About the Book
Book Title: Shadow Sister
Author: Katherine Scott Jones
Genre: Woman’s Fiction
Release date: August 28, 2018
Working on her father’s vineyard allows Sarah Lanning to bury memories of a lost love and a career that might have been. But then her fractured family receives word that her estranged sister, Jenna, is dead, leaving behind an unexpected request: that Sarah travel to Bolivia to scatter her ashes.
Accompanied by pilot Chase Maddox, Sarah embarks on an Andean journey that tests her devotion to home and exposes Jenna’s secret life. Each staggering discovery creates new mysteries—until the last, which leaves Sarah questioning everything she understood about family loyalty. At a crossroads, she must decide whether truth is worth the cost of forgiveness—and whether she can lay claim to a future of happiness without it.
Bittersweet and bold, Shadow Sister explores the mysteries of the human heart and the bond of unquenchable love.
About the Author
Katherine Scott Jones grew up in cities on every U.S. coast and overseas as her family moved with her father’s Navy career. Seattle became home when she married her husband twenty-eight years ago. After graduating Whitworth University with a degree in communications, she established herself as a freelance writer before turning her hand to fiction. She blogs about books that celebrate beauty at www.
katherinescottjones.com. Katherine and her husband have two teenage children.
Shadow Sister is her second novel.
Guest Post from Katherine Scott Jones
Shadow Sister: Outtake Reel
By Katherine Scott Jones
Much as I love a good movie, my favorite part often comes at the end when the director includes outtakes—those false starts and bits from the making of the movie that wind up on the cutting room floor.
In a similar vein, I’m going to let you in on some of what went into the creation of my novel, Shadow Sister, but did not make the final cut.
Shadow Sister is a work of inspirational women’s fiction with a global accent—written for women with a heart for complex relational issues as well as a passion for biblical justice. It is the story of a vintner’s daughter who travels to Bolivia to scatter her estranged sister’s ashes. There, she unravels secrets that test her devotion to home and make her question whether truth is worth the cost of forgiveness. Shadow Sister explores the mysteries of the human heart and the bond of unquenchable love.
Now that you know a bit about what it is, come along as I pull back the curtain and share an exclusive peek at what Shadow Sister is not.
Working Titles
It took me a while to finally land on the right title. Early contenders:
– The Sweetness of Light
– Variations on Shadows and Light.
Characters
It also took a bit of experimenting before I found the right combination of people and places:
– Sarah, the main character, was originally a marine biologist. I first imagined the story set in Seattle before moving it to the fertile plains of Eastern Washington wine country.
– Sarah was originally engaged; and Chase and Rachael were involved.
– The gender of Matilde’s baby changed from what I first plotted. That simple switch got me unstuck from a perplexing snag of writer’s block.
– Names:
o Nicole, Stasi, Rees, and Stephen were all main-character names I considered and rejected.
o Little sister Sarah and big sister Jenna began as litter sister Jenna and big sister Kate. Then Jenna became Somer and finally Sarah, while Kate became Jenna.
o Sassy Britches is named after an actual racehorse by the same name.
Unused research
Of course, story exploration turned up far more tidbits of interesting info than I could possibly fit into the pages of a novel! Some of what I wished I could have used…
– Bolivian fun facts
o Customs.
- Bolivians tend to eat outdoors when it is not raining. Many men do not feel comfortable eating in front of strangers, so they will often face a wall or sit hunched over their food when they are eating in public.
- Cha’lla is a ritual blessing drawn from Catholic tradition, indigenous religious ceremony, or—typically—a combination of both. Performed by a yatiri (spiritual leader) or Catholic priest, a cha’lla ceremony is performed whenever a new building is finished to ensure future peace in that building.
- Many Bolivians believe in karisirus, or night phantoms. These harmful spirits catch people out after dark or when they’re sleeping. Legend says that they split their victim’s stomach and extract some of the fat.
o Drinks. While the traditional Bolivian beverages api and mate de coca are featured in Shadow Sister, several others are not:
- refresco (fruit juice with a dried peach at the bottom of the glass)
- tostada (a mixture of barley, honey, cloves in water)
- chicha (homemade corn beer)
- singani (made from grapes, a cross between wine and whiskey)
o Language. Spanish, Aymara, and Quechua are Bolivia’s three national languages, and they differ from each other greatly. For example, the number one in Spanish = uno, Aymara = ma, Quechua = hoq.
– Quotes:
o On wine: “Wine is sunlight held together by water.” ~ Galileo
o On art: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” ~ Thomas Merton
I hope this glimpse into what
didn’t make it onto the pages of
Shadow Sisterpiques your interest for discovering what finally did!
The story sweeps across oceans from the States to a small town in Bolivia. It centers on two sisters who are very different. Have you ever felt like you were in the shadows of one of your siblings? Sarah has always thought that her sister Jenna was the center of attention in the family. It seemed that she always heard praises about Jenna especially from her dad. There was definitely jealousy on Sarah's part.
I loved reading about the relationship the sisters had and the author really explores what happens when a secret is hidden that ruins their bond. It is hard to repair a fractured relationship when one of them takes off to Bolivia. Sarah is heartbroken and also bitter. Why would Jenna stop talking to her and go thousands of miles away? I did enjoy the way the author had us travel back in years as we saw a glimpse into the life Jenna as she matured into a young woman. I did feel sorry for Sarah as she felt unloved at times by her father.
When a tragedy occurs in the family, I think the story really took off on an emotional journey that made the story so touching and real. As Sarah travels to Bolivia she questions why she alone was requested to come. Why would Jenna want her to be the family member who fulfills her wishes? The author does a good job of describing the way people in some areas of Bolivia live. I was very surprised to read what is done to young women there. It is something I can't fathom any human ever doing. The way that women are treated there is appalling at times. I loved how the author reminds us of how much God loves women and want them to be treated with respect.
Another part of the story that fascinated me was learning about vineyards. I could see the beautiful grapes as they were ready for harvest glistening in the sun. The family has worked hard to keep it going and it has become a prosperous business for them. I'm not sure how I felt about the dad at times. I could see how he gave most of his attention to Jenna, but as I read the story I began to see the secrets that had been hidden for so long cast a shadow . The shadow crept into Sarah in a way that made her feel invisible at times.
The best part of the book for me is when Sarah is in Bolivia and discovers the real Jenna that she never knew. Does Sarah regret the bitterness she had for her sister? Why did Jenna keep her life in Bolivia a secret from her family? I liked how the author shows how much each sister loved God and was able to see through His eyes the beauty a woman possesses inside and out. The story is filled with deep emotion, secrets, redemption, forgiveness and an understanding of being His hands and feet. I will remember this story for its openness about how women are treated in other countries. I appreciate the way the author examines family relationships and how each moment is precious that you spend with them. Above all, I love the story for its message of hope and unconditional love.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
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Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Katherine is giving away a grand prize that includes a personalized signed print copy of the book, a Shadow Sister bookmark, a Frame-able print, Book-lover’s tea, 6 Handcrafted notecards, and a set of vineyard-themed playing cards!!
