Hi guys! Today I am super excited to welcome back one of my favorite authors, the fabulous Marie Sexton.  Marie is here to talk to us about Never a Hero, the latest book in the Tucker Springs series.  I totally loved this book and reviewed it here earlier today.  Marie has also brought a great giveaway with her.  So please join me in giving her a big welcome!  


Never A Hero Tour Banner


Hi there and welcome! I’m Marie Sexton, and I’m thrilled to be able to share my excitement over my latest release with Riptide Publishing, Never A Hero. Never A Hero is available now, and today I’m going to share a little bit about how this latest Tucker Springs novel came to be. Follow me on the virtual book tour for Never A Hero all week for more exclusive details about the book, the Tucker Springs series, and more.

Plus, leave a comment below with your name and email address, and you could be one of three lucky winners to receive a $5 gift card to Riptide. Simply leave your comment by 5/17 at 11:59pm to enter.


Why ABS?

never a heroThe idea behind Never a Hero began with one of my best friends, who I’ll call K, and her daughter Z. Just like Owen in Never a Hero, Z was born with her left arm amputated just below her elbow, a result of Amniotic Band Syndrome.

Amniotic Band Syndrom, or ABS, is a congenital disorder wherein the blood flow to fetal parts (usually a limb or digits) is cut off by fibrous amniotic bands while in utero, causing the limb to be amputated. In the case of my friend, the missing limb wasn’t caught on ultrasound, and so it was a shock when Z was born.

From the beginning, K and her husband vowed that Z’s missing arm would not define her, and Z herself is a power to be reckoned with. She’s only eight, but if you aged her ten years, then turned her personality amp all the way to eleven, you’d get June, Nick’s sister in Never a Hero. There’s a bit in Never a Hero about June playing Captain Hook when she was a child, and that story came directly from Z. Although Z’s parents encourage her to be honest when asked (usually by a child) what happened to her arm, K told me once that her husband will sometimes get annoyed at adults who stare too much. In those cases, he’s been known to say, utterly deadpan, “Lost it to a shark,” just to watch them panic and scurry away. But Z is still a child – younger than my daughter – and so any information I get comes from her mother. Although I can see her living a happy, normal life, I can’t ask her how she feels about her missing limb.

About two years ago, my daughter started soccer. The first day of practice, another mom plopped down on the grass next to me. I noticed her left arm was also amputated below the elbow. I don’t know what compelled me to ask – whether it was talking to K about her experiences with Z or whether I was just feeling brave – but I asked her, “Was it ABS?” To my surprise, she seemed pleased by my question. Yes, it was caused by ABS, but she went on to tell me how refreshing it was to have somebody address it directly. She talked about how so many people ignore it, or they stare, or they stammer, and while she understood all these things, she actually appreciated not having to do that dance.

That day, Never a Hero was born.


Never a Hero is available now from Riptide, Amazon, and all major book outlets. Never a Hero is part of the Tucker Springs universe, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. For more information about Tucker Springs, visit www.TuckerSprings.com.

Marie Sexton lives in Colorado. She’s a fan of just about anything that involves muscular young men piling on top of each other. In particular, she loves the Denver Broncos and enjoys going to the games with her husband. Her imaginary friends often tag along. Marie has one daughter, two cats, and one dog, all of whom seem bent on destroying what remains of her sanity. She loves them anyway.

Find out more at http://MarieSexton.net, or download the Marie Sexton app, available free for Android or iPhone.

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