Sit Down with Author Ann Swindell about Secrets in the Castle Library

Kristen here. I am absolutely delighted to welcome Ann Swindell to the Suspense Sisters! I am a huge fan of her In the Castle Library Christian romance series that includes just enough delicious suspense to keep me reading well after my bedtime. While this series is not your typical suspense (FBI agents, detectives, etc.), it features a long-lost queen, castle royalty and a brilliant stewardess, British researchers, and American history students. If you're not intrigued yet, just keep reading as Ann shares about the latest book in this series, Secrets in the Castle Library.

What sparked the first seed of this story—an image, a question, a character, or a “what if” moment?

There is one experience in particular that has probably shaped my desire to craft Lethersby more than anything else—and that is a memory from the summer when I was nineteen. I spent that summer studying abroad in the United Kingdom, and thanks to one of our professors pulling some strings, our entire group stayed for three nights in Hampton Castle, a lesser-known castle in the countryside of Herefordshire, England. Each morning, I awoke in a four-poster bed, pulled on a robe, and padded past the armor on the walls and down the stone staircase to the Orangery, where chocolate croissants and tea were the order of the morning. The days were spent exploring the magnificent garden maze and grounds before reading Shakespeare under ancient trees, and the evenings were spent singing hymns with friends in the chapel. I met the Lord in that beautiful place in a way that still brings me to tears.

Perhaps all I write about Lethersby is, in some way, touched by a desire to go back to that castle and those carefree days as a young woman. But I know that even more than that, Lethersby exists in my heart because it points me to the heavenly home my heart truly aches for—the Kingdom that has no end.

If you could step into one scene from the book—not the dangerous ones—where would you go and why?

The castle library when the heroine and hero see each other for the first time! The moment is a bookish/academic meet-cute, but it also happens to be in an ancient, beautiful library that carries the whiff of vanilla and worn leather. I crafted that library to bring together multiple elements that I love about libraries in the first place, and then I added in cozy touches of plush carpet and a spiral staircase. I’d love to relax and read in that library for hours!

What’s one part of your daily routine that quietly fuels your creativity or keeps you grounded?

Reading the Bible and praying are central routines in my life. As a church planter’s wife and homeschooling mom, there are many, many days each month where I’m not writing at all and the most creative thing I do is figure out how to get dinner on the table without burning anything (ha!). But when I’m in the Word, connecting with the Lord, my soul is able to rest and refresh in the deepest of ways. Then, when I can return to my creative writing work, I’ve got a deep well that I can draw from. 

What’s one theme in this book that reflects something you’ve personally wrestled with or learned in your own life?

God’s ways are not our ways. The main character of Secrets in the Castle Library, Melanie, is trying to figure out why her life isn’t going to plan. What she discovers across the book’s narrative arc is that her plan isn’t the one she really wants—but it takes a while to get there. I think so much of my own journey with the Lord has been learning to surrender my own desires for His...and finding that His are so much better than my own.

What are you working on now?

I’ve had so much fun in the fictional country of Lethersby that I’m not ready to leave it yet—and neither are my readers! I’m starting a new series set in historical Lethersby, writing about the royals from several hundred years ago and how the nation began. As always in Lethersby, there are mysteries waiting to be solved in every generation! 

Where can your readers learn more about you?

I’m most active on Instagram (www.instagram.com/annswindell) and on my website (www.AnnSwindell.com), and I love getting to connect with readers! I also teach writing courses for fellow writers over at www.WritingWithGrace.com.

Thank you, Ann, for sharing your time and story with us! Keep reading to learn more about Ann and her story, Secrets in the Castle Library.

Ann Swindell is the author of the award-winning In the Castle Library novel series, as well as the nonfiction devotional The Path to Peace and the spiritual memoir Still Waiting. Her writing has been featured widely by The Gospel Coalition, Risen Motherhood, Well-Watered Women, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and many other publications. 

Ann is the owner of Writing with Grace, where she has been teaching Christ-centered writing courses for women around the world since 2015. Prior to that, she was a college instructor at Wheaton College (IL). She holds an MA in Writing from DePaul University and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Seattle Pacific University, and lives in West Michigan with her church-planting husband and their children. Connect with her at www.AnnSwindell.com.

Now, here's more about Secrets in the Castle Library, which releases September 22.

The past year of Melanie Tallebois’s life has unraveled, both professionally and personally. Usually unflappable, she can’t understand why life isn’t going to plan. So when she’s offered a professorship at the University of Lethersby, she seizes it as her chance to find the happiness that has eluded her for as long as she can remember. The fact that her best friend is the nation’s princess and has invited her to live in the castle for the summer doesn’t hurt, either.

The only thing eluding Eddie Canon are answers. As director of the National Museum of Lethersby, he’s spent years chasing the truth behind Queen Alma’s disappearance over a century ago. Now, tasked by the royals to tie up the loose ends of the national mystery, he’s studying in the castle library and still coming up empty-handed.

The last person Eddie wants to work with is Melanie, who inserts herself into his research—and his life. She’s brash, annoying, forthright…and altogether brilliant. Eddie thinks it wise to push her away, but as the research continues to stall, he can’t ignore that their friendship has begun to blossom.

When the long-lost queen’s mysteries finally come to light, Melanie is plunged into darkness—and Eddie questions everything he thought he understood about faith and love. Together, they must uncover the secrets in the castle library and decide whether they’re willing to trust God with a story far greater than their own.

That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed meeting Ann and take some time to check out her In the Castle Library series for yourself.

Leave a comment, along with your email address, for your chance to win an eBook copy of this incredible book!

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Congratulations to Sharon J. on winning the eBook copy and for everyone who commented!