When I realized that books had author’s (the summer I was 11 or 12 and read all the Little House on the Prairie books) I knew I wanted that job––to make people as happy as those books had made me.
If you weren’t an author, what would be your dream job?
I always thought it would be fascinating to be a psychologist, trying to understand people and why they do the things they do. But I think I like that my characters usually (not always!) listen to me and obey, whereas I doubt clients do that for the average therapist.
I have a background in drama and was a director many times. That's what directors do, try to understand people and why they do they things they do. If you could have lived at another time in history, what would it be and why?
Oh, I’m SO glad I live in this modern era. I would miss electricity and my dishwasher and my computer and my cell phone too much. But if I were forced to choose another time in history, I suppose it would be the late 1800s when my grandparents were settling the farm in Kansas where I grew up.
I'm rather fond of the late 1800s, too. That's why I write so many novels set in that time period. What place in the United States have you not visited that you would like to?
Hawaii! I’m not a huge fan of the ocean, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard from anyone who didn’t adore Hawaii. I’d also love to visit New England in the fall. My husband and I lived in New York for 2 years early in our marriage, so even though we lived a stone’s throw away, we never could afford to travel from there.
How about a foreign country you hope to visit?
Our oldest son moved to Berlin last month, so we are eager to go visit him and tour Europe while there. I have a niece who lives in England, too, and my great grandparents immigrated from York, England, and from Germany, so Europe really holds great appeal for me.
What lesson has the Lord taught you recently?
That I can be content with much, much less than I thought. My husband was laid off from his job a year ago, and started his own business, which has meant drastic cutbacks in our family budget. I’ve learned that I was a bit spoiled before, and that it truly doesn’t take much in the way of material goods to be happy. Cooking together at home is every bit as romantic as a fancy dinner out; a few blond highlights twice a year give the same “lift” as a full weave four times a year, and the clothes I’ve bought over the last five-ten years serve every purpose that something new every month served. God has taught us that He is more than able to meet every single need, and surprise us with a few luxury blessings, too.
Unearthing a lost memory may cause her to lose everything she holds dear… But could it also set her free?
Volunteer Bryn Hennesey was there at the Grove Street Homeless Shelter the night five heroic firefighters died at the scene. Among them was her husband, Adam. Now a terrifying absence of memory has her wondering if she might, in some way, be responsible.
Garrett Edmonds’ wife, Molly, was the only female firefighter to perish in the blaze. He was supposed to protect the woman he loved…now she’s the one who’s died a hero. How can he go on in the face of such unbearable loss?
And what started the fire that destroyed the dreams and futures of so many? Investigators are stumped. But someone knows the answer….
Sounds intriguing. Please give us the first page of the book.
Bryn drew the queen of diamonds from the stack of playing cards on the wobbly table between her and Charlie Branson. The grizzled Vietnam vet eyed her from his wheelchair as she discarded an ace. She put on her best poker face and pretended to rearrange her hand. From somewhere behind the peeling paint on the west wall, the pipes clanked in the bowels of the old hospital-turned-homeless-shelter and the furnace kicked on. Not that it would raise the temperature in this mammoth icebox by one degree, but something about the hiss of radiators was comforting.
Charlie pulled a card from the tattered deck and flung it away too quickly. He must be close to going out. Good. It was two in the morning, and Bryn was hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before it was time to get breakfast going for the shelter’s residents.
Her husband’s twenty-four-hour shift at the fire station ended tomorrow. Adam had said something about taking her to a matinee, and he’d be suspicious if she fell asleep during the movie. Of course, his invitation had come before their big fight. Knowing him, he’d still be brooding and they would stay home and sulk––or argue.
How can readers find you on the Internet?
In several ways!
http://www.deborahraney.com/ is my author website.
I have a beautiful blog of Christian author’s books and garden spots here: http://novelgarden.blogspot.com/ and the beautiful prairie garden my husband has created in our yard––one of my favorite places to write––is here: http://kansasprairiegarden.blogspot.com/
Deb, thanks for the visit.
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