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I’m so excited to have today’s featured author back on the blog today as her tour with Celebrate Lit wraps up! Y’all get to know her a little bit better by checking out her five favorites and book news, enjoy the excerpt, then hop over to the blog stop to enter her giveaway!

About the Author

Erynn Newman is a pastor’s kid, raised in churches all over the Eastern Seaboard. As a little girl, she created rich fantasy worlds and imaginary friends that followed her into adulthood, when she realized that meant she was either a crazy person or a writer—or maybe both. Out of Darkness was born as she wandered the cobblestone streets of Europe during a semester abroad.

Since earning her degree in Christian Studies, she has traveled the world and served as a missionary, a counselor, an ESL teacher, and a nanny. Though she has never worked with the CIA, her DVR contains a veritable Who’s Who of international spies.

She is passionate about God’s glory and storytelling, and is blessed to be able to use one to accomplish the other. She is a Carolina girl, a wife, and Mama to a very busy little boy, two cats, and a gaggle of characters that live inside her head.

website | facebook | twitter

 

Five Favorites

Favorite character

Erynn: Will there ever be anyone better than Gilbert Blythe? Which makes me feel like I have to answer the follow-up question. Yes, as a purist, who grew up with the 80s version, I also watched and LOVED Anne with an E, and I think they captured the spirit of Anne and Gil (and everyone else) perfectly.

Beth: I adore Anne and Gil!!! My tolerance for tv or movie adaptations is at an all time low (#ratherbereading) so I didn’t even make it halfway through the first episode of Anne with an E.

Favorite book

Erynn: Currently, it’s The Sunken Realm by Serena Chase. I have 1,000 books on my TBR pile, but all I want to do is read it again and again. Swoony pirates anyone?

Beth: Ooooo, pirates! There’s a bunch I don’t read about often!

Favorite activities

Erynn: Geocaching or horseback riding (really anything that involves animals)

Beth: I’m an animal lover too although I’ve only been on a horse once or twice.

Favorite book quote

Erynn: “I can’t [talk about my feelings]. I’d need a new alphabet, one made of falling, of tectonic plates shifting, of the deep devouring dark . . . I need an alphabet of endings ripped out of books, of hands pulled off clocks, of cold stones, of shoes filled with nothing but wind.” ~The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson

Beth: Isn’t that pretty?!! What a fancy way of saying swoof!

Favorite movie adaptation

Erynn: I’ve seen every single incarnation of Pride and Prejudice (even the zombie one) despite P&P only being my fourth favorite Jane Austen novel, and I appreciate them all for what they bring to the story, but my favorite is a two way tie between the ’95 BBC version (hello, Colin Firth) and the pink Bible version. If you haven’t seen that one, you must check it out. It’s so delightfully weird and wonderful.

Beth: The BBC version is fantastic! I once read the book while watching the episodes, such bookish fun!

 

Books

Tell us about your latest release

Erynn: A lot of times my inspiration comes from books, TV, and movies that had an amazing premise, but I didn’t like the way things ended up, or I thought there were missed opportunities to explore. Out of Darkness began as an exploration of the age old love triangle/“husband coming back from the dead” trope. I wanted to know what it would look like if everyone involved loved the other two people more than they loved themselves.

Beth: I know there have been some mixed reviews but I simply adore this story! It is absolutely riveting and delightfully unexpected!

When her husband is killed by a car bomb on their wedding day, Elisabeth literally watches her dreams go up in smoke. Three years later, she’s beginning to figure out life without Drew—with the help of his best friend and CIA partner Gabe.

But Drew returns, and they must rebuild what was lost with international arms dealers on their trail and an ever shrinking list of people they can trust. Gabe should be at the top of that list, but his feelings for Elisabeth may stand in the way.

All three of them end up in a fight for their lives that will test their loyalty to God, country, and each other.

goodreads | amazon

#DealAlert: Out of Darkness Kindle edition is only $1.99 for a limited time! Don’t miss it!

 

Tell us about this story’s prequel

Erynn: First Light is a prequel novelette (about 50 pages) that tells the story of how Drew and Elisabeth met and fell in love. It takes place over a span of fifteen years and ends with what they think is happily ever after. If only they had any idea what was coming…
It’s available on Amazon for 99 cents, but you can also get it for free for signing up for my newsletter. Here’s the blurb:

Drew and Elisabeth meet as teenagers, and they fall in love. But when Drew’s father is killed at the Pentagon on September 11th, he finds himself spiraling into an abyss of rage.

To avoid dragging the woman he loves down with him, he has to walk away, even if it means losing her forever. He joins the CIA and eventually makes things right with God, but is it too late to make things right with Elisabeth?

goodreads | amazon

Beth: Readers should definitely check out Drew and Elisabeth’s story!

 

Excerpt

Gabe grinned as if he’d won the lottery. “Take your time. I’ll just be here, dazzling your bride with my dance moves.”

Drew put on his threatening CIA operative look. “I’ll be right back. Try not to get carried away.”

“Which one of us are you talking to?” Gabe tipped Elisabeth backward in a dip so low her hair brushed the floor.

Drew stopped in his tracks and turned back to face them, handsome even upside down. “You know exactly who I’m talking to, Di Salvo. Take care of her. You’re holding my heart in those gorilla paws you try to pass off as hands.”

She rolled her eyes as Gabe pulled her upright. “Aww… how romantic.”

Drew grabbed her hand and pulled her in for another kiss, then all at once released her and bolted for the door with a wink for her and a “Seriously, bro…” for Gabe.

“I will guard her with my life.” Gabe kept his expression serious until Drew was out of earshot. Then he offered her his hand and took her in his arms with the air of a man who’d spent more than his fair share of his youth taking ballroom classes. “Alright, out with it. Where’s he hiding the limo? I’ve searched everywhere, even used some of my agency connections, and I can not find it. How am I supposed to cover it in embarrassing messages and paraphernalia?”

She had to crane her neck to look into his face as she poked a finger in his broad chest. “You aren’t supposed to. That’s the point. And don’t think all that CIA ninja stuff they taught you will keep me from kicking your butt, Di Salvo.”

Gabe gingerly removed her finger from his chest. “Ouch, okay. I get the point. Spoken like a true Marek.”

“Why, thank you.” She looked him up and down and hitched her eyebrows up expectantly. “Now then, I don’t feel sufficiently dazzled. Show me what you’ve got in this dance arsenal of yours.”

 

Giveaway

Click over to our Celebrate Lit tour stop to enter this giveaway!

 

Say hi to Erynn and tell us if you’re a fan of romantic suspense!