Absence of Grace New

absence of grace

Choices are never truly random, and they always have consequences.

WHAT INSPIRED ME TO WRITE THIS NOVEL

A conversation.

When I was eighteen I had a conversation with a friend struggling with her reaction to the serious illness of her younger brother. I never expected that conversation would resurface many years later as the starting point for a novel that I had no idea I would write.

THE CHARACTERS

Clen McClendon

Clen, who her mother insists on calling Michelle, is, perhaps, my favorite character in all of my novels. She’s strong, determined, bright as hell, and has no patience for fools nor tolerance for those who harm others in word or deed. She’s also vulnerable and haunted.

Writing her journey of discovery was fascinating, since her choices and her reactions were both unexpected and yet totally in character.

Gerrum Kirsey

There’s an element of magic involved in the writing of every novel, at least I’ve found that to be so. For absence of grace, the clearest example was when the phrase, Gerrum the Jap, suddenly rang inside my mind. That was my introduction to one of my main characters.

Growing up in Seattle, Gerrum. whose mother was an Alaskan native, was thought to resemble the recently defeated Japanese, and as a result he was bullied and teased.

When I met Gerrum, he had left a lucrative law practice and a fiancé in Seattle to explore the possibilities of a quieter life in Wrangell.

THE SETTINGS

This novel has a variety of settings including a college in Kansas and an abbey in New England. But the major setting is Wrangell, Alaska.

What Readers Are Saying

Over 4,000 readers have awarded absence of grace five stars

“absence of grace is a riveting read of personal struggle, very much recommended.” Midwest Review July 2012

“Love the way this book flowed back and forth, like the tide bringing in new finds.” Karen Daniel