Shannon here: Vannetta Chapman shares the inspiration for her latest Dystopian title, Raging Storm. Comment or answer the question at the end of this post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Feb 25th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Vannetta:
When I met my husband I was a bit of a city girl. Okay, I was a city girl. I was born in Los Angeles, and I’d spent most of my adult life in the Dallas metroplex. Bob on the other hand was raised in a small Texas town. His daddy always had cattle and ranches and he grew up knowing how to fish and harvest a deer and pull a calf.
When he first took me out to the family ranch, he warned me that we were about to pass a cattle guard. My response was, “Why do the cattle need guards?” Yes, I was picturing men in the fields, guarding the cattle. I’ve since learned that a cattle guard is a metal grate in the ground, placed where a fence crosses the road. The grate keeps cattle from leaving your property.
Now we live in a very small town. I know how to use a handgun, I’ve done plenty of fishing, and I’m pretty good at jumping out of the truck to open and close gates. I love this country life, though I admit that we occasionally sneak back to town for a concert or special dinner. I’m changed though. I think watching the sunset from the tailgate of a truck is just as romantic as a dinner at a five star restaurant. I enjoy taking long walks together even more than I enjoy seeing a movie. Bob is the guy I love, but he’s also my best friend. That’s kind of my idea of romance, and that’s what I describe between Max and Shelby in my newest release, Raging Storm.
As I was writing this series, it caused me to look back over the things I’ve learned to do. I think I could be more self sufficient now. I hope that I would be able to survive if the grocery stores shelves were suddenly empty. Were our world to suddenly change, I believe we would be okay.
But Deep Shadows and Raging Storm are about much more than that. They’re about knowing who your neighbors are–whether you live in the country or the city. I envisioned a time when our faith and our compassion toward each other are what might keep us alive. As I wrote, I challenged myself to see this scenario from every point of view–the old and young, the urban and the rural, the faithless and the faithful. At it’s very core, this series, The Remnant, is about God’s grace and how it is always sufficient.
Maybe that is what romance is–walking hand in hand with someone you care about, through whatever this world throws at you.
About Vannetta: 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.
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About the book – Raging Storm:
In the Darkness,
Anarchy Awakens
When a massive solar flare wiped out all modern technology across the globe, the small town of Abney, Texas, was thrown into chaos. Shelby Sparks and her teenage son, Carter, have found refuge, but Shelby knows she can’t simply remain hidden forever. Carter is a type 1 diabetic in need of insulin—and Shelby will risk her life traveling to Austin to make sure he gets it.
Shelby’s best friend and high school sweetheart, Max Berkman, won’t even consider letting her make the perilous journey alone. Together, they manage to get to the capital—only to discover that while things are desperate in Abney, Austin has turned into an urban nightmare on the brink of anarchy.
Shelby and Max’s search for medical supplies will lead them into terrifying territory, where the only thing more uncertain than finding what they need is the hope of making it out of the city alive.
In this second book in an eerily plausible, action-packed dystopian series, survival will be threatened and faith will be put to the ultimate test as a raging storm engulfs America.
Can’t wait for the drawing? Purchase now:
Raging Storm Amazon Raging Storm Barnes and Noble Raging Strom Christianbook
Question for Readers: So what about you? What have you learned from your spouse, a friend, or family member, that you could never imagine yourself learning?
how to take verbal abuse without fighting back in kind
Too funny, Vannetta. Reminds of a boss I once had. She and her husband raised chickens and she said after work, she had to go home and walk the chickens. I was thinking of her walking chickens on a leash. Turns out,when it’s hot chickens clump up together and smother. Walking chickens means just walking through them, stirring them around, and making them move.
I love the story of you and Bob, Vannetta. I have learned about hunting from my husband. I, like you, can handle a handgun. I am very good at opening gates and counting cows. In fact, I never know what I might end up doing with that man of mine!
I have a winner! Melanie Backus won the drawing. I appreciate Vannetta for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.