Interview with Carrie Stuart Parks

Today Suspense Sisters welcomes Carrie Stuart Parks who recently released another best-selling mystery, Portrait of Vengeance. Be sure to leave a comment for Carrie to be entered in a drawing for a signed print copy of Portrait of Vengeance. Sorry...US readers only.

Here's a short summary of her book: An unsolved case. A tempest of memories. The future’s at stake—and time is running out. Gwen Marcey has done a good job keeping the pain of her past boxed up. But as she investigates the case of a missing child in Lapwai, Idaho, details keep surfacing that are eerily similar to her childhood traumas. She doesn’t believe in coincidences. So what’s going on here? No one knows more about the impact of the past than the Nez Perce people of Lapwai. Gwen finds herself an unwelcome visitor to some, making her investigation even more difficult. The questions keep piling up, but answers are slow in coming—and the clock is ticking for a missing little girl. Meanwhile, Gwen’s ex-husband is threatening to take sole custody of their daughter.

As Gwen’s past and present collide, she’s in a desperate race for the truth. Because only truth will ensure she still has a future.

Let's find out more about Carrie:

ME: If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say? 

CSP: She has a talent to create and a heart to teach.

What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

-I raise and show Great Pyrenees  dogs (I’m an AKC judge.) Everything else has to do with my work: art, teaching, speaking, writing.

What was your favorite book as a teen or child?

-The Wizard of Oz.

Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers.

-When I was 19, I was on World Campus Afloat—a college abroad an ocean liner—and went around the world.

-I took an incredibly slow stroll to finally get my Bachelors’ Degree—22 years, 5 colleges, and two husbands. I did finally graduate with honors and a double major. LOTS of credits…

-For a time I was a thespian, acting in such roles as Laura in The Glass Menagerie, the Mute in The Fantasticks, and Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest. I also directed such plays as The Fantasticks and Little Shop of Horror.

What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Why or why not?

Non-fiction how-to drawing and watercolor books. I didn’t think I was creative enough to write fiction. Yes, I changed course!

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

When I first started, back in 2004, an editor I submitted to simply referred me to a book on editing. Ouch. The best compliment? That after all my efforts to write better, two big-five publishing houses went to auction over my debut novel.

Any other genres you’d like to try? If yes, what and why?

I’ll let you know.  :)

If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be?

Trust God more with my life.

What is the most important piece of advice you’d like to give to unpublished authors?

Be flexible.

Okay, readers, leave Carrie a comment for a chance to win a signed print copy of Portrait of Vengeance. US readers only.

Thanks, Carrie, for visiting us at Suspense Sisters.  ~ Mary Ellis