As many of you know, Sins of the Father deals with the issue of absentee fathers from the perspectives of the adult children of an absentee father, their mother, and the absentee father himself.

Since the issue is a common one, I started a Facebook page so that children of absentee fathers, their mothers, and the absentee fathers themselves could share their stories. Guess what? Not many people have taken me up on my offer. So I’m making an appeal to you here today to participate with us as we discuss questions about absentee fathers and their adult children.

For adult children of absentee fathers:

How do you feel about your father now?
Do you want a relationship with him? Why or why not?

For mothers of children whose fathers are not in their lives:

How does it feel that your child’s father is not involved in his/her life?
Does your child miss their other parent? How do you know?
How do you feel about the absentee father?
Would you welcome a relationship between your child and his/her father? Why or why not?

If you’re an absentee dad:

How did you come to be separated from your children?
Have you tried to get to know them? How did that go?
Have they reached out to you? How did that go?
What do you want for your relationship with your kids, if anything?

If you’re interested in sharing your story, please join us on the Sins of the Father Facebook page or post here in the Comments section. I truly believe sharing the stories will be beneficial to all of us. You may end up being a blessing to someone you’ve never met.

Reviewers HERE and HERE have suggested that Sins of the Father is contemporary drama, not Christian fiction. What do you think?

I don’t know about y’all, but the two-week Sins of the Father blog tour about wore me out. I didn’t have to leave my house but it was still tiring. While it was a lot of fun, I’m glad things are back to normal.

As a part of my normal, I’m trying to update my blog and website regularly. For that, I do periodic Google searches to see what folks are saying about me and my books on the web. Guess what I found out?

Well, Harriet at Genre Go Round Reviews characterizes Sins of the Father as soap opera. So does Cecelia at My Christian Fiction Blog, Amy at My Friend Amy, and Dera at APOOO.

I’ll bet some of you are slapping your palms against your forehead about right now, feeling sorry for me. Well, don’t feel sorry for me because each review was positive and a couple were downright glowing.

So all you opera lovers, go out and get your copy of Sins of the Father and have yourself a good ole soap opera reading party. And for those of you who don’t like soap operas, take some time and read the reviews. I’m betting there’ll be something in them that sparks your interest and makes you want to pick up a copy, too.

Oh, yes, I have a secret to share with you. When I turned in the original manuscript for Sins of the Father, my editor said it had a bit too much drama so we reshaped a few scenes and changed the backstory for a couple of characters. If you continue to be nice to me, I just may tell you what we changed.

My new book, Sins of the Father, hits bookstores on August 25. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about the book, its orgins, and the events planned around its release.  Today’s treat is an excerpt of the first two chapters. Read and enjoy!

Sins of the Father by Angela Benson (excerpt) –

I’ve gotten my first review for Sins of the Father.  Thanks, Tea!

Drum roll, please!

The four lucky winners are:

2. DonnaD
5. Sonya
11. Marta Daniels
13. AJ

I need to receive mailing addresses for each of the winners by June 12. If I don’t hear from you by then, I’ll have to select a replacement winner.  Send your mailing address to books [at] angelabenson.com

I wish I could have provided a book for everyone who signed the blog, but my supply was limited. I’ll be getting copies of the final book in early August and I’ll host another drawing then so there’s still hope.

Aa always, thanks for your support.

Happy Reading!

Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of my September release, Sins of the Father, arrived on Monday.  If you’re interested in a copy, please comment on this blog post.  All I ask in return is that you write a review on your blog or on Amazon or anywhere and let me know where you post it.  The winners will be announced on June 1.

Sins of Father by Angela Benson

Successful media mogul Abraham Martin has great wealth, an elegant wife, Saralyn, and a rebellious son, Isaac. He also has a secret: a second family that no one knows about. Now, after thirty years—driven by the urging of his long dormant conscience—Abraham is determined to do the right thing by finally bringing his illegitimate children into the light…and into the family fold.

But beautiful, manipulative Saralyn will never accept the proof of her husband’s indiscretions. Isaac the heir, shaken by his father’s revelations, will fight mercilessly when his world is threatened, and may lose everything that matters as a result. And while Abraham’s forgotten daughter Deborah is open to the undreamed-of possibilities suddenly awaiting her, son Michael cannot forgive the man who cruelly abandoned them to near poverty. And he’s driven by only one desire: revenge!

Sins of the Father is a powerful story of a house bitterly divided—a rich, multilayered family saga of betrayal and redemption, rage and compassion, faith, forgiveness, and ultimately, of love.

Quiz time: What is this book about?

Publication date: September 1, 2009