Author Spotlight – Emily Conrad with a Giveaway!

Posted by abakersp in Spotlights / 25 Comments

In case you haven’t heard, Emily Conrad released an amazing book yesterday called Justice. It covers a difficult topic, but it is done in such a beautiful way. You’ll see my review coming next week! Like I mentioned yesterday, it also features a very awesome hero – Jake. He is the type of guy you want your daughter to date. **sigh** I can’t wait to see what my daughter thinks of him! But enough gushing. Emily is here today telling us a great story about her pregnancy book. But shh….don’t tell anyone. She’s never been pregnant!!

 

The Pregnancy Book Story by Emily Conrad

 

You might expect me, a writer, to be proud of my bookshelf. You’d be partially right. I do have a stash of books that I’m in love with.

 

But my bookshelf also has some additions that could spark a few rumors, namely the week-by-week pregnancy guide.

 

I’ve never been pregnant, and I didn’t want my family getting their hopes up, so I was quick to explain the book’s presence: “I have a pregnant character. Oh, and the baby name books are for naming characters.”

 

That pregnant character is Brooklyn, the heroine of my debut novel, Justice. In writing her story, I ignored the advice to “write what you know” by including the pregnancy, and on a more serious note, a sexual assault. To bring her story to life, I relied on research. I read a couple of books and dug into online resources.

 

I also asked my critique partners, many of whom are mothers, to keep an eye out for whether or not I’d written that aspect of the story well. Their responses and ideas enriched the story—lending authenticity to the emotion of Brooklyn’s first ultrasound and adding… oh, wait, I won’t spoil that one for you.

 

My hope is that the resulting story realistically portrays the aftermath of Brooklyn’s assault and the beautiful but daunting process of becoming a mother.

 

All of this isn’t to say I used no personal experiences in Justice. I’m a coffee lover, and most of the story takes place in the hero’s coffeeshop. I’ve worked in business, been a mentor to high schoolers, and I have to fight perfectionist tendencies, all of which informed elements of Justice.

 

Most importantly, I’ve experienced again and again the redeeming power of a God who is both just and present, even in our lives biggest trials.

 

My hope is that in the area of faith, you can say the same, and that perhaps God might use Justice to inspire you to say it a little louder because when it comes to the faithfulness of God, we have nothing to hide.

 

About The Book

 

Justice

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she’s pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. Brooklyn can’t bring herself to name the father as she wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake. If Harold Keen, the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake’s coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both.

 

 

 

 

Purchase:

 

About the Author

 

Emily Conrad lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two rescue dogs. She loves Jesus and enjoys road trips to the mountains, crafting stories, and drinking coffee. (It’s no coincidence her debut novel is set mostly in a coffee shop!) She offers free short stories on her website and loves to connect with readers on social media.

www.emilyconradauthor.com

facebook.com/emilyconradauthor

Instagram.com/emilyrconrad

Twitter.com/emilyrconrad

 

Giveaway

Emily is graciously giving away this prize pack to one lucky commenter! To enter, all you have to do is tell us about your bookshelf. Do you have something on there (like a pregnancy book) that may cause people to wonder? Or, what’s your favorite item on your bookshelf right now? Winner will be randomly chosen from those who comment before 3/13/18, and will be announced in comments. Winner will need to email Emily with a US mailing address within one week. US addresses only (sorry, postage!). Void where prohibited.

25 responses to “Author Spotlight – Emily Conrad with a Giveaway!

  1. MJSH

    Aside from books, I have some of our favorite CDs and momentoes from friends/family in my bookcase. Whenever I browse through the bookcase, it’s a nice trip down memory lane of people that I love – both in real life and fictional.

    • That sounds like a fantastic bookshelf! Mine has some mementos, too. I love that idea of a bookshelf being a reminder of both real and fictional people you love! That’s got to be a bookshelf’s highest calling 🙂

  2. kim hansen

    My favorite book on my book shelf right now is Danielle Steel’s Blue.

    • Seeing a favorite book on the shelf is like spotting a friend in a crowd, isn’t it? 🙂 Thanks so much for joining the conversation!

  3. Danielle Hammelef

    The item that draws peoples’ attention to my bookshelf is the one-eyed Daruma doll that my friend brought home from Japan. It hasn’t granted me my wish yet, so until then, it remains one-sighted.

    • I had to look this up, but now that I have, I can see why it’d be attention-grabbing! I have a hollowed-out doll, I think from Japan, too, on my shelf! It was probably inspired by this same idea, but mine looks cartoonized (if that’s a word) and contains a note from my sister. Bookshelves are a great place for conversation starters!

  4. Audrey Stewart

    My bookshelves are loaded. My favorite things are the classics. I love A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, my original copy of Murder on The Orient Express. I also have some of my cat figurines that I have collected over the years. My Tiffany box of 2 beer glasses, gets the most attention. Everyone wants to see them because of the Tiffany box.

    • I love classics, too! I found a pretty old copy of Rebecca that I put in a prized place on my bookshelf <3 I could see a Tiffany box garnering a lot of attention!

  5. Sonnetta Jones

    One of my favorites right now is Katie Ganshert’s No One Ever Asked. It covered such controversial topics that as an African American woman felt glad that someone understands a little of the prejudice that is faced by minorities.

  6. Thank you so much for all you’ve done to feature Justice, Jessica! I’m so glad God led you to my book! You’ve been such a blessing and an encouragement!

  7. Lucy Reynolds

    My favorite things on my bookshelves besides my books are family pictures. Thank you so much for the chance. Blessings!

  8. Perrianne Askew

    We only have 1 bookshelf (hubby hates cluuter/bookshelves) and half of it is his and half of it is mine. I have old books on my half that I won’t give up. He has mostly Biblical references and spiritual books. If we had room I would like to have a huge library.

    • Jessica

      I would also love a library, but my home is tiny. Maybe in a dream world!

    • Physical books do take up a lot of room, but they are so precious! I’m glad you have some space for your favorites, even if you can’t have a whole library. 🙂

  9. Vicki Vaught

    My bookshelves are packed to the gills. Novels. Textbooks. Photo albums. They are overflowing. The thing I have had to hide until recently are my nursing textbooks from years ago. I’ve kept them as references, but they are definitely not something you want children pulling off the shelves & looking through or you will be answering a lot of questions about things they are too young to be seeing! Now that my son is grown and my daughter is in high school & looking at possibly going to med school, I can leave them visible.

    • Jessica

      Although I can understand hiding them from little eyes, what s great tool to have as a mom! My bookshelves are also overflowing. Just means I need a couple more 😉

      • Vicki Vaught

        One room of our house has an entire wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves we built. Plus bookshelves in every other room (except bathrooms & kitchen lol). And at the end of the upstairs hallway. And we still run out of room. ?

    • Oh, I can see how nursing books could result in awkward conversations with children! How neat that your daughter is looking at following into the medical field!

  10. Lucy Reynolds, the random name picker chose you!!! Congrats! Email me with the address to send your tea and hot chocolate to at: emilyconrad @ sbcglobal . net (no spaces). Also, I’ll include at least one bookmark. If you have reading friends or a church library, etc, that you think might appreciate them, too, just let me know how many you’d like.

    Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to join the conversation!!