Thank you so much for having me on your blog. I’m thrilled to talk to you today about my newest release, Raging Storm. This is the 2nd book in my Remnant series. It’s a story about a world where most technology has been destroyed by a massive solar flare, and how a small group of friends from Abney Texas learn to survive.
I’d like to share with you a couple of quotes from the story.
Quote #1 “The lights will come on again, folks. I might not live to see it. Some of you will. When they do, you’ll be surprised at how tough you have become. How you don’t need, or even want, that luxury. How you’ve learned to depend on the sweat of your own labor.”
This is one of my favorites, spoken by an older gentleman, and he’s talking to a group of farming neighbors who have gathered together to discuss their situation. I enjoyed this scene immensely. It highlights the wisdom and faith of our oldest generation. These are people that we all could learn a lot from, but we’re usually too busy to stop and listen. Our friends and family who are in the 70s, 80s, and 90s have been through difficult times before. Their wisdom comes from hindsight and from endurance. They have a different perspective because they’ve had to depend on their friends and family and faith. I think the older generation is a blessing from God to each of us, and I hope that we can appreciate that without having to go through what the characters in Raging Storm endure.
Quote #2 They found a room that had been set up with tables and chairs. Several lanterns sat darkened on the middle of the tables. Shelby glanced at her watch—it was only ten o’clock, but the room was empty. Everyone was in bed. Funny how their sleeping patterns had reverted back to a farmer’s lifestyle. They were up at sunrise and asleep by the time it was good and dark. No more late nights scouring the Internet, watching television, or reading one more chapter. She was reminded again that life had changed, and they had changed with it. Surviving took every ounce of energy they had.
There’s so much in this excerpt that I like. People’s lives have fallen into a natural rhythm again. I imagine much of our problems with insomnia would be gone, because we’d be physically exhausted from a day of labor. Plus we wouldn’t have the technological noise that has become a constant background to our lives. I enjoy many of these things as much as anyone–social media, digital music, an endless supply of movies at my fingertips–but I do wonder if perhaps these things have come at a great price. At the end of this excerpt, Shelby realizes that life has changed. That they are stronger than they’ve ever been.
Quote #3 Max glanced out over the university buildings, but he didn’t let go of Shelby. He turned her in his arms, so that she was looking out at Austin, but he kept his arms wrapped around her, as if he could protect her from what lay ahead. “When I decided to go to law school, I thought I could change the world.”
He rested his chin on top of her head, breathed in the scent of her. “My dad admired my enthusiasm, but he warned me that the world doesn’t change that way—all at once.”
“Maybe it did, on the night of the flare.”
“Not our doing, though.”
“God’s?”
“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just the way of the physical world. Maybe we forgot that we’re susceptible to the laws of nature.”
“So no changing the world.”
“Not all at once.”
“But we can make a difference?” She pulled his arms more tightly around her until it felt as if they were one person, one force to be reckoned with.
“One person at a time. That’s what my dad told me. The world is changed one person at a time.”
This is definitely one of the themes of the book, that the world is changed one person at a time. It’s a truth that I believe we see in the gospels. How is the love of Christ shared? One person at a time. It’s a truth we see in our daily lives. How to we care for others? One person at a time. And it remains a truth even when the world is in upheaval. It’s not in our power to change everything, but we can reach out to one another, we can make a difference in one person’s life.
