Spotlight on Ramona Richards and Field of Danger

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RAMONA RICHARDS, an award-winning editor, speaker, and author, started writing as a child and sold her first story in her 20s. After 25 years as an editor, she returned to writing fiction, and her first three Steeple Hill novels, including The Taking of Carly Bradford, received 4 ½ stars from Romantic Times magazine. Ramona is a member of the Romance Writers of America and The American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her daughter Rachel near Nashville, and she occasionally escapes by scuba diving, hiking, dancing, and going to movies and bookstores.

She can also be found online here:
http://www.facebook.com/ramona.richards
http://www.twitter.com/RamonaRichards

FIELD OF DANGER
by Ramona Richards
Published by Steeple Hill / Love Inspired Suspense

ABOUT THE BOOK

“Who killed my father?”

Eyewitness to a murder, April Presley wants to answer the deputy sheriff’s harrowing question. But she can’t. She barely caught a glimpse of the crime through the deep Tennessee cornfield, and cannot recall anything to help the investigation. Or can she? Daniel Rivers is certain that April remembers more of his father’s death than she realizes. And the killer agrees.

In the race to uncover April’s missing memory before the killer finds her, Daniel is the only one she can trust to keep her safe. Yet will he stay by her side when the shocking truth is unveiled?

Readers, buy your copy of Field of Danger today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

I can’t talk too much about the inspiration or I’ll give away the ending! Let’s say that it’s inspired by a few stories that come out of the farm country of a real small town in Tennessee. The cottage my heroine calls home is based on the homeplace of my real-life friend (and my daughter’s nurse) Phyllis. The book is also dedicated to her.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

In this case, my hero and heroine, Daniel and April, have more in common with people I know than anything I’ve experienced personally. Daniel was influenced by a number of men I admire, whereas the inspiration for April came from several women I know who have survived some pretty rough times and not only thrived but soared in the love and success that came from their struggles. They are truly examples of how God can turn almost anything to good.

3. If your hero/heroine were an ice cream flavor, what would he/she be and why?

April – definitely strawberry. April is a “garden girl.” She’s turned the yard of her cottage into a glorious array of blooms and colorful plants. She has that down-home sweetness, and her home-based business (organic jams and preserves) would add to that. I could even see her letting wild strawberries replace grass in her yard.

Daniel – probably mint chocolate chip. He’s sweet, but has a quiet, steady strength and an exotic bit of sharpness to him.

4. Are there any themes in Field of Danger that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

That perseverance is the key to surviving the hard times. April and Daniel really don’t know who to trust and whether she’ll ever remember enough details of the crime she witnessed to help solve it, but they simply never stop trying. The theme that surprised me concerned family legacies – what qualities in ourselves do we pass down to our children and those around us. What do they see in us that we’ll remember forever.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

My favorite part is an exchange April and Daniel have when they are looking at his father’s photo albums. It’s one of the few quiet moments in the book, when they have a real chance to share with each other. They are both still grieving, and they begin to turn toward each other for the first time.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

House of Secrets comes out next summer. It’s set in the same county as Field of Danger, but is centered on the sheriff from Field of Danger (Ray Taylor) and April’s sister, June. Ray discovers June standing over the body of their pastor, and at first thinks she may be guilty of murder. Innocent or guilty, June quickly realizes that the secret to the murder is hidden somewhere inside her former home – a secret the killer will do anything to keep concealed.

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Thank you, Ramona, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Field of Danger.

Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). You won't be entered in the drawing without it. If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post.

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when the winners are announced each time.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Spotlight on Ramona Richards and Face of Deceit

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RAMONA RICHARDS has been spinning tales since she was a kid, and she started getting paid for it when she was 18. The author of 5 books and numerous magazine articles, she has won awards for fiction and nonfiction, including first place in the 2008 From the Heart Romance Writers Best Proposal Contest (the Lories). A frequent conference speaker, Ramona loves working with other writers and speaking to women's groups. As an editor, she has worked on staff with a number of publishers and is now an editor with Thomas Nelson Publishers. She has also freelanced for more than 20 magazine and book publishers.

Her first Love Inspired Suspense book, A Murder Among Friends, received 4 ½ stars from Romantic Times magazine, and The Face of Deceit was an Romantic Times Top Pick for September 2008, also receiving 4 ½ stars. Her next book, The Taking of Carly Bradford, releases in May 2009.

Ramona lives with her daughter near Nashville, Tennessee, in a cottage swamped with far too many books, DVDs and CDs. She escapes occasionally to go hiking, scuba diving, or singing in her church choir.

FACE OF DECEIT
by Ramona Richards
Published by Steeple Hill / Love Inspired Suspense

ABOUT THE BOOK

Her parents were killed as she looked on, but artist Karen O'Neill has suppressed that childhood horror. Now, years later, someone is destroying her famous "face" vases. Art expert Mason DuBroc suspects that the creepy face Karen molds points toward murder. Karen must know something she shouldn’t. Something a crazed killer will do anything to keep buried . . . with Karen.

Buy Your Copy of Face of Deceit Today!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

The idea came while I was shopping in a local gift shop that has its own pottery studio attached. I saw a plaque with the raised image of a face on it, and I asked the potter whose face it was. Her response, "No one in particular," left me wondering. By the time I got home, I had the basic plot about a potter who witnessed a murder as a child, and as an adult, the face of the killer begins appearing in her art. That's how my heroine's "face vases" were born.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced your characters? What aspects became traits that are theirs and theirs alone?

If my characters were all based on me, my readers would get bored quickly! :) Most of my characters are based on a combination of people I know or observed, their experiences, tidbits I've learned from books, and some of my own background. In THE FACE OF DECEIT, for instance, Mason's first time on the wheel mirrors my first time with one, but he lost his parents when he was a teen. My parents celebrated their 48th anniversary.

3. If one of your characters were an ice cream flavor, what he/she be and why?

Mocha. She loves her Kona coffee and has a deep spirit and rich faith. She's had a very "rocky road" in her life, but she’s a survivor, and she inspires Mason.

4. What themes exist in Face of Deceit that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

That home is less about a house or a town than the people around you who do love and support you. In the end, I hope they see, as Karen does, that building a life is more about making wise choices and relying on God to work in your life than what happened to you in the past.

5. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

I LOVE writing the ending, of finally bringing all the pieces together. The hardest part for me to write comes near the end, when Karen and Mason think they've lost each other. I cried every time I had to work on it.

6. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

THE TAKING OF CARLY BRADFORD releases in May 2009. It's about Dee, who is slowly recovering from a devastating loss when she becomes involved in a child abduction case. It's the last book in my Jackson's Retreat series, set in New Hampshire, and finally gives the local police chief (who has been in all three books) a chance at romance.

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Thank you, Ramona, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Face of Deceit.

If you wish to comment but don't want to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com/net). Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

And if you want to make certain you don't miss anything, check the box that says 'email follow-up comments to:' when you leave a comment and they'll be sent to the email address associated with your blogging account. That way you'll be notified of any comments and will know when I announce the winner.

This week, the contest is open to anyone worldwide.

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