Author Spotlight on Sharon Hinck

One of the priceless benefits of becoming a writer has been meeting and making new friends. Over the past few years I have had the privilege of getting to know author Sharon Hinck. She has become a mentor, encourager, and best of all, a friend. Once I'm published, I pray I can handle the responsibility with half the grace as she.

So, I'm thrilled to let people know about the re-release of Sharon's novel, The Restorer's Son as an Expanded Edition (through Marcher Lord Press). I'm not typically a fantasy reader, but Sharon's Sword of Lyric novels are different. She draws the reader in using real-world characters, making it easier to identify with them even as they're drawn into a foreign world.

Sharon's a gifted storyteller and I encourage you to give her Restorer novels a try. You won't be disappointed.

THE RESTORER'S SON-Expanded Edition

Book two in the groundbreaking Sword of Lyric series, The Restorer’s Son won a Carol Award (2008) for speculative fiction.

Plunged again into the gray world of Lyric and Hazor, Susan and Mark search frantically for their teenage son, Jake. All signs hint that a trusted ally has betrayed them and threatens their son. A target of assassins and more political intrigue, false leads and near misses beset their path, which leads them into the dark prisons of Hazor before the One’s purpose is revealed.

Cast out by those he trusts, the new reluctant Restorer prefers to cross swords with the One rather than submit to His will. Pursued by his calling, he journeys to Sidian, where he finds a boy without a home, a king with burning questions, and a nation torn by darkness. As he embraces the tasks the One has set before him, this new Restorer learns that the One requires his all—perhaps even his life.

This new expanded edition of The Restorer’s Son includes an in-depth devotion guide for readers who want to dig into the spiritual themes of the book, bonus scenes providing glimpses of the story through a variety of characters, and fun extras including links to songs and recipes.

Sharon, I love all the new interactive features! What a clever way to add dimension to your book. What was it like developing this material for the new edition? 

     Books are like children. I treasure each of them in different ways, and among the novels I’ve written, I try not to have favorites. However, I confess that The Restorer’s Son has an extra special place in my heart. Because of that, it was fun to revisit the characters and world of this story. Kieran’s attitudes were loosely inspired by a verse in Judges where Gideon is told God will use him to save his people. Gideon’s response is basically, “If God is for us, why have all these bad things happened to us?” It’s a question many can relate to, and part of the reason that Kieran is such a beloved character.

     The new devotion guide gives readers an opportunity to dig deeper into the Biblical inspirations that helped inform the book, as well as find personal application. About forty pages of new content, including bonus scenes and a new song composed for the book, make this edition a new experience.

How did you decide where to put in bonus elements? 

     Working with the publisher, we decided it was important to keep the flow of the story intact and free from distractions. So the book is designed with a large back-of-the-book section that can be used either after finishing the story, or during the reading of the main story. Small symbols and page numbers at the end of chapters direct readers to bonus scenes, and QR symbols in the margin invite readers to explore audio files, or recipes, or rules for playing Perish – all without interrupting the story.

     It was important to me that people would feel that it was worth the investment to own The Restorer’s Son-Expanded Edition, even if they had a copy of the original edition, so we packed this book with lots of added value. 

As someone who owns all the original Sword of Lyric releases, I can't wait to get my new copies. It sounds like the new features will be very entertaining. But, besides an entertaining read, what do you hope people experience in The Restorer’s Son-Expanded Edition? 

     My hope is that readers will catch glimpses of the way the One speaks to each of us in the language we understand, and that we can go to Him with our difficult questions. For those who are walking very painful roads, I hope the story will help them feel acknowledged. The journey is hard, heroic, and sometimes frightening. But we are never alone. 

That's so true. We are never alone. Part of that is having people in our lives to cheer us on our life journey and, in this writing business, having cheerleaders is so important. Who is your biggest cheerleader(s)?

     My absolutely best cheerleader (although he’s never shaken a pompom) is my husband. All the best qualities of my male heroes are inspired by him, and he patiently listens when I’m full of discouragement and doubt about my work.

He sounds like my husband (and no, he's never shaken a pompom either) who's encouraged every step in my writing journey. Everyone's path to publication is different and inspiring. Could you briefly describe yours?

     I felt God nudging me to move into writing again. I had done a bit of writing for magazines, and a lot of writing for newsletters, scripts, marketing material, etc. during my work in the arts. I joined a Christian writing group, continuing to pray for direction about WHAT to write. I assumed God would guide me to go back into writing magazine articles. But all the writers in the group were working on novels, and it was so FUN hearing what they’d created each month. The thought took hold. What if I wanted to write a novel? Which genre? What kind of story? What sort of story would I like to read? Who would the protagonist be? What would be her core struggle? I created Susan Mitchell and threw her into an alleyway in Shamgar where a sword fight was going on...and The Restorer unfolded from there. When the manuscript was finished I brought it to a writer’s conference and accepted representation from an agent who liked the work. I kept writing, and it was actually my fifth finished manuscript (TheSecret Life of Becky Miller) that was first contracted, all the Restorer series sold soon after that. It’s so fun to see those stories have a new life. 

Thank you so much, Sharon, for stopping by Spire Reviews today! I hope you'll visit again when The Restorer's Journey-Expanded Edition releases.

~*~*~

An interview with Sharon Hinck at Inkspirational Messages following the release of The Restorer-Expanded Edition:

http://inkspirationalmessages.com/2012/01/chatting-with-sharon-hinck

To order The Restorer’s Son-Expanded Edition: http://urlcut.me/aM3

Kindle version: http://urlcut.me/aM2

Sharon Hinck writes “stories for the hero in all of us,” about ordinary people experiencing God’s grace in unexpected ways. Known for their authenticity, emotional range, and spiritual depth, her novels include contemporary fiction such as The Secret Life of Becky Miller or Stepping into Sunlight and the groundbreaking Sword of Lyric fantasy series which includes The Restorer’s Son–Expanded Edition. She’s been a Christy finalist and has won three Carol awards.

Sharon’s undergrad degree is in education, and she earned an M.A. in Communication. When she isn’t wrestling with words, she enjoys speaking to conferences, retreats, and church groups. She loves interacting with visitors at her website and blog: www.sharonhinck.com and http://sharonswriting.blogspot.com/

Debut Author Spotlight ... Keven Newsome

MY WRITING JOURNEY

by Keven Newsome

It must have been fifth grade when I began my writing journey, but writing video game spec fic. And the best part was that all the characters spoke in King James English, because that’s what they did in the game. But it was my first attempt at writing, and that counts for something.

I didn’t write again for several years, focusing instead on music and art. In Junior High I started a series of sketches that had a story behind them. This germ of a story took root and ignited that fire of writing. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and those thousand words were screaming to be written down.

High School is when I really started writing. I did about four short stories, which I still have but haven’t read in years because I’m sure they really suck. I also hand wrote about 150 pages of a novel based on that story germ from Junior High. It was full of narrative summary, anachronistic dialogue, and teen angst, all wrapped in a medieval candy shell.

After graduating college in 2002, I began what I affectionately call My Practice Book. Its real name is Among Dragons. And it’s a prequel to that horrific attempt to write I made in High School. This book is on my list to be rewritten and reworked, because it’s actually a decent story even if the writing stinks. I had a copy printed, and it sits on my shelf as a reminder of how much I’ve learned.

My intention after completing this prequel was to go into the trilogy of books based on… you guessed it… that story I started in High School. I reworked it, reoutlined it, and made it into something exciting and worth writing. I wrote about fifty pages and then hit a block. But it wasn’t a writer’s block, per se. It was a block of distraction. You see, my creative mind was dwelling on something else that had recently come up.

On a Goth girl with the gift of prophecy.

So I began to write Winter’s story. December 2006, I finished the first draft. A second draft followed, then beta readers and a third draft. I tried my hand at submitting the third draft, but received nothing but no’s. I didn’t even get past the query letter stage.

In the fall of 2009, Winter was a finalist in the Marcher Lord Select Premise Contest. Little did I know this contest would be the pebble that begun the avalanche to being published. A year after entering that infamous contest, I received an email from one Kat Heckenbach. She had read my book and loved it. She passed it on to a friend of hers who was reading it and loving it. That would be Grace Bridges, owner of Splashdown Books.

Grace sent me a message. And while it was glowing and full of praise for the book, it contained one small sentence that almost made me want to throw out the computer. “For your own sake, I wish you would find a bigger publisher than me.”

Grace finally relented after I convinced her no one else would have me. I guess the whole premise of my book sounds a little too risky. We signed in December 2010, and Winter was released June 1, 2011 under a new paranormal imprint of Splashdown Books called Splashdown Darkwater.

Risky? Winter instantly became an in-house best seller for Splashdown Books. And I’m honored, and very thankful, that Grace didn’t see risk in my book…but potential.

WINTER
by Keven Newsome

Splashdown Books, 2011

Winter Maessen didn't ask for the gift of prophecy. She's happy being a freak - but now everyone thinks she's crazy. Or evil.

Goths aren't all the same, you know. Some are Christians.

...Christians to whom God sends visions.

Students at her university are being attacked, and Winter knows there's more than flesh and blood at work.

Her gift means she's the only one who can stop it - but at what price?



Keven Newsome is a graduate student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology specializing in Supernatural Theology. He writes stories that portray the supernatural and paranormal with a Biblical perspective. Winter is his first book. He currently lives in New Orleans, LA with his wife and their two children.

www.KevenNewsome.com
www.facebook.com/thewordcrafter
www.twitter.com/kevennewsome
www.youtube.com/kevennewsome
Keven also heads up the team at the New Authors' Fellowship collaborative blog.

WIN A FREE e-BOOK!

Keven Newsome and Splashdown Books are giving away one e-book of

WINTER to one lucky commenter.

Contest Rules:
Comment on Keven Newsome's My Writing Journey by Thursday, July 21, 2011 and your name will go into a drawing for a free e-book of Winter in the e-book format of your choice. Contest closes Thursday, July 21, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be posted on Friday, July 22, 2011. Winner must provide an e-mail to Brenda AT Brenda Anderson Books DOT com. Don not post your mailing address anywhere on this blog.

Debut Author Spotlight ... Travis Perry

THE "EASY" ROAD to PUBLICATION

by Travis Perry

For me, the publication of my novel was surprisingly easy. The hard part was finishing the story in the first place.

I began writing The Crystal Portal in 2006. I had written short stories before and had a few published in small magazines, and one of my stories made it into a book anthology. But I had never written a novel and really didn't know anything about how to proceed with and finish a work of that length.

I wrote about a quarter of the the story (in a different order than it is now) and got stuck. Discouraged that my story would be of no interest to anyone, busy with ordinary life, and suffering from a serious case of writer's block, I only made marginal progress for the next several years.

I finally realized my problem was that I was only thinking of the story in terms of my main character and other point of view characters. I was not taking into account my villain's actions, which is why I was so stumped as to what should happen next in the tale. It may seem like a simple thing, but since I did not ask anyone for advice on the story or read anything about how to write a novel, it was a major realization for me.

After I completed the story in 2009, I read it over and felt something was missing. Other friends who read it didn't react to it the way I expected. I had done my own editing, but I knew I needed help.

On an online group of Christian speculative fiction authors (the Lost Genre Guild), I asked if anyone would be willing to help me edit and fix the story for the reward of having coauthor credit and a share of any profits that might ensue from publication. I had several people express interest, but Mike Lynch seemed to be the most interested and had the most experience in having other books published.

Mike and I worked together to edit the story. A number of parts were cut out, the order of a number of scenes changed, and we did a lot of other editing. Mike wrote one scene that hadn't been in the book before I started working with him.

After we had done our work together, Mike was looking for some objective readers for some good feedback on our work. One of the people he showed the story to was Grace Bridges, who is the owner of Splashdown Books. She loved the story and was immediately interested in publishing it.

Of course, she had interest in other edits and story changes, but with her help, the process of actually getting published was quick and mostly painless. So I was very blessed to have stumbled onto people willing to help me, and who saw something good in my story.

Now if only I get to generate some sales...

THE CRYSTAL PORTAL
by Travis Perry and Mike Lynch

Splashdown Books, 2011

And Yeshua said, "His ears will be a sign to you."

A time-travelling warrior elf on a manhunt for an evil genius. A state-of-the-art robot from New Los Angeles. And a carpenter's son from first-century Israel. Entering the Portal, they join forces with a princess of the Sapphire Monarchy to defy their power-mad adversary.

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PAAbOF6nA

Travis Perry was born and raised in the mountains of western Montana, where he learned to let his imagination soar. A one time-pastoral student and active church member, he has a keen interest in faraway places and has studied (attaining varying degrees of proficiency): Spanish, French, German, Biblical Greek and Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, and Dari (Farsi). Blending Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Biblical Historical Fiction, he created the worlds of his first novel, The Crystal Portal, co-authored with Mike Lynch. An Army Reserve officer recently serving in Afghanistan, he is currently on his way home to his wife and six children in Wichita Falls, Texas.

WIN A FREE e-BOOK!

Travis Perry and Splashdown Books are giving away one e-book of

The Crystal Portal to one lucky commenter.

Contest Rules:

Comment on Travis Perry's The Easy Road to Publication by Tuesday, July 19, 2011 and your name will go into a drawing for a free e-book of The Crystal Portal in the e-book format of your choice. Contest closes Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Winner must provide an e-mail to Brenda AT BrendaAndersonBooks DOT com. Do not post your mailing address anywhere on this blog.