On this first week of the Grace Awards Summer Launch, I'm featuring Tracy Krauss and her novel Wind Over Marshdale, one of the best books I've read this summer. I hope you'll enjoy the interview and excerpt that follows, and give her novel a try.
About the book:
Marshdale.
Just a small farming community where nothing special happens. A perfect place to start over… or get lost.
There is definitely more to this prairie town than meets the eye. Once the
meeting place of aboriginal tribes for miles around, some say the land itself
was cursed because of the people’s sin. But its history goes farther back than
even indigenous oral history can trace and there is still a direct descendant
who has been handed the truth, like it or not. Exactly what ties does the land
have to the medicine of the ancients? Is it cursed, or is it all superstition?
Wind Over
Marshdale is
the story of the struggles within a small prairie town when hidden evil and
ancient medicine resurface. Caught in the crossfire, new teacher Rachel
Bosworth finds herself in love with two men at once. First, there is Thomas
Lone Wolf, a Cree man whose blood lines run back to the days of ancient
medicine but who has chosen to live as a Christian and faces prejudice from
every side as he tries to expose the truth. Then there is Con McKinley, local
farmer who has to face some demons of his own. Add to the mix a wayward
minister seeking anonymity in the obscurity of the town; eccentric twin sisters
– one heavily involved in the occult and the other a fundamentalist zealot; and
a host of other ‘characters’ whose lives weave together unexpectedly for the
final climax. This suspenseful story is one of human frailty - prejudice,
cowardice, jealousy, and greed – magnified by powerful spiritual forces that have
remained hidden for centuries, only to be broken in triumph by grace.
What others are saying:
The
characters were realistic and the conflict was palpable
-
The
Wordsmith Journal
Krauss
weaves a story that satisfies the romantic soul and caresses the puzzle solver
in each of us at the same time…
-
Barbara
Ann Derksen, author
Krauss
typifies all that is good in modern Christian authorship. She is consistently
there for her readers and elevates her every effort
-
Joyce
Godwin Grubbs, Author
Tracy’s
characters are raw and real; her plots edgy and electric.
-
Lisa Lickel, award winning author
There is plenty of intrigue and
mystery to keep any reader's attention, but for lovers of romance, this one
will make your heart pound.
-
Michelle Sutton,
author of more than 25 inspirational novels
Krauss writes about real stuff that
real people, including Christians, struggle with. Her fiction is at times
earthy, but that drew me into the very real characters, their failures as well
as their hopes and triumphs.
– Ken Winters, author
Author bio:
Tracy Krauss is a high school teacher by profession, and a
prolific author, artist, playwright and director by choice. She received her
Bachelor’s degree from the University
of Saskatchewan and has
gone on to teach Art, Drama and English – all the things she is passionate
about. After raising four children, she and her husband now reside in beautiful
Tumbler Ridge, BC where she continues to pursue all of her
creative interests.
Interview
Q:
Tracy, when I read the book, I was immediately immersed in the eerie feeling imbued in the story. What inspired you to craft this tale of simple small town life suddenly
threatened by the emergence of hidden evil?
A: It started out with some interesting
characters that I had been thinking about. I am from a small town and have
lived in many small towns and I’ve noticed that every place has its own ‘colorful’ people. I also have an interest in
spiritual warfare and native history and I saw a way to weave all of these
elements together.
Q:
I think the title of the book really portrays sense of spiritual warfare. What other types of significance do you ascribe to the book's title?
A:
It works on many levels. For anyone who
has visited the prairies, they know that the wind plays an important role in
the psyche of the people. Also, I saw this as symbolic of the spiritual forces
at play within the book.
Q:
I felt as torn as Rachel did between the two new men in her life, and I really didn't know who she would ultimately choose or if it would work out for either of them. Why is it so difficult for Rachel to choose between her love for both Thomas
and Con?
A:
She is rebounding from a previous
relationship and her feelings of inadequacy have made her confused about her
own feelings. Basically, she is subconsciously trying to boost her own self
worth.
Q:
She's definitely a "real" character, flaws and all. Sometimes I caught myself thinking, No Rachel, don't do that! Why do you think it's often so easy for us to give way to sin, whether major or
minor in scope?
A:
I suppose it’s what the Bible calls ‘the
flesh’. It’s part of human nature to want our own way, and let’s face it, most
sin is also fun – at least for a season.
Excerpt
Thomas shot up in
bed, panting. The T-shirt he wore clung to his body with sweat. It was not the
first time the dream had come to wake him.
He took a deep
breath, disentangled himself from the sheets, and rose to get a drink of
water. No point going back to bed now. He wouldn’t sleep anyway. He padded down
the narrow hallway,
passing the half closed
doorways that sheltered his sleeping children. Ducking to avoid hitting his head
as he entered the tiny kitchen, he paused for a moment to look at the expanse of
landscape beyond the window. Mostly flat, with a rise of gently rolling hills in
the distance, it was clothed with a carpet of rippling grass except for the odd
patch of dry fallow. Just like in the dream.
The early morning sunrise
was just beginning to filter in, reaching to shed some light in the shadowed corners
of the room. Thomas had managed to rent a house near the outskirts of town. Correction. It wasn’t exactly a house.
The realtor called it a “double wide.” Okay, it was a trailer, but it was the only
property for rent in Marshdale at the moment. At least, that was what the realtor had said. It wasn’t the nicest place—rather
dingy if truth be told—and it was farther from school than Thomas would have liked,
but it was still within walking distance. Better than the overcrowded and dilapidated homes he’d been
used to as a child.
But that was another time.
Another life.
He was here now, for better
or for worse, and the people of Marshdale would just have to accept it. He was Thomas
Lone Wolf, proud of his Cree ancestry, and determined to do something about it.
As a community liaison, he’d worked with dozens of indigenous groups all over the western provinces trying to set up business
propositions. This time was different, though. It was personal.
With practiced fingers
he undid his nighttime braid and shook out his hair, which fell well past his shoulders.
Even at forty, there was no sign of graying or hair loss. It was straight, coarse
and
black, just like his
ancestors’ - the perfect picture of a Cree warrior.
Now that he was awake,
he allowed himself to replay the dream in his mind - at least the parts that he
could remember. Like most dreams, the initial clarity soon faded after just a few
waking moments. There were buffalo - always buffalo. And they seemed bent on suicide,
careening to their deaths before he could stop them somehow.
He was going to start
writing it down. The theme was too familiar; the mixture of fear and power too real.
Some people said you dreamt in black and white. Thomas wasn’t sure about that. He
knew there was blood in his dream - and lots of it. The redness of it stood out
in stark contrast to the muted prairie landscape. And the stench. That unmistakable
metallic scent filled his nostrils to such a degree that he could almost swear he
still smelled it. Almost. But that was ridiculous and he pushed the memory of the
coagulating stains out of his mind.
With a sigh he turned
back to the cupboards and started readying the coffee. It would soon be time to
wake the children and get ready for work himself. Another grueling day of lobbying
for something that should be rightfully his to begin with. Reality didn’t stop for
dreams.
Purchase links:
Astraea
press (publisher)- http://astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=12328252
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wind-over-marshdale-tracy-krauss/1111512160?ean=2940014767682
More at Tracy’s Online Store - http://tracykrauss.yolasite.com/online-store.php
Author links:
Website: http://www.tracykrauss.com
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