The Christian author talks about the real-life inspirations behind her latest series.
Deborah Raney’s inspirational novels have garnered multiple awards including the RITA Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers’ Choice Award, and more. She recently launched the Chandler Sisters series with Reason to Breathe (Gilead Publishing). In this interview, Deborah explains the theme for the new series, shares why her sisters might be nervous about these books, and reveals the character that surprised her the most…
Deborah, your new Chandler Sisters series revolves around three sisters who are reeling from personal tragedies and then start a new business together. What inspired this setup?
There are usually multiple inspirations for each of my novels. This one definitely started with the idea of a sisters series. Being the oldest of four sisters and having my own sisters as best friends all my life, I’ve always thought it would be fun to capture the unique friendship that happens when people share your history from childhood.
(Of course, for my sisters’ sakes, I’ve changed all the names and details to protect the innocent.)
But it has been a blast to explore sisters undertaking a business venture together—and that brings me to my next inspiration: Fixer Upper, Home Town, and other shows like those. I love the metaphors that home renovation shows inspire—ashes to beauty—and you’ll see several of those in the Chandler Sisters novels.
What’s the overarching theme or idea for the series?
Like so many of my books, this series has a strong undercurrent of redemption: God can redeem even the worst of situations. But another recurring theme in so many of my books is that family members—including those related by marriage and in this series, sisters especially—are precious friends and gifts from God. Even when we don’t always see eye to eye, we make each other better.
The first book, Reason to Breathe, is about sister Phylicia Chandler. What can you tell us about her?
Phylicia (her family calls her Phee) is the oldest of the three sisters. After putting her life on hold to help care for their mom through a tragic cancer journey, Phee feel that life has passed her by—and that maybe it’s too late for her to have a marriage like the one her own parents had. When she discovers some long-hidden secrets about her parents, she’s not sure what she can believe in anymore.
Quinn Mitchell is the man who brings the sisters the business opportunity—and he’s also falling for Phylicia. What can you tell us about him?
Quinn works for Phylicia’s dad and actually met Phee when she was 16 and he was 28, so it takes him by surprise to realize that she’s now all grown up. But he’s been deeply wounded in a previous relationship and isn’t sure he is ready to trust love again.
What about them made you want to tell their story?
I love that Quinn and Phee knew each other when their age difference made a relationship the last possibility on their minds, but now that it shouldn’t matter, it does, for reasons neither of them imagined. In real life, conflict between a man and woman isn’t nearly so much fun, but in fiction, it does keep the pages turning!
And I do love showing, through fiction, how a real-life couple can work out their differences in a way that honors God and feels like a win/win.
Click thru to discover which character surprised her the most…