Monday, February 7, 2011

Vicki Hinze's "Deadly Ties"

We're happy to have Vicki Hinze with us today talking about her book Deadly Ties. To learn more about Vicki and her book, read on!

Title: Deadly Ties
Publisher: Multnomah

Cover Blurb: Her enemy will stop at nothing for control…and everything is not enough
A horrific crime shatters Lisa Harper’s idyllic childhood. Her father is dead and her desperate mother, Annie, quickly marries Dutch Hauk, an abusive monster who soon reveals his hatred for Lisa. To protect her, Annie defies her ruthless husband and forfeits custody to a trusted friend. Enraged, Dutch vows to keep Annie and Lisa apart—and he does. Years later, though keenly aware of Dutch’s evil intent, Lisa and her mother seize a chance to be a family, safe in a home where love dwells. But they fail to fathom how far Dutch will go to keep his vow.
Determined to control his women, Dutch proves resourceful. His associates in crime are feared at the highest levels across the globe—and for Lisa they plan a fate worse than death. Yet she too has formidable connections: ones like former Special Operations officer Mark Taylor. Burdened by his own traumatic past, Mark has loved Lisa from afar. Now, for Lisa and her mother to survive, Mark must risk his life—and even more difficult for him, he must trust God—as one question haunts them all: Can Mark and Lisa untangle these deadly ties before it’s too late?

1. How did this story come to you?
I’ve been studying human trafficking for some time. Actually, the impact of it on the people abducted. I ran across a twist on it that was new to me and then discovered that it was more common than first believed, and I wanted to write about it to raise awareness. I wanted to write the story of faith getting people through even the most difficult of circumstances when those victims adopt the attitude of not letting an incident in their past rob them of their present and future. You know what I mean. We’ve all known people who had something bad happen and they got stuck on it, unable to let it go, unable to move beyond it. I wanted to write about a woman who was vulnerable and as average and normal as the rest of us who summoned the courage to reclaim her life.

2. Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
It was hard to write, but my editor immediately grasped what I was trying to accomplish in writing it and shared the vision. That’s such a blessing when it happens, and watching Lisa and Mark confront their fears and challenges and overcome them… well, it was moving. Very moving.

3. Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
This is a hard question. I feel as if I reveal the deepest parts of me in my books, so I’m reading this wondering what’s left? Smiling here. Okay, I’ll try:
1. I hate mirrors. I had to have a series of eye surgeries that totally changed the way I look. So when I see me in a mirror, I see a stranger’s face.
2. I can’t yell. So to signal my family I was unhappy, I used to dye my hair red. The more upset I was, the darker the red. It got to the point where I just had to buy a box of red hair dye and sit it on the kitchen counter. They’d all toe the line to keep me from going red. Redheads tolerate no guff.
3. When something truly wonderful happens that I want to celebrate, I go to Baskin & Robbins and get two scoops of chocolate ice-cream in a waffle cone. That’s the only time I eat it, and it’s saved for the seriously wonderful events. Forget glamorous stuff, and fine dining with roses and all that. This is my special and truly meaningful celebration. It started with my mom and me, celebrating the sale of my first book. My daughter and I continue it.

4. What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I’m working on the next Crossroads Crisis Center book—Beth and Joe’s story, Not This Time. The opening scene scared me right out of my socks. That’s an excellent sign. 

5. Parting comments?
What a privilege it is to visit with you here. Thanks so much for your interest and the support you’ve shown for the series with FORGET ME NOT. These books mean a great deal to me, and I appreciate it that you’ve embraced them.

6. Where can fans find you on the internet?
My website is at http://www.vickihinze.com/. And I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Shoutlife. I visit often and really enjoy chatting, so I hope you’ll drop by.

C.M. Jones' "He Left Me"

We're happy to have C.M. Jones with us today talking about her book, He Left Me. To learn more about C.M. and her book, read on!


Title: He Left Me
Publisher: HortonJones, Inc.

Cover blurb: “I need ice, coffee, and milk, and don’t forget the chopper, Jessu.” It’s the middle of the summer in Ghana, West Africa and boy is it hot today. It’s almost 38°C. Although, yesterday wasn’t so bad, it was only 32°C. I made coffee cakes early this morning before the sun became too hot and boy am I glad that I did. More than that, I’m fortunate that at 32 years old, I am so skilled in the kitchen. Not because it’s uncommon amongst my people, because in Africa before you become a married woman, with five children such as myself, cooking is only one of the many things that you’re able to do well. I’m fortunate however because my mother passed away when I was 13 years old, she had AIDS.

1) How did this story come to you?
I first wrote it as a short story for a writing contest. When I saw the contest I spoke with my husband/manager about the idea that I had for the story and he said, “write about something that will take the readers by surprise, infidelity is so common,” and so I did. After all, the destruction of marriage is not always about infidelity. The readers of the short story loved it so much that I decided to turn it into a novel.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
 This is my third published book and I have to say by far it was the most difficult but only because I seemed to have so many other things going on. Also, I lost my uncle, my father’s brother who helped to raise me when my father passed on, right at the time when I was supposed to do the final edit. With so much going on I pushed the date back to February 25 which is my father’s birthday and symbolic of the relationship that I had with my uncle. I can only attribute all of the obstacles to the impact that God must have planned for this book to change people’s lives because that is why I write in the first place. It is my mission to help change lives through the power of Jesus Christ.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
My family owns HortonJones, Inc., an independent publishing company, I live in Germany on a military base and I’m a high school teacher.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
Well I have quite a few manuscript ideas but I am getting ready to take a break from writing to work on my Doctorate degree. While working on my doctorate I will continue to promote the three books that are published and maybe write a poetry e-book.

5) Parting comments?
To all aspiring authors, keep writing! Your dream is only a few keystrokes away. Also pick up a copy of my first two books, I Still Do and Nothing Is Too Hard For God. It’s a series that you will love. The books are available in a few U.S. bookstores and libraries as well as www.Amazon.com and www.Barnesandnoble.com

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.cmjonestheauthor.com/ and www.facebook.com/cmjonestheauthor

Donna F. Crow's "A Very Private Grave"

We're happy to have Donna Fletcher Crow with us today talking about her book A Very Private Grave. To learn more about Donna and her book, read on!

Title: A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE, Book 1 The Monastery Murders
Publisher: Monarch Books

Cover blurb:
Felicity Howard, a young American studying at the College of the Transfiguration in Yorkshire, is devastated when she finds her beloved Fr. Dominic bludgeoned to death and Fr. Antony, her church history lecturer, soaked in his blood. . .
A VERY PRIVATE GRAVE is a contemporary novel with a thoroughly modern heroine who must learn some ancient truths in order to solve the mystery and save her own life, as she and Fr. Antony flee a murderer and follow clues that take them to out-of-the-way sites across northern England and southern Scotland. The narrative deftly mixes detection, intellectual puzzles, spiritual aspiration, romance and the solving of clues ancient and modern.

1) How did this story come to you?
I have wanted to tell St. Cuthbert’s story every since I encountered him at Durham Cathedral some twenty years ago. When my daughter went to study in a monastery in Yorkshire the story came together for me.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
And what a journey it’s been! I had been offered three previous contracts for this book but something always got in the way, such as another story seeming more urgent. Then, after publishing 30 novels, My career flat-lined and I was out of the publishing loop for 10 years, although I was still writing. Things came together for me when I finished this book and my agent Janet Benrey took it to Tony Collins at Monarch Books. Truly a case of “all things working together for good.”

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I am a former rodeo queen and runner-up for Miss Rodeo America.
I will do anything for research, including rappelling into a lava cave.
I have no sense of direction and maintain that I should be allowed to park in handicapped spaces because it’s a form of internal blindness.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I am organizing the research for Book 3 in the Monastery Murders while my publisher prepares Book 2, A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH for publication. Book 3 will be set in Wales and involves Antony and Felicity directing a Youth Walk to Welsh pilgrimage sites. For preparation I will visit these sites in Wales, then join a Youth Walk from London to Walsingham (126 miles) as an overage pilgrim.

5) Parting comments?
I am so thankful to be able to live out my passion by telling stories of the Christian history of Britain. I pray that my readers will catch a new vision of the treasured heritage that is ours to live and to share.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
My webpage: http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/ to see my book trailer and pictures of my research trips and my garden; http://ning.it/ia9SMY for my Amazon page; or http://ning.it/eLjgYp  on Facebook for Donna Fletcher Crow, Novelist of British History.

Interview with Barbara M. Britton and spotlight of Lioness...

We're happy to have Barbara M. Britton with us talking about her book Lioness . To learn more about her and Lioness, please read o...