Our Town Atheist Blog Tour with an Interview and Giveaway

Disclaimer: I am sharing this spotlight and interview as a favor to Victoria Buck and the Celebrate Lit Publicity Team. I have not read this book, and sharing this post does not mean that I agree with the teachings found in this book, especially in the subject of transhumanism.

About the Book:

Book: Our Town Atheist

Author: Victoria Buck

Genre: Christian Women’s Fiction

Release Date: October 30, 2020

Small-town banker Adam Bender tackles a robber and loses. But that’s not what shakes the foundations of his well-managed life. He awakens in the hospital to the vision of an angel. But that’s not what casts doubt on his reasonable judgment. Turns out the angel is only a beautiful doctor—someone Adam wants to get to know better.

The bank robber is on the loose and out to get Adam. News spreads in the gossipy little town of Adam’s misfortune, his love interest, and his…atheism? He’d thought he could keep that a secret. But Adam Bender can handle it. Or, can he?

What happens one night on a mountain road leaves him questioning his worldview. And his sanity. And soon the whole town is waiting to find out if what Adam saw will alter his unbelief.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author:

Victoria Buck is a native Floridian running a small business with her husband, who teaches her everything she needs to know about both melodrama and comic relief. Wake the Dead is her debut novel. Killswitch is the follow-up to book one. Transfusion is the last book in the trilogy about the world’s first transhuman.

Now, on to other stories! Victoria is currently working on two present-day novels. No transhumans or insurrections. Of course, there has to be a bit of a weird twist!

More from Victoria

Have you ever heard of a porkpie hat? Maurice is wearing one that terrible night when Adam sees him. The Chief of Police hasn’t seen a porkpie in Crossroads for decades, but old Mrs. Jones can tell you all about it. I wasn’t familiar with the hat until I wrote this story. Now I have one of my own!

I admit unusual characters pop into my head. Not your typical protagonist for someone who writes from a Christian worldview, Adam Bender showed up in my imagination after I wrote some blog posts about atheism. Those posts drew more response than I expected from the atheist community. Some were not so kind, but others wanted only to exchange ideas and explain their views in a non-confrontational manner. That’s when this easy-going, fictitious atheist began speaking to the writer in me. I let him talk for a while, and then I had to tell his story.

Interview with Victoria:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

As soon as I learned the alphabet. I guess I’ve always wanted to be a writer. When I was five I began writing poetry, and I wrote it all through my childhood. I started a novel when I was ten. I quit after six pages. I married young and had a family, and writing became a dream for another day. But the dream was always with me.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

Some characters just pop into my imagination and start telling me their stories. Sometimes a story idea comes while I’m reading or writing about a particular topic. I got the idea to write about the world’s first transhuman (Wake the Dead trilogy) after a lengthy study of the reality of transhumanism. As for my new book, Our Town Atheist, I studied and then blogged about the “new atheism” and I got a lot of feedback from the atheist community. That’s when Adam Bender came to mind, and I wrote a novel about an atheist living in the Bible belt. Does he remain an atheist? That’s an interesting question.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

I do enjoy fiction, but when I’m not writing I really like reading non-fiction. Aside from that, I like spending time with my husband and with all the little grandkids who’ve come into our lives in recent years. Of course, I spend time with the Lord and enjoy His presence as I pray and read His word.

Do you have any suggestions to help someone become a better writer? If so, what are they?

Study! I mentioned the novel I started when I was ten. I started another one in my twenties. I gave up on page twenty-six. Then when my kids were teenagers, I started another novel—my practice novel. It had about 500 pages! Way too long for a first novel, at least in most cases. But I didn’t know any better. After that, I began to study commercial fiction. I attended conferences and joined a critique group. And I learned how to write and how not to write. My suggestion is to study writing before you write.

What do you think makes a good story?

For me, a good story is unique. I know, that covers a lot and covers nothing at the same time. I just want to encounter something rare and creative. Something that makes me think. In the Christian fiction market, I think a good story features a protagonist who is atypical of the Christian experience. My aim as a writer is to craft characters on the edge of acceptability, and to lead the Christian reader to love them anyway.