Until Forever By: Darlene Shortridge Plus book giveaway

Until Forever

By:

Darlene Shortridge

• Perfect Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Tate Publishing (January 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1617392448
• ISBN-13: 978-1617392443
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches

Purchase at Amazon

Interview with Darlene

Hello everyone. I am happy to have a new author with us today, Darlene Shortridge,  talking about her book Until Forever. Darlene can tell you better than me about this wonderful book.  so after you read the Book Blurb, read Darlene’s interview and see why this book means so much to her.
Also Darlene is giving a copy of this book to one blessed blogger, so here is what you need to do.
Leave a comment about this interview by Nov 23rd
Leave your name AND email…if you don’t leave your email, I can’t get in touch with you!
Rate my Blogging for Books review HERE  This will give you 2 extra entries

Book Blurb

More than a Book………..

Until Forever is a story of a young family that is torn apart by the devastating effects of alcoholism. Can healing take place in a relationship when an unforgivable act is committed? Will Jessi’s pain and Mark’s guilt keep them apart forever, or will unforseen circumstances bind them together?

Join Jessi and Mark as they travel many roads that lead them to places of healing and forgiveness.  Where will God draw the line at allowing circumstances in our lives that lead us to Him?  Is there any earthly pain that isn’t tolerable if it leads us to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?  As you read “Until Forever” you may find yourself asking these types of questions.  As in real life, the answers don’t come easily to Jessi and Mark.  You will find yourself walking in their shoes, crying their tears and laughing with them as they experience real pain and find true joy.

1.       Hey Darlene, it’s great to have you on my blog today. Thank you so much for being here. Tell us a bit about yourself.  Joy, I am thrilled to be here, thank you for having me.   I am an author of Christian Fiction, a speaker and singer based out of northeast Wisconsin.  I enjoy speaking to groups of all sizes and genres.  I am married to the greatest guy ever, have two awesome children and a dog, (who can sometimes be very naughty) Ms. Leia.  I homeschool our youngest son, Jeremiah.  I love spending time with my family and my church family.  Worship is favorite thing to “do” and writing comes in a close second.

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2.       How long have you been writing?  I truly cannot remember when I started writing.  I did not have a fairy tale childhood and most of my memories are suppressed.  I do know that as far back as I can remember, writing always seemed to be a part of my life.  Whether it be poetry, songs and lyrics, short stories or full length novels, writing has been my way of expressing myself. 

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3.      What aspects of being a writer do you enjoy the most? Oh my goodness.  Sometimes I feel so guilty for sleeping in til 9 or 10 o’clock.  Alright…sometimes even later!  But…I love it!  I love staying up til the wee hours of the morning, when everything is quiet and my imagination is able to run wild with no outside distractions.  I do my best writing late at night.  It also gives me extreme joy to know the stories I write touch and change lives.  To make a difference in someone’s life, to give them a reason to hold on to hope through circumstances that would tear them down, is a priviledge that I count as one of the greatest blessings God has ever given me.  When readers contact me and tell how much this story meant to them, or how they were able to forgive someone because of what they read, it means the world to me. 

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4.       What is your favorite Scripture?  The scripture that I have been hanging on to is Matthew 19:26.  With men things may be impossible, but with God, all things are possible.  This scripture has been my lifeline lately.  My husband was laid off four years ago and has worked at a variety of jobs since then.  We have watched the hand of God do the impossible in our lives over and over again.  When things get tough, when we seem to have reached the end of the line, suddenly God moves and leaves us wondering why we ever doubted in the first place. 

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5.       How do you find characters for your books? Are the influenced by family and friends?  My characters are loosely based off of friends and family.  While Until Forever is fiction, my grandfather was an alcoholic.  The events that happen in my story were hatched in my imagination with a whole lot of inspiration from the Holy Spirit.  I tried to make my characters as close to you and I as possible, to make them as real to life as I could.  What I do is, and I know this is going to sound weird, but I live in the head of each character as I write him or her.  I will speak the dialogue out loud, cry with them, sneer with them…whatever it takes to make them seem real and to make sure I got it right.  For the children in my book, I took a hard look at my own children and gave them some of their personality, some of their spunk. 

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6.       What are 4 things about yourself that most people wouldn’t know about ?  Well, I really don’t consider myself to be an interesting person, or to have done much that would be interesting to others so this is what I came up with.  1)  I used to run long distance in college.  I love running and hope to one day start back up.  2) I played a mean air guitar in high school…and got a lot of flack about it.  Really, I was just socially inept and was trying to find my way!  3) I sing.  I mean, I really sing. Even though I never finished, I started college as a voice major.  I have either led or been on a worship team since I was 18 years old.  I can pretty much sing harmony to anything.  4) Per my son, I am the best cooker in the world! 

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7.       When will your next book be out?  I am hoping spring of 2012. 

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8.       What are you working on now?  I am currently working on the sequel to Until Forever.  I actually came up with a working title today, so we’ll go with that as long as we all remember I am a woman and I retain the right to change my mind at any time.  For the moment, my WIP is called, Forever Blessed.  It is book two in the Women of Worship Series.  While Until Forever tackles the subject of alcoholism, Forever Blessed deals with domestic abuse both in and out of the church.  Laney finds herself in an abusive marriage with three children in tow.  She flees her home and every bit of security she has ever known.  With nothing but the clothes on her back and a will to survive, she forges her way in a world that is leary, if not down right suspicious of anyone claiming they are physically, mentally or verbally abused.  If you look me up on Facebook and like the page Until Forever, you can read the prologue and the first chapter of Forever Blessed.  Make sure you leave a comment and let me know what you think so far.  I hope to be finished with this project by the end of December.

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9.       Where can our readers find you?  You can find me on twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/ShortridgeD  And on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/darlene.shortridge  You can also like my Until Forever page on facebook and read the prologue and first chapter of Forever Blessed under discussions:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorDarleneShortridge  I’m on Googleplus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/?tab=yX#114109879839110417142/posts.  My website is http://www.darleneshortridge.com/ and my blog address is:  http://www.darleneshortridge.blogspot.com/  Look me up.  I look forward to hearing from you!

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10.   11.   And I wanted to save this one until last, Tell us a bit about Until Forever and what Inspired you to write this wonderful book.  Until Forever is the story of a young married couple, Jessi and Mark, and their young son, Ethan.  Mark is an alcoholic who doesn’t think he has a problem.  He even commits himself to rehab just to prove he can go without a drink.  One day after his stint in rehab, he stops at a bar and has a few then proceeds to drive, all the while forgetting that their young son, Ethen, was curled up on the back seat asleep.  Mark gets into a head on collision with a tree and their lives are irrevocably changed from that moment on.   

Journey with Jessi and Mark as they learn the meaning of forgiveness.  How do you forgive someone when they have done something “unforgivable?”  This is a story of forgiveness, redemption and unconditional love. 

 As I stated above, my grandfather was an alcoholic.  I also have many family members who are in chains because of the choices they have made and continue to make.  It pains me to see so many people lose themselves in a bottle, lost and desperately searching for a meaning to life.  If only they knew there is a much better way.  There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that can seperate us from the love of God.  He is faithful to forgive us, no matter what “unforgivable” act we have committed.  All we must do is repent and ask Him to be the Lord of our lives.   

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My Thoughts about Until Forever

A life destroyed, ruined by alcoholism, Mark Jensen doesn’t think he has a problem. Even though he’s just out of prison for his addiction, he is still not convinced. That’s why Jessi is uncomfortable with leaving their young son with Mark while she goes to her teaching job at the school. While Jessi is gone, Mark take in situation into his own hands and goes out to the grocery store with his son. On his way home, he takes a different route, going past a local bar. He’s just going in for a few minutes, his son is sleeping and will be ok in the car, despite the freezing temperatures. And Mark stays much longer than he thought, drinks much more than he thought, and Marks actions causing the most heart-wrenching tragedy any parent has ever had to face.

Wow, what can I say about Until Forever? This is one of the best books I’ve read on God’s love, grace, forgiveness, healing and restoration. I know this is fiction, but as the author states in her interview, she has family members who are alcoholics and these dear people are on her mind while she is writing this. This is a subject that affects so many families today, so many children are hurt by it in many ways. This would be an awesome book to give someone dealing with this issue.

Until Forever is a most wonderful love story. A story of God’s love to us as well as a story of God changing a life in such a dramatic way that no one even recognizes him. Mark and Jessi’s journey is a love story that will stay with you for a long time.

I want to thank the author Darlene Shortridge for giving me a copy of this book to read and review. I was not expected or required to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are mine only.

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About the Autho

Darlene Shortridge attended Alderson Broaddus College as a voice major.  She found she was more passionate about her writing classes than her vocal classes.  She left college early and since that time has written various projects such as Bible School Curriculum and poetry.  She has also written and recorded a CD of original music.  She lives in Northeast Wisconsin with her husband and two children.  Until Forever is her first novel.     “I can’t remember the exact age that I started dreaming of writing the “All American Novel”, but I was very young.  It took many years to finally start putting the words to paper and now I find myself unable to stop writing.  I find it is much easier to express my feelings through words on paper versus the spoken word.  This book served as a creative outlet to share what is in my heart.  I truly believe, given the chance, that “Until Forever” will touch hearts and bring understanding and healing to many.”