Author Spotlight - Excerpt from "A Hometown 4th of July"

Thanks so much for supporting June during her week in the spotlight. Leave a comment today, Saturday and Sunday on the excerpt post and I'll pick one lucky winner to receive a PDF of June's novel, "A Hometown 4th of July." Please remember to leave your email in the post so we can get ahold of you. Enjoy the excerpt!

Smiles
Moderator Steph

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Max reached in the bottom of the envelope and allowed his hand to investigate. A sturdy piece of paper. His heart raced again. Was it what he'd hoped? His eyes perused the document. "Lynn, it's my birth certificate. Las Cruces General Hospital. Eight pounds seven ounces. Look, my footprints." He turned it over and back again. "But nothing about my mother other than her name." No clues to finding her.

The last item was a yellowed envelope with the words To Max. Max sucked in a breath and opened up the letter hand-written in English on lined notebook paper. He handed it to Lynn not trusting his voice."Could you read it for me?"

"I'll try." She cleared her throat. "To my hijo Maxwell. Please, my son. Someday you forgive me. It best for you I let you stay wit Mr. and Mrs. Tate. Dey good parents to you and give you mucho. I can no do. But me hijo, I always love you. Your Mama."

Lynn dropped the paper in her lap, covered her face with her hands, and sobbed. She shook her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry, Max. This is hard for me, too. When you care about someone…"

Max placed the envelope back on the coffee table and closed the gap between them. He pulled Lynn to him and laced his arms around her. Her tears moistened his neck as she held on to him. He wasn't sure how long they clung to each other.

Finally Lynn turned to lean back on the couch. Max lifted his arm and drew her to his chest. He laid his head on the couch pillow and closed his eyes. The envelope held a snapshot of his origins, his blood relatives. He sighed resting his chin on Lynn's head, and she snuggled closer to him.

No words filled the air, only the sound of the ticking clock on the wall in the kitchen. The sun sank lower in the western sky and shadows began to silhouette the mountains. For once in his life, Max found hope. He was almost there. His identity. Lynn had quieted, and he trusted his voice again. "I've got to find her. There must be some clue here."

Lynn sat up straight and placed her hand on his arm. She wrinkled her forehead. "Is there anything else left in the envelope?"

He peered down into it. "No, that's all."

She massaged her temple. "You didn't find anything with her social security number?"

"No." Had he stumbled on the envelope only to discover he wasn't any closer to locating her?

Lynn gasped and drew her hand to her mouth. "We found the card with her birth month and date. We know she was twenty-three when she gave birth to you, and you're twenty-five now. Max, I think I have enough to go on to find where your mother lives."
*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com

Buy Links:


http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-313/A-Hometown-Fourth-of/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/A-Hometown-Fourth-July-ebook/dp/B008GI61GU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341248351&sr=1-1&keywords=a+hometown+fourth+of+july

Author Spotlight - The Story behind "A Hometown 4th of July"

I'm so excited about my book, A Hometown Fourth of July, releasing July 1 with Desert Breeze. The story is a romance about a young Hispanic man and the beautiful woman he leads to a relationship with God. In seeking his true identity, he finds it, but not in his birth family, as he'd always believed. Though the story is fictitious, the premise comes from a real-life situation. Here's the story - the real one, that is.

My husband loves to tell a story about his parents when they were childless. His mom and dad were of the Catholic faith, so after they'd been married for eight years with no babies on the way, they decided adoption would be a good route to begin expanding their family. They paid a visit to the Catholic Charities in Birmingham, Alabama. There they found a darling, four year old boy named Marshall and brought him home to be a part of their family.

For reasons known only to God, after two more years, Mrs. Foster found she was pregnant and delivered her first biological son, Mike. After that came my husband Joe, then Pat, then Helen, and finally Steve. Marshall was thrilled with so many brothers and a sister.

The story goes that Mrs. Foster decided that the two older boys, Mike and Joe, needed to learn that their oldest brother was adopted. She called a formal family meeting and made the solemn announcement about how Marshall came to their family. At the end of the meeting, Joe questioned his mother, "Marshall still gets to be our big brother, doesn't he?"

Even though my husband left for the army after he grew up, he and Marshall remained in touch. When we moved to Lacey, Washington where he lived, Marshall mentioned to Joe he'd be interested in finding his birth family but had no idea how to go about it. Since Joe had a good knowledge of the computer, he offered to help. Alabama, which had been a closed adoption state, opened their records up in the early 2000's, and Joe was able to find out some information.

Marshall was sorry to hear his birthmother had passed away ten years before but was encouraged to learn he had a sister. Joe couldn't find a contact number for Marshall's sister, but located a number for Marshall's niece, his sister's daughter. Marshall was too ill-at-ease to make the call so Joe dialed the number while Marshall looked on clasping his hands tightly in front of him.

When a woman's voice said hello, Joe said he was phoning on behalf of his brother, Marshall Foster, and that Marshall was looking for his sister. Joe asked if he have the right number. My husband thought the woman had hung up as heard nothing but silence, then a sob carried over the phone. Finally, the woman said she believed he had the correct number. She was Marshall's niece and said her mother, Marshall's sister, had been looking for him for years, always hoping to meet her brother. Joe asked if the mother lived in the same town, and again, the niece let out a sob. She said her mother had died two months before.

Marshall was devastated, but his niece's promise to come to Washington to visit him with her other sister the following July, cheered him, and they made plans. But in June, just two days after Marshall's birthday, he died of cancer, never getting to meet even his nieces.

This sounds like a sad story, but wait. There's more. During the process of helping Marshall to find his birth family, my husband and I had occasion to tell Marshall about our awesome and powerful God who sent his son Jesus to the earth to die for our sins. We shared how to have faith in the Savior and about our final home - Heaven. Marshall began going to church with us and gave his life to the Lord at Thanksgiving that year before the following summer. He started coming to Bible study in our home. We were warmed when he told us how he'd always felt empty. He pointed to his heart. He said he was no longer empty inside, and he finally knew who his real Father was.

Joe and I were present on that day in the middle of June when Marshall went to be with the Lord. I've never witnessed anyone die before, but I can say, truly, without hesitation, that the experience was beautiful. And I know that someday we'll see this wonderful man again when we join him in Heaven to be with Jesus forever.

*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com

Buy Links:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-313/A-Hometown-Fourth-of/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/A-Hometown-Fourth-July-ebook/dp/B008GI61GU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341248351&sr=1-1&keywords=a+hometown+fourth+of+july

Author Spotlight - Pictures that inspired "A Hometown 4th of July" setting

Max Tate's blond haired parents didn't have to tell him he was adopted. If he finds his birthmother, he'll discover his identity.











When he meets Lynn Marshall at the annual Fourth of July celebration in Ft. Freedom, he believes her skills as a research analyst can help him find his mother.














But when Lynn and Max go in search of his mother on Cascade Island, he finds she died two weeks before. He turns his back on Lynn and his God. Can Max find his true identity and be free to celebrate another Fourth?






The Tate Estate. Max lives over
the garage in back.
















100 year old church where
Max worships.




















The local drugstore where Lynn
discovers an important clue.





















The ferry terminal


















Where Max gave Lynn her Bible.



















View of Puget Sound from the Tate Estate






















*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com

BUY LINKS:


http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-313/A-Hometown-Fourth-of/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/A-Hometown-Fourth-July-ebook/dp/B008GI61GU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1341248351&sr=1-1&keywords=a+hometown+fourth+of+july

Author Spotlight - Interview with Lynn Marshall from A Hometown Fourth of July

June: Lynn, how do you like living in Ft. Freedom?

Lynn: I love the cool weather here in Washington. But sometimes when I don't see the sun for days on end, I get a bit depressed. At least my job serving as an analyst for the senators keeps me busy.

June: If you're an analyst for the Washington State Senate, you know your way around a computer. How do you put your skills to use off the job?

Lynn: As you know, my boyfriend Max Tate is a mechanic and doesn't have time to spend on the computer. Don't tell him I said so, but truthfully, he doesn't know a thing about googling. He doesn't even know how to google his own name. I have to help him. Well, I want to help him.

June: Help him with what?

Lynn: Max is searching for his birthmother so I've been doing the leg-work for him on some of the genealogy search engines.

June: Isn't that like doing double duty. You work on the computer all day, then at night you search for Max's birthmother.

Lynn: It is, but I'll tell you the truth. For once in my life, someone appreciates me. When I was growing up, my mom had too many kids to pay attention to me. I was right in the middle.

June: So, how are things going with you and Max?

Lynn: Promise not to tell?

June: Sure. And my fingers aren't even crossed.

Lynn: I think I'm falling in love with him.

June: I can see why. He's so handsome. And such a good Christian man.
Lynn: sigh

*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com

Author Spotlight - Q&A with June Foster

STEPH: I don't know much about Hometown Fourth of July. What's it about?

JUNE: Max Tate meets Lynn Marshall at the annual Fourth of July celebration in Ft. Freedom, Washington. As an adult, he's always wanted to find his birthmother, a maid at the Tate household, who gave him up for adoption to the wealthy lawyer and his wife when he was four. Since Lynn is a research analyst for the state senate, she could help him with a computer search. Lynn grew up as a middle child of a large family, never quite feeling like she belonged. Now someone needs her. As she helps Max, he shares his faith with her, and she gives her life to God. When she locates a likely person who could be Max's mother, they make a trip on the ferry to Cascade Island only to find Max missed meeting his mother by two weeks. Now she's dead and he'll never find his roots. Max's life looks bleak when he turns his back on the woman he loves and his God. Can Max find his identity, regaining his relationship with Lynn and his Lord setting him free to celebrate another Fourth?


STEPH: How long did it take you to write the book?

JUNE: It generally takes me about four months to write a book. That includes lots of edits. I have a wonderful critique group I work with, and I do a copious amount of self-editing. Then it seems like I always find more to edit.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

JUNE: Not a lot with this book. It is set in the real life town of Steilacoom, Washington. My husband and I have been to the wonderful Fourth of July celebration several times in that city sponsored by the local Chamber of commerce. The opening scene is based on the incredible parade. Since the story is loosely based on the adoption situation of my husband's older brother, I did a small amount of research on his life and how he came to be with the Foster family.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

JUNE: Max and Lynn are looking toward fireworks in the sky with a church in the background. The fireworks represent how the couple met as well as an important story element at the end of the book. The church reflects how God brings salvation and healing in their lives.

STEPH: Lynn is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

JUNE: Lynn is a middle child who never quite finds her place in her large family. She wants to steer clear of the company of her sister and older brothers and their families because they'll probably make her do all the work at the gatherings. She doesn't believe that God would love her enough to want a relationship with her. One of her strengths is her computer skills with which she assists Max in finding his mother. She gives unselfishly to Max not expecting anything back.

STEPH: What does Max find appealing about her?

JUNE: Of course he likes her curvaceous body and long strawberry blond hair. But more than her looks, he admires how she always seems calm and in control - so different than his fiery nature.

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

JUNE: A person's identity is not found in his possessions, his family, or his profession. These things do not define a person. Who we are lies in who God says we are - His children.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

JUNE: I know a lot of writers might say this, but I truly believe God places stories in my heart and mind. I reach for the truth I find in the Bible to create my stories.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

JUNE: Yes, of course. Couldn't do without one. I have a Kindle - the cheapest one Amazon sells. (smile)

STEPH: Fun question: What are your plans for summer?

JUNE: Yes, this one dates me, but I'm going to the wedding of my oldest granddaughter in El Paso, Texas. I'm so proud of her. She just graduated from UTEP with a degree in geology.

*****

Here's the link for the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0Gx4NBI88&feature=email

Find June at: http://junefoster.blogspot.com