Today Cristine Eastin visits Lagniappe to discuss her latest release, Fifty Days to Sunrise
Welcome, Cristine!
Tell us a little about Fifty Days to Sunrise
Fifty Days to Sunrise is a story of
grief and healing, family and friends, faith and hope—and
love.
Her life is a love story, but then…What’s a woman to do when her husband dies three thousand miles from home? Scream, cry—or run.
It’s 2003, a year and a half after her husband’s death. Fifty-three years old and alone, Lissa Maguire’s seething with grief. She has to cope, but makes a self-destructive mess of it.
Lissa’s parents ask her to spend the summer in small-town Gifford, Minnesota, helping them move to an apartment. Cleaning out the attic of her childhood home, Lissa discovers her old diaries, and her potholed road to healing begins. But when an old friend turns up, she’s confused.
Her life in shreds, Lissa desperately needs to find peace. She even wonders if God has abandoned her.
Healing a broken heart is a lot to ask–it hurts.
What Bible verse speaks to you the most?
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.
This is a tough one. Not some things
sometimes—all things. So how do we reconcile God’s love and mercy in the terrible
things He allows to happen?
I was thinking on this one day and
was impressed by the question and the perspective: What’s good to God? Well, that would
probably be anything that causes anyone to come to or deepen their relationship
with Him. A comforting thought, to me anyway.
Give readers
your brand/tagline and share how you came up with it.
My tagline is: “…because you
can’t pour from an empty pitcher.” I’ve
been saying this to my psychotherapy clients for years. I have no idea where I
first heard it, and I can’t find any information on the origins
of the phrase on Google.
Women need to hear this. It seems many women give, and
give, and give, till they’re all dried up and struggling to
survive, let alone minister to, parent, or partner anyone else. It seemed
appropriate to adopt the tagline for my writing since my hope is to touch women’s
hearts.
What was one of
the most surprising things you've learned while writing your books?
Writing Fifty Days to Sunrise
felt like an act of worship. When it was done I was lonely: all that intense
time the Lord and I spent together, writing.
What is your
hope for the readers of your books?
That they would be enriched and encouraged by Lissa’s
love story.
If you could
have one of your senses (Touch, sight, taste, smell, hearing) be a superpower
which would you choose and why?
Sight! This summer I had cataract surgery on both eyes. (A
remarkably pain-free process, so this isn’t really complaining.) Each of the 24
hours I had a bandage over my eye were long hours. During that time I couldn’t
see well at all because the other eye didn’t get a correcting contact till the
next day. I’m a very visual person, and I felt a
bit crabby without my vision.
What can we expect from
you in the future?
The next book is set in the Highlands of Scotland on the
west coast of Wester Ross.
China MacLeish inherits what she doesn’t
want and gets more than she could ever hope for.
LIGHTNING ROUND
More important: Plot or Characters?
Characters first for me. Being a psychotherapist, especially since I have a background in attachment theory, it’s all about personalities: how they got that way and how the character changes.
Vacation: Beach or Mountains?
In the Highlands of Scotland I get BOTH! My favorite.
Women’s Fiction or Romance?
Women’s Fiction—with a love story.
Plotter, Pantser, or Planser?
Planser. I write to key scenes, and I have an idea of who’s going where, what the themes are—but sometimes I’m totally surprised by what happens and who shows up.
Dogs or Cats?
Ahhhh, don’t make me choose!
When in the office I’m a psychotherapist, but I’m also a wife, stepmother, and grandma.
Raised in Minnesota, I’m a grafted in Wisconsinite.
I keep busy collecting hobbies. For instance, in winter you’ll find me on the ski slopes, and in summer I might be kayaking. And in between I try to visit Scotland or England whenever possible.
Two of the many things that shaped me are: living in Europe in my 20s and God’s grace to me. I can sum up my faith story in, “I…, but God…,” for which I’m eternally grateful.
Member of American Christian Fiction Writers
Buy links and to Connect with Cristine:
Book Link
Website
Facebook
Readers, thanks for visiting Lagniappe!
Christina's question to you:
Do you prefer Happy Ever After endings, or can you live
with Happy For Now? What are examples you’ve read of both or either that you
enjoyed?
I pray you find
"a little something extra"
in each of your days.
Marian
