Guest Post by Heather Gudenkauf, author of "One Breath Away" Plus A Giveaway!

WINNER OF "ONE BREATH AWAY" is Samantha (drakebdog@gmail.com)!   Thank you everyone for leaving your comments!


Today, I'm hosting a guest post from author Heather Gudenkauf, author of the thrilling "One Breath Away."

Telling The Story Through The Perspective of Your Character

By Heather Gudenkauf

In all three of your books, you tell the story through the perspectives of several characters. Why do you choose to write this way?

In the last few years I’ve been a silent, seven-year-old girl lost in the woods, a protective older brother, a deputy sheriff, a middle-aged male college professor, an adoptive mother, a teenage felon, a grandfather, a thirteen year old girl, and a sixty-five-year old third grade teacher. How many people get to say that?

While I’ve never been lost in the woods (but did get hopelessly lost driving through Chicago once), have never been an adoptive mother, never was a teenage felon (much to the relief of my parents), nor have I been in a hostage situation, I am somehow compelled to explore these personas and the families of these characters.

In choosing to write in this way, I also have had the chance to meet some fascinating people. I’ve interviewed a retired Sheriff’s deputy and police chief who taught me about police procedure, a criminal defense lawyer who taught me the ins and outs of state law and the criminal justice system, and two cattle farmers who taught me about reverence and respect for the earth and its animals. These conversations have helped me delve more deeply into the characters I write about.

I have always loved reading books written in multiple perspectives and knew when I began writing my first novel, The Weight of Silence it was the only way it could be written. I try to create characters that are very different from one another with unique voices, hopes and dreams. It's a lot of fun stepping into a different character's viewpoint each day, but at the end of the day, it’s a comfort knowing I can step right back into my blissfully, uneventful life!

Excerpt from "One Breath Away":

"Who would do this to my children? “Hang up,” I tell her. “Hang up and call 9-1-1 right now, Augie. Then call me back. Can you do that?” I hear her sniffles. “Augie,” I say again, more sharply. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah,” she finally says. “I love you, Mom,” she says softly."

About The Book:

In her most emotionally charged novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf explores the unspoken events that shape a community, the ties between parents and their children and how the fragile normalcy of our everyday life is so easily shattered.

In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom,
Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.


SPECIAL EVENT:

The good folks at BookTrib.com have generously offered one copy of Heather's book, "One Breath Away" to one lucky commentator on this post!

To enter for a chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post, and I'll draw for a winner on July 15th!

Good Luck!

My thanks to BookTrib.com and Meryl L. Moss Media for supplying a review copy of this book and for arranging the guest post. 

www.booktrib.com