LIGHTS AND SHADOWS - Carole Jefferson (Susan Page Davis) - One Free Book

Welcome back, Susan. Tell us about your salvation experience.

I received Christ at a young age. I had Christian parents, for which I’m thankful. They took me to Sunday school and church. I was saved after a vacation Bible school session.

You’re planning a writing retreat where you can only have four other authors. Who would they be and why?

Janice Holt Giles, Agatha Christie, Chris Enss, and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I love their books for different reasons (two fiction, two nonfiction—and you didn’t say they had to be living authors. I admit the two fiction authors are deceased). Giles had such a beautiful writing style, and she had such a passion for detail (The Kentuckians, Santa Fe Trail, The Believers, etc.). Christie fashioned plots so clever they always keep me turning pages (Murder on the Orient Express, What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw, etc.). Enss writes a form of popular history that is very digestible and extremely helpful to writers (How the West Was Worn, Buffalo Gals, Gilded Girls, etc.), and Thatcher is a serious historian with uber documentation skills (A Midwife’s Tale, The Art of Homespun, Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History, etc.). I would love to have the chance to talk writing and/or history with any of these remarkable women.

Do you have a speaking ministry? If so, tell us about that.

I speak to writers’ groups about various aspects of the craft, and to civic organizations about my writing life.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you and how did you handle it?

I never handle embarrassing situations well, so I’ll do what I always do when they occur—blush, say, “Oh, excuse me,” and refuse to mention it again.

People are always telling me that they’d like to write a book someday. I’m sure they do to you, too. What would you tell someone who came up to you and said that?

I’d say go for it. I’d also advise them not to be afraid to let other people see their work and tell them where it might be better. Other tips would be to read widely, to write every day, and to get a professional edit when the manuscript is finished.

Tell us about the featured book.

Lights and Shadows is part of a series called Mysteries of Silver Peak. Sadie Speers is a retired teacher who owns an antique shop in a little Colorado mountain town. She hears that an old sci-fi movie shot in Silver Peak fifty years ago is going to be remade, right there in her hometown. But during the original filming, her best friend’s brother died. Memories of that time shake up the town. Add to that strange lights hovering above the mountainside, and we’re in for an intriguing cozy mystery.

Please give us the first page of the book.

Here’s a page from chapter one:

“I know everyone from school was very upset when Mike died,” Edwin said. “But I still think this new film project can be good for the town if no one lets it become a dark, gloomy cloud hanging over Silver Peak.”

“Yeah, I agree. But Roz … I’ll be there for her if she needs me.” Sadie had given her promise that morning under pressure from her friend, but now her determination grew. She would put the unanswered questions about Mike’s death to rest for Roz.

As Edwin drove higher up the mountain toward Sadie’s house, she noticed a glow in the sky that seemed to originate at some point beyond her house.

“What’s that?” She pointed.

Edwin peered ahead. “I don’t know. It’s the wrong direction for the moonrise.”

“Could it be a fire?”

He said nothing, but drove up her driveway and parked in front of the house. Both of them got out of the car and hurried to the side lawn.

“It’s some kind of aircraft,” Sadie said uncertainly. “I saw a blinking light.”

“It’s steadier now,” Edwin said. “But it’s not moving the way a plane would.”

“A helicopter?” Sadie hazarded.

“Can’t be. It’s not that far away, and there’s hardly any wind. We’d hear a chopper for sure.”

“I think it’s over Milo’s pasture.” Sadie couldn’t look away from the eerie illumination. The light reflected off the clouds, but the object from which it seemed to emanate sank slowly toward the horizon.

“Is it landing?” Edwin asked, his eyes still fixed on the blinking lights. The flying object lowered out of sight and then rose again to where they could see at least two distinct lights on it blinking. Edwin and Sadie turned and stared at each other.

“Okay, what is that thing?” she asked.

He shook his head slowly. “I haven’t the faintest idea.” 

How can readers find you on the Internet?

My website: www.susanpagedavis.com

Twitter: @SusanPageDavis

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/susanpagedavisauthor

My newsletter: https://madmimi.com/signups/118177/join

And on the 23rd of every month, I blog at: www.hhhistory.com

Thank you, Susan, for sharing this new book with us. It sounds intriguing.

Readers, this book is published by Guideposts. They have published series that are written by several different authors under one author name. Here is a link to the series:

http://www.shopguideposts.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=mysteries+of+silver+peak 

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