Eileen Rife's "Journey to Judah"

We're happy to have Eileen Rife with us today talking about her book Journey to Judah. To learn more about Eileen and her book, read on!

Title: JOURNEY TO JUDAH
Publisher: OakTara

Cover blurb:Could love await her, even in India?
Maggie Osteder’s given up hope of finding a man who shares her love for India. So while her friends plan dream weddings, she follows her heart, fulfilling a ten-year dream of becoming a career missionary. “Don’t lose heart. Stay focused on serving, and God will take care of the rest,” her mother always tells her. Yet upon arrival in Chennai, a fellow missionary makes a comment that strikes to Maggie’s heart—that her ministry will be more effective if she’s married. And her newfound friend says she has the perfect match: the new doctor, Gavin Munsfield.
But Maggie isn’t so sure she’s ready to open her heart . . . especially to a man who seems to be struggling with his own issues.
One woman. One God. One passion.
In an exotic culture of 7.5 million people and 30 million gods, one woman’s resolve to make the journey results in an amazing story of the Lord’s protection and provision.

1) How did this story come to you?
My daughter's love story was the initial seed; the rest is totally fiction. I was so impressed by the way God provided Rachel's "Boaz" clear around the world that I had to write about it.
My faith got a shot in the arm as I watched the Lord lovingly pick up a young man in Washington State, take him to India to meet my single missionary daughter, and then marry her in 2005 and return to India as a couple in 2006. It was truly a love story written by God. The Lord deepened my assurance in Ps. 84:11 which says, "The Lord is a sun and shield; He gives grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
About the time Rachel was introduced to Nathan, my women’s small group was studying A Lady in Waiting based on the story of Ruth. As I thought about the similarities between Ruth and Rachel, a story began to emerge. I woke up one morning with the title for my novel: Journey to Judah.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
The first draft poured out of me in-between two weddings! Several readers and one agent offered helpful suggestions. After allowing the work to cook for a few months, I pulled the manuscript out once more, tweaked according to suggestions, then submitted through the Writer’s Edge agency. A year passed with no nibbles. Then in January, 2007, while visiting Rachel and family in India, I clicked onto my email. There sat an invitation from Capstone Fiction, now OakTara, to preview the entire manuscript. After more revising, Journey to Judah was published in April, 2008.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
While Journey to Judah is based on my oldest daughter’s love story as a career missionary in India, actually my other two daughters are involved in mission work around the world as well. Not only that, I grew up in home mission work. My father served in East Tennessee with Children’s Bible Mission for over 50 years; hence the fodder for chapter twelve of Journey to Judah where Maggie returns to one of her old childhood haunts.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
After a final proof, my third book, CHOSEN ONES, in the Born for India trilogy will be released. I have also signed a contract with OakTara for a stand alone novel titled, SECOND CHANCE.

5) Parting comments.
Journey to Judah is packed with action, adventure, and romance. But most of all, I want readers to know that following the Lord is not a step to fear, but a fulfilling journey on which He proves to be a faithful lover, provider, and protector. With this assurance, I hope readers will discover the special journey God has for them, no matter where that path may lead.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.eileenrife.com/
http://www.eileen-rife.blogspot.com/
http://www.guardyourmarriage.com/

Eileen Hinkle Rife's "Restored Hearts"

We're happy to have Eileen Hinkle Rife with us today talking about her book, Restored Hearts. To learn more about Eileen and her book, read on!

1) How did this story come to you?
A few years ago, my husband, a licensed professional counselor and marriage/family therapist, asked if I would write a pamphlet on homosexuality which he could use in his office. I agreed and delved into research. However, it didn’t take long to realize I didn’t have the stomach for what I was discovering, so I abandoned the project. A couple years ago, the Lord renewed my interest in the issue and pushed me to pursue the topic in a way I had not envisioned—in fiction format. As I walked through this journey with my protagonist, Tim, God used his story to shed light on my own healing journey with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In writing Tim’s story, I learned in deeper ways to identify with another fellow struggler. And in doing so, my own prison door flung open and I was set free.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
After proposing possible series’ concepts to the OakTara team, they fully supported and encouraged the idea that tough issues, such as homosexuality, need to be addressed in Christian fiction.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
The opening honeymoon scene with Maggie and Gavin in RESTORED HEARTS is based on my husband’s and my 25th anniversary trip to Maui. We kissed in the enormous banyan tree I describe in chapter one. Unrelated, but another bit of book trivia—my brother-in-law is a doctor who cleared up some questions I had about Gavin’s medical mission work in India.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
Having completed all three books in the Born for India trilogy, I am now editing a stand-alone manuscript titled, SECOND HALF. Mave Robertson, a recent empty nester, wants the fire back in her marriage, but her husband, Jerry, remains aloof. Is he having an affair? She frets. Midlife crisis? When a neighbor suggests she “get a life,” Mave accepts the challenge and volunteers at an inner city teen ministry where she is thrown into a culture of drugs, gangs, and unwed teens. She soon discovers a friend whom she can help, but she never guesses that he might be the cure for both her stale marriage and her crumbling relationship with her father.

5) Parting comments?
My prayer through RESTORED HEARTS is that those who struggle and long to be free from same-sex attraction, or any sinful dysfunction for that matter, will experience the release God has for them through the Lord Jesus Christ. I also pray that the Church, with grace and compassion, will reach out to the one who struggles.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
Stop by and visit me at the following locations:
http://www.eileenrife.com/
http://www.eileen-rife.blogspot.com/
http://www.guardyourmarriage.com/
http://www.christianspeaker.net/