Welcome back, Ace. What are some of the
spiritual themes you like to write about?
I don’t really have any limits on which spiritual themes I
address, kind of depends on what I am thinking about in my own life at that
time. Darkness Before Dawn is really about moral decisions and the
consequences of allowing revenge and retribution rule you life rather than
forgiveness and love. Hollywood
tends to glorify the former with films about wronged heroes taking the law into
their own hands. In real life, the end results of such actions don’t end
happily. I wanted to show what that kind of attitude and those types of goals do
to a person.
What other books of
yours are coming out soon?
I have two that come out this fall, The Cutting Edge, which is a novel that centers on violence against
women as well as a world that worships beauty. Also I have a devotional book
that will out entitled Music for Your
Heart. I am writing three more novels and a really neat nonfiction book for
Abingdon at this moment, but they will be out in 2014 and beyond.
If you could spend an
evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would
it be and why?
This is a difficult question. Living people, even those who
are famous and powerful, are not fully formed yet, and we also have access to
so much of what they say and do that we feel we know them pretty well anyway. But,
if I had to choose, it might be the rock star Bono. He has plenty of rough
edges, but he is an interesting man. He lives his faith by not just giving
money, but by also going to where he is needed and getting involved in hands-on
mission work. So what really, really makes this outspoken man tick and why does
he seem so committed to helping the poor. I’d like to know!
What historical
person would you like to meet (besides Jesus) and why?
My answer always varies on this one, but at this moment I
might chose either Mark Twain or Will Rogers. I have been studying both of
these men recently and find their creative minds and unique viewpoints
absolutely fascinating.
How can you encourage
authors who have been receiving only rejections from publishers?
My best selling book, The
Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, was rejected time and
time again for ten years. If my memory is correct it scored 27 rejections
before it finally found a home. When it was published the timing was perfect
too. So if you truly believe in your idea, don’t give up on it. At the same
time, study the reasons for the rejections, learn from them, do some editing
and rewriting before you pitch again.
Tell us about the
featured book.
Darkness Before Dawn is an issues driven book. As I have always
written mystery or action-adventure, this is a different direction for me. Darkness
explores the loss of a spouse, DUI, abortion, a court system that can be
manipulated by money and influence, suicide, and those are just the beginning.
Our central character is twenty-eight, a nurse, whose husband is killed by a
drunk teenage driver the same day she finds out she is pregnant. Meg is angry
and driven. Her rage tends to consume her and she tosses out who she was in an
effort to extract the ultimate penalty from the young man who killed her
husband. It is the story of faith lost. It is pretty emotional work and an intense
read.
Please give us the
first page of the book.
When it first reached the inner most depths of her dreams,
Meg Richards thought the distant noise came from the alarm clock rousing her
for another day of work at the hospital. As she struggled to rise and shake off
her deep slumber, the distant ringing sound stopped. As it did, she fell back
onto the bed. But a second later, like a determined mosquito, it came back for
a second strike. This time, awake enough to separate dream from reality, she understood
her cell phone demanded her attention. She didn’t want leave dreams to answer,
and, if she had known who had been waiting on the other end of the line, she
wouldn’t have. But she couldn’t let phones ring; it wasn’t in her nature. When
a phone rang, her curiosity always won out over everything, including her need
for sleep.
Awkwardly rolling out of bed, her feet finding the cool,
slats of the wooden floor, she blinked a half dozen times until she could finally
focus on her clock. 2:32 a.m.!
Trying to shake the grogginess from her head she moaned,
“What could anyone want at this time of night?” Even as her heavy eyelids
closed out the world, she halfway fell forward toward the sound.
How can readers find you
on the Internet?
My website is www.acecollins.com. I am also on Facebook, just search for Ace
Collins and my tweets are @acecollinsThank you, Ace, for visiting with us again.
Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Darkness Before Dawn
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