Saturday, September 3, 2016

Interview with Lillian Duncan and #giveaway!!

Today we're blessed to have Lillian Duncan join us. Lillian is graciously offering a giveaway of her new book.  Read the  interview to find out where and how to enter. 

Where did you grow up and attend school?

I grew up in rural Ohio, near Wooster. It’s a farming community. Grew up there, moved away to the big city of Cleveland, and now I’ve been back for the past fifteen years. Who says you can’t go home? I love being back in the area I grew up in.

I graduated from Triway High School, got a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Akron and then got a Master’s Degree in Deaf Education at Kent State.

Are there any other authors in your family? 

Actually there is! My nephew, Chad Young, is a missionary for CRU, formerly Campus Crusades For Christ. A few years ago, he decided to give writing a try, nonfiction. Now, keep in mind, it took me fifteen years to get a traditional publishing contract and I still don’t have an agent—not that I’ve tried lately.

Anyway…he comes up with an idea, writes 3 chapters and an outline, then contacts a fairly well-known Christian book agent, gets a contract with a large Christian publishing company.

Was I jealous? Not in the least! I’m so proud of him—he has two books out. You can check out his latest, Faith, Love, and Gators: Overcoming Barriers to Fully Loving God, at http://buff.ly/20PSJPL.


How did you get started writing? How old were you? What made you want to start?

I started writing when I was 40—a late starter. (This is a pretty good story.) I was feeling the way a lot of 40 year-olds feel. Unsettled, not sure if I wanted to keep teaching. I was watching a TV show, probably Oprah. Her guest recommending writing your own obituary and putting in outlandish things that you’ve never done.

So I did. As I reread the obituary, it said that I was a multi-published author. What? I’d never written any fiction even though I was an avid reader. The most I’d ever written was some poetry years before.

When I read those words, a spark ignited inside me.

And I started writing!

It took me a year to finish my first novel and it was horrible. I made every mistake that writing “experts” say are no-no! As bad as it was, I knew I wanted to keep writing and I did!



What did you enjoy reading as a child? 

Anything and everything!

How and when did you and your husband meet? Was it love at first sight?

Oooh, another good story! I’ve pretty much always known my husband. His brother was married to my aunt (that does NOT make us related) and besides that he lived right beside one of my other aunt’s. So I’ve known him my whole life.

When I was around 15, I “sort of” developed a crush on him. But nothing much came of that for several different reasons. Then when I was 18 and he was home on leave, we “sort of” got together a few times.

Well, my dad being my dad—he thought it would be funny to ask Ronny what his intentions toward me were. Now, my version of the story is: When Ronny heard that question, he started running and it took me thirty years to catch up with him!

Ronny’s version is quite different but I’m sticking with mine!

The truth is we weren’t ready for each other then. But thirty years later and a past marriage for each of us, we found our way back together. And couldn’t be happier!


What does he think about your being an author? 

He is SO supportive of my writing. Now that we’re both retired, he’s taken on the majority of the household work (cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, and on and on) so I can focus on my writing. When I have an author’s event, he’s right there helping me.

I call him my writing partner. Without him, my books wouldn’t get written!


How do you research the communities and people you write about? Do you find yourself having do a lot of research? 

I don’t do a lot of research. My books are usually set in Ohio or places that I’ve visited through the years. And because I write suspense and mysteries, they are more focused on plot.

Since I write by the “seat of my pants” I never know what I’m going to need to know when I start writing a new book so I do the research as it comes up.



Which is your favorite book? Do you have a character in your books you identify with the most.

My favorite book is whatever one I’m working on at the moment! I love all my books and characters, except the bad guys of course! It’s funny when I look back at one of my past books, I always think to myself, ‘wow, this is a really good book, I can’t believe I wrote it!’

There’s always some little part of my characters that comes from me, but the character who is most like me is Maven Morris. She’s the main character in my DEADLY COMMUNICATIONS novella series. Like me, Maven is a speech therapist. Like me, she’s short and needs to lose a few pounds. Unlike me, Maven gets herself into a lot of difficult situations!

DEADLY SILENCE is the third in the series and will be released in January 2017.


Tell us about your new book, GAME ON.



GAME ON is a political thriller that’s set in North Carolina. (I spent a month there as I was writing it.) Congressman, Lucas McMann wants to throw his hat into the political arena once again, this time for the U.S. Senate. It’s the next step on his journey to the White House, but he believes he’s the victim of an elaborate stalking game.

The problem is no one believes him.

He can’t move forward until he stops the game. He can’t stop the game until he discovers who’s behind it. To do that he needs someone who will believe in him enough to help him get the proof he so desperately wants.

And he knows just the person. If only she’s put their past behind her. (And we all know she hasn’t because then there wouldn’t be a story, right?)

Private Investigator, Nikki Kent makes a living finding out other people’s secrets, but she has one of her own. When Lucas shows up asking for her help, she refuses. She can’t take the chance of her secret coming to light. But her new-found faith won’t let her turn her back on someone who is desperate for her help—even if he was the first man to break her heart!

Game On is filled with enough twists and turns that it should keep any reader turning those pages late into the night. I really had fun writing it and hope readers will have fun reading it. My publisher outdid herself with the book trailer for GAME ON so I hope you’ll check it out at: https://youtu.be/t6MK2UGB1P0







GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate the release of GAME ON, I’m giving away a virtual basket of goodies at www.lillian-duncan.com that includes Amazon gift cards. For all the details go to my blog, Tiaras & Tennis Shoes. Simply leave a comment on the blog post GAME ON at www.lillian-duncan.com and you’ll be entered.


BLURB for GAME ON

Politics is no game when a stalker nears and there’s nowhere to hide.

A run for the senate is just a step on the road to the White House for Congressman Lucas McMann. But his public profile has put him in the middle of a crazed gunman’s twisted game of stalking. If he wants to win the election and reclaim his life, he’ll need the help of the one person who’d rather leave their past behind them.

Private Investigator Nikki Kent knows how to dig up secrets and discover those who exist in the shadows. She should. She’s good at hiding secrets of her own. Can she risk her own discovery for someone so desperate for her help? For the first man who broke her heart?

With new-found faith, she’ll help Lucas search for the answers. But with the truth comes a danger they must face together.





BIO:
Lillian Duncan…Stories of faith mingled… with murder & mayhem.

Lillian is a multi-published author who lives in Ohio Amish country with her husband. After more than 30 years work as a school speech pathologist for children, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced suspense and mystery with a touch of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us. To learn more about Lillian, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.




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