THE EDGE OF GRACE, by Christa Allan, Abingdon Press, 336 pp., $9.97.

When Caryn Becker answers the telephone on most Saturday morning, it’s generally not a prelude to disaster. Except this time, her brother David’s call shifts her universe. Her emotional reserves are already depleted being a single parent to six-year-old Ben after the unexpected death of her husband Harrison. But when David is the target of a brutal hate crime, Caryn has to decide what she’s willing to risk, including revealing her own secrets, to help her brother.  A family ultimately explores the struggle of acceptance, the grace of forgiveness, and moving from prejudice to love others as they are, not as we’d like them to be.

BOOK EXCERPT

The last two words I said to my brother David that Saturday were “oh” and “no,” and not in the same sentence–though they should have been.On an otherwise ordinary, cartoon-filled morning, my son Ben sat at the kitchen table spiraling a limp bacon slice around his finger. His last ditch effort to forestall doing his chores. I was having a domestic bonding experience with the vacuum cleaner. My last ditch effort to forestall the house being over- taken by microscopic bugs, dead skin, and petrified crumbs. I’d just summoned the courage to attempt a pre-emptive strike on the intruders under the sofa cushions when the phone rang.
I walked into the kitchen, gave Ben the “don’t you dare touch that phone with your greasy bacon hands” stare, and grabbed the handset.

It was David. “I wanted you to hear this from me,” he said. An all-too familiar sensation–that breath-sucking, plum- meting roller coaster feeling–I’m thinking he’s been fired, in a car wreck, diagnosed with cancer, six months to live . . . But, no, it wasn’t as simple as that.He told me he was leaving in a few days for a vacation. With a man. Leaving with a man. Crossing state lines from Louisiana to Mexico to share sun, sand, and sheets with a per- son of the same sex.

My universe shifted.

He came out of the closet, and I went into it. For perhaps only the second time in my life, I was mute. Not even sputter- ing, not even spewing senseless syllables. Speechless.

“Caryn, are you still there?”

No. I’m not still here. I’m miles away and I’m stomping my feet and holding my breath in front of the God Who Makes All Monsters Disappear.

I think I hear God. He’s telling me I’m the monster.

Wisps of sounds. They belonged to David. “Did you hear what I said? That I’m going away?”

I hung up. I didn’t ask “Why?” because he’d tell me the truth my heart already knew.

“What did Uncle David want?” Ben asked.

I spun around and made eye contact with my unsuspecting innocent. “Get that bacon off your finger right now, mister. Wash your hands, and go do whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing.”

He shoved the bacon in his mouth, his face the solemn reflection of my emotional slap. From the den television, the Nickelodeon Gummy Bears filled the stillness with their
“. . . bouncing here, there, and everrrrrywherre . . .” song. “And turn that television off on the way back to your
room.”

“Okay, Mom,” said Ben, his words a white flag of surrender as he left the room.

Now what? I decided to abandon the vacuuming. Really, was I supposed to fret about Multi-Grain Wheat Thin crumbs and popcorn seeds when my only sibling was leaving for Mexico with another man?

– Excerpted from THE EDGE OF GRACE

A true Southern woman who knows that any cook worth her gumbo always starts with a roux and who never wears white after Labor Day, Christa Allan weaves stories of unscripted grace with threads of hope, humor, and heart.

Walking on Broken Glass (Abingdon Press, Feb. ‘10) is her debut novel. She contributes to Exemplify and Afictionado, the e-zine of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul , The Ultimate Teacher, Cup of Comfort, and Chicken Soup for the Divorced Soul. Christa is the mother of five adult children, a grandmother of three, and a teacher of high school English. She and her husband Ken live in Abita Springs, Louisiana, where they and their three cats enjoy their time between dodging hurricanes.

We asked Christa a few questions about how she markets her books.

Book Marketing Buzz: Welcome to Book Marketing Buzz, Christa. Can we begin by having you tell us a little about your book?

Christa Allan: Walking on Broken Glass tells the story of Leah Thornton, a woman whose life looks pretty from the outside; she seems to “have it all.” But appearances can be deceiving because she’s a mess. She drinks to numb her pain and, until her friend confronts her with the truth, she thinks no one else has noticed. Leah admits herself to rehab, and the novel-told from Leah’s point of view-follows her through her recovery as she attempts to discover who she really is and what she’s willing to sacrifice to find out.

Book Marketing Buzz: What is the first thing you did to promote your book once your publisher accepted your manuscript?

Christa Allan: Does wildly screaming count? Unfortunately, no! My first step was to work with Rob Eagar of Wildfire Marketing. he helped me zero in on my novel’s value to readers, my tag (“Stories of Unscripted Grace”), how to redesign my website, suggestions for a speaking and writing platform, and other strategies for debut authors.

Then I yakked it up on social networks, my blog, and anyone who breathed.

Book Marketing Buzz: If you had to pick just one book marketing tool that you’ve used to promote your book, which would you say has been the most effective?

Christa Allan: At this point, blog tours have provided opportunities for a wide range of virtual “appearances.”

Book Marketing Buzz: Do you do more promoting online or offline and which do you prefer?

Christa Allan: My novel released February 1, so I’m still in the throes of promoting. Honestly, I’ve not had time to evaluate where I spend more time. My first thought is that perhaps, at least for now, it’s about the same. Online I promote through social networks and blog tours. Offline I’ve written and sent out a number of press releases, have booksignings, send out postcards, elicited endorses and influencers to help spread the word…

Both types are overwhelming! I like the personal contact from signings and workshops. But there’s no way to beat the potential of the virtual world to connect with people I’d never have an opportunity to know.

Book Marketing Buzz: Do you use social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to promote your books and have you had any success with it?

Christa Allan: Absolutely! As a teacher in the same parish for over seventeen years, I’ve found Facebook an invaluable tool to connect with former students. Many are now married with children, and they’re spread from sea to shining sea. Qite a number of them are actively promoting my novel.

My Twitter posts automatically show up on Facebook, so that’s a bit of a timesaver. I love Twitter precisely because tweets are limited to 140 characters, and I can speed scroll through them. I think Retweets (where some tweets my tweet!) have the most potential for promotion because my message is reaching followers beyond mine. And who knows how many times that can be retweeted!

Book Marketing Buzz: Do you own a blog and how often do you update it? Did you set up your blog solely to promote your book and what is its effectiveness?

Christa Allan: My blog, Fictionary, is devoted to book and product reviews, and blog tours.

My website is devoted to promoting my novel and personal blogs. Lately, my personal blogging has dwindled; I’m not so pleased with myself that it has! Juggling full time high school teaching, grading papers, marketing a book, traveling for booksignings has been challenging. It seems like every time I get one arm of the octopus in the box, another one pops out! My oldest daughter, my organizational whiz, is whipping me into shape. The first plan of attack is to update my website for promotional purposes; for example, we’re putting together a press kit, schedule of my signings and speaking engagements, and links to interviews.

Book Marketing Buzz: Do you recommend authors getting publicists to help them promote their books? Do you have one?

Christa Allan: I don’t have a publicist because hiring one wasn’t an investment I could afford. Though I do have to say, after everything I’ve experienced in marketing my novel, I think a good publicist would be worth every penny! Abingdon Press, my publishers, have been extremely helpful in coordinating efforts with book stores, answering questions, and generally making themselves available to help wherever they can.

For my next novel, I’m putting funds aside now, and I hope to be able to invest in a publicist.

Book Marketing Buzz: If an author prefers to do it alone rather than hire a publicist, where should they start?

Christa Allan: I think if someone is serious about publishing, a website and social networking need to happen even before the book is sold! Get yourself out there in the virtual world early. People are much more tolerant of what I call “shameless self-promotion” when they know you’ve been around for a while.

Open yourself to promoting other writers. It’s not only a great way to learn about what works and what doesn’t, it’s a way to build relationships that could help later.

Book Marketing Buzz: Thank you for coming, Christa! We wish you much success!

Christa Allan: I appreciate the opportunity to be here. Thanks so much for having me on the Buzz!

You can visit Christa on the web at www.christaallan.com.