Welcome, readers! It’s been a little bit since I posted. I’ve been quite busy, rather sick, and then traveling this summer. But I am back today with another author for you to meet–Author Shaen Layle! Shaen is a suspense author and is here today to share about a couple of her works as well as her process. So, I’ll turn it over to Shaen…
Welcome to the blog, Shaen. First, can you tell us a little about your novel?
The back cover blurb says it best 😊 Prickly Virginia Lawrence, a preeminent scholar of Vineyard history, is also a notorious recluse. Therefore, the island is abuzz when Priscilla manages to book a library lecture with the local eccentric. However, on the evening of the event, Virginia is a no-show and nowhere to be found, and the valuable museum artifacts in her possession are now missing as well.
As Priscilla delves into the mystery of Virginia’s ill-timed disappearance, a seemingly unrelated puzzle emerges. Could a rash of random cemetery plunderings somehow be connected to the missing historian? As pressure builds to find Virginia and the missing priceless artifacts, Priscilla begins to doubt her own instincts- especially when she spies Gerald having mysterious dinner meetings with a lovely blond-haired woman.
Ooohh…interesting! Did you always want to be a writer?
Always, always, always. I found a home early on in the world of words.
Excellent! Usually people find their way there. How neat that you knew from early on. But though we love it, there are things that we don’t love as much. What part of the writing process do you dread?
When tech goes awry! The only time I get super frustrated as a writer is when my computer freezes/crashes or my phone goes dead.
Nightmare for me! I’m in that “should know tech” generation, but I don’t do super well with it…
I love hearing from authors where they are getting inspired through reading…and maybe like getting some recommendations 🙂 So…what are you currently reading?
I’ve really been digging into a lot of contemporary romance and women’s fiction lately. I thoroughly enjoyed Wooing Cadie McCaffrey by Bethany Turner and am partway through Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes. Amanda’s book has the most beautifully lyrical language- and the atmosphere! You feel drenched to the bone with seaside. Next up in my TBR pile is Becky Wade’s Sweet On You. I’m trying to politely avoid mentions of it on social media because so many people have already read it, and I don’t want spoilers!
I like to set the stage for my writing…music and all. What about you? What kind of music, if any, do you listen to when you write?
I used to have to have silence while writing, but that’s changed since I had kids! I’m a full-time work-at-home parent, so I have to figure out ways to tune out Daniel Tiger now. Sometimes I listen to classical music, but more often, I pull up white noise in an app (I’m particular to rain sounds) or background soundscapes on YouTube.
It’s Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse over here 🙂 Do you have a favorite time of day to write? What about a favorite place?
If I had my pick of writing time, it would definitely be early morning (after a good cup of tea, of course). Some people, like my husband, like to burn the midnight oil; I’m more of a sunlight and primrose kind of person myself. I love the possibility the morning holds, and it’s also when my house is the quietest and my energy is the freshest. I’m a nomad when it comes to location- another way I’ve had to learn flexibility after having kids. I have a small laptop that I carry from the living room to the bedroom to the sunroom as I need to. I write in the car a lot. I hardly ever sit at a desk, even though I have the space set up.
I hear you. I find myself concentrating better away from my desk strangely enough…
How long does it take you to write a book?
Like any other writer will probably tell you, it all depends on the deadline! I am the worst about obsessing over the details of a piece if I don’t have a solid date when I need to stop. I have a contemporary romance I hope to pick up again this summer that has been in the works for five years, but I wrote my last cozy mystery in several months.
Do you have any current projects you’re working on? Care to share?
I’m actually stepping outside of my wheelhouse this summer to participate in the Summer of Suspense anthology, which is a collection of mystery and suspense novelettes from some of the top names in Christian Fiction. The anthology is available for pre-order right now, and you get sixteen novels for .99. If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, it’s a lot of reading for a little price!
Summer of Suspense is available for pre-order at:
Amazon – https://amzn.to/2VsrPqs
Nook – https://bit.ly/2DZC0YQ
Apple – https://apple.co/2VcpYkA
Thank you so much for being on the blog today and for sharing! Now, let’s have a look at Waves of Doubt and check out an excerpt!
Waves of Doubt
Enjoy an Excerpt
This scene happens partway through the book, when our sleuth, Priscilla, and her cousin, Trudy, are trying to track down missing scholar, Virginia Lawrence, and get sucked into a high-speed car chase across the Island!
Priscilla waved at Trudy to jump into her car. A few seconds later, a pink Cadillac came into view. Virginia, wearing her distinctive red cape, hunched so low over the steering wheel that Priscilla couldn’t even see her face. Bu Virginia obviously saw Priscilla. Virginia threw the car into Reverse and peeled out of the driveway so fast, tornadoes of gravel swirled in her wake.
“After her!” Trudy yelped and clicked on her seat belt.
Priscilla dropped her phone into the cup holder and gunned the engine.
Ahead of them, Virginia continued driving fast, kicking up clouds of dust that coated Priscilla’s windshield. Trees swaying overhead threw shadows on the road in front of her, further obscuring her vision, but she kept Virginia’s taillights in view.
“Watch the speed limit, Priscilla,” Trudy cautioned. She gripped her hands in her lap. “The last thing you need right now is to get in more trouble with the authorities.”
Priscilla set her lips in a tight line and pressed the gas pedal down a bit more. Thirty, forty, fifty. She watched the red line on the odometer creep up, bit by bit, and tightened her sweaty grip on the steering wheel. She turned left, then right, then left again, following Virginia in a maze of directions. Trudy alternately egged Priscilla on, and then shrieked at her to slow down.
Priscilla tried her best to keep up with Virginia, but the pastel car twisted and turned so rapidly on the wooded roads in front of them that she lost sight of it within a few miles. She found a clearing where she could pull over, and she put the vehicle into Park.
Trudy’s eyes were wide like saucers. “I had no idea Virginia could drive that fast.”
Buy Link
https://www.shopguideposts.org/waves-of-doubt-mmv22.html
More About the Author
Trained as a literary novelist and with a decade of librarianship under her belt, Shaen Layle writes inspirational fiction from her home in the Midwest, where she lives with her artist husband, Danny, and their two rambunctious, but adorable, little boys. She loves drinking Lady Grey tea and discussing all things bookish with readers at her website and on social media.
Connect with Shaen and her works
Website URL: www.shaenlayle.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorShaenLayle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaenlayle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaen_layle/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shaenlayle/pins/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/69552794-shaen-layle
GIVEAWAY
Shaen is giving away, to one (1) winner, one (1) signed, hardback copy of her Guideposts’ cozy mystery, Waves of Doubt. Please read the directions on the Rafflecopter linked below to enter. (Must be in the continental United States to be eligible.)