Monday, March 30, 2020

Welcome Jean Grant

I usually post on Mondays, but Jean has an audio book out and I thought you might like to take a listen.



Will Rise from Ashes
Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Release date: April 17, 2019, Audio Release date: March 16, 2020
by Jean M. Grant

Social Media links:




Bio:
Jean’s background is in science and she draws from her interests in history, nature, and her family for inspiration. She writes historical and contemporary romances and women’s fiction. She also writes articles for family-oriented travel magazines and websites. When she’s not writing or chasing children, she enjoys tending to her flower gardens, hiking, and doing just about anything in the outdoors.


Tagline: Living is more than mere survival.



Blurb:
Living is more than mere survival.
Young widow AJ Sinclair has persevered through much heartache. Has she met her match when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, leaving her separated from her youngest son and her brother? Tens of thousands are dead or missing in a swath of massive destruction. She and her nine-year-old autistic son, Will, embark on a risky road trip from Maine to the epicenter to find her family. She can't lose another loved one.
Along the way, they meet Reid Gregory, who travels his own road to perdition looking for his sister. Drawn together by AJ's fear of driving and Reid's military and local expertise, their journey to Colorado is fraught with the chaotic aftermath of the eruption. AJ's anxiety and faith in humanity are put to the test as she heals her past, accepts her family's present, and embraces uncertainty as Will and Reid show her a world she had almost forgotten.


The Writer’s Journey
Will Rise from Ashes was by far my hardest book to write. For many reasons, some personal, some technical. I’d been writing romances with HEAs for so long, shifting to women’s fiction with grittier topics took some getting used to. The romantic in me though, did toss in a romance subplot, and I am a sucker for a happ(ier) ending.
A few more facts about this book:
  1. I began writing it in 2015, 5 years ago. The first draft took a year while working part-time and around kids’ busy schedules. Editing took a few more years…
  2. It underwent at least 8 full-length revisions before I submitted to my editor at The Wild Rose Press. I’ve also written/edited the entire manuscript at least 20 times.
  3. It’s my first book written in both first person (AJ, the mother) and third person (Will, the son). The dual narrators for the audio book did an amazing job.
  4. My villains are a volcano and humanity in the wake of this natural disaster.
  5. The book spans over a month of time and over 2,000 miles.
  6. My theme of heartache, healing, and hope dominates this book.
  7. It is the 7th book I’ve written, but 4th published. 
  8. The story tackles topics of widowhood, anxiety, autism, addiction, and redemption.
  9. I threw everything but the kitchen sink at AJ. I love an emotional journey, but I do enjoy lots of external conflict and roadblocks (teehee, in this case, literal roadblocks).
  10. Its title was changed from the original. It took quite some convincing from my editor to change it. 
  11. This book underwent the most “killing my darlings” (aka scene slicing) of all my books. All for the better, or course!


14 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your book. I'm adding it ti my TBR list.
    D. V.🦉

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  2. Thanks for sharing my new audio book release today, Jennifer! :-)

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  3. Great story. Good luck with the audio, Jean.

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  4. Great interview! Best of luck with Will Rise from Ashes!

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  5. I love that there's healing and hope in the book. Wishing you all the best with it, Jean!

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    1. Even in the darkest times, there is always hope. And healing is part of life. All come on the heels of heartache.

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  6. All the best with Will Rise From Ashes. You've certainly named those important three H's--heartache, hope, healing.

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  7. Will Rise from the Ashes looks interesting. Sometimes the road to completing a book can be a long one. All my best wishes on the success of your new release.

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