Wanda Dyson - SHEPHERD'S FALL - Free Book

After a long wait, I'm happy to welcome Wanda Dyson back to my blog. I love reading her stories. So Wanda, why do you write the kind of books you do?

I write what are commonly called “crime thrillers” where there is usually a murder, or some such crime, and my heroes have to overcome themselves and the “bad guys” to solve the crime, catch the bad guys, and discover that the ability to be all that God called them to be was right there all along.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

It’s a toss up between the day my daughter was born, after years of thinking I was never going to have a child, and the day I was ordained.

How has being published changed your life?

It was like moving from a six-lane highway with numerous exits and no signs to indicate where any of them led, to a paved path with guardrails and signs every few feet telling me to proceed this way-and a GPS giving me minute-by-minute instructions. :-) I spent most of my life wondering why I was here and what I was supposed to do and how I was supposed to do it and where I was supposed to be going and how I was supposed to get there and suddenly, the minute the contract came through, I had the peace of knowing I was exactly where I was supposed to do and doing exactly what I was born to do.

What are you reading right now?

At the moment, I’m reading James Frey’s books on writing fiction.

What is your current work in progress?

I just finished up the Prodigal Recovery Series and now getting ready to start the first book in my new series, as yet untitled.

Oh, goody. Keep those books coming. What would be your dream vacation?

It’s a toss-up between a couple weeks in a hut out over the water in Fiji with a laptop and a stack of good books…. and a couple weeks in Scotland in July with a camera and a Angie Hunt to drive, since she did so well on our trip to Ireland last year.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

By the time I get to know my characters and most of their story, I know where the story has to take place. Sometimes it’s a real place and I change the name, or it’s not real and I make up the type of place they would live. I know from their story whether it has to be a big city or a small town.

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

I can’t decide between Dave Lambert or Karen Ball. I’d love to just sit and pick their brains about fiction, writing, the industry, etc.

And with Karen, you'd have a lot of fun! I don't really know Dave Lambert that well. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

Well, as most people know, I have horses, so riding Nanza, of course. I also raise Silkies. Now, what are Silkies, you may ask? They are rare and beautiful chickens that are very small, very cottony soft and fluffy, and thought of as the poodles of the chicken world. Wacky, I know, but there truly are the most adorable little things. So, I enjoy spending time with them. The rest of my “hobby” time is spent in the garden, wandering through flea markets looking for treasure, or creating crafty decorative things with whatever I can find.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

Proposals. Seriously. I have never written a book and then gone out and sold it. I write a proposal, sell the idea and then go write the book. The problem is, I don’t always have the whole story until I write it, so trying to convey the depth the story will have in a proposal is very hard. But I’m learning. Frey’s books are a big help with that.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t sell that first manuscript. Or second. Or even third. Consider them teaching materials and keep writing. You become a better writer by writing, so keep at it until you’re the best you can be. It’s not enough in this industry to be talented. Or even very talented. It’s also about the story. No matter how good you think it is, you can count on there being something else out there similar to it, so you have to have a GREAT story, with GREAT characters, and a unique voice. Once all that comes together, you’ll get published.

Wow! Did I do all that? Now tell us about the featured book.

Shepherds Fall is the first in a 3 book series about 3 siblings (2 brothers and a sister) who were raised in a Christian family who have now inherited the family “bounty hunter” business- Prodigal Fugitive Recovery Agency. Each book features one of the siblings and how each one finds out that they are as much a prodigal as the criminals they are hunting – and how God hunts them down.

The first book is about Greg who is trying to recover from a bitter divorce to a woman he still loves, build a relationship with a daughter who resents that he “left” her, save the family business from financial ruin, and outwit a criminal who is holding his daughter hostage. And in the midst of all the action, car chases, intrigue, and danger, God is chasing Greg down and taking him hostage in hopes of getting Greg’s attention before he loses everything.

Will Greg rescue his daughter? Will God get Greg’s attention? Will Greg understand what God is trying to show him? You’ll have to read the book to find out. Because you know me, Lena… just when you think you have it all figured out, you find out I’ve thrown a twist in there you weren’t expecting. :-)

That's one of the reasons I love your books. I can't figure them out from the first. How can readers find you on the Internet?

I can be found at either http://www.wandadyson.com/

or at http://www.keepmeinsuspense.com/.

The book trailer for Shepherds Fall can be found at

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WmXptRyP6uA

Thank you, Wanda, for spending this time with us.

Readers, you'll want to win a free copy of the book, so leave a comment for a chance. (Don't forget to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won.)

If you don't win, you'll want to get your hands on a copy right away. So here's a link where you can buy the book: