Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Texas Witness Threat by Cate Nolan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
Title: Texas Witness Threat
Author: Cate Nolan
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Release Date: January 1, 2021
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
Assistant US Attorney Christine Davis is positive she witnessed a murder, but with no body, the police aren’t convinced. Now someone wants her dead, and Texas Ranger Blake Larsen is the only one who believes her. For Blake, protecting Christine must stay more important than their growing feelings for each other. But can he keep her safe from an unknown enemy who wants her silenced?
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Hi
Cate! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and giving my
readers the chance to get to know you and your new book- Texas Witness
Threat a little bit better!
Let’s talk writing! When did you first discover that you had a passion and
talent for writing?
Thanks
so much for having me. I had to really think back a long way to answer this.
Unlike many authors, I never planned to grow up to be a writer. I’m a
life-long, voracious reader. I actually got my start writing when I’d make up
stories to help me fall asleep. I never really thought of writing them down,
except I kept falling asleep at the same part each night. I finally started to
write them so I could find out what happened next!
What drew you to the inspirational suspense genre?
I
have a two-part answer to this question. Part one harkens back to my answer
above. As a reader, I grew up loving mystery and suspense stories. I cut my
teeth on The Happy Hollisters before moving on to Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew,
The Hardy Boys, etc. As I grew older, I moved on to Phyllis Whitney, Victoria
Holt, Daphne duMaurier. Originally I started our writing historical romance,
but eventually my love of suspense novels led me to try my hand at one of them.
When the Love Inspired editors announced their Search for a Killer Voice back
in 2014, I decided to give it a try. Emily Rodmell bought my book for LIS, and
my path was set.
How do you balance the faith aspects with the dangers that your characters find
themselves in?
I’m
not sure I would describe it as a balance so much as an organic development.
Because I rely on my faith to help me navigate my way through difficult times,
I allow my characters to do the same. In my first book, Christmas in Hiding,
Callie talks to the Lord all the time as she tries to survive in witness
protection. In Texas Witness Threat Christine copes with her anxiety
through prayer and asking the Lord to guide her thoughts. Hopefully, most of us
don’t find ourselves in the same kind of danger my characters encounter, but we
all face struggles and need to rely on our faith.
Can
you tell us a little bit about Texas Witness Threat?
I’d
love to.
Texas
Witness Threat is my second book for Love Inspired Suspense. It is loosely
connected to Christmas in Hiding in terms of setting and because the
heroine of Texas Witness Threat, Assistant US Attorney Christine Davis,
was also in CIH. The book opens with Christine witnessing a murder. The killers
chase her from the building, and even though she escapes them, by the time she
is able to get police to return to the scene of the crime, there is no
body!
The
question I had in mind when I began this book was how would it feel to witness
a crime, but have no one believe you? That’s what happens to Christine,
except there is one person who believes her - Texas Ranger Blake Larsen, the
man whose car she ran in front of when she was running from the scene.
The
killers are unrelenting in their attempts to stop Christine and Blake from
solving the mystery of the missing body, but Christine won’t give up. She’s
determined to find justice for the victim. Their search takes them to an Amish
settlement in Texas. Danger follows - lots of danger! Blake and Christine have
to rely on their faith and each other to survive - and along the way, they fall
in love.
What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
There
are two things I hope readers take away from this book beyond just a fun
reading experience.
- The first is an appreciation for
how faith should really guide every moment of our lives. My characters
often struggle to do things on their own, but they always realize that ultimately,
they need to rely on the Lord.
- The second thing is something that I came to really
appreciate as I was writing this book. In plotting out the suspense
element, I discovered that after Hurricane Ike, Amish from Indiana came to
help out in Texas. They rescued livestock and helped rebuild. My writer’s
imagination said, what if they liked it and wanted to stay? In researching
Amish beliefs for that part of the book, I came to really admire their
faith and absolute trust in God. One of my favorite scenes in the book is
Christine’s conversation with the mother of a man who is missing.
Christine is trying to understand how someone can have such absolute trust
in God.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go,
are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?
It’s
a bit of a tossup right now. I was working on a book that features Blake’s
brother Dylan and his long lost love, but that became a Christmas book, so I
had to postpone it a year. I’m now working on a new book about a mother on the
run with two children and the reluctant hero who helps them survive.
Thanks
so much for having me and giving me the chance to talk about my stories.
Hi
Cate! Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and giving my
readers the chance to get to know you and your new book- Texas Witness
Threat a little bit better!
Let’s talk writing! When did you first discover that you had a passion and
talent for writing?
Thanks
so much for having me. I had to really think back a long way to answer this.
Unlike many authors, I never planned to grow up to be a writer. I’m a
life-long, voracious reader. I actually got my start writing when I’d make up
stories to help me fall asleep. I never really thought of writing them down,
except I kept falling asleep at the same part each night. I finally started to
write them so I could find out what happened next!
What drew you to the inspirational suspense genre?
I
have a two-part answer to this question. Part one harkens back to my answer
above. As a reader, I grew up loving mystery and suspense stories. I cut my
teeth on The Happy Hollisters before moving on to Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew,
The Hardy Boys, etc. As I grew older, I moved on to Phyllis Whitney, Victoria
Holt, Daphne duMaurier. Originally I started our writing historical romance,
but eventually my love of suspense novels led me to try my hand at one of them.
When the Love Inspired editors announced their Search for a Killer Voice back
in 2014, I decided to give it a try. Emily Rodmell bought my book for LIS, and
my path was set.
How do you balance the faith aspects with the dangers that your characters find
themselves in?
I’m
not sure I would describe it as a balance so much as an organic development.
Because I rely on my faith to help me navigate my way through difficult times,
I allow my characters to do the same. In my first book, Christmas in Hiding,
Callie talks to the Lord all the time as she tries to survive in witness
protection. In Texas Witness Threat Christine copes with her anxiety
through prayer and asking the Lord to guide her thoughts. Hopefully, most of us
don’t find ourselves in the same kind of danger my characters encounter, but we
all face struggles and need to rely on our faith.
Can
you tell us a little bit about Texas Witness Threat?
I’d
love to.
Texas
Witness Threat is my second book for Love Inspired Suspense. It is loosely
connected to Christmas in Hiding in terms of setting and because the
heroine of Texas Witness Threat, Assistant US Attorney Christine Davis,
was also in CIH. The book opens with Christine witnessing a murder. The killers
chase her from the building, and even though she escapes them, by the time she
is able to get police to return to the scene of the crime, there is no
body!
The
question I had in mind when I began this book was how would it feel to witness
a crime, but have no one believe you? That’s what happens to Christine,
except there is one person who believes her - Texas Ranger Blake Larsen, the
man whose car she ran in front of when she was running from the scene.
The
killers are unrelenting in their attempts to stop Christine and Blake from
solving the mystery of the missing body, but Christine won’t give up. She’s
determined to find justice for the victim. Their search takes them to an Amish
settlement in Texas. Danger follows - lots of danger! Blake and Christine have
to rely on their faith and each other to survive - and along the way, they fall
in love.
What do you hope readers will take away from the book?
There
are two things I hope readers take away from this book beyond just a fun
reading experience.
- The first is an appreciation for
how faith should really guide every moment of our lives. My characters
often struggle to do things on their own, but they always realize that ultimately,
they need to rely on the Lord.
- The second thing is something that I came to really
appreciate as I was writing this book. In plotting out the suspense
element, I discovered that after Hurricane Ike, Amish from Indiana came to
help out in Texas. They rescued livestock and helped rebuild. My writer’s
imagination said, what if they liked it and wanted to stay? In researching
Amish beliefs for that part of the book, I came to really admire their
faith and absolute trust in God. One of my favorite scenes in the book is
Christine’s conversation with the mother of a man who is missing.
Christine is trying to understand how someone can have such absolute trust
in God.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Before you go,
are there any other projects you are currently working on that you can share?
It’s
a bit of a tossup right now. I was working on a book that features Blake’s
brother Dylan and his long lost love, but that became a Christmas book, so I
had to postpone it a year. I’m now working on a new book about a mother on the
run with two children and the reluctant hero who helps them survive.
Thanks
so much for having me and giving me the chance to talk about my stories.
(1) winner will receive a Texas Witness Threat and Christmas in Hiding (print or ebooks, winner's choice)!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight January 5, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on January 12, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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Very nice interview. I was a voracious reader of the same series. I never had the courage to try to publish.
ReplyDeleteI like how you draw from both imagination and real life.
Laura R
laurasreadingblog@gmail.com
It looks like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! - JustRead Tours
ReplyDelete