Thursday Sisterhood with Sandra Orchard

Family Status: I’ve been married for almost 27 years to my very own real-life romance hero and I mean that literally. Only in a romance would the hero catch the heroine tossed off her bucking horse. Yes, he really did. And I never rode bareback again! We have three fabulous grown children and a son-in-love, of which my youngest daughter is also an accomplished freelance writer and an aspiring fantasy novelist and a much-appreciated sounding board when my characters give me grief. We also have 2 adorable grandchildren who bring such joy and laughter to our days. A cat and an Alaskan husky and a coop full of chickens and a miniature goat and a thirty-year-old horse round out our brood. That and the wily mouse I keep spotting running along the edge of my kitchen cupboards that keeps managing to elude eviction!

What Is Your Favorite Beverage: water. I know, boring, right?

What Is Your Favorite Food: Hmm, it always used to be pizza, but pizza just doesn’t seem to taste as good as it used to. Must be that elimination of trans-fat thing, or switching to whole wheat crust. LOL. My favorite treat is chocolate cream cheese cupcakes. Totally decadent!

          What Is Your Favorite Thing to do During Free Time: Play with my grandchildren. :-)

Who Has Been the Most Influential Person in Your Life: These are hard questions! At different times of my life, different people would come to mind. But overall, I’d have to say my mother, not in words, but in the life and character she modeled every day.

First Book You Fell in Love With: The Wind in the Willows. I still vividly remember returning it to the school librarian and going on and on about the characters etc.

A Book You Wish You’d Written: The next book in my contract…I’m always wishing it was already written! ;)

First Book Published: Deep Cover (Sept 2011, Love Inspired Suspense)

Most Recent Book: Perilous Waters (April 2014, Love Inspired Suspense) I loved writing this book, because it’s set on an Alaskan cruise modeled after the one my husband and I took to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Out Next: Book 2 in my Port Aster Secrets mystery series: Blind Trust (June 2014, Revell) The romance and suspense arcs over the three books in this series, while each book also has a standalone mystery. The first book in the series, Deadly Devotion, is actually on sale at Kobo right now (other Ebook sellers may match) for $1.99 until the 20th.

How Many Have You Written: I have a few manuscripts in my drawer that were never contracted, but by the end of 2014, I will have 8 novels published and 2 more written and in the pipeline for 2015.

What Do You Know Now That You Wish You'd Known Then: I’ve actually really enjoyed the journey of learning the craft and building friendships with writers prior to being contracted. There are a lot of things I could’ve learned sooner that would have sped up the “learning” part, but God’s timing has been perfect.

What is Your Favorite Bible Story: The story of Ruth—so many great truths in that story

What is Your Favorite Bible Verse: ”The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18 It’s such a beautiful word picture of what our lives should look like and a good reminder that we’re on a journey, not “arrived”.

What is Your Favorite Hymn: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, for both the words and haunting music. I love Amy Grant’s version from the 80s with a storm in the background. My favorite line: O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

What is an Ongoing Prayer Request You Have: My back is a continuing source of pain for me, especially when I can’t resist picking up my grandkids or sit too long at the computer, so healing/strengthening of my back and God’s ongoing guidance in my writing are my two ongoing request.

Remembering...

Are you a collector?

 

I used to collect stamps and coins and every other imaginable thing a child finds to collect. But I have one collection (besides books) that I still cherish and add to every year—my Christmas ornaments.

Some of the ornaments were lovingly crafted by my children. Some commemorate births and anniversaries. Some I crafted. But most were gifts.

Why am I telling you this?!

Because one of those ornaments, the dove photographed below, became an important symbol in my debut Love Inspired Suspense, Deep Cover (September 2011).

 

The undercover cop hero had given the dove to the heroine when they’d dated previously, saying, A soaring dove to remind you God is watching over you when I can’t be. She hung it from her rearview mirror. After the hero left her, it became a reminder that she needed to lean on God alone.

Later after the heroine’s world has crashed around her, and quite literally around the dove in the car, the hero sets out to rescue and return the gift as a symbol of God’s protection where he failed.

As I opened my box of Christmas ornaments this year and pulled out that dove, I was reminded of the story thread it inspired, and more importantly of the truth behind it. That God is watching over each one of us. We may not always feel that He is, but if we’ve surrendered our hearts to him, He has promised to never leave us.

My prayer is that each one of you will experience His love in a richer way this season.

As a special gift to my readers, I’ve generated some novel “Extras”. Think DVD extras, except for a novel. Things like deleted scenes, bloopers etc. You are all invited to hop over to my website and check them out. There are also two free recipe books you can download, and for my newsletter subscribers, a bonus Christmas story. 

Your turn: Do you have an interesting or unusual collections?

Celebrating Christian Fiction Readers

By Sandra Orchard

Since Thursday is Readers Day, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to my favorite blog of reviews of Christian fiction—Best Reads-Kav  
 

Kav is a librarian with a passion for Christian fiction. Some weeks she’ll review as many as five books, which she then offers as free giveaways. 
 

Recently I had the fun of receiving one of these books, but felt kind of bad when I realized that it cost her almost as much to mail me the book as it would cost for me to buy it. Not only that, I learned that she often buys doubles or supplies a copy when she receives one free to review. So I asked her how/why she does it. 
 

Her response was so inspiring to me that I asked permission to share it. 
 

Her answer: “Quote away. I don't mind if everyone thinks I'm loopy over books and the industry....I am!!!!”    Any wonder why I love her?!
 

This is what she had to say: I'm so passionate about supporting the Christian fiction industry because I don't want my inspirational fiction to become extinct!!!!
 

I manage to read so much because I travel hours (and I do mean hours) to work and back and I am blessed to be able to read in a moving bus -- while standing up even. 
 

I've noticed more than one curious glance at the eye-catching covers, which are so different from the regular market. Who knew Christian fiction would be an introduction to faith discussions? I've had a few interesting chats, let me tell you. 
 

I can't really tell you why I feel so driven to continue giving books away. At first I was only going to offer up a free copy of the books I got from the publisher because I still wanted to support the author by purchasing his/her book. But I get so excited when I read a really, really, really good one that I can't help myself! LOL. 
 

I feel very strongly about supporting the Christian publishing industry. As a library tech I am well aware of how precarious the publishing industry can be and I want to do my part to make sure there will always be a venue for this kind of publishing. 

That means they have to sell and so I buy. 
 

I'm by no means rich or anything and I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up, but it's almost like a calling to me right now. Supporting and sharing quality literature, which has ministered so much to me. 
 

Honestly, I can't tell you how changed my life is from reading Christian fiction. I really draw from the messages and the scriptures that I find in each book and it's made a tremendous difference to me. 
 

So God bless all you authors who write what I love to read and uplift me at the same time.
 
-Sandra again- 

Authors, don’t you just want to hug Kav to bits? Of course, I could be a tad biased since she called Deep Cover (LIS September 2011) “A great debut novel that will steal your breath away!” --Big Grin--

  And READERS, thank you for buying our books. Writing them is a labor of love that only your support makes possible.

Featured Book: Deep Cover by Sandra Orchard

Maintaining his cover cost undercover cop Rick Gray the woman he loved. Sweet Ginny Bryson never really knew Rick—he never gave her the chance. Not then, and not now, when he's back with a new alias to gather evidence against Ginny's uncle. The man's crimes led to Rick's partner's death, and Rick wants justice to be served. But his investigation is stirring up trouble, and Ginny is smack-dab in the middle. Someone wants Ginny to pay the price for what her uncle has done. But how can Rick protect her without blowing his cover, jeopardizing his assignment…and risking both their lives?

Today, we're interview Rick Gray, the undercover cop hero from Deep Cover by Sandra Orchard

1. Rick, tell me the most interesting thing about you.

I’m an undercover cop. I’ve worked a lot of different cases, some in which the paperwork took longer to do than the actual operation, and some, like my current case, that require me to become another person for weeks at a time. At the moment, I’m posing as a foreman on a construction project to gather evidence against the developer who torches buildings for the insurance money. Unfortunately, he’s also the uncle of a woman I care about, and the construction project is a group home for her mentally challenged sister.

2. What do you do for fun?

I shoot hoops with my fellow police officers. We work hard and then play hard. It helps relieve the stress of the job.

3. What do you put off doing because you dread it?

I don’t usually put off anything I’m at liberty to do. Telling Ginny who and what I really am is the one exception. For her own protection, fifteen months ago, I let Ginny walk out of my life believing I was the gang member I appeared to be. When that case was over, I could’ve told her the truth, and tried to win her back, but I convinced myself she was better off without me. I wish I could say the same for myself.

4. What are you afraid of most in life?

I have a dangerous job. I make enemies. That’s one of the reasons I tend to avoid relationships. I’m afraid someone close to me will be killed because of my work.

5. What do you want out of life?

I want to get criminals off the street. As my dad lay dying at the hand of a criminal he’d been scheduled to testify against, I made him a promise that I wouldn’t let the bad guys win. For that reason, and another that I’d rather not talk about, justice is really important to me. Let’s just say I owe it to my family to do everything I can to keep criminals off the street.

That said, when I’m not working I enjoy coaching kids’ sports teams at the local community center, trying to help them find something better than crime to invest their time in. It was enough, until I met Ginny. Now…I want the whole wife and kids and white picket fence thing. But it’s just not meant to be.

6. What is the most important thing to you?

Lies are part of my job. A character I play, like an actor. But sometimes to safeguard my cover for the sake of my case, I have to pretend I’m something I’m not to people I’ve grown to care about. It’s important to me that when they learn the truth, they see I’m a man of honor. I’m probably the only man alive who embraces the scripture verse, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” I long for the day that I can disclose my true life to Ginny. The day she’ll finally understand I work for a greater good. The day she’ll know I’m honorable.

7. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite type of book?

I read my Bible most days, but other than that, I don’t read much.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

If I could walk away from my job, I would. But I can’t. And Ginny deserves a better life than I can give her.

9. Do you have a pet? If so, what is it and why that pet?

No, as an undercover cop, my schedule is too unpredictable to allow me to care for an animal. I have a fish tank screensaver on my laptop. Does that count?

10. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?

I’d go to the backyard of my parents’ house—the day my older brother died. And I’d stay there, just as I’d been told. Remembering that day still rips through me as viciously as the bullets that ripped through my brother. I’d been too young to understand that gang members get a kick out of daring probies to take pot shots at a cop’s house. If I’d obeyed my parents and stayed in the back yard, Bobby never would’ve chased after me to keep me off the road…and run straight into the spray of gang bullets.

EVER WONDER WHERE CHARACTERS COME FROM?

Sandra Orchard here, debut Love Inspired Suspense novelist with the release this month of Deep Cover. When acquaintances learn that I’m a writer, they instantly bubble over with questions. At first I dreaded these with something akin to the panic in my hubby’s eyes when our young son asked, “Daddy, where do babies come from?”

No more! I’ve learned to have fun with them.  

“Where do babies characters come from?”

Well, I’m so glad you asked. The ideas for the characters that populate my books can come from the most unlikely of places. For example, this past summer my husband and I spent a day at the African Lion Safari and I came home with a camera full of new characters.

No, I didn’t snap photos of unsuspecting tourists, although that probably would’ve been a great idea. I’ve discovered lots of great mannerisms for my characters by simply watching people in restaurants and airports, on buses and in meetings. Photos of people with a variety of expressions, colorings, dress, etc. would be a wonderful resource. But I digress.

I snapped photos of animals, and they are quite the study in character. Take a look at this guy, for example. I call him “The Grouch”.

Can’t you just hear him saying, “What part of get lost don’t you understand?”

Then there’s the deer I like to call “The Social Butterfly”.

Can’t you just hear him saying, “What was that? I missed what you said.” Of course, that’s stereotypically a female character, but I’m pretty sure those horns mean this deer is a fella.

The monkeys alone were a treasure trove of character ideas. I call this little guy “The laid back type”.

 “This is the life!”

Then there’s the “People Pleaser” type. This mare was a real ham. She posed for about ten minutes as if she wanted to be sure I got the perfect shot to accentuate her beautiful fur coat. I could almost hear her say, “How’s this?”

And of course, no character study would be complete without a villain. I call this fellow “The Tough Guy”.

He’s saying, “Do I look like I want my photo taken?” Then to prove it, he charged a car!

And what romance writer’s character study would be complete without a hero. Although this particular hero wouldn’t be my first choice. I call him “The Casanova.”

“What can I say? The women love me.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little “birds and bees” talk on where characters come from.

If you’re in the mood for a little romantic suspense this month, please check out Deep Cover, the first book in my series…Undercover Cops: Fighting for justice puts their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Your Turn: Have some fun suggesting alternative descriptions and dialogue for our array of characters.