For Every Decision, There is A Consequence
Author of Grave Consequences
There was a time when a months-long trip across Europe to see the
sites, soak in the culture, and learn the history brought an end to a young
person’s formal education. In The Grand Tour series, best-selling and
award-winning author Lisa T. Bergren becomes the tour guide, vividly painting
the landscapes and historical events that shaped Europe one hundred years ago,
transporting readers back to 1913. Next on the itinerary is the release of Grave
Consequences (David C Cook/March 1, 2013/ISBN 978-1434764324/$14.99), a
powerful, captivating story of a woman searching to find herself, opening her
heart to love, and discovering what a covenant truly means.
Q: Grave Consequences is the second book in your Grand Tour series. A Grand
Tour was popular among the wealthy a century ago. What exactly was a Grand Tour
and what purpose did it serve?
It
was considered a way to “finish” one’s education or prepare for a life in
society from about the 16th century on. Travelers, many of them from England,
went from England over to “the Continent,” and traveled through France,
Germany, Austria, and Italy. They sometimes went to Greece and Spain, too, but
for my purposes, and because my troop only had a summer, I abbreviated their
trip. The purpose was to see major monuments and works of art, as well as meet
people who might assist the young people in the future to “get ahead.”
Q: I’ve heard
you like to travel. Were you able to go on your own Grand Tour of Europe to research
for this series?
For a long time I fantasized about a
year away with my family, traveling Europe for the most part. But even as that
dream grew and I started writing this series, God began funneling my attentions
back to home. He’s created a new fire for us in our ministry close to home, so
we couldn’t picture leaving. And a serious lack of funds for such an adventure
made it even clearer! Still, we’ve managed to go to England, France, and Italy,
so I had some good research to work from.
Q: What is the
theme that runs deep throughout the Grand Tour series?
It’s an ongoing search for identity.
When everything you know about yourself and your foundations is destroyed, how
do you find your identity again? In a way that can never be “destroyed” again? It’s
in our identity in Christ, of course. That’s what Cora is uncovering, piece by
piece. She began in Glamorous Illusions,
she gets a bit lost and confused in Grave
Consequences, but it will really come to a satisfying end in Glittering Promises.
Q: Cora
stubbornly believes she will be able to return to her old life when she returns
from her months-long trip. Can we ever really “go home again” or “go back to
the way things were” and not be changed by the events and circumstances in
life?
I think we can go home again. But to
think it will be the same is foolish. We’re forever being molded and grown and
pruned and changed in life. We can return home, but we return an evolved
person.
Q: Would you
say God puts circumstances in our lives in order for us to grow and change?
I’d say he uses every single factor
in our life to bring us face to face with him. He longs for us. And fortunately
for us, this tough world often makes us turn to him.
Q: The theme
of parents leading their children to make certain decisions affects several of
the characters in Grave
Consequences. Do you think
parents today still tend to send their children on the paths that they believe
is right for them rather than letting their young adult children discover their
own direction?
Oddly, I think this has become an
issue for parents and children again. Back in Cora’s era, futures were heavily
directed by parents. Now, parents are trying to dictate their children’s lives,
too. Make it easier. Pave the way, instead of allowing them to find their own.
Q: One of the
lines from the book’s summary reads, “For every decision, good or bad, there is
always a consequence.” The word consequence usually has a negative
connotation. Do even good decisions have negative consequences?
Every decision does result in
consequences, but I wouldn’t say they’re always bad. I’m fascinated by looking
back at decisions my ancestors made, or I made, and to think about what would’ve
happened had any of us taken different roads. It makes it all the more important
to seek out God’s guidance!
Learn
more about Lisa T. Bergren and Grave
Consequences at her online home, www.lisatawnbergren.com. Readers can also join Bergren’s Facebook fan page or follow her on Twitter.
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