JR:
Who would you call your writing heroes, the authors (fiction,
non-fiction, prose, poetry/lyrics) that sparked your interest in
writing?
JS:
Wow, this question brought back some fond reading memories, so thank
you! Probably Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne
of Green Gables,
etc.) was the first to inspire the wonder of story and the desire to
write when I was young. As an adult, Linda Hall’s Christian
suspense showed me where my stories might fit, and Timothy Zahn’s
twist endings continue to challenge me to dig deeper in my plotting.
Then there are lyrical writers like Amanda Dykes, who inspire me to
mine for strong word choices.
JR:
Could you tell us about the Green Dory Mystery Series, and in
particular the latest installment, "Bitter Truth?" (I'm
pretty good at predicting if authors/musicians want to talk about
their latest release.)
JS:
New releases are like new babies—of course we want to talk about
them! (I have a new granddaughter, too, so I’m doubly dangerous to
be around these days.) Landon Smith is a 24-year-old survivor of
human trafficking as a teen. After years of therapy, counselling, and
prayer, she describes herself as, “I’m healed, I’m being
healed, I will be healed.” This series brings her back to the
seaside town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (Canada) to help a friend in
need: Anna Smith, widowed owner of The Green Dory Inn.
Bitter
Truth
is book 3 in the series. Against all odds, Landon and her
ordinary-hero neighbour Bobby Hawke survived a murderous plot six
weeks ago. Now, she’s determined to leave solving mysteries to the
experts. But when her friend Ciara is nearly killed in a daring
daylight attack, Landon can’t sit this out. Not when she knows the
anger of being a victim.
Her
faith tells her to leave room for God’s vengeance. Her heart says
to retaliate. The fight to expose Ciara’s enemy will uncover
secrets and betrayal that could cost Landon her life.
JR:
I also noticed you've written some devotionals. Would you like to
share about them? Also, does your fiction inspire any of the
devotionals (or vice versa)?
JS:
I blogged a weekly devotional for years, many of which I eventually
updated and compiled into daily devotional books: a year-long one and
one for December. They came out of my daily quiet time with the Lord,
and they’re conversational-style musings on Bible verses that
impacted me. So while I can’t say any of them came from my fiction,
and my fiction starts with a plot idea rather than theme, I’m sure
the devotionals have at times influenced the spiritual threads in my
fiction.
JR:
With a common language, a neighboring border, shared culture - I
remember the Canadian comic For Better and For Worse, and one of my
favorite bands is Canadian (The Daniel Band) - and mission groups
considering it a home field, I sometimes forget Canada is technically
a different country. Are there benefits or frustrations being a
Canadian author?
JS:
When I was looking for a traditional publisher, they were all
US-based. Many a Canadian author was encouraged to relocate their
setting from Canada into the Northern States to make it marketable. I
guess I could have done that, but there are more differences between
Maine and Nova Scotia than I know. I’m sure it would have been
obvious to readers. I did find a small publisher who accepted my
first novel (mostly Canadian settings), but when that publisher
closed and I turned to independent publishing, the first thing I did
was reclaim my Canadian spelling to publish a second edition. Most
Canadian authors use US spelling to keep things simpler, but it
mattered to me. Chief benefit for indie Canadian authors: we get
ISBNs for free. Side note: I still read For Better or For Worse in
our newspaper.
JR:
On your web-site, you have a tab for reviews you've done of fiction,
non-fiction, and music/videos. I'd like to focus on one book in
particular you've reviewed: Battle for the Soul of Canada by Ed Hird.
Could you tell us a little bit about this book, and anything that
people in the lower 48 could learn from?
JS:
I can’t tell you as much as I’d like, because it’s been years
since I read the book! But I’d say readers who are battling in
prayer for the United States would find much of the content
transferable. Building from 1 and 2 Timothy, Battle
for the Soul of Canada
emphasizes the importance of raising strong and effective Christian
leaders. Rev. Ed Hird’s key point that I quoted in my review is
that “the
key to renewing the soul of Canada — and the heart of this book —
is to be found in raising up Timothys”. That message is relevant
for any nation. Ed and his wife Janice have written other books since
then, and readers will find more details at edhird.com.
JR:
Thank you for your time. Anything else you'd like to update us? How
can we keep in touch with you?
JS:
Thanks for inviting me to your blog, Jeffrey. You’ve asked some fun
questions. My internet home is my website,
where I post book reviews and details about my books, and I have an
author page on Facebook.
Readers who enjoy Christian mystery/suspense fiction are invited to
sign up for my author
newsletter
or to follow me on BookBub
for sale and new release alerts.
And
speaking of new releases: Bitter
Truth
releases March 29, 2022. Interested readers might like to know that
the ebook versions are currently discounted to $2.99USD for a
preorder special, and the print books are (shh…) actually already
available through Amazon. Buy links to various online stores are all
collected here: books2read.com/bitter-truth.
