Welcome, Stacey. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
The spiritual battles my characters face are often very
similar to struggles I’ve had in the past or are representative of the tough
theology questions that I am working through. I often think “what if” and I put
my characters in those situations and make them apply right theology to their
circumstances. It can get messy – but life is messy.
My debut novel showed more of me than any other book. I was
writing what I knew.
What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?
Like many families with multiple children, we’ve had seasons
that were financially very tight. During one such stretch, I painted our two area
rugs to give them new life. They were old, very stained, and almost completely
flat like indoor / outdoor rugs. I thought, why not? We got another full year
out of them and the paint held up well!
When did you first
discover that you were a writer?
I attended a writers’ conference and felt very much like an
imposter until one presenter spoke directly to that feeling. He said something
along these lines: “A paycheck, traditional contract, or published book is not
what makes you a writer.” Writing is what makes you a writer. After I left that
conference, I started owning the title with confidence.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I enjoy crime novels as long as it is not gory. I enjoy
suspense as long as it is not dark. I enjoy romance as long as it is clean.
Those boundary lines keep me mostly in the inspirational aisle of the library.
I also enjoy Christian non-fiction that is deep and challenging, but easy to
understand. I’m not an academic reader, but I want more than fluff in my
non-fiction.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
The most important thing I do every day is meet with the
Lord. When I seek Him first, I find that no matter what the day brings, I am
able to cope in a healthier way. I try to model a healthy well-balanced
life-style to our kids. They see me in the Word, they see me prioritize
exercise and healthy meals. I pray they will also see the rewards of these
choices.
I under-schedule my life to leave room for the unexpected. I
am very careful to not over commit. I give myself lots of time to complete my
tasks. We homeschool and we are a ministry family, so I’m learning to be
flexible.
How do you choose
your characters’ names?
I use an online random name generator and keep trying until
I find something I like. One time after I input all the character’s background
information, it suggested the perfect name – but the name (first and last name)
was my brother-in-law. What are the odds of that?
What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?
I am most proud of our family accomplishment of making the
decision to homeschool our kids. I never thought I would be able to do this; I
never thought I would ever consider doing this, but we are and we love it. It
is a group effort, and we all benefit from the way this frees up our schedule.
This decision has relieved some of the “run, run, run” pressure in question 5 J
We had a good public school experience, but found with ministry demands, we
were not getting enough time with our kids when they were in school all day and
we were busy on the weekend with church commitments. This has been a wonderful
lifestyle change for our family.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
I didn’t know how to answer this question so I asked my
kids. Here is what they said:
Nick says: I would be a cat because cats are cuddly. (Nick’s
the youngest. Can you tell?)
Jon says: I would be a bunny because I’m nice and bunnies
are great mothers. (Awe, isn’t he the sweetest??)
Kate says: I would be a monkey because I am social, or a
parrot because I talk a lot. (This is funny because our Kate is such a talker I
sometimes tell her that my ears are tired!)
What is your favorite
food?
I love a good hamburger, but I also love pasta. That’s a
tough question. I love food!
What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
My greatest roadblock was fear. What if I never published a
book? Or worse, what if I did and nobody read it? Even worse still, what if
they read it and they didn’t like it? It took me a long time to remove myself
from the equation. A critique of my writing or story wasn’t necessarily a
personal attack. I began to promote the message of the book rather than promote
me and that changed me. I realized that fear of man is just pride wrapped up in
a humble looking package, but fear of man is still sinful. At the end of the
day, if I put something out there that glorifies the Lord, then I’ve hit my
mark. Nothing else matters.
Tell us about the featured
book.
It was murder. She was sure. And that assurance could cost
her life.
Undercover Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Rick
Chandler poses as a detective in the small town of Chenaniah River. He is
investigating the possibility of a corrupt police force when Jessie returns to
bury her brother, and she refuses to believe evidence that point to her
deceased brother's involvement in drug trafficking. Soon, the same person that
murdered her brother targets her. Can Rick help Jessie dodge bullets, escape
fires, and exonerate her brother before the attacks escalate?
Jessie Berns has returned to her hometown to find answers
about her brother’s suspicious death. With the help of an old friend, Detective
Rick Chandler, they pursue a truth that someone is willing to do anything to
keep hidden—even kill again. They uncover decades-old secrets that expose
hidden sins and threaten the lifestyles of high-powered people in their small
town. As they close in on the devious mastermind manipulating the community, it
becomes frighteningly clear to Rick that Jessie is not the one calling the
shots in her amateur investigation. She is the killer’s new target.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Jessica Berns eased open the front door of her old family
home, now her brother’s house. It creaked on its hinges like it did when she
was young, shooting memories through her mind that she’d rather forget. Her
chest tightened as she set down her suitcase. She wiped her damp hands on her
denim pants and stamped the snow from her boots.
“Hello?” She flicked the light switch in the entryway with
no luck. She toggled it up and down, and an eeriness tightened the back of her
neck. What were the odds that the college-aged kids stirring up trouble outside
hadn’t ventured inside?
She slipped down the hall, trailing a finger along the faded
wallpaper her mother had chosen the year before she had died in childbirth. The
paper looked every day of its twenty-eight years. Jessie tried the kitchen
light switch. Still nothing. The kids outside must have turned everything off
at the breaker box. She rummaged through a kitchen drawer for a flashlight and
hip-checked it shut when she couldn’t find one.
The sensation that something wasn't right increased as she
made her way toward the electrical panel in her brother’s home office.
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
Twitter: @writerSWeeks
Blogs and Quarterly Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cZgDb9
Instagram: WriterSWeeks
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Stacey-Weeks/e/B01ED0LW5Y
Thank you, Stacey, for sharing
this book with us. I’m eager to read it, and I know my readers are, too.
Readers,
here’s a link to the book.
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12 comments:
Great premise for the book. It sounds so super good. The interview was fresh!
I homeschooled and my 4 turned out just fine! Thanks, Paula from Missouri.
That first page has me hooked already!
Hi Paula, thanks for the homeschool encouragement! Some days I really need to remind myself of those who have done this before me and how great their kids turned out.
Hi Emily, i’d love to hear what you think if you read it ��
Great interview, Fatal Homecoming looks like a really good read. Would love to win.
Lourdes Long Island, NY
Fatal Homecoming sounds very intriguing. I admire your dedication o your family and I applaud your ingenuity in painting your rugs. I heard my grandmother talk about paint her linoleum rugs to get a few more years of use. This brought back a sweet memory for me!
Blessings!
Connie from Kentucky
cps1950(at)Gmail(dot)com
I love mysteries and this sounds like a good one!
Hi Lourdes,
Good luck! I hope you have the chance to read Fatal Homecoming. If you don't win, the Kindle is still on sale. I don't know when that will end.
Hi Connie, thanks for stopping by and commenting. The rugs actually turned out way better then we expected. And, as a bonus, they cleaned up GREAT. It did take a lot of paint. We just mixed all the leftover white, cream, off white, and beige and ended up with enough.
Hi Pat, I hope you get the chance to read Fatal Homecoming. It was such a fun book to write! Thanks for commenting.
Fatal Homecoming sounds like a page turner.
Caryl K in TEXAS
Hi Caryl, I hope it’s a page turner. Let me know what you through k after you read it!
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