Christy Award winning suspense author, Lisa Harris has returned with her latest release, A Secret to Die For. This book introduces readers to Grace Calloway, a psychologist whose patient has been murdered. Grace soon realizes she holds a secret worth killing for – but what is it? Step in Detective Nate Quinn, a man with a mission to find out just what this secret is.
A Secret to Die For is now available for purchase, click here for more.
Q: What was your inspiration for A Secret to Die For?
A: As with a lot of my stories, my inspiration started off with a random idea for a heroine, who quickly became Grace Callahan. She was a psychologist, but more than that, she had her own personal giants that she was facing in her life. After I began to flesh out her character, I brought in the hero who was also dealing with loss, and the ideas for the plot line started to come together – both for them personally and for the greater danger they were facing.
Q: What type of research was required for writing your new book?
A: I ended up having to do a lot of research, particularly on the nation’s power grid, survivalists and preppers, and hackers. Next to romantic suspense, my favorite genre is apocalyptic-type stories where someone has to save the world. So while there is no monstrous tidal waves, falling meteors, and definitely no zombies, the research was a lot of fun. In fact, I tend to get a bit too caught up in my own research sometimes.
Q: Detective Nate Quinn struggles with PTSD. How did his disorder come in to play in A Secret to Die For?
A: At the beginning of the story, Nate has just gone back to work after an explosion took the lives of his partner and several co-workers. And while he wants to be back on the job – even needs to be back – he’s not a hundred percent sure he’s ready. He encounters a number of triggers and begins to realize how his life has changed. He also has to deal with the guilt of being a survivor, which is something very real for those who have gone through trauma and lost people they care about. Grace becomes the perfect person to help him heal, which I love watching play out in the book.
Q: Was there any part of this book that really surprised you once you began writing it?
A: As with a lot of the stories I write, I’m usually not sure who the villain is until the end of the book, and that was definitely true for this story. On the positive side, I’ve decided that if I’m not sure until the end who did it, then hopefully the reader won’t figure it out either!
Q: You have written more than thirty books, including Vendetta, Missing, Pursued, and Vanishing Point. Have you always written in the suspense genre of do you also write other genres?
A: I started out writing romance novels, but they always had a string of mystery in them. I just couldn’t get away from that thread in my stories. So it’s safe to say that I really love writing suspense and can’t imagine writing anything else!
Q: What do you hope readers gain from reading your book?
A: While I definitely want my readers to be entertained – and maybe a bit (okay, a lot) scared – while reading my books, I also want them to discover how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for him. People like you and me have the chance to allow God to use us in spite of all our fears and insecurities. I see the spiritual thread in my stories as a part of my characters’ reactions to life. How they react and deal with things on a spiritual level is crucial. Just like in my own life, I don’t want my faith to be simply tacked on but an intricate part of who I am.
Q: What’s next on your writing to-do list?
A: Next up is another stand-alone novel that I’m super excited about as it takes my hero on a treacherous path I’ve never taken them on before. (Sorry, no spoilers!)
A Secret to Die for is now available for purchase, click here for more.
