VERDICT AT THE RIVER'S EDGE - Colleen Snyder - One Free Book

Welcome to my blog, Colleen. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters. I write my experiences, my “ideal” self (how I hope I would react to a situation, what I HOPE I would say/do/think.) I also write my “real” self…what I actually say, etc. I use my experiences to create scenarios, with different outcomes.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done? Shot a hole through the roof of the Weapons Storage Area where I was assigned during my tenure in the U.S. Air Force. Long story, that one! (And I wasn’t the one holding the rifle at the time.)

When did you first discover that you were a writer? I “bill” myself as a “Storyteller, Writer, Author.” I started telling stories to my stuffed animals (and my imaginary friends) when I was four(?) I began writing in junior high school. I knew then I would pursue it as a career.

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading. I read “clean” books of all kinds. I enjoy science-fiction/fantasy, adventure, animal. I am NOT a romance reader. Romance is okay, so long as it is NOT the focus of the story.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world? I am retired. I sit and watch the little lizards run around our back yard, or watch the birds fight for territory. I listen to the sounds of the neighborhood: cows, goats, peacocks (yeah, them too…what they’re doing in this neck of the woods is beyond me) turkeys, roosters, horses, traffic on the road…And when it gets really crazy, I sit and let the Lord center me. I remember that He doesn’t NEED me. He LETS me participate in what He is doing. I remember my place in His plan, and that takes some of the franticness out of it.

How do you choose your characters’ names? Other than Collin and one other character, I try NOT to name them after anyone I know. I do NOT want to be reminded of the real person, either for good or bad. Mostly I make up names, or find names I don’t think I will ever meet in real life.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of? I am proud to be the mother of two children, and the grandmother of two more. All other “accomplishments” are gifts from the Lord. His accomplishments, worked through me. (If He can use a donkey, He can use me!)

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why? A dog. I could lie on the couch, get fed my meals, run around in the yard, love on my people and make them happy by being happy. OR I’d be a hawk and fly.

What is your favorite food? Chocolate. To those who say, “That’s not a food” I say, “Phooey! It’s an entire food group!”

I agree with you on that. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it? Imposter syndrome. “I’m not a real writer. I’m not good enough. God, You should use someone better than me.”

I overcame it through obedience. God said, “Write. Write for the Audience of One…Me. Do that, and I’ll take care of the rest.” He said write, so I write. He said, hone my craft, so I hone my craft. He said publish, so it was published. (Yes, I had to do my part. But all results are up to Him.)

Tell us about the featured book. Verdict at the River’s Edge is Book One in the Collin Walker series. Collin is a social worker in the capital city, working with the street kids. She is damaged goods herself and knows the streets. But she wants her kids to know something better. Something beyond life and death. In challenging her ward, she is challenged by God to face her fears of the past and the future…real love.

Please give us the first page of the book.

FRIDAY

As soon as Collin Walker’s feet hit the bottom step of the bus, she heard it. The low, pounding, distinctive rumble of a river. A river somewhere nearby. She froze, overwhelmed by the panicked impulse to fight her way back upstream through the departing campers, dive under the backbench seat and not come out until the week ended. A thought kept circling through her head: Dear God in heaven, there’s a river.

A hand on her shoulder interrupted her mental breakdown. A voice dripped sarcasm. “Hey, caseworker lady. You getting off this bus or what? They’s some of us what wants to visit the facilities, you know? Been a long trip. Move it.”

Life returned to Collin’s feet, and she stepped off the bus, moving aside to let the remainder of the forty odd campers—and their vastly odder counselors—disembark.

Odder? Is that even a word? Collin shut down the internal tormentors before they could continue. Sane. I will be sane for the remainder of this trip. And you all will keep your comments to yourself.

It might be easier to believe without the cursed cackling in her head. Collin would deal with her demons later. She’d been dealing with them all her life. So what’s another day? Collin leaned against the side of the bus to get her bearings and her breath. She wrapped her arms around her chest and began slow breathing to bring herself under the rigid control she learned over the years. In. Out. In. Out. In.

Rob Sider, her ward for the week, stepped in front of her. His eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. “Who you fightin’ in there, huh?”

Collin jiggled her whole body to release the tension. “I’m working on a plan to beat your sorry anatomy in hoops.”

Rob stepped back with half a grin. “No wonder you having a tough time of it.”

Collin held a hand in front of his face. “Watch it, bro. You know the old saying, ‘He who laughs last—’”

How can readers find you on the Internet?

http://colleensnyderauthor.com

Facebook: Colleen K. Snyder, Author

Thank you, Colleen, for sharing this book with my blog readers and me. I am also an avid reader.

Readers, here’s a link to the book.

https://www.amazon.com/Verdict-Rivers-Edge-Christian-Thriller/dp/B0C2SFPMF5/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1685721741&sr=1-1

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