New Release: Take Flight

For today’s New Release, author T. E. Price tells us about her newest book, Take Flight.

This sophomore novel was released on 6/15/21, published by Morgan James Publishing.

Tell us a little about your novel.

Hallie McClain’s struggle with fight-or-flight has become real as her life spirals out of control. After a brush with death at the hands of her abusive husband, Hallie goes into hiding. She faces estrangement from her church rooted in ludicrous gossip, broken trust, and a husband who will stop at nothing to find her. In a crisis moment, Hallie flees her small town in Oklahoma and takes flight to the big city where her hope of freedom and a new future is threatened by her haunted past. Can she trust God that her escape will finally lead to freedom?

Tell us a little about your main character(s).

Hallie Reed McClain is a shy and timid woman in her mid-twenties. The beginning of the book finds Hallie in a secluded lake house in small-town Oklahoma. She has just left her abusive husband, and she is fighting to stand on her own two feet while she grapples with estrangement, the gossip mill of her small town, and a job that doesn’t pay enough. Hallie has to learn how to make ends meet while seeking safety and seclusion from her husband, who will stop at nothing to find her. Through many twists and turns, Hallie soon discovers just what it means to be independent and fight for the life she wants to live…a life of freedom from abuse through full dependence on Christ.

If a film were made of your novel, who would you cast in the leading role(s)?

Hallie Reed McClain (protagonist) would be played by Shailene Woodley and Jonathan McClain (antagonist) would be played by Dylan O’Brien.

What was the spark of your story? A plot point? A character? A place? Something else?

When I became privy to particular secrets of a close friend’s personal hell experienced at the hands of her abusive ex-husband, I realized the magnitude of victimization and how violence, divorce, and trust is often mishandled in the church. My goal with Take Flight is to instill confidence, strength, and the promise of God’s trustworthiness in the hearts of women who feel trapped, helpless, and lost in their abusive marriages/relationships. I also want to encourage Christians to be more supportive and understanding when they interact with women who have been victimized.

Did you have to research anything new for this novel?

Although I’ve experienced life from a worldly perspective in my teen and early adolescent years, I did have to research the concept of victimization for this novel, as it is not something I have grappled with myself. My hope as a Christian author is to wed experiences from both the Christian and non-Christian worlds in order to write content that engages both realms, especially on taboo subjects, such as divorce and abuse, which are not commonly addressed in Christian Fiction.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

My hope is that women, whether Christian or not, will discover that God can be trusted with our future if we place our hope and dependence on Him alone. Jeremiah 29:11.

Who are your favorite authors?

Francine Rivers, Colleen Coble, Lynette Eason, Frank Peretti and for non-Christian authors, I enjoy Jodi Picoult, Dan Brown, Tess Gerritsen, and Michael Crichton.