Interview with Lynette Eason

By Marji Laine
I'm so delighted to chat with best-selling Christian suspense author, Lynette Eason. Her latest, Always Watching, is brand new and already sparking a huge buzz. And for good reason. Make sure you check out my review coming out next Monday! And enter for a chance to win a free copy. Keep reading!

Lynette, thanks so much for visiting at Suspense Sisters! I have to tell you, I opened it to just get a little taste before turning out the light and had trouble putting it down!
Obviously, that makes me glad to hear! LOL. It means I’ve done my job. :)

Where does your story seed start? Characters? Setting? Or some twist on a news story?
Usually, I get the idea for the story first. Just a glimmer of something. Like “what if there were a team of female bodyguards who went into business together, and they all had some time of law enforcement background?” Then I think, “Who would these women be?” And then I start putting together their backgrounds. Before too long, the story starts coming together for the first one, then the second and so on.

Your stories are so vivid.
Thank you!

The action, characters, setting all take on life. Do the words flow that way on first draft or do you use a lens for that when you revise?
For the most part, they do come on the first draft. I can write anywhere from three to six books in a year, so I don’t have a whole lot of time to edit. I get the story down as best I can and then send it off to my beta readers. Fortunately, they’re both in law enforcement, and they both have an interest in writing. That helps tremendously as they catch some line/copy edit things as well as correcting my police procedural stuff when it needs it. Of course, as I’m working through the story, I’m editing, or I’ll go back and add details as they occur to me, especially red herrings, etc. but when I’m done with the story, I’m pretty much done. At least until my copy editor gets ahold of it.

Lol! What would you say was the strangest thing you came across while you wrote this story? (Detail from research, scene that you dreamed up, maybe something you experienced that inspired an event?) 
I don’t know that I really came across a strange thing. Does it count that I think it’s strange that my brain even comes up with what it does? LOL. I think when I was writing Always Watching, I had a few friends who were going through the adoption process. I worked adoption into the story, and I think it came out great. It’s not a big part of the story, but it does affect my heroine to a large degree.

I know Always Watching is the first of a series. What characters are involved who will return, and who is the star of book #2? Is there a backstory in one of your characters that you’re tempted to flesh out?
All of the major characters in book #1 will return. Book #2 is Katie Singleton’s story. I introduce a new hero, Daniel Matthews, who I think readers will fall in love with. I also go a little deeper into the backstories of the characters who will show in books #3 and #4. Book #3 deals with Maddy McKay, who is fully healed from her harrowing ordeal, and Quinn Holcombe, the surly detective that I hope readers have come to love in spite of his grouchiness. I just turned their story in and think readers will love it. I’m now working on Haley Callaghan and trying to get to know her a little bit before dropping her into the middle of trouble.

I can't wait! Here's a little more about Always Watching from the Amazon summary of the book:

The bodyguards of Elite Guardians Agency have more than just skill and prowess in common--they're also all women. When it becomes clear that popular psychiatrist and radio personality Wade Savage has a stalker, his father secretly hires Elite Guardians in order to protect his son.

But when Wade's bodyguard is attacked and nearly killed, agency owner Olivia Edwards must step in and fill the gap. Olivia's skills are about to be tested to the limit as Wade's stalker moves from leaving innocent gifts at his door to threatening those closest to him. Olivia has the feeling that she's next on the list. And to complicate things even further, she realizes that her heart may be in as much danger as her client.

Bestselling author and fan favorite Lynette Eason drops readers right into the action in this fast-paced new series with a unique twist. Readers will love these strong female characters who put it all on the line to save lives.

Want a copy of Always Watching for yourself? You know you do! Leave a comment (make sure you include you EMAIL) and share your vision of a bodyguard. Have you had experience with one? Or maybe simply your impression of what they should be like!