Interview with Author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Hey, Scribelings! Welcome! I have another special treat in store for you today: an interview with cozy mystery/romance author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey. I recently asked her a buggy full–or should I say a sewing box full?–of questions, and she was kind enough to answer all of them. Here’s what Laura had to say:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m one of those folks who knew what she wanted to be since she was a little girl. I was officially bitten by the writing bug while playing at a friend’s house in 4^th grade. It was raining and we’d had our fill of Barbies. So out came the paper, the crayons, and we started writing and illustrating stories. I was hooked.

Fast forward through my post-college days as a reporter and then the birth of my two daughters and I decided to tackle my love for fiction-writing. It took me five years to write that first book (twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there while my youngest was occupied with a toy). I sold it to a small press. The book released (with a horrible cover) and was soon nominated for an Agatha (it didn’t win) and picked up for Worldwide Mystery’s book club (which meant new life with a big publisher and a far bigger audience).

Today, I have sixteen books out and another six under contract.

Tell us about your latest book, Assaulted Pretzel. (I love this series, by the way!)

ASSAULTED PRETZEL is the 2^nd book in my new Amish Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime. The protagonist of the series—Claire Weatherly—owns a specialty gift shop in Amish country. The local detective—Jakob Fisher—is former Amish. His ex-communicated status makes him the last people the Amish want to talk to. So when crime happens, and they have to talk, they prefer to talk to Claire.

This particular book has the head of a large toy manufacturer coming to Heavenly, Pa, to hire the Amish to build a new line of toys for his company. When he reneges on the deal and is found murdered, a number of people—Amish included—are viable suspects.

You write romances as Laura Bradford and mysteries as Laura Bradford and Elizabeth Lynn Casey. How many books a year do you write?

There was a year or two there when I was writing four books a year. That has slowed somewhat with the Berkley Prime Crime titles being moved out to a 12 month model.

So, at this time, two a year…unless I add in a romance…or a thriller…or a women’s fiction.

Do you have any advice on how writers can increase their productivity?

Just write. Set a word count goal for yourself and keep track. Seeing those numbers growing really helps motivate me.

How do you keep your various projects organized?

Since I’m writing two cozy series, I have an index card box for each. Inside, are cards for each character—what they look like, issues, background, etc.  It helps tremendously when I switch from writing one world and more onto another.

What kind of marketing do you do for your books? Do you have any marketing advice?

• I send out postcards (my mailing list grows every time I do a signing/event).
• I send out an e-newsletter to the people who have signed up via my website.
• I keep up on my FB pages—one for each name.
• I try to tweet but I don’t find it as effective.I do a daily blog on my Elizabeth Lynn Casey website.
• I do contests on my FB pages as we’re closing in on a book’s release.
• I guest blog on various sites (maybe 3 or 4) during the lead up/first month of a book’s life.

How do you battle the Doubt Monster? We define the Doubt Monster as: the nagging feeling that your prose is terrible, your plot is silly, your characters are insipid, and no one in her right mind would read this drivel, let alone buy it.

I just keep going.  Or I pout and then I keep going.

Do you have any pets?

Angus is the family pet. He’s a black cat. With seven toes/6 nails per foot.

What’s your junk food of choice?

I think just about any of my fans (at least the ones who frequent my FB pages) could answer this for me.

Chocolate.

Unless I’m on deadline. Then it’s candy corn (with milk).

When will your next book be out? What’s it about?

My next book release will be August 6^th and that’s for the 8^th book in my Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries Series (Berkley Prime Crime) written under my pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey.

In this book, one member of the Sweet Briar crew is convinced the death of an elderly local man is not what it seems…

You can keep up with Laura/Elizabeth here:

www.laurabradford.com

www.elizabethlynncasey.com

Laura Bradford AUTHOR page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Bradford/316744455035472?ref=hl

Elizabeth Lynn Casey AUTHOR page: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Lynn-Casey/286853572181?ref=hl

Interview with Author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Hey, Scribelings! Welcome! I have another special treat in store for you today: an interview with cozy mystery/romance author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey. I recently asked her a buggy full–or should I say a sewing box full?–of questions, and she was kind enough to answer all of them. Here’s what Laura had to say:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m one of those folks who knew what she wanted to be since she was a little girl. I was officially bitten by the writing bug while playing at a friend’s house in 4^th grade. It was raining and we’d had our fill of Barbies. So out came the paper, the crayons, and we started writing and illustrating stories. I was hooked.

Fast forward through my post-college days as a reporter and then the birth of my two daughters and I decided to tackle my love for fiction-writing. It took me five years to write that first book (twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there while my youngest was occupied with a toy). I sold it to a small press. The book released (with a horrible cover) and was soon nominated for an Agatha (it didn’t win) and picked up for Worldwide Mystery’s book club (which meant new life with a big publisher and a far bigger audience).

Today, I have sixteen books out and another six under contract.

Tell us about your latest book, Assaulted Pretzel. (I love this series, by the way!)

ASSAULTED PRETZEL is the 2^nd book in my new Amish Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime. The protagonist of the series—Claire Weatherly—owns a specialty gift shop in Amish country. The local detective—Jakob Fisher—is former Amish. His ex-communicated status makes him the last people the Amish want to talk to. So when crime happens, and they have to talk, they prefer to talk to Claire.

This particular book has the head of a large toy manufacturer coming to Heavenly, Pa, to hire the Amish to build a new line of toys for his company. When he reneges on the deal and is found murdered, a number of people—Amish included—are viable suspects.

You write romances as Laura Bradford and mysteries as Laura Bradford and Elizabeth Lynn Casey. How many books a year do you write?

There was a year or two there when I was writing four books a year. That has slowed somewhat with the Berkley Prime Crime titles being moved out to a 12 month model.

So, at this time, two a year…unless I add in a romance…or a thriller…or a women’s fiction.

Do you have any advice on how writers can increase their productivity?

Just write. Set a word count goal for yourself and keep track. Seeing those numbers growing really helps motivate me.

How do you keep your various projects organized?

Since I’m writing two cozy series, I have an index card box for each. Inside, are cards for each character—what they look like, issues, background, etc. It helps tremendously when I switch from writing one world and more onto another.

What kind of marketing do you do for your books? Do you have any marketing advice?

• I send out postcards (my mailing list grows every time I do a signing/event).
• I send out an e-newsletter to the people who have signed up via my website.
• I keep up on my FB pages—one for each name.
• I try to tweet but I don’t find it as effective.I do a daily blog on my Elizabeth Lynn Casey website.
• I do contests on my FB pages as we’re closing in on a book’s release.
• I guest blog on various sites (maybe 3 or 4) during the lead up/first month of a book’s life.

How do you battle the Doubt Monster? We define the Doubt Monster as: the nagging feeling that your prose is terrible, your plot is silly, your characters are insipid, and no one in her right mind would read this drivel, let alone buy it.

I just keep going. Or I pout and then I keep going.

Do you have any pets?

Angus is the family pet. He’s a black cat. With seven toes/6 nails per foot.

What’s your junk food of choice?

I think just about any of my fans (at least the ones who frequent my FB pages) could answer this for me.

Chocolate.

Unless I’m on deadline. Then it’s candy corn (with milk).

When will your next book be out? What’s it about?

My next book release will be August 6^th and that’s for the 8^th book in my Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries Series (Berkley Prime Crime) written under my pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey.

In this book, one member of the Sweet Briar crew is convinced the death of an elderly local man is not what it seems…

You can keep up with Laura/Elizabeth here:

www.laurabradford.com

www.elizabethlynncasey.com

Laura Bradford AUTHOR page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Bradford/316744455035472?ref=hl

Elizabeth Lynn Casey AUTHOR page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Lynn-Casey/286853572181?ref=hl

The Next Big Thing Blog Tour by Katy Lee

Thank you, Marian Lanouette, for inviting me to participate in The Next Big Thing Blog Tour! You asked me questions … here are my answers:

1) What is your working title?

Forever Silenced

2) Where did the idea come from for your book?

Back in college I took sign language and deaf culture courses for my special education major. This has been a story brewing for a long time, but put aside until I embraced the writer in me. My heroine in Forever Silenced is deaf and has spent her whole life proving she is not dumb.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Inspirational Romantic Suspense

4) Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Amy Adams and Tom Hardy

5) What is a one-sentence synopsis about your book?

To solve the recent drug crime at the island high school, the new deaf principal will have to bring a horrific memory to light, all while avoiding the handsome DEA agent sent to get up in her business.

6) How will your book be published?

Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense has contracted Forever Silenced and will release it in October 2013.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

6 Weeks. I told you this story has been brewing for a long time. Once I obeyed my characters and sat down to write it, the words flew from my fingertips.

8) What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I write romantic suspense with an inspirational arc woven through. I don’t write sermons, but hope to inspire readers to consider tough topics many have faced or know someone who has. Helen Keller’s first words to the hearing world were “I am not dumb…” (Click to see!)Just as Helen Keller, my heroine wants to be accepted, loved, and respected, regardless of her differences. I think we all can relate. 

And now to continue the blog tour, be sure to check out “The Next Big Thing” from the following authors who are participating in this event!

Edith Maxwell
http://www.edithmaxwell.com/2012/11/the-next-big-thing.html

Gerri Brousseau
http://www.gerribrousseau.com/

Marian Lanouette
http://marianl.com/main/the-next-big-blog-tour/

~Thank you, Readers, for your tweets and shares!

Falling Into Sandra Orchard’s Latest Book

Happy fall! Katy Lee here, excited to be ensconced in my favorite time of year—and not just because October is my birthday month, although I love that it is! Especially when I can buy myself books to read while I enjoy the beautiful fall colors of New England.

And so, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that for my birthday this year, I snatched up a fellow Love Inspired Suspense author’s latest novel, Critical Condition.

This is Sandra Orchard’s third novel in her Undercover Cops series, and I when I saw the cover, a little bit of the peace that autumn offers descended upon me like the fluttering leaves themselves. But I will say peace was not the feeling I received while reading it—at least not at first.

Sandra packs every page with twists and turns, emotional highs…and more highs, and a story that equated to a medical thriller romance that felt like The Fugitive meets luuve. Best of both worlds, in my romantic opinion.

But I also can’t forget the inspirational arc Sandra wove into the story so beautifully, touching on the many battles cancer patients and their loved ones face daily…and how many turn away from God instead of to Him. We live in a world where we have so much hurt and pain to deal with, and blaming God will not bring us healing. And it will not bring the blessings that God has for us, either.

And so, for me, autumn is a time of reflection. While I take in the beauty around me, I pray I will see every blessing God has given to me this year—even in the moments I didn’t feel His presence or I thought He didn’t care. I don’t want to enter the holidays feeling resentment of not accomplishing something I set out to do on January 1^st. Or holding a grudge because my year, or even life, did not turn out the way I thought it should. If I am harboring even a bit of anger toward Him, I want to catch that before it festers so big that I disable Him from blessing me more.

The Unlocked Secret: God loves blessing us. Jeremiah 29:11 proves this. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Now THAT’S a blessing I don’t want to miss. And thank you, Sandra Orchard, for allowing God to bless you in your writing, so that you can pass His blessing onto others who don’t want to miss it, either.

Cheater, Cheater

It’s Thursday, again. Suze here, broadcasting from deep inside the Writer’s Cave.

Sorry I can’t tell you where my secret lair is. I can tell you it’s not full of high-tech gadgets, cannisters of brightly colored knockout gas (so useful!), not even a really cool car. It’s just me, my cat, and my trusty HP laptop. Occasionally my manservant (husband) will bring me a cup of excellent coffee, but he absolutely refuses to wear the apron and black-rimmed glasses I’ve provided for him, nor will he feather-dust my bust of Shakespeare. Good help is so difficult to find. Sigh.

So what am I writing? By now most of you probably know about National Novel Writing Month, which is always in November. (If not, check out www.nanowrimo.org). Fifty thousand words in a month is doable–I’ve done it–but it’s a stretch for me. Six to eight hundred words a day is more comfortable. This year I got the brilliant idea to cheat! My devious brain told me that if I started on October 1 and wrote 800 words a day, I could complete my work-in-progress by November 30. So far, I’m on track, and it feels great.

I’m also experimenting with working on two projects at once. That contemporary romance novel I wrote for NaNo two Novembers ago? Well, it needs quite a bit of help. A lot is salvageable though, and once I broke down and asked for plotting help from my friends, I figured out just how to fix it. So I’m alternating between the two WIPs–I can read four or five novels simultaneously and keep the stories straight. Theoretically, I should be able to do the same with writing. I’ll report back on the results in a couple of months.

So, are you a cheater? A Loner, Dottie? A Rebel? Or do you follow the rules?

“The Call”

Hello all! Katy Lee here. This is sort of a repost. Because of a certain phone call I received this week, I thought a follow-up was in order. <Grin>

So anyway, when I started this writing venture a couple years ago and joined the amazing Scribes, I posed the question for all you hard-working writers out there.

What if a publisher called you right now and offered you a book contract?

Are you ready for your success? Or does the thought tie your stomach up in knots? Do you have doubts in your ability to meet your contract needs, thinking maybe you just got lucky and the first book might have been a fluke? Do you start to turn a little green when someone mentions the word marketing? Do you even worry yourself to the point you stop writing?

If you answered yes to any of these, do not worry. It is perfectly normal to fear the unknown, and until we get there, success IS the unknown. But there is a simple cure for what ails you, and it really is no big secret. It is the same remedy that enabled you to sit down and type page one in the first place.

The reason we fear success is because we don’t really know what it looks like just yet. We don’t have a visual in our minds to go to. Before we started writing, the idea of sitting down and finishing a manuscript fell into the category of the unknown, but we would just conjure up an image of what our book cover might look like, and we were then able to type on. For those of you who reached the completed manuscript stage, editing and submitting seemed daunting, but you bought a resource book like The Writer’s Market, learned what this next step looked like and it all worked out.

You created a visual for each step of your process. You didn’t wish on any stars…or maybe just a few, but even if you did, wishes did not get you this far.

It was your ability to imagine.

The Unlocked Secret: The human mind gives you power over your fears. Define what success looks like for you, give it an image in your mind, and it will no longer be the unknown. When those inner doubts hit, all you’ll need to do is pull up your “success” visual and take back the power to push on.

So, what kind of visuals have worked for you? Or are you still struggling with those fears?

And as for that phone call….It came! I am now a Harlequin author! But I have to admit, all those symptoms I mentioned above came flooding in. I had to reread my own advice from this post here to remind me to start imagining again. I can do this!

And if you want to read about “The Call” please check out my warm welcome from Harlequin here:
http://community.harlequin.com/showthread.php/674-NEW-SALE!!!-Katy-Lee-sold-to-LOVE-INSPIRED-SUSPENSE!!!?p=22481#post22481

A Little Bit About Author Advances…

I might be a little happy.

I’m getting published! In a three book deal! By St. Martins Press! SQEEEEEEE! My first book is due out sometime in the Fall of 2013. If anybody is still on the fence about what a good agent can do for you talk to me. Authors alone, especially new ones, cannot make deals like this by themselves. And even though this all happened relatively quickly I learned a lot. A LOT about everything. But the thing I zoned in on the most was how publishers pay authors. Here’s a couple of things I learned these past couple of weeks.

Most big six publishers will not look at your work unless it is submitted by an agent. UNLESS they request a manuscript from a contest or a live pitch.

Okay, so you probably knew that. But here are a few things to consider.

1. If you do get a request from a contest or a pitch be prepared to wait. Editors feel obligated to respond to submissions made by agents first. They work with them on a daily basis and rely on them to find talent. Plus they see them at all those cool industry events like BEA (Book Expo of America) and at conferences. And a good agent will hound an editor to make sure that they are reading and responding to your book. Six months on a full request is average. Some editors might take up to a year.
2. I’m sorry all you contest junkies (and I was surprised to hear this one) but many editors and agents just aren’t impressed by contest wins. Unless they are big ones like the Golden Heart. The reason being is that there are so many contests out there. The scoring is subjective and often done by untrained judges. They all say it’s a great way to get feedback but not to put all your hopes and dreams on them.
3. If you somehow can stand the wait and do get an offer, be prepared for a lower advance if you don’t have an agent. Publishers tend to pay between $1,500- $6,000. And you may not get things like world rights and other stuff that as a new author you just don’t understand.
4. The other thing about not going the agent route is less of a chance for multiple submissions. An agent can have six editors reading your book at the same time. Which means there is more likely a chance that more than one of them will like it and then fight over it and that means you get more money!
5. But also be aware that just because you have an agent doesn’t mean your book is going to get sold.  I’m not embarrassed to tell you that I was rejected by Harlequin, Bantam, Hachette, and Pocket before my offers came in. Not everybody is going to like your book and the sooner you learn that the better.

Don’t plan on quitting your day job.

I think we all dream of making a living by our writing alone but that doesn’t happen quickly.

1. The average advance for a newbie author from a big six publisher( and lets throw Harlequin in there, but not their category lines) is $10,000.
2. The average royalty rate for a new author is 8%. Which means that the publisher gets to keep 92% of the profits from your book. (Now you see why some people self publish. 70% compared to 8% plus absolute editorial control.)
3. You won’t get paid for a very long time. Apparently it may take a few months for a publisher to generate a contract. Granted there are dozens of little things in it that need to be hammered out but still, the process is glacial compared to publishing yourself.
4. Also consider that you will not see all that money at once. You will get some on signing. Some on acceptance of your manuscript by the publisher and some on publication.
5. It takes about a year for a debut author’s book to come out and after that you have to earn back your advance.So if you don’t sell many books don’t count on seeing any more money. And even if you do sell a lot of books you’ll have to wait until the publisher is ready to pay you. Some pay quarterly. Some pay twice a year. Either way you are in for a wait.

Smaller publishers will work for you too!

1. Kensington and Sourcebooks are not huge publishers but just because they don’t have millions to throw at you doesn’t mean they can’t do big things for your career. Fern Micheals is currently with Kensington.Even Jill Shalvis has books coming out with them this fall. Those ladies are big New York Times selling authors. And sometimes going smaller means getting more attention. It may mean the people there will spend more time with you helping you build your brand as an author.
2. But don’t expect big money from them. They offer brand new authors an average advance of $2,500. But they can get your book into Walmart! And isn’t that everybody’s dream.
3. You also don’t need an agent, a pitch or a contest win to submit to them. Check out the guidelines on their websites and submit away!

Most E pubs don’t offer advances.

1. But Entangled is doing big things for their authors. One of them got a royalty check for over three hundred thousand dollars and her book is racing up the bestseller charts.
2. Samhain and Ellora’s Cave also boast happy authors. The point is that there isn’t just one way. Just find the way that is right for you.

I know for most of us it’s not about the money. It’s about getting our work out there, connecting with readers and doing what we all love to do which is write.

 I hope I didn’t ramble. Anybody have any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Were things different in your experience? Have something to share with the group?

What Do You Want in a Hero?

Couldn’t you see him on the cover of a romance novel?

So I met a guy. And he’s nearly perfect. Sigh… He’s got light caramel colored skin, and curly dark hair. His big brown eyes always look at me in a slightly worshipful manner. And he’s got an accent! Kind of like Antonio Banderes only a little bit softer. Plus he loves me. He tells everybody how smart I am. How I know everything in the world. And he thinks I’m bee-yoo-ti-ful. I get the most lavish compliements from him every day. Too bad he’s only eight years old.

I hope my little Mario doesn’t lose any of his charm because one day he’ll make some girl (his own age) very happy.

Thinking about him got me thinking about heroes. I am in the beginning stages of my WIP and therefore am in the getting to know you phase with my characters. I know my heroine because honestly each one of them has a little bit of me inside of her. But my hero… he’s a little more complicated. Which brings me to the question I ask my self every time I start a book.

What makes a hero a hero?

I think it may be different for each of us but here are some of the traits I commonly see in the heroes of romance novels.

He’s rich…

Hey, baby. Want to roll around in my millions.

A lot of them are, especially in Regency romance as well as titled. In category romance there seemed to be more than enough billionaires to go around. Susan Elizabeth Phillips likes athletes. Many of her books are based around the fictional Chicago Stars Football team. And if they aren’t filthy rich they at least have good jobs. I see a lot of FBI agents, doctors, lawyers, contractors, firemen etc. I haven’t seen one romance novel where the hero was a regular old teacher. Have you? I might have to write one. But knowing myself he would fall into some kind of inheritance and soon become rich.

So why do we see so many rich hero’s? Because we need to know that he is going to be able to take care of our girl.

He’s super sexy…

Why don’t we ever see any chunky heroes? None with pot bellies. Or balding heads, or buck teeth. No short ones. No. Our loves are always tall and have hard rippling bodies. Even if they aren’t classically handsome they make our heroine swoon and they always seem to have ah-mazing stamina in bed.

Why? Because heroes are fantasy. They are little bits and pieces of perfect rolled up into one man. The men we secretly wish other men would turn into.

Although I have to give it Mary Balogh who in Lord Carew’s Bride makes her hero born physically disabled. He wasn’t your usual big strong sexy masculine romance hero. But that book worked for me. I love to see my characters with a little more depth.

He’s strong…

And I’m not just talking about physically strong. Emotionally (at least in the end) he’s everything our girl needs in a man. He holds her while she cries. He fights the bad guy. He’s tough but sensitive. He lends support. He makes her see the world in a different way.

Two books in one!

Why is this? Because weak heroes aren’t sexy. Nobody really wants to see a man crying and cowering behind his woman.

Help me make my hero a whole man. What kinds of traits do see in heroes that you go gaga for? Were there some I missed? What kind of man do you like to write about? Any and all comments are welcome.

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
.

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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.