As Hannah recovers from emergency brain and heart surgery, memories of the past overtake her dreams with such clarity they cannot be denied. As the last of the painful family secrets come to light it's up to her brother, Doctor Richard Mason, and his unconventional methods to help her confront the ugliness.
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Excerpt
Running a hand over the side of his close-cropped gray head Frank tried to keep his cool as he pled his case, "Look, I just want to see Hannah, are you going to let me in there or not?"
Mason seemed to think about it for a second even though he really wasn't. "Ummm…not." He said finally. "She doesn't want to see you."
"She told you that? I don't believe it."
"Well, you could go and ask herself…oh, wait, that's right…you can't go in there. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it."
"Yeah, like that's worth anything."
"Some people think it is." Mason retorted as he held out his cupped hands, "Some people put their lives right here. Crazy, right?" From the look on the man's face Mason thought he'd stand there and bitch all day long. "While you're waiting for noon to come around, why don't you do Hannah a favor?"
"What's that?"
"Tell me about the two years between her accident and the birth of my pre-maturely deceased nephew." He watched Frank's mouth drop open. "Take a load off." Mason said and gestured toward the chair opposite his desk. "In fact, why don't you just tell me everything you know?"
"She told you about Little Ricky?" Frank asked as he leaned forward but the question was more directed to the air than anyone in the room. "She's never spoken about him…ever."
Interview
Tell us about your book and what inspired it.
I started writing the Sister Christian series a few years after I made contact with my birth family and discovered I had three brothers. I was raised an only child so the idea that I had siblings was rather new to me, growing up I often wished I had a sibling but then I'd go to my friend's houses and see how they interacted with their siblings and went home happy I was an only child. The idea of the brother/sister dynamic always interested me even when my friends were shouting at each other over nothing. This series and a lot of its contents, planted deeply in the fertile ground of a writer's imagination, grew out of those two situations.
"Genesis", the first book in the Sister Christian Series opens with Doctor Richard Mason reading a letter informing him his father, James Rice, has died and Mason has been put in charge of his sister, Hannah Rice. Problem is, Mason is in his early 50s and had no clue he was adopted until that very moment.
Hannah has known for decades that Rick is her brother, her mother told her just before she committed suicide leaving Hannah in the care of her father, James Rice. Hannah had a very unpleasant childhood. When we meet her, she is a troubled woman both physically and mentally who has spent 30 years of her life in one group home or another.
"Sins of the Father" is the second installment in the Sister Christian Series, in it Doctor Richard Mason and his newly discovered sister, Hannah Rice are still getting to know each other. Except now, as we open, Hannah is debilitated having suffered a massive stroke at the end of Genesis, the first book in the series. She's on her way to recovery but the process is slow and as her body heals her mind begins to remember the details of her horrific car accident thirty years before. Dark family secrets are uncovered and in Mason's own reckless way he forces Hannah to face them.
What should readers expect when they pick up your book?
A break from what's flooding the market lately, something that lets the reader explore a different kind of love story, one that doesn't revolve around hot steamy sex or rely on what's trending in lead characters. It's simply a good story with lots of drama, heart break, and moments of tender affection that will melt your heart.
What 5 words would you use to describe your main characters?
Richard Mason: genius, jaded, smart-mouthed, addict, faithless
Hannah Rice: intuitive, warm, damaged, curious, faithful
How long have you been writing?
Since I was in the 4th grade, which is just about 42 years ago.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to play those 'Saga' puzzle games on my notepad and word games and crime solving games. I'm also a big movie buff.
Favorite book to recommend?
"The Stand" by Stephen King, I think it's one of the best books ever. If that's too long for someone, and I understand, it is a big book then try "Different Seasons" or maybe "Nightmares and Dreamscapes". His short stories are simply the best.
Any last words?
Thanks for having me here today and I hope your readers have enjoyed our little chat.
Thanks...
It was in the 4th grade when Lisa Beth Darling discovered she was a naturally gifted writer. For her very first creative writing assignment, the teacher asked the class to pen a story about a baby bird's first flight and read them to the class. Putting pencil to paper, Lisa was instantly whisked away by a force she couldn't explain. When they were finished, all of the children read their happy stories to the class. Not Lisa. She got up and told of how the baby bird flew too high, hit a plane, crashed to the ground and died. She told of how the mama bird and daddy bird cried of how even God was upset sending the rains pouring from the sky. The class was speechless when she finished all they could do was stare at her. The teacher kept her after class told her the story was very good but it was different from the others. She asked Lisa if she'd ever heard of Icarus and had she based her story on him. Lisa had yet to encounter Greek Mythology or hear a whisper of Icarus. As Lisa left the classroom the teacher again told her how good the story was but suggested she might want to write something happier next time. Perplexed, Lisa turned and asked her teacher: "Why?" The teacher had no answer. Luckily for us, Lisa never took that teacher's advice.
Today she brings us complex multi-layered stories rich with the trials and tribulations that make up the world in which we live. Not one to be pigeonholed into any single genre, Lisa's stories revolve around the intricacies of couples from range the intimacy of lovers, to mothers and sons, and brothers and sisters.
Lisa Beth Darling is 49 years-old, lives in her hometown of New London, CT with her husband of nearly 30 years, Roy. She is the author of more than fifteen novels along with several short stories and non-fiction books.
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Giveaway
Lisa Beth Darling will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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