Book Review of Innocence Denied by Mike Garrett - A Touching Christian Romance Novel

Book Review of Innocence Denied by Mike Garrett - A Touching Christian Romance Novel

(Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of "Innocence Denied" from BookCrash for this review.)

My Book Review:

Innocence Denied is a beautiful story of romance which caused me to choke up with tears. The ending is simply perfect and genius, and leaves me with a wonderful feeling of completion. I feel emotionally-investing in the success of the main protagonists which I endearingly call “Derrissa”.  

The characters grew and bonded very masterfully through realistic day-to-day interactions. Crucial knowledge was well hidden until the latter half of the novel. The Biblical and faith elements of the novel are very tastefully weaved in as well, which I feel will not turn an unbeliever off from reading it. I pray that Innocence Denied will reach those that are meant to be touched by this precious story of love. 

If I can offer any suggestions for improvement, it would be to see more action sequences such as the antagonists hunting down the protagonists and having their evil plans rebound on themselves. The antagonists’ presence is hardly felt in the story. As a result, I don’t really feel the peril that Larissa is in — it feels like Derrissa are in their little bubble world where no one else exists to harm them. I would be keen to read a sequel about what Larissa chooses to do after the ending of the novel. It will be interesting to see her find another man she can help who reminds her of her former self, to ‘pay-forward’ the help that Derrick had given to her.

Read on for my interview with Mike Garrett, the author of this Christian romance novel. 

Innocence Denied by Mike Garrett is a beautiful Christian romance novel that will leave you tearfully hopeful!

​1. Please introduce yourself to our readers!

First, let me thank you, Milton, for allowing me to appear on your amazing blog. I'm honored to be introduced to your readers.
 
I'm a devout Christian and life-long resident of Alabama in the USA. My world revolves around God, my wife Sharon, two adult children, five grandchildren, and one granddog.
I'm a previously published author and have served as an Editorial Associate for the Writer’s Digest School and have taught writing workshops at colleges and universities across the nation.
​Innocence Denied is my first Christian novel and is being pitched to the Lifetime and Hallmark Channels as a TV movie. I believe Christian fiction can serve as modern day parables, teaching biblical wisdom as Jesus once did.
 
I'm currently an independent book/novel editor helping new authors improve their manuscripts for a greater chance of acceptance by publishers. My editing website is  www.manuscriptcritique.com

2. What inspired you to write Innocence Denied?

Innocence Denied actually began as an idea for a secular novel many years ago. What if someone falsely accused of murder skips bail and flees prosecution to start all over with a new life? For some reason I could never get motivated enough to actually write it. I knew essentially who my characters were but wasn’t sure what their purpose of interaction would be.
 
Everything changed at a church service a couple of years ago when the message urged serving God with our spiritual gifts. Our Father has blessed me with the knowledge to be successful in a career that I love, and I immediately felt compelled to write something to honor Him.
 
I immediately knew that the focus of my secular idea could easily be changed. A Christian man and an unbelieving woman would be thrown together under extraordinary circumstances, never to be the same again.
 
With God’s help along the way, I put together what I consider to be a page turner—I wanted to make it difficult for the reader to find a place to stop, and the results have been high praise from reviewers. This was a writing experience unlike any other for me.

3. Did you face any challenges while writing this novel and how did you overcome them?

​I've been focused on book editing since my secular novel was published decades ago and have done little writing of my own since. Facing the challenge of another novel after all these years was daunting at first, but I felt the presence of God leading me along the way. In fact, He was so influential in the process that I feel guilty taking any credit for the novel. I felt like I was a keyboard, but God was doing the typing. He made the experience far easier than I ever expected.
 
The biggest challenge overall, however, was finding a publisher. I originally wrote Innocence Denied for self-publication because I knowingly broke many of the "rules" that traditional publishers have, some of them for good reason, but I knew that I faced automatic rejection for having done so. Regardless, I wanted to tell the story as it's told, and despite the odds being against me to find a traditional publisher, God led me to CrossLink. Without their willingness to take a chance on this story Innocence Denied would have been limited to an audience of only a few.

4. I read that you were Stephen King’s first-ever book editor! Could you share a bit about that experience?

Actually, as Stephen King relates in his non-fiction book "On Writing," I was editor and publisher of his novella "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber." He thinks I changed its title, but I didn't. His talent was incredible even in those early days.This was long before computers, and Steve's typewriter had a broken "o" key. Instead of typing an "o" in a word, he had to use a zero, "0", as in "n0vella."
 
I grew up as a huge horror fan but lost interest in it as I became a stronger person of faith.

5. ​What are some of the biggest writing tips that you can give to aspiring novelists?

It seems difficult for new authors to understand their role in the publishing industry. Writing is an art, but publishing is a business. Publishers are not in business to produce great literature; they exist to sell books regardless of their quality. Take, for instance, the enormous success of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books. Are they quality literature? Not by a long shot. The publisher knew that they would sell regardless of numerous shortcomings. Publishers will evaluate your submissions more from a business perspective than an artistic one. Keep in mind that, if you want to be published, you must focus on publisher needs as much as your own.

6. ​Why should someone read “Innocence Denied”?

It’s an unusual story that defies categorization. It poses such questions as, what would you do if you faced life in prison for something you didn’t do? How will you walk with Jesus at the end of your life? In your greatest time of need, where will your focus lie? It also explores love--how easily and quickly it can be to fall in love, but falling out of love takes time. Also, no matter how devout Christians may be, they all have weaknesses and must battle temptation.
 
Devotion is a key element of the book also--Derrick's devotion to God, first and foremost, but also his devotion to Larissa, someone he has known for only a short period of time but has grown to love as directed by the second commandment, love others as you love yourself.
 
Hopefully readers will grow in faith as a result of reading Innocence Denied. I actually learned a lot from Derrick myself. Not long after finishing the novel I faced a serious health crisis of my own. With Derrick as inspiration for facing the end, I maintained a strong spiritual balance all the way through until God blessed me with a much better diagnosis. Perhaps that was one of His reasons for me to write the novel, this one purely from a personal level.

Where can readers purchase “Innocence Denied”?

It's available online at:
​
Barnes & Noble  

Target

And of course Amazon  
 
Thanks again, Milton, for allowing me to inform your readers about Innocence Denied. To all of you readers I'd like to relay Derrick's belief that, regardless of your circumstances, there is always hope. Have a blessed life!

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