Sit back and relax was we visit today with author Erin Rainwater. Erin's here to chat about her book, Refining Fires. So, grab your cuppa and let's enjoy some time with Erin.
[Also, a quick editorial note: I don't know what has happened, but my blog has a mind of its own today, the formatting is doing something crazy, so please excuse the post's messiness! Goodness!]
--Refining Fires - Fires is plural. Could you tell us why?
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. This quote from Isaiah begins the book. Each of the characters in these three stories goes through a refining process. The hero of the stories is Peter Cochran, and his fiery process is literal as well as figurative. So the title of the first part of the book, which deals with him and his nurse Clare, is “Refining Fire” (singular). But the nurse, the little girl, and the woman of questionable repute all undergo some type of refinement and redemption. Thus the plural Fires captures all of their trials.
Questions for Refining Fires' hero - Peter
--Peter, could you tell us about yourself, your injury and how you got it, what struggles you're facing?There was a time that seems not so long ago when I never would’ve answered your questions, Tina, and in fact would’ve told you what you could do with them. But my world is different now, thanks be to God and the gift He sent me.
I was born into a Christian home but wandered from those roots. I had money and good looks, so doors of worldly opportunity were wide open to me, and I went through them. Yet I remained in the family business and took it over when my father died. I served in the Korean War, and on my last day there, the plane that was bringing me home crashed. After many months in the hospital, I returned home badly scarred in more ways than one.
Bitterness reigned in my soul. My only friend was my butler, Leopold, who remained loyal despite my acrimony. I rarely left the sanctum of my home. Why should I, only to face all the wide-eyed children and the wincing parents who’d grab their kids by the collar and steer them clear of me? And I steered clear of God. Four years after the crash is when Clare entered my life.
--In the story, Peter, we find out that Clare is a VA nurse--how does she come to work for you and what challenges did you face early on?
I look back and wonder sometimes if God allowed the unfair circumstances in Clare’s life just so she’d be desperate enough to accept the job as my live-in nurse. It pains me to think so, but she sure had to be desperate—homeless and penniless—to put up with me. She had cared for soldiers as an Army nurse during the war and veterans at the VA, but all put together they didn’t equal the challenge I presented. But my anger was no match for her chicanery in getting me to hire her after I’d already had her thrown out. No match for her tenacity. Nor for those emerald eyes of hers. Nor her laugh. Nor her…but I digress. Suffice it to say, Clare resurrected my long-lost sense of humor, along with the courage I’d need to define myself as a man. But the biggest challenge I faced with her was learning the meaning of what it is to love sacrificially.
--What was your first impression of her?
My first impression was tainted by my bitterness, and I did not want to hire her or to like her. I even tried sabotage, and had her thrown out, but her fight for fairness moved me in ways I hadn’t counted on. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. To this day I don’t know what would’ve become of me if she hadn’t tricked me into hiring her.
Now, back to Erin:
--Erin, tell us about the how the three stories in this book are connected.
The first story, “Refining Fire,” is about a former Army nurse who is just desperate enough to take on the most horrible patient any nurse could ask for—Peter Cochran, a bitter and disfigured veteran. But her faith and determination combine to elicit renewed life from his damaged body while evoking a raw yearning in his damaged soul. In “Blind Courage” you’ll meet a frightened young girl name Susannah whose mother is very ill and there is no one to save her but Susannah. At first you’ll see no connection to the first story, but be patient. Susannah crosses paths with a man who has suffered his own fiery trials and who offers her help with her refining process. Then you’ll meet the “Kept Woman.” Oh, she’s a prickly one, all right, and refining her is no easy task. But a little girl and a man well familiar with God’s grace show her a different path than the one she’s on that leads to self-destruction.
--How long did it take to write the entire book?
Considering I wrote a form of the middle story, “Blind Courage,” as an English assignment in the eighth grade, I guess you could say it took me about forty-six years. Then it was a short story, and I got an A. Unlike most grade school work, which is forgotten once handed in, I never did get the story of this little girl out of my mind. I wrote the story of Peter and Clare in my thoughts over the course of a couple of years, and got the insane notion of combining the stories into one, which obviously necessitated reworking “Blind Courage.” The idea for “Kept Woman” came last, and I wrote that fairly quickly, deciding to make it a part of what became a sort of trilogy.
--What do you hope your readers will 'take away' from reading Refining Fires? The fact that God’s unfathomable love takes many forms, and sometimes takes the form of discipline. Peter learned that what God allowed in his life was an act of love, impeding his progress toward that which would have been ruinous to him. Sometimes His love takes the form of a test, asking us to prove our faith is genuine. But the Refiner’s hand is always on us, regardless of how circumstances may appear. And He always provides the courage and tools we need to persevere and come out refined.
--What other books have you written? Can you tell us a little about them?
I published two historical love stories via POD, both of which I’m thrilled to say readers are loving. The first is True Colors, a Civil War-set romance/adventure, a scene from which is being translated onto the theater stage this fall:
Cassie Golden feels called to leave her safe but lonely Pennsylvania farm to tend the Union wounded in Alexandria, Virginia. Love and conspiratorial intrigue enter her life there, both arriving in the form of an intelligence officer, Major Michael Byron. When duty sends him away, Cassie becomes unwittingly enmeshed in a mosaic of espionage, kidnapping, imprisonment and murder. Their unanticipated reunion only creates a chasm between them as sweeping as the one dividing the nation. Only the truth can bridge such a chasm. And truth is in short supply.
The other story, The Arrow That Flieth By Day, picks up just after the ending of True Colors, and takes place in Colorado:
Mandy Berringer is on the last leg of a homebound journey to Denver when a mistaken accusation by Indian warriors diverts the course of her life. Believed dead by her family, Mandy will do anything to get home. But a disabling accident, an epidemic, an unexpected love and a tragic loss prolong her separation from her family until she is finally reunited with them—only to be devastated by what she finds. The man she loves undergoes crushing trials of his own, and their search for each other leads them on separate journeys into new tests of faith and enduring love.
--Where can readers find you on the internet?
Erin Rainwater in the spotlight:
--What's your favorite book and why is it?
To Kill A Mockingbird. I love Scout, her pluck, her curiosity, and even her wisdom. The plot is so powerful, yet there’s humor, and overall it’s heartwarming. But mostly I love the story because my father was an attorney like Atticus Finch—honest, intelligent, a lover of his children. He died when I was two, so I saw in Atticus a picture of my father. Gregory Peck played him in the movie, and I’ve been in love with him ever since. So is Clare in Refining Fires.
--What's your favorite breakfast?
Anything served in bed. Just not runny eggs.
--Who from present or history would you like to spend an afternoon with and why?
First and foremost Jesus, of course. But assuming you mean besides Him, I’d pick Abraham Lincoln. I’ve read a lot about him and all things Civil War related, and I am fascinated by his humility, his sense of responsibility, his wisdom and his wit despite the incredible power he held and the immense burden he bore.
--Do you have any pets?
I love animals, but I’ve had a dog that died at the age of six, two cats that went missing, and two ferrets that also died. I determined to never again own a pet because it’s just too hard to lose them.
To win a copy of Erin's book, please visit her site to find the answer to her question, then return here and leave your answer and your email address (email[at]whatever[dot]com format) in a comment.
Erin, thank you for being our guest today and for the opportunity for one of our readers to win a copy of Refining Fires.
Here's Erin's question for you:
There is a scene in my novel True Colors where the hero, Michael Byron, must decide whether to remain at his present position or answer a deeper calling that would take him away from his love, Cassie. What real-life scenario is part of that scene based on?
