Benevolent

Benevolent

by Erin A. Jensen

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GENRE: Fantasy

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BLURB:

A story about the purpose of life, the healing power of fandom, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Tormented by the in-crowd at school on a daily basis, there were two things that gave fifteen-year-old Abigail Perkins the strength to keep going—her best friend, Danny Cobb; and her favorite television show, Supernatural. But the night Danny’s mother calls to say that his battle with cancer is nearing its end, and the doctors don’t expect him to live through the night, even Supernatural can’t dull the ache in her heart.

Devastated by her impending loss and crushed that Danny’s mother won’t allow her to visit him one last time, Abigail crawls into bed and cries herself to sleep that night; and she wakes to find Supernatural’s most endearing angel standing at the foot of her bed.

Told from Abigail’s perspective as she nears the end of her long life and revisits the moments that defined it, this story was inspired by the deep connection that Supernatural fans feel with the show’s beloved characters, and the show’s miraculous ability to help its fans through troubled times.

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Excerpt:

I flashed him a sympathetic smile. “What are you thinking?”

“I have never understood why humans are so moved by music,” he muttered as his eyes searched mine.

“Music is the closest thing that we have to magic,” I confided in a reverent whisper, “because it has the power to anchor us to a moment in time.”

His half-smile conveyed a heartwarming mix of curiosity and affection. “How so?”

I felt my face flush a shade darker as I grinned at him. “When we hear a song from our past, it conjures up all the old sensations that we felt when we first heard it.”

He eyed me with a perplexed frown as he took a step toward me. “How can a combination of man-made instruments and human vocal chords wield that sort of power?”

“I can’t explain it with words,” I whispered, “It’s something that you just have to feel.”

He stood there staring at me with that puzzled expression on his face as I stepped closer and carefully inserted the earpiece in my hand into his left ear, so the music connected the two of us, just as surely as the cord connected the earbuds in our ears. “Maybe you’d understand what I mean if you danced to the music.”

“I don’t dance,” he muttered as he watched me begin to sway to the beat.

I smiled at him as I took his hands in mine and moved his arms in time with the music, like a puppeteer pulling a life-sized marionette’s strings. “Anyone can dance. You just have to let go and let the music guide your movements.”

A skeptical frown spread across his face as he watched me, but he let me direct his movements nonetheless. He was stiff and awkward at first but as the music grew louder, he seemed to find the rhythm. “These words are nonsense,” he muttered.

“Shhh,” I whispered, “Don’t think. Just feel.”

He was a remarkably fast learner, but I suppose being on earth since the dawn of time had given him plenty of opportunities to watch humans dance. Once he started to feel the music, he moved with all the grace that you’d imagine an angel would.

“Hey Jude” gradually faded away until there was nothing but silence in our twin earpieces.

We stopped moving and stood there staring at each other while we waited for the next song to guide our movements.

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My Plans for the Near Future

I’ve had lots of exciting things going on since the release of my standalone novel, Benevolent. My last recording session with ROC Vox Recording and Production Studio wrapped up recently, and I can’t wait for the release of Benevolent’s audiobook. One of the best parts about my journey as a writer has been the opportunities to try things that are new and different from anything I’ve ever attempted before. Benevolent is my first novel to be recorded as an audiobook. It’s also my first time narrating a story. Like most people, I don’t particularly love the sound of my own voice. Hearing it magnified in the headphones I wear while recording was a bit unnerving. I think a few of my coworkers will listen to the audiobook out of sheer curiosity because they’ve been listening to me whine about the process for months! So why did I choose to narrate Benevolent myself? There is more of me in this story than any other book I’ve written. That made it difficult to narrate at times, but I think my passion for the story will come through in the finished product. There were several times when reading the lines moved me to tears. The end of life scenes were based on my experiences during my grandfather’s final days on hospice, and reading them aloud brought back all the emotions I felt at the time. I’m hoping the listener will feel more connected to the main character when they hear me tell the story. I also had a reader reach out to me and say that a blind friend of hers is a big Supernatural fan, and he’s excited to get the opportunity to listen to my story inspired by one of the characters. Knowing that I’ll be able to reach a wider audience of people who weren’t able to read the print version of my story makes me very happy.

I’m also looking forward to going to my first Supernatural convention as a vendor. I’ll be selling Benevolent and my Dream Waters books at the Supernatural convention in Secaucus, New Jersey September 26^th through September 29^th. I’ve connected with lots of fellow Supernatural fans through social media since the release of Benevolent, and I’m excited to get the opportunity to meet some of them in person at the convention in New Jersey.

The next big thing on my agenda will be the release of Dream Fragments (Book Four of my Dream Waters Series). The manuscript is in the hands of my beta readers at the moment. (Just between us, I love the stages of the process where the book is with them or my editor because I get to blame how long it’s taking to publish on them.) It’s a bit too early to announce a release date at this point, especially since there are always the inevitable snags that hold things up longer than planned. Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to get Book Four in the hands of my readers by the end of this year. Then I’ll be working on the fifth book in the Dream Waters Series. Time will tell what comes after that, but I’ll be keeping everyone posted about what I’m up to on social media!

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Erin Jensen is the Amazon International bestselling author of The Dream Waters Series. She was awarded the Bronze Medal for fantasy fiction in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite international book awards. She also received Honorable Mention for fantasy fiction in the 2018 Writer’s Digest self-published e-book awards. A part-time pharmacist and a full-time daydreamer, she resides in upstate New York with her ridiculously supportive husband, two teenage sons–who are both taller than her–and a Yorkshire terrier who thinks he’s the family bodyguard.

Website:          Erinajensen.com

Blog:                blog.erinajensen.com

Twitter:            twitter.com/erinajensen?lang=en

Facebook:       facebook.com/erin.jensen.756

Buy Links

Amazon:                      amazon.com/dp/B07NCFGFCV

Barnes & Noble:          barnesandnoble.com/w/benevolent-erin-a-jensen/1132005681

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Erin A. Jensen will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway