Hello! Today I’d like to introduce romantic suspense author, Beth Ziarnik and her latest book, Her Deadly Reunion.
So glad you could drop by, Beth!
(1) How long have you been writing?
Beth: Okay, I’ll just admit it. I’ve pursued writing for 42 years. First, with some success in nonfiction, and then jumping into my long-time dream of writing romantic suspense.
(2) Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
Beth: From the start, I was a big fan of romantic suspense. Then I began dreaming. Could I write romantic suspense? What if my novels featured Christian heroes and heroines? How would that affect my characters’ choices as they coped with life-threatening danger while falling in love? The core idea for my first novel began stirring. Just one problem–many years passed before Christian publishers caught up with my dream and began showing an interest in the genre of my heart. Still, years went by while I worked on my craft–and agonized whether my dream would ever come true. Then in 2016, my first novel released. Her Deadly Inheritance was followed in November of last year by its sequel, Her Deadly Reunion.
(3) What are some of the references you used while researching your book?
Beth: The research for Her Deadly Reunion began with a one-day bus trip that included a tour of the Pabst Mansion, Mader’s Restaurant, and The Domes (Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The “what ifs” peppered my imagination, and eventually all three settings played important parts in Her Deadly Reunion. The main setting, of course, being the Pabst Mansion which I borrowed as the home of Jill’s birth father and his unwelcoming family. Such a great place, and the docent assigned to acquaint me with its unique features that I might want to use in the novel was so helpful. In the gift shop, I bought both a book and a video of the house and its history. Again–immensely helpful! Since a few scenes took hero Clay Merrick to Haiti, I did a great deal of online research and consulted with a friend who visited once a year for two weeks and had become familiar with the country, its people, customs, and language. I also interviewed a nurse, a lawyer, and a detective regarding those elements in the story.
(4) What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Beth: The surprises! I am a seat-of-the-pants author, and though I have a general sense of where the story is going and how it might end, the actual writing is an adventure. Small details that seem so innocent when introduced take on a huge emotional interest before the story ends, and I never see these coming. Like the Christmas tree ornament Jill’s father gave his wife the first year they were married. And the gift Jill gives Clay for this, their first Christmas. Oops! I’d better stop. There are so many more surprises, but I don’t want to spoil the story for you all.
(5) What do your plans for future projects include?
Beth: I’m currently writing the third and last novel in the Jill Shepherd Suspense Series. Such fun! My hero and heroine get into worse trouble on the island of Haiti and learn more about love as they attempt to prepare for their wedding–if they live long enough to see that day!
After that, I will write an historical romantic suspense series that takes place during the last years leading up to the War between the States. The third book ends as the guns fire at Fort Sumter. I’ve already written the opening chapters of the first novel in that exciting series.
Her Deadly Reunion
Desperate to meet the father she’s never known, Jill Shepherd accepts his invitation to spend the holidays at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She and Clay Merrick arrive to find him deathly ill, his family hostile … and his home a dangerous place to mix past with present.
John Taylor’s private nurse secretly shares her suspicions with Jill. Is someone trying to kill her father? As Jill and Clay attempt to uncover the truth, they are suddenly embroiled in a race to outwit a mysterious killer and unmask a bitter plot that has been years in the making. Her father’s condition worsens. The family accuses Jill and orders her to leave.
With her father’s life hanging in the balance, how will Clay help Jill prove her innocence and stop a killer before it’s too late?
Herself an avid fan of romantic suspense, Beth Ann Ziarnik again offers all the twists and turns, cliffhangers and romantic tension readers have come to love. Her debut novel,Her Deadly Inheritance, won the 2016 Write-to-Publish Conference “Writer of the Year” Award and the 2017 Selah Award for First Novel.
Beth enjoys poking around historic homes wherever her travels take her. They stoke her imagination. It’s no wonder, she borrowed the fabulous Pabst Mansion for Her Deadly Reunion.
She is a long-time member of American Christian Fiction Writers as well as co-founder and active member of Word & Pen Christian Writers. She lives in Northeastern Wisconsin, delightfully surrounded by three generations of family.
https://bethziarnik.wordpress.
https://facebook.com/
