Susan Sleeman and Dark Tide Giveaway!

Susan is the bestselling author of Christian/inspirational and clean reads romantic suspense and mysteries. She grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into writing romantic suspense and mystery novels and hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com.

Much to her husband’s dismay, Susan loves to look at everyday situations and turn them into murder and mayhem scenarios for future novels. If you’ve met Susan, she has probably figured out a plausible way to kill you and get away with it. Don’t worry, she’d never follow through on it.
Susan currently lives in Oregon, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a realtor and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson. In her spare time, you can find her enjoying her grandson, reading, gardening or working on TheSuspenseZone.com.

Susan is giving away a copy of her book, Dark Tide. To enter the drawing comment on the blog and be sure to leave your contact information.

Welcome to Suspense Sisters, Susan!

S.S: How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing for 8 years or so.

S.S: Do you write full time? If the answer is no, what else do you do? If you are a full time author, what other jobs did you have in the past?

I am a fulltime author and I LOVE it. My first job started when I was young. My parents owned a grocery store and laundromat when I was growing up. They’d give all the grunt jobs—like cleaning grocery store coolers and washing machines to my brother, sister, and me. Not fun jobs I can tell you, but it taught all of us the value of hard work. I gradually moved up to cashier and worked all through college in another grocery store in the town where I went to school. Since then I’ve worked in management positions for major corporations and taught computers to elementary students.

S.S: Tell us about the moment you finally felt like a “real author”?

I never thought of myself as a real author until I signed my first book contract. And even then, I didn’t really believe it and was sure the editor was going to tell me she’d made a horrible mistake and changed her mind. She didn’t, but sadly the series was cancelled the month before my book was set to release. Wow, was I disappointed. But God had a plan for that book and when the line was revived in single titles, Nipped in the Bud finally came out. Did I feel like an author then? Yes, but only because, I had another book with a different publisher release the month before Nipped in the Bud and it made the ECPA Best Seller list. When I saw my name on a list with authors like Karen Kingsbury, Max Lucado, and Francine Rivers, I started to believe it. lol

S.S.: Who has been your greatest supporter as an author? 

Without a doubt it’s my husband, Mark. Though my daughters are super supportive and my other family members have been very supportive and helpful with the sales of my books, my husband is the one in the trenches—cooking dinner and doing just about anything else I need done when on a deadline. In fact, he’s in the kitchen cooking right now so I can finish interviews. Also, he’s always believed I could write a book and succeed in this business. Never once in the many years when I completed manuscript after manuscript without garnering a book contract with a publisher, did he think I should quit. What a guy!

S.S:  Why suspense? Do you write in any other genres? If so, what?

I write both suspense and mysteries, and my reason is quite simple. It’s what I love to read. A good suspense book keeps my attention and I can’t put it down. Though I enjoy reading well-written books in other genres, too, they don’t keep me riveted in the same way and I often lose interest and go back to the book at later date.

S.S: How does your faith play into your writing?

My faith is such an integral part of my life, I can’t separate it from what I do. I’m a Christian who writes novels so my books are all written from that perspective. My characters’ internal struggles always relate to a spiritual struggle they are experiencing. They work through their internal struggles in part by learning or employing a spiritual truth. Often the truth they learn is something I have struggled with or still struggle with in my own life. This is about to change, though, as I am writing a three book general market FBI series called Agents Under Fire. I will still be true to the principles that guide my life, but the books won’t carry a spiritual message. I’m very excited about this opportunity as it gives me a chance to broaden my readership and provide riveting suspense novels to people who don’t want to read pages filled with sex and profanity and yet don’t want the spiritual message.

S.S: If you couldn’t write, what else would you want to do?

I love to do web design, though I’m a self-trained novice, and to create bookmarks and brochures so I think I’d go back to school for a graphic arts degree. I’ve always loved doing things like this. I remember when I would turn in my chemistry reports in high school, I’d get less than stellar grades because science is not my thing, but the teacher would give me high marks for the layout and design of my reports.

S.S:  Tell us about your current release.

Dark Tide is the final book in the Justice Agency series. This five book series features five adopted siblings who work together in a family run private investigation business. Each book in the series features on of the siblings. Derrick Justice takes center stage in Dark Tide. His former girlfriend’s brother is murdered but the police won’t believe Gina. Catching a quick glimpse of the evidence her brother had gathered that ultimately got him killed, brings the same killers after her and her baby niece. And Gina’s only hope to stay alive is Derrick. Despite the painful memories with Gina, Derrick won’t fail her and her baby. Yet now, the woman he never stopped loving and the baby he’s come to adore are in a killer’s crosshairs. But can Derrick trap the cold-blooded murderer before he strikes again?

S.S: Where did you get your inspiration for this book?

I’ve always wanted to do a story that included the Coast Guard so I researched the organization and learned of the amazing elite Pacific Area Tactical Law Enforcement Team. They deploy around the world on Navy vessels to curtail drug smuggling and pirating. Of course, Derrick works with his family as a private investigator so he couldn’t be in the Coast Guard so I decided to have the heroine’s brother serve in that capacity. And as they say, the rest was history and the story was born.

S.S: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from your story?

My verse for Dark Tide is  - 2 Corinthians 12: 9- My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. This verse is very special to me as I have a chronic illness and have issues with physical pain and there are days when it’s almost too difficult to bear. But then I remember this verse and I remember that this suffering is really just the fire of a trial. Sometimes trials are part of lives so we can grow into who God wants us to be. We can either just go through it or grow through it. Derrick and Gina face this in the book. They have to choose to grow in their faith if they want to be together. I hope the reader is encouraged by this growth and see how helpful it is to embrace our struggles rather than fight them all the time. It’s only after we struggle that we can see how strong we are and more importantly how strong God is.

S.S: Who is your favorite character in this book and why?

I connect with Gina the most. She’s been through such difficult times and yet she stays strong and keeps her faith. I admire that about her. And she grew up as a pastor’s daughter. Since my husband worked as a music minister for many, many years, I can understand how she feels just by watching my own children, the way our congregations treated them and the struggles being a PK created.

S.S: What are you working on now?

I am currently working on two different series which is a total of nine books. The first series is the Agents Under Fire a general market romantic suspense series. It features three female FBI agents who work on an elite cyber task force. Web of Deceit, the first book, will release in November of this year. I’m working on edits for this book and am writing the second book called Web of Shadows. The other series, a new six book series for Love Inspired Suspense—First Responders – Sworn to Protect and Serves—is about a strategic response team. The team is made up of two hostage negotiators, a bomb expert, a sniper, an EMT, and a team leader. They all live together in an old firehouse that has been remodeled into condos, but they also have a large common area where they gather together. I’m just finishing the first book in this series, which is tentatively titled Silent Night Showdown and will release in November of this year as well.

S.S: A tough question: Where do you want to be career-wise in five years? Ten years? 

Assuming being a New York Times best selling author is off the table, I want to continue to have a solid writing career, writing suspense books. I know that sounds kind of simple, but career-wise my goal is to write the best books I can and make a decent living doing it. That means growing and learning as a writer. Finding out how many books I can write per year while remaining sane and having time for my family and hobbies. Trust me, this is a delicate balance when you’re writing five books per year and I want to get better at doing it all.

S.S:  Now let’s get a little personal. Name two things on your “bucket list” that you haven’t done yet.  

I recently realized I haven’t ridden a motorcycle. I must do that at some point. And I would love to have the perfect flower garden. Not that such a thing exists, but I enjoy working toward that goal.

S.S: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

I’d have to say the hardest thing I’ve ever done is trust God and refuse to worry when my husband unexpectedly lost his job awhile back. I was unable to work do to health issues so we had no income. I mean ZERO income with one daughter still living at home. When most people get laid off they’re eligible to receive unemployment. But churches are exempt from paying into the unemployment fund, making him ineligible for any payments. We had a roof over our heads, but we didn’t know for how long. Still, we both decided that we would trust God to provide. And he did. First, with generous gifts from our fellow church members. Second, he provided a new job within six weeks, which, if you know how slow churches are to call workers, you know that was a miracle in itself. We had to move cross-country, but the senior pastor of the new church was so amazing, the church uplifting and healing, and, if that wasn’t enough, the job turned out to be the best one my husband ever held. All I can say is Praise God. He is faithful.

S.S.: Where can readers find you on the internet?

To learn more about me you can stop by any of these locations on the web.

Website           www.SusanSleeman.com

Facebook        www.Facebook.com/SusanSleeemanBooks

Twitter            www.Twitter.com/SusanSleeman

Review Site     www.TheSuspenseZone.com

S.S.: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

Just a big thank you for hosting me on your great blog and thank you to the many readers out there who purchase not only my books, but all the wonderful books in the suspense genre. 

Thanks so much for joining us today, Susan!

Ugh to the PUGS!

Jill Elizabeth Nelson here. Today's post is a topic for writers dedicated to one of the banes of our existence--PUGS. The acronym stands for punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling. (I can hear you non-writers groaning with us on this one.) In order that this post doesn't get too long, I will only deal with the PU and save the GS for next month's writing tip.

Despite our negative visceral reaction to PUGS, it’s important to storytelling. Proper PUGS minimizes distractions that errors can provide to readers and helps insure that the story is told in a smooth and comprehensible way. 

We don’t have the time to go in-depth on the subject. However, I’m going to provide at least one tip in each of these areas, as well as an opportunity to practice your skills. Any blog reader is invited to participate, not just the writers. 

Read on to the end of this post for an opportunity to win a signed copy of my most recent release, Frame Up. 

PUNCTUATION

Those little dinky commas can become major bugaboos. One of the most common mistakes I see with commas is using them to cobble together two or more complete sentences. I call these “comma splices,” and they produce cluttered and cumbersome prose.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

Chris’s throat tightened, it must be maddening to want to remember something, but only finding bits and pieces.

Lots of readers will tra-la-tra-loo straight over this bit of strung together narrative, but more readers than we can afford to annoy will not. There are three parts to this run-on sentence. Two of the bits fit together just fine as a sentence plus a parenthetical phrase, which requires keeping one of the commas where it is. The other segment belongs on its own as a full sentence. Therefore, one of these commas must go and be replaced by a period.

Here is a possible fix: Chris's throat tightened. It must be maddening to want to remember something, but only finding bits and pieces.

Another common comma issue is the run-on sentence or fused sentence, as some call it. These types of sentences are two or more complete sentences joined by a comma without a conjunction (and, but, or) or by no punctuation at all. A run-on sentence can be fixed either by separating the two halves completely with a period or by inserting a comma along with the appropriate conjunction (and, but, or). Confused yet?

Here are a few examples:

Error: The outdoor chill began to dominate the interior of the vehicle, he started the engine.

Correction: The outdoor chill began to dominate the interior of the vehicle, and he started the engine. Or, The outdoor chill began to dominate the interior of the vehicle. He started the engine.

I prefer the first of the two suggested corrections, because it’s less choppy. An exception to that preference might be during a scene when such choppiness might feed the atmosphere of suspense.

Error: I wanted to go to the zoo we went to the mall instead.

Correction: I wanted to go to the zoo, but we went to the mall instead.

Here is an opportunity to practice. I invite you to fix the following run-on sentences:

1. The door began to open, a hand bearing a gun poked inside.

2. Chris’s hand folded over hers the warmth comforted her heart.

3. She should want to hug David, she’d rather slap him.

USAGE

One of the most common usage issues that I run across concerns a mix-up about when to use “I” or “me.”

For instance:

She wanted to see Steve and I.

If you remove the words, “Steve and,” it becomes clear that the correct pronoun in this instance is “me.”

On the other hand, it would be correct to say: Steve and I wanted to see her. You verify that by removing “Steve and.” The incorrect construction would be: Steve and me wanted to see her.

Another issue I see frequently is lack of subject and verb agreement in regard to singular or plural usage.

For instance:

Each of the men are likely to take offense.

Each is singular; therefore, the verb must agree with it. The sentence should be: Each of the men is likely to take offense.

I challenge you to fix the following errors:

1. Which of the movies are showing?

2. All except Tim is going along.

3. One of the athletes were disqualified.

If you actually tackle one of these exercises, go ahead and offer your results in a comment, along with contact information. Then you will be entered into a drawing for a copy of Frame Up. Take your courage in hand and chime in!

AUTHOR VERONICA HELEY

Veronica Heley celebrates the publication of her 71st book in May 2013, having been in the business for over 40 years. She lives in Great Britain and is currently writing two gentle crime series set in different areas of London. She also produces the occasional short story. She’s involved with her local church and community affairs, likes to break for coffee with friends and does the garden when she has time. She has been a member of a book reading club for 40 years, but has decided that life is too short to read depressing literature any more.

Don’t you hate it when people ask if you want the bad or the good news first? I do. So here’s the bad news first; the clothes moths are here, there and everywhere. At least twice a day I go round the house with my zapper and last night I found one in my bed! In it! No, I didn’t scream, but I said ‘Aaargh!’ in a heartfelt manner.

The good news is that both the series of gentle crime stories - the Ellie Quicke Mysteries and the Abbot Agency series (with Bea Abbot as the heroine) - are being asked to go on for another year. I am currently working on a Bea Abbot, which will be out this November. And I've just finished proof reading the next Ellie - Murder in Time - which will be out in the UK in May, and in America 3 months later. After that, it will be back to writing another Ellie. I am so pleased.

Work progresses, more or less as usual. FALSE DIAMOND, the latest in the Abbot Agency series, has been doing well with reviews - even getting a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. In this story, Bea (who runs a domestic agency in London) is asked to find out why the daughter of a wealthy family has a false diamond in her wedding ring. Mix in an abusive husband who is trying to bluster his way into taking over the family's business, a son in financial trouble, and the black sheep of the family who may or may not be on the side of the angels. Oh, and the husband believes the quickest way to achieve his ends is by using force . . . which does not go down well with Bea.

I’m also working on the next short story for the Methodist Recorder. I want to deal with the difficulty a busy person has in saying ‘no’. If you’re anything like me, you’ve had to learn how to say ‘no’ the hard way by saying ‘yes’ and finding out that you really can’t manage to fit whatever-it-is into your schedule without major problems. It’s easy enough to respond to a plea for help by saying ‘Yes’, but is it the right thing to do? I wanted to call this story ‘THE ABILITY TO SAY “No!”’ Then I thought that ‘THE ART OF SAYING “No!”’ might be better. Now I’m dithering between the two titles. Perhaps you’ve got a preference? If so, do let me know. The usual rules apply: if you'd like to read this story, and can't get hold of a copy of The Methodist Recorder - which won’t be out till just before Easter - then let me know soon after and I'll send you a copy by email.

Talking of Downton – which we weren’t, but why not? – I wrote a series set in a modern British stately home in crisis. This is the Eden Hall series and the last of the four books – Master of the Hall – is now out as an e-book. My heroine, Minty, is nothing like flinty Mary from Downton, but I enjoyed writing these books and hope you will enjoy reading them.

The short stories in Unsung Heroes is also available as an e-book, and doing well. I think I’ve almost got enough stories to fill another book, but they all need editing. Some need lengthening, some need shortening. Oh dear. Well, I must find the time, somehow. . . To be continued...
 

 There’s still a lot of talk going on about putting my early crime novels back into print or e-book, but these things take time. I get e-mails from this publisher and that asking me if I’d be interested to going with them, and then I ask another publisher who has taken my earlier books if they’d like them, and I wait for a reply from them. Meanwhile, I calm myself by thinking my agent has all this under control. Also to be continued . . .

A blessing: may you find time to look around and appreciate the beauty of this world, the daffodils, the early red tulips, the forsythia . . . the birds . . . and the kindness of friends. 



Veronica Heley

www.veronicaheley.com
http://blog.veronicaheley.com/


If you'd like to win a .pdf copy of Veronica's book, False Diamond, leave a comment, along with your contact information!

INTERVIEW WITH JULIANNA DEERING

JULIANNA DEERING has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with three spoiled cats and, when not writing, spends her free time quilting, cross stitching and watching NHL hockey. Her new series of Drew Farthering mysteries set in 1930s England debuted with Rules of Murder (Bethany House, 2013) and is followed by Death by the Book and Murder at the Mikado (Bethany House, 2014). Also, as DeAnna Julie Dodson, she has written a trilogy of medieval romances (In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered) and four contemporary mysteries for the Annie's Attic series. She is represented by Wendy Lawton of the Books & Such Literary Agency (www.booksandsuch.biz). 




INTERVIEW WITH JULIANNA DEERING

S.S: Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a pretty average person. I live in a very small town northwest of Dallas, Texas, where there are a lot of horse farms. There are new foals everywhere right now, and they are so cute. I have three outrageously spoiled cats who are the delight of my life. My degree is in business, and for a time I was a tax accountant and a CPA, but I decided life was too short to do something I didn't love, so I quit that job and took a less-demanding one so I could follow my creative passion and write.

S.S: Have you always written mysteries?
My first books, written as DeAnna Julie Dodson, were a trio of medieval romances. Then, after real life got in the way of my writing for a while, I wrote four contemporary mysteries for the Annie’s Attic series. But during that time and even during my break from publishing, I wrote the first two books of my Drew Farthering series. These are truly the books of my heart.





S.S: Tell us about your current release. 
It begins about two months after the end of Rules of Murder. My amateur sleuth, Drew Farthering, has solved that case and just wants to spend the end of the summer with his sweetheart, Madeline Parker. If he has his way about it, he'd like to convince her to marry him, too. Instead, he ends up with a fresh string of murders, a confounding American rival and Madeline's formidable maiden aunt who wants to whisk Madeline back to the States. Poor Drew.

S.S: Where did you get your inspiration for this series?
I love the classic mysteries of the 1920s and '30s, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham especially. And I have for many years enjoyed the adaptations of their work, usually from the BBC. After enjoying these stories for so long, I couldn't help trying my hand at writing some. Drew Farthering, name and all, just appeared in my head one day, and I knew he was my amateur sleuth. All I had to do after that was provide the mysteries for him to solve.

S.S: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from your story?
Mostly that they had a ripping good time! Yes, there are some serious themes and some grim moments. And I always want to leave my readers a sense of hope and redemption and the knowledge of God's goodness and love, but mostly I want them to feel they've been entertained, amused and given a good mystery to solve without having to filter out some things they would rather not read.

S.S: Who is your favorite new character in this book and why?
I have to admit I really enjoyed writing Madeline's formidable maiden aunt, Miss Ruth Jansen. She has already decided, even before she sets foot in England, that Drew is up to no good and she has to rescue Madeline from him. Besides having no use for foreigners in general, she's sure he's going to get himself or Madeline or both of them killed. But as determined as she is to whisk Madeline away to America, Drew is just as determined to win over Aunt Ruth and convince her that he and Madeline are meant for each other.

S.S: Who is your least favorite character in this book? Why?
Well, as a writer, I have no least favorites. All of them are necessary to tell the story, even the most self-centered, diabolical villain. To tell the truth, I love writing villains. If they’re doing their jobs properly, they are the protagonists’ equals in intelligence and power, and that’s what makes the story work.

S.S: What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to sew, mostly quilting and cross-stitch, though I'm just made a stuffed elephant, which was quite a challenge. I love to read, especially the classic crime novels of the 1920s and '30s, Christie, Sayers, Allingham and their contemporaries and almost anything historical. I adore NHL hockey, especially my Dallas Stars, and never miss a game.

S.S: Any writing goals you still hope to achieve?   
I don’t think there is ever a finish line with writing. My goal now is what it has been from the start: to write entertaining books in a God-honoring way. There is always more to learn and new things to try. I want to improve as a writer, of course, and there’s always room for that, but mostly I just want to enjoy doing what I do. I don’t want to stress so much over the end product that I don’t enjoy the time I spent creating it.

S.S: What do you think is significant about Christian fiction?
There is something ingrained in human nature that makes people receptive to story. Oftentimes, Jesus did not preach his message. He told stories about a prodigal son or a rich young ruler. Stories don't tell us what to think, at least the good ones don't, but they let us experience, they let us draw our own conclusions, and that is often more powerful than the greatest sermon. Nathan could have reprimanded King David for his adultery and murder. Instead he told David a story, a story of a poor man with one pet lamb. He made David see and feel from that poor man's point of view, let him feel outraged on that wronged man's behalf, let him feel indignant towards the rich man who stole and killed that precious lamb. Then and only then did Nathan tell him he had done as that rich man had, only worse. Only then did he say, "You are the man." Only then did David clearly and utterly see his wrong and repent. Story is so powerful. And we who write with a Christian message, even just a Christian world view, have enormous potential for speaking God's truth.

S.S.: Where can readers find you on the internet? 
I’m at www.juliannadeering.com, www.drewfarthering.com and www.deannajuliedodson.com. I’m also on Twitter @deannajuldodson and Facebook as Author Julianna Deering.

S.S.: Anything else you’d like to share with us?  
I love to hear from my readers. Bethany House has designed some wonderful bookmarks and bookplates for Rules of Murder and Death by the Book. Just send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope (at least 7” long), and I’ll be happy to send them out to you, autographed if you like. My address is P. O. Box 375, Aubrey, Texas 76227.

Thanks so much for letting me visit!

If you'd like a chance to win a copy of DEATH BY THE BOOK, leave a comment, along with your contact information. We'll draw a winner on Monday! (United States only, please.)

 

New Book Release and Giveaway from Lisa Harris!

Lisa Harris here. I’m so excited to share that my next romantic suspense with LIS has just been released! This was a particularly fun book to write because it’s set in South Africa where my family lived for several years before moving to Mozambique where we live now. On top of that, the setting is a game reserve, a place I love visiting and photographing.

Here is the blurb from the back cover:

BODYGUARD UNDER COVER 

Texas Ranger Alex Markham lands an unusual assignment—protecting an ambassador's daughter on the African savanna. No one—not even wildlife filmmaker Meghan Jordan herself—can know his true identity. The stubborn but beautiful Meghan is nothing like the bookish woman he expected…and neither is his unguarded reaction to her. For the cowboy-turned-cop, the routine babysitting assignment turns into a lifesaving mission when poachers target the unsuspecting beauty. But when Meghan learns the truth of Alex's identity, can she forgive him before their chances for a future are destroyed forever?

I’m giving away two copies, paperback or ebook, your choice. Leave your email address in a comment for a chance to win and tell me what your favorite safari animal is! I’ll leave the comments open until Saturday, March 8^th at midnight, PST.

Happy reading!

Lisa Harris

BIO: Lisa Harris is a Christy Award finalist and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from Romantic Times. She has sold over thirty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent over ten years living as missionaries in Africa where she homeschools, leads a women’s group, and runs a non-profit organization, The ECHO Project, that works alongside their church-planting ministry.

When she’s not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari.

Drawing is void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

Interview with Cajun Series Author, Winter Austin

Your Cajun series has really taken off. What do you see on the horizon for your writing?

More of the same in regards to the genre type, the romantic suspense/mystery/thriller I’ve become known for. My Cajun series, or The Degrees of Darkness series, following my main characters Detective Remy LeBeau and Cody Lewis has wrapped in four books. The final book, Reckoning, releases March 31 during a special promotional event for my second book, Retribution. It was bittersweet to finish this series, since the characters have been with me for a long time and I spent many years trying to sell the series idea. When my publisher Crimson Romance picked it up in late 2012, they wanted all four books, which shocked me and made me happy, too. Now it’s all over and it’s time to move on. Though I do have an idea or two for some of the secondary characters in the series, but right now they’re going to wait.

I’m moving on to another book that is really pushing me out of my comfort zone, but not so much. I’ll tell you more about later.

Tell us a little about your family.

I’m the wife of a National Guardsman turned Ag teacher/FFA advisor, teaching, ironically, in the same school where I went to school. I’m the mother of 4; two of which happen to be teenage boys; a daughter, who I call Cowgirl in Training; and our youngest son, who is the copycat of his father. Add in the bevy of pets we have and that’s us.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

Not as much. If anything about it has changed, it’s that I seek out authors who write in the same genres as I do, and I glean from them.

What are you working on right now?

A new book for a possible new series. Right now I’m calling it Atonement, same mix of romance/suspense/mystery/thriller as my Degrees of Darkness series, but the focus is more on the heroine this time. I’m really stretching my writing muscles on this book because I’m delving deeper into something I’ve only scratched the surface of in past books, and that’s the topic of PTSD. And I’m playing with the idea of someone taking it to the extremes when you break the Ten Commandments.

What outside interests do you have?

Well, in my other life I’m a volleyball coach, which I really enjoy doing. Working and training my players is fun for me, too. I enjoy watching some great movies and TV shows with my husband, we’ve gotten into Doctor Who and Justified. I LOVE to cook and bake. While it tends to be time consuming it’s therapeutic for me, especially since I have to make everything we eat from scratch and with whole/real/organic foods. On any given day you can find a slow-cooker prepping homemade yogurt or different foods fermenting in my kitchen, or some kind of meal being made in a crockpot or the stove/oven.

When I can I ride horses. And it appears this summer I’m about to delve deeply into the life of a 4-H/FFA mother/wife and spend many days and nights at county fairs and other shows.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

My characters usually do it for me, with their background and who they are. For instance my hero, Remy LeBeau is a Cajun, which meant I went to Louisiana. Heroine Cody Lewis was from the Fort Worth area of Texas. But with this new book, I’m going home, literally. Atonement is set in rural Iowa in the very area where I grew up and have returned to live. It’s kind of freeing setting a book here because I don’t have to do as much research.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

Simply because I’m watching him now, but I’d love to spend an evening with Red Skelton. I’ve always loved watching that man, he could make me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe and I enjoyed watching him laugh at his punch lines before he even delivered it.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

How to better schedule myself. It’s taken too long to figure this out and getting on a good writing rhythm. It would have been helpful when the deadlines started looming and all the editing that took place in-between. I’m getting the hang of it now—among my personal and working life—and the schedule is working itself out.

And if there was one other thing, having a good idea how to market my own books. It wasn’t until after I signed with my agent, Amanda Luedeke, that this all feel into place, but she was able to teach me how to get it all up and going before the first book released.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

1.) Do not box yourself into one kind of genre or market. I started out with the intent of being an author in the Christian market, and that never turned out how I expected. My agent and I decided to switch to the general market, and BAM! contracts. You can still be Christian in the general market, I’m still able to sprinkle in my character’s faith and it was well received by my readers.

2.) Write what you love, not what the trend tells you. Had I listened to people telling me to stop writing my romantic suspense books and do X Y or Z I’d hate it. You don’t have to limit yourself to one genre, if you like to write in others shoot for it. But just remember …

3.) Never stop learning and growing. Pay attention to things going on in the industry. Those set in their ways are the ones left in the dust. And arrogant people seal their fate the moment they claim they don’t need this or that, or that they’re brilliant writers. Oh, and forget what people say, you NEED an agent if you have bigger plans. Good luck trying to get a good contract without one.

Tell us about the featured book?

Relentless is book 1 of The Degrees of Darkness series. Backcover blurb says it all:

Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs.

Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . . .

As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention from the killer. Battling his partner, his attraction to Cody, and the demons of his past, catching the killer could cost Remy everything. Even Cody’s life.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Of all the witnesses, in all the homicides, in all of Dallas, she would have to be one.

Detective Remy LeBeau stared at the cowgirl sitting in a chair in the far corner of the Stanton Enterprise Stadium meeting room. Cody Lewis hugged her body, gnawing on her lip. A coiled red lock slipped from her right ear and fell against her cheek. Lifting a trembling hand, she tucked the strand behind her ear and let her hand fall limp in her lap.

This wasn’t the same confident woman who strode into the homicide offices three days ago to hand him a pair of tickets to the Dallas Roundup. A rodeo that had now become a crime scene. Remy hated off-duty calls. The lieutenant better have a good reason for dragging him away from a hot bowl of gumbo and out of his dry condo.

Cody bowed her head and seemed to curl up on herself. Remy knew the disjointed sensations she was experiencing, the need to withdraw from the real world in order to maintain some kind of control.

He tugged the detective cloak about him and inhaled a long breath. No need to return to that place and time. Exhaling, he approached the unfortunate redhead.

His partner, Detective Heath Anderson, glanced up, fatigue circling his blue eyes. Another late night on the job. He combed his fingers through his sandy-blond hair, making a mess of it. “LeBeau.”

Cody’s head snapped back like she’d taken an uppercut to the chin. Pink stained her cheeks. “Detective?”

“Hello, Ms. Lewis.” He looked at Anderson. “Grab a coffee, I’ll take it from here.” When they were alone, Remy crouched in front of her. Close up, he compared her features to those of the victim’s. Why hadn’t he noticed the freckles on her nose and cheeks when they first met? Her scent, a mixture of spice and sweet — vanilla maybe — combated with the sharp odor of wet men and manure.

Her green eyes locked with his. “Guess you didn’t need those tickets.”

What is your book rated? Who is your target audience?

For this one, I’d say it’s a PG to PG-13, depending on your level of comfort with the violence and language. It is a book written for the general market, so treat it as such, but it’s intended for those who like a grittier edge to their romantic suspense and like continuancy series.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

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BIO:

Winter Austin was once asked by her husband if he could meet some of the people who took residence in her head. She warned they weren’t all characters he wanted to meet, as killers walked among them. Needless to say, that conversation ended abruptly.

A lifelong Mid-West gal, Winter swears she should have been born in the South, Texas or Louisiana preferably. But then she’d miss the snowy winters.

Dividing her day between her four children and their various activities, a growing pet population, and her Beta-with-Alpha-tendencies Hero, Winter manages to find time to write chilling thrillers between loads of laundry.

Don’t worry. You won’t find any of her mouthwatering culinary dishes poisoned. Unless you’re one of her fictional creations.