About the Book

Book: Catching Hope

Author: Kathy Cassel

Genre: YA

Release date: March, 2022

Catching Hope: A pursuit fraught with danger.
Newly adopted Lexi Michaels is taking her first real vacation as she, twin brother Levi, adoptive brother Chad, and new cousin Jen head to Haiti where their dad, a pediatrician, will be volunteering in an island clinic. But who is the man who displays such hatred for the Michaels when they arrive at their resort? Is an attempted burglary as random as it appears? Will Jen ever accept the newcomers to the family? When the four teens set out to explore Haiti’s sights and history on their own, an unexpected encounter and natural disaster plunge them into adventure and danger. With their very survival at stake, can the four teens work together, or will Lexi’s dream of a “forever family” end in tragedy?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Kathy Cassel is author of more a dozen fiction and non-fiction titles for preteens and teens, including 2021 Selah Award finalist Freerunner and the iParenting award winner Christian Girls Guide series. Kathy has lived on three different continents with her USAF husband, has eight children, five adopted from Haiti and the United States, and six grandchildren. To better relate to her characters, she enjoys learning their skills such as whitewater rafting, scuba diving, and riding a motorcycle, but draws the line at sky diving.

More from Kathy

My Experience with Haiti

Prior to the 2010 catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that caused immense damage to the country of Haiti, many people would not have been able to tell you that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola just a two hour flight from Miami.

I knew where it was because our family had adopted a child from Haiti in 1997. At the time the earthquake took place, my husband and I were in the process of adopting twins from a different orphanage in Port au Prince Haiti. It had been over three years and our adoption was not yet complete. During those three years I visited the twins at the orphanage five times. Other family members went with me on some of those trips, and at one point, all of our children still living at home went to visit the orphanage.

This was an eye opening experience for my family. In fact, I volunteered us to do the daily wash. That meant hand washing clothes and sheets for 135 orphans using large metal tubs and harsh soap, then rinsing the clothes in other tubs before hand wringing them and hanging them on clotheslines. Once home, my children no longer complained about unloading the dryer!

Cooking was done in large pots over open fires and mainly consisted of rice and beans, or red sauce over rice. The cooks originally prepared the food in a wooden shack, but more than once one of them would get so hot she’d pass out, so an outdoor area was set up for food preparation.

After the earthquake, there was a mountain of paperwork to be done to get refugee status for children in the orphanages who had families waiting for them. Finally the children were brought to the United States, although some of the orphans went to other countries too, to be united with their forever families. Sadly, many were held in the airport for days before being released. For our family, the long wait was over January 25, 2010. Now our family is complete with three birth children and five adopted children, three of whom are from Haiti.

Some of the places mentioned in the book resemble real places in Haiti, although they have been fictionalized. I hope you will not only read Catching Hope, but will also take time to learn more about the country of Haiti.

Author Interview

• What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

I was surprised at how hard it was to portray Haiti realistically—not making it all bad or all good. Kidnapping is very common in Haiti. Like my character says, kidnapping is almost a career opportunity in Haiti. But just as that is true, it’s also true that there are some amazing people who are kind and generous and everything good in Haiti.

• Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

It’s very interesting how different the feedback was between my first book Freerunner and this book. With Freerunner I heard “this was a hard book to read” due to the subject matter. But with Catching Hope I heard “I couldn’t put this book down. I had to know what happened next.”

• How do you overcome writer’s block? Do you have any advice for others in finding their process to overcome it?

I have several story ideas banging in my mind at any one time so if I get stuck on one, I can switch to another one for a bit. Right now I’m working on both YA number four and an underwater crime scene novel.

• Do you read the genre you write? Why or why not?

I do! That’s why I switched to YA fiction from preteen devotional books. I love reading YA books, or in reality listening to them while I drive. Most of the books have themes of depression, suicide, death and so on. They don’t offer any real answers or hope, and I felt a strong call to switch from devotion books to YA fiction that is exciting but will also reach teens with the message that there is a God, and he has a plan for them. I want them to walk away with new hope.

• Is your writing space pristine or organized chaos?

I have a really nice home writing space with beach décor, but I also love to actually write at the beach when I can. It’s not as often as I’d like though.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 3

Texas Book-aholic, November 4

Inklings and notions, November 5

Mary Hake, November 5

deb’s Book Review, November 6

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 7

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, November 8

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, November 9

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 10

Blogging With Carol, November 11

For Him and My Family, November 12

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, November 13

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 14

Guild Master, November 15 (Author Interview)

Dee S Writes, November 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kathy is giving away the grand prize of a $40 Books-A-Million Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2266e/catching-hope-celebration-tour-giveaway