The Da Vinci Code Propelled Donna Wichelman to Write

Award-winning author Donna Wichelman recently stopped by my blog to share some about her writing life.

Why did you start writing romantic suspense novels?
You might remember a book from 2003, a little-known novel called The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. (I speak tongue-in-cheek because the novel not only was a great success, but stayed on the bestsellers list for 136 consecutive weeks.) The book starts with a prologue in which a person is killed, and as the book unfolds, we discover that he was killed for discovering the truth behind Christianity—a very different narrative than Christians have believed for 2,100 years.

I decided it was important for me to write a contemporary romantic suspense that debunked Brown’s theory and showed that the ancient words of Christianity came from reliable sources. In my research, I found a relatively unknown Christian sect, the Waldensians, who trace their origins to early Christianity. So, in Light Out of Darkness, a prestigious art exhibition turns into a horrific spectacle when a murder sends an art curator and a professor on a hunt for a highly covet stolen painting. Jamie and Alesandro risk their lives to uncover why the painting has caught the attention of art critics and criminals alike. At stake is a two-thousand-year-old drama, unfolding in the contemporary world of the Italian Alps.

What’s the hardest part of writing romantic suspense?
By far, the hardest part of writing romantic suspense for me is the romance. There’s just something personally vulnerable about developing the romance between two characters. It’s much easier for me to dig deep into a villain’s character and explore their darker, visceral side. I’m not sure what that says about me. Maybe it has something to do with what the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed in Jeremiah 17:9: “The human heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

When do you find time to write?
I decided a decade ago that I would consider my writing career my fulltime job. So, except for the occasional obligations and outings with church, family, and friends, I work at a desk in my home office from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. However, I have been known to get up at 4 a.m. at times to write. My brain seems to function more optimally in the still hours of the morning.

What is your favorite spot for reading or reflecting on your current work-in-progress?
I love to sit on my back deck during the warmer months, where I have a peaceful view of a field and reservoir, where I can read, write, and reflect. Sometimes I do my quiet time devotions there in the early mornings, listening to the birds flitting and singing around me. If it’s too cold or snowy during the winter months, I can sit in my home office or at my kitchen nook table, where I have the same view.

How do you connect with your characters?
One of the best ways I connect with my characters is by getting to know their personality types. I use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (16 personality types). Then, when I need to understand what motivates the character to act in a certain way in a given situation, I go back to the personality type and ask, “How would this introverted, intuitive, feeling, extremely organized person handle the problem?” It honestly helps me think through what they’ll do next.

What’s your go-to when you need a pick-me-up to keep writing?
I start off with a cup of French-pressed coffee in the mornings (no cream or sugar), and then usually between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, I find I need a cup of tea. I also keep a stash of these yummy soft chocolate espresso candies, called Pocket Coffees, that we found in Germany many years ago. I can’t tell you how scrumptious they are. You’ll just have to try them for yourself. Ferrero makes them.

How do you research ways to kill someone for your books?
Oftentimes, it’s the setting that dictates how a person is killed. In books one and two of my Singing Silver Mine series, the setting in the mining communities of the Colorado Rocky Mountains meant that the deaths in both books occurred in a mine.

In A Song of Deliverance, I had to wrap my brain around the gold and silver mining industry of that decade in the nineteenth century to understand what could have caused a mining disaster that would kill nine men in the belly of the earth. I explored several scenarios and chose one that seemed plausible for my story, devising a way for my hero to discover how the villain caused a cave-in down the mine shaft. This meant the hero, Stefan, had to descend into the dangerously precarious situation in which the wood framework undergirding the shaft had been destroyed. Make the wrong move, and he could get trapped as the original nine men had.

How do you pick the location/setting of your romantic suspense novels?
My husband and I have traveled extensively in the United States and other parts of the world over the years. Most of my settings come from places we’ve visited that have intrigued me because of their history or captured my attention because of their beautiful landscapes. Light Out of Darkness was set in Italy because of the Waldensians’ history in the Italian Alps. We had also visited Varenna in the Italian Lake District, where I set the art exhibition for its spectacular views.

How do you ensure your books are accurate?
I’m all about research, reading as much as I can from as many different sources as I can on a topic. Usually, if three sources agree, I’m good with the information. But I have to limit myself at times, or I find I’m going down bunny trails that don’t add to the story. It is possible to do too much research, which detracts from your writing.

Who’s your favorite romantic suspense writer and why?
There are many excellent romantic suspense writers in the Christian fiction industry, so it’s hard to choose. But if pressed to the wall, I’d say Lynette Eason. She’s a fabulous person as well as an author, and her stories are consistently good every time.

About Donna
Donna Wichelman is a 2025 Angel Book Award-winning author for A Song of Deliverance, Book 1 in the Singing Silver Mine series. Her articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two novels in her contemporary suspense Waldensian Series. Donna and her husband live in Colorado and love spending time with their grandchildren. They also bike, kayak, and travel.

Connect w/Donna
Website: https://www.kerryjohnsonbooks.com/

Rhythms of the Heart by Donna Wichelman

Life as Cassie Munro knew it ended the day her husband and children were torn away from her in a deadly train disaster. Haunted by ghosts from her past in Ohio, she takes a teaching position in Georgetown, Colorado, where her parents pastor a church. One thing she knows—she will never risk her heart again.

Born of privilege and educated at the Philadelphia School of Medicine, Dr. Daniel Criley never expected to lose the woman he loved to sepsis. Disillusioned with a hospital that won’t integrate antiseptic procedures and blamed by the family for her death, Daniel moves to Georgetown, where he can practice medicine his way. But just when all seems idyllic, the demons of his past appear to destroy the life he’s built.

When Cassie and Daniel meet, their attraction is undeniably intense. Will they risk following their hearts and step into a future together? Or will the fear of loss stand in the way of their happiness? Only God knows how to mend two broken hearts.