Welcome, everyone. I am so excited to have Jodi Basye here with us. We just completed some episodes on her Cross Family Saga, and it's just an honor to have her on our show. We love to hear the behind the scenes of the books that we read.

So, I would love to know what your inspiration was for the Cross Family Saga. 

Well, it all started with Redeeming the Prodigal. And that was actually my debut novel. I had that story on my heart for years. I mean, like 20 years, probably total. Just, I had this image of this character. I had Jo in my mind and her at that, kind of where you see her at her lowest point, where she'd been cast out from the brothel and from where she was in the street. And I just had this, I don't know, story laid on my heart of the picture of redemption. And I wasn't sure where the story was going to go and I actually didn't have it initially planned out as a series, as a family saga.

So, it doesn't always read as much like you're going somewhere, because I hadn't really planned it that way. But later I realized I wanted to go further with sharing multiple redemption stories. But with Redeeming the Prodigal, my inspiration kind of became, I realized that so many, in Christian fiction, you know, your readership really is Christians.

So that salvation message is good, and it can be a good reminder. But that's not always what we need to hear. I had a time in my life where I really needed the message that even though I had grown up in church, even though I had been saved since I was a child that I had screwed up royally and I felt like well, almost like I don't get that redemption. Not that I lost my salvation, but the like I lost my usefulness to God.

I had to learn that I'm still continually being redeemed. All hope wasn't lost. And so that's where her story inspiration kind of played in. And then from there, I was like, I'm going to show different avenues of what you could be redeemed from pictures of redemption.

Who is your favorite leading lady in this series?

Oh, goodness. Oh, that's so hard for me. Especially now that I've wrapped up the last book that you guys even haven't seen yet. I think in some ways it's Jo, just that stubborn tenacity. And I like that about her. I like the, she's a little different.

Elaine completely surprised me. I did not expect her to become who she was. I really viewed her like Jo did when I started writing. And it was once she came alive on the page, I realized, a whole different character there that I didn't know we would be dealing with. And so, she kind of stole my heart a little bit in seeing a different side of her as the book came through.

And then Essie is my latest in redeeming the shackled and I really liked Essie. She is a very unique character. And so I don't know, I would have a really hard time picking, I really would.

Who would be your favorite hero of the series?

I like them all in their own way, of course, but probably Gideon. I like, the rough mountain man, doesn't always say the right thing, you know, kind of grumbly, but just has a big heart. I guess he would probably still be my favorite.

Okay, so speaking of your newest one, can you give us a little insight into Redeeming the Shackled because that one comes out October 30th, right?

Yeah, it'll be out by October 30th. I'm really, really excited about it. I don't want to give too much away about it, but you've got Jimmy, who you asked about, if he was going to show up, because we meet Gideon's brother Jimmy in Redeeming the Outlaw, just briefly. You don't get to see a lot of him, but he's our hero in Redeeming the Shackled, and Essie.

I don't know if you remember her in Redeeming the Outlaw, when Mary goes to visit Charlie, there's the girl who kind of showed her around and has been sitting with Charlie, and that's who Essie is, and she's our leading lady. And it's just a... It's a wild ride, and it was a wild ride to write, for sure.

It's a kind of a dual struggle with the redemption for both characters. And there's a major element of spiritual warfare in this one, and struggle with addiction, and there's just a lot going on that's going to be very different, but I really felt like it was things that aren't always talked about as much in Christian fiction.

It goes back to that grit that you had mentioned. What I wanted to show with this series was grit and grace. These are the real things, and that Christians sometimes have a tendency to not want to dig into, not want to see, and, but it's there, and we need to deal with it.

I allowed the grit in this series and some of the darker moments, because I feel like it's like an artist or a sculptor. There's an art terminology that I cannot remember that they use where you want the darkest darks so that it will, highlight the lights. And I wanted to go ahead and show the darkest point in these people's lives to highlight God's grace and allow God's grace to shine.

And so...this one's a double whammy with the two characters and what they're going through. But I really, really feel like it's a satisfactory end to the series and it kind of brings together a lot of, there was some things a little unfinished in some of the previous books that you actually get to see it all complete and come to a big ending.

 Hear more by listening or watching our podcast. Plus connect with Jodi by visiting her website: https://www.jodibasye.com.