This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. R.F. Dunham will be awarding $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
I don’t think this is a question I’ve ever been asked before, in all of the interview and guests post that I’ve done! So I’m even more curious than you to see how this turns out.
1. I don’t wear shoes. With very few exceptions, I go barefoot all the time. It’s actually good for your back, knees, and joints overall to avoid wearing shoes and I find it’s a great way to feel connected with the world around me. When I do have to wear shoes, I use something with a thin, flat, flexible sole.
2. I ride a motorcycle. Not particularly weird or interesting, I guess, but given my appearance, people tend to be surprised that I ride. I’ve ridden in pretty much every type of weather Virginia has to offer, from stifling humidity, to cold rain, and even a little bit of ice. And yes, the motorcycle is one of those situations in which I wear shoes!
3. I don’t eat meat. No, that doesn’t mean I eat salad for every meal. My wife and I eat a plant-based, whole foods diet. That means we use fresh, natural ingredients, and cook mostly from scratch. It’s not as difficult as it sounds and I promise it tastes way better than any other food you’ve ever had!
4. I like to travel and enjoy being in other countries more than being home in America. There are plenty of great things about living in America, but I’ve always felt more at home in other places. In fact, I tend to feel more culture shock returning to America than I do living in another country!
5. I’m a band geek. I participated in every band activity possible in high school and now I’m the assistant band director for a high school band in my area. I also play trumpet and keyboard in a low key, post rock band.
If you want to learn more about me, I’d love for you to join the Inciteful Fiction community. Head over to DunhamWriter.com and sign up for my email list and I’ll send you two free books chapter by chapter, as I’m writing them!
In 732 A.D., the Frankish and Burgundian forces led by Charles Martel defeated an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi and halted the Muslim advance into Christian Europe. At least, that's what happened in the world as you know it.
Step into the world of The Other Side of Hope, where the world as you know it is turned on its head. A world where Charles Martel fell on that field south of Tours, France and was never given his nickname, "The Hammer." A world where Europe came under Muslim rule and Christianity was eventually forced to flee to the shores of a distant land in search of religious freedom. A land where, without support from European colonial powers, they found only conflict and poverty.
In the modern day, this world remains divided. The wealthy Muslim East and the poverty-stricken Christian West are constantly at odds. A single spark is all it takes to ignite fresh conflict and the cycle seems never-ending.
Follow the paths of Ethan Lewis and Hamid Damir as they are put on a collision course with the other side. Will they find hope for a brighter future or be lost in the despair of intractable conflict?
Enjoy an excerpt:
When Ethan saw Elisa turn the corner, his eyes lingered on her face for only an instant. The familiar details of her delicate features filled his mind at once and he wondered how they could have ever become blurred. He would have focused on those features longer, much longer. Would have memorized every inch of her face, from the curve of her cheeks, to her soft nose, to the gentle slope of her chin, to her soft red lips, and shining blue eyes.
He would have stared for hours and maybe he would have never left again. But his eyes were immediately drawn away from her face and to her belly, which was large and round.
Ethan stared at her pregnant stomach for a heartbeat that stretched on endlessly. He blinked once and then hot anger, augmented by the sharp pain of betrayal, flared. He’d been gone for months and she’d gotten pregnant with another man’s child while he was fighting for their future.
He took a step toward her and she must have seen the rage in his eyes because she rested a hand on her stomach and backed away. Seeing her fear broke through Ethan’s anger and he stopped.
“Is it…?” he asked softly, almost breathless.
Elisa nodded once, just a small dip of her chin and Ethan knew it was true.
It was his child she was carrying. He was suddenly ashamed that he could have ever thought anything different. Elisa would never betray him.
Even though the revelation of her pregnancy was a shock, Ethan had to admit that it was possible. He hadn’t truly even considered the possibility that it would happen, that she would become pregnant before they were married. Or maybe he had just assumed that it wouldn’t matter if she did, that they would be married either way and no one would ever know the difference.
Yet here they stood.
Ethan stood just inside the doorway, wrestling with feelings of desperation and duty. Elisa at the end of the hallway, eyes wide with a potent mixture of fear and hope.
Ethan held those eyes with his own for a moment longer, then came to his decision. “I’m going to Turkey. Today.”
About the Author:
After working for over two years as a professional ghostwriter, the time has finally come for him to release his first full-length novel published in his own name, The Other Side of Hope. His short story, “Just a Drop,” was recently published in Nebula Rift Science Fiction magazine and an interactive version of the story is currently in beta testing. When he’s not writing, R.F. can be found playing the trumpet, writing his thesis in Arabic linguistics, or hiking in the mountains of Virginia.
Website: https://crossfirefiction.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dunhamwriter
Facebook page for TOSOH: https://www.facebook.com/TheOtherSideofHope
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DunhamWriter
Buy the book at Amazon.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me! I'll check in later on to answer any questions your readers might have.
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt, thank you. By the way I never wear shoes in the house. I love to go barefoot.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I loved your 5 things - especially number 1! Ever since I was a little kid if I can kick off my shoes and go barefoot I do :D
ReplyDeleteA fun list. I am barefoot right this minute.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your 5 things and for the excerpt. The Other Side Of Hope sounds like another must read for me!
ReplyDeleteThis 5 things is fun!! I like to travel as well, though not as often as I want due to financial limitation *shucks*
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