The End Begins by Sara Davison: Author interview, Tour, and Giveaway with Celebrate Lit.

About the Book

Book: The End Begins (Rerelease)

Author: Sara Davison

Genre: Dystopian Romantic Suspense

Release Date: July 15, 2024

Which of them is the prisoner and which one is free?

Bookstore owner Meryn O’Reilly and Army Captain Jesse Christensen are on opposite sides of a battle. After a series of terrorist attacks in 2053, martial law has been declared in Canada and the military has taken over. When a radical Christian group claims responsibility, Jesse and his platoon are sent to Meryn’s city to keep an eye on the Christians and ensure they are not stepping outside the confines of the law.

Fiery and quick-tempered, Meryn chafes under the curfew and other restrictions to her freedom. Jesse is equally amused, intrigued, and terrified by her spirit, knowing she could end up in prison if she shows defiance to the wrong soldier, namely Lieutenant Gallagher.

Jesse watches out for Meryn when possible, although she wants nothing to do with him. His worst fears are realized when she commits a crime he cannot protect her from. Now they both face an uncertain future and the very real threat of losing everything, including their lives.

With time running out, Jesse works feverishly to convince the authorities to show leniency—and to convince Meryn that love can overcome any barrier that lies between them.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview:

What makes your main characters tick?

Jesse is an army captain sent in to keep an eye on the Christians,
including bookstore owner, Meryn, after a radical Christian group
claims responsibility for a terrorist attack. He is not a believer, so
what drives him at first is a combination of his own strong moral code
and his submission to military authority. Later, it is his love for Meryn
and his growing faith that end up superseding his earlier drivers.
Meryn’s faith is the most important thing in the world to her and
definitely what makes her tick, even when refusing to renounce that
faith threatens her freedom, family, and even her life.

What was the highlight of writing this book?

There is a scene near the end where Jesse is forced to carry out the
sentence Meryn was given for smuggling Bibles. It was a tough scene
to write, as the punishment was harsh, and I didn’t want the agony of
either of them to be the focus. Instead, what I hope and pray comes
through (and readers have told me it does) is the hope and
assurance that, whatever we face, whatever we might go through as
a result of our faith, we will receive strength and courage from God to
persevere to the end.

Did you have an “aha” moment where everything came together?

I grew up in a time when end-times books and movies were really
popular. I remember seeing some of those movies in church as a kid
or young teen and being traumatized by them. Because of that, I
never thought I would write any story with an end-times feel to it.
Then our pastor led a study on Revelation that transformed my
thinking and planted the seeds for The Day Draws Near Trilogy. What
comes through in Revelation and, hopefully, in this series, is that yes,
things will likely become much more difficult for believers in a society
increasingly hostile to Christianity. No matter what we face, though,
we have the rock-solid hope that God will be with us, that He is
sovereign, and that one day all will be put right, and we will be with
him forever. When it came to me that I could write a series set in the future with a strong message of encouragement and hope for
believers, that changed everything and was a real aha moment for
me.

Are you working on your next book already? What can you tell us?

Book two in this series is ready and will come out in November. As
the title – The Darkness Deepens – suggests, things get even harder
for the Christians in this book. Even so, it is a story filled with love,
family, faith, humour, and hope. Book three – The Morning Star Rises releases early in 2025.

What authors would you say influence your writing?

So many authors have influenced my writing for various reasons.
Janette Oke, a fellow Canadian, was such a pioneer in the field of
Christian fiction, and reading Love Comes Softly certainly played a
role in me choosing to write these kinds of stories. Others who have
influenced me because of their ability to create worlds I was
immediately drawn into and never wanted to leave would be Madeline
L’Engle, Stephen Lawhead, Angela Hunt, C.S. Lewis, and many,
many more.

What famous author do you wish could be your mentor?

Madeline L’Engle. I just love her creativity and passion for writing,
and I admire her perseverance. A Wrinkle in Time was rejected
numerous times before being published and winning awards and
acclaim, but she believed in her story and never gave up on it. I hope
to always do the same with mine.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

My favourite pastimes are being with family, watching movies, going
to baseball or hockey games, having coffee or dinner with friends,
long walks, spending time at a cottage on the lake, road trips, and, of
course, reading, reading, reading.

What’s your favorite writing snack?

Is coffee a snack? If so, then coffee.

When did you write your first book? Is that first one published?

I wrote the first draft of my first book, The Watcher, in 2006. I’d
always wanted to write a book but found the prospect so daunting
that I spent my time getting a degree in English literature and then
taking every creative writing course or seminar I could find – basically
doing everything but writing a book. Then the idea for a story came to
me in church one Easter Sunday morning. I wrote it out in a few
weeks and thought it was pretty good. Then I showed it to an editor
who quickly set me straight on that. It was terrible and I have since
destroyed all copies, hard and soft. However, I worked on that story
for five years, writing, revising, getting feedback, learning the craft,
and rewriting some more. Eventually The Watcher won a publishing
contest and was published in 2011. The final version was vastly
different than that first draft, but the storyline and characters that
came to me in church that day remained the same.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

I like to take six months, although I have written a book in as little as
six weeks. One to two books a year is a comfortable pace for me. I
don’t want to push myself (or be pushed) to write faster than that or,
for me, it would mean sacrificing quality and originality. It would also
take the joy out of the process of writing.

What has influenced you the most as a writer?

Other writers in the Christian writing community. This is such a
beautiful, supporting, encouraging family, and I am grateful every day
to be part of it.

Do you write in one genre or several?

Not long ago, I would have said one. Although I never made the
conscious decision to write romantic suspense, that was always what
came out when I sat down to write, likely because it has always been
my favourite genre to read. And all my published novels fall into this
category. However, I am blessed to belong to The Mosaic Collection,
a group of indie authors that support and encourage each other, and
we put out two anthologies a year – in the summer and at Christmas.
I take the opportunity with those stories and novellas to stretch my creative muscles a little and try different genres. My contributions to
these story collections have included romances, rom-coms, family
dramas, dual-time, and Biblical retellings. It’s been a lot of fun to
experiment with different genres this way.

What genre would you choose to write that you don’t already?

I’m a sucker for a good love story, but I also really like to include
humour in my books, which I always do as relief from the tension. So
I would likely write rom-coms or romances if I were to change genres,
although I would miss the added tension and adrenaline that
suspense gives to a story.

About the Author

Sara Davison is the author of The Night Guardians, The Rose Tattoo, two sparrows for a penny, and In the Shadows series, as well as the standalone, The Watcher. A finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including the Christy Award, Davison is a Cascade, Word, and two-time Carol Award winner for romantic suspense. She lives in Ontario with her husband, Michael. Like every good Canadian, she loves coffee, hockey, poutine, and apologizing for no particular reason.

More from Sara

Most, if not all, great fiction begins with the question, “What if?” This is likely truer for The Day Draws Near Series (formerly The Seven Trilogy) than for any of my other stories.

The seeds for this series were planted as I worked my way through a study on Revelation at our church. Each of those seeds represented a what if question.

What if the Bible was outlawed and taken away from believers? What if restrictions such as a curfew or being forced to wear an identity bracelet were placed on Christians? What if the consequences for not following those restrictions became serious, even deadly? What if publicly declaring that you were a follower of Jesus Christ made it harder to buy or sell items? What if the churches were closed and believers forced to meet underground? What if teaching your children from the Bible meant you risked having them taken away from you? What if all this happened in Canada and the US in the very near future?

And the big question the entire series asks is: What if we are not ready?

Those seeds grew into the characters and storylines that make up the dystopian romantic suspense books The End Begins, The Darkness Deepens, and The Morning Star Rises.

The Day Draws Near Series is a revised and updated-with-new-content version of The Seven Trilogy, originally released in 2015 and 2016. While I don’t for a moment claim these books are prophetic, between their original release and now, many of the things that happen in the series, including a global pandemic, have since come to pass.

My hope and prayer for each book in this series is that readers will be left with a deeper awareness that time is short and that we are living in a society increasingly hostile to Christianity and in a world of darkness that hates the light. However that hostility and hatred plays out, life will become more difficult for Christians in the future, as the Bible clearly claims.

However, the tone of the book and what I pray readers will take with them is one of peace and hope. The most powerful message these stories convey is that there is no need to be afraid. God’s ultimate plan of redemption and reconciliation is playing out in front of our eyes. Nothing can thwart that plan. Nothing can happen that God does not allow.

Above all, every believer can know with absolute certainty that, whatever happens in the future, we will never face it alone. God will be with us, watching over us and giving us the strength and the courage to endure to the end.

Blog Stops

The Lofty Pages, September 19

For the Love of Literature, September 20 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 21

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 22

Through the Fire Blogs, September 23 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 23

Life on Chickadee Lane, September 24

Betti Mace, September 25

Artistic Nobody, September 26 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 27

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, September 28 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, September 29 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Beauty in the Binding, September 30 (Author Interview)

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, October 1

For Him and My Family, October 2

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sara is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon card and a paperback copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5445