Guest Blog: Allison Nance and Deep Cries Out *Prize to Random Commenter

Dear Readers, I'm so excited! Summer break is almost here and I am really looking forward to a break. I hope you, too, will find some time to be refreshed and to relax--maybe even by reading a good book? *If you subscribe to her newsletter (see below), you get an extra chance to win her book!

Introduce yourself—name, where you’re from, and something people

notice when they meet you.

Hey friends! My name is Allison Nance, and I live in Houston, Texas, with my

family. I can honestly say I’ve never received remarks about something

people notice when they first meet me! However, I have had (very) observant

friends notice the sectoral heterochromia in one of my eyes–or, in normal

people words–an amber patch in my otherwise green iris.

Tell us about your book—title and back cover blurb?

Where to begin?! Deep Cries Out is my debut novel releasing on July 22,

2025, and it encapsulates a lot of my personal experience with anxiety and

depression, as well as healing and hope on the other side. While the

characters and their experiences in the story are entirely fictional, the female

protagonist’s struggle with mental illness at the beginning of the story very

much mirrors my own. Here’s some back cover copy for you:

Aimee Rojas is a tenacious single mother at the height of her career in sales—until an

unexpected diagnosis brings her life to a grinding halt. Retreating to Galveston Island on the coast of Texas, Aimee is immediately surrounded with supportive family and friends.

However, she soon realizes accepting help from those closest to her comes with its own nuanced complexities. Aimee's beloved cousin reappears in her life, complete with his spiraling opioid addiction, and her handsome co-worker continues to keep her mind racing in spite of her hiatus from the job. The brightest spark of joy in Aimee's life is her daughter Anna, who quickly befriends the family next door. As Aimee grapples with the physical and mental effects of her illness, she has no idea her healing will involve the love of a man whose past is just as complicated as her own, and the surfacing of a lie which might not only end her career, but her life.

Share one thing that you found difficult or challenging about writing this

book.

Whew, we are diving in deep with this question. The answer starts about nine

years ago, when my husband and I were first given a heart for cross-cultural

ministry, specifically for the people of Japan. Beginning in 2016, God

impressed Japan on our hearts, and from that first prompting, we prayed and

began learning about how we could best serve overseas. We joined a sending

organization and were set to be in Japan in the summer of 2020... and we all

know what happened that year. Japan's borders remained closed to non-

citizens for almost two years, and finally in 2022, we made it to Sapporo,

where we joined some friends who had an English cafe ministry.

Approximately five months into our time in Japan, I started developing severe

anxiety and insomnia, as well as several other physical effects related to

these things. As a typically laid-back person, this was highly unusual for me,

and I began seeking medical counsel. None of the doctors had any answers

for me. Eventually, my anxiety became so intense, my husband and I decided

it was best for our family to move back to the US so I could heal.

Coming back to Houston was good, but at the same time opened up a whole

new level of difficulty. It was several more months until the Lord led me to a

doctor who correctly diagnosed the source of my anxiety and insomnia: a

severe Vitamin D deficiency. This diagnosis sounded SO strange to me! A

vitamin deficiency was the cause of our ministry's end? A vitamin deficiency

had the power to take my body down so completely?

Apparently so. My doctor informed me that it would take months for my vitamin

and hormonal levels to come back up to a healthy level, and for the insomnia and anxiety to cease. In the waiting, I also developed depression due to the lack of sleep and

realization that my family had to effectively abandon a calling that my family

had literally worked and waited for, for years.

But God. He placed me back in our home church with family and dear friends

who walked beside us in that difficult season of transition and so, so many

unknowns. One friend in particular encouraged me after Bible study by saying,

"God isn't finished writing your story"; Her words stuck with me in ways she

couldn't have realized. Several other friends also suggested that I journal

through the depression and anxiety, in order to record my feelings with the

intent to look back--completely healed--and see what God had done. My first

thought was, HECK NO! I never want to remember this time in my life, or how

I felt. However, while I was still very much in the throes of depression, I began

to write–not a nonfiction account of my feelings–but a story about a woman

named Aimee Rojas. What started as a feeble attempt to process

overwhelming anxiety and grief grew into a creative outlet which the Lord

used to heal my mind, then into an 80,000 word manuscript, then querying

agents and, a year later, signing with my publisher.

The genesis of Deep Cries Out was honestly the most difficult thing about the

writing process, but I’m so, so thankful that God carried me through this, as

well!

Ask the blog reader a quirky question or two?

I’ve gotta ask: mountains, or beach? In any case, Deep Cries Out would be a

wonderful read to take on vacation in either setting!

Introvert, or extrovert? I’m definitely an introvert, but I LOVE connecting with

readers, so to keep up-to-date with pre-order information for Deep Cries Out and my

other projects (and to download a free short story!) please sign up for my newsletter at

www.allisonrnance.com

Share your social media and buy links!

Pre-order Deep Cries Out here: https://a.co/d/cvMrJQV

Social Media Links:

Website/Blog: http://www.allisonrnance.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231717447-deep-cries-