Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Guest Author Vannetta Chapman and Giveaway of Deep Shadows

Vannetta is very graciously giving away a copy of Deep Shadows to one lucky commenter. To enter leave a comment, include contact information and tell us about a time you had to live without a cell phone, television and a/c.  If you haven't yet, tell us how you think you'd react!

A Dystopian Setting—Deep In the Heart of Texas

Deep Shadows is the first book in my upcoming Remnant Series. It’s a dystopian Christian fiction novel, and instead of using a fictional setting I decided to use the area I know best—central Texas.

So what is dystopian fiction? At its core this type of story deals with a major shift in society—a plague or a global natural disaster or a man-caused universal change across the breadth of society. In Deep Shadows, a solar flare causes a disruption in all things electrical for the foreseeable future.

Yikes! No cell phones or a/c or television? No internet? I know. It’s a horrible thing to imagine. I had a lot of fun with it because I love torturing my characters and seeing if they are strong enough, smart enough, faithful enough to survive.

But it’s not all fiction.

Gorman Falls and Colorado Bend State Park do actually exist, and it provides
a dramatic, remote setting for the opening scene of Deep Shadows.


Fort Hood is located in central Texas and is one of the largest US military
installations in the world. The close proximity of this base provides a nice tension to my plot.

 There is no town called Fort Croghan; however, the US government established Fort Croghan in 1849 to protect settlers from hostile Indians along the Texas frontier. You can still visit the grounds and museum. I had a lot of fun imagining that a town had grown up around this historic site.

 Townsend Mills was established in 1856 and was a base camp for surveying crews. It no longer exists today but the small town Adamsville is located near the old site. Townsend Mills provides a nice transition from small town living to a life spent hunkering down on the farm, waiting for things to improve.

 There are more than 2900 natural springs in 183 Texas counties. Water quickly becomes a scarce resource in Deep Shadows, which would especially be true in central Texas where much of the area is exceedingly dry. In my story, any place with a water resource becomes a place of refuge as well as a designated target for those in need of that resource.

While I enjoyed using real places, the main setting—Abney, Texas—does not exist. I could not bear to destroy a town that I know and love, so instead I used a compilation of several towns in central Texas.

Deep Shadows is a story about relationships and how they survive or crumble  when what we’ve feared, as a society, occurs. It’s also a story of faith and hope. What do I hope readers take away from this story? The assurance that God’s grace is always sufficient. Take the worst scenario that you can imagine, and you can still count on our Heavenly Father—maybe not to make things instantly better, but to lead, guide, and care for us regardless the circumstances.

Back cover blurb

All It Takes Is One Night to Plunge the World into Darkness

Life in Abney, Texas, is predictable and safe-- until the night a massive solar flare wipes out all modern technology.

Shelby Sparks, novelist and single mom, had one goal: to provide for her diabetic son. In the wake of this global disaster, her mission hasn’t changed. Only now, medication is a priceless commodity and the future resembles an apocalyptic nightmare.

Max Berkman and Shelby were once sweethearts, but he lost his chance at claiming her love years ago. When the abrupt loss of power ushers him into a leadership role, he rises to the occasion. But his highest priority-- to keep Shelby and her son safe-- could prove to be the biggest challenge of all.

As the brilliant northern lights give way to deep shadows, Max and Shelby’s faith will be tested like never before. Only one rule remains: Find a way to survive.

In this first book in an eerily plausible dystopian series, a memorable cast of characters must navigate a familiar world thrown into chaos.

Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace, including romantic suspense and Amish romance novels. She is the author of seventeen novels, including the Pebble Creek Amish series, The Shipshewana Amish Mystery series and Anna’s Healing, a 2016 Christy Award finalist. Vannetta is a Carol award winner and also received more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She was a teacher for 15 years and currently resides in the Texas hill country. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com.

Find Vannetta at:





Deep Shadow Links



CBD


16 comments:

Deb said...

I live without ac everyday, it's hard, but it makes you appreciate what you do have. Cell phone I've only had for about a year. I could live without it.dsimmering68@gmail.com

Amy said...

I grew up without a TV and not many people had telephone's. We had to wait weeks to get one installed. Personally, I kind of wish my kids were growing up without a TV.
I would love to win this book. I have only ever read one other book by Vanetta, but I really enjoyed it.
amylsmith AT bledsoe DOT net

ajwbear said...

In 2004 we were hit by 4 hurricanes, 2 of them came through our town. We had no power for over a week, we had just filled our freezer up with food, and we were struggling to cook the meats before they went bad, as we had no power. We had no phone, as at the time we couldn't afford cell phones. With no power, we had no telephone service.

Unknown said...

Laura, Thank you for featuring Vannetta Chapman and her new book Deep Shadows. Interesting history Vannetta shared about towns that use to be. The picture of the store reminds me of Moonshine with a small building that has the best hamburgers not far from were I live. People will travel there just for a burger but you must be there before they turn the grill off at 1PM.

Unknown said...

Well cellphones didn't happen until I was a teen and everything wasn't so internet based like it is now. I lived without so much technology until I was 20 probably.

Catwoman0667@yahoo.com

Trixi said...

This sounds a lot like Terri Blackstock's Restoration series! Which I loved by the way :-) Vannetta is an excellent writer and this one sounds just as good....thanks for the chance to win a copy of "Deep Shadows" and for the author chat!

teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

Vickie @Vickie's Kitchen and Garden said...

We had a mega snow storm here and we were without power/heat/water for 4 days. It was exhausting trying to get everything and keep warm. Then the day we got our power back my mother lost her power and we did everything for her.
glad that time is over!

Vannetta Chapman said...

Thanks for stopping by! Isn't this picture fun? It's a real place only a few miles from me, and I can IMAGINE what it must have been like "in the day."

I hope everyone has a very blessed 4th of July, and thank you for commenting.

V

Patti Gallagher said...

I lived without power for a week after Superstorm Sandy. It wasn't ideal, however it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I grew up without TV and I still see no reason to own one so I did not miss it. I did rely on my cellphone to keep me updated with my family and friends, I would have really missed that if it wasn't available!
The one redeeming feature was that everyone worked together and we shared items too. We all came to know and rely on one another. That truly was a blessing.

Denise Glisson said...

I too have lived without power before. Thankfully, not in my home state of Florida. My first year in St. Croix, we had a hurricane and not much damage at all but so scary. We didn't have cell phones then like they are now anyway. AC no big deal w/opening windows and doors. Internet service was the worst for me. Vannetta, you surprised me with this different genre of yours! I know it will be a great Read because YOU are a great Writer!!

Marie Bast said...

Great interview. Live without a cell phone? Wow, I'm old enough I still can't believe we have cell phones. When I first got one, I wasn't use to having one and I'd forget to turn it on and my husband could never get a hold of me. I thought who needs a phone when they go out of the house. Now I never forget it. Marie crossofhope@mchsi.com

Jennifer Hibdon said...

Thanx for the giveaway. I am looking forward to reading this. My husband wants ro read it also! j4hibdon(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

I can't wait to read this book. I was born and raised in a small city,but after getting married, moved to the country. One winter we had a bad snowstorm and the electricity went out. Had two small children and i prayed that the lights would come right back on, but no, we were out for three weeks. Guess you can tell we lived in the boonies. We metre snow and did whatever we could to bet along. We had lanterns and a gas stove so those things helped. Playing games on the floor by lamplight. What good memories

Unknown said...

I can't wait to read this book. I was born and raised in a small city,but after getting married, moved to the country. One winter we had a bad snowstorm and the electricity went out. Had two small children and i prayed that the lights would come right back on, but no, we were out for three weeks. Guess you can tell we lived in the boonies. We metre snow and did whatever we could to bet along. We had lanterns and a gas stove so those things helped. Playing games on the floor by lamplight. What good memories

lollipops said...

Congratulations to Trixie

Trixi said...

Thank you so much, I'm so excited!!! :-)

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