Tuesday, September 10, 2013

STORMS OF LIFE SERIES by Sarah Dosher


 
 
Book #1 Haven from the Storm Release Date – March 28, 2013
Book #2 Before the Storm Release Date – August 29, 2013
The Storms of Life books, Haven from the Storm and Before the Storm are tales of love, tragedy, heartbreak and hope. The stories are crafted in such a way that make you want happiness to find these friends and take them away from all the things that hurt them. The characters, however, are so strong that they endure what life puts before them and deal with it without asking for outside assistance.
The Storms of Life series introduces us to Lily, her brother Easton and his best friend Dean. This trio hails from rural Kolby, Oklahoma and while they are rich in love for each other, they have received more than their share of heartache from and disappointment from the adults and authority figures in their lives.
After a destructive storm hits Kolby, Lily’s life is turned upside down. Left to virtually fend for herself, she works hard to create a level of normalcy and safety in her now chaotic world. So when Dean returns from college to begin his student teaching requirement, it throws them back together, left with lingering feelings of love and loss.
Before the Storm is the prequel to Haven from the Storm. This story begins with Easton, Lily and Dean as children. While left to their own devices, Easton, Lily and Dean spend their long summer days playing outside, swimming in the river and enjoying their small town’s public activities. When Taylor, aka Stretch, arrives in Kolby to spend the summer with her aunt, Easton is immediately drawn to her. He tries to draw her out of her shell as best as a young man his age is capable.
Years later, Taylor returns to Kolby just as Easton and Dean are graduating high school. The story bounces back between both summers and reveals how painfully raw misunderstandings from their youth can be.
Lily Grace is enjoying the summer before high school. She has a serious crush on her older brother’s best friend Dean. These feelings have grown exponentially over the years for Dean, but are always thwarted by her very protective brother Easton.
Dean Haven, Easton’s best friend has just graduated high school. He is spending the summer enjoying the company of his friends before heading off to college and hopefully leaving Kolby behind for good.
Easton Grace, Lily’s older brother and Dean’s best friend is the anchor of this group. He is strong, protective to a fault, caring deeply for his sister and his friend.
Grandma Violet is Dean’s grandmother. The only adult to show love and concern for this group, she provides them a place of solace when it is needed.
- From Book 2 
Taylor Monaco shows up in Kolby just in time for graduation. She is tall, gorgeous and a total mystery to Easton Grace. Flattered that he is attracted to her quickly fades to disappointment when she realizes he does not know who she is.


Sarah Dosher took time out of her busy schedule as wife, mother and author to answer some questions about her books for us.  Thank you Sarah for sharing your wonderful gifts with us!
 
RMWTPC – Kolby is a fictional place. How closely does it resemble where you grew up or live now?

Sarah Dosher – I grew up in a small town and now live in an even smaller town. A lot of the quirks of small town life that you glimpse in this series are true. But the level of devastation seen in Haven from the Storm is not something that I have personally experienced but there are numerous places in Oklahoma that have been through something similar.


RMWTPC – Was it difficult to write about this type of natural disaster as Oklahoma is part of Tornado Alley and these events happen somewhat regularly in your region of the country?

Sarah Dosher – It wasn’t hard to write about the actual storm because I think growing up in Oklahoma we grow accustomed to hearing about tornado devastation and living through it yearly. However writing about loved ones losing their life was definitely hard. A little under two months after I released this novel there was massive destruction with numerous lives lost in several tornadoes in Oklahoma. It was very sad and hard for me to watch after having just released a fictional book that seemed so close to reality.


RMWTPC – Have you or close personal friends suffered the kind of loss that the residents of Kolby did?

Sarah Dosher– I have known several that have had a huge loss of personal belongings to tornadoes but not the loss of life to the extent seen in Kolby.


RMWTPC – At different points in the story, school officials discuss Lily’s bruises and other signs of physical abuse. How did you feel when you wrote their sense of helplessness because she would not come clean about what was really happening?

Sarah Dosher – This has actually been a very hot topic for my novel. There are many that feel this was not true to life and would never occur. Some reviewers have even said that it ruined the whole story for them and I hate hearing that.

I can promise that it is very true to life. I did not make this portion of the story up. I have seen this occur over and over with my own eyes. I even spoke with several that work within Child Protective Services in Oklahoma and they confirmed that this scenario happens on a regular basis. Haven from the Storm has been passed around to many different employees in Child Protective Services because they feel it is so true to what they see –and I am very proud of that!


RMWTPC – How many books do you anticipate will be in the Storms of Life series?

Sarah Dosher – At this time I envision one more in the Storms of Life Series. It will be focused on Adley and Derek from Haven from the Storm, but you will see all the same characters to some degree. The title is Sanctuary from the Darkness and is set to publish early in 2014.


You can follow Sarah on her blog at: sarahdosher.com


And you can purchase her books on:


Barnes & Noble at: http://goo.gl/VoYLbm


iBooks: coming soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment