Welcome to my tour stop! Check out an author interview and enter the tour giveaway below...
Dove StrongBy Erin Lorence
Christian YA Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 320 Pages
April 12th 2019 by Pelican Book Group
Summary
Dove Strong loves God. She loves standing chin up and fists clenched when facing Satan’s attacks. But there’s one thing she doesn’t love—other people. So when this spiritually-gifted, antisocial teenager is chosen to join other believers in a trek across Satan’s territory, rattlesnakes and evil-intentioned Heathen aren’t her biggest challenges.
But failure isn’t an option. In a month, the Christian Councils will decide the Reclaim, a vote on whether there’ll be a war between Christ’s followers and Satan’s to take back America. It is up to Dove, God’s messenger for peace, to reach her Council in time. Because if she doesn’t, things could get bloody.
Interview
What is your favorite thing about the book’s cover?
I love that Dove Strong is one fierce warrior chic! She holds a sword and looks ready to do battle. Dove is a homesick teenager who has left her family for the first time ever...yet she is also God’s powerful soldier, choosing to wear her Armor of God in order to ward off danger. And that danger comes at her from all directions, even from other so-called Christians.
What part or aspect of this story do you love the most?
My favorite part of the Dove Strong trilogy is her survival journey through nature. I’m a sucker for a good survival-reality show, and I loved crafting Dove’s adventure in which she had to rely on God and her own wits to stay alive. My second book in this series, Fanatic Surviving, contains even more of this survival aspect. I’ve been told it has a Hunger-Games, battle-to-stay-alive vibe.
What challenged you about writing Dove Strong?
My biggest challenge was my own lack of confidence. For example, I wrote Dove Strong in present tense. Then my confidence fumbled, and I rewrote it in the more traditional past-tense style. I kept making changes like that and created ten drafts of Dove Strong before I said, “Enough!” and mustered up enough courage to submit my manuscript to a publisher. I was so surprised when the first publisher accepted it! But then, my second biggest challenge struck when that publishing house closed its doors a month before my book’s release. Though I was almost through writing my second book in the Dove Strong trilogy, I almost threw up my hands and quit. But God is amazing. He gave me the perseverance and allowed me the opportunity to publish through Pelican Book Group instead.
Do you have any specific snacks you eat or music you listen to when you write?
When I’m writing, I’m ‘in the zone’ and don’t care about details such as food...drink...when I last slept. But since I get my best writing done at night, I usually prep myself with a strong cup of coffee and then supplement with Diet Pepsi as needed.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
I’m by no means an expert since the Dove Strong trilogy is my first published work. But my bit of advice would be for writers to know the rules to be successful before writing their manuscripts. What age is the intended audience? Roughly how long should the manuscript be? What do publishers like and dislike when they’re reading unsolicited manuscripts? To avoid discovering your ‘perfect’ manuscript is riddled with elements that publishers don’t accept for your genre, do some research first. This may include attending writers’ conferences or merely reading a For Dummies book on writing for a specific age like I did.
Other Books in the Series
(Linked to Amazon affiliate links.)
About the Author
Erin Lorence grew up in rainy Western Washington, an avid reader and the daughter of a published nonfiction author. She attended Washington State University (WSU) where she met and married her husband, Brian. Together, they recently moved to Apex, North Carolina with their two amazing daughters (who also love to read) and their beagle Charlie (who doesn’t read). Her lifelong love of literature, her gratitude to God, and her enjoyment of hiking in Central Oregon all inspired her to write the Dove Strong Trilogy. Visit her at: www.erinlorence.com.More from Erin
I politely smile and keep what I really think inside. But my main character, Dove Strong, doesn’t. She blasts people with the full force of her words. Sometimes Dove’s words sting…but she’s never merely polite or hum-drum boring.
I secretly hug the random and ridiculous moments of life to myself, preserving my appearance of normalcy. But when I write, the true ‘uncool’ me escapes. It is responsible for the caterpillar dangling from a character’s nostril as well as for the little sister who won’t stop harping on about her precious bag of chips.
I write to escape and to help others escape. I write to laugh and make readers smile. I write so ‘the lost’ will wake to find that they crave an intimate relationship with The One who loves them most.
This is why I write. And that is why I wrote Dove Strong.
Tour Schedule
Texas Book-aholic, April 11
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 12
Genesis 5020, April 13
Artistic Nobody, April 14 (Author Interview)
For Him and My Family, April 15
Wishful Endings, April 16 (Author Interview)
deb’s Book Review, April 16
Inklings and notions, April 17
Simple Harvest Reads, April 18 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, April 18
Emily Yager, April 19
For the Love of Literature, April 20
Rebecca Tews, April 21
Vicky Sluiter, April 22 (Author Interview)
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 23
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 24
Tour-Wide Giveaway
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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