ABOUT LYNN:
Lynn
Chandler-Willis has worked in the corporate world (hated it!), the television
news business (fun job) and the newspaper industry (not a fan of the word
"apparently" and phrase "according to"). She keeps coming
back to fiction because she likes making stuff up and you just can't do that in
the newspaper or television news business.
She was born,
raised, and continues to live in the heart of North Carolina within walking
distance to her kids and their spouses and her nine grandchildren. She shares
her home, and heart, with Sam the cocker spaniel.
She is the
author of the best-selling true crime book,
Unholy Covenant. The Rising is
her debut novel.
OK, Lynn, straight away, I have to tell you, we're sisters of a sort. I worked for a number of years at the ABC-TV affiliate in Flint, MI as an associate producer and writer. Loved the energy and humming vibe of being in a newsroom - hated the weird hours when trying to raise a family, so I changed career paths.
Tell me about what led you to write THE RISING. It's an amazing concept (blurb and excerpt follows!).
ABOUT THE RISING
The idea for The Rising
came to me, in all places, at the grocery store. And I mean it hit me like the
proverbial brick. I stopped pushing the cart and just stood there in the middle
of the aisle playing the “what if” game.
What
if...a non-believer comes face-to-face with a miracle. Can they still deny
God? When there is no other explanation, can they still question God's
existence? And taking it one step further, how can you question a miracle when
its shared by an innocent child? They know no better.
I started working the
idea from that point, knowing I wanted a main character to be broken and
vulnerable, but too stubborn to admit it.
A little boy, beaten and left to die in an alley. A cop with a personal life out of control. When their worlds collide, God
intervenes.
Detective Ellie Saunders's homicide investigation takes a dramatic
turn when a young victim "wakes up" in the morgue. The child has no
memory prior to his "rising" except walking with his father along a
shiny road.
Ellie likes dealing with facts. She'd rather leave all the God-talk
to her father, a retired minister, and to her partner, Jesse, a former vice cop
with an annoying habit of inserting himself into her life. But will the facts
she follows puts Ellie's life in mortal danger? And will she finally allow God
into her heart forever?
EXCERPT
“Jack
told me you were at lunch. Caper’s is one of my favorites, so I thought I’d
take a chance.” He winked at her then sidled closer. “Anyway, I was thinking
about your dead kid—“
“He’s
not dead.”
A
waitress slammed a sandwich down in front of Ellie, and Jesse helped himself to
a homemade chip.
“OK, so
he’s not dead. You have sent his picture to the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children?”
She
huffed. “Did Jack send you?”
“No,
Jack didn’t send me. I was just thinking if the center didn’t get a hit, I’ve
got a few connections with the FBI, and they’ve got some really cool
equipment.”
Ellie
pulled a piece of bacon from her sandwich and chewed on one end.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I really don’t want the Feds involved.”
Jesse snatched another chip and
shook his head. “No black suit with shades is going to swoop in and take your
case, Detective Saunders.” He grinned and helped himself to another chip. “I
thought we could get them to run his picture through the facial recognition
scannhttp://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/the-risinger. Maybe we’ll get a hit.”
What
was with all the we stuff? The case
was complicated enough. The last thing she needed was Jesse involved. She
didn’t need a constant reminder of her downward spiral.
Pelican Book Group ~ Amazon.com ~ Barnes & Noble
Happy reading, and blessings!
Marianne
