Guest Post: Chasing Hope Blog Tour

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Chasing Hope by Kathryn Cushman

A Personal Drama of Shattered Dreams and Second Chances

A talented runner fully committed to Olympic dreams, Sabrina Rice's future was shattered by a devastating diagnosis. One forfeited scholarship and several years later, she has new goals and dreams that have nothing to do with running--something that's become far too painful to think on.
Until the day she sees Brandy Philip running across the community college campus, easily outpacing security. Sabrina immediately recognizes world-class speed, and it's all the more painful that it belongs to a teenage graffiti artist. When a chance encounter brings the two young women together, Sabrina becomes Brandy's best hope for staying out of juvenile hall. Soon, Sabrina begins to feel an uncomfortable nudge that her new life is just about to be toppled...that God may be calling her to minister to this talented but troubled girl.

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Author Kathryn Cushman

uthor Kathryn "Katie" Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy.

She is the author of five novels, including Leaving Yesterday and A Promise to Remember, which were both finalists for the Carol Award in Women's Fiction.

She is also the co-author of Angel Song with Sheila Walsh.

Kathryn and her family currently live in Santa Barbara, California.

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Guest Post

--How did you get the idea for the story? 

My daughter has some health issues that have impacted her life in a major way. I've often heard people say, "She's such a nice girl. She doesn't deserve what has happened to her."  It got me thinking about the concept of being more or less "deserving" of good health.  I began to wonder what would happen if say, an Olympic caliber athlete, developed those same health issues and completely lost her dream— in spite of hard work, in spite of sacrifice, in spite of doing everything the "right" way. And, what would she do if she met someone else who had an amazing talent, but who had done most everything the "wrong" way.  The story of Chasing Hope grew from there.

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

Sabrina's mother, Cookie. She is always perky, and upbeat, and I think she is someone I'd like to hand out with— a lot, actually.

--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

Yes, I'm in the early stages of writing my next book. It's about a young woman who, after her father is killed in an accident, finds out that the mother and siblings that she had been told had died 20 years ago, are actually still alive. The book is her journey to find out what happened and why.

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

For the past few years I haven't been reading as much as I would like. This year, I have been intentional about reading more. My favorite recently released book is Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock.

Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

I listened to the theme song from "Chariots of Fire" a lot while writing Chasing Hope. With my current project, I'm trying to pick Pandora stations based on the mood of the scene I'm writing. It actually seems to help me get in the right frame of mind.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

Since Chasing Hope deals a lot with running, I actually took it up during the writing of this book. Have I mentioned that I don't really like to run?? I signed up for the summer 5k series here where I live, and I went for training runs, the whole bit. When I turned in my first draft, my editor said, "I think you've done a great job of capturing the pain of running. I think we need to see a little more of the joy of running, or runner's high." My response was, "I haven't reached that part in my research yet." And quite frankly, I never did. Thankfully, I knew several runners and they were more than generous with their feedback.

Lightning round: this or that? This

Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate

Edward or Jacob? Edward

Hockey or soccer? Soccer

Ebook or paper? Paper

Salty or sweet? Salty

Beach or mountains? Beach

Phone call or email? email

Early bird or night owl? Early bird

Dog or cat? both

Messy or neat? messy

Ninjas or pirates? Pirates

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 10/17/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the publisher. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.



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