Showcase: Faith Departed by Elizabeth Maddrey

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Christian Women's Fiction.

Starting a family was supposed to be easy.

Twin sisters June and July have never encountered an obstacle they couldn't overcome. Married just after graduating college, the girls and their husbands remained a close-knit group.

Now settled and successful, the next logical step is children. But as the couples struggle to conceive, each must reconcile the goodness of God with their present suffering.

Will their faith be strong enough to triumph in the midst of trial?

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“Stop stop stop stop.” June breathed the words as the digital readout on the bathroom scale flickered up. She cringed when the hateful thing finally followed her directions. One forty. One hundred and forty pounds. She stumbled backwards off the scale and dropped onto the cold edge of the bathtub. At five foot two, she was used to numbers much more in the range of one ten. But the last six months had added thirty pounds…that was five pounds a month. She buried her head in her hands. What was going on?

“Morning, baby.” Toby shuffled into the bathroom, rubbing his eyes. He stopped to give her an appreciative look and waggle his eyebrows. “Careful, you’re going to make me late for work.”

She chuckled in spite of herself. “You’re insane.” And blind. There was no point in drawing his attention to her ever expanding girth. She was on her way to being twice the woman he married four years ago. He hadn’t signed on for a two-in-one special.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, burying his nose in her neck. “I can’t help it if I have the world’s most enticing wife.”

He couldn’t possibly mean it. Her fat rolls squashed against his still-firm abs as he tightened his embrace. She fought the urge to push away and put on a robe. She forced her tone to be light. “Now, now. Didn’t you say you had a big meeting this morning?”

He pressed a kiss to her head and eased back, eyes still hinting at his interest. “I did…sadly, I did.”

She crossed her arms over her belly as he turned on the shower and tossed his towel over the door.

 “Any news, June?”

 She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head.

“We’ll just have to practice more.” He shot her a wicked grin and stepped into the steaming shower. 

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About the Author:  Elizabeth Maddrey 

Elizabeth Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of math and organization steered her into computer science for college and graduate school, she has always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace.

Elizabeth lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with her husband and their two incredibly active little boys. She invites you to interact with her at her website www.ElizabethMaddrey.com or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey

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Q.  What inspires your writing?

A. Really it's the little things of every day life that get things started. I'll overhear a conversation or work with someone and it'll trigger ideas. So really, it's not all that safe to be my friend - you're very likely to end up in a book one way or another.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A. Having the chance to put the stories in my head down for other people to share. But even if I wasn't published, I'd still write just for me - the reality in my head is usually more pleasant than the real world.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A. Now that I'm published it's deadlines. I don't have a problem sitting down to write every day, but when the pressure of a deadline starts to loom, I can psych myself out pretty easily and that just makes me feel more behind and then more stressed and...I just really have to work to stay well ahead of deadlines so the cycle doesn't start.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A. I'd be happy being what I am when I'm not writing - a homeschooling mom.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. Simple Pleasures - I have a pretty ordinary life, and I'm okay with that.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A. This is like choosing a favorite child. Let's go with Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. I guess I'm a little like Ann Elliot from Persuasion - fairly steady and responsible.

Q.  What character from all of your books are you most like?

A. Probably June in my most recent release, Faith Departed.

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. I've always loved Anne McCaffrey's books - I'd love to go to Pern for the weekend as long as there was a dragon who would take me around.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. Autumn

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. My publisher is really good about trying to tie the book cover into the story - for Faith Departed, the main characters spend a lot of time meeting for lunch in a little courtyard park, so that seemed like a natural way to go.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. I'm working on the follow up to Faith Departed, called Hope Deferred. It's a continuation to their story.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Just thanks for reading - it's been lots of fun!  

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