AN INTERVIEW WITH JANET SKETCHLEY

Janet Sketchley

 

This month’s featured author is Janet Sketchley and we will be discussing her new suspense novel, Secrets and Lies.

Welcome, Janet, I’m delighted to have you here on my website.
Thanks, Deborah. It's great to be here.

I’m going to jump right in and ask you to share what Secrets and Lies is about.
A single mother must protect her teenage son—from organized crime and from himself.
Carol Daniels thinks she out-ran her enemies, until a detective arrives at her door with a warning from her convict brother. Minor incidents take on a sinister meaning. An anonymous phone call warns her not to hide again.

Now she must cooperate with a drug lord while the police work to trap him. Carol has always handled crisis alone, but this one might break her. Late-night deejay Joey Hill offers friendship and moral support. Can she trust him? One thing’s certain. She can’t risk prayer.

Please tell us a little about each of the main characters.

  • Carol Daniels: Starting fresh in a new city, she doesn’t want anyone to connect her with her past.
  • Paul Daniels: At sixteen, he’s living a double life to keep peace at home.
  • Patrick Stairs: A successful investment consultant, he’s been walking empty since his wife died.
  • Joey Hill: Friendly and easy to talk to, he’s the late-night deejay at Carol’s favourite radio station.

Four people with secrets. How many are telling lies?

Your heroine, Carol, has been through the ringer—miscarriage, losing a son to a drug overdose, husband dying in a car crash. And now the threat to her and her other son. What inspired your idea for her coping mechanism?
With so many things outside her control, Carol has put up barriers to protect what she can. Even her coping mechanisms are things she can control: baking and cleaning. She listens to a lot of oldies music, and that likely comes from a desire for happier times and to distract herself from her burdens.  I'm not sure what put these ideas in my mind, but I had hoped the stress-induced cleaning might rub off on me. Didn't happen, although she expanded my appreciation for Billy Joel music.

Would you have handled things in the same way?
On one level, yes (except the cleaning). So maybe that's where the ideas came from. But I would have prayed, and would have tried to find some Christian friends for support. It would have still been difficult, because I can obsess about my problems as much as Carol does. But Carol tried prayer before, and things got worse. She's afraid to try again.

Why did you choose to write about this subject?
Looking back, I think my subconscious wanted to explore the idea of control – and of lightening up. I hope I've learned a bit, but it's one of those lifetime journey things.

Are any of Carol’s favorite things to do yours?
We share a love of music, and although I lean more toward contemporary worship songs I do appreciate classic oldies. She loves mint tea; I like many different types of tea.  We both enjoy chocolate and baked goods more than we should. She loves art galleries, and that's where we're different. Although she's given me an appreciation for Monet.

What inspired this story?
I met Carol in the first Redemption's Edge novel, Heaven's Prey, when I discovered the villain's back-story. She's his sister, and I knew her life had not been easy. I also knew she needed the Lord. Secrets and Lies gives her the chance to find Him—unless her enemies find her first.

Where is the book available?
It's available as an ebook for Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes, and in print through Amazon. The ebook releases on November 5, and anyone reading this interview before the 5th can grab it for the preorder price of 99 cents. After that, it'll be $2.99.

Any last words, Janet?
Wow, some of these questions really made me stop and think. One thing I'd like to mention is that Secrets and Lies is much lighter in tone than Heaven's Prey. This one is romantic suspense instead of suspense/thriller. I'd also like to invite readers who enjoy Christian suspense and romantic suspense to sign up for my newsletter at bit.ly/JanetSketchleyNews.

Thank you so much, Janet, for taking the time to visit. It’s been a pleasure having you back. I wish you all the best with Secrets and Lies, and continued success with Heaven’s Prey.

If you’d like to win a copy of Secrets and Lies, use my Contact page and type “drawing” in the comments box. (Prize details: print or ebook for a winner in continental US or Canada, ebook only for everywhere else, due to shipping costs.) The deadline to enter the giveaway is November 24th.


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Content © Copyright 2018 Deborah M. Piccurelli
Deborah Piccurelli is an author and deborah piccurelli is a writer of Christian Suspence and Christian Fiction. Deborah Piccurelli writes suspence for Christians who want to read wholesome suspense and thriller writing. Deborah Piccurelli has written and authored in the midst of deceit a suspense novel. In the midst of deceit is a book that deborah m piccurelli has published, but deborah m piccurelli is writing other suspence works as well. Deborah Piccurelli writes thriller novels and has published In the Midst of Deceit. For more information about Deborah M Piccurelli you can visit her site deborahmpiccurelli.com Also, her tag line is Uncovering the Unthinkable. The phrase Uncovering the Unthinkable represents what Debbie Piccurelli writes in the books that she authors, expecially in the suspense novels.