ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison Pittman is the award-winning author of
Ten Thousand Charms and
Speak Through the Wind. Before her recent success in fiction writing, Allison spent seventeen years teaching high school English. Now a full-time writer, Allison serves as the director of her church's Theater Arts Group ministry. She lives in Texas with her husband, Mike, and their sons.
WITH ENDLESS SIGHTby Allison Pittman
Published by Multnomah Books
ABOUT THE BOOKBelleville, Illinois and Wyoming Territories, 1861
Born into a life of privilege, fourteen-year-old Belinda never questions her security, even as she leaves Illinois with her family to discover new adventures in the Oregon Territory. But when disaster falls, Belinda is left wounded, weak, and alone. Her faith in God gives her the only strength she knows in a harsh new world.
Belinda's journey takes her to a snow-covered mining camp and a red-roofed brothel in the Wyoming mountains, but not before she must spend a lonely winter with the man who took away the life she knew. Throughout the grief and hope of a strange land, Belinda must decide if her faith is big enough to allow her to forgive.
The satisfying conclusion to the Crossroads of Grace series,
With Endless Sight offers a rich story of family, new beginnings, and the freedom that grace can bring.
Buy your copy of With Endless Sight today!AUTHOR INTERVIEW1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?Well, Belinda (Biddy) first appears in
Ten Thousand Charms, and at the time all I really knew about her was that she was a young girl who had gone through a traumatizing experience. I knew she was hiding something, but I hadn't decided exactly what. The next year, as I was writing
Speak Through the Wind, I fleshed her out a little more, giving her a strong spiritual core and a background of privilege. But the inspiration for this actual story is my family. I mean, trade a green station wagon for a stage coach, and those first few chapters are every childhood road trip I remember (minus the tragic twist, of course...). Also, during the time I was working on the series, I lost my brother, and I really wanted that brother/sister relationship to play a big role in the story. It's there with Belinda's actual brother, Chester, but also with the character Laurent. That's the kind of arm's length love that doesn't get a lot of attention in novels.
2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?I wouldn't say I have many experiences that influence my characters, but they are definitely products of my perceptions and insecurities. In each of my main characters—Gloria, Kassandra and Belinda—the trait that is theirs alone can be summed up in one word: strength. Gloria (Charms) is such a fighter—I mean, it's covering up a mass of insecurity, but she's so tough on the outside. I can never pull that off. If I'm feeling weak or wounded, you know it. Kassandra (Wind) is scrappy too. Just continuing to get up time and time again. Me? Knock me down and I'm going to wallow for a while. And Belinda (Sight) possesses the faith I wish I had.
3. What themes exist in With Endless Sight
that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?The idea of betrayal and forgiveness play an important role in the story. I would hope the readers see forgiveness as a cornerstone to strength and healing—whether or not that forgiveness is warranted.
And I love the follow-up question here, because while I did set out to write a story that showcased forgiveness, there is another idea that developed on its own. I don't think I was really aware of it until I was actually writing those final chapters, and that's the idea that, eventually, we all need to take responsibility for ourselves and be comfortable with and confident of the woman who's standing in our shoes. Belinda is a child of privilege, the youngest of a doting family, she has a spiritual big brother and a bevy of caring women, but there's this wonderful moment in the story when she is absolutely alone. And fine. I think about that now—and it's literally just a few lines—but now I'm wondering if those few lines aren't my favorite part! I just love and admire her so much in that moment.
4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?I think my fellow writers will really identify with this...You know how when you write a book, then finish it, then revise, then revise again, then go through line edits, then copy edits...and then finally you see it in its final book-shelf form, and you just wish you could change one (or, a dozen!) more things? Well, because the stories in this series intersect, I get to revisit the characters and very scenes from those previous books, and I wanted to tweak things, but I couldn't, because of questions of continuity. Every now and then I'd look at something in the Silver Peak chapters and have to remind myself—hey! This is Belinda's story, remember?
My favorite scenes in the book are those with Belinda and Laurent in their winter in the cabin. First of all, it was a challenge to find some way to write about two people sittin' for months on end. Second, I just love Laurent, because I think he's a really unique character in the genre. An unexpected innocent. His feelings for Belinda are so pure and unselfish. He stole my heart!
5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?My next book (coming out August 19) is actually a work of non fiction. It's called
Saturdays with Stella, and it tells the story of the spiritual lessons I learned when I took my dog Stella through a six-week obedience course. Let's just say we both got a crash course in recognizing our Master! Readers can get a preview by signing up for my newsletter at my website (
www.allisonpittman.com) as each month has a Dog Daze Devotional.
My next novel will come out next summer. It's quite a break from the Crossroads series—it's a turn-of-the-century tale of the healing powers of God, grace...and baseball!
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Thank you, Allison, for being in the spotlight with us.
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With Endless Sight.
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