Tell us about your book.
Shadowed in Silk is not really a historical romance. It’s more of an adventurous historical with a big love story. A love that is set against all odds, and a situation that only God can unravel. It’s about a woman who feels invisible to those who should love her, and who starts to look for love in the wrong places.
My heroine, Abby Fraser, is married to a brute of an English soldier, and she and their 3-year-old son reunite with him at the end of WW1. Abby is not a Christian at first, and in her despair over her unhappy marriage wishes she could be married to a kind Christian man like Major Geoff Richards who befriends her little boy.
Geoff, an upstanding Christian, notices that Abby’s husband is mistreating her, but there is nothing Geoff can do, except encourage Abby to get to know some Indian women he knows---former Hindu widows who are now Christians and who know all about abuse and neglect.
The book deals with a few difficult subjects, but I believe I’ve written about the issue of spousal abuse in a delicate manner. It’s set in the fascinating era of Britain’s rule over Colonial India around the time that Gandhi is rising to fame—a time when the Indian people felt invisible to their British rulers.
The story is woven together with real life events that shook the British Empire, with Russian spies and revolution, and of course . . . love on all sorts of levels.
What inspired this book?
As a British immigrant I grew up on the blockbuster novels by MM Kaye, her most famous---Far Pavilions. I wanted to write a story that gripped me with the same intensity of action, passion, longing, as her novel only from a Christian point of view.
Add to this the stories my mother told me of my Irish ancestors who served in the British Cavalry during their rule of Colonial India, and books I read of missionaries to India, and of great Indian Christians such as Ramabai who spent her life rescuing Hindu women and children from abusive situations.
How long have you been writing?
The apprenticeship began about 12 years ago when I had just been reunited with the grown-up daughter I had relinquished to adoption when she was 3 days old. The long journal I wrote to her grew into a book, and then I felt God encourage me to write the emotional healing that I had received from Him into fiction to encourage others. I worked full-time during many of those years while learning the craft.
What is your favorite character trait to write about?
Brokeness that turns to surrender. Not sure if that’s a trait. We seem to want to read about strong heroes in stories today. But I think no matter how strong we are, there comes at time in each person’s life that they are broken by something in their lives. That’s when they either turn to God for healing or try to figure things out on their own. If they turn to God in weakness and surrender, then true strength grows.
What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
My character, Abby, is a character that starts out feeling she can take care of herself no matter how much emotional pain she experiences. But later comes to realize that in the desert of her pain, God hears her cries and sees her. Her feeling of being invisible is lifted from her when she seeks God face-to-face.
What is your favorite season?
Right now I love the autumn—warm, sunny days with a hint of crispness in the air. The trees are turning color, and I love the smell of those leaves as they dry on the ground.
If you could travel back in time when and where would you go?
I’d love to be outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day, Victory in Europe Day, when the Royal Family came out to the balcony to wave. What a relief all those people would have felt when at long last, WW2 was over.
What project are you currently working on?
I’ve just finished a Historical Romance set in Washington State about a young woman, Sofi, who desires to build bridges. And I’ve just started the sequel to Shadowed in Silk, which is called Captured by Moonlight. It takes up with the story of 2 secondary characters from SiS. One is a former Hindu widow who is now a Christian. She is captured and imprisoned by her former in-laws for living as a Christian. The other is a young woman broken by the loss of 2 former loves, and is imprisoned by her emotions.
Thank you for stopping by to tell us more about your lovely book! Best of luck to you!
Christine has been kind enough to offer an ebook to one lucky winner.
Contest rules! At least 10 people must leave a comment for there to be a contest. If you follow my blog you will get 2 entries! You must leave your email address. This is how I will contact you if you win. Winner to be announced October 30th.
If you don't win I encourage you all to purchase a copy of Shadowed in Silk!
Christine Lindsay writes historical inspirational novels with strong love stories, and she doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Her debut novel SHADOWED IN SILK is set in India during a turbulent era. Christine’s long-time fascination with the British Raj was seeded from stories of her ancestors who served in the British Cavalry in India. SHADOWED IN SILK won the 2009 ACFW Genesis for Historical under the title Unveiled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3YX94ntSI
