The General's Secretary Interview

Today we're welcoming Lillie Beaumont, the heroine of THE GENERAL’S SECRETARY, by Debby Giusti, a January 2013 Love Inspired Suspense.  
Wow, you've just had quite an adventure.

1.  Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.

I answered a middle-of-the-night knock at my front door and found a man, beaten and bloodied, standing on my porch. Before he could tell me the reason for his visit, he was fatally shot and died in my arms.

2.  So, during the book you met Special Agent Dawson Timmons, with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, at Fort Rickman, Georgia.  Tell us a bit about him.  What was your first impression?  When did you know it was love?

Dawson was summoned to my house that night along with the police. He was tall, dark and handsome, and although I was instantly attracted to him, I knew he was keeping secrets from me about his own past. I tried to pretend that our relationship was strictly about the murder investigation, but when my life was threatened, I realized how much he meant to me.

3.  What strengths/skills do you have?  What is your greatest weakness?

I’m the commanding general’s secretary at Fort Rickman, Georgia, which means I have to handle a number of projects and work with both the military and civilian communities.

My weakness was not revealing the guilt that I carried for so long. Dawson helped me realize the truth about what had happened in the past.

4.  What scares you?

Finding out the truth about my birth mother scared me for so long.
 
5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would have been more open about my feelings and the secrets that I carried in my heart. They had to be revealed before I could begin to heal.

6.  Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?

I had blocked God from my life, thinking He wasn’t interested in what happened to me. Of course, I was so wrong about the Lord.

7.  Where are you in your faith at the end of the story?

I turned to the Lord in my need and realized He was with me the entire time.

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story.  Tell us why this scripture is significant.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

I had to learn that God never forsakes His children. When times are tough now, I turn to Him in my need, and He is always there ready to sustain me. I lean on Him and find strength to carry on.

9. If you could be a dessert what would you be and why?

I’m an all-American girl, so my favorite dessert is Apple Pie à la mode.