I’m pleased to have Angela Benson on my blog today! I read her novel, The Amen Sisters, when it came out in hardcover a few years ago! You’ll want to read this one, if you don’t you’ll be missing a real treat!

A brief synopsis of the novel:
After witnessing the suicide of a church sister, Minister Francine Amen is disgusted with herself for turning against the young woman and refusing to accept her claim of abuse by their pastor. Now, after a short stay in a psychiatric hospital, Francine is trying to pull her life and her ministry back together. But first she must face all of the people she has hurt so deeply—including her younger sister, Dawn. But can Dawn trust her? Francine used to date Dawn’s husband, Sly—who now seems just a little too interested in Francine’s recovery. As far as Dawn is concerned, Sly would be better off spending his time making amends to her for his own sins.

Here’s an interview with Ms. Benson!

Can you tell us a little about your book?

The Amen Sisters is a story of recovery from an abusive church situation. The main character, Francine Amen, left her home and her family to follow a ministry that she believed was doing the work of God, only to find that the pastor and the church had secrets that would lead to the death of one of her closest friends. In her recovery, she has to return home and mend fences with her sister, Dawn (who’s now married to Francine’s ex-fiancé), the church family she left behind, and the family of her dead friend. Francine finds the world she left behind in a bit of turmoil and she can’t help but blame herself for some of the problems. As she tries to make things right in the present, she finds that she must first make peace with what happened in the past.

Where did you find the inspiration for this story?

The idea for The Amen Sisters came to me in 1990, about the time that I was able to start talking about the abusive church situation I had experienced a few years earlier. I had a story I wanted to tell, but I had no idea I’d tell it in a novel. I wasn’t even a published author at the time!

How long did it take you to bring this book from the first draft to the final published product?

The Amen Sisters took the long road to publication. The story began in 2001 as Enduring Love, the third book in the Genesis House Christian romance series that I was writing for Tyndale House. Tyndale loved the first book in the series, Awakening Mercy, and thought I had perfectly hit the tone they wanted in a Christian romance novel.

Their response to Abiding Hope, the second book in the series, was not as enthusiastic. They sent it back to me with the recommendation that I make it more romance-y, more like Awakening Mercy. That’s when I began to wonder whether I had another Christian romance in me. Thankfully, I was able to revise Abiding Hope enough to make it the Christian romance my publisher and readers expected. When I turned in Enduring Love a year later, my publisher and I knew we were at the end of our road together. The book had a romantic element but it was definitely not a romance along the lines of Awakening Mercy and Abiding Hope. Enduring Love was the first incarnation of The Amen Sisters.
The good news is that around this time the publisher at Walk Worthy Press was interested in having me do women’s fiction for her new publishing venture with Warner Books. Seemed like at perfect match, right?
Well, sorta. Though my new publisher and I talked about what a women’s fiction version of Enduring Love would look like, it became apparent after about a year of revisions that we were miles apart in our visions for the book. At the end of my rope, I made a fateful call to my new publisher, fully prepared to terminate the contract and re-pay the advance. Imagine my surprise when my publisher said, “Write your book, Angela,” or some words to that effect. Those words freed me up, and seven months later, I turned in The Amen Sisters.
Tell us about your main characters. Why will readers relate to them? What will they like about them? Is there anything they will dislike about them?

My main characters are twin sisters, Dawn and Francine Amen. Their lives are sent into a spiral after the deaths of their deaths of the grandparents, who reared them. Dawn, “the wild child,” reins herself in and strives to be the good woman that her grandmother always wanted her to be but feared she’d never become. She takes an active role in the running of the funeral home that was left to her and her sister. Francine, the “good girl,” tries to become even better by leaving the family business and her home church to join a travelling ministry.

I think readers will like them because they’re honest with each other. While the sister love is there, you’ll also find a bit a jealousy, anger, and resentment. Their relationship is complicated, as the relationship with most siblings, so readers should relate to the realness.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Readers can find The Amen Sisters at most online bookstores, including Amazon.com, BN.com, and ChristianBook.com. Your local bookstore should also have copies. If it’s out of stock, they can easily re-order it.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

You all have a special invitation to visit with me on the web. You can reach my blog and website on the web at www.angelabenson.com and www.theamensisters.com

I also have pages at MySpace (www.myspace.com/angelabenson), Shelfari (www.shelfari.com/angelabenson) and Shoutlife (www.shoutlife.com/angelabenson)

Here is an excerpt for all of you to enjoy!
EXCERPT
“You’re a liar, Toni,” Francine Amen said, forcing a calmness she didn’t feel to project in her voice. She pressed her palms down on the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room in the two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her childhood friend Toni Roberts. “I don’t believe you.”
Toni, standing on the dining room side of the counter, took a step closer to her roommate. “Why would I lie to you, Francie? Tell me that.”
The plea in her friend’s soft brown eyes was almost more than Francine could bear. “I know you, remember? You and me go way back. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied about something like this.” Francine didn’t turn away from the stricken look on her friend’s face. She knew her words needed to be spoken. “Well, if we’re talking about truth here, we should talk about truth.”
Toni wrapped her arms around her midsection and said, “You may not believe me, Francie, but I am pregnant and Bishop Payne is the father. We’ve been having an affair for months.”
Francine laughed a dry laugh. “An affair? Come off it, Toni. Bishop told us all how you’ve been coming on to him. And you know what? He didn’t condemn you for it. He asked us to pray for you. And what do you do to him in return? You come up with these lies. I pray to God you haven’t told anyone else this pack of garbage. That man has a wife and kids, and all of them have done nothing but love you. You have to know the damage these lies of yours will do to them.”
“I’m not lying, Francie,” Toni said, her eyes clouding with tears. “You know me,” she pleaded. “You have to believe me. I knew nobody else would believe me. I’ve known for weeks now, and I’ve wanted to tell you so badly, but I just couldn’t. I know what people say about me around here. I’ve overheard them saying I’m not a real Christian, that I don’t have the fire. I heard it from them, but I never thought I’d hear it from you. You’re the one who shared the gospel with me. You’re the one who told me that life in Christ could be different. You know I’ve changed.”
Francine’s heart ached for her friend, but she couldn’t let emotions deter her. Toni had to suffer the consequences of her actions. Tough love was exactly that—tough. “If you’ve been having an affair with Bishop like you say you have, then you haven’t changed that much, after all, have you?”
Toni turned away, seeming to deflate right before Francine’s eyes. “You know how he is, Francie. He can be so charming. I loved him as the man of God he seemed to be, and then I simply loved him. It was like I couldn’t help myself.”
“I don’t believe you and neither will anyone else. I don’t know what you think you’re going to get out of this.”
Toni turned back to her. “I need a friend, Francie. I need someone to hear me out, be on my side. He wants me to have an abortion. He said he’ll deny anything ever happened between us.”
“I can’t help you, Toni. I won’t be a party to whatever game it is you’re playing.”
“But you’re all I have,” Toni pleaded. “I can’t go back home now. This would kill George and Momma. I have nowhere else to turn.”
Francine inhaled deeply. “Not this time, Toni. Not this time. I’ve stood by you through a lot of your drama, most of it of your own making, but not this time. This time you’re on your own.”
Toni opened her mouth as if to defend herself, but then she shook her head. “What does it matter?” she said, the defeat in her voice wrenching Francine’s heart.
As Francine watched, Toni turned her petite frame away and headed off, shoulders slumped, toward her bedroom. Francine closed her eyes and issued a brief prayer on Toni’s behalf. She didn’t know what had gotten into Toni, but she prayed her friend would soon see the error of her ways and repent. Francine loved her, but she couldn’t support her. Not this time. She and Toni had grown up together, been friends for as long as Francine could remember, but Francine had to face facts. Toni wasn’t ready to give her life to the Lord, and Francine couldn’t be held back because of it. She heaved a deep sigh, knowing that even though it hurt, she had done the right thing. She could have ignored Toni’s actions, but that would not have been love. She knew from Psalms that the harsh truth from a friend was better than sweet words from an enemy.
As she reached for the phone to call Cassandra, her friend and prayer partner, to tell her about the conversation with Toni, Francine heard what sounded like the backfire of a car, followed by a loud thump, both coming from the direction of Toni’s room. Wondering what Toni was doing to make such noise, Francine forgot the phone and headed for her friend’s room. When she got no answer to her knock, she turned the doorknob. She screamed as she realized the sound she’d heard hadn’t been the backfire of a car at all.

Thanks for being on my blog today, Ms. Benson! I’m a big fan of your novels and I look forward to reading more of your books in the future!

Cecelia Dowdy