Teenager Paige Abernathy awakens after a severe beating to find that she suffers from amnesia, and that everyone seems to hate her. She has only flashes of memory until the night a grieving parent attacks her in her hospital room. Paige then remembers her role as creator of an online group where members talk about ways to commit suicide. After recovering from the beating, Paige embarks on a journey of penance to atone for a disaster born of good intentions. Her odyssey launches her on a mission of mercy and into new danger. The Samaritan’s Patient is a thought-provoking novel about navigating the treacherous waters of social media. Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Teen Christian Fiction Release Date: January 25, 2024 |
Interview with Chevron
The Samaritan’s Patient might never have been born had I not seen a PBS interview with two New York Times writers, Megan Twohey and Gabriel Dance, on December 16, 2021. These reporters did an extensive investigation into a website on which subscribers discussed committing suicide and shared methods for doing so. Most visitors to the site were thirty or younger. There were 1.2 million messages. At least forty-five suicides in multiple countries were linked to the site.
About two years, from conception to editing and proofreading. Every time you think you’re finished, something about a word, a sentence, or a punctuation mark jumps out at you.
It would be more accurate to say that Christian Fiction chose me. When God put the idea for Weapons of Remorse in my head seven years ago, I knew He wanted it to be about a Christian man struggling with his conscience as a gun rights advocate. Once I had that foundation, everything else fell into place.
I have lots of them, but the one I still think about most is Norris Tankersley, the man who tries to break into the hospital emergency room. Although he’s nothing like me, his personal journey from darkness to light is so moving.
That God is always on your side, no matter how bad things seem, and that His goodness always triumphs.
More from Chevron
These reporters did an extensive investigation into a website on which subscribers discussed committing suicide and shared methods for doing so. Most visitors to the site were thirty or younger. There were 1.2 million messages. At least forty-five suicides in multiple countries were linked to the site.
At the time of this broadcast, I had just completed my second novel, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and was wondering what to do next. The PBS interview was so shocking that I could not stop thinking about it. What motive could a person have for encouraging strangers to kill themselves? What could one possibly gain from such an endeavor? And what could provoke someone to throw away the gift of life at such a youthful age?
Each of my novels has been the result of an inspiration from God. Once He puts an idea into my head, it consumes my imagination until I cannot stop working. As you might imagine from the title, The Samaritan’s Patient is a blend of two stories: the famous parable of Jesus in the Bible, and a young person with good intentions who gets caught up in a social media nightmare.
God did all the work on this book. He created the character of Paige Abernathy and told me how to build the novel around the circumstances of her personal life—her parents, her friends, and most of all, her Christian faith. He also created the crisis that launches her on a journey of new experiences and personal growth.
I am amazed and grateful that God would choose someone so ordinary and unaccomplished as myself to do this work. Each novel God has written through me has been a great personal gift, and a reaffirmation that God has a plan for each of us. I pray that The Samaritan’s Patient will be as great a blessing to its readers as it has been to me.
It's Time For A Giveaway!
a $50 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!
Blog Stops
By The Book, March 10 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 11
For the Love of Literature, March 12 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, March 13
Tell Tale Book Reviews, March 14 (Author Interview)
Inspired by Fiction, March 14
Locks, Hooks and Books, March 15
Splashes of Joy, March 16 (Author Interview)
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, March 16
Pause for Tales, March 17
Guild Master, March 18 (Author Interview)
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, March 19
A Reader’s Brain, March 20 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 21
Artistic Nobody, March 22 (Author Interview)