Enter Lillian’s Gift Basket Contest
To celebrate the release of Betrayed, I’m giving away a virtual gift basket at Tiaras and Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com. The virtual gift basket includes a copy of my books, Serenity Springs, Ohio; Dark Alleys; and Geese Mate for Life. Along with the books, a $25 Amazon gift card is included plus a few books from some writer friends. To enter the contest, simply hop on over to Tiaras and Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com , leave a comment on the post titled CELEBRATION! Winner will be chosen and announced on February 14.
MORE TO LIFE THAN ROMANCE? REALLY?
Welcome, Lillian. Thanks for stopping by to talk about your new book, Betrayed. Let's start with the story behind Betrayed.
There’s more to life than romance.
An odd statement coming from someone who writes romantic suspense novels, but the truth is the truth. We can’t survive on romance alone. We all need connection with other people in all sorts of different relationships—not just romantic ones.
Betrayed, the second in my Sisters by Choice series, will be released soon.
So, why did I choose the name Sisters by Choice for the series, especially when they are romantic suspense? As in life, not everything is about the romance!
Friendships are important!
For many people, their friends are more important in their daily lives than their family. With families scattered from one end of the country to the other and even across the world, friendships often replace the family bonds from past eras.
Sure, we still love our families but if they aren’t nearby, it can make for loneliness and feelings of isolation—if we let it! But we don’t have to let it and that’s what I wanted to show in the Sisters by Choice series.
Family isn’t just blood, it’s about the bonds we form.
Those bonds are formed as we go through life together. We can be there to help others during their crises and as we do emotional bonds will form. Those bonds can take strangers, acquaintances, and even friends, and transform them into family.
That’s what I want to show in my Sisters by Choice series. Women who are willing to help others in their time of crisis. Women who will go the extra mile—take the extra time—use the extra energy to help another woman in need.
Betrayed, the second in my Sisters by Choice series, will be released soon. The first in the series was Deception,which is about a pair of estranged twins. As Patti searches for her twin, she forges an unlikely bond with the wife of a terrorist. A wife who didn’t know her husband was a terrorist!
As they do, they become family to each other.
And we all need family—whether it’s by birth or by choice.
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About Betrayed
Witness Protection Program claims they can keep anyone safe if only they follow the rules so Maria follows the rules--every rule. She's given up everything--her friends, her family, her past, even her name to ensure her daughter has a future.
Reborn as Veronica Minor in the sleepy little town of Sunberry, Ohio, she struggles to rebuild their life amid the beauty of her flower shop. A life where her daughter can have a happy normal childhood. A life where her daughter will never know that her father was a monster.
When a child disappears, Veronica prays it has nothing to do with her past, but what if she's wrong? Not knowing who to trust, she trusts no one...and that's her first mistake.
Lillian's Take on Writing Stories of Faith, Murder and Mayhem
Writing Stories of Faith...Mingled With Murder And Mayhem
Really? Christian Fiction and murder/suspense novels? On the surface the two don’t seem to go together. After all, how can a book where murders, mayhem, and bad guys abound promote Christian values?
Can a writer of suspense novels make a difference in a life? Surely not, you say. It might be good entertainment but that’s where it ends. Not so, I say.
Jesus used stories to teach a point—He called them parables.
People love stories. Stories can touch our hearts, stir our imagination, and teach us. Stories allow us to see the truth without the actual experience. Stories give us the opportunity to learn, change, and grow without all the growing pains.
As a writer of Christian fiction, I have two goals with every story I write. The first goal is to create an entertaining story. And the second goal is to further God’s Kingdom in some way. It may be as simple as portraying Christian characters in a positive light to an all-out salvation scene. It varies from book to book depending on where the story leads.
My latest release, Betrayed, is the second in my Sisters By Choice series. In Deception (the first in the series), there is a terrorist. I kept wondering what kind of woman could be married to a terrorist and not know it.
Betrayed is the answer.
It’s not a secret so I can tell you, my main character—Maria and her daughter—are in the witness protection program because Maria was betrayed by her husband in the most horrible of ways. (you’ll have to read the story to find out the details!)
Beauty for ashes! This phrase comes up several times in Betrayed. In fact, I would even go out on a limb and say it’s one of the themes of the story.
Betrayals hurt! I know—I’ve lived through a few and I’d venture to say most of us have. As the story progresses, Maria learns several spiritual lessons about betrayal, trust, and honoring God. My readers can learn from Maria’s experiences and make their own journey out of their own pain and bitterness of betrayal a bit easier.
That’s what a parable can do for those that choose to learn the lesson of the story.
Of course, that’s real life!
In fiction, it always gets worse before it gets better! At least that’s my motto in the stories I write. In Betrayed, Maria has many more obstacles to face as she struggles to put her life back together—especially when her dead husband calls her from the grave!
Bio
Lillian is a multi-published writer who writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.
To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com as well as her personal blog, Tiaras and Tennis Shoes at www.lillian-duncan.com
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