Happy Thursday! I’m so happy to have fellow Mantle Rock Publishing sister/author Amy Anguish today! Her newest release Faith and Hope is on my TBR pile, and I’m itching to start it. I love stories about sister dynamics. Just wait until you see the awesome cover! Be sure to let Amy know you stopped by! Authors love hearing from you.
Welcome Amy! Tell us more about Faith and Hope.
Quite a few people who have read my newest novel ask me if I have a sister. Yes. I do. No, the sisters in my book aren’t completely based on my sister and me. Yet, a lot of readers seem to think that characters are always based on an author’s real family and friends.
Here’s the scoop on the sisters in Faith & Hope.
The first glimmer of an idea for this book was of two sisters forced to spend a summer together even though they didn’t get along. Just like normal siblings, these were in a rough point in their relationship, where neither thought the other understood her or her problems. While my sister and I have gone through years where got along better than others, we were never as estranged as the sisters in this book. And we never spent a whole summer together after I married my husband and moved out.
The older sister is loosely based on me. I too struggled with infertility, although never had to deal with some of the problems I gave Faith. And the younger sister Hope has a few things similar to my sister, but also a few from my past, too, like working at a summer camp like one I worked at two summers.
In all my stories, each character obviously gets a little piece of me, part of my personality or sense of humor or even a bad habit. I can’t help it. I’m the one who creates them in the first place. However, once I establish who they are, they take off and tell me how the rest of the story goes.
Do I have favorite characters? I probably have some I like less than others. I don’t really like the Mom in my story. She’s not really anything like my real mom, and she didn’t handle some things well. But in the end, just like always, Mom knows best.
The men, Faith’s husband Sam and Hope’s co-counselor at camp Joe, have their own quirks and problems, but are always there for the girls. Sam is a little overprotective but only because he loves Faith so much. And Joe is a grown-up with the joi de vivre of a child, a passion for Christ, and knowledge of where the best taco stands in the city are.
Add in a few best friends and another character or two, and you’ve got the whole cast covered.
If you want to find out how Faith and Hope survive the summer together, check out their story here (https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Hope-Amy-R-Anguish-ebook/dp/B07PLKBZ6R). PS—the little inset picture on the cover of my book is actually a photo of my sister and me as little girls. I describe Faith and Hope having a similar photo in the story and was so excited when my cover artist figured out how to work it in.
Question: So, do you have siblings? Do you always get along? How would you handle being forced to spend a whole summer together?
Book Blurb:
Two sisters. One summer. Multiple problems.
Younger sister Hope has lost her job, her car, and her boyfriend all in one day. Her well-laid plans for life have gone sideways, as has her hope in God.
Older sister Faith is finally getting her dream-come-true after years of struggles and prayers. But when her mom talks her into letting Hope move in for the summer, will the stress turn her dream into a nightmare? Is her faith in God strong enough to handle everything?
For two sisters who haven’t gotten along in years, this summer together could be a disaster … or it could lead them to a closer relationship with each other and God.
A little more about Amy R Anguish….
Author of An Unexpected Legacy
Amy R Anguish grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.
Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor
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