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| Tina Pinson |
An interview
with Tina Pinson
How did
this project take shape?
I call Christmas in
Shades of Gray my off beat Christmas Carol. It mirrors several places of my
father-in-law's life. (Of course I took some writer's liberties as well.) He
had cancer and checked himself out of the hospital unbeknownst to the doctors. Plus
many other things, but when he started telling about seeing cowboy fights in
the hallway, and later told how he had accepted God after 73 years, I began to
think of the battle it was for him to trust God and perhaps the spiritual
battle behind it as well. For years he ran from God, told people he didn't need
to be saved, he knew where he was going. He was hard man until he finally turned
to God. When he went back to the hospital, he just wanted to talk to his
family, tell them he loved them and God loved them too.
Please share
some themes of your story.
Spiritual warfare, salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and
family are all a part of the story.
What makes
your project stand out from other Christmas titles?
Well, as I said, it's an offbeat Christmas Carol, or perhaps
I should say an “onbeat” one because it shows the real meaning behind
Christmas. The main character, David, is lying in a VA hospital, dying at
Christmastime. Before he dies, he wants the opportunity to talk to his children
and tell them about the Lord so they don't waste years like he did running from
God. So he can see them again in eternity. And if he should die before he has
the chance, he prays God will reach his children. A being arrives and asks,
"What have you done in your life that merits God answering your
prayer?" and begins to take David on a journey of his life and that of his
children for the answer.
Tell us
one interesting fact about your book.
This is written about my father-in-law’s life. Some of it,
as I already said, I took liberties with, but many aspects come from his life.
For example he was a moonshine runner and then a lawman and at the time, he
found the moonshiners were more honest than the cops. As they say, sometimes
truth is stranger than fiction.
What’s
next for you as an author?
Right now, I am editing the fourth book in the Shadow Series,
This Shadowed Land. I have a few
other projects I'm working on, including two titles based during the Civil War.
Finding Middle C is a look at finding
the music in life while in the midst of tragedy, and From Hell to Eternity is a look at Andersonville. I released Black Rain, a novella and prequel about
a family who works and lives in the coal fields during the Civil War. I hope to
get the continuing story, Winds Across the
Rockies, which takes the family to the silver mines of Colorado, published
as well. I am working on a speculative fiction complete with clones, gene
mutation, and time travel, plus several other things.
What else
would you like to share about this project?
I wrote Christmas in
Shades of Gray after my father-in-law died of cancer back in 2004 and was
pushing to get it edited and released. When 50
Shades of Grey appeared on the market, I at first cringed and considered
changing the name of my story. But as you can see, I didn't.
Thanks for
addressing that as I’m sure SW readers might be curious. Thanks for visiting,
Tina!
~~~~~
Christmas in Shades of Gray released from Desert Breeze Publishing, November 29, 2013.
It's Christmastime. David Pareman lies in his hospital bed, dying. The
staff visits him, as does a drug induced cowboy and yellow-eyed monster—so he believes. But not his children. He fears he'll die
alone
without a chance to share his heart.
When Arion, a stranger with vast knowledge of David's life and a shroud of mystery over his own, comes to visit, David thinks he's from the newspaper. He learns otherwise. Soon David is tripping through his past in search of the answer to a soul-searing question. "What in your life merits God answering your prayer?"
Through his past and those of his children he hopes to reach, David finds little to balance the scales against him. He believes he's no good, with nothing of merit that would make God want to help in him. Then he remembers the truth of Christmas and the love the Father sent to earth.
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| Christmas in Shades of Gray |
When Arion, a stranger with vast knowledge of David's life and a shroud of mystery over his own, comes to visit, David thinks he's from the newspaper. He learns otherwise. Soon David is tripping through his past in search of the answer to a soul-searing question. "What in your life merits God answering your prayer?"
Through his past and those of his children he hopes to reach, David finds little to balance the scales against him. He believes he's no good, with nothing of merit that would make God want to help in him. Then he remembers the truth of Christmas and the love the Father sent to earth.
~~~~~
Tina
Pinson resides in Mesa, Arizona with her husband of thirty-plus years, Danny.
They have three sons, and seven grandchildren. She has been writing poetry,
songs, and stories for over thirty years. She loves to doodle and garden, and she
prays her stories will transport you to worlds beyond, touching your spirit and
giving you insight into yourself and God.
Connect with Tina here:
Twitter:@Tina_Pinson
Facebook--
https://www.facebook.com/TinaEPinsonAuthor
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/tinapinson/
