Eileen Hinkle Rife's "Restored Hearts"

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

Publisher: OakTara

Cover blurb: One brother’s dark secret. Another brother’s scorn.
Newlyweds Gavin and Maggie Munsfield return to care for the sick and wounded at The Oasis Compound in Chennai, India, which is still suffering from the recent tsunami. Gavin’s brother, Tim, a successful landscape architect, joins them for the clean-up and rebuilding of the Compound. But Tim harbors a dark past that threatens to destroy his relationship with his brother . . . and a promising new love. Will family ties be strong enough to bind two wounded hearts, once the secret is revealed?

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. Three 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.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
In January, 2007, OakTara requested the manuscript for my first book in the Born for India trilogy, JOURNEY TO JUDAH, which was released in 2008. Since two other books were accepted at that time as well, Book Two, RESTORED HEARTS, naturally followed and was released in 2009.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
Even though RESTORED HEARTS is set in India and I have visited on several occasions, I still do not like Indian food. However, I do like coconut water which is sold at roadside huts and is good for replenishing electrolytes. My Indian missionary daughter and son-in-law have now gifted me and my husband with three red-headed grandchildren!

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
 The third book, CHOSEN ONES, in the Born for India trilogy is in the hands of my editor and should be released soon! CHOSEN ONES profiles a missionary couple in crisis who unexpectedly meet a child with a sorrow too big for words. A contract on my fourth novel, SECOND CHANCES, has also been signed by OakTara. One-liner for SECOND CHANCES: Mave Robertson has something in her purse that Dareece Jackson wants . . . and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.

5) Parting comments?
 As I walked through this journey with Tim, God used his story to shed light on my own healing journey. While I have not struggled with homosexuality, I have struggled with other equally devastating strongholds in my life. 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.

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