1. Who do you want to meet and why?
I’d love to meet Harper Lee, because she grew up near my hometown, and I’d just like to talk to her about writing. I’d also love to meet Beth Moore, because I think she’d be such a fun person to be friends with. I just love her infectious, enthusiastic love of God and the Scriptures!

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Chocolate! And I also love cooked vegetables, all kinds.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
To tour old castles all over Europe, especially Germany and Great Britain.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write other than God who ultimately gives us any talents including creativity? Who and how / why?
My husband often told me I should write a book. I thought he was silly.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first book?
I submitted it to lots of agents and a few publishers as an adult Christian romance, went to conferences and pitched it, and finally got an agent two years ago. Just when my agent and I had pretty much given up on it, we submitted it to a Christian YA publisher, Zonderkidz, as a Young Adult romance, and it sold! After over three years of trying to get it published, it finally was accepted.

6. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
I have a second YA medieval romance, based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, that is being considered by my publisher, Zondervan. I also have an adult romance series set in 1880 Alabama that several publishers are currently considering. And I hope to write more medieval romances based on fairy tales. I LOVE writing them.

7. What first gave you the idea for this book?
I’ve always loved fairy tales, and when I started getting the idea for The Healer’s Apprentice, my two girls were very young and they watched a lot of the Disney princess movies and Barbie movies which were based on fairy tales. One day they were watching Sleeping Beauty and I started thinking how unrealistic it was that a prince, who was betrothed from childhood to a princess, would meet a peasant girl in the woods and decide on the spot to marry her. I started thinking, what would this story be like if it was realistic? If it actually happened? And I thought, if this guy was betrothed and fell in love with someone else, he would feel a lot of inner conflict. He would want the respect of his family and his people, so he’d fight his attraction to this girl he’d fallen in love with. So that’s how the idea started.

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or this book?
This is the book of my heart, and my greatest desire is that it will glorify God and draw others closer to Him.

9. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
The Bible, of course, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and I’m not sure after that.

10. What concept or scripture is God revealing more deeply to you in this season of your life? And how is that revelation influencing your life?
God is showing me that I can trust him, even if the worst thing that could possibly happen did happen, God could still give me joy and still save me.

11. Why did you start writing and when?
I started writing as a kid and fully intended, in high school, to earn a living as a published novelist. But I gave up on that dream when I realized how hard it was to get published. When I started college I gave up writing. Then I started back when my second child was just a year old. I decided if I could earn money by writing and not have to go back to work, my life would be complete. I guess you could say my dreams MIGHT be coming true.

12. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
I choose names by looking at a census of the time period and area where the story takes place. I am not very methodical about getting to know my characters. I basically have to wait for them to reveal themselves to me.

13. What’s your favorite character / scene from this book/series (so far)?
Oh my, that’s a hard one. I have several favorite scenes in this book, and of course, I love Rose and Wilhelm the most. The kissing scene at the end has to be my favorite.

14. Do you have any teasers you can share for the sequel or your next book?
Hopefully I will know something soon about which of my books will be published next!

15. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
Don’t give up on your dreams! God can do anything, and he has great plans for your future. If you don’t need God to make your dreams come true, you’re not dreaming big enough!

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
Wow, I couldn’t just choose one. I really, really want to meet some of the friends I’ve made via the internet – there’s quite a few of them. Annie Bannanie, Caprice, Cathi, Daniel M. As far as writers – Pat Conroy, my all time favorite. Faulkner and O’Connor are awesome, but Conroy just captures that incredible Southern spirit.

OHOHOH, I know, I know!!!! Condeleeza Rice. She rocks! Secretary of State – how cool is that? She’s incredible – strong, but empathetic, smart, tough. Yes, I’m one of those politicos praying she’ll run for president one day. I think she would bring dignity and honor to the White House.

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
It depends. Brownies are pretty high on the list. So is butter with mashed (now, ain’t that southern?) potatoes, nachos with cheese, salsa and sour cream. I could pretty much exist on those three. Can’t forget topping it off with Diet Coke.

Well if Butter and Mashed Potatoes is Southern food I’m in the wrong part of the country.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
All my vacations are dreams. . .oh, that’s not what you meant. I love to travel, so, open road, family and/or friends and I’m content. I’d love to go back to Italy. When we talk about retiring, we have this idea of travelling both by motorcycle and then by trailer, so we can take our horses places to ride.

Taking the horses toride sounds great to me but I’d be fine with leaving the motorcycles behind.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write other than God who ultimately gives us any talents including creativity? Who and how / why?
There are so many. Dr. Sally Allen, who was my academic advisor at North Georgia College, was very encouraging. She asked me what I planned to write about and I answered “This place.” Her response was “Someone needs to and it should be you.”

All my friends – Val Barton, Adam Harm, Bev Wharton, Darrin Smith, Lisa Robin just to name a few. They’ve all encouraged me. Working for the newspaper gives me a chance to absorb so many cool stories and events and I think I pull from those. This couldn’t have happened without my family’s unwavering support. George, Gabbie, Georganna, Savannah, Chloe and Grace all made sacrifices to help this book make it to print.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first book?
Brief? I’ll try. I started writing “Higher Honor” shortly after graduating from NGC. It was not a flattering look at life as a cadet. Very dark, disturbing. Even when I became a Christian, it remained a secular work and very negative. But I kept stalling out. I’d hit a brick wall. Finally, I threw my hands up, banged my head on the keyboard and said “You told me to write this book and it’s not working. So tell me what to write.” After almost a decade of brick walls, I completed the first draft in four months. Shoulda listened in the first place, huh?

I needed a book cover and had no idea how to do that when Jackie Seger, whom I work with at the paper said she’d always wanted to design a book cover. We talked about it, arranged with NGC to come up and use some cadets and the campus. I spent eight hours in a book store researching covers, trying to figure out what grabbed my attention. Thanks to Chief Benny Wyrick, Josh Bugosh, Stephanie Joppitt, Matt Streaver, and Mountain Order of Colombo, Jackie was able to make an awesome cover.

I hired an editor, Mary Busha, who helped me polish the manuscript. Then I got an offer from The Writers Café Press about publishing. They did “Light at the Edge of Darkness” and we’d developed a relationship there.

Cynthia McKinnon has held my hand through this whole process. I’ve panicked, I’ve been discouraged, I’ve been frustrated. It’s worse than being pregnant.

6. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
“Fair Balance,” is a gothic supernatural thriller in “Light at the Edge of Darkness.” It received such great reviews that I’ve written a novel based on the characters. It was part of NaNoWriMo and I’m editing it now.

Also working on the sequel to “Higher Honor,” called “Higher Courage.” This follows my cadets into their active and National Guard careers. Because I like to address social issues, this one deals with drug abuse and faith.

I want to write a third one in the “Higher” series. I have another two story ideas set at the John McIntosh Military Institute, involving the drill team and the band.

7. What first gave you the idea for Higher Honor?
I was very fascinated with the culture of military colleges (thanks to “The Lords of Discipline”), so even as a cadet, I was content to observe and compare what I saw to books I’d read.

I’ve heard the first novel is always more autobiographical, and this one is. I pulled from my own experiences and shaped them to fit a good story.

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or “Higher Honor”?
As a rape survivor, it was very frustrating to read books where the emotional impact of that trauma (or any trauma) was glossed over, especially in Christian fiction. When I wrote “Higher Honor”, I wanted to examine that healing process from the inside out. I wanted to show that it’s not a straight path to healing, there’s twists, turns, sprinting, crawling, going backwards, but when you hold onto your faith, eventually, you change from victim to survivor. And when you realize you’ve allowed Christ to make that change for you, it’s an awesome feeling.

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you?

I need to check the statute of limitations on some of these. . .just kidding.

My second date with the man I married was cow tipping. I drove from Georgia to Missouri for one of my best friend’s wedding (I only had two days off from work and was quite pregnant).

My husband and I drove to Mardi Gras from north Georgia when I had two days off. We had about $60, $30 went to the hotel, $20 for gas (those were the days. . .) $10 to eat off of.

10. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
If I have a Kindle, can I take more? No? In that case:
The Bible, Funny Cide, whatever survival guide the Rangers and Special Forces guys use, Never Ceese, The Lords of Discipline.

11. What concept or scripture is God revealing more deeply to you in this season of your life? And how is that revelation influencing your life?
God is showing me just how important forgiveness is — and not just big things, but little issues too. He’s also showing me that forgiveness is a process. We may forgive, then for whatever reason, let that anger, hurt, or bitterness back in. So we have to practice. We have to lean on Him and rely on Him to get us through the process. Once we do, it’s very liberating.

12. Why did you start writing and when?
When I could hold a pencil. My mom loves to tell people that, when I was five, I told her I was going to be a soldier and a writer. I’ve done both now. They say I’m stubborn and hard headed. I prefer to call it determined. I won the Lt. Governor’s Award in 5th grade for writing and I was hooked.

In middle and high school, I entertained my friends by writing about them. It was a blast – where else could you always get the guy, hang out with the bands, and have great adventures without worrying about silly curfew, not having any money, or being old enough to drive?

13. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
I love strong, but pretty normal names, especially for guys – hence Ryan, Michael and Chris. I love the name Eric, too. Everyone knows someone with those names. One of my friends sent me a list of last names from a directory once because I was running out of “different” last names. I also use www.behindthename.com

14. What’s your favorite character / scene from Higher Honor?
Michael is my favorite character. That’s one reason why I ruined –er—gave him some challenges in the sequel. He’s down to earth, strong in his faith, but has had a tough life, but he doesn’t begrudge anyone for having an easy life.

My favorite scene is when Cassidy is at her lowest point and she goes to Ryan’s room to see him. She’s so desperate to stop her pain that she’s not herself. It was just real, raw emotion, very tense. One of the editors I worked with told me this scene needed to come out, that it was out of character for Cassidy. I think she felt it didn’t fit well with a very conservative Christian audience. I took it out and replaced it with a far less dramatic moment, but hated it. Finally, I stuck it back in there and it works.

The fact of the matter is, when you are hurting like Cass was in that scene, you act out of character.

I agree with that point. When we have been hurt we try to avoid more and sometimes even when we haven’t try to fill a perceived lack in our lives with unhealthy things that we wouldn’t normally even pursue. In her case it was physical intimacy in an attempt to feel safe, protected and loved after those had been taken from her.

15. Do you have any teasers you can share for the sequel to Higher Honor?
Oh, yes. “Higher Courage” finds our cadets as officers, parents, and spouses. One is deployed and kidnapped, leaving her husband behind as a single parent, and one is facing a drug problem that could end his career. . .and possibly his faith. How does God work in these situations?

Thank you for taking the time to share with my readers.

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
I would love to time-travel back to the past and meet my father’s father, Alex. He died when my father was very young. After his death, my grandmother had a photo taken with her young son, then had the photographer insert a picture of Alex so that she could have a family heirloom of the three of them. I’ve always treasured that photo, and now it hangs in my house.

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Yummy comfort food! That’s hard to choose, but I’d say a lovely slice of extra cheese pizza. )

Personally I’m not a big fan of Pizza but the cheese does definitely rate as Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Soup is a favorite of mine.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
As a child, my idea of a perfect summer vacation was to have lots and lots of books to read. Now my perfect vacation also includes… being on a cruise to do the reading!

LOL I go NOWHERE without my books. Friends have often commented they’re not sure they’d recognize me without books in my arms.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write other than God who ultimately gives us any talents including creativity? Who and how / why?
Several people, actually. I still admire the authors I read as I was growing up. For powerful stories that stretch the imagination, I thank Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein. For the elegance and charm of Regencies, I’m indebted to Georgette Heyer. For the challenge of a juicy murder mystery, I applaud Agatha Christie. Also, I’d like to commend Stephen King on his story-telling ability, his willingness to experience the world of electronic publishing, and his determination to overcome a horrific accident. I particularly enjoyed his book, ON WRITING. And I can’t forget my mom, for her passion for reading.

I love Regencies too and while I haven’t read Heyer yet I’ve been told by those in the know that she is the quintessential Regency author. I’ve also heard that all her books are being reprinted by I believe Harlequin. I am planning to keep an eye out and either borrow copies from somewhere or get my hands on the reprints to add to my TBR.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first piece of fiction?
I’d been writing for seven years before I got the “call” for one of my books. That important telephone call is something you never forget! I’d sent in my manuscript, and shortly thereafter, I got a call from the editor. Of course I was in a daze, and was delighted to hear that the editor enjoyed my book. After hanging up, I did what any normal person would do: scream, jump up and down, and dance around the house. Celebrating involved telling my close friends. It was a pretty heady experience!

6. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
I have a long and varied list that I hope will keep growing. Here goes!
SOJOURN THROUGH TIME
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
THE WAKEFIELD DISTURBANCE
Uncial Press, www.uncialpress.com
REGENCY SOCIETY REVISITED, 2007
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
A CONTINENTAL MARRIAGE, 2007, Golden Wings Award Winner
Wings ePress, www.wingspress.com
JANUS IS A TWO-FACED MOON, 2007
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
COMPETITORS!, 2007, Dream Realm Award Finalist
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
HAVE CHRISTMAS CARD… WILL TRAVEL, 2006, EPPIE Award Finalist
Uncial Press, www.uncialpress.com
LUCKY 13 (anthology), 2005
Fictionwise.com, www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/SusanneMarieKnighteBooks.htm
THE CONTRARY CONTESSA, 2004, EPPIE Award Finalist
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
THE COMING, 2004, Dream Realm Award Winner
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
PAST INDISCRETIONS, 2004
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
ALIEN HEAT, 2003
Wings ePress, www.wingspress.com
TIMELESS DECEPTION, 2002, 2006, P.E.A.R.L. Award Nominee
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
THE RELUCTANT LANDLORD, 2002
Wings ePress, www.wingspress.com
LOVE AT THE TOP, 2002, 2005, EPPIE Award Finalist
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
THE MAGIC TOKEN, 2002, EPPIE Award Finalist
LionHearted Publishing, www.lionhearted.com
JANUS IS A TWO-HEADED GOD, 2002, EPPIE Award Finalist, Preditors & Editors Award Winner
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
GRAVE FUTURE, 2001, 2006
Awe-Struck eBooks, www.awe-struck.net
TAINTED TEA FOR TWO, 2001, 2006, Ariana Award Winner
Uncial Press, www.uncialpress.com
LORD DARVER’S MATCH, 2001
LionHearted Publishing, www.lionhearted.com

Coming soon:
Jan. 2009 PAGING MISS GALLOWAY, Awe-Struck eBooks

7. What first gave you the idea for your story in LOF?
The idea for “The Convert” started with the phrase “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” If this was to be the beginning of my story, I then wondered why the speaker needed God’s forgiveness or blessing. To give the tale a science fiction twist, I created an unusual dilemma for the main character, Father Wren. The question “The Convert” asks is: who is the real convert in this story?

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or your contribution to LOF?
I’m a self-confessed incurable romantic… and so is my writing. When I was growing up, the one thing I thought that was missing in most novels I read was romance–romance wasn’t heavily emphasized. So when I started to write, I had to add my own dash of “happily ever after.” My motto is: Romance Writing with a Twist!

Cool another Romantic – I’ll definitely have to check out some of your other stuff when I have the time to read it since I’m a bit of a Romance Junkie when it comes to books. LOL

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you?
Here’s something that was crazy, as in stupid. I lived in Miami when a high intensity hurricane was due to hit. Instead of evacuating, I chose to stay in my high-rise apartment. The good Lord was looking out for me because during the night, the hurricane changed course and bypassed that part of Florida. I had no damage except wet drapes. It could’ve been *much* worse!

10. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
First off, I’d bring a book entitled something like, HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERT ISLAND! Then PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, something from Agatha Christie, the World’s Best Science Fiction Stories, and THE PHILOSOPHER’S DIET.

Quite a diverse selection there but of course being a Romantic it wouldn’t be complete without at least one Jane Austen.

11.What concept or scripture is God revealing more deeply to you in this season of your life? And how is that revelation influencing your life?
I’ll quote the scripture Father Wren mentions in “The Convert”, Matthew 19:4-5. “… and the two shall become as one.” Now that my husband and I are almost empty nesters, we are growing closer, and are enjoying more things together.

12. Why did you start writing and when?
I’ve always enjoyed writing, be it a novel, short story, or even a business letter! For me, writing is a form of fantasy–a chance to live vicariously by experiencing things perhaps I’ve only dreamed about. Where else can I travel to the center of the galaxy, journey back in time, or hold conversations with a Shakespeare-quoting ghost and still be home in time for dinner?! I write to express myself, to tell stories, to see how my characters interact with each other, to discover a compelling tale. I love to stretch my limits and see if I can deliver on a plot or theme–perhaps in a different genre. I’ve been writing professionally for twenty-one years, combining fantasy with my own particular kind of reality, thus my motto: Romance Writing With A Twist.

I feel the same about reading and books. Give me a good book and some chocolate and it will trump even the worst day for at least a short while. Without the “comfort” of chocolate and the escape a great story provides I don’t know how I’d manage sometimes. Oh there’s my faith of course which is ultimately the solution but sometimes I just need to get away from it all and books do that without having to leave home or spend ridiculous amounts of money getting away somewhere.

13. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
Names can be very important to get to know the character. I wrote an article entitled: The Name Game, which provides some helpful hints on this topic.

14. What’s your favorite character / scene from your books or stories (so far)?
For female characters, I’d say Lexia Cappello from THE CONTRARY CONTESSA. She is the one heroine most unlike me. I truly enjoyed “living” in her world. What a saucy minx! This Regency is flavored with Sicilian cooking, giving it a special little twist. Also, Sophia (Sam) McLaren, from JANUS IS A TWO-HEADED GOD. She is extremely devoted to her sick brother, a quality I find very admirable. I had fun with her intergalactic journey to the fabled center of the galaxy.

As for a male character, I’m in love with all my heroes! How can I possibly choose?

Well being a Romantic I don’t blame you. Wonderful heroes are impossible to play favorites with. Although I do have a couple of specially enticing picks from favorite books I’ve read.

15. Do you have any teasers you can share for your next piece to be published?
Certainly! My next book will be published in January 2009 by Awe-Struck eBook. It’s a Regency, entitled PAGING MISS GALLOWAY. Here’s a teaser:

MORE THAN SHE BARGAINED FOR
Danielle Galloway is determined to visit her convalescing brother. She won’t let her father’s lack of permission stand in her way. Disguising herself as Danny, a servant boy, she takes to the road to begin her grand adventure…only to have her money stolen and her face battered by street ruffians. Now how will she get to the resort town of Bath?

MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR
The Earl of Trelaine rescues a down-on-his-luck young lad. Against his better judgment, he takes Danny on as his page as he journeys to Bath. But this boy harbors a shocking secret. What’s the earl going to do when he discovers his latest act of kindness might hurl him into the parson’s mousetrap?

16. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
Thank you, Melissa. I hope you and your Bibliophile’s Retreat visitors have a very happy and healthy holiday season!

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
Gee, I haven’t really thought about it. But when it comes right down to it, my pen pal out in Long Island whom I’ve been penning back and forth with for eight years!

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Chocolate of course!

I knew it! LOL- acceptable but obvious, so what’s your second favorite?
Next would have to be Chinese food.

3. Why did you start writing and when?
The first book I ever wrote was in the fifth grade, entitled Pedro’s Zoo. We were to write a story with a beginning, middle and end. Most of the kids had up to five pages! I had fifteen. Ahem … Even back then I was long winded! Thus it was dubbed a ‘book’ by my teacher and not a ‘story’. I wrote another book for fun my freshman year in high school. I just loved to write. If I wasn’t writing stories, I was journaling. Once you start, you can’t NOT write. You just do it. It’s such a natural part of you. Nothing really inspired me to get started. I just discovered how much fun it was and went with it. …

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write other than God who ultimately gives us any talents including creativity? Who and how / why?
I’ve been blessed to have met, become friends with and sit under some incredible authors. At this point there are almost too many to list. But when I wrote Time Masters, it was before I got to know these people. What I learned from them helped me to tweak TM1 and make it better. Other than that I would have to say my sister Carol who also loves to write and was always taking writing courses, working on pieces, and learning from some of the best out there in the genre she’s interested in.

5. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
I like having names be incredibly closely related to what and who the character is. Take the name Shona Elsey Whittard. I wanted her to have something Scottish about her, mainly for Dallan. Shona is the Scottish female form of John. Elsey means something along the lines of pretty elf. And Whittard means victorious elf.

6. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with Time Masters?
Well, truth be told, I hadn’t really planned on publishing Time Masters. I wrote it for fun, to see if I could write something that big and finish it, and to keep me sane during a very difficult time in my life. Up until November of 2006, it had been sitting in a trunk in my bedroom since 1998 which was when I did the last edit on it. Before that, it had sat in the same trunk, only in California when I lived there for a while and where I actually wrote it. TM sat in the ol trunk at that time from 1995-98. Last November I got a little nudging from the Lord. OK, a BIG nudging, and so took it out and began to add in all the edit notes I had written onto the manuscript. Found the publisher I felt fit the bill for what I was looking for, (I was after creative control more than anything else) and voila! Book!

7. What first gave you the idea for Time Masters?
I had started a book back in 1985 entitled The Door to Muirara. It is from that bit of story that TM1 began to form. But I would have to say the main catalyst was when I created Dallan MacDonald. He just sort of became larger than life and everything began to form around him and take shape, the old story and new character coming together to form a whole.

8. What’s your favorite character / scene from Time Masters so far?
Golly, good question. Ok, so who wouldn’t want to have a guy like Dallan? But Angus and Lany run a close second. Actually, it’s very hard to choose. As one of my teen readers has stated about the characters, “they are vast and lovable” and so they are. As to favorite scenes, as far as writing them, the lunch scene from chapter six, Dallan and Shona’s first kiss, and of course, the infamous weapons shop. Again, there are so many fun ones!

Don’t forget about John talking to the TV Remote as if it were a phone. LOL! That will always be one of my personal favorites. You’ll have to read the book to see how humorous some of the scenes really are. The book is a kick to read.

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you?
Only one? But there are so many! And there are different definitions of crazy you know!

We’ll save the rest for other times – give the readers a reason to come back looking to see what we’ve kept up our sleeves – LOL
OK, I came back from an out of town trip and was sad to find out my son Troy had been up to Oregon for a surprise visit. And boy was I surprised to come home to my car completely wrapped in cellophane not too mention yellow, “Do not cross” tape! I had to call into work the next day to say I would be late. It took me over an hour to unwrap that car! And yes, Troy carries a roll of industrial sized cellophane with him. Youth Pastors are a dangerous lot! My car was not the only one to be so targeted. It’s a good thing my son’s senior pastor has such a good sense of humor!

10. What would be your dream vacation?
To spend about a month touring Europe

Only a month? No way could you even scratch the surface. I spent a whole semester in Paris and still didn’t see everything there was. OK so I was also “studying” but still…

11. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
What only five?!

Yes, well I didn’t write the question but I suppose it would be a bit cumbersome to take an entire library to a desert island as much as we’d like to have all those books along – LOL
Well, the biggest Bible I have with the most study notes, (probably my Dakes) my Matthew Henry Commentary, the complete works of Shakespeare, the Complete stories of Sherlock Holmes, and the biggest book of fairy tales I could find. Once rescued from my island plight, I’d have Mother Goose solving a mystery with Little Jack Horner while breaking down tough scripture with their favorite buddies Shakespeare and Matt.

12. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or the Time Masters series?
Time Masters is really all about relationships. Little did I know when I wrote it that years later I would be irresistibly drawn to relationship coaching! The series will continue to be about relationships and as the series grows, so will the relationships of the characters with each other.

13. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
I’ve written a teleplay called “Faith” which was filmed as a tech reel in 1998. It almost filmed in 2003 but the producer lost some of the financial backing (the nature of the beast with film) and after doing numerous other projects over the years he’s now currently seeking backing again. I’m also just finishing up a marketing manual for a company after which, I begin writing TM2.

14. What concept or scripture is God revealing more deeply to you in this season of your life? And how is that revelation influencing your life?
Jeremiah 29: 11-12 In short it’s making me trust Him a lot more and know that yes indeed, He DOES have a plan for our lives. We just aren’t always on the same time table the Lord is!

15. Do you have any teasers you can share for Book Two?
Muiraran women give a whole new meaning to what it’s like to have mood swings!

16. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
Relationships are very precious. Cherish and nurture the ones you have. In life there are three levels of relationships. Aquaintance, friends, and intimates. Many people hardly get past the first level, and surround themselves with tons of other people, yet they have in reality very few they would call a friend. And hardly any they would say is of such a close nature as to be called intimate.

1. I’ve noticed your wrap up and endings come at the last minute as God often comes through in our lives at the last minute. Was this parallel to real life intentionally placed in your stories and is it difficult to write all the heart wrenching struggles leading to those endings?
Gosh, Melissa, I wish I could say I was that deep, but I pretty much just sit down and write. With book 1, A Passion Most Pure, I literally let the story take me where it wanted to go—I had no synopsis, no plan, no outline. The only thing I did have was 150 pages of the novel I wrote at the age of twelve after I read Gone With the Wind. So I followed that as far as the characters, the locations and the love triangle, but otherwise, the story just poured out on its own, and I really didn’t know where it was going until it took me there. I don’t believe in “channeling,” but that’s the closest thing I can liken it to, although I’ve never done it since I believe channeling is of the occult. Sometimes I would start a scene with a certain direction in mind, and then BOOM … the characters would take me somewhere else that surprised even me.

As far as Book 2, A Passion Redeemed and book 3, A Passion Denied, the first thing that came to me for both of them was the final scene, which is a little weird, I guess. I literally wrote those scenes first, then started the books. A Passion Redeemed literally flew out of me—I wrote it in two months, working part-time at my day job, but A Passion Denied was more of a struggle, taking longer than eight months. I hit the wall on this book because 1.) I was reading another author whose incredible talent made me feel like I wanted to puke on my keyboard whenever I read my own writing. And 2.) Because I was attempting not only to tell a very complicated and dark love story about the third daughter, but I was also weaving in second-tier stories about the parents and each of the other sisters.

And is it difficult to write all the heart wrenching struggles leading to those endings? Sometimes, but mostly not because writing romance for God is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and it is sheer pleasure, not work.

2. Were any of the new characters in A Passion Denied surprises to you when they first appeared in the story as you were writing or did any of the recurring characters from A Passion Most Pure and A Passion Redeemed surprise you in some way in this book, if so how?
Oh, great question!! And, YES, I was really surprised by both Cluny McGee and Father Mac. I had NO idea Cluny McGee was going to play such a main role in this book, which is shocking since he ends up being the love interest for Katie O’Connor in book 4 (or book 1 of the next series). That just shows you what a bona-fide seat-of-the-pants writer I am rather than a plotter. But I LOVE Cluny McGee and thought both he and Father Mac added a lot of depth to the story as far as I was concerned.

I added Cluny just to show Brady’s kindness to kids, but the kid dazzled me (like he dazzles Katie in the next book), so I just had to take him through the story. As far as Father Mac, originally Brady’s “secrets” were a LOT darker, but Revell made me change them because they said the plot was too dark for an Inspirational Romance. In hindsight, they were right, but it was Brady’s original dark past that made me create Father Mac in the first place, because I knew I needed an authentic authority figure to counsel Brady for such a serious problem as he originally had.

As far as original characters surprising me? I would have to say that would be Brady. John Morrison Brady ended up being a far more complex character than I dreamed he would be. I have to admit, he was my least favorite of the heroes going into this story (because he was NOT a bad boy like Collin or Mitch, and I tend to like bad boys … have you noticed??). I saw him as a Billy Graham-type hero, good to the core, so I knew I had to give him a past that was bad to the core as well, to give him depth and dimension that would shock everyone in the book, including the reader. But he ended up shocking me as well—weathering the pain of his past with an amazing strength and dependence on God and a true humility that he always failed to see. He is the deepest of these three heroes in the series, and a stabilizing force in each of the books.

3. I’d have to say Lizzie is my favorite of the O’Connor girls perhaps because she reminds me of myself quite a lot minus the sisters. For those out there who are only children or have only brothers and haven’t read The Daughters of Boston series yet can you give us a taste of what life in a family similar to the O’Connor clan is like with a short vignette?
Grin. Yeah, you’d pretty much be at my house when I was growing up, except without all the closeness of the O’Connors. I was #12 in a family of 13 (three boys and ten girls … talk about PMS gone wild!), so imagine 15 people at a Last Supper-style Formica table with long red vinyl benches on either side. Like a school of sharks waiting for meat to hit the water. If you didn’t grab for the grub, chances are there wouldn’t be anything left. Can you say “plague of locusts”? To this day, buffets put a twitch in my eye because I feel like the food will run out.

But one of my fondest memories, though, is when my older sisters would go to prom. We had a long, almost spiral staircase that each of my sisters would float down in their shimmering formals as tuxedo-clad boys waited in the foyer, corsages in hand. I had so many sisters, that we could have held the prom at our house, seriously! But as a little girl who watched with wide eyes, prom was always a magical moment for me, ever the romantic at heart!

4. Can you share about a favorite character or two and what draws you to them – one of your own or someone else’s?
Boy, I know this is going to freak a lot of readers out, but the character who draws me the most is Charity O’Connor. I think the reason is because she is SO much like I used to be (without the beauty) as a young girl and woman before Christ. I love Faith O’Connor, but in all honesty, she is more like the woman I am today—heavily dependant on God, emotionally involved with Him and a person who prays at the drop of a hat, so I almost feel one with her. But Charity—goodness, my heart goes out to her and the woman I used to be—selfish, manipulative, lost. I think that’s why she fascinates me so much, because I look at her (and women like her) in the same way I suspect God looked at me back then—with eyes full of love and hope that we all can become new creatures in Christ Jesus. And quite frankly, I think she is just downright funny and quirky and such a hoot that she makes me laugh. Mind you, many of the things she did/does are thing I did as a young woman who didn’t know God, so Charity comes by all her quirkiness quite naturally, I’m afraid.

5. Does Katie’s story coming next year have a title, does the new series have a title and can you give us a teaser for that book?
Well, I originally wanted to call the new series, The O’Connors of Boston (since two of the stories will be about the O’Connor brothers, Sean and Steven), but my publisher doesn’t want any reference to Boston or the O’Connors due to marketing strategies. They feel a new series really has to be presented as a “new” series, even though in my mind it is a continuation of the O’Connor saga, which they had no problem with me writing. That said, I have not come up with a series title yet, but it will probably be something tied to perseverance or hope due to the time era of The Roaring 20s/Great Depression.

The original title for book 1 of the series (Katie’s story) is Refuge From the Storm from Isaiah 32:1-3, which talks about streams of water in a “thirsty land.” But this is just a working title right now and not really one I like.

As far as “teaser,” there is a short excerpt in the back of A Passion Denied, which those who have the book can read, but I would like to give you an excerpt now that details the first love scene in the book between Katie and Cluny McGee, in the office of the Boston Children’s Aid Society. Here we go:

“Katie, are you okay?” He loosened his tie and stared, concern creasing his brow as he watched her, her body slumped at the window with a hand to her eyes. She didn’t move, and the tightness in his gut increased. He approached quietly, afraid he would startle her. “Katie?”
“Oh!” She whirled around, staggering against the sill with a hand to her chest.
He clutched her arm to steady her, and the color drained from her cheeks. Softening his hold, he absently grazed her skin with his thumb, then ducked his head and smiled, eyes tender as he studied her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Are you all right?”
She nodded stiffly, her gaze glued to the massive hand on her arm.
Worry wrinkled the bridge of his nose and he braced both palms on her shoulders, convinced something was wrong. Her face was white and her breathing labored, and he could swear he felt a hint of a tremble. “No, I can feel it. Something’s bothering you.” He pressed his hand to her forehead. “Are you sick?”
She jerked back from his hold and butted up against the window, arms crossed and hugging her waist. “No!” she said too quickly to suit him, clearly avoiding his eyes. “I mean maybe a little dizzy, but nothing serious. I just need to go home …”
He shifted, suddenly concerned it had to do with him. He plunged his hands in his pockets and softened his tone. “Katie … is it me? Did I say or do something to upset you?”
She shook her head, gaze bonded to the floor. “No, please, I just need to—”
He nudged her chin up with his thumb, and her lips parted with a sharp intake of breath. And then he saw it. The gentle rise and fall of her chest, the soft rose in her cheeks, the skittish look in her eyes, flitting to his lips and then quickly away. Comprehension suddenly oozed through him like heated honey purling through his veins, quickening his pulse. Could it be? Was it possible that cold, callous Katie O’Connor was beginning to warm up? To him, of all people—Cluny McGee, the leper from her past? The thought sent warm ripples of shock through his body, thinning the air in his lungs. His gaze gentled, taking in the vulnerability in her eyes, the fear in her face, and all he wanted to do was hold her, reassure her.
As if under a spell, his gaze was drawn to her lips, parted and full, and the sound of her shallow breathing filled him with a fierce longing. “Oh, Katie,” he whispered, no power over the pull he was suddenly feeling. In slow motion, he bent toward her, closing his eyes to caress her mouth with his own. A weak gasp escaped her as she stiffened, but he couldn’t relent. The taste of her lips was far more than he bargained for, and he drew her close with a raspy groan. With a fierce hold, he cupped the back of her neck and kissed her deeply, gently, possessive in his touch. His fingers twined in her hair, desperate to explore.
And then all at once, beyond his comprehension, her body melded to his with an answering groan, and he was shocked when her mouth rivaled his with equal demand. Desire licked through him, searing his body and then his conscience. With a heated shudder, he gripped her arms and pushed her back, his breathing ragged as he held her at bay. “We can’t do this,” he whispered. He dropped his hold and exhaled, gouging shaky fingers through disheveled hair. His gaze returned, capturing hers and riddled with regret. “Believe me, Katie, as much as I want to, I’ve learned the hard way to take things slow. I should have never started this, and I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

Forgive him? She stared at him through glazed eyes, her pulse still pumping in her veins at a ridiculous rate. She never wanted this, couldn’t stand the sight of him, and now here she was, tingling from his touch and desperate for more. Addicted to the “King of misery.” The very thought inflamed both fury and desire at the same time, muddling her mind. Dear Lord, she was torn between welding her lips to his or slapping him silly. With a tight press of her mouth, she opted for the second and smacked him clean across the face.
His jaw dropped a full inch, complemented nicely by a slash of red across his cheek.
Her chest was heaving, but at least it wasn’t from his touch. She narrowed her eyes and clutched her fists at her side, not all that sure she wouldn’t slap him again. “So help me, if you ever touch me again, you will be the sorriest person alive.”
He slowly rubbed his cheek with the side of his hand, exercising his jaw as if to make sure it still worked. His eyes glinted like blue glass, sharp and deadly. Even so, the swaggering smile of old eased across his face. He bent forward, his tall frame looming over her like a bad omen, and his voice held that cocky drawl so reminiscent of his past. “What’s the matter, Katie Rose,” he whispered, “does my ‘touch’ … make you nervous?”
The heat in her cheeks went straight to her temper. She iced him with a cool gaze. “Nervous? Around you? Hardly. You can dress up in a suit all you like, Cluny McGee, but to me you’ll always be the same cocky riff-raff—a street brat with a twang in your voice and grime on your face.”
She knew her words hit their mark when a red blotch crawled up the back of his neck like a rash gone awry. A nerve pulsed in his temple, but his smile never wavered despite the steel edge of his jaw. One blond brow jagged high in challenge. “Is that a fact? Well then, how about a little experiment, Katie Rose? Kind of like the experiment we had when you were eleven and I bet you couldn’t be nice?” He leaned close, his voice as hard as his eyes. “What d’ya bet I can make you nervous now?”
She shoved him out of the way. “I’m going home.”
“Not yet,” he whispered and pressed her to the wall with an iron grip. His voice, like the dominance of his size, was a force to be reckoned with. “You always packed a wallop for a little girl, Katydid, but this time you picked the wrong street brat. You can turn your nose up at me all you want, but we both know that slap wasn’t so much about an innocent kiss …” He bent close, his eyes on fire and his breath hot against her lips. “As how it made you feel.”
His words seemed to vibrate through her, low and thick in the air. She shuddered, and the force of his savage hold trapped all protest in her throat.
“To you I’ll always be riff-raff, something vulgar and crude. Well, welcome to my world, Miss O’Connor. And, please, let me show you how we do it on the ‘streets.’ Because if I’m going to take a beating, you can bet your bottom dollar on two things for sure. One—I’m going to get my money’s worth.” A dangerous smile surfaced as his gaze focused on her lips. “And two …” His mouth hovered just above hers while his voice trailed to a whisper. “I’m gonna make you real nervous in the process.”
In a catch of her breath, he took her mouth by force, his late-day beard rough against her skin. A faint moan escaped her lips and all resistance fled, burned away by the heat of his touch, leaving her weak and wanting. His mouth roamed at will, no longer gentle as he devoured her, ravenous against the smooth curve of her throat, the soft flesh of her ear. With a guttural groan, he jerked her close with powerful arms, consuming her mouth with a kiss surely driven by the sheer will to ravage.
And then in a frantic beat of her heart, he shoved her away. She gasped, numb as she thudded against the wall. His chest was heaving and his eyes were hard, focused on her with cool disregard. “There. Now that makes two of the sorriest people alive.” He grabbed her purse from the floor and threw it on her desk, then rubbed his mouth with the side of his hand. “You better run home, Katie Rose. God knows the riff-raff that roam the street this time of night.”
He turned and walked into his office, slamming the door hard.
She stared, her body still quivering from his rage. Closing her eyes, she sagged against the wall, too stunned to move and too shaken to care. She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, her lips swollen from the taste of him. She was doomed, she realized, and the thought shivered through her like a cold chill. She wanted a man she didn’t really want, and the very notion weakened her at the knees. He had called her one of the sorriest people alive. She grappled for her purse and put a hand to her eyes.
And God help her, she was.

Wow what a treat, a nice long teaser from the next book. Thanks Julie for taking the time to share with us and for such a big bite of what we can expect next.

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
Barack Obama. Like the first-generation heroine of my epic fantasy series, he is a mixed-race individual. Unlike my heroine, he seems to be able to bring people together instead of polarizing them. When I heard him talk about his life story during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I cried. His journey among multiple cultures as a mixed-race person felt very personal to me as well, because I believe that I lived a past life as the first- and third-generation heroines of my series,, both of whom are mixed-race women.

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Ice cream, especially Braum’s butter pecan or Friendly’s peppermint stick.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
Lying in the shade on a warm beach somewhere in Tahiti or Borneo with nothing to do but eat, sleep, and read good books.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced /encouraged you to write? Who and how/why?
The mother of one of my childhood best friends (like a second mother to me) encouraged me to write fiction way back in the mid 1960s. She put A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell into my hand and told me, “You can write this, too.”

I finally did, and dedicated the first book of my series to her. She’s delighted with it. I hope that I write a bit better than Ms. Caldwell, whose stories are riveting but whose prose can be a bit heavy with details.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first book?
My journey to publication is filled with dead ends and frustration, like most such journeys for most writers. I had to revise my books multiple times, and finally in 2003 the first four books were accepted (even with Book Four not completed and the second and third books unread) by a small publisher. When that publisher went belly up after bringing out Book One, I took all my rights back and have continued publishing the series.

6. What else have you written/are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
Currently I am trying to wrap up Fallout, the fourth book of my series, and get on with writing Book Five. I am also a political columnist syndicated by North Star Writers Group. My political nonfiction does not fit readily into preconceived categories of liberal or conservative.

I authored non-fiction about emotional and spiritual healing resolution. The book was published in 1999 and is called Hope is in the Garden—Healing Resolution Through Unconditional Love. I have also written thousands of newspaper, magazine and wire service stories as a fulltime or freelance journalist between 1976 and 2000.

7. What first gave you the idea for the Green Stone of Healing(R) series and The Scorpions Strike in particular?
I first read (and loved) the Lord of the Rings trilogy back in early 1967, but was frustrated at how little role women played in the action or storyline. I wanted to write about female protagonists, and spent all that summer day-dreaming about a heroine in love with a prince whose father (the king) is trying to have him killed because their beliefs and politics are so very different. As the years passed, I gleaned more details of this story and realized it began at least with the heroine’s grandmother, my first-generation heroine.

Once I began putting the story down in earnest, I realized it would have to be serialized fiction, and The Scorpions Strike is the third book in the first-generation heroine’s story.

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or The Scorpions Strike?
I believe that this series depicts two of my past lives along with the past lives of family, friends, and acquaintances. There’s no other way to explain its impact on me and some of those I most love.

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you.
How do we define crazy? Some people might think my journey of personal growth, outlined in my nonfiction book, sounds pretty crazy or at least bizarre. My life otherwise is pretty dull.

10. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?

Dune and its sequels/prequels

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

That’s probably more than five

11. Why did you start writing and when?
I attended an all-girls English high school in Hampshire, England, where students had to write essays instead of taking multiple question tests. I noticed I had a knack for writing that grew stronger over the years as I returned to the United States to attend college. I finally realized that writing was my one sellable skill, so I decided to pursue a career in journalism that began in 1976.

12. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
It took me decades to get to know my characters. I learned about them in bits and piece of information that came in my day-dreams. Often my characters tell me their names or I simply know what to name them. Sometimes I have to choose their names because they won’t say. This reluctant silence comes mostly from the villains in my tale.

13. What’s your favorite character/scene from the Green Stone of Healing series (so far)?
Favorite character so far: Helen Andros, the first-generation heroine of my series. Helen is your basic Timex: she takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’. As her mother’s best friend says of her, “She can keep her legs shut, but not her lips.” Helen cannot keep her mouth shut to save her life and it often gets her into real trouble. She simply cannot resist a wisecrack, even at the most inappropriate time or place. But she cares deeply about others’ suffering and has a kind heart and great courage. No one’s perfect.

Favorite scene so far: In Fallout, Book Two, when Helen returns to the military base to keep her promise to a dying soldier, and keeps watch over him during his final hours.

14. Do you have any teasers you can share for Outcast?
In Outcast, Book Four, Maguari the Mist-Weaver has the chance to teach Helen about energy, and imparts energy-manipulation knowledge and skills to her that will enable her to use the stone and chain with even greater effect for healing—and for protecting herself and others.

15. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
No matter how impractical it may seem, pursue your passion. That is how you find joy in this lifetime.

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
Besides the obvious (God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit) I would love to meet John Grisham, Robert Ludlum and Frank Peretti so I could pick their brains on writing. Extremely talented authors with much to teach I’m sure.

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Hands down–chocolate!

Cool another chocolate lover – between that and books I can usually be plied for most anything unless of course it violates personal standards or is unlawful activity.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
Tour of Scotland and England.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write other than God who ultimately gives us any talents including creativity? Who and how / why?
My grade 12 English teacher, Mrs Quiggly, said that if I did nothing else, I should write. She always commented on my essays and stories.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first book?
My writing began in freelance non-fiction with my first article being purchased by Angels on Earth (Guideposts). From then on, I picked away at writing a few stories but really got involved in writing when my youngest daughter went to university. Having home taught, I decided to write a small guide to prepare parents for what to expect in home teaching. I then took a university course with Long Ridge Writers Group out of Connecticut. My teachers encouraged me in both fiction and non-fiction. My first novel grew from a question one of my daughters asked as we walked down a street in Toronto, Ontario. She wondered why there were so many homeless people. As I searched for an answer for her question, I became aware of the stories of the individuals and thought “People need to understand what brings a person onto the streets”. From that “Redeemed” was born. The editors and publishing staff at Word Alive Press really encouraged me and I haven’t been able to turn off the ideas since then.

6. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
Oh my! I have three novels; “Redeemed”, “The Adam & Eve Project” and “Vengeance”. I have just finished a rough draft of a novel entitled “Rescued”. This is another suspense novel but it has its roots in a very extreme truth–that abortion is not necessary. It is a novel that joins pro-life and pro-choice to fight for a new procedure to become standard policy. The book is to be released in the spring. I also have an e-book being released through Awe-struck books. It is an inspirational mystery romance entitled “Fires of Fury”. I just finished the final draft on a middle grade novel about a dog and the family she adopts. It is called “Princey”. And I’m beginning the first draft on the sequel to “The Adam & Eve Project”. I also write a monthly column for a local newspaper, a monthly column for a home school magazine and ongoing articles for nationwide magazines. Yes, I’m a very busy lady.

I’ve found that authors who have the itch to write generally are busy as that writing bug won’t let go yet like me and reading it can’t be done 24/7 either.

7. What first gave you the idea for Vengeance?
Revenge is one of the oldest temptations. We all face it. We all have our dark, painful traumas and it can be tempting to want to get even. And it isn’t a one-time battle. We face it daily. I wanted to write a novel that would show the two choices surrounding vengeance. One victim chooses to get even and his revenge consumes him while the other victim chooses to reach out to God and in so doing finds the path to emotional freedom. It is a heavy concept that victims sometimes don’t want to face. But they will accept it in a novel setting.

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or Vengeance?
From personal experience I can say that getting even always comes back on us. I have had to remember that it is God’s responsibility to judge, not mine. That is the crux of the book–knowing that God sees it all and he WILL do something about it when the time is right.

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you? Where to begin? Among the many jobs I’ve had in my life, horseshoeing has had to be one of the most memorable. I remember once having a horse pull her foot away (she liked to play games when she got bored) while the nails were still sticking out the side of her hoof. She sliced my leg open. Not able to just leave her, I grabbed a roll of duct tape and “stitched” the wound closed so I could finish the job. After that my kids called me Mrs. Red Green.

10. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
Most certainly the Bible. It is a fascinating book that never gets old. Any books written by Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum, Frank Peretti, John Grisham

Always so much fun to hear what others would chose from the sea of books we have at our disposal and every answer continues to be unique no matter how many people I ask this question.

11. What concept or scripture is God revealing more deeply to you in this season of your life? And how is that revelation influencing your life?
Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” I am understanding more each day that with each word I write for the glory of God, I am renewed in knowing that I am walking in his will. I am learning that there is no contentment, no rest, no peace outside of living in his will.

Great reminder to all of us that our focus should be on following Him in every endeavor and task we face.

12. Why did you start writing and when?
I began writing in school on a casual basis but I really got serious about it several years ago as a means of emptying my ADHD mind of its multitude of ideas. I guess it was my sleeping pill to start. If I got my ideas down on paper in their most basic form my mind would stop churning and I could sleep. I continue to pour out ideas daily because it is a compulsion–a calling. It is God’s command in my life and I can’t NOT write.

13. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
I spend a good few hours just creating a character. The names come last. I decide what they look like, what they like to eat, wear, listen to etc. When I stumble across a name that suits that character, I snatch it and alter it enough that it becomes part of the character and he or she becomes a real person on paper. My character sketches can be pages long and I make sure that I keep the character consistent through out the story.

14. What’s your favorite character / scene from Vengeance?
I would have to say that I love the relationship between James Benedict and Cookie, Julie’s dog. Life isn’t perfect. It doesn’t always fit together the way we’d like it to. I like slipping that truth into my stories. The animosity between these two who are both obviously jealous over Julie’s attention makes the story ring of truth. The reader believes the Biblical truths slipped into the pages because I’ve tried to make the overall story truthful in a way that life is truthful–by showing the relational flaws. My favourite scene would have to be where James is pounding out his frustrations on the upper deck. He’s showing that he’s angry but he is using the cruise ship’s driving range as a constructive method for working out his anger. Often Christians think they can’t be angry–or show it. Not true! We are to be wise in how we deal with our emotions–not pretend they don’t exist.

I know people do ignore emotions or pretend they aren’t there though I still don’t understand how someone can do that when my own emotions can be so intense and pervasive sometimes that although I want them just to go away experience and reality have proven it won’t happen that easily.

15. Do you have any teasers you can share for your next book?
“Fires of Fury” is the story of a woman’s betrayal by her husband, his murder and her struggle to remain distant from the police officer who is investigating the murder. It is romance in its innocent form with a faith message woven throughout.

“Rescued” is about a girl who becomes pregnant. Because of a biological defect in her reproductive organs she can’t have the baby. But she refuses to have an abortion. When a reproductive specialist creates an alternative, she jumps at the chance. And then the extremists come out of the woodwork and her life is in jeapardy. This book has a purpose to serve. The goal is to show women that there is an alternative to abortion but they must fight for that alternative in a society where nothing changes without pressure.

16. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
“Vengeance” has a simple message to it: trust God with our circumstances. He knows they happened and he can use them for good. He is also more than capable of calling to account those who victimize. They WILL stand before God some day and they WILL answer.

Wow that is quite a potent message and all wrapped into a story nonetheless. I love how books while fictional can carry so much truth deep within them. Thank you for taking the time to share with my readers.

It was my great pleasure. God bless.

1. Who do you want to meet and why?
I’m a big Beatles fan, so I’d love to meet either Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr. (John Lennon is my favorite Beatle since he was also a writer, but I’m in no hurry to meet him.)

2. What’s your favorite comfort food?
Mac and cheese and chocolate—not at the same time!

LOL I love chocolate too but you’re right some things just don’t quite work together.

3. What would be your dream vacation?
A long European vacation where I could visit Liverpool, Ireland, Vienna, and Italy.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I’ve only been to London, Paris and Provence myself but would to see more of Great Britain and the European mainland some day.

4. Is there anyone who has influenced / encouraged you to write? Who and how / why? –One of my writing mentors was Kathleen Massie-Ferch. She taught a writing class in the evening—I think it was the first one I took dealing with fiction writing. Although I’d come into the class with a first draft of a novel, I wound up rewriting it. She encouraged me to attend conventions and join BroadUniverse, an organization that promotes women writing fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Sadly, she died of breast cancer in 2002.

5. Can you give a brief synopsis of your journey to publication with your first piece of fiction?
I sent “A Reptile at a Reunion” out to a couple of magazines, including Strange Horizons and Realms of Fantasy. Along with my rejection from Realms came a note saying my writing was good but they got too many dragon stories. I thought about changing the story, but that didn’t feel right to me. So I worked on other projects for a while until I heard about Firestorm of Dragons through BroadUniverse, I sent in the story and waited for a response. When I found out another writer’s story had been accepted, I e-mailed the editor, expecting another rejection. Imagine my delight when she told me the story had been accepted. I had to wait a little longer while the editors found a publisher, but it was worth the wait to have my name on the back of the anthology.

6. What else have you written / are you currently writing (including unpublished works)?
Some of my unpublished novels include a fantasy set in a world similar to Victorian England where the seasons get magically mixed up every few years. My story revolves around the young women magicians, called Season Lords, who must set the seasons right. I’ve also written a science fiction novel about a Paul, a teenager who learns after his mother is murdered that he’s the clone of a famous musician. In order to make the murderer confess, the clone must travel to an alternate universe and meet the man he was cloned from. Finally, I’m currently working on an urban fantasy novel about a pair of sisters who learn they can shapeshift into birds after they are kidnapped by werewolves. The sisters must use their abilities to gain independence from the pack.

Oooo! The Fantasy/Victorian world sounds very intriguing would love to check it out when possible. I love historicals and fantasies and this sounds like it would meld two of my favorite genres.

7. What first gave you the idea for your story in FSOD?
Several years ago, the magazine Say… issued a story challenge around the question, “Aren’t you dead?” Around the same time, I received an invitation to my grad school reunion. I put the ideas together to come up with a magician who’d been thought dead returning to her school reunion, though I removed the “thought dead” part during revision.

8. What else would you like to share with readers about yourself or your contribution to FSOD?
This is my first sale, and I’m proud to be included in this anthology.

9. Share with us one of the craziest things you’ve done or that’s happened to you?
Probably dating my husband, Eugene. We met in college, and he asked me out at 6 a.m. after we’d been up all night talking in a hallway of my dorm. I gave him a definite “Maybe.” We’ve been together ever since, though after we graduated, much of the time we were in a long-distance relationship. We’ve had many misadventures along the way, such as the time I tipped our canoe over, but we are still very much a team.

10. What five books would you take with you to a desert island?
First of all, I’d want a survival guide. For pleasure reading, I’d want a poetry anthology and a complete work of Shakespeare. My favorite nonfiction book is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, so I’d bring a copy of that with me too. Perhaps I’d also bring a copy of the Tao Te Ching. I don’t know what novel I’d bring with me—it’d be too hard to choose just one or two!

I hear you I’d want to haul along the entire library granted I could manage to get away with it that is.

11. Why did you start writing and when?
I wrote a little bit in high school and grad school, but I didn’t start writing seriously until about twelve years ago. I was in a job I didn’t like and far away from my then-boyfriend. Then I saw the Beatles Anthology on TV, and something from it resonated with me. I quickly became a hardcore fan, and as I learned more about the group, I became inspired by the way the four interacted with each other to write about a quartet of young women working together. This became my Season Lord novel, and I’ve been writing ever since.

12. How do you choose names and get to know your characters?
I consider name meanings, the sound of the name, and the ethnic group of the character before I name him or her. I get to know them during the prewriting stage, when I think about the story. I don’t outline, so I tend to learn a lot about my characters as I write the first draft. Often, this means I wind up discarding my first draft and starting over, so it makes for slow writing.

13. What’s your favorite character / scene from your stories or books (so far)?
Paul, the clone I mentioned above. He starts out as a mischievous teenager, but personal losses force him to mature. As a side product of his being a clone, he also has a unique talent. I have two sequels planned with Paul at different stages in his life.

14. Do you have any teasers you can share for your next book or story to be published?
I’m still in the middle of revisions, so nothing’s ready to be shared yet, alas. However, I have a short-story prequel to my Victorian fantasy novel on my website. The story is called “Demon’s Diamond,”.

15. Are there any closing remarks you’d like to share?
If you’d like to learn more about me, you can check out my website or blog.