A former naval reservist with a top-secret security clearance, Sherri Shackelford writes rapid-fire suspense featuring captivating characters and heart-pounding romance. She’s authored more than a dozen novels for Harlequin publishing, including both historical and contemporary suspense. Her first suspense book, No Safe Place, was a finalist in both the New England Readers’ Choice Award, and the Faith Hope and Love Readers’ Choice Award.
“For me, I’m very much a character-drive plotter,” Sherri said. “If I know my character’s conflict at the beginning, that helps keep the romantic and personal plots in place. Because if I’m ever tempted to stray, I go back to what is their false belief.”
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Stolen Secrets.
Claiming Canaan: Milcah’s Journey by Barbara M. Britton — When the tribal elders make marriage a requirement for claiming her land, Milcah bat Zelophehad must find a betrothed straightaway. The only problem in finding a husband is that all her suitors were slain while conquering the land of Canaan. Men avoid her in order to stay alive. After praying to God to send her a bold suitor, a man from her father’s clan plummets from a tree right on top of her. Is this God answering prayer, or a foolish antic by Eli, the war-scarred brother from one of her clan’s rival families. Will settling in Canaan sort out Milcah’s troubles, or have her woes just begun? (Biblical Fiction from Harbourlight Books [Pelican])
Contemporary Romance:
Ryan’s Father by June Foster — The rippling influence of Ryan Reid’s less than moral mother and absent father made a mark on his soul. Yet everything changed when the young school teacher accepted Christ—almost everything. An earthquake hurls the beautiful Sandy Arrington into his life, tossing his world upside down. When God calls him to build an annex for needy teens at his church, Ryan must face the carefully guarded secret he’s held deep in his heart. Though Sandy falls in love with him, Ryan’s forbidden affections lie elsewhere, and he must depend on the Lord to see him through a struggle he always hoped he’d never have to face. Sandy’s wealthy cardiologist father and the battle Ryan is powerless to win are hurtles to their romance. Can he dig his way out to find Sandy’s love? (Contemporary Romance from Winged Publications)
Historical Romance:
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep — What Can a London Opera Star and an Escaped Dartmoor Prisoner Have in Common? Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver’s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Spies & Sweethearts by Linda Shenton Matchett — A secret mission. A fake bride. A run for their lives. According to the OSS training manual, the life expectancy of a radio operator in Nazi-occupied France is six weeks. Partnered with one of the agency’s top spies, Gerard Lucas, newly-minted agent Emily Strealer plans to beat those odds. Then their cover is blown and all bets are off. The border to neutral Switzerland is three hundred miles away-a long way to run with SS soldiers on their heels.
Will Emily and Gerard survive the journey and get home? And what about their hearts? Nothing in the manual prepared them for falling in love. (Historical Romance from Shortwave Press)
Devyn’s Dilemma by Susan G Mathis — 1910, Thousand Islands, New York. Others may consider The Towers castle on Dark Island an enchanting summer retreat, but to Devyn McKenna, it’s a prison. Yet as she works as a maid for Frederick Bourne, former president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, her life blossoms under the kindness of his family and fascinating entrepreneurs such as J.P. Morgan, Thomas Lipton, and Captain Vanderbilt. But more than anything, the growing friendship of Mr. Bourne’s valet, Brice McBride, begins to pry away the painful layers that conceal Devyn’s heart. Brice is drawn to the mysterious Devyn even though he’s certain she’s hiding a secret, one far more dangerous than the clues they find in The Towers that hint of a treasure on the island. When Devyn is accused of stealing Bourne’s investment in Vanderbilt’s New York City subway expansion, he might not be able to protect her. (Historical Romance from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas)
A Life Renewed by Olivia Rae — In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, “The Nine Days’ Queen” was executed for high treason. But what if, instead of feeling the blade on her neck she secretly survived? Escaping execution, Lady Jane hides as a peasant girl in a principality in Germany. She loves the simple life and never wants to return to England. But her benefactor, a power-hungry German prince, wants to march on London and place her on the English throne again, thereby increasing his dominance in Europe. If she doesn’t agree to his plan, her beloved childhood nurse will be put to death. Desperate for help, Jane must put her trust in the mysterious spy Asher Hayes. Asher Hayes is done rounding up Protestants for “Bloody Mary” and wants nothing more than to live a quiet life as a farmer and expunge the blood of many from his hands. Except Queen Mary isn’t done with him yet. She throws his father, mother, and sister into prison on false charges in order to force him to accept one last mission – find and kill Lady Jane Grey. But when Asher discovers Lady Jane isn’t a threat to the throne as he believed her to be, he faces a devastating decision – does he sacrifice his family for the woman who reigns in his heart? (Historical Romance from HopeKnight Press LLC)
The Chisholm Trail Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo — Stubborn Hearts Clash on a Cattle Drive Eliza Gentry’s pursuit of marriage to the son of her family’s sworn enemy has cost her greatly. Furious at his daughter’s choices, her father sends her off with the cattle drive heading toward Fort Worth and the Barnhart ranch, but under the watchful eye of Wyatt Creed, a Pinkerton man he has hired to see to her safety. With danger at every turn—not the least of which to his heart—can Wyatt Creed keep his focus with Eliza Gentry around? Is the Chisholm Trail a place for falling in love or a place to die at the hands of cattle thieves? (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Mystery:
Cooking Up A Mystery by Gail Pallotta — In this romantic mystery Laney Eskridge battles insecurities, loss and a criminal who attempts to destroy her tea house and catering business. (Cozy Mystery from Inspired [Prism Book Group])
Romantic Suspense:
Flight Risk by Cara Putman — Savannah Daniels has worked hard to establish a small law practice, and her early career gambles have paid off with a life that she loves. Jett Mason Glover has almost reached the pinnacle of the journalism ladder in Washington, DC. He just needs one breakout story to seal his destiny. When a plane crashes into the 14th Street Bridge during take-off from Reagan National, everyone thinks it’s a freak accident—until the passenger list is released and the black box is compromised. Savannah does not expect to be connected to the crash until she learns her ex-husband was piloting the plane. She must manage his estate while his name is under a fog of accusations leveled by a journalist named Jett who now claims he wants to help Savannah find the truth. As the threads untangle, Savannah begins to question what she knows and whether she’ll survive the investigation. Maybe she’s as deceived as everyone else, but someone believes she’s closer to the truth than she is. And that belief may just kill her. (Romantic Suspense from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)
Border Breach by Darlene L. Turner — When drugs are smuggled across the border, it’s their duty to stop the culprits…at any cost. Forming a joint task force, Canada border officer Kaylin Poirier and police constable Hudson Steeves have one objective: take down a drug-smuggling ring trying to sell a new lethal product. But when the smugglers come after Kaylin and Hudson, this mission becomes more than just a job. Can they live long enough to solve the case? (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])
Denise Weimer writes historical and contemporary romance and romantic suspense set in her home state of Georgia. She’s authored more than 10 novels and a number of novellas. As a managing editor at Smitten Historical Romance and Heritage Beacon Fiction, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, she also helps others reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate and old houses.
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Traces.
“My favorite thing is to name a book based on a theme, an underlying inspirational theme or character development theme in my books,” Denise said. “I also sometimes choose a name based on a big event that happens in the book.”
Linda Shenton Matchett writes about ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by. A volunteer docent and archivist for the Wright Museum of WWII, Linda is also a trustee for her local public library and a lecturer with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through Granite State College. She is a native of Baltimore and was born a stone’s throw from Fort McHenry. Linda has lived in historic places all her life, and is now located in central New Hampshire where her favorite activities include exploring historic sites and immersing herself in the imaginary worlds created by other authors.
“We recently downsized and relocated to a tiny house that backs up to woods and forest,” Linda said. “There’s a chair that looks out over the woods. In the summer, I sit on our deck in a chaise lounge overlooking the woods. I find it restive and rejuvenating while I’m working.”
Listen to the podcast for more from our interview, plus an excerpt from Under Ground.
Sometimes, you don’t know how blessed you are until you view
your situation through someone else’s eyes. For kids, we often don’t take a
look at who our parents are until we’re parents ourselves or have grown up
enough to have perspective on our childhoods and the people who raised us.
For me, the revelation that my mother had more to offer the
world than just being my mother started after my twelfth birthday when my
parents began taking in foster children. From babies to teenagers, my parents
eventually had more than 40 foster kids pass through their homes and hearts.
Each one held a special place in our hearts, and each one knew without a doubt
that they were loved and a part of our family for as long as they lived in our
home.
Even as a sometimes sarcastic and unappreciative teenager, I
knew something special was happening in our home. It wasn’t easy to be a foster
sister to kids who sometimes stole from me, ruined my possessions and invaded
my space. But I also knew it wasn’t easy for my parents, either, especially for
my mom who was a stay at home mother.
Not many moms would willingly, lovingly continue raising
kids for half a century, but that’s what my mom did. She started, as do most
moms, with her own children, having two girls and a boy before her 25th
birthday. Eleven years after the youngest of the original trio was born, along
came a fourth child—me. That meant I was kind of like an only child for a
while, given my older siblings left home for jobs and college after high
school.
But my parents decided that their house—and their
hearts—needed more than one child at home, and so they took up the calling to
be foster parents when I was entering the seventh grade. There were babies and
preschoolers, tweens and teens, all of whom were in need of more than a place
to stay and food to eat—they needed love and comfort and the chance to
experience what makes a house a home. All that and more my mom and dad gave
them.
Now that I’m a mother of my own, I marvel at how my mom
related to these battered, bruised kids who had been treated so abominably by
their own moms and dads (and other relatives). Kids who were sexually abused,
physically abused, mentally abused and verbally abused. Kids who had never
eaten a meal with the entire family seated around a table. Kids who had never
had a space of their own in a house. Kids who had never been loved just
because. Kids whose back stories broke your heart.
Then they arrived at my parents’ house, sometimes in the
middle of the night, sometimes without anything but the clothes on their backs,
sometimes with all their meager belongings stuffed into a black trash bag. All
of them scared, upset, lonely, and missing their parents.
And greeting them at the door was Mama Jo, my mother, with
her heart opened wide. She would settle them into our house as if they were a
long-lost son or daughter returning home. Not once did she ever treat any
foster child as if they were less than a full member of our family.
Gently, patiently, and lovingly, my mother taught them the
things we who were raised in loving families learned from infancy, things like
how to treat one another with kindness, how to do chores and how to act at the
dinner table. She advocated for them at school, but expected them to do their
own school work. She gave them hugs but meted out consequences when necessary.
She prayed for them, and showed them how God cared for them as well.
She wasn’t perfect, and she would be the first to admit she
made mistakes. But the kids understood that here was someone who cared, who had
their best interest at heart and who was a safe haven in the storm of their
lives.
Because most of all, she gave them unconditional love and
acceptance. My mom never allowed the child’s current circumstances dictate the
child’s future—she’s a firm believer that people can change, and kids can too.
That attitude, coupled with the amazing successes she and my father achieved
with these foster children, led the local social services department to call my
parents first with the most difficult cases.
My parents even adopted twins who had been foster kids in
our home for several years before their biological mom and dad gave up their
parental rights. The boy-girl twins were 14 years younger than myself, meaning
my parents willingly extended their child-raising years to care for these two
toddlers who by that time called my parents Mom and Dad.
What my mother gave those kids made a lasting difference. Some
of their stories we know the ending to because they still keep in touch decades
later. The troubled 10-year-old boy who bounced back and forth from his mom’s
house to ours as a foster kid now has a successful military career. The abused
teenage girl who had started to make unwise choices became a nurse who asked my
father to walk her down the aisle when she got married. The sexually abused
nine-year-old girl who developed an annoying personality to cope credits my
mother for showing her she was loveable and is now married with children of her
own.
When I reflect on the half century my mother spent raising
kids, the majority of which were not her own by birth, my heart overflows with
love and gratitude at the example of motherhood she gave me and countless
others. To me—and I’m sure to all of those foster children she loved so
much—her model of mothering has been the pattern that I strive to follow. If
more mothers were like Mama Jo, the world would indeed be a better place.
This story originally appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Best Mom Ever!