Join me on Mary DeMuth's Blog Tour for A Slow Burn

Meet the author of A Slow Burn, Mary DeMuth.



Mary DeMuth is an expert in the field of Pioneer Parenting. She helps Christian parents plow fresh spiritual ground, especially those seeking to break destructive family patterns. Her message guides parents who don’t want to duplicate the home where they were raised or didn’t have positive parenting role models growing up.



An accomplished writer, Mary’s parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, Building the Christian Family You Never Had, and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. Her real-to-life novels inspire people to turn trials into triumphs: Watching the Tree Limbs (2007 Christy Award finalist, ACFW Book of the Year 2nd Place) and Wishing on Dandelions (2007 Retailer’s Choice Award finalist).



Mary is a frequent speaker at women’s retreats and parenting seminars, addressing audiences in both Europe and the United States. National media regularly seek Mary’s candid ability to connect with their listeners. Her radio appearances include FamilyLife Today, Moody Midday Connection, and U.S.A. Radio network. She also has articles published in Marriage Partnership, In Touch, and HomeLife.



As pioneer parents, Mary and her husband Patrick live in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France where they planted a church.
Learn more about Mary at http://marydemuth.com/.


When I heard Mary DeMuth was looking for influencers of her new book, A Slow Burn, I jumped at the chance! Having read the first book in the Defiance Texas series called, Daisy Chain. I was anxiously awaiting the release of the second book because it would continue the story that I got so wrapped up in. A story of tragedies, human struggles, suspense, and ultimately Gods redemption. Her characters, though fictional, became so real to me and I felt as though I was going through their trials right along with them.

Mary tackles some tough situations in her novels, things other writers may choose to leave alone. But she presents them with poise and grace and has a way of weaving hope into the most desperate of situations.

A Slow Burn focuses on the mother of a murdered girl. Her grief and regret at being a less that perfect mother and looks at her relationships with others in the book as well as the relationship she had with her now gone daughter and also God. The suspense is such that each page gives way to the next, making it very difficult to put this book down. the tears flowed liberally as I read, but the little victories of the characters brought joy to my heart as well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to get lost in a story. If you haven't read the first book Daisy Chain I recommend getting that as well. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I have.

Thanks Mary for sharing your gift of words with us!

Here is an interview with Mary DeMuth about her new book, A Slow Burn:

Where did you get the idea for the book? I wrote the series of stories based on hearing friends of mine talk about their Christian homes that appeared great on the outside, only to hide abuse on the inside. This really bothered me. Daisy became the inciting incident to explore three people’s stories relating to authenticity and hiding. In book one, Daisy Chain, I explore a teenage boy’s perspective to a family in crisis. In book two, A Slow Burn, I examine what would it be like to have deep, deep mommy regrets enough to want to be free from them. In book three, Life in Defiance, I tell the conclusion of the story through a battered wife’s perspective.
I am not a teenage boy. Nor am I a neglectful mother. And I’m not a battered wife. But I’ve interacted with folks who are. It’s for them that I wrote these stories.

What are the major themes of the book? You’re never too far from God’s grace and love and forgiveness. That God is a pursuing, redemptive, relentless God. He loves His children, even when they run far, far away. That Jesus comes to us in surprising packages, and sometimes we’re so bothered by appearances that we miss Him.

What kind of research did you have to do for the book? I had to figure out how a drug addict acted and thought. I had to research what drugs do to a person, particularly the lure and the trips they take folks on. I had to get into the mind of a drug addict, which wasn’t easy for me, someone who is terrified of drugs. I created Defiance from my head and my two-year stint in East Texas.

With which character do you, personally, identify most and why? That’s really hard. I see myself in all of them. When I feel guilty about my parenting, I relate to Emory. When I feel like an outcast, trying to do the right thing, I understand Hixon and Muriel better.

What do you hope readers will take away from your book? That God is bigger than our sin, our regret, our hopelessness. He takes delight in intersecting the darkest of circumstances. He is there, available.

If you would like to know more about Author Mary DeMuth please check out her Web Site :
http://marydemuth.com/

You can purchase A Slow Burn from Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310278376

You can check out other bloggers on the Mary DeMuth "A Slow Burn" blog tour here:

M. DeMuth – Tour Stops
Thanks for stopping by Mary DeMuth’s A Slow Burn Blog Tour.
Here are the blogs featuring A Slow Burn during our SEPT 28-OCT 3 Tour.
Admissions of a Suburban Philosopher
All are welcome here
A Musing Mom Speaks
A Sandy Path Book Reviews
A Writer’s JourneyAdventures of the Duncan Six
AP Free Writing 101
Arkansas Dreams
Aspire2 Blog
Awesome God…Ordinary Girl
Be Your Best Mom
Beams of Light Ministries
Bell Whistle Moon
Blog Tour Spot
Bluebonnet in the SnowBook Nook Club
Caregiving and Beyond
Carla’s Writing Cafe
Carly Bird’s Home
Carma’s Window
Cheaper by the Half Dozen
Cindy’s Stamping and Reviews
Communicating the Vision
CommuniKateCritty Joy
Declaring His Marvelous Work
Drive Home Productions
EdgewiseElizabeth Bussey
Faith…Creativity…Life
Fiction for the Restless Reader
Fictionary
First Impressions
Five Bazillion and One
Fresh Brewed Writer
Gatorskunz and Mudcats
Heading Home
His Reading List
i don’t believe in grammar
J’s Spot
Joy in the Journey
Karen R. Evans
Kristin Early
L’ChaimLatte with Me
Lit Fuse
Literary Fangirl Book Reviews
Luxury Reading
Merrie Destefano
Mocha with Linda
Moments with MarLo
Musings by Lynn
Musings of Edwina
My Alabaster Box
My Life Message
Net’s Book Notes
Niki Nowell
One Desert Rose
Paper Bridges
Passionate for the Glory of God
Pollywog Creek
Ranunculus Turtle
Real Hurts, Real Hope
Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Refresh My Soul
Restore
Scraps and Snippets
Sheila Deeth
Sherri Woodbridge
Snapshot’s Photoblog
Surviving the Chaos
The 160-acre Woods
The Gospel Writer
The Harrison Kaleidoscope
The Heart of Writing
The Stubborn Servant
The View from Here
This That and The Other
To Be Beautiful
Unreasonable Grace
Walking Daily
WhadUsay
Where Romance Meets Therapy
Word Vessel
Write 2 Ignite
Write on the Knows
Writer’s Wanderings
Writing to the heart of the matter