mistakes. I’m hoping parents will see this as a cautionary tale—that in order to really love a child, fear cannot be your guiding force. Fear and love will shove each other off the mountain—only one can be king of the hill.

Did you like growing up in the small town where you were born?

I didn’t have a choice, nor anything to compare it with. Like Matt, my life was contained on a farm—a solitary existence with animals and fishing and hunting and farm work (though my brothers would argue that I ever did any work). The seeds of my imagination and becoming a writer began in those hills, I’m sure of it. And the people I met and all our relatives brought such a rich tapestry of character and honor and a love of stories. I wouldn’t trade my childhood for anyone else’s because it made me who I am today.

There is a huge theme of the “savior” role people play in others’ lives. Why do we do this and what happens when we do?

Everyone has someone in their life they want to “save.” There is something going on in that other person’s life that brings out this desire to rescue. The desire is not bad—but any time we fashion ourselves as saviors, we set others up to depend on us in an unhealthy way. There is only one Savior. We can be agents of change in other people’s lives, we can influence, but it’s a dangerous thing to think we can save anyone. This idea runs through Matt’s childhood and adult life and it really keeps him from fully living and embracing faith.

When Matt returns to Dogwood 12 years after the events of that first summer, what does he discover about himself and others?

The hardest thing about going home or discovering what really happened in your past is seeing the truth—and seeing how you chose not to see the truth. In other words, someone can lie to us about something—but we have to believe the lie in order for it to work against us. We get to choose whether we question or acquiesce. In that sense, we want to write our own reality. We want to live in the world we want to have rather than the one that is. Maturity or growing up is the process of living in reality rather than the world we would like to have. This is hard for Matt, his parents and everyone in the novel.

What’s the power of a promise and how does this play in the story?

Betrayal is a strong force in our lives and all of us have felt it on some level. Jesse is the strong, moral, driving force in the story and she prides herself on never breaking a promise or a vow. What will she do when two promises collide and force her to choose? There are some promises we can’t keep. How do we reconcile this? And can we be forgiven by God and others if we break a promise? Can we forgive ourselves and truly live with the specter of a broken promise?

What do you want faith-driven readers to take away from The Promise of Jesse Woods?

If a writer tells an honest story and paints characters on the canvas of a novel well, there will be lessons drawn from those characters I didn’t plan. I’m hoping I hear from readers that this story really hits some deep, subterranean part of their hearts. I have a heart for younger people who are struggling to find where they fit in the world—and in the church. I would love to have someone read this and recognize some unhealthy parenting in their life or their past and avoid it—or deal with it. I always want people to pursue a real faith of their own rather than someone else’s faith or a list of rules and regulations. In a way, I hope this story will set people free to really live.

There is a lot of humor in this novel. More than in some of your other books. Why is that?

Jesse and Dickie are two of the funniest characters I’ve ever found. They have, even as kids, a wry, jaded view of the world because life has been so hard. Jesse’s family is the poorest in town. Dickie is half Caucasian/half African-American with a father fighting an unpopular war. The humor is a “southern” thing. You laugh at something so you won’t cry. You look at life a little fatalistically—like you know something bad is around the corner, you just don’t know how fast it’s coming. So the humor springs from these situations and endears you to the characters.

You dedicate the story to Kristin Kent and Dantrell Davis. Why?

Kristin was a student at Moody Bible Institute when I first came to Chicago. I did not know her personally. She had a heart for the city and the people who live there. In August of 1984, walking home from her job one night, she was attacked and murdered. She was just a couple of blocks away from safety. I wanted to honor her life and her heart for missions in some small way.

Dantrell Davis was walking to school with his mother in October of 1992. He was shot and killed by a gang member. He was seven. His death was a wake-up call to Chicago and the nation, but sadly the cycle of violence and death for children in the inner city continues. I wonder what Kristin and Dantrell would be doing today if they hadn’t been killed.

Matt’s father becomes the pastor of a small church. What happens there might make some believe you are jaded about the church.

The church is God’s plan to change the world and give hope to those without it. Period. Unfortunately, the church is full of sinners and hypocrites. These are the people Jesus came to save. The struggle is how to keep from getting jaded by those in the church who rankle us—people like Mr. Blackwood. He doesn’t see that he’s treating the church like a country club. The irony is, it’s easier to see the faults of others and want them to change than it is for us to see ourselves and our need to change. This idea runs through the stories I write. Though we can see someone else’s sin, it’s only our own we can truly deal with and bring to God to see real change. When we do that, it will influence others around us.

What would you like parents of teens to take away from the story?

Every problem with your son or daughter is an opportunity to go some deeper place with God. Most parents who have a problem will ask, “How do we fix this? How do we get out of this or solve this problem?” Solving problems is good—but I find that I rarely ask the deeper question when a child struggles. What is God doing in me in the midst of this situation? How is he growing me up and maturing me in this process? It doesn’t lessen the struggle of the child’s problem to think this way, but it takes the pain and uses it for good in my life if I can get to that point. In other words, a parent can try to be the savior of the child or the parent can allow the child’s struggles to point out the need for a savior in their own life.

The Promise of Jesse Woods/Written by Chris Fabry

ISBN: 978-1-4143-8777-2/July 2016/ $14.99

Thank you, Chris, for sharing your new book with us. i'm eager to read it.

Readers, 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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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EVERY WAKING MOMENT - Chris Fabry - One Free Book

Welcome back, Chris. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I want readers to have changed lives because of my stories. Sometimes that happens in small ways, just a slight shift in their perspective. I’m getting feedback from those who enjoy the characters and plots that come to me, but even better are the emails of people who say, “You helped me see my life and my relationship with God in a real way. That’s the best thing on the horizon.

Tell us a little about your family.

My wife and I have been married for more than 30 years. We have nine children, one dog, one bird, and a high electric bill. We went through a toxic exposure in Colorado that made us lose just about everything we owned and now we’re living in Arizona and recovering.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

I read more technical books on writing now and enjoy the 808 section of the library. I also read to understand how an author I enjoy reading does something well—a flashback or writing from different points of view. But writing has not changed my love of reading, getting into a story, getting lost in it, and exploring new areas of the heart. That’s the most fun about reading. It can take you anywhere in the galaxy, but it can also take you deep into your own heart.

What are you working on right now?

I completed Every Waking Moment, a story about a girl named Treha who has a special gift to bring people with dementia and Alzheimer’s “back.” It’s out now. But I realized after writing it that the story isn’t complete, so I’m working on the “rest of the story” of Treha’s life.

What outside interests do you have?

I love sports, film, and reading. My writing and my work on the radio (“Chris Fabry Live” is on the air two hours, each weekday on Moody Radio) take up most of the rest of my day, plus, marriage is work as well.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Setting is so important—the characters pretty much determine that for me. I write about wherever they live and try to do it authentically. The book I just finished is set in Tucson, near where we live now. The next book will take readers to Tennessee.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Obviously, Jesus. No question. But if you pinned me against the wall and made me choose one other person, I would pick Mary. I think it would be fascinating to hear more of what life was like in those silent years of Jesus’ life.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

The meaning of success. Most define it with sales, readership, popularity, expanding platform, pick your poison. Most writers will never succeed in terms of wild popularity and readership, and then the numbers, money, contracts that follow. For me, success is being faithful to the story that’s chosen me rather than the story I choose. In other words, the pain, struggle, problems, roadblocks in my life right now are part of the story I’m telling. I don’t tell it well by going to a deserted island and by pushing everything hard away, I tell it through the swamp that is my life. Life is not the absence of struggle, but the presence of it. Success cannot be measured by externals.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

The new lesson is an old lesson, and it comes through Every Waking Moment. The question, “If this is as good as your life gets, are you okay with that?” is ever-present. Am I going to fight and scrape for something just beyond my grasp, or will I cultivate contentment with what I’ve been given. That’s a hard, but good, place to be.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

Thinking about writing, talking about writing, is not writing. Only writing is writing. Sit down (or stand) and write. Don’t wait for someone to validate you and tell you that you are a writer, believe it and act on the belief. Listen to the editors in your life for they want your book to succeed as much, if not more, than you do.

Tell us about the featured book.

Every Waking Moment is about a girl who has fallen through the cracks in life. And everyone she comes in contact with is asking that same question, “If this is as good as life gets…” Her name is Treha, and through the book you discover her gift, her wound, and her destiny. These three things are at the heart of each of our lives. As her past and present unfold, you’ll have hope for your own life.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Treha imagined it like this: A summer afternoon. Her mother’s satin dress billowing. Fully leaved, green trees swaying. Crossing a busy street.

“Keep up with me, Treha,” her mother said.

Looking into the sunlight, she saw the silhouette of her mother’s face with beads of sweat on her lip and the wide-brimmed hat casting shade. Her mother not quite smiling but showing dazzling teeth. Deep-red lipstick. Like a movie star with a hint of concern on her face.

Momentum carried them to the sidewalk and the corner shop with the tinkling bell as they passed the red bricks and moved into the cool, sweet air smells and bright colors under a sign that said Ice Cream.

Her mother led her to the glass case that held the containers. Treha stood on tiptoes but wasn’t tall enough to see over the edge, so her mother picked her up and held her, letting her hover above the colors. She pointed out the ones with dark specks and those with pecans and pralines or cookies or M&M’s.

“Which one would you like? The orange? Yellow? Don’t take all day now.”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

www.Chrisfabry.com

Thank you, Chris, for sharing this new book with us. It sounds really interesting. I just received it yesterday and hope to start reading it this weekend.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Every Waking Moment - Christianbook.com
Every Waking Moment - Amazon.com
Every Waking Moment - Kindle

Christian Book Store

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (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 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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ALMOST HEAVEN - Chris Fabry - Free Book

Welcome back, Chris. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

I was moved by fiction, changed by fiction, and I want to pass that on to others if I can. Changed lives is what it’s about, I think, and stories have power.

That is so true. Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The birth of our children. I have 9 happiest days of my life. Everything else pretty much pales in comparison.

How has being published changed your life?

I’m not really any different than I was when I was writing until I fell asleep at night, trying to “become” a writer. But getting over the publishing hurdle was huge. Now it’s figuring out how to be the best writer I can be with what I’ve been given.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom at the DMV today. I’ll start a Michael Connelly novel tonight and continue in Philippians tomorrow. As you can see, I read widely.

What is your current work in progress?

I’m working on a story called Not In The Heart. It’s about a man whose son needs a heart transplant who is asked to write the story of a convicted murderer who is willing to donate his heart to the man’s son. If he discovers the man is innocent, his son might die. If he spikes the information, an innocent man may die.

A real moral dilemma. What would be your dream vacation?

A beach, a book, my wife and kids.

 How do you choose your settings for each book?

The settings choose themselves because of the characters. In Dogwood, June Bug, and Almost Heaven, it’s all in West Virginia, where I grew up. Setting is very important to me—almost another character in the novel if it’s to be believed.

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

Pat Conroy. I have a bunch of questions and he’s a great storyteller. Plus, he would order some kind of fish and maybe even cook it. That would be perfect. Then we could play basketball.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I play basketball/football with the kids. We walk, too.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Getting started is hard. Not looking at e-mail. I overcome it by putting on the headphones and starting the music track to whatever I’m working on.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write and read. Not necessarily in that order. Study other writers. Buy writing books and read them. Write journals. Write stories. Write whatever comes to you and find a mentor who is farther/further down the road. (I can never remember which one to use.) …find a mentor who has been published. There. That fixed it.

Tell us about the featured book.

Almost Heaven is a story close to my heart. Billy Allman is an odd guy. He’s a hillbilly genius who has a heart for people but not many people skills. He loves God but doesn’t know how to show it. He’s like a lot of us. He has a small dream and works at realizing it, but keeps getting slapped around by life. The story is told from Billy’s perspective as well as an angel’s viewpoint who is sent to the holler to watch him. The angel has no idea why. Why would God waste his time on this person whose life is…really nothing at all? I’m hoping readers will be encouraged that no matter how small you feel in the world, God can use you and wants to change the world through you.

Sounds intriguing. Please give us the first page of the book.

Chapter 1

I suppose you can sum up a man’s life with a few words. That’s what the newspaper tries to do with an obituary. And it’s what the reporter who was here today will try to do in her article. “Billy Allman . . . resident of Dogwood . . . lifelong dream to build a radio station . . .” She’ll do a fine job, I’m sure. She seemed kind-hearted and the type that will get her facts straight, but I know there will be a lot of my life that will fall through the cracks.

I believe every life has hidden songs that hang by twin threads of music and memory. I believe in the songs that have never been played for another soul. I believe they run between the rocks and underneath the creekbeds of our lives. These are songs that cannot be heard by anything but the soul. They sometimes run dry or spill over the banks until we find ourselves wading through them.

My life has been filled with my share of dirges and plainsongs. I would sing jaunty melodies of cotton candy and ice cream if I could, a top-40 three minute and twenty second tune, but the songs that have been given to me are played in A minor and are plagued with pauses and riffs that have no clear resolution. I ache for some major chord, a tonal shift that brings musical contentment. I do not know if I will find that.

Throughout my life I have dedicated myself to God. I told him early on that I would go anywhere and do anything he wanted. No holding back. But as time slipped and the conversation has become more one-sided, that plan has appeared haphazard at best. God has seemed massively indifferent to my devotion, if he has even heard my cries.

I suppose I need to put this story down in an ordered fashion to make sense of the silence and to fill in the missing places of my own. Or perhaps I will be able to convince the people who know me as a hermit that there was some reason for the pain. Our lives are judged by a few snapshots taken at vulnerable moments, and I have decided to set my hand to recording the flashes I can recall, the ones revealing my motivations. The look on that reporter’s face as I showed her the disparate parts of my life made me want to put this down in my own words. But this is not really for those outside looking in. This is for me.

***

One of the neighbors described the morning of February 26, 1972, as a cold stillness. I woke up at the first sign of the overcast light. It was my tenth birthday, and as children will do I did not want sleep to steal any of the good apportioned to me that day. I had invited three boys from my class to the first and last party my parents would ever offer.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m at Chrisfabry.com.

Thank you, Chris, for the time you've spent with us.

Readers, here's a link to the book. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.



Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

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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 6 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

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JUNE BUG - Chris Fabry - Free Book

This is Chris's first time on my blog. Welcome, Chris. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Every writer draws from some kind of well of themselves, past experiences, and relationships, as well as good stories they’ve heard or read. I try to add as much of the real stuff of life that I can while still staying true to the character I’m writing about. They really take on a life of their own so that there’s a bit of a number of people in them.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Have 9 children. That was easy.

I actually wanted 13. Does that make me quirkier than you? When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I found myself writing into the night in 7th or 8th grade. It was this release for me and I enjoyed putting things down on paper and expressing myself. While other kids hated writing assignments, I ate it up.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I love to read mysteries, biographies, crime stories, self-help, spiritual self-help, the Bible, but rarely the directions to a new appliance.

What other books have you written, whether published or not?

I’ve had nearly 70 books published. Most of those were children’s novels. I wrote 35 novels for the Left Behind: The Kids series with Jerry Jenkins and Dr. Tim LaHaye. Jerry and I collaborated on another 20 novels. I’ve also co-written a book with Ohio State football coach, Jim Tressel called The Winners Manual.

I managed a church bookstore when the Left Behind kids series were coming out. I stocked your books. How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

My wife helps keep me centered on what’s important. Plus, with nine children, I have to prioritize. We don’t have time to run, run, run after unimportant things because we’re already running to the store!

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Sometimes they’re chosen for the sound of them. Others are anagrams—one character in Dogwood had the last name, “Buret,” which is an anagram of “Brute.” And sometimes the name is just there, like June Bug. That one came during a writing conference when I wasn’t thinking at all about the character and it just popped into my mind.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Having my first novel published was huge, but being married 26 years and having nine children is probably the top.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

A faithful, loving Bichon-Frise.

What is your favorite food?

Watermelon.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

While writing Dogwood, I became stuck on a plot point and couldn’t get past it. Jerry Jenkins said, “Let your subconscious work it out. Don’t force it.” One morning I woke up, wasn’t thinking at all of the book, and an idea snapped in my head that made everything make sense. The rest of the book was like writing downhill.

What advice would you give to an author just starting out?

Keep at it. If God has put this on your heart to do, don’t give up. And don’t be afraid to attempt small things with your writing rather than the huge. Write for anyone who will publish you. Your church newsletter, a newspaper, a blog. Keep writing and let the creativity flow.

Tell us about the featured book?

June Bug is a young girl who travels with her dad in a junky RV. Because money is tight, they spend most of their time in Walmart parking lots. One morning, she walks into the front door, looks up at all the “Missing Children” on the wall, and sees herself.

The rest of the book is a journey to find out who she is, who her dad is, what circumstances arose that brought them to the road, and what her place in the world will be. I think it’s pretty special.

Sounds intriguing. Please give us the first page of the book.

Some people know every little thing about themselves, like how much they weighed when they were born and how long they were from head to toe and which hospital their mama gave birth to them in and stuff like that. I’ve heard that some people even have a black footprint on a pink sheet of paper they keep in a baby box. The only box I have is a small suitcase that snaps shut where I keep my underwear in so only I can see it.

My dad says there’s a lot of things people don’t need and that their houses get cluttered with it and they store it in basements that flood and get ruined, so it’s better to live simple and do what you want rather than get tied down to a mortgage—whatever that is. I guess that’s why we live in an RV. Some people say “live out of,” but I don’t see how you can live out of something when you’re living inside it and that’s what we do. Daddy sleeps on the bed by the big window in the back, and I sleep in the one over the driver’s seat. You have to remember not to sit up real quick in the morning or you’ll have a headache all day, but it’s nice having your own room.

I believed everything my daddy told me until I walked into Walmart and saw my picture on a poster over by the place where the guy with the blue vest stands. He had clear tubes going into his nose, and a hiss of air came out every time he said, “Welcome to Walmart.”

My eyes were glued to that picture. I didn’t hear much of anything except the lady arguing with the woman at the first register over a return of some blanket the lady swore she bought there. The Walmart lady’s voice was getting all trembly. She said there was nothing she could do about it, which made the customer woman so mad she started cussing and calling the woman behind the counter names that probably made people blush.

The old saying is that the customer is always right, but I think it’s more like the customer is as mean as a snake sometimes. I’ve seen them come through the line and stuff a bunch of things under their carts where the cashier won’t see it and leave without paying. Big old juice boxes and those frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Those look good but Daddy says if you have to freeze your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then something has gone wrong with the world, and I think he’s right. He says it’s a sin to be mean to workers at Walmart because they let us use their parking lot. He also says that when they start putting vitamins and minerals in Diet Coke the Apocalypse is not far behind. I don’t know what the Apocalypse is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was right about that too.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://www.chrisfabry.com/

I also do a radio show which you can find at http://www.chrisfabrylive.org/.

Thank you, Chris for spending this time with us.

Readers, here's a link where you can order June Bug:

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. 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.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment. Here’s a link.

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com