Sandra Orchard Shares About Shades of Truth and a Youth Detention Center

Hello, Katy Lee here. Before we get started, I want to announce the winner of last Sunday’s book give-a-way from Jill Marie Landis.  Drum roll please….The winner is Missy Tippens! Missy, contact me and let me know which of Jill’s books you would like. Katylee @katyleebooks.com.

Now, for today, Sandra Orchard is visiting the Scribes again! Yay! You may remember Sandra’s last post when her debut novel for Harlequin’s Love Inspired line first came out. Deep Cover was a hit, and today she’s here to tell us about the next book in her series. Sandra, you are on a roll! We are so happy for you, and happy you have come back to share with us on how Shades of Truth came to be. And readers, we will be giving away a free copy of her latest book, so leave a comment to be entered in that drawing.

Also, Sandra has a fun contest going on right now. Here are the details so you can get in on the fun!

Her writing group, called WODE for Write off the Deep End, challenged her to include the acronym in her latest release. If you find WODE in the book, email her the page number (and the format of the book you’re reading) before midnight June 1st EDT. She will draw one name from all who submitted correct answers and he or she will receive a… $25 gift certificate to his/her favorite book retailer.

Now, take it away, Sandra!

Thanks, Katy! I’m glad to be back with the Scribes.

Readers often ask me where I get my story ideas, and for my newest release, Shades of Truth, I can pinpoint the exact moment. We were sitting around the campfire listening to a twenty-year-old young woman share about her experiences working as a youth care worker at a detention facility.

I was enthralled by Beth’s passion for the youth, and what struck me the most from her story was her admission that she often learned more from the kids than the other way around. Instantly, I knew that I wanted to write a novel with a heroine like her. At that time I was revising Deep Cover and Beth’s enthusiasm reminded me of my heroine’s sidekick, Kim.

The next day, I made Kim a youth care worker, knowing that she’d become the heroine of a future book in the series. Of course, it was almost two years later before I began her story. Other novels generated some interest among editors and I temporarily set the Undercover Cops series aside.

When I finally sat down and interviewed Beth in preparation for writing Shades of Truth, I was once again transfixed by her stories and plot ideas tumbled over each other in my mind! I learned so much during my research for this story, everything from the ins and outs of physical restraint methods to secret gang signals. What an eye-opener.

Beth’s excitement about the positive impact she could have in residents’ lives became my heroine’s. But I hasten to add that while Beth graciously answered all my questions about her work, my heroine is entirely fictional, as is the detention center where she works and the cast of characters who populate her world.

Of course, after fleshing out my heroine so well, I needed a hero who would challenge everything she’s working toward. Enter former-young-offender-turned-cop Ethan Reed who doesn’t share her optimism for the residents’ rehabilitation. Worse than that, succeeding in his mission will destroy everything my heroine is fighting to protect.

So what’s he to do? He admires how naturally she engages others in conversation, exuding genuine interest and empathy. He can’t help but be smitten. And challenged. Challenged to reconsider his own misperceptions of the residents, and of himself.

Blurb:  Shades of Truth ~ March 2012 from Love Inspired Suspense

Big city detective Ethan Reed is working deep undercover at a Christian youth detention center. The kind of place he spent some harrowing time in as a kid. Ethan’s mission: ferret out who’s recruiting resident teens for a drug ring. He expects help from the lovely, devoted director of Hope Manor. But Kim Corbett won’t tell Ethan anything— even when she’s threatened and attacked. When Ethan discovers what Kim is protecting, his guarded heart opens just a bit wider. Enough to make this the most dangerous assignment of his career.

Book 2 in Undercover Cops:
Fighting for justice puts their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Sandra Orchard lives in rural Ontario,Canada where inspiration abounds for her romantic suspense novels set in the fictional Niagara town she’s created as their backdrop. Married with three grown children, when not writing, she enjoys hanging out with family, brainstorming new stories with fellow writers, and walking her dog in God’s beautiful creation. She loves to connect with readers, and has created some “novel extras” to enhance readers’ experience of her books.

Check out these and other resources for both readers and writers at her website: http://www.SandraOrchard.com.

For updates on new releases, special subscriber-only reads and giveaway opportunities, sign up for her newsletter at http://bit.ly/OrchardNews

She’d love for you to connect at: http://www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

And join in the conversations about characters on her blog at http://www.SandraOrchard.blogspot.com

Thank you, Sandra! For being here today, but for also sharing your wonderful and inspiring stories with us all.

Readers: If you would like to be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Sandra’s Shades of Truth, please leave a comment with your email address.