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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Spotlight on Lenora Worth and Fatal Image

Lenora Worth has written 30 books, most of those for Steeple Hill. Lenora grew up in Georgia, but has lived in Louisiana for over 25 years. She had two grown children and a husband who just retired at the age of 49!

With close to a million books in print, she is considered one of the top selling writers for Steeple Hill's Love Inspired line and continues to write romance and romantic suspense for Steeple Hill. (The best of both worlds--romance and faith!)

And now I have the distinct privilege of introducing her to you.

Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
Book One of Secrets of Stoneley
January 2007
Lenora Worth

From the desk of Bianca Blanchard

Everything I was raised to believe has been a lie! The photo Leo Santiago gave me of our mothers together—dated a week after my mother's death—and my father's evasions set my legal mind racing, so I hired a detective to investigate my mother's long-ago accident. Turns out she's alive! I've been so thankful for Leo, who has been incredibly supportive. He works for my father, so catering to the boss's daughter is part of his job, but the looks this handsome man gives me make me think there's more to our relationship than business.

1. This book is the first in the Secrets of Stoneley series, and another book for the suspsense line for you. Where did you get the inspiration for this story?

My other suspense stories for Love Inspired (Lacey's Retreat and A Leap of Faith) both had suspense elements, and I have written two single titles suspenses--Echoes of Danger and After The Storm for Steeple Hill, but I was invited to write this story as part of a continuity series with five other Steeple Hill writers, which is always challenging and fun. So that's how this story came about. The other authors will have books following mine.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced the character of Bianca? What aspects became traits that were hers and hers alone?

Bianca was an intriguing, interesting character. (In continuities, we are given an overview by the editors, complete with character sketches, but it's up to us to flesh out those characters. I saw Bianca as a tragic soul who couldn't accept that her mother would leave her children without a very good reason. She was the one who always had questions, and that lead her to become a lawyer. I guess I share that questioning, curious trait with her, but it made me become a writer instead of a lawyer. Bianca, therefore, is much smarter and braver than I could ever be!

3. What themes exist in Fatal Image that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

The basic theme is one of hope--no matter what. We have to have hope. Bianca needed that hope before she could move on with her own life. She couldn't get over the past, so she had to find a way to get to the truth. The other theme would be that the truth always wins out, I think.

4. What was your most difficult part to write? Your favorite?

The difficulty was in making sure my story meshed with the other five. I had to set up the series and then pass the torch on to the next writer in the series. That was a challenge, but all of the writers at Steeple Hill are very professional and great to work with. I learned a lot from doing this series. I guess my favorite part of this is that I love gothic stories, used to read them when I was a teenager. So I really enjoyed playing up the dark elements of this story--money and power and secrets--it was very intriguing and well, scary. But I truly had a great time working out all the details with the other writers.

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

My next book will be out in September of 2007. It's another suspense called Secret Agent Minister. It is very action-packed and fast-paced, but at the core it has a wonderful love story. I think it is one of my favorite stories yet, so I'm anxious to see how the readers react.

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Thanks, Lenora, for joining us here at Fiction-Filled Life and launching the new year of author spotlights. For those reading, don't forget to post a comment for a chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Fatal Image. And tell your friends too. Lots of free books, lots of fun!

7 comments:

Jennifer Y. said...

Wonderful interview! The book sounds great! I love the themes.

I haven't read a Love Inspired Suspense before...might have to try one.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I loved this book! I'm following the whole series and I can't wait for the next title! :-) You don't need to enter me for this one as I already own it.

Good luck everyone!
Shauna

Jennifer Y. said...

Oh, I adore the Love Inspired books Cherie...they are great...I just have not tried the Suspense line yet...I think I have some in the TBR mountain, but not this one.

En-z said...

I've always wanted to become a lawyer too because I loved asking people questions, manipulating their thoughts and swaying them to believe/accept my ideals and views on things even at a tender age of 6. but my parents wanted a different life for me. They sent me to med school but i didn't finish and made up my mind. INstead, I became a writer.
gez, that's one thing we have in common Lenora..aspiring lawyer turned writer. LOL

Ina said...

wow, that must be difficult. continuing a story you didn't write first. Did you have to talk to the previous authors? How do you keep the story n line with the first books in the series? You know, writers always have their way of telling a story.

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

Cherie, you're our winner this week. Congratulations! Send me your mailing address so I can have Lenora send out your autographed book.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support. Check out this week's spotlight for a hilarious glimpse into motherhood and all that comes with it. :)

Anonymous said...

Hello, everyone. Congratulations to Cherie Japp! I will get your book to you as soon as the sleet and snow here goes away. Brrr. Cold. Sheina asked about writing a continuity and how we keep up. Well, it takes communication--lots of it. Since Fatal Image was the first book in this series, I had to make sure I let the following writers know Bianca's every move. We just e-mailed back and forth and tried to keep the continuing plot points straight. We keep journals, e-mails, descriptions, etc in folders and notebooks so we can refer back to things. But it can get a bit tricky at times. I've done three continuities now and I've been blessed to be with wonderful, talented writers in all three. I hope everyone enjoys The Secrets of Stoneley series--and I'm glad to hear that people are reading Love Inspired. We appreciate it. Thanks for participating in my guest blog!

Lenora :)