GRAVE CHRISTMAS SECRETS - Sharee Stover - One Free Book

 Bio: Colorado native Sharee Stover lives in Nebraska with her real-life-hero husband, three too-good-to-be-true children, and a ridiculously spoiled dog. A self-proclaimed word nerd, she loves the power of the written word to ignite, transform, and restore. She writes Christian romantic suspense combining heart-racing, nail-biting suspense and the delight of falling in love all in one. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and Nebraska Writer’s Guild. Sharee is a triple Daphne du Maurier finalist, winner of the 2017 Wisconsin Fabulous Five Silver Quill Award, and her debut, Secret Past, won Best First Book in the 2019 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards. When she isn’t writing, Sharee enjoys reading, crocheting, and long walks with her obnoxiously lovable German Shepherd.

Welcome, Sharee. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. I think it’s hard not to write yourself into your characters, at least it is for me. In each of my books, my characters have taken on a few of my traits, responses, and speech patterns. Readers who know me personally say they hear my voice when they read my books. That always makes me smile.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? I want my scenes to be as real as possible and that often involves acting them out. Especially escape scenarios. So, I may or may not have climbed into the backseat of my car and used my legs to strangle the imaginary driver.

When did you first discover that you were a writer? I enjoy journaling and have done so since I was a kid. I think in some ways I always knew I loved to write but I didn’t start writing fiction until my youngest child was born. And then the words just flowed!

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I am an avid reader and I enjoy almost all genres of books. I read nonfiction and fiction and love everything from historical to fantasy, though I don’t read a lot of fantasy. I do like speculative fiction and of course, suspense and mystery. I especially like crime fiction.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? The most important ingredient for maintaining my sanity is daily prayer time where it’s just me and Jesus. I need that time to feed my heart, mind, and soul with God’s word and prayer. It’s the first thing I do before I sit down to write, and I pray throughout the story as it develops as well.

I also exercise every day. I am blessed to have a husband who willingly runs and does high intensity workouts with me every morning. Before the sun is up, we’re outside with our 100 lb. German shepherd running and getting our blood flowing for the day.

And let’s not forget coffee. This is a must every single day.

Balancing writing and home life isn’t easy. I’m still a work in progress, but my family comes before writing. My computer is shut down by dinner, and I try hard not to write on the weekends because that’s family time.  

How do you choose your characters’ names? I love, love, love picking names. In fact, with each of my kids, I was already researching baby names as soon as I even thought I was pregnant. I use a multitude of resources including websites, books, and name generator programs. I also keep a list of names as I hear/read them for future reference. Researching the name’s meaning is important to me too. And once I’ve named a character, I do an Internet search to see if that name already belongs to someone famous. It’s hard to find a name that is totally unique, but occasionally it happens.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? My debut Love Inspired Suspense book, Secret Past won Best First Book in the 2019 National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards so that definitely tops the list. I’m living the dream, and I am grateful every day for the opportunity God has blessed me with.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? I think being a bird would be awesome. To have freedom to fly as high as I wanted would be amazing.

 What is your favorite food? Fortunately, I’m pretty easy to feed. However, I am always in for Mexican food—especially melty cheesy, spicy dishes.

 What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? My internal editor definitely tops the list. If I can keep her quiet long enough to get the words out, it’s a huge bonus. I obsessively edit and re-edit everything so once I can say “enough” and call it good, I’m thrilled.

Tell us about the featured book. Discovering buried evidence makes her a target. At a prehistoric site, forensic anthropologist Taya McGill uncovers a recently buried body days before Christmas—and finds herself in a killer’s sights. Now on the run with undercover ATF agent Keegan Stryker, she must rely on him to guard her as they figure out why someone would kill to keep this murder unsolved. But can they unearth the truth before someone silences them both for good?

Please give us the first page of the book. 

Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. Forensic anthropologist Taya McGill disagreed with Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote. In her experience, the dead were horrible secret keepers. Rather, she’d dub them mysterious pirates hoarding a treasure trove of clues. And as a general rule, far more reliable than most living people she’d encountered.

Taya cherished the incredible honor of speaking for the dearly departed, even when an active crime scene overtook her nonexistent Christmas plans. The excavation freed her from the holiday hustle and bustle she detested more than the insufferable game and parks officer reigning as security over the site.

He’d gone, for now, but if his previous behavior was any indicator, there’d soon be more rounds in futility. Those who misjudged Taya’s petite five-foot, ninety-pound stature for weakness learned the hard way that her stubbornness came packaged like dynamite and equaled her determination.

Dr. Taya McGill would never again succumb to a uniformed bully.

“It’s just you and me, friend. You’re safe to share your secrets,” Taya said, brushing back dirt from the exposed skull. Her coworkers mocked the unconventional method of talking aloud to the victim, but the process worked for her. And since she spent the majority of her time alone, who did it bother, anyway?

Unpredictable weather had hindered the recovery of the human remains, hindering the dig’s progression. The frigid winter temperatures had banked at a high—if that was a relative term—of negative four degrees. The radical increasing wind speeds over the past hour had further complicated things. No overhead streetlamps illuminated the onyx sky. Rolling hills and the occasional farm nestled in an endless snow-covered landscape surrounded over three hundred acres of Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park in the northeastern corner of Royal, Nebraska.

She shivered and tugged the zipper of her down-alternative parka as high as it would go, tucking her nose in the warmth. It was after midnight, but Taya’s ongoing battle with insomnia provided her the excuse to continue working. The victim buried in the shallow grave deserved justice. As did those mourning her.

Taya leaned down and paused with her brush midair. She’d already exposed most of the skeletal form and prepared to collect the remains for transport to her laboratory at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Something red near the thoracic vertebrae peeked through the earth. With a delicate swipe, she uncovered the object. A small deflated latex balloon.

Taya sighed. The find wasn’t unusual. Addicts ingested the balloons as a method of muling illegal drugs. Was that this victim’s story?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: https://shareestover.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shareestover

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorshareestover/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shareestover/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sharee-stover

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/shareestover

Buy link for Grave Christmas Secrets: https://amzn.to/2Wbyyn5

Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/shareestover 

Thank you, Sharee, for sharing this book with us. I love reading romantic suspense novels. So do most of my blog readers.

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