The Story That Made Us Stronger by Iris March - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Iris March and her new book, “The Story That Made Us Stronger,” here on FAB!!  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 Iris and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

The Story That Made Us Stronger

by Iris March

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GENRE:   Women's Fiction / Cancer Journey

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BLURB:

An abandoned building. A motivated runner. A Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer survivor.

Connor Jackson has been training for a half marathon for the past six weeks. Katie Brandt has been training to beat cancer for the past 50. When Connor discovers an intriguing secret in a tiny, abandoned building on his running route, Katie finds that the mystery is what she needs to help her get through her three-week stem cell replacement procedure. Together, Conner and Katie must find the strength to achieve their personal goals and, in the meantime, expose the many past lives that the tiny building led.

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EXCERPT THREE:

The Golf Course Manager

Katie Brandt

After Connor left for the day, I was amped up as I always was after chemo. My body was worn out and aching, but my mind wouldn’t stop. I tried to take a nap but couldn’t find sleep, even with the blinds closed and all the lights off. I just kept thinking about my kids, having conversations with them in my head about why I was away from them. I was doing this stem cell replacement ordeal for them: so that their mommy wouldn’t get leukemia later in their lives. I’d promised that I’d never leave them.

No matter the time of day, I usually had a hard time getting to sleep in this bed, in this hospital room. I dragged myself across the room and found my computer. After I settled back into bed, I searched Google Maps and found the area that Connor had pointed out before. His excitement was contagious, and now I wanted to know more about that building too. I saw the golf course and some of the trail through the trees on the satellite images. Once I clicked on the road view, I could see the building itself that Connor was talking about. It really looked old despite the grainy picture, yet somehow familiar. I wondered if I had driven past it before. I looked up the golf course and poked around their website and then the Park District’s website.

“Someone has to know something!” I said to myself. There was a list of historical buildings that the Park District managed, but nothing about one being on or near that golf course. After twenty minutes of not finding anything to give me a single answer, I decided to just call the Park District itself. Why not? It was still only 3:45; they’d be open. I dialed the Administration Office downtown first.

“Hello, Park District Administration Office. This is Tammy. How can I help you?” Her spiel sounded very rehearsed and overly chipper.

“Hi, Tammy. My name is Katie. I’m a resident of Hawthorn Heights and was wondering if you guys can tell me more about an interesting building that sits along a trail I frequent. I have a bet with my friend about who can find out info about it fastest.” I could really turn on the charm when I needed to, even when I didn’t feel well. Call it a gift. When you used a person’s name and told them they were doing you a favor, they wanted to help most of the time. I was also good at seeing everyone as a person, not just someone in my way. I knew everyone had their own thing going on and tried to respect that.

“What an interesting request, Katie!” Tammy exclaimed. She was really excited about this, too, and we were both name users. I hoped she didn’t see through my charm. “Let me see if I can find it on our maps.”

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GUEST POST:

Fierce Female Lead Characters: How to Create Strong Role Models in Books

Hello! Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! I’m so excited to be here!

My latest novel, The Story That Made Us Stronger, just came out a few of weeks ago. It's a fictionalized version of my sister's experience with Hodgkin's lymphoma while pregnant with twins. There are two points of view. The most prominent main character is my sister’s (fictional) male nurse, Connor, who is both training for a half marathon and uncovering the mysteries of an abandoned building on his running route. My sister's character, Katie, is the second point of view and helps him make discoveries and encourages him from her hospital bed during her stem cell replacement procedure.

I believe including fierce female characters is important in any novel. Strong female characters can come in many forms. I think the most important characteristic they need to hold is internal strength. Yes, she may need some help and she may not always be completely self-confident, but she knows who she is and what she wants. Additionally, like any good character, she must be many falcated with flaws, complex and complicated emotions, and her own goals, independent of the guys in the story. Flat characters can help move the story forward but even archetypes like the sexy pixie girl who can’t get enough of an awkward male main character or the hard, suit-wearing FBI agent who is always business are boring. We’ve seen them a thousand times. Your strong female needs to be unique.

So for each of your strong lady leads, define their flaws, their big emotions, and their goals. What does she get wrong? What happened in her past that haunts her? Does she have an unexpected hobby or ally that changes the reader’s perspective of her? What does she want more than anything else? Also, come up with a few of her favorite and least favorite things so you know more about her yourself, even if they don’t make it into the story. But usually, we do need to know how she takes her coffee.

While my main character in this novel is male, he is surrounded by strong women and wouldn’t be able to fulfill his goals without them. Connor is a bit unsure of himself when the story starts. He meets both Katie and a new romantic interest, Leah, early in the novel. Both women are self-confident and supportive of his half marathon training and his research on the abandoned building. His sister-in-law, Erin, is a long-term relationship in his life and another strong female that supports and helps him. Between these three ladies, Connor gains more confidence and obtains his goals. I loosely used the heroine's journey plot structure for this book where the main character needs help to complete the objectives of the story. In the hero’s journey, the main character is abandoned by their supporting party members but not in the heroine’s. Connor’s narrative would have been really boring without the help and love of these ladies. Like all of us in real life, we don’t want to do life alone.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Iris March grew up the oldest of three sisters whose names all began with the same letter. Her sisters are still her best friends. March works in the sustainability field and also writes cozy mysteries in the Succulent Sleuth Series. She lives in Ohio with her husband, young son, and three cats.

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CONNECT WITH IRIS:

Website:

https://irismarchbooks.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076150266393

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/searchingformysteries

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22404252.Iris_March

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62069065-the-story-that-made-us-stronger

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3M2LN1Y

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3C3U94X

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3SRXJ92

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Story-That-Made-Us-Stronger-ebook/dp/B0B9PQWVN5

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Story-That-Made-Us-Stronger/dp/B0BBLBQ1KR

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-story-that-made-us-stronger-iris-march/1142048436

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Iris will be awarding a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.