Welcome to #GuestDayTuesday, everyone! Today, our special guest is one of the super nice folks I’ve met through our writing and blogging community, Gwen Plano. I’m really happy to have Gwen  visiting us to talk about her newest book, Redemption, A Father’s Fatal Decision, so without any further delay, I’ll turn the floor over to her. Gwen, you’re on!

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Thank you, Marcia, for welcoming me to your beautiful blog. Through you, I’ve met so many wonderful people, most of whom are writers. It’s an honor to share my new book with all of you. Before I introduce the book, though, I’d like to share a little background information. 

About a year ago, my husband and I moved from Branson, Missouri to the high desert around Prescott, AZ. At 5,000 feet elevation, much is different: the vegetation, the wildlife, even the sky. Every day is an adventure, and this adventure stimulates ideas and evokes prayer.

A recurring question I’ve had centers around the concept of redemption. With the world suffering as it is, and with many of us wanting to do something to help but not knowing what that could be, I thought about bringing the world to each of us. That line of thinking helped birth Redemption, A Father’s Fatal Decision.

My prior 3-book thriller series focuses on international threats, political leaders, and the military. Though I learned immeasurably from writing these books, I still wonder how we, simple voters, help shift the world as we know it. What role do we have?

Redemption, A Father’s Fatal Decision is my response. It is a mystery thriller focused on a family. It takes place in the southeast corner of New York state, in the towns of New Rochelle and Cortlandt. The characters occasionally travel to Old Lyme, Connecticut, but for the most part, the drama is in New York. Having spent about twenty years in and around that area, it was exciting to visit as a writer.

The book tackles themes of forgiveness, redemption, and absolution through suspense. A father is murdered on the first page of the book, and readers accompany the adult son and daughter as they try to uncover the reason for their father’s murder. What they discover prompts their questions about forgiveness, redemption, and absolution.

Sometimes complicated situations, such as the ones in this book, help us see our own challenges in a different light. That is my hope for this book. Most of us won’t experience threats like those of my characters, but pain is universal, as is joy. Seeing either in the extreme helps us recognize our own—and severe or elated, those emotions impact us.

The excerpt below sets the stage for the drama that unfolds.

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EXCERPT:

The simple ranch-style residence appears odd on the street of two-story colonials. Modest by neighborhood standards, it has proven sufficient for their family needs. Once out of the car, Lisa does a 180-degree glance about and concludes nothing has changed. The yard still appears unkempt, the window shade still broken, and the screen door remains torn—all just as a year ago, two years ago, maybe even five years ago.

Apprehensive, she climbs the three steps to the front door, calls in her “hello,” and waits. Mom greets her first.

“Oh, Lisa dear, I’m so happy you’ve arrived safely. Come on in, come on in. Can I get you something? You must be hungry after the drive.”

Just as she starts to respond, her dad appears.

“Nice of you to visit. Traffic problems?”

Lisa shrugs off his insinuation of dawdling, takes a deep breath, and gives him a cursory hug.

“I’ll be right back. I need to get my clothes.”

Slump-shouldered, Lisa walks to her car, stepping more heavily than usual. After grabbing her suitcase, she slams the door shut. The hell has begun.

She retraces her steps back into the house and goes straight to her childhood bedroom. Just then, the doorbell rings and sends an eerie chill down Lisa’s spine. She drops her suitcase and shouts to her father, “Don’t answer the door, Dad. Something’s not right.”

 He doesn’t follow her advice, and instead, goes to the door and pulls it open.

“Joe.” Her dad says, shifting backward slowly. “You’re not supposed to be here. We agreed.”

“You broke that agreement. Where is it?”

“I don’t have it.”

“You were warned.”

One minute.

Three shots.

And Lisa’s dad lies lifeless on the worn planked floor.

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REVIEW:

From writer D.L. Finn: Redemption is a fast-paced thriller that hooked me from the first page. Lisa came home to visit her parents. She had a bad feeling when the doorbell rang, but she couldn’t stop what happened next. With her father dead, her mother fighting for her life, and her brother, Trace, in another country, she struggles to figure out what happened. Lisa quickly realizes she needs to be careful whom she trusts because her world is turned upside down as the truth slowly unravels. Luckily, her brother and his friend, Ryan, come to her aid. I love how they are there for each other, while Lisa’s strength, love of family, and intelligence are inspiring. She bravely stands by her mother while trying to understand her father. I found this book hard to put down with all the twists weaved into a family’s story. The research put into this mystery made it even more chilling because of the possibility that it could happen. The themes of redemption and forgiveness tugged at my heart, and I highly recommend this suspenseful family drama.

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Buy Redemption HERE

BLURB

Family secrets can be deadly. When Lisa visits her parents one fateful Saturday morning, she hugs her father and takes her suitcase to her childhood bedroom. The doorbell rings, and one minute later her father lies dead on the floor—three bullets to the chest. The death of Eric Holmes sends shockwaves throughout the quiet neighborhood. But for the Holmes family, it is devastating.
In this fast-paced psychological thriller, Lisa and her brother embark on a quest to solve the mystery of their father’s murder. The journey takes them into a secret world where nothing is as it seems. Once the puzzle pieces begin to coalesce, they realize that their father had multiple lives. As the facts unravel, the siblings discover the true meaning of Redemption.

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Author Gwen M. Plano

In my pre-retirement years, I taught and served as an administrator in colleges in Japan, New York, Connecticut, and California. My academic background is a bit unusual, but it served me well. I’ve degrees in theology and psychology, both subjects helped me understand life a bit better. And to this day, I’m drawn to ancient truths found in Native communities, churches, and meditation halls. Since I was a child, I’ve sought answers, that’s an integral aspect of who I am. And though it’s taken years, I’ve discovered that Love underskirts all.    

My greatest treasure and most profound source of joy has been and is my four adult children. It is they who have guided me through life’s mysteries and brought me to a profound place of gratitude. My books, memoir, and thrillers address themes that arise from my questions and theirs.

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YOU CAN REACH GWEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA HERE:

BookBub
Goodreads
Story Empire
Twitter
Blog

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PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon Author Page
Amazon Purchase Page
Barnes and Noble

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SEE YOU TUBE TRAILER HERE