Blog Tour: THE STORY THAT MADE US STRONGER by Iris March

 

The Story That Made Us Stronger

by Iris March

 

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GENRE:   Women's Fiction/ Cancer journey

 

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BLURB:

 

An abandoned building. A motivated runner. A Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer survivor.

Connor Jackson has been training for a half marathon for the past six weeks. Katie Brandt has been training to beat cancer for the past 50. When Connor discovers an intriguing secret in a tiny, abandoned building on his running route, Katie finds that the mystery is what she needs to help her get through her three-week stem cell replacement procedure. Together, Conner and Katie must find the strength to achieve their personal goals and, in the meantime, expose the many past lives that the tiny building led.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

The Runner

Connor Jackson

 

I’d run past it probably a thousand times.

 

An especially windy thunderstorm had covered my regular paved running trail with slippery leaves, twigs, and a few larger limbs on a late August afternoon. As I was running the trail, avoiding the more slippery sections, a door that I’d never noticed before was ever-so-slightly crooked, leaving it ajar. Mind you, I was running when I caught this dark shadow next to the door in the corner of my eye, and I almost tripped. Instead of hitting the ground, I sidestepped and took that moment to stop, pretend to tie my shoe and adjust my socks, and push my sweaty brown hair out of my eyes. I refused to be one of those guys with a man bun, but maybe I just needed to get a new haircut.

 

As I was messing with my shoes, I looked up at the building. It was small, probably only ten feet long by ten feet wide, a red-brick structure with a huge pole an inch away from it that was taller and thicker than any nearby telephone poles. At the tip of the pole was a piece of metal, strapped on and reaching even farther into the sky. There was a rusted chain-link fence around the building, with a few small trees and weeds within it. You could tell at one point that green plastic had been wrapped around the links, but it was long gone. The building was about fifty feet away from the trail, with plenty of trees between it and me, including a huge tulip poplar that I often noticed while running, and a bunch of maples. Breaking up the brick on the west side of the building, facing up the trail, was a wooden door with no window, adorned only by a worn doorknob. And now the hinges seemed to have broken a bit, the wood warped and pulling away from the frame about half an inch.

 

I was kneeling and staring for too long. A woman wearing blue sunglasses and walking a dog that looked like Lassie gave me a bit of a sideways look. I adjusted my shorts and stood up to continue running, with a lot more on my mind.

 

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 GUEST POST

What was your inspiration behind this story?

 

Thanks so much for hosting me on Sandra’s Book Club! It’s wonderful to be here with you!

 

My most recent novel, The Story That Made Us Stronger, was released in late September, just a few weeks ago. It’s the story of Connor, a nurse training for a half marathon that becomes obsessed with a tiny abandoned bulling on his running route. He shares his building discoveries with one of his patients in the stem cell replacement ward. That patient along with other people in his life help him research the building and encourage his training.

 

The Story That Made Us Stronger was the first book that I wrote but not the first one to be published. It’s the book that convinced me I could write a novel. This story was inspired by my sister’s  real life experience of having Hodgkin's lymphoma while pregnant with twins. Having cancer is hard on anyone but harder on a pregnant lady. Being diagnosed with cancer when pregnant is quite rare. I had a lot of anxiety for my sister and her family. I was working part time and visiting twice a week to support them but still needed something to help me work out all my emotions, something more than journaling. I remember well the moment when I was inspired to write the book. I was working from home and had just finished what I needed to do for my day job. I sat at my desk and was feeling really overwhelmed with my sister’s situation. I was thinking about her hospital stay and was suddenly was struck with inspiration. I stood up and looked out the window to see the little brick building on my own running route. I had a character to join my sister and tell her story along with motivation to keep them talking beyond cancer.

 

My sister’s character is that patient in the stem cell replacement ward. This story happens after my sweet nieces were born and her body was just about cancer free. The stem cell replacement was like a reset on her system. She stayed in the hospital for three weeks and her nurses were so wonderful. Connor isn’t really based on a specific nurse but more on all of them as a whole.

 

I hope that The Story That Made Us Stronger can encourage other people dealing with cancer or stem cell replacement therapy. Both are really hard to deal with, like training for a half marathon. I hope everyone enjoys the mystery of the little building and the teamwork that unites the characters.

 

Find out more about me and my other books at IrisMarchBooks.com

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Iris March grew up the oldest of three sisters whose names all began with the same letter. Her sisters are still her best friends. March works in the sustainability field and also writes cozy mysteries in the Succulent Sleuth Series. She lives in Ohio with her husband, young son,

and three cats.

 

Author website https://irismarchbooks.com/

 

Insta https://www.instagram.com/searchingformysteries/

 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076150266393

 

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22404252.Iris_March

 

Amazon (will be in KU): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9PQWVN5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Physical book will also be on Barnes and Noble

 

 

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GIVEAWAY :

 

Iris March will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway