Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Jean
M. Grant and her new book, “Will Rise from Ashes”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Jean
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Will Rise from Ashes
by Jean M. Grant
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GENRE: Women's Fiction
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BLURB:
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.
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EXCERPT TWO:
A
gray column of ash exploded on the screen. The plume darkened the sky.
“Mom,
come look!” Will said, without turning from the TV.
She
fidgeted with the mail on the kitchen counter. Then said a bad word. The metal
trash lid clanged open, and she grumbled. He tapped a finger on his thigh as he
listened to the newscaster.
A
few minutes passed. “Mom…”
“One
minute,” she called. He turned. She dragged the basket of dirty laundry from
their vacation to Yellowstone down the basement steps. Thump, thump, thump.
“But
it’s the volcano! On TV!” His pulse flickered. This was important. She needed
to see.
“Hang
on a sec, Will.”
The
clock read 9:03 p.m. Eastern Time, but it still felt like Mountain Time and he
wasn’t sleepy. He counted to one second. He knew she didn’t mean that. Her “a
sec” or “a minute” could be way longer.
She
returned from the basement and opened the window over the kitchen sink. The
metallic, vibrating hum of the foghorn sounded in the distance. He rose and
added a tally mark to the chart on his clipboard. Soon, he’d need to make his
snow charts, too. But it was only August.
“Where
are they?” Mom said.
She
came through the doorway to the living room with her mug in one hand. It
smelled like burnt stinky milk. He covered his nose.
“Mom,
watch out!” She almost stepped on his eight red volcano cut-outs lined in a row
in front of the TV. His heart kerthumped. He straightened one, so the bottom
edge realigned with the rest. There, better.
“So,
honey, what is it? Find an interesting documentary to watch?” she finally
asked, drawing her gaze to the TV as she stumbled. “Will, the tape and
scissors. I need you to pick them up, okay?” She yawned. “We need to go to bed
soon.” She leaned over the coffee table and clicked her laptop shut with another
curse. “I can’t even track their flight. Where are they?” she repeated to
herself.
Her
brown eyes were shiny, holding that sad look she got when she thought about
Dad. Some expressions confused him, but Mom was easier to understand than
others. She was sad a lot these days. Was she sad about his little brother Finn
not returning home yet? He approached her and hugged her around the waist. He
nudged the top of his head against her ribcage. “It’s okay, Mom. Finn and Uncle
Brandon will be here. Maybe their flights were delayed again?”
She
exhaled. Coffee breath. His stomach squeezed. Delays. Yuck, he didn’t like
delays either.
She
said in a whisper, a raspy grating sound, “They should’ve landed by now…the
traffic north to Maine from Boston isn’t awful this time of day. Finn’s going
to be so wired.”
But
he’s not a robot, Will wanted to say, but he knew it was just one of Mom’s
weird phrases. The commercials ended. He grabbed her hand. “Look, Mom.
Yellowstone! Maybe Finn and Uncle Brandon saw it erupt since we were all just
there! How lucky of them to see that, huh?” He pointed to the LIVE symbol in
the bottom right corner.
Her
mug slipped and fell in a crash, spilling all over his volcanoes.
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GUEST POST:
My Favorite Scene in This Book…
…How about favorite location(s) in the book? And while we’re at
it, let’s talk about using the setting as the villain!
Most
of this book takes place on the road, in AJ Sinclair’s car, or at campgrounds.
There are a few other setting locations for choice scenes but I won’t ruin
those surprises. AJ’s a woman with a hard past, struggling through her present
and unsure of her future. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts…and her
brother and youngest son are missing in its aftermath. She’s already returned
home to Maine from a vacation, ahead of them, and with her other son. What’s a
mother to do when a volcano erupts and her child is potentially near the
epicenter of chaos? Well, having already been widowed, and despite her anxiety
with driving, AJ packs her car and hits the road with her other son, Will, who
is autistic, as her sidekick.
She
meets uncouth vagrants along the way who rob and assault her, feeding her
distrust of her fellow man. But…another villain looms. The volcano rumbled and
erupted, destroying vast areas of the west, killing tens of thousands,
displacing others. And that ash in the air…is coming. Winds and rains blow the
ash farther east. And all the side effects that come after an
eruption…disruptions in power and cell phones, water contamination, price
gouging, roadblocks/closures and downed airplanes…brings disorder to the
country.
The
villain is ominous and hovering over AJ each step of the way. Her car is her
sanctuary. Their campground, a small bubble of safety. But what happens if she
loses the car? Gets separated from her son? Or one of them falls ill?
This
leads to my favorite scenes. What are they? I really enjoyed all the car
scenes. It’s her oasis and shelter from the world around them. She and a
companion, Reid, they pick up along the way have some deep talks in the car,
around campfires, and in motels. Her journey culminates as they close in on
ground zero. Another favorite scene is in a pizza shop in the Midwest.
And
even though it’s only the backdrop, with the eruption as the inciting incident
for the story, I love everything about Yellowstone National Park. So, I
included some photos here of it! Hope everyone enjoys reading Will Rise from
Ashes and finds favorite scenes of their own.
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AUTHOR 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.
When she’s not writing or chasing children, she enjoys tending to her flower
gardens, hiking, and doing just about anything in the outdoors.
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Jean will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting me! I love talking about my "villain" err...the volcano!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the excerpt! Best on your book, Jean!
ReplyDeleteYou're really great in this genre.
ReplyDelete