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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

CFBA Blog Tour - Christa Allan and Walking on Broken Glass

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Walking on Broken Glass
Abingdon Press - (February, 2010)
by Christa Allan


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHRISTA ALLAN, a true Southern woman who knows any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart.

The mother of five and grandmother of three, Christa teaches high school English. She and her husband, Ken live in Abita Springs, Louisiana where they play golf, dodge hurricanes, and anticipate retirement.

WALKING ON BROKEN GLASS
by Christa Allan
Published by Abingdon Press

ABOUT THE BOOK

Leah Thornton's life, like her Southern Living home, has great curb appeal. But already sloshed from one-too-many drinks at a faculty party, Leah cruises the supermarket aisles in search of something tasty to enhance her Starbucks—Kahlua and a paralyzing encounter with a can of frozen apple juice shatters the facade, forcing her to admit that all is not as it appears.

When her best friend Molly gets in Leah's face about her refusal to deal with her life, Leah is forced to make a decision. Can this brand-conscious socialite walk away from the country club into 28 days of rehab? Leah is sitting in the office of the local rehab center facing an admissions counselor who fails to understand the most basic things, like the fact that apple juice is not a suitable cocktail mixer.

Rehab is no picnic, and being forced to experience and deal with the reality of her life isn’t Leah’s idea of fun. Can she leave what she has now to gain back what she needs? Joy, sadness, pain and a new srength converge, testing her marriage, her friendships and her faith.

But through the battle she finds a reservoir of courage she never knew she had, and the loving arms of a God she never quite believed existed.

If you would like to read the prologue and first chapter of Walking on Broken Glass, go HERE. You can also sign up as a Follower when you get to that page, and get announcements of the first chapters for all the great books we tour!

Readers, buy your copy of Walking on Broken Glass today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is your debut novel. Congratulations! What gave you the inspiration for this story?

My tagline is “stories of unscripted grace” and that grew from my realization that our lives don’t always follow the scripts we’ve expected and, as a result, we sometimes find ourselves frustrated, lonely, confused, angry. We think God’s abandoned us, when-ironically-we may be following God’s script for our lives, and His grace will sustain us. I’m a recovering alcoholic, and by God’s grace, have not had a drink for over twenty years. I invited God back into my life because of AA, not in spite of it. As I grew in my faith and in my recovery, I realized that so many Christian families suffer in silence. Alcoholism, drug, sex, or food addiction, lifestyles are all the big elephants in the room we don’t talk about. But we all know they exist. So, what’s someone to do who’s immersed in these challenges? I wanted to reassure women struggling with addiction that they’re not alone, that there’s a loving and compassion God who cares about them and His grace will be sufficient for them. I wanted to remove the façade that often hinders real recovery. “Good” Christian families aren’t immune to the world, but once we admit we have a problem, we can be healed by God.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

My experiences in recovery influenced Leah, and she’s also an English teacher. The teacher experience was an easy one to borrow from since I’m still in the trenches. Some experiences, like Leah’s father’s girlfriend, are loosely based on real experiences, but exaggerated in a way that only fiction can make possible!

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

Carl would definitely be Blue Bell’s The Great Divide, which is half chocolate and half vanilla. His personality isn’t as neatly split, but there’s definitely a dichotomy there between who Carl is and how he sees himself. Leah would be Mocha Madness [coffee ice cream with roasted pecan halves, chocolate chips, and caramel sauce]. She’s a caffeine junkie, plus those pecans reflect her Southern-girl self and those “crunch” times in her life. Chocolate is rich, and caramel is smooth and sweet…all characteristics of Leah.

4. Are there any themes in Walking on Broken Glass that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

Molly is willing to risk her relationship with Leah, her best friend, to be honest and confront her with the truth. The theme of friendship as a relationship of trust, accountability, and forgiveness unfolds as Leah moves from brokenness to wholeness. And it’s partly through Molly that Leah comes to have a relationship with God. So I think the message there is our actions can bring our friends closer to or further away from God.

Overall, I hope the readers see that God can meet us wherever we are. We may know what we want, but God knows what we need. And His grace and hope are just waiting for us to turn the corner.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

It’s difficult to subject characters to pain. The journals in the novel were originally written in third person, which I thought demonstrated Leah’s separation from herself. My editor suggested changing them to first person. I hedged, but pushed myself through. It hurt me for Leah to have to truly feel those events, but I know the novel is much stronger for it.

My favorite parts were developing secondary characters as foils to Leah, especially her roomie in rehab.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

At this point, what I can say is that I do have another book coming out, but it won’t release for a year. More later; I promise!

* * * * *

Thank you, Christa, for being in the spotlight.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win your choice of a FREE autographed copy of Walking on Broken Glass.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

12 comments:

Christa Allan said...

Thanks for hosting my novel and sharing Leah's journey with your readers.

Anonymous said...

I would love to read Walking on Broken Glass! It sounds really good, please enter me.

~Abby, Bookworms Review

Martha A. said...

I am not sure if this drawing was closed or not! This book sounds so interesting. martha(at)lclink(dot)com

Emma said...

Walking on Broken Glass sounds wonderful.Please enter me in the giveaway.augustlily06(at)aim(dot)com.Thank you.

Carole said...

Family drama is my favorite genre, so I put Christa's book on my wish list when it first came out. The reviews have been great and I look forward to reading it. Thanks for an enjoyable interview and giveaway.

cjarvis [at] bellsouth [dot] net

Anonymous said...

This book is on my list to read....please enter me. Thanks!!!
jackie.smith(at)dishmail(dot)net

Edna said...

please enter me, I follow you on goggle and also have you featured on my blog
http://edna-myfavoritethings.blogspot.com/

mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net

Anonymous said...

please enter me (if it's not too late) thanks

karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)Com

Nancye said...

I would LOVE to win this book! Thanks for the chance.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

We have a winner from this drawing and that is:

NANCYE!

Congratulations! I have emailed you for your mailing address so Christa can send out your book.

As always, thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Christa Allan said...

Once again, thanks to everyone who stopped by and to Tiff for hosting me!

Teena in Toronto said...

I wasn't satisfied with the ending :(